Greece will probably have to restructure its debt again and this may involve bailout partners such as the International Monetary Fund, said Moritz Kraemer, head of sovereign ratings at Standard & Poor
The number of Americans claiming new unemployment benefits dropped to a four-year low last week, offering further evidence the jobs market recovery was gaining traction.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000, the lowest level since February 2008, the Labor Department said on Thursday.
The prior week’s figure was revised up to 353,000 from the previously reported 351,000. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims rising to 354,000 last week.
The four-week moving average for new claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends, declined 1,250 to 355,000.
The claims data covered the survey week for March nonfarm payrolls. Claims dropped 5,000 between the February and March survey periods, suggesting another month of solid job gains.
“That’s another indication that the labor market is healing. That’s good news for the March payroll report,” said Gus Faucher, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh.
“We are looking at net job growth of 200,000, which will be another good month. On the labor front, we have dug a deep hole but we seem to be digging out of it.”
Employers added 227,000 jobs to their payrolls in February, taking the tally for the past three months to 734,000. The unemployment rate currently is at 8.3 percent, having dropped 0.8 percentage point since August payday loan.
The Federal Reserve has said it expects the jobless rate to “gradually” decline.
U.S. Treasury debt prices fell on the data and the dollar extended gains against the euro. U.S. stock index futures held their losses as investors worried about slowing growth in China.
A Labor Department official said there was nothing unusual in the state-level data and that only two states - Alaska and Minnesota - had been estimated.
The department next week will introduce new seasonal factors for 2012 and revisions for claims data from 2007 through 2011.
The number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid fell 9,000 to 3.35 million in the week ended March 10, the lowest since August 2008.
Despite the improving labor market picture, long-term unemployment remains a major problem and about 43 percent of the 12.8 million out of work Americans in February had been jobless for more than six months.
The number of Americans on emergency unemployment benefits dropped 24,312 to 2.85 million in the week ended March 3, the latest week for which data is available.
A total of 7.28 million people were claiming unemployment benefits during that period under all programs, down 142,499 from the prior week.
A panel of cancer experts rejected an experimental Merck drug for a rare form of cancer on Tuesday while recommending approval of a GlaxoSmithKline treatment for the same disease. Neither drug appears to help patients live longer, but panelists said Glaxo’s Votrient helped delay tumor growth in the most vulnerable patients.
The FDA panel reviewed the two drugs submitted to treat sarcoma, a rare class of tumors that form in the fat, muscles and bone in the limbs and abdomen. An estimated 11,000 people in the U.S. were diagnosed with the soft tissue cancer in 2011 and 3,900 died from the disease, according to the National Cancer Institute.
Many cancer drugs approved by the FDA do not actually extend survival, but instead slow the growth of tumors or their spread to other parts of the body. In recent years, cancer experts have debated the significance of such results, particularly given the potentially dangerous side effects.
The panel voted 11-2 that the benefits of Glaxo’s pill Votrient outweighed its risks, noting there are few other treatment options for patients.
“There are no drugs approved by the FDA specifically for this indication and that’s what drove my decision to vote yes,” said Dr. Mikkael Sekeres of the Cleveland Clinic.
GlaxoSmithKline plc, based in the U.K., studied Votrient in sarcoma patients whose cancer has spread to other parts of the body after unsuccessful treatment with chemotherapy drugs, the standard treatment for the disease. Such patients usually survive only a year to 18 months.
While patients taking Votrient didn’t live longer than those taking chemotherapy alone, they did see a three-month delay in growth of their tumors, on average. Some patients experienced an even longer delay, which panelists said supported the drug’s benefit.
“I feel the effect is marginal but there does appear to be a group of patients who have benefited from this for longer periods of time,” said panel chair Dr. Wyndham Wilson of the National Cancer Institute.
The panel saw less potential for Merck’s ridaforolimus, which the company acquired through Ariad Pharmaceuticals Inc. The group voted 13-1 against the drug, saying its significant side effects _ which affected 60 percent of patients _ outweighed its benefits.
Merck & Co. Inc. of Whitehouse Station, N.J., submitted the drug as a maintenance therapy, meaning it would be used to help repress sarcoma of the bone and tissue in patients whose cancer is already in remission. Since such patients are healthier than patients with active disease, panelists said they wanted to see a more dramatic benefit to justify putting patients on a drug with major side effects. The FDA has only approved a handful of cancer drugs for maintenance use.
Company trials showed no survival benefit and a meager seven-week delay in disease progression compared with patients not taking the drug. Panelists were also troubled by the high rate of side effects in patients, which led 14 percent to drop out of the study. Side effects included lung irritation, kidney failure and high blood pressure
“I didn’t see anything that would indicate it should be recommended based on the information we have today,” said Lee Helman of the National Cancer Institute.
The FDA is scheduled to make a decision on Glaxo’s drug by May 6 and Merck’s drug by June 5.
People under 65 are applying for reverse mortgages at a much higher rate than previously, according a new survey, and they’re using the money largely to pay down debt.
The survey, by the Metlife Mature Market Institute and the National Council on Aging, found that 21 percent of people considering reverse mortgages in 2010 were under 65. That age group made up only 6 percent of applicants in 2006.
The authors didn’t speculate as to whether tough economic times might be behind the interest among people who are still of working age.
The biggest motive cited at all ages was to pay down debt. But those under 70 listed that as a priority in 73 percent of cases, compare to 62 percent for the over-70 group.
The survey was based on answers from 21,000 people who attended independent counseling required for people applying for reverse mortgages guaranteed cash advance.
Reverse mortgages are limited to people aged 62 and over. Homeowners can borrow a certain percent of the equity in their homes, and borrowers make no payments on the debt as long as they live in the house.
Because of that long delay in collection, the amount people can borrow rises with their age. The rising interest among working-age people comes despite the fact that they could borrow more if they waited.
For instance, the study notes that a 65-year-old with a $250,000 home
could borrow $103,000. An 85-year old could borrow more than $141,000 on the same house.
Natural gas prices are falling again as balmy weather stretches across most of the nation and supplies remain plentiful.
Natural gas dropped 5 cents to $2.215 per 1,000 cubic feet in trading in New York. That’s the lowest price in a decade.
The price has dropped about 26 percent this year. Warm winter weather has allowed Americans to use less heat. And booming production is keeping stockpiles well above the five-year average.
Meanwhile, benchmark oil rose 20 cents to $106.54 per barrel. An increase in retail sales provided the latest sign of an improving economy. Brent crude rose 16 cents to $125.50 per barrel in London trading.
At the pump, AAA says the national average for retail gas rose less than a penny to $3.805 per gallon.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has decided to postpone the creation of a new rule that would have required rearview back-up cameras in all new cars, pickups and SUVs by 2014.
The agency had been expected to announce the rule Wednesday. Instead, NHTSA issued a statement saying that "further study and data analysis" were needed before a final regulation could be issued.
"The Department remains committed to improving rearview visibility for the nation’s fleet and we expect to complete our work and issue a final rule by December 31, 2012," NHTSA said
According to a proposal the auto safety agency announced in late 2010, drivers would be required to be able to see directly behind the vehicle whenever the vehicle is shifted into reverse. Since virtually all cars and trucks have significant "blind spots" — areas in which the driver cannot see either by turning around or using the mirrors — that would require video cameras.
Rear back-up cameras are especially helpful in trucks and SUVs because those vehicles can have very large blind spots due to their size and design.
Under that proposal, the rule would be phased in over the next few years, starting with 10% of new cars sold expected to comply with the mandate by September 2012; 40% by September 2013 and 100% by September 2014.
Cars also have increasingly large blind spots as the demands of style and improved aerodynamics — needed for better highway fuel economy — hinder rearward visibility in many newer models.
"Every vehicle has a blind zone immediately behind the rear bumper. It can be five feet or 50 feet, depending on the car’s styling. Lost in that space might be a fire hydrant, a pet, or even a child," said Ami Gadhia, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union, in a statement.
While Consumers Union is eager for the new rule to be created, Gadhia said the group understands the need for more research.
While the systems first became popular on luxury cars they have become available on all types of cars. Usually, an image of what’s behind the vehicle is displayed in a screen similar to a computer monitor. Some cars now display the video image in the rearview mirror itself, however.
The new rule was demanded by legislation passed in 2007 called Cameron Gulbransen Kids Transportation Safety Act. The act was named after a 2-year-old boy who was killed when his father accidentally backed over him in the family’s driveway.
Consumer’s Union, the non-profit group best known for publishing Consumer Reports magazine,
Benefits vs. costs: According to NHTSA’s 2010 proposal, this "blind spot" regulation could save 95 to 112 lives per year, and prevent 7,000 to 8,000 or more injuries.
The agency estimates that the addition of rear-view camera equipment would cost between $159 to $203 per car, or $88 to $158 on vehicles already equipped with some sort of display screen, such as one used for navigation.
NHTSA says the total approximate cost to equip its estimate of 16.6 million vehicles sold in 2014 would be between $1.9 billion and $2.7 billion.
Within their proposal, NHTSA said that the additional costs of this regulation would be worthwhile, because so many of those killed are children.
Backover accidents cause an average 229 deaths and 18,000 injuries per year, according to NHTSA. The agency said that small children and the elderly are particularly vulnerable. Of those killed each year, 44% are under the age of 5, and 33% are over the age of 70.
Billionaire Warren Buffett wants Berkshire Hathaway shareholders to know that the company has someone in mind to replace him eventually, but he’s emphasizing that he has no plans to leave.
Buffett offered a couple new details about Berkshire’s succession planning in his annual shareholder letter Saturday. Investors have long worried about who will replace Berkshire’s 81-year-old CEO.
Buffett isn’t naming the successor. But he says the Berkshire board is enthusiastic about the executive it has picked. He says there are two good back-up candidates.
Previously, Buffett had said only that the board had three internal candidates for the job.
Berkshire has also cleared up some succession questions by hiring two hedge fund managers. Buffett says those two have the “brains, judgment and character” to manage Berkshire’s entire portfolio eventually.
Mining company Anglo American PLC posted Friday a record operating profit for last year following big advances in its coal and diamonds operations.
The group reported a record operating profit before special items and remeasurements of $11.1 billion, up 14 percent on the year before. Underlying earnings per share were 23 percent higher and the full-year dividend was raised 14 percent to $0.74 per share.
However, its net profit declined 6 percent to $6.17 billion from $6.54 billion in 2010, when it posted a big gain on asset disposals. Gains on asset disposals last year fell to $183 million compared to $1.6 billion in 2010, as the company said sales of noncore operations have been largely completed.
Anglo American shares were up 1.2 percent at 2,675 pence in early trading on the London Stock Exchange.
Chief Executive Cynthia Carroll said the group completed three major projects in 2011: the Kolomela iron ore mine in South Africa, the expansion of the Los Bronces copper mine in Chile and the Barro Alto nickel operation in Brazil.
Anglo American agreed in November to sell its 24.5 percent stake in Anglo American Sur, its copper assets in Chile, to Mitsubishi for $5.4 billion. That sale is being challenged by Codelco, Chile’s state-owned copper miner, which has an option to take a 49 percent stake.
A more detailed look at the results shows that overall revenues swelled 11 percent to $36.5 billion.
The company also reported record operating profits for coal and diamonds. The operating profit for iron ore and manganese, the biggest sector within Anglo American, was up 23 percent.
Anglo American raised its stake in the De Beers diamond business to 85 percent in November when it bought the Oppenheimer family’s shares. DeBeers’ sales were up 26 percent last year to $7.4 billion
“Despite short term uncertainty persisting in the global economy, particularly in Europe, the longer term outlook for Anglo American’s diversified mix of commodities remains strong,” Carroll said.
Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said the nation should take preemptive measures and start
Swiss central bank interim Chairman Thomas Jordan