LOCAL BUSINESS
Diebold shares are up 15%
Diebold Inc. shareholders appear to have much to be thankful for this month, investment-wise.
Shares in the Green maker of ATMs and security systems are up nearly 15 percent, including reinvested dividends, for November and are up nearly 16 percent since Jan. 1. Shares on Tuesday closed at $34.07, up 8 cents. The low closing share price this month was $29.25 on Nov. 7.
Shares got a boost in part from a “buy” rating issued earlier this month by a banking industry analyst. In addition, activist investor Mario Gabelli, founder of investment firm GAMCO, disclosed this month he owns nearly 9 percent of Diebold shares. Gabelli also discussed Diebold last week in an appearance on cable television financial news channel CNBC.
U.S. home prices show gains
Home prices continued to show year-over-year gains, reaching their best marks since February 2006, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices.
The composite 20-city home price index, a primary barometer of nationwide home prices, was up 13.3 percent in September from the same month a year ago.
All 20 cities posted year-over-year gains for the past three quarters.
The Cleveland metropolitan area was the second-worst-performing area when looking at year-over-year prices.
Prices in the Cleveland area were up 5 percent in September from September 2012.
The New York City area showed the weakest gain in year-over-year prices, with prices up 4.3 percent in September versus September 2012.
The Cleveland area was among the 13 metropolitan areas that showed improvement in year-over-year rates of change from August to September.
In fact, the Cleveland area accelerated the most from August — when prices were up 3.7 percent compared with year-ago figures — to September, when prices were up 5 percent.
AUTO INDUSTRY
Hyundai unveils Genesis
South Korean automaker Hyundai unveiled a revamped all-wheel-drive Genesis premium sedan that will go on sale in the U.S. next year.
The Genesis, which competes with BMW’s 5-series and Daimler’s Mercedes Benz E-Class in the midsized premium sedan market, will also be introduced in Europe next year. Hyundai’s goal is to sell 62,000 Genesis sedans worldwide in 2014.
Hyundai’s first revamp of the Genesis, which won the North American Car of the Year award in 2009, comes in the wake of a series of recalls this year by Hyundai and its affiliate Kia.
TECHNOLOGY
Intel online service for sale
Intel Corp. is asking buyers for about $500 million for OnCue, the online pay-TV service that the world’s largest chipmaker developed, Bloomberg News reported.
Intel is seeking to secure a sale by year-end. One suitor, Verizon Communications Inc., has reportedly begun talking with owners of broadcast and cable channels about terms for a streaming TV service.
WALL STREET
Nasdaq index passes 4,000
The Nasdaq composite index of stocks topped the 4,000 mark in Tuesday trading for first time in 13 years.
Lennar Corp. and PulteGroup Inc. climbed at least 4.4 percent amid better-than-expected housing industry data. Hormel Foods Corp., the maker of Spam and Jennie-O turkeys, advanced 5.9 percent to a record $44.95 after the company reported quarterly earnings that beat analysts’ estimates and boosted its dividend to 20 cents a share, up from 17 cents.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 index gained less than 1 point to 1,802.75 after earlier rising as much as 0.3 percent. The Dow Jones industrial average was little changed at 16,072.80. The Nasdaq index jumped 0.6 percent to 4,017.75, the highest close since September 2000.
While the Nasdaq’s rally pushed it 261 percent above its low of 1,114.11 in October 2002, the gauge still needs to advance 26 percent before reaching its all-time high of 5,048.62, set March 10, 2000, during the dot.com bubble.
In a separate report, confidence among U.S. consumers unexpectedly declined in November to a seven-month low.
Compiled from staff and wire reports.