Briefs: Ford sells $1.5B in bonds in recent issue

Ford Motor Co. sold $1.5 billion of bonds in its first benchmark issue since the second-largest U.S. automaker regained investment-grade ratings from Moody's Investors Service last month.

Ford Motor Credit Co., the carmaker's financing unit, sold the 3-percent, five-year notes at a spread of 230 basis points more than similar-maturity Treasuries, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The spread was reduced from initial talk of about 240 basis points, according to Bloomberg's unnamed source.

Moody's raised its rating on Ford by two levels to Baa3 from Ba2, on May 22.

Poll: U.S. worried about bills over beach

As summer beckons, it seems Americans are thinking more about the stifling cost of energy than about making tracks to the beach.

Cutting energy bills and use is a bigger deal to them than taking a vacation or scoring the latest smartphone or tablet, according to an AP-NORC Center poll that asked people to choose priorities. But in typical American fashion, by far the highest priority was having a reliable set of wheels.

U.S. jobless claims shrink slightly

The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week, suggesting modest job growth after three months of weak hiring. Applications for weekly benefits dropped by 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 377,000. That's down from an upwardly revised 389,000 the previous week.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose by 1,750 to 377,500, highest level in a month. Employers added 69,000 jobs, the fewest in a year. Hiring was also weak in March and April.

Credit card use drops for month of April

Americans cut back sharply on their credit card purchases in April, a sign that some may be worried about the slowdown in hiring.

The Federal Reserve said Thursday that consumers increased borrowing by $6.5 billion in April, just half of the March gain.

The gain was driven by a $9.96 billion rise in a category that includes auto and student loans. That offset a $3.4 billion drop in credit card debt, the first decline since January.

Total borrowing rose to a seasonally adjusted $2.55 trillion.

That was slightly below the all-time high of $2.58 trillion reached in July 2008, eight months after the recession began.

Staff and wire reports

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