Russia expects WTO deal by mid-December (Reuters)

MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Russia wants minor changes to a proposed deal with Georgia over its bid to join the World Trade Organization but expects an agreement in time for its accession to be approved in mid-December, a Kremlin aide said on Monday.

Swiss mediators were meeting officials on Monday in Georgia, the only member of the 153-country bloc that is blocking Russian entry, after talks in Moscow on Sunday on securing accession for the biggest economy outside the group.

"There are no radical proposals ... Only minor changes to the wording (of the compromise deal)," top Kremlin economic adviser Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters in Moscow.

Russian entry after 18 years of negotiations would be the biggest step in world trade liberalization since China joined a decade ago, and the United States and the European Union have urged all sides to agree terms by the end of this year.

Entry will cement Russia's integration into the world economy 20 years after the Soviet Union fell, providing more global access to the world's top energy producer and its $1.9 trillion economy -- about 2.8 percent of the world economy.

"If the positions do not change dramatically, we have a big chance of completing the process soon," said Dvorkovich, who is also Russia's sherpa to the Group of Eight industrial nations and the broader Group of Twenty powers.

The Swiss mediators told President Dmitry Medvedev on Sunday they were hopeful Russia's accession could be secured in December. They were expected to meet Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili on Monday afternoon.

Dvorkovich said on Sunday he hoped all pending issues could be resolved in a few hours.

Moscow has been working to satisfy Georgia's demands so Georgia consents to a WTO meeting next week that will formally approve Russia's accession terms, keeping it on track for the final assent of a conference of WTO trade ministers in December.

But trade diplomats say WTO Director General Pascal Lamy may have opened a loophole that could allow Russia to reject Georgia's demands and still get into the WTO, because he has called the formal meeting already, without waiting for confirmation from Moscow that Russia agrees to Georgia's terms.

So in theory Russia could now reject the deal with Georgia and still turn up to the WTO meeting next week for approval. But overriding Georgia's veto in that way would be hugely controversial. In an untested area of the WTO rules, it might also end up back-firing.

OVERCOMING ENMITY AFTER WAR

Georgia, a former Soviet republic to Russia's south, fought a five-day war with Russia in 2008 and the two countries have not restored diplomatic relations since then.

Tbilisi offered Moscow what it said was its final compromise deal on Russia's WTO bid last week, covering trade with the two Moscow-backed breakaway regions over which they went to war three years ago.

Like all WTO members, Georgia can effectively veto another country's accession. But Tbilisi also has something to gain from Russian accession because it could boost its exports of mineral water and wine, both of which were popular in Russia before their relationship soured.

The World Bank estimates that accession -- which has long been sought by Prime Minister Vladimir Putin -- could increase Russian gross domestic product by 3.3 percent in the medium term and by 11 percent over a longer period.

Advocates of membership say Russian consumers will benefit and Russia will have to become more efficient, making good on the government's mantra of diversification by putting the oil-dominated, state-led economy on a diet of rule-based openness.

Russian opponents of accession say a flood of imports will stifle domestic producers, and Russia may be hit by demands that it give up longstanding policies such as the gas export monopoly enjoyed by Gazprom.

WTO membership could cause a 15-20 percent rise in the RTS share index, Ovanes Oganisian of Renaissance Capital investment bank wrote in a research note.

He predicted domestic gas producers such as Novatek, Rosneft and Lukoil would benefit most and saw gains in general for oil producers, metals and mining firms, fertilizer makers and consumer goods producers.

Oganisian said banks and insurance companies could be hit if restrictions on foreign banks are dropped.

(Additional reporting by Megan Davies, writing by Amie Ferris-Rotman and Timothy Heritage Editing by Maria Golovnina)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111031/wl_nm/us_russia_wto_talks

chris harris peter schiff matt holliday project runway winner project runway winner hunter s thompson hunter s thompson

* Mexican President Calderon Says US Deportations of Criminals Fueling Border Violence

Published by Junior Staff Writer on October 29, 2011

Mexican President Calderon states that the record number of US deportation of convicted criminals is fueling violence in Mexican border cities. The US has deported over over 400,000 people this year including over 2,000 convicted murderers.
Click on Photo Below to Watch Video

?

Comment Advisement We welcome your thoughts, but for the sake of all readers, please refrain from the use of obscenities, personal attacks or racial slurs. All comments are subject to our terms of service and may be removed. Repeat offenders may lose commenting privileges.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/FugitiveWatch/~3/vH8w9tWo8QA/

ben folds apple announcement sprint iphone sprint iphone defamation solyndra tesla model s

Commonwealth leaders agree to be more proactive on human rights (Reuters)

PERTH, Australia (Reuters) ? Leaders of the Commonwealth group of mostly former British colonies on Friday took tentative steps to tighten up on human rights abuses by members, but have still to address tougher measures some warn the group must take to remain relevant.

Britain's 85-year-old Queen Elizabeth opened the meeting of leaders of the 54 states of the Commonwealth, home to a third of the world's population and five of the G20 leading economies but struggling to make much impact on global policies.

Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard told reporters that the leaders had backed an internal report calling for a more proactive stance in defending human rights.

"That report and all of its reform proposals and recommendations, has been adopted ... It means that this meeting has already acted to embrace reform and strengthening of the Commonwealth," she said.

"The purpose of these reform proposals is to enable the Commonwealth to act when a country is veering off course in terms of democratic values and the rule of law, rather than waiting until a country has gone to a grossly unacceptable stage, and leaders only having the option of suspension or expulsion in front of them."

The leadup to the summit has been dominated by pressure to take a stronger line on human and political rights abuses, with a spotlight on Sri Lanka, which will host the next Commonwealth summit in 2013.

Sri Lanka is under international pressure to allow an independent inquiry into accusations of war crimes during its 25-year civil war, especially in its final months in 2009.

It says will wait for the results of its own investigation next month, calling the pressure over human rights a propaganda war waged by the defeated Tamil Tigers.

"There does need to be truth telling," Gillard said.

Canada, home to a large ethnic Tamil community, has said it will boycott the 2013 Commonwealth summit in Sri Lanka, unless the host country improves its human rights record.

RISKING IRRELEVANCE?

The summit still has to grapple with the contentious "eminent persons" report which warns that without a much tougher stand, the Commonwealth could slide into irrelevance.

A key suggestion in the confidential report, seen by Reuters, is for the group to establish a human rights commissioner -- which some members oppose.

"Today, Commonwealth leaders are faced with a choice -- reform the Commonwealth so that it can effectively address human rights violations by its members, or risk becoming irrelevant," said Madhu Malhotra, Amnesty International's Asia-Pacific Deputy Director.

Smaller countries within the group, many at risk from the effects of global warming, are pressing for a strong statement ahead of next month's international summit of climate change in the South African city of Durban.

There have also been calls on leaders to help end the practice of child brides. Twelve of the 20 countries with the highest rates of child brides are in the Commonwealth.

And health advocates say laws in 41 Commonwealth states making homosexuality a crime breached human rights, hindering the fight against HIV-AIDS. Commonwealth states represent 60 percent of the world's HIV-AIDS population.

There was one early accord. The 16 countries that have the Queen as their monarch agreed to end royal discrimination by changing the rules of succession to the throne by abolishing rules that favoured sons for the throne and barring those in line for the throne from marrying Roman Catholics.

(Additional reporting by Rebekah Kebede)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111028/india_nm/india601663

aapl x factor judges x factor judges lemony snicket lemony snicket raiders raiders news

Iterate 9: Zhephree

Our podcast feed Download Directly Subscribe via iTunes Marc, Seth, and Rene iterate through Adobe Un-blur and CSS Shaders, Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich, TAT’s Cascade, interrogate webOS developer Zhephree with the help of PreCentral’s Derek, and answer questions on backups. This is Iterate!...

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/LdvDbFJCpSo/

threadworm nick swisher pirates of silicon valley htc flyer tablet htc flyer tablet hank williams bruins

Interest groups flex clout in judicial elections (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Interest groups pumped millions of dollars into state judicial elections in the last election cycle, threatening to undermine the impartiality of judges, according to a report issued Thursday.

Political parties and advocacy groups working independently from candidates are accounting for a greater share of spending on judicial elections. They accounted for $11.5 million, or nearly 30 percent, of money spent in the 2009-2010 election cycle. That's a 60 percent jump from four years ago.

The growth helps explain the nasty tone of some judicial elections. While candidates mostly stuck to positive advertisements, interest groups ran three of every four attack ads, the report found. It was compiled by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law and two other groups.

The increase is part of a campaign "that seeks to intimidate America's state judges into becoming accountable to money and ideologies instead of the constitution and the law," the report said.

The most expensive judicial elections took place in Michigan, Pennsylvania and Illinois, where the courts were closely divided along party lines.

In Michigan, the state GOP spent an estimated $4 million, and the Michigan Democratic Party spent $1.6 million. The report said their efforts dwarfed those of the candidates, to the point that candidates "seemed like bystanders in their own elections." The judicial elections in Michigan were the most expensive such contests in the country.

Perhaps the most abrupt change took place in Iowa, where not a single penny was spent in state high-court elections from 2000 to 2009. That changed after the Iowa Supreme Court struck down a state law banning same-sex marriage. National groups, led by the National Organization for Marriage, spent nearly $1 million to vote out three state justices trying to retain their seats. A group called Fair Courts for Us, led by former Gov. Robert Ray, spent about $400,000 in an unsuccessful bid to support the incumbents.

The report described the results of the Iowa election as chilling because the campaign was intended to send a warning to judges in all states.

But Brian Brown, president of the National Organization for Marriage, said talk of intimidation by interest groups is just wrong. Rather, he said, the groups are putting their trust in voters.

"Is it intimidation when someone says to a politician, `You've gone too far. I can't vote for you again'?" Brown said. "That's not intimidation. That's democracy at work."

The report said the Supreme Court's controversial decision, in a 2010 campaign spending case known as Citizens United, proved a mixed blessing. It ended corporate and labor restrictions on independent spending on the one hand, but it reinforced the constitutionality of campaign disclosure requirements on the other. Despite that green light, many states have fallen far short of enacting effective disclosure laws. The report said inadequate disclosure in some states can leave the public in the doubt about who pays to try to elect or remove candidates for judge.

In Iowa, the law made clear who was supporting the effort to remove three justices. But in Michigan, the report said, it was impossible to confirm who bankrolled the two political parties' spending.

The Brennan Center worked with the National Institute on Money in State Politics and the Justice at Stake Campaign to compile the report. The latter is an advocacy group that describes its mission as keeping special interests out of the courtroom.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111027/ap_on_el_ge/us_judicial_elections_interest_groups

house of wax bernard madoff lego man lego man cheryl hines denver weather john lackey

Strange fruit (Balloon Juice)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/153869745?client_source=feed&format=rss

trinidad trinidad jeff bezos hocus pocus hocus pocus slither slither

Summary Box: Goodyear moves to 3Q profit (AP)

RESULTS: Goodyear reported net income of $161 million, or 60 cents per share, on revenue of $6.1 billion, compared with a loss of $20 million, or 8 cents a share, on $5 billion in revenue a year earlier.

WHAT'S UP: Revenue rose 18 percent in North America, 31 percent in Europe-Middle East-Africa, 14 percent in Latin America and 21 percent in the Asia-Pacific region.

THE STRATEGY: Goodyear says targeting high-end tire sales helped offset rising raw material costs.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111028/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_goodyear_summary_box

world trade center memorial spartacus spartacus forrest gump sunday night football paul simon hyundai equus

X-Ray Screening Doesn't Prevent Lung Cancer Deaths: Study (HealthDay)

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 26 (HealthDay News) -- Using chest X-rays to screen for lung cancer doesn't prevent deaths from the disease, a new study finds.

"There really was no benefit of the screening," said study co-author Dr. Christine Berg, chief of the early detection research group at the division of cancer prevention at the U.S. National Cancer Institute. "We detected some of the cancers a little earlier than we would have, but not early enough or in large enough numbers to really have an impact on lung cancer mortality."

Experts noted that the results of the large randomized clinical trial should put an end to any lingering questions about whether X-rays are useful in lung cancer screening. Recent research has indicated that CT scans are more effective at spotting malignancies earlier.

The study involved more than 150,000 never smokers, former smokers and current smokers aged 55 to 74 taking part in the Prostate, Lung, Colorectal and Ovarian Cancer Screening Trial.

Half of the participants, including smokers and nonsmokers, underwent annual chest X-rays for three or four years between 1993 and 2001; half did not get screened.

During 13 years of follow-up, similar numbers of people in both groups were diagnosed with lung cancer -- 1,696 in the screened group and 1,620 who were not screened.

There were 1,213 lung cancer deaths in the screened group and 1,230 in the unscreened group. Those who were not screened were no more likely to die of lung cancer than those who underwent the annual X-rays, according to the study in the Nov. 2 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association. The research was published early online and is scheduled to be presented Wednesday at the American College of Chest Physicians annual meeting, in Honolulu.

Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States and worldwide, according to background information in the study.

Starting in the 1950s and through the 1970s -- a time when there were both lots of American smokers and a growing understanding about the dangers of smoking -- there was great interest in using chest X-rays to screen for lung cancer, Berg explained.

Studies published in the 1980s showed chest X-rays weren't all that effective, but those studies had small numbers of participants and other flaws that left lingering questions that have been answered in a more definitive way in this new study, Berg said.

Other experts agreed. "The study shows that lung cancer screening with chest X-ray isn't very effective, and certainly not as effective as CT scans," said Robert Smith, director of cancer screening at the American Cancer Society. "This paper indicates that the long tradition of using a chest X-ray to screen for lung cancer is over."

Another study, published recently in the New England Journal of Medicine, found that using a newer technology cut the death rate by 20 percent compared to X-rays.

Helical CT, also called "spiral" CT scan, gives a more precise look at lung tissue. While an X-ray is a single image, portions of which can be blocked by the ribs, a spiral CT scan takes pictures of multiple layers of the lungs to create a three-dimensional image. Think of it like slicing a loaf of bread, with each image about 2.5 millimeters to 3 millimeters thick, Berg explained.

"Lung cancer screening with low-dose helical CT is the only technology that has ever been shown to lower lung cancer mortality," she said.

The downsides of CT scans are that they're more expensive, and they have many more false positives because they're so sensitive, she added.

While lung cancer caught early is more treatable than lung cancer caught later, one challenge with the disease is that many lung cancers are aggressive and difficult to treat, Berg noted. "It's only recently that the drug companies and researchers are beginning to find some drugs that work," she said.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more on lung cancer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111026/hl_hsn/xrayscreeningdoesntpreventlungcancerdeathsstudy

psa test psa test real steel real steel iphone 4 cases boise state dean ornish

Fewer hedge funds now subject to reporting rule (AP)

WASHINGTON ? The largest hedge funds and private equity firms must report financial information to the government under a rule adopted Wednesday. But the Securities and Exchange Commission backed off broader reporting requirements for the funds after it drew heavy objections from the industry.

The final rule applies to hedge funds with $1.5 billion or more in assets and private equity firms with $2 billion or more and requires only annual reporting by private equity firms. In January, the SEC proposed reporting for firms with $1 billion or more in assets and would have made the reports quarterly for both large hedge funds and private equity funds.

The new reporting is mandated by the financial overhaul law passed last year. Federal regulators will use the data ? which will not be made public ? to monitor the funds' risks to the financial system.

Hedge funds are investment pools that use complex trades to seek big returns. They command trillions of dollars in assets and account for about 20 percent of all stock trading.

Private equity funds focus on buying and reselling companies. During the 2008 financial crisis, some hedge funds suffered huge losses and that contributed to the strain on financial markets, regulators said.

In final form, the rule also gives funds more time to file the reports than SEC initially proposed.

Hedge funds must make the reports within 60 days of the end of each quarter, and private equity funds must report within 120 days of the end of each fiscal year.

SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said the changes made in the final rule "address issues" raised by those who submitted comment letters objecting to the proposal, while preserving the data's utility.

Schapiro said fund leaders objected most strenuously to the frequency and deadlines for the reports.

"We want the information that will be reported to regulators ... to be useful," she said before the vote. "It will not be useful if it is rushed or incomplete."

Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told Schapiro in a letter last month that he was concerned the requirements in the proposed rule "will impose a heavy compliance burden (on the funds) that will harm economic growth, reduce investment opportunities" and crimp the flow of money through the financial markets.

The funds will submit the reports to the SEC and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is expected to adopt the rule in a week or so.

The information will be used by the Financial Stability Oversight Council, a body of regulators created by the 2010 overhaul law to keep watch over the financial system.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_bi_ge/us_sec_hedge_funds

urban meyer zodiac killer battlefield 3 review battlefield 3 review real housewives of new jersey coraline coraline

Turkish quake highlights shoddy construction (AP)

ERCIS, Turkey ? Two things are for certain in Turkey: The country will have earthquakes, and those earthquakes will continue to kill.

Turkey faces a fatal combination of geography and history. It lies at the intersection of the Anatolian, African, Eurasian and Arabian tectonic plates, and its building codes have been lightly regulated for centuries ? meaning that earthquakes will be deadly here for years to come.

Despite tough safety codes approved a decade ago after earthquakes killed 18,000 people and prompted an outcry over the poor quality of construction, enforcement has remained lax.

After the latest disaster ? a magnitude-7.2 temblor that killed hundreds on Sunday ? some residents in the worst-hit town of Ercis said some of the pancaked buildings lacked steel support rods and sufficient concrete, and accused builders of sacrificing safety for speed and economy.

"Death comes from God. But what about poor construction?" asked Nevzat Altinkaynak. "Look at this building. It was new. It didn't even have paint on it yet!"

Altinkaynak waited outside a collapsed building for news of his wife, Ayse, after rescuers pulled out his daughter Tugba alive.

On Wednesday, the prime minister weighed in, charging that shoddy construction contributed to the high casualty toll and that Turkey had not learned lessons from past disasters.

"When we look at the wreckage, we see how the material used is of bad quality," Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said. "We see that people pay the price for concrete that virtually turned to sand, or for weakened concrete blocks on the ground floors. Municipalities, constructors and supervisors should now see that their negligence amounts to murder."

He said: "Despite all previous disasters, we see that the appeals were not heeded."

Some 2,000 structures were demolished in Sunday's quake, including about 80 multistory buildings in Ercis.

Serdar Harp, head of Turkey's Civil Engineers Chamber, told Milliyet newspaper on Tuesday that area buildings constructed before January were not properly inspected despite the stricter building codes that went into force in 2001, two years after devastating earthquakes in western Turkey.

Many of the people killed by the 1999 quakes died in cheaply made housing blocks that pancaked, and which were later revealed never to have been inspected. Further investigation revealed that much of the cement lacked metal reinforcing bars, or was mixed with large amounts of sand that made it unstable.

The latest disaster revealed similar construction shortcomings, residents said. Harun Uzmez, a fireman experienced in quake rescue, picked up a piece of rubble from the wall of a 20-year-old, five-story building that housed several families. He poked at it, and dust flew off. He dropped it, and it broke into pieces.

"It was all sand and lime," he said. He said iron rods used in the columns of the building were not strong enough.

The disaster in eastern Turkey came a year after a parliamentary report concluded authorities were failing to enforce new building codes, which stipulate that construction cannot begin until plans prepared by authorized architects and construction engineers are approved by inspectors.

Authorized engineers are also supposed to inspect the construction while it's under way to make sure the quality of cement is good enough and sufficient steel rods are used.

The parliamentary report said Turkey has also failed to improve city planning, reinforce substandard buildings, control urban development and punish people who violate building codes. It warned that several Turkish cities are at risk.

Foremost among them is Istanbul, which sits near a major fault line and has a population of 15 million. Geologists have urged the government to tear down some 40,000 buildings there that would probably collapse in a big quake, and have warned that hundreds of thousands more need to be reinforced.

Some engineers said Sunday's quake was so strong that even properly built buildings would have collapsed.

Shaking associated with a magnitude-7.2 quake "can cause collapse of buildings even with moderate seismic design and quality construction," according to Mishac Yegian, a professor of civil engineering at Northeastern University in Boston.

"Careful evaluations of the collapsed and survived buildings can reveal how much the extremely high intensity ground shaking, or deficiencies in design and construction contributed to the disaster," Yegian said. "It is the tendency of people at early stages to fault the designs and quality of construction."

Turkey has also imposed mandatory earthquake insurance for homes, but only about 3 million out of 18 million are insured, according to reports that cite the state-run Turkish Catastrophe Insurance Pool.

In eastern Turkey, where Sunday's quake struck, the figure is 2.8 percent.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111026/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_turkey_quake_codes

kia sorento james dean tv guide listings buddy holly buddy holly baylor prime numbers

Where Are the Jobs? House & Senate Moving In Opposite Directions (ABC News)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/153048967?client_source=feed&format=rss

mukesh ambani bob harper aapl x factor judges x factor judges lemony snicket lemony snicket

US-North Korea talks to start in Geneva (AP)

GENEVA ? Talks were set to begin Monday between U.S. and North Korean diplomats about restarting negotiations on Pyongyang's nuclear programs.

The two days of discussions planned at the countries' U.N. missions in Geneva represent the second direct encounter between the two sides within three months.

The United States wants North Korea to adhere to a 2005 agreement it reneged on requiring verifiable denuclearization in exchange for better relations with its Asian neighbors.

North Korea is calling for immediate resumption of six-nation disarmament-for-aid talks.

Other topics could also include food aid to the chronically impoverished North, reuniting separated families on the Korean peninsula, and recovering remains of troops missing in action.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111024/ap_on_re_eu/eu_koreas_nuclear

james arthur ray james arthur ray 20/20 cornel west lsu football lsu football maps directions

World stocks up on hopes of debt crisis resolution

A man walks past a screen displaying stock index outside a local bank in Hong Kong Monday, Oct. 24, 2011 as World stock markets jumped Monday, buoyed by resilient economic indicators from Asia's two biggest economies and hopes of progress in resolving Europe's debt crisis. Hong Kong's Hang Seng soared 4.1 percent to 18,771.82 on Monday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

A man walks past a screen displaying stock index outside a local bank in Hong Kong Monday, Oct. 24, 2011 as World stock markets jumped Monday, buoyed by resilient economic indicators from Asia's two biggest economies and hopes of progress in resolving Europe's debt crisis. Hong Kong's Hang Seng soared 4.1 percent to 18,771.82 on Monday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

A woman walks past a screen displaying stock index outside a local bank in Hong Kong Monday, Oct. 24, 2011 as World stock markets jumped Monday, buoyed by resilient economic indicators from Asia's two biggest economies and hopes of progress in resolving Europe's debt crisis. Hong Kong's Hang Seng soared 4.1 percent to 18,771.82 on Monday. (AP Photo/Vincent Yu)

MILAN (AP) ? World markets rose Monday as European leaders worked their way toward a long-awaited plan to fight the continent's 2-year-old debt crisis and China and Japan posted strong economic data.

European leaders failed to make tough decisions over the weekend, but pledged to unveil concrete plans by Wednesday. They are likely to include measures to recapitalize the region's banks, which are expected to accept steep losses on Greek debt, as well as boosting the eurozone bailout fund.

"All eyes are very much on European leaders' attempts to find a workable solution to the ongoing debt crisis," said Stan Shamu of IG Markets. He noted "encouraging signs of progress emerging over the weekend" helped boost early trading in stock markets."

Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi ? who received stern words from the French and German leaders over the weekend ? has convened his Cabinet to come up with a package of plausible growth measures by Wednesday, as demanded by EU leaders. Italy is seen as the next likely victim in the debt crisis, but the third largest eurozone economy would be too expensive to bail out.

Confidence-building measures will be sorely needed as European economic indicators continue to point downwards.

A key survey on Monday showed that activity in the eurozone's private sector fell more than expected in October. Momentum in both manufacturing and services continued to weaken, with the so-called purchasing managers' index falling to 47.3 and 47.2 respectively. A figure below 50 denotes contraction.

Economists said it showed that overall economic contraction was possible in the eurozone in the fourth quarter, but traders largely overlooked the report to focus on the likelihood that a European crisis plan would be ready by another leaders' summit on Wednesday.

Britain's FTSE 100 gained 0.5 percent to 5,518.15 and Germany's DAX added 0.8 percent to 6,018.27. France's CAC-40 gained 0.3 percent to 3,179.16.

Wall Street was headed for another day of gains, with Dow Jones industrial average futures up 0.2 percent at 11,783 and S&P 500 futures rising 0.3 percent to 1,238.30.

Investor sentiment remains fragile, however, according to analysts at Credit Agricole CIB.

"Markets will remain nervous ahead of Wednesday's EU summit, hoping that officials can settle their differences and emerge with a concrete solution. In this respect, the risk of disappointment is high," the analysts told clients in a research note on Monday.

Asian shares closed with solid gains earlier in the day as economic data from Japan and China showed a measure of strength.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index added 1.9 percent to close at 8,843.98 after the government said exports grew for a second straight month in September. The country's trade suffered a five-month decline in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami that devastated northeast Japan.

Mainland Chinese shares rose after HSBC said its preliminary China Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, which measures industrial production, rose to 51.1 in October from 49.9 in September. A result above 50 indicates expansion but the preliminary indicator is often subject to substantial revision.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3867 from $1.3864 Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 76.17 yen from 76.12 yen.

Benchmark crude for December delivery was up 45 cents at $87.85 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.33 to settle at $87.40 in New York on Friday.

Brent crude was up 58 cents at $110.14 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

____

Pamela Sampson contributed from Bangkok.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-10-24-World-Markets/id-768faf49dbc547eab017939f948311f1

lulu mash dolly parton tanzania setup dart dart

Gene variant increases risk of kidney disease in African-Americans

ScienceDaily (Oct. 24, 2011) ? African-Americans with two copies of the APOL1 gene have about a 4 percent lifetime risk of developing a form of kidney disease, according to scientists at the National Institutes of Health. The finding brings scientists closer to understanding why African-Americans are four times more likely to develop kidney failure than whites, as they reported in the Oct. 13 online edition of the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology.

Researchers including Jeffrey Kopp, M.D., at the NIH's National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases and Cheryl Winkler, Ph.D, of the National Cancer Institute have begun tracing the effects of having two variants of the APOL1 gene, which occurs in about 12 percent of African-Americans.

Researchers earlier linked this gene to susceptibility for kidney disease. When a person has kidney disease, the kidneys are unable to fully remove waste products and extra water from the blood. The researchers studied a common kidney disease called focal segmental glomerulosclerosis (FSGS), which often progresses to end-stage kidney disease and the need for dialysis or a kidney transplant. The researchers studied FSGS patients who came to the NIH Clinical Center or other collaborating medical centers, and who provided blood samples for genetic studies.

"These findings explain nearly all of the excess risk of non-diabetic kidney failure in African-Americans. African-Americans with no variant or one variant have about the same risk of end-stage kidney disease as their white counterparts," Winkler said. "People with two APOL1 variants have greatly increased risk of particular kidney diseases -- by 17- to 30-fold."

The researchers found that African-Americans with two copies of the APOL1 variants have about a 4 percent lifetime risk of developing FSGS. Those who develop kidney disease tend to do so at younger ages than other FSGS patients, with 70 percent diagnosed with FSGS between age 15 and 39, compared to 42 percent in that age group for people with one or no APOL1 variants.

Possessing two APOL1 variants also raises the risk for African-Americans with HIV of developing HIV-associated nephropathy (HIVAN) -- a type of kidney disease that develops in some people with human immunodeficiency virus -- to 50 percent among those not getting anti-viral therapy. Anti-viral therapy appears fairly effective at preventing HIVAN.

"The much higher risk of kidney disease in patients with HIV suggests that a second hit with a virus or other unknown factor is necessary for kidney injury in people who have two APOL1 variants," Winkler said. This may be why most people with two APOL1 variants do not develop kidney disease.

FSGS patients with two APOL1 variants respond as well to steroid treatments as their counterparts who don't have the variants, making steroids a viable treatment option, the researchers found. Further, they found that kidney disease progresses more rapidly in patients with two APOL1 variants, and they hypothesize that aggressive therapy may be advisable.

"In the future, knowing that you have these gene variants and are at increased risk of developing kidney disease may tell you when to start screening for the disease and how to choose therapy," Kopp said. "However, more research is needed, including clinical trials that test whether early genetic testing in the African-American population makes a difference, whether screening tests for young adults with the variant copies detects kidney disease at an early stage, and whether early treatment affects long-term outcome."

This research builds on earlier advances in understanding the role of genetics in kidney disease. In 2008, Kopp, Winkler and other researchers found that variants in the MYH9 gene on chromosome 22 are linked to susceptibility to various forms of kidney disease.

In 2010, working with researchers at Harvard Medical School, among others, Kopp and Winkler found some kidney disease risk is due to variants APOLI, a gene adjacent to MYH9. These variants appear to have evolved about 5,000 years ago in some regions of sub-Saharan Africa to protect against trypanosomal infection, also called African sleeping sickness, a degenerative and potentially fatal disease affecting tens of thousands of people in those regions. People from other continents do not have the APOL1 variants.

Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter,
and Google +1:

Other bookmarking and sharing tools:

---

Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by NIH/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

---

Journal Reference:

1. J. B. Kopp, G. W. Nelson, K. Sampath, R. C. Johnson, G. Genovese, P. An, D. Friedman, W. Briggs, R. Dart, S. Korbet, M. H. Mokrzycki, P. L. Kimmel, S. Limou, T. S. Ahuja, J. S. Berns, J. Fryc, E. E. Simon, M. C. Smith, H. Trachtman, D. M. Michel, J. R. Schelling, D. Vlahov, M. Pollak, C. A. Winkler. APOL1 Genetic Variants in Focal Segmental Glomerulosclerosis and HIV-Associated Nephropathy. Journal of the American Society of Nephrology, 2011; DOI: 10.1681/ASN.2011040388

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111024113055.htm

saab megalodon human centipede ancient egypt paranormal activity 2 the great gatsby the great gatsby

Military Retiree Appreciation Day

?

Robins Air Force Base, Ga. ? The base will hold its annual military Retiree Appreciation Day here Saturday, to inform, assist, and honor all retired military members, spouses, surviving spouses and card carrying family members from all military branches of service.

?It is all a part of the "Robins Reconnecting with Retirees" initiative, intended to reinvigorate the support and interaction with the retired military community and their families.? ?

??In accordance with the theme, ?In Honor of Your Service,? there will be numerous activities throughout the day for participants.

? The celebration begins at 6:30 a.m., with breakfast at the Wynn Dining facility.? At 10 a.m., Robins Installation Commander, Col. Mitchel Butikofer, along with keynote speaker, Ms. Mary Therese Tebbe, will make remarks at the Heritage Club (formerly the NCO Club.) ?Lunch will follow the ceremonies.

??Attendees also have the opportunity to sign up for Defense Biometric Identification System (DBIDS,) and conduct ID card/DEERS checks at the Smith Center, Bldg. 767, from noon to 2 p.m.? Other events include wellness checks, flu shots, exhibition booths and the awarding of door prizes.

Source: http://warnerrobins.13wmaz.com/news/community-spirit/60507-military-retiree-appreciation-day

pumpkin patch troy polamalu grimm boo at the zoo when is daylight savings time 2011 when is daylight savings time 2011 craigslist nc

Rangers top Cards in Game 4, tie series

Series tied 2-2 as Holland stifles Cards, Napoli hits key home run in 4-0 win

Ezra Shaw / Getty Images

Derek Holland, who pitched 8 1/3 scoreless innings in Game 4, hugs Mike Napoli after Sunday's game.

updated 11:14 p.m. ET Oct. 23, 2011

ARLINGTON, Texas - So close to a World Series shutout, Derek Holland did everything he could, trying to convince Texas manager Ron Washington to let him finish.

There they stood on the mound, two outs to go in the ninth inning, the pitcher pleading his case as the crowd chanted his name.

"He was begging," Washington said. Or, as Rangers second baseman Ian Kinsler described it: "A lot of profanity, we sounded like sailors out there."

Washington listened, then signaled for closer Neftali Feliz. Holland had done his job in Game 4, and then some. He had kept Albert Pujols in the ballpark and the Rangers in this Series.

In a title matchup that's getting more interesting with every game, Holland put the emphasis back on pitching. Given a pep talk by Washington minutes before the game, Holland threw two-hit ball for 8 1-3 innings to beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 on Sunday night and even things at 2-all.

Holland struck out seven, walked two and never was in trouble against a team that erupted for 16 runs the previous night. He came within two outs of pitching the first complete-game shutout in the World Series since Josh Beckett's gem for Florida to clinch the 2003 title at Yankee Stadium.

"I was very focused. I knew this was a big game for us," said Holland, who was 16-5 with 3.95 ERA and four shutouts in the regular season. "I had to step up and make sure I was prepared."

Hobbled Josh Hamilton put Texas ahead with an RBI double in the first inning. Then Mike Napoli broke it open with a three-run homer in the sixth that set off a hearty high-five in the front row between team president Nolan Ryan and former President George W. Bush.

And just like that, for the first time since 2003, the World Series stood at two games apiece. Now the whole season is down to a best of three, with the outcome to be decided back at Busch Stadium.

Game 5 is Monday night at Rangers Ballpark. It's a rematch of the opener, when Cardinals ace Chris Carpenter topped C.J. Wilson.

A day after Pujols produced arguably the greatest hitting show in postseason history, tying Series records with three home runs, six RBIs and five hits during the Cardinals' romp, Holland emerged as the unlikely star.

Holland got a big cheer when he took the mound in the ninth and was still throwing 96 mph. After he walked Rafael Furcal with one out, Washington strolled to the mound.

"I was begging to stay out there," Holland said. "I said, 'I'll give it everything I've got. I can get the double play.'

"When I came off the field my arm hair was sticking up ? not like I have much."

Holland tipped his cap and waved to the fans as he walked off. His outing was the longest scoreless appearance by an AL starter in the Series since Andy Pettitte also went 8 1-3 at Atlanta in 1996.

Feliz took over and closed. He walked Allen Craig, then retired Pujols on a fly ball and struck out Matt Holliday to end it.

Pujols finished 0 for 4 and hit the ball out of the infield only once.

"I wanted him to see my 'A' game," Holland said.

Said Cardinals manager Tony La Russa: "Well, I would just say he worked us over. Give him credit."

"Good pitching is always going to stop good hitting," he said.

Holland was in tune all evening with Napoli, his pal and catcher. Much better than the battery for the pregame ceremony ? Bush tossed a wild pitch that glanced off the catcher's mitt Ryan wore.

"I should've gone with the regular glove," Ryan said with a chuckle.

The bounce-back Rangers managed to avoid consecutive losses for the first time since Aug. 23-25, a streak that's kept them out of trouble in the postseason.

The Rangers also completed a Sunday sweep in the matchup of teams from St. Louis and the Dallas area. Earlier in the afternoon, the Cowboys beat the Rams 34-7 right across the parking lots. Hamilton and Lance Berkman served as honorary captains for the pregame coin toss, wearing their baseball uniforms.

Many fans might remember Holland from last year's World Series. He's the reliever who came in against San Francisco, walked his first three batters and promptly got pulled.

Maybe that guy was an impostor. Because this 25-year-old lefty with the sorry little mustache was completely poised, with pinpoint control. Perhaps it was the talk he got from Washington near the dugout shortly before taking the mound.

Washington put both hands on Holland's shoulders and talked to him tenderly, like a dad about to send his teenage son off to college. Holland kept nodding, and Washington finished up with a playful pat to Holland's cheek.

"It was just a general message that he's capable of going out there and keeping us in the ballgame. That's all it was," Washington said. "I talk with Derek like that all the time, it just happened to catch me on TV."

Added Holland: "He shows that he cares about all his players, and he definitely showed that when he talked to me."

After that, Holland was in total command in his first Series start, and improved to 3-0 lifetime in the postseason. The only hits he allowed were by Berkman: a double in the second and a single in the fifth. Holland got even later, getting Berkman to look at a strike three that left the St. Louis star discussing the call with plate umpire Ron Kulpa.

Cardinals starter Edwin Jackson kept his team close despite a wild night. He walked seven, and eventually they caught up with him.

It was 1-0 when La Russa yanked Jackson after two one-out walks in the sixth and signaled for reliever Mitchell Boggs. Napoli was up, and the sellout crowd chanted his name as he stepped into the batter's box.

Boggs stayed in the stretch for an extra beat while Furcal ducked behind Nelson Cruz from shortstop. When Boggs finally threw a 95 mph fastball with his first pitch, Napoli whacked it.

Napoli stood at the plate for a moment as the ball sailed deep, just inside the left field line. Boggs could only contort his body, seeing the game get out of hand.

Hamilton forced the Cardinals to play catch-up for the first time in a while. St. Louis had scored first in 10 straight postseason games, one shy of the record set by Detroit during a span from 1972-84.

Elvis Andrus singled with one out in the Texas first and sped home when Hamilton doubled into the right field corner. The reigning AL MVP has been slowed by a strained groin, part of the reason he hasn't homered in 57 at-bats this postseason.

NOTES: Napoli became the first catcher to hit two homers in a Series since Mike Piazza of the Mets in 2000. ... Kinsler and St. Louis C Yadier Molina played a little game of back-and-forth in the second. Kinsler robbed Molina of an RBI single with a nice stop up the middle to end the top half. In the bottom half, Molina made a snap throw that trapped Kinsler off first base for the last out. ... Mitch Moreland batted last for Texas. It's the sixth time a starting first baseman in the World Series had hit ninth in order, four by Moreland.

? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More newsTom Pennington / Getty Images

Series shifts once again

DeMarco: Never did the Rangers' title hopes seem more in jeopardy than after a 16-7 beat-down by the bats of the St. Louis Cardinals in Game 3. But 24 hours later, the Rangers' adjustment for Game 4 simply was to send Derek Holland to the mound.

Rangers top Cards in Game 4, tie series

Mike Napoli hit a three-run homer on reliever Mitchell Boggs' first pitch in the sixth inning, Derek Holland was dominant on the mound and the Texas Rangers beat the St. Louis Cardinals 4-0 in Game 4 of the World Series on Sunday night.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/45010253/ns/sports-baseball/

montreal canadiens montreal canadiens jason aldean new york time amish sonic the hedgehog imagine

Senate unveils next piece of Obama jobs bill (AP)

WASHINGTON ? President Barack Obama's Senate allies said Friday that the next piece of his failed $447 billion jobs measure to get a vote would be a $60 billion program for roads, bridges and other public works projects.

Like two earlier proposals, this piece figures to be unanimously opposed by Republicans and a few Democrats over its stimulus-style spending and tax surcharge on the very wealthy. A test vote on the measure will come after the Senate returns from vacation next month.

The legislation would provide an immediate $50 billion investment in roads, bridges and airports, and transit systems. It also would establish a $10 billion bank to leverage private and public capital for longer-term infrastructure projects.

"This legislation will create hundreds of thousands of construction jobs rebuilding our roads, bridges and infrastructure," said Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev.

The measure would be financed by a 0.7 percentage point surcharge on income over $1 million.

The announcement by Senate Democrats came the day after Republicans scuttled a pared-back jobs measure designed to boost hiring of teachers and first responders.

That $35 billion measure combined $30 billion for state and local governments to hire teachers and other school workers with $5 billion to help pay the salaries of police officers, firefighters and other first responders.

The White House said it would "support" almost 400,000 education jobs for one year. Republicans called that a temporary "sugar high" for the economy and said it was a public bailout of state and local governments.

Obama and his Democratic allies are acting like they've found a winning issue in repeatedly pressing popular ideas such as infrastructure spending and boosting hiring of police officers and firefighters. The sluggish economy and lower tax revenues have caused many teachers' jobs to be cut over the past several years.

"For the second time in two weeks, every single Republican in the United States Senate has chosen to obstruct a bill that would create jobs and get our economy going again," Obama said in a statement after the vote. "Every American deserves an explanation as to why Republicans refuse to step up to the plate and do what's necessary to create jobs and grow the economy right now."

Countered GOP Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida: "We cannot afford to be bailing out local governments, and we can't afford stimulus 2.0."

An Associated Press-GfK poll taken Oct. 13-17 found 62 percent of respondents favoring the tax surcharge as a way to pay for jobs initiatives. Just 26 percent opposed the idea.

"Hopefully, maybe, after they take another recess, Senate Republicans will hear from their constituents, come back with a different attitude about what this economy needs right now," White House spokesman Jay Carney said Friday.

More ominously for Democrats, however, the poll shows that Obama's party has lost the faith of the public on handling the economy. In it, only 38 percent said they trust Democrats to do a better job than Republicans in handling the economy, the first time Democrats have fallen below 40 percent in the poll. Some 43 percent trust the Republicans more.

"The fact is we're not going to get this economy going again by growing the government. It's the private sector that's ultimately going to drive this recovery," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said.

Immediately after the vote on Obama's jobs plan, Democrats turned the tables and stalled Republican-backed legislation that would prevent the government from withholding 3 percent of payments to government contractors.

Many Democrats and Obama support the idea but object to pay for it with $30 billion in cuts from domestic agency spending. Advocates of repealing the withholding requirement say it will help create jobs, especially from contractors on large projects with smaller profit margins.

The GOP-controlled House is likely to pass the measure next week and Reid promised that the Senate would revisit the issue.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111021/ap_on_go_co/us_senate_jobs

pandaria artie lange baby lisa irwin baby lisa irwin pearl jam 20 gold rush alaska gold rush alaska

Capital markets regulator to probe DLF (Reuters)

REUTERS ? India's capital markets regulator said on Thursday it would investigate allegations against leading property firm DLF Ltd that it failed to disclose a police complaint against an associate firm in its share sale document in 2007.

The allegations were from a complainant who alleged that Sudipti Estates Private Ltd, which he said was an associate of DLF, had "duped" him of about 340 million rupees ($6.8 million), according to a document posted on the Securities and Exchange Board of India's website. http://link.reuters.com/xyw54s

"This is an old commercial dispute. The regulator is simply following procedures," a DLF spokesman said, when contacted by Reuters for a comment.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy, Aniruddha Basu and Henry Foy; Editing by David Holmes)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/india/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111020/india_nm/india600244

new iphone 5 release mary j blige cole hamels cole hamels curtis painter apple news conference apple news conference

September photo competition winners: Farms and gardens

Kat Austen, CultureLab editor

Ranch in the highlands of Qinghai Province in China (Image: Xiaoyun Zheng)

For our September photo competition we asked for your photos of farms and gardens.

Our winner was Xiaoyun Zheng, whose photo of a highland ranch transported us to the upland regions of China's Qinghai Province, where it was taken.

Runners up include a breathtaking photograph of an Australian wind farm, a country garden captured using a pinhole camera, and Iranian farmers. You can see all our shortlisted winners in the winners gallery.

If you'd like to take a look at all the entries, you can still see the full gallery of submissions.

Source: http://feeds.newscientist.com/c/749/f/10897/s/196e19a5/l/0L0Snewscientist0N0Cblogs0Cculturelab0C20A110C10A0Cseptember0Ephoto0Ecompetition0Ewinners0Efarms0Eand0Egardens0Bhtml0DDCMP0FOTC0Erss0Gnsref0Fonline0Enews/story01.htm

wvu football 20 20 district 9 district 9 lizzie borden lizzie borden pandaria

Mary Blair: Why she was 'Walt Disney's favorite artist'

Mary Blair, who received her own Google Doodle on Friday, greatly influenced early Disney animation. She's remembered today as one of Walt's favorites.

Mary Blair played a big role in the early days of Disney. The painter and concept designer drove the style of "Cinderella," "Alice in Wonderland," and "Peter Pan." Many other artists worked on those films. But she had a special place in Walt Disney's heart.

Skip to next paragraph

Friday marks what would have been her 100th birthday. Google celebrated with a Google Doodle in the colorful and playful style that made her so essential to Disney.

When Ms. Blair received her own exhibit at the Walt Disney Family Museum in San Francisco a year ago, the curators introduced the show with some high praise: "The case is filled with treasures from Mary Blair who, according to some historians, was Walt Disney?s favorite artist!"

What was it that Mr. Disney appreciated so much? Well, when he set out to create an animation studio, his inspiration came from realists. He liked Norman Rockwell, Thomas Hart Benton and Gustaf Tenneggren, explains historian John Canemaker in his book "The Art and Flair of Mary Blair."

Blair was definitely not a realist. She embraced bold colors, abstracted shapes, and embellished characters. She was Disney's modernist ? the company's flair of eccentricity.

"Her vibrant colors and stylized designs pervade Disney animated films from 1943 to 1953," writes Mr. Canemaker. "Beneath her deceptively simple style, lies enormous visual sophistication and craftsmanship in everything from color choices to composition."

Disney had a stable of amazing artists, "but where Mary Blair was unique was that the work that she did here at the studio was not only beautiful work, what she did went beyond the project into a pure art form," says Michael Giaimo, art director on Disney's "Pocahontas," in an interview with the L.A. Times last week. "It became art. It became a statement unto itself."

"Her most distinctive factor is that she is kind of showing us her soul," Mr. Giaimo added. "It is not just slick commercial art, it is the combination of commercial and the personal in the artistic sense. She puts herself into her art work and it transcends the greatest of the Disney movies."

In fact, you can still see Blair's style shining through modern animated movies. Pixar producer Jonas Rivera says that Blair deeply influenced the design for 2009's "Up."

"We had a movie about a house that floats in the air with thousands of balloons on it," Rivera told the Memphis paper The Commercial Appeal. "So we decided we needed a certain amount of whimsy and caricature to support that. So Carl is three heads high, and he's very much a square, with square glasses. He sort of looks like a house, in a way. The caricatured look of this world -- we really want to push shape language, we really wanted to push the color palette, to be bolder. We were more inspired by the graphic design paintings of Mary Blair than by any photo references."

The team behind Disney's "Tangled" also named her as a key influence.

Like many of Google's past Doodles, this one honors someone whose work is remembered well, even if her name has slipped away. Past examples include E.C. Segar, Roger Hargreaves, and Albert Szent-Gyorgyi. (Can't remember what they did? Click on their names for a peek.)

For more on how technology intersects daily life, follow Chris on Twitter @venturenaut.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ieAic7kvMsY/Mary-Blair-Why-she-was-Walt-Disney-s-favorite-artist

entourage season 8 avignon asn dukan diet mark sanchez faith hill non hodgkin lymphoma

Poverty rates up in most U.S. states, cities: Census (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The ranks of the poor rose in almost all U.S. states and cities in 2010, despite the end of the longest and deepest economic downturn since the Great Depression the year before, U.S. Census data released on Thursday showed.

Mississippi and New Mexico had the highest poverty rates, with more than one out of every five people in each state living in poverty. Mississippi's poverty rate led, at 22.4 percent, followed by New Mexico at 20.4 percent.

New Hampshire had the lowest poverty rate, at 8.3 percent, making it the only state with a poverty rate below 10 percent.

Twelve states had poverty rates above 17 percent, up from five in 2009, while poverty rates in 10 metropolitan areas topped 18 percent, the data showed.

"We saw the recession hit and unemployment increase, but we haven't seen a dramatic drop in unemployment," said Elizabeth Kneebone, a senior research associate focusing on metropolitan issues at the Brookings Institution.

"Because we're still in this weak recovery, we could see these numbers get worse before they get better," she added.

The U.S. recession that began in 2007 took a steep toll across the country, sparing only a few places from rising joblessness and crashing incomes. More than a year after the recession officially ended in 2009, the U.S. unemployment rate remains above 9 percent; the poverty rate rose to 15.3 percent in 2010 from 14.3 percent in 2009.

"No state had a statistically significant decline in either the number of people in poverty or the poverty rate between 2009 and 2010." the Census reported.

Kneebone, of the Brookings Institution, noted that many of the big increases in the poverty rate in the first year of the recession were centered in the inner-mountain west and the Sunbelt.

"As the recession deepened and spread to other industries, other regions of the country also saw their numbers increase," she said, noting that areas reliant on manufacturing had not fully recovered from a downturn earlier in the decade when the recession struck.

The depth of poverty levels increased in 2010, with 6.8 percent of people having incomes that were no more than half of the federal government's official poverty threshold. That was up from 6.3 percent in 2009.

Poverty ran deepest in Washington, D.C., where one in 10 people had incomes less than 50 percent the threshold.

The Census also looked at the 366 metropolitan areas that account for more than 80 percent of the U.S. population.

The Texas region defined by the cities of McAllen, Edinburg and Mission had the highest poverty rate in the country -- 33.4 percent. It was followed the Fresno, California, area at 26.8 percent.

Poverty rates topped 18 percent in metropolitan areas centered around El Paso, Texas; the cities of Bakersfield, Modesto and Stockton in California; Augusta, Georgia; Memphis, Tennessee; and both Durham and Greensboro in North Carolina as economic problems spread from core urban areas to the suburbs over the decade.

"Many communities are facing this challenge in a magnitude they've never had to deal with before," said Kneebone, who said there are now 2.7 million more people in suburbs than cities.

Despite the deep poverty levels in the District of Columbia, the nation's capital, the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area had the lowest poverty rate in the nation, at 8.4 percent, due to its wealthier suburbs. Honolulu had the second lowest, 9.1 percent.

The numbers of people collecting food stamps and relying on Medicaid, the government healthcare program for the poor, skyrocketed in recent years. The Census also found that in 2010 more people collected other forms of public assistance than in 2009.

In 2010, 3.3 million people received public assistance at some time in the year, an increase of 300,000 from 2009. Among U.S. households, about 2.9 percent received public assistance in 2010, up from 2.7 percent in 2009.

The states with the highest public assistance participation included Alaska, Maine, Vermont and Washington. The states with the lowest rates were Louisiana, Alabama and Wyoming.

Although Alaska and Maryland had poverty rates of 9.9 percent in 2010, the margins of error for those states were greater than 0.3 percent.

(Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111020/ts_nm/us_usa_states_poverty

belgian malinois honey badger girl fight wake forest wake forest jacoby brissett danielle staub

Feeble Windows holds back Microsoft profit (Reuters)

SEATTLE (Reuters) ? Microsoft Corp's flagship operating system made only slight gains last quarter, largely due to business and emerging market spending, holding back profit growth for the world's largest software company.

Sales of Windows, which still runs more than 90 percent of the world's personal computers, edged up only 2 percent from the year-ago quarter, in line with limp PC sales across the board.

That broke the streak of three straight quarters of declines, but it fell short of some analysts' hopes.

"We still had Windows miss again, although not by nearly as much as it has the last couple quarters," said Brendan Barnicle, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities.

Sales of Windows 7, Microsoft's latest system, have leveled off after a big launch in 2009. Growth is now dependent on Microsoft's core business customers, which are still spending on technology despite the slow economy.

In contrast, hard-up consumers are waiting for next year's Windows 8, putting off purchases indefinitely, or opting to buy Apple Inc iPads instead.

Microsoft Chief Financial Officer Peter Klein said the cycle of businesses buying new PCs to replace aging machines was still in the "middle innings," offering hope of continuing modest growth.

"We expect that dynamic of business PCs growing faster (than consumer) to last throughout this fiscal year at least," Klein said on a conference call with analysts.

Microsoft's shares, which have traded in the $20-$30 range for the last decade, fell 0.7 percent in after-hours trading, to $26.85. They closed at $27.04 on Nasdaq.

BING LOSS NARROWS

The brightest spot for the world's largest software company was an indication that its perennially money-losing online services unit -- including the MSN Internet portal and Bing search engine -- may have turned a corner.

The unit lost $494 million in the quarter, the lowest loss in the last seven quarters, slowing the flood of red ink that has cost Microsoft more than $5 billion since it launched Bing in mid-2009, as it invests heavily to catch up with Google Inc.

Microsoft made no new statements about Yahoo, which is up for sale. Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have reported that Microsoft may work with private equity firms in putting together a bid for the ailing Internet giant, which it tried and failed to buy outright in 2008.

CFO Klein sidestepped an analyst's question on whether a sale of Yahoo might interfere with Microsoft's search engine cooperation with the company, which has yet to yield the expected profits.

"This is a long-term alliance," said Klein. "They're super-focused on what we need to do. And no matter what, that's the goal at hand."

NO BEAT

The Redmond, Washington company reported fiscal first-quarter net profit up 6 percent to $5.74 billion, or 68 cents per share, compared with $5.41 billion, or 62 cents per share, a year ago.

That met Wall Street's average estimate, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. It is the first time in 10 quarters that Microsoft has not exceeded the average estimate.

"They were just in line on EPS, which typically Microsoft beats," said Barnicle. "Q1 is seasonally not a big quarter for Microsoft, and this was no exception."

Overall sales rose 7 percent to $17.37 billion, helped by Office, which remains popular with businesses even in the difficult global economy.

The Office unit posted an 8 percent gain in sales to $5.6 billion, making it Microsoft's biggest-selling and most profitable unit.

The server and tools unit, which sells the server software behind the datacenters enabling "cloud" or Internet-based computing, rose 10 percent to $4.2 billion, but even that fell short of some analysts' expectations for the fast-growing area of the technology market.

The entertainment and devices unit posted a 9 percent gain in sales, helped by the Xbox, which remains the most popular game console in the United States.

MORE CASH OFFSHORE

Microsoft said its $8.5 billion deal to buy online chat service Skype, which closed last week, would add about $600 million to expenses this fiscal year. The company now estimates costs of $28.6 billion to $29.2 billion for fiscal 2012, which started July 1.

Microsoft has a cash hoard of $57.4 billion, with $51 billion of that -- or 89 percent -- parked overseas. The company is increasing its overseas cash aggressively. Three months ago, Microsoft said it had $52.8 billion in total cash, with only $45 billion -- or 85 percent -- overseas.

Faster-growing rival Apple on Tuesday reported it has $81 billion in cash.

(Additional reporting by Lisa Richwine in Los Angeles; Editing by Richard Chang and Matthew Lewis)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111020/bs_nm/us_microsoft

bank of america black eyed peas central park occupy wallstreet occupy wallstreet tony bennett pumpkins pumpkins