U.S. markets advance Wednesday
NEW YORK, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- U.S. markets closed with solid gains Wednesday, with investor anxiety moderated by discussion in Europe of a bank recapitalization plan.
Banks in Europe have been hurt by their exposure to Greek debt. Greece's debt issue was temporarily put on the back burner Tuesday, as the international Monetary Fund, the European Commission and the European Central Bank agreed to give Greece the next installment out of its $150 billion bailout package.
By close of trading on Wall Street Wednesday, the Dow Jones industrial average added 102.55 points, 0.9 percent, to 11,518.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 index added 11.71 points, 0.98 percent, to 1,207.25. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock added 21.70 points, 0.84 percent, to 2,604.73.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,454 stocks advanced and 612 declined on a volume of 4.6 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 19/32 to yield 2.214 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3784 from Tuesday's $1.3639. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 77.26 yen from Tuesday's 76.65 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index fell 0.4 percent, 34.78 points, to 8,738.90.
In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.85 percent, 46.10, to 5,441.80.
Huelskamp unappeased by Buffett's numbers
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Billionaire investor Warren Buffett revealed Wednesday he paid 17.4 percent of his $39.8 billion taxable income to the federal government in 2010.
In a letter sent to Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan., Buffett said his adjusted gross income for 2010 came to $62.8 billion, CNNMoney reported.
The letter was sent as part of a political game of dare. Buffett published an op-ed article last month that declared he was taxed at a lower rate than members of his staff at Berkshire Hathaway, the hedge fund that has made him a billionaire several times over.
Forbes Magazine recently listed Buffett as the second-richest man in America, worth about $39 billion.
Buffett, in his article, challenged lawmakers in Washington to increase taxes on the ultra-wealthy. He said his wealthy friends would not object to a tax increase while many people in the country were struggling.
He quickly became the poster child for a misaligned tax code in which Republicans are viewed as coddling the rich.
Huelskamp then challenged Buffett to release his tax figures. The underlying message was that Buffett's numbers were wrong or misleading.
In a letter to Buffett, Huelskamp said "it is my firm belief that if your name is lent to a national policy and your story is the justification for a major overhaul of the tax code, then the American people have a right to see the evidence guiding that policy."
With the numbers in hand, Huelskamp attempted another swipe at Buffett's proposal.
"By sheltering millions of dollars of income from taxation through charitable giving, Mr. Buffett demonstrates that he doesn't trust Washington with his own money either," Huelskamp said.
Frontier hit with billing fraud lawsuit
MINNEAPOLIS, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- A lawsuit filed in federal court in Minneapolis says Frontier Communications has been duping its customers with fraudulent or unclear billing practices.
Four customers who filed the suit allege Frontier has been tagging bills with surcharges and attributing the charge to government authorization. In addition, the company's bills for Internet services include fees for 911 and Universal Service Fund fees, which are frequently found on telephone bills, but are not associated with Internet billing, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Wednesday.
The company is charged with false advertising, fraudulent billing and violations of the Federal Communications Act and the Internet Tax Freedom Act, the newspaper said.
The lawsuit -- about which Frontier spokeswoman Patricia Amendola declined to comment -- concerns small indiscretions on the individual bills, but could add up to large sums of money if the suit goes to class action status.
Frontier has 7.4 million Internet customers nationwide, said E. Michelle Drake, an attorney for plaintiffs Clint Rasschaert of Minnetrista, Minn., Verna Schuna of Scandia, Minn., Ed Risch of Farmington, Minn., and Pamela Schiller of Chester, N.Y.
Robert Galvin of Motorola dead at 89
CHICAGO, Oct. 12 (UPI) -- Robert Galvin, who led Motorola from 1959 to 1990, guiding the firm through an era of tremendous growth, has died at age 89, his family said.
The Chicago Tribune reported Galvin "passed away," Tuesday night, without listing a specific cause of death.
Galvin took over the company from his father, Paul Galvin, who founded the company.
At that point, Motorola had annual sales of $290 million. When Galvin stepped down from his chairman position, those numbers were just a memory. Annual sales had reached $10.8 billion, as Motorola emerged as one of the early leaders in the burgeoning mobile phone industry.
Motorola developed an early cellphone prototype in 1973. It took 10 years for the first commercial phone call to be placed using that phone, the Tribune said. By 1996, Motorola was still ahead of the pack when it introduced the first flip phone, called StarTAC.
Galvin served on the board of the Illinois Institute of Technology for more than 50 years, the newspaper said. The Robert W. Galvin Center for Electricity Innovation at IIT is named after him.
Galvin's son Christopher took over Motorola in 1997, but the company has struggled as cellphone competition intensified over the years. Chris Galvin left the company in 2003.
