NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mixed in early trading on Wall Street as investors looked over a batch of new reports on the economy ahead of the Labor Day holiday. European and Asian markets were mixed after news that Japan and Europe’s economies are struggling. Investors are watching the Ukraine conflict for signs of further escalation.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Consumer spending has declined for the first time since January. The Commerce Department says spending dipped a tenth of a percent in July, with a drop in car purchases accounting for most of the weakness. Income growth also slowed to two-tenths of a percent, the weakest showing in seven months. Consumer spending accounts for 70 percent of economic activity.
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Federal regulators are putting Reynolds American’s planned takeover of rival cigarette maker Lorillard under the microscope. The nation’s second-biggest tobacco company says the Federal Trade Commission has asked for additional information as part of an antitrust review of the deal. Last month Reynolds announced the deal to combine two of the nation’s oldest and biggest tobacco companies, creating a formidable No. 2 tol Altria Group.
FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — There are new signs of economic weakness in Europe. The European Union’s statistics agency says inflation in the 18 countries that use the euro sank to an annual 0.3 percent in August. That’s the lowest inflation rate since October 2009, when the eurozone was deep in recession. Italy, the eurozone’s third-largest economy, says it is seeing deflation for the first time since 1959, with prices dropping 0.1 percent.
MILAN (AP) — Several European Union foreign ministers are accusing Russia of invading eastern Ukraine and say Moscow should be punished with more sanctions. The top EU diplomats are meeting in Milan, Italy, a day after NATO said Moscow has slipped at least 1,000 Russian soldiers and much heavy weaponry into Ukraine. New sanctions are expected to be proposed at a summit of the EU’s 28 heads of state tomorrow in Brussels.
Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
