LABroadsheet_ 09-23-2011_ A_ 1_ A1_ WEST_ 1_C K Y M TSet: 09-22-2011 17:57

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88 PAGES 2011 WST

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 2011

latimes.com

Economic fears drive a global sell-off

The Dow falls almost 400 points; investors rush into U.S. bonds for safety, driving interest rates down.
Walter Hamilton, Tom Petruno and Tiffany Hsu

A tumble
Dow Jones industrial average this week, by the hour:
11,700

10,733.83 down 391.01

11,300

Erik De Castro Reuters

IN AFGHANISTAN: U.S. soldiers fire a mortar round in Kunar province. Pakistans ISI spy agency may have

communicated with and given equipment to Afghan insurgents, Joint Chiefs Chairman Michael Mullen says.

U.S. SAYS State questions handling PAKISTAN of millions by Montebello AIDED KABUL ATTACKS
Funds meant to help neighborhoods were spent frivolously, auditors say.
Jessica Garrison and Abby Sewell State auditors found Montebello improperly handled $31million, including instances in which officials used funds meant to improve blighted neighborhoods on fancy dinners in

Islamabads spy service is accused of assisting strikes on American targets.

David S. Cloud and Ken Dilanian
reporting from washington

Las Vegas, golf, embroidered polo shirts and other frivolous items. The two audits, released Thursday, mark more bad news for the city of 65,000 east of downtown Los Angeles. Montebello is seeking a private loan to avoid running out of cash this fall and is the subject of an FBI investigation into allegations that it misused federal housing money. Officials from the state controllers office spent months reviewing Montebellos books dating back to

2005 and said they were troubled to learn that the city regularly used money designed for specific purposes to balance its budget in apparent violation of the law. At the expense of local job development, street repair, and schools, Montebello has made it a habit to tap legally-restricted funds to cover its budget and cash shortfalls, said Controller John Chiang in a statement. It appears that the City moved money wherever it [See Montebello, A17]

Alex Rodriguez
reporting from islamabad, pakistan

Pakistans powerful intelligence agency communicated with Afghan insurgents who attacked the U.S. Embassy and NATO headquarters in central Kabul last week and appear to have provided them with equipment, according to U.S. military officers and former officials. Communications gear used by the insurgents implicated the directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, or ISI, Pakistans spy service, a senior U.S. military official said Thursday. The equipment was found in a 14-story building under construction that the attackers used to lay siege to the embassy compound for 19 hours on Sept. 13, according to the official, who would not describe the equipment recovered. Bruce Riedel, a former White House advisor on Pakistan and a retired senior CIA official, said administration officials told him that very firm intelligence linked the Pakistani spy agency to the embassy attack, which killed at least nine Afghans. There are [communications] intercepts and the attackers were in cellphone contact back to Pakistan, he said. In a dramatic appearance before the Senate [See Pakistan, A6]

The strain of deteriorating economic conditions and the failure of governments to contain the damage are raising fears that a new financial market meltdown may be unavoidable. The grim mood was evident worldwide as a cascade of selling in stocks and commodities was triggered by concerns that policymakers lack the firepower and political consensus to revive their faltering economies. The Federal Reserves latest move to push interest rates lower failed to assuage investors, who appear to be giving in to anxieties about a double-dip recession. Global markets buckled Thursday. Asian and European stocks spiraled downward and pulled the Dow Jones industrial average down almost 400 points toward its worst week since the depths of Wall Streets meltdown in 2008. Even gold wasnt a safe place to turn. Meanwhile, interest rates on U.S. Treasury bonds fell to lows not seen since the 1940s as investors rushed to lock in yields. The fear is that this is another event of the magnitude of 2008, said John Bollinger, head of Bollinger Capital Management in Manhattan Beach. This is entirely being driven by fear. The hailstorm of selling came a day after the Federal

10,900

10,500 Mon. Tue. Wed. Thu.

Source: Bloomberg
Los Angeles Times

Reserve unveiled its latest unorthodox attempt to spur growth. Investors doubted the move would have a measurable effect, and many were jolted by the central banks bluntly worded rationale, which warned of significant downside risks to the economy. Just as massive loan losses at Wall Street banks threatened the global economy three years ago, stubbornly high U.S. unemployment and persistent European government debt problems have shaken confidence today. The fear is evident among ordinary Americans such as Darla Davis. Dismayed about the economy and the stock market, the part-time teachers aide from Frazier Park is considering a return to full-time work to prop up her familys income. I cant afford to lose any more money, Davis said. Its just not stable. I think the economy is going to tank. Davis, 52, pulled her money out of a mutual fund two [See Markets, A14]

Moneyball: Score it a hit

Film critic Kenneth Turan sees a thoughtful and entertaining work that goes beyond baseball. CALENDAR, D1

GOP rivals face off in Florida

Matt Dunham Associated Press

JOINT EFFORT: Residents in Ofunato, Japan, try to access a safe that they say

Republican presidential candidates gather in Orlando for their third debate of the month.
LATEXTRA

Jay L. Clendenin L.A. Times

was swept away from their restaurant during the March 11 quake and tsunami.

In Japan, finders not keepers

In a nation known for its culture of honesty, people have turned in $78 million recovered after the tsunami.
Tom Miyagawa Coulton
reporting from tokyo

Faster than light? Maybe

Particle researchers make a surprising observation that appears to contradict Einstein.
LATEXTRA

Whitman has a big job to do with HP

Some analysts question whether the former eBay chief is a good fit in her new role with the evolving computer giant. BUSINESS, B1

John M. Glionna
reporting from seoul

The unmarked envelope floated into the living room of the home in northeastern

Japan, riding the wave of tsunami floodwaters. Inside, the astounded resident found $40,000 in yen notes. More money has been found in wallets, paper bags, and other containers swept away from their owners and scattered across a landscape ripped apart by the March 1 earthquake. One 1 woman found $26,000 in a purse she had spotted atop a pile of debris. One police locksmith opened the heavy door of a recovered safe to find $1.3 million in yen notes. What followed is a testa-

ment to a culture of honesty and altruism: The Japanese have turned over more than $48 million in loose cash to authorities. People tell me they just want the money to go to its owner, said Kouetsu Saiki, a Miyagi prefecture police officer who oversees the collection, identification and return of salvaged money and valuables. It will never be known whether the less altruistic pocketed what they found. But add the $30 million col[See Japan, A7]

COLUMN ONE

Matches with a spark of tradition

A U.S. Muslim matchmaker bridges modernity and old-world values.
Raja Abdulrahim
Steve Fenn ABC

he one-line email that greeted Mohammad Mertaban came straight to the point. Mertaban, find me a husband, k? I await your list of potential suitors, wrote a woman who lives on the East Coast. Mertaban was not surprised, although he knew the woman only slightly. If it comes from a brother or sister whom I dont know very well, I know that she would do it out of frus-

tration, desperation or a strong desire to get married, he explained later. An information technology project manager who lives in Fullerton, Mertaban, 30, has grown accustomed to urgent requests by phone, email and in person since he began dabbling in matchmaking for friends and acquaintances about eight years ago. Those he helps are observant young Muslims searching for a modern path to marriage that stays true to Islam. American Muslims regularly speak of a marriage crisis in their communities, as growing numbers of

Muslims reach their late 20s and early 30s still single. Young religious Muslims tend to avoid Western-style dating, but many also reject the ways of earlier generations, in which potential spouses were introduced to one another by family. Traditionally, in South Asia and the Middle East, older women often called the aunties and parents recommended matches by drawing upon their extensive networks of family, friends and acquaintances. Marriage criteria were typically limited to religion, ethnicity, jobs and [See Mertaban, A10]

A BU R ST I NG BU B B L E
Susan Lucci and Richard Shoberg are shown in a 1978 scene from All My Children. A longtime fan reflects on 41 years. OP-ED, A19 ABCs cancellation of the show is just the latest blow to the dwindling but still devoted audience for daytime dramas. CALENDAR, D1
World ............................ A3 Nation .......................... A11 Complete Index ...... AA2 Weather .................... AA8
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