Business Top Stories
• Nvidia weighs on Nasdaq
(Reuters)
<p>Reuters - U.S. stocks fell on Thursday, with the Nasdaq trading down more than 1 percent, after Nvidia Corp slashed its second-quarter sales outlook, citing weakness in Europe and China.
• Exxon, Shell growth now led by natural gas
(Reuters)
Reuters - Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L) reported strong growth in production on Thursday after years of largely falling output, helping to send second-quarter profits soaring.
• Jobless claims fall, raise optimism for recovery
(Reuters)
<p>Reuters - New U.S. claims for unemployment benefits fell slightly more than expected last week, offering a ray of hope for the anemic labor market recovery.
• Toyota recalling over 416,000 cars in U.S., Canada
(Reuters)
Reuters - Toyota Motor Corp said on Thursday it would recall nearly 417,000 high-end passenger cars and SUVs in the United States and Canada to fix steering problems.
• Motorola quarter beats Street, shares rise
(Reuters)
Reuters - Motorola Inc posted stronger-than-expected quarterly results on strength in its enterprise and network units, sending its shares up despite frustration it did not raise its phone sales target.
• Soros to buy 4 pct stake in Bombay bourse: report
(AFP)
<p>AFP - Billionaire investor George Soros is close to sealing a 40-million-dollar deal to buy Dubai Holding's 4.0 percent stake in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), the Financial Times reported Wednesday.
• After crisis, firms fuel spark of European optimism
(Reuters)
Reuters - A string of Europe's largest firms issued surprisingly upbeat profit reports on Thursday, bolstering an abrupt renewal of investor confidence in the region after months of debt turmoil and fears for the euro.
• Moody's 2Q profit jumps 11 percent, tops Street
(AP)
AP - Moody's Corp. on Thursday posted an 11 percent jump in second-quarter profit, driven by a jump in revenue in its Moody's Investors Service unit.
• Italy seeks private sponsors to restore Colosseum
(AP)
AP - Italian officials are seeking to raise some euro25 million (about $32 million) in private money to finance the restoration of one of the country's iconic landmarks: the Colosseum.
• Mortgage rates hit low of 4.54 percent
(AP)
AP - Mortgage rates dropped to the lowest level on record for the fifth time in six weeks, making homebuying and refinancing the most attractive in decades for those who can get loans.
• China allows release of critical IMF report
(AFP)
AFP - China allowed an annual IMF staff report that is critical of its currency policy to be released Thursday for the first time in four years, a senior fund official said.
• Out-of-stock Kindle may mean new version coming
(Reuters)
Reuters - Amazon.com said its best-selling Kindle device was currently out of stock, leading one Internet analyst to surmise the online retailer was poised to launch a new version.
• Foreclosures up in 75 percent of top U.S. metro areas
(Reuters)
Reuters - Foreclosures rose in 3 of every four large U.S. metro areas in this year's first half, likely ruling out sustained home price gains until 2013, real estate data company RealtyTrac said on Thursday.
• EPA: 1M gallons of oil may be in Mich. river
(AP)
<p>AP - Federal officials now estimate that more than 1 million gallons of oil may have spilled into a major river in southern Michigan, and the governor is sharply criticizing clean-up efforts as "wholly inadequate."
• Obama pushes business bill as an all-American goal
(AP)
AP - President Barack Obama on Wednesday cast his latest economic pitch as a matter of patriotism, urging the Senate to ditch its partisan mode at least long enough to pass a package of tax cuts and loan relief for small businesses. "This is as American as apple pie," the president said.
• China govt approves Geely acquisition of Volvo
(AP)
AP - Geely Holding Group has received final Chinese government approval to acquire Volvo Cars from Ford Motor Co., the Commerce Ministry said Thursday.
• The Rebirth of Prague's Vltava River
(BusinessWeek)
BusinessWeek - When Petr Vojak was deciding where to settle down with his family last year, his aim was clear. He wanted somewhere peaceful yet central. Eventually, they decided on a new flat in a northern district along the Vltava river, which flows through Prague.
