WALL STREET
Stocks edge higher on better economic data
NEW YORK | Stock indexes edged higher Wednesday after the Federal Reserve reported encouraging news on the economy. Manufacturing, consumer spending and corporate hiring increased in all 12 regions surveyed by the central bank.
Hans Olsen, chief investment officer at J.P. Morgan Private Wealth Management, said it was a good sign that the Fed’s regional economic report showed that more people were quitting jobs.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 3 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,317. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 27, or 0.2 percent, to 12,290. The Nasdaq composite rose 19, or 0.7 percent, to 2,764.
Financial stocks fell broadly after the chief executive of JPMorgan Chase said the bank’s losses from mortgages will continue for a while.
COMMERCE
Consumers in March bought more retail goods
Consumers spent more in March on furniture, electronics and at restaurants — and also paid more for gasoline.
Retail sales increased 0.4 percent last month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the ninth consecutive monthly gain.
The increase shrank to 0.1 percent when sales at gas stations were excluded. Still, the biggest decline in auto sales in more than a year also pulled down overall sales. When taking out sales at gas station and of autos, retail sales rose 0.6 percent.
Many analysts considered that a solid gain, given the jump in gas prices and the fact that Easter is later this year. They also noted that sales in the previous two months were revised upward to show slightly better gains.
Businesses are stocking up based on the increased demand. A separate Commerce Department report said companies added to their stockpiles in February for a 14th straight month. And their sales increased for an eighth consecutive month. Healthy gains in sales and inventory restocking typically lead to more demand for U.S. factory goods.
BANKS
IMF: European banks remain on shaky ground
BERLIN | The IMF singled out European banks as it insisted Wednesday that more needs to be done to shore up the global financial system, saying Europe’s weak banks are “caught in a maelstrom” and must beef up their financial buffers.
The International Monetary Fund said the weaker Europe’s banks are facing pressure on multiple fronts, from thin capital reserves — which help absorb losses in sudden downturns — to shaky investments still on their balance sheets to unstable sources of financing.
The warning comes as European Union officials struggle to shore up confidence in government finances and banks. Greece and Ireland already have received bailout loans to avoid defaulting on their debts, and Portugal recently asked for help from the EU bailout fund.
The EU banking regulator is trying to boost confidence in the continent’s banks by putting 90 of them — the bulk of Europe’s banking system — through stress tests that measure what would happen to their finances if the economy took a sudden downturn. A similar exercise last year was deemed too easy and passed Irish banks that later failed.
The purpose of the tests is to push banks that flunk to ask investors to put up more capital and strengthen their finances, or else cut back risky loans and investment to levels that their capital buffer could handle. Results are expected in June.
LAWSUIT
American Airlines hits Orbitz with antitrust suit
FORT WORTH, Texas | American Airlines raised the stakes in its battle with ticket sellers by suing travel website Orbitz and distributor Travelport Ltd., accusing them of monopoly tactics.
American says the companies are trying to control the distribution of airline tickets to business travelers and are retaliating against American for objecting.
Orbitz and Travelport denied American’s charges. Orbitz said Wednesday that American was trying to grab control over ticket distribution to limit customer choice and reduce competition.
American’s antitrust lawsuit, filed this week in federal district court in Texas, is the latest twist in an ongoing battle that led American to pull its flight listings from Orbitz last December. American is trying to shift sales to its own website to reduce commissions it pays to online travel sites.
• From wire dispatches and staff reports
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