Business and Finance

The declining U.S. jobless rate may soon get another push downward as Americans lose extended unemployment benefits.

From April 7 through May 12, about 370,000 Americans in 23 states stopped getting the benefits, which provide payments for as long as 99 weeks, according to estimates from the National Employment Law Project. People in the remaining six states and the District of Columbia who still qualify may lose eligibility by September, bringing the program to an end, the report showed.

Some recipients who lose their benefits may decide to accept jobs they view as less than ideal. Others may give up looking for work and drop out of the labor force, eliminating them from the ranks of the jobless. Those outcomes may trim the unemployment rate by 0.1 percentage point to 0.2 point in the next few months, according to economists Dean Maki at Barclays and Michael Feroli at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

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Three high-ranking executives at JPMorgan Chase are expected to leave their jobs this week after a trading blunder cost the bank $2 billion, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The Journal, citing people familiar with the situation, reported that one of the executives is Ina Drew, who for seven years has run the risk-management division at the bank responsible for the loss.

The other two identified by the newspaper are an executive in charge of the London desk that placed the trades and a managing director on that team. The bank did not immediately return a message from The Associated Press.

The $2 billion loss, disclosed on Thursday by CEO Jamie Dimon, has been an embarrassment for the bank and led lawmakers and critics of the banking industry to call for tougher regulation of Wall Street.

Drew, one of the highest-ranking women on Wall Street, is the bank’s chief investment officer. She was paid $15.5 million last year and almost $16 million the year before, according to a regulatory filing.

The Journal reported that Bruno Iksil, the JPMorgan trader identified as the “London whale” because of the giant bets he placed, was also likely to leave, but the paper reported that it was not clear when that would happen.

On Friday, investors shaved almost 10 percent off JPMorgan’s stock price. Dimon said in a TV interview aired Sunday that he was “dead wrong” when he dismissed concerns about the bank’s trading last month.

“We made a terrible, egregious mistake,” Dimon said in an interview that was taped Friday and aired on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “There’s almost no excuse for it.”

Dimon said he did not know the extent of the problem when he said in April that the concerns were a “tempest in a teapot.”

The loss came in the past six weeks. Dimon has said it came from trading in so-called credit derivatives and was designed to hedge against financial risk, not to make a profit for the bank.

Dimon said the bank is open to inquiries from regulators. He has also promised, in an email to the bank’s employees and in a conference call with stock analysts, to get to the bottom of what happened and learn from the mistake.

Dimon told NBC that he supported giving the government the authority to dismantle a failing big bank and wipe out shareholder equity. But he stressed that JPMorgan, the largest bank in the United States, is “very strong.”

A piece of financial regulation known as the Volcker rule would prevent banks from certain kinds of trading for their own profit. Dimon has said the trading involved in the $2 billion loss would not have fallen under the rule.

Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., told ABC’s “This Week” that he hopes the final version of the Volcker rule will prevent the type of trading that led to the massive loss at JPMorgan.

Dimon conceded to NBC that the bank “hurt ourselves and our credibility” and expects to “pay the price for that.” Asked what the price should be, Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., said that banks will lose their fight to weaken the rule.

“This was not a risk-reducing activity that they engaged in. This increased their risk,” Levin told NBC.

“So we’ve got to be very, very careful that the regulators here are not undermined by this huge effort to weaken the rule by putting in a huge loophole” that includes the trading involved in the JPMorgan loss, he said.

Addressing public anger toward Wall Street, Dimon said he wants a more equitable society and does not mind paying higher taxes. But he said attacking all of business is “very counterproductive.”

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Beauty products maker Coty Inc. is raising its buyout offer for direct-seller Avon Products Inc. by about 6.5 percent to almost $10.7 billion.

Avon, whose brands include Skin-So-Soft, Anew and mark, said Thursday that Coty told it in a letter that it was raising its offer to $24.75 per share from $23.25 per share.

The revised bid is a 15 percent premium to Avon’s Wednesday closing price of $21.60. Avon shares rose 1.3 percent to $21.87 in premarket trading Thursday.

Avon had rejected Coty’s $10 billion offer last month, but Coty has remained interested. It said in the letter to Avon that it wants to look at Avon’s books to confirm estimates and learn more about Avon’s ongoing bribery investigation and litigation.

Coty says it will withdraw its latest bid if it doesn’t receive a response by the close of business Monday.

Coty’s letter indicated Avon has said it is not interested in reviewing any proposal until after newly installed CEO Sherilyn McCoy has completed a review of all of Avon’s business operations.

On Thursday, Avon said its board will consider Coty’s letter in due course.

Founded in 1886, Avon became a fixture in households across the country as its legions of “Avon ladies” went door to door selling makeup to family, friends and acquaintances.

Now, Avon is in transition. McCoy, a long-time Johnson & Johnson executive, has been in place less than a month easy payday loans. She replaced CEO Andrea Jung, who had come under fire for failing to stem the company’s declines and wrap up the bribery investigation, which started in China in 2008 and has spread to other countries.

The company’s profit has shrunk over the past three years. It has frequently missed analysts’ earnings expectations and posted weak sales in some of its largest markets, including Brazil and Russia. Avon said last week that its first-quarter net income fell 82 percent, hurt by a bigger restructuring charge and higher commodity and labor costs.

Rumors of other possible bids for the New York company have been swirling. A media report last week said private equity firm Richmont Holdings is structuring an offer for Avon, but so far nothing has materialized.

Coty is controlled by German holding company Joh. A. Benckiser GmbH, which also operates consumer products company Reckitt Benckiser Group PLC. Reckitt’s brands include Air Wick air freshener and Clearasil skin care products. Benckiser is one of Coty’s financing sources, along with BOT Capital Partners and Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

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Charter Communications cut its losses in the first quarter, while managing to reverse a long decline in customers subscribing to cable TV.

The company, by far the largest Internet and TV provider in St. Louis, reported a loss of $94 million, or 95 cents per share. A year earlier, the company lost $110 million or 97 cents per share.

Charter is gradually becoming less of a cable TV company and more of an Internet service and phone provider. Still, cable TV provides the biggest piece of its revenue, and the slow drop off of cable video customers has long vexed the company.

That trend changed in the March quarter as Charter added 20,000 video customers, bringing the total to 4.16 million, compared to a loss of 24,000 in the same period a year earlier. That was the first quarterly video growth in five years, said CEO Tom Rutledge in an investor conference Tuesday.

Rutledge said the company has been improving the quality of its TV picture signal and the number of channels. It will be offering 100 high definition channels by mid-year, he said. It’s also been raising prices; about 40 percent of its video customers saw a 3 percent price increase recently.

Loss of video customers is common story in the cable TV business, which is facing more competition as telecom companies role out video services, such as AT&T’s U-verse, in a broader geographic area. Charter’s strongest competition is from satellite TV companies, Rutledge said. Internet streaming services, such as Netflix, aren’t a big factor in cable TV subscriber losses, he said.

“Our video competitors often offer more channels, including more HD channels, and typically only offer digital services which have a better picture quality compared to our analog product,” the company said in a filing Tuesday with the SEC. Charter offers both analog and digital services. People using older TVs without a digital converter box receive an analog signal.

Despite the rise in customers, revenues from video dropped 2 percent, in part because fewer people are paying for premium channels or using its pay video-on-demand service.

Overall, Charter’s revenue grew 3 percent as demand for Internet and phone service increased. Charter added 141,000 residential Internet customers compared a 90,000 gain a year earlier. It added 31,000 phone customers, up from 24,000 last year.

While making money on its basic operations, Charter remains burdened by $12.8 billion in debt and faces continuing costs to upgrade its systems.

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U.S. stocks finished near the highs of the day Wednesday, as investors digested comments from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and cheered strong corporate results from big companies including Apple and Boeing.

All three major indexes rallied right out of the gate, on the back of stronger-than-expected financial results, but pulled back slightly leading up to Bernanke’s news conference.

The indexes regained momentum after the Fed chief said that the central bank remains "entirely prepared to take additional balance sheet actions…should the economy require additional support."

But the Fed was also more positive with its outlook, boosting its economic growth projection for the year and lowering its unemployment rate target.

"The Fed sounded a bit more upbeat on the economy than I was expecting," said Frank Fantozzi, CEO and President of Planned Financial Services. "It doesn’t have evidence to take any further stimulus action, and wants the economy to keep healing and improving on its own. But it also reserves the right to step in if the economy stalls or reverses course."

The Dow Jones industrial average () rose 89 points, or 0.7%, with a 5.3% jump in shares of Boeing (, Fortune 500) leading the gains. The aerospace and defense company reported earnings that trounced Wall Street’s expectations. Caterpillar (, Fortune 500) was the biggest loser on the blue-chip index, after it reported revenue that fell short of forecasts.

The S&P 500 () gained 19 points, or 1.4%, and the Nasdaq () added 68 points, or 2.3%.

Apple’s (, Fortune 500) nearly 9% pop made it one of the biggest gainers on both indexes Wednesday. The world’s most valuable company reported that its net income nearly doubled, on much stronger-than-expected iPhone sales.

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Apple shares had been struggling ahead of its quarterly results, losing nearly 12% over an 11-day stretch. But Wednesday’s rally helped push the stock back above $600 a share, and just 5% away from its all-time high.

"Apple’s earnings are certainly having a big impact," said Dave Hinnenkamp, CEO of KDV Wealth Management. "Apple is a bellwether for the technology industry, and investors are influenced by positive reports from market leaders."

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Shares of companies that make chips or accessories for iPhones also rode the good-news wave, including Cirrus Logic (), Skyworks Solutions () and Triquint (). ARM () and Qualcomm (, Fortune 500), two semiconductor companies, also gained traction.

Shares of Omnivision (), which makes camera sensors for the iPhone, jumped, while Zagg (), a popular maker of iPhone accessories like cases and screen protectors, also rallied.

U.S. stocks finished mixed Tuesday. Better-than-expected earnings boosted the Dow and S&P, while Netflix () weighed down the Nasdaq.

Economy: The Fed also left its key interest rate unchanged near zero and reiterated that low rates are likely to remain through late 2014.

The central bank also expects the economy to grow between 2 business card.4% and 2.9% in 2012, which would be an improvement over 1.7% growth last year. The Fed also revised its forecasts for the labor market, predicting the unemployment rate will fall to between 7.8% and 8% by the end of the year.

Before the market open, the Commerce Department’s durable goods report came in weaker than expected, with new orders for big-ticket items falling 4.2% — worse than the 1.7% drop forecast by economists surveyed by Briefing.com.

New orders for nondefense capital goods, excluding aircraft, fell 8.9%. That reading in the report is taken as a barometer of business investment.

The Mortgage Bankers Association also reported a 3.8% decline in new mortgage applications for last week, despite the exceptionally low rates on home loans.

Companies: In addition to Apple and Boeing, Wednesday also brought more strong corporate results for investors to consider, including telecom giant Sprint Nextel (, Fortune 500), health insurer Wellpoint (, Fortune 500), and glass-maker and tech supplier Corning (, Fortune 500).

Sprint shares were slightly lower even after the wireless provider posted a loss that was narrower than forecasts. Wellpoint’s were higher than expected, while Corning, whose Gorilla glass is used in Apple’s iPhones and iPads, also topped expectations.

Harley-Davidson (, Fortune 500) shares jumped after the motorcycle maker boosted its full-year production forecast.

DuPont (, Fortune 500) shares rose after the company boosted its dividend by 5%.

Shares of Tyson Foods (, Fortune 500), one of the biggest U.S. beef processors, dipped slightly after at least one major South Korean retailer suspended the sale of U.S. beef Wednesday, one day after after authorities confirmed a case of "mad cow disease" in the carcass of a dairy cow in central California. But Korean authorities have not halted imports of U.S. beef. South Korea is the No. 2 importer of U.S. beef.

World markets: European stocks finished higher, despite a reading on gross domestic product in the United Kingdom that indicated Britain has fallen back into recession. London’s FTSE 100 () edged up 0.1%, while the DAX () in Germany added 1.6% and France’s CAC 40 () gained 2.2%.

Germany’s auction of €3 billion worth of 30-year bonds was under-subscribed Wednesday morning, with only €2.7 billion in bids being received. That sent yields on the German debt higher.

Asian markets ended mixed, with the Shanghai Composite () rising 0.8% and Japan’s Nikkei () up nearly 1%, while the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong slid 0.2%.

Currencies and commodities: The dollar lost ground against the euro, but rose versus the Japanese yen and the British pound.

Oil for June delivery rose 57 cents to settle at $104.12 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery lost $1.50 to settle at $1,642.30 an ounce, but trading amount is up from earlier lows.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury slipped, pushing the yield up to 1.99% from 1.96% late Tuesday.  

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Stocks stormed higher this afternoon after promising signals about the profitability of U.S. companies and a strong debt auction by Spain. The Dow Jones industrial average headed for its biggest gain in a month.

European stocks had their best day in four months after Spain, the latest flashpoint in the European debt crisis, attracted strong investor interest at an auction of two-year debt.

Spain’s borrowing costs fell, as measured by the yields on Spanish bonds being traded in the market. Those yields had risen in recent days closer to levels that might force Spain to seek an international bailout.

“There’s no doubt that gave the market a second wind,” Anthony Chan, chief economist with J.P. Morgan Private Wealth management, said of the debt auction. “The market is reassessing and feeling a little better.”

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed more than 200 points and was up 204 at 13,125 just after 2:30 p.m. EDT. The Dow has had only one 200-point rise this year, a gain of 218 points on March 13.

Doreen Mogavero, a floor broker at the New York Stock Exchange, said people are eager for good news to trade on, and that can lead to sharp reactions in the indexes.

“This earnings season, expectations were low, and it’s going to be easy to beat that,” said Mogavero, the founder and CEO of Mogavero Lee & Co. Inc., a small brokerage of stocks for institutional clients.

They got that good news Tuesday: Coca-Cola said its first-quarter profit was better than Wall Street analysts had forecast. Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson also posted strong results.

After nine straight quarters of growth, earnings for companies in the S&P 500 index were expected to be roughly flat for the first quarter. The slowdown was expected because of global threats from Europe and China and the difficulty of beating double-digit gains in recent quarters.

Markets have been encouraged so far by companies that beat analyst expectations, Chan said. But he warned against judging the quarter based on the small number of companies that have reported at this early stage.

Coke stock leapt 2.6 percent. Traders did not appear as impressed by Goldman Sachs and Johnson & Johnson. J&J was flat, while Goldman fell nearly a percent.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index added 23 points to 1,392. All 10 of its industry groups were higher, led by information technology stocks.

The Nasdaq composite index soared 63 to 3,051, its best day in three weeks. Apple, the most valuable company in the world, rose 4.4 percent after five straight days of losses that wiped out about $60 billion in market value.

In Spain early Tuesday, the government sold more than €3.2 billion ($4.2 billion) in short-term debt, more than had been expected. The yield on Spain’s 10-year government bond fell to 5.86 percent from 6.10 percent early Monday, a sign of improving confidence in the country’s finances.

The cost of insuring Spanish debt against default pulled back from a record high, another sign that the auction reassured bond investors. The cost of insuring €10 million in Spanish debt for five years had soared to €522,000 per year on Monday. After Tuesday’s auction, it fell to €489,000.

Italy’s benchmark stock index rose 3.7 percent. France’s and Germany’s gained 2.7 percent. The broad STOXX 50 index of European shares rose 2 percent, the most since November.

In the United States, the rally followed a batch of mixed economic news. The number of permits requested by homebuilders for future projects reached a 3½-year high, an indication that the housing market might stop weighing down the economy. But builders broke ground on homes at a slower pace in March.

Factory output fell after four strong months of gains.

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Spanish stocks sank and its borrowing costs rose Friday after the government released data showing the country’s banks borrowed a record (EURO)316.3 billion ($415.9 billion) from the European Central Bank in March.

Bank of Spain data showed that ECB lending to the country’s financial institutions almost doubled since February when their reliance was (EURO)169.8 billion ($223.3 billion).

Concern is mounting over Spain’s ability to cut its national debt and lift its struggling economy out of recession when unemployment is nearing 23 percent.

The ECB made some (EURO)1 trillion in emergency three-year loans to banks in two batches in Dec. and Feb., lifelines to Spain’s troubled banks that find it hard to secure short-term financing elsewhere.

The injection spurred lenders to snap up battered government debt, driving Spanish borrowing costs down. However, the effects of the cheap loans across Europe have since dissipated and Spain is taking the brunt of market distrust.

Some of that distrust is misplaced, said analyst Manuel Escudero, who added that much of Spain’s industrial sector appeared to be riding the crisis instead of heading to a major downturn in output.

“I see much of Spain’s industrial sector beginning to internationalize instead of heading toward stagnation, it has slimmed down and is looking reasonably muscular,” said Escudero who heads Deusto University business school in the northern Basque region.

Klaas Knot, a member of the European Central Bank’s governing council, also said he did not see a need for the ECB to engage in buying up Spanish bonds or launch a third program of low-rate loans to European banks to steady markets.

Knot, said last week’s spike in the interest rate of Spanish government bonds was due to “awkward communication” by its government about its plans for budget cuts.

To boost confidence in its finances, the government last month unveiled an austerity budget with (EURO)27 billion ($35.5 billion) in tax hikes and spending cuts this year.

Spain is expected to enter its second recession in three years this quarter, with the country’s central bank forecasting its economy will contract 1.7 percent this year.

The Ibex 35 stock index in Madrid was down 3.6 percent at close of trading Friday and 10-year government yields rose 0.2 percent to 5.93, according to FactSet.

Just five years ago Spain was one of Europe’s most buoyant economies, but a nose-dive started in 2008 when the international financial crisis coincided with the bursting of a real estate bubble that had buoyed the economy for over a decade.

The government ordered banks to strengthen capital levels to cover exposure to bad real estate debt. Investors fear that sustained bank weakness, coupled with rising public debt and high funding costs could force Spain to apply for European aid.

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U.S. service companies expanded at a healthy pace last month and stepped up hiring, though growth slowed a bit from the previous month.

The Institute for Supply Management, a private trade group, said Wednesday that its index of non-manufacturing activity dropped to 56 in March, down from February’s 57.3. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion.

The trade group of purchasing managers surveys roughly 90 percent of U.S. companies in all sectors outside of manufacturing. That includes retail, construction, financial services, health care, and hotels.

A measure of employment rose as more companies said they plan to add workers.

Separately, payroll processor ADP said the economy added 209,000 private-sector jobs in March. The ADP survey does not include government jobs.

Both reports are encouraging signs ahead of the government’s report on March job growth, which will be released Friday. Economists are predicting that employers added 210,000 jobs, which would be the fourth straight month of strong hiring.

More jobs have helped service companies grow. As hiring picks up, Americans are more willing to spend. Consumer spending jumped in February by the most in seven months, the government said last week payday loans no teletrack.

Department stores, electronics chains and other merchants are seeing more business. Retail sales increased in February by the most in four months. Department store sales rose in February by the most since November 2010.

Big job gains at service firms are necessary to reduce the unemployment rate. The service sector includes low-paying positions in retail and restaurants. But it also has higher-paying jobs in professions such as information technology, accounting and financial services.

The job gains have come as growth has picked up. The economy expanded at an annual rate of 3 percent in the final three months of last year.

Still, the hiring gains have not resulted in bigger paychecks for most people. Income grew just 0.2 percent last month, matching January’s weak increase. And when taking inflation into account, income after taxes fell for a second straight month.

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