S&P Japan unit rapped over CDO ratings mistakes

TOKYO (Reuters) - The Japanese unit of Standard & Poor's Ratings Services was reprimanded by the financial regulator on Friday for mistakes in setting and publishing credit ratings on complex financial derivatives.

Japan's Financial Services Agency ordered Standard & Poor's Ratings Japan K.K. to improve its operations after finding it had failed to account for losses on underlying assets referenced in so-called synthetic collateralized debt obligations (CDO).

The FSA said S&P also published press releases with incorrect information on ratings, including one in which it mistakenly assigned to one of the companies under its coverage the short-term rating of that company's affiliate.

Standard & Poor's Ratings Japan said in a statement it has already prepared preventive measures to strengthen its compliance.

"We take this matter very seriously and sincerely apologize to clients and market participants for the issues that led to the recommendation and order," S&P Japan said.

Synthetic CDOs are complex derivatives composed of a portfolio of credit default swaps and have been blamed for exacerbating the 2008 global financial crisis.

(Reporting by Noriyuki Hirata and Chikafumi Hodo; Writing by Nathan Layne; Editing by Michael Watson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/p-japan-unit-rapped-over-cdo-ratings-mistakes-103011991--sector.html

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HBT: Cubs would eat $26M on Soriano's contract

The Cubs ate a lot of Carlos Zambrano?s contract when he went to the Marlins just to be rid of him and they are willing to do the same thing with Alfonso Soriano, reports Jon Heyman: specifically, $26 million of the $36 million Soriano is owed over the next two seasons.

The catch: you gotta give the Cubs an actual prospect.

Which might be tempting for a lot of teams, depending on how good the prospect is. ?Soriano hit .262/.322/.499 with 32 home runs and 108 RBI in 151 games this past season for Chicago. And while he?s not likely to repeat those numbers again in 2013, some power and durability in left field or at DH for $5 million a year is quite a bargain these days.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/13/the-cubs-would-eat-26-million-of-the-36-million-owed-alfonso-soriano/related/

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Last.fm Will Turn Down The Volume On Global Radio Services In January, Take Others Behind Paywall

Image1 for post Layoffs At Last.FM Confirmed. Where Else Are Heads Rolling At CBS?Last.fm, an early mover in the streaming music business that has now become a hot commodity with the rise of Spotify, is scaling back some of its operations, and putting others behind a paywall, in a bid to cut costs and make more money out of its existing business, the company has announced.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/fvI408DFBJM/

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Why Susan Rice dropped her bid to become secretary of state

One of the president's closest advisors backs down in the face of what many have described as a GOP witch hunt

On Thursday, Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, formally withdrew her name from consideration to succeed Hillary Clinton as secretary of state, caving in to unremitting Republican criticism over her response to the September terrorist attack in Benghazi, Libya. "If nominated, I am now convinced that the confirmation process would be lengthy, disruptive, and costly ? to you and to our most pressing national and international priorities," Rice said in a letter to President Obama. Obama accepted her withdrawal, saying, "While I deeply regret the unfair and misleading attacks on Susan Rice in recent weeks, her decision demonstrates the strength of her character, and an admirable commitment to rise above the politics of the moment to put our national interests first."

The controversy centers over Rice's claim that the Benghazi attack had stemmed from a spontaneous riot against an anti-Muslim video. The White House later retracted that statement, admitting that there had been no riot, and ever since, Republicans ?have suggested that Rice was part of some sort of elaborate cover-up. All available evidence shows that Rice was merely repeating erroneous talking points given to her by intelligence agencies, but that has hardly stopped the GOP from virtually storming the White House with pitchforks and torches. Democrats have accused Republicans ? particularly Sen. John McCain, who has led the charge against Rice ??of conjuring a conspiracy theory to weaken Obama.

As many people have?noted, there are?plenty of good reasons to oppose Rice's nomination as secretary of state. However, making a mistake, which was fully and openly retracted days later, doesn't seem to be one of them. As Ben Smith at BuzzFeed points out, Rice is "hardly the first official to pass on bad intelligence? [Condoleezza Rice] warned, inaccurately, of a nuclear-armed Iraq when the stakes were far higher."

As Rice writes in her letter, a Senate confirmation battle in January could have gotten quite ugly, and it's easy to see why the Obama administration would want to avoid that. Still, the president has been boasting a confident swagger during the fiscal cliff debate, and it's somewhat surprising to see his team go weak in the knees over Rice. Administration officials obviously didn't want to spend even more political capital defending her, but liberals will be disheartened to see McCain get away with scuttling Rice's nomination so easily. And Republicans may feel emboldened to attack future candidates who must go through the Senate confirmation process, such as Supreme Court justices.

Rice's withdrawal came just a few hours after Bloomberg reported that former Sen. Chuck Hagel, the Republican from Nebraska, was being considered for the secretary of defense position. Previous reports had claimed that Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) was being considered for either secretary of state or secretary of defense, which suggests he may now be Obama's top choice to become secretary of state ? as well as the greatest beneficiary of McCain's crusade.?

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/why-susan-rice-dropped-her-bid-become-secretary-170800301.html

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Building Your Business 14th March 2012 It's common knowledge ...

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e.? ? Gail Devers I was talking to someone the other da? Read > Self-Improvement What Is Holding You Back? 21st March 2012 ?I don?t think in terms of obstacles. The biggest obstacle is always myself.? -Steve Earle I just taught a 5 week workshop on Live on Purpose and what seemed to come up most often are the roadblocks that keep people stuck and hold them back from living.??????.. Read > Self-Improvement Is The Law of Attraction Real? 19th March 2012 ?A person is what he or she thinks about all day long.? -Ralph Waldo Emerson I was recently asked what I thought about the Law of Attraction, and I said, ?Here?s what I think about it, I wrote a book about it?! Some people may have never heard of it, s? Read > Self-Improvement Are You Honest With Yourself? 19th March 2012 Until you?re completely honest with yourself you will live in self-deceit and that is nowhere you want to be. There is a reason there is the saying: The truth will set you free! ?Every lie has a consequence?you cannot escape that.? ? Read > Self-Improvement When Will You Be Happy? 21st February 2012 ?It isn?t what you have, or who you are, or where you are, or what you are doing that makes you happy or unhappy. It is what you think about.? -Dale Carnegie Okay my friends listen up. I have been talking to a lot of people lately who are not happy and? Read > Self-Improvement Pay Attention 21st February 2012 ?The key to success is to focus our conscious mind on things we desire not things we fear.? -Brian Tracy Pay attention to what you pay attention to. Most people aren?t aware of what they are focused on because they are sleep walking through life so to ? Read > Self-Improvement When Is Enough, Enough? 20th February 2012 ?When it?s time for me to walk away from something, I walk away from it. My mind, my body, my conscience tell me that enough is enough.? -Jerry West When thinking about when is enough,

enough- you can apply the question to many areas of your life. ? Read > Recreation-and-Sports Yacht Insurance ? Seven Key Points to Getting The Right Policy 09th July 2012 If your yacht is over 26 feet long then it is a requirement for you to have a yacht insurance policy in force. The proper definition of insurance for yachts under 26 feet is ?boat insurance?. This is to differentiate the insurance for larger yachts which ? Read > E-Marketing The Dynamics? Of Self Publishing ? Part Three 27th March 2012 If you have read Parts One and Two you will know that we looked at an overview of the dynamics of self publishing and split it up into three steps? * Writing the manuscript?s content * Converting the finished publication for printing and distributio? Read > E-Marketing How To Become A Web Traffic Generator 26th http://www.monclerdowns2013-jp.com/ March 2012 You want visitors to your website. So you must become an effective web traffic generator. Web traffic comes to your website whenever someone clicks on a link to your website or types in the URL directly. Typing the direct URL is most likely the result ? Read > E-Marketing Constructing Affiliate Programs That Pay 19th March 2012 As an affiliate marketer you will be seeking to make money on the Internet and a great way to do this is by way of building an affiliate program that pays. Some affiliates look for a ?magic formula? and the best affiliate program that will almost do it al? Read > E-Marketing Avoiding The Three Top Affiliate Marketer?s Mistakes 19th March 2012 One of the best ways to start your online business is with affiliate marketing. It is the most straightforward method of earning money on-line. Everyone has the chance to earn money on-line using affiliate marketing. Why so? Someone else has taken the ? Read > E-Marketing The Dynamics Of Self Publishing ? Part One 14th March 2012 Many writers dream of being able to ?speak? directly to their readers without the interference or cost of editors and publishers. ?Writing without restrictions? is a great concept for an author, most think it is very liberating and it can be a refreshing ? Read > E-Marketing An Affiliate Marketer?s Day

- Building Your Business 14th March 2012 It?s common knowledge that there is no such thing as a typical day. However, it is still a viable thing to do to look at what we are doing and what we should be doing to reach our goals. So let?s think of our affiliate marketer?s day. As an Internet en? Read > Health-and-Fitness How To Cure Piles 06th March 2012 Want to know how to cure a hemorrhoid or piles? This article is here to help you. When you suffer from hemorrhoids you know exactly how it interferes with your daily routine, how the pain is so distracting. Well, you have found some great help as we look ? Read > Health-and-Fitness How To Treat Piles Without Medication 21st February 2012 When treating piles or hemorrhoids without medication the best solution is to use the same methods that you ?????? ?? should use to prevent any recurrence. Fantastic news ? two great benefits from one solution, . It is encouraging to note that the treatment is n? Read > Recreation-and-Sports Learn To Draw Cartoons Of Children 09th June 2011 A big advantage of drawing cartoon style pictures of children is that, once you have developed your skill, they are quick to draw. You only need a relatively small number of drawn lines to show essence of a child compared to a full portrait. Even if yo? Read > Recreation-and-Sports Drawing Cartoons Of Children ? Develop Your Style 20th April 2011 So you?ve started out learning or teaching yourself how to draw cartoons and want to draw cartoons of those little critters. You?d like to capture those funny stances that kids take up ? like when staring into a jam jar containing some tiny grubs they hav? Read > Business How To Lose Control Of Your Brand To Your Customers 13th April 2011 Imagine this: a team of men yqh2hqy with sledge hammers start deliberately smashing an expensive car to pieces, in front of admiring spectators. What?s going on? Now read on? Customers are finding new
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Source: http://www.coloradoevo.com/wordpress/building-your-business-14th-march-2012-its-common-knowledge/

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Was life inevitable? New paper pieces together metabolism's beginnings

Dec. 12, 2012 ? Describing how living organisms emerged from Earth's abiotic chemistry has remained a conundrum for scientists, in part because any credible explanation for such a complex process must draw from fields spanning the reaches of science.

A new synthesis by two Santa Fe Institute researchers offers a coherent picture of how metabolism, and thus all life, arose. The study, published December 12, 2012, in the journal Physical Biology, offers new insights into how the complex chemistry of metabolism cobbled itself together, the likelihood of life emerging and evolving as it did on Earth, and the chances of finding life elsewhere.

"We're trying to bring knowledge across disciplines into a unified whole that fits the essentials of metabolism development," says co-author Eric Smith, a Santa Fe Institute External Professor.

Creating life from scratch requires two abilities: fixing carbon and making more of yourself. The first, essentially hitching carbon atoms together to make living matter, is a remarkably difficult feat. Carbon dioxide (CO2), of which Earth has plenty, is a stable molecule; the bonds are tough to break, and a chemical system can only turn carbon into biologically useful compounds by way of some wildly unstable in-between stages.

As hard as it is to do, fixing carbon is necessary for life. A carbon molecule's ability to bond stably with up to four atoms makes it phenomenally versatile, and its abundance makes it suitable as a backbone for trillions of compounds. Once an organized chemical system can harness and manipulate carbon, it can expand and innovate in countless ways.

In other words, carbon fixation is the centerpiece of metabolism -- the basic process by which cells take in chemicals from their environments and build them into products they need to live. It's also the link between the geochemistry of Earth and the biochemistry of life.

In a paper earlier this year, Smith and Santa Fe Institute Omidyar Fellow Rogier Braakman mapped the most primitive forms of carbon fixation onto major, early branching points in the tree of life (PLoS Computational Biology, April 18, 2012). Now, the two researchers have drawn from geochemistry, biochemistry, evolution, and ecology to detail the likeliest means by which molecules lurched their way from rocks to cells.

Their 62-page "Logic of Metabolism" paper presents a new, coherent picture of how this complex system fits together.

What started as wonky geochemical mechanisms were sequentially replaced and fortified by biological ones, the authors believe. "Think of life like an onion emerging in layers, where each layer functions as a feedback mechanism that stabilizes and improves the ability to fix carbon," says Braakman.

Carbon fixing and other chemical sub-processes that together constitute metabolism each comprise dozens of steps; some are quick and easy turnkey reactions with simple molecules, others require highly specific chemical helpers, or catalysts.

The parts of metabolism that guide carbon fixation through its unstable intermediate stages fall into the latter category, requiring help. But these seemingly unlikely reactions are remarkably consistent across all living systems. In fact, says Braakman, their ubiquity and the difficulty with which they are forged make them the chemical constraints within which all living systems operate -- in a sense, the scaffolding for the tree of life.

It's these dependable regularities of hierarchy and modularity, amid the panoply of reactions comprising metabolism, that stabilize the system and enable its complexity.

Braakman and Smith describe specific features of metabolism and sub-divide helper metabolites by their functions. For example, vitamin B9, a complex molecule in the 'cofactor' class, facilitates the (otherwise unstable) incorporation of one-carbon compounds into metabolism.

In mapping the chemical pathways to life's emergence, the researchers touch on a more existential question: How likely was it for life to have developed at all? Extraordinarily so, says Braakman. "Metabolism appears to be an 'attractor state' within organic chemistry, where it was likely to be selected regardless of earlier stages of chemical evolution" in the chaotic, high-energy conditions of prebiotic Earth, he says.

Can it happen elsewhere? Possibly, even probably, he says. Rocky planets usually have cores chemically similar to ours, so if a planet is volcanically (and perhaps tectonically) active and has an ocean, it will probably have hydrothermal vents that spew chemicals, creating the potential conditions for life, Braakman says. In fact, the physics of star and planet formation make the chances of such conditions pretty reasonable.

Smith cautions, however, that we still have much to learn about the chemical and physical conditions that might lead to life-like organization, but he hopes their paper will at least "lead to experimental questions that focus more directly on the key functions that link metabolism to geochemistry."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Santa Fe Institute.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal References:

  1. Rogier Braakman, Eric Smith. The compositional and evolutionary logic of metabolism. Physical Biology, 2013; 10 (1): 011001 DOI: 10.1088/1478-3975/10/1/011001
  2. Rogier Braakman, Eric Smith. The Emergence and Early Evolution of Biological Carbon-Fixation. PLoS Computational Biology, 2012; 8 (4): e1002455 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1002455

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/T2qcl1klVX4/121212130709.htm

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home video surveillance systems : Successful Methods for The ...

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As well as checked out a home simply to think about the amount of bathrooms it could have if that could be right for you? Just about the most important things in regards to a household are what number of bathrooms it?s got. Renovating to incorporate a few spare bathrooms can greatly increase your home?s value.

When there is a home improvement job you?ll need done quickly, you will have to pay more because of it. Once you speak to your contractor, or whomever you?ve got hired for the job, you will likely get an eager response from their store about doing your job inside a shorter time frame. Just remember that more work in a quicker fashion usually means that higher prices. You will have to pay them back more.

Do secure all your doors and windows when you leave for work, a night time out or on a break. Wherever you have, even when it a vacation to the supermarket measuring only a few minutes away, check to ensure that all the doors and windows in your home feel secure prior to going the premises. Security alarms and surveillance equipment are capable of doing a great deal nevertheless, you must be smart about things also home surveillance system!

If you are searching to lessen you energy costs, you could make positive changes to lighting system to function on motion sensors. You?ll still be able to turn the light on, and several models allow you to select different sensitivity thresholds.

There are several changes you can make to your dwelling plus they don?t need to be expensive. You can produce results you are able to are proud of if you rely on preferences and acquire creative. Bare this information if you are intending to accomplish some work around the house.

Source: http://az88cocktails.com/home-video-surveillance-systems-successful-methods-for-the-following-do-it-yourself/

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In Afghanistan, a girl's killing stands out ? for police response

Police have arrested suspects in the recent beheading of a girl, but a new report released today by the UN finds that violent acts against women remain under reported and often ignored.

By Scott Peterson,?Staff writer / December 11, 2012

Afghan father Mohamad Rahim and his son Mohamad Noor cry while holding the sandals of their 14-year-old daughter/sister Geysina, who was beheaded Nov. 26 by a neighbor in a dispute over a rejected marriage proposal in Kunduz, northern Afghanistan, on December 6. Violence against women and girls continues in Afghanistan, despite a 2009 law criminalizing abuse.

Scott Peterson/The Christian Science Monitor/Getty Images

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The poor Afghan family never took a photograph of their 14-year-old daughter, Geysina, before her life was cut short.

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All the mementos of their devoted daughter fit in a single sack, carried from their village in northern Afghanistan ? the totems of the latest grisly episode in a surge of killings of young women and girls in Kunduz Province.?There's a pair of worn sandals repaired with loops of thick thread, which bring tears to the eyes of Geysina's father when he holds them.?And there is a ring made of cheap metal ? no more than costume jewelry for children ? inset with a small oval of lime-green plastic.

Geysina was wearing the ring the morning in late November when she was beheaded 150 yards from home while fetching water.

"She was too young for gold," explains Geysina's father Mohamad Rahim, whose threadbare sleeves and calloused hands attest to a life spent farming. He tips his head and grey silk turban at the memories of Geysina, one of nine children whose walk, smile, and laugh set her apart.?"We were all lying on the ground, crying and screaming ? there is nothing like this [killing of innocents] in Islam."?

Her family and local police blame a neighbor, a butcher living next door, who they say threatened Geysina's life repeatedly for not accepting several proposals for marriage to the butcher's brother ? the latest rejection made just the night before the killing.

Geysina lived and died in a hard country for women, a point highlighted again by a United Nations report released today. Despite a landmark 2009 law called the "Elimination of Violence Against Women," crimes against women remain under reported and largely not investigated.?

The reasons, the report states, include??cultural restraints, social norms and taboos, customary practices and religious beliefs, discrimination against women that leads to wider acceptance of violence against them ? and, at times threat to life.?

In 16 provinces, the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) noted the discrepancy between the "very low" figure of 470 officially reported incidents of violence in the past year and the 4,010 recorded by the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission.

UNAMA's human rights director, Georgette Gagnon, called on Afghan authorities to "take further steps to ensure that police and prosecutors register and investigate all reports of violence against women."

Arrests in Geysina's case

In Geysina's case, the police have taken some action.?

Police say the butcher, Mohamad Sadiq, and a relative and suspected accomplice, are now behind bars. They deny the murder, but were caught fleeing the scene, says Kunduz police spokesman?Said Sarwar Husaini. Evidence includes bloody clothes in their possession, and the motive was well-known locally to all, due to a string of threats.

"I am sure the court will punish them," says Mr. Husaini, noting likely sentences of 20 years or life in prison. Such sentences are an increasingly common result, according to the UNAMA report. Of the 470 referred to a judicial process, some 163 saw indictments filed and 100 of those ended in convictions using the 2009 law.

"Women are always the victims, so we pursue these cases very seriously," says Husaini. "Women have a weak status in society, so we are very careful about women's cases and investigate deeply because they can't protect themselves."

Violence spikes in Kunduz

But violence against women is not showing signs of abating in Afghanistan.?The acting head of women?s affairs in Laghman Province in northeast Afghanistan, Najia Sediqi, was assassinated yesterday. Her predecessor was killed last July for defending a girl who married for love, instead of an arranged marriage to an older man.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/iiBy2_MoWOw/In-Afghanistan-a-girl-s-killing-stands-out-for-police-response

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Egypt army given temporary power to arrest civilians

CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's Islamist president has given the army temporary power to arrest civilians during a constitutional referendum he is determined to push through despite the risk of bloodshed between his supporters and opponents accusing him of a power grab.

Seven people were killed and hundreds wounded last week in clashes between the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood and their critics besieging Mohamed Mursi's graffiti-daubed presidential palace. Both sides plan mass rallies on Tuesday.

The elite Republican Guard has yet to use force to keep protesters away from the palace, which it ringed with tanks, barbed wire and concrete barricades after last week's violence.

Mursi, bruised by calls for his downfall, has rescinded a November 22 decree giving him wide powers but is going ahead with a referendum on Saturday on a constitution seen by his supporters as a triumph for democracy and by many liberals as a betrayal.

A decree issued by Mursi late on Sunday gives the armed forces the power to arrest civilians and refer them to prosecutors until the announcement of the results of the referendum, which the protesters want cancelled.

Despite its limited nature, the edict will revive memories of Hosni Mubarak's emergency law, also introduced as a temporary expedient, under which military or state security courts tried thousands of political dissidents and Islamist militants.

But a military source stressed that the measure introduced by a civilian government would have a short shelf-life.

"The latest law giving the armed forces the right to arrest anyone involved in illegal actions such as burning buildings or damaging public sites is to ensure security during the referendum only," the military source said.

Presidential spokesman Yasser Ali said the committee overseeing the vote had requested the army's assistance.

"The armed forces will work within a legal framework to secure the referendum and will return (to barracks) as soon as the referendum is over," Ali said.

Protests and violence have racked Egypt since Mursi decreed himself extraordinary powers he said were needed to speed up a troubled transition since Mubarak's fall 22 months ago.

The Muslim Brotherhood has voiced anger at the Interior Ministry's failure to prevent protesters setting fire to its headquarters in Cairo and 28 of its offices elsewhere.

Critics say the draft law puts Egypt in a religious straitjacket. Whatever the outcome of the referendum, the crisis has polarized the country and presages more instability at a time when Mursi is trying to steady a fragile economy.

On Monday, he suspended planned tax increases only hours after the measures had been formally decreed, casting doubts on the government's ability to push through tough economic reforms that form part of a proposed $4.8 billion IMF loan agreement.

"VIOLENT CONFRONTATION"

Rejecting the referendum plan, opposition groups have called for mass protests on Tuesday, saying Mursi's eagerness to push the constitution through could lead to "violent confrontation".

Islamists have urged their followers to turn out "in millions" the same day in a show of support for the president and for a referendum they feel sure of winning with their loyal base and perhaps with the votes of Egyptians weary of turmoil.

The opposition National Salvation Front, led by liberals such as Mohamed ElBaradei and Amr Moussa, as well as leftist firebrand Hamdeen Sabahy, has yet to call directly for a boycott of the referendum or to urge their supporters to vote "no".

Instead it is contesting the legitimacy of the vote and of the whole process by which the constitution was drafted in an Islamist-led assembly from which their representatives withdrew.

The opposition says the document fails to embrace the diversity of 83 million Egyptians, a tenth of whom are Christians, and invites Muslim clerics to influence lawmaking.

But debate over the details has largely given way to noisy street protests and megaphone politics, keeping Egypt off balance and ill-equipped to deal with a looming economic crisis.

"Inevitability of referendum deepens divisions," was the headline in Al-Gomhuriya newspaper on Monday. Al Ahram daily wrote: "Political forces split over referendum and new decree."

Mursi issued another decree on Saturday to supersede his November 22 measure putting his own decisions beyond legal challenge until a new constitution and parliament are in place.

While he gave up extra powers as a sop to his opponents, the decisions already taken under them, such as the dismissal of a prosecutor-general appointed by Mubarak, remain intact.

"UNWELCOME" CHOICE

Lamia Kamel, a spokeswoman for former Arab League chief Moussa, said the opposition factions were still discussing whether to boycott the referendum or call for a "no" vote.

"Both paths are unwelcome because they really don't want the referendum at all," she said, but predicted a clearer opposition line if the plebiscite went ahead as planned.

A spokeswoman for ElBaradei, former head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, said: "We do not acknowledge the referendum. The aim is to change the decision and postpone it."

Mahmoud Ghozlan, the Muslim Brotherhood's spokesman, said the opposition could stage protests, but should keep the peace.

"They are free to boycott, participate or say no, they can do what they want. The important thing is that it remains in a peaceful context to preserve the country's safety and security."

The army stepped into the conflict on Saturday, telling all sides to resolve their disputes via dialogue and warning that it would not allow Egypt to enter a "dark tunnel".

A military source said the declaration read on state media did not herald a move by the army to retake control of Egypt, which it relinquished in June after managing the transition from Mubarak's 30 years of military-backed one-man rule.

The draft constitution sets up a national defense council, in which generals will form a majority, and gives civilians some scrutiny over the army - although not enough for critics.

In August Mursi stripped the generals of sweeping powers they had grabbed when he was elected two months earlier, but has since repeatedly paid tribute to the military in public.

So far the army and police have taken a relatively passive role in the protests roiling the most populous Arab nation.

(Additional reporting by Edmund Blair and Yasmine Saleh; editing by Philippa Fletcher)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/egypts-mursi-gives-troops-security-role-referendum-160712567.html

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Goldman lawyer says bank not liable for Dragon founders' losses

BOSTON (Reuters) - A Goldman Sachs Group Inc attorney argued on Tuesday that the bank cannot be liable for the losses of a husband and wife pair who sold their company to a Belgian software firm that collapsed in an accounting fraud, since Goldman had not been hired to seek out a fraud.

The Wall Street giant is facing off in U.S. District Court in Boston against the founders of speech-recognition software company Dragon Systems, who contend they lost their life's work and about $600 million after selling their company to Lernout & Hauspie in an all-stock deal months before L&H collapsed.

"There is no question that Dragon and its stockholders were also defrauded," said John Donovan, an attorney with Boston law firm Ropes & Gray, in his opening remarks defending Goldman in the civil suit. "Goldman's job was not to detect fraud. When you hire a banker, you ask it to do certain things but delving into the books, doing accounting and finding fraud is not one of them."

A day earlier, the attorney for Janet and James Baker, who founded Dragon in 1982 in their suburban Boston home with $30,000, had argued that the couple relied on Goldman's advice in agreeing to sell their firm.

The Bakers owned 51 percent of the company but only were able to sell a few million dollars worth of L&H stock before the company collapsed in an accounting fraud. The Bakers and two other early Dragon employees are seeking several hundred million dollars in damages.

Goldman's reputation has been tarnished in recent years amid allegations that it has treated clients shabbily. Earlier this year one executive leaving the bank published a resignation letter calling the bank a "toxic" place where managing directors referred to their clients as "muppets."

In the months leading up to Dragon's decision to sell to L&H, Dragon management and owners were under intense financial pressure, facing falling sales and a cash crunch, Donovan said.

He said that Goldman had urged Dragon's board to slow the pace of negotiations with L&H and to commission more active accounting reviews of the buyer's results. Instead, Dragon management pushed aggressively ahead, with Janet Baker and a counterpart at their suitor writing out a deal on a piece of paper that changed L&H's offer from cash and stock to all stock, Donovan said.

They pushed ahead with the deal because after a failed 1999 initial public offering, Dragon needed cash to continue, Donovan argued.

"If Goldman had told them to walk away, as they now say Goldman should have, they would have been left with tears in their eyes," he said.

Goldman denied civil claims that include gross negligence and breach of fiduciary duty. The jury trial is expected to last two months.

The Dragon software is now owned by Nuance Communications Inc .

(Reporting by Scott Malone; Editing by Tim Dobbyn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/goldman-lawyer-says-bank-not-liable-dragon-founders-163839197--sector.html

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