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Volatility fears send investors running for cover

NEW YORK – U.S. stocks made their biggest drop of the year Friday, quitting five weeks of gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite on worries that efforts to keep Greece from defaulting were falling apart.

As stocks dove, the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index leapt above 20 for the first time in nearly two weeks, rising more than 11 percent.

The move “doesn’t represent huge panic, but as people get too complacent, they need to be reminded all is not well in the world, although domestically, things have improved,” said Randy Frederick, director of trading and derivatives at the Schwab Center for Financial Research.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average trimmed some losses in the final minutes, falling 89.23 points, or 0.7 percent, to 12,801.23, tallying a loss of 0.5 percent for the week.

The S&P 500 index retreated 9.31 points, or 0.7 percent, to 1,342.64, for a loss of 0.2 percent for the week. Natural-resource companies were hardest hit while utilities lost the least ground among its 10 major industry sectors. All closed lower.

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The Nasdaq Composite declined 23.35 points, or 0.8 percent, to 2,903.88. For the week, it declined 0.1 percent.

Ohio may privatize Interstate rest stops

COLUMBUS, Ohio – A study of the privatization of the Ohio Turnpike will also weigh the possibility of leasing rest areas along the state’s freeways.

The Ohio Department of Transportation has asked for $2.85 million in state money to pay Austin, Texas-based KPMG Corporate Finance LLC to evaluate financial options of privatizing both the toll road and Interstate rest areas. The agency made the request to the state Controlling Board, a legislative panel that approves unbid contracts and is scheduled to meet Monday.

In his State of the State speech Tuesday, Gov. John Kasich mentioned leasing rest areas as a way to address a recently discovered gap in the transportation budget.

He said private rest stops might be a way to “get some good food, a lot of other good things along there.”

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Spanish government OKs economic reform plans

MADRID – Spain’s new conservative government approved sweeping labor market reforms Friday as part of a drive to revive a sick economy and solve Europe’s worst unemployment nightmare — a jobless rate of nearly 23 percent.

The plan is designed to encourage companies to hire more people by cutting government-mandated severance packages and offering tax breaks for taking on young people. But the fast-track approval of the measures generated violent clashes between riot police and protesters who say they will be stripped of cherished worker benefits.

More than 500 held a peaceful rally in Madrid’s central Puerta de Sol plaza late Friday, but it turned violent after some tried to march toward parliament and were blocked by police. Scuffles broke out, with officers using batons on demonstrators.

— From news service reports

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