The Other Side of Life 24/7: Business Today: Stock futures hold gains after claims, GDP data

Thursday, November 29, 2012

Business Today: Stock futures hold gains after claims, GDP data

Click to View in Browser

11/29/2012

Reuters Election 2012 Daily round-up of the day's top news from the campaign trail, the White House and all the politics in between

Stock futures hold gains after claims, GDP data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock futures held gains after data on Thursday showed weekly initial jobless claims fell for a second consecutive week and the economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter.

Third-quarter growth raised on strong inventory building

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. economy grew faster than initially thought in the third quarter, but the momentum is unlikely to be sustained as the nation braces for deep cuts in government spending and tax increases early next year.

Jobless claims fall for second straight week

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped for a second straight week last week, unwinding some of the storm-related surge, which has muddled the labor market picture.

Argentina wins debt reprieve, default averted for now

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Argentina has won a reprieve against having to pay $1.33 billion next month to "holdout" investors who rejected a restructuring of its defaulted debt and have waged a long legal battle to be paid in full.

Fed's Fisher urges U.S. government to act on employment

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Dallas Fed President Richard Fisher, a top U.S. Federal Reserve official, on Thursday urged the U.S. government to give businesses more of incentives to invest the use liquidity the central bank has provided to create jobs.

November sales get Thanksgiving weekend boost

(Reuters) - Retailers got a lift over the long Thanksgiving weekend, driving gains in November sales despite some pressure earlier in the month from superstorm Sandy, but the results are not expected to match the gains of a year earlier.

Euro zone economic mood cheers up a little in November

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Economic morale in the euro zone improved for the first time in almost a year in November, but industry's reluctance to invest next year bodes poorly for a quick recovery from recession.

Bank of England warns UK banks may lack enough capital

LONDON (Reuters) - The Bank of England stepped up pressure on commercial banks to shore up their capital on Thursday, days after the government chose a leader of the global push for tighter banking regulation to head the central bank.

German right won't snub Merkel in Greek vote: ally

BERLIN (Reuters) - Angela Merkel will not need votes from opponents on the left to get a bailout for Greece through the German parliament, a senior ally said on Thursday, despite a growing revolt within the chancellor's conservative coalition.

GM opens China research centre to focus on "new energy"

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - General Motors Co unveiled its latest global research center in China on Thursday, where it hopes to take advantage of the country's vast supply of engineering graduates to drive its development of a new generation of electric vehicles.