Dow closes flat
NEW YORK, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- U.S. markets closed mixed Friday with the Dow Jones industrial average spending time on both sides of the 13,000 mark.
By close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average was down 1.74 points or 0.01 percent to 12,982.95. The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained 2.28 points or 0.17 percent to 1,365.74. The Nasdaq composite index gained 6.77 points or 0.23 percent to 2,963.75.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,648 stocks advanced and 1,386 declined on a volume of 3.2 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 1/32 to yield 1.979 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3483 from Thursday's $1.3371. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 81.24 yen from 80 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index rose 0.54 percent, 51.81 points, to 9,647.38.
In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.05 percent, 2.76 points, to 5,935.13.
BP trial will push gross negligence claim
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Poor decisions, risk taking and faulty testing led to the 2010 oil spill disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, court papers filed by federal prosecutors say.
The trial set to begin Monday in New Orleans will pit federal, state and private concerns against British oil giant BP, drilling rig owner Transocean Ltd., concrete provider Halliburton Corp. and equipment maker Cameron International Corp.
The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that a review of sealed court documents reveals that the government will attempt to prove BP is guilty of "gross negligence."
If the court agrees gross negligence was a factor, that would quadruple what could be billions of dollars in fines for violations of the Clean Water Act.
Court papers say BP "knowingly took additional risks," at the drilling platform, where an explosion on April 20, 2010, killed 11 workers and set off and underwater oil leak that continued for 87 days.
The company "knowingly failed to maintain" safe procedures at the rig and "thoroughly botched" a safety test before the accident, court papers say.
BP, in turn, argues that it was not negligent and is likely to base its arguments on the belief that it is not the only culpable party.
The argument that Transocean and Halliburton share the blame has already been weakened in court when Judge Carl Barbier ruled this month that BP was contractually obligated to indemnify them against damages unless they it was proved that Transocean and Halliburton were themselves guilty of gross negligence.
The companies are also facing counter lawsuits filed against each other and there is still a chance the oil giant could settle the case before the trial is completed.
That doesn't mean a scorecard won't help. Among the many legal battle fronts, Misui & Co.'s Moex Offshore LLC unit agreed to a $90 million settlement with federal prosecutors. The company, which did not admit any wrongdoing, owned 10 percent of the oil well.
BP's partner Anadarko Petroleum Corp. has agreed to pay BP $4 billion. Moex has anted up $1 billion, Cameron International $250 million and Weatherford Oil Field Services $75 million in exchange for immunity from most charges.
Lloyds to ax 15,000 jobs after 2011 losses
LONDON, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Lloyds Banking Group in Britain said Friday it lost $5.5 billion in 2011 after posting a profit in the previous year, adding it will cut 15,000 jobs.
The bank, which is 41 percent taxpayer-owned, also its bonus pool was down 30 percent compared with 2010.
Lloyds said it would drop bonuses for executives by 50 percent, The Guardian reported.
Chief Executive Officer Antonio Horta-Osoria has already been designated as one of the executives whose 2010 bonus would be partially "clawed back" because of the bank's $5.2 billion loss on sales of payment insurance to customers.
With bonus pay on a delayed release, the bank has canceled 41 percent of his 2010 bonus pay. Former CEO Eric Daniels is also having 41 percent of his 2010 bonus withdrawn, The Daily Telegraph reported earlier this week.
For all employees, bonus checks would average a little more than $6,000 for 2011, but the bank is also dropping 15,000 jobs on top of the 30,000 jobs it has lost since the financial crisis began.
"It is vital that Lloyds Banking Group stops attempting to make scapegoats out of its workforce to make short-term cost savings," said union officer David Fleming at Unite.
Sukhoi to deliver 10 Superjet 100s in 2012
MOSCOW, Feb. 24 (UPI) -- Russian airplane producer United Aircraft Corp. said Friday it would export 10 Sukhoi Superjet 100 passenger planes this year.
Sukhoi, famous for its fighter jets, has orders for 200 Superjet 100 passenger planes, RIA Novosti reported.
United Aircraft Corp. Chief Executive Officer Mikhail Pogosyan said 10 would be delivered this year to customers in Mexico, Indonesia and Laos.
They are not technically the first Superjet 100s the planemaker has delivered. To date, Sukhoi has delivered one, which went to Armenia.
The jet is a medium-distance passenger plane with room for 100 passengers and the capability of making flights of up to 2,800 miles.
