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Skip navigation Web MSNBC Business Highlights AFX WASHINGTON AP The Senate passed an economic rescue plan Thursday that would speed to in rebates to most taxpayers and checks to low income people including disabled veterans and the elderly. The vote capped more than a week of political maneuvering. House leaders said they would act as early as Thursday night to send the measure to President Bush. NEW YORK AP The nation s retailers delivered more evidence of a stumbling economy Thursday as merchants reported their weakest January performance in nearly four decades extending a malaise that has deepened since the holiday shopping season. The sales figures made it clear that consumers wrestling with high gas and food prices a slumping housing market an escalating credit crisis and a weakening job market retrenched further buying mostly necessities even when redeeming their holiday gift cards. The disappointments cut across all sectors including discounters like Wal Mart Stores I! nc. teen retailers including Pacific Sunwear of California Inc. and mall based apparel chain Limited Brands Inc. Even affluent shoppers are pulling back hurting stores like Nordstrom Inc. NEW YORK AP Wall Street finished moderately higher in fitful trading Thursday as investors still nervous about the economy decided to buy back into a stock market pummeled by three straight days of losses. With the market having largely priced in the possibility of a recession many believe there are plenty of valuable stocks at cheap prices. Before Thursday the Dow Jones industrial average had fallen this week by points or . percent giving up all of last week s sharp gains. Though the market ended up rising Thursday trading was extremely fickle due to a batch of gloomy data that included declining January sales at major retailers a drop in December sales of pending homes and a disappointing outlook from Internet networking supplier Cisco Systems Inc. The major indexes seesawed throughout t! he day. TRENTON N.J. AP In one of the biggest U.S. health care fraud settlements ever Merck Co. will pay million to settle claims it overcharged the government for four popular drugs and bribed doctors to prescribe its drugs federal prosecutors said Thursday. The alleged overcharges dating back to the mid s involved Medicaid programs in the District of Columbia and every state but Arizona as well as federal health insurance programs at agencies including the Department of Defense and Veterans Administration. A nationwide investigation by federal prosecutors triggered in by a former Merck salesman turned whistleblower and broadened by a Louisiana doctor who also exposed overcharging resulted in two settlements announced Thursday. WASHINGTON AP The number of newly laid off workers filing applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week but not enough to indicate that strains on the labor market are easing. The Labor Department reported Thursday that claims for jobless benefits were filed last week a decline of from the previous week. The! decline only erased a part of the huge jump of in claims of the previous week. The four week average for jobless claims rose to which was the highest level in a month. FORT WORTH Texas AP D.R. Horton Inc. the nation s largest homebuilder said Thursday it swung to a loss in its fiscal first quarter due to hefty charges to write off inventory and land values as the housing slump continues to worsen. Losses for the quarter ended Dec. totaled . million or cents per share compared with profit of . million or cents per share a year ago. The quarter includes . million in pretax charges to write down inventory and the value of land deposits. Revenue plunged to . billion from . billion a year ago. The builder closed on homes down sharply from in the period. FORT LAUDERDALE Fla. AP AutoNation Inc. the nation s largest auto retailer said Thursday its fourth quarter earnings fell percent falling short of Wall Street expectations as drops in California and Florida vehicle sales persist! ed amid a slumping housing market. AutoNation Chief Executive Mike Jackson said he expected U.S. new vehicle sales to decline to mid million vehicles in compared with total industrywide sales of . million vehicles in . But recent interest rate cuts and a proposed economic stimulus package could begin helping the industry as early as late Jackson told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. LONDON AP The European Central Bank stood firm against the headwinds of global economic turmoil citing the threat of higher inflation as it declined to follow the Bank of England s lead and reduce borrowing costs Thursday for its nation region. But for the first time the ECB showed signs that it might bow to those pressures later this year and joining the British central bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve which have been cutting rates. The Bank of England lowered its key interest rate by a quarter of a percentage point to . percent just before the ECB s decision on Thursday making its second cut in three months and cheering retail and business groups w! ho have called for lower rates to restore consumer confidence in the faltering domestic economy. WASHINGTON AP Consumers increased their borrowing in December at the slowest pace in eight months additional evidence that economic activity was slowing significantly at the end of last year. For all of consumer credit rose at the fastest clip in three years. The Federal Reserve reported Thursday that consumer borrowing rose at an annual rate of . percent in December a sharp slowdown from an . percent jump in November. It was the weakest showing since credit had increased just . percent in April. NEW YORK AP PepsiCo Inc. the world s second largest soft drink maker said Thursday its fourth quarter profit fell percent from a year earlier when results were boosted by a tax benefit. Without the benefit earnings rose percent. The million tax benefit which added million or cents per share to the bottom line was the result of a settlement with the Internal Revenue Service over a review! of returns. The company which also owns the Frito Lay snacks business said it expects earnings and revenue growth in . Its shares rose . percent. By The Associated Press The Dow rose . or . percent to . after trading down about points and up about . The index remains more than percent below its record close on Oct. of . . Broader stock indicators also recovered some ground. The Standard Poor s index rose . or . percent to . . The technology heavy Nasdaq composite index rose . or . percent to . . Light sweet crude for March delivery rose cents to settle at . a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange after earlier falling as low as . its lowest price in more than two weeks. March heating oil rose . cents to settle at . a gallon on the Nymex while March gasoline futures rose . cents to settle at . a gallon. March natural gas futures rose . cents to settle at . per cubic feet. The Energy Department said natural gas inventories fell last week by billion cubic feet slightly more than expected. In London March Brent crude gained cents to settle a! t . a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange. Copyright Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast rewritten or redistributed. 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