Tag: news

By PAUL WISEMAN and CHRISTOPHER S. RUGABER
AP Economics Writers

(AP:WASHINGTON) One month of slower job growth might have been a blip. Two suggest a worrisome trend: The economy may be faltering again.

The United States generated just 115,000 jobs last month, well below expectations and the fewest since October. The unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent, but for the wrong reason _ workers abandoned the labor force.

From December through February, employers added 252,000 jobs a month on average. But the figure dipped in March and dropped further in April, raising doubts about an economic recovery that can't seem to reach escape velocity.

The report Friday by the Labor Department indicated "an economy that is losing momentum _ especially on the jobs front," said Tom Porcelli, chief U.S. economist at RBC Capital Markets. Continue reading "Job growth slowed again in April; rate ticks down" →

By The Associated Press

Here are highlights of recent quarterly earnings reports from selected Internet and media companies and what they say about the state of spending on advertising:

April 12: Google Inc. says its revenue, after subtracting ad commissions, totaled $8.14 billion in the first quarter. Analysts were expecting revenue of $8.09 billion on this basis. Google's revenue was helped by a 39 percent increase in "paid clicks," but the prices of its search-driven text ads continued to decline. The so-called "cost-per-click" for these ads declined 12 percent from the same time a year earlier.

April 16: Gannett Co. reports a 25 percent drop in first-quarter net income, as advertising in its newspapers continued to decline. Broadcasting revenue rose, helped by advertising related to autos, the Super Bowl and political campaigns.
Continue reading "What earnings reports have revealed about ads" →

(AP:NEW YORK) Facebook has set a price range of $28 to $35 for its initial public offering of stock.

At the high end, this could raise as much as $11.8 billion.

That's much higher than any other Internet IPO in the past, even Google Inc. in 2004.

The range came in a regulatory filing Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier Thursday that the price range would value Facebook Inc. at $85 billion to $95 billion. Continue reading "Facebook sets $28 to $35 price range for IPO" →

By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO
AP Retail Writer

(AP:NEW YORK) Americans were shopping in April, but they weren't spending as much as expected.

Big retailers including Costco, Macy's and Target on Thursday reported sales in April that missed Wall Street estimates as colder temperatures, an early Easter and renewed worries about the economy dampened shoppers' enthusiasm to buy.

The disappointing results follow strong gains in the previous month that were boosted by a combination of warmer weather and optimism amid a flurry of positive economic news. Continue reading "April retail sales show shoppers spent less" →