Stocks Volatile Before Cons. Conf. Data

Wall Street fluctuated in early trading Tuesday following big back-to-back rallies and as investors awaited readings on consumer sentiment.

The market seemed to be searching for direction in the early going. Some profit-taking was to be expected after a two-day rally sent the Dow Jones industrial average up nearly 450 points. Investors are looking for insights into whether the easing of some of Wall Street's fears in recent sessions is well-founded or overly optimistic.

Stocks have charged higher in the days following the Federal Reserve's decision to aid investment banks and orchestrate a buyout deal for a near-collapsed Bear Stearns Cos. The Fed's actions …

Cubs face the future Kimm, players content to act as if there will be more games

Cubs 13

Brewers 10

MILWAUKEE--On what could have been the last day of the 2002season, Cubs manager Bruce Kimm rested first baseman Fred McGriff sohe could be fresh to play this weekend at Wrigley Field against theSt. Louis Cardinals.

Thursday afternoon might have been McGriff's last game as a Cub ifplayers strike today for the rest of the season. But Kimm showed nofear of the future. He refused to let any dark shadows from the NewYork negotiations disrupt his routine.

I'm not treating it as the end of the season," Kimm said beforethe Cubs' 13-10 victory over the Brewers at Miller Park.

If this was the finish line, the Cubs crossed it as they …

Politica de Nicaragua: El Cinismo de los Disidentes Sandinistas

Politica de Nicaragua: El Cinismo de los Disidentes Sandinistas

Por Roberto Zelaya Blanco

DURANTE el periodo comprendido entre julio de 1979 y abril de 1990, los dirigentes del Frente Sandinista, la respectiva intelectualidad organica, los capitalistas "progresistas" y curas de sotana roja que los aceptaban como la vanguardia del pueblo nicaraguense, son directamente corresponsables de la comision de crimenes de guerra y de lesa humanidad en perjuicio de determinados sectores de la colectividad nacional, incluyendo el exterminio metodico y sistematico de las minorias etnicas de la Costa Atlantica del pais.

Si algun dia -que ojala no este lejano-, todos esos …

Japan stocks fall on jitters over global economy

Japanese shares retreated Thursday, as concerns about the global economy overshadowed any optimism over the U.S. Senate's passage of a US$700 billion bank rescue plan.

The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average fell 213.50 points, or 1.88 percent, to 11,154.76. The broader Topix index 2.19 percent to 1,076.97.

Tokyo stocks began the morning in positive territory as investors hunted for bargains, but quickly fell into the red on faltering sentiment.

News during the morning that the Senate had passed a revised version the bailout plan did little to lift market spirits, said Tsuyoshi Nomaguchi, a strategist at Daiwa Securities in Tokyo. The bill now …

Merging TV with the Web

Perhaps the biggest disconnect in the digital landscape today is between the Internet and the TV set. Consumers have been buying big new high-definition TVs in large numbers and, separately, are watching more and more video from online sources like YouTube, Hulu and iTunes. But the two trends have yet to merge. Despite the efforts of big names like Microsoft, Apple and TiVo, relatively few people are watching Internet video on their shiny new sets.

Now, two more set-top boxes have been launched to try to marry the Internet and the TV. Both adapters, from Sony and Roku, worked well in my tests, but each has limitations. The problem is that the Sony box supplies content from a wide …

MCI may cut 1,875 jobs in effort to trim costs

NEW YORK MCI WorldCom Inc., the newly formed telecommunicationscompany, plans to lay off about 1,875 workers, or 2.5 percent of itswork force, as part of an effort to slash $2.5 billion in costs nextyear, an industry source familiar with the situation said today.

MCI WorldCom Chief Executive Bernard Ebbers is known for movingswiftly to cut costs in newly acquired companies. MCI and WorldComcompleted their $37 billion deal three months ago in one of thenation's largest telecommunications mergers, forming a formidablerival to AT&T Corp. and other dominant players.

The new company is the nation's second-largest long-distanceprovider behind AT&T after fusing No. …

China sends long-missing lawyer Gao back to jail

BEIJING (AP) — More than a year and a half after prominent civil rights lawyer Gao Zhisheng disappeared, China's government gave the first sign Friday that he is alive, saying he would be sent to prison for three years for violating his probation.

A brief report by the state-run Xinhua News Agency did not answer key questions about Gao — the condition of his health and his whereabouts now and in the 20 months since he disappeared, presumably at the hands of the authorities.

"Are they sending him to a proper prison? Which prison was he at before? Where were they hiding him?" said Gao's brother, Gao Zhiyi, who has been on a quest to find his sibling.

Gao's wife said from …