Markets post solid gains
NEW YORK, Sept. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. markets posted solid gains Monday following upswings in Asia and Europe.
Equity markets were flat in China, but higher in Japan, India and Australia. Markets started Monday with positive numbers in France, Germany and Britain.
By close, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 145.77 points or 1.37 percent to 10,753.62. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 17.12 or 1.52 percent to 1,142.71. The Nasdaq composite index gained 49.22 or 1.74 percent to 2,355.83.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,478 stocks advanced and 553 declined on a volume of 5.9 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose 11/32 to yield 2.705 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3063 from Friday's $1.3037. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 85.69 yen from Friday's 85.8 yen.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index rose 1.23 percent, 116.59, to 9,626.09.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index gained 1.71 percent, 94.09, to 5,602.54.
Recession given an end date: June 2009
CAMBRIDGE, Mass., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- Official historians for U.S. economic activity said Monday the economic recession that began in December 2007 ended in June 2009, an 18-month slide.
The Business Cycle Dating Committee of the National Bureau of Economic Research is given the task of dating economic trends and often does so well after it is commonly assumed the tide has turned one way or another. In prior communications, the committee said it wanted to make sure the recovery was on solid footing before it made its declaration.
After a conference call Sunday, the committee announced June 2009 was the official start of a sustained upturn.
Officially, there have been two 16-month post World War II recessions, one in 1973-75 and one in 1981-82. The 18-month trough is the longest since World War II, the committee said.
Dating the trough was put on hold until committee members could review data on National Income and Product Accounts, which was released on Aug. 27, helping determine the time-line of the country's gross domestic income and gross domestic product.
The GDP and GDI adjusted for price changes were 3.1 percent higher in the second quarter than they were in the same period of 2009, the committee said.
IBM to buy Netezza for $1.7 billion
ARMONK, N.Y., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- U.S. technology giant IBM said Monday it had agreed to buy data support company Netezza Corp. for $1.7 billion or $27 per share.
The purchase, which is subject to shareholder approval, is expected to close by the end of the year, International Business Machines said in a statement.
Netezza, a Massachusetts technology firm, sells hardware and software that helps companies manage data warehousing.
"The rate and pace of data is accelerating the IT (information technology) opportunity around information and analytics," IBM said.
"IBM is bringing analytics to the masses," Steve Mills, senior vice president and group executive of IBM Software and Systems, said. "Together, we have the opportunity to quickly leverage the technology."
If the purchase is approved it would be IBM's 23rd major acquisition in analytics firms, a segment that grew 14 percent for IBM in the second quarter. In total, IBM said it had invested more than $12 billion in analytics related acquisitions since 2006.
30 Walmart stores to use thin solar panels
BENTONVILLE, Ark., Sept. 20 (UPI) -- As many as 30 Walmart stores in California and Arizona will be outfitted with solar panels, many using a new thin film technology, the retailer said Monday.
The solar panels are expected to produce 20 percent to 30 percent of each location's electrical power, producing 22.5 million kilowatt hours of power, "enough to power more than 1,750 homes annually," the company said in a statement.
The project is expected to "avoid producing more than 11,650 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent annually," which is the amount produced by 3,000 vehicles, Walmart said.
Alternative energy firm SolarCity will design, install and own the solar panels, some of which will use "copper indium gallium selenide and cadmium telluride thin film," rather than the more familiar crystalline panels.
Walmart Vice President of Energy Kim Laster said, "By leveraging our global scale to become more efficient, we are able to lower our expenses and help develop markets for new technology."
Environmental Defense Fund Vice President for Corporate Partnerships Gwen Ruta said large projects, such as Walmart's, "could provide the scale and credibility needed to bring next generation solar technology more fully into the marketplace."
"It's the kind of innovation we need to reduce dependence on foreign oil and cut carbon pollution," she said.
The Environmental Defense Fund helped set up the request for proposals for the project.
