Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.

Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they cheered and sparked up in unison.

A few dozen people gathered on a sidewalk outside the north Seattle headquarters of the annual Hempfest celebration and did the same, offering joints to reporters and blowing smoke into television news cameras.

"I feel like a kid in a candy store!" shouted Hempfest volunteer Darby Hageman. "It's all becoming real now!"

Washington and Colorado became the first states to vote to decriminalize and regulate the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by adults over 21. Both measures call for setting up state licensing schemes for pot growers, processors and retail stores. Colorado's law is set to take effect by Jan. 5.

Technically, Washington's new marijuana law still forbids smoking pot in public, which remains punishable by a fine, like drinking in public. But pot fans wanted a party, and Seattle police weren't about to write them any tickets.

In another sweeping change for Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday signed into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage. The state joins several others that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.

The mood was festive in Seattle as dozens of gay and lesbian couples got in line to pick up marriage licenses at the King County auditor's office early Thursday.

King County and Thurston County announced they would open their auditors' offices shortly after midnight Wednesday to accommodate those who wanted to be among the first to get their licenses.

Kelly Middleton and her partner Amanda Dollente got in line at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Hours later, as the line grew, volunteers distributed roses and a group of men and women serenaded the waiting line to the tune of "Chapel of Love."

Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday.

In dealing with marijuana, the Seattle Police Department told its 1,300 officers on Wednesday, just before legalization took hold, that until further notice they shall not issue citations for public marijuana use.

Officers will be advising people not to smoke in public, police spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote on the SPD Blotter. "The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."

He offered a catchy new directive referring to the film "The Big Lebowski," popular with many marijuana fans: "The Dude abides, and says 'take it inside!'"

"This is a big day because all our lives we've been living under the iron curtain of prohibition," said Hempfest director Vivian McPeak. "The whole world sees that prohibition just took a body blow."

Washington's new law decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce for those over 21, but for now selling marijuana remains illegal. I-502 gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores, with the marijuana taxed 25 percent at each stage. Analysts have estimated that a legal pot market could bring Washington hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue for schools, health care and basic government functions.

But marijuana remains illegal under federal law. That means federal agents can still arrest people for it, and it's banned from federal properties, including military bases and national parks.

The Justice Department has not said whether it will sue to try to block the regulatory schemes in Washington and Colorado from taking effect.

"The department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged," said a statement issued Wednesday by the Seattle U.S. attorney's office. "Neither states nor the executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress."

The legal question is whether the establishment of a regulated marijuana market would "frustrate the purpose" of the federal pot prohibition, and many constitutional law scholars say it very likely would.

That leaves the political question of whether the administration wants to try to block the regulatory system, even though it would remain legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Alison Holcomb is the drug policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and served as the campaign manager for New Approach Washington, which led the legalization drive. She said the voters clearly showed they're done with marijuana prohibition.

"New Approach Washington sponsors and the ACLU look forward to working with state and federal officials and to ensure the law is fully and fairly implemented," she said.

___

Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle

Read More..

Wall Street Week Ahead: "Cliff" worries may drive tax selling

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors typically sell stocks to cut their losses at year end. But worries about the "fiscal cliff" - and the possibility of higher taxes in 2013 - may act as the greatest incentive to sell both winners and losers by December 31.

The $600 billion of automatic tax increases and spending cuts scheduled for the beginning of next year includes higher rates for capital gains, making tax-loss selling even more appealing than usual.

Tax-related selling may be behind the weaker trend in the shares of market leader Apple , analysts said. The stock is down 20 percent for the quarter, but it's still up nearly 32 percent for the year.

Apple dropped 8.9 percent in this past week alone. For a stock that gained more than 25 percent a year for four consecutive years, the embedded capital gains suddenly look like a selling opportunity if one's tax bill is going to jump sharply just because the calendar changes.

"Tax-loss selling is always a factor (but) tax-gains selling has been a factor this year," said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

"You have a lot of high-net-worth individuals in taxable accounts, and that could be what's affecting stocks like Apple. If you look at the stocks that people have their largest gains in, they seem to be under a little bit more pressure here than usual."

Of this year's top 20 performers in the S&P 1500 index, which includes large, small and mid-cap stocks, all but four have lost ground in the last five trading sessions.

The rush to avoid higher taxes on portfolio gains could cause additional weakness.

The S&P 500 ended the week up just 0.1 percent after another week of trading largely tied to fiscal cliff negotiation news, which has pushed the market in both directions.

A PAIN PILL FROM THE FED?

Next week's Federal Reserve meeting could offer some relief if policymakers announce further plans to help the lackluster U.S. economy. The Federal Open Market Committee will meet on Tuesday and Wednesday. The policy statement is expected at about 12:30 p.m. on Wednesday after the conclusion of the meeting - the Fed's last one for the year.

Friday's jobs report showing non-farm payrolls added 146,000 jobs in November eased worries that Superstorm Sandy had hit the labor market hard.

"After the FOMC meeting, I think it's going to be downhill from there as worries about the fiscal cliff really take center stage and prospects of a deal become less and less likely," said Mohannad Aama, managing director of Beam Capital Management LLC in New York.

"I think we are likely to see an escalation in profit-taking ahead of tax rates going up next year," he said.

MORE VOLUME AND VOLATILITY

Volume could increase as investors try to shift positions before year end, some analysts said.

While most of that would be in stocks, some of the extra trading volume could spill over into options, said J.J. Kinahan, TD Ameritrade's chief derivatives strategist.

Volatility could pick up as well, and some of that is already being seen in Apple's stock.

"The actual volatility in Apple has been very high while the market itself has been calm. I expect Apple's volatility to carry over into the market volatility," said Enis Taner, global macro editor at RiskReversal.com, an options trading firm in New York.

Shares of Apple, the largest U.S. company by market value, registered their worst week since May 2010. In another bearish sign, the stock's 50-day moving average fell to $599.52 - below its 200-day moving average at $601.38.

"There's a lot of tax-related selling happening now, and it will continue to happen. Apple is an example, even (though) there are other factors involved with Apple," Aama said.

While investors may be selling stocks to avoid higher taxes in 2013, companies may continue to announce special and accelerated dividend payments before year end. Among the latest, Expedia announced a special dividend of 52 cents a share to be paid on December 28.

To be sure, the big sell-off in stocks following the November 6 election was likely related to tax selling, making it hard to judge how much more is to come.

Bruce Zaro, chief technical strategist at Delta Global Asset Management in Boston, said there's a decent chance that the market could rally before year end.

"Even with little or spotty news that one would put in the positive bucket regarding the (cliff) negotiations, the market has basically hung in there, and I think it's hung in there in anticipation of something coming," he said.

(Wall St Week Ahead runs every Friday. Questions or comments on this column can be emailed to: caroline.valetkevitch(at)thomsonreuters.com)

(Reporting by Caroline Valetkevitch; Editing by Jan Paschal; Multimedia versions of Reuters Top News are now available for:; 3000 Xtra: visit Reuters Top News; BridgeStation: view story .134; For London stock market outlook please click on .L/O; Pan-European stock market outlook .EU/O; Tokyo stock market outlook .T/O; Wall St Week Ahead runs every Friday.)

Read More..

Egypt struggle seen costing Mursi, even if he wins

CAIRO (Reuters) - The crisis unleashed by President Mohamed Mursi's bid to wrap up Egypt's transition on his own terms has eroded his nation's faith in their nascent democracy and will complicate the already unenviable task of government.

His effort to drive through a constitution against the wishes of major sections of society, including a Christian minority, has damaged prospects for building consensus needed to tackle challenges ahead, such as fixing a broken economy.

Having promised to be a president for all, Mursi stands accused of putting the interests of his group, the Muslim Brotherhood, ahead of others who say their aspirations are not reflected in the draft to be put to a December 15 referendum.

On the other side, suspicions harbored by Islamists towards their secular-minded opponents have only deepened as a result of the turmoil ignited by Mursi's effort to fast-track the final stage of the transition from Hosni Mubarak's rule.

With the more extreme among them opposed to the very notion of democracy, the Islamists say their rivals are not respecting the rules of the game that put them in the driving seat by winning free and fair elections.

People anxious to see Egypt recover from two years of turbulence fear bad blood could persist and squash hopes for cooperation needed to help Mursi rule smoothly and deliver much-needed reforms.

"If they succeed in the referendum, they will see that as a step forward, but not without cost," said a Western diplomat.

Though Mursi won international praise for mediating a truce in Gaza, the violence on his own streets worries the West and particularly the United States, which has given Cairo billions of dollars in military and other aid since Egypt made peace with Israel in 1979. U.S. President Barack Obama told Mursi on Thursday of his "deep concern" about casualties during protests.

A victim of the polarization could be the Brotherhood's plans to forge electoral alliances with liberals in forthcoming parliamentary polls. The head of the Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party told Reuters this week he saw such alliances as preferable to an ideological tie-up with other Islamists.

The divisions are now playing out in the streets. Seven people were killed and hundreds wounded this week in clashes between Islamists and their rivals. A call by Mursi for dialogue was rebuffed by activists who are to protest again on Friday.

"We said that this state of polarization, if it was not dealt with properly, would reach this point, and it has," said Ayman Al-Sayyad, who quit his post as a Mursi adviser on Wednesday following an eruption of violence.

"This was the scene that we were trying to avoid," he added in an interview with al-Hayat television.

The inclusive image Mursi had tried to build around his administration was one of the first victims of the crisis that mushroomed following a November 22 decree that expanded his powers and protected his decisions from judicial review.

RESIGNATIONS

A Christian and a woman were among the first to resign from his staff, as surprised by the decree as most Egyptians. Despite an early bout of violence, Mursi showed no sign of wavering and appeared to brush off his critics.

"I see things more than they do," he told Time.

With speculation swirling around how he took the decision, Egyptians long suspicious of the Brotherhood have concluded Mursi is running the country at the group's command.

In response, the Islamists complain that many of Mursi's attempts at outreach were rebuffed early on. Their view of the opposition has grown dimmer through the crisis. Brotherhood members have started to dismiss opponents as "feloul", meaning "remnants" - a pejorative implying loyalty to Mubarak.

"The really unfortunate side effect of the last two weeks is the political atmosphere has become really toxic. I fear that could endure long past the current crisis," said Elijah Zarwan, a fellow with the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"The next government is going to have to move very quickly to address many problems and it will need cooperation. In the current atmosphere, it is hard to imagine others cooperating."

Such cooperation will be at a premium for introducing policies aimed at reining in a crushing budget deficit and staving off a balance of payments crisis. Egypt's economy has lost $70 billion to $80 billion of economic output since Mubarak was ousted, in one economist's estimate.

Top of the economic to-do list are measures to cut back on fuel subsidies - one of the biggest drains on state finances. Tweaks to such support are bound to be unpopular in a nation where both rich and poor have grown used to cheap petrol.

"He has inherited an economy that is weak and needs serious surgery, so he is going to have to make controversial decisions over the next year or so," said Simon Kitchen, strategist at EFG-Hermes, an Egyptian investment bank.

"Ideally you want to do that in an environment where you have some sort of political consensus," he said.

"THEY BURNED THEIR BRIDGES"

Some subsidy reform and other steps to cut waste are part of a program agreed in principle with the International Monetary Fund for $4.8 billion loan designed to support the budget.

The IMF board meets on December 19 to discuss approval of the loan, which would be seen by investors as a seal of approval for the government's reform program.

Besides the economy, Mursi needs wider backing to tackle other problems including a judiciary which his opponents agree needs overhaul. But even when he sacked the unpopular, Mubarak-era prosecutor general, Mursi was criticized for showing an autocratic streak in the way he went about it.

In the new system of government outlined in the draft constitution, Egypt's next parliament will have a say over the shape of government. A parliamentary election would go ahead some two months later if the constitution is approved in the referendum.

With that in mind, the Freedom and Justice Party is already eyeing alliances to fight the parliamentary election.

FJP leader Saad al-Katatni said in an interview his preference was for an alliance with liberals, not the hardline Islamists whose backing has helped Mursi through the crisis. "Our preferred option is that the alliance not be ideological so that we don't have a split in the nation," he said.

The Brotherhood had kept the nascent hardline Salafi parties at arm's length as they emerged after Mubarak's political demise. That trend has gradually been reversed as the Brotherhood has looked to fellow Islamists for support.

"They burned their bridges with the secular camp and relied heavily on the Salafi camp. We don't feel that is where they naturally want to be right now," said the Western diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Sentiment from liberal parties suggests the Brotherhood will struggle to convince liberals that it is a trustworthy partner.

"I don't think the man realizes the degree of rebellion and rage the people have," said Ahmed Said, head of the liberal Free Egyptians Party, referring to Mursi. "The country is totally divided and polarized. You have two nations now."

(Writing by Tom Perry; Editing by Peter Graff)

Read More..

Crowdfunding websites clamor for clearer regulation

LONDON (Reuters) – A new breed of internet-based financiers are calling for action to end regulatory uncertainty they say is preventing them from getting money to the small and medium-sized businesses that need it.

The so-called crowdfunding sector raises cash from members of the public to fund lending and investment. Regulators, however, have proved resistant to pleas for adjustments to rules that are tailored to more traditional markets.

“Operators of these platforms find it difficult to launch and flourish because existing EU and UK regulation does not fit the new models,” operators within the sector said in an open letter to EU and UK policymakers on Friday.

The plea coincides with a summit to discuss proposals for regulating a market that has developed in reaction to reduced bank lending to small and medium-sized enterprises because of tougher capital rules and greater regulatory scrutiny.

A host of alternative financing models have cropped up online, many allowing individuals to lend to, or invest in, companies with sums from as little as 10 pounds ($ 16). Massolution, a research and advisory firm specializing in the sector, says that 1.2 billion euros ($ 1.6 billion) was raised globally from crowdfunding last year.

Though some crowdfunding websites have tried to fit their operations within the existing regulatory framework, most remain largely outside it.

Part of the problem in drawing up appropriate regulation is the wide range of activities involved. Some offer debt, some equity, while others seek donations for charity or funding for creative projects in return for some non-financial reward.

With little or no expected returns from the latter, the main regulatory focus would be on equity crowdfunding and peer-to-peer lending.

As well as making sure that individuals are aware of the inherent risk involved with putting money in start-ups, the industry wants to avoid the risk of scams by ensuring that platforms vet businesses adequately.

LOST IN THE CROWD

Britain’s Financial Services Authority (FSA) warned in August that inexperienced investors should be aware of the risks in crowdfunding websites. A few days later United States securities regulators put crowdfunding at the top of their annual investment scams list.

Views differ about how to tackle these risks without stifling an increasingly important source of funding, and the matter is complicated by the varying rules already in place in different countries across Europe.

Measures taken by Seedrs, the only crowdfunding website to have received FSA approval, include requiring investors to pass a test to show that they understand the risks.

“It is hard to come up with a whole securities regulation; sometimes it does have to be a bit incremental and adaptive,” Seedrs founder Jeff Lynn said. “There is no question at all this is going to be a space that will continue to move.”

Some would like the operation of such platforms to be a distinct regulated activity, but others argue for smaller steps, such as a cap on the sums that people can invest or lend.

The British government, keen to improve the flow of finance to small businesses to boost the sluggish economy, has set up a working group to look at all aspects of policy on such sites.

The FSA said that it considers authorization of crowdfunding schemes case by case. The European Commission, meanwhile, is considered as so far having had a largely observational role.

Though the introduction of a separate regulated activity could still be some way off, the co-founder of peer-to-peer site Zopa, Simon Deane-Johns, believes that increased engagement with governments and regulators shows that things are moving in the right direction.

“Over the next year or two it should become progressively easier to set up a platform,” he said, “possibly through a combination of the FSA understanding more readily where things fit within the current regime and balancing that with some self-regulation.”

(Editing by Alexander Smith and David Goodman)

Internet News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

It's a Boy for Jennifer Nettles!

Mom & Babies
Celebrity Baby Blog

12/07/2012 at 12:00 PM ET

Jason Kempin/Getty

How sweet!

Sugarland‘s Jennifer Nettles welcomed son Magnus Hamilton Miller on Thursday, Dec. 6, her rep confirms to PEOPLE.

Baby Magnus is the first child for the Grammy-winning singer, 38, and her husband, entrepreneur Justin Miller.

“We are so thankful for all the prayers and support and are excited to take some time together as a new family,” the couple say in a statement.

And the timing couldn’t have been better: after tying the knot during a small, sunset ceremony in Tennessee last year, the couple celebrated their first anniversary on Nov. 28.

In September, Nettles told PEOPLE she was busy enjoying her last trimester — sort of. “I just feel good to rest,” she said. “[But] things are starting to get a little uncomfortable, if you will!”

Still, after wrapping up touring with her band and performing on the music competition show Duets this summer, Nettles joked, “I’m happy to just have the opportunity to be at home. I’m throwing things away, organizing [and] putting up suitcases. But I’m feeling great!”

– Kevin O’Donnell

Read More..

Smokers celebrate as Wash. legalizes marijuana

SEATTLE (AP) — The crowds of happy people lighting joints under Seattle's Space Needle early Thursday morning with nary a police officer in sight bespoke the new reality: Marijuana is legal under Washington state law.

Hundreds gathered at Seattle Center for a New Year's Eve-style countdown to 12 a.m., when the legalization measure passed by voters last month took effect. When the clock struck, they cheered and sparked up in unison.

A few dozen people gathered on a sidewalk outside the north Seattle headquarters of the annual Hempfest celebration and did the same, offering joints to reporters and blowing smoke into television news cameras.

"I feel like a kid in a candy store!" shouted Hempfest volunteer Darby Hageman. "It's all becoming real now!"

Washington and Colorado became the first states to vote to decriminalize and regulate the possession of an ounce or less of marijuana by adults over 21. Both measures call for setting up state licensing schemes for pot growers, processors and retail stores. Colorado's law is set to take effect by Jan. 5.

Technically, Washington's new marijuana law still forbids smoking pot in public, which remains punishable by a fine, like drinking in public. But pot fans wanted a party, and Seattle police weren't about to write them any tickets.

In another sweeping change for Washington, Gov. Chris Gregoire on Wednesday signed into law a measure that legalizes same-sex marriage. The state joins several others that allow gay and lesbian couples to wed.

The mood was festive in Seattle as dozens of gay and lesbian couples got in line to pick up marriage licenses at the King County auditor's office early Thursday.

King County and Thurston County announced they would open their auditors' offices shortly after midnight Wednesday to accommodate those who wanted to be among the first to get their licenses.

Kelly Middleton and her partner Amanda Dollente got in line at 4 p.m. Wednesday.

Hours later, as the line grew, volunteers distributed roses and a group of men and women serenaded the waiting line to the tune of "Chapel of Love."

Because the state has a three-day waiting period, the earliest that weddings can take place is Sunday.

In dealing with marijuana, the Seattle Police Department told its 1,300 officers on Wednesday, just before legalization took hold, that until further notice they shall not issue citations for public marijuana use.

Officers will be advising people not to smoke in public, police spokesman Jonah Spangenthal-Lee wrote on the SPD Blotter. "The police department believes that, under state law, you may responsibly get baked, order some pizzas and enjoy a 'Lord of the Rings' marathon in the privacy of your own home, if you want to."

He offered a catchy new directive referring to the film "The Big Lebowski," popular with many marijuana fans: "The Dude abides, and says 'take it inside!'"

"This is a big day because all our lives we've been living under the iron curtain of prohibition," said Hempfest director Vivian McPeak. "The whole world sees that prohibition just took a body blow."

Washington's new law decriminalizes possession of up to an ounce for those over 21, but for now selling marijuana remains illegal. I-502 gives the state a year to come up with a system of state-licensed growers, processors and retail stores, with the marijuana taxed 25 percent at each stage. Analysts have estimated that a legal pot market could bring Washington hundreds of millions of dollars a year in new tax revenue for schools, health care and basic government functions.

But marijuana remains illegal under federal law. That means federal agents can still arrest people for it, and it's banned from federal properties, including military bases and national parks.

The Justice Department has not said whether it will sue to try to block the regulatory schemes in Washington and Colorado from taking effect.

"The department's responsibility to enforce the Controlled Substances Act remains unchanged," said a statement issued Wednesday by the Seattle U.S. attorney's office. "Neither states nor the executive branch can nullify a statute passed by Congress."

The legal question is whether the establishment of a regulated marijuana market would "frustrate the purpose" of the federal pot prohibition, and many constitutional law scholars say it very likely would.

That leaves the political question of whether the administration wants to try to block the regulatory system, even though it would remain legal to possess up to an ounce of marijuana.

Alison Holcomb is the drug policy director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and served as the campaign manager for New Approach Washington, which led the legalization drive. She said the voters clearly showed they're done with marijuana prohibition.

"New Approach Washington sponsors and the ACLU look forward to working with state and federal officials and to ensure the law is fully and fairly implemented," she said.

___

Johnson can be reached at https://twitter.com/GeneAPseattle

Read More..

S&P, Nasdaq drop as consumer sentiment offsets jobs

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq slipped on Friday after consumer sentiment unexpectedly dipped, dampening early enthusiasm from a better-than-expected employment report.

The Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index plunged to 74.5 in early December, the lowest level since August.

Wall Street opened higher after U.S. Labor Department data showed non-farm employment increased more than expected, with 146,000 jobs added in November.

"The gain was sharper than expected, particularly in light of the hurricane, so certainly that was a pleasant surprise. We'll take it," said Gordon Charlop, managing director at Rosenblatt Securities in New York.

The equity market has regained most of the ground it lost following President Barack Obama's re-election as markets turned their focus to the coming "fiscal cliff." Market response to the macroeconomic data remained muted as negotiations continued to command investor attention.

"We will just have to see overall how much of an effect one number can have on what is really a market that is pointing towards Washington and fiscal cliff negotiations," Charlop said.

U.S. House Speaker John Boehner said that talks this week with President Barack Obama produced no progress, and he renewed his demand that the president provide a new offer to avert the series of tax increases and spending cuts that are likely to hurt economic demand in 2013.

Still, the market's resilience - the S&P 500 is just 4.1 percent below the 2012 intraday high of 1,474.51 reached in mid-September - suggests investors still see a deal coming to fruition before long.

"I think the market has priced in an expectation that something may get done, and if it doesn't, it would be done shortly after January first, so I don't see any worries in the market," said Jeff Meyerson, head of trading for Sunrise Securities in New York.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> rose 42.66 points, or 0.33 percent, to 13,116.70. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dipped 0.12 of a point, or 0.01 percent, to 1,413.82. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> lost 16.38 points, or 0.55 percent, to 2,972.89.

Amarin Corp shares slid 19.2 percent to $9.66 after the biopharmaceutical company raised $100 million in financing to help it launch its heart drug, Vascepa, but disappointed investors, who had hoped for a sale or partnership.

CombiMatrix Corp shares soared 180.2 percent to $5.52 after the company said two studies published in a medical journal favored technology it uses for prenatal diagnosis of genetic abnormalities over traditional technologies.

In contrast, shares of Netflix Inc gave up earlier gains and slipped 0.4 percent to $85.83 following news that the Securities and Exchange Commission was considering taking action against the company and its Chief Executive Reed Hastings for violating public disclosure rules with a Facebook post.

After falling nearly 10 percent so far this week, Apple Inc shares were down 2.5 percent at $533.59 on Friday.

(Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Jan Paschal)

Read More..

Military halts clashes as political crisis grips Egypt

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Republican Guard restored order around the presidential palace on Thursday after fierce clashes killed seven people, but passions ran high in a contest over the country's future.

President Mohamed Mursi had been due to address the nation, but a presidential source said the Islamist leader, criticized by his opponents for his silence in the last few days, might speak on Friday instead. He did not explain the possible delay.

Hundreds of Mursi supporters who had camped out near the palace overnight withdrew before a mid-afternoon deadline set by the Republican Guard, an elite unit whose duties include protecting the palace. Scores of opposition protesters remained, but were kept away by a barbed wire barricade guarded by tanks.

The military played a big role in removing President Hosni Mubarak during last year's popular revolt, taking over to manage a transitional period, but had stayed out of the latest crisis.

Mursi's Islamist partisans fought opposition protesters well into the early hours during dueling demonstrations over the president's November 22 decree to expand his powers to help him push through a mostly Islamist-drafted constitution.

Officials said seven people were killed and 350 wounded in the violence, for which each side blamed the other. Six of the dead were Mursi supporters, the Muslim Brotherhood said.

Prosecutors investigating the unrest said Brotherhood members had detained 49 wounded protesters and were refusing to release them to the authorities, the state news agency said.

The Brotherhood's spokesman Mahmoud Ghozlan denied this, saying all "thugs" detained by members of the Islamist group had been handed over to the police or the Republican Guard.

The street clashes reflected a deep political divide in the most populous Arab nation, where contrasting visions of Islamists and their liberal rivals have complicated a struggle to embed democracy after Mubarak's 30 years of one-man rule.

MILITARY'S ROLE

The United States, worried about the stability of an Arab partner which has a peace deal with Israel and which receives $1.3 billion a year in U.S. military aid, has urged dialogue.

The commander of the Republican Guard said deployment of tanks and troop carriers around the presidential palace was intended to separate the adversaries, not to repress them.

"The armed forces, and at the forefront of them the Republican Guard, will not be used as a tool to oppress the demonstrators," General Mohamed Zaki told the state news agency.

Hussein Abdel Ghani, spokesman of the opposition National Salvation Front, told Reuters more protests were planned, but not necessarily at the palace. "Our youth are leading us today and we decided to agree to whatever they want to do," he said.

Outside Cairo, supporters and opponents of Mursi clashed in his home town of Zagazig in the Nile Delta, state TV reported.

Egypt plunged into renewed turmoil after Mursi issued his November 22 decree and an Islamist-dominated assembly hastily approved a new constitution to go to a referendum on December 15.

Since then six of the president's advisers have resigned. Essam al-Amir, the director of state television quit on Thursday, as did a Christian official working at the presidency.

The Supreme Guide of the Brotherhood, to which Mursi belonged before he was narrowly elected president in June, appealed for unity. Divisions among Egyptians "only serve the nation's enemies", Mohamed Badie said in a statement.

BLOODY CLASHES

Rival factions used rocks, petrol bombs and guns in the clashes around the presidential palace.

"We came here to support President Mursi and his decisions. He is the elected president of Egypt," said demonstrator Emad Abou Salem, 40. "He has legitimacy and nobody else does."

Opposition protester Ehab Nasser el-Din, 21, his head bandaged after being hit by a rock the day before, decried the Muslim Brotherhood's "grip on the country", which he said would only tighten if the new constitution is passed.

Mursi's opponents accuse him of seeking to create a new "dictatorship". The president says his actions were necessary to prevent courts still full of judges appointed by Mubarak from derailing a constitution vital for Egypt's political transition.

U.N. Human Rights Commissioner Navi Pillay urged the Egyptian authorities to protect peaceful protesters and prosecute anyone inciting violence, including politicians.

"The current government came to power on the back of similar protests and so should be particularly sensitive to the need to protect protesters' rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly," Pillay said in Geneva.

Mursi has shown no sign of buckling under pressure from protesters, confident that the Islamists, who have dominated both elections since Mubarak was overthrown, can win the referendum and the parliamentary election to follow.

Mahmoud Hussein, the Brotherhood's secretary-general, said holding the plebiscite was the only way out of the crisis, dismissing the opposition as "remnants of the (Mubarak) regime, thugs and people working for foreign agendas".

As well as relying on his Brotherhood power base, Mursi may also tap into a popular yearning for stability and economic revival after almost two years of political turmoil.

Egypt's pound hit an eight-year low on Thursday, after previously firming on hopes that a $4.8 billion IMF loan would stabilize the economy. The stock market fell 4.6 percent.

Foreign exchange reserves fell by nearly $450 million to $15 billion in November, indicating that the Central Bank was still spending heavily to bolster the pound. The reserves stood at about $36 billion before the anti-Mubarak uprising.

(Additional reporting by Tom Perry, Edmund Blair and Marwa Awad; Writing by Alistair Lyon; Editing by Peter Graff)

Read More..

Windows 8: A ‘Christmas gift for someone you hate’

Microsoft (MSFT) is no stranger to criticism these days, and the company’s new Windows 8 platform is once again the target of a scathing review from a high-profile user. Well-known Internet entrepreneur and MIT professor Philip Greenspun handed Windows 8 one of its most damning reviews yet earlier this week, calling the new operating system a “Christmas gift for someone you hate.” Greenspun panned almost every aspect of Microsoft’s new software, noting that Microsoft had four years to study Android and more than five to examine iOS, but still couldn’t build a usable tablet experience.

“The only device that I can remember being as confused by is the BlackBerry PlayBook,” Greenspun wrote on his blog after using Windows 8 on a Dell (DELL) XPS One All-in-One desktop PC. The acclaimed computer scientist noted that Microsoft omitted all of the best features from the most popular touch-focused platforms and instead created a user interface he describes as a “dog’s breakfast.”

“Suppose that you are an expert user of Windows NT/XP/Vista/7, an expert user of an iPad, and an expert user of an Android phone… you will have no idea how to use Windows 8,” Greenspun wrote.

He continued, “Some functions, such as ‘start an application’ or ‘restart the computer’ are available only from the tablet interface. Conversely, when one is comfortably ensconced in a touch/tablet application, an additional click will fire up a Web browser, thereby causing the tablet to disappear in favor of the desktop. Many of the ‘apps’ that show up on the ‘all apps’ menu at the bottom of the screen (accessible only if you swipe down from the top of the screen) dump you right into the desktop on the first click.”

The only praise Greenspun offered was that “some of the supplied apps are wonderful,” pointing to Microsoft’s Bing Finance application as an example.

Get more from BGR.com: Follow us on Twitter, Facebook

Wireless News Headlines – Yahoo! News

Read More..

Demi Moore Dances Up a Storm at Miami Party

By Becky Randel

12/06/2012 at 12:30 PM EST

Lenny Kravitz, Demi Moore and Stacy Keibler

CelebrityVibe/Splash News Online

Demi Moore has officially arrived in Miami for Art Basel week – and from the looks of it, she's ready to party!

The actress, who may be in town to support her rumored beau, art dealer Vito Schnabel, 26, started her evening Wednesday at a private event at Alex Rodriguez's home. Arriving around 8 p.m., Moore, 50, was dressed in a short blueish-gray romper and funky black glasses. Sources tell PEOPLE that she seemed calm, friendly and relaxed.

"She didn't even have a drink in hand," a source added of Moore, who spent time in treatment earlier this year.

According to one guest, Moore spent much of her time at the party in close conversation with Stacy Keibler. "They seemed like good friends," the attendee said, adding that she also chatted with Owen Wilson and Martha Stewart.

Lenny Kravitz and Demi Moore

Seth Browarnik / Startraks

When the A-Rod party came to a close around 10 p.m., Moore was still there – hanging out. But she soon headed to the Chanel Beachside BBQ at the Soho Beach House, where she again was talking with Keibler.

And as the evening progressed, Moore began to loosen up.

"Demi seemed to be dancing for the cameras," one party source said of the actress, who was surrounded by flashbulbs and was "acting flirty" with Lenny Kravitz. Another source at the party said Moore was drinking Red Bull, and: "Demi was wild and crazy and having the time of her life, in a world all of her own."

As for Schnabel, he was spotted at the party, though the two never posed for photos together. But according to an E! report, the two didn't hide their PDA, and were even making out during the party.

Perhaps they'll step out more publicly together on Thursday night when Schnabel is expected to throw his official party with Stavros Niarchos at the Wall/W Hotel.

• Reporting by LINDA MARX

Read More..