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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45101789#45101789
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Monday, October 31, 2011
BCS Standings Week 10: Stanford Moves Up BCS Rankings After Big Win Over USC
BY RALPH D. RUSSO, Associated Press
Stanford's first win of the season against a ranked team helped Andrew Luck and the Cardinal move up in the BCS standings.
While LSU (8-0), Alabama (8-0) and Oklahoma State (8-0) remained locked into the top three spots in the standings released Sunday, Stanford moved up two places to fourth after beating Southern California 56-48 in triple overtime.
Boise State (7-0) slipped a spot to fifth, while Clemson (7-1) fell from fifth to 11th after its first loss.
Scroll Down For Full BCS Standings
LSU and Alabama will play Saturday in Tuscaloosa, Ala., for first place and the inside track to the BCS national championship game.
Oklahoma State seems to be in position to win out and reach the title game in New Orleans on Jan. 9. The computer ratings have the Cowboys No. 1.
The BCS standings use the Harris poll, the coaches' poll and computer ratings to determine which teams play for the national championship.
LSU is No. 1 in both polls and Alabama is No. 2 in each. The Tigers and Crimson Tide are tied for the second-best computer rating.
Oklahoma State is No. 3 in the Harris poll and No. 4 in the coaches' poll, and Stanford is No. 4 and No. 3. But the difference between the Cowboys (.9310 BCS average) and the Cardinal (.8615) is the computer ratings.
Stanford is sixth in the computers because of a weak early season schedule. The Cardinal should be getting a boost from here on out.
After a road game Saturday against Pac-12 rival Oregon State, the Cardinal play Oregon, eighth in the BCS standings, at home. They finish with California and Notre Dame at home, and could play in the Pac-12 championship, too -- probably against Arizona State.
It might not be enough to catch Oklahoma State. The Cowboys face Big 12 rival Kansas State, 14th in the BCS standings, on Saturday, have road games against Texas Tech and Iowa State, and finish with a home game against Oklahoma.
The Big 12 no longer has a championship game.
For Boise State, the formula is the same as it has always been. The Broncos' conference schedule -- this year in the Mountain West -- presents few stiff challenges, so Boise State probably needs to go undefeated just to play in one of the four marquee bowl games. The Broncos have done that twice. To reach the national championship game for the first time, Boise State will need the teams ahead of it to lose.
1 LSU 8-0
2 Alabama 8-0
3 Oklahoma State 8-0
4 Stanford 8-0
5 Boise State 7-0
6 Oklahoma 7-1
7 Arkansas 7-1
8 Oregon 7-1
9 South Carolina 7-1
10 Nebraska 7-1
11 Clemson 8-1
12 Virginia Tech 8-1
13 Houston 8-0
14 Kansas State 7-1
15 Michigan 7-1
16 Penn State 8-1
17 Michigan State 6-2
18 Georgia 6-2
19 Arizona State 6-2
20 Wisconsin 6-2
21 Texas 5-2
22 Auburn 6-3
23 Georgia Tech 7-2
24 West Virginia 6-2
25 Southern Miss 7-1
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/30/bcs-standings-week-10-stanford_n_1066509.html
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
Android Orphans: Visualizing a Sad History of Support [Android]
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PFT: McNabb says he should still be Vikings' starter
Getty ImagesWe?re trying to look in-depth at every team during their bye week.
The Bears, Jets, Bucs, and Raiders got the treatment earlier this week. Now up: The Packers.
Better than the champs
The Packers offense is better than it was during their Super Bowl season. To put it more precisely: The Packers? 2010 playoff offense has carried over into the 2011 regular season.
Pete Doughtery of the Green Bay Press-Gazette?asked the question?of?the Packers season this week. Do Green Bay?s defense issues matter when the offense is this ridiculous? ?The answer so far is no.
Rodgers easily the MVP?
It?s early, but Aaron Rodgers has been the best player in the league. ?He?s throwing for 9.9 yards-per-attempt. That would tie Kurt Warner for the highest number since the 1950?s. ?Rodgers? accuracy, decision-making, and play-making under duress has been epic.
Yes, the schedule set up well for Green Bay early. Few teams faced an easier early slate. But Rodgers is having a historical season.
More weapons
Jermichael Finley is healthy and catching touchdowns. It says a lot about this offense that Rodgers doesn?t need Finley to be a huge factor each week. ?Jordy Nelson consolidated his playoff success; he?s on pace for 1,000 yards. Randall Cobb isn?t a consistent threat, but he brings a new dimension to the offense. ?Greg Jennings and James Jones are who they have always been.
This is simply a better group than a year ago. Only the Saints have scored more points. ?Almost all the receivers are in their prime and know Mike McCarthy?s system well. Donald Driver?s decline barely matters; he?s the fourth or fifth wideout.
Line has held up
There were concerns in the preseason about the offensive line, but it has held up fairly well despite tackle Chad Clifton?s injury. Marshall Newhouse played well on the left side until facing the Vikings. The interior is strong. There may not be a better guard-center combo in the league than Scott Wells and Josh Sitton. Bryan Bulaga has continued to develop at right tackle.
More of the same from run game
This is not a great running team, but they aren?t as bad as the numbers indicate. The Packers rank 26th in yards?per-carry at 3.8. They were 25th last year. ?But the two key runners are better than that.
James Starks is at 4.5 yards-per-carry and Ryan Grant is at 4.0. Grant isn?t quite his old self and Starks could be more consistent, but it?s not a terrible group. Starks impressively closed out the win over Minnesota.
Defense takes step back
Green Bay?s defense gives up a lot of yards, but they rank tenth in points allowed. Points matter, not yards. ?The Packers are a good red zone defense team. They could stand to get better play from some of their young core cuys.
Clay Matthews has been good so far, but not to his 2010 level. ?The same is true for B.J. Raji. Tramon Williams hasn?t been 100%. Get that trio playing at a higher level, and the Packers defense could surge late in the year like in 2010. So far they have been ordinary.
Schedule gets much tougher
The Packers have benefited from one of the easiest schedules in the league. It gets tougher with road dates against the Chargers, Chiefs, Lions, and Giants. ?The Packers only face one team the rest of the way that currently has a losing record.
An undefeated season is very unlikely, but something around 14-2 sounds about right. That would result in the No. 1 seed in the NFC, a great spot from which to try to win another championship.
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Saturday, October 29, 2011
Game 6 of World Series postponed by rainy forecast (AP)
ST. LOUIS ? The Texas Rangers took 40 seasons to reach this position. After such a long climb, they were ready to wait one more day for a chance to win their first World Series title.
Game 6 was postponed Wednesday because of a wet forecast, delaying their bid to win the championship. Ahead 3-2, they can close out the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday night.
"It's just a rainout, that's it," said Texas star Michael Young, in his 12th year with the team. "I don't know if people think we're going to sit in our hotel rooms all night biting our nails. We're going to get something to eat, get some rest and be ready to go."
Both clubs pushed back their starters by a day. Colby Lewis is set to pitch against the Cardinals' Jaime Garcia. It's likely to be clear with temperatures in the low 50s at Busch Stadium.
If there's a Game 7 Friday night, it'll be Matt Harrison for Texas against, well, no telling. St. Louis manager Tony La Russa playfully mentioned the great Bob Gibson, now a robust 75, but ace Chris Carpenter on three days' rest looms as a possibility.
"It's already been asked about Carp," La Russa said. "I was told by Carp that he would be ready to go."
The postponement came after a travel day for the teams. This two-day gap is the longest at the World Series since 1989, when the Bay Area earthquake left the Athletics and Giants idle for 11 days.
"We're not getting antsy, we're not getting ahead of ourselves. We just have to wait," Texas manager Ron Washington said.
After a damp season and postseason, Major League Baseball announced the decision about 4 1/2 hours before the scheduled first pitch. At the time, no drops had fallen at the ballpark.
"I'm not even sure why they canceled it," Cardinals outfielder Lance Berkman said. "This is better than the weather for Game 1. I guess I'm going to lie back on the couch like a big, fat pig and watch a movie."
Maybe Berkman could've joined La Russa. The Cardinals manager planned to go see "Moneyball."
By late afternoon, a light mist turned to drizzle and then to steady rain.
This was the first Series washout since 2008 at Philadelphia. That year, Tampa Bay and the Phillies were tied in the sixth inning when rain and snow turned the field into a quagmire, forcing a suspension. It rained the next day, too, and the game finally resumed two days later, with the Phillies winning to take the crown.
Because of the debate about how to handle that situation MLB adopted a rule a few months later mandating that any postseason game stopped in progress would be resumed at the point of suspension, rather than being postponed and starting over.
This marked the latest rainout at a Series since 1986, when Game 7 between the Red Sox and Mets was pushed back by a day.
MLB executive Joe Torre said he alerted Washington and La Russa on Tuesday that a postponement was possible.
Rain was in "every forecast we had probably for the last three days," Torre said at a news conference. "They were all consistent there was going to be rain during the game."
Looking at Commissioner Bud Selig, Torre asked: "Do you want to play in rain?"
During the AL championship series, a game between Detroit and the Rangers in Texas was called because of predicted showers that never arrived. This time, they came.
Busch Stadium has had weather woes in the past. In 2006, Game 4 between Detroit and the Cardinals was called.
Rain has hovered over the majors all year with more than 50 washouts, baseball's highest total since 1997. The bad weather actually started before opening day, as the Milwaukee Brewers and Reds worked out in snow flurries on March 31.
Wicked weather intruded earlier in this postseason, too.
The opener of the AL playoff series between Detroit and New York was halted after 1 1/2 innings by showers that lasted all night. The game at Yankee Stadium was suspended and picked up the next day at the point when it was stopped.
The only other suspension in postseason history was that Rays-Phillies game in 2008.
Baseball began the playoffs a week earlier this year than last season, intending to have the World Series conclude before November. MLB also hoped the adjustment could help avoid a chilly finish for the championship. It was in the 40s and raw last week for Game 1.
It was in the 70s and clear at Busch Stadium on Tuesday. A perfect night to play, but it was a travel day for Texas and St. Louis.
Banged-up Texas star Josh Hamilton took the rainout in stride.
"You don't have to get worked up, hyped up to get into game mode and then shut it down," he said. "We know early, so we're able to come out here, get some swings in the cage, throw a bit. And it's smart for the pitchers, too, they don't have to get up, get going, have a rain delay, sit down."
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Friday, October 28, 2011
Obama adviser says president best for middle-class (AP)
WASHINGTON ? A presidential campaign adviser says that Barack Obama can tap into the frustrations typified by the Occupy Wall Street movement better than any Republican rival in 2012.
Former White House press secretary Robert Gibbs tells NBC's "Today" show Obama "is out there fighting for the middle class."
Gibbs says "we're seeing now a lot of anxiety and frustration" across the country because of income disparity.
Asked if this economic unrest will mostly likely benefit Obama in next year's election, Gibbs said Obama has a better record than the GOP in defending the middle class. Gibbs also said that "every one" of the Republican presidential candidates want to roll back Wall Street regulation.
He said the lack of sufficient rules to govern Wall Street is what "got us into this mess."
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Sony buying out Ericsson's share of Sony Ericsson
We've seen this coming for a few weeks now, and today it was announced that after 10 years together and some €1.5 billion in profits, Sony its indeed buying out the Ericsson share in Sony Ericsson.
Ericsson confirmed the buyout this morning and will receive a payday of €1.05 billion in return for its half of the partnership. The deal also sees sony receive an IP cross-licensing agreement as well as "five essential patent families."
Why, you ask?
The transaction gives Sony an opportunity to rapidly integrate smartphones into its broad array of network-connected consumer electronics devices – including tablets, televisions and personal computers - for the benefit of consumers and the growth of its business. The transaction also provides Sony with a broad intellectual property (IP) cross-licensing agreement covering all products and services of Sony as well as ownership of five essential patent families relating to wireless handset technology.
Check out the full presser after the break.
Source: Sony Ericsson
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Perry wants flat tax with some popular deductions (AP)
GRAY COURT, S.C. ? Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry proposed a sweeping economic plan Tuesday that includes a flat tax proposal, private retirement accounts for Social Security, a lower corporate tax rate and reforms aimed at keeping Medicare solvent.
In a pitch to right-wing conservatives, the Texas governor outlined a proposal he calls "Cut, Balance and Grow" that he says is bolder and more aggressive than what his Republican rivals or President Barack Obama would do.
"America is under a crushing burden of debt, and the president simply offers larger deficits and the politics of class division," Perry said. "Others simply offer microwaved plans with warmed-over reforms based on current ingredients."
In his speech, Perry outlined a broad plan that would make fundamental changes to the tax code and to the nation's entitlement programs.
After weeks of calling Social Security a "Ponzi scheme," he offered five concrete principles for reforming the program. Perry said he wants to keep benefits intact for current retirees, but allow younger workers to choose to put their income into private accounts instead. He wants to allow states and local governments to opt out of the federal program and invest in different funds instead. And he wants to raise the retirement age for younger workers.
Perry also wants to make major changes to Medicare. His plan would allow Americans to receive a payment or a credit for the purchase of health insurance instead of the direct benefits provided through the current program. He would also gradually raise the Medicare eligibility age and pay people benefits based on their income levels.
Perry's plan sets a flat 20 percent income tax rate, but also gives taxpayers the option of sticking with their current rate. He would also maintain popular deductions for families making less than $500,000 a year and end taxes on Social Security benefits. Perry would end corporate loopholes and lower the general corporate tax rate to 20 percent.
Many elements of Perry's plan are controversial ? and others have tried and failed to pass them. President George W. Bush tried to add private accounts to Social Security, but the proposal was widely condemned and did not pass.
"I am not naive. I know this idea will be attacked," Perry said of the proposal. "Opposition to this simple measure is based on a simple supposition: that the people are not smart enough to look out for themselves."
President Barack Obama's campaign immediately criticized Perry's plan as hurtful to middle class Americans. Perry's plan, Obama spokesman Ben LaBolt said, "would shift a greater share of taxes away from large corporations and the wealthiest onto the backs of the middle class."
The major policy rollout is a critical part of Perry's efforts to right a struggling campaign. It's an opportunity to demonstrate a heft and seriousness that wasn't on display during recent debates.
Distracting from Perry's speech, however, were new comments he made questioning whether Obama was born in the United States, a debunked controversy that centered on Obama's birth certificate.
In an interview with CNBC, Perry said it was "fun to ? to poke" at the president on the birth certificate issue. "I don't have a clue about where the president ? and what this birth certificate says," Perry said. He was defending an interview he did with Parade magazine, when he said he did not have a "definitive answer" about whether Obama was born in the United States.
Republican strategist Karl Rove ripped Rick Perry for casting doubt on Obama's birth. "You associate yourself with a nutty view like that, and you damage yourself," Rove told Fox News.
But the comments do appeal to a segment of the Republican Party's right wing ? a group Perry is clearly trying to court. Perry's policy speech Tuesday sets him distinctly to the right of chief rival Mitt Romney, who wants to make less sweeping changes to the tax code.
The birth certificate comments and policy rollout comes as Perry prepares to air TV ads in Iowa and has hired a roster of experienced national campaign operatives to help him. Perry's chief adviser on the economic plan is former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, who proposed a 17 percent flat tax when he ran for president in 1996.
It's taken Perry about 2 1/2 months to put together an economic policy package, and he's had to attend the series of debates without his detailed proposal. Romney also has attacked him repeatedly for not having a plan. Romney released a 59-point jobs plan in early September, about three months after officially announcing his bid.
Perry's plan would make more dramatic changes than Romney's. While Perry's plan includes the flat tax, Romney would lower rates on corporations and on savings and investment income for middle-class Americans.
Back in 1996, Romney criticized Forbes' flat tax plan as a "tax cut for fat cats." In the CNBC interview, Perry said if Romney renews that criticism, "he ought to look in the mirror, I guess. I consider him to be a fat cat."
Perry chose South Carolina, where he announced he was running for president, to unveil his economic plan. The first-in-the-South primary state is critical to his path to the nomination, though he has fallen in the polls here just as he has dropped nationally.
He also planned a news conference in the state capital, Columbia, and a fundraiser at the home of former South Carolina GOP chairman Katon Dawson, his top South Carolina adviser.
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Philly basement case suspects face court Monday (AP)
PHILADELPHIA ? Prosecutors may begin to offer more insight Monday into a case involving accusations of Social Security fraud and the kidnapping of mentally disabled adults that has stunned local law enforcement and social service providers.
Linda Ann Weston, 51, her boyfriend Gregory Thomas, 47, and Eddie "the Reverend Ed" Wright, 50, allegedly held four mentally disabled adults captive in a filthy basement as part of a benefits fraud scheme.
The suspects are set to make their first court appearances in Philadelphia on Monday on charges of kidnapping, assault, false imprisonment and other counts.
Wright's attorney, Louis D'Onofrio, told The Associated Press on Sunday that his client would plead not guilty at the hearing. Weston's attorney has not returned several calls, and no lawyer is listed for Thomas.
A landlord discovered the victims in the dank boiler room of his Philadelphia apartment building Oct. 15. Police said the disabled adults, who have the mental capacity of 10-year-olds, were malnourished; one was chained to a boiler.
Weston, Thomas and Wright had recently moved into the building in the city's Tacony section with Weston's daughter Jean McIntosh, police said.
Authorities characterized Weston as the ringleader in a plot to lock people up and cash their Social Security checks.
Investigators are working to discover the extent of the scheme after finding more than 50 Social Security cards, power of attorney documents and other such forms in McIntosh's apartment.
McIntosh, 32, also faces charges including kidnapping, assault and false imprisonment. She was slated to appear in court Wednesday. Her lawyer could not immediately be reached for comment Sunday.
Eight children and four young adults linked to the defendants are in protective custody.
Court documents indicated that Monday's arraignment status hearing for Weston, Thomas and Wright will be held before Common Pleas Court Senior Judge Felice Rowley Stack.
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Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Asian shares rise, euro steadies on Europe hopes (Reuters)
TOKYO (Reuters) ? Asian shares rose and the euro steadied on Tuesday, keeping gains from the previous day as investors grew more confident about European leaders coming to a broad agreement to contain the region's debt crisis.
European policymakers neared a deal over the weekend on bank recapitalization, and France and Germany appeared close to agreement on how to use the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to stave off contagion in the bond market.
But final decisions were deferred until a second summit scheduled for Wednesday, putting a cap on markets.
Deep divisions over the extent of losses that private holders of Greek bonds would have to incur remain a huge risk, putting downward pressure on the markets.
Investors are also concerned that the size of the bail-out fund, the EFSF, may not be sufficient to stem the debt woes from spreading wider.
"A lot has already been priced in, so profit-taking flows will likely set initially and put downward pressure on the market after Wednesday, before the market consolidates," said Frances Cheung, senior strategist for Asia ex-Japan at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.
Sentiment was boosted after the world's largest heavy equipment maker Caterpillar Inc (CAT.N) reported a 44 percent jump in profits, suggesting the underlying health of the global economy may not be as dire as is widely believed.
Its stock gained 5.5 percent on the New York Stock Exchange and further upbeat forecast from General Electric Co (GE.N) and United Technologies Corp (UTX.N) helped spark an overall rally in the market Monday.
The markets, particularly commodities, were also encouraged by comments from William Dudley, president of the New York Federal Reserve Bank, that another round of quantitative easing, or QE3, is one possible option the U.S. central bank has to boost the slow recovery.
"With some direction emerging from Europe on its debt crisis, there is a feeling the worst can be avoided, spurring an unwinding of an excessive risk aversion, which may continue in the very near-term," said Tetsuro Ii, president of Commons Asset Management in Tokyo.
"Money is flowing into commodities, and speculation about QE3 is definitely helping the mood."
But over the medium-term, markets will be firmly capped by the European debt crisis.
"What will be agreed on Wednesday will be just the start," Ii said. "It will address the macro issues, but micro issues, problems facing individual countries must be tackled next, so we can't be optimistic."
MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) rose 0.3 percent, with the metals (.MIAPJMT00PUS) and energy (.MIAPJEN00PUS) sectors leading the gains as commodities rebounded.
Japan's Nikkei stock average (.N225) reversed earlier gains and slipped almost half a percent on Tuesday as the yen stayed near a record high versus the dollar. (.T)
CAUTION BEYOND WEDNESDAY
Shanghai copper rose on Tuesday, climbing for a third straight session.
Gold prices held steady and resilient physical demand from Asia also lent support, while Oil kept its gains after U.S. crude jumped more than 4 percent to its highest level in more than two months on Monday.
While some encouraging signs emerged to reflect improving sentiment and some willingness to take risks, caution and skepticism about a long-term solution to the euro zone crisis may keep recovery short-lived.
"Asian markets are on a long-term rising trend based on fundamentals but the markets may turn their focus on worries over the U.S. and European economy, which will affect exports from Asia," Cheung said.
"Even if (Europe's) measures are delivered, there is still concern that the EFSF is not enough to contain euro zone debt problems from spreading out."
HSBC's flash purchasing managers' index (PMI) on Monday showed China's vast manufacturing sector expanded moderately in October, reflecting the resilience of robust domestic demand and soothing fears of an abrupt slowdown in the world's second-largest economy.
China's PMI data and Caterpillar's results pushed the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) up near a key technical level on Monday, with the index testing a 61.8 percent retracement of the 2011 decline.
On Monday, global stocks (.MIWD00000PUS) hit a seven-week high and commodities rallied on hopes Europe was moving closer to resolving the debt crisis.
The euro edged lower on Tuesday but still held near a six-week high Of $1.39570 hit the previous day, supported by market expectations for broad crisis-tackling measures from a summit due on Wednesday.
"Funds want a bit more of a rise in markets to take profits before they close their books for the year, so that may help support the market in the near-term," Ii said. "At the same time, there are also needs to cash out to cover losses."
Gains on Wall Street weighed on safe-haven U.S. Treasuries. Benchmark 10-year Treasury notes fell 4/32 in price for a yield of 2.23 percent on Monday.
But lingering worries about the extent of progress made over the euro zone sovereign debt problems pushed the spread between the yield on the 10-year Italian BTP benchmark bond and the equivalent German Bund wider on Monday to 388 basis points.
The spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment grade index, a gauge for whether investor risk appetite is returning, narrowed by a couple of basis points early on Tuesday.
Hong Kong-based Sun Hung Kai Properties, Asia's largest developer by market value, issued 5-year $500 million bonds on Monday at 245 basis points above U.S. Treasuries, in line with final guidance.
Data on Monday showed huge outflow of funds from emerging markets were reversing.
EPFR Global-tracked Bond Funds recorded net inflows of $2.51 billion in the week ending October 19. In mid-October, investors returned into high yield bond funds, with the combined U.S., Europe and Global high yield funds absorbing over $3 billion during the same week.
EPFR Global also reported on Monday that an increased risk appetite helped Emerging Market bond funds snap a short, sharp outflow streak.
(Additional reporting by Kityin Boey in Singapore; Editing by Kavita Chandran)
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'Paranormal Activity 3' Seizes Box-Office Record
'Found footage' sequel beats out 'Footloose' and 'Real Steel' and breaks record previously held by 'Jackass 3D.'
By Ryan J. Downey
Katie Featherston and Sprague Grayden in "Paranormal Activity 3"
Photo: Paramount Pictures
Moviegoers were feeling the Halloween "spirit" over the weekend. "Paranormal Activity 3" broke the box-office record for the biggest fall opening with an estimated $54 million debut, passing "Jackass 3-D" to become the highest-grossing September/October opening ever. Meanwhile, "The Three Musketeers," "Johnny English Reborn" and "The Mighty Macs" all underperformed.
Both "Real Steel" and the remake of "Footloose" held strong over the weekend. Hugh Jackman's robot action adventure was #2 with $11.3 million for a $67.2 million total, with "Footloose" right behind at #3 with $10.9 million for a $30.9 million total.
Roughly 55 percent of "The Three Musketeers" $8.8 million debut, which landed the film at #4 at the box office, can be attributed to its more expensive 3-D screening ticket prices. Co-star Milla Jovovich made entertainment news headlines with a flurry of tweets questioning the promotion effort behind the flick on the part of distributor Summit Entertainment, which also handles the "Twilight" franchise.
"I think 'summit' have swept '3 Musketeers', a grt family adventure film, under the rug in the US. Shame on them," the actress declared in one of several tweets unleashed on Friday. The film, directed by Jovovich's husband, Paul W.S. Anderson, was dismissed by most film critics. "An editorial mess, an atonal wreck, and a huge waste of cash from inception to release," Scott Weinberg at Twitch wrote.
"The Ides of March" rounded out the top five with $4.9 million. The George Clooney-directed political feature has earned $29.2 million to date.
While the comedy "Johnny English Reborn" has done respectable business internationally, it made just $3.8 million during its first weekend in North American theaters. "The Mighty Macs" made just over $1 million, although it played in less than a third of the locations as "Paranormal Activity 3." Lizzie Olsen's "Martha Marcy May Marlene" got off to a strong start at just four locations in New York and Los Angeles, taking in a respectable per-theater average of $34,385. Lizzie is the sister of Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen.
Next weekend's new releases include Johnny Depp's "The Rum Diary," "Shrek" spin-off "Puss in Boots," Justin Timberlake's "In Time" and director Roland Emmerich's "Anonymous."
Check out everything we've got on "Paranormal Activity 3" and "Footloose."
For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.
Related VideosSource: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1673022/paranormal-activity-3-box-office-record.jhtml
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Monday, October 24, 2011
APNewsBreak: Brewer's case against feds dismissed (AP)
PHOENIX ? A federal judge Friday dismissed Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer's lawsuit that accuses the Obama administration of failing to enforce immigration laws or maintain control of her state's border with Mexico.
The dismissal by U.S. District Judge Susan Bolton comes in a counter-lawsuit filed by Brewer as part of the Justice Department's challenge to Arizona's controversial immigration enforcement law.
The Republican governor was seeking a court order that would require the federal government to take extra steps, such as more border fencing, to protect Arizona until the border is controlled.
Her attorneys argued that her lawsuit was necessary to help bring relief to Arizona from the burdens of being a busy illegal entry point into the country.
The governor's lawsuit didn't seek a lump-sum award, but rather asked for policy changes in the way the federal government reimburses states for the costs of jailing illegal immigrants who are convicted of state crimes. Such changes would have given the state more money.
Justice Department lawyers, who asked the judge to throw out the lawsuit, argued that federal court isn't the right place to consider the political questions raised by Brewer.
They also contended that several claims by the governor should be thrown out because a court rejected similar legal claims in a 1994 case brought by Arizona, and an appeals court decision prohibits Brewer from moving forward with her case.
The Justice Department sued the state of Arizona last year in a bid to invalidate Arizona's immigration enforcement law. Bolton put key parts of the law on hold, such as a provision requiring police, while enforcing other laws, to question a person's immigration status if officers had "reasonable suspicion" the person was in the country illegally.
Brewer has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to hear her appeal of Bolton's ruling.
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Sunday, October 23, 2011
Mortgage insurer subsidiary seized by regulators
PHOENIX (AP) ? Insurance regulators in Arizona have seized the main subsidiary of private mortgage insurer PMI Group Inc., which will begin paying claims at just 50 percent.
The seizure follows heavy losses at PMI since the housing market bubble burst. Two months ago, state regulators ordered the Arizona-based subsidiary, PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., to stop selling new policies after it came under scrutiny because it didn't have enough money on hand to meet the requirements of regulations in that state.
A statement on PMI's website says a court order, signed by an Arizona Superior Court judge on Thursday, gives Arizona's Department of Insurance full possession and control of the subsidiary. Beginning Monday, PMI says claims will be paid at just 50 percent, in lieu of a moratorium on claim payments. Meanwhile, PMI said it will "continue to support our customers' ongoing policy servicing needs, and loss mitigation programs."
Private mortgage insurance protects lenders from losses if a homeowner defaults and the lender doesn't recoup costs through foreclosure. The insurance costs the borrower a monthly fee, typically a set percentage of the total mortgage loan. Like other mortgage insurers, PMI has been able to sell profitable policies in recent years, but the gains from those sales hasn't outpaced losses from policies sold before the housing market collapsed. As flagging home prices have strapped borrowers, the company has had to pay more claims.
The company's shares have traded below $1 apiece since late July, closing on Friday at 31 cents apiece. PMI shares topped $50 in 2007. Since then, the Walnut Creek, Calif. company has posted more than $3.5 billion in losses due to claims paid out on foreclosed homes. That includes a loss of nearly $135 million for the second quarter. PMI hasn't yet reported third-quarter results.
PMI's CEO, L. Stephen Smith, told analysts in early August that that company has seen a sharp rise in the number of previously denied claims that banks appealed and were able to get reinstated by producing better documents to back up them up.
Smith said then that his company was working with a financial adviser to search for ways to raise capital.
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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/44990016#44990016
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Saturday, October 22, 2011
Thailand's worst floods in decades reach Bangkok as political fallout mounts
Some 40,000 Thai Army troops have been deployed to build flood walls, set up sandbags, and help evacuations, but citizens are beginning to express frustration with the government response.
As rescue workers provide aid to rest of Thailand inundated with the worst floods in half a century, high waters have arrived in Bangkok?s northern suburbs.
Skip to next paragraphLarge parts of Southeast Asia including Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Philippines have been flooded for the past month. Of the nearly 700 flood-related deaths throughout the region, some 342 have occurred in Thailand, according to the government. More than half of the 77 provinces have been affected, primarily in the north.
Some 40,000 Thai Army troops have been deployed to build flood walls, set up sandbags, and help evacuations. Thai Airways and other logistics companies have been instructed to pitch in.
But, citizens are beginning to express frustration with the way the new government has handled the disaster, opening up the possibility that the floods could become a divisive political issue as different agencies begin to point fingers. The government has been vague with its predictions and information, say residents.
An editorial cartoon published in local English-language newspaper The Nation suggested that the floods meant the end of Thailand's honeymoon with Prime Minister Shinawatra, who has been criticized for wearing expensive Burberry boots to visit flood victims.
Newly appointed international the Flood Relief Operations Command (FROC) spokesperson Sean Boonpracong says there?s a ?50-50? percent chance water levels will continue to rise. ?The real concern is how long it will take for the water to subside.?
A recent study carried out by Assumption University shows the FROC scores just 3.36 out of 10 for performance. The government seems to disseminate inconsistent or contradictory information, frequently issuing warnings only to retract them, suggesting relief efforts are discombobulated and disorganized.
For weeks, panic buying has emptied shelves of Bangkok grocery stores of essentials such as drinking water, candles, and instant noodles.
Beginning early Friday morning, the Prapa canal, which feeds into Bangkok's Metropolitan Waterworks Authority plant, began overflowing after sluice gates were opened in a controversial move to relieve flooding in the north. In the most-affected neighborhoods, water stands more than one meter deep, where Army rescue teams on trucks have gone to help trapped residents. Further north in Pathum Thani district, water stands over two meters (6 feet) deep.
Newly elected Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra delcared 17 districts in Bangkok disaster areas, in order to facilitate relief efforts. ?Please understand that the water comes from opening water gates to drain the water as soon as possible,? she said in the announcement, ?we have to let the water flow smoothly. We know that water is now trapped in the plains and many areas. With the drainage, trapped water will drop fast.?
Thursday evening, Bangkadi Industrial Park became the seventh industrial estate to fall victim to the floods, which destroyed the factories of electronics and electrical appliances manufacturers like Sony and Toshiba. The ancient capital of Ayutthaya has seen its 400-year-old temples and UNESCO heritage sites go under water, and car manufacturing plants have been inundated as well. The government has estimated the floods will shave 0.9 percent off GDP growth this year.
According to Smith Dharmasarojana, a meteorological expert who predicted the Indian Ocean tsunami, it could take up to three months for the flood to pass. ?We?ve had unprecedented amounts of rain, due to the typhoons in the South China Sea, rising sea levels slowing down the flow of the river, and the need to drain water from the floods in the north through Bangkok and out to the sea. These three factors have contributed to the flood danger. Last time we were flooded like this it took three months for the water to drain.?
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Friday, October 21, 2011
Merkel: Germany, France broadly agree on debt deal
Foto del 9 de octubre del 2011 del presidente franc?s Nicolas Sarkozy, derecha, y la canciller alemana Angela Merkel tras dialogar en Berl?n sobre la crisis financiera europea. Un desacuerdo entre Francia y Alemania quiz? impida a los l?deres de la eurozona concordar el martes, 18 de octubre del 2011 en un plan de rescate para Grecia. (Foto AP/Martin Meissner)
Foto del 9 de octubre del 2011 del presidente franc?s Nicolas Sarkozy, derecha, y la canciller alemana Angela Merkel tras dialogar en Berl?n sobre la crisis financiera europea. Un desacuerdo entre Francia y Alemania quiz? impida a los l?deres de la eurozona concordar el martes, 18 de octubre del 2011 en un plan de rescate para Grecia. (Foto AP/Martin Meissner)
German Chancellor Angela Merkel delivers her speech during a farewell ceremony for the outgoing president of the European Central Bank (ECB) Jean-Claude Trichet at the old opera house in Frankfurt, Wednesday Oct, 19, 2011. (AP Photo//Kai Pfaffenbach, Pool)
RETRANSMISSION FOR ALTERNATE CROP - French President Nicolas Sarkozy leaves the old opera house in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011 after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. (AP Photo/dapd, Thomas Lohnes)
French President Nicolas Sarkozy arrives in Frankfurt, Germany, Wednesday, Oct. 19, 2011 to attend the farewell ceremonies for leaving President of the European Central Bank (ECB) Jean-Claude Trichet. (AP Photo/dapd, Thomas Lohnes)
BERLIN (AP) ? Germany and France agree over the main points of a plan to deal with Europe's crippling debt crisis, Chancellor Angela Merkel insisted Friday, a day after the two countries conceded that a new strategy won't emerge this weekend.
Markets appear to be giving Europe the benefit of the doubt that they will eventually be able to agree to a comprehensive package of measures in time for a second summit, a German government spokesman said was tentatively scheduled for Wednesday. Europe's main stock markets are all trading higher Friday, with the Stoxx 50 of top European shares up 0.7 percent.
Finance ministers from the 17 countries that use the euro will be looking to thrash out differences of opinion later Friday as they gather in Brussels, ahead of the arrival of the leaders on Saturday. Ahead of their meeting, the chairman of the eurogroup, Jean-Claude Juncker, said the delay to a debt crisis deal created a "disastrous" image of the eurozone to the outside world and that it's not necessarily just France and Germany that have differences of opinion.
Sunday's leaders' summit had been earmarked as the time Europe would finally deliver a comprehensive plan to get a grip on the currency union's debt troubles, which has seen three countries bailed out and threatened the future of the euro currency itself.
Leaders had been expected to detail new financing for debt-ridden Greece, produce plans to make Europe's banks fit to sustain worsening market turbulence and further empower the eurozone bailout fund.
Though Merkel insisted in discussions with lawmakers Friday that there are no major differences of opinion between herself and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, Europe's two biggest economies appeared to be at loggerheads over how to make best use of the bailout fund, the so-called European Financial Stability Facility, or EFSF.
Merkel's spokesman Steffen Seibert said Merkel and Sarkozy held a telephone conference on Thursday with President Barack Obama and Prime Minister David Cameron to discuss the summit and that leaders agreed the outcome must involve sending "a clear signal of an end to the debt crisis."
Seibert said the decision to split the summit into a two-step process ? with Sunday envisioned as a chance to hammer out the details of how the EFSF is to be used and the overall package to be passed on Wednesday.
A spokesman for Merkel's conservative Christian Democrats said the chancellor refused to be drawn in talks early Friday with lawmakers from her party on reports of the split between her and Sarkozy.
"She would not say anything other than that they were in agreement," Dominik Geissler told reporters in Berlin.
Yet, while France proposes turning the EFSF into a bank that would have access to unlimited credit from the European Central Bank, Germany has refused to sanction such a move, arguing it would compromise the ECB's impartiality.
"Considering the importance of the discussions and there potential impact upon the European economy, global capital markets and the future of the EU itself a delay of a few days is neither here nor there in the overall scheme of things," said Gary Jenkins, an analyst at Evolution Securities. "However the suggestions that they are still far apart on how to make best use of the EFSF is of some concern."
What to do about the euro440 billion ($607 billion) EFSF doesn't seem to be the only point of contention.
Germany and several other rich countries have been pushing for banks and other private investors to take steeper losses on their Greek bondholdings, before the eurozone can sign off on a second multibillion euro rescue package for the struggling country.
France and the European Central Bank had so far opposed forcing banks to write off more Greek debt, fearing that would destabilize the banking sector and worsen market turmoil.
France is thought to be particularly worried about losing its cherished triple A credit rating, a scenario which Standard & Poor's said was possible if Europe slides back into recession or its borrowing rises even further. In a stress test report, S&P warned that France Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal could have their ratings reduced by one or two notches.
On the future of Greece, the French and German statements Thursday indicated that the two countries may be edging toward a solution. They have asked Greece to immediately start negotiations with the private sector to reach a deal "that would improve (Greece's) debt sustainability."
Lawmakers from Merkel's junior coalition partner, the Free Democrats, said the chancellor had indicated that Spain and Italy in particular were concerned about such a move, which could further undermine confidence in their own ability and willingness to repay their debts if markets start to think that Greece is not a one-off case.
The main worry in the markets is that the debt crisis, which has already seen Greece, Ireland and Portugal bailed out, could envelop the much bigger economies of Spain and Italy.
____
Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed to this story.
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Silver-screen strategy nets New York robbers $217,000 (Reuters)
NEW YORK (Reuters) ? Accused New York thieves have been using a Hollywood-born strategy to rob dozens of small stores, telling police they were inspired by the 2010 movie "The Town" to splash bleach on the crime scenes, according to the police.
In what were dubbed the "splash-and-dash" robberies, the suspects would throw bleach over cash machines and cash drawers in a bid to erase their DNA evidence, the New York Police Department said.
They targeted dozens of corner stores, discount stores and pizzerias, netting $217,000 (137,290 pounds) in the past year, police said.
"(The suspects) told detectives that they were inspired by the Ben Affleck movie 'The Town' in which the protagonists used bleach to cover their tracks," police said in a statement.
These suspects also would cut electrical power to the robbery locations and use miners' headlamps to work in the dark, the police said.
Four men have been charged in connection to 62 robberies, and two were scheduled to appear in Brooklyn criminal court.
(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst and Jerry Norton)
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Thursday, October 20, 2011
Streisand and others honored; Davis has baby news (AP)
LOS ANGELES ? Nine women were honored at the annual Women in Hollywood event, yet two ladies in particular stole the show.
Viola Davis surprised her fellow honorees and an audience of Hollywood insiders Monday night by announcing she had adopted a baby girl.
And Barbra Streisand was repeatedly credited by fellow honorees such as Michelle Pfeiffer, Evan Rachel Wood, Freida Pinto, Naomi Watts and Davis for being the inspiration for their success.
It was a love fest that continued throughout the evening at the 18th annual celebration of the industry's leading ladies sponsored by Elle magazine at the Four Seasons Hotel.
Jennifer Aniston told the 69-year-old Streisand that she loved her, and Pinto said onstage that "sharing the same oxygen" as Streisand was an incredible birthday gift. The actress turns 27 Tuesday.
"You're a legend not only in Hollywood but literally all over the world," the "Slumdog Millionaire" star told Streisand. "I can say that because I come from India."
She said Streisand's song "Putting it Together" is "like a reality check that every girl that wants to get into this big entertainment industry needs to listen to."
"That was a truly inspirational song, so thank you so much for that," Pinto said.
Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow introduced Streisand as "a world icon" and "somebody who has mastered virtually every art form imaginable: directing, acting, composing, singing, producing, writing."
Streisand returned the love in kind, congratulating her fellow honorees, which also included actress Elizabeth Olsen and DreamWorks Studios chief Stacey Snider.
"They're all so charming, so well spoken, and so thin," Streisand said, adding, "I ate the chocolate cake."
(Also on the menu: Alaskan halibut and a roasted peach salad.)
Streisand said that only seven percent of the top 250 films were directed by women and she urged her colleagues to be fearless about moving forward in the entertainment industry.
"Let's be bold and don't wait for the phone to ring," she said. "Create your own material. Tell me a story."
The love didn't stop with Streisand. Olsen said Pfeiffer inspired her to become an actress, and Reese Witherspoon said Aniston had "sex appeal and complete lovability."
"You just want to get your nails done with her and you want to make out with her at the same time. At least I do," Witherspoon said. "And that's what we do sometimes on Saturdays."
"The Help" co-star Octavia Spencer traded "I love yous" with Davis, and broke the news that Davis was a new mom with her husband, actor Julius Tennon. Davis thanked her husband and "my new baby new baby, Genesis, who really is a genesis, a beginning, a birth in me."
Davis gave no further details but her publicist later confirmed the child was a girl.
The Oscar nominee said it isn't love that drives her to keep working in Hollywood.
"What keeps me in the business is hope, and that's the hope that women of color are also part of the narrative," Davis said. "(I'm) sending a telepathic message to you: Every time some young actress of color comes in a room with a character they're auditioning for that's not ethnically specific, that you have a space in your brain that can open up and embrace them and allow them in, because I'm telling you, their lives are just as fascinating and multifaceted."
The audience gave her a standing ovation, and welcomed Streisand the same way.
The Women in Hollywood honorees are featured in Elle's November issue.
___
Online:
www.elle.com
___
Follow AP Entertainment Writer Sandy Cohen on Twitter at www.twitter.com/APSandy.
__
AP Entertainment Writer Natalie Rotman contributed to this report.
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Cells are crawling all over our bodies, but how?
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
For better and for worse, human health depends on a cell's motility ?? the ability to crawl from place to place. In every human body, millions of cells ?are crawling around doing mostly good deeds ??? though if any of those crawlers are cancerous, watch out.
"This is not some horrible sci-fi movie come true but, instead, normal cells carrying out their daily duties," said Florida State University cell biologist Tom Roberts. For 35 years he has studied the mechanical and molecular means by which amorphous single cells purposefully propel themselves throughout the body in amoeboid-like fashion ??absent muscles, bones or brains.
Meanwhile, human cells don't give up their secrets easily. In the body, they use the millions of tiny filaments found on their front ends to push the front of their cytoskeletons forward. In rapid succession the cells then retract their rears in a smooth, coordinated extension-contraction manner that puts inchworms to shame. Yet take them out of the body and put them under a microscope and the crawling changes or stops.
But now Roberts and his research team have found a novel way around uncooperative human cells.
In a landmark study led by Roberts and conducted in large part by his then-FSU postdoctoral associate Katsuya Shimabukuro, researchers used worm sperm to replicate cell motility in vitro ?? in this case, on a microscope slide.
Doing what no other scientists had ever successfully done before, Shimabukuro disassembled and reconstituted a worm sperm cell, then devised conditions to promote thecell's natural pull-push crawling motions even in the unnatural conditions of a laboratory. Once launched, the reconstituted machinery moved just like regular worm sperm do in a natural setting ?? giving scientists an unprecedented opportunity to watch it move.
Roberts called his former postdoc's signal achievement "careful, clever work" ?? and work it did, making possible new, revealing images of cell motility that should help to pinpoint with never-before-seen precision just how cells crawl.
"Understanding how cells crawl is a big deal," Roberts said. "The first line of defense against invading microorganisms, the remodeling of bones, healing wounds in the skin and reconnecting of neuronal circuits during regeneration of the nervous system ?? all depend on the capacity of specialized cells to crawl.
"On the downside, the ability of tumor cells to crawl around is a contributing factor in the metastasis of malignancies," he said. "But we believe our achievements in this latest round of basic research could eventually aid in the development of therapies that target cell motility in order to interfere with or block the metastasis of cancer."
Funding for Robert's worm-sperm study came from the National Institutes of Health. The findings are described in a paper ("Reconstitution of Amoeboid Motility In Vitro Identifies a Motor-Independent Mechanism for Cell Body Retraction") published online in the journal Current Biology.
Why worm sperm?
For one thing, said Roberts, the worm sperm is different from most cells in that itdoesn't use molecular motor proteins to facilitate its contractions; it shimmies along strictly by putting together and tearing down its tiny filaments. And the simple worm sperm makes a good model because, while it is similar to a human cell it has fewer moving parts, making it less complicated to take apart and reassemble than, say, brain or cancer cells.
Armed with the newfound ability to reconstitute amoeboid motility in vitro, cell biologists such as Roberts may be able to learn the answers to some major moving questions. Among them: How can some cells continue to crawl even after researchers have disabled their supply of myosin, the force-producing "mover protein" that functions like a motor to help power muscle and cell contraction?
For Roberts and his team, the next move will be to determine if what they've learned about worm sperm also applies to more conventional crawling cells, including tumor cells.
"As always, there will be more questions," Roberts said. "Are there multiple mechanisms collaborating to drive cell body retraction? Is there redundancy built into the motility systems?"
###
Florida State University: http://www.fsu.edu
Thanks to Florida State University for this article.
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Wednesday, October 19, 2011
US to play at Slovenia on Nov. 15
updated 11:59 a.m. ET Oct. 18, 2011
CHICAGO - The U.S. soccer team will play at Slovenia in an exhibition on Nov. 15, a rematch of their meeting in the first round of last year's World Cup.
The game will be part of a two-match European trip that starts Nov. 11 against France at Saint-Denis, outside Paris.
This will be the first trip for the U.S. to Slovenia. The U.S. Soccer Federation said Tuesday the match will be played at Stozice Stadium in Ljubljana.
In the only meeting between the nations, the U.S. rallied from a two-goal deficit for a 2-2 tie last year in Johannesburg, getting goals from Landon Donovan and Michael Bradley.
The Americans are 1-3-1 under new coach Jurgen Klinsmann.
Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Wayne Rooney made two penalty kicks Tuesday to lead 10-man Manchester United a 2-0 road victory over the Romanian club Otelul Galati in the Champions League.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/44946405/ns/sports-soccer/
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Bheestie Bags Promise to Save Your Wet Electronics
Bheestie Bags are another of those bags filled with a desiccant to help you dry out electronics that have been exposed to moisture. ?The bags are 6″ X 9″, so they’re big enough for phones and MP3 player but not bigger tablets. ?You can keep a Bheestie Bag, unopened, in reserve about a year. ?It [...]
Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2011/10/18/bheestie-bags-promise-to-save-your-wet-electronics/
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Greece heads for standstill before austerity vote
ATHENS?? Greece faces a crucial test this week, when much of the country is expected to be shut down by a 48-hour strike reaching a peak on Thursday as parliament votes on a sweeping package of austerity measures demanded by international lenders.
Greece's two main unions, representing about half the four million-strong workforce, have promised one of the biggest strikes since the crisis began two years ago, hitting food and fuel supplies, disrupting transport and leaving hospitals run by skeleton staff.
Prime Minister George Papandreou, trailing badly in opinion polls, has defied the protests, pledging to push through a deeply unpopular package that includes tax rises, pay and pension cuts, job layoffs and changes to collective pay deals.
His four-seat majority is expected to hold up with the support of smaller opposition parties, but at least two members of the ruling PASOK party may oppose part of the bill when the vote is called, probably in two stages on Wednesday and Thursday.
With European Union leaders racing to prepare a comprehensive new bailout deal in time for a summit on October 23, Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said this was the week "during which many things, maybe everything will be decided."
Trapped in deep recession and strangled by a public debt equivalent to some 162 percent of gross domestic product, Greece has been shut out of bond markets and would run out of money within weeks without international support.
Many economists believe Athens can no longer avoid defaulting on its debt, but in a newspaper interview on Sunday, Papandreou said a default would be a "catastrophe" for Greece.
Inspectors from the EU and the International Monetary Fund were in Athens last week and have recommended releasing a vital 8 billion euro aid tranche to enable the government to keep paying its bills past November.
That will only provide temporary relief and they urged Papandreou's struggling Socialist government to push ahead with further belt-tightening, on top of what are already the deepest cuts in Greece's postwar history.
Papandreou was scheduled to meet President Karolos Papoulias at 0930 GMT and hold an informal cabinet meeting at 1330 GMT to brief them on the Greek debt talks.
VIOLENCE
Memories are still fresh of the violent clashes between riot police and anti-austerity demonstrators in June, and police will be ready to crack down on signs of trouble during the strikes this week.
"We are fully aware of the huge changes in people's lives and the problems the economic crisis poses to public services," the ministers for health, education and transport said in a joint statement published on their websites.
"But either we do everything now or we face disaster," they said, calling for unity from all PASOK deputies.
"Obstructing the operations of the state in sensitive sectors is an attempt to worsen conditions and undermine the fight the country and its citizens are engaged in."
The strike on Wednesday and Thursday will hit public sector institutions including tax offices, state schools and airports as well as banks and businesses ranging from taxis and clothes shops to suppliers of everyday staples like bakers.
Even judges will hold indefinite stoppages, only issuing rulings on major cases.
Customs officials who clear fuel refinery deliveries hold a 24-hour strike on Monday and will decide whether to extend their action, potentially hitting petrol supplies.
A 48-hour strike by seamen, starting on Monday, has brought passenger ferries to a halt, disrupting traffic to the country's dozens of islands. "Leave the seamen and their pensions alone, there's too few of us left anyway," George Nikolaidis of the seamen's union told a private radio station.
Public transport services in Athens are expected to be operating at least some services to ferry demonstrators to the main site of the protest in Syntagma Square, outside parliament.
Papandreou's ruling PASOK party has seen its ratings drop sharply in recent months as it meets the tough terms imposed in return for EU and IMF aid, while state buildings have been occupied and groups ranging from taxi drivers to lawyers and municipal workers stage daily protests.
Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43547447/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/
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Tuesday, October 18, 2011
China Q3 growth eases, policy stance seen steady (Reuters)
BEIJING (Reuters) ? China's economic expansion slowed in the third quarter to its weakest pace since early 2009, but core domestic drivers of growth remained robust, suggesting little chance that monetary policy can be relaxed near term.
Gross domestic product rose 9.1 percent in the third quarter from a year earlier, moderating from 9.5 percent in the previous quarter as the pace of exports softens. The rise was slightly below forecasts for a 9.2 percent increase.
Hong Kong and Australian stocks and oil prices slipped after the figures, which showed the economy's third-consecutive quarterly slowdown in annual growth and the weakest pace of expansion since 8.1 percent in the second quarter of 2009.
But the slowdown does not signal a shift in monetary policy in response, said Stephen Green, economist at Standard Chartered in Hong Kong.
"GDP growth was surprising for the market on the downside," he said. "There is clearer deceleration in the third quarter. No change in policy. Small signs of ad-hoc loosening but no macro change in policy."
Fixed-asset investment -- the core driver of China's rampant economic growth -- continued at a robust pace in the first three quarters of the year, chalking up annual growth of 24.9 percent, slightly ahead of forecasts of 24.8 percent.
However, China's real estate investment, which accounts for a fifth of the country's fixed-asset investment, cooled sharply to 25.0 percent in September from a year earlier, as compared with a rise of 31.6 percent in August, Reuters calculations show, based on the official data.
"Although economic growth has moderated slightly, it's still stable," Sheng Laiyun, spokesman at the National Bureau of Statistics, told reporters after the data release, dismissing the risk of a sharp deterioration in the economy.
"It is more likely that China will keep its stable and relatively fast economic growth in the next phase," he said when asked about the possibility of a dip in growth.
INVESTORS EYE RISKS AS GROWTH EASES
Investors were a little less sanguine in their initial reaction. Hong Kong's benchmark Hang Seng Index (.HSI) extended early declines, dropping by as much as 3.4 percent.
Shares in Australian miners fell on the prospect that China's demand growth for minerals is easing. Rio Tinto (RIO.AX) fell 4.7 percent and BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) dropped 3.2 percent.
Oil slipped, with the price of a barrel of Brent crude dropping below $110 per barrel as traders factored in risks of slowing demand in the world's second-largest oil consumer.
Reuters calculations suggest implied oil demand in China rose just 1 percent in September from a year earlier, its slowest rate of growth so far this year.
The overall picture is that China is not impervious to the fallout from the euro-zone debt crisis and the world's second-biggest economy is at risk if its top trading partner, Europe, does not resolve its festering debt problems.
Trade data last week showed annual growth in Chinese exports to Europe more than halved from August, with growth in China's overall exports falling to seven-month lows.
China's Statistics Bureau said the economy was facing increasing uncertainty at home and abroad and it called for the maintenance of stable economic policies.
Slower activity could help some of that stabilization process as it implies some softening of price pressures for inflation-wary officials in Beijing.
China's inflation, albeit easing, ran at an annual pace of 6.1 percent in September, within earshot of near three-year highs of 6.5 percent in July and well over Beijing's 2011 official target of 4 percent.
To combat rising prices and prevent them from stoking social unrest, Beijing raised interest rates five times and banks' reserve requirements nine times in the past year.
CONTROLLING INFLATION
Measures to curb inflation have had a noticeable effect and price pressures should ease further in the fourth quarter of the year, the Statistics Bureau said.
Housing inflation eased to the lowest level this year in September as Beijing's tightening measures, including rationed bank credit and rising mortgage rates, began to bite.
The darkening world economic outlook has forced Beijing to stand pat on policy since July, with some analysts betting that authorities may even loosen policy a shade to support growth if needed.
To prop up the economy, analysts say China may opt to slightly loosen credit controls or even cut banks' reserve requirements from record highs to encourage more lending to firms, especially the smaller ones.
"China has overtightened its policy since May. That has increased the risks of a hard landing, as global economic growth also slowed since the second quarter," said Dong Xian'An, chief economist at Peking First Advisory.
"That risk of sharp economic slowdown in China still exists. We expect Chinese economic growth to slow down to around 8.6 percent in the fourth quarter," Dong added.
But few believe China is set to cut rates anytime soon given stubborn price pressures.
"I don't think they will make any move (in rates) in the near term. Then maybe after a few quarters, toward the middle of next year, if everything is OK, I think they will continue to hike interest rates, not cut interest rates," said Ting Lu, economist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong.
(Editing by Ken Wills and Neil Fullick)
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