CORRECT: Boeing begins labor talks with machinists union

Fri, 09 May 2008 21:32:07 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Boeing Co. said late Friday it started negotiating a new labor contract with the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union covering more than 26,000 employees. Workers affected by the negotiations are in the Seattle area, Portland, Ore., and Wichita, Kan., the company said. Boeing expects to have a new contract with the union in place by Sept. 4. (Corrects dateline.)

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E-Trade to exit retail mortgage origination business

Fri, 09 May 2008 20:57:55 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- E-Trade Financial Corp. said it decided in April to exit the retail mortgage origination business, its last remaining loan origination channel, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late Friday. The company said it will partner with a third party company to provide customers access to real estate loans after it exits the business. E-Trade said in the filing it originated about $116 million in one- to four-family loans through the business during the three months ended March 31.

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Verizon Wireless buys SureWest Wireless for $69 million

Fri, 09 May 2008 20:57:28 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Verizon Wireless said late Friday it bought SureWest Wireless, including its spectrum licenses, and network and operations assets in the Sacramento, Calif. area, for $69 million. About 50,000 of SureWest Wireless customers will transition to Verizon's network by late summer, Verizon said.

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Nasdaq short interest in 9.59 billion shares as of April 30

Fri, 09 May 2008 20:21:39 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Short interest in 3,160 Nasdaq securities totaled 9.59 billion shares at the end of April 30 settlement date, compared with 3,189 issues and 9.59 billion shares at the end of April 15 settlement date, the exchange said late Friday. Short interest in 2,653 Nasdaq Global Market securities totaled 9.43 billion shares on April 30, up slightly from 9.42 billion shares in 2,680 issues on April 15.

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U.S. stocks socked by credit crisis; indexes down on week

Fri, 09 May 2008 20:08:31 GMT

NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks fell on Friday, with the major indexes all hit with losses of 1% and more, as the financial sector spouted more leaks after American International Group Inc. reported a $7.8 billion loss and Citigroup Inc. unveiled plans to shed about half a trillion dollars in assets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 120.9 points, or 0.9%, to end at 12,745.88, a weekly drop of 2.4%. The S&P; 500 shed 9.4 points, or 0.7%, to 1,388.28, losing 1.8% on the week, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 5.72 points, or 0.2%, to settle at 2,445.52, a decline of 1.3% from last Friday's close.

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Fairchild Semiconductor names CEO Thompson as board chairman

Fri, 09 May 2008 20:07:44 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Fairchild Semiconductor said late Friday it named President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Thompson as chairman of the board. The energy-efficiency products supplier also named Laurenz Schmidt as chief technology officer.

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Delphi first-quarter loss widens

Fri, 09 May 2008 19:27:26 GMT

Delphi Corp.'s first-quarter loss widened to $589 million, or $1.04 a share, from $533 million, or 95 cents a share, a year earlier. The loss in the latest period included $79 million of reorganization-related charges and $42 million in work-force transition charges. The company said revenue for the latest period was $5.3 billion. Delphi also said General Motors Co. agreed to advance amounts expected to be paid to Delphi upon the effectiveness of a settlement with GM, providing the company with "sufficient liquidity to support the ongoing implementation of Delphi's transformation plan." Delphi said it believes it will have "adequate" access to liquidity throughout 2008.

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Crude futures close near $126, up over 8% for the week

Fri, 09 May 2008 19:04:10 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Crude futures closed at another record Friday as global supplies remained a key concern. The June contract closed at $125.96 a barrel, up $2.27 for the session and up 8.3% for the week.

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S&P downgrades Pitney Bowes to 'A'; outlook stable

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:48:36 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- Standard & Poor's Ratings Services on Friday downgraded Pitney Bowes and its subsidiaries' corporate credit ratings to A from A+. "The downgrade reflects our expectation that strategic growth and shareholder initiatives will continue at levels that are likely to preclude the company from sustaining leverage at a level more consistent with the previous rating," Molly Toll-Reed, a credit analyst at S&P;, said. The outlook is stable.

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Gold futures end the week over 3% higher

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:46:47 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- June gold climbed $3.70 an ounce Friday to close at $885.80. The contract ended the week 3.2% higher. "The U.S. dollar has failed to sustain its rally off recent lows and ... the value gold presents during this inflationary environment has brought out the bargain hunters," said Peter Spina, an analyst at GoldSeek.com.

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Menu price inflation to remain high this year, industry says

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:37:21 GMT

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Due in part to rising food costs, menu price inflation is expected to remain elevated this year, the National Restaurant Association said Friday. Restaurant operators looking to offset costs are taking steps such as substituting ingredients, and modifying recipes and portion sizes. "They are maintaining the balance of the cost-value relationship, as consumers pay more attention during economic slumps," said Hudson Riehle, the trade group's senior vice president of research and information services.

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Crude futures up more than $1 in afternoon trading

Fri, 09 May 2008 16:00:26 GMT

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) -- June crude was up $1.16 at $124.85 a barrel in New York Friday afternoon, trading below the day's record peak of $126.25. "There is this overwhelming reluctance to admit that we're simply in a new paradigm for prices and short of a wholesale collapse of the global economy, prices just aren't going to pull back to a $74 level for oil," said Neal Ryan, a manager at Ryan Oil & Gas Partners.

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