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U.S. markets mixed Tuesday

NEW YORK, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. markets wavered Tuesday after a strong rally Monday that sent the Dow Jones industrial average up 203 points.

A day with no major government reports to ponder leaves investors to fend for themselves. Reports positive and negative -- the gross domestic product up 3.5 percent in third quarter versus rising unemployment -- have not stopped markets from steaming ahead in recent sessions.

Tuesday was more tentative.

In early afternoon trading, the DJIA gained 0.2 percent, 20.03 points, to 10,246.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 0.01 percent, 0.07 points, to 1,093.01. The Nasdaq composite index shed 0.14 percent, 2.98 points, to 2,151.08.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,269 stocks advanced and 1,748 declined on a volume of 4.3 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury lost 2/32 to yield 3.478 percent.

The euro fell to $1.4982 from Monday's $1.4988. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 89.83 yen from Monday's 90.01 yen.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.63 percent, 61.74, to 9,870.73.

In Britain, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.09 percent, 4.63 points, to 5,230.55.

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Dodd presents financial regulatory bill

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Conn., Tuesday floated a bill that would restructure the U.S. regulatory system overseeing the complex financial services sector.

The bill, a copy of which was obtained by The Hill, would establish an Agency for Financial Stability to identify and address risks to the financial system's stability. The agency, led by a presidential-appointed, Senate-approved chairman, could establish regulations on capital, leverage and liquidity requirements, under provisions of the bill.

The bill would seek to have federal regulators impose, "increasingly strict standards for companies as they grow larger, more complex, or more interconnected, including heightened capital, leverage, and liquidity requirements, that ensure these companies have greater resources to deal with financial shocks," its summary said.

Among other things, the bill would create a Financial Institutions Regulatory Administration, which would consolidate bank supervision responsibility of the four existing regulators -- the Federal Reserve, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Office of Thrift Supervision and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The bill would also establish a system for phasing out failing financial institutions and would impose new restrictions on the multitrillion-dollar market for financial derivatives.

Dodd's proposal would provide funding for the Securities and Exchange Commission by allowing it to keep the fees it charges companies, a step that would release it from working each year through Congressional appropriations, The New York Times reported.

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Jury acquits Bear Stearns managers

NEW YORK, Nov. 10 (UPI) -- A New York City jury said two Bear Stearns hedge fund managers were not guilty of fraud by concealing the weakness of the fund, which collapsed in 2008.

The fund's demise was soon followed by the collapse of Bear Stearns, which avoided bankruptcy by selling itself at the last minute in a fire sale to JP Morgan Chase & Co., The New York Times reported Tuesday.

Prosecutors attempted to pair the defendants' lavish lifestyles and emails that expressed concerns about the fund with the fund's collapse.

One e-mail written in 2006 by Mathew Tannin, one of the defendants, said he was taking anti-depressants due to his worries about the fund.

Lawyers for Tannin and co-defendant Ralph Cioffi said prosecutors had isolated "misleading sound bites" to prove the managers were deceiving investors.

Cioffi was also found not guilty of insider trading, a charge built on an alleged transfer of $2 million from one fund to another.

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Sprint to ax up to 2,500 jobs

OVERLAND PARK, Kan., Nov. 10 (UPI) -- U.S. telecommunications giant Sprint Nextel said it would reduce its payroll by up to 2,500 workers due to falling revenues.

A majority of the jobs scheduled to end would be eliminated by the end of the year, Sprint said.

Sprint cut 8,000 jobs in January, making the recent announcement the second major reduction in the same calendar year, The Kansas City Star reported Tuesday.

In the latest cuts, Spring said it would save $350 million in operational costs. From January's cuts, Sprint said it would save $1.2 billion.