News For Saturday Jul 26, 2008 News For Saturday Jul 26, 2008

Business Business

Impact on wildlife limited in Miss. River spill - Added 27 minutes ago

A large fuel spill that has shut down 100 miles of the Mississippi River for four days has had a limited impact on wildlife so far, but officials are worried about fragile wetlands downstream. Almost 800 cleanup...

No angry lines of customers after bank takeover - Added 1 hour ago

Customers of two banks closed by federal regulators were assured that every penny of their money was protected, preventing lines of angry accountholders from forming Saturday. The calm response was a stark contrast to...

Correction: Bank Takeover story - Added 5 hours ago

In a July 25 story about the FDIC taking over two Western banks, The Associated Press erroneously reported the name of one of the banks. It is First Heritage Bank N.A., not First Heritage Bank. ...

California bans restaurants from using trans fats - Added 14 hours ago

California on Friday became the first state to ban trans fats from restaurant food, following several cities and major fast-food chains in erasing the notorious artery-clogger from menus. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger...

FDIC takes over 2 more banks, closing 28 branches - Added 15 hours ago

The 28 branches of 1st National Bank of Nevada and First Heritage Bank, operating in Nevada, Arizona and California, were closed Friday by federal regulators. The banks, owned by Scottsdale, Ariz.-based First National...

Nike to drop Hyperdunk ads some see as homophobic - Added 16 hours ago

Nike said Friday it would pull its ads for its Hyperdunk basketball shoes, responding to criticism that they fed homophobic views. Nike previously defended the ads, but said it would withdraw them as quickly as...

Beers with more alcohol, flavor gain market share - Added 16 hours ago

Tucked in a corner at the Deschutes Brewery, barrels that once aged fine wines and whiskeys are nurturing beverages that are challenging drinkers to think of beer more like wine. High-alcohol brews like Black Butte XX...

Oil's 2-week nosedive shows up at the pump - Added 20 hours ago

Whether or not any bubble has burst, Americans now live in an economy where the prospect of a gallon of gas for less than $4 is cause for relief. That barrier may be broken as early as this weekend, as a two-week...

Banks rally as CEOs hold off on issuing shares - Added 20 hours ago

With many banks still reporting massive writedowns and even quarterly losses from bad mortgage investments, it certainly seems like an odd time for financial stocks to rally. But, amid the many gyrations in the...

First ships crawl up Mississippi after spill - Added 1 day ago

Ships began crawling up the Mississippi River at New Orleans in a tightly controlled procession Friday, two days after a massive oil spill shut down a stretch of one of the nation's most critical commercial arteries. ...

Mistrial sought in lawsuit over Bratz dolls - Added 1 day ago

A lawyer for the maker of Bratz dolls sought a mistrial Friday in a copyright infringement case brought by Mattel Inc. after a juror was dismissed for allegedly making racial slurs. The federal judge in the closely...

For the economy, finally some news not half bad - Added 1 day ago

After weeks of one negative report after another, the economy finally got some news Friday that wasn't half bad. Wall Street, which suffered a stomach-churning drop Thursday, managed a modest gain. Oil prices hit their...

GE reorganizes to spur growth, efficiency - Added 1 day ago

General Electric Co. has announced a reorganization, saying the move will simplify the conglomerate and spur growth and efficiency. Chief Executive Officer Jeff Immelt says that GE, which owns businesses ranging from...

Chrysler to get out of leasing business - Added 1 day ago

Chrysler LLC said Friday its financial arm will get out of the auto leasing business by the end of the month because economic conditions have made leasing more expensive than buying, for both consumers and the company. ...

Stocks end higher following economic readings - Added 1 day ago

Wall Street ended a volatile week with uneven gains Friday after better-than-expected economic data placated a market pummeled a day earlier by concerns about housing and the financial sector. Financials drifted lower...

Treasury prices sink after upbeat economic data - Added 1 day ago

Treasury prices retreated Friday after several upbeat reports indicated the economy might be doing better than expected, leading investors to shift money out of fixed-income investments and into stocks. The Commerce...

Summary Box: Indicators stronger than expected - Added 1 day ago

THE LATEST: A jump in military spending helped boost new orders for big-ticket durable goods by a surprisingly strong 0.8 percent in June while new home sales dropped by a smaller-than-expected 0.6 percent. Consumer...

Precious metals rally as US dollar weakens vs euro - Added 1 day ago

Precious metals rose Friday as a fresh drop in the dollar and speculation that crude oil's plunge may soon end fed safe-haven buying of gold, silver and copper. Other commodities traded mixed. Crude, despite questions...

Destination retailers feel gas price pinch - Added 1 day ago

Consumer spending is down and gas prices are up. That's bad math for the scores of destination retailers across the country that want customers to fill up the tank for a gas-guzzling day of retail therapy. So to cajole...

Activist shareholder nominees to join CSX board - Added 1 day ago

Railroad giant CSX said it has asked two nominees of activist hedge fund shareholders TCI and 3G Capital to join its board, but said it will await a vote review and court action before seating its two remaining members....

Agriculture futures trade mostly higher on CBOT - Added 1 day ago

Agriculture futures traded mostly higher Friday on the Chicago Board of Trade. Wheat for September delivery added 23.25 cents to $8.11 a bushel; December corn gained 4 cents to $5.965 a bushel; December oats fell 6...

Netflix 2Q profit up 4 pct, beats analyst views - Added 1 day ago

Netflix Inc.'s second-quarter profit crept up 4 percent, beating analyst expectations as the online DVD rental leader signed up 168,000 new customers while spending less money to attract them to the service. The Los...

Big coal fires up profits; Arch 2Q earnings triple - Added 1 day ago

Arch Coal Inc. said Friday its second-quarter profit tripled on soaring global prices and the company boosted its outlook after beating Wall Street expectations easily. The performance, on the heels of similar big...

Huntsman, ITT, Abercrombie are big movers - Added 1 day ago

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Friday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Huntsman Corp., up 75 cents at $14.02 The chemicals maker said it was approached by investors...

Renters go downtown to save on gas, commuting - Added 1 day ago

Sick of filling up the tank for sixty bucks? Considering a place near work downtown and tossing the car keys? Prepare to pay higher rents as more like-minded apartment dwellers flock to urban digs. Nationwide, rents...

OSHA fines Imperial Sugar $8.7M in deadly blast - Added 1 day ago

Federal officials said Friday that Imperial Sugar Co. should face fines of more than $8.7 million for violations at two plants, including a Georgia facility where an explosion killed 13 people. The fines would be the...

US foreclosure filings more than double in 2Q - Added 1 day ago

The number of households facing the foreclosure process more than doubled in the second quarter compared to a year ago, according to data released Friday. Nationwide, 739,714 homes received at least one...

China says Web users top US at 253 mln - Added 1 day ago

China's booming Internet population has surpassed the United States to become the world's biggest, with 253 million people online despite government controls on Web use, according to government data reported Friday. ...

Correction: Newspapers earnings roundup - Added 1 day ago

In a July 24 story rounding up earnings reported by three U.S. newspaper companies and the industry's general outlook, The Associated Press misspelled the name of a fourth news media company. Gannett Co. is the correct...

Dollar mixed, gold falls in Europe - Added 1 day ago

The U.S. dollar was mixed against other currencies in European trading Friday. Gold fell. The euro traded at $1.5697, up from $1.5681 late Thursday in New York. Later, in midday trading in New York, the euro fetched...

ALL BUSINESS: InfoGroup lets CEO keep title - Added 1 day ago

A CEO packs his board with cronies, uses corporate dollars toward things like a yacht and allows his company to do business with others he owns. His punishment: Keeping his job. This isn't a flashback to the start of...

N.M. researchers hope to cultivate 'calming herb' - Added 1 day ago

The plant has been described by local residents as magical, its qualities almost mythical. The native herb yerba mansa, translated from Spanish as the "calming herb," has been used for centuries throughout the...

New markets spur Honda to record quarter - Added 1 day ago

Honda Motor Co. reported record profit for a fiscal first quarter Friday as sales growth in new markets offset the damage from a stronger yen and soaring material costs. The results came a day after U.S. automaker Ford...

AP Executive Morning Briefing - Added 1 day ago

The top business news from The Associated Press for the morning of Friday, July 25, 2008: New market demand spurs Honda to record quarter TOKYO (AP) _ Honda Motor Co. reported record profit for a fiscal first quarter...

Japan stocks drop on overnight US losses - Added 1 day ago

Japanese stocks fell sharply Friday as Wall Street's overnight plunge renewed lingering concerns about the U.S. economy. The benchmark Nikkei 225 index lost 268.55 points, or 1.97 percent, dashing its three-day gaining...

Samsung's second-quarter net profit surges - Added 1 day ago

South Korea's Samsung Electronics said Friday that second-quarter net profit grew 51 percent compared with the same quarter last year led by its liquid crystal display and mobile phone businesses. "We posted very...

Exxon and BHP announce big Australia gas project - Added 1 day ago

A subsidiary of ExxonMobil Corp. and BHP Billiton Ltd on Friday announced a $1.25 billion project to tap oil and gas reserves in Bass Strait off southern Australia. The joint venture will build an offshore platform off...

Japanese Internet mogul found guilty in appeal - Added 1 day ago

A Japanese appeals court upheld the conviction of flamboyant former Internet mogul Takafumi Horie on Friday in an ongoing case that has come to symbolize this nation's effort to deal with white collar crime at emerging...

Dow Chemical reports decline in 2Q profit - Added 2 days ago

Dow Chemical Co. said Thursday that despite record sales and two double-digit price increases unveiled in the second quarter, its profit for the period fell 27 percent, in large part because of sharply higher costs for...

Bleeding cash, Ford looks to Europe for help - Added 2 days ago

Bleeding cash and with its very survival uncertain, Ford Motor Co., an icon of American automaking, will try to import some of its success from across the Atlantic. Ford reported its worst-ever quarterly loss Thursday...

Qualcomm earns outlook falls short of expectations - Added 2 days ago

Qualcomm, the world's largest maker of chips that run cell phones, issued fourth-quarter and full-year earnings guidance Thursday that fell short of Wall Street targets, but the stock soared on a broad-ranging legal...

National City posts $1.8B loss for 2nd quarter - Added 2 days ago

Regional bank National City Corp. on Thursday reported a $1.76 billion loss for the second quarter, as mortgage loans soured and it took a big charge related to previous acquisitions. Over the past year, mortgages have...

Xerox 2Q profit declines 19 pct, but meets views - Added 2 days ago

Xerox Corp.'s second-quarter profit skidded 19 percent, but matched Wall Street's forecast, as the office-equipment maker was hurt by restructuring charges while its cash-cow supplies and services business hummed along...

Newmont Mining swings to 2Q profit - Added 2 days ago

Newmont Mining Corp., one of the world's largest gold producers, said Thursday it turned a profit in the second quarter as it sold more gold at higher prices. The results were essentially in line with expectations and...

Stocks tumble after sales of existing homes fall - Added 2 days ago

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...

Ford, Daimler, Hyundai profits fall; Renault up - Added 2 days ago

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...

Ford, Qualcomm, Amazon, Southwest are big movers - Added 2 days ago

Stocks that moved substantially or traded heavily Thursday on the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq Stock Market: NYSE Ford Motor Co., down 92 cents at $5.11 The struggling automaker posted its worst quarterly...

Oil gains ground but natural gas continues slide - Added 2 days ago

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. ...

Treasurys rally after housing report, stock tumble - Added 2 days ago

Treasury prices rose Thursday after the National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes fell in June to the lowest level in a decade and stocks snapped a two-day rally. The group said...

Kimberly-Clark 2Q profit falls 10 percent - Added 2 days ago

Sharply rising gas and raw materials costs led to a 10 percent drop in second-quarter profit at Kleenex maker Kimberly-Clark Corp., which said Thursday it may raise prices again in the U.S. and other markets. Chief...