Wednesday Evening Business Brief

Stocks rallied with the help of a report showing new home construction on the rise. The Dow rose 103 points, or 0.8 percent, to 12,909. The S&P gained 9 points and the Nasdaq jumped 33 points.

• IBM says second-quarter earnings rose 6 percent in the face of falling revenue and Europe's economic crisis. While revenue was short of forecasts, earnings topped analyst expectations.
• The Federal Reserve's Beige Book survey indicates the nation's economy expanded modestly in June and early July, but growth and hiring slowed in several parts of the country. The report is in line with what Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress over the past two days.
• The Obama administration's consumer watchdog agency has used its enforcement power for the first time. It has ordered Capital One Bank to repay millions of credit card customers allegedly tricked into buying costly add-on services. Capital One will pay $210 million in refunds and regulatory fines. Most of the money will go directly to customers.
• The CEO of US Airways predicts that American Airline's creditors will support his plan for a merger, but said he may not still be interested after American comes out of bankruptcy. US Airways Group chief Doug Parker says a merger while American is still in Chapter 11 is better because the bankruptcy code makes it easier to get rid of planes that the combined airline doesn't want, and to renegotiate airport leases and other contracts.

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