(AP) - Stocks finish mixed following tech pullback
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street ended mixed Monday after weakness in the
technology sector punctured some of the market's enthusiasm over a report that
suggested the economy could still be growing.
But comments from memory chip maker SanDisk Corp. about soft sales helped
pull stocks off their highs and sent tech shares lower.
The Dow Jones industrial average, which had been up more than 100 points,
finished well off its highs.
The Conference Board's leading economic indicators report showed a 0.1
percent rise for April, following a similar uptick in March.
Index: Weak economy may dodge a recession
NEW YORK (AP)-- A private business group said its index of leading economic
indicators defied expectations and inched higher in April.
The New York-based Conference Board said its forecast of future economic
activity rose 0.1 percent in April, matching a 0.1 percent increase in March.
Economists had expected a 0.1 decrease in April.
The index is designed to forecast economic activity in the next three to six
months based on 10 economic components, including stock prices, building permits
and initial claims for unemployment benefits.
American Axle workers begin vote on a new contract
DETROIT (AP) -- Striking workers at American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings
Inc. began voting Monday on a new contract with the auto parts maker that would
cut their pay by about one-third.
United Auto Workers at the Detroit Forge plant and a factory in Three Rivers
started casting ballots in the morning.
But the vote that could end the bitter 83-day strike won't end until
Thursday evening when Local 235 in Hamtramck, the largest local at the company,
wraps up its balloting.
About 3,600 workers walked off their jobs Feb. 26 in the wage-and-benefit
dispute that has featured name-calling and threats by the company to move work
to other countries.
8 ex-AOL Time Warner executives charged
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Federal regulators on Monday said eight former executives
of AOL Time Warner Inc. fraudulently inflated the company's online advertising
revenues by more than $1 billion between 2000 and 2002.
Four of the executives have agreed to settle the civil charges brought by
the Securities and Exchange Commission by paying a total of roughly $8 million
in fines and returning allegedly ill-gotten gains.
Pump prices rise to new high as oil extends gains
NEW YORK (AP) -- More gas and oil records fell Monday as retail fuel prices
struck new highs and crude settled above $127 for the first time, tightening the
squeeze on drivers planning holiday road trips next weekend.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped 76 cents to settle at a record
$127.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rallied at one
point to within a nickel of Friday's record trading high near $128 a barrel.
Meanwhile, Americans are now paying an average of $3.79 for a gallon of
regular gas, according to a survey by AAA and the Oil Price Information Service.
Diesel, used to transport a wide range of goods, now costs $4.52 a gallon. Those
prices, both records, are likely to keep rising, following crude's upward track.
Court upholds municipal bond tax exemption
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The $2.5 trillion municipal bond market skirted a land
mine Monday when the Supreme Court ruled that states could continue to give
special tax breaks on the bonds that fund hospitals, roads, schools and other
services.
The justices ruled 7-2 in a case from Kentucky that states can exempt
interest on their own bonds from taxation while taxing residents for interest on
bonds issued by other states.
In the municipal bond market, 41 states have systems similar to Kentucky's.
Seven states do not impose taxes on personal income.
Citi, Spanish group bid highest on turnpike lease
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) -- A Spanish company and a unit of Citigroup Inc.
teamed up to submit the largest bid for the right to lease the Pennsylvania
Turnpike for the next 75 years.
Barcelona-based Abertis Infraestructuras, Abertis investor Criteria
CaixaCorp of Spain and Citi Infrastructure Investors offered $12.8 billion,
beating their nearest competitor by $700 million, Gov. Ed Rendell said Monday.
Lowe's profit falls nearly 18 pct, lowers view
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Lowe's Cos., the nation's second biggest home
improvement retailer, reported a 17.9 percent drop in first-quarter earnings and
lowered its guidance for the year on Monday as the slumping U.S. housing market
and softer economy hurt sales.
Lowe's said it earned $607 million, or 41 cents per share, in the three
months ended May 2. That is down from $739 million, or 48 per share, in the
first quarter of 2007.
Revenue slipped to $12.0 billion from $12.2 billion a year ago.
Campbell profit up on Godiva sale, adjusted earns fall
MOUNT LAUREL, N.J. (AP) -- The Campbell Soup Co. said Monday its profit
climbed in the third quarter as it completed the sale of its Godiva Chocolatier
brand. But its adjusted profit fell on higher ingredient costs if the impact of
the Godiva sale were excluded.
The Camden-based food company earned $532 million, or $1.40 per share, in
the three months ended April 27. That was up from $217 million, or 55 cents a
share, a year ago.
But the latest results include the $850 million sale of Godiva to Yildiz
Holding AS.
By The Associated Press
The Dow rose 41.36, or 0.32 percent, to 13,028.16. The blue chips had been
up nearly 150 points at their highs of the session.
Broader stock indicators finished mixed. The S&P 500 advanced 1.28, or 0.09
percent, to 1,426.63, and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell
12.76, or 0.50 percent, to 2,516.09.
Light, sweet crude for June delivery jumped 76 cents to settle at a record
$127.05 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Prices rallied at one
point to within a nickel of Friday's record trading high near $128 a barrel.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil futures fell 2.77 cents to settle at
$3.6751 a gallon. Gasoline futures rose 1.31 cents to settle at $3.2366 a
gallon. Natural gas futures sank 14 cents to settle at $10.927 per 1,000 cubic
feet.
July Brent crude rose 7 cents to settle at $125.06 a barrel on the ICE
Futures exchange in London.
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