Markets shift higher Monday morning
NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. markets posted modest gains Monday morning following across-the-board gains in Asia and Europe.
In late morning trading on Wall Street Monday, the Dow Jones industrial averaged added 44.69 points or 0.39 percent to 11,455.00. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 4.71 or 0.38 percent to 1,245.11. The Nasdaq composite index was flat, gaining just 1.14 or 0.04 percent to 2,638.68.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 10/32 to yield 3.28 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3393 from Friday's $1.3228. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 83.5065 yen from Friday's 83.94 yen.
In Japan, the Nikkei 224 index rose 0.8 percent, 81.94, to 10,293.89.
The Shanghai compsosite index in China surged 2.88 percent, despite hints that China intends to slow its economy to curb high inflation. On Friday, the People's Bank of China raised the reserve requirement for banks 0.5 percent, which restricts lending.
China has said it would aim for a more "prudent" monetary policy in 2011.
Madoff lawsuits to continue, attorney says
NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- An attorney said lawsuits seeking to recover money lost by U.S. Ponzi scheme operator Bernard Madoff will continue despite his son's suicide.
"We have to proceed with that and stay the course," said David Sheehan, attorney for court-appointed trustee Irving Picard, referring to nearly 1,000 lawsuits filed in the Madoff case.
Madoff's son, Mark, was found dead in his New York apartment Saturday.
Picard called the death a "tragic development" and extended his condolences to the family, which has been the focus of intense media attention for two years.
Mark Madoff committed suicide two years to the day after his father was arrested for swindling investors of an estimated $60 billion.
Bernard Madoff is now serving a 150-year prison sentence.
Sheehan said hundreds of the cases, large and small, would be settled out of court. Saturday was the end of a two-year deadline for filing lawsuits to recoup any money, based on the date Madoff filed for bankruptcy, The New York Times reported Monday.
However, Sheehan said Picard has one more year to track down funds and file new lawsuits, the newspaper said.
Walmart aims, again, for Big Apple stores
NEW YORK, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- Bill de Blasio, New York City public advocate, said Walmart Stores Inc. should not expect a warm welcome in its latest attempt to open stores in the Big Apple.
Walmart was "not going to find it easy to get serious public support," de Blasio said in a New York Times report Monday.
A public hearing to address community concerns over Walmart's plans to open a store in each of the five boroughs of the city was postponed until January because New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn said, "We need a bigger room," the Times said.
"We heard from unions all across the city … small business leaders … . It's a growing list," Quinn said.
To help Walmart crack the code to get a store, finally, in the massive city market, the retailer hired Bradley Tusk, former campaign manager for Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
On Walmart's side, the Times said, is the city's 9 percent jobless rate.
"This is a time when the economy is bad and a lot of my constituents are looking for jobs. We have to begin to think out of the box and look at some different opportunities," said state Assemblyman Darryl Towns, whose district includes an area in Brooklyn Walmart has targeted for development.
Independent worker disputes rise
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13 (UPI) -- An increasing number of U.S. employers are facing charges of paying workers as independent contractors rather then employees, the Labor Department said.
In fiscal 2009, the Labor Department ordered employers to pay $2.6 billion in back wages to 2,190 workers they had mislabeled as independent contractors. In fiscal 2010, the amount jumped to $6.5 billion paid to 5,261 employees, USA. Today reported Monday.
The Labor Department said the federal government lost out on $3.4 billion in tax revenue due to the practice of mislabeling employees.
The dividing line, the newspaper said, is defined by who has control of the job description.
California truck driver Will Cantrell said his contract bars him from working for other companies and his schedule and the loads he hauls are dictated by the contract. "I come in when they say, I do loads when they make the schedule," he told the newspaper.
He receives no health benefits and pays the expenses on the truck he drives, including fuel costs.
Employers can use the contractor label to dodge paying benefits, pay less than standard wages and avoid payroll taxes.
Garry Mathiason, vice chairman of Littler Mendelson, a law firm that specializes in labor issues, said class action lawsuits filed by workers that employers label as independent contractors had risen 50 percent to about 300 this year.
