Official site of Tribune News serving Tomball, Magnolia and Waller

U.S. stocks fell Monday as evidence piled up that the global economic slowdown is dragging on Asia.

Japan's economy grew in the second quarter at a 1.4 percent annual rate, slower than many analysts had expected. Last week, China released dismal figures on retail sales and exports in July. Traders had hoped Beijing would roll out stimulus measures over the weekend. That did not happen.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 61 points to 13,146 as of noon. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell six to 1,400. The Nasdaq composite fell 12 to 3,008.

The S&P 500 had risen for six straight days before Monday, its longest rally since December 2010. The S&P 500 and Dow have also risen every week for the past five weeks. The S&P 500 last wrapped up a five-week climb in mid-March. The Dow hasn't done so since last October.

Slower growth in Asia worries investors because Asia's economic endurance has helped offset weakness in the U.S. and Europe in recent years. Exports from China and Japan are declining as Europe's economic woes hurt consumer confidence there.

"What's happened is the law of gravity is starting to hit," said Doug Cote, chief market strategist at ING Investment Management. Japan is volatile because it is still recovering from last year's massive earthquake and tsunami, he said, and China's growth is slowing sharply.

Yet stocks, bonds and most other investments are all up for the year, Cote noted. He said the markets have been "pricing in Armageddon when clearly things are much better than that." Cote expects stocks to continue their upward trend as fears about the global economy dissipate.

Most Asian and European markets closed lower. Stocks edged higher in Spain. Traders speculate that the European Central Bank will take a more active role in fighting the region's debt crisis by reducing borrowing costs for Spain, Italy and others.

Monetary authorities in the U.S. and China also are believed to be weighing plans to boost growth. Central banks have been hesitant so far to get involved with an economy that may be on the cusp of a rebound. They are mindful, however, of the effect that an achingly slow recovery has on businesses and consumers.

Traders sought out safer investments such as U.S. Treasurys. The price of the 10-year Treasury note rose, pushing its yield down to 1.64 percent from 1.66 percent late Friday.

China revealed Friday that export growth in July plunged to just 1 percent from 11.3 percent as recently as the prior month. That was well below forecasts of about 5 percent.

The lack of global demand is trimming revenue for U.S. corporations. Many are cutting costs to limit declines in net income.

Investors had divergent reactions to two major asset sales by energy giant BP:

— Tesoro Corp. rose after saying it will pay $2.5 billion cash for a California refinery, pipelines, storage terminals and Arco-branded retail outlets in the Southwest. Tesoro's stock jumped $3.33, or 9 percent, to $38.93. It was the biggest percentage gain in the S&P 500 index.

— Eagle Rock Energy Partners fell after agreeing to buy two BP gas processing plants in Texas for $227.5 million in cash. Its stock lost 25 cents, or 3 percent, to $8.71.

Among stocks making big moves Monday:

— Google rose after announcing that it would cut 20 percent of the staff at Motorola Mobility, the struggling mobile phone maker it acquired in May. Motorola hasn't had a hit product since it introduced the Razr in 2005. Google's shares added $10.58, or 2 percent, to $652.58.

— Sears Holdings Corp. shot up $2.19, or 4 percent, to $53.61. The department store chain announced plans to spin off its Hometown and Outlet stores and some hardware stores into a separate, public company.

Daniel Wagner can be reached at www.twitter.com/wagnerreports .

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are bouncing between small gains and losses on Wall Street following more signs that the U.S. economic recovery is advancing, albeit at a slow pace.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down two points at 13,170 just after noon on Wednesday. The broader S&P 500 index rose two points to 1,406, while the Nasdaq composite rose 12 points to 3,029.

U.S. industrial production increased last month as factories made more cars, computers and airplanes, according to the Federal Reserve.

It was a sign that manufacturing is recovering after a weak spring. Also, consumer prices were unchanged in July from June, as a small drop in energy costs offset slightly higher food prices. The consumer price index hasn't changed since March, which means that inflation is in check.

Lower inflation gives the Federal Reserve more leeway to launch new programs intended to rekindle the economy. The Fed signaled at a meeting in late July that it is ready to act if growth and hiring stays weak.

Recent signs point to some economic improvement in July. Employers created the most jobs in five months, while consumers spent a little more at stores after three months of declines. Though they were better, the economic data showed a very weak recovery and that the U.S. economy is just trudging along.

"We're in a period of very slow growth, though interest rates are low, and very little inflation," said David Kotok, chief investment officer at Cumberland Advisors.

It's left many investors wondering if the economy is fragile enough to create a sense of urgency among fiscal policy makers to act proactively. The slightly better outlook for the economy could prompt the Fed to hold off on taking action when its policy committee next meets in September.

The bond market is betting that the Fed is not likely to act. Investors have been selling low-risk U.S. government bonds, sending the yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note up to 1.81 percent Wednesday. That's up from 1.73 percent Tuesday and 1.66 percent late Monday.

"Unless the U.S. economy goes into a swoon and there is no pick up in retail sales and deterioration in jobs growth or major shocks from Europe and China, the Fed will not take any action for now," Kotok said.

In the last few weeks of the summer, trading volumes in the stock market have been low. Investors may also be holding off on taking aggressive positions ahead of a meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve in Wyoming at the end of this month.

On Wednesday, the Dow traded within a range of just 53 points.

U.S. earnings were mixed.

Target rose $1.56 to $64.95 after the retailer increased its profit outlook for the year. Target is preparing its first expansion out of the U.S., into Canada.

Deere plummeted $5.51 to $74.62 after the agriculture machinery maker reported results that were well below Wall Street's expectations. The company attributed its poor results to a slowing global economy and the effects of a prolonged U.S. drought. Deere also cut its revenue forecast for the year.

Staples dropped $2.43 to $11.03 after the office and school supplies store said its income dropped 32 percent following weak sales in North America and Europe. The results fell short of analysts' expectations and the company cut its full-year earnings forecast.

Abercrombie & Fitch struggled to sell its preppy jeans and T-shirts in the previous quarter, but its results weren't as bad as analysts had forecast. The teen fashion leader also laid out plans for updating its fashions. The stock soared 9 percent, or $2.80, to $35.13.

NEW YORK (AP) — Facebook's stock plunged to a new low Thursday after the expiration of a ban that had prevented some early investors and insiders from dumping millions of additional shares they own in the social-networking leader.

Firms ranging from Accel Partners to Goldman Sachs, Zynga CEO Mark Pincus and Facebook board members James Breyer, Peter Thiel and Reid Hoffman were among those free to sell stock they own, after the lifting of a ban known as a lock-up period. If many of them took advantage of that, Facebook's stock could decline because the market would be flooded with nearly two-thirds more shares.

It's not yet known whether any of those investors had sold any shares. The stock price decline could have reflected investors' anticipation of such a move.

On Tuesday, shares of online reviews service Angie's List suffered the biggest one-day drop and closed at a new low following the expiration of a similar ban. The price dropped, even though there was no word on whether any of the major investors had dumped their shares.

Facebook Inc.'s stock traded as low as $19.69 before bouncing back to $19.91 in midday trading Thursday. That's still 6 percent down, or $1.29, from Wednesday's close and about 48 percent below its initial public offering price of $38. If the stock hits $19, it will have lost half its value since Facebook went public in May.

By noon, nearly 100 million shares had traded — more than three times the average volume on a full day.

It's been a rough run for Facebook. After one of the most-anticipated IPOs in history, Facebook suffered what may be the most-botched public offering as trading glitches marred its first day. It's been almost all downhill for the Menlo Park., Calif., company since then.

Investors have been concerned about Facebook's ability to keep increasing revenue and make money from its growing mobile audience, even as many analysts hold positive long-term views.

Those eligible to sell stock on Thursday were the investors and directors who had participated in the May IPO. The exception was CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who will be ineligible until November. Microsoft Corp., an early Facebook investor, was eligible to sell, though it was unlikely to do so because of partnerships it has with the social network.

Lock-up periods prevent insiders from unloading shares too close to an IPO and can help prevent volatility that might occur if too many shareholders decide to sell a newly traded stock all at once. They generally start to expire 90 days after a stock makes its public debut. Thursday marked 90 days since Facebook's began trading publicly on May 18.

Other shareholders, including many Facebook employees, will be able to sell beginning in October. The last lockup period expires next May, a year after the IPO.

In all, up to 1.91 billion more shares could flood the stock market over the next several months — more than four times the 421 million shares that have been trading since Facebook's IPO. Of the 1.91 billion, 271 million shares became eligible for sale Thursday.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks fell Monday as worries flared anew about the European debt crisis.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 14 points at 13,261 at noon EDT. The Standard & Poor's 500 was off two points at 1,416. And the Nasdaq composite index was down almost six points at 3,071.

In a report issued Monday, the German central bank questioned the wisdom of having the European Central Bank buy bonds to help the struggling European economies. It stressed that such purchases could carry "substantial risks."

Earlier this month, stocks rallied after ECB President Mario Draghi said the bank might buy government bonds of struggling European countries to help lower their borrowing costs.

In the U.S., Lowe's, the world's No. 2 home improvement store, missed earnings expectations Monday. Revenue at stores open at least a year dipped 0.4 percent, and the company cut its outlook for the year. The stock fell 6 percent.

The most valuable company in the world, Apple, became the most valuable company of all time, with a market value of $621 billion, surpassing Microsoft's record from 1999. Apple stock rose $15.40, or 2.4 percent, to $663.51.

Stocks have been inching up for six weeks. On Friday, both the Dow and the S&P closed just below four-year highs.

Other stocks moving sharply early Monday included health insurer Aetna, which announced it would buy Coventry Health Care for $5.7 billion as the insurance industry realigns itself to better navigate the health care overhaul.

Aetna rose $1.47, or 4 percent, to $39.51. Coventry climbed $6.61, or 19 percent, to $41.55.

The deal follows the $4.46 billion buyout last month of another insurer by WellPoint Inc., and last year's acquisition worth nearly $4 billion by Cigna of HealthSpring as it grabbed for a share of Medicare revenue.

Best Buy slid 7 percent after rejecting an offer from its founder and largest shareholder to take the electronics retailer private. The company named Hubert Joly, the former head of global hospitality company Carlson and a turnaround expert, as CEO Monday.

Facebook gained 36 cents, nearly 2 percent, to $19.41, following a slide last week after some insiders were able to sell stock for the first time since the company's public trading debut in May. The stock is down about half from its offering price of $38.

In the S&P 500, seven of the 10 main industry groups fell, led by telecommunications and consumer discretionary stocks. Those were down more than 0.5 percent each.

In Europe, stocks were also falling. Greek stocks fell 2 percent. Spain's main index was off 1 percent.

After the ECB's Draghi raised the possibility of bond-buying, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who has resisted easing pressure on struggling countries, made comments that seemed to seem soften her resistance. She said last week that officials would do everything possible to save the euro.

But now investors are not sure the ECB will come to the rescue.

Investors are on edge this week because of a series of meetings among European leaders to discuss the debt crisis. The first of them came early Monday when the Greek foreign minister met with his German counterpart in Berlin to discuss Greek spending cuts necessary for the country to continue receiving bailout money.

NEW YORK (AP) — U.S. stocks nosed higher in quiet trading Monday, with many traders still on summer vacation and investors waiting for signals from the Federal Reserve about help for the economy.

All three major stock indexes were up, but only slightly. Trading volume was light, typical for August.

Investors were looking ahead to Friday, when Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Investors will look for clues about whether the Fed will buy government bonds or take other action to speed the economic recovery.

In the absence of major economic developments, investors have been hanging on the chairman's every word. On Monday, with no Fed news, Apple played an outsized role in the market's performance.

Apple was up after a California court on Friday ruled that South Korea-based Samsung had copied some of the features and designs of Apple's iPhone and iPad. Apple stock rose $14.18, or 2.1 percent, to $677.40.

Earlier in the day, the stock hit $680.87, an all-time high. Last week, Apple became the biggest company in U.S. history by market value. It makes up more than 13 percent of the Nasdaq composite index, and 4.4 percent of the Standard & Poor's 500.

On Monday, the Nasdaq was up 11 points, or 0.4 percent, to 3,081. The S&P 500 was up four points, or 0.3 percent, to 1,415. The Dow Jones industrial average, which does not include Apple, languished. It was up five points, just 0.03 percent, to 13,163.

"The market is kind of on hold until Jackson Hole," said Randy Warren, chief investment officer of Warren Financial Service outside Philadelphia. "Probably Apple is the only thing that's moving the market today. It's stunning, how big they are."

Many investors are still on vacation until after Labor Day, and the ones who aren't have had to scrounge for developments to read the market.

With many European lawmakers on summer break, the debt crisis there has trudged along. The U.S. economy is sluggish, but not dramatically improving or worsening. China has shown signs of a slowdown, but not a recession.

Of 18 trading days this month, the Dow has moved more than 1 percent only once. On five days it has been virtually flat, moving less than one-tenth of a percentage point.

Still, reminders of the underlying strain in Europe were clear, even without any major developments.

Over the weekend, Germany's economy minister and finance minister both said they wouldn't give Greece a break on deadlines for adopting spending cuts that Germany has asked for.

On Monday, Germany's central bank head said that he opposed a bond-buying plan that could lower borrowing costs for countries like Spain and Italy but that would require Germany foot most of the bill.

French President Francois Hollande, usually a little more lenient with Greece, said Saturday that Greek leaders should be willing "to go all out" to meet the spending cuts and other obligations they agreed to for bailouts.

Bigger events lie ahead. German courts will decide next month whether Germany is constitutionally allowed to keep participating in bailouts. And an important debt report on Greece isn't due until late September at the earliest.

Shares of Hertz and Dollar Thrifty both rose after Hertz announced it would buy its rival. Hertz shares jumped 13 percent, or $1.64, to $14.79. Dollar Thrifty jumped $6, or 7.4 percent, to $87.

Best Buy, which has struggled to adapt its bricks-and-mortar stores to an online-shopping world, rose after announcing that the company's founder could pursue his plans to buy it.

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks are falling on Wall Street following reports that construction spending and manufacturing have weakened in the U.S.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 100 points at 12,991 at midday Tuesday. The broader S&P 500 index fell eight points to 1,398 and the Nasdaq composite fell 20 points to 3,047. The U.S. stock market was closed Monday for Labor Day.

Industrial and materials stocks fell the most. Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar was the weakest stock in the Dow average, slipping 3 percent, or $2.58, to $82.75.

The Commerce Department reported that U.S. construction spending fell 0.9 percent in July from June, driven lower by a sharp drop on spending on home improvement projects.

The decline, the worst in a year, followed three months of gains powered by increases in home and apartment construction. New home construction rose again in July, but spending on home renovation projects fell 5.5 percent.

The report sent stocks of home improvement stores lower. Home Depot fell 11 cents to $56.66 and Lowe's was off 21 cents to $28.34.

A separate report delivered more gloomy news on the economy: the third straight month of contraction in U.S. manufacturing. New orders, production and employment all fell in August. Factories have been a key source of jobs and growth since the recession ended in June 2009, but the sector been weak in recent months.

The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, says its index of manufacturing edged down to 49.6 from 49.7 in July, and the lowest reading in three years. A reading below 50 indicates that manufacturing is contracting.

"It's time to go back to school and sharpen up on stocks and pay attention to the numbers," said Kim Forrest, equity analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group. "The numbers show that there's a lot of weakness out there and investors have gotten lulled into complacency in the last month or so."

The week will culminate with U.S. nonfarm payroll figures Friday, one of the most important barometers for the world's biggest economy. Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke has indicated that the central bank is inclined to provide new stimulus if it's needed.

In Europe, Moody's warned that it could downgrade the credit rating of the European Union as a whole, citing the continent's lingering debt crisis. That sent markets broadly lower in Europe. Benchmark indexes fell 1.2 percent in Germany, 1.6 percent in France and 1.5 percent in Britain.

The focus this week will be on the European Central Bank President Mario Draghi, who is expected to announce details on Thursday of a new bond-buying program intended to bring down the borrowing costs of countries such as Spain and Italy.

The price of oil also slipped on worries that demand for oil would fall. U.S. benchmark crude fell $1.06 to $95.41 in morning trading in New York.

Among other stocks making big moves:

— Netflix plunged $4.70 to $55, a loss of 8 percent. Rival Amazon signed a deal with a company that licenses movies from Paramount, MGM and Lionsgate for its online streaming service.

— Consol Energy fell 5 percent after the company said it will temporarily idle a mine because of weak steel demand. The stock fell $1.38 to $28.82.

— Medicis Pharmaceutical Corp. soared 38 percent after a deal that it will be acquired by dermatology products maker Valeant Pharmaceuticals International. Medicis was up $11.98 at $43.54.

— Aluminum producer Alcoa was off 13 cents to $8.43, Alpha Natural Resources fell 40 cents, or 7 percent, at $5.54 and Peabody Energy was down 79 cents, or 4 percent, to $20.84.