Stephen Stanley, chief economist at Pierpont Securities LLC, has derided the Federal Reserve for downplaying improvement in the U.S. economy. Yet his 2.6 percent forecast for growth this year is below the midpoint in the central bank
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Treasuries pared losses as German and French finance ministers meet before a summit of regional leaders to discuss ways to contain the European debt crisis, stoking demand for government debt.
U.S. 10-year yields rose earlier on speculation record-low yields may limit demand as the government auctions $99 billion of coupon-bearing debt this week starting tomorrow. The U.S. will start this week
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U.S. stocks ended mixed Thursday afternoon as investors welcomed a slight dip in jobless claims but remained cautious amid ongoing uncertainty in Greece and the rest of Europe.
"The situation in Europe remains fluid, and we’re not likely to get much clarity for awhile, so today is one of those days when a lack of really bad news is good news," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial Group.
The Dow Jones industrial average () rose 20 points, or 0.2%, snapping a six-day losing streak, and the S&P 500 () added 3 points, or 0.3%. The tech-heavy Nasdaq () lost 1 point.
Cisco (, Fortune 500) was the biggest laggard on all three indexes, with shares tumbling more than 10%. Late Wednesday, the networking giant released a disappointing sales outlook for the current quarter.
Europe remains in the spotlight Thursday as Greek politicians continue to struggle to form a coalition government and Spanish bond yields keep rising.
After the Greek radical left party failed to gain consensus, Socialist leader Evangelos Venizelos was given the mandate to form a coalition government by the Greek president on Thursday.
Greece will muddle through
Meanwhile, the Bank of Spain moved to take over Bankia — one of Spain’s largest and most troubled banks — late Wednesday.
U.S. stocks bounced back somewhat from a sharp sell-off Wednesday, but all three major indexes closed in the red as investors continued to fret about Greece and Spain.
World markets: European stocks closed with slim gains. Britain’s FTSE 100 () ticked up 0.3%, DAX () in Germany gained 0.7%, while France’s CAC 40 () rose 0.4%.
The Bank of England held its key interest rate steady and did not increase its asset-buying program at the conclusion of its two-day meeting Thursday, despite a recent report that showed the U.K. has fallen into a new recession.
Asian markets ended mixed. The Shanghai Composite () closed 0.1% higher, while the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong slid 0.5% and Japan’s Nikkei () edged lower 0.4%.
China reported import and export growth that was slower than expected, according to forecasts from economists at HSBC. The report could stir new concerns from investors around the globe about a so-called hard landing for China’s economy, but HSBC said it is also likely to prompt further monetary policy easing by the People’s Bank of China.
Economy: The number of people filing for first-time unemployment benefits in the U.S. fell 1,000 to 367,000 in the latest week. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had expected the report to show 365,000 claims.
The U.S. trade deficit widened to $51.8 billion in March from $45.5 billion in February, according to the Commerce Department. The deficit was narrower than the $53 billion economists had expected.
The Treasury Department on Thursday recorded a $59 billion surplus for the month of May, marking the first time in more than three years that Washington took in more money than it paid out. Tax receipts were higher and spending lower than they were last April.
Companies: Beauty products company Avon (, Fortune 500) said that perfume-maker Coty raised its unsolicited bid for the company to $24.75 a share from its earlier offer of $23.25. Avon’s board said it will consider the offer. Shares of Avon declined.
Avon: Coty’s back with a higher bid
Department store chain Kohl’s (, Fortune 500) reported earnings per share of 63 cents, down from 69 cents a year earlier but still better than the forecast of 61 cents from analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters. But the company gave earnings guidance for the current quarter that was below current forecasts, sending shares lower.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and the British pound, but gained against the Japanese yen.
Oil for June delivery gained 27 cents to settle at $97.08 a barrel.
Gold futures for June delivery rose $1.30 to settle at $1,595.50 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 1.88% from 1.84% late Wednesday.
Kellwood Co. has appointed Jill Granoff, former head of Kenneth Cole Productions, Inc., to be its new chief executive officer.
The Town and Country-based apparel company has diverse portfolio of brands including Vince, Rebecca Taylor, David Meister, Lamb & Flag, Baby Phat, and Sag Harbor.
Granoff replaces Michael Kramer, who left to become chief operating officer of J.C. Penney.
She was also formerly an executive vice president of Liz Claiborne Inc. where she was in charge of the worldwide business of Juicy Couture, Lucky Brand Jeans, and Kate Spade payday loans. She has also held executive positions with Victoria’s Secret Beauty and Estee Lauder Inc.
“I am excited about the opportunity to partner with Kellwood and Sun Capital to optimize the brand portfolio and enhance overall business performance,” she said in a statement. “We have a great platform to accelerate growth and profitability.”
Employers in the U.S. announced more job cuts in April than a year earlier, led by education and government agencies.
Planned firings rose 11 percent to 40,559 from April 2011, according to figures released today by Chicago-based Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. The monthly average of 45,913 cuts through the first four months of this year is lower than the full-year average of 50,507 for 2011.
Employers in education, government, and the consumer goods and transportation industries are easing the pace of dismissals even as they continue to trim headcount, the report said. Job creation in the world
The largest U.S. banks, including JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS), told the Federal Reserve that a limit on their credit exposure is unnecessary and
Home prices in 20 U.S. cities dropped at a slower pace in the year ended February, pointing to stabilization in the real-estate market.
The S&P/Case-Shiller index of property values fell 3.5 percent from a year earlier, the smallest 12-month drop since February 2011, a report from the group showed today in New York. The median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected a 3.4 percent fall. The index climbed from the prior month on a seasonally adjusted basis for the first time since April of last year.
Steadying home values are needed to lay the groundwork for a sustained rebound in the housing industry by giving prospective buyers confidence. Near record-low borrowing costs and more hiring may help the market absorb the foreclosures still in the pipeline, which may mean housing will no longer hinder economic growth.
A German court has ruled that online video platform YouTube must install filters to prevent users from uploading some music videos whose rights are held by a music-royalties collecting body.
German news agency dapd reported that the Hamburg state court on Friday mostly sided with Germany’s GEMA, which represents about 60,000 German writers and musicians.
GEMA took Google Inc.’s YouTube unit to court over 12 temporarily uploaded music videos for which no royalties were paid.
YouTube has maintained that it bears no legal responsibility for the uploaded content _ saying it checks and sometimes blocks content when users alert the firm about alleged violations of laws.
It was not immediately clear whether the ruling will be appealed.
THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below Payday advance.
BERLIN (AP) _ A German court is set to rule on whether the online video platform YouTube is responsible for the content of videos uploaded by its users.
GEMA, a German music royalties collecting body, took Google Inc.’s YouTube unit to the Hamburg state court over 12 uploaded music videos for which no royalties were paid.
YouTube maintains that it bears no legal responsibility for the uploaded content _ saying that it checks and sometimes blocks content when users alert the firm about alleged violations of laws.
A ruling Friday in favor of GEMA could be a major blow for YouTube because experts say that millions of videos on its platform could be affected.
Singapore’s central bank tightened its monetary policy Friday by allowing for a stronger currency to combat the island’s stubbornly high inflation rate.
A jump in global oil prices since October has quickened inflation to near 5 percent in Singapore, which imports all of its fuel. A stronger Singapore dollar would lower the prices of imports while possibly making the country’s exports less competitive.
Unlike most central banks, The Monetary Authority of Singapore uses currency, rather than a benchmark lending rate, to help control money supply. The bank’s statement Friday indicated it would allow the Singapore dollar to rise at a faster rate.
The shift in policy will likely speed the rate of appreciation by one percentage point to between 2 percent and 3 percent a year, said Robert Prior-Wandesforde, director of Asian economics at Credit Suisse in Singapore.
Besides Singapore and Indonesia, policymakers in Asia will likely hold steady or ease monetary policy amid concern about slowing economic growth, Prior-Wandesforde said.
“We doubt Singapore’s monetary tightening move will be replicated in Asia this year,” he said. “The crucial difference is the fact that Singapore inflation is comparatively high.”
The central bank also raised its inflation forecast for this year by one percentage point to between 3.5 percent and 4.5 percent.
“Inflation has come in stronger than expected since October and will remain elevated over the next few months,” the central bank said in its biannual monetary policy statement. “External inflationary pressures are likely to be sustained, largely due to higher oil prices.”
The central bank sets a trading range for the Singapore dollar though doesn’t publicly disclose the details. It intervenes to keep the currency inside the trading band.
The government also released first quarter preliminary growth figures Friday based on data mostly from January and February. The city-state’s economic growth slowed to 1.6 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier, the trade and industry ministry said. The government is forecasting growth of 1 percent to 3 percent this year, down from 4.9 percent last year.
However, compared with the fourth quarter, the economy expanded a seasonally adjusted, annualized 9.9 percent and avoided a recession after falling 2.5 percent in the October to December period. Manufacturing, led by pharmaceuticals and electronics, rebounded strongly in the first quarter from a contraction in the fourth, buoyed by better than expected global demand.
Construction and services also improved compared with the fourth quarter.
“Today’s message is clear: Singapore is reaccelerating,” DBS bank said in a report.
Japan must avoid delaying an overhaul of the tax system to prevent government borrowing costs from spiraling in the next decade, the new chief of the country
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