IN BRIEF
WASHINGTON
Consumer borrowing falls for fourth month
Consumers trimmed borrowing in May for the fourth straight month as the recession took another bite out of investments and drove unemployment higher.
Many economists predict that consumers will stay cautious in the months ahead, boding for a lethargic recovery if the downturn ends later this year as many expect.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that consumer credit fell at an annual rate of 1.5 percent, or by $3.2 billion, from April. Economists expected a deeper cut of $9.5 billion.
PITTSBURGH
Alcoa loss slimmer than Street forecast
Alcoa Inc. unofficially opened the earnings season by posting a narrower-than-expected loss of $454 million, citing continued weak prices and demand for its aluminum products amid the global recession.
Pittsburgh-based Alcoa's loss amounted to 47 cents per share for the three months ended in June. During the same period last year, the company earned $546 million, or 66 cents per share.
Alcoa's loss from continuing operations in the latest quarter was $312 million, or 32 cents per share. Excluding restructuring charges, that loss would have been 26 cents per share.
Revenue fell 41 percent to $4.24 billion.
WASHINGTON
IMF sees lurch toward recovery for economy
The global economy is beginning a sluggish recovery from its worst recession since World War II, the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday.
The IMF increased its estimate for global economic growth in 2010 to 2.5 percent, from an April projection of 1.9 percent. At the same time, it slightly downgraded its forecast for this year to a contraction of 1.4 percent, from 1.3 percent.
"The global economy is still in recession, but we're inching towards the recovery," said Olivier Blanchard, director of the IMF's research department. "It's much too early" to cut back on government and central bank efforts to stimulate growth, he said.
Even growth of 2.5 percent won't be enough to keep global unemployment from growing next year, he added.
NEW YORK
Inventory news sends oil prices tumbling
Oil prices neared $60 per barrel Wednesday as the government reported that stockpiles of unused gasoline soared again.
Energy markets are undergoing an extended sell-off, the longest in 10 months, with new economic reports dampening optimism about any economic recovery.
Benchmark crude for August delivery fell more than 4 percent, or $2.79, to settle at $60.14 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
SAN JOSE, Calif.
EMC wins bid battle for Data Domain
For the last month and a half, a fierce bidding contest has lit up a staid but increasingly critical part of the computing world. On Wednesday, EMC Corp. walked away with the prize.
Data Domain said Wednesday that it has agreed to let EMC buy it for $33.50 per share, which is nearly double the price Data Domain's shares had when NetApp announced its intent to buy the company in May. EMC's offer amounts to $2.1 billion, when Data Domain's cash is subtracted from the price of the deal.
The offer was apparently too rich for NetApp, which had tried to buy Data Domain with a mixture of cash and stock. NetApp's last offer was $30 per share.
WASHINGTON
Treasury picks partners to buy toxic assets
The Treasury Department on Wednesday selected nine financial firms as partners for a program to buy banks' soured, mortgage-related investments.
Treasury officials said the program will try to relieve banks of up to $40 billion worth of these investments -- complex securities whose value plummeted along with real estate prices.
The nine firms chosen Wednesday will be given up to three months to raise an initial $500 million each to begin participating in the program.
The investment firms are: BlackRock Inc.; TCW Group; AllianceBernstein, LP and its subadvisers Greenfield Partners LLC and Rialto Capital Management LLC; Angelo, Gordon & Co. LP and GE Capital Real Estate; Invesco Ltd.; Marathon Asset Management LP; Oaktree Capital Management LP; RLJ Western Asset Management LP; and Wellington Management Co. LLP.
Billionaire to delay, not cancel, wind farm
Billionaire investor T. Boone Pickens said Wednesday that he is delaying, not canceling, a $10 billion wind energy project in Texas.
The so-called Pampa project will be postponed until 2013 when Texas is expected to complete a $4.9 billion transmission line, Pickens said in Washington on Wednesday. News reports Tuesday that he was ending the project are wrong, he said.
OMAHA, Neb.
Investment managers win lunch with Buffett
The Canadian investment managers who paid $1.68 million in a charity auction to win lunch with investor Warren Buffett believe the meal will be worth it because of what they might learn from the billionaire.
The Glide Foundation, which receives all the auction proceeds, identified Salida Capital, which is based in Toronto, as the winner of last month's auction.
Buffett annually auctions off a lunch to benefit Glide, which provides social services to San Francisco's homeless and poor.
NEW YORK
Treasury prices climb after auction of notes
Long-term Treasury prices surged Wednesday after strong results from an auction of 10-year notes.
Investors looking for the safety of government debt rushed to buy $19 billion in notes sold by the Treasury Department.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 1.22 points to 98.44, sending its yield down to 3.29 percent from 3.46 percent late Tuesday. It was the yield's lowest level since May 20. The 10-year yield hit an eight-month high of 4.01 percent on June 10.
The 30-year bond jumped 1.97 points to 100.94 and its yield tumbled to 4.16 percent from 4.30 percent.
