UPI NewsTrack Business

U.S. markets up Wednesday

NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- U.S. stock indexes were higher Wednesday after the government said consumer spending dropped 1 percent in October.

Spending dropped for the fourth consecutive month, although income rose 0.3 percent and disposable income rose 0.4 percent in the month, the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis reported Wednesday.

In late-morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 27.08 points, or 0.32 percent, to 8,508.55. The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 0.30 percent, 2.61 points, to 860.00. The Nasdaq composite index gained 24.32 points, 1.66 percent, to 1,489.05.

The benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury bond rose 31/32 to yield 3.001 percent.

The dollar was mixed. The euro fell to $1.2959, compared to Tuesday's $1.3067. Against the Japanese yen, the dollar fell to 95.02 yen, from Tuesday's 95.47 yen.

In Tokyo, the Nikkei average lost 110.71 points to 8,213.22, down 1.33 percent.

Party season finds trimmings trimmed

NEW YORK, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The $20 billion a year U.S. business of staging corporate parties is finding 2008 a year of scaling back, various event planners said.

"The foie gras factor is down to zero," said David Adler, editor of BizBash, USA Today reported Wednesday.

"People are hosting more events, but they are less expensive," Adler said.

In part, the message of a holiday party is to look successful or, barring that, at least cheerful.

"A lot of these people attend these parties, and you don't want them to look cheap," said Jeffrey Best who runs Best Events in Los Angeles.

But, author David Tutera said "the big wow factor is gone," this year.

Businesses are adjusting, events planners said. Some are scheduling parties for January or February, when rates are up to 30 percent cheaper than the Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's holidays, the newspaper said.

Others are holding informal parties, ducking formalities and opulence.

Employees might find parties trimmed from four hours to three, and paper plates and plastic utensils instead of china and silver flatware, the report said.

Secret tax plan causes stir in Britain

LONDON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- Britain's Shadow Chancellor George Osborne is crying foul after a Treasury document inadvertently posted on a Web site showed a discarded plan to raise taxes.

The document that appeared on a government Web site showed British ministers had contemplated raising the value added tax by 1 percent following the next British election, The Times of London reported Wednesday.

In a Pre-Budget Report unveiled Monday, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling proposed to lower the tax from 17.5 to 15 percent through January 2010.

But, Osborne said the plan revealed on the Web site was "Labor's secret tax bombshell."

"It explains why there is a black hole in the PBR, because at the last minute (Prime Minister) Gordon Brown clearly decided to keep secret his plan to hit everyone with an extra tax rise to pay for his borrowing binge."

The plan includes increased borrowing that would push the country's debt to $1.5 trillion, The Times reported on Monday.

Business Secretary Peter Mandelson responded to the outcry, saying the Conservatives were "seizing on anything" for political gain, The Times reported.

30 million may soon receive food stamps

WASHINGTON, Nov. 26 (UPI) -- The number of U.S. citizens receiving food stamps could surpass 30 million this month, federal officials said.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is scheduled to release food stamp numbers by the end of the month and wouldn't confirm the 30 million figure, which was divulged in a meeting with state officials in October, The Washington Post reported Wednesday.

The 30 million mark would surpass the previous high set in the months following Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the Post reported.

The current rise in recipients is due to rising unemployment -- currently at 6.5 percent -- and food costs, the Post said.

"If the economic forecasts come true, we're likely to see the most hunger that we've seen since the 1981 recession and maybe since the 1960s, when these programs were established," Jim Weill, president of the Food Research and Action Center in Washington, told the newspaper.

Government figures reveal that 11.9 million people, including 700,000 children, went hungry at some point in 2007, the Post said.

Some predict the next federal economic stimulus package would include increasing food stamp benefits, which generate $1.73 worth of economic activity for every $1 spent, Mark Zandi, chief economist at rating agency Moody's Economy.com, said to the Post.

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