Markets turn down Friday
NEW YORK, May 29 (UPI) -- U.S. markets turned down Friday morning after an initial rally on the Commerce Department's revised its first quarter gross domestic product estimate.
Last month Commerce estimated the GDP decline at 6.1 percent. With more data available, Commerce changed the figure to a negative 5.7 percent Friday.
In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average dipped 18.48 points or 0.22 percent to 8,385.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 was flat, off 0.05 or 0.01 percent to 906.78. The Nasdaq composite index shed 4.72 or 0.27 percent to 1,747.07.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 2/32 to yield 3.54 percent.
The euro rose to $1.413, compared to Thursday's $1.3941. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 95.535 yen, compared to Thursday's 96.92 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei average rose 0.75 percent, 71.11, to 9,522.50.
Preliminary report:GDP better than hoped
WASHINGTON, May 29 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce said Friday the first quarter drop in the gross domestic product was not as bad as originally feared.
The economy contracted by 5.7 percent in the quarter, the department said, less of a drop than was estimated a month ago, when the figure released was 6.1 percent.
While the numbers still appear dismal, markets reacted to earlier estimates, softening the impact Friday's numbers might have had on stock markets.
In the fourth quarter, the GDP fell 6.3 percent.
Commerce revised its first quarter personal expenditures figure from 2.2 percent growth to 1.5 percent, following a decline of 4.3 percent in the fourth quarter.
Fiat withdraws from Opel discussions
BERLIN, May 29 (UPI) -- Italian automaker Fiat withdrew from talks with the German government on the fate of Opel Friday, saying the plan posed extreme risks.
"The last round of requests which would require Fiat, among other things, to fund Opel on an emergency basis while the German government determines the exact timing and conditions of the interim financing, would expose Fiat to unnecessary and unwarranted risks," Fiat Chief Executive Officer Sergio Marchionne said in a statement.
Marchionne said a request to "provide funds to an organization whose financial details and position remain unknown," was "unreasonable," The Financial Times reported Friday.
The discussions over General Motors Corp.'s European operation were jolted when GM Thursday said cash reserves available to Opel fell $145 million short, the Times said.
Fiat has balked at putting up cash for the company, while the German government has balked at providing emergency assistance without guarantees that its money won't be used to prop up GM's ailing operations in the United States.
Canadian auto supplier Magna, which has also bid on Opel, said it would agree to add $422 million to its bid after GM announced the shortfall Thursday.
Despite losses, pension chiefs get bonuses
OTTAWA, May 29 (UPI) -- Four senior investment managers for the Canada Pension Plan will receive $7 million in bonuses despite losing $23.7 billion last year, the government said.
The 2008-09 CPP annual report published Thursday said the executives received combined base salaries of $1.47 million but the bonuses push that number to $9.3 million, Sun Media reported.
CPP Chairman Bob Astley told reporters the bonus system is based on long-term overall investment performance.
In Parliament Thursday, opposition parties expressed anger to Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper. He said he couldn't order the bonuses canceled at the Crown corporation, which is similar in administration to Canada Post, the report said.
"The federal government does not make these decisions," Harper said. "This is a joint body of the provincial and federal governments that is administered at arm's length."
