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8B Daily News – Wednesday, March 28, 2012 NEW YORK (AP) — Major stock indexes dipped Tuesday as weak readings on consumer confidence gave investors little reason to extend the recent rally. The Dow Jones indus- Stocks edge lower after consumer confidence report Wall Street trial average dropped 43.90 points to close at 13,197.73, a loss of 0.3 percent. Bank of America fell 3.3 percent, the biggest drop in the Dow, after an analyst downgrad- ed the stock. Major indexes opened higher, then pulled back after 10 a.m., when the Conference Board said its index of consumer confi- dence slipped in March. Higher gas prices offset the surging stock market. Around the same time, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, Virginia reported that a measure of regional manufacturing plunged this month. Other indexes edged lower. The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 3.99 points to 1,412.52. The Nasdaq composite fell 2.22 points to 3,120.35. More than four stocks fell for every three that rose on the New York Stock Exchange. Trading volume was well below average at 3.4 billion. The S&P 500 index and the Nasdaq are up more than 1 percent for the week. The S&P 500 has already gained 12.3 per- cent to start the year. That three-month surge easily beats the 8 percent return most fund managers hope to make in a whole year. The Nasdaq is up even more for the year, 19.8 percent. Brian Gendreau, mar- ket strategist at Cetera Financial, said the stock market still has room to go higher even after such a strong start. Companies in the S&P 500 index are trading for around 13 times their expected earn- ings over the next year, below the average of 14.6 times over the past decade. And there's plenty of cash still tucked away in the Treasury market. ''Compared to bonds, stocks remain very attrac- tive,'' Gendreau said. ''That doesn't tell you if we'll get a move in a week or a month from now, but it does tell you that there's a lot of pent-up demand.'' Earnings from Lennar Corp. pulled housing stocks up. The country's third-largest builder reported quarterly profits that beat analysts' esti- mates by delivering more houses and pulling in more orders. Lennar rose 4.7 percent, the best gain in the S&P 500 index. Pulte- Group rose 3.6 percent, D.R. Horton 2.8 percent. The economic reports on consumer confidence and regional manufactur- ing helped push up prices in the U.S. government debt market, where traders Demand for Treasurys has pulled yields down from highs reached last week. The yield on the 10- year note touched 2.4 per- cent last Tuesday, the highest yield since Octo- ber. Natural gas prices fell park funds when the econ- omy looks sluggish. The 10-year Treasury note rose 53 cents for every $100 invested. The yield fell to 2.18 percent from 2.26 percent late Monday. again Tuesday on rising supplies and warmer win- ter weather. Natural gas futures fell 1.8 cents to $2.21 per 1,000 cubic feet. That's near a 10-year low and half of what natural gas fetched back in July. Any money that con- sumers are saving on nat- ural gas could wind up in the gasoline tank. The national average for regu- lar gasoline in the U.S. is $3.90 per gallon. It's risen 62 cents since Jan. 1. GE engine faulted for crash that killed 9 during 2008 fire PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — An Oregon jury ruled Tuesday that a problem with an engine was respon- sible for the 2008 crash of a helicopter that killed nine firefighters during a wildfire in Northern California. The jury in Portland reached its verdict after a pilot who survived and the widow of one who was killed sued General Electric for $177 million. The plaintiffs argued the company knew the engines it made for the Sikorsky S- 61N helicopter had a design flaw making the equipment unsafe. GE countered that the helicopter crashed because it was carrying too much weight when it took off after picking up a firefighting crew battling the Iron 44 wildfire in Shasta-Trinity National Forest near Weaverville, Calif. ''They're heroes,'' plain- tiffs' attorney Greg Ander- son said of the pilots, William Coultas and Roark Schwanenberg. ''They saved as many people as they could. They have been pilloried before this.'' The chopper was air- borne less than a minute when it clipped a tree and fell from the sky, bursting into flames. Four people survived, including Coultas of Cave Junction. The plaintiffs and family members in court for the verdict dabbed their eyes and exchanged stiff hand- shakes with GE's attorneys. They declined to speak with reporters after the verdict was read. After a two-year investi- gation, the National Trans- portation Safety Board con- cluded in 2010 that too much weight and a lack of oversight caused the crash. The lawsuit decided Tuesday was brought by Coultas, his wife and the estate of Schwanenberg, who died in the crash. The jury awarded $28.4 million to the estate of Schwanenberg. Coultas was awarded $37 million and his wife $4.3 million by the jury. The jury put most of the blame — 57 percent — on GE but also found the heli- copter's owner and its man- ufacturer partially at fault. Helicopter operator Car- son Helicopters was dis- missed from the case, and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. pre- viously settled with the plaintiffs. GE Aviation spokesman Rick Kennedy said the Come enjoy Saturday evening with us A P Presents assover Seder April 7, 2012 at 5:30pm 1920 Park St., Red Bluff Celebrate Passover as Jesus did. Donation $ Jewish style food and worship Limited seating of 50 850 For tickets and information contact Barbara at 527-7695 company will appeal the verdict, though it must first look at the full language. ''We strongly disagree with the verdict,'' Kennedy said. ''Our position has been all along that this ver- dict completely contradicts findings by the NTSB.'' A statement from Car- son Helicopters said the company had blamed GE's engine for the crash and felt the verdict brought light and closure to the incident. James W. Tysinger, Jr. M.D. Eye Physician & Surgeon Fellow American Academy of Ophthalmology We accept Medical, Medicare & most Insurances Office Hours: Tues-Wed-Thurs 8am-4:30pm Mon & Fri 1pm-4:30pm For Emergencies, After Hours, Week-ends, Call 530-567-5001 345 Hickory St. Red Bluff Tel: (530) 529-4733 Fax: (530) 529-1114