Stocks close down on Cyprus bailout news

JeeYeon Park , CNBC ? ? ? 3 hrs.

Stocks closed in the red Monday, with the S&P 500 moving further away from its all-time high, amid worries over the bailout news in Cyprus and over fears the euro zone's bigger troubled economies such as Spain and Italy may follow suit.

(Read More:How Tiny Cyprus Could Still Have Big Market Impact)

"In the short-run, it does raise a lot of nerves because the last thing you need in Europe is to see a decline in confidence," said Anthony Chan, chief economist at JPMorgan's Chase Private Client Business. "The good news is, they're working towards making this a little bit more palatable, perhaps lowering the amount that they ask for from the insured depositors or eliminating that and just focusing on the uninsured depositors, which I think would be a step in the right direction."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed lower for the second-straight session, dragged by Boeing and Disney. Still, the blue-chip index remains on track for its best quarterly percentage gain since the fourth quarter of 2011.

The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq also ended in the red. The CBOE Volatility Index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, spiked nearly 20 percent to finish near 14.

Most key S&P sectors closed in negative territory, led byfinancials and energy.

Global markets were spooked by news of Cyprus's plan to tax bank depositors to help fund a 10 billion euro bailout from the European Commission, the European Central Bank and the International Monetary Fund. This marks the first time depositors have been asked to contribute to a financial-rescue plan during the long-running euro-zone debt crisis.

Banks in Cyprus will remain closed until Thursday pending a decision by parliament to approve a levy on bank depositors.

"The difference between today's news from Cyprus and what this news might have meant a year ago is the 'Mario Draghi put,' which means the the European Central Bank will probably step in in case of some sort of systemic risk," said Michael Sheldon, chief market strategist at RDM Financial. "It's going to be hard to really dent the recent uptrend in stock prices we've seen over the last few months without a significant piece of news."

(Read More:Cyprus Slams Brakes on Risk-On)

The euro plunged to a three-month low against the U.S. greenback and a roughly two-week trough versus the yen.

(Read More: What You Need to Know About Cyprus: El-Erian)

All major banks were sharply lower across the board, including Credit Suisse andMorgan Stanley.

"Don't look for a catalyst or a news event to be the tipping point for a meaningful pullback or correction," wrote Elliot Spar, market strategist at Stifel Nicolaus. "I continue to believe it will come from the technical side in the form of an increasing number of negative divergences, an increasing number of consecutive days of lagging NYSE breadth or a key reversal day in the major averages."

On the economic front, the homebuilder sentiment index declined to 44 in March from 46 in the month prior, according to the National Association of Home Builders, falling to the lowest level in five months. Economists polled by Reuters expected a gain to 47. A reading below 50 indicates more builders view market conditions as poor than favorable.

Shares of homebuilders including Ryland and Beazer fell following the report.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to hold a two-day meeting later this week and investors will be watching for any signs that the central bank could start winding down its quantitative easing program. The Fed's meeting will culminate with the release of its policy statement, economic forecasts and a press briefing by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday afternoon.

(Read More: Super Wednesday for World's Central Banks)

JCPenney surged to lead the S&P 500 gainers after ISI Group said the retailer has the to move to a REIT-like entity, saying the company's top 300 stores could generate approximately $1.2 billion in sublet income providing a valuation of nearly $40 a share.

Schlumberger tumbled after the oilfield services company warned that North American activity was coming in lower than expected in the first quarter, as fewer rigs were going back to work than it had expected.

Verizon gained after the company was upgraded to "buy" from "neutral" at Citigroup, which now sees the telecommunications firm executing a buyout of Vodafone's stake in Verizon Wireless that provides tax efficiency for Vodafone and earnings accretion for Verizon.

Hewlett-Packard rallied to lead the Dow gainers after Morgan Stanley upgraded the tech firm to "overweight" from "equal weight," citing positive momentum in both free cash flow and earnings, which will accelerate the timing of cash being returned to investors.

?By CNBC's JeeYeon Park (Follow JeeYeon on Twitter:@JeeYeonParkCNBC)

? 2013 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/stocks-close-down-cyprus-bailout-news-1C8912547

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Ordeal for Steubenville doesn't end with verdicts

As two teens from Steubenville, Ohio, begin their juvenile detention sentences after being found guilty of sexually assaulting a teen girl at a party, a grand jury will soon investigate whether others should also be held responsible. NBC's Ron Allen reports and legal analyst Lisa Bloom discusses the case.

By Andrew Welsh-Huggins, The Associated Press

The ordeal of an Ohio community roiled by allegations of rape against two high school football players is far from over, despite the teens' conviction for the crime and their sentence to juvenile prison terms.

The announcement of the verdict was barely an hour old Sunday when state Attorney General Mike DeWine said he was continuing his investigation and would consider charges against anyone who failed to speak up after the attack last summer, a group that could include other teens, parents, coaches and school officials.

A grand jury will meet in mid-April to consider evidence gathered by investigators from dozens of interviews, including with the Steubenville football team's 27 coaches.

Text messages introduced at the trial suggested the head coach was aware of the rape allegation early on. DeWine said coaches are among officials required by state law to report child abuse. The coach and the school district have repeatedly declined to comment.

"I've reached the conclusion that this investigation cannot be completed, simply cannot be completed, that we cannot bring finality to this matter without the convening of a grand jury," DeWine said.

The attorney general, Ohio's top law enforcement official, also said the rape was not an isolated problem specific to Steubenville. Sexual assaults occur every Friday and Saturday night across the country, DeWine said, calling it "a societal problem."

Trent Mays, 17, and Ma'Lik Richmond, 16, were sentenced to at least a year in juvenile prison in a case that has rocked this Rust Belt city of 18,000 and led to allegations of a cover-up to protect the Steubenville High team, which has won nine state championships. Mays was ordered to serve an additional year for photographing the underage girl naked.

They can be held until they turn 21.

The two broke down in tears after a Juvenile Court judge delivered his verdict. They later apologized to the victim and the community, Richmond struggling to speak through his sobs.

"My life is over," he said as he collapsed in the arms of his lawyer.

The crime, which took place after a party last summer, shocked many in Steubenville because of the seeming callousness with which other students took out their cellphones to record the attack and gossiped about it online. In fact, the case came to light via a barrage of morning-after text messages, social media posts and online photos and video.

"Many of the things we learned during this trial that our children were saying and doing were profane, were ugly," Judge Thomas Lipps said.

Mays and Richmond were charged with penetrating the West Virginia girl with their fingers, first in the back seat of a moving car after a mostly underage drinking party on Aug. 11, and then in the basement of a house.

"They treated her like a toy," prosecutor Marianne Hemmeter said.

Prosecutors argued that the victim was so intoxicated she couldn't consent to sex that night, while the defense contended the girl realized what she was doing and was known to lie.

The girl testified she could not recall what happened but woke up naked in a strange house after drinking at a party.

"It was really scary," she said. "I honestly did not know what to think because I could not remember anything."

She said she believed she was assaulted when she later read text messages among friends and saw a photo of herself naked, along with a video that made fun of her and the alleged attack.

Three other boys, two of them on the football team, saw something happening that night and didn't try to stop it but instead recorded it with their cellphones. Granted immunity to testify, they confirmed the girl was assaulted and said she was so drunk she didn't seem to know what was happening.

Evidence at the trial also included sexually explicit text messages sent by numerous students after the party. Lawyers noted how texts have seemed to replace talking on the phone for young people. A computer forensic expert documented hundreds of thousands of texts found on 17 phones seized during the investigation.

In sentencing the boys, Lipps urged parents and others "to have discussions about how you talk to your friends, how you record things on the social media so prevalent today and how you conduct yourself when drinking is put upon you by your friends."

After the arrests, the case was furiously debated on blogs and social media, with some people warning of conspiracies and conflicts of interest. On Sunday, Hemmeter, the prosecutor, criticized efforts by the hacker collective Anonymous to publicize the case, saying the attention had a chilling effect on those willing to testify.

After the verdict, the accuser's mother rebuked the boys for "lack of any moral code."

"You were your own accuser, through the social media that you chose to publish your criminal conduct on," she said. She added that the case "does not define who my daughter is. She will persevere, grow and move on."

Echoing that, the judge said that "as bad as things have been for all of the children involved in this case, they can all change their lives for the better."

___

Andrew Welsh-Huggins can be reached on Twitter at https://twitter.com/awhcolumbus

? 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/18/17357881-ordeal-for-steubenville-doesnt-end-with-rape-verdicts?lite

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Lenovo bringing contactless payments to certain NFC-enabled ThinkPads in 2013

Select ThinkPad owners may be making online purchases simply by tapping a compatible credit card to an embedded NFC reader before 2013 is through. Lenovo reps confirmed that the tech would be coming to a yet-to-be-announced array of NFC-enabled ThinkPad tablets or Ultrabooks sometime this year -- processing partnerships are still in the works, so we don't have any details to share there, but if all goes to plan, you could be submitting your card details securely and with ease very soon. The company shared the news during today's Expand conference in San Francisco, shortly after unveiling two new ThinkPad models, including the T431s Ultrabook. Lenovo hasn't confirmed whether that model will offer tap-to-pay support, too, but we certainly wouldn't rule it out. We've seen contactless payments in plenty of smartphones, of course, but widespread tablet and laptop implementation has yet to arrive.

Follow all of Engadget's Expand coverage live from San Francisco right here!

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Ronda Rousey and winner of Miesha Tate/Cat Zingano to coach coed version of ?The Ultimate Fighter?

During the broadcast of UFC 158, UFC president Dana White announced that women's bantamweight champ Ronda Rousey and the winner of an upcoming bout between Cat Zingano and Miesha Tate will coach on the next season of "The Ultimate Fighter." The new UFC division made its debut just weeks ago at UFC 157, and this will be the first time women act as coaches on the show that helped launch the UFC to the company it is today.

White said the show will feature both male and female bantamweights who are trying to win a UFC contract. They will train together and live together in a house in Las Vegas. Tryouts for bantamweight hopefuls will take place on April 15 in Las Vegas.

The longtime staple of the UFC had faltered in ratings in recent seasons. However, the season currently airing, coached by UFC light heavyweight champion Jon Jones and his upcoming opponent Chael Sonnen, has injected new life into the show.

Adding women to the mix for the first time should continue to boost ratings. If Tate wins her Apr. 13 bout against Zingano, it will add bad blood between the coaches. Tate and Rousey fought for the Strikeforce bantamweight belt last March, and had plenty of animosity with each other before the bout.

But Rousey will be a draw no matter who she coaches against. She is known for her outspoken personality, and drew a ton of interest for her UFC debut in late February.

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Bankruptcy court trustee wants to sell Casey Anthony's life story

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) ? The trustee overseeing Casey Anthony's bankruptcy case has filed a motion to sell the rights to her story so she can pay her debts.

In a motion filed Friday in federal court in Tampa, trustee Stephen Meininger asked Judge K. Rodney May for permission to sell the "exclusive worldwide rights" of Anthony's life story.

Anthony, who is now 26, was acquitted of murder in the death her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee.

Anthony has never told her side of the story, despite intense media scrutiny of the case.

During a meeting with creditors in her bankruptcy case in Tampa on March 4, Anthony said she was unemployed and hasn't received any money to tell her story. She said that she is living with friends and that those friends ? and strangers who send her gift cards and cash ? help her survive.

But Meininger, through his attorney, said he thinks that her story has value and should be auctioned off to the highest bidder.

One man, Meininger wrote, has already offered to pay $10,000 for Anthony's life story so he can prevent her from publishing or profiting from it in the future.

Meininger points out that the man's offer is not contingent on Anthony's cooperation or participation. Anthony's life story ? including details about her childhood and the disappearance and death of Caylee ? is referred to as "the Property" in the motion.

"Due to the intense public interest in Debtor and the Property, the Trustee believes that there will be interest from others in purchasing the Property," the motion reads.

An auction, with bidding, is the "best way to maximize the value for the Estate and its creditors."

A call to David Schrader, Anthony's bankruptcy attorney, was not immediately returned.

Anthony filed for bankruptcy in Florida in late January, claiming about $1,000 in assets and $792,000 in liabilities. Court papers list Anthony as unemployed, with no recent income.

Her listed debts include $500,000 for attorney fees and costs for Jose Baez, her criminal defense lawyer during the trial; $145,660 for the Orange County Sheriff's office for investigative fees and costs; $68,540 for the Internal Revenue Service for taxes, interest and penalties; and $61,505 for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for court costs.

The filling also states that she is a defendant in several lawsuits.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/trustee-wants-sell-casey-anthonys-life-story-191757682.html

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Pakistan's government resigns, smoothing way towards elections

Pakistan's government passed a major milestone Saturday, with the parliament becoming the first democratically chosen body to finish its term in a country that has faced three military coups and persistent political turmoil.

But after years of militant attacks, worsening electricity blackouts and faltering economic growth, the political party that took office five years ago on a wave of sympathy following the assassination of iconic leader Benazir Bhutto will likely find it more difficult this time to win voters to its side.

Underscoring divisions, politicians failed to reach agreement on a caretaker government in time for the final session of parliament before new elections are held. The country's constitution calls for a vote within 60 days, although no date has yet been set.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about Pakistan? Take this quiz.

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf, who maintains his position in the meantime, hailed the peaceful transition as a success for his Pakistan People's Party,

"We have strengthened the foundations of democracy to such an extent that no one will be able to harm democracy in future," Ashraf said during a nearly hourlong televised address to the nation.

Ashraf portrayed the problems in the country as something inherited from the previous regime of ousted leader Gen. Pervez Musharraf.

One of the ruling party's main achievements has been its sheer survival ? no small feat in a country that has experienced three successful coups and many more unsuccessful ones.

President Asif Ali Zardari has shown a remarkable ability to hold together a warring coalition government whose members threaten to quit every few months or so. He's also managed a balance between the need for U.S. assistance amid a deteriorating relationship between the two countries and rising anti-American sentiment.

Washington needs Pakistan's help fighting al-Qaida and stabilizing neighboring Afghanistan, but a series of recent scandals have severely damaged ties. CIA contractor Raymond Davis shot and killed two Pakistani men in Lahore, the U.S. unilaterally killed Osama bin Laden in the city of Abbottabad and American forces accidentally killed 24 Pakistani troops along the Afghan border.

"That the government has survived five years, despite rumors every three months that the government is going, should also be viewed as a kind of achievement," independent political analyst Hasan Askari Rizvi said.

Zardari and the ruling party must share some of the credit. The army, traditionally eager to step in when they perceive Pakistan to be in crisis, has shown a reticence under Army chief, Gen. Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, to involve itself at least outwardly in politics.

The main opposition party, Pakistan Muslim League-N led by Nawaz Sharif, has bypassed numerous opportunities to make life difficult for the PPP. Sharif has just as much invested in strengthening the civilian government as the PPP does, and is no friend of the army.

Sharif's party and one led by former Pakistani cricket star Imran Khan will present the greatest challenge to the PPP in the coming election.

The government's most high-profile accomplishments in the past five years have involved changing the power structure, rather than dealing with basic problems facing ordinary Pakistanis.

Through a constitutional amendment passed in 2010 under pressure from the opposition, Zardari followed through on promises to strip the presidency of many of the powers it gained under Musharraf.

The amendment prevents the president from unilaterally dissolving parliament and gives the prime minister a major role in appointing the country's armed services chiefs. The amendment also transfers considerable powers from the central government to the provinces.

But it's questionable whether these moves will deliver many votes. It's mostly the economy that will be on voters' minds.

"The economy has never been on the radar of the government. This was the most neglected area," said Ashfaque Hassan Khan, dean of the National University of Sciences and Technology's Business School. He criticized the revolving door of ministers and officials in key economy-related government bodies.

Many in the government argue that the economy hasn't fared that poorly considering the catastrophic flooding of 2010, security problems that scare off foreign investors and the global economic downturn.

But critics contend the government has failed to address major issues such as restructuring state-owned companies like the national airline, PIA.

And then there are the blackouts.

Pakistanis suffer from rolling blackouts ? euphemistically referred to as load shedding ? that can last as long as 18 hours a day in the summer. In the winter, natural gas supplies are intermittent at best.

Under the PPP, the government has tried to address the energy crisis by employing so-called rental power projects under which the government imports power stations and links them to the national grid. But the projects have been unable to generate much electricity, and critics say they were just an opportunity for graft.

The PPP insists it is tackling the energy problems. Zardari went to Iran on Monday for a high-profile ground-breaking ceremony on a pipeline intended to bring natural gas from Iran ? despite American objections.

One area where the PPP government has invested a lot of time and effort is the rural sector and helping the poor. Welfare programs like the Benazir Income Support Program have handed out small amounts of cash to the country's most impoverished people and given small loans to businesses.

The government has also tried to help rural communities by boosting the price of certain agricultural commodities, although that has contributed to price hikes in urban areas.

The PPP may pay a price for ongoing terror attacks despite five years of military operations against the Pakistani Taliban and likeminded groups in the lawless tribal areas near the Afghan border.

Just this year, more than 250 people have been killed in three bombings targeting members of the minority Shiite Muslim sect. Security in Karachi, the country's largest city and economic heart, continues to unravel as political, ethnic and religious wars escalate.

The PPP rose to power after the Dec. 27, 2007 assassination of Bhutto during a rally in Rawalpindi where she railed against terrorism. Her widower, Zardari, vowed to continue that legacy when he took over, but analysts say the government has failed to follow through on that promise.

"I don't think there has been any success in curbing militancy," said Zahid Hussain, whose books record the rise of militancy in Pakistan. "The government has failed to come out with a clear counterterrorism policy."

Pakistani troops have been engaged in near-constant fighting against militants in the country's northwest near the Afghan border since 2009. But in areas like the Swat Valley, where the military drove out the Taliban, the civilian administration has been unable to take over from the military.

At the same time, Pakistan's relationship with its longtime but wary ally, the United States, has gone through some extremely rocky periods.

Zardari and the PPP have always struggled with a domestic perception that they are American stooges ? an unpopular position in a country where anti-American sentiment is widespread. The view from Washington, though, has been that Pakistan is not doing enough to combat militancy within its borders.

In response to the U.S. airstrikes that accidentally killed the 24 soldiers in November 2011, the Pakistanis cut off the NATO supply lines for seven months until the U.S. apologized. Relations have slowly improved since then, but politicians remain wary of being seen as too close to Washington as elections loom.

RECOMMENDED: How much do you know about Pakistan? Take this quiz.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pakistans-government-resigns-smoothing-way-towards-elections-202711652.html

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Minn. gay marriage bill survives GOP move to block (Star Tribune)

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