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Wednesday, January 4, 2012 12:26 AM PST

Today's Politics - Bloomberg News Headlines - Yahoo! News: Romney takes Iowa caucuses by 8 votes Libya names head of armed forces as militias clash Nigerians protest fuel price, union says 1 killed Grenade attack in Rwanda capital wounds 20 Senegal's N'Dour drops music for election "buzz" Egypt's top Islamist group says will work with rivals Perry may drop presidential bid after Iowa Gingrich still alive after Iowa, plotting revenge Perry may drop presidential bid after Iowa Gingrich still alive after Iowa, plotting revenge North Korea military grows stronger, says think-tank Obama to usher in election year with eye on Republicans Obama tells Democrats to brace for "big battle" BP fund halts payments to spill victims pending clarification Santorum, Romney neck and neck with half of Iowa vote in China claims success in curbing racy entertainment Ecuador court upholds $18 billion ruling against Chevron Syrian rebel leader threatens to escalate attacks Egypt's top Islamist group says will work with rivals Funding concerns for California high-speed rail While Republicans battle, Obama never far away Pentagon to unveil revised defense strategy Mass. pension fund divests of companies with Iran ties California inmate caught after fire truck escape Libya names head of armed forces as militias clash Fed to publish rate path forecasts in transparency move Oil jumps 4 percent on Iran anxiety Republican senator queries Obama on Iran sanctions Republican rivals face first test of 2012 in Iowa U.S. futures cop to review presidential race gambling Syrian rebel leader threatens to escalate attacks Senegal's N'Dour drops music for election "buzz" No breakthrough on Mideast peace, talks to go on NY police say man confesses in firebomb on mosque Panetta to unveil review to guide defense cuts Chronology: Federal Reserve's transparency steps Factbox: Fed staff forecasts from FOMC minutes Fed to publish rate path forecasts in new transparency move Excerpt on policy from December FOMC minutes Egypt economic measures seen possible benchmarks: IMF Romney takes Iowa caucuses by 8 votes Tue,3 Jan 2012 11:41 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney won the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses by a mere eight votes over former U.S. senator Rick Santorum, a party official said on Wednesday. Tuesday's Iowa caucuses were the first contest in the state-by-state battle for the Republican presidential nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama on November 6. (Reporting By Mary Milliken; Editing by Will Dunham) Full Story Top Libya names head of armed forces as militias clash Tue,3 Jan 2012 11:05 PM PST Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya on Tuesday named Yousef al-Manqoush, a retired general from the anti-Gaddafi bastion of Misrata, as head of the armed forces in the first significant move to build a new Libyan military. The appointment was announced as four fighters were killed in a gun battle between rival militias in Tripoli, underlining the interim government's difficulties in controlling the increasingly fractious groups who toppled Muammar Gaddafi. ... Full Story Top Nigerians protest fuel price, union says 1 killed Tue,3 Jan 2012 11:01 PM PST Reuters - LAGOS (Reuters) - Protesters shut petrol stations, formed human barriers along motorways and hijacked buses in Nigeria's biggest city Lagos on Tuesday in anger at the shock doubling of fuel prices, and one demonstrator was reported shot dead in the country's west. The fuel regulator announced the end of fuel subsidies on Sunday under sweeping economic reforms meant to improve fiscal discipline in Africa's biggest oil-producing state, but a hugely unpopular act that could cause social unrest in the short term. ... Full Story Top Grenade attack in Rwanda capital wounds 20 Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:57 PM PST Reuters - KIGALI (Reuters) - A grenade attack wounded 20 people near an open-air fruit and vegetable market in Rwanda's capital Kigali, police said on Tuesday. A Reuters witness said some of the victims lost their legs and arms when the grenade exploded as night fell in the Gasabo district of the capital. "A grenade blast injured around 20 people. We think there was only one grenade," Police Spokesman Theos Badege told Reuters at the scene of the blast. Rwanda's capital was hit by a string of grenade attacks in 2010, which the government blamed on two high-ranking army officers now in exile. ... Full Story Top Senegal's N'Dour drops music for election "buzz" Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:55 PM PST Reuters - DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's Youssou N'Dour has taken his music to audiences around the world but says his decision to stop singing and run for president was prompted by a nagging sound straight from the streets of his West African nation. "For over 15 years I have heard this buzz going about for me," N'Dour said at his headquarters in a chic suburb of the capital Dakar, adorned with awards including a gold-plated Grammy for his 2004 album "Egypt". "An overwhelming majority of the Senegalese people have asked Youssou N'Dour to run as president ... ... Full Story Top Egypt's top Islamist group says will work with rivals Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:53 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood said it would not use its success in Egypt's parliamentary election to impose its will on the drafting of a new constitution and would work with all rival political groups on the blueprint. Egyptians go to the polls for a second day on Wednesday in the final stage of the election for the lower house of parliament, the first free legislative vote since military officers overthrew the monarchy in 1952. ... Full Story Top Perry may drop presidential bid after Iowa Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:46 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry, seen just months ago as a strong contender to become the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said he would reassess his White House bid after a distant fifth place showing in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses. "I have decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus to determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race," Perry, who had led polls of Republican presidential candidates after he jumped into the race in August but committed a series of gaffes on the campaign trail, told supporters. ... Full Story Top Gingrich still alive after Iowa, plotting revenge Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:43 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Bruised, battered and defiant, Newt Gingrich limped out of Iowa after a fourth-place finish in the state's Republican presidential contest on Tuesday. But he is still alive. Hit by plummeting poll numbers in recent days, Gingrich is likely now to hold on until the South Carolina primary on January 21 and hope for the backing of conservatives there. ... Full Story Top Perry may drop presidential bid after Iowa Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:41 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Texas Governor Rick Perry, seen just months ago as a strong contender to become the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, said he would reassess his White House bid after a distant fifth place showing in Tuesday's Iowa caucuses. "I have decided to return to Texas, assess the results of tonight's caucus to determine whether there is a path forward for myself in this race," Perry, who had led polls of Republican presidential candidates after he jumped into the race in August but committed a series of gaffes on the campaign trail, told supporters. ... Full Story Top Gingrich still alive after Iowa, plotting revenge Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:39 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Bruised, battered and defiant, Newt Gingrich limped out of Iowa after a fourth-place finish in the state's Republican presidential contest on Tuesday. But he is still alive. Hit by plummeting poll numbers in recent days, Gingrich is likely now to hold on until the South Carolina primary on January 21 and hope for the backing of conservatives there. ... Full Story Top North Korea military grows stronger, says think-tank Tue,3 Jan 2012 10:12 PM PST Reuters - SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea's military is growing stronger even as its economy teeters on the brink of collapse, an independent think-tank said Wednesday, calling for better measures to repel the threat from a country that has twice tested a nuclear bomb. Just over two weeks after the reclusive state's leader Kim Jong-il died, North Korea has made it clear its top priority is maintaining a songun, or military-first, policy whereby the army takes precedence over everything else. The Seoul-based Korea Economic Research Institute said in a report that in 2011 North Korea operated a 1. ... Full Story Top Obama to usher in election year with eye on Republicans Tue,3 Jan 2012 09:34 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will start setting the tone on Wednesday for an election-year strategy that attempts to capitalize on voter frustration with Congress but which could also mean further legislative gridlock as he seeks a second term. Stepping back into the 2012 campaign spotlight just a day after Iowa held the first contest of Republican presidential hopefuls, Obama will travel to Ohio, a state considered crucial to his re-election chances. ... Full Story Top Obama tells Democrats to brace for "big battle" Tue,3 Jan 2012 08:43 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As Republicans began voting to choose a nominee to face off against him, President Barack Obama sought to rally his Democratic supporters on Tuesday by telling them he had delivered on many promises and needed another term to accomplish more. ... Full Story Top BP fund halts payments to spill victims pending clarification Tue,3 Jan 2012 08:20 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - BP's $20 billion oil spill fund has halted payments to eligible victims until a U.S. federal court clarifies an order issued in December, according to a notice posted on the fund's website. The District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana had asked the fund, called the Gulf Coast Claims Facility, to pay into a court supervised escrow account 6 percent of the gross settlement amount. The funds from the escrow account would be used to meet certain legal expenses incurred by the plaintiffs' lawyers. ... Full Story Top Santorum, Romney neck and neck with half of Iowa vote in Tue,3 Jan 2012 07:54 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES (Reuters) - Social conservative Rick Santorum and former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney were tied at 24 percent of the vote in the Iowa Republican presidential caucuses on Tuesday after more than half the precincts reported, CNN and Fox News said. The two pulled ever so slightly ahead of libertarian Ron Paul, who was third at 22 percent, while former U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Newt Gingrich was in fourth at 13 percent. The candidates are seeking the Republican nomination to face Democratic President Barack Obama in the November 6 U.S. presidential election. ... Full Story Top China claims success in curbing racy entertainment Tue,3 Jan 2012 07:15 PM PST Reuters - BEIJING (Reuters) - A campaign to curb "excessive entertainment" by slashing the number of racy programs on Chinese satellite television channels has been successful, state media reported, after President Hu Jintao warned Western culture was out to attack China. The broadcast regulator ordered the two-thirds cutback in October, taking particular aim at dating and talent shows, programs featuring "emotional stories" and those of "low taste. ... Full Story Top Ecuador court upholds $18 billion ruling against Chevron Tue,3 Jan 2012 07:02 PM PST Reuters - LAGO AGRIO, Ecuador (Reuters) - An Ecuadorean appeals court on Tuesday upheld a ruling that Chevron Corp should pay $18 billion in damages to plaintiffs who accused the U.S. oil giant of polluting the Amazon jungle and damaging their health. A local judge ordered Chevron to pay $8.6 billion in environmental damages last February, but the amount was more than doubled to about $18 billion because Chevron failed to make a public apology as required by the original ruling. ... Full Story Top Syrian rebel leader threatens to escalate attacks Tue,3 Jan 2012 06:20 PM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - The commander of Syria's armed rebels has threatened to step up attacks on President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was frustrated with Arab League monitors' lack of progress in ending a government crackdown on protests. "If we feel they (the monitors) are still not serious in a few days, or at most within a week, we will take a decision which will surprise the regime and the whole world," the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Colonel Riad al-Asaad, told Reuters in an interview. ... Full Story Top Egypt's top Islamist group says will work with rivals Tue,3 Jan 2012 06:17 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - The Islamist Muslim Brotherhood said it would not use its success in Egypt's parliamentary election to impose its will on the drafting of a new constitution and would work with all rival political groups on the blueprint. Egyptians go to the polls for a second day Wednesday in the final stage of the election for the lower house of parliament, the first free legislative vote since military officers overthrew the monarchy in 1952. ... Full Story Top Funding concerns for California high-speed rail Tue,3 Jan 2012 05:25 PM PST Reuters - SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - California's effort to build a massive high-speed rail network suffered another setback on Tuesday when a peer review group charged with evaluating the project recommended lawmakers put it on hold. Specifically, the group said the state should not move ahead with the sale of the nearly $3 billion in bonds to finance initial construction with the first tranche of $10 billion in state-backed high-speed rail bonds authorized by voters in 2008. ... Full Story Top While Republicans battle, Obama never far away Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:44 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - While Republican presidential candidates dominate headlines in Iowa with their caucus quest, President Barack Obama's Democrats have quietly built a massive organizational structure to round up voters and win the state in November's general election. Thousands of Democratic volunteers have mobilized across Iowa to garner support for Obama, who used the state as his launching pad for a White House victory four years ago. The president may need that organizational advantage. ... Full Story Top Pentagon to unveil revised defense strategy Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:31 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A review of U.S. strategic interests that will guide Pentagon budget cuts in coming years is expected to propose keeping fewer troops in Europe and abandoning the goal of maintaining a force that can fight and win two wars simultaneously, administration officials say. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will unveil the results of the eight-month strategic review on Thursday at a joint news conference with Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon said on Tuesday. ... Full Story Top Mass. pension fund divests of companies with Iran ties Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:22 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The Massachusetts public employees pension fund has divested all of its stakes in companies with major ties to Iran's energy industry, joining a campaign to pressure the country to stop developing nuclear weapons, state Treasurer Steve Grossman said on Tuesday. The decision by the nearly $50 billion Massachusetts fund, called Pension Reserves Investment Management, follows similar divestitures by other states including New York, Florida and Georgia, Grossman said by telephone. ... Full Story Top California inmate caught after fire truck escape Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:22 PM PST Reuters - SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - Police captured an inmate on Tuesday who had escaped from a San Diego-area prison by driving away in a yellow fire truck from the California correctional system's firefighting detail, authorities said. Thomas Frances Kelley, 51, escaped on Sunday from Richard J. Donovan Correctional Facility when he got into the truck and drove away, a spokesman for the prison said. Kelley, who was sent to the prison in November for violating his parole on an auto theft conviction, had been assigned to the prison's firefighting force. ... Full Story Top Libya names head of armed forces as militias clash Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:13 PM PST Reuters - TRIPOLI (Reuters) - Libya on Tuesday named Yousef al-Manqoush, a retired general from the anti-Gaddafi bastion of Misrata, as head of the armed forces in the first significant move to build a new Libyan military. The appointment was announced as four fighters were killed in a gun battle between rival militias in Tripoli, underlining the interim government's difficulties in controlling the increasingly fractious groups who toppled Muammar Gaddafi. ... Full Story Top Fed to publish rate path forecasts in transparency move Tue,3 Jan 2012 04:12 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve, in a move that could push back expectations of when near-zero U.S. interest rates will rise, will begin publishing its policymakers' forecasts for borrowing costs. The step is a significant milestone in Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke's push for greater policymaking transparency, and it could offer the economy a bit more of a lift by better aligning financial market bets with the main view at the central bank. The Fed has held the overnight federal funds rate close to zero since December 2008 and has bought $2. ... Full Story Top Oil jumps 4 percent on Iran anxiety Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:51 PM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices surged on Tuesday, with U.S. crude hitting the highest settlement since May, fueled by strong economic data from the United States and China and mounting concern about supply disruption from Iran. Brent crude jumped $5 in late activity as markets latched on to data showing U.S. construction spending near a 1-1/2 year peak in November and China manufacturing data that eased concerns of a slowdown in the world's No. 2 oil consumer. ... Full Story Top Republican senator queries Obama on Iran sanctions Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:26 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A Republican senator on Tuesday questioned President Barack Obama's commitment to new sanctions on Iran's central bank, noting the president had claimed the right to sidestep some of the requirements when he signed them into law last week. In a statement issued as he signed a defense bill into law on Saturday, Obama said several provisions including the sanctions that target Iran's central bank "would interfere with my constitutional authority to conduct foreign relations. ... Full Story Top Republican rivals face first test of 2012 in Iowa Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:24 PM PST Reuters - DES MOINES, Iowa (Reuters) - Republican candidates criss-crossed Iowa making late appeals to voters, with polls giving at least three - Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul - a shot at winning the first contest of the 2012 presidential campaign on Tuesday. Iowa's quirky caucuses are known more for weeding out candidates than picking the future president. Finishing in a top spot could provide a big boost to any contender in the volatile contest to choose a Republican challenger to President Barack Obama in the November 6 election. ... Full Story Top U.S. futures cop to review presidential race gambling Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:18 PM PST Reuters - Washington - A proposal that would allow betting on the winner of the U.S. presidential election will face a 90-day review by the same agency charged with overseeing corn, oil and gold in the U.S. futures market, an agency official said on Tuesday. The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission will review an application by the North American Derivatives Exchange (Nadex) seeking to list options contracts tied to election outcomes such as the 2012 presidential race or whether Democrats or Republicans will control the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. ... Full Story Top Syrian rebel leader threatens to escalate attacks Tue,3 Jan 2012 03:05 PM PST Reuters - BEIRUT (Reuters) - The commander of Syria's armed rebels threatened on Tuesday to step up attacks on President Bashar al-Assad's forces, saying he was frustrated with Arab League monitors' lack of progress in ending a government crackdown on protests. "If we feel they (the monitors) are still not serious in a few days, or at most within a week, we will take a decision which will surprise the regime and the whole world," the head of the Free Syrian Army (FSA), Colonel Riad al-Asaad, told Reuters in an interview. ... Full Story Top Senegal's N'Dour drops music for election "buzz" Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:52 PM PST Reuters - DAKAR (Reuters) - Senegal's Youssou N'Dour has taken his music to audiences around the world but says his decision to stop singing and run for president was prompted by a nagging sound straight from the streets of his West African nation. "For over 15 years I have heard this buzz going about for me," N'Dour said at his headquarters in a chic suburb of the capital Dakar, adorned with awards including a gold-plated Grammy for his 2004 album "Egypt." "An overwhelming majority of the Senegalese people have asked Youssou N'Dour to run as president ... ... Full Story Top No breakthrough on Mideast peace, talks to go on Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:47 PM PST Reuters - AMMAN (Reuters) - Israeli and Palestinian negotiators made no breakthrough during their first high-level discussions in more than a year on Tuesday, but agreed to hold further talks in Amman on a confidential basis, Jordan's foreign minister said. Tuesday's talks were aimed at agreeing terms under which the two sides' leaders - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu - could resume talks. Negotiations foundered in late 2010 after Israel refused to renew a partial freeze on Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank, as demanded by the Palestinians. ... Full Story Top NY police say man confesses in firebomb on mosque Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:42 PM PST Reuters - NEW YORK (Reuters) - A New York City man confessed to a series of Molotov cocktail attacks that hit a mosque and a Hindu place of worship, police said on Tuesday. The case was being investigated as a possible hate crime and drew strong condemnation from religious leaders of various backgrounds throughout the city. Police declined to identify the suspect, who was taken into custody early on Tuesday as a "person of interest" based on eyewitness reports and a surveillance video that may have placed his car at the scene of at least two of the five places that were firebombed on Sunday. ... Full Story Top Panetta to unveil review to guide defense cuts Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:30 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Defense Secretary Leon Panetta will this week unveil the results of a strategic review of security interests which will guide billions of dollars in military spending cuts over the next decade, officials said on Tuesday. The review is expected to include a recommendation that the United States abandon its long-held goal of being able to fight and win two wars simultaneously, an Obama administration official said. ... Full Story Top Chronology: Federal Reserve's transparency steps Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:30 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve said on Tuesday it would begin publishing forecasts for the overnight federal funds rate later in January, a significant step toward greater policymaking transparency. The following are some of the other main strides toward greater openness the Fed has taken since 1994: February 1994 - The policy-setting Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) begins to release statements announcing moves in the overnight federal funds rate, its main policy tool. February 1995 - The FOMC decides to issue "lightly edited" verbatim transcripts of deliberations with a five-year lag. ... Full Story Top Factbox: Fed staff forecasts from FOMC minutes Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:30 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The following are the Federal Reserve's staff forecasts as contained in the minutes of recent Federal Open Market Committee meetings: DEC 13 FOMC: Minutes released on January 3, 2012: "In the economic forecast prepared for the December FOMC meeting, the staff's projection for the increase in real GDP in the near term was little changed, as the recent data on spending, production, and the labor market were, on balance, in line with the staff's expectations at the time of the previous forecast. ... Full Story Top Fed to publish rate path forecasts in new transparency move Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:30 PM PST Reuters - WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve on Tuesday said it would begin publishing forecasts on the path of interest rates later this month, a move that could suggest rates will be on hold for longer than previously expected. The move is meant to better align bets in financial markets with the views of policymakers at the central bank and is a significant milestone in Ben Bernanke's push for greater policymaking transparency. The Fed has held the overnight federal funds rate close to zero since December 2008. ... Full Story Top Excerpt on policy from December FOMC minutes Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:30 PM PST Reuters - (Reuters) - The following is an excerpt covering the Federal Open Market Committee's discussion of monetary policy taken from the minutes of the FOMC's December 13 meeting, which were released on Tuesday. For a full text, see http://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/fomccalendars.htm "Members viewed the information on U.S. economic activity received over the intermeeting period as suggesting that the economy was expanding moderately. ... Full Story Top Egypt economic measures seen possible benchmarks: IMF Tue,3 Jan 2012 02:12 PM PST Reuters - CAIRO (Reuters) - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Tuesday it was still discussing with Egyptian authorities the timing of the IMF mission's visit, adding that economic measures the government had published in June represent possible benchmarks for funding. "We are still discussing with the authorities the exact timing of a mission," the IMF said in a statement released to Reuters. ... Full Story Top

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