UPI NewsTrack Business

U.S. stocks plunge on worrisome day

NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Jittery U.S. stock indexes took a day-long plunge Monday amid worries over a disappointing housing report and other downbeat data.

The Dow Jones industrial average tumbled 241.73 points, or 2.1 percent, to close at 11,386.33. All 30 of its components ended lower, led by a 5.5 percent slide in American International Group shares.

Nasdaq slid 2 percent to 2,365.59 and the Standard and Poor 500 was off 2 percent at 1,266.89.

The dollar was mixed, with the euro falling to $1.4751 from $1.4774, Against the Japanese currency, the dollar fell to 109.32 yen, down from 110.06 yen.

Treasury prices rose. The two-year note was up 5/32 to yield 2.333 percent. The benchmark 10-year note was up 22/32 to yield 3.789 percent.

Oil remains at $115

NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Crude oil futures closed higher Monday after struggling much of the session to stay above $115 a barrel.

Oil for October delivery dropped, then closed up 52 cents at 115.11 amid supply concerns over a new tropical storm in the Atlantic and continuing tensions between Russia and Georgia.

Natural gas for Septemberdelivery fell 1.8 cents, or 0.2 percent at $7.825 per million British thermal units,

Heating oil rose 2 cents at 3.1514 cents a gallon and reformulated gas was up 1.4 a 2.8823 a gaqllon.

At the pump, motorists were paying an average of $3.681 for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline, down from $3.688.

U.S. home sales climb but prices still fall

NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Existing U.S. home sales climbed better than expected in July but prices kept dropping and inventories expanded, a report said Monday.

The National Association of Realtors said home resales rose 3.1 percent to a 5 million annual rate from 4.85 million during June. Estimates had the figure at 4.92 million.

The median home price was $212,400 in July, down 7.1 percent from $228,600 in July 2007. The median price in June this year was $215,100.

The report said falling prices were restraining sales, as would-be buyers wait for a better deal, and high inventories are driving down prices, The Wall Street Journal said.

Despite the sales increase, inventories of homes rose 3.9 percent at the end of July to a record-high 4.67 million available for sale.

Uninsured paying $30B for healthcare

NEW YORK, Aug. 25 (UPI) -- Americans with no health insurance will spend about $30 billion out of pocket on medical care this year, a new study said Monday.

Some $56 billion of those costs will be paid by others, mainly the U.S. government, the report said.

The survey estimates the government pays 75 percent or $42.9 billion of the amount uninsured patients can't pay through Medicaid and Medicare, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The tab to cover all the uninsured was set at $208.6 billion.

Healthcare spending accounted for 16.3 percent of gross domestic product in 2007, or about $2.2 trillion, and that amount could nearly double in 10 years, federal figures indicate.