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Mar 12

22

Manzullo loses Illinois primary race; Jackson wins

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CHICAGO (AP) ? U.S. Rep. Don Manzullo, a 10-term Illinois Republican, lost a grueling primary battle to a freshman congressman on Tuesday, as U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. easily won his Democratic nomination and an Iraq war veteran was chosen to face a tea party firebrand in November.

Manzullo and Jackson faced the toughest primary battles of their careers, and a new congressional map, which dramatically reshaped partisan territory in the state, added to the intensity.

With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Jackson had 71 percent of the votes, while his challenger, former one-term U.S. Rep. Debbie Halvorson, had around 29 percent. Halvorson called Jackson to concede after the intense primary season which featured expensive public relations consultants and attack ads on both sides.

“I had to take it very seriously,” Jackson told The Associated Press Tuesday night who said Halvorson made him a better candidate. “I never take an opponent lightly. She put up a very, very strong challenge.”

Manzullo conceded late Tuesday to freshmen U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, a former Air Force pilot who still serves in Air National Guard. With 99 percent of precincts reporting, Kinzinger, had 56 percent of the vote compared with about 44 percent for Manzullo.

Their primary was also one of the most aggressive in Illinois, with both candidates trying to portray themselves as the more conservative candidate. They were forced into a runoff after a new congressional map, drawn by Democrats.

“We’re not used to a Chicago-style campaign against us,” Manzullo told reporters late Tuesday, referring to attack ads against him. “We’re just not used to that.”

But Kinzinger, who was endorsed by House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said that winning the nomination was a sign that Illinois voters wanted new blood in Washington. He was among five GOP congressmen elected in 2010 during a Republican surge.

“Voters want to put that faith in the new generation of conservative leaders,” Kinzinger told AP late Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Iraq war veteran Tammy Duckworth won a primary contest over former Illinois deputy treasurer Raja Krishnamoorthi in Chicago‘s suburbs and will run against outspoken Republican U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh in November.

Voters also determined the fall match-up for the state’s only open congressional seat, which is being vacated by the retirement of U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello, the longest-serving Democrat in the state’s U.S. House delegation. Republican lumber businessman Jason Plummer and Democratic former regional schools superintendent Brad Harriman will be on the ballot.

Democrats say they could gain as many as five new seats in Illinois come November, pushing them closer to regaining the U.S. House. But Republicans say they’re poised to pick up a seat in the southern half of the state and can successfully defend challenges to the five GOP congressmen who won in 2010 during a Republican surge in Illinois.

Republicans will lose at least one congressman because the state lost a congressional seat in the remap ? from 19 to 18 ? and the incumbent matchup in north-central Illinois.

Kinzinger’s old district was split in the remap, which was handled by Democrats and carved out territory in their favor. He decided to run against Manzullo, who is currently serving in the 16th Congressional District. The district is one of Illinois’ most conservative pockets, curving from the Wisconsin border to the Indiana line and including farms, far flung Chicago suburbs and manufacturing communities.

No Democrats ran in the Tuesday primary, so Kinzinger will almost certainly head back to Washington.

The primary for Jackson, who first took office in 1995, was the most intense of his career. The son of the civil rights activist mounted an aggressive primary fight with Halvorson as she has made questions about his ethics central to her campaign. While he has denied any wrongdoing, the House Ethics Committee is investigating Jackson’s ties to imprisoned ex-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

However, the issue appeared to resonate little with voters who cited his long experience in the district which extends from neighborhoods on Chicago’s South Side, its south suburbs and beyond.

“Jesse Jackson Jr. has been in my community for a long time and I support him,” said Oscar Dixon, 63, of Chicago. “He’s like a family member… He really delivers for me.”

Duckworth, an Army helicopter pilot who lost both her legs in a rocket-propelled grenade attack in 2004, focused her victory on Walsh. The tea party candidate has been in the spotlight for criticizing President Barack Obama. Duckworth called him an extreme voice for the district which is one of the most diverse on the congressional map and spans several northwest Chicago suburbs.

“I spent my entire adult life in service to this nation and I would be honored to continue that service as a member of Congress,” she told supporters at her suburban victory party.

___

Sophia Tareen can be reached at http://twitter.com/sophiatareen

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/manzullo-loses-illinois-primary-race-jackson-wins-033703974.html

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Mar 12

20

Redistricting wrangle hits Romney and Texas Republicans

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AUSTIN, Texas (Reuters) – Texas should be playing a role in Republican politics this year as big as, well, Texas.

The fast-growing state – the most populous by far in the Republican column – has four new seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, a big U.S. Senate race and more than a 10th of the delegates who will choose the party’s presidential nominee.

But a racially tinged dispute over redrawing its congressional districts has delayed the Texas primary by almost three months, complicated the U.S. Senate and House contests and altered the race for the White House.

A San Antonio court pushed Texas’ primary back to May 29 from March 6 after complaints that a new electoral map drawn by Republicans violated the federal Voting Rights Act by diluting the voting power of blacks and Latinos.

Three of Texas’ four new U.S. House seats were created in areas dominated by whites, even though Hispanics and blacks accounted for 90 percent of Texas’ population growth since 2000.

The battle sets white Republicans, who have firmly established political control in Texas within the past decade, against rising and strongly Democratic Hispanic and black populations, whose leaders argue that they are being unfairly denied an equal voice in state politics.

The stakes are high both for 2012, when the White House and control of the U.S. Congress are up for grabs, and longer term, when a rapidly growing Hispanic population is expected eventually to disadvantage Republicans and benefit Democrats.

“Republicans can work that racial solidarity thing for a while, but in the end, they’ve got to do better than 35 percent of the Hispanic vote or their election prospects are not great,” said Cal Jillson, a political science professor at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

States with a history of minority voting rights violations must obtain pre-clearance from either the U.S. Department of Justice or the federal court in Washington, D.C., before they can use new maps. The new voter map in Florida, another fast-growing southern state, has also been subject to legal wrangling this year.

ALREADY A MINORITY

Non-Hispanic whites already account for a minority of Texas’ residents, with 45 percent of the population. The state is 38 percent Latino and 12 percent black, numbers expected to continue to rise.

President Barack Obama lost Texas by 11-percentage points in 2008. He got only 26 percent of the white vote, but was backed by 63 percent of Hispanics and 98 percent of blacks, fueling talk that it will not be long before Republican red Texas turns purple, if not Democratic blue.

“We sort of feel like we have the wind at our backs,” said Anthony Gutierrez, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party.

Democrats have won Texas in only three of the last 15 presidential elections. The party has not won a statewide election since 1994, and Republicans cemented their control of the state with huge victories in the 2010 midterms.

But even Republicans acknowledge that changing demographics mean the party must appeal to Hispanics to hold onto power beyond the next few years. Latinos in Texas generally vote Democratic by a 2-to-1 margin, which won’t be helped by a redistricting fight seen as a battle to maintain white control.

“It is obviously a high-risk strategy in a state that is increasingly Hispanic,” said Michael Li, a Dallas-based election law lawyer who runs the blog “Texas Redistricting.” Li is not involved in the redistricting fight.

SUPER TUESDAY NOT SUPER FOR ROMNEY

The redistricting mess has already affected the 2012 presidential race, notably the hopes of Mitt Romney, who may have done well in the Texas primary if it had taken place on Super Tuesday – March 6 – as originally scheduled.

Texas would have been the biggest prize up for grabs on Super Tuesday, when 10 other states held primaries and caucuses.

Romney, with far more money and a bigger campaign organization than rivals Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich, was best placed to compete in so many states at once. Texas alone has 20 media markets, meaning statewide advertising can cost millions.

Winning or putting in a good showing in Texas would have boosted Romney. The state’s 155 delegates, awarded proportionally, are a huge chunk of the 1,144 needed to become the nominee.

A strong performance on Super Tuesday also would have given Romney a badly needed breakthrough in the heart of southern Republican conservatism, weakening Santorum and perhaps cutting short what has become a protracted nomination fight.

Instead, Romney has been a weak front-runner and Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator best known for strong religious conservatism, has been winning over the party’s right wing.

“It (a March 6 Texas primary) would have changed a lot of things. It would have changed the entire complexion of Super Tuesday,” said Matt Mackowiak, an Austin-based Republican strategist, especially with Santorum and Gingrich both vying for the support of the most conservative Texans.

“I suspect if the field was split and if Santorum and Gingrich hadn’t had $5 million or $3 million to spend, then Romney probably would have won Texas on March 6,” he said.

With Texas now one of the last states to vote, the nominee could be chosen by May 29. Even if it isn’t, Santorum is now considered more likely to take Texas, thanks to improving fund-raising and his solidified position as the conservative alternative to Romney.

“Romney starts with a significant disadvantage in terms of public opinion,” said Jim Henson, director of the Texas Politics Project at the University of Texas at Austin, although he added that Romney’s big campaign war chest means that he could spend heavily in Texas to target clusters of mainstream conservatives in major media markets.

A Wilson Perkins Allen Opinion Research poll last week showed Santorum eight percentage points ahead of Romney among likely Republican primary voters in Texas. Santorum was at 35 percent to 27 percent for Romney.

Gingrich was at 20 percent and Ron Paul, a Texas congressman lagging in most polls, was at 8 percent.

The redistricting mess is affecting races down the ticket as well, with many voters not sure where they are registered and many candidates unsure of where they should run or raise money while the court fight has continued.

“I can look around the state and see the confusion in the eyes of the average voter,” said Chris Elam, communications director for the state Republican party. Some 100 Republicans alone have applied to run for the 36 House seats, he said.

The interim map is expected to stand, but there is a chance it could be changed again by the Washington court.

The May 29 date is after schools close for the summer, leading to worries that turnout will be low, which often leads to unpredictable results.

The race to replace retiring Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison has been most affected by the upheaval. Lieutenant Governor David Dewhurst has been favored to replace Hutchison, because of his statewide name recognition and fundraising prowess.

But the long delay has given opponents, especially Tea Party favorite Ted Cruz, time to raise money and their profiles. Former Dallas Mayor Tom Leppert and Craig James, a one-time television sports analyst, are also in the race.

If no one wins a majority on May 29, state law mandates a runoff vote on July 31, the heart of the hot Texas summer when an even smaller turnout would be expected.

(Editing by Alistair Bell and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/redistricting-wrangle-hits-romney-texas-republicans-052541860.html

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Mar 12

1

Economy ended 2011 a bit stronger than first thought

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By Msnbc.com staff and wire

The U.S. economy expanded at a slightly faster pace than first estimated in the fourth quarter of last year,?perhaps allaying worries of a slowdown in the start of the new year.

The Commerce Department reported Wednesday that the U.S. economy grew at a 3.0 percent pace at the end of 2011, up from its previous estimate of 2.8 percent and higher than economists had expected. It was the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010 and a much quicker growth rate than the 1.8 percent set in the third quarter.

Economists warned not to overreact to the upward revision. “It’s two tenths of a percent. I don’t think that’s going to change the tone of the discussion,” said Tom Porcelli, chief economist at RBC Capital Markets.

While the build-up in business inventories still accounted for much of rise in output in the last quarter, the revisions to GDP unveiled an improved tone for the first-quarter growth outlook, however.

Businesses were not as aggressive in their restocking efforts, which should help to calm fears of a sharper slowdown in output this quarter.

In addition, consumer spending – which accounts for about 70 percent of U.S. economic activity – was a touch firmer than initially thought. Consumer spending rose at a 2.1 percent rate instead of 2 percent.

Even spending on home building was firmer than previously estimated and investment on nonresidential structures was modestly weak.

So far data ranging from employment to manufacturing have shown underlying strength in the economy, reducing the need for the Federal Reserve to ease monetary policy further by launching a third round of asset purchases or quantitative easing.

But surging gasoline prices, which have risen 12.6 percent or 42 cents since the start of the year and averaged $3.78 a gallon in the week through Monday, are clouding the outlook.

High gasoline prices helped to almost snuff out growth early last year. However, economists believe the impact on households this time could be mitigated somewhat by weak costs for natural gas and a strengthening labor market.

While the rebuilding of inventories added a hefty 1.88 percentage points to GDP in the last quarter, the pace of accumulation was not as fast as previously reported. Business inventories increased $54.3 billion, instead of $56.0 billion.

This suggests scope for more stock accumulation this quarter, but not at the same magnitude as the final three months of last year.

Excluding inventories, the economy grew at a 1.1 percent rate, rather than 0.8 percent. That was still a sharp step-down from the prior period’s 3.2 percent pace.

Although business overall business spending was revised up, investment in equipment and software was lowered to a 4.8 percent growth rate from 5.2 percent.

Export growth estimates were also lowered, but weaker imports led to a smaller trade gap.

Reuters contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/29/10538967-economy-ended-2011-even-stronger-than-first-thought

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Dec 11

16

Gingrich Losing Lead in Iowa; Ron Paul More Truthful (ContributorNetwork)

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ANALYSIS | Newt Gingrich, the GOP frontrunner heading into the Iowa caucus, is losing his lead in Iowa, and fellow candidate Ron Paul is closing in behind him, the AFP Tuesday reported. Voters might be realizing what PolitiFact already knows: Paul tells the truth more than twice as often as Gingrich.

PolitiFact, an independent, nonpartisan fact-checking website, is owned and run by the Poynter Institute, a non-profit school for journalism. As the Iowa caucus nears, Gingrich’s record on truth might be hurting him. PolitiFact rated nearly 60 percent of Gingrich’s statements as Mostly False, False or Pants on Fire, a designation it saves for truly ridiculous claims. Ron Paul’s number, 36 percent, is much smaller.

Gingrich earned the smoking trousers for 18 percent of statements rated by PolitiFact, compared to just 7 percent for Paul. Broadly speaking, this means that Gingrich is wrong on six out of every ten claims he makes, and he’s telling a whopper once in five.

Here’s how the numbers break down for Newt Gingrich versus Ron Paul. The statistics were collected on the evening of Dec. 13, but may change if PolitiFact adds a new claim.

Newt Gingrich – wrong nearly 60 percent of the time

PolitiFact analyzed 33 statements made by Newt Gingrich.

  • True or Mostly True: 6 out of 33, or 18 percent
  • Half-true: 8 out of 33, or 24 percent
  • Mostly False, False, Pants on Fire: 19, or 58 percent
  • Pants on Fire: 6 out of 33, or 18 percent

Ron Paul – More truthful, less fire in pants

PolitiFact analyzed 28 statements made by Ron Paul.

  • True or Mostly True: 14 out of 28, or 50 percent
  • Half-true: 4 out of 28, or 14 percent
  • Mostly False, False, Pants on Fire: 10 out of 28, or 36 percent
  • Pants on Fire: 2 out of 28, or 7 percent

Well, yeah, but what about Obama?

PolitiFact analyzed 330 statements made by Barack Obama.

  • True or Mostly True: 154 out of 330, or 47 percent
  • Half-true: 79 out of 330, or 24 percent
  • Mostly False, False, Pants on Fire: 97 out of 330, or 29 percent
  • Pants on Fire: 4 out of 330, or one-tenth of one percent (0.1 percent)

So what does it all mean?

Voters who want a truthful GOP candidate should choose Ron Paul over Newt Gingrich. Mitt Romney ties Paul for getting it wrong, but Paul trumps Romney 50 percent to 40 percent for getting things right.

Voters interested in truthfulness and accuracy regardless of party affiliation should choose Obama instead. Obama is neck-and-neck with Paul for getting things right (47 percent vs. 50 percent, a statistical tie given the sample sizes), but where Obama really shines is in not getting things wrong. Paul is wrong 36 percent of the time, compared to 29 percent for Obama, and Paul tells a whopper 7 percent of the time compared to less than one percent for Obama.

Is there anyone less truthful than Gingrich?

Yes. Michele Bachmann gets it wrong or mostly wrong 73 percent of the time. Glenn Beck is at 65 percent, and Rush Limbaugh comes in at 77 percent.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20111214/pl_ac/10678381_gingrich_losing_lead_in_iowa_ron_paul_more_truthful

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Nov 11

18

Asian shares fall on euro zone contagion fears (Reuters)

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TOKYO (Reuters) ? Asian shares and the euro fell on Wednesday as signs that rising borrowing costs were affecting AAA-rated France stirred fears that even core euro zone members may not escape contagion from the region’s debt crisis.

The political outlook remained unclear in struggling Italy and Greece as they attempt to push through severe austerity measures needed to get bail-out funds and win market confidence. Prime Minister designate Mario Monti was expected to unveil Italy’s new government on Wednesday.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan (.MIAPJ0000PUS) fell 2.1 percent, while Japan’s Nikkei stock average (.N225) slipped 0.9 percent on Wednesday. (.T)

The euro hit a five-week low against both the dollar and the yen, as euro zone jitters spurred risk aversion, and stood down 0.7 percent at $1.3437. Gold fell 1 percent to $1,763.39 an ounce as some sought to cover losses in riskier assets.

“Markets are clearly expecting a circuit breaker to alleviate pressure on periphery bond yields,” said David Scutt, a trader at Arab Bank Australia in Sydney. “If no announcement is forthcoming in the days ahead, one suspects that situation could unravel fairly quickly.”

European stocks were set to fall, with spreadbetters seeing London’s FTSE 100 (.FTSE) opening down 0.6 percent, Frankfurt’s DAX (.GDAXI) down 0.9 percent, and Paris’ CAC-40 (.FCHI) 0.6 percent lower. (.EU) (.L)

Italian 10-year bond yields on Tuesday climbed back above 7 percent, a level of funding costs seen as unsustainable for the debt-ridden country, while Spanish 10-year bond yields rose to 6.3 percent.

The trend spread to France, where the premium over comparable German Bunds hit euro-era highs above 190 basis points. French banks are among the most exposed to Italy’s 1.8 trillion euro ($2.4 trillion) public debt, holding $416 billion as of end-June, Bank for International Settlements data showed. Italian debts’ premium over Bunds rose above 500 basis points.

Italy’s five-year credit default swaps (CDS) — a form of insurance against default — scaled a new high of 600 basis points, with Italian banks and corporates the worst performers in the Markit iTraxx Europe CDS index on Tuesday.

Bearish sentiment spilled over to Asian credit markets, with risk aversion pushing the spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment grade index wider by 6 basis points.

ECB ROLE EYED

The uncertainty over fiscal reforms in highly indebted euro zone countries has sparked heavy selling of bonds issued by these countries, prompting financial institutions to slash their bond holdings for fear of posting huge losses as prices plunged.

Pressures for banks to beef up their capital base have only exacerbated the situation as banks’ accelerated deleveraging has further eroded their appetite for government debt.

Borrowing difficulties have fueled concerns about fund raising in general, increasing strains in money markets.

Euro/dollar three-month cross currency basis swaps widened to -128.0 basis points at one point on Tuesday, the most since late 2008.

“This indicates funding issues, the market getting very nervous,” said a trader for a European bank in Singapore.

With an absence of government debt buyers threatening to squeeze liquidity, “the ECB has no choice but to provide whatever liquidity the system needs and remain a very active part of the European financial market”, said Adrian Foster, head of financial markets research for Asia-Pacific at Rabobank International in Hong Kong.

Many analysts say the ECB could stem this negative spiral by buying large amounts of bonds, under similar quantitative easing measures implemented by the U.S. and British central banks.

But Germany is resolutely opposed to such moves and the ECB has repeatedly rebuffed calls to become the lender of the last resort, saying it is up to individual governments to put their fiscal houses in order.

As policymakers stand at odds in determining details of the roadmap to resolve the debt crisis, EU governments have until a summit on December 9 to offer a bolder and more convincing strategy, including visible financial backing.

The sovereign debt problems have slashed euro zone growth to a mere 0.2 percent in the third quarter, raising the risk of a recession.

The United States, however, where economists expect gross domestic product growth of 1.8 percent this year, has seen recent data suggesting its economy was likely to stay clear of a recession, with October retail sales beating forecasts.

“In the current environment, a 1-1/2 to 2 percent growth would be seen as a positive support for the market,” Rabobank’s Foster said. ($1 = 0.739 Euros)

(Additional reporting by Ian Chua in Sydney and Masayuki Kitano in Singapore; Editing by Alex Richardson)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111116/bs_nm/us_markets_global

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Nov 11

17

Larry Magid: News Flash: Online Teens Actually Head Parents’ Advice

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A study released last week by the Pew Internet & American Life Project had what might be surprising news about online teens. They actually listen to parental advice.

The big take-away from the report, “Teens, Kindness and Cruelty on Social Network Sites” was that 69 percent of American teens who use social media say people their age “are mostly kind to one another on social network sites.” Deeper into the report, you’ll find that 86 percent of teens report getting advice from a parent, and 70 percent say they’ve received online safety advice from a teacher or “another adult at school. Almost half the teens say they’ve received advice from siblings and relatives and about 54 percent say they’ve gotten it from television, radio, newspapers or magazines.

The study, which interviewed 799 teens and their parents earlier this year, was sponsored by the Family Online Safety Institute and Cable in the Classroom.

Despite the fact that nearly all of the teens surveyed were wired into social media and mobile devices, just over a third said they have gotten safety advice from websites and only 21 percent from Internet and mobile phone service providers. Four out of six kids had received advice from other adults, such as youth leaders, clergy and coaches.

It was also heartening to read that younger teens are more likely to receive advice from older siblings, along with other relatives and librarians and that “for teens of all ages nd genders, parents are the most commonly mentioned source for advice about online safety.”

The survey didn’t ask whether this advice was sought out, appreciated or effective. But it did probe into whether kids looked for advice after witnessing meanness or online cruelty. More than a third who have seen others be mean or cruel on a social network site said they looked for advice on what to do. More than half the girls looked for advice compared to 20 percent of boys.

Teens who have been bullied themselves were even more likely to seek out help. Of this group, 56 percent reached out for advice compared to the 30 percent of teens who had not been bullied.

It’s encouraging to note that 92 percent of the teens who asked for advice on how to handle online cruelty said the advice was helpful.

Nearly six in 10 said parents have the greatest influence. The study found some differences based on income and ethnicity, but what I found most telling is that parents who are themselves Internet users are more likely to serve as a teen’s biggest influence. That certainly confirms advice that I’ve been giving for years — that parents need to go online and learn firsthand about the types of media their kids use.

This research tracks with other studies about parental influence. Several studies have shown that kids, including teenagers, do listen to what their parents say and pay attention to what their parents do. Even college students, according to a 2008 study published in the Journal of Youth and Adolescence, are influenced by parental involvement.

But in order to be effective, advice from parents or any other adults also has to be accurate and actionable. Michigan State professor Kim Witte’s Extended Parallel Process Model is mostly designed to measure how people respond to fear messages, but it can also be applied to other forms of advice. What she found is that effectiveness of messaging depends on the “assessment of the threat and their perceived efficacy.” In other words, people tend to ignore warnings that don’t resonate with their perception of reality and they won’t take advice that doesn’t lead to actions likely to have an impact.

Much of this research is based on behavioral issues like smoking cessation, but it can also apply to online behavior. Giving advice that makes little sense to kids is likely to go nowhere. For example, much of the advice designed to keep kids out of the hands of Internet predators was largely ignored because the kids’ own experience correctly belied the perceived threats.

A few years ago, the media was filled with stories about teens being harmed by online strangers, even though research and the actual experience of the vast majority of teens failed to back up those fears. There is also widespread belief that putting personal information or even photos online can lead to danger, but millions of kids do that everyday and never hear about cases of kids they know having been harmed as a result.

While bullying can be extremely hurtful, 85 percent of teens questioned in this Pew study say that no one has been mean or cruel to them online in the past 12 months, and most don’t bully others. And despite some media reports of widespread “sexting,” only 2 percent of teens say they have ever sent a nude or sexually suggestive picture or video of themselves to others.

This article earlier appeared in the San Jose Mercury News and on SafeKids.com.

?

Follow Larry Magid on Twitter: www.twitter.com/larrymagid

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/larry-magid/news-flash-online-teens-a_b_1095771.html

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Nov 11

12

Australia poised to fight big tobacco in courts (AP)

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CANBERRA, Australia ? The Australian government said Thursday it is ready to fight big tobacco companies in court over the administration’s plan to ban logos and other advertising on cigarette packs.

The Senate is scheduled to pass legislation Thursday that would prohibit tobacco companies from displaying their distinctive colors, brand designs and logos on cigarette packs in a bid to make smoking less attractive to the young.

The government said that the world’s toughest laws on cigarette promotion will come into force from December next year.

Tobacco giants argue that the move illegally diminishes the value of their trademarks and have threatened a court battle for billions of dollars in compensation.

Health Minister Nicola Roxon said her government was “determined to take away the last method of advertising” cigarettes in Australia.

“We’re not going to be bullied into not taking this action just because tobacco companies say they might fight us in the courts,” she told reporters. “We’re ready for that if they do take legal action.”

Australia is a relatively small tobacco market where the falling rate of smokers is 17 percent, compared with around 20 percent of American adults. But tobacco companies fear a precedent that could be adopted by more lucrative and growing markets.

The legislation would require all cigarettes to be sold in the same drab, olive green packs with brand names dwarfed by health warnings.

The warnings and often gruesome, full-color images of the consequences of smoking, such as mouth cancer and gangrenous toes, will cover 75 percent of the packs’ front. Graphic health warnings currently cover only 30 percent.

Offenders would face fines of up to 1.1 million Australian dollars ($1.2 million) for a company and AU$220,000 for an individual. Australia already bans advertising at the point of sale.

Hong Kong-based Philip Morris Asia Limited, which owns the Australian affiliate Philip Morris Limited, filed a notice of claim against the government in an Australian court in June arguing the legislation violates a bilateral investment treaty between Australia and Hong Kong.

Philip Morris says the treaty protects companies’ property, including intellectual property such as trademarks. It says plain packaging severely diminishes the value of the company’s trademark.

British American Tobacco Australia Ltd., the Australian market leader, warned that the government would have to spend millions in legal fees in numerous legal challenges to the law and potentially billions in compensation.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oceania/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111110/ap_on_re_as/as_australia_tobacco

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Nov 11

7

Irish to cut billions more in 2012 austerity push (AP)

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DUBLIN ? Ireland announced a deepening austerity drive Friday, committing itself to cut euro3.8 billion ($5.2 billion) from its 2012 deficit and to keep increasing taxes and slashing spending through 2015 to meet the terms of its international bailout.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said the rising level of cuts and tax increases outlined in his 2012-15 fiscal plan are needed for Ireland to claw its 2015 deficit back within 3 percent of gross domestic product, the key target in last year’s bailout deal.

“The large gap that still exists between government spending and revenue must be closed,” Noonan told a Department of Finance press conference. “Continuing to run big deficits and engaging in the high levels of borrowing required to fund them is simply not viable. To do so would result in unsustainable debt and a long-term loss of sovereignty.”

Ireland in November 2010 was forced to negotiate a potential euro67.5 billion ($92 billion) credit line from the European Union and International Monetary Fund after the nation reached the brink of bankruptcy over its runaway bank-rescue program. Ireland already has drawn down nearly half of that funding. EU and IMF monitors have lauded Ireland’s commitment to fight its deficits as part of the deal.

Even before seeking international aid, Ireland was the first of Europe’s debt-struck nations to impose emergency austerity budgets after its ill-regulated banks began to buckle in 2008 amid imploding property markets in Ireland, Britain and the United States. Irish banks were exceptional risk-takers in all three markets. The government ended up nationalizing five banks at a cost to taxpayers expected to top euro70 billion ($100 billion).

The planned 2012-15 cuts run deeper than previously expected, in part, because Ireland has trimmed its growth forecasts in line with continued depression in consumer demand and rising uncertainty in its key American and European export markets.

Ireland lowered its 2012 growth projection to just 1.6 percent versus previous expectations of 2.5 percent. Average growth for 2013-15 also was reduced from 3 percent to 2.8 percent, a figure that many economists said still looked too rosy.

Friday’s plan presumes that consumer demand will not recover soon in a country where households often are fearful of losing their jobs, mired in negative-equity mortgages, and struggling to pay rising bills on reduced incomes.

It expects consumer demand to keep declining a further 1 percent next year, versus a previous assumption of flat growth. And demand in 2013 now is expected to be flat, versus previous hopes of a 1 percent uptick.

Noonan said deficit reduction in 2012, to be detailed in his budget Dec. 6, would involve euro1.6 billion in tax increases and euro2.2 billion in spending cuts.

He said a further euro3.5 billion would be cut from the 2013 deficit, euro3.1 billion in 2014, and euro2 billion in 2015. In total, the planned euro12.4 billion in deficit cuts over the next four years would involve euro4.65 billion in tax increases ? or more than euro1,000 for every man, woman and child in Ireland.

Such cuts, he said, were forecast to reduce Ireland’s deficit for 2012 to 8.6 percent of GDP; for 2013 to 7.5 percent; 2014 to 5.1 percent; and 2015 to 2.9 percent.

Noonan conceded that the cutting and tax hikes were suppressing economic growth, but said Ireland had no choice but to bite the bullet hard. He said Ireland’s unemployment rate, currently near a 17-year high of 14.4 percent, would improve only once consumer spending grows from 2014 onward.

“The likelihood is that exports will remain the only significant source of positive momentum in the economy for the next couple of years,” he said, referring to Ireland’s 1,000-strong stable of foreign high-tech companies, which generate a growing proportion of tax revenues but relatively few jobs.

Business leaders welcomed the size of the planned deficit cuts as necessary, but warned that the government should press harder for spending cuts, rather than hiking taxes.

“International evidence shows that tax-based austerity is more harmful to economic growth and employment than current expenditure reductions,” said Danny McCoy, director of the Irish Business and Employers Confederation, the main lobbying group for Ireland’s more than 7,000 businesses.

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Online:

Finance Department plan, http://bit.ly/sFmgZ2

Noonan statement, http://bit.ly/sRFKsL

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111104/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_ireland_financial_crisis

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