NPR 2011-10-27

 US stocks are higher in afternoon trading with word that China may buy bonds to help Europe get a handle on its relentless 1 debt problems. But Richard Asquith with the global accounting 2 services firm TMF says if European leaders holding marathon negotiations 3 in Brussels today failed to reach aggressive sweeping 4 measures, he warns there could be a violent reaction in the European markets tomorrow.

 
"Markets have seen too many promises particularly in the last three or four months. We saw a lot of promises coming out of Italy through August which they then tried to backtrack on. So the punishment will be absolutely brutal 5 tomorrow or the next few days if nothing concrete or nothing believable emerges."
 
Again we're now seeing that volatility 6 today in US stocks which before the close the Dow was up 162 points, more than 1%, at 11,869; NASDAQ up 12 points at 2,651; S&P 500 gaining 13; it's at 1,242.
 
Another arrest in the federal government's Wall Street insider trading investigations 7. NPR's Chris Arnold reports Rajat Gupta turned himself in to the FBI this morning in New York and was released on 10 million dollars bond.
 
Gupta is the most senior corporate 8 executive to face criminal charges in the government's crackdown on insider trading. He's the former head of McKinsey & Co., the large and successful business consulting firm. He's also a former director of Goldman Sachs. Prosecutors 9 allege 10 that Gupta fed information to hedge fund manager Raj Rajaratnam, who has already been tried, found guilty and sentenced for insider trading. Gupta's lawyer said in a statement that Gupta is innocent and has always acted with honesty and integrity. Gupta's lawyer also said that Gupta did not profit from any improper 11 trading activities. Chris Arnold, NPR News.
 
President Obama was in Denver today, touting 12 his plan to bring relief for college students saddled with student loan debt. Kirk Siegler from member station KUNC reports from the University of Colorado, Denver, where the president spoke 13 to a crowd of mostly college students.
 
Mr. Obama's plan would allow students to combine their public and private loan debt into a single government loan, something he said would save hundreds of dollars a month for more than 1.5 million Americans when the plan takes effect next year.
 
"We're gonna make it easier for you to have one payment a month at a better interest rate. And this won't cost — it won't cost taxpayers 14 a dime 15, but it will save you money and it will save you time."
 
Plans to bring relief to students saddled with loan debt are of particular interest here at the University of Colorado, where tuition has been rising steadily 16 as state funding has shrunk to less than 5%. For NPR News, I'm Kirk Siegler in Denver.
 
Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow was up 161 points, more than 1%, at 11,868.
 
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A woman weeps at the funeral of her child, who was among the hundreds killed in Sunday's earthquake in eastern Turkey. The death toll 17 from the quake has surpassed 460. Meanwhile, other people are scouring 18 the debris 19 of collapsed 20 buildings, hoping to find survivors 21. The 7.2-magnitude quake struck in Van province. There were three survivors today rescued. One of them was a teacher, who reportedly had to be revived by doctors after her heart stopped beating. More than 1,300 people have been injured.
 
The spiritual leader of a militant 22 group in Indonesia had his prison sentence cut from 15 years to nine. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Jakarta that the 72-year-old cleric was sentenced to jail in March for supporting the establishment of a terrorist training camp in Indonesia.
 
The Jakarta High Court gave no explanation for its decision to cut Abu Bakar Bashir's sentence. The decision was made on October 20th but only announced today by a court spokesman. The white-haired imam is the heir to more than half a century of Muslim militants 23, who have sought to replace Indonesia's secular 24 state with an Islamic one. This March, Bashir was convicted of helping 25 to set up a camp to train jihadists to carry out terrorist attacks and assassinate 26 Indonesia's president. Bashir had previously 27 served two years in jail for his role in the deadly Bali bombings, but his conviction was later overturned. Bashir's lawyer says he's confident that his client will be exonerated 28 this time too. Anthony Kuhn, NPR News, Jakarta.
 
Investors 29 remain worried about progress in Europe and its tackling of the debt crisis, but US stocks were up before the close.