Southwest Feels the Love; Minimum Wage Bump; Qualcomm and Nokia Accord; Fertilizer Firm Reaps Rewards; Unemployment Claims Mount; Ford’s Worst Quarter in History; Dow Unable to Recoup Losses; Gaming Taking Off in Macau

Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV) yesterday (Thursday) announced that second-quarter revenue increased 15% due to the advance purchase of fuel contracts, Bloomberg News reported. Second quarter earnings increased to $321 million or 44 cents per share for the Dallas-based air carrier. Even without the boost from fuel hedging, Southwest would have earned $121 million or 16 cents per share, beating analyst expectations.

The national minimum wage in the United States increased yesterday (Thursday) by 70 cents, bringing the federally mandated hourly rate to $6.55. This is the second increase in a three-stage plan to eventually boost the rate to $7.25 per hour under the Fair Minimum Wage Act of 2007, CNNMoney reported.

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Mobile phone manufacturers Qualcomm Inc. (QCOM) and Nokia Corp. (ADR: NOK) struck a deal to end a long-running patent dispute over wireless technology causing both stocks to gain in trading yesterday (Thursday). Under the terms of the agreement, Qualcomm extended a 15-year license to Nokia to utilize its patents for use in Nokia mobile devices and wireless-networking equipment, MarketWatch reported.

Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan Inc. (POT) announced yesterday (Thursday) that second-quarter profits jumped threefold to $905.1 million, or $2.82 a share, from $285.7 million, or 88 cents a share for the same period the year prior. The fertilizer company attributed the gains to strong global demand for potash, nitrogen and phosphate products, MarketWatch reported.

The number of people filing claims for unemployment benefits soared over 400,000 last week as companies trimmed their work forces to cope with a slowing economy. The Labor Department reported yesterday (Thursday) that the number of new applications filed for these benefits rose by a seasonally adjusted 34,000 to 406,000 for the week ending July 19.

Ford Motor Co. (F) posted the worst quarterly performance in its history yesterday (Thursday), with a second-quarter loss of $8.67 billion. The net loss included $8.03 billion worth of write-offs because the sharp decline in U.S. truck and SUV sales has reduced the value of Ford’s North American truck plants and Ford Motor Credit Co.’s lease portfolio.

The Dow Chemical Co. (DOW) said yesterday (Thursday) that despite record sales and two double-digit price increases, second-quarter profit fell 27%, due to higher costs for energy and raw materials. The world’s second-largest chemical company said its net income for the three-month period ended June 30 was $762 million, or 81 cents per share, compared with $1.04 billion, or $1.07 per share, in the same period last year. Revenue rose 23% to a company record $16.38 billion, MarketWatch reported.

Macau’s casino revenues jumped 48% in the second quarter, as its 30 casinos brought in $3.6 billion in the three months ended in June, compared with $2.4 billion last year. Higher VIP baccarat revenues, up more than 52% to $2.5 billion compared with a year ago, were the biggest factor, the Associated Press reported.