NEW YORK: US stocks fell on Thursday, with uninspired trade putting a halt to the S&P 500's streak of seven straight gains.
At the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 25.96 points (0.17 percent) at 15,300.64.
The broad-market S&P 500 slipped 5.71 points (0.34 percent) to 1,683.42, while the tech-rich Nasdaq Composite fell 9.04 points (0.24 percent) to 3,715.97.
Dell shares were flat at US$13.85 after shareholders voted in favour of founder Michael Dell's US$25 billion plan to take the company private, after seven months battling investors like Carl Icahn demanding a better deal.
Under the terms of the deal, Dell shareholders will receive US$13.75 per share in cash plus a special dividend of 13 cents per share.
Shares in Walt Disney Co. jumped 2.4 percent after chief financial officer Jay Rasulo said that the entertainment giant plans a huge share buyback in 2014 that could amount to as much as US$8 billion.
"We've been buying at the pace of US$4 billion for the last couple of years. And we really see the opportunity, given where our share price is, given where capital markets are, to target at least US$6 and possibly up to US$8 billion in buybacks" next year, he told analysts at the Bank of America Merrill Lynch Media, Communications & Entertainment Conference
Women's sport apparel chain Lululemon Athletica dropped 5.4 percent after being the latest in fashion houses to deliver a report of sinking earnings and give a warning over earnings for the rest of the year.
Likewise, Men's Wearhouse sank 12.1 percent on its poor fiscal second quarter, with earnings falling 28 percent, and a reduced full-year forecast.
Pandora Media, the popular online music streamer, jumped 12.1 percent after naming a former Microsoft executive, Brian McAndrews, as its new chief executive and president, as well as board chairman.
Apple shares bounced back slightly, gaining 1.1 percent after Wednesday's 5.4 percent beating on disappointment with its launch of two iPhone models, especially the prospects for a cheaper model's sales in China.
Among Dow components, Verizon gained 1.8 percent and rival AT&T 1.2 percent, while JPMorgan Chase fell 1.9 percent and Hewlett-Packard, to be dropped from the index later this month, sank 1.4 percent. -- AFP
Trevor Hughes, Robert Garrison and Gary Strauss , USA TODAY 12:26 p.m. EDT September 12, 2013
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BOULDER, Colo. — A Rocky Mountain storm system that dumped up to 10 inches of rain over central Colorado has killed at least three people. Several cities and towns along Colorado's Front Range were bracing for more rain and flooding.
KUSA-TV reports one person was killed in the collapse of a home in Nederland, a mountain community about 20 miles north of Boulder, while Colorado Springs police said they found a second victim while patrolling west of the city. A third victim was recovered from a north Boulder home Thursday morning, Boulder County Sheriff Joe Pelle said.
Rain began early in the morning on Wednesday and continued throughout the day, becoming especially heavy in the evening, AccuWeather meteorologist Courtney Spamer says. Rain fell at nearly two inches pwer hour Wednesday evening and early Thursday, according to the Weather Channel. Boulder has picked up more than six inches of rain so far.
The University of Colorado Boulder campus was closed Thursday after a torrent of water from Boulder Creek flooding buildings. Officials also closed Boulder Valley and St. Vrain district schools. Residents of Fourmile Canyon near Boulder and Coal Creek Canyon, northwest of Denver, were under mandatory evacuation orders.
"I think we have a continually dangerous situation,'' said Pelle, who urged Boulder residents to stay home. "It's not a good day to travel. It's not a good day to risk your loved one's lives. It's a good day to hunker down."
Drivers of three vehicles had to be rescued from a ditch after a road near Highway 287 near Broomfield collapsed.
A firefighter was reported to be stuck in a tree in Lefthand Canyon in Boulder County after a "wall of water" 15 to 20 feet high roared through the canyon, according to the Boulder County sheriff's office. Officers on scene requested a dive team to help with the rescue.
Police scanners buzzed with emergencies as rescuers aided motorists caught in high waters. One officer told dispatchers about "banging inside the cars" as passengers sought help getting out.
Another reported a car submerged upside down, with at least one person missing.
Footage from KCNC-TV showed the dramatic rescue of a man from a car that was sitting upside down in a flooded creek in Lafayette. The man was pulled to safety as the creek slowly swamped his vehicle. Lafayette Battalion Chief Dan Garrett told CNN that his crews pulled others to safety.
Near the town of Lyons, about 15 miles north of Boulder, rescuers repeatedly found themselves turned back by flooding St. Vrain Creek, where a dam failed near Pinewood springs early Thursday morning.
Tom Abbot, a nearby resident, said after rains began flooding the area and sent rocks and trees tumbling, he slept in his battered pickup truck Wednesday night.
Residents Jeremy and Molly Poore said they were woken by calls from anxious family members watching TV coverage of the flooding. Their rented home wasn't in danger, they said, but they worried about the home they had just considering buying in nearby Lyons. Authorities closed off access to that area early Thursday morning after reports of massive flooding.
The house, Jeremy Poole said, boasted riverfront views. "I bet it's not even there anymore," he said.
Nick Christensen with the Larimer County Sheriff's Office was following a deputy along state Highway 66 into Lyons when both full-sized SUVs started being pushed around by water running down the road.
Colorado Department of Transportation workers said they saw water flowing over the road's 27-inch-high guardrails. Deputies and road crews were trying to access the area to check for stranded residents and damage.
"There were homes and businesses that were receiving significant impact," said Christensen. "It was flowing in waves down the road. There's definitely a lot of water."
Boulder Office of Emergency Management spokeswoman Gabrielle Boerkircher said volunteers all across the area were trying to help stranded people until emergency crews can arrive because many roads are impassable.
The Larimer County office of emergency information said an earthen dam in the Big Elk Meadows area southeast of Estes Park gave way and residents of Pinewood Springs and Blue Mountain were ordered to be ready to evacuate.
Residents of the Big Elk Meadows area were told by a recorded message they "should be seeking higher ground immediately."
The National Weather Service, citing Boulder officials, said multiple homes in the area have collapsed and urged people to move to higher ground.
The NWS issued a flash flood warning for Northern Jefferson and Boulder counties, saying that in many locations this is an "extremely dangerous and life threatening situation."
The Weather Service said early Thursday that more than four inches of rain had fallen in some areas since noon Wednesday.
"We've asked people in low-lying areas all through the county to evacuate," said Andrew Barth, another Emergency Management spokesman.
Hughes reports for The Coloradoan in Fort Collins; Garrison for KUSA in Denver. Contributing: Doug Stanglin, John Bacon, Doyle Rice and Kim Hjelmgarrd, USA TODAY.
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