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The California High-Speed Rail Authority will seek up to $1 billion in a new application for federal funding for the state’s high-speed train project.

For this round of funding, the U.S. Department of Transportation has made $2.3 billion in additional funds available for high-speed and intercity rail projects nationwide. The funds would help complete engineering and other work on the project not covered by previous federal stimulus grants.

Last January, California’s high-speed train project won $2.25 billion, the largest share of federal funding set aside for such projects under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

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The number of Americans filing for their first week of unemployment insurance fell slightly last week, according to a weekly government report released Thursday.

There were 460,000 initial jobless claims filed in the week ended May 22, down 14,000 from an upwardly revised 474,000 the previous week, according to the Labor Department’s weekly report.

The number of claims was slightly higher than expected. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com forecast new claims to fall to 455,000.

Initial claims have been caught in the mid- to upper-400,000s since November, and economists want to see it move below that bar before calling the start of a recovery.

"It’s a stagnant employment situation, and that’s not a good thing," said Dan Egan, president of the Massachusetts Credit Union League. "We were expecting and hoping we’d see a greater gain in jobs during this time."

Fears of a double-dip recession and the costs tied to hiring new employees still have business owners in a "cautionary mode," said Egan faxless payday advance. Employers need to see consistent improvement in the real estate sector before they really start ramping up their hiring, he said.

The four-week moving average for weekly initial claims was 456,500, up from 454,250 the previous week. The Labor Department tracks the four-week average of the weekly figures, to smooth out the volatility of the measure.

The report also said 4,607,000 people continued to file unemployment claims for their second week or more during the week ended May 15, the most recent data available. That’s down from an upwardly revised 4,656,000 the week before.

Standard unemployment benefits usually last 26 weeks. The continued claims number does not include those who have moved into state or federal extensions, or people whose benefits have expired but may still be without a job.

The national unemployment rate currently stands at 9.9%. 

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Stocks recovered from deep losses posted earlier in the session but ended lower Wednesday, as investors welcomed the Fed’s forecast of an improving economy amid lingering fears about the global economy.

The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) finished 67 points lower, or 0.6%. Earlier, the index dropped 150 points. Industrial stocks led the decline, with shares of Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) and Boeing (BA, Fortune 500) falling more than 2%.

The S&P 500 (SPX) lost 6 points, or 0.5%. The broad index also slid as much as 20 points to hit an intraday low of 1100.66. Investors will keep a close eye on 1,100, a key psychological level. If the index breaks below that level, it could trigger further selling or may wind up bringing money back into the market.

The Nasdaq composite (COMP) slipped 19 points, or 0.8%. Earlier in the session, the tech heavy index fell more than 1%.

Stocks had tumbled Tuesday as investors shrugged off better-than-expected earnings from U.S. retailers and remained focused on European debt problems after the euro hit a four-year low against the dollar.

The euro zone’s fiscal troubles remained in the spotlight for most of Wednesday following Germany’s announcement that it will ban ‘naked’ short selling. But the Fed’s minutes released later in afternoon lifted the central bank’s outlook for the economy, and in turn boosted investor confidence and prompted U.S. stocks to regain some ground.

The earlier pullback also allowed investors who were waiting on the sidelines to get back in the game, said Dave Hinnenkamp, chief executive of KDV Wealth Management.

While fear and uncertainty will continue to drag on markets in the near future, analysts expect a steady turnaround to take hold in the second half of the year as investors shift more attention to the strength in the U.S. economy.

"Even with Europe’s problems impacting the worldwide recovery, the economic strength we’ve seen here has been overshadowed," Hinnenkamp said. "We’ve been getting a bevy of good news in corporate earnings reports and forecasts."

Earlier in the day, declines in the market were exacerbated by Germany’s announcement curbing trading practices.

"There’s no question that Europe’s austerity measures will impact global economic activity, but the German ban raises even more questions," said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon Partners.

Cardillo said Germany’s inclusion of financial firms in the restrictions has investors on edge that serious problems are developing within those institutions.

The CBOE Volatility index, or the VIX (VIX), the market’s fear gauge, spiked 15.5% to its highest point since May 7, the day after the market’s flash crash. It later recovered to just 3.7% higher.

German trading ban: Late Tuesday, Germany’s financial regulator issued a ban on naked short sales of euro zone debt and the the country’s 10 leading financial firms.

Traditional short sellers borrow a security and buy it back later a lower price, hoping to pocket the difference.

In a "naked" short sale, however, investors sell the investment without ever borrowing the shares or bonds, making it much easier to drive down their value.

Regulator BaFin said the ban will apply until March 31, 2011.

World markets: European shares also took a hit, with Germany’s DAX and France’s CAC finishing 2.9% lower. The FTSE 100 in Britain slipped 2.8%,

The German trading ban also sparked jitters in Asia, where Hong Kong’s Hang Seng sank 1.8% and Japan’s Nikkei finished the session 0.5% lower.

Economy: The Labor Department said its consumer price index slipped 0.1% in April on a monthly basis, but climbed 2.2% compared to a year earlier. Still, that’s the smallest annual increase since January 1966.

The government’s report showed that core CPI, which excludes volatile food and fuel prices, held steady with March’s figures and rose 0.9% on an annual basis.

Economists had expected the CPI and core CPI to edge up 0.1%, according to a consensus forecast from Briefing.com.

A report from the Mortgage Banker Association showed that a record 10.06% of borrowers were behind on the payments during the first quarter of 2010.

Investors also took in minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting. The central bank improved its outlook for economic growth this year and decreased its forecast for the unemployment rate.

Wall Street reform: Senators in favor of the financial reform bill failed to muster enough votes to end debate on the legislation in a crucial test vote on Wednesday afternoon.

Proponents were shy 3 of the 60 votes needed to pass the test, which intended to set up the bill for a final vote by the end of the week.

Companies: Target (TGT, Fortune 500) reported Wednesday that its quarterly profit rose 28% to $671 million from a year ago. The retailer’s earnings per share of 90 cents missed analysts’ expectations of 91 cents per share. Target’s stock ended 0.4% lower.

Dollar and commodities: The dollar fell 1.6% against the euro after the shared currency eased off a four-year low hit Tuesday. But while the euro is clawing back up, Cardillo said it is only enjoying a relief rally and further declines are expected.

The greenback also turned lower against the British pound, sliding 0.6%, and the buck declined 0.7% versus the Japanese yen.

U.S. light crude oil sank to a 7-month low below $68 a barrel earlier Wednesday, before regaining losses to settle 46 cents higher at $68.87.

Gold for June delivery fell $21.50 to settle at $1,193.10 per ounce.

Bonds: Treasury prices ended lower. The 10-year note’s yield rose to 3.37%. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.

Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, losers beat winners by almost four to one on volume of 1.6 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, decliners beat advancers three to one on volume of 2.6 billion shares. 

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Think Dow 11,000 is a big deal? Think again.

The Dow Jones industrial average briefly hit the milestone Friday for the first time in 18 months before closing at 10,997.

But Wall Street analysts who study key stock index levels say all the attention paid to 11,000 is more like a big distraction. They worry that investors are ignoring another number at their peril: the surprisingly low volume of trading. As stocks have risen over the past year, the volume reflects the vulnerability of a rally riding on the shoulders of relatively few participants.

And that has given pause to even the bulls.

"It worries a lot of us," says Wellington Shields’ Frank Gretz, a technical analyst who specializes in pinpointing market levels at which stocks might suddenly rise or fall. He wonders whether the volume signals that the rally could soon peter out, like the big surges that preceded steep declines in the 1930s in the United States and in Japan more recently.

Louise Yamada, a 29-year veteran of technical analysis who heads an eponymous firm in New York, says she’s not just concerned but confused.

"Why is the market going up?" she asks. "You usually don’t see advances without volume."

The widely cited Dow index, which tracks stocks of 30 companies, is up 70 percent from its lows of more than a year ago. The climb has been one of the strongest in history, and it may herald a strong recovery. But it has been propelled by relatively few trades.

The 200-day moving average volume on the New York Stock Exchange is now at 1.2 billion shares, down from 1.6 billion, a drop of nearly 25 percent, a year ago.

In other words, if there is wisdom in crowds, the stock market is getting dumber.

One reason volume is lower: Main Street investors have largely stayed out of the market, abandoning it to hedge funds, pension funds and other professional investors. Last year, individuals, as tracked by mutual fund flows, yanked $14 billion from stock mutual funds.

Bulls argue that the Dow’s breaching 11,000 may convince ordinary investors that the rally will last. And that will bring a flood of money into the market, pushing indexes higher.

But Janney Montgomery Scott analyst Dan Wantrobski isn’t convinced.

"Main Street investors need confidence in the economy more than the Dow at 11,000," he says. "They need a drop in the unemployment rate."

On that front, there are signs of hope.

Last week the Labor Department reported that 162,000 jobs were generated in March, the most in three years. The unemployment rate was unchanged, at 9.7 percent.

Another boost to the outlook came Thursday from retailers: Sales at stores open at least a year rose 9 percent last month.

And, of course, there are plenty of other indicators of stock market health besides volume.

Technical analysts will make your head dizzy with their talk of "double tops," "double bottoms" and "Fibonacci retracements." Some of them prefer to make the case for a bull market.

For starters, they like the fact that most stocks in various indexes have rallied, and not just a few powerful ones, as is sometimes the case. They also note that nearly nine out of 10 stocks are trading above their 200-day average price — a bullish sign.

Then there’s the argument that maybe volume isn’t really all it’s cracked up to be.

In the last bull market, the trend was completely opposite the one today. The 200-day average daily volume surged to 1.7 billion shares in late 2007, up more than a third from early 2002, as individuals grew more confident in the rally.

As it turns out, they should have sat on their cash. In October 2007, shortly after volume peaked, the market began to collapse. Investors will still be down 22 percent — even if the Dow does eventually close above 11,000.

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Adobe Systems Inc. is expected to post a drop in first quarter earnings to 37 cents a share from 45 cents last year, but that didn't deter at least one analyst from expecting "solid" financials on Tuesday.

Deutsche Bank analyst Tom Ernst Jr. kept his buy rating on San Jose-based Adobe (NASDAQ:ADBE), saying he expects to see 39 cents a share on $835 million in revenue.

The consensus number from analysts is for $827.4 million in revenue, compared to $786.4 million last year.

Ernst said he expects Adobe to benefit from an improving economy and in coming quarters should see a bump from the release of Creative Suite 5, the new version of the company's flagship software no teletrack payday loans.

Ernst raised his price target on Adobe shares to $46 from $44. Its shares dropped about 3 percent on Friday to $34.67, a few dollars below its 52-week high of $38.20.

Investors are watching to see how Adobe's acquisition of Web analytics company Omniture in October plays out, but Ernst said in his note to investors that he believes the launch of CS5 will return Adobe shares "to more typical premium levels".

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Google Inc. said in court documents unsealed on Thursday that Viacom Inc. was secretly uploading videos to YouTube at the same time it was complaining about copyright infringement.

Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) also said that Viacom tried to buy YouTube in 2006 before the search giant agreed to pay $1.65 billion for the popular video Web site.

The documents are part of the $1 billion copyright infringement suit brought by Viacom against Google in March 2007.

In a blog post on Thursday, YouTube Chief Counsel Zahavah Levine wrote, "For years, Viacom continuously and secretly uploaded its content to YouTube, even while publicly complaining about its presence there. It hired no fewer than 18 different marketing agencies to upload its content to the site. It deliberately 'roughed up' the videos to make them look stolen or leaked. It opened YouTube accounts using phony email addresses. It even sent employees to Kinko's to upload clips from computers that couldn't be traced to Viacom guaranteed high risk personal loans."

Google's charges of hypocrisy were matched by similar claims by Viacom.

Viacom said Google executives knew did little to curb illegal downloading on YouTube even though they were aware of the extent of illegally uploaded videos to the site.

"Google and YouTube were not just innocent and unwitting accomplices to infringement perpetrated by YouTube users," Viacom said in the court documents.

The claims were part of hundreds of pages of documents filed in the case, many of which have now been posted online. Here are some of the links:

Statement of undisputed facts.

YouTube summary judgment motion.

Viacom summary judgment motion.

YouTube Chief Counsel Zahavah Levine has also issued the following statement.

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Taiwan’s economy probably exited the deepest recession on record last quarter as the global recovery spurred demand for the island’s semiconductors and mobile phones, according to a survey of economists.

Gross domestic product increased 7.1 percent in the three months through December from a year earlier, the median of the Bloomberg News survey’s nine estimates shows, after contracting for the previous five quarters. The report will be released on Feb. 22 at 1:30 p.m. in Taipei.

The emergence of the world economy from the worst slump since World War II spurred businesses in Taiwan, where exports equal half of GDP, to boost production and hire more workers. President Ma Ying-jeou is negotiating a trade accord with China that would cut import duties on Taiwanese goods in the world’s fastest growing major economy and help cement the recovery.

“Taiwan is ‘out of the woods’ for as long as the global economy is — and is particularly benefitting from a surge in growth in China,” said Dariusz Kowalczyk, chief investment strategist in Hong Kong at SJS Markets Ltd. “Since inflation in bound to return, we expect the central bank to begin raising rates in April, with 50 points of tightening likely in 2010.”

Taiwan’s exports to China, its biggest trading partner and No. 1 overseas investment destination, soared 187.8 percent in January from a year earlier, after a 96.7 percent gain in December. Shipments to the U.S., the second largest export market, rose 13.7 percent after increasing 4 percent in December.

Surging Profits

Stronger demand for electronics helped Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. and United Microelectronics Corp., the world’s largest makers of custom chips, post fourth-quarter profits that beat analysts’ estimates and boost capital spending this year.

The economy is emerging from the worst recession since records began in the 1950s. Central Bank Governor Perng Fai-nan kept interest rates unchanged at a record-low 1.25 percent on Dec. 24, after slashing them by 2.375 percentage points from September 2008 to February 2009 to revive the economy.

The unemployment rate fell for a third month in December after reaching a record 6.09 percent in September. Taiwan Semiconductor, the island’s biggest company by market value, said it plans record spending this year and will add more than 3,000 engineers.

“Local exporters have been reporting good sales figures in the fourth quarter because of rising demand from overseas,” said Lee Ming-han, an economist at Sinopac Bank in Taipei. “Domestic consumption also improved on a falling jobless rate and gains in the stock markets.”

China Accord

President Ma’s administration has been pushing for the trade agreement with China to prevent Taiwan from being “marginalized” after a Chinese accord with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations took effect this year.

China and Hong Kong combined is Taiwan’s largest overseas market, accounting for 40 percent of the island’s $203.7 billion of exports last year. Overseas shipments of flat screens, computer chips and other electronics goods made up about 28 percent of the total. Asean, which represents a quarter of the world’s population, accounts for 15 percent of Taiwan’s exports.

The government estimates the so-called Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement with China would increase GDP by 1.65 to 1.72 percentage points annually, spurring exports and creating more than 260,000 jobs. Exports would rise as much as 5 percent a year and imports by 7 percent, it says.

Opposition Rally

The opposition is against signing the accord and is calling for a public referendum. The Democratic Progressive Party on Dec. 20 rallied 100,000 people into the streets of Taichung city to protest Ma’s China policies, on concern that they will erode the island’s sovereignty.

China and Taiwan have been ruled separately since Nationalist troops fled to the island after losing a civil war to Mao Zedong’s Communist forces in 1949. China has threatened to invade Taiwan if it declares formal independence, and in 2006 carried out a weeklong series of missile tests near the island.

The risks to Taiwan “are centered around the global outlook, which is strong only in the short term,” Kowalczyk of SJS said. “By late 2010 and early 2011 we see a double dip in G-3 economies, which will trigger a slowdown. This is bound to hit Taiwanese exports and reduce its growth rate in 2011.”

Taiwan’s currency climbed 0.3 percent to close at NT$32.1 against the U.S. dollar on Feb. 12, the last trading before the Lunar New Year holiday, according to Taipei Forex Inc. The benchmark Taiex index gained 1.1 percent, after surging 78 percent last year, the best performance since 1993. Taiwan’s financial markets will resume trading on Feb. 22.

Export Growth

Taiwan is aiming for 22 percent growth in exports in 10 markets this year, including China, India, Japan, Russia and Brazil, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said last month. The island’s statistics bureau forecast in November that exports would increase 15.4 percent this year.

Nanya Technology Corp. last month reported NT$211 million ($6.6 million) profit in the fourth quarter, after posting losses in the previous 10 quarters, as demand for computers rebounded and prices of semiconductors rose. Smaller rival Powerchip said Jan. 20 that its fourth quarter profit exceeded NT$1.6 billion.

Taiwan Semiconductor, the island’s biggest company by market value, plans record spending of $4.8 billion on equipment and factories this year after reporting fourth-quarter profit more than doubled to NT$32.7 billion.

Prime View International Co., the screen supplier to Sony Corp.’s Reader and Amazon.com’s Kindle e-book readers, plans to triple its capacity in the U.S. and China this year on rising orders, Chairman Scott Liu said in an interview last month.

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Spending by U.S. consumers increased in December for a third consecutive month, signaling the biggest part of the economy will contribute more to growth in coming months.

The 0.2 percent increase in purchases was less than anticipated and followed a 0.7 percent gain in November that was larger than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. Incomes climbed 0.4 percent, exceeding expectations.

Retailers such as Amazon.com Inc. are posting profits on increased sales as Americans spent more this past holiday season than the year before. Employment is key to propelling bigger gains in spending, one reason the Obama administration is proposing a fiscal 2011 budget today that calls for $100 billion in additional stimulus focusing on jobs.

“Consumers have the wherewithal to support good spending, however they are going to be reticent until they see a few good months of job gains,” said Craig Thomas, a senior economist at PNC Financial Services Group Inc. in Pittsburgh, who correctly forecast the gain in spending. “2010 is lined up to be a moderately good year.”

Stock-index futures held earlier gains following the report. The contract on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 0.6 percent to 1,076.5 at 9:10 a.m. in New York. Treasury securities fell.

The median estimate of 65 economists surveyed called for a 0.3 percent increase in spending, after an originally reported gain of 0.5 percent the prior month. Projections ranged from no change to 0.7 percent.

Income Gains

The gain in incomes followed a 0.5 percent increase in November and exceeded the 0.3 percent median estimate in the Bloomberg survey. Wages and salaries climbed 0.1 percent in December after increasing 0.4 percent the prior month.

Today’s report showed prices were stabilizing. The inflation gauge tied to spending patterns rose 2.1 percent from December 2008, less than the survey median forecast.

The Fed’s preferred price measure, which excludes food and fuel, climbed 0.1 percent in December from the previous month and was up 1.5 percent from a year earlier.

Adjusted for inflation, spending climbed 0.1 percent following a 0.4 percent rise the prior month.

Because the increase in spending was smaller than the gain in incomes, the savings rate rose to 4.8 percent from 4.5 percent the prior month.

Disposable income, or the money left over after taxes, increased 0.4 percent.

Better Sales

Amazon, the world’s largest Internet retailer, posted profit and sales that beat analysts’ estimates and said revenue growth may accelerate this quarter as consumers start spending more following the recession. Sales may rise as much as 43 percent to $7 billion in the first quarter, more than last year’s 18 percent growth, the Seattle-based company said last week in a statement. Analysts surveyed by Bloomberg had estimated sales of $6.42 billion.

Inflation-adjusted spending on durable goods, such as autos, furniture, and other long-lasting items, climbed 0.2 percent in December after rising 2.3 percent the prior month.

Purchases of non-durable goods decreased 0.8 percent, and spending on services, which account for almost 60 percent of all outlays, increased 0.4 percent.

The economy grew at a 5.7 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, exceeding the median forecast of economists surveyed, figures from the Commerce Department showed last week. Consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of the economy, climbed at a 2 percent pace, also exceeding expectations.

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Some of the economists who anticipated the U.S. job market would see marked improvement in November now project job gains are around the corner, and possibly in the rearview mirror.

Payrolls fell by 11,000 workers, while the unemployment rate dropped to 10 percent. Jobs were forecast to decline 125,000, according to the median estimate of 82 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Estimates ranged from decreases of 30,000 to 180,000.

The drawdown in inventories and rising corporate profits are the most compelling reasons for payrolls to begin showing sustainable increases as soon as this month, these economists said. What’s more, the recent trend of upward revisions will probably continue, signaling the worst employment slump in the postwar era may have already ended.

“We could see a positive number for November next month,” said Stefane Marion, chief economist at National Bank Financial Inc. in Montreal, whose forecast of a 30,000 payroll drop was the closest. “Firms now are beginning to redeploy some of their cash flows” by hiring new workers, he said.

Revisions added 159,000 jobs to payroll figures previously reported for October and September, a report from the Labor Department showed yesterday in Washington. The previous month’s report added 91,000 for September and August.

Profits, Inventories

Corporate profits climbed 21 percent from January through September, the biggest three-quarter gain in five years, while inventories plunged at a record pace, according figures from the Commerce Department. Leaner stockpiles set the stage for recovery in production.

“If you run down your inventories hard, you also cut your labor force,” said Peter Possing Andersen, an economist at Danske Bank A/S in Denmark who projected a decline of 50,000 jobs for November. He said the ramp up in production means the manufacturing industry, which has cut workers for the past two years, may stabilize and begin hiring in “a couple of months.”

Still, some economists say that even if November’s figures are revised into positive territory, payrolls may not have reached their low point yet. “Revisions lately have been in the favorable direction,” said Neal Soss, chief economist at Credit Suisse in New York who forecast a 50,000 drop in payrolls. “We shouldn’t take that as evidence that we’re at the bottom.”

The improving labor market indicates the deepest U.S. recession since the 1930s may have ended, said the head of the group charged with making the call.

Yesterday’s report “makes it seem that the trough in employment will be around this month,” Robert Hall, who heads the National Bureau of Economic Research’s Business Cycle Dating Committee, said in an interview.

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In an aggressive effort to highlight their growth and health at a time of challenge for all publishers, Houston Business Journal and the 39 other papers in the American City Business Journals group this week took a novel approach to tell their story: All 40 business journals printed a four-page “wrap” around their papers filled with statistics and testimonials from readers in their local markets, detailing the niche their papers fill in each of their communities.

The testimonials highlighted ways that their papers have connected them to new sales, new jobs and new ways to grow their businesses, and most recently, ways to tap government stimulus dollars. The national campaign cites statistics that include recent numbers for paid circulation, time spent reading business journals and event attendance.

Collectively, the papers grew circulation by 3.85 percent between 2005 and 2009 while daily newspapers in those same markets lost 29 percent; from 2007 to 2009 alone, the ACBJ circulation growth totaled 2.7 percent, according to figures tallied by the Audit Bureau of Circulations.

Nationally, ACBJ readers spend an average of 50 minutes reading their local business journal each week, according to media audits.

And through 2009, about 175,000 business leaders have attended business journal events across the country.

The campaign has linked the papers together under a single message that asks, “Who Do You Want To Meet Today?” That message centers on the way each paper connects business leaders with each other, via print, in person, at events, or online through the bizjournals paydayloans.com network of local business journal sites.

ACBJ newspapers reach 4 million readers each week with in-depth coverage of their business communities. ACBJ cites recent research as evidence of the sweet spot it occupies in the media: 83% of all business news is local. Further, the company attributes it commitment to exclusive, top-quality journalism as vital to its success.

“No one in the local business community is more connected, more aware, more in touch than business journals are,” said ACBJ CEO Whitney Shaw, in a Q&A offered in each paper’s four-page wrap. “We're giving vital, up to the minute information to corporate executives, small business owners, community leaders, to virtually anybody who has a stake in the economy. And we're giving that information with a depth they can't get anywhere else.”

ACBJ is a unit of Advance Publications Inc., which also operates Conde Nast Magazines, Parade magazine, Fairchild Publications, the Golf Digest companies, Newhouse Newspapers and cable television interests.

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