Austin American-Statesman from Austin, Texas • B7

I WEDNESDAY, JUNE 11, 2014 B7 DOW 16,945.92 2.820.02 NASDAQ 4,338.00 1 .760.04 1,950.79 Find blogs, personal finance stories and business news on statesman.com business. News: businessstatesman.com or 512-445-3835 Subscribe: statesman.comsubscribe MEDIA AUSTIN AMERICAN-STATESMAN El Rey network to be based in Austin WHERETO WATCH EL REY Time Warner Cable: Channel 1 45 Local, state officials applaud filmmaker Robert Rodriguez. By Gary Dinges gdingesstatesman.com A fledgling cable network launched by Robert Rodriguez will be based in Austin, the award-winning Hollywood filmmaker said Tuesday. El Rey, which debuted in December and is now available in about 40 million U.S. homes, will set up its produc- D.J.Cotrona is Seth Gecko in "From Dusk Till Dawn: The Series," an El Rey network show made in the Austin area, contributed by el rey network At 4.5 million job listings, economy in growth mode tion headquarters and corporate offices at Rodriguez's Troublemaker Studios complex in East Austin.

The network plans to shoot several upcoming films, TV series and Network continued on B8 ings since September 2007. Companies have been slow to fill openings since the recession ended, so the increase in postings won't automatically lead to more jobs. The report showed that the number of jobs filled in April, 4.7 million, was largely unchanged from March. In the past year, job postings have jumped 16.5 percent, while hiring has risen just 6 percent. But more job openings typically points to an improving job market.

A separate monthly employment report Friday showed the economy generat Jessica Bowen (left) talks with Sandra Modena, sales manager at Trillium Staffing, during a veterans job fair last month in Muskegon, Mich. A Labor Department report on job postings Tuesday suggested that the job market has "shifted to a period of stronger growth," an analyst said, madelyn Hastings the muskegon chronicle WALL STREET 500 slips, ending run of record highs EW YORK A run of record highs in the stock market came to an end Tuesday as the Standard Poor's 500 index lost ground for just the second time this month. The slight loss for the index broke a four-day string of all-time highs. The Standard Poor's 500 index slipped 0.48 of a point, or 0.02 percent, to close at 1,950.79 on a quiet day for trading. The most widely used benchmark for mutual funds closed at an all-time high on Monday, its fourth record high in a row.

Six industry groups in the 500 fell and four rose Tuesday, though none moved by more than 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 2.82 points, or 0.02 percent, to 16,945.92, while the Nasdaq picked up 1.75 points, or 0.04 percent, to 4,338. After slumping earlier this year, the stock market has been on a slow and steady climb since April. In recent weeks, a number of encouraging economic reports have helped push the 500 to a series of record highs and left the index up 5.5 percent for the year. ELECTRONICS Mobile business slump hurts RadioShack FORT WORTH RadioShack's first-quarter loss widened and revenue slumped as the retailer dealt with weakness in its mobile business and consumer electronics.

Its performance missed Wall Street's view. The stock dropped more than 10 percent. CEO Joseph Magnacca said in a written statement that RadioShack's mobile business was hurt because the current handset assortment didn't resonate well with customers. It was also contending with more promotions, including those of wireless carriers. Magnacca said that Radio-Shack is working on building its pipeline of new products, including private brand and exclusive items such as those from new partnerships with Quirky and PCH.

E-COMMERCE Google purchasing satellite maker Skybox SAN FRANCISCO Google is buying Skybox Imaging in a deal that could serve as a launching pad for the Internet company to send its own fleet of satellites to take aerial pictures and provide online access to remote areas of the world. The $500 million acquisition announced Tuesday initially will provide Google with the means to improve the quality and immediacy of the satellite imagery used in its digital maps. Google Inc. plans to use Sky-box's satellite already in orbit to supplement the material that it licenses from more than 1,000 sources, including other satellite companies such as DigitalGlobe and Astrium. Eventually, though, Skybox could turn into another Google "moonshot" a term that CEO Larry Page has embraced for describing ambitious projects that could take several years to materialize.

PHARMACEUTICALS Valeant plans hostile bid for Allergan Valeant Pharmaceuticals aims to take its bid for Allergan to the Botox maker's shareholders after Allergan's board unanimously rejected its latest offer of about $53 billion. Valeant said Tuesday that it looked forward to giving shareholders the opportunity "to speak for themselves" after Allergan Chairman and CEO David Pyott said that the offer wasn't worth discussing in a letter to his Valeant counterpart, Michael Pearson. Valeant, teamed with activist investor Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management, went public with its offer to buy Allergan in April and has since upgraded its pitch several times. Staff and wire reports Firms stock up on goods in April It is a sign that U.S. wholesale businesses expect stronger growth.

Associated Press WASHINGTON U.S. wholesale businesses built up their stockpiles of goods in April, a sign that companies expect stronger economic growth in the coming months. The Commerce Department said Tuesday that wholesale stockpiles expanded 1.1 percent in April, following a 1.1 percent gain in March. The result marks 10 straight months of rising inventories. Sales at the wholesale level climbed 1.3 percent, led by autos, furniture and pharmaceutical drugs.

Sales rose 1.6 percent in March. Year-over-year, sales are up 6.7 percent. Because sales have roughly kept pace with the higher inventories, companies will likely need to continue restocking their shelves to meet rising consumer and business demand. That should help to fuel faster economic growth as more factories crank up their production and the spending ripples through the broader economy. The Commerce Department report covers inventories held at the wholesale level.

In a later report, the government will detail inventories at the Wholesale continued on B8 are seen here at Las Vegas' airport, s. warren associated press 2011 for more than a decade. GM this year has recalled 2.6 million small cars with the faulty switches. They have been blamed for more than 50 crashes and at least 13 deaths. Barra further said GM may "tweak the structure here or there" but she doesn't expect GM continued on B9 5 flights arrive on time, U.S.

says Postings reach highest point since late 2007; strong hiring predicted. Associated Press WASHINGTON U.S. companies advertised more jobs in April than in any month in 6V2 years, a possible harbinger of strong hiring in the months ahead. Employers posted nearly 4.5 million jobs, up strongly from 4.2 million in March, the Labor Department said Tuesday. It's the largest number of job list AIRLINES About 4 of Airlines' on-time record improved in April, and baggage losses fell, too.

Associated Press WASHINGTON Airlines are doing a better job of arriving on time, although more than one in five flights still run late. The U.S. Transportation Department said Tuesday that the nation's biggest airlines achieved an on-time arrival rating of 79.6 percent AUTOMAKERS GM CEO: No Barra sees no further personnel changes related to ignitions. Associated Press DETROIT A thorough review of General Motors' safety issues is nearing completion and hasn't turned up any ed 217,000 jobs in May, while the unemployment rate remained at a five-year low of 6.3 percent. "Today's report appears to confirm that the U.S.

labor market has indeed shifted to a period of stronger growth, Jeremy Schwartz, an analyst at Credit Suisse, said in a note to clients. Almost all the gain occurred in the private sector, while government job openings rose slightly. The biggest increases were in retail, restaurants and hotels, which include most-Jobs continued on B8 Southwest Airlines, whose planes had the lowest complaint rate, ted ing to act on the problem. Five others were disciplined. The meeting comes just days after former U.S.

Attorney Anton Valukas issued a report that blamed an inefficient corporate structure and misconduct or poor decisions by some employees for allowing a deadly defect in an ignition switch to go undisclosed in April. That is up from 77.6 percent in March and 77.3 percent in April 2013. The most punctual airlines were Hawaiian Airlines (on time 94 percent of the time), Alaska Airlines (90.3 percent) and Virgin America (86.5 percent). The most likely to be late were Ex-pressjet (on time 74.2 percent of the time), Southwest Airlines (75 percent) and Envoy Air, which used to be called American Eagle, at Airlines continued on B9 more serious safety issues lurking more serious problems, the company's CEO said Tuesday. Speaking to reporters before the company's annual meeting, Mary Barra also said that personnel changes related to a deadly ignition switch problem are finished.

The company forced out 15 workers last week after an outside attorney blamed them for fail.