Oil above $99 in Asia on Europe's austerity move (AP)

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia ? Oil rose above $99 a barrel Tuesday in Asia in sync with gains in regional equity markets after Europe took measures to battle its debt crisis.

Benchmark crude for February delivery was up 59 cents at $99.37 a barrel at midday Kuala Lumpur time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 78 cents to finish at $98.78 on Monday.

European leaders agreed Monday on a new treaty to stop overspending and put an end to the region's crippling debt woes. They also pledged to stimulate growth and employment amid fears of a looming recession. Greece and its bondholders are also inching closer to a deal to significantly cut the country's debt and pave the way for it to receive a much-needed euro130 billion ($170 billion) bailout.

"The announcements in the eurozone helped ease concerns but crude prices are going to be choppy going forward. The market is grappling with a weaker demand scenario and uncertainties in the supply side coming from Iran," said Natalie Robertson, commodities analyst at ANZ Banking Group in Melbourne.

Iran has welcomed international weapons experts into the country in hopes of refuting claims that it is building a nuclear weapon. That eased concerns about possible military action in the region.

Still, Europe plans to embargo Iranian oil this summer to pressure Iran about its nuclear program. If that happens, Iran says it could retaliate by blocking passage through the Persian Gulf, where tankers carry one-sixth of the world's oil exports.

The U.S. is ready to implement sanctions on Iran's central bank that will make it harder for Iran to sell oil. India has however, joined China in saying it will not cut back on crude imports from Iran.

In other energy trading, heating oil rose 2 cents to $3.06 per gallon and gasoline futures were down 0.5 cents to $2.87 per gallon. Natural gas fell 6 cents to $2.65 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120131/ap_on_re_as/oil_prices

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FDA approves Roche skin cancer drug (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? U.S. health regulators on Monday approved Roche's pill to treat an advanced form of the most common form of skin cancer, known as basal cell carcinoma.

The drug, Erivedge, which was co-developed by Curis Inc, was given a green light by the Food and Drug Administration more than a month ahead of the expected March 8 decision date. It was approved for use by adults whose cancer cannot be treated with surgery or radiation or whose disease has spread to other parts of the body or returned following surgery.

Erivedge, known chemically as vismodegib, is the first drug to gain FDA approval for advanced basal cell carcinoma. Curis, which earned a $10 million milestone payment as a result of the approval, is entitled to royalty payments on sales of the drug.

"Today's approval provides a new treatment for people with advanced basal cell carcinoma who, until now, had no approved medicines to help shrink disfiguring or potentially life-threatening lesions," Hal Barron, Roche chief medical officer, said in a statement.

The drug, which is taken once a day, is expected to cost about $7,500 a month, with an estimated 10-month course of treatment totaling about $75,000, Curis said in a regulatory filing.

Roche is awaiting an approval decision on the drug in Europe.

Basal cell carcinoma is generally a slow-growing and painless form of skin cancer that starts in the top layer of the skin and develops on areas that are regularly exposed to sunlight or other ultraviolet radiation.

Erivedge works by inhibiting a signaling pathway that is active in most basal cell cancers and only in a few normal tissues, such as hair follicles.

The drug was approved with a warning alerting patients and health-care professionals of the potential risk of death or severe birth effects to a fetus. Pregnancy status must be verified prior to the start of Erivedge treatment, the FDA said.

Curis shares were down 16 cents, or 3 percent, at $5.02 on Nasdaq. Roche shares closed off 1.2 percent in Switzerland.

(Reporting by Bill Berkrot; editing by Mark Porter and Gunna Dickson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/diseases/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/hl_nm/us_roche_approval

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NEC will cut 10,000 jobs after forecasting $1.3 billion annual loss, mostly in mobile phone biz

After releasing a revised financial forecast for FY 2011 that predicts an annual $1.3 billion loss, its third in the last four years, NEC announced it will cut around 10,000 jobs. Bloomberg Businessweek reports President Nobuhiro Endo announced the cuts, revealing most of the cuts will come from the company's mobile-phone handset business, with 7,000 of them expected to be in Japan. The company reportedly had 115,840 employees as of March so there should be a few folks left around to keep the lights on and maintain ventures like its new JV with NTT Docomo, Panasonic, Samsung and Fujitsu, the NEC Lenovo PC alliance, and its recently announced work on the Hayabusa 2 asteroid explorer. Still, we'll have to wait and see how the cuts affect upcoming cellphones, like any potential successors to its super-slim MEDIAS N-04C seen above.

Continue reading NEC will cut 10,000 jobs after forecasting $1.3 billion annual loss, mostly in mobile phone biz

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Romney credits change in tactics for Florida surge (AP)

POMPANO BEACH, Fla. ? Mitt Romney said Monday he has overcome his South Carolina setback and returned to the Republican primary forefront by aggressively returning Newt Gingrich's fire and by presenting himself as a Washington outsider. Gingrich said Romney is "pretending he's somebody he's not."

Romney said that in the days leading up to the South Carolina's Jan. 21 primary, he was getting beaten up rhetorically by the former House speaker on a variety of fronts and says he didn't fight back very well. Now, Romney said, he has "pushed back" more effectively. He said he feels Florida's voters are responding to his charges that Gingrich benefited from his business relationship with the mortgage giant Freddie Mac at a time when the housing market in the state was taking a dive.

For his part, Gingrich argued that the former Massachusetts governor has bought "an amazing amount of ads" to leverage himself into better position for Florida's primary Tuesday, but said it won't work. "I think he's going to find this a long campaign," the former speaker said of his rival.

Gingrich said that on the big, philosophical issues, Romney "is for all practical purposes a liberal, I am a conservative."

"It's closing here in Florida," Gingrich said, "and I think the next 24 hours in going to make a big difference."

Romney said he believes he has reinvigorated his campaign through a combination of changes in his message and a change in campaign tactics. He said that Gingrich's charges that Romney is the establishment candidate aren't working.

"It's not selling here in Florida. ... He was able to get away with it in South Carolina. If there's anybody that's a Washington insider, it's Newt Gingrich."

A day before voting begins in Florida's Republican primary, Romney is running ahead of Gingrich in polls. Romney earned positive reviews during two debates and has put the former House speaker on the defensive over ethics and Freddie Mac.

"It's only when he can mass money to focus on carpet-bombing with negative ads that he gains any traction at all," Gingrich is complaining.

But instead of stepping back and refocusing on President Barack Obama ? as he did in Iowa when it became clear that Gingrich had lost ? Romney is ratcheting up his rhetoric and continuing his attacks until the very end. He hopes to close the Florida campaign strongly to push Gingrich as far back as possible.

Gingrich said Monday he was closing the gap between him and Romney in Florida. He said the Republican Party needed a "clear conservative" to run against Obama in the fall, and that there was very little difference between Obama and Romney when it came to their policies and politics, such as health care.

"Mitt Romney will have a very, very hard time trying to differentiate himself," Gingrich said.

"His record is one of failed leadership," Romney had said of Gingrich at a rally in Sunday night in Pompano Beach, in South Florida. And Romney challenged Gingrich to "look in the mirror" to figure out why the former House speaker has fallen back in Florida.

"His record is one of failed leadership. We don't need someone who can speak well perhaps or can say things we agree with, but does not have the experience of being an effective leader," he said.

Aides say Romney's attacks are partially a response to increasingly angry rhetoric from Gingrich, who on Sunday called the former Massachusetts governor "somebody who is a pro-abortion, pro-gun-control, pro-tax-increase liberal." Gingrich also accused Romney of lying. "I don't know how you debate a person with civility if they're prepared to say things that are just plain factually false," Gingrich said.

Romney's campaign on Sunday fired back immediately, starting with the candidate and continuing with statements from top surrogates who cast Gingrich's assault as an unfair attack on Romney's character.

"Mitt Romney is man of impeccable character," said New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. "It offends me that Newt Gingrich would attack the character of Mitt Romney."

Former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty called the attacks "over the line."

Romney's supporters particularly defended his anti-abortion credentials following Gingrich's attack. Gingrich allies are also running radio ads attacking Romney's record on the issue.

Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi called Romney a "champion for pro-life values" as she introduced him at the rally. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen offered a similar defense during an earlier rally with the Cuban American community in Hialeah.

In what has become a wildly unpredictable race, the momentum has swung back to Romney, who just last weekend was staggered by Gingrich's victory in South Carolina. Romney has begun advertising in Nevada ahead of that state's caucuses next Saturday, illustrating the challenges ahead for Gingrich, who has pledged to push ahead no matter what happens in Florida.

An NBC News/Marist poll published Sunday showed Romney with support from 42 percent of likely Florida primary voters, compared with 27 percent for Gingrich.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum, trailing in Florida by a wide margin, skipped campaigning to be with his 3-year-old daughter, Bella, who was hospitalized. He planned to campaign in Missouri and Minnesota early this week.

Texas Rep. Ron Paul, who has invested little in Florida, looked ahead to Nevada. The libertarian-leaning Paul is focusing more on gathering delegates in caucus states, where it's less expensive to campaign. But securing the nomination only through caucus states is a hard task.

Romney has three events scheduled across the state Monday. He planned events in Jacksonville and the Tampa area. Gingrich has five planned events.

Romney appeared Monday morning on NBC's "Today" show and on Fox News Channel. Gingrich was interviewed on "CBS This Morning" and ABC's "Good Morning America."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_el_pr/us_gop_campaign

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Pentagon prepares for new military talks with Iraq

FILE - In this March 16, 2011 file photo, Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Obama administration is preparing to begin talks with Iraq on defining a long-term defense relationship that may include expanded U.S. training help, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta?s chief policy aide. Flournoy, who is leaving her Pentagon post to return to private life, said in an interview with a small group of reporters that the administration is open to Iraqi suggestions about the scope and depth of defense ties. "One of the things we?re looking forward to doing is sitting down with the Iraqis in the coming month or two to start thinking about how they want to work with" the U.S. military to develop a program of exercises, training and other forms of security cooperation, Flournoy said. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

FILE - In this March 16, 2011 file photo, Defense Undersecretary Michele Flournoy testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington. The Obama administration is preparing to begin talks with Iraq on defining a long-term defense relationship that may include expanded U.S. training help, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta?s chief policy aide. Flournoy, who is leaving her Pentagon post to return to private life, said in an interview with a small group of reporters that the administration is open to Iraqi suggestions about the scope and depth of defense ties. "One of the things we?re looking forward to doing is sitting down with the Iraqis in the coming month or two to start thinking about how they want to work with" the U.S. military to develop a program of exercises, training and other forms of security cooperation, Flournoy said. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration is preparing to begin talks with Iraq on defining a long-term defense relationship that may include expanded U.S. training help, according to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta's chief policy aide.

Michele Flournoy, who is leaving her Pentagon post on Friday to return to private life, said in an interview with a small group of reporters that the administration is open to Iraqi suggestions about the scope and depth of defense ties.

"One of the things we're looking forward to doing is sitting down with the Iraqis in the coming month or two to start thinking about how they want to work with" the U.S. military to develop a program of exercises, training and other forms of security cooperation, Flournoy said.

The U.S. military completed its withdrawal from Iraq in December after nearly nine years of war. Both sides had considered keeping at least several thousand U.S. troops there to provide comprehensive field training for Iraqi security forces, but they failed to strike a deal before the expiration of a 2008 agreement that required all American troops to leave.

As a result, training is limited to a group of American service members and contractors in Baghdad who will help Iraqis learn to operate newly acquired weapons systems. They are part of the Office of Security Cooperation, based in the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad and headed by Army Lt. Gen. Robert Caslen.

Additional and more comprehensive training is a major issue because Iraq's army and police are mainly equipped and trained to counter an internal insurgency, rather than deter and defend against external threats. Iraq, for example, currently cannot defend its own air sovereignty. It is buying ? but has not yet received ? U.S.-made F-16 fighter jets.

In a new report on conditions in Iraq, a U.S. government watchdog agency said the Iraqi army is giving so much attention to fighting the insurgents that it has had too little time to train for conventional combat.

"The Iraqi army, while capable of conducting counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations, possesses limited ability to defend the nation against foreign threats," said the report submitted to Congress Monday by the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction, Stuart W. Bowen, Jr.

In an introductory note, Bowen wrote that while Iraq's young democracy is buoyed by increasing oil production, it "remains imperiled by roiling ethno-sectarian tensions and their consequent security threats."

Iraq has seen an upswing in violence since the last U.S. troop left, but senior U.S. officials have remained in touch in hopes of nudging the Iraqis toward a political accommodation that can avert a slide into civil war.

Vice President Joe Biden spoke by phone on Saturday with Osama Nujaifi, speaker of the Council of Representatives. And Biden spoke on Friday with a key opposition figure, Ayad Allawi, a former interim prime minister and a secular Shiite leader of the Iraqiya political bloc. Allawi has said Iraq needs to replace its prime minister, Nouri al-Maliki, or hold new elections to prevent the country from fracturing along sectarian lines.

In a positive sign, Iraq's Sunni leaders announced on Sunday that they will end their boycott of parliament. That may have paved the way for the political leadership to hold a national conference led by President Jalal Talabani to seek reconciliation and to end a sectarian political crisis.

George Little, the Pentagon press secretary, said Sunday that Panetta remains optimistic about the outlook in Iraq despite worsening violence.

"The secretary believes that the Iraqi people have a genuine opportunity to create a future of greater security for themselves, and that senseless acts of violence will not deter them from pursuing that goal," Little said. "The United States remains committed to a strong security relationship with Iraq."

U.S. officials have said they aim to establish broad defense ties to Iraq, similar to American relationships with other nations in the Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Oman and Bahrain.

Flournoy, 51, is stepping down from her position as undersecretary of defense for policy on Friday after three years in the job. She is the first woman to hold that post. Her chief deputy, Jim Miller, has been picked to succeed her.

In the interview last week, Flournoy reiterated that she is leaving government to focus more on her family. She and her husband, W. Scott Gould, have three children aged 14, 12 and nine.

She came to the Pentagon in February 2009 from the Center for a New American Security, where she was the think tank's first president. She had served in the Pentagon in the 1990s as a strategist.

Flournoy said in an Associated Press interview in December when she announced her decision to quit that she intends to play an informal role this year in supporting President Barack Obama's re-election effort. She was a member of his transition team after the November 2008 election.

___

Robert Burns can be reached on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/robertburnsAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-30-US-Iraq/id-d8b8bacb808240c995737b5b76d6023a

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Worn-out machines as leading indicator (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Delivery trucks wear out, computers break down, software becomes outdated -- and finally businesses have to start investing in new equipment. Companies that want to remain competitive have to start spending again as an economy slowly recovers.

Four years after the downturn began, the replacement cycle shows signs of kicking into a higher gear in the United States even among small businesses, and it could give an unexpected boost to growth and employment this year.

That assumes no further shocks to the world economy caused by the euro zone debt crisis.

Greece and its bankers have yet to agree on chopping the country's debt load to 120 percent of gross domestic product by 2020, something the International Monetary Fund is demanding in return for the bailout money Greece needs to avoid a default in March.

But capital spending alone is insufficient to drive a U.S. recovery that will be strong enough to quickly lift employment as consumer demand is still limited by heavy debt loads.

In the United States, large corporations have already dug into huge cash piles to upgrade plant and equipment, adding incrementally to an economy that grew by 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter.

Now small businesses, which drive about half of U.S. economic growth and a big chunk of job creation, are increasing their spending on equipment, too, an important precursor to stronger hiring.

But the U.S. jobs report for January, due on Friday, is unlikely to show marked improvement in the labor market after strong gains in December.

Economists surveyed by Reuters forecast 150,000 new jobs in January against 200,000 the prior month. Some investment banks also warn the 8.5 percent unemployment rate could tick up as signs of a gradual firming of the economy encourages more people to return to the labor force.

Ian Shepherdson, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, said small businesses could start hiring more aggressively as the year progresses.

In the last economic cycle, they contributed about two-thirds of the jobs growth, and when they hang out the "help wanted" signs, they can be a powerful source of employment.

"Dollar for dollar in GDP terms, they generate two jobs for every one generated by a large corporation," Shepherdson said.

For the early signs of this small business revival, Shepherdson points to two factors: access to credit has improved markedly as shown by a surge in banks' commercial and industrial lending, and an index of capital expenditure intentions, as measured by the National Federation of Independent Business, is climbing.

The NFIB in December reported that capital outlays had increased for three straight months, the first solid improvement in three years. Owners planning capital investments in the next three to six months also rose to a 40-month high.

NFIB policy analyst Holly Wade said anecdotally she hears of more businesspeople talking of increasing their budgets.

"They have stretched out their machinery and equipment and would have normally invested in replacement, but they were waiting as long as possible. Now they are starting to see better sales and earnings, and they are more comfortable investing some of those dollars in capex," she said.

"In the next three to six months, it wouldn't be surprising to see the same rate of growth in capital outlays we have seen recently," she said.

A similar pattern is evident in the Philadelphia Federal Reserve Bank's Business Outlook Survey. In January the index for capital expenditure plans for the next six months more than doubled to a reading of 22.9 from 10.8. And the U.S. Commerce Department's durable goods report for December showed capital goods orders outside of defense and aircraft rose by 2.9 percent.

Industrial conglomerate Honeywell International IncN> is one of the big companies expanding, although overall corporations give a mixed outlook for their plans.

"We're looking to spend $100 to $150 million more in capital on a year over year basis. Some that is going into facility upgrades, some of that is going into technology centers," Honeywell's chief financial officer, Dave Anderson, said with the release of the company's earnings last week.

"Don't look for it to be a driving force for recovery, but capital spending will continue to be a supportive factor," said Ellen Zentner, economist at Nomura Securities.

U.S. car and truck sales, due on Wednesday, are getting a boost from businesses replacing worn out models. They are seen holding at the 13.5 million annual rate in January.

The Institute of Supply Management, an industry group, will also release its U.S. manufacturing index on Wednesday; it is seen rising to 54.5 in January from 53.9.

(Reporting By Stella Dawson; additional reporting by Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/bs_nm/us_global_economy_weekahead

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Can NATO force weather France's faster exit? (AP)

KABUL, Afghanistan ? France's call for a speedier NATO exit from Afghanistan reflects the depth of war fatigue in the West and raises fears that other countries in the U.S.-led coalition will succumb to rising political pressure and pull their troops home early.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy's decision to fast-track its withdrawal ? just days after an Afghan soldier gunned down four French troops ? is the latest crack in a coalition already strained by economic troubles in Europe and the United States, the Afghan government's sluggish battle against corruption, on-again off-again cooperation from neighboring Pakistan and a dogged Taliban bloodied but not beaten.

The international coalition is already rushing against the clock to meet President Hamid Karzai's goal of having the Afghan police and army in charge of the nation's security by the end of 2014. France's break with that timetable, which was agreed to by NATO members, now raises the question: Can the coalition stay together until then?

Resetting the date to end the coalition's combat mission could strengthen arguments for President Barack Obama to accelerate U.S. troop withdrawals beyond the 33,000 he's sending home by the end of this year, and reopen a debate over whether setting a withdrawal deadline allows the Taliban to seize more territory once foreign forces are gone.

It's unclear whether Sarkozy's call for all foreign forces to hand security over to the Afghan forces in 2013 will have any traction when it is presented next week at a NATO defense ministers' meeting in Brussels. If other nations see France's move as a green light to speed up their withdrawals, it will complicate the current strategy for a coordinated pullout.

In a gentle rebuke to France, British Prime Minister David Cameron said in London on Saturday that withdrawals should be dependent on security conditions on the ground. Britain has said it's keeping to plans to withdraw its 9,500 troops from Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

"The rate at which we can reduce our troops will depend on the transition to Afghan control in the different parts of Afghanistan, and that should be the same for all of the members of NATO," Cameron said after meeting with Karzai.

Other nations facing extreme economic problems, such as Italy and Spain, are not planning early withdrawals.

"We are a responsible country. We are a big country that honors its commitments that it agrees to make," said Minister Giampaolo Di Paola, defense minister in Italy, which this week signed a pact aimed at supporting Afghanistan after foreign forces withdraw in 2014.

Germany also said it agrees with the goal to hand over security responsibility by the end of 2014 and withdraw combat troops.

Sarkozy said France will speed up its withdrawal and pull 1,000 ? up from 600 ? out this year and bring all combat forces home at the end of 2013. Sarkozy also said France would hand over authority in the province of Kapisa, where the French troops were killed this month, by the end of March.

France, which now has about 3,600 soldiers in the coalition force, joins the U.S., Britain, Germany and Italy in the top five largest troop-contributing nations.

Talk of an accelerated exit alarmed many Afghans, especially those who have cast their lot with the U.S.-backed government but have little confidence in their country's own security forces. Some said France was reneging on its promises.

Afghan lawmaker Tahira Mujadedi, who represents Kapisa, said Afghan forces there aren't ready to go it alone in fighting the Taliban insurgency, which is especially strong in several of the province's districts. She warned that if NATO forces do pull back from Kapisa, it could also destabilize nearby Kabul. Foreign forces should consider staying even longer than 2014, she said.

"When military forces are present in a war zone, anything can happen," said Mujadedi, who expressed sadness about the French troops who were killed.

But she added: "They are not here for a holiday."

Former Afghan interior minister and military analyst Abdul Hadi Khalid said Sarkozy's decision was clearly political. Sarkozy's rival in spring presidential elections in France, Socialist candidate Francois Hollande, has pledged to pull French troops out of the war if he is elected in May.

"Why is he raising this now?" Khalid asked. "He is trying to get political benefit out of it."

So far, Karzai has reacted cautiously to the idea of a 2013 handover. He can ill afford to anger major coalition partners, yet he wants to be seen as the leader of a country capable of security itself.

"We hope to finish the transition ... by the end of 2013 at the earliest ? or by the latest as has been agreed upon ? by the end of 2014," Karzai said.

NATO spokeswoman Oana Lungescu underscored the coalition's solidarity, saying that all nations agreed at a Lisbon summit in 2010 to complete the transition to Afghan-led security by the end of 2014.

"Transition is well on track to be completed by the end of 2014, as we all agreed," she said. She said NATO nations would "take stock, shape the next stage of transition" at its summit in Chicago in May.

In Chicago, NATO members will discuss another contentious issue: Who will pay the salaries of the more than 300,000 Afghan policemen and soldiers after 2014. Estimates range from $5 billion to $6 billion a year.

Thomas Risse, a political scientist at Berlin's Free University, said the problem of securing commitments to finance the Afghan security forces comes as a general fatigue with foreign interventions grips Europe and the United States.

"The public mood in most NATO countries is that they want their boys back as soon as possible and they don't care much about Afghanistan either way," Risse said. "The political elites have undertaken to keep up the military commitments, but I'm not sure they will be able to sustain those promises in the face of such a strong public mood."

"As far as the money (for the post-2014 period) is concerned, I don't think there is any mood in Germany to throw money after the Karzai regime," he added.

Stories of Afghan security forces killing their foreign partners make it that much harder to sell the war in cash-strapped countries.

The deadly shooting of the four French soldiers on Jan. 20 was the second against French forces in a month; two members of the French Foreign Legion were killed by an Afghan soldier on Dec. 29. On Thursday, an Afghan man wielding a knife tried to attack foreign troops in southern Afghanistan before being arrested. The Taliban said the man was upset about a video that purportedly shows U.S. Marines urinating on Afghan corpses.

The promise to pull out by 2014 has appeased immediate public demand, said Malcolm Chalmers, a professor of defense at Kings College in London.

"But as the (economic crisis) continues to deepen and these types of incidents continue to occur, it's very possible that there will be renewed public pressure to accelerate the pace of withdrawal," he said. "My expectation is that there will be a steady and substantial withdrawal starting this year."

Asked if France's break with the coalition could spark a wider split, Kate Clark, senior analyst with the Afghanistan Analysts Network, said it could be troublesome for countries deploying troops to Afghanistan. While the U.S. contributes the bulk of troops, any cracks in the coalition could dampen morale of all foreign forces on the battlefield, she said.

"The foreign troops have been here for 10 years. That's a long time," she said. "There's a certain war-weariness among the voters of a great many of those countries."

Then again, she pointed out that the Netherlands and Canada have drawn down their forces in recent years and the coalition has not crumbled.

___

Lekic reported from Brussels. Associated Press writers Rahim Faiez and Kay Johnson contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_re_as/as_afghanistan

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Iran says oil could reach $120 to $150 per barrel

An Iranian demonstrator holds a poster to support Iran's nuclear activities as he waits for arrival of delegates of International Atomic Energy Organization, IAEA, who were not appeared in public, at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons. The delegation includes two senior weapons experts, Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa, suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An Iranian demonstrator holds a poster to support Iran's nuclear activities as he waits for arrival of delegates of International Atomic Energy Organization, IAEA, who were not appeared in public, at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons. The delegation includes two senior weapons experts, Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa, suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An Iranian protester holds an anti-Israel poster for condemning activities of International Atomic Energy Organization, IAEA, at the Imam Khomeini airport, waiting for arrival of the agency's delegates, who were not appeared in public, on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons. The U.N. nuclear agency delegation includes two senior weapons experts, Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa, suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? The head of Iran's state oil company said Sunday that the price of crude will reach $120 to $150 per barrel, as officials in Tehran prepare to discuss a ban on crude sales to European Union countries in retaliation for an EU embargo.

Head of the National Iranian Oil Company Ahmad Qalehbani also said that Tehran would expand its capacity to refine crude domestically, instead of selling it on international markets.

The EU announced an embargo on Iranian oil last week to pressure Tehran on its controversial nuclear program.

The embargo is set to go into effect in the summer, but Iran says that it may cut the flow of crude to Europe early.

Iran says the EU accounts for only 18 percent of its output and that it can find new customers. It says the embargo will hurt the West more than Iran, in part by causing a spike in prices.

"It seems we will witness prices from $120 to $150 in the future," Qalehbani was quoted as saying by IRNA. He did not give a time frame for the prediction, nor any other details.

The price of benchmark U.S. crude on Friday was around $99.56 per barrel.

Qalehbani also said that Iran could find other customers for its crude in the short term, while in the longer term expanding its refining capacity to turn the crude into other petroleum products.

"The sale of some 18 percent of Iranian oil, to a market other than the EU, is quite possible. But our long term idea is to increase refining capacities to produce valuable products," he said.

Qalehbani's statement came as Iranian oil officials prepare to debate a ban on crude sales to European Union countries.

Many Iranian lawmakers and officials have called for an immediate ban on oil exports to the European bloc before the EU's ban fully goes into effect in July. They say this will hurt Europe before it can find alternative suppliers.

It also coincided with a visit by a U.N. nuclear team expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

The United States and its allies argue that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons technology, while Tehran says the program is for purely peaceful purposes.

With some 3.5 million barrels of crude production, Iran is the second largest OPEC producer.

Some 80 percent of the country's foreign revenue comes from exporting around 2.2 million barrels of oil per day.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-29-ML-Iran-Oil/id-c0486e57c2fc4254b9e60a985a3660b4

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ABC picks up 3 comedy pilots (omg!)

LOS ANGELES, Jan 27 (TheWrap.com) - ABC beefed up its comedy stockpile Friday with orders for three pilots. "How to Live With Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life," created by Claudia Lonow ("Friends With Benefits," "Accidentally on Purpose" and, more recently, the troubled cross-dressing sitcom "Work It"), will follow the adventures of recent divorcee and single mother Polly, who moves in with her eccentric parents, Elaine and Max, who are full of life but know no boundaries. Lonow is also executive-producing the half-hour, single-camera project, which comes via 20th Century Fox and Imagine Television. Brian Grazer and Francie Calfo are also attached as executive producers.

The network has also given the go-ahead to a pilot by Adam Sztykiel, writer of the big-screen offerings "Due Date" and "Made of Honor." The as-yet-untitled project promises to offer a "raw, hilarious peek behind the curtain of modern 20-something relationships." Sztykiel created and will co-executive produce the project through 20th Century Fox Television. Sean Perrone and Aaron Kaplan ("Made of Honor," "You, Me and Dupree") are executive-producing the half-hour, single-camera comedy.

Rounding out the trio is "Only Fools and Horses," which is based on the British series of the same name and "chronicles the misadventures of two streetwise brothers and their aging grandfather as they concoct outrageous, morally questionable get rich quick schemes in their quest to become millionaires."

Steven Cragg and Brian Bradley, both veterans of "MADtv," are writing the half-hour, multi-camera project, which comes via ABC Studios.

(Editing By Zorianna Kit)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/omg_rss/rss_omg_en/news_abc_picks3_comedy_pilots_042055500/44334732/*http%3A//omg.yahoo.com/news/abc-picks-3-comedy-pilots-042055500.html

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Finance chiefs reassure CEOs over European crisis

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin, left, speaks with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble, right, during a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. The meeting lasts until Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin, left, speaks with his German counterpart Wolfgang Schaeuble, right, during a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the World Economic Forum, WEF, in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. The meeting lasts until Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Keystone, Jean-Christophe Bott)

US Secretary of Treasure Timothy F. Geithner talks about US Economy during a plenary session at the 42nd annual meeting of the WEF in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. The meeting lasts until Jan. 29. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus)

President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Draghi said that new, tougher rules restricting government budget deficits are the prerequisite before the troubled eurozone can move toward more central control of finances. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi pauses as he speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Draghi said that new, tougher rules restricting government budget deficits are the prerequisite before the troubled eurozone can move toward more central control of finances. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi pauses as he speaks during a session at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Friday, Jan. 27, 2012. Draghi said that new, tougher rules restricting government budget deficits are the prerequisite before the troubled eurozone can move toward more central control of finances. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) ? Leading finance chiefs sought to reassure anxious global business leaders on Friday that Europe is on track to solve its crippling debt crisis before it drags the world's economies down. Europe's top banker said investors, burned after trusting the region's governments too much, now trust them too little.

The finance chiefs said the picture in Europe has changed over the past two months as the European Central Bank has loaned billions of euros to fragile banks, indebted countries have pushed through convincing reforms and EU leaders have come near to building a closer fiscal union that would make their common currency stronger.

Several also signaled Friday that Greece is close to clinching a crucial debt-reduction deal with private bondholders ? a key element in Europe's efforts to stem a two-year debt crisis that is causing ripples around the globe. The crisis is a central topic at the World Economic Forum, a gathering of government and business leaders at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.

"They're making progress on reforms, they're changing the institutions of Europe to put better discipline on fiscal policy," said U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. "You have three new governments doing some very tough things. You have an ECB doing what central banks have to do. You see them move to try to strengthen the financial sector."

Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, said a combination of actions ? including super-cheap, long-term loans to shaky banks on the continent and a couple of interest rate cuts ? have helped Europe avoid deeper financial trouble.

"We have avoided a major credit crunch, a major lending crisis," he said.

Draghi said borrowing rates would remain high "for quite a while" because bond markets are overestimating the risk involved in holding European government debt after years of underestimating it. But he called market pressure "the most potent engine for reform in different governments."

Geithner said the fate of the U.S. economy ? and by extension of the rest of the world ? hinges on Europe's debt crisis, along with potential tensions with Iran. He said the main piece of unfinished business for Europe is building a bigger fund to help troubled economies survive.

But while French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said that fund needs to be increased to calm markets, his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, indicated that his government is not prepared to do so. Germany, as Europe's biggest economy, would face the biggest bill.

"We must not give the wrong incentives," Schaeuble said. "You can make any figure. It will not work if the real problems will not be solved."

Both, together with Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos Jurado and European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, agreed that the idea of issuing "eurobonds" backed jointly by all eurozone governments is a nonstarter for now. They didn't rule out the possibility that such bonds could be introduced once confidence in Europe's public finances is restored, with Guindos calling that a "final target."

Schaeuble said eurobonds would provide bad incentives by allowing debt-ridden countries to "spend money you don't have on the bill of others."

Many economists have said eurobonds are needed to solve the crisis as they could reduce the borrowing costs of heavily indebted countries by pooling them with bonds of stronger economies like Germany's.

Professor Nouriel Roubini, the renowned economist who predicted the financial crash of 2008, is one who thinks that eurobonds have to form part of a eurozone strategy to fend off the possibility of a breakup.

The eurozone "could be a slow-motion train wreck," Roubini said.

Europe has been grappling with the crisis ever since Greece conceded at the end of 2009 that its public finances were in far worse shape than previously thought. Greece remains at the epicenter of the crisis over two years later. Its borrowing costs remain too high for it to borrow in the markets so a second European-led bailout is in the offing.

The finance chiefs signaled Friday that a deal is at hand that could help ease some of the near-term tensions.

Greece has been negotiating with the a group representing banks and other lenders in the hopes that they will forgive half of Greece's debt in exchange for Greek assurances that it will pay back the other half without defaulting on its loans. The deal would also let Greece repay over a longer period at a lower interest rate ? negotiators have been trying to agree on what that rate will be.

Schaeuble said he is "quite optimistic" about a deal, while Rehn said he hopes a deal can be reached "if not today, maybe by the weekend."

Agreement between Greece and its creditors is needed before Europe and the International Monetary Fund agree to a second multibillion-euro bailout package.

At the heart of the problem is that the 17 countries that use the euro use a single currency but have different fiscal policies. That changes the nature of their debt, said Adair Turner, chairman of Britain's banking regulator the Financial Services Authority.

"That debt is more equivalent to the State of California debt than the U.S. federal debt," he said.

That's why all but one of the 27 EU countries ? the United Kingdom has refused to participate ? are discussing a closer fiscal union. On Monday, leaders meet in Brussels to work out the details of that new compact.

Schaeuble and Baroin noted that even the agreement in principle to forge closer ties has calmed markets since a December summit, as borrowing rates have dropped and stock markets have risen.

"It's amazing," Draghi said. "If you compare today with even five months ago, the euro area is another world."

The crisis threatens more than Europe: the U.N.'s refugee chief warned Friday that it is fueling conflicts around the world. Antonio Guterres told The Associated Press that rising food prices and growing unemployment are hitting those already at the bottom hardest, sparking conflict in places like South Sudan and exacerbating hotspots including Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.

_____

Frank Jordans and Edith Lederer in Davos and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this story.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-27-EU-Davos-Forum/id-330211d176f14538b31f604ba42cee04

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Wall Street Week Ahead: Quest for the golden cross (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.

The new year lured buyers into growth-related sectors, the ones that were more beaten down last year. The economy is getting better, but not dramatically. Earnings are beating expectations, but at a lower rate than in recent quarters. Nothing too bad is coming out of Europe's debt crisis - and nothing good, either - at least not yet.

"No one item is a major positive, but collectively, it's been enough to tilt it towards net buying," said John Schlitz, chief market technician at Instinet in New York.

Still, relatively weak volume and a six-month high hit this week make some doubt that the gains are sustainable.

But then there's the golden cross.

Many market skeptics take notice when this technical indicator, a holy grail of sorts for many technicians, shows up on the horizon.

As early as Monday, the rising 50-day moving average of the S&P 500 could tick above its rising 200-day moving average. This occurrence - known as a golden cross - means the medium-term momentum is increasingly bullish. You have a good chance of making money in the next six months if you put it to work in large-cap stocks.

In the last 50 years, according to data compiled by Birinyi Associates, a golden cross on the S&P 500 has

augured further gains six months ahead in eight out of 10 times. The average gain has been 6.6 percent.

That means the benchmark is on solid footing to not only hold onto the 14 percent advance over the last nine weeks, but to flirt with 1,400, a level it hasn't hit since mid-2008.

The gains, as expected, would not be in a straight line. But any weakness could be used by long-term investors as buying opportunities.

"The cross is an intermediate bullish event," Schlitz said. "You have to interpret it as constructive, but I caution people to take a bullish stance, if they have a short-term horizon ."

GREECE, U.S. PAYROLLS AND MOMENTUM

Less than halfway into the earnings season and with Greek debt talks over the weekend, payrolls data next week and the S&P 500 near its highest since July, there's plenty of room for something to go wrong. If that happens, the market could easily give back some of its recent advance.

But the benchmark's recent rally and momentum shift allow for a pullback before the technical picture deteriorates.

"We bounced off 1,325, which is resistance. We're testing 1,310, which should be support. We are stuck in that range," said Ken Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities in New York.

"If over the weekend, Greece comes out with another big nothing, then you will see further weakness next week," he said. "A 1 (percent) or 2 percent pullback isn't out of the question or out of line."

On Friday, the S&P 500 (.INX) and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) closed their fourth consecutive week of gains, while the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) dipped and capped three weeks of gains. For the day, the Dow dropped 74.17 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 12,660.46. The S&P 500 fell 2.10 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,316.33. But the Nasdaq gained 11.27 points, or 0.40 percent, to end at 2,816.55.

For the week, the Dow slipped 0.47 percent, while the S&P 500 inched up 0.07 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 1.07 percent.

A DATA-PACKED EARNINGS WEEK

Next week is filled with heavy-hitting data on the housing, manufacturing and employment sectors.

Personal income and consumption on Monday will be followed by the S&P/Case-Shiller home prices index, consumer confidence and the Chicago PMI - all on Tuesday.

Wednesday will bring the Institute for Supply Management index on U.S. manufacturing and the first of three key readings on the labor market - namely, the ADP private-sector employment report. Jobless claims on Thursday will give way on Friday to the U.S. government's non-farm payrolls report. The forecast calls for a net gain of 150,000 jobs in January, according to economists polled by Reuters.

Another hectic earnings week will kick into gear with almost a fifth of the S&P 500 components posting quarterly results. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Amazon (AMZN.O), UPS (UPS.N), Pfizer (PFE.N), Kellogg (K.N) and MasterCard (MA.N) are among the names most likely to grab the headlines.

With almost 200 companies' reports in so far, about 59 percent have beaten earnings expectations - down from about 70 percent in recent quarters.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak and Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/bs_nm/us_usa_stocks_weekahead

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Corruption scandal shakes Vatican as internal letters leaked (Reuters)

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) ? The Vatican was shaken by a corruption scandal Thursday after an Italian television investigation said a former top official had been transferred against his will after complaining about irregularities in awarding contracts.

The show "The Untouchables" on the respected private television network La 7 Wednesday night showed what it said were several letters that Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, who was then deputy-governor of Vatican City, sent to superiors, including Pope Benedict, in 2011 about the corruption.

The Vatican issued a statement Thursday criticizing the "methods" used in the journalistic investigation. But it confirmed that the letters were authentic by expressing "sadness over the publication of reserved documents."

As deputy governor of the Vatican City for two years from 2009 to 2011, Vigano was the number two official in a department responsible for maintaining the tiny city-state's gardens, buildings, streets, museums and other infrastructure.

Vigano, currently the Vatican's ambassador in Washington, said in the letters that when he took the job in 2009 he discovered a web of corruption, nepotism and cronyism linked to the awarding of contracts to outside companies at inflated prices.

In one letter, Vigano tells the pope of a smear campaign against him (Vigano) by other Vatican officials who wanted him transferred because they were upset that he had taken drastic steps to save the Vatican money by cleaning up its procedures.

"Holy Father, my transfer right now would provoke much disorientation and discouragement in those who have believed it was possible to clean up so many situations of corruption and abuse of power that have been rooted in the management of so many departments," Vigano wrote to the pope on March 27, 2011.

In another letter to the pope on April 4, 2011, Vigano says he discovered the management of some Vatican City investments was entrusted to two funds managed by a committee of Italian bankers "who looked after their own interests more than ours."

LOSS OF $2.5 MILLION, 550,000 EURO NATIVITY SCENE

Vigano says in the same letter that in one single financial transaction in December, 2009, "they made us lose two and a half million dollars."

The program interviewed a man it identified as a member of the bankers' committee who said Vigano had developed a reputation as a "ballbreaker" among companies that had contracts with the Vatican, because of his insistence on transparency and competition.

The man's face was blurred on the transmission and his voice was distorted in order to conceal his identity.

In one of the letters to the pope, Vigano said Vatican-employed maintenance workers were demoralized because "work was always given to the same companies at costs at least double compared to those charged outside the Vatican."

For example, when Vigano discovered that the cost of the Vatican's larger than life nativity scene in St Peter's Square was 550,000 euros in 2009, he chopped 200,000 euros off the cost for the next Christmas, the program said.

Even though, Vigano's cost-cutting and transparency campaign helped turned Vatican City's budget from deficit to surplus during his tenure, in 2011 unsigned articles criticizing him as inefficient appeared in the Italian newspaper Il Giornale.

On March 22, 2011, Vatican Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone informed Vigano that he was being removed from his position, even though it was to have lasted until 2014.

Five days later he wrote to Bertone complaining that he was left "dumbfounded" by the ouster and because Bertone's motives for his removal were identical to those published in an anonymous article published against him in Il Giornale that month.

In early April, Vigano went over Bertone's head again and wrote directly to the pope, telling him that he had worked hard to "eliminate corruption, private interests and dysfunction that are widespread in various departments."

He also tells the pope in the same letter that "no-one should be surprised about the press campaign against me" because he tried to root out corruption and had made enemies.

Despite his appeals to the pope that a transfer, even if it meant a promotion, "would be a defeat difficult for me to accept," Vigano was named ambassador to Washington in October of last year after the sudden death of the previous envoy to the United States.

In its statement, the Vatican said the journalistic investigation had treated complicated subjects in a "partial and banal way" and could take steps to defend the "honor of morally upright people" who loyally serve the Church.

The statement said that today's administration was a continuation of the "correct and transparent management that inspired Monsignor Vigano."

(Reporting By Philip Pullella)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120126/wl_nm/us_vatican_corruption

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Recon Instruments partners with Contour, makes MOD Live into ski slope viewfinder

As if capturing your downhill plunge in full HD and tracking your positioning coordinates wasn't enough, Recon Instruments and Contour are teaming up to make their respective, extreme slope accessories work in tandem. Slated for release in the coming weeks, the Camera Connectivity app for MOD Live allows feeds sent from a Contour+ or ContourGPS helmet cam to display on the goggles' 14-inch virtual 428 x 240 display, giving gnar enthusiasts easy access to recording and settings options. But that's not the only cross-tech handshake being announced here. The company also plans to make the various info (altitude, speed, temperature, etc.) collected by its Android-powered mask available to iPhone 4S users, although you'll have to wait until year-end for that feature to launch. So, if you fancy yourself a connoisseur of the powdery white stuff or even the ski slope version of Bond, be sure to pack these Q-approved goodies and download that app before your next trek to Vail. Official PR after the break.

Continue reading Recon Instruments partners with Contour, makes MOD Live into ski slope viewfinder

Recon Instruments partners with Contour, makes MOD Live into ski slope viewfinder originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 09:00:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Woods opens with 70, trails McIlroy, Karlsson by 3 (AP)

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates ? Rory McIlroy opened his season by outplaying Tiger Woods in the first round of the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, shooting a 5-under 67 Thursday for a share of the lead.

Woods shot a 70 in the threesome with McIlroy and top-ranked Luke Donald, who finished with a 71. Robert Karlsson tied for the lead, with Gareth Maybin and Richard Finch one shot back.

Woods played bogey-free golf that produced few momentous shots and two birdies. He missed several birdie chances, including a 6-footer on his ninth, the 18th hole.

"Hit the ball well all day today. It was a good ball-striking round," Woods said. "I had a hard time reading the greens out there. The greens were pretty grainy and I just had a hard time getting a feel for it. Toward the end I hit some pretty good putts, but overall I got fooled a lot on my reads."

McIlroy, the U.S. Open champion who has had three top-five finishes in Abu Dhabi, had three birdies on his first four holes but erratic driving led to two bogeys on the next four. He steadied himself with three birdies on his back nine, including a chip-in on No. 8 from just off the green.

"It's a nice way to start the competitive season, I suppose," McIlroy said. "I didn't feel like I played that good. I definitely didn't strike the ball as good as I have been the last couple of weeks. I think it's just because your first competitive round of the season, card in your hand, you can get a little bit tentative or a little apprehensive."

Woods also struggled with his approaches shots at the National Course at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club, which was playing much tougher than in the past with narrower fairways and thicker rough. That resulted in many 25- and 30-footers that he couldn't sink.

McIlroy calls Woods a friend and was chatting with his playing partner for much of the day. He said he didn't take much satisfaction from beating him in the first round.

"If it was the last day of the tournament and you're both going in there with a chance to win, I would take a lot of pride from that, obviously," said the 22-year-old Northern Irishman.

"But the first day of a tournament is a little different," he said. "You're just going out there and playing and seeing what you can do. But, hopefully, I can get myself into position where I do play with him on a Sunday and see how I get on."

After a seven-week layoff, Woods said he's fitter than he has been in years. He's coming off a dramatic victory at the Chevron World Challenge last month, which ended a two-year title drought.

With the win, Woods moved to 25th in the world after briefly falling outside the top 50 last year. Before the victory, Woods finished third at the Australian Open and delivered the clinching point for the American team in the Presidents Cup.

"It felt the same as it had from Oz to the World Challenge to here," Woods said of his game. "I controlled my ball all day and just had a hard time getting a feel for these greens. They are grainy enough where I just didn't quite read them right, and I hit them good, and then the grain would take it, not take it. It was just difficult."

Sergio Garcia (71) had a hole-in-one on the 12th hole but otherwise struggled.

Second-ranked Lee Westwood (72) and defending champion Martin Kaymer (77) got off to poor starts and never challenged for the lead.

Westwood had four bogeys to go with two birdies on the front nine. Kaymer, who shot 24-under 264 last year to win the tournament for the third time, started with a double-bogey when his drive went out of bounds.

___

Follow Michael Casey on Twitter at https://twitter.com/mcasey1

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_sp_go_su/glf_abu_dhabi_championship

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Peninsula College basketball sweeps Olympic

Peninsula Daily News
PORT ANGELES ? J.T. Terrell banked in a 15-foot fade-away with 13 seconds left, and guard Daniel Sims came up with a steal on the other end to boost the Peninsula College men's basketball team to a 92-89 victory over the Olympic Rangers on Wednesday night.

It was the fourth straight win for the third-ranked Pirates (6-1 in North, 16-2 overall), who are a half game back of No. 1 Bellevue in the NWAACC North Division standings.

Women
Peninsula 77, Olympic 55
Taylor Larson scored a program-record 35 points to lead the Pirates to a blowout victory over the Rangers on Wednesday night.

Last modified: January 26. 2012 12:32AM

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Home Bancorp boosts 4Q profit (AP)

LAFAYETTE, La. ? Home Bancorp Inc., which recently expanded into the New Orleans and Baton Rouge banking markets, sharply increased its fourth-quarter profit.

Lafayette-based Home Bancorp said Thursday that it earned $2.1 million, or 30 cents per share, in the quarter ending Dec. 31. In the fourth quarter of 2010, the company earned $1.5 million, or 20 cents per share.

The company said expenses tied to its acquisition of GS Financial Corp. knocked down fourth-quarter profit by $400,000.

Due to the acquisition, Home Bancorp now has 23 Louisiana banking offices.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_home_bancorp_louisiana

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Attack or retreat? Circuit links hunger and pursuit in sea slug brain

ScienceDaily (Jan. 25, 2012) ? If you were a blind, cannibalistic sea slug, living among others just like you, nearly every encounter with another creature would require a simple cost/benefit calculation: Should I eat that, do nothing or flee?

In a new study, researchers report that these responses are linked to a simple circuit in the brain of the sea slug Pleurobranchaea. A heightened state of excitation in the neurons that control the animal's attack and feeding behavior means it is hungry and will go for nearly anything that smells like food, the researchers found. Lower activity in the same neurons means the animal is satiated and will do nothing, or will turn away from the smell of other creatures, most likely to avoid becoming food.

"The question was, how does this animal, a predatory forager, make a decision?" said Rhanor Gillette, a University of Illinois molecular and integrative physiology professor who conducted the study with graduate student Keiko Hirayama. "And after some work it became clear that they do it pretty much like you and I. They make decisions not so much on the basis of information, per se, but on the basis of how information makes them feel."

Like most animals, sea slugs must integrate their internal state -- how hungry they are -- with information from their senses (Does this thing smell good? Is it bigger than me?) and memory (What happened last time I encountered something like this?), Gillette said.

Sea slugs have a very primitive nervous system, but they quickly figure out what not to eat, he said. For evidence of this, he has a video of an encounter between an inexperienced Pleurobranchaea and another sea slug species, Flabellina iodinea, which produces a noxious chemical in its tissues to ward off predators. Thirty minutes after this encounter, the researchers put the two together again and Pleurobranchaea steered clear of F. iodinea.

"This is an example of one-trial learning," Gillette said. "This is the one trick it's really good at: learning what to eat or not. Pleurobranchaea is evaluating the odor and estimating risk."

Only "an insanely hungry" animal will attack an unpleasant or painful stimulus, such as an electric shock or the learned, unpleasant taste of F. iodinea, Gillette said.

The researchers focused on the sea slug's approach/avoidance behavior when it catches a whiff of another sea creature (in the lab, the researchers use the amino acids glycine and trimethylglycine, "the essence of seafood," Gillette said). A hungry animal turns toward the stimulus; a satiated animal turns away or does nothing. By turning away, it avoids possible attack by another predator, Gillette said. No response "means that the estimated value of the stimulus is not worth the effort of an attack," he said.

Hirayama found that the sea slug's central nervous system (CNS), even when removed from the animal and placed in a dish, responds to a sensory stimulus as it had in the intact animal. If the brain of a hungry animal detects the odor of food, the neurons that control movement will fire as if turning the animal towards the stimulus. The CNS of a satiated animal will "turn away" from the side of the stimulated nerve.

"Then Hirayama found that nervous systems from very hungry animals had higher levels of spontaneous activity than those that were not hungry," Gillette said. The neurons involved in biting or extending the proboscis -- the sea slug's feeding apparatus -- appeared to be ready for action. And if the researcher artificially enhanced activity in the neural circuit that controls feeding, "she could change an avoidance turn to an orienting turn," Gillette said.

Hirayama and Gillette think that they have identified a very simple and general type of circuit for cost/benefit decisions, one that is at the core of the more complicated valuations and decisions that are made by the social, higher vertebrates like ourselves. More research into this circuitry could lead to the development of better digital personal assistants and Internet avatars, Gillette said. These findings also may help those studying various kinds of addictions or other extreme, reward-seeking behaviors.

"What we're talking about is a fundamental economic decision of resource acquisition or avoidance," he said. "This basic type of decision is subverted in substance abuse, in illogical gambling and in badly managed shopping, for example. This is why I think that studying the basis of this type of decision in a very simple animal, where we can work it out, is important."

The National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health supported this research. The study appears in the journal Current Biology.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The original article was written by Diana Yates.

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Journal Reference:

1. Keiko Hirayama, Rhanor Gillette. A Neuronal Network Switch for Approach/Avoidance Toggled by Appetitive State. Current Biology, 2011; DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2011.10.055

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

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

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/9dpGshNVMu8/120125132810.htm

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NM immigrant driver's license debate intensifies

In this Jan. 24, 2012 photo, immigrant advocates use an image of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez on a mock state driver's license during a rally in Santa Fe to protest her proposal to repeal a state law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.?An Associated Press investigation has found that found that a handful of addresses are being used over and over again by immigrants to get licenses in a pattern that suggests potential fraud.?(AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

In this Jan. 24, 2012 photo, immigrant advocates use an image of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez on a mock state driver's license during a rally in Santa Fe to protest her proposal to repeal a state law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.?An Associated Press investigation has found that found that a handful of addresses are being used over and over again by immigrants to get licenses in a pattern that suggests potential fraud.?(AP Photo/Russell Contreras)

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) ? Republican Gov. Susana Martinez and her allies face a tough first test in the Legislature over their proposal to stop New Mexico from granting driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

The House Labor and Human Resources Committee is to consider the governor's proposal Thursday and it's expected to encounter strong opposition at the first hearing on the issue during this year's legislative session.

The panel's five Democrats, who account for a majority of the votes, opposed a similar bill last year that passed the House but failed later in the Senate.

The legislation will prohibit the state from granting licenses to illegal immigrants. However, it continues to allow licenses for foreign nationals in the country legally, such as students with visa.

New Mexico and Washington are the only states that allow illegal immigrants to obtain the same driver's license as a U.S. citizen. Utah grants immigrants a driving permit that can't be used for identification, unlike a driver's license that helps people open bank accounts and make financial transactions or board a commercial airliner.

Martinez contends that New Mexico's license system is subject to widespread fraud. The state has brought charges against several fraud rings, in which brokers were paid to supplement fraudulent documents for foreign nationals from Poland, China, Mexico and other countries.

A review of license data by The Associated Press found that dozens of addresses ? including some for businesses such as a smoke shop ? have been used over and over again by immigrants to get a driver's license. The pattern suggests people are abusing the state's licensing system.

"The governor stands with New Mexicans in saying that this is a dangerous law that threatens public safety in New Mexico, and just as more than a dozen other states have done, it needs to be repealed," Scott Darnell, a spokesman for the governor, said before the hearing.

"Only two states in the country offer a driver's license to illegal immigrants, and this has generated an industry of fraud, trafficking, and organized crime in New Mexico, as people from all throughout the world have come to our state for the purpose of fraudulently obtaining our government-issued ID and leaving the state ? to places, and for purposes, that are unknown."

Supporters of the current policy contend the state doesn't need to repeal its law to deal with potential fraud and they say a driver's license is vital to the immigrant community living and working in New Mexico, some of whom have been here for years and have U.S.-born children.

"It's disingenuous to suggest that fraud will go away if New Mexico repeals the current driver's license law. Fraud exists in many of the states that don't provide driver's licenses to undocumented immigrants," Marcela Diaz, executive director of an immigrant rights group, Somos un Pueblo Unido, said in a recent interview.

Diaz contends fraud is limited to a small portion of immigrant licenses. Democrats in the Senate took a similar position after the AP's report on Wednesday.

"This issue has drawn national attention and it has made one thing very clear: The current law must be strengthened to include provisions that clearly address the flaws. Repealing the law and forcing a fraction of the driving population to go without proper licensing, registration or insurance puts New Mexican families at risk," the Senate Democratic caucus said in a written statement.

The AP identified 170 addresses in New Mexico at which 10 or more licenses have been issued to different foreign nationals from 2003 through August 2011. Those account for 2,662 licenses ? representing nearly 3 percent of the total issued to foreign nationals during that period. The AP limited its analysis to addresses with a high number of licenses to try to get an indication of the extent of possible fraud. Large families or frequent tenant turnover at rental property are among the legitimate reasons why there are addresses with fewer than 10 licenses over a period of time.

Democrats who oppose the governor's proposal are pushing alternatives. The Senate approved a Democratic-backed measure last year that would have increased penalties on license fraud, required fingerprinting of immigrants seeking a license and canceled current licenses of foreign nationals that weren't renewed within two years ? allowing the state to verify whether a foreign national remained a New Mexico resident.

New Mexico changed its law in 2003 to grant driver's licenses to anyone without a Social Security number, which are unavailable to people living illegally in the country. More than 90,000 licenses have been issued to immigrants, and state officials speculate that most of those have gone to illegal immigrants. However, it's impossible to know for certain because license applicants aren't asked about their immigration status.

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Follow Barry Massey on Twitter at http://twitter.com/bmasseyAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-26-Immigrant%20Licenses/id-c4e99c5304ed4db79b88f7a189d302cb

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