Events Calendar
In This Section
Most Read Stories
Blogs:
Pets:
Summit teams up with Rescue Waggin' to save dogs
The Heldenfiles:
Songs for an American Day
Patrick McManamon:
For your Saturday entertainment …
Akron Zips:
Opponent outlook: Northern Illinois
Browns Bulletin:
Single-game ticket sales begin July 11
Tribe Matters:
Laffey making it tough on self
Cleveland Browns:
Stallworth test showed marijuana
Kent State Sports:
Men's Basketball Scheduling update
Cleveland Cavaliers:
Updated: Free Agency: Another Gone - Apparently
All Da King's Men:
IPCC Already Wrong About Global Warming
Blog of Mass Destruction:
Wow….Sarah Palin Resigns Governorship
Akron Law Café:
Abraham Lincoln and the Fourth of July
Varsity Letters:
Highland senior receives honor
See Jane Style:
Picnic Wear
Car Chase:
Where do We Go from Here?
Let's Talk Real Estate:
Hate Crime in Fort Worth Texas: "That F***t had it Coming"
Ohio Travels with Betty:
Linda asks-where is the Ohio Chautauqua?
Sound Check:
Rundgren fans rejoice!: Second night of AWATS at The Civic added
HRLite House:
Morscruethal Behaviors or Just Lip Service?
Akron Gamer:
Hot link: Best of Nintendo at E3
Published on Tuesday, Apr 22, 2008
Bank reports bring mixed stock results
Wall Street started the week with a mixed performance Monday, as investors regained a cautious stance in response to a weaker-than-expected profit report from Bank of America Corp. and Cleveland-based National City Corp.'s news.
Investors were clearly uneasy about extending last week's big gains after Bank of America reported that its first-quarter earnings fell 77 percent on write-downs and widening credit losses. The bank's news followed a week in which big-name companies in general turned in better-than-expected numbers for the first quarter, helping the major stock indexes to gains of more than 4 percent.
Not all the earnings news on Monday was disappointing. Merck said its profit nearly doubled in the first quarter because of a $1.4 billion distribution from a partner drug company and a slight rise in sales.
With little in the way of economic data set to arrive this week, investors are looking at a big flow of corporate reports for insights into the well-being of the economy.
Minivan, truck salesto sink, Ford says
Ford Motor Co. forecast Monday that U.S. industrywide sales of minivans could fall to a 23-year low in 2008 while large pickups decline to the fewest in a decade as more consumers turn to smaller cars.
Minivan sales could drop below 600,000 for the first time since 1985 and large pickups could slide to fewer than 2 million, a level they have topped annually since 1998, said George Pipas, sales analyst. He said pickup sales have been hurt by the decline in the housing industry.
The forecast by the third-largest automaker in U.S. annual sales underscores the difficulty Ford, General Motors and Chrysler face as high gasoline prices hurt demand for larger pickups and sport-utility vehicles.
Wal-Mart stays atop
Fortune 500 list
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. shrugged off weak consumer spending to remain atop the 2008 Fortune 500 list, edging Exxon Mobil Corp. for the second straight year in the magazine's annual ranking of the nation's largest publicly traded companies based on revenues.
Goodyear ranked 119th while FirstEnergy was 209th.
Canada plans to ban
BPA in baby bottles
The Canadian government moved to ban polycarbonate infant bottles, the most popular variety on the market, after it officially declared one of their chemical ingredients toxic. Because of regulatory procedures, however, government officials said that a ban probably would not be fully in effect for about a year.
The action, by the departments of health and environment, is the first taken by any government against ''bisphenol-a,'' or BPA, a widely used chemical that mimics a human hormone. It has induced long-term changes in animals exposed to it through tests.
The toxic designation will allow Canada eventually to ban the manufacture, import or sale of baby bottles made with polycarbonate. Polycarbonate, which dominates the North American baby bottle market, mimics glass but is lighter and shatter-resistant.
Economy, gas prices
top issues for voters
The economy has soared past Iraq as the top problem on the minds of voters, according to a poll by Yahoo News. With growing layoffs, tight credit and an ailing housing market, 67 percent say the economy is an extremely important issue, up from 46 percent in November. Gasoline prices follow close behind at 59 percent. The war in Iraq — the dominant issue for several years — stands at 48 percent.
Auto sales are doing worse than expected
Auto sales are falling harder and faster this year than anyone anticipated because of a combination of factors not seen since the oil shock of the 1980s. In addition to a weak economy and sagging consumer confidence, gasoline prices have risen to record highs and credit is hard to come by, forcing dealers to turn away prospective customers.
The rough conditions are prompting many auto executives to rethink their assumptions that sales would rebound in the second half of 2008 after a short-lived slump.
Bank reports bring mixed stock results
Get the full article here.
Comments
Click here to post your comments
