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Federal disaster officials say “tens of thousands” of people on American Samoa and Samoa will need their help after a lethal tsunami in the South Pacific.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency was flying into American Samoa with food, water and repair supplies early Wednesday, and officials are anticipating the worst. Administrator Craig Fugate says “tens of thousands” of survivors will need assistance, many of whom were injured.

At least 99 people were killed after the magnitude 8.0 quake struck at 6:47 a.m. local time and sent giant waves crashing down on the islands. The quake was centered about 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa and American Samoa, a U.S. territory of 65,000.

A massive tsunami unleashed by a powerful earthquake flattened Samoan villages and swept cars and people out to sea, killing at least 99 and leaving dozens missing Wednesday. The death toll was expected to rise.

Survivors fled the waves of water for higher ground on the South Pacific islands after the magnitude 8.0 quake struck at 6:48 a.m. local time (1:48 p.m. EDT; 1748 GMT) Tuesday. The quake was centered about 120 miles south of the islands of Samoa, which has about 180,000 people, and American Samoa, a U.S. territory of 65,000.

Four tsunami waves 15 to 20 feet (4 to 6 meters) high roared ashore on American Samoa about 15 minutes after the quake, reaching up to a mile (1.5 kilometers) inland, Mike Reynolds, superintendent of the National Park of American Samoa, was quoted as saying by a parks service spokeswoman.

Less than 24 hours later, another strong underwater earthquake rocked western Indonesia on Wednesday, briefly triggering a tsunami alert for countries along the Indian Ocean. The 7.6-magnitude quake toppled buildings, cut power and triggered a landslide on Sumatra island, and at least 75 people were reported killed. Experts said the seismic events were not related. Hard money training

Iran said on Tuesday it would refuse to discuss a newly declared nuclear plant at forthcoming international talks and cautioned Western powers it could curb cooperation further if they repeated “past mistakes.”

An Iranian MP suggested parliament might seek withdrawal from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if Thursday’s Geneva talks with major powers fail and “if the Zionists and America continue their pressure on Iran” — a reference to policies including economic sanctions.

Washington has suggested possible new sanctions on banking and the oil and gas industry if Tehran fails to assuage Western fears it seeks nuclear weapons. U.S. officials believe sanctions could now have more effect, playing on leadership divisions evident since a disputed presidential poll.

Comments by Western and Iranian officials suggested little optimism ahead of the Thursday’s rare meeting of the P5+1 — permanent U.N. Security Council members China, Britain, France, the United Sates and Russia, as well as Germany — with Iran.

“My expectation, or my hope, is that we will be able to get…the guarantees from Tehran, that the program in which they are engaged in is a peaceful program,” EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana told reporters in Gothenburg, Sweden.

“I don’t think it will be easy to ask for, but we will continue to engage.”

Last week’s news of a second uranium enrichment plant, under construction south of Tehran, added urgency to the Geneva talks. Uranium in less refined form can be used for power generation but in a more highly refined state is used in nuclear bombs.

Statements from Tehran on Tuesday allowed some ambiguity on Iran’s readiness to talk. Hard money training

Corporate dealmaking is boosting investors’ hopes for a recovery in the economy.

Stocks jumped Monday after Abbott Laboratories said it would buy the pharmaceutical business of Belgian chemicals maker Solvay for $6.6 billion and Xerox Corp. agreed to acquire Affiliated Computer Services for about $6.4 billion.

All major indexes rose more than 1 percent, including the Dow Jones industrial average, which added 120 points.

The takeover moves are a welcome sign that businesses have enough faith in a recovery in the economy to pursue acquisitions. In the past year, companies grew so worried about the economy that they were hesitant to part with cash and often had trouble lining up financing.

The market’s rise follows its worst week since early July. The rally stalled following disappointing housing and manufacturing data.

In midmorning trading, the Dow rose 119.19, or 1.2 percent, to 9,784.38.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 15.18, or 1.5 percent, to 1,059.56, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 36.27, or 1.7 percent, to 2,127.19.

The Dow fell 1.6 percent last week, while the S&P 500 index lost 2.2 percent.

Bond prices were mixed Monday. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, was flat at 3.32 percent from late Friday. Hard money training

Many U.S. small businesses are optimistic about growth and see the economy improving in three to six months, according to a survey released on Friday.

Four out of five small businesses are pursuing a moderate or aggressive growth strategy, expanding into new markets and producing more revenue among existing customers, according to the survey by Chase Card Services, the credit card division of JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Only 5 percent said they were not looking to grow business aggressively, according to the survey, which questioned 168 chief and senior executives from the annual Inc. 500/5000 list of fastest-growing small companies between September 10 and September 14.

Three-quarters of the companies said they believe the U.S. economy and their business will be doing better in three to six months. Some 27 million small businesses operate in the United States and are responsible for roughly 40 million jobs.

The optimistic results validate a sense that the economy is improving, said Richard Quigley, president of Ink from Chase, a new portfolio of cards designed for small businesses.

“There’s certainly a bit of light on the horizon,” he said. “We’re not home yet but it’s certainly going in the right direction.”

As to hiring, 49 percent of the small businesses said they were adding positions, and 29 percent said they were not adding jobs but were hiring to upgrade talent, it said. Hard money training

More good news about the jobs market is pulling investors back into the market.

A day after the Federal Reserve said economic activity has improved, the Labor Department says the number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third week in a row. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 21,000 last week to 530,000, better than the 550,000 economists had expected.

Later Thursday, investors will get data on existing home sales. Investors are also focusing on the Group of 20 meeting of the world’s leading economies in Pittsburgh.

In the first few minutes of trading, the Dow Jones industrial average is up 48 at 9,796. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index is up 4 at 1,065, and the Nasdaq composite index is up 8 at 2,140.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP’s earlier story is below.

Stock futures are indicating a slightly higher opening on Wall Street Thursday after investors got more good news about the jobs market.

A day after the Federal Reserve said economic activity has improved, the Labor Department said the number of newly laid off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for a third week in a row. Initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 21,000 last week to 530,000, better than the 550,000 economists had expected.

The number of people continuing to claim benefits for more than a week also fell, dropping 123,000 to 6.14 million.

Stock futures were little changed ahead of the report. Hard money training

The European Commission was to forge ahead on Wednesday with detailed proposals for tough financial supervision amid horse-trading over a pivotal role for the Bank of England’s governor.

The EU announcement, on the eve of a summit of the Group of 20 leading world economies in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, will also include plans for new pan-European super watchdogs to oversee banks, insurers and securities firms.

The emergence of the BoE’s Mervyn King as the leading contender to be the deputy head of a new European Systemic Risk Board, expected to be chaired by the president of the European Central Bank, Jean-Claude Trichet, is aimed at overcoming misgivings emanating from the City of London.

The new bodies will be responsible for identifying threats to the EU economy as a whole and will have the power to demand national action or impose mediation on national supervisors in the event of disagreement.

The aim is to avoid a repeat of last year’s financial crisis which saw over-leveraged banks go under or require massive state bailouts.

But it is this overarching power that has Britain and some other EU nations worried about the proposals, agreed at a European Union summit in June but which must be backed by member states and the EU parliament if they are to come into force.

“The devil is in the detail,” one European source said.

Backing from Britain — Europe’s biggest financial centre — is vital if the new structures are to be up and running as planned by the end of next year.

Under the commission proposals, the European banking authorities should have “the power to require national supervisory authorities to take specific action” to remedy emergency situations, according to a draft text.

The commission itself would have powers to decree an emergency situation. Hard money training

President Barack Obama says he is determined to go after the “reckless risk-taking” that pushed the global economy into the worst financial crisis since the 1930s, and he is also pushing for countries to promote more balanced growth going forward.

He is getting support for his efforts from other leaders, although significant differences remain as Obama prepares to serve as host for a Group of 20 meeting of the world’s leading economies on Thursday and Friday in Pittsburgh.

In addition to pushing the U.S. agenda, Obama is certain to face tough questions from other G-20 countries over whether his administration can develop a credible plan to curb a soaring U.S. budget deficit that the White House projects will hit an eye-popping $1.548 trillion this year and total $9 trillion over the next decade.

As part of an effort to convince the world that he is serious about getting the deficit under control, Obama is pushing a plan that would require the United States and other countries to make sweeping changes in how they manage their deficits.

The goal is to prevent the destabilizing imbalances represented by America’s high budget and trade deficits, and huge trade surpluses in countries such as China.

Obama’s initiative would require chronic trade-deficit nations like the United States to boost their savings rates to consume fewer imports, and for trade-surplus countries like China to get their consumers to spend more and rely less on export-led growth.

“We can’t go back to an era where the Chinese or the Germans or other countries just are selling everything to us, we’re taking out a bunch of credit card debt or home equity loans, but we’re not selling them anything,” Obama said during a CNN interview broadcast Sunday. Hard money training

Somali insurgents attacked a town near the border with Ethiopia, killing at least 10 people, witnesses and officials said.

Daud Omar, a resident in the Somali border town Yed, said militants from the al-Shabab insurgent group clashed with government soldiers late Sunday. The government and al-Shabab confirmed the fighting.

“We attacked the enemy in Yed and killed 10 of them,” said Sheik Mahad Omar Abdi-karin, an al-Shabab leader in the region. He said the group then withdrew from the town, leaving it in government control.

Al-Shabab controls much of Somalia and operates openly in the capital, Mogadishu, confining the government and peacekeepers to a few blocks of the city. The U.S. and the U.N. both support Somalia’s government and the African peacekeeping force.

Border towns are strategically important to the conflict in Somalia. Ethiopia remains eager to secure key border towns and to preserve the current Somali government. Ethiopia stationed troops in Somalia from late 2006 until they pulled out in January — and their presence was a major point of contention for the insurgents.

Al-Shabab uses nationalist and religious rhetoric to help recruit fighters, portraying the Islamist cause as a defense of Somalia against Ethiopian invaders, who are largely Christian.

U.S. officials have become increasingly concerned that al-Qaida insurgents are moving out of safe havens along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border and into anarchic Somalia, where they can mobilize recruits without interference. Hard money training

Annual production of H1N1 vaccine will be “substantially less” than the 4.9 billion doses the World Health Organization (WHO) previously forecast was possible, a spokesman said on Friday.

WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl said that based on clinical test results from some 25 drugmakers, weekly production was less than 94 million doses, although it seemed one dose would be enough to give immunity against the swine flu strain.

“The real figure will be substantially less than 4.9 billion,” Hartl told reporters.

The WHO previously forecast one third of the world’s nearly seven billion people could be affected by the H1N1 pandemic, but so far the vast majority of victims are suffering only mild symptoms.

Hartl gave no exact new forecast but noted WHO’s previous estimate of 4.9 billion had been based on drugmakers switching all production of seasonal flu vaccine to the new vaccine against the H1N1 strain and getting good yields.

In a statement, the WHO said current supplies of pandemic vaccine are “inadequate for a world population in which virtually everyone is susceptible to infection.”

President Barack Obama on Thursday abandoned plans for a large missile defense shield in eastern Europe, promising instead a stronger, swifter defense system to protect U.S. allies against any threat from Iran.

In a brief announcement, Obama said he was dropping a plan to base interceptor missiles in Poland and build a radar system in the Czech Republic — a move that could ease tensions with Russia but fan regional fears of resurgent Kremlin influence.

“The best way to responsibly advance our security and the security of our allies is to deploy a missile defense system that best responds to the threats that we face and that utilizes technology that is both proven and cost effective,” Obama said.

Moscow said it would welcome a decision to scrap the plans, which had complicated U.S. efforts to enlist Russian support over Afghanistan, Iran and nuclear arms control.

But critics quickly accused the White House of going soft on defense by dropping the project, which had raised hopes of huge contracts among U.S. defense giants.

Senator John McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, blasted the move as “seriously misguided”.

The Bush administration had proposed the system amid concerns Iran was trying to develop nuclear warheads it could mount on long-range missiles.