IN BRIEF

WASHINGTON

First-time jobless claims drop less than expected

The number of people claiming jobless benefits for the first time dropped less than expected last week, evidence that the labor market remains weak even as the economy is recovering.

The Labor Department said Thursday its tally of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment insurance fell by 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 530,000. Thomson Reuters-polled analysts expected a drop to 521,000.

Initial claims need to fall below about 450,000 to signal that employers are actually adding jobs, several economists said. Still, many saw some positive signs in the report.

The number of people continuing to claim benefits fell by 148,000 to 5.8 million, steeper than analysts expected. Those figures lag initial claims by a week.

Economists say the jobless rate probably nudged up to 9.9 percent in October and will go as high as 10.5 percent around the middle of next year before declining gradually. The government is scheduled to release the October jobless rate report next week.

WASHINGTON

Banks borrowing less from emergency fund

Banks trimmed their borrowing from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending program over the past week, evidence that some credit problems are easing as the economy recovers.

The Fed said Thursday that commercial banks averaged $22.6 billion in daily borrowing over the week that ended Wednesday. That's down from $23.8 billion in the week ended Oct. 21, and lower than $112 billion a year ago at the height of the financial crisis.

The identities of the financial institutions are not released. They pay just 0.5 percent in interest for the emergency, overnight loans.

NEW YORK

Exxon Mobil says oil production returning

The world's largest publicly traded oil company said Thursday that oil production is bouncing back with crude prices.

A worldwide glut in petroleum supplies may yet cool the latest surge in oil, squeezing refiners and keeping profits in oil patch well below their peak last year or even the past several years.

Exxon Mobil Corp. reported that profits from July to September dropped 68 percent to $4.73 billion, or 98 cents per share. The results were the best of the year so far, but they're less than a third of what Exxon earned in the same period of 2008, when crude prices spiked above $147 a barrel.

In fact, excluding the previous two quarters this year, Exxon has not reported quarterly profits this low in at least the past four years.

The Irving, Texas-based company gets most of its income from oil and gas production, and in the third quarter it increased production by 3 percent to 3.69 million barrels of oil equivalent per day.

DALLAS

Stanford case recovery goal set at $1.5 billion

The lawyer tracking down money lost in what authorities say was a massive Ponzi scheme run by R. Allen Stanford says he hopes to gain control of more than $1.5 billion, which would be then returned to fleeced investors.

Court-appointed receiver Ralph Janvey filed a report in federal court in Dallas late Wednesday outlining his plan to go after the $1.5 billion and provide allegedly defrauded Stanford investors a return of as much as 20 cents on the dollar.

But John Little, a lawyer appointed to represent investors, said Janvey's recovery goal is "something of a fantasy" and that investors should prepare to get back as little as 2 cents on the dollar.

Amazon offers shortcut for customer checkout

Amazon.com Inc., the largest Internet retailer, introduced a shortcut to its checkout service so shoppers can purchase products online more quickly and set up different shipping addresses and payment methods.

Consumers using Amazon PayPhrase can choose a customized phrase, such as "Shopping Queen," and a personal identification number when shopping on Amazon.com or other Web sites to take them instantly to a page confirming their order, the Seattle-based company said Thursday. Previously, consumers had to go through several steps to purchase a product and could use only one card or shipping address at a time.

SAN FRANCISCO

Boeing taps site for second plant

Boeing Co. said late Wednesday that it has chosen North Charleston, S.C., as the site for its second 787 Dreamliner assembly plant, locating for the first time in years a major part of its commercial-aircraft division outside the Seattle area.

"Establishing a second 787 assembly line in Charleston will expand our production capability to meet the market demand for the airplane," said Jim Albaugh, president and chief executive of Boeing's commercial-airplanes unit.

Boeing, headquartered in Chicago, already has a North Charleston plant that makes parts for the 787 aircraft. Its move also aims to draw on the resources of Global Aeronautica, a North Charleston-based company that already is assembling midsections of the 787's fuselage.

Global Aeronautica is 50 percent owned by Boeing and 50 percent by Finmeccanica Co.

TOKYO

Japan statistics hint at global recovery

Japan's unemployment rate fell for the second straight month, while prices continued to tumble, the government said Friday.

The jobless rate stood at a seasonally adjusted 5.3 percent, down from 5.5 percent last month and a record high of 5.7 percent in July.

The results suggest that job losses in the world's second-biggest economy are easing as companies gain more confidence in a global recovery. Data on Thursday showed that Japan's factory output posted its seventh consecutive rise in September.

MILWAUKEE

Yes, you really do hear 'Jingle Bells'

Before the jack-o'-lanterns are off the porch, Christmas ads will hit the airwaves, as retailers push the season to its earliest start ever.

Kohl's Corp. and other big chains will launch their holiday campaigns next week, trying to drum up interest in what retailers suspect will be another dreary selling season.

Kohl's will build on its "The More You Know, the More You Kohl's" campaign.

The Menomonee Falls, Wis.-based chain's first holiday TV spot will run Monday, and stores next weekend will begin staying open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.

Kohl's holiday kickoff sale is scheduled Nov. 11.

Macy's, meanwhile, will launch its "Believe" holiday campaign Nov. 6 on national TV, with a new spot featuring actress/singer Queen Latifah.