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Business News
Last Update on March 12, 2010 03:32 EST
WORLD MARKETS
HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian stock markets were mixed Friday as investors held out for additional clues to the strength of economic recovery.
Most markets were little changed, a recent pattern that analysts say reflects uncertainty surrounding the U.S. rebound, China's policies and debt troubles in Europe.
Many investors are awaiting further insight into the state of the U.S. economy. Reports due out Friday on retail sales and consumer sentiment could provide information about the current spending appetites of Americans at a time of high unemployment.
The sideways trade comes after global markets were mostly higher the day before, with gains limited amid wariness after China may start raising interest rates to keep a lid on mounting inflationary pressures. The source of concerns was a report showing inflation in the fast-growing economy jumped last month.
In Japan, Nikkei 225 stock average was up 0.8 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng was off 0.1 percent and South Korea's benchmark was flat.
Shanghai's market was also little changed, while Australia inched up 0.1 percent and India rose 0.3 percent.
OIL PRICES
SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices hovered above $82 a barrel Friday in Asia as investors mulled whether extending a monthlong rally is justified amid evidence of weak U.S. crude demand.
Benchmark crude for April delivery was up 8 cents to $82.19 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 2 cents to settle at $82.11 on Thursday.
Crude has jumped 18 percent from $69.59 a barrel on Feb. 5 as economic data pointed to slow but steady U.S. economic growth. However, high crude inventories belie a rosy economic outlook, and suggest consumer spending remains sluggish.
In London, Brent crude was up 11 cents at $80.39 on the ICE futures exchange.
DAY AHEAD-ECONOMY
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government tells us today how retail sales fared last month. Analysts look for a decline of 0.2 percent. Excluding autos, a slight gain is expected.
Also today, the Commerce Department weighs in on January business inventories. They are seen posting a slight gain.
BANK CLOSURE
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Regulators have shut down LibertyPointe Bank in New York City, boosting to 27 the number of bank failures in the U.S. so far this year following the 140 brought down in 2009 by mounting loan defaults and the recession.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. on Thursday took over LibertyPointe, with three branches, $209.7 million in assets and $209.5 million in deposits. Valley National Bank, based in Wayne, N.J., agreed to assume the assets and deposits of the failed bank.
In addition, the FDIC and Valley National Bank agreed to share losses on $181.5 million of LibertyPointe Bank's loans and other assets.
US REGULATOR-WALL STREET
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The government's top securities regulator is calling anew for Congress to impose new oversight on financial derivatives, warning that allowing risky instruments like credit default swaps to continue unfettered could bring new economic damage.
The chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, Mary Schapiro, says banks that deal in the swaps must be subject to rigorous requirements for holding capital and business conduct, and price information must be transparent. Schapiro made the statement as credit default swaps, a form of insurance against loan defaults, have come under heightened scrutiny in the US and Europe.
The leaders of France, Germany and Greece on Thursday called for a clampdown on trading in the swaps, blamed for worsening Greece's debt crisis.
TOYOTA RECALL-SAFETY
WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. government vehicle safety regulators may seek greater authority to investigate defects in cars and trucks. The question arises after Toyota's recall of more than 8 million vehicles for safety problems.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration chief David Strickland says the agency will take a "hard look" at the power it has to set safety standards for automakers. He says the current authority, acquired in the 1960s and 1970s, may not be enough to oversee the technology used in modern vehicles.
Strickland says the government may also require automakers to include brake override systems, a fix intended to prevent the type of runaway car incidents that some Toyota drivers have described.
GM-LUTZ
GM's Lutz says hybrids, electrics are future
WARREN, Mich. -- General Motors' retiring vice chairman says GM will keep making big trucks and SUVs because U.S. buyers demand them. But Bob Lutz says a major portion of them soon will be gas-electric hybrids.
He says GM must apply hybrid technology to more vehicles to meet revised fuel-economy standards coming in 2020.
Lutz, who steps down May 1, has some regrets. He overhauled Saturn and Pontiac, two brands that GM has decided to drop. He says Saturn had a world-class lineup, but GM didn't have the money to market it properly. Still, he says he supports the decision to dump the brands.
Lutz says his proudest achievement is the plug-in electric Chevrolet Volt, which is due out later this year The Volt can go 40 miles on an electrical charge.
GMAC-CEO PAY
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The CEO of bailed-out auto finance giant GMAC Inc. will receive no cash salary for 2010 and will be compensated in restricted stock, under a deal approved by Obama administration pay czar Kenneth Feinberg, according to people familiar with the matter.
The package appears to be less generous than one Feinberg approved for GMAC CEO Michael Carpenter late last year, say the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter.
Carpenter took the CEO job in November and received compensation worth about $1.2 million for the last six weeks of 2009 -- including restricted stock and about $120,000 in cash -- according to company filings. That is equivalent to an annual salary of $9.5 million.
REPUBLIC AIRWAYS-FRONTIER-LABOR
MILWAUKEE (AP) -- The union for mechanics at Frontier Airlines is going to court over plans to shift their work to Milwaukee.
Republic Airways bought Frontier last year and wants to move Frontier's maintenance operation from Denver to Milwaukee. Work on other jets owned by Republic is already done in Milwaukee.
But the Teamsters, who represent Frontier mechanics, say their contract guarantees that they do that maintenance work. They say that Republic is offering to transfer mechanics to Milwaukee, but they would no longer be in the union.
Republic has not yet responded to the request for a court order enforcing their contract, which was filed late Wednesday in federal court in Milwaukee. A Republic spokesman says the company has no comment.
COMCAST-NBC
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators promise rigorous reviews of Comcast's proposed purchase of NBC Universal. At issue is whether it will hurt competition or consumers.
Both the Justice Department's antitrust chief and the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission offered no indication at a hearing what the outcome of those reviews could be.
Many lawmakers and industry analysts expect regulators to approve the deal with conditions to prevent a combined company from abusing its market power.
Comcast seeks government approval to acquire a 51 percent stake in NBC Universal from GE. Comcast already owns some cable TV channels, including E! Entertainment and the Golf Channel. NBC Universal owns the NBC and Telemundo broadcast networks, along with cable channels including Bravo and Oxygen as well as the Universal Pictures movie studio.
VERISIGN-INFRASTRUCTURE UPGRADE
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- VeriSign Inc. -- whose technology is key to allowing Internet users to access Web sites -- says it plans to pour more than $300 million over the next decade into upgrading its infrastructure.
The upgrades will allow VeriSign's computers to handle up to 4 quadrillion requests per day from computers trying to reach those sites. That's a thousand times more lookups than the company can currently handle.
VeriSign Chief Technology Officer Ken Silva says the latest changes are needed to keep up with ballooning Internet traffic and spikes in traffic caused by major news events and computer attacks.
Business News
NATIONAL HEADLINES
2 killed, 2 injured in Salt Lake TRAX accident
House Democrats move ahead on health care reform
Medical testing: more doesn't always mean better
Obama to meet with top war, science advisers
Former John Edwards aide returning to NC court
Accused lottery killer indicted by Fla. grand jury
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BUSINESS NEWS
Asian stocks are mixed
HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian stock markets were mixed Friday as investors held out for additional clues to the strength of economic recovery.
CONSUMER INFO
La. senator: Are deaths linked to Chinese drywall?
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- U.S. Sen. David Vitter is calling on federal officials to do a thorough probe into the deaths of several people who lived in homes built with suspect Chinese drywall. ...
NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- U.S. Sen. David Vitter is calling on federal officials to do a thorough probe into the deaths of several people who lived in homes built with suspect Chinese drywall. ...
SCIENCE/TECH NEWS
IN THE NEWS: PINK FLOYD PREVAILS IN DOWNLOAD CASE
LONDON (AP) -- Score one for Pink Floyd.
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MEDICAL MARIJUANA-CENSUS
GRAND JUNCTION, Colo. (AP) -- Census workers in Colorado could be getting a contact high.
