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The price of crude oil has jumped as high as $135 lately, up from $87 in early February. The news encouraged some Wall Street analysts to suggest oil might approach $200 before long. In fact, that's quite impossible: The world economy can't handle current energy prices, much less a big increase. Which in turn means that oil prices will fall. Market analysts often claim oil prices are almost entirely determined by supply. Demand is said to be insensitive ("inelastic") to price. The standard example is that many Americans have to drive to work and most gas-guzzling SUVs will still be...

U.S. stocks hard hit by GE's disappointing results Nasdaq fronts weekly decline, off 3.4%; Dow, S&P slump more than 2% By Kate Gibson, MarketWatch Last update: 4:37 p.m. EDT April 11, 2008Print E-mail RSS Disable Live Quotes NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks on Friday sunk to April lows and weekly losses, with the market undone by General Electric Co.'s earnings miss, jolting investors and casting a bleak light on a slew of earnings reports next week. "GE never surprises us, and they had the whole month of March to let us know. All they had to say is, for...

Japan's Nikkei down 3.3 pct on U.S. recession fears Fri Mar 7, 2008 1:09am EST (Updates to close) TOKYO, March 7 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei average fell 3.3 percent to a fresh six-week low on Friday, with investors dumping blue-chip exporters like Honda Motor Co Ltd (7267.T: Quote, Profile, Research) on a stronger yen and fears of a U.S. recession, while silicon wafer maker Sumco Corp (3436.T: Quote, Profile, Research) tumbled more than 10 percent after predicting weaker profits. In a broad sell-off tracking sharp falls on Wall Street, banks such as Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (8316.T: Quote, Profile, Research)...

Asia markets sink amid pessimism over US By CARL FREIRE, Associated Press Writer 1 hour, 22 minutes ago Stock markets across most of Asia fell Monday following declines on Wall Street last week amid investor pessimism over the U.S. government's stimulus plan to prevent a recession. A contraction in the American economy would likely hurt profits at Asian exporters, although rising trade and investment within the region has made Asia less dependent on the U.S. economy than in the past. Investors sold off shares, unimpressed by the economic stimulus plan President Bush announced Friday. The plan, which requires approval by...

PUEBLA, Mexico - A cold front moved over most of Mexico Wednesday, leaving coastal cities chilly and windy, and dusting mountaintop towns with snow. In the central state of Puebla, temperatures dropped to a low of 23 degrees, and more than 100 shelters were opened for residents who live in frigid shacks. Winter snow is not uncommon at high altitudes in Mexico, including atop the Popocatepetl Volcano outside the capital. But this week's frost dusted buildings in towns that normally don't see such cold weather. In Mexico City, residents accustomed to 80-degree afternoon temperatures bundled up in winter coats as...

BAGRAM, Afghanistan - A top American general said Sunday that attacks along the Afghan-Pakistan border have dropped more than 40 percent since July and the U.S. and its allies are making progress in the fight against the Taliban. Brig. Gen. Joseph Votel said the decrease in insurgent activity along the border could be attributed to the onset of winter, a rise in insurgent attacks in Pakistan and an increase in communication and coordination among NATO, Afghan and Pakistani forces. Recent media and analysts' reports have said the international mission is not succeeding and Afghanistan is becoming increasingly unstable. This year...

Disappointed by the slow pace of change in Washington, California voters gave Congress its lowest rating in 10 years, and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, a San Francisco Democrat, saw her approval rating take a sharp drop during the past five months, according to a Field Poll released last week. Approval of the new Democrat-controlled Congress as an institution is down to 20 percent, a few points lower than the rating last year under Republican leadership. And the approval rating for Pelosi, who became speaker in January, fell from 48 percent in March to 39 percent this month. Californians' dismal view...

BAGHDAD — The Multi-National Force-Iraq spokesman and the commanding general of the Ground Combat Element, Multi-National Force-West, held a press conference at the Combined Press Information Center Wednesday. U.S. Army Maj. Gen. William B. Caldwell IV, the MNF-I spokesman, and U.S. Marine Corps Brig. Gen. C. Mark Gurganus, commanding general of GCE, MNF-W, discussed progress in operations and security in western Iraq. “We want to help the Iraqi people develop a secure, stable and self-governing nation they can be proud of,” said Caldwell. “We are here to help the Iraqis build institutions, which will offer their children a better life...

Stocks plummet on subprime lending woes By MADLEN READ, AP Business Writer 8 minutes ago Stocks plunged Tuesday, driving the Dow Jones industrials down more than 240 points to their second-biggest drop in almost four years, as troubles piled up for subprime lenders. Investors, bracing for a wilting economy, fled the already deflated subprime mortgage sector on more news that lenders New Century Financial Corp., Accredited Home Lenders Holding Co. and General Motors Acceptance Corp.'s residential unit are facing financial problems. The Mortgage Bankers Association bolstered the belief that the struggles are widespread after it said new foreclosures surged to...

SSE Composite Index (Shanghai:000001.SS) Delayed quote data Index Value: 2,797.19 Trade Time: 2:00AM ET Change: 83.88 (2.91%) Prev Close: 2,881.073 Open: 2,877.203 Day's Range: 2760.91 - 2878.35 52wk Range: 1,238.16 - 3,049.77 New! Try our new Charts in Beta 1d  5d  3m  6m  1y  2y  5y  max 

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WASHINGTON — Sales of existing homes fell for a sixth straight month in September and the median sales price dropped on an annual basis by the largest amount on record, further documenting a lukewarm housing market. The National Association of Realtors reported that sales of previously owned homes fell by 1.9 percent in September to a seasonally adjusted sales pace of 6.18 million units, the slowest sales rate since January 2004. The median price of a single-family home fell to $219,800 last month, a drop of 2.5 percent from the price in September 2005. That was the biggest year-over-year price...

The house in the link above was listed at least once at $143,000. Then, 10 days later, it was listed for $130,000 here: Click here for 1st relist. Again, it was listed here on September 14: Click here for 2nd relist. The listing claims that they've reduced it 18,000 -- so perhaps it had been listed for even more earlier. That's a pretty good drop in price.

CAMARILLO U.S. retail gas prices dropped nearly 22 cents a gallon in the past two weeks, the second decline in a row since a mid-August peak, according to a survey released Sunday. The national average for self-serve regular stood at about $2.65 on Sept. 8, down from about $2.87, according to the Lundberg Survey of 7,000 gas stations across the country. That was about 35 cents less than last year at this time. Mid-grade prices averaged $2.77 a gallon, while premium cost $2.87. Gas prices peaked Aug. 11 at $3.02 and have fallen nearly 37 cents since. The lowest gas...

HEADQUARTERS MARINE CORPS, Washington (Aug. 18, 2006) -- Richard Litto does not like the term “weekend warrior.” In fact, he despises it, and the mere mention of the phrase triggers a standoffish response in a thick, South Boston accent. “I don’t like it,” said Litto, a reserve Marine on active duty at Westover Air Reserve Base, Mass. “We’re all Marines regardless of what status we’re in.” And Litto is a true Marine. The 46-year-old sergeant currently serves with Marine Air Support Squadron 6; however, when called up for active duty from the reserves, he wanted to be with the action....

NOGALES, Ariz. (Army News Service, July 31, 2006) – The number of illegal immigrants crossing from Mexico into the U.S. Border Patrol’s busy Tucson, Ariz., sector have dropped from about 600 a day in March to 200 this month, according to Border Patrol officials. Although apprehension rates typically vary with the season, Border Patrol officials attribute the latest drop to the arrival of National Guard troops for Operation Jump Start, the initiative President George W. Bush announced in mid-May to help the Border Patrol secure the U.S. border with Mexico. “We’ve seen dramatic decreases in the number of entries and...

7/6/2006 - BAGRAM AIR FIELD, Afghanistan -- Aircrews from the 774th Expeditionary Airlift Squadron airdropped something special on the Fourth of July for Soldiers at some of the most remote forward operating bases throughout Afghanistan. The 230th birthday of the United States proved to be another hot, dusty day here, but thanks to the C-130 Hercules crews and Army senior leaders from the Combined Joint Task Force-76, Soldiers on the ground knew they weren't forgotten. In all, 14 container delivery system bundles weighing 1,500 pounds each were airdropped to seven locations in Afghanistan, said Lt. Col. Blake Gettys, the 774th...

NEW YORK - Britney Spears stumbled outside a Manhattan hotel, nearly dropping her 8-month-old son and further fueling the ever-growing media scrutiny of her parenting skills. In photos splashed across the front page and inside the New York Post on Friday, the 24-year-old pop star is shown exiting The Ritz-Carlton hotel with Sean Preston in one hand and a glass in the other. As her bodyguards walked Spears to her car, she stumbled — her long pants apparently getting tangled in her open-toed shoes — and bent low as Sean Preston's head flung backward, knocking off his orange hat.

Judge Won't Drop Charges in Mosque Sting Saturday March 11, 2006 11:46 PM By MICHAEL VIRTANEN Associated Press Writer ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A federal judge refused to dismiss charges against two Muslims arrested in an FBI anti-terrorism sting, rejecting claims that evidence was tainted by use of illegal warrantless wiretaps. U.S. District Judge Thomas McAvoy's ``classified'' order leaves secret his reasons for also turning down defense requests to suppress any evidence acquired from warrantless wiretaps or force authorities to disclose whether they were used in the Albany case. His three-sentence public order was issued late Friday. Yassin Aref, 35,...

Daniel Burns, one of the "St. Patrick's Four" war protesters, was sentenced in federal court Monday (January 23). Burns, 44, was sentenced to six months in jail, fined $250 and ordered to pay part of the $958 of damages caused by the protest. He was sentenced by Judge Thomas J. McAvoy in Binghamton Federal Court four months after being found guilty of two misdemeanor crimes. Burns, along with fellow Ithacans Peter DeMott and Clare and Teresa Grady, entered a Lansing military recruiting station on St. Patrick's Day 2003 and poured vials of their blood on posters, an American flag and...