Business Highlights
NEW YORK (AP) — ___
Stocks close lower; Dow near post-crisis peak
The Dow Jones industrial average fell Thursday after mixed economic data tempered traders’ early optimism.
Solid news on factory orders and strong earnings from U.S. manufacturers highlighted one of the economy’s bright spots before the market opened. But weaker reports on home sales and future economic growth released in late morning turned the Dow negative.
The Dow and other indexes are still up sharply for the year, and the Dow is near its highest level since May 2008. Traders appear less afraid of spillover damage from the European debt crisis, and data on jobs and manufacturing have been consistently strong.
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More seek unemployment aid, bigger trend is positive
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week to a seasonally adjusted 377,000, up from a nearly four-year low the previous week. But the longer-term trend is pointing to a healthier job market.
Applications have trended down over the past few months, and the four-week average is 377,500. When applications fall consistently below 375,000, it tends to signal that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate.
Some economists say the figures suggest further job gains ahead.
The nation has added at least 100,000 jobs for six straight months.
The unemployment rate has declined to 8.5 percent, its lowest level in almost three years.
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Durable goods orders rise as business ups spending
WASHINGTON (AP) — A rebound in business spending on machinery and equipment lifted orders for long-lasting manufactured goods in December, offering more evidence that the economy is gaining momentum at the start of the year.
Orders for durable goods — products that are expected to last at least three years — rose 3 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Thursday. And so-called core capital goods, which are viewed as a good measure of business investment plans, hit an all-time high.
Economists noted that a surge in volatile demand for commercial aircraft also boosted orders. And businesses likely stepped up spending to take advantage of a tax break on equipment, which expired at the end of December.
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Taco Bell enters crowded breakfast arena
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Yo quiero Taco Bell breakfast burrito!
The Mexican-style fast-food chain that’s best remembered for a 1990s ad in which a Chihuahua proclaimed “I want Taco Bell” in Spanish, introduced a breakfast menu Thursday at nearly 800 restaurants in 14 states.
If the launch goes well, Taco Bell plans to sell breakfast burritos and hash browns along with its tacos and gorditas at all of its 5,600 locations nationwide by 2014.
Taco Bell, operated by Yum Brands Inc., is entering the mad scramble by fast-food heavyweights to compete for the morning on-the-go crowd. Breakfast has become the most important meal of the day for chain restaurants, accounting for virtually all of the industry’s growth in the past five years.
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Vegas casinos relying more on baccarat
LAS VEGAS (AP) — In the days before the Chinese New Year celebration began this week, six high rollers sat down at the private baccarat tables one day at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and began throwing down wagers of $100,000 to $200,000 a hand. It was a scene hardly out of place these days in Sin City.
Big-time gamblers, primarily from Asia, are flocking to Las Vegas to play baccarat and providing a big lift to the overall bottom line of the city’s casinos.
Baccarat has easily surpassed blackjack in terms of revenue in Las Vegas and now represents nearly 60 percent of the MGM Grand’s table games revenue over the past year. It’s especially popular this week with tens of thousands of tourists from Asia in town to celebrate the Chinese New Year.
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Starbucks 1Q profit up 10 percent
SEATTLE (AP) — Starbucks Corp.’s fiscal first-quarter profit increased 10 percent as the coffee company added stores, customers and new products.
The Seattle-based company reported after the market closed Thursday that it earned $382.1 million, or 50 cents per share, for the quarter that ended Jan. 1. That’s up from $346.6 million, or 45 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.
Its total revenue increased 16 percent to $3.44 billion.
The quarter beat market expectations. Analysts polled by FactSet anticipated the company would earn 49 cents per share on revenue of $3.29 billion.
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Caterpillar 4Q profit rises, tops Wall Street view
NEW YORK (AP) — Caterpillar Inc. said Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit jumped 60 percent, boosted by pent-up demand for new equipment and continuing growth in developing countries.
The performance of the world’s largest maker of construction and mining equipment is an indicator of the strength of the global economy. Along with strong fourth-quarter earnings, Caterpillar issued rosy guidance, saying that it expects the global economy to grow faster this year and construction activity to continue to improve in most parts of the world.
Caterpillar, based in Peoria, Ill., reported net income of $1.55 billion, or $2.32 per share, up from $968 million, or $1.47 per share, in the same quarter last year.
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3M posts small profit increase in 4Q
NEW YORK (AP) — 3M Co. said Thursday that its profit inched 3 percent higher in the fourth quarter as more demand for products for the home, office and automobile offset declining sales of high-tech products.
The maker of everything from Scotch Tape to computer screen arms has been fighting to grow earnings amid a slowdown in key markets. Growth in developing countries, where 3M now derives more than half of its sales, is slowing. Weakness in Western Europe is also a headwind, 3M said, and it doesn’t know when things there will get better.
3M believes rapid growth in China and other emerging nations will resume in the second half of the year. The slowing pace of growth in those countries, although still robust compared with other parts of the world, was in part to blame for unexpectedly weak results at 3M in last year’s third quarter.
The Maplewood, Minn., company said Thursday it earned $954 million, or $1.35 per share, in the final three months of 2011, compared with $928 million, or $1.28 per share, a year ago.
Revenue rose 6 percent to $7.09 billion.
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Penney shares soar on upbeat outlook for 2012
NEW YORK (AP) — J.C. Penney Co. shares soared 19 percent Thursday after the department store chain delivered a 2012 profit outlook that’s well above analysts’ projections.
The company expects adjusted earnings of at least $2.16 per share for the fiscal year. Analysts on average expect $1.60 per share, according to FactSet.
Penney’s new CEO, Ron Johnson, the mastermind behind the Apple Inc.’s highly successful stores, laid out an aggressive plan Wednesday to reinvent J.C. Penney. It includes simplifying pricing, overhauling marketing and carving each store into 100 mini-shops.
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Rate on 30-year fixed mortgage rises to 3.98 percent
WASHINGTON (AP) — The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose this week for the first time this month, though it remained below 4 percent for the eighth straight week.
The low rates may be contributing to a slow turnaround in the depressed housing market, even though most people who can afford to buy or refinance a home already have done so.
Freddie Mac said Thursday that the average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage rose to 3.98 percent this week. That’s up from 3.88 percent the previous week, which was the lowest level on record.
The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage also rose, to 3.24 percent from 3.17 percent the previous week. The 15-year mortgage hit a record low of 3.16 percent two weeks ago.
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By The Associated Press(equals)
The Dow Jones Industrial average closed down 22.33 points, or 0.2 percent, at 12,734.63. The SP 500 closed down 7.63 points, or 0.6 percent, at 1,318.43. The Nasdaq shed 13.03 points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 2,805.28.
Benchmark crude on Thursday rose 30 cents to finish at $99.70 per barrel in New York. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oil imported by U.S. refineries, rose by 98 cents to end at $110.79 in London.
In other energy trading, heating oil rose 3 cents to finish at $3.05 per gallon and gasoline futures rose about a penny to end at $2.85 per gallon.
Article source: http://finance.yahoo.com/news/business-highlights-221928528.html