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		<title>Uefa Cup fans clash with police</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/uefa-cup-fans-clash-with-police/</link>
		<comments>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/uefa-cup-fans-clash-with-police/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2008 00:16:03 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Micro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Website]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fails]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[clash]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Cup]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fans]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[police]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Uefa]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[A number of Rangers supporters in Manchester for the Uefa Cup final have clashed with riot police after a big screen in the city centre broke down.
Officers came under attack after the screen in Piccadilly Gardens failed.
Around 30 people were arrested in the city, including six held after a Russian fan was stabbed outside the [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=39&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">A number of Rangers supporters in Manchester for the Uefa Cup final have clashed with riot police after a big screen in the city centre broke down.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Officers came under attack after the screen in Piccadilly Gardens failed.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Around 30 people were arrested in the city, including six held after a Russian fan was stabbed outside the City of Manchester stadium.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">An estimated 100,000 fans descended on the city to see the match, which Zenit St Petersburg eventually won 2-0.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The injured Russian fan was taken to hospital after being attacked outside the stadium before the game.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">He was stabbed in the back but his injuries were reported as non-life threatening.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said six men, all believed to be Rangers fans, had been arrested in connection with the incident.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The vast majority of supporters have behaved impeccably<span id="more-39"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">GMP spokesperson</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">There were further reports after the game of a group of supporters clashing with police in Manchester city centre, where damage was caused to a bank, bus stops and a sports car which was bounced across a road.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Manchester City Council had set up three special fan zones with big screens for ticketless fans to watch the match.<!--more--></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">While screens in Albert Square and Cathedral Gardens did show the game, the one in Piccadilly Gardens failed about 15 minutes before kick-off.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">With the other two fan zones full, supporters were offered buses to take them to a hastily-arranged screen outside the velodrome at Sports City, near to the City of Manchester Stadium.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Bottles thrown</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">A GMP spokesperson said: &#8220;Many fans made their way to the velodrome to watch the remainder of the game, however, a significant minority remained in Piccadilly Gardens where they began to cause disruption.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;They started to directly confront officers and began to throw bottles.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;In order to retain order, tactical aid officers went into the fan zone to disperse the remaining fans.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;A number of people were arrested during the disorder at Piccadilly. A number of people, including police officers, were injured as officers brought the disorder under control.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">However, the spokesperson said &#8220;the vast majority of supporters have behaved impeccably and came to Manchester clearly intent on enjoying the carnival atmosphere&#8221;.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8216;Total disgrace&#8217;</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Manchester City Council said it would be &#8220;holding a full inquiry&#8221; into the screen problems.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">But fans who had been waiting in Piccadilly Gardens all day were unimpressed.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">One said: &#8220;This is absolutely ridiculous &#8211; there&#8217;s Rangers fans throwing balls and cans at each other because the game&#8217;s not on.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;We&#8217;ve been sat here since </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/-1/posts/19_Libros_Revistas_y_Comics/0/"><span style="color:#000000;">libros, revistas y comics </span></a><span style="color:#000000;">12 o&#8217;clock waiting on the game coming on. The coverage started at seven o&#8217;clock and then five minutes later the game&#8217;s off.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;It&#8217;s an absolute shambles, shame on Manchester, shame on Manchester &#8211; it&#8217;s let the country down.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Another supporter added: &#8220;The people of Manchester have been fantastic &#8211; but the officials behind this are a total disgrace.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;Some people are really angry. They&#8217;ve spent a lot of money &#8211; maybe £4,000 to £5,000 &#8211; to come down here for this.&#8221;</span></p>
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		<title>Coremetrics Optimizes Digital Marketing</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/15/coremetrics-optimizes-digital-marketing/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 15 May 2008 00:11:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Internet]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Marketing]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Search]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Site]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[climb marketing]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Coremetrics is releasing Spring 2008, a technology suite designed to allow online businesses to optimize their digital marketing initiatives.
Announced May 5, the solution includes the Coremetrics Explore data analysis tool and Enterprise Dashboard user interface and KPI (key performance indicator) tracker, as well as enhancements to the existing Intelligent Offer, Search and Connect tools.
“Coremetrics Explore [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=38&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">Coremetrics is releasing Spring 2008, a technology suite designed to allow online businesses to optimize their digital marketing initiatives.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Announced May 5, the solution includes the Coremetrics Explore data analysis tool and Enterprise Dashboard user interface and KPI (key performance indicator) tracker, as well as enhancements to the existing Intelligent Offer, Search and Connect tools.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">“Coremetrics Explore offers ad-hoc, customizable, aggregated multi-site reporting with a flexible modular user interface,” said Brian Tomz, senior director of product strategy for Coremetrics.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Tomz said Explore allows users to design their own interfaces and run their own individualized reports.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">“You can get the type of information on clients the way you want it, when you want it,” he said. “Attribute analytics allows granular data collection. Clients are moving to a faceted-search capability; how does a customer search for a product—by manufacturer, by color? It gives you a better chance at providing the proper search menu and ordering capability to maximize sales.”<span id="more-38"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Tomz said Explore also allows isolated reporting so users can tailor and filter analytics to match their “view of the world,” and multidimensional relational analysis for granular customer segmentation.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">“You can get very specific in the types of customer personas and affinities you look at,” he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Furthermore, Tomz said Explore allows dynamic groupings of data and performs deep reporting on Web 2.0 applications.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">“A lot of sites are moving toward technologies like AJAX [Asynchronized JavaScript and XML] and Flash,” he said. “Meaningful interactions are occurring between page views. Users can understand the context of interaction—how long was a video played, what specific ads were looked at?”</span></p>
<p><span><span style="color:#000000;">Tomz said Enterprise Dashboard provides a real-time aggregate view of the enterprise with a simple, intuitive interface that allows performance to be evaluated at the enterprise or brand level. Upgrades to the </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/-1/posts/16_Inform_tica_y_PDAs/0/"><span style="color:#000000;">informática y pdas </span></a><span style="color:#000000;">Intelligent Offer rules engine allow sophisticated recommendation rules to be built on specific product attributes, and upgrades to the Search tool allow easier management of keyword lists from Google,Yahoo and MSN by hooking directly into the APIs (application programming interfaces) of those sites. The Connect platform is now enhanced with the Connect Profiler best practices library of integration documentation at the partner-class level.</span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">According to a 2007 white paper from SEO (search engine optimization) consulting firm Pole Position Marketing, proper keyword management can be a critical part of e-commerce operations.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">“Organizing your keywords properly will help you develop a successful strategy for getting every possible relevant keyword optimized into your site </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/-1/posts/6_Belleza_y_Salud/0/"><span style="color:#000000;">belleza y salud </span></a><span style="color:#000000;">in a way that will help you achieve both short- and long-term success,” states the paper. “It will also provide you a framework for ongoing optimization focusing on the most important keywords and phrases first and foremost hitting the pages which are most important.”</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Tomz said Coremetrics Spring 2008 is exclusively offered on a SAAS (software-as-a-service) basis.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">“We get a record of every click on a client’s Web site in real time, and process the data as it is received,” he said. “The user logs into a hosted application and can perform tasks like navigating reports and making rules adjustments.”</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Dan Berthiaume covers the retail space for eWEEK. For more industry news, check out eWEEK.com’s Retail Site.</span></p>
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		<title>c</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/c/</link>
		<comments>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/c/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 22:54:29 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Micro]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[jobs]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[cutting]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Sun]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[ SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) &#8211; Sun Microsystems Inc (JAVA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it would cut 1,500 to 2,500 jobs in the face of U.S. economic weakness and delays in orders from some customers.
Sun will take a charge of $130 million to $220 million in its fiscal fourth quarter to account for the cuts, [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=35&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><a href="launchArticleSlideshow();"><img src="http://www.reuters.com/resources/r/?m=02&amp;d=20080501&amp;t=2&amp;i=4101469&amp;w=192&amp;r=2008-05-01T211122Z_01_N01461220_RTRUKOP_0_PICTURE0" border="0" alt="Photo" /></a> <span style="color:#000000;">SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) &#8211; </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/"><span style="color:#000000;">Sun</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> Microsystems Inc (JAVA.O: Quote, Profile, Research) said on Thursday it would cut 1,500 to 2,500 jobs in the face of U.S. economic weakness and delays in orders from some customers.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Sun will take a charge of $130 million to $220 million in its fiscal fourth quarter to account for the cuts, executives said on a conference call following a disappointing quarterly earnings report.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">(Reporting by Philipp Gollner, writing by Peter Henderson; Editing by Braden Reddall, Richard Chang)</span></p>
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		<title>Sun Capital Says Count Shows Gain of 3 Furniture Brands Seats</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/sun-capital-says-count-shows-gain-of-3-furniture-brands-seats/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 22:48:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Brands]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Capital]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Furniture]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Count]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Gain]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Says]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Private-equity firm Sun Capital LLC said all three of its nominees to Furniture Brands International Inc.&#8217;s board were elected &#8220;by a substantial margin,&#8221; based on an estimate by its proxy solicitor.
&#8220;The election of Sun Capital&#8217;s nominees is a victory for all Furniture Brands shareholders,&#8221; Jason Bernzweig, vice president for Sun Capital, said in a prepared [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=34&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">Private-equity </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/"><span style="color:#000000;">firm</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> Sun Capital LLC said all three of its nominees to Furniture Brands International Inc.&#8217;s board were elected &#8220;by a substantial margin,&#8221; based on an estimate by its proxy solicitor.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;The election of Sun Capital&#8217;s nominees is a victory for all Furniture Brands shareholders,&#8221; Jason Bernzweig, vice president for Sun Capital, said in a prepared statement.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Certification of the final results by the independent inspectors of the elections is expected to be completed by May 20, Furniture Brands has said. A spokesman for the St. Louis-based retailer wouldn&#8217;t officially comment on the vote but did acknowledge the company sees the same preliminary vote tally as Sun Capital.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Sun Capital is Furniture Brands&#8217; second-largest investor with a 9.5% stake. After making an offer in February to buy the company and calling for more aggressive turnaround efforts, Sun Capital launched a proxy contest to nominate three directors to the eight-member board.<span id="more-34"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Sun Capital nominee Alan Schwartz is a Yale law school professor; Ira Kaplan is a former chief financial officer of Claire&#8217;s Stores Inc.; and T. Scott King is a Sun Capital managing director.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The firm sought to defeat company nominees Katherine Button Bell, Albert E. Suter and Richard B. Loynd. Furniture Brands later said Mr. Loynd, its former chairman and chief executive, would retire from the board. Its incumbent directors have served between four and 21 years with the exception of Chief Executive Ralph Scozzafava, who joined the company last year. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Activist investors increasingly penetrate boardrooms without a fight &#8212; or at least without a shareholder vote. According to data tracker FactSet SharkWatch, 30 U.S. companies ceded seats to dissidents without proxy fights in the first quarter, up from 23 a year earlier and nine in 2006. Among companies formally targeted by activist investors, fewer take the matter to a shareholder vote: 32% last year, down from 61% in 2001.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Sun Capital initially took a 5% stake in Furniture Brands last year through a fund that makes minority investments in turnaround plays. Furniture Brands said it lacked sufficient information to evaluate Sun&#8217;s verbal offer to acquire the company for $13 to $15 a share and a separate acquisition proposal from its largest shareholder, Samson Holding Ltd., in 2007. Both suitors believe the company&#8217;s refusal to provide due diligence and details of a turnaround plan and long-term goals hurt efforts to negotiate an offer shareholders would approve.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Furniture Brands has struggled since 2002 amid a flood of cheaper imports, company missteps and, more recently, a weakening economy. It went from 2003 net income of $94.6 million to a net loss of $45.6 million in 2007. Sales fell almost 12% in 2007 alone to $2.08 billion.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Shares in recent years have lagged behind peers and the broader markets. They slid from an all-time high of $42.30 in 2002 to a 12-year low of $6.82 on Jan. 16. But the stock has more than doubled since then, recently trading at around $14. While Furniture Brands points to the recent increase as evidence investors see traction in the turnaround, Sun Capital and many analysts and investors say gains are more likely tied to hopes the manufacturer will be bought or nudged into a faster turnaround.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Three of four major proxy advisory services, which can influence the votes by mutual-fund investors, back at least two of Sun&#8217;s nominees. Proxy Governance Inc. urged investors to support the company slate, while Egan-Jones Proxy Services and RiskMetrics&#8217;s ISS Governance Services recommend supporting the dissident nominees. Glass Lewis &amp; Co. supports two Sun nominees &#8212; Messrs. King and Schwartz &#8212; but raised corporate governance concerns in opposing Kaplan.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Furniture Brands has repeatedly urged shareholders to support its own nominees, citing its cash and debt position, improved first-quarter results and its succession plan that was initiated when Mr. Scozzafava joined the company last June.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The company elected Mr. Scozzafava as chairman Wednesday as part of that succession plan, replacing W.G. Holliman. The board also named Aubrey Patterson as its lead director to replace the retiring Mr. Loynd.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Also Wednesday, Furniture Brands reported its first-quarter earnings continuing operations improved to eight cents from three cents a year earlier, topping analysts&#8217; expectations.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">At the end of last year, Furniture Brands announced plans to close eight company-operated stores as part of its strategy to realign its retail distribution system. The company has also said it plans to expand its network of single-branded Thomasville and Drexel Heritage stores, while the Broyhill and Lane brands will focus distribution in traditional furniture retailers and mass merchants.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">In March, Furniture Brands completed the sale of its HBF business furniture unit for $75 million, in a move to focus exclusively on the home furnishings industry.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Write to Lauren Pollock at lauren.pollock@dowjones.com and Mary Ellen Lloyd at maryellen.lloyd@dowjones.com </span></p>
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		<title>GM takes another stake in a biofuel company</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/gm-takes-another-stake-in-a-biofuel-company/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 22:45:18 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) &#8211; General Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is taking another stake in a company focused on developing ethanol from sources other than corn, the automaker said on Thursday.
Mascoma Corp is testing its process for converting biological wastes &#8212; plant matter, grasses, wood chips and other non-grain sources &#8212; to fuel. [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=33&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">WASHINGTON, May 1 (Reuters) &#8211; </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/"><span style="color:#000000;">General</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> Motors Corp (GM.N: Quote, Profile, Research) is taking another stake in a company focused on developing ethanol from sources other than corn, the automaker said on Thursday.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Mascoma Corp is testing its process for converting biological wastes &#8212; plant matter, grasses, wood chips and other non-grain sources &#8212; to fuel. It expects to start producing ethanol later this year at a demonstration plant in New York state.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">There is growing concern among international aid groups and others that diverting a sizable percentage of America&#8217;s corn harvest for ethanol production has helped to drive up crop and food prices.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">In January, GM announced it was taking a stake in Coskata Inc of Warrenville, Illinois, a biofuels company looking at sources of energy including garbage, old tires and plant waste.<span id="more-33"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;These investments in leading edge firms supports belief that ethanol has the greatest near-term potential as a clean-burning, renewable fuel that can help reduce oil dependence,&#8221; GM President Fritz Henderson said in announcing the Mascoma deal.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Henderson would not disclose the size of the equity stake in Boston-based Mascoma, which is privately held. Mascoma said its technology is designed to produce ethanol more efficiently and at lower cost.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">President George W. Bush has promoted producing ethanol from cellulose sources like crop wastes and grasses as an alternative to grain, but some critics say it will take years to bring it to market.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">U.S. gasoline prices are at all-time highs, prompting automakers, already under pressure from the government to make more efficient vehicles, to consider more ways to conserve fuel.</span></p>
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		<title>Stocks rise and Dow crosses 13,000 as dollar advances</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/stocks-rise-and-dow-crosses-13000-as-dollar-advances/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 22:42:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street shot higher Thursday as investors, while anticipating another dismal jobs report Friday, viewed the rising dollar and falling oil prices as promising signs for the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average soared nearly 190 points to close above 13,000 for the first time since Jan. 3.
The dollar jumped on [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=32&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">NEW YORK (AP) — Wall Street </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/"><span style="color:#000000;">shot</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> higher Thursday as investors, while anticipating another dismal jobs report Friday, viewed the rising dollar and falling oil prices as promising signs for the economy. The Dow Jones industrial average soared nearly 190 points to close above 13,000 for the first time since Jan. 3.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The dollar jumped on better-than-expected economic data and the Federal Reserve&#8217;s apparent resolve to monitor inflation. The Commerce Department said consumer spending rose 0.4 percent in March, more than predicted, and the Institute for Supply Management said U.S. manufacturing contracted in April by a bit less than anticipated.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The readings were not all positive — consumer spending ticked higher mainly due to rising energy and food prices. The ISM&#8217;s report also indicated that companies are hurting from climbing costs.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">But the dollar, which has recently strengthened after a protracted decline, rallied anyway, pushing the euro down more than 1 percent to $1.5461 in late trading. Trading was thin, with major currency markets in London and elsewhere closed for the May Day holiday, but the dollar&#8217;s advance helped crude oil fall briefly near $110 a barrel and then settle at $112.52. That alleviated some of the inflation-related anxieties in the market, given that crude recently traded at a record near $120 a barrel.<span id="more-32"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;I don&#8217;t know if it&#8217;s all turned around, but I think oil got out of control,&#8221; said Todd Leone, managing director of equity trading at Cowen &amp; Co.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The Dow rose 189.87, or 1.48 percent, to 13,010.00, after briefly rising more than 200 points. It hadn&#8217;t closed above 13,000 since Jan. 3, when it ended at 13,056.72; the Dow is still down 8.15 percent from its record close of 14,164.53, reached Oct. 9, 2007, before the brunt of the credit crisis hit Wall Street.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Broader stock indicators also enjoyed a significant advance Thursday. The Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s 500 index rose 23.75, or 1.71 percent, to 1,409.34 — its first settlement above 1,400 since Jan. 14. The Nasdaq composite index climbed 67.91, or 2.81 percent, to 2,480.71, its highest close since Jan. 10.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The dollar&#8217;s rise came a day after the Fed lowered key interest rates by a quarter-point, but indicated the economy should keep growing moderately, while inflation is the growing concern.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;What we&#8217;re seeing is that maybe the economy is not falling off a cliff, but perhaps leveling off,&#8221; said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at New York-based brokerage house Avalon Partners Inc. &#8220;I think the Fed (rate-cutting campaign) is over with, even though the Fed&#8217;s statement didn&#8217;t say that.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The economic assessment statement accompanying the Fed&#8217;s rate decision was unclear about its policy going forward, but it has been widely believed that the central bank will pause following a string of cuts that lowered rates by 3 percentage points since last summer.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">On Thursday, banks, homebuilders, chip makers and retailers surged, after getting battered earlier this year due to worries about the mortgage crisis and its effect on the global economy.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Bond prices fell. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note, which moves opposite its price, rose to 3.77 percent by late trading from 3.73 percent late Wednesday.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">As the dollar moved higher against other currencies, gold prices dropped.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Investors are predicting another gloomy reading on U.S. employment on Friday. The Labor Department&#8217;s report is expected to show a 75,000 net loss in jobs for April — which would be the fourth straight month of losses — and a rise in unemployment to 5.2 percent from 5.1 percent in March. In a negative sign ahead of that data, the government said Thursday the number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits increased by a greater-than-expected 35,000 last week.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">However, with the government sending stimulus checks to taxpayers and Fed rate cuts still working their way through the financial system, many investors are focused on the second half of the year, when they are betting the economy will rebound.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Shares of Exxon Mobil Corp., one of the 30 Dow components, declined $3.37, or 3.6 percent, to $89.70, after it said its first-quarter profit rose 17 percent to $11 billion — not as high as analysts expected, despite record-high oil prices. Lower production volumes caused the company&#8217;s profit margins to shrink.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">But on the whole, corporate profits have been coming in a bit stronger over the past few weeks than the market had expected. Meanwhile, spreads between rates on riskier securities and rates on safer issues have been narrowing, indicating that the credit markets are getting back to normal.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">After the Fed&#8217;s rate cut Wednesday, that pattern continued Thursday. Bank stocks benefited — Citigroup Inc. rose $1.04, or 4.2 percent, to $25.99; Bank of America Corp. rose $1.85, or 4.9 percent, to $39.39; and JPMorgan Chase &amp; Co. rose $1.60, or 3.4 percent, to $49.25.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">In another sign that the financial sector is on the mend, the Fed said late Thursday that investment firms averaged a relatively low $18.6 billion in daily borrowing over the past week from the Fed&#8217;s emergency lending program. Earlier Thursday, the Fed auctioned off $24.12 billion in super-safe Treasury securities to big investment firms.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The Russell 2000 index of smaller companies rose 13.57, or 1.89 percent, to 729.75.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Advancing issues more than doubled decliners on the New York Stock Exchange. Consolidated volume amounted to 4.32 billion, up from 3.66 billion shares traded Wednesday.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Overseas, Japan&#8217;s Nikkei stock average fell 0.60 percent. Markets in much of the world, including Europe and Hong Kong, were closed for May Day. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">On the Net:<br />
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com<br />
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com</span></p>
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		<title>profit falls 37%</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/profit-falls-37/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 22:40:51 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Financial]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK (AP) &#8212; MetLife Inc. said Thursday its profit shrank 37% in the first quarter as turbulent markets and the plummeting dollar pummeled the insurer&#8217;s investment portfolio.
New York-based MetLife earned $615 million, or 84 cents per share, compared with profit of $983 million, or $1.28, in the first quarter of last year.
During a rough [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=31&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">NEW YORK (AP) &#8212; </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/"><span style="color:#000000;">MetLife</span></a><span style="color:#000000;"> Inc. said Thursday its profit shrank 37% in the first quarter as turbulent markets and the plummeting dollar pummeled the insurer&#8217;s investment portfolio.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">New York-based MetLife earned $615 million, or 84 cents per share, compared with profit of $983 million, or $1.28, in the first quarter of last year.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">During a rough quarter for stock and bond markets, the New York-based insurer&#8217;s investment portfolio lost $560 million. Bad credit, the plunge of the dollar and a drop in interest rates hurt the insurer&#8217;s investments.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Operating income jumped 3% to $1.11 billion, or $1.52. Like most insurers, MetLife emphasizes operating income because it excludes certain costs &#8211; including investment losses &#8211; insurers do not consider reflective of trends in their business.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Analysts polled by Thomson Financial forecast operating profit of $1.48.<span id="more-31"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The insurer&#8217;s premiums and fees grew 12% to $9.4 billion, which Chief Executive C. Robert Henrikson credited to the diversify of MetLife&#8217;s business.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The company sold more retirement and savings products, fueling a 23% acceleration in profit in the institutional business to $558 million.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">In the individual business, the 10% decline in the stock market reduced sales of variable annuities. The segment&#8217;s profit slipped 2% to $312 million.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The car and home insurance division&#8217;s profit fell 8% to $98 million because of more claims from insured damage.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The international insurance&#8217;s segment leaped 10% to $137 million because of growth in Latin America.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Shares of MetLife (MET, Fortune 500) fell 31 cents to $61.63 in aftermarket activity. They earlier added $1.09 to close regular trading at $61.94. </span></p>
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		<title>Small cars post gains, trucks fall as gas prices rise</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/small-cars-post-gains-trucks-fall-as-gas-prices-rise/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 22:37:36 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
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		<description><![CDATA[DETROIT &#8211; Small cars were the big winners in April, as high gas prices accelerated U.S. consumers&#8217; rush away from trucks and sport utility vehicles and makers of fuel-efficient models scored gains despite the weak economy.
General Motors (nyse: GM &#8211; news &#8211; people ), Ford and Chrysler all saw double-digit U.S. sales declines compared to [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=30&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">DETROIT &#8211; Small cars were the big winners in April, as high gas prices accelerated U.S. consumers&#8217; rush away from trucks and sport utility vehicles and makers of fuel-efficient models scored gains despite the weak </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/"><span style="color:#000000;">economy</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">General Motors (nyse: GM &#8211; news &#8211; people ), Ford and Chrysler all saw double-digit U.S. sales declines compared to last April. But Nissan (nasdaq: NSANY &#8211; news &#8211; people )&#8217;s sales were up 7 percent on the strength of its car sales, while Toyota (nyse: TM &#8211; news &#8211; people )&#8217;s sales edged up 3 percent. Honda (nyse: HMC &#8211; news &#8211; people )&#8217;s sales figures were delayed because of a technical problem, but the automaker said April sales were likely to be up at least 6 percent.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Pickup sales have been falling for months because of the slowdown in housing construction, and the trend away from SUVs began several years ago as Baby Boomers aged and roomy but more fuel-efficient crossover vehicles gave consumers more choice. But automakers and industry watchers said gas prices are speeding the trend.<span id="more-30"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;At $3 a gallon, there&#8217;s a lot of discussion about the price of gasoline but not much change in behavior,&#8221; said Mike Jackson, chief executive of AutoNation Inc. (nyse: AN &#8211; news &#8211; people ), the country&#8217;s largest auto retailer. &#8220;But in the mid-$3.50 range, with $4 on the horizon, there&#8217;s a lot of change in behavior.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">George Pipas, Ford&#8217;s top sales analyst, said retail &#8211; or non-fleet &#8211; sales of passenger cars exceeded trucks and sport utility vehicles combined for the first time in at least 20 years. Pipas said a full-size truck is on the list of the top ten vehicles being traded in for every small car in the industry.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;It&#8217;s such a new world for us, because as you well know, for the better part of the last two decades, we&#8217;ve been a truck and SUV company predominantly,&#8221; Pipas said. &#8220;So this requires a big shift in our culture, in our training and our thinking. Not only for Ford but our dealers.&#8221;</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">General Motors Corp. said its truck and SUV sales fell 27 percent, outweighing increases in car and crossover sales and the company&#8217;s best-ever month for hybrids. GM&#8217;s overall sales dropped 16 percent for the month compared with last April.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;Consumer preference is shifting, and we&#8217;re shifting with it,&#8221; said Mark LaNeve, GM&#8217;s vice president of North American sales. Sales of the automakers&#8217; midsize Chevrolet Malibu shot up 40 percent, but the long-popular Chevrolet TrailBlazer SUV saw sales dip 73 percent.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">GM said it produced 130,000 fewer vehicles in April due to an ongoing strike at supplier American Axle and Manufacturing Holdings Inc. (nyse: AXL &#8211; news &#8211; people ), which has affected 30 plants. LaNeve said the production cuts didn&#8217;t affect sales to individual customers because of the company&#8217;s large inventory of trucks and SUVs. But he said GM cut 15,000 sales to rental and commercial fleets in April because of the strike.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Ford Motor Co. (nyse: F &#8211; news &#8211; people ) said its SUV sales dropped 36 percent in April and its overall sales fell 12 percent. Car sales edged down just 1 percent, buoyed by a 44 percent increase in sales of the Ford Focus small car. The Focus gets 24 miles per gallon in the city and 33 on the highway. By comparison, Ford&#8217;s largest SUV, the Expedition, gets 12 miles per gallon in the city and 18 on the highway.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Toyota Motor Corp. said its car sales rose 12 percent, largely on the strength of the hybrid Prius, which was up 54 percent, and the subcompact Yaris, which saw sales rise 46 percent. Toyota&#8217;s truck and SUV sales dropped 8 percent.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;We continue to see that fuel efficiency will remain one of the top priorities for purchasing consumers,&#8221; said Bob Carter, general manager of Toyota&#8217;s U.S. division.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Chrysler LLC said sales fell 23 percent, with cars off 19 percent and truck and SUVs down 25 percent. Steven Landry, Chrysler&#8217;s executive vice president of North American sales, said that was partly due to a 33 percent drop in low-profit fleet sales. Landry said it&#8217;s clear some buyers are feeling the pinch of the weak economy.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;In some cases the customer is less concerned with the sheet metal and more concerned with getting the payment in line with what they can afford,&#8221; he said.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Nissan Motor Co., which agreed last month to build a small car for Chrysler in exchange for getting a pickup built by the U.S. automaker, said its car sales got a 20 percent boost thanks to redesigned versions of the Sentra and Altima sedans as well as the subcompact Versa. But Nissan&#8217;s truck sales fell 12 percent, led by plunging sales of the Armada SUV and Titan pickup, which both saw sales dive more than 55 percent.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Retail gas prices began April at $3.26 a gallon nationwide but crept up to $3.57 per gallon by the last week, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. They set a record on Wednesday, rising to a national average of nearly $3.62 a gallon.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Jackson, of AutoNation, said it will be interesting to see if the switch to smaller vehicles is permanent or if consumers return to larger vehicles once their initial shock at the pump has worn off and the economy improves. On Thursday, the major automakers said they believe conditions will improve in the second half of this year.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;We think we&#8217;re in the trough in the second quarter,&#8221; said Mike DiGiovanni, GM&#8217;s executive director of global markets and industry analysis.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">GM shares dropped a penny to close at 23.19. Ford shares gained 22 cents to close at $8.48 and Toyota&#8217;s U.S. shares rose $1.57 to $103.07.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The Associated Press reports unadjusted figures, calculating the percentage change in the total number of vehicles sold in one month compared with the same month a year earlier. Some automakers report percentages adjusted for sales days. There were 26 sales days last month and 24 in April 2007.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed </span></p>
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		<title>Bolivia&#8217;s Morales deepens control of economy</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/bolivias-morales-deepens-control-of-economy/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 22:34:08 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[Morales]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[deepens]]></category>
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		<category><![CDATA[Bolivia]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[By Carlos Quiroga
LA PAZ (Reuters) &#8211; Bolivia&#8217;s President Evo Morales deepened state control of the economy on Thursday, the second anniversary of his energy nationalization and days before an opposition-led autonomy vote that challenges his leftist reforms.
Morales announced the government takeover of Italian-owned Entel, the country&#8217;s biggest telephone company, and of four energy companies.
Police occupied [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=29&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><span style="color:#000000;">By Carlos Quiroga</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">LA PAZ (Reuters) &#8211; Bolivia&#8217;s President Evo Morales deepened state control of the economy on Thursday, the second anniversary of his energy nationalization and days before an opposition-led autonomy vote that challenges his leftist </span><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/"><span style="color:#000000;">reforms</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Morales announced the government takeover of Italian-owned Entel, the country&#8217;s biggest telephone company, and of four energy companies.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Police occupied Entel&#8217;s headquarters in an echo of the May 1, 2006 energy nationalization when Morales sent security forces to Bolivia&#8217;s oil fields.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The new announcements came as residents of the populous and wealthy farming region of Santa Cruz prepare to vote on Sunday in an autonomy referendum that is expected to pass and that is seen as a repudiation of Morales&#8217; initiatives.<span id="more-29"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;We confirm that there&#8217;s no turning back on our changes, and national unity is more important than any regional or sectorial agenda,&#8221; Morales said to applause at a rally of union workers.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">For more than a year the government had said it was seeking to take over Entel, a unit of Telecom Italia. The government accuses the company of failing to meet commitments to expand phone network coverage.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Morales also announced a $6.3 million deal with Spanish oil company Repsol, which will cede control of its Andina subsidiary to the government but retain a minority stake and a say in management.</span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The government will pay more than $37 million to acquire controlling stakes in three other energy companies which it took over by decree, the energy minister said. </span></p>
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		<title>Denver fails pollution report card</title>
		<link>http://seclater.wordpress.com/2008/05/01/denver-fails-pollution-report-card/</link>
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		<pubDate>Thu, 01 May 2008 22:32:23 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>seclater</dc:creator>
				<category><![CDATA[card]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[fails]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[Denver]]></category>
		<category><![CDATA[pollution]]></category>
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		<description><![CDATA[Denver&#8217;s grade for short-term, particle pollution dropped from a &#8220;D&#8221; to an &#8220;F,&#8221; but the city&#8217;s ozone pollution improved from a &#8220;C&#8221; to a &#8220;B,&#8221; according to a report released Thursday by the American Lung Association. 
The results are from the association&#8217;s annual &#8220;State of the Air&#8221; report, which ranks cities and counties throughout the [...]<img alt="" border="0" src="http://stats.wordpress.com/b.gif?host=seclater.wordpress.com&blog=536199&post=28&subd=seclater&ref=&feed=1" />]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<div class='snap_preview'><br /><p><a href="http://www.anuncioses.com/"><span style="color:#000000;">Denver</span></a><span style="color:#000000;">&#8217;s grade for short-term, particle pollution dropped from a &#8220;D&#8221; to an &#8220;F,&#8221; but the city&#8217;s ozone pollution improved from a &#8220;C&#8221; to a &#8220;B,&#8221; according to a report released Thursday by the American Lung Association. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The results are from the association&#8217;s annual &#8220;State of the Air&#8221; report, which ranks cities and counties throughout the United States on air pollution levels. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">&#8220;Denver-area residents are not yet breathing air that&#8217;s clean enough to be safe,&#8221; said Natalia Swalnick, air quality/Clean Cities manager for the American Lung Association of Colorado. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">Swalnick called particle pollution &#8220;the most dangerous of the widespread outdoor air pollutants.&#8221; Particle polution is typically composed of ash, soot, diesel exhaust, chemicals, metals and aerosols. <span id="more-28"></span></span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">The City and County of Denver received the only failing grade for short-term particulate pollution. No other county in the state of Colorado received lower than a &#8220;B&#8221; in the category. All counties in the state received a passing grade for long-term particulate pollution. </span></p>
<p><span style="color:#000000;">While Denver&#8217;s grade improved in the area of ozone pollution grading, Jefferson County received a &#8220;D&#8221; in the category &#8212; an improvement, considering the county got an &#8220;F&#8221; from the report in 2007. Meanwhile, Adams County received a &#8220;D&#8221; for ozone pollution. </span></p>
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