MADRID ? Spain's new government warned Friday that the country's budget deficit will be much higher than anticipated this year, as it unveiled a first batch of austerity measures that include surprise income and property tax hikes.
Following the new conservative government's second Cabinet meeting, the budget deficit for this year was revised up to 8 percent of national income from the previous government's forecast of 6 percent.
Alongside the upward revision, which comes amid predictions that the Spanish economy will soon be back in recession, the government headed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy announced further measures to get a handle on its debts, including euro8.9 billion ($11.5 billion) in spending cuts.
"This is the beginning of the beginning," government spokeswoman Soraya Saenz de Santamaria said.
She said more reforms and austerity will come in 2012.
The conservative Popular Party took power only last week after a landslide election win on Nov. 20 and its main priority is to make sure that Spain doesn't get dragged into the debt crisis mire that has already forced Greece, Ireland and Portugal into seeking financial bailouts and is now threatening much-bigger Italy.
Though Spain's budget deficit is higher than the 3 percent threshold that was supposedly part of the euro's economic framework, it has so far avoided the same sort of bond market pressure that's currently afflicting Italy, partly because its overall central government debt burden is relatively low at around 66 percent ? Italy's is around 120 percent.
The yield on Spain's benchmark ten-year bonds is closing out 2011 at just over 5 percent, lower than Italy's 7 percent, a rate that is widely-considered to be unsustainable in the long-run.
Nevertheless, Spain has to keep a lid on its borrowings especially with unemployment so high and its regions and the private sector is so indebted too following the collapse of a property and construction bubble that had fueled robust growth for nearly a decade. Spain crawled out of nearly two years of recession in 2010, but the economy slowed this summer and growth was outright flat in the third quarter of this year.
An increase in the deficit forecast was not a total surprise, but the scale of the increase was.
Many economists had predicted an increase because the economy stagnated in the third quarter and is now officially forecast to drop back into recession in the first quarter of 2012. Spain's jobless rate is 21.5 percent, the highest in the euro zone.
Alongside the spending cuts, the new government maintained a freeze on civil servants' salaries and on practically all government hiring. Pensions though were increased by 1 percent, the only area of spending to go up ? Rajoy had pledged to increase pensions in a speech to Parliament last week prior to his swearing in.
Taxes on income will also be raised but only for two years.
Treasury Minister Cristobal Montoro said the increases will be progressive, with the wealthiest paying more and that the impact on lower-income earners will be minimal. The government is projecting that this will bring in euro6.2 billion.
Taxes will also be raised on homes, but only those less hit by property prices plummeting because of the burst real estate bubble.
Spokeswoman Saenz de Santamaria said the jump in the deficit forecast came as a surprise because the outgoing government was slow in turning over some documents.
"It is going to force us to take extraordinary measures," she said. "We are confronted with an extraordinary and unforeseen situation which is going to force us to adopt extraordinary and unforeseen measures"
Property taxes were also raised, but only through 2013.
The measures will go before Parliament on Jan. 11. Passage is assured because the Popular Party has a comfortable majority.
The measures are part of an extension of the 2011 budget because the last government did not pass one for 2012.
A bigger austerity whack is expected when the new government passes a full blown 2012 budget by the end of March.
NEW YORK ? A 12-year-old boy admitted Friday to his role in a stunt that seriously hurt a stranger ? dropping a shopping cart that plummeted onto a woman's head from a walkway four stories above.
The day before a 13th birthday he'll spend in custody, the boy pleaded guilty to assault in a case that has spurred soul-searching and commentary well beyond the city limits. Another 12-year-old also has been charged, both of them as juveniles.
The boy who pleaded guilty could face a punishment of up to 18 months in a juvenile facility, time that could be extended annually up to his 18th birthday. A judge is due to decide Dec. 6; he remains in detention in the meantime.
With his mother and lawyer beside him, the boy acknowledged he'd held the shopping cart over a walkway railing Oct. 30 at a shopping center in struggling East Harlem.
"I knew people was down there and somebody could have got hurt," he said in a quiet voice.
Somebody did get hurt, and badly: Marion Salmon Hedges, a real estate broker and active volunteer with the Junior League, a community center for needy children and senior citizens, and other charity organizations. While she lives in a brownstone across town, she was at the shopping center with her teenage son to load up on Halloween candy at a discount store, since her block was a magnet for children from a range of nearby neighborhoods, her friends and family have said.
After the shopping cart plunged onto her, the 47-year-old Hedges was in a medically induced coma. She remained in serious condition Friday, said Leah S. Schmelzer, an attorney with the city Law Department. It represents the government in Family Court here. Hedges' son wasn't hurt.
The boy who pleaded guilty was at the shopping center that day without his mother's permission when he and the other accused boy flung the cart over the rail, Schmelzer said. The Associated Press generally doesn't report the names of minors charged with crimes.
The case made headlines in New York and spurred some commentary elsewhere.
"When 12-year-olds are dropping heavy objects on innocent passersby for sport . . . at least one of society's wheels is completely off the rails," read an editorial in The Augusta Chronicle, in Georgia. In The Washington Times, columnist Marybeth Hicks cast the case as a reflection of "a society that is loath to label children good or bad."
Shahabuddeen Ally, the lawyer for the boy who pleaded guilty, said the preteen was deeply sorry and "did the responsible thing" by owning up to his actions.
"He understands what he did," Ally said outside court, after unsuccessfully asking Judge Susan Larabee to release the boy temporarily for his birthday or Thanksgiving. She noted, though, that the boy had gotten a good report from the facility where he's being housed.
"You have leadership potential," she told him. "Keep that in mind."
Crying as she left court, the boy's mother declined to comment.
The other boy is due back in court next week.
___
Follow Jennifer Peltz at http://twitter.com/jennpeltz.
HOUSTON ? ESPN college football analyst Lee Corso always ends the "College Gameday" show in outrageous fashion.
On Saturday, he accidentally added a profanity.
On set for the SMU-Houston game, Corso got tangled up with his SMU prop, a cheerleader's megaphone, prompting a two-word vulgar outburst as he tried to make his pick for the game. Corso then put on the Houston mascot head ? muffled a few seconds too late.
Corso later came back on air during ESPN's broadcast of the Nebraska-Michigan game to apologize.
"Earlier today on `College Gameday while picking the SMU-Houston game I got a bit excited and used an expletive that I shouldn't have used," Corso said. "I apologize and can promise it won't happen again."
Bleacher Report
Ummm... That would be an F-bomb from Lee Corso.
David O'Brien
What the Corso? Lee just dropped an F-bomb on live TV doing his "headgear pick." Best moment of the year on GameDay.
Although Rihanna is one of the most powerful artists in the music industry right now, she wants a man who makes her feel like a lady. But, as the 23-year-old singer admits in an interview airing Monday on The Ellen DeGeneres Show, she's currently single -- and not all that happy about it.
Researchers have developed an analog silicon computer chip with about 400 transistors that mimics the activity of a single brain synapse - a connection between two neurons that allows information to flow from one to the other.
By John Roach
The day that computers outsmart their human overlords may yet lie in the distant future, but a new computer chip that mimics the basis of learning and memory in the brain is a critical step towards that moment.
"We are not talking about recreating a whole brain at this point. We have to start with one system," Chi-Sang Poon, a research scientist in the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology, told me Thursday.?
Poon and colleagues have started with an analog silicon chip outfitted with 400 transistors that emulates the activity of a brain synapse ? a connection between two neurons that allows information to flow from one to the other.
There are about 100 billion neurons in the human brain, each of which has synapses ? or gaps ? between it and other neurons. Emulating one is a step "for building truly intelligent brain systems," he said.
The development is a departure from digital computer chips that simulate the spiking of neurons, treating their function like a simple on-off switch. Poon's chip directly mimics the ion channels that lead to the spiking. He likens it to understanding what's going on inside a black box.
"We really get into the nitty-gritty of how the neurons work intra-cellularly," he explained. "That involves all the ionic processes that are going on. Neuroscientists spend their life trying to understand how these things work and fit together."
The chip, he said, will allow neuroscientists to conduct basic research on how the brain actually works. Eventually, this could lead to the study and treatment of diseases related to brain malfunction, for example.
Other potential applications further down the road include devices that replicate specific brain functions that are incorporated with brain-machine interfaces. This could increase the versatility of devices that allow people to operate wheelchairs and computer mice with their thoughts, for example.
"Once it is to the level that we can build reasonably good replicas of brain systems, we can actually build brain systems that can replace some of the damaged brain parts," Poon added.?
The same concept, he noted, could be even be used to "enhance part of the brain systems beyond the normal human capacity."
And, stepping outside the machine-brain interface, the same chips could be used to build artificial intelligence devices that faithfully mimic or replicate brain behavior for tasks such as pattern recognition, cognition, learning, memory and even decision making.
"As long as we understand how the brain works, we can always reverse-engineer it and put it?in a chip to reproduce those functions," Poon said.?
Poon and his colleagues describe the chip this week in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.?
More on brainy computer technology:
?
John Roach is a contributing writer for msnbc.com. To learn more about him, check out his website. For more of our Future of Technology series, watch the featured video below.
?
?
?
As the over-65 population expands, new gadgets and systems will allow seniors to live at home and receive improved healthcare. From sleep-sensing beds to robots piloted by grandchildren, we look at how "health surveillance" can improve quality of life.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:BRCD) will unveil its latest earnings on Monday, November 21, 2011. Brocade Communications Systems is a supplier of networking equipment, including end-to-end Internet Protocol based Ethernet networking solutions and storage area networking solutions for service providers such as telecommunication firms and cable operators.
Brocade Communications Systems, Inc. Earnings Preview Cheat Sheet
Wall St. Earnings Expectations: The average estimate of analysts is for profit of 6 cents per share, a decline of 25% from the company?s actual earnings for the same quarter a year ago. During the past three months, the average estimate has moved down from 7 cents. Between one and three months ago, the average estimate moved down. It has been unchanged at 6 cents during the last month. Analysts are projecting profit to rise by 19.4% versus last year to 29 cents.
Past Earnings Performance: Last quarter, the company saw net income of 5 cents per share versus a mean estimate of profit of 5 cents per share. This comes after two consecutive quarters of exceeding expectations.
Wall St. Revenue Expectations: On average, analysts predict $527.1 million in revenue this quarter, a decline of 4.2% from the year ago quarter. Analysts are forecasting total revenue of $2.13 billion for the year, a rise of 1.9% from last year?s revenue of $2.09 billion.
Analyst Ratings: Analysts seem relatively indifferent about Brocade Communications Systems with 15 of 25 analysts surveyed maintaining a hold rating.
A Look Back: In the third quarter, profit fell 91.2% to $1.9 million (0 cents a share) from $22 million (5 cents a share) the year earlier, meeting analyst expectations. Revenue fell 0.1% to $502.9 million from $503.5 million.
Key Stats:
A year-over-year revenue decrease in the third quarter snapped a streak of three consecutive quarters of revenue increases. Revenue rose 9.8%in the second quarter, 1.2% in the first quarter and 5.5% in the fourth quarter of the last fiscal year.
The decrease in profit in the third quarter came after net income rose in the previous quarter. In the second quarter, net income rose 23.4%.
Competitors to Watch: EMC Corporation (NYSE:EMC), Emulex Corporation (NYSE:ELX), NetApp Inc. (NASDAQ:NTAP), Hewlett-Packard Company (NYSE:HPQ), Cisco Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSCO), Western Digital Corp. (NYSE:WDC), QLogic Corporation (NASDAQ:QLGC), Dot Hill Systems Corp. (NASDAQ:HILL), Overland Storage, Inc. (NASDAQ:OVRL), and Quantum Corporation (NYSE:QTM).
Stock Price Performance: During August 22, 2011 to November 15, 2011, the stock price had risen $1.44 (42.4%) from $3.40 to $4.84. The stock price saw one of its best stretches over the last year between June 24, 2011 and July 7, 2011 when shares rose for nine-straight days, rising 9.2% (+57 cents) over that span. It saw one of its worst periods between March 25, 2011 and April 5, 2011 when shares fell for eight-straight days, falling 7.5% (-47 cents) over that span. Shares are down 45 cents (-8.5%) year to date.
(Company fundamentals by Xignite Financials. Earnings estimates provided by Zacks)
Indonesians are killing endangered orang-utans at an alarming rate. At least 750 were killed in one recent year, according to a new survey.
The survey focused on Bornean orang-utans (Pongo pygmaeus) living in Kalimantan, the Indonesian side of the island of Borneo. Led by Erik Meijaard of People and Nature Consulting International in Jakarta, Indonesia, researchers interviewed 6983 people from 687 villages between April 2008 and September 2009 about bushmeat.
Tallying up individual accounts, they estimate that between 750 and 1800 orang-utans were killed in the year leading up to April 2008. In previous years, however, things were even worse: the researchers calculate that between 1950 and 3100 were killed each year.
Interviews suggest 54 per cent were killed for food and eaten by local people. Conflict between humans and orang-utans also seems to be a factor: 10 per cent of orang-utans were said to have been killed because they were raiding crops, and 15 per cent of respondents said the orang-utans had come into conflict with local people.
Even without the threat of becoming bushmeat, Bornean orang-utans are already endangered, with no more than 69,000 left in the wild. The main culprit is habitat loss, with expanding palm-oil plantations often blamed. The high rate of killing only adds to the pressure on the species.
Seventy-three per cent of respondents knew that orang-utans were protected by Indonesian law. "If people are found holding a dead orang-utan they should be prosecuted," says Ashley Leiman, director of the Orangutan Foundation in London. But that is not the case, she says. Killing orang-utans is illegal, but the Indonesian government rarely prosecutes or punishes perpetrators. She is aware of just one successful prosecution; another case is pending.
If you would like to reuse any content from New Scientist, either in print or online, please contact the syndication department first for permission. New Scientist does not own rights to photos, but there are a variety of licensing options available for use of articles and graphics we own the copyright to.
Have your say
Only subscribers may leave comments on this article. Please log in.
Only personal subscribers may leave comments on this article
Subscribe now to comment.
All comments should respect the New Scientist House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please use the "Report" link in that comment to report it to us.
If you are having a technical problem posting a comment, please contact technical support.
MOSCOW (Reuters) ? Syrian opposition leaders pressed Moscow to join international calls for the resignation of President Bashar al-Assad Tuesday, but Russia said Assad's opponents should hold talks with the government to end months of bloodshed.
After meeting Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, the head of the main Syrian National Council opposition group said dialogue would not work without sufficient pressure on Assad.
"Progress on the road to peaceful negotiations ... should start with a decisive step, a strong symbolic step -- it should start with the international community and Arab countries and Russia also asking President Assad to resign in order for Syria to enter a new era," Burhan Ghalioun told reporters.
Russia joined China last month in a double veto of a U.N. Security Council resolution that would have condemned Syria's bloody crackdown on pro-democracy protesters and potentially opened the door for sanctions. It has accused the West of discouraging dialogue between Assad and opponents.
In talks with his opponents, Russia offered no indication it would grant their wish, suggesting it holds out the hope of securing a peaceful resolution without bowing to the West and abandoning its support for Syria's isolated leader.
Instead, Russia said it had called "extremely clearly" on Ghalioun's delegation "to immediately join in the realization of the Arab League initiative to resolve the crisis in Syria through the launch of dialogue between Syria's authorities and the opposition," the Foreign Ministry said.
Ghalioun said that in response to their requests for Moscow to call for Assad's resignation, Russian diplomats said that was not an Arab League condition for dialogue.
CONTINUED CRACKDOWN
Syrian authorities agreed to the Arab League initiative on November 2, pledging to pull the military out of restive cities, free political prisoners and start talks with the opposition, which wants to remove Assad and introduce democratic freedoms.
But the crackdown continued and the Arab League decided Saturday to suspend Syria's membership, a move Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called a mistake.
"We, the Syrian National Council, think that Bashar al-Assad is the only obstacle on the path to achieving a free, democratic Syria," Ghalioun said.
Jordan's King Abdullah said Monday that Assad should step down.
Russia, which has close ties to Assad's government and has sold arms to Syria, has urged the longtime leader to implement promised reforms faster but echoed the government's assertion that its opponents share blame for the violence.
The United Nations says more than 3,500 people have been killed in eight months of protests in the Middle East nation, while Syria's government says armed "terrorist" gangs have killed 1,100 soldiers and police.
Russia, struggling to maintain what influence it has in the Arab world amid unrest that has toppled longstanding leaders, has taken a firm stand in opposition to the West on Syria after voicing anger over NATO air strikes that helped Libyan rebels oust Muammar Gaddafi.
Moscow let the NATO operation go ahead by abstaining in the U.N. Security Council vote that authorized it, but then accused the alliance of overstepping its mandate to protect civilians.
As Western pressure for Security Council action against Syria mounted, Russia emphasized it would not support a resolution that only condemned Assad's government. It then vetoed the U.S.-backed European draft submitted last month, saying it would have opened the way for military intervention.
(Additional reporting by Mikhail Antonov and Nikolai Isayev; Editing by Richard Balmforth)
FSU professor wins major meteorology award for research on El NinoPublic release date: 15-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Allan Clarke aclarke@ocean.fsu.edu 850-644-2240 Florida State University
Florida State University oceanography professor Allan Clarke grew up in a coastal town in southern Australia where he loved the ocean, the beach and the warmth of thesun. Little did he know that his fondness for that beautiful coastline would one day lead him to become an international expert on physical oceanography, climate dynamics and El Nio.
In a symbol of the professional esteem with which he is regarded by his peers, Clarke has been named the winner the American Meteorological Society's 2012 Sverdrup Gold Medal Award, granted each year to a researcher who makes outstanding contributions to the scientific knowledge of interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere. In winning the award, he was cited for "fundamental contributions to the dynamics of ocean currents and air-sea interaction with particular emphasis on El Nio/Southern Oscillation."
"I was thrilled beyond belief to win it was fantastic," Clarke said, his Australian accent still so crisp it could win him a spot in an Outback Steakhouse commercial.
Clarke is the Adrian E. Gill Professor of Oceanography and a Distinguished Research Professor at FSU. His professorship is named after his beloved former professor and mentor, who was an expert in atmosphere-ocean dynamics.
Along with Florida State research associate Steve Van Gorder, Clarke has been predicting El Nio monthly since 2003. (See http://ocean.fsu.edu/faculty/clarke/clarkeelnino.html.) Those predictions have been provided to the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and have also been used in Australia to help farmers better grow their crops. Florida produces much of the U.S. winter vegetables and fruit, and Clarke is planning to apply his climate knowledge to help Florida growers.
As a boy growing up in southern Australia, Clarke loved to play cricket and Australian rules football. He also played such a mean game of tennis that he eventually landed on the University of Cambridge tennis team in England.
Though an admitted math ace, Clarke never dreamed he would become a Florida State professor "who researched ocean currents and climate variability," he said.
"I used to wonder why some Australian summers were hotter than others but never thought that I would someday have the privilege of finding out about those things," explained Clarke, who earned his doctorate in applied mathematics and theoretical physics from Cambridge (and from the same department that attracted world-renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking).
Clarke's respected textbook, published in 2008 a project that was nearly a decade in the making was written for students and scientists either working on the El Nio/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) problem or its many applications. ENSO affects climate variability over 70 percent of the globe. For example, an El Nio typically results in a colder and wetter winter in Florida and the southeastern United States while making other parts of the world (for example, Australia) drier than normal. Clarke's book addresses topics such as air-sea interaction during El Nio, ENSO forecasting using statistical and huge computer models, and understanding how these changes affect marine and bird life.
One of his former students who reviewed it enthusiastically summed up Clarke's teaching method: "The book follows Dr. Clarke's style: 'mathematically rigorous development of topics and applications on the real world problems.'"
Clarke admits he adores teaching, research and his students.
"Teaching and research go extremely well together. I'm not going to teach what I don't understand completely," said Clarke, "and in that process you often learn new things." More than 25 research papers by Clarke and his students have been a direct result of his classes.
"One of the privileges of working at a university is the opportunity to meet and work with students," he added. "It's great to see them learn, be excited about the same things I enjoy and develop as scientists."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
FSU professor wins major meteorology award for research on El NinoPublic release date: 15-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Allan Clarke aclarke@ocean.fsu.edu 850-644-2240 Florida State University
Florida State University oceanography professor Allan Clarke grew up in a coastal town in southern Australia where he loved the ocean, the beach and the warmth of thesun. Little did he know that his fondness for that beautiful coastline would one day lead him to become an international expert on physical oceanography, climate dynamics and El Nio.
In a symbol of the professional esteem with which he is regarded by his peers, Clarke has been named the winner the American Meteorological Society's 2012 Sverdrup Gold Medal Award, granted each year to a researcher who makes outstanding contributions to the scientific knowledge of interactions between the oceans and the atmosphere. In winning the award, he was cited for "fundamental contributions to the dynamics of ocean currents and air-sea interaction with particular emphasis on El Nio/Southern Oscillation."
"I was thrilled beyond belief to win it was fantastic," Clarke said, his Australian accent still so crisp it could win him a spot in an Outback Steakhouse commercial.
Clarke is the Adrian E. Gill Professor of Oceanography and a Distinguished Research Professor at FSU. His professorship is named after his beloved former professor and mentor, who was an expert in atmosphere-ocean dynamics.
Along with Florida State research associate Steve Van Gorder, Clarke has been predicting El Nio monthly since 2003. (See http://ocean.fsu.edu/faculty/clarke/clarkeelnino.html.) Those predictions have been provided to the International Research Institute for Climate and Society and have also been used in Australia to help farmers better grow their crops. Florida produces much of the U.S. winter vegetables and fruit, and Clarke is planning to apply his climate knowledge to help Florida growers.
As a boy growing up in southern Australia, Clarke loved to play cricket and Australian rules football. He also played such a mean game of tennis that he eventually landed on the University of Cambridge tennis team in England.
Though an admitted math ace, Clarke never dreamed he would become a Florida State professor "who researched ocean currents and climate variability," he said.
"I used to wonder why some Australian summers were hotter than others but never thought that I would someday have the privilege of finding out about those things," explained Clarke, who earned his doctorate in applied mathematics and theoretical physics from Cambridge (and from the same department that attracted world-renowned cosmologist Stephen Hawking).
Clarke's respected textbook, published in 2008 a project that was nearly a decade in the making was written for students and scientists either working on the El Nio/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) problem or its many applications. ENSO affects climate variability over 70 percent of the globe. For example, an El Nio typically results in a colder and wetter winter in Florida and the southeastern United States while making other parts of the world (for example, Australia) drier than normal. Clarke's book addresses topics such as air-sea interaction during El Nio, ENSO forecasting using statistical and huge computer models, and understanding how these changes affect marine and bird life.
One of his former students who reviewed it enthusiastically summed up Clarke's teaching method: "The book follows Dr. Clarke's style: 'mathematically rigorous development of topics and applications on the real world problems.'"
Clarke admits he adores teaching, research and his students.
"Teaching and research go extremely well together. I'm not going to teach what I don't understand completely," said Clarke, "and in that process you often learn new things." More than 25 research papers by Clarke and his students have been a direct result of his classes.
"One of the privileges of working at a university is the opportunity to meet and work with students," he added. "It's great to see them learn, be excited about the same things I enjoy and develop as scientists."
###
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
SINGAPORE (AP) ? Oil prices hovered near $98 a barrel Tuesday in Asia as falling U.S. crude inventories suggested demand could be improving.
Benchmark crude for December delivery was down 20 cents at $97.94 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 85 cents to settle at $98.14 in New York on Monday.
Brent crude was up 40 cents to $112.29 a barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.
Crude has surged about 30 percent from $75 on Oct. 4 amid growing investor optimism that the U.S. economy would avoid recession this year. Traders are now mulling whether weak economic growth will boost demand enough to justify further prices gains.
Falling crude inventories in the U.S. and Europe suggest supplies aren't keeping up with demand. Analysts surveyed by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos., predict crude stocks fell 1.5 million barrels last week.
The American Petroleum Institute reports its weekly supply figures later Tuesday and the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration announces its data on Wednesday.
"Unexpectedly resilient economic data has exacerbated the tightness in physical commodities," Goldman Sachs said in a report. "We maintain our view that global growth will provide enough support to demand to drive key commodity prices higher over the next 12 months."
Goldman recommended investors buy the December 2012 futures contract.
In other Nymex trading, heating oil added 1.1 cents to $3.17 per gallon and gasoline futures fell 0.8 cents to $2.53 per gallon. Natural gas fell 1.7 cents at $3.44 per 1,000 cubic feet.
LONDON ? Budget airline easyJet PLC reported an 86 percent increase in full-year profit but warned Tuesday of significant economic headwinds in the current year.
Profit after tax rose to 225 million pounds ($358 million) in the year to end-September, compared to 121 million pounds a year earlier. Revenue was 16 percent higher at 3.45 billion pounds.
As announced in September, the airline plans a special dividend of 150 million pounds, plus the 10.5 pence per share dividend, equal to 20 percent of basic earnings per share. In total, shareholders are due 195 million pounds.
Gert Zonneveld, analyst at Panmure Gordon & Co., said it was "doubtful whether revenue increases can fully offset anticipated cost increases in the current year."
"Over the medium term, however, the outlook continues to be highly attractive in our view," Zonneveld said. He added that easyJet may benefit from International Airlines Group's planned takeover of BMI, which is expected to lead to a decrease in BMI's European services.
The carrier cautioned that it has felt the economic squeeze, with holiday bookings between June and August down 4 percent year-on-year. It added that weak consumer confidence makes it more difficult to pass on higher costs for fuel and taxes to passengers.
The carrier's shares were down 1.6 percent at 360 pence on the London Stock Exchange.
Following the lead of its larger rival, Ryanair, easyJet said it would begin a trial of selling assigned seats early next year.
That may be most attractive to business travelers, which easyJet has been eager to attract. The company said it had 1 million more business passengers during the year, to a total of 9.5 million.
The airline's management faces continuing criticism from Stelios Haji-Ioannou, the company's founder and biggest shareholder with a 26 percent stake; he and his family have a combined 38 percent share.
Haji-Ioannou recently wrote to easyJet's chairman, Mike Rake, demanding that easyJet raise its dividend payout further, to 50 percent of earnings and allow shareholders to vote on all new orders for aircraft. If not, he said he would vote against the reappointment of the current board of directors.
MONROVIA (Reuters) ? Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf promised to involve opponents in her second term after winning a landslide victory in an election boycotted by her main rival over fraud allegations.
Nobel Peace laureate Johnson-Sirleaf won 90.6 percent of votes according to tallies returned from nearly 98 percent of the country's polling stations by Friday. Full results are not due to be confirmed until early next week.
Her victory was tainted by a low turnout for Tuesday's poll, which highlighted simmering tensions in the West African country instead of solidifying the fragile gains made since 14 years of civil war ended in 2003.
"I will reach out to all the presidential candidates. What I will offer them is not yet known," Johnson-Sirleaf told reporters late on Thursday.
At least two people were killed as authorities broke up an opposition protest on the eve of the election and supporters of her main challenger, former U.N. diplomat Winston Tubman, have said they do not recognize Johnson-Sirleaf's win.
Her Unity Party's failure to win a majority in parliament elections held last month may push her to seek allies, although she has not specified whether that will run to government posts for Tubman or other opposition leaders.
"I don't think it (the low turnout) does any damage to my credibility ... (but) it did undermine the country's victory," Johnson-Sirleaf told Reuters in an interview.
"My task initially will be a bit harder because I now have to reach out to many of those who, particularly young people, may feel disaffected and may feel marginalized. But I intend to do that," she pledged.
Asked if she could offer Tubman a government post, she replied: "He has to first accept the election results. Then we go from there."
Stability in Liberia is a vital piece in the overall security make-up of West Africa, a region trying to move on from decades of civil wars and coups in countries such as Ivory Coast, Guinea and Sierra Leone.
Tubman, who was a senior aide to former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan, won 9.4 percent of the votes. His name was left on ballot slips despite his decision to withdraw from the run-off, alleging irregularities in the first round of voting.
MORE WORK NEEDED
Provisional turnout for the run-off was just 38 percent, barely half the first-round figure when excited Liberians queued in the rain to cast their ballot.
International election observers say voting has been broadly fair, but the violence and the low turnout has prompted calls for Johnson-Sirleaf to do more to heal divisions.
Tubman alleges that authorities made an attempt on his life as they broke up Monday's opposition rally -- an accusation the government strenuously denies -- and said ahead of the results that any form of power-sharing accord was unlikely.
Johnson-Sirleaf has ordered an independent inquiry into Monday's violence.
Critics say Johnson-Sirleaf, while at least keeping Liberia on an even keel after a war that claimed nearly a quarter million lives, has not done enough to spur development in a country where average income is less than a dollar a day.
Liberia is hoping iron ore resources being mined by groups such as ArcelorMittal will boost reconstruction. However it received a blow to its hopes of a future oil bonanza this week as tests at its offshore Montserrado well failed to hit oil in commercial quantities.
(Additional reporting by Clair MacDougall in Monrovia; Writing by Mark John; Editing by Andrew Heavens)
NEW YORK (AP) ? A person familiar with the negotiations tells The Associated Press that the Philadelphia Phillies and closer Jonathan Papelbon have agreed to a $50 million, four-year contract.
The person spoke on condition of anonymity Friday because the deal had not yet been announced.
Papelbon, who turns 30 on Nov. 23, had 219 saves over seven seasons with the Boston Red Sox, including 31 this year, when he made $12 million.
Ryan Madson's agent and Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. were close to a $44 million, four-year deal on Monday, but Amaro told Madson agent Scott Boras the following day that team president Dave Montgomery wouldn't approve the deal.
The agreement was first reported by CSNPhilly.com.
24-year-old catcher kidnapped after finishing his rookie season
By IAN JAMES and JORGE RUEDA
updated 5:27 p.m. ET Nov. 10, 2011
CARACAS, Venezuela - The government sent top investigators Thursday to hunt for Washington Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, whose abduction has shaken Venezuela's elite athletes and focused attention on the nation's sharp rise in kidnappings for ransom.
The 24-year-old player, who had returned to Venezuela after his rookie season, was just outside the front door at his home in the town of Santa Ines on Wednesday night when an SUV approached, armed men got out "and they took him away," said Ramos' agent, Gustavo Marcano.
It was the first known kidnapping of a Major League Baseball player in Venezuela, though the relatives of some ballplayers have previously been held captive for ransom.
Venezuelan authorities later said Ramos was still alive.
Police found the kidnappers' vehicle abandoned in the nearby town of Bejuma on Thursday morning, Justice Minister Tareck El Aissami said. He said anti-kidnapping units led by "the best investigators we have" were dispatched to the area in central Carabobo state.
He vowed to rescue Ramos and capture his abductors.
"We're taking on this investigation with everything we've got," El Aissami said.
Major League Baseball and the Nationals said the leagues' Department of Investigations was working with authorities.
"Our foremost concern is with Wilson Ramos and his family and our thoughts are with them at this time," the team and the MLB said in a joint statement, adding there would be no further comment.
Ramos was outside with his father and two brothers when the SUV pulled up with four men inside, three of whom got out and seized the player, Marcano said.
"The abductors haven't made contact with the family or with anyone," said Domingo Alvarez, vice president of the Venezuelan Professional Baseball League. "We're worried."
Ramos is a key young player for the Nationals. As a rookie in 2011, he hit .267 with 15 home runs and 52 RBIs in 113 games. He also threw out 19 of 67 runners attempting to steal a base, a 28 percent success rate that ranked third among qualifying catchers in the National League.
Washington acquired Ramos from the Minnesota Twins in a trade for All-Star relief pitcher Matt Capps in July 2010.
He is one of dozens of Venezuelans in professional baseball, and security while at home has increasingly become a concern for the players and their families as a rising wave of kidnappings has hit the wealthy as well as the middle class.
Venezuelan police said 618 kidnappings were reported in 2009, and the numbers have grown rapidly in recent years. In 1998, when President Hugo Chavez was elected, just 52 kidnappings were reported. Security experts say the real number of kidnappings today is much higher because many cases aren't reported to authorities.
The wealthy have taken steps to protect themselves. Sales of armored cars have soared in the past several years. Bodyguards typically shadow major leaguers when they return to their homeland to play in the winter league.
"Every major league player has his own security, but we don't know if he had his security there at that time," Alvarez said.
Former Boston Red Sox slugger Tony Armas, who lives in Venezuela, said young players have been taking additional security measures due to the risk of kidnappings.
"But many of them are careless sometimes. No one seriously thinks that this can happen to us, and much less in a country like ours where people love baseball," Armas said in a telephone interview.
"Most of us came from humble families. We still have relatives who live in poor areas; we frequent those places and unfortunately the criminals are getting more soulless all the time," he said.
In November 2009, the 56-year-old mother of Victor Zambrano, who retired after a seven-year Major League career, was rescued in a commando-style operation three days after she was kidnapped. The former pitcher's cousin, Richard Mendez Zambrano, had been kidnapped a few days earlier, and was later killed.
In June 2009, Colorado Rockies catcher Yorvit Torrealba's 11-year-old son and brother-in-law were kidnapped and released a day later.
The mother of former player Ugueth Urbina, who was a two-time All-Star pitcher, spent more than five months in captivity until she was rescued in early 2005.
Venezuela has one of Latin America's highest murder rates, and violent crime has worsened in recent years. As ransom kidnapping has soared, the government passed a revised law in 2009 that stiffened prison sentences for kidnapping and also allows authorities to freeze the banks accounts of victims' families to prevent them from paying ransom.
Ramos had been training and planned to start playing with his Venezuelan team next week. Arizona Diamondbacks third baseman Melvin Mora, also a Venezuelan, proposed that the Venezuelan league ought to call off its games "until he appears."
But league president Jose Grasso said that won't happen. "Turning out the stadium lights isn't a solution," Grasso said, calling Ramos' abduction "an isolated event."
AP Sports Writers Howard Fendrich in Washington and Ron Blum in New York contributed to this report.
? 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
advertisement
More newsGreg Fiume / Getty ImagesGreg Fiume / Getty Images
CSN: Police confirm kidnapped Nat is alive
CSN: Nationals catcher Wilson Ramos, who was abducted from his home last night by four armed gunmen, is alive, the Venezuelan intelligence police confirmed this afternoon.
MONROVIA, Liberia ? Africa's first and only female president handily won re-election Thursday with 90.2 percent of the vote, but her victory has been rendered hollow and her government may struggle to prove its legitimacy because the opposition boycotted the poll.
Hours before the results were announced in an election that was supposed to solidify Liberia's shaky peace, opposition leader Winston Tubman said he would not accept the outcome of this week's presidential runoff.
With nearly nine-tenths of precincts reporting, National Election Commission chair Elizabeth Nelson announced late Thursday that Sirleaf had received 513,320 votes out of 565,391 tallied. Only 52,071 ballots, or 9.2 percent, had been cast for Tubman, a former United Nations diplomat who, like Sirleaf, was educated at Harvard University.
Last week, Tubman called on his supporters to boycott Tuesday's presidential runoff, and many polling stations closed early due to the dismal turnout. By early morning, many had no lines outside. By afternoon, poll workers were seen dozing, some laying their heads on tables next to near-empty ballot boxes.
Turnout hovered around 33 percent of registered voters, not even half of the 71 percent who turned out for the election's first round.
"Our decision before the runoff is that we would not accept the results," Tubman told The Associated Press by telephone from Monrovia, Liberia's sea-facing capital of pockmarked buildings that still bear the scars of the horrific 14-year civil war that only ended in 2003.
"We're getting pressure from everywhere including the White House to partake in something we know is stacked against us," Tubman said. "The international community cannot see our case, and we wanted to bring this to their attention ... They should know we're not just making trouble. I'm not a trouble maker. They should not ignore us. This was a way that our voice was heard."
He has argued that the electoral process was biased in his opponent's favor and that his party had collected evidence of ballot stuffing and of improperly filled-in tally sheets. International observers said that there was no evidence of fraud. The Atlanta-based Carter Center headed by former President Jimmy Carter said the boycott had marred the vote.
"The opposition's decision to boycott the runoff was based on their assertion that the overall election was significantly flawed. These claims remain unsubstantiated," the group said in a statement. "(The) boycott essentially denied the Liberian people a genuine choice within a competitive electoral process."
Most analysts and country experts believe that Tubman would have lost Tuesday's election if he had participated. His Congress for Democratic Change party got around 33 percent of the vote in the first round last month, compared to around 44 percent for Sirleaf. She later won the endorsement of the third-place finisher, who had just over 11 percent.
"If you look at the figures, you can see that Tubman (was) almost certainly going to lose. He is 12, 13 points down in the polls," said Stephen Ellis, the author of a history of the Liberian civil war and researcher at the African Studies Center Leiden in the Netherlands.
"It's an obvious calculation. He withholds legitimacy from the government," Ellis said. "If it was felt by a large part of population to not be legitimate, in a place like Liberia, with its history, it becomes quite worrying."
Those who did make a point of going out to vote were overwhelmingly in support of Sirleaf, who was first elected in 2005 and was just awarded the Nobel Peace Prize last month. Besides the boycott, some citizens also stayed away due to the fear of violence.
On the eve of the vote, Tubman's supporters clashed with police on the streets outside the opposition's headquarters, and at least two people were killed after security forces opened fire with live bullets. That same night, the government shut down several opposition radio stations, a move that was criticized by rights groups.
Sirleaf has vowed an investigation, but the police-led violence has added another layer of negativity to a vote that was meant to cement peace.
The country's civil war erupted in 1989 and continued on and off until 2003. As many as a quarter-of-a-million people were killed and the country was destroyed. Rebel soldiers played soccer with human skulls. They created forms of torture unheard of before, like slicing open the stomachs of pregnant women, taking bets on the sex of the unborn child.
The nation's fragile peace has been mostly held together by the presence of thousands of United Nations peacekeepers still stationed in Liberia eight years after the war.
The police's excessive use of force on Monday indicates how far the country still has to go in terms of security sector reform, before a durable peace can be declared, said Corinne Dufka, a Washington-based researcher for Human Rights Watch who is an expert on Liberia.
Lawrence Randall, the executive director of the Liberia Media Center, an independent consortium that posted election results in real time from all 15 counties, said that the opposition's rhetoric is irresponsible.
"They are trying to stir up tension. And in my opinion it's very, very unnecessary ? we need to proceed in a line of peace. We can't keep making statements that instigate," said Randall. "But I think in general people are convinced," he added, "that peace is paramount."
___
Callimachi contributed to this report from Dakar, Senegal.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 11, 2011) ? A study analyses the dietary patterns of the adult Spanish population with high cardiovascular risk. The results reveal a high consumption of both red meat and fish. However, whilst eating lots of cured meats is associated with greater weight gain and a higher obesity rate, the consumption of fish is linked to lower glucose concentrations and a smaller risk of developing diabetes.
Mercedes Sotos Prieto, lead author of the study which forms part of the Predimed study (Prevention with a Mediterranean Diet) and researcher at the University of Valencia explains how "in Mediterranean countries, consumption of foods that typically form part of the diet here has decreased in recent decades. The consumption of saturated fats mainly from red meats and industrial baking has increased and this is really worrying."
Conducted in the Valencian Community on 945 people (340 men and 605 women) between 55 and 80 years of age and with a high cardiovascular risk, the aim of the study was to understand dietary patterns in terms of meat and fish consumption. It also sought to understand the correlation between the Mediterranean diet and its association with cardiovascular risk factors.
The results were published in the Nutrici?n Hospitalaria journal and show that the studied Mediterranean population eat a large amount of red meat and fish. However, the consumption of fish is associated with a decreased prevalence of diabetes and lower glucose concentrations whereas the consumption of red meat, especially cured meats is related to increased weight gain and obesity.
The researcher points out that "the red meat consumption of the sample population reaches an average of once a day, which is high in comparison to dietary recommendations. This could be influenced by many weight-loss diets which recommend eating grilled veal."
Eating red meat in excess is linked to higher cardiovascular risk, higher blood pressure, diabetes and a moderate decrease in life expectancy mainly due to cancer or heart disease. In contrast, fish appears in the Mediterranean diet and has health benefits for the heart.
Despite being a cross-sectional study that does not determine a causal effect, its authors confirm that there are many similar studies where the consumption of fish, both white and, even more so oily fish, is associated with a lower risk of developing diabetes type 2.
"Various hypotheses have been put forward that attempt to explain why the consumption of fish can be related to diabetes," they explain. "The increase of omega-3 in the cells of the skeletal muscles improves insulin sensitivity."
"It is important to understand the dietary patterns of the Spanish population in order to learn whether dietary habits are changing. We should therefore strengthen dietary education," outlines Mercedes Sotos Prieto, who goes on to say that "we ought to establish dietary intervention programmes so that we do not stray from the Mediterranean diet. In other words, such a diet involves decreasing the amount of red meat that we eat and maintaining equal levels of fish consumption."
Gender Differences
The high intake of saturated fats from red and cured meat consumption (7.4 +/- 4.7 times a week) was more frequent in men. Women proved to eat more white meat, especially chicken and turkey.
As for fish consumption (4.5 +/- 2.6 times a week), no significant differences were found between men and women. In general, women scored higher for "healthy dietary patterns" or "healthy diets" compared to men.
Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +1:
Other bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Plataforma SINC, via AlphaGalileo.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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.
ScienceDaily (Nov. 9, 2011) ? Data from the BRIDGE clinical trial demonstrate that intravenous use of the drug cangrelor was effective at maintaining platelet inhibition in patients on thienopyridines who required bypass surgery. Trial results were presented at the 23rd annual Transcatheter Cardiovascular Therapeutics (TCT) scientific symposium, sponsored by the Cardiovascular Research Foundation.
Thienopyridines are anti-platelet medications that work to prevent blood clotting and improve circulation. Though they are among the most widely prescribed medications, their use can be complicated by the unanticipated need for surgery. Despite increased risk of thrombosis, guidelines recommend discontinuing thienopyridines 5 -- 7 days prior to surgery to minimize bleeding.
In the BRIDGE trial, researchers sought to determine whether the investigational drug cangrelor could be used as a "bridge" between discontinuing thienopyridines and surgery.
BRIDGE is a prospective, randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled, multicenter trial in 210 patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS) or treated with a coronary stent on a thienopyridine awaiting coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) to receive either cangrelor or placebo after an initial open-label, dose-finding phase. After thienopyridines were stopped, patients were administered cangrelor or a placebo for at least 48 hours, which was then discontinued 1 -- 6 hours prior to surgery.
The primary efficacy endpoint of the trial was platelet reactivity (measured in P2Y12 Reaction Units [PRU]), assessed daily with the VerifyNowTM P2Y12 assay. The main safety endpoint was excessive CABG-related bleeding.
The dose of cangrelor determined in the open-label stage was 0.75 ?g/kg/min. In the randomized phase, a greater proportion of patients treated with cangrelor had low levels of platelet reactivity throughout the entire treatment period compared with placebo (primary endpoint, PRU<240: 98.8% vs. 19.0%; odds ratio: 353, 95% confidence interval: 45.6-2728, p<0.001). Excessive CABG-related bleeding occurred in 11.8% vs. 10.4% in the cangrelor and placebo groups, respectively (p=0.76). There were no significant differences in major bleeding prior to CABG, although minor bleeding was numerically higher with cangrelor.
"Results of the BRIDGE trial indicate that in patients on thienopyridines who undergo cardiac surgery, intravenous cangrelor provides effective maintenance of platelet inhibition with no apparent increase in major bleeding, despite numerically higher rates of minor bleeding prior to surgery, which however were mostly attributed to ecchymosis at the site of venipuncture. Larger patient samples are needed to more definitively assert the safety and effectiveness of cangrelor bridging therapy to surgery," said Dominick J. Angiolillo, MD, PhD, the lead investigator of the trial. Dr. Angiolillo is an Associate Professor of Medicine and Director of Cardiovascular Research at the University of Florida College of Medicine in Jacksonville, Florida.
The BRIDGE trial is funded by The Medicines Company.
Dr. Angiolillo reports receiving honoraria for lectures from Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi-Aventis, Eli Lilly Co., and Daiichi Sankyo, Inc.; honoraria for consulting/advisory board from Bristol Myers Squibb, Sanofi-Aventis, Eli Lilly Co., Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., The Medicines Company, Portola Pharmaceuticals, Novartis, Arena Pharmaceuticals, Accumetrics, Medicure, Evolva, and Abbott Vascular; and research grants (paid to institution) from GlaxoSmithKline, Otsuka, Accumetrics, Eli Lilly Co., Daiichi Sankyo, Inc., The Medicines Company, Portola Pharmaceuticals, Schering-Plough, AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Bristol-Myers Squibb and Sanofi-Aventis.
Recommend this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google +1:
Other bookmarking and sharing tools:
Story Source:
The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Cardiovascular Research Foundation.
Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.
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.
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_sSnfooHosoaCR-VegvJtPnO2mIg1HE5L0QmEWjAYlPQ9PtU6FpY2ecBGz7tPeoFRq7RbYn1gCha5mmK41R7LCEfGA_n3CQ84UqITL33-w=s0-d){kind=small}
Public release date: 15-Nov-2011
Share ] 
