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Dozens of police and security guards were out in full force outside the King Edward hotel on Wednesday as protesters were marching toward the venue.

Enbridge is holding its annual general meeting here and anger over its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline threatened to get loud.

With drums pounding, protesters chanted

Furious Greeks punished the two parties that have dominated politics for decades in the crisis-battered country Sunday, leaving its multibillion dollar international bailout _ and even its future in the euro currency _ hanging in the balance.

With more than 83 percent of the vote counted, Greece appeared to be heading toward political stalemate. Nobody won enough votes to form a government, and the two parties that backed the bailout _ the conservative New Democracy and socialist PASOK _ conceded they need to win over adversaries to form a viable coalition.

“I understand the rage of the people, but our party will not leave Greece ungoverned,” said New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras.

New Democracy was leading with nearly 20 percent of the vote, which would give it 110 seats in the 300-member parliament. PASOK, which has spent 21 years in government since 1981 and stormed to victory with more than 43 percent in 2009, saw its support slashed to about 13.5 percent. It will have just 41 seats, compared to 160 in the last election.

The two parties saw their support plummet to the lowest level since 1974, when Greece emerged from a seven-year dictatorship. The outcome showed widespread public anger at the harsh austerity measures imposed over the past two years in return for rescue loans from other European Union countries and the International Monetary Fund. Without the funds, Greece faced a disastrous default that could have dragged down other financially troubled European countries and seen it leave the euro.

Voters who deserted the two mainstays of Greek politics in droves headed to a cluster of smaller parties on both the left and right, including the extremist Golden Dawn, which rejects the neo-Nazi label and insists it is nationalist patriotic. The movement has been blamed for violent attacks on immigrants and ran on an anti-immigrant platform, vowing to “clean up” Greece and calling for land mines to be planted along the country’s borders. The party looked set to win about 7 percent of the vote, giving it 21 deputies in parliament _ a stunning rise for a group that earned just 0.29 percent of the vote in 2009.

Sunday’s other big winner was Alexis Tsipras, the 38-year-old leader of the Radical Left Coalition, or Syriza, who saw his party poised for an unprecedented second place with 16.4 percent and 51 seats _ the first time in nearly 40 years that any party other than New Democracy or PASOK has held the spot.

Turnout stood at just over 64 percent _ a low figure for the country, where voting is officially compulsory, although no sanctions are applied for not casting a ballot.

Negotiations are expected to begin Monday to form a coalition. As first party, Samaras will get three days to seek partners. If he fails the mandate will go to the second party for a further three days, and then to the third party. If no agreement can be reached, the country heads to new elections guaranteed online personal loans.

Both Samaras and PASOK leader Evangelos Venizelos, who spent nine months as finance minister, indicated any unity government would have to include more than just their two parties.

But in a note that will likely raise alarm among Greece’s international creditors, Samaras insisted any coalition should renegotiate the terms of the country’s bailout.

“We are ready to take up the responsibility to form a new government of national salvation with two exclusive aims: For Greece to remain in the euro and to amend the terms of the loan agreements so that there is economic growth and relief for Greek society,” he said.

Riding high on his massive gains, Tsipras stuck to his anti-bailout position, saying the agreement should be overturned altogether.

“The people have rewarded a proposal made by us to form a government of the Left that will cancel the loan agreements and overturn the course of our people toward misery,” he said before heading out to meet throngs of jubilant supporters.

More than two years of repeated austerity measures that have included pension and salary cuts and waves of tax hikes have pushed Greece into a deep recession that has seen the jobless rate explode and tens of thousands of businesses close.

Venizelos insisted his party, which was in power from the start of the crisis in late 2009 until a political crisis forced it into an uneasy coalition with New Democracy, had no choice but to impose the spending cuts.

“For us at PASOK, the day is particularly painful,” he said. “We knew that we would pay the price, having taken an emotionally and political unbearable position to take the measures that were necessary.”

He called for a broad coalition of pro-European parties, regardless on their stance on the bailouts.

“A coalition government of the old two-party system would not have sufficient legitimacy or sufficient domestic and international credibility if it would gather a slim majority,” Venizelos said. “A government of national unity with the participation of all the parties that favor a European course, regardless of their positions toward the loan agreements, would have meaning.”

The political leaders, humbled by the drubbing in the polls which saw their combined support drop to about 33 percent, compared to a historical average of 80 percent, will have to work fast to ensure their country doesn’t slide into protracted political instability. Greece’s international creditors are also looking to see whether it will introduce new measures expected in June to ensure the country meets the fiscal targets of its rescue loans.

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Demetris Nellas and Nebi Qena in Athens and Costas Kantouris in Thessaloniki contributed.

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Asian stock markets rose Wednesday after a burst of manufacturing growth in the U.S. pushed the Dow Jones industrial average to its highest close in more than four years.

Japan’s Nikkei 225 inched up less than 0.1 percent at 9,354.45 after a sharp tumble the day before. Other Asian markets opened higher following public holidays. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng gained 0.8 percent to 21,258.14. Benchmarks in Taiwan, Singapore and mainland China also rose.

U.S. manufacturing expanded last month at its strongest pace since June, according to the Institute for Supply Management. Orders, hiring and production all rose, while a measure of manufacturing employment reached a nine-month high.

That news came on top of a similar report out of China on Tuesday that showed moderate manufacturing growth in the world’s No. 2 economy.

The state-affiliated China Federation of Logistics and Purchasing said its purchasing managers index, or PMI, rose 0.2 percentage points to 53.3 percent in April, up from March’s 53.1 and February’s 51.0. A reading above 50 signifies expansion.

Still, traders were looking ahead to Friday for further clues about the strength of the U.S. economy, when the Labor Department releases monthly jobs figures for April.

“Risk appetite has firmed following the release of firmer manufacturing confidence data in both the US and China but market action is likely to be limited ahead of the key US April jobs report at the end of the week,” analysts at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong said in a report.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 0.5 percent to close at 13,279.32. The Standard & Poor’s 500 rose 0.6 percent to 1,405.82. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.1 percent to 3,050.44.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 35 cents to $105.81 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.29 to finish at $106.16 per barrel in New York.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3218 from $1.3228 late Tuesday in New York. The dollar fell to 80.09 yen from 80.21 yen.

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The Portuguese government reduced spending limits for next year as part of its effort to curb debt and regain access to bond markets.

The government will reduce its primary spending limit by 3.2 percent in 2013 and lower the limit for total spending by 2.1 percent, according to a statement handed out to reporters after a Cabinet meeting in Lisbon today. The plans are included in the government

Swiss central bank President Thomas Jordan said policy makers are ready to take further measures if needed to weaken the franc as its strength poses

Aegion Corp.’s profit in the the first quarter more than doubled its profit from a year ago boosted by strong performance in its wastewater operating margins.

The Chesterfield based sewer-pipe repair company, formerly known as Insituform Technologies, reported a profit of $7.1 million for the quarter that ended March 31, or 17 cents a share, compared with a $3 million profit, or 8 cents a share, a year ago my credit score.

Aegion’s revenue in the first quarter increased 9.5 percent to $230.6 million.

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Want some crushed bugs with your Starbucks frappuccino?

Well, you’d better get on it, because soon it will be too late. The coffee franchise announced that it’s phasing out the use of insects as food coloring in its drinks and food products.

Starbucks (, Fortune 500) President Cliff Burrows wrote, in a Thursday blog, that Starbucks is "transitioning" away from the use of an insect called the cochineal.

Burrows blogged that Starbucks "fell short of your expectations by using natural cochineal extract as a colorant in four food and two beverage offerings in the United States."

He identified the products in question as the Strawberries & Crème Frappuccino, Strawberry Banana Smoothie, Raspberry Swirl Cake, Birthday Cake Pop, Mini Donut with pink icing and Red Velvet Whoopie Pie.

Burrows said that use of the insect dye will be "fully transitioned from existing product inventories" by the end of June.

From that point on, he said that Starbucks will use lycopene, a tomato-based extract.

An earlier Burrows blog from March 29 described the cochineal as a natural product, approved by the Food and Drug Administration, with no health risk.

Starbucks: Venti-sized stock at all-time high

Starbucks spokesman Jim Olson said the company was responding to numerous petitions and individual requests from customers who were concerned about the use of an insect-based extract.

The organization Change.org contacted CNNMoney to claim partial responsibility for pressuring Starbucks with its petition of 6,000 signatures gathered by blogger Daelyn Fortney. The purpose, according to Fortney, was to switch to a "vegan-friendly" extract.

The cochineal has a long history as being used as a red dye, according to Richard Levine, communications program manager for the Entomological Society of America.

"The red in the uniforms of the British soldiers during the Revolutionary War came from cochineal dye," he said. "The same goes for the uniforms of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police." 

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Fears about Europe’s debt crisis ended a rally in Europe on Thursday, pushing most share prices down as Italy’s borrowing costs rose in a debt sale.

At an Italian bond auction, the yield, or interest rate, for three-year bonds rose sharply _ an indication that investors are nervous about the country’s ability to manage its debt. Spain’s yields have also been rising in recent days.

Both countries are struggling to reduce their deficits and debts while also trying to stimulate stagnant growth. Some analysts and investors fear they’ll need help from their European peers to keep their borrowing costs in line.

A suggestion from a member of the European Central Bank’s board Wednesday that the bank might be willing to buy more Spanish bonds helped ease fears for a bit. Coupled with that, U.S. data indicating the world’s largest economy is growing slowly but steadily helped European stocks open up on Thursday.

“The relief (that the ECB might act) could be felt more globally, but it was limited in scope indicating that we remain in a roller coaster and are not at the end of it yet,” said Sebastian Galy, an analyst with Societe Generale.

Sure enough, later in the day, the disappointing Italian bond auction put Europe’s debt crisis front and center again, and most stocks fell.

France’s CAC-40 lost 0.6 percent to 3,220, while the FTSE in Britain moved down 0.2 percent at 5,626. Only Germany’s DAX managed to eke out gains, rising 0.2 percent to 6,688.

The euro was largely even, trading 0.1 percent higher to $1.3138.

Stock markets have swung between dives and rallies in recent days as investors try to gauge how strongly the U.S. economy is recovering, how seriously Italy and Spain are struggling and how much China is slowing down quick guaranteed personal loans.

On Wednesday, a U.S. Federal Reserve survey of business conditions suggested that last month’s pullback in hiring may be only temporary. The anecdotal survey found steady growth and stable hiring throughout most of the country.

That may be giving a boost to Wall Street, which looked set to open slightly up. Dow futures rose 0.3 percent to 12,779, while S&P futures were up the same rate at 1,369.

Meanwhile, news reports that Shenzhen, a prosperous exporting region bordering Hong Kong, is planning new measures to boost its economy, helped Asian stocks earlier in the day.

Mainland Chinese shares advanced strongly late in the day, with the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gaining 1.8 percent to close at 2,350.86. The smaller Shenzhen Composite Index added 1.9 percent to 945.33.

Elsewhere in Asia, Tokyo’s Nikkei 225 advanced 0.7 percent to close at 9,524.79. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 0.9 percent to 20,327.32.

Seoul’s Kospi dropped 0.9 percent to 1,976.14, with investor sentiment damped by North Korea’s preparations to launch a long-range rocket in defiance of international warnings.

There remain concerns that high energy prices _ driven in part by unrest in the Middle East _ could weigh on any economic recovery. Benchmark oil continued its climb Thursday, rising 33 cents to $103.03 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose by $1.68 to finish at $102.70 on Wednesday.

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