TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

Highlands Today

BUSINESS HIGHLIGHTS

ADVERTISEMENT

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 27, 2008

Jobless Claims Jump As Housing Market Gets Weaker

WASHINGTON (AP) - Two cornerstones of the economy - jobs and housing - sank to new depths Thursday, with unemployment claims bolting higher and home prices recording one of their steepest drops on record.

The Labor Department said the number of newly laid-off people filing for unemployment benefits rose to 406,000 last week, a jump of a seasonally adjusted 34,000. The last time jobless claims were higher was after the Gulf Coast hurricanes in 2005.

The housing news wasn't any better: As sales of previously owned homes fell in June and a glut of unsold and foreclosed homes on the market, the value of Americans' biggest asset continued to sag. The median price for a home sold in June was $215,100, a drop of more than 6 percent from a year earlier and the fifth-largest year-to-year price drop on record.

Stocks Tumble After Sales Of Existing Homes Fall

NEW YORK (AP) - Wall Street abruptly ended an earnings-driven rally and closed sharply lower Thursday after a steeper-than-expected decline in existing home sales and worries about the financial sector chilled the market's recent optimism.

Investors punished shares of homebuilders and financial companies Thursday because both sectors have struggled with the declining housing market.

The Dow fell 283.10, or 2.43 percent, to 11,349.28. It was the biggest decline for the Dow since June 26.

The pullback erased the nearly 170 points added in the two prior sessions. Last week, the Dow gained nearly 400 points. While some declines after the latest rally wouldn't have come as a surprise, the drop Thursday revealed fresh unease about the economy.

Oil Gains Ground But Natural Gas Continues Slide

NEW YORK (AP) - Energy market investors managed to win back modest gains Thursday following oil's big drop a day earlier, but again drove natural gas prices sharply lower as a three-week sell-off of that fuel continued unabated.

Light, sweet crude for September delivery rose $1.05 to settle at $125.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange - gaining back only about a quarter of Wednesday's decline. August natural gas tumbled 46.5 cents to settle at $9.283 per 1,000 cubic feet, its lowest point since March.

At the gas pump, prices continued their retreat. The national average for a gallon of regular dropped more than a penny and a half to $4.026 a gallon, according to auto club AAA, the Oil Price Information Service and Wright Express. Retail diesel is down nearly half a cent to $4.788.

GOP Kills Effort To Release Oil From U.S. Stockpile

WASHINGTON (AP) - House Republicans on Thursday scuttled a bill that Democrats hoped would help lower gasoline prices by forcing the Energy Department to release 70 million barrels of oil - about a three-day supply - from the national stockpile.

Democrats promised that the action would have produced immediate relief at the pump, as was the case with similar releases in 1991, 2000 and 2005. The Strategic Petroleum Reserve now holds about 700 million barrels.

Despite winning a clear 268-157 majority, the measure still lost. Democratic leaders had brought the proposal up for debate under rules requiring a two-thirds vote to pass.

Ford, Daimler, Hyundai Profits Fall; Renault Up

DETROIT (AP) - Ford Motor Co. posted its worst quarterly loss ever Thursday in a roiling global auto market that also saw profits fall at Daimler AG, Hyundai Motor Co. and AutoNation Inc. Renault SA reported a profit increase in the first half of the year but still plans to cut jobs and scale back production.

The rising cost of oil and raw materials and the economic slowdown in North America and Western Europe were generally to blame for the automakers' woes. In the U.S., auto sales dropped 10 percent in the first half of the year as consumers were stunned by high gas prices and falling home values. Sales in Europe dropped 8 percent in June and threaten to continue their slide.

New York AG Sues Banking Giant UBS For Securities Fraud

NEW YORK (AP) - New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo sued banking giant UBS for fraud Thursday, accusing the company of marketing tens of billions of dollars of auction-rate securities as safe even when they knew the investments were in trouble.

The civil lawsuit claims bank executives pulled their personal investments from the floundering market last winter when they realized a crisis was brewing but continued to tell customers all was well.

UBS said in a statement that while some of its employees exercised "poor judgment," none had engaged in illegal conduct.

Satellite Radio Companies To Pay $19.7 Million

WASHINGTON (AP) - A merger of the nation's only two satellite radio companies moved closer to fruition Thursday after the pair agreed to pay $19.7 million to settle a case alleging violation of federal rules.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin told The Associated Press the agency had reached an agreement late Wednesday night where XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc. will pay $17.5 million and Sirius Satellite Radio Inc. will pay $2.2 million to resolve that issue.

The agreement, which still requires a full vote of the commission, is expected to lead to approval of Sirius's $3.9 billion buyout of XM, which has been under regulatory review for more than a year.

Rough June For Newspapers Portends Bleak Future

NEW YORK (AP) - Regional and national newspaper publishers, already staggering with a drop in ad revenue more severe than the industry has seen since the Great Depression, say the second half of 2008 may be even worse.

Three publishers - McClatchy Co., Lee Enterprises Inc. and E.W. Scripps Co. - reported Thursday that their profits had fallen by nearly half in the second quarter compared to last year.

They joined industry heavyweights New York Times Co. and Gannet Co., which reported earnings Wednesday and last week, in saying double-digit drops in ad revenue were most to blame for plunging profits, though rising costs played a role too.

Share this:

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT