• FINANCIAL & BUSINESS NEWS

Last Update on November 06, 2009 13:08 EST

Jobless rate tops 10 percent

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The unemployment rate has risen above 10 percent for the first time since 1983 -- and is likely to go higher.

The Labor Department says the unemployment rate jumped to 10.2 percent last month from 9.8 percent in September.

Some 190,000 jobs were lost last month, more than economists had expected.

The number of unemployed hit 15.7 million. The job losses occurred across most industries, from manufacturing and construction to retail and financial. The job-loss total is based on a survey of businesses, separate from a survey of households that produces the unemployment rate.

Economists say the unemployment rate could reach 10.5 percent next year because employers remain reluctant to hire.

Obama: Gov't working to ease pain of joblessness

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama said new figures released Friday showing national unemployment has hit the double-digit mark are a sobering reminder of the challenges still facing the U.S. economy.

Standing in the White House Rose Garden a few hours after the government reported that the jobless rate hit 10.2 percent last month, Obama said his administration is working hard to restore the struggling economy.

Obama said that he would not rest until all Americans who want to work can. He said his economic team is evaluating other options to create jobs and get the economy moving.

Obama signs homebuyer, jobless bill assistance

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Barack Obama today signed into law a $24 billion economic stimulus bill providing tax incentives to prospective homebuyers. The measure also extends unemployment benefits to the longtime jobless who have been left behind as the U.S. economy veers toward recovery.

The bill-signing at the White House comes a day after the House voted 403-12 for the measure. The Senate approved it unanimously on Wednesday.

The White House says the law, which also includes tax cuts for struggling businesses, builds on provisions in the $787 billion stimulus package enacted last February that aim at spurring job creation.

Lawmakers stressed that the fourth unemployment benefit extension in the past 18 months was necessary because initial signs of economic recovery have not been reflected in the job market.

Wholesale inventories fall, sales grow in Sept.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Businesses cut inventories at the wholesale level for a record 13th consecutive month in September, but sales rose for a sixth straight time.

The hope is that steadily rising sales will encourage businesses to begin restocking shelves, a move that would boost production and bolster an economic recovery. But worries persist that consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, could falter as various government stimulus programs begin to wane and unemployment keeps surging.

The Commerce Department says businesses reduced inventories at the wholesale level 0.9 percent in September, slightly less than the expected 1 percent drop. Sales by wholesalers rose 0.7 percent, slightly better than the 0.6 percent gain economists expected.

AIG posts 2nd consecutive quarterly profit

NEW YORK (AP) -- AIG says it was profitable for the second straight quarter as its core insurance operations continue to stabilize after the company's bailout by the government last year.

American International Group also said the amount of its government financial assistance dropped by 4 percent during the quarter.

Its results got a lift in the third quarter from the increasing value of investments it still holds that soured last year and helped drive it to the brink of collapse.

Despite the improved performance, AIG's CEO warned earnings will remain choppy as the company executes its restructuring plan.

Shares of AIG fell 9 percent in midday trading.

STR Holdings shares rise modestly in IPO debut

NEW YORK (AP) -- STR Holdings shares climbed modestly after the solar products company launched its initial public offering but priced below expectations on the New York Stock Exchange.

Shares rose about 3 percent in morning trading. They were priced at $10, below the expected range between $11 per share and $13 per share. A day earlier, the company cut its expected share price range.

STR is offering more than 3 million shares and selling shareholders are offering 9 million shares.

STR, based in Enfield, Conn., makes solar module encapsulants and provides consumer product quality assurance services. Encapsulants are specialty sheets and film that hold a solar module together and protect the semiconductor circuit.

Boston Scientific paying $296 million settlement

NEW YORK (AP) -- Medical device maker Boston Scientific says it will pay $296 million to settle a Department of Justice investigation into the company's Guidant unit.

The investigation involved product advisories issued by Guidant in 2005, a year before Boston Scientific paid $27 billion for the heart device maker.

Under the deal, Guidant will plead to two misdemeanor charges related to failure to include information in reports to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, along with Boston Scientific's payment.

Natick, Mass.-based Boston Scientific updated its third-quarter profit results to reflect the charge.

New "Call of Duty" could set entertainment record

NEW YORK (AP) -- This holiday season's biggest entertainment blockbuster likely will be a sequel to a popular franchise, with jarring depictions of war and an intricate story of good versus evil. It could easily rake in more than last year's record $155 million opening weekend for "The Dark Knight."

But this blockbuster is not a movie.

It is "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2," a video game that Activision Blizzard releases Tuesday. Fans worldwide are expected to spend at least half a billion dollars on the game in the first week.

That would at least match last year's "Grand Theft Auto IV," which was the most successful video game release in history and might have been the top entertainment launch ever.