News For Monday Oct 6, 2008 News For Monday Oct 6, 2008

Business Business

Stocks rise on bailout hopes; credit remains tight - Added 1 week ago

Financial markets grew more upbeat Thursday as political leaders said they struck an agreement in principle on a massive spending plan to revive the crippled financial system. The Dow Jones industrial average jumped...

Credit markets cheer bailout deal, but faintly - Added 1 week ago

The credit markets heard some upbeat news about the government's rescue plan Thursday, when lawmakers reported they were closer to an agreement on the deal. But in a market that has been stymied by a lack of confidence,...

CEOs who got out before crisis left with millions - Added 1 week ago

With a Wall Street bailout looming that will almost certainly limit CEO pay, some of the poster boys of the financial crisis have already fled the scene, taking millions of dollars in severance packages with them. ...

Key details of emerging bipartisan bailout plan - Added 1 week ago

A bipartisan group of lawmakers agreed Thursday to the outlines of a $700 billion bailout for the financial industry that makes several substantial changes to President Bush's request. Key Republicans were still...

Mama's milk ice cream cone, anyone? - Added 1 week ago

Mooove over, Holsteins. PETA wants world-famous Ben & Jerry's Homemade Ice Cream to tap nursing moms, rather than cows, for the milk used in its ice cream. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is asking the...

Carbon goes on the auction block in Northeast - Added 1 week ago

Greenhouse gases went on sale Thursday as 10 Northeastern states held the nation's first auction of pollution credits aimed at curbing global warming. "It is time really to turn the tide on global warming," said New...

GE cuts forecast, citing wounded financing unit - Added 1 week ago

General Electric Co., the industrial powerhouse that makes everything from jet engines to light bulbs, cut its earnings forecast for the year on Thursday, blaming volatile financial markets that have damaged the...

Southeast gas shortage squeezes small retailers - Added 1 week ago

Ralph Sheffield's tidy gas station has stayed open around the clock for 13 years, keeping the lights on even during lonely Christmas mornings and the slow holiday season. But the streak ended last week after he went...

A look at Pilgrim's Pride's woes - Added 1 week ago

Pilgrim's Pride Corp. said Thursday it expects to report a "significant loss" in its fiscal fourth quarter and is so sagged by debt it may not meet the terms of its loan agreements. Here's a look at the woes at the...

Hearing on Boscov's bankruptcy sale postponed - Added 1 week ago

A Delaware bankruptcy court hearing on the proposed the sale of department store chain Boscov's has been postponed until next week. The court had been scheduled to consider the proposed bid procedures Thursday, but...

Pilgrim's Pride to post 4Q loss; shares plummet - Added 1 week ago

The nation's largest chicken producer, Pilgrim's Pride Corp., said Thursday that high animal feed costs will force it to post a "significant loss" in its fiscal fourth quarter and that it was trying to negotiate new...

Discover 3Q profit falls, but tops estimates - Added 1 week ago

Discover Financial Services' profit fell 11 percent in the third quarter but its lucrative card processing business drove the results above Wall Street's expectations. The profit decline reflected a big increase in its...

Gold prices slide as bailout weighs on safe assets - Added 1 week ago

Gold prices turned lower Thursday as an agreement in principle on a U.S. financial rescue package prompted investors to sell safe-haven assets in favor of stocks. In other commodities, crude oil rebounded on hopes that...

Wrigley shareholders approve $23B sale to Mars - Added 1 week ago

Shareholders of Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. have approved the company's $23 billion sale to Mars Inc., a move that will end more than a century of family control as the chewing-gum company becomes part of what will now be the...

Oil up near $108 as bailout wins initial approval - Added 1 week ago

Oil prices swung higher in erratic trading Thursday as a U.S. financial rescue plan won preliminary approval from lawmakers, raising expectations of a resurgance in domestic energy demand. Light, sweet crude for...

Agriculture futures trade mixed on CBOT - Added 1 week ago

Agriculture futures traded mixed Thursday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for December delivery rose 6 cents to $7.3625 a bushel; December corn fell 4.75 cents to $5.5825 a bushel; December oats added 1 cent to...

Delta, NWA shareholders approve combination - Added 1 week ago

Delta Air Lines Inc. and Northwest Airlines Corp. shareholders gave the go-ahead Thursday to a combination that would create the world's biggest carrier, deciding that in their volatile industry they like their chances...

30-year mortgages jump after 5 weeks of declines - Added 1 week ago

Rates on 30-year mortgages, which had been falling for five weeks, jumped sharply this week, reflecting the turbulence in global credit markets. Freddie Mac reported Thursday that its nationwide survey found that the...

A closer look at candymakers Mars and Wrigley - Added 1 week ago

Shareholders of chewing-gum maker Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. approved the company's $23 billion sale to Mars Inc., paving the way for the formation of the world's largest candy maker. Here's a look at the two companies: Wm....

First flight of EADS' A400M transporter postponed - Added 1 week ago

EADS, the parent company of planemaker Airbus, said Thursday it has indefinitely postponed the first flight of its A400M military transport plane because its engines are not ready. In a statement, the European...

Wyeth: Menopause drug reduces multiple symptoms - Added 1 week ago

An experimental menopause treatment drugmaker Wyeth is developing reduced hot flashes, trouble sleeping and other symptoms and did not increase breast tenderness, a problem that bothers many women taking menopause...

Alitalia can keep flying _ for now - Added 1 week ago

Aviation authorities on Thursday allowed bankrupt Alitalia to keep flying for now after Italy's biggest union agreed to an investor rescue plan, although pilots and flight attendants need to accept the deal. "For now,...

New home sales and factory orders fall in August - Added 1 week ago

New home sales tumbled in August to the slowest pace in 17 years, while the average sales price fell by the largest amount on record, demonstrating the depth of the problem that Washington is trying to solve. The...

Rite Aid 2Q loss doubles on Eckerd struggles - Added 1 week ago

Drugstore operator Rite Aid shook up its management ranks Thursday after posting a higher second-quarter loss because of disappointing results at stores acquired from Brooks Eckerd and heavy promotional spending. The...

W.Va. court accepts appeals in $400m DuPont case - Added 1 week ago

West Virginia's Supreme Court has agreed to a full review of appeals arising from a nearly $400 million judgment against DuPont. A Harrison County jury awarded the damages to residents last year, after finding the...

Jobless claims pushed to 7-year high - Added 1 week ago

New claims for unemployment benefits jumped last week to their highest level in seven years due to the impact of a slowing economy and Hurricanes Ike and Gustav, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The department...

Northwest shareholders OK Delta combo plan - Added 1 week ago

Northwest Airlines shareholders approve a proposed combination with Delta Air Lines. Delta shareholders are scheduled to vote on the combination Thursday afternoon in Atlanta. The combination still has to receive...

Durable goods orders drop 4.5 percent in August - Added 1 week ago

Orders for big-ticket manufactured goods plunged in August by the largest amount in seven months as demand for both airplanes and autos fell sharply. The Commerce Department reported Thursday that orders for durable...

Rite Aid 2Q loss doubles on Eckerd struggles - Added 1 week ago

Drugstore operator Rite Aid said Thursday its loss nearly tripled in its second quarter because of disappointing results from the Brooks Eckerd stores Rite Aid bought in 2007. Rite Aid also announced a management...

Appeals court reviews ruling on former Qwest CEO - Added 1 week ago

The insider trading conviction of former Qwest Chief Executive Joe Nacchio is going back to court. The full 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments Thursday as judges review a decision overturning Joe...

Clinton says bailout must not protect undeserving - Added 1 week ago

Former President Clinton says legislation stabilizing troubled financial markets ought to be ensure there'll be no "unjust enrichments" of people who do not deserve a bailout. The former president also said he believes...

Germany: Consumer confidence rises slightly - Added 1 week ago

Consumer confidence in Europe's largest economy rose slightly, halting a four-month slide, bolstered by falling oil prices and receding fears of inflation, a survey conducted before the meltdown on Wall Street earlier...

Japan posts rare trade deficit on high fuel costs - Added 1 week ago

Japan posted a rare trade deficit in August on soaring oil imports and falling car exports, the government said Thursday, underscoring evidence that external forces are exacerbating the country's economic gloom. ...

Bank run prompts $500M infusion in Hong Kong - Added 1 week ago

Hundreds of nervous customers swarmed Bank of East Asia offices in Singapore and Hong Kong Thursday, the second day of Asia's first major bank run since the global financial crisis erupted last year. Hong Kong's de...

AP Executive Morning Briefing - Added 1 week ago

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Thursday, Sept. 25, 2008: Deal close on $700 billion financial bailout plan WASHINGTON (AP) _ President Bush is bringing presidential candidates...

Mandelson, China's Chen call for closer trade ties - Added 1 week ago

European Union trade commissioner Peter Mandelson and China's commerce minister called Thursday for closer trade ties between their giant economies but announced no breakthroughs in talks on import controls and other...

Gulf seafood industry crippled by Ike's damage - Added 1 week ago

On the eve of October's peak seafood harvesting season, migrant fishermen are sweeping debris from gutted bay side homes instead of scooping shrimp and oysters from the lucrative Gulf floor. The $100 million fishing...

North Dakota landmark closing after 18 years - Added 1 week ago

!!-- pobj:NY115-0924081639 -->One of North Dakota's most recognizable small family businesses is closing after nearly two decades of creating handmade products that drew national attention and served as a blueprint for...

Clients of troubled money-market funds get help - Added 1 week ago

Two brokerage firms told their customers Wednesday that they will cover up to $83 million of losses in a fallen money market fund, while clients of a Putnam Investments fund that suddenly closed last week were told...

S&P cuts WaMu ratings further into junk territory - Added 1 week ago

Standard & Poor's Ratings Services downgraded Washington Mutual Inc.'s creditworthiness further into junk territory Wednesday, noting the increased likelihood that any sale of the company would only be done in...

Nike 1Q profit falls on year-ago gain, sales grow - Added 1 week ago

Nike Inc. said Wednesday that its profit fell in the fiscal first quarter from a year earlier, when it benefited from a one-time tax gain. Excluding that item, profit rose in the quarter on sales growth around the...

Stocks end mostly lower amid debate over bailout - Added 1 week ago

Tension grew in the financial markets Wednesday, sending most stocks moderately lower as investors worried about the effectiveness of a still-emerging government plan to rescue banks from crippling debt. The credit...

Pilgrim's Pride trading halted after stock plunges - Added 1 week ago

Trading in shares of Pilgrim's Pride Corp., the nation's largest chicken producer, was halted late Wednesday after the stock fell 38 percent and saw volume at more than six times its normal level. The Pittsburg,...

T-bill demand ramps up on bailout plan uncertainty - Added 1 week ago

Further strain in the credit markets Wednesday sent more investors scrambling for Treasury bills amid growing concerns that the government's bank bailout plan might encounter obstacles in Congress. Federal Reserve...

Lowe's plans smaller stores, backs 2008 outlook - Added 1 week ago

Home improvement chain Lowe's Cos. Inc. told investors Wednesday that it is scaling down the size of most new stores and eyeing even smaller locations in some rural areas as it tries to operate more efficient sites. ...

AIG takes $85B deal from Fed - Added 1 week ago

American International Group Inc. may have agreed to take the U.S. government up on a two-year, $85 billion loan to help stave off bankruptcy, but now the nation's largest insurer faces an FBI investigation. The news...

Auto industry to get $25 billion in federal loans - Added 1 week ago

In the next few years, consumers could see the fruits of $25 billion in government loans for the auto industry through a broader lineup of gas-electric hybrid vehicles, new plug-in electric cars and an expansion of...

Hanesbrands will close 9 plants, cut 8,100 jobs - Added 1 week ago

Apparel maker Hanesbrands Inc. said Wednesday it will close nine plants across five countries and cut about 12 percent of its work force as it restructures its operations in order to cut costs. The moves will eliminate...

Daimler in talks to sell remaining Chrysler stake - Added 1 week ago

Maybe Daimler wants to cut its losses on Chrysler, or Cerberus Capital Management wants to own the U.S. automaker outright. Whatever the motivation, the companies confirmed Wednesday that talks are under way for Daimler...

Goldman raises $5 billion in public stock offer - Added 1 week ago

Goldman Sachs Group Inc., seeking to improve not only its balance sheet but its standing with investors, has undertaken a huge capital-raising program that includes an investment of at least $5 billion from Warren...