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Friday, December 30, 2011

Porsche Design BlackBerry P'9981 on sale now, but only at Harrods (Digital Trends)

BlackBerry P9981 Porsche Design How fitting that RIM and Porsche Design has chosen one of the world?s most famous luxury department stores, Harrods in London, as the exclusive seller of its luxury BlackBerry P?9981 phone.

Announced at the tail end of October but with no firm release date attached, the flashy device has now gone on sale there, where it?s priced at a mere ?1,275, or a touch under $2,000.

That?s SIM-free of course, but admittedly the price would probably only be considered ?mere? by regular Harrods patrons, as it?s considerably more than the standard Bold 9900 on which it?s based.

Like its cheaper cousin, the P?9981 has a 1.2Ghz processor, 768MB RAM, a 2.8-inch 640 x 480 resolution touchscreen and a 5-megapixel camera with 720p video recording. It?s separated by that eye-catching design, the brushed metal fascia and the hand-wrapped, all-leather rear panel.

BlackBerry OS 7 has been treated to a Porsche Design makeover too, as it uses a custom UI and has the popular augmented reality app, Wikitude World Browser, pre-installed.

Available with either English or Arabic as the standard language, anyone keen to get their hands on this genuinely exclusive BlackBerry will have to make the journey to Harrods ? or at least their flunky will anyway ? as it?s only available in-store and not online. However, we?re willing to bet they would send one out with your weekly order of Dom Perignon if you asked nicely.

Phonearena.com spoke to a Harrods representative, who described the P?9981 as ?in very high demand and selling fast.?

This article was originally posted on Digital Trends

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Thursday, December 29, 2011

U.S. says China not currency manipulator; chides Japan (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The U.S. Treasury again shied away from labeling China a currency manipulator on Tuesday, but it rapped the country for not moving quickly enough on exchange rate reforms.

The United States also chided Japan for stepping into the currency market to stem the yen's rise, and urged South Korea to use such interventions sparingly.

Some U.S. politicians have argued that China has gained an unfair competitive edge in global markets by keeping the yuan artificially low to boost exports, and pressure has mounted in Congress for President Barack Obama to punish China.

But the administration prefers to tread softly and use diplomacy. The U.S. Treasury, in a semi-annual report, as usual said that statutes covering a designation of currency manipulator "have not been met with respect to China."

It repeated its standard line that appreciation in the yuan has been too slow, calling it "insufficient."

"Treasury will closely monitor the pace of appreciation and press for policy changes that yield greater exchange rate flexibility, a level playing field, and a sustained shift to domestic demand-led growth," it said in the report to Congress on international economic and exchange rate policies.

The value of the yuan, which Beijing manages closely, has risen 4 percent against the dollar this year and 7.7 percent since China dropped a firm peg against the greenback in June 2010. The Peterson Institute for International Economics recently estimated the yuan was undervalued by 24 percent against the dollar, down from 28 percent earlier in the year. It attributed the change to both Beijing's policy of gradual currency appreciation and higher Chinese inflation.

At the heart of the friction between the two countries is a U.S. trade deficit with China that swelled in 2010 to a record $273.1 billion from about $226.9 billion in 2009. The cumulative Jan-Oct deficit with China is on track to top that this year, running at around $245.5 billion.

The U.S. Senate this year for the first time passed a bill that would require the administration to slap penalties on Chinese imports if it fails to adopt market-based exchange rates. While the measure has made no progress in the lower chamber and is unlikely to become law, it shows the mounting U.S. frustration with its vital trade partner.

President Obama at the November APEC meetings, in his toughest words yet, told President Hu Jintao that China must play by global trade rules and act like "a grown-up."

The Treasury's decision not to label China a currency manipulator sent a "clear and positive signal" that would soothe the market and benefit trade, according to a commentary in Xinhua, the Chinese state news agency, on Wednesday.

Beijing has warned the United States not to "politicize" the currency issue, and some economists have pointed out that nations such as Japan and Switzerland have intervened in currency markets without drawing Washington's ire.

TARGETING TOKYO

The report did point the finger at Japan this time, criticizing Tokyo for its solo yen-selling interventions in August and October that followed a joint Group of 7 action in the aftermath of the March 11 earthquake.

"The unilateral Japanese interventions were undertaken when exchange market conditions appeared to be operating in an orderly manner and volatility in the yen-dollar exchange rate was lower than, for example, the euro-dollar market," the report said.

"In contrast to the post-earthquake joint G7 intervention in March, the United States did not support these interventions," the Treasury said, adding that Tokyo should pursue reforms to revive its domestic economy rather than try to influence the exchange rate.

A senior Japanese government official said the report did not change Tokyo's position that its currency policy was in line with G7 agreements.

"This report does not make it more difficult for Japan to intervene," said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic. "We are committed to doing whatever is necessary."

Japanese exporters have complained that the ultra-strong yen puts them at a competitive disadvantage. The yen was trading at just under 78 to the U.S. dollar on Wednesday morning, about 3 percent weaker than it was on October 31, when Tokyo aggressively intervened to cap the rise.

The report also noted that South Korean authorities "should limit their FX interventions to exceptional circumstances of disorderly market conditions and adopt a greater degree of exchange rate flexibility."

MORE OF THE SAME

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner has said the law on the FX report, which requires the administration to determine whether U.S. trade partners are deliberately undervaluing their currencies, is a poor tool to push Beijing on the yuan.

Instead, the United States prefers to argue for change at regular closed-door meetings with Chinese officials. It also uses international economic forums, such as the Group of 20 leading nations and the International Monetary Fund, to ramp up public pressure on Beijing to move more quickly to a more-flexible currency.

China is the biggest foreign holder of U.S. Treasuries, with about $1.1 trillion, a position that gives it leverage in international economic negotiations. Foreign exchange traders had not expected a change of U.S. tactics.

"It's not very surprising. It's sort of sliding it in under the radar. They're (Treasury) really not in a position to make any major moves at this point," said Sean Incremona, an economist at 4Cast in New York.

The Treasury Department has not labeled a country a currency manipulator since July 1994, when it cited China. A designation would require the United States to step up negotiations with Beijing on the yuan's value.

The yuan slipped on Tuesday as strong dollar demand from corporations offset a record high mid-point fixed by the People's Bank of China. The central bank set an all-time high dollar/yuan mid-point in an apparent move to let the yuan rise a little more at the end of 2011 so as to make the yuan's full-year nominal appreciation look bigger, traders said.

Some U.S. manufacturers, which have been hit hardest by competition from China and other emerging economies, would still prefer the U.S. government to take a harder line.

"China's currency is still enormously undervalued," said Scott Paul, executive director of the Alliance for American Manufacturing, an industry lobby for hard-hit textile, steel and labor groups.

"I'm disappointed that President Obama has now formally refused six times to cite China for its currency manipulation, a practice which has contributed to the loss of hundreds of thousands of American manufacturing jobs."

(Additional reporting by Luciana Lopez and Doug Palmer, and Stanley White in Tokyo; Editing by Leslie Adler and Dan Grebler)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111228/bs_nm/us_usa_china_currency

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No-man's land attests to Japan's nuclear nightmare (AP)

IWAKI, Japan ? Fukushima was just emerging from the snows of winter when the disaster hit ? a 9.0-magnitude earthquake, the strongest in Japan's recorded history, followed by a tsunami.

The wall of water destroyed much of the northeastern coast on March 11. In the northeast region of Fukushima, a different disaster was brewing: Three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant were melting down, irreparably damaged by the super tremor.

Now, as the snows are beginning to fall again, the government has announced the plant has attained a level of stability it is calling a "cold shutdown." As many as 3,000 workers ? plumbers, engineers, technicians ? stream into the facility each day.

The tsunami's destruction is still visible. Mangled trucks, flipped over by the wave, sit alongside the roads inside the complex, piles of rubble stand where the walls of the reactor structures crumbled and large pools of water still cover parts of the campus.

In the ghost towns around Fukushima Dai-ichi, vines have overtaken streets, feral cows and owner-less dogs roam the fields. Dead chickens rot in their coops.

The tens of thousands of people who once lived around the plant have fled. They are now huddling in gymnasiums, elementary school classrooms, bunking with friends, sometimes just sleeping in their cars, moving from place to place as they search for alternatives.

For those who lived on the perimeter of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, fliers used to come in the mail every so often explaining that someday this might happen. Most recipients saw them as junk mail, and threw them away without a second glance. For those who did read them, the fliers were always worded to be reassuring ? suggesting that although a catastrophic nuclear accident was extremely unlikely, it could require evacuating the area.

Never was it even hinted that the evacuation could last years, or decades.

At most of the shelters, food is doled out military-style, at set times. Personal space is extremely limited, often just big enough to fit a futon and the collective snoring at night makes sleep fitful, at best. Baths are public, cramped, dark.

The total amount of radiation released from the plant is still unknown, and the impact of chronic low-dose radiation exposures in and around Fukushima is a matter of scientific debate.

Recent studies also suggest Japan continues to significantly underestimate the scale of the disaster ? which could have health and safety implications far into the future.

According to a study led by Andreas Stohl the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, twice as much radioactive cesium-137 ? a cancer-causing agent ? was pumped into the atmosphere than Japan had announced, reaching 40 percent of the total from Chernobyl. The French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety found 30 times more cesium-137 was released into the Pacific than the plant's owner has acknowledged.

Under a detailed roadmap, plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Co. will remove the melted nuclear fuel, most of which is believed to have fallen to the bottom of the core or even down to the bottom of the larger, beaker-shaped containment vessel, a process that is expected to begin in 10 years.

All told, decommissioning the plant will likely take 40 years.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/japan/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111227/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_inside_the_zone

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Wednesday, December 28, 2011

ICC_Athletics: Includes former Indians Joesph Koon and Jared Wesson RT @JimHolder: Area players assisting with baseball camp: http://t.co/TT7UAPMg #wtva

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Deadly Conn. fire caused by old fireplace embers

Stamford firefighter Nick Tamburro pays respect outside the home of Madonna Badger in Stamford, Conn., Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. A fire at the home on Christmas morning killed Badger's three daughters and parents. The Christmas Day fire that killed three children and their grandparents was a tragic accident related to a fireplace in the home, not the result of foul play, Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Firefighters lay a wreath in a memorial area outside the home of Madonna Badger in Stamford, Conn., Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. A fire at the home on Christmas morning killed Badger's three daughters and parents. The Christmas Day fire was a tragic accident related to a fireplace in the home, not the result of foul play, Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

People pay their respects at a memorial area outside the home of Madonna Badger in Stamford, Conn., Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. A fire at the home on Christmas morning killed Badger's three daughters and parents. The Christmas Day fire was a tragic accident related to a fireplace in the home, not the result of foul play, Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

A hand-drawn card lays on top of a memorial area outside the home of Madonna Badger in Stamford, Conn., Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. A fire at the home on Christmas morning killed Badger's three daughters and parents. The Christmas Day fire was a tragic accident related to a fireplace in the home, not the result of foul play, Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia said Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

Aurelio Naranjo, a painter working for Madonna Badger, stops at a memorial area outside her home with his children Elizabeth, center, and Giovanni, right, in Stamford, Conn., Tuesday, Dec. 27, 2011. A fire killed Badger's three daughters and parents early Christmas morning. Naranjo last saw Badger and her children the Thursday before Christmas. He said Badger told him to take Friday off for the holiday. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)

STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) ? A Christmas morning fire that killed a couple and three of their grandchildren was accidentally started by fireplace embers that had been discarded near a first-floor entryway, officials said Tuesday.

The officials also said it wasn't clear if the home had working smoke detectors. Stamford Mayor Michael Pavia called the fire a "tragic accident," not the result of foul play.

Sometime between 3 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., a friend staying in the home put fireplace ashes in a bag and left it either in or outside a mudroom and trash enclosure attached to the rear of the house, said Barry Callahan, Stamford's fire marshal. The fire was reported just after 4:40 a.m.

"The fire entered the house quickly and spread throughout the first floor and up two interior vertical openings, trapping the occupants on the upper floors," Callahan said.

Officials described a frantic scene after rescuers arrived early Sunday.

Neighbors said they were awakened by screams shortly before 5 a.m. and rushed outside to help but could do nothing as flames devoured the large Victorian home.

Stamford acting Fire Chief Antonio Conte said the children's mother, Madonna Badger, had climbed out a window onto scaffolding and then a flat roof. She was screaming for her children and pointed firefighters to the third floor.

Firefighters climbed to the third floor twice, but the heat and flames were too intense and the children were not where they thought they would be, he said.

The friend of Badger's who had been staying in the home told investigators he actually had led two of the girls downstairs, but heat from the flames separated them, Conte said. One apparently went back upstairs and another one was found with her grandmother at the bottom of the stairwell between the second and third floors, he said.

Badger's father, Lomer Johnson, was found outside. It appears he had been planning to help one of the girls get out; she had been placed on a pile of books, so he could reach in and grab her, officials said.

"When he went out the window, that's when he succumbed and she died just inside the window," Conte said.

Flames were shooting out of the house when firefighters arrived, said Brendan Keatley, a Stamford firefighter who was at the scene and president of the local firefighters union.

"Two sides of the structure were walls of flame," Keatley said.

Firefighters used a ladder and construction scaffolding outside the house to reach the third floor, but they ran into extreme heat and poor visibility in a hallway, Keatley said. Four firefighters were injured as they searched for the victims, including a captain who suffered second-degree burns on his face, Keatley said.

Fighting the fire took a physical and an emotional toll, he said, and counselors were being made available to firefighters.

"We are devastated, just like everybody else is devastated," Keatley said Tuesday.

Badger, a New York advertising executive who owned the home, and her male acquaintance escaped. Her parents, Lomer and Pauline Johnson, who were visiting for the holidays, were killed, as were her three daughters ? 10-year-old Lily and 7-year-old twins Grace and Sarah.

The home's second floor was being renovated and Badger was awaiting a final inspection before she could get a final certificate of approval, said Ernie Ogera, director of operations for the city of Stamford.

There were plans for hard-wired smoke alarms, but they had not been hooked up, Ogera said. Officials did not know whether battery-operated ones were being used.

The Johnsons lived in Southbury, about 45 miles northeast of Stamford. Lomer Johnson had worked as a department store Santa Claus this season after a long career as a safety chief at Louisville, Ky.-based liquor maker Brown-Forman Corp., which he retired from several years ago.

The acquaintance who escaped, Michael Borcina, is a contractor who had done work on the home.

The severely damaged Victorian house situated along the Connecticut shoreline was torn down Monday after the buildings department determined it was unsafe and ordered it razed, Stamford fire Chief Antonio Conte said.

Badger, an ad executive in the fashion industry, is the founder of New York-based Badger & Winters Group. She was treated at a hospital and was discharged by Sunday evening, a hospital supervisor said. Her whereabouts were unknown.

A person answering the phone Tuesday at the Badger & Winters Group said it had no statement or comment.

Borcina was listed in fair condition Tuesday at Stamford Hospital, meaning his vital signs were normal but he may be uncomfortable. He declined to comment through a hospital spokeswoman.

Borcina, 52, of New York City, is the owner of Tiberias Construction Inc., which renovates expensive homes and businesses. The company's projects have included a Donna Karan store and artist Alex Beard's studio, both in New York City, and the White House Christmas wishing tree, according to the construction firm's website.

Borcina and Badger are friends on Facebook, and he said on his Facebook page that he enjoys skydiving and scuba diving.

Property records show Badger bought the five-bedroom, waterfront home for $1.7 million last year. The house was situated in Shippan Point, a wealthy neighborhood that juts into Long Island Sound.

The lot where the house stood was covered with charred debris and cordoned off by police with tape on Monday. Passers-by left floral bouquets, stuffed animals and candles.

Badger previously spent time on Shelter Island, a small, exclusive community at the eastern end of Long Island, N.Y. Town Supervisor James Dougherty said Tuesday that Madonna Badger served a few years ago on the town's deer and tick committee, which oversees the town's program to maintain healthy deer while eliminating tick-borne diseases.

___

Associated Press writers Stephen Singer and Dave Collins in Hartford, Bruce Schreiner in Louisville, Ky., and Tom Hays in New York contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-27-Fire-Five%20Dead/id-ccd03d8982b6467c90ffad7d79a61c08

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Tuesday, December 27, 2011

Cancer patients 'rely on charity' | Stock Market News - Business ...

[unable to retrieve full-text content]26 December 2011 Last updated at 19:11 ET Cancer charity MacMillan says.

Source: http://www.rocketnews.com/2011/12/cancer-patients-rely-on-charity-4/

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