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4B – Daily News – Monday, March 7, 2011 WORLD BRIEFING Investors wonder about a bubble Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke fielded the usual questions about inflation, tax cuts and government debt dur- ing a trip to Congress last week. Then a new question popped up: Is the Fed creating another bubble in stock prices? Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee he saw ‘‘little evidence’’ that was hap- pening. But he cautioned: ‘‘Of course, nobody can know for sure.’’ That’s the problem with bub- bles. You only know you’re in one when it pops. This week is the second anniversary of the bull market that followed the financial melt- down. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is in its fastest climb since 1955, doubling since the market bottomed on March 9, 2009. In January and February alone, it’s up 5.5 per- cent, the best start to a year since 1998. Stock bubbles are famously hard to define. In 1999, for instance, investors thought it was perfectly rational to pay 62 times a company’s earnings per share for a technology stock because it seemed dot-com companies couldn’t lose. They only realized their error when many of those companies turned out to be nothing more than slick marketing ploys. Romney: I can beat Obama on economy BARTLETT, N.H. (AP) — This time, Mitt Romney has a clear pitch: I’m the strongest Republican to challenge President Barack Obama on the country’s single biggest issue — the econo- my. ‘‘He created a deeper reces- sion, and delayed the recovery,’’ Romney said Saturday, preview- ing his campaign message before Republicans in this influential early nominating state. ‘‘The consequence is soaring numbers of Americans enduring unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcies. This is the Obama Misery Index, and it is at a record high.’’ ‘‘It’s going to take more than new rhetoric to put Americans back to work — it’s going to take a new president,’’ said the former businessman and Massachusetts governor, essentially offering him- self up as the best — if not only — solution. But will GOP primary voters buy it? Twister victims, grateful damage wasn’t worse RAYNE, La. (AP) — As the storm roared over Pauline Patton’s apartment, she peered out the win- dow and saw something she was- n’t ready for: A funnel cloud. Sud- denly, the power went out. Rain- water poured through the ceiling. And as everything went black, she heard what sounded like a bomb exploding overhead. Still, residents said the tornado that killed a woman the day before and displaced hundreds could have been much worse. Many have turned their attention to tak- ing care of pets and retrieving essentials left behind while evacu- ating. Patton, 64, and her husband, Howard, were having lunch Sun- day at a fire station-turned-shelter, courtesy of the Red Cross. They weren’t sure when — or if — they’d be able to return to their apartment. About two dozen peo- ple were also at the shelter, with nowhere else to go. ‘‘It just happened so fast,’’ she said. ‘‘You couldn’t hardly see nothing. Everything was dark.’’ Some 1,500 people were unable to return to their homes in this community about 70 miles west of Baton Rouge, said Rayne Police Chief Carroll Stelly. About 150 homes had been damaged or destroyed as winds topped out at 135 mph, leaving at least 12 with injuries that were not life-threat- ening. Others could not return to their homes because workers were still surveying damage and trying to get utilities running again. ‘Rango’ corrals $38M opening at weekend LOS ANGELES (AP) — ‘‘Rango’’ has lassoed the top spot at the box office. The animated Paramount film featuring Johnny Depp as the voice of a Wild West chameleon sheriff rode into town with a $38 million debut, according to studio estimates released Sunday. ‘‘Rango,’’ which was directed by ‘‘Pirates of the Caribbean’’ film franchise maestro Gore Verbinski, is the first animated feature from Industrial Light and Magic, the special effects studio founded by George Lucas in 1975. ‘‘The draw for audiences was certainly Johnny Depp and Gore Verbinski, but when you look at the reviews, it was 88 percent pos- itive on Rotten Tomatoes, which is a level that Pixar operates at,’’ said Don Harris, Paramount’s execu- tive vice president for distribution. ‘‘This is a film that has a shot at being nominated for Academy Awards this time next year.’’ Oh Snap! 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