Actual finance blog

Lawmakers voted Thursday to push back the deadline to file for extended unemployment benefits until June 2, a measure President Obama promptly signed into law.

The measure restores federal unemployment benefits to more than 200,000 jobless Americans who started losing them on April 5 after lawmakers let that deadline pass. Checks would be retroactive to that date.

Federal unemployment benefits, which last up to 73 weeks, kick in after the state-funded 26 weeks of coverage expire. These federal benefits are divided into tiers, and the jobless must apply each time they move into a new tier.

The bill extends several other provisions until May 31, including: The federal COBRA health insurance subsidy; the National Flood Insurance Program and the copyright license used by satellite television providers. It also prevents a 21% reduction in Medicare payment rates for doctors from taking place until May 31.

Though the measure generally enjoys bi-partisan support, Republicans in the Senate have resisted extending unemployment benefits, saying the benefit must be paid for.

Some 11.2 million people now receive unemployment insurance, with 6 million of them collecting extended benefits, according to the National Employment Law Project, an advocacy group.

Though the economy is slowly improving, the unemployment rate remains stuck at 9.7% and the average duration of unemployment is 31.2 weeks.

Lawmakers had already approved two short-term extensions of the filing deadline since late December. Both the House and the Senate also have passed bills that push back the deadline to file for extended benefits until later in the year, but those measures need to be reconciled. 

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Commerce Bancshares saw profits per-share jump 39 percent in the first quarter, despite a 10 percent drop in lending compared to a year ago.

Commerce, the region’s biggest locally based bank, earned $44.2 million, or 53 cents per share, in the quarter ended March 31 compared to $30.8 million, or 38 cents per share a year earlier.

Commerce blamed the big drop in lending on weak demand from borrowers. Loans fell in all categories except consumer credit cards easy pay day loans.

David Kemper, CEO, credited the rise in profits in part to a decline in money put aside to cover bad loans. The amount of problem loans and foreclosed property fell, as did loan charge-offs. Problem loans and foreclosed property made up 0.61 percent of assets, a low figure compared to most banks.

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The ongoing story of Washington Mutual's 2008 closure

Sept. 25, 2008: WaMu is seized by federal regulators and sold to JPMorgan Chase & Co. The next day, Washington Mutual Inc., the bank holding company, files for bankruptcy protection.

Sept. 23: WaMu’s bank run begins to slow. Meanwhile, potential bidders of the bank grow quiet.

Sept. 20: Former U.S. Treasury secretary Hank Paulson introduces a $700 billion bailout plan to refuel the beleaguered financial system.

Sept. 18: Fishman releases a carefully worded letter to WaMu customers, trying to reassure them about the bank’s soundness.

Sept. 18: WaMu’s bank run peaks as customers withdraw $2.8 billion in one day nationwide.

Sept. 16: The federal government pumps $85 billion into American International Group (AIG), the international insurer.

Sept. 16: Fishman meets with WaMu’s regulators, the Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC), in Washington, D.C. He tells them he has talked with Citigroup, Wells Fargo and JPMorgan Chase about a buyout.

Sept. 15: The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummets 500 points.

Sept. 15: Lehman Bros., the worldwide securities firm, files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Sept. 14: Merrill Lynch agrees to sell itself, and its 17,000 brokers, to Bank of America.

Sept. 11: Moody’s cuts WaMu’s debt rating to junk status, rates its financial strength at D+ and issues a negative outlook on the company, citing its asset quality and the potential for future losses. The news sparks WaMu’s second and final bank run.

Sept. 8: Fishman flies to Seattle to meet with WaMu’s executive team. Shortly afterward, he begins seeking a buyer for WaMu.

Sept. 7: Longtime WaMu chief executive Kerry Killinger is ousted by the company’s board of directors. New York banker Alan Fishman is appointed to succeed him.

Sept. 7: The federal government takes over giant mortgage purchasers Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac as they teeter on the brink of failure.

End of August: WaMu executives meet with Moody’s Investors Service about a possible ratings downgrade.

July 30: WaMu’s first run tapers off and deposits return to the bank.

July 12: First bank run on Washington Mutual begins, centered in Southern California.

July 11, 2008: The federal government seizes Pasadena, Calif.-based mortgage lender IndyMac after a $1.3 billion bank run.

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Over the last week, retail gasoline prices throughout Texas shot up an average of eight cents, amid speculation that gas is cruising back toward the $3 mark, according to AAA Texas.

The statewide average price of gas is $2.75. This is up eight cents from last week.

San Antonio’s average retail price for gas is currently $2.68 a gallon. This is up seven cents from last week.

Higher retail prices are being blamed for rising commodity prices. Oil has been trading at or above $85 a barrel for the past week, its highest level since October 2008. AAA Texas says that last week’s jobs report stating that employers added 162,000 jobs in March is a major reason why gasoline demand will increase.

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Customers are flocking to Apple and Best Buy stores in Colorado and elsewhere over the weekend to be among the first to score one of Apple’s new iPad tablet computers.

An estimated 600,000 to 700,000 iPads sold nationwide on Saturday, the first day of sale. Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster issued that assessment of sales in U.S. stores and pre-orders, doubling his pre-launch estimate.

Analysts surveyed by MarketWatch, meanwhile, had predicted sales of up to 1.5 million units for the quarter ending in June, and between 2 million and 6 million for the full fiscal year.

By comparison, the first Apple iPhone took 74 days to hit 1 million sales, while the subsequent iPhone 3G and Phone 3GS both hit the million mark in three days.

In Colorado, at mid-morning Saturday there was a line of about 50 people leading into the Apple store at Park Meadows mall in Lone Tree, south of Denver, with shoppers being "metered" into the store, the Mac Observer website reported. It said that about 1,000 people were lined up to enter the store when the iPhone 3GS was launched.

The 9.7-inch touch-screen iPads, which are available at all Apple stores and most Best Buy outlets, are priced starting at $499 and for now include only the ability to connect to the Internet via Wi-Fi.

Versions that are also capable of running on AT&T’s 3G wireless network are scheduled to go on sale at the end of the month.

Many observers praise the design, but some note it also has limitations, such as no camera, no external keyboard, a lack of USB ports and the inability to run flash applications.

Overall, however, the reaction among reviewers and influential players in the technology world was enthusiastic over the weekend.

Fortune reported that as of 8:30 p.m. MDT Saturday night, only one of the 20 stores contacted by Munster’s team had run out of iPads. Twitter messages on Sunday morning, however, reported sellouts at many Best Buys and some Apple stores.

CEO Steve Jobs, his wife and The Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal and Patrick Hoge of San Francisco Business Times contributed.daughter visited the Apple store in Palo Alto, Calif., themselves, while co-founder Steve Wozniak made another of his celebrated "regular guy" visits to a company store in nearby San Jose.

The Better Business Bureau cautioned that scams have cropped up around the country in connection with the iPad launch, some of which offer victims a free iPad in exchange for a consumer’s credit card number or other personal information.

The BBB said consumers should buy their iPad dierctly from Apple or an authorized retailer.

Click here for more coverage on the iPad from the DBJ’s sister paper, the Silicon Valley / San Jose Business Journal.

And click here for Apple’s iPad website.

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After five weeks of increasing gasoline prices, Texas drivers may have noticed that prices are beginning to stabilize.

In Texas, the average price for a gallon of regular gas is currently $2.67, down from $2.69 last week, according to the AAA Texas Weekend Gas Watch Report. In San Antonio, drivers are paying $2.61 on average for gas. This is down one cent from last week. Nationwide, drivers are paying $2.79 on average, a reduction of three cents from last week.

“Gas prices are significantly higher than this time one year ago, 74 cents nationally and 69 cents higher statewide,” says AAA Texas spokeman Dan Ronan. “In Texas consumers paid $27.72 in 2009 (to fill up a 14-gallon tank) and today it’s $37.38, an increase of almost ten dollars.”

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