Excerpt
JUDY WOODRUFF (Newshour): Questions are growing about the stability of the worldwide economy now that there are more troubling signs in Europe and mixed reports here at home.
On Wall Street, at least, the mood brightened a bit today. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 65 points to close at 13,029, although the NASDAQ fell seven points to close at 3,000. Traders pinned their hopes to strong earnings reports from General Electric, McDonald's and Microsoft.
But other, more negative news has raised questions about whether economic growth is slowing again. The unemployment report for March showed the smallest number of new jobs created since November. And this week came data showing housing starts have dropped and factory activity has lessened.
At the same time, there are questions about the worldwide recovery.
Christine Lagarde, the head of the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, offered this assessment yesterday in Washington.
CHRISTINE LAGARDE, managing director, International Monetary Fund: We are seeing a light recovery blowing in a spring wind, but we're also seeing some very dark clouds on the horizon.
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