NPR 2011-06-02

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

US stocks are down sharply before the close. At last check, the Dow had fallen 271 points, more than 2%; it's at 12,298. NASDAQ off more than 2% as well; it's at 2,769. S&P 500 down 2% at 1,315. NPR's Marilyn Geewax has been tracking the markets today in what's been driving this sell-off.

A very bad case in jitters 1. This week, investors 2 have seen some new economic reports that have been really disappointing. Housing prices are still falling; public construction spending is dropping; manufacturing has been slumping 3; and car sales and consumer confidence are both off. Another report came out to show that private businesses added very few jobs in May, and on top of that, Moody's downgraded Greece's bonds. So, you put all of that together, and suddenly everybody's feeling pretty gloomy.

Marilyn, you've noticed as well banks getting hit especially hard, is that right?

Yes, bank stocks got pounded today. The banks have been dealing 4 with a lot of those bad home loans, and now if we're gonna have continued weakness in jobs and housing, then the foreclosure mess could get worse, and that would hurt bank profits.

NPR's Marilyn Geewax.

No sign of major progress yet in a deal to raise the debt ceiling, but after a meeting at the White House today, House Speaker John Boehner struck a cautiously optimistic tone.

"We had a very frank conversation. I thought it was productive. I'm looking forward to more serious conversations about how we reduce the deficit 5 and the debt and to get our economy going again and creating jobs."

Yesterday, the GOP-led House overwhelmingly voted down a proposal to raise the government's borrowing authority by 2.4 trillion dollars without spending cuts.

Public health officials in Germany are no closer to figuring out the exact source of a deadly E. coli outbreak that has killed at least 17 people and made more than 1,500 people ill. NPR's Eric Westervelt reports the foodborne outbreak has hit at least eight European countries, but most of the people either live in Germany or recently traveled there.

The Robert Koch Institute, Germany's national disease control center, said nearly 500 people here are suffering from a potentially deadly disease called hemolytic uremic syndrome 6 or HUS. Experts say that figure is astounding 7 and unseen in previous foodborne outbreaks in modern Europe. HUS can lead to kidney failure and death. Health officials have yet to trace the precise source of the E. coli outbreak or figure out why this particularly strain is more dangerous than past ones. After initially 8 saying Spanish cucumbers were the source, German health officials now say they're not sure. The mayor of Hamburg, the city hardest hit by the outbreak, is calling for blood donations to help treat victims, and some European farmers are now asking for compensation as losses mount after they were forced to dump their produce. Eric Westervelt, NPR News, Berlin.

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A barrage 9 of gun and artillery 10 fire in Yemen reverberating 11 through the streets of the capital today. The latest battle between government forces and militiamen with the country's powerful tribes is blamed in at least 39 deaths. Meanwhile, President Ali Abdullah Saleh remains 12 undeterred in his fight to retain power.

Releasing water through Missouri River dams, as we're hearing courtesy of KELO-TV, the Army Corps 13 of Engineers' trying to protect areas such as Dakota Dunes 14, where some 2,500 people have been preparing to evacuate 15. They're struggling to stay ahead of flooding along the Missouri River. South Dakota Public Broadcasting's Gary Ellenbolt reports most homes in the town are projected to see damage.

Floodwaters from the Missouri River continue to move toward Dakota Dunes. The town's 2,500 residents are asked to be out of their homes by Thursday night. Governor Dennis Daugaard says officials and residents are working as hard as they can to keep the water out.

"The most difficult aspect of Dakota Dunes is the scale. We have 1,100 residences in there. Just looking at the water inundation 16 maps, perhaps 800 are going to be affected 17 more or less, possibly more."

Sandbagging and levee-building continue upstream in Pierre and Fort Pierre. Releases from several dams on the Missouri are scheduled to be increased to 100,000 cubic feet per second Friday morning. For NPR News, I'm Gary Ellenbolt in Vermillion, South Dakota.

Investors' fears about the pace of economic recovery sending stocks plummeting 18 today. Before the close, the Dow had fallen 280 points, more than 2%, at 12,291; NASDAQ also down more than 2% at 2,769.

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