NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are drifting lower in early Wall Street trading, a day after a record-high close for the Dow and the S&P 500. Whole Foods Market jumped 10 percent, the most in the S&P 500 index, after reporting better-than expected earnings. In Europe, markets surged and the euro fell after the head of the European Central Bank he was ready to take more steps to revive the region’s struggling economy.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department says fewer people applied for U.S. unemployment benefits last week. Weekly applications fell by 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 278,000. The less volatile four-week average declined by 2,250 to 279,000, the lowest level in more than 14 years. The monthly employment report comes out tomorrow. Economists predict it will show 230,000 new jobs in October and the unemployment rate holding steady.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. workers’ productivity increased in the July-to-September period at a slower pace than in the previous quarter, while labor costs accelerated slightly. The Labor Department says productivity, the amount of output per hour of work, rose at a 2 percent annual rate in the third quarter after a 2.9 percent gain in the second quarter. Labor costs rose at a rate of three-tenths of a percent. Greater productivity enables companies to pay their workers more without having to increase prices.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Mortgage rates are creeping back up. Mortgage company Freddie Mac says the nationwide average for a 30-year mortgage has increased to 4.02 percent this week from 3.98 percent last week. It’s the second straight week of rate increases after five weeks of declines. The average for a 15-year mortgage jumped to 3.21 percent from 3.13 percent.
TOKYO (AP) — The Japanese air bag maker embroiled in a global recall says it’s taking more special losses for new recalls and will sink deeper into the red for the fiscal year. Takata Corp. says it will record a $218 million loss for the fiscal year through March 2015, up from the $210 million loss it forecast previously. Takata air bags are being investigated for several defects, including a faulty inflator suspected of exploding and hurling shrapnel toward drivers and passengers.
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