Tesla shares soar 40 percent in market debut Shares of Tesla Motors Inc. gained more than 40 percent in their public trading debut after the electric car manufacturer raised more money than expected in its initial stock offering. Investors snapped up Tesla's shares even as the broader markets took a beating. The stock soared $6.89, or 40.5 percent from its offering price, to close at $23.89 -- marking the second-biggest first-day gain among initial public offerings this year. Tesla's offering raised $226.1 million after selling 13.3 million shares priced at $17 apiece.
Verizon reportedly to start selling the iPhone Verizon Wireless, the largest U.S. mobile-phone company, will start selling Apple Inc.'s iPhone next year, ending AT&T Inc.'s exclusive hold on the smart phone in the United States, Bloomberg News reported. The device will be available to customers in January, Bloomberg said, citing two anonymous sources said to be familiar with the plans. Natalie Kerris, an Apple spokeswoman, and Jeffrey Nelson, a Verizon Wireless spokesman, declined to comment.
Hulu to launch paid subscription service Online video site Hulu, under pressure from its media company parents to generate a bigger profit, launched a subscription service with complete access to back episodes of popular television shows. For $9.99 a month, subscribers can get the entire current season of "Glee," "The Office," "House" and other shows from broadcasters ABC, Fox and NBC, as well as all the past seasons of several series. The ad-supported website will continue to have a few recent episodes for free online. However, paying subscribers will get the same number of ads as users of the free website.
Consumer confidence down sharply in June Stung by falling stocks and sick of waiting for jobs to come back, Americans are in a sour mood about the economy. And it's getting worse fast. Consumer confidence fell dramatically this month, adding to the evidence that the nation is in no mood to spend its way back to growth and raising fears of a double-dip recession. The Conference Board's consumer confidence index came in at 52.9 in June, a jarring decline from 62.7 in May. It was the biggest drop since February. Generally, a reading above 90 indicates the economy is on solid footing.
Colleges using e-books must aid blind students Federal officials are requiring colleges that use Kindles and other electronic book readers in the classroom to make sure the gadgets have accommodations for blind and vision-impaired students. The U.S. Departments of Justice and Education sent a letter to college and university presidents instructing them to find alternatives for blind students if the devices are required in the classroom. Not doing so would be a violation of federal law, said Russlynn Ali, assistant secretary for civil rights at the Education Department.
Erroneous trade halts sales of Citigroup stock The New York Stock Exchange halted trading of Citigroup Inc. shares under a new system of market curbs after an error sent the stock sliding nearly 13 percent. Citigroup shares dropped from $3.80 to $3.3174 at about 12:03 p.m. CDT. The decline was more than 10 percent within a five-minute period and triggered new "circuit breakers" that halted trading for five minutes. The erroneous trade was subsequently canceled, NYSE spokesman Ray Pellechia said.
Oil prices sink on concerns about demand Oil prices plummeted as ebbing consumer confidence in the economic recovery set off concerns about gasoline demand for the busy summer season. Benchmark crude oil fell $2.31, or 3 percent, to settle at $75.94 on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gasoline and other energy prices also retreated. Prices earlier fell in Asia on concerns of an economic slowdown in China. The selling picked up steam in New York after a closely watched measure of consumers' sentiment about the economy had its sharpest decline since February.
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