AP
Stocks mostly lower again after big drop

By Madlen Read, AP Business Writer

Wall Street loses more ground as oil rises; personal spending, incomes jump

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks slid again Friday after their sharp dive in the previous session, with investors anxious about a new oil price record and dubious that personal income and spending will remain resilient.

The Commerce Department said spending rose 0.8 percent in May, as taxpayers started receiving their stimulus checks. The increase was higher than the 0.7 percent economists predicted. The report also said personal incomes surged 1.9 percent -- significantly more than anticipated. After taxes, incomes surged 5.7 percent, the largest amount in 33 years.

But the data provided only a bit of solace to investors nervous about the average consumer struggling with rising prices, falling home values and the shaky job market.

"They're saying that's great, but what's going to happen in July and August, when we don't have the help from the stimulus checks?" said Hugh Johnson, chairman and chief investment officer of Johnson Illington Advisors.

With many commodities on a seemingly unstoppable incline, Wall Street remains concerned they will slam consumers with not only elevated costs for energy and food, but also for other goods if cash-strapped companies decide to pass along the rising costs. Early Friday, crude was up more than $1 above $141 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after briefly surpassing $142 in pre-market trading. Corn and soybean prices have also been hitting new all-time highs.

"If you're looking for problems that face investors, that face the U.S. economy, they're everywhere," Johnson said, pointing also to still-tight credit conditions for the nation's banks.

In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 40.47, or 0.35 percent, at 11,412.95, sinking to levels not seen since September 2006 and compounding Thursday's 358-point skid.

Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 0.73, or 0.06 percent, to 1,283.88, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 6.15, or 0.26 percent, to 2,315.22.

Declining issues outnumbered advancers by about 3 to 2 on the New York Stock Exchange, where volume came to 553.2 million shares.

Bond prices edged higher. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which tends to move opposite its price, was at 4.00 percent, down from 4.03 percent late Thursday. The dollar was lower against other major currencies, while gold prices rose.

Thursday's drop came on a combination of worries about oil prices and the financial, automotive and technology sectors. General Motors Corp. shares dropped to their lowest level in more than three decades.

GM shares rose 18 cents to $11.61 on Friday.

In other economic news, the University of Michigan's June index of consumer sentiment came in at 56.4, a bit lower than its reading in May and slightly below the average analyst estimate.

Also Friday, a Lehman Brothers analyst lifted his prediction of Merrill Lynch & Co.'s asset markdowns in the second quarter. His write-down estimate rose to $5.4 billion from $3 billion. On Thursday, a Goldman Sachs analyst forecast a $4.2 billion write-down at Merrill and a nearly $9 billion write-down at Citigroup Inc.

Merrill shares were flat at $33.05, and Citigroup shares fell 53 cents, or 3 percent, to $17.13.

Keeping investors downbeat about the tech sector, Palm Inc. posted a worse-than-expected quarterly loss after the market closed Thursday. The smart phone maker said sales of Treo phones were slowing.

Palm Inc. shares fell 64 cents, or 9.8 percent, to $5.90.

Another smart phone maker, Research In Motion Ltd., extended its sharp decline from Thursday, when it issued a troubling forecast. The BlackBerry maker fell $3.67, or 3 percent, to $119.77.

The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies fell 1.18, or 0.17 percent, to 697.24.

Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average fell 2.01 percent after Wall Street's tumble. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose 0.21 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 0.58 percent, and France's CAC-40 lost 0.65 percent.

New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com

THE FED

Bear Stearns too interconnected to fail, Fed says

'Contagion' would have resulted, necessitating drastic action

By Greg Robb, MarketWatch

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Bear Stearns Cos., in the view of the Federal Reserve, simply was too interconnected to allow the investment house to fail, according to the minutes of two emergency meetings that Fed officials held last March.

Presented with the full extent of the liquidity crisis facing Bear Stearns on March 14, the minutes said, the Federal Reserve Board quickly "agreed that, given the fragile condition of the financial markets at the time, the prominent position of Bear Stearns in those markets, and the expected contagion that would result from the immediate failure of Bear Stearns," emergency action was called for -- in this case, a loan from the Fed to Bear Stearns through J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM:

JPMorgan Chase & Co

Sponsored by:

JPM 35.17, -1.15, -3.2%) , which ended up acquiring the company.

But just two days later, on Sunday March 16, the Fed decided that "significant support, such as an acquisition of Bear Stearns or an immediate guarantee of its payment obligations, was necessary to avoid serious disruptions to financial markets."

The Fed also implemented an emergency cut of a quarter of a percentage point in the discount rate to inject liquidity into the markets.

The meeting minutes, made public by the U.S. central bank on Friday, simply summarize the discussions and thus don't shed much light on internal deliberations.

All of the Fed's decisions were unanimous. As a result, it's impossible to gauge there was any opposition voiced to any part of the controversial proposals taken to forestall a collapse.

But there are some nuggets.

"Although many potential investors had been invited to invest, Bear Stearns had determined that J.P. Morgan was the most suitable bidder," the summary said.

The amount of trouble that the company was in also was spelled out in the minutes. Action was required the weekend of March 15 because Bear Stearns "would have difficulty meeting its repayment obligations" once trading began in Asia on March 17, the summary said.

In addition, the Fed also waived certain capital requirements for J.P. Morgan Chase to smooth the takeover, the summary said.

As part of that merger, the Fed eventually agreed to lend almost $29 billion to finance the takeover.

In defense of the Fed's action, some experts have noted that the central bank had limited options,. While federal banking laws have clear procedures for failing banks, there are no such regulations in place for investment banks.

This glaring problem is likely to be addressed by the next Congress.

The Fed has put in place an emergency program to lend money to broker-dealers. This fund expires in September, and Fed watchers are already discussing whether it will be extended.

Former St. Louis Fed president William Poole said earlier this week that the fund would most likely be extended if there was demand for funds from the nation's investment banks. The Fed's hoping that lending would slowly wind down and then the fund could be shut, he said.

Greg Robb is a senior reporter for MarketWatch in Washington.

Ronaldo, 70 Juta Pound dan 7 Juli

Kurang dari dua pekan Cristiano Ronaldo bakal berganti kostum, dari seragam merahnya Manchester United menjadi seragam putihnya Real Madrid. Itulah kabar terbaru seputar ‘hiruk pikuk’ perburuan Los Merengues terhadap bintang The Red Devils berusia 23 tahun itu seperti yang dilansir Daily Mirror dalam edisinya di hari Rabu, 25 Juni 2008.

Tepatnya, Daily Mirror mengklaim, Madrid bakal mendapatkan tanda tangan Ronaldo pada hari Senin, 7 Juli mendatang. Untuk memboyong CR7, julukan Ronaldo, Madrid sanggup merogoh kas klub sebesar 70 juta pound atau sekitar Rp 1,27 triliun sebagai fee transfer: besaran yang menjadi rekor transfer termahal melampaui besarnya nilai transfer Zinedine Zidane dari Turin (Juventus) ke Santiago Bernabeu pada musim panas 2001 lalu yang mencapai 46 juta pound (Rp 837 miliar).

Benarkah? Begitulah keyakinan Madrid meskipun kubu MU sendiri secara tegas menyatakan tidak akan melego pemain bintangnya itu yang telah menjadi sosok kunci di balik keberhasilan skuad Sir Alex Ferguson meraih double winners musim lalu.

Ronaldo yang kini tengah menikmati masa liburannya, dijadwalkan harus ‘setor muka’ kepada klub pada 14 Juli mendatang seiring dengan dimulainya program latihan pramusim. Itulah saat dimana Ronaldo harus bertemu muka, kali pertama, dengan Ferguson sejak ia mengutarakan hasrat dan minatnya untuk bergabung bersama Los Blancos . Karena tak mau berselisih atau bertengkar dengan bosnya itu, Ronaldo pun diisukan tidak mau menunjukkan batang hidungnya di Carrington, Manchester.

Berikut lika-liku langkah Madrid dalam upayanya memboyong Ronaldo.
13 Mei 2008, Madrid menggebrak dengan menyodorkan fee transfer 100 juta euro.
14 Mei 2008, Ronaldo bersikukuh bakal tetap bertahan bersama MU.
16 Mei, 2008, Ronaldo berubah pikiran dan mengaku adanya kemungkinan jika ia bakal hengkang di bursa transfer musim panas.
23 Mei 2008, Ronaldo ditengarai bakal memberi konfirmasi tentang komitmennya di Old Trafford.
28 Mei 2008, Ferguson diisukan bakal terbang ke Austria-Swiss untuk berdialog dengan Ronaldo.
29 Mei 2008, Sikap Madrid lewat Presiden Ramon Calderon mulai melunak.
4 Juni 2008, Ronaldo memberi sinyal hengkang dari Old Trafford.
6 Juni 2008, Ronaldo menolak memberi konfirmasi terkait isu Madrid.
7 Juni 2008, MU mengadukan Madrid ke FIFA.
12 Juni 2008, FIFA menolak memberi hukuman kepada Madrid.
16 Juni 2008, MU menolak menyodorkan kontrak baru (revisi gaji) bagi Ronaldo.
20 Juni 2008, Ronaldo menyatakan kemungkinannya bergabung ke Madrid ‘sangat besar. MU membalas dengan sikap resmi: menolak tawaran dari tim manapun.
21 Juni 2008, Sejumlah pemain MU ramai-ramai membujuk Ronaldo untuk tetap tinggal.
23 Juni 2008, Pelatih Madrid, Bernd Schuster meminta klub melakukan segala cara untuk dapat memboyong Ronaldo.

Adebayor Bertahan di Emirates

Anda pendukung Arsenal boleh bernafas lega? Pasalnya, musim depan Emmanuel Adebayor bisa dipastikan tidak akan meninggalkan Emirates Stadium. Adebayor memegang komitmen dengan menyatakan akan melanjutkan tiga tahun dari kontrak berjalan yang ditandatangani olehnya.

Musim panas ini striker internasional Togo itu berada di persimpangan jalan. AC Milan dan Barcelona menaruh minat serius pada Adebayor. Milan yang paling serius dengan mengungkapkannya melalui Wakil Presiden Klub, Adriano Galliani (Baca: Bukan Eto’o atau Drogba, tapi Adebayor). Bahkan marjin kesepakatan antara Milan dan Arsenal begitu tipis (Baca: Soal Adebayor, Keseriusan Milan Diuji).

Tapi kemudian, “Saya masih terikat kontrak tiga tahun dengan Arsenal. Saya berada di tim yang hebat dan kontrak yang bagus. Yang terpenting yakni saya menikmati dan tentu saja saya akan bertahan selama tiga tahun,” beber Adebayor seperti apa yang dirangkum The Telegraph.

Apa yang diumumkan Adebayor berbanding 180 derajat dengan apa yang diungkapkan agennya, Vincenzo Morabito, kemarin. Morabito menyatakan kans kepergian kliennya untuk mengikuti jejak Mathieu Flamini ke San Siro sudah mencapai 80 persen.

Galliani sendiri kemudian mengakui kalau memperoleh Adebayor sama peliknya dengan keinginan merekrut Ronaldinho dari Barcelona. Galliani mengatakan: “Ada kata setuju dari (pelatih) Carlo Ancelotti untuk memperoleh Ronaldinho atau Adebayor. Membeli salah satu berarti menyingkirkan yang satunya.”

Loyalitas yang ditunjukkan Adebayor jelas menjadi obat mujarab pusingnya Arsene Wenger yang ditinggalkan Flamini dan Alexander Hleb yang sedang ditunggu oleh Inter Milan atau Barcelona. Bertahannya Adebayor membuat daya dobrak The Gunners musim depan diharapkan tetap terjaga. Adebayor musim lalu merupakan top skorer klub yang mengoleksi 24 gol di Liga Premier, atau berselisih lima dari koleksi gol Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United).

Dalam kesempatan yang sama, Adebayor, 24 tahun, menampik kalau ia merupakan pemain yang mata duitan. Hal ini berkaitan dengan pemberitaan sebelumnya yang menyebutkan bahwa ia mendesak Arsenal untuk memperbaharui kontrak dengan bayaran mencapai 120 ribu pound (Rp 2,2 miliar) per pekan. “Saya bermain untuk kesenangan diri. Saya bermain karena saya memang suka. Saya lahir di Togo yang berarti tidak pernah memikirkan bermain untuk uang,” sergah mantan penyerang AS Monaco itu.

Jadi Penonton, Villa Pasrah

Tak terbayangkan sebelumnya oleh David Villa jika tendangan bebas yang dilakukannya di menit ke-28 babak pertama semifinal Euro 2008 antara Spanyol versus Rusia yang berlangsung di Ernst Happel Stadium, Wina, Austria, tadi malam, bakal berbuntut panjang. Beberapa saat kemudian, seusai menendang free-kick tersebut, Villa tampak pincang. Akhirnya, ia pun terpaksa keluar lapangan pertandingan digantikan Francesc Fabregas.

Seusai pertandingan, pelatih Tim Matador, Luis Aragones, menutup pintu bagi Villa untuk bermain di babak final di tempat yang sama Minggu (29 Juni) lusa. Aragones memberi konfirmasi jika cedera yang dialami striker Valencia itu sebenarnya tidak terlalu parah. “Villa bakal absen di babak final. Memang cederanya tidak terlalu serius (parah). Tapi, ia tetap bakal absen karena ototnya tertarik,” tegas Aragones seperti yang dikutip BBC Sports News.

Keputusan sang pelatih gaek itu diterima Villa dengan lapang dada. Villa pun pasrah tidak dapat menambah lagi koleksi golnya di Euro 2008. Posisinya sebagai top skorer sementara terancam dapat dilampaui penyerang muda Tim Panser, Lukas Podolski. “Sekarang saya harus dapat menikmati jalannya pertandingan dari luar lapangan,” akunya.

“(Memaksa) Turun bertanding di hari Minggu bagaikan ikut berjudi. Saya mau untuk melakukannya (bertanding) meskipun saya harus bermain dengan satu kaki. Tapi, (keputusan) ini adalah untuk kebaikan tim. Masih ada para pemain lainnya yang bakal tampil lebih baik dibanding seorang pemain yang dililit cedera seperti saya,” terang Villa.

Pemain berusia 26 tahun yang isunya sedang diincar Chelsea dan Liverpool itu mengaku sangat kesal ketika ia mengalami cedera tersebut. Awalnya, saya sangat kesal dan marah. Sebab, saya tahu betul jika itu (cedera) membuat kesempatan saya tampil di babak final jadi tipis. Tapi, meski hanya jadi penonton, saya tetap akan menikmati laga di hari Minggu dan berharap dapat merayakan keberhasilan kami menggondol gelar juara Eropa,” tandas Villa.

Sementara itu, Aragones memberikan sinyal jika dengan absennya Villa, maka posisinya tetap akan diisi Fabregas. Dalam arti, di babak pamungkas Tim Matador bakal bermain dengan lima gelandang yang terbukti mampu meluluhlantakkan Rusia.

“Saya tahu betul jika ia (Fabregas) bakal mampu membuktikan kemampuannya. Seperti para pemain lainnya, ia adalah pemain yang luar biasa. Saya pikir (dengan keluarnya Villa), lebih baik untuk menambah jumlah pemain gelandang sebagai upaya untuk menguasai lini tengah dan menekan pertahanan lawan. Buktinya, gol dari Xavi (Hernandez). Jadi, tujuannya membuat mereka bebas untuk bergerak,” terang Aragones.

LAMPARD

Frank James Lampard, Jr. (born 20 June 1978) is an English football player currently at Chelsea and previously with West Ham United and Swansea City.

Lampard was born in Romford, London, England. He is the son of Frank Lampard, Sr., the former England full back and two-time FA Cup winner with West Ham United. His family is related to another famous footballing family, the Redknapps. Lampard was educated at Brentwood School, a boys' independent school in Brentwood, Essex.

A current England national team regular, he has won the English Premiership twice (with Chelsea, 2004—05 and 2005—06), the FA Cup (with Chelsea, 2007) twice the League Cup (with Chelsea, 2005 and 2007), the FA Community Shield (with Chelsea, 2005), and the UEFA Intertoto Cup (with West Ham, 1999).

In November 2005 he was named runner-up to Brazilian midfielder Ronaldinho in the European Footballer of the Year awards. A month later he finished in second place, once again behind Ronaldinho, in the 2005 FIFA World Player of the Year awards. He was also named FWA Footballer of the Year in 2005.

HENRY

Thierry Daniel Henry (pronounced [tjɛʁi ɑ̃ˈʁi], born 17 August 1977) is a French football player. Renowned for his pace, goal-scoring record and ability to create assists, he plays as a striker for the French national team and FC Barcelona.

Henry was born and brought up in the tough neighbourhood of Les Ulis, Essonne—a suburb of Paris—where he played for an array of local sides as a youngster and showed great promise as a goal-scorer. He was spotted by AS Monaco in 1990 and signed instantly, making his professional debut in 1994. Good form led to an international call-up in 1998, after which he signed for the Italian defending champions Juventus. He had a disappointing season playing on the wing, before joining Arsenal for £10.5 million in 1999.

It was at Arsenal that Henry made his name as a world-class footballer. Despite initially struggling in the Premiership, he emerged as Arsenal's top goal-scorer for almost every season of his tenure there. Under long-time mentor and coach Arsène Wenger, Henry became a prolific striker and Arsenal's all-time leading scorer with 226 goals in all competitions. The Frenchman won two league titles and three FA Cups with the Gunners; he was twice nominated for the FIFA World Player of the Year, was named the PFA Players' Player of the Year twice, and the Football Writers' Association Footballer of the Year three times. Henry spent his final two seasons with Arsenal as club captain, leading them to the UEFA Champions League final in 2006. In June 2007, after eight years with Arsenal, he transferred to FC Barcelona for a fee of £16.1 million.

Henry has enjoyed similar success with the French national squad, having won the 1998 FIFA World Cup and Euro 2000. In October 2007, he surpassed Michel Platini's record to become France's top goal-scorer of all time. Off the pitch, as a result of his own experience, Henry is an active spokesperson against racism in football. His footballing style and personality have ensured that he is one of the most commercially marketable footballers in the world; he has been featured in advertisements for Nike, Reebok, Renault, Pepsi and Gillette.