Market News - NYSE

Friday May 2, 11:54 PM
Business Highlights

(AP) - Economy shows resilience; jobless rate falls as dollar rises

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy showed off unexpected signs of resilience Friday as job losses slowed, the dollar gained a bit of muscle for a change and there were even indications that food prices may be easing. The unemployment rate dipped, though that may not last.

The latest barometers flashed encouraging signs that the economic slowdown may not be as pronounced as some had feared. Still, there's much caution -- about housing, credit and other problems.

Employers eliminated 20,000 jobs in April -- not nearly as many as the 81,000 in March, and the fewest monthly losses so far this year, the Labor Department reported. The unemployment rate dropped to 5 percent, from 5.1 percent.

Stresses were still evident. It was the fourth straight month that employers cut jobs -- bringing total losses to 260,000.

Fed joins with European banks to battle credit crisis

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve announced Friday that it will expand a series of efforts to deal with the global credit crisis, in coordination with European central banks.

The Fed said it was boosting the amount of emergency reserves it supplies to U.S. banks to $150 billion in May, from the $100 billion it supplied in April. The Fed took this action and several other moves to boost credit in coordination with the European Central Bank and the Swiss National Bank.

The latest moves are part of a series of actions the Fed has made since the credit crisis struck in August.

The efforts are designed to increase reserves so that banks don't become hesitant about lending to consumers and businesses, which would make the current economic slowdown even more severe.

Stocks give up gains from employment report to finish mixed

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street turned in a mixed performance Friday as investors set aside some initial enthusiasm over a stronger-than-expected jobs report to lock in some of their recent gains. Blue chip stocks logged their third weekly advance in a row as investors grew more confident about the economy's ability to outrun a deep downturn.

The reports on employment and the pace of orders at factories offered the market fresh evidence that the economy might not be in as worrisome a state as many had feared. But a surprise quarterly loss from Sun Microsystems Inc. weighed on the tech-laden Nasdaq composite (NASDAQ: news) index.

Still, buyers outnumbered sellers after a government report showed the nation's employers cut far fewer jobs than expected last month, stirring optimism about the buoyancy of the economy.

The employment report Friday came at the end of a critical week for Wall Street. While corporate results dominated in previous weeks, investors focused this week on the Federal Reserve's decision Wednesday to lower interest rates and on reports on the nation's gross domestic product, personal spending and factory orders.

Fed OKs plan to rein in unfair, deceptive credit cards

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Federal Reserve and other regulators initiated steps Friday to end 'unfair and deceptive' credit card industry practices assailing consumers who are already struggling to cope in a bad economy.

The proposed rules would be the biggest clampdown on the industry in decades, aiming at protecting people from credit card companies that arbitrarily raise interest rates or don't give borrowers adequate time to pay their bills.

The proposals would also restrict such lender practices as allocating all payments to balances with lower interest rates when a borrower has balances with different rates. The Fed board voted Friday to approve the recommendations.

Lawmakers who have demanded tougher controls on the credit card industry were generally positive about the proposed rules, as were consumer groups. But some questioned whether the changes would be strong enough and soon enough to help the millions of households struggling with credit card debt.

The Fed drew considerable criticism for its slow response to abuses that contributed to the subprime mortgage crisis.

Chevron (NYSE: CVX - news) 's 1Q profit of $5.17B marks Big Oil's latest gusher

SAN RAMON, Calif. (AP) -- Astounding profits in the oil industry are becoming as routine as the anguished looks of motorists filling up their gas tanks.

Chevron Corp. put yet another exclamation point on the oil patch's long run of prosperity Friday with a first-quarter profit of $5.17 billion, or $2.48 per share. That was up 10 percent from net income of $4.72 billion, or $2.18 per share, last year.

The performance exceeded the lofty expectations of analysts, helping lift Chevron shares 38 cents to $95.32.

It was the second-highest quarterly profit in the company's 129-year history and marked the most money that it has ever made during the January-March period. That puts the No. 2 U.S. oil company on track for its fifth straight year of record earnings.

About the only downside to the quarter was that Chevron earned relatively little from gasoline sales because it couldn't raise its prices fast enough to recover its own rising costs for oil. Like its peers, Chevron doesn't produce enough oil on its own to feed its refineries, forcing it to buy some on the open market.

Report: Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT - news) ups offer for Yahoo (NASDAQ: YHOO - news) by 'several dollars'

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Microsoft Corp. reportedly dangled a higher takeover bid in front of Yahoo Inc. Friday, hoping to reach a friendly deal after weeks of saber rattling.

The Redmond, Wash.-based software maker upped its offer 'by several dollars' per share, according to a New York Times (NYSE: NYT - news) report that cited unnamed sources.

Representatives from Microsoft and Yahoo declined to comment on the negotiations, which were confirmed by a person familiar with the talks. The person didn't want to be identified because of the talks are still confidential.

Yahoo began pressing for a higher offer shortly after Microsoft made its unsolicited bid in February, which was originally valued at $44.6 billion, or $31 per share.

That offer, which was made half in cash and half in stock, is currently valued at $42.3 billion, or $29.40 per share, because Microsoft shares have declined.

Gas prices slip for first time in weeks, may be near top

NEW YORK (AP) -- Retail gas prices fell slightly Friday -- the first time in 18 days they haven't risen to a new record -- and analysts say pump prices may be peaking for the year. Oil futures, meanwhile, soared after Turkish airstrikes on Kurdish rebel bases in Iraq injected some supply concerns into the market and the Labor Department's employment report gave investors reason to be optimistic about the economy.

The national average price of a gallon of regular gas fell 0.1 cent overnight to $3.622, according to a survey of gas stations by AAA (Xetra: 722800 - news) and the Oil Price Information Service. That's the first time since April 14 that retail prices have fallen. Diesel prices fell 0.2 cent to a national average of $4.249 a gallon.

Soaring gas prices are cutting demand for gasoline, and analysts have long theorized that falling demand will eventually force prices lower. However, gas prices bucked those forecasts for most of the spring and followed oil's sharp gains.

Pushed by higher prices, immigrants stocking up on rice

RICHMOND, Calif. (AP) -- Shoppers surveyed shelves loaded with rice at the Ranch 99 Asian supermarket, chatting in languages from Mandarin to Portuguese as they hunted for their favorite varieties, checked brand names and compared prices before heaving 50-pound bags into their carts.

Skyrocketing prices and media reports of a shortage are driving many immigrants and U.S. Asians, Hispanics, Indians (INDN.PK - news) and others to stock up on rice -- a once inexpensive staple that is reaching record-high prices across the country. In Indian corner markets and warehouse-sized supermarkets specializing in Asian goods, customers who usually take home a 20-pound bag are taking two, or even reaching for the 50-pound bag.

Emphasizing that there is no rice shortage in the United States, economists and commodity traders blame the price hikes confronting U.S. consumers on everything from the weather in producing countries to the increased buying power of countries like China. Chief among those factors was the decision by India, Vietnam, China, Egypt, Cambodia and Brazil to curtail exports to protect prices at home, said Nathan Childs, an economist and rice expert with the Department of Agriculture.

By The Associated Press

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 48.20, or 0.37 percent, to 13,058.20 after being up more than 100 points early in the session.

Broader stock indicators ended mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 4.56, or 0.32 percent, to 1,413.90, while the Nasdaq (NASDAQ: news) slipped 3.72, or 0.15 percent, to 2,476.99.

Light (LIGT3.SA - news) , sweet crude for June delivery rose $3.80 to settle at $116.32 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

In other Nymex trading Friday, June gasoline futures rose 8.82 cents to settle at $2.9664 a gallon, and June heating oil futures rose 10.10 cents to settle at $3.2187 a gallon. June natural gas futures rose 21.6 cents to settle at $10.777 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, June Brent crude futures gained $4.06 to settle at $114.56 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

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