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WALL STREET
Stocks erase some of the ground lost last week as retail sales pick up
NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have started the week with a modest rally, recovering some of the ground they lost last week.
Investors looking ahead to a spate of major corporate earnings reports and economic data this week drew encouragement yesterday from Citigroup's solid earnings and a sharp gain in retail sales last month.
All 10 sectors in the S&P 500 increased, led by energy. The index gained 14.92 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,830.61.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 146.49 points, or 0.9 percent, to 16,173.24.
The Nasdaq composite added 22.96 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,022.69.
For the year, the Dow remains down 2.4 percent, while the S&P is down 1 percent and the Nasdaq is off 3.7 percent.
WORLD MARKETS
Asian stock markets boosted by US data, earnings
TOKYO (AP) — Asian stock markets rose today, getting a perk from a moderate rally on Wall Street set off by solid Citigroup earnings and positive U.S. retail sales.
A 1.1 percent rise in U.S. retail sales in March, the biggest in 18 months, boosted sentiment, as did better-than-expected earnings from Citigroup.
Investors had earlier been cautious, selling off stocks in Europe, on concern of a flare-up in Ukraine's crisis.
Ukrainian and Western officials have accused Moscow of instigating a pro-Russian insurgency in eastern Ukraine. That raised the prospect of more sanctions against Russia, possibly affecting the valuable energy trade.
The dollar gained against the euro and fell against the yen.
Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell below $103.50 a barrel.
ECONOMY-THE DAY AHEAD
Major business and economic events scheduled for Tuesday:
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Labor Department releases the Consumer Price Index for March this morning.
Inflation at the consumer level has been tame for the past year, and in February core prices edged up just 0.1 percent.
Also this morning, the Treasury releases February data on international money flows and the National Association of Home Builders releases it housing market index for April.
As for corporate earnings, Coca-Cola reports its quarterly financial results before the market opens as does Johnson & Johnson. CSX, Intel and Yahoo report after the market closes.
BUDGET DEFICIT
CBO: Deficits to drift lower on lower health costs
WASHINGTON (AP) — A congressional report predicts slightly smaller deficits both this year and over the coming decade, with less federal health care spending being the main reason.
The Congressional Budget Office report says this year's deficit will now be $492 billion, $23 billion less than previously estimated.
The CBO estimates that over the coming 10 years the deficit will total $7.6 trillion, $286 billion less than projected in February.
The biggest factor is $165 billion less in spending on health insurance subsidies for policies sold through exchanges created under Obamacare. Those policies so far are proving to be less costly than the CBO originally thought, mostly because of tighter management of treatment options.
Medicare spending will also dip slightly, mostly because of lower-than-expected prescription drug costs.
SOCIAL SECURITY-OLD DEBT
Social Security halts effort to collect old debts
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration says it is suspending a program in which thousands of people were having their tax refunds seized to recoup overpayments that happened more than a decade ago.
Acting Social Security Commissioner Carolyn Colvin says she has directed an immediate halt to the program while the agency does a review.
Social Security recipients and members of Congress have complained that people are being forced to repay overpayments that were sometimes paid to their parents or guardians when they were children.
The agency says it has identified about 400,000 people with old debts. They owe a total of $714 million.
So far, the agency says it has collected $55 million.
The Washington Post first reported on the program.
SEC-CONFLICT MINERALS
Court overturns 1 SEC conflict minerals provision
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court has overturned a disclosure requirement that public companies provide information about their use of minerals from Congo, where militias linked to atrocities have profited from mining minerals used in electronics, jewelry and other goods.
The appeals court says the disclosure requirement violates the free speech rights of companies that must inform the Securities and Exchange Commission and publicize on their websites that any of their products have not been found to be free of mineral conflicts.
While overturning the disclosure requirement, the court rejected industry arguments that the SEC must conduct rigorous, quantitative economic analysis on the costs and the benefits of the conflict minerals rule.
FILM-CHINA-LEGENDARY
China Film takes 1st stake in Hollywood movies
HONG KONG (AP) — China's state-owned film distributor is making its first investment in Hollywood movies by taking a stake in two projects by production company Legendary Entertainment.
The two companies said on Tuesday that China Film would make an "eight-figure equity investment" in two upcoming films, "Seventh Son" and "Warcraft."
The exact amount was not specified.
"Seventh Son" is a fantasy adventure starring Jeff Bridges and Julianne Moore. "Warcraft" is based on a video game.
If approved for release in China, China Film would distribute the movies under current rules and regulations for foreign films, which are tightly controlled.
The projects are the first since Legendary and China Film teamed up last year.
Hollywood studies are keen to move into China, now the world's second biggest movie market.
GOOGLE-TITAN AEROSPACE
Google buys drone maker Titan Aerospace
NEW YORK (AP) — Google has bought Titan Aerospace, a maker of solar-powered drones, saying it could help bring Internet access to remote parts of the world as well as solve other problems.
Financial terms have not been disclosed.
Google says Titan's atmospheric satellites could also be used in disaster relief and assessing environmental damage.
The satellites are still in development and not yet commercially available, but reportedly can stay in the air for as long as five years. Titan's website cites a wide range of uses for the drones, including atmospheric and weather monitoring, disaster response and voice and data communications.
Facebook was in talks to buy Titan earlier this year, but it acquired U.K.-based solar drone company Ascenta instead.
MINIMUM WAGE
Minnesota joins states raising minimum wage
ST. PAUL, Minn. (AP) — Tens of thousands of Minnesota workers have big raises coming their way.
Gov. Mark Dayton signed a new minimum wage law yesterday that provides annual pay bumps for those earning the least. For some workers, it'll translate into a couple of dollars more per hour in a matter of years.
The raises start this summer. For large employers, mandatory hourly pay climbs to $8 in August, $9 a year later and $9.50 in 2016. Smaller employers will also have to pay more, reaching $7.75 per hour by 2016.
The law authorizes automatic raises in the years to come that will compensate for inflation. Unless state officials take steps to suspend the raises, minimum wage pay could rise by up to 2.5 percent annually beginning in 2018.
TAX DAY
April 15 not much of a deadline for most taxpayers
WASHINGTON (AP) — The calendar shows April 15, but if you haven't even started on your federal tax return don't fret. If you're due a refund, April 15 isn't much of a deadline at all.
The Internal Revenue Service doesn't like to talk about it, but penalties for filing late federal tax returns apply only to people who owe money. The penalty is a percentage of what you owe. If you owe nothing, 5 percent of nothing is ...nothing.
But it doesn't make much sense for anyone to file late. If you are owed a refund, why wouldn't you want it as soon as possible? And if you have unpaid taxes, the late fees add up quickly.
The IRS says about three-fourths of filers get refunds.
PASSOVER-WHITEFISH SHORTAGE
Whitefish shortage causing Passover meal problems
TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) — Many fish markets in the Great Lakes region are running short of whitefish, and it's coming at a bad time: the Passover holiday.
Whitefish is a key ingredient in gefilte (geh-FIL'-tuh) fish, a traditional Jewish dish that originates in eastern Europe. Recipes vary, but it often consists of ground fish, vegetables such as onion and carrots, and bread crumbs formed into loaves or balls.
The shortfall results partly from the bitterly cold winter that caused vast sections of the Great Lakes to freeze over. The ice cover kept some commercial fishing crews stuck in port. A drop in the whitefish population is also to blame.
Kevin Dean of Superior Fish Co. near Detroit says his latest shipment amounted to just 75 pounds, although he requested 500 pounds.
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