Rabu, 10 Julai 2013

NST Online Business Times : latest

0 ulasan 7:18 PTG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Business Times : latest

Posted: 10 Jul 2013 04:44 PM PDT

NEW YORK CITY: US stocks ended mixed on Wednesday after the minutes of the Federal Reserve's last policy meeting suggested it could end its QE stimulus program by the end of the year.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average edged down 8.68 (0.06 per cent) to 15,291.66.

The broad-based S&P 500 was also little-changed, rising 0.30 (0.02 per cent) to 1,652.62. Meanwhile the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite Index climbed 16.50 (0.47 per cent) to 3,520.76.

Minutes of the Fed's last policy meeting showed a significant bias toward winding up the QE bond-buying program even before the mid-2014 target announced by Fed chief Ben Bernanke.

Yet, the minutes noted, "many members indicated that further improvement in the outlook for the labour market would be required" before a reduction in the asset purchases would be merited.

The minutes were consistent with the Fed's stance on tapering, said Alan Skrainka, chief investment officer of Cornerstone Wealth Management.

"No big surprises here at all," Skrainka said. "It just reinforced the view that QE will be tapered soon, but the exact pacing and timing will depend on economic data."

Apple shares dropped 0.4 per cent after a federal judge ruled the company violated antitrust laws in conspiring with publishers to raise e-book prices. The judge ordered a new hearing to assess damages to be paid.

Tribune Company gained 3.2 per cent after announcing plans to spin off its struggling newspaper division from its growing television station holdings.

Oil and gas driller Nabors Industries sank 6.3 per cent after signalling that second-quarter operating profits would be lower than analysts' expectations. The company also said efficiency gains from operating oil companies could dent year-end profits.

Drugstore chain Walgreens rose 3.0 per cent after raising its quarterly dividend by 14.5 per cent.

Smart-phone manufacturer BlackBerry fell 3.7 per cent following a report that the company planned more layoffs amid disappointing sales of its most recent devices.

Skin-care products maker Nu Skin jumped 19.2 per cent after it sharply raised its forecast for second-quarter earnings. -- AFP

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

0 ulasan 9:28 PG Dicatat oleh blog2

Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

NST Online Top Stories - Google News

Judge rules out defense animation, texts in Zimmerman murder trial - Los Angeles Times

Posted: 10 Jul 2013 09:21 AM PDT

Judge Debra Nelson walked out of the courtroom Tuesday night as one of George Zimmerman's defense attorneys questioned her 8 a.m. Wednesday start time and another said he couldn't keep up with the pace of the trial much longer.

By Michael Muskal and Tina Susman

July 10, 2013, 8:25 a.m.

A defense animation depicting the fight between Trayvon Martin and George Zimmerman will not be shown as evidence to the jury considering murder charges against the neighborhood watch volunteer, the judge in the case ruled Wednesday.

Judge Debra S. Nelson also ruled against a defense motion to admit cellphone texts on fighting. The defense argued that the texts -- which it argued were sent by Martin -- showed that the teenager had some interest in fighting and physical prowess.

The rulings come as the defense is preparing to rest its case, paving the way for jury deliberations to begin this week. Zimmerman, 29, is charged with second-degree murder but says he shot the unarmed Martin, 17, in self-defense during a confrontation on Feb. 26, 2012, in Sanford, Fla. The prosecution argues that Zimmerman profiled, followed and then killed Martin.

'; jQuery(document).ready(function(){ jQuery('#story-body-text').append(muskalsig); });

tina.susman@latimes.com

'; jQuery(document).ready(function(){ jQuery('#story-body-text').append(susmansig); });

Boston marathon bombing suspect set for 1st court appearance - Chicago Tribune

Posted: 10 Jul 2013 08:42 AM PDT

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is set to make his 1st appearance in court, nearly 11 weeks after being captured.

Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is due in court for the first time today to face charges in a crime that could bring the death penalty.

The 19-year-old ethnic Chechen was charged late last month with killing three people by setting off homemade pressure-cooker bombs, assembled by him and his older brother Tamerlan, in a crowd of thousands of race spectators on April 15, and later shooting dead a university police officer.

That shooting, and a later gun battle with police in the suburb of Watertown, Massachusetts, led to the death of 26-year-old Tamerlan Tsarnaev and a day-long lockdown of most of the Boston area as police searched for Dzhokhar. He was found, badly wounded, hiding in a boat in a backyard.

The marathon attack injured about 264 people, with many losing legs.

The biggest challenge for Tsarnaev's attorney, public defender Miriam Conrad, will be sparing him the death penalty, observers said.

"I suspect that Miriam will start tomorrow by trying to change his image and make him look like the normal, average, clean-cut young kid," said Walter Prince, a former federal prosecutor in Boston who is now a partner with the law firm Prince Lobel. He is not involved in the case.

Security was tighter than usual on Wednesday outside Boston's U.S. District Courthouse, which is also the site of the ongoing murder and racketeering trial of mob boss James "Whitey" Bulger, now in its fifth week.

Police set a line of metal barriers around the front of the fog-shrouded waterfront building, and uniformed officers with dogs were patrolling its perimeter. In addition to well over a dozen police cars and trucks, a Boston Police boat was moored close to the building's side entrance - the normal entry point for suspects in custody.

BRIEF APPEARANCE

Tsarnaev's appearance will likely be brief, with Conrad perhaps entering a not guilty plea on his behalf, Prince said.

Conrad declined to comment ahead of the proceeding.

According to court papers, Tsarnaev scrawled a note on an inside wall and beams of the boat in which he hid.

"The U.S. Government is killing our innocent civilians," the note read, according to court papers. "We Muslims are one body, you hurt one you hurt us all."

"Now I don't like killing innocent people it is forbidden in Islam but due to said it is allowed," he wrote, according to court papers. "Stop killing our innocent people and we will stop."

Tsarnaev was badly wounded during the gun battle and arrest. After initially being confined at a city hospital, he was moved to a prison west of Boston. Prosecutors have declined to comment on his current condition or if he is still being held at the Fort Devens, Massachusetts, facility.

It is unclear whether he will show visible signs of the injuries he sustained in the gunbattle.

"This will certainly be the first time we've seen the defendant in public since the bombing, and so it will be interesting to see what he looks like at this point," said David Breen, a former county and state prosecutor and now a professor at the Boston University School of Law.

Three people died in the April 15 bombing - 29-year-old restaurant manager Krystle Campbell, 23-year-old graduate student Lingzi Lu and 8-year-old Martin Richard.

Three days later, the Tsarnaevs shot dead Massachusetts Institute of Technology police officer Sean Collier, according to the indictment.

Reuters

Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Rabu, 10 Julai 2013