The number of first-time filers for unemployment insurance fell more than expected last week, according to a weekly government report released Thursday.
There were 473,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended Aug. 21, down 31,000 from an upwardly revised 504,000 the previous week, according to the Labor Department’s weekly report.
Economists surveyed by Briefing.com were expecting new claims to fall to 485,000.
Claims had been stuck in the mid- to upper-400,000 range for about nine months, but spiked above 500,000 for the first time since November in last week’s report.
"The latest numbers provide a sigh of relief to stressed financial markets and at least uphold the possibility that the economy can avoid a double-dip recession," said economist John Lonski, of Moody’s Economy.com. "But we still need to establish a declining trend for jobless claims so we can feel more confident in the economic recovery."
The 4-week moving average of initial claims — a number that tries to smooth out week-to-week volatility — was 486,750, up 3,250 from the previous week.
Lonski said that figure needs to break below 450,000 and set new lows in order to improve the outlook for the job market, which he is optimistic about.
"Given that business sales rebounded in July after two months of decreases, companies may hold on to more employees, if not hire more," he said business card templates. "So it’s conceivable that that latest decline in jobless claims will be the first in a series of such declines."
Continuing claims: The government said 4.46 million people continued to file unemployment claims for their second week or more, during the week ended Aug. 14, the most recent data available. That’s down 62,000 from an upwardly revised 4.52 million the week before.
Continuing claims reflect people who file each week after their initial claim until the end of their standard benefits, which usually last 26 weeks. The figures do not include those who have moved to state or federal extensions, or people who have exhausted their benefits but are still out of a job.
The 4-week moving average for ongoing claims fell by 28,000 to 4.51 million.
State-by-state: Jobless claims in eight states declined by more than 1,000 in the week ended Aug. 15, which is the most recent state data available. Claims in California dropped the most, by 5,275. The state attributed the drop to fewer layoffs in the service and manufacturing industries.
Claims jumped by more than 1,000 in Wisconsin and Puerto Rico.
Attorneys general in 17 states are demanding that craigslist remove its adult services section to make sure prostitution and child trafficking ads don't appear.
A joint letter from AGs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, Ohio, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia. said that even though the San Francisco-based company would lose revenue, no amount of money "can justify the scourge of illegal prostitution and the suffering of the women and children who will continue to be victimized, in the market and trafficking provided by Craigslist."
In November craigslist added protections that include making posters provide a legitimate phone number and pay a fee to post in the erotic services portion of the site high risk personal loans.
Craigslist has already been subpoenaed by Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who wants proof that it is taking action to stop prostitution ads.
In a posting on its site, craigslist CEO Jim Buckmaster wrote that the company is "working intensively … with experts and thought leaders at leading nonprofits and among law enforcement on further substantive measures we can take."
The post says that craigslist "is committed to being socially responsible, and when it comes to adult services ads, that includes aggressively combating violent crime and human rights violations, including human trafficking and the exploitation of minors."
Valley sushi restaurant Zen 32 is closing its doors. Operators cite a number of reasons for the closing, including the costs associated with a desired remodel.
The trendy asian-fusion grille was a long-time standard in Phoenix, offering up sushi, a grill menu and a popular outdoor patio at the corner of 32nd Street and Camelback Road in the Camelback Corridor.
The sushi-n-sake spot, which had received four stars from online reviewers such as Trip Advisor and others, is expected to close its doors by the end of the month, but will continue to offer its weekday sushi Happy Hour from 4:30 to 6:30 p payday loan lenders.m. Monday through Friday and a reverse happy hour starting at 10 p.m. nightly.
For more: www.zen32.com
Dell Inc. has agreed to buy 3Par in an all-cash deal valued at approximately $1.15 billion, the companies said Monday.
Dell will pay $18 per share for 3Par's common stock, an 86 percent premium over Friday's closing price of $9.65.
Fremont-based 3Par is a maker of high-efficiency IT storage systems.
The boards of both companies have approved the terms.The deal is expected to close before the end of the year, subject to customary closing conditions.
The transaction is expected to be accretive to Dell's non-GAAP earnings in its fiscal year 2012.
Two is the magic number for NASCAR in Phoenix.
Phoenix International Raceway in the Avondale will continue to host two Sprint Cup Series races next year.
NASCAR tweaked its 2011 schedule some, moving venue dates that added some races in some markets but took away races in others.
Phoenix hosts two races now and will host two next season.
PIR will continue to host the second to last race in the fall Sprint Cup. The Kobalt Tools 500 will occur Nov. 13, 2011. The Phoenix track also will host the second race of the 2011 season the Subway Fresh Fit 500 on Feb. 27. PIR now hosts a Saturday night race in April. That date is being switched to a Sunday afternoon time the week after the first race of the season the Daytona 500 guaranteed payday loan.
PIR officials are happy they are keeping two races.
February is a buys month sports wise in the Phoenix and nationally. The Waste Management Open golf tournament runs Jan. 31 to Feb. 6. Cactus League Spring Training starts the beginning of March and the Phoenix Suns and Phoenix Coyotes are in the midst of their seasons.
The Super Bowl is being held at the new Cowboys Stadium in Dallas on February 6.
Instead of building 12 million square feet, the developers of the ambitious Miami Worldcenter project in the city’s Park West neighborhood could lose their property to foreclosure.
Even with the cracks in the economy showing in fall 2008, developers Arthur Falcone, Marc Roberts and Nitin Motwani pushed the city to approve the massive commercial, residential, hotel and entertainment project on 25 acres.
Falcone, the head of Boca Raton-based Falcone Group, talked about including gambling if state law was changed.
Although the special zoning district was approved, some critics questioned the timing of the project. The plunge in real estate values has made going forward difficult. No construction has taken place, and the developers have not completed purchasing all of the property required for a contiguous site.
“It was a though call for them in 2008,” said Adam Greenberg, managing director of Miami-based BayBridge Real Estate Group. “They already had a lot invested in the area with land holdings and planning costs.”
Greenberg believes the developers had contracts to purchase additional properties but didn’t execute them.
Fifth Third Bank filed a foreclosure lawsuit on July 28 against the entities that own most of the land planned for Miami Worldcenter: Park West 3, Park West 5, Miami Auction Prop LLC, 950 NE 2nd LLC, 915 N Miami LLC, 701 N Miami and 100 NE 11th LLC. The mortgages to those companies were last renewed in 2007 and 2008 for a combined $39.3 million.
Orion Bank has a pending lawsuit against 13 Parcels, another Falcone- and Roberts-managed entity that owns land planned for Miami Worldcenter. It concerns an $18.3 million mortgage, although the lawsuit does not call for foreclosure. Unlike the Fifth Third complaint, the Orion Bank lawsuit names Falcone and Roberts, who has since filed personal Chapter 7 bankruptcy.
Since Orion Bank failed in 2009, Iberiabank has continued pursuing that claim after assuming its assets.
Falcone did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
The entities targeted by the Fifth Third foreclosure control the following properties:
Miami attorney Alan Grunspan, who represents Fifth Third in the foreclosure lawsuit, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.
“The project is a good possibility in five to seven years, but prices and demand aren’t there for new construction for that long,” Greenberg said.
After falling into the red in the second quarter and revising its 2009 results to show an even deeper loss, Espirito Santo Bank got some relief in the form of $10 million in capital from its parent company.
Portugal-based Banco Espirito Santo injected $10 million into its Miami-based subsidiary in the second quarter, according to its filing with the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. That boosted its capital ratio to well above regulatory requirements.
It also helped soften the blow of the bank’s recent stumbles.
On June 1, Espirito Santo Bank restated its 2009 results to show a $3.3 million loss. It originally reported a $2.3 million loss for that year. The change came because the bank revised its expense to reserve for future loan losses to $9.2 million, increased from the originally reported expense of $8.2 million.
Sometimes, when banks review the problem loans, they recognize drops in the appraised values of the collateral properties, which causes them to go back and take additional reserves.
In the second quarter, Espirito Santo Bank lost $431,000, but it was still in positive territory for the year because it earned $954,000 in the first quarter.
The bank fell into the red mostly because its expenses to reserve for problem loans grew while it collected less revenue from net interest income.
Espirito Santo Bank made progress in reducing its level of problem loans. As of June 30, the bank had $19 million in noncurrent loans, representing 5.25 percent of its total loans. As of March 31, it had $26.2 million in noncurrent loans, representing 6.87 percent. The bank has restructured many of its loans that were delinquent.
The bank’s $7.3 million reserve for future loan losses covered 38 percent of its noncurrent loans at midyear. The restatement of its 2009 results increased that coverage ratio significantly from where it was originally at year-end.
Espirito Santo Bank was the 21st-largest bank chartered in South Florida as of March 31, with $569 million in assets. By June 30, it had grown to $580 million in assets. Its deposits were up to $480 million from $478 million over that period. However, the bank’s loans dropped to $355 million from $375 million.
Two new eateries have signed leases to move into the renovated Rainbow Vista Apartments building in Moiliili.
Kokoro Tei, a Japanese restaurant that specializes in bento lunches, is scheduled to open in August, said Emalia Pietsch of Colliers Monroe Friedlander. The restaurant will move into the Diamond Head side of the three-story building on S. Beretania Street, she said.
Domino’s Pizza also signed a lease with landowner Kamehameha Schools to occupy a ground-level retail space.
Pietsch said Domino’s is scheduled to open in late fall or early winter.
The two restaurants will join Teddy’s Bigger Burgers, which opened in Rainbow Vista in May.
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