U.S. regulators say 2.1 million vehicles recalled over air bag fault

(Reuters) - Some 2.1 million vehicles produced by Toyota Motor Corp, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV and Honda Motor Co are being recalled to fix a potentially defective chip that could cause air bags to deploy inadvertently, U.S. federal vehicle safety regulators said Saturday.

The vehicles were subject to three earlier recalls, but the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said in a statement that "a small number of vehicles" fixed under those earlier actions had experienced inadvertent air bag deployments.

Forex - EUR/USD edges higher after string of data but gains capped

Investing.com - The euro edged higher against the U.S. dollar on Friday, after positive euro zone unemployment data and upbeat reports from France and Spain, although gains remained limited by concerns over Greece's future in the single currency bloc.

EUR/USD hit 1.13464 during European afternoon trade, the session high; the pair subsequently consolidated at 1.1339, adding 0.18%.

The pair was likely to find support at 1.1223, the high of January 27 and resistance at 1.1421, the high of January 27.

Eurostat reported that the euro zone’s unemployment rate ticked down to 11.4% in December from 11.5% the previous month, confounding expectations for the rate to remain unchanged.

In a separate report, Eurostat said that the annual rate of euro zone inflation fell by 0.6% in January, after a 0.2% slip in December. Economists had expected an annual decline of 0.5%.

Core inflation, which strips out volatile measures such as food and energy costs, rose 0.5% on a year-over-year basis, but was still well below the European Central Bank's target of close to, but just under 2%.

Earlier Friday, official data showed that French consumer spending increased by 1.5% in December, exceeding expectations for a 0.2% rise. November's figure was revised to a 0.2% gain from a previously estimated 0.4% advance.

Data also showed that Spanish gross domestic product rose 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014, above expectations for a 0.6% gain, up from a growth rate of 0.5% in the previous quarter.

A separate report showed that German retail sales gained 0.2% last month, disappointing expectations for a 0.3% rise. November's figure was revised to a 0.9% increase from a previously estimated 1.0% climb.

Sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable after Greece's new government moved Wednesday to roll back deeply unpopular austerity policies underpinning the county’s €240 billion international bailout, fuelling fears over a clash with its international creditors.

The euro was also higher against the pound, with EUR/GBP edging up 0.12% to 0.7521.

In the U.K., data showed that U.K. net lending to individuals fell to £2.2 billion in December from a revised £3.1 billion in November.

Data also showed that U.K. mortgage approvals rose by 60,280 last month after a downwardly revised 58,960 increase in November, compared to expectations for a 59,000 rise.

In addition, the U.K. Gfk consumer confidence index improved to 1 this month from minus 4 in December, compared to expectations for a reading of minus 2.

Later in the day, the U.S. was to release preliminary data on fourth quarter growth as well as reports on business activity in the Chicago region and revised data on consumer sentiment.

U.S. pending home sales drop more than expected in December

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes fell more than expected in December as tighter inventory and an increase in house prices discouraged buyers.

The National Association of Realtors said on Thursday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, decreased 3.7 percent to 100.7. The NAR also slightly revised down its index in November to 104.6.

These contracts usually become sales after a month or two. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast total pending home sales rising 0.5 percent in December from the previously reported level.

Contracts declined in the four main regions of the country.

U.S. pending home sales sputtered throughout 2014, but a strengthening economy, decline in mortgage rates and an easing in lending standards have renewed optimism for the coming months.

Compared to December of 2013, contracts were up 6.1 percent.

Dollar remains broadly higher, Fed statement ahead

Investing.com - The dollar remained broadly higher against the other major currencies on Wednesday, as investors eyed the outcome of Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting, with the bank expected to stick to its pledge to be patient on tightening monetary policy.

EUR/USD declined 0.46% to 1.1327, as sentiment on the euro remained vulnerable in the wake of a sweeping election victory for the anti-austerity Syriza party in Greece.

Markets were still jittery amid concerns over Syriza’s pledge to renegotiate the terms of Greece's €240 billion international bailout, which could cause the country to leave the euro zone.

Earlier Wednesday, the German research institute, Gfk said its Consumer Climate Index rose to 9.3 this month, above forecasts for 9.2 and up from a reading of 9.0 in December.

The pound was almost unchanged against the dollar, with GBP/USD at 1.5182, while USD/JPY held steady at 117.75.

Elsewhere, the Swiss franc regained ground against the euro, as it recovered from speculation on Tuesday that the Swiss National Bank was intervening in the market to weaken the currency.

EUR/CHF slid 0.32% to 1.0241 after rising as high as 1.0382 on Tuesday, while USD/CHF rose 0.13% to 0.9043.

In an interview on Tuesday, SNB Vice President Jean-Pierre Danthine said the bank was still "fundamentally prepared" to intervene in currency markets. "The minimum exchange rate couldn’t have been maintained anymore" with the European Central Bank’s bond purchasing program, he added.

The Australian and New Zealand dollars remained moderately higher, with AUD/USD up 0.25% to 0.7956 and NZD/USD was steady at 0.7455, holding just above Monday's three-year low of 0.7398.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics earlier reported that consumer price inflation rose 0.2% in the last quarter, below expectations for a 0.3% gain, after an increase of 0.5% in the three months to September.

Year-on-year, Australian CPI increased by 1.7% in the three months to December, compared to expectations for a 1.8% rise and down from a 2.3% gain in the third quarter of 2014.

The report also showed that Australia's trimmed mean consumer price inflation, which excludes the most volatile 30% of items, rose 0.7% in the fourth quarter of 2014, exceeding expectations for a 0.5% gain, after a 0.4% uptick in the previous quarter.

The Canadian dollar re-approached Tuesday's fresh six-year lows, with USD/CAD up 0.40% to 1.2446.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, was up 0.35% at 94.59, not far from Friday’s more than 11-year highs of 95.77.

What Is a Black Hole?

What Is a Black Hole?

September 30, 2008

An artist's drawing a black hole named Cygnus X-1. It formed when a large star caved in. This black hole pulls matter from blue star beside it.

Image Credit: 

NASA/CXC/M.Weiss

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A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that even light can not get out. The gravity is so strong because matter has been squeezed into a tiny space. This can happen when a star is dying.

Because no light can get out, people can't see black holes. They are invisible. Space telescopes with special tools can help find black holes. The special tools can see how stars that are very close to black holes act differently than other stars.

How Big Are Black Holes?
Black holes can be big or small. Scientists think the smallest black holes are as small as just one atom. These black holes are very tiny but have the mass of a large mountain. Mass is the amount of matter, or "stuff," in an object.

Another kind of black hole is called "stellar." Its mass can be up to 20 times more than the mass of the sun. There may be many, many stellar mass black holes in Earth's galaxy. Earth's galaxy is called the Milky Way.

An artist's drawing shows the current view of the Milky Way galaxy. Scientific evidence shows that in the middle of the Milky Way is a supermassive black hole.

Image Credit: 

NASA/JPL-Caltech

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The largest black holes are called "supermassive." These black holes have masses that are more than 1 million suns together. Scientists have found proof that every large galaxy contains a supermassive black hole at its center. The supermassive black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy is called Sagittarius A. It has a mass equal to about 4 million suns and would fit inside a very large ball that could hold a few million Earths.

How Do Black Holes Form?
Scientists think the smallest black holes formed when the universe began.

Stellar black holes are made when the center of a very big star falls in upon itself, or collapses. When this happens, it causes a supernova. A supernova is an exploding star that blasts part of the star into space.

Scientists think supermassive black holes were made at the same time as the galaxy they are in.

This image of the center of the Milky Way galaxy was taken by the Chandra X-ray Observatory.

Image Credit: 

NASA/CXC/MIT/F.K. Baganoff et al.

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If Black Holes Are "Black," How Do Scientists Know They Are There?
A black hole can not be seen because strong gravity pulls all of the light into the middle of the black hole. But scientists can see how the strong gravity affects the stars and gas around the black hole. Scientists can study stars to find out if they are flying around, or orbiting, a black hole.

When a black hole and a star are close together, high-energy light is made. This kind of light can not be seen with human eyes. Scientists use satellites and telescopes in space to see the high-energy light.

Could a Black Hole Destroy Earth?
Black holes do not go around in space eating stars, moons and planets. Earth will not fall into a black hole because no black hole is close enough to the solar system for Earth to do that.

Even if a black hole the same mass as the sun were to take the place of the sun, Earth still would not fall in. The black hole would have the same gravity as the sun. Earth and the other planets would orbit the black hole as they orbit the sun now.

Sagittarius A* is the black hole at the center of the Milky Way galaxy.

Image Credit: 

X-ray: NASA/UMass/D.Wang et al., IR: NASA/STScI

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The sun will never turn into a black hole. The sun is not a big enough star to make a black hole.

How Is NASA Studying Black Holes?
NASA is using satellites and telescopes that are traveling in space to learn more about black holes. These spacecraft help scientists answer questions about the universe.

Russian government outlines $35 billion anti-crisis plan

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia's government intends to spend at least 2.34 trillion roubles ($35 billion) to help the economy withstand Western sanctions and the collapse in oil prices, according to a plan which implies the final cost could be much higher.

Only 22 of the 60 items were costed, suggesting that the final cost of the plan may be much more than 2.34 trillion roubles, which is the combined costs of the items that had been assigned financing. The plan said that these costs were still subject to government discussion.

Russia's Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Tuesday that the plan wouldn't add to total budget expenditures, because of budget reserves and cutbacks elsewhere.

Some major items are being financed from the National Wealth Fund, an $80 billion sovereign fund that had previously been assigned to fund infrastructure projects.

Among the priority measures, the largest single item is a 1 trillion rouble programme to recapitalize banks through the issue of government bonds, which has already been funded from last year's federal budget.

The plan included a separate scheme to help recapitalize some banks with 250 billion roubles from the National Wealth Fund.

The National Wealth Fund would also provide 300 billion roubles to Vnesheconombank, the state development bank, to increase "lending to organisations of the real sector".

The plan included 200 billion roubles in state guarantees of loans of bonds needed "for carrying out investment projects," as well as other goals approved by the government such as debt restructuring.

Other major items included 160 billion roubles in federal loans to help regional governments, as well as 188 billion roubles to finance an indexation of pensions.

Dozens of smaller or uncosted items in the plan included subsidies and tax breaks to industrial enterprises, small businesses and agriculture.

Among the uncosted items, the plan said the government would collect proposals for creating a 'bad bank' to ring fence problematic banking assets by Jan. 30.

The plan also said that the government aimed to cut "the majority" of its planned expenditures by 10 percent in 2015 except for defence, social spending and debt repayments, with a view to balancing the budget by 2017.

It said that investment resources in the budget would be concentrated on projects that had already been started, with some new projects to be delayed.

Gold slightly lower ahead of FOMC decision

Investing.com - Gold edged lower in quiet trade on Wednesday, as market players looked ahead to the outcome of the Federal Reserve's policy meeting later in the day for guidance on interest rates.

On the Comex division of the New York Mercantile Exchange, gold futures for April delivery shed $6.60, or 0.51%, to trade at $1,286.30 a troy ounce during U.S. morning hours. Prices held in a tight range between $1,284.60 and $1,294.60.

A day earlier, gold rallied $12.50, or 0.98%, to settle at $1,292.90 after abysmal U.S. durable goods data clouded the outlook on the economic recovery.

Futures were likely to find support at $1,273.00, the low from January 27, and resistance at $1,308.80, the high from January 22.

Also on the Comex, silver futures for March delivery declined 4.6 cents, or 0.25%, to trade at $18.03 a troy ounce. On Tuesday, silver rose 10.1 cents, or 0.56%, to end at $18.08.

Market players looked ahead to the outcome of the Fed's policy meeting later in the day, at which it is widely expected to keep policy on hold.

Investors will be scrutinizing the Fed's statement for wording that reflects expectations that interest rates will remain on hold near zero levels for some time to come.

The U.S. dollar index, which measures the greenback’s strength against a trade-weighted basket of six major currencies, edged up 0.45% to hit 94.69 after falling to almost one week lows of 93.95 in the previous session.

Elsewhere in metals trading, copper for March delivery tacked on 1.1 cents, or 0.43%, to trade at $2.473 a pound. The March contract hit a five-year low of $2.419 on Monday. 

The red metal is down approximately 11.5% so far in January as concerns over the global economic outlook and the impact on future demand prospects dampened the appeal of the commodity.

Wall Street falls 1 percent on earnings; Apple rallies late

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks closed more than 1 percent lower on Tuesday as disappointing results from a number of bellwether companies pointed to weakening conditions, while an unexpected decline in durable goods orders also weighed on sentiment.

The day's losses were broad, with nine of the 10 primary S&P 500 sectors lower on the day, though tech <.SPLRCT> was the biggest drag by far. The group lost 3.3 percent in its biggest one-day drop since November 2011, in the wake of results from industry bellwether Microsoft. Industrial shares fell, led by Caterpillar.

The two names were the biggest decliners on the Dow, but fellow components Procter & Gable (N:PG) and DuPont Co (N:DD) also tumbled.

Microsoft (O:MSFT) fell 9.3 percent to $42.66 a day after the main engine of its historic earnings power - selling Windows and Office to big businesses - showed signs of waning.

Heavy machinery marker Caterpillar (N:CAT) gave an outlook below expectations, warning the recent plunge in oil prices would hurt its energy equipment business. Shares dropped 7.2 percent to $79.85.

"There's clearly a lot of froth baked into certain areas of tech, while Caterpillar is giving tangible evidence that things can go down more than they already have," said Jim O'Donnell, chief investment officer at Forward in San Francisco.

"People may not be aware of the sensitivities that heavy industrial guys have to the oil cycle, or what the ripple effects of oil's weakness will be. There are a lot of companies that are going to be adversely impacted."

With 24 percent of the S&P 500 having reported, 70.6 percent of companies have topped earnings expectations while 55.5 percent have beaten on revenue, according to Thomson Reuters data. That compares with the long-term average of 63 percent for earnings and 61 percent for revenue.

Still, many multinational companies disappointed this quarter, with the stronger dollar a common culprit. P&G was one of the companies pressured by a stronger dollar, sending shares down 3.4 percent to $86.49.

After the market closed, Apple Inc (O:AAPL) rose 5.4 percent to $115 after it posted better-than-expected revenue growth, along with record sales of its iPhone line.

AT&T Inc's (N:T) revenue rose more than expected in the latest quarter. Yahoo Inc (O:YHOO) reported its results and unveiled a plan for a tax-free spin-off of its 15 percent stake in China's Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (N:BABA), a first step in a highly-anticipated process to unwind the holding, valued at roughly $40 billion.

Shares of AT&T rose 1.8 percent to $33.40 after the bell, while Yahoo added 7.7 percent to $51.69.

The Dow Jones industrial average (DJI) fell 291.49 points, or 1.65 percent, to 17,387.21, the S&P 500 (SPX) lost 27.54 points, or 1.34 percent, to 2,029.55 and the Nasdaq Composite (IXIC) dropped 90.27 points, or 1.89 percent, to 4,681.50.

Adding to the day's weakness, a gauge of U.S. business investment plans unexpectedly fell in December, another sign that slowing global growth and falling crude oil prices were having an impact on the economy.

On the plus side, consumer confidence posted its highest reading since August 2007. That helped indexes recover from their lows of the session; the Dow earlier fell as much as 2.2 percent.

About 6.5 billion shares traded on all U.S. platforms, according to BATS exchange data, below the month-to-date average of 7.2 billion.

Declining issues outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,726 to 1,337, for a 1.29-to-1 ratio; on the Nasdaq, 1,710 issues fell and 1,029 advanced, for a 1.66-to-1 ratio favoring decliners.

The S&P 500 posted 41 new 52-week highs and 10 new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 57 new highs and 49 new lows.