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U.S. stocks surge to close week

NEW YORK, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes started strong Friday and kept getting stronger during the day as the three major indexes finished the week on a positive note.

The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 205.01 points, or 1.6 percent, to finish at 13,450.65. The Nasdaq composite index added 51.13 points, or 1.94 percent, to finish at 2,691.99. the Standard & Poor's 500 rose 24.34, or 1.67 percent, to end the day at 1,484.46.

Alfred Kugel, chief investment strategist at Atlantic Trust, told The Wall Street Journal he is confident the market can hold on through the holidays.

"My guess is that the path of least resistance will be up from now until the middle of January" when the market considers a new batch of earnings reports and economic data, Kugel said.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,369 stocks advanced and 828 declined on volume of 2.3 billion shares.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yielded 4.172 percent Friday.

The euro traded at $1.4364 from $1.4323 Thursday, while the dollar was at 114.15 yen from 113.07 yen.

In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 1.3 percent to 6,429.9.

The Nikkei 225 closed up 1.5 percent at 15,205 in Tokyo.

First Chinese-produced plane unveiled

SHANGHAI, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- The first Chinese-designed and -produced airplane rolled off the production line Friday at the Shanghai Aircraft Manufacturing Friday.

The ARJ21 jet's name, "Xiang Feng," or "Flying Phoenix" was also unveiled during the ceremony, Chinese news agency Xinhua reported. The plane was designed and produced by China Aviation Industry Corporation.

The ARJ21-700 jet, expected to make its maiden flight in March, can carry 90 passengers with a maximum range of 2,000 nautical miles, the company said. It is expected to be delivered to customers during the third quarter of 2009 after it receives airworthiness certification.

Chen Yong, vice chief designer, said the jet will go through more than 170 tests before it is certified.

Currently, China uses foreign-made Boeing, Airbus and Bombardier planes on domestic air routes. The ARJ21 is expected to gobble up to 60 percent of the domestic market for mid-size regional airliners during the next 20 years, China Aviation said.

The company said it has received orders for 171 planes.

Little movement in Canadian retail sales

OTTAWA, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- Weak sales in Ontario countered gains in eight other provinces and retail sales in Canada for October were virtually unchanged, Statistics Canada reported.

Sales were up slightly, 0.1 percent, to an estimated $34.5 billion, the bureau said. Since 2004, retail sales in Canada have climbed rapidly, but during the past several months sales were stagnant.

The 0.5 percent drop in sales in Ontario -- which represents roughly 35 percent of Canadian retail sales -- tempered October's retail trade performance, the bureau said. Retail sales in Canada would have risen 0.5 percent if Ontario's figures were excluded.

Statistics Canada, based in Ottawa, also reported employment grew in November by about 43,000 jobs, bringing the employment rate to 63.8 percent. While more people joined the labor force in November, the unemployment rate rose to 5.9 percent.

EU ministers retool airline emission regs

BRUSSELS, Dec. 21 (UPI) -- European Union ministers said they curtailed a draft law that would regulate emissions from any airliner landing or taking off in Europe.

The revisions would delay the start date of the emission regulations by a year and reduce the amount of permits airlines would have to buy, the International Herald Tribune reported Friday.

EU environment officials had promoted the airline bill as central to a European effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but the U.S. government and airlines balked, saying an international agreement should be in place first. Airlines also say the EU action could cost billions of dollars and increase ticket prices.

"This is a bold step by Europe ... which shows the EU leading in the fight against dangerous climate change," said Hilary Benn, British environment secretary.

Environmentalists criticized the decision, calling it hypocritical since governments pledged to make deep cuts in emissions during a U.N. climate change conference in Indonesia this month.

"It's a shameful end to a year filled with promise for action on climate change," said Joao Vieira of Transport and Environment, a group in Brussels that champions sustainable transport.