On Wednesday June 16, 2010, 6:02 pm
Home construction fails to lift
recovery
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Homebuilders are
sending a message: They won't be able to contribute much to the economic
recovery now that government home-buying incentives have vanished.
Home construction and applications for
building permits sank in May, overshadowing favorable reports on manufacturing
and wholesale inflation.
Fewer homes mean fewer jobs.
Construction fuels a broad swath of industries across the economy. Yet
double-digit unemployment is among the main reasons people have passed on
buying new homes. Even with near-record-low mortgage rates, the industry is
struggling.
FedEx says global trade recovery is
underestimated
NEW YORK (AP) -- FedEx said people are
too pessimistic about a recovery in global trade, after it reported Wednesday
that strong exports from Asia and other international shipments drove its
improved fourth-quarter results.
While concerns about European economies
and their looming debt problems remain, FedEx said international shipments
overall grew by 23 percent. Countries like India, China and Brazil in
particular are driving the increase.
FedEx said the U.S. economy is steadily
growing as well. Still, it has a conservative outlook for the next year,
expecting rising costs as shipments pick up.
Obama: BP agrees to $20B fund; chairman
apologizes
WASHINGTON (AP) -- After intense
negotiations, BP on Thursday bowed to President Barack Obama's demand for a $20
billion fund to compensate victims of the disastrous oil spill in the Gulf of
Mexico. The humbled chairman of the giant British company apologized to the
American people for the horrendous accident.
BP is suspending its dividends to
shareholders for the rest of this year to help pay for the costs, said Chairman
Carl-Henric Svanberg.
Obama announced the agreement after a
four-hour meeting between White House and BP officials, with the president
participating for various portions.
Stocks end flat; BP agrees to $20B
victim fund
NEW YORK (AP) -- BP's agreement to put
$20 billion into a fund for victims of the Gulf of Mexico oil spill lifted the
stock market off its lows and sent the major indexes to a narrowly mixed
finish.
Investors saw the news as an end to the
uncertainty about BP's stability, and that helped steady the overall market.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose about 4 points, while the Standard &
Poor's 500 index fell less than a point and the Nasdaq composite index was
virtually unchanged.
Wednesday's trading reflected the
juggling act investors have been doing for months. While many of the economic
signs in the U.S. show the recovery is proceeding, news like the home
construction figures and the FedEx forecast have created doubt about the
strength of the rebound.
FDA: 'Female Viagra' falls short
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A pink pill designed
to boost sex drive in women -- the latest attempt by the drug industry to find
a female equivalent to Viagra -- fell short in two studies, federal health
regulators said Wednesday.
The Food and Drug Administration is
considering Boehringer Ingelheim's drug flibanserin for premenopausal women who
report a lack of sexual desire, a market that drugmakers have been targeting
for more than a decade since the blockbuster success of Viagra in men.
The search for so-called "female
Viagra," has proved elusive though, with many drugs abandoned after
showing lackluster results.
Nokia gives Q2 profit warning
HELSINKI (AP) -- Nokia Corp. warned
Wednesday that its earnings this year will be hit by tough competition from
rivals in the smart phone market. The news sent its stock down 9 percent.
The world's largest mobile phone maker
said competition "particularly at the high-end of the market" would
force net sales in the current period to be at the lower end of its previously
expected range.
Nokia also said its operating margin in
the period would be at the low end or below its previous prediction of 9 to 12
percent.
Nokia stock has continued a downward
trend since it fell 14 percent on the April 21 release of its first-quarter
earnings report, as the company is seen as losing out against competition.
Citi, Fannie, Freddie offer Gulf
mortgage relief
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Homeowners in
areas of the Gulf of Mexico affected by the BP oil spill can get mortgage
relief from Citigroup Inc. and government sponsored mortgage purchasers Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac.
Citigroup says it is suspending loan
foreclosures in the region through Sept. 17.
Fannie Mae says companies servicing its
home loans may suspend or reduce borrower payments for up to 90 days.
Additional time may be granted after a review of individual circumstances.
Freddie Mac spokesman Brad German said
it also offers relief for a variety of reasons, including loss of income.
SEC proposes new disclosures for
target-date funds
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators
on Wednesday proposed new disclosure rules for target-date retirement funds
that would require sponsors to spell out how they are investing the money and
to warn about risks.
The Securities and Exchange Commission
voted 5-0 to propose that marketing materials for target-date funds include how
investments are being allocated among stocks, bonds, cash and such.
The proposed rules could be formally
adopted sometime after a 60-day public comment period, possibly with changes.
Troubled banking system, Spain loom
over EU summit
BRUSSELS (AP) -- Looming bank losses
and Spain's troubled government finances are what European Union leaders don't
formally plan to talk about when they sit down for talks on Thursday about how
to fix their battered economies and set tighter budget rules.
The potential for banks' losses on
European loans -- particularly from Spain's collapsed housing boom -- have
spooked financial markets this week, sending the Spanish government's borrowing
costs to a record-high amid rumors that it might have to ask for outside
financial help.
Bernanke says Fed is beefing up bank
oversight
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Ben Bernanke says
the Federal Reserve is working to beef up oversight of financial companies to
better protect the nation from another financial crisis in the future.
The Fed chairman's comments came
Wednesday as Congress moves closer to sending President Barack Obama a final
legislative package that revamps the nation's financial structure to prevent a
replay of the recent crisis.
Bernanke welcomes key parts of that
package in remarks prepared for delivery to a conference in New York. At the
same time, Bernanke says the Fed is moving ahead on strengthening capital
requirements for banks and collecting more information on linkages among
financial companies.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 4.69, or 0.05 percent, to
10,409.46, its fourth advance in five days. During morning trading, the Dow was
down as much as 72.
The S&P 500 fell 0.62, or 0.06
percent, to 1,114.61, and the Nasdaq crept up 0.05 to 2,305.93.
Benchmark crude for July delivery rose
73 cents to settle at $77.67 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading in July
contracts, heating oil rose 4.16 cents to settle at $2.1101 a gallon, and
gasoline gained 2.37 cents to settle at $2.1452 a gallon. Natural gas lost 21.1
cents to settle at $4.978 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Brent crude rose $1.04 to settle at
$78.14 a barrel on the ICE futures exchange.