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U.S. markets slip Thursday

NEW YORK, July 29 (UPI) -- U.S. markets fell Thursday despite a Department of Labor report that said 11,000 fewer first-time jobless claims were filed last week.

The department said 457,000 initial benefits claims were filed in the week ending July 24.

In early afternoon trading, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 78.10 points, 0.74 percent, to 10,419.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 0.92 percent, 10.13 points, to 1,096. The Nasdaq composite index lost 1.32 percent, 29.87 points, to 2,234.69.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 9/32 to yield 3.027 percent.

The euro rose to $1.308 from Wednesday's $1.2986. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 87.18 yen from Wednesday's 87.46 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.59 percent, 57.25, to 9,696.02.

Russia to sell stakes in 11 companies

MOSCOW, July 29 (UPI) -- The Russian government said it would sell part of 11 nationalized companies with sales of minority stakes, allowing it to keep control and raise capital.

The move is a reversal of policy after years of nationalizing critical firms, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The government said it would sell minority stakes in national oil, railway and merchant marine companies. In addition, it would divest itself of shares of two national banks, said Ministry of Economy official Aleksei Uvarov.

"Commodity prices are high, so asset prices are high, and at the same time Russia needs cash. So this is the right time to sell," said Sergei Guriyev, the rector of New Economic School in Moscow.

The sales are expected to raise $29 billion in three years, Finance Minister Aleksei Kudrin said.

Subsidized work program on the line

WASHINGTON, July 29 (UPI) -- A subsidized work program set up for unemployed and disadvantaged U.S. workers is on track to put 247,000 people to work by September, a research group said.

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities said the program that provides workers to private businesses for free, paid for by state agencies using federal stimulus money, generally put workers in jobs paying $8 to $15 per hour, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The program has spent about $1 billion of an allocated $5 billion from the $787 billion American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. It is up for a House vote this week to decide whether or not it should continue for another year.

It is a difficult program to assess, however, as it is possible that some employers may have laid off workers on private payrolls and back-filled with free workers.

The program is restricted to workers in low-income households who have young children or are under 21-years of age.

"We have been saying to small businesses, 'This, finally, is the bailout program designed for you,' " the Times quoted James Whelly at the San Francisco Human Services Agency as saying.

On the flip side, "There's always a concern that the employer or somebody else who hires them would have simply hired someone else," said University of California economist David Card.

Loan rates drop amid mixed data

WASHINGTON, July 29 (UPI) -- Average interest rates for long-term mortgages slid to record lows for the sixth consecutive week, the U.S. Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp. said Thursday.

Rates have gone lower, despite fears the cessation of a mortgage securities purchasing program by the Federal Reserve would trigger a rise in interest rates.

In the latest weekly survey, Freddie Mac said interest rates for 30-year, fixed-rate contracts dropped from 4.56 percent with an average of 0.7 points, to 4.54 percent, a record low for the 39-year interest rate survey.

Average interest rates for 15-year, fixed-rate mortgages fell from 4.03 percent to 4 percent. Points for 15-year mortgages also averaged 0.7 during the week.

Freddie Mac Vice President and Chief Economist Frank Nothaft said the records were set during a period of "mixed" economic data.

"The number of local markets experiencing annual increases in home prices appears to be growing. However, existing home sales in June slowed," he said. "Moreover, although new home sales jumped by almost 24 percent to 330,000 dwellings, it represented the second lowest rate since 1963."