Associated Press Business Briefs - Aug. 9, 2024

Fewer Americans file for jobless benefits last week

The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week but remain at slightly elevated though not troubling levels. Jobless claims for the week of Aug. 3 fell by 17,000 to 233,000 last week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. That's fewer than the 240,000 analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting. Weekly unemployment claims are widely considered representative of layoffs, and though they have trended higher recently, they remain at historically healthy levels. Continuing claims, which represent the total number of Americans collecting unemployment benefits, rose by 6,000 to 1.88 million for the Week of July 27. That the most since the week of Nov. 27, 2021.

Mounjaro, Zepbound pour money into Eli Lilly

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Eli Lilly blew past second-quarter expectations with the diabetes treatment Mounjaro and its weight loss counterpart Zepbound funneling more than $4 billion in sales to the drugmaker. Lilly also hiked its forecast for the year well beyond Wall Street expectations as newer drugs like Zepbound built momentum. The company's shares soared Thursday after Lilly detailed its quarterly results. Mounjaro sales more than tripled in the quarter to nearly $3.1 billion. Zepbound, which is made from the same molecule, brought in $1.2 billion two quarters after Lilly launched the drug. The drugmaker's profit rose 68% to $2.97 billion in the quarter.

Average rate on a 30-year mortgage falls to 6.47%,

The average rate on a 30-year mortgage fell this week to its lowest level in more than a year. That's a welcome affordability boost for prospective homebuyers and homeowners looking to refinance their home loan to a lower rate. Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate fell to 6.47% from 6.73% last week. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.96%. After jumping to a 23-year high of 7.79% in October, the average rate on a 30-year mortgage has mostly hovered around 7% this year — more than double what it was just three years ago. The elevated mortgage rates have discouraged home shoppers, extending the nation's housing slump into its third year.

Boeing's new CEO visits factory that makes the 737 Max

Boeing's new CEO is on the job and visiting a key factory near Seattle. Robert "Kelly" Ortberg officially took over as Boeing CEO on Thursday. He is inheriting a company that's been losing billions, is struggling fix its aircraft-manufacturing process, and has agreed to plead guilty in a fraud case. Ortberg says he is excited to dig in to the new assignment. Ortberg was the CEO of aerospace supplier Rockwell Collins from 2013 to 2018. He retired in 2021 but, now at age 64, is coming back to attempt a turnaround at Boeing. On his first day, he's visiting the plant near Seattle where Boeing assembles the 737 Max jetliner.

Facing budget crunches, Chinese tax collectors descend on companies

BEIJING (AP) — Chinese authorities are chasing unpaid taxes from companies and individuals dating back decades, as the government moves to plug massive budget shortfalls and address a mounting debt crisis. More than a dozen listed Chinese companies say they were slapped with millions of dollars in back taxes in a renewed effort to fix local finances that have been wrecked by a downturn in the property market that decimated land sales, a main source of revenues. The ruling Communist Party has pledged to repair local cash woes, but it's more easily said than done. Experts question how thoroughly the party will follow through on its broad promises to improve the tax regime.