IN BRIEF
NEW YORK
Back-and-forth session ends with stocks up
Stocks lurched higher after a back-and-forth session Thursday as investors apparently set aside some interest rate concerns and took a dose of upbeat economic data at face value.
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve said regional manufacturing in June has had its strongest growth since April 2005. The bank’s index of regional manufacturing activity jumped to 18 from 4.2 in May. But the report had little effect on the market, although investors have been wary about any signs of economic strength that might lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates when its Open Market Committee meets next week.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 56.42, or 0.42 percent, to 13,545.84 after dropping 146 points Wednesday.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9.35, or 0.62 percent, to 1,522.19 and the Nasdaq composite index advanced 17.00, or 0.65 percent, to 2,616.96.
CHICAGO
United says computer problems resolved
United Airlines said Thursday that human error caused the computer outage a day earlier that halted all of its departures for two hours and wreaked havoc with its schedule systemwide.
United said there were a handful of flight delays Thursday morning but operations were virtually back to normal after what Chief Executive Glenn Tilton acknowledged in a message to employees was “a difficult day for our customers and for you.”
Close to 300 flights were delayed or canceled Wednesday after United’s flight operations computer system Unimatic, which supplies information to pilots, shut down from approximately 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. CDT.
Chief Operating Officer Pete McDonald said the error occurred during routine system testing.
Slot maker granted summary judgment
International Game Technology, a Reno slot giant with a manufacturing plant and offices in Las Vegas, said Thursday it was granted summary judgment in a lawsuit filed by two former in-house counsels.
The two former employees alleged retaliatory termination of their employment for demanding an investigation of disclosures related to the company’s Anchor Gaming acquisition, IGT said in a statement.
Meanwhile, IGT late Wednesday said it received a favorable judgment in a patent infringement lawsuit brought against it by Aristocrat Technologies Australia Pty Ltd. and its U.S unit.
In a statement, IGT said the court, in its summary judgment, held two of Aristocrat’s patents invalid. Aristocrat had alleged that IGT’s multilevel progressive games infringed its patents covering its Hyperlink products, IGT said.
IGT shares rose 18 cents, or 0.46 percent, Thursday to close at $38.99 on the New York Stock Exchange.
NEW YORK
Two suitors exit chase for Dow Jones & Co.
Rupert Murdoch deliberately priced his $5 billion offer for Dow Jones & Co. so high that others would find it tough to beat. On Thursday, two other potential bidders essentially proved his point by dropping out of the running.
General Electric Co. held preliminary talks with Pearson PLC, a London-based company that publishes the Financial Times newspaper, about possibly combining GE’s business news channel CNBC with the FT and Dow Jones.
But on Thursday, Pearson’s CEO Marjorie Scardino — who is from Texas — told the FT’s staff that while Pearson had “kicked around some ideas” about a three-way deal, “we didn’t see that combination stacking up for our shareholders.”
Murdoch’s offer of $60 a share for Dow Jones represents a massive premium of about 65 percent over the levels that Dow Jones shares had been trading prior to the offer becoming public in early May. Many on Wall Street believe the price is too high to be matched by other bidders.
NEW YORK
News about strike in Nigeria sends oil down
Oil prices slipped below $69 a barrel Thursday after a report that a strike in Nigeria hasn’t affected oil exports from Africa’s largest crude producer alleviated the market’s supply concerns.
Light, sweet crude for August delivery dropped 21 cents to settle at $68.65 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude for August delivery lost 20 cents to finish at $70.22 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
Gasoline futures, however, ended higher at $2.2467 a gallon, up 1.86 cents.
LOS ANGELES
California grocery labor talks stall
Labor talks between three supermarket operators and their Southern California employees appeared to be stalled Thursday as the grocery workers’ union said it would ask its members for the power to call a strike against the markets, citing a blown, union-imposed deadline for finalizing a new contract.
The union had sought a comprehensive offer to present to its members, but will have workers vote on Sunday on the proposals it has received from the supermarkets: Supervalu’s Albertsons, Kroger Co.’s Ralphs and Safeway’s Vons and Pavilions.
Employees at Ralphs and Vons will also vote on whether to grant negotiators the power to call a strike against the markets. Albertsons employees already gave the union clearance to call a strike against the chain in March.
NEW YORK
Subprime mortgage worries sink bonds
Longer maturity U.S. Treasury bond prices were under pressure Thursday amid concerns over the subprime mortgage sector.
At 5 p.m. EDT, the 10-year Treasury note was down $4.38 per $1,000 in face value, or 0.44 points, from its level at 5 p.m. Wednesday. Its yield, which moves in the opposite direction, rose to 5.20 percent from 5.14 percent.
The 30-year bond fell 0.88 points. Its yield rose to 5.31 percent from 5.25 percent.
The 2-year note was unchanged. Its yield rose to 4.98 percent from 4.97 percent.
