Negative Blogs

Iran said on Tuesday it would refuse to discuss a newly declared nuclear plant at forthcoming international talks and cautioned Western powers it could curb cooperation further if they repeated “past mistakes.”

An Iranian MP suggested parliament might seek withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if Thursday’s Geneva talks with major powers fail and “if the Zionists and America continue their pressure on Iran” — a reference to policies including economic sanctions.

Washington has suggested possible new sanctions on banking and the oil and gas industry if Tehran fails to assuage Western fears it seeks nuclear weapons. U.S. officials believe sanctions could now have more effect, playing on leadership divisions evident since a disputed presidential poll.

Comments by Western and Iranian officials suggested little optimism ahead of the Thursday’s rare meeting of the P5+1 — permanent U.N. Security Council members China, Britain, France, the United Sates and Russia, as well as Germany — with Iran.

“My expectation, or my hope, is that we will be able to get…the guarantees from Tehran, that the program in which they are engaged in is a peaceful program,” EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters in Gothenburg, Sweden.

“I don’t think it will be easy to ask for, but we will continue to engage.”

Last week’s news of a second uranium enrichment plant, under construction south of Tehran, added urgency to the Geneva talks. Uranium in less refined form can be used for power generation but in a more highly refined state is used in nuclear bombs.

Statements from Tehran on Tuesday allowed some ambiguity on Iran’s readiness to talk. Hard money training

Corporate dealmaking is boosting investors’ hopes for a recovery in the economy.

Stocks jumped Monday after Abbott Laboratories said it would buy the pharmaceutical business of Belgian chemicals maker Solvay for $6.6 billion and Xerox Corp. agreed to acquire Affiliated Computer Services for about $6.4 billion.

All major indexes rose more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which added 120 points.

The takeover moves are a welcome sign that businesses have enough faith in a recovery in the economy to pursue acquisitions. In the past year, companies grew so worried about the economy that they were hesitant to part with cash and often had trouble lining up financing.

The market’s rise follows its worst week since early July. The rally stalled following disappointing housing and manufacturing data.

In midmorning trading, the Dow rose 119.19, or 1.2 percent, to 9,784.38.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 15.18, or 1.5 percent, to 1,059.56, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 36.27, or 1.7 percent, to 2,127.19.

The Dow fell 1.6 percent last week, while the S&P 500 index lost 2.2 percent.

Bond prices were mixed Monday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was flat at 3.32 percent from late Friday. Hard money training

More good news about the jobs market is pulling investors back into the market.

A day after the Federal Reserve said economic activity has improved, the Labor Department says the number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third week in a row. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 21,000 last week to 530,000, better than the 550,000 economists had expected.

Later Thursday, investors will get data on existing home sales. Investors are also focusing on the Group of 20 meeting of the world’s leading economies in Pittsburgh.

In the first few minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 48 at 9,796. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 4 at 1,065, and the Nasdaq composite index is up 8 at 2,140.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Stock futures are indicating a slightly higher opening on Wall Street Thursday after investors got more good news about the jobs market.

A day after the Federal Reserve said economic activity has improved, the Labor Department said the number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third week in a row. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 21,000 last week to 530,000, better than the 550,000 economists had expected.

The number of people continuing to claim benefits for more than a week also fell, dropping 123,000 to 6.14 million.

Stock futures were little changed ahead of the report. Hard money training

The European Commission was to forge ahead on Wednesday with detailed proposals for tough financial supervision amid horse-trading over a pivotal role for the Bank of England’s governor.

The EU announcement, on the eve of a summit of the Group of 20 leading world economies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will also include plans for new pan-European super watchdogs to oversee banks, insurers and securities firms.

The emergence of the BoE’s Mervyn King as the leading contender to be the deputy head of a new European Systemic Risk Board, expected to be chaired by the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, is aimed at overcoming misgivings emanating from the City of London.

The new bodies will be responsible for identifying threats to the EU economy as a whole and will have the power to demand national action or impose mediation on national supervisors in the event of disagreement.

The aim is to avoid a repeat of last year’s financial crisis which saw over-leveraged banks go under or require massive state bailouts.

But it is this overarching power that has Britain and some other EU nations worried about the proposals, agreed at a European Union summit in June but which must be backed by member states and the EU parliament if they are to come into force.

“The devil is in the detail,” one European source said.

Backing from Britain — Europe’s biggest financial centre — is vital if the new structures are to be up and running as planned by the end of next year.

Under the commission proposals, the European banking authorities should have “the power to require national supervisory authorities to take specific action” to remedy emergency situations, according to a draft text.

The commission itself would have powers to decree an emergency situation. Hard money training

President Barack Obama says he is determined to go after the “reckless risk-taking” that pushed the global economy into the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, and he is also pushing for countries to promote more balanced growth going forward.

He is getting support for his efforts from other leaders, although significant differences remain as Obama prepares to serve as host for a Group of 20 meeting of the world’s leading economies on Thursday and Friday in Pittsburgh.

In addition to pushing the U.S. agenda, Obama is certain to face tough questions from other G-20 countries over whether his administration can develop a credible plan to curb a soaring U.S. budget deficit that the White House projects will hit an eye-popping $1.548 trillion this year and total $9 trillion over the next decade.

As part of an effort to convince the world that he is serious about getting the deficit under control, Obama is pushing a plan that would require the United States and other countries to make sweeping changes in how they manage their deficits.

The goal is to prevent the destabilizing imbalances represented by America’s high budget and trade deficits, and huge trade surpluses in countries such as China.

Obama’s initiative would require chronic trade-deficit nations like the United States to boost their savings rates to consume fewer imports, and for trade-surplus countries like China to get their consumers to spend more and rely less on export-led growth.

“We can’t go back to an era where the Chinese or the Germans or other countries just are selling everything to us, we’re taking out a bunch of credit card debt or home equity loans, but we’re not selling them anything,” Obama said during a CNN interview broadcast Sunday. Hard money training

Aboard the Svend Maersk, the sound of the ship’s five-story high engine permeates like a heartbeat through the four-football field length of ship.

It’s also the heartbeat of the world economy, as the Maersk takes its thousands of containers filled with shoes, computers, furniture and fireworks from China to markets in Europe.

But a more telling sight is when the massive vessel nears Singapore and passes by dozens of idle ships.

“A lot of ships have been taken out of service or laid up. Instead of sailing with half empty ships, it’s cheaper to lay up the ship,” said Bo Nikolaisen, captain of the Svend. “I feel lucky, of course, that I am on a ship that is still working.”

A 10 percent drop is expected this year in the shipping business, which one analyst called “a $20 billion black hole.” It’s an industry that is a prime indicator of the global economy — 90 percent of world trade is carried on ships such as the Svend Maersk to ports and onto shops around the world. NHMA

US employers cut 216,000 jobs in August, pushing the unemployment rate up to 9.7%, a 26-year high, official figures show.

The unemployment rate rose after dipping to 9.4% in July but the Labor Department said the job loss figure was the smallest in a year.

Since the start of the recession in December 2007, the economy has shed 6.9 million jobs, the department said.

Jobs have been lost across manufacturing and service industries.

Total unemployment stands at 14.9 million. National Hard Money Association Conference

Unemployment jumps to a 26-year high of 9.7%, even as employers cut the smallest number of jobs since August 2008.

Employers trimmed fewer jobs in August than they did the prior month, but the unemployment rate jumped to a 26-year high, the government reported Friday.

There was a net loss of 216,000 jobs in the month, according to the Labor Department. That was the fewest jobs lost since August 2008 and lower than a revised loss of 276,000 jobs in July. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com predicted a loss of 230,000 jobs in August.

But even with the lower level of losses in August, 6.9 million jobs have been cut from payrolls since the start of 2008.

The unemployment rate, which in July fell for the first time in 15 months, turned higher again, jumping to 9.7% from 9.4% in July. This is the highest the unemployment rate has been since June 1983. Economists forecast that the jobless rate hit 9.5% in August. Austin Hard Money Lender

The European Central Bank (ECB) has raised its forecast for economic growth in the eurozone and kept interest rates on hold at 1%.

The head of the bank said there was an expectation that “severe contraction” would now be followed by a period of “stabilisation and gradual recovery”.

Eurozone rates were cut from 1.25% to a record low of 1% in May this year.

Earlier on Thursday, a survey found that eurozone economic activity rose in August for the first time in 15 months. NHMA

The Group of 20 richest nations must adopt “binding rules” to regulate bank behaviour, the leaders of the UK, France and Germany have said.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel made the comments in a joint letter.

They also agreed to explore ways of limiting bonuses at banks to prevent future financial meltdowns.

The leaders also said banks could not go on as if the crisis never happened.

Bonuses will be on the agenda when the G20 leaders meet in Pittsburgh later this month. Hard Money Association