Tuesday Evening Business Brief

• The Dow has closed at its highest level of the year, coming within one percent of its record reached in October 2007. The latest gain was powered by impressive results from two big consumer brands, Avon and luxury clothing maker Michael Kors. The Dow rose 47 points to 14,018 Tuesday, putting it within 146 points of its record high of 14,164. The S&P 500 gained a little over 2 points to 1,519 but the Nasdaq composite was down over 5 points at 3,186.
• The price of oil rose today as OPEC upgraded its forecast for global demand and the Group of Seven industrial nations pledged not to devalue their currencies. Benchmark oil gained 48 cents to finish at $97.51 on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
• Employers advertised fewer jobs in December and cut back on hiring, suggesting many were cautious at the end of the year. The Labor Department says job openings dropped 4.6 percent in December from November to 3.62 million. November's openings were revised higher. Employers hired 4.2 million people, a 4.8 percent drop and the fewest in a year.
• Comcast says it's buying General Electric's 49 percent stake in the NBCUniversal joint venture for $16.7 billion. It comes several years early, as Comcast takes advantage of low borrowing costs and what CEO Brian Roberts calls a "very attractive price."
• British authorities on Tuesday raided a slaughterhouse and a meat processing company suspected of selling horsemeat labeled as beef for kebabs and burgers, shutting them down temporarily and seizing all the meat found. It was the first time since the growing scandal broke across Europe that horsemeat being marketed as beef has been traced to suppliers in Britain, officials said, raising questions about how widespread the practice is.

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