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8A – Daily News – Thursday, November 18, 2010 Business Stocks end up mixed after four days of losses NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks ended mixed Wednesday as concerns that Ireland will need out- side help to repay its debts were coupled with a steep drop in housing construction in the U.S. Global stock markets have been rattled over the past week out of fear that Ireland will become the latest European country to need a bailout. Greece was rescued in May after it became unable to con- tain runaway spending and lost the confidence of investors. Ireland is now struggling after a collapse in its housing market forced the country to take over three large banks. Britain, which is not part of the 16-nation bloc that uses the euro, offered Wednesday to provide additional support to Ire- land beyond what it gets from the European Union or the International Mon- etary Fund. That helped steady markets in Europe. The Euro Stoxx 50, which tracks blue chip compa- nies within the euro zone, rose 0.5 percent. Construction of new homes fell 11.7 percent in October, the Commerce Department reported. Construction of new apartments fell by more than 40 percent. Home- builders including DH Horton Inc. and Pulte- Group Inc. fell. Retail stocks were among the few industries that posted gains. Target Corp.’s shares rose 3.9 percent after reporting earnings that beat ana- lysts’ forecasts. Competi- tors Costco Wholesale Corp., Macy’s Inc. and J.C. Penny Co. each rose by 2 percent or more. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 15.62, or 0.1 percent, to 11,007.88. The S&P 500 rose 0.25, or less than 0.1 percent, to 1,178.59. The technolo- gy-focused Nasdaq composite index rose 6.17, or 0.3 percent, to 2,476.01 Seven out of the 10 industry groups that make up the S&P 500 fell. Companies in the consumer discretionary, energy and healthcare businesses were the only groups to post gains. Financial compa- nies fell the most, with a 0.6 percent drop. McDonald’s Corp gained 1.2 percent to become the top per- forming stock among the 30 companies that make up the Dow. Home Depot fell 2.8 percent as the index’s laggard. Bond prices traded in a tight range. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to at 2.87 percent from 2.85 percent late Tues- day. Its yield is used as a benchmark for interest rates on mortgages and other consumer and cor- porate loans. The dollar fell 0.2 percent against an index of six currencies. Hulu officially launches pay service but cuts price NEW YORK (AP) — Online video site Hulu formally launched its premium streaming ser- vice Wednesday and cut the price to $8 a month. The service launched as a preview about five months ago for $2 more. Hulu said subscribers will receive credit for the difference on what they already paid. Hulu’s service offers back seasons of NBC, Fox and ABC and other TV shows, such as “30 Rock” and “Glee.” The free portion of the site, which has less content, remains avail- able. Hulu Plus, howev- er, offers high-defini- tion content and is available on a slew of Internet-connected devices, including the iPhone, the iPad and the PlayStation 3. The free Hulu is only available on computers. Hulu is jointly owned by General Electric Co.’s NBC Universal, Fox owner News Corp., ABC owner The Walt Disney Co. and Provi- dence Equity Partners. Earlier this month, Hulu said it is on track to generate more than $240 million in revenue this year, more than double 2009 revenue of $108 million. The com- pany said most of its revenue comes from advertising.