Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are down slightly this morning, following news of a drop in durable goods last month and a big merger between Kraft and Heinz. The Dow, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq composite are all in negative territory, but the losses are small. Oil is higher, with benchmark U.S. crude trading above $48 a barrel in New York. Meanwhile, the euro has strengthened against the dollar. It's trading a little above $1.10.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Orders to U.S. factories for long-lasting manufactured goods fell again in February. The Commerce Department says they were down 1.4 percent. It's the third drop in the past four months. The weakness was widespread, with weaker demand for commercial aircraft, autos and machinery. A key category that serves as a proxy for business investment spending retreated 1.4 percent, the sixth consecutive monthly decline.
NEW YORK (AP) — H.J. Heinz is buying Kraft Foods. The Kraft Heinz Co. becomes one of the largest food and beverage companies in the world with annual revenue of about $28 billion. Eight of its brands have annual sales of $1 billion or more while five others log sales between $500 million and $1 billon every year. Each company is more than 100 years old. The deal was engineered by Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital. The two will invest another $10 billion in the new company.
DETROIT (AP) — The leader of the United Auto Workers union has rejected a third tier of lower wages for members who make auto parts. Speaking at the union's bargaining convention in Detroit, President Dennis Williams says the UAW already has too many tiers of wages. He was responding to reports that General Motors and Ford may propose a third tier of pay. Williams already is under pressure from union members to end the second tier of wages that's about half the $28 per hour made by longtime workers.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is investigating the safety of Lumber Liquidators laminate flooring made in China. The move comes after a report on CBS' "60 Minutes" earlier this month that said that Lumber Liquidators' Chinese-made laminate flooring contains high levels of formaldehyde, a carcinogen. Lumber Liquidators has said it complies with applicable regulations for its products and has reassured consumers that its flooring is safe.
Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
