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Gold run set for breather as rate hikes eyed

While fears over the stability of paper currencies and inflation may keep gold high, it will struggle to maintain the soaring investment flows that took it to an all-time peak of $1,226.10 an ounce in December, analysts say.

In the short term, gold's underlying fundamentals look fragile as jewelry demand languishes and miners lift supply. Spot prices had retreated from their December highs to around $1,076.50 an ounce by early afternoon on Wednesday.

"We see a number of headwinds for investors in gold, most notably potential increases in rates," said RBS Global Banking & Markets analyst Daniel Major. "The opportunity cost of investing in commodities is going to be important."

Gold sinks as Greece, Bernanke lift dollar

Gold futures sank on Wednesday as the dollar regained some safe-haven strength as European lawmakers delayed a decision to address Greek's debt problems.

Gold for April delivery fell $2.70, or 0.3%, at $1,074.50 an ounce in electronic trade in New York.

On Tuesday, gold rallied as talk of a German plan to rescue Greece led stocks to soar, removing safe-haven demand for the dollar and lifting commodities.

But the dollar gained some strength early Tuesday. The dollar index (INDEX:DXY) , which tracks the performance of the greenback against a basket of currencies, rose to 80.031 from 79.768 late in the prior session.

A meeting between the German finance minister, Wolfgang Schaeuble, and law makers, ended on Wednesday without any concrete package of Greek aid announced. Expectations remain for a package to be announced on Thursday.

Also helping lift the dollar, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said in written testimony that the Fed may raise the discount rate. While Bernanke clearly explained this would not be a monetary tightening, the speech still confirmed the Fed's plans to unwind its extraordinary liquidity-boosting measures.

News Hub: Fed to Tighten Credit, Raise Rates

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke outlines a plan to pull back policies that have been propping up the economy. Dow Jones Newswires' Neal Lipschutz and WSJ's Sudeep Reddy join Kelsey Hubbard in the News Hub with more.

"The Fed is carefully laying the ground work to begin tightening policy, but is not expected to act for quite a while longer," said Michael Gregory, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, in note.

The dollar also advanced even after the government reported the U.S. trade deficit widened to $40.2 billion in December from $36.4 billion the month before.

A weaker dollar tends to boost gold and metals as it makes them cheaper for holders of other currencies. Gold also loses its appeal as a hedge against weaker currencies.

For gold, the "technical situation remains bearish after its recent break down below previous support $1,075 an ounce," analysts at GoldCore wrote in a note. "However, there would appear to be strong support at the $1,000 to $1,030-ounce price level which was the previous strong resistance."

Among other metals Wednesday, copper for March fell 2 cents, or 0.6%, to $2.97 a pound. Silver for March delivery dropped 18 cents, or 1.2%, to $15.26 an ounce.

March palladium dropped $4.90, or 1.2%, to $411.70 an ounce, while platinum for April gained $5.30, or 0.4%, to $1,507.70 an ounce.

OPEC Worries U.S. Economic Uncertainty Will Hurt Oil Demand

Uncertainty about the pace of the U.S. recovery is putting oil-demand growth at risk for the world's largest crude consumer and is weighing on global consumption, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries said Wednesday in its monthly report.

The warning, adding to OPEC's concerns about European countries such as Greece, suggests the group is likely to stick to its existing production quotas when it meets March 17 in Vienna.

"The 1% forecast growth in U.S. oil demand this year is facing a set of obstacles that could prevent it from materializing," the report said. "If this happens, then the U.S. oil demand might come flat if not negative for the total year," OPEC added. The U.S., which uses close to a quarter of the crude oil consumed worldwide each day, "is a key country to world oil-demand changes," the report said.

The organization also warned of "heightened fiscal uncertainties in the euro zone," with "the mounting public debt of some of its member countries, particularly Greece." Greece's budget deficit and debt load have put its sovereign bonds at risk of default, triggering credit-market jitters world-wide.

Fellow European Union partners are now considering a bailout. In the major industrialized countries, "the recovery is far from self-sustaining and remains largely dependent on continued government support," OPEC said. The organization, which has come under pressure in the past to increase production, may have a vested interest to paint a bleaker picture than consumer nations.

But its concerns follow last week's data from the U.S. Department of Energy that unexpectedly showed a weekly buildup in crude inventories as refineries continue to struggle with not enough demand. Despite its concerns, OPEC said Wednesday it was keeping its world oil-demand forecast unchanged for 2010, hoping that rising Chinese consumption will make up for any weakness in Western economies.

Global demand is still expected to average 85.1 million barrels a day this year, growing by 0.81 million barrels a day from last year. That would suggest a downgrade in demand growth of 10,000 barrels a day. In its previous report, OPEC estimated demand growth at 0.82 million barrels a day. But the expected rise in global consumption comes as OPEC members may already be outpacing demand growth.

While OPEC sees demand for its own oil at 28.8 million barrels a day on average this year, the group's production rose to 29.2 million barrels a day in January, up 63,200 barrels a day. The statistics, based on secondary sources, show compliance with production cuts agreed in 2008 has now fallen to 53.5% from 80% in March last year.

Higher production in Angola and Venezuela more than offset a drop in Nigeria's output, which fell by 124,000 barrels a day in January. There, militants in the Niger Delta restarted attacks on oil installations last month, shutting down some production for Royal Dutch Shell PLC and Chevron Corp.

Taiwan Will Allow LCD, Chip Investments in China

Taiwan will end a ban on domestic companies building liquid-crystal-display factories in China and allow chipmakers to invest in their Chinese peers, as long as they spend more locally and keep their best technology at home.

Flat-panel and chip makers will be allowed to invest in manufacturing facilities in China provided they already use more-advanced technology in Taiwan, Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-Shiang said at a press conference today in Taipei. The new rules will be effective “within days,” he said.

Easing of rules would allow AU Optronics Corp., Chi Mei Optoelectronics Corp. and Innolux Display Corp. to compete with South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co. and LG Display Co. by manufacturing panels closer to their customers in China. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., the largest custom-chip maker, and AU plan to take advantage of the new rules, they said today.

“The growth driver for the LCD industry is televisions, so the key will be larger factories,” said Richard Ko, who rates AU “outperform” at Jih Sun Securities Ltd. in Taipei. “If the LCD industry is healthy this year then it will be beneficial to those who go first, but if the industry isn’t as healthy as expected, first movers may face bigger risks in building more capacity in China.”

Innolux added 0.6 percent to close at NT$50.60 in Taipei, AU advanced 0.3 percent to NT$36.30 and Chi Mei was unchanged at NT$24.05. The benchmark Taiex index rose 1.1 percent.

Panel makers can start a combined total of three LCD factories of sixth generation or above in China, as long as the applicant already has a plant in Taiwan that’s at least one generation ahead, the ministry said in a statement. There’ll be no restrictions on facilities below sixth generation, it said.

Chipmakers can apply to invest in or build factories in China that are two generations less advanced than those already on the island, it said.

Benefit Taiwanese Companies

Taiwan Semiconductor, which currently operates a plant near Shanghai that produces chips on 8-inch wafers, plans to upgrade the facility to 0.13 micron technology from 0.18 micron, JH Tzeng, spokesman for the Hsinchu-based company, said by phone after the announcement. Taiwan Semiconductor operates more- advanced 12-inch factories in Taiwan.

Chipmakers remain limited to building plants in China that can make 8-inch wafers or less, the ministry said.

The new rules will pave the way for Taiwan Semiconductor to use technology as advanced as 90 nanometers in China, Woody Duh director general of the economic ministry’s industrial development bureau said. Taiwan companies were previously restricted to 180 nanometers, or 0.18 micron, the ministry said.

AU, based in Hsinchu and currently Taiwan’s largest LCD maker, operates a 7.5-generation factory in Taichung, Taiwan and is building an 8.5-generation plant that can make panels the size of a pool table. The later generations enable makers to supply larger screens more efficiently for use in televisions.

“The move will increase the competence of Taiwan panel industry,” AU said in a statement after the government’s announcement. The new rules will help shorten the company’s shipment cycle and facilitate on-site services in China.

Building Advanced Plants

Chi Mei, which plans to merge with Innolux next month to overtake AU in Taiwan, is also building an 8.5-generation plant in Kaohsiung, southern Taiwan.

“If Taiwan doesn’t invest in China, we may lag behind and lose our competitive advantage,” Taiwan Premier Wu Den-yih said Dec. 8.

Taiwan maintains restrictions on the value and type of investments it allows its companies to have in China, with advanced chip-making and the manufacture of ethylene among those currently banned, to prevent strategic technologies from migrating to the mainland.

China is Taiwan’s largest export market and regards the independently governed island as part of its territory, threatening to attack if it declares formal independence. The two sides split 60 years ago after Mao Zedong’s communists took control of China, forcing the Kuomintang to retreat to Taiwan.

Suwon, Korea-based Samsung, the world’s largest LCD maker, said Oct. 16 it will spend 2.6 trillion won ($2.2 billion) to build a 7.5-generation panel factory in China. Two days earlier, Seoul-based LG Display, the second-biggest, said it will form a $4 billion venture for an 8th-generation LCD plant in Guangzhou.

Honda adds vehicles to recall over air bags

Honda said Tuesday that it is voluntarily adding 437,763 vehicles to a previously announced recall to fix drivers-side air bags in 2001 and 2002 model year vehicles, bringing the total number of affected vehicles to 947,913 worldwide.

The company said it will replace the air bag inflator in the cars because they can deploy with too much pressure, causing the inflator to rupture and injure or kill the driver. Honda said it is aware of 12 accidents related to the issue, including one that resulted in death with the others causing injuries.

The expanded recall by Japan’s No. 2 automaker includes 378,758 vehicles in the U.S., as well as 41,685 in Canada, 4,042 in Japan and 13,278 in other countries. That brings the total number of Honda vehicles recalled for the air bag issue to 826,424 in the U.S.

Models affected include the 2001 and 2002 Accord, Civic, Odyssey CR-V and some and some 2002 Acura TLs.

John Mendel, Honda’s executive vice president of Honda in America, said Tuesday evening that Honda informed NHTSA of its decision to expand the recall Tuesday and notified the Japanese government.

Mendel said Honda decided to hold a conference call with journalists Tuesday due to the increased scrutiny and interest in automotive safety caused by several recent Toyota recalls involving unintended acceleration on many of its models as well as brake problems on its popular Prius hybrid.

“There is certainly a heightened sensitivity right now with anything that has to do with recalls,” Mendel said.

Honda issued its first recall related to the air bag inflators in November 2008 for 3,940 copies of 2001 Accords and Civics in the U.S. That recall was based on three complaints dating back to February 2007.

In 2009, Honda received five more reports of shards and in June 2009 Honda expanded the recall to 443,727 Accords and Civics from the 2001 model year.

That move drew questions from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which asked Honda in August 2009 why the expanded group of vehicles hadn't been part of the original recall. Honda said in September 2009 it and its supplier, Takata, had limited the recall based on their understanding of a problem with the air bag propellant.

The June recall was “expected to capture all affected vehicles,” Honda told NHTSA in September.

The public file does not contain any further requests for information from NHTSA about the problem.

Mendel said NHTSA’s inquiry remains pending. Still, Honda officials said its action today was not due to NHTSA's questions or pressure.

Honda said it is in the process of notifying all owners of affected vehicles and is encouraging the owners it notifies to take their vehicles to an authorized dealer so that the air bag can be replaced.

Bernanke lays out plan for tighter money

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke unveiled a blueprint Wednesday for pulling back the trillions of dollars the central bank has provided to prop up the nation's economy.

"These programs, which imposed no cost on the taxpayer, were a critical part of the government's efforts to stabilize the financial system and restart the flow of credit," Bernanke said in prepared testimony for a Capitol Hill hearing that was postponed due to snow. "As financial conditions have improved, the Federal Reserve has substantially phased out these lending programs."

But Bernanke also emphasized that the U.S. economy still needs the support of easy money policies. He said that "at some point" in the future the Fed will "need to tighten financial conditions" by raising short-term interest rates and reversing programs that pumped liquidity into the markets.

The markets have been waiting to hear an inkling of how the Fed plans to start raising rates and pulling back on the trillions the Fed has pumped into the financial system since it started teetering on the edge of collapse back in late 2008.

For the last 18 months, the Fed has bought mortgages, long-term Treasurys and the debt of mortgage finance firms Fannie Mae (FNM, Fortune 500) and Freddie Mac (FRE, Fortune 500).

Currently, the Fed holds $2.29 trillion on its balance sheets, up from $934 billion in September 2008, when the financial crisis really kicked into gear.

On Wednesday, Bernanke laid out a plan to sell some of those mortgages, Treasurys and debt, by offering what's called reverse repurchasing agreements. Under those agreements, the Fed sells its securities to a third party while agreeing to rebuy them at some point in the future.

The second way the Fed plans to soak up money is to sell banks and financial firms the equivalent of certificates of deposit. In this case, the Fed gets a chunk of the bank's reserves in exchange for paying interest at a steady rate. Dubbed a "term deposit facility," these deposits would be auctioned off and banks couldn't count their investment in the Fed as cash or reserves.

"Reverse repos and the deposit facility would together allow the Federal Reserve to drain hundreds of billions of dollars of reserves from the banking system quite quickly, should it choose to do so," Bernanke said.

Bernanke said he planned to start testing out such programs this spring.

But he added that the "firming" of exit strategy policy would start with an increase in the interest rate paid on reserves, adding that the Fed could always take a more "rapid exit," by increasing the rate paid on reserves if the economy needed it.

Bernanke was supposed to testify before the House Financial Services Committee about unwinding emergency Fed liquidity programs. The hearing fell victim to the snow that has blanketed the nation's capital over the past five days, and has yet to be rescheduled. Instead, the Fed released Bernanke's statement.

Two weeks ago, the Fed left interest rates unchanged at near zero percent, pointing to improvement in business spending but adding the recovery is likely to be "moderate" for some time.

But one member, Kansas City Fed President Thomas Hoenig, voted against the Fed's latest action, saying he thought economic conditions had improved enough so that low rates were "no longer warranted." He was the first dissenting vote among Fed policymakers since January 2009.

World's tallest tower closed a month after opening

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – The world's tallest skyscraper has unexpectedly closed to the public a month after its lavish opening, disappointing tourists headed for the observation deck and casting doubt over plans to welcome its first permanent occupants in the coming weeks.

Electrical problems are at least partly to blame for the closure of the Burj Khalifa's viewing platform — the only part of the half-mile high tower open yet. But a lack of information from the spire's owner left it unclear whether the rest of the largely empty building — including dozens of elevators meant to whisk visitors to the tower's more than 160 floors — was affected by the shutdown.

The indefinite closure, which began Sunday, comes as Dubai struggles to revive its international image as a cutting-edge Arab metropolis amid nagging questions about its financial health.

The Persian Gulf city-state had hoped the 2,717-foot (828-meter) Burj Khalifa would be a major tourist draw. Dubai has promoted itself by wowing visitors with over-the-top attractions such as the Burj, which juts like a silvery needle out of the desert and can be seen from miles around.

In recent weeks, thousands of tourists have lined up for the chance to buy tickets for viewing times often days in advance that cost more than $27 apiece. Now many of those would-be visitors, such as Wayne Boyes, a tourist from near Manchester, England, must get back in line for refunds.

"It's just very disappointing," said Boyes, 40, who showed up at the Burj's entrance Monday with a ticket for an afternoon time slot only to be told the viewing platform was closed. "The tower was one of my main reasons for coming here," he said.

The precise cause of the $1.5 billion Dubai skyscraper's temporary shutdown remained unclear.

In a brief statement responding to questions, building owner Emaar Properties blamed the closure on "unexpected high traffic," but then suggested that electrical problems were also at fault.

"Technical issues with the power supply are being worked on by the main and subcontractors and the public will be informed upon completion," the company said, adding that it is "committed to the highest quality standards at Burj Khalifa."

Despite repeated requests, a spokeswoman for Emaar was unable to provide further details or rule out the possibility of foul play. Greg Sang, Emaar's director of projects and the man charged with coordinating the tower's construction, could not be reached. Construction workers at the base of the tower said they were unaware of any problems.

Power was reaching some parts of the building. Strobe lights warning aircraft flashed and a handful of floors were illuminated after nightfall.

Emaar did not say when the observation deck would reopen. Ticket sales agents were accepting bookings starting on Valentine's Day this Sunday, though one reached by The Associated Press could not confirm the building would reopen then.

Tourists affected by the closure are being offered the chance to rebook or receive refunds.

The shutdown comes at a sensitive time for Dubai. The city-state is facing a slump in tourism — which accounts for nearly a fifth of the local economy — while fending off negative publicity caused by more than $80 billion in debt it is struggling to repay.

Ervin Hladnik-Milharcic, 55, a Slovenian writer planning to visit the city for the first time this month, said he hoped the Burj would reopen soon.

"It was the one thing I really wanted to see," he said. "The tower was projected as a metaphor for Dubai. So the metaphor should work. There are no excuses."

Dubai opened the skyscraper on Jan. 4 in a blaze of fireworks televised around the world. The building had been known as the Burj Dubai during more than half a decade of construction, but the name was suddenly changed on opening night to honor the ruler of neighboring Abu Dhabi.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi are two of seven small sheikdoms that comprise the United Arab Emirates. Abu Dhabi hosts the federation's capital and holds most of the country's vast oil reserves. It has provided Dubai with $20 billion in emergency cash to help cover its debts.

Questions were raised about the building's readiness in the months leading up to the January opening.

The opening date had originally been expected in September, but was then pushed back until sometime before the end of 2009. The eventual opening date just after New Year's was meant to coincide with the anniversary of the Dubai ruler's ascent to power.

There were signs even that target was ambitious. The final metal and glass panels cladding the building's exterior were installed only in late September. Early visitors to the observation deck had to peer through floor-to-ceiling windows caked with dust — a sign that cleaning crews had not yet had a chance to scrub them clean.

Work is still ongoing on many of the building's other floors, including those that will house the first hotel designed by Giorgio Armani that is due to open in March. The building's base remains largely a construction zone, with entrance restricted to the viewing platform lobby in an adjacent shopping mall.

The first of some 12,000 residential tenants and office workers are supposed to move in to the building this month.

The Burj Khalifa boasts more than 160 stories. The exact number is not known.

The observation deck, which is mostly enclosed but includes an outdoor terrace bordered by guard rails, is located about two-thirds of the way up on the 124th floor. Adult tickets bought in advance cost 100 dirhams, or about $27. Visitors wanting to enter immediately can jump to the front of the line by paying 400 dirhams — about $110 apiece.

How To Beef Up Your Resume

These are desperate times for many job seekers. But you can avoid desperate-looking and time-wasting measures when it comes to putting together and marketing your resume.

There are more than six job seekers for every job opening, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data from November. And the first mistake many of them make is sending out resumes in bulk without giving much thought to whether they are a good fit for a job.

"Everybody's desperate so they're wallpapering resumes everywhere," said Susan Whitcomb, a Fresno, Calif., author and president of Career Coach Academy. "That's not effective because it just screams, 'I'm desperate! I need a job!' "

An effective job search does not entail "sitting at your computer all day sending off your resume into the hinterland," said Andrea Kay, a career consultant and author in Cincinnati. Only about 15% of your time should be spent responding to job ads online, she said.

More important, focus on companies that are a good fit for you--and the people to contact at those companies. "Your goal is to get yourself sitting in front of or having phone conversations with live people," Kay said. For example, try to find people you know who can introduce you to someone at the company.

Or simply contact the firm yourself. "If you're well-qualified to work at Company XYZ, then make yourself known at that company," said career coach and author Wendy Enelow of Coleman Falls, Va. "Forward your resume not to the HR department but to the person you would be reporting to." Try using regular mail rather than email to stand out.

Remember, some job openings are never posted. And even in tough economic times, "there is always some churn at companies," Enelow said.

 Seen And Heard

Make your resume resonate with potential employers. "When I help somebody do a resume," Kay said, "the first thing I ask them is, 'How do you want to be seen?' Your resume is a tool that positions you the way you want to be seen."

That involves telling the company why you're a great candidate.

"You want [them to see you] as a problem solver who can make them more money, make their company more efficient," she said.

Another tip: Write to appeal to machines and humans. Keywords are important to get past electronic resume scanners, but you've got to pass muster with human scanners, too. So it's important to engage early on. That's one reason so many resumes start with profiles or summaries, said Donald Asher, a career expert in Gerlach, Nev.

"You get a chance in the first 10 lines to put the stuff that's important," he said.

That profile or summary says, "This is the value I bring to your company--the value, key skills, competencies, talents and achievements," Enelow said.

Your cover letter, meanwhile, should be short and to the point. Be clear about which job you want. Then, "Here's my resume, this is why I'm such a valuable candidate and I'm going to follow up with you about the job," Enelow said.

 Do's And Don'ts

Here are some other techniques to keep your resume focused and help it stand out.

Forget your objective. "In the old days, [resumes] started with an objective that said something like, 'Looking for a challenging position with a growing company that can allow me strong career growth,'" said Rick Saia, a certified professional resume writer with Pongo Resume, in Northborough, Mass. These days, "the company is really not as interested in what they can do for you as in what you can do for them."

Tap online media. If you don't post a resume or profile online-- on, say, LinkedIn, VisualCV, or even your own site--you risk looking less "with it." "Having a resume online is just one more way to position yourself as an A candidate," Whitcomb said.

Detail achievements, not duties. Resumes should answer three questions, Saia said: "How did I make money for my employer, how did I save money for my employer, and how did I make a process more efficient so that it made things run more smoothly."

Less is more. Resume standards wax and wane. "Ten years ago, resumes were longer," Enelow said. Today, she said, while there are no firm rules--an experienced executive often has a two-page resume while a recent college graduate's is often one page--if you go too long, you risk boring your audience.

Customize it. In their resumes, job seekers often fail to align their qualifications with each employer's distinct needs, Saia said. As much as possible, show how your expertise fits what a particular company is seeking.

Avoid jargon and cliches. "People use lofty language, they use jargon," Kay said.

Some phrases to avoid: win-win, pursuant to, drive results, actionable, change agent, maximum value.

Better language: compassionate and committed professional, trustworthy, entrepreneurial, highly organized, a talent for building goodwill, diplomatic, a reputation for being resourceful in handling emergencies and deadlines.

Kay said people are "afraid to be interesting, they're afraid to be personal." She suggested job seekers ask themselves: "How would other people describe me?" Another option: Cull language from performance reviews.

Don't get too familiar. "Employers constantly tell me they get emails from individuals that are way too flip, too informal," Kay said. Don't start your e-mail with "Hey" or "Hi there."

Forget the flourishes. Keep your resume's format simple. Use just one font type. Paragraphs should be no more than four to six lines. Limit bullet points to four or five (break out a fresh section if there's more you need to say). Don't overuse boldface.

Typos. It's Resume Writing 101, but career experts said job seekers continue to submit resumes with typos. Read your resume backward, read each word, read it out loud. Have others proof it for you. Don't rely on a computer's spell-check function.

Nuclear giant Areva buys solar company Ausra

The world's largest nuclear plant builder, Areva SA, is entering the solar power industry, with the company announcing on Monday its acquisition of U.S.-based solar thermal player Ausra.

Areva did not disclose financial details about the deal to purchase the Silicon Valley company, which had raised $130 million in venture capital from high-profile firms including Kleiner Perkins and Khosla Ventures.

The solar power industry has started to consolidate after struggling in 2009 with a dearth of financing for new projects and a steep fall in prices. Other solar thermal players include Spain's Abengoa SA and privately held U.S.-based BrightSource Energy Inc.

The deal marks Areva's first foray into solar energy and the nuclear giant hopes to have the leading market share in concentrated solar power by 2012, an Areva executive told Reuters in an interview.

"This market is set to have 20 gigawatts by the year 2020. Areva has an objective to be a world leader in solar energy," said Anil Srivastava, Areva's senior executive vice president of its renewable energies business group.

The executive said Areva chose solar thermal technology -- which uses the sun's heat to create steam to run turbines for electricity -- over other solar power options because it is "the closest" to nuclear plants.

Areva plans to run its solar business out of Ausra's headquarters in Mountain View, California, and grow the existing workforce of 70 people to 120 people worldwide.

The group plans to build concentrated solar power plants for utilities, independent power producers and industrial companies in the southwestern United States, Middle East, Europe, South Africa and ultimately other parts of the world.

Ausra Chief Executive Robert Fishman said in an interview that costs run between $3 and $3.50 per watt to build solar projects with its technology.

The acquisition is expected to close in the next few months, subject to regulatory approval.

Iran Orders Boost in Uranium Enrichment

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wears eye protection goggles as he visits an exhibition of Iran's laser science, in Tehran, Iran, 7 Feb 2010

Iran says it has informed the U.N. nuclear agency it plans to further enrich its uranium in defiance of international demands that it stop. Iran's processing program would likely need reconfiguring first, prompting speculation the announcement may have more to do with nuclear negotiations with the West than imminent enrichment.

Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency says he gave the U.N. watchdog notice of Tehran's plans Monday, in an apparent formal rejection of a U.N. plan to have the uranium enriched abroad.

The move follows an announcement by Iran's nuclear chief, Ali Akbar Salehi, that Iran will enrich some of its current stockpile to 20 percent, starting Tuesday.

Speaking to Iran's Arabic al-Alam television, Salehi said Iran would start the process in the presence of inspectors and observers from the International Atomic Energy Agency.

President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad had ordered the further enrichment in a televised address, one of the many varying, unofficial responses Iranian officials have given to the U.N. plan.

The IAEA wants Iran to send most of its uranium stockpile to Russia and France to boost it to 20 percent and turn it into fuel rods. Such rods would be very difficult to enrich even more, for example to the 90 percent needed to make nuclear weapons.

If Iran can manage to push the uranium to 20 percent on its own, and it is not clear that it can, Western scientists say it could also likely enrich it to weapons grade.

Iran denies its nuclear program has a military component, and says the enrichment is for fuel for a Tehran reactor that makes medical isotopes. It worries it would not get the uranium back if it sends it overseas.

Nuclear chief Salehi said Iran would readily stop the enrichment if the West were to give it the fuel.

Salehi told al-Alam the offer is still open and that once Iran receives the fuel, it will stop the enrichment.

Western countries, in particular the United States, say the original deal was not meant to be modified and are pushing for further U.N. sanctions.

U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says there is still time for sanctions to work.

Meanwhile, with tensions over the standoff rising, Iranian Defense Minister Ahmad Vahidi said Iran has begun production of two types of unmanned aircraft with surveillance and attack capabilities.

Vahidi said the drones can carry out assaults with high precision.

Iranian Air Force commander Hesmatollah Kassiri was quoted as saying Iran is working on a new air-defense system. The commander said Russia has been slow to deliver its S-300 missiles as agreed, but Iran's domestically-built system will be as powerful or even stronger.

Iran frequently announces major advances in its military, nuclear and space programs. The latest advances have not been independently confirmed.

Becton Dickinson Recalls Millions Of IV Products

Becton Dickinson & Co. (BDX) has voluntarily recalled some 5.7 million products related to catheters and administering fluids intravenously, saying their use may cause serious injury or death.

The medical-technology company said it doesn't expect costs anticipated with the recall or the impact on its business to be "material."

Becton disclosed Monday that in October it recalled some lots of its Q-Syte Luer Access Devices. It added Monday that the recall has been expanded to NexivaT Closed IV Catheter systems, which include Q-Syte. Use of the products could cause an air embolism or leakage of blood or therapy that could result in serious injury or death, the company said. The company has notified customers worldwide via letter.

The Q-Syte needle-less connector is intended for use with infusion therapy products for the administration of fluids into the intravenous system. The Nexiva closed-catheter system includes two Q-Syte devices within its package that could be subject to the Q-Syte problem.

About 2.8 million Q-Syte devices and 2.9 million Nexiva units have been recalled. Affected products were distributed from November 2008 to November 2009. The company says the root cause has been corrected and preventive measures have been implemented.

Becton last month reported its fiscal first-quarter income rose 4% on higher-than-expected sales. Its shares were down 53 cents to $74.49 in recent trading.

Fed to lay out interest rate hike plan this week

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke is expected to lay out a plan for raising interest rates as the economy picks up steam in the next several months, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The initial focus by the U.S. central bank will be the relatively new interest rate on excess reserves, a tool given to the Fed by Congress in 2008. The interest rate on excess reserves amounts to payments the Fed pays to banks on money left on reserve with it. Currently that rate is 0.25%. The Fed isn't expected to raise any rates for several months.

HOW TO PLACE THE BABY SEAT THE CAR

One of the most important jobs you have as a parent is keeping your child safe when riding in a vehicle. Each year thousands of young children are killed or injured in car crashes. Proper use of car safety seats helps keep children safe. But with so many different car safety seats on the market, it’s no wonder many parents find this overwhelming.

The type of seat your child needs depends on several things including your child’s size and the type of vehicle you have. To be sure your child is using the most appropriate seat, read on.

It's really important to fix it as you can see in the picture, look at it with attention: 3 passages of the safe belt in the arms, 1 in the shoulder.

WHAT IS THE GINI INDEX

The Gini coefficient is a measure of statistical dispersion developed by the Italian statistician Corrado Gini and published in his 1912 paper "Variability and Mutability" (Italian: Variabilità e mutabilità). It is commonly used as a measure of inequality of income or wealth. It has, however, also found application in the study of inequalities in disciplines as diverse as health science, ecology, and chemistry.

The Gini coefficient is usually defined mathematically based on the Lorenz curve. It can be thought of as the ratio of the area that lies between the line of equality and the Lorenz curve (marked 'A' in the diagram) over the total area under the line of equality (marked 'A' and 'B' in the diagram); i.e., G=A/(A+B).

The Gini coefficient can range from 0 to 1; it is sometimes multiplied by 100 to range between 0 and 100. A low Gini coefficient indicates a more equal distribution, with 0 corresponding to complete equality, while higher Gini coefficients indicate more unequal distribution, with 1 corresponding to complete inequality. To be validly computed, no negative goods can be distributed. Thus, if the Gini coefficient is being used to describe household income inequality, then no household can have a negative income. When used as a measure of income inequality, the most unequal society will be one in which a single person receives 100% of the total income and the remaining people receive none (G=1); and the most equal society will be one in which every person receives the same percentage of the total income (G=0).

Some find it more intuitive (and it is mathematically equivalent) to think of the Gini coefficient as half of the Relative mean difference. The mean difference is the average absolute difference between two items selected randomly from a population, and the relative mean difference is the mean difference divided by the average, to normalize for scale. Worldwide, Gini coefficients for income range from approximately 0.247 (24.7) in Denmark to 0.707 (70.7) in Namibia although not every country has been assessed.

As a mathematical measure of inequality, the Gini coefficient does not necessarily entail any value judgement, i.e. the "rightness" or "wrongness" of a particular level of equality.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient