Stocks rise...oil jumps...mortgage rates fall again

NEW YORK (AP) The stock market ended the worst year for the market in decades with modest gains. The Dow rose 108 points, while the S&P surged 12 and a-half and the Nasdaq added 26 points.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) Oil prices jumped 14 percent on New Year's Eve, capping a year that saw prices soar to unprecedented heights only to give up four years of gains in just five months. Light, sweet crude for February delivery on New Year's Eve rose $5.57 to $44.60 a barrel on Nymex.

Washington (AP) Rates on 30-year mortgages have dipped to a fresh record low. Freddie Mac says the average for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages dropped to 5.1 percent this week.

NEW YORK (AP) GMAC, the financing arm of General Motors completed a complicated debt deal designed to raise capital and help the auto loan company ride out tough times for auto sales.

Results of the debt exchange fell well short of GMAC's previously stated goals, coming a week after the Federal Reserve approved its request to become a bank holding company.

ROUND ROCK, Texas (AP) Computer maker Dell has announced the departure of two executives as part of a broader restructuring.

Leaving are Dell's president of global operations and its chief marketing officer. Round Rock, Texas-based Dell has been aggressively cutting costs amid declining corporate spending on computers and information technology.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) APNP 12-31-08 1530CST | save this article / add to your favorites list