It was a strong day for stocks after European leaders agreed on a deal to reduce Greece's debt burden, hoping to vanquish a growing financial crisis. With a gain of 340 points or 2.9 percent, the Dow enjoyed its biggest gain since Aug. 11th. The S&P 500 rose 43 points, while the Nasdaq added 88 points.
- President Barack Obama, speaking in the Oval Office, said Europe's plan to tackle the continent's debt crisis will have an impact on the U.S. economy. At the same time, he stopped short of saying whether it will be enough to prevent another global recession.
- Lawyers representing former and current female workers of Wal-Mart's California stores have filed the first of a planned "armada" of class action lawsuits accusing the world's largest retailer of gender bias. The suit seeks to represent what the lawyers said could be as many as 95,000 women who have worked in the state's 220 stores sometime between 1998 and when the case goes to trial. It accuses California managers of paying and promoting women at lesser rates than male counterparts.
- The price of oil jumped gained more than 4 percent today. Benchmark crude rose $3.76, or 4.2 percent, to end the day at $93.96 per barrel in New York. That's the highest it's been since the first week of August.
- Marlboro maker Altria Group says it will cut the number of salaried workers at its cigarette business and related service subsidiaries by 15 percent as cigarette sales continue to decline industrywide. Without saying how many people will be affected, the Richmond, Va.-based company says the employees that will lose their jobs will be informed by mid-December and most will leave the company by late February.
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