| Civil society, AJI stage protest rally
ISLAMABAD: Members of the civil society and Awami Jamhoori Ittehad (AJI) on Friday staged a protest demonstration at Aabpara to press the government to restore the deposed judges and free the lawyers put under house arrest.
They gathered at the Aabpara intersection and demanded President Pervez Musharraf restore judiciary and resign from his office as he had failed to protect the interests of common man. They also burnt an effigy of President Musharraf to express their anger over the skyrocketing prices of commodities.
They said the government was indifferent to the brutality of police against the peaceful protestors in the federal capital. The protestors raised anti-government slogans and expressed their distrust in the policies of the last government.
They demanded the world think tanks to help restore democracy in the country.
Will Israel Shackle the Shekel?
For decades Israelis have viewed the U.S. dollar almost as a second national currency. Everything from rents to savings were linked to the greenback, which for many people represented financial stability in a country traditionally wracked with high inflation. But in the past two years, Israelis have undergone an unprecedented challenge as the value of their own currency, the shekel, has soared against the dollar and more recently even against the euro. The dollar bought 4.7 shekels in November, 2005. Now the greenback is worth 3.6 shekels. In other words, the shekel has risen by more than 20% in that time—and 6% in the past month alone. Now both business and labor are calling loudly for a weaker currency. On Feb. 7 Prime Minister Ehud Olmert convened an emergency meeting of the country's top economic leadership to discuss what is being dubbed the "dollar crisis." At the same time Olmert and Finance Minister Ronnie Bar-On came out strongly in support of Bank of Israel Governor Stanley Fischer, who is opposed to any government intervention in the foreign currency market.
Overseas sales help Sara Lee post profit
Sales of household and body care products and North American retail bakery sales were also strong, Sara Lee said, helping it weather record-high commodities prices that have plagued many competitors. "Our strategic approach to pricing, combined with the impact of procurement and continuous improvement savings, helped offset significantly increased input costs," Chief Executive Brenda Barnes said in a statement. The company expects fiscal 2008 earnings to be between $1.03 and $1.09, including 18 cents per share of proceeds from the sale of its tobacco business in 1999. Analysts expect a profit of 96 cents per share, but those estimates typically exclude such one-time items. Sara Lee predicted 2008 revenue of $13.4 billion, while analysts said they expect revenue of $13.22 billion.
GM BLOG- Wednesday, February 20th- Extreme Makeover.
The looming showdown between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton for the Democratic Presidential nomination – and this year, Rhode Island may well be a make-or-break state? Nope. How about oil prices moving past $100 a barrel, with gasoline prices not far behind or the spy satellite the government is going to shoot down? Not today.The big story in and around Providence this week is, without question, the arrival of the Extreme Makeover: Home Edition team to Warwick! Thousands of people have descended on the scene of the makeover – some to volunteer but most just stopped by to watch. Our ABC 6 News anchor Paul Mueller is there as well – he's practically been living on the site this week – and will be filing reports through the “big reveal" next week. Frankly, it is hard to overstate just how interested people are in this story.
The Year in Review - 2007
Her co-chair, Herbert Lord, had unilaterally filed his report almost 4 months early, in July, leaving the Commission in what the court regards as a moribund state. Uncharacteristically, the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB), which demanded the inquiry, has not raised its voice over the Commission’s demise. .
Stock & fund quotes
The index is down 12.6 percent so far this year. Banking stocks fell on worries that higher interest rates would slow demand for loans, and could also lead to increased bad loan charges. NAB, the nation's top lender by assets, lost 4.3 percent to A$32.00. Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd <CBA.AX> (CBA), the second-biggest lender, fell 2.8 percent to A$48.75. CBA reports earnings on Wednesday with a Reuters survey forecasting a 7.8 percent rise in profit. [ID:nSYD208303]. A trading halt in shares of asset manager Allco Finance Group <AFG.AX> caused jitters among investors who are already worried about banks' exposure to highly leveraged companies in light of troubles faced by Centro Properties Group <CNP.AX> and MFS Ltd <MFS.AX>.
McCain’s life experiences will suit road ahead
John McCain was not my first choice. Or even the second or third. He'd be far more appealing with a Southern conservative as a running mate — former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford, or Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, to name three. But conservative running mate or not, Mitt Romney's class-act exit leaves McCain without serious challenge for the nomination. And as both Romney and McCain noted in same-day speeches to the Conservative Political Action Conference, this election is not about shades of gray. "Elections in this country are fought within margins of small differences," said McCain. "This one will not be. We are arguing about hugely consequential things." Romney's departing words defined the immediate course for conservatives.
NYMEX and Other Major Market Participants to Form the Green Exchange ...
NEW YORK, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- NYMEX Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: NMX), the parent company of the New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX), the world's largest physical commodity futures and options exchange, today announced the formation of The Green Exchange(TM) venture, with Evolution Markets Inc., Morgan Stanley Capital Group Inc., Credit Suisse, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Tudor Investment Corp., ICAP and Constellation Energy. The new exchange will offer a comprehensive range of environmental futures, options, and swap contracts for markets focused on solutions to climate change, renewable energy, and other environmental challenges. The Green Exchange products are expected to begin trading during the first quarter of 2008 and will be cleared by NYMEX. The Green Exchange venture is expected to launch as a U.S.
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