Briefcase
Number of new jobless at lowest since April
WASHINGTON – The outlook for American jobs and trade looked a little brighter Thursday, despite growing uncertainty overseas.
The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits last week fell to a seasonally adjusted 390,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the fewest since April.
The data suggest layoffs are easing and the economy grew slightly better over the summer than the government had estimated a month ago.
Stocks rose sharply Thursday, one day after the market tumbled nearly 400 points over concerns that Europe’s debt crisis could worsen.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 113 points, or 1 percent, to close at 11,894.
The reports “are modestly strong relative to expectations – encouraging confidence that the economy is gaining a bit of momentum,” said Pierre Ellis, an analyst at Decision Economics.
Associated Press
Facebook reportedly near deal with FTC
SAN FRANCISCO – Facebook is nearing a settlement with federal regulators that would require the world’s most popular online hangout to obtain approval from its users before making changes that expose their profiles and activities to a wider audience, according to a report published Thursday.
Citing people familiar with the situation that it did not name, the Wall Street Journal said Facebook has agreed to make the changes to resolve a nearly 2-year-old investigation by the Federal Trade Commission.
If the settlement is approved by FTC’s commissioners, it would require Facebook to get explicit consent from its 800 million users before changing its privacy settings, according to the Journal.
Seeking a user’s prior consent is known as an “opt in.” Facebook sometimes makes changes that it believes will improve its social network and then leaves it to users to reset the things that they don’t like – a process known as “opting out.”
The FTC opened its probe into Facebook after the website made changes that automatically showed users’ names, pictures, hometowns and other personal information available for anyone on the Web to see.
Associated Press
Starbucks purchases juice manufacturer
Starbucks Corp. hopes to do for juice what it’s done for coffee.
The company that said Thursday that it acquired juice maker Evolution Fresh Inc. for $30 million as part of a larger effort to move beyond just offering coffee.
Starbucks said it plans to “reinvent” the $1.6 billion super-premium juice segment with its purchase of Evolution, which is based in San Bernardino, Calif. The company plans to open a new chain of health and wellness stores in the coming year that will carry Evolution products such as juices and simple foods.
Starbucks described it as a retail model that has never been seen before.
Associated Press