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NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have closed at their highest level of the year. The surge came after Federal Reserve Chair Jane Yellen confirmed that the Fed isn't in a hurry to raise interest rates. The Fed made similar points just two weeks ago, but since then, some members of the Fed's decision making committee have said they think it's time for rates to go higher. The Dow rose 97 points to close at 17,633. The S&P 500 gained 18 to 2,055. And the Nasdaq composite jumped 80 points 4,846.
NEW YORK (AP) — Apple's stock is up today after the FBI dropped its legal efforts to force Apple to break into the iPhone used by one of the San Bernadino attackers. Shares climbed $2.51, or 2.4 percent, to $107.70. Apple had been fighting the government's efforts to force it to help the FBI. Other tech companies are also faring well, with Microsoft shares climbing 2 percent to $54.71 and SAIC soaring $5.33, or 11.5 percent after its fourth-quarter profit was far larger than analysts expected.
NEW YORK (AP) — Oil prices are sliding again. Benchmark U.S. crude dropped $1.11 today, closing at $38.28 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, used to price international oils, lost $1.13 to $39.14 a barrel in London.
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — Dozens of big technology, biotech and financial companies are urging North Carolina to repeal a new state law preventing local governments from expanding protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. Gay rights advocates today released a letter to Gov. Pat McCrory and legislative leaders signed by the chief executives of IBM, Apple, Facebook and other firms. Among its provisions, the law requires transgender people to use public bathrooms that match their birth certificates.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal health experts have endorsed an experimental drug intended to treat psychotic delusions and behaviors that often afflict patients with Parkinson's disease. The panel of Food and Drug Administration advisers voted 12-2 that the benefits of the drug from Acadia Pharmaceuticals outweighed its risks. The vote is non-binding, but the FDA often follows the advice of its panelists. Approximately half of all Parkinson's patients suffer from the problems, known medically as psychosis in Parkinson's disease. There are no FDA-approved drugs currently available for the condition.
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