U.S. markets climb early
NEW YORK, April 12 (UPI) -- U.S. stock markets continued a rebound Thursday following gains in Asia and flat stock performances in Europe.
The Labor Department said first-time jobless benefit claims rose by 13,000 in the week ending Saturday. It was the second weekly increase in 11 weeks. Investors were caught by surprise, however, as the consensus forecast called for a 12,000 decline in first-time claims.
In early afternoon trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average added 169.80 points, 1.33 percent, to 12,975.13.
The Nasdaq composite index rose 1.18 percent, adding 35.57 points to 3,052.03. The Standard and Poor's 500 index climbed 1.18 percent or by 16.83 points, to 1,385.54.
The 10-year treasury note fell 2/32 with yields rising to 2.047 percent.
The euro rose to $1.3203 from Wednesday's $1.3109. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 80.82 yen from 80.87 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index gained 0.7 percent, 66.05, to 9,524.79.
In London, the FTSE 100 index added 1.34 percent, 75.72, to 5,710.46.
Janssen Pharmaceutica fined $1.2 billion
LITTLE ROCK, Ark., April 12 (UPI) -- Johnson & Johnson subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceutica was fined $1.2 billion by a county judge in Arkansas Wednesday for Medicaid fraud.
Pulaski County Circuit Judge Timothy Fox ordered Janssen Pharmaceutica to pay $5,000 per offense for 238,874 prescriptions paid by the state's Medicaid program, a total of $1,194,370,000, Little Rock's KARK-TV reported.
The judge's financial penalty came the day after a jury found the company had engaged in fraud and deceptive trade practices by not disclosing or minimizing possibly dangerous side effects of its anti-psychotic medication Risperdal.
The TV station said the company is expected to file an appeal in the lawsuit, which was filed in 2007.
"This is a big win for Arkansas," state Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said in a statement. "Today's imposition of more than $1.2 billion in penalties sends a clear signal that big drug companies like Johnson & Johnson and Janssen Pharmaceuticals cannot lie to the FDA [Food and Drug Administration], patients and doctors in order to defraud Arkansas taxpayers of our Medicaid dollars. These two companies put profits before people, and they are rightfully being held responsible for their actions."
Foreclosure figures look good at a glance
IRVINE, Calif., April 12 (UPI) -- U.S. foreclosure numbers look positive on the surface, but not when looking a little deeper, market researchers said Thursday.
First-quarter foreclosures filings on U.S. properties declined to the lowest quarterly total since before the recession, said RealtyTrac, an online marketplace for foreclosed homes.
The firm said there were 572,928 foreclosure filings January through March or one for every 230 U.S. housing units.
The total is 2 percent lower than the fourth quarter of 2011 and 16 percent lower than the same quarter a year earlier. It is also the lowest total since the fourth quarter of 2007, when 527,740 properties were involved in foreclosure proceedings.
However, "there are cracks in the dam," said RealtyTrac Chief Executive Officer Brandon Moore in a statement.
"The low foreclosure numbers in the first quarter are not an indication that the massive reservoir of distressed properties built up over the past few years has somehow miraculously evaporated," he said.
Moore pointed out that states that use non-judicial processes for foreclosures saw a decrease of foreclosure activity of 8 percent quarter to quarter. However, the 26 states that require a judicial process in foreclosure processing saw an 8 percent increase compared with the previous quarter.
In some of the states that require foreclosures be processed in court, the year-over-year increases in the first quarter were significant. In Indiana, the increase in filings was 45 percent. In Connecticut, they rose 38 percent. In Massachusetts and Florida, they rose 26 percent.
Foreclosure starts, which include only default notices or scheduled foreclosure auctions, rose dramatically some states and rose nationally for the third consecutive month.
U.S. trade gap declined in February
WASHINGTON, April 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. trade deficit dropped in February for the first time in four months, the U.S. Census Bureau said Thursday.
After climbing by $2.2 billion to a revised January figure of $52.5 billion, the trade gap dropped back to $46 billion on exports of $181.2 billion and imports of $227.2 billion, the bureau said.
The trade deficit reflects a slower economy in China, as the trade gap with the export nation fell from $26 billion to $19.4 billion.
With the second most critical U.S. trading partner, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, the deficit fell from $10 billion to $6.4 billion.
The trade deficit with the European Union also fell significantly, dropping from $8.5 billion to $5.9 billion. With Japan, the gap rose from $6.2 billion to $7 billion.
