New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Stocks opened sharply higher Friday after the Labor Department reported the U.S. economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months.

Shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared 113 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index rose 12 points and the NASDAQ jumped 28 points.

Oil was up 64 cents to $97.13, and gold was lower by $7, last trading at $1,752.50 a troy ounce.

The Labor Department reported that nonfarm payrolls jumped by 243,000 in January, the most since April, and far exceeding economists’ expectations of a gain of just 150,000.

The strong jobs reports put the unemployment rate to a near three-year low of 8.3 percent and buoyed investor sentiment.

Market watchers will also be watching the big game Sunday. For the past 36 of 45 Super Bowls, the stock market has gone up after a win by an original National Football League team, one that traces its roots to before the merger with the American Football League, and gone down when the AFL (or newer team) is victorious.

So, Wall Street wants the Giants to win the Super Bowl.

The measure has an 80 percent accuracy rate based on the Dow Jones Industrial Averages’ annual performance.

There is not any science to it, but it is still as reliable as it gets for stock forecasting.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Wall Street opened lower Friday after a report showed that the U.S. economy expanded less than forecast..

Just after the opening bell, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was lower by 33 points, the Standard and Poor’s 500 Index was flat and the NASDAQ was up by about 6 points.

Weighing on stocks was a report that showed the U.S. economy expanded at 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter, less than the 3 percent that had been projected.

In Europe the Stoxx Europe 600 Index slipped 0.7 percent as investors await word on developments on the region’s sovereign debt crisis. European Union Economic and Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn said authorities are “very close” to reaching an agreement on private-sector involvement in a Greek debt swap.

Despite those words of optimism, the dismal growth of GDP in the U.S. was keeping investors cautious. The health and growth of the U.S. economy is a very important and leading indicator of economic growth worldwide. As analysts like to say, “when the U.S. sneezes, the world catches a cold.”

In corporate news, Ford fell after reporting numbers that missed estimates. Starbucks shares slipped despite reporting better than expected numbers, and Juniper Networks plunged after the second biggest maker of computer networking equipment forecast sales and profits that missed estimates.

In commodities, oil was unchanged at $$99.60 a barrel, gold rose $4.70 to $1,725 a troy ounce and silver was up a few pennies at $33.63.

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Baghdad, Iraq (IRIN) – Suicide attacks, assassinations and bombings in Iraq have claimed the lives of at least 265 people and injured hundreds of others since 18 December, the date the USA withdrew all but 200 of its troops from the country, according to the health and interior ministries.

The wave of attacks, carried out mainly by Sunni extremists from Al-Qaeda in Iraq against Shia communities, has alarmed many who fear the country could descend into chaos once more, with the government itself acknowledging it is not capable of ensuring security on its own.

The attacks also come as political factions are at loggerheads over how to reach a power-sharing deal. The Sunni community is complaining that it is being marginalized by the Shia-led government, which recently issued arrest warrants against Sunni Vice-President Tariq al-Hashemi and other politicians for allegedly operating death squads.

Many fear the current violence could send the country back to the days of 2006-07 when Shia-Sunni conflict left thousands of people dead and millions of others displaced. A few families have already packed their bags and others are contemplating leaving.

Here is how some Iraqis are feeling:

Sultan Abdul-Latif Ibrahim, a 55-year-old father of six from the Shia Shabak minority in the northern province of Ninevah: “I lost 10 of my relatives since [the US-led invasion in] 2003… We used to live in the provincial capital, Mosul, for years with Sunnis and Christians. But in 2007 we were forced out of our houses by Sunni extremists who blew up our homes. Since then, we have been living in a makeshift camp on the outskirts of Mosul. Last Monday [16 January] our camp was attacked by a parked car bomb, killing eight people, including six of my relatives. I wish to die now rather than later. We can’t bear the hardships we are going through every day. We, the Shia, are facing constant threats by Sunni extremists who want to eliminate us and there is no place to go. I can’t afford to move with my family to another place.”

Hassan Abdul-Mahdi, a 35-year-old Sunni businessman and father of three from Baghdad: “Iraq today is just like Iraq after the toppling of the previous regime. There is one group that wants to dominate and impose its control on the country. Today, the Shia-led government and politicians who control the security forces have started to hunt down Sunni leaders and political figures to bite them one by one using different means… I’m contemplating leaving Iraq as the situation seems to be getting worse.”

Jandak Youssif, a 46-year-old Christian from Baghdad: “The situation is getting worse day by day, and the government doesn’t care about our suffering and needs. Our economy is stagnant; illiteracy and unemployment are prevalent; decent public services are not available; and people are leaving the country due to the security situation and religious discrimination. Christians are being attacked and no-one is campaigning for their rights. We are not seeing any improvement in any aspect of our life… My family is scattered in many parts of the world; my parents and brother are stuck in Syria waiting to be relocated to a third country. I have three sisters in Denmark, one in the Netherlands and two in Ninevah Province. Iraq is one of the richest countries in the world but we are the worst in terms of corruption, unemployment and illiteracy.”

Examples of recent violence

16 January: Two car bombs targeted a camp for displaced Shabak in the northern province of Ninevah and a commercial area in the central province of Babil, killing 11 and wounding 21.

14 January: A bomb attack against Shia pilgrims in the southern province of Basra killed 53 and injured 130. Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attack.

10 January: A wave of bombs and assassinations nationwide killed 10 people. The targets were government officials, security forces and Shia pilgrims.

9 January: Three car bombs exploded in Baghdad, killing 17 and wounding dozens.

5 January: A wave of bombings targeted Shia Muslims in Baghdad and other provinces heading on foot to the revered city of Karbala to mark the anniversary of the death of Imam Hussein. Seventy-eight people were killed and more than 100 wounded.

22 December: A string of coordinated bombs tore through mainly Shia neighborhoods in Baghdad, killing 69 and injuring nearly 200. Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed responsibility for the attacks.

18 December: The USA pulled the last of its combat forces out of Iraq, leaving only 200 for training and diplomatic protection.

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– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

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Berlin, Germany (AHN) – Signs of an economic contraction in Germany’s economy raised fears of a recession in Europe.

The news escalated concern that demand for oil might fall, causing oil futures prices to drop by as much as 1.1 percent. In addition, the euro weakened against the dollar.

Germany has long served as the engine for economic growth for the entire European Union. Therefore, news that the German economy likely shrank by 0.25 percent during the last three months of 2011 caused alarm and has observers worrying the European Union might slide back into a recession.

Official figures from the Federal Statistics Office show that the German economy only grew by 3 percent during 2011 and that was only achieved because of strong growth during the first half of the year.

Moreover, the Statistics Office said that most of the growth during the first six months was driven by domestic demand. The Statistics Office based the annual figure on an estimate of fourth quarter growth. However, the government won’t post the official data for the last quarter until Feb. 15.

In the meantime, Norbert Raeth from the Statistics Office announced at a press conference Wednesday that the economy likely shrank by “around a quarter of a percentage point” in the fourth quarter.

Although the 3 percent growth rate was down from the 3.7 percent in 2010, Germany still had a stronger figure than the United States or the EU.

According to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), among its member nations Germany showed better growth than the expected growth rate of the following nations:

• U.S. 1.7 percent
• France 1.6 percent
• United Kingdom 0.9 percent
• Italy and Spain 0.7 percent

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Doha, Qatar David Rosenberg (The Medi – The year 2011 wasn’t only tough for Middle Eastern despots. With the exception of Qatar, the Arab World’s stock markets all ended the year with sharp drops both in share prices and trading volume as unrest took the wind out of much of the regional economy and sent political shivers everywhere.

All told, investors waved goodbye to more than $111 billion in stock market value over 2011, a drop of about 11 percent, according to figures from the Arab Monetary Fund. They took their biggest hit in Egypt, where the combined value of the country’s stocks shed $33 billion last year, a 39 percent decline and the biggest anywhere in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

But it wasn’t just the numbers that were bad. Egypt’s stock market was shuttered for 55 days amid the turbulence of President Hosni Mubarak’s ouster. Bahrain’s financial center was cordoned off by police during unrest early in the year and the stock exchange briefly closed until martial law was imposed with the help of Saudi troops. The bourses of the United Arab Emirates and Qatar were denied coveted emerging market status twice in the space of six months.

“The Arab Spring that started last winter, of course, had an impact. That said, there also has been the impact of global bear market. So, in that respect, it wasn’t all about the Arab Spring,” Daniel Brody, chief investment officer of London-based Silk Invest, told The Media Line.

He said the situation is not likely to change without an influx of foreign investment, which is an unlikely prospect for now even if some MENA markets are displaying good fundamentals. “Investors have other concerns right now like Europe. They don’t want to take on what they see as a risk asset,” he said.

Indeed, 2011 was not a good year for stock market investors almost anywhere in the world, figures from MSCI, a company that benchmarks global share market performance, show. Its ACWI index, which tracks 9,000 stocks in 45 markets, shed 10.2 percent. But MSCI’s Arabian Market index, which groups 14 MENA markets except Saudi Arabia, did worse, falling 22 percent last year and wiping out the two previous years of gains.

Even MENA economies that posted strong growth and avoided Arab Spring unrest failed to resist the bearish sentiment. Qatar’s economy enjoyed a tide of cash from growing natural gas exports and $88 billion in government spending, yet the Qatar Exchange’s benchmark QE index registered a mere 1.5 percent gain. Saudi Arabia’s economy benefitted from higher oil prices and massive government spending, but its Tadawul All-Share Index fell 7 percent.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) also saw a recovery from its real estate-induced slump during 2011, but MSCI’s UAE index shed close to 20 percent.

“To be very honest, there was a disconnect between what was happening in UAE economy and markets,” Fadi Al-Said, a senior fund manager at ING Investment Management in Dubai, told The Media Line. “We saw a major rebound in trade and tourism, but the market didn’t reflect this. In some ways, that is because it is inefficient, but also because it is heavily exposed to the real estate and banking sectors.”

Adding to the pain of falling share prices was a fourth straight year of declining trading volumes. The Arab Monetary Fund estimated that shares traded on the 14 MENA exchanges its covers dropped to $328.5 billion in 2011 from a peak of $1 trillion in 2007 — decline analysts attribute mainly to an exodus of foreign investors after the global financial crisis set in in 2008.

That decline has hit the share-brokering business hard. In the UAE, investment banks like Rasmala and Shuaa Capital gave up their retail brokerage services last year to concentrate on institutional clients. On Monday, they were joined by Taib Securities, the brokerage arm of Bahrain’s Taib Bank, after running up losses the past three years.

Many foreign investment banks also cut back last year. Germany’s Deutsche Bank reportedly moved its head of local equity capital markets back from Dubai to London; Japan’s Nomura shut its Dubai equity research unit; and Britain’s HSBC closed its UAE retail equity brokerage business.

This year isn’t shaping up to be much better. The turmoil of the Arab Spring shows no sign of abating and the outlook for the economies of the Middle East and North Africa looks poor. Although there are a few bright spots in the Gulf, the International Monetary Fund expects economic growth for the region to fall to 3.6 percent from 4 percent in 2011.

Al-Said, nevertheless, expressed the view that the Gulf has the foundations for a market recovery, especially now that a prolonged slump has pushed down valuations to attractive levels. With oil prices again on the upswing, the region’s governments will be in an even stronger position than in 2011 to stimulate economic activity.

“This is one of the few regions which still has ammunition for [state] spending. I’m talking about surpluses that can be spent, about expansionary fiscal policy … You are talking about a region that isn’t in an austerity mode,” he said.

Even Egypt, whose economy is conventionally regarded as deeply troubled by continued political turmoil and plunging foreign reserves, has a potential for a rebound, said Broby. In spite of the turmoil, the economy continues to grow and Egyptian stocks are oversold, he said, warning, however, that investors will hold off on buying.

“People will be looking for Egypt to pass its new constitution before you start seeing the market reflecting the fundamentals,” Broby said.

Meanwhile, markets are making efforts to lure back investors. On Monday, the Qatar Financial Markets Authority announced it had adopted new rules on listing securities and initial public offerings aimed at encouraging small and medium-sized companies to list. It began trading government bonds in the market at the end of 2011, which should help boost liquidity.

The UAE hopes to adjust rules that will enable it to win emerging market status next June, an upgrade that would make it more attractive to big institutional investors abroad.

But the most important development of all, say analysts, is a plan by Saudi Arabia to open up its stock market to foreigner investors. Reuters reported last week that authorities are close to unveiling the long-awaited plan and may announce the rules by Jan. 15 with implementation slated for by the end of the first quarter.

With the region’s biggest trading volumes and market capitalization backed by a growing economy, Saudi Arabia could be the magnet to attracting new capital to the region.

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New York, NY, United States (AHN) – The season for giving and receiving gifts is now Christmas Past. Now, it is the season for returning unwanted presents.

Dubbed “Mega Monday,” Dec. 26 is expected to be the third busiest shopping day of 2011, with scores of people heading to stores in droves in search of after-Christmas bargains and to return items.

Stores are forecast to ring up $469.1 billion over this holiday season, which extends from Nov.1 through New Year’s Eve. The final week before Christmas accounts for up to 20 percent of those sales, with the week after the holiday also being very brisk.

Some retailers underestimated the resilience of the American shopper, believing they weren’t ready to spend during the still-weak economy. However, the National Retail Federation reports that the two-month period has been busy, and it upgraded its overall sales growth forecast a full percentage point, to 3.8 percent.

Some shoppers are just getting started, putting off buying big ticket items until after Christmas, looking for blockbuster year-end specials.

Stores are also preparing for the rush to exchange and return gifts. Many stores have changed their return policy, shortening the number of days customers can return an item and requiring a receipt for cash back.

For those that find they can’t return, there is an option. We promise not to tell if you save that unwanted present and re-gift it next year.

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Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The White House has thrown its support behind the end-of-year legislative package that included an extension of the reduction in payroll taxes for Americans for two months, according to a senior administration official.

In a statement issued Friday night, White House Communications Director Dan Pfeiffer said, “The President said that Congress cannot go home without preventing a tax increase on 160 million hardworking Americans, and the deal announced tonight meets that test.”

Pfeiffer quoted the President as urging “Congress now to finish up their business for the American people.”

“This is an important step towards enacting a key provision of the President’s American Jobs Act and a significant victory for the American people and the economy, because as independent analysts have said, failing to extend this tax cut would have had a damaging effect on our recovery and job growth,” Pfeiffer added.

The statement from the White House came after Senate negotiators reached a deal on a two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday, among other benefits, but also imposed a requirement for President Obama to decide within 60 days whether to permit the construction of the Keystone XL pipeline, which would transfer oil from Canada oil sands to Gulf of Mexico refineries.

Earlier, Sen. Dick Lugar announced inclusion of his Lugar-Hoeven-Vitter legislation that would “compel the Obama Administration to act on a construction permit for the Keystone XL pipeline in 60 days,” in the payroll tax reduction bill.

“The President will no longer be able to duck his responsibility to American workers. He must now make a decision,” said Lugar, adding, “It is absolutely incredible that President Obama wants to delay a decision until after the 2012 elections apparently in fear of offending a part of his political base and even risking the ire of construction unions who strongly support the project.”

Energy specialists were not so sure of the outcome. One, speaking on condition of anonymity, commented in Washington, “One can be sure the pipeline project is dead as the president will not move before elections as it concerns his vote base of environmentalists.”

Moreover, the two-month extension of the payroll tax would definitely raise hiccups in both parties, according to political pundits, as this looked like a face-saving measure by lawmakers, who are suffering their worst ratings in recent years.

The tax paid by employees, now 4.2 percent, was scheduled to revert to its 2010 level of 6.2 percent on Jan. 1 if legislators did not renew the cuts, but President Obama had called on Congress not to go on vacation without final action.

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Tucson, AZ, United States (AHN Sports) – Four teams from MLS are set to compete in the 2012 FC Tucson Desert Diamond Cup.

The matches will be played at Kino Stadium between February 22, 2012 and March 3, 2012 and feature MLS Cup winners the Los Angeles Galaxy along with New York Red Bulls, New England Revolution and Real Salt Lake.

The event is expected to bring in thousands of soccer-loving tourists to town and the games will feature some of the top teams and players from the MLS.

“They’re going to be contributing to the local economy,” Felipe Garcia from the Tucson Convention and Visitors Bureau said, “Fans will be eating at our restaurants, going to our stores. So that’s why it’s very important.”

The first matches will be on Wednesday, Feb. 22 and feature a game between the New England Revolution and LA Galaxy followed by a match between New York Red Bulls vs. Real Salt Lake.

Doubleheaders will also take place on Feb. 25 and Feb. 29 to determine the order for the final matches on March 3.

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Washington, DC, United States (IRIN) – AIDS activists have welcomed a pledge by U.S. President Barack Obama to provide antiretroviral treatment to some six million people globally by 2013, an increase of two million on the previous target.

“Obama has shown political will and leadership in doubling the pace of treatment initiation… he has made a down-payment on ending the AIDS crisis globally,” said Asia Russell, director of international policy at the health advocacy NGO, Health Global Access Project (Health GAP), which has been urging the US to take the lead in the global fight against HIV/AIDS.

In 2010, some 3.2 million people were accessing ARVs through the US President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR); globally, some 6.6 million people have access to HIV treatment out of an estimated 15 million who need it.

The pledge, however, does not come with an increase in PEPFAR funding from the US$48 billion pledged in 2008 for five years.

“We are looking at smarter programming and greater efficiencies, and costs are also coming down,” said Michael Strong, country coordinator for PEPFAR in Uganda. “We will continue existing programs and increase the number of people on ARVs to six million.”

Strong noted that the U.S. was also working to persuade other countries to take greater responsibility in the fight against HIV. “China, for instance, should not be a recipient of donor funds for HIV – it is the world’s second-largest economy,” he said. “We are urging rich countries like Germany and Sweden to commit fully to efforts to fight AIDS.”

Obama said the U.S. would also provide ARVs to prevent mother-to-child HIV transmission to 1.5 million women, support 4.7 million male circumcisions in eastern and southern Africa, and fund the distribution of at least one billion male condoms.

“HPTN 052 [a large randomized controlled study that showed the effectiveness of ARVs as prevention] showed that treatment not only saves lives, but slashes rates of infection; Obama has shown that he is willing to take action on the basis of that science,” Russell added.

The news comes as a relief for those involved in the fight against HIV, which is severely underfunded and recently suffered an additional blow when the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria was forced to cancel its 11th round of funding due to insufficient resources. Activists have called on donor countries to follow Obama’s lead in ensuring treatment is made available for all those in need.

“We are calling for an emergency donor conference within the next 200 days as an opportunity for donors to raise at least US$2 billion towards meeting the costs of treatment,” said Tido von Schoen-Angerer, executive director of the Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Access Campaign. “It is very frustrating that we have had such a year of scientific achievement in terms of understanding how to have real impact and possibly end the epidemic, but at the same time funding is running out and we risk going backwards in the fight against HIV.”

Cautious optimism

Obama’s announcement on 1 December, World AIDS Day, was welcomed with cautious optimism in developing countries. “If the pledge is kept, it will be an important step in the global goal of getting 15 million people on treatment by 2015, but it is important to realize that we are not out of the woods yet, unless the rich countries of the north keep their pledges to the Global Fund… because this is the biggest source of funding for many poor countries,” said Nelson Otuoma, national coordinator of the Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS in Kenya (NEPHAK).

Health GAP’s Russell cautioned that high-burden countries would need to play their part in ensuring donor funds were used in the most effective way; in particular, countries such as Uganda – the only PEPFAR-funded country where new HIV infections are on the rise – would need to become more aggressive in using effective prevention technologies and scaled-up treatment programs to show results.

“It will be vital for high-burden countries to step up and match Obama’s commitment with money, leadership and accountability,” she said.

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Derbyshire, United Kingdom (AHN) – Toyota has announced plans to add up to 1,500 new jobs at its Burnaston factory in Derbyshire in the United Kingdom.

Company officials say that Toyota will invest more than $155 million into making the factory its sole European plant for the next hatchback it introduces.

Prime Minister David Cameron was touring the factory when news of the new production was announced and he hailed it as a vote of confidence for UK manufacturing. He also noted that it would be a huge boost for the economy.

The new hatchback will be a small family vehicle similar in size to Toyota’s existing Auris model and cars by other manufacturers such as the Ford Focus and Volkswagen Golf.

The Burnaston factory is one of four Toyota vehicle-building factories across Europe and Russia. The plant currently employs more than 3,100 people and manufactures the Auris and Avensis models.

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