Tag: market news

JC Penney looks to old CEO to secure its future

Posted on by The INO.com Team

J.C. Penney (NYSE_JCP) is hoping its former CEO can revive the retailer after a risky turnaround strategy backfired and led to massive losses and steep sales declines.

The company's board of directors ousted CEO Ron Johnson after only 17 months on the job. The department store chain said late Monday, in a statement, that it has rehired Johnson's predecessor, Mike Ullman, 66. Ullman was CEO of the department store chain for seven years until November 2011.

The announcement came after a growing chorus of critics including a former Penney CEO, Allen Questrom, called for Johnson's resignation as they lost faith in an aggressive overhaul that included getting rid of most discounts in favor of everyday low prices and bringing in new brands. Continue reading "JC Penney looks to old CEO to secure its future" →

Oil price rises to near $94 after sharp drop

Posted on by The INO.com Team

The price of oil rose to near $94 a barrel on Monday, rebounding after sharp losses last week that were due to concerns over abundant supplies and weak U.S. employment figures.

By early afternoon in Europe, benchmark oil for May delivery was up 97 cents to $93.67 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 56 cents on Friday and was down 5 percent from midweek.

The price of oil last week fell after a weak jobs report cast doubt on the strength of the U.S. economy. The Labor Department reported the economy added 88,000 jobs in March, the fewest in nine months. The slowdown may signal the economy will weaken this spring.

"The latest jobs data provide a useful reminder that this is still an uneven recovery in the U.S. economy," said Caroline Bain, commodities analyst at the Economist Intelligence Unit. Continue reading "Oil price rises to near $94 after sharp drop" →

U.S. economy adds 88K jobs, rate drops to 7.6 pct

Posted on by The INO.com Team

U.S. employers added just 88,000 jobs in March, the fewest in nine months and a sharp retreat after a period of strong hiring. The slowdown may signal that the economy is heading into a weak spring.

The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.6 percent from 7.7 percent, the lowest in four years. But the rate fell last month only because more people stopped looking for work. People who are out of work are no longer counted as unemployed once they stop looking for a job.

The percentage of Americans working or looking for jobs fell to 63.3 percent in March, the lowest such figure in nearly 34 years. Continue reading "U.S. economy adds 88K jobs, rate drops to 7.6 pct" →

U.S. unemployment aid applications jump to 385,000

Posted on by The INO.com Team

The number of Americans seeking unemployment aid rose to a four-month high last week, although the increase partly reflects seasonal distortions around the spring holidays.

Weekly applications increased 28,000 to a seasonally adjusted 385,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. It was the third straight weekly increase and the highest level since late November. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 354,250.

A Labor Department spokesman says it can be difficult to seasonally adjust the figures during the Easter holiday because the timing of the holiday varies from year to year. Economists warned before the report that the data could be volatile.

Applications are a proxy for layoffs. The recent increases could suggest that companies are cutting jobs, possibly because of steep government spending cuts that began on March 1. Other reports have pointed to that possible trend, although most economists have said that any reductions are likely temporary. Continue reading "U.S. unemployment aid applications jump to 385,000" →

Stocks fall after weak reports on hiring, services

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Stocks fell in early trading on Wall Street Wednesday after weak reports on hiring and growth at service companies dampened the outlook for the U.S. economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 64 points, or 0.4 percent, to 14,595 as of 11:14 a.m. EDT. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 10 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,560 points. Both indexes closed at record highs the day before.

U.S. service companies kept growing at a solid pace in March, but the expansion was less than economists were expecting. The Institute for Supply Management's index of service companies fell to 54.4 from 56 a month earlier. The report was the weakest in seven months and fell short of what analysts were expecting.

Separately, payrolls processor ADP reported that U.S. employers added 158,000 jobs last month, down from February's gain of 237,000, as construction firms held off on hiring. The ADP report is often seen as a preview for the government's broader survey on employment, which is due out Friday. Continue reading "Stocks fall after weak reports on hiring, services" →