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Claims for unemployment benefits declined last week to the lowest level in a month, easing concern that the U.S. labor market is faltering.
First-time claims dropped by 1,000 to 367,000 in the period ended May 5, the Labor Department said today in Washington. Other reports showed that a gauge of consumer confidence declined to a three-month low, and the trade deficit widened on rising demand for imports from oil to autos.
Claims are returning to levels reached in February and March, indicating a surge last month probably reflected difficulty in adjusting the data for an Easter holiday that came earlier this year than last. Declines in dismissals point to a brighter labor market that would help sustain consumer spending after payroll growth slowed last month.
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The United States and Europe are urging Iran to use upcoming talks with world powers to ease international worry that it may be aiming to develop nuclear arms.
But Tehran says such concerns are based on “fake evidence” concocted to cause it political and economic harm.
Envoys for the U.S., the EU and Iran spoke Monday at a 189-nation meeting looking for ways to strengthen the Nonproliferation Treaty low interest rate personal loans.
The divide over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities threatens the success of both the talks and a meeting between Iran and the U.N. agency trying to probe its atomic secrets.
U.S. stock market futures are basically flat ahead of the government release of April employment data.
Dow Jones industrial average futures are up 4 points at 13,147. Standard & Poor’s 500 futures are up 1.17 to 1,387. Nasdaq 100 futures are gaining 2.75 points to 2,694.75.
In Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 index, Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC-40 are all down, as traders waited for the U.S. jobs figures and fretted ahead of weekend elections in France and Greece that could impact Europe’s debt crisis instant payday loan. Earlier Asian markets were mixed, with the Nikkei in Tokyo gaining, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng and South Korea’s Kospi both ended down.
U.S. stock to watch include Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Warren Buffett’s investment vehicle reports quarterly results after the market opens.
U.K high street lender Lloyds Banking Group on Tuesday reported a modest net profit of 2 million pounds ($3.2 million) in the first quarter when its performance beat market expectations.
The company, 40 percent owned by U.K. taxpayers, also recorded a pretax profit of 288 million pounds ($467 million) in the first quarter, which included a 375 million provision to compensate customers for missold insurance.
In the previous quarter, it made a 316 million pounds net profit and a loss of 3.5 billion pounds in the same period last year. Its 2 million pound net profit compares with a 2.4 billion pound net loss last year and a 37 million pound profit in the previous quarter.
Lloyds has taken a total provision of 3.575 billion pounds, by far the biggest of any British bank, to compensate customers who were sold payment protection insurance which they didn’t need.
Total income net of insurance claims was down 6 percent to 4.49 billion pounds.
Lloyds shares were up 1.6 percent at 31.5 pence in early trading.
The U.K. government injected much needed capital into Lloyds at the height of the financial crisis in 2008. It is now looking to sell off its shares, but only when their price has reached a certain level.
“The likelihood of reaching the government’s 70 pence-plus break-even point seems a long way off, even if Lloyds is making slow and steady progress, whilst the absence of a dividend is another drag on enticing potential buyers,” said Richard Hunter, head of equities, Hargreaves Lansdown Stockbrokers payday loans in one hour.
Total impairments improved from 2.6 billion pounds a year ago to 1.66 billion pounds. Within that total, the charge in the first quarter in the bank’s wealth and international division was 705 million pounds compared to 1.5 billion pounds a year earlier, primarily because of lower charges in its Irish and Australasian businesses.
Nonetheless, with two-thirds of the Irish portfolio classed as impaired, the bank warned that “further vulnerability exists.”
Customer deposits were up 6 percent year-on-year to 412 billion pounds. The core tier 1 capital ratio_ a key gauge of underlying financial strength _ was up from 10 percent last year to 11 percent in the first quarter.
Lloyds is still seeking to clinch a deal to sell 632 branches to meet the European Commission’s conditions for receiving state aid. While continuing to talk to the Co-operative Group, the bank’s preferred bidder, Lloyds said last week it was open to other offers.
The Senate on Wednesday passed a plan to save the struggling U.S. Postal Service, an effort that could save thousands of jobs and 100 mail processing plants now slated to be closed or consolidated next month.
In an unusual showing of bipartisanship, the Senate voted 62-37 to throw a lifeline to the indebted Postal Service. Without help, the Postal Service would otherwise cut Saturday service, delay mail delivery and close hundreds of postal processing plants and post offices, triggering thousands of job cuts nationwide.
"My hope is that our friends over in the U.S. House, given our bipartisan steps we took this week, will feel a sense of urgency," said Sen. Tom Carper, a Delaware Democrat, one of the Senate bill’s co-sponsors. "The situation is not hopeless, the situation is dire."
The House has yet to take up a different bill to reform the Postal Service. However, Rep. Darrell Issa, a key Republican on postal service legislation, called the Senate bill "wholly unacceptable," in a statement released Wednesday.
Congress faces a deadline of May 15, when a moratorium on postal closures expires.
The recession, declining mail volume and a congressional mandate to prefund retirement health care benefits have put the service in a bind. It reported a $5.1 billion loss for the year ended Sept. 30.
The Senate bill, offered by members in both parties, forces the Postal Service to ease off part of its plan to slow down the delivery of first-class mail, the kind of mail that most consumers use.
Postal Service: We need more junk mail
The bill makes controversial changes, including cuts to workers’ compensation benefits, as well as a transition from door-to-door delivery to curbside delivery in some areas, such as suburban neighborhoods.
The Senate bill also prevents the Postal Service from cutting Saturday delivery for two years, until the agency can prove such a cut is needed as a "last resort."
During debate on the postal bill the past two days, the Senate agreed to order the Postal Service to postpone the May 15 expiration of a moratorium on closures until the House passes a postal service bill.
The Senate also agreed to cap executive pay of high-ranking postal officials to that of Cabinet officials, $199,000 cheap credit report. (Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe made $384,000 last year.)
The cost of the Senate bill could prove a major sticking point with the House. The Congressional Budget Office says the bill would cost $33.6 billion over 10 years.
The tab comes from increased borrowing authority for the Postal Service, allowing it to borrow $11 billion more from Treasury. The Postal Service can currently borrow up to $15 billion, and has tapped $12 billion of that loan.
The other cost comes from elimination of regular billion-dollar payments, now required by law, to Treasury to pre-fund health care benefits for retirees. That $23 billion would ease financial pain for the Postal Service, but it also means less revenue to ease federal deficits.
Several Senate Republicans, including Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee, said they voted against the bill, because it wasn’t paid for in an appropriate way.
Earlier this year, the Postal Service said it was doing away with overnight delivery of many kinds of first-class mail, opening the door for closing 223 mail processing plants at a cost of 35,000 jobs.
The Senate bill would force the Postal Service to maintain some one-day delivery of first-class mail, mostly for items mailed within the same processing area — saving 100 mail processing plants.
The Senate bill would also tap most of an estimated $10.9 billion overpayment in the Federal Employees Retirement System to pay down postal service debt and use up to $2 billion on buyout packages to entice long-time employees to retire.
Unions oppose the Senate bill, saying it doesn’t provide a good long-term business model.
"We are very disappointed that the Senate approved such a flawed bill, but we are determined to continue the fight for legislation that will provide a path to long-term viability for the Postal Service," said Fredric V. Rolando, president of the National Association of Letter Carriers.
The U.S. Postal Service is, by law, an "independent establishment" of the executive branch. The agency doesn’t normally use tax dollars for operations, except for its $12 billion loan from Treasury.
Iraq began loading crude oil Friday from a second offshore export terminal in the Persian Gulf, part of a major project to boost Iraq’s income.
Also Friday, the government agreed to allow ExxonMobil Corp. to continue working in one of Iraq’s biggest oil fields.
Dhia Jaafar, the head of State-run South Oil Company, said that the pumping started late Thursday from the terminal when a ship with a capacity of 2 million barrels docked near its platform to be loaded with oil.
The crude is being pumped from the terminal at a rate of 35,000 barrels an hour.
The new terminal is the second of five that will eventually handle about 5 million barrels a day. They will help Iraq to bring in sorely needed cash for reconstruction after decades of war and international sanctions.
With the opening of the two terminals, Basra export capacity has been raised to around 3.5 million barrels a day, he said.
Jaafar also said ExxonMobil Corp payday advance. will continue working in the 8.6 billion-barrel West Qurna Stage 1 field in Basra province, even though it has been banned from bidding on developing gas fields next month.
Iraq said that Exxon is not allowed to bid in the May auction of 12 exploration blocks nationwide because of its refusal to abandon its deals with the self-rule Kurdish region in northern Iraq.
The Texas-based Exxon signed six deal with the Kurds last October to search for oil in six areas, bypassing the Baghdad government, which maintains that it must ratify all such contracts.
“ExxonMobil has given assurances that it will sort out its problems in Kurdistan,” Jaafar explained. “Therefore, the government allowed it to continue working in West Qurna.”
Wendy’s gave its new CEO a pay package worth $4.6 million for the last four months of 2011.
Emil Brolick was hired last September after Wendy’s split from fellow fast-food chain Arby’s. The 63-year-old Brolick has been on a mission to reinvent Wendy’s as a higher-end burger chain by improving ingredients and remodeling restaurants.
An Associated Press analysis of a regulatory filing finds Brolick’s compensation included salary of $338,462, a bonus of $500,000, stock and option awards worth $3.2 million and an incentive-based bonus of $533,026.
Other compensation covered legal expenses related to the negotiation of his contract.
Wendy’s previous CEO, Roland Smith, received $16.5 million for the first part of 2011, including $11.3 million in severance pay.
The AP’s calculation includes salary, bonuses, perks and stock and option awards.
U.S. stocks drifted lower but rebounded in later trading Thursday to end at nearly breakeven.
A string of weak economic reports — including jobless claims that fell below expectations — failed to inspire investors to move off the sidelines.
Both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq closed in the red for the third straight day, while the Dow broke a two-day losing streak.
The Dow Jones industrial average () added 20 points, or 0.2%. The S&P 500 () dropped 2 points, or 0.2%. The Nasdaq () was down 10 points, or 0.3%.
Even with a few days of losses, all three indexes are up more than 10% in 2012. But investors are continuing to seek economic reports that beat expectations in order to justify that run up.
On Thursday the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits only narrowly missed economists’ forecasts, but that still pushed stocks mostly lower.
U.S. economy to outpace Europe
"There’s a general sense in the market that we’re at lofty levels, so investors get worried when disappointments pop up," said Bruce McCain, chief investment strategist at Key Private Bank.
The week has been filled with a string of disappointing economic numbers on durable goods orders, consumer confidence and home prices. Ongoing concerns about a growth slowdown in China have added pressure on world markets.
"I think, overall, the market has had a good run, and investors are trimming some exposure," said Paul Powers, head of U.S. equity trading at Raymond James.
Most large financial stocks dropped more than 1% Thursday, including Bank of America (, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (, Fortune 500), Citigroup (, Fortune 500), Morgan Stanley (, Fortune 500) and Goldman Sachs (, Fortune 500).
While stocks are suffering, the initial public offering market has been buoyant and is on track for a record week with 10 companies set to debut.
Still, it was a mixed bags for the three companies that started trading Thursday. Millennial Media’s () shares nearly doubled, but T-shirt maker Cafe Press () ended the day roughly flat after an initial surge. Both companies priced above their initial trading range. Merrimack Pharmaceuticals () ended the day down roughly 14% after it started trading.
Stocks closed in the red Wednesday amid worries about slowing growth overseas and in the U.S.
Economy: First-time claims for unemployment benefits in the week ended March 24 fell to 359,000 — a four-year low — from 364,000 the previous week. But that was still higher than the 350,000 forecasted.
U.S. gross domestic product — the broadest reading of economic growth –increased at an annual rate of 3% in the fourth quarter, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. That was the third revision, and was in line with analysts’ estimates.
Companies: Best Buy’s (, Fortune 500) stock dropped after the company narrowly missed expectations and said it would close 50 stores.
Sears Holdings’ (, Fortune 500) stock rose but closed lower on reports that the retailer was shopping its Lands’ End brand for $2 billion.
Like a bear in a China shop
Red Hat’s () stock jumped after the software maker reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations and a stock buyback of $133 million.
Research in Motion () shares dropped after hours as the BlackBerry maker missed expectations on revenues and earnings. The company said it’s considering strategic alternatives, and one director left its board.
World markets: European stocks closed down. Britain’s FTSE 100 () was off 1.2%, the DAX () in Germany lost 1.8% and France’s CAC 40 () was down 1.4%.
Asian markets ended lower. The Shanghai Composite () declined 1.4%, the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong dropped 1.3% and Japan’s Nikkei () lost 0.7%.
Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground against the Japanese yen, but strengthened against the euro and the British pound.
Oil for May delivery slipped $2.63 to $102.78 a barrel.
Gold futures for April delivery rose $2.20 to $1,660.40 an ounce.
Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury rose, sending yields down to 2.16% from 2.20% late Wednesday.
South Korea
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