NEW YORK, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks edged higher New Year's Eve in thin volume as investors prepared to close the books on 2003, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.

The Dow Jones industrial average moved ahead 24.81 points, or 0.24 percent, to 10,449.85 in late morning trading Wednesday, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 0.54, or 0.03 percent, to 2,010.42. The Standard and Poors 500 stock index increased 1.98, or 0.18 percent, to 1,111.62.

Better economic news helped support stocks. The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits tumbled last week to the lowest level in nearly three years.

The 10-year Treasury note lost 1/8 point, or about $1.25 for each $1,000 invested. The yield, which moves inversely to price, rose to 4.27 percent.

The dollar up against the yen to 107.09, from 107.07 late Tuesday in New York, while the euro rose against the dollar to $1.2609 from $1.2555 in the previous session.

Markets in Tokyo, Jakarta, Manila and Seoul were closed ahead of New Year's Day on Thursday.

Tanzi, eight Parmalat executives arrested

PARMA, Italy, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The founder and eight high-ranking executives associated with the Italy's Parmalat financial scandal were ordered arrested Wednesday.

Among the nine arrest warrants issued in Parma, Italy, where Parmalat is based, was one for the founder and former chairman of the group, Calisto Tanzi.

Others included Parmalat Finanziaria SpA's former chief financial officers Fausto Tonna and Luciano Del Soldato.

Another two executives work for Grant Thornton Group SpA, the auditor of 17 Parmalat units.

Milan magistrates have been holding Tanzi since Saturday. The 65-year-old reportedly told investigators Monday he had funneled more than $600 million away from Parmalat into other firms, including Parmatour, a family run tourism company, The Guardian reported.

Except for Tanzi, the other eight people suspected of false accounting and fraudulent bankruptcy, are being held in a Parma prison in northern Italy, judicial officials said.

Parmalat, which sells milk products, desserts and fruit juices in 30 countries, was declared insolvent Saturday by a Parma court after billions of dollars were discovered missing.

Pentagon pulls Halliburton contract

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- A lucrative contract for getting fuel into Iraq, currently held by Halliburton, will be rebid, the U.S. Defense Department has decided.

The decision comes just weeks after a Pentagon audit questioned whether Halliburton overcharged the government for the contract, CNN reported Wednesday.

To accomplish the change the Defense Department ordered the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers -- which had given the work to Halliburton -- to be replaced by the Defense Energy Support Center.

The DESC currently buys fuel for military services, but the Defense Department order charges it to buy and prepare LPG -- a type of fuel used mainly for cooking -- for the Iraqi people.

"DESC will work with the Iraqi Ministry of Oil and its marketing arm, the State Owned Marketing Organization, to assist them in meeting the country's imported petroleum product requirements, such as diesel, gasoline, kerosene and liquefied petroleum gas," said a statement from the DESC.

A Pentagon audit in early December questioned whether the company had overcharged the government as much as $61 million for its services.

Bush gives federal workers a raise

WASHINGTON, Dec. 31 (UPI) -- The White House ordered a 2 percent pay hike for federal workers that kicks in Thursday, the Washington Post (NYSE:WPO) reported.

The raise was smaller than the 4.1 percent many civil servants and their supporters in Congress had sought.

A political impasse over a huge spending bill means Congress will not give final approval to the higher raise until lawmakers return on Jan. 20, at the earliest.

If Congress, as expected, eventually approves the 4.1 percent raise, the difference will be awarded to workers retroactively, congressional and White House aides said.

This is the second year in a row that Congress' failure to pass all of the government's annual spending bills on time will delay a planned pay raise for federal employees by at least several weeks.