Private investors near deal on Greek debt (AP)

ATHENS, Greece ? Greece and investors who have bought its bonds have reached a tentative deal to significantly reduce the country's debt and pave the way for it to receive a much-needed euro130 billion bailout.

Negotiators for the investors announced the tentative agreement Saturday and said it could become final next week.

Under the agreement, the euro206 billion worth of Greek bonds that investors own would be exchanged for new bonds worth 60 percent less. That will help Greece remain solvent and avoid a potentially devastating blow to Europe's already weakened financial system.

Private investors would receive new bonds whose face value is half of the existing bonds. The new bonds would have a longer maturity and pay an average interest rate of slightly less than 4 percent. The existing bonds pay an average interest rate of 5 percent, according to the think tank Re-Define.

The deal would reduce Greece's annual interest expense on the bonds from about $10 billion to about $4 billion. And when the bonds mature, instead of paying bondholders euro206 billion, Greece will have to pay only euro103 billion.

Without the deal, which would reduce Greece's debt load by at least euro120 billion, the bonds held by banks, insurance companies and hedge funds would likely become worthless. Many of these investors also hold debt from other countries that use the euro, which could also lose value in the event of a Greek default.

The agreement taking shape is a key step before Greece can get a second, euro130 billion bailout from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund. Besides restructuring its debt with private investors, Greece must also take other steps before getting aid. It must cut its deficit and boost the competitiveness of its economy through layoffs of government employees and the sale of several state companies, among other moves.

This would be Greece's second bailout. The EU and the IMF signed off on a euro110 billion aid package for Greece in May 2010, most of which has already been disbursed.

Greece faces a euro14.5 billion bond repayment on March 20, which it cannot afford without additional help.

Private investors hold roughly two-thirds of Greece's debt, which has reached an unsustainable level ? nearly 160 percent of the country's annual economic output. By restructuring the debt held by private investors, Greece and its EU partners are hoping to bring that ratio closer to 120 percent by the end of this decade. Without a deal, analysts forecast that ratio ballooning to 200 percent by the end of this year as the Greek economy falters.

In return for the first bailout, Greece's public creditors ? the International Monetary Fund, the European Union and the European Central Bank ? have unprecedented powers over Greek spending. However, Greece's problems will not be fixed simply by cutting government spending. In order to bring its debts to a more manageable level, the country must also find ways boost economic output, which would enable it to collect more taxes.

If no debt-exchange deal is reached with private creditors and Greece is forced to default, it would very likely spook Europe's ? and possibly the world's ? financial markets. It could even lead Greece to withdraw from the euro.

Sarah Ketterer, co-manager of Causeway International Value Fund, a $1.4 billion mutual fund that invests in European stocks, said the region's markets have rebounded this month largely on expectations that negotiators would reach a deal along the lines of the one being finalized now.

Any last-minute breakdown in the talks could trigger a sharp decline in European markets, she said. But a rally is unlikely if negotiations succeed.

"The equity markets have ... largely already discounted this, and you can see that in the confidence that has returned in European equities since the end of December, and especially for financial stocks," Ketterer said.

She said there "really was no other option" than reaching a deal for bondholders to take a haircut of 50 percent or more.

Ketterer said a Greek deal could help restore bond market confidence. That would help Italy manage its own debt crisis ? one that Ketterer views as more critical than Greece's because of Italy's greater size.

The investors who own Greek bonds are being represented by Charles Dallara, managing director of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, and Jean Lemierre, senior adviser to the chairman of the French bank BNP Paribas.

___

Elena Becatoros in Athens and Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_greece_financial_crisis

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Gunmen attack police station in Nigeria's Kano (Reuters)

KANO, Nigeria (Reuters) ? Gunmen bombed a police station on Sunday outside Nigeria's second city Kano, the police and witnesses said, leading to an hour of gunbattles in a region plagued by attacks from Islamist sect Boko Haram.

Kano state and its capital city of 10 million people have been under siege by gunmen from Boko Haram, which wants to impose sharia law across Nigeria.

"We were able to push them out of the area but they burnt part of the police station," Kano police commissioner Ibrahim Idris said. "It was a blast that caused damage to the station."

Boko Haram's attacks have become more sophisticated and deadly in Africa's top oil producer. A series of gun and bomb attacks, mostly on police stations, killed 186 people in Kano on January 20.

Witnesses said gunmen and armed police were in a shoot out for around an hour after the explosion at the police station at Naibawa district outside Kano.

"We are scared. The police and Boko Haram members are battling each other and there is gunfire everywhere," Usman Ibrahim Bello, a local resident told Reuters.

In an audio tape posted on the Internet on Thursday, the purported leader of Boko Haram, Abubakar Shekau, threatened to kill more security personnel and kidnap their families, and accused U.S. President Barack Obama of waging war on Islam.

Boko Haram, a movement loosely modelled on the Afghan Taliban whose name translates as "Western education is sinful," has been behind almost daily killings in its home base in the largely Muslim northeast. Its violence has spread west into other parts of the north and the capital Abuja since last year.

(Reporting by Mike Oboh; Writing by Joe Brock)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/africa/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120129/wl_nm/us_nigeria_attack

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RIM's new CEO on Android hardware: 'they are all the same'

CrackBerry interview

To say it's been an interesting year for Research in Motion and BlackBerry would certainly be an understatement. It was about 10 months ago that we first learned that RIM's tablet would be capable of running full-fledged Android applications, and suddenly we had to start caring about what was coming out of Waterloo.

This week RIM has undergone probably its most important change since realizing SurePress wasn't a sure thing -- co-founders Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie stepped down as co-CEOs, and chief operating officer Thorsten Heins has taken their place in the head office. There have been calls for RIM to adopt Android. There have been calls fro RIM to adopt Windows Phone. Really, everybody seems to know what's best for RIM.

Our pals at CrackBerry got some one-on-one time with Heins this week, and we're learning a little more about his position on Android -- mainly that he's unimpressed with the hardware on which it's running. "They are all the same," he says.

Here's what Heins told CrackBerry's Kevin Michaluk:

Kevin: I keep reading these articles that BlackBerry should build on Android, but I just don't understand them.
Thorsten: Just take a look where the Android OEMs are. I leave this to you. Take a look at their recent announcements and what you will immediately see is there is just no room for differentiation because they are all the same.

We've seen a lot of Android devices over the past year. Some good, some not. A lot of black slabs, to be sure. But also a dual-screen phone. Two phones with 3D screens. BlackBerry-esque phones with tiny screens and quint little keyboards. Thinner, lighter, faster, with web browsers that actually work and games you're not ashamed to play in public. Android hardware manufacturers might be guilty of too many models, but you certainly can't say they haven't experimented, even if it led to failure.

Before Heins bemoans the "sameness" of Android hardware, perhaps another look at RIM's own stable is in order.  

Check out Kevin's entire interview with Thorensten Heins at CrackBerry.com!

BlackBerry

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/1AUhpSe1FEw/story01.htm

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Iowa State stuns No. 5 Kansas, 72-64 (AP)

AMES, Iowa ? Royce White had 18 points and nine rebounds as Iowa State upset fifth-ranked Kansas 72-64 on Saturday, snapping the Jayhawks' winning streak at 10 games.

Melvin Ejim added 15 points for the Cyclones (15-6, 5-3 Big 12), who had lost 13 straight to Kansas since their last victory in 2005.

White, a 39 percent free thrower shooter in Big 12 games, hit a pair to put Iowa State up 64-59 with 1:47 left. Kansas threw the ball away and Chris Babb drained a 3 to give the Cyclones an eight-point lead with 55.6 seconds left.

Tyshawn Taylor led five players in double figures with 16 points for Kansas (17-4, 7-1), which hadn't lost since Dec. 19 against Davidson. Thomas Robinson had 13 points, but he committed five turnovers and the Jayhawks were outrebounded 36-23.

Iowa State students celebrated the biggest win of coach Fred Hoiberg's tenure by storming the floor.

This was Kansas' toughest true road test of the year so far ? and it ended with the Jayhawks' first true road loss of the season.

Kansas caught the Cyclones napping to start the second half and took its biggest lead to that point, 45-39, thanks to an 11-0 run. But big man Anthony Booker brought Iowa State back, sinking a rare 3-pointer to put the Cyclones ahead 50-49 with 12:13 left.

Neither team could get much going over the next 6 minutes, but Tyrus McGee's three-point play gave Iowa State a 56-53 lead with just over 6 minutes left. Robinson then blew an open dunk and White hit two layups ? one a reverse he spun off the glass ? to make it 60-55 Iowa State with 3:42 left.

White also had five assists, and Scott Christopherson finished with 14 points for the Cyclones.

Iowa State fed off the energy of its second sellout crowd of the year and jumped on the Jayhawks early.

Booker drilled a 3 and Babb followed with a steal and layup that put Iowa State ahead 19-11, prompting Kansas coach Bill Self to call timeout.

Kansas finally took a 31-29 lead on an impressive scoop through traffic from Taylor with 3:31 left before the break. Iowa State rallied to grab the halftime advantage, 37-33, despite committing 13 turnovers in the first 20 minutes.

The Cyclones led in part because of their defense on Robinson. He was 1-of-6 shooting in the first half and traveled three times trying to free himself up for shots in the paint.

Kansas certainly knew what Iowa State was capable of after the Cyclones threw a scare into the Jayhawks in Lawrence two weeks ago.

Iowa State led at halftime back on Jan. 14 and pushed its lead to as many as 12 points before Kansas stormed back for an 82-73 win. The Cyclones might have been able to pull off that upset had they shot better than 2 of 15 from 3-point range in the second half.

Iowa State didn't let the opportunity pass by this time around ? and it now has a marquee win that will look great on its resume come March.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120128/ap_on_sp_co_ga_su/bkc_t25_kansas_iowa_st

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How states fared on unemployment aid, at a glance (AP)

More people sought unemployment benefits last week, though the increase comes one week after applications fell to their lowest level in four years. Layoffs have fallen in recent months and fewer people are seeking benefits, signs of a healthier job market.

States with the biggest decreases:

New York: Down 27,713, due to fewer layoffs in the transportation, education and construction industries

Pennsylvania: Down 11,687, no reason given

North Carolina: Down 9,516 due to fewer layoffs in the textile, furniture and fixtures, services, construction and manufacturing industries

Georgia: Down 9,496, due to fewer layoffs in the service, construction, trade and manufacturing industries

Alabama: Down 7,639, due to fewer layoffs in the transportation, construction and apparel industries

Texas: Down 6,880, no reason given

States with the largest increases:

Florida: Up 2,711, due to layoffs in services, agriculture, construction and retail

California: Up 1,682, due to layoffs in services

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/us_unemployment_benefits_glance

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US cybersecurity efforts trigger privacy concerns

(AP) ? The federal government's plan to expand computer security protections into critical parts of private industry is raising concerns that the move will threaten Americans' civil liberties.

In a report for release Friday, The Constitution Project warns that as the Obama administration partners more with the energy, financial, communications and health care industries to monitor and protect networks, sensitive personal information of people who work for or communicate with those companies could be improperly or inadvertently disclosed.

While the government may have good intentions, it "runs the risk of establishing a program akin to wiretapping all network users' communications," the nonpartisan legal think tank says. The Associated Press obtained a copy of the report in advance.

Cybersecurity has become a rapidly expanding priority for the government as federal agencies, private companies and everyday people come under persistent and increasingly sophisticated computer attacks. The threat is diverse, ranging from computer hackers going after banking and financial accounts to terrorists or other nations breaching government networks to steal sensitive data or sabotage critical systems such as the electrical grid, nuclear plants or Wall Street.

Privacy has been a hotly debated issue, particularly as the Pentagon broadens its pilot program to help defense contractors protect their networks and systems. Several companies, including critical jet fighter and drone programs, have been attacked, although the Pentagon has said that no classified information was lost.

And there are plans for the Homeland Security Department to use the defense program as a model to prevent hackers and hostile nations from breaching critical infrastructure. Officials have suggested that Congress needs to craft legislation that would protect companies from certain privacy and other laws in order to share information with the government for cybersecurity purposes.

DHS spokesman Matt Chandler said the legislative proposals reflect the administration's commitment to privacy protections and contain standards to minimize contact with personal information while dealing with cybersecurity threats. "DHS builds strong privacy protections into the core of all cybersecurity programs and initiatives," Chandler said, adding that the agency realizes that providing assistance to private companies is a sensitive task that requires "trust and strict confidentiality."

The Constitution Project report recommends that officials limit the amount and nature of personal information shared between the public and private sectors. And it calls for strict oversight of the cyber programs by Congress and independent audits, to ensure that privacy rights have not been violated.

"The government should not be permitted to conduct an end-run around Fourth Amendment safeguards by relying upon private companies to monitor networks," it said.

In addition, the report raised concerns about the ongoing development of the Einstein 3 program, a government network monitoring system that would both detect and take action against cyberattacks on federal systems. DHS officials have said that extensive privacy protections are in place.

But the report expressed concerns that as DHS and the secretive National Security Agency share information about potential computer-based threats, the NSA could review communications from U.S. individuals without setting up privacy safeguards.

"With more and more people needing to share sensitive personal and financial data over the Internet, it is absolutely vital that, while we are looking to protect our networks against cyberattack, we also preserve our constitutionally guaranteed rights to privacy," said Constitution Project committee member Asa Hutchinson, a former DHS undersecretary who also served as a GOP congressman from Arkansas.

Lawmakers who have been wrestling with these issues over the past several years have several bills in the works, and most include some privacy provisions.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2012-01-27-US-Internet-Privacy/id-8961cefe930944ee9d1cc28352b3557e

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Alec Baldwin Wants To Knock Up Hot Yoga Instructor Girlfriend (VIDEO)

Time Running Out For Air Canada, Pilot Talks

Air Canada's refusal to extend a period of conciliated talks with its pilots' union raises the chance of a strike or lock-out at the country's biggest airline in February.

The 3,000-strong Air Canada Pilots Association said on Tuesday the carrier had declined to extend contract negotiations that had been taking place under a conciliator appointed by the federal government.

Negotiations now enter a 21-day cooling off period, during which talks between the two sides can continue, but under greater pressure, ACPA President Paul Strachan said on Wednesday.

"By starting this clock in the background it puts an unnecessary time constraint upon talks," Strachan said in an interview.

During this period, the pilots' union can seek a strike mandate from its members. After the 21 days run out, pilots, if they have the members' go-ahead, can walk off the job after giving the airline 72 hours notice. Air Canada can also lock out workers if they give the same notice.

Strachan said the union does not want to strike. "Our folks have more at stake than just about anybody. Executive officers come and go but the pilots are here for the long haul," he said.

If pilots should go on strike, it is likely to be short lived as the Canadian government has shown it will not tolerate labour disruption at Air Canada, which it sees as a threat to the economy. Ottawa stepped in twice last year to halt disruptions at the airline.

The pilots have been without a contract since March 31, 2011. They rejected a tentative settlement in May 2011.

"We remain committed to concluding an agreement without disruption and are awaiting ACPA's response to our proposal that was tabled January 16th," an Air Canada spokeswoman said.

Source: http://news.airwise.com/story/view/1327610196.html

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Mitt Romney's Struggle With Truth Continues

Mitt Romney's inexplicable compulsion to fudge facts continued in Thursday's debate, threatening to undermine his credibility over the long term. Romney's blurring came, as in previous debates, when he was challenged on his past.

On Thursday, his two most noticeable fibs involved whether he'd seen an ad -- a reprise of an earlier debate dodge -- and the nature of one of his investments.

The ad in question attacked Newt Gingrich for saying that Spanish is "the language of the ghetto." Romney, however, turned to Gingrich and said he didn't know whether the ad was true or not and wanted Gingrich to clarify.

"Let me ask the speaker a question. Did you say what the ad says or not? I don't know," Romney said.

CNN staff dug up the ad and Blitzer read the script to the candidates. Blitzer noted that Romney finished the ad by saying he approved the message.

At an earlier debate, Romney had deflected responsibility for super PAC attack ads, saying, "And with regards to their ads, I haven't seen them." Seconds later, he spoke as if he'd seen the ad. "The ad I saw said you were forced out of the speakership," Romney said.

The second truth question involved Romney's investment in Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which Romney said was in a "blind trust" managed without his knowledge by a trustee.

"What my trustee did is he loaned money to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And they got paid interest," Romney said. "But what the speaker did was get paid to promote Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac."

But, as the Boston Globe reported, the Fannie and Freddie investments were not in the blind trust: "Unlike most of Romney?s financial holdings, which are held in a blind trust that is overseen by a trustee and not known to Romney, this particular investment was among those that would have been known to Romney."

Romney adviser Eric Fehrnstrom acknowledged that not all of the Fannie and Freddie investments were managed by a blind trustee. "But," he wrote in an email, "in both cases the investments are not selected by Gov. Romney and he has no control over them."

Fehrnstrom added: "The campaign has produced 85 videos, TV ads and radio spots." Romney "doesn't recall every one."

Earlier on HuffPost:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/26/mitt-romney-truth-debate_n_1235573.html

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Greece tries to revive debt relief deal (AP)

ATHENS, Greece ? Greece will try to revive a debt relief deal needed to avoid a potentially disastrous default when it resumes talks on Thursday with its private creditors in Athens.

Greek Premier Lucas Papademos will meet with Charles Dallara, managing director of the Institute of International Finance, a banking lobby, and Jean Lemierre, senior adviser to the chairman of French bank BNP Paribas.

The euro100 billion ($129 billion) private debt writedown is a vital condition of a new bailout for Greece, which has been relying on international rescue loans since May 2010.

The recession-plagued country is at the heart of Europe's debt crisis, and fears that it could become the first of the 17 euro states to default have roiled global markets over the past two years.

If the writedown fails, Greece will be unable to repay a euro14.5 billion ($18.77 billion) bond on March 20. If that happened, it could then be forced to leave the euro, which would be disastrous for the country and destabilize the rest of the region.

Under the deal, banks and other private sector investors would swap their Greek government bonds for new ones with half the face value, longer repayment deadlines and potentially lower interest rates.

Following intensive talks in Athens last week, Dallara said private bondholders had made the "maximum" offer that would ensure the bond swap is voluntary, as initially intended, warning that the alternative was a Greek default. But eurozone finance ministers later increased the stakes, urging bondholders to accept a lower interest rate ? well below 4 percent on average ? on the new bonds.

The IIF said in a statement that the goal of the talks is to agree on all outstanding legal and technical issues as soon as possible.

Papademos' interim coalition government is hoping to conclude the negotiations by the end of this week, despite disagreements over the terms of the deal, which is intended to make Greece's borrowings sustainable in the long term by lowering the debt burden to 120 percent of GDP by 2020 from 160 percent in 2011.

"We hope the process ends quickly and we are able to implement the agreement, because the (writedown) must take place and the (new international bailout) must be signed if we want to keep financing the economy," government spokesman Pantelis Kapsis said.

"Developments could potentially be very rapid, and a series of issues could start to be concluded in a matter of days," he told private Flash radio.

Key members of the IIF had met in Paris on Wednesday to decide how to proceed after the eurozone countries demanded lower interest rates on the new bonds.

The eurozone ministers have taken a tough stance because whatever debt relief Greece doesn't get from the investors will have to come from them and the International Monetary Fund, the country's bailout rescuers.

"To ensure debt sustainability for Greece, it is essential that a new program be supported by a combination of private sector involvement and official sector support," William Murray, an IMF spokesman, said late Wednesday.

Murray said the IMF has not asked the European Central Bank, which holds more than euro40 billion ($52 billion) in Greek government bonds, to play any specific role in relieving Greece's debt pile. The ECB, as a public sector holder of Greek debt, is protected from any writedown.

"The Fund has no view on the relative contribution of private sector involvement and official sector support in achieving" the target of cutting Greece's debt-to-GDP ratio to 120 percent, Murray said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120126/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_greece_financial_crisis

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