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8B Daily News – Thursday, February 2, 2012 MON.-FRI. 9:00-5:30 • SAT. 9:00 -5:00 • CLOSED SUNDAYS FURNITURE DEPOT MATTRESS NORTH VALLEY U.S. stocks had a big January, and they're start- ing February strong, too. Stocks climbed Wednesday after strong manufacturing data and encouraging reports about the Greek debt crisis. The Dow Jones industrial aver- age closed within 100 points of its post-2008 financial crisis peak. Factories raised output in January by the most in seven months, according to the Institute for Supply Management's manufac- turing index. And the Com- merce Department said construction spending rose 1.5 percent in December, YEARBOOK This would probably be it: If Red Bluff had a Red Bluff 2012 A Daily News Publication City Parks and Services Lassen Volcanic National Park North State's Wine Country Red Bluff Round-Up Victorian Charm MON.-THURS. 9:00-6:00 • FRI. 9:00-7:00 • SAT. 9:00-5:00 • SUN. 11:00-5:00 235 So. Main St., Red Bluff 527-1657 632 Main St., Red Bluff 527-5837 Mattress Sets & Adjustable Bed Financing & Delivery Available • FREE pillows • FREE delivery • FREE disposal With purchase of Tempurpedic mattress sets only. Stocks rise on manufacturing data Wall Street the fifth straight monthly gain. ''This is a market that is hungry for good news, and when it gets it, it responds very positively,'' said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist for RidgeWorth Investments. The Dow Jones industri- al average rose 83.55 points, or 0.7 percent, to close at 12,716.46. Earlier in the day, the Dow was up 151 points. But it moved less than 100 points for the day for the 20th consecu- tive trading session. The Dow's highest close since 2008 is 12,810, in April 2011. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 11.68 points, or 0.9 per- cent, to close at 1,324.09. All 10 categories in the S&P 500 rose. The biggest gainer was financial stocks, up 1.6 percent. A Daily News Publication Advertising Space Reservation Deadline: Tuesday, February 7 at 5 PM City and County Information Recreation Guide Local places of interest City Map & Street Guide Schools Directory Church Guide Public Services Calendar of Events …and more! Glossy stock Magazine Format 10,000 distribution 7,000 as a special insert to the 3000 print for distribution to visitors, new and prospective residents through Chambers of Commerce, hotels and Information Centers D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY 24/7 presence online version on www.redbluffdailynews.com for a full year, with links provided to Chamber of Commerce, RB City and County websites. Businesses: Make sure YOU are part of it! Advertising Representative Today! 527-2151 Call your Daily News Local The Nasdaq rose 34.43 points, or 1.2 percent, to 2,848.27. On Tuesday, stocks wrapped up their best Janu- ary in 15 years. The Dow gained 4.1 percent. Investors are less worried about the European debt crisis, and earnings at American companies are generally meeting expecta- tions. ''It doesn't take good news'' to make stock prices rise, said Randy Warren, chief investment officer for Warren Financial Service. ''It just takes an absence of bad news.'' For U.S. and European companies, the price-to- earnings ratio, one measure of how expensive stocks are compared with profits, had been at low levels that assumed the worst about Europe. ''These are Depression- era valuations, and some- thing has to give,'' Warren said. Plenty can still go wrong. Greece faces a (euro) 14.5 billion bond payment March 20 that it can't pay without addition- al help. Greece and the International Monetary Fund said Wednesday that negotiations to reduce Greece's debt should wrap up within days, raising hopes that it can avoid a default. In the United States, monthly hiring figures from private payroll agency ADP were so-so. ADP said private-sector employment rose by 170,000 in January from the previous month. That was 10,000 fewer jobs than expected by analysts surveyed by FactSet. ADP also said Decem- ber job growth was smaller than it previously reported — 292,000 instead 325,000. The government releases its report on Janu- ary job creation Friday. Investors also looked past a cautious outlook from temporary employee provider ManpowerGroup. Its stock jumped 14 percent after fourth-quarter profits came in much higher than expected. But the company said that while hiring may increase this spring, the European debt crisis could slow job creation. It pre- dicted lower profits in the current quarter than Wall Street had expected. In other corporate news: — Amazon.com fell 7.7 percent after its quarterly net income fell and revenue growth was slower than Wall Street had expected. — Whirlpool rose 13.5 percent after higher appli- ance prices raised its quar- terly profit, and it said it expects shipments to increase as much as 3 per- cent in North America this year. — Health insurer Aetna rose 3.1 percent after reporting a 73 percent jump in fourth-quarter profit on smaller expenses and lower usage of health care. — Carmakers reported strong U.S. auto sales for January, with gains at all the big companies except General Motors. Privately held Chrysler's U.S. sales surged 44 percent, and it reported its first annual profit since 1997. In Europe, British stocks rose 1.9 percent, German stocks 2.4 percent and French stocks 2.1 per- cent. Earlier in Asia, stocks didn't have the same momentum. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 edged up less than 0.1 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 0.3 percent.