Archive for the ‘Business’ Category

Shares in London, undeterred by swine flu and bolstered by positive consumer data from the United States, surged on Wednesday after big gains in Asia. The FTSE 100 index climbed 2.27 percent to close at 4,189.59 points. Investors focused on the Commerce Department report of Full story

Unemployment rates rose in all of the nation's largest metropolitan areas for the third straight month in March, with Indiana's Elkhart-Goshen once again logging the biggest gain. The Labor Department reported Wednesday all 372 metropolitan areas tracked saw jobless rates move higher last month from a year earlier. Elkhart-Goshen's rate soared to 18.8 percent, a 13 percentage-point increase. That was the fourth-highest ... Full story

Despite a decline in March, the annual rate remains above what economists expect after an even stronger than originally reported February. Sales of newly constructed homes are showing indications, ever so slight, that the housing decline may be near an end, a government report showed Friday. The Commerce Department said new home sales fell 0.6% last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 356,000. But that was from a rate of 358,000 in February that was revised up from the originally reported at 337,000 -- the level economists were expecting for March. Full story

Investors aren't sweating the possibility of a GM or Chrysler bankruptcy. But they shouldn't dismiss the impact more auto woes may have on the economy. Detroit's Big Three could soon become the Big Two or even the Big One. The futures of Chrysler LLC and General Motors (GM, Fortune 500) are highly uncertain as deadlines near for them to either restructure or file for bankruptcy. And the Motown automaker in the "best" shape isn't exactly healthy either. Ford Motor (F, Fortune 500) reported a quarterly loss of $1.4 billion in the first quarter and burned through $3.7 billion in cash. Full story

Spain has the highest unemployment rate in the European Union, with a rate of 15.5% in February, nearly double the EU average, according to Eurostat, The Bank of Spain is also predicting that the public deficit will hit 8.3% this year and 8.7% in 2010, which is well over the eurozone ... Full story

Pensioners will benefit from the basic state pension rising by 5%, based on the retail prices index (RPI) from last September. RPI is currently zero. The news is not as good for those earning over £40,000, with the amount of earnings on which national insurance is payable at 11% rising by £3,475. It is unusual for the Budget to be delivered after this date. Full story