The economic news is gloomy, and the stock market is down 4 percent this year.
So where are mutual fund managers finding real values, aside from bargain-hunting among stocks with depressed prices? Top fund manager Chuck Akre sees lasting value in the stocks of three discount retailers, each with a gain more than 20 percent this year.
They’re among the top holdings in the Akre Focus Fund. One of Akre’s largest stakes is in Dollar Tree Stores Inc. The other two are off-price apparel rivals: Ross Stores Inc., owner of Ross Dress for Less stores, and TJX Cos., which runs the T.J.Maxx and Marshalls chains.
The impressive rise of these stocks in a down market
British police say a sixth man has been charged with murder in the deaths of three men in a hit-and-run attack during riots in the English city of Birmingham.
West Midlands Police said Wednesday the 29-year-old man will appear at Birmingham Magistrates court on Thursday in connection with the murders of 20-year-old Haroon Jahan and brothers Shazad Ali, 30, and Abdul Musavir, 31.
The trio were killed after a car, allegedly containing several looters, struck them at high speed as they stood guard in front of a row of Pakistani-owned shops paydayloans.
Five other men ranging in age from 17 to 30 have already been charged with murder. All remain in custody.
The Dow Jones industrial average ended another turbulent week with a strong gain Friday after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the U.S. was headed for long-term economic growth. It was the first winning week in a month.
Trading volume was light, a sign that many traders were leaving New York ahead of Hurricane Irene. The storm is expected to reach the region late Saturday night. A spokesman for the New York Stock Exchange said trading is expected to open as usual Monday.
Bernanke announced no new economic stimulus measures during his speech at a conference in Jackson Hole, Wyo., as some investors had hoped. He did leave open the possibility of more action if another recession looks likely.
Indexes fell sharply as the speech was released at 10 a.m. and it became clear that Bernanke was not promising additional support of the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average was down about 78 points shortly before the speech started and slumped as many as 220 points shortly after Bernanke started speaking. It recovered within an hour and stayed higher the rest of the day.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 134.72 points, or 1.2 percent, to close at 11,284.54. It was up 4.3 percent for the week after being down the past four.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 17.53, or 1.5 percent, to 1,176.80. It rose 4.7 percent for the week, its biggest gain since the week ended July 1. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index rose 60.22, or 2.5 percent, to 2,479.85.
Boeing Co. rose 2.8 percent, the most of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow. Tiffany & Co. rose 9 percent, the most of any of the 500 stocks in the S&P index, after the luxury retailer raised its profit forecast for the year.
In his speech, Bernanke focused on the long-term strengths of the U.S. economy. He said the “do not appear to have been permanently altered by the shocks of the past four years.” That shot of optimism helped lift markets.
“In the American economy, the only thing that’s really lacking right now is confidence,” said David Kelly, chief market strategist at JPMorgan funds. “People who understand the limits of monetary policy also understand that the economy has what it takes to grow.”
Other analysts said Bernanke’s speech helped lift investor sentiment. Liz Ann Sonders, chief investment strategist at Charles Schwab, said Bernanke’s speech was an “acknowledgement that the Fed is not out of tools and that they stand ready” to act if needed.
Underscoring how fragile the U.S. economic recovery is, early Friday the government said the nation’s economy grew at an annual rate of just 1 percent in the April-June quarter, weaker than the government’s first estimate of 1.3 percent. The report renewed concerns that the U.S. might be headed for another recession.
The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term interest rates low until mid-2013. Low rates on investments like bonds make higher-risk bets such as stocks more attractive. At last year’s conference in Jackson Hole, Bernanke signaled the central bank would buy more government bonds to lower long-term interest rates.
The government lowered its estimate for economic growth in the April-June quarter because of fewer exports and weaker growth in business stockpiles. That means the economy expanded at an annual rate of only 0.7 percent in the first six months of the year, the worst pace since the recession ended in June 2009.
The yield on the 10-year Treasury note spiked in the hour after Bernanke’s speech. It was 2.13 percent just before the speech and rose to 2.22 percent in the hour after the text was released. The yield was 2.19 percent late Friday.
The last time the New York Stock Exchange was closed due to weather was Jan 8., 1996, when the opening was delayed until 11 a.m. due to a snowstorm. Hurricane Gloria caused a shutdown on Sept. 27, 1985.
Five stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange. Volume was relatively light at 4.2 billion.
An Exxon Mobil Pipeline Co. executive says the cleanup of a major oil spill in the Yellowstone River has proven to be more difficult than expected and could go on for several more months.
Company vice president Geoff Craft said Thursday that areas hit hardest by the July spill should be cleaned up by the first half of October. That includes a 20-mile stretch of the Yellowstone from Laurel to Billings.
But scattered sites would need to be dealt with, including contaminated river sections downstream of Billings. Craft says work in those areas could continue until Thanksgiving.
Exxon Mobil had been ordered to complete work on the 1,000-barrel spill by Sept 9. Removing crude from hundreds of debris piles created by spring flooding has slowed the company’s efforts.
Rebekah Brooks, Rupert Murdoch’s former British CEO, says she is “assisting the police with their inquiries” after being arrested in the British phone hacking and police bribery scandal.
Brooks, 43, was arrested at a London police station at noon Sunday by appointment. She is being questioned on suspicion of conspiring to intercept communications _ phone hacking _ and on suspicion of corruption, which relates to bribing police for information free instant credit score.
With 10 beds and a waiting list 21-people long, the Emily Program had planned to open a second in-patient facility for people with serious eating disorders later this month. Minnesota’s government shutdown has thrown those plans in doubt.
The private, St. Paul-based treatment program was waiting on a July 18 inspection by the licensing division of the Department of Human Services. The division closed in the shutdown, and “without that last step in the licensing process, the program will be unable to open,” said Jillian Lampert, director of licensing for The Emily Program.
Lampert was one of several dozen people who pleaded Tuesday before a court-appointed “special master” for a continuation of state funding or services during the shutdown. In the second day of such hearings, former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Kathleen Blatz heard pleas from advocates for the homeless and indigent and sexual assault victims, as well as child care providers, police officers and prosecutors, hospital officials and more. The hearings have been a lesson in the deep and wide-reaching tentacles of state government.
The shutdown that started Friday resulted from a budget standoff between Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders. Dayton wants to raise income taxes on the state’s wealthiest residents to provide more money for social services and public education. Republican lawmakers oppose any tax increase. The two sides met briefly Tuesday but reported no progress.
Until a budget deal materializes, state spending decisions fall to Blatz, who stepped down as the state’s chief justice in 2006. A state district court judge has ordered programs essential to life, health and public safety to continue during the shutdown, and Blatz must make recommendations to her on which programs qualify. As she presided over the parade of need, Blatz repeatedly reminded those before her that she had limited power.
“It’s not a comment on the value of your services. It goes to the limits of the court’s power,” she said, trying to downplay the expectations of two representatives from the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, a treatment and counseling center that holds a number state contracts to provide social services.
The center focuses on “prevention and advocacy,” which Blatz suggested wasn’t essential to the public’s health and safety. With no “disruption,” she said, “We’re limited until they figure things out across the street.”
Many requests came from people and groups worried services would shut down because they couldn’t get state licenses, background checks and inspections required by law. Ben Peltier, legal counsel for the Minnesota Hospital Association, said hiring at its 45 member hospitals has halted because state background checks required by law aren’t available.
Large hospitals can probably shuffle existing staff for a few weeks, but some 65 smaller hospitals that typically treat 25 or fewer patients could end up short-staffed, Peltier said. “The only option is to ask people to work longer hours, and they won’t always do that,” he said.
A similar dilemma faces police departments, whose new hires must obtain a state license from an office that’s closed. Chief Daniel Hatten of the Hutchinson Police Department said he’s currently down three patrol officers on his 22-officer team, and he’s had to swap several specialized investigators back into patrol shifts.
“It’s not just a fatigue factor,” Hatten said. “It’s the ability to deliver the protection at a level not only that the community expects but also from a basic safety perspective.”
Dayton’s legal team asked Blatz on Tuesday to expand the list of critical services and recommend funding be continued for special education, mental health and chemical dependency programs, child care assistance and other services to the vulnerable.
Meanwhile, prospects for a breakthrough between Dayton and Republicans were uncertain after they talked for only about an hour Tuesday following a four-day break over the holiday weekend. Republicans want to cap state spending the next two years at $34 billion, the total amount of revenue the state is projected to collect, while Dayton seeks to augment that with more than $1 billion in new revenue.
House Majority Leader Matt Dean said in an interview that the shutdown had angered Republican lawmakers and made them less likely to compromise. Members of the House GOP caucus were willing to bend last week to avoid a government closure, but now that it’s happened, they’re returning to their earlier position on a firm limit on state spending, he said.
“They’re very angry and frustrated,” said Dean, the second-ranking House Republican. “So I think it’s more difficult today than it was last week.”
Also Tuesday, two of the state’s political veterans _ former Republican Gov. Arne Carlson and former Democratic Vice President Walter Mondale _ launched an independent commission to resolve the deadlock. The panel will be chaired by two former state lawmakers and aims to float a proposal by the end of the week for breaking the deadlock.
One current Republican lawmaker said it was a bad idea. First-term Republican Sen. Dave Thompson said he expects the commission to recommend tax increases of some kind, a strategy he doesn’t think is wise for the economy.
Asked whether he would support a budget compromise to spend $35 billion over two years instead of $34 billion, the number Republicans want, Thompson said, “I don’t believe so, no.”
The weakening of the case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is fueling intense debate in France about whether the former IMF chief will be able to return and run for president.
The Socialist had been widely seen as the leading contender in the 2012 election, leading polls in the months before his arrest on charges of sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid.
With her credibility now undercut by prosecutors and Strauss-Kahn free on bail, the left-leaning daily Liberation asks the question “DSK Back?” on its front page Monday no teletrack payday loan.
Socialist Party leader Martine Aubry says a July 13 deadline for candidates to register in the party primary could be pushed back if Strauss-Kahn wants a chance to run against conservative President Nicolas Sarkozy.
General Motors and Ford are trying to reassure investors that their sales and profits will keep growing despite a weaker U.S. economy and slower auto sales
Carmakers have been hit with a string of bad news this spring, from the March 11 earthquake in Japan that left dealers short on cars to rising gas prices and unemployment. U.S. auto sales fell in May, their first monthly decline this year.
The news has hurt. GM’s shares have lost almost 13 percent of their value since selling for $33 per share in a public stock sale last November. Ford’s stock price, meanwhile, has fallen more than 9 percent since the start of May.
On Tuesday, GM’s CEO highlighted the company’s healthier finances at its annual shareholder meeting in Detroit, while Ford unveiled an expansion plan to investors in New York. The message was the same: The companies’ turnarounds remain on track following years of struggle and, for GM, bankruptcy.
“The bankruptcy, as difficult as it was, may have been not only a second chance, but a rebirth of a great 21st century global manufacturing company that is no longer burdened by the past,” GM CEO Dan Akerson said.
The messages seemed to take. GM shares rose 1 percent to close at $28.78, while Ford’s rose slightly to close at $13.95.
Jeffries auto analyst H. Peter Nesvold said larger economic worries have been overriding many companies’ performance in recent weeks, including GM and Ford.
“It makes it very difficult for companies executing well to get recognition for it,” he said.
Akerson said he isn’t worried about GM’s slumping stock price. The company has performed in line with its competitors, all of which have seen stock declines in recent months. Akerson recently spent $940,000 of his own money to buy 30,000 GM shares, a gesture executives often use to boost confidence in a company.
GM has many strengths, he said, including a “fortress” balance sheet with $36.5 billion in cash and available liquidity, and only $5 billion in debt. The company’s senior management team also has the right mix of GM experience and outside perspectives, he said.
Shareholders elected all 11 current members of the board and approved Akerson’s 2010 pay package, which was valued at just over $2.5 million for his four months of work as CEO.
Nesvold said Ford had taken a hit from some investors for not presenting a clear plan for growth in emerging markets. Ford tried to reverse that by announcing it will increase global sales by 50 percent by the middle of this decade, mostly through growth in Asia. Ford sold 5.3 million vehicles last year, and hopes to sell 8 million in the next five or six years, with a one-third of sales coming from fast-growing economies in Asia.
“We think it’s really important that the investors understand that we have a plan. The plan isn’t just `survival,” Chief Financial Officer Lewis Booth said in a phone call with media before the investor meeting began.
Nesvold said Ford’s plan is particularly impressive because it calls for increasing profit margins even though it will lower its car prices by $1,000 to $2,000 in some emerging markets. Ford can do that because it has cut costs by selling cars globally instead of designing different cars for different regions.
Analysts have been concerned that Ford is lagging behind rivals like GM and Volkswagen in Asia. It controls less than 3 percent of the market in India and China. The company said it will expand its offerings in India from three cars to eight by the middle of this decade, and will add 10 cars to its lineup in China.
Ford reported a $2.6 billion profit in the first quarter, its eighth straight quarterly profit, while GM earned $3.2 billion for the quarter. But that hasn’t kept investors from getting skittish, particularly about the fragile economy, the rising cost of steel and other raw materials, high gas prices and tough competition from Hyundai Motor Co.
In addition, Japanese automakers didn’t have enough cars to sell last month because of shortages caused by the earthquake, but they’re sure to offer big promotions once their supplies come back, putting pressure on GM and Ford.
George Magliano, an analyst with IHS Automotive, said both companies still have a lot to prove. GM has established its global footprint; it controls 14 percent of the market in China, for example. But he said the company has seen a lot of instability in its executive ranks _ Akerson is GM’s third CEO in two years _ and needs to get more good small cars like the Chevrolet Cruze into the market.
Ford, he said, has solid leadership in CEO Alan Mulally and ambitious growth plans, but it will need to show results.
“Mulally’s righted the ship in North America, but now he’s really got to address the needs in the rest of the world,” he said.
Traders are eagerly awaiting indications from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke that interest rate hikes aren’t likely anytime soon.
The hope that Bernanke will make that clear in remarks scheduled for Tuesday afternoon is keeping stocks afloat. Stocks recovered some of their losses Tuesday after sliding for four straight days.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 53 points, or 0.4 percent, to 12,142 in midday trading. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 5, or 0.4 percent, to 1,291. The Nasdaq composite rose 6, or 0.2 percent, to 2,708.
The Fed has said it will wind down its $600 billion bond-buying program later this month. But a string of disappointing economic reports in recent weeks has renewed speculation that the Fed might extend the program or delay any increase in interest rates well into next year. Before the latest indications that the economy was losing momentum, economists widely expected the Fed to begin raising rates as soon as the end of this year to head off inflation. Bernanke is scheduled to speak at the International Monetary Conference at 3:45 p.m.
“The markets are now thinking there’s going to be a little bit of a positive jolt from Bernanke,” said Rob Lutts, president of Cabot Money Management. “He is the key market participant that has the impact to make people excited and give the market a little more medicine.”
Stocks were also boosted by traders reacting to a technical milestone. The S&P 500 fell 14 points Monday. That brought the index down to 5 percent below its April 29 peak. A five percent drop from the peak is a key signal to buy for many traders, said Lutts.
“A lot of people look at a 5 percent correction as a time to make some kind of change,” said Lutts. “Some say it’s a time of weakness and they should get out, but some say it’s the time to get in.” He added that Hedge Funds like it when markets are volatile because they can exploit short-term stock dips for gains.
Banks recovered some of their recent losses. JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 1.6 percent to $41 quick guaranteed personal loans.19 and Bank of America Corp. rose 0.5 percent to $10.88. Bank stocks took a hit Monday after a Federal Reserve board member indicated in a speech that banks might have to increase the amount of money they keep on hand to cover potential losses.
A contentious acquisition proposal ratcheted up the stock price of all companies involved.
International Paper Co. rose 1.2 percent after smaller rival Temple-Inland fought back against International Paper’s hostile takeover bid for $3.3 billion in cash. Temple-Inland also soared 40 percent on the news. Weyerhouser co. rose 6 percent, the most of any company in the S&P 500, possibly on suspicion it was another takeover candidate for International Paper.
Cablevision Systems Corp. rose 5.7 percent after the New York-area cable company set a date when it would spin off its cable networks. The company plans to divest popular television networks including AMC, which broadcasts the popular “Mad Men” show on June 16. Investors prefer the sleeker broadcast networks like WE TV, IFC and the Sundance Channel operating on their own to the current unwieldy corporate structure.
Traders had some economic news to consider, too. The Labor Department reported that businesses had fewer job openings in April. The government said that employers posted 3 million ads for jobs in April, down from 3.1 million in March. The figure added to the stack of other signs that the U.S. is having an employment crisis. However, the report did little to change the direction of stocks.
Oil prices fell toward $98 a barrel ahead of an OPEC meeting that could result in higher oil production. Rising oil prices have contributed to the recent stock sell-off. Oil has hovered around $100 a barrel since March. On Wednesday ministers from the 12 countries that make up the oil cartel OPEC will consider raising output levels. Producing more oil could ease the pressure on prices.
Toyota recalled 106,000 first-generation Prius hybrid cars globally on Wednesday for faulty steering caused by a nut that may come loose.
The single minor accident suspected of being related to the problem was reported in the U.S., according to Toyota Motor Corp.
The latest recall from Toyota, which has taken hit to its reputation from massive recalls worldwide, affects 48,000 Prius vehicles in Japan, starting with the first Prius models that went on sale in 1997, and those manufactured through 2003.
It also affects 58,000 vehicles sold abroad, including 52,000 Prius cars sold from 2001 through 2003 in the U.S., some 1,200 in Great Britain, and 800 in Germany, company spokesman Paul Nolasco said.
Toyota says loose nuts in the electric-power steering can cause the vehicle, if operated over a long time, to steer with too much force.
The problem can be fixed by putting in better nuts and will take about four hours, it said.
In Japan, Toyota also recalled 21,600 iQ small-cars for braking problems, caused by a valve that became faulty during manufacturing, possibly causing braking power to decline.
Twenty-one complaints were received that may be caused by the problem, but there were no accidents, the automaker said overnight pay day loans.
In the U.S. and Canada, Toyota recalled 34 Venza and 16 Sienna 2011 model vehicles to replace an insufficiently treated driveshaft. The driveshaft could break, causing the vehicle to stall, according to Toyota.
Over the last two years, Toyota has announced massive recalls ballooning to more than 14 million vehicles.
Its once sterling reputation has come under scrutiny. It faces damage lawsuits and lingering doubts in the U.S. on whether it had been transparent enough about the recall woes.
Toyota has been trying to communicate better with customers and empower regions outside Japan to make safety decisions.
U.S. government testing has indicated the problems of runaway cars weren’t caused by electronics or software, but most likely by ill-fitting floor mats or driver error.
Toyota faces a new problem since the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan destroyed key parts suppliers.
The maker of the Lexus luxury car and Camry sedan said Tuesday it expects to be back to 90 percent of pre-disaster production in Japan in June, faster than initially expected.
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