NEW YORK -- Investors shuttled between optimism and pessimism Wednesday, finally betting that the government might help the economy out of the recession after all. News in late afternoon that key lawmakers agreed on a $789 billion economic stimulus plan sent stocks moderately higher in a partial rebound from a plunge Tuesday that took the Dow Jones industrials down 380 points. Stocks meandered for much of Wednesday's trading as investors struggled for a second day over what to make of developments in Washington.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 50.65, or 0.64 percent, to 7,939.53. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 6.58, or 0.80 percent, to 833.74, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 5.77, or 0.38 percent, to 1,530.50. Light, sweet crude fell $1.61 to settle at $35.94 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Organic coffee shop opens today in city

NEW HAVEN -- Blue State Coffee will celebrate its grand opening with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. today at 84 Wall St.

The coffee shop features fair-trade, organic coffee and espresso drinks. It is opening in a space owned by Yale University Properties.

With its environmentally friendly theme, the business plans to hold art shows, voter registration drives and environmental and political lectures by Yale faculty and visiting speakers. Also, the business will donate 5 percent of all sales to local and national causes.

It is owned by Marshall Ruben, a Yale graduate from the class of 1982, and his son, current Yale student Andrew Ruben.

NewAlliance added to S&P MidCap 400

NEW HAVEN -- NewAlliance Bancshares Inc., the holding company for NewAlliance Bank, Wednesday was added to the Standard & Poor's MidCap 400 Index.

The index covers about 7 percent of the U.S. equities market and includes companies with market caps ranging between $750 million and $3.3 billion.

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