U.S. stocks drop to new lows for the year
NEW YORK, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks took another tumble Friday, hitting new lows for the year after a weak jobs report turned off investors.
The Dow Jones industrials fell 147.70 points, or 1.5 percent, to 9,814.33. Nasdaq lost 44.74, or 2.5 percent to 1,776.89 and the Standard & Poor 500 dropped 16.73, or 1.5 percent, to 1,063.97.
Bonds advanced, rising about 1 1/2 points, or $15 for each $1,000 invested. The yield fell to 4.21 percent.
The dollar was weaker, trading at 110.485 yen, down from 111.72, while the euro rose against the dollar to $1.2278 from $1.2060.
Gold prices surged $7.30 to settle at $402.10.
Crude oil prices settled down 46 cents at $43.95 Friday.
The Labor Department reported 32,000 new non-farm payroll jobs in July, slowest pace in eight months and far from the 235,000 economists expected. The unemployment rate fell to 5.5 percent from 5.6 percent.
NYMEX crude settles under $44/bbl
NEW YORK, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- New York crude prices retreated from the $44 per barrel level Friday following Thursday's record high.
The New York Mercantile Exchange's September contract lost 46 cents on the day after market reports indicated a major Gulf Coast refinery was back on line after mechanical problems, and on concerns that the United States economy was showing signs of slowing.
September settled at $43.95 per barrel following Thursday's record high settlement price of $44.77. September heating oil settled 1.84 cents lower at $1.174 per gallon while gasoline lost nearly a penny to settle at $1.234 per gallon.
U.S., European, Asia carmakers offer deals
DETROIT, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Automakers raised discounts 2 percent last month to an average $3,090 per vehicle to boost sales, the Detroit News said.
Incentives ranged from a high of $4,347 per vehicle at General Motors Corp. to $1,498 per model for Asian brands. Ford's incentives were up 6 percent to an average $3,872 per vehicle. Chrysler reduced incentives 1.9 percent to an average $3,773 per vehicle.
European automakers spent an average $2,783 per vehicle in June, up 18 percent from July 2003, according to Autodata Corp.
Toyota was the only Japanese automaker to cut incentives, offering discounts averaging $907 per vehicle in July compared to $1,132 a year ago.
While U.S. automakers passed rebates directly to the customer in the form of cash-back or no- or low-interest financing deals, Asian carmakers used dealer incentives to raise their market share.
Sales of European cars and trucks were down 3.8 percent through July.
Workers planning job searches
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Spherion Corp. of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., said Friday nearly two in five U.S. workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months.
Spherion said this is despite the government's weak job growth report.
The U.S. Labor Department report showed employers hired workers in July at the slowest pace since December.
Still, the U.S. unemployment rate dropped to its lowest level in nearly three years, falling to 5.5 percent -- the lowest level since October 2001.
The monthly Spherion Employment Report, conducted by Harris Interactive, shows while the workforce may be uncertain about the availability of jobs and the strength of the current economy, workers are confident about their personal job security, ready to find new jobs and believe in their own ability to do so.
"Our survey reveals that there is a paradox in the American workforce. The majority of workers surveyed have expressed strong confidence in their personal prospects, but many still have reservations about the availability of jobs and the current state of our overall economy," said Roy Krause, Spherion president and chief operating officer.
