NPR 2011-11-02

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This is a hastily organized meeting, at which President Nicolas Sarkozy and Chancellor³ Angela Merkel will likely have a simple message for the Greeks: "You have your bailout deal, now get on and implement⁴ it." They are worried delays could drive up the cost of borrowing for other eurozone countries like Italy, dramatically widening the crisis. Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou's announcement for a referendum on the bailout came as a bombshell that sent shares tumbling, especially those of French banks heavily exposed to Greek debt. Analysts⁵ predict more market volatility⁶ and uncertainty⁷ and say if the referendum actually goes ahead and Greeks vote against the bailout package, then Europe will be plunged⁸ into turmoil⁹. Philip Reeves, NPR News, London.

 

NPR's Chris Arnold has been keeping an eye on markets here in the US, where the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down about 300 points before the close.

 

Up until this week, US stocks had been on a big upswing. The Dow was up nearly 10%, not over. That's the biggest one-month gain since 2002. Barry Ritholtz, head of stock research at the money management firm Fusion¹⁰ IQ.

 

"We had an absolutely blistering¹¹ October. When that happens, investors¹² just are looking for an excuse to take some profits, trade away from that, and this latest screw-up with Greece gave them the excuse to do what they want to do anyway."

 

In other words, some investors decided¹³ that prices have just risen too high, too quickly. Chris Arnold, NPR News.

 

And we're seeing at last check Dow was down 295 points, 2.4%, at 11,660.

 

Dorothy Rodham, the mother of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton's mother-in-law, has died at the age of 92. The Clinton family says Rodham passed away shortly after midnight at a Washington hospital following an illness, and today President Obama expressed condolences.

 

"For her to have been able to live the life that she did and to see her daughter succeed at the pinnacle¹⁴ of public service in this country, I'm sure was deeply satisfying to her."

 

The president paid tribute to Dorothy Rodham's memory at the conclusion of a ceremony, in which he signed a proclamation establishing the Fort Monroe National Monument in Virginia. 

 

You're listening to NPR News.

 

The Palestinians, the newest members of UNESCO, are pursuing membership in more than a dozen other UN agencies. The Obama administration cut off funding to UNESCO after yesterday's vote and warns of a cascade¹⁵ effect on other agencies that decide to recognize Palestine as a member state. The US and Israel maintain Palestinian statehood should only be achieved through Middle East negotiations¹⁶. However, the Palestinian Authority says it has been down that road before to no avail.

 

A new study found that children taking stimulant¹⁷ drugs for ADHD don't have a greater risk of serious heart problems. But NPR's Nancy Shute reports that this latest effort still doesn't give the drugs a clean bill of health.

 

Almost three million children are prescribed stimulant drugs to treat symptoms of ADHD. The drugs can increase heart rate and blood pressure, and there's been some evidence that taking the drugs increases the risk of stroke, heart attack and sudden death. This new study looked at the medical records of more than one million children and young adults. It found that 81 had had heart attacks, strokes or had died suddenly while taking ADHD drugs. That's the same risk found in children not taking the drugs. But the researchers say their study wasn't able to nail down the exact risk posed by drugs like Ritalin, and the Food and Drug Administration says doctors should keep screening children for heart problems before prescribing the drugs. The study was published online in the New England Journal of Medicine. Nancy Shute, NPR News.

 

Before the close on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down nearly 300 points or nearly 2.5% at 11,658; the NASDAQ was down 2.8% at 2,607.

 

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.

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