Hong Kong Ipo Boom Is A Bust For Many

Retailers report modest gains for April

A big gain in the job market is lifting the stock market to new milestones. The Dow Jones industrial average crossed 15,000 for the first time early Friday, and the Standard and Poor's 500 index, a broader market measure, broke through 1,600 for the first time.

NEW YORK (AP) — A legal challenge to an ambitious plan to let the public buy shares in one of New York City's most famous landmarks — the Empire State Building — was cast aside on Tuesday in a ruling by a Manhattan judge. The ruling stems from a long-running dispute over plans by real estate magnates Peter Malkin and his son Anthony to offer the public shares in their holdings in Manhattan and Connecticut, including the 102-story Empire State Building. The Empire State Building's controlling investors have said they are close to getting approval of 80 percent of the smaller shareholders for the public offering — the percentage needed to go forward.

A study of Google searches and US stock market data finds that rises in searches for financially relevant terms precede market slumps.

The head of Italian automaker Fiat is considering a plan to hold a public stock offering after the company buys 100 percent of Chrysler, according to a person briefed on the matter.