The market's relates Lafayette Leopards modest move basketball unravels lower on very light trading volume showed investors' willingness to wait and see what the Fed would do. The market's optimism was evident Monday, when stocks, despite their declines, largely stood their ground. "If you plot the S&P 500 against oil prices for the last two to three years, they're both rising," said Brian Gendreau, strategist at ING Investment Management. "Now, certainly, if oil prices stay this high, consumer spending and earnings are going to be hurt. But for now, I think we're hanging in there today because we're actually enjoying some rationality. "In other market highlights:* Shares of BP lost $2. 09 to $70. 45 on the Prudhoe Bay shutdown, which would take away 2. 5% of the company's total daily production. BP Prudhoe Bay Royalty Trust, which manages the oilfield's business on behalf of BP and others, tumbled $11. 04, or 13%, to $76. 85. Rival oil producers saw modest gains, however, as investors believed they would benefit from the surge in oil prices. Hess rose 72 cents to $52. 72, while Chevron climbed $1. 17 to $66. 83. * A gauge of transportation shares dropped 1. 7%, extending its third-quarter decline to 15%, the worst performance among 24 industry groups in the S&P 500, on concern that fuel costs will reduce earnings.

Union Pacific retreated $2. 86, to $80. 99, while Southwest Airlines slipped 28 cents to $17. 69. * Interest rate concerns and rising oil prices also weighed on overseas markets, with Japan's Nikkei stock average tumbling 2. 23% lafayette leopards basketball . In Europe, Britain's FTSE 100 closed down 1. 03%, while Germany's DAX index and France's CAC-40 both lost 1. 68%. * In earnings, power producer AES said its quarterly profit nearly doubled due to higher electric prices and better revenue across all its businesses AES gained $1. 82 to $20. 07 football . But oil and gas explorer and transmitter El Paso fell 81 cents to $14. 76 despite posting a profit after a year-earlier loss football blog . The company beat Wall Street's earnings forecasts by a penny per share. * Comic book publisher Marvel Entertainment said its licensing deals slumped in the second quarter, though its profit still beat analyst expectations hotels lafayette . Marvel rose $1. 26 to $19. 36. * Mylan Laboratories tumbled $3. 09 to $19. 92.

Regulators agreed to let another drug maker sell a rival generic copy of a pain patch lafayette leopards football . The patch generated about $70 million in sales for Mylan in the fiscal first quarter, and the company said it had not expected additional generic approvals of the medicine during fiscal 2007. * Kindred, an operator of nursing homes and pharmacies, jumped $1. 94 to $30. 94 lafayette . Kindred and AmerisourceBergen will combine their pharmacy management units to create the industry's second-largest publicly traded company with annual revenue of about $1. 9 billion AmerisourceBergen added 46 cents to $43. 18. lafayette athletic . WASHINGTON — With some leading social conservatives threatening to boycott the Republican Party if Rudolph W lafayette baseball . Giuliani wins the presidential nomination, the former New York City mayor sought Saturday to assure activists in this crucial GOP voting bloc that they have "absolutely nothing to fear from me. "Giuliani told more than 2,000 evangelical activists that despite his support for abortion rights and other liberal views, Christians would have a voice in his administration, and that, though he has not always been comfortable discussing it in public, faith "is at the core of who I am. ""I come to you today as I would if I were your president, with an open mind and an open heart," Giuliani said. "And all I ask is that you do the same. "Although Giuliani was interrupted several times by applause and some stood to clap as he concluded his 40-minute address, it was clear that he remained a distrusted figure among those gathered here from across the country. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, an evangelical organization and primary sponsor of the annual Values Voter Summit, called Giuliani's speech sincere but said he could not ignore the difference of opinion on abortion. "It's not something that can be paved over easily," Perkins said, adding that he had not changed his mind about looking elsewhere for a candidate should Giuliani win the GOP nomination. "My position remains the same, as I think it does for a number of pro-life conservatives -- that we draw a line that we will not cross in supporting a pro-abortion-rights candidate. "Giuliani finished eighth out of nine GOP candidates in a straw poll of more than 5,000 people who attended the conference or voted online The winner was former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney, followed closely by former Arkansas Gov.

Mike Huckabee, though it's not clear how meaningful the poll was. Huckabee, whose speech Saturday drew some of the most enthusiastic response of any candidate, won a majority of the 952 votes cast by those who attended, while thousands of votes cast via the Internet gave Romney a slightly higher overall total and saw little-known libertarian Rep Ron Paul of Texas finish third Former Sen lafayette college leopards . Fred Thompson of Tennessee, once viewed as the conservatives' best hope in a GOP field dominated by moderates, finished fourth after a lackluster Friday speech Lafayette Leopards - goleopards . Saturday's appearance by Giuliani -- the most anticipated event of the weekend conference -- marked a crucial moment for his presidential campaign and for the conservative evangelical movement. National polls consistently put the former mayor at the front of the Republican pack and show he would make a formidable general election candidate, the result of his performance after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks and his focus on national security lafayette basketball . But Giuliani has faced skepticism about his ability to win caucuses and primaries decided by conservative voters who do not share his views on gay rights, gun control, immigration and abortion, and who may not want to vote for a thrice-married Roman Catholic who is an occasional churchgoer. Just three years ago, evangelical leaders such as Perkins and James C lafayette cajuns . Dobson of Focus on the Family claimed credit for securing President Bush's reelection and seemed at the height of their power in national politics. And, according to a recent study by the watchdog group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, evangelical groups continue to raise tens of millions of dollars and organize churches in anticipation of playing a major role in the 2008 election. But this year they have failed to find a favorite candidate or halt Giuliani as he appears to be pursuing a strategy of peeling off some religious conservatives. Giuliani strategists contend that most Republican primary voters would be willing to support a candidate who does not oppose abortion lafayette camp Lafayette Leopards . And, in the early voting state of South Carolina, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg survey last month found Giuliani winning 1 in 5 voters who attend church at least weekly, far ahead of Romney, a Mormon who despite his past support for gay and abortion rights has changed his views and is campaigning as a hard-core conservative. Still, Giuliani strategists say the candidate cannot win the nomination or the general election without support from many evangelicals. On Saturday, Giuliani premiered a speech almost devoid of the 9/11 references that have dominated his campaign rhetoric to date, but replete with self-criticism and acknowledgments of imperfection . His goal Saturday, at least in part, was to curb talk of a third-party rebellion if he wins the nomination.

And he sought to sow seeds of doubt about his chief rival, Romney, who ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 as a moderate. WASHINGTON — With some leading social conservatives threatening to boycott the Republican Party if Rudolph W lafayette leopard . Giuliani wins the presidential nomination, the former New York City mayor sought Saturday to assure activists in this crucial GOP voting bloc that they have "absolutely nothing to fear from me. "Giuliani told more than 2,000 evangelical activists that despite his support for abortion rights and other liberal views, Christians would have a voice in his administration, and that, though he has not always been comfortable discussing it in public, faith "is at the core of who I am. ""I come to you today as I would if I were your president, with an open mind and an open heart," Giuliani said lafayette college . "And all I ask is that you do the same. "Although Giuliani was interrupted several times by applause and some stood to clap as he concluded his 40-minute address, it was clear that he remained a distrusted figure among those gathered here from across the country. Tony Perkins, president of the Family Research Council, an evangelical organization and primary sponsor of the annual Values Voter Summit, called Giuliani's speech sincere but said he could not ignore the difference of opinion on abortion. "It's not something that can be paved over easily," Perkins said, adding that he had not changed his mind about looking elsewhere for a candidate should Giuliani win the GOP nomination lafayette college athletics . "My position remains the same, as I think it does for a number of pro-life conservatives -- that we draw a line that we will not cross in supporting a pro-abortion-rights candidate. "Giuliani finished eighth out of nine GOP candidates in a straw poll of more than 5,000 people who attended the conference or voted online The winner was former Massachusetts Gov Mitt Romney, followed closely by former Arkansas Gov lafayette college prowler . Mike Huckabee, though it's not clear how meaningful the poll was. Huckabee, whose speech Saturday drew some of the most enthusiastic response of any candidate, won a majority of the 952 votes cast by those who attended, while thousands of votes cast via the Internet gave Romney a slightly higher overall total and saw little-known libertarian Rep Ron Paul of Texas finish third Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee, once viewed as the conservatives' best hope in a GOP field dominated by moderates, finished fourth after a lackluster Friday speech. Saturday's appearance by Giuliani -- the most anticipated event of the weekend conference -- marked a crucial moment for his presidential campaign and for the conservative evangelical movement. National polls consistently put the former mayor at the front of the Republican pack and show he would make a formidable general election candidate, the result of his performance after the Sept 11 terrorist attacks and his focus on national security.

But Giuliani has faced skepticism about his ability to win caucuses and primaries decided by conservative voters who do not share his views on gay rights, gun control, immigration and abortion, and who may not want to vote for a thrice-married Roman Catholic who is an occasional churchgoer. Just three years ago, evangelical leaders such as Perkins and James C . Dobson of Focus on the Family claimed credit for securing President Bush's reelection and seemed at the height of their power in national politics. And, according to a recent study by the watchdog group Americans United for Separation of Church and State, evangelical groups continue to raise tens of millions of dollars and organize churches in anticipation of playing a major role in the 2008 election. But this year they have failed to find a favorite candidate or halt Giuliani as he appears to be pursuing a strategy of peeling off some religious conservatives. Giuliani strategists contend that most Republican primary voters would be willing to support a candidate who does not oppose abortion lafayette edu . And, in the early voting state of South Carolina, a Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg survey last month found Giuliani winning 1 in 5 voters who attend church at least weekly, far ahead of Romney, a Mormon who despite his past support for gay and abortion rights has changed his views and is campaigning as a hard-core conservative. Lafayette Leopards tickets Still, Giuliani strategists say the candidate cannot win the nomination or the general election without support from many evangelicals. On Saturday, Giuliani premiered a speech almost devoid of the 9/11 references that have dominated his campaign rhetoric to date, but replete with self-criticism and acknowledgments of imperfection. His goal Saturday, at least in part, was to curb talk of a third-party rebellion if he wins the nomination lafayette football Lafayette Leopards - goleopards . And he sought to sow seeds of doubt about his chief rival, Romney, who ran for governor of Massachusetts in 2002 as a moderate. "Isn't it better that I tell you what I really believe, instead of pretending to change all of my positions to fit the prevailing winds?" Giuliani asked. Giuliani offered a laundry list of issues that he said showed "shared goals" with religious conservatives, such as his support for school choice and his opposition to the procedure that critics call "partial-birth" abortion lafayette invitational . He pledged to veto any effort to roll back limits on public funding for abortions, and to appoint judges like conservative Supreme Court Chief Justice John G Roberts Jr and Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. He reminded the audience that he fought pornography and prostitution in New York and that he took on the Brooklyn Museum of Art when, in 1999, it scheduled an exhibition featuring a painting of the Virgin Mary that included splotches of elephant dung. "It was just another example of the double standard that exists for people of faith," he said. Giuliani referred obliquely to his troubled family life. "You and I know that I'm not a perfect person," he said.