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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have managed some small gains, but not enough to make up for Monday's big losses. The Dow gained 10 points to 17,159. The S&P 500 edged up 4 points to 2,017. The Nasdaq composite fell 12 points to 4,891, as shares of Apple sank 2.5 percent. Stocks spent most of the day alternating between small gains and losses, and turned positive in the last hour of trading. The relatively stable trading came a day after a plunge in China's main index set off a global selloff. Energy prices continued to tumble. U.S. crude fell 2 percent, to about $40.00 a barrel.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The oil industry's top lobbyist says a new law allowing U.S. crude exports helps explain why oil prices have not spiked despite heightened tensions between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two of the world's big oil-producing countries. The head of the American Petroleum Institute says the 3-week-old law lifting a 40-year ban on crude exports has already changed the dynamics of the global oil industry. Gerard says the potential for U.S. exports, combined with the ongoing U.S. oil boom, means "the United States has come in as a major player" in the global oil market. He says "the geopolitics of energy will never be the same."
NEW YORK (AP) — Shares of General Motors and Ford have closed lower, despite a strong 2015 performance from the automakers. GM and Ford's December totals fell short of analysts' projections. Shares of GM fell 88 cents, or 2.6 percent, to $32.43 and Ford declined 25 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $13.72. Auto parts supplier Delphi Automotive gave up $2.33, or 2.8 percent, to $81.66.
NEW YORK (AP) — New data from S&P Dow Jones Indices shows the number of companies that cut or halted payouts to investors last year jumped to its highest level since 2009. Dividends, the share of profits that some companies distribute to investors, have been increasingly important because bonds still offer relatively low interest payments and stock prices have been flat. About 500 companies cut or halted their dividends last year, while others got more reluctant to raise their payouts to shareholders. The number of dividend increases was the lowest in four years.
UNDATED (AP) — Netflix's online video service will feature more series and movies from DreamWorks Animation as part of a contract extension with the studio. The expanded licensing agreement will allow Netflix to showcase several new DreamWorks series, including "Trollhunters," a fantasy created by acclaimed movie director Guillermo del Toro. Netflix secured the rights to DreamWorks programming everywhere in the world but China. Financial terms weren't disclosed.
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