Issue link: https://www.epageflip.net/i/8280
8A – Daily News – Thursday, March 25, 2010 CONFUSED ABOUT HEARING AIDS? Join us for a FREE community seminar by ear surgeon, Timothy Frantz, M.D. “Straight Talk about Hearing Aids” “There are plenty of options out there for you to buy a hearing aid. It takes more than hearing aids to solve a hearing problem.” - Dr. Frantz NEW YORK (AP) — Major stock indexes fell from their 2010 highs Wednesday as weakness in the housing market and rising European debt loads revived investors’ pes- simistic view of the econo- my. Stocks fall on Portugal debt Wall Street Tuesday at its highest level in nearly 18 months. The Nasdaq composite The Dow Jones indus- trial average fell about 53 points. It was only the Dow’s second drop in 12 days. Broader stock index- es also slid. Treasury prices tum- bled after a government debt auction drew only modest demand for a sec- ond straight day. That raised concerns that the government will have to pay higher interest rates to attract buyers for its debt. Washington has been issu- ing record amounts of debt to help revive the econo- my. Timothy Frantz M.D. Board Certified Otolaryngologist You are cordially invited to join us for a complimentary Hearing Health Seminar. You’ll enjoy gourmet coffee & pastries and learn about the benefits of today’s newest technology. Where: Red Bluff Community Center 1500 So. Jackson When: Tuesday, March 30th 3:00 - 4:30 pm There is no cost or obligation. Yes, hearing technology has dramatically improved. Even if you were fitted with a hearing aid as little as one year ago, we can improve it! It’s this new technology that we’ll discuss while you enjoy a relaxing afternoon. Reservations are limited so call NOW to reserve your seat. You must RSVP by March 29, 2010 (530) 528-1220 All attendees will receive a FREE gift card! The drop in stocks came after Fitch Ratings lowered Portugal’s credit rating. The agency said the country’s recovery will be slower than others that use the euro. Fitch contends that could hurt Portugal’s ability to repay its debt. Deficit problems in Europe have been one of the few drags on stocks this year. Rising debt in Greece, Portugal and other nations that use the euro have investors worried that troubles there could upend a nascent global recovery. The dollar rose to a 10- month high against the euro. The stronger dollar makes commodities more expensive to foreign buy- ers. That cuts into demand. Stocks also lost ground after the Commerce Department said that new home sales unexpectedly fell to a record low last month. The stock market has been carving steady gains for more than a month as reports signal a slow strengthening of the econ- omy. The modest signs of improvement have kept traders from placing big bets on a rebound. Some analysts were already expecting a retreat because major stock indexes had touched new highs for the year. Subodh Kumar, global investment strategist at Subodh Kumar & Assoc. in Toronto, said investors have been too quick to look past risks still facing the economy. He said stocks have gone up too much. ‘‘The markets, particu- larly stocks, have been looking at one aspect only and that is recovery,’’ he said. The Dow fell 52.68, or 0.5 percent, to 10,836.15, a day after closing at its highest level since Sep- tember 2008. It was the biggest point and percent- age drop since Feb. 25. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped 6.45, or 0.6 percent, to 1,167.72. The index also closed index fell 16.48, or 0.7 percent, to 2,398.76. On Tuesday, the index reached its best level in 19 months. Bond prices dropped after an auction of $42 bil- lion in five-year Treasury notes drew weak demand. The yield on the five-year note, which moves oppo- site price, rose to 2.59 per- cent from 2.42 percent. The yield on the bench- mark 10-year note rose to 3.86 percent from 3.69 percent late Tuesday. An auction Tuesday of $44 billion in two-year notes also saw a drop in demand. The drop in the stock market wasn’t as steep as in Treasurys. Two stocks fell for every one that rose on the New York Stock Exchange, where consol- idated volume came to 4.8 billion shares, com- pared with 4.5 billion Tuesday. Crude oil fell $1.30 to $80.61 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Gold fell. The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 6.62, or 1 percent, to 683.68. Britain’s FTSE 100 rose 0.1 percent, Ger- many’s DAX index rose 0.4 percent, and France’s CAC-40 fell 0.1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei stock aver- age rose 0.4 percent.