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U.S. markets edge up Wednesday

NEW YORK, June 25 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes edged slightly higher Wednesday morning in advance of an afternoon announcement on federal bank lending rates.

The Federal Reserve Bank's Open Market Committee will announce its decision on lending rates Wednesday afternoon. If no change is announced, investors will scrutinize the bank's statement for signs of future rate changes, anticipating the bank will raise rates to slow inflation.

In late-morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 70.84 or 0.6 percent to 11,878.27. The Nasdaq composite index gained 39.25 or 1.66 percent to 2,407.53, while the Standard and Poor's 500 rose 13.42 or 1.02 percent to 1,327.71.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 5/32 to yield 4.16 percent.

Against the euro, the dollar was flat at $1.557, compared to Tuesday's close of $1.5572. Against the yen, the dollar was at $108.195, compared to Tuesday's $107.79.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 Stock Average lost 0.14 percent to 1,3829.92, down 19.64 points at Wednesday's close.

U.S. rebates redirected to pay debts

WASHINGTON, June 25 (UPI) -- Almost 2 million tax rebate checks from the U.S. government were used by recipients to cover child support, back taxes and student loans, the government said.

Fifty-five percent of the diverted funds, totaling nearly $1 billion, have gone to pay child support, USA Today reported Wednesday. Thirty-nine percent has gone to student and farm loans, while 6 percent has been diverted to pay unpaid state taxes.

"It's a nice bonus for the children and families in need," Mike Adams, of the Tennessee Department of Human, told the newpsaper.

In Tennessee, $8.5 million has gone to child support on a balance of $20 million in unpaid child support bills, the newspaper reported.

Dean Balamaci, director of debt collections at the U.S. Treasury Department said to USA Today, "We're proud that we're sending money back to families who need it" noting the department had received "a few complaints but not many."

Canada running $28.1 billion surplus

OTTAWA, June 25 (UPI) -- Canada's economy ended the fiscal year in March with a $28.1 billion surplus, the Statistics Canada agency reported Wednesday.

"During the last five years, consolidated government revenues have grown at an annual average rate of 5.7 percent, compared with an annual average increase of 4.8 percent in expenditures," the agency report said.

Revenues increased 5.1 percent between 2007 and 2008, a slightly slower pace than the 5.5 percent growth in expenditures, but still managed to near the record surplus of $28.6 billion in 2001, StatsCan said.

Income taxes, consumption taxes and contributions to social insurance plans accounted for more than 71 percent of total revenues in 2008. The largest growth in revenue was from income taxes, which increased 7.5 percent in fiscal year 2008.

The fiscal year ending March 3 marked the fourth consecutive year of surplus for the combined provincial, territorial and local governments, although Ontario and Quebec continued to have deficits, the report said.

Energy prices erode appeal of country life

DENVER, June 25 (UPI) -- Rising energy costs are beginning to erode the appeal of living in the suburbs, U.S. land use experts have said.

Soaring gasoline prices and heating bills for large homes are causing some to reconsider moves into the quieter countryside, The New York Times reported Wednesday.

Home prices are reflecting the change. Home prices in Denver fell 5 percent in the final quarter of 2007. But, housing prices in outlying areas of Denver began falling in the middle of 2006 and fell 7 percent in last year's final quarter, the Times reported.

Long commutes were an issue for Colorado resident Phil Boyle, who prefers country charm to city chaos. However, his previous complaint of "too much time driving" to work and back has morphed recently to "too much time and money driving," he told the Times.

Some said the trend could have long-range repercussions.

"Many low-density suburbs and McMansion subdivisions … may become what inner cities became in the 1960s and '70s -- slums characterized by poverty, crime and decay," wrote urban land strategist Christopher B. Leinberger in a recent essay in The Atlantic Monthly.