Stocks flat despite housing price upturn
NEW YORK, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes were flat in New York Tuesday as a closely watched home price report failed to spark much enthusiasm.
The S&P Case-Shiller report said home prices rose May to June in all 20 of the cities the report monitors. Prices were up in 13 of the 20 cities on an annual basis.
The report said a housing recovery was on solid ground. After early gains, however, stock turned flat.
By close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average shed 21.68 points or 0.17 percent to 13,102.99. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite index added 3.95 points or 0.13 percent to 3,077.14. The Standard and Poor's 500 shed 1.14 points or 0.08 percent to 1,409.30.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,691 stocks advanced and 1,287 declined on a volume of 2.4 billion shares traded.
The benchmark 10-year treasury rose 5/32, yielding 1.639 percent.
The euro rose to $1.2564 from Monday's $1.2499. Against the yen, the dollar fell to 78.54 yen from 78.75 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 255 index lost 52.10 points, 0.57 percent, to 9,033.29.
In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.02 percent, 0.89 points, to 5,775.71.
G7 says it will act to ensure oil supply
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- Group of Seven finance ministers applauded Saudi Arabia's oil supply pledge but said they were ready to take further supply-related action if necessary.
The G7 industrial nations said they were "vigilant to the risks to the global economy" and were ready "to call upon the International Energy Agency to take appropriate action to ensure the market is fully and timely supplied."
"We remain committed to well-functioning and transparent energy markets," the group said in a statement in which they urged all oil producing countries to increase oil production.
"We encourage oil-producing countries to increase their output to meet demand, while drawing prudently on excess capacity to ensure adequate supply."
Aside from the political oil embargo against Iran to pressure the country on an alleged nuclear weapons program, Tropical Storm Isaac was upgraded to hurricane status and is threatening the Gulf Coast, the region that is home to 23 percent of the United State's oil production and 44 percent of the nation's oil refining capability.
White House touts finalized fuel standards
WASHINGTON, Aug. 28 (UPI) -- New fuel-efficiency standards of 54.5 miles per gallon for cars and light trucks would save U.S. consumers $1.7 trillion, the administration said Tuesday.
The new standards, which will take effect for model year 2025 cars and light trucks, will reduce oil consumption by 12 billion barrels, the White House said in a statement. It will also reduce greenhouse gas emissions substantially, the statement said.
The program takes the 35.5 miles per gallon standards due to take effect in 2016 to a new level. The White House said the standards "will cut greenhouse gas emissions from cars and light trucks in half by 2025, reducing emissions by 6 billion metric tons over the life of the program -- more than the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the United States in 2010."
"These fuel standards represent the single most important step we've ever taken to reduce our dependence on foreign oil. This historic agreement builds on the progress we've already made to save families money at the pump and cut our oil consumption," President Barack Obama said.
"By the middle of the next decade our cars will get nearly 55 miles per gallon, almost double what they get today," he said, touting gains in energy security, environmental protection and economic savings.
In some ways the new standards could be seen as a fallout of the financial meltdown of 2008.
The White House pressed for the new standards soon after bailing out both General Motors Corp. and Chrysler Group, which had gone into bankruptcy in 2009, in part as a result of tighter lending standards.
With billions of dollars loaned to the two companies, industry analysts figured the car companies had concluded it would be bad form to confront the White House on higher fuel efficiency standards.
Not long before this -- in July 2008 -- the price of oil had shot up to a record price of more than $147 per barrel, which also put a damper on resistance to the new standards, which the White House had said would save automobile owners money over the average lifespan of a car.
Compared to previous efforts to forestall or derail higher standards, resistance to the newest proposal was considered light.
Central Atlantic business decline slows
RICHMOND, Va., Aug. 28 (UPI) -- The Richmond, Va., Federal Reserve Bank said manufacturing activity shrank in the central Atlantic states in August, but at a slower pace than July.
The overall manufacturing index showed business activity, which fell from minus one in June to minus 17 in July, recovered slightly, coming in at minus nine in August.
Prior to June, manufacturing had enjoyed six consecutive months of growth, indicated by numbers above zero.
The new orders index in August rose from minus 25 to minus 20. while the jobs index dropped from a positive reading of one to negative 5.
The wage index showed continued growth, but the pace moderated with a reading of three in August following a more robust nine in July.
