Late-day rally sends stocks higher; Dow rises 143

Stocks are closing higher after another day of big swings.
Investors struggled to make sense of mixed economic reports Thursday. First-time applications for unemployment benefits fell and the government raised its estimate of economic growth in the April-June period. But a survey showed that chief executives of the nation’s largest companies are more pessimistic than they […]

Saab denied bankruptcy protection

A Swedish court on Thursday rejected car maker Saab’s application for creditor protection, paving the way for possible bankruptcy filings from labor unions.
The ruling by the Vanersborg District Court, which can be appealed, is the latest setback for cash-strapped Saab as it scrambles to solve a liquidity crisis that has left it teetering on the […]

U.S. job gains could ease investors

WASHINGTON

Fiat lifts outlook after Q2 profit rise

Italian automaker Fiat SpA raised its 2011 forecasts Tuesday after reporting a huge jump in second-quarter profits thanks to the takeover and integration of Chrysler.
Fiat, which controls Chrysler with a 53.5 percent stake, reported second-quarter earnings of euro1.3 billion ($1.9 billion), compared with euro90 million in the same period a year earlier. Revenues rose 40 […]

US auto sales up in June, but Japan still hurting

Gas prices hit a sweet spot for automakers last month. They fell far enough to spur pickup truck sales, yet remained so high that small cars sold well, sometimes just hours after reaching dealers’ lots.
That made June a good month for General Motors and Ford, which have traditionally relied on truck sales and now have […]

Consumer prices rise by smallest in 6 months

Americans paid more for food, cars and clothing in May. But overall consumer prices rose by the smallest amount in six months, slowed by the first drop in energy costs in nearly a year.
Consumer Price Index rose 0.2 percent in May, the Labor Department said. That’s down from April’s 0.4 percent increase. Food costs rose […]

Australia bans live cattle exports to Indonesia

CANBERRA, AUSTRALIA

Iraq finalizes 2 promising gas deals

Iraq on Sunday finalized two gas deals with a pair of international consortiums to develop two promising gas fields, the latest step by the war-ravaged country to tap into gas resources to fuel its growing electricity demands.
Iraqis have been struggling to rebuild their war-damaged electricity grid and improve power stations and lines, but blackouts are […]

Market strategist sticks up for oil speculators

Don’t blame speculators for your pain at the pump, says Bill O’Grady. First blame the worldwide thirst for oil. Then blame the Federal Reserve for a cheap-money policy that makes commodities look attractive to investors.
Then blame fear, building quietly around the world, that America may someday stop being the global policeman.
O’Grady spent most of his […]

Deal on Yemeni president fails to end protests

Thousands of anti-government protesters held their ground Sunday in the Yemeni capital’s Change Square despite the president’s acceptance of an Arab proposal to leave office under certain conditions after 32 years in power.
More than two months of protests pressing for President Ali Abdullah Saleh to immediately step down have left him clinging to power and […]