AP – A drop in oil prices and strong bond auctions in Europe drove stocks to a slightly higher close Thursday. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose for the fourth straight day.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 21.57 points, or 0.2 percent, to end at 12,471.02 It was down most of the day, losing 64 points in the first hour of trading, following a spike in unemployment claims and a weak report on December retail sales.

Materials and industrial companies led the afternoon recovery. Caterpillar and Alcoa rose the most in the Dow. The S&P 500 finished up 3.02 points, or 0.2 percent, at 1,295.50. The Nasdaq composite rose 13.94 points, 0.5 percent, to 2,724.70

Stocks drove higher in the last hour and a half of trading after oil prices dropped below $100 per barrel for the first time this year. Oil fell on rumors that Europe will delay an embargo on Iran. Crude plunged $2 a barrel in just eight minutes, ending at $99.

Also pushing stocks were strong bond auctions in Italy and Spain. European markets ended mostly higher rose after Italy and Spain held highly successful bond auctions, easing worries about Europe’s debt crisis. Italy’s benchmark stock index rose 2.1 percent.

AP
FILE – In this Jan. 10, 2012 photo, a pair of… View Full Caption

In Italy’s first bond auction of the new year, the country was able to sell one-year bonds at a rate of just 2.735 percent, less than half the 5.95 percent rate it had to pay last month. That’s a signal that investors are becoming more confident in Italy’s ability to pay its debts.

Spain was able to raise double the amount of money it had sought to raise in its own bond sale as demand for its debt was strong. Both auctions were seen as important tests of investor sentiment.

Investors have been worried that Italy and Spain, the third- and fourth-largest countries in the euro area, might get dragged into the region’s debt crisis. Greece, Ireland and Portugal have been forced to get relief from their lenders after their borrowing costs spiked to levels the countries could no longer afford.

The euro rose nearly a penny against the dollar, to $1.28, as worries eased about Europe’s financial woes. The currency, which is shared by 17 European countries, fell to a 16-month low against the dollar the day before.

In other trading, corn futures plunged 6.1 percent to $6.12 per bushel after the government reported that supplies of the grain were higher than traders had expected. Wheat also fell 5.6 percent. An auction of 30-year Treasury bonds drew meager interest from investors as cash flowed back into European debt.

It was the latest day of quiet trading in the stock market. There have been six consecutive days with moves of less than 1 percent in the S&P 500, the quietest stretch since May.

Ralph Fogel, investment strategist and partner at Fogel Neale Partners in New York, said the moderate moves were an encouraging sign following the steep rises and sudden declines that were typical of last summer. “This is a much healthier market than we’ve seen.”

Unemployment benefits spiked last week to the highest level in six weeks, mostly because companies let go of thousands of holiday hires, the government reported. Retail sales barely rose in December and were lower than analysts were expecting.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s exports and imports grew at their slowest pace in more than two years in December as foreign and domestic demand ebbed, data showed on Tuesday, bolstering expectations of more policy action from Beijing to support the world’s number two economy.
Annual export growth of 13.4 percent in December was in line with expectations, albeit the slowest since November 2009 except for a February distortion caused by Lunar New Year holidays.
But it was a big downside surprise for import growth that caught investor attention, sinking to a 26-month low of just 11.8 percent year-on-year versus the 17 percent forecast by economists in the benchmark Reuters poll.
“We thought imports would surprise quite a bit on the downside and generally the implication is negative. Domestic demand is slowing down very quickly,” Zhang Zhiwei, chief China economist at Nomura in Hong Kong, told Reuters.
Zhang said the scale of drops in annual import growth for domestic consumption, at 13.5 percent in December versus November’s 27.4 percent, and imports for processing trade at 6.2 percent versus about 11 percent in November, were crucial.
“That means going forward for the next couple of months exports will decline with a very high certainty,” he said. “This trade data basically confirms our view that the first quarter is going to be very tough.”
The December trade data is a key link in a series of activity indicators to be published by China over the next two weeks, including fourth-quarter gross domestic product that is likely to show the world’s second-largest economy suffering its worst quarter in 2- years.
Financial markets took the data in their stride, with hopes that it will prompt a relaxation of monetary policy offsetting fears over slowing growth.
Gains in Chinese stocks accelerated modestly after the data, with Shanghai’s main index up around 1.6 percent by 0515 GMT, broadly in line with other Asian markets outside Japan, while the yuan strengthened to 6.3122 per dollar.
TRADE SURPLUS
Despite easing growth rates, the total value of China’s imports and exports finished 2011 at an all-time high of $3.6 trillion. But the overall trade surplus shrank to a three-year low of $155 billion from 2010’s $183.1 billion.
The narrowing trade surplus for the year may help China argue that it is reforming its currency policy, countering foreign critics who accuse it of holding the yuan artificially low to give its exporters an unfair competitive edge.
But the pace of slackening trade is disconcerting for Beijing as exporters are mainstay employers in China, even though their output accounted for only around 7 percent of China’s 2010 GDP.
The softening domestic demand revealed by the data also complicates plans by China’s ruling Communist Party to rebalance the economy towards more internal demand and consumer imports and tilt it further away from exports.
“The main disappointment is with imports, which show a much weaker number compared to November and are way below consensus,” said Kevin Lai, an economist at Daiwa Capital Markets, in Hong Kong. “That means the boost in November was temporary, the domestic economy is slowing sharply. China will have to continue to relax policy to protect domestic demand.”
POLICY FINE-TUNING AHEAD
To counter patchy demand in the United States and Europe, China’s top two export markets, Beijing cut banks’ reserve requirements by 50 basis points in November to 21 percent, the first such cut in three years to boost corporate credit lines.
Economists see more cuts to required reserve ratios (RRR) coming, further tweaks to fiscal policy and quite possibly intervention to slow the steady appreciation of the yuan, which gained about 4.5 percent against the dollar in 2011.
“I think the authorities will intensify the fine-tuning. I think we will get an RRR cut pretty quickly, and I think the slowdown in the pace of RMB (yuan) appreciation will continue,” Tim Condon, head of Asian economic research at ING in Singapore, said.
M2 money supply data published on Sunday showed money growth hitting a four-month high in December, suggesting Beijing is adding cash to the financial system to ease credit strains and stimulate the economy.
Economists see slowing trade and tight domestic credit conditions dragging China into its worst quarter in 2- years between October and December, with GDP growth easing to 8.7 percent, down a full percentage point from the first quarter.
A Reuters poll in December showed analysts thought China could lower banks’ reserve requirements by another 200 basis points in 2012, but that a cut in interest rates was only likely if economic growth slips below 8 percent.
Many economists believe China needs to grow its economy by about 8 percent, at least, if it wishes to create enough jobs to sustain current employment rates.
China does not release any reliable jobs data, and its only measure of unemployment is an urban jobless rate that has hovered between 4.1 and 4.3 percent since June 2009.
The thing economists are sure about is that, even allowing for seasonal factors that could smooth some of the more disturbing trade numbers — an earlier than usual Lunar New Year in 2012 and reasonably steady exports — China faces serious economic headwinds in the months ahead.
“Half of China’s export markets are slowing in the first half of the year so that’s why expectations for growth remain downbeat,” said Li Wei, an economist at Standard Chartered, in Shanghai.
“It’s not the end of the slowing down part of the story. That will probably last another quarter or four or five months before momentum recovers along with other emerging markets.”
(Additional reporting by Beijing Economics Team; Writing by Nick Edwards; Editing by Alex Richardson)

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street stocks kicked off 2012 with a rally on Tuesday after data showed U.S. manufacturing activity and construction spending picked up, signaling the economic recovery was gaining steam.
Investors, looking to put cash to work after a tough year in 2011, were also encouraged by data from China and Germany suggesting improvement in those major economies. The broad S&P index has risen more than 10 percent from its November 25 close.
The pace of growth in U.S. manufacturing accelerated in December, its best month since June, while a rise in new orders suggested decent momentum in 2012. Separately, construction spending in November surged to the highest in nearly 18 months.
“The beginning of the year tends to start out positive as people want to put money to work, but the overseas data can’t be overstated in its importance, especially since the U.S. data has been so strong as well,” said Sal Catrini, a managing director for equities at Cantor Fitzgerald & Co in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up 178.54 points, or 1.46 percent, at 12,396.10. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index was up 18.63 points, or 1.48 percent, at 1,276.23. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 38.44 points, or 1.48 percent, at 2,643.59.
Financial stocks were among the market leaders as risk appetite returned. Both the S&P financial sector and materials companies’ stocks rose nearly 3 percent. Utility companies, considered a defensive play by investors, fell 1.4 percent as the weakest sector, dragged lower by Exelon Corp, which fell 3.9 percent after a downgrade from Macquarie.
Barclays Capital downgraded Intel Corp and other semiconductor stocks, predicting a “volatile” year for the group as an inventory correction extends into the first quarter.
JPMorgan upgraded its recommendation for Cisco Systems Inc, sending shares of the Dow component up 3.1 percent to $18.59.
Blue-chip 3M Co, maker of Post-it Notes and Scotch tape, is buying Avery Dennison Corp’s office and consumer products unit, the companies said. Avery Dennison rose 1.8 percent $29.19, while 3M added 2.2 percent to $83.51.
Shares of McDonald’s Corp, the Dow’s biggest gainer in 2011, fell 1.4 percent to $98.95 on Tuesday.
Investors may gain more insight into the Federal Reserve’s view of the economy when the Fed’s Open Market Committee is due to release minutes of its December 13 meeting at 2 p.m. (1900 GMT).
Market sentiment also gained after news China, the world’s largest consumer of metals, avoided economic contraction in December. Also boosting investors’ mood, German unemployment fell more than forecast.
Four-fifths of companies trading on the New York Stock Exchange rose, while 75 percent of Nasdaq-listed shares were in positive territory. Volume topped 3 billion shares.
(Reporting By Ryan Vlastelica; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Bloomberg – U.S. stocks rose, snapping a three- day decline in the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index (SPX), as data on jobless claims and manufacturing signaling a strengthening economy overshadowed concern over Europe’s debt crisis.
FedEx Corp. (FDX) jumped 6.7 percent after earnings beat analysts’ estimates. JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM) advanced 1.2 percent as financial stocks gained after Spain sold more debt than it had planned. Novellus Systems Inc. (NVLS) surged 21 percent as Lam Research Corp. (LRCX) agreed to acquire the company. First Solar Inc. (FSLR), the world’s largest maker of thin-film solar panels, led a decline in technology stocks, dropping 4.8 percent.
The S&P 500 gained 0.6 percent to 1,218.83 at 12:11 p.m. New York time, after rising as much as 1.1 percent earlier. The benchmark index for American equities fell 3.5 percent over the previous three days. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 72.20 points, or 0.6 percent, to 11,895.68 today.
“We do have better economic numbers in the U.S.,” Michael Strauss, who helps oversee about $27 billion of assets as the chief investment strategist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut, said in a telephone interview. “At the end of the day, macro economic news domestically is more important to company valuations than what’s going on internationally.”
Stocks fell yesterday as growing funding stress in the euro area fueled concern that the region is struggling to contain its sovereign-debt crisis. IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde said at an event in Washington today that the “crisis is not only unfolding, but escalating” and cannot be resolved by one group of countries.
Jobless Claims
Stocks rallied earlier after data on jobless claims and manufacturing signaled a strengthening U.S. economy and Spain sold almost twice as much debt as targeted at an auction. Labor Department figures showed initial jobless claims fell by 19,000 to 366,000 last week, the fewest since May 2008. The median of 47 economists had projected 390,000, according to a Bloomberg News survey.
Two reports showed manufacturing in the New York and Philadelphia regions expanded more than forecast in December. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index accelerated to the highest level in seven months, to 9.5 from 0.6 in November. Readings higher than zero signal expansion among companies in region, which covers New York, northern New Jersey and southern Connecticut.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s general economic index increased to 10.3 in December from 3.6 last month, indicating expansion in the area covering eastern Pennsylvania, southern New Jersey and Delaware.
‘Squaring Valuations’
“Investors are trying to get a sense of not only how the economy is performing but also looking at what happens with policy, what happens in Europe,” Kevin Caron, a market strategist in Florham Park, New Jersey, at Stifel Nicolaus & Co., said in a telephone interview. His firm has about $108 billion in client assets. “You still have some lingering concerns about Europe’s financial crisis. As the market tries to digest all this, it’s looking at squaring valuations with all this new information.”
In Europe, data showed that gauges of manufacturing output in Germany and France contracted this month less than economists had estimated. Services output unexpectedly rose in both countries, climbing to 50.2 in France.
FedEx, the operator of the world’s biggest cargo airline, jumped 6.7 percent to $82.49. The company, considered an economic barometer because it delivers goods ranging from pharmaceuticals to financial documents, posted a quarterly profit that beat analysts’ estimates. It also ordered 27 Boeing Co. 767 jet freighters to retire some of the older planes at the world’s largest cargo airline. Boeing increased 0.9 percent to $70.57.
Banks Rally
JPMorgan added 1.2 percent to $31.88, pacing a 0.6 percent gain among financial companies in the S&P 500. Spain sold 6 billion euros ($7.8 billion) of bonds due in 2016, 2020, and 2021 at a debt sale today, almost double its 3.5 billion-euro target.
Nine out of the 10 groups in the S&P 500 increased, with consumer staples and utilities leading gains, advancing at least 1.1 percent.
Novellus Systems surged 21 percent to $42.08, the biggest gain in the S&P 500. Lam Research agreed to buy the company for about $3.3 billion in stock, valuing it at $44.42 a share. Lam Research fell 3.8 percent to $37.98.
Technology companies were the only group to fall today, declining 0.3 percent. First Solar slumped 4.8 percent, the biggest drop in the S&P 500, to $31.84, after the company was downgraded to “neutral” from “outperform” by Robert W. Baird & Co. MEMC Electronic Materials Inc., the second-largest U.S. maker of polysilicon, erased 5.2 percent to $3.67.
Hedge Funds
Stocks favored by hedge funds fell more than the S&P 500 during the first three days of the week. A Goldman Sachs index of companies that appear most often in funds’ top 10 holdings lost 4.5 percent in the first three days of the week, a period in which the S&P 500 fell 3.5 percent. The index rose 0.6 percent today.
Hedge funds selling assets because of client redemptions may have exacerbated declines for equities and reinforced market volatility, according to Eric Green, a Philadelphia-based fund manager at Penn Capital. His firm oversees about $6 billion.
“The hedge fund exposure continues to go down — it’s year end, they’re squaring positions off, they’re preparing for redemptions,” Green said in a telephone interview. “The volatility is pretty extreme, the market is getting whipped around on nothing and most of them want to shut things down. They probably have to sell more things than buy because they have net redemptions.”
To contact the reporter on this story: Inyoung Hwang in New York at ihwang7@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Nick Baker at nbaker7@bloomberg.net

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) – U.S. stocks rallied Friday after a majority of European leaders agreed on a new deal to try to resolve the eurozone debt crisis.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) added 174 points, or 1.5%. The S&P 500 (SPX) jumped 20 points, or 1.6%. The Nasdaq (COMP) rose 44 points, or 1.7%.

During a meeting in Brussels, Belgium, early Friday, the 17 members of the eurozone — which share the embattled single currency — reached a deal for a new intergovernmental treaty to deepen the integration of national budgets.

Six other EU nations supported the deal, but Britain rejected it. The three remaining EU countries tentatively support the deal, but have yet to secure parliamentary approval. Leaders are aiming to have the plan ready by March.
European and U.S. stocks rallied on the news, ignoring the Moody’s downgrade of three top French banks: BNP Paribas, Credit Agricole SA and Société Générale.
The U.S. financial sector outperformed the broader market in early trading with Bank of America (BAC, Fortune 500), Goldman Sachs (GS, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500), Morgan Stanley (MS, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo (WFC, Fortune 500) up between 1.5% and 4%. The rally in financials helped erase some of the industry’s outsize losses from Thursday.
“The market views Europe’s deal as a positive step, so the optimistic juices are flowing,” said Peter Tuz, president at Chase Investment Counsel. “The hope is that Europe is moving toward a mechanism that will allow for broader European Central Bank involvement, and other tools to solve the financial crisis.”

LA Times – As the first former U.S. senator to be subpoenaed by Congress in more than a century, Jon Corzine testified Thursday about the “last chaotic days” of MF Global, the trading firm that declared bankruptcy under his watch.

Corzine said he was “stunned” to learn that the firm could not locate hundreds of millions of dollars in client money in the days before the firm’s collapse, and said he had no idea where the money had gone.

Corzine was chief executive of MF Global when the firm filed for bankruptcy protection Oct. 31. He resigned from his post five days later.

“I simply do not know where the money is or why the accounts have not been reconciled to date,” he said in testimony before the House Agriculture Committee.

Client money should have been held in segregated accounts separate from those involving the firms’ own trading activity. The disappearance of the money has led to speculation that MF Global used customer funds to shore up risky bets on European sovereign debt.

“I never intended to break any rules,” Corzine said when asked whether he had ever authorized a transfer of customer funds from segregated accounts.

“There were an extraordinary number of transactions during MF Global’s last few days, and I do not know, for example, whether there were operational errors at MF Global or elsewhere, or whether banks and counterparties have held onto funds that should rightfully have been returned to MF Global,” Corzine said.

Corzine said he “strongly advocated” the trading strategy that led MF Global to accumulate more than $6 billion in holdings in European sovereign debt. But he said the company’s sovereign debt positions were not the cause of the firm’s collapse.

The sovereign debt was “a concern to the marketplace, make no mistake about that,” Corzine said. But he said customers’ confidence in the firm also was rattled by ratings downgrades and a failure on the part of MF Global management to communicate the reasons for the company’s struggles.

“It often got conflated with Euro-sovereign positions, which there actually were no losses in,” he said.

RELATED:

MF Global trustee says $1.2 billion or more missing

Jon Corzine caught up as MF Global inquiries escalate

MF Global goes bankrupt, undone by Europe’s financial crisis

– Kim Geiger

Photo: Former MF Global Chief Executive Jon Corzine is sworn in before House Agriculture Committee. Credit: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters

NY Times – Wall Street rose Friday after the United States government reported that 120,00 jobs were added in November. In addition, the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, reiterated her strong support for the euro, a move that helped bolster European stocks as well.
Related

The American unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent, the Labor Department said, after having been stuck around 9 percent for most of 2011.

The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index rose 0.5 percent by midday, while the Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq composite index added 0.5 percent.

In Europe, the Euro Stoxx 50 added 1.2 percent. The FTSE 100 in London rose 1.2 percent and the DAX in Frankfurt increased 0.7 percent.

Mrs. Merkel told the German Parliament in a speech Friday that the future of the euro would rely on fixing the “mistakes of construction” in the euro zone.

“We are not only talking about a stability union, but we are beginning to create it,” she said, calling for changes in European treaties so as to create a fiscal union.

Closer fiscal ties might also help to reduce German reticence toward jointly issued euro bonds and more active bond-buying by the European Central Bank, two steps that are widely regarded as necessary for saving the currency.

“Mrs. Merkel is saying very clearly that she’s moving toward acceptance of euro bonds,” David Thébault, head of quantitative sales trading at Global Equities in Paris, said. “But in return she wants fiscal union.”

Mr. Thébault said stocks had also gotten a boost from year-end “window dressing” as fund managers close their books with a substantial portion of their portfolios in equities. He said bearish investors who had sold shares short were also buying to defend against the possibility that a credible European plan would bring a major rally and leave them with major losses.

Asian shares were mostly higher. The Tokyo benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average rose 0.5 percent, while the Sydney market index S.&P./ASX 200 rose 1.4 percent. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index added 0.2 percent.

But the Shanghai composite index fell 1.1 percent.

Reuters – Stocks rose 3 percent on Wednesday as major central banks jointly added liquidity to the world’s financial system, easing worries about a global downturn.

The Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank as well as the central banks of Canada, Britain, Japan and Switzerland agreed to lower the cost of temporary dollar loans to banks by half a percentage point.

The move helped to ease investor worries about another financial crisis or recession, but the euro zone debt problems remain unresolved and could continue to plague markets.

Wednesday’s rally put the S&P 500 on track for its best daily percentage gain since August.

The Dow industrials were poised to end the month of November slightly higher, while both the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq looked likely to end the month in the red. The S&P 500 was down 1.3 percent for November.

Among the day’s biggest gainers were the most economically sensitive sectors, including financials, energy, materials and industrials, though all S&P 500 sectors advanced. Bank of America Corp (BAC.N) rose 6.1percent to $5.38 after hitting a near three-year low, while JPMorgan Chase & Co (JPM.N) surged nearly 8 percent to $30.78. The S&P financial-sector index .GSPF jumped 5.7 percent, its best day in a month.

“I don’t see the global economy going into recession. In fact, today’s movement by the central banks to inject massive liquidity, I think, cushions the global economy,” said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Rockwell Global Capital in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 408.11 points, or 3.53 percent, at 11,963.64. The Standard & Poor’s 500 Index .SPX was up 41.92 points, or 3.51 percent, at 1,237.11. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 83.45 points, or 3.32 percent, at 2,598.96.

Copper and oil futures also rose sharply.

The S&P materials sector index .GSPM gained 4.9 percent.

The central banks’ actions were intended to ensure that European banks, facing a credit crunch, have enough funding amid the euro zone’s worsening sovereign debt crisis.

The moves followed an unexpected cut in bank reserve requirements in China, intended to boost an economy running at its weakest pace since 2009.

Further encouraging investors, the latest U.S. data suggested the U.S. economy was moving more solidly toward recovery. The U.S. private sector added the most jobs in nearly a year in November, while business activity in the U.S. Midwest grew faster than expected in November.

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Additional reporting by Edward Krudy; Editing by Jan Paschal)

CNBC – Stocks were modestly higher Tuesday following a positive consumer confidence report and amid optimism that a meeting of European finance ministers would help resolve the region’s ongoing debt crisis.

MAJOR U.S. INDEXES

.DJIA

11580.57

57.56

+0.5%

.NCOMP

2518.61

-8.73

-0.35%

0

.SPX

1197.81

5.26

+0.44%

0

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed, after rallying sharply in the previous session.

Hewlett-Packard [HPQ 27.255 0.725 (+2.73%) ] and Home Depot [HD 38.1701 1.1601 (+3.13%) ] led the blue-chip index higher, while JPMorgan[JPM 28.80 -0.36 (-1.23%) ] slipped.

The S&P 500 flirted with a key 1,200 support level, while the Nasdaqstruggled to hold its gains. The CBOE Volatility Index, widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, was below 32.

Most S&P sectors were trading higher, led by energy and utilities.

Late Monday, Fitch revised its outlook on the U.S. credit rating to negative, citing the failure of a special congressional committee to reach an deficit-reduction agreement. Fitch gave the United States until 2013 to come up with a plan to tackle its ballooning budget deficit.

In Europe, euro zone ministers are expected to approve the sixth tranche of aid for Greece as well as find a deal on leveraging the euro zone’s rescue fund. They will also be preparing for next week’s heavily-anticipated summit of EU heads of state.

Meanwhile Italy paid more than 7 percent to sell three and 10-year paperin an auction that saw decent demand for the shorter-maturity debt.

And a French newspaper reported Standard & Poor’s could cut its France’s AAA rating outlook within days, while Moody’s said it could downgrade the subordinated debt of 87 banks across 15 countries on fears that governments will not be able to bail them out.

On the economic front, price of U.S. single-family home slipped 0.6 percent in September, according to the S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas. Economists surveyed by a Reuters poll had expected no change.

Meanwhile, consumer confidence bounced back from a 2-1/2 year low in November to 56.0 according to the Conference Board. Economists had expexcted a reading of 44.0.

American Airlines and its parent company AMR [AMR 0.3452 -1.2748 (-78.69%) ] filed for bankruptcy protection after the company wasn’t able to come up with an agreement with pilots to pare its labor costs. The airline also said it was suffering from soaring fuel prices. Shares tanked more than 80 percent.

A federal judge threw out Citigroup’s [C 25.34 0.29 (+1.16%) ] proposed $285 million settlement over the sale of toxic mortgage debt in a decision which throws into question the SEC’s policies toward settlements with publicly traded companies.

Among earnings, Tiffany [TIF 66.82 -6.80 (-9.24%) ] slumped to lead the S&P laggards after the luxury retailer gave a holiday quarter profit outlook that missed expectations.

Meanwhile, Amazon.com [AMZN 189.02 -5.13 (-2.64%) ] said it saw a surge in sales of its Kindle devices, helped by its new Kindle Fire tablet, on the crucial “Black Friday” shopping day after Thanksgiving.

Facebook is preparing for an IPO next year and is explporing to raise $10 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal.

—Follow JeeYeon Park on Twitter: twitter.com/JeeYeonParkCNBC—

NEW YORK (AP) — A strong start to the U.S. shopping season and fresh proposals for a far-reaching solution to Europe’s debt crisis sent stocks sharply higher Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average soared 300 points in afternoon trading, making up more than half of the ground it lost last week.
Initial reports show a record number of shoppers hit the mall or bought gifts online during the holiday weekend. Thanksgiving weekend is a make-or-break time for many retailers. For the past six years, Black Friday has been the biggest sales day of the year.
The retail numbers add to a growing set of indicators, including steady drops in the number of applications for unemployment, that suggest the U.S. is far from the second recession economists had begun to fear in August.
“This goes in stark contrast to the gloom and doom that had been over markets,” said Rob Lutts, president of Salem, Ma.-based investment firm Cabot Money Management. “A lot of the stocks I follow have been more oversold than any time I can remember in the last few years.”
Markets in Europe also rose sharply as leaders there discuss new approaches for containing the region’s debt troubles. One plan calls for Europe’s most stable economies jointly sell bonds to provide assistance to the region’s most indebted members, like Greece and Portugal.
Investors are hoping that the recent signs of deterioration in the debt crisis will finally get Europe’s leaders to agree on a package of measures that can ease market concerns over whether the euro currency itself can survive.
Stock indexes in Italy, Germany and France rose more than 4 percent. The euro and commodities prices also rose. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.03 percent from 1.97 percent late Friday as investors sold ultrasafe assets.
The Dow jumped 310 points, or 2.8 percent, to 11,541 as of 1:30 p.m. Eastern. The index plunged 564 points last week on fear that Europe’s debt crisis was spreading to large countries like Spain and even Germany. Alcoa Inc. jumped 5.7 percent, the most of the 30 stocks in the Dow.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 36, or 3.1 percent, to 1,194. The rally lifted stocks across the board. Only four stocks in the S&P 500 index fell.
The Nasdaq composite rose 87, or 3.6 percent, to 2,528.
Banks had some of the biggest gains as investors became less fearful of an imminent freeze-up in Europe’s financial system. Morgan Stanley jumped 5.4 percent and JPMorgan Chase & Co. rose 4 percent. Retailers also rose sharply. Macy’s Inc. rose 6 percent and Best Buy Co. rose 4.2 percent.
A record 226 million shoppers visited stores and websites during the four-day holiday weekend starting on Thanksgiving Day, up from 212 million last year, according to early estimates by The National Retail Federation released on Sunday. They spent more, too: The average holiday shopper spent $398.62 over the weekend, up from $365.34 a year ago.
It’s still unclear whether retailers’ will be able to hold shoppers’ attention throughout the remainder of the season, which can account for 25 to 40 percent of a merchant’s annual revenue.
Questions also remain about the situation in Europe.
Credit rating agency Moody’s warned on Monday that the “rapid escalation” of Europe’s financial crisis is threatening the creditworthiness of all euro zone governments, even the most highly rated. Only six of the euro zone’s 17 countries have the top rating — Germany, France, Austria, the Netherlands, Luxembourg and Finland.
The crisis in Europe will likely be the focus as President Barack Obama hosts European leaders for a summit Monday.