Kindle Fire sold out ahead of expected intro Amazon.com Inc. says it has sold out of its Kindle Fire tablet computer amid expectations of a new model for the holiday season. The Internet retailer has a news conference scheduled for next Thursday in Santa Monica, Calif. It's widely expected to reveal a new model of the Fire there, so Thursday's announcement that the first model is "sold out" suggests that Amazon halted production a while ago to retool for a new model. Amazon launched the $199 tablet last November.
Initial jobless claims up slightly last week More Americans than forecast filed applications for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that progress in the labor market is faltering amid a slowing economy. Jobless claims were little changed at 374,000 in the week ended Saturday, matching the upwardly revised figure from the prior week, the Labor Department reported. The median forecast of 50 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News called for 370,000. The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure, climbed to a six-week high.
Consumer spending ticked up last month Americans stepped up spending in July for the first time in three months as an increase in incomes helped make up for a jobless rate stuck above 8 percent. Purchases increased 0.4 percent after being little changed in June, Commerce Department figures showed. Stronger household spending is fueling sales at retailers such as Gap Inc. and may set the stage for a pickup in economic growth. At the same time, more expensive gasoline may prompt shoppers to watch their wallets, while a slowing global economy makes employers cautious about hiring.
Barclays stays in-house with its new CEO Signaling a return to its British banking roots, Barclays has appointed Antony Jenkins, an insider, to be chief executive, as the institution aims to restore its reputation after a rate-manipulation scandal. Jenkins, an Oxford-educated Briton who led the retail and business banking unit, steps into the top spot during a period of continued upheaval for the bank. The bank is trying to distance itself from the rate-manipulation scandal that occurred under the watch of Chief Executive Robert E. Diamond Jr., who resigned in early July.
J&J to pay $181M to settle Risperdal claims Johnson & Johnson will pay $181 million to resolve claims by 36 states, including Minnesota, that it improperly marketed and advertised the antipsychotic drugs Risperdal and Invega. J&J and its Janssen unit settled claims that it promoted the drugs from 1998 through 2004 for uses not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said the accord is the largest multistate consumer protection-based pharmaceutical settlement. J&J didn't admit wrongdoing but agreed it won't promote the drugs for off-label uses or make false claims about them.
Macy's doesn't get injunction against Penney A bid by Macy's Inc. to stop J.C. Penney Co. from selling products designed by Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia Inc. will be denied, a New York judge said after a hearing. Justice Jeffrey Oing said he will rule against Macy's request for a preliminary injunction blocking J.C. Penney from taking any steps under an agreement reached with Martha Stewart Living last year. Macy's, the second-biggest U.S. department-store chain, sued Martha Stewart Living in January to stop it from executing a sales agreement with J.C. Penney.
Wildfire could affect Fat Tire water supply The maker of Fat Tire beer plans to monitor the water it gets from the city of Fort Collins, Colo., to check for residue from a deadly wildfire that put ash in northern Colorado's Poudre River. The Fort Collins Coloradoan reported that New Belgium Brewery's chemists have identified six compounds in the river water that could affect the flavor of its beer. Runoff from the burned-out slopes has turned the river black. The city utility says it hasn't drawn any water from the river since runoff began, but it hopes to begin again next month.
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