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U.S. markets fall Thursday

NEW YORK, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. markets moved lower Thursday even as first-time jobless claims fell and crude oil prices dropped.

The Labor Department said initial unemployment claims dropped by 21,000 in the week ending Dec. 13. A production cut of 2.2 million barrels announced by the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries Wednesday did not stop the sliding price of oil, which fell below $40 per barrel in New York.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average lost 219.35 points or 2.49 percent to 8,604.99. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 19.08 points, 2.11 percent, to 885.34. The Nasdaq composite index fell 1.71 percent, losing 26.94 points to 1,552.37.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,311 stocks advanced and 1,799 declined on volume of 6.3 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 1 8/32 to yield 2.074 percent.

The euro fell to $1.4232, compared to Wednesday's $1.439. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to 89.49 yen, up from Wednesday's 87.4 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average gained 54.71 points to 8,667.23 up 0.64 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.15 percent to 4,330.66, adding 6.47 points.

Ex-49ers firm owes $69M, may be taken over

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Dec. 18 (UPI) -- A private-equity firm run by former San Francisco 49ers football stars may be taken over by a bank to which it owes $69 million, the bank said.

HRJ Capital LLC of Woodside, Calif., made famous by Pro Football Hall of Fame inductees Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott plus teammate Harris Barton, evidently doomed itself by using the firm as collateral for a bridge loan as it was trying to raise $250 million, the San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News reported.

It raised only $110 million to $130 million, but committed the entire $250 million for investments, the newspaper said.

Now in debt, HRJ is negotiating its sale to SVB Financial Group of Santa Clara, Calif., whose companies include Santa Clara's Silicon Valley Bank, the Mercury News said.

SVB said in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filing the negotiations were exploring "a possible arrangement" for SVB to provide management services to various funds now managed by HRJ Capital.

SVB would recover its money through management fees, the filing said.

Some HRJ Capital employees would join SVB.

Montana left HRJ Capital in 2006, but Lott and Barton remain as members of a three-person management team, the HRJ Web site said.

SVB's stock was down $2.99 a share, or 10.81 percent, in late afternoon trading Thursday to $24.67, a 52-week low.

Aid to autos 'very close' White House says

WASHINGTON, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- White House spokeswoman Dana Perino said the U.S. government was closing in on a deal to help the Big Three automakers.

"We're nearing a conclusion. We're very close," Perino said Thursday. "The president is not going to allow a disorderly collapse of the companies. That is not an option," she said, The Detroit News reported.

Perino said the package could include the option of a "managed bankruptcy" or using money from the $700 billion financial firm bailout. "I don't want to rule anything out," she said.

White House and U.S. Treasury officials have been wading through financial details to develop a financial aid package for the ailing U.S. auto giants.

The Bush administration had been pushing for a deal that could be announced before Dec. 25, the New York Times reported.

Chrysler has said it needs $4 billion soon to avoid bankruptcy while GM has said it need $14 billion to survive through March of next year. Federal officials reportedly were trying to fit a financial aid package meant for financial firms to benefit automakers.

"The autos will get the money as quickly as we can prudently do it," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson Jr. said on CNBC Wednesday.

Ryder scales back, quits South America

MIAMI, Dec. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. trucking company Ryder System said it would eliminate 700 jobs and furlough 1,300 workers as part of an adjustment to the economic downturn.

Ryder also said it would end its operations in Brazil, Argentina and Chile, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.

The temporary layoffs affect drivers, warehouse workers and salaried employees.

Ryder's trucking service business has been hurt by slow sales in the automotive industry, which dropped 37 percent in November.

Detroit's Big Three automakers have all announce production cuts for the first quarter of 2009.

"It is sad and disheartening that even though we have done better than most organizations … nobody is immune to what happens in the environment of our customers," Chief Executive Officer Greg Swienton said.

With its pullback from South America, Ryder's presence in Latin America will be limited to just Mexico, the Herald said.

Returns from South America have not lived up to the company's expectations.

''We concluded that the returns and the expectations are not going to bring us to a level of profitability that we feel is adequate for our investors,'' Swienton said.