Stock Market News & Notes for Friday, August 13, 2010 -- it may be Friday the 13th, but don't let that influence the market or your view of it today. It's just business as usual on the floors of the stock exchanges, and we've got your stock market news for you to review.Lower Start Expected in Early TradingStocks appear headed for their fourth straight day of losses as investors wait for the latest readings on consumers and how confident they feel about spending. The Commerce Department will release its report on July retail sales before the market opens. Economists are expecting that sales rose 0.5 percent after dropping in June. The report is due at 8:30 a.m. EDT (1230 GMT). Last week, retailers reported sales for the month that were modest overall.Stocks have been falling as investors' take on the economic recovery grows more and more pessimistic. Dow Jones industrial average futures are down 12, or 0.1 percent, at 10,259. Standard & Poor's 500 index futures are down 2.40, or 0.2 percent, at 1,076.80. Nasdaq 100 futures are down 6.25, or 0.3 percent, at 1,821.00Recap of Thursday's Stock Market News & ActivityU.S. markets slipped further Thursday after sharp losses Wednesday, triggered by a crescendo of disappointing economic data.The Dow Jones industrial average lost 2.65 percent Wednesday, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index tumbled 2.82 percent. The Commerce Department reported the U.S. trade gap had grown 18.8 percent in June to $49.9 billion, exceeding expectations considerably. A day earlier, the U.S. Federal Reserve said the economic recovery had slowed to a crawl.On Thursday, the Nikkei 225 index in Japan dropped into the status of a bear market, falling 2.4 percent before recovering to a 0.86 percent loss on the day.A bear market is defined as a fall of 20 percent from the previous peak.By close of trading on Wall Street, the DJIA lost 58.88 points, 0.57 percent, to 10,319.95. The S&P 500 lost 5.86 points, or 0.54 percent, to 1,083.61. The Nasdaq composite index shed 18.36, or 0.83 percent, to 2,190.27.On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,292 stocks advanced and 1,713 declined on a volume of 4.3 billion shares traded.The benchmark 10-year U.S. treasury note fell 12/32 to yield 2.747 percent.The euro fell to $1.2822 from Wednesday's $1.2883. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 85.91 yen from Wednesday's 85.40 yen.In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.86 percent, 80.26, to 9,212.59.In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.4 percent, 20.85 to 5,266.06.-0-Whitacre to make surprise exit from GMDETROIT, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- General Motors Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Edward Whitacre Jr. said he would depart GM by the end of the year, as he had accomplished his objectives.GM, which underwent bankruptcy proceedings last summer and emerged as a much smaller company 61 percent owned by the federal government, is now set to hire its fourth chief executive officer in less than two years, The New York Times reported Thursday.GM said board member Daniel Akerson would take over as CEO Sept. 1, and that he would take over Whitacre's chairmanship duties at the end of the year."I believe we've accomplished what we set out to do," Whitacre said Thursday.The executives covered distinct stages of GM's recent history. CEO Rick Wagoner was pressured to leave as the government began to realize the depth of GM's troubles. Company man Fritz Henderson took GM through its bankruptcy proceeding, after which Whitacre, a government-recommended chairman, asked Henderson to leave to accelerate changes.Whitacre then took over as CEO and chairman.GM's next big step is to return to life as a public company with an initial public offering that is expected this year. Whitacre has also said digging the company out from its government bailout is essential. "We don't want to be known as Government Motors," he has said.-0-Maternity leave shrinks with downturnNEW YORK, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- Paid maternity leave for working U.S. mothers remains a rare benefit that is apt to become more rare in a tight economy, a human resources survey found.In a 2010 Society for Human Resource Management survey, only 17 percent of employers indicated that paid leave was an option for mothers with newborns, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.In addition, 7 percent of those who offer the benefit indicated they were working on plans to stop offering paid maternity leave or trim back the benefit.Under federal law, 12 weeks of unpaid maternity leave -- although paid leave is an option -- must be granted to employees of firms with 50 or more workers. For workers at smaller firms, state laws cover the benefit.However, while businesses are looking to save money, employees, too, are feeling squeezed by the recession."People are so concerned with getting jobs and keeping jobs that it has pushed issues such as parental leave a little bit to the side,'' said New York University sociology professor Kathleen Gerson."But it also means that women are more in need of jobs than ever, and families are more dependent on women's earnings than ever.," she said.-0-Furor over resort fees hits Las VegasLAS VEGAS, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- A Las Vegas resort said its rivals grossed $12 million in June on new fees for hotel services, such as charges for making phone calls or using the pool.Harrah's Entertainment, like Southwest Airlines with the airline industry, is trying to make a name for itself as the "no fee" business among Las Vegas hotels, the Las Vegas Sun reported Thursday.Harrah's has taken its argument public with a Facebook page to serve as a rallying point for "the fight against Las Vegas resort fees," the newspaper said."I don't think people will get used to paying these fees," said Harrah's vice president of marketing, Michael Weaver."People are outraged," said Christopher Elliott, who advocates for consumers on a blog called Travel Troubleshooter.By advertising cheap rooms, then charging fees for previously free amenities, "Quite simply, it's lying," he said.
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