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U.S. markets close mixed Friday

NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes closed mixed Friday with Wachovia bank shares dropping 30.66 percent on the day.

The day started with news that Seattle's savings and loan Washington Mutual had become the latest victim of financial crisis, seized by regulators who engineered a sale of the $1.9 billion of the company's deposits and operations to JP Morgan & Chase Co.

By close Friday, the Dow Jones industrial average had rebounded from an early slump to gain 121.07 points, or 1.1 percent, to 11,143.13. The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.34 percent, 4.09 points, to 1,213.27. The Nasdaq composite index fell 3.23 points, 0.15 percent, to 2,183.34.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,042 stocks advanced and 2,110 declined on a volume of 5.975 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 2/32 to yield 3.858 percent.

The dollar fell Friday. The euro rose to $1.4628, compared to $1.4626 Thursday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 106.12 yen from 106.37 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 113.37 points to 11,893.16, down 0.94 percent.

The FTSE index in London also fell, down 108.50 points to 5,088.50, off 2.09 percent.

Candidates oppose automaker loan delays

WASHINGTON, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A threat to delay a $25 billion loan to U.S. automakers is being opposed by the major U.S. presidential candidates Friday.

Both Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois and Sen. John McCain of Arizona said they would speed up delivery of the loans after the U.S. Energy Department said Thursday that it had "significant doubts about whether distribution of loans by January 2009 is realistic," The Detroit News reported.

The money was approved in a House 370-58 vote as part of a $600 spending bill. The Senate is expected to pass the bill.

But, the Energy Department said the money may not be available until the middle of 2010, the News reported.

McCain spokesman Sarah Lenti said the Republican candidate was "committed to a responsive and efficient government."

"He would insist that work would begin in advance and be completed in a timely manner," she said.

Similarly, Brad Carroll, spokesman for Obama, said "Obama understands that these loans are essential for keeping auto jobs here in America."

Volt may get 100 miles per gallon rating

DETROIT, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- General Motors Corp. said Friday an agreement with U.S. regulators could tag its Chevrolet Volt with a fuel economy rating of 100 miles per gallon.

GM spokesman Dee Allen said the rating was not written in stone. But the company reached a preliminary agreement with regulators that the car would be classified as an electric vehicle regarding its fuel economy ratings, the Detroit Free Press reported Friday.

If that classification holds, the car could receive a 100-miles-per-gallon rating or better, Allen said.

Economic depression unlikely, analysts say

NEW YORK, Sept. 26 (UPI) -- A $700 billion bailout for the credit crisis on Wall Street may not be the last massive federal intervention needed to right the economy, U.S. economists said.

Jerry Howard, chief executive officer of the National Association of Home Builders said the proposed bailout, stalled in debate in Washington, was necessary, but did not get to the root of the financial problem, CNNMoney reported Friday.

Upon returning from their election year fall recess, lawmakers will need to contemplate a bailout of up to $90 billion to kick start the housing market, Howard said. Falling housing prices and their drag on the credit system are widely thought to be the fundamental cause of the current downward spiral.

As the government steps in to help, recovering U.S. financial firms will need to deal with defaults and economic slowdowns in Asia and Europe.

On the positive side, however, most experts agree the U.S. is not headed for a repeat of the Great Depression, CNNMoney said.

The federal government did not insure bank deposits before 1933. Further, the year before the Great Depression, the gross domestic product dropped 13 percent, an economic jolt that has not occurred so far this time around.