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Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Hotmail App For Kindle Fire Arrives, For Those Clinging to The 1990s [Blip]
Conn. mayor blasted for 'taco' quip about Latinos
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Essential News from The Associated Press |
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? ?Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.
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Tuesday, January 24, 2012
How an embargo of Iranian oil could affect markets (AP)
NEW YORK ? The U.S. and Europe are trying to stop Iran, the world's third-biggest oil exporter, from selling crude. Iran's response is to threaten to disrupt shipments from the entire Middle East.
Yet oil prices have hardly budged. They're at $98.95, up just 12 cent since the start of year.
Just a year ago, uprisings in far less important oil-producing countries such as Egypt and Libya sent oil and gasoline prices to their highest levels in three years and prompted Western nations to release millions of barrels of oil from emergency supplies.
The reason for such calm this year: No oil has been blocked, and there's a good chance none will be.
The U.S. and Europe want to deprive Iran of the oil income it needs to run its government and, most importantly, fund what the West believes is an effort to build a nuclear weapon. Last year, Iran generated $100 billion in revenue from oil, up from $20 billion a decade ago, according to IHS CERA.
The European Union announced Monday it would ban the import of Iranian crude starting in July. The U.S. already bans Iranian oil, but it has placed sanctions on Iran's banks to make it harder for that nation to sell crude.
Iran, in retaliation, has threatened to block the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow Persian Gulf waterway between Iran and Oman through which one-fifth of the world's oil passes. If that were to happen, experts say oil prices could soar toward $200 per barrel and deliver a blow to already wobbly Western economies. Drivers would pay more for gasoline, airlines would spend more on fuel and shippers would pay more for diesel. That would leave people and companies with less money to spend and invest.
Using oil as a political weapon is an old tactic, but it may not be effective this time. If either side blocks the sale of oil in a meaningful way, it hurt itself. Iran's economy depends on the sale of oil. The economies of Western nations depend on reasonably priced oil.
Here are key questions and answers about what the European ban on Iranian oil could mean for oil markets.
Q: What is Iran's role in the world oil market?
A: Iran exports 2.5 million barrels of oil per day, about 3 percent of world supplies. About 500,000 barrels go to Europe and most of the rest goes to China, India, Japan and South Korea. Iranian fields produce a type of oil known as "heavy, sour" crude. While common, these crudes are sulfurous and require more refining and expense to turn into valuable fuels such as gasoline. As a result, they generally cost refiners less than so-called "lighter, sweeter" crudes.
Q: Will Iran try to block the Strait of Hormuz?
A: It's unlikely. The international naval response would be overwhelming because the strait is the world's most important energy choke point. Each day, 14 tankers on average squeeze through a shipping channel that, at its narrowest, is just 2 miles wide. If Iran could block it, it would send oil prices spiking to $150 to $200, analysts say, and badly damage Western economies.
If that happened, Iran would hurt itself and its best customers, not just Western nations and producers like Saudi Arabia that also use the strait. Eighty-five percent of the oil that travels through the strait goes to Asian nations, which are not participating in the embargo. Also, it would be all but impossible for Iran to keep its oil flowing through the strait while it tries to block oil from other countries.
Q. With all this saber rattling, why aren't oil prices soaring?
A: Because the strait is likely to remain open, keeping supplies flowing. And because Asian countries, already Iran's biggest customers, aren't joining the Europeans in banning Iranian oil. Also, the European embargo doesn't start until July, so oil markets will likely have time to adjust.
As Europe turns away from Iran to other markets, though, it could push up prices for certain types of global crudes. And the brinkmanship between Iran and the West may already be having some effect on prices, analysts say. "It could already be baked into the price (of oil)," says, Michael Levi, Director of the Program on Energy Security and Climate Change at the Council on Foreign Relations
Q: Will the embargo hurt or help Iran?
If Iran can no longer sell to Europe, it will have to find other buyers. That won't likely be difficult, especially given Asia's rising demand for oil. But Asian nations may be able to negotiate a discount for Iranian oil. "In the oil market, a little discount goes a long way," says Bhushan Bahree, a Middle East oil expert at IHS CERA.
On the other hand, if global oil prices rise and Iran can sell its oil for somewhat higher prices, Iran's oil revenue will grow.
Q: If supplies of Iranian crude are disrupted, will other nations be able to make up the difference?
A: Eventually, yes. The U.S. is pressuring other Middle East and African nations to increase production to help keep Europe and the world well-supplied as the embargo slowly takes effect. Saudi Arabia says it could increase its supplies to make up for any lost Iranian crude. Iran's relatively heavy crude is easier to replace than the Libyan light, sweet crude that was cut off during last year's uprising.
Still, an increase in production from other nations would leave little wiggle room for those countries to increase supplies further if needed. The oil market gets nervous, and sends prices higher, if it thinks producing nations don't have capacity to pump more oil to make up for a supply interruption somewhere in the world.
Jonathan Fahey can be reached at http://twitter.com/JonathanFahey.
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New Target Discovered for Pain Relief
News | Health
A neuropathic pain expert says, however, that in the past 30 years virtually no new drug targets have made it into the clinic as effective pain-relief drugs
?| January 22, 2012?|
An uncharted trawl through thousands of small molecules involved in the body's metabolism may have uncovered a potential route to treating pain caused by nerve damage.
Neuropathic pain is a widespread and distressing condition, and is notoriously difficult to treat. So Gary Siuzdak, a chemist and molecular biologist at the Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, Calif., and his team decided to take an unusual route to finding a therapy. Their results are published today in?Nature Chemical Biology.
They took rats with surgically damaged paws, who were consequently suffering from neuropathic pain, and instead of analyzing changes in gene expression and proteins in the animals, focused on metabolites?the biochemical intermediates and end-products of bodily processes such as respiration and the synthesis and breakdown of molecules. The science that looks at the body's metabolite composition is known as metabolomics. Using mass spectrometry, which can detect many different chemicals simultaneously, the researchers were able to identify the metabolites present in these animals 21 days after surgery.
Surprise finding
The team analyzed samples of the injured rats? blood plasma, of tissue near the injured paw, and of tissue from different areas of the spinal column, and compared the metabolites present with that of the same site in healthy rats. One particular area differed markedly between the two cases: the dorsal horn in the spinal column.
"It took me by surprise,? says Siuzdak, who had expected to see most differences in metabolite composition near the site of injury.
The researchers then looked more closely at the metabolites and recognized that the ones that were changing the most were associated with the metabolic pathway that synthesizes and breaks down the phospholipid sphingomyelin, a component of cell membranes, and its ceramide precursors.
?It was a huge flare to us that this was something we should home in on,? says team member Gary Patti, a chemist at Washington University School of Medicine in St Louis, Missouri.
Using cultures of spinal cord cells the researchers then tried to work out which of the altered metabolites might be responsible for pain. One molecule,?the previously unidentified metabolite?N,N-dimethylsphingosine (DMS), stood out for the amount of pain signallng it triggered in the cells.
Untargeted screening
To test experimentally whether this molecule was involved in neuropathic pain, the team then injected small amounts of DMS into healthy rats, and sure enough, those rats showed signs of pain.
The team hopes that DMS might prove to be important in the biochemistry of pain, and perhaps offer a target for drug manufacturers. But neuropathic pain expert Andrew Rice at Imperial College London says that in the past 30 years he has seen many targets identified, but virtually none of them has made it into the clinic as an effective pain-relief drug.
Rice lauds the attention shown to neuropathic pain but is concerned that the current animal model for pain is limited: it only corresponds to pain resulting from trauma, and not to the many other sources of neuropathic pain, which include diabetes, HIV infection and stroke. ?I?d like to see if this is more than a peripheral nerve damage model,? he says.
Siuzdak says his untargeted screening technique could prove useful in identifying drug targets for many other conditions. The more conventional way of using metabolomics is with targeted searches, where the molecule of interest is identified first, before seeing where it might be present. ?[Our approach] is more challenging than targeted analyses,? he says. ?You have to be open to any possibility of what pathways are affected.?
Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=04551fe8a40f41d960dbae884bea5b53
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Monday, January 23, 2012
Yemen's leader allowed to come to US
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 file photo, Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Sanaa, Yemen. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the U.S. regrets that Yemen's president has not complied with agreements to leave the country and allow elections for a successor. Her comments came as Yemen's foreign minister suggested next month's presidential vote could be delayed because of security concerns _ something that would violate the the U.S.-backed agreement that President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed recently. (AP Photo/Mohammed Hamoud, File)
FILE - In this Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 file photo, Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh speaks to reporters during a press conference at the Presidential Palace in Sanaa, Yemen. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton says the U.S. regrets that Yemen's president has not complied with agreements to leave the country and allow elections for a successor. Her comments came as Yemen's foreign minister suggested next month's presidential vote could be delayed because of security concerns _ something that would violate the the U.S.-backed agreement that President Ali Abdullah Saleh signed recently. (AP Photo/Mohammed Hamoud, File)
Protestors react after receiving the news of the departure of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh from Sanaa to Oman in Sanaa, Yemen, Jan. 22, 2012. A spokesman for Yemen's embattled president says Ali Abdullah Saleh has left the country for the Persian Gulf country of Oman. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
Protestors react after receiving the news of the departure of Yemen's President Ali Abdullah Saleh from Sanaa to Oman in Sanaa, Yemen, Jan. 22, 2012. A spokesman for Yemen's embattled president says Ali Abdullah Saleh has left the country for the Persian Gulf country of Oman. (AP Photo/Hani Mohammed)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration will allow Yemen's outgoing president to come to the U.S. temporarily for medical treatment, a move aimed at easing the political transition in Yemen, a key counterterrorism partner.
A senior administration official said Ali Abdullah Saleh would travel to New York this week, and probably stay in the U.S. until no later than the end of February. U.S. officials believe Saleh's exit from Yemen could lower the risk of disruptions in the lead-up to presidential elections planned there on Feb. 21.
A presidential spokesman in Yemen said Saleh had left the capital of Sanaa earlier Sunday on a jet headed for the Persian Gulf sultanate of Oman. An official close to Saleh, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the trip, said the president would undergo medical exams in Oman before heading to the U.S.
The U.S. official did not say whether Saleh planned to return to Yemen, Oman or elsewhere after finishing his treatment in the U.S. The official was not authorized to discuss details about Saleh and spoke on condition of anonymity.
The Yemeni embassy in Washington said Saleh planned to return home in February to attend a swearing-in ceremony for the country's newly elected president.
The mercurial Saleh, who ruled Yemen for more than three decades, agreed to transfer power to his vice president late last year in exchange for immunity from prosecution. He had faced months of protests calling for his ouster, to which the Yemeni government responded with a bloody crackdown, leaving hundreds of protesters dead and sparking wider violence in the capital with rival militia.
Even after agreeing to leave power, Saleh continued to wield his influence behind the scenes, and U.S. officials believed getting him out of Yemen was necessary in order to ensure the February elections took place. The U.S. also worried about instability in a nation grappling with growing extremism, including the dangerous al-Qaida branch known as al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula.
Still, Saleh's request last month for a U.S. visa put the Obama administration in the awkward position of either having to bar a friendly president from U.S. soil or risking appearing to harbor an autocrat with blood on his hands.
As U.S. officials weighed Saleh's request, they sought assurances that he would not seek political asylum or any type of permanent relocation in the U.S.
"We wanted to make sure that there was an understanding that it would be for medical purposes and that's what it is for," John Brennan, President Barack Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, said Sunday.
Saleh was badly burned and wounded during a June rocket attack on his compound in Yemen. He sought medical treatment in neighboring Saudi Arabia for three months. American officials had hoped he would remain there, but the Yemeni leader returned and violence worsened anew.
Protesters and human rights groups have criticized Saleh's immunity clause and insisted he stand trial for his alleged role in protester deaths.
Brennan said there was a divide in Yemen over Saleh's future, with some Yemenis supporting Saleh's decision to seek medical treatment in the U.S. In the short-term, he said, it was imperative to ensure that the February elections take place.
"We thought it was important, given where Yemen is right now as far as moving forward with its political transition, to do what we can to support the government and the elections that are scheduled for the 21st of February, and that seems to be on track," he said.
Yemeni Vice President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi is expected to be rubber-stamped as the country's new leader in the elections, in which he is expected to be the only candidate.
Brennan spoke with Hadi on Sunday, and told him the U.S. was encouraged by his leadership during a difficult period of transition. With fresh demonstrations likely in the weeks leading up to the elections, Brennan urged Hadi to ensure that Yemeni security forces exercise restraint.
The Obama administration's approval of Saleh's visa brought back memories from three decades ago, when President Jimmy Carter allowed the exiled shah of Iran into the U.S. for medical treatment. The decision contributed to rapidly worsening relations between Washington and Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini's revolution in Tehran, with Iranian students occupying the U.S. Embassy in Iran a month later.
Fifty-two American hostages were held for 444 days in response to Carter's refusal to send the shah back to Iran for trial.
___
Associated Press writers Ahmed al-Haj and Ben Hubbard in Sanaa, Yemen, contributed to this report.
___
Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC
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Investing in beaten-down market sectors could be good bet in 2012 ...
Investors placing their bets for 2012 are faced with the classic dilemma. Stick with market sectors that performed best last year, or search for value in beaten-down names?
The question is especially tricky considering that 2011 was a turbulent ride of mixed economic news at home, worse news abroad and painful sell-offs that tested even seasoned traders. Investors? reaction was textbook ? dive into stock mutual funds stuffed with big, dividend-paying companies known for relative stability in good times and bad.
That meant top-performing funds focused on utilities, consumer staples and health care companies. On the other hand, mutual funds heavy on financial stocks were among the worst, sideswiped by Standard & Poor?s downgrade of the U.S. credit rating and continued financial turmoil in Europe.
With the U.S. economy showing more signs of strength, now might be a good time to move some money into depressed sectors.
But is that strategy a good policy for personal investing in 2012? Here?s a look at the sectors that analysts are watching:
Financials flop ? Mutual funds that focus on banks and brokerages are certainly trading at prices well below a year ago, but many analysts are not yet ready to jump in.
The S&P 500 financials were crushed in 2011, falling 18 percent amid Europe?s tumult and lingering trouble in the battered real estate industry. Not surprisingly, mutual funds that are heavy in financials got battered last year. Analysts say the banking industry remains under pressure, especially with no sign that the European debt crisis is ready to let up. There are a number of reasons to be concerned about the sector.
Story continues below
?You?ve got other factors, like regulation, Dodd-Frank, that are crimping the way large banks do business,? said Jack Ablin, chief investment officer at Harris Private Bank in Chicago. He also pointed out that low interest rates hamper the sector.
Defensive moves ? With the state of the global economy in doubt, as it was for much of 2011, investors flocked to defensive stocks, companies that produce things people buy whether or not the economy is thriving. Utilities were the top-performing sector in the S&P 500. Consumer staples jumped 10.5 percent.
Many of the year?s top-performing funds focused on the utilities sector, including top-ranked ProFunds Utilities UltraSector, which returned nearly 26 percent. But some experts say defensive sectors such as utilities and consumer staples now are a little too expensive.
Health care stocks remain promising despite last year?s run-up, several analysts said. That?s because even after a 10 percent gain for the S&P health care stocks in 2011, the sector is still far below historic highs. And even with uncertainty in Washington about the future of health care, an aging population will increasingly need medical care.
Technology boost ? An anticipated jump in business spending may make technology ? a flat sector last year ? a good bet in 2012.
Since the financial crisis in 2008, corporations across the globe dialed back spending and instead sat on their cash. This might be exactly the time when companies begin to replace aging computers and other technology, especially with the U.S. economy looking a bit brighter. Tech stocks in the S&P 500 inched up just 1.3 percent overall in 2011.
Next Page ?Source: http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/money/53336362-79/investors-percent-sectors-care.html.csp
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Sunday, January 22, 2012
Haiti goalkeeper hospitalized after collision
updated 1:51 a.m. ET Jan. 20, 2012
VANCOUVER, British Columbia - Haiti goalkeeper Ednie Limage was hospitalized Thursday night with a possible spinal injury after colliding with a teammate during an Olympic qualifying game against Canada.
Limage was reaching for a high ball when she struck hard by midfielder Samantha Marie-Ann Brand in the second half of Haiti's 6-0 loss. Limage fell to the ground in pain, still clutching the ball.
Limage was carried off the field on a hand-held stretcher and treated near the Haiti bench for much of the second half. Then she was immobilized on a hospital stretcher and taken from the stadium.
Coach Ronald Luxieux said through a translator that the 26-year-old Limage was "suffering quite a bit" and that "it might be a spinal injury." He said he expected to have an update Friday.
Limage lives in Canada and plays for the University of Moncton in New Brunswick.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46067808/ns/sports-olympic_sports/
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