NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are mixed again this morning on Wall Street. News that the European Central Bank is taking steps to boost the region’s sluggish economy helped set things off on a positive track to open the session, but that enthusiasm appears limited. Major European markets are seeing some gains.

WARREN, Mich. (AP) — General Motors CEO Mary Barra says an internal investigation into GM’s recent ignition switch recalls found a pattern of incompetence and neglect, but no cover-up. She says 15 employees were determined to have acted ‘inappropriately’ and have been fired over the problem. It took GM more than a decade to report the switch failures, which are blamed for accidents that caused 13 deaths.

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) — The European Central Bank is cutting interest rates and taking other unconventional steps to keep the 18-country eurozone from sliding into a bout of deflation that could kill its fragile economic recovery. The ECB is dropping its main interest rate from a record low of 0.25 percent to 0.15 percent. And, it’s gone further, cutting the rate on money deposited by banks from zero to minus 0.1 percent. The steps aim to raise inflation and push more credit into an economy where lending is weak.

WASHINGTON (AP) — First-time claims for unemployment benefits rose slightly last week, but they continue to hover near seven-year lows. The Labor Department says weekly applications rose 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 312,000. The less-volatile, four-week average, fell to a just over 310,000. That’s the lowest since June 2007. The Labor Department releases its May jobs report tomorrow.

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. (AP) — Economic statistics show the gap between the richest and the poorest in the U.S. widening but the amount of income tax paid narrowing. Economists point to a variety of factors, including changes in labor markets and federal policies. Yet data suggest that state governments also play a role. Last year, at least 10 states passed income tax cuts targeted at businesses or those in the top individual brackets and several more have cut taxes this year. Meanwhile, nine states have pared back unemployment benefits in the past three years.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.