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4B Daily News – Tuesday, January 24, 2012 NEW YORK (AP) — The S&P 500 index eked out a tiny gain Monday while traders kept an eye on talks in Europe to cut Greece's crushing debt load and prevent a global financial crisis. Other indexes ended slightly lower. The S&P added 0.62 of a point to close at 1,316 on Monday. The broad market measure has now closed higher on 12 of 14 days this year. European stocks and the euro rose after the continent's finance minis- ters put pressure on banks that hold Greek govern- ment bonds to accept new ones that are worth half as much and carry a lower interest rate. The Greek stock mar- ket gained 5 percent, and Mon-Fri: 9am - 7pm Sat: 9am - 5pm Sun: Closed En Español 26 Sale Lane, Red Bluff (530) 529-2192 www.Claytonredbluff.com $48,505 3 bedroom, 2 bath Singlewide: Includes home, set-up, delivery, X12 foundation, gravel pad, A/C, skirting and steps NORTH VALLEY D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY MATTRESS 20% off Entire Inventory 632 Main St., Red Bluff 527-5837 AGE VIEWS PER MONTH! OVER 300,000 P www.redbluffdailynews.com Now! Print Daily News subscribers enjoy unlimited FREE website access 24/7! www.expresspros.com 530-527-0727 243 So. Main Street Stocks end mixed as Greece negotiates to cut debt Wall Street indexes in Germany, France, Spain and Britain all advanced less than 1 percent. The euro rose more than a penny to $1.302, close to its high- est level against the dollar this year. Negotiators are trying to prevent a disorderly default by Greece in March. The worst-case scenarios include a credit crisis similar to what hap- pened after the Lehman Brothers investment bank fell in 2008. The Dow Jones indus- trial average fell 11.66 points to 12,708.82. That's a loss of 0.1 per- cent. The Nasdaq composite index fell 2.53 points, or 0.1 percent, to 2,784.17. Stocks are still off to a strong start in 2012. Investors' biggest fears have slowly faded. Stronger than expected job growth in the U.S. and falling borrowing costs for European govern- ments have helped send the S&P 500 index up 4.6 percent for the year. Maybe the biggest boon to markets this year is the lack of scary head- lines, said Jeff Lancaster, a principal at the invest- ment firm Bingham, Osborn & Scarborough. ''When everybody is feeling distressed, anx- ious and worried as they were at the end of last year, it doesn't take a lot of good news for the mood to change,'' he said. ''It just takes a diminish- ing quantity of bad news.'' Many energy stocks jumped along with prices for natural gas and crude oil. Chesapeake Energy Corp., the No. 2 producer of natural gas in the Unit- ed States, gained 6 per- cent after it said it plans to cut production, a response to the recent slump in nat- ural gas prices. Natural gas futures rose 7.9 percent to $2.60 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gas futures were trading above $4 just six months ago. Stocks of other gas producers shot higher. Southwestern Energy Co. jumped 10 percent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500. Cabot Oil & Gas Corp. was close behind, rising 6.5 percent. Apache Corp., a pro- ducer of oil and gas, rose 1.6 percent after saying said it plans to buy Cordillera Energy Part- ners in a $2.85 billion deal. It's the largest merg- er announced in the U.S. this year. The price of oil rose 1.3 percent to $99.58 per barrel. The European Union tightened sanctions against Iran by banning the purchase of Iranian oil. Iran threatened to block shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the passageway for one-sixth of the world's oil exports. Research In Motion Ltd., maker of the Black- Berry, sank 8.5 percent after its new chief execu- tive said no drastic changes are needed. The company's founders announced they were stepping down as co- CEOs late Sunday. Respecting People. Impacting Business Call us. And get back to work. Call us any time for: • An extensive network of recruiting sources • Testing and training • Experienced recruiters • Full-time employees • HR expertise and support services • Temporary Workers • Evaluation hire • Carefully screened candidates • Dedicated service