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Markets post gains

NEW YORK, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. markets closed higher Monday after the Greek Parliament approved unpopular austerity budget cuts.

There are still several steps needed before Greece secures a bailout loan needed to meet its obligations on March 20. But the final decision on the bailout is not expected until next month, analysts say.

Stocks still found support from one step completed in the process. Markets rose in Europe, as well.

By close of trading Monday on Wall Street, the DJIA added 72.81 points, 0.57 percent to 12,874.04. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 9.13 points or 0.68 percent to 1,351.77. The Nasdaq composite index gained 27.51 points or 0.95 percent to 2,931.39.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,370 stock advanced and 719 declined on a volume of 3.3 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year treasury note fell 1/32 to yield 1.978 percent.

The euro fell to $1.3186 from Friday's $1.3199. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 77.57 yen from Friday's 77.61 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.58 percent, 52.01, to 8,999.18.

In London, the FTSE 100 index rose 0.91 percent, 53.31, to 5,905.70.

Treasury says it can skimp and save

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geither touted the department's proposed budget allocation as an effort to be thrifty, but also create jobs.

"The president's budget makes critical investments to strengthen our nation's economic competitiveness and spur job creation, while putting in place long-term fiscal reforms that will help improve our capacity to sustain growth in the future," Geithner said in a statement.

"As part of that comprehensive strategy, Treasury is continuing to support key priorities that will help strengthen economic growth, as well as identifying innovative ways to deliver essential services at lower costs to taxpayers," he said.

Key points in the Treasury's budget includes $286 million the department said can be saved through a proposal to consolidate the Bureau of the Public Debt and Financial Management Services. The new agency would be called simply Fiscal Service, the department said.

The move follows a merger of two information technology centers that are projected to save the department $129 million over five years.

The budget also includes proposed legislation to allow the Treasury to use different materials in the composition of nickels and pennies.

Currently, the Treasury said, it costs more than a dime to make a nickel and more than two cents to make a penny. About $75 million can be saved in fiscal year 2013 through more efficient manufacturing, the department said.

Savings already realized include $50 million each year from suspending production of $1 presidential coins for circulation and $300 million over five years by moving to electronic payments for federal beneficiaries.

In total, the Treasury said it would make do with a budget that is 2.7 percent below the fiscal year 2012 allocation, excluding funds for the IRS.

The budget for the IRS is viewed in a different light. "The IRS' request includes investments in enforcement activities that will contribute significantly to improving voluntary compliance with the tax code," the Treasury said.

The word voluntary might be debatable. "Every dollar spent on the IRS yields more than four dollars in increased revenue from non-compliant taxpayers," the Treasury said.

CFPB to post prototype mortgage statement

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- The director of the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said the agency will issue a prototype mortgage statement as a guideline for lenders.

In an editorial published Monday in Politico, Director Richard Cordray said the mortgage statement should include how much principal is owed to the lender, an up to date interest rate and a projected date concerning when the interest rate could change.

It should also include information about late payment fees and contact information -- a phone number and an e-mail address -- for the borrower to contact the company handling the mortgage, the Los Angeles Times reported.

The agency will post a sample mortgage statement on its Web site, Cordray said.

"The CFPB cannot address all of the problems in the servicing industry in one fell swoop. But we are already making important adjustments that will protect consumers more effectively," Cordray wrote.

The agency is also working on a regulatory change that would mandate lenders provide a good-faith estimate of changes in payment for adjustable-rate mortgage holders several months in advance of the change.

LaHood calls budget proposal sound

WASHINGTON, Feb. 13 (UPI) -- U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood called President Barack Obama's $74 billion budget allocation for the department an asset to economic growth.

"A strong American economy depends on the roadways, runways and railways that move people and goods from coast to coast and around the globe," LaHood said in a statement. "President Obama's plan will enable us to build the American infrastructure we need for tomorrow while putting people back to work today."

The budget for fiscal year 2013 includes getting started on some long-term projects. The cornerstone to the fiscal year 2013 budget for transportation is a six-year, $476 billion commitment to overhauling rail lines "to ensure these systems are safe and give travelers new options by enhancing passenger rail service," the department said in a release.

Funding for this comes from the so-called peace dividend, the administration said. "This proposed budget would be fully paid for using half the six-year savings achieved from ramping down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with the other half used to pay down the national debt," the statement said.

However, it has been more than two years since the department's budget expired. The department has been running on short-term approval from Congress, including eight separate extensions of the previous budget.

The new budget includes a six-year $305 billion commitment to repairing bridges, a 34 percent increase over the previous budget.

The budget proposal also allocates $2.5 billion in the first year of a six-year plan of $47 billion in railroad investments for high-speed intercity passenger lines.

The idea is to reach Obama's goal of providing 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail within 25 years, the department said.