Vatican takes first spot in Internet domain name draw

The Vatican has come out in first place in a long-awaited draw to expand the Internet address system with new domain names that go beyond the usual .com, .org or .net endings.
ICANN, the corporation that oversees the Internet address system, announced this week the domain name .catholic written in Chinese characters will be the first bid it considers in a drive to expand and reorganize sites on the World Wide Web.
The same extension in Arabic letters ranked 25th in the random draw and the Vatican's application for a version in Cyrillic for Russian and other Slavic languages came in 96th.
Ranking high means the applicant could get approval early next year to operate the new domain and approve addresses using it. In the Vatican's case, Rome could then ensure only genuine Roman Catholic institutions get to use that domain name.
"This is a way to give a coherence and authentication to our presence in the digital arena," said Monsignor Paul Tighe, secretary of the Pontifical Council for Social Communications.
"Anyone looking online will recognize the site belongs to an institution that belongs to the Catholic Church," he said, adding the new, so-called top level domain names (|TLDs) could also help speed online searches.
.BIBLE AND .ISLAM
For online retailers such as Amazon, whose application for .store in Japanese came in second, early approval could mean a competitive advantage and prompt a quick introduction of the new name.
But the Vatican did not enter the draw for commercial reasons and would not rush to launch its TLDs, Tighe said. In addition, the main TLD it seeks - .catholic in Latin letters - ended up in 1,366th place and may take months before it is approved.
Website owners are now restricted to a few dozen TLDs such as .com and country code domains such as .co.uk or .fr. Many of the 1,930 applications for new TLDs came from companies, including Internet giants such as Amazon and Google.
Several other faith-based groups applied for other TLDs such as .bible or .islam. The extension .mormon was the next-highest religious application drawn, coming in at 118th place.
ICANN (www.icann.org), the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, has stressed that assigning a certain TLD does not imply any endorsement of the religious group seeking it, just recognition it is the best suited to use the name.
Tighe said the ICANN draw handled applications for TLDs in non-Latin alphabets first, which explained why the Vatican's Chinese, Arabic and Cyrillic extensions came out far ahead of its main TLD in Latin letters.
INTERNET IMPRIMATUR
ICANN invited comments on applications earlier this year. The Vatican's application for exclusive use of .catholic drew criticism from members of several Protestant churches that also use the term, which comes from the Greek for "universal".
"This request is a move by a powerful group to squelch the voices and rights of other Christians," Dave Daubert, pastor of Zion Lutheran Church in Elgin, Illinois, wrote on the ICANN webpage for comments on the applications.
Saudi Arabia, the birthplace of Islam, apparently saw no hope of a consensus on religious TLDs and opposed them all.
Some religions seem to have kept out of the fray entirely. There were no applications for .buddhist, .hindu or .jewish.

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Vatican says pope beats Justin Bieber on re-tweets

Pope Benedict, white-haired, 85, and a neophyte to social media site Twitter, has beaten out 18-year old heartthrob Justin Bieber to set a percentage record for re-tweeting by his followers, the Vatican said on Thursday.
The Vatican newspaper said that as of noon Italian time on Thursday the pope had 2.1 million followers on Twitter, eight days after his first tweet was sent.
While Canadian singer-songwriter Bieber has roughly 15 times as many followers - 31.7 million - the Vatican newspaper said Benedict had beaten Bieber on re-tweets.
It said about 50 percent of the pope's followers had re-tweeted his first tweet on December 12 while only 0.7 percent of Bieber's followers had re-tweeted one of the singer's most popular tweets on September 26, when he commented on the death by cancer of a six-year-old fan.
The Vatican said this was part of a wider trend in which people were looking for more spiritual content.
The pope already tweets in English, German, Italian, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and Arabic. The newspaper said he will start tweeting in Latin and Chinese soon.

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Saudi website editor could face death for apostasy-rights group

The editor of a Saudi Arabian website could be sentenced to death after a judge cited him for apostasy and moved his case to a higher court, the monitoring group Human Rights Watch said on Saturday.
Raif Badawi, who started the Free Saudi Liberals website to discuss the role of religion in Saudi Arabia, was arrested in June, Human Rights Watch said.
Badawi had initially been charged with the less serious offence of insulting Islam through electronic channels, but at a December 17 hearing a judge referred him to a more senior court and recommended he be tried for apostasy, the monitoring group said.
Apostasy, the act of changing religious affiliation, carries an automatic death sentence in Saudi Arabia, along with crimes including blasphemy.
Badawi's website included articles that were critical of senior religious figures, the monitoring group said.
A spokesman for Saudi Arabia's Justice Ministry was not available to comment.
The world's top oil exporter follows the strict Wahhabi school of Islam and applies Islamic law, or sharia.
Judges base their decisions on their own interpretation of religious law rather than on a written legal code or on precedent.
King Abdullah, Saudi Arabia's ruler, has pushed for reforms to the legal system, including improved training for judges and the introduction of precedent to standardize verdicts and make courts more transparent.

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Sri Lanka arrests 100 Chinese for cyber fraud, police say

 Sri Lanka on Saturday arrested at least 100 Chinese nationals accused of an internet fraud scheme targeting people in their home country, a police spokesman said.
The accused, all in Sri Lanka on tourist visas, are suspected of hacking into computers in China and then demanding their owners transfer them money, police spokesman Prishantha Jayakodi told Reuters.
Chinese police requested help from Sri Lanka, he said.
Officials at the Chinese embassy in Colombo were not available for comment.
China has been the top lender to Sri Lanka since the end of a 25-year war in May 2009 and thousands of Chinese are working in the country on Chinese-funded infrastructure projects.

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British retailers start online sales early

British retailers have brought forward their Christmas clearance sales online in the hope that shoppers will log on to buy bargains and offset lackluster spending in stores.
Marks & Spencer launched its sale online at midday on Monday, it said on its website, while department store John Lewis said it would cut online prices when its stores close at 1700 GMT. Debenhams has already started its online sale.
Retailers in recent years have started sales online on Christmas Day, ahead of the clearances in stores from Boxing Day, but are increasingly launching their online offers before Christmas after delivery deadlines for the day have passed.
Hard-pressed shoppers have been leaving it later to buy presents in the hope that retailers would slash prices, the British Retail Consortium said.
It was forecasting that 5 billion pounds ($8.1 billion) would be spent in the shops on Saturday and Sunday combined, the last weekend before Christmas.
Richard Dodd, the BRC's head of Media and Campaigns, said weekend trading had met expectations.
"Christmas, ultimately once all the final sums are done, will turn out to be acceptable but not exceptional," he said.
He said the sector expected a modest increase in cash spending against a year go, but not necessarily any significant increase in real terms once inflation was stripped out.
Many British families' budgets are stretched, according to a survey from Markit that showed the biggest deterioration in household finances for seven months.
Analyst Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said the weakening in household finances could not come at a worse time for retailers, and it highlighted why many people appeared to have been careful in their Christmas shopping this year.
"The suspicion has to be that consumers will be especially keen to take advantage of genuine major bargains in the sales to acquire items that they cannot otherwise afford or are reluctant to make at the moment," he said.
"However, we suspect that people will likely to be more careful in buying - or reluctant to buy - items that they don't really want or need in the sales."

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Egypt fears over currency lead to dollar rush

 As Egypt prepared to release official results of the divisive constitutional referendum on Tuesday, the country edged deeper into economic crisis with some worried residents hoarding dollars for fear that the local currency could weaken significantly.
The anxiety over the economy was visible at currency exchanges in the upscale Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek, which ran out of dollars by midday and offered only euros — a rare occurrence. Some banks, too, said they had run out of cash dollars, forcing people to seek foreign currency from exchanges around the city.
"I asked around in many exchange places and can't find dollars anywhere," said Cairo resident Mahmoud Kamel after unsuccessfully visiting one exchange office in Zamalek. "I want to exchange money because I'm afraid the Egyptian pound will not have any value soon."
Both political instability and economic fundamentals are playing a role in Egypt's growing financial distress. A constitution drafted by Islamist allies of President Mohammed Morsi deeply polarized the country and sparked huge street demonstrations that at times exploded into deadly violence. According to unofficial results the constitution passed in a referendum over the past two weekends with a 64 percent "yes" vote.
The official result due out later Tuesday is expected to confirm the unofficial tallies.
The dash to sell Egyptian pounds for dollars prompted the Central Bank of Egypt to issue a statement on Monday calling on banks not to listen to rumors circulating about the fiscal health of the nation.
In a statement carried on official news websites, the bank declared its commitment to guarantee all deposits in local and foreign currencies to banks in Egypt and said banks are "financially strong enough" to ensure the fulfillment of any obligations toward clients.
Late Monday, the president issued a decree banning people from leaving Egypt with more than $10,000 or its equivalent in other currencies.
There was one particularly nerve-rattling report in recent days that longtime Central Bank Governor Farouk Okdah had resigned. The report came on Saturday during the second and final round of voting on the constitutional referendum.
Official media quickly retracted the news after reporting it. The governor then turned up at a meeting of the government's economic team on Sunday in an apparent attempt to quell nervousness over the state of the economy.
Egypt's currency had been stable trading around 6 pounds to the dollar for the first half of the year. It has since slipped, especially in the past two months as political instability worsened. The Central Bank of Egypt listed Tuesday that the dollar was selling at 6.18 to the Egyptian pound. To buy dollars at currency exchanges, the rate was 6.20.
Since Egypt's uprising nearly two years ago, the country has lost more than half of its foreign currency reserves from $36 billion in 2010 to around $15 billion currently. The reserve level has been slightly propped up by some Qatari deposits in past months.
Underlining the cash shortage, unofficial estimates put Egypt's reserves at just around $4 billion in hard currency, with the rest in gold and dollar treasury bills for the local market.
Major foreign currency earners, such as foreign direct investment and tourism, have dropped off because of political unrest and deterioration in security following Hosni Mubarak's ouster in February 2011.
Egypt has requested a $4.8 billion loan from the International Monetary Fund to bridge the burgeoning budget deficit, but talks largely stalled this month after mass protests turned violent over disputes around the draft constitution.
Economic experts say that Egypt's current foreign reserves barely cover three months of imports, which is the IMF's minimum recommended coverage.
In another blow, Standard & Poors downgraded Egypt's long-term credit rating by one notch to B-, six steps below investment grade.
One of biggest problems facing the market, according to those experts, is a lack of transparency on the part of President Mohammed Morsi's government.
"The economy is a reflection of the political unrest," said Khaled Abdel-Hamid, head of Treasury at Union National Bank of the UAE in Egypt. "We need transparency. The people have to know the real position of the economy in Egypt."
He predicted in 2013, the pound will continue to devalue and inflation rates will rise, affecting the price of food and basic commodities.
"What matters is the end result. People want to live. If people can't find food or security, what does it mean if there is a president or constitution?" banker Abdel-Hamid said.
The London-based consultancy Capital Economics has said, though, that the Egyptian pound "looks significantly overvalued" and estimated that it might need to fall by around 20 percent in order to restore competitiveness.
Core inflation, which excludes regulated items and fruit and vegetables, rose to 4.6 percent in October month from 3.8 percent on an annual basis in September. Subsidy cuts and tax increases linked to the IMF agreement could push inflation to 8 percent next year, Capital Economics estimated.
Egyptian Prime Minister Hesham Kandil said Tuesday that his government was focused on luring foreign investors back to Egypt, supporting the foreign reserves and plugging the budget deficit.
"A priority for the government to raise employment rates, reduce inflation levels and increase Egyptian exports' competition abroad," he said.
Leading civil society and rights groups have protested against the IMF deal, saying that the government has not released the terms of the agreement being worked out. Rumors swirling around impending tax hikes, subsidy cuts and other bread-and-butter issues have heightened the public's concern. Around 40 percent of Egyptians live just at or below the poverty line of surviving on around $2 a day.
Promises by Morsi and his Muslim Brotherhood group that the Islamist-drafted constitution would bring about the stability Egyptians crave were dismissed by economic experts who warned that without enough currency reserves, there is little to stop the pound from falling steeply in value.
"If anything, we were stable. We are still entering the period of instability," said Haytham Abdel Fattah, head of the Treasury and International Markets Manager at Industrial Development Bank. "The instability of the foreign exchange rate is not at all detached from the political instability. It is a reflection and clear mirror to what is happening," he added.
Tens of thousands of Egyptians protested ahead of the referendum on the charter to demand a new and more diverse assembly to draft the constitution. Instead, the Islamist-dominated assembly hurriedly passed it before a court could rule on the panel's legitimacy. Morsi issued decrees, later rescinded, that gave him near-absolute powers to push the constitution to a nationwide vote.
Backers of the Brotherhood and others Islamist parties also rallied in support of the charter, leaving the country split and leading to violent clashes between the two camps on Dec. 5 that killed 10 outside the presidential palace in Cairo this month. The turmoil rocked Egypt's stock market, delayed the IMF loan talks and hurt the country's peak tourism season.

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Egypt constitution passes, economic crunch looms

The official approval of Egypt's disputed, Islamist-backed constitution Tuesday held out little hope of stabilizing the country after two years of turmoil and Islamist President Mohammed Morsi may now face a more immediate crisis with the economy falling deeper into distress.
In a clear sign of anxiety over the economy, the turbulence of the past month and expected austerity measures ahead have some Egyptians hoarding dollars for fear the currency is about to take a significant turn for the weaker.
The battle over the constitution left Egypt deeply polarized at a time when the government is increasingly cash-strapped. Supporters of the charter campaigned for it on the grounds that it will lead to stability, improve the grip of Morsi and his allies on state institutions, restore investor confidence and bring back tourists.
"In times of change, politics are the driver of the economy and not the other way around," said Mourad Aly, a media adviser for the political arm of the fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood, the backbone of Morsi's presidency and the main group that backed the constitution.
But there are already multiple fights on the horizon.
The U.S. State Department bluntly told Morsi it was now time to make compromises, acknowledging deep concerns over the constitution.
"President Morsi, as the democratically elected leader of Egypt, has a special responsibility to move forward in a way that recognizes the urgent need to bridge divisions, build trust, and broaden support for the political process," said Patrick Ventrell, acting deputy spokesman. "We hope those Egyptians disappointed by the result will seek more and deeper engagement. "
He said Egypt "needs a strong, inclusive government to meet its many challenges."
After a spate of resignations of senior aides and advisers during the constitutional crisis, Morsi appeared to have lost another member of his government late Tuesday night when his communications minister posted on his Twitter account that he was resigning.
The minister Hany Mahmoud said he "couldn't cope with the culture of government work, particular in the current conditions of the country." The resignation could not be immediately verified because it came so late at night.
Morsi signed a decree Tuesday night that put the new constitution into effect after the election commission announced the official results of the referendum held over the past two weekends. It said the constitution has passed with a 63.8 percent "yes." Turnout of 32.9 percent of Egypt's nearly 52 million registered voters was lower than most other elections since the uprising nearly two years ago that ousted authoritarian leader Hosni Mubarak
Morsi is expected to call for a new election of parliament's lawmaking lower house within two months.
In the meantime, the traditionally toothless upper house, the Shura Council, will hold legislative power. But the chamber is overwhelmingly Islamist-dominated so any laws it passes could spark a backlash from the opposition. Many fear a legal crackdown on independent media, highly critical of Islamists.
In a bid to reach out to opposition, the leader of the Muslim Brotherhood said he hoped the charter will be a "good omen" for Egyptians.
"Let's all begin to build the renaissance of our country with free will, good intentions and strong determination, men, women, Muslims and Christians," Mohammed Badie said on his Twitter account.
But the opposition said the passing of the document is was not the end of the political dispute. Critics fear the constitution will usher in Islamic law in Egypt and restrict personal freedoms.
"This is not a constitution that will last for a long time," said Khaled Dawoud, a spokesman for the main opposition group, the National Salvation Front, vowing to fight for more freedoms, social and economic rights.
In a sign that the new front for the opposition against Morsi's policies may be the economy, Dawoud said the Morsi administration was "confused" both on the political and economic fronts.
"We want stability and economic prosperity like everybody else. But we don't believe that the policies of Morsi and the Brotherhood will lead to more stability," he said.
The turmoil over the constitution sparked huge protests that turned deadly at times. For a moment, the tension looked like it was spiraling out of control and only added to an already weakened economy.
At the height of the protests, the government called off its talks with the International Monetary Fund over a $4.8 billion loan which Morsi's government viewed as a way to attract much needed foreign investors, and deal with a high budget deficit.
Major foreign currency earners, such as foreign direct investment and tourism, have dropped off because of political unrest and deterioration in security following Mubarak's ouster in February 2011.
Over the last two years, the country has lost more than half of its foreign currency reserves from $36 billion in 2010 to around $15 billion currently. The reserve level has been slightly propped up by some Qatari deposits in past months.
Economic experts say that Egypt's current foreign reserves barely cover three months of imports, which is the IMF's minimum recommended coverage.
There were signs on Tuesday that some Egyptians were starting to hoard dollars for fear that the local currency could weaken significantly.
The run on the dollar was fueled in part by a decree issued by Morsi late Monday banning people from leaving Egypt with more than $10,000 or its equivalent in other currencies.
Some currency exchanges in the upscale Cairo neighborhood of Zamalek ran out of dollars by midday and offered only euros — a rare occurrence. Some banks, too, said they had run out of cash dollars.
"I asked around in many exchange places and can't find dollars anywhere," said Cairo resident Mahmoud Kamel after unsuccessfully visiting one exchange office. "I want to exchange money because I'm afraid the Egyptian pound will not have any value soon."
The dollar rush prompted the Central Bank of Egypt to issue a statement on Monday calling on banks not to listen to rumors circulating about the fiscal health of the nation.
The bank declared its commitment to guarantee all deposits in local and foreign currencies to banks in Egypt and said banks are "financially strong enough."
There was one particularly nerve-rattling report in recent days that longtime Central Bank Governor Farouk Okdah had resigned. The report came on Saturday during the second and final round of voting on the constitutional referendum.
Official media quickly retracted the news after reporting it. The governor then turned up at a meeting of the government's economic team on Sunday in an apparent attempt to quell nervousness over the state of the economy.
Egypt's currency had been stable trading around 6 pounds to the dollar for the first half of the year. It has since slipped, especially in the past two months as political instability worsened. The dollar was selling Tuesday at 6.18.
Rumors swirling around impending tax hikes, subsidy cuts and other bread-and-butter issues have heightened the public's concern. Around 40 percent of Egyptians live just at or below the poverty line of surviving on around $2 a day.
In a sign of the worsening economy, the number of people living on under $1 a day rose to 25 percent in 2011, up from 21.6 percent in 2009, according to government statistics released last month.
Promises that the Islamist-drafted constitution would bring about the stability Egyptians crave were dismissed by economic experts who warned that without enough currency reserves, there is little to stop the pound from falling.
"The instability of the foreign exchange rate is not at all detached from the political instability. It is a reflection and clear mirror to what is happening," said Haytham Abdel Fattah, head of the Treasury and International Markets Manager at Industrial Development Bank.

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US holiday retail sales growth weakest since 2008

 U.S. holiday retail sales this year grew at the weakest pace since 2008, when the nation was in a deep recession. In 2012, the shopping season was disrupted by bad weather and consumers' rising uncertainty about the economy.
A report that tracks spending on popular holiday goods, the MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, said Tuesday that sales in the two months before Christmas increased 0.7 percent, compared with last year. Many analysts had expected holiday sales to grow 3 to 4 percent.
In 2008, sales declined by between 2 percent and 4 percent as the financial crisis that crested that fall dragged the economy into recession. Last year, by contrast, retail sales in November and December rose between 4 percent and 5 percent, according to ShopperTrak, a separate market research firm. A 4 percent increase is considered a healthy season.
Shoppers were buffeted this year by a string of events that made them less likely to spend: Superstorm Sandy and other bad weather, the distraction of the presidential election and grief about the massacre of schoolchildren in Newtown, Conn. The numbers also show how Washington's current budget impasse is trickling down to Main Street and unsettling consumers. If Americans remain reluctant to spend, analysts say, economic growth could falter next year.
In the end, even steep last-minute discounts weren't enough to get people into stores, said Marshal Cohen, chief research analyst at the market research firm NPD Inc.
"A lot of the Christmas spirit was left behind way back in Black Friday weekend," Cohen said, referring to the traditional retail rush the day after Thanksgiving. "We had one reason after another for consumers to say, 'I'm going to stick to my list and not go beyond it.'"
Holiday sales are a crucial indicator of the economy's strength. November and December account for up to 40 percent of annual sales for many retailers. If those sales don't materialize, stores are forced to offer steeper discounts. That's a boon for shoppers, but it cuts into stores' profits.
Last-minute shoppers like Kris Betzold, of Carmel, Ind., embraced discounts that were available before Christmas.
"We went out yesterday, and I noticed that the sales were even better now than they were at Thanksgiving," said Betzold Monday while shopping at an upscale mall in Indianapolis. Betzold, who said the sluggish economy prompted her and her husband to be more frugal this year, noted that she saved about $25 on a Kindle Fire she found at Best Buy.
Spending by consumers accounts for 70 percent of overall economic activity, so the eight-week period encompassed by the SpendingPulse data is seen as a critical time not just for retailers but for manufacturers, wholesalers and companies at every other point along the supply chain.
The SpendingPulse data include sales by retailers in key holiday spending categories such as electronics, clothing, jewelry, luxury goods, furniture and other home goods between Oct. 28 and Dec. 24. They include sales across all payment methods, including cards, cash and checks.
It's the first major snapshot of retail sales during the holiday season through Christmas Eve. A clearer picture will emerge next week as retailers like Macy's and Target report revenue from stores open for at least a year. That sales measure is widely watched in the retail industry because it excludes revenue from stores that recently opened or closed, which can be volatile.
Despite the weak numbers out Tuesday, retailers still have some time to make up lost ground. The final week of December accounts for about 15 percent of the month's sales, said Michael McNamara, vice president for research and analysis at MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse. As stores offer steeper discounts to clear some of their unsold inventory, they may be able to soften some of the grim results reflected in Tuesday's data.
Still, this season's weak sales could have repercussions for 2013, he said. Retailers will make fewer orders to restock their shelves, and discounts will hurt their profitability. Wholesalers, in turn, will buy fewer goods, and orders to factories for consumer goods will likely drop in the coming months.
In the run-up to Christmas, analysts blamed the weather and worries about the "fiscal cliff" for putting a damper on shopping. Superstorm Sandy battered the Northeast and mid-Atlantic states in late October. Many in the New York region were left without power, and people farther inland were buried under feet of snow. According to McNamara, the Northeast and mid-Atlantic account for 24 percent of U.S. retail sales.
Buying picked up in the second half of November as retailers offered more discounts and shoppers waylaid by the storm finally made it into malls, he said.
But as the weather calmed, the threat of the "fiscal cliff" picked up. In December, lawmakers remained unable to reach a deal that would prevent tax increases and government spending cuts set to take effect at the beginning of 2013. If the cuts and tax hikes kick in and stay in place for months, many economists expect the nation could fall back into recession.
The news media discussed this possibility more intensely as December wore on, making Americans increasingly aware of the economic troubles they might face if Washington is unable to resolve the impasse. Sales never fully recovered, Cohen said.
The results were weakest in areas affected by Sandy and a more recent winter storm in the Midwest. Sales declined by 3.9 percent in the mid-Atlantic and 1.4 percent in the Northeast compared with last year. They rose 0.9 percent in the north central part of the country.
The West and South posted gains of between 2 percent and 3 percent, still weaker than the 3 percent to 4 percent increases expected by many retail analysts.
Online sales, typically a bright spot, grew only 8.4 percent from Oct. 28 through Saturday, according to SpendingPulse. That's a dramatic slowdown from the online sales growth of 15 to 17 percent seen in the prior 18-month period, according to the data service.
Online sales did enjoy a modest boost after the recent snowstorm that hit the Midwest, McNamara said. Online sales make up about 10 percent of total holiday business.

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Daiwa CEO sees 2013 Nikkei rally on Abe economy boost

Japan's Nikkei stock average could rally nearly 30 percent in 2013 due to an aggressive push to reflate the economy under the country's new premier, the chief executive of Daiwa Securities Group told Reuters in an interview.
While securities executives are known for their bullish market predictions, the comments from Takashi Hibino reflect an optimism among business leaders that the policies of Shinzo Abe will give Japan's sluggish economy a needed jolt.
Abe, who is set to become prime minister on Wednesday after his opposition Liberal Democratic Party won this month's lower house election, is a proponent of fiscal expansion and aggressive monetary policy to defeat deflation, which has sapped the world's third-largest economy for nearly two decades.
"If the correct policies are enacted the market will rise," Hibino said in an interview on Friday. His comments were embargoed for release on December 26.
"There has not been an administration as committed to escaping deflation. And that's why this time I choose to be optimistic."
Hibino predicted that the Nikkei, which has surged 15 percent since mid-November when elections were called, would likely trade between 9,500 and 13,000 next year. The upper limit would mark a 29 percent gain on Tuesday's close of 10,080.12.
On the back of the upturn in stocks, Hibino said he was confident Japan's second-largest brokerage would generate a net profit in the current financial year through March 2013, after losing a combined 76.7 billion yen ($904.5 million) in the previous two years.
Daiwa cut more than 500 jobs overseas starting in 2011 to stem the losses. Its biggest weakness has been investment banking, where it has struggled since ending a joint venture with Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in 2009.
Hibino said Daiwa, whose chief rival is industry leader Nomura Holdings Inc, was not looking for a partner in investment banking, noting that speculation it could come under the umbrella of a Japanese lender had recently died down.
He said Daiwa was not planning any further headcount cuts overseas but was shifting some staffing numbers within Europe. This included putting more people in regions such as Germany where demand for banking services was strong and trimming staff elsewhere, although he did not specify where cuts would take place.
Daiwa's biggest focus will be on encouraging customers to shift more of their savings into investment products, Hibino said. This strategy hinges in part on expanding its online bank, which has amassed 2 trillion yen in assets since its launch last year.
Japanese households hold the bulk of their 1,500 trillion yen in assets in low-yielding savings accounts, and persuading them to invest more has been a long-held ambition of the securities industry that has been slow to materialize.
Hibino believes conditions are now ripe for capturing that latent demand. He said Japanese stocks have bottomed out and the decades-long strengthening of the yen came to an end last year, boding well for corporate profits.
"Savings to investment is something that has been talked about for a long time but hasn't happened. That's because the markets have been going down," he said.

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South Korea president-elect urges chaebol think twice before layoffs

- South Korea's president-elect asked the leaders of the country's big businesses, or chaebol, on Wednesday to think twice before cutting jobs, saying it was time for the conglomerates her father helped build four decades ago to look beyond profits.
The election last week of Park Geun-hye, the 60-year-old daughter of former military ruler Park Chung-hee, was welcomed by the country's big businesses which dominate the world's 14th largest economy. The five biggest chaebol control assets worth more than half of gross domestic product.
A week after her victory, Park said in a meeting with leaders of the top conglomerates that she would make sure fair business activities were encouraged and uncertainties were minimized.
"At the same time, I have a request that I must make to you," Park told the heads of such conglomerates as Hyundai Motor , Samsung , SK and POSCO . "It is my feeling that big conglomerates should try to change."
"I believe that the management goal of conglomerates should not remain maximizing profit but should involve pursuing coexistence with the larger community."
"I ask that as you try to overcome management difficulties, that you do not start with restructuring or layoffs but instead with sharing wisdom and pain, by trying as much as you can to save the jobs of our workers."
Park's defeated left-wing challenger in the election had threatened to end the complex shareholding of subsidiaries that allows chaebol owners to control their sprawling business empires.
Park did not say she would introduce any changes to make it easier for companies to lay off workers.
South Korean employment law makes it nearly impossible for companies to dismiss salaried workers, which has led employers to use part-time, or contract, workers to ensure some degree of management flexibility in a notoriously rigid labor market.
South Korea has the third highest rate of temporary workers among Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development member countries.
Chung Mong-koo, chairman of Hyundai Motor Co., Chey Tae-won, chairman of the SK Group and Koo Bon-moo, chairman of the LG Group, were in attendance but not Lee Kun-hee, chairman of the Samsung Group, who was on a business trip abroad.
Park's father, Park Chung-hee, was responsible for building up the chaebol during the 1960s and 1970s with a mix of threats and inducements for their bosses, the fathers and grandfathers of the current company heads.
Analysts said the president-elect was not likely to use regulatory measures on conglomerates but she has pledged to share wealth more widely to try to ease social inequities.
Park is to succeed incumbent Lee Myung-bak in February, who himself was the chief executive of a Hyundai company, who oversaw South Korea's pull out of the 2008 global economic downturn faster than its peers although he has been criticized for favoring export-oriented chaebol.

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NFL standings

Dec 24 (Infostrada Sports) - Standings from the NFL on Sunday
AMERICAN FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
AFC EAST
W L T OTL PF PA PCT
1. New England 11 4 0 0 529 331 .733
2. Miami 7 8 0 2 288 289 .467
3. NY Jets 6 9 0 1 272 347 .400
4. Buffalo 5 10 0 0 316 426 .333
AFC NORTH
W L T OTL PF PA PCT
1. Baltimore 10 5 0 1 381 321 .667
2. Cincinnati 9 6 0 0 368 303 .600
3. Pittsburgh 7 8 0 1 312 304 .467
4. Cleveland 5 10 0 1 292 344 .333
AFC SOUTH
W L T OTL PF PA PCT
1. Houston 12 3 0 0 400 303 .800
2. Indianapolis 10 5 0 0 329 371 .667
3. Tennessee 5 10 0 1 292 451 .333
4. Jacksonville 2 13 0 3 235 406 .133
AFC WEST
W L T OTL PF PA PCT
1. Denver 12 3 0 0 443 286 .800
2. San Diego 6 9 0 1 326 329 .400
3. Oakland 4 11 0 0 269 419 .267
4. Kansas City 2 13 0 1 208 387 .133
NATIONAL FOOTBALL CONFERENCE
NFC EAST
W L T OTL PF PA PCT
1. Washington 9 6 0 0 408 370 .600
2. Dallas 8 7 0 1 358 372 .533
3. NY Giants 8 7 0 0 387 337 .533
4. Philadelphia 4 11 0 1 273 402 .267
NFC NORTH
W L T OTL PF PA PCT
1. Green Bay 11 4 0 0 399 299 .733
2. Minnesota 9 6 0 0 342 314 .600
3. Chicago 9 6 0 1 349 253 .600
4. Detroit 4 11 0 2 348 411 .267
NFC SOUTH
W L T OTL PF PA PCT
1. Atlanta 13 2 0 0 402 277 .867
2. New Orleans 7 8 0 1 423 410 .467
3. Tampa Bay 6 9 0 0 367 377 .400
4. Carolina 6 9 0 1 313 325 .400
NFC WEST
W L T OTL PF PA PCT
1. San Francisco 10 4 1 1 370 260 .700
2. Seattle 10 5 0 0 392 232 .667
3. St. Louis 7 7 1 0 286 328 .500
4. Arizona 5 10 0 1 237 330 .333
SUNDAY, DECEMBER 30 FIXTURES (GMT)
Tampa Bay at Atlanta (1800)
NY Jets at Buffalo (1800)
Baltimore at Cincinnati (1800)
Chicago at Detroit (1800)
Houston at Indianapolis (1800)
Carolina at New Orleans (1800)
Philadelphia at NY Giants (1800)
Cleveland at Pittsburgh (1800)
Jacksonville at Tennessee (1800)
Kansas City at Denver (2125)
Green Bay at Minnesota (2125)
Miami at New England (2125)
Oakland at San Diego (2125)
Arizona at San Francisco (2125)
St. Louis at Seattle (2125)
MONDAY, DECEMBER 31 FIXTURES (GMT)
Dallas at Washington (0120)

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UPDATE 2-NFL-Bengals and Colts claim playoff berths

 Colts complete turnaround season as AFC playoff list set
* Ravens claim AFC North title, top-seed not yet decided
* Seahawks crush 49ers to make postseason (Adds Seahawks' win in paras 6-7)
Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Cincinnati Bengals edged the Pittsburgh Steelers to reach the NFL playoffs, and the Indianapolis Colts joined the postseason party by capping their remarkable turnaround in pressure-packed action on Sunday.
The advancement of Cincinnati (9-6), 13-10 winners over their bitter AFC North rivals, and Indianapolis (10-5), who beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-13, completed the playoff list in the American Football Conference, though seeding issues remained.
The Houston Texans (12-3) failed to capitalize on a chance to clinch top seeding in the AFC by losing 23-6 to the Minnesota Vikings (9-6), who stayed alive for an NFC playoff berth.
AFC North title honors went to the Baltimore Ravens (10-5), who ended a three-game losing streak by dominating the New York Giants 33-14.
Playoff hopes for the Super Bowl champion Giants (8-7) hung by a thread after losing their last two games by an aggregate score of 67-14.
Playoff berths remain up for grabs in the NFC, with the East Division title and a wildcard spot still at stake.
The Seattle Seahawks grabbed one of the NFC wildcard berths with a crushing 42-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers as quarterback Russell Wilson threw a career-high four touchdowns.
The Washington Redskins (9-6) maintained the upper hand in their quest for the NFC East title by hanging on for a 27-20 win against the Philadelphia Eagles (4-11), while the Dallas Cowboys (8-7) suffered a 34-31 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Next week the Redskins, riding a six-game winning streak, host the Cowboys with the winner capturing the division title.
DOUBLY SATISFYING
In Pittsburgh, it was a doubly satisfying result for the Bengals whose three-point victory on Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal with four seconds left to play not only put them in the playoffs but also knocked the Steelers (7-8) out of contention.
It was the first victory for the visiting Bengals over their bitter AFC North rivals in six meetings.
For the Colts, victory over the Chiefs gave them their 10th playoff trip in 11 years but first in that span without Peyton Manning as quarterback.
This postseason berth came one season after a woeful 2-14 record that put them in position to take quarterback Andrew Luck from Stanford with the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Luck led the Colts to victory over the Chiefs (2-13) by hitting a leaping Reggie Wayne in the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown with 4:08 left in the game.
That connection capped a 73-yard drive that marked their NFL record-tying seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory.
"I'm very proud to be a part of this team, to be associated with a playoff team. What a great win for us," Luck told reporters.
Luck set the league record for passing yards in a season for a rookie, finishing the game with 4,183 yards to eclipse the mark of 4,051 yards last season by Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers with one regular season game still to play.
Houston slowed down league-leading rusher Adrian Peterson, but the Minnesota Vikings held the Texans to just a pair of field goals in their road victory.
Peterson was held to 86 yards, but quarterback Christian Ponder threw a touchdown pass, Toby Gerhart rushed for a score and Blair Walsh kicked three field goals to lift the Vikings.
Peterson, who had a streak of eight 100-yard games snapped, finished the game with 1,898 yards this season and still needs 208 yards to break the NFL single-season rushing record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984.
GUT-WRENCHER
Washington, who welcomed rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III back to the lineup after being sidelined a week with a knee injury, escaped a scare when Philadelphia had a first-and-goal at the five-yard line with 11 seconds left but failed to score a touchdown that would have sent the game to overtime.
"Winning always cures all ills. It was just good to be back out there with the guys," said Griffin.
"We're playing the best ball we've played all year at the right time. We're rolling. We know that we can win any kind of game we have to, whether it's a high-scoring game or a low-scoring game or a gut-wrencher at the end."
Dallas rallied with 14 points in the last four minutes to send their game against the Saints into overtime, but they failed to mount a threat with their first possession in extra time and New Orleans (7-8) won on a 20-yard field goal.
The Chicago Bears (9-6) stayed in playoff contention with a 28-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals (5-10).
NFC North champion Green Bay Packers (11-4) maintained their strong form with a 55-7 thrashing of the Tennessee Titans as Aaron Rodgers threw for three touchdowns and 342 yards.
Tom Brady threw a pair of interceptions in the first quarter but recovered to lead the AFC East champion New England Patriots (11-4) to a 23-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-13).

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UPDATE 1-NFL-Surging Seahawks hammer 49ers, take title race to wire

* Wilson throws four touchdown passes
* 49ers suffer injuries to Davis, Manningham
Dec 23 (Reuters) - The Seattle Seahawks ensured the NFC West title race will go down to the final week with a playoff-clinching 42-13 home rout of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
The Seahawks dominated the 49ers from the start in rainy Seattle to remain unbeaten at home and move within half a game of division leaders San Francisco.
The 49ers entered the game with a chance to clinch the division but found themselves on the wrong end of a beating by surging Seattle (10-5), who have won four straight games including the last three by a combined 120 points.
San Francisco (10-4-1) can still claim the crown with a home win over Arizona while Seattle need to beat St Louis and hope for a 49ers loss to leapfrog their rivals.
"When we wake up tomorrow we're still a half-game up on the division," shellshocked 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. "I know what to expect in terms of how our team will handle (the loss)."
Marshawn Lynch triggered the rout with two touchdowns in the first quarter before Richard Sherman returned a blocked field goal attempt 90 yards to give Seattle a 21-0 lead at the start of the second.
Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson had touchdown passes in all four quarters, finishing the game with four, to emphatically outplay San Francisco's signal caller Colin Kaepernick.
Wilson is one touchdown pass short of tying Peyton Manning's NFL rookie record of 26.
"My goal is just to continue to grow. I'm on that constant quest for knowledge and our team is too," Wilson said. "We've had a great year so far, we have to keep moving forward we have a lot to look forward to."
Kaepernick often appeared flustered because of the deafening crowd noise and struggled to break down a stout Seahawks defense which is dealing with injuries to their defensive backs but was still too strong for the 49ers.
"We have amazing depth," Sherman said. "We have great players that are going to be starters in this league. They stepped up and were big for us tonight."
Seattle may have to rely on their depth more than ever as Sherman is currently appealing a four-game suspension for violating the league's performance enhancing drug policy.
It was no only San Francisco's pride that took a beating on Sunday. Tight end Vernon Davis (concussion) and receiver Mario Manningham (knee) were both knocked out of the game.
Seattle's Lynch finished with 111 yards on the ground as the Seahawks gave the 49ers a taste of their own medicine with a bruising ground game.
Wilson threw a six-yard scoring pass to Anthony McCoy in the second quarter, and touchdowns of four and six yards to Doug Baldwin in the third and fourth to put Seattle out of sight.
The stunned 49ers could only manage two field goals in the first half and a touchdown reception Delanie Walker in the final minutes with the game out of reach.

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Bengals and Colts claim playoff berths

The Cincinnati Bengals edged the Pittsburgh Steelers to reach the NFL playoffs, and the Indianapolis Colts joined the postseason party by capping their remarkable turnaround in pressure-packed action on Sunday.
The advancement of Cincinnati (9-6), 13-10 winners over their bitter AFC North rivals, and Indianapolis (10-5), who beat the Kansas City Chiefs 20-13, completed the playoff list in the American Football Conference, though seeding issues remained.
The Houston Texans (12-3) failed to capitalize on a chance to clinch top seeding in the AFC by losing 23-6 to the Minnesota Vikings (9-6), who stayed alive for an NFC playoff berth.
AFC North title honors went to the Baltimore Ravens (10-5), who ended a three-game losing streak by dominating the New York Giants 33-14.
Playoff hopes for the Super Bowl champion Giants (8-7) hung by a thread after losing their last two games by an aggregate score of 67-14.
Playoff berths remain up for grabs in the NFC, with the East Division title and a wildcard spot still at stake.
The Seattle Seahawks grabbed one of the NFC wildcard berths with a crushing 42-13 victory over the San Francisco 49ers as quarterback Russell Wilson threw a career-high four touchdowns.
The Washington Redskins (9-6) maintained the upper hand in their quest for the NFC East title by hanging on for a 27-20 win against the Philadelphia Eagles (4-11), while the Dallas Cowboys (8-7) suffered a 34-31 overtime loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Next week the Redskins, riding a six-game winning streak, host the Cowboys with the winner capturing the division title.
DOUBLY SATISFYING
In Pittsburgh, it was a doubly satisfying result for the Bengals whose three-point victory on Josh Brown's 43-yard field goal with four seconds left to play not only put them in the playoffs but also knocked the Steelers (7-8) out of contention.
It was the first victory for the visiting Bengals over their bitter AFC North rivals in six meetings.
For the Colts, victory over the Chiefs gave them their 10th playoff trip in 11 years but first in that span without Peyton Manning as quarterback.
This postseason berth came one season after a woeful 2-14 record that put them in position to take quarterback Andrew Luck from Stanford with the first pick of the 2012 NFL Draft.
Luck led the Colts to victory over the Chiefs (2-13) by hitting a leaping Reggie Wayne in the back of the end zone for the winning touchdown with 4:08 left in the game.
That connection capped a 73-yard drive that marked their NFL record-tying seventh fourth-quarter comeback victory.
"I'm very proud to be a part of this team, to be associated with a playoff team. What a great win for us," Luck told reporters.
Luck set the league record for passing yards in a season for a rookie, finishing the game with 4,183 yards to eclipse the mark of 4,051 yards last season by Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers with one regular season game still to play.
Houston slowed down league-leading rusher Adrian Peterson, but the Minnesota Vikings held the Texans to just a pair of field goals in their road victory.
Peterson was held to 86 yards, but quarterback Christian Ponder threw a touchdown pass, Toby Gerhart rushed for a score and Blair Walsh kicked three field goals to lift the Vikings.
Peterson, who had a streak of eight 100-yard games snapped, finished the game with 1,898 yards this season and still needs 208 yards to break the NFL single-season rushing record set by Eric Dickerson in 1984.
GUT-WRENCHER
Washington, who welcomed rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III back to the lineup after being sidelined a week with a knee injury, escaped a scare when Philadelphia had a first-and-goal at the five-yard line with 11 seconds left but failed to score a touchdown that would have sent the game to overtime.
"Winning always cures all ills. It was just good to be back out there with the guys," said Griffin.
"We're playing the best ball we've played all year at the right time. We're rolling. We know that we can win any kind of game we have to, whether it's a high-scoring game or a low-scoring game or a gut-wrencher at the end."
Dallas rallied with 14 points in the last four minutes to send their game against the Saints into overtime, but they failed to mount a threat with their first possession in extra time and New Orleans (7-8) won on a 20-yard field goal.
The Chicago Bears (9-6) stayed in playoff contention with a 28-13 victory over the Arizona Cardinals (5-10).
NFC North champion Green Bay Packers (11-4) maintained their strong form with a 55-7 thrashing of the Tennessee Titans as Aaron Rodgers threw for three touchdowns and 342 yards.
Tom Brady threw a pair of interceptions in the first quarter but recovered to lead the AFC East champion New England Patriots (11-4) to a 23-16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars (2-13).

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Surging Seahawks hammer 49ers, take title race to wire

The Seattle Seahawks ensured the NFC West title race will go down to the final week with a playoff-clinching 42-13 home rout of the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
The Seahawks dominated the 49ers from the start in rainy Seattle to remain unbeaten at home and move within half a game of division leaders San Francisco.
The 49ers entered the game with a chance to clinch the division but found themselves on the wrong end of a beating by surging Seattle (10-5), who have won four straight games including the last three by a combined 120 points.
San Francisco (10-4-1) can still claim the crown with a home win over Arizona while Seattle need to beat St Louis and hope for a 49ers loss to leapfrog their rivals.
"When we wake up tomorrow we're still a half-game up on the division," shellshocked 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh told reporters. "I know what to expect in terms of how our team will handle (the loss)."
Marshawn Lynch triggered the rout with two touchdowns in the first quarter before Richard Sherman returned a blocked field goal attempt 90 yards to give Seattle a 21-0 lead at the start of the second.
Rookie quarterback Russell Wilson had touchdown passes in all four quarters, finishing the game with four, to emphatically outplay San Francisco's signal caller Colin Kaepernick.
Wilson is one touchdown pass short of tying Peyton Manning's NFL rookie record of 26.
"My goal is just to continue to grow. I'm on that constant quest for knowledge and our team is too," Wilson said. "We've had a great year so far, we have to keep moving forward we have a lot to look forward to."
Kaepernick often appeared flustered because of the deafening crowd noise and struggled to break down a stout Seahawks defense which is dealing with injuries to their defensive backs but was still too strong for the 49ers.
"We have amazing depth," Sherman said. "We have great players that are going to be starters in this league. They stepped up and were big for us tonight."
Seattle may have to rely on their depth more than ever as Sherman is currently appealing a four-game suspension for violating the league's performance enhancing drug policy.
It was no only San Francisco's pride that took a beating on Sunday. Tight end Vernon Davis (concussion) and receiver Mario Manningham (knee) were both knocked out of the game.
Seattle's Lynch finished with 111 yards on the ground as the Seahawks gave the 49ers a taste of their own medicine with a bruising ground game.
Wilson threw a six-yard scoring pass to Anthony McCoy in the second quarter, and touchdowns of four and six yards to Doug Baldwin in the third and fourth to put Seattle out of sight.
The stunned 49ers could only manage two field goals in the first half and a touchdown reception Delanie Walker in the final minutes with the game out of reach.

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Alcohol Allergies Can Cause Sneezing, Flushing, Headache

Kristin Brown loved to drink – perhaps partied a little too much when she was in her 20s, but when she hit her 30s, alcohol suddenly hit her the wrong way. "It wasn't always that way, so you can imagine my shock and dismay the first time it happened," she told ABCNews.com. "At the age of 35 I was sitting on the couch with my husband after the kids went to bed, when I took two sips of Jack Daniels. I set my glass down and gasped for air. I felt feverish and sweaty, my face became splotchy-red, my hands itched, and my hearing dulled." Brown, now 42 and the mother of three, writes about her love-hate relationship with alcohol in her self-published book, "What Didn't Kill Me." She has tried different types of alcohol -- vodka, whiskey or tequila -- but she breaks out in hives and a fever. After just a few "tiny sips," thinking she will be fine, Brown said she ends up "going down the same dreadful path Jack Daniels led me down." Though she has never been officially diagnosed and at first thought it was a "fluke," Brown said she is sure she has an allergy to alcohol, which can put a crimp in anyone's holiday celebrations. Alcohol allergies are possible at any age, but they are not common, affecting less than 5 percent of all people who suffer from food allergies, according to Dr. Clifford Bassett, clinical assistant professor in the division of infectious disease and immunology at NYU Langone Medical Center in New York City. Allergy Season is Just Around the Corner Watch Video 'GMA' Deals and Steals: Christmas Budget Edition Watch Video ABC News Samples DNA-Altered Salmon Watch Video "You can get wheezing and asthma symptoms or hives," said Bassett. Those who already suffer from asthma seem to be more vulnerable," he said. If a person suspects they have an allergy, it's important they be evaluated by a specialist. Wine contains proteins from grapes, bacteria, and yeast, as well as sulfites and other organic compounds. Other studies have found that egg whites and gelatin are often used in the filtration processing of wine. "It's something you don't think of," said Bassett. Other symptoms can be a flushed or tickling face or a sense of warmth. Others can get a runny rose or headaches. Yeast, molds used in brewing beer from barley can cause chemical reactions that produce histamines and tyramines. Tyramines are amino acid products that are associated with headaches and hypertension. Histamine is an organic nitrogen compound involved in immune or allergic responses. A protein on the skin of a grape, mostly those in red wines, can contribute to symptoms in those who already have allergies, according to a German study. People can also have an oral allergy syndrome -- a reaction to fresh fruit and vegetables that may be used as a garnish or a mixer in a cocktail, according to Bassett. Hazelnut or almond in liquor can also be a problem for those with an allergy to nuts. Alcohol can also exacerbate existing allergies. In one 2005 Swedish study, those with asthma, bronchitis and hay fever were more apt to sneeze, get a runny nose or have "lower-airway symptoms" after a drink, especially women. Wine – both red and white – were often the worst offenders. In 2008, a Danish study of thousands of women found that two glasses of wine a day can double the risk for allergy symptoms, according to an article published in the journal of Clinical and Experimental Allergy. "If you have a seasonal pollen allergy to grass or trees and there is a high-pollen day and you eat a piece of fruit or mango, apple or pear, [the body] thinks it's swallowing pollen and you can get an itchy mouth or throat and the allergy is worse.

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China to crack down on "malicious" trademark registrations

China plans to change the law to crackdown on "malicious" trademark registrations, state media said on Monday, after a series of cases in which well-know international brands and individuals have had their names or copyright misused. Foreign governments, including the United States, have for years urged China to take a stronger stand against intellectual property rights violations on products ranging from medicines to software to DVD movies. Basketball legend Michael Jordan is one of the latest to accuse a company of using his name without permission, and French luxury group Hermes International SCA and Apple Inc have faced trademark problems too. The proposed amendment will offer protection to major international brands, giving copyright owners the right to ban others from registering their trademarks or from using similar ones, even if such trademarks are not registered, the official Xinhua news agency reported. "The draft is intended to curb the malicious registration of trademarks," Xinhua said. The country's legislature - which performs a largely rubber stamp role - will discuss the amendment this week, it said, without saying when the new rules could be put in place or providing other details. The move comes after basketball star Michael Jordan filed a lawsuit in China in February against a Chinese sportswear company, accusing the firm of unauthorized use of his name. The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame recipient and former Chicago Bulls star said that Qiaodan Sports, a company located in the southern Fujian province, had built its business around his Chinese name "Qiaodan" and jersey number without his permission. The lawsuit has yet to go to trial, Chinese media have reported. France's Hermes International SCA has also had problems in China with its trademark, and in July Apple Inc agreed to pay $60 million to Proview Technology (Shenzhen) to end a protracted legal dispute over the iPad trademark in China. China has insisted it is serious about tackling intellectual property violations.

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Budokon, made in America, mixes yoga with martial arts

Budokon, a workout program developed in 21st century America, blends the ancient mind-body practices of yoga and martial arts into a program that aims to reward followers with conditioning, mindful meditation and progressively colored karate-type belts. "Budokon is a yoga, martial arts and meditation trifecta," said Mimi Rieger, who teaches the not-so-ancient practice in gyms, studios and workshops in the Washington, DC area. An instructor in the 3,000-year-old practice of yoga since 2003, Rieger, founder of Pure Fitness DC, is one of approximately 400 teachers worldwide who are trained in Budokon, which did not exist before 2002. Although mainly done in the United States, Rieger said she will teach Budokon in Turkey, Denmark and Sweden next year and workshops are also scheduled in London, Germany, Korea and Japan. She says the hybrid offers the student an intense, full-body workout as it blends the integrity of the martial arts movement with the fluidity of yoga. "It's like a beautiful symphony of the two," said Rieger, who is among the first women to get a brown belt in the Budokon sequence of six belts: white, red, blue, purple, brown and black. Budokon, which is Japanese for "the way of the warrior spirit," began in 2000 as the brainchild of Cameron Shayne, a martial arts expert and yoga enthusiast originally from Charlotte, North Carolina, looking to solve a dilemma faced in his own practice. "Through martial arts I experienced meditation; both yoga and martial arts share self-reflection, but both suffered from the same disease of being stripped down to a westernized workout," said Shayne, founder of Budokon University in Miami, Florida. A typical Budokon session begins with 20 minutes of yoga sun salutations to, as Shayne says, "lighten and open the body," followed by a martial arts segment of explosive, dance-like movement. The end is a guided meditation. "There is no breath count; we don't stop," said Shayne, who describes the movements as snakelike. Observers will note echoes of Tai Chi. "Modern yoga can be very angular. Our primary series is a circular, continuous transition practice," he explained. Adam Sedlack, senior vice president of UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) Gym, a national chain of family fitness centers specializing in mixed martial arts training, believes the novice should begin with a specific practice before tackling hybrids like Budokon. "It's more efficient to take a karate class, then a yoga class, and then a tai chi class than it is to combine them," Sedlack said, "so the individual can focus on individual skill sets. The beautiful thing about mixed martial arts is that you're learning a skill while you're working out and burning calories." He notes that martial arts is as much about the confidence of walking down the street with your head up high as it is about learning to kick and hit. Richard Cotton, of the American College of Sports Medicine, said Budokon can offer a challenging change for people with more advanced levels of fitness. "If you're a yoga or tai chi purist, it (Budokon) is not that, but it is variety, and variety is rarely a problem," he said. He points out that one needn't do Budokon, or yoga or Pilates to have a so-called mind-body experience. "Running strength training, and certainly golf, can be a mind-body experience if you're staying in touch with your body," he said. "You can have a mind-body walk." A few years ago Shayne began offering a separate Budokon yoga practice because some people found the martial arts aspect of his practice intimidating or confrontational. "It became a necessity to give that audience what it was asking for," he explained. People either love Budokon, he added, or they hate it and that's fine with him. "I don't need a million people doing Budokon. I don't need someone who walks into class looking for a quick fix," he said. "I need people who feel it as an art.

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FDA warns doctors of counterfeit Botox

Federal regulators have warned more than 350 medical practices that Botox they may have received from a Canadian supplier is unapproved and could be counterfeit or unsafe. The Food and Drug Administration said in a letter sent last month, a letter released publicly last week, that batches of the wrinkle treatment shipped by suppliers owned by pharmacy Canada Drugs have not been approved by the FDA and that the agency cannot assure their effectiveness or their safety. The FDA said Canada Drugs was previously tied to shipping unapproved and counterfeit cancer drugs. The agency warned doctors about buying drugs from sources other than licensed U.S. pharmacies. It is the fifth warning the agency has made this year about foreign suppliers providing unapproved drugs. In February, the agency warned 19 medical practices that they had received a counterfeit version of the cancer drug Avastin. On three more occasions the FDA issued similar warnings about counterfeit Avastin and Altuzan, another brand name for the same drug. The alerts were also primarily targeted at drugs distributed by Canada Drugs. A request for comment from the drug distributor was not immediately returned. Drug shortages increased the financial incentives for some pharmacies to provide counterfeit or illegally imported drugs. The drugs subject to warnings have all been injectable treatments typically distributed through medical practices and not directly to patients. In October, the FDA ordered operators of about 4,100 websites to immediately stop selling unapproved medications to U.S. consumers. The vast majority of those sites were operated by Canada Drugs. The site was still operating Friday. Genuine Botox is made by Allergan Inc., based in Irvine, Calif. Avastin is made by Roche Holding AG's Genentech unit.

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Allergies, extra weight tied to bullying

Kids who have food allergies or are overweight may be especially likely to get bullied by their peers, two new studies suggest. Not surprisingly, researchers also found targets of bullying were more distressed and anxious and had a worse quality of life, in general, than those who weren't picked on. Bullying has become a concern among parents, doctors and school administrators since research and news stories emerged linking bullying - including online "cyberbullying" - with depression and even suicide. "There has been a shift and people are more and more recognizing that bullying has real consequences, it's not just something to be making jokes about," said Dr. Mark Schuster, chief of general pediatrics at Boston Children's Hospital and a professor at Harvard Medical School, who wrote a commentary published with the new research. Studies suggest between one in ten and one in three of all kids and teens are bullied - but those figures may vary by location and demographics, researchers noted. The new findings come from two studies published Monday in the journal Pediatrics. In one, Dr. Eyal Shemesh from the Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and his colleagues surveyed 251 kids who were seen at an allergy clinic and their parents. The children were all between age eight and 17 with a diagnosed food allergy. Just over 45 percent of them said they'd been bullied or harassed for any reason, and 32 percent reported being bullied because of their allergy in particular. "Our finding is entirely consistently with what you find with children with a disability," Shemesh told Reuters Health. A food allergy, he said, "is a vulnerability that can be very easily exploited, so of course it will be exploited." The kids in the study were mostly white and well-off, the researcher said - a group that you'd expect would be targeted less often. So bullying may be more common in poorer and minority children who also have food allergies. But allergies aren't the only cause of teasing and harassment by peers. In another study, researchers from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, found that almost two-thirds of 361 teens enrolled in weight-loss camps had been bullied due to their size. That likelihood increased with weight, so that the heaviest kids had almost a 100 percent chance of being bullied, Rebecca Puhl and her colleagues found. Verbal teasing was the most common form of bullying, but more than half of bullied kids reported getting taunted online or through texts and emails as well. 'START THE CONVERSATION' Shemesh's team found only about half of parents knew when their food-allergic child was being bullied, and kids tended to be better off when their families were aware of the problem. He said parents should feel comfortable asking kids if they're being bothered at school or elsewhere - and that even if it only happens once, bullying shouldn't be ignored. "We want parents to know," he said. "Start the conversation." "Parents whose kids have a food allergy should really be aware that their kids have the kind of characteristic that often leads to being bullied," Schuster told Reuters Health. "They should be working with the school to handle the food allergy in a way that isn't going to make it more likely that their kids will be bullied - and they need to be attuned to their kids." That's the same for parents of overweight and obese children, he added. "Kids need their parents to be their allies in these situations," he said. "Their parents can help them still feel strong.

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Media mogul and banker Allbritton dies at 87

Joe Lewis Allbritton, a media mogul and owner of the scandal-plagued Riggs National Bank, died on Wednesday at a hospital in Houston. He was 87. Allbritton died of heart ailments, said Jerald Fritz, a senior vice president of Allbritton Communications. Allbritton's media empire included newspapers throughout the U.S. Northeast and ABC network affiliates. Allbritton's son, Robert, recently founded the influential political publication Politico. But Joe Allbritton, a Mississippi native, was famously known for owning and running Riggs, the Washington-based bank that had been a dominant force in diplomatic banking in the nation's capital. Allbritton's banking career was tarnished when it was revealed that Riggs bank failed to report suspicious activity in the accounts held by former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet and Equatorial Guinea officials. Riggs bank pleaded guilty in 2005 to violating anti-money laundering laws and was fined a total of $41 million. Allbritton did not seek re-election to Riggs' board of directors and the storied bank was eventually acquired by PNC Financial Services. Allbritton is survived by his wife, son and two grandchildren.

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Legendary Indian sitarist, composer Ravi Shankar dead at 92

Sitarist and composer Ravi Shankar, who helped introduce the sitar to the Western world through his collaborations with The Beatles, died in Southern California on Tuesday, his family said. He was 92. Shankar, a three-time Grammy winner with legendary appearances at the 1967 Monterey Festival and at Woodstock, had been in fragile health for several years and last Thursday underwent surgery, his family said in a statement. "Although it is a time for sorrow and sadness, it is also a time for all of us to give thanks and to be grateful that we were able to have him as a part of our lives," the family said. "He will live forever in our hearts and in his music." In India, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's office posted a Twitter message calling Shankar a "national treasure and global ambassador of India's cultural heritage." "An era has passed away with ... Ravi Shankar. The nation joins me to pay tributes to his unsurpassable genius, his art and his humility," the Indian premier added. Shankar had suffered from upper respiratory and heart issues over the past year and underwent heart-valve replacement surgery last week at a hospital in San Diego, south of Los Angeles. The surgery was successful but he was unable to recover. "Unfortunately, despite the best efforts of the surgeons and doctors taking care of him, his body was not able to withstand the strain of the surgery. We were at his side when he passed away," his wife Sukanya and daughter Anoushka said. Shankar lived in both India and the United States. He is also survived by his daughter, Grammy-winning singer Norah Jones, three grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren. Shankar performed his last concert with his daughter Anoushka on November 4 in Long Beach, California, the statement said. The night before he underwent surgery, he was nominated for a Grammy for his latest album "The Living Room Sessions, Part 1." 'NORWEGIAN WOOD' TO 'WEST MEETS EAST' His family said that memorial plans will be announced at a later date and requested that donations be made to the Ravi Shankar Foundation. Shankar is credited with popularizing Indian music through his work with violinist Yehudi Menuhin and The Beatles in the late 1960s, inspiring George Harrison to learn the sitar and the British band to record songs like "Norwegian Wood" (1965) and "Within You, Without You" (1967). His friendship with Harrison led him to appearances at the Monterey and Woodstock pop festivals in the late 1960s, and the 1972 Concert for Bangladesh, becoming one of the first Indian musicians to become a household name in the West. His influence in classical music, including on composer Philip Glass, was just as large. His work with Menuhin on their "West Meets East" albums in the 1960s and 1970s earned them a Grammy, and he wrote concertos for sitar and orchestra for both the London Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. Shankar served as a member of the upper chamber of the Parliament of India, from 1986 to 1992, after being nominated by then Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. A man of many talents, he also wrote the Oscar-nominated score for 1982 film "Gandhi," several books, and mounted theatrical productions. He also built an ashram-style home and music center in India where students could live and learn, and later the Ravi Shankar Center in Delhi in 2001, which hosts an annual music festival. Yet his first brush with the arts was through dance. Born Robindra Shankar in 1920 in India's holiest city, Varanasi, he spent his first few years in relative poverty before his eldest brother took the family to Paris. For about eight years, Shankar danced in his brother's Indian classical and folk dance troupe, which toured the world. But by the late 1930s he had turned his back on show business to learn the sitar and other classical Indian instruments. Shankar earned multiple honors in his long career, including an Order of the British Empire (OBE) from Britain's Queen Elizabeth for services to music, the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, and the French Legion d'Honneur.

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McAfee arrives in U.S. from Guatemala

Computer software pioneer John McAfee, who is wanted for questioning in Belize over the murder of a fellow American, arrived in Miami on Wednesday evening after he was deported by Guatemala, according to fellow passengers on an American Airlines flight. After landing, McAfee, 67, was escorted from the plane by airport security officers, passengers said. Shortly afterward, he tweeted, "I am in South Beach," referring to the popular tourist area on Miami Beach. "Some people felt uncomfortable that he was on our flight. ... We all knew the story," said Maria Claridge, 36, a South Florida photographer who was on the Silicon Valley entrepreneur's flight to Miami. McAfee, who was seated in the coach section and had a whole row to himself, was wearing a suit and was "very calm" during the flight, she added. "He looked very tired, he looked like a man who hadn't slept in days. I'd say he even looked depressed," said another passenger, Roberto Gilbert, a Guatemalan who lives in Miami. McAfee had been held for a week in Guatemala, where he surfaced after evading police in Belize for nearly a month following the killing of American Gregory Faull, his neighbor on the Caribbean island of Ambergris Caye. Police in Belize want to quiz McAfee as a "person of interest" in Faull's death, although the technology guru's lawyers blocked an attempt by Guatemala to send him back there. Authorities in Belize say he is not a prime suspect in the investigation. McAfee has denied any role in Faull's killing. The goateed McAfee has led the world's media on a game of online hide-and-seek in Belize and Guatemala since he fled after Faull's death, peppering the Internet with pithy quotes and colorful revelations about his unpredictable life. "I'm happy to be going home," McAfee, dressed in a black suit, told reporters shortly before his departure from Guatemala City airport on Wednesday afternoon. "I've been running through jungles and rivers and oceans and I think I need to rest for a while. And I've been in jail for seven days." Guatemala's immigration authorities had been holding McAfee since he was arrested last Wednesday for illegally entering the country with his 20-year-old Belizean girlfriend. The eccentric tech pioneer, who made his fortune from the anti-virus software bearing his name, has been chronicling life on the run in a blog, www.whoismcafee.com. He said he had no immediate plans after reaching Florida. "I'm just going to hang in Miami for a while. I like Miami," he told Reuters by telephone just before his plane left. "There is a great sushi place there and I really like sushi." BELIZE STILL WAITING Residents of the Belizean island of Ambergris Caye, where McAfee has lived for about four years, said McAfee and Faull, 52, had quarreled at times, including over McAfee's unruly dogs. McAfee says Belize authorities will kill him if he turns himself in for questioning. He has said he was being persecuted by Belize's ruling party for refusing to pay some $2 million in bribes. Belize's prime minister has rejected the allegations, calling McAfee paranoid and "bonkers. Belize police spokesman Raphael Martinez said the country still wanted to question McAfee about the Faull case. "He will be just under the goodwill of the United States of America. He is still a person of interest, but a U.S. national has been killed and he has been somewhat implicated in that murder. People want him to answer some questions," he said. Martinez noted that Belize's extradition treaty with the United States extended only to suspected criminals, a designation that did not currently apply to McAfee. "Right now, we don't have enough information to change his status from person of interest to suspect," he said. Residents and neighbors on Ambergris Caye said McAfee was unusual and at times unstable. He was seen to travel with armed bodyguards, sporting a pistol tucked into his belt. The predicament of McAfee, a former Lockheed systems consultant, is a far cry from his heyday in the late 1980s, when he started McAfee Associates. McAfee has no relationship now with the company, which was sold to Intel Corp. McAfee was previously charged in Belize with possession of illegal firearms, and police had raided his property on suspicions that he was running a lab to produce illegal synthetic narcotics. He said he had not taken drugs since 1983. "I took drugs constantly, 24 hours of the day. I took them for years and years. I was the worst drug abuser on the planet," he told Reuters before his arrest in Guatemala. "Then I finally went to Alcoholics Anonymous, and that was the end of it."

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Mick Jagger love letters fetch $300,000 at auction

A collection of love letters written by Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger to American singer Marsha Hunt, believed to be the inspiration for the band's hit single "Brown Sugar", sold at Sotheby's on Wednesday for 187,250 pounds ($301,000). The 10 letters, dating from the summer of 1969, had been expected to fetch 70-100,000 pounds, according to the auctioneer. "The passage of time has given these letters a place in our cultural history," Hunt said after the London sale. "1969 saw the ebbing of a crucial, revolutionary era, highly influenced by such artists as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, James Brown and Bob Dylan. "Their inner thoughts should not be the property of only their families, but the public at large, to reveal who these influential artists were - not as commercial images, but their private selves." Hunt, with whom Jagger had his first child, Karis, told Britain's Guardian newspaper last month that she was selling the letters, written in July and August 1969, because she had been unable to pay her bills. "I'm broke," Hunt, who lives in France, told the newspaper. Jagger wrote them to Hunt while filming the Tony Richardson movie "Ned Kelly" in Australia. They showed a sensitive side of the then-young singer, who wrote about the poetry of Emily Dickinson, meeting author Christopher Isherwood and an unrealized multimedia project. Jagger's relationship with Hunt, who is African-American, was kept under wraps until 1972. Hunt has said she was the inspiration for Brown Sugar, which Jagger wrote while in Australia. The rock star also cites in the letters the disintegration of his relationship with singer Marianne Faithfull, whom he was also dating at the time, and the death of Rolling Stones' guitarist Brian Jones. There has been a surge in interest in the rock band this year, as Jagger and his three surviving bandmates celebrate the 50th anniversary of the Stones with a series of concerts, a photo book and a greatest hits album.

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Singer-songwriter Carole King to receive U.S. Gershwin prize

American singer-songwriter Carole King will be awarded the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, the U.S. national library said on Thursday. The multiple Grammy Award winner co-wrote her first No. 1 hit at age 17 with then-husband Gerry Goffin and was the first female solo artist to sell more than 10 million copies of a single album, with her 1971 release "Tapestry." The prize honors individuals for lifetime achievement in popular music, the library said. It is named after songwriting brothers George and Ira Gershwin. King, now 70, topped the charts with the song "It's Too Late" in 1971, but is best known for her work performed by others, including "You've Got a Friend" by James Taylor and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" by Aretha Franklin. "I was so pleased when the venerable Library of Congress began honoring writers of popular songs with the Gershwin Prize," King said in a statement. "I'm proud to be the fifth such honoree and the first woman among such distinguished company." King and Goffin wrote some the biggest hits of the 1960s before their nine-year marriage ended in 1968. They rose to prominence in 1960 writing "Will You Love Me Tomorrow" for the Shirelles. The duo also scored hits with "Take Good Care of My Baby," performed by Bobby Vee in 1961, "The Loco-Motion," performed by Little Eva in 1962 and "Pleasant Valley Sunday," performed by The Monkees in 1967, among others. New York-born King did not hit it big as a singer until 1971, when "Tapestry" topped the U.S. album charts for 15 weeks, then a record for a female solo artist. Past recipients of the award include Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney and songwriting tandem Burt Bacharach and Hal David.

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Hurting Spaniards pin hopes on Christmas lottery

MADRID (AP) — After another brutal year of economic hardship, Spaniards across the country are hoping for relief when the country's famed Christmas lottery — the world's richest — pays out €2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) in tax-free awards on Saturday. Almost everyone in the country of 46 million people will be glued to live TV to watch school children sing out the winning numbers for the lottery that pays out maximum prizes of €400,000 ($529,840) and many more for smaller amounts. The top prize is dubbed "El Gordo" ("The Fat One") and is likely to be won by hundreds if not thousands of players. Unlike other big lotteries that generate just a few big winners, Spain's lottery — now in its 200th year — has always aimed for a share-the-wealth-system rather than a single jackpot, and thousands of numbers yield at least some kind of return. The Christmas lottery is so popular that there are frequently three €20 ($26) tickets sold for every Spaniard, and the lottery itself is the unofficial kickoff of the holiday season. "A lot of people win," said Pablo Foncillas, a marketing professor at the IESE Business School in Madrid. "It's really common even if you don't win to get a free ticket. So many people win that people just keep on playing. Everyone knows someone who's won, even if it's only a little bit." Hundreds of players lined up daily to buy tickets this week outside the Dona Manuelita lottery store in Madrid, which has often sold winning tickets. Before Spain's property-led economic boom collapsed in 2008, they had hoped to win so they could buy a small apartment or a car. Now people said they need the money just to hang on to what they have and avoid being evicted or having cars repossessed. Betting that tickets from Dona Manuelita stood a better chance of winning, unemployed construction company office manager Miguel Angel Ruiz drove 165 kilometers (102 miles) to buy for a pool of players including his wife and relatives. "We're buying more hoping we'll hit it so we can emerge from poverty," said Ruiz, 39. "Before the crisis, lottery winnings were to buy an apartment or a car, and now it's to pay debts." Diego Sanbrano, let go from his waiter's job two months ago, said the Spanish lottery isn't about getting rich and never working again. "It's to pay off debts and straighten out your life," he said. "You pay the mortgage and make the car payment, and then maybe you have a little left over to go somewhere on vacation." Since so many people chip in to buy tickets in groups, the top prizes frequently end up being handed out in the same small town or in one city neighborhood. Last year's top winning number hit for 1,800 tickets in the northern town of Granen, population 2,000. Townspeople shared about €700 million ($925 million), and the rest of the €1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) was doled out in smaller prizes around Spain. The Dec. 22 lottery began in 1812 and last year sold an estimated €2.7 billion ($3.6 billion) in tickets with per-capita spending of about €70 ($92) just for the Christmas lottery. Spain holds another big lottery Jan. 6 to mark the Feast of the Epiphany. It is known as "El Nino" (The Child), in reference to the baby Jesus. But the crisis will hit El Nino and all lotteries going forward. Until now, lottery winnings have been free from taxation. Waves of austerity measures imposed by the government this year to prevent Spain from asking for public finances bailout like those for Greece, Ireland and Portugal have translated into higher taxes. Lottery winnings above €2,000 ($2,640) will face a 20 percent tax in 2013.

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Hurting Spaniards celebrate Christmas lottery wins

MADRID (AP) — Winners of Spain's cherished Christmas lottery — the world's richest — celebrated Saturday in more than a dozen locations where the top lucky tickets were sold, a moment of uplift for a country enduring another brutal year of economic hardship. The lottery sprinkled a treasure chest of €2.5 billion ($3.3 billion) in prize money around the country. Champagne corks popped and festive cheer broke out in 15 towns or cities where tickets yielding the maximum prize of €400,000 ($530,000), known as "El Gordo" ("The Fat One,)" had been bought. A total of €520 million ($687 million) was won in the eastern Madrid suburb of Alcala de Henares alone. Among the top-prize winners were 50 former workers at metal parts factory Cametal who had formed a pool to buy tickets. Their company had filed for bankruptcy and ceased paying wages five months ago. "I'm bursting with joy, I haven't fully taken it in yet," said local resident Josefina Ortega. "When others win you think to yourself it'll never happen to you, but it has." Unlike lotteries that generate a few big winners, Spain's version — now celebrating its 200th anniversary — has always shared the wealth more evenly instead of concentrating on vast jackpots, so thousands of tickets yield some kind of return. Almost all of Spain's 46 million inhabitants traditionally watch at least some part of the live TV coverage showing school children singing out winning numbers for the lottery It is so popular that frequently three €20 ($26) tickets are sold for every Spaniard and many consider lottery day as the unofficial kickoff of the holiday season. Before Spain's property-led economic boom collapsed in 2008 ticket buyers often yearned to win so they could buy a small apartment by the beach or a new car. Now people said they needed money just to get by, or to avoid being evicted from their homes. Though ticket sales were down 8.3 percent on last year, according to the National Lottery, in the days preceding the draw hundreds of people lined up to buy tickets outside outlets that have sold winning tickets before. Dolores Perez and Teresa Palacio, two lottery outlet workers in north Madrid who sold a top-prize ticket celebrated with sparkling wine as curious neighbors gathered. The fortunate winner had yet to make an appearance. "I had never sold a Christmas 'Gordo' before; I almost thought it didn't exist," said Perez, smiling broadly. "I'm so happy, I've worked here for 30 years and never before sold a 'Gordo,' until now." Since so many people chip in to buy tickets in groups, top prizes frequently end up being handed out in the same small town or in one city neighborhood. Last year's top winning number hit for 1,800 tickets in the northern town of Granen, population 2,000. Townspeople shared about €700 million ($925 million), and the rest of the €1.8 billion ($2.4 billion) was doled out in smaller prizes around Spain. Spain holds another big lottery Jan. 6 to mark the Feast of the Epiphany. It is known as "El Nino" (The Child), in reference to the baby Jesus. But the crisis will hit El Nino and all lotteries going forward. Until now, lottery winnings have been free from taxation, but now prizes above €2,000 ($2,640) will be liable to a 20 percent tax in 2013. The government has imposed stinging austerity measures this year in a bid to prevent Spain from asking for a full-blown bailout like those granted to Greece, Ireland, Portugal and Cyprus. Spain's unemployment stands at 25 percent and its economy is sinking into a double-dip recession.

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Working-class neighborhood in Madrid wins "El Gordo" lottery

MADRID (Reuters) - Unemployed Spaniards in a highly indebted commuter town in the outskirts of Madrid celebrated with joy after sharing the top prize in "El Gordo", the world's biggest lottery. The 200-year-old Christmas draw doled out more than 2.5 billion euros ($3.3 billion) in prizes, with a top individual prize of 4 million euros. The smallest ticket, known as a "decimo" wins a tenth of the prize and costs 20 euros. Millions of Spaniards living through tough economic times had hoped to pocket part of "The Fat One" although spending in the Christmas lottery dipped heavily this year. Winning in 2012 was particularly sweet, not just because Spain is suffering its second recession in three years and one in four of the workforce is jobless, but also because 2012 is the last year winners will pay no tax on their takings. Spain's centre-right government, which has introduced austerity measures this year to shrink its public deficit, ruled that from next year those who win over 2,500 euros will pay 20 percent to the state. Javier Hernando, a middle-aged owner of a bar in Alcala de Henares, 35 km (20 miles) northeast of Madrid, said the prize would allow him to look at life differently, as European authorities press countries on the periphery of the euro zone to raise the age of retirement. Luis, a 28-year-old unemployed electrician, said he would spend the money on buying a flat. The lottery tickets are sold in thousands of official kiosks across Spain and local bars and shops often sell decimos. This year over 27 million individual prizes will be awarded. The lottery, which dates back to 1812, is an important Christmas tradition in Spain, with many families, offices and bar regulars clubbing together to buy a full ticket for 200 euros. Sales dipped 8 percent this year to 2.47 billion euros compared to a 0.5 percent drop in 2011. "It is no wonder that sales have gone down taking into account the economic situation we are going through. We are in crisis, people are out of work and have no income," said a spokeswoman for the National Lottery.

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Florida governor asks Obama to block possible ports strike

MIAMI (Reuters) - Florida's Republican governor wants President Barack Obama to invoke federal law and order a cooling-off period if nearly 15,000 longshoremen walk off the job in a looming strike that would be a big blow to the state's economy, according to a letter he sent the president this week. The International Longshoremen's Association union and the U.S. Maritime Alliance grouping of shippers and ports have been bargaining since March but reportedly remain far from a deal covering cargo handling at 15 ports on the U.S. Gulf and eastern coasts. In October, when a previous contract expired, the sides agreed to a 90-day extension of terms that runs out on December 29. Florida ports in Miami and Fort Lauderdale would be directly hit by a strike or lockout but a stoppage would also rattle overall transport and trade, which accounts for 550,000 jobs in the state and $66 billion in economic activity, Florida Governor Rick Scott said in a letter dated Thursday. "The threat to national safety and security that would result from mass closure of ports cannot be overstated," Scott told Obama. Scott said Obama had the power under 1947's Taft-Hartley Act to prevent or interrupt a work stoppage at the ports. Presidents Richard Nixon and George W. Bush both used Taft-Hartley, which calls for 80-day cooling-off periods and mediation, Scott said. "The Taft-Hartley Act provides your administration with tools that can help avoid this threat," Scott said. "On behalf of the State of Florida, I respectfully request that you invoke the act when the contract ... expires at the end of the month."

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Obama starts Hawaiian vacation, leaving Washington on ice

KAILUA, Hawaii (Reuters) - Taking what promised to be a very brief Christmas break from the ongoing struggle to avoid the "fiscal cliff" of tax hikes and spending cuts, President Barack Obama relaxed with his family on Saturday at a beach retreat in Hawaii. Congress was to return to Washington next Thursday and Obama has pledged to work with lawmakers to strike a deal to avoid the economic shock from tax and spending measures set to take effect on January 1 if a deal can't be reached, which many economists say could push the U.S. economy back into recession. The president is expected to indulge in some of his favorite pastimes on the island where he was born and raised: golf, an expedition for the local treat "shave ice," and an evening out with family and friends. He hit the links at the nearby Marine Corps base under sunny skies on Saturday afternoon. On Sunday, he is expected to attend funeral services for Senator Daniel Inouye, the long-serving Democrat from Hawaii who died on Monday, but the president has no other public events on his schedule. On Saturday, Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said he had urged Hawaii Governor Neil Abercrombie, a Democrat, to name Inouye's successor "with due haste." "It is critically important to ensure that the people of Hawaii are fully represented in the pivotal decisions the Senate will be making before the end of the year," Reid, of Nevada, said in a statement. Obama's idyll was not expected to last more than four days, and he will likely retrace the more than 4,800-mile trip from the Aloha State to Washington after Christmas in a bid to cut a deal with Republicans, who failed on Thursday to agree on competing tax and spending bills of their own. Before leaving Washington on Friday evening, Obama urged Congress to come up with a stopgap measure to spare the U.S. economy the jolt of $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts economists say would likely derail the economy. The president asked lawmakers for a stripped-down deal to continue lower tax rates on middle income earners and extend unemployment insurance benefits to avoid some of the worst effects of the "fiscal cliff" in the new year. Obama's family holiday, in a quiet beach front community on the other side of the island from bustling Honolulu, should also provide some respite from the somber focus on the Newtown, Connecticut, school massacre and the consequent bitter debate over measures to change America's gun culture and prevent violence. The president's weekly radio and Internet addresses, which in recent weeks have centered on his argument for extending tax cuts for all but the wealthiest Americans, on Saturday offered holiday greetings to U.S. military forces.

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Cleared Minnesota college coach fights suspension

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — A Minnesota college football coach who was cleared of child porn charges is fighting a suspension, his union said Thursday, although neither it nor the university would say what prompted the punishment or shed light on his prospects for reinstatement.
Coach Todd Hoffner received a written notice from Minnesota State University, Mankato late Tuesday afternoon about a 20-day unpaid suspension that begins Jan. 7, the general counsel for the Inter Faculty Organization said in an email to The Associated Press. Connie Howard said the union has filed a grievance challenging the suspension.
Hoffner was put on paid administrative leave after videos of his naked children were found on his university-issued cellphone in August. A judge ruled Nov. 30 that the videos were not pornographic and dismissed the felony charges against Hoffner, accepting his testimony that the videos merely showed his children acting silly after a bath.
"The grievance charges that the university failed to follow progressive discipline and did not have just cause to issue the suspension," Howard wrote. She declined to provide further details and would not say what reason the university gave for Hoffner's suspension, whether it was related to the videos or what his prospects might be for being reinstated as head coach of the Mavericks.
The MnSCU system has a policy prohibiting the use of university-issued cellphones or mobile devices for personal business.
Hoffner was beginning a new four-year contract when he was escorted off a practice field in August, a few days after he returned his malfunctioning phone to the school. University technicians found the videos and notified university officials, who contacted police. Hoffner was not allowed back and had to miss the Mavericks' 13-1 season, including their appearance in the NCAA Division II semifinals Dec. 8. He had a 34-13 record in his first four years at Mankato.
Minnesota State issued a brief statement Wednesday night saying Hoffner's administrative leave ended Monday and he remains on the university's payroll, but Aaron Keen remains acting coach.
"One complaint against the football coach was investigated and the investigation has been completed. One complaint against Mr. Hoffner is pending and is under investigation," the statement said without elaboration.
University spokesman Dan Benson, citing privacy laws, told the AP he couldn't comment on the nature of the complaints.
"The word 'reinstated' would not be accurate," Benson said. "He is no longer on leave. He remains on the payroll ... but he has not assumed duties as the head football coach again at this time."
Hoffner could not be reached immediately for comment Thursday. He does not have a listed phone number. His civil attorney, Chris Madel, was in court and unavailable Thursday. His attorney for the criminal case, Jim Fleming, said he was not directly involved in the personnel case.
Minnesota State athletics director Kevin Buisman did not immediately return a call seeking comment Thursday.

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