Market Minute: GE to Build 'Industrial Internet'; AT&T's Bright Idea

Smartphone users will get a charge out of this, and GE has a bright idea. Those and more are what's making business news Tuesday.

The Dow industrials (^DJIA) rose 109 points. It's the fifth straight triple digit move for the Dow -- two up, three down. The S&P 500 (^GSPC) added 12 points and the Nasdaq (^IXIC) gained 28.

A big problem of modern life is keeping our smartphones charged through a whole day. Well, AT&T (T) may have the answer. It's powering up 25 outdoor solar charging stations throughout New York City today. It will have dedicated ports to charge iPhones, Androids and BlackBerrys. If the test goes well, it could be expanded to other cities.

General Electric (GE) says it's hiring thousands of engineers to build an "industrial Internet." The aim is to allow business customers to run equipment more efficiently, potentially saving them billions of dollars.

Facebook (FB) is holding press event later this week to unveil what it calls "a big idea." According to TechCrunch, Facebook will say its popular photo-sharing service Instagram will allow users to share short videos. That's similar to a service now offered by a unit of Twitter.

Two independent studies have found Medtronic's (MDT) product to improve the results from spinal surgery fared no better than traditional procedures. The lead author of one study said he could find no "clear indications" for using the Medtronic product.

We're watching shares of homebuilders Lennar (LEN), Toll Brothers (TOL), Pulte Homes (PHA) and D.R. Horton (DHI). They rallied yesterday and could be active again today following the release of Tuesday morning's report on housing starts. Even though the housing market has taken off, most of those stocks have underperformed the broader market this year.

Sprint Nextel (S) is suing both Dish Network (DISH) and Clearwire (CLWR) to block their planned merger. Clearwire has repeatedly rejected a competing offer from Sprint.

And at the Paris Air Show, Boeing (BA) rolled out a larger, more fuel-efficient version of the 787 Dreamliner, stepping up its battle with Airbus. Boeing also detailed a series of new plane orders.

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