S&P 500 ends at record for fifth day; Groupon up late

By Caroline Valetkevitch

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 closed at an all-time high for a fifth day on Wednesday in a broad rally that keeps surprising investors with its longevity and resilience.

The Dow also ended at a record high for a second straight day, pushing further above 15,000.

Financials, materials and technology sectors were among the strongest performers, with shares of International Business Machines leading the Dow higher. IBM's stock rose 1.1 percent to $204.82.

Among the S&P 500's biggest percentage gainers was Whole Foods Market Inc , whose shares jumped 10.1 percent to $102.19 a day after it reported a rebound in same-store sales and raised its full-year profit view.

Apple shares finished the day up 1.1 percent at $463.84 after falling in the previous session.

While volume has been below average all week, the three major U.S. stock indexes have ended sessions higher than where they began, suggesting momentum will continue.

Solid corporate earnings along with continued accommodative monetary policies have supported the market's climb, which had been led by mostly defensive sectors. The recent rally, though, appears to reflect a shift to growth-oriented sectors leading the advance.

"Cyclicals will probably be fairly strong in the short term, based on the strengthening parts of the economy," said Bryan Evans, investment advisor and portfolio manager at Cozad Asset Management, in Champaign, Illinois.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 48.92 points, or 0.32 percent, to end at a record high of 15,105.12 - its second consecutive close above 15,000. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> rose 6.73 points, or 0.41 percent, to finish at a record high of 1,632.69. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> advanced 16.64 points, or 0.49 percent, to close at 3,413.27.

After the bell, shares of Groupon jumped 11.5 percent to $6.23 after the world's largest daily deal company reported a stronger-than-expected quarterly profit.

Shares of New Corp rose 3.6 percent to $33 in after-hours trading following the release of the last quarterly results for Rupert Murdoch's company before its entertainment and publishing businesses are separated.

During the session, the Dow also reached an all-time intraday high of 15,106.81 and the S&P 500 set a record intraday high of 1,632.78.

The S&P 500 has climbed 14.5 percent so far this year, while the Dow has advanced 15.3 percent and the Nasdaq has gained 13 percent.

Despite the gains, the market remains below overbought territory, with the relative strength index on the S&P 500 slightly below 70.

Still, the potential for the market to pause increases as the earnings reporting period winds down, said Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Delta Global Asset Management in Boston.

"Now that earnings are over and done ... there's no real fundamental reason to buy stocks," he said.

Results are in from about 440 companies so far. Earnings have largely been better than expected this quarter, with the majority of companies surpassing estimates.

Some of the day's biggest movers were stocks cited by prominent investors at the Sohn Investment Conference, a hedge fund industry event in New York.

Shares of TW Telecom Inc and Level 3 Communications rallied after fund manager Keith Meister, managing partner and chief investment officer of Corvex Management, said they could be on par with industry heavyweights AT&T and Verizon in coming years.

TW Telecom ended up 5.8 percent at $28.77 while shares of Level 3 ended up 3.4 percent at $23.99.

Shares of some housing stocks rose after Steven Eisman, founder and portfolio manager of hedge fund Emrys Partners, L.P., said during the conference that he is positive on U.S. housing, but wary of Canada's housing market.

Among his picks were Lennar , which edged up 0.1 percent to $42.25, and Forestar Group , which gained 5.9 percent to $24.08.

Volume was roughly 6.2 billion shares traded on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, below the average daily closing volume of about 6.4 billion this year.

Advancers outpaced decliners on the NYSE by a ratio of nearly 2 to 1, while on the Nasdaq, seven stocks rose for every five that fell.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum and Jan Paschal)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/futures-flat-dow-p-500-closing-highs-111726360.html

david blaine gotye divine mercy cabin in the woods the legend of korra three stooges the three stooges

Would a switch to Android rescue Nokia? Sadly, probably not

Nokia Android Switch Analysis

With Nokia continuing to languish, investors have understandably become frustrated with CEO Stephen Elop. As we saw earlier this week, investors implored Elop to reconsider his decision to go exclusively with Windows Phone as Nokia?s?mobile platform despite the fact that it hasn?t at all helped the company boost its market share against rivals Apple and Samsung. Elop did nothing to ease investors? fears by stubbornly asserting that his only ?Plan B? was to make his Windows Phone ?Plan A? succeed. If Nokia?s fortunes don?t improve markedly by the end of the year, I can imagine shareholders ousting Elop and replacing him with someone who will branch out the company?s operating system portfolio to include Android.

[More from BGR: Google Glass is no iPad]

But while it?s easy to simply say that a switch to Android would give Nokia a boost, as AllThingsD?s?John Paczkowski does, it?s very unlikely that releasing an Android-based Lumia would do much to change the company?s fortunes. The reason for this is pretty straightforward: Samsung is the only Android vendor that pulls a consistent and significant profit. The multitude of other Android vendors, from LG to HTC to Motorola, are lucky to make any money at all from the platform in a given quarter.

[More from BGR: Windows 8 marketing fiasco deemed even worse than ?New Coke?]

Now, if the HTC One does as well as HTC is hoping and helps the company?s earnings shoot upward, then I?ll have to reassess my thinking. But for the time being, it?s just very, very difficult to make money selling smartphones unless you?re one of the two biggest vendors in the world. That?s obviously a bad position to be in if you?re one of the smaller vendors and it?s not something you can admit to your investors without them tearing your head off, but it is reality.

Now, that?s not to excuse Elop?entirely from blame for Nokia?s current predicament. His obsession with giving carriers exclusives of devices that limit their exposure to wider audiences seems particularly daft, especially in an era when Apple and Samsung sell the exact same devices across multiple carriers. What?s more, Nokia?s system for naming its smartphones is just bizarre ? is the average person walking into a Best Buy going to know the difference between a Lumia 520, a Lumia 710, a Lumia 720, a Lumia 920 and a Lumia 928?

But none of these mistakes take away from the fact that Apple and Samsung have an iron grip on smartphone profits and that?s very unlikely to change until one or two of the smaller players exit the market all together.

This article was originally published on BGR.com

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/switch-android-rescue-nokia-sadly-probably-not-145527051.html

edmund fitzgerald uss enterprise white house easter egg roll 2012 andy cohen andy cohen mozambique oosthuizen

Dow closes above 15,000 for the first time

NEW YORK (AP) ? The Dow Jones industrial average was headed for its first close above 15,000 Tuesday as Wall Street followed world markets higher.

U.S. stocks rose after companies including satellite TV provider DirecTV and watchmaker Fossil reported higher quarterly profits. Markets rose in Japan and Europe in response to good news about central bank stimulus and the German economy.

The Dow and broader Standard & Poor's 500 index are trading at record levels, driven by optimism that the U.S. economy is continuing to recover and as the Federal Reserve maintains its stimulus program.

The Dow punched through 15,000 Friday after the U.S. government reported a sharp pickup in hiring last month. The index is 14.8 percent higher this year.

"We don't think people are giving enough credit to the strength of the economy," said Ryan Detrick, a senior technical strategist at Schaeffer's Investment Research. "We still like the market."

More than 80 percent of companies in the S&P 500 index have reported first-quarter earnings, and profits are at a record level.

Of companies that have reported, almost 70 percent have beaten the expectations of Wall Street analysts for income, according to S&P Capital IQ data. Those analysts expect earnings to rise 5 percent for the first quarter and to keep on climbing throughout the year.

Fossil, a maker of watches and handbags, was among companies reporting earnings Tuesday. The stock leapt $9.80, or 10 percent, to $108.76 after the company said its earnings rose 24 percent on higher sales. DirecTV, the country's largest provider of satellite TV services, rose $3.89, or 6.7 percent, to $61.85 after its earnings beat expectations of financial analysts. The company's saw subscriber growth in the U.S. and Latin America.

The Dow was up 81 points at 15,050 as of 3:28 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, an increase of 0.5 percent. The Dow first crossed above 15,000 on Friday. The Dow is headed for its 17th straight Tuesdays of increases. The only day of the week with a longer series of consecutive gains is Wednesday, which logged a streak of 24, according to Schaeffer's Detrick.

Other global markets also rose.

Japanese stocks surged, pushing the Nikkei up 3.6 percent to 14,180.24 on its first day of trading following the Golden Week holiday. The index is trading above 14,000 for the first time in nearly five years. The Nikkei has jumped 36 percent this year after the Bank of Japan announced a new aggressive monetary policy to get the country out of its two-decade stagnation.

In Europe, Germany's DAX touched a record of 8,195 after surprisingly strong industrial orders, before giving up some of its gain. The index closed up 69 points, or 0.9 percent, at 8,181.

Detrick said he was particularly encouraged by the resurgence in smaller stocks, which suggested a broad recovery beyond larger companies. The Russell 2000 index of small companies has gained 13.6 percent this year.

The Standard & Poor's 500 index gained seven points to 1,625, or 0.5 percent. The Nasdaq composite edged up three points to 3,396, or 0.1 percent.

In government bond trading, the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury note climbed to 1.79 percent from 1.76 percent Monday. The yield has risen this week after going as low as 1.63 percent last week, its lowest level of the year. The rising yield means demand is slipping for low-risk U.S. government debt as traders shift money into riskier assets like stocks.

The price of crude oil fell 54 cents to $95.62 a barrel in New York, and the price of gold was down $19.20, or 1.3 percent, to $1,448.80 The dollar was lower against euro and the Japanese yen.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dow-jones-industrial-average-back-above-15-000-161506113.html

chris anderson rondo suspended bay bridge band of brothers presidents george washington horsetail falls

Home remodeling: DIY or not? ? Bankrate, Inc.

It's home remodeling season, the time of the year when do-it-yourselfers get ready for new home improvement adventures.

DIY projects accounted for 37 percent of all home remodeling projects performed nationwide in 2010 and 2011, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and the U.S. Census Bureau.

You can save money by doing a remodeling project on your own, but before you start knocking down walls around the house, make sure you can handle the project.

Homeowners should consider safety risks, time delays and hidden costs before embarking on DIY home improvements, says the National Association of Home Builders Remodelers.

"Remodeling can be complex and oftentimes full of surprises, even for experts like our members," says NAHB Remodelers chairman Bill Shaw.

Projects involving plumbing, electrical work and any structural changes should be avoided by DIYers, says Paul Hamtil, owner of Hamtil Construction in St. Louis, and a member of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.

"When you start messing with those types of things, you can quickly create a hazard without even knowing," he says. "Do the finishes, smaller surface projects, things like re-tiling."

Source: http://www.bankrate.com/financing/mortgages/home-remodeling-diy-or-not/

girl with the dragon tattoo ohio state basketball collateral dick cheney heart umf elite eight stephon marbury

Man accused of lying after bombings seeks release

BOSTON (AP) ? Lawyers for a man charged with lying to investigators after the Boston Marathon bombings are asking a federal judge to release him from jail, saying he had nothing to do with the deadly bombings and isn't a flight risk.

Robel Phillipos, 19, of Cambridge, faces a detention hearing Monday in U.S. District Court. Defense attorneys said in court documents filed Saturday that authorities' claim that Phillipos gave them conflicting accounts is "refutable."

"This case is about a frightened and confused 19 year old who was subjected to intense questioning and interrogation, without the benefit of counsel, and in the context of one of the worst attacks against the nation," lawyers Derege Demissie and Susan Church wrote. "The weight of the federal government under such circumstances can have a devastatingly crushing effect on the ability of an adolescent to withstand the enormous pressure and respond rationally."

Phillipos was charged last week with lying to investigators about visiting bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev's college dorm room on April 18, three days after the bombings. Two other friends were charged with conspiring to obstruct justice by taking a backpack with fireworks and a laptop from Tsarnaev's dorm room.

Phillipos was at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where all four men had studied, by coincidence on April 18, his lawyers said in the court papers. He had taken a leave of absence in December and hadn't spoken to Tsarnaev or the other two men for more than two months, they said.

"By sheer coincidence and bad luck, he was invited to attend a seminar on campus on April 18," the night the three allegedly went to Tsarnaev's dorm room, according to the documents. "As such, he did not have much to offer the authorities regarding the investigation of the suspect."

To support their request for bail, the lawyers filed affidavits from friends and relatives of Phillipos who described him as a considerate, thoughtful and friendly young man, the son of a single mother who emigrated to the United States from Ethiopia. They said he wasn't a flight risk, noting that he is lifelong resident of Massachusetts and has many relatives there.

Phillipos faces a maximum of eight years behind bars and a $250,000 fine if convicted.

Tsarnaev and his 26-year-old brother, Tamerlan, are accused of carrying out the April 15 bombing, which used pressure cookers packed with explosives, nails, ball bearings and metal shards. The attack killed three people and injured more than 260 others near the marathon's finish line.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev died after a gunfight with police days later. Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, 19, was captured and remains in a prison hospital. He has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and faces a potential death sentence if convicted.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/man-accused-lying-bombings-seeks-release-051847572.html

lindsay lohan bob newhart chris kelly Mayweather Fight Mayweather amanda bynes Robert Guerrero

Warren Buffett leads annual meeting like no other

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) ? Before facing questions from a crowd of more than 30,000, billionaire Warren Buffett has started the day being mobbed by fans.

Berkshire Hathaway shareholders are treating the 82-year-old investor like a rock star at Saturday's annual meeting.

Admirers are holding their cell phones and iPads in the air as they surround Buffett in an exhibit hall. A pack of security guards has created a buffer around Buffett as he visits displays selling Berkshire's See's Candy and explaining BNSF railroad's virtues.

At the See's booth, Buffett got a lesson in making hand-dipped bonbons. See's manufacturing manager Steve Powell got Buffett to autograph his white uniform coat.

Later, Buffett will take the stage alongside Berkshire's Vice Chairman Charlie Munger to answer questions from shareholders, journalists and financial analysts for six hours.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-05-04-Warren%20Buffett's%20Woodstock/id-6cdec2d4f676453c95038ce44478c618

Michelle Laxalt Alabama Shakes PlayStation 4 michael jordan Safe Haven Robbie Rogers WWE

Berkshire profit rises 51 percent, shares at record high

By Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday said quarterly profit rose nearly 51 percent on a solid performance in insurance and by many of its other businesses, as well as gains from investments and derivatives.

The results topped expectations and were released after Berkshire shares closed at a record high.

Berkshire's more than 80 businesses are benefiting from a strengthening economy, as illustrated by increased traffic on its Burlington Northern railroad unit, new customers for its McLane food distribution business, and stepped-up demand for its Forest River recreational vehicles, to name just a few.

Profit from insurance operations, including the Geico car insurance unit and a business that provides protection against major catastrophes, roughly doubled.

"The happy fact right now is that the growth areas in the economy are right in Berkshire's wheelhouse," said Jeff Matthews, founder of the RAM Partners LP hedge fund and author of "Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha."

Berkshire released its results a day before Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger will field five hours of shareholder questions at the company's annual meeting in its hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

PROFIT TOPS FORECASTS

Net income increased to $4.89 billion, or $2,977 per Class A share, from $3.25 billion, or $1,966 per share, a year earlier.

Quarterly operating profit rose 42 percent to $3.78 billion, or $2,302 per share, from $2.67 billion, or $1,615 per share.

Analysts on average expected profit of $1,996 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Book value per share, Buffett's preferred measure of growth, increased 5.5 percent from year end to $120,525 per Class A share, and Berkshire's cash stake grew over that period to $49.09 billion from $46.99 billion.

About $12.1 billion is being used to fund a purchase by Berkshire and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital of ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co.

Revenue rose 15 percent from a year ago to $43.87 billion.

INSURANCE GAINS

Operating profit from insurance operations rose to $1.7 billion from $845 million.

Nearly all the improvement came from underwriting, where profit rose to $901 million from $54 million, in part because of a $255 million pre-tax reinsurance gain, as well as currency fluctuations. Underwriting profit at Geico more than doubled.

"The backbone of Berkshire is its world class collection of insurance companies," said David Rolfe, chief investment officer at Wedgewood Partners Inc, which invests 6.5 percent of its $4 billion of assets in Berkshire stock.

Operating profit from noninsurance business rose 12 percent to $2.25 billion.

This included increases of 14 percent at Burlington Northern to $798 million, and a little over 10 percent from manufacturing, service and retail operations to $944 million.

Profit generated by MidAmerican Energy, a utility unit that Berkshire owns most of, rose 17 percent to $394 million.

Investment and derivatives gains nearly doubled to $1.11 billion, in part because of gains related to Berkshire's warrants for General Electric Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc .

Berkshire also owns tens of billions of dollars of common stocks such as Coca-Cola Co, International Business Machines Corp and Wells Fargo & Co.

Gains from derivatives increased 20 percent before taxes, mainly because of Berkshire's long-term contracts related to performance in stock indexes such as the Standard & Poor's 500, which rose 10 percent in the first quarter.

Investors are used to that volatility, and Berkshire accepts it as part of its focus on the long term.

"If we cope well every day with what's on our desk, the future will take care of itself," Munger said in an interview on Friday.

In Friday trading, Berkshire Class A shares closed up $1,993, or 1.2 percent, at $162,850. Its Class B shares closed up $1.34, or 1.2 percent, at $108.64.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/berkshire-hathaway-first-quarter-profit-rises-51-percent-211725044.html

9/11 Jerry Lawler andy murray Samsung Galaxy S3 bachelor pad bachelor pad Green Coffee Bean Extract