IMF releases 2.2 billion euro in aid for Greece (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? The International Monetary Fund on Monday agreed to release a 2.2 billion euro ($2.95 billion) aid disbursement to Greece, part of a three-year IMF-EU bailout package to help the debt-stricken country avoid bankruptcy.

"The executive board of the International Monetary Fund today completed the fifth review of Greece's economic performance under a program supported by a three-year Stand-By Arrangement for Greece," the IMF said in a brief statement.

The disbursement brings to 20.3 billion the sum paid out to Greece so far under the 30 billion euro IMF loan agreed in May last year. It is part of a bigger 110 billion euro rescue package for the country.

The approval of the latest aid tranche followed assurances by Prime Minister Lucas Papademos and his new unity government that the country would stick to terms of a debt reduction deal.

Last week, European leaders approved an 8 billion euro tranche for Greece.

An IMF mission will travel to Athens between December 12 and December 16 for preliminary discussions with the new coalition on economic policies.

(Reporting by Lesley Wroughton; Editing by Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/eurobiz/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111205/bs_nm/us_imf_greece

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Wine industry succeeds in recession-weary Michigan (AP)

LAKE LEELANAU, Mich. ? A state thirsting for good economic news is toasting the success of an up-and-coming industry: winemaking.

Vineyards and tasting rooms are springing up rapidly in Michigan, where fertile hillsides near the Great Lakes provide ideal settings for cool-weather varieties such as riesling, pinot grigio and chardonnay. Grape growing and wine making still have only a fraction of the muscle wielded by the automobile industry, but their success is striking given the economic downturn, which hit Michigan years before the rest of the nation.

Eleven wineries have opened in the past year and four others will soon follow, said Linda Jones, executive director of the Michigan Grape and Wine Industry Council. The number of Michigan wineries using fruit grown in state has jumped from 18 to 89 in the past couple of decades.

Dan Matthies, who operates Chateau Fontaine in scenic Leelanau County and is a real estate agent focusing on properties suitable for vineyards, has brokered sales of five parcels this year and says he's flooded with inquiries from people wanting to break into the wine business.

"It is one of the brightest spots we have in the state of Michigan," Matthies said, steering a jouncing pickup through one of his vineyards as laborers snipped bunches of grapes and dumped them into giant crates.

The industry's recent growth reflects, in part, the overall health of the nation's farm economy. Farm income is expected to hit an all-time high this year, and the value of farmland has seen double-digit increases.

A 2007 study found that Michigan agriculture was growing five times faster than the state economy as a whole ? a trend that appears to have continued, said Bill Knudsen, a Michigan State University analyst who wrote the report and is preparing an update.

"The fact that food is a necessity means even though things are bad, agriculture will at least hold its own," Knudsen said. "It isn't completely recession-proof but it comes about as close as you will ever find."

Wine isn't a necessity, of course. But vineyards, like many Michigan farms, have benefited from consumers' growing interest in locally produced foods. Wine sales in Michigan rose 4 percent overall last year, but sales of Michigan-made wines jumped 12 percent. Matthies said that's no accident: Customer loyalty matters in a state where "Buy American" became a rallying cry as imports hammered the auto industry.

"They realize we are literally selling them the fruits of our labor ... and they're supporting us," he said.

During a visit to Chateau Fontaine's tasting room, Joseph Jones of Fife Lake said he's willing to pay more for Michigan wine than for similar varieties from California or Europe.

"We want to see our wineries succeed," said Jones, who isn't related to Linda Jones. "Their quality is excellent, so it's not like we're stepping down."

The recession's most noticeable effect is that people are buying less expensive wines, just as they've settled for hamburger instead of steak, Linda Jones said. They're also buying more bottles at stores to drink at home while cutting back at restaurants, where wine costs more.

"But people drink in good times and bad," she said. "It's an affordable indulgence to have a good bottle of wine with a meal."

Michigan's wine industry also has benefitted from the state's climate. Most of the state's vineyards and wineries are near Lake Michigan in the western corners of the Lower Peninsula, notable for gentle slopes formed by Ice Age glaciers.

The lake has a moderating influence on temperatures near the shore, helping prevent late spring frosts while prolonging mild weather for fall grape harvests. Abundant snow wraps vines in a thick blanket that prevents winter freezing. Hillsides provide generous exposure to the sun during summer growing season.

Vineyards have already gobbled up much of the land suitable for grape growing and the number of good locations left is dwindling, said Paolo Sabbatini, a Michigan State viticulturist. But he also said growers are experimenting with "super-hardy" varieties that could expand significantly the reach of Michigan wine country. For now, about 2,000 of the state's 14,600 acres of vineyards produce wine grapes. The rest are used for juice.

Michigan's reputation for quality wine has surged while its lineup of varieties has expanded. Wineries are now turning highly regarded selections of merlot, pinot noir, pinot blanc, cabernet franc and ice wines, a dessert variety made with grapes frozen before harvesting.

"It's been like an explosion the last couple of years. They've been winning medals left and right, competing across the U.S. and internationally," said Yolanda Daly, director of the Pacific Rim Wine Competition in San Bernadino, Calif. "Beautiful wines are coming out of Michigan."

As word spreads, businesses in Michigan's wine regions reap the benefits. About 1 million people visit the state's wineries each year. They tend to have enough money for dining out, buying gifts and entertainment, said Brad Van Dommelen, president of the convention and visitors bureau in Traverse City, recently named by TripAdvisor.com as one of America's top 10 wine destinations.

The industry pumps about $300 million into the state's economy each year and employs thousands of people in wine production and spinoff jobs in hotels, restaurants and shops.

"We're also making lists of the top foodie towns because of our restaurants," Van Dommelen said. "When you offer a top-quality wine experience along with that, it's huge for tourism ? and for the entire local economy."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111205/ap_on_re_us/us_food_and_farm_michigan_wine

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Cain suspends campaign shifting GOP race (AP)

ATLANTA ? A defiant Herman Cain suspended his faltering bid for the Republican presidential nomination Saturday amid a drumbeat of sexual misconduct allegations against him, throwing his staunchly conservative supporters up for grabs with just one month to go before the lead-off caucuses in Iowa.

Cain condemned the accusations as "false and unproven" but said they had been hurtful to his family, particularly his wife, Gloria, and were drowning out his ability to deliver his message. His wife stood behind him on the stage, smiling and waving as the crowd chanted her name.

"So as of today, with a lot of prayer and soul-searching, I am suspending my presidential campaign because of the continued distractions and the continued hurt caused on me and my family," a tired-looking Cain told about 400 supporters.

Cain's announcement came five days after an Atlanta-area woman, Ginger White, claimed she and Cain had an affair for more than a decade, a claim that followed several allegations of sexual harassment against the Georgia businessman.

"Now, I have made many mistakes in life. Everybody has. I've made mistakes professionally, personally, as a candidate, in terms of how I run my campaign. And I take responsibility for the mistakes I've made, and I have been the very first to own up to any mistakes I've made," he said.

But Cain intoned: "I am at peace with my God. I am at peace with my wife. And she is at peace with me."

White's attorney said a in statement after the announcement that Cain had disparaged his client and should apologize. Cain had called her a "troubled Atlanta businesswoman" whom he had tried to help.

"We continue to encourage Mr. Cain to retract these statements and apologize for the way he has characterized these women in the media," Buckley said. Cain's campaign had no immediate response.

Cain's announcement provides a new twist in what has already been a volatile Republican race. Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich has, so far, been the biggest beneficiary of Cain's precipitous slide. Polls show Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney atop the field in what is shaping up as a two-man race heading into early voting states.

But others, such as Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann, will likely make a strong play for Cain's anti-establishment tea party backing as they look to rise as a viable alternative to Romney, whose conservative credentials are suspect in some GOP circles.

Cain said he would offer an endorsement, and his former rivals were quick to issue statements on Saturday praising his conservative ideals and grassroots appeal.

At a tea party rally in Staten Island, Gingrich praised Cain for bringing optimism and big ideas to the race.

"He had the courage to launch the 9-9-9 plan, which, whether you liked it or disliked it, was a big idea and started to elevate the debate toward big solutions and not the usual nitpicking, consultant-driven negativity," Gingrich said. He was referring to Cain's catchy but controversial plan to scrap the current tax code for a 9 percent tax on personal and corporate income as well as a new 9 percent national sales tax.

Some disappointed Cain supporters were clearly in search of a candidate on Saturday following his withdrawal.

"I don't know where I will go now," Janet Edwards, 52, said following Cain's announcement. "I guess I have to start looking at the rest of them."

Cain told supporters he planned to continue his efforts to influence Washington and announced "Plan B" ? what he called a grassroots effort to return government to the people.

"I am not going to be silenced, and I am not going away. And therefore, as of today, Plan B," he said.

Plan B includes formation of TheCainSolutions.com, which he described as a grassroots effort to bring government back to the people. It would also continue to push his signature 9-9-9 plan.

Cain's announcement was a remarkable turnabout for a man that just weeks ago vaulted out of nowhere to the top of the GOP field, propelled by a populist, outsider appeal and his tax overhaul plan.

Saturday's event was a bizarre piece of political theater even for a campaign that has seemed to thrive on defying convention.

Cain marked the end of his bid at what was supposed to be the grand opening of his new campaign headquarters in Atlanta. Minutes before he took the stage to pull the plug, aides and supporters took to the podium to urge attendees to vote for Cain and travel to early voting states to rev up support for his bid.

"Join the Cain train," David McCleary, Cain's Georgia director, urged the audience.

Volunteers had been up through the night preparing the former flooring warehouse to open as the new hub of Cain's early-state outreach.

He marveled at rising from a childhood in Atlanta marked by segregated water fountains and poverty to what he called "the final four" of the presidential contest.

The former Godfather's Pizza chief executive, who has never held elective office, rose just weeks ago to lead the Republican race. But he fumbled policy questions, leaving some to wonder whether he was ready for the presidency. Then it was revealed at the end of October that the National Restaurant Association had paid settlements to two women who claimed Cain sexually harassed them while he was president of the organization.

A third woman told The Associated Press that Cain made inappropriate sexual advances but that she didn't file a complaint. A fourth woman also stepped forward to accuse Cain of groping her in a car in 1997.

Cain has denied wrongdoing in all cases and continued to do so Saturday.

Polls suggest his popularity had suffered. A Des Moines Register poll released Friday showed Cain's support plunging, with backing from 8 percent of Republican caucus goers in Iowa, compared with 23 percent a month ago.

_____

Follow Shannon McCaffrey: http://www.twitter.com/smccaffrey13

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111204/ap_on_el_pr/us_cain

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Khosla, Google Ventures And Hearst Put $4M In Social TV Platform Miso

The social app for TV content Miso has just raised $4 million in new funding from Khosla Ventures, with existing investors Google Ventures and Hearst Interactive Media participating in the round. This brings Miso's total funding to $6 million. Similar to GetGlue, Tunerfish and others, Miso launched as a check-in app for television content. The idea behind Miso is that as you watch TV shows and movies, users can check-in to this content, follow specific shows and earn points and badges for interacting with this content. Miso offers iPhone, iPad and Android apps for users on the go as well as a web app.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/3BVcE1BuzUw/

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US envoy criticizes China's controls on economy (AP)

BEIJING ? A U.S. trade envoy has accused China's government of increasing its role in the economy in violation of its free-trade pledges and he appealed to Beijing to reconsider its embrace of "state capitalism."

The comments reflect a harder U.S. tone toward Beijing amid disputes over market access for banking and other services and complaints China is supporting its producers of solar power and other technology despite promising to allow free competition.

In a speech this week, the U.S. ambassador to the World Trade Organization cited a "troubling trend" of increased Chinese government intervention in the economy over the past five years despite its WTO commitments to open its markets.

The ambassador, Michael Punke, made the comments Wednesday in Geneva, according to a transcript on the website of the U.S. Trade Representative's office. He was speaking at a WTO meeting for the tenth and final annual review of China's compliance with its WTO obligations since it joined the body in 2001.

"China seems to be embracing state capitalism more strongly each year, rather than continuing to move toward the economic reform goals that originally drove its pursuit of WTO membership," he said. "This is a troubling development, and the United States urges the Chinese government to reconsider the path it is on."

During a trip through Asia last month, President Barack Obama called on Beijing to show more maturity in its economic relations with other nations.

"Increasingly, trade frictions with China can be traced to China's pursuit of industrial policies that rely on trade-distorting government actions to promote or protect China's state-owned enterprises and domestic industries," Punke said.

China's trade and economy have grown rapidly since 2001, propelling it past Japan as the world's second-largest economy behind the United States and financing a military buildup that has alarmed its neighbors.

On Wednesday, China's Defense Ministry criticized Washington's strengthened military pact with Australia as a throwback to "Cold War thinking."

Beijing has alarmed foreign companies by unveiling initiatives to build up state-owned corporate champions in an array of fields from telecommunications to wind energy.

Business groups complain Beijing appears to be trying to squeeze foreign companies out of its clean energy and other promising industries. They have questioned whether the communist government wants to live up to pledges to allow foreign companies to compete on an equal footing with Chinese rivals.

Punke said that in its first five years of WTO membership, Beijing took "impressive steps" to reduce tariffs, eliminate trade barriers and improve protection for intellectual property rights.

But he noted complaints that Beijing tries to intimidate foreign companies, threatening to retaliate if they speak up about problematic policies or cooperate with their governments in challenging them.

Punke complained that Beijing appears to resort to trade actions in response to legitimate steps by the United States and other trading partners under their trade laws.

Last month, China launched a probe of U.S. government support for its solar, wind and other renewable energy industries after American authorities agreed to investigate a complaint by a group of companies that Beijing improperly subsidizes exports of solar panels and hurts foreign competitors.

"This type of conduct is at odds with fundamental principles of the WTO's rules-based system," Punke said.

___

U.S. Trade Representative: http://www.ustr.gov

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111201/ap_on_bi_ge/as_china_us_trade

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Clinton highlights democracy on last day of Myanmar trip (Reuters)

YANGON (Reuters) ? Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was due for a final meeting with pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi on Friday as she wrapped up a landmark visit to Myanmar which saw the new civilian government pledge to forge ahead with political reforms and re-engage with the world community.

Clinton and Suu Kyi - the Nobel laureate who has come to symbolise the pro-democracy aspirations of Myanmar's people - held a private dinner on Thursday and were to meet again on Friday at Suu Kyi's home, effectively her prison until she was released last November after years in detention.

Clinton will also meet representatives of ethnic minority groups, some of which remained locked in bloody conflict with the army, as well as fledgling civil society organizations, aiming to reassure them that the U.S. outreach to Myanmar's government does not mean it will ease pressure on human rights, political freedoms and rule of law in a country long a hallmark for authoritarian military rule.

Clinton met President Thein Sein on Thursday and announced a package of modest steps to improve ties, including U.S. support for new International Monetary Fund and World Bank needs assessment missions and expanded U.N. aid programs for the country's struggling economy.

She also said the United States would consider reinstating a full ambassador in Myanmar and could eventually ease crippling economic sanctions, but underscored that these future steps would depend on further measurable progress in Myanmar's reform drive.

"It has to be not theoretical or rhetorical. It has to be very real, on the ground, that can be evaluated. But we are open to that and we are going to pursue many different avenues to demonstrate our continuing support for this path of reform," Clinton told a news conference on Thursday in the capital, Naypyitaw, before arriving in Yangon.

Clinton's trip - the first by a senior U.S. official in more than 50 years - represents an opportunity for both Myanmar and the United States, and both appear eager to press ahead with rapprochement.

Myanmar's new leadership hopes the United States will eventually see its way clear to ease or remove sanctions, a step which could open the resource-rich but desperately poor country to more foreign trade and investment and help it catch up to booming neighbors such as Thailand and India.

For Washington, improved ties with Myanmar could underscore President Barack Obama's determination to up U.S. engagement in Asia and balance China's fast-growing economic, military and political influence.

U.S. officials said Clinton's visit was aimed at bolstering reformers in the government, but said it was clear that some powerful figures remained wary of reforms - throwing a question mark over whether the changes can be sustained.

Clinton's dinner with Suu Kyi on Wednesday marked her first personal encounter with the veteran activist, who has played a central role in the Obama administration's decision to explore the possibility of new ties with the country also known as Burma.

Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy will contest coming by-elections for parliament - seen as the next key test of the government's reform program - and Suu Kyi herself has said she will stand for election, another sign that the pro-democracy leader believes the changes under way are real.

(Editing by Robert Birsel)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111202/wl_nm/us_myanmar

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Christmas gamma-ray burst still puzzles

A year later, astrophysicists remain unsure about what happened on December 25

Web edition : 2:39 pm

The unusually bright and long-lived gamma-ray burst that appeared on December 25, 2010, is an enigmatic holiday gift that isn?t quite unwrapped yet.

After nearly a year, scientists trying to catch the culprit behind the perplexing explosion have arrived at two completely different answers, both presented in the Dec. 1 Nature. One theory involves a small object, such as an asteroid or comet, passing too close to a neutron star and going out in a gamma blaze of glory. The other theory suggests that a gnarly stellar merger ? followed by a dim supernova ? delivered the bizarre Christmas burst.

Detected by NASA?s Swift satellite, the event lasted much longer than typical gamma-ray bursts, which hurl intense pulses of high-energy gamma rays into space. Weird X-rays and unexpected heat emissions characterized the afterglow, which didn?t fade normally, either. ?I have a list of oddball events that we?ve seen with Swift, and this probably tops the list,? says astrophysicist Neil Gehrels of NASA?s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., who leads the team managing the Swift satellite. ?What I find interesting and amusing is that these are completely different models to explain the same data.?

Christina Th?ne, an astronomer at the Astrophysical Institute of Andaluc?a in Granada, Spain, says she and her colleagues considered ?all kinds of weird theories? before settling on the stellar merger scenario. In that version, a neutron star slowly spirals in toward a massive helium star, eventually colliding and producing a cataclysmic explosion of gamma rays. Then, a faint supernova goes off roughly 10 days later, an event that could explain bumps in the Christmas gamma-ray burst?s fading light curve.

This story of star death would have to have taken place in a galaxy not so far away, but definitely not in the Milky Way. That's a problem, given that astronomers haven?t been able to unambiguously spy a host galaxy for the Christmas spectacle. Still, astrophysicist Enrico Ramirez-Ruiz of the University of California, Santa Cruz, says he thinks this explanation is the more likely of the two, even though ?there are some details that still bother me.?

The second theory, a seemingly cautionary tale of a curious comet?s demise, also required some creative thinking from scientists. Sergio Campana, an astrophysicist at Italy?s Brera Astronomical Observatory in Merate, acknowledges that his team?s version of events sounds ?peculiar,? but he says it works. Calculations suggest that if an object half the mass of the dwarf planet Ceres were shredded by a neutron star, it would produce enough debris to trigger a prolonged gamma-ray expulsion. In this version, the burst comes from within the Milky Way.

Gehrels says he was initially inclined toward this explanation, given the apparent proximity of the burst and absence of a host galaxy, but now can?t decide between the two.

And though perhaps peculiar, the idea of small bodies whirling around neutron stars is not new. The first planets observed outside the solar system were found orbiting rapidly spinning neutron stars known as pulsars.

The small body/neutron star explanation fits theories describing how small objects might form around these stars, says Alex Wolszczan, an astronomer at Pennsylvania State University in University Park who studies pulsar planets. The team?s calculations ?are not crazy,? he says, but notes that a wandering neutron star capturing minor bodies ? one of the team?s considerations ? is more in the realm of science fiction.

While scientists might quibble over which scenario best fits the data, most agree that unambiguously resolving where the burst occurred will point toward one explanation or the other. Of course, the burst could still be the product of an even more exotic event, says Ramirez-Ruiz. ?I think this object is unique enough that is could certainly be attributed to something we haven?t thought of.?

Found in: Atom & Cosmos

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/336531/title/Christmas_gamma-ray_burst_still_puzzles

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