Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/55667
6A Daily News – Friday, February 17, 2012 Investors sent U.S. stocks barreling to their highest levels of the year Thursday, buoyed by slivers of encouraging news about jobs and housing. At least for a day, they overlooked the lack of clarity about Greece's marathon nego- tiation for a bailout. The Dow Jones indus- trial average rose 123.13 points to close at 12,904.08, its third triple-digit gain this year. It was the highest close for the Dow since May 19, 2008, four months before the worst of the financial crisis. As the Dow moved to within sight of 13,000, applause broke out at the closing bell on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 14.81 points to 1,358.04, its highest close in nine and a half months. The Nas- daq composite, which has had an even stronger year than the Dow and S&P and is trading at its highest since 2000, rose 44.02 points to 2,959.85. The rally was broad, with all but one of the 30 stocks in the Dow, Kraft Foods, closing higher. All 10 industry groups in the S&P were comfort- ably higher, led by mate- rials stocks, including strong showings from DuPont and Dow Chem- ical. General Motors was among the best-perform- ing stocks of the day. Two years after it was almost wiped out, the company turned a record $7.6 billion profit last year, bigger even than when Americans could- Dow within 100 of 13,000 as stocks barrel higher Wall Street NEW YORK (AP) — The market has seemed determined to move higher this year, despite mostly incre- mental and vague news about the Greek debt cri- sis and sometimes-con- flicting reports on the U.S. economy. ''I think we're float- ing on air. There's not much going on,'' said Ben Schwartz, chief market strategist at Lightspeed Financial. He warned that there could be volatility ahead for the market. The Dow has yet to suffer a 100- point loss this year, a sharp contrast to the triple-digit swings that were common last sum- mer. n't stop buying trucks and SUVs. Microsoft rose 4 per- cent, as did Bank of America, which tends to swing wildly with the market. The Labor Depart- ment said weekly appli- cations for unemploy- ment benefits dropped for the fourth time in five weeks to the lowest point since March 2008. That was when the job- less rate was just 5.1 per- cent, far below the cur- rent rate of 8.3 percent. Construction of sin- gle-family homes cooled slightly in January, but a rise in permits suggested builders were growing more confident that more buyers are ready to come off the sidelines. There are doubts about how long the momentum can be sus- tained, and even ques- tions about what's sus- taining it. John Burke, president of Burke Financial Strategies in New Jersey, said he thinks the Feder- al Reserve has been arti- ficially propping up the market with cheap money generated by low interest rates. Burke warned that the low rates could allow the U.S. to put off reducing its budget deficit. ''They're pushing the problem off,'' Burke said. ''We're fine today, we'll avoid recession, but what's that going to do to us when the term is up?'' Gas prices could be a threat for the U.S. econ- omy, particularly as Iran threatens to cut exports. The average price for a gallon of gasoline is $3.52, the highest on record this time of year, and could climb to $4.25 a gallon by late April. But others thought the positive jobs and hous- ing reports will continue to be what sways the market. NEW! In the Daily News' WEEKEND EDITION Every Saturday! TV Select Magazine --Weekly TV listings and features any certainty. The differ- ence this time was that investors didn't seem to care. European finance ministers will discuss the Greek bailout at a meeting Monday. Greece is negotiating for breaks on loans due next month in addition to the bailout, which would be aimed at preventing a bankruptcy that could send a shock through the world financial system. But some investors ''The more important story is what clearly is a continuing U.S. recov- ery,'' said Tim Speiss, chairman of personal wealth advisers at Eis- nerAmper. ''I could go find some negative news report, but it would go against what investors are doing.'' The hopeful signs about the economy increased investors' appetite for higher-risk investments like stocks, and they moved money out of bonds to make room in their portfolios. The yield on the gov- ernment's benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves in the opposite direction from its price, was at 1.92 per- cent before the report on jobless claims. It jumped to 1.96 percent in min- utes. A separate report found that wholesale prices, excluding the volatile food and energy categories, increased 0.4 percent in January, the most in six months. Inflation generally hurts Treasurys by reducing the buying power of the fixed returns they pay. Also just before the jobs news came out, the euro was sitting at a three-week low against the dollar. But it rallied almost a full penny, to $1.3143 from $1.3063 late Wednesday. The euro is perceived to be a riskier investment than the dollar, and traders tend to buy riski- er currencies and sell safer ones when they perceive the economic situation to be getting better. As it has for many days, the Greek crisis plodded along without are growing complacent: They either have faith that the European Union will find a way to keep Greece from defaulting, or they think Greece will default but it won't mat- ter to the rest of Europe. Among other stocks making big moves: — J.M. Smucker plummeted 8 percent after the company missed analysts' esti- mates for net income and revenue. The company said its sales volume fell 10 percent because it raised prices for Jif peanut butter, Folgers coffee and Crisco. — Molson Coors rose 3 percent after the beer maker beat analysts' expectations, helped by higher sales of Modelo beer in Japan and Coors Light in Latin America and China. — Tech stocks rose 1.57 percent, behind only materials compa- nies as the biggest gain- ers for the day. Some analysts think that tech will prove a wise invest- ment because compa- nies, sitting on cash that they are nervous about investing otherwise, will plow it into new technol- ogy. Groupon rose 4 per- cent. Calif winemakers work to crack Chinese market (AP) — California wine- makers think the days of rice wine in China are wan- ing as vintners find success marketing high-end caber- nets to a new generation of upscale consumers. Wine exports crushed international sales records in 2011, due in large part to growing demand for Cali- fornia wines in China and Hong Kong. ''We've been laying the New Weekly Weekend Feature Pages: • Glory Days – • Pets – Health & Activities • Country Life – Home & Garden • Outdoor – Living & Life Plus! TWO daily Crosswords and Sudoku Puzzles! All the above plus all those store sale ads and inserts, USA Weekend Magazine, Outdoor and Community people & events pages, and news, opinion and sports, of course! Now $1.00 at newsstands and stores across Tehama County, SAT-MON Save with convenient 5-day Home Delivery Call D NEWSAILY 527-2151 RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U N T Y S I N C E 1 8 8 5 Maturity & Lifestyles groundwork for the better part of 10 years,'' said Terry Hall of Napa Valley Vint- ners, the region's trade asso- ciation. ''It's not like you just show up and start sell- ing wine there.'' Lower quality California appellation wines have sold well to middle-class con- sumers in recent years, but the increasing demand for top quality vintages is evi- Newly Remodeled! RIDGEWAY PARK RECREATION HALL & GYMNASIUM Available for events, meetings & team practices Tehama County Parks for reservation information Reasonable rates Call An alcohol-free facility 528-1111 $74 in Discount Coupons were published last week in the D NEWSAILY RED BLUFF TEHAMACOUNTY … And that does not Count all the ads offering percentage discounts, two-for-ones and Free-with-Purchase offers! Don't miss a Day of it! Subscribe Today 527-2151 It pays for itself. dence of China's growing upper class. ''We try to be in all of the same places as all of the other important wines of the world and right now China is attracting so much atten- tion,'' said Don Weaver of Napa Valley's Harlan Estates, where Bordeaux blends can sell for up to $1,000 a bottle on some wine lists and are double that in China. ''Trying to solve the China puzzle is the most exciting part of my job right now.'' U.S. wine exports to China grew by 42 percent last year, and similar increases were noted in other Asian nations, accord- ing to figures released Thursday by the Wine Insti- tute in San Francisco. It nearly doubled 2010 export numbers as more winemak- ers are seeking to crack a relatively untapped market. The industry effort to stand out from the French wines that have long been in China involves making a connection between poten- tial buyers familiar with TV's ''Bay Watch'' and the Golden Gate Bridge to the California lifestyle. ''There's an association with wine and the western world,'' said Linsey Gal- lagher, director of interna- tional marketing. ''It's seen as part of a luxurious lifestyle in other parts of the world. It's one of the aspira- tional products people look to as the quality of their lifestyles is improved.'' Last summer the institute launched a marketing cam- paign to introduce Califor- nia-made wines, including a virtual tasting. Wine and lifestyle writers in Shanghai talked to growers in San Francisco, who led them on guided tastings of select California wines that already were available in China. In November, a dozen members of the media came from China to tour wineries. The Chinese economy has doubled in the past seven years, and low-end estimates say there are 1.5 million millionaires. With a population of 1 billion peo- ple in China, Gallagher fig- ures only 18 million of them can afford fine wines. ''That sub-segment grows every year,'' Gal- lagher said. ''The long-term opportunity is to get the rest of those billion people. We have our work cut out for us.'' Grape wines still account for just 10 percent of the alcohol consumed in China. Part of the trick in market- ing high-end wines in China is in educating palates, and helping Chinese growers produce better quality wines so consumers are not turned off by them, Gallagher said. Pampering with a Purpose Pamper your Valentine with a Microdermabrasion Special Microdermabrasion Treatments $9000 3 Mini 1/2 Hour only Call for appointment (530) 200-1365 Located in Tehama Family Fitness Center 24985 So. Main St., Red Bluff Gift Certificates Available