Real Estate Daily News Buzz is designed to give news snippets to readers that our (yet to be award winning) editors thought you could use to start your day. They come from various business perspectives, real estate, government, the Fed, local news, and the stock markets to save you time. Here you will find the headlines and what the news buzz for the day will be.
Thursday, the Dow Jones Industrial average rose 92.02 points, or 0.5%, to 17,068.26. The S&P 500 rose 10.82 points, or 0.6%, to 1,985.44 and the NASDAQ composite rose 28.19 points, or 0.6%, to 4,485.93.
In energy trading, crude oil fell 42 cents to $104.06 a barrel. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, fell 24 cents to $111 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline was little changed at $3.02 a gallon.
DOW TOPS 17,000 AFTER JOBS REPORT
NEW YORK (AP) — The Dow Jones industrial average topped 17,000 for the first time Thursday, the index’s first big 1,000-point milestone this year, following news that hiring in the U.S. accelerated last month. The market rose from the opening of trading after the government reported that U.S. employers hired more employees than investors and economists expected. Trading was extremely light, though, and the market closed early ahead of the Fourth of July holiday Friday. Thursday’s gains add to what has been a strong month-and-a-half for Wall Street. Along with the Dow hitting 17,000, the Standard & Poor’s 500 index is approaching its own milestone of 2,000. The indexes have risen as a steady stream of good news on jobs and manufacturing bolsters investor confidence.
US SEEKS MORE SECURITY AT SOME OVERSEAS AIRPORTS
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. intelligence officials are concerned that al-Qaida is trying to develop a new and improved bomb that could go undetected through airport security. There is no indication that such a bomb has been created or that there’s a specific threat to the U.S., but the Obama administration on Wednesday called for tighter security measures at foreign airports that have direct flights to the U.S. American intelligence has picked up indications that bomb makers from Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula have travelled to Syria to link up with the al-Qaida affiliate there, known as the Nusra Front, according to a counterterrorism official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly about the matter by name. The enhanced security measures have been in the works for the past month, he said.
AMAZON VOWS TO FIGHT FTC ON KIDS IN APP PURCHASES
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Amazon says that it is prepared to go to court against the Federal Trade Commission to defend itself against charges that it has not done enough to prevent children from making unauthorized in-app purchases. The FTC alleged in a draft lawsuit released by Amazon that unauthorized charges by children on Amazon tablets have amounted to millions of dollars. Seattle-based Amazon.com Inc. said in a letter Tuesday to FTC Chairwoman Edith Ramirez that it had already refunded money to parents who complained. It also said its parental controls go beyond what the FTC required from Apple when it imposed a $32.5 million fine on the company in January over a similar matter.
US SERVICES SECTOR EXPANDS AT SLOWER PACE IN JUNE
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. services firms expanded again last month but at a slightly slower pace than they did in May. Orders, exports and hiring grew faster in June. The Institute for Supply Management said Thursday that its service-sector index slipped to 56 last month, down from May’s 56.3 reading. Any figure above 50 indicates expansion, however. The ISM is a trade group of purchasing managers. The services survey covers businesses that employ 90 per cent of the workforce, including retail, construction, health care and financial services firms.
US TRADE DEFICIT DROPS $44.4 BILLION IN MAY
WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. trade deficit fell in May as U.S. exports hit an all-time high, helped by a jump in exports of petroleum products. Imports dipped slightly. The trade deficit narrowed 5.6% in May to $44.4 billion after hitting a two-year high of $47 billion in April, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Exports of goods and services rose 1% to a record $195.5 billion in May while imports fell a slight 0.3% to $239.8 billion.
AVERAGE RATE ON 30-YEAR MORTGAGES DIPS THIS WEEK
WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. mortgage rates are near historically low levels. Mortgage company Freddie Mac said Thursday that the nationwide average rate for a 30-year loan dipped to 4.12%, down from 4.14%. The average for the 15-year mortgage, which had taken a big dip the previous week, was unchanged this week at 3.22%. Rates on one-year adjustable mortgages averaged 2.38% this week, down from 2.40% last week. Mortgage rates are slightly lower than they were at the same time last year, having fallen recently after climbing last summer when the Federal Reserve began talking about trimming back the monthly bond purchases it has been using to keep long-term rates low.
SUBARU RECALLS 660K VEHICLES FOR BRAKE LINE RUST
DETROIT (AP) — Subaru is recalling more than 660,000 cars and SUVs because the brake lines can rust and leak fluid, and that can mean it will take longer to stop the vehicles. For about half the vehicles, it’s the second recall for the same problem. Affected are 2005 through 2009 Legacy and Outback, the 2008 through 2014 Impreza and the 2009 through 2013 Forester. It covers vehicles sold or registered in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Washington, D.C., where salt is used to clear roads in the winter.
EXPRESS SCRIPTS CUTS PAYMENTS FOR CUSTOMIZED DRUGS
WASHINGTON (AP) — The nation’s largest pharmacy benefit manager, Express Scripts, is dramatically scaling back its coverage of compounded medications, saying most of the custom-mixed medicines are ineffective or overpriced. The company, which manages prescriptions for 90 million Americans, plans to drop coverage for 1,000 drug ingredients commonly found in compounded medications. Express Scripts executives say the move is a cost-saver for employers that will reduce their spending on compounded prescriptions by 95%.
FRAUD, SEX, POST-IT-ART: GOOGLE CUTS SEARCH LINK
BRUSSELS (AP) — Google’s removal of search results in Europe is drawing accusations of press censorship, as stories from some of the continent’s most prominent news outlets begin vanishing. The U.S. internet giant said Thursday it is getting 1,000 requests a day to scrub results. The U.S. firm must comply with a May ruling from the European Union’s top court that enables citizens to ask for the removal of embarrassing personal information that pops up on a search of their names. Among links to vanish were stories on a soccer referee who resigned after a scandal in 2010, French office workers making post-it art, a couple having sex on a train and a lawyer facing a fraud trial.
EGYPT RAISES FUEL PRICES BY 78%
CAIRO – Egypt’s government raised the prices of fuel by up to 78% starting Saturday, following on a promise to cut subsidies that eat up nearly a quarter of the state budget, the official news agency reported. The price hikes, in effect as of Friday midnight, follow an increase in electricity prices that were put in effect at the start of July. The Cabinet this week amended the government’s budget to reduce a staggering deficit. Newly elected President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi, elected to office last month, has said he will need to tackle the tough issue and asked every Egyptian to be ready to sacrifice to help the country’s battered economy after three years of turmoil. The former military chief also asked the government to amend the largest budget in Egypt’s history, at $115 billion, to reduce a budget deficit from 12 to 10%. The amended budget featured a $6 billion reduction in the energy subsidy bill, government officials said. The fuel price rise was highest for 80 octane gasoline, used mostly by old vehicles that still fill Egyptian streets, with the price jumping 78% to 22 cents per litre. Diesel fuel, used by most of Egypt’s public transport and trucks, increased 64% to 25 cents a litre. The 92 octane increased by 40% to 37 cents a litre. Energy and food subsidies eat up about a quarter of Egypt’s state budget. The country’s successive leaders have balked at reducing them because half of the country’s 85 million people live at or below the poverty line of $2 a day and rely on government subsidies of wheat and fuel for survival. The decision caused a rush on gas stations, and lines formed outside them before midnight.
F-35 FLEET GROUNDED CATCHING FIRE
WASHINGTON – U.S. military officials have grounded all F-35s while continuing to investigate a runway fire involving one of the fighter jets at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida. In a statement issued Thursday, the Pentagon’s press secretary said Air Force and Navy officials ordered the F-35 fleet grounded after initial findings in the incident in Florida on June 23. Officials said at the time that the jet caught fire during takeoff at Eglin Air Force Base. No one was hurt, and the cause remains under investigation. The Pentagon says that additional inspections of F-35 engines have been ordered, and that the return to flight of the F-35 fleet will be determined based on inspection results and analysis of engineering data.