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Published: Sept. 30, 2008 at 11:30 AM

U.S. markets pull themselves up Tuesday

NEW YORK, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- U.S. markets turned upward early Tuesday, following Monday's record fall of more than 777 points in the Dow Jones industrial average.

In midmorning trading, the Dow Jones average was up 206.36 points, or 1.99 percent, to 10571.81. The Standard & Poor's 500 climbed 25.37 points, or 2.29 percent, to 1,131.76. The Nasdaq composite index gained 35.03 points, 1.77 percent, to 2,018.76.

The failure of the U.S. House of Representatives to pass a massive bailout plan for financial firms had helped push stocks down Monday.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell 18/32 to yield 3.645 percent.

The dollar gained Tuesday. The euro fell to $1.416, compared to $1.4441 Monday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to 105.30 yen, up from 104.29 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 483.75 points to 11,259.86, off 4.12 percent.


Markets fall around the globe

WASHINGTON, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Markets from Japan to Europe plunged steeply after the U.S. House of Representatives failed to pass a massive bailout plan.

The Dow Jones industrial average took its largest one-day beating ever, losing more than 777 points on the day, and markets around the globe also suffered.

In Japan, where the government pumped $19 billion more into the economy, the Nikkei index fell 4.12 percent. In Australia, markets tumbled 4.32 percent. In Russia, stock markets suspended trading after the RTS fell more than 8 percent in just a few minutes of trading, CNN reported.

The market plunge wiped out $1.2 trillion in market value, the largest loss in one day on the Dow Jones Wilshire 5,000 index.

Markets were down in London, South Korea, France and Germany. But, in Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index put on the brakes, falling 6 percent in midday and rising to a positive close, up 0.76 percent.

London's FTSE 100 index also halted a free-fall, rising late in the day.

"There's still an expectation that a deal will be done," Henk Potts, an equity strategist at Barclays Wealth in London told CNN.


U.S. employers expect more cutbacks

NEW YORK, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Ten percent of U.S. employers indicated they would cut jobs during the fourth quarter, a recent survey said.

Sixty-three percent of employers responding to a CareerBuilder.com survey conducted for USA Today by Harris Interactive indicated their payrolls would stay the same through the fourth quarter. But 10 percent indicated they would cut jobs.

Almost a quarter of the hiring managers surveyed -- 23 percent -- indicated they would add to their payrolls in the fourth quarter. But, the figure was down from the previous quarter, when 25 percent added workers, the report said.

The survey of 3,061 hiring managers and human resource personnel was conducted Aug. 21-Sept. 9, the report said.

Previous surveys indicated 10 percent or more expected cuts through the first half of 2009, USA Today reported.


Gulf Coast fishermen hurt by storms

NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Recovery from hurricanes Katrina and Rita was not complete when two more major storms disrupted the Louisiana fishing industry this year, fishermen said.

Many U.S. Gulf Coast fishermen were still waiting for federal loans to address losses from 2005 when Hurricanes Gustav and Ike tore up docks, and damaged processing plants and other infrastructure, Rex Caffey, director of Louisiana State University's Center for Natural Resource Economics and Policy told USA Today.

Katrina and Rita in 2005 caused an estimated $582 million in damage to the fishing industry, but much of the $175 million in federal funds earmarked for the industry went to habitat restoration, rather than individual fisherman, the newspaper reported Tuesday.

"A lot of the stuff we did after Katrina to get people back up is gone," said Pete Gerica, a shrimp fisherman who works Lake Pontchartrain and Lake Borgne.

U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez has declared the Gulf of Mexico a fishery resource disaster area, freeing up federal funds for Louisiana and Texas.

The declaration also makes fisherman eligible for Small Business Administration loans.

But, fishermen, like many others, are also still fixing their damaged homes.

"Everyone's spending money repairing with no income coming in," fisherman Billy Foret said.

© 2008 United Press International, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
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