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Markets post gains Tuesday

NEW YORK, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes reversed direction in New York Tuesday, recouping early losses and moving solidly into positive territory by the close of trading.

USA Today reported White House press secretary Jay Carney said President Barack Obama "would not stand in the way" of a three-month extension to the debt ceiling, which would give lawmakers more time to hash out differences on the next federal budget.

The National Association of Realtors said existing home sales dropped 1 percent November to December, but sales of previously owned homes were still elevated from a year earlier.

After an early drop of 27 points, the Dow Jones industrial average closed with a gain of 62.51 points, 0.46 percent, to 13,712.21. The Nasdaq composite index gained 8.47 points or 0.27 percent, to 3,143.18. The Standard and Poor's 500 gained 6.58 points or 0.44 percent to 1,492.56.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,110 stocks advanced and 930 declined on a volume of 3.5 billion shares traded.

The 10-year treasury note yielded 1.847 percent.

Against the dollar, the euro was $1.3322 from Friday's $1.3313. The dollar dropped against the yen, hitting 88.78 yen from 89.62 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.35 percent, 37.81 points, to 10,709.93.

In London, the FTSE 100 index lost 0.03 percent, 1.81 points, to 6,179.17.

Report: Jobless to reach 202M in 2013

GENEVA, Switzerland, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A U.N. agency in Switzerland said there would be 202 million people unemployed globally in 2013, topping the record of 199 million from 2009.

The International Labor Organization said the ranks of people out of a job swelled by 4 million in 2012 and would grow by 5.1 million in 2013, the Los Angeles Times reported Tuesday.

The number of unemployed would grow to 210.6 million in 2017, the agency predicted.

More ominous than that, the figures do not include the number of workers who have given up on finding a job and stopped looking. Those discouraged jobless workers are taken out of the data pool, as they are defined as people who stopped looking, which takes them out of the global workforce.

Taking discouraged workers out of the workforce is "masking the true extent of the jobs crisis," the ILO said in a recent report.

Stanford associate gets 10 years

HOUSTON, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- A U.S. judge handed former Stanford Financial Group Chief Financial Officer James Davis a five-year prison term for his part in a $7.2 billion fraud.

The fraud that included the loss of about $7.2 billion earned financier R. Allen Stanford a 110-year prison term. Davis could have received up to 30 years on various counts, including conspiracy to commit mail, wire and securities fraud, The Houston Chronicle reported Tuesday.

Davis is 64 and had been seeking a four-year sentence. His attorney, David Finn, pointed out that Davis, who pleaded guilty, had cooperated with authorities in their pursuit of his former boss.

Prosecutors had asked for a sentence twice as long as the one that was meted out. "How do you reward cooperation? And his cooperation was outstanding ... . We're asking for 10 years," said prosecutor Jason Varnado.

Davis looked down and held back tears as U.S. District Judge David Hittner read the sentence, the newspaper reported.

"I'm ashamed and embarrassed ... . I hurt thousands. I betrayed their trust," Davis said at the sentencing.

Business in central Atlantic region slows

RICHMOND, Va., Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Va., said Central Atlantic manufacturing slipped in January after two consecutive months of growth.

"Nearly all broad indicators of [business] activity fell into negative territory. Other indicators also suggested additional softness," the Fed said.

The diffuse business index for the region fell from 9 in November and 5 in December to minus 12 in January.

Shipments, volume of new orders, capacity utilization and vendor lead time all moved from positive to negative in the month.

The index measuring the number of employees moved from minus 3 to minus 5. The index measuring the number of hours worked was little changed at minus 4 after a posting of minus 2 in December.

The wages index stayed positive and grew, albeit marginally, moving from 10 to 11, the Fed said.