Brazil visit gives Zimbabwe chance to celebrate

Brazil's World Cup players gave Zimbabweans a rare chance to celebrate Wednesday, as fans filled the National Sports Stadium to watch stars like Kaka and Robinho play the African nation in a friendly.

Almost 60,000 supporters, some wearing bright yellow Brazil shirts, saw the five-time world champion beat Zimbabwe 3-0 with goals by Michel Bastos, Robinho and Elano.

Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe and Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangirai watched on from brown armchairs after shaking hands with Brazil's players before the kickoff.

"It's a nice country," midfielder Gilberto Silva said after Brazil's first match in Zimbabwe. "The …

Stocks stabilize, rise again

The stock market's gained Friday after several stable or positivesessions. "I think we've stabilized a bit since the Fed has loweredthe discount rate," said Nicholas Raich, …

Fed rate cut sought by Wall Street would have only limited impact on housing, banking sectors

The Federal Reserve's cut of a key interest rate Wednesday is unlikely to boost hard-hit banks and homebuilders much in the near term, analysts say.

The Fed policymaking committee approved cutting a key short-term rate by a quarter percentage point Wednesday to help the economy get through a deeper-than-expected housing slump and credit crunch that accelerated in August. Shares of major national banks and homebuilders fell on the news.

The Fed's decision comes amid widespread anxiety among investors that the housing slump and soaring oil prices will stall consumer spending and drag the economy into a recession. The Fed said in a statement that the …

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A credible forecast from Chicago

"The nation's economic growth is expected to soften slightly in 2007, inflation is predicted to decrease."

Fed's symposium produces consensus outlook for 2007

Among the more credible of a plethora of forecasts for economic growth, interest rates and banking trends for the new year was generated at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago's Economic Outlook Symposium early last month - its credibility enhanced because the event drew participants from manufacturing, banking, auto industries, academia, consulting and service firms. One session presented the results from the consensus economic outlook, where 35 individuals provided forecasts for major components of real GDP as well …

South Koreans Kidnapped in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan - Taliban militants threatened Friday to kill a group of abducted South Korean Christians, including 15 women, within 24 hours unless the Asian nation withdraws its 200 troops from Afghanistan. South Korea said Saturday it plans to withdraw its forces by the end of this year as scheduled.

Foreign Minister Song Min-soon told reporters in Seoul that 23 South Koreans were kidnapped and indicated they are safe. A purported Taliban spokesman said Friday that the group was holding 18 Koreans.

In the largest abduction of foreigners since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, several dozen fighters kidnapped the South Koreans at gunpoint from a bus in Ghazni …

Blood shed at crowded Holocaust museum in US

The most prominent American museum bearing witness to violence against Jews was the scene of bloodshed, its doors breached by an assailant who opened fire with a rifle, killing a guard in an attack linked to a white supremacist's hate.

James von Brunn, 88, a Holocaust denier who once tried to kidnap members of the Federal Reserve Board, is the suspect in Wednesday's assault at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. His victim: guard Stephen T. Johns.

Security engaged the gunman as soon as he stepped inside the crowded museum and began shooting, authorities said. Johns, 39, who is black, "died heroically in the line of duty," museum director Sara …