TELE-HEALTHCARE FOR OVERSEAS BANGLADESHI WORKERS

A Bangladeshi company is taking telemedicine to an innovative level, by promoting medical care among its two million overseas workers, many of whom have limited access to decent healthcare.
The Dhaka-based Telemedicine Reference Centre Ltd (TRCL), which innovated and successfully introduced telemedicine facility in Bangladesh for the local population, now plans to launch a similar service worldwide this April.
"For only US$1 (RM3.50), any Bangladeshi worker overseas, whether they are in Malaysia or the Gulf, can dial a local number to reach our 24/7 (24 hours, seven days a week) call centre to consult our doctors.
"No country can provide total healthcare for the migrant population, so we provide the consultation, whether its for common cold or stomach pain, and in serious cases, we refer to the nearest hospital in the (respective) country," TRCL founder and managing director Dr Sikder M. Zakir told Bernama.
TRCL, a brainchild of Dr Sikder, a physician himself, would collaborate with foreign telecommunication

Sony Ericsson hopes new phones will be big in US

Spain -
Sony Ericsson, a big but struggling maker of phones internationally, wants to be more than a bit player in the U.S. It plans to get there by giving U.S. consumers what they want: phones similar to the iPhone.
The strategy is much like the comeback recipe of U.S.-based Motorola Inc., which has hit on hard times since its Razr phone fell from popularity. It's revamping itself as a maker of smart phones running Google Inc.'s Android software.
Sony Ericsson announced that it was making its first Android phone, the Xperia X10, in November. This week, it revealed two more in Barcelona at Mobile World Congress, the world's largest cell phone trade show. It hasn't announced a deal with a U.S. carrier yet, but the venture's president, Bert Nordberg, hinted that the devices would likely be carried by AT&T Inc.
That would be good news for Sony Ericsson, whose previous flagship smart phone, the Windows-powered Xperia X1, wasn't sold by any U.S. carrier. Since carriers (also known as operators in the industry) subsidize expensive phones, they're the gatekeepers of the U.S. phone market.
"If you want to be big in America you need to work with the operator," Nordberg said.
Sony Ericsson has also been hamstrung in the U.S. market because its phones work fully only on AT&T's network. Nordberg said it would adapt future models to other U.S. providers, but didn't give any specifics.
The X10 is a keyboard-less touch-screen phone very similar to the iPhone. The X10 mini, announced at the show, has the same layout but is half the size, an unusual design for a smart phone. The X10 mini pro looks the same, but features a slide-out keyboard. Prices were not announced.
The joint venture of LM Ericsson AB of Sweden and Sony Corp. of Japan sold 14.6 million phones in the fourth quarter, making it the world's fourth-largest phone maker, just ahead of Motorola. The two have been trading places as No. 4 for a while. Nokia Corp., LG Electronics Inc. and Samsung Electronics Co. are all bigger. Yet Motorola is much bigger in the U.S. market, where consumers are enamored with expensive smart phones.
"With the portfolio we launched now, we think we have unfairly low market share in the U.S.," Nordberg said.
Sony Ericsson's revenue has been plunging, as has Motorola's, and for similar reasons.
Motorola rode high for a few years on the success of the Razr, then failed to come up with a new hit. Sony Ericsson's "chief creation officer," Rikko Sakaguchi, said his company focused too much on its Cybershot camera phones and Walkman music phones. They were popular for a while, but faded when the iPhone entered the scene. The "camera" and "music" tags became too closely associated with the phones, he said, even though the capabilities of the phones went beyond those functions.
"More and more, people starting saying: `I want something more, so I don't want a Walkman phone,'" Sakaguchi said.
Retooling for a new type of phone has taken time, and the attendant sales dip has cost jobs. In April, Sony Ericsson announced a plan to cut 20 percent of its 10,000 positions. It closed locations around the world, including its development center in Research Triangle Park, N.C.

Missionaries freed by Haitian judge land in US

Eight American missionaries freed by a Haitian judge landed in Miami early Thursday, nearly three weeks after the group was charged with kidnapping for trying to take 33 children out of the quake-stricken country.
A U.S. Air Force C-130 cargo plane carrying the Americans landed at 12:04 a.m. at Miami International Airport, said Lt. Kenneth Scholz of the U.S. Southern Command. The group still hadn't emerged from customs as of early Thursday.
The group's swift departure from Haiti began a day earlier when Judge Bernard Saint-Vil said eight of the 10 missionaries were free to leave without bail because parents of the children had testified they voluntarily gave their children to the missionaries believing the Americans would give them a better life.
"The parents gave their kids away voluntarily," Saint-Vil said in explaining his decision.
He said, however, that he still wanted to question the group's leader, Laura Silsby, and her former nanny, Charisa Coulter, because they had visited Haiti prior to the quake to inquire about obtaining orphans.
Just after dusk in Haiti, the bedraggled, sweat-stained group of eight walked out of the jail escorted by U.S. diplomats. They waited until they were safely inside a white embassy van before some flashed smiles and gave a thumbs up to reporters. Their plane took off from Port-au-Prince shortly thereafter as a group of reporters watched.
Silas Thompson, 19, of Twin Falls, Idaho, plopped into the back seat, breathing heavily and beaming with relief. He'd accompanied his father Paul, a pastor, on the mission not knowing that Silsby had not obtained the proper papers, said his U.S.-based lawyer, Caleb Stegall.
The missionaries were charged with child kidnapping for trying to take 33 Haitian children to the Dominican Republic on Jan. 29 without Haitian adoption certificates.
Their detentions came just as aid officials were urging a halt to short-cut adoptions in the wake of the earthquake. Before their release, Haiti's No. 2 justice official, Claudy Gassent, informed them of the judge's decision but said he also gave them a lecture.
"They know they broke the law," he said.
The missionaries say they were on a do-it-youself "rescue mission" to take child quake victims to a hastily prepared orphanage in the Dominican Republic, denying the trafficking charge.
Silsby originally said they were taking only orphaned and abandoned children, but The Associated Press determined that at least 20 were handed over willingly by their parents, who said the Baptists had promised to educate them and let their parents visit.
Saint-Vil said he did not release Silsby, 47, or Coulter, 24, because of their previous activities in Haiti during a December visit. Silsby hastily enlisted the rest of the group after the quake. Coulter, of Boise, Idaho, is diabetic and the judge signed an order Wednesday afternoon authorizing her hospitalization

company is utilized by tens of thousands of member

a Berkshire Hathaway company, is utilized by tens of thousands of member companies and organizations worldwide to functionally enhance and communicate investor relations and public relations content to target audiences. As a recognized disclosure vehicle in the United States, Canada, the UK, France, Germany and other EU markets, Business Wire facilitates the simultaneous flow of market-moving press releases from corporations to financial markets and their audiences, including regulatory authorities, media, investors, financial information systems and consumer news services. Business Wire also handles XBRL tagging, document formatting and regulatory filing into the EDGAR and SEDAR systems.
Communications professionals turn to Business Wire to optimize and issue press releases, photos and multimedia to news organizations, journalists, trade publications, search engines, and individuals, with full-text posting to web sites, online services and databases. A range of distribution options enables members to target by geography, industry, news theme and audience demographics.
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Fox Business signs up ex-CNBC editor Gasparino

News Corp's Fox Business Network said it has recruited rival network CNBC's former on-air editor Charles Gasparino to a multiyear deal, adding talent to the relatively young business news network.
Gasparino is best known for breaking numerous stories on major U.S. banking names like Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley, particularly during the peak of the financial crisis.
He will debut February 22, taking on the role of senior correspondent working on market updates and breaking news. He will also make occasional appearances on sister network Fox News, a Fox Business spokeswoman said on Tuesday.
"I've been following Charlie for years, he's a terrific business journalist and a great character, making for great TV," Kevin Magee, executive vice president for Fox Business, told Reuters.
In the last year or so, Gasparino developed a tense on-air relationship with some of his fellow CNBC presenters, including a famous meltdown with Dylan Ratigan, who left CNBC last year.
"He has the demeanor and attitude that will do better at Fox Business than he's been able to elsewhere," said Magee.
Gasparino's last day with CNBC was last Friday according to CNBC spokesman. "We thank Charles for all his quality contributions and wish him the best," said CNBC's Brian Steel.
Fox has been aiming to raise the profile and ratings of its two-year-old network by recruiting talent like radio host Don Imus for its morning show.
Veteran business journalist and news anchor Lou Dobbs was widely expected to surface at Fox after he quit CNN in November.
There were reports last year that he had met with Fox News chief Roger Ailes, but Dobbs has yet to be unveiled as a presenter on any Fox channel.
Since its launch in October 2007, Fox Business has struggled against CNBC's ratings dominance in U.S. business television.
Fox Business says it is available in just over 50 million U.S. homes, compared with the roughly 95 million homes that receive CNBC in North America.

Despite the scheduled holiday

LAWRENCEVILLE, GA (AP) - Despite the scheduled holiday, schoolsin Gwinnett County were open on Monday. The forecast called for the threat of possible snow mixed withthe morning rain. But Friday's snow has melted from the highways,and the district held classes on Presidents Day as a make-up dayfor snow days earlier this winter. Many other districts around the state were closed for theholiday. Schools in Fannin and Union counties were scheduled to beopen, but were closed Monday because icy weather in north Georgia. Numerous private schools also closed.

Police say

STOCKBRIDGE, GA (AP) - Police say a 35-year-old Snellville manis being held at the Henry County jail on a murder charge in thedeath of his girlfriend, a second-grade teacher. Henry County Police Captain Jason Bolton says 34-year-old KinayaSchenese Byrd was stabbed Friday during a quarrel at her home inStockbridge. Bolton says 35-year-old Dana McFarlane was driving in RockdaleCounty when he flagged down a sheriff's lieutenant and turnedhimself in. Byrd taught at River's Edge Elementary School in Clayton County.

Georgia city

NAHUNTA, GA (AP) - A Ku Klux Klan rally is planned for thissmall southeast Georgia city, and the mayor is urging people to goabout their business. The Knight RiderGeorgia citys of the Ku Klux Klan has a permit for a rallyin Nahunta, about 35 miles east of Brunswick in Brantley County,from noon to 2 p.m. on Saturday. City officials say the Klan group says it will focus its rallyon illegal immigration and sex offenders. City clerk Angela Wirth told The Associated Press the Klanorganization's grand dragon says he's expecting a turnout of about100. She says she's expecting the Klan to make its presentation andleave. Wirth says that until now there has never been a Klan rally inthe city.

Suspect fighting extradition

MERIDIAN, Miss. (AP) - Lauderdale County Sheriff Billie Solliesays a man wanted for questioning in the death of a seven-year-oldFlorida girl whose body was found in a south Georgia landfill isfighting extradition from Mississippi. Jarred Mitchell Harrell was arrested Thursday in Meridian. Hefaces 29 counts of possession of child pornography in Florida. Hewas being held on $1 million bond. He's been named a "person of interest" in the October 2009death of Somer Thompson of Orange Park, Florida. Harrell has notbeen charged in her death. Sollie told The Meridian Star that officials in Florida willhave to file documentation so a governor's warrant for Harrell'sarrest can be issued. At that point, Sollie said Harrell will bereturned to Florida to face the charges.

Former GA sheriff's officer charged

PALMETTO, GA (AP) - Fulton County officials say a policeofficer from the city of Chattahoochee Hills was shot to death onMonday. Colonel Jeff Holmes of the Fulton County Sheriff's Departmentsaid officer Mike Vogt was driving down a dirt road in a sparselypopulated area when someone fired a high-powered weapon at him. Police say Vogt was able to call for help. Officers administeredfirst aid and he was rushed to a hospital. Holmes says police are looking for two to three men in a late1980s Chrysler. He says people in the area reported hearing severalshots, but doesn't know if Vogt returned fire. Holmes says Vogt spent many years working as an officer in southFulton County, most recently with the Union city department

Obamawill visit

SAVANNAH, GA (AP) - The White House says President Barack Obamawill visit Savannah on March 2nd as part of his "White House toMain Street" tour. Obama plans to meet with workers, small business owners andlocal leaders to share ideas for helping the economy grow and toput Americans back to work. Additional details about the visit will be announced later. Earlier stops on the tour include the Lehigh Valley area ofPennsylvania and Lorain County, Ohio.

Obamawill visit

SAVANNAH, GA (AP) - The White House says President Barack Obamawill visit Savannah on March 2nd as part of his "White House toMain Street" tour. Obama plans to meet with workers, small business owners andlocal leaders to share ideas for helping the economy grow and toput Americans back to work. Additional details about the visit will be announced later. Earlier stops on the tour include the Lehigh Valley area ofPennsylvania and Lorain County, Ohio.

Bank of Korea keeps rate at record low 2 percent

South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate at a record low Thursday after the country's economic growth slowed at the end of last year, unemployment spiked to a nine-year high in January and concerns grew over financial turmoil in Europe.
The Bank of Korea kept the benchmark seven-day repurchase rate at 2 percent at a monthly policy meeting for a 12th straight month.
South Korea's economic growth slowed in the fourth quarter of last year on weakness in manufacturing, construction and exports, a sign that the country's vigorous recovery from the depths of the global economic meltdown is losing steam.
Gross domestic product grew 0.2 percent in the three months ended Dec. 31 compared with the previous quarter. South Korea's economy, Asia's fourth largest, had expanded 3.2 percent in the third quarter, its strongest performance in more than seven years.
Also, the country's jobless rate surged to a nine-year high in January as the number of people seeking work increased. The unemployment rate rose to 5 percent from 3.5 percent in December, the Korea National Statistical Office said Wednesday. That was the highest since 5.1 percent in March 2001.
The central bank's monetary policy committee said in a statement it will keep rates low "for the time being" to help sustain the country's recovery.
"Domestic economic activity has continued on a recovering trend, which is expected to be maintained," the committee said, citing steady increases in exports and domestic demand as well as gains in production.
"There still, however, remains uncertainty as to the economic growth path due to the risk of government debt crises in some European countries," the statement added, referring to budget concerns in Greece and a few other members of European Union.
Greece has come under intense EU pressure to slash spending after it revealed a massive and previously undeclared budget shortfall last year that has rattled financial markets and the euro, the currency shared by 16 EU members. Its deficit spiraled to above 12 percent of economic output -- more than four times the eurozone limit -- in 2009.
Despite the slowdown at the end of 2009, South Korea's economy has still recorded four straight quarters of growth after contracting in the final three months of 2008 as overseas demand for South Korean products wilted in the wake of the worldwide financial meltdown.
The BOK slashed its key rate six times from October 2008 to battle the impact of the financial turmoil and ensuing economic slump. The bank has left it unchanged since March 2009, however, as the economy stabilized and recovered. It lowered the rate to its current level in February last year.
Besides the unprecedented rate cuts, the South Korean government pumped nearly 50 trillion won ($43.2 billion) of stimulus in the form of extra spending and tax cuts into the economy from late 2008 through 2009 as authorities worldwide took similar measures to revive growth.
Kwon Goohoon, economist at Goldman Sachs in Seoul, said the BOK's rate freeze was no surprise and came after January's weak employment data and disappointing fourth-quarter GDP, which, he wrote in a commentary, "point to still weak underlying domestic demand."
The decision is also in line with the government's view that the rate should be raised gradually "only when recovery trends are firmly established," Kwon said.

Asian shares rose Thursday

Asian shares rose Thursday, with solid economic data from China and Australia lifting sentiment as investors awaited a possible bailout for Greece.
Investors cheered new numbers out of Beijing that showed a spike in inflation eased in January. Consumer prices in January climbed 1.5 percent over a year earlier, down from December's sharp 1.9 percent rise.
The decline suggests Beijing can put off taking drastic steps such as a rate hike that would have global repercussions if it slowed China's recovery and its demand for imported raw materials and consumer goods.
"The inflation data surprised us because it was a lot lower than the market expected," said economist Liu Qiyuan of China Merchant Securities.
The news helped send China's Shanghai index up 0.2 percent to 2,987.17, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index jumped 1.4 percent to 20,201.24. Japanese financial markets were closed for a national holiday and will reopen Friday.
Strong jobs data drove Australia's benchmark up 0.9 percent to 4,552.9. The Australian labor market surpassed expectations in January, adding more than 50,000 jobs. The unemployment rate fell to 5.3 percent from 5.5 percent.
Stock markets in Taiwan, Singapore and South Korea also posted gains. As expected, South Korea's central bank left its key interest rate at a record low 2 percent Thursday.
Meanwhile, investors across Asia kept watch on developments in Europe, where leaders will hold a summit later Thursday to discuss Greek's debt crisis.
European markets rose overnight on hopes that the meeting will help Greece handle its debt load, avoid a disastrous default and keep the crisis from spreading to other vulnerable countries like Portugal and Spain.
In the U.S. on Wednesday, the Dow fell 20.26, or 0.2 percent, to 10,038.38 a day after jumping 150 points on Greece bailout hopes. Weighing down Wall Street were comments by Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke that outlined plans to dismantle the central bank's emergency supports for the U.S. economy.
The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 2.39, or 0.2 percent, to 1,068.13, while Nasdaq composite index fell 3.00, or 0.1 percent, to 2,147.87.

Statoil reports over threefold rise in Q4 profits

Norwegian oil company Statoil ASA said Thursday that fourth quarter profits more than tripled, as a rise in oil prices and increased production offset slumping gas prices.
Net profit for the October through December period surged to 7.1 billion kroner ($1.2 billion) from 2 billion kroner in 2008, the state-controlled oil concern said. Revenue, meanwhile, slumped to 125 billion kroner from 150 billion kroner a year earlier.
The Stavanger-based group said a 17 percent jump in oil prices and a 4 percent increase in oil and natural gas output offset a drop of about 50 percent in both natural gas prices and refining margins. The company also said a lower tax rate and financial gains from cost-cutting measures helped buoy profits.
Statoil CEO Helge Lund said Statoil delivered "solid economic and operational results in a demanding market," with production "growing according to plan."
Still, he warned that "uncertainty in the global markets" for oil and natural gas markets could affect Statoil in 2010 despite signs of recovery in the wake of the financial crisis.
Statoil said its oil and gas production for the quarter rose slightly, averaging 2.06 million barrels of oil equivalents per day, compared with 2.02 million barrels of oil equivalents a year earlier. Oil equivalents measure the energy content, rather than volume, of oil and gas.
Statoil is the main oil producer on the Norwegian continental shelf, and has about 30,000 employees in more than 40 countries.

Twitter names Pixar executive as CFO

Internet microblogging service Twitter named a chief financial officer on Wednesday, as the 2-1/2-year-old company steps up its efforts to make money.
Twitter said Ali Rowghani, the finance chief at Walt Disney Co's Pixar Animation Studios, will join the Internet start-up in March.
The move comes nearly four months after Twitter signed deals to license the stream of messages generated by its users, known as Tweets, to Microsoft and Google. The deals were widely reported to total $25 million, representing the company's first material revenue.
Twitter is also exploring ways to tap other revenue streams through advertising and premium services.
"Until now it's been a popular product, but to be a legitimate company, especially when you're dealing with some of these big guys, I think it's important to have a CFO in place," said JMP Securities analyst Sameet Sinha, referring to Twitter's potential efforts to court large brand advertisers.
Twitter, which allows users to broadcast short, 140-character messages to online "followers," had 65.2 million unique visitors to its site in December 2009, according to comScore.
The San Francisco company is among the new breed of Internet social media services that are increasingly challenging Web giants such as Google Inc and Yahoo Inc for consumers' online time.
Facebook, the world's No. 1 social networking site, has 400 million active users and was expected to surpass $500 million in revenue last year, according to board member Mark Andreessen.

Honda expands airbag recall as more Toyotas probed

Honda Motor Co said it would recall another 440,000 cars around the world for faulty airbags as rival Toyota Motor Corp faced further probes over its largest-ever safety crisis.
Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker, has now recalled close to 950,000 vehicles for airbag problems linked to one fatality and a total of 11 injuries in the United States.
While auto recalls are not uncommon and Honda's is not huge, it comes at a sensitive time for an industry struggling to draw customers back to showrooms after a brutal downturn.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda will come to the United States in early March to meet government officials and to visit the carmaker's local operations, delaying a trip initially scheduled for next week due to the heavy snowfall in Washington, the Nikkei newspaper reported.
A Republican lawmaker, U.S. Rep. Darrell Issa, has invited Toyoda to meet with members of Congress the week of February 22. He is also urging the House Oversight Committee chairman to invite Toyoda to a February 24 hearing. A Toyota representative could not immediately be reached for comment.
Toyoda's U.S. visit comes as the world's biggest automaker faces a storm of criticism over safety issues and perceptions that the carmaker has been too slow to respond.
Toyota has up to 70,000 vehicles still stranded on U.S. dealer lots due to defective accelerator pedals that are the subject of a major safety recall, a top U.S. Toyota executive said on Wednesday.
Bob Carter, Toyota's U.S. sales chief, said all Toyota U.S. dealers have parts to repair the accelerator pedals and that the dealers were focused on fixing customers' cars before tackling the vehicles in the inventory.
Toyota U.S. dealers are repairing more than 52,000 gas pedals per day and have completed work on about 225,000 since they started late last week, Carter said.
COROLLA STEERING PROBLEMS
In the latest of a string of product problems for Toyota, U.S. regulators said they were reviewing dozens of complaints about potential steering problems in newer Toyota Corollas.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it was discussing the matter with Toyota to see if a formal investigation was warranted, a standard procedure when reviewing complaints.
Toyota will stop production of its Lexus HS250h and Sai hybrids in Japan from Saturday through February 20 as it modifies the production process to fix braking problems in the vehicles, a company spokeswoman said.
The move comes a day after Toyota expanded its recall to include more than 400,000 of its latest Prius and other new hybrid models due to insufficient braking. It also recalled more than 7,300 late-model Camrys in the United States for a separate braking issue.
That comes on top of 8.1 million vehicles recalled since September for problems with slipping floormats and sticking accelerator pedals that have been linked to crashes that killed at least 19 people.
In a bid to prevent the crisis from damaging U.S.-Japanese relations, Japan's transport minister, Seiji Maehara, met U.S. ambassador John Roos on Wednesday.
"I believe we should not let this problem hurt the bilateral relationship and free and fair market activities," Maehara told reporters after the meeting.
Roos added, "I emphasized to him that this is a safety issue and I very much appreciate how the minister, the ministry as well as Toyota are on top of this issue."
"I just want to emphasize it in no way has direct or indirect impact on the strength of the bilateral relationship between the United States and Japan," he added.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc (PNC.N)

PNC Financial Services Group Inc (PNC.N) said on Wednesday that it had completed the repayment of $7.6 billion in bailout funds to the U.S. government.
The large regional bank had announced plans for the repayment of funds from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) earlier in the month following an agreement to sell its investment servicing unit to Bank of New York Mellon (BK.N).
Pittsburgh-based PNC is the latest in a series of large banks that have repaid TARP funds as a way of getting free of government restrictions on dividend payments, share repurchases and compensation that came with the money.

The U.S. trade deficit widened unexpectedly in December to $40.2 billion

The U.S. trade deficit widened unexpectedly in December to $40.2 billion, fueled by the highest oil prices and oil imports since October 2008, the Commerce Department said on Wednesday.
Wall Street analysts surveyed before the report had expected the trade deficit to narrow to $36 billion from $36.4 billion in November.
The 10.4 percent jump in the trade gap came as both U.S. exports and imports showed healthy gains for the month.
Exports rose 3.3 percent to $142.7 billion, the biggest percentage increase since March 2007.
"You saw a huge drop in global trade activity during the recession. I think this is further evidence that we are in a recovery mode," said Scott Brown, chief economist at Raymond James and Associates in St. Petersburg, Florida.
U.S. stocks index futures remained flat after the data, while Treasury debt prices held gains and the dollar extended losses versus the yen.
For the year, the U.S. trade deficit totaled $380.7 billion, down sharply from $695.9 billion in 2008, after a year in which the global financial crisis took a heavy toll on trade.
The politically sensitive U.S. trade deficit with China fell in December to $18.1 billion and totaled $226.8 billion for the year, down from a record $268.0 billion in 2008.
U.S. exports to China in December were a record large $8.4 billion.
The trade gap with China is by far the largest the United States has with any country and symbolizes what many U.S. politicians believe are China's unfair trade practices.
Meanwhile, a separate report showed U.S. mortgage applications dipped last week, reflecting reduced demand for home purchase loans even as rates on 30-year loans fell to their lowest since December.
A continuation of lackluster demand for home purchase loans would not bode well for the U.S. housing market, which remains highly vulnerable to setbacks and heavily reliant on government intervention.

Australia urges Chinese transparency in Rio case

Australia urged China to deal quickly and transparently with the trials of four Rio Tinto mining staff accused of bribery and stealing commercial secrets, amid growing investor concern over dealing with Beijing.
China on Wednesday indicted the four China-based employees of Rio Tinto, the world's second-largest iron ore producer, including Australian Stern Hu, its top negotiator at the time of his arrest last year.
"We continue to emphasize to the Chinese authorities the need for the case to be handled transparently and expeditiously," a spokesman for Australia's Foreign Minister Stephen Smith.
The four are set to stand trial in Shanghai. If found guilty, they could face up to seven years in jail on the commercial secrets charge and up to 20 years on the bribery charge, said Zhang Peihong, a lawyer for one of the accused Chinese nationals.
Anglo-Australian miner Rio voiced deep concern about the nature of charges leveled against its staff.
"We are very concerned about the nature of these charges however as this part of an ongoing legal process it is inappropriate to comment any further," the company said in a brief statement.
China is embroiled in a series of trade disputes with other countries, while Internet search engine Google has said it is getting harder to operate in China and has threatened to pull out of the country over censorship and hacking concerns.
At the center of the Rio case is Beijing's demands for a lower yearly fixed price for iron ore, an essential commodity to drive Chinese steel plants, and Rio's refusal to lower the benchmark price it had reached with Japanese and Korean mills.
China expert Hui Feng at the University of Queensland in Australia said the Rio case was a sign Beijing was determined to play tough with foreign firms.
"I think this is a clear signal to foreign business that the government is serious about cracking down on what they see as illegal activities," Hui said. "In the past the government largely turned a blind eye to such activities."
Rio's share price was up 2.62 percent ahead of its second-half results, due out Thursday afternoon, outperforming the overall market, with metals up across the board.
INVESTOR UNCERTAINTY
The indictments will add to investor uncertainty about the power Chinese authorities can wield over business in the world's third-biggest economy.
Hui agreed with Google founder Sergey Brin that it was getting harder to operate in China in recent years. "How to deal with the political risk is the real issue," she said.
Foreign investors have called for China to clarify its complex laws to make it easier to conduct business.
"I think this is a clear signal to foreign business that the government is serious about cracking down on what they see as illegal activities," Hui said. "In the past the government largely turned a blind eye to such activities."
China is Australia's biggest trade partner. Australia exported $15 billion worth of iron ore to China in 2008, or 41 percent of China's iron ore imports.
Resource-hungry Chinese firms have been behind several tie-ups with Australia firms in the past year.
In January, Australia approved China's biggest-listed gold miner Zijin Mining Group's $498 million bid for Australia's Indophil Resources NL, clearing the way for Zijin's dream of becoming a top global copper producer.
But the Rio case and several high profile failures by China to buy into the country's resource sector in 2009 have strained ties diplomatically and commercially.
The collapse of a bid by China state-owned aluminum group Chinalco to invest $19.5 billion in Rio, which would have been China's biggest overseas investment, left China vulnerable to just two suppliers -- the Rio/BHP combination and Brazil's Vale -- which control 70 percent of global iron ore trade.
The Rio case poses election-year difficulties for Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, who is a China expert and under pressure from media and political opponents at home to use his relationship with Beijing's leaders to help free Hu.
Australian opposition lawmakers and key minor-party senators have pointed to the Rio case as reason for the government to limit Chinese investment in Australian resource firms.

Bernanke lays out vision for Fed monetary exit

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Wednesday detailed how the U.S. central bank will begin to wean the economy off its extraordinary stimulus, even as he stressed it was not yet time to do so.
Bernanke said the Fed would likely begin tightening monetary policy by removing cash from the financial system before it turns to raise benchmark short-term interest rates.
In his most comprehensive description to date of how the Fed aims to dismantle its extensive emergency economic supports, he also said the central bank could soon raise the discount rate it charges banks for emergency loans, but stressed that would not be akin to a tightening in monetary policy.
"Although at present the U.S. economy continues to require the support of highly accommodative monetary policies, at some point the Federal Reserve will need to tighten financial conditions," Bernanke said in remarks prepared for a hearing of the House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.
The hearing on the Fed's exit strategy was postponed because of heavy snow, but the Fed released Bernanke's prepared remarks. Some lawmakers have worried the Fed's aggressive stimulus for the economy could spark inflation.
The Fed's willingness to raise the discount rate, which could come before its next policy meeting March 16, signals it believes that financial markets are working better, a precondition for raising interest rates.
The Fed's move toward withdrawing monetary policy accommodation contrasted with the Bank of England, which is contemplating adding more money to Britain's fragile economy.
Bernanke's comments were seen as suggesting the Fed would tighten before the European Central Bank, which is facing debt crisis among some euro-zone countries, boosting the dollar against the euro. U.S. stock indexes were mostly flat.
Big Wall Street firms polled by Reuters last week expect the Fed to raise rates in the final three months of this year.
MONETARY SEQUENCING
The U.S. central bank has pumped more than $1 trillion into the economy after it slashed benchmark rates to near zero to combat the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression.
While the economy has grown for the past two quarters, the unemployment rate is at a lofty 9.7 percent.
Bernanke said the outlook for monetary policy currently remains "about the same" as it was at the Fed's last policy meeting on January 26-27, and he repeated the Fed's pledge to hold interest rates exceptionally low for an extended period.
He said the Fed could begin by testing tools to absorb the massive amount of reserves it had pumped into the banking system, such as reverse repurchase agreements and term deposits for banks at the central bank, in small amounts to prepare markets.
As the time to tighten financial conditions drew nearer, the Fed could ramp up reserve-draining operations. Absorbing reserves would give policymakers tighter control over short-term interest rates, Bernanke said.
Ultimately, the Fed would increase the rate it pays on reserves banks hold at the central bank as its way to take its foot off the monetary accelerator pedal. Raising the interest rate on reserves would encourage banks to park funds with the Fed, taking the money out of circulation.
The Fed has greatly expanded its balance sheet with purchases of mortgage-related debt as part of its efforts to revive the economy.
Bernanke said the Fed is not likely to sell any of those holdings in the near term, "at least not until after policy tightening has gotten under way and the economy is clearly in a sustainable recovery."
However, when the recovery has advanced and more tightening is needed, the Fed could sell securities, Bernanke said. Any such sales would likely be gradual and markets would receive ample warning, he said.
DISCOUNT RATE HIKE IN THE OFFING
The Fed will also return its vast array of emergency lending measures to pre-crisis norms, including raising the discount rate and shortening the duration of loans at its emergency lending window, Bernanke said.
The Fed pulled the discount rate closer to the federal funds rate during the severe credit crunch to encourage banks to use it to obtain short-term funding. Before the crisis hit, the discount rate was 1 percentage point higher than the benchmark borrowing costs. It now stands at 0.5 percent, while the federal funds rate is between zero and 0.25 percent.
With the Fed's balance sheet abnormally large, controlling the federal funds rate can be difficult, Bernanke said. During the transition, the Fed will likely communicate its policy stance through a combination of the interest paid on reserves and targets for reserve quantities.

Disney quarterly results beat expectations

A strong performance at its cable division and cost-cuts at its film studio propelled Walt Disney Co to better-than-expected earnings, but clouds remained over its theme parks.
Disney shares rose as much as 2 percent after the first quarter earnings report on Tuesday, which followed what is becoming a familiar pattern for media companies.
News Corp and Time Warner Inc also reported better-than-expected results this month. For all three, the strength of cable TV can be credited.
"There was strength across the board," said James Marsh, an analyst with Piper Jaffray. "I would point to the resiliency of their media networks business. You get consistent revenue growth out of there, consistent operating income growth, and I think that's something people forget about."
Disney benefited from the calendar shift of the New Year's holiday into the first quarter this year from the second quarter a year earlier, which analysts said added an estimated 2 cents to results. But even with the calendar shift, the quarter was much better than most had expected.
Still, some Disney divisions remain under pressure.
For example, room reservations at its parks for the second quarter are currently down 10 percent from last year.
"Consumers remain tentative," said Jay Rasulo, chief financial officer for Disney, which more than most media companies remains tethered to consumer psychology as it reaches across so many sectors in entertainment and leisure.
But while Rasulo said reservations were down, guests continue to book their rooms closer to their travel date, so the 10 percent was not fully indicative of where it could end up. "But the number speaks for itself," he added.
Overall, Disney's fiscal first quarter net income fell to $844 million, or 44 cents per share, from $845 million, or 45 cents a share, in the year-ago first quarter.
Excluding items, the company earned 47 cents a share. That beat the 38 cents expected on average, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S. Revenue rose 1 percent to $9.74 billion.
The strongest performance came from Disney's media network division, the largest in terms of revenue and profit and home to lucrative cable networks. The division's sales rose 7 percent to $4.2 billion, driven by increases at Disney Channels and ESPN.
But analysts said the biggest surprise came from its studio, which is currently being overhauled. Sales were essentially flat at $1.9 billion and segment operating income rose 30 percent to $243 million.
One key factor was cost-cutting. That helped take the sting out of quarter that failed to produce a blockbuster from titles like "Old Dogs," "Princess and the Frog" and "A Christmas Carol."
"It was a stronger than expected quarter, primarily driven by cost initiatives at the studio," Jason Helfstein, an analyst with Oppenheimer & Co.
On the conference call, Disney Chief Executive Officer Bob Iger told analysts they will not see the "real" results of the studio's restructuring until 2011.
Iger also called Apple Inc's new iPad tablet a really compelling device that could be a game changer in terms of "enabling us to create essentially new forms of content."
When asked about a potential sale of Disney's Miramax unit, he said it was prudent to explore all options regarding the art-house studio, which sources have said has already attracted several interested buyers like Lions Gate Entertainment Corp and Weinstein Co.
Analysts expect Disney to start this year reaping benefits from its acquisition of Marvel Entertainment and a distribution deal with Steven Spielberg's DreamWorks studio.
In the parks division, which encompasses Disney's theme parks, resorts, cruise lines and vacation and time share operations, operating income fell 2 percent in the first quarter.
Attendance was higher at its domestic parks, but guest spending was down alongside lower average ticket prices and a drop in spending on food and drink.
Prior to Disney's earnings release, its shares closed up 36 cents, or 1.22 percent, at $29.84 on the New York Stock Exchange.
(Additional reporting by Paul Thomasch in New York, Gabriel Madway and Ian Sherr in San Francisco; editing by Carol Bishopric and Andre Grenon)

European governments agree to help Greece: source

European governments have agreed in principle to help heavily indebted Greece, a senior German coalition source said on Tuesday, in what would be the first rescue of a euro zone member in the currency's 11-year history.
"The decision on help for Greece has been taken in principle within the euro zone," said a source in the German coalition government who has knowledge of the negotiations.
Various options were under consideration and no final decision had been taken but the most likely possibility was to offer "bilateral help," the source said.
The comments were the strongest signal so far that European Union economic heavyweight Germany may be ready to step in to stave off a crisis of confidence in the 16-nation currency bloc that has roiled markets around the globe.
German government spokesman Ulrich Wilhelm called reports that a decision had already in effect been taken "unfounded," but the newspaper Financial Times Deutschland also said Germany was preparing an aid package for Greece.
The Wall Street Journal said Germany was considering taking a lead role in a plan with its European Union partners to offer Greece and other euro zone countries loan guarantees in an effort to calm market fears of a debt default.
German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble discussed the idea in recent days with European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet, the WSJ said in a report on its website, quoting a person familiar with the matter.
The reports came two days before a European Union summit expected to discuss the Greek debt crisis. Outgoing EU Monetary Affairs Commissioner Joaquin Almunia fueled speculation of a rescue by urging European leaders to help Athens in exchange for drastic fiscal reforms when they meet on Thursday.
"I would like the leaders of Europe to say to the Greek authorities that in exchange for the efforts you are making, you are going to get support from us," Almunia told the European Parliament.
"You don't get support for free. That would simply lay the foundations for further imbalances and crisis. We have got instruments to provide that in exchange for clear commitments that they will meet their responsibilities," Almunia said.
Portuguese Finance Minister Fernando Teixeira dos Santos, whose country has also been hit by the market turmoil, told Reuters he was sure action would be taken to help Greece if it proved necessary, even though the EU treaties did not foresee such assistance.
EURO PERKS UP
The euro, which fell to near 9-month lows against the U.S. dollar last Friday amid worries about Greek, Portuguese and Spanish finances, rose on Monday to highs near $1.38 following the comments from the German source. It fell back slightly on the spokesman's denial.
The spreads of Greek bond yields over benchmark German issues also narrowed sharply on the day as did the cost of insuring Greek debt against default.
Fiscally fragile euro-zone countries like Greece, Portugal and Spain are under intense pressure to rein in huge budget deficits, aggravated by a steep economic downturn and billions of euros in stimulus spending.
Their financial woes have hit investor confidence in the European single currency bloc and even sparked speculation that a country could be forced out of the euro area.
Greece's troubles are expected to dominate the informal summit of EU leaders on Thursday that was originally intended to focus on a long-term growth strategy for the bloc. ECB president Trichet will also attend the EU summit.
PRESSURE CONTINUES
Meanwhile, EU policymakers and credit ratings agencies kept up pressure on Athens to deliver on its deficit-cutting plan.
The government has vowed to cut the budget deficit below the EU's 3.0 percent ceiling by 2012 after it spiraled to 12.7 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) last year.
On Tuesday, Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou outlined plans to freeze public sector wages and overhaul the country's tax regime in a drive to consolidate the budget.
French Economy Minister Christine Lagarde said she was confident Greece would deliver on its fiscal program, adding that EU partners were watching the situation carefully.
Fitch Ratings said markets would not wait long for Greece to address concerns about the long-term sustainability of its public finances.
"They need to address those concerns now because ultimately the market won't wait until it becomes blatantly obvious that the situation is unsustainable," Chris Price, Fitch analyst for Greece, said on a conference call.
ECB Governing Council member Ewald Nowotny said the central bank could not help Greece due to its no-bailout clause and any help from member states would be a political decision.
Greek trade unions have threatened to intensify strikes in protest at the government's wage and tax changes. Greek public sector workers plan a one-day stoppage on Wednesday. Portugal's largest public administration workers union announced a one-day strike for March 4 over a planed wage freeze.
The threat of social unrest in Greece, Spain and Portugal has fueled concern that governments may struggle to push through their austerity plans.

ArcelorMittal sees little improvement in first quarter

BRUSSELS (Reuters) – ArcelorMittal (ISPA.AS), the world's top steelmaker, forecast higher shipments but lower prices in the first three months of 2010 and a core profit that could fall from a fourth-quarter figure that just missed expectations.
The firm, which has about 8 percent of the global market and capacity some three times greater than nearest rival Nippon Steel (5401.T), said it expected its EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortization) to be between $1.8 and $2.2 billion in the first quarter.
The average of a Reuters poll was $2.6 billion, albeit with a wide range of forecasts.
Chief Executive Lakshmi Mittal said 2010 would continue to be challenging, although capital expenditure would rise.
"We therefore start the year in a good position to benefit from the progressive, albeit slow, recovery that is underway," he said in a statement.
ArcelorMittal said its shipments were expected to be higher in the first quarter of this year than at the end of 2009, but it would face lower average selling prices and increased costs. Net debt was expected to increase over the period.
EBITDA was $2.1 billion in the final quarter of 2009, against the average $2.23 billion forecast of a Reuters poll of 21 analysts. The company had given a range of $2.0 to $2.4 billion in October.
(Reporting by Philip Blenkinsop; Editing by Sharon Lindores, John Stonestreet)

BHP beats forecasts, cautious on China demand

MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Top global miner BHP Billiton (BHP.AX) signaled caution over a sustained global recovery and held off from a share buyback after reporting its weakest first-half profit in four years. BHP's July-December profit nevertheless beat market forecasts and was 24 percent stronger than in the previous half, spurring the miner to raise its dividend slightly, pushing its shares up more than 3 percent.
"The momentum's the important factor," said Tim Schroeders, a portfolio manager at Pengana Capital, which owns BHP shares.
"There should be some more good news over the next few months with prices for iron ore and coal appearing as though they'll go up, which should further buoy profits going forward."
Fund managers said BHP was wise to hold on to its cash instead of launching a share buyback, which analysts had flagged might be possible, as the global outlook remained uncertain and it had $12 billion worth of expansion projects underway.
"With such a large number of reinvestment opportunities, they're just going to play the conservative angle until they gain more confidence in the global economic recovery," said Adam Dixon, a portfolio manager at Ausbil Dexia.
BHP (BLT.L) warned the pace of monetary tightening and the rate of loan growth for commodity-intensive sectors in China, its biggest customer, would be critical, and was wary about the speed and strength of recovery in developed economies.
"We do not expect China to stop lending," BHP said. "However, reduced credit liquidity in key segments of the commodity market may have a flow-on impact on prices."
At the same time, CEO Marius Kloppers highlighted China's roaring demand for iron ore, which has driven up spot prices <.IO62-CNI=SI> to more than double the benchmark price.
"So that would indicate there is extremely strong demand on the back of China's iron ore imports, surprising everybody to the upside in the last six months," he told reporters.
BUYBACK POSSIBLE
Analysts expect a sharp turnaround in BHP's second-half profit, which could result in contract price hikes of about 30 percent for iron ore and more than 50 percent for coking coal.
The company highlighted its low gearing of 15 percent with net debt of $7.9 billion, flagging that it may be in a position to launch a share buyback in the future.
"Our strong balance sheet continues to give us significant flexibility to progressively grow production capacity, return to shareholders and opportunistically consider acquisitions."
Growth projects cover iron ore, alumina, thermal coal, oil and gas, with potash and uranium expansions in the pipeline.
Kloppers played down speculation about potential takeovers, saying the main focus was its proposed $116 billion iron ore production joint venture with Rio Tinto (RIO.AX)(RIO.L), set to save the two companies more than $10 billion.
"We continue to view this as the most value-adding acquisition that can be done in the mining industry," he said.
Rio and BHP face a big hurdle winning approval from regulators in Europe and China as steelmakers oppose allowing the world's No.2 and No.3 iron ore miners to link their production. Their combined annual output of more than 350 million metric tons would overtake Brazil's Vale (VALE5.SA).
BHP's July-December underlying profit before one-offs fell 7 percent to $5.70 billion, beating analysts' forecasts of $5.1 billion as coal and aluminum earnings were better than expected.
BHP's shares rose as much as 3.5 percent after the result but drifted off to close up 0.1 percent at A$39.88.
Hit by weaker iron ore contract prices set last year after demand slumped, earnings from iron ore, its biggest business, were cut in half to $2.09 billion. Base metals earnings were back in the black at $2.5 billion.
Rival Xstrata (XTA.L), the world's biggest thermal coal exporter, said on Monday its full-year profit slid 41 percent, but it resumed paying dividends, reflecting its confidence in recovering commodities demand.
Rio Tinto posts its half-year results on Thursday.
(Editing by Ian Geoghegan and Mark Bendeich)

Honda expands airbag recall as more Toyotas probed

Honda Motor Co said it would recall another 440,000 cars around the world for faulty airbags as rival Toyota Motor Corp faced further probes over its largest-ever safety crisis.
Honda, Japan's No.2 automaker, said the faulty airbags had previously been linked to one fatality and a total 11 injuries in the United States, but no accidents elsewhere.
While auto recalls are not uncommon and the size of Honda's is not massive, it comes at a sensitive time for the industry.
Automakers are struggling to draw customers back to showrooms after a brutal downturn during the financial crisis, and Toyota, the world's largest carmaker, is facing a storm of criticism over safety issues and its response to them.
In the latest of a string of embarrassing product problems for Toyota, U.S. regulators said they are reviewing dozens of complaints about potential steering problems in newer Toyota Corollas.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) said it is discussing the matter with Toyota to see if a formal investigation is warranted, a standard procedure when reviewing complaints.
Toyota expanded its largest ever recall on Tuesday, including more than 400,000 of its latest version Prius and other new hybrid models due to braking problems. It also recalled more than 7,300 late model Camrys in the United States for an unrelated braking problem.
That comes on top of some 8.1 million vehicles recalled for problems with slipping floormats and sticking accelerator pedals that have been linked to crashes that killed at least 19 people.
A U.S. congressional committee postponed a hearing scheduled for Wednesday to examine the recalls and Toyota's response due to a snowstorm expected to hit Washington.
Toyota President Akio Toyoda said on Tuesday he may travel to the United States next week to tackle criticism that his company moved too slowly on earlier recalls.
Toyota faces potential litigation over the crashes linked to the problem of unintended acceleration as well as class-action lawsuits over the brake problems with the Prius.
INFLATING RECALLS
Honda's move comes on top of a recall first announced in November 2008 for 4,200 Accord and Civic sedans due to faulty airbag inflators, and expanded last June to cover an additional 510,000 vehicles globally.
Ongoing investigation had determined the defect was caused by insufficient stamping pressure during production of the inflator propellant and not by the propellant's excessive moisture intake as previously believed, Honda said.
The airbags are made by the U.S. unit of Japan's Takata Corp, a Honda spokesman said. A spokesman at the supplier said the company was not aware of any defect in airbags it supplies to other automakers.
The latest recall applies to 2001 and 2002 model-year Accord, Civic, Odyssey, CR-V, Pilot and 2002 Acura TL and CL vehicles in the United States, as well as the Inspire, Saber and Lagreat in Japan. All vehicles are made at Honda's U.S. and Canadian plants.
Last month, Honda announced a global recall of about 646,000 cars for a fault with a window switch.
Some analysts said automakers regularly make recalls, and media reactions to recent cases have been somewhat overblown.
"While the way automakers handle recalls is important, I think people should be careful not to overreact to every single recall," said Yoshihiko Tabei, chief analyst at Kazaka Securities.
"Rather, my concern for the auto industry is their earnings for the next financial year, given the absence of the boost they enjoyed from government incentives this year."
Honda shares eased 0.2 percent in Tokyo, while shares of Toyota, which lost about a fifth of their value since late January, edged up 0.3 percent.
(Additional reporting by Taiga Uranaka in TOKYO; David Bailey and Bernie Woodall in DETROIT; John Crawley in WASHINGTON, Writing by Lincoln Feast; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

Tax credits, Medicare fix in Senate jobs bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Highway funding and tax breaks for hiring workers figure prominently in a jobs-creation bill that Democrats and Republicans in the U.S. Senate hope will attract rare joint support in an election year, lawmakers said on Tuesday.
The bill, likely to be less costly and more bipartisan than the one passed by the House of Representatives, also extends unemployment benefits and postpones a scheduled 20 percent cut in payments to doctors under the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly.
The Senate legislation, which has yet to be formally introduced, faces more than the usual procedural hurdles as a record snowstorm has paralyzed Washington and made it difficult for many lawmakers to get to work.
Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid initially hoped to finish the bill this week but his optimism on the timing waned over the day as another major snowstorm hit the Washington area and forced the Senate to cancel Wednesday's session.
Reid, in remarks on the Senate floor, said he doubted senators would be able to hold any votes this week because of the weather. The Senate is in recess next week, which means no votes then either, but Reid expressed optimism.
"Despite the storm, we're going to make progress on the jobs bill," he said.
Reid said he had "a good conversation" on Tuesday with Senator Charles Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, "and we're going to continue to work with everyone on an agreement to move forward with this matter."
Senate Republican Whip Jon Kyl praised what appeared to be a rare outburst of congressional bipartisanship but said he did not expect a vote this week on the jobs legislation.
"Something might be written this week to go out as a draft to everybody. But it will not be acted on this week. No way," Kyl told reporters, explaining that Republicans would need time to study the provisions.
The Senate's top Republican, Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said the jobs legislation would carry a price tag of roughly $80 billion. That would be about half the size of the $155 billion package that Democrats in the House passed in December with no Republican support.

Toyota is running apologetic TV ads and vowing to win back customers'

WASHINGTON – In public, Toyota is running apologetic TV ads and vowing to win back customers' trust. Behind the scenes, the besieged carmaker is trying to learn all it can about congressional investigations, maybe even steer them if it can.
It's part of an all-out drive by the world's biggest auto manufacturer to redeem its once unassailable brand — hit anew on Tuesday as Toyota's global recall ballooned to 8.5 million cars and trucks. The day's safety recall of 440,000 of its flagship Prius and other hybrids, plus a Tokyo news conference where the company's president read a statement in English pledging to "regain the confidence of our customers," underscored a determination to keep buyers' faith from sinking to unrecoverable depths.
In Washington, facing congressional inquiries and government investigations, Toyota through its lawyers and lobbyists is working full-speed to salvage its reputation. The confidential strategy — Toyota will say little publicly about its efforts — includes efforts to sway upcoming hearings on Capitol Hill and is based on experiences by companies that have survived similar consumer and political crises — and those that haven't.
Rep. Bart Stupak, D-Mich, said Toyota representatives visited his offices seeking to learn all they could.
"They're probing us. 'What are you going to ask us, where are you going with this whole thing?'" said Stupak, who is chairman of a House subcommittee looking into Toyota's problems.
Toyota, which reported spending more than $4 million on lobbying last year, declined to discuss details of its plans. The company has "beefed up our team" by hiring additional lobbyists, lawyers and public relations experts to "work with regulators and lawmakers collaboratively towards a successful recall effort, ensuring proper, diligent compliance," spokeswoman Cindy Knight said in an e-mail to The Associated Press.
Rough headlines for Toyota continued Tuesday. In other developments:
_State Farm, the largest U.S. auto insurer, said it had informed federal regulators late in 2007 about growing reports of unexpected acceleration in Toyotas. That disclosure raised new questions about whether the government missed clues about problems. Reps. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., and Stupak wrote insurance executives on Tuesday seeking information on any warnings they may have provided the government about unintended acceleration in Toyotas.
_Congressional investigators cited growing evidence that not all the causes of Toyota's acceleration problems have been identified. A staff memo from the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which had planned an oversight hearing for Wednesday, said there was substantial evidence that remedies such as redesigned floor mats have failed to solve problems. The hearing was postponed until Feb. 24 due to snow in Washington.

Oil prices fell to near $73 a barrel Wednesday in Asia

Oil prices fell to near $73 a barrel Wednesday in Asia after a report showing unexpected growth in U.S. crude inventories cast more doubt on the recovery in the world's biggest economy.
Benchmark crude for March delivery was down 53 cents at $73.22 a barrel at midday Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract jumped $1.86 to settle at $73.75 a barrel on Tuesday.
U.S. crude stocks jumped 7.2 million barrels last week, the American Petroleum Institute said late Tuesday, suggesting weak consumer demand for fuels like gasoline and heating oil. Analysts had expected an increase of 2 million barrels, according to a survey by Platts, the energy information arm of McGraw-Hill Cos.
The Energy Department's Energy Information Administration has delayed announcement of its inventory report until Friday because of snow storms. The report was expected later Wednesday.
Sluggish crude demand is weighing on oil prices as investors continue to mull over concerns about the health of the global economy.
"While China's lending restrictions and potential changes in US banking regulations were the first seeds of concern sown in the minds of investors, the latest has come about due to the short-term financing needs in Southern European countries," Barclays Capital said in a report.
"In the short-term, oil prices may be caught in between the shrapnel of negative macro sentiment yet improving fundamentals, resulting in some heightened volatility," Barclays said.
In other Nymex trading in March contracts, heating oil fell 1.1 cent to $1.9264 a gallon, and gasoline was down 0.6 cent at $1.9227 a gallon. Natural gas rose 8.5 cents to $5.375 per 1,000 cubic feet.
In London, Brent crude was down 60 cents at $71.53 on the ICE futures exchange.

Hollywood sees year of ‘Paranormal Activity’

The picture is more muddled than a bad script.
Hollywood kissed a pretty record in 2009 — $10.6 billion in ticket revenue, thanks, in part, to moviegoers flocking to theaters to escape their economic worries. Despite box office success, however, 2009 also was the year that some studios sat temporarily idle or even slashed jobs, production companies were shuttered, fewer films were released and DVD sales lagged.
Confused? Let’s cut to the chase. The oddly conflicting trends atop the movie industry can be partly explained in two words: Paranormal Activity. We’re talking both the movie of the same name and the ghosts of Hollywood past. Paranormal Activity,” about a house haunting told via “found” video footage, was filmed for only $11,000 yet grossed $100 million-plus for Paramount, plunking it among the year’s top 30 earners. But talk about a horror movie: That juicy-fat margin spooked many studio chiefs, signaling a massive economic shift was underway inside their backlots.
With “Paranormal Activity” taking an unprecedented underground route to blockbuster heights, “Many in Hollywood realized that their old rules don’t apply,” said Tim Gray, editor of Variety. “But what are the new rules? Nobody knows.”
Last year was a game-changing year for Hollywood, and no one quite knows what the future holds for the movie industry.
“Every 20 or 30 years, there is a revolution in the way that entertainment is delivered,” Gray said. “It happened with the ‘talkies,’ with the popularization of radio, the introduction of television and home video. And it’s happening now. There is both excitement and fear ... a sense [of]: ‘I know something is happening but I don’t know what to do about it, and I don’t want to get left behind.’ ”
New revenue modelWhat it comes down to is not what the studio thinks matters but what consumers will pay for, said Jeff Cox, chief executive officer of ARSGroup, an Evansville, Ind.-based communication research agency. As DVD sales — a major source of revenue for studios — continue to slide (down 13 percent in 2009), and Video on Demand grabs a tighter toe-hold with movie lovers, Cox predicted: “a whole new revenue model” will shape the film industry.
Need hard evidence? Look again at “Paranormal Activity,” which was boosted largely by Internet chatter and friend-to-friend reviews spread via Facebook and Twitter.
“The explosion of ‘Paranormal Activity’ proved to motion picture studios that word-of-mouth could make or break a film and that viral marketing is a very low cost way to entice people to the movie theaters,” said Marjorie DeHey Daleo, president of MediaVix, a Los Angeles company that specializes in managing brand relationships.
The reason is as simple as a neighborly chat. People trust their friends’ film reviews — and their online friends’ opinions — more than they do slick movie advertising, according to a July 2009 study by the Nielsen Company. Nine out of 10 Americans rely most on the consumer recommendations of folks they know — or even people they know only through Facebook — while 62 percent trust TV ads, and only 52 percent are swayed by movie ads, the study found.Of course, that shift can work to the advantage of the studios — especially those, like Paramount — that already are attracting audiences through social media pipelines. Simply put, Facebook and Twitter offer cheap advertising. That dynamic also played into the industry’s glowing, albeit somewhat misleading, 2009 revenue numbers, some experts said.
“A generation ago, publicizing and marketing a movie on a global scale involved hundreds of people spending thousands of man-hours around the world — advertising agencies in every continent, stars hustling to interviews in every major market, millions of dollars to take out ads in major publications. Today, five people can set up a Web site and do it all from the comfort of an air-conditioned office,” said Mario Almonte, a New York PR strategist and Huffington Post blogger.

minister walk into a bar

A rabbi, a priest, and a minister walk into a bar. The bartender looks up from polishing a glass and says, "What is this... a joke?" Ba-Dum-Tsssh! A good story has a lot in common with a good marketing presentation, and one of the best ways to deliver your marketing message is in the form of a story. It's how you turn advertising into content, and content into a memorable experience. Web marketing presentations must engage, enlighten, entertain, and above all be memorable. If you leave out any of these elements your presentation will suffer.Planning on how to run a Twitter marketing campaign requires, first, the assumption that you want to run a successful Twitter marketing campaign. Thus you must plan a marketing campaign that actually does little selling and more connecting. Why? Because this "laid-back" strategy on Twitter is more likely to get you loyal followers interested in what you have to offer. Let's Thought leaders are experts who are recognized among their peers as an authority on innovative ideas within a particular industry. Thought leaders confidently promote their ideas. Most importantly, thought leaders have earned respect from the outside world for their deep understanding of their business, the needs of their clients and the If you have an internet based business website are you aware that you should have two different types of pages for your site? The two types of pages are a sales page and a content page, or if you prefer you could call them squeeze or landing pages and article pages. In case you are not sure what the difference is between these two types of pages here is a quick explanation; 1. The sole When you build your website, you, of course, want to get high rankings in the search engines. There are lots of ways to do this and lots of ways to NOT do this. Below are 10 things to avoid if you want to be in good standing with the search engines. Duplicate Content/Sites – Do not set up multiple sites or site pages using basically the same content with a few different keywords spread

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The first thing that you should do when you are looking for online jobs or work from home jobs, is to remember to focus on things that you are good at and things that you already know how to do. This will help you find jobs that are better suited to you, and jobs that will truly help you make a living out of what you are doing. If you can try to do something similar to what you are doing now, but turn it into online job, you will find that this is where you are happiest and where you make the most money. Also you will see that this is the situation that works best for you. Many people use the Internet to find that special job they have been looking for. The internet is a fascinating world where you can obtain just about anything that you need, including an income. There are many ways tools available to help you find an ideal internet based job. Finding it may not always be easy, and it may not happen right away, but it is possible.
The Internet is bursting with so many online jobs. There is a job for everyone, and surely, there is a job out there for you. If you don’t have much time to spare, you can still make extra money with some easy and effortless online jobs. If you are looking for ways to earn extra cash, there’s no need to look far. All you have to do is go online and choose from the myriad of online jobs out there. Don’t worry, because the online jobs come in different shapes and sizes. You will certainly find one that suits your financing needs and your available time. If you are just looking for some simple, effortless ways to make money, here are some online jobs that can work for you.
First thing you will need to do is consider what type(s) of job(s) you are looking for. Are you wanting to sell products, or provide services? If you’d rather be selling, what types of products are you interested in and knowledgeable about? Figuring out a general field of interest is probably the hardest part in searching for your dream internet job. Once you have decided what you’re looking for, you’ll need to determine whether you already possess the necessary skills and experience to be successful. If not, you’ll need to research and/or obtain further education or training before you can make the full move to working online. You may wish to consider keeping your current position while you get everything in order. This is especially important when looking at online jobs, as it will be harder to avoid scams and dishonest people when you won’t have any face to face interaction. While there is no set-in-stone answer to the question of which internet job you’ll be successful in, the steps outlined should greatly increase your chances of finding one that you’ll be happy with. Remember to always research a company before providing them with your personal information. Don’t believe everything you read in one short little classified ads. Avoiding rip offs and scams is the most important element to finding the internet job that may very well be perfect for you.

The Corporate Gifts Company

At the Corporate Gifts Company, we ensure that your corporate product or premium business gift has the highest perceived value and maximum impact by using our state of the art in-house branding department utilising the most advanced branding processes in engraving, embossing and sublimation. Allowing you to have the very best promotional items. With almost 20 years of experience providing corporate gift solutions, in-house branding and large quantities of UK stock from our own warehouse, this means we are able to reduce lead times and stay in total control of your order so that you can relax in the knowledge that your promotion is in good hands.Welcome to one of the UK’s Largest Suppliers of Corporate and Promotional Gifts. We have been trading, and providing corporate products for almost 20 years, and so we understand the strains that sourcing promotional products and business gifts to tight deadlines can cause; which is why we compiled this easy to use online shop for all your promotional Product requirements.You can either shop directly online for your promotional products and corporate business gifts, or call us direct to discuss your requirements. We have a helpful and knowledgeable sales team that is always on hand to answer any queries you may have.Should you require a promotional product that you don’t see on our website, our experienced sourcing team will find it for you!Our in-house design staff will be delighted to help and advise you on any special bespoke project. We will be happy to provide you with free design visuals, whether it’s for cufflinks, lapel pins, plaques or awards. This will ensure you have the very best Promotional Items and Corporate Gifts.Our in-house design staff will be delighted to help and advise you on any special bespoke project. We will be happy to provide you with free design visuals, whether it’s for cufflinks, lapel pins, plaques or awards. This will ensure you have the very best Promotional Items and Corporate Gifts.

RegisterFly.com Expands Site Promotion Offerings With Innovative ExactSeek Paid Inclusion Service

Winnipeg, MB (PRWEB) October 7, 2004 -- RegisterFly.com, a global industry leader in domain registration, web hosting and related services, today announced a strategic partnership with Jayde Online, Inc., an internet-focused publisher of email newsletters and developer of niche and general search engines. The alliance incorporates the web site paid inclusion program provided by Jayde's web search engine, ExactSeek.com, into RegisterFly's service offerings. ExactSeek's target market has been small to medium-sized web-based businesses that find it difficult to compete in the increasingly expensive pay-per-click arena. The affordable site inclusion service offered by ExactSeek has proven a hit since its launch last year and is expected to be well received by RegisterFly's base of 375,000 customers.
"We are excited to offer our growing customer base an innovative yet effective program provided through ExactSeek. More and more of our customers are looking for ways to increase their sites ranking and awareness throughout the internet. ExactSeek's Flat rate PI program perfectly complements our recently expanded Site Promotion services which allow small to medium-sized businesses to gain exposure affordably", said Terry Kocek, Vice President of Sales for RegisterFly.com. "The ExactSeek Paid Inclusion service will allow our customers to gain significant exposure for their online business at a fraction of the cost of conventional PPC search engine advertising"
RegisterFly.com Expands Site Promotion Offerings With Innovative ExactSeek Paid Inclusion Service
RegisterFly.com, a global leader in domain registration, web hosting and related services, expands its Site Promotion Services by incorporating the innovative web site paid inclusion program provided by Jayde Online's web search engine, ExactSeek.com.
Winnipeg, MB (PRWEB) October 7, 2004 -- RegisterFly.com, a global industry leader in domain registration, web hosting and related services, today announced a strategic partnership with Jayde Online, Inc., an internet-focused publisher of email newsletters and developer of niche and general search engines. The alliance incorporates the web site paid inclusion program provided by Jayde's web search engine, ExactSeek.com, into RegisterFly's service offerings. ExactSeek's target market has been small to medium-sized web-based businesses that find it difficult to compete in the increasingly expensive pay-per-click arena. The affordable site inclusion service offered by ExactSeek has proven a hit since its launch last year and is expected to be well received by RegisterFly's base of 375,000 customers.
"We are excited to offer our growing customer base an innovative yet effective program provided through ExactSeek. More and more of our customers are looking for ways to increase their sites ranking and awareness throughout the internet. ExactSeek's Flat rate PI program perfectly complements our recently expanded Site Promotion services which allow small to medium-sized businesses to gain exposure affordably", said Terry Kocek, Vice President of Sales for RegisterFly.com. "The ExactSeek Paid Inclusion service will allow our customers to gain significant exposure for their online business at a fraction of the cost of conventional PPC search engine advertising".
Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.exactseek.com/">The ExactSeek Paid Inclusion service will allow our customers to gain significant exposure for their online business at a fraction of the cost of conventional PPC search engine advertising
Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.exactseek.com/">The web doesn't need another PPC search engine
Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.exactseek.com/">We need to see innovative paid inclusion programs that offer advertisers fast indexing, prominent display options and affordable rates. RegisterFly's recognition of the value offered by our PI program to web-based businesses made partnering with them an easy decision.
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At a time when other search engines are abandoning the paid inclusion concept, ExactSeek has steadfastly refused to join the stampede to pay-per-click advertising and instead has created a hybrid system that provides advertisers with standout exposure at flat fee rates. Jayde Online CEO, Mel Strocen, predicts that despite recent search engine trends paid inclusion will make a comeback. "The web doesn't need another PPC search engine," Strocen stated. "We need to see innovative paid inclusion programs that offer advertisers fast indexing, prominent display options and affordable rates. RegisterFly's recognition of the value offered by our PI program to web-based businesses made partnering with them an easy decision."
Jayde's partnership with RegisterFly follows quickly on the heels of its recent alliance with Submitnet.net and the promotion of the ExactSeek PI program with Submitnet's search engine optimization tool solution.
ABOUT REGISTERFLY.COMSince 2000, RegisterFly.com has served more than 375,000 customers in over 120 countries. Our core product offerings include domain name registration, web hosting, SSL Certificates, e-mail service, site builder services, whois protection and a host of other value added products and services. Our mission is to provide a wide array of products and services, offer the lowest pricing possible and provide unmatched levels of service. To learn more about RegisterFly.com please refer to their website located at http://www.RegisterFly.com or contact them at sales@registerflysupport.com .
RegisterFly.com Expands Site Promotion Offerings With Innovative ExactSeek Paid Inclusion Service
RegisterFly.com, a global leader in domain registration, web hosting and related services, expands its Site Promotion Services by incorporating the innovative web site paid inclusion program provided by Jayde Online's web search engine, ExactSeek.com.
Winnipeg, MB (PRWEB) October 7, 2004 -- RegisterFly.com, a global industry leader in domain registration, web hosting and related services, today announced a strategic partnership with Jayde Online, Inc., an internet-focused publisher of email newsletters and developer of niche and general search engines. The alliance incorporates the web site paid inclusion program provided by Jayde's web search engine, ExactSeek.com, into RegisterFly's service offerings. ExactSeek's target market has been small to medium-sized web-based businesses that find it difficult to compete in the increasingly expensive pay-per-click arena. The affordable site inclusion service offered by ExactSeek has proven a hit since its launch last year and is expected to be well received by RegisterFly's base of 375,000 customers.
"We are excited to offer our growing customer base an innovative yet effective program provided through ExactSeek. More and more of our customers are looking for ways to increase their sites ranking and awareness throughout the internet. ExactSeek's Flat rate PI program perfectly complements our recently expanded Site Promotion services which allow small to medium-sized businesses to gain exposure affordably", said Terry Kocek, Vice President of Sales for RegisterFly.com. "The ExactSeek Paid Inclusion service will allow our customers to gain significant exposure for their online business at a fraction of the cost of conventional PPC search engine advertising".
Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.exactseek.com/">The ExactSeek Paid Inclusion service will allow our customers to gain significant exposure for their online business at a fraction of the cost of conventional PPC search engine advertising
Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.exactseek.com/">The web doesn't need another PPC search engine
Helvetica, sans-serif; TEXT-DECORATION: none" href="http://www.exactseek.com/">We need to see innovative paid inclusion programs that offer advertisers fast indexing, prominent display options and affordable rates. RegisterFly's recognition of the value offered by our PI program to web-based businesses made partnering with them an easy decision.
= numquotes ) { quote_index=0; }
//alert( quote_index );
document.getElementById( "quote_"+quote_index ).style.display = "inline";
if( enable_random )
{
quote_timeout = setTimeout( "randomQuotes()", quote_naptime );
}
}
function randomQuotes()
{
var randQuotId;
var i;
for( i = 0; i
At a time when other search engines are abandoning the paid inclusion concept, ExactSeek has steadfastly refused to join the stampede to pay-per-click advertising and instead has created a hybrid system that provides advertisers with standout exposure at flat fee rates. Jayde Online CEO, Mel Strocen, predicts that despite recent search engine trends paid inclusion will make a comeback. "The web doesn't need another PPC search engine," Strocen stated. "We need to see innovative paid inclusion programs that offer advertisers fast indexing, prominent display options and affordable rates. RegisterFly's recognition of the value offered by our PI program to web-based businesses made partnering with them an easy decision."
Jayde's partnership with RegisterFly follows quickly on the heels of its recent alliance with Submitnet.net and the promotion of the ExactSeek PI program with Submitnet's search engine optimization tool solution.
ABOUT REGISTERFLY.COMSince 2000, RegisterFly.com has served more than 375,000 customers in over 120 countries. Our core product offerings include domain name registration, web hosting, SSL Certificates, e-mail service, site builder services, whois protection and a host of other value added products and services. Our mission is to provide a wide array of products and services, offer the lowest pricing possible and provide unmatched levels of service. To learn more about RegisterFly.com please refer to their website located at http://www.RegisterFly.com or contact them at sales@registerflysupport.com .

Corporate Gifts

At the Corporate Gifts Company, we ensure that your corporate product or premium business gift has the highest perceived value and maximum impact by using our state of the art in-house branding department utilising the most advanced branding processes in engraving, embossing and sublimation. Allowing you to have the very best promotional items. With almost 20 years of experience providing corporate gift solutions, in-house branding and large quantities of UK stock from our own warehouse, this means we are able to reduce lead times and stay in total control of your order so that you can relax in the knowledge that your promotion is in good hands.
About The Corporate Gifts CompanyWelcome to one of the UK’s Largest Suppliers of Corporate and Promotional Gifts. We have been trading, and providing corporate products for almost 20 years, and so we understand the strains that sourcing promotional products and business gifts to tight deadlines can cause; which is why we compiled this easy to use online shop for all your promotional Product requirements.
Shop OnlineYou can either shop directly online for your promotional products and corporate business gifts, or call us direct to discuss your requirements. We have a helpful and knowledgeable sales team that is always on hand to answer any queries you may have.
Sourcing A SpecialityShould you require a promotional product that you don’t see on our website, our experienced sourcing team will find it for you!
Bespoke Solutions Our in-house design staff will be delighted to help and advise you on any special bespoke project. We will be happy to provide you with free design visuals, whether it’s for cufflinks, lapel pins, plaques or awards. This will ensure you have the very best Promotional Items and Corporate Gifts.At the Corporate Gifts Company, we ensure that your corporate product or premium business gift has the highest perceived value and maximum impact by using our state of the art in-house branding department utilising the most advanced branding processes in engraving, embossing and sublimation. Allowing you to have the very best promotional items. With almost 20 years of experience providing corporate gift solutions, in-house branding and large quantities of UK stock from our own warehouse, this means we are able to reduce lead times and stay in total control of your order so that you can relax in the knowledge that your promotion is in good hands.
About The Corporate Gifts CompanyWelcome to one of the UK’s Largest Suppliers of Corporate and Promotional Gifts. We have been trading, and providing corporate products for almost 20 years, and so we understand the strains that sourcing promotional products and business gifts to tight deadlines can cause; which is why we compiled this easy to use online shop for all your promotional Product requirements.
Shop OnlineYou can either shop directly online for your promotional products and corporate business gifts, or call us direct to discuss your requirements. We have a helpful and knowledgeable sales team that is always on hand to answer any queries you may have.
Sourcing A SpecialityShould you require a promotional product that you don’t see on our website, our experienced sourcing team will find it for you!
Bespoke Solutions Our in-house design staff will be delighted to help and advise you on any special bespoke project. We will be happy to provide you with free design visuals, whether it’s for cufflinks, lapel pins, plaques or awards. This will ensure you have the very best Promotional Items and Corporate Gifts.