Water cooler ticker -- It's the economy

Ford Has $8.7 Billion Loss, Shifts Away From Trucks (Bloomberg)Analysts expect Ford's change in direction -- away from trucks to fuel efficient cars -- will be costly, with more losses ahead.

Dow Chemical reports decline in 2Q profit (Associated Press)
"Dow Chemical Co. said Thursday that despite record sales and two double-digit price increases unveiled in the second quarter, its profit for the period fell 27 percent, in large part because of sharply higher costs for energy and raw materials."

Sales of U.S. Existing Homes Fell to 10-Year Low (Bloomberg)
"Sales of previously owned U.S. homes fell in June to the lowest level in a decade, signaling tumbling real-estate prices and consumer confidence are hurting demand.

Resales dropped 2.6 percent to a lower than forecast 4.86 million annual rate from a 4.99 million pace the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median home price dropped 6.1 percent from June last year. "

National City has $1.76 bln loss on loan write-offs (UK Guardian)The Cleveland-based lender posted its fourth straight quarterly loss "hurt by soaring mortgage and real estate construction loan losses and a write-down for acquisitions."


US weekly jobless claims rise 34,000 to 406,000 (Forbes)"The number of individuals filing new claims for unemployment insurance rose to its highest level in nearly four months, while the number of individuals continuing to file claims for unemployment fell slightly in the latest survey week, the Labor Department said today."

New layoff filings jump as companies retrench (Associated Press)"The number of newly laid off people filing claims for unemployment benefits bolted past 400,000 last week as companies trimmed their work forces to cope with a slowing economy and fallout from a collapsed housing market."