After a stomach-churning session, stocks pulled back from the depths Monday afternoon, recovering their losses as concerns over Europe's recovery eased. The euro reversed course and oil stayed above the key $70 a level.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which had plummeted 185 points earlier in the day, closed at 10625.83, or up 5.67. The Nasdaq Composite Index closed up 7.38 to end the day at 2354.23, while the S&P 500 squeaked back up above where it had started the day, up 1.26 points to close at 1136.94.
The roller-coaster ride was driven largely by concerns over currency and commodity markets. Roiled all morning by worries about Europe's recovery from its recent credit crisis and possible moves by China to cool its economy, the U.S. markets recovered throughout the afternoon as those worries faded. Traders seemed to be focusing more on the improving economic picture in the U.S.
"The trade of commodities versus stocks is beginning to look overdone," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co. "You have to figure that there are some reasons to be concerned about demand, but in a couple of weeks, we haven't wiped out 20 percent or so of demand, which is how much some of these things have moved."
Losing calories so the rest of us can, too.
With obesity statistics
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off the chart and the White House focusing on ways to reverse this American epidemic, some of the country's largest food companies said Monday they would take 1.5 trillion calories out of their products by 2015 as a way to help keep kids from becoming overweigh.
It's called the Healthy Weight Commitment Foundation, and a coalition of retailers, food and beverage manufacturers and industry trade associations pledged to cut the calories on the supermarket shelves as part of an agreement with a group of nonprofit organizations concerned with childhood obesity.
"This is precisely the kind of private sector commitment we need," said first lady Michelle Obama, who has embraced the anti-obesity campaign with her own "Let's Move" program.
Food companies have seen the writing on the wall: national and local efforts to raise food taxes and a rising tide of lawmakers preparing to write anti-obesity measures have combined to make the subject of healthier foods a national priority.
The industry foundation said the companies will introduce lower calorie foods, change product recipes and reduce portion sizes to achieve the goal, seeking to reduce 1 trillion of the 1.5 trillion by 2012.
AirTran pilots to picket outside annual meeting
The airline's pilots union said Monday they plan to picket outside the discount carrier's annual meeting in Milwaukee to step up pressure on management over the workers' more than five-year effort to secure a new contract with better wages and quality-of-life improvements.
Saying the 1,650 pilots i represents are paid less than those at several other major carriers who have the same years of service and operate the same type of aircraft, the union's also expected to announce at Tuesday's meeting that rank-and-file pilots have authorized the union to call a strike if it chooses.
At stake is AirTran's low-cost advantage over larger rivals that has allowed it to lead the way on fare sales and usually still turn a profit. AirTran posted a small loss for the first quarter but said it expects future cost pressures from fuel and maintenance. Additional labor costs could further affect its bottom line.
Elsewhere in the industry, United Airlines is negotiating with all of its major unions, including its pilots. American Airlines is still negotiating with pilots, flight attendants and some ground workers, and Continental Airlines also is in talks with its pilots.
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