Negotiators from six world powers meet with Iranian envoys in Geneva amid some optimism about the prospects of a deal over Tehran's suspect nuclear program.
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Saturday, October 19, 2013
Talks Begin In Geneva On Iran's Nuclear Program
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Shutdown deal settles nothing in the long run
The United States flirted suggestively this week with default but ultimately went home with a short-term solution that sets up a series of similar crises in the next few months.
This is no regrettable one-night stand: Democrats and Republicans now face a deadline for forging a broader compromise on the nation's woeful finances (Dec. 13), while government funding runs out Jan. 15 and the next debt ceiling fight is programmed for Feb. 7. The hard-fought agreement, though widely heralded as a breakthrough, offers only a brief truce in the wars over the government's finances and Obamacare.
Thanks to the deal, the United States won't face default — at least for now. Federal workers idled by the first partial government shutdown since 1996 will get back pay. And tourists frustrated by makeshift barriers and student-art-project-caliber signs declaring popular monuments closed will get some relief. Small-business loans will start flowing again. For moms reliant on food aid, for scientists starved of research grants and for others, it’s a grimmer picture. There's no answer here to government spending cuts that affect them. And forecasters warn that the standoff slowed economic growth, effectively shaving $24 billion from the fragile recovery.
“There are no winners here,” White House press secretary Jay Carney intoned somberly from the briefing room podium.
That’s not quite true — and not just because anonymous "advisers" to President Barack Obama seemingly invited reporters to think of him as JFK facing down the Soviets in the Cuban Missile Crisis, while top aides high-fived one another (and maybe themselves) in pieces like this.
The obvious big winner was Obamacare. Imagine that House Republicans, spurred on by Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, hadn't shut down the government and threatened global economic mayhem to try to force the White House to whittle away at the law. What would have been the top story, not just for health care reporters, but for their more easily distracted brethren who cover politics? The president's signature health care law, his most significant domestic policy achievement had such a botched rollout that it almost felt like his visit to the Federal Emergency Management Agency might have included a covert plea for help.
The White House war plan had called for trying to shift the Obamacare debate from a philosophical dispute about the government's proper role in health care to a battle one aide summarized as "they want to take away your health care benefits." Obama himself linked the Affordable Care Act to Social Security and Medicare. Widely reported glitches could by rights have crippled that narrative. Instead, the shutdown took up so much bandwidth that reporters failed to ask Obama even one question about the botched rollout during an Oct. 8 press conference. And the controversial law actually got more popular during the crisis (though it remains unpopular). The tea party? Less popular.
(Another winner? Republican Rep. Michael Grimm of New York, for similar reasons.)
Obama won. He got what he publicly demanded: the government reopened and a debt limit increase without ideological concession to Republicans.
The GOP vowed not to wave the white flag — and its new strategy sounded oddly like Obama's recalibration of the war on terrorism from vast conflicts like Iraq and Afghanistan to smaller operations like commando raids and drone strikes, thought to be less likely to foster vast popular resentment.
"We will rely on aggressive oversight that highlights the law's massive flaws and smart, targeted strikes that split the legislative coalition the president has relied upon to force his health care law on the American people," Republican House Speaker John Boehner promised on Wednesday.
Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has to be counted among the winners: Arguably the most fascinating and important dynamic of the standoff was the unusual-to-the-point-of-shocking unity among famously fractured Senate Democrats.To hear one plugged-in Senate Democratic aide tell it, "There wasn't any browbeating and there's wasn't any arm-twisting, because there wasn't really any need." Instead, Democrats saw the public side with Democrats. And even lawmakers facing uphill re-election fights, like Arkansas Democratic Sen. Mark Pryor, spoke out on the floor of the Senate.
"Everyone seemed to understand that a line had to be drawn, and defaulting was it," the aide explained. "As the situation evolved, it became clear that Democratic unity was paying off, especially in contrast with the Republican disarray."
But accepting spending levels in line with "sequestration" — the across-the-board cuts resulting from a debt limit standoff in August 2011 — was "a bitter pill to swallow," the aide said. Will Reid and the White House use the upcoming fights to replace those cuts? Will Democrats divide over spending levels?
What about Obama? His poll numbers sank a bit, though Democrats are quick to point out that Republicans fared far worse and that he doesn't face the voters again. That's true, though the GOP is sure to make him an issue in the 2014 midterms and he still has a stalled domestic agenda.
But one place where the president scored at least a temporary victory was in the notion that the debt limit is off-limits to what the White House repeatedly characterized as "extortion" for partisan gain.
Sure, that position makes his own speeches as a senator denouncing increases in the debt limit look like politically motivated opportunism. But aides describe him as profoundly committed to rolling back the precedent he set with Republicans in the debt limit battle of summer 2011.
It's a promise he made on Jan. 1.
"While I will negotiate over many things, I will not have another debate with this Congress over whether or not they should pay the bills that they’ve already racked up through the laws that they passed," he said. "Let me repeat: We can't not pay bills that we've already incurred. If Congress refuses to give the United States government the ability to pay these bills on time, the consequences for the entire global economy would be catastrophic."
Democrats point to a vote, later that month, in which many of the Republicans vowing never to back a debt limit increase without significant concessions did just that.
But that doesn't mean the president will prevail again.
Obama benefited another way. Grumbling from congressional Democrats had grown louder in the months before the shutdown as the White House faced revelations about spying on Americans and looked utterly adrift on Syria, even as the recovery failed to pick up much steam. But the shutdown helped the president's allies paper over rifts and unite against Republicans.
That unity might be tested as the 2014 elections draw closer.
The picture only gets blurrier for the other players. House Speaker Boehner? In the end, he wasn't able to deliver what several House GOP members privately said they wanted: a meaningful counterweight to the debt ceiling hike, making it easier to explain their votes to folks back home and potentially inoculate themselves against a primary challenge. Those lawmakers will now have to settle for voting "no" on the final bill. But rumors of a possible challenge — implausible on their face given the lack of a plausible challenger — fizzled out.
Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell? His primary opponent will surely try to exploit McConnell's central role in crafting the deal. But the senator himself underlined that the agreement preserved "sequestration" spending cuts. "This is far less than many of us had hoped for. But it’s far better than what some had sought," he said.
Vice President Joe Biden? He didn't play the key role he played in past standoffs. And the White House press office forgot to mention his presence at meetings with key lawmakers at least twice. That might set tongues a-wagging, but aides deny that he'll take a lower profile in those upcoming budget debates.
And Cruz? He boosted his profile sharply with tea party-affiliated Republicans who are likely to shape the party's nomination fight in 2016. And while some might question why he ultimately decided not to try to block a deal he described as "terrible," one senior Republican aide suggested that Cruz had actually shown a sense of timing.
"I don’t think he saw any merit in prolonging this fight," the aide told Yahoo News, "particularly when he could say everyone else 'caved.'"
- Politics & Government
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- Barack Obama
- White House
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Friday, October 18, 2013
Easy Fed outlook, China growth send shares to five-year high, dollar to eight-month low
By Marc Jones
LONDON (Reuters) - Expectations the Federal Reserve will keep its stimulus in place for longer following the confidence-sapping U.S. fiscal impasse pushed world shares to a five-year high and the dollar to an eight-month low on Friday.
An acceleration in China's giant economy provided a further boost for stock markets, as well as growth-linked commodities such as oil and copper, as the prospect of an extended spell of super-easy money and improving growth buoyed investors. <.n/>
European shares <.fteu3> were up 0.3 percent around midday, with broadly even gains for most of the region's major bourses leaving them on course for a weekly gain of 1.75 percent and hovering at their highest since mid-2008.
That followed solid gains across most of Asia overnight.
Wall Street was expected to tick up 0.1-0.2 percent after Thursday's record close for the S&P 500 <.spx>.
As the U.S. debt drama faded, speculation grew over whether the likely hit to growth from the wrangling would see the Federal Reserve further delay cutting back its stimulus - supporting riskier assets but weighing on the dollar.
"The debate on the timing of QE tapering by the Fed is quickly moving to whether it will be Q1 2014 or Q2," said Derek Halpenny, European head of global markets research for Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi.
"The dollar has been left vulnerable by this uncertainty especially in circumstances of growth stabilizing in China."
Traders were continuing to sell the greenback versus a broad basket of currencies from both advanced and emerging economies.
The knock-on effect for Europe was a stronger euro and pound. The euro zone's shared currency hit an 8-1/2 month high of $1.3694 as its recent strong run following signs of a pick-up in the bloc continued.
"The euro itself has several factors that are certainly beneficial," said Vasileios Gkionakis, global head of FX Strategy for UniCredit. "The recovery is on track and next week we have the new PMI figures which should support that view."
"I think we are also seeing central banks looking to diversify some of their dollar holdings into euros and on top of that at the last ECB press conference Mario Draghi didn't show any real concern about the strength of the euro."
CHINA BULLS SHOP
Investors were also relieved by data showing China's economy grew 7.8 percent in the third quarter, its fastest pace this year and in line with expectations, as firmer foreign and domestic demand lifted factory production and retail sales.
China's CSI300 index <.csi300> climbed 0.7 percent, while Australian shares <.axjo> jumped to their highest level since June 2008. Australian exports are closely linked to China's economic fortunes.
"The Q3 GDP figure is in line with market expectations but the uncertainty is whether the current recovery is sustainable," said Shen Jianguang, chief China economist with Mizuho Securities in Hong Kong.
Though there was broad U.S. relief investors were retaining some caution following Wednesday's last-minute debt deal.
While it pulled the world's largest economy back from the brink of an historic default, it only funds the government until January 15 and raises the borrowing limit through to February 7, meaning another political showdown could be on cards.
Markets are also bracing for a deluge of delayed U.S. economic data over the next week.
A simple estimate suggested the direct and indirect impact of this month's shutdown would weigh on annualized fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth by 0.4 percentage point, analysts at Morgan Stanley wrote in a note to clients.
German Bunds were on course for a steady end to a week of hefty gains, while in the euro zone periphery only Portugal was in the red along with its main share market <.psi20> as its debt concerns continued.
Benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasuries were trading with a yield of 2.5504 percent ahead of the start of U.S. trading, a two-week low. Yields move inversely to prices.
In commodity markets, China's stronger growth helped copper climb 0.6 percent to 7,273 a tonne and Brent oil futures to hold above $109 a barrel after a build-up of crude stocks in the United States pushed oil prices down overnight.
Meanwhile, gold took a breather after rallying almost 3 percent overnight - its biggest one-day rise in a month - as the dollar weakened. It was steady at about $1,316 an ounce and not far off a more-than one-week high reached on Thursday.
(Editing by Catherine Evans)
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-hit-5-month-high-u-relief-030257546--business.html
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Cover up? McCarthy magazine photo criticized
2 hours ago
Elle
Actress Melissa McCarthy reportedly loves her picture on the cover of Elle.
Safe to say this isn't the type of response Elle magazine was hoping to receive over their annual "Women in Hollywood" issue.
The high-fashion mag has found itself on the receiving end of rampant criticism over the publication's November cover, which features "The Heat" star Melissa McCarthy.
And while the 43-year-old actress undoubtedly looks stunning in the shot, criticsare slamming Elle for covering up the curvy actress, who's barely showing any skin while bundled up in a charcoal Marina Rinaldi coat.
PHOTOS: Check out the other covers from Elle's women in Hollywood issue
Alternate covers for the annual issue feature Reese Witherspoon showing off her figure in a fitted black Versace dress, Shailene Woodley wearing a strappy black swimsuit and Penlope Cruz flaunting her flawless face in a close-up shot.
(For the record, Cruz, who just recently gave birth to her second child, isn't showing any skin, either.)
NEWS: See last year's Women in Hollywood honorees
Elle has since responded to the backlash and is defending McCarthy's cover look:
"On all of our shoots, our stylists work with the stars to choose pieces they feel good in, and this is no different: Melissa loved this look, and is gorgeous on our cover," a spokesperson for the Elle said in a statement. "We are thrilled to honor her as one of our Women in Hollywood this year."
A source tells E! News Melissa "loves the cover."
This isn't the first time critics have been fired up over Melissa's appearance. Many speculated that McCarthy's face was Photoshopped to look slimmer in a U.K. promotional image for her recent flick "The Heat."
And in June, film critic Rex Reed wrote a scathing review of the star in The New York Observer for her performance in "Identity Theft," in which he described the mother of two as a "hippo," "tractor-sized" and called her "a gimmick comedian who has devoted her short career to being obese and obnoxious with equal success."
NEWS: BFFs Melissa and Sandra open up about bonding on set and off
The "Bridesmaids" beauty later addressed the cruel comments in The New York Times, saying she was concerned about the criticism not because of its individual impact, but because of our image-obsessed society.
"I felt really bad for someone who is swimming in so much hate," she said to the paper. "I just thought, that's someone who's in a really bad spot, and I am in such a happy spot. I laugh my head off every day with my husband and my kids who are mooning me and singing me songs."
PHOTOS: Controversial magazine covers
She added that we live in a society where there is a "a strange epidemic of body image and body dysmorphia," noting how articles like Reed's "just add to all those younger girls, that are not in a place in their life where they can say, 'That doesn't reflect on me.'"
Source: http://www.today.com/entertainment/covered-melissa-mccarthy-magazine-cover-draws-criticism-8C11418627
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China's economic growth rebounds to 7.8 percent
BEIJING (AP) — China's economic growth rebounded in the latest quarter, easing pressure on communist leaders for more stimulus and allowing them to focus on longer-term reforms.
The world's second-largest economy grew by 7.8 percent over a year earlier in the three months ending in September, boosted by higher government spending, data showed Friday. That was up from a two-decade low of 7.5 percent the previous quarter.
"The fundamentals of China's economy are turning for the better," said a National Bureau of Statistics spokesman, Sheng Laiyun, at a news conference.
The improvement eases pressure on communist leaders who say their priority is longer-term reforms aimed at steering the economy to slower, more sustainable growth based on domestic consumption instead of exports and investment.
The abrupt drop in global demand for Chinese goods prompted them to backtrack temporarily and launch a mini-stimulus of higher spending on railway construction and other public works to prop up growth and avoid politically dangerous job losses.
Communist leaders are due to meet in November to craft an economic development blueprint that reform advocates hope will include market-opening and more financial support to private entrepreneurs.
The country's top economic official, Premier Li Keqiang, said earlier Beijing would try to keep growth above 7.5 percent. That is far above levels forecast for the United States, Europe and Japan but barely half of 2009's 14.2 percent growth.
Asian stock markets were boosted by the Chinese growth figure but analysts have warned the rebound might not last because growth depends on government spending. Global demand is weak and Chinese consumer spending is growing more slowly than Beijing wants.
"China's economy rebounded in the third quarter because of the government's stimulus measures," said Moody's Analytics economic Alaistair Chan in a report.
The deceleration of China's economy is denting revenues for suppliers of commodities and industrial components such as Australia, Brazil and Southeast Asia. Lower Chinese demand already has depressed prices for iron ore and other raw materials.
Friday's data highlighted the economy's heavy reliance on government-led investment and the weakness of trade.
Spending on factories and other fixed assets contributed 55.8 percent of the latest quarter's growth, or 4.3 percentage points of the 7.8 percent expansion, according to Sheng. Domestic consumption was 45.9 percent of growth, or 3.7 percentage points of the total.
Trade was so weak that its contribution to overall growth was negative, according to Sheng, and detracted 0.1 percentage point from the quarter's growth rate.
September exports suffered a rare and unexpectedly sharp decline of 0.3 percent, falling short of forecasts. Surveys of manufacturers show September activity barely expanded.
The International Monetary Fund is forecasting Chinese growth this year of 7.6 percent, which would be the weakest performance since the early 1990s. Some private sector analysts have cut their growth forecasts for next year to below 7 percent.
In an apparent effort to lower expectations, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei said in June that growth as low 6.5 percent might be acceptable.
In a positive sign for the ruling party, Sheng said the economy created 10 million jobs in the first three quarters of the year.
Factory output in September rose 10.2 percent from a year earlier, up 1.1 percentage points from the first half's growth rate, according to statistics bureau data.
Growth in fixed asset investment rose 20.2 percent in the first three quarters of the year, compared with 20.1 percent for the first half, the data showed. Retail sales also accelerated, rising 13.3 percent in September, up from a 12.9 percent growth rate for the first three quarters.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/chinas-economic-growth-rebounds-7-8-percent-020844402--finance.html
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Will Google ever bring Android and ChromeOS together?
Over the last year we’ve started to see Google have success with ChromeOS in the notebook computer market. Android and ChromeOS are both based on Linux, but that’s pretty much where the similarities end. ChromeOS is a very thin client, almost everything is done via the browser.
On a personal level, I’ve now gotten to the point where I’d rather consume content on a touch screen device. I prefer swiping my finger on a screen to navigate a website rather than being forced to use a trackpad. This tells me all computers will be touchscreen soon, just like all mobile devices already are.
So this raises the question — why would Google want to maintain two operating systems down the road? I don’t think they want this. And I’m trying to get my head around the possible solutions.
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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/bVJxDm4lP64/story01.htmRelated Topics: politico emmy winners Sons Of Anarchy Season 6 Whitey Bulger usain bolt
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