LONDON – Stock markets slipped in Europe on Wednesday and rose only modestly in Asia, as investors stepped back from a week-long rally fueled by upbeat earnings to assess the outlook for corporate profits amid a still-weak global economy.
By midday in Europe, Germany's DAX was down 29.96 points, or 0.6 percent, at 5,064.01, while Britain's FTSE 100 slide 21.65 points, or 0.5 percent, to 4,459.52. France's CAC 40 was down 28.81 points, or 0.9 percent, at 3,274.08.
The indexes had rallied for the past week on strong U.S. corporate earnings reports, with the latest from Caterpillar Inc., Apple Inc. and Coca Cola Inc. suggesting that the worst of the economic crisis is past.
That view was echoed by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who said Tuesday that the world's largest economy was seeing some improvement.
However, while the news has bolstered risk appetite — with many Asian indexes eking out gains at the close Wednesday — investors seemed to believe that the good news has been mostly priced into the share values.
"We keep the view that the multi-quarter outlook for developed economies does not look as bright as the current equity rally would suggest," said Sebastien Barbe, analyst at Calyon.
In fact, Bernanke accompanied his forecast for an economic recovery with the warning that it would be slow due to rising unemployment. The Fed chairman will be watched for more comments in his testimony to the U.S. Senate Banking Committee today.
More and more investors are tiptoeing as they try to determine the actual shape of the rebound, said Thomas Lam, senior treasury economist at the United Overseas Bank in Singapore.
"The U.S. economy either has stabilized or is stabilizing, there's no doubt about that," Lam said. "We have transitioned from thinking it's the end of the world to trying to see what the new world will look like."
In the U.K., the Bank of England said was still considering whether to pump another 25 billion pounds into the financial system. In the minutes to its latest policy meeting, the bank's rate-setters suggested they would wait until August to assess the need to create more money.
Like Bernanke, the Bank of England said that while the economy has stabilized somewhat, a quick recovery was unlikely as balance sheet constraints within the banks would continue to limit demand growth.
In Asia, markets closed mostly higher, although gains were limited.
Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average rose 71.14, or 0.7 percent, to 9,723.16. South Korea's Kospi was up 0.3 percent. Shanghai's index gained 1.9 percent, Australia's benchmark advanced 0.4 percent and Taiwan's market edged up 0.5 percent.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 253.56, or 1.3 percent, to 19,248.47. India's Sensex shed 1.3 percent.
Wall Street added to its gains overnight, but like Europe was expected to slide Wednesday.
Dow futures were off 71 points, or 0.8 percent, at 8,815 and Standard & Poor's 500 futures declined 5.9, or 0.6 percent, at 947.50.
On Tuesday, the Dow rose 67.79, or 0.8 percent, to 8,915.94, its highest level since January.
The S&P 500 rose 3.45, or 0.4 percent, to 954.58, its highest close since November. And the Nasdaq rose 6.91, or 0.4 percent, to 1,916.20, its 10th straight gain. The last time the index rose 10 straight days was in July 1997.

Oil prices fell in European trade, with the September contract down $1.10 to $64.51 a barrel. On Tuesday, the August contract expired, rising 74 cents to settle at $64.72.

The dollar fell to 93.45 yen from 93.64 yen. The euro fell to $1.4185 from $1.4217.

___

Associated Press Writer Jeremiah Marquez contributed to this report from Hong Kong.

Four years later, a Westport housewife named Marion Donovan developed a waterproof diaper cover known as the "Boater" using a sheet of plastic from a shower curtain; she was granted four patents for her invention, including the use of plastic snaps as opposed to safety pins. In 1947, a man named George M. Schroder invented the first ever diaper with disposable nonwoven fabric. Disposable diapers were introduced to the US in 1949 by Johnson & Johnson.

During the 1950s, companies such as Kendall, Parke-Davis, Playtex, and Molnlycke entered the disposable diaper market. In 1956, Procter & Gamble began researching disposable diapers. Vic Mills, along with his project group including William Dehaas, both men who worked for the company, invented "Pampers" while searching for a better product to use.

Adult Diaper

VARANASI, India/WUHAN, China (Reuters) –
A total solar eclipse began its flight on Wednesday across a narrow swathe of Asia, where hundreds of millions of people watched the skies darken despite thick summer clouds.

The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century was visible along a roughly 250 km-wide (155 miles) corridor, according to the U.S. space agency NASA, as it traveled half the globe and passed through the world's two most populous nations, India and China.

Thousands of people snaked through the narrow lanes of the ancient Hindu holy city of Varanasi and gathered for a dip in the Ganges, an act considered as leading to salvation from the cycle of life and death.

Amid chanting of Hindu hymns, men, women and children waded into the river with folded hands and prayed to the sun as it emerged in an overcast sky.

"We have come here because our elders told us this is the best time to improve our after-life," said Bhailal Sharma, a villager from central India who came to Varanasi with a group of about 100 people.

The eclipse then swept through Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Myanmar and over the crowded cities along China's Yangtze River, before heading to the Pacific.

Crowds gathered along the high dykes of Wuhan, an industrial city in central China, roared and waved goodbye as the last sliver of sun disappeared, plunging the city into darkness.

"As soon as the totality happened, the clouds closed in so we couldn't see the corona. That's a pity," said Zhen Jun, a man whose work unit had given the day off for the spectacle.

But eclipse viewers in central China was luckier than those in the coastal cities near Shanghai, where overcast skies and rain in some places blocked the view of the sun entirely.

LONGEST THIS CENTURY

Eclipses allow earth-bound scientists a rare glimpse at the sun's corona, the gases surrounding the sun.

"In the 21st century this is the longest," said Harish Bhatt, dean at the Bangalore-based Indian Institute of Astrophysics.

"This is indeed quite an important event for scientific experiments. Its long duration provides you an opportunity to make very complicated, complex experiments."

Scientists in China planned to snap two-dimensional images of the sun's corona -- up to 2 million degrees Celsius (3.6 million F) hot -- at roughly one image per second, Bhatt said.

The eclipse lasted up to a maximum of 6 minutes, 39 seconds over the Pacific Ocean, according to NASA.

The eclipse is seen as a mixed blessing for millions of Indians. Those who considered it auspicious bathed in holy rivers and ponds for good fortune during the solar blackout.

But astrologers predicted the eclipse spelled bad luck for others. Expectant mothers asked doctors to advance or postpone births to avoid complications or a miserable future for their children.

Parents in several schools in India's capital, New Delhi, kept their children home from classes since the eclipse coincided with breakfast. According to Hindu custom, it is inauspicious to prepare food during an eclipse.

In ancient Chinese culture, an eclipse was an omen linked to natural disasters or deaths in the imperial family. Chinese officials and state media were at pains to reassure the public that city services would run normally.

"We heard about it on television last night," said Qian Qiangguo, speaking in a thick Wuhan accent.

In modern China, people who wished to see the astronomical rarity clearly tried to escape thick pollution caused by the rapid industrial growth, avoiding cities where smog smudges the horizon, even on clear days.

"The majority of people decided to go to Tongning, in Anhui, because they're worried about the serious air pollution from industrial areas in Shanghai," said Bill Yeung, the president of the Hong Kong Astronomical Society, who organized 120 eclipse chasers from Hong Kong.

Those who chose Shanghai ended up fleeing to inland cities to escape the clouds, he added.

(Additional reporting by Matthias Williams, Bappa Majumdar and James Pomfret; Writing by Matthias Williams and Lucy Hornby; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Los Angeles (E! Online) –
The choice of a new generation is...voyeurism?

In the wake of footage surfacing online showing the filming of the infamous 1984 Pepsi commercial in which Michael Jackson's hair caught fire, the bottling company released a statement wondering aloud what the fascination about it is other than morbid curiosity.

"We don't know how the footage became available. Twenty-five years later, we'd question why anyone would want to share such frightening images. It was a terrifying event that we'll never forget," spokeswoman Nicole Bradley said.

And undoubtedly akin to something out of his Thriller video.
In the video promoting the soft drink, Jackson performs a retooled version of "Billy Jean" before 3,000 screaming fans (among the extras were comedians Kathy Griffin and Jon Lovitz—before they were famous) at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium.

But on the sixth take, as Jackson struts down a staircase onto a stage, the background fireworks explode early. The singer starts making his way down the steps, but doesn't realize his hair has suddenly caught fire until he reaches the bottom and goes into his spin. Only then did he touch his head and realize his scalp was burning.

Stagehands gathered around Jackson and quickly doused the flames. But the Moonwalker was taken to a hospital with second- and third-degree burns on his head and face, an injury that required skin grafts.

It's now being speculated that the incident may have led to his dependence on prescription pain medication, an addiction he allegedly battled for the rest of his life. Pepsi later aired a version of the ad without the hair-raising moment and paid Jackson $1.4 million for his pain and suffering, but the music legend ended up donating the money to a burn victim center.

Since Jackson's fiery performance bubbled up over the Internet and cable news two days ago, Pepsi initially declined to catch the wave and comment on it. But the company chose to speak out now not only to criticize the release of such imagery (and incidentally the public's grotesque obsession with it), but also to pay tribute to the late King of Pop, with whom it had the good fortune of working during his 1980s peak.

"We were grateful for Michael's recovery and for the chance to continue working with him on a number of successful projects," Bradley added. "As for Michael as an artist, his music helped us define a generation and, like everyone else, we're deeply saddened by his passing."

The rep also said Pepsi has no intention of pursuing legal action to stop the burn footage from airing and, in fact, isn't even sure who owns the rights.
________

Check out the King of Pop in happier, seemingly healthier times in our Michael Jackson: A Life gallery.

··· THEY SAID WHAT? Get today's most commented stories now at www.eonline.com