IMF raises 2010 global growth forecast to 3%

Pakistani stockbrokers watch the latest share prices on a monitor at the Karachi Stock Exchange, September 24. The International Monetary Fund foresees a stronger than anticipated recovery from the economic crisis, with global growth approaching three percent in 2010, world leaders have said.The International Monetary Fund foresees a stronger than anticipated recovery from the economic crisis, with global growth approaching three percent in 2010, world leaders said.The IMF had estimated in July a global contraction of 1.4 percent in 2009, followed by sluggish growth of 2.5 percent in 2010, but was more upbeat as Group of 20 leaders met in the...

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Change in Subscription Accounting Rules to Benefit Apple, iPhone Profit Statements

The Financial Accounting Standards Board has approved a change in the way revenue can be recognized from products sold under the subscription accounting model, like Apple’s iPhone.Apple uses a subscription accounting model for the iPhone (and Apple TV) to justify — under their interpretation of Sarbanes Oxley — adding new features for 2 year after the sale of the device proper. So, if they get $600 for an iPhone from AT&T, rather than putting that on the books immediately and in full, they spread it out over 24 months, recognizing a portion of the revenue each month. This also means that their earnings look smaller in the actual quarter of...

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QUOTES & ADVANCED CHARTING Get real-time market insights.

1. For details and important information about Power E*TRADE and our 100 commission-free trade offer, please visit getpoweretrade.com. Commission-free trade offer applies to new Power E*TRADE accounts opened with $1,000 minimum deposit. The new account holder will receive a maximum of 100 free trade commissions for each stock or options trade executed within 30 days of the opening and funding of the new qualified account and deposited funds have cleared. New accounts must be funded within 60 days of account open to remain active. You will pay the Power E*TRADE commission rate at the time of the trades ($9.99 for stock and options trades—plus...

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Crawford says Time Warner will sell magazine unit

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Time Warner Inc will eventually sell the Time Inc magazine unit and could buy holdings in its core entertainment category, Gordon Crawford, managing director of its largest shareholder, said during a presentation this week."Time Warner just spun off their cable division, they are going to sell their print division, they are going to spin off AOL and they're just going to be Warner Brothers, HBO and the Turner Networks," said Crawford, managing director of The Capital Group."Now, they will make acquisitions ... but they're probably going to buy just stuff in their wheel house of those businesses. They're not going to, I don't...

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No injuries, evacuations from refinery fire in LA

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Los Angeles fire officials say they've choked off a fire burning at a Wilmington refinery, but nearby schools are being urged to keep students indoors until the smoke clears.The fire at the 300-acre Tesoro refinery south of downtown was reported shortly after 5 a.m. and was confined to a coker unit. The cause of the fire is under investigation.A refinery spokeswoman says the fire will have minimal effect on operations.The fire sent a huge plume of black smoke hundreds of feet into the air. Deputy Fire Chief Mario Rueda says fuel oil to the burning machinery was shut down and more than 100 firefighters helped extinguish the...

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A Fifth UBS Client Pleads Guilty in Tax Case

Enter the dates in mm/dd/yyyy format.By CARRICK MOLLENKAMP and LAURA SAUNDERSA New Jersey businessman became the fifth UBS AG client since April to agree to plead guilty to concealing money from U.S. tax and finance authorities by using offshore accounts and companies.In a federal court appearance Friday, Juergen Homann admitted to concealing more than $5 million in accounts at Swiss banks, including UBS. The Saddle River, N.J., man, who will be sentenced in January, faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison.In addition to a maximum fine of $250,000, Mr. Homann agreed to pay a civil penalty of 50% of the highest balance in the account,...

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U.S. steps up prosecution of tax evaders

By Kim DixonCHICAGO (Reuters) - The U.S. government is stepping up prosecutions of wealthy individuals dodging taxes through off-shore accounts, with new cases expected to be made public "every couple of weeks," a top government attorney said on Saturday.U.S. officials have been sifting through about 250 client names obtained through a February settlement of a criminal probe against Swiss banking giant UBS AG , alleging the bank illegally helped U.S. taxpayers hide funds offshore.That effort, along with an amnesty program encouraging tax evaders to turn themselves in, is speeding prosecutions, one of the top U.S. lawyers working on the cases...

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Stock futures steady ahead of jobs, housing data

By SARA LEPROAP Business WriterNEW YORK -- Stock futures are little changed as investors wait for more clues on how the economy is faring.The quiet trading Thursday follows declines in markets overseas that came after the Federal Reserve left interest rates unchanged and said the pace of economic activity has improved.The Fed's latest assessment, while slightly more upbeat, did not come as a surprise, and a brief rally in U.S. stocks that followed the statement Wednesday quickly faded.Investors are looking toward impending reports on jobs and housing. Investors will also be keeping an eye on the Group of 20 meeting in Pittsburgh.Dow Jones industrial...

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G20 to police new world economic order

The Group of 20 rich and developing countries is to take on a new role as caretaker of the global economy, giving rising stars such as China and India more say in world affairs. The move means the G20 supplants the G7 and G8 - institutions dominated by rich Western economies, which will now remain forums for discussing geopolitical issues, diplomats said.In another boost for countries such as China, the G20 unexpectedly reached a deal on reshaping the International Monetary Fund to shift more voting power to some developing countries. The deal recognized their growing economic clout and the vital role they must play in helping the world economy...

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Man charged with conspiracy in US terrorism investigation

Najibullah Zazi targeted New York City subway system for attack, according to investigatorsA young Afghan immigrant, Najibullah Zazi, has been charged with conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction in what investigators suspect was a plot to bomb New York's transport system.According to the indictment against Zazi issued today, the 24-year-old airport bus driver spent the past year plotting the attacks but in the past fortnight began "urgently" looking for help to manufacture explosives and had recently bought bomb-making supplies from beauty stores. He is also alleged to have obtained instructions on how to make explosives and made notes...

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Obama Says 'Iran on Notice' in Nuclear Standoff

President Barack Obama says Iran is on notice following the disclosure of an underground plant to make nuclear fuel that could be used to build an atomic bomb. President Obama said the international community has put Iran on notice with its response to the revelation that the Islamic regime has been secretly building a nuclear facility."You had an unprecedented show of unity on the part of the world community saying that Iran's actions raised grave doubts in terms of their presentation that their nuclear program was for peaceful purposes," Obama told reporters in Pittsburgh at a G-20 summit."So I think that Iran is on notice that when we meet...

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Gold Stabilises Following Thursday’s Sharp Fall

The Comex Gold futures have began to stabilise and regain some strength after traded as low as $992 per ounce this morning. Gold investors have been digesting Thursday’s events which saw a volatile gold market fall more than $20 within the space of an hour.Gold future reached $1,021 on Thursday morning in London, before a slew of economic data and comment sent equity and gold markets scrambling late in the afternoon. The US Dollar Index gained 1% and gold fell $20 to trade below $1,000.Comments from the Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank prompted a period of volatility in the forex markets, which saw sterling come under pressure and...

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Review: Surrogates Returns Bruce Willis to Smart-Guy Sci-Fi

Review in a Hurry: If you're thinking that Bruce Willis + guns + robots + based on comic book = big action movie, you may be disappointed. What we have here is more like T3 director Jonathan Mostow's most outlandish, rejected Terminator sequel concepts, superimposed onto a Fahrenheit 451-style cautionary sci-fi satire (same screenwriters as T3, too). And it's fun for what it is.The Bigger Picture: Willis still takes a beating better than any action star in the business. But there are really only two significant action sequences in what's otherwise a murder mystery set in a future world. Oh, and pretty much everyone now owns a surrogate robot...

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Actor Randy Quaid freed on bail

Actor Randy Quaid and his wife Evi have been freed on bail after being arrested for allegedly failing to pay a hotel bill of more than $10,000 (£6,245).The couple are accused of using a credit card they knew to be invalid at a hotel in Santa Barbara, California.They were arrested in Marfa, Texas on Thursday following the issue of a warrant in California.While in custody, a local sheriff drove 58-year-old Quaid to a bank so he could withdraw the bail money."I like to help everybody out," said Presidio County Sheriff Danny Dominguez. "It's a small town."The Brokeback Mountain star remained in his custody during the trip but was not handcuffed....

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Record-breaking baby

A three-day-old baby boy weighing 8.7 kilograms (left) lies next to an average size newborn baby at a hospital in Kisaran, North Sumatra, on Thursday. A woman gave birth to the 62-centimeter-long unnamed baby boy by Caesarean section on Sept. 21. He is the heaviest newborn ever recorded in the country, a doctor said. AP/Andi Ansh...

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Massive police presence in Pittsburgh takes fight out of protesters Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/2009/09/26/2009-09-26_massive

Police in riot gear lined the streets of the Group of 20 host city in an overwhelming show of force Friday as thousands of protesters chanted, waved signs and blew bubbles.Unlike Thursday, when police tossed tear gas and fired rubber bullets to rout protesters who threw rocks and smashed store windows, Friday's "People's March" through the hilly streets of Pittsburgh produced no serious clashes.The presence of hundreds of police sparked outrage among the demonstrators, who never got closer than half a mile to the G20 meeting site."We don't need the United Police States of America," said Cindy Sheehan, the antiwar advocate who famously protested...

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Water On Moon: NASA Hails ISRO

In a landmark discovery, scientists have discovered water molecules in the polar regions of the moon, courtesy ISRO and India's maiden moon mission Chandrayaan-I, NASA said today.Instruments aboard three separate spacecrafts, one of them the Moon Mineralogy Mapper, a NASA instrument onboard Chandrayaan-I revealed water molecules in amounts that are greater than predicted, but still relatively small, it added."Water ice on the moon has been something of a holy grail for lunar scientists for a very long time," said Jim Green, director of the Planetary Science Division at NASA Headquarters in Washington."This surprising finding has come about through...

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Gunshots disrupt Gaza funeral

Five people have been injured after shots were fired at a funeral in Gaza City for two of three Palestinians killed in an Israeli air raid, Palestinian medical sources have said.The gunshots rang out from across the border with Israel, Palestinian sources told Al Jazeera, as thousands of Palestinians turned out in the streets for the funeral on Saturday.Israel has yet to confirm whether gunfire came from their side of the border, but has said that it is looking into the incident."The funeral procession was taking place very close to the border with Israel, [near] the Nahal Ouz crossing - obviously that border that splits Gaza from Israel is very...

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Canada to host 'transition' summit in 2010

Harper announces Canada will play host to what amounts to two back-to-back summits next year, marking shift from wealthy nations club to broader group of major developing powerPrime Minister Stephen Harper announced Canada will host a transition summit next year – technically two summits back to back – that will mark the shift of power from a club of wealthy nations to the major developing powers like China, India, and Brazil.Canada will still host a G8 summit in Muskoka next June, but a broader club, the Group of 20, is now officially superseding it as the world's major economic forum, so a G20 summit will tacked alongside it. Officials said...

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Where will banks make up lost overdraft fees?

By CANDICE CHOIThe Associated PressWednesday, September 23, 2009; 6:05 PMNEW YORK -- Banks are backing off harsh overdraft fees and policies. That's the good news. The bad news is they'll probably look to make up that lost profit elsewhere.It's a worrisome prospect for the vast majority of customers who never overdraw their funds and have grown accustomed to perks like free checking accounts."Banks are going to have to get creative. Rather than generic free checking accounts, you're going to see lots of different flavors of products," said Bob Meara, a senior analyst with Celent, a Boston-based consulting firm for the banking industry.That might...

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Obama issues ultimatum to Iran on nukes

The Associated PressSaturday, September 26, 2009; 6:10 AMWASHINGTON -- Not letting up on Iran, President Barack Obama said Saturday that the Islamic republic must take action to demonstrate its peaceful intentions after the discovery of a covert nuclear facility or it will be held accountable by the world's nations.In his weekly radio and Internet address, Obama said that evidence showing Iran building an underground plant to enrich uranium that could be used for an atomic bomb "continues a disturbing pattern of Iranian evasion" that jeopardizes global nonproliferation.He urged Tehran once again to open the site to international inspectors, or...

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Air Force restarts $35B tanker competition

By DONNA BORAKAP Business WriterWASHINGTON -- The Air Force on Friday launched its third attempt to award a $35 billion tanker contract to either Boeing Co. or Northrop Grumman Corp.The Air Force said it will be "crystal clear" in its requirements for new tankers that refuel military planes in flight in order to avoid errors from previous selection processes. The service also now wants a plane that's war-ready on day one.Los Angeles-based Northrop, and its partner Airbus parent European Aeronautic Defense and Space Co. N.V., are offering a tanker based on the Airbus A330. Northrop said it will review the draft request for bids and provide comments...

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Bank of America rejects SEC claims in bonus suit

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Bank of America Corp formally denied U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission claims accusing it of misleading shareholders about bonuses it let Merrill Lynch & Co pay employees before the companies' January 1merger, and said it is seeking an order dismissing the regulator's complaint.The bank's response, in a Friday filing, was expected, and came 11 days after U.S. District Judge Jed Rakoff rejected its $33 million settlement with the SEC over the $3.6 billion of bonus awards.Rakoff, who is still handling the case, was upset that the accord did not require disclosure of the names of executives and lawyers who vetted...

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New Jersey man pleads guilty for hiding UBS account

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A New Jersey man pleaded guilty on Friday to failing to report about $6.1 million he had held in a UBS AG Swiss bank account, the Justice Department said, the latest plea in the U.S. crackdown on tax fraud.Juergen Homann agreed to plead guilty to failing to report his UBS account on his U.S. income tax return as well as the income he received from the account, according to the Justice Departme...

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Back to Google News Yen climbs after Japan minister's G20 remarks

LONDON — The yen climbed against the dollar and the euro on Friday after Japan's new finance minister said at Group of 20 talks that Tokyo did not intend to intervene to weaken the Japanese currency.The dollar fell to 90.56 yen in London morning trade from 91.26 in New York late Thursday.The euro rose meanwhile to 1.4691 dollars from 1.4654 dollars."Investors are monitoring remarks made by key financial figures of the new government led by the Democratic Party of Japan," said Masaki Fukui, senior market economist at Mizuho Corporate Bank's forex division.Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii told US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on the sidelines...

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Stability of US dollar key to global recovery: China

By P.Parameswaran (AFP) – 21 hours agoPITTSBURGH, Pennsylvania — China has called on the United States to ensure the stability of the weak US dollar, saying it was critical to global recovery driven by trade in the key reserve currency.While showing apparent concern over the status of dollar, which dived to a year low against the euro on Wednesday, a Chinese central bank official said Beijing remained supportive of the dollar."Since US dollar is a major reserve currency and a major trade settlement currency, the stability of the US dollar has a key influence on the stability of the world economic recovery," said Xie Duo, director general of the...

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G20: Banks to be forced to double capital levels

Banks will be forced to more than double capital levels for the riskiest parts of their operations as a result of the key regulatory reforms at the heart of the G20 summit's conclusions. Although the international body – which is to replace the G8 as the world's leading economic forum – last night stopped short of placing specific minimum requirements for both capital and liquidity, world leaders agreed the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision will draft new rules for each by the end of this year.The change is part of the drive to strengthen the global banking system to withstand shocks and make it less likely to rely on government capital...

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