Tehran - Riots broke out in Iran in the early hours of Wednesday and some petrol stations were set on fire in the capital Tehran following the government's decision to ration petrol.
According to local press reports, at least five petrol stations in Tehran were set on fire in protest against the rationing. Some banks and supermarkets were also reportedly robbed.
Witnesses said the people also shouted slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is considered as the initiator of the petrol rationing.
The Iranian parliament swiftly reacted to the riots and summoned the oil and interior ministers to investigate the incidents in a secret session.
The oil ministry announced via state-television that necessary grounds would be prepared to prevent any petrol problems for the people. The ministry's promises were, however, based on establishing new oil refineries in the coming years.
As of Wednesday, Iran, one of the world's largest oil producers, started rationing petrol nationwide.
The oil ministry said in a statement that each private car will get 100 litres per month at 0.108 dollars per litre for normal and 0.151 dollars for super petrol.
The announcement caused huge chaos on Tehran's streets in the late night hours of Tuesday with cars rushing to petrol stations to fill their tanks before the start of the rationing.
Anything above the ration quota was scheduled to be sold at 0.30 to 0.40 dollars per litre or at a floating rate but no final decision has yet been announced in this regard.
The incidents confirmed the government's fears that the move would dent Ahmadinejad's popularity before parliamentary elections in March next year, besides increasing inflation.
Although Iran as a leading OPEC member has a daily oil production of 4.2 million barrels, the Islamic state still spends 5-8 billion dollars annually on petrol imports due to lack of refineries and a preference for oil export.
The first phase of petrol rationing was carried out earlier this month for governmental cars which have a quota of 300 litres per month.
Petrol is only supplied through the so-called 'smart card' or petrol coupon, an initiative by Ahmadinejad to stop lavish fuel consumption which currently stands at an estimated 73 million litres daily.
With the initiative Ahmadinejad hopes not only to fill the huge gap in Iran's budget but also to tackle related problems such as traffic jams and pollution in big cities.
27.06.2007
Middle East News
Tehran - Riots broke out in Iran in the early hours of Wednesday and some petrol stations were set on fire in the capital Tehran following the government's decision to ration petrol.
According to local press reports, at least five petrol stations in Tehran were set on fire in protest against the rationing. Some banks and supermarkets were also reportedly robbed.
Witnesses said the people also shouted slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is considered as the initiator of the petrol rationing.
The Iranian parliament swiftly reacted to the riots and summoned the oil and interior ministers to investigate the incidents in a secret session.
The oil ministry announced via state-television that necessary grounds would be prepared to prevent any petrol problems for the people. The ministry's promises were, however, based on establishing new oil refineries in the coming years.
As of Wednesday, Iran, one of the world's largest oil producers, started rationing petrol nationwide.
The oil ministry said in a statement that each private car will get 100 litres per month at 0.108 dollars per litre for normal and 0.151 dollars for super petrol.
The announcement caused huge chaos on Tehran's streets in the late night hours of Tuesday with cars rushing to petrol stations to fill their tanks before the start of the rationing.
Anything above the ration quota was scheduled to be sold at 0.30 to 0.40 dollars per litre or at a floating rate but no final decision has yet been announced in this regard.
The incidents confirmed the government's fears that the move would dent Ahmadinejad's popularity before parliamentary elections in March next year, besides increasing inflation.
Although Iran as a leading OPEC member has a daily oil production of 4.2 million barrels, the Islamic state still spends 5-8 billion dollars annually on petrol imports due to lack of refineries and a preference for oil export.
The first phase of petrol rationing was carried out earlier this month for governmental cars which have a quota of 300 litres per month.
Petrol is only supplied through the so-called 'smart card' or petrol coupon, an initiative by Ahmadinejad to stop lavish fuel consumption which currently stands at an estimated 73 million litres daily.
With the initiative Ahmadinejad hopes not only to fill the huge gap in Iran's budget but also to tackle related problems such as traffic jams and pollution in big cities.
According to local press reports, at least five petrol stations in Tehran were set on fire in protest against the rationing. Some banks and supermarkets were also reportedly robbed.
Witnesses said the people also shouted slogans against President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad who is considered as the initiator of the petrol rationing.
The Iranian parliament swiftly reacted to the riots and summoned the oil and interior ministers to investigate the incidents in a secret session.
The oil ministry announced via state-television that necessary grounds would be prepared to prevent any petrol problems for the people. The ministry's promises were, however, based on establishing new oil refineries in the coming years.
As of Wednesday, Iran, one of the world's largest oil producers, started rationing petrol nationwide.
The oil ministry said in a statement that each private car will get 100 litres per month at 0.108 dollars per litre for normal and 0.151 dollars for super petrol.
The announcement caused huge chaos on Tehran's streets in the late night hours of Tuesday with cars rushing to petrol stations to fill their tanks before the start of the rationing.
Anything above the ration quota was scheduled to be sold at 0.30 to 0.40 dollars per litre or at a floating rate but no final decision has yet been announced in this regard.
The incidents confirmed the government's fears that the move would dent Ahmadinejad's popularity before parliamentary elections in March next year, besides increasing inflation.
Although Iran as a leading OPEC member has a daily oil production of 4.2 million barrels, the Islamic state still spends 5-8 billion dollars annually on petrol imports due to lack of refineries and a preference for oil export.
The first phase of petrol rationing was carried out earlier this month for governmental cars which have a quota of 300 litres per month.
Petrol is only supplied through the so-called 'smart card' or petrol coupon, an initiative by Ahmadinejad to stop lavish fuel consumption which currently stands at an estimated 73 million litres daily.
With the initiative Ahmadinejad hopes not only to fill the huge gap in Iran's budget but also to tackle related problems such as traffic jams and pollution in big cities.
Boxer's vote switch helps revive immigration bill
The Senate's mammoth immigration overhaul was resurrected Tuesday in a big test vote -- aided by a reversal by California Sen. Barbara Boxer -- but the strange alliance of business, unions and ethnic groups supporting the effort is increasingly fractured.
The tensions are nowhere more evident than in Boxer's shaky role as a Democrat who a month ago split with her California colleague, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to kill the bill, and on Tuesday rejoined her party in a 64-35 vote to let it move forward to the Senate floor for debate.
"I'd say it's a pretty good pounding from all directions," Boxer said. "People are strong on both sides. ... Constituents have opinions, labor has opinions, the Hispanic groups and other immigrant groups are split."
Boxer said her decisions on final passage later this week ride on two dozen highly controversial amendments affecting everything from H-1B visas for skilled workers to family green cards.
Her biggest complaint is a proposed guest worker program that would admit 200,000 unskilled workers a year for up to three two-year stints, each punctuated by a year out of the country. Boxer is proposing to subtract one guest worker from the quota for each one that fails to go home.
"As I decide, it will be based on my feelings about the whole issue, and what is in the best interests of my state and my country," Boxer said. "I know that sounds very corny, but that's really where it's at."
Feinstein, who helped negotiate the legislation and remains an ardent supporter, said she has received over 100,000 calls and letters on the issue.
"Have we gotten a lot of heat? Yes," Feinstein said. But she said it is hard to tell in a state as large as California whether that sample of mostly hostile opinion reflects a majority. Feinstein said she believes, "people understand we have an amnesty now" with millions of people living in the country illegally.
Silicon Valley technology companies were fighting their own battles behind the scenes, spurning White House entreaties to help push the larger bill until they are assured passage of an amendment by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., to increase H-1B visas and allow employers to continue to sponsor some permanent migrants for five years.
The industry was horrified when the bill emerged from closed-door talks not only without the big increase in H-1B temporary visas for skilled workers they have sought for three years, but also eliminating employer-sponsored green cards for permanent residence with a merit-based point system.
The administration called 30 tech lobbyists to the White House on Monday to solicit their support, but got a limp handshake.
"A month ago, the same people said we shouldn't even get the Cantwell amendment," one said, speaking anonymously for fear of alienating the White House. "The president said, 'This bill is great and we don't want you to fight it.' Now they're saying, 'What a great amendment, we have helped get this for tech, and we support it.' "
The lobbyist said that was all well and good, but that high-tech muscle was riding entirely on their own provisions.
"We love them and want to work with them," the lobbyist said, "but our fate will be determined on the Senate floor and that's where our fight will be."
The technology provision remains caught in the swirl of backroom deal-making and arm twisting that delayed further progress on the bill throughout the afternoon. Cantwell said her amendment was being "used as bait" by Republicans trying to get Democratic votes for their tougher enforcement amendments.
Divisions within business, labor and immigrant rights groups have only grown over the past weeks. This unstable alliance has provided the muscle for every major immigration reform of the last four decades, and this one is no different.
But this time, with a bill hammered out secretly by a bipartisan group of senators and the White House, each faction felt left out in the cold. As the compromises pile higher, the cracks widen.
The more liberal of California's senatorial duo, Boxer is under greater pressure from unions and ethnic groups, who themselves are divided. Several Bay Area immigrant organizations -- the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, the Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition and others -- split off from the national lobbies, arguing that the enforcement-heavy bill is akin to apartheid.
National groups, such as the National Immigration Forum and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, have stayed on board, hoping to alter the bill later in the Democratic-controlled House.
The AFL-CIO, especially its construction trades, has split on immigration from the United Farm Workers union, hotel, restaurant, laundry and gaming workers union called UNITE HERE!, the Service Employees International Union and others with heavy immigrant memberships. UNITE's political director Tom Snyder is delighted that Boxer has come around, so far.
"Our California-based locals and leadership did reach out to her after that vote," Snyder said. "The opportunity, which won't return for many, many years, to legalize 10 million undocumented immigrants is essential to the future of the American workplace. You can't have that many people undocumented and have a workplace that's good from a union's standpoint."
Fractures among Democrats have been obscured by the ferocious fight between GOP conservatives and the White House.
Newly elected Democratic moderates such as Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Claire McCaskill of Missouri oppose an expansion of immigration. Pro-union liberals like Boxer worry that large numbers of low-skilled immigrants are putting pressure on wages.
Many Democrats and their immigrant allies are torn between the prospect of legalizing the estimated 12 million people living in the country illegally and GOP provisions that they loathe: the guest worker program and a new skills-based point system that would gradually replace extended family ties as the main basis for admitting new immigrants.
Republicans wrestle with trade-offs between legalization and a big boost in enforcement, not just at the border but at the workplace, sweetened with $4.4 billion in up-front money Bush promised.
Feinstein and Boxer both badly want long-languishing provisions to admit farmworkers and allow children brought illegally to the United States to gradually legalize their status, receive in-state college tuition, travel freely and get driver's licenses.
"There's a lot in the bill that's really good and a lot in the bill that's not good," Boxer said.
The tensions are nowhere more evident than in Boxer's shaky role as a Democrat who a month ago split with her California colleague, Sen. Dianne Feinstein, to kill the bill, and on Tuesday rejoined her party in a 64-35 vote to let it move forward to the Senate floor for debate.
"I'd say it's a pretty good pounding from all directions," Boxer said. "People are strong on both sides. ... Constituents have opinions, labor has opinions, the Hispanic groups and other immigrant groups are split."
Boxer said her decisions on final passage later this week ride on two dozen highly controversial amendments affecting everything from H-1B visas for skilled workers to family green cards.
Her biggest complaint is a proposed guest worker program that would admit 200,000 unskilled workers a year for up to three two-year stints, each punctuated by a year out of the country. Boxer is proposing to subtract one guest worker from the quota for each one that fails to go home.
"As I decide, it will be based on my feelings about the whole issue, and what is in the best interests of my state and my country," Boxer said. "I know that sounds very corny, but that's really where it's at."
Feinstein, who helped negotiate the legislation and remains an ardent supporter, said she has received over 100,000 calls and letters on the issue.
"Have we gotten a lot of heat? Yes," Feinstein said. But she said it is hard to tell in a state as large as California whether that sample of mostly hostile opinion reflects a majority. Feinstein said she believes, "people understand we have an amnesty now" with millions of people living in the country illegally.
Silicon Valley technology companies were fighting their own battles behind the scenes, spurning White House entreaties to help push the larger bill until they are assured passage of an amendment by Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., to increase H-1B visas and allow employers to continue to sponsor some permanent migrants for five years.
The industry was horrified when the bill emerged from closed-door talks not only without the big increase in H-1B temporary visas for skilled workers they have sought for three years, but also eliminating employer-sponsored green cards for permanent residence with a merit-based point system.
The administration called 30 tech lobbyists to the White House on Monday to solicit their support, but got a limp handshake.
"A month ago, the same people said we shouldn't even get the Cantwell amendment," one said, speaking anonymously for fear of alienating the White House. "The president said, 'This bill is great and we don't want you to fight it.' Now they're saying, 'What a great amendment, we have helped get this for tech, and we support it.' "
The lobbyist said that was all well and good, but that high-tech muscle was riding entirely on their own provisions.
"We love them and want to work with them," the lobbyist said, "but our fate will be determined on the Senate floor and that's where our fight will be."
The technology provision remains caught in the swirl of backroom deal-making and arm twisting that delayed further progress on the bill throughout the afternoon. Cantwell said her amendment was being "used as bait" by Republicans trying to get Democratic votes for their tougher enforcement amendments.
Divisions within business, labor and immigrant rights groups have only grown over the past weeks. This unstable alliance has provided the muscle for every major immigration reform of the last four decades, and this one is no different.
But this time, with a bill hammered out secretly by a bipartisan group of senators and the White House, each faction felt left out in the cold. As the compromises pile higher, the cracks widen.
The more liberal of California's senatorial duo, Boxer is under greater pressure from unions and ethnic groups, who themselves are divided. Several Bay Area immigrant organizations -- the Asian Law Caucus in San Francisco, the Bay Area Immigrant Rights Coalition and others -- split off from the national lobbies, arguing that the enforcement-heavy bill is akin to apartheid.
National groups, such as the National Immigration Forum and the Mexican American Legal Defense Fund, have stayed on board, hoping to alter the bill later in the Democratic-controlled House.
The AFL-CIO, especially its construction trades, has split on immigration from the United Farm Workers union, hotel, restaurant, laundry and gaming workers union called UNITE HERE!, the Service Employees International Union and others with heavy immigrant memberships. UNITE's political director Tom Snyder is delighted that Boxer has come around, so far.
"Our California-based locals and leadership did reach out to her after that vote," Snyder said. "The opportunity, which won't return for many, many years, to legalize 10 million undocumented immigrants is essential to the future of the American workplace. You can't have that many people undocumented and have a workplace that's good from a union's standpoint."
Fractures among Democrats have been obscured by the ferocious fight between GOP conservatives and the White House.
Newly elected Democratic moderates such as Sens. Jon Tester of Montana and Claire McCaskill of Missouri oppose an expansion of immigration. Pro-union liberals like Boxer worry that large numbers of low-skilled immigrants are putting pressure on wages.
Many Democrats and their immigrant allies are torn between the prospect of legalizing the estimated 12 million people living in the country illegally and GOP provisions that they loathe: the guest worker program and a new skills-based point system that would gradually replace extended family ties as the main basis for admitting new immigrants.
Republicans wrestle with trade-offs between legalization and a big boost in enforcement, not just at the border but at the workplace, sweetened with $4.4 billion in up-front money Bush promised.
Feinstein and Boxer both badly want long-languishing provisions to admit farmworkers and allow children brought illegally to the United States to gradually legalize their status, receive in-state college tuition, travel freely and get driver's licenses.
"There's a lot in the bill that's really good and a lot in the bill that's not good," Boxer said.
26.06.2007
Many unaware of fire risks when building out West
COLEVILLE, CALIF. — Lori and Don Morris had just started unpacking the boxes this month in their new dream house — four acres, national forest view, wide open land at their doorstep — when a wildfire raced down the stark bluffs over this high-desert town near the Nevada border.
More than 300 federal firefighters from as far away as Montana arrived, battling heat, 60-mile-an-hour wind gusts and flames bolting through 1,100 acres of bone-dry sagebrush and juniper. The Morrises, along with 200 other residents, watched helplessly as, miraculously, their homes were spared.
"Both of us were aware that these things happen," said Morris, 47, as she looked out the window to the charred hillside. "We just didn't think it would happen this fast."
A new generation of Americans like the Morrises, in moving to places perched on the edge of vast, undeveloped government lands in the West, are living out a dangerous experiment, many ignorant of the risk.
Number of fires up
Their migration — more than 8.6 million new homes in the West within 30 miles of a national forest since 1982, according to research at the University of Wisconsin — has coincided with profound environmental changes that have worsened the fire hazard, including years of drought, record-setting heat and forest management policies that have allowed brush and dead trees to build up.
"It's like a tsunami, this big wave of development that's rolling toward the public lands," said Volker C. Radeloff, a professor of forest ecology and management at the University of Wisconsin. "And the number of fires keeps going up."
But now federal agencies at the front lines of defending these new communities from peril are starting to say enough is enough. The constellation of federally owned parks, forests and arid sagebrush fiefs in the lower 48 states is collectively about three-fourths the size of all the land east of the Mississippi River, and is becoming too expensive to protect with so many people pushing up against the fringes.
'Coming to a head'
This spring, the U.S. Forest Service began warning state and local officials across the West that they would need to pick up more of the tab from the federal government, and do more to make homes less vulnerable to fire. About 45 percent of the Forest Service's proposed budget for 2008 is designated for firefighting, compared with 13 percent in 1991. Last year, the agency spent $2.5 billion, a record, thinning fuels and fighting fires that burned 9.9 million acres, also a record.
"A lot of people are saying, 'If you're not going to do your part, we're not going to risk our lives,' " said Stuart McMorrow, a forest-fuels expert with the North Tahoe Fire Protection District, which covers 31 square miles near Lake Tahoe.
"It's coming to a head," McMorrow said, "this notion that people move out to the woods and put themselves in dangerous situations."
Costs are also spiraling up like smoke for states and other federal agencies.
The insurance industry, in the aftermath of disasters like Hurricane Katrina, has also begun taking a much harder look at the places where people and trees meet, and is becoming less willing to write policies for those who do not meet a "wildfire checklist" by taking measures to protect their homes.
More than 300 federal firefighters from as far away as Montana arrived, battling heat, 60-mile-an-hour wind gusts and flames bolting through 1,100 acres of bone-dry sagebrush and juniper. The Morrises, along with 200 other residents, watched helplessly as, miraculously, their homes were spared.
"Both of us were aware that these things happen," said Morris, 47, as she looked out the window to the charred hillside. "We just didn't think it would happen this fast."
A new generation of Americans like the Morrises, in moving to places perched on the edge of vast, undeveloped government lands in the West, are living out a dangerous experiment, many ignorant of the risk.
Number of fires up
Their migration — more than 8.6 million new homes in the West within 30 miles of a national forest since 1982, according to research at the University of Wisconsin — has coincided with profound environmental changes that have worsened the fire hazard, including years of drought, record-setting heat and forest management policies that have allowed brush and dead trees to build up.
"It's like a tsunami, this big wave of development that's rolling toward the public lands," said Volker C. Radeloff, a professor of forest ecology and management at the University of Wisconsin. "And the number of fires keeps going up."
But now federal agencies at the front lines of defending these new communities from peril are starting to say enough is enough. The constellation of federally owned parks, forests and arid sagebrush fiefs in the lower 48 states is collectively about three-fourths the size of all the land east of the Mississippi River, and is becoming too expensive to protect with so many people pushing up against the fringes.
'Coming to a head'
This spring, the U.S. Forest Service began warning state and local officials across the West that they would need to pick up more of the tab from the federal government, and do more to make homes less vulnerable to fire. About 45 percent of the Forest Service's proposed budget for 2008 is designated for firefighting, compared with 13 percent in 1991. Last year, the agency spent $2.5 billion, a record, thinning fuels and fighting fires that burned 9.9 million acres, also a record.
"A lot of people are saying, 'If you're not going to do your part, we're not going to risk our lives,' " said Stuart McMorrow, a forest-fuels expert with the North Tahoe Fire Protection District, which covers 31 square miles near Lake Tahoe.
"It's coming to a head," McMorrow said, "this notion that people move out to the woods and put themselves in dangerous situations."
Costs are also spiraling up like smoke for states and other federal agencies.
The insurance industry, in the aftermath of disasters like Hurricane Katrina, has also begun taking a much harder look at the places where people and trees meet, and is becoming less willing to write policies for those who do not meet a "wildfire checklist" by taking measures to protect their homes.
Justices ease limits on campaign ads
A U.S. Supreme Court ruling Monday easing a key provision of a landmark campaign finance law could have a big impact on the 2008 presidential election.
The court ruled 5-4 to loosen restrictions on corporate- and union-funded television ads in the closing days of the primary and general elections, a decision that could give special interest groups more influence in the presidential race.
The high court's upholding of an appeals court ruling that a Wisconsin anti-abortion group should have been allowed to air ads in the final two months before the 2004 elections could also hurt the presidential aspirations of the law's co-sponsor, GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
"Fair or unfair on McCain, it seems to be one more issue where he's ending up on the short end of the stick," said Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics and a supporter of another Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.
Jowers, a founder of Campaign Legal Center based out of Washington, D.C., that filed a brief with the Supreme Court backing the law commonly referred to as McCain-Feingold, said the decision will result in more negative advertising in the 2008 campaign.
"You will see a lot more ads that will attack candidates through legislative and policy positions in an attempt to fit within the standard established by the Supreme Court," Jowers said.
Randy Dryer, a Salt Lake City attorney who wrote a brief supporting McCain-Feingold for the Campaign Legal Center in an earlier case, agreed.
"I think we're going to see a resurgence of attack ads," Dryer said. "They'll again be challenged, but by the time they wind their way through the court system, the election will be long gone and determined."
The case involved ads that Wisconsin Right to Life was prevented from broadcasting, urging voters to contact the state's two senators, Democrats Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, and tell them not to filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees.
Feingold, the other co-sponsor of McCain-Feingold, was up for re-election in 2004.
The provision in question was aimed at preventing the airing of issue ads that cast candidate in positive or negative lights while stopping short of explicitly calling for their election or defeat. Sponsors of such advertising contend they are exempt from federal contribution limits.
McCain downplayed the decision in a statement, calling it "regrettable that a split Supreme Court has carved out a narrow exception by which some corporate and labor expenditures can be used to target a federal candidate in the days and weeks before an election."
The Arizona senator pointed out the decision Monday has no effect on a more far-reaching component of the campaign finance law, a ban on the ability of political parties to raise unlimited and unrestricted amounts of money from unions, corporations and donors.
"Fortunately, that central reform still stands as the law," McCain said.
Romney, a critic of McCain-Feingold, promptly hailed the decision Monday. "Score one for free speech," he said. "Today's decision restores, in part to the American people, a right critical to their freedom of political participation and expression."
Romney, the former leader of Salt Lake City's 2002 Winter Olympics, also raised concerns about McCain-Feingold during a fund-raising stop in Utah Saturday, telling reporters it has hurt the political process.
"The intent was to take the influence of money out of politics, but it's made it worse, not better. The bill ought to be repealed," Romney said. "The nature of fund-raising is that it's now around the clock and non-stop."
He said the problem is that money can be put into "organizations that are not controlled either by the party or the candidate, so they're not subject to the same kind of responsibility you have when candidates are directing what is said about them or about their opponents. It's been the wrong course for American campaigns."
Romney said the influence of money on campaigns is "there and it's overwhelming for candidates to be participating in the process of gathering money." He called for limits to be lifted on what donors can give a campaign, and those contributions to be listed immediately on the Web.
Scott Parker, chief of staff for Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, described the ruling as "certainly a step in the right direction when it comes to partially correcting the damage that's already been done."
Parker said McCain-Feingold "was a convoluted and misguided infringement on individual liberties and free speech. So it's nice to see the court recognize political speech for what it is — a guaranteed constitutional right."
The court ruled 5-4 to loosen restrictions on corporate- and union-funded television ads in the closing days of the primary and general elections, a decision that could give special interest groups more influence in the presidential race.
The high court's upholding of an appeals court ruling that a Wisconsin anti-abortion group should have been allowed to air ads in the final two months before the 2004 elections could also hurt the presidential aspirations of the law's co-sponsor, GOP Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
"Fair or unfair on McCain, it seems to be one more issue where he's ending up on the short end of the stick," said Kirk Jowers, director of the University of Utah's Hinckley Institute of Politics and a supporter of another Republican presidential candidate, Mitt Romney.
Jowers, a founder of Campaign Legal Center based out of Washington, D.C., that filed a brief with the Supreme Court backing the law commonly referred to as McCain-Feingold, said the decision will result in more negative advertising in the 2008 campaign.
"You will see a lot more ads that will attack candidates through legislative and policy positions in an attempt to fit within the standard established by the Supreme Court," Jowers said.
Randy Dryer, a Salt Lake City attorney who wrote a brief supporting McCain-Feingold for the Campaign Legal Center in an earlier case, agreed.
"I think we're going to see a resurgence of attack ads," Dryer said. "They'll again be challenged, but by the time they wind their way through the court system, the election will be long gone and determined."
The case involved ads that Wisconsin Right to Life was prevented from broadcasting, urging voters to contact the state's two senators, Democrats Russ Feingold and Herb Kohl, and tell them not to filibuster President Bush's judicial nominees.
Feingold, the other co-sponsor of McCain-Feingold, was up for re-election in 2004.
The provision in question was aimed at preventing the airing of issue ads that cast candidate in positive or negative lights while stopping short of explicitly calling for their election or defeat. Sponsors of such advertising contend they are exempt from federal contribution limits.
McCain downplayed the decision in a statement, calling it "regrettable that a split Supreme Court has carved out a narrow exception by which some corporate and labor expenditures can be used to target a federal candidate in the days and weeks before an election."
The Arizona senator pointed out the decision Monday has no effect on a more far-reaching component of the campaign finance law, a ban on the ability of political parties to raise unlimited and unrestricted amounts of money from unions, corporations and donors.
"Fortunately, that central reform still stands as the law," McCain said.
Romney, a critic of McCain-Feingold, promptly hailed the decision Monday. "Score one for free speech," he said. "Today's decision restores, in part to the American people, a right critical to their freedom of political participation and expression."
Romney, the former leader of Salt Lake City's 2002 Winter Olympics, also raised concerns about McCain-Feingold during a fund-raising stop in Utah Saturday, telling reporters it has hurt the political process.
"The intent was to take the influence of money out of politics, but it's made it worse, not better. The bill ought to be repealed," Romney said. "The nature of fund-raising is that it's now around the clock and non-stop."
He said the problem is that money can be put into "organizations that are not controlled either by the party or the candidate, so they're not subject to the same kind of responsibility you have when candidates are directing what is said about them or about their opponents. It's been the wrong course for American campaigns."
Romney said the influence of money on campaigns is "there and it's overwhelming for candidates to be participating in the process of gathering money." He called for limits to be lifted on what donors can give a campaign, and those contributions to be listed immediately on the Web.
Scott Parker, chief of staff for Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, described the ruling as "certainly a step in the right direction when it comes to partially correcting the damage that's already been done."
Parker said McCain-Feingold "was a convoluted and misguided infringement on individual liberties and free speech. So it's nice to see the court recognize political speech for what it is — a guaranteed constitutional right."
25.06.2007
Spanish defence chief in Lebanon
Spain's defence minister, Jose Antonio Alonso, has arrived in Lebanon to visit Spanish troops a day after six UN peacekeepers died in a bomb attack.
Three Spaniards and two Colombians in the Spanish army were killed in Sunday's blast near the Israeli border.
A further two Spaniards were also hurt when a roadside bomb hit the vehicle the Unifil troops were travelling in.
It was the first attack on Unifil since its mandate was widened after the war between Israel and Hezbollah last year.
Condemnation
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned the attack on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).
"The Unifil mission has been very important in helping to bring an end to the Lebanese war of last summer and in helping to bring security so that the people of Lebanon could return to normal life," she said
Ms Rice was speaking at a joint news conference in Paris with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who also spoke out against the bombing.
"We deplore it and, in the name of the president of the republic, we condemn this attack against the Spanish soldiers of Unifil," he said.
Hezbollah issued a statement describing the incident as very dangerous and said it was aimed at undermining the stability of southern Lebanon, a sentiment echoed by Lebanese President Emile Lahoud as he "strongly denounced" the blast.
The explosion occurred on the main road between the towns of Marjayoun and Khiyam, about six kilometres (four miles) north of the Israeli border town of Metulla.
There has been no official confirmation from the UN or the Lebanese authorities about who caused it, but Mr Alonso said the explosion was the result of a "pre-meditated attack", most likely caused by a roadside bomb or a remotely-detonated explosive device.
"It's important to determine the exact cause and then we can work out the context and analyse the vehicle, and the type of explosives," he said.
'Plot confession'
No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, but the BBC's Kim Ghattas in Beirut says that radical Sunni Muslim groups have for months made threats against the UN peacekeepers.
For the last five weeks the Lebanese army has been battling militants apparently inspired by al-Qaeda at a refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
The Lebanese authorities said that militants from the Fatah al-Islam group who were arrested and interrogated confessed that there was a plan to attack the UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
The government in Beirut, which is dominated by critics of Syria, has also accused Damascus of backing Fatah al-Islam in an attempt to destabilise Lebanon.
The Unifil peacekeeping force, which has been deployed in Lebanon since 1978, was beefed up last summer after the end of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
There are now around 13,000 UN peacekeepers deployed in the area, including French, Spanish and Indian soldiers.
Spain's contingent, about 1,100 troops, is the third largest, after France and Italy.
Three Spaniards and two Colombians in the Spanish army were killed in Sunday's blast near the Israeli border.
A further two Spaniards were also hurt when a roadside bomb hit the vehicle the Unifil troops were travelling in.
It was the first attack on Unifil since its mandate was widened after the war between Israel and Hezbollah last year.
Condemnation
On Sunday, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned the attack on the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil).
"The Unifil mission has been very important in helping to bring an end to the Lebanese war of last summer and in helping to bring security so that the people of Lebanon could return to normal life," she said
Ms Rice was speaking at a joint news conference in Paris with French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner, who also spoke out against the bombing.
"We deplore it and, in the name of the president of the republic, we condemn this attack against the Spanish soldiers of Unifil," he said.
Hezbollah issued a statement describing the incident as very dangerous and said it was aimed at undermining the stability of southern Lebanon, a sentiment echoed by Lebanese President Emile Lahoud as he "strongly denounced" the blast.
The explosion occurred on the main road between the towns of Marjayoun and Khiyam, about six kilometres (four miles) north of the Israeli border town of Metulla.
There has been no official confirmation from the UN or the Lebanese authorities about who caused it, but Mr Alonso said the explosion was the result of a "pre-meditated attack", most likely caused by a roadside bomb or a remotely-detonated explosive device.
"It's important to determine the exact cause and then we can work out the context and analyse the vehicle, and the type of explosives," he said.
'Plot confession'
No-one has claimed responsibility for the attack so far, but the BBC's Kim Ghattas in Beirut says that radical Sunni Muslim groups have for months made threats against the UN peacekeepers.
For the last five weeks the Lebanese army has been battling militants apparently inspired by al-Qaeda at a refugee camp in northern Lebanon.
The Lebanese authorities said that militants from the Fatah al-Islam group who were arrested and interrogated confessed that there was a plan to attack the UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
The government in Beirut, which is dominated by critics of Syria, has also accused Damascus of backing Fatah al-Islam in an attempt to destabilise Lebanon.
The Unifil peacekeeping force, which has been deployed in Lebanon since 1978, was beefed up last summer after the end of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel.
There are now around 13,000 UN peacekeepers deployed in the area, including French, Spanish and Indian soldiers.
Spain's contingent, about 1,100 troops, is the third largest, after France and Italy.
Revived immigration bill may get stuck at the border
WASHINGTON - A revived immigration reform bill that could legalize some 12 million undocumented immigrants faces a crucial vote as soon as tomorrow - and its prospects are far from certain.
"It's going to be an interesting week," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.
President Bush appealed to senators in his Saturday radio address to "summon the courage" to move the bill forward. The White House worked with senators on both sides of the aisle to resurrect the measure after it stalled early this month.
A lead opponent, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), predicted yesterday the bill was headed south.
"The support for it continues to erode," Sessions said on ABC's "This Week." "A lot of key senators that were thought to be supportive have announced in recent days that they don't support it."
Sessions and other opponents see the bill, which also includes a guest-worker program and tighter security measures, as offering amnesty, even though illegal immigrants would have to pay fines and wait for years to apply for green cards.
The Senate will need 60 votes to push the bill ahead. It also faces extremely uncertain prospects in the House, if it survives.
"It's going to be an interesting week," said White House spokesman Scott Stanzel.
President Bush appealed to senators in his Saturday radio address to "summon the courage" to move the bill forward. The White House worked with senators on both sides of the aisle to resurrect the measure after it stalled early this month.
A lead opponent, Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), predicted yesterday the bill was headed south.
"The support for it continues to erode," Sessions said on ABC's "This Week." "A lot of key senators that were thought to be supportive have announced in recent days that they don't support it."
Sessions and other opponents see the bill, which also includes a guest-worker program and tighter security measures, as offering amnesty, even though illegal immigrants would have to pay fines and wait for years to apply for green cards.
The Senate will need 60 votes to push the bill ahead. It also faces extremely uncertain prospects in the House, if it survives.
24.06.2007
8 US soldiers die in Iraq, 7 from roadside attacks
BAGHDAD -- Eight American soldiers died yesterday in Iraq, including seven killed in roadside bombings, the US military said, bringing to 30 the number of US service members whose deaths were announced in the past six days.
The number of American troops killed in Iraq so far this month, an average of about 3.5 fatalities per day. Sixty of the deaths were caused by roadside bombs, the leading killer of US troops here.
US military officials say powerful roadside bombings are occurring more frequently as more American troops are deployed on the streets of Iraq, particularly in the capital. US officials say many of the materials used in the bombs and much of the know-how for building them are being imported from neighboring Iran.
In the deadliest event yesterday, four US soldiers were killed in northwest Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle during combat operations, according to a military statement. An Iraqi interpreter was wounded in the attack.
Two soldiers were killed in eastern Baghdad when their unit was hit by a roadside bomb and then came under small-arms fire, the military said. A US airman was killed in a roadside bomb attack on his vehicle in Tikrit, about 90 miles north of Baghdad.
A US soldier died in Baghdad of noncombat causes, the military said.
The British Defense Ministry announced that a British soldier died of wounds sustained in a roadside bombing Friday near the southern port city of Basra, bringing to 153 the number of British troops killed in the war.
Elsewhere, at least 12 people were killed and 14 wounded yesterday in a drive-by shooting, a sniper attack, a roadside bombing, and other violence, according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry official who was not allowed to be quoted by name. In addition, 12 bodies, all bearing gunshot wounds and signs of torture, were found in Baghdad, he said.
At least 3,555 members of the US military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The military has staged a series of counterattacks this week on roadside bomb factories and insurgent strongholds where stockpiles of explosives have been uncovered.
US forces using tips from Iraqi informants raided a safe house before dawn yesterday and detained three militants suspected of ties to Iran, the military said. The operation in Sadr City, Baghdad's main Shi'ite enclave, was the latest in a series of raids on targets where militiamen are believed to have ties to Iran.
The United States contends that Iran is arming Shi'ite militias and some Sunni insurgents with explosives, including armor-penetrating bombs, which have killed hundreds of US troops in recent months.
Amid yesterday's violence, two Sunni political blocs threatened to boycott the 275-seat parliament, demanding reinstatement of Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni. The Shi'ite-dominated Legislature wants him to step down and has named his Shi'ite deputy, Khaled al-Attiya, as a temporary replacement.
Many legislators viewed Mashhandani's erratic behavior as unbecoming and a hindrance to parliament's ability to pass key benchmark legislation as demanded by Washington.
Kurds in northern Iraq, meanwhile, prepared for today's announcement of a verdict against deposed Iraq president Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as Chemical Ali, and other defendants who could face the death penalty for the 1980s crackdown against the ethnic minority.
Many said they were looking forward to closure, expecting the stiffest penalty against the cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, former head of the Ba'ath Party's Northern Bureau Command.
He is accused of ordering the use of chemical weapons against Kurds in the late 1980s scorched-earth campaign. Hussein feared the Kurds were siding with Iran during the eight-year war between Baghdad and Tehran.
"Finally, the past hard days are gone. I am ready to start over without this burden on my chest," said Lokman Abdul-Qader, a 40-year-old resident of Halabja who lost six relatives in a chemical attack and says he has suffered from acute asthma attacks since he inhaled the gas that was used.
Majid has denied he was responsible for the Halabja attack and others. The prosecution says 180,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the operation.
The defendants who face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity have contended that they were acting on orders during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
Hussein was a defendant in the case but was executed on Dec. 30 after his conviction for the killing of 148 Shi'ite Muslims in Dujail after a 1982 attempt on his life.
The case -- called Anfal after the code name for the campaign to crush the Kurdish rebellion -- does not include the deaths of an estimated 5,600 people in a 1988 chemical weapons attack in Halabja .
Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.
The number of American troops killed in Iraq so far this month, an average of about 3.5 fatalities per day. Sixty of the deaths were caused by roadside bombs, the leading killer of US troops here.
US military officials say powerful roadside bombings are occurring more frequently as more American troops are deployed on the streets of Iraq, particularly in the capital. US officials say many of the materials used in the bombs and much of the know-how for building them are being imported from neighboring Iran.
In the deadliest event yesterday, four US soldiers were killed in northwest Baghdad when a roadside bomb exploded near their vehicle during combat operations, according to a military statement. An Iraqi interpreter was wounded in the attack.
Two soldiers were killed in eastern Baghdad when their unit was hit by a roadside bomb and then came under small-arms fire, the military said. A US airman was killed in a roadside bomb attack on his vehicle in Tikrit, about 90 miles north of Baghdad.
A US soldier died in Baghdad of noncombat causes, the military said.
The British Defense Ministry announced that a British soldier died of wounds sustained in a roadside bombing Friday near the southern port city of Basra, bringing to 153 the number of British troops killed in the war.
Elsewhere, at least 12 people were killed and 14 wounded yesterday in a drive-by shooting, a sniper attack, a roadside bombing, and other violence, according to an Iraqi Interior Ministry official who was not allowed to be quoted by name. In addition, 12 bodies, all bearing gunshot wounds and signs of torture, were found in Baghdad, he said.
At least 3,555 members of the US military have died since the Iraq war started in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.
The military has staged a series of counterattacks this week on roadside bomb factories and insurgent strongholds where stockpiles of explosives have been uncovered.
US forces using tips from Iraqi informants raided a safe house before dawn yesterday and detained three militants suspected of ties to Iran, the military said. The operation in Sadr City, Baghdad's main Shi'ite enclave, was the latest in a series of raids on targets where militiamen are believed to have ties to Iran.
The United States contends that Iran is arming Shi'ite militias and some Sunni insurgents with explosives, including armor-penetrating bombs, which have killed hundreds of US troops in recent months.
Amid yesterday's violence, two Sunni political blocs threatened to boycott the 275-seat parliament, demanding reinstatement of Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, a Sunni. The Shi'ite-dominated Legislature wants him to step down and has named his Shi'ite deputy, Khaled al-Attiya, as a temporary replacement.
Many legislators viewed Mashhandani's erratic behavior as unbecoming and a hindrance to parliament's ability to pass key benchmark legislation as demanded by Washington.
Kurds in northern Iraq, meanwhile, prepared for today's announcement of a verdict against deposed Iraq president Saddam Hussein's cousin, known as Chemical Ali, and other defendants who could face the death penalty for the 1980s crackdown against the ethnic minority.
Many said they were looking forward to closure, expecting the stiffest penalty against the cousin, Ali Hassan al-Majid, former head of the Ba'ath Party's Northern Bureau Command.
He is accused of ordering the use of chemical weapons against Kurds in the late 1980s scorched-earth campaign. Hussein feared the Kurds were siding with Iran during the eight-year war between Baghdad and Tehran.
"Finally, the past hard days are gone. I am ready to start over without this burden on my chest," said Lokman Abdul-Qader, a 40-year-old resident of Halabja who lost six relatives in a chemical attack and says he has suffered from acute asthma attacks since he inhaled the gas that was used.
Majid has denied he was responsible for the Halabja attack and others. The prosecution says 180,000 people, mostly civilians, were killed in the operation.
The defendants who face charges of war crimes and crimes against humanity have contended that they were acting on orders during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
Hussein was a defendant in the case but was executed on Dec. 30 after his conviction for the killing of 148 Shi'ite Muslims in Dujail after a 1982 attempt on his life.
The case -- called Anfal after the code name for the campaign to crush the Kurdish rebellion -- does not include the deaths of an estimated 5,600 people in a 1988 chemical weapons attack in Halabja .
Material from the Associated Press was included in this report.
Boyfriend charged with murder of pregnant woman
CANTON, Ohio -- The mother of a pregnant woman who vanished weeks before her delivery date prayed that her daughter's boyfriend wasn't involved, but suspected he was.
Even Bobby Cutts Jr. understood the suspicion around himself. A policeman in this northeast Ohio city married to another woman, he had said he had nothing to do with Jessie Davis' disappearance, but knew that when bad things happen to women, husbands or significant others are often involved.
By the time authorities found a body they believe to be Davis' on Saturday, they concluded the awful pattern had been repeated. Cutts was arrested and is to be arraigned Monday on charges of killing Davis, 26, and their unborn daughter, whose due date had been July 3.
The body was found at the southeast edge of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, about 25 miles north of her home, said Roger Riggins, an investigator with the medical examiner's office in Summit County, where the body was discovered.
Television helicopter news footage showed investigators riding off-road vehicles to reach an area heavily covered with trees and brush. It also showed authorities carrying a body bag on a stretcher and loading it into a white van.
Thousands of volunteers had searched for Davis over several days in the rural area of northeastern Ohio where she lived. Cutts joined volunteers in an earlier search.
Davis' family declined to comment Saturday, but on Friday her mother said Friday she considered Cutts a suspect. "I still pray that it's not him," Patricia Porter told NBC's "Today" show.
Porter reported her daughter missing June 15. She found Davis' 2-year-old son home alone at her daughter's Lake Township home, which was in disarray. A bed comforter and Davis' cell phone were missing. Items from her purse were scattered, bedroom furniture was toppled and bleach had been spilled on the floor.
Investigators said the toddler told them "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."
Authorities repeatedly questioned Cutts, 30, and searched his home during the investigation.
Stark County Chief Deputy Rick Perez said the case was still being investigated. He would not comment on whether there were any other suspects.
Cutts is the father of Davis' son, and her family says he also is the father of the unborn child. He has said he and his wife are separated and that she knew about the affair with Davis.
Cutts has been on paid administrative leave from his job.
"There is no denying that this has resulted in giving a black eye in the opinion of the local community as well as the opinion of the rest of the nation," Police Chief Dean McKimm said of the arrest of a police officer.
Telephone messages seeking comment on the arrest were left at the office of Cutts' lawyer, Bradley Iams.
Rick Pitinii, Porter's attorney, said Davis' family had no comment.
"They have gone through an absolute roller coaster of emotions," he said. "I've seen them laugh, cry, be angry -- everything you can imagine. ... It's tough."
"They need to be together, and they need to be alone, and they need to grieve."
Tim Miller, director of Texas EquuSearch, an internationally active search group that organized the volunteer effort, said Porter and the rest of Davis' family were called together and told about the body in late afternoon.
"A lot of the community stopped their lives to looked for Jessie and that meant so much to her and the entire family that they knew they were not alone in this," he said.
Even Bobby Cutts Jr. understood the suspicion around himself. A policeman in this northeast Ohio city married to another woman, he had said he had nothing to do with Jessie Davis' disappearance, but knew that when bad things happen to women, husbands or significant others are often involved.
By the time authorities found a body they believe to be Davis' on Saturday, they concluded the awful pattern had been repeated. Cutts was arrested and is to be arraigned Monday on charges of killing Davis, 26, and their unborn daughter, whose due date had been July 3.
The body was found at the southeast edge of the Cuyahoga Valley National Park, about 25 miles north of her home, said Roger Riggins, an investigator with the medical examiner's office in Summit County, where the body was discovered.
Television helicopter news footage showed investigators riding off-road vehicles to reach an area heavily covered with trees and brush. It also showed authorities carrying a body bag on a stretcher and loading it into a white van.
Thousands of volunteers had searched for Davis over several days in the rural area of northeastern Ohio where she lived. Cutts joined volunteers in an earlier search.
Davis' family declined to comment Saturday, but on Friday her mother said Friday she considered Cutts a suspect. "I still pray that it's not him," Patricia Porter told NBC's "Today" show.
Porter reported her daughter missing June 15. She found Davis' 2-year-old son home alone at her daughter's Lake Township home, which was in disarray. A bed comforter and Davis' cell phone were missing. Items from her purse were scattered, bedroom furniture was toppled and bleach had been spilled on the floor.
Investigators said the toddler told them "Mommy was crying. Mommy broke the table. Mommy's in rug."
Authorities repeatedly questioned Cutts, 30, and searched his home during the investigation.
Stark County Chief Deputy Rick Perez said the case was still being investigated. He would not comment on whether there were any other suspects.
Cutts is the father of Davis' son, and her family says he also is the father of the unborn child. He has said he and his wife are separated and that she knew about the affair with Davis.
Cutts has been on paid administrative leave from his job.
"There is no denying that this has resulted in giving a black eye in the opinion of the local community as well as the opinion of the rest of the nation," Police Chief Dean McKimm said of the arrest of a police officer.
Telephone messages seeking comment on the arrest were left at the office of Cutts' lawyer, Bradley Iams.
Rick Pitinii, Porter's attorney, said Davis' family had no comment.
"They have gone through an absolute roller coaster of emotions," he said. "I've seen them laugh, cry, be angry -- everything you can imagine. ... It's tough."
"They need to be together, and they need to be alone, and they need to grieve."
Tim Miller, director of Texas EquuSearch, an internationally active search group that organized the volunteer effort, said Porter and the rest of Davis' family were called together and told about the body in late afternoon.
"A lot of the community stopped their lives to looked for Jessie and that meant so much to her and the entire family that they knew they were not alone in this," he said.
23.06.2007
Haniyeh calls for talks with Abbas's Fatah faction
GAZA, June 23 (Reuters) - Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Palestinian government dismissed by President Mahmoud Abbas, called for power-sharing talks on Saturday with Fatah rivals routed from the Gaza Strip.
"There will be no dialogue with Hamas," responded Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Fatah official in the West Bank.
Hamas seized control of Gaza over a week ago and faces isolation there, not only from Israel and Western powers, but also from the emergency cabinet Abbas had set up in the occupied West Bank as well as from Arab states like Egypt and Jordan.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Saturday that Hamas's bloody takeover of Gaza amounted to a "coup against legitimacy" that damaged the Palestinian cause.
Israel plans to choke off all but humanitarian and basic supplies to Gaza, home to 1.5 million people, while opening the financial taps to Abbas's emergency government.
Israel will begin next week to transfer tax revenues to the emergency government in the West Bank and will ease some travel restrictions there.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will offer the gestures to Abbas on Monday when the leaders meet at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Envoys from the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- plan to meet in Jerusalem on Tuesday to discuss steps to bolster Abbas. One U.S.-backed proposal would name outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair to spearhead talks.
In the West Bank, Israeli troops on Saturday seized a top militant from the Islamist Hamas identified as the founder of the group's armed wing in the territory.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the arrest was proof "we are facing a dual conspiracy" in the West Bank, one led by Israel and the other by Abbas's security forces.
NO DIALOGUE
Abbas has ruled out any dialogue with Hamas, whom he accused of trying to assassinate him. Hamas has denied the allegations.
"The way out of the current situation is launching a Palestinian dialogue without pre-conditions," Haniyeh told Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh by phone.
Haniyeh said these talks should be held "on the basis of no loser and no winner, and on the basis of no harm to anyone, and on the basis of a national unity government," according to Haniyeh's office.
A source close to Haniyeh said his statement was a call to form a new unity government with Fatah and other factions.
Haniyeh's office said Haniyeh also spoke by telephone to Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and that "both sides stressed that there is no solution to the status quo except through dialogue".
Egyptian officials neither confirmed nor denied the call.
The Israeli cabinet was expected to approve on Sunday Olmert's request to recognise Abbas's emergency government and to resume the transfer of withheld Palestinian tax revenues. Israel is seeking assurances the money will not be used to support the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials say some $400 million in tax revenues will be transferred to the emergency government in stages, short of the $700 million sought by Abbas. Israel says the rest of the money has been frozen by court order.
In talks with their Israeli counterparts, U.S. officials have requested that Israel ease restrictions on Palestinian access to the Jordan Valley, as well as remove barriers, checkpoints and roadblocks near major Palestinian population centres, including Hebron, Bethlehem and Nablus.
Israeli defence officials have mainly objected to removing the roadblocks and checkpoints near Nablus, arguing they are needed to prevent militants from criss-crossing the West Bank and infiltrating Israel.
Palestinians say the checkpoints are collective punishment.
Some aid groups said Abbas's decision to sever contacts with the Hamas leadership in Gaza was holding up negotiations on reopening Gaza's main commercial crossing at Karni to bring in humanitarian and other supplies.
"Food is being used as a political weapon," a senior Western diplomat involved in the negotiations said.
"There will be no dialogue with Hamas," responded Hussein al-Sheikh, a senior Fatah official in the West Bank.
Hamas seized control of Gaza over a week ago and faces isolation there, not only from Israel and Western powers, but also from the emergency cabinet Abbas had set up in the occupied West Bank as well as from Arab states like Egypt and Jordan.
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak said on Saturday that Hamas's bloody takeover of Gaza amounted to a "coup against legitimacy" that damaged the Palestinian cause.
Israel plans to choke off all but humanitarian and basic supplies to Gaza, home to 1.5 million people, while opening the financial taps to Abbas's emergency government.
Israel will begin next week to transfer tax revenues to the emergency government in the West Bank and will ease some travel restrictions there.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will offer the gestures to Abbas on Monday when the leaders meet at the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh.
Envoys from the Quartet of Middle East mediators -- the United States, the European Union, Russia and the United Nations -- plan to meet in Jerusalem on Tuesday to discuss steps to bolster Abbas. One U.S.-backed proposal would name outgoing British Prime Minister Tony Blair to spearhead talks.
In the West Bank, Israeli troops on Saturday seized a top militant from the Islamist Hamas identified as the founder of the group's armed wing in the territory.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the arrest was proof "we are facing a dual conspiracy" in the West Bank, one led by Israel and the other by Abbas's security forces.
NO DIALOGUE
Abbas has ruled out any dialogue with Hamas, whom he accused of trying to assassinate him. Hamas has denied the allegations.
"The way out of the current situation is launching a Palestinian dialogue without pre-conditions," Haniyeh told Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh by phone.
Haniyeh said these talks should be held "on the basis of no loser and no winner, and on the basis of no harm to anyone, and on the basis of a national unity government," according to Haniyeh's office.
A source close to Haniyeh said his statement was a call to form a new unity government with Fatah and other factions.
Haniyeh's office said Haniyeh also spoke by telephone to Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman and that "both sides stressed that there is no solution to the status quo except through dialogue".
Egyptian officials neither confirmed nor denied the call.
The Israeli cabinet was expected to approve on Sunday Olmert's request to recognise Abbas's emergency government and to resume the transfer of withheld Palestinian tax revenues. Israel is seeking assurances the money will not be used to support the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip.
Israeli officials say some $400 million in tax revenues will be transferred to the emergency government in stages, short of the $700 million sought by Abbas. Israel says the rest of the money has been frozen by court order.
In talks with their Israeli counterparts, U.S. officials have requested that Israel ease restrictions on Palestinian access to the Jordan Valley, as well as remove barriers, checkpoints and roadblocks near major Palestinian population centres, including Hebron, Bethlehem and Nablus.
Israeli defence officials have mainly objected to removing the roadblocks and checkpoints near Nablus, arguing they are needed to prevent militants from criss-crossing the West Bank and infiltrating Israel.
Palestinians say the checkpoints are collective punishment.
Some aid groups said Abbas's decision to sever contacts with the Hamas leadership in Gaza was holding up negotiations on reopening Gaza's main commercial crossing at Karni to bring in humanitarian and other supplies.
"Food is being used as a political weapon," a senior Western diplomat involved in the negotiations said.
Gitmo's days are numbered
The Bush administration is moving closer to shutting down its bitterly criticized prison for terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, but the process is being held up by disagreement among his closest advisers, and problems about where to send many of the 370 inmates who remain at the jail, at a U.S. base in Cuba.
Despite a White House statement that a meeting of top officials scheduled for yesterday to take decisions on the future of the facility had been cancelled, it become clearer by the day that the pressures to remove what has become a global embarrassment for the U.S. are now well-nigh irresistible.
President Bush himself has said he would like the prison to close its doors as soon as is feasible, and both Robert Gates and Condoleezza Rice, the Secretaries of Defense and State, have indicated their opposition to it.
Only last Sunday General Colin Powell, Secretary of State when the first detainees arrived at Guantanamo Bay in January 2002, said he thought the facility should be closed and the prisoners moved to jails on the U.S. mainland.
On Capitol Hill, proposals are circulating for the prison's closure, supported not only by Democrats but also by several leading Republicans.
Guantanamo was not merely a problem but "an international disgrace that every day continues to sully this great nation's reputation," Steny Hoyer, majority leader and the second ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, said this week. As the outrage has grown, U.S. officials increasingly find that when they press for greater human rights around the world, their arguments are undercut by critics who point to how prisoners have been held at the prison for up to five years or more without charge, effectively incommunicado and without the right of habeas corpus.
Only last year did legal action finally force the Pentagon to release a list of names and nationality of those detained. But four more suicides in the last 12 months alone, and years of reports of inhumane treatment, religious abuse and harsh interrogation techniques, have sealed Guantanamo's reputation as a place of despair, where the normal requirements of the law and international conventions do not apply.
U.S. officials say the obstacles to simply shutting it down are practical: persuading other countries to take those inmates -- 75 or so -- who have been cleared for release, and finding enough space in secure military jails within the U.S. One possibility is the U.S. army jail at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Another is the U.S. Navy brig at Charleston, South Carolina, where Jose Padilla, U.S. citizen and one-time 'dirty bomber,' was held without trial or proper representation for three and a half years, before those charges were effectively dropped. But even at the brig, room exists only for some 200 prisoners at most, it is claimed. "These steps have not been completed and no decisions are imminent," a National Security Council spokesman said.
However the fate of Guantanamo Bay also exposes a long familiar fault line in the Bush administration, between those like Rice and Gates who want above all to salvage America's reputation, and hardliners -- led, as usual, by vice-President Dick Cheney, backed this time by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the man who as President Bush's first
White House counsel was largely responsible for devising the "enemy combatant" status conferred on the prisoners, argues that to bring the detainees to the mainland would merely lead to a new flood of habeas corpus cases. For their part, homeland security officials worry about housing top drawer terrorists like al-Qaeda's Khalid Sheik Mohammed, a prime organizer of the 9/11 attacks and transferred last year to Guantanamo, on U.S. soil.
In testimony on Capitol Hill this week, John Bellinger, the State Department's top lawyer complained that although critics in the U.S. and abroad were urging the prison's immediate shut down, they had offered "no credible alternatives for dealing with the dangerous individuals detained there."
Despite a White House statement that a meeting of top officials scheduled for yesterday to take decisions on the future of the facility had been cancelled, it become clearer by the day that the pressures to remove what has become a global embarrassment for the U.S. are now well-nigh irresistible.
President Bush himself has said he would like the prison to close its doors as soon as is feasible, and both Robert Gates and Condoleezza Rice, the Secretaries of Defense and State, have indicated their opposition to it.
Only last Sunday General Colin Powell, Secretary of State when the first detainees arrived at Guantanamo Bay in January 2002, said he thought the facility should be closed and the prisoners moved to jails on the U.S. mainland.
On Capitol Hill, proposals are circulating for the prison's closure, supported not only by Democrats but also by several leading Republicans.
Guantanamo was not merely a problem but "an international disgrace that every day continues to sully this great nation's reputation," Steny Hoyer, majority leader and the second ranking Democrat in the House of Representatives, said this week. As the outrage has grown, U.S. officials increasingly find that when they press for greater human rights around the world, their arguments are undercut by critics who point to how prisoners have been held at the prison for up to five years or more without charge, effectively incommunicado and without the right of habeas corpus.
Only last year did legal action finally force the Pentagon to release a list of names and nationality of those detained. But four more suicides in the last 12 months alone, and years of reports of inhumane treatment, religious abuse and harsh interrogation techniques, have sealed Guantanamo's reputation as a place of despair, where the normal requirements of the law and international conventions do not apply.
U.S. officials say the obstacles to simply shutting it down are practical: persuading other countries to take those inmates -- 75 or so -- who have been cleared for release, and finding enough space in secure military jails within the U.S. One possibility is the U.S. army jail at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. Another is the U.S. Navy brig at Charleston, South Carolina, where Jose Padilla, U.S. citizen and one-time 'dirty bomber,' was held without trial or proper representation for three and a half years, before those charges were effectively dropped. But even at the brig, room exists only for some 200 prisoners at most, it is claimed. "These steps have not been completed and no decisions are imminent," a National Security Council spokesman said.
However the fate of Guantanamo Bay also exposes a long familiar fault line in the Bush administration, between those like Rice and Gates who want above all to salvage America's reputation, and hardliners -- led, as usual, by vice-President Dick Cheney, backed this time by the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, the man who as President Bush's first
White House counsel was largely responsible for devising the "enemy combatant" status conferred on the prisoners, argues that to bring the detainees to the mainland would merely lead to a new flood of habeas corpus cases. For their part, homeland security officials worry about housing top drawer terrorists like al-Qaeda's Khalid Sheik Mohammed, a prime organizer of the 9/11 attacks and transferred last year to Guantanamo, on U.S. soil.
In testimony on Capitol Hill this week, John Bellinger, the State Department's top lawyer complained that although critics in the U.S. and abroad were urging the prison's immediate shut down, they had offered "no credible alternatives for dealing with the dangerous individuals detained there."
21.06.2007
How Will The Markets React?
Retail sales growth in Canada is anticipated to slow during the month of April, with the headline reading estimated to rise only 1.0 percent after surging 1.9 percent during the month prior. Meanwhile, retail sales excluding automobiles are forecasted to gain a tepid 0.5 percent from 1.1 percent. While these indicators are expected to continue to show a pick up in consumption, signals that spending may not be able to keep pace and thus, may start to contribute to a slowdown in second quarter expansion would not bode well for market speculation that the Bank of Canada will be aggressive with monetary policy tightening this year. Furthermore, the actual release could actually prove to be softer than estimated after wholesale sales for the same period – a fairly reliable leading indicator – surprisingly plunged -3.1 percent , the sharpest decline in nearly four years. The drop was led by automobile sales, which actually contributed the most to the March retail sales report and could take the wind out of the sails of the April reading. Nevertheless, market reaction to this particular piece of data may only be short lived as the Bank of Canada has made it very clear that they will hike in July. What the central bank will do thereafter is up for debate, but it will certainly be largely dependent upon inflation pressures in coming months.
Bonds – 10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures
While 10-year Canadian Government Bond futures made decent bullish headway on Wednesday, substantial resistance near 110.42 could limit gains. However, Thursday’s retail sales report could give CGB’s some fuel to make a fierce attempt at that level, as the figure has the potential to prove very disappointing. On the other hand, figures that meet or beat expectations may actually push prices down as yields would rally in anticipation of hawkish policy action by the Bank of Canada in July. Regardless, any moves higher may only be impressive on a short-term basis, as attention is likely to refocus on the central bank’s tightening bias.
10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures (Intraday Chart)
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Canadian Retail Sales May Disappoint - Will It Throw Off BOC Expectations?
Wednesday, 20 June 2007 21:48:35 GMT
Printer Friendly | Email Article | RSS | Previous articles
Previous Articles
Jun 20 - Canadian Retail Sales May Disappoint - Will It Throw Off BOC Expectations?
Jun 19 - British Pound May Target 2.00 If BOE Minutes Signal July Hike
Jun 18 - USDCAD Move Towards Parity Could Be Crushed On Canadian CPI
Jun 15 - US Dollar, Treasury Yields May Suffer If Dismal Housing Data Prevails
Jun 14 - US CPI To Determine If EUR/USD Takes Out 1.3300
Jun 13 - Will Carry Trades Get Crushed If The BOJ Springs A Surprise Hike?
Jun 12 - US Retail Sales Rebound Could Push EUR/USD Below 1.3300
Jun 11 - British Pound May Target 2.00 Once Again If Inflation Fails To Soften
Jun 08 - Will The Canadian Dollar Approach Parity Or Break Trend Next Week?
Jun 07 - Canadian Dollar Rally Could Reignite on Labor Market Data
Jun 06 - British Pound Could Take On 2.00 If The BOE Surprises With A Hike
Jun 05 - Will ECB Trichet's Commentary Trigger a Surge in Euro, Bund Yields?
Jun 04 - Dollar, Look To ISM Services Report To Revive The Charge
Jun 01 - Japanese Capital Spending Will Kick Off The Week For Global Markets
May 31 - Dollar Toeing A Technical Cliff Ahead Of NFP, ISM Mix
May 30 - Dollar, Equity Traders Hold Breath For Expected Cut To US Growth
May 29 - Can Australian Retail Sales Keep AUDUSD Above 0.8200?
May 28 - US Markets May Lose Steam If Consumer Sector Cools
May 25 - Will Improved Japanese Consumption Turn the Carry Trade?
May 24 - Dollar, Stocks Demand Confirmation On Housing From Existing Sales Report
Written by Terri Belkas, Currency Analyst
Retail Sales (MoM) (APR) (12:30 GMT; 08:30 EST) Retail Sales Ex Autos (MoM) (APR) (12:30 GMT; 08:30 EST)
Expected: 1.0% Expected: 0.5%
Previous: 1.9% Previous: 1.1%
How Will The Markets React?
Retail sales growth in Canada is anticipated to slow during the month of April, with the headline reading estimated to rise only 1.0 percent after surging 1.9 percent during the month prior. Meanwhile, retail sales excluding automobiles are forecasted to gain a tepid 0.5 percent from 1.1 percent. While these indicators are expected to continue to show a pick up in consumption, signals that spending may not be able to keep pace and thus, may start to contribute to a slowdown in second quarter expansion would not bode well for market speculation that the Bank of Canada will be aggressive with monetary policy tightening this year. Furthermore, the actual release could actually prove to be softer than estimated after wholesale sales for the same period – a fairly reliable leading indicator – surprisingly plunged -3.1 percent , the sharpest decline in nearly four years. The drop was led by automobile sales, which actually contributed the most to the March retail sales report and could take the wind out of the sails of the April reading. Nevertheless, market reaction to this particular piece of data may only be short lived as the Bank of Canada has made it very clear that they will hike in July. What the central bank will do thereafter is up for debate, but it will certainly be largely dependent upon inflation pressures in coming months.
Bonds – 10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures
While 10-year Canadian Government Bond futures made decent bullish headway on Wednesday, substantial resistance near 110.42 could limit gains. However, Thursday’s retail sales report could give CGB’s some fuel to make a fierce attempt at that level, as the figure has the potential to prove very disappointing. On the other hand, figures that meet or beat expectations may actually push prices down as yields would rally in anticipation of hawkish policy action by the Bank of Canada in July. Regardless, any moves higher may only be impressive on a short-term basis, as attention is likely to refocus on the central bank’s tightening bias.
10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures (Intraday Chart)
FX – USD/CAD
The Canadian dollar has been holding within a pretty well-defined range against the US dollar, though 1.0700 has emerged as decent resistance today. Weaker-than-expected wholesale sales helped push USDCAD up towards that level, but given the crystal clear signals that the Bank of Canada has given regarding their intentions to raise rate next month, there is a significant amount of fundamental support for further declines until July 10th. However, the release of retail sales could add a bit of volatility to USDCAD trade on Thursday, as there are indications that the figure will be announced at a disappointing rate. Such a surprise could easily lead price to spike up to 1.0700, and depending upon the degree of difference between the actual figure and estimates, USDCAD could even take aim on 1.0750. Nevertheless, the price action will likely be just a blip on the radar, as persistent inflation above the central bank’s 2.0 percent target remains the more predominant issue for Canadian dollar trade. As a result, USDCAD may return to the bottom of its range even with a sharp fall in retail sales.
USD/CAD (Intraday Chart)
Equities – S&P/TSX Composite Index
Canadian stocks fell for the second day in a row as an unexpected drop in wholesale sales reinforced concern that a stronger Canadian dollar may be crimping profits for exporters. At the Toronto close, the S&P/TSX was down 1 percent at 13,978.16. A 1.3 percent decline in crude oil for July delivery to $68.19/bbl in New York didn't help either after an Energy Department report showed that US oil and gasoline stockpiles increased. Suncor Energy Inc., the world's second-biggest oil-sands producer, dropped C$3.06 to C$95.00 while EnCana Corp., Canada's largest energy company by market value, fell C$1.47 cents to C$68.90.
Canadian equities could be in for another rough day on Thursday, as the nation’s retail sales report has the potential to fall back more than expected during the month of April. Given the softness already seen in the S&P/TSX, the equity index could become even more vulnerable on such data and ease back towards the 13,650 level. However, a surprisingly strong result would help underpin a retrace up above 14,000, as the figures would signal that though exports may suffer at the hands of a stronger Canadian dollar and damage growth prospects, resilient consumption could help pick up the slack.
S&P/TSX Composite Index (Daily Chart)
Retail sales growth in Canada is anticipated to slow during the month of April, with the headline reading estimated to rise only 1.0 percent after surging 1.9 percent during the month prior. Meanwhile, retail sales excluding automobiles are forecasted to gain a tepid 0.5 percent from 1.1 percent. While these indicators are expected to continue to show a pick up in consumption, signals that spending may not be able to keep pace and thus, may start to contribute to a slowdown in second quarter expansion would not bode well for market speculation that the Bank of Canada will be aggressive with monetary policy tightening this year. Furthermore, the actual release could actually prove to be softer than estimated after wholesale sales for the same period – a fairly reliable leading indicator – surprisingly plunged -3.1 percent , the sharpest decline in nearly four years. The drop was led by automobile sales, which actually contributed the most to the March retail sales report and could take the wind out of the sails of the April reading. Nevertheless, market reaction to this particular piece of data may only be short lived as the Bank of Canada has made it very clear that they will hike in July. What the central bank will do thereafter is up for debate, but it will certainly be largely dependent upon inflation pressures in coming months.
Bonds – 10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures
While 10-year Canadian Government Bond futures made decent bullish headway on Wednesday, substantial resistance near 110.42 could limit gains. However, Thursday’s retail sales report could give CGB’s some fuel to make a fierce attempt at that level, as the figure has the potential to prove very disappointing. On the other hand, figures that meet or beat expectations may actually push prices down as yields would rally in anticipation of hawkish policy action by the Bank of Canada in July. Regardless, any moves higher may only be impressive on a short-term basis, as attention is likely to refocus on the central bank’s tightening bias.
10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures (Intraday Chart)
advertisement
Canadian Retail Sales May Disappoint - Will It Throw Off BOC Expectations?
Wednesday, 20 June 2007 21:48:35 GMT
Printer Friendly | Email Article | RSS | Previous articles
Previous Articles
Jun 20 - Canadian Retail Sales May Disappoint - Will It Throw Off BOC Expectations?
Jun 19 - British Pound May Target 2.00 If BOE Minutes Signal July Hike
Jun 18 - USDCAD Move Towards Parity Could Be Crushed On Canadian CPI
Jun 15 - US Dollar, Treasury Yields May Suffer If Dismal Housing Data Prevails
Jun 14 - US CPI To Determine If EUR/USD Takes Out 1.3300
Jun 13 - Will Carry Trades Get Crushed If The BOJ Springs A Surprise Hike?
Jun 12 - US Retail Sales Rebound Could Push EUR/USD Below 1.3300
Jun 11 - British Pound May Target 2.00 Once Again If Inflation Fails To Soften
Jun 08 - Will The Canadian Dollar Approach Parity Or Break Trend Next Week?
Jun 07 - Canadian Dollar Rally Could Reignite on Labor Market Data
Jun 06 - British Pound Could Take On 2.00 If The BOE Surprises With A Hike
Jun 05 - Will ECB Trichet's Commentary Trigger a Surge in Euro, Bund Yields?
Jun 04 - Dollar, Look To ISM Services Report To Revive The Charge
Jun 01 - Japanese Capital Spending Will Kick Off The Week For Global Markets
May 31 - Dollar Toeing A Technical Cliff Ahead Of NFP, ISM Mix
May 30 - Dollar, Equity Traders Hold Breath For Expected Cut To US Growth
May 29 - Can Australian Retail Sales Keep AUDUSD Above 0.8200?
May 28 - US Markets May Lose Steam If Consumer Sector Cools
May 25 - Will Improved Japanese Consumption Turn the Carry Trade?
May 24 - Dollar, Stocks Demand Confirmation On Housing From Existing Sales Report
Written by Terri Belkas, Currency Analyst
Retail Sales (MoM) (APR) (12:30 GMT; 08:30 EST) Retail Sales Ex Autos (MoM) (APR) (12:30 GMT; 08:30 EST)
Expected: 1.0% Expected: 0.5%
Previous: 1.9% Previous: 1.1%
How Will The Markets React?
Retail sales growth in Canada is anticipated to slow during the month of April, with the headline reading estimated to rise only 1.0 percent after surging 1.9 percent during the month prior. Meanwhile, retail sales excluding automobiles are forecasted to gain a tepid 0.5 percent from 1.1 percent. While these indicators are expected to continue to show a pick up in consumption, signals that spending may not be able to keep pace and thus, may start to contribute to a slowdown in second quarter expansion would not bode well for market speculation that the Bank of Canada will be aggressive with monetary policy tightening this year. Furthermore, the actual release could actually prove to be softer than estimated after wholesale sales for the same period – a fairly reliable leading indicator – surprisingly plunged -3.1 percent , the sharpest decline in nearly four years. The drop was led by automobile sales, which actually contributed the most to the March retail sales report and could take the wind out of the sails of the April reading. Nevertheless, market reaction to this particular piece of data may only be short lived as the Bank of Canada has made it very clear that they will hike in July. What the central bank will do thereafter is up for debate, but it will certainly be largely dependent upon inflation pressures in coming months.
Bonds – 10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures
While 10-year Canadian Government Bond futures made decent bullish headway on Wednesday, substantial resistance near 110.42 could limit gains. However, Thursday’s retail sales report could give CGB’s some fuel to make a fierce attempt at that level, as the figure has the potential to prove very disappointing. On the other hand, figures that meet or beat expectations may actually push prices down as yields would rally in anticipation of hawkish policy action by the Bank of Canada in July. Regardless, any moves higher may only be impressive on a short-term basis, as attention is likely to refocus on the central bank’s tightening bias.
10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures (Intraday Chart)
FX – USD/CAD
The Canadian dollar has been holding within a pretty well-defined range against the US dollar, though 1.0700 has emerged as decent resistance today. Weaker-than-expected wholesale sales helped push USDCAD up towards that level, but given the crystal clear signals that the Bank of Canada has given regarding their intentions to raise rate next month, there is a significant amount of fundamental support for further declines until July 10th. However, the release of retail sales could add a bit of volatility to USDCAD trade on Thursday, as there are indications that the figure will be announced at a disappointing rate. Such a surprise could easily lead price to spike up to 1.0700, and depending upon the degree of difference between the actual figure and estimates, USDCAD could even take aim on 1.0750. Nevertheless, the price action will likely be just a blip on the radar, as persistent inflation above the central bank’s 2.0 percent target remains the more predominant issue for Canadian dollar trade. As a result, USDCAD may return to the bottom of its range even with a sharp fall in retail sales.
USD/CAD (Intraday Chart)
Equities – S&P/TSX Composite Index
Canadian stocks fell for the second day in a row as an unexpected drop in wholesale sales reinforced concern that a stronger Canadian dollar may be crimping profits for exporters. At the Toronto close, the S&P/TSX was down 1 percent at 13,978.16. A 1.3 percent decline in crude oil for July delivery to $68.19/bbl in New York didn't help either after an Energy Department report showed that US oil and gasoline stockpiles increased. Suncor Energy Inc., the world's second-biggest oil-sands producer, dropped C$3.06 to C$95.00 while EnCana Corp., Canada's largest energy company by market value, fell C$1.47 cents to C$68.90.
Canadian equities could be in for another rough day on Thursday, as the nation’s retail sales report has the potential to fall back more than expected during the month of April. Given the softness already seen in the S&P/TSX, the equity index could become even more vulnerable on such data and ease back towards the 13,650 level. However, a surprisingly strong result would help underpin a retrace up above 14,000, as the figures would signal that though exports may suffer at the hands of a stronger Canadian dollar and damage growth prospects, resilient consumption could help pick up the slack.
S&P/TSX Composite Index (Daily Chart)
Retail sales growth in Canada is anticipated to slow during the month of April, with the headline reading estimated to rise only 1.0 percent after surging 1.9 percent during the month prior. Meanwhile, retail sales excluding automobiles are forecasted to gain a tepid 0.5 percent from 1.1 percent. While these indicators are expected to continue to show a pick up in consumption, signals that spending may not be able to keep pace and thus, may start to contribute to a slowdown in second quarter expansion would not bode well for market speculation that the Bank of Canada will be aggressive with monetary policy tightening this year. Furthermore, the actual release could actually prove to be softer than estimated after wholesale sales for the same period – a fairly reliable leading indicator – surprisingly plunged -3.1 percent , the sharpest decline in nearly four years. The drop was led by automobile sales, which actually contributed the most to the March retail sales report and could take the wind out of the sails of the April reading. Nevertheless, market reaction to this particular piece of data may only be short lived as the Bank of Canada has made it very clear that they will hike in July. What the central bank will do thereafter is up for debate, but it will certainly be largely dependent upon inflation pressures in coming months.
Bonds – 10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures
While 10-year Canadian Government Bond futures made decent bullish headway on Wednesday, substantial resistance near 110.42 could limit gains. However, Thursday’s retail sales report could give CGB’s some fuel to make a fierce attempt at that level, as the figure has the potential to prove very disappointing. On the other hand, figures that meet or beat expectations may actually push prices down as yields would rally in anticipation of hawkish policy action by the Bank of Canada in July. Regardless, any moves higher may only be impressive on a short-term basis, as attention is likely to refocus on the central bank’s tightening bias.
10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures (Intraday Chart)
Retail Sales (MoM) (APR) (12:30 GMT; 08:30 EST) Retail Sales Ex Autos (MoM) (APR) (12:30 GMT; 08:30 EST)
Expected: 1.0% Expected: 0.5%
Previous: 1.9% Previous: 1.1%
advertisement
Canadian Retail Sales May Disappoint - Will It Throw Off BOC Expectations?
Wednesday, 20 June 2007 21:48:35 GMT
Printer Friendly | Email Article | RSS | Previous articles
Previous Articles
Jun 20 - Canadian Retail Sales May Disappoint - Will It Throw Off BOC Expectations?
Jun 19 - British Pound May Target 2.00 If BOE Minutes Signal July Hike
Jun 18 - USDCAD Move Towards Parity Could Be Crushed On Canadian CPI
Jun 15 - US Dollar, Treasury Yields May Suffer If Dismal Housing Data Prevails
Jun 14 - US CPI To Determine If EUR/USD Takes Out 1.3300
Jun 13 - Will Carry Trades Get Crushed If The BOJ Springs A Surprise Hike?
Jun 12 - US Retail Sales Rebound Could Push EUR/USD Below 1.3300
Jun 11 - British Pound May Target 2.00 Once Again If Inflation Fails To Soften
Jun 08 - Will The Canadian Dollar Approach Parity Or Break Trend Next Week?
Jun 07 - Canadian Dollar Rally Could Reignite on Labor Market Data
Jun 06 - British Pound Could Take On 2.00 If The BOE Surprises With A Hike
Jun 05 - Will ECB Trichet's Commentary Trigger a Surge in Euro, Bund Yields?
Jun 04 - Dollar, Look To ISM Services Report To Revive The Charge
Jun 01 - Japanese Capital Spending Will Kick Off The Week For Global Markets
May 31 - Dollar Toeing A Technical Cliff Ahead Of NFP, ISM Mix
May 30 - Dollar, Equity Traders Hold Breath For Expected Cut To US Growth
May 29 - Can Australian Retail Sales Keep AUDUSD Above 0.8200?
May 28 - US Markets May Lose Steam If Consumer Sector Cools
May 25 - Will Improved Japanese Consumption Turn the Carry Trade?
May 24 - Dollar, Stocks Demand Confirmation On Housing From Existing Sales Report
Written by Terri Belkas, Currency Analyst
Retail Sales (MoM) (APR) (12:30 GMT; 08:30 EST) Retail Sales Ex Autos (MoM) (APR) (12:30 GMT; 08:30 EST)
Expected: 1.0% Expected: 0.5%
Previous: 1.9% Previous: 1.1%
How Will The Markets React?
Retail sales growth in Canada is anticipated to slow during the month of April, with the headline reading estimated to rise only 1.0 percent after surging 1.9 percent during the month prior. Meanwhile, retail sales excluding automobiles are forecasted to gain a tepid 0.5 percent from 1.1 percent. While these indicators are expected to continue to show a pick up in consumption, signals that spending may not be able to keep pace and thus, may start to contribute to a slowdown in second quarter expansion would not bode well for market speculation that the Bank of Canada will be aggressive with monetary policy tightening this year. Furthermore, the actual release could actually prove to be softer than estimated after wholesale sales for the same period – a fairly reliable leading indicator – surprisingly plunged -3.1 percent , the sharpest decline in nearly four years. The drop was led by automobile sales, which actually contributed the most to the March retail sales report and could take the wind out of the sails of the April reading. Nevertheless, market reaction to this particular piece of data may only be short lived as the Bank of Canada has made it very clear that they will hike in July. What the central bank will do thereafter is up for debate, but it will certainly be largely dependent upon inflation pressures in coming months.
Bonds – 10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures
While 10-year Canadian Government Bond futures made decent bullish headway on Wednesday, substantial resistance near 110.42 could limit gains. However, Thursday’s retail sales report could give CGB’s some fuel to make a fierce attempt at that level, as the figure has the potential to prove very disappointing. On the other hand, figures that meet or beat expectations may actually push prices down as yields would rally in anticipation of hawkish policy action by the Bank of Canada in July. Regardless, any moves higher may only be impressive on a short-term basis, as attention is likely to refocus on the central bank’s tightening bias.
10-Year Canadian Government Bond Futures (Intraday Chart)
FX – USD/CAD
The Canadian dollar has been holding within a pretty well-defined range against the US dollar, though 1.0700 has emerged as decent resistance today. Weaker-than-expected wholesale sales helped push USDCAD up towards that level, but given the crystal clear signals that the Bank of Canada has given regarding their intentions to raise rate next month, there is a significant amount of fundamental support for further declines until July 10th. However, the release of retail sales could add a bit of volatility to USDCAD trade on Thursday, as there are indications that the figure will be announced at a disappointing rate. Such a surprise could easily lead price to spike up to 1.0700, and depending upon the degree of difference between the actual figure and estimates, USDCAD could even take aim on 1.0750. Nevertheless, the price action will likely be just a blip on the radar, as persistent inflation above the central bank’s 2.0 percent target remains the more predominant issue for Canadian dollar trade. As a result, USDCAD may return to the bottom of its range even with a sharp fall in retail sales.
USD/CAD (Intraday Chart)
How Will The Markets React?
Equities – S&P/TSX Composite Index
Canadian stocks fell for the second day in a row as an unexpected drop in wholesale sales reinforced concern that a stronger Canadian dollar may be crimping profits for exporters. At the Toronto close, the S&P/TSX was down 1 percent at 13,978.16. A 1.3 percent decline in crude oil for July delivery to $68.19/bbl in New York didn't help either after an Energy Department report showed that US oil and gasoline stockpiles increased. Suncor Energy Inc., the world's second-biggest oil-sands producer, dropped C$3.06 to C$95.00 while EnCana Corp., Canada's largest energy company by market value, fell C$1.47 cents to C$68.90.
Canadian equities could be in for another rough day on Thursday, as the nation’s retail sales report has the potential to fall back more than expected during the month of April. Given the softness already seen in the S&P/TSX, the equity index could become even more vulnerable on such data and ease back towards the 13,650 level. However, a surprisingly strong result would help underpin a retrace up above 14,000, as the figures would signal that though exports may suffer at the hands of a stronger Canadian dollar and damage growth prospects, resilient consumption could help pick up the slack.
S&P/TSX Composite Index (Daily Chart)
20.06.2007
Griffin has quite the iTrip legacy, and though the company was a pioneer for iPod-friendly FM transmitters, the signal strength has been a weak point.
Unfortunately, the issue has not been remedied in the iTrip Pocket, an otherwise lovely device with an ultracompact design and friendly user interface.
Still, if you live outside the urban jungle and want a transmitter that can double as a keychain, the $49 iTrip Pocket could suit you just fine.
Measuring in at 1.6 inches wide by 1.1 inches tall by 0.2 inch thick, the iTrip Pocket is indeed smaller than a book of matches and just as thin as the iPod Nano.
A 30-pin connector jutting out of the top allows you to connect it to any dock-connecting iPod, and the iTrip Pocket will output its tuner display to the player's screen.
On the front of the transmitter are four buttons: one long tuner shuttle key for scanning through frequencies and three numbered preset buttons.
There's also a tiny LED that lights up red when the unit is on. The iTrip comes with a clear plastic cap that features a hole through which you can string a key ring.
Operating the iTrip Pocket is a simple matter: plug it in and turn on the iPod, and the transmitter automatically powers on. Then use the tuner rocker or preset keys to navigate to an open frequency.
However, probably due to its small size (and -- as a result -- small transmitter), the iTrip has trouble holding on to even the weakest stations. So unless you have a completely vacant channel in your area, expect frequent static and dropouts.
During testing, we tuned the iTrip to 88.1 -- a channel that both the Maximo SAN-360 and the DLO TransPod had no trouble locking onto throughout San Francisco -- but we received almost constant static and suffered from several dropouts.
It wouldn't even transmit to other near-vacant frequencies. In the few instances we received some uninterrupted music, audio quality was acceptable, so if you live in an area with a lot of open channels, the iTrip Pocket could be an OK choice.
Users rage against China's 'Great Firewall'
BEIJING, China (Reuters) -- Yang Zhou is no cyberdissident, but recent curbs on his Web surfing habits by China's censors have him fomenting discontent about China's "Great Firewall."
Yang's fury erupted a few days ago when he found he could not browse his friend's holiday snaps on Flickr.com, due to access restrictions by censors after images of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre were posted on the photo-sharing Web site.
"Once you've complained all you can to your friends, what more can you do? What else is there but anger and disillusionment?" Yang said after venting his anger with friends at a hot-pot restaurant in Beijing.
The blocking of Flickr is the latest casualty of China's ongoing battle to control its sprawling Internet. Wikipedia and a raft of other popular Web sites, discussion boards and blogs have already fallen victim to the country's censors.
China employs a complex system of filters and an army of tens of thousands of human monitors to survey the country's 140 million Internet users' surfing habits and surgically clip sensitive content from in front of their eyes.
Its stability-obsessed government says the surveillance machinery, commonly known as the "Great Firewall," is necessary to let Internet users enjoy a "healthy" online environment and build a "harmonious" society.
Yang just thinks it's a pain.
"I just want to look at some photos! What's wrong with that?" said the 24-year-old accountant, typical of millions of young urban-dwelling professionals who are increasingly aware of and fed up with state intrusions into their private life.
Privacy, once regarded with suspicion in pre-reform China, has become a sought-after commodity among China's burgeoning middle class, according to Nicholas Bequelin from Hong Kong-based Human Rights Watch.
"Of course, it's the first thing people seek when they have the economic resources," Bequelin said. "We see this growing in China in the wake of ideas of ownership and property."
Away from cyberspace, the battle for privacy between China's secretive government and its increasingly active citizens has turned violent in recent months.
In Bobai county, in the southern region of Guangxi, hundreds of farmers smashed government offices and burnt cars after local officials imposed punitive fines on residents who had defied family planning laws and had too many children.
The battle for control of China's Internet, however, will remain much more covert than confrontational, according to Liu Bin, an IT consultant with Beijing-based consulting firm BDA.
He believes it will take a long time before the government loosens control over Web content, especially because the Internet-savvy middle class is unlikely to take to the streets -- like the farmers of Bobai county -- over lack of Web access.
"Many educated people feel they can accept the current status quo because it doesn't have much impact on their daily lives ... They have been living with government propaganda for over 1,000 years," Liu said.
Such an attitude grates on Du Dongjin, a 40-year-old IT worker in Shanghai.
Du has decided to sue his Internet service provider, the Shanghai branch of state-owned behemoth China Telecom, who he said had blocked a Web site that had carried financial software he hoped to market.
"If the court authorities aren't influenced and they can hear the case fairly, I will win," Du said.
Most frustrated Web surfers, however, would rather air their grievances in the relatively safe realms of Internet anonymity.
They still have their anonymity because a state push to have China's millions of bloggers register with their real names to ensure they only posted "responsible" Web content was abandoned after an outcry from the Internet industry and due to the impossible task of keeping lists of exploding numbers of users.
"The thirst for information in China is so strong, it is very difficult for the (Communist) Party to stay ahead of the curve," Bequelin explained.
Within days of the blocking of Flickr, links to browser plug-ins and how-to explanations to subvert the filters and see Flickr photos were gleefully posted on blogs and in chat-rooms.
Many posts were preceded by tirades against the censors for "harmonising" Flickr.
One blogger posted an image of a voodoo doll, calling it the Great Firewall and inviting users to -- digitally -- stick pins in it.
Yang said restrictions on Flickr probably wouldn't motivate him to write a blog, much less push him down the road of "potentially dangerous" activism.
But he liked the idea of the Great Firewall voodoo doll.
"Have you got the link? Maybe I'll go stick a pin in it," he said.
19.06.2007
Instant Transcripts from a Credit Bank
If you want to further your education or career, but don’t have the transcripts to prove your qualifications, consider using a credit bank service. A credit bank is a program sponsored by a university that takes all of your past courses, test scores, and employment records and puts them together on a single transcript. You can then use this transcript when applying for employment or education instead of sending in numerous records from different schools. Once the odds and ends of your past experiences are together on one page, you may find that you have more of an extensive education than you imagined.
Who should use a credit bank?Anyone who has a lot of past experience from different institutions may benefit from using a credit bank. If you went to three or more colleges, have a lot of credit by examination, or can put together a portfolio that demonstrates learning outside of a traditional school, a credit bank may be an excellent option.
What kinds of credit can be put on the transcript?Credit banks have their own policies about what type of credit may be included. Because the name of the school that sponsors the credit bank is on the top of each transcript, schools are generally cautious about making sure credit is legitimate. Some banks will only permit credits from regionally accredited universities; others are more lenient. Possibilities for credit include: examinations, experiential learning, specialized training, and certifications. Often, credit banks will allow students to prove their learning through the creation of a portfolio. Even if a bank rejects some of your credit, they may place it on the transcript in a non-credit section.
Where can I find a credit bank?To find a credit bank try searching online or talking with a school counselor. Make sure that any program you select is sponsored by a reputable school. Some suggestions include:Excelsior College7 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY 12203-5159International Phone: 518-464-8500Thomas Edison State College101 W. State St. Trenton, NJ 08608-1176 (888) 442-8372 (toll free)Fax: (609) 777-2956E-mail: enrolled@tesc.eduCharter Oak State College55 Paul J. Manafort DriveNew Britain, CT 06053-2150(860) 832-3800E-mail: info@charteroak.edu
Suggested Reading
4 Steps to Life Experience CreditOnline School DirectoryWill They Accept Your Degree?
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Who should use a credit bank?Anyone who has a lot of past experience from different institutions may benefit from using a credit bank. If you went to three or more colleges, have a lot of credit by examination, or can put together a portfolio that demonstrates learning outside of a traditional school, a credit bank may be an excellent option.
What kinds of credit can be put on the transcript?Credit banks have their own policies about what type of credit may be included. Because the name of the school that sponsors the credit bank is on the top of each transcript, schools are generally cautious about making sure credit is legitimate. Some banks will only permit credits from regionally accredited universities; others are more lenient. Possibilities for credit include: examinations, experiential learning, specialized training, and certifications. Often, credit banks will allow students to prove their learning through the creation of a portfolio. Even if a bank rejects some of your credit, they may place it on the transcript in a non-credit section.
Where can I find a credit bank?To find a credit bank try searching online or talking with a school counselor. Make sure that any program you select is sponsored by a reputable school. Some suggestions include:Excelsior College7 Columbia Circle, Albany, NY 12203-5159International Phone: 518-464-8500Thomas Edison State College101 W. State St. Trenton, NJ 08608-1176 (888) 442-8372 (toll free)Fax: (609) 777-2956E-mail: enrolled@tesc.eduCharter Oak State College55 Paul J. Manafort DriveNew Britain, CT 06053-2150(860) 832-3800E-mail: info@charteroak.edu
Suggested Reading
4 Steps to Life Experience CreditOnline School DirectoryWill They Accept Your Degree?
Related Articles
3 Diploma Programs that Turn Test Scores and Life Exper...University Credit for Your CertificationCollege Credit by Exam - College Level Examination Prog...Education Credits - Hope and Lifetime Learning Tax Cred...Will Traditional Universities Accept Distance Learning ...
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Distance Learningfree info on distance learning programs of US largest Universitycollege.us.com
Online MBA degreeBS, BBA, MBA & Many Certification Programs, Accelerated, Scholarshipwww.ftu.edu
Life Experience DegreesNo attendance - No coursework Accelerated - Worldwide Shipmentwww.universityofdublin.org
Forex News
19.06.2007 - ZEW economic expectations index fell in Germany in June
document.title += " > " + document.getElementById("news-page-title").innerHTML;
Economic expectations in Germany unexpectedly worsened in June, ZEW reported today. The ZEW economic expectations index decreased in June by 3.7 points to 20.3, compared with 24.0 points in May.
The index fell after six-month consecutive growth and was still below its historical average - 33.0 points. Besides, the index was below analysts’ estimates, who expected the increase to 27.5 points in June.
The assessment of the current economic situation in Germany improved slightly, by 0.7 points to 88.7. The assessment of current economic situation for the euro area rose in June by 4.2 points to 86. The index of economic expectations for the euro area fell in June by 3.3 points to 19.
document.title += " > " + document.getElementById("news-page-title").innerHTML;
Economic expectations in Germany unexpectedly worsened in June, ZEW reported today. The ZEW economic expectations index decreased in June by 3.7 points to 20.3, compared with 24.0 points in May.
The index fell after six-month consecutive growth and was still below its historical average - 33.0 points. Besides, the index was below analysts’ estimates, who expected the increase to 27.5 points in June.
The assessment of the current economic situation in Germany improved slightly, by 0.7 points to 88.7. The assessment of current economic situation for the euro area rose in June by 4.2 points to 86. The index of economic expectations for the euro area fell in June by 3.3 points to 19.
Forex News
19.06.2007 - EUR/USD will be in the corridor 1.3359-1.35 this week
document.title += " > " + document.getElementById("news-page-title").innerHTML;
Artem Enshin, NorthFinance financial analyst: “The forthcoming week will be monotonous due to absence of significant macroeconomic data and important events. At the moment EUR/USD is traded at 1.34. We expect its movement to 1.3350 - 1.35 this week.
Last week Japanese yen went through powerful level of resistance 122 and we observe further decline of yen against American dollar.
Cross-rates supported this movement, in particular EUR/JPY, which is traded now at 166, its 15-year maximums. GBP/JPY, in its turn, is also at 15-year maximums, 246, and if it breaks through 250, there are all chances for impetuous up-trend.
USD/RUR is at 25.9558. After continuous decline of ruble, there is slight correction. We expect the pair keeps 26.05-25.90 this week.
Oil, on the background of Middle East sores, rushed to the level of $70/a barrel, however, such a rise is short-term and the price is to go below %68. ”
document.title += " > " + document.getElementById("news-page-title").innerHTML;
Artem Enshin, NorthFinance financial analyst: “The forthcoming week will be monotonous due to absence of significant macroeconomic data and important events. At the moment EUR/USD is traded at 1.34. We expect its movement to 1.3350 - 1.35 this week.
Last week Japanese yen went through powerful level of resistance 122 and we observe further decline of yen against American dollar.
Cross-rates supported this movement, in particular EUR/JPY, which is traded now at 166, its 15-year maximums. GBP/JPY, in its turn, is also at 15-year maximums, 246, and if it breaks through 250, there are all chances for impetuous up-trend.
USD/RUR is at 25.9558. After continuous decline of ruble, there is slight correction. We expect the pair keeps 26.05-25.90 this week.
Oil, on the background of Middle East sores, rushed to the level of $70/a barrel, however, such a rise is short-term and the price is to go below %68. ”
Japanese govt bonds close lower on hazy US bond yield outlook, BoJ rate prospect
TOKYO (XFN-ASIA) - Japanese government bond prices closed lower as lingering fears of sharp rises in US Treasury bond yields, along with persistent expectations of an interest rate hike in August by the Bank of Japan, capped the upside for JGB prices.
At the close, the yield on the bellwether 10-year bond was 1.925 pct, up from 1.890 pct yesterday.
The yield on the two-year note had inched up to 1.030 pct from 1.010 pct, while the yield on the five-year note had risen to 1.520 pct from 1.485 pct.
The yield on the 20-year bond had inched up to 2.310 pct from 2.300 pct, while the yield on the 30-year bond had risen to 1.520 pct from 2.500.
Bond prices move inversely to yields.
The price of the September futures contract for 10-year bonds had fallen to 131.35 yen from 131.64 yesterday.
"Expectations of a rate hike in July have faded (following softer-than-expected remarks Friday by BoJ governor Toshihiko Fukui), though it's only two months left before the vast majority of market players expect the central bank move to take place in August. In this environment, JGB prices don't have much room to climb," said Akitsugu Bando, strategist at Okasan Securities.
Short-covering seen yesterday to factor in fading expectations of a rate hike next month had mostly run out of steam, while some caution about prospects for US Treasury bond yields continued to weigh on investor sentiment following the directionless trading overnight, dealers said.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note climbed to as high as 5.18 pct overnight in the US before closing the trade at 5.15 pct, just below Friday's 5.16 pct.
Prices of longer-term bonds rose in the morning as investors rebalanced their portfolios on the view that these instruments have been over-sold in recent sessions. The longer tenors, however, fell back in late trading as the market became top-heavy, prompting selling across the yield curve
At the close, the yield on the bellwether 10-year bond was 1.925 pct, up from 1.890 pct yesterday.
The yield on the two-year note had inched up to 1.030 pct from 1.010 pct, while the yield on the five-year note had risen to 1.520 pct from 1.485 pct.
The yield on the 20-year bond had inched up to 2.310 pct from 2.300 pct, while the yield on the 30-year bond had risen to 1.520 pct from 2.500.
Bond prices move inversely to yields.
The price of the September futures contract for 10-year bonds had fallen to 131.35 yen from 131.64 yesterday.
"Expectations of a rate hike in July have faded (following softer-than-expected remarks Friday by BoJ governor Toshihiko Fukui), though it's only two months left before the vast majority of market players expect the central bank move to take place in August. In this environment, JGB prices don't have much room to climb," said Akitsugu Bando, strategist at Okasan Securities.
Short-covering seen yesterday to factor in fading expectations of a rate hike next month had mostly run out of steam, while some caution about prospects for US Treasury bond yields continued to weigh on investor sentiment following the directionless trading overnight, dealers said.
The yield on the benchmark 10-year US Treasury note climbed to as high as 5.18 pct overnight in the US before closing the trade at 5.15 pct, just below Friday's 5.16 pct.
Prices of longer-term bonds rose in the morning as investors rebalanced their portfolios on the view that these instruments have been over-sold in recent sessions. The longer tenors, however, fell back in late trading as the market became top-heavy, prompting selling across the yield curve
18.06.2007
Household Clicker Clutter Problem Gets An Answer: Universal Remote
The digital living room is clicking for Universal Electronics. (NASDAQ:UEIC)
The Cypress, Calif.-based maker of universal remote controls is seeing growing demand for its products as people's homes get more cluttered with electronics.
Universal Electronics UEIC supplies remotes that aren't "universal." These remotes simply control a customer's product, such as the set-top boxes of cable firm Comcast CMCSA or the set-top boxes of satellite TV firm DirecTV DTV. Those remotes often do have some ability to consolidate functions from other remotes, but usually that's limited.
So Universal Electronics also makes high-end universal remote controls, led by its Nevo family. It calls these products intelligent remotes or smart remotes. Nevo features a touch-screen display with simple icons for activities like watching a DVD or listening to music. With it, users can wirelessly control PCs and other consumer electronics throughout the home.
Universal Electronics has been posting strong sales and profit growth. This quarter, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect UEI to earn 30 cents a share, up 76%, on sales of about $69 million, up 32%. The stock hit an all-time high intraday Friday before closing down 3%.
IBD recently spoke with Ramzi Ammari, vice president of product development at Universal Electronics, about the state of the business.
IBD: What's Universal Electronics doing to solve the problem of too many remote controls crowding living room coffee tables?
Ammari: It's funny, because the more remote controls consumers have on their coffee table, the more of a market it represents for us. The average consumer has 13 to 15 remote controls scattered throughout the home, mostly in the living room. More and more consumer electronics devices come with remote controls. Essentially the home is getting cluttered with all these remotes. And the value proposition that a universal remote control brings is that you can eliminate all the remotes on your coffee table and use a single universal device.
You also can have buttons on that remote control that are specifically designed to give you access to activities within your CE (consumer electronics) equipment. So if you want to switch from watching a DVD to watching a TV show or listening to music, that experience is facilitated through a universal remote control through patented technology that's called "macros." One-button press will initiate a sequence of infrared codes that will control your television, your DVD player, change the input on your TV and audio video receiver.
IBD: What motivates people to buy universal remotes?
Ammari: The primary reason consumers buy a universal remote control is replacement. The Sony (NYSE:SNE) TV remote control broke, or they lost the remote control.
The second one is consolidation. The idea is that you have three or four devices that you want to put into one remote control.
IBD: Where is remote control technology headed?
Ammari: Touch-screen remote controls are becoming popular. They're a little bit more expensive.
IBD: What's the low end of the price range for touch-screen universal remotes?
Ammari: Right now you can buy touch-screen products maybe for $300 to $500 on the low end.
IBD: Why get a touch-screen remote?
Ammari: The beauty of a touch screen is that you can offer all the functions (of the remotes you're replacing). The touch screen will reveal eight or 10 functions at a time and the user can scroll through them to access the specific function. So you don't get the button clutter (of other remotes).
The Nevo is our flagship product. It's the culmination of a lot of different technologies bundled into a single device. The product offers universal remote control of any (audio-video) device. It's got a color, touch-screen display and built-in Wi-Fi. It connects to your home network so it can access and control the digital media content on your PC.
IBD: Any other trends?
Ammari: Remote controls are starting to get more interactive. Nevo is an example of interactive remotes that display and have intelligence built in that can give consumers a lot more information than the traditional universal remote does. That interactivity is being powered through a lot of new (radio frequency) technologies entering the home. The initial value of RF is "nonline of sight." With RF, you can be in another room, the device can be inside a cabinet, and the RF in the remote will send the signal wirelessly without having to point 20 the device.
The Cypress, Calif.-based maker of universal remote controls is seeing growing demand for its products as people's homes get more cluttered with electronics.
Universal Electronics UEIC supplies remotes that aren't "universal." These remotes simply control a customer's product, such as the set-top boxes of cable firm Comcast CMCSA or the set-top boxes of satellite TV firm DirecTV DTV. Those remotes often do have some ability to consolidate functions from other remotes, but usually that's limited.
So Universal Electronics also makes high-end universal remote controls, led by its Nevo family. It calls these products intelligent remotes or smart remotes. Nevo features a touch-screen display with simple icons for activities like watching a DVD or listening to music. With it, users can wirelessly control PCs and other consumer electronics throughout the home.
Universal Electronics has been posting strong sales and profit growth. This quarter, analysts polled by Thomson Financial expect UEI to earn 30 cents a share, up 76%, on sales of about $69 million, up 32%. The stock hit an all-time high intraday Friday before closing down 3%.
IBD recently spoke with Ramzi Ammari, vice president of product development at Universal Electronics, about the state of the business.
IBD: What's Universal Electronics doing to solve the problem of too many remote controls crowding living room coffee tables?
Ammari: It's funny, because the more remote controls consumers have on their coffee table, the more of a market it represents for us. The average consumer has 13 to 15 remote controls scattered throughout the home, mostly in the living room. More and more consumer electronics devices come with remote controls. Essentially the home is getting cluttered with all these remotes. And the value proposition that a universal remote control brings is that you can eliminate all the remotes on your coffee table and use a single universal device.
You also can have buttons on that remote control that are specifically designed to give you access to activities within your CE (consumer electronics) equipment. So if you want to switch from watching a DVD to watching a TV show or listening to music, that experience is facilitated through a universal remote control through patented technology that's called "macros." One-button press will initiate a sequence of infrared codes that will control your television, your DVD player, change the input on your TV and audio video receiver.
IBD: What motivates people to buy universal remotes?
Ammari: The primary reason consumers buy a universal remote control is replacement. The Sony (NYSE:SNE) TV remote control broke, or they lost the remote control.
The second one is consolidation. The idea is that you have three or four devices that you want to put into one remote control.
IBD: Where is remote control technology headed?
Ammari: Touch-screen remote controls are becoming popular. They're a little bit more expensive.
IBD: What's the low end of the price range for touch-screen universal remotes?
Ammari: Right now you can buy touch-screen products maybe for $300 to $500 on the low end.
IBD: Why get a touch-screen remote?
Ammari: The beauty of a touch screen is that you can offer all the functions (of the remotes you're replacing). The touch screen will reveal eight or 10 functions at a time and the user can scroll through them to access the specific function. So you don't get the button clutter (of other remotes).
The Nevo is our flagship product. It's the culmination of a lot of different technologies bundled into a single device. The product offers universal remote control of any (audio-video) device. It's got a color, touch-screen display and built-in Wi-Fi. It connects to your home network so it can access and control the digital media content on your PC.
IBD: Any other trends?
Ammari: Remote controls are starting to get more interactive. Nevo is an example of interactive remotes that display and have intelligence built in that can give consumers a lot more information than the traditional universal remote does. That interactivity is being powered through a lot of new (radio frequency) technologies entering the home. The initial value of RF is "nonline of sight." With RF, you can be in another room, the device can be inside a cabinet, and the RF in the remote will send the signal wirelessly without having to point 20 the device.
IBD's Top 10 - Friday
Stocks Rise Broadly; Volume Up
1 The Nasdaq led with a 1.1% jump, making a new high for the year. Goldman Sachs (OOTC:GSGRP) (NYSE:GS) ' upgrade of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) boosted chip stocks and other techs. The NYSE composite rose 0.9% and the S&P 500 0.7%. Volume surged on quadruple witching. Another tame inflation report helped stocks. It also took the yield on the 10-year Treasury to 5.15%, down 7 basis points.
Core Inflation Continues To Fall
2 May core consumer prices rose 0.1% vs. April. Year over year, core CPI climbed 2.2%. That's still above the Fed's 1%-2% comfort zone, but it's the lowest in 14 months and down from 2.9% last Sept. Overall consumer prices rose 0.7% after April's 0.4% gain, led by rising energy costs. It was the biggest gain since Sept. 2005. Prices were up 2.7% vs. May last year.
Immigration Bill Back On Track
3 Legislation to strengthen border security while bestowing legal status on millions of illegal immigrants is showing signs of life, with Senate leaders saying they'll bring it back for a vote as soon as this week. "Each day our nation fails to act, the problem only grows worse," President Bush said. He lobbied hard to rescue the bill after many Republicans withheld their support.
Hamas Killings Continue In Gaza
4 Hamas mocked Fatah rivals on its first day in full control of Gaza, offering a few Fatah leaders amnesty but also tossing a Fatah fighter to his death from a rooftop. Hamas supporters ransacked President Mahmoud Abbas' home in Gaza City. In the West Bank, where Fatah maintains control, Abbas appointed a new gov't. The U.S., U.N., Egypt and Jordan pledged to support Abbas.
Gates Tours Iraq; F-16 Crashes
5 Defense Secretary Robert Gates backed Gen. David Petraeus' criticism that previous Iraq commanders gave overly optimistic assessments of progress in the war. Gates went to Baghdad, which has been under a strict curfew after a recent mosque bombing. Meanwhile, the Air Force said one of its F-16 fighter jets crashed in Iraq. The pilot's fate is unknown.
Penn Nat'l Gaming OKs Buyout
6 The casino operator agreed to be acquired by Fortress Investment Group and Centerbridge Partners for $8.9 bil in cash. Under the deal, shareholders will receive $67 a share. Penn rose 21.5% to 62.12. Penn National Gaming's (NASDAQ:PENN) PENN CEO and CFO are expected to stay on. The buyout lift gaming stocks, with MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM) surging 4.2%.
Monsanto Raises EPS Outlook
7 The biggest seed company raised its '07 earnings outlook to $1.75-$1.80 a share, above views of $1.69. Monsanto (NYSE:MON) MON said it had strong sales of its corn seeds -- fueled by growing demand for ethanol -- as well as its herbicides. It also said Q3 results were expected to be about $1 per share on an ongoing and reported basis. Views are 76 cents.
NATO Targets Cyberterrorism
8 Defense ministers at a gathering of 26 NATO nations in Belgium agreed that there's an "urgent need" to develop protections against "cyberattacks" that could destabilize international markets or even disrupt military communications. Experts have long warned such assaults are inevitable. Last month, an Internet-based attack crippled some bank operations in Estonia.
N. Korea Warns On Missile Plan
9 North Korea warned it may strengthen its "self-defense deterrent," seen as a reference to its nuclear program, in response to U.S. and NATO plans to build a missile shield in Eastern Europe. North Korea just recently started to start dismantle a nuclear plant in return for an easing of sanctions and access to its funds overseas.
Foreign Money Flows Into U.S.
10 International investors bought a net $111.8 bil in U.S. securities in April, up from $30.1 bil in March, the Treasury Dept. said. Net April long-term capital inflows, excluding swaps, rose to $84.1 billion from $51.2 billion in net purchases recorded for March. The U.S. needs to attract nearly $2 bil a day to help cover its trade deficit. Newstex ID: IBD-0001-17510491
Originally published in the June 15, 2007 version of Investor's Business Daily.
1 The Nasdaq led with a 1.1% jump, making a new high for the year. Goldman Sachs (OOTC:GSGRP) (NYSE:GS) ' upgrade of Intel (NASDAQ:INTC) boosted chip stocks and other techs. The NYSE composite rose 0.9% and the S&P 500 0.7%. Volume surged on quadruple witching. Another tame inflation report helped stocks. It also took the yield on the 10-year Treasury to 5.15%, down 7 basis points.
Core Inflation Continues To Fall
2 May core consumer prices rose 0.1% vs. April. Year over year, core CPI climbed 2.2%. That's still above the Fed's 1%-2% comfort zone, but it's the lowest in 14 months and down from 2.9% last Sept. Overall consumer prices rose 0.7% after April's 0.4% gain, led by rising energy costs. It was the biggest gain since Sept. 2005. Prices were up 2.7% vs. May last year.
Immigration Bill Back On Track
3 Legislation to strengthen border security while bestowing legal status on millions of illegal immigrants is showing signs of life, with Senate leaders saying they'll bring it back for a vote as soon as this week. "Each day our nation fails to act, the problem only grows worse," President Bush said. He lobbied hard to rescue the bill after many Republicans withheld their support.
Hamas Killings Continue In Gaza
4 Hamas mocked Fatah rivals on its first day in full control of Gaza, offering a few Fatah leaders amnesty but also tossing a Fatah fighter to his death from a rooftop. Hamas supporters ransacked President Mahmoud Abbas' home in Gaza City. In the West Bank, where Fatah maintains control, Abbas appointed a new gov't. The U.S., U.N., Egypt and Jordan pledged to support Abbas.
Gates Tours Iraq; F-16 Crashes
5 Defense Secretary Robert Gates backed Gen. David Petraeus' criticism that previous Iraq commanders gave overly optimistic assessments of progress in the war. Gates went to Baghdad, which has been under a strict curfew after a recent mosque bombing. Meanwhile, the Air Force said one of its F-16 fighter jets crashed in Iraq. The pilot's fate is unknown.
Penn Nat'l Gaming OKs Buyout
6 The casino operator agreed to be acquired by Fortress Investment Group and Centerbridge Partners for $8.9 bil in cash. Under the deal, shareholders will receive $67 a share. Penn rose 21.5% to 62.12. Penn National Gaming's (NASDAQ:PENN) PENN CEO and CFO are expected to stay on. The buyout lift gaming stocks, with MGM Mirage (NYSE:MGM) surging 4.2%.
Monsanto Raises EPS Outlook
7 The biggest seed company raised its '07 earnings outlook to $1.75-$1.80 a share, above views of $1.69. Monsanto (NYSE:MON) MON said it had strong sales of its corn seeds -- fueled by growing demand for ethanol -- as well as its herbicides. It also said Q3 results were expected to be about $1 per share on an ongoing and reported basis. Views are 76 cents.
NATO Targets Cyberterrorism
8 Defense ministers at a gathering of 26 NATO nations in Belgium agreed that there's an "urgent need" to develop protections against "cyberattacks" that could destabilize international markets or even disrupt military communications. Experts have long warned such assaults are inevitable. Last month, an Internet-based attack crippled some bank operations in Estonia.
N. Korea Warns On Missile Plan
9 North Korea warned it may strengthen its "self-defense deterrent," seen as a reference to its nuclear program, in response to U.S. and NATO plans to build a missile shield in Eastern Europe. North Korea just recently started to start dismantle a nuclear plant in return for an easing of sanctions and access to its funds overseas.
Foreign Money Flows Into U.S.
10 International investors bought a net $111.8 bil in U.S. securities in April, up from $30.1 bil in March, the Treasury Dept. said. Net April long-term capital inflows, excluding swaps, rose to $84.1 billion from $51.2 billion in net purchases recorded for March. The U.S. needs to attract nearly $2 bil a day to help cover its trade deficit. Newstex ID: IBD-0001-17510491
Originally published in the June 15, 2007 version of Investor's Business Daily.
17.06.2007
Intel News
Intel and Google Join with Dell, EDS, EPA, HP, IBM, Lenovo, Microsoft, PG&E, World Wildlife Fund and Others to Launch Climate Savers Computing Initiative
Broad effort organized to drive energy-efficient computing; goal to save $5.5 billion in energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year†
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 12, 2007 – Intel Corporation and Google* joined with Dell*, EDS*, the Environmental Protection Agency*, HP*, IBM*, Lenovo*, Microsoft*, Pacific Gas and Electric*, World Wildlife Fund*, and more than a dozen additional organizations today announcing their intent to form the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. The goal of the new broad-based environmental effort is to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting aggressive new targets for energy-efficient computers and components, and promoting the adoption of energy-efficient computers and power management tools worldwide.
"Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power, and the average server wastes one-third of its power," said Urs Holzle, senior vice president, Operations, Google Inc. "The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is setting a new 90 percent efficiency target for power supplies, which if achieved, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year -- and save more than $5.5 billion in energy costs.
"We are asking businesses and individuals throughout the world to join with us to institute better power management of their computing equipment and purchase energy-efficient computers," Holzle added.
Initial companies who intend to participate in the initiative represent both the demand and supply side of the computer industry, including computer manufacturers and chip makers, as well as environmental groups, energy companies, retailers, government agencies and more. The group will formalize its membership in coming weeks.
"By 2010, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative will cut greenhouse gas emissions in an amount equal to removing more than 11 million cars from the road or shutting down 20 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants -- a significant step in reducing the emissions affecting our planet," said Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group.
"Computers have helped us make huge strides toward a more efficient world today, with reduced travel, more productivity, online transactions and more," Gelsinger added. "But with today's latest energy-efficient technologies, we can do even more. The commitment of the member companies that are here with us today is a firm statement to the collective resolve to make an enormous impact."
Computer and computer component manufacturers who support the initiative are committed to building energy-efficient products that meet or surpass the EPA's Energy Star* guidelines. Businesses must also commit to requiring high efficiency systems for the majority of their corporate desktop PCs and volume server purchases, and to deploy and use power management tools on desktop PCs.
Individual consumers can also support the Climate Savers Computing Initiative by signing up at www.climatesaverscomputing.org, where they will be able to pledge to purchase an initiative-certified system. The Web site will also help consumers learn how to take advantage of their existing computer's power-saving capabilities such as sleep and hibernate modes, which can reduce the amount of energy consumed by up to 60 percent.
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative licensed its name from the World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers program, which involves several leading companies working to reduce their carbon footprint.
"This is the first time our Climate Savers program has been applied to an entire sector, engaging manufacturers, retailers, and consumers," said John Donoghue, senior vice president for the WWF. "We are pleased to join these industry leaders to provide solutions to address climate change."
The initiative's energy efficiency benchmarks will initially follow the EPA's Energy Star guidelines; but with increasing requirements during the next several years. For example, 2007 Energy Star specifications require that PC power supplies meet at least 80 percent minimum efficiency. The initiative would require a minimum of 90 percent by 2010. In addition, the initiative sets a higher efficiency target in the power supply for volume servers (1U and 2U single-socket and dual-socket systems): an increase from 85 percent to 92 percent efficiency by 2010. For a complete description of the requirements, see www.climatesaverscomputing.org.
Initial SupportersIntel Corporation (www.intel.com), Google, Inc.* (www.google.com), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.* (www.amd.com), Canonical Ltd.* (www.canonical.com), Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society* (www.citris-uc.org), Coldwatt, Inc.* (www.coldwatt.com), Dell Inc.* (www.dell.com), Delta Electronics, Inc.* (www.delta.com.tw), eBay* (www.ebay.com) Electronic Data Systems Corporation* (www.eds.com), EMC Corporation* (www.emc.com), Fujitsu Limited* (www.fujitsu.com), Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.* (www.hp.com), Hipro Technology Inc.* (www.hipro-us.com), Hitachi, Ltd.* (www.hitachi.com), IBM Corporation* (www.ibm.com), LANDesk Software* (www.landesk.com), Lenovo Group Limited* (www.lenovo.com), Linux Foundation* (www.linux-foundation.com), Massachusetts Institute of Technology* (web.mit.edu), Microsoft Corporation* (www.microsoft.com), Natural Resource Defense Council* (www.nrdc.org), NEC Corporation* (www.nec.com), One Laptop per Child* (www.laptop.org), PG&E Corporation* (www.pgecorp.com), Power-One, Inc.* (www.power-one.com), Quanta Computer Inc.* (www.quantatw.com), Rackable Systems* (www.rackable.com), Red Hat, Inc.* (www.redhat.com), Starbucks Corporation* (www.starbucks.com), Sun Microsystems, Inc.* (www.sun.com), Supermicro Computer Inc.* (www.supermicro.com), United States Environmental Protection Agency* (www.epa.gov), University of Michigan* (www.umich.edu), Unisys (www.unisys.com) Verdiem Corporation* (www.verdiem.com), World Wildlife Fund* (www.worldwildlife.org), World Resources Institute* (www.wri.org), Yahoo!* (www.yahoo.com).
About IntelIntel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.
About Google Inc.Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
Climate Savers is a trademark or registered trademark of WWF used under license.
Broad effort organized to drive energy-efficient computing; goal to save $5.5 billion in energy costs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year†
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., June 12, 2007 – Intel Corporation and Google* joined with Dell*, EDS*, the Environmental Protection Agency*, HP*, IBM*, Lenovo*, Microsoft*, Pacific Gas and Electric*, World Wildlife Fund*, and more than a dozen additional organizations today announcing their intent to form the Climate Savers Computing Initiative. The goal of the new broad-based environmental effort is to save energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by setting aggressive new targets for energy-efficient computers and components, and promoting the adoption of energy-efficient computers and power management tools worldwide.
"Today, the average desktop PC wastes nearly half of its power, and the average server wastes one-third of its power," said Urs Holzle, senior vice president, Operations, Google Inc. "The Climate Savers Computing Initiative is setting a new 90 percent efficiency target for power supplies, which if achieved, will reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 54 million tons per year -- and save more than $5.5 billion in energy costs.
"We are asking businesses and individuals throughout the world to join with us to institute better power management of their computing equipment and purchase energy-efficient computers," Holzle added.
Initial companies who intend to participate in the initiative represent both the demand and supply side of the computer industry, including computer manufacturers and chip makers, as well as environmental groups, energy companies, retailers, government agencies and more. The group will formalize its membership in coming weeks.
"By 2010, the Climate Savers Computing Initiative will cut greenhouse gas emissions in an amount equal to removing more than 11 million cars from the road or shutting down 20 500-megawatt coal-fired power plants -- a significant step in reducing the emissions affecting our planet," said Pat Gelsinger, senior vice president and general manager of Intel's Digital Enterprise Group.
"Computers have helped us make huge strides toward a more efficient world today, with reduced travel, more productivity, online transactions and more," Gelsinger added. "But with today's latest energy-efficient technologies, we can do even more. The commitment of the member companies that are here with us today is a firm statement to the collective resolve to make an enormous impact."
Computer and computer component manufacturers who support the initiative are committed to building energy-efficient products that meet or surpass the EPA's Energy Star* guidelines. Businesses must also commit to requiring high efficiency systems for the majority of their corporate desktop PCs and volume server purchases, and to deploy and use power management tools on desktop PCs.
Individual consumers can also support the Climate Savers Computing Initiative by signing up at www.climatesaverscomputing.org, where they will be able to pledge to purchase an initiative-certified system. The Web site will also help consumers learn how to take advantage of their existing computer's power-saving capabilities such as sleep and hibernate modes, which can reduce the amount of energy consumed by up to 60 percent.
The Climate Savers Computing Initiative licensed its name from the World Wildlife Fund Climate Savers program, which involves several leading companies working to reduce their carbon footprint.
"This is the first time our Climate Savers program has been applied to an entire sector, engaging manufacturers, retailers, and consumers," said John Donoghue, senior vice president for the WWF. "We are pleased to join these industry leaders to provide solutions to address climate change."
The initiative's energy efficiency benchmarks will initially follow the EPA's Energy Star guidelines; but with increasing requirements during the next several years. For example, 2007 Energy Star specifications require that PC power supplies meet at least 80 percent minimum efficiency. The initiative would require a minimum of 90 percent by 2010. In addition, the initiative sets a higher efficiency target in the power supply for volume servers (1U and 2U single-socket and dual-socket systems): an increase from 85 percent to 92 percent efficiency by 2010. For a complete description of the requirements, see www.climatesaverscomputing.org.
Initial SupportersIntel Corporation (www.intel.com), Google, Inc.* (www.google.com), Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.* (www.amd.com), Canonical Ltd.* (www.canonical.com), Center for Information Technology Research in the Interest of Society* (www.citris-uc.org), Coldwatt, Inc.* (www.coldwatt.com), Dell Inc.* (www.dell.com), Delta Electronics, Inc.* (www.delta.com.tw), eBay* (www.ebay.com) Electronic Data Systems Corporation* (www.eds.com), EMC Corporation* (www.emc.com), Fujitsu Limited* (www.fujitsu.com), Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.* (www.hp.com), Hipro Technology Inc.* (www.hipro-us.com), Hitachi, Ltd.* (www.hitachi.com), IBM Corporation* (www.ibm.com), LANDesk Software* (www.landesk.com), Lenovo Group Limited* (www.lenovo.com), Linux Foundation* (www.linux-foundation.com), Massachusetts Institute of Technology* (web.mit.edu), Microsoft Corporation* (www.microsoft.com), Natural Resource Defense Council* (www.nrdc.org), NEC Corporation* (www.nec.com), One Laptop per Child* (www.laptop.org), PG&E Corporation* (www.pgecorp.com), Power-One, Inc.* (www.power-one.com), Quanta Computer Inc.* (www.quantatw.com), Rackable Systems* (www.rackable.com), Red Hat, Inc.* (www.redhat.com), Starbucks Corporation* (www.starbucks.com), Sun Microsystems, Inc.* (www.sun.com), Supermicro Computer Inc.* (www.supermicro.com), United States Environmental Protection Agency* (www.epa.gov), University of Michigan* (www.umich.edu), Unisys (www.unisys.com) Verdiem Corporation* (www.verdiem.com), World Wildlife Fund* (www.worldwildlife.org), World Resources Institute* (www.wri.org), Yahoo!* (www.yahoo.com).
About IntelIntel, the world leader in silicon innovation, develops technologies, products and initiatives to continually advance how people work and live. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom.
About Google Inc.Google's innovative search technologies connect millions of people around the world with information every day. Founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Google today is a top web property in all major global markets. Google's targeted advertising program provides businesses of all sizes with measurable results, while enhancing the overall web experience for users. Google is headquartered in Silicon Valley with offices throughout the Americas, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.google.com.
Intel and the Intel logo are trademarks of Intel Corporation in the U.S. and other countries.
Climate Savers is a trademark or registered trademark of WWF used under license.
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