Music training has biological impact on aging process

ScienceDaily (Jan. 30, 2012) ? Age-related delays in neural timing are not inevitable and can be avoided or offset with musical training, according to a new study from Northwestern University. The study is the first to provide biological evidence that lifelong musical experience has an impact on the aging process.

Measuring the automatic brain responses of younger and older musicians and non-musicians to speech sounds, researchers in the Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory discovered that older musicians had a distinct neural timing advantage.

"The older musicians not only outperformed their older non-musician counterparts, they encoded the sound stimuli as quickly and accurately as the younger non-musicians," said Northwestern neuroscientist Nina Kraus. "This reinforces the idea that how we actively experience sound over the course of our lives has a profound effect on how our nervous system functions."

Kraus, professor of communication sciences in the School of Communication and professor of neurobiology and physiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, is co-author of "Musical experience offsets age-related delays in neural timing" published online in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

"These are very interesting and important findings," said Don Caspary, a nationally known researcher on age-related hearing loss at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine. "They support the idea that the brain can be trained to overcome, in part, some age-related hearing loss."

"The new Northwestern data, with recent animal data from Michael Merzenich and his colleagues at University of California, San Francisco, strongly suggest that intensive training even late in life could improve speech processing in older adults and, as a result, improve their ability to communicate in complex, noisy acoustic environments," Caspary added.

Previous studies from Kraus' Auditory Neuroscience Laboratory suggest that musical training also offset losses in memory and difficulties hearing speech in noise -- two common complaints of older adults. The lab has been extensively studying the effects of musical experience on brain plasticity across the life span in normal and clinical populations, and in educational settings.

However, Kraus warns that the current study's findings were not pervasive and do not demonstrate that musician's have a neural timing advantage in every neural response to sound. "Instead, this study showed that musical experience selectively affected the timing of sound elements that are important in distinguishing one consonant from another."

The automatic neural responses to speech sounds delivered to 87 normal-hearing, native English-speaking adults were measured as they watched a captioned video. "Musician" participants began musical training before age 9 and engaged consistently in musical activities through their lives, while "non-musicians" had three years or less of musical training.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Northwestern University. The original article was written by Wendy Leopold.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Alexandra Parbery-Clark, Samira Anderson, Emily Hittner, Nina Kraus. Musical experience offsets age-related delays in neural timing. Neurobiology of Aging, 2012; DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2011.12.015

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/NfmMRL3Dlyk/120130172402.htm

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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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Mitt Romney moved to the right of Newt Gingrich in Florida

Mitt Romney's key in Florida: Being more conservative than Newt Gingrich on immigration, Medicare, and space exploration.

If Newt Gingrich loses in Florida today - and, as Decoder wrote this morning, all signs point to a decisive defeat - analysts will undoubtedly point to the impact of money and TV ads. Florida is an extremely expensive state to run in, and Mitt Romney outspent Gingrich there by as much as 5 to 1.

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But we?d argue there?s another reason Gingrich has floundered in the Sunshine State: He allowed Romney to get to the right of him politically.

In South Carolina, where Gingrich pulled out a stunning surprise victory over Romney, he did it in part by whipping up a late-crashing wave of conservative support. His attention-grabbing debate exchanges with moderators over hot-button issues - such as whether calling President Obama a ?food stamp president? was racist, and his outrage at being asked about his ex-wife?s charge that he wanted an ?open marriage? - played into the genuine hostility many base conservatives and tea party sympathizers feel toward the ?lamestream? media and the left.?

Significantly, those debate moments also wound up overshadowing the other major narrative in South Carolina - Gingrich?s attacks on Romney?s record at Bain Capital and his taxes - which, while effective in pushing Romney?s unfavorable ratings up, held serious danger for Gingrich, since they brought a slew of criticism from fellow Republicans, who argued he was positioning himself against free enterprise.

And it was that latter dynamic - Gingrich attacking Romney from the left in ways that drew criticism from conservatives, rather than marshaling their support - that actually carried over into Florida. Consider:?

• On immigration: Gingrich ran a radio ad in Florida accusing Romney of being ?the most anti-immigrant candidate? - but was forced to?pull it after criticism from Sen. Marco Rubio, a tea party favorite. When Gingrich tried to defend the charge in last Thursday?s debate, asking Romney how he would characterize deporting ?grandmothers? who have been here for years, Romney came back with?the zinger: ?Our problem is not 11 million grandmothers.? What the base heard: Gingrich wants to let illegal immigrants stay; Romney doesn?t.?

• On Medicare: When Romney accused Gingrich of lobbying on behalf of healthcare clients for the 2003 prescription-drug program known as Medicare Part D - an unfunded expansion of Medicare that the Congressional Budget Office projects will cost the government more than $16 trillion - Gingrich defended himself by saying he?d always favored ?a stronger Medicare program? and added: ?I?m proud that I publicly advocated Medicare Part D.??More recently, Gingrich resorted to attacking Romney for cutting Medicare spending on Kosher meals for Jewish seniors during his time as governor of Massachusetts. What the base heard: Gingrich supports extravagant spending on entitlements; Romney doesn?t.

• On space exploration: In perhaps the most widely-mocked line of the campaign, Gingrich said he would put a base on the Moon and allow the Americans living there to apply for statehood. Romney retorted that if an employee of his had proposed spending hundreds of billions of dollars for a Moon colony, he?d tell them they were fired. What the base heard: Gingrich would throw billions of dollars at a pie-in-the-sky idea; Romney wouldn?t.

All these lines were clear efforts by Gingrich to pander to different Florida voting groups: Hispanics, seniors, space-industry employees. But ironically, they also allowed Romney to come across as the more conservative of the two men - and in a GOP primary, conservative usually wins.

Like your politics unscrambled? Bookmark DCDecoder.com

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/ZapLF0aayMM/Mitt-Romney-moved-to-the-right-of-Newt-Gingrich-in-Florida

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Emily VanCamp: Seeking Revenge, Boyfriend

Emily VanCamp stars on Revenge on ABC. If you don't know who she is, and haven't seen the show ... check out this magazine article and start watching!

VanCamp, who plays Emily Thorne, swears she is nothing like her vengeful character, and that she is still looking for "the one" in real life.

Most recently connected to The Vampire Diaries' Joseph Morgan, VanCamp tells her native Canada's Flare magazine that distance is to blame for their split.

"I'm working non-stop in L.A., he's in Atlanta. It kind of makes it impossible ... It doesn't take away from the love two people have, and I think he's extraordinary."

Another extraordinary (fictional) thing: Juggling two suitors on Revenge - humble Jack (Nick Wechsler) and current fiance, rich Daniel Grayson (Josh Bowman).

That doesn't mean life imitates art for VanCamp.

"It's all about making me laugh. I can be quite serious sometimes so laughing is key," the 25-year-old says of what she looks for in the perfect boyfriend.

"I think it's important to be with a guy who has a strong sense of integrity. That's how I was raised, and that's something I look for. And humility."

"I think people who lack humility are really annoying."

There's your blueprint, fellas. Make your move.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2012/01/emily-vancamp-seeking-revenge-the-one/

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China's Wen: government debt risk "controllable" (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China's Premier Wen Jiabao said the nation's government debt is at an "overall safe and controllable" level, that funding for key projects would be ensured and that applying the brakes to the economy would be done in a way to avoid systemic risks.

Wen's comments, reported in the official People's Daily on Monday, were made in a speech dating back to early January at the government's flagship financial work conference.

Wen pledged to contain and defuse local government debt risks and avoid the spread of financial risks.

"Currently, our government debt is overall safe and controllable," he said.

"We are taking the issue of managing local government debt very seriously. Through clean-ups and regulation, the trend of expanding investment vehicles has been effectively contained."

China's state audit office said earlier this month it had uncovered 530 billion yuan ($84 billion) worth of irregularities involving local government debt.

But the figure is a fraction of the 2 trillion-3 trillion yuan of sour loans economists believe are buried in the 10.7 trillion yuan of debt local governments had at the end of 2010.

The scale of debt worries investors because it could rock the banking system.

Wen said China "must both actively and appropriately ease financial and fiscal risks, and also ensure the funding needs of key construction projects approved by the government."

He warned, though, against a simplistic approach to local government investment.

"We cannot simplistically hit the breaks and use a one-size-fits-all approach, and must avoid turning localized risks into comprehensive, systemic risks," he said.

Wen also vowed to "break monopolies" against private capital participation in the financial sector, promising to "relax entry to encourage, guide and regulate the entry of private capital into the financial services sector, with participation in the ownership reform, capital enhancement and share expansion of banking, equities, insurance and other financial institutions."

(Reporting by Chris Buckley; Writing by Nick Edwards; Editing by Ed Davies and Ken Wills)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120130/bs_nm/us_china_finance

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Quest for the golden cross (Reuters)

NEW YORK (Reuters) ? January has turned out strong for equities with just two trading days to go. If you're afraid to miss the ride, there's still time to jump in. You just might want to wear a neck brace.

The new year lured buyers into growth-related sectors, the ones that were more beaten down last year. The economy is getting better, but not dramatically. Earnings are beating expectations, but at a lower rate than in recent quarters. Nothing too bad is coming out of Europe's debt crisis - and nothing good, either - at least not yet.

"No one item is a major positive, but collectively, it's been enough to tilt it towards net buying," said John Schlitz, chief market technician at Instinet in New York.

Still, relatively weak volume and a six-month high hit this week make some doubt that the gains are sustainable.

But then there's the golden cross.

Many market skeptics take notice when this technical indicator, a holy grail of sorts for many technicians, shows up on the horizon.

As early as Monday, the rising 50-day moving average of the S&P 500 could tick above its rising 200-day moving average. This occurrence - known as a golden cross - means the medium-term momentum is increasingly bullish. You have a good chance of making money in the next six months if you put it to work in large-cap stocks.

In the last 50 years, according to data compiled by Birinyi Associates, a golden cross on the S&P 500 has

augured further gains six months ahead in eight out of 10 times. The average gain has been 6.6 percent.

That means the benchmark is on solid footing to not only hold onto the 14 percent advance over the last nine weeks, but to flirt with 1,400, a level it hasn't hit since mid-2008.

The gains, as expected, would not be in a straight line. But any weakness could be used by long-term investors as buying opportunities.

"The cross is an intermediate bullish event," Schlitz said. "You have to interpret it as constructive, but I caution people to take a bullish stance, if they have a short-term horizon ."

GREECE, U.S. PAYROLLS AND MOMENTUM

Less than halfway into the earnings season and with Greek debt talks over the weekend, payrolls data next week and the S&P 500 near its highest since July, there's plenty of room for something to go wrong. If that happens, the market could easily give back some of its recent advance.

But the benchmark's recent rally and momentum shift allow for a pullback before the technical picture deteriorates.

"We bounced off 1,325, which is resistance. We're testing 1,310, which should be support. We are stuck in that range," said Ken Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities in New York.

"If over the weekend, Greece comes out with another big nothing, then you will see further weakness next week," he said. "A 1 (percent) or 2 percent pullback isn't out of the question or out of line."

On Friday, the S&P 500 (.INX) and the Nasdaq Composite (.IXIC) closed their fourth consecutive week of gains, while the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) dipped and capped three weeks of gains. For the day, the Dow dropped 74.17 points, or 0.58 percent, to close at 12,660.46. The S&P 500 fell 2.10 points, or 0.16 percent, to 1,316.33. But the Nasdaq gained 11.27 points, or 0.40 percent, to end at 2,816.55.

For the week, the Dow slipped 0.47 percent, while the S&P 500 inched up 0.07 percent and the Nasdaq jumped 1.07 percent.

A DATA-PACKED EARNINGS WEEK

Next week is filled with heavy-hitting data on the housing, manufacturing and employment sectors.

Personal income and consumption on Monday will be followed by the S&P/Case-Shiller home prices index, consumer confidence and the Chicago PMI - all on Tuesday.

Wednesday will bring the Institute for Supply Management index on U.S. manufacturing and the first of three key readings on the labor market - namely, the ADP private-sector employment report. Jobless claims on Thursday will give way on Friday to the U.S. government's non-farm payrolls report. The forecast calls for a net gain of 150,000 jobs in January, according to economists polled by Reuters.

Another hectic earnings week will kick into gear with almost a fifth of the S&P 500 components posting quarterly results. Exxon Mobil (XOM.N), Amazon (AMZN.O), UPS (UPS.N), Pfizer (PFE.N), Kellogg (K.N) and MasterCard (MA.N) are among the names most likely to grab the headlines.

With almost 200 companies' reports in so far, about 59 percent have beaten earnings expectations - down from about 70 percent in recent quarters.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak and Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120128/bs_nm/us_usa_stocks_weekahead

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Iran says oil could reach $120 to $150 per barrel

An Iranian demonstrator holds a poster to support Iran's nuclear activities as he waits for arrival of delegates of International Atomic Energy Organization, IAEA, who were not appeared in public, at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons. The delegation includes two senior weapons experts, Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa, suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An Iranian demonstrator holds a poster to support Iran's nuclear activities as he waits for arrival of delegates of International Atomic Energy Organization, IAEA, who were not appeared in public, at Imam Khomeini airport in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons. The delegation includes two senior weapons experts, Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa, suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

An Iranian protester holds an anti-Israel poster for condemning activities of International Atomic Energy Organization, IAEA, at the Imam Khomeini airport, waiting for arrival of the agency's delegates, who were not appeared in public, on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. A U.N. nuclear team arrived in Tehran early Sunday for a mission expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons. The U.N. nuclear agency delegation includes two senior weapons experts, Jacques Baute of France and Neville Whiting of South Africa, suggesting that Iran may be prepared to address some issues related to the allegations. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) ? The head of Iran's state oil company said Sunday that the price of crude will reach $120 to $150 per barrel, as officials in Tehran prepare to discuss a ban on crude sales to European Union countries in retaliation for an EU embargo.

Head of the National Iranian Oil Company Ahmad Qalehbani also said that Tehran would expand its capacity to refine crude domestically, instead of selling it on international markets.

The EU announced an embargo on Iranian oil last week to pressure Tehran on its controversial nuclear program.

The embargo is set to go into effect in the summer, but Iran says that it may cut the flow of crude to Europe early.

Iran says the EU accounts for only 18 percent of its output and that it can find new customers. It says the embargo will hurt the West more than Iran, in part by causing a spike in prices.

"It seems we will witness prices from $120 to $150 in the future," Qalehbani was quoted as saying by IRNA. He did not give a time frame for the prediction, nor any other details.

The price of benchmark U.S. crude on Friday was around $99.56 per barrel.

Qalehbani also said that Iran could find other customers for its crude in the short term, while in the longer term expanding its refining capacity to turn the crude into other petroleum products.

"The sale of some 18 percent of Iranian oil, to a market other than the EU, is quite possible. But our long term idea is to increase refining capacities to produce valuable products," he said.

Qalehbani's statement came as Iranian oil officials prepare to debate a ban on crude sales to European Union countries.

Many Iranian lawmakers and officials have called for an immediate ban on oil exports to the European bloc before the EU's ban fully goes into effect in July. They say this will hurt Europe before it can find alternative suppliers.

It also coincided with a visit by a U.N. nuclear team expected to focus on Iran's alleged attempt to develop nuclear weapons.

The United States and its allies argue that Iran is trying to develop nuclear weapons technology, while Tehran says the program is for purely peaceful purposes.

With some 3.5 million barrels of crude production, Iran is the second largest OPEC producer.

Some 80 percent of the country's foreign revenue comes from exporting around 2.2 million barrels of oil per day.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-29-ML-Iran-Oil/id-c0486e57c2fc4254b9e60a985a3660b4

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How 'Space Weather' Affects Planes And Power Grids

This week solar flares sent a huge blast of X-rays and charged particles screaming towards the Earth. Solar astronomer David Hathaway and physicist Doug Biesecker discuss the sun's explosive behavior, and how that 'space weather' affects satellites, airplanes and the electric grid.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/01/27/145990089/how-space-weather-affects-planes-and-power-grids?ft=1&f=1007

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Spanish jobless rate soars past 5 million mark

MADRID (AP) ? The number of people out of work in Spain has soared past the 5 million mark with the jobless rate shooting up to almost one in four people, officials said Friday, further highlighting the depth of the country's economic crisis and increasing pressure on the new government to introduce serious reforms.

Spain's National Statistics Institute reported that 5.3 million people were jobless at the end of December, up from 4.9 million in the third quarter ? a jump in the unemployment rate from 21.5 percent to 22.8 percent in the fourth quarter.

On top of that, the institute also said that almost half ? a staggering 48 per cent ? of those aged under 25 were jobless.

There are now a rounded 1.6 million households in Spain without anyone employed in them.

Spain already has the highest unemployment rate in the 17-nation eurozone, where the average unemployment rate is a little above 10 percent. Spain's nearest competitor in the jobless stakes is Ireland, with 14.6 percent unemployment.

The fourth largest economy among those countries that use the euro as their currency ? and Europe's top job creator up until 2008 ? Spain hit a crippling two-year recession in that same year, triggered by the international financial crisis and the bursting of a real estate bubble that had fueled its economy for nearly a decade.

The economy began to emerge from the recession at the end of 2010 but is now expected to slide back into a new one this quarter.

"It's a negative report and one that will make the government work with greater intensity," said Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria. She pointed out that European Union statistics had already indicated this would be the figure.

She said the news "will lead the government to accelerate the rhythm of reforms" adding that in a matter of weeks her new conservative Popular Party government will present overhauls of labor laws and the banking system.

Ms Saenz de Santamaria said the government was already introducing new measures and cited Friday's approval of a budget-discipline law that will allow the government to impose penalties on its debt-laden regional governments if they run deficits after 2020.

Finance Minister Cristobal Montoro said that regions will be given until 2020 to bring their spending under control. If they deviate then they face possible fines of 0.2 percent of their gross domestic product.

Montoro said that the bill was in line with EU demands and aimed to show Brussels and investors that Spain was serious about getting its economy back in shape.

Spain's deficit for 2011 is expected to be 8 percent of national income, 2 points above the former Socialist government's predictions. Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy acknowledged that regional government deficits, most of which are run by his own party, were responsible for 75 percent of the deviation.

The government is still committed to reducing the deficit to 4.4 percent in 2012 and down to the EU limit of 3 percent the following year, although with a recession looming, this pledge may prove very difficult to maintain.

In one of its first moves since taking office Dec. 23, the government approved a batch of austerity measures which aim to rein in the country's swollen deficit with euro8.9 billion ($11.5 billion) in spending cuts and boost coffers with euro6.2 billion in tax increases.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-27-EU-Europe-Financial-Crisis/id-fec852869acc4ebca48663fc54c76192

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Obama urges Congress to act in election year (AP)

CAMBRIDGE, Md. ? President Barack Obama rallied House Democrats for an election-year fight, urging them to work with Republicans if they show some willingness to put politics aside but telling the rank and file to call them out if they stand in the way.

Addressing Democrats on the final day of their three-day annual retreat, Obama outlined the political stakes over the next few months as congressional Democrats try to push his agenda in the face of Republican opposition, the GOP choses its nominee and signs of recovery in a fragile economy go a long way to determining his re-election chances and the party's fate.

Obama said Democrats should seize the opportunity "whenever there is a possibility that the other side is putting some politics aside for just a nanosecond in order to get something done for the American people, we've got to be right there ready to meet them," the president told the sometimes raucous crowd.

However, "where they obstruct, where they're unwilling to act, where they're more interested in party than they are in country, more interested in the next election than the next generation, then we've got to call them out on it," the president said. "We've got to push. We can't wait; we can't be held back."

Coming off a three-day tour to promote his State of the Union message, Obama promised a "robust debate about whose vision is more promising" when Republicans choose their nominee.

On a day when reports showed the economy picking up late in 2011 but still considered "fragile" by the White House, Obama told Democrats wondering about their re-election prospects: "It's going to be a tough election because a lot of people are still hurting out there and a lot of people have lost faith generally about the capacity of Washington to get anything done."

House Republicans, who held their retreat in Baltimore last week, have repeatedly said the election will be a referendum on Obama's policies, especially his handling of the economy.

The president acknowledged that Democrats have embraced parts of his agenda when it was politically difficult and in some cases costly. The party took a drubbing in the midterm elections, losing control of the House and seeing their ranks diminished in the Senate.

And despite some past clashes with House Democrats over his willingness to compromise with Republicans, Obama was warmly received and was introduced as "our champion" by Rep. John Larson of Connecticut.

The president returned the warmth with a vote of confidence that Democrats would win back the House in November, making a nod to their leader as "soon-to-be once-again Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi."

"I believe in you guys. You guys have had my back through some very tough times," said the president, who received a small gift ? a DVD of House Democrats singing Rev. Al Green's "Let's Stay Together."

Last week, at a fundraiser at the Apollo Theater in New York, Obama stood on the stage and crooned a line from the Green classic.

Democrats were upbeat at their three-day session, energized by Obama's State of the Union address and its populist themes as well as recent polls showing more Americans say the country is on the right track and approve of Obama's handling of the economy. Divisions in the Republican ranks that were on full display last year in the fight over extending the payroll tax cut and the bitter battle between Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich for the GOP presidential nomination also lifted Democratic spirits.

But the relationship with the White House hasn't always been cordial. Vice President Joe Biden, who addressed the Democrats prior to Obama's speech, described some of the rough patches.

He noted that several members in the room were mad at him in December 2010 after Obama negotiated an extension of President George W. Bush's tax cuts over the objections of some House Democrats. Last year, frustrated Democrats complained the Obama gave away too much in negotiating a spending bill and an agreement to raise the government's borrowing authority.

Biden said Pelosi told him at the last conference to "get tough. Enough is enough." He said the "message was heard. The message was heard. And I think we've delivered."

The vice president was more pointed in his political remarks than Obama and called out some Republicans by name. He said the American people will reject GOP unwillingness to compromise and its blatant determination to make Obama a one-term president.

Of the presidential candidates, Biden said Romney's criticism of the auto bailout and a host of positions stated by rival Newt Gingrich on government intervention will create a clear contrast for voters.

"These guys are helping us by saying what they believe," Biden said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120127/ap_on_go_co/us_house_democrats

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Oil hovers near $100 amid Iran tensions

BANGKOK (AP) ? Crude prices were steady Friday amid a weaker U.S. dollar and expectations that Europe will be able to find oil elsewhere if Iran makes good on its threat to immediately halt exports to the region.

Benchmark crude for March delivery was down 12 cents at $99.59 a barrel at late afternoon Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 30 cents to finish at $99.70 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.

Brent crude for March delivery was down 4 cents at $110.76 on the ICE Futures Exchange in London.

The latest threat from Iran follows a European Union decision to enforce an oil embargo against Iran starting this summer because of Iran's secretive nuclear program.

EU nations account for about 18 percent of Iran's oil sales, and Iranian lawmakers think cutting off oil to Europe would hurt those nations more than it would Iran.

But analysts said the shortfall to Europe could be made up with other suppliers.

"Our view is that any shortfall in oil supplies will be offset by increased crude supplies from other regions, including Saudi Arabia, Libya and Iraq," said Natalie Robertson, commodities analyst at ANZ Banking Group in Melbourne.

She said oil prices were also supported by pledges this week by the U.S. Federal Reserve to keep interest rates at record low levels through 2014. The move weakens the dollar and makes dollar-priced oil less expensive for investors with other currencies.

Oil prices ? which rose above $100 a barrel Wednesday ? have been nudged higher this week on Western naval buildups in the Persian Gulf and Iran's threats to close the oil tanker lanes through the Strait of Hormuz, the route for about one-fifth of the world's crude.

The EU embargo announced Monday is the latest attempt to try to pressure Iran, the world's third-largest oil exporter, over a nuclear program the United States and its allies argue is aimed at developing nuclear weapons but which Iran says is for purely peaceful purposes.

In other energy futures trading, heating oil fell 0.4 cent to $3.04 per gallon and gasoline futures were up 0.2 cent at $2.85 per gallon. Natural gas was down 0.8 cent at $2.60 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-27-Oil-Prices/id-eb065726eacb42a7a0c072726d2e1603

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A confident Dana White defends policy of confidentiality on fighter pay and welcomes government scrutiny

CHICAGO -- Dana White has his mind made up. You're never going to know what UFC fighters truly make and that's just the way it has to be.

"So just because you don't know everything, you don't have to know anything, and to be honest with you? It's none of your [expletive] business how much these guys are making. They're making a lot of money. [...] How much money is none of your business. I'm not asking how much money you're making," said White (3:10 mark).

White believes that the salary information, so readily available in the other pro sports has ruined things for the athletes. He pointed to the recent $214 million megadeal inked by Detroit Tigers first baseman Prince Fielder.

"His whole life is going to change. He thought it was bad before with the (expletive) he had going on in his life? Everybody and their mother is coming after that 214," White said (2:10 mark). "Believe me when I tell you. Mark my words, Prince Fielder talk to me in five years and tell me what it was like when the news put out there that you were making $214 million dollars. I'm not going to do that to my guys."

The UFC often gets a bad rap for fighter pay because the only numbers revealed are those given to state commissions. The promotion beefs up the pay with behind-the-scenes discretionary and pay-per-view bonuses. White is often asked if all the complaints about pay would go away if Zuffa simply revealed all the details.

"Even when we sat down and had that first FOX meeting, the guys at FOX were like, holy [expletive]! They're like, 'Why don't you plaster this everywhere? This is the thing that will put you guys over the top. This is the thing that people love to see and talk about. Look at Mike Tyson.' And I said, 'Yeah, look at Mike Tyson,'" White said. "I've had these conversations with Mike. Mike said that when his money was reported, his [expletive] life was miserable. I'm not doing it."

Some believe the UFC's reluctance to be more transparent prompted the Federal Trade Commission to open an anti-trust violation investigation to look into Zuffa's practices.

"My understanding is that yes [the FTC has] opened a non-public investigation based on the acquisition we made of Strikeforce," said UFC owner Lorenzo Fertitta.

CBSSports.com's Gregg Doyel said this is a sign of awful things to come for the UFC.

The FTC vs. the UFC? That's a heavyweight fight. That's Dana White's worst nightmare. The FTC looks for antitrust violations, picking apart monopolies as the unfair bullies they are -- and as far as I'm concerned, the UFC is guilty as charged.

The story set off White.

"There was guy yesterday, he wrote this story and you could tell this thing was like 'I want some attention. I want some attention. Maybe he'll get mad and say some [expletive].' [...] When we get stories written about us like that, I know it seems like I get crazy and come off too personal ... well, [expletive] yeah it's personal! What you're saying is untrue," said White (0:51 mark).

White said everything about the promotion is on the up and up.

"If the government wants to come in and look inside and take a peak and look around, they're more than welcome," White said. "Many of you have heard stories and all kinds of things ... mark my [expletive] words right here, right now, today ... we're not going anywhere. And everything we say is true."

As far as we know the FTC is still looking at Zuffa. White certainly came off sounding very confident nothing will come from the investigation.

White pointed out that there is no sport that has been more heavily scrutinized by governments all levels. The promotion has survived and thrived to become what White called the best sports story of the last 50 years.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/confident-dana-white-defends-policy-confidentiality-fighter-pay-175442433.html

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Can one professor teach 500,000 students at once?

Former Stanford professor Sebastian Thrun has already taught a class of 160,000. Now he's aiming to teach 500,000 students. ?

That?s what former Stanford professor Sebastian Thrun aims to do.

Skip to next paragraph Donald Marron

Donald B. Marron is director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center. He previously served as a member of the President's Council of Economic Advisers and as acting director of the Congressional Budget Office.

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Sound impossible? Well, he?s already taught a class of 160,000 students. As Felix Salmon recounts:

Thrun told the story of his?Introduction to Artificial Intelligence?class, which ran from October to December last year. It started as a way of putting his Stanford course online ? he was going to teach the whole thing, for free, to anybody in the world who wanted it. With quizzes and grades and a final certificate, in parallel with the in-person course he was giving his Stanford undergrad students. He sent out one email to announce the class, and from that one email there was ultimately an enrollment of 160,000 students. Thrun scrambled to put together a website which could scale and support that enrollment, and succeeded spectacularly well.

Just a couple of datapoints from Thrun?s talk: there were more students in his course from Lithuania alone than there are students at Stanford altogether. There were students in Afghanistan, exfiltrating war zones to grab an hour of connectivity to finish the homework assignments. There were single mothers keeping the faith and staying with the course even as their families were being hit by tragedy. And when it finished, thousands of students around the world were educated and inspired. Some 248 of them, in total, got a perfect score: they never got a single question wrong, over the entire course of the class. All 248 took the course online; not one was enrolled at Stanford.

?

And I loved as well his story of the physical class at Stanford, which dwindled from 200 students to 30 students because the online course was more intimate and better at teaching than the real-world course on which it was based.

?Inspired by that experience, Thrun has now founded Udacity, a private online university. As Nick DeSantis of the Chronicle of Higher Education reports:

One of Udacity?s first offerings will be a seven-week course called ?Building a Search Engine.? It will be taught by David Evans, an associate professor of computer science at the University of Virginia and a Udacity partner. Mr. Thrun said it is designed to teach students with no prior programming experience how to build a search engine like Google. He hopes 500,000 students will enroll.

Teaching the course at Stanford, Mr. Thrun said, showed him the potential of digital education, which turned out to be a drug that he could not ignore.

?I feel like there?s a red pill and a blue pill,? he said. ?And you can take the blue pill and go back to your classroom and lecture your 20 students. But I?ve taken the red pill, and I?ve seen Wonderland.?

That Wonderland will be a serious challenge to traditional chalk-and-talk universities ? and a wonderful opportunity to democratize knowledge around the globe.

The Christian Science Monitor has assembled a diverse group of the best economy-related bloggers out there. Our guest bloggers are not employed or directed by the Monitor and the views expressed are the bloggers' own, as is responsibility for the content of their blogs. To contact us about a blogger, click here. To add or view a comment on a guest blog, please go to the blogger's own site by clicking on dmarron.com.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/eFxYgoPATfE/Can-one-professor-teach-500-000-students-at-once

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How to deal with higher bank fees in 2012

?I think we?re going to see them try to impose fees wherever they can do it,? says Greg Daugherty, executive editor at Consumer Reports. ?We?re already seeing fees for paper statements and higher safe deposit box costs. Some banks, like Chase and PNC, are even charging customers a $25 fee to close accounts in certain circumstances.??

Higher fees are likely on various one-time services: Certified checks, money-orders and wire transfers. There may be a charge to use a teller, pay by phone, or cash a check from another bank.?

Greg McBride, senior financial analyst at Bankrate.com, expects banks to boost their monthly maintenance fee and make it harder for you to avoid that fee.?

?It?s what you might call a stealth fee increase,? McBride says. ?The fee itself may not go up, but if the balance requirement goes up to get free checking, it amounts to a fee increase for the people who didn?t used to have to pay the fee and now do.??

You should also expect higher ATM fees for non-customers and higher penalties for overdrawing your checking account.?

Overdraft fees are already in record territory. According to a study released last week by Moebs Services, an economic research firm, the median overdraft fee jumped from $27.50 at the end of 2010 to $30 last year.?

?That?s the largest increase we?ve seen in 30 years,? says CEO Mike Moebs.?

Customers will pay if the fee makes sense
Mark Schwanhausser is a senior analyst at Javelin Strategy and Research, a consulting firm for the banking industry. He says customers won?t fight all fees, just the ones that don?t make sense.?

?You want to charge me because I want to pay my bill with my debit card? That isn?t something I want to pay. In fact, I?m going to be mad about it,? he says.?

Schwanhausser believes bankers have learned their lesson: Customers are more likely to accept a fee if it?s for a premium service that provides real benefits.?

?We?ve encouraged banks to rethink things from a consumer point-of-view and not just from a punitive fee point-of-view,? he says. ?What?s the added value for them? If there?s added value, then charge for it. If there?s not, then think hard about it.??

For example, Schwanhausser says people see the benefit of an expedited payment if it will prevent a late fee.?

Javelin released updated data on Wednesday showing that 5.6 million people who bank switched banks in the past 90 days, a threefold increase over the previous period. A little more than 1 in 10 cited ?bank transfer day.?

Make it easier to understand fees
Many people pick a financial institution based on the location of ATMs and branch offices. The smart way to make that decision is to compare fees, terms and conditions. But that?s not easy to do.?

According to a study by the Pew Health Group?s Safe Checking in the Electronic Age Project, the median length of the disclosure forms for checking accounts at the 10 largest banks in the U.S. is 111 pages. These banks have 54 separate fees.?

(Read: Hidden Risks: The Case for Safe and Transparent Checking Accounts)?

?These fees have an impact, so consumers need to know what they are getting themselves into,? says Susan Weinstock, director of the Safe Checking Project.?

Food products are required to have nutrition information labels. Pew wants banks to use a standardized disclosure box to make it easy to see the fees and compare them.?

?It would be on bank websites and in bank branches and consumers could go online and they could look at different financial institutions and decide which one best meets their financial needs,? Weinstock says.?

How to fight back
?You need to have both eyes wide open,? advises Bankrate.com?s McBride. ?Read any correspondence you get from your bank, whether it?s by snail mail or e-mail.??

Look at the fee schedule. Watch for changes in the account terms. Odds are they?re not in your favor.?

Don?t simply accept a new or higher fee ? especially if you have more than one account with the same financial institution. Customers with multiple accounts are the most profitable. Try to negotiate. See if they?ll waive the fee. Ask if there?s a different type of account that?s better for you, one with no fees or lower fees.?

If that doesn?t work, you may want to move your money.?

?We?ve found that credit unions, online banks and local community banks tend to be cheaper than the big banks,? says Daugherty, at Consumer Reports. ?That?s where we?d suggest people look next.?

Related:

We love our debit cards but not our banks

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/01/26/10235911-how-to-deal-with-higher-bank-fees-in-2012

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Costume designer Eiko Ishioka has died at 73 (AP)

NEW YORK ? Eiko Ishioka, a bold, Academy Award-winning visual artist whose surreal and sensual costumes were worn by Broadway actors, Olympic athletes, Cirque du Soleil performers and movie stars like Jennifer Lopez, has died in Tokyo. She was 73.

Her studio manager, Tracy Roberts, said Thursday that the designer died of pancreatic cancer.

Ishioka, who also worked in advertising and other graphic arts, won the 1992 Academy Award for Best Costume Design for the film "Bram Stoker's `Dracula,'" directed by Francis Ford Coppola. Her dreamlike, billowing designs were featured in the 2001 film "The Cell," staring Lopez.

She won a Grammy Award in 1986 for her cover design of Miles Davis' album "Tutu" and she directed the music video for the single "Cocoon" from Bjork's album "Vespertine." She also won the 1985 Cannes Film Festival Award for Artistic Contribution for her production design work on the Paul Schrader film "Mishima."

Ishioka, who died Saturday, was the director of costume design for the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing and designed racing uniforms and outerwear for the 2002 Winter Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.

A graduate of Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, she became the first woman to be elected a member of the Tokyo Art Directors Club. She opened her own design studio in 1970 and was known for a bold, thought-provoking style even when advertising Japanese shopping complexes.

In 1983, she published a retrospective of her graphic design and art direction work entitled "Eiko by Eiko." She also wrote the book "Eiko on Stage," which focuses on her stage and screen work.

On Broadway, she made the sets and costumes for David Henry Hwang's 1988 Tony Award-winning drama "M. Butterfly," which earned her two Tony Award nominations for scenic design and costume design. She also tried her hand at opera with her costume design for Richard Wagner's "Ring Cycle" at the Netherlands National Opera.

She designed over 130 costumes for the Cirque du Soleil show "Varekai" and was the visual artistic director for a David Copperfield show on Broadway in 1996. Her comic book inspired costumes can currently be seen in "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark."

"Her work will continue to touch audiences for years to come," said "Spider-Man" producers Michael Cohl and Jeremiah J. Harris said in a joint statement, adding that Thursday's performance would be dedicated to her memory.

She was honored in 1992 to be named to the Hall of Fame by the Art Directors Club Hall of Fame. Her work can be seen at museums including the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

___

Entertainment Writer Frazier Moore contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/celebrity/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_en_ce/us_obit_ishioka

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MMA Marketplace: Bid for a fighter to fight cancer

Normally in MMA Marketplace, we tell you about the latest fight-related merchandise. Today, we bring you a special sale on fighters. Well, kind of. It Ain't Chemo, a charity that provides support to cancer survivors is hosting a celebrity auction on Friday, Feb. 3, in Las Vegas. Coinciding with UFC 143, several fighters will be up for bidding.

Perhaps you want a nice UFC Hall-of-Famer Randy Couture? Or you would like to spend your cash on the original Ultimate Fighter winner Forrest Griffin? Martin Kampmann, Clay Guida and Kyle Kingsbury will also be on the auction block. Women included are UFC Octagon Girl Chandella Powell and former Octagon Girl Natasha Wicks.

Auction winners will attend dinner at Fogo de Chao. If you're in Las Vegas for next weekend's fights, check out the event. It's $15 at the Mandalay Bay. Even if you can't win a fighter, it's sure to be a great time.

Source: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/mma-cagewriter/mma-marketplace-bid-fighter-fight-cancer-145901026.html

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Obama urges taxing the rich, reining in Wall Street (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union speech before the November election to paint himself as the champion of the middle class, by demanding higher taxes for millionaires and tight reins on Wall Street.

Taking advantage of a huge national platform to make the case for his re-election, Obama on Tuesday defiantly defended his record after three years in office and laid blame for many of the country's woes at the feet of banks and what he called an out-of-touch Congress.

He proposed sweeping changes in the tax code and new remedies for the U.S. housing crisis, setting as a central campaign theme a populist call for greater economic fairness.

He mentioned taxes 34 times and jobs 32 times during his hour-long speech, emphasizing the two issues at the heart of this year's presidential campaign.

While the biggest proposals in Obama's speech are considered unlikely to gain traction in a deeply divided Congress, the White House believes the president can tap into voters' resentment over the financial industry's abuses and Washington's dysfunction.

But even as he called for a "return to American values of fair play and shared responsibility," Obama seemed to put no blame on himself for a still-fragile economic recovery and high unemployment that could trip up his re-election bid.

With polls showing most Americans disapprove of his economic leadership, he still faces the stiff challenge of convincing them that the candidate who was swept into the White House in 2008 promising hope and change now deserves another term.

Standing before a joint session of Congress, Obama unleashed a partisan attack over taxes and vowed no return to "the days when Wall Street was allowed to play by its own set of rules."

"Washington should stop subsiding millionaires," Obama declared as he proposed a minimum 30 percent effective tax rate on those who earn a million dollars or more.

Obama said he would ask his attorney general to establish a special financial crimes unit to prosecute those parties charged with breaking the law, and whose fraud contributed to the 2007-2009 financial crisis that plunged the United States into recession.

Obama's message could resonate in the 2012 campaign following the release of tax records by Mitt Romney, a potential Republican rival and one of the wealthiest men ever to run for the White House. He pays a lower effective tax rate than many top wage-earners.

A new proposal outlined by Obama to ease the way for more American homeowners to get mortgage relief - and to pay for the plan with a fee on banks blamed for helping create the housing crisis - also struck a populist note.

Democrats have hammered Republicans in Congress for supporting tax breaks that favor the wealthy. Republicans staunchly oppose tax hikes, even on the richest Americans, arguing they would hurt a fragile economic recovery.

"No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels said in the Republican response to Obama.

House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner, the top congressional Republican, insisted the election would be a referendum on the president's "failed" policies.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.5 percent in December. No president in the modern era has won re-election with the rate that high.

CHEERS AND SILENCE

Obama's rhetoric and his audience's response was more overtly partisan than last year when both sides sought a tone of

civility in the aftermath of an assassination attempt on Democratic Arizona lawmaker Gabrielle Giffords.

In the most emotional moment of the evening, Obama warmly embraced Giffords as he made his way to the podium. The congresswoman, who has made a remarkable recovery after being shot in the head, announced on Sunday she was retiring from Congress.

The response to Giffords was one of the few moments of bipartisan enthusiasm in a Congress riven by antagonism.

Democrats rose en mass to cheer, and Republicans stayed seated in stony silence, when Obama vowed to "oppose obstruction with action." But both sides applauded when Obama called for developing all domestic energy sources.

Obama used the speech to revive his call to rewrite the tax code to adopt the so-called "Buffett rule," named after the billionaire Warren Buffett, who says it is unfair that he pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Those making more than $1 million a year would pay an effective tax rate of at least 30 percent and their tax deductions would be eliminated.

To underscore his point, Buffett's secretary, Debbie Bosanek, was seated in the first lady's box in the House of Representatives for Obama's address.

As the president walked to the podium to give his speech he was overheard congratulating Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. "Good job tonight. Good job tonight."

Only later was it learned Obama was apparently referring to the rescue by the U.S. military of an American and a Dane being held hostage by pirates in Somalia. The operation was not made public until after the speech.

Obama will shift into full campaign mode on a three-day tour starting on Wednesday to Iowa, Arizona, Nevada, Colorado and Michigan, all election battleground states.

In his speech, Obama also rolled out proposed corporate tax reforms, including a minimum rate on companies' overseas profits and a tax credit for moving jobs back home.

Taking aim at China - an election-year target of Republicans and Democrats alike over its currency and trade practices - Obama proposed creation of a new trade enforcement unit within the federal government.

Promising what amounts to a peace dividend, Obama also proposed using half of the "savings" from ending the war in Iraq and winding down in Afghanistan to pay down U.S. debt, with the other half going to fixing decaying roads and railways.

Addressing the housing crisis, Obama said he would send to Congress a proposal to allow more Americans to take out new and cheaper mortgages as long as they are current on their payments, savings that would amount to $3,000 per household each year. The depressed housing market continues to drag on the economy.

(Additional reporting by Laura MacInnis, Alister Bull, Samson Reiny, Margaret Chadbourn, Editing by Ross Colvin and Eric Beech)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/pl_nm/us_usa_obama_speech

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Calif. poised to vote on new 'clean car' regs

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) ? The head of California's air quality board is calling proposed rules that would require automakers to build less-polluting cars and trucks by 2025 a historic move for a cleaner environment.

A vote on the rules will come at a meeting that began Thursday of the California Air Resources Board.

Board Chairman Mary Nichols says she hopes the rules to require that vehicles emit about three-quarters less smog-producing pollutants will "lead the nation and the world."

The new standards, which also include big cuts in greenhouse gas pollutants, would begin with new cars sold in 2015, and get increasingly more stringent until 2025.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-26-California%20Clean%20Car%20Standards/id-0c7384284c5b45f5a6dfeb552178ec43

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GOP using Obama's address to blame him for economy (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Republicans took the offensive Tuesday and cast President Barack Obama as the culprit for the economy's persistent frailty, hoping to shift the focus away from his State of the Union address' theme of economic fairness.

As they awaited the president's election season speech to the nation Tuesday night, Republicans in the Capitol and on the campaign trail accused Obama of three years of higher spending, bigger government and tax increases that have left the economy stuck in a ditch.

"If the president wants someone to blame for this economy, he should start with himself," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. "The fact is, any CEO in America with a record like this after three years on the job would be graciously shown the door."

White House officials argue that the economy has resumed growing and generating new jobs on Obama's watch, though growth has been generally listless and the jobless rate remains at a high 8.5 percent.

One of Obama's themes will be economic fairness, including protecting the middle class and making sure the wealthy pay an equitable share of taxes. Republicans seemed determined to blunt that message and prevent the president from making it the top issue of this year's presidential and congressional elections.

"This election is going to be a referendum on the president's economic policies," which have worsened the economy, said House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio. "The politics of envy, the politics of dividing our country is not what America is all about."

Boehner said nearly 30 House-passed bills aimed at helping the economy have stalled in the Democratic-run Senate, most of them rolling back or blocking environmental, workplace and other regulations. He said he hoped Obama "will extend somewhat of an olive branch" to work with Republicans on boosting the economy.

Despite that plea, Boehner planned a symbolic move to underscore Obama's decision to put off, for now, work on the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from western Canada to Texas' Gulf Coast. Republicans say the project would create thousands of jobs, a claim opponents say is overstated.

Boehner invited three officials from companies he said would be hurt by the pipeline's rejection to watch the speech in the House chamber as his guests, along with a Nebraska legislator who helped plan a new pipeline route through his state, where environmental concerns have been raised.

Poised to give the GOP's formal, televised response to Obama was Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who flirted with running for his party's presidential nomination before deciding against it last May.

The first White House budget chief under President George W. Bush, Daniels has portrayed himself as a foe of budget deficits. He has described Obama's fiscal policies as "catastrophic."

Obama was delivering his State of the Union address during a rowdy battle for the GOP presidential nomination that has ended up playing directly into Obama's theme of economic fairness.

That fight has called attention to the wealth of one of the top contenders, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, and the low ? but legal ? effective federal income tax rate of around 15 percent that the multi-millionaire has paid in the past two years. Romney, who is in Florida campaigned for that state's Jan. 31 primary, released his tax documents for that period on Tuesday.

"The president's agenda sounds less like "built to last" and more like doomed to fail," Romney said in remarks prepared for delivery Tuesday in Tampa, Fla. "What he's proposing is more of the same: more taxes, more spending, and more regulation."

Romney's chief rival so far, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, said in a written statement that the top question about Obama's speech was whether he "will show a willingness to put aside the extremist ideology of the far left and call for a new set of policies that could lead to dramatic private sector job creation and economic growth."

The Republican National Committee was airing a television commercial in North Carolina, Virginia, Michigan and Washington, D.C., blaming Obama for 13 million people out of work and citing the bankruptcy of California energy company Solyndra, which received more than $500 million in federally backed loans.

The ad shows an Obama interview from 2009, in which he said about the faltering economy, "If I don't have this done in three years, then this is going to be a one-term proposition," a reference to his presidency.

The chairman of the House GOP's campaign arm, Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, also used Obama's speech to reach out to supporters in an email.

"Unlike Democrats, House Republicans are fighting to strengthen our economy and allow small businesses to create jobs for hard working Americans," he wrote.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120124/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_state_of_union_gop_reaction

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Housing data points to slowdown in sales (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Signed contracts for the sale of existing U.S. homes retreated from a 1-1/2-year high in December and demand for home loans fell last week, pointing to a moderation in home sales after recent hefty gains.

But the reports on Wednesday did not change perceptions that a nascent recovery is under way in the housing market, which continues to be challenged by an oversupply of properties.

"This is potentially negative for January existing home sales although the two do not always go hand in hand," said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto. "So does this mean the story has changed and housing is back in the dumps? Nope."

The National Association of Realtors said its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in December, dropped 3.5 percent to 96.6 in December, after hitting a 19-month high in November.

Economists had expected signed contracts for sales, which lead existing home sales by a month or two, to fall by only 1.0 percent. However, sales were up 5.6 percent in the 12 months to December.

A glut of unsold homes is weighing on house prices and frustrating the sector's recovery, even though mortgage rates are near record lows. Home resales have risen for three straight months.

The Federal Reserve has suggested a number of ways other policymakers could step in to help the beaten-up market, including giving government-controlled mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac a bigger role in refinancing loans.

Some officials at the Fed say the central bank should consider further purchase of mortgage-backed securities as a way to help spur a stronger recovery, but no action is expected at the end of the Fed's first policy meeting of 2012 later on Wednesday.

"I don't think that lower mortgage interest rates are going to help much right now," said Robert Dye, chief economist at Comerica in Dallas. "That's not where the bottleneck is, and that is in two places: credit availability and the processing of paper work."

Lenders have adopted stringent requirements for potential homeowners, demanding down payments of as much as 20 percent, and contract cancellations have averaged about a third over the past few months.

Applications for home purchase loans declined 5.4 percent last week after two straight weeks of sturdy gains, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in a separate report.

Another report showed house prices measured by the Federal Housing Finance Agency rose 1 percent in November from October.

"We are encouraged by the pop in prices as it may be a signal of further stabilization in the housing market and evidence that the erosion in home prices may be nearing an end," said Millan Mulraine, senior macro strategist at TD Securities in New York.

However, prices were down 1.8 percent in the 12 months to November, indicating the recovery in the housing market would be painfully slow.

(Reporting by Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Leslie Adler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120125/bs_nm/us_usa_economy

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Save the State of the Union!

For a political speech, the State of the Union is surprisingly riveting drama. The pomp of the president entering the legislative chamber to rousing applause as members of Congress jockey to get a presidential nod or handshake makes good TV, and suggests that what happens in Washington still matters.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=ec31f401da983cda77a9a3764aaaf768

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Secret hostage rescue played out as Obama spoke

This handout photo provided by the White House shows President Barack Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, during a phone call from the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, immediately after his State of the Union Address, informing John Buchanan that his daughter Jessica was rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces in Somalia. (AP Photo/Pete Souza, White House)

This handout photo provided by the White House shows President Barack Obama, accompanied by first lady Michelle Obama, during a phone call from the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, immediately after his State of the Union Address, informing John Buchanan that his daughter Jessica was rescued by U.S. Special Operations Forces in Somalia. (AP Photo/Pete Souza, White House)

President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

Cabinet members, from left, Attorney General Eric Holder, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner listen to President Barack Obama's the State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

This undated photo taken at an unknown location and released by the Danish Refugee Council on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 shows American Jessica Buchanan from the Danish Refugee Council's de-mining unit. U.S. military forces helicoptered into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday and freed two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)

This undated photo taken at an unknown location and released by the Danish Refugee Council on Wednesday, Jan. 25, 2012 shows Dane Poul Hagen Thisted from the Danish Refugee Council's de-mining unit. U.S. military forces helicoptered into Somalia in a nighttime raid Wednesday and freed two hostages, American Jessica Buchanan, 32, and Dane Poul Hagen Thisted, 60, while killing nine pirates, officials and a pirate source said. (AP Photo/Danish Refugee Council)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The secret was still intact when President Barack Obama, entering the House chamber Tuesday evening to deliver his State of the Union speech, pointed at his Pentagon chief and said, "Good job tonight."

Unknown to a global television audience watching the annual Capitol Hill ritual, a bold U.S. raid was still playing out half a world away with an elite Navy SEAL team's rescue of two hostages in Somalia, one of them an American. It was the same unit that killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, two U.S. officials said Wednesday.

Publicly, Obama did not tip his hand during his speech, though microphones picked up his congratulation to Defense Secretary Leon Panetta as he entered the House chamber. Obama pointed his index finger to Panetta and said, "Good job tonight. Good job." Panetta smiled broadly.

Obama had learned shortly before that American aid worker Jessica Buchanan and Poul Hagen Thisted, a Dane, were safely in U.S. military hands. Immediately after the speech, Obama telephoned Buchanan's father from the Capitol to tell him that she was safe and "on her way home," according to the White House.

A Pentagon spokesman, Navy Capt. John Kirby, said that although the two hostages were safe by the time Obama gestured to Panetta, the secretive rescue mission had not yet been completed.

Kirby and other Pentagon officials declined to reveal details of how the rescue was conducted, although they said the Americans originally intended to capture alive and detain the kidnappers. Instead, for reasons that have not been explained publicly, they killed all nine of them.

Panetta's press secretary, George Little, said the kidnappers were heavily armed, with explosives "nearby." He said neither the two hostages nor any members of the U.S. assault team were injured.

Little said one factor in deciding to go ahead with the rescue was that Buchanan's medical condition had been deteriorating. He said it was believed that her condition could be life-threatening. Neither Kirby nor Little would say more about her medical problem or say how the U.S. learned of it getting worse.

In his State of the Union speech the president did not mention the rescue, though he did refer to another successful military operation ? the May 2011 killing of bin Laden in Pakistan by Navy SEAL Team 6.

"One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden," Obama said in his speech.

Tuesday's rescue was carried out by the same SEAL unit that carried out the bin Laden operation, two U.S. officials said, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the operation. The unit is the Naval Special Warfare Development Group, also known as SEAL Team 6. The members of the unit who carried out the rescue operation were not the same personnel as those who killed bin Laden, the U.S. officials said.

In a predawn White House statement, Obama praised U.S. Special Operations Forces who rescued Buchanan and the Dane, who had been kidnapped at gunpoint by Somali pirates in October.

"As Commander-in-Chief, I could not be prouder of the troops who carried out this mission, and the dedicated professionals who supported their efforts," Obama said in a statement.

A U.S. official speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the top secret operation, said the SEAL team parachuted into the area and got to the rescue site on foot. The official said U.S. Air Force special operations planes carried the SEALs to the parachute drop zone, and Army special operations helicopters carried the raiders and their hostages to safety.

Panetta, in a statement, said Buchanan and Hagen Thisted "have been transported to a safe location where we will evaluate their health and make arrangements for them to return home." He said the two hostages were not harmed during the operation, and no U.S. troops were killed or injured.

"This was a team effort and required close coordination, especially between the Department of Defense and our colleagues in the Federal Bureau of Investigation," Panetta said.

On NBC's "Today," Vice President Joe Biden said the U.S. decided to move after determining that Buchanan's health "was beginning to decline."

"We wanted to act," Biden said.

Obama approved the mission Monday. On Tuesday, Obama's top counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, gave the president half a dozen updates on the movement of forces and the progression of rescue operation.

About two hours before Obama was scheduled to begin delivering his State of the Union address, Brennan told him Buchanan and Thisted were safe and in U.S. hands.

After delivering his address, Obama called Buchanan's father. In his statement Wednesday, Obama said he told John Buchanan "that all Americans have Jessica in our thoughts and prayers, and give thanks that she will soon be reunited with her family."

"The United States will not tolerate the abduction of our people, and will spare no effort to secure the safety of our citizens and to bring their captors to justice," Obama said. "This is yet another message to the world that the United States of America will stand strongly against any threats to our people."

Biden had high praise for the special forces. "It takes your breath away, their capacity and their bravery," he said on ABC's "Good Morning America." ''These guys and women are amazing."

___

Associated Press writers Julie Pace and Robert Burns contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-25-Hostage%20Rescue/id-5f686035957547d3aa0c7b69b5491fb1

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