General Motors Corp. will temporarily close two factories for one week each in the coming months to keep inventory in line with lower demand, the company said Monday. Spokesman Tony Sapienza said the Detroit-Hamtramck Assembly Plant will be idled for one week starting Nov. 24. The factory employs 1,785 people and makes the Buick Lucerne and Cadillac DTS sedans. A factory in Bowling Green, Ky., that makes Chevrolet Corvettes and the Cadillac XLR sports cars will be idled the week of Dec. 1. The plant employs about 900 workers. GM previously said that the Cadillac assembly line will be shut down that week.
World markets plunge Monday
World stocks took another beating Monday, although some markets showed resilience by bouncing off session lows, as global economic gloom darkened investors’ outlook. Asian markets started the week with a thud, with stocks in Hong Kong falling nearly 13 percent and Japan’s Nikkei index closing at its lowest level in over a quarter century. In Europe, markets ended off their lows as some bargain hunters were cheered by a mild rally on Wall Street that faded at the close. Latin American shares, meanwhile, fell further on concerns the region’s export-oriented economies will suffer as world demand slackens.
Home sales rose last month
Sales of new homes unexpectedly rose last month, as many homebuyers seized on builder discounts and rushed to take advantage of expiring down payment assistance programs. Economists had expected sales of new, single-family homes to drop from August levels, but instead they rose 2.7 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 464,000 homes, the Commerce Department reported Monday.
Wal-Mart slows store expansion
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. said Monday that it’s scaling back the growth of its stores in the U.S., while focusing on remodeling existing locations as the world’s largest retailer navigates through a tough consumer spending climate. Eduardo Castro-Wright, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart’s U.S. division, told analysts that the company plans to open 191 stores in fiscal 2009 and from 142 to 157 stores in fiscal 2010. That compares with 218 stores opened in fiscal 2008.
T-bill rates fall in Monday auction
The Treasury Department auctioned three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.9 percent, down from 1.25 percent last week. Six-month bills were auctioned at a discount rate of 1.4 percent, down from 1.8 percent last week. For a $10,000 bill, the three-month price was $9,977.25 while a six-month bill sold for $9,929.22. That would equal an annualized rate of 0.915 percent for the three-month bills and 1.43 percent for the six-month bills. Separately, the Federal Reserve said Monday that the average yield for one-year Treasury bills, a popular index used by many for making changes in adjustable rate mortgages, rose to 1.66 percent last week from 1.25 percent from the previous week.
From Herald news services
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