UPI NewsTrack Business

Bargain-hunting boosts stock market

NEW YORK, N.Y., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Investors looking for bargains pushed U.S. stocks higher at the close of trading Monday on the New York Stock Exchange.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 286.87, or 2.18 percent, to close the day at 13.468.78. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index added 34.61 points to close at 1,467.67, up 2.42 percent. The Nasdaq composite index gained 1.44 percent, or 36.08 points, to 2,547.67.

"The big sell-off Friday has people looking ... for value buying," Larry Peruzzi, a Boston Company Asset Management equity trader, told The Wall Street Journal.

On the NYSE, 1,467 stocks rose and 1,881 fell, on volume of 5.16 billion shares traded.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell $4.375 for every $1,000 invested Monday, its yield rising to 4.733 percent.

Against the dollar, the euro recently traded at $1.3798, from $1.3810 Friday, while the dollar was at 118.47 yen, from 117.99 Friday.

In Britain, FTSE 100 Index closed up 0.2 percent to 6235.90. In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 closed 0.4 percent lower at 16914.46.

Fast Retailing offers $950M for Barneys

YAMAGUCHI, Japan, Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Japan's Fast Retailing was fast in upping the ante against Dubai's Istithmar in the six-week bidding war for Barneys luxury apparel store chain.

Jones Apparel Group, the New York designer and marketer of clothing, shoes and accessories, said it has received a $950 million cash bid for Barneys from the Yamaguchi, Japan, operator of the Uniqlo chain, Marketwatch reported Monday.

The bidding for Barneys began in late June when Istithmar, the Dubai investment firm, agreed to pay $825 million. Early in July, Fast Retailing proffered $900 million.

Jones Sunday said in a statement that it received a $900 million bid from Istithmar but also that it received the $950 million proposal from Fast Retailing.

The Dubai firm has two business days from Monday to meet or beat the latest Fast proposal, Jones officials said.

If Jones accepts the Fast Retailing bid, it would be required to pay the Dubai firm a termination fee of $22.7 million, Marketwatch reported.

eBulb's future bright, long

RIVERSIDE, Calif., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- The neon lights of Las Vegas could shine brighter and longer if one eco-friendly product presented during the Las Vegas World Market catches on.

In the home furnishings fashion last week of what's hot and what cool. the eBulb captured a big buzz because of its potential, organizers for the World Market said Monday.

Because it's designed as an inductive lamp, the eBulb dims as it comes to the end of its 100,000 hours of light, rather than suddenly plunging the room in darkness.

The bulb's future is bright: eBulb's patent is pending and American Lighting expects to have its first supply ready for shipment by the end of August.

The eBulb is comparable to a compact fluorescent bulb in its efficient energy use but could save consumers 80 percent over CFLs, said Shawn Dunn, a representative for the Riverside, Calif., company.

"I know it sounds unbelievable," Dunn said, "but if every home in the U.S. replaced their standard incandescent bulbs with the eBulb, it could reduce the electricity used for lighting nationwide by 50 percent, cutting U.S. carbon emissions by 125 billion pounds."

Crude ends day on down note

NEW YORK, N.Y., Aug. 6 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices plunged nearly 5 percent Monday, dropping nearly $3.42 to finish at $72.06 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Of all the energy prices, only natural gas finished on a positive note, rising 11.8 cents to $6.208 per million British thermal units.

Gasoline and heating oil futures also declined sharply. Gasoline fell 10.31 cents to finish at $1.9259 a gallon, its lowest closing level since March 23. heating oil was off more than 4 percent, closing down 9.47 cents at $1.9393 a gallon.

The sell-off began Friday as traders began analyzing a potential impact on a weaker-than-expected jobs number, Marketwatch reported.

"The bottom line is that the market fears that a slowdown in the economy could slow the demand for oil," said Phil Flynn, Alaron Trading analyst.

At the pump, the average price for unleaded gasoline was $2.838, down slightly from Monday's $2.843 average, according to the AAA's Daily Fuel Gauge Report.