You might say the week is never really done in consumer technology news. Your workweek, however, hopefully draws to a close at some point. This is the Weekly Roundup on Engadget, a quick peek back at the top headlines for the past seven days -- all handpicked by the editors here at the site. Click on through the break, and enjoy.
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/Z6m0WTsbYfk/
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Apr. 28, 2013 ? s living in areas near natural gas operations, also known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, are concerned their illnesses may be a result of nearby drilling operations. Twenty-two percent of the participants in a small pilot study surmise that hydrofracking may be the cause of such health concerns as sinus problems, sleeping difficulties, and gastrointestinal problems.
The findings will be presented at the American Occupational Health Conference on April 28 in Orlando, Florida.
Scientists collected responses from 72 adults visiting a primary care physician's office in the hydrofracking-heavy area of Bradford County, Pa., who volunteered to complete an investigator-faciliated survey.
"Almost a quarter of participants consider natural gas operations to be a contributor to their health issues, indicating that there is clearly a concern among residents that should be addressed," says Poun? Saberi, MD, MPH, the study's principal investigator with the department of Occupational and Environmental Medicine at the Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania. She is also an investigator with the Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology (CEET) at Penn.
Within these 22 percent of responders, 13 percent viewed drilling to be the cause of their current health complaints and 9 percent were concerned that future health problems can be caused by natural gas operations. The previous health complaints by participants were thought to be anecdotal in nature as they were individual cases reported publicly only by popular media.
"What is significant about this study is that the prevalence of impressions about medical symptoms attributed to natural gas operations had not been previously solicited in Pennsylvania. This survey indicates that there is a larger group of people with health concerns than originally assumed," explains Saberi.
The survey included questions about 29 health symptoms, including those previously anecdotally reported by other residents and workers in other areas where drilling occurs. Some patient medical records were also reviewed to compare reported symptoms with those that had been previously documented. "Sinus problems, sleeping difficulties, and gastrointestinal problems were the most common symptoms reported on the Bradford survey," notes Saberi. "Of the few studied charts, there were no one-to-one correlations between the participants' reported symptoms on the survey and the presenting symptom to the medical provider in the records. This raises the possibility of communication gaps between residents with concerns and the medical community and needs further exploration. An opportunity exists to educate shale region communities and workers to report, as well as health care providers to document, the attributed symptoms as precisely as possible."
The CEET team also mapped the addresses of patients who agreed to provide them in relation to drilling to determine if proximity to drilling operations may relate to health problems.
"We hope this pilot study will guide the development of future epidemiological studies to determine whether health effects in communities in which natural gas operations are occurring is associated with air, water, and food-shed exposures and will provide a basis for health care provider education," says CEET director Trevor Penning, PhD. "The goal of science should be to protect the public and the environment before harm occurs; not simply to treat it after the damage has been done."
The Bradford County health concerns pilot study is one of three hydrofracking studies currently underway at CEET, one of 20 Environmental Health Sciences Core Centers (EHSCC) in the US, funded by the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS).
CEET is also partnering with Columbia University's EHSCC to measure water quality and billable health outcomes in areas with and without hydrofracking on the Pennsylvania-New York border. Using a new mapping tool developed by Harvard University, CEET and Harvard researchers are creating maps of drilling sites, air quality, water quality, and health effects to locate possible associations. Initial studies will focus on Pennsylvania. Results of both studies are expected in early 2014. These collaborative studies are funded by pilot project funds from the respective EHSCCs, which in turn obtain their financial support from NIEHS.
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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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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.
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VIENNA (Reuters) - German carmaker Volkswagen
Winterkorn had told shareholders in Europe's top carmaker on Thursday to brace for a tough year given faltering European consumer demand that is punishing the sector.
In an interview with Austrian broadcaster ORF aired late on Friday, Winterkorn said VW would not follow the example of other automakers and scale back production in Europe.
"No, we will not withdraw any capacity from Europe but rather preserve capacity in Europe," he said. But he left the door open to trimming temporary staff that the company built up in boom years.
"The regular staff is certainly something we will hold on to. We will have to think about temporary staff," he said.
Volkswagen said last month it planned to almost double production capacity in China over the next five years to grab a bigger slice of fast-growing emerging markets and offset declining demand at home.
Its goal is to snatch the global sales crown from Japan's Toyota Motor Corp in 2018.
(Reporting by Michael Shields)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/volkswagen-committed-european-plants-ceo-084324319.html
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? One of the architects of failed gun control legislation says he's bringing it back.
Sen. Joe Manchin on Sunday said he would re-introduce a measure that would require criminal and mental health background checks for gun buyers at shows and online. The West Virginia Democrat says that if lawmakers read the bill, they will support it.
Manchin sponsored a previous version of the measure with Republican Sen. Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania. It failed.
Manchin says there was confusion over what was in the bill.
In the wake of last year's school shooting in Newtown, Conn., Congress took up gun control legislation, but it was blocked by supporters of the powerful pro-gun lobby, the National Rifle Association.
Manchin appeared on "Fox News Sunday."
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/manchin-gun-bill-reintroduced-170200855.html
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By Scott Malone and Tim McLaughlin
BOSTON (Reuters) - Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been moved to a prison medical center from the hospital where he had been held since his arrest a week ago while recovering from gunshot wounds, U.S. officials said on Friday.
The 19-year-old ethnic Chechen, wounded in a late-night shootout with police on April 18 hours after authorities released pictures of him and his older brother as suspects, was charged on Monday and could face the death penalty if convicted. His brother, Tamerlan Tsarnaev, 26, died in the shootout.
More details emerged on Friday in the Boston Globe newspaper about the brothers' movements in the hours before the shootout.
A man who said he was carjacked at gunpoint in his Mercedes sport-utility vehicle on the night of April 18, described 90 harrowing minutes, first with Dzhokhar following in another car and then with both men in his Mercedes.
The man, identified in a Globe interview only by the nickname "Danny" at his request, said one of his attackers, later identified as Tamerlan Tsarnaev, told him he did the bombing and later killed a university campus policeman.
"I don't want to die," Danny, 26, recalled thinking as the brothers drove him around, making banal small talk, according to the Globe interview. "I have a lot of dreams that haven't come true yet."
New York City officials said on Thursday that Dzhokhar told investigators in the hospital that after the FBI released their pictures, the pair made an impromptu plan to drive to New York and set off more bombs in Times Square. New York has been on heightened alert since the September 11, 2001, attacks.
The brothers' plan to go to New York was foiled when they realized that the Mercedes did not have enough fuel. They stopped at a gas station, and when Dzhokhar went in to pay, Tamerlan put down his gun to fiddle with the car's navigation system, the Globe said.
When Tamerlan dropped his guard, Danny jumped from the car and ran, the Globe reported.
"I was trying to save myself," Danny, 26, who is trained as an engineer, told the newspaper.
He kept the brothers calm by playing up his outsider status, although at first they were puzzled by his Chinese accent, the Globe said. After determining that the victim was Chinese, Tamerlan Tsarnaev identified himself as a Muslim, the newspaper reported.
"Chinese are very friendly to Muslims!" Danny said, according to the Globe. "We are so friendly to Muslims."
Danny was put in touch with the Globe by James Alan Fox, a professor of criminology at Northeastern University in Boston, where the man was a student, Fox told Reuters. Fox writes a blog for the Boston Globe website.
The FBI said on Friday that no other people had been arrested in the investigation. The parents of the brothers have said they believe their sons were not involved in the bombings.
U.S. lawmakers are demanding answers from security officials about what they might have known about the brothers, particularly Tamerlan, before the bombing on April 15 at the marathon finish line that killed three people and injured 264 others.
In 2011, Russia had asked the FBI to question Tamerlan because of concerns that he may have been an Islamic militant. The FBI has said it interviewed him but found no cause to continue investigating.
OVERNIGHT PRISON MOVE
Overnight Thursday, authorities moved Dzhokhar Tsarnaev to Fort Devens, Massachusetts, from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, where some of the victims were also being treated. Devens is about 39 miles west of Boston. The move was announced by the U.S. Marshals Service, which is responsible for defendants in custody.
The prison specializes in inmates who need long-term medical or mental health care, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons website. It currently holds about 1,000 prisoners.
A pair of law enforcement officers were stationed outside the prison, on a highway in a far suburb of Boston, to keep media away from the gates.
Lawmakers on Friday continued their inquiry into whether investigators failed to adequately follow up on earlier leads on Tamerlan Tsarnaev from Russian security.
"Clearly enough was not done in order to monitor the activities here, especially given the fact that it wasn't one heads-up we were given but several," U.S. Representative Ed Royce, a Republican who heads the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told CNN.
On a six-month trip to Russia last year, Tamerlan Tsarnaev attended one of the area's most radical mosques, Royce said.
A trust gap remains between U.S. and Russian intelligence services, former Cold War rivals. U.S. officials said they consider counterterrorism information from Moscow's bitter conflict with Islamic militants in Chechnya and other parts of the volatile north Caucasus especially suspect.
A little more than three years ago top Boston FBI agent Richard DesLauriers, the same man running the bombing investigation, took part in an FBI operation code-named "Ghost Stories" in which 10 people were rounded up because the United States believed they were Russian spies.
Two of those people, Donald Heathfield and Ann Foley, were arrested in Cambridge, Massachusetts, about a mile west of the house the Tsarnaevs lived in. All 10 were handed over to Russia in a carefully choreographed exchange for four Russians who had been jailed for working for western governments.
(Additional reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Grant McCool)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/boston-suspects-had-spontaneous-bomb-plan-york-013726316--sector.html
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MADRID, April 25 (Reuters) - Liverpool goalkeeper Pepe Reina said the 10-match ban given to his team mate Luis Suarez for biting an opponent was 'absurd' and 'excessive'. Uruguay international Suarez was punished on Wednesday by the English Football Association (FA) after he bit the arm of Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic at the weekend. "He knows he is in the wrong, and that it was a mistake, but the 10-game punishment seems absurd to me, excessive and unfair," Spanish international Reina was quoted as telling radio station Cadena Cope by sports daily AS on Thursday. ...
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/microsoft-squeezes-even-more-money-android-signs-licensing-194054218.html
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PHILADELPHIA (AP) ? A judge is defending her decisions in the trial of the first Catholic Church official in the United States to be charged and convicted in the cover-up of the priest abuse scandal.
Philadelphia Common Pleas Judge M. Teresa Sarmina concluded in a recent opinion that Monsignor William Lynn lied to perpetuate a church cover-up of child sexual abuse.
"The defendant learned that his predecessors handled clergy sex abuse in a way that prioritized shielding the church from scandal and ... perpetuated the same system during his tenure," she wrote in the 243-page decision, which summarized much of the trial testimony.
The document responds to trial decisions that Lynn is challenging on appeal. The appeal now goes to the state Superior Court. The Legal Intelligencer first reported Wednesday on the judge's April 12 opinion.
Lynn, the longtime secretary for clergy, was convicted of child endangerment and is serving a three- to six-year prison term.
Defense lawyers argued during and after the three-month trial that the judge unfairly let jurors hear about priest sexual-abuse complaints filed long before Lynn worked at the Philadelphia archdiocese. Lynn served as secretary for clergy from 1992 to 2004, acting, in the judge's words, as the point person for abuse complaints and a "funnel" for information going up the church's chain of command to the archbishop.
The judge said the earlier abuse complaints, some dating to the 1950s, showed how Lynn continued the cover-up begun by his predecessors. And she rejected arguments that they unduly influenced jurors, noting the jurors convicted Lynn on just one of three counts.
"The contents of the Secret Archives (of priest-abuse complaints) illustrated that the defendant's predecessors handled issues of clergy sex abuse consistently with the priorities of the archbishop," she wrote. "... Those who came before the defendant consistently sought to minimize any potential for scandal and to protect the reputation of the church and its clergy."
Lynn's lawyers have argued that the child endangerment charge should not apply to him because he did not supervise any child.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pa-judge-defends-church-aides-trial-conviction-211500942.html
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-- Neal Kimberley is an FX market analyst for Reuters. The opinions expressed are his own --
By Neal Kimberley
LONDON (Reuters)- The Canadian dollar may weaken further against its U.S. counterpart in coming months as Canada's economic fundamentals and prices of its abundant natural resources become less supportive of the currency.
The arguments for Canadian dollar strength no longer resonate so strongly.
Global demand for Canada's natural resources has been a key driver of demand for the Canadian dollar, but with even China's appetite for imported commodities slowing, that pillar of support may be being eroded.
Indeed, the Canadian dollar, which was trading at below parity with the U.S. dollar in mid-January, lost 1.2 percent last week in reaction to weak global commodity prices.
This is particularly evident in the slide in the oil price.
In the first quarter of 2013, Western Canadian Select (WCS) crude oil sold for an average $67.19 a barrel, 12 percent less than the year before.
The benchmark West Texas Intermediate (WTI) sold at an average of $94.35 a barrel.
If that $27 a barrel discount continues, given that WTI traded near $90 a barrel on Wednesday, that implies an oil price for WCS well below the C$75.29 ($73.24) being budgeted for by Saskatchewan, a province of western Canada heavily dependent on resource revenues.
Deeply discounted prices for Canadian heavy crude oil drove Saskatchewan's provincial neighbor Alberta to a sixth successive deficit, Alberta's finance minister said on March 7.
None of this can really be seen as supportive for the Canadian dollar.
More broadly, the Canadian economy is already struggling to cope with weak foreign markets and a strong domestic dollar.
Canada's central bank chopped its 2013 growth forecast to 1.5 percent from 2 percent on April 17.
Yet on April 18, Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney was still warning interest rates could rise sooner if the growth in Canadian household debt, which is related to the housing market, was not tempered.
Low interest rates have fuelled both a housing-market boom in Canada and a surge in household debt.
However data on Friday showed Canadian inflation slowing in March to 1 percent, half the Bank of Canada's 2 percent target.
Perhaps in response to the combination of the benign price data and the fact of the Bank of Canada's pared growth forecasts Carney has changed his tune somewhat, signaling on Tuesday he feels little pressure to raise interest rates any time soon.
The prospect of any tightening of Canadian monetary policy, despite those still near record-high household debt levels, can only have receded.
No doubt Carney would argue that there has been no change in his position, given his view that Canada is seeing "a continuation of what is becoming a positive evolution of household debt and aspects of the housing market," but it is hard not to conclude his tone has softened.
There may be room for the Canadian dollar, trading on Wednesday around $1.0260, to weaken back towards $1.04 per greenback in the next few months, a level not seen since June 2012, if traders conclude the outlook for Canada is not quite as rosy as they had thought.
(Editing by Nigel Stephenson)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/column-canadian-dollar-may-slip-falling-oil-093945418--business.html
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Apple is set to release their Q2 2013 financial results, and conduct their usual conference call, today at 2pm PDT, 5pm EDT. Most times the only news we get out of it is how many more billions Apple made, and what kind of shots Tim Cook took at competitors and analysts asking about TVs for the umpteenth time. Today's narrative will, of course, be focused -- or unfocused -- around Apple is doomed.
Apple wil still earn billions, way more than competitors who enjoy huge market and media support while seldom if even earning a nickel of profit. And there's a good chance they'll be killed for it.
Either way, we'll be back later to sort through all of it, and try to attach some sanity to the narrative. If you want to follow along, you can listen live or catch the recording later via the link below. Meanwhile, leave your predictions in the comments.
Source: Apple Investor Relations
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/1kREYG5L3fw/story01.htm
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New York-based Blackstone pulled out just a month after it first launched a challenge to the billionaire's attempt to take private the PC maker he founded.
Blackstone withdrew citing an unprecedented 14 percent drop in industry PC sales in the first quarter of 2013 and a lower earnings forecast by the Dell's management, which saw operating income dropping from $3.7 billion to $3 billion in the current fiscal year, one of the sources said.
Blackstone and activist investor Carl Icahn, who has taken a significant stake in the company and opposes Michael Dell's buyout, had made preliminary offers to the company challenging the deal with Silver Lake.
Icahn's chances of a successful rival offer are viewed by analysts and investors as slimmer than Blackstone's, yet the deal with Silver Lake still faces significant opposition from some Dell shareholders, including Southeastern Asset Management, the activist investor that owns 8.4 percent of the company.
Dell, Blackstone and Silver Lake declined to comment. Icahn could not immediately be reached for comment.
Icahn and Blackstone each offered alternatives that would keep part of the company public. Icahn has proposed paying $15 per share for 58 percent of Dell, while Blackstone had indicated it could pay more than $14.25 per share for the whole of Dell.
Both deal structures involve saddling the company with a good deal of debt and keeping it on public markets. Silver Lake's $13.65 per share all-cash offer would see Dell go private.
Dell said on Tuesday Icahn had agreed not to raise his stake in the company to more than 10 percent and that he could team up with other shareholders on a potential bid for the personal computer maker.
On the same day, Icahn said in a brief statement that his latest agreement with Dell did not prevent him from embarking on a proxy fight.
Dell was regarded as a model of innovation as recently as the early 2000s but has struggled to make up for a declining share of the global PC market. The company is now trying to transform itself into a provider of enterprise computing services, reducing its reliance on PC sales.
The Financial Times reported Blackstone had pulled out of negotiations with Dell earlier on Thursday.
(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis and Soyoung Kim in New York; Additional reporting by Sakthi Prasad in Bangalore and Poornima Gupta in San Francisco; Editing by Paul Tait, Edmund Klamann and Miral Fahmy)
Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/blackstone-ends-dell-bid-says-the-pc-business-is-too-ugly-2013-4
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Onetime Strikeforce light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi wants your input. He's thinking of dropping down:
@ufc@arielhelwani @fightersonly Hey everybody, what you think about if I go to 185? I am curious what people think about this idea.
? Gegard Mousasi (@mousasi_mma) April 17, 2013
At 6-foot-1, he isn't an overwhelmingly large light heavyweight. Most of Mousasi's career has been at 205 lbs., but he did win the 2008 DREAM Grand Prix at 185 lbs with a win over Ronaldo "Jacare" Souza in the final.
Mousasi won his UFC debut, but it was hardly memorable. His original opponent, Alexander Gustafsson, was replaced in the last minute by Ilir Latifi, and we found out after the fight Mousasi was dealing with an injury. Perhaps it is the right move.
Do you think Mousasi should drop down to middleweight? Speak up in the comments, on Facebook or on Twitter.
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Michael Capolino, right, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Stocks are sharply higher in early trading, a day after the market's worst drop this year, as the government reported a surge in home construction last month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Michael Capolino, right, works with fellow traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Stocks are sharply higher in early trading, a day after the market's worst drop this year, as the government reported a surge in home construction last month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Michael Pistillo, right, works with traders at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Stocks are sharply higher in early trading, a day after the market's worst drop this year, as the government reported a surge in home construction last month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange observe a moment of silence, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, to honor the victims and families of the Boston Marathon bombings. Stocks are sharply higher in early trading, a day after the market's worst drop this year, as the government reported a surge in home construction last month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange observe a moment of silence, Tuesday, April 16, 2013, to honor the victims and families of the Boston Marathon bombings. Stocks are sharply higher in early trading, a day after the market's worst drop this year, as the government reported a surge in home construction last month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Specialist Michael Pistillo, right, works with traders at his post on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday, April 16, 2013. Stocks are sharply higher in early trading, a day after the market's worst drop this year, as the government reported a surge in home construction last month. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
NEW YORK (AP) ? A strong report on housing and good quarterly earnings from several major companies helped the stock market rebound after its worst day of the year.
The Dow Jones industrial average rose 157.58 points, or 1.1 percent, on Tuesday, to 14,756.78, winning back more than half of the 265 points it lost a day earlier. The Standard & Poor's 500 index climbed 22.2 points, or 1.4 percent, to 1,574.57.
Home construction at an annual rate exceeded 1 million last month for the first time since June 2008. Robust earnings from companies that included Coca-Cola and W.W. Grainger also propelled the market higher.
Monday's market decline was the biggest since November 7, the day after Election Day. Worries about an economic slowdown in China led to a drop in the price of oil, copper, and other commodities, causing mining and energy stocks to fall. The rally had already slowed earlier this month after reports of weak hiring and retail sales suggested that the economy was cooling off.
Gold, which was at the epicenter of Monday's sell-off, rose 1.9 percent to $1,387.40 an ounce.
The precious metal plunged 9 percent Monday, its steepest fall in 30 years. Investors were spooked after China reported economic growth of 7.7 percent, slower than many forecasts. They also sold the metal following another report of low inflation. People often buy gold when they're fearful of rising prices and sell it when they see inflation ebbing.
Gold is down 27 percent since it climbed to a record of $1,892 an ounce in August 2011.
"This is the first time in a while that we've had pretty positive numbers," said JJ Kinahan, chief derivatives strategist for TD Ameritrade. "We had one bad day yesterday. You can't say because of that one bad day that all bets are off."
While Chinese growth fell short of expectations, Monday's sell-off may have been disproportionate to the slight slowdown in China's growth.
Growth in the world's second biggest economy missed analysts' forecasts by just 0.3 percentage points. China is watched closely because it is a major market for foreign goods from iron ore to smartphones. Investors hope demand from China can help offset weakness in the U.S., Europe and Japan.
Mining companies rose Tuesday as commodities markets stabilized. Materials stocks gained the most of the 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 after leading the market lower the day before. Home builders advanced following the housing report. PulteGroup rose 4.2 percent to $18.60 and Lennar climbed 2.4 percent to $38.70.
Investors should expect a more volatile stock market until there is more confirmation that the economy is strengthening and the outlook for companies is improving, said Jeff Morris, head of U.S. equities at Standard Life Investment.
Analysts are expecting first-quarter earnings for S&P 500 companies to climb 1.2 percent, and to accelerate further as the year progresses, according to S&P Capital IQ data. As of Monday, 34 companies in the index had reported earnings and 20 had exceeded analysts' expectations.
Small-company stocks rose more than the broader market Tuesday, a sign that investors were moving money into riskier assets. The Russell 2000 index climbed 1.8 percent to 923.30. Monday, the index plunged 3.8 percent.
In other trading, the Nasdaq composite rose 48.14 points, or 1.5 percent, to 3,264.63.
Yields on U.S. government bonds rose as investors moved money out of safe investments. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note climbed to 1.72 percent from 1.68 percent.
Among stocks that made big moves:
Coca-Cola gained $2.28, or 5.7 percent, to $42.37 after its first-quarter results came in above Wall Street's forecasts. Coke said it struck a deal to start refranchising its business in the U.S., which will lower costs.
W.W. Grainger Inc., which sells power tools and other industrial equipment, rose $16.18, or 16.2 percent, to $241.88 after the company said its first-quarter net income climbed 13 percent.
U.S. Bancorp logged the biggest decline in the S&P 500. The lender dropped 59 cents, or 1.8 percent, to $32.72 after it reported first-quarter earnings that fell short of analysts' expectations. The Minneapolis bank's net income rose 7 percent to $1.43 billion as it set aside less cash to cover soured loans.
Whirlpool Corp. jumped $3.66, or 3.2 percent, to $116.78 after the appliance maker raised its quarterly dividend 25 percent to 62.5 cents.
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By Emily Stephenson and David Henry
WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - For the past year, a special team of U.S. bank regulators has been on a quiet mission to end the belief on Wall Street that large banks are "too big to fail."
The team from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp has hosted more than two dozen meetings with bond investors, analysts and other stakeholders to lay out in detail how a failing firm would be liquidated.
One of the goals of the roadshow was to warn Wall Street not to count on a repeat of the government bailouts of the 2007-2009 financial crisis, when Washington stepped in to rescue AIG and other financial institutions out of fear that a collapse would be disastrous for the world economy.
People present at these meetings say the FDIC makes a compelling case, and there are signs that the roadshow is gradually succeeding in shifting market perceptions.
Some bond investors are demanding higher yields on bank debt that they now see as riskier because of the FDIC's plan, said Brian Monteleone, a bank credit analyst at Barclays who has participated in the FDIC meetings.
Moody's Investors Service said in March that it may downgrade some bank bonds by year-end since the United States appears less likely to bail them out. The credit rating agency has assigned a negative outlook on bonds from JPMorgan Chase & Co, Bank of America Corp, Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co, Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Morgan Stanley.
The evidence of the FDIC's persuasiveness is anecdotal at this point, however as data on bank credit default swaps, used by investors to protect themselves against default, have not shown a clear shift.
However, investors and analysts say they are studying how to price the heightened risk based on the FDIC's plan, and expect to see more movement in the coming months.
"To get sophisticated investors to invest better, this is how you do it," said David Hendler, a senior analyst at CreditSights who hosted a conference with an FDIC official for investors. "You put more of their skin in the game." Bond investors will have more to lose, Hendler explained.
The debate over whether Washington has solved "too big to fail" will not be settled until another crisis tests whether U.S. and overseas financial stewards have the confidence and skill to gently take down a failing mega-bank without triggering a crippling market shock.
Still, the FDIC believes that if markets know what to expect and stay calm when a financial giant gets into trouble, Washington will also be less likely to panic and enact another bailout like that of insurer AIG in 2008, say people familiar with the agency's thinking. The FDIC also hopes investors will be more likely to scrutinize mega-bank activity , curbing risky activity if they are convinced the era of government bailouts is over.
The FDIC declined to comment for this story.
The agency has posted on its website slide presentations it has used to show how it would exercise its liquidation authority. (http://link.reuters.com/dez37t)
HAIRCUTS
FDIC staff began hosting small gatherings and teleconferences in early 2012 with Wall Street to discuss the details and repercussions of a bank failure, such as what happens to subordinated debt, secured lenders, and bridge financing, according to documents on the FDIC website.
Under the FDIC plan, the agency would take over the top-level holding company, which is usually owned by public shareholders and financed in part by bond investors. The FDIC would then use capital from the holding company to rescue failing subsidiaries, such as deposit-taking banks or trading arms.
Shareholders of the holding company would be wiped out and bondholders would be forced to take a "haircut," meaning they are paid less than what they are owed.
The FDIC could then form a "bridge" holding company with new leadership, likely pulled from a list the agency is drafting of veteran banking executives and others, according to a person familiar with the agency's plans.
James Campbell, a research analyst covering big financial companies for the California Public Employees's Retirement System (CalPERS), said the FDIC's plan to keep bank subsidiaries from insolvency would go a long way toward protecting depositors and reducing the risk to the financial system.
Still, some investors who have met with the FDIC say there are significant issues to be resolved, such as how to deal with a failed bank's overseas subsidiaries, which are subject to foreign insolvency practices. Unless these concerns are addressed, creditors of subsidiaries will likely take their money back and feed a panic.
"There are too many connections that credit investors do not understand, so you just assume you need to sell not only the entity that is in trouble, but everything that is connected to it," said David Knutson, a senior research analyst at Legal & General Investment Management, a unit of Legal & General Group Plc that buys bonds. He has been to multiple FDIC presentations.
The FDIC released a report with United Kingdom regulators in December explaining how they would work together to resolve a U.S. holding company with London-based subsidiaries.
One person with knowledge of the FDIC's work said regulators now have a better understanding than before the financial crisis of the different laws, bank structures and other factors that could complicate the resolution of a global bank failure. The person called it a "transformational shift" in international dialogue.
DOWNSIZING
The FDIC and the Federal Reserve have asked banks to draft so-called "living wills" to lay out how they could be dismembered if they suffered mortal losses.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has also had some preliminary conversations with bank executives about how to simplify bank structures. In the last month, the office has discussed pushing big banks to assess how many subsidiaries they operate and how they are aligned, an OCC official said.
That could eventually make it easier to sell off subsidiaries to help a bank recover from a downturn or to resolve a failed firm, said the official, who did not want to be identified as the early discussions are not public.
For banks, a workable FDIC liquidation plan could stave off political pressure for more drastic financial reforms following the 2010 Dodd-Frank law, such as calls to break up the big banks and legislation to limit bank size. These proposals may currently be long shots, but another financial blowup could spark the political will necessary to make them a reality.
"Some of us see it as the key to a safer financial system," said Wilson Ervin, a New York-based senior adviser to the chief executive of Credit Suisse Group AG. "And some pragmatic types realize that if you don't have a solution to 'too-big-to-fail,' then the regulations and restrictions will keep coming, and you won't really have a good argument to stop them."
Federal Reserve Board Governor Daniel Tarullo has said the central bank may require big bank holding companies to issue minimum levels of long-term debt. The idea is to make sure they have enough obligations to slash for the FDIC to recapitalize a failing business. But a minimum could force some banks to use costlier forms of borrowing and even pressure them to sell off parts of their business.
"It creates market pressure to downsize," said former FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair. "That's what it means to end 'too-big-to-fail.' It's a good thing, not a bad thing, that their funding costs go up."
The Fed has said settling the minimum debt issue is an agency priority this year.
Darrell Duffie, a finance professor in the business school at Stanford University, said regulators are making progress toward resolving the challenges of shutting down a mega-bank.
"There are still a few missing pieces to the puzzle," he said. "With some work over the next years, I think there is going to be a significant improvement in the ability to allow banks to fail."
(Reporting By Emily Stephenson in Washington and David Henry in New York; Editing by Karey Van Hall, Tiffany Wu, and Theodore d'Afflisio)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bank-regulators-gain-ground-against-too-big-fail-054431433--sector.html
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Who has not had some angst about their acne? Whether you are just hitting your teens or are adult, acne can be a problem. There are so many acne treatment products out on the market. How do you know which one will work best for you? It is easy to get confused when presented with numerous choices; all saying their treatment is the best and only treatment for acne.
However, when looking for solutions for your acne problem, a natural acne treatment can be the option for you. With natural acne treatments, it is best to look for a product that can eliminate acne in a simple way that is a permanent solution and is backed by a guarantee. A natural solution also treats the acne in an effective, gentler way than other products that can damage the skin with caustic, chemical based etchers that can cause your skin more harm than good.
When looking for the right natural acne treatment, it is important that many types of acne can be addressed, such as pimples or zits, blackheads and whiteheads, cystic acne (a painful form of acne that can lead to scarring) and bodily acne. It is also important that it treats both teenage and adult acne. In addition, it is also recommended to find a product that will address chronic oily skin without stripping your skin of its necessary oils.
What many people are finding out when looking for their best acne treatment option is that many of the products touted in infomercials, products found in your local drugstore and high-end products produced by major cosmetic manufacturers; do not offer natural acne treatment. These are not offered except in rare cases and their "natural" products may still contain chemicals.
Here are some of the benefits of natural acne treatments:
* Unlike other products, there are no side effects and can be used at any time.
* The treatment is based on finding solutions to the problem by treating the acne both externally and internally.
Acne can often be caused by hormonal imbalance which is not addressed by OTC (over the counter) acne treatments.
* The goal is to eliminate acne breakout completely. Many OTC products may say that, however it is in their best interest to keep you on their program and keep the sales rolling.
* It does not cause any scars.
* Natural treatments typically cost much less than OTC or famous label brands.
The focus of a good natural acne treatment plan should be on nutrition and 100 percent natural techniques. By following the plan you can repair and renew your skin and get rid of embarrassing acne scarring. By paying attention to your diet and learning what to use to wash your skin and the best method to do it, clear, radiant skin is possible. You can attain skin that you are proud to have and if you are an adult with acne, you can acquire a more youthful appearance rather than just looking like you are reentering puberty.
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Source: http://cancertreatments941.blogspot.com/2013/04/natural-acne-treatment-health-fitness.html
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WASHINGTON (AP) ? DNA may be the building block of life, but can something taken from it also be the building block of a multimillion-dollar medical monopoly?
The Supreme Court grapples Monday with the question of whether human genes can be patented. Its ultimate answer could reshape U.S. medical research, the fight against diseases like breast and ovarian cancer and the multi-billion dollar medical and biotechnology business.
"The intellectual framework that comes out of the decision could have a significant impact on other patents ? for antibiotics, vaccines, hormones, stem cells and diagnostics on infectious microbes that are found in nature," Robert Cook-Deegan, director for genome ethics, law & policy at Duke University, said in a statement.
"This could affect agricultural biotechnology, environmental biotechnology, green-tech, the use of organisms to produce alternative fuels and other applications," he said.
The nine justices' decision will also have a profound effect on American business, with billions of dollars of investment and years of research on the line. The U.S. Patent and Trademark Office has been awarding patents on human genes for almost 30 years.
And Myriad Genetics alone has $500 million invested in the patents being argued over in this case. Without the ability to recoup that investment, breakthrough scientific discoveries needed to combat all kind of medical maladies wouldn't happen, the company says.
"Countless companies and investors have risked billions of dollars to research and develop scientific advances under the promise of strong patent protection," said Peter D. Meldrum, the president and CEO of Myriad Genetics, in a statement.
But their opponents argue that allowing companies like Myriad to patent human genes or parts of human genes will slow down or cripple lifesaving medical research like in the battle against breast cancer.
"What that means is that no other researcher or doctor can develop an additional test, therapy or conduct research on these genes," said Karuna Jagger, executive director of Breast Cancer Action.
The Supreme Court has already said that abstract ideas, natural phenomena and laws of nature cannot be given a patent, which gives an inventor the right to prevent others from making, using or selling a novel device, process or application.
Myriad's case involves patents on two genes linked to increased risk of breast and ovarian cancer. Myriad's BRACAnalysis test looks for mutations on the breast cancer predisposition gene, or BRCA. Those mutations are associated with much greater risks of breast and ovarian cancer.
Women with a faulty gene have a three to seven times greater risk of developing breast cancer and a higher risk of ovarian cancer. Men can also carry a BRCA mutation, raising their risk of prostate, pancreatic and other types of cancer. The mutations are most common in people of eastern European Jewish descent.
Myriad sells the only BRCA gene test.
The American Civil Liberties Union challenged Myriad's patents, arguing that genes couldn't be patented, and in March 2010 a New York district court agreed. But the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has now twice ruled that genes can be patented. In Myriad's case, it's because the isolated DNA has a "markedly different chemical structure" from DNA within the body.
Mark C. Capone, president of Myriad Genetics Laboratories, Inc., a subsidiary of Myriad, said some of the concerns over what they have patented are overblown and some simply incorrect.
"Myriad cannot, should not and has not patented genes as they exist in the human body on DNA," Capone said in an interview. "This case is truly about isolated DNA molecules which are synthetic chemicals created by the human ingenuity of man that have very important clinical utilities, which is why this was eligible for a patent."
But the ACLU is arguing that isolating the DNA molecules doesn't stop them from being DNA molecules, which they say aren't patentable.
"Under this theory, Hans Dehmelt, who won the Nobel Prize for being the first to isolate a single electron from an atom, could have patented the electron itself," said Christopher A. Hansen, the ACLU's lawyer in court papers. "A kidney removed from the body (or gold extracted from a stream) would be patentable subject matter."
The Obama administration seems to agree. Artificially created DNA can be patented, but "isolated but otherwise unmodified genomic DNA is not patent-eligible," Solicitor General Donald Verrilli said in court papers.
That was the ruling of the original judge who looked at Myriad's patents after they were challenged by the ACLU in 2009. U.S. District Judge Robert Sweet said he invalidated the patents because DNA's existence in an isolated form does not alter the fundamental quality of DNA as it exists in the body or the information it encodes. But the federal appeals court reversed him in 2011, saying Myriad's genes can be patented because the isolated DNA has a "markedly different chemical structure" from DNA within the body.
The Supreme Court threw out that decision and sent the case back to the lower courts for rehearing. This came after the high court unanimously threw out patents on a Prometheus Laboratories, Inc., test that could help doctors set drug doses for autoimmune diseases like Crohn's disease, saying the laws of nature are unpatentable.
But the federal circuit upheld Myriad's patents again in August, leading to the current review. The court will rule before the end of the summer.
"The key issue now for the court will therefore be whether the scientist working in the lab to isolate a particular gene innovated in a way that allows for that isolated gene to be patented," said Bruce Wexler, a lawyer with the law firm Paul Hastings, who advises pharmaceutical and biotech companies on patent issues.
The case is 12-398, Association for Molecular Pathology v. Myriad Genetics, Inc.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/court-human-genes-patented-073805381--finance.html
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Below is my column this week in USA Today (the print version will run Wednesday while the web-version ran today). We have been following the increasingly draconian copyright and trademark laws used against citizens and companies ? laws secured by an army of lobbyists, lawyers, and an obedient Congress and White House. The impetus of the piece is the Myriad case to be heard on Monday, where the Supreme Court will have to decide whether a company can patent human genes. The company argues that it took considerable research to isolate the genes associated with breast cancer and that patent protection gives companies like Myriad to do such extensive research and development. For many others, the patent claim represents a virtual franchising of the human body ? giving companies claim to something that exists in nature. It also gives these companies a critical gatekeeper control on research into key components of cancer, Alzheimer?s disease, asthma, and other health threats. While this column deals with statutory expansions of private property claims over genes, common phrases and images, there is an equal expansion occurring in the common law, including the ?misappropriation of name or likeness.? Perhaps the most infamous such authority can be found in the case of White v. Samsung. In this case, Vanna White sued Samsung over a commercial that showed a robot with a blonde wig turning cards in a game show. It was an obvious parody but the federal court found the image of a blonde who did nothing but smile and turn large cards belongs exclusively to White. This column is meant to show that there is a broader problem in the rush to claim common material, images, and terms. Perhaps it was inevitable that with the ever expanding patent, copyright, and trademark laws, mankind itself would become a form of property: the ultimate evolution from creator to object.
This week, the Supreme Court will consider whether a company can claim ownership of two human genes under a patent. Myriad Genetics currently holds a patent to two genes associated with breast cancer. The case challenges the long-held position of Congress that people can patent ?anything under the sun that is made by man.? The case raises significant moral and legal issues as companies claim parts of the human genome as their property. Currently twenty percent of your genes are now claimed as private property. This case is part of an overall trend of claims over virtually every basic term, symbol, and now human genes under the sun. Human existence is being privatized to the point that a creative existence seems to require the consent of a new class of property overloads.
While Myriad Genetics argues that is only seeking to reap the rewards of its extensive research and development, others view its claim as a virtual franchising of the human body. The Myriad case raises fundamental questions on the meaning of property, including the treatment of the human genome as akin to a Hoover vacuum. Jonas Salk, the developer of the polio vaccine, was once asked if he owned the patent on this valuable vaccine. Salk famously replied in disbelief by asking ?Could you patent the sun?? He said such things must belong ?to the people.?
Today, most things under the sun (including images of the sun) seem claimed by patent, copyright, or trademark holders. Apple Computers even sued a grocery chain for using an apple as its symbol. While God may have created the apple, he failed to trademark it.
It has triggered a type of land rush as everyone grabs objects, expressions, and names like settlers carving up free land. This year, the Prince George?s County Board of Education moved to claim copyright to work created by staff and students that would include everything from a teacher?s lesson plan to a toddler?s finger painting project. Then there is Robert and Diane Maresca of Long Island who claimed ?Occupy Wall Street? as a trademark as soon as the protest began. They were not part of the protests, mind you. They just wanted to make money off it and Robert Maresca insisted ?if I didn?t buy it and use it, someone else will.?
Other terms from ?Linsanity? to ?Who Dat?? to the word ?Yuuup? have been claimed. This often results in fights over the spoils of common terms. Last year, Roy Fox secured a copyright to the term ?Harbowl? last year to make money off a Superbowl between the Baltimore Ravens coach John Harbaugh and San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh. He was then muscled out by NFL lawyers insisting that no one can use the term ?Bowl? but them.
As terms and images are grabbed in this mad rush, the laws have become the very inverse of their intended use. Rather than protecting inventions to encourage and reward creativity, these laws now restrict creative thought and invention with layers copyright, trademark, and patent claims. Interestingly, citizens find themselves traveling through a world where everything they see has a TM or ? sign to signify the owner of items and expressions around them. The Susan G. Komen charity fund has repeatedly threatened lawsuits against other charities seeking to raise money with the words ?for the cure.?
The Obama Administration has been criticized for yielding to the demands of lobbyists for higher and higher penalties, including criminal penalties, over such infringements. The Administration recently intervened in the Supreme Court to defend the ruinous fine of $222,000 imposed on a young Minnesota mother for sharing 24 songs. The Court refused to review a $675,000 fine against former college student Joel Tenenbaum for downloading and sharing 30 songs.
We have come a long way from men like Salk who viewed most things as properly owned in common by the people. It was only a matter of time that with people claiming everything under the Sun, they would soon direct their interest to people themselves as a type of chattel to be claimed. As the Supreme Court deliberates over the very ownership of our genes, there has never been a national debate over the commoditization of American life. If we do not want to live by the leave of a new property class, we have fight for our rights. Just be careful in how you say it. ?Fight for your rights? is trademarked.
Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law at George Washington University and a member of USA TODAY?s board of contributors.
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AUGUSTA, Ga. (AP) ? Jason Day is out front midway through the Masters.
Fortunately for Guan Tianlang, the leader didn't sink one last putt Friday.
Guan, a 14-year-old from China, became the youngest player to make the cut in PGA Tour history, despite taking a one-stroke penalty on the 17th hole for slow play.
Apparently the first ruling of its kind in the Masters' 77-year history, it gave the eighth-grader no margin for error if he wanted to play on the weekend.
Day charged to the lead and was in position to knock out Guan ? and everyone else at 4 over, including defending champ Bubba Watson ? when he stood over a 12-foot putt at the 17th hole. When the ball slid by the right side of the hole, Guan could breathe a little easier.
Then, when Day's approach at the 18th rolled back toward the front of the green, it was clear Guan would reach another milestone ? two more rounds in the first major of the year. He already was the youngest player in Masters history.
Day, an Australian, shot a 4-under 68 that gave him a 6-under 138 total, good enough for a one-stroke lead over Fred Couples and first-round co-leader Marc Leishman.
Tiger Woods had a share of the top spot until a tough finish knocked him back. He struck the flagstick at No. 15, sending the ball careening back into the water. Only a brilliant little pitch on the do-over allowed him to save bogey at a hole where he should have had a good chance for a birdie. Then, on 18, Woods misjudged the distance just a bit on the approach, wound up on the back tier of the green and three-putted for another bogey.
He finished at 71 and three shots back at 141, a score that easily could have been two or three shots lower.
"I really played well," Woods said. "The score is not indicative of quite how well I played."
Everyone within 10 shots of the lead will be back on Saturday.
That includes a youngster who's on quite a field trip.
Guan just needs to speed things up a bit.
Fred Ridley, the club's competition committee chairman, said Guan's threesome was first warned for being too far behind the group ahead of them at the 10th hole. The teenager went on the clock two holes later ? an official imposes a 40-second time limit to play a stroke ? and gave Guan his first warning at No. 13.
"In keeping with the applicable rules, he was penalized following his second shot on the 17th hole when he again exceeded the 40-second time limit by a considerable margin," Ridley said in a statement.
That turned what would have been a par into a bogey. Guan finished at 75 and 148 overall.
"I respect the decision," Guan said. "This is what they can do."
The last player to be penalized for slow play at a major was Gregory Bourdy at the 2010 PGA Championship at Whistling Straits. No one could find a record of anyone getting penalized in such a way at Augusta National.
"I know the rules pretty good," Guan said. "But I think my routine was pretty good, too. Just the wind changed. The weather, it was not a good day."
A rainy morning turned into a sunny, blustery afternoon, which sent scores much higher than they were in the opening round. Guan said it took him longer to judge distances and pick clubs because of the wind.
Leishman, a 29-year-old Australian with only one PGA Tour victory, kept up his solid play in the tough conditions, while others skidded down the board.
They included Sergio Garcia, who was tied with Leishman at the end of the first round after both shot 6-under 66. The Spaniard soared to a 76 that knocked him back, but not out. He was four strokes off the lead.
Dustin Johnson surged to 7 under and the top spot on the board, before a dismal finish ruined his day. He laid up at the par-5 15th hole, then dunked his third shot in the water, leading to a double-bogey. He bogeyed the 17th and took another double-bogey at the final hole to finish with 76.
Instead of leading, he was five shots back at 1-under 143.
Some former champions fared better.
Couples, playing in his favorite tournament at age 53, birdied the final hole for a 71. Angel Cabrera birdied five of the last six holes, signed for a 69 and was another shot back at 140.
"It's a hard course out there," Couples said. "I felt very good about what I shot. I had a couple of little hiccups out there and did some other good things to shoot my score. But the golf course is winning today."
Cabrera actually posted a better score in the tougher conditions than he did Thursday, when he shot 71. He was joined at 4 under by Jim Furyk (71) and Brandt Snedeker (70).
"For me, Augusta is never easy," said Cabrera, the 2009 Masters champion. "Never, ever easy. The big difference was that on the back nine, I was hitting very well off the tee, leaving my second shots close, and I was able to make some birdies."
___
Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/day-leads-masters-14-old-makes-cut-234813937--spt.html
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