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U.S. investors stuck in emerging markets crunch - Howard Gold's No ...
By Howard Gold
Guanabara Bay at daybreak in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.NEW YORK (MarketWatch) ? Emerging markets have taken it on the chin this year, but U.S. investors who piled into them are really feeling the pain.
The iShares MSCI Emerging Markets index ETF /quotes/zigman/322623/quotes/nls/eem EEM +0.57% ? has lost 16% of its value since its recent high in January ? and unlike U.S. indexes, which have made all-time highs this year, it?s still a third below its 2007 peak.
That suggests major emerging markets ? especially the popular BRIC countries ? are in a long-term, secular bear market, leaving little hope for investors counting on outsized returns.
Wall Street?s siren song of ?buy where the growth is,? combined with an aversion to an America supposedly in decline, led many U.S. investors to plow recklessly into emerging markets even as they yanked hundreds of billions from U.S. stocks ? which have handily outperformed emerging markets for nearly two years.
Mortgage rates surge to a two-year high, and more
Freddie Mac Reports the first time mortgage rates reach above four percent since March 2012, President Barack Obama says he will not engage in "horse trading" for Edward Snowden, and hundreds of mourners including some of hollywood's biggest names turn out to pay tribute to award-winning actor, James Gandolfini.
This column warned investors that emerging markets had had their day as early as August 2011, and last April we scratched our heads as U.S. investors continued to pile into these former high flyers.
Read Gold?s analysis of why U.S. investors flocked to emerging markets in MoneyShow.com.
U.S. investors started pouring money into emerging markets during their mid-2000s heyday. But from 2008 through 2012, they bought more than $1 trillion worth of bond funds while also snapping up $77.7 billion of emerging market equity funds, according to the Investment Company Institute.
And yet investors sold nearly $600 billion ? that?s right, $600 billion ? in U.S. equity funds during that same period.
But recently, it?s been a bloodbath, as investors dumped $18 billion in emerging market equity funds over the past 10 weeks, according to Morgan Stanley.
Talk about betting on the wrong horse!
/conga/story/misc/dc.html 268995No doubt they?ve gotten bad advice from Wall Street and independent advisers who urged them to allocate more money to the world?s fastest growing economies. Unfortunately, academic research ? by Jay Ritter at the University of Florida and Elroy Dimson, Paul Marsh and Mike Staunton at the London Business School ? has shown conclusively that faster economic growth doesn?t necessarily produce bigger stock market gains. But I still hear gurus and pundits peddling this tired story.
Also, it must be said, many U.S. investors are in a deep funk about their own country, worried about debt, the U.S. dollar, and the Federal Reserve?s extraordinarily loose monetary policy. That has led them to overinvest in precious metals, foreign currencies and emerging market stocks and bonds while avoiding the U.S. like the plague.
Ancient horse DNA discovered
Wendy Bounds and Ross MacPhee discuss the discovery of 700,000-year-old horse DNA, and Tom Perrotta looks at the dearth of family dynasties in tennis.
/quotes/zigman/322623/quotes/nls/eem
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Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-investors-stuck-in-emerging-markets-crunch-2013-06-28
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Obama's ties to Mandela loom over S. Africa visit
JOHANNESBURG (AP) ? Inspired by Nelson Mandela's struggles in South Africa, a young Barack Obama joined campus protests in the U.S. against the racist rule that kept Mandela locked away in prison for nearly three decades.
Now a historic, barrier-breaking figure himself, President Obama arrived in South Africa Friday to find a country drastically transformed by Mandela's influence ? and grappling with the beloved 94-year-old's mortality.
It was unclear whether Mandela's deteriorating health would allow Obama to make a hospital visit. The former South African leader is battling a recurring lung infection and is said to be in critical condition at a hospital in the South African capital of Pretoria.
Speaking to reporters on Air Force One as he made his way to Johannesburg, Obama said he would gauge the situation after he arrived.
"I don't need a photo-op," he said. "And the last thing I want to do is to be in any way obtrusive at a time when the family is concerned about Nelson Mandela's condition."
Obama's visit to South Africa is seen as something of a tribute to the man who helped inspire his own political activism. The president will pay homage to Mandela at Robben Island, the prison where he spent 18 of his 27 years in prison. And with South Africa's ruling party, the African National Congress, facing questions about its effectiveness, Obama will urge the government and the South African people to live up to the democratic example set by their first black president.
"He's a personal hero, but I don't think I'm unique in that regard," Obama said during a news conference Thursday in Senegal, the first stop on his weeklong Africa trip. "I think he's a hero for the world. And if and when he passes from this place, one thing I think we'll all know is that his legacy is one that will linger on throughout the ages."
Obama and Mandela have met just once, a hastily arranged meeting in a Washington hotel room in 2005 when Obama was a U.S. senator. A photo of the meeting hangs in Obama's personal office at the White House, showing a smiling Mandela sitting on a chair, his legs outstretched, as the young senator reaches down to shake his hand. A copy of the photo also hangs in Mandela's office in Johannesburg.
Since then, the two have spoken occasionally by telephone, including after the 2008 election, when Mandela called Obama to congratulate him on his victory. The U.S. president called Mandela in 2010 after the South African leader's young granddaughter was killed in a car accident. Obama also wrote the introduction to Mandela's memoir, "Conversations With Myself."
Despite the two men's infrequent contact, people close to Obama say his one-on-one meeting with Mandela left a lasting impression.
"He is one of the few people who the president has respected and admired from afar who, when he met him, exceeded his expectations," said Valerie Jarrett, Obama's senior adviser and close friend.
Obama's own political rise has drawn inevitable comparisons to the South African leader. Both are Nobel Peace Prize winners and the first black men elected to lead their countries.
But their paths to power have been vastly different. While Mandela fought to end an oppressive government from the confines of a prison cell, Obama attended elite schools and rose through the U.S. political system before running for president.
"President Obama would believe that the challenges he has faced pale in comparison to those faced by President Mandela," Jarrett said.
Mandela had already shaped Obama's political beliefs well before their first encounter. As a student at Occidental College in Los Angeles, Obama joined protests against the school's investments during South Africa's apartheid era. In 1981, Obama focused his first public political speech on the topic.
"It's happening an ocean away," Obama said, according to a retelling of the story in his memoir "Dreams From My Father." ''But it's a struggle that touches each and every one of us. Whether we know it or not. Whether we want it or not."
More than 30 years later, as he traveled through the African continent, Obama recalled the influence Mandela had had on him during that period of his life.
"I think at that time I didn't necessarily imagine that Nelson Mandela might be released," Obama said Thursday. But the president said he had read Mandela's writings and speeches and understood him to be a man who believed in "treating people equally and was willing to sacrifice his life for that belief."
Following his release from prison, Mandela was elected president in 1994 during South Africa's first all-races elections. He served just one term, focusing in large part on racial reconciliation in the post-apartheid era, and retreated from public life several years ago.
The most recent images of him depict a frail man apparently approaching the end of his life. While South Africans have long been loath to talk about Mandela's inevitable death, there is now a growing sense in the country that the time is near. Well-wishers have delivered flowers and messages of support to the Pretoria hospital where he is being treated, and prayer sessions have been held around the country.
___
Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obamas-ties-mandela-loom-over-africa-visit-173837509.html
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Iraq official says Baghdad open to US military aid
BAGHDAD (AP) ? Iraq is open to greater American military cooperation as U.S. commanders explore ways to boost security assistance to the country, a top Iraqi official said Thursday as a fresh wave of bombings claimed 16 lives.
The Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Martin Dempsey, has recommended that military American commanders look for ways to help improve the military capabilities of Iraq and Lebanon, which both face the risk of spillover from the civil war in neighboring Syria.
Dempsey said Wednesday that the assistance would not involve sending U.S. combat troops, but could involve the U.S. sending in training teams and accelerating sales of weapons and equipment.
The last American combat troops left Iraq in December 2011, ending a nearly nine-year war that cost nearly 4,500 American and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives.
About 100 military and civilian Department of Defense personnel remain in Iraq as an arm of the American Embassy to act as liaisons with the Iraqi government and facilitate arms sales. The U.S. has similar offices in other countries.
Ali al-Moussawi, the media adviser for Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki, told The Associated Press that Baghdad would welcome increased arms sales and faster weapons deliveries along with U.S. training teams to help it confront rising regional instability and terrorist threats.
"We welcome this kind of cooperation and we consider it a part of the existing agreement between us," al-Moussawi said when asked about Dempsey's comments.
"Because of the high risks the region faces, I think there should be bigger cooperation and coordination between all countries threatened by terrorism."
Iraq is struggling to contain a resurgent al-Qaida that is one of the main drivers behind the country's worst uptick in violence in half a decade. More than 2,000 people have been killed in car bombings and other violent attacks in Iraq since the start of April.
More violence rocked Iraq late Thursday when bombs struck cafes in and around Baghdad, killing 16 and wounding dozens. The attacks struck in quick succession at the start of the local weekend while the cafes were filled with patrons watching a soccer match.
Police reported five people killed and 17 wounded in Baghdad's largely Sunni neighborhood of Azamiyah, and another three dead and 14 wounded in Shiite-dominated Umm al-Maalif, in the southwestern suburbs of the capital.
Another blast struck the Shiite town of Jbala, about 50 kilometers (35 miles) south of Baghdad, killing 8 and wounding 25.
Hospital officials confirmed the casualty toll. All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to release the information to journalists.
The upsurge in violence comes as Iraqi fighters have been traveling to fight on both sides of Syria's civil war. The Iraqi branch of al-Qaida is pushing to make itself a player in the conflict, and now calls itself the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant to highlight its cross-border ambitions.
Iraq has acquired billions of dollars' worth of American-made military equipment, including howitzers, armored personnel carriers and Abrams tanks in recent years.
It has yet to receive the first of as many as 36 F-16 fighter jets it has ordered, and Baghdad has been pressing U.S. officials to speed delivery of the warplanes.
Also on Thursday, a spokesman for Iraq's Independent High Electoral Commission said a voting list backed by influential Sunni politicians has won the biggest single bloc of seats in provincial elections in the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar.
Safaa al-Moussawi, a spokesman for the Independent High Electoral commission, said the United list led by Iraqi Parliament Speaker Osama al-Nujaifi won 8 of 30 seats in Anbar's provincial council. A bloc backed by al-Maliki came in second with five seats.
The western province of Anbar, a former al-Qaida stronghold, has been the center of anti-government rallies protesting what Sunnis say is their second-class treatment by the Shiite-led government.
Residents in Anbar and neighboring Ninevah province voted last week in local elections that had been delayed due to security concerns.
___
Associated Press writers Sameer N. Yacoub and Adam Schreck contributed.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-official-says-baghdad-open-us-military-aid-142850054.html
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Dan Persons: 100 Bloody Acres' Cameron & Colin Cairnes: The CFQ Interview
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Australian brothers Cameron Cairnes and Colin Cairnes are making their feature film debut with 100 Bloody Acres. A black comedy in which a group of young concert-goers run afoul of a couple of brothers (Angus Sampson and Damon Herriman) whose blood and bone fertilizer business has seen a significant uptick in fortunes with the addition of human corpses to the mix, the film manages to subvert the typical Texas Chainsaw set-up through an uncanny ability to zig when the audience is expecting a zag, and the Cairnes' willingness to push relationship moments to the fore in the midst of all the gore.
I got an opportunity to talk with the Cairnes about their approach to horror and how they came up with Angus Sampson's beard. Click on the player button to hear the interview, or right-click the title to download.
100 Bloody Acres' Cameron & Colin Cairnes: The CFQ Interview
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বৃহস্পতিবার, ২৭ জুন, ২০১৩
Peter Buffett: Change Our Story: Escape Velocity
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When I was young, I remember being awestruck at the massive power of the Saturn V rocket as it lifted astronauts into space toward the moon. It took so much effort to get that rocket off the ground. But then I would see animations of what would happen once the stages had been cast off and just the top of the rocket, the Command and Service Modules, were in space. The maneuvering looked effortless.
Specifically, it took over 7.5 million pounds of thrust to get to the first 220,000 feet. Once in space, the Service Module needed about 100 pounds of thrust to change position.
Every day we live our lives in the gravitational pull of our belief systems. And every one of them starts from the inside out -- trailing back generations often without our knowledge. My parents made lifelong decisions based on how they were raised -- and I did the same. Modes of behavior were formed based on what I believed about myself and the world around me. As invisible as gravity, these definitions regarding who I was and what I could become created a pull that seemed as inevitable as the earth turning on its axis. If I were born into another family... or in a far off culture... my center of gravity would have been completely different but just as strong.
We need to create meaning out of everything we encounter. It tells us who we are -- and what we need to do to navigate in our environment. There is quite a bit of evidence that says that everything happens about a half a second earlier than we perceive it. And in that half a second, our body and mind create the reality that makes sense for us based on everything we know. We are constantly telling ourselves a story. And as our story becomes stronger through time and experience, its pull can become nearly impossible to escape from.
Everything we experience becomes a story we're deciding to believe.
That doesn't mean that outside forces don't count. The economy that we have collectively bought into has created crushing poverty for billions. But that poverty comes from a system that promotes massive inequality -- and defines poverty on its terms. It doesn't have to be this way.
This is why escape velocity requires so much effort. While it's possible for some to wake up and dramatically shift their circumstance by changing their story... for many, it will take all 7.5 million pounds of thrust -- which translates to a collective shift in priorities, one person at a time.
What I'm talking about is a (r)evolution -- remembering that we actually share a common space -- both on this earth and in our hearts. Once we escape the pull of old stories and long-held beliefs that no longer serve our common humanity, it will take very little effort to correct our course. Just like the Service Module in space, a small adjustment is all it will take to stay on course once love and compassion are guiding the ship.
We're trapped in the false gravitational pull of a political structure... an economic system... definitions of power and control... that on the surface seem impossible to change.
But it is possible. We got to the moon in a decade. Why can't we get to our hearts in a minute?
For more by Peter Buffett, click here.
For more GPS for the Soul, click here.
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Follow Peter Buffett on Twitter: www.twitter.com/peterbuffett
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Ingested nanoparticle toxicity
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Public release date: 26-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Albert Ang
press@inderscience.com
Inderscience Publishers
Ingestion of commonly encountered nanoparticles at typical environmental levels is unlikely to cause overt toxicity, according to US researchers. Nevertheless there is insufficient evidence to determine whether chronic exposures could lead to subtle alterations in intestinal immune function, protein profiles, or microbial balance.
Writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Biomedical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, researchers have compared existing laboratory and experimental animal studies pertaining to the toxicity of nanoparticles most likely to be intentionally or accidentally ingested. Based on their review, the researchers determined ingestion of nanoparticles at likely exposure levels is unlikely to cause health problems, at least with respect to acute toxicity. Furthermore, in vitro laboratory testing, which often shows toxicity at a cellular level, does not correspond well with in vivo testing, which tends to show less adverse effects.
Ingrid Bergin in the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Frank Witzmann in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, at Indiana University School of Medicine, in Indianapolis, explain that the use of particles that are in the nano size range (from 1 billionth to 100 billionths of a meter in diameter, 1-100 nm, other thereabouts) are finding applications in consumer products and medicine. These include particles such as nano-silver, which is increasingly used in consumer products and dietary supplements for its purported antimicrobial properties. Nanoparticles can have some intriguing and useful properties because they do not necessarily behave in the same chemical and physical ways as non-nanoparticle versions of the same material.
Nanoparticles are now used as natural flavor enhancers in the form of liposomes and related materials, food pigments and in some so-called "health supplements". They are also used in antibacterial toothbrushes coated with silver nanoparticles, for instance in food and drink containers and in hygienic infant feeding equipment. They are also used to carry pharmaceuticals to specific disease sites in the body to reduce side effects. Nanoparticles actually encompass a very wide range of materials from pure metals and alloys, to metal oxide nanoparticles, and carbon-based and plastic nanoparticles. Because of their increasing utilization in consumer products, there has been concern over whether these small scale materials could have unique toxicity effects when compared to more traditional versions of the same materials.
Difficulties in assessing the health risks of nanoparticles include the fact that particles of differing materials and shapes can have different properties. Furthermore, the route of exposure (e.g. ingestion vs. inhalation) affects the likelihood of toxicity. The U.S. researchers evaluated the current literature specifically with respect to toxicity of ingested nanoparticles. They point out that, in addition to intentional ingestion as with dietary supplements, unintentional ingestion can occur due to nanoparticle presence in water or as a breakdown product from coated consumer goods. Inhaled nanoparticles also represent an ingestion hazard since they are coughed up, swallowed, and eliminated through the intestinal tract.
Based on their review, the team concludes that, "Ingested nanoparticles appear unlikely to have acute or severe toxic effects at typical levels of exposure." Nevertheless, they add that the current literature is inadequate to assess whether nanoparticles can accumulate in tissues and have long-term effects or whether they might cause subtle alterations in gut microbial populations. The researchers stress that better methods are needed for correlating particle concentrations used for cell-based assessment of toxicity with the actual likely exposure levels to body cells. Such methods may lead to better predictive value for laboratory in vitro testing, which currently over-predicts toxicity of ingested nanoparticles as compared to in vivo testing.
###
"Nanoparticle toxicity by the gastrointestinal route: evidence and knowledge gaps" in Int. J. Biomed Nanosci Nanotechnol, 2013, 3, 163-210
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Public release date: 26-Jun-2013[ | E-mail |
Share ] Contact: Albert Ang
press@inderscience.com
Inderscience Publishers
Ingestion of commonly encountered nanoparticles at typical environmental levels is unlikely to cause overt toxicity, according to US researchers. Nevertheless there is insufficient evidence to determine whether chronic exposures could lead to subtle alterations in intestinal immune function, protein profiles, or microbial balance.
Writing in a forthcoming issue of the International Journal of Biomedical Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, researchers have compared existing laboratory and experimental animal studies pertaining to the toxicity of nanoparticles most likely to be intentionally or accidentally ingested. Based on their review, the researchers determined ingestion of nanoparticles at likely exposure levels is unlikely to cause health problems, at least with respect to acute toxicity. Furthermore, in vitro laboratory testing, which often shows toxicity at a cellular level, does not correspond well with in vivo testing, which tends to show less adverse effects.
Ingrid Bergin in the Unit for Laboratory Animal Medicine, at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor and Frank Witzmann in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, at Indiana University School of Medicine, in Indianapolis, explain that the use of particles that are in the nano size range (from 1 billionth to 100 billionths of a meter in diameter, 1-100 nm, other thereabouts) are finding applications in consumer products and medicine. These include particles such as nano-silver, which is increasingly used in consumer products and dietary supplements for its purported antimicrobial properties. Nanoparticles can have some intriguing and useful properties because they do not necessarily behave in the same chemical and physical ways as non-nanoparticle versions of the same material.
Nanoparticles are now used as natural flavor enhancers in the form of liposomes and related materials, food pigments and in some so-called "health supplements". They are also used in antibacterial toothbrushes coated with silver nanoparticles, for instance in food and drink containers and in hygienic infant feeding equipment. They are also used to carry pharmaceuticals to specific disease sites in the body to reduce side effects. Nanoparticles actually encompass a very wide range of materials from pure metals and alloys, to metal oxide nanoparticles, and carbon-based and plastic nanoparticles. Because of their increasing utilization in consumer products, there has been concern over whether these small scale materials could have unique toxicity effects when compared to more traditional versions of the same materials.
Difficulties in assessing the health risks of nanoparticles include the fact that particles of differing materials and shapes can have different properties. Furthermore, the route of exposure (e.g. ingestion vs. inhalation) affects the likelihood of toxicity. The U.S. researchers evaluated the current literature specifically with respect to toxicity of ingested nanoparticles. They point out that, in addition to intentional ingestion as with dietary supplements, unintentional ingestion can occur due to nanoparticle presence in water or as a breakdown product from coated consumer goods. Inhaled nanoparticles also represent an ingestion hazard since they are coughed up, swallowed, and eliminated through the intestinal tract.
Based on their review, the team concludes that, "Ingested nanoparticles appear unlikely to have acute or severe toxic effects at typical levels of exposure." Nevertheless, they add that the current literature is inadequate to assess whether nanoparticles can accumulate in tissues and have long-term effects or whether they might cause subtle alterations in gut microbial populations. The researchers stress that better methods are needed for correlating particle concentrations used for cell-based assessment of toxicity with the actual likely exposure levels to body cells. Such methods may lead to better predictive value for laboratory in vitro testing, which currently over-predicts toxicity of ingested nanoparticles as compared to in vivo testing.
###
"Nanoparticle toxicity by the gastrointestinal route: evidence and knowledge gaps" in Int. J. Biomed Nanosci Nanotechnol, 2013, 3, 163-210
[ | E-mail | Share ] ?
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-06/ip-int062613.php
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Federal Circuit Begins its Campaign for Patent Clarity - Patent Law ...
By Dennis Crouch
Wyeth v. Abbot Labs (Fed. Cir. 2013)
In a unanimous opinion, the Federal Circuit has affirmed a summary judgment holding that Wyeth's patents are invalid as lacking enablement under 35 U.S.C. 112. Wyeth's patents cover the use of rapamycin antibiotic to treat and prevent restenosis following arterial balloon catheterization. See U.S. Patent Nos. 5,516,781 and 5,563,146. The claimed invention is simple and basically says, administer an "antirestenosis effective amount of rapamycin." Claim 1 of the '781 patent reads as follows:
1. A method of treating restenosis in a mammal resulting from said mammal undergoing a percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty procedure which comprises administering an antirestenosis effective amount of rapamycin to said mammal orally, parenterally, intravascularly, intranasally, intrabronchially, transdermally, rectally, or via a vascular stent impregnated with rapamycin.
One requirement of patent law is that the patent application (at the time of its filing) must sufficiently enable a person skilled in the relevant art to make and use the full scope of the claimed invention without undue experimentation. This "enablement requirement" is codified in Section 112(a) of the Patent Act (Formerly known as Section 112?1).
Here, it is the "full scope" requirement that kills the patent. In particular, Wyeth requested and received a broad construction of the claim term rapamycin to in a way that includes a large number of molecules that are structurally analogous to one another. However, the specification only discloses a single species along with a number of assays that could be useful to ascertain whether potential compounds exhibit the requisite effect.
In the appeal, the Federal Circuit aligned itself to the rule that broad claim scope requires broad disclosure. Here, the court noted that the rapamycin definition includes "tens of thousands" of candidate molecules and the specification "is silent about how to structurally modify sirolimus.
Undue experimentation: For its part, Wyeth argued that a lab tech with the usual skill and little creativity could systematically work through the various potential candidates to find which ones actually work. Citing to Johns Hopkins Univ. v. CellPro, Inc., 152 F.3d 1342, 1360?61 (Fed. Cir. 1998), Wyeth argued that a large pile of merely routine experimentation does rise to the level of impermissible undue experimentation.
The Federal Circuit disagreed ? finding that the trial-and-error process of tens-of-thousands of candidates moves the project well into the range of undue experimentation.
[T]here is no genuine dispute that it would be necessary to first synthesize and then screen each candidate compound using the assays disclosed in the specification to determine whether it has immunosuppressive and antirestenotic effects. There is no evidence in the record that any particular substitutions outside of the macrocyclic ring are preferable. Indeed, a Wyeth scientist confirmed the unpredictability of the art and the ensuing need to assay each candidate by testifying that, "until you test [compounds], you really can't tell whether they work or not [i.e., have antirestenotic effects]." J.A. 6929. In sum, there is no genuine dispute that practicing the full scope of the claims would require synthesizing and screening each of at least tens of thousands of compounds. . . .
Even putting the challenges of synthesis aside, one of ordinary skill would need to assay each of at least tens of thousands of candidates. Wyeth's expert conceded that it would take technicians weeks to complete each of these assays. The specification offers no guidance or predictions about particular substitutions that might preserve the immunosuppressive and antirestenotic effects observed in sirolimus. The resulting need to engage in a systematic screening process for each of the many rapamycin candidate compounds is excessive experimentation. We thus hold that there is no genuine dispute that practicing the full scope of the claims, measured at the filing date, required undue experimentation.
The take-away legal points here are (1) broad claims must do more to satisfy the enablement requirement than narrow claims; and (2) when excessive, routine non-creative efforts to recreate the invention can constitute undue experimentation.
The case is also interesting because it comes at a time where policymakers are looking to tighten the requirements of Section 112. As it did during the debate over the AIA, the Federal Circuit appears poised to make its mark on the current debate over patent scope and clarity.
Source: http://www.patentlyo.com/patent/2013/06/federal-circuit-begins-its-campaign-for-patent-clarity.html
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বুধবার, ২৬ জুন, ২০১৩
Study details cancer-promoting mechanisms of overlooked components in secondhand smoke
June 25, 2013 ? Tobacco smoke, diesel exhaust and oil combustion carry polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons -- PAHs that are known to cause cancer. But of these PAHs, the obviously dangerous high-molecular-weight PAHs like benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) have received the vast majority of research attention. Their low-molecular-weight cousins have been largely overlooked, in part because studies have shown that these compounds alone aren't very successful at mutating genes in cancer-causing ways.
A University of Colorado Cancer Center study published in the journal PLoS One explores two of these low-molecular-weight (LMW) PAHs -- 1-methylanthracene (1-MeA) and 2-methylanthracene (2-MeA) -- and shows that while they don't necessarily cause cancer, 1-MeA promotes conditions that will likely allow cancer to grow.
"There's a big distinction between initiating cancer and promoting it," says Alison Bauer, PhD, CU Cancer Center investigator and assistant professor at the Colorado School of Public Health. Her study showed that in a mouse cell model using a progenitor cell of lung cancer, the LMW 1-MeA promoted inflammation and increased mitogenic pathways, both of which are linked to tumor promotion. 2-MeA, while nearly structurally identical, did not.
"These LMW PAHs have been considered less of a concern," Bauer says, "but we're finding evidence that's not the case. They're not likely initiating the cancer, but it looks as if they could promote it."
Among other effects, Bauer and colleagues found that 1-MeA disrupts communication between cells, affecting the "gap junctions" across which adjoining cells pass information. 1-MeA also upregulates the gene COX2, which has been shown in other studies to create an over-aggressive inflammatory response -- and this inflammation in turn can promote tumor growth.
"There are many different PAHs in secondhand smoke," Bauer says. "Some are obviously dangerous like BaP, which directly mutates genes. Others, like 1-MeA, we known very little about. Think about all these PAHs like chess pieces -- first you have to know how each piece moves and then you can start looking at how they all work together."
Bauer points to these PAH mixtures as the next step in research. Eventually, knowing the effects of these mixtures could help evaluate the risks of different combustion products. The work could also lead to new therapy targets if, perhaps, some of the changes promoted by these LMW PAHs prove preventable or reversible by medicines.
"With smoking rates decreasing, we think this problem is going away, but high levels of secondhand smoke still exist in the U.S., for example in some apartment buildings," Bauer says. "And around the world, in China, Russia, Poland and many other countries, secondhand smoke is still a major issue. Knowing the effects of these LMW PAHs like 1-MeA could help us prevent or treat cancers associated with them."
Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/k-LDtzBAM60/130625150940.htm
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Microsoft Partners With Deem To Expand Its Ad Inventory With More Local Offers And Deals
Microsoft and e-commerce platform Deem, which is still better known under its previous name of Rearden Commerce, have inked a partnership that will allow Microsoft to distribute Deem's large inventory of local deals on its properties. While you probably haven't heard of Deem or Rearden, the company is currently valued at $1 billion and has received over $340 million in VC capital and investments since it was founded 13 years ago. Microsoft will feature Deem deals and offers from its network of more than 1.2 million merchants on properties like Bing, Outlook.com and MSN, as well as in Windows Phone and Windows 8 apps.Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/OmCwQVQQh70/
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Do low income taxes cause growth? - Plunderbund
Over the protests of farmers, retirees, and even right-wing economists, Gov. Kasich wants to raise the sales tax, CAT tax, and property tax to finance cuts to high-end income taxes. It?s an article of faith on the Right that this will make us more like fast-growing states, and the Dispatch dutifully parrots the talking point that raising income taxes is ?harmful to growth?.
This seems counterintuitive for anybody with a memory longer than a decade. Ohio?s relative GDP growth before the 2005 tax cuts was 43rd in the nation; since the tax cuts, it?s been 48th in the nation. Oregon, who raised their income tax in 2010, jumped from number 12 in growth to number 5 in growth.
There is a weak correlation to low state income taxes and GDP growth since 2000:
The fast-growing outlier is North Dakota; the slow-growing outlier is Michigan. Note how Michigan?s tax rate is lower than North Dakota?s.
We see here that state with higher income taxes tend to have slightly less economic growth, with a ton of deviation. But what about sales taxes?
?
Sales taxes have an almost identical correlation to GDP growth. The same evidence that says we should cut our income tax also says we shouldn?t raise our sales tax.
Of course, these correlations are incredibly weak. Neither New Hampshire nor Montana has a sales tax, but Montana grew at 7.3% since 2000 while New Hampshire grew at 3.9%. Florida and Wyoming both have no income tax, but Florida has grown at 2% in the past 7 years while Wyoming has grown at 6.3%. North Dakota has the fastest economic growth, but it?s in the middle of the pack for both taxes.
What should be obvious from that paragraph?and what should be obvious to Gov. Kasich?is that the fast-growing states are all oil states.
The states fall much closer to the curve on this graph. North Dakota and Wyoming are literally off the charts, with fracking1 contributing 36% and 11%, respectively.
They?re growing more rapidly than the rest of the country because the energy sector rebounded more quickly than the rest of the economy. De facto, states where energy takes up a larger share of the economy will have faster growth at the moment. At the moment.
That doesn?t mean that cutting Ohio?s income tax will make oil appear in Ohio, or that it would even be good to have even more fracking than we do, or that oil-rich states grow faster in the long run. After all, the price of oil can go down, too?and none of these states grew particularly quickly from 1990-2005. That?s why they call them ?booms?.
Nobody can offer evidence that this tax plan will lead to economic growth in Ohio, they can only offer platitudes. That won?t stop the Republicans from blindly ?raising our taxes to send money to Kasich?s rich out-of-state donors.
?????
1 This is defined as ?advances? such as horizontal drilling with multiple stage horizontal fracturing? since 2007.? So, fracking. Given that this number was given by a pro-fracking propaganda group, take that with a grain of salt.
I would?ve preferred to compare GDP to ?energy sector as a share of state economy?, but I couldn?t find that anywhere.
Source: http://www.plunderbund.com/2013/06/24/do-low-income-taxes-cause-growth/
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সোমবার, ২৪ জুন, ২০১৩
IRS chief: Agency also screened liberal groups
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Internal Revenue Service's screening of groups seeking tax-exempt status was broader and lasted longer than has been previously disclosed, the new head of the agency acknowledged Monday. Terms including "Israel," ''Progressive" and "Occupy" were used by agency workers to help pick groups for closer examination, according to an internal IRS document obtained by The Associated Press.
The IRS has been under fire since last month after admitting it targeted tea party and other conservative groups that wanted the tax-exempt designation for tough examinations. While investigators have said that agency screening for those groups had stopped in May 2012, Monday's revelations made it clear that screening for other kinds of organizations continued until earlier this month, when the agency's new chief, Danny Werfel, says he discovered it and ordered it halted.
The IRS document said an investigation into why specific terms were included was still underway. It blamed the continued use of inappropriate criteria by screeners on "a lapse in judgment" by the agency's former top officials. The document did not name the officials, but many top leaders have been replaced.
In a conference call with reporters, Werfel said that after becoming acting IRS chief last month, he discovered varied and improper terms on the lists and said screeners were still using them. He did not specify what terms were on the lists, but said he suspended the use of all such lists immediately.
"There was a wide-ranging set of categories and cases that spanned a broad spectrum" on the lists, Werfel said. He added that his aides found those lists contained "inappropriate criteria that was in use."
Werfel ordered a halt in the use of spreadsheets listing the terms ? called BOLO lists for "be on the lookout for? on June 12 and formalized their suspension with a June 20 written order, according to the IRS document the AP obtained. Investigators have previously said that the lists evolved over time as screeners found new names and phrases to help them identify groups to examine.
Democrats on the House Ways and Means Committee released one of the lists, dated November 2010, that the IRS has provided to congressional investigators. That 16-page document shows that the terms "Progressive" and "Tea Party" were both on that list, as well as "Medical Marijuana" and "Healthcare legislation."
Rep. Sander Levin of Michigan, top Democrat on the Ways and Means panel, said he was writing a letter to J. Russell George, the Treasury Department inspector general whose audit in May detailed IRS targeting of conservatives, asking why his report did not mention other groups that were targeted.
"The audit served as the basis and impetus for a wide range of congressional investigations and this new information shows that the foundation of those investigations is flawed in a fundamental way," Levin said.
George's report criticized the IRS for using "inappropriate criteria" to identify tea party and other conservative groups. It did not mention more liberal organizations, but in response to questions from lawmakers at congressional hearings, George said he had recently found other lists that raised concerns about other "political factors" he did not specify.
Democratic staff on Ways and Means said in a press release that they had verified that of the 298 groups seeking tax-exempt status that George's audit had examined, some were liberal organizations ? something George's report did not mention.
Many organizations seeking tax-exempt designation were applying for so-called 501(c)(4) status, named for its section of the federal revenue code. IRS regulations allow that status for groups mostly involved in "social welfare" and that don't engage in election campaigns for or against candidates as their "primary" activity, and it is up to the IRS to judge whether applicants meet those vaguely defined requirements.
Werfel's remarks came as he released an 83-page examination he has conducted of his embattled agency. The conclusions, which Werfel cautioned are preliminary, have so far found there was "insufficient action" by IRS managers to prevent and disclose the problem involving the screening of certain groups, but no specific clues of misconduct.
"We have not found evidence of intentional wrongdoing by anyone in the IRS or involvement in these matters by anyone outside the IRS," he told reporters.
The report found no indication so far of improper screening beyond the IRS offices, mostly in Cincinnati, that examine groups seeking tax-exempt status.
Werfel's report describes several new procedures the agency is installing to prevent unfair treatment of taxpayers in the future. They include a fast-track process for groups seeking tax-exempt status that have yet to get a response from the IRS within 120 days of applying. He is also creating an Accountability Review Board, which within 60 days is supposed to recommend any additional personnel moves "to hold accountable those responsible" for the targeting of conservative groups, a Treasury Department fact sheet on Werfel's report.
The top five people in the agency responsible for the tax-exempt status of organizations have already been removed, including the former acting commissioner, Steven Miller, whom President Barack Obama replaced with Werfel.
"The IRS is committed to correcting its mistakes, holding individuals accountable as appropriate" and establishing new controls to reduce potential future problems, Werfel told reporters.
IRS screening of conservative groups had sparked investigations by three congressional committees, the Justice Department and a Treasury Department inspector general.
Werfel's comments and report drew negative reviews from one of the IRS's chief critics in Congress, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Issa said the review "fails to meaningfully answer the largest outstanding questions about inappropriate inquiries and indefensible delays. As investigations by Congress and the Justice Department are still ongoing, Mr. Werfel's assertion that he has found no evidence that anyone at IRS intentionally did anything wrong can only be called premature."
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp, R-Mich., whose panel is also investigating the agency, said the IRS "still needs to provide clear answers to the most significant questions ? who started this practice, why was it allowed to continue for so long, and how widespread was it? This culture of political discrimination and intimidation goes far beyond basic management failure and personnel changes alone won't fix a broken IRS."
Werfel had promised to produce a report within a month of taking over the agency.
Werfel said he briefed Obama and Treasury Secretary Jacob J. Lew on the report earlier Monday.
Werfel, initially named the IRS's acting commissioner, is now the agency's deputy principal commissioner because federal law limits the time an agency can be led by an acting official.
___
Associated Press writers Stephen Ohlemacher and Henry C. Jackson contributed to this report.
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/irs-chief-agency-screened-liberal-groups-223006680.html
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Senate faces key vote on immigration
FILE - In this April 18, 2013 file photo, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. At the start of a crucial week for far-reaching immigration legislation backed by the White House, the Senate headed Monday for the first test vote on the measure offering the prize of U.S. citizenship to millions and pouring new technology and manpower into the border. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File)
FILE - In this April 18, 2013 file photo, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. speaks on Capitol Hill in Washington. At the start of a crucial week for far-reaching immigration legislation backed by the White House, the Senate headed Monday for the first test vote on the measure offering the prize of U.S. citizenship to millions and pouring new technology and manpower into the border. (AP Photo/Molly Riley, File)
FILE - In this June 21, 2013 file photo, Sen. John Hoeven, N.D., leaves the Senate chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington. At the start of a crucial week for far-reaching immigration legislation backed by the White House, the Senate headed Monday for the first test vote on the measure offering the prize of U.S. citizenship to millions and pouring new technology and manpower into the border. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? President Barack Obama campaigned from the White House for immigration legislation on Monday in advance of a Senate test vote on a bill calling for more than $30 billion worth of new security measures along the border with Mexico and offering a chance at citizenship for millions living in the country illegally.
Far outnumbered, conservative critics attacked without letup in speeches and electronic appeals. "It will encourage more illegal immigration and must be stopped," Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, exhorted supporters, urging them to contact their own senators with a plea to defeat the measure.
After three weeks of desultory debate, the end game was at hand in the Senate for the most ambitious attempt to overhaul the nation's immigration system in decades.
Supporters exuded confidence they had more than the 60 votes required to send the measure over a key hurdle and on its way toward Senate passage by week's end.
Democrats appeared unified on the issue. Republicans were anything but, as evidenced by the divide among potential 2016 presidential contenders. Among them, Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida was an enthusiastic supporter of the bill, while Sens. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Cruz were opposed.
Passage would send the issue to the House, where most conservative Republicans in the majority are strongly opposed to citizenship for anyone who came to the country illegally or overstayed their visa.
Some GOP lawmakers have appealed to Speaker John Boehner not to permit any immigration legislation to come to a vote for fear that whatever its contents, it would open the door to an unpalatable compromise with the Senate. At the same time, the House Judiciary Committee is in the midst of approving a handful of measures related to immigration, action that ordinarily is a prelude to votes in the full House.
"Now is the time to do it," Obama said at the White House before meeting with nine business executives who support a change in immigration laws. He added, "I hope that we can get the strongest possible vote out of the Senate so that we can then move to the House and get this done before the summer break" beginning in early August.
He said the measure would be good for the economy, for business and for workers who are "oftentimes exploited at low wages."
As for the overall economy, he said, "I think every business leader here feels confident that they'll be in a stronger position to continue to innovate, to continue to invest, to continue to create jobs and ensure that this continues to be the land of opportunity for generations to come."
Leaving little to chance, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced it was launching a new seven-figure ad buy Monday in support of the bill. "Call Congress. End de facto amnesty. Create jobs and economic growth by supporting conservative immigration reforms," the ad said.
The non-partisan Congressional Budget Office has estimated the legislation will reduce the deficit and increase economic growth in each of the next two decades. It is also predicting unemployment will rise slightly through 2020, and that average wages will move lower over a decade.
At its core, the legislation in the Senate would create a 13-year pathway to citizenship for an estimated 11 million immigrants living illegally in the United States. It also calls for billions of dollars to be spent on manpower and technology to secure the 2,000-mile border with Mexico, including a doubling of the Border Patrol with 20,000 new agents.
The measure also would create a new program for temporary farm laborers to come into the country, and another for lower-skilled workers to emigrate permanently. At the same time, it calls for an expansion of an existing visa program for highly-skilled workers, a gesture to high tech companies that rely heavily on foreigners.
In addition to border security, the measure phases in a mandatory program for employers to verify the legal status of potential workers, and separate effort to track the comings and goings of foreigners at some of the nation's airports.
The legislation was originally drafted by a bipartisan Gang of 8, four senators from each party who negotiated a series of political tradeoffs over several months.
The addition of the tougher border security provisions came after CBO informed lawmakers that they could potentially spend tens of billions of dollars to sweeten the bill without fearing higher deficits.
The result was a series of changes negotiated between the Gang of 8 and Republican Sens. John Hoeven of North Dakota and Bob Corker of Tennessee. Different, lesser-noticed provisions helped other lawmakers swing behind the measure.
In a speech on the Senate floor, Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, likened some of them to "earmarks," the now-banned practice of directing federal funds to the pet projects of individual lawmakers.
He cited a provision creating a $1.5 billion jobs fund for low-income youth and pair of changes to benefit the seafood processing industry in Alaska. Sen. Bernard Sanders, I-Vt., issued a statement on Friday trumpeting the benefits of the first; Alaska Sens. Lisa Murkowski, a Republican, and Mark Begich, a Democrat, took credit for the two others.
Grassley also raised questions about the origin of a detailed list of planes, sensors, cameras and other equipment to be placed along the southern border.
"Who provided the amendment sponsors with this list?" asked Grassley, who is a member of the Judiciary Committee that approved an earlier version of the bill. Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano "did not provide the committee with any list. Did Sikorsky, Cessna and Northrup Grumann send up a wish list to certain members of the Senate?"
___
Associated Press writers Mary Clare Jalonick and Jim Kuhnhenn contributed to this report.
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