Crude oil falls below $64, U.S. stocks up
NEW YORK, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks were up, as was the dollar, as Goldman Sachs reported higher than expected net income for the third quarter.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 101.09 or 0.89 percent to 11,497.93 on a volume of 1.4 billion shares. The Nasdaq composite rose 42.57 or 1.96 percent to 2,215.82, and the Standard & Poor's 500 gained 13.52 or 1.04 percent to 1,313.06.
The New York financial giant reported per share net income of $3.45, higher than the consensus $2.98. Meanwhile, the price of oil dropped to $63.76 per barrel.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note lost 5/32, lifting its yield to 4.823 percent.
The dollar rose, hitting 117.76 yen from 117.59 as the euro fell to $1.2689 from $1.2702.
Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed at 15,719.34 on a fall of 75.04 or 0.48 percent, and London's FTSE 100 settled at 5,895.50 after gaining 44.70 or 0.76 percent.
Greek central bank buys major Serbian bank
BELGRADE, Serbia, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- The National Bank of Greece has acquired Serbia's Vojvodjanska Bank of Novi Sad, the country's seventh biggest bank, for $488 million, media reported Tuesday.
The NBG purchased the Serbian state's stake of 99.44 percent and agreed to keep the bank's name and its headquarters in Novi Sad, north of Belgrade, Belgrade's Beta news agency reported Tuesday.
Serbian Finance Minister Mladjan Dinkic said the transfer of money should be completed by Dec. 12.
The Greek partner agreed to invest $50 million in modernization of the bank, and to keep the same number of employees for the next three years, the report said.
Wal-Mart hiring hundreds in Illinois
MARION, Ill., Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will open a 203,000-square-foot superstore in Williamson County, Ill., later this month.
The Marion Wal-Mart will be the largest prototype Wal-Mart in existence, and employ 350 to 450 people, 75 percent of them full-time, the Southern (Illinoisan) newspaper said. The new store is projected to inject abut $1.8 million in annual sales tax money to the city.
As a "prototype," the store will have a new exterior look, a meat and dairy department and a new interior layout.
BMW making hydrogen-powered 7 Series
MUNICH, Germany, Sept. 12 (UPI) -- Germany's BMW AG carmaker has unveiled a hydrogen-powered version of one of its most luxurious models.
The BMW Hydrogen 7, which the carmaker calls "the world's first hydrogen-drive luxury performance automobile," will be built in a limited series in Europe and driven in the United States and other countries by selected users in 2007, the company said Tuesday.
Its engine will be able to run either on hydrogen, which emits nothing but water vapor, or on gasoline and is based on the existing BMW 7 Series. The BMW Hydrogen 7 is powered by a 260-horsepower, 12-cylinder engine and accelerates from 0-62.1 mph in 9.5 seconds. The car switches between hydrogen and gasoline mode with the touch of a button.
The BMW Hydrogen 7 comes with both a conventional 16.3-gallon gasoline tank and a separate tank that holds as much as 17.6 pounds of liquid hydrogen. Together, the two fuels result in a cruising range of more than 400 miles.
