Stocks tumbled on Thursday, with the Dow and S&P down nearly 3 percent, after a French bank froze three funds that invested in U.S. subprime mortgages, prompting central banks to take steps to calm investors. Evidence the U.S. mortgage market crisis was having a global impact and spreading to other markets hammered financial stocks.
Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T: Quote, Profile, Research) will continue to grow in the U.S. market, but at a slower rate than it has in the past, and is considering targeting young consumers with a premium small car, the automaker's North American sales chief said on Thursday.I don't think the double-digit growth of the past few years will continue because we are such a large part of the U.S. market now, Jim Lentz told Reuters in an interview.On Wednesday, Lentz said Toyota is on track to post a U.S. sales increase of 5 to 6 percent in 2007. The automaker is now neck and neck with General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) in global sales, and is expected to become the world's largest automaker this year.For next year, we will definitely grow, but we have to reevaluate the market in the fourth quarter to see how much we could grow, he said. Toyota sold 2.5 million vehicles in the U.S. market in 2006 and had more than 17 percent of the market in July.Through July, Toyota has surpassed Ford Motor Co. (F.N: Quote, Profile, Research) -- excluding Ford's luxury brands, which it is looking to sell -- to become the second-largest automaker behind GM in the United States.As the Japanese automaker has grown in the United States, it has entered every segment with a full line of cars, trucks and sport utility vehicles, including a luxury line with its Lexus brand and an experimental youth-oriented line with its Scion brand.When asked about what Toyota might offer next for U.S. consumers, Lentz said the automaker is looking at the premium small car segment -- a category most automakers in the United States have stayed away from so far.Lentz said Toyota has been studying a process called urbanization in which large numbers of people in their 20s and early 30s are moving into cities.These people have money and they need cars, Lentz said. They don't have long commutes, and they don't have too much space to park. That's where we see the need for a premium small car.BMW (BMWG.DE: Quote, Profile, Research), the world's largest premium carmaker, is the only automaker to succeed with a small luxury car in the U.S. market -- with its Mini Cooper. The Mini shows that a small car does not have to be a cheap car, Lentz said.The Mini subcompact has four models in the U.S. market, ranging in base price from $18,700 to $26,000.In contrast, Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) charges a base price of $13,850 for its Fit subcompact car, while Toyota charged $12780 for its Scion xA, which it stopped making last year. It charges $14,550 for its new Scion xD. GM's base price for its Aveo subcompact starts at $10,560.I think it's time for more luxury-type small cars, Lentz said. He declined to provide any details on Toyota's plans, saying: We are looking at that, and that's all I can say.RAPID GROWTH, SLOW ON DEALERSLentz said Toyota plans to maintain only two channels at dealers even as it grows rapidly in the United States. The automaker has been admired for its dealership efficiency at a time when rivals GM and Chrysler LLC, just purchased by private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management (CBS.UL: Quote, Profile, Research), have been criticized for having too many brands and dealerships.With only two brands -- Toyota and Lexus -- in the U.S. market, the automaker launched its youth-oriented Scion brand in late 2003, pulling it into the Toyota channel and keeping only the Lexus brand under a separate dealership.We are not considering a new brand, but if we were to have one, we would not increase our channels, Lentz said.
Stocks fell sharply on Thursday as another shoe dropped in the U.S. subprime mortgage sector meltdown, causing investors to flee riskier assets for the relative safety of government bonds. Stocks added to their declines after the Wall Street Journal reported a second Goldman Sachs Group Inc. hedge fund was suffering losses and was selling its positions.
Stocks rose for a third session on Wednesday, a day after the Federal Reserve reassured investors about the economy and technology bellwether Cisco Systems Inc. raised its revenue outlook.
India's opposition Hindu nationalists rejected a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement between New Delhi and Washington on Saturday, saying it was an assault on the country's nuclear sovereignty.
More signs of weakness in the mortgage market, another surge in oil prices and a Federal Reserve rate decision could create more turbulence for Wall Street this week.
Stocks slid sharply on Friday after Bear Stearns said credit markets were in their worst shape in two decades, while jobs data aroused further concerns about weakness in the economy.
Just over two-thirds of Americans believe the country is either already in recession or headed for one over the coming year, according to a new poll conducted jointly by The Wall Street Journal and NBC.
Stocks rallied late in the session on Thursday for the second day as enthusiasm about strong profits offset lingering credit concerns, although a modest flight-to-quality bid gave bond prices a slight lift.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index slid in a highly erratic session on Wednesday, as concerns about worsening credit conditions persisted and a sharp downturn in the price of oil sent energy companies' shares lower.
Stocks were little changed on Monday after gyrating between negative and positive territory in the first half hour as worsening sentiment about the global credit environment countered optimism about economic growth. Tightening lending standards threaten to slow or halt the heavy pace of corporate buy-outs that have fueled a rally in equities.
U.S. stocks plunged for a second day on Friday, in the worst week for the S&P 500 in nearly five years, as tightening credit conditions led to concerns that takeovers would slow. Losses accelerated in the final minutes of trading, taking the Dow industrials down more than 200 points, a day after an equities sell-off that wiped out more than $300 billion in the value off the S&P 500.
Stocks plummeted on Thursday, with the Dow industrials tumbling more than 300 points, on signs of further weakness in the housing market and deteriorating conditions for corporate buyouts. The S&P shed about $300 billion in market value in the worst single session since the February 27 global market sell-off.
Stocks tumbled on Tuesday, with the three major indexes posting their worst single day performance since March 13, as disappointing results from DuPont Co. and Countrywide Financial Corp. heightened concerns about the housing market.
The United States and India said on Friday they made substantial progress in negotiations on a landmark nuclear cooperation agreement, and one U.S. official told Reuters the long-delayed deal was effectively done.
U.S. stocks rose Monday on strong Merck & Co. profits and news of a nearly $18 billion oil services takeover, while Treasury bonds eased as reduced fears about the subprime credit market made riskier assets attractive again.
Home sales and a report on economic growth may help investors decide if they want to keep riding a bull market in stocks, while a torrent of quarterly earnings reports will no doubt cause some anxious moments. A sharp drop in shares of equipment-maker Caterpillar Inc. on Friday showed just how badly a stock can be hurt when there is an earnings shortfall.
U.S. stocks tumbled on Friday, battered by disappointing results from such bellwethers as Caterpillar and Google, and more signals that fallout from the risky subprime mortgage market may spread.
China said on Friday that it strongly opposed decisions by the United States to initiate anti-dumping and countervailing duty investigations on imports of some woven sacks and steel pipes from China.
The United States and India remain divided over a controversial nuclear cooperation agreement despite three days of talks to finally close the deal, a U.S. official said on Thursday.
Stocks rose sharply on Thursday as multinational companies such as IBM and Juniper Networks Inc. reported earnings that beat forecasts, shifting investors' focus back to corporate profits and away from subprime credit worries.
The number of new claims filed for U.S. jobless benefits fell unexpectedly in the latest week, dropping 8,000 to the lowest level in two months, the government said on Thursday.
The Dow closed at a record on Tuesday, though retreating from the 14,000 mark it earlier crossed for the first time, while the Nasdaq rose to a six-and-a-half-year high on a cascade of stronger-than-expected earnings.
The broader U.S. stock market fell on Monday on worries that troubles in the subprime mortgage market may spread, but optimism about earnings at multinational companies pushed the Dow to nearly 14,000.
Energy stocks fell, led by ConocoPhillips, because of concern about dwindling profit margins for gasoline.
