Stocks Take Tumble as Supercommitee Stalls

Spencer Platt/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Stocks took a tumble on Monday following reports that the Congressional Joint Select Committee, or supercommittee, have failed to reach an agreement on spending cuts and tax increases to trim the deficit by the deadline of Nov. 23.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 290 points or over 2.4 percent to 11,511 around 12:05 p.m. ET and the Nasdaq was down 2.4 percent to 2,511.

In addition to the European debt crisis, investors are concerned that the failure to reach an agreement may lead to another credit downgrade for U.S. bonds and thus higher borrowing costs for the government.

Without a deficit reduction agreement, $1.2 trillion in "sequester caps," or automatic cuts, will be implemented. The cuts will affect a range of programs from Medicare and Medicaid to the Pentagon.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Fed's 'Beige Book' Report Finds Slow Economic Growth Across US

Comstock Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- With a government default looming as lawmakers struggle to strike a deal to lift the nation's $14.3 trillion limit, Americans faced even more negative news about the economy on Wednesday.

The Federal Reserve said in its latest "beige book" report on the financial state of the central bank's 12 districts that two-thirds of these areas experienced slower economic recovery during June and the early part of July.

This follows a pattern since the start of the year when things began looking up due to increased holiday sales in December and companies starting to hire.  However, higher fuel costs, the natural disasters in Japan and unease throughout Europe and the Middle East grounded the modest recovery to a halt.

And yet, there was actually some good news in most of the regional districts watched by the Fed.

According to the "beige book," inflation pressure has eased throughout most of the U.S. and a drop in gasoline prices has meant that consumers are spending more in stores.

There was also a slight growth in hiring although the housing market, which triggered the recession in November 2007, remains weak.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Payrolls Add 244,000 Jobs in April; Unemployment Back at 9%

Stockbyte/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- The nation’s employers increased payrolls by 244,000 during the month of April, beating economists’ expectations, a government report showed Friday.

The private sector, which factors out government layoffs and hiring, saw 268,000 workers added to payrolls -- the best monthly jobs growth from the private sector since February 2006.

The nation’s unemployment rate jumped, however, from 8.8 to 9 percent.

"The reason you get that," said economist Hugh Johnson, "is even though you get a very strong increase in the number of jobs, you get a much bigger increase in the labor force," or the number of those who are actively pursuing work.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Private Sector Grows by 201,000 Jobs in March

Creatas Images/Thinkstock(ROSELAND, N.J.) -- The U.S. private sector grew by 201,000 jobs in March, according to the latest national employment report released Wednesday by ADP.

ADP found that employment in the service-providing sector increased for a 15th consecutive month in March, rising by 164,000 jobs.  The goods-producing sector also saw an increase, growing by 37,000 for a fifth straight monthly gain.

The report also shows that employment in the manufacturing industry rose by 37,000 jobs, making March the sixth consecutive month that the industry grew.

"Today’s ADP National Employment Report confirms that U.S. private-sector employment growth has averaged about 175,000 jobs over the last six months," said Gary C. Butler, president and CEO of ADP.

When compared over the last four months, the average looks even more promising.

"The average monthly increase in employment over the last four months -- December through March -- has been 211,000, consistent with a gradual if uneven decline in the unemployment rate," said Joel Prakken, the chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers, LLC.  "This is almost three times the average monthly gain of 74,000 over the preceding four months of August through November."

Butler added that "job growth in the first quarter of 2011 has shown considerable improvement compared to the last quarter of 2010."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Hawaiian Airlines Ranks as Best On-Time Carrier for 7th Straight Year

Photo Courtesy - PRNewsFoto/Hawaiian Airlines/Chad Slattery(HONOLULU) -- For the seventh straight year, Hawaiian Airlines ranked as the nation's number one airline for on-time performance in 2010, according to a report issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday.

The carrier's flights averaged a punctuality rate of 92.5 percent for the year and 87.6 percent for the month of December alone.  Hawaiian also led all carriers in the U.S. in on-time performance for each month of 2010.

"Being the nation's most punctual airline for seven straight years is a credit to the dedication of our employees, whose hard work drives this industry-leading performance day in and day out, year after year," said Mark Dunkerley, Hawaiian's president and CEO.

The report also found that Hawaiian had the fewest cancelled flights last year among carriers, ranking in first place for 10 of the 12 months.  For the year, the carrier canceled 55 out of 67,649 total flights, which averages out to about 0.1 percent.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Toyota's Nine-Month Profits Quadruple Despite Drop in Third Quarter

Photo Courtesy - Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images(TOKYO) -- Toyota Motor Corporation released its latest financial report Tuesday, announcing its net income -- despite dropping close to 39 percent in the third quarter -- nearly quadrupled in the nine months leading to the end of 2010.

The Japanese automaker said its net income for the nine months leading to Dec. 31, 2010 went up to 382.7 billion yen from last year's total of 97.2 billion yen.

"Strong vehicle sales, especially in emerging markets such as Asia, Central and South America, and Africa, contributed to the increase in operating income in the nine-month period," TMC Senior Managing Director Takahiko Ijichi said.  "These regions are now increasingly representing one of the pillars supporting our earnings."

The increase comes after Toyota reported its net income dropped to 93.6 billion yen in the third quarter from 153.2 billion yen during the same time period the year before.

Forecasting the new fiscal year, Ijichi said, "In addition to an improving vehicle-sales outlook in Japan, Asia and Russia, the progress of our company-wide profit improvement activities, such as further reduction of variable costs and control over fixed costs, has exceeded our earlier expectations.  As a result, we now expect to overcome the rapid and acute yen appreciation and achieve a substantial increase in operating income.  One can therefore see that our earnings are firmly recovering."

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Visa Reports Strong Earnings in First Quarter

Photo Courtesy - Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(SAN FRANCISCO) -- Visa Inc. came out with its first quarterly report of 2011 Thursday, showing a net income of $884 million for the three months ended on Dec. 31, 2010.

The company also reported a net operating revenue of $2.2 billion in the first quarter, marking a 14 percent increase from the same time period in the prior year.

“Visa’s first quarter was a great start to our fiscal 2011 as evidenced by strong earnings fueled by continued growth in payments volume, cross border volume and processed transactions globally -- our core business,” said Visa Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Joseph Saunders. 

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Whirlpool Reports $171 Million in Earnings for 2010's Fourth Quarter

Photo Courtesy - PRNewsFoto/Whirlpool Corporation(BENTON HARBOR, Mich.) -- Whirlpool Corporation came out with its fourth quarter report Wednesday, announcing earnings of $171 million for the last three months of 2010.

The appliance maker's latest figure nearly doubles the amount the company earned during the same time period in 2009, when it made $95 million.

Whirlpool also reported full year net earnings of $7.97 per share compared to earnings of $4.34 per share during the prior year.

Looking ahead, Jeff M. Fettig, chairman and chief executive officer of Whirlpool Corporation, said, "As we enter 2011, we remain focused on delivering higher margin innovations, realizing significant cost productivity, and achieving profitable growth driven by some recovery in demand in the developed economies and by continued strong growth in many emerging markets."

"In 2011, we expect to expand our operating margins despite significant global inflation and generate good levels of free cash flow and further strengthen our financial position," Fettig added.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

BP Reports Loss of $4.9 Billion in 2010

Photo Courtesy - Jim Watson/AFP/ Getty Images(LONDON) -- BP, the oil company behind the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico last year, reported on Tuesday an annual loss of $4.9 billion in 2010.

The loss includes a total pre-tax charge of $40.9 billion in connection to the oil spill.  BP said it will also resume paying dividends which were suspended after the Deepwater Horizon rig exploded back in June of last year.  Shareholders will receive seven cents a share for the fourth quarter of 2010.

"2010 will rightly be remembered for the tragic accident and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and it is clear that as a result BP is a company in transition.  I am determined that we will emerge from this episode as a company that is safer, stronger, more sustainable, more trusted and also more valuable," BP group chief executive Bob Dudley said.

Additionally, BP announced Tuesday plans to sell two of its refineries in the U.S. -- one in Carson, California and another in Texas City, Texas, where 15 people were killed in an explosion in March of 2005.

"2011 will be a year of recovery and consolidation as we implement the changes we have identified to reduce operational risk and meet our commitments arising from the spill.  But it will also be a year in which we have the opportunity to reset the company, adjusting the shape of our business, and focus on growing value for shareholders," Dudley said.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio

Chrysler Reports Loss in Fourth Quarter; Predicts Gain in 2011

Photo Courtesy - Karen Bleier/AFP/Getty Images(AUBURN HILLS, Mich.) -- Chrysler Group LLC reported Monday it lost $199 million in the fourth quarter of 2010, bringing the automaker's total loss for the year to $652 million.

The company also said its net revenues went down 2.3 percent during this latest quarter, mainly due to reduced shipment volumes as it launched productions of 11 new vehicles.

"All of these vehicles bear testimony to Chrysler's rebirth," said Sergio Marchionne, Chief Executive Officer of Chrysler Group LLC.  "Given the positive comments we have received to date, it can safely be said that what Chrysler delivered last year, on both the product and financial fronts, surpassed many expectations."

"However, our job is not yet done.  We have a lot of work ahead to fulfill our five-year business plan objectives," Marchionne added.

Despite its loss, Chrysler predicts it will come out gaining in 2011, saying it expects to take in a net income between $200 million to $500 million this year.

Copyright 2011 ABC News Radio