U.S. markets close with sharp gains
NEW YORK, July 22 (UPI) -- U.S. markets surged Thursday on strong second-quarter earnings reports issued by Caterpillar Inc. and 3M Co.
Caterpillar said its earnings rose 1.3 percent over the same quarter a year ago, earning 85 cents per share. 3M profits rose 2.9 percent, earning $1.48 per share.
The corporate reports overwhelmed a weekly Department of Labor report that said first-time unemployment claims rose by 37,000 in the week after dropping by 21,000 in the previous week. The National Association of Realtors, adding to woes, said existing home sales fell 5.1 percent compared with May.
By close, the Dow Jones industrial average added 201.77 points, 1.99 percent, to 10,322.30. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.25 percent, 24.08, to 1,093.67. The Nasdaq composite index added 2.68 percent, 58.56, to 2,245.89.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,673 stocks advanced and 396 declined on a volume of 4.8 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year U.S. treasury note fell 14/32 to yield 2.932 percent.
The euro rose to $1.2888 from Wednesday's $1.2768. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 86.97 yen from Wednesday's 87.02 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index slipped 0.62 percent, 57.95, to 9,220.88.
In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 1.9 percent, 99.17, to 5,313.81.
Oil spill could cost tourism $22.7B
WASHINGTON, July 22 (UPI) -- Researchers at Oxford Economics said the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico would wipe out $22.7 billion in revenue for the coast's tourism industry.
The lost revenue described in the report covered the Gulf Coast tourism industry through 2013, the U.S. Travel Association said in a release announcing the study.
The study said 400,000 jobs in travel and tourism would be affected by the oil spill that began in April with an explosion on the Deepwater Horizon oil platform operated by British petroleum giant BP.
The study outlines a 10-point plan in which the government can help the industry recover from the disaster.
Included are recommendations for a $500 million marketing program "funded by BP to share accurate information on the spill," the trade group said.
The plan also calls for tax deductions for travelers in a defined "disaster-affected area."
"It is not too late now to save Gulf Coast jobs and keep attracting visitors that can prevent further damage to these vital American communities," said Roger Dow, the association's president and chief executive officer.
GM, increasingly, depends on China
BEIJING, July 22 (UPI) -- The U.S. government's 61 percent stake in General Motors is increasingly a stake in a company that is dependent on China, sales figures show.
Sales figures for the first six months of the year show GM sales in China up 48.5 percent compared to January through June of 2009, The New York Times reported Thursday.
With that increase, GM sales in China topped its sales in the United States January through June. That has not happened before, the Times said.
In terms of overall value, analysts estimate 15 percent to 30 percent of GM's total value can now be attributed to its operations in China.
Industry analyst Michael Robinet at IHS Automotive said GM's strategy in China had long-range implications. "This is not some sort of flash-in-the-pan investment strategy. During the bankruptcy process, GM China was the beacon in the night that GM always had in its back pocket, and China will be a vital cog in GM's machine going forward," he said.
Firm allegedly passed on fine to workers
BOSTON, July 22 (UPI) -- Upper Crust employees in Massachusetts have complained the pizza chain ordered them to pay back a Department of Labor fine through wage cuts.
A year ago, the Labor Department fined Upper Crust $341,000, which was given to workers who were cheated out of overtime pay, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.
Employees now say the company ordered pay cuts as soon as the payment to the Department of Labor was made. Management also shifted employees from hourly to salaried workers to dodge overtime as an issue, employees said.
Many of the chain's workers are Brazilian immigrants who frequently work 80 hours per week.
An attorney for the firm, Neal Siskind, said in an e-mail message he would not comment until he reviewed documents "filed by either former employees and/or the Department of Labor."
A Labor Department investigator, Carlos Matos, also declined to comment.
Documents supplied by the attorney of former Upper Crust cook Valdeir Pereira Pinto show payments for a week in January 2008 at $10 an hour in two checks, totaling $705 for 70.5 hours of work, the newspaper said.
For a week in December 2009 after the fine was imposed on the company, the same employee earned $455 for 80.5 hours of work, the documents indicate.
Company co-owner Jordan Tobins said two cooks who filed suit against the company recently, including Pinto, were promoted to kitchen manager positions last summer.
