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"If the American people had ever known the truth about what we (the BCE) have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." - Poppy Bush, 1992
"If the American people had ever known the truth about what we (the BCE) have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." - Poppy Bush, 1992
"If the American people had ever known the truth about what we (the BCE) have done to this nation, we would be chased down in the streets and lynched." - Poppy Bush, 1992
This doesn't sound "bannas," though it does sound sort of bad.
__ As oil rises, stocks slide
Major gauges trim losses but remain lower as crude backs off record trading high.
April 4, 2005: 11:53 AM EDT
NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Stocks slipped but came off their worst levels of the day near lunchtime Monday -- in tune with oil prices, which rose but backed off new record highs hit in the morning.
The Nasdaq composite (Research) lost about 0.4 percent around 2-1/2 hours into the session.
The Dow Jones industrial average (down 23.58 to 10,380.72, Charts) and the broader Standard & Poor's 500 (down 1.70 to 1,171.22, Charts) index both lost around 0.2 percent.
"The price per barrel of oil is certainly the story of the day, and it's likely to continue to be the driver this week, with so little other news on tap," said Art Hogan, chief market analyst at Jefferies & Co.
Oil jumped to a record trading high of $58.28 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange before pulling back to $57.70, up 43 cents from Friday's record closing high of $57.27.
Worries about inflation and rising oil prices sent stocks tumbling Friday, and have weighed on the market over the last few weeks.
This week brings little in the way of economic news, and no meaningful quarterly earnings until Alcoa, after the bell Wednesday, keeping the focus on oil prices.
ChevronTexaco said Monday that it will buy Unocal in a cash-and-stock deal worth around $16.4 billion. But the deal values Unocal stock below where it closed Friday and investors sold Unocal (down $4.79 to $59.56, Research) stock.
Shares of ChevronTexaco (down $2.13 to $57.18, Research) lost around 4 percent.
Shares of Morgan Stanley (up $0.83 to $57.70, Research) rose 1.5 percent after a British newspaper reported that British-based HSBC Holdings was considering making an offer for the U.S. bank.
But other financials were weaker in response to Fannie Mae (down $3.10 to $50.14, Research). The government-sponsored mortgage company sank about 5 percent after a Wall Street Journal article said regulators are looking into whether the company improperly accounted for the trusts it sets up to issue mortgage-backed securities.
The stock has been under pressure since regulators last year found that the company had violated certain accounting rules, prompting the company to restate several years of earnings.
American International Group (up $0.05 to $51.00, Research) abandoned an early rally, turning flat, even after two brokerages issued bullish notes on the troubled insurer.
Smith Barney Citigroup upgraded AIG to "buy" from "hold" and Morgan Stanley reiterated its "overweight" rating. Both brokerages said that after its recent decline, the stock was a good value. The stock has been hit hard amid ongoing probes of its accounting by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the New York Attorney General's office.
General Motors (down $0.21 to $29.17, Research) announced a management shakeup, giving CEO Rick Wagoner responsibility for North American operations. Shares edged lower on the news.
Market breadth was negative. On the New York Stock Exchange, decliners edged advancers three to two on volume of 640 million shares. On the Nasdaq, losers topped winners two to one on volume of 670 million shares.
Treasury prices edged higher, pushing the yield on the 10-year note to 4.44 percent from 4.45 percent late Friday. Bond prices and yields move in opposite directions.
In currency trading, the dollar rose versus the euro and the yen.
That took a chunk out of gold and other dollar-traded commodities. COMEX gold fell $2.60 to trade at $425.70 an ounce.
In global trade, Asian-Pacific stocks ended mostly lower and European shares fell in late trade. _
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