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Markets: Dow soars to a record high

“The stock market is back,” said Bernard Condon in the Associated Press. The Dow Jones industrial average hit a record high this week, five and a half years after a drop “that erased $11 trillion from stock portfolios and made investors despair of ever getting their money back.” The blue-chip index regained a level that restored the Great Recession’s losses, closing at 14,296.24 and topping the previous record of 14,164.53, which was set on Oct. 9, 2007. The Dow’s new high is widely seen as another sign of recovery, coming as auto sales “are at a five-year high, home prices are rising, and U.S. companies continue to report big profits.”

Yet “in contrast to the heady days of 2007, the record largely went uncelebrated,” said Tom Lauricella in The Wall Street Journal. Stubbornly high unemployment rates and “lingering memories of the two bear markets in the past 13 years” have shifted the market’s focus from big-picture forces back to basics, “such as earnings and corporate balance sheets.” Still, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke’s efforts to restore the financial system have apparently paid off. “It’s gone from being a market that nobody loved to one that people are jumping into,” said one investment banker. “People are feeling pretty confident that the Fed has got their back.”

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Crime: Adelson discloses possible bribes

Sheldon Adelson’s casino company has admitted that it may have bribed Chinese officials, said Michael Schwirtzin The New York Times. In its annual regulatory report, Adelson’s Las Vegas Sands Corp. said it had “likely” violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act. The stunning disclosure came amid probes of the company’s activities in China by the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Justice Department, and the FBI. Partner lawsuits have alleged that the Sands exercised “improper leverage against government officials” and had ties to organized crime.

Retail: Martha Stewart takes the stand

Martha Stewart is back on trial, said Susan Berfield in Businessweek.com. The domestic goddess testified this week in a lawsuit that accuses her of breaching her contract with Macy’s to sell her line of housewares with rival J.C. Penney. “We thought, and appropriately so, that we were absolutely allowed to do such a thing,” Stewart said. She called Penney’s CEO Ron Johnson a “visionary” who “had the foresight to reimagine the traditional American department store.” Penney’s board may not agree. The chain’s sales fell nearly 25 percent in its last fiscal year, and board members are reportedly considering replacing Johnson.

Consumers: Obama backs unlocking cellphones

The White House says consumers should be able to unlock their cellphones once their contracts expire, said Andrea Chang and Salvador Rodriguezin the Los Angeles Times. A federal ban on unlocking cellphones went into effect in January, but a petition to change the law was launched “amid consumer outcry.” In response, the White House and the Federal Communications Commission both said customers should have the flexibility to unlock devices for use with other wireless carriers.

Tech: Shareholder drops Apple suit

David Einhorn is backing off from his lawsuit against Apple, said Heidi Moore in The Guardian (U.K.), but he may have “already won his point.” A court this week blocked the firm from submitting Einhorn’s call for the creation of preferential shares to a shareholder vote, which would have likely killed the initiative. Einhorn is expected to continue pressing Apple to distribute more of its $137 billion cash pile, which many investors covet as the firm’s stock price shrinks. CEO Tim Cook called Einhorn’s suit a “silly sideshow,” saying the company is “very active” in finding ways to reward shareholders.