Stocks got a lift from Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan today, rising modestly after he said the recent climb in oil prices was already curbing demand for crude. Oil futures dropped sharply on the news.

A better-than-expected reading of the United States’ gross domestic product sent stocks substantially higher for the third straight session today, with the Dow Jones industrial average and Standard & Poor’s 500 index each posting its best close of the year.

EXECUTIVES at Qwest Communications International made about $500 million selling company stock from 1999 to 2001, as the company was releasing results it now says were exaggerated and based on improper accounting, The New York Times said.

Qwest Communications International Inc is considering restating its 2001 results, erasing more than $1bn (€1bn) in revenue in a bid to restore the company's damaged credibility.