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UPI NewsTrack Business

Posted on: Tuesday, 2 September 2008, 12:00 CDT

U.S. markets take off after holiday break NEW YORK, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes jumped into positive territory Tuesday following a sharp dip in oil prices during the Labor Day holiday.

Oil prices fell as much as $10 per barrel in international trading from Friday's close of $115.53 per barrel. By Tuesday morning, prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange were at $108.29 per barrel as supply worries declined following the passing of Hurricane Gustav.

The Dow Jones industrial average shot up 217.06 points in midmorning trading, up 1.88 percent to 11,760.61. The Standard and Poor's 500 gained 17.11 points, or 1.33 percent, to 1,299.94. The Nasdaq composite rose 38.87 points, or 1.64 percent, to 2,406.39.

The U.S. dollar gained. The euro fell to $1.4502, down from $1.4606 Friday. Against the Japanese currency, the U.S. dollar traded at 109.08 yen, compared to Friday's 108.18 yen.

Treasury prices were down 8/32 percent to yield 3.857 percent Tuesday morning.

Overseas, Tokyo's Nikkei 225 closed down 224.71 points at 12,609.47.

British suspend some home-buyer taxes LONDON, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- The British government announced it will suspend stamp-duty taxes in 2009 on houses costing less than $311,919 to stimulate the slumping housing market.

The measure could be worth $1 billion, saving the average home buyer $3,115 in taxes, the Times of London reported Tuesday.

The stamp-duty taxes will still be collected on more expensive homes, where the duty amounts to 3 percent or 4 percent of the sale price, the Times reported.

Housing specialists were skeptical the move would provide much of a boost the country's slumping housing market.

Skeptics included the National Federation of Builders, which called the package "little more than a political sticking-plaster," the Times reported.

Community Secretary Hazel Blears said that the measure would assist "people who need just that little bit extra help to keep them afloat." But, Ray Boulger, a senior technical manager at mortgage lender John Charcol, said: "The only good thing about the announcement is that it has cleared the air."

The news, however, pushed stocks values up 10 percent at Britain's largest home builder, Taylor Wimpey, the Times reported.

Gustav reminds U.S. of oil vulnerabilities NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Hurricane Gustav's rampage through the Gulf of Mexico was a stark reminder that U.S. oil supplies are vulnerable to major storms, analysts said.

The downgrading of Gustav's strength eased concerns about major supply disruptions, Frank Verrastro of the Center for Strategic and International Studies told The Washington Post.

However, the storm shut down operations at the largest U.S. oil import terminal, the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port, and interrupted flow of about 1.2 million barrels of oil a day, the Post reported.

On Monday, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal, requested U.S. President George Bush release oil supplies from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve. Bush has said he would only use the reserve in the event of an international crisis or a threat to national security, the Post said.

Many of the oil platforms damaged in 2005 by hurricanes Katrina and Rita have been replaced with facilities that can withstand Category 3 hurricanes, but the threat on oil supplies remains.

"A disruption is a disruption," said Kenneth Medlock, an energy fellow with Rice University's Baker Institute. "It doesn't matter if it's because of a war in the Middle East, a disruption in Africa or a hurricane in the Gulf."

Google jumps into browser war MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Sept. 2 (UPI) -- Competition among Web browsers increased substantially Tuesday with Google's release of Chrome, industry analysts said.

With Web searches now including cell phones and other devices, Chrome is designed as a universal portal to the Internet, The New York Times reported.

Chrome pits Google against Microsoft's Internet Explorer, the browser included on 90 percent of the personal computers sold. It also competes with, among others, Mozilla Corp.'s Firefox browser, which commands 19 percent of the browser market.

In effect, Google and Mozilla are allies in the browser war. The companies renewed a contract last week that makes Google Search the home page for the Firefox browser.

Analysts said Google would be content to force Microsoft into a defensive position, forcing the company to divert resources to the market it clearly dominates.

"It would be more surprising to me if Google didn't do something in the browser space," Mozilla Chief Executive Officer John Lilly said. "After all, Google is 100 percent on the Web."

Source: United Press International

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