Investigations also showed Bo had abused his power, made severe mistakes and borne major responsibility in an incident that former Chongqing Vice Mayor Wang Lijun entered, without permission, the US Consulate General in Chengdu, and an intentional homicide case involving Bogu Kailai, Bo's wife.

There was no claim of responsibility for any of the attacks, but they bore the hallmark of al-Qaida in Iraq, which uses car bombs, suicide bombers and coordinated attacks to target security forces, members of Iraq's Shiite majority, and others.

The Federal Reserve's accommodative monetary policy, with a near-zero interest rate, will help back the growth of the US equities market, Gay said.

Puerto Rico is a mostly Spanish-speaking US commonwealth in the Caribbean, meaning Cubans can stay and seek US residency if they arrive there -- and can easily travel to Miami or elsewhere in the United States.

Total foreign holdings of Treasury securities rose US$45.6 billion to a total of US$4 trillion, an increase of 1.2 percent.