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U.S. markets find lows, then climb Tuesday

NEW YORK, June 24 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes flirted with a closing low for 2008, but rebounded slightly Tuesday afternoon.

The Dow Jones industrial average hit a low for the year at 11,740.15 points, The Wall Street Journal reported. But, the Dow regained some momentum to close at 11,807.43, off 34.93 points or 0.29 percent.

The Nasdaq composite index closed at 2,368.28, down 0.73 percent or 17.46 points, while the Standard and Poor's 500 closed at 1,314.29, down 0.28 percent or 3.71 points.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 970 stocks advanced and 2,172 declined on volume of 1.339 billion shares traded.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained 20.32 to yield 4.088 percent.

Against the euro, the dollar was at $1.5564, compared to Monday's close of $1.5572. Against the yen, the dollar was at $107.828, compared to Monday's $107.79.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average dipped 0.6 percent to 1,3849.56 at Tuesday's close.

In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 8.20 points, or 0.14 percent, to 5,659.00.

Canadians' net worth $171,000 per capita

OTTAWA, June 24 (UPI) -- The net worth of the average Canadian rose 1.2 percent in the first quarter of 2008 to $171,000 per capita, the Statistics Canada agency reported Tuesday.

The increase was up from $169,300 at the end of 2007, and collectively meant the country's national net worth was $5.7 trillion dollars, StatsCan said.

In the same quarter last year, the increase was 2.3 percent.

Residential real estate remained a major factor in the increase in national wealth, accounting for over one-third of the gain, the report said.

However, credit and mortgage liabilities continued to grow faster than net worth in the first quarter, and "households had 19.6 cents of debt for every dollar of net worth, and household debt amounted to 123.8 percent of personal disposable income," the agency said.

Canada's population was 33.3 million as of June 2007, the agency said.

Boston 'Big Dig' contractor in bankruptcy

BOSTON, June 24 (UPI) -- Modern Continental Corp., the largest contractor in a multi-billion-dollar Boston tunnel project has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, court documents show.

The bankruptcy filing was submitted four days after the state filed 49 criminal charges against the company for shoddy workmanship, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

Many expected and feared Modern would file for bankruptcy, which could allow it to pay pennies on the dollar on fines.

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has already withheld $20 million in payments to the company for unfinished work. Modern Continental, in turn, blamed the state for its financial difficulties.

"As a result of Modern's struggle to collect due and owed contract balances from the Commonwealth, Modern's ability to timely fulfill its remaining contractual requirements … has been placed in jeopardy," a company statement said.

Modern Continental has earned $3.2 billion for work on the "Big Dig," a 3.5 mile tunnel under the city of Boston.

Relatives of Milena Del Valle, a motorist killed when the ceiling of the tunnel collapsed, also are suing the company, which filed for bankruptcy claiming debts of $1 billion, the newspaper said.

U.S. Sugar to give up Everglades land

WELLINGTON, Fla., June 24 (UPI) -- U.S. Sugar said Tuesday it agreed to sell 187,000 acres of Everglades land to the state of Florida for $1.7 billion.

The deal was hailed as the largest environmental purchase ever made by the state, The Miami Herald reported.

Florida Gov. Charlie Crist called the land south of Lake Okeechobee in Hendry, Glades and Palm Beach counties the "missing link" in Everglades restoration.

''I can envision no better gift to the Everglades, or the people of Florida, than to place in public ownership this missing link that represents the key to true restoration,'' Crist said.

The deal, expected to close in 75 days, gives the South Florida Water Management District about 300 square miles of farmland, two large sugar refineries and 200 miles of railroad.

U.S. Sugar will lease the land for six years before ceasing its operations there, the Herald reported.

President of U.S. Sugar Bob Buker expressed sadness at leaving the area the company has farmed for years, the newspaper reported.

But, Buker recognized the deal's importance from an environmental point of view.

''This is a watershed event in national conservation history and a paradigm shift for the Everglades and the environment in Florida,'' Buker told the Herald.