NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks have reversed course, turning positive in afternoon trading on Wall Street. Energy stocks had been leading a broad decline as oil prices continued to fall. Airline stocks are making a modest recovery after sliding yesterday.
WASHINGTON (AP) — A key long-term mortgage rate has dipped this week. Mortgage company Freddie Mac says the nationwide average for a 30-year loan slipped to 4.19 percent from 4.20 percent last week. The average for a 15-year mortgage was unchanged at 3.36 percent.
WASHINGTON (AP) — The head of the International Monetary Fund says the world is still mired in a disappointing economic recovery, six years after the financial crisis struck. Christine Lagarde says new policies are needed to break out of this prolonged period of mediocre growth. Speaking at Georgetown University in Washington, Lagarde called for reforms of labor markets and increased spending on infrastructure. She also said risks to the recovery include strife in the Middle East and Ukraine and the Ebola outbreak in Africa.
CHICAGO (AP) — Chicago prosecutors say a high-frequency trader in New Jersey has been indicted for allegedly manipulating commodities prices by using software that executes trades within milliseconds. The indictment alleges that Michael Coscia of Rumson, New Jersey, made around $1.5 million by illegally placing orders through the Chicago-based CME Group and European futures markets in 2011. Prosecutors say the indictment is the first of its kind under major changes to commodities law in 2010.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Federal authorities have slapped new financial reporting rules on 2,000 businesses in the fashion district of Los Angeles in an effort to curtail suspected Mexican drug-money laundering. The Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network is requiring the businesses to report any transaction involving more than $3,000. Last month federal authorities raided dozens of businesses in the Los Angeles fashion district and arrested nine people.
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