|
AP Business NewsBrief at 11:16 a.m. EST
(AP Online Via Acquire Media NewsEdge) Stocks fall sharply on consumer spending worriesNEW YORK (AP) _ Investors uneasy about the holiday shopping season gave Monday back some of Wall Street's recent gains, sending the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 400 points. While initial reports about the start of holiday shopping this weekend suggested sales were better than some retailers and analysts expected, Americans are clearly extremely cautious. That has Wall Street concerned about the impact of a continuing drop in consumer spending on the economy.
Manufacturing index drops to 26-year lowWASHINGTON (AP) _ A measure of U.S. manufacturing activity fell to a 26-year low in November as new orders dropped for the twelfth consecutive month, a trade group said Monday. The Institute for Supply Management's monthly index of manufacturing activity fell to 36.2 from October's 38.9. The reading is worse than Wall Street economists' expectations of 38.4, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. A figure below 50 indicates the sector is contracting.
October construction spending drops 1.2 percentWASHINGTON (AP) _ Construction spending fell by a larger-than-expected amount in October, another indication the problems facing builders in the form of a sinking economy and severe credit crisis are deepening and likely to persist. The Commerce Department reported Monday that construction spending dropped by 1.2 percent in October, much bigger than the 0.9 percent decline many analysts expected.
Ford weighs selling Volvo amid industry downturnDEARBORN, Mich. (AP) _ Ford Motor Co. is considering selling Volvo Car Corp. as the struggling U.S. automaker seeks to raise cash and weather a global automotive sales crisis. Ford said Monday it expects its strategic review of the Swedish luxury automaker will take several months. The move is one of several actions Ford is taking to strengthen its balance sheet amid what it called "severe economic instability worldwide."
Oil tumbles on more weak economic signalsCOLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) _ Oil prices tumbled Monday as manufacturing activity in the U.S. hit a 26-year low, a showing that was much worse than expected. The drop also comes two days after OPEC said it would not cut production of crude before its regularly scheduled meeting in three weeks.
Johnson & Johnson buying Mentor for $1.07BNEW BRUNSWICK, N.J. (AP) _ Health care products company Johnson & Johnson said Monday it will buy cosmetic-product and breast-implant maker Mentor Corp. for $1.07 billion in a move to boost its presence in cosmetic and reconstructive medicine. Under the deal, J&J will start a cash tender offer for $31 per share in a move to add breast implants and other products to its Ethicon surgical products unit. The offer is nearly double Mentor's closing price of $16.15 on Friday.
Holiday shopping season off to a modest startNEW YORK (AP) _ The Thanksgiving shopping weekend may not have been the disaster some had feared, but unprecedented discounts and tempered buying likely resulted in overall soft sales as a buying binge on Friday quickly fizzled. Now, online retailers are ramping up deals to turn skittish shoppers into "Cyber Monday" spenders. The term "Cyber Monday," coined by the trade group the National Retail Federation in 2005 to describe the Monday after Thanksgiving, has in the past been the unofficial kickoff for the online shopping season. But with more retailers advertising their deals ahead of time, and as more consumers have high-speed access at home, the day has lost its luster.
Sacyr Vallehermoso in $10B deal with Citi fundMADRID, Spain (AP) _ Debt-laden Spanish construction company Sacyr Vallehermoso said Monday it has agreed to sell its highway-operating unit, Itinere, to a Citigroup Inc. fund in a deal valued at nearly ?7.9 billion ($10 billion). The sale involves ?2.87 billion in cash and ?5 billion in assumed debt, the company said.
AP IMPACT: Under pressure, US eased lending rulesWASHINGTON (AP) _ The Bush administration backed off proposed crackdowns on no-money-down, interest-only mortgages years before the economy collapsed, buckling to pressure from some of the same banks that have now failed. It ignored remarkably prescient warnings that foretold the financial meltdown, according to an Associated Press review of regulatory documents. "Expect fallout, expect foreclosures, expect horror stories," California mortgage lender Paris Welch wrote to U.S. regulators in January 2006, about one year before the housing implosion cost her a job.
Copyright ? 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
[ Back To Smart Product Home's Homepage ]
|