U.S. markets higher despite dour IMF report
NEW YORK, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- U.S. markets opened lower but then turned positive Tuesday despite an International Monetary Fund warning austerity programs could cut into global demand.
In a report issued Monday, the IMF said: "The immediate risk is that the global economy tips into a downward spiral. ... Even in a less severe scenario, key advanced economies could suffer from a protracted period of low growth."
In addition, the U.S. producer price index released Tuesday said prices paid by manufacturers rose 0.8 percent in September, an inflation pace that is higher than the target set by the U.S. Federal Reserve.
In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was ahead 52.90 points or 0.46 percent to 11,449.90. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 8.74 or 0.73 percent to 1,209.60. The Nasdaq composite index added 12.15 or 0.46 percent to 2,627.07.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 8/32 to yield 2.128 percent.
The euro fell to $1.3709 from Monday's $1.3737. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 76.73 yen from Monday's 76.83 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 1.55 percent, 137.67 points, to 8,741.91.
Moody's warns France's credit at risk
PARIS, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Moody's Investor's Service warned France that its coveted triple-A credit rating is in jeopardy, a warning that has deep repercussions throughout the eurozone.
France has been one of the key countries, alongside Germany, that has been working for two years to restore confidence in the eurozone, which is struggling with financial difficulties in Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Spain, among others.
Europe may have to face a downgrade in the second largest economy of the region, after Germany, and one of the pillars of the continent's economy, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
In an annual report on France, Moody's said it would "monitor and assess the outlook in terms of the government's progress implementing necessary economic and fiscal reforms, while taking into account any potential adverse economic or financial market developments."
Investors reacted to the Moody's report by shifting purchases to German bonds, which caused the spread between French and German 10-year notes to hit an 11-year record.
France, meanwhile, is the second largest contributor to the European Financial Stability Facility, which has been set up to help struggling eurozone countries.
France has made sovereign guarantees to the EFSF of $204 billion, about 8 percent of the country's gross domestic product, the Journal reported.
Suit filed in Disneyland lead issue
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- Some features at Disneyland in California, including some of its most popular attractions, can expose children to high levels of lead, a lawsuit claims.
The suit, filed in April in Orange County Superior Court by the Mateel Environmental Justice Fund, claims objects handled routinely by guests at the park -- such as the Sword in Stone exhibit, where park guests can be photographed trying to pull "Ex Calibur" from a stone -- expose children to lead. Other allegedly hazardous features include brass door knobs and stained glass windows.
Mateel President William Verick said in a statement the lawsuit seeks to have Walt Disney Parks and Resorts U.S. Inc. "take steps that should have been taken when we first told them that children at Disneyland are in danger of illegal lead exposures," the Los Angeles Times reported Monday.
Citing court documents, the newspaper said Disney rejected the lawsuit's claims.
Suzi Brown, a spokeswoman for Disney, told the Times the company could not comment specifically on the lawsuit but said "we believe that Disneyland Resort is in full compliance with the signage requirements" of state law.
Mateel contends testing performed during June found lead exposures higher than state law permits from hand contact with surfaces at the Haunted Mansion, the Peter Pan Ride and Mr. Toad's Wild Ride, as well as on a stained-glass window near a restaurant.
Producer prices climbed in September
WASHINGTON, Oct. 18 (UPI) -- The U.S. Producer Price Index for finished goods rose 0.8 percent in September, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Tuesday.
Overall, prices have not risen as fast since April, when they also jumped 0.8 percent. Prior to that, prices have not risen as fast since December 2010, when they rose 0.9 percent.
Prices received by producers have risen 6.9 percent on an annual basis..
Prices for finished foods in September rose 0.6 percent after rising 1.1 percent in August. For energy items, prices rose 2.3 percent after dropping 1 percent in August.
Core prices, which exclude food and fuel items, were nearly flat, rising 0.2 percent.
Price gains beat expectations substantially. Economists predicted prices overall would rise 0.2 percent in the month.
