Associated Press - August 1, 2008 1:13 PM ET
Jobless rate rises, payrolls contract
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Labor Department says the unemployment rate rose to a 4-year high in July to 5.7%.
Employers were cutting jobs for the seventh straight month. Payrolls contracted by 51,000 jobs. That brings the total number of job losses this year to 463,000, according to the government.
The rise in the jobless rate came as many young people looked for summer jobs. The unemployment rate for teenagers surged to more than 20%, the highest since late 1992.
Job losses were largest in areas hit by the housing, credit and financial slumps. Manufacturers cut 35,000 positions, construction companies got rid of 22,000 and retailers shed 17,000 jobs. Temporary help firms eliminated 29,000 jobs. Gains were seen in government, education and health care.
ISM: manufacturing flat in July
NEW YORK (AP) - It is both the good and the bad news. Manufacturing was flat in July. But that was better than expected.
The Institute for Supply Management's closely-followed manufacturing index came in at 50, indicating neither growth nor contraction.
It was down slightly from 50.2 in June and better than expected.
The index of prices manufacturers pay for raw materials grew, but at a slower rate than June, when it hit its highest level since 1979.
Exports continue to fuel the index, however. The rate of growth for exports slowed, but it was the 68th straight month that exports grew, thanks to the weak dollar.
Housing keeps spending under pressure
WASHINGTON (AP) - The government says construction spending in June posted the 11th decline in the past 13 months.
The Commerce Department says spending dropped four-tenths of a percent in June, in line with expectations.
Home building posted the 15th straight drop. Builders have continued to cut back on their activity to cope with the severe housing slump and credit crisis.
Weakness in housing activity offset strength in other building activity. There was a big increase in building activity for hotels and motels and and a number of other commercial building projects.
GM posts loss of more than $15B
DETROIT (AP) - General Motors reports a loss of $15.5 billion in the second quarter. North American sales fell sharply and the company had expenses linked to labor unrest and its massive restructuring plan.
The loss of $27.33 per share is the third-worst quarterly loss in the automaker's history.
Excluding 1-time charges, GM lost $6.3 billion, or $11.21 per share. Analysts surveyed by Thomson Financial predicted a loss of $2.62 per share.
Chief financial officer Ray Young says the company burned through $3.6 billion in cash during the second quarter, which he attributed largely to reducing the company's inventory by nearly 90,000 vehicles to less than 800,000.
He says the automaker might offer another round of buyout and early retirement offers to its U.S. hourly workers because of production cuts. Nearly 19,000 manufacturing workers, about 25% of GM's U.S. hourly work force, signed up for the latest round of buyout offers, which ended July 1st.
At midday, GM shares were down 2%.
Ford, Toyota US sales fall in July
DETROIT (AP) - Ford and Toyota say their U.S. sales fell by double-digits in July as automakers struggled to keep up with consumers' growing demand for smaller, more fuel-efficient vehicles.
Ford says its U.S. sales fell 15% for the month. Its car sales were flat compared with the same month last year, and sales of the Focus small car rose 16%. But sales of Ford's trucks and sport utility vehicles continued their steep decline, falling 22%.
Toyota says its sales fell 12% last month, led by a 27% drop in truck and SUV sales. Sales of its Prius hybrid fell 15% as Toyota failed to keep up with demand.
Results from other automakers are expected later today.
Chevron profit soars, but falls short of forecasts
HOUSTON (AP) - Amid record crude prices, Chevron says its second-quarter profit rose 11% from a year ago.
The results for the second-largest U.S. oil company missed Wall Street forecasts.
The San Ramon, California-based company said it made $5.98 billion, or $2.90 per share. It had revenue of nearly $83 billion.
Like competitors, Chevron made the bulk of it money at its exploration and production arm, also known as the upstream. The company benefited from oil prices in the quarter that were nearly double levels from a year ago. Higher natural gas prices helped, too.
Soaring commodity prices provided a similar second-quarter lift to 4 of Chevron's biggest rivals - Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips, BP PLC and Royal Dutch Shell PLC.
The company's division that refines and sells gasoline actually swung to a loss because of high crude prices.
Obama proposes energy rebates
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. (AP) - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama is calling for a $1,000 "emergency" rebate to consumers. The idea is to offset soaring energy costs weighing on the struggling economy.
Obama told a Florida town-hall meeting the rebate would be financed with a windfall profits tax on the oil industry.
He said hte rebate should offset the increased cost of gas for a "working family over the next four months".
Obama had earlier said the rebates should be part of a larger tax relief package. But now he says the slumping economy demands they be put in place immediately.
FCC says Comcast violated policy
WASHINGTON (AP) - A divided Federal Communications Commission has ruled that Comcast violated federal policy when it blocked Internet traffic for some subscribers. It ordered the cable giant to change the way it manages its network.
In a precedent-setting move, the FCC vote enforces a policy that guarantees customers open access to the Internet.
The commission did not assess a fine, but ordered Comcast to stop cutting off transfers of large data files among customers who use a special type of "file-sharing" software.
Comcast says its practices are reasonable and that the FCC's so-called network-neutrality "principles" are part of a policy statement and are not enforceable rules.
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