The Boeing Co. has greatly expanded its rollout party for the 787, adding Seattle’s Qwest Field as a site for as many as 50,000 workers and retirees. The main venue for the July 8 party will still be the company’s Everett assembly plant, but the guest list will be limited. So most workers will be invited to watch a simulcast on the Seahawks stadium screens. The event kicks off at 3 p.m. People not invited to either event will be able to watch it on satellite television or over the Internet.
Patent spat stops phone imports
A federal agency on Thursday barred the import of new models of cell phones that contain Qualcomm Inc. semiconductors because they violate a patent held by Broadcom Corp. The U.S. International Trade Commission’s decision represents a compromise between a ban on all phones with Qualcomm chips, as Broadcom requested, and a ban only on the chips themselves, as recommended by an ITC administrative law judge.
Consumers pay off some credit debt
Consumer borrowing posted the smallest increase in six months in April as Americans actually paid off some of their credit card debt. The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that consumer borrowing rose at an annual rate of just 1.3 percent in April, down from a 7 percent rise in March.
Oil futures rise with supply concerns
Oil and gasoline futures jumped Thursday on concerns that U.S. refineries aren’t making enough gasoline to meet domestic demand. Those worries were fed by a government report Wednesday that showed refinery utilization fell 1.5 percent last week to 89.6 percent of capacity. Light, sweet crude for July delivery rose 97 cents to settle at $66.93 a barrel after venturing above $67 earlier in the day on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the front-month contract’s first intraday move into $67 territory since September. Gasoline futures for July inched up 0.23 cent to settle at $2.1927 a gallon.
Labor market remains healthy
Applications for unemployment benefits dipped for a second straight week, indicating the labor market remains healthy despite a yearlong slowdown in economic growth. The Labor Department reported Thursday that the number of Americans filing claims for jobless benefits totaled 309,000 last week, down by 1,000 from the previous week. The small improvement pushed claims down to the lowest level in three weeks.
Prius sales top million mark
A decade after the first Prius went on sale, Toyota’s global sales of hybrid vehicles have hit a landmark 1 million, underlining the Japanese automaker’s lead in “green” technology that has changed the face of the auto industry. Toyota Motor Corp.’s cumulative sales of gas-and-electric-powered vehicles totaled 1.047 million as of the end of May. Sales of Toyota hybrids have climbed from just 18,000 in 1998 to 312,500 last year, the company said.
From Herald news services
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