APNewsBreak: Proof of 'God particle' found

FILE - In this May 20, 2011 file photo, a physicist explains the ATLAS experiment on a board at the European Center for Nuclear Research, CERN, outside Geneva, Switzerland. The illustration shows how the long-presumed Higgs boson particle is thought to look like. Scientists at CERN plan to make an announcement on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 about their hunt for the elusive sub-atomic particle. Physicists have said previously they are increasingly confident that they are closing in on it based on hints at its existence hidden away in reams of data. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - In this May 20, 2011 file photo, a physicist explains the ATLAS experiment on a board at the European Center for Nuclear Research, CERN, outside Geneva, Switzerland. The illustration shows how the long-presumed Higgs boson particle is thought to look like. Scientists at CERN plan to make an announcement on Wednesday, July 4, 2012 about their hunt for the elusive sub-atomic particle. Physicists have said previously they are increasingly confident that they are closing in on it based on hints at its existence hidden away in reams of data. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - In this May 20, 2011 file photo, a wall painting by artist Josef Kristofoletti is seen at the Atlas experiment site at the European Center for Nuclear Research, CERN, outside Geneva, Switzerland. The painting shows how a Higgs boson may look. On Wednesday, July 4, 2012, CERN plans to announce the status of their long-running hunt for the elusive subatomic particle, whose existence has only been presumed until now. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

GENEVA (AP) ? Scientists working at the world's biggest atom smasher plan to announce Wednesday that they have gathered enough evidence to show that the long-sought "God particle" answering fundamental questions about the universe almost certainly does exist.

But after decades of work and billions of dollars spent, researchers at the European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, aren't quite ready to say they've "discovered" the particle.

Instead, experts familiar with the research at CERN's vast complex on the Swiss-French border say that the massive data they have obtained will essentially show the footprint of the key particle known as the Higgs boson ? all but proving it exists ? but doesn't allow them to say it has actually been glimpsed.

It appears to be a fine distinction.

Senior CERN scientists say that the two independent teams of physicists who plan to present their work at CERN's vast complex on the Swiss-French border on July 4 are about as close as you can get to a discovery without actually calling it one.

"I agree that any reasonable outside observer would say, 'It looks like a discovery,'" British theoretical physicist John Ellis, a professor at King's College London who has worked at CERN since the 1970s, told The Associated Press. "We've discovered something which is consistent with being a Higgs."

CERN's atom smasher, the $10 billion Large Hadron Collider, has been creating high-energy collisions of protons to help them understand suspected phenomena such as dark matter, antimatter and ultimately the creation of the universe billions of years ago, which many theorize occurred as a massive explosion known as the Big Bang.

For particle physicists, finding the Higgs boson is a key to confirming the standard model of physics that explains what gives mass to matter and, by extension, how the universe was formed. Each of the two teams known as ATLAS and CMS involve thousands of people working independently from one another, to ensure accuracy.

Rob Roser, who leads the search for the Higgs boson at the Fermilab in Chicago, said: "Particle physicists have a very high standard for what it takes to be a discovery," and he thinks it is a hair's breadth away.

Rosen compared the results that scientists are preparing to announce Wednesday to finding the fossilized imprint of a dinosaur: "You see the footprints and the shadow of the object, but you don't actually see it."

Though an impenetrable concept to many, the Higgs boson has until now been just that ? a concept intended to explain a riddle: How were the subatomic particles, such as electrons, protons and neutrons, themselves formed? What gives them their mass?

The answer came in a theory first proposed by physicist Peter Higgs and others in the 1960s. It envisioned an energy field where particles interact with a key particle, the Higgs boson.

The idea is that other particles attract Higgs bosons and the more they attract, the bigger their mass will be. Some liken the effect to a ubiquitous Higgs snowfield that affects other particles traveling through it depending on whether they are wearing, metaphorically speaking, skis, snowshoes or just shoes.

Officially, CERN is presenting its evidence at a physics conference in Australia this week, but plans to accompany the announcement with meetings in Geneva. The two teams, ATLAS and CMS, then plan to publicly unveil more data on the Higgs boson at physics meetings in October and December.

Scientists with access to the new CERN data say it shows with a high degree of certainty that the Higgs boson may already have been glimpsed, and that by unofficially combining the separate results from ATLAS and CMS it can be argued that a discovery is near at hand. Ellis says at least one physicist-blogger has done just that in a credible way.

CERN spokesman James Gillies said Monday, however, that he would be "very cautious" about unofficial combinations of ATLAS and CMS data. "Combining the data from two experiments is a complex task, which is why it takes time, and why no combination will be presented on Wednesday," he told AP.

But if the calculations are indeed correct, said John Guinon, a longtime physics professor at the University of California at Davis and author of the book "The Higgs Hunter's Guide," then it is fair to say that "in some sense we have reached the mountaintop."

Sean M. Carroll, a California Institute of Technology physicist flying to Geneva for the July 4th announcement, said that if both ATLAS and CMS have independently reached these high thresholds on the Higgs boson, then "only the most curmudgeonly will not believe that they have found it."

___

Borenstein reported from Washington.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-02-Switzerland-God%20Particle/id-91c290fdd89a4c7eb87bcbd68cb055f9

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Analysis: Time to buy India? Some investors say yes

MUMBAI (Reuters) - India has gone from the country set to overtake China to the country that can do nothing right. Now, a few contrarians see signs India is turning a corner.

India's problems from a record current account deficit to stalled policy reforms and economic growth running at its weakest pace in nine years, are well known and explain a slump in the rupee to a record low.

But a handful of signs suggest prospects could be changing.

Furniture maker IKEA and Coca Cola have announced they will pump nearly $5 billion into India. Investment banks are upgrading their view on Indian stocks and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is making the right noises.

He vowed last week to "revive the animal spirit in the country's economy" as he took control of the finance ministry. As finance minister in the early 1990s, when India suffered a balance of payment crisis, he orchestrated reforms that set off two decades of rapid growth.

"India is a very good opportunity. It's growing at 6 percent and can easily grow at 10 percent if the roadblock created by politicians is removed," said Pinak Maitra, chief financial officer of investment firm Kuwait Projects , or KIPCO.

"It will naturally grow as the people of India, the entrepreneur of India, the technology, the intellect it's all there," he said, adding the comments reflected his personal views.

KIPCO, Kuwait's largest investment company with consolidated assets of about $21 billion at the end of 2011, does not yet invest in the country but plans to launch India products for clients, Maitra said.

Optimists may seem brave. Economic growth has slumped from close to 10 percent before the global financial crisis to a nine-year low of 5.3 percent in the March quarter. Sluggish industrial output figures for April suggested the June quarter was little stronger.

Ratings agencies Standard & Poor's and Fitch have threatened to downgrade India's investment status to junk, saying a fickle government has strayed from the path of economic liberalization and is not doing enough to deal with another drag on the economy, the hefty federal fiscal deficit.

Inflation is uncomfortably high at well above 7 percent and the euro zone crisis is a risk for India as well as the global economy.

Still, some indicators show investors are quietly putting money into India, seeing through the headlines to prepare for a rebound in the country's fortunes.

Foreign institutional investors bought a net $8.6 billion in equities this year and a net $3.9 billion in debt. The bulk of it was in the first two months of the year, but India has yet to see significant outflows.

That has helped make India's benchmark BSE index <.bsesn> the best-performing index among the countries that make up the BRICS grouping that also includes Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa. Its performance in emerging Asia is topped only by the frontier markets of Pakistan and Vietnam.

Deutsche Bank and J.P.Morgan upgraded their ratings on Indian stocks to "overweight," jolting investors who had become accustomed to a stream of downgrades.

Both cited cheap valuations. J.P.Morgan said India's stocks were trading at 12 times forward earnings, or one standard deviation below their 10-year average, while Deutsche estimated shares are at their cheapest in close to two decades on a sales and EBITDA basis.

"This is the best time to fish for selective investments in India for a long-term investor," said Brij Raj Singh, CEO of investment management firm Baer Capital Partners in Dubai, which has over $400 million invested in the country.

"The biggest concerns in India are the currency depreciation and political paralysis, but fundamentally India is attractive, with a strong domestic consumption story," he said.

'ANGST ... SO YESTERDAY'

Ajay Kapur, Deutsche Bank's Asia strategist, reflects the attitude of investors seeing opportunities beyond the data.

"The angst over falling Indian economic growth is so yesterday," Kapur wrote in a note. "Everyone is now an expert on just how bad things are."

Slumping oil prices - with benchmark Brent crude futures down 24 percent since a 2012 peak in March - should feed through and provide relief for the country's current account deficit.

Each $10 per barrel drop in the crude price, if sustained, would reduce the current account deficit by 0.4-0.5 percentage points, analysts estimate.

Figures on Friday showed the current account deficit blew out in the March quarter to a record of $21.7 billion, contributing to a balance of payments deficit of $5.7 billion.

"We actually believe that if given the fall in oil prices and the drop in gold imports, the current account deficit will narrow down to below 3 percent of GDP in fiscal 2013," said Arvind Chari, a debt fund manager at Quantum Asset Management, which manages $1 billion in equities and $250 million in fixed income. He made his comments before the latest current account figures were released.

"From a total return perspective, asset and currency returns, I think Indian bonds, deposits and Indian equities look attractive from a 1-2 year perspective," Chari said.

The crude-price drop also reduces pressure on the government's finances because it heavily subsidizes some oil products.

The slide in the rupee - April to June was the currency's worst quarter in 17 years - has the potential to reduce demand for costlier imports and boost cheaper exports.

Goldman Sachs estimates every 1 percent fall in the rupee in real effective exchange rates would boost the trade balance by more than 4 percent due to the rise in exports and the fall in imports.

India's global export mix is also important, with the country sending nearly 60 percent of its shipments to sturdier emerging markets such as China, Goldman added.

"I see India as a contrarian buying opportunity for UK investors," said Edward Bland, director and head of research at London-headquartered private bank, Duncan Lawrie.

"The effect on India from the continuing crisis in the euro zone is likely to be less pronounced than on other Asian economies, including China, as the Indian economy is less dependent on exports than its neighbors," Bland said.

REVIVING ANIMAL SPIRITS

The biggest obstacle remains policy inaction, a key factor behind decisions by Standard & Poor's and Fitch Ratings to cut their sovereign outlooks on India to "negative", threatening the country's investment-grade rating.

The coalition government has struggled to push through reforms that could give the economy a boost. The ruling party pulled back from opening the supermarket sector to foreign competition after a political backlash, including from within the coalition.

However, investors were heartened that the prime minister this week cited taxation and the insurance and mutual fund industries as areas that needed attention to help revive economic growth.

Government officials and analysts also think the slump in the economy has been so severe this year that the political will is coming together to put some economic reforms, including opening up the retail sector, back on the table.

"It is different this time," said Govinda Rao, an economic adviser to Singh. "There is considerable pressure on them to act."

In the past few weeks, two global brands have bet on the long-term growth of India, providing a shot in the arm for the government.

Swedish retailer IKEA said in June it is entering India and will invest 1.5 billion euros ($1.9 billion) and last week Coca-Cola said it would increase its investment by $3 billion.

Despite many false dawns, a Reuters poll last week showed 13 of the 18 investors surveyed expect the government will pass policy reforms needed to bolster growth and cut deficits.

That marks a significant turnaround from a poll in March, when an overwhelming number of respondents said they expected the government to miss its 5.1 percent fiscal deficit target for the year ending in March 2013.

($1=57.19 rupees, 0.8 euro)

(Additional reporting by Aditi Shah and Swati Bhat; Editing by Neil Fullick)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/analysis-time-buy-india-investors-yes-220719525--sector.html

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Residents to tour areas devastated by Colo. blaze

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) ? People who fled the most destructive fire in Colorado's history are being allowed temporary visits to the most devastated neighborhoods, and many will find that their homes were among the nearly 350 burned to the ground.

About 10,000 people remain evacuated, down from more than 30,000 at the peak of the Waldo Canyon fire in Colorado Springs.

On Sunday people whose homes were burned will be allowed to tour the affected areas. Authorities said some residences would be cordoned off with police tape, and people would not be allowed beyond that point.

The home of Janine Herbertson and her 15-year-old daughter, Tessa Konik, remained unburned amid 150 others that were destroyed, said Herbertson as they ate lunch Saturday outside a Red Cross shelter.

Even so, "I'm afraid to go on the tour tomorrow and see our neighborhood in ruins," she said.

The 26-square-mile fire was 45 percent contained late Saturday night. It was one of many burning across the West, including eight in Utah and a fast-growing blaze in Montana that forced residents in several small communities to leave.

On Saturday, firefighting crews were keeping a wary eye on weather that was becoming warmer and drier.

"The weather is making progress in a bad direction. Hotter, drier, with a chance of thunderstorms in the afternoon. Winds will shift from one direction to another," said Incident Commander Rich Harvey.

About 1,200 personnel and six helicopters were fighting the Waldo Canyon fire, and authorities said they were confident they had built good fire lines in many areas to stop flames from spreading.

"Crews made progress all around the fire,'" said Harvey, who was cautiously optimistic. "The fire potential is still very, very high. It's extreme and explosive."

Two bodies were found in the ruins of one house, one of almost 350 destroyed in this city 60 miles south of Denver. The victims' names haven't been released. Police Chief Pete Carey said Saturday afternoon the approximately 10 people who had been unaccounted for had now been located.

Police did not expect to discover other victims in the rubble.

More than 150 National Guard soldiers and airmen helped Colorado Springs police staff roadblocks and patrol streets. Carey said Saturday the presence of military personnel will allow his department to resume normal police work in the rest of the city.

Evacuees Saturday filtered back into an unscathed neighborhood of winding streets and split-level homes within an easy walk of the burned area.

High school counselor Pat Allen and her husband, Vic Miller, were all smiles less than five minutes after returning to their tri-level home on a quiet cul-de-sac.

"I'm just wanting to kiss the house, dance with the neighbors", Allen said.

Their house didn't smell of smoke. Their electricity was out for two or three days but the popsicles in their freezer didn't melt, she said.

Around the corner, retiree Nina Apsey wandered in search of eight small, solar-powered lights that somebody had taken from her yard during the evacuation.

"I'm assuming it was vandalism," she said.

Prized possessions still piled into the Hyundai sport-utility vehicle in her garage included caribou antlers and antelope and deer head mounts. As flames bore down, she'd also taken a small ceramic cowboy statue. Her late husband taught her how to hunt. He resembled the cowboy, she said.

She wasn't too perturbed about her missing lights because nothing else was touched.

"If that's the worst that happened to me, I'm blessed," she said.

Investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the fire that broke out on June 23, and which so far has cost $8.8 million to battle. Dangerous conditions had kept them from beginning their inquiry.

Among the fires elsewhere in the West:

? Utah: Residents were sifting through the ashes of more than 50 houses destroyed by a central Utah wildfire. Homeowners were allowed to return Saturday to Indianola along Utah's scenic Route 89. In all, eight wildfires are burning across Utah.

? Montana: Authorities in eastern Montana ordered the evacuation of several communities Saturday as the Ash Creek Complex fires, which has burned more than 70 homes this week, consumed another 72 square miles. The blaze grew to 244 square miles overnight.

? Wyoming: A wind-driven wildfire in a sparsely populated area of southeastern Wyoming exploded from eight square miles to nearly 58 square miles in a single day, and an unknown number of structures have burned. About 200 structures were considered threatened.

? Idaho: A fast-moving 1,000-acre wildfire in eastern Idaho that destroyed 66 homes and 29 outbuildings was expected to be contained Saturday. Some 1,000 residents were evacuated; it was unclear when they would be allowed back.

? Colorado: The last evacuees from the High Park Fire in northern Colorado have been allowed to return home as crews get closer to full containment. The 136-square-mile fire killed one resident and destroyed 259 houses, a state record until the fire near Colorado Springs destroyed 346 homes. In western Colorado, the 18-square-mile Pine Ridge Fire was 10 percent contained.

___

Associated Press writers Paul Foy in Salt Lake City, Keith Ridler in Boise, Idaho, and Dan Elliott in Denver contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/residents-tour-areas-devastated-colo-blaze-080210255.html

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Iraq's oil revenues drop by 17.6 percent in June

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraqs-oil-revenues-drop-17-6-percent-june-080432827--finance.html

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'Ted' outstrips 'Mike' in big box-office weekend

This film image released by Universal Pictures shows Mark Wahlberg, left with the character Ted, voiced by Seth MacFarlane in a scene from "Ted." (AP Photo/Universal Pictures)

This film image released by Universal Pictures shows Mark Wahlberg, left with the character Ted, voiced by Seth MacFarlane in a scene from "Ted." (AP Photo/Universal Pictures)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? It's both a bear and bull market for Hollywood.

The bear is "Ted," Mark Wahlberg and Seth MacFarlane's comedy for Universal Pictures about a talking teddy bear, which opened as the No. 1 movie with $54.1 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.

And the bulls are baring it in the Warner Bros. release "Magic Mike," Channing Tatum and Steven Soderbergh's male-stripper tale that debuted a strong No. 2 with $39.2 million.

The two new movies were backed by a deep bench, with Pixar Animation's Disney fairy tale "Brave" holding up well at No. 3 with $34 million in its second weekend. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection," the latest from the dependable breadwinner for Lionsgate Films, opened solidly at No. 4 with $26.4 million.

The four movies combined to keep Hollywood in the money compared to the same weekend last year, when "Transformers: Dark of the Moon" launched with $97.9 million.

It was an equally big weekend overseas, where two huge franchises got a head-start on their U.S. openings.

The 20th Century Fox animated sequel "Ice Age: Continental Drift" opened with $78 million in 34 international markets, while Sony's "The Amazing Spider-Man" debuted with $50.2 million in 13 markets. "Amazing Spider-Man" opens domestically Tuesday for the Fourth of July weekend, while "Continental Drift" has its U.S. debut July 13.

Domestic revenues totaled $207.7 million, up 3 percent from the same weekend in 2011, according to box-office tracker Hollywood.com. That was quite an accomplishment, considering the Fourth of July fell on Monday last year, making it a long holiday weekend.

"It was absolutely astonishing that we're beating the same weekend a year ago given the enormity of the film, the big sci-fi blockbuster that opened then," said Hollywood.com analyst Paul Dergarabedian. "This played out like a holiday weekend without it really being a holiday weekend. It speaks volumes about the importance of having a wide variety of films in the marketplace."

The only one that didn't work among new wide releases was the sibling drama "People Like Us," which tanked at No. 10 with $4.3 million. A DreamWorks release distributed by Disney, the movie features Chris Pine (Captain Kirk of "Star Trek") as a man who gets himself into an awkward relationship with the half-sister (Elizabeth Banks) he never knew he had.

"Ted" stars Wahlberg as a guy whose stuffed bear magically came to life when he was a boy, the two growing up together to become slacker, party-boy roommates. Writer-director MacFarlane, the creator of TV's "Family Guy," provides the voice of the bear, while "Family Guy" voice co-star Mila Kunis plays Wahlberg's girlfriend.

The idea of a cuddly teddy bear combined with a foul mouth and MacFarlane's wicked sense of humor caught fire with audiences, who lifted "Ted" far beyond the opening of $35 million or less that Hollywood generally expected.

"In my heart of hearts, I just felt that everybody was starting to talk about this talking bear, and everyone loves Seth MacFarlane, people love his show," said Nikki Rocco, head of distribution for Universal. "And the marketing campaign did a great job of telling people how fabulous this picture is for an R-rated audience."

"Magic Mike" also far outstripped industry expectations. The weekend was a rare instance where two R-rated movies opened at Nos. 1 and 2, and it followed another unusual weekend where two PG-rated movies ("Brave" and "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted") led the box office.

Directed by Soderbergh, "Magic Mike" is inspired by Tatum's early career as a male stripper and features him as a veteran dancer who takes a newcomer (Alex Pettyfer) under his wing.

The beefcake factor of Tatum, Pettyfer and co-star Matthew McConaughey strutting their stuff had women packing theaters in a way that distributor Warner Bros. had not seen since its "Sex and the City" flicks. Female fans made up 73 percent of the "Magic Mike" crowds.

"'Magic Mike' just didn't have the brand that 'Sex and the City' had for so many years," said Dan Fellman, Warner's head of distribution. "The fact that it performed in the same vein was a great surprise."

"Brave" raised its domestic haul to $131.7 million and has added $26.8 million in its slow rollout overseas for a worldwide total of $158.5 million.

Filmmaker and star Perry's latest features outspoken Southerner Madea taking in a Wall Street guy (Eugene Levy) whose family is placed in witness protection.

The first Perry release in summer, "Madea's Witness Protection" earned 70 percent of its revenue from black audiences, down from the filmmaker's usual 80 percent, as funnyman Levy and co-star Denise Richards gave it more appeal among whites.

Like "Ted" and "Magic Mike," ''Madea's Witness Protection" did better than Hollywood anticipated. David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate, said movie-going just seems to be in the air, especially considering the 100-degree heat gripping much of the nation.

"People don't want to be outside in a heat wave, so it's one of those weekends where benefited from the weather," Spitz said.

In limited release, Fox Searchlight's Louisiana story "Beasts of the Southern Wild" opened strongly with $169,236 in four theaters, for an average of $42,309 a cinema. That compares to an average of $16,705 in 3,239 theaters for "Ted."

The top dramatic prize winner at last January's Sundance Film Festival, "Beasts" is the survival story of a young girl living with her ailing, boozing father as a storm approaches the Delta wilds.

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Where available, latest international numbers are also included. Final domestic figures will be released Monday.

1. "Ted," $54.1 million.

2. "Magic Mike," $39.2 million.

3. "Brave," $34 million ($6.7 million international).

4. "Tyler Perry's Madea's Witness Protection," $26.4 million.

5. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," $11.8 million ($16.2 million international).

6. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," $6 million ($5 million international).

7. "Prometheus," $4.93 million ($6.2 million international).

8. "Moonrise Kingdom," $4.9 million ($375,000 international).

9. "Snow White & the Huntsman," $4.4 million ($14.5 million international).

10. "People Like Us," $4.3 million.

___

Estimated weekend ticket sales at international theaters (excluding the U.S. and Canada) for films distributed overseas by Hollywood studios, according to Rentrak:

1. "Ice Age: Continental Drift," $78 million.

2. "The Amazing Spider-Man," $50.2 million.

3. "Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted," $16.2 million.

4. "Snow White & the Huntsman," $14.5 million.

5. "Brave," $6.7 million.

6. "Men in Black 3," $6.4 million.

7. "Prometheus," $6.2 million.

8. "Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter," $5 million.

9. "Dark Shadows," $4.2 million.

10. "The Dictator," $2.5 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com

http://www.rentrak.com

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by AMC Networks Inc.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-07-01-Box%20Office/id-a485982a3e1b471dbc2b9308cdebc80b

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US stocks fall on manufacturing slowdown

Specialists Frank Masello, left, and John T. O'Hara work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York shortly before the closing bell on Friday, June 29, 2012. Financial markets around the world stormed higher Friday after European leaders came up with a breakthrough plan to rescue banks, relieve debt-burdened governments and restore investor confidence. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 277 points, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index had its best day of the year. Stocks advanced even further in Europe, in strong and weak countries alike. (AP Photo/David Karp)

Specialists Frank Masello, left, and John T. O'Hara work on the trading floor of the New York Stock Exchange in New York shortly before the closing bell on Friday, June 29, 2012. Financial markets around the world stormed higher Friday after European leaders came up with a breakthrough plan to rescue banks, relieve debt-burdened governments and restore investor confidence. The Dow Jones industrial average climbed 277 points, and the Standard & Poor's 500 index had its best day of the year. Stocks advanced even further in Europe, in strong and weak countries alike. (AP Photo/David Karp)

NEW YORK (AP) ? Investors rejoiced over Europe last week. On Monday, they got back to worrying about the United States.

Stocks sank after a business group reported that American manufacturing shrank in June for the first time in almost three years. The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 62 points to 12,818 at midday.

Chemical company DuPont fell the most of the 30 companies in the Dow. It was down $1.83, or 3.6 percent, to $48.74. Caterpillar, General Electric, Alcoa, Exxon Mobil, Boeing and other companies closely tied to manufacturing were also down.

It was the first day of trading of the second half of the year. U.S. stocks finished the first half up more than 8 percent.

Stocks wavered between small gains and losses before Monday's manufacturing report. The government reported a sliver of good news: U.S. construction spending rose in May by 0.9 percent, the most in five months.

But that was not enough to outweigh the more recent manufacturing report. The Standard & Poor's 500 was down five points to 1,357. The Nasdaq composite was down five to 2,930.

"There's just a lot of bad news," said Leo Grohowski, chief investment officer of Bank of New York Mellon's wealth management division. The market, he said, "is going to continue to move from hope to despair."

On Friday, world stocks soared after European leaders announced a plan to make bailouts easier for troubled banks and relieved governments crippled by debt. The Dow gained 277 points, and the S&P had its best day of the year.

On Monday, major indexes in Europe added to their gains from despite the news about U.S. manufacturing. Stocks were up 1.2 percent in Germany, 1.4 percent in Germany and 0.3 percent in Spain.

Previous steps to ease the debt crisis in Europe have been met by market gains that quickly disappeared. The gains Monday were a sign that investors are more convinced that this plan will work.

But the day also brought reminders of how badly Europe needs help: Unemployment in the 17 countries that use the euro is at the highest level since the euro was launched in 1999.

In France, auditors warned that the country still has a big budget hole to plug. In Cyprus, leaders prepared for talks on its own bailout. And in Germany, the highest court announced it would hear arguments from people who want to block the rescue.

The European Central Bank will meet later this week to decide whether to cut interest rates.

Grohowski said that the best he was hoping for, both for the U.S. and for Europe, was a "two steps forward, one step back" economic recovery.

U.S. car companies report monthly sales Tuesday, retailers like Target and Macy's report monthly sales on Thursday, and a closely watched report on U.S. jobs comes out Friday.

Grohowski said he expects swings in the market at least through the U.S. election in November, as investors wait for more certainty on the direction of the U.S., the crisis in Europe and a slowdown in China. Chinese manufacturing in June grew at the slowest pace in seven months.

In corporate news:

? Bank of America fell 2.4 percent. It and other big banks are supposed to submit "living wills" Monday outlining for the government how they would unwind if they were close to failing.

? Best Buy jumped 10 percent after reports that its founder was close to making an offer to buy the company and take it private. Best Buy, an electronics store, has struggled to keep up with online-only competitors like Amazon.

? Groupon fell more than 8 percent after analysts at Susquehanna cut their price target for the company, noting higher marketing expenses.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-07-02-Wall%20Street/id-0f2b0e481fa6483a8902d23351bc892e

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Serena wins marathon, Rosol's dream Wimbledon ends

Four-time champion Serena Williams clinched a marathon triumph over China's Zheng Jie to reach the Wimbledon last 16 on Saturday as Lukas Rosol, the conqueror of Rafael Nadal, returned to anonymity.

Sixth-seed Williams, playing in her 13th Wimbledon, saw off 25th-seed Zheng, 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 9-7 and will tackle Yaroslava Shvedova of Kazakhstan for a place in the quarter-finals.

"It was good to win. I needed a tough match and she's always playing me incredibly well," said Williams, who unleashed a Wimbledon record 23 aces.

Wildcard Shvedova will go into Monday's fourth round tie having made history as the first woman at a Grand Slam to achieve a Golden Set.

She won all 24 points in a first set 6-0 wipeout of Italian 10th seed, and French Open runner-up, Sara Errani on her way to the last 16 for the first time.

Shvedova took the second set 6-4.

"Today I laid a golden egg," the Kazakh later tweeted.

Czech world 100 Rosol had caused one of the greatest upsets in the history of the sport when he beat world number two Nadal in five sets in the second round under the Centre Court roof on Thursday.

But on a windswept Court 12 on Saturday, normal service was resumed as German 27th seed Philipp Kohlschreiber, who beat Nadal on grass at Halle two weeks ago, eased to a 6-2, 6-3, 7-6 (8/6) win and a first appearance in the last 16.

Kohlschreiber will tackle American qualifier Brian Baker for a place in the quarter-finals.

"It was a little bit windy and that didn't help me a lot. He was playing pretty good, he didn't gave me a lot of chances," said Rosol, who will come back down to earth with a bump next week when he plays a second-tier Challenger in Germany.

Meanwhile, Baker's fairytale return hit a new high when he enjoyed a 6-4, 4-6, 6-1, 6-3 victory over France's Benoit Paire.

Baker lost six years of his career to an assortment of injuries that left him needing five different operations on a hernia, left and right hips and right elbow.

The 27-year-old, who started the year ranked 458, will rise to at least 78 after his performances at Wimbledon.

"It's been unreal," said Baker, who took a job as a college tennis coach to maintain his feel for the sport during his lengthy lay-off.

Argentine ninth seed Juan Martin Del Potro defeated Kei Nishikori, the first Japanese man since 1995 to reach the third round, 6-3, 7-6 (7/3), 6-1 and will face either three-time runner-up Andy Roddick or Spain's David Ferrer.

American 10th seed Mardy Fish, a quarter-finalist last year and playing his first tournament since undergoing a heart operation, beat Belgian wildcard David Goffin 6-3, 7-6 (8/6), 7-6 (8/6).

Fish will face either French fifth seed Jo-Wilfried Tsonga or Slovakia's Lukas Lacko.

Later Saturday, British fourth seed Andy Murray takes on Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus with the winner to meet either Croatia's Marin Cilic or Sam Querrey of the United States.

Defending women's champion Petra Kvitova wasted little time moving into fourth round as the Czech took just 53 minutes to crush America's Varvara Lepchenko 6-1, 6-0.

Kvitova, seeded fourth, will play former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone for a place in the quarter-finals.

Former world number one Ana Ivanovic, the 14th seed, reached the last 16, coming from behind to clinch a 3-6, 6-3, 6-4 win against Germany's Julia Goerges.

Ivanovic will play second seed Victoria Azarenka, a semi-finalist in 2011, who put out Slovak qualifier, and world number 178, Jana Cepelova, 6-3, 6-3.

Also going through was Austria's Tamira Paszek, the first round conqueror of former number one Caroline Wozniacki.

Paszek enjoyed a 2-6, 7-6 (7/4), 7-5 win over Belgium's Yanina Wickmayer and will face Italian 21st seed Roberta Vinci who defeated Croatia qualifier Mirjana Lucic in two tie-break sets.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/serena-wimbledon-last-16-150511142--ten.html

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