US stock futures dragged down by euro worries (AP)

NEW YORK ? U.S. stock futures are falling as uncertainty about a tentative deal to resolve Greece's debt crisis weighs on investor sentiment ahead of a summit of European leaders.

Dow Jones industrial futures are down 65 points to 12,549. The broader S&P 500 futures are down 7 points to 1,305. The Nasdaq composite is 14 points lower at 2,443.

The leaders gathering in Brussels hope to focus on how to stimulate economic growth when huge government spending cuts threaten to push many countries back into recession.

The latest data showed Spain's economy shrank in the last three months of 2011.

European markets also declined. In Asia, most indexes fell as investors reacted to Friday's release of data showing the U.S. economy grew more slowly than expected in the fourth quarter.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_bi_st_ma_re/us_wall_street

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Fed: US banks tighten lending to Europe banks (AP)

WASHINGTON ? A Federal Reserve survey has found that more than half of U.S. banks that lend to European banks have tightened their standards, a reflection of the persistent European debt crisis.

Of the 26 U.S. banks surveyed that make loans to European banks, five said they had tightened their standards considerably in the October-December quarter. Another 10 said that they had tightened them somewhat in the same period, according to the survey released Monday.

Many economists predict that Europe's debt crisis will push the region into a recession this year. Many European banks are heavily exposed to government debt, making the banks more of a risk.

In the U.S., banks are seeing more small businesses apply for loans, according to the Fed's quarterly survey of loan officers for large banks.

The percentage of banks reporting increased loan demand from companies with annual sales of less than $50 million rose to the highest level since 2005, the survey found.

Economists saw the increase in demand for loans as a good sign for future economic growth because it indicates that more companies are confident and may be looking to hire more and expand.

"Businesses are starting to look to grow and they need loans to do it," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics.

Zandi said while loan standards are still tight compared to the period before the financial crisis hit, they have been eased in recent quarters and that is a good sign for future growth as well.

"The credit spigot is slowly opening after having been closed tight during the credit crunch," Zandi said. "That is good because we need credit to flow for this recovery to gain traction."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120130/ap_on_bi_ge/us_fed_loan_survey

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Private investors near deal on Greek debt

Charles Dallara, left and Jean Lemiere from the Institute of International Finance leave Maximos Mansion after meeting Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos in Athens on Saturday Jan. 28 2012. Talks between Greece and private creditors on halving the country's privately held debt load have ended and a deal is very close, according to the creditors' representatives. (AP Photo)

Charles Dallara, left and Jean Lemiere from the Institute of International Finance leave Maximos Mansion after meeting Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos in Athens on Saturday Jan. 28 2012. Talks between Greece and private creditors on halving the country's privately held debt load have ended and a deal is very close, according to the creditors' representatives. (AP Photo)

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos leaves Maximos Mansion after a meeting with Greek Prime minister Lucas Papademos, Charles Dallara and Jean Lemiere from the Institute of International Finance in Athens on Saturday Jan. 28 2012. Talks between Greece and private creditors on halving the country's privately held debt load have ended and a deal is very close, according to the creditors' representatives. (AP Photo)

Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos, left, and Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos leave Maximos Mansion after a meeting Charles Dallara and Jean Lemiere from the Institute of International Finance in Athens on Saturday Jan. 28 2012. Talks between Greece and private creditors on halving the country's privately held debt load have ended and a deal is very close, according to the creditors' representatives. (AP Photo)

Charles Dallara, left and Jean Lemiere from the Institute of International Finance leave Maximos Mansion after meeting Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos in Athens on Saturday Jan. 28 2012. Talks between Greece and private creditors on halving the country's privately held debt load have ended and a deal is very close, according to the creditors' representatives. (AP Photo)

Charles Dallara managing director of the Institute of International Finance arrives at Maximos Mansion for a meeting with Greek Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos in Athens on Saturday Jan. 28 2012. Talks between Greece and private creditors on halving the country's privately held debt load have ended and a deal is very close, according to the creditors' representatives. (AP Photo)

(AP) ? A disorderly and potentially devastating Greek debt default is looking much less likely.

Greece and investors who own its bonds have reached a tentative deal to significantly reduce the country's debt and pave the way for it to receive a much-needed euro130 billion bailout.

Negotiators for the investors announced the agreement Saturday and said it could become final next week. If the agreement works as planned, it will help Greece remain solvent and help Europe avoid a blow to its already weak financial system, even though banks and other bond investors will have to accept multibillion-dollar losses.

Still, it doesn't resolve the weakening economic conditions in Greece and other European nations as they rein in spending to get their debts under control.

Under the agreement, investors holding euro206 billion in Greek bonds would exchange them for new bonds worth 60 percent less.

The new bonds' face value is half of the existing bonds. They would have a longer maturity and pay an average interest rate of slightly less than 4 percent. The existing bonds pay an average interest rate of 5 percent, according to the think tank Re-Define.

The deal would reduce Greece's annual interest expense on the bonds from about euro10 billion to about euro4 billion. And when the bonds mature, instead of paying bondholders euro206 billion, Greece will have to pay only euro103 billion.

Without the deal, which would reduce Greece's debt load by at least euro120 billion, the bonds held by banks, insurance companies and hedge funds would likely become worthless. Many of these investors also hold debt from other countries that use the euro, which could also lose value in the event of a full-fledged Greek default. This is the scenario analysts fear most and why they hope investors will voluntarily accept a partial loss on their Greek bonds.

The agreement taking shape is a key step before Greece can get a second, euro130 billion bailout from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund. Besides restructuring its debt with private investors, Greece must also take other steps before getting aid. It must cut its deficit and boost the competitiveness of its economy through layoffs of government employees and the sale of several state companies, among other moves.

Greece faces a euro14.5 billion bond repayment on March 20, which it cannot afford without additional help.

The country got its first bailout in May 2010 when the EU and the IMF signed off on a euro110 billion aid package, most of which has already been disbursed.

Private investors hold roughly two-thirds of Greece's debt, which has reached an unsustainable level ? nearly 160 percent of the country's annual economic output. By restructuring the debt held by private investors, Greece and its EU partners are hoping to bring that ratio closer to 120 percent by the end of this decade. Without a deal, analysts forecast that ratio ballooning to 200 percent by the end of this year as the Greek economy falters.

Meanwhile, Greece's public creditors ? the IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank ? are baffled by the government's repeated failure to meet deficit targets. They want more government wage cuts. That is meeting resistance by Greek politicians afraid of losing an election tentatively scheduled for the spring. But those same politicians also worry that the nation will be denied a second bailout if doesn't reduce its deficit.

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Saturday night asked those who oppose structural changes to reconsider their stance.

"The coming days will be decisive for the next decade ... We must answer to tough dilemmas and we must do so with foresight and a sense of responsibility and not hide behind each other," he told reporters after meeting with the public creditors.

In return for the first bailout, Greece's public creditors have unprecedented powers over Greek spending. However, Greece's problems will not be fixed simply by cutting government spending. In order to bring its debts to a more manageable level, the country must also find ways boost economic output, which would enable it to collect more taxes.

If no debt-exchange deal is reached with private creditors and Greece is forced to default, it would very likely spook Europe's ? and possibly the world's ? financial markets. It could even lead Greece to withdraw from the euro.

Sarah Ketterer, co-manager of Causeway International Value Fund, a $1.4 billion mutual fund that invests in European stocks, said the region's markets have rebounded this month largely on expectations that negotiators would reach a deal along the lines of the one being finalized now.

Any last-minute breakdown in the talks could trigger a sharp decline in European markets, she said. But a rally is unlikely if negotiations succeed.

"The equity markets have ... largely already discounted this, and you can see that in the confidence that has returned in European equities since the end of December, and especially for financial stocks," Ketterer said.

She said there "really was no other option" than reaching a deal for bondholders to take a haircut of 50 percent or more.

Ketterer said a Greek deal could help restore bond market confidence. That would help Italy manage its own debt crisis ? one that Ketterer views as more critical than Greece's because of Italy's greater size.

The investors who own Greek bonds are being represented by Charles Dallara, managing director of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, and Jean Lemierre, senior adviser to the chairman of the French bank BNP Paribas.

___

AP personal finance writer Mark Jewell in Boston, Elena Becatoros in Athens and Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-29-EU-Greece-Financial-Crisis/id-c6661e60cc3744ada9743a669f440412

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Last Man on Moon & 7 Other Space Leaders Back Mitt Romney (SPACE.com)

The last man on the moon, first space shuttle pilot and six other space leaders signed an open letter today (Jan. 27) supporting the candidacy of Republican presidential primary contender Mitt Romney.

Romney is competing in Florida this week for the GOP nomination, duking it out with the other Republican frontrunner, Newt Gingrinch.

"Restoring the U.S. space program to greatness will require the leadership, management skill, and commitment to American exceptionalism possessed by only one candidate in this race: Mitt Romney," the letter reads. "We support Mitt's candidacy and believe that his approach to space policy will produce results instead of empty promises."

Signatories include Gene Cernan, the last man to walk on the moon, as well as the first space shuttle pilot, Bob Crippen, and former NASA administrator Mike Griffin. [50 Years of Presidential Space Visions]

Players in the commercial space industry, including Eric Anderson, chairman and CEO of space tourism firm Space Adventures, and Mark Albrecht, chairman of the board of satellite communications provider USSpace, also signed the letter, as well as Scott Pace, director of the?Space Policy Institute at George Washington University (who also serves as chair of the Romney Space Policy Advisory Group), Peter Marquez, former director of space policy for the National Security Council, and William Martel, professor of International Security Studies at Tufts University.

"We have watched with dismay as President Obama dismantled the structure that was guiding both the government and commercial space sectors, while providing no purpose or vision or mission," the group wrote. "This failure of leadership has thrust the space program into disarray and triggered a dangerous erosion of our technical workforce and capabilities. In short, we have a space program unworthy of a great nation."

They argue that Romney's plan will promote U.S. leadership in space.

"As president, Mitt Romney will facilitate close collaboration not only within the government?s civil and national security space sectors, but also with the private sector and with research institutions," the letter reads. "He will create conditions for a strong and competitive commercial space industry that can contribute greatly to our national capabilities and goals."

In a speech today in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Romney stressed the importance of such collaboration, saying he wasn't yet ready to lay out a sweeping vision for NASA and the future of American spaceflight. Rather, as president, he would talk to leaders from the military, academia, the private sector and NASA to help create and map out that vision.

"I will do that to get the job done right, to make sure we protect our interests, protect our future, protect our health and protect ourselves from threats from space," Romney said in the speech, which was webcast online by the newspaper Florida Today.

Romney and the other GOP hopefuls debated policy, including their ideas for NASA, last night (Jan. 26) in Florida.

While Gingrich has said he plans to aim high in space and establish a manned moon base by 2020, Romney said such projects are too extravagant.

"I'm not looking for a colony on the moon," Romney said during the debate. "I think the cost of that would be in the hundreds of billions, if not trillions. I'd rather be rebuilding housing here in the U.S."

Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/space/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/space/20120127/sc_space/lastmanonmoon7otherspaceleadersbackmittromney

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Daring special forces raid shows Somali pirates are on the run (The Christian Science Monitor)

The SEAL Team Six raid on a pirate compound to rescue an American hostage early Wednesday morning is one signal that the US military is tightening the noose on marauding criminal gangs who kidnap civilians for ransom.

The abduction of Jessica Buchanan and her Danish colleague Poul Hagen, who were snatched from a car in November, is a sign, too, of the growing desperation of pirate groups increasingly feeling the pinch of stepped-up maritime operations, according to military analysts.

It is particularly notable, analysts point out, that the self-proclaimed pirates seized their hostages on land, rather than at sea. 

IN PICTURES: Special Forces around the world

?I think they?re looking to expand their markets and looking for any vulnerable targets that they can use to do that,? says Rick ?Ozzie? Nelson, Director of the Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

That?s because preemptive strikes by naval forces have helped to reduce by half the number of successful strikes by Somali pirates, according to the International Maritime Bureau (IMB), which monitors pirate attacks.

Indeed, while the number of attempted hijackings increased from 237 in 2011 to 219 in 2010, the number of hijackings that were actually successful among Somali pirates decreased from 49 in 2010 to 28 last year.

???The overall figures for Somali piracy could have been a lot higher if it were not for the continued efforts of international naval forces patrolling and responding to the threat,??

Just over 800 crew members were taken hostage in 2011. It was in 2010 that this figure reached a four-year high of 1,181.

Piracy has become an integral aspect of local economies along the Somali coast, whether it is those who become pirates, or those who build ships, or procure the weapons they use, Mr. Nelson says. ?Kidnapping for ransom is a very lucrative business for pirates looking for resources.? 

At the same time, vessels are becoming more skilled at protecting themselves, whether it is by ?going faster? and pulling up ladders ? as former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates famously advised them to do ? or by hiring private armed guards.

But while the successful measures taken by vessels bodes well on the sea, it could offer some added measures of risk for US citizens abroad working in ungoverned regions such as Somalia.

?If you?re a US citizen abroad in a region like this, you?re taking great personal risk to take on missions such as de-mining,? says Nelson. 

Such risks to citizens abroad may increase if countries such as Yemen ?continue to unravel,? he adds. ?That?s one of the things we?re going to have to continue to address. Yemen could be facing the same model.? 

The American, Jessica Buchaman, a relief worker for the Danish Demining Group, and the Dane, Poul Thisted, were unharmed during the rescue, according to US military officials, as were all members of the Navy SEALs.

IN PICTURES: Special Forces around the world

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/csm/20120125/ts_csm/456444

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X-ray laser bakes solid plasma from aluminum foil, brings us closer to nuclear fusion

Nuclear fusion, like flying cars, is one of those transparent, dangling carrots that've been stymying the scientific community and tickling our collective noses for decades. But recent research out of the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory might help us inch a few baby steps closer to that Jetsonian future. The experiment, conducted by a group of Oxford University scientists, utilized the DOE's Linac Coherent Light Source -- an X-ray laser capable of pulsing "more than a billion times brighter" than current synchrotron sources -- to transmute a piece of aluminum foil heated to 3.6 million degrees Fahrenheit (or 2 million degrees Celsius) into a cube of solid plasma. So, why go to such lengths to fry a tiny piece of metal at that extreme temperature? Simple: to replicate conditions found within stars and planets. Alright, so it's not that easy and we're still a ways off from actually duping celestial bodies, but the findings could help advance theories in the field and eventually unlock the powers of the Sun. Until that fateful day arrives, however, we'll just have to let these pedigreed pyros continue to play with their high-tech toys.

Continue reading X-ray laser bakes solid plasma from aluminum foil, brings us closer to nuclear fusion

X-ray laser bakes solid plasma from aluminum foil, brings us closer to nuclear fusion originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 26 Jan 2012 10:39:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/01/26/x-ray-laser-bakes-solid-plasma-from-aluminum-foil-brings-us-clo/

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I Didn?t Think Samsung Could Top Its Anti-Apple Ads? Until I Saw These

Screen shot 2012-01-24 at 2.55.00 PMNext weekend is like the Super Bowl of commercials. Well, actually, next weekend is the Pro Bowl, which is also much like a Super Bowl... for companies... with regards to their commercials. Maybe I should try a different analogy. Either way, next weekend and the weekend after are big for most companies and Samsung is getting started early with its latest "Apple fanbois are silly for waiting outside" campaign.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/4DWcWQcFBQ0/

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Reckless Racing 2 set to arrive in the App Store on February 2nd

Reckless Racing 2 is set to arrive in the App Store on February 2nd. The sequel to the hugely popular original game was previously slated for a December launch last year but has obviously suffered one or two delays.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/UmVvz8K0yOw/story01.htm

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