Economy: Consumers confidence falls to five-month low

Consumer confidence fell sharply in July to its lowest level in five months, undermined by a steep decline in stock prices and worries about jobs, a research group said Tuesday.

The New York-based Conference Board said its Consumer Confidence Index fell to 97.1 from a revised 106.3 in June. Analysts had been expecting a reading of 101.5.

The industry group’s index, based on a monthly survey of some 5,000 U.S. households, is closely watched because consumer confidence drives consumer spending, which accounts for about two-thirds of the nation’s economic activity.

July’s figure is the lowest since February, when consumer confidence fell to 95.

Technology: IBM to pay $3.5 billion for PwC Consulting

Technology giant IBM Corp. said Tuesday that it will buy the consulting and technology services arm of PricewaterhouseCoopers for $3.5 billion in cash and stock.

The consulting arm, PwC Consulting, will join IBM’s giant Global Services unit, which has overtaken the company’s hardware division as its largest revenue earner.

The acquisition, subject to approval of federal regulators and local PwC partners, will add some 30,000 new employees to the division that already counts about half of IBM’s approximately 320,000 workers.

Both companies said they expected the deal to be concluded around the end of the third quarter.

Wall Street: Sprint shares soar on news of credit line

Sprint Corp. said on Tuesday it had arranged a $1.5 billion bank credit line to replace an existing facility, but had no plans to tap the funds since its cash flow remained strong.

Shares of Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. long-distance telephone company, and Sprint PCS Group, its wireless carrier tracking stock, jumped more than 13 percent after the news, which Sprint said showed it had ample liquidity despite the slow economy.

Overland Park-based Sprint said in a statement it expected to be cash flow break-even in 2002. The unsecured, revolving $1.5 billion bank credit replaces an existing $2 billion facility that had been set to expire in August 2003.

Shares of Sprint rose as high as $9 on the New York Stock Exchange before closing up 96 cents, or 13.5 percent, at $8.26.