House Racing Clock on Gov't Spending 12/11 06:19
House Racing Clock on Gov't Spending 12/11 06:19 House leaders are racing the clock and bracing for inevitable blowback on an emerging government-wide spending bill that's likely to largely maintain President Donald Trump's tactical ability to fund his much-sought border wall. WASHINGTON (AP) -- House leaders are racing the clock and bracing for inevitable blowback on an emerging government-wide spending bill that's likely to largely maintain President Donald Trump's tactical ability to fund his much-sought border wall. As is often the case, California rivals Nancy Pelosi and Kevin McCarthy are feuding, this time about a longshot McCarthy bid for a controversial dam project that would provide more water for Central Valley farmers. Progress has slowed, though a top-level meeting between House Speaker Pelosi, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and the frustrated chairs of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees on Tuesday generated pledges to redouble their efforts. Nobody wants a shutdown when a stopgap spending bill expires at the end of next week, but time is running out and it's not at all certain that negotiations can close in time for the Senate to process a year-end spending package. Another temporary funding bill, called a continuing resolution, or CR, could be needed to avert a repeat of last year's 35-day partial federal shutdown. At issue is almost $1.4 trillion for day-to-day operations of federal agencies. This year's annual appropriations cycle was supposed to be relatively easy after this summer's budget and debt deal reversed a sharp set of spending cuts that would have otherwise struck both the Pentagon and domestic agencies. But a Senate GOP move to more than triple a key border wall account to meet Trump's demands sparked a two-month stalemate. Negotiations are back on track, with most of Trump's $5 billion wall demand being returned to other domestic accounts. It's complicated, but Trump has a significant tactical advantage that allows him to obtain several billion dollars for his border project. That's because he will refuse to sign any bill that denies his wall request outright or curtails his powers to transfer money from Pentagon accounts to border construction. Another option is to keep the Homeland Security Department budget largely frozen in place under a continuing resolution while maintaining those same transfer authorities that Trump has used to shift almost $7 billion to wall accounts even as Congress directly appropriates far less --- $1.4 billion for the 2019 budget year. Nobody wants the third option: a government shutdown battle. The no-win spot that anti-wall forces find themselves in promises to generate unrest among some progressives, though they may be reluctant to give leaders much blowback during the height of impeachment. For their part, GOP conservatives usually just oppose the annual spending bills, which are then reluctantly signed by Trump after last-minute drama. House Democrats sought to block Trump's power to transfer Pentagon funding to Trump's project, but his veto threats are likely to succeed in getting Democrats to drop the language in the closed-door talks. Negotiators on a separate $738 billion Pentagon policy bill dumped companion language in their House-Senate talks. But funding through transferring money from other accounts is subject to legal challenges. A federal judge in Texas on Tuesday issued a nationwide injunction to block Trump from using $3.6 billion in military base construction funds to pay for border fencing and other barriers. Democrats griped that Republicans were slow to make concessions on more than 100 items that were in dispute, citing as an example House GOP Leader McCarthy's effort to insert a long-stalled dam project. Pelosi had successfully blocked the project for years even when her negotiating position was weaker when relegated to the minority. Republicans countered that Democrats were slow to give up their pet priorities as well and that some of their demands should be deemed poison pills and dropped automatically. The delays have pushed back deadlines. House action on the spending package won't occur until next week, when impeachment and a major trade bill are also on the agenda. Leaders hope the Senate could follow and complete action by the end of next week, but any individual senator could mess up the plan under the Senate's rules. "We want to get the appropriations bills to the Senate as quickly as possible so the Senate has the opportunity to consider them. So that would be the priority," Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., said Tuesday. (KR)
Afghan Bomber Hits Medical Facility 12/11 06:22
Afghan Bomber Hits Medical Facility 12/11 06:22 KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A powerful suicide bombing targeted an under-construction medical facility on Wednesday near Bagram Air Base, the main American base north of the Afghan capital, the U.S. military said, and six Afghans were reported wounded. The attacker struck the facility that is being built to help the Afghan people who live in the area, the U.S. military said. There were no coalition casualties and the base remains secure, the statement added. No one immediately claimed responsibility for the attack but both the Taliban and the Islamic State group stage near-daily attacks in Kabul and elsewhere in Afghanistan. Outside the sprawling base, several homes, mostly belonging to the poor, were destroyed. A large mosque in the area was also badly damaged,. Shortly after the bombing, Afghan troops, special forces and intelligence officers cordoned off the perimeter of the base with armored personnel carriers. Heavily armed soldiers kept residents far from the gates to Bagram Air Base. Within minutes of the suicide bombing, U.S. fighter aircraft bombed the area, according to witnesses Earlier reports suggested that a U.S. military convoy might have been the target of Wednesday's attack. Dr. Abdul Qasim Sangin, a physician who heads the main hospital in the province, said the hospital near the perimeter of the base was on fire. It wasn't immediately clear if any foreigners were inside the hospital. Gen. Mahfooz Walizada, police commander of Parwan province where the base is located, confirmed the attack but offered no details on casualties. Sangin said his hospital received six wounded, all Afghans. Five were in stable condition and one was critical, he said. Scores more were treated and released by medics at the scene. Most were suffering cuts and bruises from flying glass and debris. The Taliban control or hold sway over nearly half of Afghanistan, staging regular attacks that target foreign and Afghan forces, as well as Kabul government officials, but also kill scores of civilians. (KR)
Trump Charges: Betrayal of Nation 12/11 06:23
Trump Charges: Betrayal of Nation 12/11 06:23 House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, declaring he "betrayed the nation" with his actions toward Ukraine as they pushed toward historic proceedings that are certain to help define his presidency and shape the 2020 election. WASHINGTON (AP) -- House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against President Donald Trump, declaring he "betrayed the nation" with his actions toward Ukraine as they pushed toward historic proceedings that are certain to help define his presidency and shape the 2020 election. The specific charges aimed at removing the 45th president of the United States: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, flanked by the chairmen of impeachment inquiry committees at the U.S. Capitol, said they were upholding their solemn oath to defend the Constitution. Trump responded angrily on Twitter: "WITCH HUNT!" Voting is expected in a matter of days by the Judiciary Committee, which begins deliberations Wednesday, and by Christmas in the full House. The charges, if approved, would then be sent to the Senate, where the Republican majority would be unlikely to convict Trump, but not without a potentially bitter trial just as voters in Iowa and other early presidential primary states begin making their choices. In the formal articles announced Tuesday, the Democrats said Trump enlisted a foreign power in "corrupting" the U.S. election process and endangered national security by asking Ukraine to investigate his political rivals, including Democrat Joe Biden, while withholding U.S. military aid as leverage. That benefited Russia over the U.S. as America's ally fought Russian aggression, the Democrats said. Trump then obstructed Congress by ordering current and former officials to defy House subpoenas for testimony and by blocking access to documents, the charges say. By his conduct, Trump "demonstrated he will remain a threat to national security and the Constitution if allowed to remain in office, " the nine-page impeachment resolution says. "If we did not hold him accountable, he would continue to undermine our election," Pelosi said later at a forum sponsored by Politico. "Nothing less is at stake than the central point of our democracy - a free and fair election.'' Trump tweeted that to impeach a president "who has done NOTHING wrong, is sheer Political Madness." He later headed to Pennsylvania for a reelection campaign rally, where he called the effort "impeachment lite" and promised it would lead to his reelection in 2020. The outcome appears increasingly set as the House presses ahead toward impeachment as it has only three times in history against U.S. presidents, a test of the nation's system of checks and balances. Democrats said they had a duty to act in what is now a strictly partisan undertaking, as Republicans stand with the president, because Trump has shown a pattern of behavior that, if left unchecked, poses risks to the democratic process. Rep. Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., the Judiciary chairman, said the president "holds the ultimate public trust. When he betrays that trust and puts himself before country, he endangers the Constitution; he endangers our democracy; he endangers our national security." "No one, not even the president, is above the law," he said, announcing the charges before a portrait of George Washington. Chairman Adam Schiff of the Intelligence Committee said, "We stand here today because the president's abuse of power leaves us with no choice." Trump's allies immediately plunged into the fight that will extend into the new year. White House Press Secretary Stephanie Grisham said Democrats are trying to "overthrow'' the administration. Campaign manager Brad Parscale said Democrats "don't have a viable candidate for 2020 and they know it." The president's son, Eric, embraced his father's penchant for name calling, assailing Pelosi and "her swamp creatures." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he would be "totally surprised'' if there were 67 votes in the chamber to convict Trump, and signaled options for a swift trial. He said no decision had been made whether to call witnesses. In drafting the charges against the president, Pelosi faced a legal and political challenge of balancing the views of her majority while hitting the Constitution's bar of "treason, bribery or other high crimes and misdemeanors." Some liberal lawmakers wanted more expansive charges encompassing the findings from special counsel Robert Mueller's probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election. Centrist Democrats preferred to keep the impeachment articles more focused on Trump's actions toward Ukraine as a clearer case. The final resolution, slim in length yet broad in concept, attempted to find common ground by linking the Ukraine inquiry to the Mueller probe in two separate lines.It said the abuse of power was consistent with Trump's "previous invitations of foreign interference in United States elections" while the obstruction charge was consistent with his efforts to undermine U.S. government ''investigations into foreign interference." Democratic leaders say Trump put his political interests above those of the nation when he asked Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in a July phone call to investigate his rivals, including Democrat Joe Biden, and then withheld $400 million in military aid as the U.S. ally faced an aggressive Russia. They say he then obstructed Congress by stonewalling the House investigation. The articles say Trump "used the powers of the presidency in a manner that compromised the national security of the United States and undermined the integrity of the United States democratic process." The first article, on abuse of power, says Trump "corruptly" solicited Ukraine to investigate his political rivals. The second article, obstruction of Congress, says that Trump directed defiance of the House's ability to conduct its legal oversight like no other president "in the history of the republic." Trump insisted in a new tweet that when he asked Ukraine's president "to do us a favor" with the investigations, "'us' is a reference to USA, not me!" Democrats, however, say Trump's meaning could not have been clearer in seeking political dirt on Biden, his possible opponent in the 2020 election. Republicans stand with the president even if they don't fully address his actions. House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy said, the vote will be on impeachment not "whether a call is perfect.'' While the impeachment is focused on the Ukraine matter, Trump's actions toward Russia continue underlie the debate. On Tuesday Trump met at the White House with Sergey Lavrov, the Russian foreign minister just back from Paris efforts to revive peace talks with Ukraine. At the same time, a top adviser to the Ukraine president, Andriy Yermak, disputed key impeachment testimony from U.S. Ambassador Gordon Sondland, telling Time magazine the two did not speak of the investigations Trump wanted during a Warsaw meeting. The next steps are expected to come swiftly after months of investigation into the Ukraine matter and special counsel Mueller's two-year Russia probe. In his report, Mueller said he could not determine that Trump's campaign conspired or coordinated with Russia in the 2016 election. But he said he could not exonerate Trump of obstructing justice and left it for Congress to determine. Even as she pushed ahead with the impeachment proceeding, Pelosi announced an agreement with the White House on a new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade deal, a top priority for the president as well as many centrist Democrats. It, too, could get a vote next week. (KR)
UK Politicians Chase Undecided Voters 12/11 06:25
UK Politicians Chase Undecided Voters 12/11 06:25 LONDON (AP) -- British political leaders rose early Wednesday to pursue undecided voters on the eve of Britain's election, zigzagging the country in hopes that one last push will get the wavering to the polls. Though polls have consistently shown Prime Minister Boris Johnson's Conservative Party in the lead, the size of the margin is seen as narrowing before Thursday's contest. All of the parties are nervous about the verdict of a volatile electorate weary after years of wrangling over Brexit --- and likely to dump traditional party ties. All 650 seats in the House of Commons seats are up for grabs in the election, which is being held more than two years early in a bid to break the political impasse over Brexit. Johnson has tried to focus minds on the potential of an uncertain result and a divided Parliament, which would endanger his plan to lead the U.K. out of the European Union on Jan. 31. He started his day by helping load milk and orange juice bottles onto a delivery vehicle in West Yorkshire. "This could not be more critical, it could not be tighter --- I just say to everybody the risk is very real that we could tomorrow be going into another hung parliament,'' he said. "That's more drift, more dither, more delay, more paralysis for this country." Meanwhile, the main opposition Labour Party said the narrowing in the polls showed that momentum was moving in their direction. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn campaigned in Scotland and urged people to elect a government that will "give real hope." "In this city of Glasgow, which has some of the poorest people in this country, which has wards which contain the lowest life expectancy all across this country, they need an end to austerity,'' Corbyn said. "They need a U.K. government that will invest all across the country." (KR)
Giuliani to Report on Ukraine Trip 12/11 06:26
Giuliani to Report on Ukraine Trip 12/11 06:26 NEW YORK (AP) -- Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump's personal attorney, said Tuesday that the president asked him to brief the Justice Department and Republican senators on the findings of his recent trip to Ukraine. Giuliani indicated he would aim to do so by week's end but did not provide details. He would not discuss the contents of his findings. Giuliani's trip last week prompted concern from many White House officials, some of whom blame the lawyer for ensnaring Trump in the Ukraine affair that has led to articles of impeachment. As special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation wound down earlier this year, Giuliani began pushing the belief --- one previously only held on the fringes of the conservative movement --- that Ukraine may have also attempted to interfere in the 2016 election. There is no evidence that happened. The former New York City mayor also wanted to bring attention to the work that former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter did in Ukraine and urged Trump to demand Kiev investigate his possible political foe. That pressure was at the heart of the articles of impeachment introduced in the House of Representatives on Tuesday. Even as impeachment swirled, Giuliani stunned Washington by traveling to Ukraine this month to further his probe. The surprise journey drew condemnation from Democrats and some scorn from Republicans and White House aides, many of whom believed the sojourn to Kiev drew unwanted scrutiny ahead of the impeachment vote. Trump, though, appeared to praise the trip when talking to reporters in recent days. "He says he has a lot of good information," Trump said Saturday. "I hear he has found plenty." But the venue for Giuliani's debriefing is uncertain. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., a staunch Trump ally, has said he had no plans for Giuliani to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee, which has launched an inquiry into Joe Biden and his communications with Ukrainian officials. Meanwhile, Giuliani has alienated many in Trump's orbit, including Attorney General William Barr and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both of whom have told West Wing aides that the attention-seeking former mayor had become a liability to Trump. But while Trump has at times grown frustrated with Giuliani's faux pas, he has told people close to him that he appreciates the former mayor's willingness to defend him on television and his aggressive pursuit of corruption. He has also repeatedly told reporters that the former prosecutor was the nation's greatest crime fighter. Giuliani returned Saturday from a trip that took him to Ukraine, Hungary and Austria, where he said he was looking for documents and witnesses to support unproven claims he has made about Hunter Biden and Ukraine's role in the 2016 election. He was accompanied by correspondents from the conservative One America News Network, which is producing a documentary about his work. Giuliani outlined the details of his trip hours after House Democrats announced two articles of impeachment against Trump, declaring his actions toward Ukraine "betrayed the nation" as they pushed toward historic proceedings that are certain to help define his presidency and shape the 2020 election. The specific charges aimed at removing the 45th president of the U.S.: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, flanked by the chairmen of impeachment inquiry committees at the U.S. Capitol, said they were upholding their solemn oath to defend the Constitution. Trump responded angrily on Twitter: "WITCH HUNT!" (KR)
Turkey Hints at Barring US From Bases 12/11 06:29
Turkey Hints at Barring US From Bases 12/11 06:29 ANKARA, Turkey (AP) -- Turkey's foreign minister suggested Wednesday that the United States could be barred from using two strategic air bases in retaliation to possible U.S. sanctions against his country, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. Mevlut Cavusoglu comments came amid reports that U.S. lawmakers had agreed on a defense bill that also includes calls to sanction Turkey over its decision to proceed with the purchase and deployment of Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems. "In the event of a decision to sanction Turkey, the Incirlik and Kurecik airbases can be brought to the agenda," Anadolu quoted Cavusoglu as saying. He said: "Congress members must understand that it is not possible to get anywhere with sanctions." Incirlik airbase in southern Turkey has been a main base for U.S. operations in the Middle East and more recently in the fight against the Islamic State group in Syria and Iraq, while Kurecik, in eastern Turkey, is a key NATO base. Turkey's decision to proceed with the purchase of the Russian system has added to growing tensions between the two NATO allies. Washington says the Russian system poses a threat to NATO and has removed Turkey from the U.S.-led F-35 stealth fighter jet program. Tensions were raised further after Turkey launched an incursion into northeastern Syria to drive away Syrian Kurdish forces that had partnered with the U.S. in the fight against the Islamic State group. Turkey considers the Kurdish fighters as terrorists because of their links to outlawed Kurdish rebels fighting inside Turkey. (KR)
GOP Tries to Delegitimize Impeachment 12/11 06:30
GOP Tries to Delegitimize Impeachment 12/11 06:30 The president and his allies have largely glossed over the substance of allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, making light of what is likely to be only the third presidential impeachment in the nation's history. WASHINGTON (AP) -- They're calling it a circus, a farce and even zany. President Donald Trump and his Republican allies spent weeks trivializing the House impeachment inquiry ahead of Tuesday's historic unveiling of formal charges against the president. Where Richard Nixon and Bill Clinton treated the prospect of impeachment as a serious threat to their presidencies, Trump's boosters have tried to brush off the whole thing. Believing that acquittal by the GOP-controlled Senate is all but certain, they're out to convince voters to punish the president's Democratic accusers --- or at least tune out the Washington spectacle. To that end, they have belittled the impeachment process with mockery, schoolyard taunts and an unyielding insistence that Trump did not a single thing wrong. They have stonewalled, refusing to allow witnesses to testify; protested by declining to send their own lawyers to hearings; and dished out the ultimate Trumpian insult: calling the proceedings boring. In the process, the president and his allies have largely glossed over the substance of allegations of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress, making light of what is likely to be only the third presidential impeachment in the nation's history. It's a strategy borne of Trump's instincts and informed by the results of polling and focus groups. The president and his allies believe the effort has been effective, especially when it comes to keeping independent voters skeptical of the process. It is also a reflection of the country's increasingly polarized political environment. "Why would we legitimize this process that the American people can't even follow, aren't digesting," White House counselor Kellyanne Conway said Monday when asked why the White House had chosen not to participate in the House proceedings. She equated cooperation to "colluding with an illegitimate process." She showed her disdain for the effort by accusing Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler, D-N.Y., of "playing a game of Inspector Clouseau, Secret Squirrel" by waiting so long to unveil the articles of impeachment that were announced Tuesday. GOP critics have been going all-out to find new ways to mock what Trump has long called a "witch hunt" and a "sham." Sen. John Kennedy, R-Louisiana, compared the impeachment hearings to "the cantina bar scene in Star Wars. It's surreal." Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dismissed the "zaniness that's taking place on Capitol Hill." And Rep. Devin Nunes, the House intelligence committee's top Republican, called the House hearings "a show trial, a planned result of three years of political operations and dirty tricks." But even if GOP legislators are more than willing to complain and erect parliamentary roadblocks, many lawmakers, particularly the senators who would serve as jurors in an eventual Senate trial, have been less comfortable defending the president's conduct. Nor has that been a priority for White House aides, who have been firing off rapid response emails about procedural unfairness but have done little to engage on the substance of the charges. During the early days of the inquiry there was tension between the West Wing and the president's outside allies, who felt the White House was doing too little to defend the president against the charges. Trump himself was initially unwilling to bring on new staff or set up a "war room," concerned that such a move would suggest he felt vulnerable or make him look guilty. Ultimately, Trump consented to the hiring of former Florida attorney general Pam Bondi and Republican strategist Tony Sayegh, a move that has helped to mollify some outside critics. There also was a sense of confusion early on, as administration officials and allies struggled to keep up with rapidly unfolding news about Trump's attempts to get Ukraine to investigate political rival Joe Biden. Even some of the president's closest supporters were unclear about details of his interactions with the president of Ukraine. With little clarity about what really had happened, Republicans took aim at the process, seeing it as an easy place to start. Once the scope become clearer, officials inside and outside the building began to refine their messaging, based in part on polling and focus group testing. America First Policies, a nonprofit backing Trump's policies, for instance, conducted focus groups early in the process that focused specifically on independent voters who might be open to voting for Trump in 2020. Kelly Sadler, a spokeswoman for the group, said the sessions turned up frustration with Congress over endless investigations and not perusing bread-and-butter issues. Many people, she said, felt the impeachment inquiry was highly partisan --- a sentiment reflected in polling data --- and felt the whole endeavor was a waste of time and money, especially given the quickly-approaching 2020 election. The group has targeted its advertising to speak to those frustrations, which are also reflected in messaging from the American Action Network, which is tied to House GOP leadership and has spent millions on anti-impeachment ads. As Republicans have pushed to delegitimize the House impeachment process, they also are professing great reverence for an expected Senate trial on friendlier turf. Trump sees a Senate trial as a forum where his allies will be able to publicly defend him and turn the tables on Democrats in dramatic Court TV fashion. "It's pretty clear the president wants a trial," said White House spokesman Hogan Gidley. He offered a list of some of the witnesses Trump would like to call, including House intelligence committee Chairman Adam Schiff, the whistle blower whose complaint sparked the inquiry, as well as Biden and his son, Hunter, who had dealings in Ukraine. "The president's eager to get his story out," Gidley said. But Republicans in the Senate caution that Trump may not get the show he wants because Senate rules require a majority of senators to approve individual witnesses, and some are weary of creating a spectacle. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that no decisions have been made yet about the length or structure of a Senate trial. "The Senate has two choices: It could go down the path of calling witnesses and basically having another trial or it could decide --- and again 51 members could make that decision --- that they have heard enough," he said. (KR)
Stocks Notch Gains on Wednesday 12/11 16:05
Stocks Notch Gains on Wednesday 12/11 16:05 Wall Street capped a wobbly day Wednesday with modest gains for stocks, snapping a two-day losing streak for the S&P 500. (AP) -- Wall Street capped a wobbly day Wednesday with modest gains for stocks, snapping a two-day losing streak for the S&P 500. The market shook off a mixed start after the Federal Reserve announced it is would be leaving interest rates unchanged this month and signaled that it expects to leave them alone in 2020. The central bank had been expected to leave its benchmark interest rate unchanged this month after lowering it three times this year in a bid to shield the economy from slowing global growth and the fallout of U.S. trade conflicts. Investor jitters over whether the U.S. and China will be able to avert a new escalation in their trade war has made for choppy trading this week, pulling major indexes lower. Wall Street is hoping that both sides can avoid a new round of tariffs scheduled to kick in Sunday on Chinese goods that include phones, laptops and other popular products. "We're in a wait-and-see mode going into Friday to see if we have any more clarity on the trade tariffs that go into effect on Sunday," said Keith Buchanan, portfolio manager at Globalt Investments. "The market is kind of sitting on its hands right now." The S&P 500 index gained 9.11 points, or 0.3%, to 3,141.63. The benchmark index is still on track for a slight weekly loss. The Dow Jones Industrial Average bounced back after being slightly lower most of the day. It rose 29.58 points, or 0.1%, to 27,911.30. The Nasdaq added 37.87 points, or 0.4%, to 8,654.05. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks edged up 0.21 points, or less than 0.1%, to 1,631.93. Despite the wobbly week in the market, the major indexes on track for strong gains this year. The Nasdaq is leading the way, with a gain of 30.4%. The S&P 500 is now up 25.3% and the Dow is up nearly 20%. The Fed's decision to stay put on rates this month leaves its benchmark rate, which influences many consumer and business loans, in a low range of 1.5% to 1.75%. In a sign of the Fed's confidence about the economy, its latest policy statement dropped a phrase it had previously used that referred to "uncertainties" surrounding the economic outlook. That suggests that the Fed is less worried about the impact of the U.S.-China trade war or overseas developments, and that it views the U.S. economy as generally healthy. Technology and industrial stocks led the gains Wednesday. Skyworks Solutions climbed 4.7% and United Rentals rose 2.1%. Banks and real estate companies lagged the market. U.S. Bancorp slid 1.2% and mall owner Simon Property Group lost 2.4%. The yield on the 10-year Treasury slipped to 1.79% from 1.83% late Tuesday. Some companies made big moves after releasing earnings reports. Ollie's Bargain Outlet surged 15% after reporting surprisingly good third-quarter profit and revenue. GameStop plunged 15.1% after issuing a surprising loss and cutting its profit forecast. Home Depot dropped 1.8% after giving investors a weak sales forecast. Shares in American Eagle Outfitters slumped 6.5% after the clothing chain reported third-quarter results that were largely in line with Wall Street's expectations, but noted it saw softer demand for certain apparel categories. Chevron fell skidded 1.4% after the energy company warned investors about a potential charge of up to $11 billion because of lower long-term prices for oil and natural gas. The huge fourth-quarter write-down underscores the challenge posed by rising production that has prevented energy prices from increasing sharply during a time of increasing global demand. Benchmark crude oil fell 48 cents to settle at $58.76 a barrel. Brent crude oil, the international standard, dropped 62 cents to close at $63.72 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline fell 2 cents to $1.63 per gallon. Heating oil climbed 4 cents to $1.93 per gallon. Natural gas fell 2 cents to $2.24 per 1,000 cubic feet. Gold rose $6.80 to $1,469.40 per ounce, silver rose 14 cents to $16.74 per ounce and copper fell 2 cents to $2.78 per pound. The dollar fell to 108.51 Japanese yen from 108.73 yen on Tuesday. The euro strengthened to $1.1140 from $1.1096. Stock indexes in Europe closed broadly higher. (AG)
