The U.S. Energy Information Administration said total motor gasoline inventories decreased by 3.5 million barrels in the week ending July 25. Prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange rose more than $5 to $126.91 per barrel.

The Dow Jones industrial average wavered at midday before heading up to close at 11,583.69, a gain of 186.13 points or 1.63 percent. The Nasdaq index rose 10.10 points to 2,329.72, up 0.44 percent. The Standard and Poor's 500 rose 21.06 points to 1,284.26, up 1.67 percent.

The 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 2/32 to yield 4.054 percent.

The euro traded at $1.5579 Wednesday from Tuesday's close of $1.5587. Against the yen, the dollar was at 108.04 compared with Tuesday's close of 108.13.

Tokyo's Nikkei 225 Index gained 208.34 points to 13,367.79, up 1.58 percent.

The FTSE 100 index in London rose 101.50 to 5,420.70, up 1.91 percent.

Conn. AG sues major bond-rating firms HARTFORD, Conn., July 30 (UPI) -- Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal Wednesday sued three bond-rating firms for allegedly costing taxpayers millions of dollars.

The Democratic attorney general sued Moody's Investors Service, Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings, Legal Newsline reported.

Blumenthal claimed the rating agencies engaged in deceptive and unfair practices that cost taxpayers extra interest and insurance costs for municipal bonds. We are holding the credit-rating agencies accountable for a secret Wall Street tax on Main Street, Blumenthal said.

He added that because the credit-rating firms knowingly and systematically gave the securities lower grades than comparable corporate and structured debt, costs were unfairly increased for state and local governments, including school districts and sewer and water districts.

This rating charade created a Wall Street shell game constructed by the ratings agencies for the benefit of the bond insurers, he said.

The credit- and bond-rating companies said in statements they dispute Blumenthal's claims, Legal Newsline reported.

Moody's Chief Executive Officer Raymond McDaniel called the lawsuit without merit. The suit implies that the measuring system is wrong, McDaniel said. That's like saying it's wrong to measure distance in centimeters and right to measure it in inches.

Former Enron exec to pay $31.5 million NEW YORK, July 30 (UPI) -- Former Enron executive Lou Pai agreed to pay $31.5 million in fines to U.S. regulators to dismiss insider trading allegations, officials said.

The settlement is the largest Securities Exchange Commission fine for an Enron executive and one of the highest individual fines in SEC history, the Houston Chronicle reported Wednesday.

Pai sold nearly $300 million in Enron stock before the company collapsed, leaving some to believe he walked away with a slap on the wrist, the Chronicle reported.

Shareholders who sued Pai said he made $270 million while working for Enron, the newspaper reported.

That makes me sick to my stomach, said Diana Peters, a former Enron employee who lost her job when Enron folded in December 2001.

But if you've got that kind of money, I guess you can afford to buy yourself out of anything, Peters said.

Pai's lawyer Roger Zuckerman, said his client is pleased to conclude his negotiations with the SEC in a settlement that involves no admission of wrongdoing.

The bulk of the fines -- $25.5 million - will go to a fund, currently at more than $448 million, meant to be distributed to Enron's victims, the report said.

Goddard Space Flight Center director named GREENBELT, Md., July 30 (UPI) -- The U.S. space agency has named Rob Strain as director of its Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., NASA said.

Strain is currently the head of the Space Department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab in Laurel, Md. He will assume his duties as center director Aug. 4.

Goddard, located approximately 6 miles northeast of Washington, is a major U.S. laboratory for developing and operating unmanned scientific spacecraft. Goddard manages many of NASA's Earth observation, astronomy and space physics missions. The center is named in recognition of Robert Goddard, a pioneer of modern rocket propulsion in the United States.

Strain previously served as the associate department head and assistant department head for operations at the Applied Physics Lab's Space Division. Before that he held various executive positions with the Axiom Corp., the Orbital Sciences Corp. and the Fairchild Space and Defense Co.

He succeeds Edward Weiler, who was named associate administrator of NASA's science mission directorate in May.

Story Source: United Press International