Travel takes care of that.

Bing has announced that it’s about ready to roll out its next generation of upgrades. And if you like Bing now, you’ll love them tomorrow.If you’re like us, you’ve paid attention to Bing’s comeback this year as it introduced a real search engine that actually competes head-to-head with Google. The search results are stellar, the spam has been minimized and the addition of cool features like Twitter results and visual search have been most welcome. Bing promises to only get better and from the looks of things they just might deliver on that promise.To start with, the plans they have for travel search look more than promising. When I want to travel, I want to know fairly early on in my search for flight information just when the best times to fly are and what can I expect to pay for a flight from point A to point B. Bing Travel takes care of that. And I can look it up in a separate vertical from main search so that I don’t have to filter through personal travelogues to find the information about flights that I want.
Even better than that is Bing’s site preview feature. Remember, Google just introduced that feature themselves, but Bing had already done that and did it even better. Nice going, Bing.
Then there’s the integration with social media. Social search, as you know, is going to be the next big battleground. We’ve already said that. But Bing has introduced a way for you to share your search results through social media sites like Twitter and Facebook. A small thing, really, because sites have been doing that for years – but not the search engines. That’s a nice feature and I think all the search engines will begin to incorporate more social features in the coming months. I’m looking forward to this race.

How much you improve your page load time

One of the factors that can seriously affect your on site search engine optimization efforts in a positive way is your website page load time. Interestingly, websites are rarely penalized for having slow load times, but if you increase your page load time you can often see positive results including increased page rankings that will lead to more visitors over time. Also, another reason to have faster load times on your website is user experience. Your site visitors will appreciate it for sure.This is not across the board. It depends a great deal on how much you improve your page load time. If your page already loads about average and you increase the page load speed by just a few nanoseconds, that likely won’t help you. But if your page load speed is a couple of seconds below par and you increase it by a second-and-a-half then that could be a significant factor in future rankings for your targeted keywords.As you can see, there are some variables that operate on page load speed. The idea is to create a faster web. More people today expect faster page load times than ever before. That creates a demand for faster page load times. Therefore, the search engines want to reward those sites that deliver on that demand.
What are some ways you can increase page load time? Here are a few ideas:
Try using fewer photos and videos. If your page is heavily packed with large files like photos and videos, they will cause your load time to slow. Try deleting some from the page.
Use external files. If you have a lot of CSS or JavaScript on a page, you can put it into a separate file and reference that file on your page, increasing your page load time. When a browser tries to read your page it will load the elements that it can find on the page and call out for the external files when it needs them. This increases your page load speed.
Make your images smaller. Large images take up a lot of data space and cause your page to load slower. Make the images smaller and see what happens.
The idea is to streamline your pages as much as possible. The key to faster load times is smaller images and external files. Code streamlining will go a long way to increasing page load times and it could mean an extra nudge in the ranking wars and more people coming to your website.

How much you improve your page load time

One of the factors that can seriously affect your on site search engine optimization efforts in a positive way is your website page load time. Interestingly, websites are rarely penalized for having slow load times, but if you increase your page load time you can often see positive results including increased page rankings that will lead to more visitors over time. Also, another reason to have faster load times on your website is user experience. Your site visitors will appreciate it for sure.This is not across the board. It depends a great deal on how much you improve your page load time. If your page already loads about average and you increase the page load speed by just a few nanoseconds, that likely won’t help you. But if your page load speed is a couple of seconds below par and you increase it by a second-and-a-half then that could be a significant factor in future rankings for your targeted keywords.As you can see, there are some variables that operate on page load speed. The idea is to create a faster web. More people today expect faster page load times than ever before. That creates a demand for faster page load times. Therefore, the search engines want to reward those sites that deliver on that demand.
What are some ways you can increase page load time? Here are a few ideas:
Try using fewer photos and videos. If your page is heavily packed with large files like photos and videos, they will cause your load time to slow. Try deleting some from the page.
Use external files. If you have a lot of CSS or JavaScript on a page, you can put it into a separate file and reference that file on your page, increasing your page load time. When a browser tries to read your page it will load the elements that it can find on the page and call out for the external files when it needs them. This increases your page load speed.
Make your images smaller. Large images take up a lot of data space and cause your page to load slower. Make the images smaller and see what happens.
The idea is to streamline your pages as much as possible. The key to faster load times is smaller images and external files. Code streamlining will go a long way to increasing page load times and it could mean an extra nudge in the ranking wars and more people coming to your website.

Ahmed Fahour gets stamp of approval

AHMED Fahour has landed "a dream job", but it's not running one of the country's big banks.
The former chief executive of National Australia Bank's local operations, who missed out on the top job to Cameron Clyne, has been appointed chief executive of Australia Post.
And his move back to Melbourne from Bahrain, after less than four months heading up Islamic investment bank Gulf Finance House, is so sudden that yesterday afternoon he still hadn't told his parents.
"The ink is just getting dry on the letter," he told the Herald Sun.
"I'm a bit jetlagged because I only flew in last week. But it's a massive honour for me. This is a truly iconic company. This is a dream job."
Mr Fahour left NAB in February to run the Australian Business Investment Partnership, a government scheme dubbed "RuddBank", which planned to support commercial banks as they refinanced commercial property loans.However, he was soon left without a job because the scheme was voted down by the Senate.
By the end of August, Mr Fahour had relocated to Bahrain but head-hunters were soon circling with the opportunity to succeed Graeme John, who ran Australia Post for 16 years.
It's believed Mr Fahour was also approached by Members Equity Bank earlier this year to potentially fill its still vacant CEO role.
Mr Fahour said yesterday that after completing the "first phase" of his 18-month contract with Gulf Finance -- including an organisational restructure and a $450 million capital raising -- the Australia Post opportunity made sense.
"We got those things done quickly and fortuitously because things haven't turned out in that market very well with the Dubai (debt) problem."
Mr Fahour, who will begin his new job on February 1, said Australia Post was one of the most successful post offices in the world in terms of its efficiency and low delivery prices.
He said the biggest challenge for the public company was how to move its traditional mail business "into the digital world" to compete with mobile phones, the internet and email.
Mr Fahour said yesterday he would focus on sealing international partnerships along the same line as the company's logistics joint venture with China Post, adding that his track record at NAB made him confident of striking an enterprise bargaining agreement with the company's 35,000 workers.
Postal workers in NSW and Queensland said yesterday that they would return to work today to deliver Christmas mail although a mass meeting and rally might still go ahead in Melbourne today.
Mr Fahour said yesterday that a government sell-off of Australia Post was not on his agenda.
And the former banker said he had no plans to expand the postal company's agency banking services.

Dollar down on greenback boost

THE dollar opened weaker today as stronger-than-expected home sales in America raised expectations of a US rate rise by mid-2010.
At 7am AEDT, the dollar was trading at $US0.8770/74, down 0.28 per cent from yesterday's close of $US0.8794/99.
During the offshore session, the local unit traded between $US0.8753 and $US0.8833, according to IRESS data.
Sales of existing homes in the US rose 7.4 per cent to an annual rate of 6.54 million in November from a downwardly revised 6.09 million, the National Association of Realtors said.
It was the highest level since February 2007 and above market forecasts of 6.25 million.
First home buyers taking advantage of government tax credits was a main contributor for the sales increase, the National Association of Realtors said.
Offsetting the strong homes sales were data showing the US economy grew slower in the third quarter of 2009 than originally reported.
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American gross domestic product (GDP) grew at an annualised pace of 2.2 per cent in the September quarter, the US Department of Commerce said.
The final estimate for US GDP was slower than the 2.8 per cent rate estimated in November.
GFT Forex director of currency research, Kathy Lien, said the stronger housing data supported the US dollar.
"The US dollar continues to gain traction," Ms Lien said from New York. "Even though we had pretty weak GDP numbers for the third quarter with downward revisions, this was offset by the strong rise in existing homes sales."
Ms Lien said the home sales data indicated the manufacturing and housing sectors in the American economy were "chugging along" and added to market expectations the US Federal Reserve would lift interest rates in mid-2010.
The US Federal Reserve has kept its key funding rate at a target range of zero to 0.25 per cent since December 2008 in a bid to stimulate the American economy.
Higher interest rates can support a currency as investors move funds for better returns.
"That does indicate the US economy is on track, although we had downward revisions in GDP numbers," Ms Lien said.
"Everyone is looking to a Federal Reserve rate hike in June and the housing numbers confirm the belief that the recovery in the US economy is accelerating," she said. "So, traders have to readjust their positions for that."
Ms Lien forecasts the dollar to trade between $US0.8700 and $US0.8835 during the domestic session today.

Britain stuck in recession

BRITAIN remains the last major economy in recession according to official data released overnight, although signs of recovery emerged as the country's output shrank less than previously forecast.
The Office for National Statistics said that British gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.2 per cent during the July-September period compared with the previous three-month period.
Although the data was better than a previous ONS estimate of minus 0.3 per cent, analysts' consensus forecast had been for a revision to minus 0.1 per cent.
Britain officially ends 2009 as the only top economy in recession after the eurozone, France, Germany, Japan and the United States have all emerged from a deep downturn that was sparked by the global financial crisis.
"Gross domestic product contracted by 0.2 per cent in the third quarter of 2009," the ONS said in a statement.This has been revised from a fall of 0.3 per cent in the previous estimate of GDP, due to upward revisions to construction partly offset by downward revisions to production and services.
"GDP remains 5.1 per cent lower than the third quarter of 2008," added the statistics office.
British Prime Minister Gordon Brown's government, heading for defeat in next year's general election according to polls, believes that the country has returned to growth during the current fourth quarter.
But markets must wait for the release of official data in late January for confirmation.
"A reasonably strong return to growth in the fourth quarter of 2009 seems all but certain, as retailers benefit from what is looking like a strong Christmas," said Ben Read, an economist at the Centre for Economics and Business Research, an independent consultancy.
Britain's economy, which is struggling with high unemployment and massive public debt caused by the financial crisis, has contracted for six quarters in a row - its longest recession since records began in 1955.
British finance minister Alistair Darling recently admitted that Britain's recession would be deeper than thought - with the economy predicted to shrink 4.75 per cent this year compared with a prior official estimate of 3.5 per cent.
The economy is expected to grow by 1.0-1.5 per cent next year, Mr Darling added, matching his previous forecast.
"Whilst we fully support the view that growth will soon reappear in the UK economy albeit at a very low level we continue to caution on expectations that growth ... will continue throughout 2010," BGC Partners senior strategist Howard Wheeldon said following the release of the data.
"Whilst the rate of job losses in the UK has clearly slowed we have as yet been unable to find sufficient evidence of new investment intention within the corporate sectors that might lead to a period of new job creation and thus a period of renewed and sustainable growth," he added.
There was meanwhile better news for another European nation on Tuesday, as Denmark announced it had emerged from recession in the third quarter thanks to its economy growing by 0.6 per cent compared with the preceding three months.
The technical definition of a recession is two or more quarters running of contraction, on a quarter-by quarter comparison.

NAB in spotlight over 'Berlusconi Bonds'

BANK analysts yesterday questioned National Australia Bank on its decision to hold more than $12.7 billion worth of sovereign bonds issued by Italy's debt-laden government.
The Herald Sun reported yesterday that NAB had taken on the massive portfolio of so-called "Berlusconi Bonds" as collateral under a short-term funding arrangement with another bank that it did not name.
Concern is mounting in financial markets that southern European countries such as Portugal, Spain, Greece and Italy may have trouble servicing their bulging international debts because of the deep economic recession in the region.
The risk of governments in these countries defaulting has risen sharply in the past six months, in turn offering high-risk bond investors higher returns.
One of Australia's leading bank analysts, Brian Johnson of CLSA, said NAB's willingness to hold such a high level of Italian bonds reflected its higher risk appetite than the other three major banks.
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"The question here is why is the bank holding so much Italian risk?" Mr Johnson said. "They are getting a higher yield, but it's not riskless."
He noted that, to lift returns in recent years, NAB took on more risk by investing in US sub-prime mortgages, collateralised debt obligations and other complex investments.
These exposures, which were not shown on the bank's balance sheet, delivered strong returns for the bank's shareholders until the global financial crisis forced the group to book losses of more than $1.4 billion.
"In order to ratchet up returns, NAB . . . took on proportionately more risks and these were more poorly invested than its Australian peers," Mr Johnson said. "This (the Italian bonds) is just an extension of that, whereby NAB has a higher tolerance for risk than the other major banks."
A NAB spokesman defended the bank's decision to accept the Italian Government bonds as security on its transaction with the unnamed bank.
"Italian Government debt is considered an appropriate part of any bank's prudential liquid asset portfolio, being widely accepted as a liquid asset in secondary private markets, as well as eligible as collateral at the European Central Bank and the Bank of England for normal market operations," the NAB spokesman said in an emailed response.
The value of the bonds, which are officially known as "Italian Government Reverse Repurchase Transaction Assets", have probably been falling since September when NAB reported them as worth $12.78 billion.
The bank spokesman said any negative movements in the value of the bonds would not be reflected in the bank's profit because they were held as collateral for the short-term funding NAB was providing the unnamed bank.
The Australian Prudential Regulation Authority is overhauling liquidity rules that apply to local banks, including NAB.
Under proposed reforms, APRA wants bank boards to issue risk tolerance statements for liquidity risks that take account of the quality and diversification of assets taken as collateral.

Russian hackers 'steal millions' from Citibank

GLOBAL finance giant Citigroup is denying reports hackers stole "tens of millions" of dollars from its banking arm Citibank midway through the year.
The Wall Street Journal yesterday reported the money was lost to "malicious software created in Russia" and that the case was being investigated by the FBI.
The Wall Street Journal reported a specialised piece of malware known as "Black Energy" was behind the losses, having been modified to steal banking authentication details.
"There's a newer, private version of Black Energy that uses plugins to extend its capabilities beyond just DDoS (distributed denial of service), security researcher Joe Stewart told End of sidebar. Return to start of sidebar.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the FBI, the National Security Agency, the Department of Homeland Security and Citigroup exchanged information to counter the attack, which could have begun as long as a year ago.
The hackers, named in The Guardian as the "Russian Business Network", first gained notoriety several years ago after masterminding a string of hi-tech crimes including identity theft, fraud, spam and child pornography.
Citigroup, the world's largest financial services company, rejected any suggestion the FBI was investigating an incident and denied that a raid of such proportions had taken place.
"Any allegation that the FBI is working on a case at Citigroup involving a breach of Citi systems resulting in tens of millions of dollars of losses is false," it said.
"There has been no breach and there have been no associated losses."
However, Dow Jones & Co spokesman Robert Christie told the Associated Press that The Wall Street Journal stood by the accuracy of its story.
A former member of the World Bank's security team said he was not aware of the attack, but said criminal groups based mainly in Europe, Brazil and Southeast Asia "consistently targeted" large banks and that the industry was "haemorrhaging funds".
"Ninety-eight percent of bank heists are now occurring virtually and not in the real world," he told The Associated Press.

Stocks gain in volatile session, end week lower

Stocks ended higher Friday, with technology shares leading the rebound, amid heavy volume on a day of contract expirations and little economic news.
But most indexes fell over the last full week of trade in 2009.
The Dow Jones industrial average (INDU) gained 21 points, or 0.2%. But the blue-chip index, which reversed course several times throughout the session, ended the week 1.4% lower.
The S&P 500 index (SPX) rose 7 points, or 0.6%, on Friday. The S&P ended 0.4% lower for the week. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) added 32 points, or 1.5% -- and the index gained 1% over the week.
Philip Isherwood, equities strategist at Evolution Strategies in London, said the markets would likely remain "pretty lifeless" ahead of the Christmas holiday.
"Traders are pretty much done with 2009," agreed Charlie Smith, analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group.
Smith added that trading would likely remain choppy for the last couple of weeks of 2009, barring major geopolitical news or the passage of new U.S. health care legislation.
"Unless we hear talk of another major country's credit being downgraded, we'll see this choppy flow in and out for the next few weeks," Smith said.
Volatility had been expected Friday because of quadruple witching -- a quarterly event in which stock index futures and options, as well as individual stock futures and options, all expire simultaneously.
Tech shares were the standout, boosted by upbeat earnings reports after the closing bell Thursday from Oracle and Research in Motion.
But volume was high to end the last full week of trade for the year, market breadth was positive. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers four to three on volume of 3.2 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners three to two on volume of 2.9 billion shares.
Companies: Oracle (ORCL, Fortune 500), the world's No. 2 business software maker, reported earnings per share of 39 cents, beating the forecast of 36 cents. Oracle shares ended up 6.4% Friday.
Research in Motion (RIMM) posted a big jump in profit and boosted its outlook. The Blackberry maker's earnings rose to $1.10 per share, from 69 cents a year earlier. Shares closed 10.3% higher.
But smartphone maker Palm (PALM) reported a wider-than-expected loss of 37 cents per share in its second fiscal quarter.
Nike (NKE, Fortune 500) reported its earnings fell to 76 cents in the second fiscal quarter from 80 cents per share a year earlier.
Pepsi (PEP, Fortune 500) announced late Thursday that it will not advertise in this season's Super Bowl. The beverage giant has advertised the past 23 years, and was among the top four advertisers during last season's game.
Other markets: Stocks in Asia and Europe finished slightly lower. The dollar was lower against the euro and the pound Friday, but higher versus the yen.
Crude oil for January delivery gained 71 cents to settle at $73.36, while gold for February delivery jumped $4.10 to close at $1,111.50.
Bonds were lower, with the benchmark 10-year bond yield rising to 3.52% from 3.48% late Thursday.

RBS probes possible "irregularities" in China unit

Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS.L) is conducting an investigation after discovering "potential irregularities" in its small and medium enterprise banking unit in China, a spokeswoman said on Wednesday.
"The investigation is still ongoing and we do not wish to pre-empt the outcome of that process," the spokeswoman said in a statement, in reference to the unit that came into RBS's fold with its acquisition of ABN Amro.
"However, any dishonest behaviour by bank staff is completely unacceptable within ABN Amro China and will be taken extremely seriously," she said.
She declined to provide further details on the nature of the irregularities, but said the number of accounts involved was "very small."
While the investigation is in progress, the bank has introduced a number of enhanced measures to provide additional safeguards for client accounts, she said.
RBS, which was bailed out by the British government during the global financial crisis, is in late-stage talks to sell its remaining retail and commercial assets in Asia, which are in China, Malaysia and India, to HSBC (HSBA.L)(0005.HK), for about $250 million (154 million pounds).
(Reporting by Clare Jim; Writing by Doug Young; Editing by Ken Wills and Muralikumar Anantharaman)a

FTSE seen opening lower

The FTSE 100 .FTSE is seen opening 4-5 points lower on Wednesday, following weakness overnight on Wall Street, but moves are seen as muted as investors stay on the sidelines awaiting news from the latest U.S. Federal Reserve policy meeting.
The blue chip index is seen opening around 0.1 percent lower after it closed 0.6 percent down at 5,285.77 on Tuesday to snap a three day winning streak.
The Dow Jones industrial average closed 0.5 percent weaker on Tuesday as investors fretted about the outlook for interest rates following a sharper-than-expected increase in the November Producer Price Index.
The U.S. Federal Reserve will conclude its two-day policy setting meeting on Wednesday, with a statement due after the London market's close.
The Fed is expected to stick to its super loose monetary policy stance as high unemployment constrains policy-makers' enthusiasm about the economy's recent improvement.
United Utilities (UU.L) is set to go ex-dividend, taking 0.3 points off the index as the stock loses its dividend attraction.
Investors will look to unemployment data at 9:30 a.m. British time for more clues on the outlook for the economy. The number of those claiming benefits for November is seen increasing by 13,300 after rising 12,900 the previous month.

BA takes action to halt Christmas strike

British Airways is taking legal action to halt a 12-day strike planned by cabin crew over Christmas, alleging balloting irregularities.
"The airline called on (union) Unite to call off the industrial action by 2 p.m. The union has not done so and BA is now seeking an injunction to prevent the strike going ahead," the flag carrier's chief executive Willie Walsh said in a statement on Tuesday.
BA cabin crew voted on Monday to walk out from December 22, escalating a dispute over job losses and changes to working practices.
The airline said it had written to Unite, highlighting irregularities it believes render the ballot invalid.
BA believes ballot papers were sent to staff who had left the company or were in the process of leaving and should not have been balloted, breaching industrial relations law, a BA spokeswoman said.
Some 13,000 BA staff were balloted by Unite, 92.5 percent of whom favoured industrial action.
The airline wants three quarters of its crew to accept pay rises of between 2 and 7 percent this year and a pay freeze in 2010, and for 3,000 staff to switch to part-time working, along with a reduction in onboard crewing levels from 15 to 14 on long-haul flights from London's Heathrow airport.
Shares in BA fell 2 percent to 197 pence by 3:50 p.m. after analysts said the strike could result in the airline losing upwards of 250 million pounds in revenues.

Kesa H1 profit beats forecasts

Europe's No. 3 electricals retailer Kesa Electricals (KESA.L) said it was well set for the Christmas period as it beat forecasts with a 37 percent increase in first-half profit helped by better trading in the UK.
"The outlook for the second-half of the year remains uncertain but our businesses are prepared and well positioned for the more significant peak trading period," said Chief Executive Thierry Falque-Pierrotin on Wednesday.
The firm, which trades as Comet in the UK and Darty in France and in eight other countries, made an underlying pretax profit of 14.9 million pounds in the six months to October 31.
That compares with analysts' consensus forecast of 11 million pounds, according to a company poll, and 10.9 million pounds made in the same period last year.
Sales increased 7.6 percent to 2.35 billion pounds, while sales at stores open over a year fell 2.5 percent as an improvement in sales trends in the group's two main markets of the UK and France were offset by decreases in other territories.
Kesa ended the period with net cash of 53 million pounds and maintained its interim dividend at 1.75 pence.
The firm said it expected to stabilise and grow Darty France's profit margin, increase Comet's profitability and by 2011/12 eliminate losses at developing businesses.
It also said it was focussed on developing its store network and cross channel Web sales.
Shares in Kesa have increased in value by over two thirds in 2009 on hopes its markets will emerge from recession against a 27 percent rise in the DJ Stoxx European retail index .SXRP. The stock closed at 155.4 pence on Tuesday, valuing the business at about 823 million pounds.

Boeing Dreamliner completes first flight

Boeing completed the long-delayed first test flight of its new 787 Dreamliner on Tuesday, heralding a new era of plastics-based aircraft that promise to save airlines millions of dollars in fuel costs.
The 3-hour flight, cut short by bad weather, brought relief to customers and investors who have watched Boeing postpone delivery of the new plane by more than two years due to production problems, but industry experts warned that the program still faces risks.
"It's the first positive milestone we've seen Boeing achieve on this program in a long time," said Macquarie analyst Robert Stallard. "But they're not out of the woods."
The 787's highly anticipated takeoff was witnessed by more than 12,000 Boeing employees, industry VIPs, airplane enthusiasts and reporters, eager to see the first flight of a commercial aircraft made primarily from carbon-based plastics and titanium.
The 186-feet-long (57 meters) aircraft, painted in Boeing's blue and white livery, took off at 10:27 a.m. local time from a freezing gray runway next to Boeing's plant about 30 miles north of Seattle. It landed 3 hours and six minutes later at Boeing Field, just south of Seattle.
The flight was meant to last five hours or more, but the two pilots were held back by low cloud and bad visibility, going no higher than 15,000 feet (4,572 meters) at a maximum speed of about 207 miles (333 kilometres) per hour.
News of the takeoff buzzed across the radio waves among commercial jets and air traffic controllers, according to chief pilot Mike Carriker.
"Everybody wanted to know if the Dreamliner was airborne, and it was really cool to say, 'You bet, we are airborne today'," said Carriker after the flight, to cheers from Boeing employees.

Employment better than expected - Bank

The jobs market has turned out to be stronger than expected given the scale of the recession, Bank of England chief economist Spencer Dale said on Monday.
The economy is expected to shrink by 4.75 percent this year as the country suffers its longest recession since World War 2. While unemployment has risen, it is unlikely to top 3 million next year as many experts had predicted.
In the foreword to the central bank's Quarterly Bulletin, Dale said: "A marked feature of the response of our economy to the current recession is that employment to date has not fallen by as much as we might have feared given the falls in output."
He suggested that this might reflect a greater degree of flexibility in the wages compared with previous downturns.
"A substantial element of the workforce appears to have been able to protect their jobs by accepting slower wage growth," he said.

Abu Dhabi gives Dubai $10 billion

Abu Dhabi bailed out neighbouring Dubai on Monday with $10 billion (6.1 billion pounds) in surprise aid for debt-laden Dubai World, driving stock markets higher, but Dubai said creditors still needed to approve a standstill on outstanding debt.
Dubai said $4.1 billion of the money received from Abu Dhabi was allocated to property developer Nakheel to repay its Islamic bond maturing on Monday. Nakheel said it would repay the bond over the next two weeks.
The excess funds would be used to help government-controlled holding company Dubai World, which has asked creditors to agree to restructure $26 billion of its debt, up until the end of April 2010, a Dubai government statement said.
"The (agreement is) on condition of the company being successful in negotiating a standstill previously announced with remaining creditors," a government source said in a conference call with journalists.
"The fund will also be used for the satisfaction of obligations to trade creditors and contractors and discussions with contractors will begin shortly," the source said.
Dubai's benchmark stock index led a surge on regional markets, jumping more than 10 percent, while Abu Dhabi rose 7 percent in early trading.
The move was the least expected of all options Dubai had on the table after requesting a standstill on $26 billion in Dubai World debt on November 25, alarming global financial markets and shaking the image of the emirate as a regional business hub.
Dubai's creditors, which include London-listed Standard Chartered, HSBC, Lloyds and Royal Bank of Scotland, along with United Arab Emirates lenders Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Emirates NBD, effectively have until Dec 28 to agree to the standstill, when the Nakheel bond's grace period ends.

Government to spend more to protect troops in Afghanistan

The government is to spend 150 million pounds ($248 million) on new measures to protect its troops in Afghanistan from roadside bombs, a government official said on Monday.
Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth will announce the measures to parliament on Tuesday as part of a wider Afghanistan-support package, said the official, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The measure could be accompanied by some cuts in defence spending as the government tightens its belt to try to rein in a ballooning public deficit.
The 150 million pounds over three years will be funded through a reprioritisation of the defence budget, the official said, without giving further details.
Many of the 100 British troops killed in Afghanistan this year were victims of roadside bombs planted by the Taliban.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown, facing an uphill battle to win an election due by next June, has been accused of failing to give British soldiers enough protection from the bombs.
Brown and Afghan President Hamid Karzai met at an Afghan air base on Sunday, aiming to fix a relationship that has grown bitter as the Afghan war grows deadlier and more unpopular.
Brown will make a separate statement to parliament on Monday on last week's European Union summit and plans to speed up training of Afghan security forces.

Cadbury upbeat as it fights Kraft bid

Cadbury Plc raised its long-term growth targets and reported upbeat trading as it dismissed a 10 billion pound bid from Kraft Foods, kicking off a seven-week fight for its independence.
The Dairy Milk chocolate maker on Monday called Kraft's bid wholly inadequate.
"Kraft is trying to buy Cadbury on the cheap to provide much needed growth to their unattractive low-growth conglomerate business model," Cadbury Chairman Roger Carr said in a statement. "Don't let Kraft steal your company with its derisory offer."
Highlighting the strength of its "standalone" strategy, Cadbury outlined a higher growth vision for an independent future as a fully focussed confectionery group built around strong sales growth and a rise in profit margins.
"Our strong momentum continues, as our standalone confectionery strategy continues to exceed expectations with further good progress in October and November," said Chief Executive Todd Stitzer.
The group raised its underlying annual sales growth target to between 5 and 7 percent from its previous 4 to 6 percent range and saw operating margins by 2013 in a range of 16 to 18 percent after looking for good mid-teens margin by 2011.
It also looked to double-digit percentage rises in dividend payouts from 2010 onwards, and a higher rate of converting operating profits into cash flow also from 2010.
Kraft's hostile cash and shares offer is currently worth 727 pence, or 10 billion pounds, against Cadbury's closing share price on Friday of 790-1/2p, and most analysts believe Kraft will need to pay 820p to 850p to win.
Kraft has declined to raise its bid from the terms first announced on September 7 with 300p in cash and the rest in new Kraft shares, determined not to overpay and to play the long game, convinced no rival bidder will emerge.

Houston, we have a baby

Shuttle Atlantis astronaut Randy Bresnik awoke early on Sunday to a much-anticipated call that his new daughter had been born.
Bresnik's wife, Rebecca, gave birth to Abigail Mae Bresnik just after midnight. At the time, Bresnik was in orbit 220 miles above Earth with 11 astronauts and cosmonauts aboard the ISpace Station.
Bresnik blasted off Monday for an 11-day mission to stock the station with spare parts.
"I'm a little disappointed that he won't be able to be there but understanding that we don't choose the timing and excited for him that he's doing what he's doing," Rebecca Bresnik said in an interview before last week's launch.
The Bresniks had expected their baby to be born on Friday. Rebecca, who said her labour was being induced two weeks early due to medical concerns, had hoped the baby would not be born during one of Bresnik's two spacewalks. On that count, she was successful -- Sunday the crew had a half-day off.
The couple, who had been told they could not have children, last year adopted a boy from Ukraine. Three months after he came to live with them in Houston, Rebecca Bresnik learned she was pregnant.
"We've got this wonderfully happy and healthy little 3-year-old old boy whose life has changed completely," Bresnik said during a prelaunch interview. "He's gone from being in an orphanage on the other side of the planet to being in the space shuttle simulator flying with his dad a couple weeks ago.
"We're fortunate enough to witness the miracle of adoption as well as the miracle of child birth all in one year. We're just amazingly blessed," he said.

Brown urges Europe to go for growth

Prime Minister Gordon Brown, aware his chances of re-election may hinge on Britain's economy emerging from recession, will call on European leaders Monday to launch a drive for economic growth.
"Now that the European Central Bank, like the Bank of England, has indicated they expect interest rates will remain low for the foreseeable future, I want to see ... a push for growth," Brown will tell business leaders later Monday.
"I am calling on European leaders for a renewed focus on delivering European growth," he will say, according to excerpts from the speech released in advance by his office.
Brown and leader David Cameron will both address the annual conference of Britain's main business lobby, the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), Monday as they try to win over business support before an election due by June.
A poll published Sunday showed the centre-right Conservatives' lead over Brown's Labour Party slashed to six points, raising the possibility neither party could win a parliamentary majority in the general election.
That would be the worst case scenario for financial markets, which fear the result would be a weak government incapable of taking decisive action to cut public sector borrowing, forecast to hit 175 billion pounds this year.
Brown will publish proposals for a new European growth strategy. He suggests measures could include incentives for new private investment, a push on European-wide research and development, and steps to break down barriers to cross-border business, including in banking and financial services.

Federer, Murray win Tour Finals openers

Roger Federer blazed past Fernando Verdasco after an early stumble Sunday while Andy Murray marked the start of London's five-year hosting of the ATP Tour Finals with a three-set victory over Juan Martin del Potro.
Swiss maestro Federer, looking to regain the year-end top ranking after being overthrown by Rafael Nadal last year, dug himself out of trouble to win 4-6 7-5 6-1 and join Murray at the top of Group A in the season-ending showpiece.
World number one Federer was top billing for the evening session at the spectacular 02 Arena but lost his opening service game to love and sprayed 15 errors in the first set as Verdasco threatened to cause a shock.
He then survived a crisis at 5-5, 0-30 in the second set, breathing a sigh of relief as the left-handed Verdasco went agonisingly wide with a forehand -- a near-miss confirmed by a Hawkeye replay accompanied by thumping heartbeat sound effect, which was just part of the razzmatazz enjoyed by the 17,500 crowd.
Crisis over, 15-times grand slam champion Federer broke serve for the first time in the match in the following game to take the set and then raced away to victory.
"I was down a set, and only the second set was I able to sort of get the ball into play, find my range, find my rhythm," Federer, a four-times winner of the tournament, told reporters.
"The longer the match went, the more my belief was going up and his was going down."

Business faces new era of lower returns

Companies should adopt a more cautious approach to business even if it means accepting lower profits, Britain's biggest business group said as it published a poll showing the credit crunch had made firms more risk averse.
In a paper published on Monday setting out how it thinks business will evolve over the next 10 years, the Confederation of British Industry said the financial crisis had called into question the traditional Anglo-Saxon model of capitalism.
In future, businesses were likely to operate in a more collaborative and flexible way, relying less on debt, nurturing relations with suppliers and customers, and making greater efforts to operate more ethically, the CBI reckons.
"After the shock of the last two years, this report suggests that what we now need is a more balanced, less risky pathway to growth," CBI Director General Richard Lambert said in a briefing ahead of the lobby group's annual conference on November 23.
"One in which the short term returns may be lower, but the long term rewards for management success will be a lot more sustainable and secure."
A poll conducted for the CBI by business consultants Deloitte showed more than half of firms reckon lending conditions will not improve next year and that the credit-crunch has made them less willing to take on debt to finance their operations.
Half of the 66 firms polled said the recession would result in a lasting decrease in the amount of bank debt they accrued to finance their business. However, a quarter of firms said they were more likely to raise cash by issuing bonds and 44 percent noted a greater willingness to issue equity.

Rate of facial wounds 'much higher among poorest Scots'

The Glasgow University Dental School report found injuries to the face and neck were commonly drink-related.

The researchers found that between 2001 and 2006, more than 82,000 people suffered facial scars in Scotland.

In their report, The Scar on the Face of Scotland, the authors said the issue must be tackled with joined-up action.

Dr David Conway, Dr Christine Goodall and Dr Alex McMahon, writing in the Journal of Trauma, said poverty was the major factor in severe facial injuries and that young men from low

According to the report, between 2001 and 2006, there were 82,461 patients in a severe enough condition to be admitted to Scottish hospitals with a facial injury.

The paper claims the annual cost of alcohol misuse to Scottish society is an estimated £2.25bn, with the cost to the National Health Service in Scotland put at £405m.

Dr Conway said: "The costs to society and the health service are high, but the cost to individuals health is great.

"Facial injuries produce significant and nasty facial scars - but the fact that this is determined by your postcode and how deprived the area you live in is a societal scar for all of us.

"Those from the most deprived areas were almost seven times more likely to have such an injury as their affluent counterparts."

He added: "Men were over five times more likely to have such an injury, and those in the youngest age-group, 15-19 years, were around one-tenth more likely."

The study also highlights a recent run of 249 patients from a Scottish trauma unit which found about 80% of their facial injuries were alcohol-related.

Dr Goodall said one way to address the problem is to offer counselling when patients attend A&E or facial trauma clinics.

She said: "We know from previous work in Glasgow that 25% of facial trauma patients will sustain another alcohol related injury in the future.

"Brief alcohol counselling sessions have been shown to be effective in helping facial trauma patients to cut down their drinking both by ourselves and by other groups around the country."

The authors said the issue of deprivation must also be tackled to address the problem, and that the wider health problems caused by excess alcohol must also be confronted.

Charge in mutilation murder case

Mother-of-two Geeta Aulakh, a receptionist, was found in Greenford, west London, on 16 November.

Police believe the 28-year-old was attacked after leaving Sunrise Radio studios to pick up her two young sons.

Sher Singh, 18, of, Southall, west London, will appear at Ealing Magistrates' Court on Monday. Eleven other people are currently on bail.

The 11, who include Mrs Aulakh's husband, were bailed earlier this week while inquiries into the case continue.

Mrs Aulakh was found a short distance from the home of the childminder of her two boys, who are aged eight and nine.

A post-mortem examination found Mrs Aulakh had died from a head injury.

Police are trying to find out whether she was attacked elsewhere and dumped on the pavement in Braund Avenue, at its junction with Verulam Road.

Teenager 'stabbed and run over'

Michael McCarthy, 19, was attacked during a row with two men near his home in Yoakley Road, Stoke Newington.

Police want to trace a silver or grey Fiat Punto, registration WN06 BVE, seen leaving the area after the stabbing and found in Welwyn Garden City on Friday.

Two men in their 20s have been arrested over the death.

They are being held at police stations in east London.

Officers were called to Yoakley Road shortly after 2300 GMT on Thursday where they found Mr McCarthy with stab wounds.

He was pronounced dead at the scene. A post-mortem examination is due to take place on Monday.

Police want to speak to anyone who saw the Fiat shortly before the attack or during the time before it was found the next day.

Cumbria flood bridges facing safety checks

Prime Minister Gordon Brown ordered the review during a visit on Saturday, when he pledged £1m for flooded communities.

More than 1,300 homes were affected and people have been advised not to return for fear of hampering recovery efforts. Much of the UK faces more heavy rain.

Meanwhile, a canoeist died after being pulled from the River Dart in Devon.

He had become caught against a tree in stormy weather. Two others were airlifted to hospital suffering hypothermia.

In pictures: Cumbria aftermath Flood victims face more chaos Tributes paid to flood death Pc

There are still 22 flood warnings in force across south-western and northern parts of England, Scotland and Wales.

BBC weather forecaster Sarah Wilmshurst warned: "A lot of rain is going to fall just where we don't need it."

Four "severe" flood warnings - posing a threat of "extreme danger to life and property" - still apply to Cumbria.

There, council inspectors closed two more bridges on Saturday - making a total of 13 across the county and prompting the prime minister to order the review.

A number of crossings have been damaged by heavy flooding and Pc Bill Barker was killed in the early hours of Friday when a bridge outside Workington collapsed.

Police were warning the public to stay away from Calva Bridge in Workington, which they fear may collapse.

A spokesman for the Environment Agency, Chris Robinson, said the checks were a "sensible precaution".

"[With the need to] get under way with the clean-up operation and also [for] emergency services to be able to react to the incident, then bridges are obviously important parts of the infrastructure," he said.

"It's important that we do know that they're safe in order for us to use them."

The Highways Agency is to examine safety at bridges on most major trunk roads, while Department of Transport officials will work with the local authority on the remainder.

Meanwhile, the Environment Agency is to check the county's flood defences for damage.

In the worst-hit areas, such as Cockermouth and Workington, fire crews and structural engineers are continuing work to ensure buildings are safe.

While many of those forced out of their homes were staying with friends and family, 94 spent another night in reception centres.

Adrian Holme, group manager for the fire service in Cumbria at Penrith, said the operation was still in its "emergency" phase but they were hoping soon to move to "recovery" and clean-up.

Special high-volume pumping fire engines were being brought in from Tyne and Wear and Merseyside, to pump the water out of basements and streets and into the river, once the levels fall.

An army of council road sweepers is ready to clean the sludge off the streets and a decontamination tent has been set up in the centre of the town to combat sewage which may have leaked into the water.

Cockermouth's Main Street was left strewn with debris, shop windows were smashed and cars dented by the force of the flood water.

More heavy showers

United Utilities says 40 waste treatment works which have been put out of action should be in service within three days. Tap water is safe to drink, the firm says.

Recovery efforts may be hampered by further rain, following on from the record 314.4mm (12.4in) which fell at Seathwaite Farm in Cumbria over 24 hours before the weekend.

Forecasters say Sunday afternoon will bring more heavy showers, with up to 40mm (1.6in) of rain in the county.

Much of north-west England, south-west Scotland and Northern Ireland faces similar showers and gales.

The Scottish Environment Protection Agency, which has issued six flood warnings covering the Ayrshire coast and rivers Tay, Isla, Earn and Teith said rain on Sunday would cause water levels to rise again.

However, it said flooding on the scale of Friday - when up to 40 businesses in Dumfries were flooded and about a dozen of the area's roads were closed - was unlikely.

Japan says economy back in deflation

The Bank of Japan moved towards a neutral stance on the risk of inflation on Friday even as the government formally declared that the world’s second-largest economy has entered deflation for the first time since 2006.

The government’s declaration sets the scene for heightened tension with the bank, which has been resisting public calls by politicians for greater aggression in the fight against deflation.

“We want the BoJ to extend support on the monetary policy front in overcoming deflation,” said Naoto Kan, deputy prime minister. Hirohisa Fujii, finance minister, and Shizuka Kamei, financial services minister, have also called on the central bank to do more.

The bank’s policy board kept interest rates on hold at 0.1 per cent on Friday, but said “there is a possibility that inflation will rise more than expected” due to higher commodity prices, offset by a risk it could fall due to lower public expectations for medium- to long-term inflation. In previous statements it only mentioned the risk of inflation declines.

The adjusted balance of risks suggests the bank is moving further away from the use of policy instruments such as quantitative easing. The bank said it would “maintain the extremely accommodative financial environment”, however, indicating that no rise in interest rates is expected.

Consumer prices were down by 2.2 per cent on the previous year in September, or by 1.0 per cent excluding fresh food and energy. Although year-on-year inflation first turned negative in February, the government only now declared that “the Japanese economy is in a mild deflationary phase”.

The basic difference between the bank and the government is whether or not looser monetary policy can create inflation when factories are standing idle and there is limited demand to borrow.

Japan’s experiment with quantitative easing earlier this decade created a large increase in bank reserves, but had a debatable effect on inflation, since only a small part was passed through to the economy via increased bank lending.

Takuji Aida, senior economist at UBS in Tokyo, said that the government’s fiscal stimulus was not enough and it should do more. “We think the government can do more to raise the expected inflation rate than the BoJ,” Mr Aida said.

In one indication that the government intends to maintain a high level of spending, Masayuki Naoshima, trade minister, told reporters that he supported an extension of incentives for scrapping cars in favour of new models, and subsidies for the purchase of more efficient televisions, refrigerators and air conditioners past their current expiry date in March.

Japan’s economy grew at an annualised rate of 4.8 per cent in the third quarter, fuelled by a mix of stimulus-induced domestic demand, a rebound in exports, and rebuilding of inventories.

The central bank board strengthened its language on the current state of the economy. Rather than its October statement that the economy “is starting to pick up”, it said the economy “is picking up”.

Economists are concerned whether the pace of activity will be sustainable once the fiscal stimulus measures expire.

Separately, the lower house of parliament passed a debt moratorium bill calling on lenders to ease repayment terms for consumers and small businesses.

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European policymakers

Germany’s new finance minister has echoed Chinese warnings about the growing threat of fresh global asset price bubbles, fuelled by low US interest rates and a weak dollar.

Wolfgang Schäuble’s comments highlight official concern in Europe that the risk of further financial market turbulence has been exacerbated by the exceptional steps taken by central banks and governments to combat the In order to use this player, please download the latest Adobe Flash player.

Last weekend, Liu Mingkang, China’s banking regulator, criticised the US Federal Reserve for fuelling the “dollar carry-trade”, in which investors borrow dollars at ultra-low interest rates and invest in higher-yielding assets abroad.

His comments reflect the concern of European policymakers that the continent will bear the brunt of a global adjustment process through a stronger euro.

Further signs of official frustration about policy steps being taken elsewhere came from Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, a European Central Bank executive.

He said in a speech in Paris on Friday that emerging Asian economies were continuing “strongly accommodative monetary policies” in spite of their faster economic recoveries.

Although Mr Bini Smaghi did not mention the euro or the eurozone, he warned that delays in implementing an “exit [strategy] by the countries that are ahead in the cyclical upturn creates distortions and encourages other countries to delay their exit, thus further adding to the imbalances and making the exit more difficult for everybody”.

Separately, Jean-Claude Trichet, ECB president, issued his strongest warning yet that banks must control pay and bonuses.

Striking a noticeably stiffer tone, Mr Trichet told the Frankfurt conference: “Profits earned should be used, as a priority, to build capital and reserves, rather than be paid out as dividends or excessive compensation.”

The ECB president quoted a warning by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Frankfurt’s most famous son, on the need for self-restraint: “If I wanted to lavishly let myself go, I could well destroy myself and my environment.”

Mr Trichet said: “Compensation and bonuses must remain contained. Otherwise, we would take risks that Goethe [has] already described.”

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Romania presidential election polls set to open

The frontrunners are the centre-right incumbent, Traian Basescu, and his Social Democrat rival, Mircea Geoana.

The election is expected to put an end to the political crisis which followed the collapse of the centre-right government of Emil Boc in October.

For six weeks recession-hit Romania has been in the hands of a caretaker government.

Sunday's is the country's first presidential election as a member of the EU.

Mr Basescu, who has been president for five years, wants a mandate to overcome what he says is the blocking of his political reforms by opposition parties.

Mr Geoana - a former US ambassador and foreign affairs minister - is offering voters an ambitious economic stimulus package.

Latest polls show the Liberal candidate Crin Antonescu trailing in third place.

The BBC's Nick Thorpe in Bucharest says Romania's current lack of effective government is jeopardising the payment of the next segment of an IMF-led loan.

A run-off will be held on 6 December if no candidate wins an absolute majority in the first round.

The winner will appoint a new premier and have an influence on long-delayed reforms aimed at bringing the country up to EU standards.

Analysts say corruption is still widespread in Romania, nearly three years after the country joined the EU.

A referendum is also being held on Sunday to decide whether to scrap one of the two chambers of parliament and reduce the number of deputies.

Fort Hood massacre accused has hospital hearing

The army psychiatrist charged over the Fort Hood army base massacre in Texas has had his first court hearing - in a hospital room where he is recovering.

A military magistrate ruled that Major Nidal Hasan must remain for now in the military hospital at San Antonio.

He faces 13 counts of murder over the 5 November shootings at the base. More than two dozen others were injured.

Maj Hasan's lawyer told AP news agency his client, who is in intensive care, had been advised he is paralysed.

He was shot by civilian members of Fort Hood's police force during the incident.

Saturday's hearing came amid reports Maj Hasan had stepped up correspondence with a radical cleric before the attack.
E-mails obtained by the FBI showed the accused had begun to discuss secret financial transfers with Yemen-based al-Qaeda sympathiser Anwar al-Awlaki, according to the Washington Post
US-born Muslim, and Mr al-Awlaki had been intercepted by federal investigators.
Senate Armed Services Committee chairman Carl Levin said on Friday he would investigate why those communications were not passed on to military officials.

FBI and military officials have provided differing accounts of why the e-mails apparently did not reach army investigators before the shooting.

Arizona Senator John McCain told AP news agency on Saturday he believed "political correctness" had played a role in preventing concerns about Maj Hasan being acted upon.

Mr al-Awlaki, who was released from a Yemeni jail last year, was once an imam at the mosque in Falls Church, Virginia, where Maj Hasan and his family occasionally worshipped.

He now runs a website denouncing US policy. It has praised Maj Hasan's alleged actions at Fort Hood as heroic.

Meanwhile, Maj Hasan's civilian lawyer, John Galligan, said his client, had been told he is permanently paralysed.

Mr Galligan told AP news agency Maj Hasan - who is under guard - had no feeling from the chest down and limited movement in his arms.