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United Nations Reviewing Asteroid Impact Threat

Label: World

The Russian fireball and the close flyby of the asteroid 2012 DA14 on Friday (Feb. 15) came at a moment in time when the United Nations is discussing international response to the near-Earth object impact concern.

Detailed discussions about the Russian meteor explosion and Earth’s encounter with asteroid 2012 DA14 were high on the Feb. 15 agenda of Action Team-14 during the 50th session of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS), being held from Feb. 11 to 22 at the United Nations headquarters in Vienna.

The multi-year work of Action Team-14 (AT-14) is focused on pushing forward on an international response to the impact threat of asteroids and other near-Earth objects (NEOs).

Up for discussion at the Vienna gathering is the report: “Near-Earth Objects, 2011-2012, Recommendations of the Action Team on Near-Earth Objects for an International Response to the Near-Earth Object Impact Threat.” [See video of the Russian meteor explosion]

Future threatening asteroids

“This event in Russia and the pass of the larger asteroid 2012 DA14 are good reminders that many thousands of objects like it pass near Earth daily,” said Ray Williamson, a senior advisor to the Secure World Foundation and a participant in the Vienna gathering.

Secure World Foundation is a private operating foundation dedicated to the secure and sustainable use of space for the benefit of Earth and all its peoples.

Williamson said that some objects will be larger and cause considerable damage if they strike Earth. Furthermore, it is critical that efforts continue to identify and track asteroids in order to counter the largest ones before they do serious damage to population centers.

“Work is continuing within the United Nations on developing international responses to future threatening asteroids. Given the uncertainties concerning where such asteroids might strike Earth and how much damage they might do, international responses will be critical,” Williamson told SPACE.com.

Also taking part in the UN NEO working group is space scientist, Detlef Koschny of the European Space Agency’s European Space Research and Technology Center (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, The Netherlands.

“The day before we thought it is great timing that 2012 DA14 flies by in the evening … and were shocked when in the morning we learned about the Russia event,” Koschny told SPACE.com. “What a coincidence. Was this a cosmic warning shot? It makes you think.”

Timely warnings

For its part, the UN Action Team-14 has been deliberating over the years regarding the makeup and focus of an Information, Analysis and Warning Network (IAWN), designed to gather and analyze NEO data and provide timely warnings to national authorities should a potentially hazardous NEO threaten Earth.

That report and its findings are being shouldered by Sergio Camacho who chairs the Action Team on NEOs – a group that was established in 2001.

But gluing together a planetary defense strategy is not easy and includes a number of components: from finding potentially hazardous objects, predicting their future locations, and providing warning about future impacts with the Earth.

Furthermore, such a strategy also involves missions to deflect impacting asteroids by changing their orbit, as well as disaster preparedness management and, in the event of a NEO strike, shaping a mitigation and recovery plan to counteract consequences.

The need for an IAWN had been identified in the September 2008 report: “Asteroid Threats: A Call for a Global Response,” a document prepared by an expert panel convened by the Association of Space Explorers (ASE) to assist the work of AT-14.

Here is an excerpt of the 2008 asteroid threat report.

Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is former director of research for the National Commission on Space and a past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society’s Ad Astra and Space World magazine, and has written for SPACE.com since 1999.Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We’re also on Facebook & Google+.

Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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G20 steps back from currency brink, heat off Japan

Label: World

MOSCOW (Reuters) - The Group of 20 nations declared on Saturday there would be no currency war and deferred plans to set new debt-cutting targets, underlining broad concern about the fragile state of the world economy.

Japan's expansive policies, which have driven down the yen, escaped direct criticism in a statement thrashed out in Moscow by policymakers from the G20, which spans developed and emerging markets and accounts for 90 percent of the world economy.

Analysts said the yen, which has dropped 20 percent as a result of aggressive monetary and fiscal policies to reflate the Japanese economy, may now continue to fall.

"The market will take the G20 statement as an approval for what it has been doing -- selling of the yen," said Neil Mellor, currency strategist at Bank of New York Mellon in London. "No censure of Japan means they will be off to the money printing presses."

After late-night talks, finance ministers and central bankers agreed on wording closer than expected to a joint statement issued last Tuesday by the Group of Seven rich nations backing market-determined exchange rates.

A draft communiqué on Friday had steered clear of the G7's call for economic policy not to be targeted at exchange rates. But the final version included a G20 commitment to refrain from competitive devaluations and stated monetary policy would be directed only at price stability and growth.

"The mood quite clearly early on was that we needed desperately to avoid protectionist measures ... that mood permeated quite quickly," Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty told reporters, adding that the wording of the G20 statement had been hardened up by the ministers.

As a result, it reflected a substantial, but not complete, endorsement of Tuesday's proclamation by the G7 nations - the United States, Japan, Britain, Canada, France, Germany and Italy.

As with the G7 intervention, Tokyo said it gave it a green light to pursue its policies unchecked.

"I have explained that (Prime Minister Shinzo) Abe's administration is doing its utmost to escape from deflation and we have gained a certain understanding," Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters.

"We're confident that if Japan revives its own economy that would certainly affect the world economy as well. We gained understanding on this point."

Flaherty admitted it would be difficult to gauge if domestic policies were aimed at weakening currencies or not.

NO FISCAL TARGETS

The G20 also made a commitment to a credible medium-term fiscal strategy, but stopped short of setting specific goals as most delegations felt any economic recovery was too fragile.

The communiqué said risks to the world economy had receded but growth remained too weak and unemployment too high.

"A sustained effort is required to continue building a stronger economic and monetary union in the euro area and to resolve uncertainties related to the fiscal situation in the United States and Japan, as well as to boost domestic sources of growth in surplus economies," it said.

A debt-cutting pact struck in Toronto in 2010 will expire this year if leaders fail to agree to extend it at a G20 summit of leaders in St Petersburg in September.

The United States says it is on track to meet its Toronto pledge but argues that the pace of future fiscal consolidation must not snuff out demand. Germany and others are pressing for another round of binding debt targets.

"We had a broad consensus in the G20 that we will stick to the commitment to fulfill the Toronto goals," German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said. "We do not have any interest in U.S.-bashing ... In St. Petersburg follow-up-goals will be decided."

The G20 put together a huge financial backstop to halt a market meltdown in 2009 but has failed to reach those heights since. At successive meetings, Germany has pressed the United States and others to do more to tackle their debts. Washington in turn has urged Berlin to do more to increase demand.

Backing in the communiqué for the use of domestic monetary policy to support economic recovery reflected the U.S. Federal Reserve's commitment to monetary stimulus through quantitative easing, or QE, to promote recovery and jobs.

QE entails large-scale bond buying -- $85 billion a month in the Fed's case -- that helps economic growth but has also unleashed destabilising capital flows into emerging markets.

A commitment to minimize such "negative spillovers" was an offsetting point in the text that China, fearful of asset bubbles and lost export competitiveness, highlighted.

"Major developed nations (should) pay attention to their monetary policy spillover," Vice Finance Minister Zhu Guangyao was quoted by state news agency Xinhua as saying in Moscow.

Russia, this year's chair of the G20, admitted the group had failed to reach agreement on medium-term budget deficit levels and expressed concern about ultra-loose policies that it and other emerging economies say could store up trouble for later.

On currencies, the G20 text reiterated its commitment last November, "to move more rapidly toward mores market-determined exchange rate systems and exchange rate flexibility to reflect underlying fundamentals, and avoid persistent exchange rate misalignments".

It said disorderly exchange rate movements and excess volatility in financial flows could harm economic and financial stability.

(Additional reporting by Gernot Heller, Lesley Wroughton, Maya Dyakina, Tetsushi Kajimoto, Jan Strupczewski, Lidia Kelly, Katya Golubkova, Jason Bush, Anirban Nag and Michael Martina. Writing by Douglas Busvine. Editing by Timothy Heritage/Mike Peacock)

Russian Fireball Highlights Asteroid Threat, Lawmaker Says

Label: World

The dramatic meteor explosion over Russia Friday (Feb. 15) highlights the need for more attention to be paid to the threat of near-Earth asteroids, an influential American congressman says.

Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.), vice chairman of the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, responded to the Russian fireball by saying the event should serve as a wakeup call.

“We have been looking forward to the close pass of asteroid 2012 DA14, which will pass between the Earth’s surface and our communications satellites this afternoon,” Rohrabacher said on Friday, referring to the 150-foot-wide (45 meters) space rock that came within just 17,200 miles (27,000 kilometers) of our planet that day.

“We have calculated that there is no chance this asteroid will impact the Earth, and that we will get an opportunity for a close-up view as it flies past,” he added. “Unfortunately, we didn’t see the one that exploded over Russia until it happened.”

Rohrabacher said that the United States has been spending millions to find and track asteroids and comets, but the object that exploded over Russia was apparently so small “that we aren’t even looking for objects of this size.”

Astronomers estimate that the Russian meteor was caused by a 50-foot-wide (15 m) object that weighed about 7,000 tons.

“What concerns me even more, however, is the fact that we have no plan that can protect the Earth from any comet or asteroid,” Rohrabacher said. “So, even if we find one that will hit us, we might not be able to deflect it.”

Change may be in the offing, however. The House science committee announced today that it will hold a hearing in the coming weeks on how to deal with the threat posed by potentially hazardous asteroids.

“This is the only preventable natural disaster, and we have mounting evidence that this a real and tangible danger,” Rohrabacher said. “Our heartfelt prayers go out to all those affected by this [Russian] event, and this shows that we must protect ourselves, and the planet, from this clear danger.

Leonard David has been reporting on the space industry for more than five decades. He is former director of research for the National Commission on Space and a past editor-in-chief of the National Space Society’s Ad Astra and Space World magazines. He has written for SPACE.com since 1999. Follow SPACE.com on Twitter @Spacedotcom. We’re also on Facebook & Google+.

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Wall Street flat after data, S&P on pace for seventh weekly gain

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks were little changed on Friday and the S&P 500 remained on track for a seventh week of gains after upbeat consumer sentiment data, as equities continued a phase of consolidation after a strong start to the year.

The S&P 500, up nearly 7 percent so far this year, is facing strong technical resistance near the 1,525 level. But investors, expecting the index to advance further in the quarter, have held back from locking in profits.

"The market has run awfully hard on a year-to-date basis and certainly some consolidation, a couple of percentage points of pullback, is probably at hand, probably healthy and is probably where we are," said Jim Russell, senior equity strategist for U.S. Bank Wealth Management in Cincinnati.

Data released Friday illustrated the bumpy road the U.S. economic recovery continues to take.

The New York Federal Reserve said manufacturing in New York state expanded for the first time in seven months, while Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary reading of consumer sentiment rose from the prior month and beat expectations.

But data also showed U.S. manufacturing fell in January after a rise in the prior month.

"We are at a point where the macro news will continue to be a two-steps forward, one-step back kind of progression, with most of the news showing a firmness, but an occasional data point that will represent a step back," Russell said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> added 5.07 points, or 0.04 percent, to 13,978.46. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> shed 0.20 points, or 0.01 percent, to 1,521.18. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> gained 1.02 points, or 0.03 percent, to 3,199.68.

The benchmark S&P 500 is on track to register its seventh straight week of gains by the close of trading Friday, a feat not seen since a run of consecutive weekly gains between December 2010 and January 2011.

A surge in merger and acquisition activity, with more than $158 billion in deals announced so far in 2013, has given further support to the equity market as it points to healthy valuations and bets on the economic outlook.

Herbalife shares jumped 13.1 percent to $42.27 a day after billionaire investor Carl Icahn said in a regulatory filing that he now owns 13 percent of Herbalife and was ready to put it in play.

MeadWestvaco Corp climbed 10.6 percent to $35.04 as the biggest percentage gainer on the S&P index after activist investor Nelson Peltz's Trian Fund Management LP said in an SEC filing it had bought about 1.6 million shares of the packaging company.

Burger King Worldwide shares gained 2.4 percent to $16.98 after it beat estimates with a 94 percent rise in fourth-quarter profit, thanks to new menu additions.

Oil service stocks declined, weighed by a 5.8 percent drop in shares of Transocean to $55.89, after the rig contractor reported its fleet update and Deutsche Bank cut its rating on the stock to "sell." The PHLX oil service sector <.osx> lost 1.9 percent.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Robot Car’s Copilot is an iPad

Label: World

Think you need a chauffeur to get around in style? Think again. New robotic technology is making it possible for drivers to get where they’re going without having to do all that pesky steering themselves.

Engineers at the University of Oxford recently demonstrated the latest in automated technology using a Nissan Leaf electric car. The navigation system in this self-driving car uses built-in cameras and lasers linked to a computer in the trunk and is controlled by an iPad on the dashboard.

When the system recognizes a familiar route, the iPad flashes a prompt for the driver to activate ‘auto drive.’ From there, the system takes over navigation but can be halted at any time with a tap on the brake pedal.

And though automated technology in vehicles is nothing new- there are many cars on the market that can park themselves and react to changing road conditions- researchers believe that this “auto drive” system could be the next big thing for the car industry.

“Instead of imagining some cars driving themselves all of the time we should imagine a time when all cars can drive themselves some of the time,” said Paul Newman of Oxford University’s Department of Engineering Science. “The sort of very low cost, low footprint autonomy we are developing is what’s needed for everyday use.”

Researchers can thank recent advancements in 3D laser mapping for the affordability of the automated system, Newman said. Unlike GPS navigation systems, this robotic technology relies on the rapid upload of detailed images of the car’s immediate surroundings.

“Because our cities don’t change very quickly, robotic vehicles will know and look out for familiar structures as they pass by so that they can ask a human driver, ‘I know this route, do you want me to drive?’ and the driver can choose to let the technology take over,” said Newman.

Researchers believe automated technology has the ability to make the driving experience safer, more efficient, and even more enjoyable for commuters.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Wall Street erases earlier losses; M&A news, data support

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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks erased earlier losses to trade flat by late morning on Thursday as a flurry of M&A deals and better-than-expected jobs data fed optimism to the market, although signs of economic weakness in Europe and Japan curbed appetite for risky assets.

Among the M&A announcements, shares of H.J. Heinz Co jumped 20 percent to $72.50 after it said Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway and 3G Capital will buy the company for $72.50 a share, or $28 billion including debt.

Also supporting the market, U.S. data showed the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits fell more than expected in the latest week. But data out of Europe showed a contraction of 0.6 percent in gross domestic product in the euro zone, the steepest for the bloc since the first quarter of 2009. Japan's GDP shrank 0.1 percent in the fourth quarter, crushing expectations of a modest return to growth.

"The only reason a company buys another company is because they see an upside. Even though we are at multiyear highs, this kind of activity shows that there is more room for a rally, feeding optimism to the market," said Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at Charles Schwab.

"The jobless claims numbers were solid, and with the European market closing, the news out of Europe is pretty much done for the day."

But Frederick added the market would have to see small corrections before breaking above current levels, where indexes have been hovering for almost two weeks. The S&P 500 is up more than 6 percent so far this year, near its highest level since November 2007.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 1.20 points, or 0.01 percent, at 13,981.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 0.03 points, or 0.00 percent, at 1,520.36. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 2.65 points, or 0.08 percent, at 3,194.23.

Constellation Brands soared more than 35 percent to $43.26 after terms of its takeover of Mexican brewer Grupo Modelo were revised, granting it perpetual rights to distribute Corona and other Modelo brands in the United States. AB InBev ADRs gained 5.5 percent to $93.08.

American Airlines and US Airways Group said they plan to merge in a deal that will form the world's biggest air carrier, with an equity valuation of about $11 billion. US Airways shares fell 2.4 percent to $14.31.

Shrinking European economies translated to a 5-percent drop in revenue from the region for Cisco Systems , which nonetheless beat estimates as it reported its results late Wednesday. The company's shares slid 1.4 percent to $20.84.

General Motors Co reported a weaker-than-expected fourth-quarter profit, also citing bigger losses in Europe alongside lower prices in its core North American market. The stock was off 0.8 percent at $28.42.

(Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Nick Zieminski)

Wall Street flat, S&P 500 touches November 2007 high

Label: World

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Wednesday after the S&P 500 index hit a November 2007 intraday high, but volume was low and investors stayed cautious with indexes near multi-year closing highs.

The benchmark index got a boost from Comcast Corp when the cable company said it will buy the rest of NBC Universal for $16.7 billion from General Electric Co .

Equities have been strong performers until recently, buoyed largely by healthy growth in corporate earnings, which helped the S&P 500 to rise 6.5 percent so far this year. The Dow industrials are about 1 percent away from an all-time intraday high, reached in October 2007.

Those gains could leave the market vulnerable to a pullback as investors take profits amid a dearth of new catalysts. While analysts see an upward bias in stocks, recent daily moves have been small and trading volumes light with indexes at multi-year highs.

"I was expecting a 12-15 percent return on the S&P for the whole year of 2013, and we have done about half of that in just 5-6 weeks," said Jack De Gan, principal at Harbor Advisory in Portsmouth, New Hampshire.

"We will hit resistance, but the fundamentals and micro picture are looking good, so if there is a correction it's going to be a brief one."

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was down 52.99 points, or 0.38 percent, at 13,965.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 0.61 points, or 0.04 percent, at 1,518.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 3.35 points, or 0.11 percent, at 3,189.85.

Economic data proved no catalyst giving investors direction. The government said retail sales rose 0.1 percent in January, as expected. Tax increases and higher gasoline prices restrained spending.

The S&P 500 was well over its 50-day moving average of 1,460.92, a sign the market could be overbought.

Comcast agreed late Tuesday to buy General Electric Co's remaining 49 percent stake in NBC Universal for $16.7 billion. Comcast jumped 6.2 percent to $41.40 as the S&P's top percentage gainer while Dow component GE was up 3 percent to $23.26.

Deere & Co reported earnings that beat expectations and raised its full-year profit outlook. After initially rallying in premarket trading, the stock fell 2.3 percent to $91.80.

According to the latest Thomson Reuters data, of the 353 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported results, 70.3 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, above a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 5.3 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

Industrial and construction shares were lower even though in his State of the Union address President Barack Obama called for $50 billion in spending to create jobs by rebuilding degraded roads and bridges.

The Dow Jones Home Construction index <.djushb> was off 0.2 percent.

(Reporting By Angela Moon; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Ex-Cop Dorner ‘Sightings’ Highlight Problems with Eyewitnesses

Label: World

Police have found charred human remains of what they suspect is ex-police officer Christopher Dorner, accused of several killings in the Los Angeles area. But during the manhunt for the ex-cop, police received eyewitness reports of the ex-cop in dozens of places around Southern California in the past few days.

Heavily armed police officers descended on a Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet in Tarzana after a tipster said Dorner might be inside; the police arrested one innocent African-American man who barely resembled Dorner, soon releasing him.

Dorner was soon spotted at a Lowe’s home improvement store in Northridge, causing the outlet to be evacuated and a SWAT team to be dispatched, but the suspect wasn’t there either; he was also reported at Men’s Central Jail in downtown Los Angeles, and so on. At last report, Dorner was said to be in the San Bernardino Mountains — where he was ultimately found at Big Bear — though tips continued to place him elsewhere.

The public can often play an instrumental role in helping find missing persons; it is how Elizabeth Smart was eventually recovered after being abducted from her Salt Lake City home in 2002. But such tips can also be completely wrong. [Mistaken Identity? 10 Contested Death Penalty Cases]

In 2002 two snipers attacked the Washington, D.C., area and terrorized much of the public. Based upon eyewitness descriptions, law enforcement agencies alerted people to look out for suspects in a white van. Thousands of vehicles were stopped and searched, jamming highways for miles. The focus on a white van intensified after a shooting outside a store in suburban Virginia, when a man claimed to have seen the killer standing next to such a vehicle. The witness later admitted that he lied to police, likely seeking media attention.

While some false sightings are pranks meant to get attention, most come from sincere eyewitnesses trying to help out. Elvis Presley-sighting jokes aside, these reports pose a real problem for police. It is not uncommon, especially in high-profile hunts for fugitives or missing persons, for dozens or hundreds of sightings to be reported to law enforcement. Police, of course, must treat all sightings and reports as potential leads; ignoring a valid tip might cost lives.

The many false sightings of Dorner were not unique. One of the most famous cases of false sightings occurred with the disappearance of a 3-year-old British girl named Madeleine McCann, last seen at a resort in Portugal in May 2007. Her presumed abduction made international news, and photos of McCann circulated widely as police and the girl’s family hoped for tips from the public. This led to McCann being “sighted” in dozens of different places in Europe and around the world, from Belgium to Brazil, Australia to Africa, by eyewitnesses who reported the girl.

All of this has implications for psychology and eyewitness reliability; if you tell people what to look for, any face or physique that is even remotely similar (large black male, small blonde girl) can become a (false)-positive identification. By some estimates, as many as one-third of eyewitness identifications in criminal cases are wrong, and nearly 200 people who were convicted of crimes based on positive eyewitness identifications were later exonerated through DNA evidence.

In the Dorner case, the $ 1 million reward offered for information that led to his capture understandably increased the public’s incentive for reporting all potential sightings.

Benjamin Radford is deputy editor of “Skeptical Inquirer” science magazine and author of six books including “Media Mythmakers: How Journalists, Activists, and Advertisers Mislead Us.” His Web site is www.BenjaminRadford.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Wall Street pauses after gains, awaits Obama address

Label: World

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were little changed on Tuesday, with the S&P 500 holding near multi-year highs ahead of President Barack Obama's State of the Union address.

The economy will be a major topic of Obama's speech before a joint session of Congress set for 9 p.m. (0200 GMT Wednesday). Investors will listen for any clues on a deal with Republicans to avert automatic spending cuts due to take effect March 1.

The S&P 500 has risen in the past six weeks and is up 6.5 percent so far this year. But gains have been harder to come by since the benchmark S&P index hit a five-year high on February 1. The market has to consolidate strong gains at the year's start while investors search for reasons to drive stocks higher.

"The market itself at this point has got to digest this six-plus percentage point move ... we are due for that pause," said Drew Nordlicht, managing director at HighTower Advisors in San Diego.

Investors are "looking for more data at this point going forward to support the thesis that corporate profits will continue to grow and the economy has turned the corner."

The White House has signaled Obama in his speech will urge U.S. investment in infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy and education. He is also expected to call for comprehensive trade talks with the European Union.

With earnings season moving to its latter stages, of the 353 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings, 70.3 percent have exceeded analysts' expectations, above a 62 percent average since 1994 and 65 percent over the past four quarters according to Thomson Reuters data through Tuesday morning.

Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies are estimated to have risen 5.3 percent, according to the data, above a 1.9 percent forecast at the start of the earnings season.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 27.65 points, or 0.20 percent, to 13,998.89. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> added 1.03 points, or 0.07 percent, to 1,518.04. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> dipped 1.60 points, or 0.05 percent, to 3,190.41.

Coca-Cola Co shares fell 1.9 percent to $37.88 and were the biggest drag on the Dow after the world's largest soft drink maker reported quarterly revenue slightly below analysts' estimates, hurt by a weaker-than-expected performance in Europe.

Housing shares climbed, led by a 12.9 percent jump in Masco Corp to $20.09 after the home improvement product maker posted fourth-quarter earnings and said it expects new home construction to show strong growth in 2013. The PHLX housing sector index <.hgx> gained 2.7 percent.

Avon Products shares surged 16.7 percent to $20.16 after the beauty products company reported a better-than-expected quarterly profit.

Goodyear Tire & Rubber shares lost 3.1 percent to $13.48 after it posted a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit but cut its 2013 forecast due to weakness in the European automotive market.

Michael Kors Holdings shares jumped 10.9 percent to $63.24 after the fashion company handily beat Wall Street's estimates and raised its full-year outlook.

(Reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Wall Street dips from multiyear highs, Fed's Yellen on tap

Label: World

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks slipped at the open on Monday, with the S&P and Nasdaq dipping from multiyear highs, as Google shares weighed on the market on plans by its former chief executive to sell a large chunk of his stake in the Internet company.

Trading volume was relatively low, which could make the market volatile and exaggerate moves.

Google fell 0.9 percent at $777.94 after the company said in a filing former chief executive Eric Schmidt is selling roughly 42 percent of his Google stake, a move that could potentially net him $2.51 billion.

The decline was partly offset by gains in Apple , up 1.2 percent at $480.78 after a New York Times report that the iPhone maker is experimenting with the design of a device similar to a wristwatch.

No economic data or major earnings reports are scheduled for Monday, but Federal Reserve Vice Chair Janet Yellen is due to speak about the economic recovery at 1 p.m.

Upbeat U.S. and Chinese data last week helped the S&P 500 extend its weekly winning streak to six. The benchmark is up more than 6 percent so far this year after a steep rally in January that has stalled as the S&P and Dow industrials near record highs.

The large market rally so far this year has created space for hesitation in the absence of clear catalysts, according to Steve Goldman, principal at Goldman Management in Short Hills, New Jersey.

"Some positives behind the market rally are still there, and the path of least resistance is likely to be higher," he said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 35.39 points or 0.25 percent, to 13,957.58, the S&P 500 <.spx> lost 1.94 points or 0.13 percent, to 1,515.99 and the Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> dropped 5.75 points or 0.18 percent, to 3,188.12.

US Airways shares edged up as people familiar with the matter said an $11 billion merger with AMR Corp appeared closer. The deal would create the world's largest airline by passenger traffic.

Opposition grew to the $24.4 billion buyout of Dell Inc , the No. 3 personal computer maker, as three of the largest investors joined Southeastern Asset Management on Friday in raising objections. Dell said in a regulatory filing it had considered many strategic options before opting to go private in a buyout led by Chief Executive Michael Dell.

Dell shares hovered near $13.65, the buyout offer price.

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc shares jumped 8 percent to $179.11 after Sanofi said it plans to buy Regeneron's common stock.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Kenneth Barry)

Clean-up starts after tornado mauls Mississippi, injuring dozens

Label: World

TUPELO, Mississippi (Reuters) – Authorities were assessing the damage on Monday caused by a swarm of tornadoes and severe weather that ripped through seven Mississippi counties, injuring dozens of people as homes and other buildings were torn apart.

“It’s definitely in the dozens,” Mississippi Emergency Management spokesman Greg Flynn said of the total number of residents injured by the twisters.

He said no deaths had been reported after a tornado believed to be at least a mile wide touched down in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, shortly before sunset on Sunday, but two people hospitalized in Lamar County suffered critical injuries.

The National Weather Service said it counted at least three separate twisters across south-central Mississippi.

At least 100 homes sustained some damage or were badly mangled in the tornadoes and other buildings that were damaged included parts of the University of Southern Mississippi, Flynn said.

He said most students at the university were off campus for the Mardi Gras holiday when the twister damaged several buildings there, including a performing arts center and an alumni house.

Mississippi Governor Phil Bryant declared a state of emergency in all seven counties hit by the severe weather and power outages continued across a widespread area as a steady rain fell on Monday.

“The bad thing is, it keeps raining,” said Flynn. “It’s supposed to rain all day today and then all day tomorrow.

“We’ve already had flash-flooding issues and the creeks and the streams are all overtopped. It’s just going to make things a lot more difficult in the recovery process.”

(Writing by Tom Brown; Editing by Paul Thomasch and Dan Grebler)

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Stocks end higher for sixth straight week, tech leads

Label: World

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The Nasdaq composite stock index closed at a 12-year high and the S&P 500 index at a five-year high, boosted by gains in technology shares and stronger overseas trade figures.

The S&P 500 also posted a sixth straight week of gains for the first time since August.

The technology sector led the day's gains, with the S&P 500 technology index <.splrct> up 1.0 percent. Gains in professional network platform LinkedIn Corp and AOL Inc after they reported quarterly results helped the sector.

Shares of LinkedIn jumped 21.3 percent to $150.48 after the social networking site announced strong quarterly profits and gave a bullish forecast for the year.

AOL Inc shares rose 7.4 percent to $33.72 after the online company reported higher quarterly profit, boosted by a 13 percent rise in advertising sales.

Data showed Chinese exports grew more than expected, a positive sign for the global economy. The U.S. trade deficit narrowed in December, suggesting the U.S. economy likely grew in the fourth quarter instead of contracting slightly as originally reported by the U.S. government.

"That may have sent a ray of optimism," said Fred Dickson, chief market strategist at D.A. Davidson & Co in Lake Oswego, Oregon.

Trading volume on Friday was below average for the week as a blizzard swept into the northeastern United States.

The U.S. stock market has posted strong gains since the start of the year, with the S&P 500 up 6.4 percent since December 31. The advance has slowed in recent days, with fourth-quarter earnings winding down and few incentives to continue the rally on the horizon.

"I think we're in the middle of a trading range and I'd put plus or minus 5.0 percent around it. Fundamental factors are best described as neutral," Dickson said.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> ended up 48.92 points, or 0.35 percent, at 13,992.97. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 8.54 points, or 0.57 percent, at 1,517.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 28.74 points, or 0.91 percent, at 3,193.87, its highest closing level since November 2000.

For the week, the Dow was down 0.1 percent, the S&P 500 was up 0.3 percent and the Nasdaq up 0.5 percent.

Shares of Dell closed at $13.63, up 0.7 percent, after briefly trading above a buyout offering price of $13.65 during the session.

Dell's largest independent shareholder, Southeastern Asset Management, said it plans to oppose the buyout of the personal computer maker, setting up a battle for founder Michael Dell.

Signs of economic strength overseas buoyed sentiment on Wall Street. Chinese exports grew more than expected in January, while imports climbed 28.8 percent, highlighting robust domestic demand. German data showed a 2012 surplus that was the nation's second highest in more than 60 years, an indication of the underlying strength of Europe's biggest economy.

Separately, U.S. economic data showed the trade deficit shrank in December to $38.5 billion, its narrowest in nearly three years, indicating the economy did much better in the fourth quarter than initially estimated.

Earnings have mostly come in stronger than expected since the start of the reporting period. Fourth-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies now are estimated up 5.2 percent versus a year ago, according to Thomson Reuters data. That contrasts with a 1.9 percent growth forecast at the start of the earnings season.

Molina Healthcare Inc surged 10.4 percent to $31.88 as the biggest boost to the index after posting fourth-quarter earnings.

The CBOE Volatility index <.vix>, Wall Street's so-called fear gauge, was down 3.6 percent at 13.02. The gauge, a key measure of market expectations of short-term volatility, generally moves inversely to the S&P 500.

"I'm watching the 14 level closely" on the CBOE Volatility index, said Bryan Sapp, senior trading analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "The break below it at the beginning of the year signaled the sharp rally in January, and a rally back above it could be a sign to exercise some caution."

Volume was roughly 5.6 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, compared with the 2012 average daily closing volume of about 6.45 billion.

Advancers outpaced decliners on the NYSE by nearly 2 to 1 and on the Nasdaq by almost 5 to 3.

(Additional reporting by Angela Moon; Editing by Bernadette Baum, Nick Zieminski, Kenneth Barry and Andrew Hay)