Blue Chip forecasts slowed consumer spending this year

(Reuters) - Economists surveyed in the closely watched Blue Chip
economic forecast downgraded their expectations for GDP growth
in 2007 on a year-over-year basis to 2.1 percent from their
forecast a month ago of 2.2 percent.




Slowed consumer spending, said the economists who were
surveyed last week, will be the main factor behind slower
growth, as well as continued troubles in the housing and
subprime mortgage markets.


Read more at Reuters.com Economic News

Fiat mulled buying Jaguar and Land Rover-report

(Reuters) - Marchionne and and Lewis Booth, head of Ford's Premier
Automotive Group , which also includes Volvo, ended the
talks in late May as Fiat was worried about its credit rating,
Automotive News Europe said quoting sources familiar with the
discussions.




Fiat declined to comment on the report which was circulated
in Germany on Saturday and is due to be published on Monday.


Read more at Reuters.com Mergers News

S&P 500 Index Has Biggest Weekly Loss in Three Months as Bond Yields Jump

(Bloomberg) -- U.S. stocks dropped, sending the
Standard & Poor's 500 Index to the steepest weekly loss
since a February rout, after bond yields at a 10-month high
sparked speculation that the Federal Reserve will raise
interest rates.

Utilities, which have the highest dividend yield in
the S&P 500, fell the most since October 2002. Goldman
Sachs Group Inc., the biggest U.S. securities firm by
market value, helped lead financial shares lower. Bigger
bond yields make stock dividends less attractive and reduce
demand for mortgages and other loans.


Read more at Bloomberg Stocks News

Glaxo drug cuts bleeding in study

(Reuters) - Results from a pivotal Phase III study presented at the European Hematology Association congress in Vienna showed 50 to 75 milligrams once daily resulted in a statistically significant increase in platelet counts and also reduced bleeding in people with chronic ITP.




The placebo-controlled trial involved 114 adults and patients studied had previously received and failed current standard ITP treatments.


Read more at Reuters.com Business News