Pittsburgh got a nod from Forbes, landing the No. 4 spot on its list of best cities for working moms.
Forbes Woman rated the 50-largest U.S. cities in terms of how friendly they are to working moms, using a combination of factors: women’s income, cost of living, pediatricians, unemployment, violent crimes and spending per pupil No teletrack payday loans. Minneapolis-St. Paul topped the list, followed by Washington, D.C., and Boston. Las Vegas ranked last.
The Forbes Woman list is available here.
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Worldwide semiconductor sales were $24.7 billion in May, a sequential increase of 4.5 percent from April when sales were $23.6 billion, and a year-over-year increase of 47.6 percent from the same month last year, the Semiconductor Industry Association said Monday.
“Global sales of semiconductors in May reached a new high and remain on pace to reach the SIA forecast of 28.4 percent growth to $290.5 billion in 2010,” said SIA President George Scalise.
“Chip sales have been buoyed by strength in sales of personal computers, cell phones, corporate information technology, industrial applications, and autos. Unit sales of personal computers are now expected to grow by 20 percent this year and cell phone unit sales are predicted to be up 10 to 12 percent over 2009 levels."
Emerging markets, including China and India, are fueling sales of computation and communications products, Scalise said, and the automotive market is also slowly recovering after several years of weak sales paydayloans. The industry includes some of Austin's largest employers including IBM Corp., Freescale Semiconductor Inc., Advanced Micro Devices Inc., Samsung Austin Semiconductor and others.
SIA noted that the industry year-on-year and sequential growth rates are likely to continue to slow during the second half of 2010.
“Recent chip sales have shown robust demand, but the year-on-year growth rates also underscore the very depressed market conditions of the first half of 2009. Going forward, the year-on-year growth comparisons will reflect the industry recovery that gained momentum in the second half of last year," Scalise said.
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Lee Enterprises announced Wednesday that it will produce a new food publication for the St. Louis area, called Feast.
The free monthly publication will begin in August with a circulation of 70,000. It will be distributed at more than 500 locations in the St. Louis region.
The company described Feast as "a culinary magazine that celebrates St. Louis’ food culture." The magazine will serve as the "backbone" of the Feast Media brand, the company said.
Catherine Neville, co-founder and former editor of Sauce Magazine, has been named Feast’s publisher.
Stocks ended lower Wednesday, but higher for the quarter after a strong showing in March, as downbeat jobs and manufacturing reports cooled a recent runup.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) lost 50 points, or 0.5%, to end at 10,857.31. The S&P 500 index (SPX) slipped 4 points, or 0.3%. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) lost 7 points, or 0.3%.
Wall Street reached the end of a solid quarter, even with Wednesday’s losses. The Dow gained 4.1% over the first three months of the year, after a 5.2% advance in March, while the S&P added 4.9% for the quarter. The tech-heavy Nasdaq had the strongest quarterly showing, up 5.7%.
Wednesday’s declines were broad based, with 25 of the blue-chip Dow’s 30 components ending lower.
"The market has finished higher on 23 of 25 trading days, so now it’s taking a break and adopting a wait-and-see attitude," said Art Hogan, chief market strategist at Jefferies & Co., noting that the market is closed on Good Friday.
Stocks ended slightly higher Tuesday, pushing the Dow to a fresh 18-month high as investors digested mixed reports showing a rise in consumer confidence and continued weakness in the housing market.
Jobs: ADP released its monthly report on employment before the opening bell, showing that private-sector employers cut 23,000 jobs in March. This was in sharp contrast to expectations of a 40,000 job increase, according to economists surveyed by Briefing.com.
In February, the private sector cut a revised 24,000 jobs. ADP has not reported an increase in monthly payroll numbers since January 2008, when 34,000 private-sector jobs were added.
ADP was "a disappointment," said Hogan, especially because expectations are fairly high for Friday’s government report on the unemployment rate.
"Census jobs should boost Friday’s data, but it’s a tree that falls in the forest where no one stands," Hogan said. "I can’t remember the last time such an important report came out when the market is closed."
Economy: The Chicago PMI, a regional reading on manufacturing, was released shortly after the market opened and pushed equities further down. The index slipped to 58.8 in March from 62.6 the previous month. Economists predicted a smaller drop, to 61.
Also after the market opened the Census Bureau reported factory orders for manufactured goods rose 0.6% in February, slightly higher than analysts’ expectations but significantly less than January’s 2.5% increase.
"We’ve gotten to that point in time when we need Goldilocks-type data, meaning it falls in just the right range," Hogan said. "If reports are too positive, people will be worried the [Federal Reserve] will raise interest rates; too negative, and concerns are raised that the recovery is weak or nonexistent."
Energy stocks and oil prices gained earlier in the session after President Obama announced plans to open large sections of the eastern Gulf of Mexico and an area off the Virginia coast for oil drilling.
Companies: Shares of Research in Motion (RIMM) plunged 5% in after-hours trading after the company reported a profit of $710.1 million, or $1.27 per share. That missed estimates from analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who estimated earnings of $1.28 per share.
With the first quarter of the year ending with Wednesday’s session, Hogan said the market will be looking to see if company earnings estimates are hiked for 2010.
"The new focus is going to be on corporate America’s ability to start earning money," Hogan said. "We’ll see more mergers and stock buybacks — and investors will be watching to see how companies deploy their cash."
Outlook: The strong showing in the first quarter of the year means the market will likely see a pullback or about 5-7% in the next quarter, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.
"We could see a mild correction as early as mid-April, even when companies are in the middle of reporting strong first-quarter earnings," Cardillo said. "That sentiment is already priced into the market."
Throughout the rest of 2010, Cardillo expects continued focus on job market data and corporate earnings. Stocks could end the year 3-5% higher, he said.
World markets: Asian stocks finished lower. In Japan, the Nikkei index lost 0.1%, and the Hang Seng in Hong Kong slipped 0.6%.
In Europe, London’s FTSE 100, France’s CAC 40 and Germany’s DAX ended slightly higher after a choppy session.
The dollar and commodities: The dollar fell against the euro and British pound but rose on the yen.
U.S. light crude oil for May delivery rose $1.39 to settle at $83.76 a barrel, the highest closing price in almost 3 months.
COMEX gold for June delivery added $7.80 an ounce to $1,116.10.
Bonds: Treasury prices were higher, with the 10-year yield falling to 3.83% from 3.87% late Tuesday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
University of Missouri farm economists told Congress on Tuesday that they expect the agricultural economy to pick up — that is, if the general economy continues to do the same.
"The biggest point we’re making is that the health of the farm economy depends on the health of the larger economy," said Pat Westhoff, co-director of the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute at MU.
The institute’s annual report, which MU researchers have released for the past 25 years, predicted that the U.S. farm economy, which lost $30 billion last year, will spring back by about $10 billion. But, Westhoff said, "That depends on people being able to spend some money."
Farm income is predicted to rise over the next two years, mostly because growing global demand for meat will boost livestock prices. But, the report says, that rise depends on several variables, particularly energy costs, which affects the price of grain.
Pork producers, who have been losing money for more than a year, could break even this year — but that, too, depends on the global appetite for pork.
Dairy producers, who also had a disastrous 2009, could see some recovery as world dairy prices climb my credit score.
Consumers will likely see higher prices at the grocery as farm income improves, but food inflation will not reach the escalated levels of 2007 and 2008 when it peaked at 5.5 percent, according to the report. Last year, food inflation hit 1.8 percent.
While corn won’t reach the peak prices of 2008, demand for biofuels will continue to support prices, the report said. Westhoff explained that foreign demand for corn-based animal feed and ethanol mandates continue to use larger portions of the U.S. corn crop. Federal mandates require increasing ethanol use until 2015. Beyond that, corn prices will depend largely on oil prices, Westhoff said.
The report is delivered annually to the agriculture committees in both the House of Representatives and the Senate.
The FAPRI report comes on the heels of a U.S. Department of Agriculture analysis that predicted a similar picture for the farm economy.
"The degree of uncertainty is deeper than normal," Westhoff said.
President Obama announced Tuesday over $8 billion in federal support for two new nuclear power plants in Georgia, setting the stage for what could be the first completed reactor in this country in over three decades.
The money, coming in the form of loan guarantees, is going to build two new reactors at Southern Company’s Vogtle plant facility, located some 170 miles east of Atlanta.
In announcing the grant at an electrical worker’s union hall in Maryland, Obama used to occasion to tout the benefits of nuclear power.
"Nuclear energy remains our largest source of fuel that produces no carbon emissions," said the president. "To meet our growing energy needs and prevent the worst the worst consequences of climate change, we’ll need to increase our supply of nuclear power. It’s that simple."
But Obama’s speech made clear the move is also deeply political.
The money is part of $18.5 billion in loan guarantees for nuclear power approved under the 2005 energy bill. This grant is the first slice of money to be awarded.
President Obama has increased the amount of money available for nuclear loan guarantees to over $54 billion in his 2011 budget.
The increased funding is part of an effort to win Republican support for the president’s overall energy plan, which includes building more nuclear plants as well as making fossil fuels more expensive in an effort to cut greenhouse gases and make renewable energy more competitive.
"Those who have long advocated for nuclear power, including many Republicans, have to recognize that we will not achieve a big boost in nuclear capacity unless we also create a system of incentives to make clean energy profitable," Obama said. "As long as producing carbon pollution carries no cost, traditional plants that use fossil fuels will be more cost-effective than plants that use nuclear fuel."
Passing legislation to make fossil fuels more expensive and clean energy more profitable is a centerpiece of the Obama administration’s domestic agenda.
A bill designed to do just that narrowly passed the House last summer, but faces stiff opposition in the Senate from lawmakers that are concerned about its cost to the economy, or don’t believe in global warming. The Senate is expected to take up the matter sometime this year.
The Georgia plant
Southern Company is one of a handful of power producers that has been vying for this federal funding over the last few years.
Preliminary construction work on new reactors has already begun at a few sites around the country, including the Georgia plant. But the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission hasn’t issued a final permit at any of the facilities.
Winning the government loan backing is a major breakthrough for Southern, and underscores just how expensive and risky building a new nuclear facility is.
Nuclear plants have been subject to massive cost overruns in the past, and without government support even those in the industry recognize a new plant would not be built.
The Georgia expansion is estimated to cost $14 billion, and is scheduled to be completed in 2017.
When originally built late 1980s, the plant was expected to have four reactors and cost $975 million, according to the Atlanta Journal Constitution. The final price tag for two reactors was $9 billion.
The new construction in Georgia is expected to create 3,500 jobs building the plant and 800 permanent jobs once the facility is complete, according to a Southern Company press release.
Each new reactor is expected to produce 1,100 megawatts of electricity, enough to power over 800,000 homes.
Too expensive?
Opponents of nuclear power claim the plants are too expensive to build, and fear government support will distort the power market in this country for years to come.
They also fear the plants will be the target of a terrorist attack, and say there is still no plan for what to do with the waste.
Supports contend the plants will get far cheaper after the first few are built, and will be a good source for clean, domestic power.
The Energy Department has stopped building a permanent waste disposal site at Nevada’s Yucca mountain, but says the waste can be safety stored on-site in pools or concrete bunkers for many decades until another site is found.
MIAMI — The nation’s roughly 1 million paid tax preparers will soon be regulated by the Internal Revenue Service, which plans to require competency tests and registration with the government.
The new regulations don’t kick in this year, in part because of the size of the undertaking, IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman said Monday. But the agency will soon send letters to 10,000 preparers with a record of errors on returns.
About 80 percent of taxpayers use a tax preparer or tax software to complete their annual returns. Most are unregulated, unless they are attorneys, certified public accountants or agents who represent taxpayers before the IRS.
More people are turning to preparers or software for help with their taxes as the tax code becomes more complex, he said.
"If we can have preparers fill out taxes right, the American people are well-served," Shulman said. "We’re going to get accurate returns and collect the right amount of money."
Concern about unscrupulous and untrained tax preparers has been longstanding, said Karen Reinagel, president of the Florida Society of Enrolled Agents, a group of tax professionals authorized by the federal government to represent taxpayers in dealings with the IRS. "The taxpayer has no idea if they’ve got the proper education, if they’ve kept up with continuing education," Reinagel said.
People expect hair dressers and auto mechanics to have passed certain tests and acquired certain licenses, and they may assume as much about their tax preparers.
"But if they’re not registered or licensed they don’t have to have an education," Reinagel said. "They wouldn’t think they would have to ask."
The system will be paid for through user fees by tax preparers who register with the government and take the IRS competency tests business card templates.
Eventually, the IRS said, it will have a searchable database for taxpayers to consult before working with a preparer.
Shulman said his agency was already studying potential regulations for tax preparers before recent criticism about abuse of large tax credits offered through federal stimulus laws.
In a report last month by the inspector general for tax administration, as of July 25, about 74,000 taxpayers had wrongly claimed $504 million through the first-time home buyers tax credit that was expanded in last year’s federal stimulus law. The credit pays $8,000 to first time buyers and $6,500 to current owners if they buy a new home.
"Any time there’s a large, refundable tax credit, you’re going to see fraud _ people trying to claim the credit where it’s not earned," Shulman said.
The EITC _ Earned Income Tax Credit _ for low-income individuals and families is also a source of fraud. The credit offers up to $5,600 to those who qualify. Shulman praised that program as having lifted more people out of poverty than any program in the country.
In addition to the new regulations for preparers, IRS agents will visit thousands of tax preparers, sometimes without advance notice. Some agents will pose as taxpayers to gauge what kind of advice a preparer offers. These visits will begin this year.
And the IRS has set up a task force to review tax preparation software and review businesses that offer refund advances.
The rules won’t apply to volunteers who help low-income families and individuals prepare their taxes. But those who work at Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program already must pass a test before working on others’ returns.
Companies in the U.S. expanded in December at the fastest pace in almost four years, signaling the economic recovery is gaining speed heading into 2010.
The Institute for Supply Management-Chicago Inc. said today its barometer rose to 60, exceeding the most optimistic estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News and the highest level since January 2006. The gauge, in which readings greater than 50 signal expansion, showed companies boosted production and employment as orders climbed.
Stimulus programs and discounting have propelled a rebound in global sales that is reducing stockpiles, which may spur manufacturers to further increase production in coming months. Caterpillar Inc. is among companies that may recall dismissed staff, pointing to gains in employment that will drive consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy.
“Manufacturing is now moving into recovery,” said David Sloan, senior economist at 4Cast Inc. in New York, whose estimate was the highest among economists surveyed. “Inventories are rebuilding and exports are looking strong, with the Asian economies looking firmer and the dollar weak.”
Stocks drifted between gains and losses. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was little changed to close at 1,126.42.
Exceeds Estimates
Economists projected the Chicago index would drop to 55.1 from 56.1 in November, based on the median estimate of 53 projections in the Bloomberg survey. Forecasts ranged from 52 to 58.5.
The group’s gauge of orders climbed to the highest level in more than two years and its measure of employment showed growth for the first time since November 2007, the month before the recession began. Indexes of production and order backlogs also improved.
Caterpillar, the world’s largest maker of bulldozers and excavators, will bring back some laid-off workers next year as sales improve, said Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens.
“We’ll gradually begin to call people back and to rebuild our overall sales and ability to ship product,” Owens said in a Dec. 11 interview with Bloomberg Television. “I think it will gradually begin to pick up as 2010 unfolds.”
Caterpillar cut about 18,700 full-time jobs and about the same number of temporary workers since December 2008 as the global recession reduced demand. The Peoria, Illinois-based company predicts 2010 sales will increase as much as 25 percent from the midpoint of the 2009 forecast range.
Early Indicator
Economists watch the Chicago index for an early reading on the outlook for overall U.S. manufacturing, which makes up about 12 percent of the economy. The group has said their membership includes both manufacturers and service providers, making the gauge a measure of overall growth.
The Tempe, Arizona-based Institute for Supply Management’s factory index probably rose this month to 54 from 53.6 in November, according to a survey median. That report is due Jan. 4.
The world’s largest economy expanded at a 2.2 percent pace from July through September after a yearlong contraction that was the worst since the 1930s, figures from the Commerce Department showed last week. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg forecast growth to pick up to a 3 percent pace in the fourth quarter and average 2.6 percent for all of 2010.
Exports rose for the sixth month in October as economies worldwide rebounded from the global economic slump. A 13 percent drop in the dollar since March 5 against a basket of six major currencies also making American goods more competitive to overseas buyers.
Inventories Increase
Inventories at U.S. companies rose in October for the first time in more than a year, the government said Dec. 11, a sign firms are boosting production in line with rising sales.
United Parcel Service Inc. Chief Executive Officer Scott Davis said Dec. 2 that shipping demand was starting to improve as companies rebuild inventory and consumers began holiday shopping. UPS, the world’s largest package-delivery company, is considered a bellwether for the economy because it handles goods ranging from auto parts to electronics to clothing.
“Inventory has gotten real low,” Davis said in a Bloomberg Television interview. “We think there will be some replenishment of inventories going forward, so the outlook is much better.”
– With assistance from Will Daley in Chicago and Betty Liu in New York. Editors: Carlos Torres, Vince Golle
The Toronto stock market closed lower, led by losses in the telecom sector as a new company joins the wireless wars.
The S&P/TSX composite index fell 40.64 points to 11,423.93.
Industry Minister Tony Clement overruled an earlier decision by the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission and gave the green light to Globalive Wireless Management Corp. The company will join BCE Inc. (TSX: BCE), Rogers Communications (TSX: RCI.B) and Telus Corp. (TSX: T) in providing cellphone service no fax payday loans.
The Canadian dollar was down 0.85 of a cent to 94.35 cents US. Crude closed 67 cents lower at US$69.87 a barrel.
Solid retail data sent the Dow Jones industrial average up 65.67 points to 10,471.5.
The Nasdaq composite index dipped 0.55 of a point to 2,190.31 while the S&P 500 index climbed 4.07 points to 1,106.42.
Hiring by U.S. discount, grocery, restaurant and specialty chains in November rose to the highest level in 2009, signaling that retailers may be anticipating a gradual recovery in consumer spending, a monthly survey found.
In November, 3.87 percent of applications resulted in hires, the most this year according to seasonally adjusted figures compiled by software maker Kronos Inc. Job applications last month fell to 1.27 million, the lowest since March, after 10 straight months of increases, the closely held Chelmsford, Massachusetts-based company said today in a statement.
While these are classic signs of a gradual, post-recession recovery, last month’s hiring increase might be a “spill over” from October, as retailers delayed the peak season for taking on employees, Robert Yerex, Kronos’s chief economist, said by telephone Dec. 4 from Beaverton, Oregon.
The U.S. jobless rate decreased to 10 percent in November after reaching a 26-year high of 10.2 percent in October, according to a Dec. 4 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Retailers “weren’t sure how good or bad this year would be,” Yerex said. “There’s still a little bit of shell shock from 2007 and 2008, when retailers were caught with a lot of people on staff, a lot of product inventory, but a difficult time selling it.”
Kronos’s analysis covers 68 companies with 27,034 U.S. stores. The company makes software that businesses use to process hiring, payroll and scheduling, and manage employees. Chains that use Kronos products account for about 15 percent of U.S. retail jobs, according to the company.
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