NST Online Business Times : latest

Posted: 13 May 2013 04:47 PM PDT

NEW YORK: US stocks traded largely flat Monday under the shadow of poor Chinese economic data and an only slight gain in US monthly retail sales.

The S&P 500 managed to set a new closing record, but only on the back of an almost negligible 0.07 point gain from the previous mark Friday, ending at 1,633.77.

The narrower blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 26.81 (0.18 per cent) to 15,091.68, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index added 2.21 (0.06 per cent) at 3,438.79.

US retail sales edged up a tepid 0.1 per cent in April, though that was better than the 0.3 per cent decline analysts expected.

In China, industrial output data from April suggested slower growth in the world's second-largest economy.

The Dow sagged under the weight of Alcoa, which lost 2.0 per cent, and Intel, down 1.7 per cent.

Eli Lilly's 53 per cent rise in first-quarter earnings and improved margins pushed its shares up 2.7 per cent, pulling other big pharmaceutical firms with it: Pfizer gained 2.3 per cent, Bristol Myers Squibb 1.1 per cent, Merck 0.5 per cent, and AstraZeneca 0.5 per cent.

Electric sports car builder Tesla continued to power higher, adding 14.4 per cent, putting it up 52 per cent in the past week amid new confidence in its future.

Bookseller Barnes & Noble, which picked up last week on reports of a possible buyout of it Nook assets by Microsoft, sank 9.5 per cent after an online report said the deal was off. -- AFP

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

0 ulasan 9:42 PG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

Tea party groups want IRS inquiry - Politico

Posted: 13 May 2013 07:13 AM PDT

Members of a tea party group targeted by the IRS spoke out Monday, calling on Congress to investigate why they were unfairly targeted.

"A simple apology on a conference call is not enough by a long shot — Congress needs to investigate this and find out how many more lies the IRS is telling," Tea Party Patriots founder Jenny Beth Martin said on Fox News.

An IRS official apologized last week in a conference call for unfairly targeting conservative groups – including Tea Party Patriots — that were seeking nonprofit status. Tea Party Patriot's national coordinator Keli Carender said on CNN that there are still many questions that remain unanswered.

"We need to know how did this start? Who started it? Who knew what and when did they know it? How far up does this go? Does it go up all the way into Treasury? Does it go up into the administration? Who — who is a part of this? How are these decisions made? And what is going to happen to the people that did it?" Carender said on CNN.

Carender continued: "If there are no consequences for people who abuse their power like this, then it's not going to stop. And it's not going to stop the Tea Party Patriots. It will be some other group that gets singled out. And I don't think any of us want that."

Jurors hung on 2 counts in Philly abortion case - CNN

Posted: 13 May 2013 09:18 AM PDT

Philadelphia (CNN) -- A judge in the trial of Philadelphia abortion doctor Kermit Gosnell and a co-defendant instructed the jury Monday to continue trying to reach a verdict on two particular counts, an hour after the jury indicated it was hung on those charges.

The jury's announcement that it was hung on two counts -- it was not clear which ones, or against whom -- came two weeks after it began deliberations.

Judge Jeffrey P. Minehart, before instructing the jurors to continue deliberations Monday morning, told them that their progress to this point shows they're "considering the evidence seriously" and was an "indication of sincerity."

Gosnell, 72, faces four counts of first-degree murder, accused of killing four babies by using scissors to cut their spinal cords. Authorities allege that some of the infants were born alive and viable during the sixth, seventh and eighth months of pregnancy.

Gosnell horror fuels fight for abortion laws

In Pennsylvania, abortions past 24 weeks are illegal unless the health of the mother is at stake.

He also faces a count of third-degree murder in the death of Karnamaya Mongar, 41, who authorities say died during a second-trimester abortion. Gosnell also is charged with conspiracy, abortion at 24 or more weeks of pregnancy, theft, corruption of minors, solicitation and other related offenses.

If found guilty of first-degree murder, Gosnell, who is not a board-certified obstetrician or gynecologist, could be sentenced to death.

Gosnell's co-defendant, Eileen O'Neill, is charged with participating in the operation of a corrupt organization and theft by deception for operating without a license to practice medicine. O'Neill, a medical school graduate, is not charged with performing illegal abortions.

Both have pleaded not guilty.

Comments »

Isnin, 13 Mei 2013