Stocks head lower, pushing S&P 500 down from high

 Stocks sank on Wall Street, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 index down from the five-year high it reached Friday.The move lower on Monday is likely the result of investors taking some winnings off the table after the stock market's surge last week, said Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ.Investors are also preparing for corporate America's seasonal parade of earnings...

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Stocks sink, pushing S&P 500 down from 5-year high

Stocks sank on Wall Street, pushing the Standard & Poor's 500 index down from the five-year high it reached Friday.The move lower on Monday is likely the result of investors taking some winnings off the table after the stock market's surge last week, said Sam Stovall, chief equity strategist at S&P Capital IQ.Investors are also preparing for corporate America's seasonal parade of earnings...

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U.S. stocks fall from 5-year high; euro rises

Wall Street stock prices retreated from five-year highs on Monday, while the euro rose against the dollar on bets the European Central Bank might refrain from signaling more interest rate cuts on Thursday.The weakness in the equities market, partly due to caution ahead of companies beginning to report on their fourth-quarter earnings, spurred selling of oil, gold and other risky investments. This...

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Venezuela's Chavez fighting severe lung infection

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan lawmakers will meet Saturday in a session that could shed light on what steps may be taken if President Hugo Chavez is too sick to be sworn in for a new term next week.Legislators will choose a president, two vice presidents and other leaders of the National Assembly, which is controlled by a pro-Chavez majority. Whoever is elected National Assembly president could...

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Venezuela VP: Chavez could be sworn in by court

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez could be sworn in by the Supreme Court later on if he's not able to take the oath of office before lawmakers next week because of his struggle with cancer, his vice president said Friday.The stance announced by Vice President Nicolas Maduro conflicts with the argument by some opposition leaders that the president of the National Assembly would...

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Venezuela VP: Chavez can be sworn in by Court

CARACAS, Venezuela (AP) — Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez can take the oath of office for his next term before the Supreme Court at a later date if the ailing leader isn't fit to be sworn in next week, his vice president said.Vice President Nicolas Maduro sent the strongest signal yet that the government may seek to postpone Chavez's inauguration as the 58-year-old president fights a severe respiratory...

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News Summary: S&P 500 ends week at a 5-year high

DECEMBER JOBS: Stocks headed higher, capping a good week, after a report showed that hiring held up in December during the tense fiscal negotiations in Washington, with U.S. employers adding 155,000 jobs.FIVE-YEAR HIGH: Stocks moved up at the end of the day pushing the Standard & Poor's to its highest close in five years.GOOD START: Stocks got the year off to a strong start, surging after lawmakers...

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Fed officials eye timeline for ending asset purchases

SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve could halt its asset purchases this year if the economy improves and unemployment drops, two top Fed officials said on Friday, a view seconded by most economists at Wall Street's top financial institutions.Meanwhile, another top Fed official warned the U.S. central bank's aggressive easing plan threatens the Fed's credibility.St. Louis Fed President James...

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Wall Street cheers "cliff" deal, but only for now

NEW YORK (AP) — When lawmakers delivered a long-delayed, last-minute agreement on the budget, Wall Street celebrated. And it would be easy to think that the surge in the Dow the following day meant that investors had put their concerns about Washington's political gridlock behind them.The Dow Jones industrial average surged on the news, but that doesn't mean the volatility is over. In fact, there...

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Turkey: Military will keep fighting rebel Kurds

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkey will press ahead with military operations against autonomy-seeking Kurdish rebels even as Turkish officials hold talks with the rebels' jailed leader to end the 28-year-old conflict, officials said Friday.Last week, the government confirmed that Turkey's intelligence agency was talking to rebel leader Abdullah Ocalan with the aim of convincing the Kurdistan Workers' Party,...

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