Financial thoughts

The number of Americans filing for initial unemployment insurance surged to just below the 500,000 level last week, and have climbed more than 12% over the past two weeks, the government said Thursday.

There were 496,000 initial job claims filed in the week ended Feb. 20, up 22,000 from a revised 474,000 the previous week, the Labor Department said in a weekly report. The prior week, there were 442,000 claims filed.

A consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected new claims to fall to 460,000.

The 4-week moving average of initial claims was 473,750, up 6,000 from the previous week’s revised average of 467,750.

"This is certainly not surprising given the very adverse weather conditions for the eastern half of the country, especially in the major population areas," said Robert Dye, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services. "Weather has a huge impact, particularly with things like construction, which remains very soft."

Over the past few weeks, the Northeast, particularly the Washington area, has been hit with snow storms, putting people out of work and resulting in a backlog of claims that the Labor Department wasn’t able to process until this week.

Excluding the weather’s impact, Dye would have expected initial claims to decline at "a healthy rate" of 10,000 to 20,000 last week.

Continuing claims: The government said 4,617,000 people filed continuing claims in the week ended Feb. 13, the most recent data available. That’s up 6,000 from the preceding week’s revised 4,611,000 claims.

The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims rose by 4,250 to 4,600,750 from the previous week’s revised 4,596,500.

Continuing claims reflect people filing each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks guaranteed online payday loans. The figures do not include those people who have moved to state or federal extensions, or people whose benefits have expired.

On Wednesday, the Senate passed a $15 billion bill to spur job creation and give businesses tax breaks for hiring the unemployed, but the bill does not extend unemployment benefits.

More than 1 million people will run out of benefits after Feb. 28 if the application deadline is not extended. Lawmakers are trying to pass a short-term extension by the end of the week in order to give them time to enact a longer fix.

State-by-state: Unemployment claims in three states rose more than 1,000 for the week ended Feb. 13, the most recent data available. Claims in North Carolina jumped the most, by 5,897, which the state attributed to layoffs in the construction, furniture and mining industries.

A total of 13 states said claims fell by more than 1,000. Claims in California dropped the most, by 5,540, which the state said was due to fewer layoffs in the service industry.

Outlook: "I would expect that once we get into March and get beyond the weather-related effects, we’ll see continued improvement in overall jobless claims," said Dye.

He expects employment to pick up in the next couple of months as private sector hiring continues and the government boosts its hiring of temporary census workers.

"But bear in mind that the census workers are only temporary workers," said Dye. "The government’s hiring will ramp up through March, April and into May, and then it will ramp back down in the second half of the year." 

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Driven by growth in insurance services, outpatient medical care and physician services, operating income rose 13 percent or $130 million for the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center for the six-month period ending December 31, the hospital network announced on Friday.

During the same period, operating revenue rose $216 million to $4.062 billion for a 5.6 percent increase, while the operating margin for the health insurance and medical giant improved to 3.2 percent from 3 percent.

The system’s earnings before interest, depreciation and amortization were $326 million for the first half of the fiscal year, up from $292 million for the same period a year ago and on target to exceed $600 million for fiscal 2010.

The results were released during a difficult period for health care providers and as UPMC’s cost of providing free care and contributions to the community rise, said CFO Robert DeMichiei. UPMC’s cost of charity care rose 16 percent to $518 million from 2007 to 2008, the most recent period data were available.

Key metrics for the six-month period include insurance services, up 8 percent to more than 1.4 million members; outpatient revenue, up 5 percent; and physician services, up 11 percent. During the same period, UPMC’s $3 billion investment portfolio gained $228 million, for a return of 11.8 percent, said Treasurer C. Talbot Heppenstall. UPMC reported a loss of $786 million for the same period a year ago.

Separately, UPMC’s pending $1.175 billion bond refinancing will be used to substitute fixed for variable rate debt and lower interest costs, Heppenstall said. Allegheny County Councilman Charles McCullough has been in court seeking to stop the refinancing because of UPMC’s decision to close Braddock Hospital Jan. 31, but Heppenstall predicted the litigation would not be a factor.

The biggest challenges may be ahead for UPMC and other hospitals, according to Moody’s Investors Service.

In a report released last month, Moody’s maintained its negative outlook for the nonprofit health care industry overall. The outlook was revised to negative from stable in Nov. 2008 based on credit market problems.

“Over the next 12 to 18 months, we believe the relative abilities of different not-for-profit hospital management and governance teams will become more apparent as they face one of the toughest environments in decades,” the report stated.

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AWARDS

Communications and marketing agency Brighton won first place in the National Agri-Marketing Association’s Gateway Region competition for its work developing cottoncommunity.com, a social marketing site for cotton farmers.

Law firm Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP received the Legal Employer Diversity Recognition Award from the Black Law Students Association at Washington University.

EXPANDING
Maryland Heights-based Tagg Logistics is opening a new office in Reno, Nev., for distribution and packaging services.

Overland-based Clayco Inc., a real estate development, design and construction company, is opening a full service office in the Minneapolis area this year.

HELPING OUT

Ford Motor Co. and local Ford dealers raised $38,140 for St. Louis area schools through the "Drive One 4 UR School" program.

The Moneta Group Charitable Foundation donated $42,500 to area charities during 2009, bringing its total charitable donations during the past decade to more than $700,000.

St. Louis-based law firm Armstrong Teasdale LLP gave $2,878 to the American Red Cross after a "dress down" fundraising event.

OPENINGS

The Moore Law Firm LLC opened an office.

— 1001 Boardwalk Springs Place

Suite 111

O’Fallon, Mo. 63368

Phone: 636-887-5297

PROJECTS

Belleville-based Holland Construction Services Inc. is building a major expansion of Eckert’s Country Store and Restaurant in Belleville. The $5 million project, scheduled for completion later this year, will include a new store, an expansion of the Eckert’s Country Restaurant, more parking and a new outdoor plaza.

Edwardsville-based Contegra Construction Co. has completed a 42,500-square-foot, $2.5 million John Deere dealership in Scott City, Mo., for Wm. Nobbe and Co..

RECOGNITION

Don Downing, a principal in Gray, Ritter & Graham PC, was selected as a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.

The Media Financial Management Association named Larry Rubin, partner-in-charge of Clayton-based RubinBrown’s media and entertainment services group, one of its People to Watch for 2010.

St. Louis-based Energizer Holdings Inc. and its partner Universal Power Group Inc. received Popular Mechanics magazine’s 2010 Editor’s Choice Award for the new Energizer All-in-One Auto Charger.

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National statistic agencies should have the same autonomy as central banks to avoid any attempts by government to influence economic data, said Enrico Giovannini, chairman of the Italy’s national statistics institute.

“Both the legal and financial independence of statistics should be guaranteed, as is the case for central banks,” Giovannini, 52, said in an interview. “Otherwise, there may always be ways to choke a statistics institute, such as cutting its funding, something which can’t happen with a central bank.”

For more than a quarter-century, independent central banks have been able to take painful and politically unpopular measures such as raising interest rates to restrain inflation. In the euro region, the European Central Bank and national central banks are banned by law to take or seek instructions from governments of the EU member states.

Officials in the government of Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi have repeatedly asked data agencies to stop spreading bad economic news and have questioned Istat’s methodology. In a June 24 speech, before Giovannini’s appointment, Finance Minister Giulio Tremonti criticized the Rome-based institute’s methods for measuring unemployment, saying the survey overestimated joblessness.

Giovannini was chief statistician for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development for eight years before taking over the Italian agency in July. He said that Italy should consider legislating the independence of the statistics agency as part of a debate on constitutional reforms.

Revisions of Greek economic data in October that showed the economy had been in recession for more than a year, rather than expanding as initially reported, demonstrate the urgency for statistics agencies to be autonomous, he said.

“The current practices are apparently not sufficient and need to be strengthened further,” Giovannini said. The “institutionalization of statistics should be aimed not so much at increasing technical reliability, but in raising the integrity and independence from political pressures.”

The credibility of Greece’s data had been previously questioned after revisions to budget deficit numbers. The European Commission in 2004 launched an investigation into Greece’s deficit after a revision of data revealed that, contrary to previous indications, the shortfall had exceeded the EU’s 3 percent of output ceiling ever since the country switched to the euro.

“The Greek case is unfortunately a repeat of what happened in 2004, when deficit and debt figures were questioned to the point that the European Commission established a code of good practice for official data,” Giovannini said. “This took place again despite the efforts put in place then by the EU’s statistics office Eurostat to monitor the Greek data.”

Greece’s credibility was further damaged by the government revising forecasts. Within weeks of the October elections, Prime Minister George Papandreou’s new government, said the 2009 budget deficit would be an EU-high of 12.7 percent of economic output, about twice the outgoing government’s prediction. The revision contributed to Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s Investors Service and Fitch Ratings cutting the country’s creditworthiness, which sent Greek bonds and stocks tumbling this month.

Giovannini replaced Luigi Biggeri as Istat chairman in July.

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WASHINGTON–Ford, Subaru and Volkswagen lead the insurance industry’s annual list of the safest new vehicles, according to a closely watched assessment used by car companies to lure safety-conscious consumers to showrooms.

The Virginia-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety awarded its "top safety pick" on Wednesday to 19 passenger cars and eight sport utility vehicles for the 2010 model year. The institute substantially reduced the number of awards compared with 2009, because of tougher requirements for roof strength.

Ford Motor Co. and its Volvo unit received the most awards with six, followed by five awards apiece for Japanese automaker Subaru and German automaker Volkswagen AG and its Audi unit.

Chrysler Group LLC received four awards followed by two each for Honda Motor Co. and General Motors Co.

Toyota Motor Corp., BMW AG, Mazda Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. were shut out in the annual IIHS review.

Ford’s recipients include the Ford Taurus and Lincoln MKS passenger cars and the Volvo S80 and C30 passenger cars and the XC60 and XC90 SUVs.

Ford said in a statement it is "committed to providing customers with safe vehicles for a broad range of real-world crash conditions.”

Subaru recorded winners with the Subaru Legacy, Outback and Impreza cars and Tribeca and Forester SUVs. Subaru was the only automaker with an IIHS winner in all four vehicle classes in which it competes.

The automaker, which has bucked the brutal U.S. sales market with a 13 per cent increase during the first 10 months of 2009, attributed its safety success to a unique engine design that sits low in the vehicle chassis and moves down and under occupants in a frontal collision.

Tom Doll, executive vice president and COO of Subaru of America, said the awards were a "tribute to the engineering that goes into Subaru products.”

Volkswagen scored with the 4-door versions of the Jetta, Passat and Golf, the Audi A3 and the Volkswagen Tiguan, a small SUV. Mark Barnes, Volkswagen of America’s chief operating officer, said the "safety of our cars is of the utmost concern, from the initial design stages all the way through the maintenance procedures at dealerships.”

Chrysler won the award for the Chrysler Sebring and Dodge Avenger sedans equipped with optional electronic stability control, the Dodge Journey midsize SUV and the Jeep Patriot with optional side thorax air bags loan until payday.

Scott Kunselman, Chrysler’s senior vice president-engineering, said the awards underscore the Auburn Hills, Mich., automaker’s “engineering capability and leadership in occupant protection.”

General Motors Co. and Honda Motor Co. both received two awards. GM was recognized for the Buick LaCrosse and the Chevrolet Malibu while Honda won for 4-door versions of the Civic with optional electronic stability control and the Honda Element.

Other winners included the Nissan Cube, the Kia Soul and the Mercedes C Class.

The vehicles are selected for best protecting motorists in front, side and rear crash tests based on Institute evaluations during the year. The vehicles are required to have electronic stability control, or ESC, to qualify for the award. Earlier this year, the Institute said vehicles would need to receive its highest score in its roof strength evaluation to qualify the safety pick designation.

"With the addition of our roof strength evaluation, our crash test results now cover all four of the most common kinds of crashes," said Institute president Adrian Lund. "Consumers can use this list to zero in on the vehicles that are on the top rung for safety.”

The Institute awarded its top prize to 94 vehicles in 2009 and attributed the decline in awards this year to the roof strength requirement. The Honda Accord and the Ford Fusion both dropped off the list because 2010 versions didn’t earn high enough scores on the roof test.

The Toyota Camry would have made the list, the Institute said, if it had received the highest rating in rear crash protection. The Institute said the Camry’s seats and head restraints were rated marginal for protection against whiplash injuries.

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On the Net:

Insurance Institute for Highway Safety: http://www.iihs.org

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Bank of America Corp’s search for a new chief executive has been hurt by federal pay limits that played a major role in the senior vice chairman of PNC Financial Services Group Inc spurning feelers from the company, the Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday.

PNC’s William Demchak rejected a feeler from a recruiter for Bank of America last week, and the required approval of U.S. government pay czar Kenneth Feinberg for any compensation package was a major factor in the decision, the paper said, citing a person familiar with the situation.

The bank, which borrowed $45 billion from the government, would “get blasted” for buying out Demchak’s PNC shares, the unidentified source told the Journal. Demchak also did not see Bank of America’s situation as fixable given the government’s heavy influence, the paper said.

Feinberg declined to comment to the Journal, which also could not reach Bank of America Chairman Walter Massey.

Bank of America has argued the added regulation, like the pay czar’s compensation limits, hurts its ability to compete with other financial firms.

Those limits are expected to be in place for any successor to Kenneth Lewis, who is scheduled to retire at year end and gave up his 2009 salary and bonus at Feinberg’s request.

Other high-profile external candidates linked to the job — like Bank of New York Mellon’s CEO Bob Kelly and BlackRock CEO Laurence Fink — have either declined the post or denied interest to begin with. At least two internal candidates have expressed interest, according to reports.

Bank of America’s next chief faces a bevy of operational, regulatory and political challenges.

The bank is struggling to stem real estate and consumer credit losses while integrating two large businesses, mortgage lender Countrywide Financial and brokerage Merrill Lynch & Co.

On top of that, government regulators have issued a secret regulatory oversight agreement that overhauled Bank of America’s board and mandated pay cuts for some top employees.

The bank’s credit problems are the key to relieving the pressure of government involvement, analysts have said. Once the bank’s loan book stabilizes, it can start to pay back the money it borrowed from the U.S. government, which came with some serious strings attached including Feinberg’s control of compensation for top executives.

(Reporting by Ben Klayman, editing by Vicki Allen)

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Most Federal Reserve policymakers believe that an economic recovery has started, although they view the turnaround as weak enough that some want the central bank to take additional steps to stimulate the economy, according to minutes of a meeting last month that were released Wednesday.

The minutes of the two-day meeting, concluded Sept. 23, were the most explicit statement yet that the Federal Open Market Committee now believes the recession that started in December 2007 is over. The committee comprises the group of Fed governors and district bank presidents who set interest rates and take other steps to spur or slow economic growth.

"Most thought an economic recovery was under way," the minutes stated. "Many participants noted that since August, they had revised up their projections for the second half of 2009 and for subsequent years."

Up to now, the Fed’s statements have been more circumspect. Its statement , released at the end of the meeting, said simply that economic readings suggest "that economic activity has picked up following its severe downturn."

This is the first time that Fed minutes explicitly said that most members believe the recession is over. However, in response to a question in an appearance at the Brookings Institution last month, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke did say that the recession is "very likely over."

The decision on when a recession begins and ends is not up to the Federal Reserve, but instead the National Bureau of Economic Research. That group doesn’t make any sort of declaration until months after the fact, in order to take into account final readings of various economic measures such as employment, income and industrial production.

For example, the NBER didn’t declare that the recent recession had begun in December 2007 until a full year after the fact.

There is a growing consensus among outside economists that the recession is over. A survey of top forecasters by the National Association for Business Economics earlier this month found 81% believe the economy is in recovery.

Still, there was debate at the Fed’s September meeting about what to do next. There was broad agreement that the fed funds rate, the key rate used to pump money into the economy, should be kept near 0%, and that the statement should say "economic conditions are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period."

But some members wanted to increase the amount of mortgages the Fed will buy from the $1.25 trillion level that had been previously announced. The Fed is buying up those mortgages in an effort to keep mortgage rates low.

At least one member wanted to instead cut the amount of mortgages purchased before reaching that level.

The members agreed that the job market is likely to stay weak for the foreseeable future — and that is likely to keep wages from rising.

But there was a "a range of views" among members about how soon inflation would reappear as a result of trillions that the Fed has pumped into the economy in the last year.

Bernard Baumohl, executive director of the Economic Outlook Group, said he thinks there is a "vigorous debate" going on right now within the Fed as to when it should take steps to pull out the money it has pumped into the economy.

"If we’re getting signs that the recession is over and recovery is gathering steam, the Fed is going to have to move very quickly to begin to withdrawal the stimulus, or else it will sow the seeds for inflation," he said.

Even with the debate about purchases of mortgages and the threat of inflation, there appears to be general agreement that the recovery is likely to be modest.

"Despite…positive factors, many participants noted that the economic recovery was likely to be quite restrained," according to the minutes. 

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Time Warner Inc will eventually sell the Time Inc magazine unit and could buy holdings in its core entertainment category, Gordon Crawford, managing director of its largest shareholder, said during a presentation this week.

“Time Warner just spun off their cable division, they are going to sell their print division, they are going to spin off AOL and they’re just going to be Warner Brothers, HBO and the Turner Networks,” said Crawford, managing director of The Capital Group.

“Now, they will make acquisitions … but they’re probably going to buy just stuff in their wheel house of those businesses. They’re not going to, I don’t think, go very far afield from their core competency.”

Crawford made the comments during a September 24 discussion at University of Southern California’s Annenberg School for Communication entitled “The Art of the Long View: The Media Company of 2020.”

Time Warner declined to comment on Saturday no fax cash loans.

Time Inc’s magazines include popular titles such as People and Sports Illustrated. In the second quarter, revenue at Time Inc publishing, the largest U.S. magazine publisher, fell 22 percent to $915 million due to a 26 percent decline in advertising revenue.

While Crawford did not name specific acquisition targets, he did say there would be a “winnowing process” during which weaker companies in the sector would be gobbled up.

Capital Research Global Investors held 98.6 million shares of Time Warner, or 8.32 percent of the company’s total shares outstanding, as of June 30.

The presentation, which was available online, was discussed in a BusinessWeek blog posted on Friday.

(Reporting by Jessica Wohl, Editing by Sandra Maler)

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California became the first state to see gas prices top $3 a gallon since October, according to a daily survey of gas prices.

The national average price for a gallon of gas rose 0.6 cent Monday to $2.669, according to motorist group AAA. Prices have been steadily climbing higher since April 29 and are up 63% from the start of the year.

On Jan. 1, the national average for a gallon of gas stood at a mere $1.618. Still, prices remain well below the levels of last July, when the national average hit an all-time high of $4.114.

California now tops the list for having the highest gas prices, with the average price for a gallon of regular gas reaching $3.006, according to AAA. The last time gas prices topped $3 was Oct. 17, when the national average was $3.040 a gallon. On that same date, California prices averaged $3.3912 a gallon.

A cloud over the Golden State. The pain at the pump is particularly troubling for the nation’s most populous state.

California has already been battered by the downturn in the housing market. And unemployment surged to 11% in April - the fifth highest of any state.

At the same time, Sacramento is now facing a $24 billion budget shortfall that could force more cuts in state services like education and health care.

Furthermore, gas prices are higher in California because the state has one of the highest gas tax rates in the nation, said AAA’s Green.

And the state’s stringent clean air laws require retailers to offer several different fuel blends, many of which push up the average price per gallon, he added.

Consumer budget crunch 1 hour payday loans. The surge in gas prices comes at a time when household budgets are already strained by rising unemployment and a depressed housing market.

Many analysts worry that a major spike in gas prices could forestall an economic recovery as consumers cut back on spending in other areas to make up for higher prices at the pump.

Gas prices have been driven higher by a run-up in oil prices as investors bet the world’s appetite for energy is poised to rebound. The price of oil, which is the main ingredient in gasoline, has more than doubled since late December.

California often sets the tone for the rest of the nation when it comes to certain economic trends. However, the old adage "as goes California, so goes the nation" may not ring true in this case.

Looking ahead, AAA spokesman Troy Green said gas prices could top $3 a gallon in "a few other states," such as Hawaii and Alaska, where prices are already nearing $3 a gallon. However he said such pricey petrol "won’t be widespread."

Has the rebound in gas prices caused you financial hardship? Are you spending less on other items to help with the cost of driving? Have you postponed summer driving plans? We want to hear your experiences. E-mail your story to realstories@cnnmoney.com and you could be part of an upcoming article. For the CNNMoney.com Comment Policy, click here.  

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Time is running out for California residents wanting to take advantage of a $10,000 tax credit. The state set aside $100 million to help home buyers purchasing newly built homes, hoping to jump start the moribund residential-construction market. But only about 20% of the pot is left.

"We’re less than four months into it, and all the tax credits authorized are gone, or practically gone," said Tim Coyle, a senior VP with the California Building Industry Association (CBIA).

The program launched in March and by June 3 nearly $24 million in tax credit certificates had already been issued, according to the state’s Franchise Tax Board.

That leaves nearly $76 million in credit available - but there are already numerous claims on that money. In fact, if all the submitted applications are approved, only $17.5 million will be left in the fund. And it has a run rate of about $10 million per week.

"The program is working better than intended," said Coyle. "It’s really pushing people off the fence."

How it works

The credit is available on a first-come first-served basis and was supposed to last through March 2010. Almost any newly built home qualifies, as long as it’s an owner-occupied, principal residence on which property tax is paid. It could be a single-family home, a condo, a coop, a manufactured home or mobile home — even a houseboat. Only owner-built housing does not qualify. There is no cap on the home price or buyer’s income.

The credit reduces taxes dollar-for-dollar up to $3,333 a year for three years, or 5% of the purchase price of a home, whatever is less. Unlike the federal first-time homebuyers tax credit, which is $8,000 or 10% of the home price, whichever is less, the California credit is not refundable. That means the credit will only wipe out taxes up to the full amount paid or owed but no more.

For example, if the buyer’s tax bill came to $2,000 for the year, a buyer claiming the full $3,333 would owe nothing but couldn’t claim the extra $1,333 back from the state.

First-time, new-home buyers in California can claim both the federal credit and the state if they qualify cash loan till in one hour. That could reduce taxes by $11,333 for the first year of ownership.

More money coming?

Because the money has gone so quickly, the state legislature is considering adding another $200 million to the program. That may be difficult to accomplish right now, however: The state is worse than flat-broke; it’s running a $24 billion budget deficit and has the lowest bond rating of any state.

But Coyle argues that the credit is a net win for state coffers and it puts people to work. "Every time you build a home in California, you’re generating $16,000 in taxes," he said.

During the boom years, developers were building about 200,000 housing units annually and supported about a half million jobs. Now, only about 50,000 new homes will go up this year and industry employment has shrunk to a fraction of its peak. From 2006 to 2007 alone, industry employment dropped by about 220,000 jobs, according to the CBIA.

Passage of an extension of the program has a good chance, according to Assemblywoman Anna Caballero (D-Salinas), who supports a new bill that already won Assembly approval and has gone to the state Senate.

There has been little opposition, she said, but the program has to be "revenue neutral," which could limit how much is made available as funds would have to be cut from other areas to pay for it.

There is also one big change from the original offering: People buying homes under construction - not just those already finished - will qualify, which should help put projects back on track.

"It creates a reservation system that was absent in the first bill," said Caballero. "Buyers only received a credit when they closed escrow. Now, they would get it with a signed contract."

"Contractors in Southern California were reporting no housing starts last January," she added. "Now, they have new crews out on the job. That’s significant for California." 

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