NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are rising in early trading on Wall Street on second-quarter earnings reports and deal news. Time Warner soared 17 percent after Rupert Murdoch’s Twenty-First Century Fox disclosed it made a bid for the media giant last month that was rejected. Apple and IBM rose after the former rivals announced that they will work on mobile applications together in a bid to sell more iPhones and iPads to corporate customers.
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. factory output has increased for a fifth straight month as manufacturers cranked out more aircraft, chemicals and furniture. The Federal Reserve says factory production rose one-tenth of a percent in June, down from a gain of four-tenths of a percent in the previous month. For the full April-June quarter, factory output rose 6.7 percent, the most in more than two years. Overall industrial production, which includes manufacturing, mining and utilities, edged up 0.2 percent in June.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The rising cost of gasoline pushed up the prices U.S. companies receive for their goods and services in June, but overall inflation remains tame. The Labor Department says the producer price index, which measures the cost of goods and services before they reach the consumer, rose 0.4 percent last month. Gas costs rose 6.4 percent in June and steel prices shot up 3 percent, but prices fell for grains, cheese and rental cars.
UNDATED (AP) — U.S. homebuilders are feeling more confident in their sales prospects for the second half of the year, reflecting improved demand and stronger sales of new homes in recent months. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo builder sentiment index rose this month to 53, up four points from a revised reading of 49 in June. The latest reading is the highest since January, when it was 56. Readings above 50 indicate more builders view sales conditions as good.
DETROIT (AP) — BMW is expanding a recall of its most popular models to fix an air bag problem that is hitting much of the global auto industry. The German automaker says it will recall 1.6 million 3-Series cars from model years 2000 to 2006 across the world, including 574,000 in the U.S. Air bag inflators in systems made by Takata Corp. can rupture. The problem is responsible for millions of recalled vehicles during the past few years.
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