US open: Yahoo! back in play
US stocks are mixed after US industrial production in April fell more than anticipated.
The US Industrial Production Index fell 0.7% in April after a downwards revised 0.2% increase in March. Economists had been forecasting a 0.3% April decline.
Plant capacity use also fell, to 79.7%, versus expectation of 80.1%. Plant capacity use in March was 80.4%.
The Labor department said unemployment benefit claims rose by 6,000 last week to 371,000, which is in line with expectations.
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Across the markets, the Dow Jones is up 12 at 12,910 and the S&P 500 is 2 points better at 1,411. The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite outperforms the other two indices, rising 8 points to 2,504.
CBS is the morning's major casualty after agreeing to buy computer geek web site CNet Networks for around $1.75bn.
Yahoo! was on the rise, however, after billionaire financier Carl Icahn threatened to wrest control of the board unless Yahoo! revived merger talks with Microsoft. All 10 Yahoo! directors are up for re-election on July 3, and Icahn has a list of 10 nominees of his own for board seats, backed by his holding of 59m shares. Icahn said he also has permission to acquire a further $2.5bn worth of Yahoo! shares.
Retailer JC Penney predicted difficult conditions for the year and said it will cut its first quarter dividends by a half. Other retailers are also due to released first quarter figures.
