The mood inside the Golden Gate Ballroom, Parlor C, at the Hilton Concord, where 100 or so Chrysler and GM dealers were getting a crash course in the ins and outs of bankruptcy? “That’s like asking, ‘How was the funeral?’ ” said Denny Fitzpatrick of…

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Car dealers come to grips with bleak future

While it’s too soon to know how the Chrysler bankruptcy will affect Bay Area dealerships, slumping auto sales have already cost California jobs and siphoned off sale tax revenues from municipalities. Chrysler said Thursday it would seek a speedy…

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Carmakers’ woes hitting state jobs, revenue

The steep drop in California home values will lower property tax revenue for years, undermining education and other critical public services, according to speakers at a roundtable discussion on Thursday. The chief culprit is Proposition 13, the 1978 voter…

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Property tax revenue likely to stay weak

Mortgage rate falls – The average rate on 30-year fixed mortgages tied a record low this week, 4.78 percent, down from 4.8 percent last week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. The average rate on a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage was 4.48 percent, unchanged for…

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In the News: Mortgage rate falls

The outbreak of swine flu in Mexico is resulting in an unexpected boon for the Port of San Francisco, as cruise ships that ordinarily sail to places like Puerto Vallarta are being diverted to San Francisco. Two of these ships – the huge Mariner of the Seas…

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Flu outbreak diverts Mexico’s cruises to S.F.

Riding a crest of populist anger, the House on Thursday approved a bill to restrict credit card practices and eliminate sudden increases in interest rates and late fees that have entangled millions of consumers. The legislation passed by a bipartisan vote of…

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House passes pro-consumer credit card bill

Americans spent less than expected in March, pulling back after a burst of buying in the first two months of the year. The reversal was tied to a larger-than-anticipated decline in income and is a stark reminder of a fragile economy trying to rise out of a…

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Consumer spending off as economy contracts 6.1%

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Telecom gear maker Ericsson posted a smaller-than-expected fall in first-quarter net profit on Thursday and said the effect of the global downturn on the mobile network market remained limited.

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Ericsson first-quarter overshoots

Asian stocks rallied Thursday as U.S. and Japanese economic data signaled the global recession was letting up, while Taiwan’s market surged after a historic agreement clearing the way for Chinese investment. The swing higher marked a return to the buying that’…

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Asia stocks rally as data suggest recession easing

Wireless equipment maker LM Ericsson has reported a 35 percent fall in first-quarter net profit due to weak results from its handset unit Sony Ericsson and higher restructuring costs. The Stockholm-based company says net profit in the quarter was 1.7 billion…

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Ericsson posts 35 percent drop in 1Q profit

Attorneys are headed to court to discuss Tribune Co.’s assertion that it owns the television and movie rights to comic book character Dick Tracy. Tribune Media Services, a Tribune subsidiary, has been battling for years with actor Warren Beatty over rights to…

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Hearing scheduled in Tribune bankruptcy

Japan’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate steady amid signs that the country’s economic picture may be brightening. The Bank of Japan’s eight-member policy board voted unanimously Thursday to leave the overnight call rate target unchanged at 0.1…

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Japan’s central bank keeps interest rate on hold

Oil rose above $51 a barrel Thursday in Asia as investors took heart from optimistic comments from the U.S. Federal Reserve that the worst recession in decades is likely easing. Benchmark crude for June delivery was up 52 cents to $51.49 a barrel by midday in…

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Oil jumps above $51 on optimism recession slowing

TAIPEI (Reuters) – TSMC , the world’s biggest contract chip maker, reported its weakest quarterly earnings in nearly eight years on Thursday as a slowing global economy hit demand for technology products.

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TSMC posts weak Q1 net, but recovery underway

Japan’s struggling manufacturers are showing signs of life as the government said Thursday that industrial production rose for the first time in six months in March. What’s more, the outlook is encouraging: factory output _ pivotal in this export-oriented…

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Japan’s factories showing signs of life