meritocratic colorization: May 2012

Thursday, May 31, 2012

It Gets Better (talking-points-memo)

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Torres looks to impress in Spain friendly

Associated Press Sports

updated 9:37 a.m. ET May 29, 2012

PAUL LOGOTHETIS

AP Sports Writer

MADRID (AP) -Fernando Torres is trying to put a season of struggles behind him to focus on Spain's campaign to defend its European Championship title.

The Chelsea striker will look to impress on Wednesday when Spain plays a friendly against South Korea in Switzerland.

Four years ago, Torres scored the winning goal at the Euro 2008 final. This year, he was not assured a spot in Spain's squad until a late season turnaround coupled with all-time leading scorer David Villa's absence to injury.

Torres, who has 88 caps for the World Cup champions, played sparingly for the Blues on their way to win the Champions League and FA Cup this season. Following talks with the Chelsea brass, Torres is optimistic about his future at the club and certain his form will pick up at the start of the European tournament in Poland and Ukraine next month.

"Physically I feel very good and fresh because I haven't had the drain of so many games as my teammates. I'm hopeful of showing my best to the team," Torres said from Spain's training camp in Austria. "It's true I would have liked to have played more with Chelsea to be in better playing shape."

Torres will compete with Fernando Llorente and Alvaro Negredo for the starting striker's spot in the warm up matches against South Korea on Wednesday and China on Sunday. A good performance in the two friendlies will secure him a place in Spain's opening match against Italy June 10.

"You can't stop the debates," Torres ahead of the match Wednesday - his first since November. "I think we are all here on our own merits. I played with the FA Cup and Champions League winners, so I don't think the end of the seasons was so bad."

Torres missed Spain's 2-0 win over Serbia on Sunday. Juan Mata was out too, but both Chelsea players are in Wednesday's lineup.

Missing from the match will be nine internationals from Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao. They will only join the team when they return to Spain after the South Korea match.

Spain eased past Serbia with its usual brand of possession and passing, which will serve them well to beat opponents in the two remaining warm-up matches for the Euro 2012.

Defender Sergio Ramos did not train on Monday during the team's final public practice in Austria which was marked by the pitch invasion by fans.

Spain travels will travel to its tournament base in the Polish city of Gdansk on June 5.

After Italy, they will face Ireland and Croatia in Group C.

More newsStefano Rellandini / Reuters

Halt Italian soccer for 2-3 years?

Premier Mario Monti suggested Tuesday that Italian football should be suspended for two to three years after the latest match-fixing scandal.

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Wednesday, May 30, 2012

Scotiabank Leasing Group Adds Proficom Financial Corporation to Its

May 29, 2012

Scotiabank Leasing Group Adds Proficom Financial Corporation to Its Growing Lease Platform

Scotiabank Leasing Group today announced the acquisition of Proficom Financial Corporation, a?Montreal?based company that specializes in equipment financing.? The deal, which will close on?June 1, is not financially material to Scotiabank and terms were not disclosed.

?The addition of Proficom to our leasing platform strengthens our reach in Eastern?Canada?and our overall position in the country?s growing lease financing market,? said Joe LaLeggia, Managing Director & Head, Scotiabank Leasing Group.? ?Their team brings with them a high level of expertise in equipment financing, making them a great fit with our line-up of leasing solutions.?

The purchase was made through Roynat Lease Finance, the leasing arm of Roynat Inc., a Scotiabank company that provides tailored financial solutions to small to mid-sized companies.

About Roynat

Since 1962, Roynat Inc. has been delivering creative capital solutions to businesses across?North America. With offices nationwide, Roynat offers financing alternatives by drawing on a broad range of financial solutions including term loans, asset based lending, leasing, subordinated debt and equity. Roynat Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Scotiabank. For more information, please visit?www.roynat.com

About Scotiabank

Scotiabank is one of North America?s premier financial institutions and Canada?s most international bank. With more than 77,000 employees, Scotiabank and its affiliates serve some 19 million customers in more than 55 countries around the world. Scotiabank offers a broad range of products and services including personal, commercial, corporate and investment banking. With assets of?$637 billion?(as at?January 31, 2012), Scotiabank trades on the?Toronto(BNS) and New York Exchanges (BNS). For more information please visit?www.scotiabank.com.

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Trump overshadows Romney with 'birther' talk

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney walks past Donald Trump's airplane as he arrives in Las Vegas, Tuesday, May 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)

LAS VEGAS (AP) ? Mitt Romney's presidential campaign collided with Donald Trump's "birther" rhetoric on Tuesday as the reality television star hosted a fundraiser for the Republican while claiming again that President Barack Obama is foreign-born.

The debunked conspiracy theory among conservative activists dubbed "birthers" charges that Obama is not constitutionally qualified to serve in the White House. Romney has said he believes Obama was born in America, but he has not condemned Trump's comments.

Democrats contend it's the latest example of Romney's reluctance to confront the more extreme elements in his party.

"A lot of people do not think it was an authentic certificate," Trump told CNN of Obama's birth certificate, just hours before he was set to host Romney's finance event at the Trump International Hotel in Las Vegas.

Such allegations have been repeatedly proven false. The state of Hawaii recently re-affirmed that Obama was born there.

Trump's comments, repeated in several media interviews Tuesday, overshadowed Romney's visit to Nevada, one of a handful of swing states expected to decide the presidential contest in November. Trump also upstaged news from Texas that Romney had collected enough delegates to clinch the Republican presidential nomination.

Romney did not address the issue directly at separate events in Colorado and Nevada, but on Monday night he told reporters aboard his campaign plane that Trump is entitled to his opinion. Even as Trump-related criticism from Democrats and Republicans intensified in recent days, Romney showed no sign of distancing himself from the polarizing figure.

"I don't agree with all the people who support me. And my guess is they don't all agree with everything I believe in," Romney said. "But I need to get 50.1 percent or more. And I'm appreciative to have the help of a lot of good people."

The birth question wasn't brought up at the Las Vegas fundraiser, and Romney spoke highly of Trump's efforts on his behalf.

"Mr. Trump, thank you for letting us come to this beautiful hotel and being with so many friends," Romney said. "Thank you for twisting the arms that it takes to bring a fundraiser together. I appreciate your help."

Trump remains popular among the conservative base and boasts ties to deep-pocketed donors. The Las Vegas event was expected to raise $2 million, but Romney's ties to Trump extend beyond that single fundraiser. He has recorded automated phone calls for Romney, hosted a fundraiser for his wife, Ann, in New York, and pressed the candidate's case as a television surrogate.

When Romney's campaign plan arrived at the Las Vegas airport Tuesday, it parked within sight of Trump's plane ? the businessman's name emblazoned on the side in large gold letters.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, once a rival for the GOP nomination and now a Romney supporter, suggested that the Trump issue will not derail Romney's campaign.

"Gov. Romney's not distracted. The Republican Party's not distracted," said Gingrich, who attended the Trump fundraiser. "We believe that this is an American-born job-killing president. Other people may believe that he was born somewhere else and still kills jobs."

The Obama campaign released a video Tuesday criticizing what it considers Romney's unwillingness to stand up to Trump and the more extreme elements in his party. There have been other examples in recent weeks that underscore Romney's delicate push to win over skeptical conservatives while appealing to moderates and independents who generally deliver general election victories.

"Mitt Romney's continued embrace of Donald Trump and refusal to condemn his disgraceful conspiracy theories demonstrates his complete lack of moral leadership," Obama's deputy campaign manager, Stephanie Cutter, said in a statement. "If Mitt Romney lacks the backbone to stand up to a charlatan like Donald Trump because he's so concerned about lining his campaign's pockets, what does that say about the kind of president he would be?"

While Trump asserts that the matter of Obama's birth is a "good issue" for Romney, conservative commentator George Will questioned the "cost benefit" of Romney appearing with Trump.

"The cost of appearing with this bloviating ignoramus is obvious, it seems to me," Will said Sunday. "Donald Trump is redundant evidence that if your net worth is high enough, your IQ can be very low and you can still intrude into American politics. ... Again, I don't understand the benefit. What is Romney seeking?"

Trump revived the false claims about Obama's birthplace late last week, citing a story about a literary agency that mistakenly listed that Obama was born in Kenya.

While Romney briefly addressed the issue Monday, senior aide Eric Fehrnstrom declined to condemn Trump's remarks in a recent interview.

"I can't speak for Donald Trump ... but I can tell you that Mitt Romney accepts that President Obama was born in the United States," Fehrnstrom said. "He doesn't view the place of his birth as an issue in this campaign."

Associated Press

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David Issacharoff: Hotter Summer than Usual

This is what people -- more specifically, political junkies -- have been waiting for ever since the 2008 election ended. The United States cannot and will not accept a lame, dry and dull election season. With $3 billion(!) going into this election, two campaigns slamming each other and one president trying to survive, this election is on a very ugly yet exciting path.

Now that summer is approaching, with election in the fall, the election and the campaigns are fully underway. There is no doubt that Obama takes Romney as a credible threat. Obama has the money, brains and record to beat Romney, but it seems that people are shunning support for the president, giving theirs to Romney. It makes sense. Campaigning for president is very different from being president.

Mitt Romney has been speaking to the country already for a year and a half, telling them exactly what they want to hear, whether they are in New York or Alabama or Idaho. He's a great campaigner, because he is a pure flip-flopper, which I would say is cheating the system -- but that's nothing new to us at all. The president is also one of the best campaigners, because if he wasn't, he wouldn't be president. The difference between these two great campaigners is that Obama does it honestly with honest messages, and with Romney, you never know what he actually means. Obama has been president, and I should think that being President is much harder than being a candidate. Let Obama get out and campaign, and he'll win back the hearts of the voters with a little work and a lot of money.

It's summer, and now the talk about vice-presidential candidates rises. It's 'veepstakes' season, and Romney must make one of the hardest and most important choices of his political life. The Republicans must be extremely careful. 2008 was a vice-presidential disaster that cost them the election. The GOP obviously needs a VP candidate with electability: a strategic home state and appeal to minorities. It has been said that the GOP must shake off the white-male stigma, and I'm confident that they will choose either a woman or a minority, but they have to watch their steps.

There have been some potential names thrown in the air. Marco Rubio would be great if he had a few more years in national politics on his resume. He is young, Hispanic and from a battleground state -- Florida. I would not be surprised one bit if I saw him at the convention being nominated as Mitt's running mate. Little known Senator Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire has been gaining some attention lately for saying that she'd love to take on Joe Biden. She's articulate and she's a woman, but New Hampshire is not by any means electorally worthwhile, never mind that it borders Massachusetts, Romney's home state. That being said, in 1992, Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton selected Al Gore from the bordering state of Tennessee.

There are many other potentials, such as Nikki Haley, Bobby Jindal and Allen West -- and the list goes on. The ultimate candidate who will hit it out of the park and really make Romney a true threat to Obama-Biden is former Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice. Rice is an African-American woman who is intelligent and knows foreign policy like the back of her hand. Condi gives the Romney ticket the national security and foreign policy record that it sorely needs, if Romney is such a great economist and job-creator. She polls well with Republicans, with her leading all the VP potential candidate polls.

She is perfect and has a fascinating life story, rising to who she is now from growing up as a black girl in Birmingham, Alabama. She is not a typical Republican, but she'll never do it. I personally cannot see Condi out campaigning. It doesn't fit well in my mind. She has made it clear that she has reservations for politics, as her image is not one of a politician, but an intellectual stateswoman. Just imagine Condi versus Joe Biden, two foreign policy giants, debating. Currently she teachers at Stanford and makes plenty of money with other business commitments. Too bad for Republicans.

Whoever the GOP vice-presidential nominee will be, he'll face Joe Biden in the debates and in the campaign. The media has created talk about Joe Biden being dropped out of the ticket, and asking pundits whether Obama should think about dropping Biden. I have no doubt that they thought to drop the vice president. But they didn't, and that shows that he shouldn't be dropped. Joe Biden is good for the Democrats and for Obama. Appealing to white middle-class working Americans is what Biden is great at. In his speeches, it is clear that he was one of them. He speaks so eloquently to the middle class that has slowly walked away from Obama. Biden is indispensable, and he might just win Obama reelection.

Once every four years, there is an extra-hot summer. Summers before presidential elections are summers that are remembered for the campaigns, the ads and in this case, their ugliness. So much money will be poured in from now until November, and while we wait and see Mitt Romney and Barack Obama making their case for a better America, we sit back, turn on our televisions, keep our eyes open and see what Americans voice at the ballot box.

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The Variable Consequences of Debunking Family Myths ? The ...

I received this ferrotype when my maternal grandmother died. She always said it was of her grandparents, who had passed away before she was born. The stories she heard about them from relatives were thus linked in her mind with these images.

However, as my older brother began investigating our genealogy, the family story about this picture didn?t add up. The ferrotype technology was out of fashion in the era it was supposedly taken and the military uniform is of a Pennsylvania regiment in which my great-great-grandfather did not serve. Further spadework proved that the image is in fact a generation further back in our family tree than our grandmother knew. When she visualized her grandparents she was in fact relying on a picture of her great-grandparents.

I doubt it would have bothered her much to learn the truth. She?d have felt silly for a few minutes but then let it go. After all, she didn?t know them personally so it just isn?t that big of a deal.

The debunking of family myths is not always so benign. I had a colleague whose faith in his own family and in people in general was shattered when he learned that the woman he thought was his mother was in fact his maternal grandmother, the woman he grew up thinking was his older sister was in fact his mother and his ?uncle? on the other side was in fact his grandfather. The family had created a network of lies to cover up two scandals (an out of wedlock teen pregnancy and a military desertion). They fooled everyone for decades. Once my colleague found out the truth from his dying mother, he could never forget nor forgive the deceptions. He himself died, in his 80s, still bitter about the myths of his childhood.

In a less serious but still painful case, two women on Antiques Roadshow brought in for appraisal a violin that had been in their family for many years. The family story was that it was a Stradivarius, which the master craftsman had produced in honour of his beautiful new wife Faciebat Ano (Her name was even on the violin!). When the appraiser revealed that Faciebat Ano means ?Made in the Year? and the instrument was a cheap reproduction, their disappointment in the destruction of their family myth must have been accentuated by the humiliation of looking ignorant on national television.

My favorite family myth story concerned two women from Manchester. One of them in late life began digging into her family?s history and found that she had a distant cousin who was probably still living. She tried to track the cousin?s whereabouts and found that she resided only a few miles away! She introduced herself and the cousin was delighted. They found they had similar tastes and similar ideas and why shouldn?t they? They were family after all. Even their husbands got on well, to the point that the four of them dined and played bridge together regularly.

But then the woman who had originally discovered the connection realized that she had misunderstood a baptism certificate of an ancestor. When she corrected the resulting cascade of misinterpretations within her family tree, she realised that her ?distant cousin? wasn?t related to her at all. The friendship, despite being based on a fairy tale, endured. This makes me wonder: If everyone were deluded into believing that some proportion of total strangers were in fact long lost relatives, would we all be blessed with a larger circle of friends?

Posted: Sunday, May 27th, 2012 at 11:32 pm
11 Comments ?

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Tuesday, May 29, 2012

How to Choose a best Debt Management Company

Though it is normal to crack under debt problems, it must also be understood that burnout can be quite harmful for the productivity of the individual in question. A guiding hand in such a case can do wonders. debt management plan are no magic wand that when waved will bring happiness to the life of the individual. The people tend to brush their hands of any responsibility related to achieving their objectives. Although a good debt management plan can add significant value as a facilitator, a strong individual must focus on motivating and inspiring set of behaviors.

Caution: There are roadblocks ahead

You need to learn from your mistakes at an early age otherwise chances are your growth will be stunted.

A good debt management plan becomes a central part of our busy lives. Remember, relying too much on debt management services will make you complacent. One must broaden their horizon and not stick to debt management service company completely rather try to negotiate with your lender first or seek the help of colleagues. Harboring self doubt and criticizing oneself is harmful. Take your mistakes in your stride and be confident because such obstacles can become your learning curve.

In any sphere of game, choosing the right path is quintessential. Your debt management company has a very important role to play. It ensures that all such situations are tackled smoothly.

One of the biggest roadblocks is how to choose a debt management company.

How to choose a Debt Management Company

There are number of factors to need be considered when choosing a good debt management company. The most important factors include

Fee Structure

As earlier said, getting too comfortable will make you complacent. Determine the fees that debt Management Company is going to charge you. It can range from $10 to $40 a month. Many debt management companies will ask you to pay directly and then send those payments to your creditors. Investigate what they will do with the money and when the money will be sent to the creditors. Don't forget to check whether there is an enrollment fee or some hidden costs for setting up a debt management plan with the company. Also, check out what will happen if you miss out the payment or pay the amount late.

Services provided by Debt Management Company

The next major root cause that concocts such roadblocks is not understanding what kind of services your credit card debt management company is providing. At a bare minimum, your debt management company will offer you repayment plan in black and white. Additionally, a good debt management company will ensure that you are continuously developed and will provide necessary measures for financial education or awareness. Check out what kind of services debt management companies are providing.

Whether the company is not for a profit or not

The next major thing to look before choosing a debt management company is whether the company is for profit or not. While not all not for profit companies are legitimate, and while not all not for profit companies are bad. You need to draw a line, so that you don't get knock down by these roadblocks. Not for profit company simply means that the company has been approved by the govt and is providing them tax incentives. It simply means, the company is really out to help the customers, but it is not always a guarantee.

Accreditation
The next major factor to consider is whether the company is nationally accredited or not. There are several accrediting bodies that will help you rise from ashes. Bodies like the American Association of Debt Management Organizations, the Association of Independent Consumer Credit Counseling Agencies, and the National Foundation for Credit Counseling can help you to attain your goal. If the company is accredited with any of the above mentioned agencies, you need not to move to another company.

Reputation

Reputation makes organization answerable to customers. You can seek referrals from friends, colleagues, or those who are undergoing the same situation. You can check a reputation of company from Better Business Bureau; it will ensure that you get best of both the world.

Exercise your discretion

After considering all these factors ball lies in your court. Your debt management company is a strong partner in your business. It dons to play multiple roles from being an advisor to leader. A good debt management plan truly creates the framework for success.

There are several wrong notions associated with how to choose a debt management company. Hope this article helps in debunking some of these unresolved myths.

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Monday, May 28, 2012

Money Market Account Rate Deal of the Day: Members Financial Federal Credit Union at 0.65% APY

Members Financial Federal Credit Union

Taking advantage of a money market account rate is an opportunity that can help you earn money without stalling your daily pace. Members Financial Federal Credit Union provides members with a 0.65% APY.

Money Market Account Rate Terms and Conditions

To receive earnings at the money market account rate noted above, members are required to maintain a minimum account balance of $10,000. If balances dip below the minimum amount, depositors will still enjoy returns at a lower rate. Money market accounts are federally insured under the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) as long as the member holds under $250,000 with the institution.

About Members Financial Federal Credit Union

Members Financial Federal Credit Union operates as a non-profit financial institution, under the direction of the elected member board. The committee then meets on matters regarding the credit union such as existing interest rates, new products and services and dividends to be disbursed to its members.

As a member, you?re considered a partial owner of the credit union with equal say as to how it should be operated?successfully.

Other Terms and Conditions may apply. Additionally, rates may have changed since this offer was posted. Please contact the financial institution for the most recent rate updates and to review the terms of the offer.

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When Looking for Estate Planning Lawyer ... - Personal Finance Info

In the future, it is possible for certain issues to be alleviated through estate planning and what you have here pertains to creating plans for asset disposal when you are no longer with the living. When it comes to this, get the advice of an estate lawyer so that you can maximize the value of an estate after taxes and so on. For a lot of estates, these are often designated to the children of the owners and they normally get help from the best Estate Panning Lawyer Charlottethat they can find.

Charlotte is a large city in North Carolina and in America and there are more than a million individuals living in the city proper and in the metropolitan part as well. In the USA, land in Charlotte is tremendously marketable and this is because of the fact that it is a Global City. With NY having the largest banking center in America, Charlotte is a close second.

In North Carolina, there are other cities that are just like this one and they are Huntersville and Fort Mill. You are dealing with the 19th largest city in the States when it comes to nearby Huntersville. Fort Mill, on the other hand, is a fast-growing suburban town with vast peach orchards and picturesque pastures, lakes and forests with trails that are perfect for hiking, biking and horseback riding.

With the expertise of a highly skilled estate planning lawyer, there is nothing to worry about if you have land in this area. Reducing the value of what you own need not be a problem as well. Something that property owners in North Carolina want to avoid is diminishing value for their assets especially if they are considering passing these on to other family members.

It is not fun planning one?s own death and determining what would happen to one?s property after someone dies. To make sure that no problems arise when it comes to the future transfer of assets, see to it that you consult an attorney. In various cities in North Carolina, it is pretty easy to find competent lawyers when it comes to something like estate planning.

The thing about estate planning is that it involves powers of appointment, property ownership and beneficiary designations not to mention usual legal elements like wills and trusts. Depending on the preference of an individual, assets may go to the next living relative or they can be designated to friends or a charitable institution. Planning may include a living will that gives out other instructions such as manner of burial or the passing on of heirlooms.

There are issues pertaining to laws and taxations that you will deal with through estate planning. Since you will be dealing with these things, it is adamant that you get the help of lawyers or accountants with titles such as Chartered Financial Analyst, Trust and Estate Practitioner, or Chartered Trust and Estate Planner when it comes to something like estate planning. Even after you pass on, you still have to pay taxes and the job of the estate planner is to see to it that such taxes need not be paid so that your intended beneficiaries can get your assets in full.

Aside from guaranteeing the transfer of assets and limiting tax liability, it is also the responsibility of the estate planning lawyer to protect the family. Family is the most important asset that you can have no matter how wealthy you are. For those who transfer properties to their family members, this is a way of securing the family, not just passing on the wealth.

The job of providing property owners with the right kinds of wills, trusts, and powers of appointment is something you can expect from competent estate planners. When it comes to this, templates are not enough. Flexibility is something that is important when it comes to this.

The most reasonable advicecan also be provided by the estate planner. By working with a competent estate planning lawyer Charlotte, you can expect services that are so good that they outlive the clients. An estate planner is more than just a lawyer for he or she provides great advice too.

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Screening finds skin cancer, but does it save lives? | Health Magazine

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) ? Doctors find a high number of malignant tumors when a state-wide skin cancer screening program is introduced, says a new study.

Based on results from a program in Germany, researchers say 116 people need to be screened for skin cancer and five people need to have a biopsy to find one malignant tumor.

They, however, cannot say whether the screenings actually saved lives.

Still, the numbers reported in the new study are ?quite good,? said Dr. Alexander Katalinic, one of the study?s coauthors, in an email to Reuters Health.

In the United States, the last time the government-backed U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) looked at the screenings in 2009, the group said there was not enough evidence to recommend full-body exams to check for signs of skin cancer in adults. The USPSTF, however, did not recommend against it either.

Dr. Virginia Moyer, the chair of the USPSTF, said the group reviews its guidelines every few years, and as for now its 2009 recommendation stands.

SOME FALSE POSITIVES

For the study, the researchers examined data from the Skin Cancer Research to Provide Evidence for Effectiveness of Screening in Northern Germany (SCREEN) program, which was conducted in the German state of Schleswig-Holstein between 2003 and 2004. (Germany has had a national skin cancer screening program in place since July 2008.)

More than 360,000 people older than 20 years old and living in the state chose to be screened by doctors who went through a special training to identify suspicious skin lesions or moles.

Some people decided to see a dermatologist while others went to a general practitioner who referred them to a dermatologist if they suspected skin cancer.

Overall, about 16,000 people had a biopsy ? about one for every 23 people who were screened. Doctors identified about 3,100 malignant tumors from those biopsies.

The cost for each screening is about $27. A biopsy can run over $100, and the removal of a malignant skin lesion can cost about $800.

The researchers cannot say how many screenings led to an unnecessary biopsy or treatment, because of the program?s design. But, Katalinic said ?of course there are false positives.?

Overall, there were 3,103 malignant skin tumors, and 585 of those were malignant melanomas, the most deadly type.

More than 50 people between the ages of 20 and 49 years old had to have a biopsy to identify one melanoma. That?s more than double the 20 biopsies needed to find one in people over 65 years old.

Katalinic said, as an epidemiologist, he thinks the number needed to screen or biopsied should be improved, especially among younger people. There were also 1961 basal cell carcinomas, 392 squamous cell carcinomas and 165 were other types of malignant tumors.

Did Screening Help?

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Spain region, Greek exit warnings rattle euro zone

(Reuters) - Central banks and companies risk making a grave error if they do not brace for a possible Greek exit from the euro zone, Belgium's foreign minister said on Friday, rattling markets already alarmed by Spain's deteriorating finances.

Greek elections are scheduled for June 17 and could hasten the country's departure from the currency club should a government intent on ripping up the country's bailout program result.

Contrasting findings of opinion polls on Friday showed the outcome is too tight to call.

Greece accounts for little more than 2 percent of the euro zone economy but could pose a profound contagion threat if it quit the currency area, throwing the spotlight on Portugal, Spain and even Italy.

"There is no organized discussion at the European level along the lines of: what do we do (if Greece leaves)," Didier Reynders, who is both Belgium's foreign minister and deputy prime minister, told the European American Press Club in Paris. "Now, if central banks and companies are not preparing for the scenario, that would be a grave professional error."

Spain is in plenty of trouble even disregarding any backwash from Greece.

Its wealthiest autonomous region, Catalonia, on Friday said it needed help from the central government because it was running out of options for refinancing debt this year.

"We don't care how they do it, but we need to make payments at the end of (each) month. Your economy can't recover if you can't pay your bills," Catalan President Artur Mas told reporters.

Spain's trump card had been that it had successfully issued well over half the sovereign debt it needs to in 2012.

But after revealing this week that its highly indebted regions faced 36 billion euros of debt refinancing bills this year, way above the previously stated 8 billion, that advantage may have been wiped out.

On top of public debt, the country is hobbled by a banking sector overwhelmed by bad debts tied to a property market boom that went bust and still has some way further to fall.

Bankia SA, Spain's fourth-biggest bank, on Friday asked for a bailout of 19 billion euros ($24 billion) to repair losses from a property crash - the biggest Spanish bank rescue ever.

Spain is nationalizing Bankia, which holds some 10 percent of the country's bank deposits. The government insists the bank is a one-off case, but economists say a wider bailout of the sector, either by Madrid or the euro zone, may become necessary.

Adding to a miserable day for Spanish investors, Standard & Poor's lowered its ratings on the debt of Bankia and four other Spanish banks and said it was taking a dimmer view of Spain's economy.

Markets have been buffeted by the escalating euro zone crisis in recent weeks and face more uncertainty up to the Greek election date, and maybe beyond.

The euro plumbed near two-year lows against the U.S. dollar on the back of the Catalonian warning, stocks slipped, and Italian and Spanish borrowing costs rose.

"The Catalonia news was a big deal because it implies that the Spanish government may have to take on more debt and it cannot afford to do so," said Richard Franulovich, senior currency strategist at Westpac Securities in New York.

CONTINGENCY

EU leaders insisted at a summit on Wednesday that they wanted to keep Greece in the euro zone and they have good reason to, given the losses that could be inflicted on them and the European Central Bank should Greece on its debt.

But sources told Reuters the Eurogroup Working Group - experts who work for the bloc's finance ministers - had told member states to begin making contingency plans for a Greece exit.

"Our first priority is to keep Greece in the euro zone whilst they are respecting the commitments," European Council President Herman Van Rompuy told a news conference during a visit to Ljubljana, Slovenia, on Friday.

"Of course we are reflecting on all different kind of scenarios, but we never discussed them neither in technical nor in political form," he said. "The contingency plan is not our priority."

French banks, which are among the lenders most exposed to Greece, have stepped up their plans for a Greek euro zone exit, sources familiar with the situation said. They include Credit Agricole, BNP Paribas and Societe Generale.

"Every bank has a task force right now looking at the potential consequences of a return to the drachma," a Paris-based banker said.

Most economists agree the austerity measures foisted on Greece as part of its 130 billion-euro bailout will be impossible to deliver because they would drive the country deeper into recession and make debt even harder to cut.

Peter Bofinger, one of the five "wise men" who formally advise the German government on the economy, said Europe should renegotiate the terms of Greece's bailout as they were agreed on overly optimistic assumptions about growth.

"The terms for Greece should be renegotiated," Bofinger told Reuters in an interview. "That's very important for both sides, because if you have an uncontrolled exit of Greece, it could lead to a 'Lehman moment' for Europe."

(Additional reporting by Lionel Laurent and Christian Plumb in Paris, Marja Novak in Ljubljana, Carlos Ruano and Sonya Dowsett in Madrid and Sarah Marsh in Berlin; Writing by Mike Peacock and William Schomberg; Editing by Jeremy Gaunt and Leslie Adler)

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Why Facials are Important? ? Beauty, Health and Fitness

26 May 2012 o 23:37 | Skin care
Autor: admin |

The skin comes into focus as not only being the largest organ in the human body but also as the most exposed organ to harsh UV rays and environmental pollutants. Though following healthy diet program, working out regularly and drinking plenty of water may reflect in your skin and overall health in a positive way, these may not prove beneficial to flush out impurities embedded deep in the inner layers of skin. Perhaps the best way to wash away the dirt and pollutants from your skin is to undergo a pampering facial treatment.

Nevertheless, beyond the removal of toxins, facial treatment contributes a lot to tremendously enhance the texture and tone of your skin by improving blood circulation and fighting aging signs. Facial treatments are further considered an excellent stress buster, since it is accompanied by steps including soothing massage that helps to relax and relieve the tension of facial muscles.

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Saturday, May 26, 2012

Legal Theory Blog: Legal Theory Bookworm

The Legal Theory Bookworm recommends Infrastructure: The Social Value of Shared Resources by Brett M. Frischmann. ?Here is a description:

Infrastructure resources are the subject of many contentious public policy debates, including what to do about crumbling roads and bridges, whether and how to protect our natural environment, energy policy, even patent law reform, universal health care, network neutrality regulation and the future of the Internet. Each of these involves a battle to control infrastructure resources, to establish the terms and conditions under which the public receives access, and to determine how the infrastructure and various dependent systems evolve over time.?

Infrastructure: The Social Value of Shared Resources?devotes much needed attention to understanding how society benefits from infrastructure resources and how management decisions affect a wide variety of interests. The book links?infrastructure, a particular set of resources defined in terms of the manner in which they create value, with?commons, a resource management principle by which a resource is shared within a community. The infrastructure commons ideas have broad implications for scholarship and public policy across many fields ranging from traditional infrastructure like roads to environmental economics to intellectual property to Internet policy.

Economics has become the methodology of choice for many scholars and policymakers in these areas. The book offers a rigorous economic challenge to the prevailing wisdom, which focuses primarily on problems associated with ensuring adequate supply. The author explores a set of questions that, once asked, seem obvious: what drives the demand side of the equation, and how should demand-side drivers affect public policy? Demand for infrastructure resources involves a range of important considerations that bear on the optimal design of a regime for infrastructure management. The book identifies resource valuation and attendant management problems that recur across many different fields and many different resource types, and it develops a functional economic approach to understanding and analyzing these problems and potential solutions.

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Obama on the defensive on spending, debt

President Barack Obama speaks to supporters during a campaign fundraiser in Denver, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. (AP Photo/Ed Andrieski)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Government spending and debt are emerging as a campaign tug-of-war, with Mitt Romney blaming President Barack Obama for a "prairie fire of debt" and Obama calling the charge a "cowpie of distortion." House Speaker John Boehner is talking about a debt ceiling that is still more than eight months away.

What gives? In a word, polling.

The American public is growing increasingly distressed about government spending and high budgets. The issue now ranks as high on the worry scale as lack of jobs. And it worked well for Republicans in 2010, who galvanized voters with ads and flyers that drew attention to government red ink and took back control of the U.S. House after four years of Democratic rule.

Republicans are looking for that magic again.

Romney has maintained a drumbeat of criticism over Obama's handling of federal spending and the national debt in recent weeks, forcing the president on the defensive on an issue where public opinion is stacked against him.

In Iowa earlier this month, Romney said a "prairie fire of debt" was sweeping across the nation, threatening the country's future. He accused Obama of inflating the debt that he had pledged to reduce and ballooning the federal budget deficit with the 2009 economic stimulus and 2010 health care bill after saying he would cut it sharply.

Obama, in campaign events in Colorado, California and Iowa this week, argued that federal spending had slowed to rates not seen in decades after he inherited a $1 trillion large debt and later pushed for $2 trillion in spending cuts. The president pointed to Romney's tax proposal, saying it would give millionaires tax cuts at the expense of the debt.

Obama called Romney's claims a "cowpie of distortion" and would saddle the debt with $5 trillion in new tax cuts, likening it to trying to put out "a prairie fire with some gasoline."

"What happens is, the Republicans run up the tab, and then we're sitting there and they've left the restaurant," Obama said at a campaign event in Des Moines. "And then they point and (say), 'Why did you order all those steaks and martinis?'"

Obama's defensive crouch on debt and spending reflect a hard reality: Polls consistently show voters, including sought-after independents, placing more trust in Romney to handle the massive debt. The nation's economy remains a focal point for voters but many remain concerned that years of heavy federal spending on guns and butter could leave the U.S. in a similar position as Greece and other European nations grappling with massive debt.

A Gallup/USA Today poll conducted May 10-13 found that overall, 82 percent of Americans called the "federal budget deficit and debt" extremely or very important, a level of interest comparable to unemployment. The same poll found Romney with a broad advantage on handling the budget deficit and debt, with 54 percent saying he would do a better job handling it compared with 39 percent who chose Obama.

The results mirrored an April Washington Post/ABC News poll, which found 51 percent of Americans sided with Romney on handling the federal budget deficit, compared with 38 percent for Obama. Among independents, 60 percent preferred Romney while 29 percent thought Obama would do a better job handling it.

The White House has tried to respond. Traveling to Colorado Springs, Colo., White House press secretary Jay Carney cited an analysis by MarketWatch that said spending under Obama had grown more slowly than any president since Dwight Eisenhower.

A few hours later, Obama picked up on the piece, telling donors in Denver that his work to pay down the federal debt in a "balanced and responsible" way was "starting to appear in places ? real liberal outlets like the Wall Street Journal ? since I've been president, federal spending has risen at the lowest pace in nearly 60 years." MarketWatch is published by Dow Jones & Co., which also publishes the Wall Street Journal.

Yet, Obama's budget stewardship is open to interpretation. The debt now stands at $15.7 trillion, compared to $10.6 trillion on his inauguration day. On a dollar basis, that's the biggest ever jump in the debt. How much the debt has grown can also be measures as a percentage of what he inherited. By that measure, the debt has increased by half during the three-and-a-half year Obama administration. During President Ronald Reagan's eight-year administration, the debt nearly tripled, from about $910 billion to more than $2.6 trillion.

Still, much of the increase during Obama's tenure has been a consequence of the recession. In a poor economy, government spending increases automatically because more Americans become eligible for food stamps, unemployment assistance and Medicaid. Also, a poor economy leads to unemployment which cuts into tax revenue. As a result, deficits are inevitable as more money goes out and less comes in.

To be sure, Obama pushed through a stimulus package that cost more than $800 billion and he and President George Bush both approved spending of the $700 billion bank bailout in 2008 and 2009. But those costs are not recurrent.

"It's important to understand the reason why the debt went up by so much," said Robert Bixby of the budget watchdog group The Concord Coalition. "We certainly do have a very serious long-term debt problem in the country. We have an underlying structural imbalance between what we are promising, mostly in entitlement benefits, and what we're willing to pay for in taxes. But in the short-term there are a lot of factors that are pushing the debt up that aren't related to fiscal policy."

Add to the mix Boehner, who has said when Congress is asked to raise the nation's borrowing cap after the election, he will insist on spending cuts to offset the increase. Democratic leaders call it an irresponsible course of action, noting that the gridlock over the debt ceiling last year caused a downgrading of the U.S. government's credit rating.

All of this is aimed at unaligned, independent voters.

In turning attention to debt, Republicans are tapping a winning issue they deployed in congressional races two years ago. In October of 2010, Republican pollster Wes Anderson said, congressional campaigns shifted "away from jobs and economy to government taking us over the cliff." The emphasis proved to be a success at the ballot box.

These days, the economy remains the preeminent issue in voters' minds, but Anderson says middle-of-the-road votes are the targets of the big government message.

"The middle is angry about where we are at and they really see two villains on this stage, this play has two antagonists. Both of them are big," said Anderson, who is working on congressional and statewide political campaigns in several states that are presidential battlegrounds. "One is big business, big Wall Street, big insurance, big oil, just big, abusing the middle class, abusing small businesses, abusing the taxpayer. The other is big government ? big government wildly running up massive deficits and debt which abuse the taxpayer, the middle class and small business."

Independent voters, he said, "hold both of those central tenets to be true."

___

Associated Press Deputy Polling Director Jennifer Agiesta contributed to this report.

Associated Press

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Smash

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There was an beginning of your?

There was an beginning of your new pattern in marketers that is utilising an

Regardless if you happen to be selling, there exists a good chance that you may encounter an agent once or twice as well as other. The primary concept powering a business online specialist is rather clear-cut, nevertheless lots of people have no idea what one is. To support clear the air, what follows is a glance at what they?re and why people today use their solutions.

In short, a business online brokerage service is actually a middleman. Their objective is usually to link traders small business selling with purchasers, similar to an agent in other area of economic like real estate property. The retailers are made of folks that are looking to promote their internet businesses. This might be an individual site as well as full community of sites, goods, and companies. The purchasers can be those who find themselves endeavoring to enter the internets business community and wouldn?t like to begin as scrape or they can be those who only desire to develop their on the web business. Either way, the two of you becomes benefiting from having a brokerage.

If you?re a home owner and get not considered an on-line enterprises brokerage service then now could be the time. There are many areas to offer your website than any other time. Although this offers you various options, furthermore, it thins our the potential buyers. This considerably reduces the likelihood of choosing the right purchaser in the proper price. With a specialist, you?re going to get prompt associations with buyers who will be ready get at a price that you are pleased with. Another benefit is usually that the brokerage service will ensure that the entire process such as fee and documents should go well, with little energy by you.

An advanced purchaser it is especially luring to do it by themselves. Even though an internet business dealer will charge a fee to either the customer, vendor, or either, in addition, they produce a priceless service. One of the primary dangers when purchasing a website or total web based business essentially end up not receiving most of the info that you need to type a qualified view. This is usually a frequent grievance between folks who acquire internet sites at auctions for the first time. That has a brokerage, you know the many data you get is 100% exact. Moreover, you may understand that the process of filling out the financial transaction and relocating properties are going to be taken care of by way of specialist next-occasion.

If you?re seriously interested in selling or buying a web based business then using a web business dealer only is sensible. Retailers will manage to benefit from receiving the coverage that they need to talk with the appropriate shopper. Potential buyers will benefit from with the knowledge that your entire approach may go effortlessly understanding that all of the info actually introduced is precise. In regards to dealing companies on-line, an unbiased next-celebration is often usually a tool.

Tags: First Time, internet site, internet businesses, web based, internet sites, business online brokerage service, brokerage service

This entry was posted on Friday, May 25th, 2012 and is filed under Business. You can follow any responses to this entry through RSS 2.0. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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Work-Related Asthma a Significant Problem: CDC

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Friday, May 25, 2012

Protein necessary for behavioral flexibility discovered

ScienceDaily (May 24, 2012) ? Researchers have identified a protein necessary to maintain behavioral flexibility, which allows us to modify our behaviors to adjust to circumstances that are similar, but not identical, to previous experiences. Their findings, which appear in the journal Cell Reports, may offer new insights into addressing autism and schizophrenia -- afflictions marked by impaired behavioral flexibility.

Our stored memories from previous experiences allow us to repeat certain tasks. For instance, after driving to a particular location, we recall the route the next time we make that trip. However, sometimes circumstances change -- one road on the route is temporarily closed -- and we need to make adjustments to reach our destination. Our behavioral flexibility allows us to make such changes and, then, successfully complete our task. It is driven, in part, by protein synthesis, which produces experience-dependent changes in neural function and behavior.

However, this process is impaired for many, preventing an adjustment in behavior when faced with different circumstances. In the Cell Reports study, the researchers sought to understand how protein synthesis is regulated during behavioral flexibility.

To do so, they focused on the kinase PERK, an enzyme that regulates protein synthesis. PERK is known to modify eIF2?, a factor that is required for proper protein synthesis. Their experiments involved comparing normal lab mice, which possessed the enzyme, with those that lacked it.

In their study, the mice were asked to navigate a water maze, which included elevating themselves onto a platform to get out of the water. Normal mice and those lacking PERK learned to complete this task.

However, in a second step, the researchers tested the mice's behavioral flexibility by moving the maze's platform to another location, thereby requiring them to respond to a change in the terrain. Here, the normal mice located the platform, but those lacking PERK were unable to do so or took significantly more time to complete the task.

A second experiment offered a different test of the role of PERK in aiding behavioral flexibility. In this measure, both normal and mutant mice heard an audible tone that was followed by a mild foot shock. At this stage, all of the mice developed a normal fear response -- freezing at the tone in anticipation of the foot shock. However, the researchers subsequently removed the foot shock from the procedure and the mice heard only the tone. Eventually, the normal mice adjusted their responses so they did not freeze after hearing the tone. However, the mutant mice continued to respond as if they expected a foot shock to follow.

The researchers sought additional support for their conclusion that the absence of PERK may contribute to impaired behavioral flexibility in human neurological disorders. To do so, they conducted postmortem analyses of human frontal cortex samples from patients afflicted with schizophrenia, who often exhibit behavioral inflexibility, and unaffected individuals. The samples from the control group showed normal levels of PERK while those from the schizophrenic patients had significantly reduced levels of the protein.

"A rapidly expanding list of neurological disorders and neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Fragile X syndrome, have already been linked to aberrant protein synthesis," explained Eric Klann, a professor in NYU's Center for Neural Science and one of the study's co-authors. "Our results show the significance of PERK in maintaining behavioral flexibility and how its absence might be associated with schizophrenia. Further studies clarifying the specific role of PERK-regulated protein synthesis in the brain may provide new avenues to tackle such widespread and often debilitating neurological disorders."

The study's other co-authors were: Mimi Trinh, who recently completed her Ph.D. in NYU's Center for Neural Science; Hanoch Kaphzan, a former post-doctoral fellow in NYU's Center for Neural Science and now at the University of Haifa in Israel; Ronald Wek, a professor at Indiana University School of Medicine; Philippe Pierre, a group leader at France's Universit? de la M?diterran?e; and Douglas Cavener, a professor at Penn State's Department of Biology.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by New York University, via Newswise.

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

Journal Reference:

Mimi A. Trinh, Hanoch Kaphzan, Ronald C. Wek, Philippe Pierre, Douglas R. Cavener, Eric Klann. Brain-Specific Disruption of the eIF2? Kinase PERK Decreases ATF4 Expression and Impairs Behavioral Flexibility. Cell Reports, 24 May 2012 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2012.04.010

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

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

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Thursday, May 24, 2012

EU leaders support growth, give few concrete plans

Greek Prime Minister Panagiotis Pikrammenos addresses the media after an EU summit at the EU Council in Brussels, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union met in Brussels Wednesday to try and find a way to keep the debt crisis in Europe from spiraling out of control and promote jobs and growth. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

French President Francois Hollande, gestures as he speaks to the media during a press conference at an EU summit, at the European Council building in Brussels, Thursday, May 24, 2012. The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union meet in Brussels to try and find a way to keep the debt crisis in Europe from spiraling out of control and promote jobs and growth. (AP Photo/Michel Euler)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel addresses the media after an EU summit at the EU Council in Brussels Thursday, May 24, 2012. The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union met in Brussels Wednesday to try and find a way to keep the debt crisis in Europe from spiraling out of control and promote jobs and growth. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

German Chancellor Angela Merkel walks away after she addressed the media after an EU summit at the EU Council in Brussels Thursday, May 24, 2012. The leaders of the 27 countries that make up the European Union met in Brussels Wednesday to try and find a way to keep the debt crisis in Europe from spiraling out of control and promote jobs and growth. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

BRUSSELS (AP) ? European Union leaders concluded their latest summit early Thursday with few concrete steps to fix the continent's festering financial crisis even as the potential for a messy Greek exit from the euro appears to be rising. Some leaders stressed the importance of planning for just such an event but offered no measures that might help Greece avoid it.

Also left unresolved was what Europe should do to spark economic growth and restore the confidence of investors, who have driven some countries' borrowing costs to unsustainable levels. The fiscal austerity agenda that Germany has promoted as the solution to Europe's problem of too much government debt has been met with rising skepticism in other euro countries.

The leaders of the 27 EU countries agreed to give institutions such as the European Investment Bank the task of drawing up proposals for growth in time for another summit in June. But there was discord over more aggressive actions promoted by some leaders heading into the summit, such as issuing bonds jointly as a way of reducing borrowing costs for heavily indebted nations among the 17 countries that use the euro.

The perception that European leaders lack the political will to tackle the continent's financial and economic problems has left markets on edge for weeks. Recession is spreading. Banks are under pressure. The biggest fear is that if Greece cannot be saved, other larger economies ? like Spain or Portugal ? might face the same fate.

The euro countries "have to consider all kinds of events," Luxembourg Prime Minister Jean-Claude Juncker told reporters after a European Union summit, but insisted that "the working assumption" was that Greece would remain part of the euro. Leaders gathered in Brussels recognized that Greece had endured significant hardships and promised to release development funds aimed at spurring growth.

But the statement from Juncker, who also chairs meetings of eurozone finance ministers, was a frank admission that Greece could wind up abandoning the euro. The country's fringe political parties, which are threatening to renege on commitments made to secure bailout loans, saw their popularity surge in recent elections. No party has been able to form a government, and the country will vote again June 17.

Many analysts have said that Greece, already in its fifth year of recession, has no hope of recovery if it sticks to the spending cuts and tax hikes it agreed to in order to secure bailout loans.

"We want Greece to remain in the euro area," German Chancellor Angela Merkel said after the meeting. "We expect that they will stick to the commitments that they have entered into."

Political uncertainty in Greece is just one of the fires the Europe needs to put out. Leaders are also worried about rising borrowing costs in Spain and Italy that could force them to seek bailouts, just like Greece, Portugal and Ireland did.

Markets had expected the latest EU summit to disappoint and it did. Europe's stock markets had fallen heavily during trading on Wednesday and the euro hit a near two-year low against the dollar.

Asian stock markets retreated Thursday as the lack of a breakthrough in Europe unnerved traders. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 was down 0.5 at 8,514.53 and Hong Kong's Hang Seng slipped 0.6 percent to 18,682.38.

Dariusz Kowalczyk, senior economist at Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong, said Thursday: "Europe is not doing enough, and the market may not wait for them."

One of the biggest questions facing Europe is whether it's time to cut Greece some slack. Some European countries seemed ready to ease the pressure, and international organizations have called for the pace of austerity measures to be slowed in some struggling countries.

But Thursday's summit of 27 European Union leaders ended with no apparent concessions. A final statement said Greece had to respect its commitments and trumpeted the money the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund had loaned Greece as a sign of their "solidarity." It did say that funds for economic development would be sent to Greece ? though it's unclear how much of an immediate impact on growth they would have.

Juncker insisted early Thursday that he had not asked the euro nations to prepare national contingency plans for a possible chaotic departure of Greece from the currency.

French President Francois Hollande said that to evoke the even the possibility was dangerous ? and would send a signal to the markets that the eurozone wasn't standing behind Greece.

The debate reflects the fine line European leaders must walk between pressuring Greece to stick to a program of spending cuts and tax hikes that have exacerbated its economic slowdown and trying to ensure its presence in the eurozone.

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy suggested the European Central Bank resume some of its emergency measures, such as buying the bonds of weak countries, which has the impact of lowering countries' borrowing rates. The ECB has suspended the purchases because, as an independent body, it does not want to be seen supporting governments directly. Instead, it has given European banks massive amounts of cheap loans to bolster confidence in the financial system and allow banks to buy up their country's debt.

Leaders on Thursday also addressed the contentious issue of whether the countries that use the euro should spread the risk and borrow money jointly - issuing so-called "eurobonds." This would mean every country could borrow funds at the same rate, substantially lowering the costs for the more indebted countries.

Hollande has pushed for them as an important way to ensure such a crisis never happens again, but Merkel has rejected them, fearing they would reduce the pressure on heavily indebted governments to heal their finances and force Germany to borrow at higher rates.

___

Don Melvin contributed to this story.

Associated Press

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