Mr. Ambassador, in the run up to the recent u. S. China strategic and economic dialogue, there were a lot of press reports of the several issues that would be on the table. One of those included the ongoing solar panel dispute and resulting poly silicone tariffs from china. However in the fact sheets that came out, theres emphasis on steel and some of the other issues. But i saw no mention of the solar issue. I was just wondering if you could give us a status report on where that stands. Thank you. We did discuss it while i was there. Weve continued to discuss the issue. Its a long standing outstanding dispute. Its something we would like to try to find a way of settling and our discussions will continue. And ill see him in shanghai in a couple of weeks. A question over here in the back and then well take the one in the front. Hi. Ken biddler. This week president obama is going for the summit. Canada has not taken a position on the tpp. Its the only of 12 countries to have not stated w
Are those guys ganging up on that guy . And amid a global terror alert, what are the airlines doing to make sure we are safe in the air . Well explore that one, but, first, lets check in with sue at the nyse. Sue . Good to see you, ty. Stocks modestly lower today, and well cover the markets for you in just a second. First, as you mentioned, a big change in the housing market. Lenders are making a change in their standards. Diana olick is on the reality check for us and she joins us from washington. Hi, diana. Hi, sue, and youre right. Fewer people are applying for mortgages overall and refinances are positively plunging. That has banks looking for more business and easing up a little bit on that tight, tight credit that had become the norm during the housing crash. Take a look. Credit availability rose 2. 2 in july month to month and is up 3 from may, according to a new survey from the Mortgage Bankers association. May was when Mortgage Rates began to rise. The increase in availability
And it is compelling. So, i also want to underscore that while investigators are gathering additional evidence on the ground, our understanding of what has already happened in syria is grounded in facts, informed by conscience and guided by common sense. Uncertainty about the possible military action against the Syrian Government is helping lift Oil Prices Near a fivemonth high. And also, some new numbers on the massive california rim wildfire that continues to burn out of control. Crews now have 20 of the fire contained. Thats the good news. But its still fanning out across the mountains in multiple directions, and the forecast calls for strong winds over the next couple of days, so that has some people anxious as well. In the meantime, im going to send it over to kayla with corporate headlines. Kayla . Hey, andrew, its a big morning for earnings, a lot of company news. Bill ackman has sold his stake in jcpenney after his campaign to overhaul the retailer failed. He sold approximately
Eight civil and criminal investigation. Looking at the efforts to sell mortgagebacked securities. 20052007. Liz according to a person close to the matter, Soros Fund Management has withdrawn all of its money from the Pershing Square company. The fund had less than 250 million with the firm. Of course they will battle over dillon the sec. David the family that owns the New York Times is declaring that the newspaper is not for sale. The chairman and publisher added that they were stunned by the announcement of the Washington Post sale to amazon ceo. Liz cbs confirming that the network has resumed talks with Time Warner Cable. Cbs has been blacked out for more than 3 million Time Warner Cable customers for a whole week david the president of the fed reserve bank of cleveland announcing that she will retire early next year. Also joins that the cleveland fed has led the bank since 2003. Right now in a nonvoting member, but there will mr. There. After the bell starts right now. Liz we begin
Thats right. Following the averages, the dow, nasdaq, s p posting gains. We had backandforth action and seeing whether or not its four Straight Days of losses, in which case, it would be the longest losing streak; however, its turned around. Solid gains at the moment for the dow at 52 points. Jcpenney up 7 , as you noted, lori, at the top of the show, its jumping. Theres been reports, and theres an analyst covering this as well, but theres speculation as to whether or not they are true, but theres certainly a lot of people on wall street talking about jcpenney. Here it goes. The former jcpenney ceo will be stepping in the role of chairman. Mike, the ceo, stepping out. He was put in place in april to replace ron johnson, and notice how i keep saying replace, that is because jcpenney has been such a tough turn around, and the Options Market is going wild because the the Quarterly Report is due out on august 20th, and so people are vetting to the wild swings. Now, bill akman of persing is