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12B Daily News – Saturday, March 31, 2012 Furniture Depot 235 So. Main St., Red Bluff 527-1657 MON.-FRI. 9:00-6:00 SAT. 9:00-5:00 • SUN. 11:00-5:00 *"no sales tax" in reference to discount given equal to the amount of calculated sales tax. By JOSHUA FREED AP Business Writer Stocks rose in midday trading Friday after the government reported that consumer spending grew in February. The gain extended the best start for the market since 1998. The Dow Jones indus- trial average rose 55 points to 13,200. The Standard & Poor's 500 index was up five points to 1,408. The Nasdaq composite rose three points to 3,099. Friday is the last day of trading for the quarter, and stocks were on track for their best first quarter in years. The Dow is headed toward an 8 per- cent gain, and the S&P 500 is close to a 12 per- cent gain, for both the best in 14 years. The Nasdaq is up almost 19 percent for the year, which would be its best first quarter since 1991. The Commerce Department said con- sumer spending rose in February at the fastest rate in seven months. It's been driven by strong hiring over the last three months — the best jobs growth in two years. Americans spent more even though their income has stagnated for two months after counting taxes and inflation. Some of the increased spending has gone to gasoline, which is the most expen- sive on record for this time of year. Nine out of 10 indus- try groups in the S&P 500 rose. The biggest- gaining industry was health care stocks, up 0.9 Members of the Red Bluff-Tehama County Chamber of Commerce and interested parties: Join us to participate in a conversation Towards a new partnership between The City of Red Bluff And RED BLUFF-TEHAMA COUNTY Your Chamber of Commerce CHAMBER OF COMMERCE Everything on Your Thursday, April 5, 6:00 PM Red Bluff Elks Lodge The City has requested consideration of an agreement very different than our current agreement, in place since 2004. We agree this is a new time, with new challenges … and new opportunities. As your Chamber's volunteer leadership prepares to chart our future course, we are turning to our members for guidance and input. You can participate in drawing the map to chart the course for the Chamber's future, and its viability as your partner in business! Join us please to discuss current and potential Chamber priorities … and its commitments to members, visitors, potential new residents and business operators, the community at large, stakeholders and partners. Presentations by: Greg Stevens, Chairman 2011-2012 Dave Gowan, Chamber CEO Kris Behrens, Immediate Past Chair Kathy Schmitz, Chamber Director and Co-Chair of the Tehama County Branding Project Round-table discussions Presentations from discussions Q&A for the presenters No-Host Bar will be Open Hors D'oeuvres RESERVATIONS REQUIRED – By Noon, Monday April 2 Email: info@redbluffchamber.com Or phone: (530) 527-6220 Published through a co-sponsorship agreement withD NEWSAILY 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 Dark Chocolate Easter Bunnies, Easter Eggs and Easter Lollipops & Sugar-free Chocolates Boxed Assortments Gift Trays • Brittles Chocolate-Covered Nuts & Espresso Beans Caramel Corn Salt Water Taffy (including sugar-free) Phone orders welcome - we ship PUMPKINLAND Chocolate Company 530 527-3026 12000 Hwy. 99E (5 miles South of Red Bluff) Hours: 10:00 - 6:00 daily "Closed Easter Sunday" Milk, Dark, White Easter List Solid Milk or percent, led by Pfizer, which was up 1.5 per- cent. Pfizer was also the biggest gainer of the 30 stocks that make up the Dow. Technology stocks fell Shares of BlackBerry maker Research in Motion Ltd. rose 4.4 per- cent a day after the Cana- dian company said it would return to focusing on corporate customers and shake up its manage- ment to try to get profits growing again. Best Buy was down 2.5 percent as investors SALE throughout the store Stocks rise, extending best start since 1998 Wall Street slightly. continued to digest its plan to cut stores and staff as it shifts toward smaller stores in an effort to compete with online retailers. Best Buy stock lost almost 7 percent on Thursday. Sports apparel maker Finish Line Inc. fell 14 percent after it predicted a lower-than-expected first-quarter profit. European markets bounced back after a rocky week that included a national strike in Spain. On Friday, the country unveiled a draft 2012 budget that seeks to cut the deficit by $36 billion through spending cuts and a tax hike on large companies. But Spain also plans to cut govern- ment ministry spending by an average of nearly 17 percent. Germany's DAX was up 1 percent at 6,947, while the CAC-40 in France rose 1.3 percent to 3,424. The FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was up 0.5 percent to 5,768. Asian markets took a hit after some poor facto- ry production numbers from Japan.