Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/153844712?client_source=feed&format=rss
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শনিবার, ২৯ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
শুক্রবার, ২৮ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Nintendo H1 recurring loss seen at $1.32 billion: report (Reuters)
TOKYO (Reuters) ? Nintendo Co is expected to post a recurring loss of about 100 billion yen ($1.32 billion) in the first half ending on September 30, much worse than the 55 billion loss the company has forecast, the Nikkei business daily said on Wednesday.
Shares of the Japanese games maker tumbled as much as 7.5 percent after the news, to 10,800 yen.
Nintendo, which dominated the games industry for years with its DS handheld game machines and Wii home consoles, has struggled to win popularity for its new generation 3DS gadget, as casual gamers turn to smartphones and tablets from Apple Inc and others.
Nintendo, like many Japanese firms, is also facing a massive hit from the strong yen.
The Nikkei said in its online edition the company had incurred 40 billion yen in foreign exchange losses, mostly against the euro, and would likely also post a first half net loss greater than the 35 billion yen it has projected.
A spokesman for Nintendo declined to comment on the report. The company is due to announce its July-September earnings on Thursday.
Nintendo, which makes 80 percent of its sales overseas, is facing a slump in the value of its cash deposits and accounts receivable in foreign currencies as the yen rises, the Nikkei said.
The games giant behind the Super Mario franchise slashed its full-year operating profit forecast in July to a 27-year low of 35 billion yen, as it cut the price of the 3DS by about one-third to try to boost weak sales.
($1 = 75.770 Japanese Yen)
(Reporting by Chang-Ran Kim and Isabel Reynolds; Editing by Joseph Radford and Edmund Klamann)
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Rate on 30-year fixed mortgage falls to 4.10 pct. (AP)
WASHINGTON ? The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage was nearly unchanged for a second straight week after rising from a record low.
Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan fell to 4.10 percent from 4.11 percent last week. Three weeks ago, it dropped to 3.94 percent. The National Bureau of Economic Research says that's the lowest rate ever.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 3.38 percent. Three weeks ago, it hit a record low of 3.26 percent.
Low rates have done little to jolt the struggling housing market. Sales remain depressed, and home prices are still dropping in many markets.
High unemployment and declining wages have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Most of those who can afford to refinance already have.
The number of Americans who bought previously occupied homes fell in September and is on pace to match last year's dismal figures ? the worst in 13 years.
Sales of new homes rose last month after four straight monthly declines. But the increase was largely because builders cut their prices and it followed a peak buying season that was the worst on records going back nearly 50 years.
Many borrowers are unable to take advantage of the low rates because they can't meet banks' restrictive lending standards, or are unable to scrape together a down payment.
The low rates have caused a modest boom in refinancing, but that benefit might be wearing off. Most people who can afford to refinance have already locked in rates below 5 percent.
The Federal Reserve has been helped push rates lower by buying longer-dated Treasurys, such as 10-year Treasury notes. Mortgage rates tend to track the yield on the 10-year note. Buying by the Fed pulls the yield lower.
Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks in the past year. Just five years ago they were closer to 6.5 percent.
The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount. The average fee for the 30-year fixed mortgage was unchanged at 0.8 point. The average fee for the 15-year loan fell to 0.7 point from 0.8 point.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country on Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The average rate on the five-year adjustable loan rose to 3.08 percent from 3.01 percent. It hit a record low of 2.96 percent three weeks ago.
The average rate on the one-year adjustable loan fell to 2.90 percent from 2.94 percent. It fell last month to 2.81 percent, the lowest on records dating to 1984.
The average fee on the five-year adjustable loan fell to 0.5 point from 0.6 point. The average fee on the one-year adjustable loan was unchanged at 0.6 percent.
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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৭ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Extreme melting on greenland ice sheet, team reports; Glacial melt cycle could become self-amplifying
ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2011) ? The Greenland ice sheet can experience extreme melting even when temperatures don't hit record highs, according to a new analysis by Dr. Marco Tedesco, assistant professor in the Department of Earth and Atmospheric Sciences at The City College of New York. His findings suggest that glaciers could undergo a self-amplifying cycle of melting and warming that would be difficult to halt.
"We are finding that even if you don't have record-breaking highs, as long as warm temperatures persist you can get record-breaking melting because of positive feedback mechanisms," said Professor Tedesco, who directs CCNY's Cryospheric Processes Laboratory and also serves on CUNY Graduate Center doctoral faculty.
Professor Tedesco and his team collected data for the analysis this past summer during a four-week expedition to the Jakobshavn Isbr? glacier in western Greenland. Their arrival preceded the onset of the melt season.
Combining data gathered on the ground with microwave satellite recordings and the output from a model of the ice sheet, he and graduate student Patrick Alexander found a near-record loss of snow and ice this year. The extensive melting continued even without last year's record highs.
The team recorded data on air temperatures, wind speed, exposed ice and its movement, the emergence of streams and lakes of melt water on the surface, and the water's eventual draining away beneath the glacier. This lost melt water can accelerate the ice sheet's slide toward the sea where it calves new icebergs. Eventually, melt water reaches the ocean, contributing to the rising sea levels associated with long-term climate change.
The model showed that melting between June and August was well above the average for 1979 to 2010. In fact, melting in 2011 was the third most extensive since 1979, lagging behind only 2010 and 2007. The "mass balance," or amount of snow gained minus the snow and ice that melted away, ended up tying last year's record values.
Temperatures and an albedo feedback mechanism accounted for the record losses, Professor Tedesco explained. "Albedo" describes the amount of solar energy absorbed by the surface (e.g. snow, slush, or patches of exposed ice). A white blanket of snow reflects much of the sun's energy and thus has a high albedo. Bare ice -- being darker and absorbing more light and energy -- has a lower albedo.
But absorbing more energy from the sun also means that darker patches warm up faster, just like the blacktop of a road in the summer. The more they warm, the faster they melt.
And a year that follows one with record high temperatures can have more dark ice just below the surface, ready to warm and melt as soon as temperatures begin to rise. This also explains why more ice sheet melting can occur even though temperatures did not break records.
Professor Tedesco likens the melting process to a speeding steam locomotive. Higher temperatures act like coal shoveled into the boiler, increasing the pace of melting. In this scenario, "lower albedo is a downhill slope," he says. The darker surfaces collect more heat. In this situation, even without more coal shoveled into the boiler, as a train heads downhill, it gains speed. In other words, melting accelerates.
Only new falling snow puts the brakes on the process, covering the darker ice in a reflective blanket, Professor Tedesco says. The model showed that this year's snowfall couldn't compensate for melting in previous years. "The process never slowed down as much as it had in the past," he explained. "The brakes engaged only every now and again."
The team's observations indicate that the process was not limited to the glacier they visited; it is a large-scale effect. "It's a sign that not only do albedo and other variables play a role in acceleration of melting, but that this acceleration is happening in many places all over Greenland," he cautioned. "We are currently trying to understand if this is a trend or will become one. This will help us to improve models projecting future melting scenarios and predict how they might evolve."
Additional expedition team members included Christine Foreman of Montana State University, and Ian Willis and Alison Banwell of the Scott Polar Research Institute, Cambridge, UK.
Professor Tedesco and his team provide their preliminary results on the Cryospheric Processes Laboratory webpage (http://greenland2011.cryocity.org/). They will will be presenting further results at the American Geophysical Union Society (AGU) meeting in San Francisco on December 5 at 9 a.m. and December 6 at 11:35 a.m.
The research was supported by the National Science Foundation and the NASA Cryosphere Program. The World Wildlife Fund is acknowledged for supporting fieldwork activities.
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Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111025163128.htm
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Dina Manzo Defends Teresa Giudice, Tells The Truth!
On part two of The Real Housewives of New Jersey reunion special, Caroline Manzo went off on Teresa Giudice for a number of reasons. Among them: Caroline blames her castmate for the disintegrated relationship she has with her sister, Dina.
How does Dina feel about this publicized mess? In a new blog entry titled blog post labeled "The Truth!," this former Real Housewife writes that she wants to "put all this to rest," and starts by addressing critics:
"Just so you know I've been offered a SERIOUS amount of money to sell this to many outlets BUT I chose to do it for free here. So all of you who have something to say can shove it."
Alright then. Glad that's cleared up. But what about Dina's take on Teresa's recent behavior, which includes a diss of Caroline in her latest cookbook?
"Was it necessary for her to write that stuff in her book? Probably not, but I don't think it was written with malice either," Dina said. "So there you have it, Teresa had nothing to do with me staying away from everyone, I even stayed away from her too."
So why did Dina stay away from cast members?
"I really wanted to walk away from all of the toxic behavior," she writes. "I was not into ganging up on anyone... I guess some of the Housewives may have taken that as I think I'm better than them... that couldn't be further from the truth."
Finally, in relation to her feud with Caroline, Dina is vague: "Feelings did get hurt. I won't get into them because I have no desire to rehash the past that can only hurt my parents whom I adore... There is no side here, this is a private matter..."
Then, of course, Dina closed by plugging Dina's Party on HGTV.
Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/10/dina-manzo-defends-teresa-giudice-tells-the-truth/
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বুধবার, ২৬ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Deepest ocean trench home to race of giant amoebas
Scientists have discovered a community of 4-inch amoebas living at the bottom of the Mariana Trench, the deepest known part of the world's oceans.
During a July 2011 voyage to the Pacific Ocean chasm, researchers with Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego and National Geographic engineers deployed untethered landers, called dropcams, equipped with digital video and lights to explore the largely mysterious region of the deep sea.
Skip to next paragraphThe team documented the deepest known existence of xenophyophores, single-celled animals exclusively found in deep-sea environments. Xenophyophores are noteworthy for their size, with individual cells often exceeding 4 inches (10 centimeters), their extreme abundance on the seafloor and their role as hosts for a variety of organisms.
Extreme environment, extreme creature
The researchers spotted the life forms at depths up to 6.6 miles (10,641 meters) within the Sirena Deep of the Mariana Trench. The previous depth record for xenophyophores was approximately 4.7 miles (7,500 m) in the New Hebrides Trench, although sightings in the deepest portion of the Mariana Trench have been reported. [Infographic: Tallest Mountain to Deepest Ocean Trench]
Scientists say xenophyophores are the largest individual cells in existence. Recent studies indicate that by trapping particles from the water, xenophyophores can concentrate high levels of lead, uranium and mercury and are thus likely resistant to large doses of heavy metals. They also are well suited to a life of darkness, low temperature and high pressure in the deep sea.
"The identification of these gigantic cells in one of the deepest marine environments on the planet opens up a whole new habitat for further study of biodiversity, biotechnological potential and extreme environment adaptation," said Doug Bartlett, the Scripps marine microbiologist who organized the expedition.
Tip of the iceberg
The xenophyophores are just the tip of the deep-sea ecosystem iceberg. The expedition also found the deepest jellyfish observed to date, as well as other mysterious animals.
"As one of very few taxa found exclusively in the deep sea, the xenophyophores are emblematic of what the deep sea offers. They are fascinating giants that are highly adapted to extreme conditions but at the same time are very fragile and poorly studied," Levin said. "These and many other structurally important organisms in the deep sea need our stewardship as human activities move to deeper waters."
The dropcams used to observe the creatures contained an HD camera and lighting inside a glass bubble that can withstand the extreme pressures encountered at these depths.
"Seafloor animals are lured to the camera with bait, a technique first developed by Scripps professor John Isaacs in the 1960s," said Kevin Hardy, a Scripps ocean engineer and cruise participant. Hardy advanced the ultra-deep glass sphere design used on 'dropcams' more than a decade ago. "Scripps researchers hope to one day capture and return novel living animals to the laboratory for study in high-pressure aquariums that replicate the trench environment."
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মঙ্গলবার, ২৫ অক্টোবর, ২০১১
Tunisians vote in first Arab Spring election
TUNIS, Tunisia?? Tunisians began voting at dawn Sunday in their first truly free elections, the culmination of a popular uprising that ended decades of authoritarian rule and set off similar rebellions across the Middle East.
Voters are electing members of an assembly that will appoint a new government and then write a new constitution, definitively turning the page on the 23-year presidency of Zine El-Abidine Ben Ali, who was overthrown by a monthlong uprising on Jan. 14 stirred by anger at unemployment, corruption and repression.
The party expected to come out on top, Ennahda, is a moderate Islamist party whose victory, especially in a comparatively secular society like Tunisia, could have wide implications for similar religious parties in the region. The party was banned under Ben Ali.
The unexpected revolution in this quiet Mediterranean country ? cherished by European tourists for its sandy beaches and desert oases ? set off a series of similar uprisings against entrenched leaders, an event now being called the Arab Spring. If Tunisia's elections produce an effective new government they will serve as an inspiration to pro-democracy advocates across the region, including in next-door Libya, where longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi was killed last week by rebel forces.
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The campaign season has been marked by controversies over advertising, fears over society's religious polarization and concerns about voter apathy, but in the run-up to the vote a mood of optimism and excitement in the capital was palpable.
"This is the first time in my life I've truly voted. It is something extraordinary," said Turkane Seklani, a 37-year-old casting her ballot in polling station set up in the Bourguiba High School in Tunis. The sun was still rising as she cast her ballot soon after 7 a.m., but the capital was already humming with political activity.
She said she voted for center-left party Ettakatol, because its leader, a doctor who opposed Ben Ali in the years before the uprising, "is a good man and I find him honest and with integrity."
'I'm an optimist'
The mother of Mohamed Bouazizi, the young man whose self-immolation last December triggered the Tunisian revolt, said the election was a victory for dignity and freedom.
"Now I am happy that my son's death has given the chance to get beyond fear and injustice," Manoubia Bouazizi told Reuters. "I'm an optimist, I wish success for my country.
How rap fueled the Arab Spring uprisingsThe ballot is an extra-large piece of paper bearing the names and symbols of the parties fielding a candidate in each district. It's a cacophony of choice in a country effectively under one-party rule since independence from France in 1956, and where the now-popular Islamist party Ennahda was long banned.
There are 7.5 million potential voters, though only 4.4 million of them, or just under 60 percent, are actually registered. People can vote with their identity cards but only at certain stations, which some fear may cause confusion during the polls.
Voters in each of the country's 33 districts, six of which are abroad, have a choice of between 40 and 80 electoral lists, consisting of parties and independent candidates.
Coalitions and compromises
A proportional representation system will likely mean that no political party will dominate the assembly, which is expected to be divided roughly between the Ennahda party, centrist parties and leftist parties, requiring coalitions and compromises during the writing of the constitution.
Ennahda has been at pains to assuage the concerns of secularists and Western powers, fielding several women candidates including one who does not wear the hijab, or Muslim headscarf, and promising not to undermine women's freedoms.
Fundamentalist Islamists known as Salafists have attacked a cinema and a TV station in recent months over artistic material deemed blasphemous. Ennahda says they have nothing to do with them, but liberals do not believe them.
At a final election rally on Friday, Suad Abdel-Rahim, the female candidate who does not wear a veil, said Ennahda would protect women's gains.
But illustrating the party's contradictions, many of the books on sale on the fringes of the rally were by Salafist writers who believe women should be segregated from men in public and that elections are un-Islamic.
An Ennahda victory would be the first such success in the Arab world since Hamas won a 2006 Palestinian vote. Islamists won a 1991 Algerian election the army annulled, provoking years of bloody conflict.
Interactive: Tunisia protests, country profile (on this page)Ennahda's fortunes could have a bearing on Egyptian elections set for next month in which the Muslim Brotherhood, an ideological ally, also hopes to emerge strongest.
In the 10 months since the uprising, Tunisia's economy and employment, part of the reason for the revolution in the first place, has only become worse as tourists and foreign investors have stayed away.
Many have expressed indifference about the elections out of frustration that new jobs have yet to appear and life has not improved since the revolution.
The government says 40,000 police and soldiers are being deployed to prevent any protests escalating into violence. Shopkeepers say people have been stockpiling milk and bottled water in case unrest disrupts supplies.
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45004356/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/
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