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—Adds: EXXON MOBIL-EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION, GENERAL MOTORS-STOCK, OF MUTUAL INTEREST-BOND OUTLOOK, IPAD DATA BREACH, SALESFORCE-SAN FRANCISCO LEASE, INTERNET SECURITY THREAT, INTERNET SECURITY THREAT-3 THINGS TO DO,
—Updates: DETROIT BANKRUPTCY, GAS DRILLING-EARTHQUAKES, TECH IN TURMOIL, GLOBAL FINANCE
TOP STORIES:
TECH IN TURMOIL
SAN FRANCISCO — The stock market's laws of gravity are ravaging its highest fliers. Just look at the technological trailblazers whose values have plummeted from record highs during the past few weeks as investors have re-focused on concrete numbers instead of potential growth from innovations that are reshaping society. The abrupt downfall is raising questions about whether this is a fleeting fit of fickleness or the foreshadowing of another market bubble about to burst. By Michael Liedtke and Barbara Ortutay. SENT: 1,100 words.
With:
WALL STREET
NEW YORK — Stocks drop in all three major indexes for a second day in a row as investors grow anxious that earnings growth is faltering. By Bernard Condon. SENT: 590 words, photo. UPCOMING: 700 words by 5:30 p.m.
401K FEES-SILENT ENEMY
WASHINGTON — It's the silent enemy in our retirement accounts: High fees. And now a new study finds that the typical 401(k) fees — adding up to a modest-sounding 1 percent a year — would erase $70,000 from an average worker's account over a four-decade career compared with lower-cost options. To compensate for the higher fees, someone would have to work an extra three years before retiring. The study comes from the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank. Its analysis, backed by industry and government data, suggests that U.S. workers, already struggling to save enough for retirement, are being further held back by fund costs. By Josh Boak and Paul Wiseman. SENT: 1,300 words.
With
— 401K FEES-SILENT ENEMY-GLANCE — What you should know about your 401k fees. SENT: 350 words.
RUSSIA-UKRAINE-GAS CRISIS
MOSCOW — Lately, the amount Russia says it is owed by Ukraine's cash-strapped government for natural gas has been ballooning as if by magic — from $1.7 billion at the beginning of April to a staggering $35.4 billion, according to a letter sent by President Vladimir Putin to 18 European leaders. Here's a look at the figures, how Moscow is adding them up and how Ukraine is planning to fight back. By Laura Mills. SENT: 740 words, photos.
SUBWAY-BREAD INGREDIENT
NEW YORK — Subway says an ingredient dubbed the "yoga mat" chemical will be entirely phased out of its bread by next week. The disclosure comes as Subway has suffered from an onslaught of bad publicity since a food blogger petitioned the chain to remove the ingredient. The ingredient, azodicarbonamide, is approved by the Food and Drug Administration for use as a bleaching agent and dough conditioner. By Candice Choi. SENT: 690 words, photo.
With:
— SUBWAY-BREAD INGREDIENT-GLANCE — Subway isn't the only company to make a change in response to consumer feedback. Here are some recent examples of recipe changes by major food makers. SENT: 200 words.
MARKETS & ECONOMY:
GLOBAL FINANCE
WASHINGTON — Finance officials of the world's major economies express confidence that they can meet an ambitious goal of boosting global growth by $2 trillion over the next five years. By Martin Crutsinger and Paul Wiseman. SENT: 770 words, photos.
PRODUCER PRICES
WASHINGTON — The prices companies receive for their goods and services jump in March led by gains for food, clothing, jewelry and chemicals. The Labor Department says the producer price index, which measures price changes before they reach the consumer, rose 0.5 percent in March. By Josh Boak. SENT: 450 words, photo.
— OIL PRICES — The price of oil slips closer to $103 a barrel as recent signs of sputtering economic growth in China suggested demand for crude could weaken. SENT: 400 words. UPCOMING: 300 words by 5:30 p.m.
PUERTO RICO-RADICAL FIXES
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — Slash the number of public holidays by two-thirds. Eliminate dozens of government agencies. Legalize marijuana and prostitution. From the intriguing to the impossible, there is no shortage of ideas for fixing Puerto Rico's ailing economy as the government tries to dig out from a whopping $70 billion in public debt and bring back economic growth. By Danica Coto. SENT: 1,030 words, photo.
INDUSTRY:
GULF OIL SPILL-HEALTH
CHALMETTE, La. — When a BP oil well began gushing crude into the Gulf of Mexico four years ago, fisherman George Barisich used his boat to help clean up the millions of gallons that spewed in what would become the worst offshore spill in U.S. history. Like so many Gulf Coast residents who pitched in after the April 20, 2010, explosion of the Deepwater Horizon rig, Barisich was motivated by a desire to help and a need to make money — the oil had destroyed his livelihood. Today, he regrets that decision and says respiratory problems he developed during the cleanup turned into pneumonia and that his health has never been the same. Barisich, 58, is among thousands considering claims under a medical settlement BP reached with cleanup workers and coastal residents. By Stacey Plaisance and Kevin McGill. SENT: 1,050 words, photos, video.
— SUBWAY-FLATIZZA — It's part flatbread, but also part pizza. So Subway naturally called its latest offering the "Flatizza." Since the pizza-like creation made its national debut last month, its inelegant combination name has provoked a good deal of snickering and befuddlement about how to pronounce it. SENT: 440 words.
— GERMANY-GUMMY BEAR BATTLE — Swiss chocolatier Lindt & Spruengli AG wins the latest round in its battle of the bears against Germany's Haribo GmbH. SENT: 140 words.
— SONY-LAPTOP RECALL — Sony is recalling some of its VAIO laptop computers, saying that it's possible that its non-removable battery pack could overheat. SENT: 130 words.
— FORD PICKUPS-INVESTIGATION — U.S. safety regulators decide against seeking a recall of Ford F-150 pickup trucks after investigating complaints about EcoBoost engines losing power. SENT: 230 words.
— COLDWATER CREEK-BANKRUPTCY — The women's clothing retailer Coldwater Creek has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after failing to find a potential buyer or a source of capital to help fund its turnaround efforts. SENT: 310 words, photo.
— DETROIT BANKRUPTCY — A federal judge approves bankrupt Detroit's plan to settle a bad multi-million dollar pension debt deal with two banks. SENT: 350 words, photo.
— GAS DRILLING-EARTHQUAKES — State geologists for the first time link earthquake activity in eastern Ohio to hydraulic fracturing, confirming the suspicions of activists pushing unsuccessfully for a drilling ban. SENT: 760 words.
— EXXON MOBIL-EXECUTIVE COMPENSATION — The CEO of Exxon Mobil Corp. received compensation worth $28.1 million last year, a 3 percent increase over the previous year, according to an Associated Press analysis of a company regulatory filing. SENT: 340 words.
TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:
INTERNET SECURITY THREAT
NEW YORK — It now appears that the "Heartbleed" security problem affects not just websites, but also the networking equipment that connects homes and businesses to the Internet. By Free Fowler. SENT: 650 words.
With:
— INTERNET SECURITY THREAT-3 THINGS TO DO — Here are three things you can do to reduce the threat from the "Heartbleed" bug. SENT: 240 words.
— SONY-LAPTOP RECALL — Sony advises consumers to quit using some of its VAIO laptop computers and unplug them, saying that it's possible that its non-removable battery pack could overheat. SENT: 130 words.
— IPAD DATA BREACH — A federal appeals court reverses the conviction of man imprisoned for illegally gaining access to AT&T's servers and stealing more than 100,000 email addresses of iPad users. SENT: 420 words.
— SALESFORCE-SAN FRANCISCO LEASE — Salesforce.com is set to become the anchor tenant in an office tower under construction in San Francisco that's expected to be the tallest building on the West Coast. SENT: 130 words.
AUTOS:
CHINA-AUTO SALES
BEIJING — China's growth in auto sales decelerates further in March and local brands lost market share in the face of intense foreign competition, an industry group reports. Sales rose 7.9 percent to 1.7 million vehicles, according to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers. That was down from February's 11.3 percent growth. By Joe McDonald. SENT: 340 words.
— FORD PICKUPS-INVESTIGATION — U.S. safety regulators decide against seeking a recall of Ford F-150 pickup trucks after investigating complaints about EcoBoost engines losing power. SENT: 230 words.
— GERMANY-BMW-RECALL — German automaker BMW is issuing a worldwide recall of many models of cars with certain six-cylinder gas motors after identifying a problem with a bolt used in the engine. SENT: 130 words.
— GENERAL MOTORS-STOCK — Shares of General Motors Co. sink to a 10-month low after Standard & Poor's raised doubts that the company's credit rating would be restored to investment grade status this year. SENT: 500 words.
EARNINGS:
— EARNS-JP MORGAN — JPMorgan Chase, the country's biggest bank by assets, says its first-quarter earnings fell. The bank made $4.8 billion in the first quarter, after stripping out payments to preferred stockholders. That was down 20 percent from the same period a year earlier. SENT: 480 words, photo.
— EARNS-WELLS FARGO — First-quarter profit for Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest U.S. mortgage lender, surges 14 percent in the latest quarter as the bank continued to trim its losses on soured loans. SENT: 400 words.
INTERNATIONAL:
— GREECE-MERKEL — German Chancellor Angela Merkel arrives in Athens for a brief visit, amid a wave of optimism among Greek and European officials over the country's successful return to bond markets this week. SENT: 500 words, photos.
— SPAIN-FINANCIAL CRISIS — Spain's statistics office says prices were 0.1 percent lower in March than the year before, slightly less than the previous estimate of 0.2 percent. The figures may ease concerns that the country will suffer a prolonged bout of deflation, or falling prices. SENT: 140 words, photo.
—TUREMENISTAN-NEW PIPELINE — Turkmenistan's president demands that construction work begin in 2015 on a pipeline that will carry natural gas from his energy-rich country to Afghanistan, Pakistan and India. SENT: 140 words.
— EUROPE-UKRAINE — A senior European Union official says the 28-nation bloc's foreign ministers will consider broadening the list of people sanctioned because of Russia's annexation of Ukraine's Crimean peninsula. SENT: 130 words.
PERSONAL FINANCE:
OF MUTUAL INTEREST-BOND OUTLOOK
Bond mutual funds can still make money, just not as much as prior years. So says Ford O'Neil, who oversees about $75 billion in bond investments at Fidelity mutual funds. He's the lead manager of Fidelity's $12.3 billion Total Bond fund (FTBFX), which carries Morningstar's gold rating and has topped 80 percent of its peers over the last 10 years. It can invest in a wide range of bonds, and O'Neil has it invested in everything from U.S. Treasurys to high-yield "junk" bonds to European corporate bonds. SENT: 840 words.
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CENTERPIECE
Tech sell-off
Momentum has shifted for Internet and biotech stocks. Several of these stocks have declined by 10 percent or more since setting their 52-week highs last month. Here's a snapshot look at some of the stocks with the steepest declines. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.
COMPANY SPOTLIGHT
Zoe's Kitchen debuts
Shares of the fast-casual restaurant chain Zoe's Kitchen skyrocketed in their first day of trading. UPCOMING: Graphic expected by 6 p.m.
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MONEY & MARKETS EXTRA
For the week ending Saturday, April 12, 2014
CENTERPIECE
Dow earnings
The Dow Jones industrial average hasn't moved very much this year. It's down less than one percent. But investors may see some significant swings in the weeks ahead as the 30 companies in the Dow release their latest quarterly results. Here's a calendar of the key dates to watch.
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