Morning Market Roundup: Unemployment Benefits Up, Walmart’s New Backlash

Here’s what’s important in the financial world this morning:

Unemployment: The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits remained stuck near a three-month high last week, a sign that hiring has likely slowed since winter.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications dipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000. It was little changed from the previous week’s figure, the highest since Jan. 7.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 381,750, also the highest in three months.

Walmart Inc.: A sharholder sued the board and several officers of the company on the allegations that Walmart’s Mexican affiliate had paid local officials bribes, contributing to the company’s legal problems. The lawsuit will try to recover damages to Walmart’s reputation and the costs to investigate the claims, reported Reuters.

This suit was filed in the Court of Chancery in Delaware. The complainant Henrietta Klein said, the “illegal payments have and will continue to irreparably damage Wal-Mart’s corporate image and goodwill and jeopardize its ability to do business in foreign countries.”

H&R Block: H&R announced in a press release on Wednesday that it will cut 350 jobs and close 200 offices in a corporate realignment; it is looking to save up to $100 million by the end of fiscal year 2013. The market responded by dropping 16.4 percent in afterhours trading. The company also said it is looking for a new CFO; its current one, Jeff Brown, will stay with the company while the company searches for his replacement.

AstraZeneca: First quarter net profits dropped 44 percent to $1.64 billion, well below estimates of $2 billion. Revenue of $7.35 billion, an 11 percent decline, also came in behind the $7.98 billion consensus. CEO David Brennan said that between the company’s loss of patent exclusivity and the challenging market conditions it has faced, it “made for a difficult start to the year.” Brennan, who has been the company’s CEO since 2006, resigned and will temporarily be replaced by CFO Simon Lowth.

In April, the European Commission’s economic sentiment indicator dropped more than expected to 92.8 from March’s reading of 94.5; this is the lowest reading since December while economists had estimated a 94.2 number. The commission’s industry confidence index also dropped to minus 9 from minus 7.1 in March along with the services index declining to minus 2.4 from minus 0.3.

[Editor’s note: portions of the above are from a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]

The Associated Press contributed to this story