Obama, Hu pitch different trade agendas (Reuters)

HONOLULU (Reuters) ? Barack Obama and Hu Jintao presented dueling trade agendas as an antidote to weak global growth as the U.S. and Chinese presidents faced off on Saturday at a Pacific summit where Europe's debt crisis loomed large.

The heads of the world's two biggest economies laid bare their countries' growing rivalry and some of their entrenched differences in back-to-back speeches to executives at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Honolulu.

Obama took China to task for currency and trade practices -- issuing a veiled threat of more punitive action unless it "plays by the rules" -- as he sought to reassert U.S. influence in a region he said was more vital than any other to America's interests.

Hu pushed back, insisting on more clout for China as an emerging global power. He also made clear Beijing prefers to work through existing global trade architecture rather than allowing itself to be subject to U.S.-led efforts to pry open Asia-Pacific markets.

Obama and Hu will meet face to face later on Saturday.

Hosting the APEC summit in his native Hawaii, Obama said earlier the "broad outlines" of a deal had been reached on the Transpacific Partnership, a regional free trade pact being negotiated by the United States and eight other countries.

It was hailed by U.S. officials as the summit's signature achievement and a possible template for an eventual APEC-wide free trade zone. APEC's 21 members make up the world's most economically dynamic region and account for more than half of global output.

The deal being sought with China's neighbors also reflected a U.S. drive to counter Beijing's competitive threat.

SHADOW OF CRISIS

With Europe's debt crisis sending shock waves around the globe, this year's APEC meeting was emerging as a forum to push the euro zone to sort out its problems and for APEC members to strengthen defenses against the fallout.

Fostering free trade is one of the few steps leaders can take to spur global growth when fiscal and monetary measures are virtually exhausted in many developed countries.

While insisting the United States was "rooting for China to grow," Obama urged Beijing to do more to allow its currency to appreciate, create a level playing field on trade and prevent theft of U.S. intellectual property.

"The bottom line is that the United States can't be expected to stand by if there's not the kind of reciprocity in our trade relations and our economic relationships," Obama said. "Where we see rules being broken, we'll speak out and in some cases we'll take action.

Speaking before Obama, Hu sought to soothe the concerns of foreign businesses over market conditions in China. He repeated China's commitment to reform and opening up its markets but he offered little new to address concerns that American business cannot compete fairly.

At the same time, he insisted China be given what it sees as its rightful place in world affairs.

"The new mechanism for global economic governance should reflect the changes in the world economic landscape," Hu told executives. "It should observe the principle of mutual respect and collective decision-making and increase the representation and voice of emerging markets and developing countries."

China has been reluctant to sign trade deals that would subject it to U.S-led efforts to further open its economy to foreign players because that would put competitive pressure on its state-owned enterprises.

Hu told the business leaders he favors pursuing more open trade through bodies such as the World Trade Organization, saying "we should uphold the multilateral trading regime and deepen regional integration ... fulfill our commitments, firmly oppose and jointly resist protectionism of all forms."

Hu has touted trade with China as a way to boost U.S. growth and help Obama achieve his goal of doubling exports. With Europe edging toward a recession, fast-growing Asia -- led by China -- is vital to sustaining global economic growth.

Developing Asia is expected to grow 8 percent in 2012, roughly four times faster than the United States, according to International Monetary Fund forecasts.

(Reporting by Reuters APEC team; Writing by Matt Spetalnick and Emily Kaiser; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111112/bs_nm/us_apec1

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UK police arrest 170 near Armistice parade (Reuters)

LONDON (Reuters) ? Police said they had arrested more than 170 members of the right-wing English Defense League (EDL) on Friday near an Armistice Day ceremony in central London amid fears they were trying to target anti-capitalists camped in the city.

The Metropolitan Police said the group were detained "to prevent a breach of the peace" at a pub near the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

A police source said it was believed the group were heading toward the anti-capitalist "Occupy" protest camp outside St Paul's Cathedral, set up last month after being inspired by the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.

"170+ supporters of EDL were arrested this p.m. to prevent a breach of the peace," the Met Police said on its Twitter website. "No reported disorder between opposing groups at this stage."

Last year, members of the EDL, which stages protests against violent Islamism, clashed with police during a fracas at a Remembrance Day ceremony.

The trouble erupted then when members of the radical Muslims Against Crusades (MAC) group burned two large poppies outside the Royal Albert Hall in London during a two-minute silence.

EDL founder Stephen Lennon was arrested during the disturbances.

On its website, the EDL said its members had been planning to meet in Westminster. "This is about the memories of the fallen past and present,? ?and anyone who acts otherwise will only be helping MAC in disrupting the day," it said.

Earlier, counter-terrorism officers said they had carried out a raid on three premises linked to the MAC, which had planned another demonstration to disrupt Armistice Day ceremonies.

Properties connected to MAC and its leading figure Anjem Choudary, were raided late on Thursday night following the decision by Home Secretary Theresa May to ban the group and make supporting it a criminal offence.

"At 11 p.m. last night, officers from the Counter Terrorism Command executed three search warrants under the Terrorism Act 2000 at addresses in east London," a London police spokesman said on Friday. There were no arrests, he added.

Choudary said his house and a community center where the group used to teach in Whitechapel were two of the targets.

"It's a fishing expedition at the end of the day -- they've got nothing on me. I haven't done anything illegal," he told Reuters. "Obviously it's inconvenient, but that doesn't stop me propagating what I believe."

The group had promised a "hell for heroes" demonstration at the Albert Hall again on Friday. However, on its website the MAC said it had disbanded, and Choudary said the planned protest over Britain's foreign policy would now not go ahead.

"I think that the objective has been achieved which is to show that the poppy and Armistice Day is a fig leaf which has been used to cover the crimes which have been committed," he said.

"Our message has gone viral and global really because of the pronouncement of Theresa May so I don't see there's any point (in holding the protest)."

May said MAC was the latest incarnation of organizations also linked to Choudary which had been banned, including al Muhajiroun, Islam4UK and Al Ghurabaa. Choudary said he would discuss options for a new group with colleagues.

(Reporting by Michael Holden; Editing by Steve Addison)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/britain/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111111/wl_nm/us_britain_poppy_raid

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26 soldiers killed as Syria protesters fight back

At least 30 civilians and 26 soldiers were killed in Syria ahead of Friday prayers, activists said, as a seven-month crackdown on pro-democracy protests becomes more violent and attacks on security forces increase.

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Friday prayers provide a rare venue for Syrians to gather in defiance of efforts to put down protests, and activists reported a heavier security presence around mosques in big towns last week, preventing prayers in some from being held.

November is already shaping up to be one of the bloodiest months yet in Syria's 8-month-old uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.

The Local Coordination Committees activist network says 250 Syrians have been killed since the start of the month. Most of the dead are civilians, and about 20 are soldiers.? The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights also documented more than 200 civilian deaths. But the observatory has a far higher toll for soldiers, saying more than 100 were killed.

The differing death tolls could not be immediately reconciled. But the startling figures point to the spike in violence recently.

Thousands marched on Thursday at funerals for 24 civilians killed by pro-Assad forces the day before, activists said, including eight in Damascus in one of the bloodiest attacks on demonstrations in the capital.

Interactive: Young and restless: Demographics fuel Mideast protests (on this page)

Arab states remain widely divided over how to deal with Syria's crackdown on protesters after a peace plan brokered by its neighbors on Nov. 2 failed to stem violence, and there is little likelihood a meeting on Saturday will bridge the gap.

Arab League to act?
Several countries oppose bringing serious pressure to bear on Assad and it looks unlikely that foreign ministers will freeze Syria's membership of the Arab League at the Cairo meeting, officials due to attend say.

If Arab states isolated Syria, that would help Assad's sternest critics in the West gain a broader consensus for tougher sanctions and, perhaps, some form of intervention.

Saudi Arabia leads a group of Gulf states including Qatar, Oman and Bahrain that are ready to increase the pressure on Assad, an ally of their rival Iran.

Diplomats say they are opposed by countries such as Yemen, which is in the grip if its own uprising; Lebanon, where Syria's influence looms large; and Algeria, seen as more sympathetic to Assad and nervous about the message any intervention in Syria would send to its own frustrated population.

The continued bloodshed on Syria's streets since the Arab Peace Plan was brokered last week seems to have done little to shift the mood in favor of tougher action.

Video: Inside Syria: Underground network of cyber activists keeps revolution alive (on this page)

In Syria, Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said the authorities will adhere in a week to the plan, under which Syria pledged to pull the military out of restive cities, set political prisoners free and start talks with the opposition, which wants to remove Assad and introduce democratic freedoms.

"Syria, which announced its commitment to the Arab plan, affirms that it will implement most of its clauses in a week, unlike what is being spread by unfair satellite channels," Moualem said in a letter to the Arab League secretary general, excerpts of which was published on official media.

Islamists, terrorists blamed
Human Rights Watch said in a report released Friday that government forces had killed at least 104 people and carried out crimes against humanity in the central city of Homs since the plan was agreed.

The report, called "We Live as in War," follows another HRW report, called "We've Never Seen Such Horror," which was released in June. That report detailed abuses by Syrian security forces in Daraa area, birthplace of protest movement.

"Homs is a microcosm of the Syrian government's brutality," Sarah Leah Whitson, Middle East director at Human Rights Watch, according to The Associated Press. "The Arab League needs to tell President (Bashar) Assad that violating their agreement has consequences, and that it now supports Security Council action to end the carnage."

HRW acknowledged that some protesters and army defectors took up arms to protect themselves ? a development that some fear plays directly into the regime's hands by giving it an excuse to use extreme violence against a mostly peaceful movement.

"Violence by protesters or defectors deserves further investigation," the report said. "However, these incidents by no means justify the disproportionate and systematic use of lethal force against demonstrators, which clearly exceeded any justifiable response to any threat presented by overwhelmingly unarmed crowds."

The United Nations says 3,500 people have been killed in Assad's crackdown. Authorities say more than 1,100 soldiers and police have been killed in the unrest, which they blame on "terrorists" and Islamist militants.

Video: Armed attacks in Syria growing (on this page)

Syria has barred most foreign media, making it difficult to verify accounts from activists and officials.

Among the 56 killed on Thursday were 16 protesters shot dead by soldiers in Homs, 90 miles north of Damascus, where troops have tried to crush protests as well as an armed insurgency, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.

"We are going to heaven, martyrs in the millions," sang a crowd at a rally in the town of Helfaya near Hama, according to a YouTube video. The song has become a popular chant in other Arab countries during Arab Spring revolts.

Fourteen others were killed in house-to-house raids and in protests in Damascus suburbs, the southern province of Daraa and the northwestern province of Idlib near Turkey.

Twenty six soldiers were killed in ambushes, activists said, 25 near Maarat al-Numaan, a town about 40 miles south of Aleppo, and in the nearby city of Khan Sheikhoun, said the British-based Observatory, headed by dissident Rami Abdelrahman.

Another soldier was killed in the eastern province of Deir al-Zor.

Deserters fighting loyalists
Both towns are in Idlib, where an increasing number of army deserters and insurgents are taking refuge, helped by the region's rugged terrain and proximity to Turkey, activists say.

An activist in the eastern Damascus suburb of Harasta, who gave his name as Assem, said three deserters were killed after they abandoned military units which fired live ammunition at a demonstration of 1,500-2,000 people in the al-Zar neighborhood.

"Security police could not put down the demonstration. The eight soldiers defected when Republican Guards and the Fourth Armored Division were sent in," he said.

Video: Syrian authorities seize weapons (on this page)

A YouTube video distributed by other activists purportedly showed several soldiers in Harasta wearing helmets and ammunition vests running for cover behind a vegetable stall amid the crackle of automatic gunfire.

In Homs, activists said the number of tanks in the city had increased and new roadblocks were set up, especially around Bayada and Bab Sbaa, districts that have seen regular protests against Assad.

Authorities said on Wednesday that life had returned to normal in the city after it was cleansed of "terrorists" who have been attacking civilians and troops.

"Arrests are non-stop. If the army spots any group of youths anywhere they arrest them," said Ahmad, an activist who only gave his first name.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45252656/ns/world_news-mideast_n_africa/

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1st look at Japan nuke plant: rubble amid progress (AP)

OKUMA, Japan ? Two reactor buildings once painted in a cheery sky blue loom over the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. Their roofs are blasted away, their crumbled concrete walls reduced to steel frames.

In their shadow, plumbers, electricians and truck drivers, sometimes numbering in the thousands, go dutifully about their work, all clad from head to toe in white hazmat suits. Their job ? cleaning up the worst nuclear disaster since Chernobyl ? will take decades to complete.

Reporters, also in radiation suits, visited the ravaged facility Saturday for the first time since Japan's worst tsunami in centuries swamped the plant March 11, causing reactor explosions and meltdowns and turning hundreds of square miles (kilometers) of countryside into a no man's land.

Eight months later, the plant remains a shambles. Mangled trucks, flipped over by the power of the wave, still clutter its access roads. Rubble remains strewn where it fell. Pools of water cover parts of the once immaculate campus.

Tens of thousands of the plant's former neighbors may never be able to go home. And just as Hiroshima and Nagasaki become icons of the horrors of nuclear weapons, Fukushima has become the new rallying cry of the global anti-nuclear energy movement.

Yet this picture is one of progress, Japanese officials say. It has taken this long to make the plant stable enough to allow Saturday's tour, which included representatives of the Japanese and international media ? including The Associated Press. Officials expect to complete an early but important step toward cleaning up the accident by the end of the year.

"I think it's remarkable that we've come this far," Environment Minister Goshi Hosono, Japan's chief nuclear crisis response official, said before leading the tour. "The situation at the beginning was extremely severe. At least we can say we have overcome the worst."

The group was taken through the center of the facility, a once-neat row of reactor buildings that are now shells of shattered walls and steel frames. Journalists were then briefed inside the plant's emergency operations center, a spacious, bunker-like structure where it is safe to remove the heavy protective gear required outdoors.

Woefully unprepared for the wave that swept over its breakwater, the plant just 140 miles (225 kilometers) northeast of Tokyo was doomed almost from the start.

"During the first week of the accident, I thought several times that we were all going to die," plant chief Masao Yoshida said.

At the height of the crisis, all but a few dozen workers ? dubbed the "Fukushima 50" ? were evacuated. Officials boast that number is now up to as many as 3,000 a day, compared with the pre-crisis work force of 6,400.

Evidence of the tremendous man-hours already invested in the cleanup is piling up in the workers' staging area, on the edge of the 12-mile (20-kilometer) no-go zone around the plant. More than 480,000 sets of used protective gear ? which can be worn only once ? lie in crates or plastic bags at the complex, which before the tsunami was a training facility for national-level soccer teams.

Kazuo Okawa, 56, who worked at Fukushima for 20 years, was called back to join an emergency crew for several days in April. His team wore three layers of gloves, full-face masks, double-layer Tyvek protective coveralls, rubber boots with plastic covers and plastic head covers. They carried personal Geiger counters.

"Obviously, it was very dangerous at that time," he recalled during a recent visit to Tokyo. "Luckily, we got out without experiencing any life-threatening situations."

Workers like Okawa ? in Chernobyl they were called "liquidators" ? have restored the plant's supply of electricity, set up elaborate cooling and drainage systems, rebuilt crumbled walls and erected a huge tent to cover one of the worst-hit reactors, cutting the amount of radioactivity leaking into the surrounding environment.

Tokyo Electric Power Co., which runs the plant, says it will achieve a "cold shutdown" by the end of the year ? a first step toward creating a stable enough environment for work to proceed on removing the reactors' nuclear fuel and closing the plant altogether.

But that is by no means the end of the story.

A preliminary government report released this month predicted it will take 30 years or more to safely decommission Fukushima Dai-ichi. Like Chernobyl, it will probably be encased in a concrete and steel "sarcophagus."

Hiroaki Koide, a nuclear physicist at Kyoto University, said he doubts the decommissioning process will go as smoothly as the government hopes. He said pools for spent fuel remain highly volatile, and cleaning up the three reactor cores that melted through their innermost chambers will be a massive challenge.

"Nobody knows where exactly the fuel is, or in what condition," he said. "The reactors will have to be entombed in a sarcophagus, with metal plates inserted underneath to keep it watertight. But within 25 to 30 years, when the cement starts decaying, that will have to be entombed in another layer of cement. It's just like Russian Matryoshka dolls, one inside the other."

The no-go zone around the plant will likely be in effect for years, if not decades, to come. Officials reluctantly admit that tens of thousands of evacuated residents may never be able to return home.

Recent studies suggest that Japan continues to significantly underestimate the scale of the disaster ? which could have health and safety implications far into the future.

According to a study led by Andreas Stohl the Norwegian Institute for Air Research, twice as much radioactive cesium-137 ? a cancer-causing agent ? was pumped into the atmosphere than Japan had announced, reaching 40 percent of the total from Chernobyl. The French Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety found that 30 times more cesium-137 was released into the Pacific than the plant's owner has owned up to.

"We have not studied the content of their research, and are not in a position to respond," said Hiroki Kawamata, a TEPCO spokesman. "We have no plans at this point to modify our estimates."

Before the crisis, resource-poor Japan relied on nuclear power for about one-third of its electricity. It was planning to boost that share to 50 percent by 2030.

Without nuclear, Japan will have to import more fossil fuels, cutting its potential GDP by 1.2 percent and costing 7.2 trillion yen ($94 billion) annually, according to an estimate by the Japan Center for Economic Research.

But public support for nuclear power ? and the trust that the industry is built on ? has plummeted.

Tens of thousands of Japanese have turned out in protest. Suspicious of government and TEPCO reassurances, grassroots groups are scouring the country with radiation detectors. Several "hot spots" in and around Tokyo are now being investigated by the authorities.

Because of the outcry, Japan has essentially abandoned its long-term goal of expanding nuclear energy production. The status of even its existing plants is murky.

Currently, 43 of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors are shut down, either because of mechanical problems or routine inspections, which must be conducted every 13 months. Local approval is required to restart nuclear power plants, even after routine inspections, and local leaders fearing repercussions at the polls have been loath to provide it.

TEPCO announced two weeks ago there will be enough power to see the country through the winter, but after that, the effect of the nuclear crisis on electricity production could become even more acute. If political resistance remains as high as it is now, every nuclear reactor in Japan could be offline by May.

___

Talmadge reported from Hirono. APTN producer Miki Toda, at the plant, and writer Mari Yamaguchi, in Tokyo, contributed to this story.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/asia/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111112/ap_on_re_as/as_japan_inside_fukushima

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Nordstrom's 3Q profits rose 6.7 percent (AP)

NEW YORK ? Nordstrom Inc. reported that third-quarter profit rose by nearly 7 percent as its affluent shoppers continue to splurge despite an uncertain economy and volatile swings in the stock market.

The upscale retailer, which released results Thursday after the regular markets closed, also upgraded its full-year profit outlook though it was below Wall Street expectations. That conservative outlook pushed shares down almost 3 percent in after-markets trading.

The chain says that it earned $127 million, or 59 cents per share, in the three-month period ended Oct. 29. That compares with $119 million, or 53 cents per share in the year-ago period. Net sales rose 14 percent to $2.38 billion, from about $2.09 billion in the year ago period. The company said its top performing categories included designer merchandise as well as handbags and dresses.

Analysts were expecting earnings per share of 59 cents on net sales of $2.35 billion. Revenue at stores opened at least a year climbed 7.9 percent for the quarter.

Like many luxury stores, Nordstrom has had rebounding sales since the recession started as well-heeled shoppers have become more comfortable with spending despite the challenges of the weak economy that include high unemployment, wild stock market fluctuations and declining home values. But like many retailers of all stripes, Nordstrom has worked to make shopping easier for recession-weary Americans to shop.

Blake Nordstrom, president of Nordstrom, said during a conference call with analysts following the release that the company is investing in things that will help it "take advantage of more opportunities to improve service, drive sales increases, and achieve profitable growth."

The company has fused its online and in-store inventory systems, allowing shoppers to see online what's in in stock at a given store anywhere in the chain. Last year, it added Wi-Fi access for shoppers at all of its full-line department stores.

Earlier in September, Nordstrom began offering free shipping on most items without any minimum purchase requirements. Previously, Nordstrom shoppers had to spend at least $200 to get free shipping. Company officials said the program helped drive sales online, but they are still learning and watching to see its impact during the fourth quarter.

Nordstrom, based in Seattle, said it expects revenue at stores open at least a year to rise 6 percent for the full year and said it now anticipates that earnings per share will be between $3.05 and $3.10. The company said in August that it expected earnings per share for the year will be between $2.95 and $3.10. Analysts had expected $3.14 per share, according to FactSet.

Shares rose 69 cents to close at $49.62, but fell $1.22 per share to $48.40 in after markets trading.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111110/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_nordstrom

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Brokerage terminates all 1,066 workers

NEW YORK?? MF Global fired all 1,066 of its brokerage employees on Friday, triggering anger and resentment about the firm's collapse after bad bets on European debt under former CEO Jon Corzine's leadership.

How the abrupt, final blow was delivered upset many staff -- with some learning by e-mail and others through news on the television.

"Fifteen years and no severance!" shouted one angry MF Global employee as he left the firm's offices on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan after hugging the receptionist and doorman.

The trustee in charge of liquidating the brokerage said in a statement that the workers were let go immediately, though they will be paid through Nov. 15 and up to 200 will be rehired to help with the wind-down.

The timing couldn't be worse for the employees. Not only is the U.S. unemployment rate high at 9 percent, other Wall Street firms have been firing staff in recent months as trading profits decline and tighter regulation takes hold.

"The lives of so many people have been disrupted. We did not even get told individually, we got a group e-mail," said MF Global analyst Pierre-Yvan Desparois outside the company's offices in Manhattan.

"The company had a lot of potential, it did not have to end like this. I'm a credit analyst and I could have told Corzine not to invest 100 percent in the sovereign debt situation. He placed bets with people's lives," said Desparois.

A middle-aged man who said he had worked for MF Global for 23 years but who declined to give his name left another of the firm's New York offices wearing a black t-shirt over his collared shirt that was laced with profanity.

At the Chicago Board of Trade, one MF Global employee sat in silence after a Reuters reporter told her about the mass layoffs. "No, I hadn't heard yet," she said, after a moment.

Asked about colleagues who were let go earlier this week, she said some have put on a brave face about landing another job. "But I told them, this is totally different because people are finding it hard to find jobs for 12, 18 months."

The criticism of Corzine was echoed by Todd Thielmann, a broker with MF Global in Chicago.

"His ego has ruined a lot of lives," said Thielmann. "It was more about the execs at the company than the grunts."

Another employee who worked in market data at the firm in New York for three years said she would have never left. "It was a great job. The camaraderie, the company was great. But people at the top let us down. It came as a complete shock," she said.

Not every employee saw the pink slip e-mail, and not everyone was surprised.

A broker in Chicago learned about the termination through news reports and said employees were being called into meetings as the media began reporting the development.

"When you are working for a company that is bankrupt, you know it's coming," said an MF Global broker who attended a 20-minute meeting in New York.

The firings come as the trustee, James Giddens, works to identify and locate the brokerage's assets, including $600 million in missing customer money that has frustrated and confused commodity-market traders.

MF Global's main U.S. exchange regulator, CME Group Inc , said Friday it will provide a $300 million guarantee to prod the trustee into releasing frozen customer funds. For the first time, CME tapped a slush fund for about $50 million to help offset any losses to futures traders stemming from the failure.

Giddens is trying to account for all of MF Global's assets with help from forensics investigators at Ernst & Young. The trustee said he has also retained Deloitte to help with the transfer of about 17,000 commodities accounts worth roughly $1.5 billion.

Federal agencies, including the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities & Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice, are investigating whether the money missing from customer accounts may have been improperly mixed with the firm's funds.

Giddens was appointed to liquidate the brokerage after MF's parent company declared bankruptcy on Oct. 31.

The bankruptcy shocked Wall Street, in part because the company was run by former New Jersey Governor and Goldman Sachs head Jon Corzine, who advocated for tough regulations on Wall Street firms during his political career.

Corzine resigned last week, saying he would not seek about $9 million in severance.

Between 150 and 200 of the MF Global brokerage employees will be rehired to help with winding down the business and processing bankruptcy claims, Giddens said in his statement.

"The termination of employees and closure of operations is a necessary part of the court-ordered liquidation ... and is consistent with the trustee's obligations," he said.

The parent, MF Global Holdings, said in a statement that it was "saddened by the trustee's actions today to terminate so many of our colleagues."

Giddens also said on Friday that his team is working to clear out the brokerage's New York offices as soon as possible and rent smaller, less expensive space as the liquidation moves forward.

MF Global's Chicago offices will continue to be leased for an undetermined amount of time, he said.

As for the employees, they are heading off into the great unknown.

"We were down to eight people on the floor and only two of them have found jobs," said Thielmann, who plans to start over as an independent broker in the corn options pit trading floor of the CBOT.

"I'm on my own now but it's going to be really hard to get customers. They're scared, they've taken any excess money out of all firms now and they don't know who to trust. Customers are pulling funds out of accounts, that's bad for liquidity and bad for markets," he said.

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for restrictions.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45260702/

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Gene tweak creates supermouse ? and prevents diabetes

Faster, longer, further? fatter? Knocking out a particular gene in muscle lets mice run twice as far as normal. Knocking out the same gene in fat cells allows the animals to put on weight without developing type-2 diabetes.

The discoveries could lead to new treatments for diabetes or for invigorating muscles in elderly people and in those with wasting diseases, say Johan Auwerx of the Federal Polytechnic School of Lausanne, Switzerland, and colleagues. Auwerx warns that cheats may exploit the potential for increase athletic performance, however.

Auwerx and his colleagues used a targeted virus to knock out the gene that makes a protein called nuclear receptor corepressor?1 (NCoR1) in the muscle of mice. Without NCoR1, mitochondria, which power cells, keep working at full speed. "Effectively, the mice go further, faster, on the same amount of gas," says Auwerx.

"The treated mice ran an average of 1600 metres in 2?hours, compared with 800 metres for untreated mice," he says.

Fattened up

In a separate experiment, Auwerx found that knocking out NCoR1 in fat cells exclusively made the mice get fatter, but they didn't develop type-2 diabetes. He hopes that by giving drugs that control NCoR1 in fat to people who are already obese, it may be possible to stop them developing diabetes as well.

Auwerx has already identified fatty acids in common foods that suppress NCoR1. If similar compounds can be found that target specific tissues, then it may be possible to treat diseases specific to muscle or fat.

Auwerx warns athletes not to try to grow their muscles and stamina illicitly by somehow targeting the NCoR1 protein, however.

"We only know what happens if it's knocked out either in fat or muscle, and it could have serious side effects on other organs," he says. Also, he points out that without NCoR1, all fetuses perish, so it plays a vital but undiscovered role in fetal development.

Journal references: Cell, DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2011.10.017; 10.1016/j.cell.2011.09.050

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