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Posts Tagged ‘Running’

Running notebook: Half Marathon cap increases by 1000 spots

Apr 30th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off

Though the Chevron Houston Marathon remains the larger race in theory, its companion half marathon has had more finishers since 2005.

So its not surprising that when the Houston Marathon Committee said this week it would slightly increase the size of its field for the Jan. 13 races from 24,000 to 25,000, all 1,000 of the additional slots went to the Aramco Houston Half Marathon.

The half marathon field has been increased to 12,000 participants, while 13,000 will be allowed to enter the marathon.

We increased the marathon cap last year by 2,000, while the half marathon cap has remained the same for the past three years, said Wade Morehead, the committees executive director.

National trend

The Aramco Houston Half Marathons popularity is part of a national trend. The 13.1-mile event has been the fastest-growing road-race distance in the United States since 2003, says Running USA, which issues an annual report on half marathons. Additionally, the report found that the number of half marathon finishers has grown by 10 percent or more for six consecutive years now.

In Houston, the number of finishers in the half marathon has increased 250 percent since the first race. In 2002, 2,675 finished; at the most recent race, 9,374 crossed the line. In comparison, the percentage of marathon finishers during that same time has grown 79 percent, from 4,244 to 7,614.

Despite the impressive growth, those figures dont reflect demand; marathon officials have regulated the size of the field for years and instituted a lottery for both races in 2010.

We are confident that adding 1,000 participants to the half marathon will not compromise the participant experience and creates more opportunities for runners to participate in our event.

Third times the charm

The roughly 2 percent of unlucky runners who werent selected in the lottery the past two years are getting their turn. The committee is implementing its previously announced third times the charm rule and guaranteeing spots to those people during early registration May 8-31.

Others who are eligible for guaranteed entries during early registration include runners who meet time qualification standards, participants who have completed five or more Houston marathons, deferred 2012 registrants, and members designated by the Houston Area Road Runners Association.

General lottery registration will be June 6-21; winners will be announced no later than June 25.

And while the number of runners is increasing, the price isnt. Registration remains at $125 for the marathon and $105 for the half marathon. More information is available at chevronhoustonmarathon.com.

roberta.macinnis@chron.com

Learning to Be a Pilot, With Fuel Running Out

Apr 27th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off


Nightmares are made of such moments.

Enlarge This Image





Luke Collins, via Associated Press

John and Helen Collins of Sturgeon Bay, Wis., were in a twin-engine airplane when Mr. Collins, the pilot, lost consciousness.

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Helen Collins, 80 years old, watched the fuel gauge of her small twin-engine airplane drop slowly for more than an hour as it circled a rural Wisconsin runway at an altitude of about 2,000 feet. Her husband, the only pilot in the aircraft, was unconscious at the controls, having apparently suffered a heart attack. She knew that if she was going to survive, she had no choice but to learn how to fly — and fast.

The couple were returning home to Sturgeon Bay, Wis., from Florida on Monday, having stopped briefly in Georgia to refuel before embarking on the final three-hour stretch of their journey. They flew together often, several times a month, storing their planes at the Door County Cherryland Airport, about an hour northeast of Green Bay.

Ms. Collins was still about seven minutes away from the airport when she called for help, dialing 911 dispatchers from her cellphone to say that her husband, John Collins, 81, was unresponsive, and that there was no one to land the plane.

Emergency vehicles quickly arrived at the tarmac and waited. Robert Vuksanovic, a local certified flight instructor, jumped in another plane and flew up beside her, coaching from cockpit to cockpit by radio, trying to cram at least a month’s worth of pilot training lessons into mere minutes.

“She had her wits,” said Keith Kasbohm, the Cherryland Airport director, who was among the team helping her from the ground. “She’s an 80-year-old woman, but she’s I guess what I would call a young 80-year-old woman. She’s very spry, and to be in that situation and to be able to keep her cool the way she did is just amazing.”

She approached the runway three times. The first was just for practice. The second time, she came in too high, too fast, and had to abort the landing.

When she rounded for the third attempt, however, she radioed down to say she could hear her right engine begin to sputter. “She knew at that point she didn’t have enough fuel to miss and go around and try it again,” Mr. Kasbohm said.

The wheels finally hit the tarmac hard, bouncing the plane into the air and collapsing the nose-wheel before skidding to a halt. Mr. Collins was rushed to a local emergency room, where he was pronounced dead.

Ms. Collins, who could not be reached for an interview, walked away with minor injuries to her vertebrae and a cracked rib.

“It was just like the airplane was on autopilot,” said Mr. Vuksanovic, the flight instructor who flew beside her, guiding even as she touched down. “I’ve seen a lot, but I know I haven’t seen it all, because this was new to me: to see somebody with basically no multi-engine experience to successfully, safely do what she did.”

James Collins, 54, also a pilot, stood on the ground listening to his mother as she prepared to land the plane. By then, he said Ms. Collins knew that her husband had already passed away. All he could focus on was the fear of losing both his parents on the same day.  “You’re watching all this and you don’t know if your mom can actually land the plane,” he said. “But you’re praying she can. And she did it.”

Time may be running out for Massa

Apr 20th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off

There was a brief moment in 2008 when it appeared that Felipe Massa was a world champion.

At the season finale in Brazil, Massa was the man to cross the line first, and the celebrations began for Ferrari. But in the waning moments, Lewis Hamilton claimed the position he needed to secure the championship from Massa by just a single point.

It was an unimaginably heartbreaking defeat for the Brazilian in front of his home crowd after coming so close to the ultimate achievement. While one driver was celebrating a title, another was reeling from a cruel twist.

Since that close call, Massa has been forced to endure some very trying times.

Mitt Romney running mate: Marco Rubio, Sarah Palin – or Paul Ryan? (+video)

Apr 19th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off

Mitt Romney running mate: Marco Rubio, Sarah Palin – or Paul Ryan? (+video)

Sen. John McCain joked that Sarah Palin might make a good vice presidential running mate for Mitt Romney. Palin said Romney should go rogue. But Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan might be the best choice, says DCDecoder.

By

Liz Marlantes,DCDecoder /
April 4, 2012

Serial Career Changer Barbie Now Running For President

Apr 18th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off

Watch out, Mitt. Barbie has stepped onto the campaign trail and will officially announce her bid for President on Thursday.

The I Can BePresident Barbie doll by manufacturer Mattel and in partnership with The White House Project, a nonpartisan nonprofit that aims to involve more women in politics, will be in mass distribution. Presale begins tomorrow, but Mattel expects it to hit shelves everywhere in August in four different races: Caucasian, Hispanic, African-American and Asian.

As the only female candidate in the election, Presidential Barbie will literally stand on her own. For the first time in the doll’s 53-year history, weighted wedge heels allow her to stand upright on any flat surface. The undisputed leader of the “B Party” wears pearls and a pink power suit with patriotic red, white and blue accents designed by Chris Benz, who has outfitted First Lady Michelle Obama.

“Being President culminates Barbie’s career path,” says Mattel’s Cathy Cline, VP of Barbie Brand Marketing in North America. “She stands for inspiring girls to be informed and involved in their local communities. We hope that one day we’ll have a female president standing in the Oval Office.”

Barbie has had more than 130 careers, breaking the plastic ceiling as an astronaut in 1965 and going on to jobs like surgeon, business executive and computer engineer. This will be her fifth presidential bid, having previously run in 1992, 2000, 2004 and 2008.

According to Mattel, 90% of girls ages 3 to 10 own at least one Barbie, and the average girl owns 12 dolls, making her the top-selling doll in the US Worldwide sales of Barbie increased 12% in the fourth quarter, the biggest growth the brand has seen in over a decade.

“Barbie is the most powerful brand for girls, and to create any social change you need to find them where they are,” says Tiffany Dufu, president of The White House Project. “During play we begin to make connections with what we aspire to. Barbie motivates girls to aspire to be anything–including President.”

The US ranks 90th in the world in terms of women’s representation in legislature, with just 16.8% in Congress, only 12% of governors and major city mayors, and no female head of state on record.

Dufu believes one of the major barriers to women’s leadership progress is rooted in popular culture. Women are now 50% of the workforce and a majority of college graduates, but “despite all our advancement, we still have a cultural norm that women’s primary role is wife and mother. While it’s outdated, it’s very pervasive,” she says. The White House Project hopes that Presidential Barbie will contribute to a shift in cultural consciousness.

Another major obstacle for women’s representation in politics is their lower candidacy rates. Women win races at comparable rates to men, Dufu says, but they don’t run as often. “We need to invite more women to run and prepare them to run.”

Girls will be invited to help shape Presidential Barbie’s platform and message via Tumblr and Instagram pages that launch on Thursday.

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Irish surfer in running for top award

Apr 17th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off

KILIAN DOYLE

Irish surfer Ollie OFlaherty is in the running for one of big wave surfings most prestigious prizes for his ride on a monster Co Sligo wave last month.

OFlaherty (24), from Lahinch, Co Clare, has been nominated in the Biggest Wave category of the Billabong XXL 2012 contest for a wave he was towed into at Mullaghmore Head on March 8th. The category carries a $15,000 prize.

Devon-based surfer Andrew Cotton was also nominated for a wave he caught at Mullaghmore on the same day.

The nominations are the latest acknowledgement that Irish big wave surfing is on a par with anywhere else in the world.

It was OFlahertys first time surfing at Mullaghmore, one of Irelands many world-class big wave spots. A NUI Galway science graduate, he has been a pioneer at other spots in Co Clare, most notably the heavy slab at Rileys near Kilkee and Aileens at the base of the Cliffs of Moher.

The other nominees in the category are Garrett McNamaras huge wave at Priaia do Norte, Nazar, Portugal last November, Basque surfer Axi Muniains ride at Agiti, Spain in November and Damien Taco Warrs beast at Cow Bombie, Western Australia in October.

McNamara is also included in the nominees for the main ride of the year award, which carries at $50,000 prize, along with Californian Nathan Fletcher for his insane death-defying barrel at Teahupoo in Tahiti and fellow Californian Greg Long for a huge paddle-in tube at Puerto Escondido, Mexico. The final two nominees are Australian Ryan Hipwood for his tube at massive Cloudbreak in Tavarau, Fiji and Jeff Rowley for his paddle-in wave at Jaws on Maui in Hawaii, which was previously seen as a tow-surfing spot only.

The total prize fund for the XXL awards is $120,000.

The winners will be announced at the Billabong XXL Big Wave Awards party at the Grove Theater in Anaheim, California on May 4th.

OFlaherty, who helps fund his surfing by giving lessons, said he was trying to get sponsorship to cover flights and accommodation so he can fly the flag for Ireland at the awards ceremony.

Describing the wave itself, OFlaherty said he left Lahinch at 5am to get to Co Sligo where he was towed into the wave by a jet ski.

A lot of things went through my mind before I let go of the rope to catch the wave, he said.

Then I just thought, Ive put a lot of time and effort over the last year or two – hours of training and thinking about it – and the wave only lasts 20 seconds. So I just thought this has got to be worth letting go, so I did.

OFlaherty said he couldnt put into words the feeling of catching the wave. Its not just those 20 seconds, its the two weeks afterwards when you are just numb with a smile, he said.Its a real personal thing, and thats the adrenalin that I feed off. That will keep pushing me to go back more and more now.

Asked what he would do with the prize money if he won, he said: Id put every cent back into surfing – Ive broken every one of my boards already this year – seven boards. So, Im down to nothing.

Additional reporting: PA

Bradshaw expects to miss Giants OTA’s, misses ‘big brother’ Jacobs

Apr 15th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off

2:13 PM, April 2, 2012
iota;
By PAUL SCHWARTZ

Giants running back Ahmad Bradshaw says he wants the ball in his hands more often this season, either as a ball-carrier or a pass-catcher but for the immediate future he wont be doing much of anything as he continues to heal from another procedure to help heal is right foot.

As a result of that procedure actually an injection Bradshaw said I dont plan on it when asked if he will participate in the OTA practices or the veteran mini-camp this offseason.

I just want to rest as much as I can, Bradshaw said on Monday during an appearance at the opening of the new NFL Shop at Draft on Sixth Avenue. By the time training camp comes I want to practice every week. I want to start the season off right.

Bradshaw missed four games last season because of a stress fracture in his right foot, a fracture that developed despite the presence of a screw inserted in 2010 to help stabilize the bones. Back on Feb. 28, Bradshaw said he traveled to Charlotte, NC to see noted foot specialist Dr. Robert Anderson, who removed bone marrow from Bradshaws hip and injected it into his right foot to help hasten the healing process of the bones.

I feel great, said Bradshaw, who admitted it was painful to have the bone marrow removed from his hip. I got the stem cell injection in February, I feel tremendous after a month and they say it takes three months. Right now I have a lot of confidence Ill be able to be a pound-for-pound back and be able to hold my own out there.

Bradshaw, if able, may be asked to carry a greater load this season now that Brandon Jacobs is gone, having signed with the 49ers. Even though he anticipated Jacobs departure, Bradshaw continues to come to grips with the exit of his good friend.

He was a big brother, he led me through so much, Bradshaw said. He showed me so much about the game, outside the game, about saving money. To lose him man, Ive lost a brother in my younger days and it hurts, to go through this without him, him not being a part of the team anymore and not go through this with me, its gonna be tough.

Without Jacobs, Bradshaw says he feels he must become more of an outward leader.

Ive always considered myself a leader on the team anyway, I mean ever since I got the starting position, Bradshaw said. Ive had the respect of my teammates to be able to speak up and state what I think should happen. I just plan on doing that a little more this year.

As for replacing Jacobs, Bradshaw expressed confidence in DJ Ware and DaRel Scott but admitted I have no clue what theyre gonna do behind me, what theyre going to put in our backfield or in our running back room. hellip; Im not sure who theyll bring in, hopefully nobody.

UCLA starts spring practice with excitement, hope running high

Apr 13th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off

Spring practice begins: Tuesday, April 3.

Spring game: Saturday, May 5.

Returning starters: Seven on offense, eight on defense and one specialist.

LOS ANGELES — Energy always runs high for spring practice. Though programs are limited to just 15 of them, they represent a chance to put on the pads, get on the field and do something more than just run laps or lift weights during the offseason.

The tempo and energy-level at UCLAs first spring practice on Tuesday was noticeable and a few notches higher than previous years. Its understandable given the enthusiasm of new head coach Jim Mora and his staff but also evident in the stands on one end of Spaulding Field, filled with powder blue-wearing fans who bypassed the beaches and nearby Diddy Riese cookie shop to catch a glimpse of the new-look Bruins. While the talent level on the field is still not where it has to be if the team wants to be competitive in the Pac-12 – there were plenty of drops and missed assignments – there is in no uncertain terms a missing element from last year: hope.

Were excited to get going, Mora said. Were excited to see what we have here, and to get started on building this program into what we think it should be.

For the staff, this spring is not so much about installing the offense or defense – though they certainly will do that – but about teaching fundamentals. If youve looked at where UCLAs recruiting classes have been ranked over the past several years and where theyve finished in the Pac-12 standings, youll quickly realize the issues in Westwood stem not from lack of talent but from talent development. A return to basics is in many ways the only way the team can take a step forward.

Weve got a million miles to go to be the football team that we will become, we need to become and desire to become, said Mora.

The boyish enthusiasm from the head coach about his first practice in college since his a year at Washington in 1984 hides the fact that there are plenty of things that need to be sorted out before fall camp. The freshman class will be leaned on heavily in 2012 but plenty of current players will have to be penciled in on the depth chart by the time the spring game comes around next month. Every position is there for the taking and that was evident when Xavier Sua-Filo took first team reps at left tackle and looked like the best offensive lineman on the field. Normally that would be an encouraging sign except for the fact that he just returned from a two-year mission and hasnt put on pads in two years.

I dont want anyone to feel comfortable, thats for sure, Mora said. You want to create an environment where there is competition because thats going to make everybody better.

Were trying to create a competitive environment, offensive line coach Adrian Klemm added. You dont want to have freshmen coming in and starting, you want to have an environment where you can give them a year or two to learn. If some of these guys dont earn it, some of those freshmen will come in and play. I told these guys that they have to use the spring to get a leg up.

Wide receiver Devin Lucien and tight end Joseph Fauria impressed with several nice plays on the first day for the Bruins and could develop into a pair of solid contributors in the passing game. The quarterback position will naturally be the position battle that gets the most attention and the coaching staff made it clear that no pecking order will be established among the signal-callers Kevin Prince, Richard Brehaut, Brett Hundley, Jerry Neuheisel and early enrollee TJ Millweard. Prince looked sharp in the first practice and might be the favorite given that he has the most playing time under his belt but many are keeping an eye on Hundley, a dual-threat who has the training wheels off after being redshirted.

Its amazing, theyre great coaches and its very fast-paced, Hundley said. I think the redshirt year helped but now its time to play. This offense is nice and its fun running it so I just have to go out there and compete and win the job. Thats my goal. This year I feel really comfortable with what Im doing and I know what Im doing.

Still, despite the optimism that comes with every spring practice, theres still not a good sense as to how this program will fare under Mora. The recruiting success on Signing Day helped energize the fan base some but that doesnt cover up the fact that his college coaching experience is essentially nil. Secondary coach Demetrice Martin escaped a firing in Seattle and was not exactly known for turning out a quality defensive backfield. Klemm is well-regarded as a recruiter but is still a fresh face in coaching at his first BCS-level job. The players? Well, there are a handful of good ones but the depth at multiple positions is still concerning. And nothing is more indicative of the level of support that football has at the school than 80-yard long Spaulding Field sitting in the shadows of a multi-million dollar renovation of Pauley Pavillion next door.

But, for a practice at least, hope springs eternal at UCLA and thats a welcome sight to many in Westwood.

Tags: Brett Hundley, Devin Lucien, Jerry Neuheisel, Joseph Fauria, Kevin Prince, Richard Brehaut, Sua-Filo,Xavier, PAC12, Pac-12, Spring Practice Primers, UCLA Bruins, Washington Huskies, NCAAF

Daiwa Enters Year Two Running smartTrade for DRECT

Apr 13th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off

TOKYO, Apr 04, 2012 (BUSINESS WIRE) –
smartTrade Technologies today announced that Daiwa Capital Markets’
Daiwa Routing & Execution Crossing Technology (DRECT) trading system has
been in production with smartTrade’s smart order routing and dark pool
technology for more than a year.

Launched in Feb 2011, Daiwa developed a dark pool, DRECT, to consolidate
liquidity from its institutional and retail clients. Daiwa has one of
the largest market shares in Japan and so is able to consolidate
sizeable liquidity for its clients, thereby helping clients to trade
anonymously, improve execution quality, reduce information leakage, and
minimize market impact. Given the specificities of Japanese market
structure, Daiwa wanted to build a product that could explore some of
the market inefficiencies such as large tick sizes, time priority for
execution and long queues on the order book.

Daiwa initially considered building a system in-house, but decided that
using a vendor system would allow them a faster time-to-market. “We
considered building in-house, but we knew that meant we would first have
to build all the individual components, and then make sure they all
worked together. The time-to-market for the product would have been
longer compared to the matured product from SmartTrade,” said Punit
Mittal, Daiwa’s Global Head of Electronic Trading. Mittal estimates
that it would have taken 3 to 4 times as long to build internally.
Mittal went on to explain, “After evaluating a number of vendor options,
smartTrade looked like a perfect fit. We needed a system that was
flexible, robust, and scalable. Downtime was unacceptable, so it had to
be extremely resilient. Daiwa was able to embed proprietary intelligence
into SmartTrade due to its flexible architecture.”

Mittal said that Daiwa selected smartTrade because the technology firm
has extensive experience in deploying dark pools and smart order routing
in other markets. This made Daiwa confident that smartTrade knew and
could employ best practices in customizing their system for the Japanese
market. Harry Gozlan, CEO of smartTrade explains, “DRECT required
sophisticated matching logic while maintaining high throughput and low
latency over increasing depth and breadth of the dark order book.
Furthermore, full data integrity had to be ensured at each point in the
process chain without sacrificing latency.”

SmartTrade was able to deploy the system very quickly. David deGraw,
Daiwa’s product manager for DRECT explains, “The total time to
market was eight months from kickoff to going live. It was one of the
fastest deployments I’ve ever seen. It takes longer for some Western
firms just to migrate their existing product from other markets to
Japan. smartTrade were able to draw on their experience in assisting us
with external dependencies and challenges as well.”

The results so far have been impressive. “The cross ratio is increasing
every month, as is the total notional value traded in the dark pool.”
Crossing ratios are now upwards of 13% and growing. “Since it went live,
I’ve been completely satisfied with the way it’s been running,” said
Mittal.

About smartTrade Technologies

Founded in 1999, smartTrade provides sophisticated liquidity management
systems, enabling banks to develop multi-asset dealing platforms that
aggregate liquidity from dozens of sources to create a single order
book, distribute customized pricing to clients, receive and manage
client order flow, internalize liquidity and/or route it to external
venues while managing state throughout the order lifecycle, implement
smart order routing using proprietary algorithms, and connect
electronically to any number of venues regardless of messaging
protocols. The system handles multiple asset classes and is in
production globally supporting foreign exchange, fixed income, equities,
rates, and many other instrument types.

About Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Founded in 1902, the Daiwa Securities Group is one of the largest
independent and comprehensive securities group in Japan. Through its
global network, the Group provides a broad range of financial services
to our clients worldwide, including wealth management and support for
corporate activities, and thus contributing to the development of our
society and economy. The core business areas include brokerage,
development and distribution of financial products including equity,
bond, investment trusts and derivatives, underwriting of equity, bond
and other securities, M&A advisory, asset management, and investment. In
addition, the Group entered into banking business in 2011.

The Daiwa Securities Group has its operational base around the world,
including Japan, the U.S., Europe, and Asia Oceania. A total of
approximately 16,000 employees work for the Group companies worldwide,
and the customer assets under custody totals around JPY39 trillion and a
combined asset under management of two asset management companies is
about JPY12.6 trillion. (All figures are as of the end of Sept 2011)

For more information, visit
www.smart-trade.net .

SOURCE: smartTrade Technologies

smartTrade Technologies
Nathalie Negroni, (+33)4 42 90 03 97
nnegroni@smart-trade.net

Copyright Business Wire 2012

Morning MarketBeat: Fed Clearly Running the Show

Apr 12th, 2012 Posted in Running | Comments Off

Pre-Market Brief:

MARKET SNAP: At 5:50 am ET, Samp;P 500 futures down 0.8%. Treasurys higher. Nymex down at $103.49; gold down at $1,635.45. In Europe, FTSE 100 down 1.1%, DAX down 1.7% and CAC 40 down 1.2%. In Asia, Nikkei 225 down 2.3% and Hang Seng is closed for a holiday.

Overnight action: Romney rolls up three wins; Chinese premier blasts banks; SEC probes ties to high-speed traders.

Watch for: ADP Jobs Survey. Economists expect 200,000 jobs added last month. ISM non-manufacturing data. Earnings due from Bed Bath amp; Beyond and Monsanto, among others.

The Breakfast Briefing

Yesterday was another reminder that the Fed is clearly running the show.

Minutes of the latest Fed meeting showed officials all agreed that the US economic recovery is strong, verifying much of the recent data over the last few months.

As usual, instead of cheering the good news, stocks fell. Investors fretted that an improving economy would diminish the likelihood that the Fed would launch another round of stimulus.

The Fed has become a bigger fixation than usual lately. Volatile swings in US stocks seem to occur almost solely on perceptions of the Fed?s stance toward QE3. A week ago, the Dow jumped 160 points in a day on notions that Chairman Bernanke was ready to sign off on another big cash injection.

But yesterday, investors decided Mr. Bernanke may actually be leaning the other way — that QE3 wasn?t a done deal. Hence the selloff.

The economy is picking up and employment is improving, said Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investments at PNC Wealth Management. There’s no need for the Fed to do anything further, at least in the short term.

Of course, there are tentative signs that markets are less attached to the Fed than they were.

Stocks staged a late-day rally yesterday that minimized much of the damage, a sign that investors had calmed down after an initial panic.

And looking longer-term, the powerful stock rally of the past few months has come in large part because of the improving economy and diminishing fears over Europe?s sovereign-debt crisis.

But make no mistake, massive liquidity injections from the Fed have also played a key role in the rally.

One of these days it will be good news that the Fed sees the economy as resilient. Until then, investors will keep reading the tea leaves for the Fed’s latest clues.

Morning MarketBeat Daily Factoid: On this day in 1968, Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated at a hotel in Memphis, Tenn. He was 39 years old.

-Steven Russolillo

Stocks to Watch

General Motors Co., Monsanto, Intel Corp. and Walgreen Co. are among the stocks that could see active trading on Wednesday.

General Motors shares were down nearly 5% on Tuesday after the auto maker reported March sales that fell short of expectations amid a strong month for the industry.

Intel lost 1.3% to $28.06 and Broadcom Corp. declined 2% to $38.10, moving lower after a report from the Semiconductor Industry Association that world-wide chip sales fell 7.3% in February from a year ago, hurt by sluggish activity in European and Asian markets.

Monsanto is seen posting fiscal second-quarter earnings of $2.11 a share on revenue of $4.53 billion, according to a survey of analysts by FactSet Research.

Walgreen is slated to report same-store sales for March.

Overnight Headlines (Links)

Fed Holds Fire on Stimulus

SEC Probes Ties to High-Speed Traders

Romney Rolls Up Three Wins

Chinese Premier Blasts Banks

Fed Seeks Dismissal of Greenberg’s AIG Lawsuit

Euro Zone Cuts Deeper Amid Criticism

Fitch Ditched in Bond Dispute

Irish Panel Says Tax Increase Is Needed to Meet Deficit Goal

More Monsanto Magic Likely to Be Reaped

Just 3% of Eligible Borrowers Apply for Foreclosure Review

Coty Wields Quiet Firepower