In economic news, new orders for U.S. durable goods climbed a weak 0.3% last month, as lower demand for machinery and communications equipment offset strong aircraft orders.
The reason for the steep decline on Thursday was news from Ryland that preliminary new orders for the fourth quarter are down 9% from the year-before level.
Investors were buoyed by the news that orders for durable goods grew by 3.4% in March and by more than originally thought in February.
And one senior army commander told Channel 4 news that orders for the killings came from the top - Sri Lanka denied those allegations.
Following this news, General Carleton issued orders for all of the nearby parishes to call up ten percent of their militia.
And if you want crazy...? In the FCC news release for the upcoming new order and request for comments, the Agency said that some of the prices are 'unjust' and there are 'illegal terms' in the offerings to competitors and customers which need to be removed.
Asian stocks were virtually flat Thursday morning after a small gain in U.S. markets following good news about new home sales and orders for durable goods.
Some of the buzz came from the news that Toyota had received 17,000 orders for its new-generation Prius, which went on sale here Sept. 1.
Chinese news reports said there were orders for 3.5 million chips, with possible deals from major companies like I.B.M.
In economic news, the government reported that orders for long-lasting manufactured goods plunged 7.3 percent last month, the steepest drop in nearly a year.
