UPI NewsTrack Business

Stocks in check, oil prices rise during storm watch

NEW YORK, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes were pretty much held in check by a number of issues Tuesday while crude oil prices climbed amid worries about Hurricane Gustav.

Stocks were deterred by continued weakness in the housing market, a lowered economic forecast from the Federal Reserve and the latest oil price increase.

The Dow Jones industrial average finally pulled out of the red in late dealings to close up 26.62 point, or 0.23 percent, at 11,412.87.

Nasdaq was down 3.62, or 0.15 percent a 2,361.97 and the Standard & Poor 500 was up 4.67, or 0.37 percent, at 1,271.51

The euro dropped sharply against the U.S. currency and traded at $1.4627, compared to $1.4754 against the dollar Monday.

Oil prices climbing amid hurricane watch

NEW YORK, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices resumed their slow advance Tuesday as traders kept an eye on the weather in the Gulf of Mexico and Hurricane Gustav.

Crude for December delivery closed up $1.16, or 1.01 percent, at $116.27 a barrel .

Investors were following the hurricane's path as it moves toward the Gulf of Mexico, a major offshore drilling and energy-transport hub. The National Hurricane Center said most indications are the storm "will be an extremely dangerous hurricane" and reach the gulf by early Sunday.

Natural gas was up, 45 cents at 8.28 per million British thermal units.

Heating oil was up 6.06 cents at 320.99 pennies a gallon.

Reformulated gas was up 8.74 cents at 296.07 cents a gallon.

The average price in the United States for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.672, down a tad from $3.681, the AAA reported.

U.S. household income rises again

WASHINGTON, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Median U.S. household income climbed 1.3 percent between 2006 and 2007, reaching $50,233, the U.S. Census Bureau reported in Washington Tuesday.

The increase is the third in a row.

The report said the nation's official poverty rate in 2007 was 12.5 percent, about the same as a year earlier. There were 37.3 million people reported in poverty in 2007, up from 36.5 million in 2006.

The number of people without health insurance coverage declined from 47 million (15.8 percent) in 2006 to 45.7 million (15.3 percent) last year.

Among the race groups, black households had the lowest median income in 2007 ($33,916). This compares to the median of $54,920 for non-Hispanic white households.

Asian households had the highest median income ($66,103).

The median income for Hispanic households was $38,679.

Job cut surge seen possible for early 2009

CHICAGO, Aug. 26 (UPI) -- Uncharacteristic job cuts over the summer could result in the biggest post-Labor Day downsizing in six years, a job consulting firm predicted Tuesday.

The forecast came in the year-end job outlook by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, which predicted the cut backs to run over into the first three or four months of 2009.

The report said further that if the layoff surge continues it could significantly lower holiday spending by consumers.

Job cuts in 2008 are on track to surpass the 2007 total of 768,264. If the pace recorded over the last three months continues through December, the 12-month total will exceed 1 million for the first time since 2005, when employers announced 1,072,054 cuts.