BUSINESS BRIEFS
Jobless claims drop by 11,000 to 330,000 for week
Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Fewer people signed up for jobless benefits last week, an encouraging sign that most companies aren't resorting to large-scale layoffs as the country copes with continuing problems in the housing and credit markets.
The Labor Department reported yesterday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance dropped by a seasonally adjusted 11,000 to 330,000 for the week ending Nov. 17. It was the lowest level since the beginning of November. The 330,000 level of claims was in line with economists' forecasts.
CHINA-MADE KIDS' JEWELRY RECALLED
WASHINGTON — More than a half-million pieces of Chinese-made children's jewelry contaminated with lead are being recalled, it was announced yesterday, in an enforcement action that federal regulatory authorities carried out in cooperation with New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
The recalled merchandise involves 205,000 pieces sold by Family Dollar Stores Inc., 200,000 pieces sold by Michaels Stores Inc., 43,000 charm bracelets and tack pin sets sold by Big Lots Inc. and 45,000 stretchable bracelets imported by Cherrydale Fundraising LLC, 10,400 necklaces and bracelets manufactured by Colossal Jewelry & Accessories Inc., and 4,500 necklace and earring sets made by La Femme NY 2 Inc., officials announced.
In March 2006 a Minnesota boy died of lead poisoning after swallowing a metal pendant from a charm bracelet that came with a pair of Reebok shoes.
46 STATES SEE HOME SALES DROP
WASHINGTON — Sales of existing homes fell in 46 states during the July-September quarter as the housing market's slump worsened, a real estate trade group reported yesterday.
The new third-quarter figures from the National Association of Realtors underscore the severity of the housing market's slump, which has economists increasingly pessimistic about the economic outlook.
But the Realtors saw a silver lining in the data, noting that home prices rose in 93 of the 150 metropolitan areas surveyed.
Yet big price drops plagued formerly booming parts of the country. Median prices fell by more than 10 percent in parts of Florida and California compared with the third quarter of last year.
BOEING ORDERS TOP 2006 RECORD
SEATTLE — Boeing Co. said yesterday it has received 1,047 commercial airplane orders this year, already beating its 2006 record-setting total of 1,044 orders with more than a month to go.
Boeing said it has taken orders for 580 of the popular 737 as of Nov. 20, and for 290 of the new midsize 787, whose delivery has been delayed until November or December 2008 because of assembly problems.
This is the third consecutive year Boeing's orders have topped 1,000.
Boeing's top competitor, Airbus SAS, had logged 1,021 commercial jet orders as of the end of October, the most recent data available on the company's Web site.
$700M SOUGHT IN ENRON FEES
HOUSTON — A law firm is asking a federal judge to approve nearly $700 million in attorneys fees for its efforts to help Enron Corp. shareholders and investors recoup billions they lost after the once-mighty energy company collapsed.
San Diego-based Coughlin Stoia Geller Rudman & Robbins LLP said that it has helped plaintiffs recover almost $7.3 billion so far, mostly from financial institutions that investors claim played roles in the accounting fraud that led to Enron's 2001 unraveling. If approved, the attorneys fees would be the largest in a securities fraud case.
The law firm, in court papers filed Tuesday, asked a federal judge in Houston to award attorneys fees equal to 9.5 percent of the moneys recovered so far, or about $687 million.
