Small gains push Dow past milestone
NEW YORK, April 12 (UPI) -- A modest gain in U.S. markets pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to a close above 11,000 points for the first time in 18 months Monday.
Investors were encouraged by news the 16 nations of the eurozone had offered debt-burdened Greece $40 billion in loans, likely to be followed with an offer of $20 billion in loans from the International Monetary Fund.
By close, the DJIA added 8.62 points, 0.08 percent, to 11,005.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 2.11 points, 0.18 percent, to 1,196.48. The Nasdaq composite index added 0.16 percent, 3.82, to 2,457.87.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,737 stocks advanced and 1,304 declined on a volume of 5.2 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note gained 11/32 to yield 3.84 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3587 from Friday's $1.3495. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 93.18 yen from Friday's 93.17 yen.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.42 percent, 47.56, to 11,251.90.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index gained 0.12 percent, 6.67, to 5,777.65.
Recession's end still unknown
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., April 12 (UPI) -- Official economic historians said Monday it was too early to say that the U.S. recession that began in 2007 had run its course.
The Business Cycle Dating Committee said it was "premature" to announce if the economy had reached a date on which it turned upward.
The economy may have already reached that date, but committee members declined to declare it.
A recession is commonly said to begin after two consecutive quarters of contraction in the gross domestic product and end when growth turns positive. But the official historians for the economy see it as a more complicated decision than that.
The official decisions on economic swings are made by the Business Cycle Dating Committee, which is part of the National Bureau of Economic Research, The New York Times reported Monday.
Making the judgment call "is a far more difficult task than I think many commentators understand," said James Stock, a Harvard economist who serves on the committee.
Committee members were concerned that a stall or reversal of recent improvements could force them to declare a second recession has begun if they prematurely declared the first one has ended.
Anglo Irish CEO now lives out of reach
BOSTON, April 12 (UPI) -- Irish regulators were pleased with an investigation of Anglo Irish Bank, even though a former top executive lives out of reach, an agency spokesman said.
"We're happy with the progress,'' said Kevin Prendergast, a spokesman for Ireland's Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement, The Boston Globe reported Monday.
The investigation into Anglo Irish "is the largest and most complex investigation the office has ever undertaken," he said.
The Irish government took over Anglo Irish in January 2009 in a bank rescue that has cost $16 billion to date. Between May 2008 and December 2009, the bank lost $17 billion.
Former Chief Executive Officer David Drumm, meanwhile, resigned as CEO shortly after it was revealed the bank's chairman Sean FitzPatrick had received $115 million in previously undisclosed loans from the bank.
Drumm now lives in $4.6 million home in Chatham, Mass. Although he has not been charged with any crimes, Anglo Irish has filed a suit against him to recover $11.2 million in personal loans he received.
"The notion that somebody who had very senior responsibilities at the bank is able to sit it out in Cape Cod while people in Ireland are having their taxes raised, their salaries cut, and lots of people have lost their jobs -- the contrast couldn't be more startling,'' said Joan Burton, a member of Parliament with the Labor Party.
New York tops in business travel costs
Business Travel News in its 2010 survey said a room for the night, meals and a car rental in the Big Apple costs $622. The second most expensive destination of 100 cities included in the survey was Washington where the same amenities cost $563.
White Plains, N.Y., was third on the list at $498, while Boston was fourth at $493. Fifth most expensive was Detroit, $474.
Akron, Ohio, was the cheapest on the list, costing $255.70 for wheels, meals and a place to sleep.
Overall, hotels cost 43 percent of the average daily costs in the Corporate Travel Index. Car rentals cost slightly more than they did in 2009, while food costs held steady compared to a year ago, the magazine said.
Lodging listed as "upper upscale," excluding taxes, cost $275 per night in New York while "midscale" lodging in New York cost $226. Food was most expensive in San Francisco costing $132.50 for breakfast, lunch and dinner -- 2 cents more than New York City.
Car rentals cost the most in Detroit, where a full-sized vehicle rents for $151 for a total daily cost of $175.25 for cruising around Motor City.
