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8B Daily News – Thursday, June 13, 2013 Save an additional Furniture Depot $100-$200 off 235 So. Main St., Red Bluff 527-1657 MON.-FRI. 9:00-6:00 SAT. 9:00-5:00 • SUN. 11:00-5:00 Lazboy Recliners Your Money Save some money & put a smile on Dad's face Stocks slide on Wall Street; Dow below 15,000 NEW YORK (AP) — Video-game shops, restaurants and retailers led the stock market lower Wednesday. Without any good news to drive the market up, investors grappled with the question hanging over financial markets: When will the Federal Reserve and other central banks pull back their economic stimulus programs? Markets have turned turbulent in recent weeks as traders start preparing for a time when the Fed and central banks in Europe and Japan aren't pumping as much money into the financial system. ''There's nothing concrete out there to turn us around today,'' Russell Croft, co-portfolio manager at the Croft Value Fund in Baltimore. ''So naturally enough, people are back to thinking about the Fed.'' The Dow Jones industrial average fell 126.79 points, or 0.8 percent, to close at 14,995.23. The Dow had its first three-day stretch of losses this year and is down 1.7 percent for the week. A rout in global markets helped pull the Dow down 116 points Tuesday. The selling started after the Bank of Japan decided not to make any new attempt to spur growth in the world's third-largest economy. In other trading Wednesday, the Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 13.61 points, or 0.8 percent, to 1,612.52. All 10 industry groups in the index dropped, led by consumer-discretionary and utility companies. Two of the top-performing stocks in the S&P 500 this year, Netflix and BestBuy, led consumer-discretionary companies down. Netflix lost $6.82, or 3 percent, to $207.64. BestBuy dropped $1.01, or 4 percent, to $26.88. GameStop fell $1.13, or 3 percent, to $36.69. The S&P 500, the stockmarket benchmark for most investment funds, has lost 3.4 percent since reaching a record high on May 21. The next day, Fed chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could decide to scale down its bond-buying program in the coming months if the economy looks strong enough. Since then, the discussion among investors has centered on what will hap- pen when the Fed shifts course. '''Tapering' is definitely the word of the month,'' Croft said. Many on Wall Street think the Fed could signal that it's ready to start cutting back on its $85 billion in bond purchases at the end of its two-day meeting next Wednesday. That's a key reason bond traders have been selling Treasurys, sending the 10-year yield from a low of 1.63 percent last month to as high as 2.29 percent this week. Long-term borrowing rates are still near historic lows, but their jump over the past month has grabbed investors' attention, said Mark Travis, president and CEO of Intrepid Capital Management. ''I think people are starting to pause,'' he said. ''If rates continue to drift up, it's probably going to be a headwind for the market.'' Despite the losses, there were a few bright spots. Cooper Tire & Rubber jumped 41 percent after Apollo Tyres, an Indian company, announced plans to buy the tire maker for $2.5 billion. The combined company would be one of the world's largest tire makers, Apollo said, with combined 2012 sales of $6.6 billion. Cooper Tire gained $10.10 to $34.66. Gigamon soared 50 percent on its first day of trading as a public company. The Milpitas, Calif.-based company, which makes equipment for computernetwork traffic, raised $128 million in its initial public offering Tuesday. Its stock surged $9.47 to $28.47. The Nasdaq composite sank 36.52 points, or 1 percent, to 3,400.43. In the market for U.S. government bonds, the yield on the 10-year Treasury note edged up to 2.23 percent from 2.18 percent late Tuesday. In commodities trading, crude oil rose 50 cents to $95.88 a barrel in New York. Gold rose $15 to $1,392 an ounce. Among other stocks making moves: — First Solar slumped 11 percent, the biggest drop in the S&P 500, following news late Tuesday that the company plans raise money through the sale of 8.5 million shares of stock. First Solar had 87.8 million publicly traded shares as of May 3, and its stock has more than quadrupled over the last year. First Solar lost $4.68 to $47.54. — Rambus, a designer of memory chips, rose 52 cents, or 6 percent, to $8.55 after saying late Tuesday it had resolved a decade-old patent dispute with South Korean chipmaker Hynix. Hynix will pay Rambus $240 million over the next five years. — Ulta Salon Cosmetics & Fragrance jumped $12.51, or 15 percent, to $96.84. The company reported late Tuesday that its income increased 20 percent in the latest quarter as shoppers streamed into the retailer's stores and website. US budget deficit widens $139 billion in May WASHINGTON (AP) — The government reported Wednesday that the U.S. budget deficit widened in May by $139 billion. But the annual deficit stayed on track to finish below $1 trillion for the first time since 2008. Steady economic growth and higher tax rates have boosted the government's tax revenue. At the same time, government spending has barely increased. With the May increase, the deficit through the first eight months of this budget year totaled $626 billion, according to the Treasury. That's down $218 billion lower than the same period last year. The Congressional Budget Office estimates the deficit won't grow much before the budget year ends on Sept. 30. It forecasts an annual deficit of $642 billion. If correct, that would be well below last year's deficit of $1.09 trillion and the low- est in five years. It would still be the fifth-largest deficit in U.S. history. The federal deficit represents the annual difference between the government's spending and the tax revenues it takes in. Each deficit contributes to the national debt, which recently topped $16 trillion. At the same time, a smaller deficit has taken pressure off of negotiations to raise the federal borrowing limit. So far this budget year, RUNNINGS ROOFING Amazing Finds Sheet Metal Roofing Residential Commercial • Composition • Shingle • Single Ply Membrane "No Job Too Steep" " No Job Too Flat" Serving Tehama County No Money 530-527-5789 530-209-5367 CA. LIC#829089 Down! FREE ESTIMATES Owner is on site on every job NEW & USED FURNITURE & MUCH, MUCH MORE! Featuring Western, Lodge & Ranch Styles Two Locations - 30,000 square feet RED BLUFF 530-917-1138 REDDING 530-917-7797 22660 Antelope Blvd. 3351 S. Market St. amazingfindsredbluff.com amazingfindshome.com 9am – 8pm (closed Saturdays) 9am – 6:30pm daily Amazing Sale! revenue has risen 15 percent to $1.8 trillion. The government is taking in more money because of higher rates that went into effect on Jan. 1. Modest economic growth has also boosted tax revenue. And this month the government is expecting large dividend payments from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which will keep the deficit from growing. Fannie is expected to pay $59.4 billion; Freddie is expected pay $7 billion. The mortgage giants are profitable again and are paying dividends to the government in return for the loans they received during the financial crisis. While revenue has increased greatly, spending has only risen 0.8 percent this year to $2.43 billion. Military spending has dropped 4.3 percent, reflecting the winding down of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Spending on The Over 25 years of experience STOVE JUNCTION BBQ PELLETS The North State's premier supplier of stoves All makes and models. We perform dealer recommened Members Welcome 30K, 60K, 90K SERVICES AT LOWER PRICES Smog Check $ starting at 95 $ 25 + 8 certificate 25 (MOST CARS & PICK-UPS) 527-9841 • 195 S. Main St. Now in Stock! Popular customer request Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties Tues-Sat 9am-5pm • Closed Sun & Mon 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com unemployment benefits, which had swelled as millions lost their jobs during the Great Recession, fell 25.3 percent compared with the same period a year ago. Across-the-board government spending cuts that began on March 1 are expected to lower spending further in the remaining months of this budget year. The deficit reached a record $1.41 trillion in budget year 2009, which began four months before President Barack Obama took office. That deficit was largely because of the worst recession since the Great Depression. Tax revenue plummeted, while the government spent more on stimulus programs. The budget gaps in 2010 and 2011 were slightly lower than the 2009 deficit as a gradually strengthening economy generated more tax revenue.