kibble sunburst: January 2012

Tuesday, January 24, 2012

Obama's State of the Union: A viewer's guide (The Week)

New York ? On Tuesday night, the president will spell out his prescription for America's ills, and makes the case for his re-election. A look at what to expect

President Obama will deliver his third State of the Union address?at 9 p.m. on Tuesday night, pitching initiatives on jobs, taxes, and housing in what political strategists say will be a "sweeping case for a second term." In a preview of the speech posted on his campaign website, Obama said he would present a "blueprint" for lasting economic prosperity, calling 2012 a "make-or-break moment for the middle class and folks trying to work their way into the middle class." What exactly will Obama say, and how will his message be received? Here, a five-point map of what to expect:

1. The speech will be a campaign-style populist appeal
Obama's State of the Union address will be a "starkly populist speech," says Matt Spetalnick at Reuters, in which the president will hammer themes he has already hit on the campaign trail. He'll "push tax breaks for bringing manufacturing jobs home from overseas, ideas to help the troubled home-mortgage market," and he'll probably make another call for higher taxes on the rich. Absolutely, says Obama advisor David Plouffe. "Warren Buffett famously" said that "he should not pay less in taxes than his secretary does," and you can bet that Obama will specifically outline his proposed "Buffet rule" on Tuesday night.?

SEE MORE: The 'creepy' Barack Obama mannequin

2. Obama will confront a "do-nothing Congress"
"President Obama has spent the past three months railing against a 'do-nothing Congress,'" says Devin Dwyer at ABC News, and his annual address before a joint session of Congress gives him "the opportunity to deliver his message face to face." Obama will insist his economic agenda deserves bipartisan support, a pointed reference to his GOP rivals. And with 43 million Americans expected to tune in, he'll get to deliver his message to an audience bigger than any on the campaign trail.

3. The GOP will get a look at what might have been
With the GOP primaries becoming a heated duel between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich, says Aaron Blake at The Washington Post, Tuesday night will provide the party's voters a glimpse "of what could have been. Namely, Mitch Daniels." The Indiana governor, who briefly considered his own run for the presidency last year, will deliver his party's State of the Union response. Daniels "always has been the adult in the room," an unflinching but pragmatic conservative. Maybe he'll "serve as a good example for presidential campaigns that seem headed for the lowest common denominator."

SEE MORE: Obama's top 5 successes

4. Obama will have a chance to honor Gabrielle Giffords
Before stepping down from Congress to focus on her recovery from a near-fatal gunshot wound, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) will attend Obama's speech. "Obama last year delivered his State of the Union just weeks after the Tucson massacre and in the presence of victims' family members," says The Washington Post in an editorial. "Yet he, like so many politicians intimidated by the gun lobby's muscle, could not muster a single word about the need for reasonable gun control measures to ward off such violence in the future. Perhaps he will find the courage to speak up this year." It would make for a fitting prime-time tribute to Giffords before she leaves Congress.

5. One of Obama's political enemies won't even show up
One person who won't be in the audience is Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.), "who found himself in hot water last summer when he used the term 'tar baby'" in reference to Obama, says Seung Min Kim at Politico. Lamborn apologized for that comment, which he made to emphasize that he didn't want to engage with Obama at all, because then "you're stuck, and you're part of the problem now, and you can't get away." He's apparently avoiding the State of the Union for a similar reason. "Lamborn is doing this to send a clear message that he does not support the policies of Barack Obama, that they have hurt our country," his spokeswoman, Catherine Mortensen, tells?Politico in an email.

SEE MORE: President Obama's rising approval rating: 4 theories

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Obama: State of the Union an economic blueprint (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Vilified by the Republicans who want his job, President Barack Obama will stand before the nation Tuesday night determined to frame the election-year debate on his terms, promising his State of the Union address will offer an economic blueprint that will "work for everyone, not just a wealthy few."

In a video released Saturday to millions of campaign supporters, Obama said he will concentrate on four areas designed to restore economic security for the long term: manufacturing, energy, education, job training and a "return to American values." The release came the same day as the South Carolina primary, where four candidates competed in the latest contest to determine Obama's general election rival.

The prime-time speech will be not just a traditional pitch about the year ahead. It will be perhaps Obama's biggest stage to make a sweeping case for a second term.

"We can go in two directions," the president said in the video. "One is toward less opportunity and less fairness. Or we can fight for where I think we need to go: building an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few."

That line of argument about income equality is emerging as a defining theme of the presidential race, as Republicans are in their own fierce battle to pick a nominee to challenge Obama in the fall.

By notifying the millions of supporters on his email list, Obama gave advance notice to his Democratic base and trying to generate an even larger audience for Tuesday's address.

Obama's preview did not mention national security. He is not expected to announce new policy on that front in a speech dominated by the economy ? the top concern of voters.

Obama is expected to offer new proposals to make college more affordable and to ease the housing crisis still slowing the economy, according to people familiar with the speech. He will also promote unfinished parts of his jobs plan, including the extension of a payroll tax cut soon to expire.

His policy proposals will be less important than what he hopes they all add up to: a narrative of renewed American security. Obama will try to politically position himself as the one leading that fight for the middle class, with an overt call for help from Congress, and an implicit request for a second term from the public.

The timing comes as the nation is split about Obama's overall job performance. More people than not disapprove of his handling of the economy, he is showing real vulnerability among the independent voters who could swing the election, and most Americans think the country is on the wrong track.

So his mission will be to show leadership and ideas on topics that matter to people: jobs, housing, college, retirement security.

The foundation of Obama's speech is the one he gave in Kansas last month, when he declared that the middle class was a make-or-break moment and railed against "you're on your own" economics of the Republican Party. His theme then was about a government that ensures people get a fair shot to succeed.

That speech spelled out the values of Obama's election-year agenda. The State of the Union will be the details.

The White House sees the speech as a clear chance to outline a vision for re-election, yet carefully, without turning a national tradition into an overt campaign event.

On national security, Obama will ask the nation to reflect with him on a momentous year of change, including the end of the war in Iraq, the killing of al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden and the Arab Spring protests of peoples clamoring for freedom.

But it will all be secondary to jobs at home.

In a winter season of politics dominated by his Republican competition, Obama will have a grand stage to himself, in a window between Republican primaries. He will try to use the moment to refocus the debate as he sees it: where the country has come, and where he wants to take it.

In doing so, Obama will come before a divided Congress with a burst of hope because the economy ? by far the most important issue to voters ? is showing life.

The unemployment rate is still at a troubling 8.5 percent, but at its lowest rate in nearly three years. Consumer confidence is up. Obama will use that as a springboard.

The president will try to draw a contrast of economic visions with Republicans, both his antagonists in Congress and the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination.

Despite low expectations for legislation this year, Obama will offer short-term ideas that would require action from Congress.

His travel schedule following his speech, to politically important regions, offers clues to the policies he was expected to unveil.

Both Phoenix and Las Vegas have been hard hit by foreclosures. Denver is where Obama outlined ways of helping college students deal with mounting school loan debt. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Detroit are home to a number of manufacturers. And Michigan was a major beneficiary of the president's decision to provide billions in federal loans to rescue General Motors and Chrysler in 2009.

For now, the main looming to-do item is an extension of a payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, both due to expire by March. An Obama spokesman called that the "last must-do item of business" on Obama's congressional agenda, but the White House insists the president will make the case for more this year.

If anything, Republicans say Obama has made the chances of cooperation even dimmer just over the last several days. He enraged Republicans by installing a consumer watchdog chief by going around the Senate, which had blocked him, and then rejected a major oil pipeline project the GOP has embraced.

Obama is likely, once again, to offer ways in which a broken Washington must work together. Yet that theme seems but a dream given the gridlock he has been unable to change.

The State of the Union atmosphere offered a bit of comity last year, following the assassination attempt against Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. And yet 2011 was a year of utter dysfunction in Washington, with the partisanship getting so bad that the government nearly defaulted as the world watched in embarrassment.

The address remains an old-fashioned moment of national attention; 43 million people watched it on TV last year. The White House website will offer a live stream of the speech, promising graphics and other bonuses for people who watch it there, plus a panel of administration officials afterward with questions coming in through Twitter and Facebook.

AP deputy director of polling Jennifer Agiesta and Associated Press writer Ken Thomas contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120121/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_obama_state_of_the_union

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Monday, January 23, 2012

Williams out of Australian Open in 4th round (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? Numbers told the surprising story for Serena Williams in her fourth-round loss at the Australian Open on Monday.

Seven double-faults, including four in one game; 37 unforced errors, and a first-serve percentage of just over 50 percent that had her convinced "maybe I should have started serving lefty."

Some other numbers indicated why her 6-2, 6-3 loss to Russia's Ekaterina Makarova on what she admitted was a still-sore left ankle was more of a shock, particularly at this stage of the year's first major.

She has played 43 singles matches at Melbourne Park since she won the first of her five Australian Open titles in 2003, and Monday's loss was just her third. She's 54-7 since playing here for the first time in 1998, and she hasn't gone out this early here since 2006.

"I'm not physically 100 percent, so I can't be so angry at myself, even though I'm very unhappy," Williams said. "I know that I can play a hundred times better than I did this whole tournament."

Without Williams, who injured her left ankle in Brisbane two weeks ago, the only major winners still in contention were Maria Sharapova, defending champion Kim Clijsters and Wimbledon winner Petra Kvitova.

Top-seeded Caroline Wozniacki, still in search of her first Grand Slam title, played Clijsters in a quarterfinal on Tuesday. The Belgian advanced to the quarterfinals with a comeback win over Li Na on Sunday in a rematch of the 2011 decider, while Kvitova had some trouble late before beating former top-ranked Ana Ivanovic 6-2, 7-6 (2) Monday. Sharapova was playing Sabine Lisicki on Monday night.

Kvitova will next play Sara Errani of Italy, who beat 2008 semifinalist Zheng Jie 6-2, 6-1.

Defending men's champion Novak Djokovic will try to advance to the quarterfinals and keep alive his chance of winning his third straight Grand Slam when he plays Lleyton Hewitt on Rod Laver Arena after the Lisicki-Sharapova match. The Djokovic-Hewitt winner will play fifth-seeded David Ferrer, a 6-4, 6-4, 6-1 winner over Richard Gasquet, in the quarterfinals.

Earlier, two-time runner-up Andy Murray was leading 6-1, 6-1, 1-0 when Mikhail Kukushkin retired from their fourth-round match with a left hip injury, giving Murray an easy path into the quarters.

"It's obviously good for me, I get to conserve some energy," Murray said. "Tough for him, first time in the fourth-round of a Slam."

Murray will next play Kei Nishikori, who had a 2-6, 6-2, 6-1, 3-6, 6-3 win over sixth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, the 2008 finalist.

The 22-year-old Nishikori became the first Japanese man in the last eight at the Australian Open in 80 years, and only the second man from his country to reach a Grand Slam quarterfinal since the Open Era started in 1968. Shuzo Matsuoka reached the 1995 Wimbledon quarterfinals.

"Is feeling unbelieveable. My first quarterfinal and beating Tsonga, makes me really happy," Nishikori said. "I hope it's big in Japan. A lot of people messaged me a couple of days ago about the round of 16 and now the quarterfinals. It's really exciting."

Makarova, a 23-year-old Russian left-hander, was equally thrilled about her win over Williams. And considering she'd lost in the first round of the last six tournaments she'd played, in awe over who she beat.

"Yeah, I'm surprised because she's a great player and it's really tough to play against her. But, I don't know, I just feeling so good and so focus. So I played my game, and that's it. I won against Serena. That's amazing."

Makarova overcame plenty of Williams crowd support, many of whom weren't that familiar with the Russian. Oracene Price, Williams' mother, was in the players' box with her sunglasses on and a wide-brimmed hat.

In the fourth game of the second set with Makarova serving, Williams netted an easy forehand return. She made an angry sound, and there was a bit of laughter in the crowd. Price just turned away, shaking her head.

After Williams' fourth double-fault in the fifth game of the second set, which gave Makarova the game and a 3-2 lead ? Williams shouted "Oh my god." She looked ready to smash her racket, but in the end bounced it on the court and caught it on the rebound.

The 13-time Grand Slam winner had only played two competitive matches since losing the U.S. Open final to Sam Stosur in September, and her light preparation was curtailed when she badly twisted her ankle as she won her second-round match at Brisbane earlier this month.

For that reason, Williams wasn't about to beat herself up over Monday's loss.

"Am I usually angry? I don't know. Crying? I don't cry. So I don't know what I usually project," she said. "I feel like I didn't play well today. I don't feel like I can't get better."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120123/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open

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Europe exhales after another good week

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos leaves Maximou mansion after a meeting with Charles Dallara and Jean Lemiere from the Institute of International Finance, which represents Greece's private bondholders and Greek Prime Lukas Papademos, Athens, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

Charles Dallara, right, and Jean Lemiere from the Institute of International Finance, which represents Greece's private bondholders, leave Maximou mansion after a meeting with Greek Prime Lukas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos in Athens, Friday, Jan. 20, 2012. Greece is confident a debt relief deal with private creditors that is crucial to avoid default can be reached "very soon," a government spokesman said Friday. (AP Photo/Dimitri Messinis)

FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) ? Europe has taken a step back from the brink.

Three weeks into the year, borrowing rates for debt-saddled countries have fallen to more manageable levels. Auctions of government debt have gone better, a sign of increased investor confidence.

And while it may have been an embarrassment, especially to France, the recent downgrade of nine European countries by credit ratings agency Standard & Poor's has been met with a shrug in financial markets.

All this is in stark contrast to the final weeks of last year, when countries such as Italy, Spain, Portugal and Greece watched helplessly as the costs of managing their debt spiraled ever higher, and governments fell in Athens and Rome.

High hurdles remain: Greece must still cut a deal with its private creditors, to say nothing of the long-term problems ? massive debt, uncompetitive economies and the prospect of years of cutbacks in public spending.

But for the moment, the continent is exhaling.

Portuguese Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar, after his country successfully sold ?2.5 billion of its national debt on Thursday, ventured that it was "a sign that we may be coming to a turning point."

Among other good news in the past week:

? Despite now having an AA+ credit rating, France easily sold ?9.5 billion, or about $12.2 billion, in bonds at interest rates lower than in previous auctions when its rating was AAA. The sale eased fears that S&P's downgrade of France would hurt the finances of the continent's No. 2 economy. France sold four-year bonds at 1.89 percent, down from 2.32 percent in November, and 10-year, inflation-linked bonds at 1.07 percent, also down from 2.32 percent.

? Spain raised ?6.6 billion ($8.5 billion), far more than its initial target of ?3.5 billion to ?4.5 billion. It agreed to pay 5.4 percent on its bonds, down from 5.54 percent in the last such auction in December. Demand was twice what was being offered.

? Stock indexes in Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain ? plus the Dow Jones industrial average in the United States ? have climbed back close to their levels from last August, when the crisis spread to Italy and took a turn for the worse.

The European Central Bank, chief monetary authority for the 17 countries that use the euro currency, gets some of the credit for sending cash flowing to banks ? and through them, it appears, to troubled countries.

In December, the ECB said it would lend banks unlimited amounts of money to stabilize them. It also said it would lower the interest rate on the loans to 1 percent, extend the maximum term from one year to three and accept collateral of lower quality. The banks responded by borrowing ?489 billion ($632.6 billion) in three-year loans at a low interest rate, currently 1 percent.

The banks appear to have used at least some of that money to buy the bonds that governments have been selling almost daily. The extra demand at the bond auctions also helps bring down the interest rates on the bonds.

Stefan Schneider, chief international economist at Deutsche Bank, says the ECB "is now the main source of financing" for the troubled countries' banks "and gives these banks the opportunity to invest in the government bonds of their own countries."

Another ECB all-you-can-eat credit offering is slated for Feb. 28.

The central bank has refused pleas to expand its limited program and buy government bonds itself on the open market. It says countries need to cut debt themselves and not expect a central bank bailout.

Members of the ECB governing council have cited law that prohibits the bank from financing governments. Some analysts say the massive bank loans appear to be doing exactly that, just indirectly.

Schneider, though, cautioned that there is no "magic bullet" to solve the crisis.

"I think we will not be able, even with the advantage of hindsight, to indicate the point in time when the crisis ended," he said.

On Friday, stocks in Europe mostly held their gains for the week, waiting for the outcome of Greece's negotiations with its creditors on a deal to cut the face value of up to ?200 billion in debt by 50 percent.

A deal in Athens would allow the country to receive a second bailout package from other European governments and the International Monetary Fund, and cut Greece's debt from an estimated 160 percent of its annual economic output to 120 percent by 2020.

That is still painfully high, but without the help, Greece will not be able to pay ?14.5 billion ($18.8 billion) in debt due March 20. A Greek default would send borrowing costs higher across Europe and could trigger chaos in the global financial system.

Even with a deal, Greece could default in coming years. An IMF review in December conceded that 120 percent is at the upper end of what is sustainable, and only if Greece's economy starts growing again after five years of recession.

And Greece is just one potential problem. Many countries are either headed for recession or stuck in deep ones, which will make debt reduction even tougher.

While Portugal, Greece and Ireland could be bailed out by the other euro countries and the IMF, Italy is considered much too big to rescue for any substantial length of time.

The new prime minister, Mario Monti, has promised to shake up what he calls an over-regulated, underperforming economy, accelerate economic growth and reduce the country's debt burden, which is also 120 percent of its annual economic output. But he faces tough political opposition.

Spain has taken some steps to loosen regulations on hiring and firing but has no clear growth model after the collapse of its real estate bubble. Unemployment is 22.9 percent, and for people under 25, it's a staggering 49.6 percent.

Bank stocks got a big bounce Thursday after stronger-than-expected bank earnings in the United States and word that Germany's Commerzbank could meet new requirements to boost its capital buffers without needing government help.

This week's stock rally across Europe left Germany's DAX 30 9.5 percent higher over the past month, France's CAC up 8.7 percent and the FTSE 100 in London up 5.9 percent.

Investors are all too aware that previous respites from market turmoil have turned out to be temporary.

For now, investors can increase their holdings of risky assets, says Joerg Kraemer, chief economist at Commerzbank. But he had an ominous warning this week in a note to investors.

"The ECB can only buy time," he said. "With many problems still unresolved in Spain and Italy, the sovereign debt crisis is likely to continue, and the economic recovery following the recession is likely to be lackluster."

___

Barry Hatton in Lisbon, Portugal, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-21-Europe-Financial%20Crisis/id-51bb57a445fe432d86df6e4a8c269401

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Sunday, January 22, 2012

Make Your Evil Plans in This Week's Open Thread [Open Thread]

Make Your Evil Plans in This Week's Open Thread You've got a weekend full of scheming ahead. Start your plans in this week's open thread.

Same drill as always, open-threaders: You can chat and ask questions with your fellow readers all week long at the #openthread hashtag page, but our weekly open thread post is your opportunity to reach the most people. Ask questions, offer advice, discuss productivity tips, or just chat about whatever's on your mind. You'll need a commenter account to participate, then you're ready to roll.

An extra reminder: If you're not quite satisfied with the interaction in the weekly open thread or in #tips, remember that you can also share your expertise every day on our Expert Pages. Photo by Fiona Herd.

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/rM-ONqEcMT4/make-your-evil-plans-in-this-weeks-open-thread

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Iran's Gulf smugglers feel blowback from tensions (AP)

KHASAB, Oman ? By dawn, the unmarked speedboats from Iran pull into port. By dusk, they are racing back across the Strait of Hormuz loaded with smuggled consumer goods ranging from Chinese-made shoes to cut flowers from Holland.

Even as sanctions squeeze Iran ever tighter, there's one clandestine route that remains open for business: A short sea corridor across the Persian Gulf connecting a rocky nub of Oman and the Iranian coast about 35 miles (60 kilometers) away.

Yet even this established smugglers' path is now feeling the bite from the pressures on Iran over its nuclear program.

Business is sharply down, the middlemen and boat crews say, as the slumping Iranian currency leaves fewer customers for the smuggled wares. At the same time, the risks of interception are higher as Iranian authorities step up patrols near the strategic oil tanker lanes at the mouth of the Gulf.

The strait, which is the only access in and out of the Gulf, has been the scene of Cold War-style brinksmanship between Iran and the West after Tehran last month threatened to block the passageway for about one-sixth of the world's oil in retaliation for new U.S. sanctions.

"We used to make two or three trips across every day. Now, it's maybe one," said an Iranian middleman, who gave only his first name Agheel to protect his identity from authorities in his homeland.

He watched crews load up a pickup truck with bolts of fabric from Pakistan and table-size boxes of cut flowers from the Netherlands, before the trucks headed off through the treeless mountains to Khasab port.

The operation smuggles in merchandise to avoid Iranian tariffs and to bring in American and European products that have disappeared from Iranian markets because of international sanctions. Experts note that the consumer items post no real challenge to efforts to block material with military or nuclear uses.

"Still, it shows you can't close off all channels into Iran no matter how hard you try," said Paul Rogers, who follows security affairs at Bradford University in Britain. "People will find a way."

On this side of the Gulf, the smugglers operate under a tacit tolerance from authorities, even though Oman and the United Arab Emirates are close U.S. allies and have pledged to enforce sanctions. The port lies in a sparsely populated peninsula enclave belonging to Oman but encircled on land by the UAE, a legacy of how the area was carved up in the final days of British rule here in the last century that resulted in Oman holding joint control with Iran over the strait.

The goods are legally imported into the UAE and truck drivers take them across the border, paying the customary 50 dirham ($13.50) entry fee, according to the smugglers interviewed by The Associated Press. In Khasab, the merchandise is taken to warehouses and then piled on the docks less than 100 yards (100 meters) from the port police headquarters.

Omani authorities did not respond to requests for comment on the traffic.

The Khasab speedboats are far from the only back channel into Iran. Drug traffickers easily cross the hinterland borders with Pakistan and Afghanistan, and black market networks stretch across the frontiers with Iraq and Turkey. Authorities in Iraq's Kurdish region have been under pressure for years to crack down on fuel trucks heading into Iran in violation of U.S. sanctions.

But Khasab stands out for its openness and for lying on the highly sensitive Strait.

A shipment arranged by the Iranian smuggler Agheel this week was done with practiced efficiency.

A pickup truck backed into a wood-floored warehouse with hundreds of cases of cigarettes bundled three together and wrapped tightly in gray plastic weave ? in total 3,000 cigarettes under south Asian brands such as Ruby Menthol. The truck was soon sagging under the weight of boxes piled five high.

Agheel did some quick calculations: Each three-case load cost him about $1,200 and he could sell them to merchants in Iran for the equivalent of about $1,350 under current exchange rates. The truck pulling out of the warehouse represented a potential return of about $4,500.

"If we don't get caught," he added.

The smugglers have their ways of avoiding Iranian authorities.

Spotters off the coast ? on the island of Qeshm and near the port of Bandar Abbas ? call in coast guard movements to Khasab. The speedboat drivers keep close attention to the water conditions on the Strait and try to approach the Iranian coast just after sunset. The trip can take as little as 90 minutes in calm seas and up to four hours in rough water in the stripped down stripped-down 16-foot (five-meter) fiberglass boats.

Agheel's truck passed through the Khasab customs station at midday and then down a strip of hardscrabble road.

At the port ? almost in the shadow of a Costa cruise ship making a day stop ? dozens of boats were being packed and secured for the trip. There were no names or markings on the speedboats. But the items loaded on carried familiar logos: LG 42-inch flatscreen TVs, Discovery Channel DVDs, Panasonic microwaves, Yamaha motorcycle parts. Also in the stacks were textiles, satellite dishes and Chinese-made clothes and shoes.

One boat driver, who gave his name only as Aziz, had a breakfast of eggs, beans and Mountain Dew as he waited for the day's shipment to be loaded for the return run to Qeshm, a long arrow-shaped island near the Iranian coast and a main waystation for the smugglers.

Months ago, he could make as many trips as possible because the merchants in Iran were demanding goods.

But now the struggling Iranian rial ? dragged down partly by U.S.-led sanctions that could target Iran's Central Bank ? has put many things out of reach for Iranians, he said.

"No one wants to buy because the (rial) rate is not stable," he said.

He also said the Iranian coastal patrols have been boosted amid the escalating tensions over the Strait.

On Wednesday, U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said the American military is "fully prepared" to deal with any Iranian effort to close the waterway. Next month, Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard plans naval exercises in the area.

If spotted by patrols, Aziz said the two-man boat crews try to heave the goods overboard. They then must pay back the smuggling network, which can amount to thousands of dollars.

But it's worth the risk, he said.

"The situation is getting worse now," he said. "All the prices are up and Qeshm has nothing else" except smuggling.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120122/ap_on_re_mi_ea/ml_smugglers_in_the_strait

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Saturday, January 21, 2012

'Hunger Games' Stars Answer More Of Your Questions!

Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth exclusively talk survival skills, accents and most challenging scenes.
By Kara Warner, with additional reporting by MTV UK

Liam Hemsworth, Jennifer Lawrence and Josh Hutcherson in "The Hunger Games"
Photo: Lionsgate

As promised, we are back with more from our exclusive interviews with "Hunger Games" stars Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth — and all the questions were asked by you, the fans.

Last week, Lawrence, Hutcherson and Hemsworth revealed a few of the pranks pulled on set, as well as a preview of what the arena will look like onscreen. This second installment features talk about which actor is most like his or her character, details about the reaping and talk of real-life survival skills. (Minor spoilers ahead for those who haven't read Suzanne Collins' brilliant books!)

Be sure to check back here next week for part three of our interviews.

@RealOrNotReal: Who among the cast is most like their "Hunger Games" character?

Jennifer Lawrence: Josh. Josh is Peeta. He's charming, he's nice, he's very real and down to earth, he's not fake in any way. He just can charm anyone and anything.

Josh Hutcherson: Oh, God, this is going to sound so stupid: Me, because I have literally never read a character, book or script or anything that has a character in it I connected with more than Peeta. I feel like so much of who I am is Peeta. It drove me crazy during the audition process, because I was like, "This is so me, it hurts. If I don't get this, I'm not even good at being me, so now what am I? I have no idea what to do next."

@HGTribute_Manda: What was the most difficult scene to shoot?

Liam Hemsworth: The reaping stuff that we shot was pretty hard. I remember turning up to set the first day and looking out at the few hundred extras there — it looked like a prison camp. It looked so rough and really did look how I think it would be, and it was hot. It was some of the hottest weather I've ever shot in. We had extras collapsing because it was so hot out there. That was probably the hardest stuff to shoot for sure.

Lawrence: I don't know if I have a most difficult scene. Really, the physical scenes, the running. Katniss doesn't really stop running throughout the whole movie, so if I'm running up a mountain in a scene, that's what we shot all day, so by the time we started acting and talking, it was like a vacation.

@p1nklov3er: Is it hard to hide your accent?

Hemsworth: It gets easier and easier. I work with accent coaches a lot and try to do my best to get the Australian out of there. Australians grow up with a lot of American TV; we watch the same movies you watch, so it's not as alien for an Australian to do an American accent as it is for an American to do an Australian accent, because you guys don't grow up hearing our accents. It's in the back of your mind, but it's practice, practice, practice.

@eringabin: In a postapocalyptic world, what would your most valuable survival skill be?

Hutcherson: I think I'd be pretty good at building a fort. I have a lot of experience with that when I was a kid. I built a lot of forts back in the day, so I think my expertise would be in the architecture and design of our shelter.

@OttoRivera: Have you met Suzanne Collins?

Hemsworth: I haven't met her, but I've spoken to her on the phone a few times, and she's really, really lovely. She's obviously tremendously smart, and I love her books, so she's been a big part of collaborating on the script. ... I think everyone involved in the production wanted it to be true to the story, so she's been involved a lot.

@eringabin: Did you get any injuries during filming?

Hutcherson: Not anything too crazy in the injury department. There were the classic bumps and bruises from running through the woods and forest, the big fight scene at the end with myself and Katniss and Cato on top of the Cornucopia, which itself lends itself to having more injuries than other times, but it was pretty good all in all, nothing too serious.

All month long, the stars of "The Hunger Games" will be answering your Twitter questions, exclusively for MTV News. Check back every Thursday in January for more answers from Jennifer Lawrence, Josh Hutcherson and Liam Hemsworth!

Check out everything we've got on "The Hunger Games."

For young Hollywood news, fashion and "Twilight" updates around the clock, visit HollywoodCrush.MTV.com.

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Republicans fume as Keystone oil pipeline rejected (Reuters)

WASHINGTON/CALGARY, Alberta (Reuters) ? The Obama Administration rejected the Keystone oil pipeline on Wednesday, a move that Republicans decried for sacrificing jobs and energy security in order to shore up the president's environmental base before elections.

President Barack Obama said the administration denied TransCanada's application for the $7 billion Canada-to-Texas oil sands pipeline because there was not enough time to review an alternate route that would avoid a sensitive aquifer in Nebraska -- within a 60-day window set by Congress.

The Canadian firm quickly said it would re-apply for the permit, which it first sought in 2008. But U.S. officials said it would still take more than a year for the State Department to complete a new environmental review -- pushing any final decision on the line well beyond November's elections.

Even so, Keystone seems certain to become a key issue for the coming presidential campaign, with Republicans accusing Obama imperiling U.S. energy security and environmentalists cheering the White House for standing up to big oil.

Canada has said the uncertainty will cause it to intensify efforts to sell more crude to China.

The administration rejected the attacks, arguing Republicans inserted an unrealistic deadline in legislation in December that was designed to force Obama's hand by the end of February. That measure came after the State Department in November moved to delay a decision in order to study a route that would avoid part of the Ogallala Acquifer, a major source of fresh water.

"I'm disappointed that Republicans in Congress forced this decision," Obama said.

Mitt Romney, front runner for the Republican presidential nomination, blasted Obama on the announcement, saying he demonstrated a "lack of seriousness" in tackling high unemployment.

"He seems to have confused the national interest with his own interest in pleasing the environmentalists in his political base," Romney said in statement.

Newt Gingrich, another contender in Republican race for presidential nominee, called Obama's decision "stunningly stupid."

LOATHING OIL SANDS

Environmentalists, a key voting bloc that helped Obama win the White House in 2008, had pushed for him to block the 1,700-mile pipeline, saying their support in his reelection campaign depended on that decision.

Environmental groups loathe the idea of increasing the flow of oil sands crude from Canada because of its bigger carbon footprint in the mining process. They cheered the Obama administration in November when it announced it would delay the project, which could transport 830,000 barrels per day of crude.

But lawmakers, led by Republicans, attached a measure to a popular tax cut bill in December that called on Obama to make a decision on the pipeline by the end of February.

The decision, made long before the deadline, also provides the White House with a talking point to take on the campaign trail after delivering the State of the Union next week.

Despite the rejection of the Keystone project, Obama expressed general support for an oil pipeline between Cushing, Oklahoma, and the Gulf of Mexico.

Oil producers were depending on Keystone to help ease a glut of crude at the Cushing delivery point for the New York Mercantile Exchange and shift the crude to the Texas refining center where more oil can be processed.

A CAMPAIGN ISSUE

Republican lawmakers and oil and gas industry groups vowed to keep fighting for the pipeline, which requires State Department approval because it crosses international borders.

Lawmakers have already begun work on a plan to take the decision making power from the White House and give the project an immediate go-ahead.

"All options are on the table," House speaker John Boehner said at a press conference after the decision was announced.

Ultimately, oil and gas analysts said it could be possible to work out a deal to greenlight Keystone after the November election.

Kevin Book, an energy analyst at Clearview Energy Partners, said that even an approval in 2013 could still have "important implications for North American supply" because it would establish a six- or seven-year process for approval of pipelines that cross national borders.

"Should environmentalists replicate last year's successful delays in future permit decisions, it would turn what used to be a de facto "rubber stamp" into a long, drawn-out fight every time," Book said in a research note.

PROFOUNDLY DISAPPOINTED

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper said he expressed in a phone call with Obama his "profound disappointment" with the rejection, which follows years of intense lobbying in Washington in support of the project, which is partly aimed at raising returns for oil sands producers.

Harper and other officials across the country said they believe Keystone XL will eventually proceed, but that the rejection underlines the need to diversify markets.

The oil sands of northern Alberta are the third-largest crude source after those in Saudi Arabia and Venezuela, but production is more energy and carbon-intensive.

Harper and his Conservative government are pushing hard to boost exports of the crude in the United States and in Asia, seeking employment and economic gains, but face stiff opposition at home and abroad from environmentalists and native groups.

Alberta Premier Alison Redford, whose Western province derives about a third of its revenue from the tar sands and other oil and gas activity, said she spoke to TransCanada officials and will consider ways to move the project forward together.

"It's still entirely possible for this project to proceed. There is no doubt that is the opinion of the applicants in the project and we're going to support them in any way they find helpful to try to achieve success on this project," she said.

CAUGHT IN MIDDLE

The pipeline placed the Obama administration in the middle of a dispute between two key parts of its voting block: green groups who oppose the pipeline over concerns about climate change and some unions who back the project because of the jobs they believe it would create.

Supporters say it would create thousands of jobs and is integral to U.S. energy security.

Environmentalists say the job-creation claims are inflated and warn that the pipeline would lock the nation into the use of carbon-intensive oil sands crude for years.

"The knock on Barack Obama from many quarters has been that he's too conciliatory," said Bill McKibben, who led protests against the pipeline through his organization 350.org. "But here, in the face of a naked political threat from Big Oil to exact 'huge political consequences,' he's stood up strong."

ConocoPhillips Chief Executive Jim Mulva said on Wednesday that Canadian oil sands development will go ahead, despite the decision on Keystone.

"It's difficult for me to understand why the Keystone project is not quickly approved," Mulva told reporters at an energy conference at Rice University.

(Additional reporting By Timothy Gardner, Jeffrey Jones, Arshad Mohammed, Roberta Rampton; Writing by Ayesha Rascoe; Editing by David Gregorio, Russell Blinch and Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/wl_canada_nm/canada_us_keystone_decision

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Friday, January 20, 2012

South Korea given deadline to improve Israel T-50 trainer offer

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Microsoft 2Q beats Street despite soft PC market (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Microsoft Corp. battled through a weak PC market to post flat earnings in the final quarter of 2011, boosting sales of servers, Xbox games and its Office productivity software while trimming losses at its Bing search engine.

Net income in the company's second quarter through December came to $6.62 billion, down slightly from the $6.63 billion a year ago. Earnings per share came to 78 cents, up a penny from a year ago, as the outstanding share count fell.

Revenue rose 5 percent to $20.89 billion.

The earnings reported after the close of trading on Wall Street Thursday beat expectations of analysts polled by FactSet, who were looking for 76 cents per share. But sales were below the $20.92 billion expected.

Microsoft's shares rose 54 cents, or 1.9 percent, to $28.66 in after-hours trading.

Colin Gillis, an analyst with BGC, said cost controls and a second-consecutive quarter of reducing losses at Bing helped results. Continuing growth in its Office software division was also encouraging, while the decline in the PC market and its negative impact on the flagship Windows operating system was expected.

"People were afraid it was going to be much, much worse," he said.

Company watchers had been concerned that a shortage of hard disk drives from flood-ravaged Thailand would hit PC sales and hurt sales of the world's most-used operating system, Windows. Microsoft's position as a leading operating system maker is also facing challenges as people use more tablet computers like Apple Inc.'s iPad and mobile devices using Google Inc.'s Android system.

Microsoft is looking ahead to the release of Windows 8, an operating system that should operate similarly over PCs and mobile devices. A beta version is due out next month.

CEO Steve Ballmer, in a statement, called the quarter's results solid even as the company "prepares for a launch year that will accelerate many of our key products and services."

He said that the company has gotten positive reviews of its Metro style design that will unify the way consumers interact with Windows-based phones, computers, tablets and even televisions this year.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120119/ap_on_hi_te/us_earns_microsoft

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Thursday, January 19, 2012

7 charged in $61M single-stock insider trade case (AP)

NEW YORK ? A hedge fund co-founder, a hedge fund portfolio manager, four financial analysts and a Dell Inc. employee teamed up in a record-setting insider trading scheme that netted more than $61.8 million in illegal profits based on trades of a single stock, authorities said Wednesday as they described a cozy network of friends in finance who made the most of their connections with corrupt employees of technology companies.

The scheme was outlined in a criminal complaint in U.S. District Court in Manhattan that charged four of the men with conspiracy to commit securities fraud and securities fraud, among other charges. Three analysts have already pleaded guilty and are cooperating with the government, according to the court papers.

The insider trading plot as authorities portrayed it was noteworthy for its size. Last month, hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam began serving an 11-year prison term ? the longest ever given in an insider trading case ? for a scheme that prosecutors said produced as much as $75 million in profits on dozens of trades over a multi-year period. That prosecution resulted in more than two dozen convictions and led to a spinoff probe that produced even more arrests.

In the new case, prosecutors again are highlighting its size, saying the co-conspirators netted more than $61.8 million in illegal profits based on trades of a single stock from 2008 through 2009.

Anthony Chiasson, a co-founder at former hedge fund group Level Global Investors LP, was among three men arrested early Wednesday. He surrendered to the FBI.

In court papers, he was credited with a starring role in the securities fraud. Authorities said a hedge fund analyst fed Chiasson inside information about an upcoming announcement of Dell's earnings for the first and second quarters of 2008, allowing Chiasson and others at his hedge fund to make approximately $57 million in illegal profits through trades. Inside information about Dell earnings resulted in $3.8 million in illegal profits at another hedge fund and $1 million in illegal profits at a third hedge fund, the complaint said. The Dell inside information also allowed an investment firm to avoid losses of approximately $78,000, authorities said.

Jon Horvath, an analyst at Sigma Capital Management, an affiliate of hedge fund SAC Capital Advisors in Manhattan, was arrested at his New York City home while Todd Newman, a hedge fund portfolio manager, was arrested in Needham, Mass. It was not immediately clear if a fourth man charged in the complaint, analyst Danny Kuo, was in custody.

Among those who have pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy and securities fraud and are cooperating in the case was Sandeep Goyal, who worked from the summer of 2006 through May 2007 for Dell at its corporate headquarters in Round Rock, Texas, and obtained inside information from employees of Dell after he began working as an associate analyst for a global asset management firm in Manhattan, court papers said.

According to court papers, Goyal benefited from his relationship with a co-conspirator who worked in Dell's investor relations department from March 2007 through March 2009 and in its corporate development office from March 2009 through April 2010. Authorities said a hedge fund with $4 billion in assets in 2009 paid Goyal about $175,000 for providing insider information about Dell.

The illegal profits in the case were made after tips were shared among co-conspirators about upcoming earnings announcements regarding Dell and Nvidia Corp., according to court papers.

FBI Agent David Makol said in court papers that the government built its case through information provided by the three cooperators, consensually recorded conversations, court-authorized wiretaps, telephone records, trading records, electronic communications, documents provided by a cooperator and other documents obtained from two hedge funds. The hedge funds were not identified in court papers.

Messages seeking comment left with lawyers for the defendants were not immediately returned.

___

Associated Press Writer Mark Pratt in Boston contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_re_us/us_insider_trading_investigation

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Wednesday, January 18, 2012

?Spare One? Phone Runs On One AA Battery

The Spare One is just that — a spare cellphone that runs on a single AA cell and does nothing more than make calls. If left switched off, it can last for up to 15 years (or the time before the battery inside decides to burst and spread its toxic innards everywhere).
Actually, it does two [...]

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Thai police seize explosives, charge Lebanese man (AP)

BANGKOK ? A foreign suspect with alleged links to Hezbollah militants led Thai police Monday to a warehouse filled with materials commonly used to make bombs, as Thailand and the U.S. disagreed over whether Bangkok was the target of a terror plot.

Police seized more than 8,800 pounds (4,000 kilograms) of urea fertilizer and several gallons of liquid ammonium nitrate at the warehouse in Samut Sakhon, on the western outskirts of Bangkok, according to police and media reports.

The U.S. Embassy had issued an "emergency message" Friday warning of a possible terror threat against Americans in Bangkok, and Israel warned its citizens as well. A dozen other embassies have since urged their citizens to exercise caution.

The warnings come during heightened tension over U.S. and Israeli responses to the prospect that Iran is moving ahead with its nuclear program.

Thai authorities were caught off-guard by the U.S. announcement, hastily revealing they had detained a Swedish national of Lebanese origin with alleged links to pro-Iranian Hezbollah militants and that intelligence indicated a plot could be carried out between Jan. 13 and 15. The defense minister said the news was not released earlier to avoid panic that could hurt Thailand's tourism industry, one of the country's biggest revenue earners.

Damage control continued Monday, with the prime minister calling for calm.

"I'd like to tell people not to panic. The situation is under control. There is no problem," Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra told reporters, adding that security was increased and intelligence agencies were closely following the situation. "We can assure the safety of the (Thai) people and foreign tourists."

Details of the alleged plot remained hazy due to conflicting accounts from Thai officials, some of whom said that Thailand appeared to have been a staging ground but not the target of any attack.

"I think Thailand is likely a transit point for other regions of the world," national police chief Gen. Prewpan Dhamapong told reporters after the raid. "It is unlikely that they would have staged terror attacks in Thailand."

The U.S. Embassy stood by its warning and said it was still in effect Monday.

"Whenever we have specific, credible, not-counterable threats, it is our responsibility to inform Americans in Thailand," said embassy spokesman Walter Braunohler. "That's what we did Friday. We issued an emergency message, and that remains in effect."

Police were led to the warehouse by the suspect, identified as Atris Hussein. Hussein told police that he and other accomplices had rented the warehouse a year ago, according to a police official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

The official said that police also found shipping containers, leading them to believe the materials were destined for shipment elsewhere, though he declined to say where.

Hussein was charged later Monday with illegally possessing explosive materials and faces up to five years in prison.

In Stockholm, Swedish Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Linn Duvhammar confirmed the detained suspect has dual citizenship and said the Swedish embassy is helping him find a lawyer. He moved to Sweden in 1991 and spent 2006-09 in his native country before returning.

Duvhammar said he was carrying a valid Swedish passport when he was arrested, as well as an old one that had been stained.

Police were still looking for another Lebanese suspect.

Thailand has rarely been a target for foreign terrorists, although a domestic Muslim insurgency in the country's south has involved bombings of civilian targets.

___

Associated Press writers Jocelyn Gecker in Bangkok and Malin Rising in Stockholm contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/mideast/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120116/ap_on_re_as/as_thailand_terror_threat

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[OOC] Unexpected Differences

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Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.

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Tuesday, January 17, 2012

China policy easing ahead as growth hits 2-year low (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China's economy expanded at its weakest pace in 2-1/2 years in the latest quarter, with the sagging real estate and export sectors heralding a sharper slowdown in coming months and fresh pro-growth measures from the government.

Growth of 8.9 percent over a year earlier was slightly stronger than the 8.7 percent forecast by economists in a Reuters poll, but the data on Tuesday raised concerns about the immediate outlook and how much support China can offer a struggling global economy.

Gross domestic output rose just 2 percent from the previous quarter, suggesting to some economists that underlying momentum is slowing more rapidly than headline data implies.

A near 40 percent plunge in the annual pace of property investment in December versus November's rate underscored risks to China's domestic demand even as it is trying to cope with those emanating from debt-ridden Europe -- China's biggest export market.

"It indicates that in Q1 2012 the numbers will be very unpleasant. Policy easing will continue," said Yao Wei, an economist at Societe Generale in Hong Kong, who forecasts growth slowing to 8.3 percent in the first three months of 2012.

"It's a very significant slowdown already in China," she said.

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GRAPHIC http://link.reuters.com/zeq95s

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Growth for all of 2011 slipped to 9.2 percent, a pace last seen in 2009 during the global financial crisis, from 10.4 percent in 2010.

Beijing is likely to stick to what Premier Wen Jiabao has called "fine-tuning" of economic policy settings to counter the downturn for now, rather than adopting more aggressive measures such as a cut in interest rates.

December's retail sales growth of 18.1 percent on the year was well above forecasts and industrial production also staged a slight uptick in real terms in December versus November.

"On policy, we expect Beijing will read both positive and negative messages from the Q4 data and further adjust their policies," Ting Lu, China economist at Bank of America/Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong wrote in a note to clients.

"Simply put, Beijing will continue its policy easing which was started in mid-October, though we should not expect a big-bang stimulus," he added.

China's policymakers have unveiled a series of policy tweaks from tax breaks for small firms, to a cut in the proportion of deposits the country's banks must hold as reserves in a bid to boost corporate credit and money supply.

A cut in the required reserve ratio (RRR) in November -- to 21 percent from a record 21.5 percent for big banks -- was the first in three years.

Analysts polled recently by Reuters forecast another 200 basis points of cuts in 2012, with many banking on one in the run-up to next week's Lunar New Year holiday to ease anticipated liquidity squeezes as demand for cash soars.

The pressure for another RRR cut has built as capital has started to flow out of China after years of inflows that allowed the country to amass the world's biggest store of foreign exchange reserves worth $3.18 trillion.

Reducing RRR keeps money supply -- which senior Chinese think-tank sources tell Reuters is targeted for 14 percent growth in 2012 -- stable in the face of capital outflows.

INVESTORS EXPECT POLICY EASING

Asian shares, the euro, industrial metals and commodity-linked currencies all rose as the data soothed investor worries that the euro zone debt crisis is dragging dangerously on the world's second-biggest economy.

Meanwhile, the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index (.SSEC) rallied around 3 percent, reversing a 1.7-percent fall a day earlier, as investors priced in further policy easing and hopes that China would quicken the pace of approval for more foreign investors to trade Chinese stocks.

With Europe in danger of slipping into a recession and U.S. growth looking lackluster, China's role in the global economy is magnified.

Although economists widely expect China's 2012 growth will be the weakest in a decade, a more pronounced slowdown would put a major drag on already shaky global growth.

The fourth-quarter growth rate was the slowest pace since the second quarter of 2009, when the global economy stumbled out of a deep recession. It also marked the fourth straight quarter in which growth had slowed down.

Global miner Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) (RIO.L) reported much lower than expected growth in iron ore production in the fourth quarter amid concerns that China's demand may be softening.

Ma Jiantang, the head of China's statistics agency, said China's economic growth was likely to slow further as Beijing tries to restructure the economy away from exports and towards domestic consumption -- something the United States and other trading partners have long pressed China to do.

Tuesday's data showed net exports subtracted from 2011 growth while consumption contributed more than half.

Annual growth in property investment at 12.3 percent in December, marked a sharp slowdown from November's 20.2 percent pace, a worrying signal for a sector worth some 13 percent of total economic output.

Housing investment dropped precipitously in December, and many property developers have warned that 2012 looks grim.

A booming housing market helped drive China's explosive growth in recent years, but Beijing has tried to cool prices in hopes of avoiding a devastating bubble and bust.

A modest housing market slowdown would be a welcome development, but a crash would be catastrophic, both for China and its trading partners around the world.

Some analysts think China's first-quarter growth will be below 8 percent threshold seen as the minimum for assuring sufficient job creation.

Europe is China's top export market, and all signs point to much of the continent falling into recession in coming months, with no end in sight as governments push austerity programs.

Mass ratings downgrades in the euro zone over the weekend and a breakdown in Greek bailout talks have added to financial market jitters.

LUNAR LIFT

An early Lunar New Year holiday on January 23-24 probably skewed the fourth-quarter data and the effect will likely linger through the first three months of the year.

Factories typically step up production to clear orders before the festive period, and then temporarily shut down as workers head home to visit family.

That means fourth-quarter growth probably benefited from the surge in manufacturing, while first-quarter activity will be even slower.

"What's happened in December is to some extent the pre-Lunar New Year bounce in activity and prices. What we're seeing in December is the seasonal effect. If it is just a seasonal effect then obviously what that means is January-February will be weaker," Michael Spencer, Deutsche Bank's Hong Kong-based chief economist in the Asia Pacific said.

"It's fair to say the economy is holding up better but it's hard to say if that's just a statistical artifact of the short calendar," he added. ($1=6.31 yuan)

(Additional reporting by China economics team: Writing by Nick Edwards and Emily Kaiser; Editing by Kim Coghill and Neil Fullick)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120117/bs_nm/us_china_economy_gdp

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Monday, January 16, 2012

Special guest referees: Not so black and white

Eyebrows across the WWE Universe were raised when Executive Vice President of Talent Relations and Interim Raw General Manager John Laurinaitis named himself special guest referee in the WWE Championship Match between CM Punk and Dolph Ziggler at the 25th anniversary of the Royal Rumble on Jan. 29.

Because of the Interim GM?s rocky relationship with CM Punk, the WWE Universe is left to wonder what role Laurinaitis might play in determining the WWE Championship. Despite being true to his word and banning Jack Swagger and Vickie Guerrero from ringside at the Rumble, the WWE Universe is left unconvinced of Mr. Laurinaitis's ability to remain impartial ? at least according to numerous posts on Facebook and Twitter. If he does work his way into deciding the outcome of the match, just how stacked will the deck be against The Second City Savior with the title on the line? For that matter, should Dolph Ziggler feel all that comfortable with the new guest referee? After all, Laurinaitis lived up to his word on the Jan. 9 Raw SuperShow, and banned both Jack Swagger and Vickie Guerrero from ringside. (MATCH PREVIEW)

As history has shown, when a WWE authority figure works him or herself into a guest officiating role during an important match, there's just no telling what might happen. Though it?s a pretty safe bet that in their WWE Championship Match at the Royal Rumble, either the champion or challenger will not be happy with the guest official?s final decision. WWE.com looks back on some of the more memorable instances of an authority figure-turned-referee costing a Superstar big time.

HBK turns the tables on The Rock: With the WWE Championship on the line, The Rock and Triple H did battle on the premiere episode of SmackDown on Aug. ?26, 1999. Shawn Michaels ? who was acting WWE Commissioner at the time ? served as special guest referee and entered the arena to a huge ovation from the capacity crowd in Kansas City. But as the match played out, it would become clear that The Heartbreak Kid had intentions of living up to his moniker that night.

After a brutal struggle, The Great One took control of the match, hitting Triple H with the Rock Bottom and preparing for The People?s Elbow. The crowd grew raucous as The People's Champion hit the first rope and jumped over the prone Triple H. But the sickening sound of Sweet Chin Music suddenly stopped The Rock in his tracks, and shocked the WWE Universe. The Game then staggered over to Rock, hooked his arms, and connected with a Pedigree that sealed the match ? and the title ? for The Cerebral Assassin. (WATCH)

Vickie Guerrero, a not-so-impartial observer: In a match to determine the WWE Women?s Championship on Feb. 26, 2010, Mickie James faced an uphill battle against not only the nearly 6-foot-tall Michelle McCool, but the special guest referee ? none other than SmackDown General Manager Vickie Guerrero.

With the GM planted squarely in her corner, a confident McCool stalked Mickie James. Mickie found an advantage, though, and rolled McCool up for a cover. SmackDown?s GM was in no hurry to count to three, however, and instead unleashed on Mickie a vicious slap to the face that echoed throughout the arena. The GM-turned-referee broke the count and knocked James for a loop. As Mickie got up in Guerrero?s grill, McCool went on the offensive, rolled up her opponent, and was declared the new Champion. Vickie?s interference cost Mickie James the match ? and the Women?s Title. (WATCH)

No Way Out for Triple H: At No Way Out in 2002, Triple H and Kurt Angle met in a memorable contest with The Game?s title opportunity at WrestleMania on the line. Stephanie McMahon had declared herself special guest referee, and from the moment Angle stepped in the ring, it was obvious who she was rooting for.

After a series of quick counts, it was clear The Game would have his work cut out for him if he wanted to retain his title opportunity. Things started to look up for Triple H, however, when Angle ran at him with a monster clothesline near the ropes. The Cerebral Assassin ducked the blow, sending Angle straight into Stephanie and knocking her over the ropes ? and seemingly out of the match.

A more traditional officiator took Stephanie?s place, but Triple H wasn?t out of the woods yet ? not by a long shot. After Angle disposed of the new ref, Stephanie found her way back to the ring, only to be knocked out again. She eventually came to ? and just in time to ignore two illegal chair blasts by Angle, costing Triple H his chance at the title. (PHOTOS)

Source: http://www.wwe.com/inside/wwefeaturepage/authority-figures-referees

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