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6A Daily News – Friday, June 3, 2011 Weaker than expected sales reports from retailers and another large number of claims for unemployment benefits left stocks with a mixed finish on Thursday, a day after the Dow Jones industrial average took its biggest dive in nearly a year. First-time applications for unemployment benefits, an indication of how many people are losing their jobs, fell slightly last week to 422,000. That was more Stocks mixed on weak retail and jobless reports Wall Street NEW YORK (AP) — than economists were expecting and well above the 375,000 level that sig- nals that the economy is adding jobs. ‘‘Companies are just not hiring the same number of workers that they laid off two years ago, and that’s leading to a very stale jobs environment,’’ said David Loesser, the president of the Estate Planners Group, a financial advisory firm in Washington Crossing, Pa. The Dow Jones industri- al average lost 41.59 points, or 0.3 percent, to close at 12,248.55 Thursday. The S&P 500 recouped much of its losses from ear- lier in the day and ended down 1.61 points, or 0.1 per- cent, to 1,312.94. The Nas- daq composite was up for most of the day and finished with a gain of 4.12, or 0.2 percent, at 2,773.31. Worries that the econom- ic recovery was stalling caused a stock market rout on Wednesday. Payroll processor ADP said private employers added just 38,000 jobs in May, down from 177,000 in April. That, along with a sharply lower reading on a key manufac- turing index, sent the Dow Jones industrial average down 280 points, the steep- est fall since June 4 of last year. A series of strong corpo- rate profit reports gave the S&P 500 its best first quarter since 1998, but the index has lost 3.7 percent since April 29 as worries over the econ- omy deepened. The index is still up 4.4 percent for the year. Several retailers reported muted sales growth for May, INDEPENDENCE, Mo. (AP) — Police responding to a rare alligator sighting in suburban Kansas City took quick action to dispatch of the beast, shooting it in the $352.00 D NEWSAILY in Discount Coupons were published last week in the RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY … And that does not Count all the ads offering percentage discounts, two-for-ones and Free-with-Purchase offers! Don’t miss a Day of it! Subscribe Today 527-2151 It pays for itself. adding to concerns that the U.S. economy is straining under higher costs for raw materials like oil and cotton. Companies that catered to middle and lower income shoppers said that higher food and gas prices cut into sales. Gap Inc. fell 4.1 per- cent after sales fell across all its brands. Target Corp. fell 1.3 percent after missing expectations as sales traffic slowed during the second half of the month. Luxury retailer Saks Inc. was among the few compa- nies in the category that rose. The company gained 1.3 percent after surpassing analyst’s expectations. Financial companies fell, though less than the overall stock market. Goldman Sachs dropped 1.3 percent head, as instructed, while it lurked menacingly in the weeds leading down to a pond. It wasn’t until a sec- ond rifle shot bounced off the reptile’s head that the officers realized they had mortally wounded a con- crete lawn ornament. A resi- dent of a subdivision near the pond called police Satur- day evening to report that his children spotted the alligator while they were playing in some nearby woods. After consulting a con- after the bank received a subpoena from the Manhat- tan District Attorney’s office to discuss its role in the financial crisis. The subpoe- na follows the April release of a Senate report that showed Goldman had steered investors toward mortgage securities it knew would likely fail. Many investors are turn- ing their focus to Friday, when the government’s monthly employment report will be released. Economists expect that the unemploy- ment rate will dip down to 8.9 percent from the current 9.0 percent. Slightly more stocks fell than rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was 3.9 billion shares. Police shoot gator twice, realize it’s fake servation agent, who told them to kill the gator if they felt it posed a danger, one of the officers shot it twice in the head before realizing something was up, said Tom Gentry, an Independence police spokesman. ‘‘It didn’t move,’’ Gentry said. ‘‘They inched up closer and closer and discovered it was a mock-up of a real alli- gator made to look like it was real.’’ In the officers’ defense, it was growing dark. $50 off your 1st ✪ Auto Detailing ✪ Water Spot Removal Ask about visit 530.527.6160 915 Madison St., Red Bluff $ Salon Bella Dona Full Service Salon 3 per foil or Nicole Richardson May Highlight Special $ 60 for full highlights Call for appt. 527-4843 (exp. May 31, 2011) COMFORT SERVICE INC. 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