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Europe’s largest retailer Carrefour SA Wednesday posted an unexpected net loss in the first half and abandoned its growth target for the year amid the economic slowdown.

The French retailer reported a net loss of euro249 million ($359 million) in the first six months of the year, compared with a profit of euro97 million a year earlier.

Carrefour said it expects its operating profit to decline this year, reversing a target the retailer set in March when it said an ongoing and expensive “transformation plan” would raise profits this year.

The company’s share price slumped on the Paris stock exchange as investors took fright at the suddenly worsened outlook for the giant retailer, which which operates chains of grocery stores and hypermarkets across Europe as well as in Latin America and Asia.

By mid-morning Carrefour shares were down 4 percent at euro17.88.

As it did last year, Carrefour booked what it calls “significant one-off charges” again in the first half. They amounted to euro884 million in the first half, over half of which went to writing down the value of Carrefour’s Italian assets.

Worringly for Carrefour, after years of failed attempts to turn-around profitability in its core French market, earnings fell 40 percent in the first half. The company blamed a reorganization of its processes and systems which caused large inventory shortages, as well as rising raw commodity costs and sharpened price competition among retailers fighting to draw in increasingly budget-minded consumers.

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So many of the worst things in life wouldn

Two million homes and businesses were without power early Sunday as Hurricane Irene slammed into the East Coast and charged north.

Winds of up to 115 miles per hour whipped across the Eastern Seaboard, ripping power lines from poles and snapping trees in half. Hospitals, emergency call centers and other crucial facilities were holding up, but officials said it could get much worse as Irene churns north.

Gasoline supplies were falling as drivers fill up before leaving town or just top off their tanks as a precaution before the storm hits. Pump prices rose about 3 cents per gallon overnight in New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

Dominion Resources reported outages for more than 900,000 of its customers in Virginia and North Carolina, while Progress Energy reported 190,000 customers without power.

Duke Energy said 1,500 customers were in the dark. Pepco, which serves Maryland, Washington D.C., parts of New Jersey and Delaware, reported nearly 80,000 outages. Baltimore Gas & Electric said nearly 250,000 of its customers were without power.

In eastern Pennsylvania, PECO reported nearly 140,000 customers without power.

New York’s biggest utility, Consolidated Edison, said it could cut power to the city’s most vulnerable areas if the storm causes serious flooding. Salt water and rain can damage electrical equipment.

ConEd operations chief John Miksad said the utility doesn’t expect to cut power before the storm hits, but flooding Sunday could bring a shutdown to areas including the southern tip of Manhattan. That would cut off power to major Wall Street institutions through parts of next week.

The New York Stock Exchange has backup generators and can run on its own, a spokesman said. The exchange expects to open as usual Monday morning, though it may change plans depending on the severity of the storm.

New York is regularly blasted by winter storms, but Miksad said this hurricane will be different. Irene’s wind will pack a stronger punch than a nor’easter last March that knocked out power to 175,000 customers, he said.

ConEd has called in crews from as far as Colorado to help repair damage from the storm.

Irene is expected to be a brutal test for Middle Atlantic States, which haven’t seen a hurricane since 1999. The storm is expected to stay just offshore _ and thus retain much of its power _ as it inches up the coast from North Carolina to New England. When a hurricane hits land, wind speeds diminish.

The entire Eastern Seaboard lies in the storm’s projected path. Flooding and damage from winds are likely. North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Rhode Island have declared emergencies. For the first time, New York City ordered people in low-lying areas to evacuate.

Power companies have called in several hundred workers from surrounding states to help. Crews were rushing out between bands in the hurricane, when the wind and rain ease. They’re looking for damage first at towering transmission lines, where an outage could put an entire county in the dark.

The storm has already caused gasoline supplies to fall as refueling barges wait out the storm off the coast. Widespread power outages could lead to fuel shortages as gas stations are no longer able to pump gas or have trouble replenishing their own gas supplies.

“Power is the lifeblood of oil supply on the East Coast,” said Ben Brockwell of the Oil Price Information Service, which tracks gasoline shipments around the country.

Some gas stations in New Jersey reported that they’d run out of fuel. Those shortages could become more widespread.

Retail gas prices were mostly unchanged in many cities that are expected to be hit this weekend. Rules against price gouging at gas stations took effect throughout Middle Atlantic states. Authorities will be looking for stations that try to take advantage of panicked drivers.

Pump prices were up slightly overnight, as much as 3 cents per gallon, to $3.44 in Philadelphia and $3.49 in New Jersey’s Atlantic-Cape May metro area. They seemed to hold in other areas, rising a penny or so on average in Maryland, Virginia and the Carolinas.

The Colonial Pipeline, which transports gasoline and other fuels from the Gulf Coast to the Northeast, stopped fuel deliveries to Selma, N.C., and to Virginia’s Tidewater area as the storm knocked out power. Pipeline spokesman Steve Baker said the pipeline may cut off deliveries further in Virginia and Maryland as the storm moves north.

Refineries, which make fuel from oil, have started to slow operations as Irene approaches.

OPIS says East Coast refineries will cut operating rates 10 to 25 percent in the next few days. Refineries in the Gulf Coast and the West should be able to keep supplies flowing to the rest of the country.

Refineries along the Louisiana Coast produce more than three times the gasoline and fuel of their East Coast counterparts, according to the Energy Information Administration. East Coast demand is going to fall as businesses close and people hunker down at home.

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Isle of Capri Corp. said Mississippi River flooding that disrupted operations at several of its riverside casinos contributed to a first-quarter loss of $2.3 million, or 6 cents per share, compared with a loss of $2.7 million, or 8 cents per share, in the corresponding period last year.

The Creve Coeur-based gambling operator said quarterly revenue fell to $245.8 million from $251.9 last year. Flooding caused Isle of Capri casinos on the Mississippi to close from six to 41 days during the quarter. Nonetheless, work is proceeding on the company’s Cape Girardeau casino, which is scheduled to open late next year. (Tim Bryant)

Short-selling bans extended

The past month wasn’t exactly a confidence-booster for would-be home buyers and sellers.

They’ve witnessed a turbulent stock market, a downgrade of U.S. credit, a spreading European debt crisis and a U.S. economy that seems to be running in place.

And now many say they’re even more hesitant _ a retreat that could further delay a rebound in housing. It could hold back the overall economy, too.

“I have people who are just waiting and waiting, who just haven’t pulled the trigger even though they have the down payment,” said John Stearns, senior mortgage banker at American Fidelity Mortgage outside Milwaukee. “There’s a lot of kicking tires. A lot of people saying they just won’t do it.”

Their unease explains why applications for home mortgages sank last week to a nearly 15-year low. What’s more, sales of new homes fell more than expected in July _ and analysts think the financial turmoil may be accelerating that slide this month.

“Buyers just don’t want to commit to anything right now,” said Joel Naroff of Pennsylvania-based Naroff Economic Advisors.

Interviews with more than three dozen agents, brokers and would-be buyers and sellers indicate that the heightened uncertainty in the financial markets and the economy has made people even more cautious than before.

Consider:

_ Eric Younan, a marketing professional at an accounting firm who was about to buy a home in July in Farmington Hills, Mich. Then along came August. “What really scared me is that I’m a single guy, and I don’t want to have a mortgage by myself,” Younan says. “The economy is taking a pounding, and my friends who are getting laid off are leaving the state. Prices are still falling. So I’d rather have money in the bank than money in a house.”

_ Fernando Maza, a security system programmer in Broward County, Fla., who was about to buy a second home, right before the stream of unnerving developments on the economy and the stock market. Now, he’s less sure. “House prices could go down,” he says. “There’s so much inventory and not a lot of qualified buyers.”

_ Kurt Winiecki, a financial planner in Chicago who has been counseling a young couple on whether to buy or continue to rent. August made Winiecki’s decision easier: He’s telling them to rent. “What if they lose 20 percent of their equity and they can’t sell the house? It’s just too big a risk.”

Even before the recent financial upheavals, the home market was being depressed by the economy’s many problems: High unemployment. Stagnant pay. Rising health care expenses. High debt loads pay day loans. A wave of foreclosures. Shrunken home equity.

And real estate agents were saying that more buyers were walking away at the last minute. In June, the latest month for which figures are available, about 16 percent of closings were canceled. That was the highest figure since record keeping started more than a year ago.

This year is on pace to be the worst for home sales in 14 years. Nationally, prices are at 2002 levels, and even lower in areas like Phoenix, Las Vegas and Tampa, Fla.

But the past few weeks’ turmoil may be making everything worse. Homebuilder stocks, for instance, have been battered _ even more than the stock market as a whole. As a group, they’ve shed nearly 23 percent, according to a Standard & Poor’s analysis, compared with about 12 percent for the Dow Jones industrial average.

In normal times, today’s record-low mortgage rates would energize buying. Yet while more people are refinancing, applications for new mortgages are stuck at 10-year lows, according to Inside Mortgage Finance.

Part of the problem is that many people can’t buy even if they want to. More than 23 percent of homeowners owe more on their homes than they’re worth. An additional 25 percent have less than 20 percent equity in their homes, according to Capital Economics.

That means that nearly half of homeowners couldn’t qualify for a new mortgage because they couldn’t produce a big enough down payment.

Add to that a chaotic stock market and a weak economy, and the belief is taking hold among many that now isn’t the time to invest in the biggest purchase in most people’s lives.

“There’s a reassessment of risk across the planet,” says Jonathan Miller of New York-based real estate consultancy Miller Samuel. “Volatility breeds uncertainty, and this is intimidating for consumers.”

Consider the lack of interest in Eric Johannson’s home. A pilot for cargo hauler Atlas Air, Johannson put his lakefront Houston home on the market in July 2010. He planned to upgrade to a home in Orlando, where his wife took a new job.

Yet despite the house’s excellent condition, it has drawn not a single offer, even after the price was slashed to $249,000 _ $100,000 less than what Johannson and his wife paid in 2008.

“If this economic situation drags out much longer, my wife just may have to quit her job and career” and move back to Houston, Johansson says.

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World stock markets regained some vitality Tuesday as investors hung hopes on action from the Federal Reserve to keep the U.S. from sliding back into recession.

Oil prices rose to near $86 a barrel as traders scaled back expectations that Libyan oil would be quickly restored to world markets as fighting raged in Tripoli between rebels and forces loyal to Gadhafi. The dollar weakened against the yen and the euro.

European shares were higher in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 1.5 percent to 5,171.26. Germany’s DAX gained 2.8 percent to 5,625.16 and France’s CAC-40 gained 2.7 percent to 3,132.43.

Wall Street was heading for a second straight day of gains, with Dow Jones industrial futures 1.4 percent higher at 10,997 and S&P 500 futures 1.7 percent higher at 1,142.10.

Global stocks have been volatile in recent weeks as investors swung between fears of a double-dip recession in the U.S. and hopes that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will announce some kind of action to help the economy during an annual economics conference in Wyoming on Friday.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 rose 1.2 percent to close at 8,733.01 and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 2 percent to 19,875.53. South Korea’s Kospi jumped 3.9 percent to 1,772.39.

Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, India, Indonesia and the Philippines were also higher.

Chinese shares advanced for the first time in six trading sessions as investors bargain-hunted following the release of a survey suggesting better than expected manufacturing data for August.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.5 percent 2,554.02 and the Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.8 percent to 1,144.05. Shares in cement and other building materials led the gains.

“A correction was due after investors overreacted to the selloffs in foreign markets days before, and also there was speculation that the manufacturing data could be better than earlier forecast,” said Cai Dagui, an analyst at Ping’an Securities, based in Shenzhen.

A “flash” manufacturing survey by HSBC showed Chinese output contracting, but improving from a 16-month low in July, rising to 49 fast cash advance.8 from 49.3 in July. The flash survey of purchasing managers includes 85 percent to 90 percent of the responses of a monthly survey on manufacturing trends that is usually released on the first of the month.

Investors also found relief in expectations that oil prices would fall if Libyan rebels gain complete control of the capital of Tripoli. A new government in Libya could clear the way for a return to oil production, which was halted six months ago amid a rebellion against the Gadhafi regime.

Falling oil prices also could help mitigate the effects of high inflation that has persisted across much of Asia, threatening growth prospects.

Rising metals prices, especially gold _ which ended Monday just shy of $1,900 an ounce _ boosted mining shares. Energy Resources of Australia Ltd. shot up 7.8 percent. Australia’s Fortescue Metals Group gained 4.1 percent. Zijin Mining Group Co., China’s biggest gold miner, rose 2.2 percent.

On Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.3 percent to close at 10,854.65. The S&P 500 rose less than 0.1 percent to 1,123.82. The Nasdaq rose 0.2 percent to 2,345.38.

Bernanke’s speech Friday could have a major impact on markets, as it did last year when he hinted that the Fed was about to embark on a second round of bond buying known as quantitative easing to support financial markets and the economy.

The buying program ended in June. Some investors hope that Bernanke will reinstate bond purchases because of recent evidence of a weakening U.S. economy that triggered a stock market sell-off in August.

Benchmark oil for September delivery was up $1.46 to $85.88 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude rose $1.86 to settle at $84.12 on Monday.

In London, Brent crude for October delivery was up 15 cents per barrel to $108.57 on the ICE Futures exchange.

The euro rose to $1.4440 from $1.4373 late Monday in New York. The dollar weakened to 76.65 yen from 76.72 yen.

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President Barack Obama played golf and enjoyed some beach time with his family Sunday on Martha’s Vineyard, though not before getting briefed on developments in Libya.

Under sunny skies, Obama, wife Michelle, and daughters Malia and Sasha spent the morning on a private beach in Edgartown. The outing came on the third full day of Obama’s 10-day summer vacation and was his first excursion with his full family in tow. The president then parted ways with his family to play a round of golf at the Vineyard Golf Club.

First, though, Obama was briefed by national security aides on developments in Libya, where rebels advanced on Tripoli, threatening Moammar Gadhafi’s hold on power. White House aides have been at pains to show Obama is carrying out his duties as president even while on vacation amid international unrest, a shaky economy and high joblessness.

Obama also appeared on CBS News in an interview taped during his bus tour of the Midwest last week instant payday loans. He said he understood his low standing in the polls of late given public dissatisfaction with Washington and the poor economy. And he said he expected to be judged on the economy in next year’s presidential election.

“You’ve got an unemployment rate that is still too high, an economy that’s not growing fast enough,” he said. “And for me to argue, look, we’ve actually made the right decisions, things would have been much worse has we not made those decisions _ that’s not that satisfying if you don’t have a job right now. And I understand that and I expect to be judged a year from now on whether or not things have continued to get better.”

The president is scheduled to return to Washington next Saturday.

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Acknowledging the severity of the global economic storm, the Bank of Canada signalled no likely increases in interest rates any time soon while Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said Ottawa might need to step in with another round of stimulus spending if conditions get worse.

Mark Carney, governor of the central bank, told a Commons committee Canada’s economy may show little growth or negative growth when the statistics are finalized for the April-through-June period because of the economic troubles in the United States and Europe. But he said growth will pick up a bit in the second half of 2011.

As expected, given the gloomy state of financial markets and world business conditions, Carney made it clear that the Bank of Canada would be hesitant to increase its trend-setting interest rate above the current 1 per cent in the near future. Lower rates spur business and consumer borrowing and add momentum to the economy.

“Since the crisis erupted, the Bank has demonstrated its flexibility and nimbleness in the conduct of monetary policy,” he told a special session of the Commons finance committee studying the economic crisis. “As the Canadian recovery has progressed, we have emphasized that we would be prudent with respect to the possible withdrawal of any degree of monetary stimulus,” he said.

Under questioning from opposition MPs, Flaherty said for the first time that the Conservative government would move in with another round of stimulus spending if the world economy suffers a double-dip recession.

“We would obviously do what is needed” if there was a “dramatic deterioration” in the economies of the United States and Europe, he told the committee.

But for now, Flaherty said, the government is not changing its budget plan despite the turmoil on financial markets and debt crises in the United States and Europe. The plan calls for spending cuts of $4 billion a year to eliminate the annual federal budget deficit — now $32-billion annually — in a few years.

Pressed by opposition MPs about how Ottawa would react to a renewed global slowdown, Flaherty said he would change course and develop a pro-growth spending plan as the Conservatives did during the recent recession.

There is no need yet to move away from the government’s deficit-reduction strategy, however, he told MPs. Canada’s economy is still growing, if modestly, Flaherty said.

NDP finance critic Peggy Nash said later that she was disappointed that Flaherty didn’t show more flexibility. Her party would like to see the government embark on a round of infrastructure spending to spur economic growth, improve job-creation and prepare Canada for the future. Liberal MP Scott Brison said Flaherty failed to offer Canadians the assurances needed at a time of extreme economic uncertainty.

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Coca Cola Co. said Thursday it plans to invest $4 billion in China as food brands scramble to expand in its fast-growing consumer market.

The investments will take place over three years beginning in 2012 and raise Coca Cola’s total investment in China between 2009 and 2014 to $7 billion, the company said.

Global food brands are investing heavily in China, looking to a relatively healthy economy that expanded by 9.5 percent in the quarter ending in June to drive sales amid global uncertainty.

“China is one of our most important growth markets,” said Coca Cola chairman and CEO Muhtar Kent in a statement announcing the plans.

Chinese retail spending in June rose 17.7 percent over a year earlier, according to the government.

In July, Nestle SA announced the purchase of a 60 percent stake in candy maker Hsu Fu Chi for $1 no fax payday loans.7 billion. Earlier this year, Nestle also bought a controlling stake in Chinese food processor Yinlu Foods Group.

Restaurant chains such as McDonald’s Corp. and Yum Brands Inc.’s Pizza Hut and KFC also are expanding.

Kent said Coca Cola’s sales volume in China for the first half of 2011 was double that of five years ago.

Coca Cola, based in Atlanta, opened five new facilities in China in 2009-10 and this year has opened one and plans to open a second and break ground for a third, according the company.

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OTTAWA