UPI NewsTrack Business

Stocks gain buoyed by jobs, mortgage aid

NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. stocks rose Thursday as signs pointed to healthy employment and President George W. Bush announced a plan to steady the beleaguered mortgage market.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 174.92 points, or 1.30 percent, to close at 13.619.89. The Nasdaq composite was up 42.67, or 1.40 percent, at 2,709.03. The S&P 500 was up 22.33 points, or 1.50 percent, at 1,507.34.

The volume on the New York Stock Exchange was 1.023 million shares traded Thursday, with 2,428 stocks advancing and 748 declining.

Bonds declined as the 10-year Treasury note skidded 19/32 to yield 4.025 percent Thursday.

The dollar was mixed. The euro traded at $1.4628 from $1.4611 late Wednesday, while the dollar changed at 111.26 yen from 110.90 yen Wednesday.

In economic news, the U.S. Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits fell by 15,000 to 338,000 after seasonal adjustments last week.

Oil prices rally, close above $90

NEW YORK, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices surged $2.74 Friday to move back to $90.23 a barrel on the New York Mercantile.

The solid showing boosted other energy shares.

Heating oil was up 5.66 cents at $2.5459 a gallon.

Reformulated gas was up 8.22 cents at $2.3002 a gallon.

Natural gas added .14 cents at $7.33 per million British thermal units.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline at the pump was down a fraction at $2.0034, the AAA reported.

Bush says plan to help needy homeowners

WASHINGTON, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- President George W. Bush Thursday outlined steps he said are designed to help struggling U.S. homeowners keep their properties.

The proposal includes a temporary 5-year freeze on certain adjustable rate mortgages.

The plan would blend the private sector with the federal government, offering more protection for the borrower through regulatory actions to make the mortgage industry more transparent, reliable and fair, the Whte House said.

The plan includes a proposed administration-brokered agreement for a possible temporary freeze on low, introductory mortgage-interest rates that would otherwise jump higher in the next few years.

Refinancing an existing loan into a new private mortgage and moving to a secure FHA loan would be alternatives.

Bush called on members of Congress to join in the fray and make several legislative changes, including modernizing the Federal Housing Administration and temporarily reforming the tax code, and setting up new areas of protection.

U.S. loan foreclosures set record

CHICAGO, Dec. 6 (UPI) -- U.S. loan foreclosures set a record in the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Thursday in its quarterly delinquency survey.

The rate of loans entering foreclosure was a seasonally adjusted 0.78 percent of all loans on one- to four-unit residential properties, up from 0.65 percent in the second quarter, MarketWatch said in a Chicago report.

The rate is up from 0.46 percent a year ago, MBA statistics indicate.

The percentage of loans in the foreclosure process was 1.69 percent of all outstanding loans, up from 1.4 percent in the second quarter.

Florida and California have the most outstanding mortgages, the MBA said.