UPI NewsTrack Business

U.S. markets fall on manufacturing news

NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes fell sharply Thursday, as U.S. jobless claims rose and manufacturing in September showed a sharp decline.

First-time unemployment claims rose by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 497,000 in the week ending Sept. 27, the Labor Department said. More ominous, the Institute of Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing activity fell to its lowest level since October 2001.

By close Thursday, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 348.62 points, or 3.22 percent, to 10,482.45. The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 4.03 percent, to 1,114.32, losing 46.74 points. The Nasdaq composite index fell 4.48 percent to 1,976.72, down 92.68 points.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 506 stocks advanced and 2,669 declined on a volume of 6.33 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 27/32 to yield 3.641 percent.

The dollar was mixed. The euro fell to $1.3795, compared to $1.4013 Wednesday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 105.21 yen from 106.04 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 213.50 points to 11,154.76, down 1.88 percent.

The FTSE 100 index in London fell 1.77 percent to 4,872.00, down 87.60 points.

Candidates pledge jobs, but where?

CHICAGO, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. presidential candidates promise job creation, but the question remains where the jobs might be created, a private research group said.

Without knowing which programs or budget items pass in the halls of Congress, it is impossible to predict which campaign promises come to fruition. "However, we can at least get an idea of where opportunities could exist when the new president takes over the White House," said John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago outplacement consultancy.

By analyzing the candidates' campaign promises thus far, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said job creation in manufacturing, education, alternative energy, construction, civil engineering and telecommunications would fare better under a Barack Obama administration.

Jobs creation in the oil and gas, nuclear science and engineering, insurance, automotive and aerospace and defense industries would likely be encouraged by a John McCain administration, the report said.

Construction jobs would also fare well with McCain in charge, owing to his pledge to build 45 new nuclear power plants, the report said.

In the construction sector, Obama has pledged $60 billion over the 10 years for the country's infrastructure, Challenger, Gray & Christmas said.

Nuclear plant loan guarantee apps received

WASHINGTON, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Energy says it has received 19 Part I applications from 17 electric power companies for nuclear plant construction loan guarantees.

The federal loan guarantees would support the construction of 14 nuclear power plants in the United States. The department said the applications, submitted in response to a June 30 solicitation, reflect the intentions of the companies to build 21 new reactors, with some applications covering two reactors at the same site.

The plants would mark the first new nuclear power plants to be constructed in the U.S. in more than 20 years. The industry is asking the Energy Department to provide loan guarantees in the amount of $122 billion, significantly exceeding the $18.5 billion in loan guarantees available under the June 30 Nuclear Power Facilities solicitation.

The Energy Department said said the aggregate estimated construction cost of the 14 projects is $188 billion. If all projects are constructed, they would add 28,800 megawatts of emissions-free, base load electric generating capacity.

The loan guarantee program is designed to facilitate early commercial use of new or significantly improved technologies in energy related projects.

Credit crunch hits large and small

NEW YORK, Oct. 2 (UPI) -- The impact of the credit crunch is showing up in lending rates and the scarcity of loans available in the United States and abroad, records show.

The rate U.K. banks use to loan each other money, called the LIBOR for London InterBank Offered Rate, reached a record 5.07 percent Wednesday for 30-day loans based in euros, USA Today reported Thursday.

Loans offered to speculative-grade companies – smaller companies without deep pockets – reached $37 billion on 101 debt issues, Standard & Poor's reported. A year ago, the same category of lending was at $107 billion based on 247 issuances, the newspaper said.

The impact of low credit availability is widespread as two-thirds of non-financial businesses are considered speculative-grade companies, USA Today said.

Big companies are also feeling the heat. General Electric, one of six U.S. firms that maintains an AAA rating at Standard & Poor's, agreed to pay 10 percent on a loan agreement made with Berkshire Hathaway Wednesday.