Antarctic talks fail on apparent Russia objections

BREMERHAVEN, Germany — Facing apparent Russian objections, the countries that regulate Antarctic fishing failed Tuesday to agree on proposals to create giant marine sanctuaries in the continent's oceans.

Talks in the German city of Bremerhaven ended with no result — the second time in less than a year that negotiations have stalled.

"The outcome is not what we expected or hoped for ... We did not reach a consensus," said Terje Lobach, the chair of the group deliberating the results.

Two plans were on the table: a proposal put forward by the U.S. and New Zealand to protect the Ross Sea, considered one of the world's most pristine, and an Australian-European plan for a sanctuary covering several areas of the Southern Ocean in the eastern hemisphere.

Russia, however, questioned whether there is a legal basis for the 24-nation Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources to create the reserves, according to activists present during the talks.

"After two years of preparation, including this meeting, which Russia requested to settle the scientific case for the Ross Sea and East Antarctic proposals, we leave with nothing," the director of the Antarctic Ocean Alliance, Steve Campbell, said in a statement.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry expressed regret that the commission was unable to reach agreement on establishing marine protected areas, including in the Ross Sea. Despite the setback, he noted that the majority of commission members "were able to find common ground" and there will be another chance to work out a plan to protect Antarctica.

"I've seen firsthand how acidification, pollution, and sea level rise tear at the fabric of our economies, our communities, even our security," Kerry said in a statement released late Tuesday. "But this isn't just a personal priority. The Ross Sea is a natural laboratory. Its ecosystem is as diverse as it is productive, and we have a responsibility to protect it as environmental stewards — just as we do the rest of the ocean."

Scientists have said the ocean sanctuaries there would be ideal places to monitor climate change away from the influence of man, while conservations say the thriving colonies of seals and penguins should be left alone. However, several countries fear that the sanctuaries would have too much impact on their annual fishing haul.

16.31 | 0 komentar | Read More

Law firm says it's suing Boeing over Asiana crash

CHICAGO — A Chicago law firm has taken steps to sue Boeing Co. on behalf of 83 people who were aboard the Asiana Airlines flight that crash-landed in San Francisco earlier this month, alleging that a malfunction of the plane's auto throttle may have caused the crash.

Ribbeck Law Chartered on Monday filed a petition for discovery, which is meant to preserve evidence, in Cook County Circuit Court in Chicago, where the aircraft manufacturer is headquartered. The firm said in a news release that additional pleadings will be filed against Asiana Airlines and several component parts manufacturers in coming days.

In addition to potential problems with the Boeing 777's auto throttle, some emergency slides reportedly opened inside the plane, injuring passengers and blocking their exit, and some passengers had to be cut out of their seatbelts with a knife, the firm contends.

Three people were killed when the airplane, carrying 307 passengers and crew on a flight from South Korea to San Francisco International Airport on July 6, approached the runway too low and slow. It clipped a seawall at the end of a runway, tearing off the tail and sending the plane spinning down the runway. The impact caused the plane to catch fire.

"We must find the causes of the crash and demand that the problems with the airline and the aircraft are immediately resolved to avoid future tragedies," attorney Monica R. Kelly, head of Ribbeck's aviation department, said in a written statement.

Boeing spokesman John Dern said the company had no comment.

The petition asks a judge to order Boeing to identify the designer and manufacturer of the airplane's autothrottle and its emergency evacuation slides. It also seeks information on the systems that indicate the airplane's glide slope and that warn how close it is to the ground. Kelly said the firm wants to protect the wreckage "from destructive testing" and to obtain maintenance records, internal memos and other evidence.

A passenger filed a lawsuit against Asiana in San Francisco federal court on Monday, saying the airline showed "wanton and willful disregard for the rights and safety of all passengers," the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Younga Jun Machorro and her 8-year-old son, Benjamin Machorro, were seated toward the front of the plane and both suffered back and neck injuries, their lawyer, Michael Verna, told the paper.

The pilots of Asiana Flight 214 have told investigators they were relying on automated cockpit equipment to control their speed. Inspectors found that the autothrottle had been "armed," or made ready for activation, but investigators are still determining whether it had been engaged, the National Transportation Safety Board has said.

Two of the plane's eight slides malfunctioned, opening inside the cabin and pinning two flight attendants underneath.

16.31 | 0 komentar | Read More

World stocks waver ahead of Bernanke's testimony

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — World stock markets wavered between gains and losses Wednesday as investors remained cautious ahead of testimony from U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Bernanke's address to lawmakers in Congress could provide clearer guidance on when the Fed will start reducing its monetary stimulus.

The central bank is spending $85 billion a month buying financial assets in the hope of keeping long-term borrowing rates low and stimulating the U.S. economy. The program has been a major driver of gains in stock markets as investors sought higher returns in a low interest rate world.

In early European trade, France's CAC 40 dropped 0.2 percent to 3,842.43 and Germany's DAX shed 0.2 percent to 8,183.15. Britain's FTSE 100 lost 0.2 percent to 6,545.02. Futures pointed to losses on Wall Street with Dow and S&P 500 futures both down 0.2 percent.

In Asia, China's Shanghai Composite Index fell 1 percent to 2,044.92 while Tokyo's Nikkei 225 gained 0.1 percent to 14,615.04. Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.3 percent to 21,371.87 and Seoul's Kospi added 1.2 percent to 1,889.50. Benchmarks in Singapore and Australia fell.

"There is partly caution ahead of Bernanke's testimony. I don't expect anything new. He is likely to reiterate that policies will remain accommodative for some time," said Mitul Kotecha, analyst with Credit Agricole CIB.

Bernanke last week said the central bank would not ease its stimulus before the economy was ready and that the U.S. needs "highly accommodative monetary policy" — or low interest rates — for the foreseeable future.

There is concern, however, over disagreement among Fed officials about when the central bank should start scaling back its purchases of Treasurys and other assets.

Esther George, the President of Kansas City branch of the Fed, and a voting member of the committee that sets the Fed's monetary policy, said Tuesday that the central bank should cut back on its stimulus as the labor market begins to recover.

"It is time to adjust those purchases," George said in an interview on Fox Business News. "Sooner is appropriate ... because we have a long way to go if we are going to do this in a gradual and a systematic way."

DBS analysts said in a report that as long as the U.S. recovery proceeds as expected, a reduction in the Fed's asset purchases will probably start with mortgage-backed securities later this year and that the stimulus could ideally end by mid-2014.

It said Bernanke was likely to reassure markets that if the U.S. economy stumbles, the Fed could increase asset purchases again.

In the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average closed down 0.2 percent at 15,451.85 on Tuesday while the broader S&P 500 index ended an eight-day rally to fall 0.4 percent to 1,676.26, partly due to lackluster corporate earnings.

Benchmark crude for August delivery was down 74 cents at $105.27 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 32 cents to settle at $106.00 on Tuesday.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3147 from $1.3149 late Tuesday. The dollar rose to 99.61 yen from 99.21 yen.

16.31 | 0 komentar | Read More

South Korea blames North Korea for cyberattack

SEOUL, South Korea — South Korean investigators say North Korea carried out cyberattacks on the websites of South Korean media companies and the president and prime minister's offices last month.

The attacks came on the June 25th Korean War anniversary.

South Korea's ministry of science on Tuesday said it was blaming North Korea based on analysis of codes, Internet addresses and personal computers used to launch the attacks.

The government-led team of investigators said the online assaults were planned for several months. The attackers hacked file-sharing websites in South Korea to find security weaknesses.

16.31 | 0 komentar | Read More

European car sales down 6.6 percent in 1st half

PARIS — The European car industry showed further signs of distress Tuesday, as new data showed that car sales were down 6.6 percent for the first half of the year on the same time last year.

The European automakers' association, ACEA, said that there were 6.205 million new car registrations from January to June in the European Union, providing further grim reading for an industry that is struggling amid a deep recession and high unemployment.

The car industry also had its worst June since 1996, with demand falling 5.6 percent from a year earlier to 1.134 million cars. The figures do not include Malta, for which there was no data, or Croatia, with just joined the EU.

Car registrations fell for 18 months to April, when extra working days created a small bounce. But the slide has since picked up again.

The economy of the European Union is in recession again, with gross domestic product falling 0.1 percent in the first three months of this year. Unemployment stands at 11 percent. Europe's car industry has long struggled from overcapacity at factories and uncompetitive wages and labor laws, and the region's economic crisis has compounded these problems, as consumers put off big-ticket purchases.

One surprising bright spot was Portugal, which, though mired in recession, showed a bump in sales of 2.9 percent for the first half of the year. It could be that after putting off buying new cars for so long, some people are now simply forced to get rid of their wrecks. The market in Britain also seems to be gathering steam, up 10 percent for the year.

But most places clocked deep slides. For January through June, registrations fell 8.1 percent in Germany, 11.2 percent in France and 10.3 percent in Italy. Tiny Cyprus, which agreed to a bailout in March, saw the biggest slide, falling 42.7 percent this year.

16.31 | 0 komentar | Read More

World stocks down after US retail sales ease

SEOUL, South Korea — Weaker-than-expected U.S. retail sales sent most world stock markets lower Tuesday as investors awaited congressional testimony from Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke later in the week.

Growth in U.S. retail sales eased to 0.4 percent in June from 0.5 percent the previous month. Americans bought more cars and trucks, furniture and clothes, but they cut back on many other purchases in a mixed sign for economic growth.

In morning European trade, Britain's FTSE 100 was flat at 6,588.38 and Germany's DAX dropped 0.3 percent to 8,206.59. The CAC 40 in Paris slipped 0.5 percent to 3,860.45. Futures augured sideways trade on Wall Street with Dow and S&P 500 futures little changed.

In Asia, South Korea's Kospi fell 0.5 percent to 1,866.36 while Hong Kong's Hang Seng was flat at 21,312.38. China's Shanghai Composite Index rose 0.3 percent to 2,065.72. Markets in Singapore, Thailand, India and New Zealand fell. But Japan's Nikkei 225 added 0.6 percent to 14,599.12.

Apart from doubt about the strength of consumer spending, which is a mainstay of the U.S. economy, an upcoming speech by Bernanke provided another reason for investors to hold back from stocks.

Investors will be looking for more clues about the central bank's commitment to its stimulus program and its outlook for the U.S. economy when Bernanke speaks to Congress on Wednesday.

Markets have largely shrugged off the latest evidence of China's economic slowdown. Beijing said Monday that the world's second-largest economy slowed to 7.5 percent growth in the second quarter from 7.7 percent in the previous quarter. But investors who feared below-7 percent growth were relieved.

In the U.S., stocks closed higher on Monday. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 19.96 points, or 0.1 percent, to close at 15,484.26. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 2.31 points, or 0.1 percent, to 1,682.50. Both the Dow and S&P are at all-time highs. The tech-heavy Nasdaq composite rose 7.41 points, or 0.2 percent, to 3,607.49.

In energy trading, benchmark crude for August delivery was up 7 cents at $106.41 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract gained 37 cents to $106.32 on Monday.

The euro rose to $1.3065 from $1.3054. The dollar fell to 99.67 yen from 100.01 yen.

16.31 | 0 komentar | Read More

MGM, anti-casino group make final push before Springfield vote

A big-money casino and a grass-roots movement have entered full campaign mode in the days leading up to Tuesday's referendum in Springfield when residents vote on the $850 million casino proposed by MGM Resorts.

Both opponents and supporters of the casino proposal said they planned to be at the polls Tuesday, drumming up support for their cause.

"We've been working really hard for many, many months," said Mike Mathis, vice president of Global Gaming Development for MGM.

"There's much more support than we even expected to see," said Peter Swarr, one of the leaders of Citizens Against Casino Gaming, a local anti-casino group. "Our goal is to say Springfield is not sold on this."

Springfield election commissioner Gladys Oyola said she expects voter turnout to exceed that of the U.S. Senate special election last month. Everett voter turnout was 50 percent higher for the casino vote than the June 25 Senate race, just three days apart.

The months leading up to the vote have been marked by a massive spending gap between supporters and opponents of the casino. MGM has given nearly 
$1 million in the past month and a half in donations and in-kind contributions to Yes For Springfield, a pro-casino group, according to a campaign finance report. Yes for Springfield spent more than $800,000 in advertising and canvassing. MGM also brought in rap star Pitbull to perform at the MassMutual Center for another $173,000 in May.

Citizens Against Casino Gaming listed in-kind contributions worth just over $2,500 for bumper stickers, yard signs and printing since Jan. 1. The only other expenses listed are bank maintenance fees.

"It's like David and Goliath," Swarr said.

Voters will cast their ballots for or against a Host Community Agreement agreed upon by the City Council and MGM. The agreement lays out the terms of the project, including size and annual payments to the city. The agreement calls for an anticipated annual payment greater than $25 million, 2,000 construction jobs and 3,000 permanent jobs, 90 percent of which must be from the Springfield area.

If the referendum is approved, MGM's proposal will be evaluated by the state Gaming Commission based on criteria including revenue projections, positive impact on the state and local benefit.

16.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Study: Locations key to gambling success in Mass.

If Massachusetts picks the right locations for its new gaming resorts, it will pull the plug on much of the $853 million Bay State gamblers spent last year in New England states while drawing gamblers from other states, a new study says.

"Where the commonwealth ultimately sites three casinos and the slot parlor will determine whether Massachusetts is able to reassert dominance over New England's gaming entertainment and tourism sectors," said study author Clyde W. Barrow of the Center for Policy Analysis at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth.

Massachusetts Gaming Commission Chairman Stephen Crosby called the study "good news" and agreed that siting the Bay State's gaming venues will be critical both in competing with other states' casinos and slots parlors, but also in putting them in places where they will be most attractive to the maximum number of Bay State gamblers.

The study showed Bay State gamblers spent 
$853 million in 2012 in other New England states including Connecticut, Rhode Island and Maine.

"The first criteria, although not the only one, when people choose a facility is convenience, and right now people in Massachusetts have been leaving the state for other facilities," Crosby said. "But convenience is not the only thing, and we're going to have very fancy, very high-end facilities . . . To maximize the economic benefit here in Massachusetts we need to maximize the convenience to people in Massachusetts, and we want to site them so they have the maximum draw for people from outside of the state."

16.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Drink detectors make a stir

Three years ago, Mike Abramson was at a Boston nightclub celebrating a friend's birthday when he ordered a gin and tonic that turned out to be both impossible to remember and impossible to forget.

"The next thing I recall is being shuffled over the arms of friends as they dragged me out the door," said Abramson, a 31-year-old patent attorney. "Most of the night is a blur. I was so nauseous, I was bedridden the next day. I know that my drink was drugged, but I have no idea by whom."

Because of that, he never reported the incident to police, but he did go on to found DrinkSavvy, a Boston startup and MassChallenge finalist that aims to eradicate drug-assisted date rape with cups, straws and stirrers that change color if a drink has been tampered with.

The U.S. Justice Department estimates that at least 400,000 people are drugged each year, but the number could be much larger because the department estimates that fewer than 5 percent ever report it.

Like Abramson, many don't remember the incident or are afraid of being accused of drinking too much.

Women in particular often are advised not to accept drinks from strangers, not to leave their drink unattended and not to drink from punch bowls.

"But it only takes half a second for someone to slip something in your glass," he said. "And it's difficult to detect because it's usually colorless, odorless and tasteless."

Abramson researched other drug-detectors such as coasters, but found them awkward to use because you have to pour some of your drink onto them and wait for them to dry and change color.

Other companies make testing strips, but they're only as good as the second you dip them into your drink.

So Abramson teamed up with chemists from Worcester Polytechnic Institute and raised more than $52,000 from nearly 2,600 donors on the crowdfunding platform Indiegogo.com to develop plastic party cups, straws and stirrers that, when they are completed, will change color in three to five seconds if a drink has been spiked.

"We make invisible drugs visible without the user having to do anything," Abramson said. "It's discreet, effortless monitoring of your drink throughout the night."

16.30 | 0 komentar | Read More

Commercial rental rates shooting up

The Hub's commercial rental rates are rising, bolstered by the city's better-than-average recovery from the recession, the firm Cushman & Wakefield said during its semi-annual market update yesterday.

Boston has now regained more jobs than it lost from 2008 to 2011, and so-called Class A office rents have soared 6.5 percent over the past year to the highest level in four years, the firm said.

The Back Bay, the first market to bounce back from the recession, with the highest office rental rate in the city, is expected to stay flat or even drop, as some companies head elsewhere, such as the Financial District, where rents are starting to climb, or the red-hot Seaport District, where bidding wars are the norm, the firm said.

That trend was illustrated earlier this year when accounting giant PricewaterhouseCoopers opted for space in a soon-to-be-built Seaport Boulevard office tower instead of 888 Boylston St., by the Prudential Center Tower, said Debra Gould of Cushman & Wakefield.

"They chose to go to the Seaport as opposed to the Back Bay," said Gould. "They felt that was where they'd be able to do the best recruiting."

PWC would only say in a statement yesterday that it's evaluating its space needs.

Meanwhile, multi-family rates are continuing to rise from 5 to 8 percent even with plenty of new units entering the market, said Michael Byrne of Cushman & Wakefield.

Developers are also keeping an eye on politics — and not just who will take over for Mayor Thomas M. Menino in January.

"As much as they're interested in the mayor's race, they're equally focused on the restructuring of the (Boston Redevelopment Authority)," said Byrne. "They frankly don't know how it will shape up . . . I don't think there's anyone thinking they're going to wipe it off the map. They're just unsure."

16.30 | 0 komentar | Read More