Markets close down slightly
NEW YORK, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. markets edged lower Monday after European stocks mostly fell and officials in Greece worked on plans to reduce the country's debt.
Stock markets fell in 0.17 percent in Sweden, 0.59 percent in Germany and 0.34 percent in France. At the close, the pan-European DJ Stoxx 50 was down 0.47 percent.
By close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was off 18.97 points or 0.18 percent to 10,383.38. The Standard & Poor's 500 lost 1.16 or 0.1 percent to 1,108.01. The Nasdaq composite index fell 1.84 or 0.08 percent to 2,242.03.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,511 stocks advanced and 1,540 declined on a volume of 3.8 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury fell 6/32 to yield 3.79 percent.
The euro was virtually flat, slipping to $1.3594 from Friday's $1.3595. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 91.149 yen from Friday's 91.63 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 2.74 percent, 276.89, to 10,400.47.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.11 percent, 6.10, to 5,352.07.
European leaders pledged to help Greece, where the government's debt has reached 12.7 percent of the country's gross domestic production. Details of a rescue effort are still being worked out, causing concern over the fate of the euro, which would be strengthened by a strong deal with Greece or weakened with an unconvincing rescue plan.
House panel blasts Toyota
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- A U.S. House panel leveled serious allegations at Japan's Toyota Motor Corp. Monday on the eve of a public hearing concerning massive car recalls.
In a letter to James Lentz, president and chief operating officer of Toyota Motor Sales, U.S.A.,, Chairman of the Committee on Energy and Commerce Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said, "Toyota has received thousands of consumer complaints of sudden unintended acceleration," since 2001, yet "consistently dismissed the possibility that electronic failures could be responsible."
After the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration alerted Toyota in June 2004 that Camrys with electronic throttle controls had "over 400 percent more 'vehicle speed' complaints" than Camrys with manual control, the company "appears to have conducted no systemic investigation" into the complaints, the letter said.
The letter, also signed by Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich., chairman of the subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said Toyota's belated investigation had "serious flaws," and that the company mislead the public "about the adequacy of its recent recalls."
In a separate letter to Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, Waxman and Stupak said the NHTSA "appears to lack the expertise needed to evaluate defects in electronic controls."
In addition, NHTSA's response to "sudden unintended acceleration in Toyota vehicles appears to have been seriously deficient," the letter said.
Obama touts credit card law
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama said Monday that the credit card reform law in effect Monday would give U.S. consumers more power over their finances.
"Today, we are shifting the balance of power back to the consumer and we are holding the credit card companies accountable," Obama said in a brief statement commemorating the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure Act's first day.
The law was frequently criticized for giving the credit card industry nine months to make adjustments before the law took effect -- nine months in which basic rates were raised frequently to make up for profit opportunities the companies expected to lose.
The key provision in the new law is that "credit card companies can no longer retroactively increase rates or increase rates the first year you own an account," Obama said.
The law restricts underage credit card use, mandates certain information be made clear to consumers and prohibits "misleading late fees" and "over-limit fee traps" the president said.
Lloyds CEO to skip bonus pay
LONDON, Feb. 22 (UPI) -- Chief Executive Officer of Lloyds Banking Group Eric Daniels said Monday he would refuse his 2009 bonus check amounting to $3.5 million.
Daniels became the fourth top banking executive in a week to refuse bonus checks for the year. Barclays Chief Executive Officer John Varley and President Bob Diamond said they would refuse their bonuses for the year, as did Royal Bank of Scotland CEO Stephen Hester, the Financial Times reported.
Lloyds said the bank's board "greatly appreciates the leadership shown" by the bank's CEO. It also said investors had been pushing for Daniels to make some public gesture concerning his pay.
Similar to the United States, banking executives in Britain have been under fire for earning huge bonus checks while banks have turned to taxpayers for help in a financial crisis.
