NKorea FM: Pompeo is 'Poisonous Plant' 08/23 06:17
NKorea FM: Pompeo is 'Poisonous Plant' 08/23 06:17 North Korea's foreign minister on Friday called U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a "poisonous plant of American diplomacy" and vowed to "shutter the absurd dream" that sanctions will force a change in Pyongyang. SEOUL, South Korea (AP) -- North Korea's foreign minister on Friday called U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo a "poisonous plant of American diplomacy" and vowed to "shutter the absurd dream" that sanctions will force a change in Pyongyang. The North's blistering rhetoric may dim the prospect for an early resumption of nuclear negotiations between the countries. A senior U.S. diplomat said earlier this week that Washington was ready to restart the talks, a day after U.S. and South Korean militaries ended their regular drills that Pyongyang called an invasion rehearsal. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho made the comments to protest Pompeo's remarks in an interview in which he said that Washington will maintain crippling sanctions on North Korea unless it denuclearizes. Ri said he couldn't just let the "reckless remarks" by Pompeo pass by him because they came amid a possible restart of the nuclear talks. Ri said Pompeo is a "brazen" man because he "had begged for" North Korean denuclearization and improved bilateral ties when he visited Pyongyang and met leader Kim Jong Un several times. In April, North Korea demanded President Donald Trump remove Pompeo from the nuclear negotiations. Ri said North Korea is ready for both dialogue and confrontation. But he warned that North Korea will try to remain "America's biggest threat" if the United States continues to confront the North with sanctions. Ri likely referred to comments by Pompeo during an interview with the Washington Examiner earlier this week. During the interview, Pompeo said that the U.S. will "continue to keep on the sanctions that are the toughest in all of history and continue to work towards convincing Chairman Kim and the North Korean leaders that the right thing to do is for them to denuclearize." North Korea is notorious for crude and fiery diatribes against the United States and South Korea, although it lately focused its anger on South Korea rather than the U.S., particularly over the allies' military drills. During the drills, North Korea carried out a slew of short-range missile and other weapons tests capable of hitting much of South Korea, not the mainland U.S. Some experts said these suggest that North Korea was interested in resuming talks with Washington. The top U.S. envoy on North Korea, Stephen Biegun, said Wednesday that the United States was "prepared to engage as soon as we hear from our counterparts in North Korea." U.S.-led negotiations on North Korea's nuclear weapons collapsed after Trump rejected Kim's demand for widespread sanctions relief in return for partial disarmament steps during their second summit in Vietnam in February. Trump and Kim met again at the Korean border in late June and agreed to resume the talks. (KR)
Sanders Touts $16T Climate Plan 08/23 06:20
Sanders Touts $16T Climate Plan 08/23 06:20 PARADISE, Calif. (AP) -- Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders released a $16.3 trillion climate plan on Thursday before touring a Northern California town ravaged by wildfire, declaring the setting a "wake-up call for our entire nation" to the dangers of a warming planet. "Climate change is a major, major crisis for our country, and the entire world, and one of the manifestations of that crisis is what happened here," the Vermont senator said as he walked through a burned-out mobile home park in Paradise alongside people who lost their homes in last November's deadly blaze. Sanders' climate plan calls for the United States to move to renewable energy across the economy by 2050 and declare climate change a national emergency. While Sanders had already endorsed the Green New Deal, the sweeping Democratic proposal to combat climate change, and had teamed up with Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York on climate legislation, his new plan provides the most detail yet on how he envisions the climate change moonshot taking shape if he is elected president. Sanders describes his plan as a "ten-year, nationwide mobilization centered on equity and humanity" that would create 20 million new jobs. Among Sanders' ideas is sourcing 100% of the country's electricity from renewable and zero-emissions power. He is calling for committing $2.18 trillion in grants for low- and middle-income families to weatherize and retrofit their homes and businesses, with the goal of reducing residential energy consumption. He would charge the Energy Department with making sure that both new and existing commercial structures, as well as high-income home owners, meet his administration's energy retrofitting goals. Sanders wants to overhaul the nation's transportation system by investing in electric vehicles, high-speed rail and expanded public transit. He calls for spending $526 billion to modernize the electrical grid across the United States. In his plan, Sanders notes that communities of color are disproportionately affected by the climate emergency. He says the Green New Deal is an "opportunity to uproot historical injustices and inequities to advance social, racial and economic justice." As scientists warn of the imminent consequences of global warming, the Green New Deal has been a rallying point for liberals in the party's base as well as to Democratic presidential contenders in the crowded field. But Republicans have argued that the plan is too radical and would drive the economy off a cliff and lead to a huge tax increase. His campaign proposes covering the costs over 15 years by a patchwork of measures that includes eliminating existing fossil fuel subsidies and taxes on that industry; income tax revenue on the 20 million jobs created by his plan; and an estimated $1.3 trillion saved through a reduced need for safety net programs because of the creation of those jobs. "It is expensive," Sanders said at a climate-focused town hall near Paradise. "But the cost of doing nothing is far more expensive." In California, scientists and policymakers have named climate change as a major contributor to the state's worsening wildfires, which have killed more than 100 people and destroyed tens of thousands of homes in recent years. Investigators determined faulty utility equipment owned by Pacific Gas & Electric sparked the fire that ravaged Paradise. Sanders said his plan would provide billions to help states and local governments better respond to disaster and strengthen firefighting resources. Republican U.S. Rep. Doug LaMalfa, who represents the area Sanders visited, said it's wrong to blame California's fires on climate change. He said Sanders' plan would make it harder for the state to fight blazes because it would call for planting billions more trees, which would create more tinder in the forests. An audience member at the town hall asked Sanders how he would practice what he preaches when it comes to fossil fuel consumption. Sanders pointed to solar panels he's installed on his Vermont home but admitted that refusing to fly on planes powered by fossil fuels wasn't realistic for his presidential campaign. "I'm not going to walk to California," he said. "We do the best we can ... but I'm not going to sit here and tell you that we're not going to use fossil fuels." Sanders is just the latest Democratic presidential contender to release details of his climate plans. Former Vice President Joe Biden released a $5 trillion-plus climate proposal that he says would lead the U.S. to net zero emissions of carbon pollution by 2050, and he is calling for $1.7 trillion in federal spending over 10 years. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has proposed investing $2 trillion in federal funding in clean energy programs, including her Green Apollo Program for clean energy research and development and a Green Marshall Plan devoted to encouraging countries to buy and use American-made clean energy technologies. Before abandoning his presidential bid Wednesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, who staked his campaign on the issue of climate change, released a $9 trillion plan to cut emissions. Former Texas congressman Beto O'Rourke called for spending $5 trillion over 10 years to combat climate change. (KR)
Dems See Opening on Economy 08/23 06:21
Dems See Opening on Economy 08/23 06:21 Campaigning under the stifling August sun, Joe Biden assailed President Donald Trump's trade war with China, accusing him of squandering a strong economy and putting Americans' financial security at risk. PROLE, Iowa (AP) -- Campaigning under the stifling August sun, Joe Biden assailed President Donald Trump's trade war with China, accusing him of squandering a strong economy and putting Americans' financial security at risk. But he was quick to add that he was not hoping for the worst. "I never wish for a recession. Period," the former vice president and current Democratic presidential candidate told reporters in Prole, Iowa. Biden's comments highlight the delicate balance for Democrats as the U.S. economy flashes recession warning signs. In town halls and speeches across the country this week, candidates leveled blame on Trump, arguing that his aggressive and unpredictable tariff policies were prompting gloomy economic forecasts. Yet they also strained to avoid the appearance of cheering for a downturn that would inflict financial pain on millions of Americans, but potentially help their party's political fortunes in 2020. For more than two years, the combination of solid growth, low unemployment and a rising stock market has been a bulwark for Trump, helping him maintain the support of many independents and moderate Republicans who are turned off by his incendiary statements and pugnacious personality. According to a new Associated Press-NORC poll, a higher percentage of Americans approve of Trump's handling of the economy than his overall job performance. "If there is a recession and the economy is doing worse, not better, than when Donald Trump started, it is hard to see how the majority of the American people, even those who have looked the other way on so many of his indiscretions, will decide to give him a shot at another four years," said Jennifer Psaki, a former White House and campaign adviser to President Barack Obama. Trump's advisers privately have the same concern, particularly given that the president's path to victory is already narrow. Well aware that a sitting president almost always gets the credit or the blame for the state of the American economy, Trump and his team have tried to point the finger elsewhere, namely in the direction of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, accusing him of slowing growth by not lowering interest rates. "Our Federal Reserve does not allow us to do what we must do. They put us at a disadvantage against our competition," Trump said Thursday on Twitter. Shifting blame to others has been a frequent tactic for Trump, even to those within his own administration. (Trump nominated Powell as Fed chair last year.) Some Democrats said he shouldn't get away with it this time. "Do not allow him to escape the accountability that he deserves for what he is doing to this economy," said Beto O'Rourke, a presidential contender and former Texas congressman. "He'll try to blame every other person. The blame rests with Donald Trump. Now it's incumbent on all of us to call this out." For months, the strong American economy has posed complications for Democrats trying to unseat Trump. Although Trump inherited an economy on the rise from his predecessor, Barack Obama, gains have indisputably continued under his watch. Unemployment is near a 50-year low at 3.7%. Consumer and business confidence has been strong, fueling record highs on Wall Street, even though the most recent signs show that consumer confidence could be ebbing. Rather than trying to undercut those markers or predict doom ahead, most Democratic candidates have focused on economic inequalities, arguing that the wealthy were reaping the benefits far more than middle- and working-class Americans. In particular, Candidates have hammered Trump's 2018 tax law, which gave large-scale tax cuts to the rich and corporations and more moderate benefits to the middle class. And they've slammed the tariffs for burdening farmers across the heartland. One exception has been Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, who has openly warned about the prospect of another economic decline. In July, she wrote an essay predicting that a rise in consumer and corporate debt was imperiling the longest expansion in U.S. history. "Whether it's this year or next year, the odds of another economic downturn are high --- and growing," Warren wrote. Biden in particular appeared to shift close to Warren's warnings this week, as analysts said that a slowdown, if not a full-blown recession, could hit before next year's election. During a two-day campaign swing through Iowa, Biden reminded voters that the Obama administration handed Trump a strong economy that could quickly come undone. "Donald Trump inherited a growing economy from the Obama-Biden administration, just like he inherited everything in his life. And now he's squandered it, just like he's squandered everything he inherited in his life," said Biden, making sure to remind voters of his own role in revitalizing the economy during the last administration. Other Democrats were more cautious, particularly about leaving the impression that the party sees a political benefit from an economic decline. "I just think it's very important that we be clear as a party that we don't want a recession," said John Delaney, the former Maryland congressman who is mired at the bottom of the pack in the crowded Democratic primary field. "I don't want anything to happen, even if it's good politics, if it hurts workers." (KR)
Yemen Gov't Forces Rout Separatists 08/23 06:23
Yemen Gov't Forces Rout Separatists 08/23 06:23 SANAA, Yemen (AP) -- Forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government have taken full control of a key southern city after overnight clashes with separatists, Yemeni security officials said Friday. Clashes over Ataq, the capital of oil-rich Shabwa province erupted late Thursday night and lasted until Friday morning, said the security officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because there were not authorized to talk to the media. The city of Ataq was previously divided between Saudi-backed President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi's government forces and a separatist militia, trained and armed by the United Arab Emirates. The infighting between Hadi's forces and the UAE-backed separatists --- ostensibly allies in Yemen's war against the Shiite Houthi rebels --- erupted earlier this month. It has threatened to fracture the Saudi-led coalition, a group of Arab states that intervened in Yemen's civil war in 2015, to help restore Hadi's government to power. The previous year, the rebel Houthis overran the capital, Sanaa, and gained control of much of the country's north. Separatist militiamen of the so-called Southern Transitional Council, have so far seized strategic southern areas, including the city of Aden and much of the nearby Abyan province. A Saudi-Emirati commission flew to southern Yemen last week to negotiate a truce between the government forces and separatists but has so far made no progress. In a tweet posted early Friday, Hani Ben Braik, a separatist leader, would not admit defeat at Ataq but said his militiamen chose not to pursue a battle in the city out of "respect" for the truce efforts. However, Ben Baraik warned his forces would fight back if they were attacked again. Though a key member of the coalition, the UAE never threw its full support behind Hadi because of his ties to Yemen's Muslim Brotherhood group, a pan-Arab movement that many Arab countries, including the UAE, consider a terrorist organization. Hadi's government released a statement on Tuesday saying the UAE was responsible for the "armed rebellion" in the south and urged the Emiratis to stop providing funds and military support to the separatists. (KR)
Putin Orders Symmetric Missile Measures08/23 06:24
Putin Orders Symmetric Missile Measures08/23 06:24 MOSCOW (AP) -- President Vladimir Putin has ordered the Russian military to find a quid pro quo response after the test of a new U.S. missile banned under a now-defunct arms treaty. In Sunday's test, a modified ground-launched version of a Navy Tomahawk cruise missile accurately struck its target more than 500 kilometers (310 miles) away. The test came after the U.S. and Russia withdrew from the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The U.S. has explained its withdrawal from the treaty by Russian violations, a claim Moscow has denied. Speaking Friday, Putin charged that the U.S. wanted to "untie its hands to deploy the previously banned missiles in different parts of the world." He ordered the Defense Ministry and other agencies to "take the necessary measures to prepare a symmetrical answer." (KR)
US Officials: Israel Strike its Iraq 08/23 06:27
US Officials: Israel Strike its Iraq 08/23 06:27 JERUSALEM (AP) -- U.S. officials have confirmed that Israel was responsible for the bombing of an Iranian weapons depot in Iraq last month, an attack that would mark a significant escalation in Israel's years-long campaign against Iranian military entrenchment across the region. The confirmation comes as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is strongly hinting that his country is behind recent airstrikes that have hit bases and munitions depot belonging to Iran-backed paramilitary forces operating in Iraq. The mystery attacks have not been claimed by any side and have left Iraqi officials scrambling for a response, amid strong speculation that Israel may have been behind them. Earlier this week, the deputy head of the Iraqi Shiite militias, known collectively as the Popular Mobilization Forces, openly accused Israeli drones of carrying out the attacks, but ultimately blamed Washington and threatened strong retaliation for any future attack. Such attacks are potentially destabilizing for Iraq and its fragile government, which has struggled to remain neutral amid growing tensions between the United States and Iran. There have been at least three explosions at Iraqi Shiite militia bases in the past month. American officials now confirm Israel was responsible for at least one of them. Two American officials said Israel carried out an attack on an Iranian weapons depot in July that killed two Iranian military commanders. The U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the media. The July 19 attack struck a militia base in Amirli, in Iraq's northern Salaheddin province, causing a huge explosion and fire. A senior official with the Shiite militias at the time told The Associated Press that the base hit housed advisers from Iran and Lebanon --- a reference to the Iranian-backed Lebanese Hezbollah group. He said the attack targeted the headquarters of the advisers and a weapons depot. On August 12, a massive explosion at the al-Saqr military base near Baghdad shook the capital, killing one civilian and wounding 28 others. The base housed a weapons depot for the Iraqi federal police and the PMF. The most recent of the explosions came Tuesday night, at a munitions depot north of Baghdad. There have been weeks of speculation in Israel that the army is attacking targets in Iraq. In an interview with a Russian-language TV station on Thursday, Netanyahu indicated the speculation is true. "I don't give Iran immunity anywhere," he said, accusing the Iranians of trying to establish bases "against us everywhere," including Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Iraq. Asked whether that means Israel is operating in Iraq, Netanyahu said: "We act in many arenas against a country that desires to annihilate us. Of course I gave the security forces a free hand and the instruction to do what is needed to thwart these plans of Iran." Early Friday, the New York Times, citing Israeli and U.S. officials, reported that Israel bombed an Iranian weapons depot in Iraq last month. It would be the first known Israeli airstrike in Iraq since 1981, when Israeli warplanes destroyed a nuclear reactor being built by Saddam Hussein. It also steps up Israel's campaign against Iranian military involvement across the region. Israel has previously acknowledged hundreds of airstrikes on Iranian targets in neighboring Syria, primarily arms shipments believed to be destined for Iran's Hezbollah allies. Israel considers Iran to be its greatest enemy and has repeatedly vowed that it will not allow the Iranians, who are supporting the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, to establish a permanent military presence in Syria. Striking Iraq would be far more complicated than reaching neighboring Syria. The Israeli warplanes would likely have to travel through Turkey, a former ally that now has cool relations with Israel, or through Saudi Arabia, to carry out strikes on Iraq. Israel and the Saudis do not have formal diplomatic relations, but are believed to have established a behind-the-scenes alliance based on their shared hostility toward Iran. (KR)
US, Taliban Resume Talks 08/23 06:28
US, Taliban Resume Talks 08/23 06:28 A United States envoy and the Taliban resumed negotiations Thursday on ending America's longest war after earlier signaling they were close to a deal. KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) -- A United States envoy and the Taliban resumed negotiations Thursday on ending America's longest war after earlier signaling they were close to a deal. A Taliban member familiar with, but not part of, the talks that resumed in Qatar said U.S. envoy Zalmay Khalilzad also met one-on-one Wednesday with the Taliban's lead negotiator, Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar. The Taliban member spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk with reporters. Baradar is one of the Taliban's founders and has perhaps the strongest influence on the insurgent group's rank-and-file members. Some in Afghanistan fear that Taliban fighters who reject a deal with the U.S. could migrate to other militant groups such as the brutal local affiliate of the Islamic State group, which claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at a Kabul wedding over the weekend that killed at least 80 people. That attack again raised fears among Afghans that a U.S.-Taliban deal will bring little peace for long-suffering civilians who have died by the tens of thousands in the past decade alone. The U.S. and the Taliban have held eight previous rounds of negotiations in the past year on issues including a U.S. troop withdrawal, a cease-fire, intra-Afghan negotiations to follow and Taliban guarantees that Afghanistan will not be a launch pad for global terror attacks. Previously, Khalilzad has said the intra-Afghan negotiations will be the occasion to work out thorny issues such as constitutional reforms, the fate of the country's many militias and even the name for Afghanistan, as the Taliban still refers to it as the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan. It was not immediately clear when a deal might be reached. President Donald Trump, who wants to bring home at least some of the 13,000 troops he says remain in Afghanistan before next year's election, was briefed on the negotiations Friday. This week, Trump said it was "ridiculous" that U.S. troops have been in the country for almost 18 years. Two U.S. service members were killed on Wednesday, joining more than 2,400 U.S. service personnel who have died since the U.S.-led invasion in 2001 to topple the Taliban, whose government had harbored al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden. Trump this week also said Afghanistan remains dangerous and "we have to have a presence" --- a stance that could complicate talks with the Taliban, whose top demand has been the departure of all U.S. and allied troops, which number close to 20,000. A Taliban spokesman said the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan, Gen. Scott Miller, was at the negotiations in Qatar on Thursday. The U.S. and NATO formally concluded their combat mission in 2014, but American and allied troops remain, conducting strikes on the Islamic State group and the Taliban and working to train and build the Afghan military. The prospect of a troop withdrawal has created widespread concern that another civil war in Afghanistan could follow as various armed parties jostle for power. Afghanistan was the world's deadliest conflict in 2018, and the United Nations has said more civilians died there last year than in the past decade. Over 32,000 civilians have been killed in Afghanistan in the past 10 years. The Taliban, which now control roughly half of Afghanistan and are at their strongest since their 2001 defeat in the U.S.-led invasion, have dismissed the Afghan government as a U.S. puppet but have repeatedly offered talks with anyone who comes to the table as an ordinary Afghan. Afghan President Ashraf Ghani on Thursday night asserted that his government will see the final draft of a U.S.-Taliban agreement for a "comprehensive discussion" before it is signed. Afghanistan will not be significantly affected even if 5,000 U.S. forces leave in the next five months, an option that has been under discussion, he added in a nationally televised interview. Khalilzad, who plans to meet with the Afghan government in Kabul on this trip, has expressed his desire for an agreement by Sept. 1, less than a month before Afghanistan's presidential election. Ghani, who seeks a second term, has insisted the vote must take place to give the government a strong mandate to deal with the Taliban. (KR)
US Stocks Tumble on Trade War 08/23 16:22
US Stocks Tumble on Trade War 08/23 16:22 The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 600 points Friday after the latest escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China rattled investors. The broad sell-off sent the S&P 500 to its fourth straight weekly loss. (AP) -- The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 600 points Friday after the latest escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China rattled investors. The broad sell-off sent the S&P 500 to its fourth straight weekly loss. Stocks tumbled after President Donald Trump demanded that U.S. companies with operations in China consider moving them to other countries -- including the U.S. -- just hours after Beijing announced new tariffs on $75 billion in U.S. goods. Trump also announced after the market closed that the U.S. would increase existing tariffs on $250 billion in Chinese goods to 30% from 25%, and that tariffs on additional goods expected to kick in on Sept. 1 would be at 15% instead of 10%. Those announcements are likely to influence stock markets in Asia when trading opens there Monday. Friday's developments mark the latest escalation of an ongoing trade dispute between Washington and Beijing that has threatened the global economy and weighed on markets. The U.S. has said it would impose 10% duties on the $300 billion of Chinese goods that were not already subject to tariffs in two steps, On Sept. 1 and Dec. 15. China's retaliatory tariffs set off the barrage of tweets from Trump that ignited a wave of selling as investors fled stocks in favor of U.S. government bonds, pushing yields higher. The price of gold also rose. "The market is spooked by the escalation in the trade war," said Janet Johnston, portfolio manager at TrimTabs Asset Management. "Investors are looking for an endgame and we haven't seen it yet." The S&P 500 fell 75.84 points, or 2.6%, to 2,847.11. The index is now down 4.5% for the month. It's still up 13.6% for the year. The Dow lost 623.34 points, or 2.4%, to 25,628.90. The average briefly dropped 745 points. The Dow has had five declines of 2% or more this year, with three of them coming this month. The Nasdaq gave up 239.62 points, or 3%, to 7,751.77. The Russell 2000 index of smaller company stocks skidded 46.52 points, or 3.1%, to 1,459.49. Trump also said Friday morning that he was "ordering" UPS, Federal Express and Amazon to block any deliveries from China of the powerful opioid drug fentanyl. The stocks of all three companies fell as traders tried to assess the possible implications. Matt Arnold, an analyst who covers FedEx and UPS for Edward Jones, said it could be difficult for the companies to comply should the administration draft detailed guidelines for rooting out fentanyl. "There are just too many instances in which the package contents can't be known or verified," he said. "It's difficult to picture a scenario where UPS and FedEx are all that well-equipped to detect something like this." The market opened lower Friday with the news of the new China tariffs. It recovered a bit after a widely anticipated speech by Jerome Powell where the chairman of the Federal Reserve indicated the central bank was prepared to cut interest rates but gave no clear signal on when and by how much. Speaking at a Fed policy conference in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell noted that there's growing evidence of a global economic slowdown and suggested that uncertainty over Trump's trade wars have complicated the central bank's ability to set interest rate policy. Powell said the Fed "will act as appropriate to sustain the expansion." Some economists saw Powell's speech as setting the stage for further interest rate cuts this year. A quarter-point rate cut reduction in September is considered all but certain. Some think the Fed will cut rates again in December. Technology companies, which have much to lose in the trade battle, bore the brunt of the sell-off. Apple slid 4.6% and Microsoft gave up 3.2%. Chipmaker Nvidia dropped 5.3%. Companies that rely on consumer spending also took losses. Retailer L Brands plunged 9.3%. Energy stocks headed lower along with crude oil prices. The price of benchmark crude sank $1.18, or 2.1% to settle at $54.17 a barrel as traders worried that the latest escalation in the trade battle could sap global demand for energy. U.S. bond prices rose sharply as investors sought safety, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell to 1.53% from 1.61%, a large move. Banks fell because lower yields can translate to a decline in the interest rate that lenders charge for mortgages and other consumer loans. JPMorgan Chase lost 2.5% and Citigroup dropped 3.1%. The price of gold, another safe haven for investors during times of market turbulence and economic weakness, rose $29.30 to $1,526.60 per ounce. In other commodities trading Friday, Brent crude oil, the international standard, fell 58 cents to close at $59.34 a barrel. Wholesale gasoline fell 3 cents to $1.64 per gallon. Heating oil declined 2 cents to $1.82 per gallon. Natural gas fell 1 cent to $1.15 per 1,000 cubic feet. Silver fell 39 cents to $17.40 per ounce and copper fell 2 cents to $2.53 per pound. The dollar fell to 105.31 Japanese yen from 106.41 yen on Thursday. The euro strengthened to $1.1145 from $1.1085. (CZ)
