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Thursday, April 25, 2013

Russian protest leader: trial will show innocence

KIROV, Russia (AP) ? A prominent Russian opposition leader on trial for embezzlement said Wednesday that his innocence will be obvious for all to see by the end of the proceedings, even if the court finds him guilty.

Alexei Navalny, who led protests against President Vladimir Putin and exposed alleged corruption in his government, is accused of heading an organized criminal group that embezzled 16 million rubles ($500,000) worth of timber from a state-owned company while working as an adviser to the Kirov provincial governor in 2009.

The charges, which strike at the essence of Navalny's image as an anti-corruption activist, threaten to send him to prison for 10 years and would ban him from running for public office. Navalny has declared his intent to run for president.

Navalny insists the charges are an act of revenge for his exposure of high-level corruption and are intended to silence him.

"At the end of the trial, we will certainly win," Navalny said when he arrived in the northwestern city of Kirov on the overnight train from Moscow. "I'm sure that a lack of guilt will be established. Even if it is not formally acknowledged by the court, it will be clear for everyone who attends the trial."

A Navalny supporter put up a large white sign in front of the courthouse saying "Putin is a Thief" in large letters.

The trial began a week ago, but was quickly adjourned until Wednesday at the request of the defense, which said Navalny and his legal team had not been given enough time to read the case files.

The judge called a recess on Wednesday after Navalny's lawyers insisted that the case be sent back to prosecutors, citing a lack of specifics and inconsistencies. The trial was to resume later in the afternoon.

"The investigators have become confused and can't even determine what damage was caused," said Ilya Yashin, a prominent opposition activist who was among a group of Navalny supporters who traveled to Kirov from Moscow. "The numbers are different and they are contradictory."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/russian-protest-leader-trial-show-innocence-095833474.html

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Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Weak earnings prospects weigh on stocks

Specialist Michael Pistillo, right, works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Stock indexes are little changed in early trading on Wall Street following mixed earnings results from Apple, Ford, Boeing and other major U.S. companies. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Specialist Joseph Mastrolia, left, and trader Gregory Rowe, work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Stock indexes are little changed in early trading on Wall Street following mixed earnings results from Apple, Ford, Boeing and other major U.S. companies. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Traders Brandon Barb, left, and Fady Tanios work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Stock indexes are little changed in early trading on Wall Street following mixed earnings results from Apple, Ford, Boeing and other major U.S. companies. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

Trader Neil Catania works on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday, April 24, 2013. Stock indexes are little changed in early trading on Wall Street following mixed earnings results from Apple, Ford, Boeing and other major U.S. companies. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Disappointing quarterly results, including a subscriber slump at AT&T and a weak profit forecast from Procter & Gamble, held back the stock market Wednesday.

The results from the two big-name companies came on a day when many corporations reported their first-quarter performance, with mixed results. The Dow fell 0.2 percent, while the Standard & Poor's 500 index was flat.

P&G, the maker of Tide detergent and Gillette razors, dropped 5.3 percent to $77.65 after its profit forecast missed expectations from financial analysts who follow the company. A mixed response to the company's new products is weighing on its prospects.

AT&T dropped 5.8 percent to $36.75 after it lost phone subscribers from its contract-based plans as smartphone sales slowed.

Investors were also disappointed by sales growth at biotech giant Amgen and flat revenues at drugmaker Eli Lilly.

The prices of oil and gold rose and the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was unchanged.

Investors are taking their cue from a heavy dose of quarterly earnings this week.

While the majority of companies have reported better-than-expected profits so far, their sales haven't been as strong, suggesting they are struggling to grow.

Sixty-nine percent of companies in the S&P 500 have beaten expectations, better than the 10-year average of 62 percent, according to S&P Capital IQ. However, only 42 percent have beaten revenue forecasts.

Looking ahead, the outlook dims. Of the 35 companies that have given earnings forecasts for the second quarter, 28 are "negative," according to S&P Capital IQ, with only four "positive" and three "in-line."

"We think that most managements are appropriately cautious in their outlooks, because it's very possible that the second-quarter will continue to slow," said Jim Russell, a regional investment director at U.S. Bank. "We're watching with cautious optimism that this is a second-quarter-only soft patch in the economic data."

A report Wednesday that orders for long-lasting U.S. factory goods fell more than economists expected added to signs that global growth is cooling.

The Commerce Department said orders for durable goods declined 5.7 percent in March following a 4.3 percent gain the previous month. February's figure was also revised lower.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 0.2 percent at 14,688 in early afternoon trading Wednesday. The S&P 500 index rose a fraction of a point to 1,579. The Nasdaq composite was down three points, or 0.1 percent, at 3,267.

Stocks logged their biggest weekly drop in five months last week after growth in China, the world's second-biggest economy, slowed. Weaker hiring and manufacturing growth have also weighed on the stock market this month.

The market's gains in April have been modest after a first-quarter surge that pushed both the Dow and the S&P 500 to record highs. The Dow is up just 0.8 percent in April while the S&P 500 has gained 0.6 percent.

During the first three months of the year, the Dow and the S&P 500 averaged monthly gains of more than 3 percent, driven by optimism that the housing and job markets were recovering and that company earnings would continue to climb.

There were some bright spots for investors Wednesday.

Yum Brands, which owns KFC, Pizza Hut and Taco Bell, was among the gainers, advancing 7 percent to $68.70. Yum reported earnings late Tuesday that exceeded the expectations of financial analysts.

General Dynamic, the aerospace and defense company, also surged after posting a profit that was better than expected. The stock jumped 5.3 percent to $70.66.

Boeing climbed 3.6 percent to $91.27 after the airplane maker said its first-quarter net income rose 20 percent despite problems with the 787 Dreamliner. The company said it would still meet its financial and delivery targets this year.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note was little changed at 1.71 percent.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-24-Wall%20Street/id-363423c40080460a9ff39080ff023f40

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Lower coal prices dent Teck profit

(Reuters) - Teck Resources Ltd , Canada's largest diversified miner, reported a 40 percent fall in first-quarter adjusted profit due to lower coal prices, and said economic uncertainty may affect prices and shipments.

On an adjusted basis, the company's earnings fell to C$328 million ($319 million), or 56 Canadian cents per share, from C$544 million, or 93 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier.

Revenue from operations fell about 9 percent to C$2.33 billion. Coal revenue fell by C$138 million as a result of significantly lower coal prices.

Coal prices were down 28 percent from a year ago at $161 per tonne, while copper was down 5 percent, Teck said.

Teck warned in February that demand for coal would be soft through at least the first half of 2013. The company said economic uncertainty in Europe and the United States, along with lower growth rates in emerging markets was hitting demand for its products.

Coal production of 6.2 million tonnes in the first quarter was largely unchanged from a year ago.

The company said it continues to experience volatile markets for its products. It expects total coal sales in the second quarter, including spot sales, to be at or above 6.0 million tonnes.

Teck plans to produce around 24.5 million tonnes of the metallurgical coal in 2013 and 350,000 tonnes of copper.

Net profit attributable to shareholders rose to C$319 million, or 55 Canadian cents per share, from C$258 million, or 44 Canadian cents per share, a year earlier. Profit last year was affected by a $329 million after-tax charge related to the refinancing of a portion of its debt.

($1 = 1.0269 Canadian dollars)

(Reporting by Bhaswati Mukhopadhyay in Bangalore and Julie Gordon in Toronto; Editing by Robin Paxton, Sreejiraj Eluvangal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/lower-coal-prices-dent-teck-profit-103336611--finance.html

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Olivia Newton-John Postpones Shows After Sister?s Brain Cancer Diagnosis

Olivia Newton-John Postpones Shows After Sister’s Brain Cancer Diagnosis

Olivia Newton-John pictures Olivia Newton-John has revealed her older sister has been diagnosed with brain cancer. The 64-year-old “Grease” star, who is a breast cancer survivor herself, has postponed her upcoming Las Vegas residency to be with her 69-year-old sister Rona. Rona is also an actress and was previously married to the late “Grease” star Jeff Conaway from ...

Olivia Newton-John Postpones Shows After Sister’s Brain Cancer Diagnosis Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2013/04/olivia-newton-john-postpones-shows-after-sisters-brain-cancer-diagnosis/

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New Kepler exoplanets 'best candidates' for hosting life

Data from NASA's planet-hunting Kepler mission has revealed two small, potentially rocky planets within their star's habitable zone.?

By Nancy Atkinson,?Universe Today / April 18, 2013

This undated handout artist concept provided by Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics shows the newly discovered planets named Kepler-62e and -f. Scientists using NASA's Kepler telescope have found two distant planets that are in the right place and are the right size for potential life.

Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics/AP

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This might be the most exciting exoplanet news yet. An international team of scientists analyzing data from NASA?s Kepler mission has found a planetary system with two small, potentially rocky planets that lie within the habitable zone of their star. The star, Kepler-62, is a bit smaller and cooler than our Sun, and is home to a five-planet system. Two of the worlds, Kepler-62e and Kepler-62f are the smallest exoplanets yet found in a habitable zone, and they might both be covered in water or ice, depending on what kind of atmosphere they might have.

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?Imagine looking through a telescope to see another world with life just a few million miles from your own. Or, having the capability to travel between them on a regular basis. I can?t think of a more powerful motivation to become a space-faring society,? said Harvard astronomer Dimitar Sasselov, who is co-author of a new paper describing the discovery.

Kepler-62 in the constellation Lyra, and is about 1,200 light-years from Earth.

62e is 1.61 times Earth?s size, circles the star in 122.4 (Earth) days. 62f is 1.4 times the size of Earth, and orbits its star in 267.3 days. Previously, the smallest planet with known radius inside a habitable zone was Kepler-22b, with a radius of 2.4 times that of the Earth.

A third planet in another star system was also announced at a press briefing today. Kepler-69c is 70 percent larger than the size of Earth, and orbits in the habitable zone of a star similar to our Sun. Researchers are uncertain about the composition of Kepler-69c, but astronomer Thomas Barclay from the BAER Institute said its closer orbit of 242 days around a Sun-like star means it is likely more like a super-Venus rather than a super-Earth.

The team says that while the sizes of Kepler 62e and 62f are known, their mass and densities are not. However, every planet found in their size range so far has been rocky, like Earth.

?These planets are unlike anything in our solar system. They have endless oceans,? said lead author Lisa Kaltenegger of the Max Planck Institute for Astronomy and the Harvard Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. ?There may be life there, but could it be technology-based like ours? Life on these worlds would be under water with no easy access to metals, to electricity, or fire for metallurgy. Nonetheless, these worlds will still be beautiful blue planets circling an orange star ? and maybe life?s inventiveness to get to a technology stage will surprise us.?

As the warmer of the two worlds, Kepler-62e would have a bit more clouds than Earth according to computer models. More distant Kepler-62f would need the greenhouse effect from plenty of carbon dioxide to warm it enough to host an ocean. Otherwise, it might become an ice-covered snowball.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/science/~3/QMmx0fAz-co/New-Kepler-exoplanets-best-candidates-for-hosting-life

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UK in dark mood as new recession may be confirmed

FOR STORY BRITAIN COSMETIC SURGERY - FILE - In this Friday, Jan. 6, 2012, file photo showing the closed gate of the entrance to Poly Implant Prothese, PIP factory in La Seyne-sur-Mer, southern France. An independent expert group released a report Wednesday April 24, 2013, which slammed Britain?s cosmetic surgery industry for not protecting patients adequately and is calling for stricter controls in the aftermath of a breast implant scandal in Europe last year that left tens of thousands of women with cheap silicone implants which are allegedly prone to ruptures. The expert group, commissioned by the U.K. Department of Health, also called for the creation of a registry of implants and other medical devices. (AP Photo/Claude Paris, File)

LONDON (AP) ? Recession may just be a word. But in Britain it may become a habit ? and a dangerous one at that.

It's possible that official figures on first quarter economic growth, to be released Thursday, could put the country back in recession, and tension is building.

Although economists on average expect growth of 0.1 percent on the quarter, they warn it would take the smallest statistical variation to put the figure in negative territory. That would place the country in recession, technically defined as two consecutive quarters of economic contraction.

Another recession ? the third since the 2008 financial crisis ? is already being referred to with foreboding in the media as a "Triple Dip." Experts warn that its confirmation would create a wave of negative media attention that would scare consumers away from spending, feeding into a vicious cycle that has the economy flat-lining.

"It's psychological ? this is all psychological," said Cary Cooper, a professor at Lancaster University Management School. "It's about the message that those figures send to consumers and small businesses."

The government desperately wants a strong number to justify its increasingly criticized policy of painful spending cuts. But recent indicators on Britain's economy, the third-largest in the 27-country EU after Germany and France, have been disappointing.

Inflation is rising, cutting into people's standard of living. Unemployment is up. Two international ratings agencies have downgraded the country's credit grade from the top level AAA, warning about the government's fiscal policies.

The government, which has long played on its AAA rating as a sign of its economic might, has been pursuing a harsh program of spending cuts and tax increases to reduce the budget deficit, which at 7.4 percent of annual economic output is more than twice the EU's 3 percent limit. Like many governments across Europe that have been scarred by the bond market turmoil that forced Greece and four other countries to need rescue loans, Britain is focusing on reducing debt quickly, even at the cost of short-term economic pain.

What some governments and economists are slowly realizing, however, is that they may have underestimated the damage such austerity would do.

There's long been pressure domestically in Britain to ease off the budget cuts, but in the past few days the International Monetary Fund also chimed in. The fund, whose views carry weight as it is involved in all of Europe's sovereign bailout programs, has pressured Treasury chief George Osborne to slow down the austerity measures in hopes of reviving the economy, whose output last year was worth 1.4 trillion pounds ($2.1 trillion at current exchange rates).

As the debate rages on, no other person than the national spiritual leader ? the Archbishop of Canterbury, Justin Welby ? has waded in and used a word no want wants to hear: Depression.

Welby has unusual standing in the world of money because in a previous life he served as an oil industry executive and now sits on the parliamentary banking standards committee. He told an audience at the heart of government in Westminster on Monday that there was an issue of confidence and trust ? and there is need to rebuild both.

"I would argue that what we are in at the moment is not a recession, but essentially some kind of depression and it therefore takes something very, very major to get out of it in the same way as it took something major for us to get into it," he said.

The Bank of England has cut interest rates to record lows and pumped money into the financial system in the hope that will encourage banks to lend money more cheaply. But the results have been mixed and experts say there is only so much a central bank can do to create jobs.

Even if the economy dodges recession, the daily reality for many Britons remains tough.

The Trussell Trust, a food bank network, said it fed more than 350,000 people in the year ending in March ? more than double the 128,000 served in the previous 12-month period. Tim Boyce, a retired investment banker who runs a south London branch, said he's seeing the people behind those numbers. Inside a frosty church that's opened its doors to the desperate, he watches as they come for emergency handouts of rice, pasta and beans.

"Most people don't realize the extent of poverty," he said as he sipped coffee to keep the edge off the chill. "It's hiding in plain view."

Take the cases of Kevin Bishenden, 50, and his wife, Nicola, 40. He's an upholsterer who says that no one wants to hire someone his age. She says she just can't find work. The only reason they aren't homeless is that Britain's welfare state manages to keep a roof over their heads.

But they've slowly been shedding all their possessions, together with memories of a past life. First a bike, then stuff from the kitchen. All the DVDs are going, though even Star Trek only gets you a few pennies. They've already sold their wedding rings.

He lamented a new council tax payment of 15 pounds ($22.80) that came into effect as part of government austerity plans. His exhaustion was plain as he tried to imagine paying for it.

"Where's that supposed to come from?"

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2013-04-24-Britain-Triple%20Dip?/id-55fcfd346b294a58bef7b04dd415fd9c

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Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Netflix soars. Other stocks rise on recovery in oil prices.

Netflix gains 20 percent after adding 2 million subscribers during the first quarter. Dow, S&P edge up as oil prices rise after last week's tumble.

By Steve Rothwell,?AP Markets Writer / April 22, 2013

A Netflix return CD mail envelope is shown in Encinitas, Calif. Netflix Inc reported on April 22, 2013, a first-quarter profit that beat Wall Street expectations and sent its shares up 20 percent in after-hours trading. The Dow and S&P 500 managed a modest advance after losing ground in the morning.

Mike Blake/Reuters

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Stocks?edged higher on Monday as energy?stocks?got a lift from recovering oil prices.

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The energy industry climbed 1 percent, making it the biggest gainer in the Standard & Poor's 500 index. Oil rose 75 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $88.76 a barrel Monday. A week ago, crude fell below $90 a barrel for the first time this year after reports that China's economic growth slowed.

Netflix surged 23 percent to $214.19 in after-hours trading after the company reported that it added 2 million U.S. subscribers to its video streaming service during the first three months of the year. Netflix took a gamble by adding original programming to its service including the critically acclaimed series "House of Cards" in February.

The broader market managed only a modest advance as investors focused on the outlook for company profits at the start of a big week for earnings on Wall Street.

About a third of the companies in the S&P 500 index, including Exxon Mobil and Apple, will report earnings this week. While the reports have been good so far, concerns remain about the outlook for the rest of the year. Expectations may need to be lowered if the global economy doesn't improve.

"Most of the companies seem to be coming in ahead of earnings expectations, but the thing that's still problematic is the revenue line," said Bill Stone, chief investment strategist at PNC Wealth Management. "To me it's just symptomatic of the global economy continuing to sputter along."

Of the companies that have reported earnings so far, 67 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, exceeding the 10-year average of 62 percent, according to S&P Capital IQ. Analysts currently expect earnings to rise by 2 percent in the first quarter, down from the 7.7 percent increase in the fourth quarter.

On Monday, oil services company Halliburton gained after its loss wasn't as bad as analysts had forecast. Halliburton rose $2.08, or 5.6 percent, to $39.29 after it said that it lost $18 million in the first quarter, pulled down by $637 million in charges related to its role in the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill.

The Dow rose 19.66 points, or 0.1 percent, to 14,567.17. The Standard & Poor's 500 index closed up 7.25 points, or 0.5 percent, higher at 1,562.50.

The?stock?market was coming off its biggest weekly drop since November. Last week the S&P 500 and the Dow each lost 2.1 percent, paring their advances after a strong start to the year.

The news that economic growth had slowed in China set off a plunge in commodity prices last Monday, leading the?stock?market to its worst day of the year. Gold fell below $1,400 an ounce for the first time in two years.

Caterpillar rose $2.28, or 2.8 percent, to $82.71. The heavy equipment maker initially fell Monday after lowering its forecasts for full-year sales and profits because its mining business is slowing. The company also said it plans to resume buying back its own?stock?for the first since 2008 with a buyback of $1 billion.

Traders appear more likely to punish companies that miss expectations, rather than reward companies that beat them, Goldman Sachs said. According to the investment bank's research, while 63 percent of?stocks?that beat analysts' forecasts last week performed better than the overall market the next day, 73 percent of those that missed targets performed worse.

"If you look at this earnings season in general, it's been disappointing," said Ryan Detrick, a senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "The outlook and the revenues are the big concern."

In other trading, the Nasdaq composite gained the most of the three major indexes, rising 27.50 points, or 0.9 percent, to 3,233.55. Apple, which reports its earnings after the market close on Tuesday, rose 2.1 percent, or $8.14, to $398.67. Apple is the biggest?stock?in the Nasdaq index with a 7.6 percent weighting.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 1.70 percent from 1.71 percent late Friday as traders shifted money into lower-risk assets.

Among other?stocks?making big moves:

General Electric fell 40 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $21.35 after JPMorgan cut its rating on the company to "neutral" from "overweight." The company's?stock?fell Friday following pessimistic comments from its CEO on the outlook for Europe and the company's core industrial operations.

Hasbro, the maker of Transformers and My Little Pony, rose $1.17, or 3.4 percent, to $46.55 even after it said that its first-quarter loss widened after heavy restructuring charges and foreign exchange rates flattened its international sales. The company's performance was still better than Wall Street had been expecting.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/3JLsZ8l345o/Netflix-soars.-Other-stocks-rise-on-recovery-in-oil-prices

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