Dow crosses 14,000 mark, then retreats
NEW YORK, July 17 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones industrial average crossed the 14,000 mark for the first time Tuesday before retreating near the end of trading in New York.
The U.S. Labor Department said U.S. wholesale prices fell 0.2 percent in June, the first drop in six months. And several companies -- including Merrill Lynch & Co., Coca-Cola Co. and Johnson & Johnson -- reported better-than-forecast profits.
The Dow closed up 20.57 points, or 0.15 percent, to 13,971.55, its fourth record close in a row and 31st of the year. It closed above 13,000 for the first time April 25.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 Index lost 0.15 points, or 0.01 percent, at 1,549.37.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,369 stocks gained and 1,898 declined, on volume of 3.1 billion shares traded.
The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index rose 14.96 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,712.29.
In London, the FTSE 100 index closed down 38.60 points, or 0.58 percent, at 6,659.10.
Japan's Nikkei 225 index finished the day down 21.68 points, or 0.12 percent, at 18,217.27.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 9/32, yielding 5.078 percent, while the 30-year bond was down 16/32, yielding 5.161 percent.
The U.S. dollar rose to 122.31 yen from 121.85 yen in New York late Monday. The euro, in U.S. dollars, moved to $1.3782 from $1.3778.
Whole Foods probes CEO's Web postings
AUSTIN, Texas, July 17 (UPI) -- Whole Foods Market Inc.'s board will investigate its chief executive officer's anonymous online postings, the Texas natural foods chain said Tuesday.
John Mackey's postings on Yahoo Inc. stock forums from 1999 to 2006 lauded Whole Foods and disparaged Wild Oats Markets Inc., a Boulder, Colo., natural foods chain Whole Foods made a $565 million bid to acquire in February.
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission sued to block Whole Foods' purchase of Wild Oats June 6, alleging the combination would violate antitrust law by reducing competition and raising consumer prices.
A special board committee has retained legal counsel to advise it during its Mackey investigation, Whole Foods said. The board said it would not comment further until the investigation is completed.
Mackey apologized and expressed remorse for his postings, made using the pseudonym Rahodeb, a rendering of Deborah, his wife.
"I am very sorry and I ask our stakeholders to please forgive me," he said.
The 196-store Austin grocer also confirmed the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission contacted it Monday about an SEC staff investigation of the postings. Whole Foods will fully cooperate with the probe, it said.
Bear Stearns hedge funds almost worthless
NEW YORK, July 17 (UPI) -- Bear Stearns Cos. told investors late Tuesday two big hedge funds tied to risky U.S. home loans are now almost worthless.
The assets in its highly levered High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies Enhanced Leverage Fund had "effectively no value left," the investment bank said in a statement. The assets in a larger, less-levered High-Grade Structured Credit Strategies fund had "very little value," the statement said.
The Wall Street Journal reported the less-leveraged fund had fallen to roughly 9 percent of its April value.
The enhanced leverage fund had $638 million in investor money in March, before its sharp losses, while the other fund had $925 million, the Journal said.
Shares of the company, which is the nation's fifth-largest investment bank, fell $4.16, or 3 percent, to $135.75 in after-hours trading. Its shares had closed down 40 cents, or 0.29 percent, at $139.91.
Wal-Mart to sell biblical action figures
BENTONVILLE, Ark., July 17 (UPI) -- Wal-Mart plans to test-market biblical action figures in U.S. stores as a "faith-based" alternative to toys tied to commercial movies, video games and TV.
The toys -- ranging from a talking 12-inch Jesus doll to 3-inch figurines depicting Moses and the Ten Plagues of Egypt -- will be available in about 425 of Wal-Mart's 3,376 stores in 21 states, starting in mid-August, spokeswoman Melissa O'Brien told United Press International.
The test market, mostly in the South and Midwest, is "a bit smaller than usual" for a toy line, O'Brien said. "But this is an unusual product."
Toymaker One2believe, of Valencia, Calif. -- which developed the Tales of Glory products with Wal-Mart -- said on its Web site the six-month test-run represented "a huge opportunity" for Christians to show they were "truly concerned about the toys that our children play with."
The company, whose founder, David Socha, is Roman Catholic, called on Christians to show they wanted "more God-honoring options available" in children's toys.
O'Brien told UPI the Bentonville, Ark., retailer planned to watch sales "with interest," but she would not speculate on the product's future after its run ends in January.
