ASUS has a big event next week in the Big Apple, where the super slim UX21 and UX31 will be revealed. Granted, the company said it’ll be showing off “the real Ultrabook,” on October 11th, but the eagle-eyed folks at Notebook Italia spied some evidence that the laptops in question will be called Zenbooks instead. Proof of the new moniker was found in the title of the information request form on the ASUS UX countdown site, but it was gone when we looked for ourselves. Guess we’ll just have to wait and see whether the newest thin and light laptops are, indeed, PCs possessing inner peace. ASUS Ultrabooks are actually Zenbooks? originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 07 Oct 2011 04:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds . Permalink
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Type: Wireless Title: Samsung Galaxy S II 4G Android Phone (AT&T) See all customer reviews Amazon.com Product Description: Offering a powerful, premium Android smartphone experience in a pocket-friendly design, the ultra-thin Samsung Galaxy S II 4G for AT&T gives you extreme multitasking abilities and the smoothest game play possible thanks to its powerful dual-core 1.2 GHz processor. Measuring a mere 8.89mm (0.35 inches) at its thinnest from front to back, the Galaxy S II easily it slips in and out of your pocket even with its huge 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus multi-touch display. It’s perfect for immersing yourself in cinema-quality video and intense on-the-go gaming. Boasting a vibrant 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display (view larger). 8-megapixel camera with Full HD 1080p video recording. Comfortable in your hand at just over 4 ounces. Samsung Galaxy S II 4G At a Glance: 3G/4G connectivity Android 2.3 OS 1.2 GHz dual-core processor 4.3-inch touchscreen 16 GB memory 8-MP camera + Full HD 1080p video capture GPS navigation Wireless-N Wi-Fi Bluetooth 3.0 Personal/corporate e-mail With AT&T’s 4G network, you’ll enjoy mobile broadband speeds up to 4x faster than AT&T’s already fast mobile broadband network (learn more below). You also get the AT&T Mobile Hotspot service built right into the smartphone–enabling you to connect additional Wi-Fi-enabled devices to the phone’s mobile broadband signal (requires appropriate data plan). This GPS-enabled phone can also access the AT&T Navigator service for turn-by-turn directions. Other features include an 8-megapixel camera with Full HD 1080p video capture, 16 GB internal memory, microSD memory expansion to 32 GB, Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity for hands-free devices and stereo music streaming, DLNA wireless streaming capabilities, GPS for navigation and location-based services, access to over 200,000 apps in the Android Market, and up to 3 hours of talk time (see full specifications below). The Brightest, Most Colorful Screen With an incredibly colorful 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus display, the Galaxy S II delivers 50 percent more sub-pixels than the previous generation display for better contrast. The display also offers unmatched outdoor viewing quality, even in the brightest sunlight. Super Sharp Photos and Videos Plus Video Chat This Galaxy S II also captures sharp photos with its 8-megapixel camera with flash, and it records videos in stunning Full HD 1080p resolution. An additional 2-megapixel front-facing camera gives you the power to connect with your friends and family face-to-face via video chat with preloaded Qik Lite over Wi-Fi. And with Google Talk, you can video chat with all of your Google Talk contacts, whether they are on a mobile phone or a computer. Mobile Entertainment Samsung’s Media Hub enables you to rent or purchase movies and TV shows within seconds watch from the convenience of anywhere. With Media Hub’s progressive downloading feature, you can start watching your content almost immediately as the rest of the file downloads to the Galaxy S II. Plus, all Media Hub content can be shared among five Media Hub-enabled devices on the same account. Intuitive TouchWiz Interface The Galaxy S II features Samsung’s TouchWiz user interface, providing superior multi-tasking and customization for an enhanced visual and intuitive smartphone experience. Live Panel features provide immediate access to weather, social updates, e-mail, news and photos, which can all be customized on any one of the seven home screens. All of the widgets can be positioned and re-sized to create unique home screens and one-touch access to the services and apps you use the most. The Notifications Panel allows one touch access to a separate menu for managing Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, GPS, and Flight Mode settings. Vital Statistics The Samsung Galaxy S II 4G weighs 4.13 ounces and measures 4.96 x 2.6 x 0.35 inches. Its 1650 mAh lithium-ion battery is rated at up to 3 hours of talk time, and up to 250 hours (10.4 days) of standby time. It runs on the 850/900/1800/1900 MHz GSM/GPRS/EDGE frequencies as well as AT&T’s dual-band 4G network (850/1900 MHz; HSPA+/HSDPA/UMTS) plus international 2100 MHz 3G networks. What’s in the Box Samsung Galaxy S II 4G handset, rechargeable battery, charger, USB cable, wired stereo headset, quick start guide AT&T 4G Network This phone runs on AT&T’s dual-band 850/1900 MHz 4G network (UMTS/HSDPA/HSPA+), and with HSPA+ you’ll experience mobile data speeds up to 4x faster than ordinary mobile broadband–up to approximately 6 Mbps (download). AT&T has deployed HSPA+ to virtually 100 percent of its mobile broadband network, which enables 4G speeds when combined with enhanced backhaul (via Ethernet or fiber). Backhaul is one of the major pieces of a telecommunications network. Think of it as the limbs connecting AT&T’s cell towers with AT&T’s backbone network that provides access to the Internet. Coming later in 2011, AT&T will deliver a second layer of 4G network called LTE (Long Term Evolution) that is even faster than HSPA+ speeds. In areas where either AT&T’s 3G or 4G network is not available, you’ll continue to receive service on the AT&T EDGE network, which offers availability in more than 13,000 US cities and along some 40,000 miles of major highways. Note: AT&T’s 4G mobile broadband coverage is not available in all areas. 4G speeds delivered by HSPA+ with enhanced backhaul; availability increasing with ongoing backhaul deployment. Optional AT&T Services AT&T Navigator: This premium GPS navigation application includes audible turn-by-turn directions, real-time traffic updates and re-routing options, and 3D moving maps (additional charges applicable). AT&T Navigator offers several other features to make your commute more enjoyable and reliable, including mobile access to Yellowpages.com. You’ll be able to find the closes ATM, restaurant, gas station, Wi-Fi hotspot and more with over 10 million business listings. DataPro 4 GB for Smartphone Tethering: Tethering lets you use your smartphone as a wireless modem or mobile hotspot, enabling you to share your mobile broadband connection to laptops, netbooks, and more. The DataPro 4 GB plan also includes unlimited access to more than 26,000 AT&T Wi-Fi Hot Spots. And if you go over, you’ll get an additional 1 GB automatically for only $10. AT&T FamilyMap: Locate any phone indoors or outdoors on the AT&T Network. FamilyMap provides peace of mind by being able to conveniently locate a family member from your wireless phone or PC and know that your family’s information is secure and private. Want to verify that your child arrives home from school each day? Set up a Schedule Check to automatically get location information sent to you via text message or e-mail. Android Gingerbread Operating System The Galaxy S II runs the Android 2.3 operating system (dubbed Gingerbread)–the fastest version of Android available for smartphones yet. It features a cleaner, more refined interface with new icons, improved top notification bar, and more intuitive navigation. Multitasking in Gingerbread allows you the ability to run more than one app at a time. If you’re playing a game, you can easily switch to an incoming e-mail and then switch back to the game without losing your place. And like the previous version of Android (“Froyo”), Gingerbread provides support for Adobe Flash Player 10.1 for access to the full Web. A new onscreen keyboard makes it easier to type thanks to additional spacing between the keys and larger font sizes. And the more you use the keyboard, the easier typing will be as the enhanced suggest feature records previous input history to make better suggestions. The Galaxy S II also brings one-touch access to the popular Google mobile services you use every day. It also provides easy access to both personal and corporate e-mail, calendars, and contacts supported by Exchange Server and Gmail. And through Android Market, you’ll get access to thousands of useful applications, widgets, and fun games to download and install on your phone, with many more apps being added every day. Google Integration Android Market for browsing and downloading thousands of free and paid apps Pre-loaded Android apps: Browser, Calculator, Calendar (Google or Corporate), Camera, Clock, Contacts, Email, Gallery, Messaging, Music, News & Weather, Phone, Settings, Video Player, Voice Dialer, Voice Search, YouTube Google applications: Gmail, Google Search, Google Voice Search, Google Latitude, Google Maps, Google Places, Google Talk Google Maps Navigation with spoken turn-by-turn directions showing real-time traffic and 360° views of the destination Connectivity Ultra-fast 4G connectivity via AT&T’s HSPA+ network (with enhanced backhaul). Where 4G isn’t available, your phone will connect with AT&T’s 3G network. Wireless-N Wi-Fi networking (802.11b/g/n) for accessing home and corporate networks as well as hotspots while on the go. AT&T Mobile Hotspot capable enabling you to connect multiple devices–from tablets to gaming devices–to the phone’s 3G/4G cellular connection via Wi-Fi. Next-generation Bluetooth 3.0 connectivity backward compatible with older Bluetooth-enabled peripherals and includes stereo audio streaming. Onboard GPS for navigation (using pre-loaded BlackBerry Maps or optional AT&T Navigator) and location services Pre-installed Apps Samsung Media Hub puts thousands of hit movies and next-day TV shows at your fingertips Samsung Social Hub allows you to transfer e-mail, instant messaging, contacts, calendar, and social network connections–including Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn accounts–into Feeds and Messages folders that can be either put into separate tabs or combined into comprehensive lists. Vlingo Voice Talk allows you to give your Epic 4G Touch voice commands, including voice dial, text message, navigation, music, Web browsing and search. Kies Air for wireless syncing Qik Video Chat Voice Talk by Vlingo Communications & Internet Full messaging capabilities including SMS text, MMS picture/video and IM instant messaging Full HTML browser (Webkit 5) with Flash 10.1 Support Personal and corporate e-mail access with support for Exchange ActiveSync as well as personal e-mail accounts (Google push, Yahoo!, POP3, IMAP). Hardware 1.2 GHz dual-core processor (Samsung Exynos) speeds up everything–from playing games to watching shows to opening files from work. 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus multi-touch display (480 x 800 pixels, 16 million color depth) HDMI port for video output to your HDTV or monitor (adapter and cable not included). MicroUSB port Sensors: accelerometer, 6-axis gyroscope. Camera 8-megapixel auto-focus camera with LED flash, smile detection, geo-tagging, zero shutter lag, and multiple scene modes. HD 720p video capture 2-megapixel forward-facing camera for video chats and self portraits. Multimedia Music player compatible with MP3, WMA, AAC, FLAC, OGG, and WAV Video player compatible with MP4, M4V, AVI, WMV, and 3GP. Samsung AllShare DLNA capabilities allow you to stream movies, music, and photos from your smartphone to a compatible HDTV. Memory 16 GB internal memory Memory expansion via microSD card slot with support for optional cards up to 32 GB. 1024 MB of RAM More Features 3.5mm headphone jack Hands-free speakerphone Also Available for This Android Device Amazon Appstore for Android Get a great paid app for free every day. Kindle Buy a book once and read it everywhere with our free Kindle Reading App for Android. Amazon MP3 Shop 15 million songs and stream your Cloud Drive music directly from your Android device. IMDB Find local movie showtimes and TV listings, watch trailers, and search the world’s largest source of entertainment information. Audible Download audiobooks directly to your Android device, then listen wherever you go, get audiobook news, earn badges, and more. Amazon Mobile Shop for millions of products, get product details, and read reviews–right from your mobile device. Features: 4G-enabled ultra-thin Android-powered smartphone with 1.2 GHz dual-core processor and 4.3-inch Super AMOLED Plus multi-touch display 8-MP camera with Full HD 1080p video capture; 2-MP front camera for video chats; Wirelss-N Wi-Fi networking (with optional Mobile Hotspot capabilities) 16 GB internal memory; microSD memroy expansion; Bluetooth 3.0; GPS navigation; personal and corporate e-mail; DLNA wireless streaming Up to 3 hours of talk time, up to 250 hours (10.4 days) of standby time; released in October, 2011 What’s in the Box: handset, rechargeable battery, charger, USB cable, wired stereo headset, quick start guide See the details
Continue reading …Contenders for the Nobel prize include Arab spring activists, Bradley Manning and Julian Assange 9.16am: Good morning. Welcome to live coverage of the Nobel Peace Prize 2011. The winner is due to be announced at 10am BST. Recent winners have proved controversial for very different reasons. Last year the committee angered China by awarding the prize to dissident Liu Xiaobo . The year before Barack Obama won, despite taking office as US president less than two weeks before the February nomination deadline. That decision prompted ridicule from some quarters ( Given criticism over Obama’s support for extra-judicial killings this year , a repeat performance is unlikely to be on the cards). Less controversial winners have included Nelson Mandela (jointly with Frederik Willem de Klerk), Médecins Sans Frontières and Mother Teresa ( see the full list here ). As ever, the fact that nominations are not made public has not stopped speculation about potential winners. The Guardian’s guide to possible recipients includes Wikileaks founder Julian Assange, alleged US military leaker Bradley Manning, activists from the Arab Spring and Aung San Suu Kyi (who would be the first individual to take home the prize twice). Also named was former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, who has apparently been nominated every years since 1990, when he presided over the reunification of Germany. The Guardian readers’ choice was Bradley Manning , followed by Julian Assange. If either of these two men win expect a similar reaction from the US to China’s reaction over last year’s decision. However, the chairman of the prize committee, Thorbjoern Jagland, said in an interview on Wednesday that the winner is “obvious” and he’s surprised that “commentators and experts” haven’t picked up on it. Does that mean Bono? Nobel peace prize Aung San Suu Kyi Julian Assange Bradley Manning WikiLeaks Live video Haroon Siddique guardian.co.uk
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• NTC forces launch major assault on Sirte • Gaddafi issues first audio message for two weeks • UN says 2,900 killed in Syrian crackdown 9.20am: Today’s assault on Sirte began at 6am, according to a report mentioned by BrownMoses reports below the line. Global Post’s James Foley, tweets: first time fighters leave at 6 am to go to front lines , cars streaming in from misrata side #sirte, lots of rumors of attack today Last night El Mundo’s Javier Espinosa had this update on the movement of Gaddafi loyalists: “Gaddafi forces moving just in circles around hospital, Ouagadougou (conference center) and university” one NTC commander #Sirte #Libya (I’ve added the location of the university to the Google Map embedded in the previous post.) 8.33am: Welcome to Middle East Live. The Gaddafi stronghold of Sirte has been reported to be on the brink of falling for two weeks and now forces loyal to the new government have launched another major new offensive against the city. Here are the main developments there and elsewhere in the region. Libya • This appears to be the “final push” against Sirte, according to the BBC. Forces loyal to Libya’s transitional government have launched a major assault on the city of Sirte, one of the last Gaddafi strongholds. Hundreds of vehicles have advanced on the city from both the east and the west and are close to the centre. The BBC’s Jonathan Head, on the city’s outskirts, says it is by far the biggest assault in recent days. • The battle for Sirte is a ramshackle affair, writes the Guardian’s Peter Beaumont. On the west side of the city, where the katibas [rebels] from Misrata launch almost daily attempts to take the Gaddafi stronghold of the Ougadougou conference centre, the fighters gathered for an impromptu breakfast outside a little field hospital. On Thursday they had poured in behind three tanks only to be driven back by missiles. A fighter said: “We want to get this thing finished quickly. We had a plan to try and open the road to the hospital to evacuate civilians, but there were too many snipers. Yesterday we tried many times to open the road.” • The International Committee of the Red Cross evacuated three wounded people from Ibn Sina hospital to a field hospital on the other side of the front line on Thursday. This map of Sirte shows the location of the hospital and Ougadougou conference centre where Gaddafi loyalists are holding out. • Fugitive leader Muammar Gaddafi has issued a new audio recording denouncing Libya’s new government and calling on his supporters to “raise our green flags” . In the new message, his first for more than two weeks, he said: “How did it [the National Transitional Council] get its legitimacy? Did the Libyan people elect them? Did the Libyan people appoint them?” • A Libyan dissident is launching legal action against the British government after secret documents discovered in Tripoli exposed the role played by MI6 in his rendition to one of Gaddafi’s jails. In a case that threatens to cause acute discomfort to some former ministers in the last Labour government as well as senior intelligence officers, Sami al-Saadi is claiming damages from the UK for the years of torture he subsequently suffered. Syria • The UN’s estimate of the number of people killed in the Syrian uprising has increased to 2,900, according to a list of individuals complited by the high commissioner for human rights. Previous estimates put the death toll at about 2,700. • Syrian forces have crossed into Lebanese territory and shot dead a Syrian man living in a border area, according to the BBC. The man killed was reportedly a farmer living in a remote area of Lebanon’s eastern Bekaa region. It was not clear why he was targeted. Egypt Egypt’s ruling military generals have unveiled plans that could see them retain power for another 18 months, increasing fears that the country’s democratic transition process is under threat. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, Egypt’s de facto ruler, said: “the armed forces have no interest in staying in power for a long time,” but he added, “we will not leave Egypt until we have fulfilled all we promised and do our duty towards the people.” Israel • Six Arab-Israeli towns in Israel’s southern Negev region have ground to a halt in protest at government plans to confiscate swathes of land from the Bedouin community. Schools, shops and municipal offices across the region closed for the day allowing more than 8,000 people to stage a demonstration in Beersheba rejecting the plan – the largest civil protest in the city’s history. • The Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni has avoided the possibility of prosecution in a British court for war crimes after the Foreign Office declared that she enjoys temporary diplomatic immunity. A private application for a warrant to arrest the former foreign minister during her visit to London was made on Tuesday and had been under consideration by the director of public prosecutions, Keir Starmer QC. But the announcement that the Foreign Office had issued a rarely heard of certificate that she was on a “special mission” infuriated Palestinian activists and human rights groups. Saudi Arabia Saudi Arabia has made clear it will not tolerate unrest in its eastern province, where 14 people, 11 of them policemen, were injured in protests this week. Any further trouble would be crushed with “an iron fist,” the government warned, anxious to avoid any perception that the first green shoots of the Arab spring have started to emerge in the Gulf’s conservative heartland. Jordan Prince Hassan has joined Twitter, Global Voices reports. In his most recent update Hassan writes: Thank you all so much for the touching welcome over #twitter this week. I hope everyone enjoy’s their weekend. #Amman #JO Libya Muammar Gaddafi Syria Nato US foreign policy Bashar Al-Assad Turkey Saudi Arabia Bahrain Jordan Israel Protest Egypt Matthew Weaver guardian.co.uk
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General who led Obama’s ‘surge’ strategy says even now the military does not have the local knowledge to end the conflict One of America’s most celebrated generals has issued a harsh indictment of his country’s campaign in Afghanistan on the 10th anniversary of the invasion to topple the Taliban. The US began the war with a “frighteningly simplistic” view of Afghanistan, the retired general Stanley McChrystal said, and even now the military lacks sufficient local knowledge to bring the conflict to an end. The US and Nato are only “50% of the way” towards achieving their goals in Afghanistan, he told the Council on Foreign Relations. “We didn’t know enough and we still don’t know enough. Most of us, me included, had a very superficial understanding of the situation and history, and we had a frighteningly simplistic view of recent history, the last 50 years.” McChrystal led the Obama administration’s “surge” strategy that started in 2009 and sent US troop levels in Afghanistan to more than 100,000. Widely acknowledged as a gifted military commander, he was forced to resign last year amid controversy over remarks he made to Rolling Stone magazine . The 10th anniversary of the war, marked on Friday, has prompted sober reflection in the US about a conflict that has passed Vietnam as the military’s longest war. Just over 2,750 foreign troops have been killed – 28% of them in Helmand – while between 14,000 and 18,000 civilians have died as a result of fighting, according to various estimates. Yet although the US entered Afghanistan to hunt down Osama bin Laden and topple the Taliban, its most prominent targets quickly slipped across the border into Pakistan. The al-Qaida leader was discovered in Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, last May, while the Taliban have used remote border bases in Pakistan’s tribal areas to launched a stiff resurgence. In his comments on Thursday night McChrystal also indirectly criticised the Bush administration’s decision to invade Iraq in 2003, saying it made success in Afghanistan more difficult to achieve. The invasion “changed the Muslim world’s view of America’s effort,” he said. “When we went after the Taliban in Afghanistan in 2001, there was a certain understanding that we had the ability and the right to defend ourselves and the fact that al-Qaida had been harboured by the Taliban was legitimate. I think when we made the decision to go into Iraq that was less legitimate [in the eyes of the Muslim world].” The 10th anniversary has also been marked in downbeat fashion in Afghanistan where talk of US-driven “nation building” has largely evaporated. Despite $57bn in international aid since 2001, aid agencies say most people remain mired in deep poverty. “There has been some important progress, especially in urban areas,” said Anne Garella of Acbar, an umbrella group of 111 foreign and local aid agencies. “But our research highlights the gap behind positive rhetoric and grim reality.” An Acbar study found that 80% of Afghans now have access to health services compared with 9% in 2001. The number of children in school has rocketed from barely one million a decade ago, 5,000 of them girls, to seven million today, one third of whom are girls. But Afghanistan still has been some of the world’s worst health indicators due to shoddy facilities, conflict and official corruption. Afghans have grown highly sceptical of western aid over the years, with a widespread perception – partly well founded – that much of the money finds its way back to western countries through security costs and inflated expatriate wages. But the greatest worry for most Afghans now is the consequence of the US drawdown planned for the end of 2014, which will see the vast majority of 150,000 foreign troops leave the country. The American plan is to hand power to the shaky Karzai-led government, which is plagued by corruption and enjoys diminishing credibility. McChrystal said that building a legitimate government that ordinary Afghans believed in, and which could serve as a counterweight to the Taliban, was among the greatest challenges facing US forces. Efforts are under way to bolster the government’s authority. Nato says it will have trained 325,000 Afghan soldiers by January 2015, and the US is likely to continue financial support, although exact levels have yet to be decided. But rising ethnic and political tensions could destabilise the country before then. And plans to bring the Taliban to peace talks were hit by the assassination of Karzai’s main peace envoy, Burhanuddin Rabbani , last month. Stanley McChrystal Afghanistan US military US foreign policy United States Declan Walsh guardian.co.uk
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• European shares rise for third day ahead of US non-farm payrolls • Moody’s downgrades 12 UK banks and building societies • US job figures set to show 60,000 increase • Today’s agenda 8.50am: Here is today’s agenda: • Eurozone industrial production figures for August • UK producer prices for September expected to show a pick-up in inflation (9.30am) • US non-farm payrolls for September likely to show a 55,000 to 60,000 gain in jobs (1.30pm) 8.53am: The FTSE is now up just over 20 points at 5312, a 0.4% gain. Lloyds Banking Group is the biggest loser, down 2.4% at 34.9p, while RBS is down 1.7% at 23.9p following downgrades by Moody’s . Lloyds said the downgrade would have a minimal impact on its funding costs. Manoj Ladwa, senior trader at ETX Capital, says: Equities are likely to remain stuck in a tight range and volumes low until 1.30pm, when the US Non-Farm Payroll numbers are announced. The market is expecting a rise of 55,000 jobs for the month of September, a marked improvement on August, but hardly enough to make a dent on unemployment numbers. Other European stock markets have also edged higher, with Spain’s Ibex and Italy’s FTSE MIB up nearly 0.8%. Germany’s Dax has climbed 0.6% while France’s CAC has gained 0.4%. 8.43am: George Osborne has insisted that Britain’s banks are well capitalised and liquid, adding that Moody’s decision to downgrade 12 UK financial institutions today merely reflects government moves to limit its support – to avoid having to rescue them again. Speaking on BBC Radio 4′s Today programme, the chancellor said: People ask me ‘how are you going to avoid Britain and the British taxpayer bailout out banks in the future?’ This government is doing steps to do that, and therefore credit rating agencies and others will say ‘well, actually these banks have got to show that they can pay their way in the world. And I am confident that British banks are well capitalised, they are liquid, they aren’t experiencing the kind of problems that some of the banks in the eurozone are experiencing at the moment. Osborne also said a resolution of the eurozone debt crisis would provide a shot in the arm for the British economy. The single biggest boost for the British economy that can take place this autumn is nothing I can announce, it is the resolution of the euro crisis. 8.39am: Washington and Wall Street will be nervously awaiting official jobs figures today as President Obama pushes Congress to vote through his latest jobs plan and investors look for signs that recovery is taking hold, my colleague Dominic Rushe in New York reports. September’s non-farm payroll figures follow a week when Obama and senior Washington officials have called on Washington to act on the jobs crisis. Both Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke and Treasury secretary Timothy Geithner have warned that Washington needs to take swift action to address the US’s job crisis. Geithner urged politicians to pass Obama’s recently unveiled job plan, which is up for a vote in the Senate next week, while Bernanke called high unemployment a “national crisis.” The economy generated no net new jobs in August, the first time that had happened since the second world war. The figures triggered a sharp sell-off on the US stock exchanges. Read more here . 8.27am: The FTSE briefly turned negative when news broke that Moody’s had cut the ratings of 12 British banks and building societies, including Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds TSB Bank. Britain’s bluechip index is positive again, trading up some 10 points at 5302, a 0.2% gain. My colleague Jill Treanor, the banking correspondent, says the Moody’s downgrades were “completely expected,” although the timing doesn’t help. It is completely to be expected. They warned three months they would do it. It’s because of attempts to withdraw government support. Clearly the timing doesn’t help. 8.13am: Credit rating agency Moody’s has cut its ratings on 12 UK banks and building societies, including Lloyds TSB Bank and Royal Bank of Scotland, saying it expects the UK government will have to continue to support “systemically important financial institutions”. Moody’s cut its rating on RBS by two notches to A2 from Aa3, and downgraded Lloyds TSB by one notch to A1 from Aa3. It also cut its ratings on Santander UK, Co-operative Bank, Nationwide Building and seven other smaller British building societies. The agency said in a statement : Moody’s believes that the government is likely to continue to provide some level of support to systemically important financial institutions, which continue to incorporate up to three notches of uplift. However it is more likely now to allow smaller institutions to fail if they become financially troubled. The downgrades do not reflect a deterioration in the financial strength of the banking system or that of the government. 8.07am: The Dutch parliament approved the EFSF enlargement to €440bn yesterday, leaving only Malta and Slovakia to vote, on Monday and Tuesday respectively. Malta is expected to pass the measures, but it is less certain that Slovakia will agree to the changes. Gary Jenkins, head of fixed income at Evolution Securities, says: With the vote passed in the Netherlands all the major countries with the critical mass of guarantees are aboard and any upset in the last two countries will probably be worked around quietly. European Commission President Barroso is a very busy man isn’t he? Working on the plan on how to introduce eurobonds whilst at the same time he will soon be presenting his plans for European wide recapitalisations of the banks. And my wife says men can’t multi task… Markets continued to trade better on expectation of a European agreement on bank restructuring and were helped further by the ECB increasing liquidity support for the banks. 7.58am: There is growing nervousness in Whitehall that the government might have to inject more money into Royal Bank of Scotland, according to the Financial Times . My colleague Jill Treanor, the Guardian’s banking correspondent, says there is speculation that the UK’s banks, particularly RBS, could inadvertently get caught up in recapitalisation measures intended to shore up confidence in Europe’s banks. She writes on our business blog : Technically, Britain’s banks should not need another bail out and the Treasury keeps reminding everyone that there are better capitalised than many of their peers. The UK banks argue they have been required to bolster their capital and liquidity faster than eurozone rivals and taken more realistic mark downs on their holdings of sovereign bonds. RBS, for instance, has taken a 50% hit on its Greek holdings compared with 21% of many eurozone banks. However Jose Manuel Barroso, European Commission president is promising to draw up a EU-wide plan for a recapitalisation of the EU’s banks . He does not have the power to impose to any policies on banks ( and the UK’s would in any case fight hard against being drawn into any such plan). Even so, he is influential. RBS was adamant on Friday that it one of the most strongly capitalised banks in the world in response to concern it might need new capital. 7.33am: Good morning. Today’s main event are the US jobless figures for September, with expectations that employers took on more staff after August’s disappointing flat outcome. The consensus forecast on Wall Street is an increase of 60,000 jobs, while the unemployment rate is set to stay at 9.1%. The FTSE 100 index in London is expected to open nearly 30 points higher at 5317, extending the rally of the last two days, while Germany’s Dax is set to rise 25 points. Asian markets rallied overnight , with Japan’s Nikkei up nearly 1% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng climbing 2.7%. On Thursday, the FTSE closed 3.7% higher at 5291.26 as investors were cheered by the Bank of England embarking on a second round of quantitative easing earlier than expected. It will be pumping £75bn into the economy in the next four months by buying government bonds, casting aside fears about inflation. The Bank’s governor Sir Mervyn King warned that Britain may be facing its “most serious financial crisis ever”. By contrast, the E uropean Central Bank resisted calls for a rate cut but announced a number of additional liquidity measures, which “could well have bought European governments extra time to deal with the banking crisis that is engulfing the region,” noted Michael Hewson, market analyst at CMC Markets. He added: By giving some degree of long term certainty on liquidity to the banking sector policymakers get time to arrive at a recapitalisation plan, starting with Dexia at the weekend, as Greece heads closer to a default. There was disappointment however at the stubborn refusal of the ECB to cut rates, but the door was left open to a cut next month when Trichet pointedly omitted to assert that monetary policy remained “accommodative”, especially given that the rate decision was arrived at by consensus, and not by unanimity. Shares in Dexia, the troubled Belgian-French bank, were suspended last night until Monday amid rumours nationalisation. European debt crisis Europe Julia Kollewe guardian.co.uk
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Investigators are hoping that navigation equipment and engine instruments aboard a helicopter might provide clues about why it crashed into New York’s East River, killing one passenger and seriously hurting three others. (Oct. 5)
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Steve Jobs Death 1955 2011 The 11 Best Steve Jobs Quotes Steve Jobs, the co-founder of Apple, has died retrospective msolution says: RT @ Kecialozwz RT @ shellvelle66 : 15 Inspirational Steve Jobs Quotes http:tco0J24nAZH via @ mashabletech @ mashable
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Bye Bye Hank Williams Jr. ESPN DROPS HANK JR. The Pulse: Hank Williams Jr. Hitler Comment; DWTS Update; Amanda Knox mondaynightfo says: ESPN , Hank Williams Jr . both win by parting ways: Monday Night Football and country music singer each get their… http://t.co/oE2PC2zE
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