From our news services
Stocks rose smartly Monday after Dallas Federal Reserve President Richard Fisher suggested inflation would be dampened


by a slowing economy and said that while the housing and auto sectors are economic weak points, the rest of the U.S. economy is doing extremely well.

Early in the session, stocks fell after the National Association of Realtors reported that the median home price for the month was $225,000, compared with a revised $230,000 in July, marking the first year-to-year median price decline since 1995. The drop was the second-biggest in the survey’s 38-year history.

Advancing issues led decliners by more than 2 to 1 on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to 3.80 billion shares, up from 2.26 billion Friday.

National
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. will elect members of its board of directors by majority vote, a change requested by shareholders for the past two years, the Bentonville, Ark., retailer said.

Wal-Mart’s directors had been elected by a plurality, meaning a candidate who received the most votes won the seat even if the vote total was less than a majority.

International
Swedish furniture maker Ikea plans to hire tens of thousands of workers as the company continues to expand with dozens of stores opening around the world, said Anders Dahlvig, CEO of the Ikea Group.

“We have to hire at least around 10,000 people a year to meet our ambition of continued growth,” Dahlvig said in Swedish financial daily Dagens Industri.

Money Rates
The price of the Treasury’s main 30-year bond rose 24/32 point to yield 4.69 percent, down from 4.74 percent.

Gold was quoted at $589.90 an ounce on the New York spot market; silver at $11.217 an ounce; copper at $3.4475 a pound. Aluminum traded at $1.126 a pound on the London Metal Exchange. Crude oil rose 90 cents to settle at $61.45 a barrel.