Reuters Business Summary

Home sales at 10-year low, jobless claims jump

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Jobless claims jumped last week and the pace of existing home sales tumbled to a 10-year low as slowing growth hit hiring and a glut of unsold homes weighed on the real estate market, data on Thursday showed. The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless benefits jumped 34,000 last week, the Labor Department said, in part reflecting seasonal volatility typical at this time of year, but also indicating that jobs were hard to find.

Ford posts $8.7 billion loss on truck slump

DETROIT (Reuters) - Ford Motor Co (F.N: 行情) posted a $8.7 billion quarterly loss on Thursday as it wrote down the value of truck and SUV operations and cautioned that it did not expect to see a U.S. economic turnaround until 2010. The loss was deeper than analysts had forecast and sent Ford shares down by 7 percent in premarket trading.

Dow Chemical second-quarter profit hurt by costs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Dow Chemical Co (DOW.N: 行情) posted second-quarter earnings that fell short of market expectations as its price increases did not completely offset a sharp spike in energy and raw material costs. The largest U.S. chemical maker reported quarterly net income of $762 million, or 81 cents a share, down from a year-ago profit of $1.04 billion, or $1.07 a share, and below Wall Street's expectations of 85 cents a share.

Nokia patent deal with Qualcomm boosts both stocks

HELSINKI (Reuters) - Nokia (NOK1V.HE: 行情), the world's top cellphone maker, has ended three years of legal battles with wireless chip developer Qualcomm (QCOM.O: 行情) and signed a patent agreement that boosted both companies' shares. Under the 15-year agreement, Finland's Nokia will make an upfront payment to U.S. firm Qualcomm and pay subsequent royalties, but it said payments per phone would fall.

Wall Street extends drops after housing data

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stock extended losses on Thursday following a report that showed a steeper-than-expected drop in existing-home sales in June, heightening concern about the impact of the housing slump on economic growth. The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI slid 120.75 points, or 1.04 percent, to 11,511.63. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX dropped 8.66 points, or 0.68 percent, to 1,273.53. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC fell 17.89 points, or 0.77 percent, to 2,307.99.

Agreement reached for FCC to clear XM-Sirius deal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Regulators reached an agreement to conditionally approve Sirius Satellite Radio Inc's (SIRI.O: 行情) purchase of XM Satellite Radio Holdings Inc XMSR.O as the companies said they would pay millions of dollars to settle allegations of past rule violations. The three Republicans on the five-member Federal Communications Commission have agreed in principle to vote in favor letting the deal proceed as long as the companies agree to conditions to protect consumers and settle the FCC enforcement matters, a source familiar with the agency review said on Thursday.

SEC, Fed push for tougher bank regulation