Stocks close higher…Oil prices hold steady… Big Four accounting firm settles with US

UNDATED (AP) — Stocks are closing sharply higher today as the market shakes off its worst weekly performance in three months. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 112 points, or 0.7 percent, to 17,055. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 9 ½ points, or 0.5 percent, to 1,977. The Nasdaq composite rose 25 points, or 0.6 percent, to 4,440.

UNDATED (AP) — The price of oil has barely changed. There were no catalysts to move it today. Benchmark U.S. crude for August delivery rose 8 cents at $100.91 a barrel in New York. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils, gained 45 cents to $107.71 in London. Meanwhile, gasoline prices in the U.S. slipped to three-month lows. The average price is $3.61 a gallon.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Ernst & Young will pay $4 million to settle civil charges of compromising its independence by lobbying Congress on behalf of two companies whose books it audited. The Securities and Exchange Commission announced the settlement today with the New York-based firm, one of the Big Four accounting firms with Deloitte, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Five emerging market powers this week will launch their own versions of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Harold Trinkunas, director of the Latin America Initiative at the Brookings Institution, says Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa –the so-called BRICS countries — are “seeking “alternatives to the existing world order.”.

ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. (AP) — Atlantic City’s shell-shocked gambling market is getting some unexpected good news, even if it might not last long. Not counting the Atlantic Club, which closed in January, the 11 casinos that operated in both 2014 and 2013 increased their revenue by nearly 4 percent in June. Helping was $9.5 million in Internet gambling winnings.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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