• FINANCIAL & BUSINESS NEWS

Last Update on March 10, 2010 03:26 EST

Stocks see modest gains

NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street celebrated the first anniversary of soaring gains from 12-year lows with a modest rally.

The Dow added about a dozen points to 10,564. The S&P rose 2 points to 1,140. And the Nasdaq gained 8 and a-half to 2,341.

From the bear market lows of a year ago, the Dow is up 61.4 percent.

Asian markets largely mixed

HONG KONG (AP) -- Asian stock markets were little changed Wednesday even as surging Chinese exports pointed to a pickup in global trade.

The region's major indexes were largely mixed as many markets fluctuated for the second day in a row.

News that Chinese exports soared nearly 46 percent in February from a year earlier highlighted recovering demand as the world economy shakes off last year's recession.

Reports due on inventories, federal budget

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Commerce Department this morning is to release figures on wholesale inventories and sales for January. Both figures are expected to show gains.

Later today, the Treasury reports on the federal budget deficit for February. That's expected to come in above $220 billion.

Crude above $81

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices in Asia hovered above $81 a barrel Wednesday after a report showed mixed evidence about U.S. crude demand.

Oil has jumped about 17 percent since early last month on increased investor confidence in this year's global economic growth. But crude demand from the U.S. has remained sluggish.

Crude inventories jumped last week by 6.5 million barrels. However, analysts expected the cold weather spell in much of the U.S. this month to shrink the stockpile. Instead, inventories of gasoline and distillates fell more than analysts expected.

The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration is scheduled to announce its supply report later Wednesday.

Toyota to expand recall of Tundra pickups for rust

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Toyota says it will expand a recall announced last year to fix Tundra pickup trucks with frames that could rust.

Toyota says the recall will cover Tundra pickups from the 2000-2003 model years. It expands upon a recall announced in November that covered 110,000 trucks registered in 20 "cold weather" states and the District of Columbia.

The company says it will provide more details on how many trucks are covered by the recall.

Toyota exec says sales rise 50 percent from March 2009

ERLANGER, Ky. (AP) -- A high-ranking Toyota executive says their North American sales spiked around 50 percent the first eight days of March as incentives helped lure customers after a series of embarrassing safety recalls.

The spokesman says the early numbers surpassed the company's expectations. He says there's pent-up demand from buyers who didn't shop for cars during last year's economic downturn. Toyota also credits new sales incentives enacted this month, including 0 percent financing offers for eight models.

Bank of America ends overdraft fees on debit cards

NEW YORK (AP) -- Bank of America customers will soon be unable to spend more than they have in the accounts linked to their debit cards. It's a step that may become a common move ahead of new regulations limiting overdraft fees.

Rules set by the Federal Reserve that will ban banks from charging such fees, without first getting permission from the customer, are set to take effect July 1.

But Bank of America is going a step further than the regulations require. It will simply no longer allow debit card purchases to go through if there isn't enough money in the account.

For ATM transactions, customers who try to withdraw more than their balance will have to agree to pay a $35 overdraft fee before they can get the money.

Google opens Web store for business applications

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Google will sell the online services of other business software makers in an effort to fill its own product gaps and persuade more companies to rely on applications piped over the Internet.

The online store announced last night marks another step in Google's crusade to convert the world to "cloud computing," the idea of running applications in Web browsers instead of installing them on individual hard drives. The information entered in the programs also is stored in data centers run by third parties such as Google.

More than 50 software makers have agreed to sell their Internet programs through Google, which will keep 20 percent of the sales. The prices are expected to range from $50 annually to several hundred dollars annually per user.

China's February exports jump 45.7 percent

BEIJING (AP) -- China says its exports grew strongly in February in a new sign of a rebound in global demand.

The Chinese customs agency says exports were up almost 46 percent over a year earlier, beating forecasts by private sector analysts of 35 to 40 percent growth.

Imports also were up strongly, rising by almost 45 percent in February from a year earlier.

Combining data from the two months, which analysts say produces a more accurate picture of trade conditions, shows exports surged more than 31 percent in the January-February period over the same time last year.

EU urges US to join in action against speculators

BRUSSELS (AP) -- European officials are urging the U.S. to join a crackdown on speculators who bet against Europe's currency union, warning they might ban some credit default swaps -- opaque financial instruments blamed for worsening the world financial crisis.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel says "quick action is needed." She's calling on the U.S. to "make a gesture" and curb the trades.

The European Commission threatened to ban "purely speculative naked sales on credit default swaps of sovereign debt" and said it would ask for a similar move globally at the Group of 20 summit of leading and emerging economies in June.

LifeLock to pay $12M to settle false claims case

NEW YORK (AP) -- The Federal Trade Commission says LifeLock -- an identity theft protection company that backed its guarantees by putting its chief executive's Social Security number on the side of its trucks -- will pay $12 million to settle claims it misrepresented its services.

LifeLock will pay $11 million to the FTC to cover the cost of customer refunds, and another $1 million to the attorneys general of 35 states. The FTC says LifeLock made false claims about its ability to prevent identity theft, as the services provide no protection against misuse of existing accounts, which is the most common type of identity theft, or medical or employment identity theft.

The agency described the agreement as one of the largest FTC-state coordinated settlements on record.

ENERGY OUTLOOK

Gas price rises seen gentler on consumer wallets

As the economy recovers, energy prices are rising, and that's placing extra strain on families' budgets.

Each spring brings a familiar ritual in gasoline markets -- rising prices -- and this year won't be an exception. But motorists aren't likely to pay much more than $3 a gallon, on average, during the peak summer driving season.

Lingering effects of the recession, such as high unemployment, reduced shipping and limited business travel, are keeping a lid on energy demand in America. And global oil supplies are on the rise. For now, these trends are providing energy markets with enough of a cushion to prevent geopolitical tensions from causing severe price volatility.

Abbott to pay $450 million for Facet Biotech

NEW YORK (AP) -- Abbott Laboratories says it will buy Facet Biotech for about $450 million in cash, expanding the company's access to biotechnology drugs, including a potential treatment for multiple sclerosis.

Abbott will pay $27 per share, marking a 67 percent premium to Facet's closing price of $16.21 yesterday. Both companies' boards of directors have already approved the deal, which is expected to close in the second quarter.

Travelers will need to continue removing their shoes

ATLANTA (AP) -- There's no end in sight to taking off your shoes for airport security in the U.S.

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano says there's no good technology available to allow screeners to see what's inside someone's shoes while the person is wearing them.

The shoe-removal requirement was put in place after Richard Reid tried and failed to ignite a shoe bomb on a U.S.-bound trans-Atlantic jetliner in 2001.

Senate expected to take final vote on jobless aid

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Legislation to give additional months of unemployment benefits to people who have been out of a job for more than half a year cleared a key hurdle yesterday. And it's expected to soon pass the Senate.

The measure would prevent doctors from being hit with a big cut in Medicare payments and extends health insurance subsidies for the unemployed through December. It would add $132 billion to the budget deficit over the next year and a half.

Eight Republicans voted with Democrats to defeat a GOP filibuster of the measure, setting up today's expected final vote.

Democrats also hope this week to finish work on a smaller job-creation measure. It blends additional highway spending with new tax breaks for companies that hire the unemployed. The Senate could clear the measure for President Barack Obama's signature by Friday.

Boeing says 787 testing going well

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Boeing is putting its new 787 through an aggressive flight-testing schedule, with the fourth of six planes set to begin test flights on Sunday.

Boeing is aiming to deliver the plane to its first customer by the end of this year. A company executive says by midyear, they're planning to fly six planes a total of 90 hours per week.

Anti-nuke groups want Vermont plant closed now

MONTPELIER, Vt. (AP) -- Two weeks after lawmakers voted to close Vermont Yankee in 2012, state regulators are being pressed to shut it down immediately because of leaking tritium that environmental groups say is polluting the environment.

Today, the state Public Service Board opens an investigation sought by the Conservation Law Foundation and the New England Coalition. The groups say the nuclear power plant in southeastern Vermont should stop operating until the source of the leak is found and fixed. The leak was first reported two months ago.

Tritium is a radioactive isotope that can cause cancer in humans when ingested in large amounts.

Maine panel nixes cell phone warnings proposal

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- A committee in the Maine legislature has rejected a proposal to require health warnings on cellular phones in Maine. The action all but dooms the proposal for this year.

None of the 13 voting members of the Health and Human Services Committee supported the proposal to require manufacturers to put warning labels on phones and packaging. The warnings would recommend that users keep the devices away from their head and body.

But committee members were cool to the idea of warnings, reasoning that studies so far are inconclusive.

Samsung, Panasonic start selling 3-D TVs this week

NEW YORK (AP) -- Want to be the first on your block with a 3-D television? It will cost you about $3,000.

Samsung and Panasonic will start selling 3-D TVs in U.S. stores this week.

But the sets require bulky glasses, and there's little to watch in the enhanced format so far. It will take at least a few years for the technology to become mainstream.