And the battle goes on

It’s a kind of depressing week for the stock market. The market was going to correct in October but it happened at the tail end of the month leaving everyone confused. I don’t know what we can expect in November as the X- Mass season approaching. We can’t be too bullish about the market. C, FNM and CEMJQ have great chance to soar in a short time. These stocks have made huge swings and I think it will continue. What about OPC? I wished I knew. I think it will make another run up to $ 3 in the coming weeks.
What an exciting news, I just can’t wait to share when everything comes in line. I am really happy. I am sure everyone in my family will be happy.

- WASHINGTON (AP) -- The economy grew at a 3.5 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in two years, fueled by government-supported spending on cars and homes. The Commerce Department's report Thursday delivered the strongest signal yet that the economy entered a new, though fragile, phase of recovery and that the worst recession since the 1930s has ended. Many analysts expect the pace of the budding recovery to be plodding due to rising unemployment and continuing difficulties by both consumers and businesses to secure loans. "We're beginning to crawl out a very deep hole," said economist Ken Mayland, president of ClearView Economics. "It will take time to get back to normal again and there are questions about how consumers will hold up in the months ahead. But I think the recovery will be sustained." The much-awaited turnaround ended the streak of four straight quarters of contracting economic activity, the first time that's happened on records dating to 1947. It also marked the first increase since the spring of 2008, when the economy experienced a short-lived uptick in growth. The third-quarter's performance -- the strongest since right before the country fell into recession in December 2007 -- was slightly better than the 3.3 percent growth rate economists expected.

- NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are zigzagging as investors weigh mixed reports on home prices and consumer confidence. A decision Tuesday by IBM Corp. to double its stock-repurchase plan gave a boost to the Dow Jones industrials. Stocks began the day higher following a report that home prices rose for the third straight month in August. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home price index, which measures housing prices in 20 major metropolitan markets, gained 1 percent in August from July. Home prices fell 11.4 percent compared with August 2008, which was less than economists polled by Thomson Reuters predicted. The year-over-year drop has slowed since February, indicating the housing market is starting to rebound. The market's enthusiasm took a temporary hit after a report from a private research group caused worries that consumers might not be ready to spend this holiday season. Consumer strength is considered vital to a recovery in the economy. The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index fell unexpectedly to 47.7 in October -- its second-lowest reading since May. Analysts predicted a reading of 53.1. Even if the index had met expectations, consumer confidence is still very weak and remains one of the most worrisome problems facing the economy. A reading above 90 signals solid footing for the economy, and a measure above 100 signals strong growth. The market's swings come as stocks have fallen in four of the past five days. The Dow led major indexes after IBM, one of the 30 companies that make up the index, said it added $5 billion to its stock repurchase fund. The total now stands at $9.2 billion. The stock, the biggest driver of the Dow, rose $1.42, or 1.2 percent, to $121.53. Economic data remains a key focus for investors, especially consumer spending. Many of the companies that have already reported third-quarter earnings are showing better profits, but consumers are still feeling fearful of their jobs and holding back spending.

- PITTSBURGH (AP) -- United States Steel Corp. said Tuesday it lost money for a third straight quarter as the global economic downturn continued to dampen demand for the metal. But the company said its production and shipments rose significantly from the previous quarter, and that it expects a narrower loss in the October-December period as North American automakers order more steel for vehicles. U.S. Steel's products include sheet steel used in a wide range of consumer goods, from cars to office furniture. Its tin is used in items such as food cans, while its tubular steel, or pipe, is used in oil and gas drilling. Its shares fell $1.88, or 4.6 percent, to $38.70 in morning trading. The loss highlights an industrywide slump in demand that began when the world economy faltered late last year. That undermined key customers in the construction, auto and industrial equipment industries. Steel makers like U.S. Steel, based in Pittsburgh, responded by winding down production and laying off thousands of workers. Although prices and production rose during the quarter as steel distributors scrambled to fill orders after depleting their stockpiles, the market for the metal remained far weaker than it had been a year earlier, when U.S. Steel notched record profits. CEO John Surma said the company remains cautious about its outlook as order rates have dropped in recent weeks, partly due to seasonal slowdowns at factories. "Despite these concerns and uncertainties, we believe that the U.S. and global economies are in the early stages of a gradual recovery, which has been aided by global stimulus policies and may be supported by continued improvement in credit markets and inventory restocking," he said in a statement. In April, U.S. Steel posted its first quarterly loss in more than five years. After reporting a second quarterly loss in July, the company said it expected all of its businesses to post operating losses for the July-September period. The largest U.S. steel maker said it lost $303 million, or $2.11 per share, for the three months ended Sept. 30. That compares with a profit of $919 million, or $7.79 per share, in year-earlier period.

- DEARBORN, Mich. – Ford, the only Detroit automaker to dodge direct government aid and bankruptcy court, surprised investors with net income of nearly $1 billion in the third quarter and forecast a "solidly profitable" 2011. The automaker said Monday earnings were fueled by U.S. market share gains, cost cuts and the Cash for Clunkers program, which drew flocks of buyers to showrooms this summer. Ford's shares rose 68 cents, or 9.8 percent, to $7.68 in morning trading. The latest results signal that Ford's turnaround is on more solid ground. The company lost more than $14.6 billion last year and hasn't posted a full-year profit since 2005. While it made a profit in the second quarter, that was mainly due to debt reductions that cut its interest payments. Ford, based in Dearborn, Mich., reported third-quarter net income of $997 million, or 29 cents per share. Its profit forecast for 2011 was a step above previous guidance of break-even or better for the year. Ford's key North American car and truck division posted a pretax profit of $357 million, the division's first quarter in the black since early 2005. Ford cited higher pricing, lower material costs and increased market share for the improvement.

- HELSINKI – The world's largest cruise liner on Friday began its maiden voyage to Florida, gliding out from a shipyard in Finland with an amphitheater, basketball courts and an ice rink on board. The 16-deck Oasis of the Seas spans 1,200 feet (360 meters) from bow to stern. Its 2,700 cabins can accommodate 6,300 passengers and 2,100 crew. Commissioned by Royal Caribbean International, the ship cost euro1 billion ($1.5 billion) and took two and a half years to build at the STX Finland Oy shipyard in Turku, southwestern Finland. The liner has four swimming pools, volleyball and basketball courts, and a youth zone with theme parks and nurseries for children. There is also an ice rink that seats 780 spectators and a small-scale golf course. It features various "neighborhoods" — parks, squares and arenas with special themes. One of them will be a tropical environment, including palm trees and vines among the total 12,000 plants on board. They will be planted after the ship arrives in Fort Lauderdale. In the stern, a 750-seat outdoor theater — modeled on an ancient Greek amphitheater — doubles as a swimming pool by day and an ocean front theater by night. The pool has a diving tower with spring boards and two 33-feet (10-meter) high dive platforms. An indoor theater seats 1,300 guests. Accommodation includes loft cabins measuring 545 square feet (51 square meters) with floor-to-ceiling windows. There are also 1,600 square feet (150 square meter) luxury suites with balconies overlooking the sea or promenades.

- KABUL – Eight American troops were killed in multiple bomb attacks Tuesday in southern Afghanistan, making October the deadliest month of the war for U.S. forces since it began in 2001. The eight deaths occurred during "multiple, complex" bomb strikes that also killed one Afghan civilian, the U.S. military said in a statement. Several troops were wounded and evacuated to a nearby medical facility, the military said. No other details were immediately available. The deaths bring to 55 the total number of American troops killed in October in Afghanistan. The previous high occurred in August, when 51 U.S. soldiers died and the troubled nation held the first round of its presidential elections amid a wave of Taliban insurgent attacks. The deadliest month of the Iraq conflict for U.S. forces was November 2004, when 137 Americans were killed during the assault to clear insurgents from the city of Fallujah. "A loss like this is extremely difficult for the families as well as for those who served alongside these brave service members," said Navy Capt. Jane Campbell, a military spokeswoman. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families and friends who mourn their loss." The loss of life followed one of the worst days of the war for U.S. forces in Afghanistan since they launched air strikes in 2001 to oust the Taliban from power. On Monday, a U.S. military helicopter crashed returning from the scene of a firefight with suspected Taliban drug traffickers in western Afghanistan, killing 10 Americans including three DEA agents. In a separate crash the same day, four more U.S. troops were killed when two helicopters collided over southern Afghanistan. U.S. military officials insisted neither crash was the result of hostile fire, although the Taliban claimed they shot down a U.S. helicopter in the western province of Badghis. The U.S. did not say where in western Afghanistan its helicopter went down, and no other aircraft were reported missing. Those casualties marked the Drug Enforcement Administration's first deaths since it began operations here in 2005. Afghanistan is the world's largest producer of opium — the raw ingredient in heroin — and the illicit drug trade is a major source of funding for insurgent groups.

- ISLAMABAD – Pakistan's army pushed deeper into a Taliban sanctuary close to the Afghan border Tuesday, claiming to have killed 42 militants in the latest stage of an offensive against extremists blamed for relentless attacks in recent weeks. In the capital, gunmen attacked a high-ranking Pakistani army officer in the second targeted shooting against top military brass in less than a week, part of a wave of violence sweeping the country in apparent retaliation for the 11-day long offensive in South Waziristan. The army officer, and his mother who was traveling with him, escaped unhurt from the assault in Islamabad. The fight in South Waziristan is seen as a major test of Pakistan's will and ability to tackle the northwestern strongholds of al-Qaida-allied extremists that have festered for years, largely untroubled by ground assault. The nuclear-armed state has been criticized in the past for not cracking down on Islamist militant groups it once nurtured for use as proxies in India and Afghanistan. An army statement said troops were progressing well on three fronts in South Waziristan, but were meeting resistance. It said that over the last 24 hours, at least 42 militants and one solider had been killed. Independent verification of army claims in the region is difficult because the military has blocked access for journalists and humanitarian workers. On Tuesday in Islamabad, gunmen attacked an army brigadier, equivalent to a brigadier general in the U.S. army, as he was driving to a bank in a residential area. Muhammad Imran, who runs a business nearby, said he saw a young man take out a weapon from beneath his shawl and unleash a hail of bullets as the car slowed down for a speed bump. "He was firing relentlessly. He was targeting the front seat of the car," Imran said. Another young man on a motorcycle then appeared and the two sped away, Imran said. Senior police officer Bin Yamin said the army officer, who was not identified, was not in uniform but was driving a government car. Such vehicles have official license plates that bear an army insignia. Last Thursday, gunmen on a motorcycle fired on an army jeep in another part of Islamabad, killing a brigadier and a soldier in what was believed to be the first assassination of an army officer in the capital. Militant attacks in Pakistan have surged this month, killing more than 200 people, as the Taliban apparently tried to avert the offensive. The army has deployed some 30,000 troops to South Waziristan to take on an estimated 12,000 militants, including up to 1,500 foreign fighters, among them Uzbeks and Arabs. The U.N. says some 155,000 civilians have fled the region.

- PESHAWAR, Pakistan – A car bomb struck a busy market in northwestern Pakistan on Wednesday, killing 93 people — mostly women and children — as visiting Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton pledged U.S. support for Islamabad's campaign against Islamic militants. More than 200 people were wounded in the blast in the main northwestern city of Peshawar, the deadliest in a surge of attacks by suspected insurgents this month. The government blamed militants seeking to avenge an army offensive launched this month against al-Qaida and Taliban in their stronghold close to the Afghan border. The bombing was the deadliest since explosions hit homecoming festivities for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto in Karachi in October 2007, killing about 150 people. Bhutto was later slain in a separate attack. Wednesday's bomb destroyed much of the Mina Bazaar in Peshawar's old town, a warren of narrow alleys clogged with stalls and shops selling dresses, toys and cheap jewelry that drew many female shoppers and children in the conservative city. The blast collapsed buildings, including a mosque, and set scores of shops ablaze. The wounded sat amid burning debris and parts of bodies as a huge plume of gray smoke rose above the city. Crying for help, men tried to pull survivors from beneath wreckage. One man carried away a baby with a bloody face and a group of men rescued a young boy covered in dust, but others found only bodies of the dead. A two-story building collapsed as firefighters doused it with water, triggering more panic.