UPI NewsTrack Business

U.S. markets gain ground

NEW YORK, July 10 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes swung in and out of positive territory, most recently returning to positive ground in Thursday trading in New York.

At midday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 35.85 points to 11,183.27, up 0.32 percent. The Standard and Poor's 500 index was up 4.94 points to 1,249.63, up 0.40 percent. The Nasdaq composite index was up 0.73 percent to 2,251.18, up 16.29 points.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 5/32 to yield 3.828 percent.

The euro traded at $1.572 from Wednesday's $1.5737, while the dollar traded at 107.23 yen from Wednesday's 106.61 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei index gained 15.08 points to 13,067.21, up 0.12 percent.

Canadian minister slams new texting fees

OTTAWA, July 10 (UPI) -- Canada's industry minister wants explanations from two major telecommunications companies about plans to charge fees on incoming text messages.

Industry Minister Jim Prentice was responding to public outrage over plans by Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility to start charging 15 cents per incoming message next month, which currently is free. Users now only pay to send messages with phones and handheld devices.

"While I have no desire to interfere with the day-to-day business decisions of two private companies, I do have a duty as minister of industry, when necessary, to protect the interests of the consuming public," Prentice said in a statement. "I believe this was an ill-thought-out decision,"

The consumer backlash is primarily over spam, or unwanted messages, over which users have no control, the Canwest News Service said.

The country's other major carrier, Rogers, has said it no plans to bill for incoming text messages, the news agency said.

Poll: Canadians not 'good' at vacations

MONTREAL, July 10 (UPI) -- The majority of Canadian workers turn vacations into "nocations" by remaining in touch with their jobs while away, a poll published Thursday indicated.

The Monster.ca job recruiting Web site polled 1,439 Canadian workers this month on their vacation habits and found 23 percent said they occasionally check e-mail and phone messages while on vacation.

In a release, the company said a further 17 percent said they "never really stop working" during vacation and another 17 percent said they make themselves "available for emergencies only" while on holidays.

"Many Canadians seem to be missing the point when it comes to taking holidays", said Monster Canada Vice President of Sales Peter Gilfillan. "To maintain a beneficial work-life balance -- and to keep your vacation from turning into a stressful 'nocation,' people should organize their time in a way that truly lets them get away from work and its related stresses."

The survey found 43 percent of respondents said they "do not work at all" during vacations, the company said.

Salmonella scare impacts tomato crop

MERCED, Calif., July 10 (UPI) -- Demand for fresh tomatoes has slowed in recent weeks, following a salmonella outbreak linked to fresh produce that made thousands sick, producers said.

In early June, the Food and Drug Administration said certain tomatoes were the likely cause of the outbreak in which 1,017 people became ill, USA Today reported.

The FDA has since extended the investigation into the cause of the outbreak to jalapeno and serrano peppers, as well as cilantro, but has not taken raw round Roma, red round and red plum tomatoes off the list of suspects.

"We do not have ... evidence that takes tomatoes off the list," the Center for Disease Controls deputy director Robert Tauxeon told reporters Wednesday.

Producers say demand for tomatoes is down 30 percent to 40 percent and farmers have reported plowing under fields of ripe tomatoes as prices have fallen too far to support a harvest

"We're losing hundreds of thousands of dollars," said Tim Horwath, president of Gonzales Packing in Gonzales, Calif.

Horwath has mowed down 40 acres of tomatoes, the report said.

Tim McCarthy, Chief Executive Officer of the Central California Tomato Growers Cooperative in Merced, Calif., plowed under 60 acres of his own crop when the price was $4 a box, the report said.

With prices now $5 a box, "It's break-even," he said.