Philip Sterne: Creating Better Financial Markets

We're letting a good crisis go to waste. Since the financial crisis of 2008 there have been growing calls for financial reform, including calls to limit bankers' bonus culture, enforce tougher banking regulations and decrease risk-taking in the financial sector. This is a natural reaction. But these small changes are not enough.

One avenue for potential reform that has been completely ignored so far is to change the rules of the stock market itself. Stock markets have existed since the 12th century in France, and very little has changed in the intervening centuries. Essentially all new technology in the market has just improved transaction processing times. Do we really need a market that settles trades in milliseconds? With current technology, we can do more than make faster trades; we now have the ability to create better markets which have far less volatility and are just as liquid.

People are angry today. Angry at the banks and at the systems that plunged us into crisis. While it's tempting to condemn the entire financial system, the stock market is useful to society for two reasons. Firstly, the market allows promising companies to raise money for their plans through the issuing of new stock, and secondly, the market allows people the opportunity to invest in companies and receive a healthy return for making wise investments.

Profit from investing on the stock market can be broken down into two components: identifying value and identifying trends. When investors buy shares that are under-priced, those shares will either appreciate to a fair value, or they will pay a dividend that is relatively larger than other shares. This is the good side of trading. Investors can go to great lengths to understand a company's products and position in the market to better understand what a fair value for that company is. Society is better off when markets are dominated by value investors as money is channeled through to companies who are best able to use it.

The second component of profit from trading comes identifying trends. If you see that a share is doing really well today, and you buy that share, in the hopes that it will continue to rise then you are trying to identify trends. However, the key thing to note is this: trading on trends can make a profit, but it does not send money to companies in a careful, considered manner. When lots of traders try to identify trends then share prices jump around like crazy. Also, trends are a zero-sum game; here traders only make money if someone else loses money. This is the bad side of trading, as society does not benefit, wealth is not created merely sloshed around. I don't want to sound too moral here. I've traded shares based on trends, without an idea of the underlying value. It's just so much easier than trying to accurately value a large multinational company! However society is poorer off when bright people spend their time trying to identify trends in the market, rather than trying to meet society's needs.

Typically, trend traders only hold shares for a short while. Why hold it if there's another great opportunity to ride a share price tomorrow? With this in mind, many people support a Tobin tax, or a "Robin Hood" tax. This tax adds a small cost to each trade. The cost is practically non-existent for investors who hold shares for a long time, but it will add up very quickly for traders who want to trade daily. While this sounds like an ideal reform for the market, we need to beware of unintended consequences. The two most likely outcomes are reduced liquidity or increased volatility. Liquidity refers to how easily an asset can be sold, and if we impose a tax on people who buy and sell shares then it could very easily make it harder to buy and sell shares! The volatility of a share refers to how much the price fluctuates; if a trader knows that he must pay a tax, then he might wait for the price to drop lower before buying and he might wait for the price to rise higher before selling. Neither effect is good and in the current market structure it is very likely that one or both of these effects will occur.

This brings me back to the beginning of the article. Markets have existed in essentially the same form for centuries now. While the digital age has revolutionised many fields, what about the stock market? Stock markets now have many different options,futures contracts, credit default swaps, and other forms of financial engineering but everything is bought and sold in the same market structure. Arguably the only change that technology has brought to the market structure is speed.

Want to sell a share? Chances are the trade can clear in milliseconds, but not much else has changed. I propose that we now have the technology to fundamentally improve our market structure. We can now ensure that share prices are boring on boring days, while still allowing investors to buy and sell large numbers of shares without high price fluctuation.

Let's change the game by requiring investors to tell us how many shares they'd like to own for every possible price. Let's call this a "demand function." For example:

Price	Demand for shares of company A
10?	100
50?	80
60?	40
70?	0

Now, rather than an exchange receiving "sell" or "buy" orders from traders, the exchange receives updated demand functions. These demand functions could be simple, such as: "hold 100 shares if the price falls below $5, and hold 0 shares if the price is above $5." In fact, the simplest demand function could be: "hold 100 shares regardless of price."

Trend traders will want to buy more shares of a company as the price increases. I have already given reasons why we don't want people trading on trends, so we can start engineering the game by forbidding trend-trading. If you want to trade on this new market you have to be a logical value investor and as the price increases you have to demand fewer shares.

Given an exchange with many demand functions, how do we determine price? Well, each company has issued a fixed number of shares. We can add up all the demand functions and find the price at which the number of shares demanded equals the number of shares issued. This isn't a new idea. In fact, matching supply and demand is taught in every introductory micro-economic course, but now we're building that idea directly into our exchange. When the price of a share is known, then we can allocate shares to investors as specified by their demand function. If we were investing according to our example demand function, and the price was found to be 60?, then we would be the proud owners of 40 hypothetical shares of company A.

The only constant in life is change. How should the price be adjusted when a trader changes their demand function? Well we can follow our procedure to determine what the new price should be. It is interesting to consider who holds how many shares now. For pedagogy, let us assume that a trader was positive about company A's potential, and for each price he has increased the number of shares he'd like to hold. This will push the price up just enough for others to demand less shares and the market will clear again. If the new price of our hypothetical share is 70?, then we demand zero shares (as per our demand function) and we will sell all our shares at the higher price. This other trader will be required to purchase the extra shares at this higher price, and this money will be distributed to the traders who sold some of their shares. However, the entire market clearing process happened without any human intervention. This means that liquidity is built into the market.

"Not so fast!" you say. "What's to stop an undercover trend trader repeatedly sending new demand functions which buy more shares as the price increases?" Well, we can apply a Tobin tax to those pesky trend traders. In fact, the Tobin tax for a market of this type can be as large as 1%. We can specify that the tax only applies if your demand function has been updated in the last 3 months. This provides a strong incentive to consider the medium term when thinking about one's demand function, which is precisely the sort of behaviour we want to encourage!

Another great thing about this market model is that if the price of a share moves from $10 to $15 and then back to $10, then everyone who has left their demand functions unchanged will have made money. They will have sold their shares at the higher price and then bought the shares back at the lower price.

Shares also have value because they pay dividends. Currently the market pays dividends based on who owns shares at a particular instant in time. However a payout that is based on a single instant makes the value of a share far more variable in time. Our proposed market structure is designed to capture the slowly-changing value of a share. It is far more natural for the dividend payout to be earned in a similar manner to interest on a bank account. The amount you receive is based on how long you have held the share.

The sum of all the demand functions can also be interesting information. It could be used by the management of a company to better understand the market's belief about the value of the company. This could then inform decisions at the company about the issuing of new shares.

I suspect there are many more variations of a market that one could consider. Given how large an influence the market has on our daily lives, I'm surprised that there hasn't been more research into alternative market designs. Instead, market criticisms tend to fall into two camps: either the criticism is incredibly specific and doesn't see the forest for the trees, or it is far too broad and condemns the entire financial industry without providing feasible alternatives. Instead let's start a mature discussion of how the system can be improved.

?

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/philip-sterne/creating-better-financial_b_1241008.html

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Romney credits change in tactics for Florida surge (AP)

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Djokovic wins Australian Open in longest final (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? Novak Djokovic wore down Rafael Nadal in the longest Grand Slam singles final in the history of professional tennis, winning 5-7, 6-4, 6-2, 6-7 (5), 7-5 after 5 hours, 53 minutes to claim his third Australian Open title.

Djokovic wrapped it up at 1:37 a.m. local time on Monday, becoming the fifth man since the Open Era began in 1968 to win three straight Grand Slam finals.

The 24-year-old Djokovic tore off his shirt in celebration after the riveting final. He went to his support camp and repeatedly thumped the side of the arena in front of them in delight and relief.

Nadal leaned on the net, while Djokovic sat on his haunches before the trophy presentation. Eventually, an official brought them chairs and a bottle of water each.

"We made history tonight and unfortunately there couldn't be two winners," Djokovic said.

Djokovic maintained his mastery of Nadal, who has lost seven straight finals against the Serb since March last year. The Spainiard became the first man in the Open Era to lose three straight major finals. He lost in four sets to Djokovic at last year's Wimbledon and U.S. Open.

Having reduced Roger Federer to tears when he won the title over five sets in 2009, Nadal maintained his composure during the on-court speeches ? and even managed a joke.

"Good morning, everybody," Nadal said, earning laughs and loud applause from the crowd. "Congratulations to Novak and his team. They deserve it. They are doing something fantastic, so congratulations."

After coming back from 5-3 down to win the fourth-set tiebreaker, Nadal was up a break at 4-2 in the fifth set against Djokovic, who seemed to be tiring.

But the No. 1-ranked Djokovic, who needed almost five hours to win his semifinal against Andy Murray, somehow responded. He broke for a 6-5 lead and saved a break point before finally claiming the win.

The previous longest major singles final was Mats Wilander's win over Ivan Lendl at the U.S. Open in 1988, which lasted 4 hours, 54 minutes.

The longest Australian Open final also involved Wilander in 1988, when the Swede beat Pat Cash. Sunday's match was also the longest in the tournament's history.

A tense, error-strewn opening set offered no indication of the high drama to follow. In hot, humid conditions, both players struggled for consistency.

After an exchange of breaks, Nadal took it after 80 minutes ? two minutes short of the entire women's final the previous day.

Nadal had only lost one match of his previous 134 in Grand Slams after winning the first set, but he found his serve coming under increasing pressure as the match wore on.

As if to demonstrate the pervading tension of the occasion, Djokovic double-faulted at break point down while serving for the second set at 5-3 before Nadal returned the favor by double-faulting in the next game to give the Serb the second set.

By the time Djokovic took a 3-1 lead in the third set, Nadal's shoulders were visibly slumping and he was talking to himself more often, unable to stop his opponent from peppering the baseline with his returns to take control of the points.

At 5-2, his uncle and coach Toni Nadal moved to the front row of the players' box to try to get some positive messages to his nephew.

It didn't work. Nadal lost his serve again ? at love.

But in the fourth set, Nadal dug in, drawing on his renowned fighting spirit, and the match really came alive when he recovered from 0-40 down in the eighth game with two spectacular winners, two unreturnable serves and an ace.

Then came a rain shower and a brief delay for the roof to close, robbing Nadal of his momentum.

He regained it the tiebreaker, though, reeling off four straight points from 5-3 down, taking the match into a decider when Djokovic's forehand dropped wide.

The tennis, almost unbelievably, seemed to improve in the fifth set as the match ticked past five hours.

At 4-4, Djokovic looped a backhand long after a 31-shot rally ? the longest of the match ? and then collapsed with his arms and legs spread wide.

He struggled to pick himself and his racket up, but he broke two games later when Nadal, finally showing signs of fatigue, netted a backhand.

Still, Nadal wasn't quite done. Djokovic had to save a break point with a cross-court backhand, crossing himself as he limped back to the baseline, before finally claiming victory with his 57th winner of the match.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open

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Azarenka routs Sharapova to win Australian title (AP)

MELBOURNE, Australia ? Victoria Azarenka started celebrating, then suddenly did a double-take to ask her coach, "What happened?"

The answer: She had just produced one of the most lopsided Australian Open final victories to capture a Grand Slam title and the No. 1 ranking for the first time.

Azarenka routed three-time Grand Slam winner Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-0 in 1 hour, 22 minutes on Saturday night, winning 12 of the last 13 games after dropping her first service game and falling behind 2-0.

"It's a dream come true," she said. "I have been dreaming and working so hard to win the Grand Slam, and being No. 1 is pretty good bonus. Just the perfect ending and the perfect position to be in."

Azarenka had won 11 straight matches, including a run to the Sydney International title, and reached her first Grand Slam final. Her previous best performance at a major was a semifinal loss to Petra Kvitova at Wimbledon last year. Sharapova had all the experience, being in her sixth major final and having won three ? dating to her 2004 Wimbledon title.

But it didn't unnerve the 22-year-old Azarenka, the first woman from Belarus to win a singles major. She's also the seventh different woman to win a Grand Slam since Francesca Schiavone won the 2010 French Open, and the fifth different winner in as many majors.

Azarenka became only the third woman to earn the No. 1 spot after winning her first major title. She moved from No. 3 to No. 1 in the rankings, helped by Caroline Wozniacki's loss in the quarterfinals.

The third-seeded Azarenka set up championship point with a stunning forehand, her 14th clean winner, and sealed it when Sharapova netted a backhand.

She dropped to her knees at the baseline with her hands over her face. She got up, held her hands up and jogged over to her coach, Sam Sumyk, in the stands to celebrate.

"The best feeling, for sure," Azarenka said. "I don't know about the game. I don't know what I was doing out there. It's just pure joy what happened. I can't believe it's over."

And she paid special credit to her grandmother, "the person who inspires me the most in my life."

Azarenka has been a distinctive presence at Melbourne Park as much for her shrieks and hoots with each shot and seemingly boundless energy as for her white shorts, blue singlet and lime green head and wrist bands.

Against Sharapova, she maintained the frenetic movement that has been the hallmark of her performance in Australia, her 25th consecutive major. She won the Sydney International title last weekend and is on a 12-match winning streak ? the first player since 2004 to win a WTA tour event the week before winning a major.

"She did everything better than I did today. I had a good first couple of games, and that was about it," Sharapova said. "Then she was the one that was taking the first ball and hitting it deep and aggressive. I was always the one running around like a rabbit, you know, trying to play catch-up all the time."

Sharapova also won only three games in a 2007 final loss to Serena Williams, who also conceded only three games in the 2009 final against Dinara Safina.

When Sharapova won the first two games, there was no indication of how lopsided the match would be. Azarenka took control after holding for the first time, breaking Sharapova at love and then holding again on a three-game roll.

Sharapova held, finishing off with an ace, to level the score at 3-3 in the first set but then didn't win another game.

Azarenka started dictating the points, coming to the net at times, hitting winners from the baseline and forcing the 24-year-old Russian to the extremes on both sides of the court. Sharapova seemed barely able to move by comparison, and had 30 unforced errors in the match.

The second set was completely lopsided and lasted only 36 minutes, with Sharapova winning only 12 points.

"As in any sport, you have your good days, you have your tough days and you have days where things just don't work out," said Sharapova, who has now been on the losing end of two of the most lopsided scorelines in a final at Melbourne Park.

In the men's doubles final, Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek denied Bob and Mike Bryan their record 12th Grand Slam title, beating the American twins 7-6 (1), 6-2.

The 33-year-old Bryans were attempting to secure their place as the most decorated doubles team since the Open Era began in 1968. They remain tied at 11 major titles with Australian duo Mark Woodforde and Todd Woodbridge.

On Sunday, defending champion Novak Djokovic takes on Rafael Nadal in a men's singles final featuring the top two players in the rankings. Djokovic won three of the four majors last year and beat Nadal in six finals in 2011 among his 70 match wins for the season.

Azarenka had her best season in 2011, winning 55 of 72 matches to finish the year at No. 3.

There was a time when she'd momentarily flirted with the idea of quitting the sport during a quick trip home to Minsk after a loss at Doha. But she was quickly set straight by her family, including her grandmother, who had reportedly worked three jobs until the age of 71.

She couldn't get through to her family immediately "because my phone is freaking out right now," but she texted them from the court.

"I made a pretty smart decision, not walking out, right? That was pretty special," she said. "There's always ups and downs, now I'm up."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_sp_te_ga_su/ten_australian_open

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Steve Jobs told Google to stop poaching workers (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? Apple's Steve Jobs directly asked former Google Chief Executive Eric Schmidt to stop trying to recruit an Apple engineer, a transgression that threatened one junior Google employee's job, according to a court filing.

The 2007 email from Jobs to Schmidt was disclosed on Friday in the course of civil litigation against Apple Inc, Google Inc and five other technology companies. The proposed class action, brought by five software engineers, accuses the companies of conspiring to keep employee compensation low by eliminating competition for skilled labor.

In 2010, Google, Apple, Adobe Systems Inc, Intel Corp, Intuit Inc and Walt Disney Co's Pixar unit agreed to a settlement of a U.S. Justice Department probe that bars them from agreeing to refrain from poaching each other's employees.

According to an unredacted court filing made public in the civil litigation on Friday, the now-deceased Jobs emailed Schmidt in March 2007 about an attempt by a Google employee to recruit an Apple engineer. Schmidt was also an Apple board member at the time.

"I would be very pleased if your recruiting department would stop doing this," Jobs wrote.

Schmidt forwarded Job's email onto other, undisclosed recipients.

"Can you get this stopped and let me know why this is happening?" Schmidt wrote.

Google's staffing director responded that the employee who contacted the Apple engineer "will be terminated within the hour."

He added: "Please extend my apologies as appropriate to Steve Jobs."

Google spokeswoman Niki Fenwick said on Friday the company, "has always actively and aggressively recruited top talent."

Apple representatives did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The tech defendants have asked a U.S. judge in San Jose, California to quickly dismiss the civil lawsuit, arguing that the companies engaged in bilateral anti-poaching deals to protect collaboration. The companies did not participate in an "overarching conspiracy," they argued in filings.

But at a court hearing this week, U.S. District Judge Lucy Koh said the civil lawsuit will proceed, although it may be split up into multiple potential class actions.

Among the revelations stemming from the civil litigation is a 2007 note from Palm's chief executive to Apple's Steve Jobs, saying that an anti-poaching agreement would be "likely illegal.

The latest court filing also refers to a 2007 note from Intel chief executive Paul Otellini discussing that company's agreement with Google.

"Let me clarify. We have nothing signed," Otellini wrote. "We have a handshake 'no recruit' between eric and myself. I would not like this broadly known."

Intel representative Sumner Lemon said on Friday the company, "disagrees with the allegations contained in the private litigation related to recruiting practices and plans to conduct a vigorous defense."

The case in U.S. District Court, Northern District of California is In Re: High-Tech Employee Antitrust Litigation, 11-cv-2509.

(Reporting By Dan Levine; editing by Tim Dobbyn and Andre Grenon)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/tc_nm/us_apple_lawsuit

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Glitzy new AU headquarters a symbol of China-Africa ties (Reuters)

ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) ? Standing on what was once Ethiopia's oldest maximum security prison, the new African Union headquarters funded by China is a symbol of the Asian giant's push to stay ahead in Africa and gain greater access to the continent's resources.

Critics point to an imbalance in what they see as the new "Scramble for Africa." But the prospect of growing Chinese economic influence is welcomed by African leaders, who see Beijing as a partner to help build their economies at a time when Europe and the United States are mired in economic turmoil.

And Africans are hoping for more Chinese largesse.

"The future prospects of our partnership are even brighter," Ethiopian Prime Minister Meles Zenawi said Saturday at the new headquarters' multi-storey amphitheatre, where an African heads of states' summit will take place Sunday and Monday.

"China - its amazing re-emergence and its commitments for a win-win partnership with Africa - is one of the reasons for the beginning of the African renaissance," he said.

The brown marble and glass monolith was fully paid for by China, right down to the office furniture, and cost $200 million. The office complex and almost 100 metre (330 foot) tower is Addis Ababa's tallest building by far.

For the past decade, Africa has recorded economic growth of an average of 5 percent but its under-developed infrastructure has in part hindered its capacity to develop further.

Chinese companies are changing that. They are building roads and investing in the energy sector, and are active in areas such as telecoms technology.

China's most senior political adviser, Jia Qinglin, said trade between the two partners had grown to $150 billion, and the unveiling of the headquarters was a "milestone" in the ties between China and Africa.

As the biggest consumer of iron-ore, China has a relentless hunger for African minerals and energy.

Beijing now appears keener to flex its diplomatic muscle in the continent. It has also contributed $4.5 million for the African Union peacekeeping force battling Islamist militants in Somalia.

Outside the complex, hundreds of Chinese support staff, delegates and officials snapped pictures of their country's most ostentatious presence yet in Africa.

Critics point to land grabs and mistreatment of African workers on Chinese-funded projects. Even when it comes to job opportunities, in some instances China brings in teams of workers and technical experts.

Yet African officials insist they aren't being manipulated by China, and say the relationship is not based on aid but on trade and development.

"There are people who still consider Africans like children who can be easily manipulated. The good thing about this partnership is that it's give and take," the Democratic Republic of Congo's ambassador to Washington, Faida Mitifu, told Reuters.

(Editing by James Macharia and Alessandra Rizzo)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/wl_nm/us_africa_china

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Grammy-winning composer Clare Fischer dead at 83 (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? Clare Fischer, a Grammy-winning composer who wrote scores for television and movies and worked with legendary musicians like Dizzy Gillespie, has died. He was 83.

Fischer died Thursday at Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center in Burbank after suffering a heart attack two weeks ago, family spokeswoman Claris Sayadian-Dodge said.

An uncommonly versatile musician, Fischer worked as a composer, arranger, conductor and pianist for more than 60 years.

He is best known for his arrangements for Prince, Michael Jackson, Paul McCartney, Branford Marsalis, Raphael Saadiq, Usher and Brandy.

Nominated for a Grammy 11 times in the Best Instrumental Arrangement category, Fischer won in 1986 for his album "Free Fall" and in 1981 for "Salsa Picante plus 2+2."

Born in Durand, Mich., Fischer got his start playing piano and writing jazz-inspired arrangements for the group The Hi-Lo's, an a capella quartet popular in the 1950s.

He worked as the arranger on Gillespie's "Jazz Portrait of Duke Ellington."

Fischer recorded 51 albums over his lifetime with his son Brent Fischer. The music ranges in style from jazz to salsa to symphonies.

"Clare Fischer was a major influence on my harmonic concept," Herbie Hancock is quoted as saying on Fischer's website.

"(Fischer) and Bill Evans, and Ravel and Gil Evans, finally. You know, that's where it really came from. Almost all of the harmony that I play can be traced to one of those four people and whoever their influences were," Hancock said.

Clare Fischer is survived by his wife, Donna; sons Lee and Brent; daughter Tahlia; and three grandchildren.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_en_mo/us_obit_fischer

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Sajak: Vanna and I hosted 'Wheel' while drunk

ESPN2

"Wheel of Fortune" host Pat Sajak admits he hosted the show while drunk during his early days.

By Ree Hines

Veteran game show host Pat Sajak recalls his early days on "Wheel of Fortune" with fondness, but that has nothing to do with the show's wheeling and dealing.

In fact, Sajak recently revealed that he found the show format snooze-worthy in the 1980s. But the margarita-filled dinner breaks he shared with Vanna White made it all worthwhile.

?We had a different show then," he explained during an interview on ESPN2's "Dan Le Batard is Highly Questionable." "You didn?t win money. You won fake money with which you could buy cheesy prizes. The turntable would go 'round and housewives from Teaneck (NJ) would say, 'Uh, for $100, I'll have the lamp ?- no, I'll have ?' It was the most boring two minutes of television. But because we had all of those prizes, we had endless time between shows. Our dinner breaks would be two hours long."

And two hours was all it took for Sajak and his on-screen partner to get tipsy at a nearby restaurant before returning to their TV gig.

"They served great margaritas," he recalled. "So Vanna and I would go across and have two or three or six and then come and do the last shows and have trouble recognizing the alphabet. They're really good tapes to get a hold of."

Well, as far as he can remember.

"I had a great time," Sajak said. "I have no idea if the shows were any good, but no one said anything, so I guess I did OK."

But that's all in the past now. Now Sajak, and presumably White, stays strictly sober while the big wheel spins.

"Now if I were to inhale the cork on a bottle of wine, I would probably keel over," He joked. "I'm getting a little bit older. So we don't do that. I would be hesitant to have anything to drink now."

Are you surprised by Sajak's confession? Share your thoughts on our Facebook page.

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Source: http://theclicker.today.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10242653-pat-sajak-vanna-and-i-hosted-wheel-while-drunk

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Young Americans Pick Edison as 'Greatest Innovator' Over Steve Jobs (LiveScience.com)

Even the Apple generation doesn't favor Steve Jobs over the most iconic inventor in U.S. history. Young Americans overwhelmingly chose Thomas Edison as the "greatest innovator of all time" in a new MIT survey.

That doesn't mean Jobs lacks for fans in the wake of his death last year. The man who relentlessly drove Apple to create the iPhone and iPad received 24 percent of the vote among some 1,010 Americans ages 16 to 25 who participated in the survey. But a whopping 54 percent voted for Thomas Edison, who was credited with the first practical light bulb, the phonograph for recording sound, the movie camera and other marvels of the modern age.

Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the first practical telephone, came in third with 10 percent. He was followed by scientist Marie Curie, famed for her pioneering work on radioactivity, and Mark Zuckerberg, the young founder and CEO of Facebook.

The annual Lemelson-MIT Invention Index also gauged young Americans' perceptions of invention and innovation today. Only about 40 percent of the respondents said they couldn't imagine life without technology such as smarpthones and tablets, and less than half (47 percent) said a lack of invention would hurt the U.S. economy.

The survey revealed possible trouble for the next generation of innovators. Sixty percent of the respondents said there were factors that could prevent them from making a career in science, technology, engineering or math.

Among that group, 45 percent said invention didn't receive enough attention in school, and 28 percent said their education left them unprepared to enter science and engineering fields.

"Hands-on invention activities are critical, but few too many students have opportunities to learn and develop their inventive skills," said Leigh Estabrooks, the Lemelson-MIT Program?s invention education officer. ?This year?s survey revealed that less than half of respondents have done things like used a drill or hand-held power tool, or made something out of raw materials in the past year."

Tellingly, young Americans pointed to the need for new, inventive solutions in education ? even more so than in health care, energy and finance. They also suggested possible solutions such as invention projects, field trips, or simply an inventor's work space.

This story was provided by News_Innovation, or on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20120126/sc_livescience/youngamericanspickedisonasgreatestinnovatoroverstevejobs

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Denise Richards Offers Lunch Date For Cancer Charity - Starpulse ...

Actress Denise Richards is giving one lucky fan the chance to take her on a date to raise awareness of kidney cancer.

The former Bond girl is offering to personally fly her guest to Hollywood, where they'll enjoy lunch together, as part of a campaign to promote the Kidney Cancer Association (KCA).

Richards insists the organization is a cause close to her heart after losing her mom Joni to the disease in 2007.

In a post on her blog, she writes, "There is not a day that goes by since my mother's passing from kidney cancer that I don't think of her. I try my best to honor her memory by telling my children stories about what a wonderful woman and mother she was to me. Another part of honoring her memory is supporting the fight against the disease...
?
"Now here's your chance to help. I created a contest in conjunction with the KCA to promote awareness about the disease and help start a conversation about prevention and warning signs. The winner will get the chance to fly out to Hollywood where we'll chat and have lunch together."

Contestants must film a 60-second clip explaining how cancer has affected their lives and submit videos to LunchWithDenise.com.

Photo Credits: PR Photos , Darla Khazei, PacificCoastNews.

Source: http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2012/01/25/denise_richards_offers_lunch_date_for_

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Mexico: 5 slain police tried to extort suspects (AP)

TOLUCA, Mexico ? Mexican authorities say five police officers fatally shot near Mexico City after stopping a car were trying to extort money when they were attacked.

Mexico State prosecutor Alfredo Castillo says the officers from the town of Ixtapaluca (Itz-tah-pah-lu-ca) asked the four La Familia Michoacana cartel members in the vehicle for 6,000 pesos (about $460) to let them go.

Castillo quotes one of the four as saying they told the officers they had only 2,000 pesos and would have to get the rest from friends. He says the suspects then sent a text message asking to be rescued. Several gunmen arrived and opened fire.

Castillo said Wednesday that one of the men in the car was killed and another is hospitalized with a head wound.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/latam/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_mexico_police_killed

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Longtime Penn State Coach Joe Paterno Dead At 85 (VIDEO)

Longtime Penn State Coach Joe Paterno Dead At 85 (VIDEO)

Joe Paterno, who was known as one of the most successful college football coaches and was fired for not responding “correctly” to a sex abuse [...]

Longtime Penn State Coach Joe Paterno Dead At 85 (VIDEO) Stupid Celebrities Gossip Stupid Celebrities Gossip News

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/stupidcelebrities/~3/nF6Cmh3utII/

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List of 84th annual Academy Award nominations (AP)

Complete list of 84th Annual Academy Award nominations announced Tuesday:

1. Best Picture: "The Artist," "The Descendants," "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," "The Help," "Hugo," "Midnight in Paris," "Moneyball," "The Tree of Life," "War Horse."

2. Actor: Demian Bichir, "A Better Life"; George Clooney, "The Descendants"; Jean Dujardin, "The Artist"; Gary Oldman, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy"; Brad Pitt, "Moneyball."

3. Actress: Glenn Close, "Albert Nobbs"; Viola Davis, "The Help"; Rooney Mara, "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo"; Meryl Streep, "The Iron Lady"; Michelle Williams, "My Week With Marilyn."

4. Supporting Actor: Kenneth Branagh, "My Week With Marilyn"; Jonah Hill, "Moneyball"; Nick Nolte, "Warrior"; Christopher Plummer, "Beginners"; Max von Sydow, "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close."

5. Supporting Actress: Berenice Bejo, "The Artist"; Jessica Chastain, "The Help"; Melissa McCarthy, "Bridesmaids"; Janet McTeer, "Albert Nobbs"; Octavia Spencer, "The Help."

6. Directing: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"; Alexander Payne, "The Descendants"; Martin Scorsese, "Hugo"; Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"; Terrence Malick, "The Tree of Life."

7. Foreign Language Film: "Bullhead," Belgium; "Footnote," Israel; "In Darkness," Poland; "Monsieur Lazhar," Canada; "A Separation," Iran.

8. Adapted Screenplay: Alexander Payne, Nat Faxon and Jim Rash, "The Descendants"; John Logan, "Hugo"; George Clooney, Grant Heslov and Beau Willimon, "The Ides of March"; Steven Zaillian, Aaron Sorkin and Stan Chervin, "Moneyball"; Bridget O'Connor and Peter Straughan, "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy."

9. Original Screenplay: Michel Hazanavicius, "The Artist"; Annie Mumolo and Kristen Wiig, "Bridesmaids"; J.C. Chandor, "Margin Call"; Woody Allen, "Midnight in Paris"; Asghar Farhadi, "A Separation."

10. Animated Feature Film: "A Cat in Paris"; "Chico & Rita"; "Kung Fu Panda 2"; "Puss in Boots"; "Rango."

11. Art Direction: "The Artist," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," "Hugo," "Midnight in Paris," "War Horse."

12. Cinematography: "The Artist," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Hugo," "The Tree of Life," "War Horse."

13. Sound Mixing: "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Hugo," "Moneyball," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," "War Horse."

14. Sound Editing: "Drive," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Hugo," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon," "War Horse."

15. Original Score: "The Adventures of Tintin," John Williams; "The Artist," Ludovic Bource; "Hugo," Howard Shore; "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," Alberto Iglesias; "War Horse," John Williams.

16. Original Song: "Man or Muppet" from "The Muppets," Bret McKenzie; "Real in Rio" from "Rio," Sergio Mendes, Carlinhos Brown and Siedah Garrett.

17. Costume: "Anonymous," "The Artist," "Hugo," "Jane Eyre," "W.E."

18. Documentary Feature: "Hell and Back Again," "If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front," "Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory," "Pina," "Undefeated."

19. Documentary (short subject): "The Barber of Birmingham: Foot Soldier of the Civil Rights Movement," "God Is the Bigger Elvis," "Incident in New Baghdad," "Saving Face," "The Tsunami and the Cherry Blossom."

20. Film Editing: "The Artist," "The Descendants," "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo," "Hugo," "Moneyball."

21. Makeup: "Albert Nobbs," "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," "The Iron Lady."

22. Animated Short Film: "Dimanche/Sunday," "The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore," "La Luna," "A Morning Stroll," "Wild Life."

23. Live Action Short Film: "Pentecost," "Raju," "The Shore," "Time Freak," "Tuba Atlantic."

24. Visual Effects: "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2," "Hugo," "Real Steel," "Rise of the Planet of the Apes," "Transformers: Dark of the Moon."

___

Online:

http://www.oscars.org/

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/movies/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_en_mo/us_oscar_nominations_list

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This Guy Didn't Know He Shot Himself in the Head with a Nail Gun [Wtf]

Dante Autullo is a tough guy. He's also, according to his wife, a very accident prone guy. So when he accidentally hit his head with a nail gun and only saw a scratch, he didn't think anything of it... EVEN THOUGH HE HAD A FREAKING NAIL LODGED IN HIS BRAIN. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_jhjF14QHmw/this-guy-didnt-know-he-shot-himself-in-the-head-with-a-nail-gun

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GOP debate night in Florida: A newly aggressive Romney tries to reverse Gingrich's momentum (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/190658424?client_source=feed&format=rss

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'Corruption is legal in Washington' ? insider tips ? RT

As protesters take to Capitol Hill to denounce corporate influence in US politics, RT talks to a former American lobbyist who has been at the heart of a far-reaching corruption scheme. Jack Abramoff reveals to RT how it all works out in Congress.

?When it comes to big money in America's politics, lobbyists are the people who know exactly how it works.

One of the most powerful lobbyists in the American capital, also known as ?the man who bought Washington,? Jack Abramoff was convicted in 2006 of mail fraud and conspiracy. He now explains why he thinks Washington is corrupt to the core.

?What happens here and what?s unfortunate and what I did in terms of pushing over the lines even of this activity,? he told RT?s Gayane Chichakyan, ?is?? lobbyists and people who want something from the Congress raise money for congressmen, give money to congressmen in terms of political contributions, buy meals for them, take them golfing, take them on trips, take them to sporting events. And I probably did more of it than most did and I pushed over certain lines that are in the sand and broke the law. But it is something that goes on far too often.?

Explaining how it all works, he describes bribing government officials in order to gain political support for his clients. Having served three and a half years in prison he is now a vocal opponent of corruption in Congress.

?As a human being, if somebody gives you something, you feel gratitude,? he says. ?Even if you don?t deal with this person once right there, the issue is: if you do something nice for me, in my heart I am going to feel a little bit better about you. And that is the moment of the problem, if you are a public servant.?

Abramoff insists the moment you offer a job to a congressional staffer you own him. ?

?There was no greater control that people could have over congressional offices than to have the head of that office know that in a few months he was going to come work for a lobbying firm,? he explained to RT.? ?From that minute on, those people are focused on that lobbying firm and their clients. And it is not just me ? I see it all over town. It is not something I invented, it is something I noticed. And it is something I propose now to get rid of by banning people who work on Capitol Hill or members of the Congress ever joining the lobbying industry or the influence industry in America.?

Commenting on the ?Occupy Congress? protests and the major demands of the protesters, Abramoff agreed that Americans have a very tough time competing with the special interests of big corporations.

?The special interests come with a lot of money and it is a minuscule amount of money compared to what they [corporations] could do,? he explained. ?The problem is the average citizen here is not engaged politically. And when they [corporations] are able to bring in money and influence members of the Congress to vote on things that are not good for the country and are not good for the general interests because someone with the special interest is pushing on it?? that?s where the problem starts."

?What I propose in my book and the effort I have been engaged in since I got out of prison is a way to separate money out of politics here and basically to say if you are a lobbyist or you are somebody trying to get something from the government here you may not give a dollar, politically, of any kind.?

?I think that in America getting into, first of all, class envy, is very dangerous,? he continues. ?We?ve seen that every great totalitarian movement in the 20th century started with class envy. Instead of class envy, they are to focus themselves not on those who succeed, but on those who cheat, then succeed, in the sense of using the government and using the state to make their lives easier, to make more money. And there are plenty of those.?

Source: http://rt.com/news/us-congress-corruption-legal-053/

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Samsung SSD 830 Series (256GB)

If 2011 wasn't the year that solid-state drives (SSDs) went mainstream, it was a year they delivered newly groundbreaking performance. First came the incredibly fast 240GB OCZ Vertex 3, which was followed by its slightly less impressive 120GB version. Those looking for a lower-capacity SSD had at least one outstanding choice, the 128GB Samsung SSD 830 Series. But when Samsung's drives hit higher capacities, how well do they stand up against OCZ's? Pretty well, at least with regards to the 256GB version ($429.99 list)?though it doesn't come out on top in every situation.

Even so, it has all the features you have a right to expect from a top SSD contender at the beginning of 2012, starting with 6Gbps SATA III. (Samsung's 2010 debut consumer model, the SSD 470 Series, only used 3Gbps SATA II.) More impressively, this 2.5-inch-form-factor drive (which measures only 7mm in height?on the short side for an SSD) is Samsung all the way down, from its stylish and shiny black brushed-metal frame to its three-core controller to the DRAM to the 20nm MLC toggle DDR NAND flash memory itself. Samsung even claims that the drive's wear-leveling and garbage collection technologies are proprietary (though traditional TRIM is supported). You can expect to get about 238GB of usable space from the drive (the remaining gigabytes are dedicated to overprovisioning), and it's covered by a three-year warranty. Other nice inclusions are discs containing the full version of Norton Ghost and Samsung's SSD Magician software for performing tasks like optimizing performance (via garbage collection) and updating the drive's firmware and, as of early January 2012, a free download code for Batman: Arkham City.

Performance was robust as well, with the Samsung drive constantly trading top scores and times with the 240GB Vertex 3. What drive came out ahead and on which task depended on the particular application. On our AS SSD benchmark, OCZ's drive generally did better with reads and Samsung's with writes, and we witnessed something similar on the ATTO Disk Benchmark?up to a point. From 0.5KB to 2KB, OCZ owned the reads and the Samsung writes; at 4KB the two flipped and continued alternating wins straight down the line through 512KB. With results upwards of 546MBps in 128KB, 256KB, and 512KB sequential reads, the Samsung drive even surpassed its own stated performance rating of 520MBps?an impressive feat. (For the record, the Samsung drive also promises up to 400MBps sequential write speeds, and routinely performed above that rating, too.)

It was after that, however, that the Samsung's limitations began to show. The OCZ took the rest of the rest of the ATTO tests?both write and read?up to 8MB, all of the CrystalDiskMark tests except Sequential and 4KB QD32 reads, and all of the PCMark 7 storage trials. The biggest discrepancy we noticed was on CrystalDiskMark's 4KB QD32 Write test: The OCZ delivered a result of 252MBps, whereas the Samsung drive could only muster up 147.4MBps. Combined with the ATTO results, this shows that, when you're more intensively moving larger amounts of data, the 256GB Samsung drive can't quite keep up with the competition.

Based on what we observed, the Samsung SSD 830 Series isn't quite able to wrest our Editors' Choice title away from the 240GB OCZ Vertex 3 (which is also priced at $399.99 list, $30 less than the Samsung)?but in more standard everyday applications it's essentially a neck-and-neck race. Our standard position in situations like this is that, all else being equal, when you're paying this much money for this (relatively) little storage space, you want the fastest speeds possible, and you get those with the OCZ drive. Nevertheless, Samsung's drive is an attractive, consistent performer ideal for slightly lower-level applications, and its larger amount of storage space and free software may help cushion the blow of the marginally slower transfer rates that just keep the SSD 830 Series from taking the top prize.

More Storage Device reviews:
??? Iomega Helium Portable Hard Drive (1TB)
??? Iomega Mac Companion (3TB)
??? LaCie Little Big Disk Thunderbolt (240GB SSD)
??? Seagate Momentus XT (750GB)
??? LaCie Rugged Mini (500GB)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/_MkNYMiVzYg/0,2817,2398958,00.asp

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Wells Fargo net rises on deposits, lending growth (AP)

NEW YORK ? A steadier mortgage business, higher commercial lending and an increase in deposits lifted Wells Fargo & Co.'s fourth-quarter profit by 20 percent.

The San Francisco-based bank reported Tuesday that the amount of mortgages it wrote in the last three months of 2011 jumped 35 percent compared with the third quarter, to $120 billion.

Overall loan balances rose to $769.6 billion, up 2 percent from a year ago. Wells Fargo, which is the largest consumer lender in the U.S., reported a 2 percent increase in commercial loans, to $5.6 billion, reflecting both direct lending and the purchase of portfolios from other lenders.

Most of that growth came from new business, Chief Financial Officer Tim Sloan said in an interview. "We've been seeing good opportunities to grow the commercial loan business for a long time," he said. "We think there's a lot of opportunity there, and we think it will continue."

Commercial loans now make up 40 percent of Wells' overall portfolio, helping to balance out its income and spread its risk.

The bank also benefited as more of its customers paid their bills on time. Wells Fargo wrote off $2.6 billion in loans as uncollectible, including $2.17 billion in consumer loans. That was down from $3.84 billion last year, but did represent a slight increase from the third quarter.

"That's something we're going to watch," said Paul Miller, an analyst with FBR Capital Markets. While the figure shows gains from a year ago, he said, the improvements in overall credit quality slowed down considerably toward the end of the year, he said.

Loans considered past due and likely to default ended the year at $25.6 billion, compared with $32.4 billion last year.

The improvement in Wells Fargo's loan portfolio allowed the bank to release $600 million from its reserves to cover uncollected loans. That money flowed directly to the bank's bottom line.

Wells Fargo's net income for the quarter rose to $4.11 billion, or 73 cents per share, compared with $3.41 billion, or 61 cents per share, in the year-ago period.

Revenue slipped 4 percent to $20.61 billion from $21.49 billion a year earlier.

Analysts, on average, were expecting profit of 72 cents per share, on total revenue of $20 billion, according to data provided by FactSet.

The results contrasted with other major banks, particularly Citigroup Inc., which posted disappointing results early Tuesday. Citi and other large banks depend more heavily on Wall Street trading operations and overseas business, and were stung during the quarter by market volatility and the European debt crisis. Wells, whose business is concentrated in the U.S., benefited from the slowly improving domestic economy and a brighter consumer outlook.

CFO Sloan said that Wells Fargo has minimal exposure to Europe ? about $14 billion, very little of which is sovereign debt. "We just have a different kind of risk picture relative to our peers," Sloan said.

"As we think about Europe, what we worry about is the impact that a European recession, which seems like it's going to happen, has on the US economy, because Europe is our biggest trading partner," Sloan said.

Wells thinks that most of the risk of a European recession is already factored into growth projections for the U.S. He said Wells Fargo expects to see opportunities to acquire certain U.S.-based assets from faltering European banks in the months ahead.

Wells Fargo's stock gained 38 cents, more than 1 percent, to $29.99 in midday trading.

Wells said its average deposits rose 9 percent to $864.9 billion. That reflected a 3.2 percent jump in consumer checking accounts and a 12 percent rise in checking and savings deposits from last year.

The growth in deposits at Wells Fargo came as the bank's customers set aside more money as a precaution against uncertainty in the economy.

In another bright spot, the bank reported an improvement in its net interest margin, or the difference between the money Wells earns on interest and that which it pays out. The measure improved to 3.89 percent, from 3.84 percent in the third quarter, an increase during a period when many banks are seeing their net interest margin narrow because of low interest rates. Wells said the increase reflected lower deposit costs, less long-term debt and positive results from short-term investments.

FBR's Miller said the strong increase in net interest margin was surprising. "We would expect it to continue to feel pressure in this interest rate environment," he said.

Noninterest income, or earnings from fees and charges, fell 7 percent to $9.7 billion. Card fees dropped 28 percent from last year, largely because of a new law limiting the fees banks can charge merchants for processing debit card transactions.

For the full year, Wells Fargo posted net income of $15.87 billion, or $2.82 per share, up from $12.36 billion, or $2.21 per share, for 2010.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personalfinance/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120117/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_wells_fargo

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Study faults research linking hormone therapy to cancer | The Raw ...

By Agence France-Presse
Tuesday, January 17, 2012

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A landmark investigation which found that hormone treatment for the menopause boosts the risk of?breast cancer?is riddled with flaws, a new study published on Monday alleges.

The so-called Million Women Study (MWS) unleashed headlines when it was first published in 2003.

Based on questionnaires returned by more than a million post-menopausal women in Britain, it said?hormone replacement therapy(HRT) led to a rise in breast-cancer incidence.

Its estimate caused a wave of anxiety ? and much confusion ? among regulators and doctors and among women using HRT.

HRT uses the female hormones oestrogen or progestogen, sometimes combined, to ease menopausal symptoms such as hot flushes, loss of sex drive and vaginal dryness.

Updates of the MWS have finetuned the perceived risk. The MWS website says there is an increasedcancer?risk of 30 percent in oestrogen-only treatment, and a twofold risk in oestrogen-progestogen therapy, compared with women who do not take these drugs.

The risk increases the longer a woman uses HRT, but drops to normal level within five years after stopping use, the MWS says.

But an assessment published on Monday in the Journal of Family Planning and Reproductive Health says the MWS?s design has so many problems that a safe conclusion cannot be drawn.

?HRT may or may not increase the risk of breast cancer, but the MWS did not establish that it does,? the paper says bluntly.

Among half a dozen points, the authors say cancers detected within a few months of the study?s start would have already been present when the women were enrolled.

But these cases were not stripped out of the cancer count, it says.

The review also points to ?detection bias? through the choice of participants.

The volunteers were taking part in a breast screening programme when they were invited to join the study.

They would thus have already known about breast lumps and suspect lesions that point to breast cancer. As a result, the MWS found a 40-percent higher incidence of breast cancer among its volunteers ? regardless of whether they used?hormone therapy?or not ? than in the population at large.

The paper also notes that breast cancers typically take many years to develop. It was thus ?biologically implausible? that so many would have cropped up within a year or two of enrolment in the study, as the MWS maintained.

?The name ?Million Women Study? implies an authority beyond criticism or refutation,? say the authors, led by Samuel Shapiro, a professor of public health at the University of Cape Town, South Africa.

?Yet the validity of any study is dependent on the quality of its design, execution, analysis and interpretation. Size alone does not guarantee that the findings are reliable.?

In an email to AFP, the leaders of the MWS rebutted the criticism, saying that more than 20 studies had replicated its findings and a decline in the use of HRT had led to a fall in cases of breast cancer.

?Hormone-sensitive cancers are still three times as common in HRT users as in non-users or ex-users,? said Richard Peto, a professor of statistics and epidemiology at Oxford University.

Independent commentator Anne Gombel, a French professor who is a member of the International Menopause Society, said a complex picture about breast cancer was emerging.

Breast density, alcohol and obesity, and not just HRT are now emerging as risk factors that should be taken into account, and not just HRT, said Gombel.

?HRT does not carry the same risk and benefit for each woman; some women will have increased risks, some will have only benefits, and this also applies to breast cancer.?

Agence France-Presse

AFP journalists cover wars, conflicts, politics, science, health, the environment, technology, fashion, entertainment, the offbeat, sports and a whole lot more in text, photographs, video, graphics and online.

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Source: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2012/01/17/study-faults-research-linking-hormone-therapy-to-cancer/

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Video: Time to end campaign-finance contribution limits ? Hot Air

posted at 11:00 am on January 17, 2012 by Ed Morrissey

Mitt Romney took a few shots last night, but he finished on a strong note in last night?s debate on what has become the important issue of the last couple of weeks. No, it?s not Bain, at least not directly, but the absurd campaign finance regulations that have allowed the super-PACs to run attacks on issues like Bain Capital, Newt Gingrich?s supposed (and false) sympathy for China?s one-child policy, and so on.? At the end of the debate, Gingrich challenged Romney to tell his super-PAC supporters to pull that ad while admitting that Romney didn?t have any legal standing to do so.? Romney agreed, but then went to the heart of the matter in his final minute:

ROMNEY: We all would like to have Super PACs disappear, to tell you the truth. Wouldn?t it nice to have people give what they would like to to campaigns and campaigns could run their own ads and take responsibility for them. But you know what, this campaign is not about ads, it?s about issues.

BAIER: So governor Romney, in the general election, if you are the nominee you would like to see Super PACs ended?

ROMNEY: Oh, I would like to get rid of the campaign finance laws that were put in place McCain-Feingold is a disaster, get rid of it. Let people make contributions they want to make to campaigns, let campaigns then take responsibility for their own words and not have this strange situation we have people out there who support us, who run ads we don?t like, we would like to take off the air, they are outrageous and yet they are out there supporting us and by law we aren?t allows to talk to them.

I haven?t spoken to any of the people involved in my Super PAC in months and this is outrageous. Candidates should have the responsibility and the right to manage the ads that are being run on their behalf. I think this has to change.

Romney gets support from an unlikely quarter in today?s Washington Post.? Richard Cohen started out his career covering the 1968 presidential election and recalls how Eugene McCarthy managed to push Lyndon Johnson into retirement ? and it wasn?t by selling apples on the street corner:

The late chairman of the Dreyfus Corp. [Howard Stein] was a wealthy man but, unlike Adelson, a liberal Democrat. Stein joined with some other rich men ? including Martin Peretz, the one-time publisher of the New Republic; Stewart Mott, a GM heir; and Arnold Hiatt of Stride Rite Shoes ? to provide about $1.5 million for Eugene McCarthy?s 1968 challenge to Lyndon Johnson. Stein and his colleagues did not raise this money in itsy-bitsy donations but by chipping in large amounts themselves. Peretz told me he kicked in $30,000. That was a huge amount of money at the time.

That sort of donation would now be illegal ? unless it was given to?a super PAC that swore not to coordinate with the candidate. And until quite recently, even that would have been illegal ? the limit being something like $2,400. Many people bemoan that?the limit is no more, asserting that elections are now up for sale, as if this was something new. They point to the Adelson contribution and unload invective on the poor right-wing gambling tycoon. I understand, but I do not agree.

Back in 1967, a small group of men gave McCarthy the wherewithal to challenge a sitting president of the United States. The money enabled McCarthy to swiftly set up a New Hampshire operation and ? lo and behold ? he got 42 percent of the popular vote, an astounding figure. Johnson was rocked. Four days later, Robert F. Kennedy, who at first had declined to do what McCarthy did, jumped in himself. By the end of March 1968, Johnson was on TV, announcing he would not seek a second term. ?

Sheldon Adelson is not my type of guy. I don?t like his politics. But he has no less right to try his own hand at history than did that band of rich men who were convinced the war was a travesty-tragedy ? and they were right. Since 1968, my views have changed on many matters. But my bottom line remains a fervent belief in the beauty and utility of free speech and of the widest exchange of ideas. I am comfortable with dirty politics. I fear living with less free speech.

Exactly.? As I have written a number of times, campaign-finance ?reforms? that restrict contributions create the kind of distortions that result in super-PACs.? If people were free to contribute directly to candidates and political parties in the amounts they desired, there wouldn?t be a need for the outside groups to exist at all.? Then we could hold candidates and political parties responsible for the messaging in the campaigns ? and that would almost certainly improve the tone of campaigning markedly.

All we would need is immediate and full disclosure of all campaign contributions, which was impractical 40 years ago when ?reformers? started creating all of these artificial categories of money in campaigns ? ?soft,? ?hard,? ?non-coordinated,? and so on.? It?s no longer impractical with the Internet.? Make campaign contribution records public on the Internet with immediate FEC reporting and a searchable database, and that would be plenty for voters to determine who owns whom.? Add to that the end of tax-deductible status for PACs and other political organizations, and no one will have any reason to contribute to them any longer, which will put them out of business.

The more nooks and crannies we create, the more opportunities for corruption arise.? We need total sunlight, not speech restrictions.? Romney and Cohen are correct, and even if you don?t like Romney, we should be taking his advice in this case.

Source: http://hotair.com/archives/2012/01/17/video-time-to-end-campaign-finance-contribution-limits/

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Iranian lawmaker: Obama proposed talks; US denies (AP)

TEHRAN, Iran ? An Iranian lawmaker claimed Wednesday that President Barack Obama called for direct talks with Iran in a secret letter to the Islamic Republic's supreme leader that also warned Tehran against closing the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

Obama administration officials denied there was such a letter.

Iran has threatened to close the waterway, the route for about one-sixth of the global oil flow, because of new U.S. sanctions over its nuclear program.

Conservative lawmaker Ali Motahari revealed the content of the letter days after the Obama administration said it was warning Iran through public and private channels against any action that threatens the flow of oil from the Persian Gulf.

"In the letter, Obama called for direct talks with Iran," the semiofficial Fars news agency quoted Motahari as saying Wednesday. "The letter also said that closing the Strait of Hormuz is (Washington's) red line."

"The first part of the letter contains threats and the second part contains an offer for dialogue," he added.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast confirmed that Tehran received the letter and was considering a possible response.

In Washington, an Obama administration official denied that Obama sent a letter to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, saying communication of U.S. views were being delivered through other diplomatic messages. The official would give no further details. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.

National Security Council spokesman Tommy Vietor pointed to earlier comments from the Obama administration that noted the U.S. had a number of ways to communicate its views to the Iranian government. He said the U.S. remained committed to engaging with Tehran and finding a diplomatic solution to its larger issues with Iran's nuclear program.

Spokesmen have been vague on what the United States would do about Iran's threat to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz, but military officials have been clear that the U.S. is readying for a possible naval clash.

Iran's Revolutionary Guard, the country's most powerful military force, says Tehran's leadership has decided to order the closure of the oil route if Iran's oil exports are blocked. A senior Guard officer said earlier this month that the decision has been made by Iran's top authorities.

Iranian politicians have made the threat in the past, but this was the strongest statement yet that a closure of the strait is official policy.

Iran's regular army recently held naval war games near the vital waterway that were described by hard-liners as part of preparations to close the strait if sanctions are imposed. The Guard is planning major naval military exercises next month in the same region.

The U.S. last month enacted new sanctions targeting Iran's central bank and its ability to sell petroleum abroad over Tehran's nuclear program. The U.S. has delayed implementing the sanctions for at least six months, worried about sending the price of oil higher at a time when the global economy is struggling.

Closing the strait would have immense world economic impact. Iran is OPEC's second largest oil producer, and oil exports account for 80 percent of Iran's foreign currency income. To Tehran, an oil embargo would be tantamount to a declaration of war that could provoke the Iranian leadership to block the Hormuz strait.

At issue is Iran's nuclear program. The U.S., Israel and others charge that Iran is trying to build nuclear weapons. Their case was bolstered by a report from the International Atomic Energy late last year, citing evidence that Iran was employing methods and equipment used in making bombs.

Iran has consistently denied that, saying its nuclear program is peaceful, aimed at producing electric power and isotopes for cancer treatment.

___

Associated Press writer Julie Pace in Washington contributed to this report.

(This version CORRECTS Corrects spelling and restores first reference for Khamanei in paragraph 8.)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iran/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120118/ap_on_re_us/iran_us

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