U.S. Stocks Gain a Third Week as S&P 500 Rises to 32-Month High

U.S. stocks rose for the third straight week, sending the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index to its highest level since June 2008, as the Federal Reserve raised its forecast for economic growth and most companies reporting earnings topped estimates.Williams Cos. surged 13 percent, leading energy companies to the biggest advance among 10 S&P 500 industries, after the pipeline operator announced plans to spin off its oil and natural-gas exploration unit. Family Dollar Stores Inc. jumped 19 percent after investor Nelson Peltz offered to buy the retailer. Advanced Micro Devices Inc. gained 11 percent on speculation the semiconductor maker is an acquisition target.The S&P 500 rose 1 percent to 1,343.01. The index needs to advance 0.7 percent to 1,353.06 to complete a 100 percent rally from...

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Oil Falls as U.S. Monitors Iran Plan to Send Warships to Suez

Oil fell for the first time in three days as the White House said it was “monitoring” Iran’s plan to send warships through the Suez Canal, calming concern that the move would ratchet up tensions in the Middle East.March futures slipped 16 cents after rising in earlier trading amid Mideast unrest. The current New York contract expires Feb. 22, and participants who haven’t closed out their positions must arrange for delivery at Cushing, Oklahoma, where supplies are near a record. Crude for April increased 1 percent.“The White House comments seemed to calm the market down,” said Phil Flynn, vice president of research at PFGBest in Chicago. Oil sellers “are going to have to make delivery into record supplies, and that’s bringing us down despite the fact that there’s all this tension in the Middle...

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