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U.S. markets post modest gains

NEW YORK, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. markets turned modestly higher Tuesday despite a strike in Greece called to protest a new austerity budget package.

Leaders of the Greek government Monday announced an agreement to cut 15,000 public jobs through attrition this year and 150,000 by 2015. Party leaders also agreed on a set of spending cuts to help Greece comply with financial mandates set by the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund to allow Greece to qualify for continued international assistance.

The strike is a vivid reminder that there is more work to be done. Greece has yet to reach an agreement with creditors.

By close of trading Tuesday, the Dow Jones industrial average added 33.07 points, or 0.26 percent, to 12,878.20. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 2.72 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,347.05. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite index tacked on 2.09 points, or 0.07 percent, to 2,904.08.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,722 stocks advanced and 1,304 declined on a volume of 3.6 billion shares traded.

The 10-year treasury note fell 19/32 to yield 1.979 percent.

The euro rose to $1.3256 from Monday's $1.3131. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 76.78 from Monday's 76.55 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index shed 0.13 percent, 11.68 points, to reach 8,917.52.

In London the FTSE 100 index was flat, falling 0.03 percent, 1.94, to 5,890.26.

Xstrata to merge with Glencore

ZUG, Switzerland, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- International mining giant Xstrata PLC said Tuesday it would merge with Glencore International AG, creating a company worth $90 billion.

The deal, however, was on shaky ground, in part because it would merge a mining behemoth with a huge commodities trading firm that deals with grains, oil and metals, The Wall Street Journal reported,

The proposed Glencore Xstrata International PLC, as the new company would be called, would have enormous influence on commodities markets.

It would also generate about $200 billion in annual revenue.

A possible strike against the deal is simply that little is known about Glencore, a company based in Switzerland that only went public six months ago.

Xstrata shareholders may be hesitant to allow a merger with a firm that is relatively unknown.

Xstrata shareholders were dealt into the deal with an offer of 2.8 Glencore shares for every Xstrata share they own, a premium of 8 percent over share prices before the public caught wind of the deal last week.

But several Xstrata shareholders have already voiced reservations, saying the premium should be higher, given the point that Glencore shareholders will own a majority of the new company.

Menard settles discrimination suit

EAU CLAIRE, Wis., Feb. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. retail chain Menard says it has agreed to pay $1 million to settle a discrimination case filed by black workers who claimed they were denied promotions.

Attorneys for the Wisconsin-based home improvement store operator said it has denied any wrongdoing.

"Yes, that is correct, we did no wrong," The Eau Claire, Wis., Leader-Telegram on Tuesday quoted company spokesman Jeff Abbott as saying.

Abbot said the store settled the case because it was preferable to wrestling with an "850 pound gorilla."

"It is a wise business decision to settle with the federal government whenever one has an opportunity to do so because to continue is like attempting to wrestle an 850-pound gorilla," Abbott wrote in a statement.

Chicago attorney Jeffrey Taren said black workers, "were denied promotion and took longer to be promoted."

The case was filed in 2004 with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. It was later referred to the American Arbitration Association, where a ruling was issued on Jan. 24.

Black workers can file claims to a portion of the settlement, which will be divided among workers on a prorated basis, depending on how long they were employed by Menard.

Strike in background as Greece negotiates

ATHENS, Greece, Feb. 7 (UPI) -- Unions struck Tuesday, shutting down most of Greece's transportation lines as negotiations proceeded on a second financial bailout.

Airports were open but buses, trains and ferry services were disrupted by the strike, The New York Times reported.

The action came as efforts to secure a second bailout for Greece, valued at $170 billion, proceeded on several fronts.

The Times reported Prime Minister Lucas Papademos planned meetings with bondholders to discuss acceptable reductions and also was scheduled to meet with government leaders with the goal of finding support for a new round of austerity measures.

The government, at the behest of the international rescue team, needs to negotiate a devaluation of Greek debt with creditors or the country could fall into default March 20 when billions of dollars of debt come due.

The rescue team, called the troika, consists of the European Union, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund.

The government Monday agreed to cut 15,000 jobs from the public sector this year and 150,000 by 2015. Greek Administrative Reform Minister Dimitris Reppas did not provide details on how the cuts would be carried out. Firing a government worker is illegal in Greece.

Other reductions agreed to Monday include $4 billion in healthcare, defense and local government cuts over two years. Some $1.6 billion more in cuts remained in discussion.

Greek leaders also agreed to cut the minimum wage 20 percent.

Greek politicians refused to yield to severe austerity demands, even as German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the refusal threatened "the entire eurozone."

"I will not contribute to the explosion of a revolution from destitution that will burn all of Europe," George Karatzaferis, leader of Greece's radical right-wing populist political party LAOS, said Monday.

Some economists have said the budget reductions have already contributed to a severe recession, which is in its fourth year in Greece.

The IMF predicts the economy in Greece will shrink by 6 percent in 2012. By contrast, the IMF in January predicted global economic growth of 3.5 percent for the year.