Dow closes above 12,800 for first time
NEW YORK April 18 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 12,800 for the first time Wednesday, but U.S. technology stock index stumbled on disappointing earnings results.
The Dow added 30.24 points, or 0.24 percent, to close at 12,803.84, even as 19 of 30 Dow components finished the day lower. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 stock index moved up 1.02, or 0.07 percent, to 1,472.50.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,435 stocks gained and 1,837 declined on volume of more than 3 billion shares traded.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite lost 6.45, or 0.26 percent, to 2,510.50.
In London, the FTSE 100 index ended 48.40, or 0.7 percent, lower at 6,449.40.
Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index closed up 139.88 points, or 0.8 percent, at 17,667.33, its highest close since April 9.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note rose 8/32, yielding 4.656 percent while the 30-year bond was up 14/32, yielding 4.819 percent.
The U.S. dollar fell to 118.68 yen from 118.85 yen in New York late Tuesday. The euro rose to $1.3588 from $1.3571.
Fannie, Freddie to buy subprime loans
WASHINGTON April 18 (UPI) -- Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac will buy billions of dollars in subprime home mortgage loans, the U.S. mortgage finance companies said Wednesday.
Fannie Mae, the biggest provider of money for U.S. home loans, will spend "tens of billions of dollars" over several years buying subprime home mortgage loans, a spokesman told The Wall Street Journal Wednesday.
Freddie Mac Chairman Richard Syron said earlier Wednesday his company would purchase $20 billion in such loans to help borrowers and would-be home buyers hurt by the tightening of credit standards caused by the recent spike of defaults.
Freddie Mac's products, slated to be introduced mid-summer, will limit payment shock by offering reduced adjustable-rate margins, longer fixed-rate terms and longer reset periods, the finance company said.
Both companies were responding to congressional calls for them to help avert foreclosures among subprime borrowers.
Until now, the two companies rarely directly bought subprime mortgages, but did buy triple-A portions of securities backed by such loans that were packaged by Wall Street firms, the Journal said.
Freddie Mac, officially known as the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corp., is the No. 2 money provider for U.S. home loans after Fannie Mae, the Federal National Mortgage Association.
Chrysler to invest $1.78B in new plants
AUBURN HILLS, Mich., April 18 (UPI) -- DaimlerChrysler AG's Chrysler Group said Wednesday it would build a $730 million plant to make the U.S. automaker's next generation of V-6 engines.
The Trenton, Mich., plant, near Detroit, will build the V-6 engines, code-named Phoenix, for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Mercedes vehicles by 2010, Chrysler said.
The Phoenix engines will simplify manufacturing by paring the company's four current V-6 engine architectures to one, Chrysler said.
The plant is part of a $1.78 billion "Powertrain Offensive" investment in five Michigan plants, the automaker said.
The other investments include $700 million to build a new axle plant in Marysville, Mich.; $300 million to expand the paint shop in its Sterling Heights, Mich., assembly plant; and $50 million for retooling for future products at its Warren Mich., truck assembly plant and Warren stamping plant, Chrysler said.
The axle plant will include engineering and development for the creation of new axles that provide better fuel economy.
The Warren upgrades will prepare the plant "for its role in the Chrysler Group's 20 all-new vehicle product offensive," the automaker said.
"We have a vision to grow our business and transform the Chrysler Group into a stronger company that will be competitive for the long run," Chief Executive Tom LaSorda said.
Toyota breaks ground on new U.S. plant
BLUE SPRINGS, Miss., April 18 (UPI) -- Toyota Motor Corp. Wednesday broke ground on a $1.3 billion assembly plant near Tupelo, Miss., its eighth in North America.
The factory, due to open in 2010, will make about 150,000 Highlander crossover sport utility vehicles a year, Toyota said. The vehicle is currently only made in Japan.
Toyota said the plant -- on 1,700 acres in Blue Springs, Miss., 20 miles northwest of Tupelo -- will employ 2,000 people.
The state pledged $296 million in incentives to land the factory.
Toyota's U.S. sales grew nearly 13 percent to 2.54 million vehicles last year, outpacing its U.S. production capacity, the company said.
Toyota, which may surpass General Motors Corp. as the world's biggest automaker this year, opened a Tundra pickup-truck plant in Texas last fall. It plans to open a Camry auto plant in Indiana this year and an RAV4 compact crossover-SUV plant in Ontario in 2008.
The Toyota plant will be the second big auto factory in Mississippi. Nissan Motor Co. opened an assembly plant in Canton, outside Jackson, in 2003.
