Stocks update

Stocks opened higher Monday on renewed faith in European leaders to get a handle on the European debt situation. The DJIA surged 2.59 percent to 11,523, the NASDAQ gained 3.5 percent to 2,527 and the S&P500 rose by 2.9 percent to 1,192.

The yield on the 10-Year Treasury Note remained unchanged at 1.96 percent. Gold also added a few points to settle at 1,713.

Yesterday morning’s stocks were trading flatly in general. The Dow was up four points 11,527, the NASDAQ down five points at 2,521, the S&P500 fell .7 points at 1,191. The yield on the 10-Year Treasury Note rose slightly to 2.01 percent.

Data taken from Monday’s close and Tuesday’s open on Wall Street.

Tax overhaul could increase education funding
An article from The Huffington Post last week reported on a new taxation and finance plan for California that would increase funding for K-12 schools and higher education.

The Think Long Committee for California, led by Nicolas Berggruen, plans to submit to initiatives to the 2012 ballot that would decrease income taxes at every level, as well as corporate taxes. Taxes would increase for services such as haircuts, getting an oil change and legal advice or services.

“Nearly one half of California’s $2 trillion economy is composed of services – none of it taxed,” Berggruen and Nathan Gardels, who is also an adviser to the Think Long Committee, said.

The plan is said to allocate an additional $5 billion to K-12 schools, and another $2.5 billion to higher education.
Nicolas Berggruen is also the chairman of the Berggruen Institute, a non-partisan think tank with a mission devoted to “the study and design of systems of governance suited to the new and complex challenges of the 21st century.”

– Compiled by Chet Galloway, staff writer.