- A surge in home prices helped the stock market bounce back Tuesday. The Dow closed 99 points higher at 13,979, the S&P 500 gained more than 15 points to 1,511 and the Nasdaq surged 40 points to 3,172. Yesterday's advance was driven by new data showing that U.S. home prices rose in December at the fastest pace in more than six years.
- Asian stocks have been higher today, led by Japan's benchmark. The Nikkei surged 3.8 percent to its highest level since Sept. 2008 on news the Bank of Japan governor will resign early. Some investors see the move as sign his replacement him will comply with pressure from the government to ease monetary policy to help stimulate economic growth. European indexes are lower in early trading.
- Ferries are sailing to Greek islands for the first time in a week after the government invoked emergency powers to force striking seamen back to work. The strike to protest government austerity measures had left dozens of islands without any means of resupply. Thousands of union-backed demonstrators have converged on the country's largest port to protest the order.
- Federal customs officials say bogus Super Bowl jerseys are among $3.4 million in counterfeit goods that have been seized from shipping hubs at two airports. U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials say the jerseys and other items were seized over the past nine days at the DHL hub at Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport and the UPS hub at Louisville International Airport.
- Would a prospective tycoon rather be represented by an iron or a diamond ring? The makers of Monopoly may answer that question today. Hasbro offered fans of the board game a chance to vote online for which token to cut and what should replace it. The candidates for elimination are the shoe, the wheelbarrow and, of course, the iron. The new addition could be the diamond ring, or a robot, a cat, a helicopter or a guitar.
Find more business headlines on the Back To Business page.
