Markets head higher in early going
NEW YORK, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- U.S. markets started higher Friday morning as a possible step toward a fifth consecutive day of gains.
Stocks were given a boost late Thursday when five central banks said they would coordinate effort to loan U.S. dollars to European banks that are struggling due to their exposure to government debt from Greece and Spain.
Asian markets caught the bounce Friday, which helped European markets extend the rally.
In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 61.04 points or 0.53 percent to 11,494.20. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 5.84 points or 0.48 percent to 1,214.95. The Nasdaq composite index added 9.28 or 0.36 percent to 2,616.35.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 9/32 to yield 2.1 percent.
After a rebound Thursday, the euro fell to $1.3819 from $1.3876. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 76.7962 yen from Thursday's 76.7 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 2.25 percent, 195.30, to 8,864.16.
EU ministers to discuss debt crisis
WROCLAW, Poland, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- European Union financial leaders arrived in Poland Friday for a debt crisis meeting, with Greece's potential default high on the agenda, ministers said.
At least two ministers expressed doubt a resolution on Greece could be reached during the meeting in Wroclaw, the BBC reported.
Austrian Finance Minister Maria Fekter has refused to rule out an eventual Greek default, saying more bailout money should be advanced to Greece, but "we will have to think about the alternative."
Jutta Urpilainen, Finland's minister, also downplayed the chances of resolving a dispute about whether to provide more money to Greece. Finland wants Greece to put up collateral in exchange for a second bailout.
U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner also is attending the meeting. President Obama has urged the eurozone countries to resolve their differences over the debt crisis.
Demands that Greece accelerate its austerity plans, along with fractured support for indebted eurozone members, has sparked financial market mayhem. Greece needs more money quickly, but a review of the country's budget measures won't be finished until the end of September.
Meanwhile, five international central banks decided to provide special loans of U.S. dollars to European banks to try to restore confidence, EUobserver.com reported. The European Central Bank, using dollars traded for euros from the U.S. Federal Reserve, the Bank of England, the Bank of Japan and the Swiss National Bank, will make fixed-rate, three-month loans available in three auctions.
The decision, revealed Thursday, followed a credit ratings downgrade of French lenders Credit Agricole and Societe Generale and a warning on BNP Paribas. The three banks have $3.24 billion exposed in Greek sovereign bonds, rated at junk status.
When announcing the deal in Washington, International Monetary Fund leader Christine Lagarde said, "We have entered into a dangerous phase of the crisis."
"I believe there is a path to recovery, much narrower than before, and getting narrower. To navigate it, we need strong political will across the world," Lagarde said. "Weak growth and weak balance sheets -- of governments, financial institutions, and households -- are feeding negatively on each other, fueling a crisis of confidence and holding back demand, investment, and job creation."
China corrals rare earth industry
BEIJING, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The rising cost of rare minerals, supported by Chinese policies, is hurting green energy industries elsewhere, a U.S. chemical company executive said.
Several of the minerals, known as rare earth minerals, are critical components for energy-saving fluorescent light bulbs and wind turbines, The New York Times reported Friday.
China, which produces 95 percent of the world's rare earth minerals, is in a critical position. An effort to clean up the industry and consolidate it into four state-controlled businesses has already affected global supplies and could become a deal-breaker for future business decisions.
Currently, "The high cost of rare earths is having a significant chilling effect on wind turbine and electric motor production in spite of offsetting government subsidies for green tech products," Michael Silver, the chairman and chief executive officer of chemical company American Elements, said at a conference in Beijing.
Rare earth minerals have been mined and produced by several companies in China that do not have proper licensing. Rare earth mines are also notoriously linked to air and water pollution and radioactivity, as thorium, which is radioactive, is a constant in ore that contains rare minerals.
China is closing 31 rare earth companies this year and trying to consolidate most of the industry with three companies in Northern China and one in Southern China.
That could mean many companies will be forced to open facilities in China, in spite of the contention by the United States and the European Union that China, as a member of the World Trade Organization, cannot restrict the export of vital materials.
Eurozone trade surplus up from June
BRUSSELS, Sept. 16 (UPI) -- The 17-nation eurozone posted a $5.9 billion trade surplus in July, a decrease from July 2010 but a slight increase from June 2011, Eurostat said.
The surplus was $138 million higher than June 2011, Eurostat said. It was $500 million lower than July 2010, however.
In the larger 27-member European Union, the trade balance for July was an $11 billion deficit, a slightly wider gap than the $10.3 billion deficit of July 2010.
The European Union posted trading surpluses in July with the United States, Turkey and Switzerland. The region posted trade deficits with China, Russia, Norway, Japan and South Korea.
The largest January through June surplus, Eurostat said, was recorded by Germany with a positive balance of $108.3 billion. The largest deficit for the region was posted by Britain with a trading gap of $77.3 billion.
