Durable good orders drop; Apple botches software update; Virgin offers unlimited vacay

 

Stocks fell in early trading after some mixed economic data.

The number of people filing for first time unemployment benefits rose less than expected in the latest week. The Labor Department reported initial jobless claims were up 12,000 to 293,000. 

Meanwhile, new orders for big manufactured goods were weaker-than-expected. The Commerce Department said that durable goods orders fell by a record 18.2% in August. The drop was not much of a surprise given the record 22.5% jump in July, which was driven mainly by demand for aircraft.  And when you strip out the volatile transportation sector, orders rose 0.7% in August.

Apple (AAPL) shares are under pressure this morning. The company is dealing with a series of snafus after the successful launch of its new iPhones. Apple got hit with a PR nightmare after social media lit up with customers complaining that the new iPhone 6 Plus is bendable.

And that's not the only setback this week. Apple also withdraw its latest software update, the iOS 8.0.1 yesterday following reports of major technical issues from users. Apple said it would release a new version of the software in the next few days to fix the problem; in the meantime the company has issued a step-by-step workaround. 

Yahoo Finance Senior Columnist Michael Santoli says the software issue is "a big but temporary problem" for Apple.  

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Apple supplier Jabil Circuit (JBL ) raised its outlook for the current quarter on the heels of strong sales of the iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus. The company also reported earnings and  revenue that topped analysts' estimates.

And another high profile CEO is embracing the concept of unlimited vacation. Billionaire Richard Branson taking page from Reed Hastings work book. The eccentric head of Virgin is now saying his office employees can take as much vacation time as they want provided things are covered.  The new policy will apply to about 160 employees at Branson's Virgin Group. The idea was inspired by Netflix (NFLX) - one of the first companies to publicly adopt this policy.   

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The negative side of this vacation policy Santoli says is, "the complete blurring of lines, potentially between when you're working and when you're not."  

And don't expect the rest of the world to follow companies like Virgin Group and Netflix quickly Santoli added.