Silver, Gold Rise Records as Asian Stocks fall; Yen weakens

April 25, 2011, 5: 18 am EDT by Shiyin Chen and Yumi Teso

April 25 (Bloomberg) - silver and gold soared to records, oil rose for a fourth day and Asian stocks fell in the acceleration of inflation could undermine the economic recovery in the region of concern. The yen weakened against all 16 of his counterparts.

Silver cash advanced 4% starting from 9 h 58 in London after earlier breaking of 5.4%. Gold rises for a ninth day, while crude oil increased by 0.4% in New York. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dragged 0.2 percent Posco to Acer Inc. posted lower profits of companies. Standard & Poor 500 Index future increased by 0.3%. Malaysian Ringgit strengthened below 3 to the dollar for the first time in over 13 years. The yen weakened to a euro 119.24 119.71 last week.Shanghai Index led the China Composite losses in Asia after China International Capital Corp. stated that the consumption of the country prices could climb up to 5.5% this month. Inflation Singapore held to 5 percent in March, a Government report showed today. Data this week may show the Japan retail sales sank last month and U.S. gross domestic product growth has slowed, the major central banks of both countries to keep interest rates near zeroAccording to economists surveyed by Bloomberg. "It is very clear that some Asian countries will keep raising rates more while their economies are strong enough to see more hiking, said Hideki Hayashi, a global economist at Mizuho Securities Co. in Tokyo. "However, the market players expect the United States this week to suggest it would maintain low rates for some time, which means more appeal for Asia.".DoublesSilver of money, which has more than doubled over the past year, transferred to $49.0925 per ounce after having earlier reached a maximum of $49.79 as investors sought precious metals as a store of value. Gold for immediate delivery increased by 0.8% to a record $ 1,518.32 an ounce before the Exchange at $1 517.38.Corn for July delivery rose 2.6% to $7.64 a bushel on speculation wet, cold in the Midwest of the United States further delay plantingreduce yields. Wheat increased by 2.7% to $8.57 a bushel.Oil for June delivery rose by 0.4% to $112.74 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, after the Syrian security forces detained at least 200 people following the assassination of anti-government demonstrators and Senator John McCain said rebel in Libya need help in the fight against the forces of Muammar Kadhafi.la rising prices is fueling speculation policy makers in Asia will intensify efforts tightening. Singapore dollar was little changed at S$ 1.2335 versus the greenback after hit S$ 1.2318. The Central Bank said on April 14 that it would allow more appreciation. The Malaysian ringgit earned as much as 0.5% at 2.9910, the highest level since October 9, 1997, on speculation, the Central Bank will be increasing interest rates the month next to help damp inflation. "Imported Inflation '" there is a perception that the central banks in Asia are allowing their currency thus appreciate to curb imported inflation "Lee Wai Tuck, a strategist to the prediction of the Pte to Singapore, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. "There are some concerns that if the currencies do not appreciate, inflation may go even higher" in countries including China and Singapore, he said.The yen weakened to the 82.02 per dollar of 81.88. The Japan retail sales declined 6.1% in March from a year earlier after rising 0.1 percent in February, according to the midpoint estimate of economists in a survey of Bloomberg News before the Government data due April 27.BOJFOMCThe Bank of Japan can cut its forecast of real growth for 2011 tax to 0.8 per cent of 1.6% as a result of the earthquake on March 11, the Nikkei newspaper reported today. The Central Bank will keep interest rates of reference to a range between zero and 0.1% at its next meeting, according to the set of 13 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.The Federal open market Committee will hold the reference rate in a range of zero to 0.25% April 27According to all the 80 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. GDP increased a 1.9% annual pace after increasing at a rate of 3.1 per cent in the previous three months, according to the median estimate of 66 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News before April 28 report of the Department of the Commerce.Le Dollar Index dragged 0.2 percent to 73.936 after earlier falling as much of 0.3%. The gauge used by IntercontinentalExchange Inc. to track the dollar against the currencies of the six major U.S. trading partners affected 73.735 on 21 April, the lowest since August 2008. "Low ' Yen, the Dollar" in the Japan and the United States are the countries which cannot therefore lead to a monetary tightening, the yen and the dollar will be weak, "said Daisaku Ueno, President of Gaitame.com Research Institute Ltd., in Tokyo largest margin the Japon.Environ currency unit four shares declined for all three who has risen on Asia Pacific the MSCI Index, rallied to 2.2 percent last week. It was the steepest weekly gain in a month. Of Shanghai Composite Index fell by 1.5%, led by China Petroleum & Chemical Corp. and China Shenhua Energy Co., after the ICC said consumer prices could climb from 5.2% to 5.5% in April. The Government has an inflation target for the year of 4 percent.Actions of shipment of advanced, led by based in Taipei Evergreen Marine Corp., after KGI Securities Co., said in a report today "peak demand" and container shortages would boost its earnings in the third quarter. Kweichow Moutai Co., manufacturer of China liquor by market value, gained 3.9% after reporting a 49% increase in net income in the first quarter.EarningsPosco slid 1.9% after the third largest steel producer in the world by the said release first-quarter profit fell 33 percent. Acer sank to 3.1 per cent after the second largest world supplier of portable computers said the lower quarterly profit in six years. Reliance Industries Ltd., most large company of the India by the market value fell to 2.7 per cent after posting net income missed analyst forecasts.Since April 11, only 45 percent of the 60 members on the MSCI Asia Pacific reported earnings per share are predictions analyst beat, compared to about 71 per cent MSCI World Index members, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Futures on the & S P 500 indicate actions can climb today Advanced Micro Devices Inc. companies. to SanDisk Corp. posted earnings that beat Analyst estimates. 22 April, and us stock markets were closed for a holiday.Exchange of Australia for the United Kingdom and the Germany remain excluded today.

-With the help of Ron Harui, Masaki Kondo, Jake Lloyd-Smith and Glenys Sim at Singapore, John Dawson in Hong Kong and Hur Jae in Tokyo. Editor: Matthew Brown.

To contact the reporters on this story: Shiyin Chen to Singapore to schen37@bloomberg.net; Yumi Teso to Bangkok to yteso1@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Patrick Chu in Tokyo at the pachu@bloomberg.net

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Decline in Asian Stocks after Reliance, Acer Profits Miss estimates

April 25, 2011 3: 52 pm EDT by Anna Kitanaka and Kana Nishizawa

April 25 (Bloomberg)--Asian stocks fell, dragging benchmark down more than a week after gains Acer Inc. and of Reliance Industries Ltd. missed Analyst estimates.

Acer, the second largest world supplier of portable computers, lost 3.1 percent in Taipei. Reliance Industries, most large company of the India by the value of market, fell by 3% in Mumbai. Baoshan Iron & Steel Co. led lower Chinese steelmakers on the acceleration of inflation will affect the economic growth of speculation. Honda Motor Co., second largest constructor of the Japan, sank to 1.3% after domestic production collapsed last month.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index dragged 0.3 per cent to 138.46 at 4: 37 a.m. in Tokyo, with approximately four actions under all three have increased. The previously acquired gauge 0.1%. Australia, New Zealand and Hong Kong stock markets are closed for a holiday. After the closing in Tokyo today, Nintendo Co. forecast profit that missed estimates and KDDI Corp. said annual profit will fall 2 percent this fiscal year. "" People waiting for earnings announcements this week before investing, "said Naoki Fujiwara, which helps to oversees the $ 6 billion in Tokyo to Shinkin Asset Management Co." "with the Japan on the head to his Golden Week holidays and with many other markets fermésNous we will probably not see exciting developments in the market." "Shanghai China Composite Index sank to 1.5%, while that the Nikkei 225 Stock average Japanese lost 0.1%. Index of ABN of the Korea in the South increased by 0.8%. VN index of advanced Viet Nam 2%, the most among indexes reference Asia-Pacific, as the currency of the country climbed the most since 2008.U.S. FuturesFutures on the Standard & Poor 500 Index rose 0.2%, following a holiday on April 22. A report of the Government now can show sales of the country rose 12 percent in March, a survey of economists compiled by Bloomberg. Japanese retail reports, U.S. orders of durable goods and gross domestic product are also due this week.The MSCI Asia Pacific Index climbed 0.8 percent this year through April 21, from the earnings of 6.3 S & P 500% and 1.7% by the Stoxx 600 Index of Europe. Stocks in the Asian tonnage was estimated at 13.2 times considers average as of the end of the last earnings, compared with 13.7 for the S & P 500 and 11.3 times for 1600 Stoxx technology shares were the biggest drags on the MSCI index of Asia Pacific. Acer lost 3.1 percent to NT$ 49.5 after first-quarter net income fell 64 percent to NT $ 1.2 billion ($42 million). The estimate of the average analyst for the benefit of NT 1.74 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Reliance, PoscoReliance Industries has dropped from 3% to 1,009.2 rupees in Mumbai after reporting a 14% increase in the net result of 53.8 billion rupees ($1.2 billion) in the three months to March 31. Profit missed average estimates billions of 54, 3-rupee of 18 analysts in a survey of Bloomberg.POSCO, the third largest producer of steel in the world by the production fell 1.9% at 472,000 won in Seoul after Q1 profit collapsed 33 percent as raw materials costs have increased.In China, denied that the increase in the price of oil has fueled the inflation of the concern of the actions will accelerate and monetary tightening measures will increase. Crude rose high $113.07 per barrel in New York, intraday prices highest since 11 April Baoshan Steel lost 2.7 per cent to 7.12 yuan. "Anhui conch Cement Co., the largest cement manufacturer, fell 2.8 percent to 38.88 yuan in Shanghai, Sany heavy industry Co., the largest manufacturer of machines for the manipulation of concrete, 4.1 yuan 18.52% remote."Inflation is still the major concern and there is no sign that the Government will relax its tightening, said Wu Kan, a Fund Manager at the Dazhong insurance company, who oversees the $ 285 million. "The tightening retains the assessments of stocks."Central Bank PoliciesThe Shanghai Composite rose 5.6% this year on speculation that the Government to cool inflation without triggering a slowdown in economic growth. The Central Bank raised the ratio of the requirement to reserve 10 times since the beginning of 2010 and interest rates increased four times to cool inflation as consumer prices rose at the fastest pace since 2008 in constructors March.Japanese falls today after report domestic production for March, the month, an earthquake of magnitude 9 record and disturbed tsunami strings supply for manufacturers of the nation.Honda, who reported a slump of 63 per cent in production last month, fell by 1.3% to 3,105 yen, the third most large drag on the MSCI index of Asia Pacific. Toyota Motor Corp., the world largest manufacturer, fell by 0.6% to 3.275 yen after it said global production fell by 30%.Save sales "supply chains were torn from their roots," said Yoshifumi Kikuchi, head of the seizure in Nissan century Securities Co. in Tokyo. "It's always step clear if builders can get the parts that they need."South Korea, Kia Motors Corp., Builder of no. 2 in the nation, advanced 3.2% to 80,500 won after Yonhap News reported the company had sold a record number of vehicles in the first quarter. Hyundai Motor Co., more great constructor of South Korea, advanced 5.6% won 246, 000.Tokyo Electric Power Co., the operator of a nuclear power plant explosion by the earthquake and tsunami in the Japan last month, jumped 8.4 percent Yen 438. First step of the shares in eight days was also the largest in the Nikkei 225.A plan of Government to compensate the victims of the nuclear accident of Fukushima does not imply usefulness, publication the Nikkei newspaper reported on April 23, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc.., who is the owner of 13.2 million shares Tokyo Electric, gained 1.1% 379 yen. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. increased 0.8% to 2,455 yen. The company holds shares Tepco 35.9 million, or 2.2 per cent of the utility.

-With the help of Akiko Ikeda and Toshiro Hasegawa in Tokyo, Zhang Shidong in Shanghai. Editors: Darren Boey, Shiyin Chen

To contact the reporters on this story: Anna Kitanaka in Tokyo, at akitanaka@bloomberg.net.

To contact the responsible editor of the story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net

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The Japan opposition wins by-election in the latest blow to Kan

April 25, 2011, 4: 18 am EDT by Takashi Hirokawa

(Adds denial of the Kan to resign in eighth paragraph).

April 25 (Bloomberg) — the leader of the Democratic Party of the Japan lost a seat in Parliament in the local elections, the last blow to the Prime Minister Naoto Kan as the pressure mounted on its treatment of earthquake and tsunami of last month.Party of the Kan also lost five seats, and won three in 10 contests of head to head with the Liberal Democratic Party in municipal Town Hall yesterday racing, Kyodo News reported. Third party won the race and another result is not yet known, Kyodo said.The results mark the second setback in the elections of Kan following the earthquake and the nuclear crisis that followed last month. The Prime Minister, who this week will submit a 4 billion yen ($49 billion) reconstruction package to the diet, lack of a majority of two thirds of the lower Chamber to override veto power of the opposition-controlled upper House. "The LDP did not say if it will support the plan."Everyone is blaming Kan a lack of leadership, whether or not he deserves it, "said Steven r. Reed, Professor of political science at the Chuo University in Tokyo. "The LDP has shown no leadership either." It can Kan hang? "Three polls last week showed 7 out of 10 voters think that the Government has mismanaged the situation at the nuclear plant of Fukushima Dai - Ichi, which was paralysed by the earthquake on March 11 and the tsunami. Approval of the Kan rate remained below 30% in the polls by the Asahi, Yomiuri and Nikkei newspapers. "Severe" results "we must accept the results of the election, which were serious," Kan said today in Parliament. "" " However, I will ensure to give my all to the reconstruction of the disaster as well as to deal with the nuclear incident. "Several times, he denied any intention to resign all in being questioned by opposition politicians. Kan took office in June, becoming fifth Prime Minister the since 2006. None of his four immediate predecessors lasts more than a year. "For me to surrender my responsibilities in these circumstances, it would be an impossible choice,"Kan told."LDP candidate Hideki Niwa, 38, received 61% of the vote to win a place in the House of the diet of Aichi Prefecture yesterday, according to the website of the electoral region. The DPJ did not field a candidate in the race after one of its representatives have abandoned the siege in January in an unsuccessful attempt to run for Mayor of Nagoya, largest city of Aichi.Le Nikkei survey showed that less than one-fifth of the voters said that Kan should resign soon. The Mainichi and Nikkei said about 60% of voters favoured integrating the LDP Government, something the party resisted to the. Leader of the party April 14 Sadakazu Tanigaki said that Kan should consider resigning, signalling less cooperation on reconstruction efforts.The LDP, which until 2009 power held for more than 50 years, has refused to approve legislation to sell bonds that would fund about half of the record Yen 92.4 billion budget this year. The initial reconstruction plan will be funded without increasing the new issue of liaison for the year ending March 2012. Funding is a problem for the Japan, who has the burden of the debt doubling the size of the economy.The Democrats lost two races for Governor in April 10 local elections the LDP candidates, the first vote after the earthquake.

-With the help of John Brinsley in Tokyo. Editors: John Brinsley, Patrick Harrington

To contact the reporter on this story: Takashi Hirokawa in Tokyo at the thirokawa@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Peter Hirschberg to phirschberg@bloomberg.net

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Pope urges diplomacy in Libya

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As to your own solar water heater

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Photo: Enterprise Works/VITASolar Water Heater

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This is the VOA Special English Technology Report.

Solar water heaters are used around the world and are not very difficult to build. The system we are going to describe is based on a design developed some years ago in Afghanistan. Since then, it has been built and used in many countries.

It can heat seventy liters of water to sixty degrees Celsius. It can do this between sunrise and noon on a clear day with an average air temperature of thirty-two degrees Celsius.

There are two parts to the solar water heater. One part is made of a sheet of metal painted black. Black surfaces become hotter in the sun than surfaces painted any other color.

This black metal plate is called a collector. The collector is placed in contact with the water.

There are several kinds of metal sheets that can be used for the collector. Corrugated metal will work very well. Corrugated sheets are often used as roofs on housing.

Once the water is heated, it is kept hot with insulation material. This allows the water to stay warm for a long time.

The second part of the solar water heater holds the water for the system. This storage tank can be a container that holds about one hundred liters. Two rubber pipes are attached to the water storage tank. One pipe lets water flow into the system. The other lets water flow out.

When the water heater is working correctly, water will flow from the storage tank to the collector and back again. You can use the hot water at the top of the tank for washing and cleaning. You can change the flow of water so that the temperature is hot or warm as desired.

This solar water heater is easy to build and operate. It will last about two years before the rubber pipes need to be replaced.

There is also something else you will need to make the solar water heater work -- the sun. As you might expect, the heater will heat water only on sunny days.

You can get more information about solar water heaters and other projects from EnterpriseWorks/VITA. This group works internationally to fight poverty. The website is enterpriseworks.org. Choose the link for News & Resources, then click on Publications.

And that's the VOA Special English Technology Report. Tell us if you've ever built a solar water heater or have ideas for improvements. Post your comments at voaspecialenglish.com, where you can also find transcripts, MP3s and podcasts of our programs. We also offer English teaching activities in the Classroom section of our site.? I'm Steve Ember.

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Seeding delayed for flooded Prairie farmers

The Government of Saskatchewan does not say a single farmer has developed a crop in the ground and things are not looking much better farm elsewhere across the prairies waterlogged.

Spokesman for Saskatchewan Agriculture Grant McLean said spring seedlings are delayed in the province due to flooding, with the region of the southwest of the province particularly soggy. But McLean said it is still early and there is much opportunity for a strong culture of 2011.

"We still consider may as our domination seeding months in many cases, we are always optimistic," he said. "We will have the opportunity to take advantage of the moisture and get some quite good crops, once that we get mother nature cooperant and enter us in the field".

Farmers in southwestern Saskatchewan are usually first in the field. But this year they may be the last seed, or even not at all.

"Sooner or later, it has to do better."-Farmer Alfred Sattler

McLean said with favourable weather, some farmers in less flood-prone regions may be able to start working their fields in ten days.

Alfred Sattler, who has been farming near Regina since the 1940s, said he has never seen a wet spring as this spring.

Tending his cattle for the moment, he is still optimistic things can turn around crop-wise.

"You just hope and pray that the climate is changing." That it is improving. Sooner or later, it was better, "he says.

But if conditions not improve quickly and then Sattler, 70, said he cannot put any seed in the soil for the first time in his life.

"He bored a little." But, what can you do? What can you do about it? Pray and hope that things change in the coming days.

In Manitoba, Gene Nerbas, who farms a few kilometres south of the Shellmouth dam, just north of Russell, Manitoba, said streams turned to rivers and floods by land has devasated of hundreds of thousands of hectares.

"It with water from Saskatchewan," said Nerbas, adding he would probably planted a crop in for the second consecutive year.

Several parts of southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan are flooded. CBCElsewhere Manitoba - in the Southwest, the Valley of the Red River and regions Interlake - fields are completely flooded and will need weeks of good weather to dry things. And even when the fields are fairly dry work, many farmers will have to spend time to their fields clearing debris prior to seeding.

Sunday, meanwhile, residents of the First Nation of Roseau River South of Winnipeg continued to leave this community. Responsible for emergency measures were trying to determine where evacuees could go, with temporary Winnipeg already shelters fill with people of another community inundated North of the capital, First Nation of Peguis.

It is expected that all residents of 850 Roseau River will join to almost 1,000 others who left their homes because the safe road access in and out of their home was flooded. Manitoba two of its Amphibex ice machines moved to the West end of the province to remove ice jams on the Saskatchewan River and Carrot River, which created conditions of high water near The Pas.

There are currently 30 States of emergency declared by the municipalities in Manitoba and 77 provincial roads have been affected by flood waters, 52 that are closed. Approximately 650 municipal roads are closed.

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Kid brother of Starbucks grew up quickly

By Leslie Patton

Stir by Hue: Best of Seattle coffee its color codes

As a brand and later as a strategy manager world leader at the Starbucks (SBUX), Michelle Gass defended these popular innovations such as the Green straw shaped dome covers strikes and the Frappucchino. In August 2009, Director General Howard Schultz returned Gass a challenge well away from the heart of Starbucks: Best Coffee in Seattle Remake, the tiny brand, the coffee giant had acquired eight years earlier.

Today best of Seattle, who has 325 namesake cafés (against more than 17,000 to its larger sister), is sold at over 50,000 locations in the United States and the Canada 12 times much as a year ago. While the mark remains several years away from sale Schultz billion target, Gass made progress repositioning as a middle-market offering to the people would not be caught dead in a Starbucks. As President of the best of Seattle, she put his coffee on airliners, in vending machines, ships of cruise and grocery stores. This month, the chain will open 10 cafés inside stores Wal - Mart (WMT) in the Canada. "She brought great energy and focus for a mark which exercised not to expectations," said Olden Lee, Member of the Council of Starbucks.

A chemical engineer with an MBA from the University of Washington, managed Gass brand toothpaste crest to Procter & Gamble (PG) prior to joining Starbucks in 1996. She says that his training has helped to pioneer of the new menu items while keeping a close eye on the bottom line. She quickly earned cred within the company for data-driven presentations. "When everyone talked about off the coast of headlines, Michelle had the numbers," said Gerry Lopez, a former leader of Starbucks, which is now CEO of cinema operator AMC Entertainment. She was also aren't afraid to deliver bad news meetings, Monday afternoon with Schultz said. In 2008, when testing of a new drink of sherbets to Starbucks "has not quite pan out", Lopez said, she had the numbers to prove it. After drilling costs higher shipping and how long it took baristas to clean the stuff, Gass says that she went to Schultz and recommended pulling the stopper of sorbets - what he did.

To the best of Seattle, Gass has attempted a direct approach to the sale. Gone are the scenes of long stereotypical coffee featured on bags: steaming cups of joe, cats in windows. Instead, Gass best cafes placed of Seattle in five levels - with numbered packaging designed to quickly explain the differences. No. 1 (bag of gold; a light roast "for those who like to look intently at the blue sky, and then drink") offers a much softer than no. 5 experience (purple bag, a dark roast requiring "courage and confidence to add to your own"). The idea, Gass, said, is to appeal to Americans who drink brew generic and can be encouraged through a premium brand less Starbucks class declaration. "People do not drink without name colas, but many people drink without coffee name", she said. "It is because of that person come in and said,"do not accept a bad Cup of coffee."" "

To achieve the objective of revenue of 1 billion Schultz, Gass wants to put the infusion in 100,000 stores. Main objectives: retailers and convenience, drug and grocery stores, and mass MOM-and-pop companies. Gass persuaded Lopez to BREW best of Seattle in the CMA 300 cinemas. In February, Delta Air Lines (DAL) has agreed to serve on all flights. It is also sold to the subway, Burger King and Royal Caribbean Cruises (RCL), and it is currently deployed in vending machines in the campus of colleges, hospitals and offices throughout the country.

Relentless push of Gass is risky, explains Jack Russo, an analyst with Edward Jones. "When you have shops belonging to the company, they are your stores, it is your baby," he said. "When you essentially give control to someone who pays you a monthly fee, you lose a little bit of control." Gass said that it must scale up to compete with Starbucks: "with our big sister on the floor who is owner of coffee, the only way that we have a chance to get a piece of which is to be disruptive."

The bottom line: Starbucks attempts to perk up best of Seattle - and meet a goal of $ 1 billion revenue - targeting drinkers who never visit cafés of Lighthouse.

Patton is a journalist for Bloomberg News.

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U.S. S & P 500 Index Futures advance before new home sales data

April 25, 2011, 5: 31 pm EDT by Kana Nishizawa

April 25 (Bloomberg) - future pink Index of the U.S. Standard & Poor 500 before the release of the new house data sales March, indicating the tonnage may rise for the seventh time in eight days.

S & P 500 futures expiring in June increased by 0.3% to 1,335.40 5 h 08 in New York. Contracts on the Dow Jones gained 0.2% at 12,462 and future of the Nasdaq-100 index advanced 0.3% to 2,381.50. U.S. markets close on 22 April for the holidays and resume trade today. "The prospects for the US economy appears to be stable,"said Ayako sera, a strategist at Sumitomo Trust & Banking Co. in Tokyo, which manages about 331 billion dollars in assets. "Corporate profits are looking positive." New data out coming home sales will probably show a rebound from the previous month. "A report by the Government now can show the United States purchases of new homes climbed 12 percent last month, according to the median estimate in a Bloomberg News of 64 economists survey. Purchases dropped by 17% in February. Reports on durable goods orders and the gross domestic product are also due this week.The & S P 500 increased 0.5% April 21 to 1,337.38, the highest level since February 18, as Apple Inc. and Morgan Stanley earnings beat estimates of analysts. S & P 500 profits exceed projections of 9.8% so far this season, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.Advanced Micro "we were expecting relatively strong gains and that has really come through this season," Jim McDonaldHead north of the Trust Corp. in Chicago investment strategist, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television today. "He is really showing evidence of the global economic recovery."After the market closed last, Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the second manufacturer of processors for personal computers, announced first-quarter profits that beat analysts forecasts. International Game Technology, a large manufacturer most machines slots, posted a second quarter adjusted profit of 23 cents per share topped the average estimate 2 cents analyst.The & S P 500 jumped 6.3% in 2011, extending from rally of 13 per cent last year. Companies in the trade of gauge for profit estimated 13.7 times, compared with an average of 18.1 times reported profit in the last decade.

-With the help of Susan Li in Hong Kong. Editors: Darren Boey, Reinie Booysen

To contact the reporter on this story: Kana Nishizawa in Tokyo at the knishizawa5@bloomberg.net.

To contact the responsible editor of the story: Nick Gentle at ngentle2@bloomberg.net.

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The Syria must face of inquiry of the United Nations: rights group

A wounded demonstrator was taken to Damascus in this drawn image of an amateur video downloaded from social networking sites on Saturday. Thousands of Syrians have continued their protests Sunday the call for the overthrow of President Bashar al-Assad on Sunday. Reuters/Social Media via Reuters International TVAn website relating to the rights of the human group called Sunday for an investigation of the United Nations in the Suppression of the Syria on the demonstrators of the opposition which has left more than 120 people dead in recent days.

The New York - based Human Rights Watch also urged the United States and the European Union to impose sanctions against accused Syrian officials to use force against demonstrators contesting the authoritarian regime of President Bashar al-Assad.

Ammar Qurabi, head of the national organization for the rights of man in Syria, said the arrest was focused on the capital Damascus and suburbs and the Centre of the city of Homs, who has been a fertile ground for demonstrations.

"These people are not being orders in a legal way." They are either removed, "said Qurabi, asserting that the plainclothes security officers did not arrest official mandates."

Qurabi has no complete figures for detainees, but said at least 20 people were arrested in Homs. A resident in the suburbs of Damascus in the Duma, said at least five people have been placed in detention

More than 300 people were killed - including more than 120 Friday and Saturday and Sunday in eight - since the uprising against the Assad regime has begun there, according to the groups of rights of five weeks. Friday was the day of the bloodiest since the uprising began with 112 killed, rights groups said.

A coalition of groups said Sunday 10 Syrian human rights authorities arrested an activist, Daniel Saud, who heads the committees for the defence of democracy, freedoms and human rights, one of the most important groups in Syria watchdog.

"To the strategy to draw to kill Syrian, authorities the international community must impose sanctions on those ordering the shooting of protesters."-Joe Stork of Human Rights Watch

Saud, who was arrested Saturday, lives in the coastal town of Banias, said a statement by groups.

As of Saturday evening, forces of Syrian security began to hold dozens of opposition activists and others in raids launched less than a week after the Assad regime abolishes the emergency laws used for decades to crush dissent.

"After the carnage of Friday, it is more enough to condemn the violence,", said Joe Stork, Deputy Director of Middle East for Human Rights Watch. "To the strategy to draw to kill Syrian authorities, the international community must impose sanctions on those ordering the shooting of demonstrators."

Earlier this month, Secretary General of the United Nations Ban Ki-moon, called on Assad to say he was "greatly disturbed" by reports of violence. Many Western leaders, including US President Barack Obama, condemned severe tactics of the Syria to suppress dissident.

On Sunday, police said 286 SANA State News Agency were wounded since the start of the insurgency. He gave no details.

Many of Saturday 13 killed were slaughtered while on their way to bury loved ones to attack a day earlier, witnesses said.

In the Centre of the city of Homs, where 19 people were killed Friday, a witness said the security forces did not all funeral out at the same time.

"Security officials decide when the deceased person, will be buried to avoid large funeral," the witness said.

In the South of the village of Izraa - where other people were killed Friday - a said witness chanting of some men in the village: "God may destroy Assad.".

Witness accounts could not independently confirmed because the Syria expelled journalists and limited access hot. Speaks of witnesses on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisals.

The protest movement has become the most serious threat to the Assad hold on power in one of the more strictly controlled in the Middle East.

Assad criticized most of the unrest on "foreign plot" and armed thugs trying to sow sectarian strife. Fears of bigotry are strong in Syria with the dangers of fractured societies so evident in Iraq and the Lebanon nearby.

'People are afraid to go out than to do something important.'-a Christian Iraqi in Syria

But may be emerging from the possible cracks within. Two lawmakers and a religious leader of the southern province Dara - where to begin the uprising - resigned Saturday to the rejection on the murders.

Internal antagonisms have added resonance since opposition figures were imprisoned or exiled during the 40 years of the Assad family dynasty.

Another walkout came Sunday when a provincial Dara member of the Council, Bassam al-Zamel, left his position to denounce violence.

"It is our duty to resign in protest," al-Zamel told Al-Jazeera TV.

Sunday, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Britain advises against all travel to Syria violence. She added that "in view of the deterioration of security, British nationals in Syria, who have urgent steps must remain should leave by commercial means.".

Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Canada Saturday advised Canadians against travel to the country and said Canadian living in Syria should leave by commercial facilities while they are still available.

Many Iraqi Christians, who fled to escape violence in their country of origin, in Syria did not attend Easter Masses Sunday because of the disorders.

Abu Fadi, an Iraqi Christian, stated that he and his family had attended midnight mass in a church in central Damascus for the past five years.

"This time, we and other families have decided to stay home and do not attend mass in the morning because of the tense and unstable situation in Syria." "People are afraid to come out, at least to do important things," said Abu Fadi, who did not use his real name because of fears of reprisals by the authorities.

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Yen weakens Versus Euro on prospects of Central Bank interest rates

April 25, 2011, 4: 55 pm EDT by Keith Jenkins and Masaki Kondo

April 25 (Bloomberg) - the yen fell versus its major counterparts on the speculation, the Bank of the Japan signal this week it will maintain a monetary stimulus while the policy is tightened elsewhere.

The euro climbed against the yen for a second before day of data this week that can display arrested in the currency bloc accelerated industrial growth in developing the case for the European Central Bank to increase interest rates. Malaysian Ringgit strengthened below 3 per dollar for the first time in over 13 years on the speculation, the Central Asian Bank will its interest rate month next to help damp inflation. The motto of the United States weakened against most of its major peers. "" The Japan and the United States are the countries that can move towards a monetary tightening, the yen and the dollar will be weak, "said Daisaku Ueno, President of Gaitame.com Research Institute Ltd., in Tokyo, a unit of the largest enterprise of margin money of Japan. "The yen will continue to depreciate until the global economy is recovering gradually."Currency of damped Japan 0.4% at 119.71 for one euro as of 9: 23 p.m. 119.24 London to New York last week weakened to the 82.09 per dollar of 81.88. The euro traded at $1.4581 of $1.4561 after touching $1.4649 on 21 April, the highest level since December 2009.Financial in Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong and London markets are closed for a holiday today.Industrial Bank OrdersThe of Japan will hold interest rates of reference to a range of between zero and 0.1% at its meeting of 28 April, according to 13 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The Central Bank may cut its forecast for growth in fiscal year 2011 to 0.8 1.6% following an earthquake record on March 11, the Nikkei newspaper reported.The euro has gained 3.4% this year, the second best performer after the Crown of Sweden among the 10 most widely traded currencies followed by Bloomberg Correlation-Weighted currency Indexes.ECB President Jean-Claude Trichet, said last week that the stability of prices remains the first mission of the Central Bank and this credibility maintain inflation is critical. Member of the Executive Board of ECB Jose Manuel Gonzalez-Paramo speaks tomorrow followed by Member of the Board of the Bank Central Athanasios Orphanides on April 27. the ECB, which aims to keep inflation below 2% this month raised interest rates by a quarter to 1.25% percentage point. He left the door open for rates to increase even as a sovereign debt crisis tempers growth in peripheral as countries the Greece, the Portugal, and Ireland.Swedish Crowns "Currencies of nations are hiking rates are attractive," said Hideki AmikuraDeputy Director General of currency in Tokyo at Nomura Trust & Banking Co. a unit of the Japan largest brokerage. "There is a possibility for an appreciation of the euro."In addition to 2 1/2 years now after the Riksbank increased interest rates, last week, the Swedish Crown rose to its strongest against the dollar. The Crown is passed to 6.0701, a level not seen since August 2008, before the Exchange on the orders of 6.0907.Industrial, in the euro area rose 1.5% in February from the previous month when they increased a revised 1.2 %, according to economists surveyed by Bloomberg before that report on April 27.The dollar has reduced the previous losses against the euro. Stochastic Oscillator of 14 days of the European currency against the rose to 82.3 on 22 April, above the threshold of 80 to some traders think the price of the greenback increased too quickly and is poised to reverse the course.'Oversold' dollar "the dollar is probably oversold, given its recent economic crisis," said Lee Wai Tuck, a strategist of currency prediction Singapore Pte. "This is probably contributing to some back purchases of the greenback in the middle of the markets thinned vacation."Futures traders cut their bet that the euro will rise against the dollar, according to data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The difference in the number of updates in hedge funds and other large speculators on a gain in the euro than on a drop - soi-saying net long - been 62,195 19 April, compared to 64,985 a week earlier.The ringgit led gains among Asian currencies. A Government report showed inflation this month in Southeast Asia in the third - most large economy accelerated the fastest pace in 23 months. "We could expect the ringgit to strengthen to counter inflation, because there is always a small probability of an increase in the rate in may,"said Saktiandi Supaat, head of research in foreign Singapore to Malayan Banking Bhd."It is also helped by the weakness of the dollar. "Consumer price of Malaysia increased by 3% in March from the previous year, the most since April 2009, the Department of statistics, said on April 20. Bank Negara kept its rate on the day the day at 2.75% since July, after raising three times earlier in affected stipulated ringgit 2.9914 against the dollar, the level harder since October 1997, before trade 3.0045 2.9925 last week.

-With the help of David Yong at Singapore. Editors: Rocky Swift, Matthew Brown.

To contact the reporters on this story: Keith Jenkins at London, kjenkins3@bloomberg.net. Masaki Kondo in Singapore to the mkondo3@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Cuddies to dtilles@bloomberg.net

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Composed of Gaddafi's Tripoli hit in airstrike

A Libyan soldier looks at a building damaged in the compound of Bab Al-Aziziyah of leader Libyan Muammar al-Gaddafi in Tripoli Monday. Louafi Larbi/Reuters.

An airstrike on the residential compound sprawling Monday at the start of Muammar Gaddafi has seriously damaged two buildings, including a structure where the leader Libyan often held meetings, guards at the complex said.

Two large missiles or bombs exploded in Bab Al-Aziziyah Gaddafi's just after midnight, injuring compound slightly four persons in accordance with a security guard at the site, who spoke the condition of anonymity.

It was not clear who launched the airstrike, but Reuters reported a Libyan official, saying it was NATO, which did not provide confirmation.

The same Libyan official told the agency that the attack was an attempt on the life of Gaddafi. But it did not provide details on its fairways and venues or condition.

The two bombs seriously damaged a several-storey building and a second structure was damaged by the explosions. The second building was apparently used for ceremonies more: sofas and chandeliers, and frames which had been thrown to the ground could be seen in the rubble.

In Washington, D.C., on Sunday, three members of the Commission of the armed forces of the Senate said that should do more to drive al-Gaddafi to power, including the targeting of his circle of friends with air strikes. Gaddafi "must wake up each day ask,"what will be my last?"" "Senator Lindsey Graham, a Republican on the Committee, said State from CNN of the Union."

Attack Monday came one day after Gaddafi forces unleashed a barrage of shells and rockets to Misrata in a weekend especially bloody which has left at least 32 dead and dozens injured. The battle of Misrata, which has claimed hundreds of lives over the past two months, became the focus of the rebellion army of the Libya against Gaddafi since fighting elsewhere is deadlocked.

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Ignatieff, Layton pass at Toronto

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Michael Ignatieff and Jack Layton spoke just minutes apart at a cultural parade in Toronto on Sunday, the same day the Liberals took to the airwaves with paid programming amid recent polls suggesting a jump in NDP support.Ignatieff and Layton both made appearances at the Khalsa Day parade, a Sikh celebration in Toronto. The two leaders shook hands, and each made a brief speech. "Conservative candidate Jason kenney also addressed the crowd.""" It is a day to acknowledge the incredible role of your community in the building and making and strengthening of Canada, "Ignatieff told the crowd in his remarks."You've known so much success, but you have also known hardship. "there is a bad memory that we all must confront honestly, which is the memory of komagata maru.""This is a shame upon the history of Canada and it requires an apology in the Parliament of Canada so that we can acknowledge painful failures in the past and move forward together as one great people.""Layton also referenced the 1914 Komagata Maru incident - in which a ship carrying mostly Sikh passengers, who were British subjects, was turned away from Canada and forced to return to India - saying the NDP has pressed for a formal appology."I will not stop until the job is done. "I will not stop until justice has spoken," he said. "We will continue to work for your families to be reunited for the visa to be granted so that you can be together on special occassions with your families..." "I will not stop until the contributions of Sikh Canadians are fully honoured by this country.""During a media availability in Toronto Sunday afternoon, Ignatieff took questions from reporters and condemned recent reports of election-related mayors."We've got our problems with Mr. Harper, but we don' t think he's slashing our tires. "" I want to make that clear,"Ignatieff said with a chuckle."There are people out there who take to threatening extreme partisanship. "The part of this that's serious is that every Canadian should be free to vote and free to express their political preferences and it's a bad day when in Toronto people who are working for another party or put a lawn sign up get their cars vandalized.""Conservative Leader Stephen Harper also condemned the mayors while speaking in B.C."I'll just tell you, we suffer acts of mayors as well. None of them are acceptable. ""they should not happen in a campaign,"he said."A democratic campaign is ultimately based on tolerance of other partisan viewpoints. I've always said that we all have enough to do just trying to get our own views to the vote, cause we don't have enough time to run interference with other campaigns.... "We absolutely reckless any such incidents by anybody, inside or outside political parties."Harper encouraged all parties to report any incidents of mayors.The Liberals bought a half-hour of TV time on Sunday afternoon to feature what they called "Michael Ignatieff's Town Hall for Canada."The broadcast area between noon and 3 p.m. and on Global and City TV stations, featuring footage from campaign events and clips of Ignatieff talking about his life and Liberal priorities.In the video, Ignatieff is seen taking questions from audience members at recent rallies and explaining party pledges on everything from health care to the economy.Ignatieff also appeared Sunday night is everyone talking about it, a popular French-language TV talk show on Radio - Canada .ignatieff defended the decision to bring former prime ministers Jean Chrétien and Paul Martin on the campaign trail, at the risk of voters associating them with the sponsorship scandal that contributed to his party's fall from power five years ago.Ignatieff told Sunday's edition of the Quebec TV talk show Tout le monde en parle that his one-on-one interactions with voters have him confident he can connect with them, despite his party's standstill in polls. (Radio-Canada) "Mr. Chrétien put our public finances in order." He did lots of great things. "He maintained the country's national unity," Ignatieff said. "Mr. Martin did the same thing." He financed our public health care system. "I'm proud of what they accomplished and that they're campaigning with me."Martin has been campaigning in the formerly Liberal-held riding of Edmonton Centre and in Vancouver South, where the Grits eked out a narrow victory in the 2008 election. Christian is slated to speak at a Toronto-area rally this week. "Jean Chrétien was the prime minister at the heart of the sponsorship scandal." "Does that not risk hurting you more than it helps?" "lepage wondered.""Oh no, I don't think so," Ignatieff replied in French. "we re in 2011." "We've paid for all the consequences of past behaviour."Lepage also asked him whether the NDP's apparent gains in recent polls meant Ignatieff had focused so much on attacking the right-wing Conservatives that he was now being "passed on the left."The Liberal leader dodged the point somewhat, accept that Canadians are "looking at Mr. Layton up close, they're looking up me up close... and I think they're going to make a good choice.""during the show, quebec actress Dominique Michel, star of the Oscar-winning film Les Invasions barbares (the barbarian Invasions) and a recent cancer survivor, said she supports ignatieff.""I really like Mr. ignatieff," she said. "There's people saying, ' Oh, we're tired of Harper.'" "Well, if you're tired of Harper, it's time for change!""The Liberal leader had fielded questions earlier Sunday about the NDP's polling strength and why his party is failing to win over voters."It's not that I'm in a bubble of illusion. I'm making phone calls on a daily basis, I'm talking to my candidates to see how things are going, and they're telling me that it's going quite well on the ground, in fact very well on the ground. "" So I'm not deluding myself, I have work to do,"Ignatieff said in French.He also addressed suggestions that his style of campaigning is failing to gain traction with the Canadian public."This isn't style. This is trying to do politics differently, and I've been doing it for 2? years. I go out there, I stand up on a rainy Thursday night in a Legion hall and I take questions from the public. "Mr. Harper hasn can't taken unscripted questions from the public in five years," he said.The Liberals, Conservatives and Bloc Québécois have all taken aim at Layton and the NDP in recent days, after several polls suggested an apparent increase in support for the New Democrats.Layton attended an Easter church service in Toronto and was set to spend part of the day with his family.The NDP leader's trip to Toronto comes a day after he held a rally attended by more than 1,000 people in Laurier-Saint-Marie, the riding currently held by Bloc Québécois Leader Gilles Duceppe.Duceppe, who is taking a day off the campaign trail, will be joined by former Quebec first Jacques Parizeau on Monday in an attempt to boost his poll numbers.Meanwhile, Conservative Leader Stephen Harper continued his campaign swing through British Columbia, making stops in Victoria and Vancouver.Harper was trying to muster up support in ridings that are considered tight races against the NDP. With files from The Canadian Press Back to accessibility links

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Duceppe deploys Parizeau to ensure support

Bloc Québécois leader Gilles Duceppe will campaign Monday with a face from the past, as a new democratic leader, Jack Layton returned to Quebec to hammer home his advantage.

Jacques Parizeau, former leader of the Parti Québécois is scheduled to join Duceppe in the suburbs of Montreal, St-Lambert on Monday morning, which should encourage Québec voters to support the block on 2 May. The appearance is an attempt to suppress the growing support of NDP in Quebec.

During this time, Layton, who began the day of the Saint John, will wrap with a rally in Gatineau, Quebec, when trying to take advantage of the apparent momentum of his party. A recent survey indicates NDP is climbing in Quebec over the block.

Conservative leader Stephen Harper will be the campaign day in Ontario, starting with a campaign event at a local college in Sault Ste. Marie and finishing with a rally in Windsor.

Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff is criss-crossing the country Monday as the last week of the campaign gets underway. He began the day with an availability of media in Thunder Bay, Ontario, then travels to the West Coast, where he will visit a business local in West Vancouver, followed by an evening City Hall in Vancouver.

Green party leader Elizabeth May is his campaign strategy to focus on his riding of Saanich-Gulf Islands Monday. May is taken on conservative incumbent Gary Lunn.

It will be vague for commuters to a centre commercial of Saanich in the morning, followed by a meeting with Media House Victoria Gordon Head and door-to-door canvassing in Sidney, British Columbia Colombia, Monday night.

In an interview Sunday night on everyone talking about, Radio-Canada popular talk-show watched by more than 1.5 million Quebecers, Ignatieff addressed suggestions that the NDP is overtaking bloc and the Liberals.

"I think that the end of the week of Easter, after the Turkey and leg of lamb, I think that Canadians are reflecting," he said in French.

On the show everyone speaks, Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff defended his comments on the views of Quebec and the Quebec of the Canadian Constitution. (Radio-Canada)

"I think they are, if I may say so, tired of Mr. Harper." For example, they have respect for Mr. Duceppe, but they think, what can that get us? They seek to Mr. Layton closely, they look at me closely. They will make a choice.... "I remain very confident in the judgment of voters".

Ignatieff also known as the scandals of the conservatives who have surfaced in the campaign - including the controversy surrounding the former advisor of Harper Bruce Carson and suggestions of political interference by official of high communications Dimitri please - saying there is no "goodies".the Conservatives have served late.

There are four people in the immediate entourage of Mr. Harper, who are accused of criminal fraud. There was Mr. Carson, which is a fraudster and the time spent in prison and now it is Mr. Soudas, I know not all the details, but it does not feel good, and it continues. He y atmosphere in the Harper Government that I find unacceptable to Canadians. ?

Host Guy a. Lepage questioned Liberal leader on its claim to the debate of the leaders of the French language, echoed by Conservative leader Stephen Harper, that Quebecers do not see the Canadian Constitution as a major anymore.

Ignatieff said he believes that it is a national "wounds" that Quebec never signed the Constitution Act, 1982, which created the Charter of rights.

"I have always believed that.". But what I noticed as a political reality when I'm in regions... is that people are not talking about the Constitution. This is what I wanted to say. They talk about employment, they talk about the future of their children.

Appearance of Jack Layton on the show earlier in the campaign is credited contributing to increase his popularity in Quebec. Duceppe's Bloc went also on the show, while Harper has no plan for.

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REALITY check: Prescription book, the promise of a plan 2004 national drug

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Before we get to what the parties are saying, it helps to understand what this national strategy entails, at least as it was envisioned when the federal, provincial and territorial governments signed a 10-year health agreement in 2004 that was supposed to be a "fix for a generation."

The strategy is comprised of the following elements.

(1) Develop, assess and cost options for catastrophic drug coverage;

(2) Establish a common national drug formulary for participating jurisdictions based on safety and cost effectiveness;

(3) Accelerate access to breakthrough drugs for unmet health needs through improvements to the drug approval process;

(4) Strengthen evaluation of real-world drug safety and effectiveness;

(5) Pursue purchasing strategies to obtain best prices for Canadians for drugs and vaccines;

(6) Enhance action to influence the prescribing behaviour of health-care professionals so that drugs are used only when needed and the right drug is used for the right problem.

(7) Broaden the practice of e-prescribing through accelerated development and deployment of the electronic health record;

(8) Accelerate access to non-patented drugs and achieve international parity on prices of non-patented drugs;

(9) Enhance the analysis of cost drivers and cost effectiveness, including best practices in drug plan policies;

(10) Undertake research on expensive medications for rare diseases. (A measure added to the strategy in 2005)

The Health Council of Canada, an agency set up to monitor the promised has noted some progress: notably an initiative called "common drug review" is to establish ways of buying drugs more cheaply. as well as help for people with rare diseases.

Purpose as its 2009 report put it, the National Pharmaceuticals Strategy is "a prescription unfilled."

For health policy experts such as Steve Morgan, at the University of British Columbia, what has happened is simple: promises have been broken and your access to affordable drugs varies depending on where you live.

"If the same standards were to apply to medicare that are being applied to this, Canadians would be outraged," he says. "We would be going to the polls voting on this particular issue because it would be such a travesty."

So what went wrong?

The first thing to keep in mind is that the provinces are the ones mostly responsible for prescription drugs. They determine what drugs get covered and for whom.

The federal role is limited to drug approval and monitoring drugs for effectiveness and side effects once doctors begin prescribing them. (Ottawa is responsible for prescribing drugs for First Nation's communities.)

Of course, Ottawa also transfers billions of dollars to the provinces and territories for health care under the 10-year agreement, which should ensure it has some say in the process. Goal as Morgan and others point out, when it comes to pharmacare there are many players in the system.

The majority of requirements in this country are handled through private drug plans, so insurance companies determine which drugs they will cover. Most of these companies cover drugs for common branch, but not necessarily for drugs designed to treat rare diseases, which is why in 2005, this provision became part of the national strategy.

Doctors are participating key as well, and they have been sometimes criticized for driving up costs by prescribing too many pills, and favoring the more expensive name-brand products over the cheaper generic versions.

For their part, the pharmaceutical companies are often accused of flooding the market with brand or generic versions of what is already out there.

Given the number of players, it's no wonder that the Conservatives, Liberals and NDP talk primarily about the need to negotiate, a process that, thus far, has achieved little progress when it comes to extending the reach of the national program or even drug safety.

What are the parties saying?

The Liberals are promising to make prescription drugs a key component in the post-2014 health transfer talks with the provinces and territories, which the party vows to kick-start within a few months of coming to power.

"Prescription drugs are becoming a greater part of patient care," Michael Ignatieff, said in a news release. "we need to make sure all canadians, no matter where they live, have access to the prescription drugs they need."

But while access and affordability are important components of a national drug strategy, there are other elements as well. What would the Liberals do to improve the monitoring of drug safety? How would the party deal with the prescribing habits of physicians? None of these are directly addressed.

For its part, the NDP covers similar ground but also promised "improved assessment to ensure quality, safety and cost and health effectiveness of prescription drugs;" using bargaining power in pharmaceutical purchases; cutting administrative costs through public administration; "establishing science-based forms and clinical guidelines to advance evidence-based practice by physicians."

These are the kinds of ideas that many health policy experts are advancing. But the problem is that much of the administration would have to be carried out by provincial authorities and how would a federal government get them onside?

As for the negotiation, other than committing to "a universal public health-care system and the Canada Health Act, and the right of provinces to deliver health care within their jurisdictions," the party is silent when it comes to a drug strategy. The same is true for the Green Party and the Bloc Quebecois.

The way forward

When it comes to crafting a national pharmaceutical strategy, there has been lots of talk but little action, or political will, since the big heath agreement was signed in 2004.

Last year, the Canadian Institute for Health Information reported that prescription drug expenditures totaled $30-billion and represented the third most expensive element of the system behind hospitals and doctors.

Growing at a rate of 5.1 per cent a year, drug expenditures are slowing somewhat compared to previous years and other health-care expenditures. But they are still a big component and there are still huge regional gaps in coverage.

Experts like UBC's Steve Morgan suggests that if Canada is serious about getting a national pharmacare strategy together, we should look beyond our borders.

"Australia and New Zealand run interesting and quite efficient systems," he says. "There are examples that can be drawn from Europe where they have reasonably equitable and efficient systems for financing medicines."

You would think a federal election campaign would be just the place to raise some of these examples.

David McKie can be reached at david_mckie@cbc.ca

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Nintendo to introduce new Wii after forecast misses estimates

April 25, 2011, 4: 11 pm EDT by Pavel Alpeyev and Masatsugu Horie

April 25 (Bloomberg) - Nintendo Co., major manufacturer the most console video games, plans begin next year after the prediction of missed earnings estimates of analysts of sale the next version of the Wii motion detection.

The company forecast net income reach 42 percent to 110 billion yen ($1.3 billion), in the 12 months to March 2012 missing nine analysts compiled by Bloomberg estimates of average 143,8 billion yen. The projection does not include sales of the new Wii, which will be presented at the E3 Expo in Los Angeles in June, he said.President Satoru Iwata, competition of mounting of the PlayStation 3 from Sony Corp. and Xbox 360 from Microsoft Corp., account on the second generation Wii to rekindle the success of his best-selling machine, who put in place in 2006. Kyoto - Also founded Nintendo is designed to sell a "Legend of Zelda" game for his new device portable 3DS is on sale around the world in the last two months. "" The reaction of the market is likely to be negative, "said Yusuke Tsunoda, an analyst with Tokai Tokyo Securities Co." "it is expected that Wii software sales to plunge, while at the same time outlook of the company is probably also taking into account a price cut for the console." "Operating profit, or sales less cost of goods sold and administrative expenditure will be mounted 2.3% to 175 billion yen in the period, as income grows 8.4% to 1.1 billion yen, Nintendo said. Analysts expected 222.5 billion yen to operating income on 1.12 billion yen in sales.Nintendo Vs SonyNintendo increased by 0.9% to close the yen 20,330 on stock exchange in Osaka before the earnings announcement. The average Stock Nikkei 225 lost 0.1%. The shares fell by 15 percent this year.Nintendo, which has dominated the game equipment in Wii consoles and portable players since the Gameboy in 1989, seeks to defend its advance against the latest PSP of Sony.Le 3DS of $250, who went on sales to the United States, the Japan, in the past two months, Europe is also facing to the Apple Inc. iPhone and smartphones using Android from Google Inc., which attracted players with third-party applications.Sony, the second largest manufacturer of portable game in January said that it will offer the new model of the PSP by end of year holiday season. The device, NPM code name, will offer access to networks, third generation wireless and have front and rear touch pads, he said.PlayStationSony, whose player dominated by the previous generation of video game consoles, PlayStation has also introduced its controller for the detection of movement, called the Move, for the PlayStation 3 to appeal to casual users. The black controller, which resembles the baton of the Wii with a coloured ball in front, is on sale at the United States in September for $50 or $80 with a related product.In November, Microsoft Corp. introduced its Kinect motion - sensing controller with a free game for $150. The company based in Redmond, Washington last month said that sold 10 million Kinect sensors.Nintendo has sold nearly 440,000 units the player portable game 3DS in its first week of sales in the United States at the end of March. Combined with three former models, Nintendo has sold units of 860,000 DS in March, Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime said earlier this month, citing figures from the NPD Group Inc. industry tracker. A year ago, Nintendo sold 701,000 DS handhelds.The company missed its target of sales of players 3DS of 4 million for the year just ended due to the earthquake and tsunami North of the Japan last month, said Iwata.

-With the help of Masatsugu Horie in Osaka. Editors: Anand Krishnamoorthy, Cho Young-Sam.

To contact the reporter on this story: Pavel Alpeyev in Tokyo at the palpeyev@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Cho Young-Sam to ycho2@bloomberg.net

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Pirate air with nail clipper mastered by Alitalia crew

A passenger restless on a flight Alitalia in Paris to Rome Sunday evening attacked a flight attendant and demanded the plane diverted the Libya but other officers subdued the man, said the airline.

The flight landed safely in the Italian capital as planned, Alitalia said in a news release. All 131 passengers on flight AZ329 landed safely in Rome.

"A clearly agitated passenger attacked a flight officer, requesting that the flight be diverted to Tripoli," Alitalia said.

"Thanks to the rapid intervention of the servants, the aggressor has been immobilized and [kept] in his seat, and the flight continued to Rome," where it landed at 9: 55, as expected, the company said.

Alitalia did not identify the passenger. The Italian ANSA news agency reported that he was a man of average age of the Kazakhstan with step of criminal records. ANSA, said that the man had brandished a clipper nail against flight attendant.

Police took the man into custody for questioning at the airport of Rome Leonardo da Vinci, said Alitalia.

Alitalia, said female flight attendants has been verified by the staff of Office of first aid from the airport as a precaution, but it has been reported as free.

Human reason did not immediately know. Italian police have been in contact with French authorities over the incident, said ANSA.

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Rahm Emanuel gets ready for a new job as Mayor of Chicago

Translate Request has too much data Parameter name: request Translate Request has too much data Parameter name: request Rahm Emanuel Gets Ready for New Job as Mayor of Chicago | Special English | Learning English/* VOA Learning English

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Photo: APRahm Emanuel smiles as he talks to his supporters and volunteers at his campaign office in Chicago

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BOB DOUGHTY: Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I’m Bob Doughty.

FAITH LAPIDUS: And I'm Faith Lapidus. This week on our program we look at the interesting political life of America's third largest city, Chicago.

(MUSIC)

BARACK OBAMA: "Hello, Chicago! [Applause.] It is good to be back in Chicago! [Applause.]"

BOB DOUGHTY: Chicago, Illinois, is the hometown of President Obama. He appeared at three fund-raising events on April fourteenth -- the first events of his campaign for re-election next year.

Mr. Obama is basing his campaign headquarters in Chicago. He pointed out that this is the first time in modern history that a sitting president has based a re-election campaign outside of Washington.

BARACK OBAMA: "This is the city where I got my start in politics twenty-five years ago, working with churches on the South Side to bring jobs to the jobless and hope to the hopeless. It’s where I stood with so many of you in Grant Park, almost two and a half years ago when we showed the world that all things are possible in the United States of America. [Applause.]"

VOICE TWO: Soon another notable event will take place in Chicago. Richard M. Daley is retiring as mayor of the city. Mayor Daley has led Chicago for twenty-two years, since nineteen eighty-nine.

APChicago Mayor Richard M. Daley

Chicagoans have elected Rahm Emanuel as their next mayor. Mr. Emanuel served as chief of staff to President Obama. He has also served as a Democratic congressman from the Chicago area.

On May sixteenth Rahm Emanuel will become the top political leader of a city famous for its politics, long controlled by Democrats. In fact, Chicago has not had a Republican mayor in eighty years, since William "Big Bill" Thompson left office in nineteen thirty-one.

BOB DOUGHTY: Chicago is a big place to govern -- the business center of the Midwest. The city lies along the shore of one of the Great Lakes, Lake Michigan. Some of the wealthiest people in Chicago live in the high-rise buildings along the lakeshore.

Chicago is divided into fifty legislative areas called wards. Each ward elects a representative known as an alderman to the Chicago City Council.

Last year's national census found that two million seven hundred thousand people were living in the city. That was a decrease of about seven percent since the last census in two thousand.

The population is racially and ethnically mixed. Whites are the largest group at forty-five percent. The city also has large numbers of blacks and Hispanics. And it has large numbers of people who work in Chicago but live in the growing suburbs outside the city.

FAITH LAPIDUS: The most influential political organization in Chicago is the Cook County Democratic Party. The organization is also known as the "Chicago Machine" or simply "The Machine." Many of its leaders have been of Irish, Polish and other immigrant ancestry.

Chicago is often called "the city that works." At its best, the machine has made things work smoothly. But at its worst, the centering of power in one group has led to cases of corruption over the years.

Professor James Thurber directs a political studies center at American University in Washington. Professor Thurber says an effective political machine depends on a well-organized party that treats its supporters well.

JAMES THURBER: "When I think of Chicago politics, I think of politics built on well-disciplined machines, machines that get people jobs. They actually make sure that certain streets get ploughed and other streets do not get ploughed when there is a snowstorm. They control recruitment of who goes into political office. And if you are not loyal to the machine, and the policy of the machine, you are out.”

Professor Thurber points out that many American cities had political machines in the past. But around the nineteen hundreds, a change took place. Cities began to give jobs to civil service employees instead of political appointees. But Professor Thurber says in Chicago, the tradition of a skillfully operated political machine continued.

JAMES THURBER: "It slowly is declining in its effectiveness, though."

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: Mayor Daley won seventy percent of the vote in his last election in two thousand seven. Chicagoans elected him six times. But last September, he surprised many people with this announcement.

RICHARD M. DALEY: "Today I am announcing that I will not seek a seventh term as mayor of the city of Chicago. Simply put, it is time. It is time for me, it is time for Chicago, to move on. Improving Chicago has been the ongoing work of my life. I loved every minute of it."

Mayor Daley's father, Richard J. Daley, was also mayor for many years. He was first elected in nineteen fifty-five. Over the years he played an influential part in national politics in the Democratic Party. Richard J. Daley led Chicago for twenty-one years. He died in office in nineteen seventy-six, thirteen years before his son became mayor.

Another of his sons, John Daley, is a Cook County commissioner. And another son, William Daley, is now chief of staff to President Obama. Remember? That's the job Rahm Emanuel held until last October.

VOICE TWO: Mayor Daley led improvements in the downtown, lakefront and North Side areas. He put a garden on the roof of City Hall. And he supported the building of Millennium Park near Lake Michigan. People go there for music, theater, ice skating and other entertainment.

But in two thousand nine, even with support from President Obama, Chicago lost its campaign to host the Summer Olympics. Olympic organizers chose Rio de Janeiro for twenty-sixteen, awarding the games to South America for the first time.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: Chicago's next mayor, Rahm Emanuel, says he wants make the streets safer, especially for children on their way to school. Gangs are a problem, and in the past few years a number of young people have been attacked by other young people.

Mr. Emanuel says he also wants to improve the city's finances. Chicago is struggling with a budget deficit of more than six hundred fifty million dollars.

Rahm Emanuel was elected in February with fifty-five percent of the vote. He will be the city's first Jewish mayor. He defeated five other candidates.

RAHM EMANUEL: "What makes this vote gratifying is that it was built on votes from every corner of this city, from people who believe that a common set of challenges must be met with a common purpose."

But the election provided a fresh example of the rough politics for which Chicago is known. Rahm Emanuel had to go through a legal fight all the way to the Illinois Supreme Court just to get on the ballot.

Some Chicagoans accused him of failing to meet residency requirements as a candidate for mayor. Mr. Emanuel argued that he was still a legal resident of Chicago even when he was serving the president in Washington.

He helped Mr. Obama move from the Senate to the White House in the two thousand eight election. But he also has a lot of experience in local politics. He helped raise record amounts of money for Mayor Daley's election in nineteen eighty-nine.

FAITH LAPIDUS: American University Professor James Thurber says Rahm Emanuel will need the cooperation of the Chicago City Council to succeed. But Don Rose, a longtime political commentator in Chicago, says it remains to be seen if the new mayor will get the support of Alderman Edward Burke. Mr. Burke is sometimes called the most powerful alderman in Chicago.

Mr. Emanuel will be seeing some new faces on the fifty-member council. Eighteen new members have been chosen in the past four years.

(MUSIC)

BOB DOUGHTY: Politics is not the only game in Chicago. The city has two major league baseball teams, the White Sox and the Cubs. Fans of the Cubs are famous for their loyalty to a team that has not won a World Series championship since nineteen eight. "Everyone loves a loser, and the Cubs are exactly that," says Roy Olson, a former sportswriter and a Cub fan since childhood.

But no matter what happens in sports or politics, Chicagoans have their music. Blues is a traditional favorite. So is jazz which can be found in clubs from Rush Street to the city limits and beyond.

In nineteen seventy-five, John Kander, Fred Ebb and Bob Fosse opened a Broadway musical called "Chicago." The show makes fun of crime and corruption in the city during the nineteen twenties. It takes place during Prohibition, the period when the United States banned alcohol.

The musical has led to a movie and foreign productions. It remains a popular song-and-dance show for theatergoers in New York.

Here are jazz pianist Brad Ellis and his Little Big Band playing a piece from "Chicago" called "All That Jazz."

(MUSIC)

The music sounds sweet and energetic and simple and complex -- not so different from the city itself.

(MUSIC)

FAITH LAPIDUS: Our program was written by Jerilyn Watson and produced by Brianna Blake. I’m Faith Lapidus.

BOB DOUGHTY: And I’m Bob Doughty. You can read and listen to our programs and get podcasts at voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

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