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8B Daily News – Wednesday, November 20, 2013 Stocks edge lower after disappointing earnings NEW YORK (AP) — Disappointing earnings news helped push the stock market lower on Tuesday. Electronics retailer Best Buy plunged after saying extended store hours and price-cutting could squeeze its fourth-quarter profit. Campbell Soup fell sharply after reporting that its profit slumped as sales of soups and V8 drinks fell. The two stocks were the biggest decliners in the Standard & Poor's 500 index. Even with the slight decline the S&P 500 is still up 25 percent so far in 2013 and has risen for six weeks straight, the longest winning streak since February. The extended run-up has prompted a number of market watchers to call for caution. ''We've had a phenomenal run, particularly in the last few weeks. I wouldn't be surprised if we would pull back from here,'' said Alec Young, global equity strategist with S&P Capital IQ. The Dow Jones industrial average edged down Wall Street 8.99 points, or 0.1 percent, to 15,967.03, the first decline for the index in five days. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 3.66 points, or 0.2 percent, to 1,787.87 and the Nasdaq composite fell 17.51 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,931.55. The Dow Jones industrial average and the S&P 500 crossed round-number milestones in early trading Monday but failed to build on those advances. The Dow crossed 16,000 and the S&P 500 hit 1,800 for the first time before falling back to close below those levels both Monday and Tuesday. Retailers were a key focus on Tuesday, especially with the holiday shopping season coming up. Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, is one of the biggest shopping days of the year. Consumer spending is a critical component of the U.S. economy, so how consumers behave during the closely watched holiday season will give investors a sign about the outlook for growth. Best Buy sank $4.78, or 11 percent, to $38.78 after its warning of a tough holiday trading period ahead. The company's stock is still up 227 percent this year, making it the secondbest performer in the S&P 500 after Netflix. Home Depot rose 71 cents, or 0.9 percent, to $80.38 after reporting income that surpassed analysts' expectations. The company also raised its earnings forecast for the year. TJX Cos., which operates discount stores including T.J. Maxx and Marshalls, climbed 63 cents, or 1 percent, to $63.12. Its income rose 35 percent as sales improved at both U.S. and international stores. Investors will turn their thoughts back to the Federal Reserve on Wednesday. Minutes from the Fed's October meeting will be released at 2 p.m. and investors will scour them to get a read on the central bank's stimulus policy. The central bank is currently buying $85 billion of bonds a month to keep interest rates low and boost the economy. That has underpinned a rally in stocks. Investors were also watching JPMorgan Chase. The bank reached a record $13 billion settlement with federal and New York State authorities, resolving claims over the bank's sales of mortgage-backed securi- ties that collapsed during the U.S. housing crisis. JPMorgan closed 41 cents, or 0.7 percent, higher at $56.15. In government bond trading, the yield on the 10year Treasury note edged up to 2.71 percent from 2.67 percent. Crude oil rose 31 cents, or 0.3 percent, to $93.34 a barrel and gold edged up $1.20, or 0.1 percent, to $1,273.50 an ounce. Among other stocks making big moves: — United Continental rose $1.42, or 3.9 percent, to $37.80 after the airline operator told investors that it will cut costs, overhaul its website, and shift routes from Asia to Europe. — Campbell Soup dropped $2.61, or 6.2 percent, to $39.20 after reporting that its quarterly profit plunged 30 percent. A recall of the recently acquired Plum Organics products also hurt results, and the company cut its earnings forecast for the year. Carriers reject kill switch for stolen smartphones SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Samsung Electronics, the world's largest mobile phone manufactur- er, has proposed installing a built-in anti-theft measure known as a ''kill switch'' that would render stolen or lost phones inoperable, but the nation's biggest carriers have rejected the idea, according to San Francis- co's top prosecutor. District Attorney George Gascon said Monday that AT&T Inc., Verizon Wireless, United States Cellular Corp., Sprint Corp. and T-Mobile US Inc. rebuffed Samsung's proposal to preload its phones with Absolute LoJack anti-theft software as a standard feature. The wireless industry says a kill switch isn't the answer because it could allow a hacker to disable someone's phone. Gascon, New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and other law enforcement officials have been demanding that manufacturers create kill switches to combat surging smartphone theft across the country. Almost 1 in 3 U.S. robberies involve phone theft, according to the Federal Communications Commission. Lost and stolen mobile devices — mostly smartphones — cost consumers more than $30 billion last year, according to a study cited by Schneiderman in June. Samsung officials told the San Francisco district attorney's office in July that carriers were resisting kill switches, and prosecutors have recently reviewed emails between a senior vice president at Samsung and a software developer about the issue. One email in August said Samsung had pre- EVICTIONS $300 Attorney Fee + Costs FIXED COSTS: $240 Court Filing Fee $25 Writ Of Execution Fee $125 Sheriff Fee $25 Service Process Per Person CALL 530.529.9999 installed kill switch software in some smartphones ready for shipment, but carriers ordered their removal as a standard feature. ''These emails suggest that the carriers are rejecting a technological solution so they can continue to shake down their customers for billions of dollars in (theft) insurance premiums,'' Gascon said. ''I'm incensed. ... This is a solution that has the potential to end the victimization of their customers.'' Samsung said it is cooperating with Gascon, Schneiderman and the carriers on an anti-theft solution but declined to comment specifically about the emails. ''We are working with the leaders of the Secure Our Smartphones (SOS) Initiative to incorporate the perspective of law enforcement agencies,'' said Samsung spokeswoman Jessica Redman. ''We will continue to work with them and our wireless carrier partners toward our common goal of stopping smartphone theft.'' Although the popular Samsung Galaxy smartphones are shipped across the country without LoJack as a standard feature, users can pay a subscription fee for the service.