UPI NewsTrack Business

U.S. markets down slightly

NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes were down slightly Wednesday as the U.S. Department of Labor said the consumer price index fell 1 percent in October.

The largest drop in the inflation rate in 61 years indicated the U.S. economy had slowed dramatically. The core inflation rate, excluding food and energy costs, dropped 0.1 percent in the month.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 51.69 points, or 0.61 percent, to 8,373.06. The Standard and Poor's 500 fell 0.83 percent, 7.11 points, to 852.01. The Nasdaq composite index lost 7.83 points, 0.53 percent, to 1,475.44.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 11/32 to yield 3.487 percent.

The euro rose to $1.2769, compared to $1.2617 Tuesday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 96.76, from 96.61 yen Tuesday.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average fell 55.19 points to 8,273.22, down 0.66 percent.

Tech firms down, not out, experts say

NEW YORK, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The U.S. technology sector can expect a downturn, but not one as dramatic as the dot.com bust of 1995 through 2001, experts said.

Industry analysts at Gartner project growth in the sector under 3 percent in 2009, down from an earlier projection of 6 percent, USA Today reported Wednesday.

Experts at International Date Corp. project similar numbers for 2009, although Bill Whyman at International Strategy & Investment said technology businesses "cannot fight the downward tug of economic gravity."

While Intel and others have cut next year's revenue predictions, Whyman said worldwide spending on technology would fall to "mid-single digit negative."

Amid the gloom, the top-selling personal computer company Hewlett-Packard reported revenues of $33.6 billion in the fiscal quarter that ended Oct. 31, a 19 percent jump from the same period a year ago.

A large part of the jump came from a purchase of Electronic Data Systems while growth in HP's established businesses was around 5 percent, the newspaper said.

Experts also say one segment of the industry may be recession-proof.

Video game sales grew 18 percent in October over the same month of 2007.

"People getting laid off need something to do," one expert said.

Second Canadian broadcaster posts layoffs

TORONTO, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- The CTV television network is the second Canadian media group in a week to announce job layoffs, a hiring freeze and expense cuts.

In a memo to employees Tuesday, CTV Chief Executive Officer Ivan Fecan said he would give details Wednesday at a "town hall" meeting at a Toronto newsroom.

Fecan said the measures aren't all doom and gloom, the Canadian Broadcasting Corp. reported.

"Each situation will be judged by its own circumstances … where there is strong revenue or competitive reasons, we may choose to add, not cut, resources," his statement said.

The memo refers only to the private broadcaster's operations at CTV Inc., which includes the CTV television network of 27 television stations, along with some specialty cable channels such as The Sports Network and the Business News Network, the Financial Post said. It also maintains news bureaus in Washington, London and Beijing. CTV's owner is CTVglobemedia, which also owns the Globe and Mail newspaper.

A week ago, media giant Canwest Global announced it was cutting 5 percent of its workforce in television and news reporting, including 210 broadcast and 350 publishing jobs.

A collapse at GM: A headache for many

DETROIT, Nov. 19 (UPI) -- A collapse of General Motors Corp. would likely trigger a downward spiral in the automotive supply industry and higher vehicle prices, industry experts said.

"Vehicles could cost anywhere from 5 percent to 15 percent more, maybe even more than that," said Michael Robinet, an industry analyst at CSM Worldwide.

Discounts would likely decrease as "anything that would take significant supply out would shift the market to a seller's market very quickly," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research, CNNMoney reported Wednesday.

GM executives, lobbying for a bailout loan in Washington, have said the company could run out of cash soon. Currently, the company commands 22 percent of the domestic market, CNNMoney reported.

GM owed suppliers $28 billion at the end of the third quarter, making it likely that a company failure would start a domino effect of bankruptcies throughout the supply line, experts said.

A collapse would also affect customers as worries about service contracts and replacement parts would put downward pressure on used GM vehicles.

"If the production suppliers aren't functioning, the 150 million used vehicles out there are going to have trouble," said Kimberly Rodriguez, at the accounting firm Grant Thornton.