Business torrents

U.S. stocks were set for a higher open Friday, tracking gains in global stock markets, as investors awaited another round of economic data and corporate results.

The Dow Jones industrial average (), S&P 500 () and Nasdaq () futures rose betwen 0.2% and 0.3% ahead of the opening bell. Stock futures indicate the possible direction of the markets when they open at 9:30 a.m. ET.

Economic reports on tap for Friday include consumer sentiment and new-home sales, where investors hope for continued signs of momentum in the U.S. economy.

While a number of economic indicators have looked positive lately, the housing market remains a troubled sector.

The National Association of Realtors reported Wednesday that home prices fell to their lowest point in more than a decade in January. But on Thursday, the 30-year fixed mortgage rate rose off its all-time lows — giving the housing sector a slight vote of confidence.

U.S. stocks closed higher Thursday despite looming worries about the Greek debt crisis, boosted by a strong report on Germany’s economy and a decent reading on U.S. unemployment.

Money market funds dip back into eurozone debt

World markets: European stocks were higher in afternoon trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 () edged up slightly, the DAX () in Germany rose 0.4% and France’s CAC 40 () added 0.4%.

Asian markets ended with solid gains. The Shanghai Composite () closed up 1.3%, the Hang Seng () in Hong Kong rose 0.1% and Japan’s Nikkei () gained 0.5%.

Economy: Analysts surveyed by Briefing.com expect the annual rate of new-home sales for January to increase to 315,000, from December’s 307,000.

February’s installment of the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index is expected to come in at 73.0, up from 72.5 in the month prior.

Investors will also be listening for any notable remarks from regional Federal Reserve bank heads during the 2012 U.S. Monetary Policy Forum in New York.

Companies: J.C. Penney (, Fortune 500) shares slipped after the department store chain beat earnings estimates but fell short of sales expectations for the fourth quarter payday loans lenders.

Shares of AIG (, Fortune 500) jumped after the company said late Thursday that its fourth-quarter profit surged more than $19.8 billion, thanks to an accounting change.

Salesforce.com’s () stock also popped after the company topped earnings and sales expectations late Thursday, as customer billings surged 57% during the quarter — a sign of robust future sales growth.

Shares of Crocs () tumbled after the shoemaker issued a downbeat outlook for the first quarter of 2012.

Gap’s (, Fortune 500) stock fell after the retailer missed earnings and sales expectations for the fourth quarter. Gap also announced a $1 billion share buyback program and an 11% boost to its annual dividend.

Gingrich’s $2.50 gas promise

Citigroup (, Fortune 500) sold its stake in Mumbai-based Housing Development Finance Corporation. Citigroup said the sale should result in a pre-tax gain of $1.1 billion, and an after-tax gain of approximately $722 million.

Bank of America (, Fortune 500) announced plans late Thursday to freeze pension plans, effective in July, and increase its 401(k) contributions instead.

Procter & Gamble (, Fortune 500) said Thursday that it will cut 5,700 positions globally by June of next year.

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

Oil for April delivery rose 52 cents to $108.35 a barrel.

Check gas prices in your state

The price of regular unleaded gasoline jumped 3.5 cents overnight to $3.647 a gallon, according to motorist group AAA.

Gold futures for April delivery fell $5.80 to $1,780.50 an ounce.

Bonds: The price on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury fell, pushing the yield up to 2% from 1.98% late Thursday.  

Source

Confidence among U.S. consumers rose more than forecast in February, reaching a one-year high as Americans grew more upbeat about the outlook for the economy.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan final index of consumer sentiment increased to 75.3 this month from 75 in January. The median estimate in a Bloomberg News survey called for 73, after a preliminary reading of 72.5. New-home sales last month were stronger than projected, another report showed.

Three straight months of faster job growth along with a stock market rally since late 2011 are helping keep Americans optimistic in the face of rising gasoline prices. Further gains in confidence may sustain the household spending that accounts for about 70 percent of the economy.

It hurts to be the only national carrier that doesn’t sell the iPhone.

T-Mobile lost 706,000 customers under contract during the last three months of 2011, the struggling carrier announced Thursday. It was the only national carrier to lose customers last quarter.

The nation’s fourth-largest wireless company had been shedding contracted customers all through 2011, but the departure rate slowed over the course of the year.

Then Sprint (, Fortune 500) became the third U.S. carrier to sell the iPhone, and Apple (, Fortune 500) launched the iPhone 4S — the fastest-selling mobile device in history. Missing out on that giant wave killed any momentum T-Mobile might have had.

"Not carrying the iPhone led to a significant increase in contract deactivations in the fourth quarter of 2011," Philipp Humm, CEO of T-Mobile USA, said in a written statement.

The company has repeatedly said it wants to carry the iPhone and has tried to work with Apple to bring the device to its network. The issue, executives say, has to do with the spectrum band T-Mobile’s network operates in. The iPhone’s chipset does not support that band.

There’s a potential fix: Chipsets that operate on multiple bands are becoming common in smartphones. However, many analysts say that it’s not worth putting more expensive chipsets in the iPhone to serve T-Mobile’s relatively puny subscriber base. T-Mobile has 25 million customers under contract, compared with the 87 million customers held by Verizon, the nation’s biggest wireless carrier.

The iPhone is a nightmare for carriers

Without a clear path to getting the iPhone anytime soon, T-Mobile is instead focusing on catching up to its larger rivals in another area: 4G.

Verizon (, Fortune 500) and AT&T (, Fortune 500) have made significant progress in rolling out their next-generation network technology, called Long Term Evolution. Sprint plans to do the same beginning next year. But until now, T-Mobile had not announced any plans to launch an LTE network.

Instead, T-Mobile upgraded its 3G network and labeled it "4G."

On Thursday, the company said that it plans to use the $1 billion worth of spectrum and $3 billion in cash it received from AT&T as part of their merger agreement break-up to build an LTE network. The build-out will start in 2013.

It’s potentially good news for T-Mobile customers, who would benefit from faster speeds. But the announcement comes with a giant list of caveats.

To build an LTE network, T-Mobile will need to repurpose what little wireless spectrum it has left from 2G services to 4G. That means enough 2G customers will have to upgrade their devices to 3G to give T-Mobile a sufficient swath of freed-up airwaves to launch 4G services.

T-Mobile also said that it will have to go out and purchase more spectrum to build out a "broader, deeper" LTE network.

And here’s the ultimate caveat: Though Apple is widely expected to launch an LTE-capable iPhone in 2012, it may still not be compatible with T-Mobile’s upgraded network. T-Mobile’s LTE network will transmit signal in the same frequency band that its 2G and 3G networks do today — the same bands that Apple doesn’t think are worth its while to support. 

Source

Construction hiring is picking up as Americans invest in renovating their homes amid signs that the worst of the housing-market declines may be over.

The number of people working in residential remodeling grew 5.8 percent in December to 250,700 from a year earlier, based on preliminary data released Feb. 3 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. This was the highest growth for these jobs — which account for about 5 percent of construction employment — since December 2006, before the housing bubble burst.

Sales of existing homes, which rose 4.3 percent in January, precede spending on improvement projects by about six months, as new owners often do a lot of

ST. JOSEPH, Mo. • A St. Joseph call center is adding 300 jobs to accommodate growing business from two corporate clients.

NCO Group announced Monday that it is expanding its operations in St. Joseph to accommodate two Fortune 500 clients. NCO is a global outsourcing firm based in Pennsylvania.

NCO’s Systems & Services Technologies plant in St. Joseph mostly works on loan servicing for auto, credit card and other consumer debt.

The St. Joseph News-Press reports the company didn’t provide any details on its new clients.

Source

Prime Minister Lucas Papademos rushed to Brussels on Sunday, a day before eurozone finance ministers have to decide whether Greece will get a euro130-billion ($170-billion) bailout and avoid a potentially devastating default.

Leaders from Germany, Italy and Greece have said they are optimistic that the deal on a second massive bailout for Athens can be clinched at the meeting after months of delay, but critics have expressed doubts over Greek political leaders’ commitment to austerity and there are still difficult details to be ironed out.

Pressure is on Papademos to seal the deal and his presence in Brussels could lend more weight to Greece’s efforts and promises.

Monday’s meeting could “result in the need to take very important decisions for the country and require immediate and thorough consultation between the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance,” Papademos’ office said in a statement. He is also expected to hold talks with representatives of Greece’s private creditors on a related euro100-billion debt relief deal.

Greece is straining to secure the rescue loans and the debt relief deal quickly to avoid defaulting on a euro14.5 billion bond redemption on March 20. The government has already pushed a massive austerity and reform package though parliament and is expected to introduce in Parliament on Monday two more pieces of emergency legislation _ including wage and pension cuts. There were scattered protests over the cuts in Athens on Sunday and about 60 people detained.

High-level finance ministry officials from the 17 countries that use the euro as their currency were already meeting in Brussels Sunday to evaluate Greece’s latest austerity plans, as well as whether the new bailout and a related debt-relief plan could bring the country’s debt down to a sustainable level.

Before the rest of the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund can sign off on Greece’s new rescue package, which was tentatively agreed to in October, and comes on top of a euro110 billion bailout granted in 2010, several issues have to be resolved:

Germany and other rich euro countries want Greece to set up a separately managed account that would ensure that the country services its debt. The idea of such an escrow account is that it would maintain pressure on Greece to stick to promised austerity and reform measures, without the eurozone risking the destabilizing effects of a default.

The escrow account would give legal priority to debt and interest payments over paying for government services. However, it is still unclear whether only funds from the bailout would be funneled into the account or whether Greece will also be expected to pay in some taxpayer money.

“There is agreement within the Eurogroup that there will be such a special account, or ‘escrow account’ in jargon, for the disbursement of the the second aid package,” German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told German daily Tagesspiegel’s Sunday edition. “The account ensures a priority for debt reduction.”

But a European Union official said forcing Greece to also channel government revenue into the escrow account “is not off the table.” He was speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks among finance ministry officials were still going on.

Such a requirement would be an unprecedented intrusion into a sovereign state’s fiscal affairs and could ultimately see Greece force to pay interest on its debt rather than teachers, doctors or other government employees.

The European Commission, the EU’s executive arm, prepared several proposals for an escrow account for Sunday’s and Monday’s meetings. However, the IMF does not like the idea of such an account, the official said.

The second big outstanding issue is how to make sure that the current efforts to save Greece can actually bring the country’s debts down to a manageable level in the longer term. In October, eurozone leaders and the IMF said that Greece’s debt should be reduced to around 120 percent of annual economic output by 2020, from above 160 percent currently.

But a new report prepared by the Commission, the European Central Bank and the IMF concluded that the new bailout, Athens’ spending cuts and a planned euro100 billion debt relief from private investors would still leave Greece’s debt at almost 129 percent of economic output by the end of the decade, a European official said Thursday. The official was also speaking on condition of anonymity because the report is confidential.

There is hope that the ECB could help close a big part of that financing gap by forgoing profits on its own holdings of Greek government bonds, but the bank has so far not announced a clear plan to that effect.

A cut in the interest rate Greece has to pay on its first bailout could also contribute to reaching the 2020 target.

Greece has already passed a far-reaching new austerity and reform package through Parliament despite violent protests. In addition to that, the leaders of both main parties have signed written pledges promising to implement the measures even after elections expected in April.

On Monday, Papademos’ government introduces legislation mean to supplement the 2012 budget and make sure that a total of euro3.2 billion in savings can be achieved. It is expected to be debated in committee Tuesday and submitted to a vote Wednesday. A separate legislation will provide for permanent pension cuts.

More actions _ including measures passed last July but never implemented _ must be approved by the end of February. These include slashing the wages of some special categories of employees, such as special advisers to the government, as well as professionals, such as lawyers.

Also,the government must shut down some more state agencies and update the list of pharmaceuticals approved by the National Health Service. A Sunday newspaper, To Vima, estimated that by the end of the month the government must pass some 79 laws and ministerial decrees to comply with the creditors’ demands.

“It’s difficult (for Greece) to go beyond what’s been agreed,” the EU official said, adding that it will be mostly up to the eurozone and the ECB to decide how to close the financing gap it the new program. “Ninety percent is done so there is no reason to think that there should be bad news on Monday,” he said.

In Athens, a morning gathering called by Greece’s two main union confederations attracted fewer than a thousand protesters. Separately, there were a few scuffles when about a hundred youth threw stones at riot police outside Parliament.

Several dozen “angry bikers” paraded through central Athens earlier Sunday afternoon honking their horns. Unionists affiliated with the communist party will hold their own protest rally and march to parliament Tuesday.

_______

Nellas reported from Athens, Greece. Juergen Baetz in Berlin contributed to this story.

Source

Singapore said it will increase aid to its poorest citizens and boost wages of older workers as the government seeks to defray rising living costs and reduce dependency on foreign labor.

The government will cut the proportion of overseas workers that companies can hire and may consider increasing levies of foreign workers further, Finance Minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam said in his budget speech in Parliament today. Employers will be partly reimbursed for hiring older workers, and low-income and elderly households will receive cash and rebates yearly to limit the impact of the goods and services tax.

Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has signaled a shift toward addressing public discontent over rising prices and an influx of foreigners, after his ruling party suffered its smallest electoral win since independence in 1965. The government has previously taken steps to increase the cost of hiring overseas workers at hotels, factories and construction sites.

Housing starts rose more than expected in January as groundbreaking on rental property surged, boosting hopes the still-weak housing sector could help economic growth this year.

The Commerce Department said on Thursday housing starts climbed 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 699,000 units.

Initial estimates for housing starts can be subject to large revisions and the government revised the December reading significantly higher to a 689,000-unit rate.

The Commerce Department initially estimated groundbreaking in December advanced at a 657,000-unit rate.

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts rising in January from the initial reading to a 675,000-unit pace credit report.

Starts of multi-unit buildings, which are often rented, jumped 8.5 percent last month. New construction on buildings with five units or more increased 14.4 percent.

Groundbreaking on single-family units, which make up a much larger portion of the sector, fell 1.0 percent.

Permits climbed 0.7 percent to an annual rate of 676,000 units.

Read more

China pledged to invest in Europe

For the second time in a week, federal safety regulators have started investigating reports of fires in the driver’s side doors of vehicles.

This time, the probe involves more than 309,000 Chevrolet TrailBlazer sport utility vehicles from the 2006 and 2007 model years. Documents posted on the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration website on Monday say that the fires began in the driver’s side power window switch or related electrical parts.

The agency has received 12 complaints, including 10 involving fires. General Motors Co. said that none of the fires have destroyed the SUVs, but some had melted door parts and singed seats. No injuries have been reported, company spokesman Alan Adler said.

NHTSA began investigating the TrailBlazer on Thursday, just three days after it opened a probe into similar problems with the 2007 Toyota Camry and RAV4.

It was unclear if GM and Toyota Motor Corp. got switches from the same parts maker. Adler said he didn’t know where the parts came from, and a message was left for Toyota’s safety spokesman in Torrance, Calif.

In the TrailBlazer cases, several of the fires happened while the SUVs were moving, while others happened when the engines were off and the vehicles were unattended.

GM believes the condition is restricted to the 2006 and 2007 model years due to a parts change that was made for the 2006 model year that lasted through the end of the 2007 model year, Adler said.

Six Camry and RAV4 fires were reported to NHTSA, but there were no reports of injuries. Most of the fires were minor with damage limited to the doors, but a Camry was destroyed in one case, according to complaints filed with NHTSA.

The Toyota investigation involves more than 830,000 vehicles. The Camry was the top-selling car in the U.S. in 2007.

Both GM and Toyota said they are cooperating with NHTSA in the investigation.

GM shares rose 26 cents to $25.76 in morning trading Monday while Toyota’s U.S. shares rose 65 cents to $79.04.

Source