Buyers returned to Wall Street on Friday after two days of heavy losses, mindful of the economy’s growing problems but attracted by stocks’ lower prices. Analysts said the advance was to be expected as Wall Street experiences a rocky recovery from October’s devastating selling. The major indexes jumped more than 2 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which rose nearly 250 points to 8,943.81 in light trading. For the week, the Dow and broader benchmarks like the Standard &Poor’s 500 index lost 4 percent after surging 10 percent or more last week.
Unemployment rate hits 14-year high
The nation’s unemployment rate bolted to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, far worse than economists expected and stark proof the economy is deteriorating at an alarmingly rapid pace. The new snapshot, released Friday by the Labor Department, showed the crucial jobs market quickly eroding. The jobless rate zoomed to 6.5 percent in October from 6.1 percent in September, matching the rate in March 1994.
Crude oil price remain stagnant
Oil prices were stable Friday after this week’s giant sell-off, despite a government report showing the unemployment rate hit a 14-year high last month and predictions from an international energy agency that put the price of crude at $200 per barrel by 2030. Light, sweet crude for December delivery rose 27 cents to settle at $61.04 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. But the contract dropped below $60 in overnight electronic trading for the first time in 19 months.
Buffet’s company reports big drop
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. on Friday reported a 77 percent drop in third-quarter earnings, hurt by declining insurance profits and a $1.05 billion investment loss. Net income fell to $1.06 billion, or $682 per Class A share, in the quarter ending Sept. 30. That’s down sharply from a year-ago profit of $4.55 billion, or $2,942 per share, which included a $2 billion gain aided by the sale of PetroChina stock. Operating profit in Berkshire’s insurance underwriting business, which includes Geico and General Reinsurance, plunged to $81 million from $486 million a year ago.
Microsoft yawn hurts Yahoo shares
Yahoo Inc. shares dove nearly 13 percent after the chief executive of Microsoft Corp. said Friday the software giant is not interested in renewing its bid for the struggling Internet company. Microsoft’s Steve Ballmer said during a business lunch in Sydney that he had moved on after Yahoo rejected its takeover bid. He did suggest a partnership in the search engine market is possible.
From Herald news services
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