NPR 2011-08-19

 Stocks extended their loss on Wall Street today. Blue chips down more than 500 points at one time. Preliminary closing numbers have the Dow down 421 points right now, with financials and tax stocks hit hard. The NASDAQ and the S&P 500 both down more than 4%. Sour economic news out today didn't help as more people filed for unemployment benefits last week, and word that manufacturing activity in the Federal Reserve’s Philadelphia region weakened. Also economists 2 at Morgan Stanley say both the US and European economies are dangerously close to recession. 

 
The existing home sales fell down 3.3% in July. That translates to a seasonally 3 adjusted annual rate of just under 4.7 million homes, the lowest rate since late last year. NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports.
 
The numbers were well below expectations. Analysts 4 were expecting July sales to be higher, not lower. But three factors continue to drive sales and prices downward. First, credit remains 5 hard to get. While interest rates are at record lows, lenders have imposed higher standards, and low appraisals 6 don't help. Cancellations of sales contracts are increasing. Some of that may be cold feet by buyers; some of it could be the inability to get a loan. And finally consumer confidence remains weak. The debt crisis, the job outlook, the possibility of a double-dip recession. As the chief economist 1 for the National Association of Realtors put it, economic catastrophe[s] are not good words for buyers. Wendy Kaufman, NPR News.
 
And if you can qualify, home loans are cheap right now. The average rate on the 30-year fixed 7 mortgage is down to the lowest level on record. Freddie Mac says the rate dipped to 4.15%. The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage is down to 3.36%.
 
President Obama says the time has come for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step aside. As NPR's Michele Keleman reports the US is also stepping up sanctions to punish Assad for a brutal 8 crackdown on protesters.
 
Shortly after President Obama issued a written statement condemning 9 what he called "disgraceful" attacks on Syrian citizens, his Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared before cameras to put a fine point on the tougher line from Washington. 
 
"The transition to democracy in Syria has begun, and it's time for Assad to get out of the way." 
 
The Obama administration is banning the import of Syrian petroleum 11 products and preventing Americans from investing in Syria. As President Obama explained, he wants to deepen Assad's financial isolation 12 and disrupt the Syrian government's ability to finance a campaign of violence against the Syrian people. Michele Keleman, NPR News, Washington.
 
And on Wall Street, preliminary closing numbers, the stocks did pull off earlier lows. The Dow down 419 points at 10,991. The NASDAQ down 131 points. That's more than a 5% drop, ending at 2,380. The S&P 500 down 53 points at 1,141. That's about a 4.5% drop. 
 
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Hackers 13 again have broken into the computer system of the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit 10 System called the BART. It's the second time this week, this time gaining access to the website of BART police union, publishing the names, home addresses and email addresses of police. The hacking 14 group Anonymous 15 is angry over the agency's controversial decision to block cell phone service for a day last week. Agency officials say they were trying to prevent a flash mob over a transit police shooting death this summer.
 
Some 20,000 people gathered today to honor three men killed in Britain's recent riots. NPR's Philip Reeves says the ceremony was in the city of Birmingham. 
 
They filled a park. A crowd of many thousands gathered to mourn and celebrate the men. Haroon Jahan and brothers Shazad Ali and Abdul Musavir were mown down by a car during riots in Birmingham, Britain's second largest city. They were trying to protect stores from looters. Four men were accused of their murder. Many of the crowd were Muslims, but members of other faiths were there too in a remarkable 16 show of solidarity 17. Prayers were held ahead of private burials. One man stood out. Tariq Jahan, father of one of the three, whose extraordinary appeals for calm just after his son's death, is(are口误) believed to have averted 18 violence between Birmingham's black and Asian populations. This ceremony brought more calls for peace and unity 19. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.
 
The worst drought in Texas since the 1950s is drying up lakes, emptying reservoirs and leaving some towns facing the prospect 20 of running out of water. Nearly 500 water systems are under mandatory 21 restrictions 22. State environmental officials say that is unprecedented 23. 
 
Oil down sharply today, down 5.20$ to 82.30$(口误) a barrel in New York.