Obama's cool may be melting

President Barack Obama made his personal icy cool the trademark of his campaign, the tenor of his White House and the hallmark of an early run of successes at home and abroad. But as the glamour wears off and a long, frustrating summer wears on, he is being forced to improvise — stooping to respond to political foes and adjusting his tactics and demeanor for the trench warfare of a legislative agenda.

The root of the change is one that faces every president: Economic and international realities that resist political charm. Iran and North Korea have shown no interest in the president’s outstretched hand. The economy has delivered a double-whammy, with rising unemployment stirring voters’ concerns while sluggish growth deprives the government of tax revenues Obama would like to spend on new programs. Health care reform, which once appeared flush with momentum from earlier congressional victories, is now on a slog through no less than five committees, which include Democrats who either aren’t sold on Obama’s expansive vision or can’t figure out how to convince voters to pay for it.

“This is when it gets harder,” the president told supporters June 30.
And so it has.

In turn, Obama has adjusted, deviating from the playbook on every front.

The cool president has turned hot on the stump, stripping to shirtsleeves to lambaste doubters in New Jersey Thursday. He departed from his prepared remarks last week to accept a Republican challenge to take personal ownership of the economy: “That’s fine. Give it to me,” he said.

Even Obama's scripted speeches are deliberately more forceful, aggressive and direct in taking on critics, aides say. Friday remarks at the White House had a trash-talk edge – count me out and you’ll be sorry.

Obama’s political operation has dispensed with its post-inauguration cocktails for Republicans – or more often, ignoring them outright — in favor of the old politics of engage, attack and cajole. Obama’s even engaging in a little Democrat-on-Democrat politics, as his ex-campaign arm is beaming TV ads into the home states of moderate fence-sitters on health care.

The tightly programmed White House also is champing at the bit, kicking off what officials say will be a relentless three-week push on health care, starting with the hastily scheduled Friday address. But its first event might have backfired a bit. Its main consequence was proving that the magnetism of Obama’s personal appearances has worn off, as it drew little media attention and a dismissive tweet from the key Senate Republican, Chuck Grassley of Iowa: “Waste of time.”

The sum has been a new sense of uncertainty and strain, and a growing murmur among Democrats in Washington nervous about the White House’s tactics, and a rising tide of concern in the states as local Democratic parties eye midterm elections that are traditionally a challenge for a new president. “That honeymoon period is over, “ said Chris Redfern, the chairman of the Ohio Democratic Party. “Now they’re having to push back, and push back hard.”

White House officials and allies brush off any notion that this new sense of unease is meaningful. The only true test, they say, will be results. Obama still might win major health care reform legislation this year that could be the most important new government program in decades. He has a fighting chance to pass regulations on greenhouse gases, in the form of a “cap and trade” mechanism, through the Senate. And Obama continues to press hard, if with no clear progress, for a breakthrough in the Middle East.

“It’s the third quarter, he’s down by a point, and he’s got his best player on the bench – what really is going to be important is the fall,” said James Carville, the veteran Democratic observer.
“If he gets what’s perceived to be some kind of a major health care thing, gets the climate bill through, if the economy recovers, then we’ll all say he had a hell of a summer. Conversely, if the thing falls apart, we’ll say that by July the 19th we could tell the thing was going bad.”

White House Deputy Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer dismissed the suggestion that Obama should be expected to succeed effortlessly – or that he’s on a path toward failure on any of these varied fronts.

“Obama and his team have been down this road dozens of times and been declared dead many times and always succeeded,” he said. “No one gets rich betting against Barack Obama.”

The most visible aspect of the White House’s new feistiness is an increasing willingness to engage Republican legislators whose criticisms Obama earlier had been happier to overlook. Relentless criticism of the stimulus package from a House Republican leader, Eric Cantor of Virginia, drew a furious barrage from the Democratic National Committee and a visit from no smaller figure than the Vice President of the United States. Rank and file Republicans who criticize the stimulus have also suddenly found themselves under a concerted DNC assault that asks if they’d prefer the federal funding left their districts out. And criticism from Sen Jon Kyl (R-Ariz.) drew letters from no fewer than four Cabinet secretaries to his state’s governor, asking if she would prefer they withheld stimulus money.

That pushback has been urged, and welcomed, by state leaders like Redfern and Michigan Democratic Party Chairman Mark Brewer.

“The DNC has been and we were quickly able to rebut and demonstrate all the money that is being spent in their respective districts,” said Brewer of two GOP congressmen attacking the stimulus. “They’ve backed off.”

Still, many Democrats say the Republican attacks on spending are taking their toll.
"The rhetoric is so empty, but it is fairly consistent and I think it’s had an impact on those in middle," said Ohio's Redfern.

But when the White House pushback focused not on Republicans but Democrats on health-care – in the form of Organizing for America ads running in the home states of moderate senators -- some in the party called foul, including Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.)
The vote last month in the House on the American Clean Energy Security Act showed a willingness to get White House hands dirty in a different way.

Wrangling votes for the “cap and trade” legislation in the House, Obama backed off a campaign promise to auction off all “allowances” – permits to release a set amount of greenhouse gases. Instead of selling them to raise money for other environmental initiatives, the White House allowed congressional Democratic leaders to trade them for votes, assigning allowances to the refinery-heavy district of, for instance, Texas Rep. Gene Green in exchange for his support.
The battle over health care, the centerpiece of the President’s summer, has also hardened into a fairly conventional Washington fight, a new president’s sweeping agenda colliding with congressional caution. Obscure Washington figures like Congressional Budget Office chief Doug Elmendorf and Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) have shown the ability to pose a real threat to the White House juggernaut. And some of the White House’s close allies have grown jittery about what they say is a strategy to spend the three weeks leading up to the Senate’s August recess – the insecure deadline for health care votes in both houses – with a series of events aimed at building public pressure on Congress.

“They’re great at campaigns, but legislative battles are different,” said a senior Democrat close to the White House. “It’s not about persuading 51 percent of the American people – it’s about seven senators.”

In another mark of Obama's constant adjustments, his latest remarks didn't mention the August deadline.

White House allies acknowledge the new strains, but say the hard work will pay off.

“A lot of the hard stuff he’s doing now will pay dividends,” said John Del Cecato, a former Obama campaign aide.

Meanwhile, admiration of Obama’s personal qualities has been tempered, even among sympathetic observers, with anxiety for where his agenda will stand at summer’s end.
Comedy Central’s Jon Stewart noted recently that Obama told a Pakistani interviewer that he is an accomplished chef of Pakistani cuisines and reads the great Urdu poets.

“Mr. President,” Stewart said, “while I am impressed with your Renaissance Man-level of knowledge in a plethora of subjects, may I humbly say: That’s great. Just fix the economy!”

Stocks cap strong week with mixed finish

Investors are betting that the stock market has restarted its spring rally.

Stocks ended little changed Friday but held onto an enormous gain for the week. Investors are looking to another flood of corporate earnings reports next week to provide more signs that the economy is healing.

The Dow Jones industrials and the Standard & Poor's 500 index posted their best weekly performance since early March, when the market's spring rally began. Major stock indexes rose about 7 percent for the week.

"The earnings are better than expected and the economic news is not horrifically bad," said Jeff Buetow, managing partner at Innealta Portfolio Advisors. "I think people want the market to go up."

Solid results from Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Intel Corp. spurred buying early in the week. But not all the results Friday were strong, so the market barely budged.
Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. became the latest banks to report big profits but also weakness in their loan portfolios. General Electric Co. beat earnings forecasts, but its revenue came up short.

"The important thing is these earnings results, while not all entirely positive, are beginning to show some signs of stabilization," said Tom Kersting, an analyst at Edward Jones.

The week's upward move has, at least for now, halted a slide that began in mid-June as investors worried the 40 percent jump in stocks this spring was overdone. Analysts said it was a healthy sign that the market was taking a breather on Friday.

"I think it's very constructive that we're taking a pause here and not heading back down," said Richard Sparks, senior equities analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Sparks said it's too early to say whether this week will be representative of the rest of earnings season. Next week's large batch of reports includes Dow components Caterpillar Inc., DuPont and Merck & Co.

The Dow Jones industrials rose 32.12, or 0.4 percent, to 8,743.94. The blue chips rose 7.3 percent for the week, the first weekly gain after a month of losses. It was the best percentage gain since the week ended March 13 and the 597-point jump was the biggest point gain since late November.

On Friday, the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index slipped 0.36, or less than 0.1 percent, to 940.38, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.58, or 0.1 percent, to 1,886.61.

The number of stocks that fell narrowly outpaced those that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated trading volume came to 5 billion shares, flat with Thursday.

Financial stocks mostly fell, weighing on the broader market. Investors have been encouraged by strong profits from large banks, but there are still signs that the recession's grip hasn't eased as much as hoped, such as higher loan defaults.

BofA, which has struggled more than some of its peers from loan losses, beat Wall Street estimates just as Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co. did earlier in the week. However its profit fell from a year earlier as losses from delinquent loans continued to climb. BofA fell 28 cents, or 2.1 percent, to $12.89.

Citigroup, another troubled bank, surprised Wall Street with a $3 billion profit instead of the big loss analysts had expected, but results were boosted by the sale of a majority stake in its Smith Barney brokerage. Its shares fell a penny to $3.02.

One exception was CIT Group Inc., whose shares jumped 29 cents to 70 cents, on speculation that the troubled lender might be able to avoid bankruptcy. Its shares had tumbled 75 percent on Thursday after negotiations with federal regulators about a possible rescue fell through.

GE's shares dropped 6 percent after the conglomerate said its earnings fell 49 percent on losses at its financial unit and weakness in industrial businesses. The profits topped forecasts, but revenue came in $3 billion below estimates. The stock lost 75 cents to $11.65.

The reports followed mixed results from Google Inc. and IBM Corp. late Thursday.

Ken Kamen, president of Mercadien Asset Management in Hamilton, N.J., warned that investors' higher expectations could make it harder for the next batch of corporate results to impress investors.

"A lot of exuberance is being figured into the earnings coming out in the next couple of weeks," he said.

Homebuilders' shares climbed after an upbeat reading on the housing market. Construction of new homes and apartments jumped 3.6 percent in June to the highest level in seven months, beating economists' estimates. Building permits climbed 8.7 percent, also beating forecasts.
Shares of Hovnanian Enterprises Inc. rose 8 cents, or 3.3 percent, to $2.53, while DR Horton Inc. rose 26 cents, or 2.7 percent, to $9.90.

The market's moves were jagged this week, with modest gains coming after big surges. Influential banking analyst Meredith Whitney got the market off to a roaring start on Monday after raising her view on Goldman, stoking hopes that financial companies would show more signs of healing.

But the market's response to Goldman's actual report the following day was somewhat subdued amid mixed economic data. Strong earnings and an upbeat forecast from Intel pulled more investors into the market on Wednesday, and hope for more good earnings from the technology sector stirred buying again on Thursday.

Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note rose to 3.65 percent from 3.58 percent late Thursday.

Oil prices rose $1.54 to settle at $63.56 a barrel. The dollar was mixed, while gold prices rose.
The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 2.80, or 0.5 percent, to 519.22.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 0.4 percent, and France's CAC-40 added 0.6 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average rose 0.6 percent.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed the week up 597.42, or 7.3 percent, at 8,743.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 61.25, 7 percent, to 940.38. The Nasdaq composite index rose 130.58, or 7.4 percent, to 1,886.61.

The Russell 2000 index, which tracks the performance of small company stocks, rose 38.24, or 8 percent, for the week to 519.22.

The Dow Jones U.S. Total Stock Market Index -- which measures nearly all U.S.-based companies -- ended at 9,634.87, up 634.58, or 7.1 percent, for the week. A year ago, the index was at 12,850.50.

Iraq government faces claims of prisoner abuse

Iraqi officials outraged by the abuse of prisoners at the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison are trying to contain a scandal of their own as allegations continue to surface of mistreatment inside Iraqi jails.
Accounts of Iraqis being beaten with clubs, blindfolded and coerced into signing false confessions are attracting increased attention partly because the United States is getting out of the prison business in Iraq. Since a security agreement took effect Jan. 1, the U.S. has transferred 841 detainees into Iraq's crowded prison system and more are on the way.

Allegations of mistreatment have persisted since 2005, when U.S. troops raided an Interior Ministry lockup in a predominantly Shiite area of southeastern Baghdad and found scores of emaciated prisoners. The matter returned to the spotlight after the June 12 assassination of Sunni lawmaker Harith al-Obeidi, an outspoken advocate of prisoner rights.

The issue is a test of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's commitment to the rule of law and to reconcile with the Sunni minority, who account for most of the prisoners held in security cases. Sunnis claim they are being unfairly targeted by security forces run by al-Maliki's Shiite-dominated government.

"The cases are as bad as what took place at Abu Ghraib, but it is painful when these things take place in Iraqi prisons," said Sunni lawmaker Salim Abdullah. "We met some of those who were released and saw the scars on their skins. They use different kinds of torture like tying the shoulders and hanging the body, which normally leads to dislocation of the shoulders."

The allegations pale in comparison with the horrific accounts of Saddam Hussein's prisons, where inmates were systematically beaten, jammed into tiny windowless cells and executed on the flimsiest of evidence and where men were forced to watch their wives and daughters raped.
Still, the current Iraqi leadership came to power with the promise to hold itself to a higher standard and respect human rights.

Iraqi officials acknowledge some abuse and insist improvements are being made. The issue, however, poses a thorny question for Americans: How can the United States transfer detainees into a system where abuse has occurred?

The U.S. military says it sends Iraqi prisoners only to detention facilities approved by Iraq's Ministry of Justice.

However, Iraqi lawmakers, human rights advocates and the Human Rights Ministry claim most of the abuse is not taking place in prisons run by the Justice Ministry, but in those operated by the Interior and Defense Ministries. Prisoners there are generally accused of links to Sunni and Shiite insurgent groups.

Abu Ali al-Rikabi, a father of five who owns a vegetable shop in Diwaniyah, said scars on his legs and back are evidence of his mistreatment at the hands of the Iraqi police who accused him of being involved with a former Shiite militia.

"At dawn one day in November 2007, I was sleeping in my room with my wife when the Iraqi police broke in, handcuffed me and took me blindfolded to their headquarters," al-Rikabi told The Associated Press. "As soon as they reached the place, they began beating me severely with thick clubs and batons, hitting every part of my body, especially my legs and back. They kept on doing that for three days."

He said he was ultimately transferred to another prison in Diwaniyah, 80 miles south of Baghdad, and was released the following October. "No one told me why I was arrested or why I was released," he said.

An eight-member panel that al-Maliki set up after al-Obeidi's assassination to look into abuse is expected to complete its investigation in a month of two.

A military spokesman, Maj. Gen. Qassim al-Moussawi, said the panel has visited three detention centers in Baghdad and will inspect others. He said most of the abuse uncovered so far took place in Rusafa prison in eastern Baghdad.

At a human rights symposium this month, al-Maliki said allegations would be investigated. The prime minister said detainees should have rights but that no one should ignore the victims of crime — "orphans and the widows who lost their husbands because of terrorism."
"If every imprisoned person is innocent ... then who has destroyed the country? Who killed people?" he asked.

Al-Maliki's prison investigation follows a limited Interior Ministry probe of 112 complaints of abuse. Of those, the ministry found 23 cases of human rights abuses and 20 cases where inmates were incarcerated without warrants. Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani said 43 police officers face charges.

A 2008 report by the Human Rights Ministry identified 307 cases of alleged torture and ill-treatment among 26,249 detainees in Iraqi custody at the end of last year. The Iraqi prison population has risen to nearly 30,000 since then and is slated to grow as the U.S. either releases or transfers its remaining 10,429 detainees.

The ministry report stated that most of mistreatment occurs when the detainee is first arrested and taken to facilities run by combat soldiers and not trained prison guards.

"It's an uncomfortable place to be in an (Iraqi) Ministry of Defense facility," said David King, a British adviser to Iraq's Ministry of Defense. "They are very overcrowded and they are very poorly equipped."

King said, however, that the Iraqi government was interested in improving the system and supplying clean bedding and clothing and allowing relatives to visit detainees.
That's little consolation to Iraqis who say they have been abused.

Mohammed al-Obeidi, 28, a Sunni, told the AP that he was selling mobile phones in a rented shop in Amiriyah, 25 miles west of Baghdad, when Iraqi soldiers arrived in Humvees and apprehended him and six others in 2006. He said they were taken to a prison in northern Baghdad where he was blindfolded and handcuffed during interrogation.

"The investigation officer used to tell me to confess that I was a terrorist and was planting roadside bombs," said al-Obeidi, who was never charged and was released for lack of evidence. "They used insults and sectarian slander. They normally tied me to a hook on the ceiling to keep me hanging, and then they were beating me with electric sticks. In one of these investigation sessions, my left shoulder was dislocated."

Politicians loyal to Muqtada al-Sadr, a firebrand anti-American Shiite cleric, also are pressuring the government on the issue. Al-Sadr's followers were rounded up in droves last year as part of a government crackdown against militia fighters.

Sadrist lawmaker Falah Hassan Shanshal said he visited a month ago with detainees facing the death sentence.

"One of them was 22 years old. He was crying and asked to talk to me in private," Shanshal said. "He told me that officers raped him and abused him sexually and then forced him to confess things he did not commit."

"These officers were committing the same violation conducted during the former regime," he said.

Obama: Civil rights leaders paved way for him

President Barack Obama on Thursday traced his historic rise to power to the vigor and valor of black civil rights leaders, telling the NAACP that their sacrifice "began the journey that has led me here." The nation's first black president bluntly warned, though, that racial barriers persist.
"Make no mistake: The pain of discrimination is still felt in America," the president said in honoring the organization's 100th convention.

Rousing up his audience, Obama offered his most direct speech on race since winning the White House, a mix of personal reflection and policy promotion. He worked on it for about two weeks and revised it until shortly before he spoke, his aides said, underscoring the importance of his message and his audience.

Implicit in his appearance: He is seeking the backing of the powerful NAACP and its members for his ambitious domestic agenda.

Painting himself as the beneficiary of the NAACP's work, Obama cited historical figures from W.E.B. DuBois to Thurgood Marshall, Martin Luther King Jr. to Emmet Till, to explain how the path to the presidency was cleared by visionaries.

Despite the racial progress exemplified by his own election, Obama said African-Americans must overcome a disproportionate share of struggles, including being more likely to suffer from many diseases and having a higher proportion of children end up in jail.

"These are some of the barriers of our time," Obama said. "They're very different from the barriers faced by earlier generations. They're very different from the ones faced when fire hoses and dogs were being turned on young marchers," Obama said. "But what's required to overcome today's barriers is the same as what was needed then. The same commitment. The same sense of urgency."

Obama's remarks, steeped in his personal biography as the son of a white mother from Kansas and black father from Kenya, challenged the audience — those in the room and those beyond — to take greater responsibility for their own future.

He told parents to take a more active role, students to aspire beyond basketball stars and rappers, and residents to pay better attention to their schools.

Throughout his comments, Obama sought a balance, contending that the government must foster equality but individuals must take charge of their own lives.

The key to success, Obama said, is improving education for all. Citing school segregation and the fight that was waged both on school steps and in courthouses, he said the condition of schools is an American problem, not an African-American one.

"There's a reason Thurgood Marshall took up the cause of Linda Brown. There's a reason the Little Rock Nine defied a governor and a mob," Obama said. "It's because there is no stronger weapon against inequality and no better path to opportunity than an education that can unlock a child's God-given potential."

Unlocking that potential, though, means both acknowledging the challenges facing black youth and then finding a solution to problems that are the legacy of decades of institutionalized discrimination.

"We have to say to our children, `Yes, if you're African-American, the odds of growing up amid crime and gangs are higher. Yes, if you live in a poor neighborhood, you will face challenges that somebody in a wealthy suburb does not have to face," Obama said, returning to his tough-love message familiar from his two-year presidential campaign.

"But that's not a reason to get bad grades, that's not a reason to cut class, that's not a reason to give up on your education and drop out of school," he said. "No one has written your destiny for you. Your destiny is in your hands."

NAACP President Benjamin Todd Jealous described Obama's speech as "pitch-perfect," praising him for talking about the racial disparities that still exist in areas like education and in incarceration.

"This evening is an affirmation of all the work that we've done for a century," Jealous said. "It's also an affirmation of all the work that we're doing right now."

Obama expanded his message of equal rights beyond the black communities. He said many Americans still face discrimination and suggested that the NAACP — in search of a mission for its second century — might embrace a broader mandate in coming years.

Today, Obama said, it is not prejudice or discrimination that presents the greatest obstacles for blacks, but rather structural inequities_ in areas such as education and health care. Still, though, he said discrimination persists — and not just for blacks — and he chided those who may contend otherwise.

Obama also pressed for NAACP members to encourage their young people to find new role models beyond sports or music.

"I want them aspiring to be scientists and engineers, doctors and teachers, not just ballers and rappers," Obama said. "I want them aspiring to be a Supreme Court justice. I want them aspiring to be president of the United States."

With that line, Obama drove the hotel ballroom audience to its feet.

To bolster his arguments, Obama cited his own biography, growing up with a single mother.

"I know what can happen to a child who doesn't have that chance," Obama said. "But I also know what can happen to a child who does. I was raised by a single mom. I don't come from a lot of wealth. I got into my share of trouble as a child. My life could easily have taken a turn for the worse. When I drive through Harlem or I drive through the South Side of Chicago, when I see young men on the corners, I say, 'There but for the grace of God go I.'"

Strong results at Intel pull stocks sharply higher

The nation's big companies are giving investors a reason to restart Wall Street's spring rally.
Stocks surged Wednesday for the second time in three days, propelling all the major indexes up about 3 percent and the Dow Jones industrials up 257 points for their biggest one-day gain in nearly four months. An upbeat forecast from Intel Corp. and the Federal Reserve's more positive take on the economy built on momentum that began Monday when an analyst issued an optimistic forecast for Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

The news had investors believing again that the economy may not be as weak as many have feared. Wall Street had drifted lower over the past month, putting its big spring rally on hold as hopes for a quick recovery faded.

The latest encouragement came from Intel, the leading computer chip maker whose much better results suggested that computer sales -- and perhaps capital investment in general -- is picking up faster than had been expected. Intel's news followed not just the upgrade of Goldman but the bank's strong profit report on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, the day's economic data were more reassuring than some of the numbers the market had seen recently. The Federal Reserve said industrial companies cut production far less in June than they had in previous months, with output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities slipping just 0.4 percent last month after sliding 1.2 percent in May.

Traders found more good news when the Fed released minutes from its June meeting, saying it now expects the economy to contract at a slower pace than previously thought.

"What we're seeing is some confirmation that stabilization is in fact upon us," said Matthew Kaufler, portfolio manager at Federated Clover Investment Advisors in Rochester, N.Y. "At least right now investors are willing to say it's not going to be as bad as feared."

Still, it's very early in the reporting period for second-quarter earnings. With so many companies still to release their results and outlooks, the market could still retreat if investors don't like what they're hearing.

The Dow jumped 256.72, or 3.1 percent, to 8,616.21, its biggest gain since March 23. The Dow is up 5.8 percent in three days, its best run since a three-day period ended April 2. The Dow is now down only 163 points from where it closed on June 12, when stocks began to slide after their surge in March and April.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 26.84, or 3 percent, to 932.68, while the technology-laden Nasdaq composite index gained 63.17, or 3.5 percent, to 1,862.90, responding to Intel's news. The Nasdaq has now advanced for six straight days, giving it a gain of 6.7 percent over that stretch.

Investors are showing again this week that economic data are important but corporate earnings and forecasts can be even more effective in galvanizing buyers.

Wednesday's gain in the Dow was the best percentage climb since April 9, when the blue chips jumped 3.1 percent as banker Wells Fargo & Co.'s early profit report topped expectations. For the S&P 500 index, Wednesday's jump was the biggest since a 3 percent rally on May 18 when a better-than-expected profit report from Lowe's Cos., the home-improvement chain, helped boost sentiment.

Robert B. MacIntosh, chief economist at Eaton Vance Management in Boston, remains cautious. He said investors had been bracing for weak earnings so it doesn't take much to beat expectations and that the excitement could mask trouble spots in the economy like unemployment.

"Real growth is when you start to create some jobs," he said. "People are going to be disappointed in the weakness and the length of the recovery."

Financial stocks jumped after American Express Co. and Capital One Financial Corp. said delinquency rates improved in June. That hinted that consumers weren't struggling as much as they had been.

Amex jumped $2.76, or 11.3 percent, to $27.22, while Capital One surged $2.73, or 11.8 percent, to $25.84.

The gains in stocks robbed Treasurys of some of their safe-haven appeal as investors became more willing to take on risk. The 10-year Treasury note, a widely used benchmark for mortgages and other loans, tumbled more than a point, pushing its yield up to 3.62 percent from 3.47 percent late Tuesday.

Investors will be watching other big banks -- JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp. and Citigroup Inc. -- reporting second-quarter results this week to see whether the industry is recovering.

Intel rose $1.22, or 7.3 percent, to $18.05.

The dollar fell, and prices for gold and other commodities rose. Light, sweet crude rose $2.02 to settle at $61.54 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

Nine stocks rose for every one that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 5.5 billion shares, compared with 4.2 billion Tuesday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 18.22, or 3.7 percent, to 514.74.
Stocks also surged overseas following Intel's report. Britain's FTSE 100 jumped 2.6 percent, Germany's DAX index rose 3.1 percent, and France's CAC-40 gained 2.9 percent. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index gained 2.1 percent.

Wow! A Quadrillion-Dollar Credit Card Bill

A North Texas man has a 17-figure credit card statement after a bank glitch resulted in an eye-popping charge.

Wow! A Quadrillion-Dollar Credit Card Bill
Watch VideoA banking glitch turned a charge from Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck into a whopping 17-figure credit card charge.Weird News PhotosView SlideshowFrom mermaids to flying pigs check out these pictures of off-beat, interesting happenings from around the world.This is what it looks like: $23,148,855,308,184,500.00.

Here’s how to say it: 23 quadrillion,148 trillion, 855 billion, 308 million, 184,000, 500 dollars.
It's more than 2,000 times the national debt -- and, according to Jon Seale's online credit card statement, it’s what he spent July 13 at Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck.

“For that amount of money, I could actually own Wolfgang Puck himself," Seale said.
Seale, a husband and father of five from Trophy Club, spent much of Tuesday making calls to Wachovia and Visa in hopes of getting the exorbitant charge removed from his Wachovia Visa Buxx credit card. Both companies told him they were working to resolve the issue.

“It's an inconvenience, but it's not like I was truly worried my money was gone," he said. "It’s an obvious, glaring error.”

Seale even tried tracking down the celebrity chef himself.

“I tried to find Wolfgang Puck on Facebook and add him as a friend to see if he’d make a comment, but I didn’t have any luck finding him," Seale said.

Visa said the technical glitch that resulted in the giant charge only affected some customers with prepaid Visa cards.

"A temporary programming error at Visa Debit Processing Services caused some transactions to be inaccurately posted to a small number of Visa prepaid accounts," said Visa spokeswoman Elvira Swanson said in a written statement. "The technical glitch has been corrected, and all erroneous postings have been removed.”

Steale was not the only Visa Buxx cardholder to see the huge charge on his statement. A New Hampshire man found the $23 quadrillion charge after buying a pack of cigarettes at a gas station. A Visa representative said affected customers will also have the $20 overdraft fees removed.

Obama reps Chicago's South Side, delivers first All-Star pitch

ST LOUIS — Where did it land? Was it a strike or wasn't it? Why didn't the network choose a better camera to shoot from? Those were the questions that viewers of baseball's All-Star Game were asking themselves at home after Fox elected to show President Barack Obama's ceremonial first pitch at the 80th All-Star Game from a tight angle.

Ruling as a part-time umpire who had a good view from the pressbox at Busch Stadium, Obama's pitch was a no-doubt-about-it ball, even factoring in an expanded strike zone for the Commander-in-Chief. Obama's southpaw delivery landed a little short of the plate, but Cardinals star Albert Pujols(notes) was able to save it by quickly scooping it up.

Earlier on Tuesday, the President said that he planned to throw his first Presidential pitch high so it'd get to the plate without bouncing, but his control was lacking. He clearly didn't throw a strike like George W. Bush famously did during the 2001 World Series in New York just weeks after Sept. 11.

The more debatable point from the historic moment was the reception the President was afforded by the self-described "best fans in baseball." Though Obama was roundly cheered by the All-Star fans, his live presence still didn't attract the applause that George W. Bush did during a taped announcement by the four previous Presidents before the game and some boos could even be heard among the cheers.

Whether or not those fans were booing Obama's politics (Missouri voted for John McCain last November) or his choice of attire (he chose to wear a long-sleeved White Sox jacket in support of his favorite team and a pair of regular old blue jeans) was unclear.

"My wife thinks I'm cute in the White Sox jacket," Obama later told Joe Buck and Tim McCarver in the broadcast booth in a conversation that seemed very loose and free-flowing instead of scripted. "I'm not a Cubs hater, I'm not one of those guys. I just don't root for them, that's all."
Before his throw, Obama took the field and accepted the ceremonial first ball from Cardinals legend Stan "The Man" Musial. He then jogged to the mound and chose to stand on top of the rubber instead of taking the easy politician stance a few feet in front of it.

Obama's first pitch was an addition to the long history of Presidents and baseball. Here are a few more bits of Presidential All-Star trivia, via the New York Times:

• Franklin Delano Roosevelt attended the 1937 game and threw out the first pitch from the Presidential Box at Griffith Stadium in D.C.
• JFK and LBJ attended the 1962 All-Star Game in Washington and called Musial over to their box to congratulate him for getting a hit in the seventh.
• At the 1970 All-Star Game in Cincinnati, Richard Nixon threw out two first pitches, one each to both of the starting catchers, Bill Freehan and Johnny Bench.
• Gerald Ford did the same in 1976 — the last time a President threw out a first pitch at the All-Star Game — but topped Nixon by throwing one lefthanded and one righthanded.
• Ronald Reagan attended the 1989 All-Star Game in Anaheim, but didn't throw out the first pitch. Instead, the former baseball broadcaster visited the announcer's booth and was able to call a Wade Boggs' home run.

Jessica Simpson Dumped by Tony Romo

Tony Romo and Jessica Simpson at the AT&T National hosted by Tiger Woods at the Congressional Country Club on July 1, 2009 in Bethesda, MD. NewscomUs Magazine Jessica Simpson and Tony Romo have called it quits, Usmagazine.com has confirmed.

A source close to Simpson confirms they broke up the night before her 29th birthday July 10. She was supposed to celebrate with a Ken and Barbie-themed party. (On Simpson's birthday, Romo spent the night at Los Angeles hot spot My House.)

"She canceled her party because of this," the source tells Us. "She's doing OK."
"Barbie party didn't happen, but I turned 29 and feel like I am on top of the world yelling I LOVE GETTING OLDER!" she wrote on her Twitter page Saturday.

Later, she wrote: "Everyone needs to know that hope floats...grab the strings and pull it back to you... Falling asleep with my mom and the dogs. Please, Lord, give all of my beautiful fans, friends, enemies, and family rest. Bring all of us peace."

A close friend of Romo's tells Us of the split: "It's been a long time coming."

Still, another source tells Us the volatile couple could always get back together. "They go from one fight right into another, without a second break," the source tells Us. "It's always something with Jessica."

Simpson's rep had no comment.

Simpson - who turned 29 July 10 - began dating Romo, 29, in November 2007 -- around the two-year anniversary of her split with Nick Lachey (who, incidentally, recently split with his girlfriend Vanessa Minnillo).

Look back at Jessica Simpson's most unforgettable moments

Simpson said she was watching a Cowboys game with her family when a segment on the quarterback aired, during which he said Simpson was his celebrity dream crush.
"My family was like, 'Did you just hear that?'" Simpson told the June 2008 issue of Glamour. "His picture came up, and I'm like, 'He's really cute.' Then I heard [that I was his crush], and I'm like, 'Oh my gosh!'"

See photos of more celebs who have landed their crushes

They later met after a pal introduced Romo to her dad, Joe. Simpson said she and Romo then began flirting "over e-mail and on the phone."
On their first date, Simpson told Glamour, "I had butterflies that you would not imagine. I wanted to puke in the cup holder ... It took me forever to put together an outfit!"

See Jessica Simpson's style hits -- and misses!

He tried to kiss her on their first date. "I was taken aback....
"The fact that this guy, on our first date, in the first 10 minutes of dinner, wanted to lean over the table and say, 'This is my girl, and I want to kiss her' -- our first kiss in front of everybody -- was awesome," she recalled to Glamour.
During their relationship, Simpson credited Romo with helping her change as a person.
"He reintroduced me to myself," Simpson told Glamour. "I thought that I had to be deeper, more profound and more artsy. You change with the guys you date."

See every single Us Weekly cover Jessica Simpson has appeared on

"Tony taught me that because he loves me [as me]. He made me feel comfortable [being myself] again," she said.
(She even dedicated the tune "You're My Sunday" to the football star while recently touring.)

See Jessica Simpson and other stars who've engaged in major PDA!

Despite professing her love for Romo, their relationship underwent its share of scrutiny.
Last year Simpson was nicknamed "Yoko Romo" by Cowboys fans who thought she was bad luck to Romo's football performance. Appearing on the Late Show With David Letterman, she even joked that she'll never again wear her pink No.9 jersey to games.

Look back at Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey's cheesiest moments

Simpson - who the subject of much debate after she showed off a fuller figure earlier this year - told this June's Vanity Fair that they didn't let the criticism get to them.

Look back at the many loves of Jessica and Ashlee Simpson

"We don't let it affect our relationship," she said. "If we did, we wouldn't be together, because it happened at the very beginning. Dating the Cowboys quarterback comes with hype, the fans, the bloggers, but I've never dated a guy that was more simple. I'm always there for him after a game, and he knows he has me to come home to."

Asian stocks extend losses amid economic jitters

Asian stocks extend losses as investors can't shake economic jitters; Tokyo drops 2.1 percent

Asian markets extended their slide Monday as confidence about a quick economic recovery continued to wane.

All of the region's major markets lost ground, with Japan's index headed for its ninth straight loss amid reports the prime minister had decided to dissolve parliament and call general elections. Oil prices resumed their two week sell-off to trade near $59 a barrel.

Renewed anxiety about the pace of recovery in the world economy has kept stocks from rallying further after huge gains between March and June.

Investors are now looking to second-quarter corporate earnings and profit outlooks for the year, to be issued in the coming weeks, for guidance about the economy's prospects.

Unless corporate profits and major economies show more evidence of healing, markets could be hard pressed to move higher for now.

"Most people are fairly cautious, they think it's been a bit too much too soon," said Daniel McCormack, a strategist for Macquarie Securities in Hong Kong. "If economic data doesn't keep improving we could continue to drift off from here."

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average dropped 191.68 points, or 2.1 percent, to 9,095.60. Hong Kong's Hang Seng shed 364.71, or 2.1 percent, to 17,343.71, while South Korea's Kospi dived 3.2 percent to 1,382.45.

Elsewhere, Taiwan's market tumbled 3.5 percent, Australia's index lost 1.3 percent and India's benchmark was down 1.4 percent.

Trade on Wall Street Friday was uninspiring amid jitters about earnings season and as a survey showed U.S. consumer confidence falling to its lowest level since March.

The Dow fell 36.65, or 0.5 percent, to 8,146.52, the lowest close for the blue chips since April 28.
The broader S&P 500 index lost 3.55, or 0.4 percent, to 879.13, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 3.48, or 0.2 percent, to 1,756.03.

Wall Street futures pointed to more losses on Monday. Dow futures were down 55, or 0.7 percent, at 8,030 and S&P futures fell 7.4, or 0.9 percent, at 866.90.

Oil prices dived in Asia trade, with benchmark crude for August delivery down 71 cents to $59.18 a barrel. The contract fell 52 cents to settle at $59.89.

The dollar was flat at 92.43, while the euro traded slightly lower at $1.3920 from $1.3944.

'Bruno' sashays to box-office fame with $30.4M (AP)

Gay Austrian fashion devotee Bruno has landed the No. 1 spot at the weekend box office, though it's uncertain how much staying power he has.

Sacha Baron Cohen's "Bruno" started big on opening day Friday but had a huge drop the rest of the weekend, with the Universal Pictures mock documentary finishing with $30.4 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

The movie took in nearly half of its weekend total — $14.4 million — on Friday, then tumbled with just $8.8 million Saturday and an estimated $7.2 million Sunday.

Revenues for hit movies typically go up on Saturday, so the nosedive for "Bruno" could be a sign that it lacks the shelf life that made Baron Cohen's "Borat" a $100 million smash.

"It is unusual for a film to drop on Saturday. Normally, you expect the film at least to be even on Saturday or above compared to Friday, because Saturday is the biggest moviegoing day of the weekend," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "It's going to be interesting to see how it does over the long run."

"Bruno," which features Baron Cohen as a wannabe going to extremes to achieve celebrity, finished ahead of 20th Century Fox's "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," which took second with $28.5 million. The "Ice Age" sequel raised its domestic total to $120.6 million.

Finishing third after two weekends in the No. 1 spot was Paramount's sci-fi blockbuster "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" with $24.2 million, raising its domestic haul to $339.2 million. The sequel passed the $319 million total of 2007's "Transformers."

The weekend's other new wide release, 20th Century Fox's romantic comedy "I Love You, Beth

Cooper" opened weakly with $5 million, finishing at No. 7. The movie centers on a high school valedictorian who uses his graduation speech to declare his love for a bombshell classmate (Hayden Panettiere).

"Bruno" outpaced the $26.5 million opening weekend for Baron Cohen's surprise 2006 hit "Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan." "Borat" started with $9.2 million on opening day Friday then climbed to $10.1 million Saturday, a sign that fans were talking it up to friends.

That good word-of-mouth propelled "Borat" to a long run at theaters, the movie climbing to a $128.5 million domestic total.

"Borat" also scored its big opening weekend in far fewer theaters. "Bruno debuted in 2,756 cinemas, more than three times the number for "Borat."

Nikki Rocco, head of distribution at Universal, said comedies such as "Bruno" typically drop off over opening weekend this time of year, while "Borat" opened in November, when audiences are less fickle than summer crowds.

The studio will have to wait until next weekend for a sense of how well "Bruno" can hold up for the long haul.

"I don't know. That crystal ball just isn't on my desk this morning," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "Zany comedies tend to be like that, so I'm hoping that in the scheme of things, it just plays out the way zany comedies will play out."

Reviews on "Bruno" were not as strong as those for "Borat," which critics generally liked. There also had been questions about whether Baron Cohen's flamboyantly gay persona might prove off-putting to audiences.

"Bruno" did most of its business in cities on the East and West coasts, while revenues were "softer, much softer in middle America," Rocco said.

Even if revenues continue to plunge, "Bruno" is well on its way to turning a profit for Universal, which paid $42.5 million for rights to distribute it domestically and in eight other territories. "Bruno" took in $25 million in overseas markets so far, including $20 million in those Universal acquired, among them Great Britain, Australia and Germany.

Modi Wiczyk — co-chief executive officer of Media Rights Capital, which financed "Bruno" — said the movie exceeded the company's expectations. Wiczyk said he had anticipated "Bruno" would finish in the range of $25 million domestically for the weekend.

"We don't have talking robots or karate in our film," Wiczyk said. "For that increasingly small subset of films that don't have robots, we did terrific."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "Bruno," $30.4 million.
2. "Ice Age: Dawn of the Dinosaurs," $28.5 million.
3. "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen," $24.2 million.
4. "Public Enemies," $14.1 million.
5. "The Proposal," $10.5 million.
6. "The Hangover," $9.9 million.
7. "I Love You, Beth Cooper," $5 million.
8. "Up," $4.7 million.
9. "My Sister's Keeper," $4.2 million.
10. "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3," $1.6 million.

How much water do you really need?

Drink water. Drink more water. Drink water before and after you exercise. Sure, I'd heard all of that advice a million times but somehow, when I did my first distance triathlon in the heat of the competition, I forgot all about what I’d read in EatingWell Magazine’s article “Eat to Win” about what to eat and drink while you exercise. I mean, it was sweltering out there. It was a dry hot day on a sunny course. I was doing better than I ever expected. Felt great, in fact. So why stop at the water stops? Why let someone pass me?

Then, as I started to get toward the end of the race, my body slowed down. My mind slowed down. I felt lethargic. I lost five places in the last mile. But after I crossed the finish line, the really weird things started to happen: I couldn't find my bike. Or my car. Or my friends. In fact, I couldn't remember much, to the point where I forgot that I had finished the race and went to start the bike leg again. Finally, a friend said, "You're dehydrated," a fact confirmed later in the medical tent.

Ever since then, I've become religious about drinking water before, during and after exercise. (Should you drink bottled water or tap water?) Drinking water or other fluids (I like to drink flavored, low-cal drinks) consistently through your day allows the water to get to all the organs that need it—including your muscles and your brain—while you’re still resting. So, basically, you’re just setting yourself up to start off on the right foot when you are ready to exercise. (It’s important to eat too. Try these 3 on-the-go power breakfast recipes to fuel your day.)

The American Council on Exercise (ACE) suggests sipping an additional 17 to 20 ounces of water 2 hours before you exercise. But in 1 hour of exercise, the body can lose more than a quart of water—especially when it’s hot, like it was the day of my race. So it’s important to drink while you’re exercising too: 7 to 10 ounces every 10 to 20 minutes.

More isn’t better: Too much water can make you sick, a condition called hypernutremia where you essentially waterlog your system. So can going too long without replenishing electrolytes, such as sodium. So if you’re working out hard for more than 45 to 60 minutes, you’ll want to choose a sports drink or consume a food that contains some sodium (e.g., pretzels) with your water. (As for eating, check out these 4 natural fuel foods.)

And it’s not always easy to drink on the run, or the ride, so once you finish exercising you’ll want to replenish the fluids you’ve lost by drinking more. ACE suggests weighing yourself before, and after, exercise to see how much “water weight” you’ve lost. You should sip 16 to 24 ounces of fluids for every pound you’re lighter. No scale? Drink until your urine is a pale yellow.

Fighter's inexplicable actions

So Brock Lesnar, in the parlance of pro wrestling, had gone straight heel.

After bludgeoning Frank Mir to retain the Ultimate Fighting Championship heavyweight championship at the hyped UFC 100, the former pro wrestling star decided to put on a real show.

Lesnar ran around the octagon flipping off the Mandalay Bay Events Center crowd with both middle fingers. He shouted at Mir as the challenger sat on a stool trying to regain his equilibrium. Mir stood up and they went sort of nose-to-broken nose before Lesnar cackled with laughter.
In the post-fight interview, Lesnar encouraged the booing fans to “keep going” before continuing to taunt Mir.

No one and nothing was spared. Lesnar even turned his attention to the UFC itself, which paid him an estimated $3 million for the fight, pointing at the giant Bud Light advertisement in the middle of the octagon.

“I’m drinking a cooler full of Coors Light, Coors Light because Bud Light won’t pay me anything.”
Anything for the children at home, big guy?

“Hell, I might even get on top of my wife tonight.”

With his clown-show antics, Brock Lesnar just became the greatest villain in modern fighting. From refusing to tap gloves prefight in a sportsmanlike ritual to this over-the-top rant that came right out of the silly wrestling circus.

“Straight WWE,” said a stunned Dana White, the president of the UFC. “Brock went so far over the top tonight I can’t even describe it. I don’t think in the history of the UFC we’ve ever done anything like that.”

Postfight, White pushed his way into Lesnar’s crowded locker room and took the big guy into the bathroom for a private “discussion.” Lesnar himself described it as “a whip-the-dog session.”
“With women in here you don’t want to know what I said,” White said. It worked, Brock showed up at the press conference smiling, supposedly contrite and even drinking a Bud Light.

ADVERTISEMENT “First and foremost I want to apologize,” Lesnar said. “I acted very unprofessionally after the fight. I screwed up and I apologize. I apologize to Bud Light. I’m not biased, I drink any beer.”

It was mostly a chance for laugh lines, but it was still an apology. Lesnar said the pent-up energy of avenging a loss to Mir caused him to go crazy. “I’m a sore loser,” he said. “I don’t like to get beat. I believe I gave that fight to him. So there was a lot of emotion in this fight for me.
“Man, I was so jacked up. I’m used to selling pay-per-view tickets. I come from a business that is purely the entertainment business.”

And so that was the excuse. Lesnar didn’t flip, he just flipped the switch back into Vince McMahon’s operation where nothing is too over the top. The UFC, however, is real and it has tried to position itself not as a blood sport but one based on sportsmanship and mutual respect.
Lesnar did the UFC no favors in that regard. And neither did veteran Dan Henderson, who dropped a vicious forearm smash on an already knocked out and prone Michael Bisping on the undercard. Henderson then admitted he did it on purpose to avenge prefight trash talk. The UFC even went on to award him its $100,000 “knockout of the night” bonus. White also gave Henderson a talking to, but Henderson still said it “felt good.”

The damage done to the UFC’s mainstream momentum remains to be seen. While some will be repulsed, others will be drawn in. It’s cage fighting, after all. Things get out of hand.

That this occurred on the promotion’s biggest night, when the numerical significance of the card was expected to bring in a large first-time audience, wasn’t appreciated by the UFC. The night was electric and highly entertaining. And while it is likely to most offend people who weren’t disposed to giving mixed martial arts a chance in the first place, White was aghast at Lesnar’s act. This isn’t what he built. This isn’t what he wanted.

“What he’s doing out there tonight is not real,” White said. “You don’t have to act like something you’re not. This isn’t the WWE. I don’t ask these guys to act crazy so we get more pay per views. That’s not the business I’m in.”

In the meantime, the cementing of Lesnar’s reputation as the promotion’s most hated man is done.

“Brock hasn’t made himself very loveable,” White said. “They hate Brock.” For the UFC, a classic villain is business gold. He’s the ultimate leading man for the organization. Some loathe him. Some love him. No one can ignore him. For those seeking his comeuppance however, there isn’t a WWE storyline that can be written to stop him.

Lost in the antics was Lesnar’s performance, a brilliant effort that showed both his growth as a mixed martial artist and the immense potential. The question becomes, who the heck can tame this mountain of a man from the Minnesota woods?

Shane Carwin? Cain Velasquez? Mir in a final chapter of a trilogy of fights? No doubt they’ll get a chance, and no doubt they stand a chance.

The greatest beneficiary of each Lesnar snarl, however, lives in Stary Oskol, Russia, a man named Fedor Emelianenko who is considered the No. 1 heavyweight (if not pound-for-pound fighter) in the world. If anyone has the knockout power to stop the 6-3, 265-pound Lesnar, it’s Emelianenko.

Fedor doesn’t fight in the UFC though. He’s with its rival promotion, Affliction. He’ll fight Aug. 1 in Anaheim, Calif., in what is the last match of his contract. Affliction is hoping to re-sign him until 2012, but the UFC will come hard after him. More now then ever. And that means money, big money.

“Eventually Fedor is going to be here,” White said. “I want Fedor. We’ll end up getting that deal done and then we’ll do Brock vs. Fedor and we’ll do a huge fight.”

Time will tell, but the pressure to sign the elusive Russian has been ratcheted up. A villain was born and there isn’t an obvious superhero in sight. The UFC brought Brock Lesnar over from the WWE for just this kind of a sensation. And the big man has delivered – the good, the bad and the embarrassing.

Only Dana White has no scriptwriters that can contain him.

Obama, other G-8 leaders expand Italian summit

President Barack Obama is in Italy, midway through the three-day G-8 economic summit that is heavily focused on climate change and world trade.

His round of meetings today begins with one-on-one talks with the president of Brazil. Then Obama and leaders of the seven other richest developed nations broaden their talks to include the leaders of five additional countries: Brazil, China, India, Mexico, South Africa, and Egypt.

Later there's to be a working lunch that will draw in even more points of view, including representatives of a half-dozen international organizations, among them the U.N., the World Bank and the International Energy Agency.

Tonight the leaders attend a working dinner hosted by Italy's president.

Oil pauses above $60 amid weak US gasoline demand

Oil prices paused above $60 in Asia on Thursday after dropping 17 percent since last week as rising U.S. gasoline inventories suggested crude demand remains weak.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was up 48 cents to $60.62 a barrel at midday in Singapore in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Wednesday, the contract fell more than 4 percent, or $2.79, to settle at $60.14.

Prices have dropped from an eight-month intraday high of $73.38 a barrel on June 30 on evidence that U.S. drivers, who typically hit the road more during the Independence Day holiday last week, are staying home in droves this summer.

The Department of Energy reported Wednesday that gasoline in storage grew by another 1.9 million barrels last week, the fifth straight week that stocks have grown.

"That's not a good sign," said Clarence Chu, a trader at market maker Hudson Capital Energy in Singapore. "It shows demand for gasoline hasn't picked up like it normally does this time of year."

Other signals recently that the global economy and crude demand isn't recovering strongly from a severe slowdown have also helped undermine investor confidence. On Wednesday, The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries predicted that demand for crude has fallen so sharply, it will take another four years to recover to 2008 levels.

Last week, the unemployment rates in the U.S. and Europe rose to the highest in decades.
"There's been a string of bad news," Chu said. "The fundamentals didn't support the price at $70 in the first place."

"The momentum will likely take us into the $50s."

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for August delivery rose 1.4 cents to $1.65 a gallon and heating oil gained 0.94 cent to $1.55. Natural gas for August delivery jumped 3.6 cents to $3.39 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent prices rose 57 cents to $61 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Stocks end mixed; Oil slide hits energy shares

Stocks ended mostly lower Monday as drops in prices for oil and other commodities had investors worrying again that demand for basic materials may remain slack. The major market indexes closed mixed but off of their lows for the day.

The drop in oil to a five-week low pushed energy and commodities stocks lower and sent investors into safe-haven parts of the market, like consumer goods producers. Occidental Petroleum slid 2.5 percent while Procter & Gamble Co., which makes Tide and Crest, rose 2 percent.

Back-and-forth trading Monday followed conflicting signs about the economy. Oil skidded on fears of weak demand, while a trade group's report found that activity in the services industry rose in June to its best level in nine months.

Investors have become more cautious in recent weeks following a strong rally that began in March. Some traders fear they might have been too optimistic about how soon the economy might recover from a recession that began in December 2007.

"The markets are becoming more realistic," said Subodh Kumar, global investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Associates in Toronto. "We can't snap our fingers and have recovery."
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 44.13, or 0.5 percent, to 8,324.87, and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.30, or 0.3 percent, to 898.72. The technology-heavy Nasdaq composite index fell 9.12, or 0.5 percent, to 1,787.40.

Oil fell $2.68 to settle at $64.05 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Last week, oil hit an eight-month high above $73.

In economic news, the Institute for Supply Management's services index rose to 47 in June from 44 in May, beating the expectation of 45.5 from economists polled by Thomson Reuters.
The relatively good showing, however, wasn't enough to assuage growing doubts about the economy that worsened last week on disappointing reports on consumer confidence and deep job cuts for June.

The stock market has relatively few guideposts to give it direction this week ahead of second-quarter earnings reports, which get under way Wednesday with Dow component Alcoa Inc. but don't pick up speed until next week.

Sound results at a Treasury Department auction of $8 billion in 10-year Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities, or TIPS, helped reassure investors that the government will be able to finance its spending plans to help revive the economy.

Bond prices were mixed. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was up slightly at 3.51 percent, compared with late Thursday's 3.50 percent, and the yield on the three-month T-bill rose to 0.16 percent from 0.15 percent. U.S. markets were closed Friday for the July Fourth holiday.

An analyst upgraded his rating on American Express Co., saying that the credit card company would be among the least affected by regulatory changes and that worries about bad debt are easing. The stock rose $1.25, or 5.6 percent, to $23.52.

The drop commodities hit companies like Exxon Mobil Corp., which fell 39 cents, or 0.6 percent, to $68.10, and Occidental, down $1.58, or 2.5 percent, at $61.70.

Alcoa fell 60 cents, or 6.1 percent, to $9.26, while Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc. fell $3.78, or 7.6 percent, to $45.94.

Among consumer staples companies, P&G rose $1.06, or 2.1 percent, to $52.17.

The mixed trading comes after the market reached a plateau in mid-June, mainly holding on to the gains it notched this spring. Investors are looking for confirmation of an economic recovery to take stocks higher. The upcoming earnings season and any forecasts companies make about the rest of the year are sure to answer questions about where the market goes next.

"There is a sense that the fundamentals in the marketplace haven't caught up with the technical rally that we got in March," said Dan Deming, a trader with Strutland Equities in Chicago.

Three stocks fell for every two that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consolidated volume came to a light 4.63 billion shares, compared with 3.56 billion traded Thursday.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 3.18, or 0.6 percent, to 494.03.

The dollar was mixed against other major currencies, while gold prices also rose.

Overseas, Britain's FTSE 100 fell 1 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.2 percent, and France's CAC-40 slid 1.1 percent. Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 1.4 percent.

Obama Heads for Putin ‘Reality Check’ After Medvedev Accord

Presidents Barack Obama and Dmitry Medvedev found common ground yesterday on issues ranging from arms reduction to Afghanistan. Today, Obama will try for a repeat performance with a different audience: Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.

While Obama and Medvedev “had a symbolically successful day,” the U.S. president’s meeting with Putin, 56, is “key” and may serve as a “reality check” on Obama’s effort to recast the two countries’ relations, said Andrew Kuchins, a scholar at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

“Obama’s ability to charm is his greatest strength and Putin is not a guy that can be charmed,” said Kuchins.

Obama, 47, and Medvedev, 43, announced after almost four hours of meetings in Moscow yesterday that they agreed to slash their nuclear arsenals and cooperate on military action in Afghanistan as the U.S. and Russia seek to “reset” ties.
The two leaders called for a reduction of nuclear warheads by as much as a third from current limits in a Kremlin meeting. Russia also agreed to allow the transit of U.S. arms shipments to troops fighting the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Obama told reporters he and Medvedev “resolved to reset U.S.-Russian relations” during their first meeting in April. “After less than six months of collaboration, we have done exactly that,” he said at a Moscow news conference.

Relations had reached a post-Cold War low under President George W. Bush because of disagreements over the eastward expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, a proposed U.S. missile shield in Europe and Russia’s war with Georgia.

New Commission
The agreement on nuclear targets sets the course for negotiators to replace the 1991 Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which expires in December. The two sides also agreed to form a commission headed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov of Russia to keep open the lines of communication.

The U.S. intends to host a global nuclear security summit next year, Obama said, adding that a subsequent meeting may take place in Russia. The two countries, which hold 95 percent of the world’s atomic weapons, must lead by example if they expect other countries to collaborate on nuclear non-proliferation, the U.S. president said.

‘Best’ Outcome
“This kind of outcome was the best we could expect,” Pavel Podvig, a researcher at the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford University, said by phone. “The key thing is they put some numbers on paper.”

The two presidents agreed to a reduction of their nuclear arsenals to between 1,500 and 1,675 warheads and between 500 and 1,100 delivery vehicles. Current limits allow a maximum of 2,200 warheads and 1,600 launch vehicles.

George Shultz, secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan, hailed the agreement in a statement as “good news” and “an essential step” toward a “world free of nuclear weapons.”
The U.S. will return to the issue of the missile shield, which Russia says would hurt its defense posture, when it completes its review of Bush-era plans, Obama said. Differences with Russia on missile defense can be reconciled, he also said.

The issues of missile defense and Iran consumed the majority of Obama’s and Medvedev’s one-on-one meeting, with Obama insisting that negotiations about nuclear disarmament remain separate from the conversations about the shield, said Michael McFaul, a National Security Council official.

No Linkage
“Let’s be very clear, we are not discussing limitations on missile defense” in the talks over a new nuclear treaty, McFaul told reporters in Moscow.

Russia’s agreement to allow the transit of military personnel and materiel to U.S. troops in Afghanistan helps Obama redouble the American war effort as Pakistan becomes increasingly unreliable as a supply route. Medvedev began allowing shipments of non-lethal cargoes bound for Afghanistan to pass via Russian territory in March. The agreement will save the U.S. $133 million in transit fees it would have paid to Russia.

The two leaders praised each other, with Medvedev calling the talks “open and sincere” and Obama characterizing his Russian counterpart as “professional and straightforward.”
Obama said he and Medvedev discussed issues where the U.S. and Russian positions diverge, including the situation in Georgia. No one has an interest in renewing the conflict that saw Russia recognize the Georgian breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia after a five-day war, he said.

‘Rivalry of the Past’
“President Medvedev and I are committed to leaving behind the suspicion and rivalry of the past so we can advance the interests we hold in common,” Obama said.
The Clinton-Lavrov commission will see to it that relations don’t deteriorate again, the U.S. president said. The new forum is reminiscent of the so-called Gore-Chernomyrdin commission, which managed relations between the governments of Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin.
Obama also pressed his Russian counterpart to make his country a welcoming place for investors, speaking “deliberately about the stability of property rights,” said McFaul.

Obama in Moscow: can a tense relationship be "reset"?

When President Barack Obama flies into Moscow on Monday for meetings with Kremlin leadership, at the top of his agenda will be reducing the number of strategic nuclear weapons capable of destroying life on Earth. And that might be the easy part.
Obama's trip to Russia is viewed on both sides of the Atlantic as a chance to resuscitate relations between the two nations after they fell to post-Cold War lows during the presidency of George W. Bush .

In order to do so, Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev appear to be taking a more pragmatic tack than did their predecessors: concentrating first on the issues that in the parlance of the diplomatic community are "deliverables," things that can get done, instead of getting stuck on thornier issues.

There is measured hope that a combination of the financial crisis — which humbled Russian rhetoric after both a credit crunch and lower commodity prices hit hard here — and signals from Medvedev, however conflicted, that he's willing to pursue political reform, have created an opening for Obama to "reset" diplomatic ties.
Progress is anticipated on arms control _expected to be a centerpiece of the agenda — as well as on trade, counter-narcotics and support for transporting Western military supplies to the Afghan theatre.

It's a delicate task in an uncertain setting. To begin with, there is a question of whether Obama is dealing with the real leader of the country. The prime minister and former president, Vladimir Putin , is widely regarded as the ruler of Russia and the driving force behind a revival of nationalism and authoritarian rule here that's been funded by oil and gas money.
During the past year, Putin was the most visible and bellicose representative of the Russian invasion of U.S. ally Georgia , and then the dispute that led to a cut-off of Russian gas to U.S. ally Ukraine and much of Europe .

However, because of diplomatic protocol, Obama will spend more time with Medvedev, a friendlier face, than with the prime minister.
American officials have said that they are aware of the complexities of Russia's "ruling tandem." Critics of the Kremlin warn that Putin's deep distrust of the West could short-circuit attempts for substantial change.

In an interview with the Associated Press on Thursday, Obama acknowledged the dilemma. "I think that it's important that even as we move forward with President Medvedev, that Putin understands that the old Cold War approaches to U.S.-Russian relations is outdated, that it's time to move forward in a different direction," Obama said.
"The problem is that Putin has based his campaign on anti-American rhetoric," said Boris Nemtsov , a deputy prime minister in the late 1990s and one of the few national political opposition leaders still in Russia . "Obama believes that democracy is a universal value, Putin believes that it is a universal threat."

Obama and Medvedev have pledged to extend or replace the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) — a 1991 agreement to reduce the number of long-range nuclear warheads in both countries, which is set to expire in December.
After their April meeting in London , the two leaders set an apparent benchmark by saying they'd go below the levels set by a 2002 pact, known as the Moscow Treaty, which calls for no more than between 1,700 to 2,200 strategic warheads in each country by the end of 2012.
As with much of U.S.- Russia relations, the matter still faces a stumbling block.
The Kremlin is angry about a planned U.S. missile shield in Eastern Europe that was pushed by the Bush administration.

Russian leaders say they fear that the system, which would be based in Poland and the Czech Republic , is not aimed at stopping an Iranian attack, as Washington insists, but rather at
weakening Russia's nuclear deterrent - the cornerstone of its military power.
Medvedev greeted Obama's victory at the polls last November by threatening to deploy missiles in Kaliningrad , near Poland , "to neutralize, if necessary, the anti-ballistic missile system in Europe ." The timing was inept, and has led some to wonder whether the speech was prepared for a win of the presidency by Arizona Sen. John McCain , the Republican candidate.
Obama has said that the shield is under review, amid questions about its funding and whether it would actually work.

One way around the standoff would be to link Russia to a broader anti-missile system, an offer that Washington raised but that Moscow so far has shunned.
The disagreement about the shield taps into the broader problem that Russian officials and analysts say is at the core of troubles with the United States . This is the question of Russia's contested influence over the so-called "near abroad" countries. Russia's war with Georgia last August, for example, resulted in the de facto annexing of two regions in that country.
While the Obama administration has signaled that it's not going to press NATO as aggressively as Bush did to admit Georgia and Ukraine , it's clear that those fault lines remain in place.
During a teleconference last week, a U.S. official dealing with Russian affairs said that Obama is looking for ways to work with the Kremlin, but would not be willing to swap U.S. interests for Russian cooperation.

"We are not in any way, in the name of the reset, abandoning our very close relationships with these two democracies, Ukraine and Georgia ," said Michael McFaul , senior director for Russian and Eurasian Affairs at the National Security Council .
For the Kremlin, there is little compromise on being able to project power in what is referred to here as a "privileged sphere."

From the Russian viewpoint it's an existential matter, said Vyacheslav Nikonov , head of Politika, a pro-Kremlin think tank.

Sergei Markov, a member of Russia's lower house of parliament who's seen as having close links to the Kremlin, agreed. "If you say, as Washington maintains, the Russian sphere of influence is limited by its border, it means that Washington is saying that Russia is not a great power," Markov said.

Beyond the question of Russian power, and U.S. efforts to work with or check it, there are some in Moscow who worry that something else is being overlooked -- freedom.
By focusing on arms control and other security-related matters, the thinking goes, the Obama administration could signal to hardliners in Moscow that America is embracing an approach in which U.S. national interests trump any message about spreading democracy and the rule of law.
Russia is a country where human rights workers are harassed, ethnic minorities are publicly assaulted by gangs and those who pose a threat to the ruling powers have in the past been killed.
"My fear is this agenda, only a hard security agenda, and Obama's dialogue only with the Kremlin, will be used by the traditional party of the Russian political establishment and by the Kremlin as ... an instrument to legitimize the current system," said Lilia Shevtsova , a senior associate at the Carnegie Moscow Center.
Obama officials say the president will spend much of his second day in Moscow speaking with civil society leaders, and giving what's billed as a major speech that's expected to at least touch on the question of open governance, a clear indication that democracy is still on the agenda.

Where not to buy real estate

Think twice before buying a house in these cities any time soon.

Home buyers looking for a bottom in the real estate market may have been encouraged by housing data released earlier this week. Sales of existing homes rose 2.4% in May, according to the National Association of Realtors. The increase was a little less than most analysts had expected, but it represented the second straight month of improvement. Meanwhile, sales of new homes dipped 0.6% in May, continuing a trend of fairly flat months so far this year, according to data released by the Commerce Department.

Don’t get too excited – it’s still too early to say the housing market bottomed out, analysts and economists say. Distressed properties still account for about a third of all sales, and 29% of sales were to first-time home buyers, who are currently benefiting from an $8,000 tax credit.

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“You’re not really seeing a lot of move-up buying,” says Richard F. Moody, chief economist and director of research at Forward Capital, LLC. “There are so many vacant homes and so many foreclosures that [there’s] not the normal trade-up pattern that you would have traditionally seen,” Moody says.

Housing prices fell nationwide during the first quarter, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Index. The decline appears to be slowing: in February and March, the annual rate of decline did not set a new record, but home owners should take little solace in those numbers. “Based on the March data… we see no evidence that that a recovery in home prices has begun,” David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor’s, said in a statement.
All of this less-than-terrible news has left analysts cautiously optimistic that much of the country will start to see housing prices rise sometime in the next year or two. Looking at the nation as a whole, today through the spring of 2011 may be the window for those looking to buy a house at the bottom of the market, says Gary Hager, president and founder of Integrated Wealth Management, a New Jersey-based financial planning company.

A few markets where the housing crisis started earliest have already shown signs of bottoming out. Early-suffering cities like Denver and Boston are now seeing slower declines in home prices, which could indicate they’re already poised for a comeback.

And in some areas, buyers have seized on rapidly falling prices. Existing-home sales rose 9% in the Midwest in May, according to the National Association of Realtors.

“There will be regional differences in the turnaround,” says Maureen Maitland, vice president of index services at Standard & Poor’s. “Most economists I talk to are expecting the beginning of the turnaround to be sometime next year,” she says. However, she added, “the last market may not turn around for two or three years.”

For those hoping to buy at the best possible price, we’ve got a list of five cities where home prices may still have farther to fall. But keep in mind, getting a house at a discount is still not necessarily a house you can afford.

“In light of the housing market boom and bust, consumers should feel very comfortable financially” before deciding to buy, says Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors. “They should not try to overstretch their budget to get their dream home.”

1) DetroitHousing prices fell 4.9% in Detroit in March, according to the latest reading of the Case-Shiller Index. That marked the city’s largest monthly decline since January 1991, when S&P’s backlogged data begin. Houses in Detroit are currently selling at 1995 prices – and with prices still falling so fast, it’s hard to say when the city will rejoin the 21st century.
“Detroit is Detroit because of the auto industry,” says Maitland. The whole Midwest is hurting from car companies’ woes, but Detroit is hurting the most.

2) New York CityAnyone who was hoping to see Wall Street suffer from the financial crisis can relax. New York may have avoided the nationwide implosion in home prices early on, but the city saw its largest-ever monthly decline in March, at 2.5%.
“New York may not be out of the woods,” Maitland says. “Because of what’s going on with the financial markets and the layoffs on Wall Street, New York may be one of the last places to turn around.”

3) PhoenixHome prices in Phoenix have fallen 53% from their peak in June 2006, and the 2009 data suggest they’ve got farther to go. In March, prices in Phoenix fell 4.5%.
The Southwest has been one of the hardest-hit regions in the mortgage crisis. The region still faces a glut of recently-built homes.
“In Phoenix, you had some of the worst excesses,” in terms of overbuilding, Moody says. “The surplus of houses is so great that it could take two or three years” for prices to turn around. However, a steady influx of new residents into the region suggests the long-term prospects for the market are sound, he says.

4) Portland, Ore.In the Northwest, median home prices are down but they remain above the national average. Portland’s prices fell 2.1% in March. Home prices in Seattle were down 2.0% for the month.
“Portland’s still going down,” says Dave McCarthy, president and chief executive of Integrated Asset Services, a real estate valuation and asset disposition and management company that collects data on the housing market.
The city “has remained pretty strong but they’re starting to feel some of the effects,” he adds.
The local labor market may be playing a role, Moody says. Portland’s unemployment rate was 11.6% in April, according to the Department of Labor. That’s well above the national average for the month (8.9%).
The Pacific Northwest bubble was among the last to burst, which could mean the market will be among the last to recover.

5) MinneapolisHousing prices in Minneapolis fell 6.1% in March, the largest monthly decline of any metro area since data tracking began in 1987.
More than half of all March home sales in Minneapolis were due to foreclosure or short-sale activity, according to the Federal Reserve Board’s Beige Book, which gathers information on regional economic conditions. Foreclosed homes tend to drive prices down because “the bank’s best interest is to get the asset off their books” as quickly as possible, Maitland says.

Drug found in Jackson home

Powerful sedative found in Michael Jackson's home

The powerful sedative Diprivan was found in Michael Jackson's home, a law enforcement official said Friday as the city planned for a massive crowd at the singer's memorial service.

Diprivan is an anesthetic widely used in operating rooms to induce unconsciousness. Also known as Propofol, it's given intravenously and is very unusual to have in a private home.

The law enforcement official spoke on condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to speak about the matter.

A Los Angeles Police spokesman, Lt. John Romero, declined to discuss the case. "It's an ongoing investigation," he said.

The cause of Jackson's death has not been determined. Autopsy results are not expected for several weeks.

At the downtown Staples Center, where Jackson's memorial will be held Tuesday morning, Assistant Police Chief Earl Paysinger said anywhere from 250,000 to 700,000 people could try to reach the arena, even though only 17,500 tickets will be available.

City Councilwoman Jan Perry urged people to stay home and watch the memorial on TV. There will not be a funeral procession through the city.

Tickets to Jackson's memorial service will be free. They can be obtained by registering at Staplescenter.com. There will be 11,000 tickets for seats inside Staples Center and 6,500 for seats in the adjacent Nokia Theatre, where fans can watch a simulcast. On Saturday night, 8,750 names will be randomly selected to receive two tickets each.

No details about the memorial service itself were released.

Jackson was known to have suffered from severe insomnia. In the weeks before his death, Cherilyn Lee, a registered nurse who was working with the singer, said Jackson pleaded for Diprivan amid the stress of preparing for a massive series of comeback concerts.

Lee said she repeatedly rejected his demands because the drug was unsafe.

Told Friday that Diprivan had been found at Jackson's house, she said, "I did everything I could to warn him against it."

Jackson had trouble sleeping as far back as 1989, said one of his former publicists, Rob Goldstone, who spent a month on the road with Jackson during the "Bad" tour.

"He had very bad nightmares, he found it very difficult to sleep," Goldstone said.Diprivan, which has a milky appearance, is sometimes nicknamed "milk of amnesia." Last fall, doctors from the Mayo Clinic warned at a conference that in rare cases,

Diprivan can trigger an irreversible chain of events leading to heart dysfunction and death.

They said three patients receiving Diprivan to treat severe seizures had suffered cardiac arrest, and two died. The doctors said the clinic stopped using Diprivan to treat such patients because of the danger.

The drug's manufacturer, AstraZeneca PLC, warns that patients using Diprivan should be continuously monitored, and in a tiny number of cases patients using it have suffered cardiac arrest, although it was not clear the drug was to blame.

Authorities are investigating allegations that the 50-year-old Jackson had been consuming painkillers, sedatives and antidepressants. Any criminal charges would depend on whether Jackson had been overly prescribed medications, given drugs inappropriate for his needs, or if doctors knowingly prescribed Jackson medications under an assumed name.

Edward Chernoff, an attorney for Jackson's doctor, Dr. Conrad Murray, said Friday through a spokeswoman that he had agreed with investigators not to comment until information is released through official channels. Murray was in Jackson's rented mansion when the singer went into cardiac arrest in his bedroom on June 25.

Murray has spoken to police and authorities say he is not a suspect. In an earlier interview, Chernoff said Murray never gave or prescribed Jackson the painkillers Demerol or OxyContin, and denied reports suggesting that the doctor gave the pop star drugs that contributed to his death.

Chernoff would not discuss what drugs the doctor administered to Jackson, but said they would have been prescribed in response to a specific complaint.

Oil hovers above $66 after dismal jobs data

Oil hovers above $66 in Asia after weak jobs numbers undermine investor confidence

SINGAPORE (AP) -- Oil prices hovered above $66 a barrel Friday in Asia in light holiday trading volume a day after grim unemployment numbers from the U.S. and Europe sent crude prices tumbling.

Benchmark crude for August delivery slipped 26 cents to $66.47 a barrel by midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. On Thursday, it fell $2.58, nearly 4 percent, to settle at $66.73.

Trading in the U.S. is closed Friday for the Independence Day holiday.

Oil came off an eight-month intraday high of $73.38 a barrel earlier this week on growing investor concerns that a doubling of the crude price since March isn't justified by a sluggish global economy.

Weak jobs figures released Thursday suggested consumption will remain tepid and crude demand may not pick up quickly.

A Labor Department report showed the U.S. economy lost a larger-than-expected 467,000 jobs in June. The unemployment rate climbed to 9.5 percent, a 26-year high.

Unemployment in the 16 countries that use the euro spiked to a ten-year high in May, also at 9.5 percent.

The dismal economic data undermined investor confidence and sent the Dow Jones industrial average down 2.6 percent Thursday. Most Asian stock indexes also opened lower Friday.

In other Nymex trading, gasoline for August delivery fell 1.3 cents to $1.78 a gallon and heating oil held at $1.70. Natural gas for August delivery rose 4.8 cents to $3.66 per 1,000 cubic feet.

In London, Brent prices slid 38 cents to $66.27 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Jackson's final rehearsal

A video released Thursday showed Michael Jackson vigorously practicing a song-and-dance routine days before his death, supporting accounts he had been in good health.

In footage obtained by AFP, the pop legend performed at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on June 23, two days before he died, as he prepared for a 50-date set in London starting in July.

Jackson, while thin, is seen dancing with energy in a tightly choreographed sequence with a group of performers. Jackson sings on a headset and at one point pushes back his jacket to reveal his red shirt underneath.

In the footage, Jackson switches sharply in styles in a medley of some of his hits. The video starts with Jackson dancing wildly in front of a rock 'n' roll guitarist before a pause for dramatic effect.

Jackson then shifts to a snippet of "Billie Jean," one of his greatest hits, before singing, "They Don't Care About Us," one of his most controversial tracks in which he brought in a hip-hop influence.

The set ends with a sample of a car horn. The stage then fades to black as an outside voice instructs, "Hold for applause."

Associates of Jackson have described the 50-year-old pop star as being in good form, including at another rehearsal just hours before his death.

Jackson collapsed and died on June 25 at his rented Los Angeles mansion. Speculation has focused on whether Jackson was taking painkillers or other medication.

Jackson's voice coach Dorian Holley said Jackson was in an upbeat mood in the days before his death, joking around with his wardrobe and makeup staff.

"My friends call and ask, 'Was Michael sick? Was he weak? Was he ill?' It's the absolute opposite of that," Holley told CNN.

"He was very energetic, he was happy. He was even more playful than he normally was at rehearsal," he said.

Holley said Jackson, 50, did not show his age.

"I'm sure that he was in pain after some rehearsals. But I got to tell you something -- the guys and girls dancing with him were all in their 20s," he said.

"When Michael was on stage with them, there was only one person that you could watch and that was Michael Jackson," he said.

A similar account came from Kevin Mazur, who was attending the rehearsal sessions as a photographer.

"He was like an expectant father pacing up and down the stage," Mazur told Britain's Sun tabloid.

"He was just so focused. Between songs, he burst into laughter and joked around with his dancers and the director. I have never seen him so happy," Mazur said.

Jackson had planned a series of concerts at London's O2 Arena starting on July 13, part of a comeback for the King of Pop whose personal and financial life had sharply deteriorated in the past decade.

Concert promoters AEG Live, who released the video, are offering full ticket refunds for the concerts.

British media reports said about 50 million pounds (59 million euros, 83 million dollars) has been spent on 750,000 tickets.