Wall Street put on another impressive show of resilience Friday, rebounding from an early sell-off to end higher after the White House said it would assist troubled U.S. automakers. The market, which just a week earlier withstood a terrible jobless report, managed its advance after the Treasury Department said it was prepared to assist the nation’s Big Three automakers. The Dow Jones industrial average had fallen more than 200 points in very early trading when it appeared that the Senate had killed a $14 billion bailout package for the companies. The Dow rose 64.59, or 0.75 percent, to 8,629.68.
GM to idle factories due to poor sales
General Motors Corp. said Friday it will temporarily close 20 factories across North America and make sweeping cuts to its vehicle production as it tries to adjust to dramatically weaker automobile demand. GM said it will cut 250,000 vehicles from its production schedule for the first quarter of 2009, which includes a cut of 60,000 vehicles announced last week. Normal production would be around 750,000 cars and trucks for the quarter, spokesman Tony Sapienza said.
Alderwood owner seeks reprieve
General Growth Properties Inc., the owner of the Alderwood mall, which is trying to stave off a bankruptcy filing, said it is still trying to negotiate an extension on $900 million in debt that was due to be repaid Friday, but warned there can be “no assurance” of a reprieve. The mortgages cover two Las Vegas malls. Earlier this month, General received a two-week extension on the loans.
Crude oil prices continue to fall
Oil prices rallied from a sharp drop Friday as the president and the Treasury Department said they were prepared to act if needed to save the U.S. auto industry from collapse. The price for a barrel of oil, however, finished lower on another round of poor economic news that showed consumers cutting back on spending for a record fifth straight month. Crude’s wild swings Friday capped a volatile week, with oil prices surging behind a weaker dollar and the potential for severe production cuts from OPEC. “We are being torn in a lot of different directions,” said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp. Oil prices, off by as much as 7 percent earlier in the day, fell $1.70 to settle at $46.28.
Correction
The directors of Cascade Financial Corp. have approved a 4.5-cent per share dividend that will be payable on Jan. 20 to shareholders of record on Jan. 6. It’s the same as the existing dividend for the company, the parent firm for Everett-based Cascade Bank. The Herald incorrectly reported a much larger number in this column on Friday.
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