Stocks slide …Oil prices drop… Homeland Security warns about malware and breach

NEW YORK (AP) — There is more tension in Ukraine and that’s left the stock market slightly lower in quiet trading. Investors also pored over a speech by Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen. Trading was unusually quiet with many investors on vacation. The Dow Jones industrials lost 38 points to close at 17,001. The S&P 500 fell four points to 1,988. The Nasdaq rose six points, to 4,538.

NEW YORK (AP) — The price of oil is down. Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell 31 cents to $93.65 a barrel today on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Brent crude, a benchmark for international oils imported by U.S. refineries, shed 34 cents to $102.29 a barrel in London.

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Homeland Security Department is warning that more than 1,000 retailers may have a new malicious software program lurking in their cash registers that allows computer hackers to steal financial data about customers. The agency says businesses of all sizes should scan their cash register systems for the “Backoff” malicious software, first discovered last October.

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Homeland Security Department official says a recent computer breach at a major government security clearance contracting firm may have affected the internal files of as many as 25,000 of the agency’s workers. The official says the estimate of Homeland Security workers affected by the breach at USIS may rise further. The FBI is investigating.

DETROIT (AP) — An auto safety advocacy group is asking the U.S. government to investigate power system failures in Chrysler vehicles that could cause them to stall while being driven. The nonprofit Center for Auto Safety filed a petition today asking the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration for the probe. Chrysler says its vehicles meet all applicable safety standards.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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