By JAY ALABASTER, Associated Press
– Apple's newest iPhone was in short supply just hours after its global launch began in Tokyo on Thursday morning as hundreds queued outside stores across the city to become among the first in the world to own the device.
At the Apple store in the swanky Ginza shopping district, several hundred lined the street in the early afternoon heat, as staff handed out bottled water and loaned black umbrellas with the company logo. A man dressed as a giant iPhone danced and waived his arms as he made it to the front of the line.
"I like the design. It's sleek — I think it's cool!" said Yoko Kosugi, 41, a graphic designer, who took her new phone out of her bag to show it off, plastic wrapping still on the screen.
Long lines formed from early morning across the city at Apple stores and retail outlets across the city.
Thursday's global launch of the iPhone 4 was being carried out at 7 a.m. local time in each region, so Japanese were among the first in the world to get their hands on the device. The U.S., France, U.K. and Germany are also part of the global launch.
In the trendy shopping district of Harajuku, over 300 people were lined up at the flagship store of Softbank, Japan's exclusive carrier, when its doors opened in the morning. That store ran out of phones by early afternoon, said company spokesman Naoki Nakayama.
"We've been selling out at each launch, it's the same conditions," he said, declining to release any numbers.
When the initial version of the iPhone was released in Japan two years ago, some questioned whether it could succeed without many of the advanced hardware features common on Japanese models. But the phone's addictive touch screen and broad selection of downloadable applications have made it a runaway hit in the country.
The newest model is thinner with a better-resolution screen and longer battery life. It features a new operating system that can also be installed on some older models.
Even among Apple's most faithful, some said the phone has become a victim of its own success in Japan.
"As Softbank has cut prices and more and more people signed up, it has made the network much slower," said Motoki Sato, a university student who lined up outside of Softbank's store in urban Shibuya.
But he still waited through the night before the launch along with dozens of others at the Shibuya store, to get "a birthday present for myself" when he turned 24 on Thursday. He occasionally glanced at his black iPad as he spoke, and said he tried not use his older iPhone too much to conserve battery life through the long wait.
A swarm of pre-orders earlier in the week also led to long lines around Tokyo and overwhelmed computer servers struggling to keep up with demand.
joi, 24 iunie 2010
Toyota president apologizes to shareholders
By YURI KAGEYAMA AP Business
Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda bowed deeply and apologized to shareholders Thursday for the troubles caused by massive global recalls of the company's vehicles.
Toyoda was facing shareholders for the first time since the Japanese automaker's reputation for quality was damaged by the recall crisis that started last October.
Again bowing deeply after the remark, Toyoda also said the company was doing its utmost to improve quality control and thanked shareholders for their support.
"I apologize deeply for the concerns we have caused," he said. "We believe our most important task is to regain customers' trust."
The shareholders' meeting was closed to the media, but the proceedings could be seen in a TV monitor in another room at Toyota headquarters in the city named after the automaker. Atonement for Japanese company heads typically comes as a deep bow held for several seconds to show heartfelt remorse for wrongdoing.
Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, has been working to patch up its reputation after more than 8 million vehicles were recalled worldwide over reports of unintended acceleration and other defects.
U.S. authorities slapped Toyota with a record $16.4 million fine for acting too slowly on the recalls. Toyota dealers have repaired millions of vehicles, but the automaker still faces more than 200 lawsuits tied to accidents, the lower resale value of Toyota vehicles and the drop in the company's stock.
Although the recall debacle hung over the shareholders' meeting, the statements from Toyoda and other officials were met with polite applause. A handful of shareholders shouted their anger.
The region where the automaker is headquartered is packed with Toyota plants, suppliers and other businesses like hotels and restaurants that are heavily reliant on Toyota and fiercely loyal.
"The company stumbled badly over the recalls, and it became a big problem," said one shareholder, who identified himself only by his surname Nishikawa.
He also expressed hopes Toyoda as the "face of the company" will handle the recall problem bravely, without breaking into tears, referring to a widely reported meeting that a tearful Toyoda had with dealers in the U.S. where the recalls were concentrated.
Others asked about Toyota's strategy for green vehicles and how it planned to expand in emerging markets, including dealing with labor strife that has temporarily shut down production n China.
Toyota Executive Vice President Satoshi Ozawa said recall-related costs for the fiscal year ended March totaled 380 billion yen ($4 billion).
Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki acknowledged that Toyota had failed to fully understand the feelings of customers about safety.
But he said the company was working harder to beef up quality controls, including appointing outsiders to assess the company's transparency, and finding out more how drivers were using Toyota vehicles.
"We want to make Toyota No. 1 in quality from the customers' viewpoint," he told shareolders.
Toyoda said directors on the board will forego their bonus payments for the second year in a row. Directors didn't get bonsues the previous year after Toyota reported the worst losses in its history as the financial crisis sent auto sales plunging.
That won the approval of at least one shareholder, who pointed out the contrast with Japanese rival Nissan Motor Co., which disclosed at its shareholders' meeting Wednesday that Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn had received $9.5 million in compensation.
Analyst opinion has been mixed about Toyota's prospects, which remain shaky and depend on a global auto recovery.
"I'm not that pessimistic. I am hopeful the world's economy is going to grow happier," Nomura Securities Co. auto analyst Shotaro Noguchi said in a telephone interview.
"The image that Toyota cars were dangerous got serious three months ago so that even kids knew about it. But people forget and that has changed," he said.
Toyoda pointed to his striking a deal last month with Tesla Motors Inc., a U.S. electric car manufacturer, to open an electric car plant at the site of Toyota's former venture with General Motors Co. as an example of how Toyota will start anew.
In April, Toyota closed the California plant, called New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., or NUMMI.
He promised Toyota will continue to grow, but without pursuing size for size's sake.
"Our company is about doing the right thing in the right way," he told the meeting. "And I like to think we are the kind of company that cares about people's feelings."
Toyota Motor Corp. President Akio Toyoda bowed deeply and apologized to shareholders Thursday for the troubles caused by massive global recalls of the company's vehicles.
Toyoda was facing shareholders for the first time since the Japanese automaker's reputation for quality was damaged by the recall crisis that started last October.
Again bowing deeply after the remark, Toyoda also said the company was doing its utmost to improve quality control and thanked shareholders for their support.
"I apologize deeply for the concerns we have caused," he said. "We believe our most important task is to regain customers' trust."
The shareholders' meeting was closed to the media, but the proceedings could be seen in a TV monitor in another room at Toyota headquarters in the city named after the automaker. Atonement for Japanese company heads typically comes as a deep bow held for several seconds to show heartfelt remorse for wrongdoing.
Toyota, the world's biggest automaker, has been working to patch up its reputation after more than 8 million vehicles were recalled worldwide over reports of unintended acceleration and other defects.
U.S. authorities slapped Toyota with a record $16.4 million fine for acting too slowly on the recalls. Toyota dealers have repaired millions of vehicles, but the automaker still faces more than 200 lawsuits tied to accidents, the lower resale value of Toyota vehicles and the drop in the company's stock.
Although the recall debacle hung over the shareholders' meeting, the statements from Toyoda and other officials were met with polite applause. A handful of shareholders shouted their anger.
The region where the automaker is headquartered is packed with Toyota plants, suppliers and other businesses like hotels and restaurants that are heavily reliant on Toyota and fiercely loyal.
"The company stumbled badly over the recalls, and it became a big problem," said one shareholder, who identified himself only by his surname Nishikawa.
He also expressed hopes Toyoda as the "face of the company" will handle the recall problem bravely, without breaking into tears, referring to a widely reported meeting that a tearful Toyoda had with dealers in the U.S. where the recalls were concentrated.
Others asked about Toyota's strategy for green vehicles and how it planned to expand in emerging markets, including dealing with labor strife that has temporarily shut down production n China.
Toyota Executive Vice President Satoshi Ozawa said recall-related costs for the fiscal year ended March totaled 380 billion yen ($4 billion).
Executive Vice President Shinichi Sasaki acknowledged that Toyota had failed to fully understand the feelings of customers about safety.
But he said the company was working harder to beef up quality controls, including appointing outsiders to assess the company's transparency, and finding out more how drivers were using Toyota vehicles.
"We want to make Toyota No. 1 in quality from the customers' viewpoint," he told shareolders.
Toyoda said directors on the board will forego their bonus payments for the second year in a row. Directors didn't get bonsues the previous year after Toyota reported the worst losses in its history as the financial crisis sent auto sales plunging.
That won the approval of at least one shareholder, who pointed out the contrast with Japanese rival Nissan Motor Co., which disclosed at its shareholders' meeting Wednesday that Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn had received $9.5 million in compensation.
Analyst opinion has been mixed about Toyota's prospects, which remain shaky and depend on a global auto recovery.
"I'm not that pessimistic. I am hopeful the world's economy is going to grow happier," Nomura Securities Co. auto analyst Shotaro Noguchi said in a telephone interview.
"The image that Toyota cars were dangerous got serious three months ago so that even kids knew about it. But people forget and that has changed," he said.
Toyoda pointed to his striking a deal last month with Tesla Motors Inc., a U.S. electric car manufacturer, to open an electric car plant at the site of Toyota's former venture with General Motors Co. as an example of how Toyota will start anew.
In April, Toyota closed the California plant, called New United Motor Manufacturing Inc., or NUMMI.
He promised Toyota will continue to grow, but without pursuing size for size's sake.
"Our company is about doing the right thing in the right way," he told the meeting. "And I like to think we are the kind of company that cares about people's feelings."
Spanish EU presidency marred by economic crisis
by Pierre Ausseill
Spain's ambitious presidency of the EU was eclipsed by the European debt crisis which thrust the country's fragile economy into the global spotlight and weakened the Spanish government, analysts said.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had planned to use the six-month presidency of the 27-nation bloc, which wraps up on July 1 when Belgium takes over, to bolster his international stature.
But nothing went as planned as the eruption of the Greek debt crisis, and the subsequent fears that it could spread to other southern European nations like Spain and Portugal, caused stock markets and the euro single currency to plunge.
Under pressure by EU heavyweight Germany, the Spanish government adopted unpopular austerity measures, including public sector spending cuts, aimed at slashing a public deficit that hit 11.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2009, the third-highest after Greece and Ireland.
The government also adopted an overhaul of its rigid labour market as recommended by the International Monetary Fund to fight an unemployment rate of 20 percent.
The reforms, which make it easier and less expensive to fire workers, put an end to Zapatero's honeymoon with the nation's unions, which have called a general strike for September 29, and caused his popularity to drop.
Spain was ending its stint as EU president as a "protectorate" of the bloc with its "economy managed from abroad", the leader of the main opposition Popular Party, Mariano Rajoy, charged Wednesday during a debate with Zapatero in parliament.
"The circumstances of the Greek crisis and the widespread problem of fiscal deficits overtook Spain as they would have overtaken any rotating presidency," said Ignacio Molina, a Europe analyst with the Elcano Institute think tank in Madrid.
"But Spain also emerged as one of the weakest countries in this scenario. It found itself without a margin for manoeuvre, being in the position of judge and litigant at the same time. It was difficult for other countries to consider it a neutral president," he added.
Hierlemann Dominik, a specialist in European affairs at German's Bertelsmann Foundation, said all other priorities "such as relations with the Maghreb, the rights of women, were swept away by the crisis in the euro, they were marginalized."
On the diplomatic front Spain's presidency of the EU was marked by the cancellation of two key summits, one with the United States in May and the other with the Mediterranean Union in June.
The EU-US summit was called off after US President Barack Obama cancelled the trip citing his busy schedule while the Mediterranean Union summit was postponed to give time for progress in indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
The death of Cuban dissident Orlando Zapata in February torpedoed Spain's bid to get the EU to soften its common position regarding the communist island.
Spain did achieve its goals for the EU-Latin America summit held last month with the announcement of a free trade agreement between the bloc and Central America and the relaunch of free trade talks with South American trading bloc Mercosur, which is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Zapatero defended Spain's performance during the EU presidency, saying Wednesday it had been "satisfactory" and "useful".
He pointed to the approval at an EU summit last week of Madrid's proposal to make bank stress tests public -- which he said would be "fundamental" to restore calm in the markets -- as an example of the success of the Spanish presidency.
"We had to deal with difficult circumstances for the European Union and also for our country," he added.
Spain's ambitious presidency of the EU was eclipsed by the European debt crisis which thrust the country's fragile economy into the global spotlight and weakened the Spanish government, analysts said.
Socialist Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero had planned to use the six-month presidency of the 27-nation bloc, which wraps up on July 1 when Belgium takes over, to bolster his international stature.
But nothing went as planned as the eruption of the Greek debt crisis, and the subsequent fears that it could spread to other southern European nations like Spain and Portugal, caused stock markets and the euro single currency to plunge.
Under pressure by EU heavyweight Germany, the Spanish government adopted unpopular austerity measures, including public sector spending cuts, aimed at slashing a public deficit that hit 11.2 percent of gross domestic product in 2009, the third-highest after Greece and Ireland.
The government also adopted an overhaul of its rigid labour market as recommended by the International Monetary Fund to fight an unemployment rate of 20 percent.
The reforms, which make it easier and less expensive to fire workers, put an end to Zapatero's honeymoon with the nation's unions, which have called a general strike for September 29, and caused his popularity to drop.
Spain was ending its stint as EU president as a "protectorate" of the bloc with its "economy managed from abroad", the leader of the main opposition Popular Party, Mariano Rajoy, charged Wednesday during a debate with Zapatero in parliament.
"The circumstances of the Greek crisis and the widespread problem of fiscal deficits overtook Spain as they would have overtaken any rotating presidency," said Ignacio Molina, a Europe analyst with the Elcano Institute think tank in Madrid.
"But Spain also emerged as one of the weakest countries in this scenario. It found itself without a margin for manoeuvre, being in the position of judge and litigant at the same time. It was difficult for other countries to consider it a neutral president," he added.
Hierlemann Dominik, a specialist in European affairs at German's Bertelsmann Foundation, said all other priorities "such as relations with the Maghreb, the rights of women, were swept away by the crisis in the euro, they were marginalized."
On the diplomatic front Spain's presidency of the EU was marked by the cancellation of two key summits, one with the United States in May and the other with the Mediterranean Union in June.
The EU-US summit was called off after US President Barack Obama cancelled the trip citing his busy schedule while the Mediterranean Union summit was postponed to give time for progress in indirect talks between Israel and the Palestinians.
The death of Cuban dissident Orlando Zapata in February torpedoed Spain's bid to get the EU to soften its common position regarding the communist island.
Spain did achieve its goals for the EU-Latin America summit held last month with the announcement of a free trade agreement between the bloc and Central America and the relaunch of free trade talks with South American trading bloc Mercosur, which is made up of Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay and Paraguay.
Zapatero defended Spain's performance during the EU presidency, saying Wednesday it had been "satisfactory" and "useful".
He pointed to the approval at an EU summit last week of Madrid's proposal to make bank stress tests public -- which he said would be "fundamental" to restore calm in the markets -- as an example of the success of the Spanish presidency.
"We had to deal with difficult circumstances for the European Union and also for our country," he added.
vineri, 18 iunie 2010
Santander makes bid for RBS branches
Spanish bank Santander has submitted an offer to buy Royal Bank of Scotland's (RBS) Williams & Glyn's subsidiary.
RBS is selling the unit and its 318 branches after the European Commission ruled last year that it must dispose of the business as a condition of the bank being bailed out by the UK government.
Virgin Money, who had earlier dropped out of the bidding, told the BBC it was still interested in the RBS branches.
Santander said it was not sure when the tender process would end.
Santander is understood to have offered considerably less than £2bn.
"There is a pretty high probability that the board of RBS will conclude that Santander is not offering enough and will therefore withdraw the branches from sale, in the hope that market conditions for the auction of such assets improve in a year or two's time," BBC business editor Robert Peston said.
Under the agreement RBS reached with the European Commission on the disposal of certain of its businesses, RBS has another three and half years to complete the sale of the branches.
'Sale still open'
RBS said it was "seriously reviewing" Santander's offer, but added that the tender process remained open to other interested parties.
"This remains a competitive process and we will continue to do what is right for our shareholders in disposing of these assets," it said in a statement.
A number of other banks have been named as potential bidders, including National Australia Bank and US private equity group Blackrock, but reports have said they have dropped out of the running.
Santander already has a substantial presence on the UK High Street having bought Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley in recent years.
RBS is selling the unit and its 318 branches after the European Commission ruled last year that it must dispose of the business as a condition of the bank being bailed out by the UK government.
Virgin Money, who had earlier dropped out of the bidding, told the BBC it was still interested in the RBS branches.
Santander said it was not sure when the tender process would end.
Santander is understood to have offered considerably less than £2bn.
"There is a pretty high probability that the board of RBS will conclude that Santander is not offering enough and will therefore withdraw the branches from sale, in the hope that market conditions for the auction of such assets improve in a year or two's time," BBC business editor Robert Peston said.
Under the agreement RBS reached with the European Commission on the disposal of certain of its businesses, RBS has another three and half years to complete the sale of the branches.
'Sale still open'
RBS said it was "seriously reviewing" Santander's offer, but added that the tender process remained open to other interested parties.
"This remains a competitive process and we will continue to do what is right for our shareholders in disposing of these assets," it said in a statement.
A number of other banks have been named as potential bidders, including National Australia Bank and US private equity group Blackrock, but reports have said they have dropped out of the running.
Santander already has a substantial presence on the UK High Street having bought Abbey National, Alliance & Leicester and Bradford & Bingley in recent years.
Obama warns G20 leaders on budget cuts
Barack Obama has warned against cutting national debts too quickly as it would put economic recovery at risk.
In a letter to G20 leaders, the US president said that while it was important to put in place "credible plans" to cut deficits, withdrawing economic stimulus early was dangerous.
"[In the past] stimulus was too quickly withdrawn and resulted in renewed hardships and recession," he warned.
But Mr Obama said the US would still aim to halve is own deficit by 2013.
The US budget deficit would be cut to 3% of GDP by 2015, the president said.
The leaders of the world's 20 leading economies are due to meet in Toronto on 26 June.
Mr Obama said the priority of the meeting should be "to safeguard and strengthen the recovery".
The BBC World Service's economics correspondent Andrew Walker said the letter appeared to express the US administrations reservations over recent changes in economic policy in Europe.
"There has been a marked change in emphasis in the G20 in the last few weeks," he said.
"For many of the group's member countries, especially in Europe, the case for stimulating economic recovery using the public finances has been overtaken by concerns about stabilising government debt."
The governments of several large European countries, Germany and the United Kingdom among them, have recently outlined plans for spending cuts.
In comments apparently directed at China, Mr Obama also stressed the need for flexible exchange rates to ensure a balanced global economy.
China has been criticised by the US for failing to allow its currency to trade freely.
The G20, which includes both developed and developing economies such as Russia, China and Argentina, has taken the lead in efforts to tackle the global financial crisis.
In a letter to G20 leaders, the US president said that while it was important to put in place "credible plans" to cut deficits, withdrawing economic stimulus early was dangerous.
"[In the past] stimulus was too quickly withdrawn and resulted in renewed hardships and recession," he warned.
But Mr Obama said the US would still aim to halve is own deficit by 2013.
The US budget deficit would be cut to 3% of GDP by 2015, the president said.
The leaders of the world's 20 leading economies are due to meet in Toronto on 26 June.
Mr Obama said the priority of the meeting should be "to safeguard and strengthen the recovery".
The BBC World Service's economics correspondent Andrew Walker said the letter appeared to express the US administrations reservations over recent changes in economic policy in Europe.
"There has been a marked change in emphasis in the G20 in the last few weeks," he said.
"For many of the group's member countries, especially in Europe, the case for stimulating economic recovery using the public finances has been overtaken by concerns about stabilising government debt."
The governments of several large European countries, Germany and the United Kingdom among them, have recently outlined plans for spending cuts.
In comments apparently directed at China, Mr Obama also stressed the need for flexible exchange rates to ensure a balanced global economy.
China has been criticised by the US for failing to allow its currency to trade freely.
The G20, which includes both developed and developing economies such as Russia, China and Argentina, has taken the lead in efforts to tackle the global financial crisis.
Chevron vows to pay for Salt Lake City oil spill
By PAUL FOY, Associated Press
Salt Lake City attorneys expect Chevron Corp. will quickly agree to a financial settlement related to last weekend's pipeline spill that dumped 33,000 gallons of crude oil into city waterways, a spokeswoman for Mayor Ralph Becker said Friday.
Becker has vowed to make Chevron pay for the cleanup, and the company has repeatedly pledged to cover the city's expenses, as well as damage or reimbursement claims from others.
A deal could be announced next week, said Lisa Harrison Smith, the mayor's spokeswoman.
"We won't be satisfied until it's done," she said.
San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron believes an improbable series of events led to last Saturday's spill, which sent crude oil into pristine Red Butte Creek.
A short in an overhead 46,000-volt power line traveled to a fence post that acted like an electric arc welder, melting a quarter-size hole in the pipeline, the company said.
The bottom of the fence post was anchored just inches above the buried pipeline — an obvious danger that went unnoticed for 30 years, Chevron said.
"It would be highly unusual, but it's a plausible theory," Rocky Mountain Power spokesman Dave Eskelsen said.
Some of the spilled oil traveled in the creek through Salt Lake City to the Jordan River, which drains into the Great Salt Lake.
Chevron said it has cleaned up 21,000 of the 33,000 gallons of spilled oil. Much of that has been mopped and vacuumed from city waterways. Absorbent booms on the Jordan River have been capturing traces of oil, and workers were seen digging up oil-soaked soil Wednesday and sucking up residual oil from Red Butte Creek near the spill site.
Chevron said it plans to flush the Red Butte Creek with water Saturday to capture residual oil with absorbent booms. It warned residents the flushing could stir up oil fumes for three or four hours.
But the latest samples from 13 locations along Red Butte Creek and the Jordan River show no danger to human health or aquatic life, Utah Division of Water Quality officials said.
The U.S. Department of Transportation has jurisdiction over oil pipelines and is investigating what caused the spill, said Patricia Klinger, a spokeswoman for the department's pipeline-safety group. A metallurgist is examining the pipe, she said.
The department's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration can fine Chevron, but has no authority over Rocky Mountain Power, which owns the nearby fenced compound and power lines near the pipeline, Klinger said.
Chevron officials said earlier this week that more than 30 claims had been filed with the oil company. The company is taking full responsibility and expects to get hit with a large amount of bills for damages and expenses, Chevron spokesman Dan Johnson said Friday.
"We think that's appropriate," he said. "People who pay their bills are trusted."
The Utah Rivers Council on Friday called for Chevron to deposit $15 million into an escrow account to pay for damages and cleanup expenses. But the expected settlement agreement would make an escrow account unnecessary, Smith said.
Stocks post biggest two-week gain since November
By TIM PARADIS and SETH SUTEL, AP Business
Here's something for investors beaten down by the market's sharp declines this spring: The Dow Jones industrial average just had its best two weeks since November.
The Dow's gain of 16 points on Friday was relatively modest, but it capped a surge of 5.2 percent over the past two weeks that puts the average nearly halfway back to the high for the year that it reached on April 26.
Stocks had a longer winning streak earlier this year, an eight-week stretch that ended in late April, but those gains were more gradual. Then a sharp drop in May and early June brought the Dow down as much as 12.4 percent below its 2010 high, a decline that market analysts call a "correction."
The debate now is focusing on whether that correction phase is over. A correction is generally considered a drop of 10-20 percent from a recent peak. The Dow has risen back 6.5 percent from its lowest close of the year on June 7, but it's still down 6.7 percent from its 2010 high.
"I don't know that we're totally through the correction," said Stu Schweitzer, global markets strategist at JPMorgan's Private Bank in New York. "I do expect markets to remain quite volatile all through the rest of this year, but I still expect that we're going to end the year higher."
Minerals companies led other shares higher after gold settled at another record high. Barrick Gold Corp. jumped 3.5 percent, while Newmont Mining Corp. rose 2.6 percent.
Corporate news also brought out buyers. CVS Caremark Corp. rose 1.9 percent and Walgreen Co. rose 2.8 percent after the two companies settled a dispute over pharmacy prescriptions that had threatened to hurt profits. Dow component Caterpillar Inc. gained 1.4 percent after reporting sharply higher sales.
The Dow rose 16.47, or 0.2 percent, to close at 10,450.64. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 1.47, or 0.1 percent, to 1,117.51. The Nasdaq composite index edged up 2.64, or 0.1 percent, to 2,309.80.
All three indicators posted solid gains for the week. The Dow is up 2.3 percent, the S&P 500 2.4 percent and the Nasdaq 3 percent.
The Dow posted its second consecutive weekly gain of more than 2 percent. Before that, the Dow had been down for three weeks. The last time the Dow had a two-week stretch of gains that strong was in November 2009.
Advancing stocks narrowly outpaced those that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 4.9 billion shares, versus 4.6 billion the day before. Volume was heavier because of the simultaneous expiration of four kinds of futures and options contracts, which occurs once every quarter.
Trading was relatively quiet considering the options and futures expirations, which can often bring volatility as traders adjust their portfolios. The week that follows the June expiration is often a losing one for investors. The Dow has posted a loss during that week for the past 11 years, according to the Stock Trader's Almanac.
Bond prices slipped, pushing interest rates higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.23 percent from 3.20 percent late Thursday.
The dollar edged lower against the British pound and Japanese yen, while the euro edged down versus the dollar. The euro has regained strength over the past week amid encouraging signs in Europe's efforts to control its debt crisis. Spain had successful bond sales this week, and European leaders pledged to disclose the results of stress tests on banks.
Crude oil rose 39 cents to settle at $77.18 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab, said the market's bounce from its recent lows has come too quickly. He said professional traders are building up positions in investments that would cushion their losses if the market fell again.
"Not that we're going into this big ugly bear market but to go back down to the lows that we were at just a few weeks ago, I think, seems very possible based on what I see," Frederick said. "I see a reason to be a little cautious right now."
The coming week brings readings on home sales and consumer sentiment. The Federal Reserve also will meet on interest rates.
Gold settled up $1,258.30 an ounce, a gain of $9.60. Barrick Gold rose $1.56, or 3.5 percent, to $46.38, and Newmont Mining climbed $1.57, or 2.6 percent, to $61.25.
CVS rose 59 cents to $32.43, while Walgreen gained 82 cents to $30.09. Caterpillar gained 90 cents to close at $65.85.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 1.07, or 0.2 percent, to 666.92.
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