Stock index futures signal lower open

PARIS (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a slightly lower open on Wall Street on Tuesday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.04 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures down 0.17 percent at 4.55 a.m. ET.


World shares stalled near 18-month highs and safe-haven Treasuries traded higher on Tuesday after U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke warned the economic recovery was at risk from the battle to raise the nation's borrowing limit.


Data showing the German economy contracted by a larger-than-expected 0.5 percent in the final quarter of 2012, as the euro zone crisis weighed on exports and corporate investment, also weighed on sentiment on Tuesday morning.


Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Monday urged U.S. lawmakers to lift the country's borrowing limit to avoid a potentially disastrous debt default, warning that the economy was still at risk from political gridlock over the deficit.


In a wide-ranging question and answer session, Bernanke painted a cautiously optimistic outlook for U.S. growth but gave no clear hints as to when the Fed would curb its aggressive bond purchases, despite speculation that it will halt them this year.


President Barack Obama on Monday rejected any negotiations with Republicans over raising the U.S. borrowing limit, accusing his opponents of trying to extract a ransom for not ruining the economy in the latest fiscal fight.


The United States expects to run out of tools to avoid a default between mid-February and early March, potentially causing lasting damage to the U.S. economy and its creditworthiness, the Treasury said on Monday.


U.S. banking regulators on Monday ordered JPMorgan Chase & Co to tighten its risk controls after the bank lost billions of dollars due to bad bets from a trader known as the "London Whale".


U.S. cable group Liberty Global raised its stake in Belgian group Telenet to 58 percent from 50.2 percent. Liberty is seeking to strengthen its grip on Telenet, which is benefiting from expansion across a range of telecom services. Liberty has been the controlling shareholder in the company since 2007.


RadioShack Corp said on Monday it ended a mobile phone partnership with Target Corp as the retailers could not agree on a new deal that would be profitable for both companies.


The S&P 500 and Nasdaq ended lower on Monday as worries over demand for Apple products drove down its shares and investors braced for earnings disappointments.


The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> was up 18.89 points, or 0.14 percent, at 13,507.32. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> was down 1.37 points, or 0.09 percent, at 1,470.68. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> was down 8.13 points, or 0.26 percent, at 3,117.50.


(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by Catherine Evans)



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Title games feature Ravens-Pats, 49ers-Falcons


One game is a rematch. The other might feel like one — at least to one of the teams.


For the second straight year in the AFC, the New England Patriots will host the Baltimore Ravens with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line.


In the NFC, it will be San Francisco traveling to Atlanta, with the Falcons defense trying to stop a versatile, running quarterback for the second straight week.


"Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick are mobile quarterbacks who throw the ball at extremely accurate levels," Falcons safety Thomas DeCoud said. "We can use this game as a cheat sheet to prepare for next week."


On Sunday, the Falcons barely got past Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks, who overcame a 20-point deficit to take a one-point lead, but gave it up after Matt Ryan drove Atlanta into field goal range and Matt Bryant made a 49-yard kick with 8 seconds left.


Atlanta is the only team not making a repeat appearance in the NFL's final four. Last year, it was the Giants playing, and beating, the 49ers for the NFC title.


On Saturday, Kaepernick passed for 263 yards and rushed for 181 — a playoff record for a quarterback — to defeat Green Bay 45-31.


"We're one step closer to where we want to be," said Kaepernick. San Francisco hasn't been to the Super Bowl since 1995, when Steve Young led the 49ers to their fifth Lombardi Trophy.


Though the Niners must travel cross country for the game, they opened as 3-point favorites in a meeting of teams that played twice a year until 2003, when Atlanta was moved from the NFC West to the NFC South. Their only previous playoff meeting was a 20-18 win for the Falcons in the 1998 divisional playoffs. Atlanta won at Minnesota the next week to make its only Super Bowl.


San Francisco's 20-17 overtime loss last year to the Giants was part of a tense day of football that began with New England's 23-20 victory over the Ravens in the AFC title game.


In that game, Billy Cundiff missed a 32-yard field goal that would have tied the game with 11 seconds left.


This season, Justin Tucker beat out Cundiff for the kicker's job. Tucker hit a 47-yarder against Denver on Saturday to lift the Ravens to a 38-35 win in double overtime, extending Ray Lewis' career for at least one more week and putting the 17-year veteran one win away from his second Super Bowl.


"We fought hard to get back to this point and we're definitely proud of being here," Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said. "We feel like it's going to take a lot for somebody to come and kick us off that field come the AFC championship game."


Lewis and the Ravens will have to stop the NFL's most potent offense. The Patriots put up 457 yards in a 41-28 victory over Houston, which left them one win away from their sixth Super Bowl in the 2000s.


"I think the two best teams are in the final," Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said. "Baltimore certainly deserve to be here and so do we."


The Patriots were made early 9½-point favorites against the Ravens.


These teams met in the regular season and that game was also decided by a kick — Tucker's 27-yard field goal that sneaked through the right upright for a 31-30 victory. Or did it?


While the Ravens were celebrating, Pats coach Bill Belichick ran to midfield and grabbed a replacement official's arm as he tried to exit the field. The NFL fined Belichick $50,000 for the gesture.


New England is the even-money favorite in Vegas to win the Super Bowl. San Francisco is next at 2-1, followed by Atlanta (5-1) and Baltimore (8-1).


Among the possible Super Bowl story lines:


—The Harbaugh Bowl. Jim Harbaugh coaches the 49ers and John Harbaugh coaches the Ravens.


—A rematch of San Francisco's 41-34 win at New England on Dec. 16 — one of the most entertaining games of the regular season.


___


Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL


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“Outraged” Amy Pascal: “Zero Dark Thirty” does not advocate torture






LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) – Sony Chairman Amy Pascal refuted criticism of “Zero Dark Thirty” by a member of the Oscar voting academy on Friday, saying her studio’s movie “does not advocate torture.”


“‘Zero Dark Thirty’ does not advocate torture,” she said. “To not include that part of history would have been irresponsible and inaccurate. We fully support Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal and stand behind this extraordinary movie.”






David Clennon, an Emmy Award-winning actor, wrote an op-ed column for Truthout this week, explaining that he would not be voting for “Zero Dark Thirty” in any categories because it portrays torture as being an effective tool in the hunt for Osama Bin Laden.


“Torture is an appalling crime under any circumstances,” Clennon wrote.” “‘Zero’ never acknowledges that torture is immoral and criminal. It does portray torture as getting results.”


At a media event on Friday in downtown Los Angeles at the federal building, protesting the Guantanamo Bay detention center, Clennon repeated the criticism, noting:


“I’m a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The Motion Picture Academy clearly warns its members not to disclose their votes for Academy Awards. Nevertheless, I firmly believe that the film ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ promotes the acceptance of the crime of torture, as a legitimate weapon in America’s so-called War on Terror. In that belief, following my conscience, I will not vote for ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ in any category… I cannot vote for a film that makes heroes of Americans who commit the crime of torture.”


“Zero Dark Thirty” has come under fire by some for its depiction of torture in the quest to kill Bin Laden. Last month, three senators – John McCain, Dianne Feinstein and Carl Levin — wrote a letter to Sony Pictures Chairman and CEO Michael Lynton, a prominent supporter of President Barack Obama, claiming that the film suggests that torture led investigators the terrorist leader.


The movie, which has already picked up several awards, on Thursday received five Oscar nominations, including a nod for Best Picture, but Bigelow was snubbed in the Best Director category.


Pascal issued a statement Friday that read in full:


“Zero Dark Thirty does not advocate torture. To not include that part of history would have been irresponsible and inaccurate. We fully support Kathryn Bigelow and Mark Boal and stand behind this extraordinary movie.


“We are outraged that any responsible member of the Academy would use their voting status in AMPAS as a platform to advance their own political agenda. This film should be judged free of partisanship. To punish an Artist’s right of expression is abhorrent. This community, more than any other, should know how reprehensible that is. While we fully respect everyone’s right to express their opinion, this activity is really an affront to the Academy and artistic creative freedom.


While we fully respect everyone’s right to express their opinion, this activity is really an affront to the Academy and artistic creative freedom. This attempt to censure one of the great films of our time should be opposed. As Kathryn Bigelow so appropriately said earlier this week, ‘depiction is not endorsement, and if it was, no artist could ever portray inhumane practices; no author could ever write about them; and no filmmaker could ever delve into the knotty subjects of our time.’”


Movies News Headlines – Yahoo! News




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New state pension ‘to be simpler’







A new flat-rate state pension likely to start in April 2017 will be simpler than the current system of means-tested top-ups, the government will argue as it outlines details later.






The weekly payment will be £144 plus inflation rises between now and 2017.


The current full state pension is £107.45 a week, but can be topped up to £142.70 with pension credit.


Plans to introduce legislation were included in the Queen’s Speech, but detailed proposals are now ready.


These have been expected for some time, with the aim of simplifying the system by replacing the means-tested pension credit element.


Overhaul


The flat-rate pension will be paid only to new pensioners reaching state pension age from a date expected to be 6 April, 2017, the government is expected to announce. Millions of existing pensioners, and those who qualify before then, will get their entitlement under the current system.


Under established plans, the state pension age is rising in any case to 66 for both men and women by 2020, with further plans for this to increase to 67 between 2026 and 2028.


A universal flat-rate payment in England, Wales and Scotland would be the biggest overhaul of the system for decades.


More than one-and-a-half million pensioners do not claim the pension credit that they are entitled to, and the government believes that this would not occur under a simpler flat-rate system.


The self-employed are also likely to benefit, as they tend to get a lower state pension.


However, there is likely to be a debate about the fairness of a flat rate that makes no distinction between poor and wealthy pensioners.


The state pension will still rise, as now, in line with earnings, prices, or 2.5%, whichever is higher.


Final-salary pension savers


The government is also expected to announce that anyone who has not paid National Insurance for at least 10 years will not qualify for a state pension. Those who have paid for less than 35 years will see their pension reduced in a change from the 30-year threshold introduced a few years ago.


The government is expected to outline exactly how it would phase out the state second pension which acts as a top-up to the basic state pension.


At the moment, some prospective state pensioners will accrue a higher level of state pension than £144 a week via a combination of their basic and state second pensions.


As the government has promised that all accrued pension rights will be recognised, the new system may have to involve some future pensioners being paid a top-up to the new flat-rate pension. This would recognise the contributions that they have already made for their state second pension.


Several million employees in the private and public sectors are opted out of the state second pension because their final-salary schemes pay an equivalent benefit.


The government will have to decide if these individuals should receive a reduced version of the flat-rate pension to acknowledge the fact that they have not been contributing to the state second pension in the preceding years.


A further complication is that members of those pension schemes which are opted out of the state second pension, receive a rebate on their National Insurance contributions. The government must decide if they should start paying higher National Insurance contributions if they are to become eligible for the new flat-rate pension.


Women workers


At the weekend The Daily Telegraph reported that more than six million workers would pay higher NI contributions under the shake-up.


Those affected are expected to include around 1.4 million private sector staff enrolled in final salary schemes and contracted out, said the Telegraph.


The plan would bring “contracting out” arrangements to an end – where some people pay lower National Insurance contributions because their second state pension is contracted out to their company final-salary pension scheme.


As a result, these people’s NI bill would rise, but their state pension would also be greater.


The Telegraph reported another five million public sector workers in similar schemes would also pay higher NI.


The BBC’s Simon Gompertz said someone on an average wage who is affected in this way might have to pay an additional £270 a year.


However, there are also beneficiaries under the scheme.


Chris Curry, from the charity the Pensions Policy Institute, said the people helped were those who have traditionally done very badly under the current system.


“So people who don’t make enough contributions throughout their working life to, in particular, the state second pension,” he said.


“Which includes people with intermittent work patterns, periods of low earnings and the self-employed.


“So a lot of women will do better from this particular policy as will people who are spending long periods of their career in self-employment. “


BBC News – Business





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Stock index futures trade flat to higher

LONDON (Reuters) - Stock index futures pointed to a flat to higher open on Wall Street on Monday, with futures for the S&P 500 up 0.1 percent at 0844 GMT.


Dow Jones and Nasdaq 100 futures were unchanged.


European shares were also flat, with the FTSEurofirst 300 <.fteu3> just shy of a two-year high. The pan-European index has risen almost 3 percent since the start of the year.


The U.S. economy is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2013, improving to 3.5 percent growth in 2014, top Fed official Charles Evans said on Monday. Evans also forecast the U.S. unemployment rate would be 7.4 percent, easing to about 7 percent in 2014. Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke speaks at 2100 GMT. [ID:nL4N0AJ1JA]


Americans are beginning to feel the pinch from austerity measures. Paychecks across the country have shrunk over the last week due to higher federal tax rates, and workers say they are cutting back on spending.


Apple Inc has almost halved its order with suppliers of LCD panels for the iPhone 5 in the current quarter due to weak demand, Japanese daily Nikkei reported on Monday.


Oracle Corp released an update to its Java software for surfing the Web on Sunday, which security experts said fails to protect PCs from attack by hackers intent on committing cyber crimes.


Transocean Ltd said billionaire activist investor Carl Icahn bought a 1.56 percent stake in the offshore rig contractor and is looking to increase his holding.


Japan Airlines Co (JAL) said on Sunday that a Boeing Co 787 Dreamliner jet undergoing checks in Tokyo following a fuel leak at Boston airport last week had leaked fuel during tests earlier in the day.


Pickup truck sales are expected to outpace the broader U.S. auto market this year helped by a recovering housing market and a slew of new models from the three big U.S. automakers, executives and analysts said on Sunday.


American International Group Inc has filed a lawsuit against a vehicle created by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to help bail out the insurer, in a bid to preserve its right to sue Bank of America Corp and other issuers of mortgage debt that went sour.


Bank of America Corp directors have reached a $62.5 million settlement to resolve investor claims over the bank's acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co, a person familiar with the matter said, after a federal judge expressed reservations about an earlier version of the accord.


JPMorgan Chase & Co's board is expected to dock the 2012 bonuses of Chief Executive James Dimon and another top executive because of the "London Whale" trading debacle, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people close to the company.


The first big earnings week of 2013 features major banks Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co, as well as online retailer eBay on Wednesday. Thursday's reports include Citigroup, Bank of America and chip maker Intel . General Electric, the largest U.S. conglomerate, is due to post fourth-quarter earnings on Friday.


The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> gained 17.21 points, or 0.13 percent, to 13,488.43. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dipped 0.07 points to 1,472.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> added 3.88 points, or 0.12 percent, to 3,125.64.


(Reporting By Francesco Canepa; Editing by John Stonestreet)



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Kaepernick delivers, 49ers beat Packers 45-31


SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — The unproven kid thoroughly beat the former Super Bowl champion and reigning MVP.


With a strong arm that allowed him to pick the Packers apart from the pocket and speedy legs that helped him break free for big gains, Colin Kaepernick did a little bit of everything in a record-setting, sensational playoff debut — and Aaron Rodgers just couldn't keep up.


Kaepernick passed for 263 yards and ran the San Francisco 49ers right back to the NFC championship game with a 45-31 win over Green Bay in an NFC divisional game Saturday night.


Kaepernick rushed for a quarterback playoff record 181 yards and two touchdowns and threw two scoring passes to Michael Crabtree. Next up for the Niners: a game on Jan. 20 for a spot in the Super Bowl, against the winner of Sunday's game between the Seattle Seahawks and Falcons at Atlanta.


"It feels good. We're one step closer to where we want to be," Kaepernick said. "I feel like I had a lot to prove. A lot of people doubted my ability to lead this team."


And what a playoff debut it was by the second-year pro making just his eighth NFL start. No doubting Jim Harbaugh's big midseason gamble switching quarterbacks now.


Rodgers never got in sync for the Packers (12-6), finishing 26 of 39 for 257 yards with two touchdowns.


Kaepernick ran for scores of 20 and 56 yards on the way to topping the rushing mark of 119 yards set by Michael Vick in 2005 against St. Louis. Crabtree caught TD passes of 12 and 20 yards in the second quarter and wound up with nine receptions and 119 yards for the Niners (12-4-1) in the NFC divisional matchup.


Kaepernick, sporting a burgundy beanie partially covering his head, was greeted at his locker after the game by former 49ers quarterback John Brodie.


San Francisco had 579 total yards with 323 on the ground, scoring its third-most points in the franchise's storied playoff history.


"Our offensive line did an amazing job today," Kaepernick said. "They shut everybody down inside. Our receivers, our tight ends, blocked great outside, and our running backs were running hard, so it made it easier on me."


Frank Gore and Anthony Dixon each added 2-yard touchdown runs in the fourth quarter for the No. 2 seed NFC West champions, slim favorites on their home field in a rematch of Week 1. They added to their memorable night by setting a franchise postseason record for yards rushing, 119 of those by Gore to complement Kaepernick.


Rodgers, the former Cal star passed up by San Francisco with the No. 1 pick in the 2005 draft, never got going. Rodgers rooted for the Niners as a kid in Northern California.


This was another early exit for the Packers, who lost in the divisional playoffs to the eventual Super Bowl champion New York Giants a year ago and were denied a chance to defend the title they won after the 2010 season.


Those Green Bay road stars of two years ago — they won three away from Lambeau Field on the way to the Super Bowl — didn't have it this time against San Francisco's stingy defense and a no-fear, second-year quarterback who would not be denied. A kid who was born in Milwaukee and grew up a big Green Bay fan until the day he was drafted in 2011 out of Nevada.


"I didn't know how fast he was," Green Bay defensive back Charles Woodson said. "Coming in I really never paid attention to it. But he is fast."


San Francisco advanced to back-to-back NFC title games for the first time since reaching three in a row following the 1992-94 seasons, with 1994 their last trip to the Super Bowl.


With the sellout crowd at Candlestick Park waving red flags reading "Quest for Six" — a sixth Super Bowl title, that is — Kaepernick did his part and then some to deliver in the first key step. Even after an early interception that gave Green Bay all the momentum in a hostile road stadium.


Kaepernick topped Vick's mark with the 56-yard keeper on an option play in the third quarter. That gave Kaepernick 163 yards on 12 carries, also setting a 49ers franchise record for the postseason.


"The execution for the 49ers on the read option was excellent, but our issues were bigger than that," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "We did not a very good job of keeping him the pocket. He was able to get out of the pocket for a number of big conversions."


Kaepernick joined Jay Cutler in 2011 and Otto Graham in both 1954 and '55 as the only players with two rushing and two passing touchdowns in a playoff game.


David Akers kicked a 36-yard field goal moments before halftime to give San Francisco a 24-21 lead at intermission after Green Bay tried to ice the struggling veteran by calling timeout before his kick.


Mason Crosby's 31-yard field goal tied the game at 24 midway through the third quarter, then Kaepernick took over again. San Francisco's defense handled the rest.


Kaepernick had 11 carries for 107 yards rushing by halftime.


Pick six, no problem.


The strong-armed Kaepernick brushed off the interception he tossed on the fourth play of the game that Sam Shields ran back 52 yards for a touchdown, then took control with his pinpoint passing to his favorite go-to guy — Crabtree — and with his quick-burst ability out of the pocket.


"He does a great job of responding," Harbaugh said. "He has done that any time there has been an interception he has thrown, a safety or a turnover, he's responded with a scoring drive. That's rare. I think that's a rare quality. So far he's shown that he's got that ability to come back."


San Francisco, fueled all year by its near miss in overtime of the NFC title game, made it two victories against Rodgers and Co. this season after a 30-22 Week 1 win at Lambeau Field.


Kaepernick bounced back from the early interception and again after a second-quarter taunting penalty in which he threw the ball down in the face of safety M.D. Jennings after being hit by Jennings and Erik Walden. Center Jonathan Goodwin grabbed Kaepernick in an effort to settle him down after his 15-yard run was negated by the 15-yard flag.


Two plays later, Kaepernick found Crabtree for his 20-yard TD as San Francisco capitalized on another Packers turnover.


Rodgers answered right back on the Packers' next chance, driving his team 80 yards on six plays and hitting James Jones on a 20-yard touchdown of his own that tied the game at 21. Green Bay got help from a 15-yard personal foul penalty by Dashon Goldson for a helmet-to-helmet hit on DuJuan Harris.


"We felt like we gift-wrapped them 14 points off turnovers in the first half and our defense was playing all right," Rodgers said. "And then we just didn't get it done in the second half. I knew we were going to have to score some points. We knew we were going to have to put up at least 38 points."


Former California receiver Jeremy Ross fumbled Andy Lee's punt early in the second and C.J. Spillman recovered as San Francisco got the ball back at the 9. Kaepernick threw a 12-yard TD pass to Crabtree three plays later.


Rodgers' streak of 183 passes without an interception spanning the previous five games ended when Tarell Brown picked off the ball on a deep third-down throw in the second quarter.


"We expected them to try to get him out on the perimeter. But we didn't expect to let him do what he did," Woodson said. "Give him a lot of credit. He played a great game. He made a lot of great plays out there today. It was hard to swallow."


Harris ran 18 yards for a score in the final minute of the first quarter as Green Bay took a 14-7 lead. Rodgers connected with James Jones on a 44-yard completion one play earlier before Harris easily ran right up the middle into the end zone for a Packers team that managed 45 total yards rushing in the season-opening loss.


Such moments were few against a 49ers defense happy to welcome back All-Pro lineman Justin Smith after he missed the final two regular-season games with a partially torn left triceps muscle.


Notes: The Green Bay defense gave up the most total yards (579), yards rushing (323) and second-most points in the playoffs in franchise history. ... San Francisco improved to 13-3 at home in divisional playoff games. ... The 49ers had 48 offensive plays in the first half to 20 by Green Bay.


___


Online: http://pro32.ap.org/poll and http://twitter.com/AP_NFL


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Quest: U.S. economy to dominate Davos




The United States and the sorry state of its political and budgetary process will be the center of attention at Davos, writes Quest




STORY HIGHLIGHTS


  • Quest: Davos is a chance to see where the political and economic landmines are in 2013

  • Quest: People will be speculating about how dysfunctional the U.S. political process has become

  • Quest: Davos has been consumed by eurozone sovereign debt crises for three years




Editor's note: Watch Quest Means Business on CNN International, 1900pm GMT weekdays. Quest Means Business is presented by CNN's foremost international business correspondent Richard Quest. Follow him on Twitter.


(CNN) -- It is that time of the year, again. Come January no sooner have the Christmas trees been taken down, as the winter sales are in full vicious flood the world of business start thinking about going to the world economic forum, better known as Davos.


For the past three years Davos has been consumed by the eurozone sovereign debt crises.


As it worsened the speculation became ever more frantic.....Will Greece leave the euro? Will the eurozone even survive? Was this all just a big German trick to run Europe? More extreme, more dramatic, more nonsense.


Can China be the biggest engine of growth for the global economy. Round and round in circles we have gone on these subjects until frankly I did wonder if there was anything else to say short of it's a horrible mess!


This year there is a new bogey man. The US and in particular the sorry state of the country's political and budgetary process will, I have little doubt, be the center of attention.


Read more: More 'cliffs' to come in new Congress


Not just because Congress fluffed its big test on the fiscal cliff, but because in doing so it created many more deadlines, any one of which could be deeply unsettling to global markets... There is the $100 billion budget cutbacks postponed for two months by the recent agreement; postponed to the end of February.


At exactly the same time as the US Treasury's ability to rob Peter to pay Paul on the debt ceiling crises comes to a head.


Read more: Both Obama, GOP set for tough talks ahead


The Treasury's "debt suspension period" is an extraordinary piece of financial chicanery that if we tried it with our credit cards would get us locked up!! Then there is the expiration of the latest continuing resolution, the authority by which congress is spending money.


There is the terrifying prospect that all these budget woes will conflate into one big political fist fight as the US faces cutbacks, default or shutdown!!


I am being alarmist. Most rational people believe that the worst sting will be taken out of this tail....not before we have all been to the edge...and back. And that is what Davos will have on its mind.


People will be speculating about how dysfunctional the US political process has become and is it broken beyond repair (if they are not asking that then they should be...)




They will be pondering which is more serious for risk...the US budget and debt crises or the Eurozone sovereign debt debacle. A classic case of between the devil and the deep blue sea.




The official topic this year is Resilient Dynamism. I have absolutely no idea what this means. None whatsoever. It is another of WEF's ersatz themes dreamt up to stimulate debate in what Martin Sorrell has beautifully terms "davosian language" In short everyone interprets it as they will.




What I will enjoy, as I do every year, is the chance to hear the global players speak and the brightest and best thinkers give us their take on the global problems the atmosphere becomes febrile as the rock-stars of finance and economics give speeches, talk on panels and give insight.




Of course comes of these musings, it never does at Davos. That's not the point. This is a chance to take stock and see where the political and economic landmines are in 2013. I like to think of Davos as the equivalent of Control/Alt/Delete. It allows us to reboot.


We leave at least having an idea of where people stand on the big issues provided you can see through the panegyrics of self congratulatory back slapping that always takes place whenever you get like minded people in one place... And this year, I predict the big issue being discussed in coffee bars, salons and fondue houses will be the United States and its budgetary woes.







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Lakers star Kobe Bryant and wife reconcile, won’t divorce






LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant and his wife, Vanessa, have reconciled and are no longer planning to divorce, the couple said in separate posts on social media sites.


Bryant, widely considered one of the greatest players ever in the National Basketball Association, and his wife filed for divorce in December 2011 after 10 years of marriage.






But they had been seen out together in recent weeks, leading to speculation about a possible reunion. They have two daughters, aged 10 and 6.


“I am happy to say that Vanessa and I are moving on with our lives together as a family,” Bryant wrote on Facebook on Friday.


Vanessa Bryant posted a statement on her Instagram page that read: “We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled. Our divorce action will be dismissed.”


In 2003, Bryant was accused of sexual assault by an employee at a Colorado hotel. He denied the allegations, and charges were dropped after the woman refused to testify.


Vanessa Bryant, who married the Lakers star in April 2001, stayed with her husband during that scandal.


(Reporting by Alex Dobuzinskis; Editing by Tim Gaynor and Peter Cooney)


Celebrity News Headlines – Yahoo! News





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Verizon Wireless at CES: We’re Not Just a Phone Company






When you think of Verizon Wireless as a company, do you think of products such as smart meters, car diagnostics modules, or connected recycle bins? Probably not, and it’s easy to understand why: The consumer face of Verizon Wireless is that of a cellular phone company that now covers 273 million consumers with fast LTE service on smartphones and tablets. But you’d never know that from the company’s booth at CES.


This year’s booth is very different. I toured it today, and while I didn’t measure it exactly, I’d estimate that 97 percent of the floor space wasn’t used to show off phones or tablets. Instead, Verizon is highlighting its Innovation Centers, which it opened in 2011. Since then Verizon has worked to get the building blocks in place so it could help partners with connected device ideas. And that’s what CES 2013 is all about for the company.






So what kind of partners and products—Verizon prefers to call them “solutions”—are in the spotlight? I saw a small OBD, or on-board diagnostic module, for cars, which Verizon produced in a partnership with Delphi. Plugged into a vehicle, the small device can gather heaps of data, ranging from the car’s engine settings, to tire pressures, to details about the electrical system.


There are wired readers for such OBD modules, but why not add cellular connectivity? A car rental agency could place these, without wires, in their entire fleet of cars to monitor the vehicles for safety and maintenance, for example.
As each car transmits its data, then, the information could be aggregated in a centralized dashboard at the rental agency’s headquarters. You can’t easily do that with wires unless you want to pull every module daily and dock it.


I also got a glimpse at the BigBelly Solar recycling bin—not something you’d equate with a wireless company, right? It turns out that these public recycling bins, which use solar power for energy to compress waste, benefit from a cellular connection.


Each bin has sensors to monitor the level of recycled materials that are inside. With an M2M connection, the bins each report their waste capacity levels to the central recycling collection company.


If a bin is half-full or less, for example, the company doesn’t have to waste time or fuel to empty it right away. The collection company can see all its bins on a map with green, yellow, and red indicators—each representing the fullness of each bin—and route trucks only to the bins it needs to.


Speaking of trucks, you should soon see a new Verizon commercial with firetrucks in it, if you haven’t already. One of the fireman in the piece is wearing a connected headset, similar to Google’s (GOOG) Project Glass. Because it’s connected, he can see a map or floor plan of the building on fire, presumably to help him navigate through the smoke.


This isn’t an application you’d want to use by tethering the goggles to a phone; it benefits from a dedicated wireless connection. And while it may sound far-fetched, one of Verizon’s Innovation Center partners was demonstrating a similar product meant not for consumers (darn) but for public safety and industrial workers.


I could go on and on describing what was on display: a connected athlete helmet with sensors to track hits in a football game; running shoes that upload their own data; even a smart meter that’s supersmart: It can track and report energy consumption down to the individual circuit level. Oh, there were some phones and traditional consumer products on display, too. But they were on one small circular table that saw far less foot traffic during my time there.


Does everything need a dedicated cellular connection then? Certainly not, and the smartphone is sure to be our hub of connectivity for some time to come. The Innovation Centers, however, are enabling partners to “connectify” their products. Verizon’s just there to provide the connection itself and to help with the wireless integration. It’s up to the visionaries outside Verizon to imagine how products and solutions can benefit from a robust wireless network.


Also from GigaOM:
The Business of Mobile Democracy (subscription required)


States With the Most Data Centers Are Also the Most Disaster-Prone


Netflix Shows How It Does Hadoop in the Cloud


Digital Lumens Shows How Factories, Warehouses Are Embracing LEDs


Nokia: Yes, We Decrypt Your HTTPS Data, But Don’t Worry About It


Businessweek.com — Top News





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Sun Life, Khazanah to buy Aviva/CIMB Malaysia insurance business for $563 million – sources






HONG KONG/SINGAPORE (Reuters) – A consortium of Canada’s Sun Life Financial Inc and Malaysian state investor Khazanah Nasional Bhd has agreed to buy British insurer Aviva plc’s Malaysian insurance joint venture with CIMB Group for about 1.7 billion ringgit ($ 563 million), sources said on Sunday, helping the Canadian company to expand its Asian foot print.


Sun Life Financial Inc (SLF.TO) and Khazanah (KHAZA.UL) edged out rival Manulife Financial Corp (MFC.TO) to win the eight-month old auction, sources familiar with the sale process said.






Britain’s No.2 insurer Aviva is exiting from marginal markets across the world and the sale of Malaysian unit is part of that overhaul. Last month, Aviva sold its U.S. business for $ 1.8 billion, its biggest disposal, aimed at boosting its underperforming share price.


The deal is expected to be signed on Monday, the sources added.


A Sun Life spokeswoman did not offer an immediate comment. Aviva could not be reached for a comment immediately. CIMB and Khazanah officials were not available for an immediate comment.


(Additional reporting by Yantoultra Ngui in KUALA LUMPUR and Clare Baldwin in HONG KONG; Reporting by Denny Thomas and Saeed Azhar; Editing by Jeremy Laurence)


Business & Finance News – Yahoo! Finance




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