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Critical last-ditch talks to form a coalition government in crisis-struck Greece floundered once more Sunday, leading the country one step closer to new elections, although the socialist party leader said he retained `existing but limited’ optimism for a deal.

The political uncertainty has alarmed the international creditors who have given Greece billions of euros in bailout loans over the past two years, and has thrown the country’s continued presence in the European Union’s joint currency into serious doubt.

President Karolos Papoulias convened the heads of the parties that came in the top three spots in last Sunday’s inconclusive elections, in an ultimate effort to broker an agreement after a week of talks led to deadlock. The meeting ended without a solution, but the process continues while the president holds individual meetings with the leaders of smaller parties that made it into parliament.

Voters furious at the handling of Greece’s financial crisis and two years of harsh austerity measures taken in return for billions of euros in international bailout loans punished the formerly dominant socialist PASOK and conservative New Democracy parties in the elections. The two saw their support crumble to the lowest point in decades, while Radical Left Coalition, or Syriza, made big gains to come in second place after campaigning on an anti-bailout platform.

The PASOK and New Democracy leaders could form a coalition with the smaller Democratic Left party of Fotis Kouvelis _ combined they would have 168 seats in the 300-member parliament. New Democracy won 18.9 percent last Sunday while PASOK garnered just 13.2 percent, compared to nearly 44 percent in the last elections in 2009. Kouvelis’ 6.1 percent put him in a kingmaker position, with 19 seats.

But all three insist any power-sharing deal must include Syriza, led by the 38-year-old Alexis Tsipras, given its strong showing at the ballot box.

Tsipras, however, insists he cannot join or even lend his support to a government that will continue implementing the terms of Greece’s international bailout. In return for euro240 billion in rescue loans from the European Union and International Monetary Fund, Greece has imposed severe spending cuts, including slashing pensions and salaries in the public sector, and repeated rounds of tax hikes. The measures have left Greece mired in a fifth year of deep recession, with unemployment spiraling above 21 percent.

“The three parties that have agreed on a two-year government in order to apply (the bailout) have 168 seats in parliament,” Tsipras said after the meeting. “Let them go ahead. Their demand that Syriza participate come what may in their own agreement is senseless and unprecedented.”

Tsipras insists the terms of the bailout must be cancelled. PASOK head Evangelos Venizelos, who spent nine months handling the crisis as finance minister, and conservative leader Antonis Samaras, say that position is irresponsible and will force Greece out of the euro. Although Sunday’s meeting convened by the president with the three top party leaders was inconclusive, Venizelos said that “I retain some limited but existing optimism that a government can be formed.”

Samaras appeared more pessimistic.

“I made every effort for the cooperation of all,” he said. “Syriza didn’t listen to the mandate of the Greek people and does not accept not only the formation of a viable government, but not even the tolerance of a government which would in fact undertake to renegotiate the terms of the (bailout) and the loan agreement.”

Tsipras, however, stuck to his position, insisting that supporting a pro-bailout government would be a betrayal of his pre-election platform.

“After today’s meeting it is obvious they are demanding that Syriza become an accessory to a crime,” he said after the discussions with the president. “In the name of democracy, of our patriotic duty, we cannot accept this shared guilt. We call on all Greeks to condemn once and for all the forces of the past and to realize that only one hope remains: unity against blackmail in order to prevent the continuing barbarity.

“Fellow Greeks, we can assure you of one thing: we will not betray you.”

Tsipras will also have his eye on recent opinion polls which show his party would gain strength if Greeks go to the ballot box again next month.

A poll published by To Vima newspaper Sunday indicated Syriza would come first in new elections with 20.5 percent of the vote _ less than the 28 percent an earlier opinion poll published Thursday gave him, but still well ahead of New Democracy. Although it would not be enough to form a government, it would put him in the dominant position to form a coalition with smaller anti-bailout parties.

To Vima’s poll, carried out by Kappa Research, showed New Democracy in second place with 18.1 percent and PASOK losing yet more votes to reach 12.2 percent. The poll was carried out on May 9 and 10, and had a margin of error of 3.09 percentage points.

Papoulias’ mediation to broker a deal could in theory continue until May 17, the scheduled opening date for the new parliament, although they are expected to end sooner. If no agreement is reached, Greece will have to hold new elections next month, most likely on June 10th or 17th.

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Two Iraqi election officials facing corruption charges said Sunday they have been released on bail after a three-day detention that they said was designed to pressure the independent electoral body.

The detention of the two election officials has fueled concerns that Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is seeking to consolidate power and bring independent officials and government bodies under his control.

The officials, Faraj al-Haidari and Karim al-Tamimi, were detained Thursday after a decision to reinvestigate old corruption charges against the commission. Both officials vehemently denied the allegations, and described their detentions as an attempt to pressure the panel. A spokesman for al-Maliki has denied any government pressure, saying the issue is with the courts.

Al-Haidari, who heads the electoral commission, said by phone that he and al-Tamimi were released Sunday. He said the judge who released them found that the two did not violate the law but said it was not clear whether the case will continue or not. Both paid 15 million Iraqi dinars (about $12,500) in bail.

Al-Tamimi confirmed that he had also been set free. He spoke to The Associated Press by phone from his house.

“Right now, I am with my family. I will continue my work in IHEC in order to serve my country,” he vowed.

The charges against the two officials relate to payments given to employees of the government real estate registration department for plots of land given to IHEC board members. The officials said they acted completely within the law in making the payments, and earlier charges were dropped.

Although corruption is a serious and widespread problem in Iraq, such investigations have also been used as way to pressure officials.

The election commission, which carries out voting and tallies the results, is one of the country’s more powerful institutions, and the detained officials are two of its more prominent members free business cards.

The nine-member board is drawn from Iraq’s various ethnic and sectarian factions.

The panel found itself in the middle of Iraq’s most heated political debate in years after the recent parliamentary election in 2010. A Sunni-backed bloc narrowly won the most seats in the election. Although it was not enough to secure a majority, its strong showing was a surprise in the Shiite-dominated country.

As political factions scrambled to assemble support for a governing coalition, supporters of al-Maliki demanded recounts and complained the vote was plagued with fraud.

International observers called the vote and ballot count fair, and after a torturous recount also supervised by IHEC, the original results were widely found to be accurate.

Haidari said the detention is retribution for the men’s work on the last elections.

Al-Maliki eventually kept his job after managing to form a broader Shiite coalition.

Also on Sunday, three separate attacks killed five people across the country.

In the northern city of Kirkuk, security official Hallow Najat said an explosion near the city’s university killed one and wounded 15. A roadside bomb in Hawija in northern Iraq hit a car carrying the leader of an anti-al-Qaida militia, killing his son, said Brig. Gen. Sarhat Qadir.

In the northern suburbs of Baghdad, gunmen blew up a Shiite family’s house in the Sunni-dominated Taji area, killing three and wounding two others, police and health officials said on condition of anonymity.

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Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub and Sinan Salaheddin contributed to this report

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Confidence among U.S. consumers cooled in April from a one-year high, a sign the moderation in job growth may limit the biggest part of the economy.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan

Fuel distributor Center Oil Co., one of the region’s largest private companies, unwittingly bought more than 1.3 million bogus renewable fuels credits in 2010, according to two lawsuits the company filed last month in St. Louis County Circuit Court.

The credits, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, are tied to a much larger credit counterfeiting scandal wreaking havoc for biodiesel producers and petroleum companies across the country. The dustup has given new ammunition to critics of the six-year-old federal renewable fuel mandate.

Over the last four months, the federal government has identified two companies that allegedly sold millions of dollars worth of bogus credits. And the owner of one of the companies, Clean Green Fuels LLC of Baltimore, has been charged with selling $9 million of worthless fuel credits and spending the money on exotic sports cars, homes and jewelry.

The fallout from the scandal hasn’t been fully realized. But already it has meant increased scrutiny for biodiesel producers and an expensive headache for more than two dozen companies facing possible fines for buying the worthless credits, even if they did so unknowingly.

The federal Renewable Fuel Standard was approved by Congress in 2005 and expanded two years later to require even larger volumes of biodiesel and ethanol as a way to reduce dependence on foreign oil, cut greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs in rural America.

For 2012, the law requires the use of 15.2 billion gallons of renewable fuel, an amount that will steadily increase to 36 billion gallons by 2022.

Oil refiners and fuel importers can meet obligations either by blending biodiesel and ethanol with petroleum-based or purchasing the credits from producers of the renewable fuels.

The fuel credits, known as renewable identification numbers, or RINs, are 38-digit serial numbers that represent biodiesel and ethanol made in or imported to the United States. For biodiesel, each RIN represents 1.5 gallons.

Center Oil didn’t say in the lawsuits what consequences it might face for purchasing and re-selling the worthless biodiesel credits. The lawsuit doesn’t specify the amount of damages it’s seeking.

Company officials didn’t return a call seeking comment.

Center Oil filed the lawsuits on Jan. 20 and Jan. 24, accusing separate companies of breach of contract and breach of warranty for selling bogus RINs.

The suits claim Center Oil bought 943,000 phony RINs from Miami-based International Exchange Services LLC in April 2010 and 441,000 bogus RINs from OceanConnect LLC, based in White Plains, NY, six months later.

Both of the companies being sued were identified by federal prosecutors as having bought RINs from Clean Green Fuels.

It’s unknown how many companies and brokers unknowingly bought or sold some of the 80 million phony fuel credits so far identified by the EPA. Often, RINs are re-sold multiple times before they’re retired.

But the EPA has already issued notices to two dozen companies, including some of the country’s largest oil companies, warning them that they may have violated federal regulations for submitting worthless biodiesel credits.

Center Oil was not among those companies, and according to its lawsuit, it subsequently re-sold the credits.

Those who work in the biodiesel industry believe RIN fraud is rare. But the issue has nonetheless made oil companies and brokers more careful about whom they buy from.

And that has had the unfortunate effect of making it difficult for lesser-known small producers to sell their credits into a jittery market, said Wayne Lee, a biofuels consultant in Little Rock.

“It’s having a severely negative effect on the smaller producers,” he said payday loans lenders. “The vast majority of biodiesel producers are straight up, honest small plants doing what they’re supposed to be doing. These guys are trying to eke a living out of the ground.”

The National Biodiesel Board, an industry group based in Jefferson City, said it has long been aware for the potential for RIN fraud - a reason it long ago included a link on its home page to anonymously pass on tips about suspect RIN transactions to the EPA.

And at the group’s annual conference last week, it announced plans to form a task force made up of parties from the petroleum industry, biodiesel producers and the EPA to look at ways to strengthen the RIN program.

“There is significant disruption in our market right now because of these cases,” said Ben Evans, a spokesman for the biodiesel group. “We are happy to see the EPA cracking down on any potential fraud because we think it’s going to send a strong signal to the market that if people can’t get away with this type of thing.”

Not everyone is as pleased with how EPA is handling the matter.

Not only is the agency is pursuing companies allegedly selling bogus fuel credits, it also issued notices of violation to two dozen companies last fall, including several of the nation’s largest oil refiners, for using some of the invalid RINs to satisfy the biofuels mandate.

Under the market-based RIN system, EPA is maintaining a “buyer beware” policy for companies that claim they unknowingly purchased worthless fuel credits. That’s true even though both companies accused of generating bogus RINs had been required to register with the agency.

“I think it’s a tragedy that EPA has hid in the shadows on this one,” said Charles Drevna, president of the Washington, D.C.-based American Petrochemical Manufacturers Association, which has long opposed the renewable fuel mandate for a variety of reasons. “They allow con artists to register with them and then they say buyer beware.”

The outcry from oil companies has also captured the attention of some in Congress, including longtime critics of the EPA and the renewable fuels law.

Within the past two months, Republican lawmakers have sent letters to the EPA asking the agency to defend its position. Just this week, Sen. James Inhofe called for a Senate Environment and Public Works Committee hearing on RIN fraud.

The EPA has defended its enforcement actions, saying it long ago worked with producers, refiners and other parties to develop the market-based system for renewable fuel credits. The agency said that system includes are protections built into existing regulations to help prevent fraud, including a requirement for independent verification that fuel producers have appropriate equipment and fuel production capacity.

However, EPA said, buyers must do “due diligence” before buying RINs.

“EPA does not have the capacity to validate or certify the actual production of renewable fuel and associated RINs before RINs are generated,” the agency said in an email response to questions.

Meanwhile, the biofuels industry is trying to focus attention on the fact, in its view, the renewable fuel standard is working. Biodiesel production surpassed 1 billion gallons last year for the first time, helping create more jobs and diversify the nation’s fuel system, said Evans, the biodiesel industry spokesman.

“We don’t want to downplay (problems in the RIN market),” he said. “It’s creating significant disruption in our industry. But let’s not throw the baby out with the bathwater.”

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OTTAWA

WASHINGTON • If timing is everything, as the saying goes, then Matt Blunt might consider a job giving advice on when to make career changes.

Blunt picked 2004 as the year to run for governor of Missouri. It turned into a strong year for Republicans and, at age 33, he became America’s youngest governor.

In his new incarnation, Blunt last year became chief spokesman and a lobbyist in Washington for Detroit’s Big Three automakers just as the American automotive industry was enjoying a resurgence.

It is one of several positions Blunt holds these days that enable him to prove life after Missouri’s Governor’s Mansion can be rewarding and, he says, enjoyable.

As president of the American Automotive Policy Council, one of Blunt’s main tasks is reminding Congress of his industry’s recent success, a rare good news story about American manufacturing.

Two years after General Motors and Chrysler emerged from bankruptcy, both companies, along with Ford, reported profits and increasing sales in 2011. Their turnaround is hailed in reports such as a recent Time magazine cover story titled, “How America Started Selling Cars Again.”

Yet many Americans — some of them in Congress — see the automotive industry as bloated and inefficient, surviving on government bailouts.

“What some people believe about automobile manufacturers, the American-based companies, isn’t accurate,” Blunt said. “The companies today are fundamentally different than they were just a few years ago, in terms of what they make and how they make it.”

Blunt’s portfolio these days includes the vital matters affecting American carmakers, including global trade agreements, new fuel economy standards and a recent recommendation to ban texting and cellphone use in automobiles.

Blunt, who turned 41 in November, is leading a life different from his sometimes rocky four years as a young governor, in which he endured criticism for his cuts to Medicaid and low approval ratings at times.

After leaving office in January 2009, he moved swiftly into the world of business. Besides his Big Three job, he is a director for Copart Inc., an online auto auction company in California that claims to sell 1 million vehicles yearly. He is a senior adviser for Rubicon Global, an Atlanta-based waste management firm, and an advisory board member for private equity funds.

Rather than living in Jefferson City or Springfield, Blunt, his wife, Melanie, and sons Branch, 6, and Brooks, who turned 2 on New Year’s Day, reside now in Middleburg, Va., situated in rolling horse country that has been home to such notables as Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Elizabeth Taylor.

Blunt says he is comfortable in a part of the country where he has spent considerable time. He graduated from the Naval Academy in nearby Annapolis, Md., and he was stationed on a Virginia-based ship. His wife is a Virginia native.

In recent interviews, Blunt, whose father, Roy, just completed his first year in the U.S. Senate, said he has no regrets in deciding not to seek a second term.

“I loved being governor. It was a great experience. I was proud of what we accomplished,” he said. “But I don’t know that over another four-year term, I would have been particularly effective. I don’t know there’s much that I would have gotten done.”

He added, “I don’t necessarily miss politics.”

understanding autos

Blunt is dealing now with politics of a different order, in some cases global. He was outspoken last fall in pressing to keep Japan out of the budding Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade alliance, noting Japan’s protectionist policies that keep out all but a few thousand American cars yearly.

Trade is a key focus for Blunt but just one of many focuses for an industry that experts say needs help.

Joe Wiesenfelder, executive editor of Chicago-based Cars.com, said he sees “a gross misunderstanding in Washington about developing and building cars and how long it takes, about the inconsistency of the market and about inconsistency of regulation and the effects on companies.”

Until two years ago, Ford, Chrysler and GM were aligned in Washington with the Auto Alliance, which also includes foreign automakers. But the interests of domestic and foreign companies diverged just as legislation and government rules were becoming more consequential.

Blunt’s background as a governor likely played a role in his selection as the industry sought to navigate tricky political waters in Congress after the controversial bailouts No teletrak payday loan.

Blunt technically is not a registered federal lobbyist because he spends less than 20 percent of his time lobbying. Nevertheless, he works the halls of Congress, trumpeting the key role of the Big Three in the nation’s economy. GM, Ford and Chrysler will add 34,000 jobs in coming years, he said, which translates to 400,000 jobs in the economy supported by automotive plants.

“The American companies are competitive, they are productive and they are making great products,” Blunt said, sounding like the car salesman he has become. “Because of that, what recovery we do have in the American economy, the automobile makers are playing a big part.”

As a self-described conservative Republican, Blunt might find old allies who decry the $80 billion bailout of Chrysler and GM. Most of the money has been paid back, and the White House projected the cost to taxpayers at $14 billion.

“Decisions that President Bush made at the end of his administration and President Obama made early in his administration have had a successful outcome,” he said. “It’s always an academic debate whether a different road map would have led to the success.”

As governor, Blunt was an advocate of smaller government. Those sensibilities could come into play as government moves more aggressively to dictate vehicle design.

After an agreement with both domestic and foreign manufacturers, the administration of President Barack Obama in November proposed nearly doubling fuel economy requirements to 54.5 miles per gallon by 2025. In 2010, the administration completed rules to raise the fuel standard to 35.5 mpg by 2016. The current requirement for new autos is 27.3 mpg.

Foreign-based manufacturers believe the White House has tilted the rules in favor of the domestic industry. True or not, the Big Three will need to be vigilant as regulations are implemented; their focus will be on easing the burden those regulations could cause.

“It’s the classic ‘devil’s in the details,’ and it will be very important to see the rules filed by all the agencies,” Blunt said.

Texting debated

Automakers took notice recently when the National Transportation Safety Board said states should ban texting and cellphone use in vehicles. The board made the recommendation after concluding that a driver’s texting was a factor in a deadly pileup near St. Louis.

Blunt said companies he represents are paying close attention because “they really do believe that you can integrate technology into a vehicle that’s not only safe but safer than the way most drivers use technology today.”

“As you think about what you might or might not ban in a vehicle, it’s important to do it in a way that wouldn’t inhibit safety ideas some of the companies have today, and at the same time be realistic,” he said. “Quite frankly, I don’t think (a cellphone ban is) very realistic.”

As a lobbyist, Blunt seemingly could have a ready ear from father Roy, who won election this month to a Senate GOP leadership slot. Matt Blunt said he doesn’t intend to talk business at family gatherings, perhaps because Roy Blunt has in the past been criticized for ties to lobbyists in his family and otherwise.

Matt’s brother, Andy Blunt, works at a law firm in Jefferson City with a long list of lobbying clients. His sister, Amy, maintains some lobbying clients in her business in the state capital, which largely deals with helping candidates comply with Federal Election Commission rules. Roy Blunt’s wife, Abigail, was a lobbyist for tobacco giant Philip Morris before joining Kraft’s legislative affairs team.

Andy Blunt said his brother arrived in a position that suits his talents.

“He’s a great manager and executive and has the ability to focus on details while thinking about long-term strategy,” he said.

Blunt, who acknowledged driving a German-made automobile in the past, also is walking the talk now — driving it, actually.

He gets around Washington in a Chrysler-made Jeep Grand Cherokee.

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World stocks markets fell Wednesday, with trading thinned by year-end holidays and mixed economic news out of the U.S. and Japan.

Benchmark oil hovered above $101 per barrel while the dollar fell against the euro and the yen.

European stocks dropped in early trading. Britain’s FTSE 100 fell 0.2 percent to 5,501.25. Germany’s DAX was 0.9 percent lower at 5,839.98 and France’s CAC-40 lost 0.4 percent to 3,092.01. Wall Street also appeared headed for a lower opening. Dow Jones industrial futures rose 0.2 percent to 12,199 while S&P 500 futures dipped 0.3 percent to 1,256.60.

Earlier in Asia, trading was subdued, as it typically is between the Christmas holiday and New Year’s.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 index fell 0.2 percent to close at 8,423.62. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index fell 0.6 percent to 18,518.67, while South Korea’s Kospi lost 0.9 percent to 1,825.12. Australia’s S&P ASX 200 lost 1.3 percent to 4,088.80. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and Indonesia were also lower.

Japan’s industrial output dropped a seasonally adjusted 2.6 percent last month _ the first decline in two months. But the negative news was mitigated by expectations of rebounding manufacturing and production this month and next, which helped to mute stock market losses.

The Shanghai Composite Index reversed course after early losses, rising 0.2 percent to 2,170.01. But the smaller Shenzhen Composite Index sank 0.5 percent at 849.76.

Some investors were “dumping shares” because Beijing has failed to take steps they expected to stimulate slowing economic growth, said Peter Lai, investment manager for DBS Vickers in Hong Kong.

“Some investors believed there would be a reduction in interest rates or the bank reserve ratio. But this hasn’t happened,” Lai said.

Tokyo Electric Power plunged 11.8 percent, a day after Japanese Industry Minister Yukio Edano suggested that the embattled utility be put under temporary state control and warned the company against resorting to electricity bill hikes.

TEPCO operates the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant, which was heavily damaged in the March earthquake and tsunami, and owes massive compensation payments to people and companies harmed by a nuclear disaster at the plant faxless pay day loans.

Hong Kong-listed property shares also slumped. China Overseas Land & Investment slid 3 percent. China Resources Land lost 2.7 percent.

China Mengniu Dairy, the country’s biggest dairy company, plummeted 24 percent in Hong Kong after acknowledging that a cancer-causing toxin had been found in milk produced by the company. Mengniu apologized and said no tainted milk had made it to the market. The government blamed the problem on bad feed given to cows.

Retail shares also slid on growing anxiety over the global economy in 2012. Hong Kong-listed jewelry retailer Chow Sang Sang shed 4 percent. Australian department store chain David Jones fell 2.1 percent and Woolworth’s lost 0.9 percent.

On Wall Street on Tuesday, the Dow Jones lost less than 0.1 percent to close at 12,291.35. The S&P 500 was up marginally to 1,265.43. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3 percent to 2,625.20.

U.S. consumer confidence surged to an eight-month high, but home prices fell in 19 of the 20 cities tracked by the Standard & Poor’s/Case-Shiller index. That report dampened investors’ enthusiasm about a jump in consumer confidence to the highest level since April.

Benchmark crude oil rose 2 cents to $101.36 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.66 to finish at $101.34 per barrel on the Nymex on Tuesday.

In currency trading, the euro fell to $1.3075 from $1.3069 late Tuesday in New York. The euro has been weak because of worries about Europe’s government debt crisis. It is still trading just above an 11-month low of $1.2943 reached on Dec. 14.

The dollar fell to 77.73 yen from 77.85 yen.

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+%3Cp%3E+Stocks+ended+Friday+mixed+after+a+roller-coaster+week+in+which+all+three+indexes+each+lost+more+than+2.5%25.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EAfter+moving+up+more+than+1%25+in+the+first+hour+of+trading%2C+stocks+steadily+retreated.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EThe+Dow+Jones+industrial+average+%28%29+closed+the+day+down+2+points%2C+or+0.02%25.+The+S%26amp%3BP+500+%28%29+moved+up+4+points%2C+or+0.3%25.+The+Nasdaq+%28%29+increased+15+points%2C+or+0.6%25.+Both+the+Dow+and+S%26amp%3BP+shed+2.8%25+for+the+week%2C+and+the+Nasdaq+dropped+3.4%25.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EPart+of+the+sell-off+came+after+Fitch+put+seven+European+countries+on+credit+watch+negative%2C+citing+the+higher+probability+that+it+could+downgrade+these+nations+in+the+next+few+months.+Still%2C+investors+breathed+a+sigh+of+relief+that+France%2C+in+particular%2C+retained+its+pristine+AAA+rating.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EBeyond+France%2C+Fitch+Ratings+also+affirmed+the+ratings+of+Belgium%2C+Spain%2C+Slovenia%2C+Italy%2C+Ireland+and+Cyprus%2C+while+putting+them+on+review+for+potential+near-term+downgrades+Friday+after+the+European+markets+closed.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BEveryone+was+concerned+that+France+would+lose+its+AAA%2C+so+overall+investors+are+taking+Fitch%27s+moves+as+more+of+a+positive%2C%26quot%3B+said+Michael+James%2C+senior+equity+trader+at+Wedbush+Morgan+Securities.%3C%2Fp%3EEurope%27s+odds+of+success%3Cp%3EAhead+of+the+opening+bell%2C+the+government+released+its+latest+data+on+inflation%2C+which+showed+consumer+prices+rose+at+a+3.4%25+annual+rate+in+November.+That+was+virtually+unchanged+from+the+prior+month.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BThe+good+news+is+that+we%27ve+had+slightly+better+economic+numbers%2C+but+the+bigger+picture+is+there%27s+no+confidence%2C%26quot%3B+said+Ted+Weisberg%2C+president+of+Seaport+Securities.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EWeisberg+and+other+traders+said+volumes+have+been+particularly+light+in+the+past+week+both+ahead+of+the+holiday+break+and+because+few+investors+have+conviction+over+the+market%27s+direction.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EFriday+also+marks+%26quot%3Bquadruple+witching%2C%26quot%3B+when+four+types+of+contracts+expire+–+those+tied+to+market+index+futures%2C+market+index+options%2C+stock+options+and+stock+futures.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EWhile+many+traders+try+to+settle+out+those+contracts+ahead+of+expiration%2C+there+is+often+some+volatility+on+the+actual+day.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%26quot%3BWhen+you+have+options+expirations%2C+it+tends+to+skew+trading%2C%26quot%3B+said+Weisberg.+%26quot%3BThey%27re+sort+of+throwaway+days.%26quot%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EU.S.+stocks+closed+higher+Thursday+on+upbeat+jobs+and+manufacturing+reports%2C+but+the+market+remains+nervous+about+the+European+debt+crisis.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EAfter+the+close+Thursday%2C+Fitch+downgraded+seven+banks%2C+including+Bank+of+America+%28%2C+Fortune+500%29%2C+Morgan+Stanley+%28%2C+Fortune+500%29%2C+and+Goldman+Sachs+%28%2C+Fortune+500%29%2C+as+well+as+Europe%27s+Barclays%2C+Societe+Generale%2C+BNP+Paribas%2C+Deutsche+Bank+and+Credit+Suisse.+Most+major+banks+ended+the+day+down%2C+with+Goldman+Sachs+dropping+almost+2%25.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EEconomy%3A+Federal+officials+also+said+Friday+that+Europe%27s+crisis+could+wind+up+being+a+job+killer+for+the+United+States.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ENew+York+Fed+President+William+Dudley+told+lawmakers+that+deterioration+in+the+European+economy+could+reduce+demand+for+U.S.+products.+And+Steven+Kamin%2C+director+of+the+division+of+international+finance+at+the+Federal+Reserve%2C+echoed+those+comments+with+equally+dire+testimony.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ECompanies%3A+Shares+of+Zynga+%28%29+rose+10%25+in+their+public+debut+on+the+Nasdaq%2C+before+closing+the+day+down+5%25+from+its+IPO+price.+The+maker+of+popular+Facebook+game+Farmville+priced+shares+at+%2410+apiece+in+the+its+initial+public+offering+late+Thursday.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EResearch+in+Motion+%28%29+shares+dropped+sharply%2C+a+day+after+the+BlackBerry+maker+offered+a+disappointing+outlook+for+the+current+quarter+and+next+year%2C+when+it+released+its+earnings+results.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EWorld+markets%3A+European+stocks+closed+the+day+with+modest+losses.+Britain%27s+FTSE+100+%28%29+ticked+down+0.3%25+while+the+DAX+%28%29+in+Germany+edged+down+0.5%25.+France%27s+CAC+40+%28%29+shed+0.9%25.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EAsian+markets+ended+higher.+The+Shanghai+Composite+%28%29+rose+2%25%2C+the+Hang+Seng+%28%29+in+Hong+Kong+gained+1.4%25+and+Japan%27s+Nikkei+%28%29+edged+higher+0.3%25.%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3ECurrencies+and+commodities%3A+The+dollar+fell+against+the+Japanese+yen%2C+the+euro+and+British+pound.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EOil+for+January+delivery+increased+12+cents+to+%2493.99+a+barrel.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EGold+futures+for+February+delivery+rose+%2420.70+to+%241%2C597.90+an+ounce.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3EBonds%3A+The+price+on+the+benchmark+10-year+U.S.+Treasury+increased+pushing+the+yield+down+to+1.86%25+from+1.91%25+late+Thursday.+%3C%2Fp%3E%3Cp%3E–+CNNMoney%27s+Aaron+Smith+contributed+to+this+report.%26nbsp%3B+%3C%2Fp%3E++%3Cp%3E%3Ca+href%3D%27http%3A%2F%2Fmoney.cnn.com%2F2011%2F12%2F16%2Fmarkets%2Fmarkets_newyork%2Findex.htm%27+rel%3D%27nofollow%27%3ESource%3C%2Fa%3E%3C%2Fp%3E+

The government delivered a blow to some desperate patients Friday as it ruled the blockbuster drug Avastin should no longer be used to treat advanced breast cancer.

Avastin is hailed for treating colon cancer and certain other malignancies. But the Food and Drug Administration said it appeared to be a false hope for breast cancer: Studies haven’t found that it helps those patients live longer or brings enough other benefit to outweigh its dangerous side effects.

“I did not come to this decision lightly,” said the FDA’s commissioner, Dr. Margaret Hamburg. But she said, “Sometimes despite the hopes of investigators, patients, industry and even the FDA itself, the results of rigorous testing can be disappointing.”

Avastin remains on the market to treat certain colon, lung, kidney and brain cancers. Doctors are free to prescribe any marketed drug as they see fit. So even though the FDA formally revoked Avastin’s approval as a breast cancer treatment, women could still receive it _ but their insurers may not pay for it. Some insurers already have quit in anticipation of FDA’s long-expected ruling.

However, “Medicare will continue to cover Avastin,” said Brian Cook, spokesman for the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. The agency “will monitor the issue and evaluate coverage options as a result of action by the FDA but has no immediate plans to change coverage policies.”

Including infusion fees, a year’s treatment with Avastin can reach $100,000.

The ruling disappointed patients who believe Avastin is helping to curb their incurable cancer.

“It’s saved my life,” said a tearful Sue Boyce, 54, of Chicago. She’s taken Avastin in addition to chemotherapy since joining a research study in 2003. Her breast cancer eventually spread to her lungs, liver and brain, but Boyce says she is stable and faring well.

“So I’m hoping the insurance company will grandfather me in to continue taking it,” she said.

The Avastin saga began in 2008, when an initial study suggested the drug could delay tumor growth for a few months in women whose breast cancer had spread to other parts of the body. Over the objection of its own advisers and to the surprise of cancer groups, FDA gave Avastin conditional approval _ it could be sold for such women while manufacturer Genentech tried to prove it really worked.

The problem: Ultimately, the tumor effect was even smaller than first thought. Across repeated studies, Avastin patients didn’t live longer or have a higher quality of life. Yet the drug causes some life-threatening risks, including severe high blood pressure, massive bleeding, heart attack or heart failure and tears in the stomach and intestines, the FDA concluded. In two public hearings _ one last year and one this summer _ FDA advisers urged the agency to revoke that approval.

“The science is clear: Breast cancer patients are more likely to be harmed than helped by Avastin,” said Diana Zuckerman of the National Research Center for Women and Families in Washington.

Genentech had argued the drug should remain available while it conducted more research to see if certain subsets of breast cancer patients might benefit, and some patients and their doctors had argued passionately for the drug.

“There certainly are patients who benefit tremendously,” said Boyce’s oncologist, Dr. Melody Cobleigh of Rush University Medical Center. “We’ll just be battling with the insurance companies.”

“For those not fortunate enough to be on Medicare or an insurance plan that covers it, it’s a death sentence,” Christi Turnage of Madison, Miss., said of the FDA’s decision. Her breast cancer had moved into her lungs before she began Avastin three years ago and the spreading stopped, but Turnage said her insurer is ending coverage and she will seek financial help from Genentech’s access program.

Hamburg said that she considered those arguments but that scientifically there are no clues yet to identify who those rare Avastin responders would be _ putting a lot of people at risk in order for a few to get some as-yet-unknowable benefit. She urged Genentech to do that research, saying the FDA “absolutely” would reconsider if the company could find the right evidence.

Genentech, part of Swiss drugmaker Roche Group, pledged to begin that research.

“We are disappointed with the outcome,” said company chief medical officer Dr. Hal Barron. “We remain committed to the many women with this incurable disease and will continue to provide help through our patient support programs to those who may be facing obstacles to receiving their treatment in the United States.”

The breast cancer organization Susan G. Komen for the Cure said that it respected the FDA’s decision and that it was time for researchers to concentrate on finding so-called biomarkers that would tell which drug is right for which patient.

“Each type of cancer is very different from another in important ways, and in the end it’s no surprise that Avastin’s effectiveness may not be equivalent against all types of cancer,” said Dr. Neal Meropol of University Hospitals Case Medical Center in Cleveland, who has long used Avastin for colon cancer.

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U.S. stock futures are little changed ahead of a full week of corporate earnings reports.

Citigroup Inc., Wells Fargo & Co., and IBM are among U.S. companies reporting third-quarter earnings results Monday.

Investors will also receive a report from the Federal Reserve on production from factories, mines and utilities in September. Economists expect that industrial production rose slightly last month.

The stock market is coming off of its best week in more than two years no fax needed payday loans. The S&P 500 rose 6 percent last week, its best performance since July 2009.

Two hours before the opening bell, Dow futures were unchanged at 11,565. S&P 500 futures were up less than a point to 1,220. Nasdaq 100 futures were down 1, or 0.1 percent, to 2,366. European shares are mixed.

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