Financial life in a big town

European markets bounced back from early losses on news that the 17-country eurozone has narrowly dodged recession, thanks mainly to strong growth in Germany, though concerns persisted that Greece’s political impasse could eventually force it to leave the currency bloc.

Official EU statistics showed the eurozone economy was flat in the first quarter compared with the previous three-month period, better than the 0.2 percent drop that analysts had been expecting. A drop would have put the eurozone technically back into recession, which is defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

“In the current context, zero growth in the eurozone in the first quarter is relatively good news,” said Marie Diron, senior economic adviser at Ernst & Young. “It suggests that the economy is not falling off a cliff under the burden of fiscal austerity.”

Growth of 0.5 percent in Germany helped offset recessions in seven countries, including large economies like Spain and Italy. But such imbalances remain a worrying weakness in the eurozone. The most fragile economies are also those that are enacting the most punishing austerity measures to lower debt. The result is a currency union in which countries’ economic paths are diverging.

After earlier losses, Britain’s FTSE 100 was up 0.2 percent to 5,474 while Germany’s DAX was up 0.3 percent at 6,472 and France’s CAC-40 added 0.7 percent to 3,080. The euro was up 0.2 percent at $1.2852.

Wall Street was headed for a higher opening, with Dow Jones industrial futures rising 0.6 percent to 12,731 while S&P 500 futures adding 0.6 percent to 1,341.50.

The outlook for the eurozone remains darkened by the political crisis in Greece, where party leaders were struggling for a ninth day to form a coalition government.

No party won an outright majority in the May 6 election, causing an impasse that has raised questions about Greece’s ability to stay in the eurozone. Power-sharing efforts have failed so far after the left-wing Syriza party, which came second in the vote, insisted that the draconian terms of Greece’s financial rescue agreements be scrapped or rewritten short term personal loans.

More talks will be held Tuesday, but hopes for a deal are low and expectations are increasing that the country will have to hold new elections. With polls showing increasing support for Syriza, analysts expect a showdown between whatever new government comes to power in Greece and the country’s bailout rescuers.

“The exit of Greece from the single currency has become probable. Not so long ago it was impossible,” analysts at DBS Bank said.

Looking ahead, investors will keep an eye on U.S. economic indicators for inflation, retail sales and surveys on manufacturing due later in the day. The recovery in the world’s largest economy has been tentative, with employment gains uneven, though corporate earnings have been mostly upbeat. Investors will be searching for signs of strength that might offset the turmoil in Europe and weakening growth in Asia, particularly China.

Asian markets fell earlier on Tuesday, with Japan’s Nikkei 225 down 0.8 percent to 8,900.74, its lowest close since Feb. 3. South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.8 percent to 1,898.96. Australia’s S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.7 percent to 4,266.30.

Mainland Chinese shares extended their losses, with the Shanghai Composite Index hitting another three-month low, losing 0.2 percent to 2,374.90. But Hong Kong’s Hang Seng, which some analysts said was oversold after more than a week of losses, rebounded 0.8 percent to 19,894.31.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 2 cents to $94.80 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.35 to settle at $94.78 in New York on Friday.

In currencies, the dollar rose to 79.92 yen from 79.86 yen late Monday in New York.

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In a rare show of unity, Iran and the world’s big powers on Saturday hailed their first nuclear meeting in more than a year as a key step toward further negotiations meant to ease international fears that Tehran may weaponize its nuclear program.

The one concrete reflection of progress was an agreement to meet again on May 23 in Baghdad, a venue put forward by Iran.

But huge hurdles still lie in the way of a common understanding of what Iran should do to end suspicions of its nuclear activities. Those barriers may prove insurmountable considering the differences between Tehran and the six nations trying to persuade it to compromise on its nuclear efforts.

Since revelations surfaced 10 years ago that it was secretly building a uranium enrichment program, Tehran has argued it has a right to enrichment to create reactor fuel under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and insisted it will never use that ability to create the fissile core of a nuclear warhead.

But the United States and other countries accuse Iran of repeatedly violating the treaty, and Tehran continues to expand enrichment despite four sets of U.N. Security Council resolutions and other penalties imposed by the U.S., Europe and others. Adding to concerns, it now is enriching uranium to levels closer to the grade needed for nuclear weapons in an underground bunker that could be impervious to attack.

The talks in Istanbul on Saturday saw the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany sitting at the same table with Iran. Knowing the road ahead is tough, both sides focused on what they said was the positive tone of the talks, in contrast to the previous round 14 months ago.

That last session broke up with no progress after Iranian negotiators refused to even consider discussing enrichment

EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton, who formally led the talks on behalf of the six powers, called the meeting “constructive and useful.”

She expressed the hope they will lead to “a sustained process of serious dialogue, where we can take urgent practical steps to build confidence and lead on to compliance by Iran with all its international obligations.”

Iranian chief negotiator Saeed Jalili said the talks made “some progress.” But he acknowledged “some points of difference.”

“What we saw today in the talks was the interest of the other party in the talks and cooperation, which is considered positive,” he told reporters.

In London, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said the talks were “the first steps” toward the six-nation push to find “a peaceful, negotiated solution to the (Iran) nuclear issue.”

“Today’s talks were a first step towards that objective, but there is still a long way to go.”

Both Jalili and Ashton said there was agreement to move slowly and be guided by reciprocity _ meaning that Iran stood to benefit from easing fears about its enrichment program by unspecified rewards from the other side.

Iran hopes those rewards could include easing or delaying sanctions that target its main cash cow, its oil sales. Jalili acknowledged Saturday that Iran would like to avoid those penalties.

“The lifting sanctions is one of the demands by Iranian nation,” Jalili told reporters.

But a senior U.S. administration official who demanded anonymity in exchange for discussing strategy at upcoming talks said that was not on the table in the near future.

“One only expects to look at the issue when there are sufficient concrete steps taken” by Iran, she said at a post-negotiation briefing. “Dialogue is not sufficient for any sanctions relief.”

Beyond the bite of sanctions, Iran is under threat of Israeli and possibly U.S. military attack unless it makes headway in persuading the international community it is not pursuing nuclear weapons.

The U.S official said Iran’s acceptance of the need to discuss its nuclear program appeared dictated by recognition that the diplomatic “window of opportunity was closing” and that the threat of military action potentially growing.

Ashton said there was agreement by both sides that the talks should be guided by the Nonproliferation Treaty, but because Iran says it has never violated that treaty that understanding could prove to be a huge stumbling block to progress.

Top level meetings of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which tries to monitor Iran’s nuclear activities, are often dominated by inconclusive debate between Iran and its critics on whether Tehran is in compliance or has broken treaty provisions.

“Under the NPT, the right of enrichment exists for all member countries,” Jalili told reporters after the talks, suggesting his country would press that point at follow-up meetings. Ashton, in turn, told reporters that the six seek “to ensure all the obligations under the NPT are met by Iran while fully respecting Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy.”

In its claim to comply with all NPT obligations, Iran asserts that it declares all its nuclear material and allows inspectors to monitor all nuclear facilities.

But IAEA chief Yukiya Amano has said repeatedly that because Iran does not cooperate fully with his agency it cannot guarantee that it is not hiding undeclared nuclear material that could be used for weapons. Additionally, he has spoken of compelling evidence that Iran may have worked on nuclear arms _ charges Tehran dismisses as fabrications spread by the United States and Israel.

Officially, the international community’s long-term goal remains what it was when nuclear negotiations began eight years ago _ persuading Tehran to stop all uranium enrichment and thereby relieve fears that it will use that program to create fissile warhead material.

A senior diplomat involved in the talks said, however, that influential Western nations now are increasingly coming around to the idea that Iran should be allowed to keep some enrichment activity “under the right circumstances,” sometime in the future, if all fears about possible Iranian plans to make nuclear weapons are put to rest. He demanded anonymity because his information was confidential.

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Union contracts for thousands of AT&T workers expired at midnight but officials said early Sunday that talks were continuing.

The passage of the deadline left the Communications Workers of America free to call a strike, but spokeswoman Candice Johnson says employees would report for work without a contract. She says that could change at any time.

Two separate contracts in eastern areas covering 10,000 workers expired at midnight, while talks were still going on for 33,000 other workers as midnight deadlines approached in the Midwest and West Coast.

The workers are on the shrinking local-phone and long-haul data side of the business, and located mainly in the Midwest and California cash advance payday loan.

When the last big batch of contracts was negotiated three years ago, the parties kept talking past the contract expiration, and reached agreements without a strike.

Dallas-based AT&T Inc. is the country’s largest employer of unionized workers. About 140,000 of its 256,000 employees are union members.

At issue in the negotiations are job protection clauses and health care premiums and co-payments.

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Yahoo said Wednesday that it will eliminate 2,000 employees, around 14% of its workforce, as new CEO Scott Thompson begins radically streamlining the company.

The long-rumored job cuts could be the first of several rounds, as Thompson pares Yahoo (, Fortune 500) down to focus on what he views as the company’s core business lines.

Thompson, who joined Yahoo in January, plans to provide more information about his strategy during the company’s first-quarter earnings announcement, which is scheduled for April 17.

In a written statement, Thompson said the cuts "are an important next step toward a bold, new Yahoo — smaller, nimbler, more profitable and better equipped to innovate. Our goal is to get back to our core purpose — putting our users and advertisers first."

Yahoo said its job cuts will save the company $375 million a year when they are completed. It expects to take a $125 million to $145 million charge this quarter for severance costs.

Thompson is aiming to do something his recent predecessors — including Carol Bartz, who was forced out in September — have repeatedly failed to do: articulate a vision of what Yahoo is.

The Internet’s first giant portal has retained a massive user base, but has lost its edge in nearly every field to newer, nimbler rivals. The company gave up on search in 2009, and it’s losing ground in display advertising to new entrants to the market such as Google (, Fortune 500) and Facebook fast cash advance.

Thompson’s busy 2012: Wednesday’s layoffs come three months to the day that Thompson took over at Yahoo — and his tenure has already been a busy one. In February, four longtime board members, including chairman Roy Bostock, announced they would not seek re-election.

Exactly one week after that, activist shareholder Daniel Loeb and his hedge fund Third Point launched a proxy fight. Third Point, which owns a 5.56% stake in Yahoo, is proposing four new Yahoo board members, including Loeb himself.

Mere weeks later, in March, Yahoo filed a lawsuit against Facebook. The high-profile suit alleges that Facebook infringed on 10 of Yahoo’s patents related to advertising, privacy, customization, messaging and social networking.

Facebook called the lawsuit "puzzling," while outside critics decried the move as "pathetic" and "desperate."

Still, considering that his predecessors failed at fixing Yahoo, Thompson clearly knows he has to make bold moves. Whether they’re enough for the long-promised but so far elusive Yahoo turnaround remains to be seen. 

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It’s a testament to perseverance that Ricky Arnaz Crawford reached his late 20s before the voices in his head forced him out of steady employment.

Now he’s landed in a bureaucratic snafu on its way to the Missouri Supreme Court.

The Missouri Division of Employment Security is pursuing Crawford for $3,000 – the amount of it says Crawford was overpaid while collecting unemployment in 2009-10.

Crawford, a diagnosed schizophrenic, received the jobless benefits prior to a determination by another agency, the federal Social Security Administration, that he is “not mentally capable of full-time competitive employment.”

The finding enables Crawford to collect government payments for the disabled.

His attorneys contend the state erred in calculating the alleged overpayment.

“He didn’t get any more than he was entitled to, because it was Social Security that reduced the benefit by the amount of his unemployment,” says John Ammann, the director of the St. Louis University Legal Clinic.

Further, they argue, Crawford shouldn’t be on the hook even if he were overpaid – it was the government’s mistake, not his.

“Everybody understands that Arnaz Crawford is totally innocent of any wrongdoing, and that is the legal argument that we are making,” said Martin Perron, his pro bono St. Louis attorney.

Neither the Division of Employment Security nor the Social Security Administration would answer detailed questions about Crawford’s case. The high court is expected to entertain oral arguments this fall.

Crawford’s life has been defined by two constants – family and schizophrenia. His fraternal twin Laressa Crawford, diagnosed at the age of 12, has never been able to work.

Unwilling to accept a similar fate, Ricky Crawford forged ahead, despite the at-times debilitating delusions.

The Dardenne Prairie resident landed his first job at 15 and continued to draw a paycheck, working nearly non-stop at fast food restaurants, cleaning services and retail outlets. Then in early 2009, while stocking shelves at a Lake Saint Louis Wal-Mart, a manager summoned him to an office.

“I was hearing a voice, and I was yelling at myself,” Crawford says. “A customer heard me, and I was fired.”

A spokeswoman for Wal-Mart Stores Inc. was unable to confirm the details of Crawford’s employment. 

The dismissal prompted Crawford to check himself in for a brief and voluntary stay in a mental hospital. Citing a diagnosis of schizophrenia, major depressive disorder and borderline intellectual functioning, a physician subsequently recommended that Crawford apply for disability – a request initially denied by the Social Security Administration.

Crawford appealed the ruling and applied for state unemployment benefits in July 2009 as he waited for the Social Security Administration to reconsider its decision.

Eight months later, the Social Security Administration decided in his favor.

The ruling meant Crawford was eligible for disability payments from March 2, 2010 forward, as well as retroactive compensation for the time that elapsed – a little over a year – as Social Security considered the appeal.

Court documents indicate Social Security Administration and Division of Employment Security officials calculated the amount the federal government needed to deduct from the retroactive disability payments to balance the jobless benefits Crawford accrued as he waited out the appeal process.

Social Security Administration spokeswoman Dorothy Clark said consultations between officials of the federal agency and representatives of state unemployment systems are common in resolving potential overpayments from disability and jobless claims.

But less than a month after Crawford became eligible for disability, the Division of Employment Security – as part of a larger crackdown on over-payments to the unemployed – demanded that Crawford repay $3,000.

It remains unclear whether the agencies made mistakes in calculating Crawford’s benefits. But even if they did, Crawford shouldn’t be on the hook, his lawyers argue.

“The two systems interacted. They did what they were supposed to do,” Ammann said. “You can’t go back now and change it.”

Crawford’s lawyers are challenging a portion of the statute governing unemployment law that allows the state to seek restitution “using any methods under the law,” Perron said.

“It doesn’t give them the right to demand payment when a person is totally innocent of wrongdoing,” he said.

A representative of a leading advocacy organization said Crawford is far from the first mentally disabled individual caught up in disputes with state and federal entitlement bureaucracies.

“For better or worse, this is a dual system based on two factors in conflict with one another,” said Andrew Sperling, director of federal affairs for the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “One is designed with the presumption that you are able-bodied, able to work, and therefore eligible to collect unemployment insurance. The other assumes you are disabled and presumably unable to work.”

In Crawford’s case, that conflict wound its way past several administrative law judges and labor referees before it landed on the steps of the Supreme Court earlier this year.

Ammann hopes the Supreme Court decision in the Crawford case will provide the Division of Employment Security with better direction on issues arising from over-payments and the benefits awarded to displaced workers who, as it happens, are also disabled.

Perron enlisted Ammann and the the SLU law clinic to assist him last month during the preparation of briefs the court will take into consideration as the matter moves toward a formal hearing.

For his part, Crawford wants the problem with the state to go away. And he wants to work again. As required by unemployment insurance rules, Crawford continued to apply for jobs while collecting unemployment and waiting for his appeal to be heard. He accepted a couple of offers from fast food restaurants, only to have putative employers ask him to leave when the voices returned during training and orientation.

And while the symptoms of schizophrenia remain, Crawford has battled back with a regimen of medications. His progress has increased resolve to re-enter the workforce.

His mother, also named Laressa, has no doubt he will again persevere.

“He’s a determined kid, he always has been,” said Laressa Crawford. “I envy him, because he has his goals and he goes after them.”

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Oil prices are climbing near $108 per barrel as optimism grows about a strengthening global economy.

A private survey of the U.S. homebuilding industry on Monday found that companies are increasingly hopeful that home sales will rise in coming months. International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde also said over the weekend that the global economy has “stepped back from the brink.”

The rise in oil also follows last week’s rally on Wall Street.

Benchmark U.S. crude added 56 cents to $107.62 per barrel in New York while Brent crude fell by 17 cents to $125.63 per barrel in London.

Meanwhile, retail gasoline increased more than a penny over the weekend to $3.842 per gallon.

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Markets were buoyant on Thursday on hopes Greece will get enough support from private investors in a crucial bond swap plan that aims to slash euro107 billion ($140 billion) off its national debt.

Athens is asking private creditors to swap their Greek bonds for new ones with a 53.5 percent lower face value, lower interest rates and longer maturity dates. The hope is that by lowering the amount of debt it has to repay, the country can gradually return to growth.

If not enough investors agree and the bond deal fails, the country could default on its debt in less than two weeks, prompting renewed turmoil in financial markets and knocking confidence in the global economic recovery.

Investors have until 10 p.m. local time (2000 GMT) to sign up, though official results aren’t expected until Friday morning. Only bonds held by private investors are part of the deal, meaning that amounts held by the European Central Bank and other central banks are exempt.

“The markets are in a better mood this morning supported by growing confidence that Greece will be successful this evening in its private sector debt swap,” said Jane Foley, an analyst at Rabobank International.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 1.3 percent at 5,866 while Germany’s DAX rose 2.1 percent to 6,810. The CAC-40 in France was 2 percent higher at 3,460. The euro was also buoyant, trading 0.6 percent higher at $1.3220.

Wall Street is poised for a solid open, too, with both Dow futures and the broader S&P 500 futures up 0.8 percent.

As well as keeping a close watch on Greece’s bond swap results, investors will monitor interest rate decisions from both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England to digest.

Both are expected to keep interest rates unchanged at 1 percent and 0 payday loans no faxing.5 percent, respectively.

Most interest will center on what ECB chief Mario Draghi says at his news conference about warnings from Germany’s Bundesbank about the risk the ECB has taken on by loosening rules for collateral on emergency loans to banks.

The ECB is credited with pulling Europe back from the debt crisis brink by offering a total of euro1 trillion ($1.32 trillion) to banks on Dec. 21 and Feb. 29. That eased a looming credit crunch, supported investor confidence, and caused borrowing rates to ease for financially weak countries like Italy and Spain.

Investors will also monitor another round of U.S. economic figures later. Most interest will center on the weekly jobless claims figures in the run-up to Friday’s nonfarm payrolls data for February. The payrolls figures often set the market tone for a week or two after their release _ a marked improvement in the U.S. jobs picture in recent months has buoyed hopes over the economic recovery in the U.S. and that’s fed through into the performance of stock markets all round the world.

Earlier in Asia, Japan’s Nikkei 225 index climbed 2 percent to 9,768.96. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng jumped 1.3 percent to 20,900.73 and South Korea’s Kospi edged up 0.9 percent to 2,000.76

In mainland China, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index rose 1.1 percent to 2,420.28.

Oil markets tracked equities higher _ the benchmark New York rate was up 79 cents at $106.95 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

____

Kelvin Chan in Hong Kong contributed to this report.

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A drop in the paper value of the financial instruments known as derivatives hurt profits at Berkshire Hathaway Inc., the conglomerate run by billionaire investor Warren Buffett.

Some of its subsidiaries performed well enough to offset some of the losses. Buffett detailed the company’s 2011 performance Saturday in his annual letter to shareholders.

Berkshire reported fourth-quarter net income of $3.05 billion, or $1,846 per Class A share. That was down from $4.4 billion net income, or $2,656 per share, a year ago.

Berkshire’s profit fell short of the $1,875 per share expected by the four analysts surveyed by FactSet, a provider of financial data. Quarterly revenue grew 5 percent to $37.96 billion from last year’s $36.17 billion.

The biggest difference in the quarter was the change in estimated value of Berkshire’s investments and derivative contracts. That fell to $382 million this year from last year’s $1.4 billion.

Derivatives are complex investments that have been blamed in part for the 2008 financial crisis and the recession. Berkshire’s derivatives are designed to operate like insurance policies, with some covering the risk of bond defaults by certain companies and some covering whether certain stock market indexes will be lower 15 or 20 years in the future.

Buffett reiterated Saturday that he believes Berkshire’s derivative contracts will ultimately prove profitable, but he said the company doesn’t plan to write any more major derivative contracts. Buffett said he does not want Berkshire to deal with new requirements for how much collateral companies must post when they hold derivatives payday lenders.

For 2011, Berkshire generated $10.3 billion in net income, or $6,215 per Class A share, down from nearly $13 billion, or $7,928 per share, in 2010.

Strength in the Burlington Northern Santa Fe railroad, MidAmerican Energy, and the Marmon Group helped offset insurance underwriting losses related to catastrophes like the Japan tsunami. Newly acquired chemical maker Lubrizol added $1.7 billion in revenues to Berkshire since September.

Stockbroker Andy Kilpatrick, who wrote “Of Permanent Value: The Story of Warren Buffett,” said Buffett managed to outperform the overall market in a tough year for Berkshire’s insurance and housing-related subsidiaries.

“It was not a great year, but he still beat the S&P. It’s still an incredible moneymaking machine,” Kilpatrick said.

Buffett’s preferred measure of Berkshire’s performance is the growth in its book value, which is a calculation of the company’s assets minus its liabilities. Buffett said Berkshire’s book value grew 4.6 percent to $99,860 per share in 2011. The S&P 500, which Berkshire is part of, gained 2.1 percent last year when dividends were factored in.

Berkshire owns roughly 80 subsidiaries, including clothing, furniture and jewelry companies, but its insurance and utility businesses typically account for more than half the company’s net income. It also has major investments in such companies as Coca-Cola, IBM and Wells Fargo.

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Just as the jobs recovery seemed to be picking up, the number of Americans filing for first-time unemployment claims rose more than expected last week.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that 399,000 people filed for initial jobless benefits, up 24,000 from the week before. That’s awfully close to the 400,000 level economists often say is too high to bring the unemployment rate down substantially.

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Obama battles job crisis

Before Obama even took office, America had lost 4.4 million jobs. Track his progress since then.

But it’s too early to start worrying just yet. The encouraging news brought by last week jobs report is not off the table, economists say guaranteed fast personal loans.

"This can be a wonky period for claims," Jennifer Lee, senior economist with BMO Capital Markets said in a note. "So let’s give this a few weeks to see how it plays out."

The initial claims numbers are adjusted for seasonal trends, but economists still had expected a slight tick up last week due to temporary holiday jobs ending.

Many caution not to read too much into one week of data. They look instead to the four-week moving average, which smoothes out volatility. It also ticked up last week, but overall, has remained near the lowest levels since 2008 for about a month.

"We continue to view the labor market as gradually gaining momentum, so anticipate that claims will resume a modest downward trend in the coming months," Troy Davig, senior U.S. economist at Barclays Capital said in a research note.

Meanwhile, just over 3.6 million Americans filed continuing claims in the week ending December 31. That marked an increase of 19,000 from the week before.

The Labor Department’s monthly report released Friday showed employers added 200,000 jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5% in December. (Check the unemployment rate in your state). 

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American bought more cars and trucks last year, spurred by easier credit, an improved economy and a desire to replace the aging vehicles that got them through the Great Recession.

Sales rose sharply for Detroit’s three carmakers and for Japan’s Nissan in 2011, aided by a surge in November and December. Analysts expect that momentum to continue into 2012.

Low interest rates, looser credit standards and pent-up demand are driving demand. The average age of a car on U.S. roads is the oldest ever, closing in on 11 years. Americans want to trade in those older vehicles now that a tentative recovery has begun and they’re feeling a little more secure about jobs and finances.

Buyers also were drawn out by an array of high-quality small cars with nice, roomy interiors and more features than in the past. That made it easier to downsize from bigger cars amid high gas prices. Pickups also sold well as business began to replace the trucks they need to haul equipment.

Those trends were good for the industry, which needs sales to keep growing after a scary drop in 2009. Healthy sales are also good for the economy, which benefits from jobs created by carmakers and spending by buyers.

After final figures are tallied late Wednesday, U.S. auto sales should rise to around 12.7 million for 2011. That’s a 10 percent jump from 2010 and 22 percent from 2009, when the U.S. auto industry and the financial system were in peril. Sales are almost certain to rise again in 2012, perhaps as high as 13.8 million, marking the third straight year of growth.

“Over the course of the fourth quarter of 2011, clear signs emerged that U.S. consumers are more confident and that other underpinnings of our economy are either stable or slowly improving,” said Don Johnson, GM’s U.S. sales chief.

Chrysler led the 2011 sales gains with a 26 percent increase, followed by Nissan at 15 percent, GM at 13 percent and Ford at 11 percent, the companies reported Wednesday.

For December, Chrysler sales surged 37 percent from a year earlier on strong demand for the Jeep Wrangler and the Chrysler 200 sedan. GM was up 5 percent for the month, aided by the Chevrolet Cruze compact and pickup sales. Ford sales rose 10 percent, led by the new Explorer SUV. Nissan sales rose nearly 8 percent for December.

Chrysler Group LLC’s strong showing for December capped a remarkable turnaround under its new Italian ownership. And it’s expected to jump ahead of Honda as the No. 4 U.S. automaker in 2011.

Chrysler and GM nearly ran out of cash in 2009 and needed government help and a trip through bankruptcy protection to survive.

Chrysler, now majority owned by Fiat SpA, sold 1.37 million vehicles last year, about 284,000 more than in 2010. It has introduced 16 new or revamped models in the past two years, vehicles that have fueled its recovery.

Sergio Marchionne, CEO of Chrysler and Fiat SpA, is predicting a net profit for 2011 of $600 million.

“Over the past 12 months, we successfully changed the conversation from Chrysler’s survival to products and service that consumers expect and want from a great American automaker,” Marchionne said in an e-mail to employees.

Nissan sold just over one million cars and trucks last year, its best calendar year ever. The company said it sold 944,000 Nissans and more than 98,000 of its Infiniti luxury cars and SUVs. Previously, 2007 had been the company’s best year.

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