U.S. markets mixed Thursday morning
NEW YORK, May 29 (UPI) -- U.S. stock markets opened mixed Thursday after the government revised its gross domestic product figures up by 0.3 percent, then turned higher.
The Bureau of Economic Analysis bumped its first quarter estimate to reflect a 0.9 percent gain.
In late-morning trading Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 29.88 points or 0.24 percent at 12,623.91. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 6.04 or 0.43 percent to 1,396.88. The Nasdaq composite index gained 15.55 or 0.63 percent to 2,502.25.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 18/32 to yield 4.065 percent.
The dollar was higher. The euro traded at $1.5528 from Wednesday's $1.5645, while the dollar traded at 105.425 yen from Monday's 104.33 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index gained 415.03 points to 14,124.47, up 3.03 percent.
All-business flights have bumpy record
NEW YORK, May 29 (UPI) -- Expensive ticket prices haven't kept all-business class U.S. airlines from bankruptcy, industry analysts said.
Round-trip tickets for Silverjet all-business flights between London and Newark, N.J., start at $2,800, USA Today reported Thursday.
But many all-business airlines have gone belly-up.
In April, Eros filed for bankruptcy, adding to a list the failed ventures of Maxjet, Air One, Air Atlanta, McClain, Regent, MGM Grand and Legend, the newspaper reported.
Several large airlines are continuing with their all-business flights, including Lufthansa, Swiss, KLM and Air France.
Singapore Airlines recently initiated an all-business schedule between Asia and the United States, the report said.
But, "nobody learns from previous mistakes," Barbara Beyer, president of airline consultant firm Avmark told USA Today.
The all-business concept appeals to the wealthy few who prefer to fly with wealthy cohorts, the report said.
They "like the idea that they won't be flying with the riffraff," Beyer said to USA Today. "However, it's the back of the bus that pays for most of the operating costs."
Report: Job ads still low and frustrating
CHICAGO, May 29 (UPI) -- The Help-Wanted Advertising Index was unchanged in April in the United States, the Conference Board reported Thursday.
The index, which tracks classified ads for jobs, remains at 19 for the second month, but has fallen from 29 a year ago, the report said.
In the first quarter, help ads declined in all nine regions the Conference Board tracks, the report said.
The largest declines were in New England, down 26.8 percent, the South Atlantic, down 20.5 percent, and the Pacific, down 19.8 percent, the report said.
"The economy is still weak and job losses will likely continue through the summer," said Ken Goldstein, labor economist at the Conference Board.
"The prolonged period of slow economic growth and no job growth is feeding a sense of frustration. This is why consumer confidence is at a 16-year low," he said.
A hush before final vote at Bear Stearns
NEW YORK, May 29 (UPI) -- Bear Stearns Vice Chairman Fares Noujaim said he knew the bank was in trouble in March but he didn't know how much trouble.
"We knew it was a storm, but we didn't know it was the storm," Noujaim, told The Washington Post.
J.P. Morgan and Chase made a fire-sale purchase offer in March after hedge fund investors pulled $17 billion from Bear Stearns in two days -- a run on the bank that led to its demise.
Bear Stearns bank shareholders are to vote Thursday on whether to accept a $10 per share fire sale offer from rival New York bank J.P. Morgan and Chase. Bear Stearns' shares had been valued at a high of $171 in 2007.
At the investment bank, an uneasy hush has moved in as office furniture has moved out, the Post reported.
Left-over employees remain, dealing with their emotions.
"To tell you the truth, I'm psyched to work for J.P. Morgan," one employee told the Post. "I'm happy to get away from these knuckleheads."
