NEW YORK, May 8 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes closed in the black Thursday, bolstered by labor and retail news and undeterred by a fifth consecutive day of crude oil price records.
Inflation-signaling crude oil closed at a record $124.54 per barrel Thursday.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed Thursday up 52.43 points or 0.41 percent to 12,866.78. The Standard and Poor's 500 index closed up 5.11 points or 0.37 percent to 1,397.68. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock rose 12.75 points or 0.52 percent to 2,451.24.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 1,802 stocks advanced and 1,295 declined on a volume of 1.211 billion shares traded.
The 10-year U.S. Treasury note gained 22/32 to yield 3.786 percent.
The euro traded at $1.5392 from Wednesday's $1.5406, while the dollar traded at 103.73 yen from Wednesday's 104.77 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei index fell 159.22 points to 13,943.26, off 1.13 percent.
In London, the FTSE 100 index gained 3.20 points to 6,264.20, up 0.5 percent.
Sub hunter keeps Boeing U.S. plant busy
RENTON, Wash., May 8 (UPI) -- Aerospace giant Boeing's production of U.S. Navy sub hunters in Renton, Wash., could amount to a $40 billion program, industry observers said.
Boeing is pushing production on an initial contract worth $3.9 billion to build five test planes, the Seattle Times reported Thursday. After that, it will build three more test planes before proceeding with production of 108 jets.
Boeing also expects other countries will put in orders for the torpedo-carrying jets, hoping that, past 2012, they will continue to roll out one or more a month.
The Poseidon project, which the Navy refers to as P-8A, is the first Boeing contract that allows the normally commercial facility in Renton to also add military equipment -- bomb bay doors and radar, for example -- to the planes.
Previously, military equipment installation was reserved for another plant.
The ability to assemble the entire project in one location should increase efficiency and reduce costs for the Navy, the report said.
The project has also provided 1,200-1,300 jobs in Renton and Seattle, the Times reported.
Ford's chairman praises company CEO
WILMINGTON, Del., May 8 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co. Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. praised company Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally at the annual shareholder meeting, sources said.
"Alan Mulally has done a fantastic job, and you've seen the results every quarter," Ford told shareholders at the meeting in Wilmington, Del., Thursday.
"He's done it quicker than I thought he would," Ford said.
The company's turnaround was evident in its 2008 first quarter report, when it posted a net income of $100 million, compared with a net loss of $282 million one year ago, The Detroit News reported.
UBS agrees to buy back municipal bonds
BOSTON, May 8 (UPI) -- UBS Financial Services Inc. has agreed to buy $6.8 million in bonds from Winchester, Mass., as part of a $37 million settlement, officials said.
Winchester was the largest investor in UBS municipal debt securities that the firm touted as being almost as easy to withdraw from as a cash account, The Boston Globe reported Thursday.
But, when the auctions for these securities collapsed in February, the municipalities found themselves holding bonds they could not use to pay their bills.
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said there has been "a heavy push" for brokers to sell new financial products and "a rush by cities and towns to take advantage of what appeared to be a burgeoning market."
UBS spokeswoman Karina Byrne said the company was "pleased this matter has been resolved," but also said the settlement was based on a Massachusetts law and was a one-time event, the Globe reported.
In the settlement, UBS agreed to buy $6.1 million in bonds back from Barnstable, Mass., $4.4 million from the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and $3.2 million from the city of Holyoke.
"Manna from heaven," said Holyoke Mayor Michael J. Sullivan.
