In brief: Spokane County jobless rate jumps to 6.7 percent

Spokane County’s unemployment rate jumped to 6.7 percent in October from September’s 5.8 percent, state labor officials reported Tuesday.

The state’s jobless rate in October was 6 percent, up from 5.4 percent in September. The October numbers are preliminary and will be adjusted in a month.

The nation’s jobless rate in October was 5.8 percent.

A second method for tracking nonfarm jobs shows Spokane County gained 500 jobs in October, from 218,500 one month earlier to 219,000.

That shift came from gains in some sectors, including service jobs (up 600 in October), professional and business services (up 200) and education and health services (up 200).

Sectors that lost jobs in October included retail trade, down 200, food and beverage businesses (down 100) and state government (down 300 jobs).

State labor analysts say Spokane County has gained 3,200 jobs since October 2013.

Apple worth $700 billion as stock rises sharply

NEW YORK – Apple’s market capitalization surpassed $700 billion for the first time Tuesday morning.

The iPhone maker is currently the most valuable company in the world, and its stock is up 48 percent in 2014.

Apple stock has been strong since late April, when the company announced a series of moves intended to bolster its share price. Apple announced its first stock split in nine years and said it would buy back another $30 billion in stock. It also raised its quarterly dividend.

The S&P 500 and other indexes are also at record highs.

When the moves were announced, Apple’s stock price was about 25 percent below its September 2012 peak.

Shares of the Cupertino, California, company rose 54 cents to $119.17 in midday trading after rising as high as $119.75 earlier in the session.

HP still has long way to go to turn profit slide

SAN FRANCISCO – Hewlett-Packard Co.’s latest earnings report shows that despite three years of efforts to turn its business around, the venerable tech giant still has a lot more work ahead.

CEO Meg Whitman has decided to split the pioneering Silicon Valley company in two. But she has said it will take a year to disengage the sluggish printer-and-PC division from units that sell commercial tech hardware, software and services, where Whitman believes there are more opportunities for growth. Meanwhile, the company reported Tuesday that its sales fell 2 percent in the most recent three-month period, marking its 12th revenue decline in the last 13 quarters.

Profit was down 6 percent from a year ago. For the August-October fiscal quarter, HP reported net income of $1.3 billion, or 70 cents a share, on revenue of $28.4 billion. That fell short of the expectations of analysts polled by FactSet, who predicted earnings of 80 cents a share on revenue of $28.7 billion.

Sony settles misleading ad claims for Vita console

WASHINGTON – Sony is settling government charges that it misled consumers about its PlayStation Vita hand-held gaming console.

The Federal Trade Commission says Sony’s advertising claims about the “game changing” technology features of the PS Vita were deceiving. For example, the FTC says Sony wrongly claimed that people could play “cross platform” – by starting a game on a PlayStation 3 and then continuing it “on the go,” right where they left off, on a PS Vita.

As part of the proposed settlement, the company will provide refunds to people who bought the PS Vita console before June 1, 2012. They’ll be eligible for either a $25-cash or credit refund or a $50 merchandise voucher from Sony.

Sony will contact consumers about the refunds or vouchers via email.