___
Chinese firm surpasses Exxon in oil production
NEW YORK (AP) ? A big shift is happening in Big Oil: An American giant now ranks behind a Chinese upstart.
Exxon Mobil is no longer the world's biggest publicly traded producer of oil. For the first time, that distinction belongs to a 13-year-old Chinese company called PetroChina.
PetroChina announced Thursday that it pumped 2.4 million barrels a day last year, surpassing Exxon by 100,000 barrels. The Beijing company was created by the Chinese government to secure more oil for that nation's booming economy.
It has grown rapidly over the last decade by squeezing more from China's aging oil fields and outspending Western companies to acquire more petroleum reserves in places like Canada, Iraq and Qatar.
___
US economy grew 3 percent in final quarter of 2011
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 3 percent in the final three months of 2011, the best pace in a year and a half. But that growth has likely slowed in the current quarter.
Businesses have been restocking their shelves more slowly and shipping fewer long-lasting manufactured goods. In addition, Europe's debt crisis and weaker growth in Asia have slowed demand for U.S. exports.
Stronger hiring in the first two months of the year probably hasn't offset those weaknesses. That's because Americans' pay has barely kept pace with inflation even as gas prices have spiked. So consumer spending, which drives about 70 percent of economic activity, probably hasn't increased much from the end of last year.
___
Court takes health care case behind closed doors
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The survival of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul rests with a Supreme Court seemingly split over ideology and, effectively, in the hands of two Republican-appointed justices.
Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Anthony Kennedy put tough questions to administration lawyers defending the health care law during three days of arguments that suggested they have strong reservations about the individual insurance requirement at the heart of the overhaul and, indeed, whether the rest of the massive law can survive if that linchpin fails.
But Roberts and Kennedy also asked enough pointed questions of the law's challengers to give the overhaul's supporters some hope. In any event, justices' questions at arguments do not always foretell their positions.
___
Report: Illegal overtime on Apple assembly line
NEW YORK (AP) ? The Chinese workers who often spend more than 60 hours per week assembling iPhones and iPads will have their overtime curbed and their hourly wages raised after a labor auditor hired by Apple Inc. inspected their factories.
The Washington-based Fair Labor Association says Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., the Taiwanese company that runs the factories, is committing to reducing weekly work time to the legal Chinese maximum of 49 hours.
That limit is routinely ignored in factories throughout China. Auret van Heerden, the CEO of the FLA, said Hon Hai is the first company to commit to following the legal standard.
Apple's and FLA's own guidelines call for work weeks of 60 hours or less.
___
US jobless claims fall to lowest level in 4 years
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits dropped last week to the lowest level in four years, adding to evidence that the job market is strengthening.
Applications for weekly unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That's the fewest applicants since April 2008. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined to 365,000 ? the fewest for that measure since May 2008.
When unemployment benefit applications drop consistently below 375,000, it usually signals that hiring is strong enough to lower the unemployment rate. The decline has coincided with the best three months of hiring in two years.
___
US rate on 30-year mortgage back below 4 percent
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The average U.S. rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell back below 4 percent this week, staying near historic lows.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan dropped to 3.99 percent from 4.08 percent last week. Last month, the rate touched 3.87 percent, the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage also fell, to 3.23 percent. That's down from 3.30 percent last week and above the record low of 3.13 percent hit earlier this month.
___
Best Buy to cut costs and close stores
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) ? In order to grow, Best Buy is shrinking.
The largest U.S. specialty electronics retailer for years expanded quickly by opening big-box stores across the country. But shoppers have started using the hulking stores as showrooms where they can test out products before buying them cheaper elsewhere.
To revamp the struggling chain, Best Buy said Thursday it plans to close 50 of its U.S. big box stores, cut 400 corporate jobs and trim $800 million in costs. The company, which has about 1,400 U.S. locations, also plans to open 100 smaller and more profitable Best Buy Mobile stores throughout the country.
___
BlackBerry maker to cede most consumer markets
TORONTO (AP) ? Struggling BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. said Thursday that it will cede most consumer markets and focus on business customers.
RIM has been struggling as Americans are abandoning their BlackBerrys for flashier touch-screen phones such as Apple's iPhone and models that run Google's Android software. BlackBerrys have been popular among business customers, in large part because of their security. But RIM has had limited success trying to enter consumer markets in recent years.
___
Macy's gives CEO $14.5 million; a 23 percent bump
NEW YORK (AP) ? Macy's Inc. gave its CEO, Terry Lundgren, a pay package worth $14.5 million in 2011, a 23 percent raise from the previous year, as the department-store chain continued to deliver strong sales during the shaky economic recovery.
Compensation for Lundgren included a $1.5 million salary, stock and option awards worth $7.7 million and cash-based performance bonus of $5.1 million, according to documents filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Lundgren has led the department store chain since 2003.
All other compensation came to $78,925 and covered costs for use of the company's aircraft.
The department store chain, based in Cincinnati, has been a standout in the department-store sector, in part because of its efforts to carry more exclusive brands and tailor merchandise in each store to fit regional tastes.
___
Bernanke optimistic on long-term economic growth
WASHINGTON (AP) ? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says he thinks the U.S. economy will return to its long-term growth of around 3 percent a year despite the weaknesses it still faces.
Bernanke made his observation in his fourth and final lecture to George Washington University students. The lectures this month have been intended to both demystify the Fed and defend the steps it took to confront the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession.
The Fed chairman showed the students a chart illustrating that annual U.S. economic growth over the past century has been about 3 percent. Since the recession ended in 2009, the economy has averaged about 2.5 percent growth.
Bernanke didn't say when he thought the U.S. economy would return to its normal growth rate.
The government reported Thursday that the economy grew at an annualized rate of 3 percent in the final three months of 2011. But economists believe that growth slowed to around 2 percent in the first three months of this year.
___
By The Associated Press(equals)
The Dow Jones industrial average finished up 19.61 points at 13,145.82. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 2.26 points to close at 1,403.28, and the Nasdaq lost 9.60 points to 3,095.36.
Benchmark U.S. crude fell $2.63, or 2.5 percent, to end at $102.78 per barrel in New York. Brent crude lost $1.77 to finish at $122.39 per barrel in London.
Natural gas futures plunged by 13 cents, or 5.7 percent, to finish at $2.15 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In other energy trading, heating oil fell 5 cents to end at $3.16 per gallon and gasoline futures were down about a half-cent to finish at $3.40 per gallon.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/business-highlights-233846822.html
new black panther party lost in space elizabeth banks palm sunday battle royale key largo arnold palmer invitational
কোন মন্তব্য নেই:
একটি মন্তব্য পোস্ট করুন