FOREX-Dollar rebounds from four-month low; yen gains

NEW YORK, May 11 (Reuters) - The dollar rose on Monday, rebounding from a four-month low as investors booked profits on a rally in riskier assets last week while persistent economic worries boosted the greenback's safe-haven appeal.
The yen posted broad gains as European shares fell and U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open. The U.S. and Japanese currencies often gain when risk aversion rises as they are perceived as safer places to park money in times of stress.
Hopes that the worst of the economic slump and financial crisis is over pushed the dollar to multi-month lows earlier in the global session. But with the economic outlook still far from certain, investors were reluctant to push riskier assets even higher, analysts said.

posted date
11-05-09

MOTHER TERESA

Born August 26, 1910, in Skopje, Macedonia. Youngest of 2 sisters, 1 brother. Father: wealthy businessman. Raised Catholic. Well schooled. Childhood distinctions: pious, bookish. Never married. 1919 father Nikolai died, possibly murdered. 1922 active in church, first considered life as nun. 1925 read of Jesuit work in India. 1928 screened by Loreto teaching nuns in Ireland. 1929 arrived India. 1931 first vows, took name 'Teresa', began teaching girls at St. Mary's school in Calcutta. 1937 final vows, became Mother Superior of school. 1946 murderous riots in India, heard God 'call' her to help the poor. 1948 left cloister to work slums. 1949 became citizen of India. 1950 Vatican approved Missionaries of Charity order for Calcutta diocese. 1952 opened 'House of the Dying'. 1953 moved order into Motherhouse on Lower Circular Road. 1955 opened Children's Home. 1957 began mobile 'leprosariums'. 1960 order allowed to serve all of India, met Pope John XXIII in Rome. 1961 bought land for leper town. 1963 Missionary Brothers of Charity began. 1965 Vatican approved order for other countries, first house in Colombia. 1969 work filmed by Malcolm Muggeridge. 1970 Something Beautiful for God published by Muggeridge. 1973 Templeton Award. 1979 Nobel Prize for Peace. 1983 first of many health setbacks. 1996 relieved as Mother Superior. Died September 5, 1997.

Gov't sticks with Bush-era polar bear rule

WASHINGTON – The Obama administration on Friday let stand a Bush-era regulation that limits protection of the polar bear from global warming, saying that a law protecting endangered species shouldn't be used to take on the broader issue of climate change.
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said that he will not rescind the Bush rule, although Congress gave him authority to do so. The bear was declared threatened under the Endangered Species Act a little over a year ago, because global warming is harming its habitat.
Salazar said rescinding the Bush rule "would provide no more protection for the polar bear and result in uncertainty and confusion about the management of the species."
The iconic bear was declared a threatened species because global warming is causing a severe decline in Arctic sea ice. But the Bush administration rules limit that protection, saying no action outside the Arctic region could be considered a threat to the bear under the law.
Environmentalists have strongly opposed the rule as have many members of Congress. They argued the limits violate the Endangered Species Act because the release of greenhouse gases from power plants, factories and cars indirectly threaten the bear's survival.
But Salazar said the answer to dealing with global warming rests in a broader, comprehensive approach that limits greenhouse gases.
"The Endangered Species Act is not the appropriate tool for us to deal with what is a global issue, and that is the issue of global warming," said Salazar in a conference call with reporters.
In March, federal lawmakers authorized Salazar to scrap the Bush regulation without going through a long regulatory process. The deadline for such action was Saturday, 60 days after Congress acted.
When the Bush administration in March 2008 declared the bear a threatened species, the declaration came with a "special rule" that said no action outside the polar bear's Arctic habitat — such as carbon dioxide emissions from power plants thousands of miles away — could be viewed as detrimental to the bear's survival.
Business groups and their supporters in Congress have argued strongly that the Endangered Species Act is the improper vehicle for addressing climate change and that there are other ways to deal with the global environmental issue.
Congress is trying to craft broad legislation that would limit greenhouse gases and, separately, the Environmental Protection Agency has begun a lengthy regulatory process that could lead to heat-trapping emissions being controlled under the federal Clean Air Act. Last month, the EPA declared carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels and other greenhouse gases a danger to public health.
When the polar bear was declared threatened in 2008, environmentalists hoped they could use the endangered species law to force broader nationwide limits on greenhouse gases.

Studies say 'hobbit' previously unknown species

PARIS (AFP) – The tiny ancient humans dubbed hobbits, whose remains were discovered on an Indonesian island in 2003, were a previously unknown species altogether, according to two new studies.
Debate has raged in the scientific community since the fossils were found on the island of Flores, with some experts insisting they were descended from Homo erectus and others saying evolution could not account for their small brains.
About a metre (three feet) tall and weighing 30 kilos (65 pounds), the tiny, tool-making hunters may have roamed the remote island as recently as 8,000 years ago. Their fossils are about 18,000 years old.
Many scientists have said Homo floresiensis, as the creature is now formally known, was a prehistoric human stunted by natural selection over millennia through a process called insular dwarfing.
Others countered that even this evolutionary shrinking, well documented in island-bound animals, could not account for the chimpanzee-sized brain -- just a third the size of that in a modern human being.

Traders cash in winnings after week's rally

NEW YORK – Investors heard some more good news about the economy Thursday but locked in profits anyway following huge gains earlier in the week.
Upbeat reports on the job market and retail sales initially sent stocks higher but the gains eroded by mid-morning as traders asked "What's next?" and trimmed their holdings following the 4.8 percent gain so far this week in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.
"This is a market that is starting to bake in a lot of positive surprises," said Craig Peckham, a market strategist at Jefferies & Co.
The selling comes ahead of the formal release of results from the government's "stress tests" of bank balance sheets after the closing bell. News reports have already given investors a decent idea of what to expect so analysts aren't predicting big surprises.
A massive two-month rally has left the S&P 500 index in the black for the year and up more than 30 percent from 12-year lows reached in early March. Analysts said it wasn't surprising that the market would take a break after such big gains.
Technology shares posted the biggest losses Thursday after security software maker Symantec Corp. posted weaker-than-expected results. Retailers were mixed even after many of them, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., reported better-than-expected April sales.
"The fact that we're seeing the retailers sell off on these positive surprises suggests the bar has been raised on what companies need to do to take stocks higher," Peckham said.
In midday trading, the Dow Jones industrial average fell 62.04, or 0.7 percent, to 8,450.24 a day after the blue chips jumped 102 points to close above the 8,500 level for the first time in four months. The index is down only 3 percent for the year.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 5.46, or 0.6 percent, to 914.07, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 30.16, or 1.7 percent, to 1,728.94.
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, addressing a Fed conference, called for a holistic approach to strengthening oversight of the banking system to prevent future financial crises. He said regulators must sharpen their assessments of individuals banks and examine the financial system as a whole to detect risks that could endanger the normal flow of credit, market operations and commerce.
In economic news, the Labor Department's tally of new jobless claims fell to 601,000 from 631,000 the previous week, coming in well below the 635,000 economists had been expecting. However the number of unemployed workers getting benefits climbed to a new record.
There were also reports showing that productivity rebounded slightly in the first quarter while wage pressures eased.
Wal-Mart said sales of Easter merchandise and higher traffic helped its sales jump 5 percent, much more than the 2.9 percent rise analysts had forecast. Wal-Mart rose 32 cents to $49.83.
The well-being of retailers is key to the economy because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of economic activity.
Symantec reported a loss for its fiscal 2009 fourth quarter, hurt by a hefty goodwill impairment charge and lower-than-expected revenue. The stock fell $2.48, or 14.1 percent, to $15.11.
Financial stocks rose ahead of the government report cards on banks. The tests, designed to determine which banks would need a stronger capital base if the economy weakens, are at the crux of the Obama administration's plan to fortify the financial system. The market rallied this week ahead of the results, despite some initial concerns that the tests would show more pain in the industry.
Citigroup Inc. rose 5 cents to $3.91, while Bank of America Corp. rose $1.43, or 11.3 percent, to $14.12. Both banks are among those told by regulators they will need to raise more money. Regions Financial Corp. will also need to raise more money, according to people briefed on the results, as will Wells Fargo & Co. Regions Financial fell 3 cents to $5.80, while Wells Fargo fell $1.52, or 5.7 percent, to $25.32.
Bond prices dropped as demand for government debt waned. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note jumped to 3.25 percent from 3.16 percent late Wednesday.
The dollar rose against the euro and the British pound after the European Central Bank cut its key interest rate a quarter point to 1 percent. Gold prices rose.
Light, sweet crude rose $1.36 to $57.70 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Overseas, Japan's Nikkei stock average jumped 4.6 percent. In afternoon trading, Britain's FTSE 100 rose less than 0.1 percent, Germany's DAX index fell 1.6 percent, and France's CAC-40 fell 1 percent

Thousands of civilians flee Pakistani war zone

MARDAN, Pakistan - Thousands of terrified Pakistanis dodged Taliban roadblocks to flee fighting Thursday between the army and insurgents in a northwestern valley, streaming into refugee camps and crowding hospitals with their fatigued and hungry children

JACKIE CHAN

JACKIE CHAN

Jackie Chan waited a few months longer than other children to be born--instead of nine months, he took twelve. Those three extra months forced his mother to have a caesarean section, and when Jackie finally emerged, he was a whopping twelve pounds! On April 7th, 1954, Jackie Chan was born in Hong Kong. The operation that his mother was forced to have put the Chan family in severe debt, and Chan's father nearly sold the newborn boy in order to pay the hospital. Luckily, his friends stepped in and raised enough money to keep little Jackie in the family.
Jackie grew up in poverty in Hong Kong until about the age of six. Then, in 1960, his family moved to Australia where his father took a job as a cook for the Australian Embassy. Jackie did so poorly in school there that he was never traditionally educated past the American equivalent of first grade. Instead, when he was seven, his family sent him back to Hong Kong to join the Peking Opera School. It was here that Jackie learned martial arts, acrobatics, singing, dancing and acting. He lived at the School until the age of 17, when he struck out on his own.

At first, Jackie got lots of small roles in movies as an extra or a stuntman. In fact, one of Jackie's first movie appearances was in a Bruce Lee film called "Enter the Dragon," in whichJackie gets thrown through a wall by Lee. Then, as he gained more experience, he won lead roles. However, these roles were attempting to mold him into a second Bruce Lee, which Jackie wasn't quite comfortable with. His career did not really take off until 1978, in a movie called "Snake in the Eagle's Shadow." This movie allowed Jackie to show off more of his comedic abilities and he could define himself more as a character. The movie was a hit! His next film was even more successful--"Drunken Master" broke box office records. Jackie realized he liked having more control over his movies, and started to direct and choreograph them himself. In his movies, Jackie mainly showcases his knowledge of the Shaolin school of martial arts, sometimes using Hapkido and Wing Chun techniques as well.
Jackie tried to get into Hollywood several times, but with little success. Finally, in 1995, "Rumble in the Bronx" was released. Jackie immediately got attention for his incredible stunts, and the outtakes that would eventually become his trademark amazed audiences. Nobody could believe he really did everything they saw on-screen! Jackie stated that he never wants to cheat his audience, so he performs all his own stunts. Despite numerous accidents, some of which have left him hospitalized for days, Jackie continues to attempt daredevil tricks for the camera.
Jackie Chan does more than make incredible movies, though. He also founded the Jackie Chan Charitable Foundation in Hong Kong, and then in Japan. This foundation provides scholarships to needy students and assists injured performers and their families. He also has a Jackie Chan Youth Center in Hong Kong.

Jackie assists those in America as well as his home country. He raised $300,000 dollars for an organization called Self-Help for the Elderly, which is based in San Francisco. The organization dedicated a center for Alzheimer's patients in Jackie's name in gratitude for his efforts. Another organization, called the Jackie Chan Sends Warmth Movement, provided winter coats for the elderly and homeless.
Jackie Chan has come a long way from his poverty-stricken childhood in Hong Kong, but he hasn't forgotten that there are still people suffering. Besides using laughter to heal and entertain his audiences, Jackie continues to dedicate his time and money to worthwhile causes.

QUAID-E-AZAM

FREEDOM HERO: QUAID-E-AZAM

Every person in this world has a hero. People have heroes because they really admire that person and they really look up to that person. They want to do what they have done and they have achieved in their life. Like every person, I also have a hero. My hero had a great personality and a great heart. His name is Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah.

I choose him as my hero because I really admire him. I admire his style, his personality and what he did for the Muslims of our country. He gave Muslims their freedom from the British Empire that was ruling at that time

Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah was born on Dec. 25th, 1876, to a prominent mercantile family in Karachi. He was educated at the Sindh Madrassat-ul-Islam and the Christian Mission School. Jinnah joined the Lincoln's Inn in 1893 to become the youngest Indian to be called to the Bar. Three years later, he became Bombay's most famous lawyer. He formally entered politics in 1905 from the platform of the Indian National Congress. He went to England in that year as a member of a congress delegation to plead the cause of Indian self-governemnt during the British elections.
He got us, the Muslims, freedom by forming a political group called the Muslim League. When he talked to all the Muslims around in the sub-continent at that time, he said, "We are a nation with our own distinctive culture and civilization, language and literature, art and architecture, names and nomenclature, sense of values and proportion, legal laws and moral code, customs and calandar, history and tradition, aptitudes and ambitions; in short, we have our own distinctive outlook on life and of life. By all canons of international law, we are a nation."
The Muslim league had a great impact on the nature of the Indian politics. By making the Muslim League, it shattered forever Hindu dreams of a pseudo-India. The British and the Indians were shocked at how all the Muslims came up together, asking for them to give them their own free country, which is now Pakistan.

To get the Muslim people freedom, Quaid-e-Azam Mohammad Ali Jinnah played a big role. He was the only Muslim to stand up and rally all the Muslims together so they could have their freedom on Aug. 14, 1947. Before dying on Sept. 11th, 1948, he gave the Pakistanis a last message: "The foundations of your state have been laid and it is now for you to build and build as quickly and as well as you can."
Most people also admired him and one even said, "Gandhi died by the hands of an assassin; Jinnah died by his devotion to Pakistan".
That's why I really admire him. He is like a hero to everyone in my country. This is because of what he did for our country and for the Muslims. He fought so much for us and he did so much for us that no one can ever forget. You always hear about Gandhi and how he did so much for India, but you never hear about Quaid-e-Azam who did everything to get us at the point that we are right now. He is a great freedom hero for me.

JOKES OF THE DAY

JOKES

Antartian boy and his father were visiting a mall. They were amazed by almost everything they saw, but especially by two shiny, silver walls that could move apart and back together again.The boy asked his father, "What is this, Father?" The father [never having seen an elevator] responded "Son, I have never seen anything like this in my life, I don't know what it is."While the boy and his father were watching wide-eyed, an old lady in a wheel chair rolled up to the moving walls and pressed a button. The walls opened and the lady rolled between them into a small room.The walls closed and the boy and his father watched small circles of lights with numbers above the walls light up. They continued to watch the circles light up in the reverse direction.The walls opened up again and a beautiful 24-year-old woman stepped out. The father said to his son, "Go get your mother."

Motorola Scrambles to Restore Its Lost Cellphone Glory

Motorola has had its ups and downs. Fifteen years ago, a gray brick Motorola handset was synonymous with mobile phone. Sales slipped, but the company came back five years ago with the sleek Razr, the must-have cellphone.

Motorola is not one of those companies that can blame its woes on the economy,” he said. “It’s purely self-inflicted.”
James Kelleher, an analyst with Argus Research, said Mr. Jha’s more modest goals are appropriate. Success, Mr. Kelleher said, might be defined as being a strong regional player that settles for less than 10 percent of worldwide market share.
“The analogy is General Motors,” he said. “They once had 50 percent market share and they’re not getting it back.”