U.S. markets head up
NEW YORK, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes headed up Monday morning amid signs of recovery in credit markets.
The three-month dollar London Interbank Offered Rate or Libor, fell to its lowest rate since Sept. 30, while the overnight rate also fell, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Oil prices gained during the weekend, reaching $73.77 per barrel in anticipation of a cut in production expected after this week's meeting of the Organization of Oil Exporting Countries in Vienna.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 71.52 points in midmorning trading to 8,923.74, up 0.81 percent. The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 12.49 points, or 1.33 percent, to 953.04. The Nasdaq composite index gained 21.83 points, or 1.28 percent, to 1,733.12.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 2/32 to yield 3.93 percent.
The euro fell to $1.335, compared to Friday's $1.3406. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to 101.478 yen, up from 101.45 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei average rose 311.77 points to 9,005.59, up 3.59 percent.
Bernanke backs a new stimulus bill
WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Monday he supports a new economic stimulus package to improve the availability of credit.
In a prepared testimony for the House Budget Committee, Bernanke said "consideration of a fiscal package by the Congress at this juncture seems appropriate."
But, Bernanke said timing the spending to a "period in which economic activity would otherwise be expected to be weak," would get the most effect for the dollars spent.
"Any fiscal package should be well-targeted," he said. The program should also be designed "to limit longer-term effects on the federal government's structural budget deficit," he said.
A fiscal stimulus package should be targeted "to help improve access to credit by consumers, homebuyers, businesses and other borrowers," he said.
"Such actions might be particularly effective at promoting economic growth and job creation," Bernanke said.
Chrysler and GM seek help with merger
DETROIT, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. auto giants Chrysler and General Motors are looking for government help in financing a merger, unnamed sources close to the discussions said.
Details of the talks have remained under wraps, but sources said the companies are pointing out the size of the new company, which would command 36 percent of the U.S. auto market, and the repercussions if one or both of the companies should fail as justification for federal intervention, USA Today reported Monday.
The newspaper said talks are pivoting on GMAC, General Motors' financial subsidiary. Cerberus Capital Management, which owns Chrysler, owns more than 50 percent of GMAC and is negotiating for 100 percent. But, General Motors is reluctant to give up its share, the newspaper said.
Sprint rolls out first WiMax network
BALTIMORE, Oct. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. telecommunications provider Sprint says it has gone live with its first WiMax mobile broadband network in Baltimore.
WiMax allows users of personal computers to remain connected to the Internet wirelessly at high speeds throughout an entire city, rather than just at isolated wireless "hot spots," such as libraries and coffee shops. Sprint and its partner Clearwire Inc. of Seattle say the technology will revolutionize Internet connectivity, USA Today reported Monday.
In Baltimore, the companies tested their WiMax network, saying it is capable of speeds far exceeding those of conventional Internet access providers such as cable television or telephone companies, the newspaper said.
"We're on the cusp of giving people a brand new Internet experience" by offering true mobile broadband, Ben Wolff, chief executive officer of Clearwire, told USA Today. "WiMax is the next generation of the Internet."
But analysts wondered to USA Today whether WiMax provides enough of a difference to draw consumers from their present Internet providers. Sprint will also face competition from AT&T and Verizon, which are working on their own high-speed wireless Internet access projects.
