Posted: 08 Feb 2010 05:38 AM PST

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All of those concerns have investors on edge about whether the global economy can recover strongly in the coming months. Stocks had rallied for 10 months after hitting 12-year lows last March on hopes of a robust rebound.

Investors are looking for fresh evidence of economic growth. The recent troubles demonstrate a recovery might not be happening as fast as some had hoped.

Overseas markets were mixed. Asian stocks fell overnight, while most European markets rose.

In early morning trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 39.14, or 0.4 percent, to 9,973.09. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 2.50, or 0.2 percent, to 1,063.69, while the Nasdaq composite index fell 4.85, or 0.2 percent, to 2,136.27.

It's a relatively quiet week in terms of economic reports that could lend further support to the strength or weakness of the economic recovery.

The weekly unemployment report, due out Thursday, will be closely watched. Economists predict the number of workers filing for unemployment benefits for the first time fell last week to 465,000 from 480,000, according to Thomson Reuters.

High unemployment remains one of the biggest obstacles to an economic recovery. However, on Friday, the Labor Department said the unemployment rate fell to 9.7 percent in January from 10 percent a month earlier.

Consumer spending also remains a problem as it accounts for more than two-thirds of all economic activity. The Commerce Department is also expected to say Thursday that retail sales rose 0.3 percent last month after falling 0.3 percent a month earlier.

In the latest earnings reports Monday, the toymaker Hasbro Inc. said its profit surged 77 percent in the fourth quarter while CVS Caremark Corp. said its earnings edged up 11 percent. The results beat Wall Street estimates and their shares rose.

Stocks are coming off an up-and-down week. Major indexes rallied early in the week on upbeat manufacturing data, only to retreat sharply on the European debt worries. Friday epitomized the recent nature of trading.

The Dow rose 10 points for the session, following a furious late-day rally. The index had been down as much as 167 points earlier in the day. For the week, the Dow lost 0.5 percent, giving it its first four-week losing streak since July.

The S&P 500 ended the week down 0.7 percent. It was the first time since March that the index has fallen four straight weeks.

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The Almanac - OfficialWire

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 12:59 AM PST

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In 1993, a chartered passenger plane collided with a military aircraft over Tehran, killing at least 132 people at a military base where Iran celebrated Air Force Day.

Also in 1993, General Motors announced it was suing NBC-TV, contending the network rigged a demonstration crash showing a GM pickup truck with "sidesaddle" fuel tank exploding into flames.

In 1995, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously to send 7,000 peacekeepers to Angola to maintain peace in the African nation.

In 2002, the Olympic Winter Games opened in Salt Lake City.

In 2003, Syria and Israel exchanged fire for the first time in 29 years in a dispute over a Syrian civilian killed in the demilitarized zone separating the two countries.

In 2004, U.S. President George Bush acknowledged in a TV interview that he might have been wrong in claiming before the war that Iraq had stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction. But, he said, "I expected to find the weapons."

And in 2004 entertainment, Beyonce was a five-time winner at the Grammy Awards, tying the record for most Grammys by a female artist.

In 2005, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared a truce in hostilities.

In 2006, U.S. agents joined an investigation into a rash of arson incidents that damaged nine rural Alabama churches in five days.

Also in 2006, police opened fire on an Afghanistan mob protesting a series of published cartoons that depict the Prophet Mohammed, killing four protesters and raising the death toll there to 11.

And, an eight-year federal study said a low-fat diet doesn't decrease the risk of heart disease, cancer or stroke.

In 2007, Anna Nicole Smith, a 39-year-old actress, model and tabloid fixture, was found dead in a Hollywood, Fla., hotel. Her death was attributed to accidental sedative overdose.

Also in 2007, the warring Palestinian political factions, Hamas and Fatah, attempted to end the violence with a unity government.

In 2008, a man at odds with city officials went on a shooting rampage at a Kirkwood, Mo., City Council meeting, killing five people, police said. Officers shot and killed the suspect, identified as Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton, an independent contractor.

Also in 2008, an explosion rocked the Imperial Sugar Co. facility at Fort Wentworth, Ga., near Savannah. Four people were killed and about 30 others were injured.

In 2009, U.S. spy chiefs are reported to have warned President Barack Obama that British-born Islamic extremists, with usually easier access through a visa waiver program, are the biggest terror threat to the United States.

A thought for the day: Booker T. Washington said, "Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed."

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Abraham Lincoln: A new book - TheDay

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 12:59 AM PST

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Just in time for Abraham Lincoln's 201st birthday comes a new book by Norman F. Boas, M.D., "Abraham Lincoln: Illustrated Biographical Dictionary, Family and Associates. 1809-1861."

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Many volumes have been written about the rail-splitter president who piloted our country during the bloody years of the Civil War, including Michael Burlingame's recent monumental life. But this book is different. A different Lincoln emerges from these pages.

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Boas has given us a biographical reference volume detailing the ancestors, relatives, neighbors, friends and law associates of the man's early years which brings to life little known or largely forgotten incidents in the life of this national hero.

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Dr. Boas is the author of many scientific and historic articles and books including a biography of his distinguished ancestor, anthropologist Franz Boas. For more than 20 years Dr. Boas has collected letters and documents relating to Lincoln's life before the presidency. Noting a dearth of information about the individuals who knew or worked with Lincoln, he began to research their identities.

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He has compiled the results in this handsome 518-page illustrated volume, complete with 625 brief biographies along with images of the subjects and their signatures. He also includes a useful and detailed chronology of the assassinated president.

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I knew that Lincoln was a lawyer, but I never thought much about his cases. The entry for William "Duff" Armstrong relates Lincoln's involvement in one of the most famous murder trials in Illinois history. Duff was accused of murdering James Metzker in a drunken brawl; a man claimed to have witnessed the deed from 150 feet at 11 o'clock at night.

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Using an almanac, Lincoln showed clearly that there was no moon that night and at that distance the witness would have had insufficient light to see. (Doesn't this sound like Perry Mason?) Having provided this background, Boas cites a letter from Duff's mother written about her son, and includes Duff's picture in Civil War uniform.

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Another entry concerns City Clerk Oramel Abel, with a facsimile of his order to prepare Oak Ridge Cemetery "for the mortal remains of our late President Abraham Lincoln." The book is crammed with similar fascinating bits of information with dozens of examples of beautiful 19th century penmanship such as we no longer see.

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As a biographical reference volume the book is immensely useful for research. One of the nation's leading Lincoln authorities, retired Chief Justice Frank J. Williams of Rhode Island, terms the book "a succinct scholarly narrative … that is a virtual biography of Abraham Lincoln's youth."

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But it is also fun to browse through it and discover surprising Lincoln trivia. The book jacket bears an attractive Lincoln portrait by the author's grandson, Maxwell N. Boas.

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The book is available from the author at Seaport Publications, 4 Brandon Lane, Mystic for $45 plus $5 for Media Mail, or by Parcel Post, $45 plus $10. (The book weighs 2.2 pounds.) Call 860-572-8441 for more information, or e-mail ndboas@abcglobal.net.

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carolkimball0647@yahoo.com

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On Feb. 8 in NEPA - Scranton Times-Tribune

Posted: 08 Feb 2010 12:45 AM PST

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On this date in NEPA

75 years ago, Joseph Vanston, executive secretary of the NEPA Milk Marketing Committee, was found guilty of impersonating an official with the state Milk Control Board. Ralph Fern of the Electric City Creamery Co. accused Mr. Vanston of trying to represent the state Milk Control Board. Mr. Vanston's attorney said he would appeal.

50 years ago, a Dunmore man was held for questioning after he attempted to rob a taxicab driver. The man was riding in cab and when they drove onto Electric Street, he told the cabby "this is a stick-up." The cabby jumped out of the vehicle and ran to Williams' Diner to call police.

25 years ago, fake Cabbage Patch Dolls, which were sold in Scranton stores that Christmas, were found to have a petroleum distillate used in vehicle fungicides on their clothing.

10 years ago, Scranton Department of Public Works worked over the weekend to get the garbage collection back on schedule. The garbage collection was off schedule after the area was hit with its first major snowstorm four days before. Almanac

Today is Monday, Feb. 8, the 39th day of 2010. There are 326 days left in the year.

In 1693, a charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in the Virginia Colony.

In 1837, the Senate selected the vice president of the United States, choosing Richard Mentor Johnson after no candidate received a majority of electoral votes.

In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.

In 1924, the first execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City as Gee Jon, a Chinese immigrant convicted of murder, was put to death.

In 1960, work began on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles.

In 1968, three college students were killed in a confrontation with highway patrolmen in Orangeburg, S.C. during a civil rights protest against a whites-only bowling alley.

In 1978, the deliberations of the Senate were broadcast on radio for the first time as members opened debate on the Panama Canal treaties.

In 1989, 144 people were killed when an American-chartered Boeing 707 filled with Italian tourists slammed into a fog-covered mountain in the Azores.

In 2007, model, actress and tabloid sensation Anna Nicole Smith died in Florida at age 39 of an accidental drug overdose.

Ten years ago: Internet vandals continued an unprecedented campaign of electronic assaults against the biggest names in cyberspace, disrupting access for consumers to popular Web sites including eBay, Amazon.com and CNN.com. Republican George W. Bush won the Delaware presidential primary.

Five years ago: Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (ah-ree-EL' shah-ROHN') and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas (mahk-MOOD' ah-BAHS') announced a cease-fire at a summit in Egypt. An earlier-than-usual Mardi Gras festival opened in New Orleans with sparse crowds. Longtime CBS newsman George Herman died in Washington D.C. at age 85. Doobie Brothers drummer Keith Knudsen died in Kentfield, Calif. at age 56.

One year ago: Robert Plant and Alison Krauss won five Grammys, including album of the year, for "Raising Sand." R&B singer Chris Brown was arrested on suspicion of making a criminal threat (he was later sentenced to five years of probation for beating his longtime girlfriend, singer Rihanna). The NFC rallied to a 30-21 victory over the AFC in the Pro Bowl.

Today's Birthdays: Composer-conductor John Williams is 78. Former ABC News anchor Ted Koppel is 70. Actor Nick Nolte is 69. Comedian Robert Klein is 68. Actor-rock musician Creed Bratton is 67. Singer Ron Tyson is 62. Actress Brooke Adams is 61. Actress Mary Steenburgen is 57. Author John Grisham is 55. Actor Henry Czerny is 51. Rock singer Vince Neil (Motley Crue) is 49. Rock singer-musician Sammy Llanas (YAH'-nus) (The BoDeans) is 49. Environmental Protection Agency administrator Lisa P. Jackson is 48. Actor Gary Coleman is 42. Actress Mary McCormack is 41. Rock musician Keith Nelson (Buckcherry) is 41. Retired NBA player Alonzo Mourning is 40. Actor Seth Green is 36. Actor Josh Morrow is 36. Rock musician Phoenix (Linkin Park) is 33. Rock musician Jeremy Davis (Paramore) is 25. Rock musician Max Grahn (Carolina Liar) is 22. Actor Ryan Pinkston is 22. Actress Karle Warren ("Judging Amy") is 18.

Thought for Today: "Health is the thing that makes you feel that now is the best time of the year." - Franklin P. Adams, American journalist (1881-1960).

(Above Advance for Use Monday, Feb. 8)

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Almanacs

Monday, February 8, 2010

Almanacs “Stock futures narrowly mixed ahead of market open - The Sun News” plus 3 more

Almanacs “Stock futures narrowly mixed ahead of market open - The Sun News” plus 3 more

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