Stock markets start slow Tuesday
NEW YORK, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. markets were mixed Tuesday morning after the Conference Board said consumer confidence grew in December for the second consecutive month.
The Conference Board said its leading index of consumer sentiment rose from November's 50.6 to 52.9.
In late morning trading, stocks were trading on narrow margins. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.15 percent, 16.32 points, to 10,563.40. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 0.07 percent, 0.07 points, to 1,128.52. The Nasdaq composite index fell 0.08 percent, 1.94 points, to 2,289.14.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury rose 7/32 to yield 3.821 percent.
The euro rose to $1.442 from Monday's $1.4378. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 91.72 yen from Monday's 91.62 yen.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.04 percent, 3.83 points, to 10,638.06.
Consumer confidence, in slump, shows gains
NEW YORK, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- U.S. consumer confidence rose in December for the second consecutive month, the Conference Board said Tuesday.
After a slight decline in October, the Consumer Confidence Index rose from November's 50.6 to 52.9.
The index uses 1985 as a base year, assigning consumer confidence of that year a value of 100.
In December, the Expectations Index, measuring confidence in the future, rose from 70.3 to 75.6. The Present Situation Index, fell, however, from 18.8 from 21.2 a month ago.
"A more optimistic outlook for business and labor market conditions was the driving force behind the increase in the Expectations Index. Regarding income, however, consumers remain rather pessimistic about their short-term prospects and this will likely continue to play a key role in spending decisions in early 2010," said Lynn Franco, director of the Conference Board Research Center.
The monthly index is based on interviews with 5,000 consumers. In the latest poll, consumers indicating current business conditions are "bad" rose from 44.5 percent to 46.6 percent. Consumers indicating business conditions were "good" fell from 8.1 percent to 7 percent.
Pardon in S. Korea met with disdain
SEOUL, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- Civic groups in South Korea denounced the presidential pardon of former Samsung Chairman Lee Kun-hee for embezzlement and tax evasion convictions.
"The latest pardon reconfirms a common saying in South Korea that Samsung lies above the law," said economics professor and Executive Director of Solidarity for Economic Reform Kim Sang-jo, The New York Times reported Tuesday.
"There is a privileged class in our society when it comes to law enforcement," a statement issued by a coalition of six civic groups said. The pardon, "will amplify social conflict," the statement said.
President Lee Myung-bak said he pardoned Lee to allow the former chairman to serve on the International Olympic Committee, which is campaigning to bring the 2018 Winter Olympics to South Korea.
The pardon was Lee's second. In 1997, Lee was pardoned of bribery charges. In the more recent case, Lee was convicted of failing to pay $39 million in taxes, after it was alleged he hid money in accounts held under the names of aides. It was also alleged he transferred ownership of company shares to his son Lee Jae-yong at unfairly low prices.
Lee did not serve jail time, but paid the taxes and a $94 million fine, the Times said.
Lobby groups tackle reform head on
WASHINGTON, Dec. 29 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama's attempt to overhaul the U.S. financial service sector is cause for all-out resistance, bank lobbying groups said.
The bill that would create a consumer protection agency to oversee financial products resulted in a "call for action" from the American Bankers Association, USA Today reported Tuesday. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, meanwhile, has spent $2 million on advertisements opposing the agency.
"This bill is a sea change ... in the way the financial services industry is regulated. It's all hands on deck," said Scott Talbott, senior vice president of the Financial Services Roundtable, a bank lobbying group.
The lobbying has already resulted in new lines being drawn in the House version of the bill by allowing retailers, including automobile dealers, to be exempted from the new agency's oversight, the newspaper said.
Rep. John Campbell, R-Calif., a former auto dealer, helped pull automobile dealerships out of the bill.
"A needless second set of regulatory costs for an industry that everyone knows is completely on its back right now," Campbell said.
But Consumers for Auto Reliability and Safety, a consumer watchdog group, said otherwise.
"You can't police auto lending without policing auto dealers," Rosemary Shahan said.
