Business and Finance

World stock markets were mixed Monday as fears of a Greek debt default dampened the euphoria from a stronger-than-expected increase in U.S. jobs.

Benchmark oil fell to near $97 per barrel while the dollar rose against the euro and the yen.

European stocks fell in early trading as Greece’s coalition government was facing another day of tough negotiations with international lenders to reach a deal for Athens to receive a euro130 billion ($171 billion) emergency bailout.

The deal is vital for Greece to avoid bankruptcy as it cannot cover a euro14.5 billion ($19.1 billion) bond repayment due March 20.

Britain’s FTSE 100 slipped 0.3 percent to 5,883.86. Germany’s DAX fell 0.4 percent to 6,739.95 and France’s CAC-40 lost 0.8 percent to 3,399.17. Wall Street also was headed for a lower opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures down 0.3 percent to 12,751 and S&P 500 futures shedding 0.4 percent to 1,333.20.

Asian shares closed higher on the heels of a data released Friday that showed U.S. unemployment had fallen to its lowest in three years, suggesting a stronger recovery in the world’s No. 1 economy that could benefit the region’s exporters.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index rose 1.1 percent to close at 8,929.20, its highest closing in more than three months. South Korea’s Kospi was marginally higher at 1,973.13.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng lost 0.2 percent to 20,709.94, slipping into negative territory as investors began to cash in some of their investments as the talks in Greece dragged on.

“We hit 21,000 and now there is profit-taking, because there is still potential bad news from Greece,” said Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong. “The Greek debt talks are still going on, and no one knows if significant bad news will come out of there.”

Australia’s S&P ASX/200 added 1.1 percent to 4,296 while benchmarks in Singapore, mainland China and the Philippines also rose. Taiwan’s and Indonesia’s main indexes fell.

On Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average was propelled to its highest close since May 2008 after the U.S. Labor Department said the economy added 243,000 new jobs in January, the strongest job growth in nine months.

That helped to push the unemployment rate down to 8.3 percent and the number of unemployed down to 12.8 million.

Noting that a similar gain occurred in April 2010, only to be followed by a negative trend, analysts at DBS in Singapore said, “Stay optimistic but keep a few grains of salt close at hand.”

Falling unemployment in the U.S. is likely to be good news for Asia, as it suggests stronger consumer demand for the region’s exports of clothing, cars, consumer electronics and other goods.

Among Japanese shares, Panasonic Corp. soared 6.3 percent and Mazda Motor Corp. jumped 6.9 percent. Camera maker Nikon Corp. shot up 11.2 percent after revising upward its net pretax profit for the current business year, Kyodo News reported.

Chinese shipping companies, which also stand to benefit from increasing exports, also rose. Hong Kong-listed China Shipping Container Lines rose 5.1 percent. China COSCO Holdings gained 4.9 percent.

Benchmark oil for March delivery was down 66 cents to $97.19 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.48 to finish at $97.84 per barrel on the Nymex on Friday.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3059 from $1.3153 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 76.66 yen from 76.55 yen.

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1901 • John F. Queeny sets up Monsanto Chemical Works in honor of his wife, Olga Monsanto, and begins making saccharin at a St. Louis plant.

1929 • Monsanto buys two companies to enter the rubber chemicals business. It also buys several other chemical companies.

1997 • Monsanto spins off its chemical group as Solutia Inc.

December 2003 • Solutia files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

May 2004 • Solutia promotes Jeffry Quinn to president and CEO after he joined the company in 2003.

May 2007 • Solutia buys the half of Brussels-based Flexsys NV, a supplier of chemicals to the rubber industry, that it didn’t own.

February 2008 • Solutia emerges from bankruptcy.

June 2009 • Solutia sells its nylon business unit.

January 2012 • Eastman Chemical announces plans to acquire Solutia.

Source: St. Louis Post-Dispatch research, Solutia

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General Motors Co. is on track to retake the title of world’s top-selling automaker, riding strong sales in the U.S. and China to beat Volkswagen and Toyota.

GM, which lost the crown to Toyota in 2008 after holding it for more than seven decades, won’t release global sales numbers until later this month, but it’s on pace to finish 2011 at around 9 million cars and trucks, at least 800,000 more than its German and Japanese rivals.

Volkswagen AG on Monday said it sold a record 8.156 million vehicles last year, a 14 percent rise over 2010. The company expects a tough 2012, though. Toyota, whose production suffered from the tsunami and Fukushima nuclear disaster, had earlier reported sales of 7.9 million vehicles in 2011.

GM, meanwhile, sold almost 7 million vehicles worldwide in the first three quarters and is expected to reach around 9 million for 2011.

GM has more appealing cars and trucks than in the past when Toyota took the crown away, says Jeff Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, an industry consulting company in Troy, Michigan.

Other manufacturers have passed Toyota partly because its car production was paralyzed by Japan’s earthquake and nuclear disaster last year. But rivals also developed stylish vehicles that are drawing more customers.

“They’re not pushing their designs as much as others in terms of new looks and feel,” Schuster says of Toyota. “The market has changed.”

Volkswagen met its aggressive sales goals in the U.S. and throughout the world, and its products also have made it a strong global competitor, Schuster says.

In the U.S., VW sales rose 26 percent last year to top 324,000 vehicles, boosted by a new Jetta compact sedan and the Passat midsize sedan. That surpassed its goal of 300,000.

Schuster expects a tighter race for the global sales crown next year with Toyota recovering from Japan’s disasters and the Nissan-Renault venture challenging the leaders.

Volkswagen, whose brands include Audi, Skoda and Seat, has a goal of producing 10 million vehicles per year and passing Toyota and GM to become the world’s biggest automaker by 2018.

Volkswagen’s top sales and marketing executive, Christian Klingler, says that “all the company’s brands have shown increases in difficult conditions on volatile markets” and called the 2011 figures “an outstanding result.”

But he added that the coming year will be demanding. “In 2012 the risks are increasing above all on European markets.”

The 17 countries that use the euro are struggling with a financial crisis over too much government debt. Fears that a country may default and damage the banking system have weighed on the wider economy and many think the eurozone economy may have shrunk in the last three months of 2011.

But the 2011 figures underlined a strong year for German automakers, who have profited from strong sales and profits in emerging markets, especially China. Volkswagen, Daimler AG’s Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Porsche all recorded record vehicle sales for the year.

Luxury carmaker BMW AG said Monday that it sold a record 1.67 million vehicles under its BMW, Mini and Rolls-Royce brands thanks to a 14.2 percent increase over 2010.

The BMW brand, the company’s mainstay, sold 12.8 percent more cars and SUVs _ a total of 1.38 million. Rolls-Royce increased unit sales by 30.5 percent with 3,538 cars sold worldwide, breaking a sales record from 1978.

Porsche on Monday reported a 22 percent sales increase to 118,867 vehicles.

Daimler AG on Jan. 5 reported record sales of 1.362 million for its Mercedes-Benz, smart and Maybach brands.

Some analysts have said that VW is the world’s biggest because GM’s figures include vehicles made by its Wuling joint venture in China. Many don’t count Wuling because GM doesn’t have controlling interest in the company, but GM includes it in global sales figures.

Including Wuling, GM will overtake Toyota and Volkswagen, says Schuster, senior vice president of forecasting for LMC Automotive, an industry consulting company in Troy, Michigan.

____

AP Auto Writer Bree Fowler in Detroit contributed to this report.

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+%3Cp%3EA+Swiss+panel+from+the+government+and+the+central+bank+is+examining+options+such+as+capital+controls+and+negative+interest+rates+to+curb+the+franc%92s+strength%2C+Finance+Minister+Eveline+Widmer-Schlumpf+said.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%93If+the+situation+deteriorated+further+in+the+foreign-+exchange+markets%2C+we+would+have+the+opportunity+to+take+certain+accompanying+measures%2C%94+Widmer-Schlumpf+said+at+a+hearing+in+parliament%92s+lower+house+in+Bern+yesterday.+Among+the+steps+being+considered+are+negative+interest+rates%2C+a+levy+on+transactions+and+restrictions+on+the+movement+of+Swiss+and+foreign+currencies.+The+panel+is+also+looking+at+restrictions%2C+including+a+possible+ban%2C+on+foreigners+buying+Swiss+real+estate.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+Swiss+franc+has+appreciated+to+record+levels+against+the+euro+over+the+last+year%2C+raising+the+risk+of+deflation+and+threatening+exports.+That+prompted+the+country%92s+central+bank+to+impose+a+limit+of+1.20+francs+per+euro+in+September+and+the+government+to+lower+its+forecast+for+next+year%92s+economic+growth.+Basel%2C+Switzerland-based+freight+forwarder+Panalpina+Welttransport+Holding+AG+said+last+month+the+franc%92s+strength+had+a+%93significant%94+effect+on+its+results.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%91Don%92t+Want+To%92++%3Cp%3E%93I+would+like+to+emphasize+that+we+don%92t+want+to+implement+these+measures%2C%94+Widmer-Schlumpf+said+%3Ca+href%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fpaydayloans-on.com%22%3Ecash+till+payday%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%21–+.+–%3E.+They+%93are+being+examined+so+that%2C+in+case+of+need%2C+everything+has+been+considered+and+we+can+make+suggestions.%94+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+finance+minister+has+made+similar+statements+in+the+past.+On+Dec.+7%2C+she+said+at+a+hearing+in+the+parliament%92s+upper+house+that+capital+controls+and+negative+interest+rates+%93are+issues+which+are+being+examined.%94+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+task+force+consists+of+officials+from+the+Swiss+finance+ministry%2C+the+economy+ministry+and+the+Swiss+National+Bank%2C+the+finance+minister+said.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EThe+Swiss+franc+remains+%93massively+overvalued%94+and+should+continue+to+weaken%2C+Economy+Minister+Johann+Schneider-Ammann+said+at+yesterday%92s+hearing.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3EHe+also+called+the+Swiss+central+bank%92s+franc+ceiling+of+1.20+versus+the+euro+a+%93necessary%94+measure.+%3C%2Fp%3E+%3Cp%3E%93The+purchasing+power+parity+is+at+1.35%2C+1.40%2C%94+Schneider-Ammann+added.+It+would+be+desirable+for+the+exchange+rate+to+%93move+into+this+direction+sooner+rather+than+later.%94+%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bloomberg.com%2Fnews%2F2011-12-21%2Fswiss-panel-studying-measures-to-curb-franc-s-gains-widmer-schlumpf-says.html%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ESource%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+

Stocks soared in morning trading Wednesday after major central banks acted together to support the global financial system by cutting short-term borrowing rates.

The Dow Jones industrial average jumped more than 400 points in early trading Wednesday, and was up 392 hour after the opening bell.

Markets in Europe also surged. Germany’s DAX index jumped 4.9 percent. The euro and commodities prices rose sharply. U.S. Treasury prices fell as demand weakened for ultra-safe assets.

The central banks of Europe, the U.S., Britain, Canada, Japan and Switzerland eased banks’ access to dollars by reducing their borrowing rates. They were responding to fears that a European country will default, touching off a credit crunch similar to what followed the 2008 collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Borrowing rates for European nations have skyrocketed on concerns that the European debt crisis has engulfed nations such as Italy which are too big to bail out. Borrowing rates for Italy, Spain and others have soared.

Banks need dollars to fund their daily operations. Their access dried up as U.S. money market funds reduced their lending to European banks.

The central banks’ action takes some pressure off the financial system, which has signaled in recent days that banks are losing faith in their trading partners. Banks need to trust each other to maintain healthy flows of credit and keep the system working.

The Dow Jones industrial average leaped 392 points, or 3.4 percent, to 11,948 at 10:20 a.m. Over the past three days the Dow has gained back all of the 564-point loss it had over Thanksgiving week.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index jumped 39, or 3.2 percent, to 1,234. The Nasdaq composite index gained 78, or 3.1 percent, to 2,594.

The move by central banks does not address the fundamental problem posed by heavily indebted European nations. European finance ministers in Brussels have been meeting since Tuesday but have failed to deliver a clearer sense of how the currency union will proceed.

Investor sentiment was also lifted by China’s move to reduce bank reserve levels Wednesday to release money for lending and help shore up slowing growth. Higher growth in China could be crucial for a global economy that’s suffering in the wake of European debt crisis.

Beijing announced that the amount of money China’s commercial lenders must hold in reserve will be cut by 0.5 percent of their deposits, effective Dec. 5. It was the first easing of monetary policy in three years and analysts are expecting more.

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A safety investigation of the lithium-ion batteries in General Motors Co.’s Chevrolet Volt is under way to assess the risk of fire in the electric car after a serious crash, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said Friday.

One Volt battery pack that was being closely monitored following a government crash test caught fire Thursday, the safety administration said in a statement. Another crash-tested battery emitted smoke and sparks, the statement said.

GM, which was informed of the investigation on Friday, said in a statement that the Volt “is safe and does not present undue risk as part of normal operation or immediately after a severe crash.”

The fires are in addition to a battery fire in a crash-tested Volt six months ago.

NHTSA learned of a possible fire risk involving damaged Volt batteries in June when a fire erupted in a Volt that was being stored in a parking lot a test facility in Burlington, Wis. The fire was severe enough to cause several other vehicles parked nearby to catch fire as well.

The car had been subjected to a side-impact crash test more than three weeks earlier, on May 12, during which the battery was damaged and its coolant line ruptured.

Last week’s tests of three battery packs were designed to replicate the May test. In that test, the Volt was subjected to a simulated side-impact collision into a narrow object like a tree or pole followed by a rollover, the agency said.

The first battery tested last week didn’t catch fire. But a battery test on Nov. 17 initially experienced a temporary temperature increase, and on Thursday caught fire. Another battery tested on Nov. 18, which was rotated 180 degrees within hours after the test, began to smoke and emit sparks shortly after the rotation payday advance online.

The tests were conducted by NHTSA and the Energy and Defense departments at a defense facility near Hampton Roads, Va.

So far, no fires have been reported in Volts involved in roadway crashes, NHTSA said. More than 5,000 of the vehicles have been sold.

It’s too soon to tell whether the investigation will lead to a recall of any vehicles or parts, but the government will ensure consumers are informed promptly if that occurs, the agency said.

With electronic safety systems that are part of the car, “GM knows real time about any crash significant enough to potentially compromise battery integrity,” the automaker said. “Since July, GM has implemented a post-crash protocol that includes the depowering of the battery after a severe crash, returning the battery to a safe and low-powered state.”

Electric vehicles are critical to President Barack Obama’s plans to reduce U.S. dependence on foreign oil. He has called for putting 1 million of the vehicles on the road by 2015.

Safety testing hasn’t raised concerns about electric vehicles other than the Volt, NHTSA said.

“NHTSA continues to believe that electric vehicles have incredible potential to save consumers money at the pump, help protect the environment, create jobs and strengthen national security by reducing our dependence on oil,” the agency said.

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U.S. Trade Representative Ron Kirk says leaders of Asia-Pacific economies will deliver meaningful steps to boost trade and growth at their annual summit this weekend.

Kirk ended a meeting of regional trade ministers Friday with praise for Japan’s plan to join efforts to forge a Pacific free trade bloc. He said leaders meeting in Hawaii intend to announce a broad outline for the plan.

He said the so-called Trans-Pacific Partnership would complement other efforts to promote freer trade and that other countries can join if they are willing to meet the very high standards required.

China’s trade minister, Chen Deming, said Beijing would seriously consider it if invited. Kirk said, “You should not wait for an invitation.”

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Unemployment rates fell in about three-quarters of large U.S. cities in September, a sign that the nation’s modest job gains that month occurred across most of the country.

The Labor Department said Wednesday that unemployment rates fell in 280 large metro areas from August to September. They rose in 61 and were unchanged in 31. That’s the largest number of cities to see a decline since April.

Nationwide, employers added a net 103,000 jobs in September. And the unemployment rate was 9.1 percent for the third straight month. The job gains were only about enough to keep up with population growth. The economy needs to generate at least twice September’s total to reduce the unemployment rate.

Unlike national and state data, metro unemployment figures aren’t adjusted for seasonal changes. Many of the areas with the sharpest drops in unemployment were cities with large universities. They likely added jobs at the start of the academic year.

State College, Penn., home to Penn State University, reported the biggest drop in unemployment in September. Its rate fell to 5.1 percent from 6.5 percent in August. Grand Forks, N.D., site of the University of North Dakota, reported the next-largest drop, to 4.1 percent from 5 percent.

Meanwhile, many of the cities with the biggest increases in unemployment were coastal cities, where many summer employees likely lost jobs Business Card Holders.

Unemployment in Ocean City, N.J., rose to 9 percent in September, from 7.9 percent the previous month. The second-biggest rise was in Gulfport-Biloxi, Miss., on the Gulf of Mexico, where the rate jumped to 9.8 percent from 8.7 percent.

Other cities with big increases included Myrtle Beach, S.C., a popular beach resort, and Barnstable Town, Mass., part of the Cape Cod area.

Bismarck, N.D., registered the lowest unemployment rate at 2.5 percent. The next-lowest were Fargo, N.D., at 3.3 percent and Lincoln, Neb., at 3.5 percent.

Among cities with 1 million or more residents, Oklahoma City had the lowest rate, 5.5 percent. Oklahoma has benefited from its oil and gas production and high prices for grains and other agricultural communities.

El Centro, Calif., reported the highest rate, at 29.6 percent, followed by Yuma, Ariz., at 27 percent. They are adjacent counties with heavy farm economies and large contingents of migrant labor.

Las Vegas had the highest unemployment rate among cities with populations of 1 million or more: 13.6 percent.

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Heralding a splash of good news on jobs, President Barack Obama on Wednesday praised a series of companies that have promised to hire 25,000 veterans or military spouses within two years, calling it a sign of patriotism and business savvy. He pushed his economic agenda anew to a military audience, this time with first lady Michelle Obama at his side.

“We ask you to fight, to sacrifice, to risk your lives for your country,” Obama told an audience of thousands of people at Joint Base Langley-Eustis. “The last thing you should have to do is fight for a job when you come home. Not here. Not in the United States of America.”

In this military setting, Obama’s pitch for his jobs bill was far less partisan than it has been across his bus tour of North Carolina and Virginia. He didn’t target at length the Republican lawmakers who have voted against his plan, promising more broadly to keep pushing Congress to pass a bill that’s now been broken into pieces.

The president’s day-long swing through Virginia does, however, have deep political undertones. Obama won the traditionally Republican-leaning state in 2008, but his poll numbers here are down, and some of the state’s high-profile Democrats are staying away from the president’s events.

The final day of Obama’s bus tour had a different feel primarily because the Obamas were together as the president campaigned for his ideas and, in turn, for his re-election. The president and Mrs. Obama made a surprise stop at a roadside pumpkin patch, scooping up some orange and white pumpkins, apples and peanuts.

Then they stopped for lunch at Anna’s Pizza and Italian Kitchen, having a meal with four veterans from different parts of the nation who had attended the earlier event at the base.

In their comments, Obama and the first lady both sought to assure veterans and their families that the country was behind them and that employers are, too. The American Logistics Association, which includes major companies like Tyson Foods Inc. and Coca-Cola Co., is pledging to hire 25,000 people by the end of 2013.

Michelle Obama called it the largest coordinated effort by the private sector to hire veterans that the nation has seen in years.

Mrs. Obama is leading a national campaign to rally the country around its veterans.

The president said that every company should want to hire veterans because of their leadership experience, mastery of cutting-edge technology and other skills. Obama is asking Congress to approve separate tax credits worth thousands of dollars for businesses that hire veterans who’ve been out of work for at least six months, including those with disabilities free 3-in-1 credit report.

As Obama has been traveling, lawmakers back in Washington were taking the first steps to break his nearly $450 billion jobs bill into pieces for possible votes. It’s the only way elements of the measure stand a chance of passing, given that Senate Republicans blocked action on the full package last week.

The bus trip has given the president the opportunity to promote elements of his jobs plan in places the White House says would benefit most should the measures pass.

Obama has spoken at high schools and community colleges where the administration says new spending would prevent teacher layoffs, as well as a small, regional area airport near Asheville, N.C., where Obama pressed for government funds to renovate an outdated runway.

Wednesday’s stops were following a similar pattern.

Obama has proposed a Returning Heroes tax credit of up to $5,600 for businesses that hire unemployed veterans who have been out of work for six months or more, as well as a Wounded Warriors tax credit of nearly $10,000 for unemployed veterans with service-related disabilities who also have been looking for work for at least six months.

“When I first proposed this idea in a joint session of Congress, people stood up and applauded on both sides of the aisle,” Obama said about tax credits to encourage hiring of veterans. “So when it comes for a vote in the Senate, I expect to get votes from both sides of the aisle. Don’t just applaud about it. Vote for it.”

Obama was on his way to North Chesterfield, Va., where he was to speak at a local fire station. He was returning to Washington later Wednesday.

Republicans have criticized Obama’s bus trip as being more focused on selling the president’s re-election than solving the country’s economic woes. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Wednesday: “”Let’s park the campaign bus, put away the talking points, and do something to address this jobs crisis.”

Top Virginia Democrats, including Sens. Mark Warner and Jim Webb, are not expected to appear with the president Wednesday, nor is Tim Kaine, the former governor and chairman of the Democratic National Committee, who is running to replace the retiring Webb.

However, Virginia’s popular Republican Gov. Bob McDonnell did meet with the president Wednesday morning at Joint Base Langley-Eustis.

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