Asian stocks up ahead of US 'fiscal cliff' talks

A woman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Asian markets have risen amid optimism that Japan?s new leaders will stimulate its sluggish economy. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

A woman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Asian markets have risen amid optimism that Japan?s new leaders will stimulate its sluggish economy. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

People walk by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Asian markets have risen amid optimism that Japan?s new leaders will stimulate its sluggish economy. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

A businessman walks by an electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Thursday, Dec. 27, 2012. Asian markets have risen amid optimism that Japan?s new leaders will stimulate its sluggish economy. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

BANGKOK (AP) ? Asian stock markets rose Friday, hours before President Barack Obama and key lawmakers were to meet at the White House to try to hammer out an 11th-hour budget compromise to avert the so-called fiscal cliff.

Lawmakers have until Monday night to reach a deal before hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and deep cuts to government spending kick in. Such a drastic reshuffling of money could throw the U.S. into another recession, economists have warned.

However, failure to avoid the fiscal cliff doesn't necessarily mean tax increases and spending cuts would become permanent, since the new Congress could pass legislation canceling them retroactively after it begins its work next year.

Japan's Nikkei 225 index marched higher, hitting its highest level since March 20, 2011. The Tokyo benchmark rose 1 percent to 10,428.36. Export shares posted big gains as the country's currency continued to recoil against the dollar. Mazda Motor Corp. jumped 4.2 percent and Isuzu Motors Ltd. surged 4.3 percent. Nintendo Co. advanced 3.4 percent.

Investors have been cheering newly named Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his calls for more public works spending to reinvigorate the economy. He also wants the Bank of Japan to raise its inflation target from 1 to 2 percent to drag the country out of two decades of deflation, or steadily declining prices that have deadened economic activity.

But Francis Lun, managing director of Lyncean Holdings in Hong Kong, said he was skeptical that the new government's roadmap would prove effective in the long run.

"He will increase the deficit, print more money and try to spend out of the recession. If you print or borrow money, you give the economy a sense of false hope," he said. "It's like taking opium. You feel good but eventually you have to come down."

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose less than 0.1 percent to 22,637.91, while South Korea's Kospi added 0.6 percent to 1,999. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 gained 0.5 percent to 4,671.30.

"The fiscal cliff seems to have lost its negative influence on global markets," said Lun. "Even if it falls into the fiscal cliff, you will only reduce the deficit by about $100 billion. In Chinese terms, it's like trying to douse a fire with a cup of water. They should do what Europe has done and try to impose austerity."

Markets got some lift from optimistic data out of the U.S. on Thursday and a statement from the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, who said in an interview that the worst of the debt crisis in the 17 European Union countries that use the euro appears to be over.

In the U.S., the average number of people seeking unemployment benefits over the past month fell to the lowest level since March 2008, a sign that the job market is healing.

Worries over U.S. budget negotiations sent Wall Street slightly lower on Thursday. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 0.1 percent to 13,096.31. The Standard & Poor's 500 fell 0.1 percent to 1,418.10, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 0.1 percent to 2,985.91.

Benchmark oil for February delivery rose 41 cents to $91.28 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 11 cents to finish at $90.87 per barrel.

In currencies, the euro fell slightly to $1.3239 from $1.3240 late Thursday in New York. The dollar gained to 86.45 yen from 86.02 yen.

___

Follow Pamela Sampson on Twitter at http://twitter.com/pamelasampson.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-12-28-World%20Markets/id-d89d1968108a4dbdabc2baf2945c634a

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Coach cleared of child porn wants files sealed

MANKATO, Minn. (AP) ? Minnesota State University, Mankato, head football coach Todd Hoffner, who was cleared of child pornography charges last month that stemmed from videos found on his cellphone of his naked children clowning around after a bath, is suing to keep the police investigative reports sealed.

Hoffner has been taken off administrative leave, but he hasn't been reinstated as head coach and is facing a 20-day, unpaid school suspension in January for unspecified reasons. He sued the state and Blue Earth County earlier this month in an effort to keep the police reports private, after a Twin Cities television station asked to see them. The lawsuit seeks a temporary restraining order that would keep anyone from disseminating the investigative file.

District Court Judge Krista Jass ruled last week that the reports will remain private until they can be reviewed, the Mankato Free Press reported (http://bit.ly/ZFYA0c ).

Jass ordered prosecutors to gather all investigative reports and turn them over to Hoffner's attorney, Jim Fleming. He'll be allowed to file a sealed list of information that he believes should be kept from the public. After receiving Fleming's list, Jass will decide what should remain sealed.

Fleming said in a court affidavit that releasing the information would harm Hoffner.

"Plaintiff Mr. Hoffner has an ongoing investigation relative to his employment as a head football coach at (MSU)," Fleming's affidavit said. "Release of private non-public data could irreparably harm (Hoffner) with respect to that investigation that a civil lawsuit for damages would not fully compensate."

Hoffner was charged with child porn possession in August after school officials found videos of his naked children on his work-issued cellphone, which he had turned in to be repaired. Jass dismissed the criminal charges last month after concluding that the short videos of his children acting silly after a bath were not child porn and showed nothing illegal.

Last week, the university said it had taken Hoffner off of administrative leave but hadn't reinstated him as coach. In a statement, the university didn't give reasons for the decision, citing data privacy laws. But the school did say it was still investigating a complaint against Hoffner. University officials didn't elaborate.

Connie Howard, an attorney for the union representing Hoffner, told The Associated Press by email last week that Hoffner was being suspended without pay for 20 days starting Jan. 7. She didn't give the reason for the suspension.

Fleming told the newspaper that he wants the information sealed to protect Hoffner's privacy. Investigators went through computer files and took pictures of items in his house.

"We're not hiding anything from anybody," Fleming said.

___

Information from: The Free Press, http://www.mankatofreepress.com

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2012-12-28-Minn%20St-Mankato-Child%20Porn/id-5ab3ef913be848818419f3c9238c553d

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IUFF is the new contest for young filmmakers who create fashion ...

International upcoming fashion filmmakers?

?

First fashion video festival during Milano Fashion City program.
Diana Secl??presents the new talent contest about DIRECTION, PHOTOGRAPHY, STYLING and DESIGN.
IUFF is reserved to international talents aged 18/36 years old which will achieve fashion short video.

IMPORTANT:?video can be already produced!!!

Theme:?accessory touch
There ?has to be one of the following accessory in the video: bag/ shoes/ glasses/ fur

Accessory is not only the fashion video main actor but just feeling
(please have a look to submission for all accessories details)

Both juries will confer thirty finalists and five winners.

Every award gives the possibility to the winner of achieving a short fashion video committed by every fair following the category linked to it and it will be visible on the proper web site. All the total amount will be 7.500 euro
IUFF award will use video winner to promote next festival season all over the world.

But also ? every winner will have the possibility, with our help, coming to Milan for 2 nights!!

DEADLINE SUBMISSION: january 18, 2013

Source: http://www.filmfestivals.com/blog/iuff/iuff_is_the_new_contest_for_young_filmmakers_who_create_fashion_short_video_we_need_your_talent

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Why Trading Education Programs Are a Good Investment ? Wealth ...

Day trading is a hyper-competitive job, and although the dream of trading from home in your pajamas is often touted, the truth is that it takes hard work to be successful. Giving yourself an edge through things like advanced education can make the difference between full-time day trading and not giving up your day job.
Investing:Day-Trading Articles from EzineArticles.com

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Top 4 Small-Cap Stocks In The Agricultural Chemicals Industry With ...

Below are the top small-cap agricultural chemicals stocks on the NYSE and the NASDAQ in terms of earnings per share.

The trailing-twelve-month earnings per share at Rentech Nitrogen Partners LP (NYSE: RNF) is $2.65. Rentech Nitrogen's operating margin for the same period is 47.77%.

The trailing-twelve-month earnings per share at CVR Partners LP (NYSE: UAN) is $1.88. CVR Partners' ROE for the same period is 28.92%.

The trailing-twelve-month earnings per share at China Green Agriculture (NYSE: CGA) is $1.48. China Green Agriculture's revenue for the same period is $203.93 million.

The trailing-twelve-month earnings per share at Intrepid Potash (NYSE: IPI) is $1.30. Intrepid Potash's PEG ratio is 1.96.

(c) 2012 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.

Tags: Agricultural Chemicals Industry, Highest EPS, small-cap

Posted in: Trading Ideas

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Source: http://www.benzinga.com/trading-ideas/12/12/3200341/top-4-small-cap-stocks-in-the-agricultural-chemicals-industry-with-the-h

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Scientists home in on cause of osteoarthritis pain

Dec. 27, 2012 ? Researchers at Rush University Medical Center, in collaboration with researchers at Northwestern University, have identified a molecular mechanism central to the development of osteoarthritis (OA) pain, a finding that could have major implications for future treatment of this often-debilitating condition.

"Clinically, scientists have focused on trying to understand how cartilage and joints degenerate in osteoarthritis. But no one knows why it hurts," said Dr. Anne-Marie Malfait, associate professor of biochemistry and of internal medicine at Rush, who led the study. An article describing the research was published in the Dec. 11 print version of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Joint pain associated with OA has unique clinical features that provide insight into the mechanisms that cause it. First, joint pain has a strong mechanical component: It is typically triggered by specific activities (for example, climbing stairs elicits knee pain) and is relieved by rest. As structural joint disease advances, pain may also occur in rest. Heightened sensitivity to pain, including mechanical allodynia (pain caused by a stimulus that does not normally evoke pain, such as lightly brushing the skin with a cotton swab), and reduced pain-pressure thresholds are features of OA.

Malfait and her colleagues took a novel approach to unraveling molecular pathways of OA pain in a surgical mouse model exhibiting the slow, chronically progressive development of the disease. The study was conducted longitudinally, that is, the researchers were able to monitor development of both pain behaviors and molecular events in the sensory neurons of the knee and correlate the data from repeated observations over an extended period.

"This method essentially provides us with a longitudinal 'read-out' of the development of OA pain and pain-related behaviors, in a mouse model" Malfait said.

The researchers assessed development of pain-related behaviors and concomitant changes in dorsal root ganglia (DRG), nerves that carry signals from sensory organs toward the brain. They found that a chemokine known as monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1 (CCL2) and its receptor, chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2), are central to the development of pain associated with knee OA.

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 regulates migration and infiltration of monocytes into tissues where they replenish infection-fighting macrophages. Previous research has shown that MCP-1/CCR2 are central in pain development following nerve injury.

In the study, following surgery the laboratory mice developed mechanical allodynia that lasted 16 weeks. Levels of MCP-1, CCR2 mRNA and protein were temporarily elevated, and neuronal signaling activity increased in the DRG at eight weeks after surgery. This result correlated with the presentation of movement-provoked pain behaviors (for instance, mice with OA travelled less distance, when monitored overnight, and climbed less often on the lid of their cage -- suggesting that they avoid movement that triggers pain) which were maintained up to 16 weeks.

Mice that lack Ccr2 (knockout mice) also developed mechanical allodynia, but this began to resolve from eight weeks onward. Despite having severe allodynia and structural knee joint damage equal to that in normal mice, Ccr2-knockout mice did not develop movement-provoked pain behaviors at eight weeks.

To confirm the key role of CCR2 signaling in development of the observed movement-provoked pain behavior after surgery, the researchers administered a CCR2 receptor-blocker to normal mice at nine weeks after surgery and found that this reversed the decrease in distance traveled, that is, movement-provoked pain behavior.

Interestingly, levels of MCP-1 and CCR2 returned to baseline or lower by 16 weeks in mice exhibiting movement-provoked pain behaviors. This finding may suggest that the MCP-1/CCR2 pathway is involved only in the initiation of changes in the DRG, but once macrophages are present, the process is no longer dependent on increased MCP-1/CCR2.

"Increased expression of both MCP-1 and its receptor CCR2 may mediate increased pain signaling through direct excitation of DRG neurons, as well as through attracting macrophages to the DRG," the researchers said.

"This is an important contribution to the field of osteoarthritis research. Rather than looking at the cartilage breakdown pathway in osteoarthritis, Dr. Malfait and her colleagues are looking at the pain pathway, and this can take OA research in to a novel direction that can lead to new pain remedies in the future," said Dr. Joshua Jacobs, professor and chairman of orthopedic surgery at Rush University Medical Center.

Treatment of OA in the United States costs almost $200 billion annually. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it is expected that by 2030 nearly 70 million adults in the U.S. will have been diagnosed with some form of arthritis.

According to the Arthritis Foundation, an estimated 27 million Americans live with OA, but, despite the frequency of the disease, its cause is still not completely known and there is no cure. In fact, many different factors may play a role in whether or not you get OA, including age, obesity, injury or overuse and genetics.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the oldest and most common forms of arthritis and is a chronic condition characterized by the breakdown of the joint's cartilage. Cartilage is the part of the joint that cushions the ends of the bones and allows easy movement of joints. The breakdown of cartilage causes the bones to rub against each other, causing stiffness, pain and loss of movement in the joint.

Malfait's co-researchers on this study were Rush scientists Rachel E. Miller. PhD, Phuoong B. Tran, PhD, Rosalina Das, and Nayereh Ghoreishi-Haack, and Dr. Richard J. Miller, PhD, and Dongjun Ren from Northwestern University.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Rush University Medical Center.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. R. E. Miller, P. B. Tran, R. Das, N. Ghoreishi-Haack, D. Ren, R. J. Miller, A.-M. Malfait. CCR2 chemokine receptor signaling mediates pain in experimental osteoarthritis. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2012; 109 (50): 20602 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1209294110

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/OsgbDFVFGqI/121227173053.htm

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So Did Dick Armey Break the Law? (talking-points-memo)

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