Intuit's 120 layoffs include 25 in Reno
RENO (AP) - About 25 workers in Reno are among those being laid off by Intuit Inc.
Officials for the software company based in Mountainview, Calif., say the employees in Intuit's small business division in Reno are among 120 layoffs nationwide the company announced earlier this month.
Corporate spokeswoman Holly Perez says the jobs have become redundant as a result of Intuit's acquisition of PayCycle, a leading online payroll company serving small businesses, accountants and financial institutions.
She says all the laid off workers in Reno were given 60-day notices and have been invited to explore other employment opportunities within the company.
Sparks council supports Lazy 8 plans
SPARKS (AP) - With two members sidelined by Nevada Ethics Commission rulings, the Sparks City Council has voted to reeaffirm its support of a master plan change for the the Lazy 8 casino-hotel in Spanish Springs.
Monday's 2-1 vote came a week after the Nevada Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit by project opponents, including the Sparks Nugget hotel-casino.
Developer Harvey Whittemore says it's now time to try to build the resort.
But opponents pledge to fight the plans when they come up for review before the Regional Planning Commission.
Councilmen Mike Carrigan and Phil Salerno were barred by the ethics commission from voting on the Lazy 8 project because of their ties with people associated with it.
Job worries persist; Americans gloomy on economy
NEW YORK (AP) - Americans are looking past the stock market surge and signs of a stabilizing economy and focusing on something more personal - job worries.
Consumer confidence fell this month, the Conference Board said Tuesday, presenting a big obstacle for already hammered stores as they head into the critical back-to-school shopping season.
The confidence index fell to 46.6, down from 49.3 in June and weaker than what economists were expecting. It takes a reading above 90 to signal Americans believe the economy is on solid footing.
It was the second straight month of declining confidence.
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Index adds to spate of upbeat housing news
NEW YORK (AP) - There were fresh signs Tuesday that home prices in much of the country are stabilizing and the housing market is on the mend.
Home prices in May posted their first monthly increase since the summer of 2006, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller 20-city index. Prices rose from April in 13 of the cities tracked, notably Cleveland, Dallas and Boston.
The news follows upbeat reports showing sales of newly built and existing homes rose in June for the third straight month. And new home construction, while still weak, is the best it's been since the fall.
The 20-city home price index rose 0.5 percent from April to a reading of 139.8, but was still 17.1 percent below the reading of 168.6 in May a year ago. It was the fourth consecutive month the index indicated prices have turned the corner and are heading back toward positive territory.
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Govt considers limits on energy trading
WASHINGTON (AP) - With consumers hit by oil price swings, federal regulators may be moving toward imposing limits on speculative energy trading, which some blame for price volatility.
The head of the U.S. agency weighing new curbs on Tuesday faulted "excessive" speculation but also underscored the role of financial investors in helping set fair prices that can benefit consumers.
Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said his agency must "seriously consider" imposing stringent limits on speculative trading of energy futures contracts, a move that would mark a major shift for the government.
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Oil rally sputters; prices near $67 per barrel
COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - A two-week rally in oil markets sputtered Tuesday and crude prices fell along with the stock market.
Prices first dipped in electronic trading before the market opened and then dropped sharply when new data suggested consumers are less confident than ever about their jobs and the economy as a whole.
Economic anxiety has kept people closer to home this year and the most energy-intense industries have cut back on production.
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Stocks end flat on mixed economic data, earnings
NEW YORK (AP) - An economic reality check is cooling the stock market's rally.
Stocks ended little changed Tuesday as a key barometer of consumer confidence and a handful of disappointing earnings reports reminded investors that an economic recovery this year is far from assured. The Dow slipped 12 points, while the Nasdaq composite index posted a small gain.
Trading was more erratic Tuesday than the past two days, however in all three days the major market indexes closed with only modest changes. Investors remain cautious but still aren't willing to give up on a rally that has propelled stocks up 11 percent in little more than two weeks.
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'Clunkers' program draws car buyers in first days
NEW YORK (AP) - Car and truck owners looking to junk their gas guzzlers are flocking to dealerships to take advantage of the government's "cash for clunkers" program and buy more fuel-efficient vehicles, boosting sales in showrooms across the country.
The program - officially called the Cash Allowance Rebate System, or CARS - took effect over the weekend at the nearly 20,000 car dealers who have signed up with the Department of Transportation. The program offers rebates of $3,500 to $4,500 for car shoppers who scrap their old vehicles to buy ones with better gas mileage.
Congress passed CARS earlier this year to help boost flagging sales and get some of the filthiest cars and trucks off the nation's roads. Nationally, new vehicle sales are down 35 percent for the first half of the year, and the downturn has been devastating for automakers and dealers alike.
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IBM scoops up software maker SPSS in $1.2B deal
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - IBM Corp. is bulking up its most profitable division with a $1.2 billion acquisition of business software provider SPSS Inc., a deal that also reflects the power of wealthy technology companies to throw their money around despite the recession.
The all-cash deal announced Tuesday represents a 42 percent premium over Chicago-based SPSS's closing price of $35.09 on Monday.
SPSS's technology is used to comb through stockpiles of data to predict things such as how a customer will respond to a particular sales pitch, or where hot spots for crime are and where police should be deployed. The company claims its customers include agencies in all U.S. state governments, top U.S. universities and consumer goods, pharmaceutical and market-research companies.
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Sprint focuses on prepaid with Virgin Mobile deal
NEW YORK (AP) - Sprint Nextel Corp. is intensifying its focus on the fast-growing market for prepaid cell phone service with a $483 million deal to buy Virgin Mobile USA Inc.
The acquisition announced Tuesday calls for Sprint to pay $5.50 in stock for each Virgin Mobile share. Sprint already owned 13.1 percent of Virgin Mobile, which uses Sprint's network to offer service.
The offer comes at a 31 percent premium to Virgin Mobile's closing share price Monday of $4.21. The shares closed up $1.07, or 25.4 percent, to $5.28 Tuesday.
Like other prepaid vendors, Virgin Mobile primarily targets customers who lack the credit or income to sign long-term contracts or simply want a bargain over contract-based plans. It has 5.2 million subscribers who pay an average of $20 per month. Sprint has 49.1 million subscribers, including those using the network through wholesalers like Virgin Mobile.
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Viacom: Ad outlook good despite 2Q drop in profits
NEW YORK (AP) - Viacom Inc. struck a hopeful note on advertising for the rest of the year even as the media conglomerate controlled by Sumner Redstone saw second-quarter profit plunge on weak ad markets, video game sales and box-office returns.
Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman said the company, which owns the BET and MTV cable TV networks, was "very pleased" with the nearly completed bidding in the so-called "upfronts," in which media buyers bid on commercial time ahead of the coming TV season.
New York-based Viacom declined to give specifics on the volume or pricing of ad time it has sold so far.
Viacom, which also owns the Paramount Pictures movie studio and the "Rock Band" video game franchise, said it earned $277 million, or 46 cents per share, in the most recent quarter, a 32 percent drop from $407 million, or 65 cents per share, a year earlier.
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US Steel reports 2Q loss as demand remains low
PITTSBURGH (AP) - United States Steel Corp. posted its second straight quarterly loss Tuesday as the global slowdown stifled orders and prices for the metal, and it forecast that its third quarter results would stay in the red.
The largest U.S.-based steelmaker and other producers have been hurt by sharply lower orders from steel-intensive industries such as construction and autos. While demand and prices have picked up recently, they remain well below record levels reached last summer.
U.S. Steel lost $392 million, or $2.92 per share, in the three months ended June 30. That compares with a profit of $668 million, or $5.65 per share, in the year-earlier period. A gain from foreign currency exchange narrowed the latest loss by $41 million, or 31 cents per share.
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The Dow Jones industrial average slipped 11.79, or 0.1 percent, to 9,096.72. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.56, or 0.3 percent, to 979.62. The Nasdaq composite index rose 7.62, or 0.4 percent, to 1,975.51 after several technology companies announced acquisitions.
Benchmark crude for September delivery fell $1.15 to settle at $67.23 a barrel in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
In other Nymex trading, gasoline for August delivery fell 2.41 cents to settle at $1.9106 a gallon and heating oil lost 2.99 cents to settle at $1.7647. Natural gas for August delivery fell 6.9 cents to settle at $3.535 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude prices fell 93 cents to settle at $69.88 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.