T H E E X A M I N ER22 W EDN E SDAY, OCTOBER 2 8 , 2009
ECONOMY
Dow Jones
+14.21 9,882.17 NASDAQ
-25.76 2,116.09 S&P 500
-3.54 1,063.41 10-yr. T-note
-0.0920 3.4620% Yen/Dollar
-0.3700 �91.8750 Euro/Dollar
-0.0080 �1.4785
NEWSMAKERS
NEWS IN BRIEF
ARTHUR C. JOHNSON
ARTHUR R. CONNELLY
Johnson, who is chairman and chief
executive officer of United Bank of
Michigan and
United Com-
munity Financial
Corp. in Grand
Rapids, Mich.,
has been elected
chairman of the
American Bankers
Association for
the 2009-2010
association year.
Johnson replaces outgoing Chairman
Connelly, who is chairman and CEO
of South Shore Bancorp MHC in Wey-
mouth, Mass.
JAMES DERTOUZOS
Dertouzos has been named director
of the Rand Institute for Civil Justice.
Dertouzos, who is an economist, is
an expert on public-sector resource
management, industrial organization
and the economics of the mass media
and advertising.
Obama announces $3.4B
in `smart-grid' grants
President Obama on Tues-
day announced $3.4 billion in
government grants to improve the
efficiency of the nation's electrical
transmission network.
"We are making the largest-ever
investment in a smarter, stronger
and more secure electric grid," while
boosting a "clean-energy economy,"
Obama said in Arcadia, Fla., at one
of the nation's largest facilities gen-
erating solar power.
The grants, ranging from
$400,000 to $200 million, will be
used to develop and install "smart-
grid" technology to make electricity
transmission more reliable and aid
the delivery of energy generated
from sources like wind and solar
power. � Bloomberg
Mich. group sues Apple
over digital camera patents
Apple Inc., the maker of the
iPhone and iMac computer, was
sued by a patent holder for alleged
infringement of four U.S. patents for
digital cameras that take computer-
compatible pictures.
St. Clair Intellectual Property
Consultants of Grosse Pointe, Mich.,
contends Apple is using its protected
technology without a license, accord-
ing to a lawsuit filed Monday in federal
court in Wilmington, Del. Apple
declined to comment. � Bloomberg
Icahn offers to buy
CIT Group debt
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn
offered Tuesday to buy certain
classes of debt from CIT Group Inc.
bondholders as he tries to thwart
the commercial lender's restruc-
turing plan.
Icahn said in a letter he would pay
those bondholders 60 cents on the
dollar for their bonds if they agree to
reject CIT's debt restructuring plan.
New York-based CIT, one of the
nation's largest lenders to small and
midsized businesses, is trying to get
bondholders to swap existing debt for
new debt that matures later and stock.
CIT is trying to reduce its near-term
debt maturities by $5.7 billion. � AP
Fisker to build hybrid cars
at idled Del. GM plant
Luxury automaker Fisker Auto-
motive is buying a shuttered General
Motors assembly plant in Delaware
to produce plug-in hybrid electric
cars, officials said Tuesday.
The California-based company has
signed a letter of intent to purchase
the Wilmington plant for $18 million
after a four-month evaluation period.
Fisker, which recently won
approval for $528.7 million in gov-
ernment loans to develop plug-ins,
expects to spend an additional
$175 million to refurbish the facility
before production of next-generation
hybrids begins in 2012. � AP
RECESSION WATCH
IBM lifts Dow
By Tim Paradis
The Associated Press
NEW YORK -- Stocks mostly fell
Tuesday as mixed reports on
home prices and consumer
confidence gave investors
little incentive to step into the
market.
Rising energy stocks and a
decision by IBM Corp. to dou-
ble its stock-repurchase plan
propped up the Dow Jones
industrials but the Nasdaq
composite index slid after Chi-
nese Internet search company
Baidu Inc. warned its revenue
could take a hit as it switches
its advertising system.
Two stocks fell for every
one that rose on the New York
Stock Exchange.
Bond prices rose after strong
demand at a government debt
auction, signaling that investors
are still seeking safety.
Stocks rose at the start of
trading following a report that
home prices in 20 major met-
ropolitan markets increased
for the third straight month
in August. The Standard &
Poor's/Case-Shiller home
price index gained 1 percent in
August from July.
Stocks have fallen for most
of the past week on worries
about the economy. The Dow
dropped 104 points Monday
after a similar slide Friday. It
was the first consecutive triple-
digit loss for the Dow since
mid-June.
Stocks mostly
fall on mixed
economic data
Human Genome Sciences
Inc.'s experimental drug raxi-
bacumab needs more testing
for use against inhaled anthrax,
a U.S. panel said.
Outside advisers to the Food
and Drug Administration voted
17-6 with one abstention to rec-
ommend additional studies of
the product's benefits com-
pared with anti-microbials
such as Johnson & Johnson's
Levaquin and Bayer AG's Cipro.
The panel was split on whether
more studies were needed to
examine if raxibacumab inter-
fered with the other drugs'
benefits when given together.
Raxibacumab is Rockville-
based Human Genome's first
product, and 20,000 doses are
stockpiled by the U.S. govern-
ment in case of a bioterrorist
attack. The company received
a $151 million order in July for
45,000 more doses and stands
to get an extra $10 million from
the government if the drug
wins regulatory approval.
Human Genome fell 22 cents,
or 1.1 percent, to $19.21 at 4
p.m. New York time in Nasdaq
Stock Market composite trad-
ing. � Bloomberg
Human Genome
anthrax drug needs
new study, panel says
HEALTH CARE
By Jim Abrams
The Associated Press
After weeks of political haggling,
the Senate agreed Tuesday to take
up legislation that would give people
running out of unemployment insur-
ance benefits up to 20 more weeks of
federal aid.
Senate Democrats, saying that
7,000 people a day are exhausting
their benefits, called on their col-
leagues to move quickly to a final
vote. Republicans insisted they get
a chance to offer amendments on the
benefit bill and other issues.
Also in play was the possibility
the bill would be used as a vehicle to
extend another policy that has been
central to the Obama administra-
tion's efforts to revive the economy:
an $8,000 tax credit for first-time
homebuyers.
The vote was 87-13 to bring the bill
to the floor. Sixty votes were needed
to pass that procedural hurdle.
The legislation would provide
14 weeks in extra financial aid for
everyone exhausting their benefits
by the end of the year, and another
six weeks for those living in 27 states
where the unemployment rate is at
least 8.5 percent.
The White House issued a state-
ment in support of extending
benefits. "Helping unemployed work-
ers is an effective way to boost the
economy and an important part of
the administration's broader efforts
to move swiftly and aggressively to
jump-start job creation and grow our
economy."
The House passed a less generous
benefit extension more than a month
ago, but Senate Republicans, at odds
with Democrats over what amend-
ments they can offer to the bill, have
blocked Senate consideration.
Senate to vote on more jobless aid
UNEMPLOYMENT
HARRY HAMBURG/AP FILE
From left, Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, Al Franken, D-Minn., Paul Kirk, D-Mass., and
Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., discuss extending unemployment benefits.
By Ashley M. Heher
The Associated Press
CHICAGO -- Consumers' confidence
about the U.S. economy fell unex-
pectedly in October as job prospects
remained bleak, a private research
group said Tuesday, fueling specula-
tion that an already gloomy holiday
shopping forecast could worsen.
The Consumer Confidence Index,
released by the Conference Board,
sank unexpectedly to 47.7 in October
-- its second-lowest reading since
May.
Forecasters predicted a higher
reading of 53.1.
A reading above 90 means the
economy is on solid footing. Above
100 signals strong growth.
The index has seesawed since
reaching a historic low of 25.3 in
February and climbed to 53.4 in
September.
Economists watch consumer con-
fidence because spending on goods
and services by Americans accounts
for about 70 percent of U.S. eco-
nomic activity by federal measures.
While the reading doesn't always
predict short-term spending, it's a
helpful barometer of spending levels
over time, especially for expensive,
big-ticket items.
Recent economic data, from hous-
ing to manufacturing, has offered
mixed signals but some evidence
that an economic recovery might
be slow.
But on Tuesday, the figures
showed that shoppers have a grim
outlook for the future, the Con-
ference Board said, expecting a
worsening business climate, fewer
jobs and lower salaries. That's par-
ticularly bad news for retailers who
depend on the holiday shopping sea-
son for a hefty share of their annual
revenue.
"Consumers also remain quite
pessimistic about their future earn-
ings, a sentiment that will likely
constrain spending during the holi-
days," said Lynn Franco, director of
the Conference Board's Consumer
Research Center.
Economists expect holiday sales
to be at best flat from a year ago,
which saw the biggest declines since
at least 1967 when the Commerce
Department started collecting the
data.
The Consumer Confidence Index
survey, which was sent to 5,000
households, had a cutoff date of
Oct. 21.
Worsening jobs picture fuels
slide in consumer confidence
GERRY BROOME/AP
A bleak employment market has many
economists predicting holiday sales to
be flat at best from a year ago.
Johnson
ON WALL STREET

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