Although price pressures have eased in recent months, there is still considerable risk that inflation will pick up given tightness in the labor market, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Wednesday. His comment came in a statement that suggested a change in interest rates is unlikely any time soon. But, striking an upbeat chord, Bernanke said the economy is likely to grow at a "moderate pace" in 2007 and 2008. That comes despite a dramatic slowdown in the housing market that has so far had little dampening effect on consumers, the lifeblood of the economy. "There are some indications that inflation pressures are beginning to diminish," Bernanke told members of the Senate Banking Committee on the first day of his twice-yearly testimony on the economy. "The monthly data are noisy, however, and it will consequently be some time before we can be confident that underlying inflation is moderating as anticipated," he said, arguing price pressures are still "somewhat elevated."...
http://www.usatoday.com
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Editor - 07:42:00 02-14-07
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 Cow Dung, Rotting Chickens Poised to Beat Oil, Natural Gas |
First Reserve Corp., the biggest private equity firm in the energy industry, expects a fivefold gain from rotting chickens and cow dung. That assumption is looking less preposterous. A consensus is emerging for U.S. legislation that encourages trading of credits earned from projects that reduce emissions of greenhouse gases and curb global warming. ``Giddy returns'' are probable, predicts First Reserve Director Glenn Payne, who says the first sign of a new law will lead to a quintupling of credit values to around $19 per ton of carbon dioxide, from $3.50 now. Profits from oil and gas over the next five years will increase less than 10 percent, futures prices show. ``Companies like First Reserve that get in now can make double or triple-digit returns annually,'' said Josh Margolis, director of emissions trading at Cantor Fitzgerald LP in New York. ``It's high reward because there are some big risks.''...
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=awZZaqjz7tZU&refer=exclusive
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Editor - 07:40:00 02-14-07
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| U.S. says "sophisticated weaponry" hit chopper in Iraq |
A transport helicopter that crashed in Iraq last week killing all seven on board was brought down by a "sophisticated piece of weaponry," the U.S. military said on Wednesday. It was the first time they acknowledged that insurgents could be using complex weapons to attack its helicopters in Iraq. A spokesman did not say what brought the Marine Ch-46 Sea Knight down on February 7, but an insurgent video released at the time showed what appeared to be a missile hitting the twin-rotor helicopter, sending it plummeting to the ground. The spokesman, Major General William Caldwell, made the statement at a news briefing in Baghdad that concentrated on presenting evidence of what the U.S. military says is proof of Iran's involvement in arming Iraqi militants. He don’t mention that we are the biggest supplier of Arms in the world and we have armed some of the worst terrorists, so are we bitching because someone is in competition with us?...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2874624
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Editor - 07:38:00 02-14-07
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| EU endorses damning report on CIA |
The European parliament has approved a damning report on secret CIA flights, condemning member states which had colluded in the operations. The UK, Germany and Italy were among 14 states which allowed the US to forcibly remove terror suspects, MEPs said. The EU parliament voted to accept a resolution condemning member states which accepted or ignored the practice. The EU report said the US had operated 1,200 flights, flying suspects on to states where they could face torture. The report was adopted by a large majority, with 382 MEPs voting in favour, 256 against and 74 abstaining. Vigilance The final version denounces the lack of co-operation of many EU member states and it condemns the actions of secret services and governments who accepted and concealed renditions. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/europe/6360817.stm
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Editor - 07:28:00 02-14-07
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| UNICEF report ranks well-being of British, U.S. kids last in industrialized world |
British and American children are among the worst off in the industrialized world, according to a U.N. report Wednesday that ranked the well-being of youngsters in the two countries at the bottom of 21 wealthy nations.The report from UNICEF put the Netherlands in first place; the U.S. and Britain came in 20th and 21st overall, both countries falling in the bottom third of five of the six categories measured.The British government immediately criticized the report, saying it used years-old data that did not measure recent improvements in things like teen pregnancies.Among the report's overall findings was that wealth alone did not guarantee a high ranking, with countries that lagged in income sometimes scoring ahead of richer ones....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2007-02-14-unicef-report_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 07:26:00 02-14-07
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| Sunni rebels blamed for deadly attack on elite Iranian guards |
Sunni rebels allegedly linked to al-Qaida were blamed for a deadly car bomb attack which destroyed a bus and killed at least 11 Revolutionary Guards today in the latest outbreak of violence to strike one of Iran's most unstable provinces. The attack took place in the Sistan-Baluchestan provincial capital, Zahedan, in south-east Iran, as the guards were being bussed to work. Witnesses said the bus was travelling in the city's Ahmadabad district when it was overtaken by a car which then stopped suddenly. The car's occupants jumped out seconds before it exploded and fled in motorcycles parked nearby. Television footage showed the bus, which had 24 passengers, reduced to a mess of twisted wreckage. The semi-official Fars news agency reported that Jundallah, a Sunni militant group widely blamed for a series of previous attacks in the province, had claimed responsibility. Iranian officials branded the incident a terrorist attack carried out by "insurgents and elements of insecurity"....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/iran/story/0,,2012872,00.html?gusrc=rss&feed=12
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Editor - 07:25:00 02-14-07
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