The Gulf’s silent environmental crisis
On the Gulf of Mexico (CNN) — Ten miles off the coast of Louisiana, where the air tastes like gasoline and the ocean looks like brownie batter, Louisiana State University professor Ed Overton leans out of a fishing boat and dunks a small jar beneath the surface of the oil-covered water.
“God, what a mess,” he says under his breath, scooping up a canister of the oil that’s been spilled into the Gulf of Mexico.
Personal spending unchanged in April
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — Personal spending was flat in April, after six months of increases, while income rose, according to a government report released Friday.
The Commerce Department said individual spending rose less than 0.1%, or $4 billion, last month after an upwardly revised 0.6% increase in March. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting a 0.3% increase.
Cheapest Gasoline Since March Greets U.S. Memorial Day Drivers
May 28 (Bloomberg) — Gasoline prices will be at the lowest level since March as U.S. drivers take to the highways this Memorial Day weekend, the traditional start of the summer driving season in the world’s largest energy-consuming country.
Pump prices have dropped for three weeks to an average $2.749 a gallon for regular gasoline, as of May 26, as crude oil prices collapsed, according to AAA, the nation’s biggest motoring organization. Consumers will be paying 12 percent more than a year ago, though prices are 30 percent less than in 2008, the year crude oil rose to a record $147 a barrel.
BP Delays New Attempt to Stop Oil Leak
VENICE, La. — As Louisiana state and local officials continue to hammer BP and the federal agencies responding to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, repeatedly threatening to “take matters into our own hands” if the response falls short, BP said Monday morning that it was further delaying its next attempt to shut off the leak.
Existing home sales jump in April on tax credit
The National Association of Realtors said sales rose 7.6 percent month-over-month to an annual rate of 5.77 million units, the highest since November, from a slightly upwardly revised 5.36 million-unit pace in March.
Analysts polled by Reuters had expected April sales to increase 5.6 percent to a 5.65 million-unit pace from the previously reported 5.35 million units in March. Sales were up 22.8 percent in the 12 months to April.
Economists See Solid US Growth
The U.S. economy should expand at a solid pace this year and next as consumers increase spending, confident the recession is behind them, a panel of economists said in a survey released Monday.
The 46 economists surveyed in the National Association for Business Economics report between April 27 and May 7 predicted U.S. gross domestic product would expand by 3.2% in 2010 and 2011.
That is a touch higher than the 3.1% growth predicted for both years in the last survey, released Feb. 10.
After Senate passage, what’s next for financial reform bill?
On a barely bipartisan 59-to-39 vote, the Senate on Thursday approved the most sweeping overhaul of financial-industry oversight since the New Deal era. Next: negotiations with the House, final passage expected by July 4, and a reprise of the main themes of the debate in partisan ads for the fall midterm elections.
Stocks Drop on Growth Concern, Treasuries Jump; Euro Pares Gain
May 21 (Bloomberg) — Stocks fell for a seventh day and 30- year Treasury yields dropped to their lowest level of the year on concern Europe’s debt crisis will slow the economic expansion and stricter financial rules will reduce bank profits. The euro pared gains and oil tumbled.
The MSCI World Index of developed-nation shares retreated 1.2 percent at 9:35 a.m. in New York, heading for a nine-month low on a closing basis. The S&P 500 slid 1.1 percent to 1,059.5, below its weakest level during the May 6 crash, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped below 10,000. The euro rose 0.4 percent to $1.2538, after climbing as high as $1.2672. The 30- year Treasury yield dropped to 4.02 percent.
BP denies covering up extent of oil spill
LONDON, May 21 (Reuters) – BP Plc (BP.L) said some third-party estimates of how much oil is gushing out of a leaking well on the sea floor of the Gulf of Mexico were inaccurate and it denied a cover-up.
BP has been estimating that the leak was flowing at a rate of 5,000 barrels a day, but some scientists and the U.S. government have questioned that figure. [ID:nN19272725]
“It was only ever meant to be a rough estimate,” a spokesman for the British company said on Friday after U.S. lawmakers accused it of concealing the extent of the spill and as TV images showed oil sloshing into Louisiana’s marshes. [ID:nN20262611].
In today’s news updates we provide links to stories related to GM profits, oil drilling protocol and tensions between South and North Korea.
GM Announces First Quarterly Profit Since 2007
General Motors Co. on Monday reported its first quarterly profit in three years, buoyed by stronger global sales and savings won through last year’s government-funded bankruptcy.
The auto maker warned the next few quarters may not be as strong amid turmoil in Europe and slowing growth in the massive Chinese market.
Oversight on Offshore Drilling May Change, but U.S. Dependence on Oil Won’t
LONDON — When the congressional hearings are forgotten and the catastrophe in the Gulf of Mexico has dropped from the headlines, the most surprising thing about the spill of millions of gallons of oil may be what it does not change about the business of BP and the rest of its often-vilified industry.
South Korea freezes North Korea money ahead of Cheonan warship sinking report
South Korea said Monday it was freezing government funds for North Korea, just days before the findings of an international investigation into the sinking of the Cheonan warship are scheduled for release.
Tensions have been high since the Cheonan was torn in half by an unexplained explosion and sank on March 26, killing 46 South Korean sailors. It is widely suspected that the explosion came from a North Korean torpedo, but the South has avoided directly accusing the North, saying it will wait until the results of the investigation are announced.
Today’s news update covers the economy, world events and childhood obesity.
ECONOMY
U.S. retail sales rise for seventh month in a row
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — U.S. retail sales rose a seasonally adjusted 0.4% to $366.4 billion in April, the seventh straight increase and the 12th gain in the past 13 months, led by strong sales at hardware stores and garden centers, the Commerce Department estimated Friday.
Excluding a 0.5% increase in auto sales, sales rose 0.4% to $303.5 billion.
April’s figures came in stronger than expected, as economists surveyed by MarketWatch had been looking for a 0.2% decline in overall sales and a 0.2% gain excluding autos. See our complete economic calendar and consensus forecast.
In New York Trip, Obama Is Optimistic on Economy
BUFFALO — President Obama delivered an upbeat economic forecast and a defense of his economic policies on Thursday, telling a crowd at a manufacturing plant here that job growth would continue and that “next year is going to be better than this year.”
WORLD EVENTS
Bangkok battle: Troops fire on rioting protesters
BANGKOK — Thai troops fired bullets at anti-government protesters and explosions thundered in the heart of Bangkok on Friday as an army push to clear the streets and end a two-month political standoff sparked clashes that have killed two and wounded 45.
As night fell, booming explosions and the sound of gunfire rattled around major intersection in the central business district. Local TV reported that several grenades hit a nearby shopping center and elevated-rail station. Plumes of black smoke hung over the neighborhood as tires burned in eerily empty streets while onlookers ducked for cover.
HEALTH
First lady releases child obesity recommendations
WASHINGTON (AP) — Women could help reduce childhood obesity by maintaining a healthy weight when they become pregnant and by breast-feeding their babies, a U.S. government panel has found.
The suggestions were among 70 recommendations in the panel’s report. First Lady Michelle Obama released the findings Tuesday as part of her campaign against childhood obesity.One in 3 American children is overweight or obese, putting them at higher risk of diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and other illnesses. Obesity is even more prevalent among black and Hispanic children. Some public health experts say today’s children are on track to live shorter lives than their parents.
During today’s news update we provide links to Obama’s Supreme Court pick and economy related news.
Elena Kagan to be Obama’s Supreme Court pick
President Barack Obama will name Solicitor General Elena Kagan as his pick to replace retiring Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens, a choice that comes 176 days before the 2010 midterm election and is freighted with potential political implications.
The announcement, which was first reported by NBC’s Pete Williams, is expected to be formalized by Obama today.
Kagan was regarded in some political circles as a somewhat safe pick given that she was confirmed to her current post last March by a 61 to 31 vote.
European stocks surged Monday, as investors took heart from a €750 billion ($954.83 billion) rescue package intended to stabilize the single currency and prevent the Greek debt crisis from spreading to other member countries.
Overnight, European Union finance ministers reached agreement on a support plan for nations facing financial meltdown. It will consist of up to €440 billion in loans from euro-zone governments and €60 billion from an EU emergency fund, in addition to €250 billion from the International Monetary Fund.
Fannie Mae asks for more federal aid after Q1 loss
NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) – Fannie Mae (FNM.N), the largest U.S. residential mortgage provider, on Monday reported a net loss of $13.1 billion in the first quarter and said it tapped the Treasury for additional aid of $15.3 billion.
Another strong sales month for McDonald’s
CHICAGO (MarketWatch) — McDonald’s Corp. had another strong month, posting same-store sales growth in all of its global markets for April, the fast-food giant said Monday.
In today’s news update we provide links to stocks in Greece, the Gulf Coast oil spill and health insurance pool.
BEFORE THE BELL:US Stock Futures Up;Focus On Merger, Data, Greece
U.S. stock futures were higher on Monday, with investors set to shake off Friday’s big sell-off as they focused on a well-flagged merger between Continental and United Airlines, anticipation of strong economic data and the Greek aid package.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 39 points to 10,977, while those for the Nasdaq 100 rose 4 points to 2,003. Futures for the S&P 500 rose 2.6 points to 1,186.
Worries in the financial sector triggered a sharp fall in stocks on Friday, though the month of April was positive.
Gulf Coast oil spill may take months to contain
Officials from the Obama administration and oil giant BP say it may take up to three months to to seal off a leaking oil well 5,000 feet below the surface of the Gulf of Mexico that has created a massive environmental crisis that could affect much of the gulf coast.
BP chief executive Tony Heyward said Monday that “the worst-case scenario is that we would need to contain this for two to three months whilst a relief well is drilled.”
Crist embraces Obama’s high-risk health insurance pool
Gov. Charlie Crist will leave it to the Obama administration to run the federally subsidized high-risk health insurance plan that is to cover people unable to buy such insurance in the private market due to preexisting conditions such as cancer or diabetes.
In a letter late Friday to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Crist said he agreed that states and the federal government must cooperate in expanding healthcare for Americans but said “unfortunately Florida is not in a position to authorize new financial obligations.”
