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It's a big day for the Standard & Poor's 500 index. It closed above 1,500 for the first time since the start of the Great Recession in 2007, lifted by strong earnings from Procter & Gamble and Starbucks. The S&P 500 closed at 1,502 today, up eight points, or half a percent. It was the eighth straight gain. The Dow closed at 13,825, up 46 points. The Nasdaq gained 19 points.
- The price of oil is down slightly. A report showing a cooling off in new home sales offset the positive influence of ebullient U.S. stock markets. Benchmark crude fell 7 cents to close at $95.88 in trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It ended the week with a gain of 32 cents.
- Hostess says it expects to unveil a bidder for Drake's snack cakes next week, although the fate of Twinkies is still being negotiated. Drake's cakes, which include Devil Dogs, Funny Bones and Yodels, are among the brands Hostess is selling after announcing in November that it was shutting down its business.
- A national movie theater chain has removed a video shooting game from a lobby in suburban New York after a moviegoer complained in the wake of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn. National Amusements says it installed a Pac Man game in its place. A company executive says the chain plans to review whether more games should be removed.
- American Airlines wants a fresh look not only for its planes, but for its employees too. American, which is going through bankruptcy and considering a merger with US Airways, says it's hired fashion designers Ken Kaufman and Isaac Franco to create uniforms for pilots, flight attendants and customer-service agents. The uniforms will replace navy blue outfits.
