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NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks are up on hopes of a breakthrough in talks between Greece and its lenders. Stocks are also getting a boost from merger news in the health care and energy sectors. The Dow was up 109 points, or 0.6 percent, to 18,125 as of 2:30 Eastern time. The S&P 500 climbed 14 points, or 0.6 percent, to 2,123 and the Nasdaq composite rose 29, or 0.6 percent, to 5,146. Benchmark U.S. crude fell 41 cents to $59.20 a barrel.
BRUSSELS (AP) — Greece has finally offered economic reforms that creditors consider potentially acceptable. That gives Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras a couple days to turn a spirit of goodwill into a deal that might save his country from a painful exit from the euro currency. Even though a firm deal to get Greece more loans remains elusive, leaders from the 19 euro nations and the International Monetary Fund said Tsipras' new reforms plan offered the basis to break a four-month deadlock in talks.
UNDATED (AP) — Anthem is standing by its $47-billion offer to buy Cigna despite the rival insurer's rejection of the bid. Anthem's CEO says the latest cash-and-stock offer will provide compelling value for shareholders, and his management team is confident it can deliver on that promise. The Indianapolis-based Blue Cross-Blue Shield carrier has made several offers to buy Cigna, the most recent amounting to $184 in cash and stock for each Cigna share. Cigna has said a number of obstacles stand in the way of a deal.
NEW YORK (AP) — Over the first three months of this year, U.S. airlines collected a record 1-point-6 billion dollars in baggage fees -- a 7.4 percent increase over the same three months of last year. The increase is due to more passengers and the airlines also increased some fees and forced more passengers to pay them. All of the add-on charges, along with falling jet fuel prices, helped the largest 26 U.S. airlines make a combined $3.1 billion in profits during the first quarter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Former Federal Reserve chief Ben Bernanke says he's "appalled" by plans to drop Alexander Hamilton from his featured spot on the ten-dollar bill, so that a woman can appear there. Bernanke, who is now a blogger, wrote today that Andrew Jackson should instead be dumped from the 20. He says Hamilton was the best "economic policymaker in U.S. history" -- while Jackson was "a man of many unattractive qualities and a poor president."
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