UPI NewsTrack Business

Markets slide as U.S. jobless rate gains

NEW YORK, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A government report of an increase in the unemployment rate sent U.S. stock indexes down.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics bumped the unemployment rate to 5.7 percent from 5.5 percent on a loss of 51,000 jobs in July. Analysts had predicted unemployment to rise to 5.6 percent, but they also expected more job losses.

General Motors Corp, meanwhile, said it lost $15.5 billion in the second quarter. Its shares dropped 3 percent on the news, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The Dow Jones industrial average, briefly up, dropped 47.95 points in midmorning trading to 11,330.07, off 0.42 percent. The Nasdaq index fell 1.34 percent, off 33.16 points to 2,292.39. The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 7.08 points to 1,260.30, down 0.56 percent.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 1/32 to yield 3.962 percent.

The euro traded at $1.5557 Friday from Thursday's close of $1.5599. Against the yen, the dollar was at 107.47 compared with Thursday's close of 107.89.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Index fell 282.22 points to 13,094.59, off 2.11 percent.

U.S. unemployment rises to 5.7 percent

WASHINGTON, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- The U.S. unemployment rate rose from 5.5 percent to 5.7 percent in July on the loss of 51,000 non-farm jobs, U.S. government statistics showed.

Downward trends continued in construction, manufacturing and in several other sectors but healthcare and mining edged up, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said Friday.

Wages rose marginally in July, up 0.3 percent, the equivalent of 6 cents an hour, the report said.

In July, 8.8 million people were classified as unemployed, a number that has increased by 1.6 million -- 1 percent -- in the past year, the report said.

Unemployment gained for adult men and whites, now 5.3 percent and 5.1 percent, respectively. But the rates for adult women (4.6 percent), blacks (9.7 percent), and Hispanics (7.4 percent) were "little changed," the report said.

In the month, those working part time involuntarily rose by 308,000 to 5.7 million, a category that has increased 1.4 million in the past year, the bureau reported.

Vegas economy delays work on Echelon hotel

LAS VEGAS, Aug. 1 (UPI) -- Boyd Gaming blamed tougher credit markets and a slower economy for its decision to delay construction of its $5 billion hotel project on the Las Vegas Strip.

Boyd Gaming said Friday that it remained committed to Echelon and seeking to rearrange financing with its creditors.

The company said in a written statement that the decision was made "due to the difficult environment surrounding today's capital markets and the challenging economic conditions that currently exist."

The delay was the latest sign that a slower U.S. economy was pressuring the Las Vegas economy and that tighter credit markets were making it tougher on construction.

Echelon is being built on an 87-acre site where the famed Stardust casino once stood. Its five towers will include nearly 5,000 rooms plus a huge casino, 30 restaurants and convention hall measuring 750,000 square feet. Construction began last summer.

Meanwhile, Boyd said its net revenues for the second quarter were down 6.3 percent and its was increasing its stock-repurchase budget to $100 million.

A used Prius is money in the bank

TORRANCE, Calif., Aug. 1 (UPI) -- A used Toyota Prius is doing something very few vehicles ever do: appreciating in value, a car value research group said.

Power Information Network said the average price of a Prius with 8,000 miles in June was $27,945, which is $1,300 more than the price of a new one, USA Today reported Friday.

A 2007 Prius has depreciated slightly. With an average of 22,000 miles, a 2007 Prius sold for $276 below the price of a new one, the newspaper reported.

"Demand for fuel-efficient vehicles is so strong that the customer is willing to buy used ones at a significant premium," Tom Libby of the Power Information Network said.

Toyota said recently it would begin Prius production in 2010 at a new plant in Blue Springs, Miss., to help meet the sudden demand.

"There is just a frenzy on the car," Don Mushin, general manager of Toyota of Hollywood, told USA Today. "At the end of the month, I won't have a Prius on the ground."