Dow near 12,000
January 24th, 2011
11:04 PM ET

Dow near 12,000

Some highlights from the day's business news:

Dow marches toward 12,000

Stocks got the week off to a solid start Monday, with the Dow slowly clawing its way toward the 12,000 mark.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed at 11,980, up 109 points, or 0.9% from the prior trading session.

The blue-chip index has been on an upward trend since Thanksgiving, and is now within a stone's throw of 12,000 - a level last seen on June 18, 2008.

Meanwhile, the S&P 500 gained 7 points, or 0.6%; and the Nasdaq rose 28 points, or 1%.

While analysts say a slight pullback could be in the cards soon, companies are reporting strong earnings, which should drive continued positive momentum over the long term.

Cocoa surges 4% as Ivory Coast bans exports

Cocoa prices surged more than 4% Monday, after the Ivory Coast called for a one-month export ban, potentially cutting off both chocolate-loving consumers and price-sensitive food companies from the world's largest cocoa supplier.

The tiny African country has been in the midst of political turmoil for more than a month, since incumbent President Laurant Gbagbo refused to relinquish his position after losing the general election to challenger Alassane Ouattara.

The Ivory Coast is by far world's largest supplier of cocoa beans - providing between 30% and 40% of the world's supply. With all the unrest, prices will likely keep rising.

- CNNMoney.com reporter Annalyn Censky and contributing writer Ken Sweet contributed to this report.

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Filed under: Business • Economy
soundoff (5 Responses)
  1. Eduardo

    Pardone me I was looky por de flava flav chickin box. But is ok no? ok. Me gotty de refried chicken ans refried beans ans flava no gotty. Hes only gotty de geasey chickens por mucho dinero. Ans don't por to sell jor stocks por de IBM, de Caterpillar, or de Mcdonalds stocks be fore these are beeg..

    January 25, 2011 at 2:35 am | Report abuse |
  2. Cesar

    RuffNutt was here.

    January 25, 2011 at 7:29 am | Report abuse |
    • RUFFNUTT

      I bet that Barack Obama's in 7th Heaven now that he thinks that he'll get reelected in 2012 over this news. But what do I know? I;m just a clueless nittwitt.

      January 25, 2011 at 10:07 am | Report abuse |
  3. michaelfury

    http://michaelfury.wordpress.com/2010/09/10/ghosts-in-the-machine/

    January 25, 2011 at 10:36 am | Report abuse |
  4. Mike in Wisconsin

    The markets are negative today, and yesterday, for a reason no one is picking up on.
    They crashed in 2008 when the big betters (hedge funds) sold a ton of stock to cover their bets.
    So.......you've got it, they made some big bets that we would go into default, and now have to sell a lot of stock to pay off their bets.
    Sad, and they should have to pay a premium higher than 15% to ay in, and mess up our retirement/savings market.

    August 2, 2011 at 2:08 pm | Report abuse |
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