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| DJI rose 246.27 points, or 3.14 percent, to 8,083.38.
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| U.S. stocks jumped on Thursday after Wells Fargo said it expects to report a record quarterly profit, fueling a month-long rally prompted by hopes that deterioration in the financial sector was abating. Wells Fargo (WFC.N) shares shot up 31.7 percent to $19.61 after the bank saw strength in its mortgage banking business as refinancings hit a six-year high. That helped the bank forecast a profit of $3 billion for the first quarter, topping analysts' expectations.
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| @ Reuters | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0201 EDST
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| AIG's Edward Liddy: CEO, in the most hated position in America; touts company progress, wants to resume retirement
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| He has a plan in place to sell the New York-based company's smaller units, while spinning off its bigger ones to the government as stand-alones. That should enable him to pay back most if not all of the $80 billion in taxpayer funding that AIG has burned through so far, Liddy said. "We are executing on this plan. We can provide a victory for America."
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| @ Chicago Tribune | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0315 EDST
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| Initial unemployment claims down slightly
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| In the week ending April 4, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 654,000, a decrease of 20,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 674,000. The 4-week moving average was 657,250, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's revised average of 658,000. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending March 28 was 5,840,000, an increase of 95,000 from the preceding week's revised level of 5,745,000. The 4-week moving average was 5,647,500, an increase of 146,750 from the preceding week's revised average of 5,500,750.
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| @ U.S. Department of Labor | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0320 EDST
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| Consumer Mood Index Hits Highest Mark Since September
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| Consumer Mood Index rose sharply over the last week, to -90 for March 13-15. This is up from -120 a week ago.The increase is commensurate with the four-day consecutive gains in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, beginning last Tuesday,
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| @ Gallup | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0330 EDST
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| The trade deficit dropped 28.3 percent from January, to $25.97 billion, the smallest gap since November 1999.
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| Total February exports of $126.8
billion and imports of $152.7 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit
of $26.0 billion, down from $36.2 billion in January, revised. February exports
were $2.0 billion more than January exports of $124.7 billion. February imports
were $8.2 billion less than January imports of $160.9 billion.
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| @ Bureau of Economic Analysis | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0345 EDST
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| Beer sales increase, is economy far behind?
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| Think of it as a Beer-O-Meter of the Southwest Florida economy. After dripping their way down for 22 months in a row, sales of the sudsy sedative climbed in each of the last four months.
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| @ Sarasota Herald Tribune | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0400 EDST
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| Recession puts holes in sales of men's underwear
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| Greenspan figured a consumer who trims the underwear budget must be truly pinched. After all, underwear needs don't change. Styles change at a glacial pace. The duds are mostly out of sight, so why splurge? After a weak winter, Mintel International reversed its December forecast for a modest gain this year to a decline of 2.3 percent, or minus 3.1 percent adjusted for inflation. It's not all bad news. High-end brands like Calvin Klein reported robust sales, and Polo and Tommy Hilfiger lost no ground.
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| @ St. Petersburg Times | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0419 EDST
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| Palm Beach County companies team up to build world's first 'solar city'
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| The businessman's Palm Beach Gardens-based Kitson & Partners announced Thursday that it will team with Florida Power & Light Co. to build a $300 million-plus, 75-megawatt solar plant at the 17,000-acre Babcock Ranch development north of Fort Myers. Once built, the project will be the largest on-site solar photovoltaic energy facility powering any city on Earth. The city will consume less power than its solar plant will produce.
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| @ Palm Beach Post | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0415 EDST
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| For I'm a jolly good fellow. Does India need foreign banks?
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| THE Reserve Bank of India (RBI) turned 75 on April 1st. Older than the country itself, the central bank is conservative and unimpressed by fads. Shortly before its birthday, it released a six-volume assessment of India’s financial system, carried out with the Ministry of Finance. While other financial regulators are flagellating themselves for their failings, the RBI was pleased with what it saw in the mirror.
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| @ The Economist | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0646 EDST
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| A capital affair. The investments of Japanese banks in other firms create a vicious circle
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| In a country where social relations are paramount, Japanese banks are so loyal to their customers that they hold shares in them. That loyalty has been tested for almost 20 years whenever the stockmarket lurches lower. But still the banks cling on to their shares, carrying around ¥10 trillion-worth ($100 billion) on their books. The trouble is, the further the market falls, the more banks have to write down the asset values on their balance-sheets, which increases their losses. It also shrinks the tier-one capital that they hold as a cushion against further losses, constraining their ability to lend.
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| @ The Economist | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0652 EDST
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| Bermuda inflation falls - but food prices soar
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| Householders enjoyed a significant saving on their electricity bill, with the fuel adjustment clause falling 20 percent, as the rate of inflation fell to its lowest level for eight months. Consumers paid 4.4 percent more for goods and services in February 2009 than a year ago, but 0.8 percent less than the 5.2 percent measured in January.
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| @ Royal Gazette Bermuda | Posted: 04/10/09 at 0655 EDST
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