Prior Problems In 787 Battery Set Off Concerns Boeing Was Aware of 787 Battery Problems Before Failure

Toru Hanai/Reuters

All Nippon Airways, the biggest operator of 787s, is holding jets at Haneda airport in Tokyo.

Even before two battery failures led to the grounding of all Boeing 787 jets this month, the lithium-ion batteries used on the aircraft had experienced multiple problems that raised questions about their reliability.

Officials at All Nippon Airways, the jets’ biggest operator, said in an interview on Tuesday that it replaced 10 of the batteries in the months before fire in one plane and smoke in another led regulators around the world to ground the jets.

The airline said it told Boeing of the replacements as they occurred but was not required to report them to safety regulators because they were not considered a safety issue and no flights were canceled or delayed.

National Transportation Safety Board officials said Tuesday that their inquiry would include the replacements.

The airline also, for the first time, explained the extent of the previous problems, which underscore the volatile nature of the batteries and add to concerns over whether Boeing and other plane manufacturers will be able to use the batteries safely.

In five of the 10 replacements, All Nippon said that the main battery had showed an unexpectedly low charge. An unexpected drop in a 787’s main battery also occurred on the All Nippon flight that had to make an emergency landing in Japan on Jan. 16.

The airline also revealed that in three instances, the main battery had failed to start normally and had had to be replaced, along with the charger. In other cases, one battery showed an error reading and another, used to start the auxiliary power unit, failed. All of the events occurred from May to December of last year. The malfunctioning batteries, made by the Japanese manufacturer GS Yuasa, were serviced by All Nippon maintenance crew members. (The battery from the plane involved in the emergency landing was sent back to GS Yuasa.)

Japan Airlines, which operates seven 787s, said Wednesday that there had been “several cases” in which maintenance crew members needed to replace 787 batteries after irregularities, but the carrier declined to give details. The switches were not considered a safety risk and were conducted “within the scope of regular maintenance,” said Kazunori Kidosaki, a company spokesman.

Kelly Nantel, a spokeswoman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said investigators had only recently heard that there had been “numerous issues with the use of these batteries” on 787s. She said the board had asked Boeing, All Nippon and other airlines for information about the problems.

“That will absolutely be part of the investigation,” she said.

Boeing, based in Chicago, has said repeatedly that any problems with the batteries can be contained without threatening the planes and their passengers.

Boeing officials said the need to replace the batteries also suggested that safeguards were activated to prevent overheating and keep the drained batteries from being recharged. Company officials said the batteries can drain too deeply if left on without being connected to power sources.  Trying to recharge such batteries could generate excessive heat, so safety mechanisms lock out any attempts to do that.

Boeing officials said that improperly connecting a battery can also render it unusable.  And they acknowledged that some of the new batteries were not lasting as long as intended. They said that could cause airlines to replace them more frequently but did not pose a safety problem.

A GS Yuasa official, Tsutomu Nishijima, said battery exchanges were part of the normal operations of a plane but would not comment further.

The Federal Aviation Administration decided in 2007 to allow Boeing to use the lithium-ion batteries instead of older, more stable types as long as it took safety measures to prevent or contain a fire. But once Boeing put in those safeguards, it did not revisit its basic design even as more evidence surfaced of the risks involved, regulators said.

Matthew L. Wald contributed reporting.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: January 30, 2013

An earlier version of this article misstated the action taken by All Nippon Airways with 10 lithium-ion batteries it replaced on Boeing 787 jets between May and December of last year. The malfunctioning batteries were sent to the airline’s maintenance department for service, not to the maker, GS Yuasa. (The battery from the plane involved in an emergency landing earlier this month was, however, sent back to GS Yuasa.)

Read More..

RIM starts glitzy BlackBerry 10 launch parties

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Research In Motion Ltd on Wednesday kicked off a string of global launch parties for a long-delayed line of smartphones it says will put it on the comeback trail in a market it once dominated.

The new BlackBerry 10 phones will compete with Apple‘s iPhone and devices using Google‘s Android technology, both of which have soared above the BlackBerry in a competitive market.

They boast fast browsers, new features, smart cameras and, unlike previous BlackBerry models, enter the market primed with a large app library.

(Writing by Janet Guttsman; Editing by Frank McGurty)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: RIM starts glitzy BlackBerry 10 launch parties
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/rim-starts-glitzy-blackberry-10-launch-parties/
Link To Post : RIM starts glitzy BlackBerry 10 launch parties
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Karolína Kurková: Why I Chose Natural Childbirth

Target Presse Agentur Gmbh/Getty

For Karolína Kurková, there was no place like home to welcome her first child.

Setting up a birthing suite in the comforts of her Tribeca apartment, the model mama admits her motivation behind her decision to deliver naturally was simple: childbirth is nothing new.

“Of course we had the midwife, we had the doula, but that’s something we really did a lot of research on and we wanted to do,” Kurková, 28, tells Access Hollywood Live.

“Centuries women have been giving birth naturally and I think your body adjusts to it and you get into a zone.”

Her active labor lasted 2½ hours — a process she calls “quite quick” — and, by keeping her concentration on seeing her son, little time was left to think of the pain.

“It’s not like, ‘Oh my God, it’s a pain. I’m dying, I’m dying,’” the supermodel coach of The Face says. “It was so gradual you just kind of deal with it. You get in a zone, you really focus.”

With her husband Archie Drury preparing “green juice and coconut water” to keep his wife hydrated, it wasn’t long before Kurková’s midwife let her know baby boy was on his way.

“I really wanted to do it in the water because it’s better for the baby to be born in the water — from water to water — and it’s less painful for the mom,” she explains of her decision to deliver in a birthing pool.

“When he’s born in the water, there’s still that umbilical cord so until you clip it they can still breathe through it. He was born in the water [then] we put him on my chest.”

Recalling the big day as an “incredible experience” Kurková will “absolutely” do it all over again — eventually. Until then, 3-year-old Tobin Jack has all his mama’s attention.

“I want to enjoy [Tobin] first and learn everything and really spend time with him,” she explains.

– Anya Leon

Read More..

Soldier with new arms determined to be independent

BALTIMORE (AP) — After weeks of round-the-clock medical care, Brendan Marrocco insisted on rolling his own wheelchair into a news conference using his new transplanted arms. Then he brushed his hair to one side.

Such simple tasks would go unnoticed in most patients. But for Marrocco, who lost all four limbs while serving in Iraq, these little actions demonstrate how far he's come only six weeks after getting a double-arm transplant.

Wounded by a roadside bomb in 2009, the former soldier said he could get by without legs, but he hated living without arms.

"Not having arms takes so much away from you. Even your personality, you know. You talk with your hands. You do everything with your hands, and when you don't have that, you're kind of lost for a while," the 26-year-old New Yorker told reporters Tuesday at Johns Hopkins Hospital.

Doctors don't want him using his new arms too much yet, but his gritty determination to regain independence was one of the chief reasons he was chosen to receive the surgery, which has been performed in the U.S. only seven times.

That's the message Marrocco said he has for other wounded soldiers.

"Just not to give up hope. You know, life always gets better, and you're still alive," he said. "And to be stubborn. There's a lot of people who will say you can't do something. Just be stubborn and do it anyway. Work your ass off and do it."

Dr. W.P. Andrew Lee, head of the team that conducted the surgery, said the new arms could eventually provide much of the same function as his original arms and hands. Another double-arm transplant patient can now use chopsticks and tie his shoes.

Lee said Marrocco's recovery has been remarkable, and the transplant is helping to "restore physical and psychological well-being."

Tuesday's news conference was held to mark a milestone in his recovery — the day he was to be discharged from the hospital.

Next comes several years of rehabilitation, including physical therapy that is going to become more difficult as feeling returns to the arms.

Before the surgery, he had been living with his older brother in a specially equipped home on New York's Staten Island that had been built with the help of several charities. Shortly after moving in, he said it was "a relief to not have to rely on other people so much."

The home was heavily damaged by Superstorm Sandy last fall.

"We'll get it back together. We've been through a lot worse than that," his father, Alex Marrocco, said.

For the next few months, Marrocco plans to live with his brother in an apartment near the hospital.

The former infantryman said he can already move the elbow on his left arm and rotate it a little bit, but there hasn't been much movement yet for his right arm, which was transplanted higher up.

Marrocco's mother, Michelle Marrocco, said he can't hug her yet, so he brushes his left arm against her face.

The first time he moved his left arm was a complete surprise, an involuntary motion while friends were visiting him in the hospital, he said.

"I had no idea what was going through my mind. I was with my friends, and it happened by accident," he recalled. "One of my friends said 'Did you do that on purpose?' And I didn't know I did it."

Marrocco's operation also involved a technical feat not tried in previous cases, Lee said in an interview after the news conference.

A small part of Marrocco's left forearm remained just below his elbow, and doctors transplanted a whole new forearm around and on top of it, then rewired nerves to serve the old and new muscles in that arm.

"We wanted to save his joint. In the unlucky event we would lose the transplant, we still wanted him to have the elbow joint," Lee said.

He also explained why leg transplants are not done for people missing those limbs — "it's not very practical." That's because nerves regrow at best about an inch a month, so it would be many years before a transplanted leg was useful.

Even if movement returned, a patient might lack sensation on the soles of the feet, which would be unsafe if the person stepped on sharp objects and couldn't feel the pain.

And unlike prosthetic arms and hands, which many patients find frustrating, the ones for legs are good. That makes the risks of a transplant not worth taking.

"It's premature" until there are better ways to help nerves regrow, Lee said.

Now Marrocco, who was the first soldier to survive losing all four limbs in the Iraq War, is looking forward to getting behind the wheel of his black 2006 Dodge Charger and hand-cycling a marathon.

Asked if he could one day throw a football, Dr. Jaimie Shores said sure, but maybe not like Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco.

"Thanks for having faith in me," Marrocco interjected, drawing laughter from the crowd.

His mother said Marrocco has always been "a tough cookie."

"He's not changed that, and he's just taken it and made it an art form," Michelle Marrocco said. "He's never going to stop. He's going to be that boy I knew was going to be a pain in my butt forever. And he's going to show people how to live their lives."

___

Associated Press Chief Medical Writer Marilynn Marchione in Milwaukee and AP writer David Dishneau in Hagerstown, Md., contributed to this report.

Read More..

Wall Street edges higher, Amazon offsets GDP

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were flat on Wednesday as an unexpectedly weak read on fourth-quarter economic activity was offset by strong results at Boeing and Amazon.com.

Equities continued to shrug off negative news, with the S&P 500 staying above 1,500, a level that market technicians call an inflection point that will determine the overall direction in the near term.

The first read showed gross domestic product fell 0.1 percent, far below expectations for growth of 1.1 percent. However, private sector employment topped forecasts, with the ADP National Employment report showing 192,000 jobs added in January, higher than the 165,000 expectation.

"The GDP report is the only negative shock we've had in a while, and it isn't terrible since it showed increases in business and consumer spending, which is what everyone wants to drive growth from here," said Randy Frederick, managing director of active trading and derivatives for Charles Schwab in Austin, Texas.

Deeper losses were prevented by a rise in both Boeing Co and Amazon.com Inc , which rallied after earnings beat expectations, continuing a trend this quarter of high-profile names advancing after results.

Amazon.com Inc rose 6.7 percent to $277.87 a day after reporting strong revenue growth. Boeing rose 0.5 percent to $74 after its results. The Dow component also said that while production continued on its Dreamliner jet, which has had technical problems recently, it was suspending delivery until clearance was granted by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Thomson Reuters data showed that of the 174 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings this season, 68.4 percent have been above analyst expectations, which is a higher proportion than over the past four quarters and above the average since 1994.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 5.50 points, or 0.04 percent, at 13,959.92. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was up 1.09 points, or 0.07 percent, at 1,508.93. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was up 5.73 points, or 0.18 percent, at 3,159.39.

The S&P 500 is on track to post its best monthly performance since October 2011 as investors poured $55 billion in new cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in January, the biggest monthly inflow on record.

The Dow Jones industrial average has been flirting with 14,000, a level it hasn't seen since October 2007. Many analysts have said markets may need to take a pause.

"I'm neutral on markets at these levels, even though there aren't a lot of negatives out there," Frederick said. "At some point there will be a pullback, but the underlying trends remain strong and I think it is possible the S&P could hit a new all-time high sometime this quarter."

The all-time intraday high for the S&P 500 is 1,576.09, reached October 11, 2007.

The Federal Reserve concludes a two-day meeting on Wednesday, and while the central bank is expected to keep monetary policy on a steady path, intensive debates continue behind the scenes over when the controversial bond-buying program should be curtailed.

Chesapeake Energy Corp rose 11 percent to $21.11 as the S&P's biggest percentage gainer, a day after saying Aubrey McClendon would step down as chief executive after a year in which a series of Reuters investigations triggered civil and criminal probes of the second-largest U.S. natural gas producer.

(Editing by Chizu Nomiyama and Nick Zieminski)

Read More..

At War Blog: On the Job in Afghanistan, Female Soldiers Reflect

KABUL, Afghanistan — In the shadow of transport aircraft, rows of helicopters and supply pallets, women in uniform are a well-established part of the fabric of military life on bases and near the front lines in Afghanistan — a minority, to be sure, but one so common on the job that it’s hardly seen as an issue.

For active-duty military women in Afghanistan, the news of the end of the combat exclusion for women seemed far less momentous than it may have back in the United States. Not that it wasn’t seen as good news, and an important moment, but the talk here quickly turned to practicalities: what the change might mean for them, for their friends, for the women who will come after them.

The one thing soldiers wanted to make clear was that women had been there already — doing at least some of the jobs that they will now be able to do as full members of combat units rather than in external groups attached to them. And no doubt there will gradually be more of them making the shift.

“The biggest issue that America needs to understand is that we have been out there in the field, on the front lines,” said Sgt. Natasha Nelson, 23, a signal communications specialist. “There’s one of my best friends, and she’s a medic and she’s been out there on the front lines forever. From my experience, now I’ve only been in for four years, but it’s not new to us, it’s new to them,” she said, referring to the American public.

Capt. Jessica Kirkendall, 32, an intelligence officer, echoed that thought: “To an extent, it’s a reflection of what’s already on the battlefield.”

And, said Sgt. Maj. Micheal Horton, 48, it’s a natural progression. When she entered the military 24 years ago, the job of being a sapper had just opened to women. Sapper, a term popularly associated with demining, actually covers most combat engineering tasks that are done in support of combat infantry units.

“They had just opened up engineering work to females, so I got to be a heavy equipment operator,” she said. Then a few years ago the job of being a bridge crew member opened, and “that was a major thing.”

So the next step – opening all combat units to women –  seems logical, especially since the realities of the 21st-century battlefield demand that women work alongside their male counterparts. Sergeant Major Horton pointed to members of “female engagement teams,” who are attached to infantry units and tasked with gathering intelligence from female civilians, among other things, as examples of women who are already in combat situations.

“The female engagement teams are embedded with infantry — they can talk it, they can walk it, they can carry their load,” she said.

Sergeant Major Horton did, however, sound a bit regretful that the exclusion had not been lifted sooner so that she could have risen to be a commander in a combat unit. Will she benefit? “Not at my echelon – I can’t apply for any more jobs,” she said. “I could be nominated probably for some of the positions, but I still wouldn’t have had the experience as a junior commander.”

The change will make the greatest difference for young women who are just now choosing their military occupational field or are still at a fairly junior level and could switch into a combat unit and still have time to build a career.

For Sergeant Nelson, who loves her work as a signal communications specialist, there’s the opportunity to become part of an infantry unit now and go to the front lines. She’s not sure she will do that, but finally it’s at least a real prospect.

These women played down the numbers of women who would be likely to take advantage of the new opportunity. “Do I think the floodgates will open? No,” Captain Kirkendall said.

Lt. Cmdr. Laura Reshetar, 33, who formerly served as a naval surface warfare officer and is now a future operations planner at the International Security Assistance Force headquarters in Kabul, sounded palpably excited about the decision. But she agreed with Captain Kirkendall that only a small number of women would seek combat slots at first.

“Personally I think it’s awesome, but I don’t think there will be tons of women rushing to do those jobs,” she said. “It will be the alpha females: highly athletic, highly motivated.” She added that she would not choose a combat specialty in part because she eventually wants to be a mother and would worry that she would not be able to give her all to the job if she were worrying about a child.

Above all, these women felt that at last, military policy was catching up with women’s aspirations.

“It seems very undemocratic of us to say, ‘Hey you want to serve your country, great, but you can only do these certain jobs because of your gender,’” Captain Kirkendall said. “In a country that espouses this whole idea of choosing your path in life and pursuing that path to the best of your ability, it just doesn’t seem very American to say ‘except for 20 percent of you.’”

She added, “As time progresses, people will see that women are very proficient in these roles.”

Related Coverage:

---

Read More..

Cricket-Australia board play straight bat to Warne twitter rant

Jan 29 (Reuters) – Cricket Australia (CA) chief executive James Sutherland has defended the organisation following a scathing attack aimed at them by spin great Shane Warne, who panned the board in a series of Twitter rants.

Sutherland added that he was prepared to meet with Warne and discuss the 43-year-old’s criticism of CA’s player rotation policy and his claim that “rubbish” decisions were turning Australian cricket into a “big joke”.

After venting his initial anger on Monday, Warne reiterated his views a day later.

“As I said last night we need cricket people running the team & who understand cricket & what’s required at the top level, not muppets,” he tweeted on Tuesday.

Warne questioned the logic of having former rugby union international Pat Howard as the board’s high performance manager but Sutherland threw his weight behind the former Wallaby back.

“I have every confidence in Pat Howard and his team, and what they’re doing,” Sutherland told local media on Tuesday.

“Personally I find it a little bit disappointing to read about that (Warne’s criticisms) in the fashion that I have.

“Ideally you’d like to be able to sit down with Shane and understand a little bit more deeply his opinions.”

Australia won all three tests in a recent series against Sri Lanka but were held 2-2 in the subsequent one-day internationals after resting skipper Michael Clarke for the first two matches.

The hosts, however, lost both Twenty20 internationals and were left debating the merits of a controversial rotation policy CA has introduced to manage injuries and the workload of their frontline players.

While Warne insisted Australia needed to field their best 11 players every time they stepped out, fast bowling great Dennis Lillee has backed CA’s approach.

“He’s 100 percent in agreement with the selection panel with managing the load and development of players,” Sutherland said of Lillee, who captured 355 wickets in 70 tests.

“Who’s right here?

“You’ve got Shane Warne saying one thing, Dennis Lillee saying another. It’s not a black and white issue.”

Warne retired from test cricket in 2007 after taking 708 wickets in 145 tests. (Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by John O’Brien)

Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Title Post: Cricket-Australia board play straight bat to Warne twitter rant
Url Post: http://www.news.fluser.com/cricket-australia-board-play-straight-bat-to-warne-twitter-rant/
Link To Post : Cricket-Australia board play straight bat to Warne twitter rant
Rating:
100%

based on 99998 ratings.
5 user reviews.
Author: Fluser SeoLink
Thanks for visiting the blog, If any criticism and suggestions please leave a comment

Read More..

Jason Priestley Jokes Jennie Garth's Weight Loss Was the Result of 'Heartbreak'

By Becky Randel

01/29/2013 at 11:40 PM EST

Jennie Garth and Jason Priestley

Kevin Winter/Getty

Is it a makeover ... or a breakover?

According to Jason Priestley, Jennie Garth's recent body makeover may have gotten a boost from good old-fashioned heartbreak.

"You spend a little time in Heartbreak Hotel, that's what happens. Heartbreak Hotel diet is a good one," Priestley joked with PEOPLE at the National Association of Television Program Executives (NATPE) convention in Miami on Monday, where he is promoting his new comedy Call Me Fitz.

But when asked if a real life romance between Garth and Luke Perry – who the actor caught up with during last summer's Old Navy commercial shoot – might be a possibility, Priestly joked, "I have no idea ... but you can always hope!"

Priestley calls his new alter-ego Richard Fitzpatrick, a used car salesman turned politician, "the antithesis of Brandon Walsh," and says of his twisted story lines (one episode has him sleeping with a nun in a church), "I sort of feel like I'm in this very high stakes game of chicken with our writers." 

Ironically, Jason claims any personal similarities to Fitz are old news. "Back when I was playing Brandon Walsh I was a lot more Fitz and now that I'm playing Fitz, I'm a lot more Brandon," he says. He calls his life during the 90210 days, "not normal" and confesses, "I'm just glad we went through it before there was a TMZ and everyone had a video camera on their cell phone."

Read More..

Study says leafy greens top food poisoning source

NEW YORK (AP) — A big government study has fingered leafy greens like lettuce and spinach as the leading source of food poisoning, a perhaps uncomfortable conclusion for health officials who want us to eat our vegetables.

"Most meals are safe," said Dr. Patricia Griffin, a government researcher and one of the study's authors who said the finding shouldn't discourage people from eating produce. Experts repeated often-heard advice: Be sure to wash those foods or cook them thoroughly.

While more people may have gotten sick from plants, more died from contaminated poultry, the study also found. The results were released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Each year roughly 1 in 6 Americans — or 48 million people— gets sick from food poisoning. That includes 128,000 hospitalization and 3,000 deaths, according to previous CDC estimates.

The new report is the most comprehensive CDC has produced on the sources of food poisoning, covering the years 1998 through 2008. It reflects the agency's growing sophistication at monitoring illnesses and finding their source.

What jumped out at the researchers was the role fruits and vegetables played in food poisonings, said Griffin, who heads the CDC office that handles foodborne infection surveillance and analysis.

About 1 in 5 illnesses were linked to leafy green vegetables — more than any other type of food. And nearly half of all food poisonings were attributed to produce in general, when illnesses from other fruits and vegetables were added in.

It's been kind of a tough month for vegetables. A controversy erupted when Taco Bell started airing a TV ad for its variety 12-pack of tacos, with a voiceover saying that bringing a vegetable tray to a football party is "like punting on fourth-and-1." It said that people secretly hate guests who bring vegetables to parties.

The fast-food chain on Monday announced it was pulling the commercial after receiving complaints that it discouraged people from eating vegetables.

Without actually saying so, the CDC report suggests that the Food and Drug Administration should devote more staff time and other resources to inspection of fruits and vegetables, said Michael Doyle, director of the University of Georgia's Center for Food Safety.

Earlier this month, the FDA released a proposed new rule for produce safety that would set new hygiene standards for farm workers and for trying to reduce contact with animal waste and dirty water.

Meanwhile, CDC officials emphasized that their report should not be seen as discouraging people from eating vegetables.

Many of the vegetable-related illnesses come from norovirus, which is often spread by cooks and food handlers. So contamination sometimes has more to do with the kitchen or restaurant it came from then the food itself, Griffin noted.

Also, while vegetable-related illnesses were more common, they were not the most dangerous. The largest proportion of foodborne illness deaths — about 1 in 5 — were due to poultry. That was partly because three big outbreaks more than 10 years ago linked to turkey deli meat.

But it was close. CDC estimated 277 poultry-related deaths in 1998-2008, compared to 236 vegetable-related deaths.

Fruits and nuts were credited with 96 additional deaths, making 334 total deaths for produce of all types. The CDC estimated 417 deaths from all kinds of meat and poultry, another 140 from dairy and 71 from eggs.

Red meat was once seen as one of the leading sources of food poisoning, partly because of a deadly outbreak of E. coli associated with hamburger. But Griffin and Doyle said there have been significant safety improvements in beef handling. In the study, beef was the source of fewer than 4 percent of food-related deaths and fewer than 7 percent of illnesses.

____

Online:

CDC journal: http://www.cdc.gov/eid/

Read More..

Wall Street flat, investors look for new catalyst

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks were flat on Tuesday as investors looked for new reasons in economic data or earnings to extend a rally that pushed major averages near five-year highs.

Equities have been on a tear lately, with the S&P 500 recently climbing for eight straight sessions, extending its rise in January to 5.1 percent. The index hovered around 1,500, suggesting there was still support for a market that has been hovering around five-year highs.

"A move like this in one month is extraordinary, and keeping the gains going will depend on concrete news like earnings and data that show the economy is getting better," said Peter Tuz, president of Chase Investment Counsel in Charlottesville, Virginia. "We haven't seen enough of that to make people jump in after the rally we've had."

The gains have largely come on a strong start to earnings season, though results were mixed on Tuesday with Pfizer Inc rising but Ford Motor Co dropping after its report.

Both companies reported profits that topped expectations, but Ford also forecast a wider loss in its European segment. Shares dropped 3.6 percent to $13.32 as one of the biggest percentage losers on the S&P 500.

Pfizer, a Dow component, rose 1.2 percent to $27.16 after its results while Eli Lilly and Co rose 1.2 percent to $53.25 after reporting adjusted fourth-quarter earnings and revenue that beat expectations.

In economic news, stocks retreated slightly after data showed U.S. consumer confidence dropped to its lowest level in more than a year in January. Americans were more pessimistic about the economic outlook and their financial prospects, according to the Conference Board.

In addition, home prices rose 0.6 percent in November, as expected, according to the S&P Case/Shiller Home Price Index. The news comes a day after data showed an unexpected drop in December pending home sales.

Thomson Reuters data showed that of the 150 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings so far, 67.3 percent have beaten analysts' expectations, which is a higher proportion than over the past four quarters and above the average since 1994.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 13.40 points, or 0.10 percent, at 13,895.33. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 1.01 points, or 0.07 percent, at 1,499.17. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 18.21 points, or 0.58 percent, at 3,136.09.

The Nasdaq was pressured by a pair of disappointing tech outlooks. Seagate Technology Plc forecast third-quarter revenue below expectations while BMC Software Inc gave a 2013 profit view that was below forecasts.

Seagate shares slumped 8.7 percent to $34.10 while BMC fell 7.8 percent to $41.

On the upside in technology, Yahoo Inc rose 1.2 percent to $20.55 a day after forecasting a rise in annual revenue.

The Federal Reserve's Open Market Committee is due to hold two days of meetings on interest rates beginning on Tuesday.

In a sign of an improved view towards equities, investors poured $55 billion in new cash into stock mutual funds and exchange-traded funds in January, the biggest monthly inflow on record, research provider TrimTabs Investment Research said.

(Editing by Kenneth Barry and Nick Zieminski)

Read More..