Stocks climb on Microsoft-Skype news
NEW YORK, May 10 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes closed up Tuesday, lifted by Microsoft's $8.3 billion acquisition of software communication leader Skype.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 12,760.36 points, up 75.68, or 0.60 percent.
The Nasdaq composite added 28.64 points, to close at 2,871.89, up 1.01 percent.
The Standard & Poor's 500 gained 10.87 points, or 0.81 percent, to end the session at 1,357.16.
Stocks started in positive territory at the news of the Microsoft deal and stayed there. The company said its $8.5 billion buyout will boost products including Xbox, Kinect and Windows Phone.
"M&A [merger & acquisition] as an important force underlying the equities markets cannot be underestimated," Michael Purves, chief market strategist at BGC Financial, told The Wall Street Journal reported.
In addition, Purves said, "You haven't had any earnings disasters" during the earnings season drawing to a close.
The listed volume on the NYSE was 4.22 billion shares.
The 10-year treasury note closed at 3.21 percent.
The euro was trading at $1.4403, up from Monday's $1.4358. Against the yen, the dollar was 80.87, compared with Monday's 80.24 yen.
In London, the FTSE 100 closed at 6,018.89, up 76.20, or 1.28 percent.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei average closed at 9,818.76, a gain of 24.38 points, or 0.25 percent.
Crude oil adds $1.33, tops $103 a barrel
NEW YORK, May 10 (UPI) -- Crude oil prices closed higher Tuesday, settling at $103.88 a barrel, up $1.33, when the trading session of the New York Mercantile Exchange closed.
Gasoline picked up a dime to finish at $3.38 a gallon.
Home heating oil rose 4 cents to close at $3 a gallon.
Natural gas finished the session up 9 cents at $4.25 per million British thermal units.
At the pump, the price for a gallon of regular unleaded gasoline was $3.951 Tuesday, down from $3.960 Monday.
Shell to pay $2.2M to resolve royalty case
WASHINGTON, May 10 (UPI) -- Shell Oil Co. agreed to pay the government $2.2 million to resolve claims of underpaying royalties from federal lands, the U.S. Justice Department said Tuesday.
Shell and its affiliates were accused of violating the False Claims Act by knowingly underpaying royalties owed on natural gas produced from federal leases, the Justice Department said in a release.
The settlement, arising from a whistle-blower suit, involved claims related to Shell's on-shore federal leases. In 2003, Shell paid $56 million to settle claims that it knowingly underpaid royalties related to natural gas produced from federal lands in the Gulf of Mexico.
"Natural gas is a non-renewable resource. When the United States allows companies to remove gas from public lands that belong to all of us, we must require those companies to pay all of the royalties they owe, because those funds support important federal programs from which we all benefit," said Tony West, assistant attorney general for the department's Civil Division of the Department of Justice.
GM to invest $2 billion in plants, jobs
TOLEDO, Ohio, May 10 (UPI) -- About $2 billion will be invested U.S. assembly and component plants, creating or saving more than 4,000 jobs, General Motors Co. announced Tuesday.
GM Chief Executive Officer Dan Akerson said GM will invest funds in its plants and work force at 17 facilities in eight states, the automaker said in a release.
"We are doing this because we are confident about demand for our vehicles and the economy," Akerson said during an event at the 54-year-old Toledo Transmission Plant. "This new investment is on top of $3.4 billion and more than 9,000 jobs that GM has added or saved since mid-2009."
Through the first four months of 2011, GM's U.S. sales are up 24.8 percent over 2010. Last week, the company reported its fifth straight profitable quarter since emerging from bankruptcy in July 2009.
The non-profit Center for Automotive Research said the ripple effect of the planned investments would add nearly $2.9 billion to the U.S. gross domestic product, and create or retain more than 28,000 jobs, GM said.
"The UAW's goal has been to return all laid-off workers to active status and see the company begin hiring again," said Joe Ashton, United Auto Workers vice president for GM union workers. "These announcements will create and retain thousands of jobs and bring General Motors back to full employment of our hourly workforce. … If the market continues to recover, we are confident that GM will hire new workers to meet the strong demand for the products our UAW members build."
