U.S. markets grind out small gains
NEW YORK, July 27 (UPI) -- U.S. markets turned higher late Monday, posting positive numbers after the Nikkei 225 in Japan closed with a ninth straight day of gains.
The Nikkei average gained 144.11 points, 0.56 percent, to 10,088.66, breaking the 10,000-point mark for the first time since mid-June.
Down most of the day, the Dow Jones industrial average closed 15.27 points higher, up 0.17 percent, ending at 9,108.51. The S&P 500 gained 0.3 percent, 2.92 points, to 982.18. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 percent, 1.93 points, to 1,967.89.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,939 stocks advanced and 1,061 declined on a volume of 4.6 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury fell 16/32 to yield 3.721 percent.
The euro rose to $1.4237, compared to Friday's $1.4215. The dollar rose to 95.17 yen, compared to Friday's 94.77 yen.
In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 9.52, 0.21 percent, to 4,586.13.
'Cash for clunkers' off to a strong start
DETROIT, July 27 (UPI) -- Detroit auto dealers said the $1 billion federal program supporting trade ins of old gas guzzlers got off to a strong start on its first day.
Bill Demmer, owner of two dealerships in the Detroit area, said his retail outlets had "better than 70 pending deals on it right now," the Detroit Free Press reported Monday.
Bill Golling, owner of Golling Chrysler, Jeep Dodge in Bloomfield Hills, Mich., said there was "a tremendous response" to the "cash for clunkers" program in which the government is providing vouchers of up to $4,500 for vehicles traded in if the so-called clunker averages less than 18 miles per gallon and is less than 25 years old.
The federal program officially began Monday.
The program calls for the clunkers to be broken down, with transmissions and engines removed and proof the vehicle has been sold to a junkyard, the newspaper said.
Credit card fees get jump on new law
NEW YORK, July 27 (UPI) -- Bank of America said a new U.S. law meant to curb industry abuses was partly responsible for moving many borrowers to credit cards carrying variable rates.
Company spokeswoman Betty Riess said the new rates "will enable us to continue to extend credit to credit-worthy customers while remaining prudent in our lending practices," The Boston Globe reported Monday.
JPMorgan & Chase and Discover have also switched to variable rates that are tied to benchmarks that are currently low, as the prime interest rate is near zero.
While that low rate may entice customers now, it is also all but a guarantee the rate will rise in the future, analysts said.
Josh Frank, a senior researcher at the Center for Responsible Lending, a watchdog group, said, "a lot of people are trapped," by the companies, as lending rules have tightened in the past year.
Companies are also raising fees before the federal law takes effect in February.
Discover recently added a 2 percent foreign transaction fee, while Bank of America has added a 3 percent fee for transactions that involve companies based overseas, even if the sale is conducted in U.S. currency, the Globe said.
Geithner home in N.Y. 'a textbook case'
MAMARONECK, N.Y., July 27 (UPI) -- A real estate agent in Westchester County, N.Y., estimated that U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner was losing money on a house he could not sell.
Geithner and his wife, Carole, paid $1.602 million for the Tudor home in Mamaroneck, N.Y., in 2004 and put it on the market for $1.635 when he moved to Washington to lead the U.S. Treasury Department.
The Geithners then reduced the asking price by $60,000 in May and settled for renting the home for $7,500 a month later in the month, ABC News reported Monday.
At that rate, with two loans worth $1.25 million and $27,000 a year in property taxes, "I don't think his (rental agreement) is covering it," said Scott Stiefvater at Stiefvater Real Estate in Pelham, N.Y.
Stiefvater estimated that once home improvements are figured in, the Geithners have lost between $200,000 and $400,000 on the home, "about the size of his down payment."
Leah Caro, president of the Westchester Board of Realtors told ABC the Geithners' home was "a textbook example of what is happening in the market here."
"Many sellers are … making price adjustments in hope of luring a buyer into the marketplace. In the case of Mr. Geithner, he had to move. And renting was his best option," Caro said.
