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U.S. markets catapult Tuesday

NEW YORK, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- A jumpy day on Wall Street ended with a huge rally Tuesday as the Dow Jones industrial average soared nearly 900 points.

By close, the DJIA added 892.37 points, up 10.91 percent, to 9,068.14. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 91.58 or 10.79 percent to 940.50. The Nasdaq composite index gained 143.57, or 9.53 percent to 1,649.47.

Mining and real estate services jumped more than 20 percent as blue chips rallied. Boeing shares jumped 12.42 percent, while General Motors gained 10.09 percent.

In the end, investors ignored a Conference Board report that said the monthly consumer confidence index fell to its lowest reading on record Tuesday.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond fell 1 13/32 to yield 3.857 percent.

The euro rose to $1.2707, compared to $1.2542. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar rose to 95.50 yen, up from 93.58 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average gained 459.02 points to 7,621.92, up 6.41 percent.

In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 73.79 points to 3,926.38, up 1.92 percent.

NASA selects 142 small business projects

WASHINGTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency says it has selected 142 proposals for negotiation of Phase 2 contract awards in its Small Business Innovation Research program.

The selected National Aeronautics and Space Administration SBIR projects have a total value of approximately $85 million. NASA said it will award the contracts to 121 small high-technology firms in 27 states

"The SBIR program supports NASA's mission directorates by working with them to competitively select ventures that address critical research and technology needs for agency programs and projects," the space agency said in a statement.

The SBIR program is a three-phase award system. Phase 1 is a feasibility study to evaluate the scientific and technical merit of an idea. Awards are for periods as long as six months in amounts up to $100,000. Phase 2 expands on the results of the development in Phase 1. Award durations are as long as two years in amounts up to $600,000. Phase 3 is for the commercialization of the results of Phase 2 and requires the use of private sector or non-SBIR federal funding.

A list of the selected companies and more information about the program is available at http://www.ipp.nasa.gov/ti_sbir.htm

Fidelity Investments may cut 4,000 jobs

BOSTON, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- Fidelity Investments said it is working on trimming costs, but would not comment on a report that said it was planning to cut 4,000 jobs.

Ignites.com, a trade publication, said unnamed sources had said Fidelity was planning to layoff 1,500 workers before the year's end and 2,500 in early 2009, The Boston Globe reported Tuesday.

With Fidelity's assets losing value, "there has to be some type of adjustment," an anonymous source told the Globe.

"Our business leaders are evaluating all of their operations, company by company and division by division, to make sure they're well-positioned for the future," said company spokeswoman Anne Crowley, who would not comment on the rumored layoffs.

Fidelity reduced staff by about 1,000 in the past year. Before those cuts the company employed about 45,500 worldwide, the Globe reported.

Colorado sanctions 20 on mortgage fraud

DENVER, Oct. 28 (UPI) -- The Colorado Division of Real Estate said it has sanctioned or fined 20 real estate agents allegedly involved in kickback schemes involving 105 home sales.

About $8 million was allegedly kicked back to buyers and brokers during sales that occurred in 2006, the Rocky Mountain News newspaper in Denver reported Tuesday.

"All we can do is take their licenses and impose fines, Other groups can bring criminal charges," said Erin Toll, director of the Division of Real Estate.

Of the 105 cases, 98 involved selling homes to members of a group called Synergy 2002 REI. In a typical transaction, a member of the group would pay for a home at inflated prices. At the closing, a sizable check would be dispersed to a third party for home repairs. Those checks, however, didn't get deposited in escrow accounts, where they normally end up in such transactions, the Rocky Mountain News reported.

Broker One Real Estate Professionals owner Jerold Minney and a broker associate of the company Steve Werner, were allegedly involved in each of the 105 transactions, the News said. Each was fined $50,000.

Eighteen others were given fines ranging from $250 to $50,000 and had real estate licenses suspended or revoked, the newspaper said.