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Tech companies power US stocks to solid weekly gain

The S&P 500 rose to a new high for the year Friday as resurgent technology stocks closed out their best week in four months with solid gains. Financial, health care and consumer stocks also helped lift the market. The gains erased losses from last week, when the S&P 500 had its worst week of the year. The benchmark index finished at 2,822.48, up 12.6 percent for the year and down 4 percent from the record level set in September. Technology stocks had their best week since November. Apple ended the week with a 7.6 percent gain, its best week since August. Industrial stocks lagged the ...

Job openings rise, outnumber the unemployed by 1 million

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers posted nearly 7.6 million open jobs in January, near a record high set in November, evidence that businesses are still hungry for workers despite signs the economy has slowed. The Labor Department said Friday that hiring also rose and the number of people quitting their jobs picked up. Quits are a sign of a healthy economy, because people typically leave a job for another, usually higher-paying, one. The tally of available jobs now outnumbers the unemployed by roughly 1 million. Openings began to outpace the unemployed last spring, for the first ...

Business Briefs for March 11

Archbolds receive Master’s Circle recognition Edina Realty, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate and the Midwest’s largest residential real estate firm, recently announced that Molly and Bill Archbold, realtors from the Marshall office, are being recognized for outstanding sales performance, market knowledge and customer service as members of Edina Realty’s Master’s Circle. Membership in Edina Realty’s Master’s Circle places them in the top 12 percent of Edina Realty agents. “Agents who earn membership in Edina Realty’s President’s Circle perform at the highest ...

US adds just 20K jobs; unemployment dips to 3.8%

WASHINGTON (AP) — Hiring tumbled in February, with U.S. employers adding just 20,000 jobs, the smallest monthly gain in nearly a year and a half. The slowdown in hiring, though, might have been depressed by harsh winter weather and the partial shutdown of the government. Last month’s weak gain came after employers had added a blockbuster 311,000 jobs in January, the most in nearly a year. And over the past three months, job growth has averaged a solid 186,000, enough to lower the unemployment rate over time. Despite the tepid pace of hiring in February, the government’s monthly ...

First down week since January for S&P 500 as unease spreads

The Associated Press Another wave of selling on Wall Street Friday left the S&P 500 with its worst weekly showing since January and its eighth loss in the last nine days. The sell-off, which lost some strength toward the end of the day, followed a surprisingly weak jobs report and more signs that the global economy is hitting the brakes. On Friday a report showed Chinese exports plunged 20 percent last month, far more than economists expected. On Thursday, Europe's central bank said it was doing a policy reversal and restoring measures to shore up that region's economy. Energy ...

Investing became cheaper, easier during bull market run

NEW YORK (AP) — As the bull market for U.S. stocks celebrates its 10th birthday, joining the party has never been cheaper or easier. Investors can buy or sell stocks on their phone with the flick of a thumb, and for a much lower cost than was possible on March 9, 2009, when the S&P 500 finally hit bottom after the financial crisis. And a growing number of them are investing passively with funds that track a benchmark such as the S&P 500 or Nasdaq 100 indexes. Investors also have more choices after the industry introduced thousands of funds to cover everything from the broadest ...