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U.S. markets plunge Thursday

NEW YORK, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- A midday rally on Wall Street collapsed Thursday as U.S. jobless claims rose and lawmakers scrambled to assemble a plan to help Detroit automakers.

After the Dow Jones industrial average fell to a five-year low Wednesday, the Standard & Poor's index dropped to 752.44 points Thursday, an 11-year low.

Lawmakers in Washington asked U.S. automakers to submit plans for how they would spend up to $25 billion in bridge loans by Dec. 2. Jobless claims rose by 27,000 during the week ending Nov. 15, the government said, and Citigroup Inc. shares fell for the eighth session out of the last nine, falling 26.41 percent.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 444.99 points or 5.56 percent to 7,552.29. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 54.14 or 6.71 percent to 752.44. The Nasdaq index fell 70.30 or 5.07 percent to 1,316.12.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 2 29/32, yielding 3.008 percent.

The euro fell to $1.2441, compared to $1.2526 Wednesday. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 93.70 yen, from 95.79 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 570.18 points to 7,703.04, off 6.89 percent.

Mood on trade shifts from 'free' to 'fair'

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- Free trade sentiment in Washington is giving way to a "fair trade" sentiment, the leader of a consumer advocacy group said.

A fair trade platform helped 40 Congressional candidates win elections on Nov. 4, including 18 Republicans, said Lori Wallach, director of Public Citizen's Global Trade Watch division, the Miami Herald reported Thursday.

''Campaigning on fair trade is no longer just a Democratic tactic,'' Wallach said.

Fair trade advocates push for trade agreements to include labor, environmental and food safety standards and to prohibit foreign investors from suing governments over profits losses, the Herald reported.

President-elect Barack Obama openly sought anti-North American Free Trade Agreement voters. His position is that no future trade agreements should "stop the government from protecting the environment, food safety or the health of its citizens," the Herald reported.

This week in Washington, White House press secretary Dana Perino said members of Congress could pass free trade agreements with Colombia, South Korea and Panama, "if they really want to help the economy and jump start jobs in our country."

None of the trade agreements appeared on the agenda during the lame duck session of Congress this week, the Herald reported.

Senators present auto bailout plan

WASHINGTON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. senators from both parties presented their alternative for providing $25 billion in bridge loans as near-immediate help to the ailing U.S. auto industry.

The plan presented by Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., would draw the funds from $25 billion already approved for automakers to update plants to produce fuel-efficient vehicles.

"We cannot allow the issue" of the funding source overshadow the need for quick action, Levin said during a news conference where he outlined the alternative.

The plan is a hybrid of the $700 billion rescue plan for U.S. financial markets, he said. It includes taxpayer protections, guards against so-called golden parachutes or excessive executive pay and allows auto suppliers to be eligible to apply for the bridge loans. It would be overseen by the U.S. Commerce Department.

The structure of the previously passed loan program would remain as would the environmental standards. Loan repayments would be used to replenish the fund, Levin said.

Congressional leaders, meanwhile, said they wanted automakers to submit plans detailing how they would spend federal fund before receiving any. Plans are to be submitted by Dec. 2 and hearings would be conducted Dec. 8.

Just as congressional leaders called for long-terms plans from Detroit's "Big Three," the alternative also would require plans be submitted with loan applications. But the administrative agency, not Congress, would determine which plans would lead to financial viability.

"We're disappointed we're not going to act (on the bipartisan plan) today," Levin said. "We believe that there's a reasonable chance that if this were put to a vote today or tomorrow that it could get the 60 votes necessary."

Study: U.S. Web users tops in online use

LONDON, Nov. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. Internet users spend the most time online among people in developed countries, while Spaniards spend the least, a study by British regulators found.

U.S. Web users spend an average 15 hours a week online, whereas those in Spain spend about 7 1/2 hours a week on the Internet, said the study by Britain's Office of Communications.

British Internet use has risen the fastest, at an average rate of 30 percent a year, among the 12 developed and four emerging countries studied.

All countries studied in 2007 had nearly one broadband connection for every four people, or 25 percent, while the Netherlands had the highest connection rate, at 35 percent.

U.S. Web users downloaded the most streaming video, at 26 percent, followed by British consumers, at 8 percent.

Broadcast television viewing appears more resilient to Web access in the United States than anywhere else, the study found. The net percentage of U.S. Web users cutting back on traditional TV was 7 percent, whereas it was between 15 percent and 21 percent in the other countries surveyed.

The countries surveyed included the United States, Britain, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan, along with Poland, Sweden and Ireland. Separately, the report looked at the communications markets in the emerging countries Brazil, Russia, India and China.