Texas added 44,100 jobs in January, but unemployment rate was flat

The Texas job market got off to a positive start for the year, as employers added 44,100 jobs in January, the most since May of last year, the Texas Workforce Commission said Thursday.

 The state unemployment rate remained at 8.3 percent, unchanged from the previous month. The national average was 9 percent in January, and it edged down to 8.9 percent last month.

January was the fourth straight month Texas added jobs.

The gains came in nearly all major employment categories.

“I was very encouraged by this report,” said Waco economist Ray Perryman. “The broad-based nature of the comeback was also a positive sign.”

Texas gained 15,800 jobs in trade, transportation and utilities, a category that includes the retail business. Other employment categories with expanding payrolls included education and health services, with 7,600 positions; government, with 5,500; and construction, with 3,700

Shoppers shake off high gasoline costs in February

(Reuters) - Retail sales posted their largest gain in four months in February as shoppers stepped up purchases of autos, clothes and other goods even as they spent more for gasoline.

Friday's report from the Commerce Department pointed to strong consumer spending and acceleration in economic growth in the first quarter.

Total retail sales rose 1.0 percent, the Commerce Department said on Friday, the largest gain since October and the eighth straight monthly advance. The rise was in line with economists' expectations.

January sales were revised up to a 0.7 percent increase from a previously reported 0.3 percent gain. Compared to February last, sales were up 8.9 percent.

"Consumer spending is still expanding at a healthy pace. Some of the strength we saw during the holidays continued into this year. That bodes well for the economy remaining on track for recovery," said Gary Thayer, chief macro strategist at Wells Fargo Advisors in St. Louis.

Excluding autos, sales rose 0.7 percent last month after gaining 0.6 percent in January.
U.S. stock index futures briefly turned positive on the

OIL FUTURES:Nymex Crude Tumbles As Massive Quake Hits Japan

NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Crude futures fell sharply Friday after a massive earthquake in Japan, the world's third-largest oil consumer, though traders kept watch for any news of spreading unrest in the Middle East and North Africa.
Light, sweet crude for April delivery recently traded $2.92, or 2.8%, lower at $99.78 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude on the ICE futures exchange traded $2.40 lower at $113.03 a barrel.

Japan Issues Emergency at Nuclear Plant

TOKYO—The Japanese government issued an official emergency at one of the country's nuclear plants Friday after a massive earthquake automatically shut down its reactors and caused problems with its cooling system, but said there are currently no reports of radiation leakage.

"There are no reports of leakage from any nuclear power plants at the moment and no signs of any leakage," Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano said Friday. As a result of the state of emergency, the government will set up a special emergency task force to deal with the situation.

 As a precaution, the government ordered nearly 2,000 people living within three kilometers, or nearly two miles, of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant to evacuate Friday night.

At Tokyo Electric Power's Fukushima Daiichi plant, three reactors shut down automatically as designed after a magnitude 8.9 earthquake struck off the northeast of Japan on Friday afternoon. The quake also caused diesel-powered generators used to cool the reactors to stop operating, leaving the utility company with a shortage of coolant to bring the reactors to a safe temperature.

Huge Waves Head Toward Hawaii and California

SAN FRANCISCO — A tsunami emanating from the massive earthquake that hit Japan was roaring toward the United States on Friday morning, with huge waves expected to hit Hawaii and California.
Coastal evacuations were ordered in Hawaii, and tsunami warnings were issued along the West Coast, from central California to Alaska. A tsunami warning directs residents of low-lying regions to move inland and to higher ground.
Officials in Southern California closed beaches as a precaution, prohibiting swimming, surfing and fishing off the coast. Experts said that they did not expect flooding and did not call for mandatory evacuations. But they warned that there could be large waves and unusual changes in the currents for several hours. Several schools in the beach areas also planned to

House Republicans to push series of energy bills

(Reuters) - Republicans in the House of Representatives said on Thursday they would seek to combat oil and gasoline prices with a series of bills this year aimed at spurring domestic energy production.

For years, Republicans have urged an "all-of-the-above" approach to easing U.S. dependence on foreign oil by fostering more development of domestic oil, natural gas and nuclear power. They also have said that alternative energy sources should be part of the mix.

"The average price for a gallon of gas is on its way to $4," House Speaker

Global Markets: Asia stocks drop after big quake hits Japan

(Reuters) - Asian shares dropped after a massive earthquake hit Japan, including the capital Tokyo, darkening an already bleak mood caused by weak economic data and unrest in Saudi Arabia.

The quake struck just before the close of Tokyo stock trading. Japan's Nikkei average .N225 closed at an intraday and five-week low, down 1.7 percent on the day.

The Hong Kong's Hang Seng share index .HSI was down 1.8 percent, and Nikkei futures in Singapore tumbled more than 3 percent. At 6:50 a.m. GMT, Nikkei June futures were down 2.8 percent at 10,075.

The magnitude 8.9 quake shook buildings in Tokyo, causing "many injuries" and

Sony promotes Hirai as possible successor to CEO

(Reuters) - Sony Corp is promoting Kazuo Hirai as the head of its consumer products unit, the company's biggest division, and CEO Howard Stringer said Hirai was in the lead to be his successor.

Welsh-born Stringer, 69, who serves as the company's chairman, chief executive and president, will retain his current positions, Sony said in announcing a realignment of the business.

"It's a sign that Sony has exited the crisis mode that it's been in since the Lehman shock. It can now move on from talk of restructuring to growth," said Mitsushige Akino, chief fund manager at Ichiyoshi Investment Management Co Ltd.

Sony has been mulling a potential successor for Stringer, the first non-Japanese to run the consumer electronics company, who is expected to step down in 2013. In January he denied he was a candidate for the chairmanship of the

Saudi braces for protests amid sweeping Arab unrest

RIYADH — Oil kingpin Saudi Arabia braced Friday for protests calling for political and economic reforms a day after police shot and wounded three protesters in the eastern province.
Online activists using the Facebook and Twitter have called for a "Day of Rage" and a "Saudi March 11 revolution" demanding fully elected parliament and ruler in this Islamic conservative monarchy where the Shura (consultative) Council is fully appointed.
Security was strongly beefed up in the capital Riyadh in the early hours of Friday.
Dozens of police cars filled the strategic Olaya commercial centre in the Riyadh, which was hit by a blinding dust storm overnight, where the protesters are supposed

Stubborn China inflation sticks at 4.9%

Inflationary pressures in China persisted in February, with consumer prices rising 4.9 per cent from a year earlier and producer prices rising 7.2 per cent, the fastest increase since October 2008.
Politically sensitive food prices, which have a disproportionate impact on low-income households, accelerated to 11 per cent in February from a year earlier, up from 10.3 per cent in January.
Inflationary pressures in China persisted in February, with consumer prices rising 4.9 per cent from a year earlier and producer prices rising 7.2 per cent, the fastest increase since October 2008.
Politically sensitive food prices, which have a disproportionate impact on low-income households, accelerated to 11 per cent in February from a year earlier, up from 10.3

Sheen Sues Warner Bros.

Actor Claims Studio, Co-Creator Conspired Against Him, Made Him Scapegoat
In the first move of what could be a long legal battle, Charlie Sheen has sued Warner Bros. and "Two and a Half Men" co-creator Chuck Lorre for $100 million plus punitive damages over his termination on the hit television show.
Mr. Sheen, who was fired from TV's most popular sitcom on Monday after a series of public outbursts and a history of drug abuse and arrests, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles Superior Court demanding that he, the cast and the crew be paid for the show's canceled episodes, among other damages.
The suit alleges that Mr. Lorre fired him because he wanted to work on other shows and because he disliked Mr. Sheen. "Since Lorre has a better deal and stands to

Mortgage Rates Mostly Unchanged; 30-Year Fixed at 4.88% -Freddie

Mortgage rates were mostly unchanged the latest week, with the average rate on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages edging slightly upward, according to Freddie Mac's (FMCC) weekly survey of mortgage rates.
Rates had risen earlier this year, hitting their highest level since April last month. They had slumped most of last year as Treasurys had declined amid economic uncertainty. The rates generally track the yields, which move inversely to Treasury prices.
"Interest rates for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages have averaged at or below 5% in every week but one this year, contributing to record home affordability," said Freddie

American Airlines again bumps up airfares

American Airlines has bumped up domestic fares by $10 per round trip, which could trigger the seventh fare increase this year by U.S. airlines.
American made the price change Wednesday. It also raised round-trip fares to Canada and Hawaii by $20.
It's uncertain whether other major airlines will follow American's lead going into the weekend. Carriers have been boosting fares in lockstep this year to try to keep pace with the rising cost of jet fuel. Occasionally, a price increase has been abandoned when other carriers haven't matched.
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Most recent fare increases have stuck, however, and the rapidly rising cost of airline tickets mirrors 2008, the last time oil prices soared above $100 a barrel, says Rick Seaney of FareCompare.com, who closely monitors ticket prices.
"Airlines who finally started making a profit late last year

Nervous Asian markets fall further

HONG KONG — Asian stock markets slipped further on Friday after sharp falls on Wall Street and higher-than-expected Chinese inflation data, even as oil prices eased back.
In the afternoon, a major Japanese earthquake caused the yen to fall sharply against the US dollar.
Tokyo's Nikkei ended the session down 1.72 percent, or 179.95 points, at 10,254.43, while Sydney fell 1.17 percent, or 54.90 points, to 4,644.80.
Hong Kong was down 0.60 percent in the afternoon, while the Shanghai Composite Index was off by 0.15 percent.
The falls came after steep losses on Thursday, when Shanghai lost 1.50 percent, and on Wall Street, where the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 indexes all ended down more than 1.8 percent.

Couple Bilked BofA-Led Lender Group of $130 Million, U.S. Says

March 11 (Bloomberg) -- A California couple was charged by the U.S. with defrauding an eight-bank lending group led by Bank of America Corp. of about $130 million by exaggerating the financial status of their decorating business.

Thomas Chia Fu, 61, and his wife, Cheri L. Shyu, 48, were arrested at their Newport Coast home by federal authorities, according to an e-mailed statement yesterday by U.S. Attorney Andre Birotte Jr. in Los Angeles. They were indicted on nine counts of bank fraud and face as long as 30 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said in the statement.

The couple imported home-decorating items from China and obtained a $130 million revolving line of credit from the banks, according to the indictment. They borrowed against the

Tom Walsh: New CFO must steer GM away from bad habits

Let's take Chris Liddell at his word about why he's leaving General Motors after just 15 months on the job as chief financial officer.
But then let's watch closely how the new CFO, 38-year-old Dan Ammann, deals with mounting concern that GM has relaxed its financial discipline recently by reverting to the old habit of splurging on rebates and cut-rate leases to peddle its cars and trucks.
Liddell rattled off a list of major accomplishments Thursday during his short stint in Detroit:
• Four straight profitable quarters in a weak 2010 auto market.
• Slashing GM's debt from $15.8 billion to $4.6 billion.
• Launching a successful public offering of GM stock last November.
• Removing the stain of so-called material weakness in GM's

Wal-Mart to Break Ground on Small Stores Next Week in Arkansas

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) will next week start building its first Express stores, a format less than a tenth the size of an average supercenter, according to building permits obtained by Bloomberg News.
The world’s largest retailer will begin construction March 16 on a 14,400-square-foot store in Gentry, Arkansas, a town of 3,158 about 20 miles (32 kilometers) southwest of the company’s Bentonville headquarters, according to the permits.
While Wal-Mart has kept details of the new stores a closely guarded secret, Steve Restivo, a company spokesman, confirmed the location of the store openings and

Stocks fall sharply as economy looks less sure-footed

NEW YORK — Stocks tumbled, giving the Dow Jones industrial average its biggest drop since August, as increases in jobless claims and the trade deficit and a slowdown in China’s export growth spurred concern the economy may falter.
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Caterpillar Inc. and United Technologies Corp. slumped at least 2.4 percent, pacing declines among industrial companies.
Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. dropped at least 3 percent as crude oil declined a third day amid investor concern that demand for fuel will