LABOR
Companies reduced job postings in April
Businesses advertised fewer jobs in April than the previous month, a sign that hiring could slow further in the coming months.
Employers posted 3 million job openings, down from 3.1 million from March, the Labor Department said Tuesday. Job openings have been stuck at about 3 million for three months.
Job growth slowed sharply in May, according to the monthly employment report released Friday. Employers added a net total of only 54,000 positions, down from an average of 220,000 per month in each of the previous three months. The unemployment rate rose to 9.1 percent from 9 percent. That report raised concerns among many analysts that without more jobs, the economy will remain anemic for much of this year.
Openings fell across most sectors in the economy. There were fewer positions advertised in education and health care, at hotels and restaurants, and with professional and business services — accountants, engineers and legal services. Job openings rose in retail and construction.
Tuesday’s report, known as the Job Openings and Labor Turnover survey, suggests that the pace of hiring won’t pick up any time soon.
CHINA
Prada plans IPO on stock exchange
HONG KONG — Italian fashion house Prada SpA plans to raise up to $2.6 billion in a listing on Hong Kong’s stock exchange, according to a person familiar with the deal.
It is joining other foreign companies flocking to cash in on China’s rising fortunes.
Prada plans to sell some 423.3 million shares in range of 36.50 to 48 Hong Kong dollars, according to the source, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they weren’t authorized to comment officially.
If the shares are sold at the top of the indicative price range, Prada would raise $2.6 billion. The price will be finalized June 17 and the shares will start trading June 24, the source said.
The company was founded in 1913 in Milan by Mario Prada and started out making leather bags, trunks and crystal but its modern designs have helped it become a symbol of high fashion. It now also owns the Miu Miu, Church’s and Car Shoes brands.
CREDIT
Consumers borrowed more for 7th straight month
Americans borrowed more money in April for the seventh straight month, but they cut back on using their credit cards.
The Federal Reserve says consumer borrowing rose by nearly $7.2 billion, fueled by greater demand for school and auto loans. A category that measures credit card use fell for the second time in three months. It has risen only twice since August 2008, the height of the financial crisis.
High unemployment, steep gas prices and a weak housing market have forced people to resist paying with plastic.
The report includes auto loans, student loans and credit cards, but excludes mortgages and loans tied to real estate. The Fed will give a more complete picture of Americans’ debt on Thursday when it issues its quarterly report on household net worth.
HEALTH
Pfizer starts first U.S. ’virtual’ clinical study
NEW YORK — Drugmaker Pfizer Inc. is running the first U.S. clinical study in which patients participate from home via the Internet, rather than repeatedly visiting a participating hospital.
The study is a pilot project, approved by the Food and Drug Administration, to see if such “virtual” clinical studies can produce the same results as traditional ones that require patients to live near and regularly visit a hospital or clinic for checkups.
Pfizer’s study will test the effectiveness of its pill for overactive bladder. The drug, Detrol, goes off patent next year.
About 600 patients in 10 states will fill out questionnaires to enroll over the Internet, have Detrol or dummy pills mailed to them, then submit information online about changes in their symptoms.
AUTO
Ford sets goal to expand sales in Asia
DETROIT — Ford Motor Co. said Tuesday that it wants to expand its global sales by 50 percent by the middle of this decade, mostly through growth in Asia.
The company aims to sell 8 million vehicles in the next five or six years, up from 5.3 million last year. It wants more than one-third of its sales to come from Asia Pacific and Africa by 2020. That’s double the 838,000 cars and trucks sold there today.
Ford’s Asia Pacific region includes China, India, Australia, South Africa and Japan, where it controlled 2.4 percent of sales last year.
Analysts are concerned that Ford is lagging behind rivals like GM and Volkswagen in Asia. Ford’s sales more than doubled in India last year thanks to the introduction of the Figo, an $8,000 subcompact. But Ford still controls less than 3 percent of the market in India. The company said it will expand its offerings in India from three cars to eight by the middle of this decade.
From wire dispatches and staff reports
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