General Motors deal drives Dow

The company has surged almost 10% after bosses persuaded thousands of United Auto Workers members to take buyouts. The move is consistent with GM's cost-cutting measures and will allow it to keep almost $13.4bn in US aid. Two hours into trading, the Dow Jones was up almost 60 points, or 0.77%, to 7,809. Meanwhile, Hewlett Packard, up 5%, and Intel Corporation continued to set the pace among the tech giants. Losers included Citigroup, down almost 3% to just $2.87. In the UK, miners profited after Rio Tinto forecasted a rally in metal prices later in 2009. Eurasian Natural Resources, fr...