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Associated Press MOSCOW » Russia's Presi- dent Vladimir Putin threat- ened Wednesday to start charging Ukraine in ad- vance for vital gas supplies — a move that could sharply hurt his neighbor, which is already on the verge of bank - ruptcy. It was just the latest way Moscow is tightening the economic screws on Ukraine since its pro-Russian presi - dent Viktor Yanukovych was ousted from power in Febru- ary after months of street protests. Chairing a meeting with government ministers in his suburban residence outside Moscow, Putin said asking for advance gas payments "corresponded with the con - tract" between Ukraine and Russia. Still, he suggested that the state energy giant Gazprom to refrain from such drastic measures until "additional consultations" between both sides. Russia has already elim - inated a gas discount it had given Ukraine, arguing that it was tied to a lease for Rus- sia's Black Sea Fleet base in Crimea, a Ukrainian region that Russia annexed last month. And Ukraine has promised the International Monetary Fund that it will cut energy subsidies to resi - dents in exchange for a bail- out loan of up to $14 billion — so gas prices were set to rise 50 percent on May 1 even be- fore the latest salvo from Pu- tin. Speaking in Kiev earlier, Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuri Prodan said Ukraine will pay for March deliveries of gas from Russia only af - ter it reaches an agreement on the price. He rejected the new, much higher price that Gazprom announced ear - lier and said Ukraine has not pumped in any gas from Russia so far this month. Authorities in Kiev also warned Wednesday they are prepared to use force to clear several government buildings seized by pro-Rus - sian separatists in the east of the country. Interior Minister Ar- sen Avakov said the stand- off in Luhansk and the two neighboring Russian-lean- ing regions of Donetsk and Kharkiv must be resolved within the next two days. "I want to repeat that there are two options: politi- cal settlement through nego- tiations and the use of force," Avakov told reporters. "We are ready for both options." As he spoke, anti-gov - ernment protesters in Lu- hansk erected high barri- cades along a thoroughfare running in front of the secu- rity service premises. All the cities affected by the uprisings are in Ukraine's industrial Rus - sian-speaking heartland in the east, which has a large population of ethnic Rus- sians and where economic and cultural ties to Russia are strong. Many residents are suspicious of govern - ment that took power in Feb- ruary. In a sign of the public relations battle going on be- tween the two nations, some Russian media — including state-run RIA Novosti — switched their description of those occupying the build - ings from pro-Russian pro- testers to "supporters of fed- eralization." Protesters continued to occupy the headquarters of Ukraine's Security Ser - vice in the eastern city of Luhansk, with hundreds of supporters camped outside and shouting "Putin! Putin!" overnight. The security agency had said the separatists inside the building, armed with explosives and other weap - ons, were threatening hos- tages inside. The hostages — 56 in all —were allowed to leave the building overnight, it said. Local police disputed that claim, however, saying there had been no hostages. Serhiy Tyhipko, a Ukrai - nian lawmaker associated with Yanukovych's ousted government, urged the new authorities in Kiev not to storm the building in Lu- hansk but rather negotiate a peaceful resolution. He said the protesters wanted Ukraine to turn into a fed - eral state with broad re- gional autonomy, not for their region to secede. "The people are not bring- ing up the issue of breaking off from Ukraine and are not calling for the help of foreign countries," Tyhipko said on his Facebook page. But turning Ukraine into a federation is Russia's key demand — one Ukraine's new government has re - fused to discuss, calling it a precursor to a break-up. In the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk, where pro - testers were still occupying another government build- ing, regional governor Ser- hiy Taruta met with key ac- tivists to try to find a solu- tion to the crisis. The Donetsk activists sounded optimistic after the talks, with leading figure De - nis Bulishin hailing the op- portunity for dialogue but stopping short of talking about any tangible results. The Ukrainian govern - ment and the U.S. have ac- cused Moscow of foment- ing the unrest as a pretext for another Russian mili- tary incursion similar to last month's takeover of Crimea. Up to 40,000 Russian troops are massed along the Ukrai - nian border, according to NATO. The Russian Foreign Min- istry hit back at the West on Wednesday, calling for the U.S. to stop using interna- tional organizations as a means of "exacerbating ten- sions surrounding Ukraine." WOrld Pu ti n th re at en s to m ak e Uk ra in e pa y ah ea d fo r ga s AssociAted Press russian President Vladimir Putin speaks at a cabinet meeting in the Novo-ogaryovo residence outside Moscow, Wednesday. Associated Press NEW YOrK » Once again, it was the Federal Reserve to the rescue for the stock mar- ket. Major U.S. indexes rose broadly Wednesday, helped by a report out of the nation's central bank that showed Fed policymakers want to be absolutely certain the U.S. economy had recovered be - fore starting to raise inter- est rates. Confident that the Fed won't be raising rates until sometime next year, inves - tors once again embraced some of the market's more risky names. Biotechnol- ogy and technology stocks, beaten down over the past week, were among the big- gest gainers. Wednesday's trading had one broad theme: risk on. Investors sold utility and telecommunications stocks — which are usually less volatile, rich-dividend com - panies — and piled into ar- eas that typically benefit from a growing economy: materials makers, indus- trial companies and tech- nology stocks. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 181.04 points, or 1.1 percent, to 16,437.18. The Standard & Poor's 500 index jumped 20.22 points, or 1.1 percent, to 1,872.18 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq composite rose the most, up 70.91 points, or 1.7 percent, to 4,183.90. Facebook rose the most in the S&P 500, jumping 7.3 percent, followed closely by biotech company Ver - tex Pharmaceuticals, up 7 percent. Other names that saw renewed investor inter- est were biotech companies Boston Scientific, Biogen and Celgene and in technol- ogy, Priceline, Red Hat and ETrade. The Dow Jones Transpor- tation Average jumped 1.6 percent. Investors closely watch the "Dow Trans- ports," as the index is nick- named, on the theory that a growing economy will mean companies will have to ship more products, increasing the profits of transportation companies like airlines, rail - roads and trucking compa- nies. At their March policy meeting, Fed policymakers debated over when the bank should start raising interest rates. Traditionally the Fed's main policy tool for regulat - ing the U.S. economy, short- term rates have been near zero since 2008 in an effort to encourage borrowing and economic growth, all of which is good for stocks. Now that the economy has mostly recovered from the recession, an increas - ing number of policymakers believe it's time for the Fed to start raising rates. The question is when. "We know higher inter- est rates are coming, but we don't know exactly when, whether it's 2015 or 2016," said Tom di Galoma, head of fixed income rates at ED&F MAN Capital Markets. Investors always keep a close eye on the Fed, but they're particularly sensitive these days because the cen - tral bank is in the process of winding down its economic stimulus policies. Investors worry that the bank might act too quickly and choke off the economic recovery. Wall StrEEt U.S. stocks rally on Federal Reserve minutes, earnings news Landscape/Fence Steve's Tractor & Landscape Service • Fence Building • Landscaping • Trenching • Rototilling • Disking • Mowing • Ridging • Post Hole Digging • Blade Work • Sprinkler Installation • Concrete Work Cont. 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