ICICI Bank profit up 20 pct, bad loans down

MUMBAI, India (AP) ? India's ICICI Bank reported net profit growth of 20 percent Tuesday, as it shed non-performing loans and boosted interest income.

Analysts and policy makers have been watching the asset quality of Indian banks, on worries that high interest rates, policy bottlenecks and slowing economic growth are hampering the ability of borrowers to repay loans and slowing credit growth.

While ICICI Bank ? like other Indian banks ? surprised investors with better than expected data on bad loan exposure during the December quarter, analysts cautioned that things could get worse going forward.

"It's too early to extrapolate this benign trend of loan loss provisions into the next several quarters," said Vijay Sarathi, banking analyst at Nomura India.

India's power sector has been especially hard hit, with delays in building out transmission networks and constraints in access to affordable coal.

The central bank has raised rates 13 times in a row in an effort to beat down inflation. High interest rates are now imperiling loan repayment, especially among small- and medium-sized companies.

Sarathi expects loan loss provisions as a percentage of average assets at Indian banks to rise over the next year, from 70 basis points to 100 to 120 basis points.

Chief executive Chanda Kochhar emphasized that ICICI's lending to India's most troubled sectors is limited.

She said the power sector accounts for 7 percent of ICICI's outstanding loans. The bank, she added, has minimal exposure to small- and medium-sized companies. Cash flows from residential housing loans have been stable, and the bank has not seen any "pain" on account of its commercial real estate loans, she said. Direct exposure to India's aviation sector is not very large, she said.

ICICI earned 17.3 billion rupees ($325 million) in the December quarter, up from 14.4 billion rupees during the year ago quarter.

Net non-performing assets fell 28 percent from a year ago, to 20.8 billion rupees ($392 million). Provisions for bad loans totaled 3.4 billion rupees ($64 million), down 27 percent from a year ago. Net interest income increased 17 percent, to 27.1 billion rupees ($511 million), from a year ago.

Corporate demand drove loan growth up 19 percent from a year ago, Kochhar said.

"Corporate, we have already seen the growth, retail the growth is just about starting," she said.

Domestic lending to Indian companies grew 23 percent, while international loans ? mainly from Indian companies seeking to raise foreign currency loans ? grew 18 percent in constant currency terms. Retail loans grew 8 percent, Kochhar said.

"Even on asset quality, they continued their good performance despite this being a tricky quarter from the macroeconomic environment point of view," said Vaibhav Agrawal, vice president of research for Angel Broking.

He said India's private sector banks have been very conservative on issuing loans over the last six or seven quarters, making their asset quality better than their publicly owned peers, which dominate lending in India.

"Recognizing the difficult environment, they've gone very conservative on lending. That's paying off now," he said.

The stock rose nearly 6 percent on the news in Mumbai trading.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-31-AS-India-Earns-ICICI-Bank/id-8341aa79de7249888642dea8b73849c9

colt mccoy vt vt cleveland browns los angeles angels los angeles angels lindsay lohan’s playboy cover leaked online

Euro zone confidence improves, highlights divergence (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? Confidence in the euro zone's economy strengthened in January for the first time since early 2011, EU data showed on Monday, but a recovery in Germany masked a deterioration in France and Italy, highlighting the bloc's diverging fortunes.

Germany has shown more resilience to the euro zone's troubles than many of its neighbors, helped by fiscal prudence, a competitive edge and good demand for its high quality goods.

France and Italy have struggled to keep up, facing questions about the sustainability of their own finances as Greece tries to agree a debt restructuring and Portugal comes under fresh scrutiny in financial markets.

The divergence complicates the task of EU leaders who are meeting in Brussels on Monday to try and sketch a path out of the economic slump.

The European Commission's economic sentiment indicator rose by 0.6 points in the euro zone to 93.4, the first improvement in sentiment since March last year as some confidence returned to services, consumers and construction.

"We're seeing a slight stabilization and we expect the recession the euro zone will end in the spring," said Christoph Weil, an economist at Commerzbank.

"But we can also see that the divergence in the euro zone is increasing and that is of great concern," he said.

The European Central Bank's decision in December to provide 3-year loans to banks averted a credit freeze, while the U.S. economy expanded strongly in the last quarter of 2011 and China has remained robust, maintaining demand for Europe's goods.

But budget austerity and political divisions over how to solve the two-year debt crisis continue to depress business in the euro zone and the wider European Union, with non-euro zone country Britain heading for a recession in early 2011.

The rising optimism is still tempered by EU leaders' inability to resolve the euro zone debt crisis and the sentiment indicator was slightly lower than forecast by economists polled by Reuters.

Following last week's surprisingly positive purchasing managers' indices, or PMIs, business climate rose for the second month in a row to -0.21, in line with economists' expectations.

But factory managers saw a deterioration in the view of their order books and although this was offset by a positive assessment of stocks, it confirmed the mixed economic picture.

Industrial confidence remained at the lowest level since April 2010 while confidence in services rebounded by 2 points in the euro zone and construction was up 0.6 points.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

For a graphic on the data: http://link.reuters.com/bas36s

For full multimedia coverage: http://r.reuters.com/xyt94s

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^>

GERMAN RENEWAL, GREEK PAIN

The European Commission forecasts 2012 economic growth of just 0.5 percent for the 17 nations in the euro zone, which generates 16 percent of global economic output.

The International Monetary Fund is more pessimistic, forecasting a 0.5 percent contraction in 2012 that it says could drag the world into recession.

EU leaders face a tough task at Monday's summit as they try and bridge the divergence in economic performance among the 27-nation bloc's economies and reconcile austerity with growth.

Recent data suggests Germany will avoid a recession, while non-euro zone member Britain, as well as euro states Spain, Italy, Greece and Portugal, are likely to see their economies contract in 2012. Belgium and the Netherlands, also members of the single currency, will struggle to grow at all.

The Commission's data also supported that view, as economic sentiment improved in Germany by 2.3 points, the second consecutive monthly rise, but fell in France, Italy and the Netherlands.

While large economies such as France and the Netherlands will likely benefit from Germany's recovery, Italy and Greece must confront falling productivity and high debts to avoid years of stagnation.

"Weakened domestic economic activity, intensified fiscal tightening in many countries and still serious uncertainties and concerns over the euro zone sovereign debt crisis continue to limit an improvement in sentiment," said Howard Archer, chief European economist at IHS Global Insight.

(Reporting By Robin Emmott; editing by Rex Merrifield/Anna Willard)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_eurozone_sentiment

127 hours true grit serena williams the falling man the falling man mermaid roger federer

RBS CEO turns down bonus amid criticism of payout (AP)

LONDON ? Royal Bank of Scotland chief executive Stephen Hester will not be accepting a 1 million pound ($1.5 million) bonus that drew criticism from British public and politicians, the bank said Sunday.

Spokesman David Gaffney said Hester would not receive the bonus of 3.6 million shares he was awarded last week by the board of the largely state-owned bank.

The British government spent 45 billion pounds bailing out RBS three years ago. It still owns an 82 percent stake, and politicians had criticized the reward at a time when Britons face painful spending cuts and tax hikes.

The government ? which has insisted it has no control over the bank's bonuses ? welcomed the announcement.

"This is a sensible and welcome decision that enables Stephen Hester to focus on the very important job he has got to do, namely to get back billions of pounds of taxpayers' money that was put into RBS," Treasury chief George Osborne said.

The decision follows Saturday's announcement that RBS chairman Philip Hampton was waiving his own bonus of 1.4 million pounds in shares.

Hester and Hampton were brought in after Fred Goodwin, who led RBS's ill-fated takeover of Dutch bank ABN Amro, stepped down in October 2008 as the government was spending billions to prop up the bank.

The board of directors decided last week to award Hester a bonus of 3.6 million shares ? worth just under 1 million pounds at Friday's closing share price of 27.74 pence. That came on top of his annual salary of 1.2 million pounds.

Prime Minister David Cameron said Saturday that Hester's bonus was "a matter for him," but pointed out it was much less than last year's.

The government claimed it had no control over bonuses awarded by the bank, and said replacing Hester if he resigned would be more costly than paying the reward.

But many politicians were critical. London Mayor Boris Johnson, a Conservative like Cameron, said he found the bonus "absolutely bewildering."

Rachel Reeves, Treasury spokeswoman for the opposition Labour Party, said Sunday the sum was inappropriate "when families are feeling the pinch."

"It's time the government explained why they have allowed these bonuses to go through unchallenged," she said.

Before the bank's announcement, the Labour Party said it would force a vote in the House of Commons next month calling for Hester to be stripped of his bonus.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_rbs

when is daylight savings time 2011 renaissance festival melanie iglesias catherine tate theo epstein theo epstein darknet

`The Help,' Dujardin win at lively SAG Awards (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Finally, an awards show with some surprises and spontaneity.

The Screen Actors Guild Awards featured some unexpected winners, including "The Help" for best overall cast performance and Jean Dujardin for best actor in "The Artist" alongside some of the longtime favorites in movies and television.

But there was a looseness and a playfulness that permeated the Shrine Exposition Center Sunday night ? maybe because it was a room full of people who love to perform, without the rigidity of one single host to lead them.

Unlike the great expectations that came with the sharp-tongued Ricky Gervais' reprisal at the Golden Globes a couple weeks ago or the much-anticipated return of Billy Crystal to the Academy Awards next month, there was no master of ceremonies at the SAG Awards. The presenters and winners seemed to have more room to improvise and put their own spin on the evening ? but mercifully, the show itself still managed to wrap up on time after just two hours.

And so we had three of the stars of best-cast nominee "Bridesmaids" ? Kristen Wiig, Maya Rudolph and Melissa McCarthy ? introducing their comedy with a joke about turning the name "Scorsese" into a drinking game, which became a running gag throughout the night. When HBO's "Boardwalk Empire" won the award for best drama series cast, among the first words star Steve Buscemi uttered in accepting the prize were "Martin Scorsese" ? he just happens to be one of the show's executive producers.

One of the more exciting moments of the night was the announcement of Dujardin's name in the best-actor category for his performance in the silent, black-and-white homage "The Artist." In winning the award for his portrayal of a silent-film star who finds his career in decline with the arrival of talkies, Dujardin definitely boosts his chances at the Oscars on Feb. 26. Little-known in the United States before this, the French comic bested bigger names like George Clooney ("The Descendants"), Brad Pitt ("Moneyball") and Leonardo DiCaprio ("J. Edgar").

If he follows this up with an Academy Award, Dujardin would become the first French actor ever to take the prize. Asked backstage how it would feel, Dujardin launched into a jaunty rendition of "La Marseillaise," the French national anthem.

"Pressure, big pressure," Dujardin then added in his halting English. "It's unbelievable. It's amazing already. Too early to tell."

Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer continued to cement their front-runner status in the actress and supporting actress categories, respectively, for their formidable work in "The Help." Both women play black maids in 1960s Mississippi who dare to go public about the bigotry they've endured.

"I just have to say that the stain of racism and sexism is not just for people of color or women. It's all of our burden, all of us," Davis said, accepting the ensemble prize on behalf of her "The Help" co-stars.

Backstage, Davis said of her own victory: "A few more people checked my name in the box for whatever reason. This time I kind of fooled them."

Meanwhile, Christopher Plummer picked up yet another supporting-actor prize for his lovely turn as an elderly widower who finally comes out as gay in "Beginners." Plummer won at the Golden Globes and is nominated for an Oscar. He would become the oldest actor ever to win an Academy Award at age 82, two years older than Jessica Tandy was when she won best actress for "Driving Miss Daisy."

Backstage, Plummer joked when asked if he would like to win an Oscar, an honor so elusive during his esteemed 60-year career that he did not even receive his first Academy Award nomination until two years ago, for "The Last Station."

"No, I think it's frightfully boring," Plummer said. "That's an awful question. Listen, we don't go into this business preoccupied by awards. If we did, we wouldn't last five minutes."

The win for overall cast for "The Help," when "The Artist" and "The Descendants" have been the favorites all along, makes the conversation more interesting but it isn't necessarily an indicator of how the film will do come Oscar time.

The guild's ensemble prize, considered its equivalent of a best-picture honor, has a spotty record at predicting what will win the top award at the Oscars. While "The King's Speech" won both honors a year ago, the SAG ensemble recipient has gone on to claim the top Oscar only eight times in the 16 years since the guild added the category.

The winners at the SAG ceremony often do go on to earn Oscars, however. All four acting recipients at SAG last year later took home Oscars ? Colin Firth for "The King's Speech," Natalie Portman for "Black Swan" and Christian Bale and Melissa Leo for "The Fighter."

On the television side, comedy series awards went to "Modern Family" for best ensemble; Alec Baldwin as best actor for "30 Rock"; and Betty White as best actress for "Hot in Cleveland."

"You can't name me, without naming those other wonderful women on `Hot in Cleveland,'" the 90-year-old White said. "This nomination belongs to four of us. Please, please know that I'm dealing them right in with this. I'm not going to let them keep this, but I'll let them see it."

The TV drama show winners were: Jessica Lange as best actress for "American Horror Story"; and Buscemi as best actor for "Boardwalk Empire."

For TV movie or miniseries, Kate Winslet won as best actress for "Mildred Pierce," while Paul Giamatti was named best actor for "Too Big to Fail."

The guild gave its lifetime achievement award to Mary Tyler Moore, presented by Dick Van Dyke, her co-star on the 1960s sit-com "The Dick Van Dyke Show."

Moore recalled that when she entered show business at age 18 in 1955, there were already six others Mary Moores in the Screen Actors Guild. Told to change her name, she quickly added Tyler, the middle name she shares with her father, George.

"I was Mary Tyler Moore. I spoke it out loud. Mary Tyler Moore. It sounded right so I wrote it down on the form, and it looked right," she said. "It was right. SAG was happy, my father was happy, and tonight, after having the privilege of working in this business among the most creative and talented people imaginable, I too am happy, after all."

___

AP writers David Germain and Beth Harris contributed to this report.

___

Online:

http://www.sagawards.com

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_en_mo/us_sag_awards

earthquake today earthquake today droid razr oklahoma news atomic clock earthquake map geoffrey mutai

Brain Likely Encodes the World in Two Dimensions

Head Lines | Mind & Brain See Inside

Our internal representation of the world is flat

By Morgen Peck ?| January 29, 2012?|

Image: Corbis

When we drive somewhere new, we navigate by referring to a two-dimensional map that accounts for distances only on a horizontal plane. According to research published online in August in Nature Neuroscience, the mammalian brain seems to do the same, collapsing the world into a flat plane even as the animal skitters up trees and slips deep into burrows.

?Our subjective sense that our map is three-dimensional is illusory,? says Kathryn Jeffery, a behavioral neuroscientist at University College London who led the research. Jeffery studies a collection of neurons in and around the rat hippo?campus that build an internal representation of space. As the animal travels, these neurons, called grid cells and place cells, respond uniquely to distance, turning on and off in a way that measures how far the animal has moved in a particular direction.

Past research has focused on how these cartographic cells encode two-dimensional space. Jeffery and her col?leagues decided to look at how they respond to changes in altitude. To do this, they enticed rats to climb up a spiral staircase while the scientists collected electrical recordings from single cells. The firing pattern encoded very little in?formation about height.

The finding adds evidence for the hypothesis that the brain keeps track of our location on a flat plane, which is defined by the way the body is oriented. If a squirrel, say, is running along the ground, then scampers straight up a tree, its internal two-dimensional map simply shifts from the horizontal plane to the vertical. Astronauts are some of the few humans to de?scribe this experience: when they move in space to ?stand? on a ceiling, they report a moment of disorientation before their mental map flips so they feel right side up again.

Researchers do not know yet whether other areas of the brain encode altitude or whether mammals simply do not need that information to survive. ?Maybe an animal has a mosaic of maps, each fragment of which is flat but which can be oriented in the way that?s appropriate,? Jeffery speculates. Or maybe in our head, the world is simply flat.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=d451ae3619079c3ca2817479ef587b90

stanford football lsu football schedule lsu football schedule terrapin terrapin manny pacquiao vs marquez manny pacquiao vs marquez

Lazio defender Dias banned for 3 Cup matches

Associated Press Sports

updated 10:45 a.m. ET Jan. 27, 2012

MILAN (AP) -Lazio defender Andre Dias has been banned for three Italian Cup matches for taking a swipe at the head of AC Milan midfielder Mark van Bommel.

The referee missed the incident during the second half of Milan's 3-1 quarterfinal win on Thursday, even though Van Bommel ended up on the ground.

The league judge also banned Inter Milan coach Claudio Ranieri for one match for insulting the referee during a 2-0 loss to Napoli on Wednesday.

Since Lazio and Inter have already been eliminated, Dias and Ranieri will serve out their bans next season.

Milan faces Juventus in one semifinal, and Napoli meets Siena in the other.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More news

Playing for bragging rights

Abby Wambach and Christine Sinclair have spent the last two weeks chasing each other, chasing history and chasing a place in the London Olympics.

Kuyt to the rescue

Euro roundup: Liverpool reaches the 5th round of the FA Cup, beating rival Manchester United 2-1.

Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46163291/ns/sports-soccer/

nyc weather philadelphia weather chris carpenter chris carpenter the brothers grimm the brothers grimm grimm fairy tales

Giant Veil of "Cold Plasma" Discovered High Above Earth

For youtube videos, paste embed code directly in the text box

- Notify me by email when future posts are made
Email:
Members do not need to provide an address

- Preview before posting

Rate Article

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

Total votes: 0 Select Comment Validation Method
Member
Name/URL (Guest)
FaceBook (Guest) Member Commenting:

Authenticate with Facebook before submitting

OR

Login: Password:

Make your LabSpaces comments count. Start earning LabSpaces points by becoming a member! Learn more. Name: Link:(Link to your site or blog) Please verify that you are human: Register for LabSpaces
Make your LabSpaces comments count. Start earning LabSpaces points by becoming a member! Learn more.

Please authenticate before trying to post a comment.

If you would like to remain anonymous, please enter a new name and link below

Name: Link:(Link to your site or blog)

Friends

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/117128/Giant_Veil_of__quot_Cold_Plasma_quot__Discovered_High_Above_Earth_

cloudy with a chance of meatballs the hobbit movie orcl hanukkah gpa calculator menorah chanukah

No energy industry backing for the word 'fracking'

Gillie Waddington of Enfield, N.Y., raises a fist during rally against hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y., on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. About 600 people registered to lobby lawmakers Monday on various bills related to the technology known as "fracking." Many are pushing a bill that would ban fracking, which stimulates gas production by using chemically treated water to fracture shale. Others are supporting a bill putting a moratorium on shale gas development. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

Gillie Waddington of Enfield, N.Y., raises a fist during rally against hydraulic fracturing of natural gas wells at the Legislative Office Building in Albany, N.Y., on Monday, Jan. 23, 2012. About 600 people registered to lobby lawmakers Monday on various bills related to the technology known as "fracking." Many are pushing a bill that would ban fracking, which stimulates gas production by using chemically treated water to fracture shale. Others are supporting a bill putting a moratorium on shale gas development. (AP Photo/Mike Groll)

NEW YORK (AP) ? A different kind of F-word is stirring a linguistic and political debate as controversial as what it defines.

The word is "fracking" ? as in hydraulic fracturing, a technique long used by the oil and gas industry to free oil and gas from rock.

It's not in the dictionary, the industry hates it, and President Barack Obama didn't use it in his State of the Union speech ? even as he praised federal subsidies for it.

The word sounds nasty, and environmental advocates have been able to use it to generate opposition ? and revulsion ? to what they say is a nasty process that threatens water supplies.

"It obviously calls to mind other less socially polite terms, and folks have been able to take advantage of that," said Kate Sinding, a senior attorney at the Natural Resources Defense Council who works on drilling issues.

One of the chants at an anti-drilling rally in Albany earlier this month was "No fracking way!"

Industry executives argue that the word is deliberately misspelled by environmental activists and that it has become a slur that should not be used by media outlets that strive for objectivity.

"It's a co-opted word and a co-opted spelling used to make it look as offensive as people can try to make it look," said Michael Kehs, vice president for Strategic Affairs at Chesapeake Energy, the nation's second-largest natural gas producer.

To the surviving humans of the sci-fi TV series "Battlestar Galactica," it has nothing to do with oil and gas. It is used as a substitute for the very down-to-Earth curse word.

Michael Weiss, a professor of linguistics at Cornell University, says the word originated as simple industry jargon, but has taken on a negative meaning over time ? much like the word "silly" once meant "holy."

But "frack" also happens to sound like "smack" and "whack," with more violent connotations.

"When you hear the word 'fracking,' what lights up your brain is the profanity," says Deborah Mitchell, who teaches marketing at the University of Wisconsin's School of Business. "Negative things come to mind."

Obama did not use the word in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, when he said his administration will help ensure natural gas will be developed safely, suggesting it would support 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade.

In hydraulic fracturing, millions of gallons of water, sand and chemicals are pumped into wells to break up underground rock formations and create escape routes for the oil and gas. In recent years, the industry has learned to combine the practice with the ability to drill horizontally into beds of shale, layers of fine-grained rock that in some cases have trapped ancient organic matter that has cooked into oil and gas.

By doing so, drillers have unlocked natural gas deposits across the East, South and Midwest that are large enough to supply the U.S. for decades. Natural gas prices have dipped to decade-low levels, reducing customer bills and prompting manufacturers who depend on the fuel to expand operations in the U.S.

Environmentalists worry that the fluid could leak into water supplies from cracked casings in wells. They are also concerned that wastewater from the process could contaminate water supplies if not properly treated or disposed of. And they worry the method allows too much methane, the main component of natural gas and an extraordinarily potent greenhouse gas, to escape.

Some want to ban the practice altogether, while others want tighter regulations.

The Environmental Protection Agency is studying the issue and may propose federal regulations. The industry prefers that states regulate the process.

Some states have banned it. A New York proposal to lift its ban drew about 40,000 public comments ? an unprecedented total ? inspired in part by slogans such as "Don't Frack With New York."

The drilling industry has generally spelled the word without a "K," using terms like "frac job" or "frac fluid."

Energy historian Daniel Yergin spells it "fraccing" in his book, "The Quest: Energy, Security and the Remaking of the Modern World." The glossary maintained by the oilfield services company Schlumberger includes only "frac" and "hydraulic fracturing."

The spelling of "fracking" began appearing in the media and in oil and gas company materials long before the process became controversial. It first was used in an Associated Press story in 1981. That same year, an oil and gas company called Velvet Exploration, based in British Columbia, issued a press release that detailed its plans to complete "fracking" a well.

The word was used in trade journals throughout the 1980s. In 1990, Commerce Secretary Robert Mosbacher announced U.S. oil engineers would travel to the Soviet Union to share drilling technology, including fracking.

The word does not appear in The Associated Press Stylebook, a guide for news organizations. David Minthorn, deputy standards editor at the AP, says there are tentative plans to include an entry in the 2012 edition.

He said the current standard is to avoid using the word except in direct quotes, and to instead use "hydraulic fracturing."

That won't stop activists ? sometimes called "fracktivists" ? from repeating the word as often as possible.

"It was created by the industry, and the industry is going to have to live with it," says the NRDC's Sinding.

Dave McCurdy, CEO of the American Gas Association, agrees, much to his dismay: "It's Madison Avenue hell," he says.

___

Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-26-US-Fracking/id-9476c1f8df564d1e88f00877b03f7e58

navy seals navy seal team 6 tim gunn tim gunn built to last obama state of the union address 2012 obama speech

Malin Akerman's 'Inferno' Has 'No Porn,' Is 'Very Dark'

Demi Moore's exit from "Lovelace" has given a lot of attention to the currently filming biopic of the "Deep Throat" star. But there are more than one Linda Lovelace films in development at the moment. There's also the Malin Akerman starring "Inferno" to consider -- though much like the fiery title, Akerman believes it's time [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2012/01/27/malin-akermans-inferno-has-no-porn-is-very-dark/

meg whitman f8 f8 catherine the great dark shadows ted haggard ted haggard

Md. man caught in sting pleads guilty in bomb plot (AP)

BALTIMORE ? A Maryland man pleaded guilty Thursday to trying to detonate what he thought was a car bomb outside a military recruiting center in suburban Baltimore.

Antonio Martinez originally pleaded not guilty but entered a new plea in U.S. District Court in Baltimore to a charge of attempting to use a weapon of mass destruction against a property leased and used by the U.S. Department of Defense. The plea agreement calls for a 25-year prison sentence. Martinez is scheduled to be sentenced April 6.

Court documents detail a sting that allegedly caught Martinez trying to detonate a phony car bomb, provided by the FBI, outside the Armed Forces Recruiting Center in Catonsville.

The 22-year-old's attorneys sought to have the charges dismissed, arguing that early meetings with an informant were not recorded. They said not having those recordings deprived Martinez of potentially exculpatory evidence.

The FBI's informant first communicated with Martinez on Facebook after seeing public posts "espousing his extremist views" and recognizing him from a mosque he attended, according to court documents. Martinez later told the informant of his ideas for attacking military-linked sites and said all he thought about was jihad, documents state.

The FBI informant and the undercover agent who communicated with Martinez gave him repeated opportunities to back out of his plan to bomb the recruitment center, documents show. But he insisted he was committed to the plot, even after expressing reservations in the wake of the arrest of a Somali-born teenager in Oregon in a similar sting.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/usmilitary/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_us/us_recruiting_center_bomb_plot

colorado weather alcohol poisoning alcohol poisoning mark ingram mark ingram between two ferns joe the plumber

Classy (talking-points-memo)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/191626403?client_source=feed&format=rss

new iphone tmobile iphone van jones van jones dark energy dark energy sherri shepherd

Video: Solar flare ignites radiation storm

Nasa?/?Reuters

Images taken by NASA show the sun bombarding Earth with radiation from the largest solar storm in more than six years.?

Related Links:

http://twitter.com/nbcnightlynews

Top of page

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/nightly-news/46116574/

champions online champions online mezzanine mezzanine jules verne jules verne als

Fed set to push back timing of eventual rate hike (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The Federal Reserve looks set to keep monetary policy on hold on Wednesday, even as it releases forecasts expected to show interest rates will be near zero for at least two more years.

Given recent improvement in the U.S. economy, the central bank will probably remain non-committal regarding the prospect for additional bond purchases, but will leave the door open to further action if Europe's banking problems spill over into the United States.

As part of an effort to provide more insight on its thinking to financial markets and the public, the Fed will begin publishing individual policymakers' projections for the appropriate path of the benchmark federal funds rate.

In so doing, the Federal Open Market Committee, the central bank's policy-setting arm, will probably reveal that it does not expect to begin raising rates until at least early 2014. Since August, it has only said after every policy session that it expected to keep rates ultra-low until at least mid-2013.

If the Fed can convince financial markets it will be on hold longer than they had anticipated, long-term interest rates could drop as investors price in the new information.

"A significant contingent of the committee views this exercise not so much as a process improvement but more as an opportunity to ease again via the forward rate communications channel," said Stephen Stanley, economist at Pierpoint Securities.

There is also the possibility that officials will announce an explicit inflation target, perhaps a hard marker of 2 percent or a range of 2 percent or a bit below. The Fed has been debating a statement on its long-run goals, but whether one will be released on Wednesday is unclear.

The Fed will release a statement outlining its views on the economy and monetary policy at about 12:30 p.m. The rate projections, along with regular quarterly economic forecasts, will be issued at 2 p.m.

While forecasters expect the U.S. economy grew at a 3 percent annual rate in the last three months of 2011, Fed officials will probably shy away from any explicit hints on the likelihood of further unconventional monetary easing.

However, many analysts think the recent momentum in the U.S. recovery will wane as Europe's economy falters, potentially prompting another spurt of Fed bond buying - probably one focused on mortgage debt.

Since December 2008, in response to the deepest recession in generations, the Fed slashed rates to effectively zero and also more than tripled the size of its balance sheet to around $2.9 trillion through two separate bond purchase programs.

The policy is credited with having prevented an even longer downturn, but has been insufficient to bring down unemployment to levels considered normal during good economic times.

In December, the U.S. jobless rate stood at 8.5 percent, and some 13 million Americans were still actively looking for work but could not find it.

Analysts note that the Fed's shift in communications, which has led to considerable confusion about just what exactly will be announced, will put an even greater emphasis on a post-meting news conference by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke at 2:15 p.m.

"The chairman is likely to remain non-committal to any additional policy easing, but he is likely to reinforce the Fed's commitment to 'review the size and composition of its securities holdings' and be 'prepared to adjust those holdings as appropriate,'" said Millan Mulraine, senior macro strategist at TD Securities.

(Editing by Tim Ahmann)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/bs_nm/us_usa_fed

iraq war over maurice jones drew megyn kelly unclaimed money richard hamilton richard hamilton paris jackson

Tablet ownership nearly doubles in January (Digital Trends)

According to new information from the?Pew Research Center?s Internet and American Life Project, tablet ownership has jumped from about 1 out of every 10 Americans to approximately 19 percent. The previous study was conducted around the middle of December, thus the massive increase in tablet ownership can likely be attributed to the holiday shopping season. While Apple?s iPad definitely helped boost that percentage, less expensive tablets like Amazon?s Kindle Fire and?Barnes and Noble?s Nook Tablet were also partial contributors. Analysts have estimated that Apple sold approximately 13 million iPads over the holiday season while Amazon sold between four to five million Kindle Fire tablets.?In addition to tablet ownership increasing rapidly, e-book reader ownership also spiked from 18 percent in December 2011 to 29 percent in January 2012.?

With Apple making a big push into the education market with the iBooks 2 application and its partnerships with textbook publishers, it?s clear that the company is interested in expanding beyond selling the tablet to the mainstream consumer during 2012. According to a report from Global Equities Research, Apple has seen?approximately?350,000 textbook downloads?in the first three days of release. While the $15 price of a textbook on the iPad seems?detrimental?to publishers, production costs are cut by up to 80 percent and the publishers don?t have to deal with third parties in order to get the textbook into educational retailers. With over 5 million in textbook sales in the first three days, publishers are likely encouraged by the potential of more educators adopting the platform.

Apple?s efforts are also likely to be encouraged by the findings of a recent year-long study that discovered students were able to produce higher math scores by using an iPad application over a traditional textbook. ?According to a recent study conducted by PBS LearningMedia, over four out of five teachers believe that tablets enrich the classroom experience, yet only 22 percent of teachers reported that they have the right kind of technology in the classroom. The study also found that teachers working in?affluent school districts are twice as likely to have access to tablets like the iPad. ?

If?Apple has plans to become an influential force in the education system with iBooks 2, the company will have to work with school districts on providing iPad hardware for students either through the school system or encouraging parents to purchase the tablet. However, many teachers have already began an effort to obtain iPads and other tablets through sites like?DonorsChoose.Org. According to a recent Forbes article, the dollar amount for requests of Apple products rose from $50,000 over the?2009-2010 school year to?$800,000 during the following school year. While some of the requests were for Macbook laptops and the iPod Touch, the vast majority of Apple requests were related to the iPad. Officials at?DonorsChoose.org said that the company plans to distribute 40 million dollars between?80,000 classroom project requests during 2012.

At the?Menlo School in Atherton, California, the private school has been operating a?pilot program with iPads for the last year as reported by Venturebeat. According to school officials, students in the eighth and tenth grade are given an iPad to carry use during the entire school year. While the expensive tablets are still owned by the school, the student is free to take the iPad home in order to complete homework. According to Menlo School?director of technology?Eric Spross, he stated ?We choose iPads because they?re lightweight, portable, have a long battery life, and are self-service. They?re easier to support.?

However, the situation for public schools is vastly different from the Menlo School.?Beyond monetary deficits for technology like tablets, public schools also have to deal with regulations from?state and federal entities in regards to what technology the school is allowed to purchase. These same regulations dictate which textbooks have to be purchased, thus a textbook on the iPad platform may not be authorized. ?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

More from Digital Trends

Survey: Consumers hoping for a tablet, not a laptop, this holiday season

Analyst puts Kindle Fire holiday sales at 5.5 million

Google tablet could be out in the next six months, says Schmidt

Is Microsoft Office coming to the iPad?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/digitaltrends/20120123/tc_digitaltrends/tabletownershipnearlydoublesinjanuary

samhain great pumpkin charlie brown the strangers all hallows eve all saints day all saints day bernard madoff

Demi Moore seeks help for exhaustion, health issues (omg!)

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Actress Demi Moore is seeking professional help to treat "exhaustion" and "overall health" issues, her spokeswoman said on Tuesday, following her split late last year from husband of six years, Ashton Kutcher.

"Because of the stresses in her life right now, Demi has chosen to seek professional assistance to treat her exhaustion and improve her overall health. She looks forward to getting well and is grateful for the support of her family and friends," Moore's spokeswoman said in a statement to Reuters.

The statement follows media reports that Moore was rushed to hospital on Monday night after paramedics were called to her Los Angeles home. Celebrity news website TMZ.com cited substance abuse as the cause, but that could not be confirmed.

Moore's representatives declined any further comment beyond the written statement.

"Ghost" star Moore, 49, filed for divorce from 33-year-old "Two and A Half Men" actor Kutcher in November 2011, after a San Diego woman went public about a brief fling she had with Kutcher.

(Reporting By Piya Sinha-Roy, Editing by Bob Tourtellotte)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_demi_moore_seeks_help_exhaustion_health_issues013444299/44293529/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/demi-moore-seeks-help-exhaustion-health-issues-013444299.html

dodd frank republican debate norco rand paul detained nbc news presidential debate asexual

McDonald's shares off on profit concerns (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? McDonald's Corp (MCD.N) reported stronger-than-expected December sales, but its shares fell on investor concerns that quarterly profit may have beat expectations only because of income that was not related to its operations.

Chief Financial Officer Pete Bensen said investors remain cautious about consumer spending. He added that as a percentage of sales, margins declined 30 basis points to 18.7 percent during the fourth quarter as higher costs for food and other items offset sales strength.

He also said that ongoing austerity measures in Europe have not hurt sales there and that "we're really seeing no change in customer behavior."

Shares of the world's biggest hamburger chain were down 1.4 percent to $99.48 in morning trading on Tuesday.

McDonald's reported fourth-quarter profit of $1.38 billion, or $1.33 per share, up from $1.24 billion, or $1.16 a share, a year earlier. Analysts on average expected $1.30 a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Edward Jones analyst Jack Russo said results from the latest quarter were helped by 3 cents per share of non-operating income.

"So it really it appears they met consensus," he said.

Revenue rose 10 percent to $6.82 billion, edging above the average analyst estimate of $6.81 billion.

Sales at stores open at least a year rose 9.6 percent in December, with a 9.8 percent increase in the United States and a 10.8 percent rise in its top revenue market of Europe.

Analysts on average forecast a 5.9 percent increase overall, with the a 5.4 percent increase in the United States and a 6.4 percent increase in Europe, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The results, which were helped by new menu items, restaurant renovations and effective marketing, defied a global economic slowdown, said Rikky Shoker, co-manager of the Credo Best Ideas Portfolio at Credo Group Ltd in London.

"This shows that McDonald's is a truly unique business and able to grow sales regardless of economic conditions," Shoker said.

McDonald's and its franchisees have been pouring money into their restaurants at a time when smaller and financially strapped chains are slashing costs.

The company also has broadened its appeal beyond the young men who account for the biggest share of sales at most other fast-food chains by adding low-cost Dollar Menu items and introducing high-margin beverages such as coffee and fruit smoothies.

Menu standouts during the quarter included bagel sandwiches in France and Big Mac's and chicken products in the United States, the company said.

(Reporting by Brad Dorfman in Chicago, editing by Dave Zimmerman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120124/bs_nm/us_mcdonalds

cyber monday best deals cyber monday best deals brownback brownback salvia cybermonday deals cybermonday deals

Remind Yourself How Beautiful Nature Is By Watching This Stunning Yosemite Timelapse [Video]

I'm a city boy, I love everything about a city—the energy, the bars, the buildings, the noise—and would cry suburgatory if you stripped me away from the city life. But after watching this Yosemite timelapse video, I might take a sabbatical into nature myself. It's so gosh darn beautiful. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/nLmzAjILpiQ/remind-yourself-how-beautiful-nature-is-by-watching-this-stunning-yosemite-timelapse

miracle berry billy crystal veterans day thank you veterans day thank you nigel tufnel day black friday deals molokai

'Extinct' monkey rediscovered in Borneo by new expedition

Friday, January 20, 2012

An international team of scientists has found one of the rarest and least known primates in Borneo, Miller's Grizzled Langur, a species which was believed to be extinct or on the verge of extinction. The team's findings, published in the American Journal of Primatology, confirms the continued existence of this endangered monkey and reveals that it lives in an area where it was previously not known to exist.

Miller's Grizzled Langur (Presbytis hosei canicrus) is part of the small primate genus Presbytis, found across Borneo, Sumatra, Java and the Thai-Malay Peninsula. In Borneo, P.h. canicrus is only found in a small corner of the county's north east and its habitat has suffered from fires, human encroachment and conversion of land for agriculture and mining.

The team's expedition took to them to Wehea Forest in East Kalimantan, Borneo, a large 38,000 ha area of mostly undisturbed rainforest. Wehea contains at least nine known species of non-human primate, including the Bornean orangutan and gibbon.

"Discovery of P.h canicrus was a surprise since Wehea Forest lies outside of this monkey's known range. Future research will focus on estimating the population density for P.h. canicrus in Wehea and the surrounding forest," said Brent Loken, from Simon Fraser University Canada. "Concern that the species may have gone extinct was first raised in 2004, and a search for the monkey during another expedition in 2008 supported the assertion that the situation was dire."

By conducting observations at mineral licks where animals congregate and setting up camera traps in several locations, the expedition confirmed that P. h canicrus continues to survive in areas west of its previously recorded geographic range. The resulting photos provide the first solid evidence demonstrating that its geographic range extends further than previously thought.

"It was a challenge to confirm our finding as there are so few pictures of this monkey available for study," said Loken. "The only description of Miller's Grizzled Langur came from museum specimens. Our photographs from Wehea are some of the only pictures that we have of this monkey."

"East Kalimantan can be a challenging place to conduct research, given the remoteness of many remaining forested areas, so it isn't surprising that so little is known about this primate," said Dr. Stephanie Spehar, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at University of Wisconsin Oshkosh. "We are very grateful to our local partners. This discovery represents the hard work, dedication, and collaboration of Western and Indonesian scientists, students, NGOs, as well as local communities and government."

"While our finding confirms the monkey still exists in East Kalimantan, there is a good chance that it remains one of the world's most endangered primates," concluded Loken. "I believe it is a race against time to protect many species in Borneo. It is difficult to adopt conservation strategies to protect species when we don't even know the extent of where they live. We need more scientists in the field working on understudied species such as Miller's Grizzled Langur, clouded leopards and sun bears."

###

Wiley-Blackwell: http://www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell

Thanks to Wiley-Blackwell for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

This press release has been viewed 77 time(s).

Source: http://www.labspaces.net/116909/_Extinct__monkey_rediscovered_in_Borneo_by_new_expedition

lingual braces joe mcginniss joan crawford joan crawford kat dennings listeriosis bonobos

Taking Pride: Walking A Heathen Path Away from Guilt (slacktivist)

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

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/189074891?client_source=feed&format=rss

presidential debate gop debate department of justice doj dept of justice weather chicago swizz beatz

Pink Floyd Rocker Roger Waters & Laurie Durning Married!

Pink Floyd Rocker Roger Waters & Laurie Durning Married!

Roger Waters has tied the knot with his longtime girlfriend, Laurie Durning, in an intimate ceremony (with six guests) at their New York home on [...]

Pink Floyd Rocker Roger Waters & Laurie Durning Married! Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://stupidcelebrities.net/2012/01/19/pink-floyd-rocker-roger-waters-laurie-durning-married/

emmy winners emmy winners sportsbook sportsbook directions driving de la salle de la salle

James playing, Wade out for Heat-Lakers

Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade cheers from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. The Heat defeated the Spurs 120-98. Wade did not play due to a sprained right ankle. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Heat's Dwyane Wade cheers from the bench during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. The Heat defeated the Spurs 120-98. Wade did not play due to a sprained right ankle. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Heat's LeBron James (6) wipes his face during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

Miami Heat head coach Erik Spoelstra puts his hand to his head during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the San Antonio Spurs, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012, in Miami. (AP Photo/Lynne Sladky)

MIAMI (AP) ? LeBron James will play through illness Thursday night.

Hours after sending James home from the team's game-day shootaround practice with flu-like symptoms, the Heat said the two-time MVP would be in the lineup against the Los Angeles Lakers.

And that decision came as no surprise to the Lakers ? James' former coach in particular.

"When you talk about great players like him, those guys even though they're sick or a little injured or whatever, they find a way to perform at a high level," Lakers coach Mike Brown, one of James' former coaches with the Cleveland Cavaliers, said Thursday afternoon. "I don't think it's any different for LeBron."

James has been battling sickness for much of this week. He said it affected him in the early minutes of Miami's game against San Antonio on Tuesday, a contest where he started slowly and still finished with 33 points, 17 of those in a huge third-quarter run as the Heat turned a 14-point halftime deficit into a 22-point win.

James said he was feeling better Wednesday, though some symptoms apparently reappeared Wednesday night and into Thursday morning. Spoelstra indicated James was sent home only as a precaution.

Miami will be without guard Dwyane Wade, whose sprained right ankle will keep him sidelined for the second straight game. It's the fifth game Wade will miss in Miami's first 14 this season because of injury, the first three of those caused by a sore left foot.

"The show still goes on," Heat forward Chris Bosh said. "We're still going to expect to win."

Even with James in the lineup, the Heat plan to use Shane Battier and James Jones defensively on Lakers star Kobe Bryant, at least some of the time.

"It's always a luxury having such great players on your team," Bosh said. "But sometimes they're out. This is why we made moves this season, was to be a deeper team."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-01-19-BKN-Heat-Injuries/id-48b271ef35634d7781e527a654d99bf9

mike wallace is jon bon jovi dead jon bon jovi jon bon jovi kim jong il died warren hellman survivor south pacific

Holy Endangered Species, Batman! Little Brown Bats Nearly Extinct in Just Six Years [Science]

I've always assumed that animals gradually become endangered over a long periods of time, like many decades. But I was totally wrong: a bat species that once swarmed caves in North America has lurched towards extinction in just six years. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/A_XqwqyzBPk/holy-endangered-species-batman-little-brown-bats-nearly-extinct-in-just-six-years

girl with the dragon tattoo trailer girl with the dragon tattoo trailer parks and rec facebook announcement mitch daniels tyler clementi beebe

kambale: My NY family came together to honor Lumumba. From Haiti, Tonga, Mexico, Eritrea, Senegal, Italy... all stood with Congolese tonight!

• Passer la navigation
• Twitter sur votre mobile ? Cliquez ici m.twitter.com!
• Passer cette ?tape
• Connexion

• Connexion
• Rejoignez Twitter !

My NY family came together to honor Lumumba. From Haiti, Tonga, Mexico, Eritrea, Senegal, Italy... all stood with Congolese tonight! Il y a environ 5 heures via Twitter for BlackBerry?

kambale

Pied de page

• ? 2012 Twitter
• ? propos de nous
• Contact
• Blog
• Statut
• Ressources
• API
• Entreprises
• Aide
• Offres d'emploi
• Conditions
• Confidentialit?

Source: http://twitter.com/kambale/statuses/159537553500942336

dixville notch 2013 ford fusion lsu football lsu football bcs jay z glory alabama crimson tide