U.S. markets up after hesitant start
NEW YORK, April 24 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes moved in narrow ranges Thursday after the U.S. government announced a reduction in new unemployment claims.
The U.S. Labor Department said the number of initial benefit claims declined by 33,000 to 342,000 for the week ending April 19.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 52.92 points late-morning trading to 12,816.14, up 0.41 percent. The Standard and Poor's index gained 5.40 points to 1,385.33, up 0.39 percent. The Nasdaq index of tech-dominated stocks was up 16.66 points to 2,421.81, up 0.69 percent.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 21/32 to yield 3.819 percent.
The dollar gained. The euro traded at $1.5704 from Wednesday's $1.589, while the dollar traded at 104.07 yen from Wednesday's 103.47 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index fell 38.29 points to 13,540.97, down 0.28 percent.
Cap seals House foreclosure aid compromise
WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- U.S. House of Representatives members reached a compromise over a formula for distributing $15 billion in foreclosure aid, finance leaders in Washington said.
The formula will take both median home prices and the percentage of the nation's foreclosures into consideration but will also impose a cap on how much one state can receive, Politico, a Washington publication, reported Thursday.
Without the cap, California, home of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, would have received nearly one-third of the entire bill, Politico said. California has the most foreclosures in the nation but the median price of homes there is also higher than it is in many states.
The formula without the cap" discriminates against many of the states hardest hit by the subprime mortgage crisis." U.S. Reps. Steven C. LaTourette and Deborah Pryce, both Ohio Republicans, wrote in a letter to U.S. Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., who sponsored the original bill.
The compromise bumped Ohio's share from $436 million to $586 million. It also increased Florida's share by $310 million, Michigan's by $160 million and Pennsylvania's by $73 million, Politico reported.
Canadian e-commerce up 26 percent in 2007
OTTAWA, April 24 (UPI) -- Canadians spent $62.7 billion in online transactions in 2007, a 26 percent increase over 2006, Statistics Canada reported Thursday.
The transactions were dominated by private sector businesses, whose sales rose 25 percent to $58.2 billion, while public sector e-commerce rose 30 percent to almost $4.5 billion, StatsCan said.
The agency estimated customers outside Canada generated 19 percent of online sales in the private sector, which was dominated by 62 percent in business-to-business sales. online business-to-consumer sales climbed from 32 percent to 38 percent, the report said.
By sector, wholesale e-commerce led with 17 percent, followed by transportation and warehousing at 16 percent. Manufacturing was third at 15 percent and retail trade was fourth at 10 percent. The balance was distributed among such areas as the arts, entertainment and recreational industries, the agency said.
Despite the growth, StatsCan said e-commerce still represents just less than 2 percent of total economic activity in the country.
Airline merger met with skepticism
WASHINGTON, April 24 (UPI) -- The proposed Delta Air Lines-Northwest Airlines merger has found skeptics on New York's Wall Street and Washington's Capitol Hill, industry observers said.
The vote on Wall Street is measured by share prices. Since the merger was announced a week ago, Delta's stock has dropped 22 percent and Northwest's has declined 19 percent, The Washington Post reported Thursday.
On Capitol Hill, where airline executives are to meet with members of the House of Representatives and Senate Judiciary committees, the merger proposal has been met with criticism from both sides of the aisle.
U.S. Rep. James Oberstar, D-Minn., said the merger was "probably the worst development in the history of aviation since deregulation."
"Mark me down as skeptical," U.S. Sen. Kit Bond, R-Mo., said, citing "employees and consumers," as probable "losers" in the deal.
"How are they going to cut costs … without significant disruptions," Bond asked.
The airlines have argued that the merger would result in cost savings of $1 billion.
"The merged entity will be financially stronger than if the two airlines stay apart," Doug Steenland, Northwest's chief executive officer, said this week. "This positions the merged entity to be in better financial shape and to be more secure."
