Business news with words department+earnings+stocks. 7 news.

WALL Street paused from its big rally yesterday, with stocks closing narrowly mixed after the government's November labor report showed tepid job growth as well as a pickup in inflation. The major indexes ended the week higher, with the Dow Jones industrials having gained nearly 900 points over nine trading days. The Labor Department reported 94,000 jobs were added to payrolls in November and that the unemployment rate held steady at 4.7 percent. Thomson/IFR analysts had set a median projection of 100,000 new jobs. The report also showed that average hourly earnings increased 0.5 percent in November, compared with forecasts for a more-modest 0.3 percent. The report at least temporarily chilled a rally that has left the Dow only 538 points, or 3.8 percent, below the record close it reached on October 9. "I'd call it an employment letdown," said Jack A. Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank. "A little air came out of the party balloon."

US stocks were weaker as investors took a step back from recent sharp gains with poor earnings from Sears, the department store group, weighing on sentiment

US stocks rose for a fifth straight week, the longest stretch of gains since May, after minutes from the Federal Reserve and better-than-expected retail sales bolstered hopes that the economy will keep expanding. Wal-Mart Stores Inc, the world's largest retailer, climbed to a two-month high after boosting its third-quarter profit forecast. Yum! Brands Inc, owner of the Pizza Hut and Taco Bell restaurant chains, jumped the most since September 2005 on earnings that topped analysts' estimates. Exxon Mobil Corp, the biggest oil company, led a gauge of energy shares to a record after crude prices rose to an all-time high. Minutes from the Fed's September 18 policy meeting showed central bankers avoided language that might have suggested the economy would fall into a recession. The Commerce Department said retail sales added 0.6 percent last month, from the 0.2 percent gain predicted by analysts in a Bloomberg News survey. "The consumer is a staying force, earnings growth is

US stocks have risen for a fourth straight week, sending the Standard & Poor's 500 Index to a record, after employment growth eased concern that mortgage losses will cause a recession. Fannie Mae and Morgan Stanley led banks, brokerages and other financial firms in the S&P 500 to their biggest rally since March 2003. Homebuilders surged the most since November 2000 after Citi Investment Research said their shares are cheap, Bloomberg News reported. The Labor Department said American payrolls increased by 110,000 jobs in September and the prior month's decrease of 4,000 was revised to a gain of 89,000. That quelled concern that home-loan losses are dragging down the economy. "Stocks look very good to me," said John Lynch, chief market analyst at Evergreen Investments LLC, which manages US$280 billion in Charlotte, North Carolina. "The jobs report suggests continued economic growth, which should translate to continued profit growth and good market performance." The S&P 500 rose two percent last week to 1,557.59. The index has rebounded 11 percent since August 15, erasing US$1 trillion of losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the five-day period up 1.2 percent at 14,066.01 after closing at a record on October 1. The Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.9 percent to 2,780.32, the highest since February 2001. The yield on 10-year US Treasury notes rose about 0.05 percentage point to 4.64 percent. Traders pared bets that the Federal Reserve will lower interest rates this month because of less concern the housing slump will weigh on the broader economy. The central bank reduced its benchmark lending rate by half a percentage point to 4.75 percent on September 18. Financial shares in the S&P 500 rose 4.5 percent. "We expect to return to a normal earnings environment in the fourth quarter," Citigroup Inc Chief Executive Officer Charles Prince said. His company is the largest US bank. Former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan also said the credit slump may be ending. Fannie Mae, the largest provider of money for US home loans, rose 11 percent to US$67.30. Morgan Stanley, the second-largest US broker by market value, climbed 9.4 percent to US$68.90. Goldman Sachs Group Inc, Morgan Stanley's bigger rival, added 5.4 percent to US$228.50. The S&P Supercomposite Homebuilding Index gained 12 percent, the most in almost seven years. Citi analyst Stephen Kim said at the start of last week that the shares of builders such

WALL Street finished a quiet session modestly higher yesterday as Wall Street awaited the government's September employment report, hoping it will strike a balance between steady growth and more room for interest rate cuts. Yesterday's economic data, which showed a gain in jobless claims and a drop in factory orders, gave investors little incentive to make any big moves ahead of the payrolls report. Wall Street appears optimistic that the Labor Department report today will indicate a rebound from August and include revisions to that month's dismal numbers. August's job creation report showed a decline in payrolls when economists had predicted a rise, and sent the Dow Jones industrial average down nearly 250 points the day it was released. Since then, the Federal Reserve has lowered a key interest rate and the Dow quickly bounced back to where it was in mid-July, before the credit markets tightened up and caused stocks to fall sharply. Today's report is important because this year's relatively stable job market has been an important prop for the US economy, helping to offset the housing slump and sluggish growth. "The jobs report can be a real distraction for the market, and with good reason. The number of people working, where they work, how much they get paid, tells us a whole lot about the economy," said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist at Trusco Capital Management. "In the meantime, the markets are pretty much treading water. A strong report tomorrow will revive notions that the Fed is one and done. If the report continues to be soft, that's going to suggest more easing coming our way." But while investors are angling for the Fed to lower rates again when it meets October 30-31 -- which would spur spending by making borrowing cheaper -- they don't want the job market to weaken. When people don't have incomes, they tend to trim spending and can become delinquent in their bill payments. "A relatively strong employment report will be good news for stocks in that it will help support profit growth," Gayle said. "Obviously Fed rate cuts are good, but more earnings is always the best." The Dow rose 6.26, or 0.04 percent, to 13,974.31, after shooting to a record high Monday and then giving back a large chunk of its gains Tuesday and Wednesday. Broader stock indicators were also little changed on the day, which was notable for its low volume and low volatility. The Standard & Poor's 500 ind

Stocks dipped a bit Friday, the last trading day of the third quarter, with Wall Street relieved about solid readings on the economy but cautious ahead of October's corporate earnings reports. The market's losses were small, thanks to positive reports on consumer spending, construction spending, inflation and Midwest manufacturing. Though strong economic data might lower the chance that the Federal Reserve will further reduce rates, the tame inflation measure kept hopes of a rate cut alive. Last week, the Fed, reacting to August's tightening credit and plunging stocks, helped restore confidence in the financial markets by decreasing the federal funds rate target by a half-point to 4.75 percent. The central bank's rate decrease, the first in four years, helped the major stock indexes finish in positive territory for the quarter. "A second Fed cut will go a long way in reassuring the stock market that the worst is over. The focus going forward will be whether the Fed is going to lower rates to shore this up, or decide the risk of inflation is too high," said Janna Sampson, director of portfolio management at Oakbrook Investments. Though energy and food prices are surging, core inflation has been within the Fed's comfort zone of 1 to 2 percent. The Commerce Department's consumer spending report showed that a key core inflation gauge logged a year-over-year rise in August of 1.8 percent -- the smallest increase since 2004.

STOCKS dipped a bit yesterday, the last trading day of the third quarter, with Wall Street relieved about solid readings on the economy but cautious ahead of October's corporate earnings reports. The market's losses were small, thanks to positive reports on consumer spending, construction spending, inflation and Midwest manufacturing. Though strong economic data might lower the chance that the Federal Reserve will further reduce rates, the tame inflation measure kept hopes of a rate cut alive. Last week the Fed, reacting to August's tightening credit and plunging stocks, helped restore confidence in the financial markets by decreasing the federal funds rate target by a half point to 4.75 percent. The central bank's rate decrease, the first in four years, helped the major stock indexes finish in positive territory for the quarter. "A second Fed cut will go a long way in reassuring the stock market that the worst is over. The focus going forward will be whether the Fed is going to lower rates to shore this up, or decide the risk of inflation is too high," said Janna Sampson, director of portfolio management at Oakbrook Investments. Though energy and food prices are surging, core inflation has been within the Fed's comfort zone of 1 percent to 2 percent. The Commerce Department's consumer spending report showed that a key core inflation gauge logged a year-over-year rise in August of 1.8 percent _ the smallest increase since a similar rise in February 2004. But continuing to weigh on investors is the concern that corporate profits dropped off in the third quarter. Yesterday is the last trading day of one of the most volatile periods in years, one that pulled stocks sharply lower after the Dow Jones industrial average closed at a record 14,000.41 in mid-July. Wall Street now is bracing for signs, ahead of the mid-October onslaught of earnings reports, of how companies fared during the summer's tumult. The Dow slipped 17.31, or 0.12 percent, to 13,895.63. The blue-chip index ended the third quarter 3.6 percent higher, and is up 11.5 percent for the year. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 4.63, or 0.30 percent, to 1,526.75, finishing the quarter up 1.6 percent. The S&P is up 7.7 percent for the year. The Nasdaq composite index fell 8.09, or 0.30 percent, to 2,701.50, and closed the quarter with a gain of 3.8 percent. The Nasdaq is up 11.9 percent for the year. But the Russell 2000 index of smaller companies has not recover