The U.S. bond market's most accurate forecaster, who plies his trade 500 miles from Wall Street, says yields are sending ominous signs about the economy. While economists at the biggest bond-trading firms wrongly predicted that the benchmark U.S. 10-year Treasury yield would end last year at 5 percent, a University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, professor came a lot closer to getting it right. "It was luck, partly," said James F. Smith, 67, who teaches finance at the school. "The other reason is the anticipation that inflation would be contained and that continued rate increases from the Federal Reserve would keep longer-maturity investors enthused about their returns." Smith turned out to be the top forecaster in Bloomberg's January survey of 66 economists. He predicted the benchmark 10-year yield would end the year at 4.49 percent. At the time, the yield was about 4.27 percent and the median estimate was for it to climb to 5.04 percent by Dec. 31. It finished 2005 at ...
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com
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Editor - 14:47:00 01-04-06
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 Jobless Iraqis clash with police |
Clashes have broken out in Nasiriya in southern Iraq between Iraqis demanding employment and police. Several hundred protesters gathered on Wednesday in front of the Nasiriya governorate headquarters, demanding that job promises previously made to them by local authorities be kept. The rallysts said the authorities had been pledging to provide decent job opportunities since the past two years, but to date nothing had materialised. Police used force to disperse the crowds, triggering a violent response. Protesters burned several cars and exchanged fire with policemen. The confrontation left 25 people injured. Medical sources in Nasiriya said none of the injuries was fatal. "Some of the protesters were members of the former Iraqi army which was disbanded immediately after the US-invasion in 2003. Besides, many political parties participated in the demonstration in support of the unemployed people of Nasiriya," Shaikh Adel al-Abadi, a tribal leader in Nasiriya, told Aljazeera.net...
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/C28596F2-F5AF-4F7F-BA67-57EE6814617F.htm
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Editor - 14:40:00 01-04-06
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| Iraq's deadliest day since poll |
A string of attacks across Iraq has made it the deadliest day in the country since the 15 December election. In the worst attack, at least 36 people were killed in a suicide bombing at a Shia funeral north of Baghdad. Across Iraq, more than 50 people died. In Washington, President George Bush said the plan in Iraq was going well. He said Iraqi forces were improving all the time. "As Iraqis stand up, we'll stand down," he said, touting possible further cuts in US troop levels. Mr Bush said wide participation in Iraq's election showed the people were buying into the new democracy, and had more confidence in their security. "The election results served as a real defeat for the rejectionists," he said. However, after a drop in insurgent attacks around the time of the elections, car bombings and suicide attacks have intensified. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4582272.stm
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Editor - 13:27:00 01-04-06
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| BILLION DOLLAR BUNKER U.S. plans Baghdad embassy more secure than Pentagon |
AMERICA is to spend £1billion on an embassy in Baghdad "more secure than the Pentagon". Plans for the hi-tech complex are being kept secret because of the terrorist threat in Iraq. The exact location is not being released until later this year but it is likely to be built in the heavily fortified Green Zone area where the Iraqi government and US military command is based. The embassy will be guarded by 15ft blast walls and ground-to-air missiles and the main building will have bunkers for use during air offensives. The grounds will include as many as 300 houses for consular and military officials. And a large-scale barracks will be built for Marines who will protect what will be Washington's biggest and most secure overseas building. A US source in the Middle East said last night: "Plans for the embassy building are being kept behind closed doors because of the terrorist threat. "It will be more secure than The Pentagon because it will be under constant threat from attack." ...
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/tm_objectid=16541084&method=full&siteid=94762&headline=exclusive--billion-dollar-bunker--name_page.html
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Editor - 13:21:00 01-04-06
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| US mining firm expresses regret |
The owners of a US mine in which 12 miners died say they "sincerely regret" the families were allowed to believe for three hours they were still alive. Ben Hatfield of the International Coal Group (ICG) said they fully accepted the criticism over the manner in which they handled the matter. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4582572.stm
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Editor - 13:13:00 01-04-06
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| U.S. Clamps Down on Iranian Companies |
The Bush administration acted Wednesday to tighten the financial clamps on two Iranian companies suspected of helping to proliferate weapons of mass destruction through involvement in the country's nuclear program. The action taken by the Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control targets Novin Energy Co. and Mesbah Energy Co. The department ordered U.S. banks to freeze any bank accounts or other financial assets found in the United States that belong to these two companies. The U.S. government also is prohibiting Americans from doing business with the two entities. Novin and Mesbah are believed to be owned or controlled or acting on behalf of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, which the U.S. government designated in late June of 2005 as being a proliferator of weapons of mass destruction. ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5522618,00.html
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Editor - 12:59:00 01-04-06
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