German data helps lift euro zone sentiment (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Signs of improvement in the German and U.S. economies helped offset concerns over the prospects for euro zone debt auctions later this week, lifting the single currency and European shares on Monday.

The FTSEurofirst 300 (.FTEU3) index of top European shares opened up by around 0.2 percent to 1015.88. The MSCI world equity index (.MIWD00000PUS) was also up over 0.1 percent despite a weaker session on Asian markets.

German exports jumped 2.5 percent in November, data showed on Monday, unexpectedly widening the trade surplus in a sign Europe's largest economy is still outpacing peers.

The euro, which fell to a 16-month low in Asian trade of $1.2666, recovered to $1.2748 in volatile trade to stand up around 0.2 percent for the day.

"Newsflow from the euro zone is not helping, particularly regarding Greece and markets are also on the defensive ahead of key event risks this week so there's not too much reason to be overweight the euro," said Geoffry Yu, currency strategist at UBS.

"These are testing times for the currency and the scale of the recent decline seems to have caught some people by surprise," he added.

The market's focus is likely to be on the meeting in Berlin between the German chancellor Angela Merkel and French president Nicolas Sarkozy later in the day although expectations of any major developments are low.

There is also a busy week of government bond issues planned in Europe featuring triple-A issuers Germany, Netherlands and Austria, and capped by sales of new debt by Spain and Italy on Thursday and Friday. The debt auction are expected to total more than 21 billion euros.

EURO ZONE NEWS WORRIES

The concerns about rising borrowing costs in Europe have taken the shine off Friday's upbeat U.S. jobs data which showed the jobless rate had dropped to a near three-year low of 8.5 percent, and nonfarm payrolls increased by 200,000.

Also hurting sentiment was a report by German magazine Der Spiegel on Saturday that the International Monetary Fund was losing confidence in Greece's ability to clean up its public finances and work off its mountain of debt.

In addition, an adviser to Germany's finance minister Wolfgang Schaeuble told a Greek newspaper that a 50 percent write-down on Greek debt holdings, part of Greece's debt swap deal, was not enough to put the country's huge debt on a viable footing.

Underscoring the bearish view on the euro, currency speculators boosted short positions in the currency to record levels in the week ended January 3, data from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission showed on Friday.

Investors also remained concerned about the situation in Hungary after Fitch Ratings said late on Friday it was downgrading Hungarian sovereign debt by one notch to BB+ with a negative outlook, putting the country's bonds in the higher risk category and suggesting the investment climate was not going to get any better.

A stronger dollar tends to weigh on commodities that are priced in the U.S. currency, and both precious and industrial metals lost ground.

Copper slipped around 0.4 percent to $7,550 a tonne, while gold fell 0.3 percent, getting close to the $1,600 an ounce level.

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U.S. payrolls: http://link.reuters.com/qyn85s

The euro zone crisis: http://r.reuters.com/xyt94s

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(Editing by Toby Chopra)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120109/bs_nm/us_markets_global

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THIN ICE ? In Theaters 2/17!

THIN ICE starring Greg Kinnear, Alan Arkin and Billy Crudup! In Theaters February 17th 2012! SYNOPSIS: Mickey Prohaska (Greg Kinnear) is a small-time insurance agent looking for a way to jump-start his business, reunite with his estranged wife (Lea Thompson) and escape the frigid Wisconsin weather. This self-proclaimed master of spin believes that salesmanship is [...]

Source: http://www.celebritymound.com/thin-ice-in-theaters-217/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=thin-ice-in-theaters-217

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Golf: Oosthuizen caught at the top

January 7, 2012 -- Updated 1815 GMT (0215 HKT)

South African golfer Tjaart van der Walt has yet to win a tournament since turning professional in 1996.

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

• Tjaart van der Walt catches Louis Oosthuzen at the top of the Africa Open leaderboard
• Veteran South African cards eight-under 65 to join major winner on 21 under par
• Former European Tour No. 1 Retief Goosen is a shot behind going into final round
• Defending champion Jonathan Byrd claims a one-shot lead at PGA Tour's opening event

(CNN) -- Tjaart van der Walt will seek to upstage two of his most illustrious golfing compatriots and win his first professional tournament at the Africa Open on Sunday.

The 37-year-old goes into the final round tied for the lead with 2010 British Open champion Louis Oosthuizen and one shot ahead of two-time U.S. Open winner Retief Goosen after carding a superb eight-under-par 65 in East London on Saturday.

Van der Walt, who finished second in a 2005 U.S. PGA Tour event, eliminated Oosthuizen's two-shot overnight lead as he started with four successive birdies and -- like his fellow South African -- picked up a shot at the final hole.

The world No. 347's only blemish at his home event came at the par-four eighth hole, and he was confident he could contend for his first title since turning pro in 1996 in the opening event of the 2012 European Tour season.

"At the end of the day, the golf ball doesn't know that they are major champions," he said of his rivals. "I've played at the highest level, I've never won majors or big events, so who knows what can happen.

"I do feel as if I am controlling the golf ball as well as I have in a long time. Not just tee to green, but on the greens as well. And that's a good sign for me. I'm entitled to forget the one bad shot I hit all day."

Defending champion Oosthuizen's only lapse came at the par-five 11th hole as he took four shots to reach the green.

"It was an elementary mistake really. Those little chip-outs seem easy, and I made the basic error of leaving it short of a tree for my approach to the green," the world No. 40 said.

Goosen, seeking his first European Tour win for five years, carded a flawless 66 to be on 20-under 199.

The 42-year-old, who topped the tour's Order of Merit money list in 2001 and 2002, was one shot clear of fourth-placed Englishman Danny Willett, who shot 65.

Another South African, Richard Sterne, was also in contention after firing seven birdies and an eagle in his 64 to claim fifth place on 202.

The 30-year-old, a five-time winner on the tour, is making his first outing in almost a year following back problems.

Meanwhile, defending champion Jonathan Byrd claimed a one-shot lead after Friday's first round of the PGA Tour's season-opening Tournament of Champions in Hawaii.

The 33-year-old, whose only title last year came in Kapalua, carded six-under 67 on the Plantation Course to lead the 28-man field.

Fellow American Webb Simpson, who was runner-up in the 2011 FedEx Cup series and the tour's money list, was equal second with compatriots Steve Stricker and Michael Bradley plus Scotland's Martin Laird.

PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley was sixth after a 69, while veteran Korean K.J. Choi carded 70.

Lucas Glover, who beat Byrd in a playoff at the Wells Fargo Championship last season, withdrew before his tee-off due to a knee injury suffered while paddleboarding last weekend.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/edition_sport/~3/u-z7DjJCBi4/index.html

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Best golf competition might be in the broadcast booth

KAPALUA, Hawaii -- The mere mention of the 2002 Ryder Cup made NBC Sports anchor Dan Hicks smile, only it wasn't anything that happened on the golf course.

Nick Faldo was doing some commentary for Sky Sports that week when NBC executive producer Tommy Roy thought it might be interesting to have the six-time major champion from England join Johnny Miller in the broadcast booth. If nothing else, he might offer some European perspective.

"Instant sparks," Hicks recalled. "And instant entertainment."

They reunite this week for the Tournament of Champions.

Golf Channel is broadcasting the PGA Tour's season opener from the Plantation Course at Kapalua. Faldo is the lead analyst for CBS Sports, but he also works for Golf Channel for weekday coverage. Miller has been the lead analyst for NBC since 1990. NBC and Golf Channel now are both owned by Comcast.

For those tuning in from home, Miller and Faldo in the booth together might be as appealing as the waves crashing along the west coast of Maui.

What to expect? Not even they know for sure.

"It will be interesting to see if this ends up in a mild fist fight, or it ends up in a big brother-little brother kind of thing," Miller said.

Miller and Faldo could not be any more different.

Miller shot off his mouth as readily as he fired at pins. He is famous for his 63 in the final round at Oakmont to win the 1973 U.S. Open, and has two majors among his 25 career wins on the PGA Tour. Faldo did nothing without great thought, working his way around the golf course toward six majors. They were inducted into the World Golf Hall of Fame together in 1998.

"As long as I've been working with Johnny, no one had ever sat in the chair next to him from a broadcast perspective," Hicks said. "All of a sudden, here's Nick Faldo, six-time major champion. And Johnny was like, 'Wait a minute, this is my territory.' And people picked up on it. They're opposites. But sometimes, opposites in television can create a great chemistry."

On the eve of the broadcast, Miller already was firing away.

"I'm probably a little more out there in what I'm willing to say," Miller said. "Nick did say that when he got comfortable in the broadcast booth, he would make me look like Mary Poppins. I haven't seen that yet."

Faldo laughed when he heard that comment -- "It was a throwaway line in jest," he said -- although he says he's not afraid to say when he sees. Mostly, he's curious to see how he and Miller react to each other's opinions.

"We see things differently, and that's the whole point of it," Faldo said. "He'll spot things that I missed, and I'll spot things that he missed. I think it will be interesting because we both come at it from our own angle, what we see and what we think, whether we agree or disagree. It'll be good fun for TV. It's a good idea. Let's give it a go."

It should be a special broadcast, for no other reason than it won't happen very often, if at all.

The experiment shows the flexibility Golf Channel now has with NBC under the same parent company. Bringing Hicks in as the anchor -- or perhaps the referee in this case -- only adds to the credibility of a tournament that is missing three major champions among 11 players who chose or couldn't make it to Hawaii.

"I think it's more or less a move to again brand the organization and show that it's not just Golf Channel and Golf Channel people working events," Hicks said. "We can do a lot of different things. The possibility of getting Johnny and Nick back in the booth was a big impetus. It gives the tour's kickoff event an even bigger feel."

The work gets trickier for Hicks, who usually only has one other voice in the booth with him. Now he has two, and there will be no shortage of ego.

"I know they want to put on a good show," Hicks said. "I'll let them go, and if something gets down the tracks too wildly, maybe I'll have to steer it back on course. I'm looking forward to it. This is another example of what we can do as a company. Why not have the best two analysts in the game?"

Faldo has experience working with another analyst in the booth. He and Paul Azinger spent two years together with ABC Sports.

"I think Johnny is a lot smarter," Faldo said, taking a shot at his former broadcast partner.

The risk is to make sure that competition stays on the golf course, not in the broadcast booth. Neither believes that will be a problem. Even so, Miller said he won't let Faldo get away with anything, and he figures the feeling will be mutual.

"Our goal is to entertain," Faldo said. "If we both start trying to help the viewer -- which I like to do -- and give them sort of thoughts of what the players are doing or thinking, that will be quite interesting. We both have 40 and 50 years of golfing knowledge. There should be a few good gems."

?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/standard/sports/~3/OjtWZ5tRCIw/best-golf-competition-might-be-broadcast-booth

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Mitt Romney Maintains Lead In Latest New Hampshire Polls

WASHINGTON -- After finishing in a near-tie with former U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum in the Iowa Caucuses on Tuesday, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's polling numbers edged slightly higher, nudging just over 40 percent on four tracking polls of New Hampshire released on Friday.

Although Santorum's support has risen rapidly, he remains in third place, still running well behind U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, with Romney running ahead of Paul by margins of 20 points or more on the four most recent surveys.

While more than a third of New Hampshire's voters say they have not yet settled on a candidate, Romney's position in the state remains as strong as ever.

In total, six new surveys have been conducted since Tuesday, including two new polls released on Friday night from NBC News and Marist University and the second wave of interviewing from a University of New Hampshire/WMUR poll. Romney leads Paul by wide margins on all six polls, but received more than 40 percent of the vote on the four most recent.

All six surveys also show Santorum, of Pennsylvania, rising into double digits for the first time, receiving support ranging from 11 percent to 14 percent, but still running well behind Ron Paul, whose support varied from 17 percent to 24 percent.

The chart below, featuring the HuffPost Pollster trend lines based on all public polls in New Hampshire, shows that four-fold rise in Santorum's support, from just under 3 percent in mid-December to 11.9 percent now, is the most dramatic change since the Iowa caucuses.

Nonetheless, support for Romney -- the most important number to watch over the next few days -- remains stable and perhaps slightly higher at 41.7 percent. Ron Paul, of Texas, has also shown steady progress over the last three months, rising steadily from 11 percent to 19.2 percent since October. Paul's support varied considerably on the six new polls, but showed no signs of fading.

Meanwhile, support for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has clicked down roughly four percentage points, from 12.5 percent to 8.2 percent on the Pollster chart since Iowa. A continuing Gingrich decline could aid Santorum, but it is hard to see him rising much beyond 20 percent if support for Romney and Paul remains stable.

That said, the WMUR/University of New Hampshire poll includes a bit of a warning: More than a third of the likely Republican primary voters (37 percent) say they are "still trying to decide" who to vote for, while 26 percent report they are leaning to a candidate and only 37 percent say they have definitely decided.

While the still-trying-to-decide number has fallen significantly, from 59 percent in November, it stands as a reminder: This is the New Hampshire primary, where the last weekend of campaigning can matter a great deal. Mitt Romney has reason to be confident, but with two major televised debates scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, surprises may remain.

'; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/06/new-hampshire-polls_n_1190950.html

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Recommended: Sea

Giant octopus of the North Pacific Image: Courtesy of Sea, by Mark Laita, Abrams, 2011

Sea
by Mark Laita. Abrams, 2011

See sea horses, stingrays, octopuses, nudibranchs and other marine creatures as you have never seen them before. Photographer Mark Laita borrowed a veritable ark of specimens to shoot in the black aquarium he built in his studio in Los Angeles. The result is a mesmerizing series of portraits of those enigmatic denizens of the deep.

The Wandering Gene and the Indian Princess
by Jeff Wheelwright. W. W. Norton, 2012

In 1999 a Hispano woman named Shonnie Medina died at the age of 28 after refusing surgery for breast cancer. Medina had been found to carry a dangerous breast cancer mutation called BRCA1 185delAG that is associated with Jewish ancestry. Journalist Jeff Wheelwright tells the story of this gene and how the Medinas?previously unaware of their background?came to inherit it.

A Universe from Nothing: Why There Is Something Rather Than Nothing
by Lawrence M. Krauss. Free Press, 2012

Theoretical physicist Lawrence M. Krauss skewers the notion that creation requires a creator. Mounting evidence from cosmology, particle theory and gravitation, he asserts, indicates that not only could our universe have arisen from nothing but that nothingness might have been required for its origin. Krauss discusses the possible implications of these findings for predicting what the future holds.

Dirty Minds: How Our Brains Influence Love, Sex and Relationships
by Kayt Sukel. Free Press, 2012

Journalist Kayt Sukel delves into the latest neurobiological research to explore what, exactly, love is and why it makes us do crazy things. This is no self-help book, however. In exploring such topics as monogamy, the parent-child bond, pheromones, and male and female responses to pornography, Sukel reveals just how complex and mysterious our brains really are.

ALSO NOTABLE

BOOKS
The Sounding of the Whale,
by D. Graham Burnett. University of Chicago Press, 2012

The Infinity Puzzle: Quantum Field Theory and the Hunt for an Orderly Universe,
by Frank Close. Basic Books, 2011

Memory: Fragments of a Modern History,
by Alison Winter. University of Chicago Press, 2011

The Life of Super-Earths: How the Hunt for Alien Worlds and Artificial Cells Will Revolutionize Life on Our Planet,
by Dimitar Sasselov. Basic Books, 2012

Evolution?s Witness: How Eyes Evolved,
by Ivan R. Schwab. Oxford University Press, 2011

Time Travel and Warp Drives,
by Allen Everett and Thomas Roman. University of Chicago Press, 2011

Deep History: The Architecture of Past and Present,
by Andrew Shryock and Daniel Lord Smail. University of California Press, 2011

Incomplete Nature: How Mind Emerged from Matter,
by Terrence W. Deacon. W. W. Norton, 2011

APPS

Swift Explorer.
NASA?s Swift mission team, 2011 (gratis).
For iPad/iPhone

Mammals of North America.
Princeton University Press, 2011
For iPhone/iPad/Android

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=133ac73ca17989473343714f86100364

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