Archive for the ‘Uncategorized’ Category

* CME files request for expedited CFTC approval
    * Nation's top grain association sees no reason for delay
    * Grain firms still worry about trading during USDA reports

    By Tom Polansek
    CHICAGO, May 17 (Reuters) - CME Group has asked U.S.
regulators for expedited approval of its revised plan to
increase grain trading hours, sending them a detailed rebuttal
to lingering industry concerns about the change.
    The massive exchange operator, scrambling to keep pace with
nearly around-the-clock trading that began on Monday at rival
IntercontinetalExchange, requested the Commodity Futures
Trading Commission allow it to increase its grain trading cycle
to 21 hours a day "as soon as possible," underlining the words
in a letter to the agency that was posted on the CFTC website on
Thursday.
    CME, owner of the Chicago Board of Trade, modified its plan
to extend trading for grain futures and options to a 21-hour
session from an originally envisioned 22 hours in response to
criticism from grain firms, confirming a Reuters report. The
markets currently trade for 17 hours.
    It hopes the revision is enough to win quick support from
the CFTC.
    A majority of the five CFTC commissioners would need to
approve CME's plan for fast-track approval, an agency spokesman
said.
    On the chance the expedited approval would not be granted,
the CME also filed a request seeking CFTC approval of the
expanded trading within a 10-business-day review period. Unless
the agency decides to extend the review, the longer hours will
take effect by June 4, according to CME.	

    LINGERING WORRIES
    The National Grain and Feed Association, the nation's
largest grain group, put its weight behind CME's expedited
request, telling the CFTC it saw "no reason to delay"
implementation of 21-hour trading.
    At the same time, the NGFA and other grain groups said they
were still worried that expanded trading hours will increase
volatility by keeping markets open when the U.S. Department of
Agriculture issues monthly crop reports that often cause sharp
swings in prices.
    CME hastily unveiled plans to expand the CBOT's two-part,
17-hour trading day early this month, seeking to defend its turf
after ICE said it would launch 22-hour electronic trading in
five major grains including corn and wheat.
    The plan caused an uproar among the CME's core agricultural
constituents, prompting calls for changes or a public-comment
period.
    The National Farmers Union attempted to put the brakes on
CME's latest plan by calling for a 30-day comment period.
    "The public, especially farmers and others with an interest
in fair and functional markets, would be well-served if the CFTC
were to allow for further dialog," Roger Johnson, president of
the union, said in a statement.
    CME said it would continue to discuss concerns about trading
during USDA reports with industry members.
    It said in the letter to CFTC that it was "fair and
reasonable" to keep CME markets open for the reports because
grains will be actively traded on other markets, an apparent
reference to ICE.
    CME also told the CFTC that "additional price discovery
during longer trading hours will allow the market to absorb
market event(s) more effectively," downplaying concerns about
increased volatility.   	

    LONG WAIT
    CME, which dominates agricultural markets, is eager to
implement the longer trading hours as it has already had to
delay the start of extended trading twice.
    CME did not submit its initial plan for 22-hour trading to
CFTC in time to meet the originally scheduled start date of May
14. On Wednesday, it withdrew its plan to start 22-hour trading
on May 21 in response to concerns from grain groups.
    The Kansas City Board of Trade also pared back a request to
increase trading hours to 21 hours a day from 22 hours,
following CME's lead. The MGEX, formerly known as the
Minneapolis Grain Exchange, is also expected to follow suit, as
both wheat exchanges trade on CME's electronic platform.
    KCBT said "the effective date of the new extended trading
hours will be coordinated with and announced by CME Group."

Ceuta and Melilla, fragments of Europe on north Africa's Mediterranean coast, came under Spanish control around 500 years ago.

Madrid says the urban enclaves are integral parts of Spain. They are surrounded by Morocco, which views the Spanish presence as anachronistic and claims sovereignty.

But improving relations were jeopardised in November 2007 by Spanish King Juan Carlos' II first visit to the territories in more than 30 years, which King Mohammed VI strongly condemned.

Spain also controls a scattering of islets along the north African coast, including uninhabited Perejil, which was at the centre of a spat in 2002 when Moroccan soldiers occupied it before being removed by the Spanish army.

More recently, differences over Ceuta and Melilla have not prevented a warming of relations between Morocco and Spain, particularly economic ones. Morocco's premier has advocated "neighbourly" talks on the issue.

With its rebuilt 15th century cathedral, shipyards and a fish-processing plant, Ceuta is viewed by Spain as the more strategically-valuable enclave. The town is a 90-minute ferry ride from mainland Spain.

Melilla, conquered in 1497, is a modern town with a distinctive old quarter.

The enclaves are surrounded by fences, intended to deter illegal immigrants. But Ceuta and Melilla are nonetheless used by many Africans as stepping-stones to Iberia. Many migrants are caught and some drown while attempting to make the sea crossing. People trafficking is common.

After a series of increasingly-desperate attempts by would-be immigrants to surmount the barriers in 2005, Spain and Morocco agreed to deploy extra troops to try to secure the borders.

Ceuta and Melilla are linked to Spain by ferry services to Malaga, Algeciras and Almeria. Borders and defence are controlled by Madrid. Tourism is an important money-earner with duty-free goods being a big draw for visitors.

Published May 17th, 2012 – 10:51 GMTPress Release

For young guests staying at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence, the excitement begins right from the moment they check in, with a welcome gift from the Hotel’s toy wagon and special kid-sized robes and slippers waiting in the room.

The city’s most child-friendly Hotel, the dedicated Kids Suite at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence is the only one of its kind in the city a fun retreat located on the Hotel’s fifth floor, filled with a range of exciting games and activities, a soft play area for younger children and kid-sized furniture to keep things cosy and comfortable.

Kids can get creative with educational arts and crafts projects, get gaming on the Wii and Playstation or pick from a wide selection of children’s books. Other exciting treats include a Back of the House Tour where children can get a sneak peek into what goes on behind the scenes in the Hotel’s kitchen and housekeeping departments, or even take part in a dedicated kid’s cooking class with the Hotel’s chef in their very own monogrammed apron!

Little ladies looking for some joint mother-daughter pampering can pick fun treatments from the Spa Kids Menu such as the Chocolate Temple or Little Cleopatra Treatment, or choose to get their nails transformed with cute bugs, flower and butterfly nail art. The extensive outdoor pool area is the perfect spot for dads to splash about with the kids while mums catch a tan.

Families holidaying with babies or toddlers in tow can look forward to travelling lighter with baby-friendly amenities such as bottle warmers, sterilizers, cribs and strollers as well as toiletries like natural soaps, baby oil, powder and bath sponges all available at the Hotel.

The Hotel’s family-friendly offering extends to mealtimes with its popular Friday Jazz Brunch at Seasons serving up a special Kid’s Buffet of delicious treats, healthy favourites, pizza making and face painting stations. Parents looking for some time out can pack the kids off to the Kids Suite to be entertained while they dine at ease.

For families looking to head outdoors, the friendly Concierge team can arrange exciting all-day itineraries to the Pyramids, offering parents plenty of ways to keep the kids busy.

“Family vacations are what childhood memories are made of and we want to make sure that every child who steps into the Hotel leaves with fond recollections,” said Randy Shimabuku, general manager, Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence.

“Holidays spent at Four Seasons Hotel Cairo at The First Residence means parents will never have to worry about keeping the kids entertained. Our Kids Suite is a unique offering in the entire city and it’s a great place for parents to leave their children to enjoy themselves while they relax. We have plenty of entertaining and educational activities, all of which are supervised by trained staff,” he added.

The Kids Suite is available to all in-house guests between the ages of 5-12 years from Saturday to Thursday: 10 am – 5 pm and on Fridays: 10 am – 8.30 pm.

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) provides the necessary infrastructure that forms the operational and transactional system of record for manufacturers of all types and sizes. With a history that spans almost three decades, ERP has truly become a mature business application. Aberdeen’s theme this year in benchmarking ERP in manufacturing is measuring business benefit and time to value.

As ERP has become more pervasive in manufacturers, there is risk in perceiving it as a necessary infrastructure and neglecting to measure the business benefits resulting from its implementation.

This fifth annual Aberdeen benchmark, based on over 445 survey respondents, explores Best-in-Class approaches to realizing the greatest business benefit possible from ERP.

This white paper looks at:

• Best-in-Class performance

• Competitive Maturity Assessment

• Required Actions

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China’s central bank cut the amount of cash that banks must hold as reserves on Saturday, freeing an estimated 400 billion yuan ($63.5 billion) for lending to head-off the risk of a sudden slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

The People’s Bank of China delivered a 50 basis point cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR), effective from May 18, the third cut in six months and one that investors had called for after data on Friday showed the economy weakening, not recovering, from its slowest quarter of growth in three years.

Industrial production weakened sharply in April and fixed asset investment – a key growth driver – hit its lowest level in nearly a decade, surprising many economists who thought Q1′s 8.1 percent annual rate of growth marked the bottom of a downswing and were expecting signs of recovery in Q2 data.

“The central bank should have cut RRR after Q1 data. It has missed the best timing,” Dong Xian’an, chief economist at Peking First Advisory in Beijing, told Reuters.

“A cut today will have a much discounted impact. So the Chinese economy will become more vulnerable to global weakness and the slowing Chinese economy will in turn have a bigger negative impact on global recovery. Uncertainties in the global and Chinese economy are rising,” he said.

The domestic production and investment data had followed hot on the heels of weaker than forecast trade data, with the annual rate of export growth around half the level expected and growth in imports grinding to a halt on a nominal basis in April, underlining China’s vulnerability to weakness in global demand for goods produced in the country’s vast factory sector.

Bank lending in April was also sharply below forecast at 681.8 billion yuan ($108.04 billion), missing the 800 billion consensus call and raising doubts about whether Beijing had policy settings slack enough to keep the economy expanding.

“It confirms our view that the economy was not able to sustain its momentum on current policy and policy needs to be loosened,” said Ken Peng, an economist with BNP Paribas.

“The fact that it waited so long meant it could have been responsible for the poor data in April. This sends a very positive signal that policymakers are accommodative.”

FURTHER LOOSENING FORECAST

The cut of RRR to 20.0 percent from 20.5 percent for big banks still has analysts forecasting another 800 billion yuan’s worth of cuts to have been earmarked for the rest of the year.

The central bank announced its first cut in RRR in three years on November 30 last year. That move took the rate down from a record 21.5 percent. The second cut in this easing cycle was delivered in February.

Lowering RRR for banks helps China offset sluggish capital inflows that have been hit by skittish investors wary of investing their funds in higher-risk emerging markets at a time of global economic uncertainty driven mainly by Europe’s festering debt crisis.

Crucially, an RRR cut would help Beijing meet its target of growing money supply by 14 percent in 2012. Data on Friday showed annual M2 money supply growth running at just 12.8 percent in April.

China’s bank lending had trumped forecasts to spike to 1.01 trillion yuan ($160 billion) in March, a sign of fresh traction in Beijing’s bid to boost credit creation to support the cooling economy.

The surge in lending was the biggest monthly extension of credit since January 2011, when new loans last topped 1 trillion yuan, holding out hope that China’s economy would not only avoid a hard landing but pick up speed again later this year.

Chinese leaders, however, are wary about inflation risks given rising global commodity prices and remain determined to cool down the property sector to ward off a speculative bubble.

The deep-pocketed government has also cut taxes for small firms, which are vital for generating economic growth and jobs, to help them cope with a credit squeeze and weaker exports.

But the bigger problem for the economy may not be the supply of credit but demand for it, given that the European Union – China’s single biggest export market – is battling recession again, consumers in the United States are still paying down debt and China’s domestic demand is looking limp.

That implies to some that policy has to become looser still.

“The problem is corporate loan demand is very weak right now, so the cut is not as good as an interest rate cut, since reducing banks reserves doesn’t change the price of loans,” said Liu Junyu, a money market analyst at China Merchants Bank in Shenzhen.

“If the economy continues to be sluggish, it is very likely that the government will choose to cut interest rates.” ($1 = 6.3106 Chinese yuan)

(Additional reporting by Lu Jianxin in Shanghai and Langi Chiang and Koh Gui Qing in Beijing; Editing by Alex Richardson and Nick Edwards)

What makes an entrepreneur? The BBC's Roman Lebed and Tom Santorelli speak to Ruslan Gritsaylo about how he set up a business taking people on paratrike tours in the skies above Kiev.

When the Soviet Union ceased to exist, he realised he could make good money by piloting flights on his own.

"My dear wife Aliona is joking with me: your hobby became a business, and then your business became a hobby. It's all about love," says Mr Gritsaylo.

When he started his business in the 1990s, there was not much competition. There was not enough information about paratrikes – how to construct them or how to fly them safely – so it was a rather dangerous business.

This changed over time as the technology improved, making flights on the micro-vehicles completely safe and civilised, according to Mr Gritsaylo.

"It still can be considered as an extreme sport, but it is more about endorphin then adrenalin," he says.

"It's more about enjoying it rather than being scared of it. The definition of paratrike is one of the safest flying machines ever created by man."

Between the lines of the law

In a country well-known for its love of red tape, securing permits to fly paratrikes proved complicated.

Mr Gritsaylo found that many laws in the aviation sphere contradicted each other, and it was very difficult to properly legalise the business for a small private company.

"There are lots of things, which make no sense.

"For example, people come and ask, show me your papers. I say, what kind of papers? and they say, well your pilot licence.

"I have six pilot licences all over the world, but I don't have Ukrainian, because there is no company legally providing official pilot licences for this kind of ultra-light flying machine," he says.

So his biggest problem became his biggest opportunity: because of imperfect legislation his aircraft does not require registration.

Otherwise, he would have had to get 11 different permits, which would have been almost impossible.

"It's a balance between 'yes' and 'no' – it's 'maybe'. And between the borders of this 'maybe', you can do everything. We are between the lines of the law."

Mr Gritsaylo carries several thousand customers every year. They stand in line to fly during weekends.

Ten minutes in the sky costs about $60 (£37) – for Ukraine, that is quite a lot of money, but he spreads his net wide to catch customers by using social media and maintaining his own website.

"I follow the rule of big figures – you make lots of calls, lots of e-mails, lots of people. Lots of money," says Mr Gritsaylo, whose phone rings almost every five minutes.

AirForia euphoria

His clients are made up of a wide range of people – bankers, office managers, artists, actors – and often people buy certificates to fly as gifts for each other.

People get their biggest kick from night-flights, otherwise known as open-space flights.

Mr Gritsaylo likes to call himself The Man who Brings Happiness. He even named his aero club AirForia, a play on euphoria.

He says that after he started taking people up into the sky he needed to diversify his business model, and now he advertises insurance companies and other companies on his parachutes, flying their banners through the skies and performing paratrike tricks during airshows.

"Take a bottle of milk. How can you earn money with a bottle of milk? Advertise it with an airplane! Where, when, with whom – these are the questions. But every question has an answer. You have to find the connection between the airplane and something you see around".

Mr Gritsaylo also purchased equipment so he could produce high-quality videos of the flights.

He sets the camera right on the nose of his aircraft and claims that he can take better pictures than helicopters can.

"Every year you must make some step forward, because there are lots of people walking behind you. And they are trying to step on your toes. If you don't go forward – they will walk on top of you," says Mr Gritsaylo, with a huge smile on his face.

The X Factor's Simon Cowell says he is "puzzled" about why BBC One's The Voice is not on the radio instead of TV.

As to the allegation that his shows were like circuses which sought to exploit vulnerable people, Cowell told Today's James Naughtie: "I think what I've learned is, there are people who like to show off who aren't very good and I don't have a problem with that.

"I think after Susan Boyle you can feel it around you on the show. Everyone is very, very, very more aware of whether this person is up for this or not. If we don't think they're tough enough they really aren't allowed to audition.

"But people do get through the net. But we don't sit there and go, 'let's try and find someone vulnerable and weak to exploit today to make fun of them.'

"You've got to also try to retain a balance and a sense of humour."

Mr Cowell, who says "I see a lot of shows trying to rip us off", was asked about his own future.

"I'll know when it's time A, for me to leave the shows or B, not to make these shows anymore, simply because people won't be interested," he said.

"I'm not going to self-destruct."

And he was bullish about the success of his programmes, which also include American Idol.

"I'd like to know what is the alternative to what we put on at the moment as an entertainment show."

But he did say that he had previously worried about the future of his shows when they had failed to find credible acts.

He said: "We had this conversation about two or three years ago where, with the exception of Leona Lewis, I was getting nervous.

"I thought, if we don't find real stars from these shows after all the razzmatazz, all the promises, all the hype and you end with somebody whose going to put out a single and then go away it's a waste of time, a waste of my time and everyone's time."

Mark Linsey, the BBC's controller of entertainment commissioning, has previously said: "I think other formats it's about the look, the shape of the person. In this show it's about whether you've got what it takes vocally."

Release Date: 04/19/2012Contact Information: David Deegan, (617) 918-1010

(Boston, Mass. – April 19, 2012) – EPA has issued a final Clean Water Act permit for the proposed Russell Biomass power plant in Russell, Mass. After a rigorous, science-based review, EPA has concluded that the final National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit for the proposed facility meets the requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act.
The facility is proposed to be built adjacent to the Westfield River, and to withdraw water from and discharge water back into the Westfield River.  The final permit contains stringent protections including limiting the facility’s discharge of heat and other effluents to the water, and monitoring requirements to ensure the protection of aquatic organisms and habitat quality in the river. 
The permit also ensures that the entrainment and impingement of fish and other river organisms is minimized with the requirement to use closed cycle cooling towers, which was determined to be the best technology available for controlling the adverse effects of cooling water withdrawal at Russell Biomass.
The permit was first proposed in 2009 and underwent a formal public review and comment period.  Following EPA’s careful review of comments submitted on the proposal, EPA revised and strengthened various protections for the river, including: imposing monthly monitoring of aluminum levels; added an “average monthly rise” phosphorus limit, which allows no detectable difference between the intake and discharge mass of phosphorus; and quarterly turbidity monitoring requirements for the stormwater outfall locations as well as a location upstream.
The permit becomes effective on July 1, 2012.  If information becomes available to EPA which indicates that new or more stringent permit limits are needed to meet water quality standards, the permit may be modified.
More information:  The final Russell Biomass plant NPDES permit and other documents (http://www.epa.gov/region1/npdes/permits/2012/finalma0040371permit.pdf
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Cutting air pollution has an instant impact on heart health, experts believe, after reviewing studies of the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

China managed to clean up its air that summer by closing factories and allowing cars on the roads only every other day.

There were concerns at the time that air quality could prove hazardous to the health of athletes and spectators.

The team at the University of Southern California took blood samples from the healthy volunteers both before and after the Games – when pollution levels were high – as well as during the Games, when the levels were much lower. This was to see if changing levels of air pollution had any effect on heart risk.

Specifically, they measured blood pressure and looked for blood markers linked to clotting and inflammation – known risk factors for heart disease.

They saw big improvements in these measures when the pollution levels went down.

Writing in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study' s lead author, Prof Junfeng Zhang, said: "We believe this is the first major study to clearly demonstrate that changes in air pollution exposure affect cardiovascular disease mechanisms in healthy young people."

Caroline Dilworth, from the National Institute of Environmental Health Science (NIEHS), which provided funding for the study, said: "When air pollution levels are lowered, health benefits can be immediate."

But the researchers stress that their work could not look at long-term consequences, such as actual heart attack or stroke risk.

Amy Thompson of the British Heart Foundation said more research was needed.

"This small study found that exposure to higher levels of air pollution made the blood more likely to clot. For someone who already has heart disease, this could possibly trigger a heart attack.

"If you have heart disease, try to avoid spending long periods in heavily polluted areas where possible. If you have any concerns about your condition, you should speak to your GP."

The Grand Duchy of Luxembourg – a small country landlocked by Belgium, France and Germany – is a prominent financial centre.

With roots stretching back to the 10th century, Luxembourg's history is closely intertwined with that of its more powerful neighbours, especially Germany.

Many of its inhabitants are trilingual in French, German and Luxembourgish – a dialect of German.

Despite declaring its neutrality, Luxembourg was occupied by Germany during both World Wars. Attempts to escape German influence initially led to an economic union with Belgium in 1921.

After renewed occupation in World War II, Luxembourg abandoned its neutrality and became a front-rank enthusiast for international co-operation.

Luxembourg became a founder member of a customs union with Belgium and the Netherlands in 1948, and of the European Economic Community, a forerunner of the European Union, in 1957. Around one-third of Luxembourg's population are foreigners.

Luxembourg's prosperity was formerly based on steel manufacturing. With the decline of that industry, Luxembourg diversified and is now best known for its status as Europe's most powerful investment management centre.

But the country's strict laws on banking secrecy produced a system that was open to exploitation for the purposes of tax evasion and fraud.

Concern over Luxembourg's reputation as a tax haven – especially in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis – prompted the G20 group of countries to add it to a "grey list" of nations with questionable banking arrangements in April 2009.

Luxembourg responded by taking steps to improve the transparency of its financial arrangements. By July 2009 it had signed agreements on the exchange of tax information with a dozen countries, and was commended by the OECD for its prompt efforts to implement the internationally agreed standard.

Luxembourg's politics are characterised by stability and long-serving administrations.

This tranquillity was interrupted in 2008, when Grand Duke Henri said his conscience would not allow him to sign into law a bill approving euthanasia.

The crisis was resolved by a constitutional reform which removed the need for laws to be approved by the monarch, reducing the post to a largely ceremonial role.