November off to good start as the Dow rises 136 points

It’s only been a day, but November on Wall Street is already looking a lot better than October.

Strong economic data and corporate news converged Thursday to give U.S. stocks their best day since mid-September. Positive signs about the job market and soaring sales figures pushed stock futures up before the market opened. A half-hour into trading, reports on manufacturing and consumer confidence added another log to the fire.

The Dow Jones industrial average had already risen 100 points when the mid-morning reports came out. The data — including news that manufacturing grew for the second straight month — pushed it up as much as 177 points. It fell back some, but held a steady gain for the rest of the day.

The Dow closed up 136.16 points, or 1 percent, at 13,232.62. It was the best day for the Dow since Sept. 13. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 15.43 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,427.59. The Nasdaq composite index added 42.83, or 1.4 percent, to 3,020.06.

All three indexes fell in October, their first monthly losses since May.

After bailout four years ago, AIG earns $2 billion profit

American International Group Inc. has posted a third-quarter profit of nearly $2 billion, thanks to strength in its core insurance operations and healthy investment returns.

In the same period last year, it lost $4 billion. Management at New York-based AIG says the results reflect efforts to transform the insurance giant into a more streamlined, efficient and nimble company.

AIG became a household name after it received $182.5 billion in federal aid after the 2008 financial meltdown. It was the biggest bailout of the crisis.

The company has since repaid its debt to the Federal Reserve, and stock sales by the Treasury Department mean that as of September, the government is no longer AIG’s majority owner.

Virginia court says insurance doesn’t cover Chinese drywall

RICHMOND, Va. – The Virginia Supreme Court ruled Thursday that a homeowner’s insurance policy doesn’t cover damage caused by Chinese drywall.

Richard Serpe, an attorney for the homeowner, said the unanimous ruling means hundreds of other Virginians whose homes and health were affected by the toxic material also will be unable to collect on their insurance.

“There are many victims of Chinese drywall who have been waiting for this decision, and if the Supreme Court had allowed victims to make claims, there would have been a large number of my clients who would have brought claims,” Serpe said.

The attorney said he represents about 200 of the more than 300 Virginia homeowners whose property has been damaged by drywall manufactured in China and used in the construction of thousands of houses, mostly in the South, from 2005 to 2009.

Thousands of homeowners in several states have complained of Chinese drywall problems similar to those outlined by Ward in his insurance claim. Another company, Knauf Plasterboard Tianjin Co., agreed in December to pay hundreds of millions of dollars to resolve related drywall claims.

— From news service reports