Finance news. My opinion.

Stocks are wavering between gains and losses in light trading Friday, with the S&P 500 index edging up following six straight days of losses. Even with modest gains, major indexes remain on track to post their worst week since September.

Worries about Europe’s debt crisis flared up again Friday after Italy had to pay 7.8 percent to borrow for two years at a debt auction. It’s another sign that investors are growing hesitant to lend to European countries.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 16 points, or 0.1 percent, to 11,272 as of 12:10 a.m. Eastern. Travelers Cos. Inc was up 1.4 percent, the most of the Dow’s 30 stocks.

The Dow remains down 4.5 percent for the week, putting the average on track for its worst week since late September.

The S&P 500 index is up 1 point to 1,162. The Nasdaq is down 12 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,448.

The euro slipped to $1.32 and is now down 2 percent this week against the dollar. The drop puts the euro at its lowest level since Oct. 6.

Higher interest rates on government debt backed by Italy, Spain and other European countries have rattled stock markets in recent weeks. When borrowing costs climb above the 7 percent threshold, it deepens fears about a government’s ability to manage its debts. Greece, Ireland and Portugal were forced to seek financial lifelines when their interest rates crossed the same mark no faxing 1 hour payday loans.

Markets have been battered this week as governments in Europe and the U.S. struggle to tackle their debts. The Dow lost 248 points on Monday as a Congressional committee failed to reach a deal to cut federal budget deficits. It plunged 236 points Wednesday after investors balked at buying German government debt.

In midday trading, AT&T’s stock was down less than 1 percent. The company said Thursday that it’s budgeting to pay $4 billion in break-up fees if its attempted $39 billion takeover of T-Mobile USA from Deutsche Telekom falls apart.

Retailers were trading mixed on the Friday after Thanksgiving, the traditional start of the holiday shopping season and usually the busiest day of the year for retailers. Amazon.com Inc. dropped 3.3 percent. Macy’s Inc. inched up less than 1 percent.

A record number of people are expected to show up at stores this weekend to take advantage of deep discounts. The National Retail Federation estimates that 152 million people will go shopping over the three days starting on Friday. That would be an increase of 10 percent from last year.

Trading will end at 1 p.m. Eastern time. U.S. markets were closed on Thursday for the Thanksgiving holiday.

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St. Louis-based Concordia Publishing House on Tuesday won one of four 2011 Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Awards.

The company’s “focus on customers” with the goal that they recommend the business to others was a key factor in the nonprofit being recognized, said Bruce G. Kintz, Concordia’s president and CEO.

The award is the nation’s highest presidential honor for business performance through innovation, improvement and visionary leadership.

Kintz said he implemented a business model used when he was a director at McDonnell Douglas Corp./Boeing Co. after coming to Concordia in 2001. In short, the model puts each customer’s needs first, he said.

Concordia is the only nonprofit business named as a Baldrige Award winner this year. The other recipients announced by U.S. Commerce Secretary John Bryson were Henry Ford Health System of Detroit, Schneck Medical Center of Seymour, Ind., and Southcentral Foundation of Anchorage, Alaska, all health care agencies.

Concordia Publishing House, or CPH, is the publishing arm of The Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod. It has about 250 employees. In 2009, CPH received a Missouri Quality Award from the Excellence in Missouri Foundation.

“With God’s grace, CPH has achieved a level of excellence that few major corporations realize,” Kintz said. “As a Christian organization we are humbled by our achievements, and as a thriving publishing house we are proud to represent both innovation and sustainability in this ever-changing marketplace.”

The 2011 Baldrige Award recipients were selected from a field of 69 applicants. All were evaluated by an independent board of examiners. The evaluation process for each of the recipients included about 1,000 hours of review and an on-site visit by a team of examiners.

Named after Malcolm Baldrige, the 26th secretary of commerce, the Baldrige Awards were established by Congress in 1987 to enhance the competitiveness of U.S. businesses.

The 2011 recipients are expected to get their awards at an April 2012 ceremony in Washington. More information on the awards is available at www.nist.gov/baldrige.

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Asian stock markets headed lower Monday as a change of government in debt-laden Spain and Singapore’s warning of a sharp growth slowdown underlined the challenges facing the world economy.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2 percent to 8,354.65. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was 2.3 percent lower at 18,068.51. South Korea’s Kospi index dropped 1.3 percent to 1,815.48.

Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and mainland China were also lower.

Market jitters were evident a day after Spain voted in a new government _ the third time in as many weeks that Europe’s debt crisis has toppled an administration. Governments in financially troubled Greece and Italy have also fallen.

Spain dumped its ruling Socialist government Sunday for the conservative leadership of Mariano Rajoy, who inherits an economy wracked by debt and an unemployment nightmare _ which at more than 21 percent is the highest among the 17 nations that use the euro.

Rajoy also must lower Spain’s soaring borrowing costs with deficit-reducing measures while preventing an already moribund economy from heading into a double-dip recession.

Adding to pessimism, Singapore on Monday warned that its economy will likely suffer a sharp slowdown next year as export demand from developed countries wanes. Because of its high reliance on trade, Singapore is often a bellwether for the rest of Asia.

Japan, meanwhile, said its exports fell for the first time in three months in October, eroded by a strong yen and a sputtering global economy.

Gains were muted on Wall Street on Friday. While the Conference Board’s index of leading economic indicators rose more than Wall Street analysts were expecting _ a sign that the economy may pick up in the coming months _ many investors were cautious as a key Congressional committee remained deadlocked on ways to cut the U.S. budget deficit.

A bipartisan panel must agree on making at least $1.2 trillion in deficit cuts by Wednesday. If the committee fails and Congress takes no other action, automatic spending cuts will take effect beginning in 2013. Economists worry that a deadlocked Congress will erode business confidence and slow the already fragile U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.2 percent to close at 11,796.16. The Standard and Poor’s 500 lost less than 0.1 percent to 1,215.65. The Nasdaq composite slid 0.6 percent to 2,572.50.

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ATHENS

ArcelorMittal, the world’s biggest steel maker, posted Thursday a 50 percent drop in third-quarter net profit compared to the same period a year earlier. The company blamed weakening economic conditions and increasing uncertainty in the market and said the outlook for the rest of the year was difficult.

However, Lakshmi N. Mittal, Chairman and CEO, said ArcelorMittal’s core profitability remained resilient.

Net profit dropped to $700 million in the third quarter, down from $1.4 billion a year earlier. But sales increased 22.6 percent to $24.2 billion from $19.7 billion.

“Despite weakening economic conditions, ArcelorMittal has reported EBITDA within the forecasted range,” Mittal said in a statement. “Uncertainties around the economic outlook have increased in recent weeks, impacting the confidence levels of our customers, so as we move in to the 4Q we are facing both volume and price pressures. However, our core profitability is resilient, supported by our growing mining business, our market leading value-added steel franchise and our management gains programs. As a result I remain confident that the Group’s EBITDA in the second half of 2011 will be above that of the second half of 2010.”

Net income for the quarter was $659 million, down significantly from $1.5 billion in the three months ending in June, as well as from the $1.3 billion reported for the third quarter of 2010.

In a conference call with reporters, Aditya Mittal, the company’s chief financial officer, said capacity utilization was about 71 percent in the third quarter, and he expected that to fall slightly in the fourth quarter.

In October, the Luxembourg-based company shut two blast furnaces at its site in Liege, Belgium. It was ArcelorMittal’s first significant closure since it was formed in 2006 as a result of the merger between Mittal Steel and Arcelor to create the world’s largest steel business.

However, Aditya Mittal said Thursday, “As of today, I do not believe any more capacity shutdowns are planned.”

Although Europe’s economic recovery will be “more muted” than originally anticipated, he said that in the long term there was potential for grown in demand in Eastern Europe, where there is currently low steel consumption per capita.

In October, ArcelorMittal pulled out of a planned deal to jointly control the Australian company Macarthur Coal Ltd. with U.S.-based Peabody Energy Corp. The total cost of the deal was reported to be in excess of $5 billion (euro3.62 billion).

Aditya Mittal said in the end it would have been too much money to spend for a company it would not have fully controlled. He said the money would be used instead to pay down ArcelorMittal’s debts.

He also defended the 2006 merger between Mittal Steel and Arcelor.

“I think through the merger we have created a much stronger company that is much more able to withstand the crisis better than either company alone,” he said.

In 2009, ArcelorMittal was responsible for about 6 percent of global steel output.

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Asian stock markets were mostly lower Monday as investors shifted their focus from Europe’s debt woes to the strength of the U.S. economy. Japan sold the yen to limit its export-sapping strength.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slipped 1.1 percent to 19,791.74 and South Korea’s Kospi fell 1 percent to 1,910.94. Benchmarks in Australia, mainland China, Singapore and Taiwan also posted losses.

The Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo swung between positive and negative territory after Japan intervened to weaken its currency, which had earlier hit a new post World War II high against the greenback. The Nikkei was 0.2 percent lower at 9,021.08 in afternoon trading.

The strong yen has dented earnings of Japanese corporations such as Nintendo Co. and Toyota Motor Corp. and hurt the economy’s recovery from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami. Finance Minister Jun Azumi said monetary authorities could continue intervening.

The dollar surged about 5 percent to above 79 yen, and Japan’s export sector _ whose fortunes are largely tied to the relative strength of the yen _ rose abruptly.

Isuzu Motors Corp. jumped 4.3 percent. Canon Inc. rose 1.7 percent and Nikon Corp. added 2.3 percent. Nintendo Co. gained 3.6 percent.

In Sydney, shares of Australian flag carrier Qantas Airways Ltd. jumped 4.3 percent after a court ordered employees of the world’s 10th-largest airlines back to work. The airline had grounded its entire fleet on Saturday following weeks of strikes by its workers, but an arbitration court on Sunday ordered an end to the strikes and canceled the staff lockout.

Last week, investors were cheered by the debt crisis deal reached by European leaders. European banks were asked to take a 50 percent loss on their holdings of Greek government bonds. They will also set aside more money to cushion against future losses. Leaders also pledged to expand the European Union’s bailout fund.

But economists caution that many details in the plan still have to be worked out, including the difficult task of deciding who will pay for it.

“With more questions than answers markets will be hungry for further details over coming weeks and until then it is difficult to see risk appetite stretching too far,” analysts at Credit Agricole CIB wrote in a research note.

This week, investors will likely turn their attention to the U.S.

A key jobs report for October, a Federal Reserve policy meeting and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s quarterly news conference are all due.

“This month is going to be another watershed insight into whether we are looking at a low growth environment or something worse,” said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. “To maintain the low growth environment view, the market is going to want to see positive employment growth.”

A report Thursday showed that the U.S. economy expanded at a solid 2.5 percent annual rate in the July-September quarter. That helped ease concerns that another recession might be nearing.

But while the economy is growing, it may not be enough to generate many jobs. The U.S. unemployment rate has been stuck at 9.1 percent for three months. Analysts expect roughly 100,000 jobs to be added in October. Anything less could raise concerns that the economy may slow.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.4034 from $1.4170 on Friday in New York. The dollar sprinted to 79.18 yen from 75.76 yen.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was down 96 cents at $92.36 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 64 cents to settle at $93.32 in New York on Friday.

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President Barack Obama is wrapping up a three-day tour through crucial political states, searching for votes and money and unveiling executive steps to prime the economy even as his jobs bill struggles in Congress.

Obama held six fundraisers, including star-studded events in Los Angeles. He gathered backers in Denver and Las Vegas, urging them to find energy for the 2012 campaign. And he coined a new slogan _ “We can’t wait” _ to draw distinctions with congressional Republicans who oppose his $447 billion economic plan.

On Wednesday, at the University of Colorado’s Denver campus, he will highlight a new initiative to make it easier for graduates to repay their student loans. He earlier announced a mortgage refinancing program and on Tuesday the White House announced new steps to help veterans.

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Hundreds of protesters, emboldened by the growing national Occupy Wall Street movement, streamed through midtown Manhattan on Tuesday in what they called a “Millionaires March.”

They marched two by two up the sidewalk, planning to pass the homes of some of New York City’s wealthiest residents. An organizer said they didn’t have a permit and wanted to avoid blocking pedestrian traffic.

“No Billionaire Left Behind,” said a placard hoisted by Arlene Geiger, who teaches economics at Manhattan’s John Jay College of Criminal Justice.

Protesters expressed concern about how much less the wealthy will pay _ and who would be negatively affected _ when New York’s 2 percent “millionaires’ tax” expires in December.

In the closest they’ve come to naming names, the protesters planned to visit the homes of News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch, JP Morgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon and oil tycoon David Koch, among others.

Protesters have been camped out for weeks in lower Manhattan’s Zuccotti Park, near Wall Street, saying they’re fighting for the “99 percent,” or the vast majority of Americans who do not fall into the wealthiest 1 percent of the population.

Their causes range from bringing down Wall Street to fighting global warming. The movement gained traction through social media, and protests have taken place in several other cities nationwide.

In Boston, hundreds of college students marched through downtown Boston on Monday and gathered on Boston Common, holding signs that read “Fund education, not corporations.”

The protesters are angry with an education system they say mimics “irresponsible, unaccountable, and unethical financial practices” of Wall Street.

About 50 protesters in Boston were arrested overnight after they ignored warnings to move from a downtown greenway near where they have been camped out for more than a week, police said.

Several hundred protesters were arrested in New York more than a week ago after police said they ignored warnings to stay in place. There was no word on any arrests in Tuesday’s protest in New York.

The protest comes as New York Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released a report showing that Wall Street is again losing jobs because of global economic woes, threatening tax revenue for a city and state heavily reliant on the financial industry.

“Excessive risk-taking on Wall Street was a major factor leading to the financial crisis and the recession,” DiNapoli said. “Regulatory changes that reduce risk and focus attention on long-term profitability rather than short-term gains will enhance stability.”

Christopher Guerra, a 27-year-old artist and Occupy Wall Street protester from Newark, N.J., said he thought the job losses weren’t necessarily bad.

“That means more people on our side,” said Guerra, who calls himself an Eisenhower Republican but says he’s opposed to today’s corporate behavior. “The companies are destroying this country by helping themselves, not the people, and pushing jobs out of America.

“If they get shafted, they will realize that what we are saying is true.”

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President Barack Obama is pushing in his weekly radio and Internet address for Senate passage of his nearly $450 billion jobs bill as senators prepare to vote Tuesday on moving to debate on the measure.

Obama also asked listeners to Saturday’s address to tell their senators to support the bill, which he’s been lobbying for aggressively against Republican opposition since unveiling it a month ago.

With the economy listless and unemployment stuck above 9 percent moving into the 2012 presidential campaign, Obama said the bill “can help guard against another downturn here in America.”

“But if we don’t act, the opposite will be true,” the president said. “There will be fewer jobs and weaker growth. So any senator out there who’s thinking about voting against this jobs bill needs to explain why they would oppose something that we know would improve our economic situation.”

Obama’s jobs plan would reduce payroll taxes on workers and employers, extend benefits to long-term unemployed people, spend money on public works projects and help states and local governments keep teachers, police officers and firefighters on the job.

He proposed paying for the plan mainly by closing tax loopholes for oil and gas companies and raising taxes on individuals making more than $200,000 a year and couples making more than $250,000. Those proposals were rejected by Senate Democrats who substituted a tax on millionaires, with Obama’s agreement.

But with Republicans opposed to much of the new spending in the bill and to tax hikes even on millionaires, the legislation stands no chance of getting through the Republican-controlled House in its current form, even if Senate Democrats were able to muster the necessary Republican support for Senate passage.

Despite the opposition Obama intends to keep pushing for the plan in an effort to show the public that Republicans are standing in the way.

“The proposals in this bill are steps we have to take if we want to build an economy that lasts; if we want to be able to compete with other countries for jobs that restore a sense of security for the middle-class,” Obama said.

“There are too many people hurting in this country for us to simply do nothing,” he said. “The economy is too fragile for us to let politics get in the way of action.” Despite opposition to the overall bill, individual elements of it may well get through Congress, particularly an extension and expansion of a payroll tax cut that took effect Jan. 1.

Republicans used their weekly address to criticize the plan.

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., called it “nothing but a rehash of the same failed ideas he’s already tried, combined with a huge tax increase.”

“This is a cynical political ploy that’s designed not to create jobs for struggling Americans, but to save the president’s own job,” Thune said.

He also accused Obama of promulgating excessive regulations and too much red tape, to the detriment of business.

“We’re calling for a regulatory time-out, an affordable energy plan, broad-based tax reform including lower rates, and policies that provide the certainty and stability our economy desperately needs,” Thune said.

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Online:

Obama address: www.whitehouse.gov

GOP address: http://www.youtube.com/gopweeklyaddress

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The end of Blockbuster in Canada doesn’t mean the DVD is going the way of the VHS tape.

Thank a lowly vending machine for this lease on life.

Although web-streaming services such as Netflix and Apple’s iTunes have been getting a lot of buzz in recent months, many industry players are still putting their money on traditional DVD and the Blu-ray discs.

On Wednesday morning, coinciding with the start of this year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Ottawa-based movie-rental firm Zip.ca is setting up a trio of DVD rental kiosks in Yonge-Dundas Square.

Featuring the top new releases and what the company calls the Top 200 movies of all time, the 1,020 DVDs inside a red Zip.ca machine can’t offer the breadth of selection of a full-sized Rogers Video or former Blockbuster outlet.

But at $1 (plus HST) per 24-hour period – $2 for new releases and Blu-Ray discs – the cost is anywhere from a quarter to a tenth of a video-store or online rental. Customers are allowed to keep their disc for a maximum of 25 days, with a fresh charge added daily to their credit card. If the rental remains unreturned after this period, Zip.ca adds a penalty charge of $50, plus tax.

A customer can rent a maximum of three movies on a single visit.

Zip.ca currently has 44 working kiosks in Ontario, located inside Metro supermarkets. This is in addition to a movies-by-mail service that has been around for several years.

“We hope to be in 100 Metros by the end of the month, and I want us to be in all 800 of the stores before this time next year,” says Zip.ca chair, Rob Hall, who will be handing out promotional coupons for free rentals in Yonge-Dundas Square.

This is the leading ripple in what could turn into a wave of movie kiosks coming to grocery and convenience stores and grabbing a larger slice of Canada’s $300 million annual video-rental market. Industry researcher Nielsen does not currently publish separate revenue totals for online versus traditional DVD rentals low fee payday loans.

“We’ve seen a real surge in calls from investors Canada in the last 40 days,” says Shamira Jaffer, president and CEO of Signifi Solutions, a Toronto-based manufacturer of video-kiosk technology.

The timing coincides with the demise of Blockbuster on this side of the border. It also acknowledges the success of DVD kiosks in the United States.

Redbox, the leading American brand, is reported to be eyeing expansion into Canada in the coming months.

“This is becoming the norm,” says Jaffer. “I don’t know why it’s taken so long to get into Canada.”

She points out that a $1 rental is particularly alluring against web streaming, when one adds up downloading time, rental cost as well as data usage through a customer’s Internet provider.

Pete Popcke was a pioneer in the American DVD kiosk business, starting with a company called DVDPlay, which still operates a network of machines at Safeway stores in the greater Vancouver area.

Now he is chief operating officer of Xona Media, a California firm that has developed a DVD kiosk that offers a traditional disc or the option of downloading a movie onto a memory stick or SD memory card.

“The tail on this opportunity will be really long,” says Popcke. “You hear digital, digital, digital, but we forget that folks in Ohio are still getting their movies on disc.”

By offering a choice of media through its kiosks, Popcke is hedging his bets on the big studios eventually releasing their movies digitally. “We don’t know when it’s going to happen, but we know it is going to happen,” he says.

Even so, Popcke agrees with Jaffer and Hall that the traditional DVD will continue to be commercially viable for five to 10 more years – long enough to make their vending-machines attractive to investors as well as consumers.

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