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U.S. markets mixed Tuesday morning

NEW YORK, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- U.S. markets were mixed Tuesday morning despite positive news on housing prices in a closely-watched private index.

The Standard & Poor's Case-Shiller 20-city composite index said home prices rose 1.2 percent from July to August, although prices in the index remain 11.3 percent below August of 2008.

In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.50 percent, 48.90 points, to 9,916.86. The S&P 500 rose 0.08 percent, 0.84 points, to 1,067.79. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock fell 0.34 percent, 7.24 points, to 2,134.61.

The benchmark 10-year Treasury rose 13/32 to yield 3.511 percent.

The euro fell to $1.48 from Monday's $1.4865. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 92.04 yen from Monday's 92.21 yen.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 1.45 percent, 150.16, to 10,212.46.

U.S. home prices rose month-to-month

NEW YORK, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- The S&P/Case-Shiller price index said U.S. home prices in 19 of 20 cities monitored showed improved rates of decline in August over July.

The exception among the 20 watched cities was Cleveland, where prices dropped 1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis.

For the 20-city index, prices rose 1 percent from July to August, the seventh consecutive month of easing rates of decline.

"Broadly speaking, the rate of annual decline in home price values continues to improve," said David Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's.

"While many of the markets remain down versus this time last year, the relative rate of decline has shown some real improvement," he said in a statement.

The annual decline in home prices in the 20-city index ranges from a 29.9 percent drop in Las Vegas to a 1.2 percent drop in Dallas. Phoenix shows the second hardest drop at 25.1 percent, while Denver shows the second shortest drop at 1.9 percent.

BAE Systems working with SFO

LONDON, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- British defense contractor BAE Systems said it was working to resolve allegations that the company used bribes to secure deals in Europe and Africa.

A BAE spokesman said, "the company continues to expend considerable effort seeking to resolve … the historical matters under investigation," The Times of London reported Tuesday.

The Serious Fraud Office is investigating a $3.7 billion deal the company made to supply fighter aircraft to South Africa and a $45 million deal to supply an air traffic control system to Tanzania. Authorities are also probing a $1.6 billion contract with the Czech Republic and a deal to supply Romania with two refurbished Royal Navy frigates.

The complexity of the investigation has caused the fraud office to delay filing formal charges against the defense contractor. A fine as high as $491 million is under consideration, but The Times said BAE has set a settlement limit at about $50 million.

Canadian jobless claims down in August

OTTAWA, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- Jobless claims for Canadian federal employment insurance fell by 19,100, or 2.4 percent from July, Statistics Canada reported from Ottawa Tuesday.

The decline was the second consecutive monthly fall and resulted in 763,200 people receiving federal jobless benefits, the report said.

On an annual basis, StatsCan said the labor market downturn affected those under age 25 hardest, with a 94 percent increase in claimants since August 2008.

"The largest centers of Alberta continued to experience the fastest rates of increase in the number of regular beneficiaries compared with 12 months earlier," the report said. "In Calgary, the number of people receiving regular benefits increased sharply from 5,700 in August 2008 to 22,100 in August 2009."