MID-DAY UPDATE: Wholesale prices rise in April, Retail sales post smallest growth in 9 months
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MID-DAY UPDATE: Wholesale prices rise in April, Retail sales post smallest growth in 9 months
Here are today’s top headlines from the Marketplace Morning Report and from around the web.
Initial unemployment claims dropped by 44,000 last week. The Labor Department is saying today that 434,000 Americans filed for their first week of unemployment benefits. Be sure to check out today’s interview with journalist Caitlin Kelly about how she unexpected was forced to find a career in retail.
Wholesale costs in the U.S. rose 0.8 percent in April — led by higher food and fuel prices. The rising costs may lead some businesses to increase prices. You can read Marketplace’s coverage here.
Retails sales posted their smallest rise in nine months in April — up only 0.5 percent says the Commerce Department. Economists expected a 0.6 percent rise. Here is Marketplace’s coverage.
Executives of five of the world’s largest oil companies are gathering on Capitol Hill today to push back against proposed cuts in tax subsidies benefiting the oil industry. Check out Marketplace’s coverage.
Tokyo Electric Power Co. is saying today that the fuel rods in the No. 1 reactor at the crippled Fukushima Dai-Ichi nuclear power plant are fully exposed. The water level is about three feet below the base of the base of the fuel assembly says a TEPCO general manager. The company doesn’t know how long the rods have been exposed.
Galleon Group LLC’s Raj Rajaratnam will face an uphill battle in seeking to overturn his conviction in the biggest insider trading trial since the 1980s. On Monday, four more Galleon employees are scheduled to start their trail on securities fraud. Here is Marketplace’s coverage.
Commodities saw a decline yesterday — oil prices fell almost 56 percent, gold futures slipped 1 percent, and silver dropped nearly 8 percent. Investors fear that higher global inflation will force central banks to boost interest rates.
The International Monetary Fund is saying today that Greece is currently poised to avoid restructuring its debt, though concerns over the fiscal crises spreading to other parts of Europe remain.
Mortgage rates declined again this week, according to Freddie Mac’s weekly survey.
You can read the rest of today’s stories from the Marketplace Morning Report here.
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