Stocks fall…Jobless claims rise…Mortgage rates edge lower

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling in early trading on Wall Street as investors react to some disappointing earnings reports. L-3 Communications Holdings plunged 14 percent, the most in the Standard & Poor’s 500 index, after the company said it’s investigating accounting irregularities at is Aerospace Systems unit. Yum Brands lost 6 percent after the owner of the KFC and Pizza Hut fast-food chains said a food safety scandal in China is hurting its sales.

WASHINGTON (AP) — More people sought U.S. unemployment benefits last week, but jobless claims remain at pre-recession levels. The Labor Department says weekly applications for unemployment aid rose 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 302,000. The prior week’s was revised down to 279,000 claims, the lowest since May 2000. The less volatile four-week average fell 3,500 to 297,250, the lowest since April 2006. The employment report for July comes out tomorrow.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Average U.S. mortgage rates have declined slightly this week. They’re near their lows for the year and below the levels of a year ago. Mortgage company Freddie Mac says the nationwide average for a 30-year loan slipped to 4.12 percent from 4.13 percent last week. The average for the 15-year mortgage, a popular choice for people who are refinancing, declined to 3.23 percent from 3.26 percent last week.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld the 2011 law that effectively ended collective bargaining for most public workers. The law prohibits public worker unions from collectively bargaining for anything beyond base wage increases based on inflation. The law’s passage sparked massive protests and led to Republican Gov. Scott Walker’s recall election, which he won. A federal appeals court has twice upheld the law as constitutional.

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Target is bringing in an outsider as its CEO for the first time as the retailer fights to redefine itself to American shoppers. The Minneapolis-based company has named PepsiCo executive Brian Cornell to the top spot, replacing John Mulligan, who had been acting as interim chief executive since May. Former CEO Gregg Steinhafel (STYN’-hahf-uhl) resigned following a large data breach in the run-up to the holiday shopping season.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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