Dow hits 12,000 -- and sticks the landing
NEW YORK, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- The Dow Jones industrial average Tuesday topped 12,000 points for the second time this year and held on to close above that for the first time since July 2008.
The DJIA had closed a few points from 12,000 Thursday, but chaos in Egypt gave the index a hard knock Friday. Monday saw some gains. On Tuesday, buoyed by positive manufacturing news, the DJIA added 148.23 points -- 1.25 percent -- to close at 12,040.16.
In Britain, the Markit/Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply said the headline index for manufacturing activity rose to a record 62 in January. That same index in the United States, the Purchasing Managers Index, rose from 57 to 60.8 in January, the Institute of Supply Management in Tempe, Ariz., said.
The European Union reported unemployment in the 17-nation eurozone remained unchanged at 10 percent in the first month of the year. Economists had expected a slight rise.
By close, the Standard & Poor's 500 index, added 1.67 percent, 21.47, to 1,307.59. The Nasdaq composite index added 1.89 percent, 51.11, to 2,751.19.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,482 stocks advanced and 539 declined on a volume of 5.7 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year Treasury note fell 16/32 to yield 3.435 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3824 from Monday's $1.3692. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 81.38 yen from Monday's 82.08 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.36 percent, 36.58, to 10,274.50.
In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 1.62 percent, 94.88, to 5,957.82.
BofA losses don't deter bonuses
CHARLOTTE, N.C., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- Bank of America is handing stock grants worth about $33 million to its top U.S. executives, despite shareholders losing money in 2010, a regulatory filing said.
The largest grant will go to Tom Montag, who heads the firm's global marketing, banking and markets division. If the bank hits certain goals, Montag's bonus for 2010 would amount to about $14 million, the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer reported Tuesday.
For Montag, that's a sharp drop from 2009, when Merrill Lynch awarded him most of his $29.9 million bonus package.
Bank of American Chief Executive Officer Brian Moynihan is set to receive a stock grant worth about $9 million, a sizable jump from his $6 million bonus in 2009, the newspaper said. Chief Financial Officer Chuck Noski and consumer banking chief Joe Price are each receiving nearly $4.8 million.
To receive full bonus pay, the bank must earn a return 0.8 percent of total assets. The bank, however. will pay a third of the bonus pay if returns drop to 0.5 percent of assets.
Having lost $3.6 billion in 2010, the percentage of returns was less than zero. But the bank's Securities and Exchange Commission filing said, bonus pay for 2010 was "based upon their recognition of 2010 as a unique and critical transition year for the company and their evaluation of the performance of the company, its lines of business and individual executive officers."
AT&T faces lawsuit over billing
SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 1 (UPI) -- AT&T is facing a lawsuit over one Californian's data bill that could blossom into a costly class-action case, the plaintiff's attorneys said.
In court documents in a suit filed on behalf of AT&T customer Patrick Hendricks attorneys wrote, "A significant portion of the data revenues were inflated by AT&T's rigged billing system for data transactions," Beta News reported Tuesday.
Court papers claim that attorneys set up test account for an iPhone, then closed all of its apps and left the device unused for 10 days. AT&T still billed the account for 2,292 KB of usage.
"This is like the rigged gas pump charging you when you never even pulled your car into the station," the lawsuit says.
The lawsuit says AT&T routinely bills for 7 percent to 14 percent more data transactions than normally takes place.
Attorneys said they would file to have the case moved to class-action status, which make the outcome relevant to all of AT&T's iPhone accounts.
Pfizer to lay off 1,100 in Connecticut
GROTON, Conn., Feb. 1 (UPI) -- U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer said Tuesday it would lay off 1,100 workers from its Groton, Conn., campus as part of a cost-cutting program.
The New London, Conn., newspaper The Day reported the move was part of a plan to trim $2 billion from the company's research and development budget in 2011.
The layoffs were scheduled to take 18 months to complete, the newspaper said..
Company spokeswoman Kirsten Neese said, "Groton will remain the largest of our R&D sites and will be the center of excellence for R&D services."
The newspaper said the Groton facility would become more of a support center for the company's research and development than a site where new drugs are created.
But Tom Sheridan, president of the Chamber of Commerce of Eastern Connecticut said the company's focus was on developing "more targeted medications."
