Business Highlights

The company's stock plunged more than 6 percent in after-hours trading after the loss was announced. Other bank stocks, including Citigroup and Bank of America suffered heavy losses as well.

The loss occurred in JPMorgan's Corporate and Private Equity segment. JPMorgan previously had planned on a profit of $200 million for the segment, excluding some special items.

The loss is expected to hurt JPMorgan's overall earnings for the second quarter, which ends June 30. Dimon apologized for the losses, which he said occurred since the first quarter ended on March 31.

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Bing to duel Google with Facebook-friendly format

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Microsoft's Bing search engine is heading in a new direction as it drills deeper into Facebook's social network and Twitter's messaging service to showcase information unlikely to be found on Google.

The changes, unveiled Thursday, will reshape how Bing displays its search results. It represents Microsoft's most dramatic shift in Internet search since the software maker introduced Bing as a "decision engine" nearly three years ago.

Microsoft Corp. is counting on the new format to loosen Google's stranglehold on the lucrative Internet search market. In the process, Microsoft hopes to turn a profit in its online division, which has lost more than $6.3 billion since Bing's June 2009 debut.

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With Apple in, Dow would have set record long ago

Apple is the world's most valuable company. The Dow Jones industrial average is probably the world's best-known stock index. So don't they deserve each other?

Consider this: If Apple had been added to the Dow in June 2009, the last time there were serious rumors that it would happen, the average would be about 2,500 points higher than it is today and well above its all-time high.

Paul Hickey of Bespoke Investment Group, which crunches markets numbers, says the Dow would be at 15,360, about 1,200 points above its record of 14,164, set in October 2007. The Dow closed Wednesday at 12,835.

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Spain bank rescue underscores financial dilemma

MADRID (AP) — The Spanish government's decision to take control of the country's fourth-largest bank highlights the problem gripping the nation's financial system. Banks are taking huge losses on real estate loans that have soured, but the deeper the government gets involved in providing aid, the greater the risk it will need an international bailout.

Financial stocks in Madrid soared Thursday, a day after the government said it would take a 45 percent controlling stake in Bankia SA, which has the highest exposure to bad property loans of all Spanish banks following a crash in the construction sector that started in 2008.

But because the government — already strapped for cash — will finance the takeover, investors continued to worry that the country might eventually need a bailout itself. Spain's sovereign borrowing rates remained uncomfortably high on Thursday, suggesting traders are wary of its financial future.

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US applications for unemployment aid dip to 367,000

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people applying for U.S. unemployment benefits ticked down last week following a sharp drop the previous week.

Applications are falling again after rising for most of April, suggesting hiring could pick up this month.

Weekly applications dropped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 367,000 in the week ending May 5, the Labor Department said Thursday. The previous week's figure was revised up slightly.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, fell by 5,250 to 379,000. It was the first decline since late March.

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Bernanke says lending spigots are more open now

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that many businesses and consumers are finding it easier to borrow as banks shore up their balance sheets.

He said that large companies are selling bonds at historically low interest rates and that people with strong credit have "ready access" to credit card and auto loans.

Bernanke also noted that many creditworthy Americans are finding it difficult to get mortgage loans. He said small business owners who have used their homes as collateral for loans also face "challenging" conditions.

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USDA predicts record US corn harvest this summer

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Consumers could see some relief from higher food prices by late fall, if the latest government crop forecast holds up.