Asian stocks down as Europe debt crisis boils

A man walks in front of the electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. Asian stock markets tumbled in early trading Tuesday, a day after German leaders warned that a comprehensive solution to Europe's debt crisis may not be near. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average lost 137.03 points to end morning session at 8742.57. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

A man walks in front of the electronic stock board of a securities firm in Tokyo, Japan, Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2011. Asian stock markets tumbled in early trading Tuesday, a day after German leaders warned that a comprehensive solution to Europe's debt crisis may not be near. The benchmark Nikkei 225 stock average lost 137.03 points to end morning session at 8742.57. (AP Photo/Itsuo Inouye)

(AP) ? Asian stock markets tumbled Tuesday after China's robust economic growth slowed and German leaders warned that a comprehensive solution to Europe's debt crisis may not be near.

Japan's Nikkei 225 lost 1.5 percent to 8,742.57 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng plunged 3.5 percent to 18,226.75. South Korea's Kospi fell 1.5 percent to 1,836.50.

Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Australia, Indonesia and the Philippines were also lower.

In mainland China, the Shanghai Composite Index dropped 1.3 percent to 2,408.27. The government announced that growth declined to 9.1 percent in the three months through September, down from 9.5 percent the previous quarter.

While the government said the slippage was in line with efforts to bring economic growth to a more sustainable level, any slowdown ? intentional or not ? could weigh on the global economic recovery.

Expectations that a solution to the European crisis could be reached at a European summit in Brussels this weekend helped lift stocks last week. But stock markets in Europe and the U.S. tumbled Monday after German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said those expectations were too optimistic.

The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 2.1 percent to close at 11,397. The S&P 500 index lost 1.9 percent to 1,200.86. The Nasdaq composite index fell 2 percent to 2,614.92.

A batch of weak corporate earnings reports also pulled stocks lower, while news on the U.S. economy was mixed. A measure of U.S. industrial production rose for a third month, but a gauge of New York area manufacturing fell more than Wall Street expected.

Concerns about a messy default by the Greek government have been the main cause behind many of the big swings on the world's stock markets lately.

The fear is that a default would cause deep losses for European banks that hold Greek bonds. That could lead to a freeze in lending between banks and escalate into another financial crisis similar to the one that occurred in 2008 after the collapse of Lehman Brothers.

Benchmark oil for November delivery was down 27 cents to $86.11 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 42 cents to finish at $86.38 per barrel on Monday on the Nymex.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3783 from $1.3742 late Monday in New York. The dollar slipped to 76.79 yen from 76.82 yen.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2011-10-17-World-Markets/id-5b165c07ec5f49978e53d7e86b37f440

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Is Your Startup Story Worth $10000? - Small Business Trends

Something every entrepreneur or small business owner has in common is that they have a story. Whether you quit your job in the middle of the recession (like me!) or you went from garage to glory in three years, we all have a startup story that is unique and inspiring to others. And now we all have the chance to win $10,000 simply for telling it.

Oh, you?re paying attention now, aren?t you? ;)

Hiscox, the small business insurance specialists, are challenging entrepreneurs, SMBs and consultants to share their startup stories for the chance to win $10,000 and other prizes through their MyStartUpStory Contest. What compelled Hiscox to put together a contest like this?

Hiscox?s Director of Small Business Insurance, Kevin Kerridge, said:

?The stories we hear on a daily basis from our customers and prospects are inspiring, and we wanted a way to share these and hear from other small businesses about how they got started and overcame challenges along the way. The submissions we?ve seen so far show the sheer will and determination of the U.S. small business owner and offer some advice for getting over the challenges that are part of every new business.?

To enter the contest, entrants have the choice of submitting a 500-word essay or a 2- to 5-minute video describing their startup and offering small business advice. Entries will be judged on their responses to the following questions:

  • What does your business do?
  • Why did you start your business?
  • What is the best advice you?ve received?
  • What are the biggest challenges you?ve faced?
  • How did you overcome these challenges?
  • What is the biggest lesson you learned from these challenges?

All submissions will be featured on the Hiscox Small Business Insurance Facebook page during the contest. Small business owners can also check the company?s Facebook page to find inspiration from the startup stories of entrepreneurs like Pete Cashmore (Mashable), David Karp (Tumblr) and others.

In addition to the $10K grand prize, the second- and third-place winners are eligible to win business essentials like a possible iPad, printer/copier/scanner, an office chair and other small business tools, as well as a free ticket to an upcoming small business conference from a list provided by Hiscox.

While the prizes surely sweeten the pot, the contest represents a great way for small business owners to share their personal experiences running a startup and to motivate those reading them.

According to Kevin:

?The MyStartUpStory contest is an opportunity not only for businesses to win prizes, but also to publicize their business and share their advice through our Facebook page, small business blog, Twitter account and other marketing channels. I think entrepreneurs will benefit from seeing others who have come through the tough times and lived to talk about it and share their experiences through this contest.?

If you want a chance at the loot, the contest runs through November 7, and is open to all U.S. small business owners and entrepreneurs. Full details can be found on the Hiscox Facebook Page.

Good luck!

About the Author

Lisa Barone Lisa Barone is Co-Founder and Chief Branding Officer at Outspoken Media, Inc., an SEO consulting firm that specializes in providing clients with online reputation management, social media services, and other Internet services.

Connect with Lisa Barone:

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Source: http://smallbiztrends.com/2011/10/startup-story.html

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Thousands join NYC protest against corporate greed (AP)

NEW YORK ? From coast to coast and North to South, the Occupy Wall Street protest against corporate greed that started out with a few young people in a lower Manhattan park grew to vocal thousands with weekend rallies in about two dozen states and supporters joining in from Canada and overseas.

Tens of thousands nicknamed "the indignant" marched in cities across Europe on Saturday. Violence broke out in Rome and dozens were injured.

Marches in the United States remained largely nonconfrontational, although dozens of people were arrested in New York and elsewhere when police moved to contain overflowing crowds or keep them off private property. Two police officers in New York City were injured and had to be hospitalized.

In Times Square, thousands of demonstrators mixed with gawkers, Broadway showgoers, tourists and police to create a chaotic scene in the midst of Manhattan.

"Banks got bailed out, we got sold out!" protesters chanted from within police barricades. Police, some in riot gear and mounted on horses, tried to push them out of the square and onto the sidewalks in an attempt to funnel the crowds away.

Sandra Fox, 69, of Baton Rouge, La., stood, confused, on 46th Street with a ticket for "Anything Goes" in her hand as riot police pushed a knot of about 200 shouting protesters toward her.

"I think it's horrible what they're doing," she said of the protesters. "These people need to go get jobs."

The Times Square rally lasted several hours before the crowd dispersed. Over the course of what was billed as "a global day of protest," city police arrested more than 80 people in demonstrations at Times Square, Washington Square Park and a nearby Citibank bank branch. Police cited violations such as wearing masks, criminal trespass, and refusing to leave the park at midnight when police warned them it was closed.

Police spokesman Paul Browne said one of the police officers hospitalized suffered a head injury, the other a foot injury. Two dozen were arrested when demonstrators entered the Citibank bank branch and refused to leave, police said.

Citibank said in a statement that police asked the branch to close until the protesters could be taken away. "One person asked to close an account and was accommodated," Citibank said.

Earlier in the day, as many as 1,000 demonstrators paraded to a Chase bank branch, banging drums, blowing horns and carrying signs decrying corporate greed. A few protesters went inside the bank to close their accounts, but the group didn't stop other customers from getting inside or seek to blockade the business.

Lily Paulina of Brooklyn said she was taking her money out because she was upset that JPMorgan Chase was making billions, while its customers struggled with bank fees and home foreclosures.

"Chase bank is making tons of money off of everyone ... while people in the working class are fighting just to keep a living wage in their neighborhood," the 29-year-old United Auto Workers organizer said.

Police told the marchers to stay on the sidewalk, and the demonstration seemed fairly orderly as it wound through downtown streets.

Sergio Jimenez, 25, said he quit his job in Texas to come to New York to protest. He participated in an anti-war march to mark the 10th anniversary of the Afghanistan War.

"These wars in Afghanistan and Iraq were all based on lies," Jimenez said. "And if we're such an intelligent country, we should figure out other ways to respond to terror, instead of with terror."

Throughout the country ? from about 50 people in Jackson, Miss., to some 2,000 in Pittsburgh ? the protest gained momentum.

Nearly 1,500 protesters gathered for a march past banks in downtown Orlando, Fla. Hundreds marched on a Key Bank branch in Anchorage, and declared it be foreclosed. In Arizona, reporters and protesters saw an estimated 40 people detained around midnight Saturday at a park just north of downtown Phoenix.

In Colorado, about 1,000 people rallied in downtown Denver to support Occupy Wall Street and at least two dozen were arrested. Nearly 200 people spent a cold night in tents in Grand Circus Park in Detroit, donning gloves, scarves and heavy coats to keep warm. Helen Stockton, a 34-year-old certified midwife from Ypsilanti, said they planned to remain there "as long as it takes to effect change."

"It's easy to ignore us," Stockton said. Then she referred to the financial institutions, saying, "But we are not going to ignore them. Every shiver in our bones reminds us of why we are here."

Hundreds more converged near the Michigan's Capitol in Lansing with the same message, the Lansing State Journal reported.

Rallies drew young and old, laborers and retirees. In Pittsburgh, marchers included parents with children in strollers. The peaceful crowd stretched for two or three blocks.

"I see our members losing jobs. People are angry," said Janet Hill, 49, who works for the United Steelworkers, which she said hosted a sign-making event before the march.

Retired teacher Albert Siemsen said at a demonstration in Milwaukee that he'd grown angry watching school funding get cut at the same time banks and corporations gained more influence in government. The 81-year-old wants to see tighter Wall Street regulation.

Around him, protesters held signs reading: "Keep your corporate hands off my government," and "Mr. Obama, Tear Down That Wall Street."

In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick visited protesters in Boston's Dewey Square for the first time. He said after walking through the camp that he better understands the range of views and was sympathetic to concerns about unemployment, health care and the influence of money in politics.

The Rev. Al Sharpton led a march in Washington that was not affiliated with the Occupy movement but shared similar goals. His rally was aimed at drumming up support for President Barack Obama's jobs plan. Thousands of demonstrators packed the lawn in the shadow of the Washington Monument to hear labor, education and civil rights leaders speak.

Hundreds protested in the heart of Toronto's financial district. Some announced plans to camp out indefinitely in St. James Park. Protests were also held in other cities across Canada from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to Vancouver, British Columbia.

Overseas, tens of thousands nicknamed "the indignant" marched in cities across Europe, as the protests that began in New York linked up with long-running demonstrations against government cost-cutting and failed financial policies in Europe. Protesters also turned out in Australia and Asia.

In the violence that broke out in Rome, police fired tear gas and water cannons at the protesters who broke away from the main demonstration, smashing shop and bank windows, torching cars and hurling bottles.

___

Associated Press writers Bob Seavey in Phoenix, Kevin Begos in Pittsburgh, Eric Tucker in Washington, Jay Lindsay in Boston, Corey Williams in Detroit, Dinesh Ramde in Milwaukee and Jack Elliott Jr. in Jackson, Miss., Charmaine Noronha in Toronto, and Colleen Long, David B. Caruso and AP Radio correspondent Martin Di Caro in New York contributed to this report.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111016/ap_on_re_us/us_wall_street_protest

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Where Obama's indie problem began (Politico)

If there was any state that announced that something very big had happened in American politics with Barack Obama?s election in 2008, it was the state he will visit on Tuesday. Virginia had not voted for a Democratic president since 1964 when it went for Obama.

And if there was any state to warn Obama that the independent voters who gave him his historic victory were deeply disaffected, it was again Virginia.

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With a recent Quinnipiac University Poll showing Obama?s job approval continuing to fall among Virginia?s independent voters - they disapprove 62 - 29 percent, compared to a 56 - 38 percent disapproval among independents nationally - several explanations are offered up.

?Honestly, it?s just the economy,? said Larry Sabato, the oft-quoted sage of commonwealth politics. ??I don?t think in general [independents] are anti-Obama. They?re just unhappy and disappointed and frustrated.?

McDonnell tends to agree. ?He hasn?t focused on the issues independent voters care about,? he told POLITICO. ?It?s been health care. It?s been this, that and the other thing. But not the issues that matter to the average voter? This is the first time he?s really taken any time to talk about a vision for job creation. I say it?s high time. I just think his ideas about how to do it are completely wrong.?

Obama?s bus trip - winding its way from the rural southwest corner of the state, to a military base located in the heavily African-American Hampton Bays area, and ending up at firehouse in the Richmond suburbs - is designed to spread his economic message, and specifically a $30 billion local aid package to stave off layoffs of firefighters, cops and teachers.

But compared to other states, Viriginia?s economy is in relatively good shape - its 6.3 percent unemployment rate is well below the 9.1 percent national average. So pollsters see a larger issue than simply the bad economic times working against Obama - not just in Virginia, but in other states as well.

?His inability to get things done in Congress since the midterms, makes him look like a weak leader to independents,? said Peter Brown of Quinnipiac. ?In 2008 everybody was angry and he offered hope. In 2011, everyone?s still angry and they are giving up hope in him.?

Independents tend to be the least ideological, least politicized, most pragmatic section of the electorate. What?s killing Obama - according to this argument - is the perception, right or wrong, that he just isn?t an effective leader after crusading for post-partisan government. That the GOP has blocked him at nearly every turn ? Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell did, after all, say that his prime mission was to see Obama served one term ? is apparently beside the point. Independent voters want results, not excuses.

The two critiques very easily merge into the belief that Obama?s ineffectiveness is epitomized by his inability to improve the economy. That is what Democratic pollster Tom Jensen, who runs North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling, said he sees in his state ? along with Virginia a key part of Obama?s 2012 strategy and the first leg of Obama?s bus trip.

?The number one word used to describe independents is fickle,? Jensen said. ?Independents are results oriented. If they feel Obamas turned around the economy, they?ll certainly vote for him again. If they don?t feel he?s turned around the economy, they?ll vote him out.?

?Really pretty speeches after four years in office aren?t going to do very much for him with independents,? he added. ?Nothing he says is going to convinve them that things are okay if they don?t think things are okay.?

If Virginia was the canary in the mine shaft, former Gov. Douglas Wilder, the state?s first African-American statewide elected official, thinks Obama?s team was slow to see the sea change among independents that McDonnell?s victory augured, and they have had trouble playing catch-up ever since.

?Surely they ignored it,? he said. ?They ignored the Chris Christie win in New Jersey [too]. They attributed it to McDonnell, to everything other than some of the things we know it was attributable to.?

Creigh Deeds, the Democratic state senator who lost to McDonnell in 2009, said his election turned on the sour national climate, a mixture of frustration over the economy, anger at bailouts, the energy bill and health care reform ?and the gridlock Obama vowed to end.

?It hurt us in 2009. It hurt us last year. I just don?t know that it has gotten any better,? Deeds said of the electorate?s mood.

?It?s just a toxic environment right now? [So] the president needs to show he can relate to ordinary people, and he?s fully capable of that. He just needs to show empathy. He can?t have the George H.W. Bush problem, not knowing how much a gallon of milk or a gallon of gas costs?He needs to be making trips like this every week.?

?Virginia votes the national mood,? said former Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore, a Republican who chaired John McCain?s commonwealth campaign three years ago. ?Clinton got it. When he was going for his second term, he moved over to the middle.. [But] the mood is so negative against the White House in Virginia this time around that it?s going to be hard to recover.?

The Obama campaign says the president?s new tougher pitch for jobs is just starting to resonate with voters, and aides point to an early October Washington Post-ABC poll showing that 44 percent of voters trust the president over Congress when it comes to creating jobs ? a seven percent increase?since he hit the stump in the last month.

Russ Potts, a former Republican state senator who ran for governor as an independent in 2005, said that Obama is onto something with the push for infrastructure spending that is part of his economic program because road projects appeal to the very independents now sour about Obama.

?The president has not conveyed imagination and thinking out of the box,? Potts said. ?He?s got the bully pulpit?The American people are begging to hear that.?

?Sure, he should have done that a long time ago but you can?t worry about the past. The good news for him is that Virginians dislike [House Majorty Leader] Eric Cantor more than they dislike Obama because they see him as obstructionist. Believe me, the American people get it about the whole ?no? crowd.?

And despite his low-40s approval rating in the state, Obama does fare comparatively well in recent head-to-head match-ups with Republicans Mitt Romney and Rick Perry. Moreover, Obama 2012 officials say no state is better organized than Virginia, with over 1,500 campaign events held there in recent months and a steady flow of donor cash that guarantees field operations in even the reddest parts of the state.

?Once they pick a nominee, voters will look at two different visions,? said a campaign official. ?That feeds our confidence that the same people [who backed Obama in 2008] will come out again.?

Still, some Democrats groused about Obama?s itinerary this week, arguing that a more sustained effort to win back more moderate independents in northern Virginia would bear more fruit than another symbolic junket through the state?s rural, conservative south.

One of the state?s top Democratic consultants pronounced himself ?baffled? by Obama?s schedule and forwarded a news article on Romney?s trip to norther Virginia next week with the subject heading ?that?s more like it.?

McDonnell, whose strong showing in the north was a key to his win, agrees, noting that one-third of voters live around the Beltway. ?For the president to win Virginia, he?s going to have to do very, very well in Northern Virginia. That?s the high tech entrepreneurial business community. So far, his message to them is not very good,? said McDonnell, who will welcome the president to a veterans event Wednesday morning.

But Rep. Gerry Connolly, a Democrat who represents the Northern Virginia suburbs, said the weak Republican field makes him confident about the president?s reelection prospects.

?This field looks like Snow White and the seven dwarfs,? Connolly said. ?They?re competitive only because of the economy?I think the Republicans are smoking something exuding any confidence in this field.?

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1011_66220_html/43295253/SIG=11mt91r1j/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66220.html

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US must engage Yemen's real power-brokers

Yemen?s rural tribes will play a pivotal role in its future. With President Ali Abdullah Saleh's power eroded, US diplomats are going to have to leave the comfort of the capital and engage these tribes, whether in resolving the government crisis or countering Al Qaeda.

In protest-racked Yemen, the embattled president?s hold over his country has deteriorated to such an extent that he?s euphemistically known as the ?mayor? of only one half of the capital city, Sanaa. The erosion of President Ali Abdullah Saleh?s authority must prompt the United States to focus on the true longtime power brokers in Yemen ? the tribes.

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As has become self-evident in Afghanistan and Pakistan, where central authority is weak or, in Yemen?s case, verging on nonexistent, tribal engagement is an absolute necessity. But throughout Yemen?s recent history, the US State Department has rarely shifted its focus away from Sanaa to Yemen?s rural areas.

One reason for this lack of American diplomatic venturing is security concern about leaving government-controlled urban centers. Yemen?s tribes are indeed heavily armed and skilled with their weapons. On several occasions, they?ve roundly beaten Yemen?s military, each time bringing Saleh?s power into question.

Another concern for US officials is Al Qaeda on the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP). Many American and Western policymakers believe this terrorist force receives free rein in Yemen?s rural north because of the ?lawless? tribal areas there. However, an extensive report by the US National Counterterrorism Center on two rural Yemeni governorates reveals no true or fundamental link between AQAP and Yemen?s tribes ? with most of AQAP?s leadership and low-level soldiers hailing from urban areas, even if hiding in the north.

To effectively promote the US interests in Yemen, some young American diplomats are going to have to earn their stripes in the provinces of Marib, Shabwa, and Al-Jawf. Perhaps most importantly, diplomats need to be allowed to chew khat, the leafy, green stimulant chewed by most Yemeni men and women across the country. Any serious negotiation in Yemen is done in a khat chew.

Often incorrectly characterized as a den of bumbling idiots, the US Embassy in Sanaa is home to capable and knowledgeable diplomats and Arabists, many of whom speak excellent Arabic, including US Ambassador Gerald Feierstein. However, these resources are squandered in Sanaa in hopeless negotiations with political parties and regime loyalists.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/tLb1PCFAThs/US-must-engage-Yemen-s-real-power-brokers

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Motorola Droid RAZR hits FCC with Verizon LTE, global GSM radio

Surprisingly, Motorola seems to have been taken a page out of Apple's book, as the Droid RAZR was curiously approved by the FCC almost immediately after it was announced. And there's some good stuff to behold in here, too; in addition to the usual Verizon-friendly LTE Band 13 radio with CDMA 800 / 1900 support, we also found instances of GSM and WCDMA. In fact, we discovered that the 850 / 1900 bands were tested -- even though they're locked from being used by US operators. And that's not all, folks: the docs specifically state "this device supports voice call functionality over GSM and WCDMA on non-US cellular networks." We don't want to say for sure that this means the RAZR will be the first LTE device on Verizon to officially support global GSM roaming, as it could simply mean the device could be sold unlocked overseas, but it's a strong indication towards the possibility. If fun graphs and measurements are your thing, the link is open for perusal below.

Motorola Droid RAZR hits FCC with Verizon LTE, global GSM radio originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 18 Oct 2011 14:20:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/10/18/motorola-droid-razr-hits-fcc-with-verizon-lte-global-gsm-radio/

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