Business for Thursday

Chryslermarchionne - szczesny w/photo of marchionne
Broadened alliance between Chrysler and Fiat will benefit both companies.

flagstar bank - szczesny
As its losses continue to mount, Flagstar Bank has moved to sell off part of its operations.

jervis webb - szczesny
Farmington Hills-based JervisWebb has landed a new multi-million contract to supply baggage handlying system for Love Field in Dallas, the home of Southwest Airlines.

Spotlights
Thursday 8.4 Oakland Mara Moss Makeup Bloomfield Hills
Thursday 8.4 Macomb Tech boosts drivers

local briefs

on the web
PERSONAL FINANCE:
ON THE MONEY-DEBT DEAL STUDENTS
NEW YORK — College is already expensive enough. Now the government’s 11th-hour agreement to raise the debt ceiling includes measures that could drive costs higher for students and families. Federal subsidies for lower-income graduate students are on the chopping block and interest rates on federal and private loans could tick upward. By Candice Choi.
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Business
TOP STORIES:
ECONOMY-GRIM OUTLOOK
WASHINGTON — Shoppers won’t shop. Companies won’t hire. The government won’t spend on economic stimulus — it’s cutting instead. With no clear sign of what will invigorate growth, there is mounting fear on Wall Street that the U.S. risks sliding into a long-term economic stupor. The Dow Jones industrials were down again Wednesday, on track for their first nine-day losing streak since 1978. By Paul Wiseman.
INVESTOR ANXIETY
BOSTON — The “relief rally” that many investors expected once Washington reached a debt ceiling deal proved to be an illusion. The stock market has declined for eight consecutive days, as the reality of disappointing economic news overshadowed the relief about the government’s narrow avoidance of a default. Signs of investor anxiety abound: Stocks are falling, gold prices rising, Treasury yields are down again. Investors are again pulling money out of stocks, and putting the proceeds back into safe investments like money-market mutual funds. By Mark Jewell
MARKETS & ECONOMY:
WALL STREET
NEW YORK — Stocks slumped again as worries about the economy deepen. The Dow Jones industrial average was down 50 points in afternoon trading, putting in on track for its ninth straight day of losses, the longest losing streak in more than 33 years. The S&P 500 index was headed for its eighth straight loss. By David K. Randall.
— OIL PRICES — Oil prices fell below $92 a barrel as more signs of a slowing U.S. economy raised concerns about demand for everything from gasoline to natural gas used to cool homes.
ECONOMY-SERVICES — Service businesses such as restaurants, hotels and financial companies experienced their weakest growth in 17 months in July. The report confirms other data that show the economy is struggling two years after the recession ended. By Chris Rugaber.
FACTORY ORDERS — Businesses cut back on orders for airplanes, autos and heavy machinery in June, lowering demand for factory goods for the second time in three months. High energy prices and supply disruptions caused by Japan crisis slowed manufacturing this spring, along with the broader economy. By Martin Crutsinger.
— METRO UNEMPLOYMENT — Unemployment rose in more than 90 percent of U.S. cities in June, mirroring a national slowdown in hiring.
— CHINA-US-DEBT — China’s central bank governor urged Washington to handle its debt responsibly, warning that uncertainty in the market for Treasury debt might harm a global economic recovery.
RETAIL
EARNS-DUNKIN’ BRANDS
CANTON, Mass. — Dunkin’ Brands Group Inc., which reported flat earnings after becoming a public company a week earlier, said it plans to rejuvenate the struggling Baskin-Robbins brand in the U.S. and expand its Dunkin’ Donuts chain in Europe. By Christina Rexrode.
EARNS-CLOROX
OAKLAND, Calif. — Consumer products maker Clorox says its fiscal fourth-quarter net income dipped 1 percent as rising commodity costs took a toll. The consumer product maker said it plans to raise prices again soon to compensate. By Christina Rexrode.
— SINGAPORE-P&G-ECONOMY — Procter & Gamble Chief Executive Robert McDonald says his company is preparing for a period of little or no economic growth in developed countries. P&G is scheduled to announce its April-June earnings Friday.
INDUSTRY:
AIRLINES-PROFITS — Sky-high fuel prices have shrunk the profits of the world’s airlines, the industry’s main lobby group said. The International Air Transport Association expects $1.04 billion in profit for the second quarter of 2011, less than half of the $2.88 billion in profit posted in the same period last year. By John Heilprin.
EARNS-MASTERCARD — MasterCard’s second-quarter profit rose 33 percent, as cardholders used their plastic more during the spring months. The company said U.S. shoppers kept on using their cards in July even as uncertainty about the economy increased.
STARR-CHINA MEDIAEXPRESS — A Delaware judge hears arguments on whether to dismiss a lawsuit filed by a unit of Starr International, run by former AIG chairman Hank Greenberg, seeking to force China MediaExpress to turn over company records that Starr believes will show evidence of mismanagement and fraud. Developing from 2 p.m. hearing.
TECHNOLOGY & MEDIA:
HACKERS- CYBERATTACKS — Hackers stole data from governments and U. S. corporations in an orchestrated series of global cyberattacks that lasted for more than five years, according to a report released today by a computer security firm.
EARNS-TIME WARNER
NEW YORK — Media conglomerate Time Warner says its second-quarter profit grew almost 14 percent, thanks to higher revenue from its TV channel business, video games and movies such as “The Hangover Part II.” By Ryan Nakashima.
EARNS-COMCAST — Comcast, the country’s largest cable TV company, is bucking the trend among cable companies by making more money from its TV subscribers.
RIM-NEW BLACKBERRYS — Research In Motion unveiled five new BlackBerrys with touchscreens, as it hopes to revive the line’s dwindling appeal in the face of competition from the iPhone and Android smartphones.
— HULU-ORIGINAL SHOWS — Hulu, the online video service that primarily shows reruns from major broadcasters, is getting into the business of original programming. In the first of several projects, the company teamed up with Morgan Spurlock, the documentary maker who criticized McDonald’s and fast-food lifestyles in “Super Size Me.”
— EARNS-ACTIVISION — Activision Blizzard Inc. reports quarterly financial results after the market close.
— EARNS-CENTURYLINK — CenturyLink’s second-quarter profit fell 78 percent as it had to write off more than expected of the value of Qwest, which it bought in April.
INTERNATIONAL:
EUROPE-FINANCIAL CRISIS
MILAN — Italy’s borrowing rates touched a new euro-era high as a global market sell-off reignited fears that the debt crisis will engulf the eurozone’s third-largest economy. Spain was also under the market spotlight. By Colleen Barry.
— JAPAN-TOYOTA — Toyota told its suppliers in Japan to prepare for ramped up production starting in 2012, signaling that the automaker is confident it’s back on a growth track.
— SWITZERLAND-INTEREST RATES — Switzerland’s central bank is taking steps to lower the franc’s exchange rate, saying the currency is “massively overvalued” and threatening the Swiss economy. Switzerland’s currency, along with gold, has risen sharply because it’s considered a safe haven from the debt and economic woes in Europe and America.
— PORTUGAL-FINANCIAL CRISIS — Portugal raised $1 billion in a short-term debt auction, and its borrowing rate dipped slightly, despite market fears that Spain or Italy may be next in line for a European bailout.
— EUROPE-ECONOMY — Retail sales in the 17 countries that use the euro rose by more than anticipated in June.
— ITALY-EARNS-UNICREDIT — UniCredit SpA, Italy’s largest bank, says second-quarter net profit more than tripled even though its earnings were hit by its exposure to Greek debt.
— JAPAN-KIRIN-BRAZIL — A $2.53 billion bid by Japan’s Kirin Holdings Co. for a controlling stake in Brazilian brewer Schincariol Group is failing to win over investors in either company.
— BRITAIN-STANDARD CHARTERED — Standard Chartered bank reported a first half profit and said it was successfully reaching out to burgeoning middle classes in Asia, Africa and the Middle East.