Today's other stories in brief
US home sales boost hopes of recovery
Sales of new US single- family homes rose slightly in April, while fewer workers filed for first-time jobless aid last week, raising hopes the worst of the deep economic recession may be over.
The Commerce Department said yesterday that new home sales climbed 0.3 per cent in April from March to a 352,000 annual unit pace, while prices rose 3.7 per cent, the biggest monthly advance since November.
Analysts were encouraged by a drop in the stock of homes available for sale, which reached the lowest level in nearly eight years.
A separate report from the labour department showed initial claims for state unemployment insurance benefits dropped by 13,000 to 623,000 in the week ended May 23rd, a second straight weekly drop.
The reports were the latest in a series suggesting the intensity of the 17-month old downturn was losing momentum. – (Reuters)
Total on target for earnings
Total Produce, the fruit, vegetable and flower distributor, spun out from Fyffes, is on target to achieve its 2009 earnings target, the company said at its agm in Dublin yesterday.
Four months into the year, the company says it is still on target to deliver the earnings guidance in the range of 5.5 to 6.5 cent per share which it gave in March.
Ford firm files for bankruptcy
Visteon, the former parts- making unit of Ford Motor, filed for bankruptcy protection yesterday after revenue fell amid a global slump in vehicle sales.
The Chapter 11 filing yesterday in US Bankruptcy Court in Delaware listed $4.58 billion in assets and $5.32 billion in liabilities, including $862 million owed to bondholders. Ford will provide financing to help the Van Buren, Michigan-based company fund operations in bankruptcy, Visteon said. – (Bloomberg)
‘Irish Times’ to distribute ‘Gloss’
The Glossmagazine will be distributed monthly with The Irish Timesfrom September as part of a distribution deal announced yesterday. As a result of this agreement, the women's fashion and beauty magazine, which is 50 per cent owned by The Irish Times Ltd, will no longer be sold in newsagents. Glosspublisher Jane McDonnell said the move would increase the magazine's circulation from its current level of about 15,000, thereby boosting its appeal to advertisers.
“This will be a new route to market for us,” Ms McDonnell said. “In the current [economic] environment, it would be difficult to increase our circulation so rapidly. This will allow us to reach a lot of new readers.”
Maeve Donovan, the managing director of the The Irish Times Ltd, said: "We are delighted to distribute The Glossmagazine with The Irish Times. There are strong business synergies in our respective audiences."
Better sentiment in euro zone
Euro zone economic sentiment improved more than expected in May in a sign the low point of the recession may have passed, but inflation expectations fell again, raising the spectre of deflation. – (Reuters)
