Thursday, May 06, 2010
Report: U.S. stocks retreat for a third day
U.S. STOCKS RETREAT FOR A THIRD DAY
U.S. stocks on Thursday tried but failed to halt declines from
extending into a third day as investors weighed the impact of Europe's
financial troubles on Wall Street.
PRODUCTIVITY SLOWS TO 3.6% IN FIRST QUARTER
With major cost-cutting efforts now in the past, the productivity of
U.S. nonfarm businesses slowed in the first quarter from 6.3% to a
still-healthy 3.6%, according to a Labor Department estimate.
INITIAL JOBLESS CLAIMS DROP 7,000 TO 444,000
The number of first-time applications for state unemployment benefits
fell by 7,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 444,000, the Labor
Department reports.
FED'S BERNANKE OPTIMISTIC ABOUT BANK LENDING
There are some reasons for optimism about the outlook for bank lending
even though lending is still contracting and credit remains tight,
Federal Reserve Board chief Ben Bernanke says.
TRICHET KEEPS ECB NUKES IN THE SILO
The European Central Bank is right to hold off on buying debt of
euro-zone countries.
