Intel propels Dow Jones to best week since January

Stocks rose broadly Friday, giving the Dow Jones industrial average its best week since January.

The Dow rose 75.42 points, or 0.5 percent, to 15,376.06. The index closed up 3 percent for the week, its best five-day performance since the week ending Jan. 4.

Intel led the Dow higher. Analysts at Jefferies & Co. said Intel may be able to increase its sales with power-efficient chips. Intel rose 81 cents, or 3.6 percent, to $23.44.

The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 4.57 points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,687.99. The Nasdaq composite index rose 6.22 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,722.18.

United will honor tickets it accidentally gave away

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United Airlines said on Friday that it will honor the tickets it accidentally gave away for free.

The decision is good news for people who snapped up the tickets on Thursday after United listed airfares at $0. Many customers got tickets for $5 or $10, paying only the cost of the Sept. 11 security fee.

The mistake was an especially good deal for any passengers who bought tickets for travel within the next week. For instance, a Houston-to-Washington Dulles flight for next weekend would have cost $877, according to United’s website on Friday.

National Public Radio offers buyouts, picks interim chief

National Public Radio said Friday that it was offering across-the-board buyouts in hopes of cutting its staff by 10 percent and eliminating its deficit.

The buyouts, which are to be offered across the entire organization, were approved by NPR’s board of directors to help with a projected operating deficit of $6.1 million.

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NPR also announced Friday that Paul Haaga Jr., a board member since 2011, will take over as acting president and CEO effective Sept. 30. A search committee has been appointed to find a permanent replacement.

Consumer confidence falls to lowest level since April

Consumer confidence tumbled this month to its lowest level since April amid rising interest rates and sluggish job creation.

The preliminary September consumer sentiment reading Friday from the University of Michigan and Thomson Reuters fell to 76.8 from August’s final figure of 82.1. Analysts had expected the figure to be flat.

The closely watched index hit a six-year high of 85.1 in July but has fallen as lenders have raised mortgage and other interest rates sharply this summer in anticipation of a pullback by the Federal Reserve of one of its major stimulus programs.

Wholesale prices stay same, excluding food, energy costs

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Higher energy costs pushed U.S. wholesale prices up 0.3 percent last month. Prices rose a modest 1.4 percent over the past year, the lowest one-year gain since April.

Excluding volatile food and energy costs wholesale prices were unchanged in August, the Labor Department said Friday. They were up 1.1 percent over the past year, the smallest gain since June 2010 and a sign that inflation is under control.

Energy prices climbed in late August as tensions rose over Syria.

— From news service reports


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