SF GATE - Syrian soldiers killed as crisis accelerates, Nov 15, 2011

"BEIRUT, Lebanon (AP) --
Army defectors ambushed dozens of Syrian troops and regime forces gunned down civilians during one of the bloodiest days of the 8-month-old uprising, which appeared Tuesday to be spiraling out of President Bashar Assad's control.
Up to 90 people were killed in a gruesome wave of violence Monday, activists said. The extent of the bloodshed only came to light Tuesday, in part because corpses lying in the streets did not reach the morgue until daylight."

CHINA WATCH - Confucius lives, Nov 15, 2011

"China's ancient Sage is helping the country propagate its language and culture abroad. An institute named after him is sowing the seeds of better understanding and better communication with the world. Mike Peters and Zhang Chunyan take a closer look.
Close your eyes and try to imagine Confucius as a young man. That may be a tough picture to conjure up since the most famous images of the iconic philosopher feature a wispy white beard and an age-lined face that reflect a long life of accumulated wisdom. A young Confucius? It's easier to imagine Genghis Khan in short pants. But there's not a gray hair to be found on the face of Confucius today. His modern visage is young, usually 20-something and numbers in the thousands. They are the bright-eyed legion of Hanban, the nonprofit public agency that administers the Confucius Institute worldwide, adventurers as eager to see the world as China is to send them."

LA TIMES - Panetta defends U.S. decision to break off talks with Iraq , Nov 15, 2011

"REPORTING FROM WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration’s decision to break off talks on keeping U.S. troops in Iraq after this year came under fierce attack Tuesday from several lawmakers, who characterized it as a political decision that could lead to a resumption of bloodshed and increase Iran’s influence.
“The administration's failure to secure a presence of U.S. forces in Iraq have greatly and unnecessarily increased the odds that the war in Iraq may be remembered not as the emerging success that it appeared when the administration took office, but as something tragically short of that,” Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing."

BBC News - Mario Monti: 'Italy can overcome crisis', Nov 15, 2011

"Italy's Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti has said he is convinced Italy can overcome its financial crisis.
After consultations with political parties, unions and employers, Mr Monti said he would present his government to the president on Wednesday.
All those he spoke to were ready to make some sacrifices for the national good, Mr Monti said.
Earlier, Italy's cost of borrowing rose again past 7% amid ongoing nervousness about its high level of debt."

BBC News - Mario Monti: 'Italy can overcome crisis', Nov 15, 2011

"Italy's Prime Minister-designate Mario Monti has said he is convinced Italy can overcome its financial crisis.
After consultations with political parties, unions and employers, Mr Monti said he would present his government to the president on Wednesday.
All those he spoke to were ready to make some sacrifices for the national good, Mr Monti said.
Earlier, Italy's cost of borrowing rose again past 7% amid ongoing nervousness about its high level of debt."

PEOPLE. com - Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner Call Off Engagement, Nov 15, 2011

Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner's Melrose Placecharacters wed on TV almost a decade ago, but there is no real-life marriage in the works for the actors who played Amanda Woodward and Peter Burns.
"Jack and Heather are no longer engaged,""
Heather Locklear and Jack Wagner
Rebecca Sapp/WireImage
FacebookTweetHeather Locklear and Jack Wagner's Melrose Place characters wed on TV almost a decade ago, but there is no real-life marriage in the works for the actors who played Amanda Woodward and Peter Burns.
"Jack and Heather are no longer engaged,""

CNN News - Turkey threatens to cut electricity as Syria is more isolated, Nov 15, 2011

"Istanbul (CNN) -- Turkey threatened to cut off supplies of electricity to its neighbor Syria Tuesday, as the Damascus regime found itself under growing pressure from Arab, Turkish, European and North American governments for its ongoing lethal crackdown on pro-democracy demonstrators.
"We are supplying them (Syria) with electricity at the moment. If they stay on this course, we may be forced to re-examine all of these decisions," Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said Tuesday, according to Turkey's semi-official Anatolian Agency."

REUTERS - Indices, Nov 15, 2011

All American Indices

Data as of 15 Nov 2011. All quotes delayed at least 15 minutes.

Symb	Index	Mkt Report	Time	Last	Chg	Chg %
.DJI	Dow Jones Industrial Average	View	4:30pm EST	12,096.16	+17.18	+0.14%
.IXIC	Nasdaq Composite Index	View	5:30pm EST	2,686.20	+28.98	+1.09%
.NYA	NYSE Composite Index		6:04pm EST	7,509.05	+15.75	+0.21%
.TRXFLDUSP	Thomson Reuters Equity US Index		6:00pm EST	114.31	+0.60	+0.53%
.TRXFLDCAP	Thomson Reuters Equity Canada Index		6:00pm EST	232.43	+0.14	+0.06%
.TRXFLDLAPU	Thomson Reuters Equity Latin America		5:00pm EST	406.97	-1.04	-0.25%
.NIN	NYSE International 100 Index		6:04pm EST	4,647.56	-7.90	-0.17%
.NTM	NYSE TMT Index		6:04pm EST	5,650.56	+24.05	+0.43%
.NUS	NYSE US 100 Index		6:04pm EST	5,500.16	+12.94	+0.24%
.NWL	NYSE World Leaders Index		6:04pm EST	5,205.90	+3.69	+0.07%
.GSPTSE	S&P/TSX Composite Index	View	4:34pm EST	12,229.27	+5.08	+0.04%
.XAX	AMEX Composite Index	View	6:04pm EST	2,287.18	+16.97	+0.75%
.IIX	Inter@ctive Week Internet Index ADJ		6:04pm EST	301.08	+3.04	+1.02%
.NWX	AMEX Network Index		6:04pm EST	242.10	+1.96	+0.82%
.XMI	AMEX Major Market Index 905 to 1000		6:04pm EST	1,315.73	+0.56	+0.04%
.XOI	AMEX Oil Index		6:04pm EST	1,234.40	-3.18	-0.26%
.XAL	AMEX Airline Index 300 TO 395		6:04pm EST	34.12	-0.02	-0.06%
.QQV	QQQ Volatility Index		6:04pm EST	26.41	-0.90	-3.30%
.MXX	MXSE IPC	View	4:06pm EST	37,293.38	+223.48	+0.60%
.BATSK	BATS 1000 Index		4:00pm EST	14,349.36	+66.10	+0.46%

 European Indices

Data as of 15 Nov 2011. All quotes delayed at least 15 minutes.

Symb	Index	Mkt Report	Time	Last	Chg	Chg %
.TRXFLDEXPU	Thomson Reuters Europe (ex UK & Ire)		1:35pm EST	123.21	-2.10	-1.67%
.TRXFLDEEPU	Thomson Reuters Em Mkt Europe		12:30pm EST	313.67	-2.77	-0.87%
.TRXFLDGBP	Thomson Reuters Equity UK Index		2:00pm EST	101.93	-0.07	-0.07%
.TRXFLDDEP	Thomson Reuters Equity Germany Index		2:00pm EST	106.42	-1.03	-0.96%
.TRXFLDFRP	Thomson Reuters Equity France Index		2:00pm EST	95.81	-1.78	-1.83%
.FTSE	FTSE 100 Index	View	11:35am EST	5,517.44	-1.60	-0.03%
.GDAXI	DAX Index	View	11:45am EST	5,933.14	-51.88	-0.87%
.FCHI	CAC 40 Index	View	11:52am EST	3,049.13	-59.82	-1.92%
.SSMI	SMI Index	View	11:30am EST	5,664.91	+3.20	+0.06%
.SMSI	Madrid General Index		11:39am EST	825.35	-13.97	-1.66%
.OMXSPI	OMX Stockholm All Share Index		11:30am EST	299.56	-1.64	-0.54%
.OMXHPI	OMX Helsinki All Share Index		11:30am EST	5,574.44	-60.68	-1.08%
.OMXC20	OMX Copenhagen 20 Index		11:00am EST	376.41	+0.87	+0.23%
.OSEAX	Oslo Exchange All-share Index		12:15pm EST	440.96	-1.33	-0.30%
.ISEQ	ISEQ Overall Index		12:00pm EST	2,663.27	-31.41	-1.17%
.AEX	AEX Amsterdam Index	View	12:10pm EST	292.93	-3.97	-1.34%
.BFX	Bell 20 Index	View	12:10pm EST	2,067.88	-21.16	-1.01%
.IBEX	Ibex 35 Index	View	11:37am EST	8,237.60	-134.60	-1.61%
.BVLG	PSI General		12:08pm EST	2,168.02	-20.92	-0.96%
.STOXX50	DJ Stoxx 50 ETF	View	11 Nov 2011	2,291.19	+46.28	+2.06%

Asia/Pacific Indices

Data as of 15 Nov 2011. All quotes delayed at least 15 minutes.

Symb	Index	Mkt Report	Time	Last	Chg	Chg %
.TRXFLDJPP	Thomson Reuters Equity Japan Index		14 Nov 2011	63.89	-0.45	-0.69%
.TRXFLDHKP	Thomson Reuters Equity HK Index		14 Nov 2011	216.70	+0.00	+0.00%
.TRXFLDCNP	Thomson Reuters Equity China Index		14 Nov 2011	271.23	+0.00	+0.00%
.TRXFLDINP	Thomson Reuters Equity India Index		14 Nov 2011	551.33	+0.00	+0.00%
.N225	Nikkei Stock Average 225	View	14 Nov 2011	8,541.93	-61.77	-0.72%
.HSI	Hang Seng Index	View	14 Nov 2011	19,348.44	-159.74	-0.82%
.AORD	ASX All Ordinaries Index
.KS11	KOSPI Index		14 Nov 2011	1,886.12	-16.69	-0.88%
.FTSTI	Straits Times Index		14 Nov 2011	2,811.58	-18.75	-0.66%
.JKSE	Jakarta Composite		14 Nov 2011	3,813.84	-19.20	-0.50%
.PSI	PSE Composite Index		14 Nov 2011	4,363.73	+6.86	+0.16%
.KSE	Karachi SE 100 Index		14 Nov 2011	11,994.01	-14.47	-0.12%
.SSEC	Shanghai Composite Index		14 Nov 2011	2,529.76	+1.05	+0.04%
.TWII	Taiwan SE Weighted Index		14 Nov 2011	7,491.06	-34.59	-0.46%

Africa/Middle East Indices

Data as of 15 Nov 2011. All quotes delayed at least 15 minutes.

Symb	Index	Mkt Report	Time	Last	Chg	Chg %
.TRXFLDAFPU	Thomson Reuters Equity Africa Index		11:35am EST	279.54	-4.96	-1.74%
.TRXFLDZAP	Thomson Reuters Equity Sth Africa Index		12:00pm EST	461.71	+2.74	+0.60%
.JALSH	JSE FTSE All Share Index		10:00am EST	32,674.18	+330.29	+1.02%
.TA100	TA 100 Index		9:14am EST	1,008.51	-11.63	-1.14%
.XU100	ISE National 100 Index		10:30am EST	55,922.53	+46.81	+0.08%