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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Briefcase

Starbucks’ quarter pleases bean counters

NEW YORK – As more people visited Starbucks cafes and spent more at the end of summer, the company’s fourth-quarter net income nearly doubled, handily beating estimates, and the company raised its target Thursday for fiscal 2011 profit.

The world’s largest cafe chain earned $278.9 million, or 37 cents per share, in the quarter that ended Oct. 3. That compares with $150 million, or 20 cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue rose 17.2 percent to $2.84 billion.

Analysts on average expected the Seattle company to earn 32 cents per share on revenue of $2.77 billion, according to Thomson Reuters.

Associated Press

Unemployment filings jump to 457,000

The number of people seeking unemployment aid jumped sharply last week to 457,000. The increase undermines hopes that, after falling four times in the previous five weeks, unemployment claims were on a sustained downward trend.

Applications for jobless aid remain stuck between 440,000 and 470,000, where they have been most of this year. A drop below 425,000 would signal healthy job growth.

Today, the government releases its monthly unemployment figures.

Associated Press

Strong truck sales may be sign of better times

DETROIT –Trucks outsold cars by the highest margin in nearly five years in October, a small sign that the economy may be starting to improve.

These trucks aren’t the tractor-trailers that haul freight. They were vehicles such as pickups, SUVs, minivans and smaller SUVs, which made up 54 percent of all U.S. vehicle sales according to industry tracker J.D. Power and Associates, while cars made up 46 percent of the market.

Associated Press