Dow Chemical profit rises 6 percent in 3Q

Dow Chemical Co. reported a 6 percent increase in third-quarter profits Thursday due to substantial price hikes, but the nation's largest chemical company said a global recession is likely to last through most of next year.

"The global economy is now feeling the full effects of the same economic issues that have plagued the U.S. for the past several quarters," said Chairman and Chief Executive Andrew N. Liveris. "These issues have now been exacerbated by the lack of credit, resulting in a drop in demand not only in the U.S., but around the world.

"In our view, we will likely see a global recession through most of 2009."

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Police report critical of Israeli president

Israeli police recommended Thursday that Israeli President EzerWeizman not be prosecuted for accepting hundreds of thousands ofdollars from a French millionaire from 1987 to 1993, but only becausethe statute of limitations had run out. A police report saidWeizman's actions constituted fraud. But Weizman said the policeconclusions closed the case, and his office said he would not resign.Weizman, 75, is serving his second year in the mostly ceremonial postof president. His term expires in 2003.

Gas price near peak, U.S. says

Gasoline prices should peak this month at $1.52 a gallon anddecline to an average of $1.46 for the summer, the government saidThursday, revising …

FINNEGAN IS CEO AT GMAC.

DETROIT - General Motors has named John Finnegan chairman of General Motors Acceptance Corp. and executive vice president of GM. Finnegan, 49, had been president of GM's finance arm. He will retain that title in addition to his new duties, and will report to GM Chairman …

Fantastic comeback seals a place in the semi-final.

Junior football round-up

Matlock U-16s 2 Buxton U-16s 3

Buxton travelled to Bakewell on a sunny morning to play Matlock in this long-awaited cup quarter-final which had been postponed several times due to the state of the pitches.

Both teams were keen to progress to the semi-final and fought hard from the start.

Matlock seemed sharper and were soon rewarded with an unexpected goal which was scrambled in but nevertheless deserved. Matlock went on to score a second and Buxton were playing catch up.

Buxton stepped up their game and Matlock found the chances had dried up. With Mirams and Grindey in midfield taking control of their area, and Goldstraw, Hicks, Lavender and Grattan sealing the defence, their game turned to attack.

Melland and Smith on the wings worked hard, feeding balls into the centre for Hudson and Shaw, but nobody could beat the excellent Matlock goalkeeper.

Grindey took a superb free-kick which looked set to land in the back of the net, but once again the keeper saved Matlock when he tipped the ball over the bar.

Melland crossed in from the left and missed scoring by a fraction, while Smith was denied again by the keeper. In the second half, Buxton stepped up their game even further and were rewarded when the hardworking Mirams scored a superb goal to bring the game back within reach.

Matlock never recovered and Critchlow soon scored another fine goal, making the game even.

Buxton continued to attack time after time, and just when it looked as though the game was going to extra time, Mirams, playing a fantastic game, slotted in a third.

The ball had hardly been returned to the centre spot when the whistle sounded and Buxton had made a fantastic comeback to reach the semi-final. Man of the match: Richard Mirams.

Juno 5 Whaley Bridge U-16s 0

On a day when Whaley were looking for three points to spur them on towards the top of the Stockport Metro League, an own goal after two minutes was the last thing they needed.

However, with their usual passion and commitment, demonstrated typically by Joe Bishop, an equaliser seemed only a matter of time away.

Juno did go close again twice in the first half but at least five opportunities went begging at the other end.

Ten minutes into the second half, a fine solo effort from one of three Juno forwards made it 2-0, but at this point Whaley were by no means beaten.

Sadly, on 55 minutes, a misunderstanding in the defence led to a second own goal, and at 3-0 down Whaley had given themselves a mountain to climb.

The result was put beyond doubt when the Whaley keeper was only able to palm a lofted ball onto the crossbar, the rebound being gleefully tucked away by a predatory Juno attacker.

On 78 minutes, a moment of farce saw a penalty given when a Juno forward appeared to trip himself up.

In the interests of fair play, the footballing gods allowed Whaley's keeper to save the spot-kick, but the fickle finger of fate saw the resulting corner slice through the defence to find an eager Juno boot at the far post.

Juno's five-goal margin was rather flattering and Whaley had several good individual performances, …

MCCALL TARGETS GLOBAL IN $63M PENSION LOSS.(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: Associated Press

EAST WINDHAM -- State Comptroller H. Carl McCall said Sunday his office plans to sue telecommunications giant Global Crossing over losses suffered by New York state's $112 billion public pension fund.

``We're about to sue Global Crossing,'' he said during a stop at a Greene County Democratic Party reception. ``We've got to make sure that any of these companies that defraud us, that these companies repay us.'' McCall is sole trustee of the state's public employees pension fund, which lost $63 million in Global Crossing's collapse.

The company filed the fourth-largest Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization case in history Jan. …

MAN SOUGHT AFTER CHASE CAPTURED IN LAKE GEORGE.(Local)

Byline: Bruce A. Scruton Staff writer

A man sought for more than three weeks after he allegedly led deputy sheriff's on a high-speed chase in a stolen van was captured Friday on the shores of Lake George after a deputy fired three shots at him.

Michael G. Mantice, 32, of Lake Luzerne, was arrested just before 4 p.m. on Fish Point after Warren County sheriff's deputies were notified that he was in the attic of a house.

As deputies responded to that call, other residents of the area reported Mantice was armed with a rifle and had run from the house. Deputies set up a perimeter and called for their police dog, "Sabre," to join in the search.

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Japan central bank keeps interest rate unchanged

Japan's central bank kept interest rates just above zero Tuesday, pledging to fight deflation and preserve recovery in the world's second-biggest economy.

The Bank of Japan policy board voted unanimously to keep the overnight call rate target at 0.1 percent, as widely expected even amid a resurgent yen. The central bank has maintained the super-low interest rate since December 2008 when it was cut from 0.3 percent.

Helped by export demand from emerging economies, Japan's economy is improving, the central bank said. But it expects stagnant growth until the middle of next fiscal year starting April.

"Japan's economy is picking up mainly due to …