Kannada film director attempts suicide

Well-known Kannada film director and producer Sai Prakash today allegedly attempted to commit suicide by consuming sleeping tablets. Sai Prakash, known for producing films with sentimental themes, was rushed to a private hospital by his son and is out of danger, sources said.

[ID:nN2066672] On Nasdaq, shares of iPod and iPhone maker Apple Inc(AAPL.O) were the top drag, falling 0.9 percent to $151.60ahead of its quarterly results. After the bell, Apple posted aquarterly profit that topped forecasts, driving its stock upmore than 3 percent to $156.72. Shares of Caterpillar, up 7.8 percent at $39.46, providedthe Dow's top boost, but finished below the day's high afterthe company said it expected the third quarter to be theyear's weakest and "extremely challenging." [ID:nN21229028] Merck said second-quarter earnings fell, hurt by lowersales of its cholesterol drugs, but income from partnershipsand a rebound in sales of asthma drug Singulair helped thedrugmaker beat profit forecasts. The Standard & Poor's500 Index .SPX rose 3.45 points, or 0.36 percent, to 954.58.The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC added 6.91 points, or 0.36percent, to 1,916.20 -- a closing high for the year. FROM MARCH LOW, S&P JUMPS 41 PCT The S&P 500 is now up 41 percent from the 12-year closinglow of March 9. "I think you do a little profit-taking now, go through thesummer and see how the rest of second-quarter earnings comeout, and then kind of ascertain what's going on after that." The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 67.79points, or 0.77 percent, to 8,915.94. but you're going to have tosee how this pans out over the long term," said Stephen Carl,principal and head of U.S equity trading at The WilliamsCapital Group in New York.

For details, see[ID:nN21221058] "People can get a bit euphoric with a couple of positiveeconomic numbers and earnings ... Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernankesaid in testimony before a congressional panel that mountingjoblessness, slumping home values and tight credit were likelyto curb consumer spending -- a major driver of U.S economicgrowth and corporate profits. With Apple Inc (AAPL.O), the maker of the iPhone, postinga stronger-than-expected profit after the bell and its stockrising 3.4 percent in late trade, Wednesday could be anotherbanner day for the Nasdaq. Drugmaker Merck & Co (MRK.N), a Dow component, was amongbellwethers with encouraging profit reports on Tuesday. But that profit optimism collided with a dose of realityas heavy equipment maker Caterpillar, another Dow component,warned the current quarter could be tough In addition, U.S. A late push helped the Nasdaq eke out a small gain for its10th straight winning session, the longest in 12 years. Trading was choppy, with the broader market initiallycharging higher after the open and the benchmark S&P 500.SPX hitting a fresh 2009 intraday high as it extended itsrebound from the 12-year closing low of early March.

stocks rose on Tuesdayas a solid profit from Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) overcame someuneasiness about the company's outlook for the currentquarter, but the gains were limited as some investors pausedfollowing the recent earnings-fueled run-up. "Hydrocarbons are not the future long-term simply becauseone day they will not exist any more," Scaroni said. Eni produces around 1.8 million barrels of oil equivalentper day. (Reporting by Jo Winterbottom, editing by Matthew Lewis) Stocks Italy.