Business Highlights

The Associated Press

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Stock rally helps regain wealth lost in recession

WASHINGTON (AP) ⿿ Americans are continuing to climb out of the hole they sank into during the Great Recession.

A stock rally at the end of 2011 helped rebuild lost wealth ⿿ a trend that carried into 2012. Households responded by increasing their borrowing for the first time since the financial crisis began, even as home values fell further.

Household wealth rose 2.1 percent to $58.5 trillion in fourth quarter, the most in a year. It will have to rise 13 percent more to revisit its pre-recession peak.

Americans' stock portfolios rose nearly 10 percent last quarter to drive the gains. And stocks have increased even further since then. The Standard & Poor's 500 index has jumped 24 percent since early October.

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Stronger US economy may strain to top expectations

WASHINGTON (AP) ⿿ The U.S. economy has been outrunning everyone's expectations.

Factory output has surprisingly surged. Housing, left for dead, is inching back. Most crucially, companies are hiring faster than many envisioned.

Funny thing about expectations, though: Each time you exceed them, it gets harder to do so next time. On Friday, economists expect the government to report a 200,000-plus job gain for a third straight month.

The previous two months, job growth topped expectations, and unemployment sank from 8.7 percent to 8.3 percent. Consumer confidence has since risen. So have President Barack Obama's approval ratings.

This time? Another strong jobs report would be a welcome sign that the economy is further strengthening. But unless it exceeds expectations, it may not ignite a celebration.

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iPad dominates due to Apple's supply deals

NEW YORK (AP) ⿿ Apple certainly has lots of buzz and corporate cache behind its products, but there's a hidden ⿿ almost mundane ⿿ reason its newest iPad is likely to dominate the competition: the advantageous deals the company cuts with components manufacturers.

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