VERIA, Greece (AP) ? The Robin Hoods in this northern Greek town sport rubber gloves, fuses and orange stickers.
Nearly two years of pay cuts, job cuts and tax hikes have pummeled living standards in debt-crippled Greece and the country is facing record unemployment and a fourth year of recession in 2012. On a personal level, that means many in Veria can't pay for basic necessities such as electricity and end up getting cut off from the grid.
That's where the "Citizens of Veria" activists step in.
The group illegally reconnects needy households back to the electric grid in a direct challenge to the country's dominant power provider, the Public Power Corporation.
"By cutting off power, (PPC) punishes young children, elderly people and generally those who can't cope without it," said activist Nikos Aslanoglou. "We decided that we had to reconnect them. We're not hiding, everybody knows who we are."
He says the group has so far reconnected dozens of households, particularly in the villages and small towns outlying Veria.
Greece sank into a financial crisis in 2009 after it emerged that authorities had been falsifying financial data for years. The fallout from that blocked the country's access to bond markets. Greece only escaped bankruptcy with a euro110 billion ($147 billion) international rescue loan in May 2010, and when that was not enough, a second, euro130 billion ($174 billion) rescue deal that awaits final approval.
In return, the government has promised to slash bloated budget deficits through harsh austerity measures.
As jobs become rarer and worse-paid, many in this northern farming region are falling through a weakening social safety net. In the village of Agia Marina, 9 miles (15 kilometers) from Veria, activists recently reconnected the house of a disabled, 34-year-old single mother, who lives with four of her five children.
As they left, they placed an orange sticker on the electricity meter that reads: "Citizens of Veria. Social solidarity. We are reconnecting the power."
The woman's eldest daughter, a 19-year-old student, said before the activists came her siblings ? aged from 6 to 18 ? had to study by candlelight or with oil lamps in an unheated house.
"Our only income is a euro400-euro500 ($535-$668) welfare payment every two months," said the student, Vasso. "PPC disconnected us because we owed them money, and we were left in the dark for about a month, but then some gentlemen came and reconnected us. Now we have heating again."
She didn't want her full name used because she was afraid authorities would track down her family.
What the activists are doing is illegal and can be punished by more than ten years' imprisonment depending on the size of the outstanding bills, although in most cases sentences do not exceed five years.
"Greek law treats the theft of electricity like any other common theft," University of Thessaloniki law professor Lambros Margaritis said.
Undeterred, a three-strong activist team recently reconnected a house in the small town of Meliki, where a 54-year-old woman lives with her two unemployed sons in their thirties. Working deftly, it took them 15 minutes.
"We're not stealing, the electricity consumption is recorded," Aslanoglou said. "The poor houseowners can't face consequences, it's us who do the reconnecting."
Hence the stickers.
Veria activists claim their campaign is catching on in other parts of the country ? particularly since the introduction in September of a deeply resented new property tax levied through power bills. People who can't pay the new tax face losing their power supply.
That prospect has enraged even PPC employees, who staged a sit-in at a company office in Athens to disrupt the collection of the new emergency tax.
While the Veria municipal authority says have-nots should not be disconnected over the new tax, Mayor Haroula Ousountzoglou says the activists are going too far.
"What the group is doing may be very romantic, it is, however, dangerous," Ousountzoglou told the AP. "PPC just goes and cuts off the electricity again, and imposes additional charges."
In cases of repeated illegal reconnection, homeowners can also face prosecution ? or have their link severed at the nearest electricity pole, a drastic move that activists are powerless to counter.
PPC public relations officer Kimon Stergiotis warned that the company is determined to protect its interests.
"To illegally reconnect cut power links poses severe threats to the life and property of unsuspecting citizens," he said. "In any case, PPC will use the law to its utmost severity."
Ousountzoglou said her town has about 330 families on a welfare program that sometimes includes assistance in paying power bills.
"But our funds are constantly dwindling, and I keep making the rounds of local firms to ask for contributions," she added.
The Veria mayor has threatened to sue PPC if people who really can't pay the property tax are left without power.
"We told them we're not joking," she said. "PPC can't behave like that to needy people."
BEIJING ? More than 100 people, including over a dozen Chinese government employees, have been sentenced over chemical-laced pork that caused a food safety scandal earlier this year, state media said Saturday. One person was given the death penalty.
An investigation into the safety of pork was launched in March after several farms in central Henan province were found using the fat-burning drug clenbuterol ? a banned chemical that makes pork leaner but can be harmful to humans ? in pig feed. A subsidiary of Shuanghui Group, China's largest meat processor, was one company selling tainted pork.
A total of 113 people have received sentences ranging from jail terms to the death penalty with a reprieve, Xinhua News Agency said, citing Henan's higher people's court. A statement on the court's website said trials involving 59 cases and 114 people had finished, but gave no details.
Of the 113 punished, 77 were either producers or sellers of clenbuterol or government employees, Xinhua said.
The China Daily newspaper said that 60 had produced or sold clenbuterol and 17 had worked for government departments.
Xinhua said the main culprit, Liu Xiang, was convicted of harming public safety and sentenced to death with a two-year reprieve, meaning the execution will be delayed for two years. Such sentences usually are commuted to life in prison if the prisoner shows good behavior.
Liu ran a clandestine workshop in Henan's Xiangyang city that produced clenbuterol, Xinhua said, adding that his collaborator, Xi Zhongjie, was sentenced to life.
The pair invested 50,000 yuan ($8,000) each in producing clenbuterol in 2007 and sold the chemical to pig dealers.
By March, they had made 6.4 million yuan after selling more than 6,000 pounds (2,700 kilograms) of the chemical, which spread to eight provinces, including some in eastern China.
Xinhua said most of the remaining 77 producers and sellers and government employees involved in the scandal ? including animal health inspectors and food safety officials ? received convictions for negligence of duty and abuse of power. Most were given sentences of three to nine years.
The court sentenced 36 pig farmers to probation or jail terms of less than a year.
Clenbuterol, known in China simply as "lean meat powder," is banned in the country yet stubbornly continues to pop up in the food supply, laced into animal feed by farmers impatient to get their meat to market and turn a profit.
It can cause nausea, dizziness, headaches and heart palpitations in humans, but pig farmers like to use it because it yields leaner meat, which is more expensive than fatty meat.
Food safety is a sensitive issue in China following scandals in recent years from deadly infant formula to recycled restaurant oil containing potentially deadly molds.
British singer Lily Allen welcomed her first child on Sunday, after two tragic miscarriages in the past several years. Lily’s ex-boyfriend, DJ Seb Chew, congratulated [...]
Flow -- the mental state of being completely present and fully immersed in a task -- is a strong contributor to creativity. When in flow, the creator and the universe become one, outside distractions recede from consciousness and one's mind is fully open and attuned to the act of creating. There is very little self-awareness or critical self-judgement; just intrinsic joy for the task. Since flow is so essential to creativity and well-being across many slices of life -- from sports to music to physics to religion to spirituality to sex -- it's important that we learn more about the characteristics associated with flow so that we may all learn how to tap into this precious mental resource.
But who enters flow? What are these lucky folks like? Recent research shows that people differ quite a bit from each other in the frequency and intensity of their flow experiences. These differences aren't just found in Western cultures. In a study conducted on Japanese students, those who reported experiencing flow more often in their daily lives engaged in more daily activities, and were more likely to have higher levels of self-esteem, Jujitsu-kan (a sense of fulfillment), life satisfaction, better coping strategies and lower anxiety.
In a hot-off-the-press paper in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (author of "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience") and his colleagues in Sweden set out to investigate the associations between flow proneness, intelligence, and the major dimensions of personality. Across two samples of participants with a wide age range, they found some intriguing associations with flow. "Proneness to experience flow" was measured by having participants report how frequently they have flow experiences during three slices of life: work, maintenance (i.e., household chores) and leisure time. They then looked at relations with personality and cognitive ability.
Neurotic participants experienced less flow across multiple domains in their daily lives. The researchers offer some possible mechanisms that could account for this association. One possibility is that the negative emotions that come with high neuroticism interfere with the state of joy that occurs when in a flow state. Another possibility is that the fluctuations in emotion that come with neuroticism can also affect both the cognitive and emotional aspects of flow, causing a disruption in flow. A third possibility is that neuroticism impacts on flow indirectly, through the life choices those high in neuroticism make on a moment-to-moment basis. Research has shown that those high in neuroticism do tend to have less motivation to become involved in activities and experience a greater sense of futility in engaging fully in life.
The researchers also found an association between flow and conscientiousness. Those who were more dutiful and persevering also tended to report higher levels of flow in their daily lives. This association is probably due to the fact that conscientiousness is positively related to other variables that are also associated with flow, such as social problem solving, life satisfaction, subjective happiness, positive affect and intrinsic motivation. Conscientious individuals are also more likely to spend the time practicing to master challenging tasks, conditions which make flow more likely. As the researchers note, "It seems likely that high conscientiousness involves emotional and motivational mechanisms that make an individual engage in flow promoting activities."
The researchers didn't find significant relation with other factors of personality, which I found surprising. I expected them to find an association with Openness to Experience, as prior studies have found a positive link. Perhaps a reason for their lack of association with Openness may be that their Openness measure had quite a few items relating to a preference for intellectual engagement mixed in with items which are more strongly related to flow, such as an openness to aesthetics, feelings, and sensations. Indeed, there was only a very weak association between flow proneness and performance on an actual measure of intelligence, which required participants to find patterns. At first blush, it would seem as though intelligence would be related to flow. After all, intelligence is related to the ability to control attention.
But as the researchers note, the mental state of flow differs markedly from the mental state involved in solving problems on an IQ test. In a prior study conducted in Sweden led by ?rjan de Manzano (who was a co-author of the study with Dr. Csikszentmihalyi), the researchers asked professional pianists to play a musical piece five times and rate their level of flow each time. The respiratory patterns and emotion-related activity of the facial muscles found in those entering flow more frequently suggested that they were experiencing an emotional state of enjoyment and a lack of mental effort. Contrast this with taking an IQ test, where it's difficult to bring your expertise to bear on the task. Instead, flow seems most likely to occur when a person engages in a task with a moderate level of challenge that is well matched in difficulty to a person's current skill level. Flow also shares some commonalities with the mental states of high concentration seen during meditation, which also seems to be a form of concentration uninhibited by our critical facilities when one is fully immersed in the moment. The researchers sum it up: "Flow may thus be a state of subjectively effortless attention that occurs during skilled performance and has different underlying mechanisms from attention during mental effort."
I'm excited to see that this is an active area of research. The finding that flow is more strongly related to personality than cognitive ability is fascinating and hopeful. Minor tweaks in your personality might make it more likely you will enter flow. The changes are well worth it.
? 2011 by Scott Barry Kaufman.
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(Reuters) ? A consortium led by private equity firm KKR & Co (KKR.N) clinched a deal to buy oil and gas group Samson Investment Co for $7.2 billion, KKR said on Wednesday.
The deal is the second-largest global private equity transaction of the year, and its structure underscores how challenging debt markets are leading buyers to find partners to fund larger equity transactions.
KKR has a 60 percent participation in the consortium, people familiar with the matter previously told Reuters. The group includes Japanese trading house Itochu Corp (8001.T), which will invest $1 billion to take a 25 percent stake, as well as two smaller private equity houses.
Natural resources assets are a way for investors to beat the commodities cycle as commodity exchange-traded funds have generally underperformed spot commodity prices.
Samson, founded by the late Charles Schusterman in 1971, offers its new owners rich pickings for their natural resources portfolio. It has interests in more than 10,000 wells, including in oil-abundant areas such as the Bakken and Powder River.
COMING HOME
KKR co-founder and Chief Executive Henry Kravis sealed the deal in his native Tulsa, Oklahoma.
"For Samson, Tulsa is home. It has always been a Tulsa company and it will remain a Tulsa company," Kravis, who leads KKR together with co-founder George Roberts, said in a statement.
Some areas in which Samson is active are estimated to hold vast quantities of oil and gas locked in shale or other underground formations. These spots are also more expensive to tap than traditional oil and gas fields.
Itochu said the deal would help it achieve its goal to double its oil rights volume to 70,000 barrels per day by 2015, up from its current 34,000 barrels.
The deal ranks as the second-largest global private equity transaction of the year, behind Blackstone Group's (BX.N) $9.4 billion agreement to buy nearly 600 shopping malls from Australia's Centro Properties (CNP.AX).
The deal excludes Samson's onshore Gulf Coast and offshore deepwater Gulf of Mexico assets, which carry more risk to develop and will remain with the Schusterman family. Samson Chief Operating Officer David Adams will be promoted to chief executive.
KKR's group will splash out some $4 billion in equity since a $2.35 billion asset-based loan arranged for the deal is not expected to be drawn down in its entirety, financing sources said. There is also $2.25 billion of high-yield bonds arranged, these sources added.
The agreement, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed by the end of the fourth quarter, the consortium said in the statement.
Jefferies & Company and Jones Day advised Samson while Mizuho and Evercore Partners advised Itochu alongside Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP. Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co. LLC advised KKR.
(Reporting by Greg Roumeliotis in New York; Additional reporting by Michelle Sierra and Smita Madhur in New York and Mayumi Negishi in Tokyo; Editing by John Wallace, Steve Orlofsky Bernard Orr and Edwina Gibbs)
NEW YORK ? Metals prices slid Friday on renewed fears that the European debt crisis could slow global economic growth.
Italy became the latest country to see its costs for borrowing money skyrocket, entering the territory of nations that have required massive bailouts from the European Union. Italy must pay an average yield of 7.814 percent in two-year bonds, nearly double what the country had to pay only a month ago.
The revelation comes on the heels of a disastrous bond offering from Germany, which saw little demand for investment in the continent's strongest economy. The inability to raise cash inexpensively could drastically hurt sales of industrial metals that are closely tied to economic growth. Metals like copper and palladium are used as raw materials to make everything from automobiles to home computers.
Friday's trading session in metals was shortened following the Thanksgiving Day holiday in the U.S.
Platinum for January delivery dropped $25.20, or 1.62 percent, to settle at $1,533.10 an ounce. December palladium fell $19.75, or 3.4 percent, to close at $570.10 an ounce. Copper for December delivery fell 0.9 cent to close at $3.27 per pound.
Precious metals were also down. Gold for December delivery fell $10.20 to settle at $1,685.70 per ounce. December silver lost 87 cents, or 2.73 percent, to close at $31.014 an ounce.
Crop prices rose Friday. Corn for March delivery fell 5.50 cents, or nearly 1 percent, to settle at $5.90 per bushel. January soybeans fell 16 cents to close at $11.0650 a bushel. March wheat fell 5.25 cents, or less than 1 percent, to finish at $5.89 per bushel.
In energy trading, benchmark crude oil rose 60 cents to end at $96.77 per barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Heating oil fell 3.09 cents to finish at $2.94 per gallon. Gasoline futures lost 4.45 cents to close at $2.5205 per gallon and natural gas gained 5.7 cents to close at $3.665 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Fear that Europe's debt crisis is infecting Germany, the strongest economy in the region, sent stocks reeling Wednesday.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 236 points, leaving it down 4.6 percent over the past three days. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell for the sixth day in a row, its worst losing streak since August.
The Dow Jones industrial average lost 236.17 points, or 2.1 percent, to close at 11,257.55.
The Standard & Poor's 500 index dropped 26.3 points, or 2.2 percent, to close at 1,161.79.
The Nasdaq composite index fell 61.20 points, or 2.4 percent, 2,460.08.
Chances are you've already heard about the beef between Amazon and Penguin over the sales and lending terms of Penguin e-titles through Amazon's Kindle lending program. If not, we can recap quickly. A few days ago Penguin came out with a statement saying that it would suspend making e-editions of new books for libraries and that libraries are to lock down any e-titles for Amazon.com's Kindle ereader.
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A Bahraini woman walks down a narrow street in the western Shiite village of Malkiya, Bahrain, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, painted and repainted with anti-government graffiti and hung with religious banners for the Islamic month of Muharram, a time of Shiite mourning for Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's founding prophet Mohamed. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
A Bahraini woman walks down a narrow street in the western Shiite village of Malkiya, Bahrain, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, painted and repainted with anti-government graffiti and hung with religious banners for the Islamic month of Muharram, a time of Shiite mourning for Imam Hussein, grandson of Islam's founding prophet Mohamed. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
A Bahraini boy plays in a narrow street in the western Shiite village of Malkiya, Bahrain, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011, painted with graffiti urging political prisoners to be freed. (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
A Bahraini child peers from a home in the western Shiite village of Malkiya, Bahrain, on Tuesday, Nov. 22, 2011. Graffiti on the side of the building reads: "For sure, victory is coming." (AP Photo/Hasan Jamali)
MANAMA, Bahrain (AP) ? Bahrain suggested Thursday that it has classified evidence that Iran was linked to Shiite-led protests in the Gulf kingdom despite an independent commission that said it found nothing to back the claims.
The allegations of Iranian involvement in the kingdom's 10-month-old unrest have been central to Gulf policies during the region's largest Arab Spring uprising, including the decision to send a Saudi-led military force to reinforce Bahrain's embattled Sunni monarchy.
But the findings of a special commission that investigated Bahrain's turmoil ? contained in a 500-page report issued Wednesday ? were a direct slap at fears by the Western-allied Gulf states that Shiite power Iran seeks to use Bahrain as a foothold to try to undermine the region's Sunni Arab regimes.
The official Bahrain News Agency said national security concerns prevented sharing all intelligence on Iran, which has sharply denounced the crackdowns on Bahrain's Shiite majority but insists it has no direct ties to the conflict.
The news agency also repeated statements by Bahrain's king that Iranian propaganda has fueled the bloodshed and clashes on the strategic island, which is home to the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet. Earlier this month, Bahrain claimed it dismantled an Iranian-linked terror cell that plotted attacks on high-profile targets including the Saudi Embassy.
The special commission's report ? authorized by Bahrain's rulers in a bid to ease tensions ? was dominated by details of abuses including torture, excessive force and legal shortcomings under a special security court.
At least 35 people have been killed in violence related to the uprising, including several members of the security forces.
Bahrain's Shiites comprise about 70 percent of the island nation's 525,000 citizens. They have complained of widespread discrimination such as being blocked from top government or military posts. The monarchy has offered some concessions, but refused to bow to protest demands to surrender control of all top positions and main policies.
Many of the report's conclusions had been previously noted by rights groups and opposition activists. But the burden fell on Bahrain's authorities to prove their charges of Iranian links to the protests.
The report said evidence presented by Bahrain's government "does not establish a discernible link between specific incidents" during the time period studied from February and March.
The commission noted that most of the government's claims on Iranian involvement related to alleged intelligence operations, making them impossible to independently investigate.
But Bahrain's king, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, lashed back at the findings, insisting Tehran's role was clear to "all who have eyes and ears."
He pointed to Iran's Arabic-language broadcasts that "fueled the flames of sectarian strife," but gave no details on the extent of possible secret intelligence that was not shared.
Bahrain is a critical U.S. ally and Washington has taken a cautious line: Urging Bahrain's leaders to open more dialogue with the opposition, but avoiding too much public pressure.
In Washington, the White House on Wednesday commended the king for appointing the commission and said in a statement that it is "incumbent upon the government of Bahrain to hold accountable those responsible for human rights violations and put in place institutional changes to ensure that such abuses do not happen again."
A statement by the European Union's foreign policy chief, Catherine Ashton, urged Bahraini authorities to "open a new chapter ... of national reconciliation."
You Are Here: Home ? General News ? Micro-finance expert calls for public education about loan facilities
Page last updated at Tuesday, November 22, 2011 18:18 PM //
Mr Ben Fankah, Executive Director of Africa Financial Services (AFS), has expressed the need for micro-finance companies to set up educational units in their outfits to tutor prospective clients about the facilities they offer.
This, he said, would prevent situations where many clients get disappointed after taking loans from micro finance companies, coupled with difficulties with repayment plans and huge interest rates.
Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Mr Fankah noted that the products offered by micro-finance and non banking institutions are ?need products? and not ?want products?, hence the need for a thorough understanding by clients before they are given the facilities.
?Most clients come with dire financial needs and are mostly desperate to access financial assistance.
?Because of this, they do not weigh the facility well by looking at the advantages and disadvantages of the loan before completing and accepting the terms and conditions? he stated.
He said most clients end up unhappy after accessing the loans because they were not well educated on the facility.
Mr Fankah, a long time player in the micro finance and non banking financial service industry started at Bayport Financial Services as Marketing and Public Relations Manager from 2006 to 2008, before moving to Dalex Financial Services as a Senior Manager in Charge of Operations from 2008 to 2009.
We all need a way to unwind. And for the Pacific Heights Diva, that means a day at International Orange. The spa offers skincare, massage and yoga for all-day total body recall. (They even have their own skincare line in case you need to present something wrapped. It's a different country in there.) And on Saturday, shoppers can score 15 percent off. 2044 Fillmore Street, Second Floor
NASHVILLE, Tenn. ? The makers of Jack Daniel's whiskey can take a victory sip after a proposal by local officials to tax its barrels of booze was derailed before it could reach the Tennessee Legislature.
The Moore County Council in Lynchburg voted 10-5 Monday evening to rescind a vote asking lawmakers to authorize a local referendum on the proposal, which would have taxed Jack Daniel's up to $5 million annually with the revenue going to local coffers.
Charles Rogers of Lynchburg, who had spearheaded the effort, said the issue "is now on life support."
Jack Daniel's is the world's top-selling whiskey, distilled in the tiny town which has been celebrated in folksy, black-and-white advertisements for years.
State Rep. David Alexander, who represents Lynchburg and attended the meeting, said he considers the issue dead.
"It's the will of the people," he said of the council vote. "They have spoken."
A distillery spokesman did not return an after-hours call Monday for comment.
A previous vote was 9-5 to send the proposal to the legislature, and Rogers said he was told the town had been depicted as greedy in worldwide news reports about the proposal since the first vote.
The 145-year-old distillery, owned by Louisville, Ky.-based Brown-Forman Corp., now pays $1.5 million in local property taxes. Distillery officials had opposed the measure, saying Jack Daniel's is already paying its fair share.
Members of the legislature had said the proposal had little chance of passing.
The distillery, tucked away on 1,700 hilly acres in south-central Tennessee, has 450 employees, making it the largest industry in the small county. About 210,000 people visit the distillery annually, qualifying it as a top tourist draw in Tennessee.
Ironically, Moore County is dry, meaning the iconic Old No. 7 cannot be legally sold in the county, just distilled.
Research group proposes first system for assessing the odds of life on other worlds
Monday, November 21, 2011
Within the next few years, the number of planets discovered in orbits around distant stars will likely reach several thousand or more. But even as our list of these newly discovered "exoplanets" grows ever-longer, the search for life beyond our solar system will likely focus much more narrowly on the relatively few of these new worlds which exhibit the most Earth-like of conditions.
For much of the scientific community, the search for alien life has long been dominated by the notion that our own planet serves as the best model of conditions best suited to the emergence of life on other worlds. And while there's an undeniable logic to seeking life in the same sort of conditions in which you already know it to be successful, there are scientists like Dirk Schulze-Makuch, an astrobiologist with the Washington State University School of Earth and Environmental Sciences and Abel Mendez, a modeling expert from the University of Puerto Rico, who also see such a model as the product of a potentially limiting form of earthling-biased thinking.
To Schulze-Makuch and his nine fellow authors ? an international working group representing, NASA, SETI, the German Aerospace Center, and four universities ? the search for life on other worlds is really driven by two questions.
"The first question is whether Earth-like conditions can be found on other worlds, since we know empirically that those conditions could harbor life," Schulze-Makuch said. "The second question is whether conditions exist on exoplanets that suggest the possibility of other forms of life, whether known to us or not."
In a paper to be published in the December issue of the journal Astrobiology, Schulze-Makuch and his co-authors propose a new system for classifying exoplanets using two different indices ? an Earth Similarity Index (ESI) for categorizing a planet's more earth-like features and a Planetary Habitability Index (PHI) for describing a variety of chemical and physical parameters that are theoretically conducive to life in more extreme, less-earthlike conditions.
Similarity indices provide a powerful tool for categorizing and extracting patterns from large and complex data sets. They are relatively quick and easy to calculate and provide a simple quantitative measure of departure from a reference state, usually on a scale from zero to one. They are used in mathematics, computer imaging, chemistry and many other fields.
The two indices proposed by the group mark the first attempt by scientists to categorize the many exoplanets and exomoons that are expected to be discovered in the near future in accordance with their potential to harbor some form of life.
"As a practical matter, interest in exoplanets is going to focus initially on the search for terrestrial, Earth-like planets," said Schulze-Makuch. "With that in mind, we propose an Earth Similarity Index which provides a quick screening tool with which to detect exoplanets most similar to Earth."
But the authors believe that focusing exclusively on earth-based assumptions about habitability may well be too restrictive an approach for capturing the potential variety of life forms that, at least in principle, may also exist on other worlds.
"Habitability in a wider sense is not necessarily restricted to water as a solvent or to a planet circling a star," the paper's authors write. "For example, the hydrocarbon lakes on Titan could host a different form of life. Analog studies in hydrocarbon environments on Earth, in fact, clearly indicate that these environments are habitable in principle. Orphan planets wandering free of any central star could likewise conceivably feature conditions suitable for some form of life."
The paper's authors concede that attempting to rate the probability that life of some unknown form could exist on any given world is an intrinsically more speculative endeavor. But the alternative, they argue, is to risk overlooking potentially habitable worlds by using overly restrictive assumptions.
"Our proposed PHI is informed by chemical and physical parameters that are conducive to life in general," they write. "It relies on factors that, in principle, could be detected at the distance of exoplanets from Earth, given currently planned future (space) instrumentation."
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Washington State University: http://www.wsu.edu
Thanks to Washington State University for this article.
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WASHINGTON ? The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage hovered above its record low for a fourth straight week. But cheap mortgage rates have done little to boost home sales or refinancing.
Freddie Mac says the rate on the 30-year fixed loan fell to 3.98 percent from 4 percent the previous week. Seven weeks ago, it dropped to a record low of 3.94 percent, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research.
The average rate on the 15-year fixed mortgage edged down to 3.3 percent from 3.31 percent. Seven weeks ago, it too hit a record low of 3.26 percent.
Rates have been below 5 percent for all but two weeks this year. Yet this year could be the worst for home sales in 14 years.
Mortgage rates track the yield on 10-year Treasury note. The yield fell this week as investors shifted money into safer Treasurys amid uncertainty in the U.S. economy and fears Europe's debt crisis could worsen. Treasury yields fall when buying activity increases.
Low mortgage rates haven't translated into higher home sales. Mortgage applications dropped 1.2 percent last week from the previous week, the Mortgage Bankers Association said Wednesday.
High unemployment and scant wage gains have made it harder for many people to qualify for loans. Many Americans don't want to sink money into a home that could lose value over the next three to four years. And most homeowners who can afford to refinance already have.
The low rates have caused a modest boom in refinancing, but that benefit might be wearing off. Most people who can afford to refinance have already locked in rates below 5 percent.
The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1 percent of the loan amount.
The average fees for the 30-year and 15-year fixed mortgages were unchanged from 0.7.
The average rate on the five-year adjustable loan fell to 2.91 percent from 2.97 percent. The average rate on the one-year adjustable loan also fell, declining to 2.79 percent from 2.98 percent.
The average fees on the five-year and one-year adjustable loans were unchanged from 0.6.
To calculate average mortgage rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.
The next Mars rover, Curiosity, is scheduled to launch Saturday. It's the first Mars rover to jettison solar panels for nuclear power, meaning it can go places and do things others couldn't.?
NASA's most ambitious Mars exploration mission yet is set for launch on Saturday, and the rover has one hot energy source.
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Gone are the fly's-wing-like solar panels that provided electricity for earlier rovers Spirit and Opportunity.
Instead, the rover for the Mars Science Laboratory, Curiosity, carries 10.6 pounds of plutonium-dioxide pellets. The system is designed to allow the vehicle to operate where sunlight is so weak or the spacecraft's mission is so demanding that solar panels are impractical.
"You can operate with solar panels on Mars, you just can't operate everywhere," said Stephen Johnson, who heads the space nuclear systems technology division at the US Department of Energy's Idaho National Laboratory in Idaho Falls, in a statement. "This gives you an opportunity to go anywhere you want on the planet, not be limited to the areas that have sunlight, and not have to put the rover to sleep at night."
The power source is known as a multimission radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), and other versions have been?incorporated into spacecraft designs since the 1960s. In January 2006, NASA launched an RTG on the New Horizons spacecraft, which is now more than half way to its planned 2015 flyby of Pluto. Even the Mars rovers Sojourner, Spirit, and Opportunity have carried small plutonium-fueled heaters to keep the vehicles' electronics warm.
The RTG on Curiosity uses the contrast between heat of plutonium's radioactive decay and the chilly temperatures on Mars to generate electricity.
The form of plutonium used, plutonium-238, is unsuitable for nuclear explosive. The primary risk, according to physicists, comes if finely ground plutonium is inhaled or ingested along with with food.
The units housing the plutonium-dioxide pellets have undergone rigorous tests under conditions one might expect to see if a rocket carrying an RTG-bearing spacecraft has to be destroyed before it reaches orbit, NASA and US Department of Energy officials have said.
By some accounts, six missions since the 1960s, including the aborted Apollo 13 mission and Russia's Mars 96 mission, have ended with RTGs burning up high in the atmosphere or plunging into the ocean after surviving reentry. While early models released radioactive material as craft burned up on reentry, later models appear to have survived reentry and impact intact without releasing radioactive material.
NASA's environmental-impact statement for this launch puts the risk of a release from a launch-area accident at 1 in 420. But the agency's calculations put the risk of adverse health effects to any single individual from an accident near the launch site at less that 1 in 1 million.
Techna Institute to lead University Health Networks collaboration with INO, agreement signedPublic release date: 23-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jane Finlayson jane.finlayson@uhn.on.ca 416-946-2846 University Health Network
(TORONTO, Canada Nov. 23, 2011) The new Techna Institute at University Health Network (UHN) has signed its first agreement with INO of Quebec City and Hamilton.
Techna Institute, launched Nov. 9 in partnership with the University of Toronto, is an innovation hub poised to integrate and fast track research, development, and commercialization of new healthcare technologies.
INO is a world-class Canadian centre of expertise in optics and photonics that assists companies in improving their competitive edge and developing their business. INO has executed more than 4,500 R&D contracts in optics and photonics in its 23-year history, spun out 27 companies all still operational , and carried out 43 technology transfers. Over the past 15 years INO has been developing innovative biomedical optics solutions for industry, more recently in concert with UHN. The success of this collaboration was a key factor in INO's decision to expand into Ontario in 2009 allowing it to tap into the unique medical ecosystem of Toronto's Discovery District.
Techna formally The Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health will lead the UHN collaboration with INO. As detailed in the agreement, initial projects will include optical dosimetery, non-linear optical endoscopy, and bioluminescence CT imaging. The scope of the collaboration naturally falls into Techna's Photonics Core, led by Brian Wilson, Senior Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute and a Professor, Department of Medical Biophysics, at the University of Toronto.
As a part of the agreement, INO will provide an in-kind contribution of up to $2.5M over a five-year period including developmental, prototyping, and preproduction activities in biomedical optics; as well as assistance in business development and program management activities in the field of biomedical optics.
Techna/UHN will provide INO with access to clinicians and clinical trial capability and a 400-square-foot laboratory space in the Banting Building at the University of Toronto Techna's headquarters.
"We are thrilled with this partnership which builds on our positive experiences with INO for greater success." says Techna Director David Jaffray, UHN Head of Radiation Physics and a Senior Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, the research arm of the health network's Princess Margaret Cancer Program. Dr. Jaffray is also a Professor of Radiation Oncology and Medical Biophysics at U of T and holds the Orey and Mary Fidani Family Chair in Radiation Physics at Princess Margaret Hospital. "Our efforts to accelerate the translation of clinically-driven inventions into clinic will tremendously benefit form INO's professional level development and prototyping services, facilities, and expertise. We are determined to make it a very fruitful relationship."
Marcia Vernon, Manager for INO-Ontario, says: "It is a perfect arrangement. Techna will provide the framework through which our joint innovations will reach patients and change clinical practice. We look forward to joint development and commercialization." Dr. Vernon, who is leading INO's first geographical expansion, states that "this collaboration is a key pillar in our strategy for Ontario".
###
About Techna Institute
Techna is an institute of the University Health Network, in partnership with the University of Toronto, focused on the accelerated development and exploitation of technology for improved health. The Techna Institute is designed to shorten the time interval from technology discovery and development to application for the benefit of patients and the health care system. It will also stimulate and facilitate the innovation cycle through a continuum of clinically-driven innovation, technology & process development, and translational research. www.technainstitute.com
About INO
A leading technology designer and developer, INO is Canada's largest center for industrial optics and photonics expertise. It is an international leader in its field, having completed over 4,500 R&D contracts to date for Canadian companies across a wide variety of fields. INO has performed 43 technology transfers, and created 27 new high-tech startups. It boasts more than 200 employees, most of them researchers, scientists, and technicians who contribute to INO's international reputation INO is a private, not-for-profit contract R&D company founded in 1985 by the Canadian and Quebec provincial governments.
About University Health Network
University Health Network consists of Toronto General, Toronto Western and Princess Margaret Hospitals, and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. www.uhn.ca
About the University of Toronto
Established in 1827, the University of Toronto has assembled one of the strongest research and teaching faculties in North America, presenting top students at all levels with an intellectual environment unmatched in breadth and depth on any other Canadian campus. U of T faculty co-author more research articles than their colleagues at any university in the US or Canada other than Harvard. As a measure of impact, U of T consistently ranks alongside the top five U.S. universities whose discoveries are most often cited by other researchers around the world. The U of T faculty are also widely recognized for their teaching strengths and commitment to graduate supervision.
Media contacts:
Jane Finlayson, Public Affairs & Communications, University Health Network
(416) 946-2846 jane.finlayson@uhn.on.ca
Jim Oldfield, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
(416) 946-8423 jim.oldfield@utoronto.ca
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Techna Institute to lead University Health Networks collaboration with INO, agreement signedPublic release date: 23-Nov-2011 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Jane Finlayson jane.finlayson@uhn.on.ca 416-946-2846 University Health Network
(TORONTO, Canada Nov. 23, 2011) The new Techna Institute at University Health Network (UHN) has signed its first agreement with INO of Quebec City and Hamilton.
Techna Institute, launched Nov. 9 in partnership with the University of Toronto, is an innovation hub poised to integrate and fast track research, development, and commercialization of new healthcare technologies.
INO is a world-class Canadian centre of expertise in optics and photonics that assists companies in improving their competitive edge and developing their business. INO has executed more than 4,500 R&D contracts in optics and photonics in its 23-year history, spun out 27 companies all still operational , and carried out 43 technology transfers. Over the past 15 years INO has been developing innovative biomedical optics solutions for industry, more recently in concert with UHN. The success of this collaboration was a key factor in INO's decision to expand into Ontario in 2009 allowing it to tap into the unique medical ecosystem of Toronto's Discovery District.
Techna formally The Techna Institute for the Advancement of Technology for Health will lead the UHN collaboration with INO. As detailed in the agreement, initial projects will include optical dosimetery, non-linear optical endoscopy, and bioluminescence CT imaging. The scope of the collaboration naturally falls into Techna's Photonics Core, led by Brian Wilson, Senior Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute and a Professor, Department of Medical Biophysics, at the University of Toronto.
As a part of the agreement, INO will provide an in-kind contribution of up to $2.5M over a five-year period including developmental, prototyping, and preproduction activities in biomedical optics; as well as assistance in business development and program management activities in the field of biomedical optics.
Techna/UHN will provide INO with access to clinicians and clinical trial capability and a 400-square-foot laboratory space in the Banting Building at the University of Toronto Techna's headquarters.
"We are thrilled with this partnership which builds on our positive experiences with INO for greater success." says Techna Director David Jaffray, UHN Head of Radiation Physics and a Senior Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, the research arm of the health network's Princess Margaret Cancer Program. Dr. Jaffray is also a Professor of Radiation Oncology and Medical Biophysics at U of T and holds the Orey and Mary Fidani Family Chair in Radiation Physics at Princess Margaret Hospital. "Our efforts to accelerate the translation of clinically-driven inventions into clinic will tremendously benefit form INO's professional level development and prototyping services, facilities, and expertise. We are determined to make it a very fruitful relationship."
Marcia Vernon, Manager for INO-Ontario, says: "It is a perfect arrangement. Techna will provide the framework through which our joint innovations will reach patients and change clinical practice. We look forward to joint development and commercialization." Dr. Vernon, who is leading INO's first geographical expansion, states that "this collaboration is a key pillar in our strategy for Ontario".
###
About Techna Institute
Techna is an institute of the University Health Network, in partnership with the University of Toronto, focused on the accelerated development and exploitation of technology for improved health. The Techna Institute is designed to shorten the time interval from technology discovery and development to application for the benefit of patients and the health care system. It will also stimulate and facilitate the innovation cycle through a continuum of clinically-driven innovation, technology & process development, and translational research. www.technainstitute.com
About INO
A leading technology designer and developer, INO is Canada's largest center for industrial optics and photonics expertise. It is an international leader in its field, having completed over 4,500 R&D contracts to date for Canadian companies across a wide variety of fields. INO has performed 43 technology transfers, and created 27 new high-tech startups. It boasts more than 200 employees, most of them researchers, scientists, and technicians who contribute to INO's international reputation INO is a private, not-for-profit contract R&D company founded in 1985 by the Canadian and Quebec provincial governments.
About University Health Network
University Health Network consists of Toronto General, Toronto Western and Princess Margaret Hospitals, and Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. The scope of research and complexity of cases at University Health Network has made it a national and international source for discovery, education and patient care. It has the largest hospital-based research program in Canada, with major research in cardiology, transplantation, neurosciences, oncology, surgical innovation, infectious diseases, genomic medicine and rehabilitation medicine. University Health Network is a research hospital affiliated with the University of Toronto. www.uhn.ca
About the University of Toronto
Established in 1827, the University of Toronto has assembled one of the strongest research and teaching faculties in North America, presenting top students at all levels with an intellectual environment unmatched in breadth and depth on any other Canadian campus. U of T faculty co-author more research articles than their colleagues at any university in the US or Canada other than Harvard. As a measure of impact, U of T consistently ranks alongside the top five U.S. universities whose discoveries are most often cited by other researchers around the world. The U of T faculty are also widely recognized for their teaching strengths and commitment to graduate supervision.
Media contacts:
Jane Finlayson, Public Affairs & Communications, University Health Network
(416) 946-2846 jane.finlayson@uhn.on.ca
Jim Oldfield, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto
(416) 946-8423 jim.oldfield@utoronto.ca
[ | E-mail | Share ]
?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
(Reuters) ? The U.S. Federal Reserve plans to stress test six large U.S. banks against a hypothetical market shock, including a deterioration of the European debt crisis, as part of an annual review of bank health.
The Fed said it will publish next year the results of the tests for six banks that have large trading operations: Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo.
"They are clearly worried about the issue of Europe," said Nancy Bush, a longtime bank analyst and contributing editor at SNL Financial. "In a time of risk aversion and concern, you need transparency."
The Fed said its global market shock test for those banks will be generally based on price and rate movements that occurred in the second half of 2008, and also on "potential sharp market price movements in European sovereign and financial sectors."
In the Fed's hypothetical stress scenario, unemployment would spike as high as 13 percent while U.S. gross domestic product would fall by as much as 8 percent.
The heightened stress tests are part of a larger supervisory test the Fed will conduct on the capital plans of 31 firms with at least $50 billion in assets.
The tests will apply to 19 banks who have previously been through the process and 12 more financial firms considered less complex. The test each bank faces will be based on its size and complexity.
The banks must submit their capital plans to the Fed by January 9, 2012. The Fed said that it plans to respond to banks by March 15. It was not clear when the results would be published.
The Fed will use the stress tests to determine whether banks are robust enough to raise dividends or repurchase stock, or whether they need to obtain additional capital.
The Fed plans to release more information than it did last year about the tests' results. The regulator said it is doing so to "foster market discipline."
The Fed will disclose the estimate of revenues, losses and capital ratios of the 19 biggest banks if they were to suffer a market shock.
This type of disclosure could give investors and markets more certainty about the strength of U.S. banks at a time when there are deep concerns about their European counterparts.
"Eventually, this will be viewed as a positive, and a lot of people will focus on this as a way to verify the viability of these companies," said Matt McCormick, portfolio manager at Bahl & Gaynor investment counsel in Cincinnati.
CONTAGION FEARS
Fitch Ratings earlier this month expressed concern that U.S. banks could take a hit from the debt crisis in Europe.
Analysts at the credit rater said their concerns are based, in part, on U.S. banks having increased trading operations in Europe in the past several years.
"Our concern is with counterparty risk, the impact of Europe on global economic growth and how that weighs on the economic recovery in the U.S.," said analyst Joseph Scott in the November 16 note.
Fears over U.S. firms' European exposure grew after brokerage MF Global filed for bankruptcy on October 31. MF Global collapsed after disclosures about its massive bets on European debt spooked investors and counterparties.
U.S. bank stocks in general have taken a beating over the last year with investors concerned about the sluggish economy, European debt, and the impact of more intense regulation.
The KBW Bank Index of stocks has fallen more than 30 percent this year.
DIVIDENDS
Banks have been eager to boost dividends and buy back stock, but the Fed has indicated it will take a tough stance, particularly if a bank is not far along in meeting new international Basel capital standards.
In a November 9 speech, Fed Governor Daniel Tarullo said the central bank would be "comfortable with proposed capital distributions" only when it is "convinced" a bank is on a path to easily meet the new standards.
"I don't think anyone could say that this is anything but an extremely stringent stress test," said Karen Petrou, managing partner of Federal Financial Analytics. "It will really put the burden on the affected bank holding companies to prove they can make a capital distribution, not on the Fed to block it."
The Fed is putting in place a broad stress testing regime in the wake of the 2007-2009 financial crisis when taxpayers were forced to extend a $700 billion bailout to the financial system.
This will be the second round of Fed tests of banks' capital plans.
Earlier this year, the Fed rejected Bank of America's plan to boost its dividend in the second half of 2011, while allowing other big banks to move ahead with dividend hikes.
Under the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial oversight law, the Fed is required to conduct stress tests on banks with more than $50 billion in assets.
The latest capital tests are separate from this requirement but the Fed said on Tuesday it would try to harmonize the different testing regimes facing banks.
The expansion of the capital tests beyond the 19 who have been scrutinized in the past will likely not be welcomed by those being added to the list.
"It's another layer of Fed oversight on their capital, and they've fought tooth and nail not to be included in this," said Paul Miller, analyst at FBR Capital Markets. "So I don't think any of those banks are particularly happy right now."
(Reporting by Karey Wutkowski, Dave Clarke and Alexandra Alper in Washington, Joe Rauch and Rick Rothacker in Charlotte, and Lauren Tara LaCapra and David Henry in New York; Editing by Bernard Orr and Tim Dobbyn)
Chances are you've already heard about the beef between Amazon and Penguin over the sales and lending terms of Penguin e-titles through Amazon's Kindle lending program. If not, we can recap quickly. A few days ago Penguin came out with a statement saying that it would suspend making e-editions of new books for libraries and that libraries are to lock down any e-titles for Amazon.com's Kindle ereader.![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](http://www.eurekalert.org/images/back2e.gif){kind=small}
Public release date: 23-Nov-2011
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