U.S. stocks cool off in afternoon trading
NEW YORK, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks moved positively Wednesday, but the day's beginning rally faded amid investors' concern about Turkey's possible military incursion into Iraq.
The Dow Jones industrial average was off 0.18 percent in early afternoon trading, down 24.71 to 13,888.23 points.
The Standard & Poor's 500 and the Nasdaq composite index still showed positive numbers. The S&P 500 was up 0.02 percent -- 0.35 point -- at 1,538.88. The Nasdaq posted a 19.68-point increase, 0.71 percent, to 2,783.59.
Stocks opened higher but began pulling back as news spread that Turkey's parliament approved a motion to allow troops to enter northern Iraq to fight Kurdish rebels, sending oil prices higher and pressuring equities, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The U.S. Labor Department said the September consumer price index rose 0.3 percent. However, the Commerce Department said September housing starts tumbled 10.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted 1.191 million.
In early-afternoon trading on the New York Stock Exchange, 1,971 stocks rose and 1,133 declined.
The U.S. Treasury 10-year note was up $5 for every $1,000 invested to yield 4.594 percent.
The euro was at $1.4210 from $1.4164 against the dollar Tuesday. The dollar was at 116.61 yen from 116.70 yen Tuesday.
September consumer price index rises
WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- Consumer prices showed a modest rise of 0.3 percent in September, the U.S. Labor Department said Wednesday, reversing the 0.1 percent decline in August.
The September level was 2.8 percent higher than that of September 2006, the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said in a news release.
The core CPI, which does not include food and energy prices, rose 0.2 percent for the fourth straight month, the department said.
Energy, which dropped for the three preceding months, rose 0.3 percent in September. Petroleum-based energy increased 0.4 percent while the index for energy services moved up 0.1 percent.
The food index rose 0.5 percent in September. The department said the rise reflected increases for dairy products and fruits and vegetables.
Transportation was up 0.1 percent. Gasoline, which dropped the three previous months, rose in September by 0.4 percent.
September U.S. housing starts tumble
WASHINGTON, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. housing market got more bad news Wednesday, when a government agency reported housing starts in September fell to their lowest point in 14 years.
Housing starts in September dropped to a seasonally adjusted rate of 1.19 million, 10.2 percent below the revised August estimate of 1.32 million, the Commerce Department's U.S. Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development divisions jointly announced in a news release.
In a year-over-year comparison, September starts were 30.8 percent below the revised September 2006 rate of 1.72 million.
Single-family housing starts in September were 963,000, or 1.7 percent below the August figure of 980,000, the agencies said.
Building permits were down in September, with the department reporting a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.23 million -- 7.3 percent below the revised August rate of 1.32 million and 25.9 percent below the revised September 2006 estimate of 1.65 million.
Frango mint-making returns to Chicago
CHICAGO, Oct. 17 (UPI) -- National retailer Macy's and Cupid Candies made a deal sweet for the Chicago candy-maker to turn out a portion of the popular Frango mints.
Under the contract, Cupid Candies will begin making a percentage of Frango mint chocolates early in 2008, Cupid and Macy's executives said in exclusive interviews with The Chicago Sun-Times.
Macy's took over the Marshall Field's chain, famed for its Frango mints, just more than two years ago.
"We are happy. It's an opportunity for expansion, and I am overjoyed," John Stefanos, president of Cupid Candies, whose parents started the boxed-chocolates company 71 years ago, told the newspaper.
Cupid tried a dozen times to get the Frango mint flavor right, Stefanos said.
"I've never dealt with a customer who was so particular in making sure the product perfectly met expectations," Stefanos said.
Ralph Hughes, regional vice president of Macy's corporate communication, told the Sun-Times Macy's wanted to ensure no there was no difference between Frangos made in Chicago and those made at the existing manufacturer in Pennsylvania.
Macy's Chief Executive Officer Terry Lundgren had promised to move a portion of Frango production to Chicago after locals were unhappy with his announcement that Macy's would replace Marshall Field's, a retailer synonymous with Chicago.
