IN BRIEF
RENO
New director tapped for tourism commission
Gov. Jim Gibbons has appointed Kirk Montero as director of the Nevada Commission on Tourism.
Montero replaces Tim Maland, who resigned in September.
The governor says Montero, 60, has years of experience and will bring new ideas to draw more visitors to Nevada.
Montero is station manager for US Airways at Reno-Tahoe International Airport. Before that, he was reservations manager for Reno Air.
HOUSTON
State Bar of Nevada moves annual meeting
The current economic climate has prompted the State Bar of Nevada to move its 2009 annual meeting, previously set to take place in Hawaii, to a Nevada location.
In a statement, officials said the state bar places a high importance on supporting the local Nevada economy during these tough times.
The meeting had been announced for mid-June on Kauai. The annual meeting typically draws between 100 and 200 lawyers, depending on location.
As data signal waning demand, oil prices dip
Crude prices tumbled Wednesday following a raft of bad economic news and growing stockpiles of unused gasoline that suggested demand for energy has continued to erode.
Light, sweet crude for February delivery fell $3.63 to settle at $35.35 in a shortened day of trading. Prices fell as low as $35.13 just before the market closed for the holiday.
It was the ninth straight day that crude has fallen.
NEW YORK
Treasury prices mixed in shortened session
Treasury prices finished Wednesday's shortened session narrowly mixed after the government released more gloomy readings on the economy.
The 10-year Treasury note fell 0.03 points at 113.81, and its yield rose to 2.18 percent from 2.16 percent. The 30-year Treasury bond rose 0.16 points to 138.03, and its yield edged lower to 2.63 percent from 2.64 percent.
***
U.S. financial markets will be closed today for Christmas.
