U.S. stocks posted small moves in either direction as Alcoa prepared to kick-off first quarter earnings season.
The Dow rose 3 points to 12,612. The S&P 500 rose 2 points to 1,372. The Nasdaq was down 6 points to 2,364. Crude oil closed just above $109 a barrel.
Conway Gittens reports from New York.
Jan 23 - Richard Branson's Virgin Galactic showed off models of a spaceship it hopes will take spacetravel mainstream. Trips will initially cost about $200,000 and will eventually go down in price. That's far less than the $20 million reported cost of businessman Dennis Tito's trip on a Russian spacecraft in 2001, considered the first space tourist. Bobbi Rebell reports.
Mar. 13 - The woman who reportedly forced the resignation of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer now has a face. The New York Times story about the woman who reportedly forced the resignation of New York Governor Eliot Spitzer was the among the most popular articles on the newspaper's website Thursday reflecting the public's interest in the woman's identity. Jon Decker reports.
May 30 - Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates unveils the Microsoft Surface, a tabletop computer that reacts to touch.The 30-inch display screen is mounted under a plastic tabletop and will initially cost $5,000 to $10,000. It will, at first, only be available in select hotels, casinos, and T-Mobile stores in November.
Jan 23 - What began as a US housing problem mushroomed into a crisis that shook stock markets around the world.The global nature of this week's stock market plunge debunks the theory that foreign investors are immune because the U.S. economy is "decoupled" from Europe and Asia. Quite the contrary, says Goldman Sachs International vice chairman Robert Hormats: "It's a recoupling of sorts."
US Swimmer Michael Phelps has shot at breaking Mark Spitz's record for most gold medals won by an American in a single Olympics. Mark Spitz who won seven gold medals at the Munich Olympic Games in 1972. Michael Phelps has won six Olympic gold medals.
Deborah Lutterbeck reports.
Jan 9 - Nuremberg zoo's last surviving polar bear cub is spending some time away from its mother Vera, after one of the zoo's female polar bears ate her own cub.The German zoo bowed to media and public pressure and decided to hand rear the polar bear cub.
Feb. 22 - At ten weeks of age, little polar bear "Flocke" (Snowflake) is starting to grow into the the predator she was born to be. Zoo keepers looking after her stated the 16-pound bear was trying to shred everything in reach, using her teeth and claws.
Jun. 27 - Early reviews reveal that the iPhone has more features than many popular U.S. handsets, and reveal some of its weaknesses.iPhone testers complain about the relatively slow AT&T Edge network. But the list of issues didn't stop there.Laura Wells reports.
May 12 - Myanmar receives US aid as the death toll rose to nearly 32,000.The United Nations says the death toll could top 100 thousand. Fred Katayama reports from New York.
Sep 30 - What began as a housing problem has mushroomed into what may be the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression.In September, the titans topple like dominos, then the Federal Reserve and the Treasury respond with a $700 billion bailout plan. Fred Katayama reports from New York.