Finance & Business World

An official says remains of several victims of a jetliner crash on the slopes of an Indonesian volcano have been airlifted to the capital for identification.

Search teams who climbed the near-vertical volcano face have been struggling to retrieve the bodies of the 45 people who were aboard the Russian-made Sukhoi Superjet-100 that crashed during a demonstration flight for potential buyers.

Search and rescue agency spokesman Gagah Prakoso said a thick fog that had shrouded the slopes finally lifted Saturday, allowing helicopters to land.

Prakoso says the aircraft brought four body bags with remains to Jakarta.

There is still no sign of the black box recorder that might explain why the jetliner crashed about halfway into Wednesday’s 50-minute flight.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

MOUNT SALAK, Indonesia (AP) _ Search teams who scaled a volcano’s steep slopes found at least 12 bodies Friday near the wreckage of a Russian-made jetliner that crashed in Indonesia during a demonstration flight for potential buyers, an official said.

All 45 aboard the Sukhoi Superjet-100 that crashed Wednesday are feared dead.

“Today we have discovered 12 victims, all dead,” Rear Marshal Daryatmo, head of the national search and rescue agency, told reporters Friday.

Many of the bodies found Friday had been torn apart in the crash, said Lt. Col. Oni Junianto of the Indonesian marines, whose search team found eight corpses before returning to base camp further down the mountain.

“We see many other victims … but the ravines and steep cliffs prevent us from reaching them,” Junianto said in a statement.

Local television showed what appeared to be the plane’s tail with the blue-and-white Sukhoi logo, part of a wing and bits of twisted metal scattered along the slope like confetti.

About 85 soldiers, police and volunteers used ropes to climb up to the wreckage through jungle on the near-vertical slopes of Mount Salak, search and rescue agency spokesman Gagah Prakoso said by telephone.

Thick fog and the mountain’s jagged slopes kept helicopters from landing at the crash site, so the bodies remained there along with the search teams.

The soldiers, police and volunteers fashioned a landing area by hacking down trees, but Prakoso said the helicopters were recalled to Jakarta late Friday because the fog limited visibility to only about 5 meters (15 feet).

The jetliner slammed into the dormant volcano at nearly 800 kph (480 mph) during drizzle. Russian and French investigators have joined the investigation into the cause.

The Superjet-100 is Russia’s first new model of passenger jet since the fall of the Soviet Union two decades ago and was intended to help resurrect its aerospace industry.

The ill-fated Superjet was carrying representatives from local airlines and journalists on what was supposed to be a 50-minute demonstration flight. Just 21 minutes after takeoff from a Jakarta airfield, the Russian pilot and co-pilot asked for permission to drop from 10,000 feet to 6,000 feet (3,000 meters to 1,800 meters). They gave no explanation, disappearing from the radar immediately afterward.

It was not clear why the crew asked to shift course, especially since they were so close to the 7,000-foot (2,200-meter) volcano, or whether they got an OK, officials have said.

Communication tapes will be reviewed as part of the investigation, but it’s unlikely they will be released to the public any time soon.

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China’s inflation rate slowed slightly to 3.4 percent in April, down from 3.6 percent a month earlier, giving the government greater leeway to ease policy to boost the economy.

The National Bureau of Statistics announced the figure Friday, which comes after China’s economy grew in the first quarter by its slowest pace since 2009.

The figure also comes a day after China announced that its trade surplus widened in April as imports barely budged, sharpening fears that the world’s second-biggest economy is not doing enough to stimulate domestic demand and counter a slowdown.

China grew by a still-robust 8.1 percent in the three months ending in March, down from the previous quarter’s 8.9 percent, but above the government’s 7.5 percent target for the year.

Growth has fallen steadily since 2010 as a slump in global demand battered its exporters and Beijing tightened lending and investment curbs to cool an overheated economy and surging inflation.

Already, there are signs that the slowdown is hurting demand for oil, industrial components and consumer goods at a time when U.S. and European growth are weak.

Last year’s unexpectedly steep plunge in demand for China’s exports due to U.S. and European economic woes prompted communist leaders to reverse course and ease controls on bank lending to help struggling manufacturers.

Further easing measures are expected, especially now that inflation appears to be under control, economists say.

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A spokesman for special envoy Kofi Annan says satellite imagery and other credible reports show that despite its claims, Syria has failed to withdraw all of its heavy weapons from populated areas as required by a cease-fire deal.

Ahmad Fawzi also said Tuesday that Annan is aware that when the U.N. monitors enter conflict areas in Syria that “the guns are silent” and then “when they leave, the exchanges start again.”

He further noted there appear to be cases of Syrians being targeted by authorities after approaching U totally free credit score.N. observers monitoring the truce. Fawzi called the situation “totally unacceptable.”

The cease-fire is part of Annan’s peace plan, which aims to stop the violence in Syria, where more than 9,000 people are believed to have died during a government crackdown on a popular uprising.

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Household confidence improved last week to match the highest level in four years as more Americans said their finances were in better shape.

The Bloomberg Consumer Comfort Index was minus 31.4 in the period ended April 15, compared with minus 32.8 over the previous seven days. The reading equaled that from two weeks earlier as the best since March 2008. Nonetheless, the monthly expectations measure fell from a one-year high, showing concern remains that too many Americans are still unemployed.

China is slowing, inflation is sleeping, bank stocks are slipping and Google is splitting. Got all that?

There’s a lot of economic and market news to digest on this frenetic Friday the 13th. Stocks were lower after a big move up Thursday.

Here’s why.

China’s gross domestic product grew at an 8.1% annualized pace in the first quarter. While that’s obviously a fantastic level of growth, it’s down from the 8.9% pace in the fourth quarter. And it’s disappointing, considering that Thursday’s market rally was partly due to whispers that China’s growth may not slow after all. Oops.

The China GDP number may not be a cause for alarm yet. But it will not silence the chorus of China critics who think that nation’s economy is destined for a hard landing.

The slowdown may also put more pressure on China’s central bank to lower its reserve requirement ratio for banks again — or even cut interest rates.

"It is important for global sentiment that China’s growth remains strong," said John Derrick, director of research for U.S. Global Investors. "If China were to be more aggressive with easing, that would be good for stocks."

Speaking of interest rates, the Federal Reserve has more justification to leave rates near zero for awhile thanks to the March consumer price report. Consumer prices rose 2.7% year-over-year through March, down from a 2.9% pace a month earlier.

The Fed can continue to keep monetary policy loose as long as inflation remains low. But while the latest round of job market data — a pullback in hiring in March and a pickup in weekly unemployment claims — is disheartening, those numbers are probably not weak enough to give the Fed good reason for further bond buying.

Correction? Perhaps. But investors shouldn’t panic

What’s more, even though inflation is low, the price of consumer goods is still rising at a higher clip than wages. So the Fed can’t completely write off concerns about inflation just yet. The market seems to sense that, and that may be another reason why stocks are down Friday.

"The Fed can keep current policy in place, but there is nothing hinting at deflation. So there is no ammunition for more easing right now," Derrick said.

Finally, there’s earnings. Profits at JPMorgan Chase (, Fortune 500) and Wells Fargo (, Fortune 500) did both top estimates. That’s the good news. But both stocks were lower Friday, as were shares of Citigroup (, Fortune 500) and Bank of America (, Fortune 500), which are each set to report results next week.

Investors may be looking beyond the first-quarter results and worrying about whether credit quality is deteriorating once again. The level of so-called non-performing assets at JPMorgan and Wells rose slightly from the fourth quarter. That could be an ominous sign, especially if the job market loses more momentum in the coming months.

"Earnings quality is poor and non-performing assets are up, which will scare people. Charge-offs and credit costs could go up," said Christopher Whalen, senior managing director with Tangent Capital Partners, a New York firm that focuses on banks.

And then there’s Google (, Fortune 500). The company’s sort-of evil stock "split" is overshadowing its latest earnings. When you look at those numbers closely, there is cause for concern.

Sure, earnings topped estimates. But sales narrowly missed forecasts. And a key gauge of how much advertisers are paying Google, the cost per click, fell from both the end of the fourth quarter and the first quarter of last year.

Sell in April and hide under the table?

Shares of Google slipped nearly 3% Friday. Combine Google’s lackluster numbers with the banks’ and it is reasonable to wonder if first-quarter earnings won’t be as strong as some people thought they might be after Alcoa (, Fortune 500) reported a surprise profit and much better sales Tuesday.

"Profit levels are already at record highs. So Corporate America has to start showing sustainable revenue growth to justify current stock valuations. That is key. And there are considerable headwinds for companies to digest," said Adrian Cronje, chief investment officer at Balentine in Atlanta.

Add this all up — slowing growth in China, worries about the U.S. economy and concerns that earnings can’t get that much better — and it’s clear that investors still have plenty to worry about this year. And we didn’t even tackle the fact that Europe’s debt crisis is rearing its ugly head again.

The recent slump may still turn out to be a correction as opposed to a major market rout. But anyone that still thinks there’s nothing but blue skies ahead for stocks and the economy is kidding themselves.

"There was too much enthusiasm about the economy at the beginning of the year," said Milton Ezrati, senior economist and market strategist with Lord Abbett in Jersey City, N.J. "This is a plodding recovery and earnings should reflect that. This is a wake-up call."

Best of StockTwits and reader comment of the week: The Google stock split has made some investors angry while others don’t seem to care too much about it.

bradloncar: $GOOG supposedly worrying about shareholder activism is such a red herring. It’s a $200B company!

The new C class of non-voting shares is strange. As I said in today’s Buzz video, it may not be "evil" but it is "devious." Google’s co-founders and chairman Eric Schmidt already have voting control of the company through the B shares — which is why there is virtually no way the plan to split the stock will be defeated.

And with a $200 billion market cap, who could really buy up enough of the A shares — with limited voting power by the way — to make a difference? This isn’t Yahoo (, Fortune 500).

OptionsHawk: $GOOG trades like 8X earnings ex-cash - that is about all u need to know…

JoshPritchard: $GOOG saw 34% growth in FCFO, but no one’s talked about it. Great Fundamentals. At 12% discount rate, current mkt cap implies <5% LT growth

That is true. As I wrote in my Google earnings preview piece Wednesday, the stock is cheap and the company is still growing rapidly. But the latest results show some cracks. Anyone who’s worried about competition from Facebook and Apple still has reasons to be doubtful.

Nokia launched its new Lumia smartphone in the United States on Easter. A few days later, it warned that it would report a bigger quarterly loss. Shares plunged, leading some to wonder if CEO Stephen Elop, who joined the company from Microsoft (, Fortune 500) last year, can really turn the ship around.

Douglas Blake gets the reader comment of the week award for referencing a blunt term that Elop used in a memo to Nokia () employees last year.

"$NOK forgot to jump off the burning platform!," he tweeted.

Ouch. I keep waiting for Research in Motion () to come up with a disaster metaphor of its own as well to describe the BlackBerry. Iceberg straight ahead!

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Paul R. La Monica. Other than Time Warner, the parent of CNNMoney, and Abbott Laboratories, La Monica does not own positions in any individual stocks. 

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Six world powers and Iran are meeting in an attempt to find common ground over concerns that Tehran’s nuclear program could be used to make weapons.

Iran insists it has no such ambitions, but the international community fears it could use its uranium enrichment program not only to make reactor fuel but also the fissile core of nuclear weapons.

After years of futile meetings, both sides have expressed optimism that enough progress could be achieved this time for a second round of talks business card.

The six _ the United States, Russia, China, Britain, France and Germany _ hope Iran will commit to at least discussing their concerns over its enrichment program on Saturday. That is something Tehran has refused to do during the most recent meetings.

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The fear trade picked up steam Tuesday, as investors grew increasingly worried about Europe’s fiscal health. All three indexes closed down more than 1.5%, marking the fifth straight losing day for stocks.

Early in the day investors, traded out of stocks after reading headlines about rising borrowing costs for Spain and Italy. As the day progressed, investors grew increasingly jittery over the health of the global economy, which caused the sell-off to intensify.

"People are starting to get very concerned about the macro picture of both sovereign debt and China’s slowing growth," said Sam Ginzburg, head of trading at First NY. "We’re starting to get very worried about going back to a recession."

The Dow Jones Industrial Average () closed down 214 points, or 1.7%, capping off the worst day since November 2011. The S&P 500 () lost 24 points, or 1.7%. The Nasdaq () fell 56 points, or 1.8%.

The S&P 500 also had the worst day since November 2011, while Nasdaq posted the worst finish since December 2011.

European stocks slumped more than 2%.

First-quarter earnings: They won’t be pretty

Yields on Spain’s 10-year bonds hovered just under 6%, the highest level in more than three months. Borrowing costs have been trending higher as the government struggles to push through budget cuts. In Italy, the yields rose near 5.7%.

Peter Boockvar, chief equity strategist at Miller Tabak, said that while U.S. investors had been largely ignoring sovereign debt questions in Europe, the continent’s problems cannot be ignored now.

As part of a broad retreat from risky assets, investors jumped into U.S. Treasuries, driving the yield on 10-year Treasuries below 2% for the first time in more than a month.

Twenty-nine of the Dow’s 30 components ended in the red, with Bank of America (, Fortune 500) leading the broad retreat. Oil and industrial stocks were also among the biggest decliners. GE (, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (, Fortune 500) and Exxon (, Fortune 500) fell more than 1%.

The so-called fear index, the VIX (), rose nearly 11% Tuesday and is up nearly 33% over the past five days. It’s at 20.5, still far from 30 — a reading that typically signals heightened investor fear.

Investors got one positive surprise after the markets closed. Dow component Alcoa (, Fortune 500) beat earnings estimates when it reported after the closing bell. Alcoa’s earnings unofficially begins the release of first-quarter financial results personal loan for poor credit.

Analysts are forecasting a 0.1% drop in first-quarter earnings for companies in the S&P 500 compared to a year earlier, according to FactSet. While that’s not a major decline, it would mark the end of a nine-quarter winning streak. Stocks were on a tear in the first three months of this year, with the Dow and S&P 500 enjoying their best first quarter in over a decade.

"We’re essentially expecting no growth, but we could see earnings come in worse than that," said Boockvar. "I think we have the potential for some disappointment."

Stocks finished lower Monday, as investors reacted to the disappointing March jobs report released last week.

World markets: European stocks closed down sharply. Britain’s FTSE-100 () slipped 2.2%, the DAX () in Germany dropped 2.5%, and France’s CAC 40 () shed 3.8%.

In Asia, Japan’s Nikkei () slipped 0.1%, while Hong Kong’s Hang Seng () lost 1.2% and the Shanghai Composite () gained 0.9%.

Economy: Wholesale inventories came in higher than expected for February with a 0.9% increase above the 0.5% rise forecast by economists. Inventories rose 0.4% in January.

On Monday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke said in a speech in Georgia that banks need to increase their capital buffers in order to ensure stability in the financial system.

Companies: Shares of electronics retailer Best Buy (, Fortune 500) surged then dropped after the company announced that CEO Brian Dunn had resigned and the company would begin a search for a new CEO.

Sony () shares dropped after the electronics maker announced it expects an annual loss of more than double its previous projection. The company said the revision came after recording additional tax expenses, primarily in the United States.

Shares of grocery retailer Supervalu (, Fortune 500) were up 15%, after the company reported earnings that beat expectations and offered strong guidance.

Apple’s (, Fortune 500) shares hit another all-time high Tuesday.

Introducing Wall Street’s new rainmakers

Currencies and commodities: The dollar gained against the euro and the British pound but fell against the Japanese yen.

Oil for May delivery lost $1.32 to $101.14 a barrel.

Gold futures for April delivery gained $16.60 to $1,660.50 an ounce.  

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With gas prices rising, even truck fans are looking to go easier on the stuff. So the latest version of Chrysler Group’s Ram truck, being unveiled at the New York Auto Show, is geared to minimize fuel consumption.

Chrysler boasts that it will be the most fuel-efficient non-hybrid full-sized truck sold in America.

The new Ram — the Dodge name has been dropped — will be the first pickup available with an eight-speed transmission, Chrysler said.

Ram buyers will be able to choose between a 5.7-liter V8 or 3.7-liter V6 engine. The new V6 will produce considerably more power than the Ram’s current V6 engine with 20% better fuel economy, Chrysler said. That would mean the new Ram truck should get combined city and highway fuel economy of better than 19 miles per gallon compared to 16 mpg in the current V6 Ram.

Cool cars from the New York Auto Show

Today, only about 10% of Ram trucks sold are equipped with a V6 engine with the vast majority of buyers opting for the big Hemi V8.

A new eight-speed transmission will also be available with both engines.

Recently, many truck makers have been emphasizing better fuel efficiency. Ford (, Fortune 500), for example, has found major success with its EcoBoost V6. However, the fuel economy benefit of the EcoBoost V6 compared to Ford’s 5.0-liter V8 engine is rather small (only about one mile per gallon).

Ford’s V6 and EcoBoost V6 trucks get 18 and 19 miles gallon in combined city and highway driving, respectively

The new Ram V8 will offer better fuel economy than Ford’s EcoBoost V6, while the Ram V6 will beat Ford’s non-EcoBoost V6, Chrysler spokesman Nick Cappa said.

Chrysler expects more buyers to opt for the V6 engine, especially since it’s now offered in the Crew Cab and 4-wheel-drive models that were previously available only with the big V8.

In addition to the new engine and transmission, the new Ram will have an automatic "start-stop" system that will shut off the engine whenever the truck pauses at a stop light or stop sign.

Also, the new truck has adjustable air suspension. At highway speeds, the suspension automatically lowers the truck one inch for better aerodynamics.

Various parts of the truck have also been redesigned with lighter materials to save weight. For example, the new frame, made with high-strength steel, is 30 pounds lighter, while the new aluminum hood is 26 pounds lighter.

One big change for Ram truck drivers will be the way they use the new transmission. Instead of the usual stick-like gear selector, drivers will switch from Park to Drive or Reverse using a knob in the dashboard. The knob, similar to that used in Jaguar luxury cars, frees up more space inside the cab compared to traditional gear selectors. 

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Spending on prescription drugs in the U.S. was nearly flat in 2011 at $320 billion, held down by senior citizens and others reducing use of medicines and other health care and by greater use of cheaper generic pills.

Last year, spending on prescription drugs rose just 0.5 percent after adjusting for inflation and population growth, according to data firm IMS Health. Without those adjustments, spending increased 3.7 percent last year. The volume of prescriptions filled fell about 1 percent.

That continues a trend of restrained spending that began in 2007, when prescription spending dipped 0.2 percent. Before then, IMS generally reported annual increases of several percent. But since the Great Recession started, prescription spending has fallen or risen only slightly each year except for 2009.

IMS said Wednesday that it appears patients are still rationing their health care, with visits to doctors down 4.7 percent and hospital admissions down 0.1 percent. However, emergency room visits jumped 7.4 percent, a sign some people aren’t seeking care until they are very sick.

“We think we’ve reached a tipping point, where people are thinking they’re paying too much and they’re changing their behavior,” said Michael Kleinrock, head of research development at the IMS Institute for Healthcare Informatics.

Fewer visits to doctors and other health care providers results in fewer prescriptions, which holds down spending in the short term. But that doesn’t bode well for future health care costs, because many of the medicines people are doing without are taken for years to prevent heart attacks and other expensive complications of chronic conditions such as heart disease and diabetes, Kleinrock said.

“The ultimate result is that we will have more sick people driving health care costs” down the road, he said.

People 65 and older cut back on the number of prescriptions filled by 3.1 percent last year, particularly for medicines for high blood pressure. That was despite a 10 percent decline in average prescription co-payments under the Medicare Part D program, to $23.31, due to bigger discounts when patients hit the so-called doughnut hole coverage gap.

Only one group increased prescription use last year. People 19 to 25, now able to stay on their parents’ health insurance plans under a provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, boosted their use by 2 percent. That was led by more use of antidepressants and attention deficit disorder drugs.

Kleinrock noted the company’s data indicate both people with and without insurance are having trouble paying for medicines and other health care, and so are limiting or postponing treatments. For instance, insured patients spent $1.8 billion less out of pocket last year, at a total of $49 billion.

Meanwhile, use of inexpensive generic medicines continues to climb, hitting 80 percent of all prescriptions filled last year.

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The era of low-priced energy that has shaped nearly every aspect of North American life for the past century, including the rise of the suburbs and beyond, may be ending.

Energy price spikes have come and gone, but there is evidence that suggests the latest one could be the leading edge of something bigger. There may still be plenty of oil and gas to be found, but supplies of low-cost, easily accessible reserves are dwindling. This is sending exploration into more dangerous and ever more expensive places to keep up with demand, pushing up the cost of exploration and the price of fuel. At the same time, fast-developing economies in China, India, Brazil and elsewhere want their share of the energy pie to grow.

These reasons may help explain why, with Europe in recession and the United States in a weak recovery, oil is trading at more than $100 a barrel and gasoline is above $1.30 a litre in Toronto. It may hit $1.50 by summer and signs are that, over time, it will stay there. Former CIBC economist Jeff Rubin, for one, predicted in his 2009 book Why Your World Is About to Get a Whole Lot Smaller, that $2-a-litre gas isn