Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/81834
8B Daily News – Thursday, September 6, 2012 Furniture Depot 527-1657 235 So. Main St. Red Bluff NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stock prices are closing mixed, held in check by a warning from the huge package delivery company FedEx that its profits would be hurt because of a slow- down in the global econo- my. its express package delivery business. That's a sign that FedEx's customers around the world are choosing slower, cheaper delivery options to save money. FedEx's stock fell $1.74 to $85.80. ''It's one more piece of FedEx cited weakness in news that suggests that the global economy is slowing and therefore makes central bank action more likely,'' said Brian Gendreau, mar- ket strategist at the invest- ment advisory firm Cetera Financial. Federal Reserve chair- man Ben Bernanke has said the central bank is inclined to provide new stimulus to the U.S. economy if it's needed. Investors will get more guidance Friday when the government releases its monthly report on employ- ment, which is considered one of the most important barometers for the world's largest economy. The Dow Jones industri- al average closed up 11.54 points at 13,047.48 on Wednesday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 1.50 points to 1,403.44. The Nasdaq composite index lost 5.79 points to 3,069.27. Earlier, the Labor Department reported that U.S. companies got more productivity from their workers this spring than originally estimated. Pro- ductivity increased at an annual rate of 2.2 percent in the April-June quarter, up from an initial estimate of a 1.6 percent gain. Labor costs rose at an annual rate of 1.5 percent, slightly lower than the 1.7 percent initially estimat- ed. Stock indexes were mostly higher in Europe and the yields on govern- ment bonds issued by Spain and Italy moved lower, a positive sign that investors are becoming more opti- mistic about the ability of those countries to repay their debts. Benchmark indexes rose 0.5 percent in Germany and 0.2 percent in France. European Central bank President Mario Draghi is expected to reveal details Thursday of a new bond- buying program aimed at cutting borrowing costs for Spain and Italy, the latest flash points in Europe's government debt crisis. Without some way to reduce the interest rates on the bonds they sell, the two nations could be pushed into asking for a bailout, fol- lowing a path taken by Greece, Ireland and Portu- gal. Among other stocks making big moves: — Facebook gained 85 cents, or 5 percent, to $18.58 after its CEO Mark Zuckerberg said he would not sell any shares for a — Hartford Financial Services Group closed at $18.05, up 35 cents, or 2 percent. The insurer and wealth manager said it had agreed to sell its retirement plans business to Massachu- setts Mutual Life Insurance for $400 million. — Safeway gained 68 cents, or 4 percent, to $16.50. The supermarket chain said it plans to take its gift card business Black- hawk Network Holdings public by the first half of 2013. year. The company also announced a major stock buyback. MON.-FRI. 9:00-6:00 SAT. 9:00-5:00 SUN. 11:00-5:00 Furniture Depot is giving away Free Furniture! you'll receive a FREE $250 gift certificate good toward anything in our store! With any purchase of $1,000 or more, Certificate Gift Stocks barely move; FedEx sinks on profit warning Facebook stock up on Facebook's stock increased nearly 5 percent on Wednesday following a disclosure that its CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, won't sell stock in the company for at least a year. Zuckerberg holds about 504 million shares and options and had been eligible to start selling them in November. The company currently has about 692 million shares eligible for sale. The concern is that if Zucker- berg floods the market with additional shares, prices would go down further. no-sale pledge NEW YORK (AP) — The stock is still trad- ing at less than half of the $38 that it went for in Facebook's May initial public offering. It gained 85 cents, or 4.8 percent, to close at $18.58. That more than wiped out Tuesday's loss, during which the stock hit an all-time low of $17.55. It had closed at $17.73. book's stock has been down on 45 trading days, up on 29 and unchanged on two. Since the IPO, Face- DAILYNEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY redbluffdailynews.com Subscribe Now! To get started, go to: www.redbluffdailynews.com/websubscribe