MySpace Expands Deeper into Cyberspace; News Corp. Posts $2.7 Billion Profit; Gasoline and Crude Hit New Records; Weekly Unemployment Applications Decline; Latin America Attracts $106 Billion in 2007; ECB and BOE on Pause; New Alcoa CEO; Barr Comes Up Short
Trying to one-up its social-networking rival Facebook Inc., MySpace.com will allow users the option to share their profiles - and the information, pictures, videos, etc. in them - outside the constraints of its Web site and onto sites owned by Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO), eBay Inc. (EBAY), Twitter and Photobucket, Reuters reported. "MySpace no longer operates as an isolated island on the Internet," MySpace Chief Operating Officer Amit Kapur told Reuters. "The walls are coming down." MySpace is owned by News Corp. (NWZ).
News Corp. (NWZ) posted a $2.7 billion profit in its fiscal third quarter, with $1.7 billion of that coming from a stock swap with Liberty Media Corp. Revenue rose 16% to $8.75 billion, just above the average Wall Street forecast of $8.6 billion, Reuters reported.
Gasoline and crude oil jumped to new records yesterday (Thursday), with gas rising 3 cents to an average national price of nearly $3.65 a gallon and oil crossing $124 a barrel for the first time, the Associated Press reported. Crude oil for June delivery soared to a record high of $123.93 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
The U.S. Department of Labor reported yesterday (Thursday) that applications for unemployment benefits fell to 365,000, a decline of 18,000 from the previous week. The Labor Department reported last week that employers cut jobs for a fourth straight month, but the job loss of 20,000 was much smaller than had been expected and was well below the 81,000 jobs lost in March.
The Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean said yesterday (Thursday) that Latin America attracted a record $106 billion in investments in 2007. Investments rose by 46% over 2006, the Associated Press reported. Brazil received $34 billion, almost one third of the total regional figure, followed by Mexico with $23 billion and Chile with $14 billion.
The Bank of England announced yesterday (Thursday) it would leave its key interest rate unchanged at 5%. On the same day, the European Central Bank elected to leave its 4% rate unchanged as well. Economists had expected both banks to pause.
Aluminum producer Alcoa Inc. (AA) announced Klaus Kleinfeld would replace Alain Belda as Chief Executive Officer, Bloomberg News reported. Belda, 64, will remain on as chairman. Kleinfeld was former chief executive at Siemens AG (SI) and has served as Alcoa Chief Operating Officer since August.