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AM Business Notebook

By: MetroSoruce News

(New York, NY) -- You can expect all eyes to be on Wall Street today after stock prices plunged Thursday.

The dive came on the heels of newly-released data that showed higher than anticipated weekly unemployment claims coupled with a disappointing profit report from MasterCard. Sovereign debt problems in Europe also drove the market lower, as did fraud litigation against Bank of America by the New York state attorney general. At the closing bell, the NYSE said the Dow Industrials had fallen below the ten-thousand mark. But after the numbers settled, the Dow actually finished 268 points lower to end the session at ten-thousand-two. The Nasdaq dropped 65 points to close at 21-25. The broader S&P 500 Index declined 34 points, finishing at 10-63. A gain in value by the U.S. dollar sent oil prices lower by three-dollars-84-cents a barrel, to 73-dollars-14-cents on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the biggest one-day drop since last July.

>>White House Braces For January Unemployment Figures

(Washington, DC) -- The White House is bracing for another monthly jobless report. Analysts expect the January unemployment tally to be bleak. President Obama is expected to make some brief remarks on the new jobs report when it comes out. Meantime, the White House is actively supporting new jobs legislation in Congress. Presidential spokesman Robert Gibbs called on Democrats and Republicans to get behind legislation to put the long-slumping economy on a more solid foundation.

>>First-Time Jobless Benefits Claims Rise

(Washington, DC) -- The number of people filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits rose by eight-thousand last week to 480-thousand. That is the highest level for initial jobless filings since mid-December. The Labor Department says total unemployment claims for the week ending January 23rd, including continuing claims, was just over four-point-six-million.

>>Fix For Fusion Hybrid Brake Problem

(Detroit, MI) -- Ford Motor Company says it's offering an upgrade on software to address brake issues on its 2010 Fusion and Mercury Milan hybrids. The fix involves up to 17-thousand-600 hybrid sedans, built on or before October 17th. Ford says drivers could perceive a loss of braking as the cars make an unneccesary shift from regenerative to conventional braking. The automaker says it'll notify customers by mail that the fix is being made available at dealerships. Ford says it's not a full-scale recall because it doesn't view the software problem as a brake failure.

>>Toyota Reacting To Brake Problems In Hybrids

(Undated) -- Amid Japanese reports Toyota is preparing to recall more than a quarter-million 2010 Prius vehicles, government transportation officials in the U.S. and Canada are reportedly probing brake problems with the gas-sipping hybrids. Drivers report problems with braking on rough or slippery roads in the new Prius. Toyota is being coy about the report, simply saying it doesn't have any fresh news about a recall yet

>>House Passes Hike In Debt Limit

(Washington, DC) -- The U.S. House has approved a boost in the federal debt limit to a record 14-point-three trillion dollars. The current debt ceiling stands at more than 12-point-four trillion dollars. House passage was expected after recent approval by the Senate. The legislation includes a so-called "Pay-Go" provision, requiring lawmakers to find ways to pay for most new spending without contributing to the federal deficit. Critics call "Pay-Go" a fallacy, arguing that lawmakers can easily maneuver around it.

>>Bank Of America Accused Of Fraud In Merrill Lynch Merger

(New York, NY) -- Bank of America and its two former top executives are being sued by New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo who claims the merger with Merrill Lynch was filled with fraud. He accuses former CEO Kenneth Lewis and former CFO Joseph Price of trying to play by their own set of rules while pushing for the merger with Merrill Lynch. Cuomo says the Bank of America executives allegedly tried to to use the teetering economy and the nation's fear at that time for their own benefit. The attorney general calls the behavior egregious and reprehensible. He says it is representative of the larger Wall Street meltdown in which he says "bankers had a ten year party, the government cleans up the mess and taxpayers are sent the bill." The suit filed against the company and the two executives contains only a civil complaint and no criminal charges.

>>Price Of Bernard Madoff's Palm Beach Home Drops

(New York, NY) -- A mansion belonging to convicted scammer Bernard Madoff continues to lose value. The asking price for the more than 87-hundred square foot house has dropped to seven-point-25 million dollars. The original price for the Palm Beach, Florida home was just under eight-point-five million. The mansion has been on the market for nearly five months and features five bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a pool and water views. It's marketed as a return to Florida living of the 1950s and 1960s, quote, "when Palm Beach was a less manicured tropical paradise." Madoff had once estimated the value of the home at eleven-million dollars. He is in a federal prison in North Carolina serving a 150-year sentence.

Story Posted: Fri Feb 5 08:21:57 CST 2010
Created: Fri Feb 5 08:24:03 CST 2010

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