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WALL STREET
Stocks mixed
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have been fluctuating between gains and losses today as a couple of positive economic reports have been offset by more declines in technology companies.
Energy stocks were among the biggest gainers, helped by a 1.5 percent rise in crude oil prices.
Citigroup fell 6 percent after the Federal Reserve denied the bank's proposal to raise its dividend and buy back more stock. The Fed approved plans by other banks to raise their dividends.
GameStop also fell 6 percent after the video game retail chain's earnings missed estimates.
ECONOMY-GDP
US economic growth for Q4 is revised slightly up
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. economy grew at a 2.6 percent annual rate in the October-December quarter, slightly more than previously estimated, as consumer spending rose at the fastest pace in three years.
The Commerce Department says the fourth-quarter growth rate was a bit stronger than its 2.4 percent estimate made last month. The revision reflected stronger consumer spending, which rose at an annual rate of 3.3 percent — its best quarterly pace since 2010.
Even with the upward revision, growth in the overall economy slowed from a 4.1 percent pace in the July-September quarter. Analysts think growth has slowed even more in the current January-March period to around a 2 percent annual rate. A harsh winter has disrupted factory production and kept people away from shopping malls.
UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS
Applications for US jobless aid dip to 4-month low
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell 10,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 311,000, the lowest since late November and a hopeful sign hiring could pick up.
The Labor Department says the four-week average of applications, a less volatile measure, fell 9,500 to 317,750. That is the fourth straight drop and the lowest level in six months. It brings applications in line with pre-recession levels.
The sustained decline suggests companies are confident enough about future growth to keep their staffs. Applications are a proxy for layoffs. Greater business confidence can also lead to more hiring.
About 3.3 million people received benefits in the week ending March 8, the latest data available. That was about 43,000 fewer than the previous week.
MORTGAGE RATES
Average US 30-year mortgage rate rises to 4.40 pct
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. rates on fixed mortgages rose this week in the wake of comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Janet Yellen suggesting that the Fed could start raising short-term interest rates by mid-2015.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac says the average rate for the 30-year loan increased to 4.40 percent from 4.32 percent last week. The average for the 15-year mortgage rose to 3.42 percent from 3.32 percent.
A key home-price index showed Tuesday a robust 13.2 percent increase in January compared with 12 months earlier. But the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index was down from a 13.4 percent increase in 2013 and was the second straight decline.
There have been signs recently that the home-sales market could pick up in the coming months.
PENDING HOME SALES
Contracts to buy US homes fell in February
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes fell for the eighth straight month in February, a sign of slow real estate sales over the next few months.
The National Association of Realtors says its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index dropped 0.8 percent to 93.9. The index has fallen 10.5 percent over the past 12 months.
Pending sales are a barometer of future purchases: A one- to two-month lag usually exists between a signed contract and a completed sale.
Higher mortgage rates, rising prices and a limited supply of homes have slowed sales since the index peaked in June. Snowstorms appear to have crimped purchases in the Northeast.
The Realtors, a trade group, predict sales will slip to 5 million this year from 5.1 million in 2013.
CONGRESS-RUSSIA
Senate backs bill to aid Ukraine, sanction Russia
WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is speaking with one voice against Russia's annexation of Crimea, passing legislation in the House and Senate giving help to Ukraine and imposing sanctions against Russia.
The Senate approved the legislation by voice vote Thursday while the House was passing a different version on a 399-19 vote.
The votes are a show of solidarity with President Barack Obama, who has already announced sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin and others.
Lawmakers intend to get a final measure to the White House by day's end.
Each bill would provide $1 billion in loan guarantees to cash-strapped Ukraine and sanction Russia for its annexation of Crimea.
RUSSIA-ECONOMY
Russia to set up own payment system
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia's President Vladimir Putin says Russia will set up its own payment system to rival Visa and MasterCard.
The move comes barely a week after the two companies suspended services to Russian banks which were directly and indirectly hit by international sanctions.
The United States and the European Union last week imposed travel bans and asset freezes on two dozen Russians who are believed to be Putin's close allies. The banks of some of those individuals reported suspension of card services.
Putin said on Thursday in televised comments that Russia will set up a payment system of its own, citing the examples of Japan's JCB or China's UnionPay.
Russian officials have criticized the reliance on Visa and MasterCard, saying Russian banks are hostage to international corporations.
JAPAN-AIRCRAFT ORDERS
ANA orders jets worth $17B from Airbus, Boeing
TOKYO (AP) — ANA is ordering 70 aircraft with a list price of 1.7 trillion yen ($17 billion) from Boeing Co. and Airbus, in the largest order in the Japanese carrier's history.
Thursday's orders underline ANA's ambitions to become a leading airline and Japan's tourism drive leading up to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The jets, being delivered from fiscal 2016 through fiscal 2027, will increase the ANA fleet to 250 jets, including 14 orders of Boeing's medium-sized 787-9 Dreamliner.
The 787 was grounded last year while the plane's safety was checked for battery problems.
From Airbus, ANA is ordering 30 smaller single-aisle jets from the A320 family.
ANA says the 40 new Boeing jets will be used mostly for international flights, while Airbus planes will be for domestic routes.
BAXTER-SPLIT
Baxter splitting into 2 separate businesses
DEERFIELD, Ill. (AP) — Baxter International Inc. is splitting itself into two separate businesses — one focusing on biopharmaceuticals and the other on other medical products.
The biopharmaceuticals business includes treatments for hemophilia and other bleeding disorders and blood plasma therapies used to treat immune deficiencies and other problems. It had 2013 revenue of about $6 billion. The business will receive a name at a later date.
The medical products business includes a portfolio of intravenous solutions and nutritional therapies, drug delivery systems, anesthetics and surgery products. It had 2013 revenue of more than $9 billion. This business will keep the Baxter International name.
The separation is expected to be complete by mid-2015.
Baxter's stock rose more than 9 percent in Thursday premarket trading.
GLAXOSMITHKLINE-ALLI RECALL
Drug recalled after foreign pills found in bottles
GlaxoSmithKline is recalling the weight loss drug Alli after receiving reports that other pills and tablets are being found in the bottles.
The over-the-counter drug comes in a turquoise blue capsule with a dark blue band and the text "60 Orlistat." However, consumers have been finding a range of tablets in the bottles, the British drugmaker said Thursday,
GlaxoSmithKline also says some bottles have tamper-resistant seals that are not authentic. Alli comes in bottles with an inner foil barrier labeled "Sealed for Your Protection."
Some of those bottles are missing labels.
The company is asking pharmacies and retailers in the United States and Puerto Rico to immediately remove the drug from store shelves.
COAL ASH SPILL-NORTH CAROLINA
NC regulators missed crack in Duke coal ash dam
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Photos taken earlier this month show North Carolina regulators apparently failed to notice a large crack opening in an earthen dam holding back millions of tons of Duke Energy's coal ash near the Cape Fear River.
State Department of Environment and Natural Resources spokesman Jamie Kritzer says inspectors visited Duke's Cape Fear Plant on March 11 and 18, but did not see the crack. Aerial photos taken March 10 by the environmental group WaterKeeper Alliance show the crack clearly marked by metal stakes topped with orange streamers.
The agency has said it knew nothing of the potential hazard until Duke reported the crack on March 20, after the company was cited for illegally pumping 61 million gallons of contaminated wastewater into the river. The crack has since been repaired.
WEALTH GAP-STUDENT LOANS
$1 trillion student loan debt widens US wealth gap
The roughly 37 million Americans saddled with $1 trillion in student loan debt may never catch up with wealthy peers who began life after college free from the burden. Experts say that disparity is contributing to the widening of the U.S. wealth gap.
University of Kansas researcher William Elliott III says that the median 2009 net worth for a household without student debt was nearly three times the worth in a household with such debt.
He says that debt-free graduates can begin building equity in housing or stocks and bonds and get more time to see their investments grow, while indebted graduates spend years paying principal and interest.
A 2012 Pew Research Center analysis found that about 40 percent of households led by someone 35 or younger have student debt.
CALIFORNIA DROUGHT-GOLD PROSPECTORS
California drought spurs mini gold rush in Sierra
COLFAX, Calif. (AP) — There's gold in them dry hills!
Or gold seekers anyway. And they see a historic opportunity in California's historic drought.
Low water levels have led to a mini gold rush in the same Sierra Nevada foothills that drew legions of fortune seekers from around the world in the mid-1800s, as amateur prospectors dig for riverbed riches in spots that have been out of reach for decades.
The drought is generating a lot of new business for Pioneer Mining Supplies, a business that has been in the former mining town of Auburn.
One of the worst droughts in California history has prompted the state and federal governments to severely cut water supplies to farms and cities. It's also left rivers and streams with dangerously low water levels, imperiling fish and wildlife.
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