Nov. 16, 2010 (United Press International) -- Dow skid halts Tuesday near 11,000 NEW YORK, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Concerns over Europe's debt crisis spreading weighed on U.S. markets Tuesday as financial ministers discussed a possible bailout for Ireland.
Ireland denies an EU bailout will be needed but still does not know the depths of the problem within its banking system. An escalating crisis, meanwhile, "will have a contagion impact on the other eurozone economies," The New York Times quoted Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos as saying.
Stocks fell in Europe following a broad downturn in Asia. In Hong Kong, the Hang Seng index fell 1.39 percent. In China, the Shanghai composite index lost 3.98 percent.
By close of trading on Wall Street, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 178.47 points, or 1.59 percent, to 11,023.50. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost 19.41 points, or 1.62 percent, to 1,178.34. The Nasdaq composite index of tech-dominated stock lost 1.75 percent, or 43.98 points, to 2,469.84.
On the New York Stock Exchange, 405 stocks advanced and 2,642 declined on a volume of 4.5 billion shares.
The benchmark 10-year treasury note rose 1 1/32 to yield 2.84 percent.
The euro fell to $1.3486 from Monday's $1.3569. Against the yen, the dollar rose to 83.28 yen from Monday's 83.19 percent.
In Japan, the Nikkei 225 index lost 0.31 percent, 30.41, to 9,797.10.
In Britain, the FTSE 100 index lost 2.38 percent, 138.51 points, to 5,681.90.
EU budget talks break down BRUSSELS, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- EU budget negotiations have broken down, forcing a retreat to the 2010 budget for the time being, the head of the Parliament said.
"It's not good news not to have a budget for 2011, but we will follow procedures," which would be to have the 2010 budget continue until Parliament members agree on the next spending plan, said Jerzy Buzek, the EU Parliament chief.
EUobserver reported Tuesday Britain and the Netherlands would only discuss the 2011 budget, refusing to discuss long-term changes such as supplementary taxes.
Britain is also seeking to cap the budget increase at 2.9 percent, less than half of what members of Parliament requested.
The budget's defeat at this stage in the process means the European Commission will need to submit a new budget proposal, which would be discussed at an EU leadership summit in December.
IRS takes on Florida tribe en masse MIAMI, Nov. 16 (UPI) -- The IRS is widening its investigation of Miccosukee finances in Florida in a sweep that potentially affects the entire tribe, court papers say.
The IRS has issued summonses to review all financial information from 2006 through 2009 involving Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) , Citibank, Wachovia and American Express (NYSE:AXP) transactions, The Miami Herald reported Tuesday.
Federal Judge Alan Gold last week refused to retract his August decision that allowed federal authorities to investigate former tribal Chairman Billy Cypress. Tossing out his own ruling would have blocked the IRS from broadening the investigation, which now calls for "all documents pertaining to the Miccosukee Tribe in any capacity."
Potentially, any member of the tribe who has done business with the four banks could be caught up in the probe.
At the center of the investigation is an untold sum paid out to tribal members from the proceeds of the tribe's gambling businesses.
Federal laws require individual tribal members to pay taxes on money they receive from the tribe, although the tribe, a sovereign nation, does not pay taxes.
How much tribal members receive from the gambling revenue is unknown, but a source said one tribal payout in August 2009 awarded each member $48,000.
In the tribe's defense, attorney Sonia Escobio O'Donnell wrote, "There is no proper purpose for the IRS to obtain unfettered access to all the financial account information of the tribe."
Google's next phone doubles as credit card MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 16 (UPI) -- Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Chief Executive Officer Eric Schmidt said U.S. consumers will be able to use Google's next smartphones as a replacement for credit cards.
Schmidt announced the new Nexus phone in San Francisco at the Web 2.0 Summit, Red Orbit reported Tuesday.
At a conference, Schmidt pulled a cellphone from a pocket and said, "I have here an unannounced product that I carry around with me. You will be able to take these mobile devices that will be able to do commerce. Essentially, bump for everything and eventually replace credit cards," he said.
Schmidt called the process "tap-and-pay," referring to use of a touch screen on the phone that requires tapping to make transactions.
"I don't think people understand how powerful these things are. This is a really good day for mobile," he said.
