UPI NewsTrack Business

UPI NewsTrack Business

May 14, 2009 (United Press International) -- Markets close with modest gains Thursday

NEW YORK, May 14 (UPI) -- U.S. markets posted modest gains Thursday after the Labor Department said first-time unemployment claims rose by 32,000 for the week ending May 9.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the Producer Price Index rose 0.3 percent in April, although energy prices turned down 0.1 percent compared to March.

By close, the Dow Jones industrial average gained 46.43 points, or 0.56 percent, to 8,331.32. The Standard & Poor's (NYSE:MHP) 500 climbed 1.04 percent, 9.15 points, to 893.07. The Nasdaq composite index added 25.02 points, 1.5 percent, to 1,689.21.

On the New York Stock Exchange, 2,172 stocks advanced and 847 declined on a volume of 7.6 billion shares traded.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 6/32 to yield 3.092 percent.

The euro rose to $1.364, compared to Wednesday's $1.3637. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar advanced to 95.78 yen, compared to Wednesday's 95.75 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 246.76 points to 9,093.73, off 2.64 percent.

In London, the FTSE index rose 0.72 percent, 31.21 points, to 4,362.58.
OPEC quotas shaky as demand drops

PARIS, May 14 (UPI) -- The International Energy (OOTC:ILGL) Agency in Paris said global oil demand would fall further than expected a month ago, dropping by 2.56 million barrels a day in 2009.

In April, the IEA, which tracks energy production and consumption among developed countries, said demand would fall 2.4 million barrels per day.

IEA noted the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries had increased output, suggesting it would have a difficult time keeping member countries to pledged production cuts agreed to in September, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

OPEC members have trimmed production by 3.2 million barrels a day, 78 percent of the announced production cut, which was instigated to support prices.

Oil prices reached $147 per barrel last July, but fell to $32 per barrel in February. On the New York Mercantile Exchange, prices reached $59 per barrel this week.

IEA's monthly report said 'performance versus targets has varied, and market reports abound suggesting disquiet among core OPEC members over the degree of compliance by Iran and Angola in particular.'

'April's weaker compliance is likely to fuel further discontent with the overproducers among member countries more closely adhering to their production targets,' the report said.
German deficit meets with election pledge

BERLIN, May 14 (UPI) -- German Finance Minister Peer Steinbruck said the government's budget deficit would reach $122 billion in 2010, its largest since the end of World War II.

The deficit for 2009 was on track to reach $68 billion this year, In 2008, Germany's deficit reached $16 billion, the Financial Times reported Thursday.

The budget gap could set back Chancellor Angela Merkel's campaign pledge to cut income taxes. Social Democratic Party officials said the budget gap figures revealed the chancellor's pledge to be 'pure electioneering.'

A general election is scheduled for Sept. 27.

'To promise tax cuts now is to deceive voters, purely and simply,' said Steinbruck, a member of the Social Democratic Party. Merkel belongs to the Christian Democratic Union.

President of the German Taxpayers' Association Karl Dake said, 'it is clear that taxpayers will be hugely affected by this economic crisis.'

'We welcome the debate about tax cuts but we know today's promises are unlikely to live beyond September 27,' he said.
Pfizer offers free drugs to unemployed

NEW YORK, May 14 (UPI) -- U.S. pharmaceutical giant Pfizer (NYSE:PFE) said it would offer free medication to eligible unemployed U.S. workers who had lost their health insurance.

The company will call the program MAINTAIN, an acronym standing for 'Medicines Assistance for Those who Are In Need,' the company said.

'We all know people who have been laid off recently and have lost their health insurance, making it difficult for them to pay for health care,' said Pfizer Regional President of Worldwide Pharmaceuticals Dr. Jorge Puente in a statement.

The program, which will help Pfizer maintain customer loyalty among unemployed U.S. workers, will be open for enrollment through the end of the year. It is open for 'eligible Americans who have been unemployed since Jan. 1,' the company said.

Pfizer said the program would run on matching Pfizer employee and company funding.

'Pfizer employees … asked to be able to do their part by donating their own money,' the statement said.

Eligibility requires loss of employment since Jan. 1, a lack of a health plan that covers prescriptions and compliance with a prescription for a Pfizer medication for a minimum of three months prior to the first day of unemployment or enrolling in the program.