Dow surges on jobs report to end four-day losing streak

A surge in hiring last month got a big welcome Friday on Wall Street.

The Dow Jones industrial average surged 217.29 points to close at 13,096.17, ending a four-day losing streak. It was the best day for the Dow since June 29.

Markets had been slumping all week after central banks in the U.S. and Europe took no new action to shore up the economy.

The Labor Department’s closely watched monthly jobs report gave investors assurance that the U.S. economy may be doing better on its own.

The good economic news caused investors to sell low-risk assets like U.S. government debt. The selling drove prices down and yields up. The benchmark 10-year Treasury note was yielding 1.57 percent, up from 1.48 percent Thursday.

Oil prices also rose as investors became more optimistic about the economy. Benchmark crude shot up $4.27 to $91.40 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 25.99 points to 1,390.99, and the Nasdaq composite index added 58.13 points to 2,967.90.

Tennis, ski channels founder will launch The Surf Channel

The founder of The Tennis Channel and The Ski Channel is launching another niche offering, The Surf Channel, in mid-September.

Founder Steve Bellamy said the video-on-demand network should be accessible to 20 million households when it launches through cable, satellite and online distribution partners including Comcast, Cox Communications, DirecTV, Dish Network, Filmon.com and YouTube.

Bellamy started The Tennis Channel in 2003 with access to about 53,000 households. The Ski Channel launched in 2008. He projects both will be available to about 45 million households soon.

The Sporting Goods Manufacturers Association estimates there were about 2.5 million surfers in the U.S. in 2011. By contrast, an estimated 10.2 million people alpine ski, according to the trade group Snowsports Industries America.

Bellamy said the audience for surfing footage is immense.

“Surf is probably the best canvas to paint on from a television perspective,” he said. “You’ve got the most beautiful locations you could dream of, it’s always fun and sun, you’ve got beautiful bodies, superhuman athleticism and the whole extreme thing, with people riding gigantic waves. It’s where sport meets art in a lot of ways.”

Region’s gas prices soaring over pipeline, refinery woes

A rare combination of pipeline and refinery problems has exacerbated already rising gas prices in the Great Lakes region, leading to surges of about 35 cents per gallon in just a week.

A Wisconsin pipeline shutdown and equipment problems at Indiana and Illinois refineries helped boost the region’s price increases well above average.

AAA said Michigan’s statewide average price for a gallon of regular unleaded rose 34 cents over the past week to $3.95 Friday, making it the highest per-gallon average in the continental U.S.

The national average price for a gallon of unleaded, meanwhile, moved up just 8 cents to $3.56.

— From news service reports