Stocks up...Oil up... Duke Energy cited

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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are ending broadly higher. Traders are encouraged by the increase in consumer spending last month. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 8 ½ points, or 0.5 percent, to close at 1,857 today. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 59 points, or 0.4 percent, to 16,323 and the Nasdaq composite rose 4 ½ points, or 0.1 percent, to 4,155.

NEW YORK (AP) — Crude oil futures prices are up on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The near-month contract for the benchmark grade rose 39 cents -- closing at $101.67 a barrel.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina regulators are citing Duke Energy for a crack in a dam at a coal ash pit near the Cape Fear River. The state Department of Environment and Natural Resources is calling on the utility to take steps to ensure the earthen dam's stability. If Duke doesn't submit a comprehensive engineering report about the dam by April 7, the company could face a fine.

DALLAS (AP) — Pilots at regional airline American Eagle have rejected a contract proposal that they say freezes their pay and cuts health-insurance benefits. The Air Line Pilots Association says about 70 percent of the pilots voting turned down the offer. Eagle's parent company also owns American Airlines, and it has threatened to farm out Eagle's planes to other regional carriers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court is allowing labels on certain cuts of meat to say where the animals were born, raised and slaughtered. The court dismissed an attempt by the meat industry to block the rules, which took effect last year. They require packaged steaks, ribs and other cuts of meat to include country of origin labels.