Oil rises after Cyprus financial bailout agreed

Published March 25, 2013

Associated Press

BANGKOK –  The price of oil rose above $94 per barrel Monday after European nations agreed on a bailout for Cyprus that tamps down the latest flare-up in Europe's debt crisis.

Benchmark crude for May delivery was up 44 cents to $94.15 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.26, or 1.4 percent, to close at $93.71 a barrel on Friday.

Cyprus secured 10 billion euro ($13 billion) of rescue loans early Monday, just hours before a deadline set by the European Central Bank. The bank had threatened to halt emergency assistance to the country's banks if no agreement was reached by Tuesday.

The deal requires the Mediterranean island nation to shut down its second-largest bank. All bond holders and people with more than 100,000 euros in their bank accounts will face significant losses. The action is being taken to raise 5.8 billion euros that Cyprus must provide to supplement the rescue loan.

The development comes on top of optimistic expectations for the U.S. economy. Mitul Kotecha of Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said U.S. durable goods orders are expected "to record an impressive gain in February" when the data is released Tuesday. He also said in a market commentary that he expects to see fourth-quarter GDP revised sharply higher.

Brent crude, used to price many kinds of oil imported by U.S. refineries, rose 51 cents to $108.17 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.

In other energy futures trading on the Nymex:

— Wholesale gasoline fell 0.2 cent to $3.049 a gallon.

— Heating oil rose 0.7 cent to $2.98 a gallon.

— Natural gas rose 1.5 cents to $3.97 per 1,000 cubic feet.

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Death toll rises to 20 in Myanmar religious riots

Published March 22, 2013

Associated Press

MEIKHTILA, Myanmar –  A lawmaker says at least 20 people have died in two days of rioting between Buddhists and Muslims in a central Myanmar town where residents remained locked in their homes, too afraid to walk the streets.

Opposition National League for Democracy lawmaker Win Htein told The Associated Press by telephone Friday that at least five mosques were burned down since the violence started Wednesday in the town of Meikhtila.

He said there was no immediate sign of fresh violence but the situation remained tense.

He said fires continued to burn but angry Buddhist residents and monks prevented authorities from putting out fires set to Muslim homes.

The violence was the latest sectarian unrest after clashes in western Rakhine state last year left more than 200 dead.

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Death toll in Mexico fireworks blast rises to 16

Published March 17, 2013

Associated Press

MEXICO CITY –  The death toll in a gruesome fireworks explosion during a religious procession has risen to 16, after three people more died at hospitals of their injuries.

A spokeswoman for the central Mexican state of Tlaxcala says a mass funeral is being held Sunday for 13 victims.

Spokeswoman Teresa Ramirez says about 80 people have been hospitalized. A total of about 154 were injured when a rocket malfunctioned and landed on the truck, igniting the fireworks it carried.

Residents told local media about finding bits of human remains blown into their yards, trees and patios by the blast.

The victims were marching in an annual procession Friday in honor of Jesus Christ, the patron of Jesus Tepactepec, a village of about 1,000 people 70 miles (112 kilometers) east of Mexico City.

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Nordstrom 4th-quarter net income rises

SEATTLE –  Nordstrom posted a 20 percent increase in fourth-quarter net income as high-end shoppers kept spending on clothing and makeup, and customers responded positively to its service improvements.

But annual guidance disappointed investors as the upscale department store continues to invest heavily in e-commerce operations and expand its lower-priced Nordstrom Rack stores. Nordstrom's shares fell more than 2 percent in after-hours trading.

Luxury spending has rebounded since 2009, but Nordstrom is grappling with new demands from shoppers armed with smartphones and tablets. That's pushing the department store, considered the gold standard in customer service, to redefine the term for a new era. It now offers free shipping for online shoppers and has rolled out mobile devices that allow shoppers at its regular stores and Rack outlets to check out anywhere in the store.

With that rollout Nordstrom said it's removing some of the traditional cash registers at its Rack stores in the current quarter, and it looks to phase out registers in favor of mobile checkout by next year.

The latest developments come as online sales soared 31 percent in the fourth quarter and surpassed $1 billion for the first time. Within online, mobile commerce is getting hotter. In the past year, sales coming from mobile devices accounted for more than 20 percent of the company's total online sales. That was dramatically up from less than 4 percent in 2010.

"We aspire to be the retailer of choice wherever and whenever customers choose to shop with us," Blake Nordstrom, the retailer's president, told investors during a conference call after the earnings report was released. "And we understand that our customers' definition of services (is) changing."

The Seattle-based retailer's net income for the three months ended Feb. 2 rose to $284 million, or $1.40 per share, from $236 million or $1.11 per share a year ago. That beat analysts' expectations of $1.35 per share.

Revenue rose 13 percent to $3.7 billion, which matched analysts' expectations.

Overall revenue in stores open at least a year rose by 6.3 percent. The measure is a key gauge of a retailer's financial health because it excludes stores that opened or closed during the year.

That metric rose 2.2 percent at its department stores.

Nordstrom Rack, which opened 15 stores in fiscal 2012, continued to show strong sales growth in the fourth quarter. Revenue at stores opened at least a year rose 7.1 percent for the Rack, which is its largest fourth-quarter increase in the past six years.

For the full year net income rose 8 percent to $735 million, or $3.56 per share, from $683 million, or $3.14 per share.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $12.1 billion from $11.76 billion a year ago.

For the upcoming fiscal year, Nordstrom expects net income of $3.65 to $3.80 per share on revenue up 4.5 percent to 6.5 percent. Analysts expect net income of $3.97 per share.

Shares fell $1.27, or 2.3 percent, to $53.25 in aftermarket trading. The stock ended the regular session down 63 cents at $54.42.

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