Stocks rise after hiring surge; Dow misses 18,000 ADVERTISING Stocks rise after hiring surge; Dow misses 18,000 NEW YORK — A strong jobs report boosted U.S. and European stocks Friday, and left the Dow Jones industrial average just short of
Stocks rise after hiring surge; Dow misses 18,000
NEW YORK — A strong jobs report boosted U.S. and European stocks Friday, and left the Dow Jones industrial average just short of the 18,000 mark.
The main focus in the markets was the monthly hiring numbers. The Labor Department said U.S. employers added 321,000 jobs last month, the biggest burst of hiring in nearly three years, while the unemployment rate remained steady at 5.8 percent.
Despite the good news, stock gains were restrained. Investors now expect that the robust jobs growth — and other signs the economy is accelerating — could lead the Federal Reserve to raise interest rates sooner than anticipated.
With Friday’s modest increases, the Standard &Poor’s 500 index closed out a seventh-straight week of gains. The stretch was its longest winning streak in a year and in stark contrast to the near-correction in the market only a month-and-a-half ago.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 58.69 points, or 0.3 percent, to 17,958.79. The S&P 500 index climbed 3.45 points, or 0.2 percent, to 2,075.37. The Nasdaq composite gained 11.32 points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,780.76.
Republicans push to give schools a break from healthier meals
WASHINGTON — House Republicans are making a final push this month to give schools a temporary break from healthier school meal standards.
The school meal rules, phased in since 2012 and championed by first lady Michelle Obama, require more fruits, vegetables and whole grains in the lunch line. The standards also limit sodium, sugar and fat.
Some school nutrition directors have lobbied for a break, saying the rules have proven to be costly and restrictive. House Republicans have said they are an overreach, and have pushed a one-year waiver that would allow schools to opt out of the standards next year if they lost money on meal programs over a six-month period.
The waiver language stalled this summer after the first lady lobbied aggressively against it and the White House issued a veto threat. The food and farm spending bill that contained the provision was pulled from the House floor, a move House Republicans attributed to scheduling issues. But the waiver has new life this month as lawmakers are expected to pass a catchall spending bill to keep government programs running.
Arrests made in Balkan war massacre
PRIJEPOLJE, Serbia —Police in Serbia and Bosnia have arrested 15 people in a wartime massacre that traumatized the Balkans and came to symbolize a culture of impunity that still shields notorious death squads and their masters.
Prosecutors from Serbia and Bosnia tell The Associated Press they have jointly cracked the case of the 1993 Strpci massacre, in which 19 men were snatched off a train.
Officers carried out a pre-dawn sweep Friday that netted 15 suspects, including the brother of a feared warlord who is already in jail, ex-militia members and a former Bosnian Serb general.
The question now is whether the suspects will point to the men above them who ordered the killings, investigators say.
By wire sources
