Wall St up, S&P tackles key technical level

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday as investors positioned themselves for the quarter's end and the S&P 500 attempted to hold above a key technical level.

Stocks advanced as money managers re-allocated positions for the end of the quarter, with the S&P 500 up 5.9 percent.

The S&P broke through 1,330, which was noted as a resistance point for stocks. The benchmark was unable to hold gains above that mark in its three previous attempts.

"They are selling commodities, they are moving back into industrials. You've got a mini-market rotation coming into your final couple of days of the quarter, and that is the way the window dressing takes place," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI gained 100.06 points, or 0.81 percent, to 12,379.07. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX gained 11.85 points, or 0.90 percent, to 1,331.29. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC gained 21.46 points, or 0.78 percent, to 2,778.35.

The U.S. labor market showed further recovery in March as private-sector employers added jobs while planned layoffs fell, according to separate reports on Wednesday.

The ADP report on private-sector jobs, which may not be a dependable indicator of the government's broader jobs report due on Friday, showed 201,000 jobs being created. That kept expectations intact for the Labor Department's report.

Libya rebels flee as Gaddafi retakes Brega

Troops loyal to the Libyan leader, Muammar Gaddafi, have retaken Brega, forcing rebel fighters into a chaotic retreat under a barrage of tank and artillery fire to the town of Ajdabiya.

With Gaddafi's forces advancing on Ajdabiya, rebels are fleeing back to the position they held before Nato air strikes began, on Saturday.

Nato planes continued to bombard the regime troops, but their outgunned opponents were forced back from positions taken earlier in the week, when they advanced to within 60 miles of Sirte, Gaddafi's home city.

Meanwhile, as debate within the anti-Gaddafi international coalition over the legality of arming the rebellion continued, the foreign secretary, William Hague, said it would be possible to supply weapons under certain circumstances.

Earlier, David Cameron told the Commons no decision had been made but he "would not necessarily rule out the protection of civilians in certain circumstances".

The rebels' rapid withdrawal came just days after they raced westwards following the destruction of government tanks and artillery in five days of aerial bombardment in Ajdabiya.

Ragtag opposition fighters have repeatedly been forced to retreat after fierce bombardments by the more disciplined government troops.

"Gaddafi hit us with huge rockets. He has entered Ras Lanuf," one rebel fighter, Faraj Muftah, told Reuters after pulling out of the oil port.

"We were at the western gate in Ras Lanuf and we were bombarded," said a second fighter, Hisham.

Scores of rebel four-wheel pickups raced east, away from Ras Lanuf. Later, pro-government forces moved through Ras Lanuf into Brega, sending rebels fleeing once more.

Speaking to the Commons, Hague revealed that five Libyan diplomats had been expelled from the regime's London embassy because they represented a potential security risk.

Hague said that while the current arms embargo prevented weapons being provided to the whole of Libya, UN resolution 1973 allowed "for all necessary measures to protect civilians" to be taken.

The British government's view, which was not necessarily shared internationally, was that this meant rebels protecting civilians could be armed, although ministers had "not yet taken a decision", he said.

Matthew Weiner: 'Mad Men' Delay Is 'Not About the Money'

"I am fighting for the cast and crew," he says.

Matthew Weiner gave an interview to Mad Men blog Basket of Kisses to offer more insight into why the show is delayed until 2012.

"I want the fans to know directly from me that I had nothing to do with this delay and it is not about money,” he said while on vacation. “I am fighting for the cast and for the show. And I appreciate the kindness and concern of the fans."

Weiner says that negotiations have only recently begun, as The Hollywood Reporter wrote Tuesday: "We didn't have an actual conversation until three weeks ago."

He also confirms that AMC requested he cut two characters per season.

“Even though people have left the show, none of that has ever been about money…I’ve brought the show in on budget. I’ve been a good producer," he said.

He denies that he's asking for $30 million over a three-year contract which multiple sources tell THR and other outlets.

"First of all, the number that’s been published is not true," he says. "Second of all, I offered to have less money, to save the cast, and to leave the show in the running time that it’s supposed to be. The harder that I’ve fought for the show, the more money that they’ve offered me.”

How can fans fight for the show?

“Everyone can hold on, and we’ll see if it’s necessary, but of course I would want them to express their feelings," he said. "I can’t even tell you what it’s meant to me to have intelligent people who care about the show, who reflect about it, who obsess about it, it’s been a total surprise to me. It’s surpassed everything I would ever have expected.”

Obama rolls out plan to cut oil imports

President Barack Obama outlined a plan Wednesday to cut America's imports of foreign oil by a third by 2025 -- a response to growing global energy demands and instability overseas.

The president's proposal relies primarily on increased domestic production, conservation, and a shift to biofuels and natural gas.

Among other things, Obama said he will push for an increased use of natural gas in trucks and buses, as well as the construction of commercial-scale biofuel refineries over the next two years.

The president also announced that he is directing the federal government to ensure that all of its vehicle purchases are alternative fuel, hybrid, or electric cars by 2015.

Higher fuel efficiency standards for cars will be announced this fall, he said. This summer, a new fuel efficiency standard will be proposed for heavy-duty trucks, he added.

The White House previously announced a decision to raise fuel efficiency standards for automobiles at a faster pace than required under the 2007 energy act -- boosting them to 36 miles per gallon by 2016.

"The United States of America cannot afford to bet our long-term prosperity and security on a resource that will eventually run out," Obama told an audience at Georgetown University. "We can't afford it when the cost to our economy, our country, and our planet is so high."

"There are no quick fixes," he warned. America "will keep on being a victim to shifts in the oil market until we get serious about a long-term policy for secure, affordable energy."

Obama said the country has to break the "political gridlock and inertia that's held us back for decades."

Despite the ongoing crisis at Japan's Fukushima Daiichi nuclear facility, Obama reaffirmed his support for a clean energy standard requiring utilities to buy 80% of their power from "cleaner" sources like wind and solar, as well as nuclear, natural gas and clean coal, by 2035.

"We can't simply take (nuclear power) off the table," he insisted.

In a swipe at Republican leaders, Obama said the 2008 GOP rallying cry of "drill baby drill" -- a reference to the push for more domestic oil drilling -- would do little to provide short-term price relief.

Syria president dismisses protests as 'foreign conspiracy'

Bashar al-Assad's defiance, broadcast in his first television appearance since anti-government unrest began a fortnight ago, stunned his critics, who had been widely led to expect that the president was going to announce major reforms, including the abolition of Syria's much hated emergency laws.

Instead, they found their leader at his most obdurate as he delivered a speech all but shorn of conciliatory gestures and carrying within it a strong hint of threat.

Within hours, there were reports of gunfire in the capital, Damascus, and fresh protests in the southern city of Deraa, where scores of demonstrators were killed last week.

There were also renewed calls on social networking websites for people to take to the streets, setting the stage for a potentially bloody showdown between protesters and the security forces after mosque services on Friday.

For a speech billed as the most important, and certainly the most anticipated, of his 11-year presidency, Mr Assad's address to parliament was surprisingly short.

Dismissing demonstrations in Deraa, the port city of Latakia and other parts of the country as the work of a small group of "conspirators", he hinted that Israel was behind the unrest in an attempt to plunge the country into sectarian chaos.