U.S. markets post early gains
NEW YORK, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. markets climbed higher Tuesday morning with investors taking a wait-and-see approach in advance of developments in Washington.
With Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke's confirmation vote for a second term approaching, "it's almost like earnings have moved to the back burner for now," David Bellantonio, head trader at Instinet told The Wall Street Journal.
Politically-related news from Washington has even temporarily trumped the corporate reporting season, which is in full swing, the Journal said.
In late morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average added 53.36 points, 0.52 percent, to 10,250.22. The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 0.31 percent, 3.38 points, to 1,100.16. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock rose 0.39 percent, 8.61 points, to 2,219.41.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury bill rose 4/32 to yield 3.615 percent.
The euro fell to $1.4064 from Monday's $1.4154. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 89.66 yen from Monday's 90;.23 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 1.78 percent, 187.41, to 10,325.28 for the third consecutive day of losses.
U.S. welfare rolls increase modestly
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. welfare rolls grew 5 percent in 2009, although some states continue to see welfare enrollment shrinking, government data show.
In Florida, Ohio and Washington, welfare rolls increased last year, but in Texas, Indiana, and Rhode Island, the rolls continued to shrink, despite rising unemployment, USA Today reported Tuesday.
As millions of recipients returned to work after the 1996 overhaul of the welfare system put time limits on welfare checks, the fall back position for many has been unemployment benefits. While 4 million received welfare checks in 2009 – up from 3.8 million in 2008 -- the number of people receiving food stamps rose 18 percent, September to September to 37 million and 9.1 million received unemployment benefits, more than twice as many from the previous year.
While the federal government extended unemployment benefits, "making the (welfare) rolls decline got to be a badge of honor for states," said Ron Haskins of the Brookings Institution, who helped re-write the welfare laws in 14 years ago.
Many simply decide, "the program's not worth it," said Stephanie Goodman of the Health and Human Services Commission in Texas.
The average monthly benefit in Texas for a welfare recipient is $68 per person, the newspaper said.
Olympics have no impact on real estate
VANCOUVER, British Columbia, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Cities that win Olympic bids experience neither boom nor bust in real estate prices but they get a boost in construction jobs, Canadian researchers say.
Lead author Tsur Somerville, a professor in real state estate at the University of British Columbia, and Jake Wetzel, a three-time Olympian and 2008 gold medalist, analyzed house prices and construction employment in the years leading up to and after the Olympics in Australian, Canadian and U.S. cities.
"We do not find support for the argument of host city backers that the Olympics delivers positive economic benefits, nor of the arguments made by opponents that there is some post-Olympic bust," Somerville said in a statement. "Our results conclusively demonstrate that while construction employment dramatically increases in the period prior to the Games, house prices are the same as they would be in the absence of the Games."
The study includes the Summer Olympics cities of Atlanta, Los Angeles and Sydney, and Winter Olympic cities of Calgary, Alberta, Salt Lake City and Vancouver, British Columbia.
While the findings suggest no economic gains, the games still present a very real opportunity to celebrate excellence, athleticism and human achievement, the researchers say.
Barofsky on trail of TARP contradictions
WASHINGTON, Jan. 26 (UPI) -- Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general for the $700 billion U.S. bank bailout program said his job was similar to a prosecuting attorney.
"You want to pursue ever lead, every bit of evidence, everything to persuade the jury," Barofsky told The New York Times.
At present, Barofsky's jury is the public, the Times said. While pursuing crimes associated with the Troubled Asset Relief Program, put into place at the height of the financial chaos of 2008, Barofsky's job is not precisely that of prosecutor, but his is the only federal office empowered to find evidence with the power of a badge and with armed officers behind it, the Times said.
The inspector general is scheduled to testify before the House Government Oversight Committee Wednesday, where he will discuss contractions in the Treasury Department's public statements about the TARP program, including an expected $30 billion loss on the bailout of American International Group Inc., which the Treasury has said will not occur.
"Neil is not afraid to just follow things where they lead," said Anthony Barkow, a former U.S. prosecutor for the Southern District of New York.
"Neil is undeterred by having powerful people angry at him for doing what he does," Barkow told the Times.
