Markets mixed early
NEW YORK, March 11 (UPI) -- U.S. markets were mixed Monday after a week in which the Dow Jones industrial average set multiple records for closing highs.
The Dow set closing highs Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday last week, as investors shrugged off fears of the sequester, the $85 billion in automatic spending cut spelled out in the Budget Control Act of 2011.
The spending cuts became law March 1. Since then, the DJIA has added 324.58 points or 2.3 percent.
At noon Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average was up 17.11 points or 0.12 percent to 14,414.18.
The Standard and Poor's 500 index gained 0.72 point or 0.05 percent to 1,551.0-. The Nasdaq composite gave up 2.67 points or 0.08 percent to 3,241.70.
The 10-year U.S. treasury note fell 3/32 to yield 2.056 percent.
Against the dollar, the euro rose to $1.3014 from Friday's $1.2986. Against the yen, the dollar was higher at 96.11 yen from 95.98 yen.
In Tokyo, the Nikkei 225 rose 0.53 percent on a gain of 65.43 points, to 12,349.05.
Howard Stringer to leave Sony
NEW YORK, March 11 (UPI) -- Howard Stringer, the British chairman of Japanese electronics giant Sony, said in a speech in New York that he would retire in June.
"A new world is opening up for me ... one that allows me to complete my plan to retire from Sony, which I expect to do at the conclusion of my term later this year," Stringer said to an audience at the Japan Society.
"That will allow me to move forward with new opportunities I've been presented with lately," he said.
Stringer is 71 and has been with Sony for 15 years, the British Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday.
Stringer has already given up the role of chief executive officer, which he did last April, passing the baton to Kazuo Hirai, who was then the head of Sony's video games division.
Stringer oversaw a period of monetary losses and job cuts at Sony. The company has lost money for four consecutive years. Thousands of jobs have been eliminated, as well.
Prior to taking over Sony, Stringer worked at CBS, the U.S. broadcasting company, where his career spanned three decades.
Ireland's InTrade suspends operations
DUBLIN, Ireland, March 11 (UPI) -- Irish online gambling business InTrade said it was suspending its operations and withholding payments to members while it is under investigation.
"At this time, and until further notice, it is not possible to make any payments to members in accordance with their settled account balance until the investigations have concluded," the company said in an online posting.
InTrade said it would immediately stop operations on the website and "settle all open positions and calculate the settled account value of all member accounts."
It also said it would "cease all banking transactions for all existing company accounts immediately."
The posting did not give a reason for the investigation, or say if it was in-house or by a regulatory agency.
"These circumstances require immediate further investigation and may include financial irregularities," the company said, noting that it was shutting down "in accordance with Irish law."
The website manages non-sporting-event gambling, including bets on the outcome of political elections, the weather and financial benchmarks, such as how high a stock index might go by the end of the day.
Florian Homm arrested
ROME, March 11 (UPI) -- Self-styled rogue hedge fund manager Florian Homm has been arrested in Italy at the behest of the United States, the FBI said.
Homm, who is German, is wanted on four felony charges, including wire fraud and securities fraud and could face possible 25-year sentences if convicted, The New York Times reported Monday.
He will be extradited to the United States, the FBI said.
Homm is the founder of the hedge fund Absolute Capital Management Holdings although he resigned from the firm Sept. 18, 2007, as it was collapsing. He fled the Spanish island of Majorca, where he owns a villa, to Colombia, leaving on a private plane with his Calvin Klein underwear "stuffed with cash," the Times said.
Homm, the author of the book "Rogue Financier: The Adventures of an Estranged Capitalist." has said he was not hiding from authorities, but trying to find himself.
He has said he was hiding from former business partners who allegedly were out to kill him.
Homm is accused of defrauding investors of more than $200 million by perpetrating a scheme called "portfolio pumping."
The scheme involved trades between a brokerage firm where he was part owner and his hedge fund.
He earned commission on the trades, but also inflated the price of penny stock to make Absolute Capital Management appear healthier than it was.
Before he went into hiding, Homm lived a flamboyant lifestyle. Homm, who is 6-foot-7, owned a villa in Spain and a quarter of Borussia Dortmund, a professional soccer team.
"I've always said I've been a rogue operator in much of my life," he said in an interview in November when his book was published.
