* C$ up at 94.88 U.S. cents * Bernanke signals U.S. rates to remain low * U.S. home sales drop to record low in January * Bonds lower, Canada underperforms U.S. (Updates to close, adds details, quotes) By Claire Sibonney TORONTO, Feb 24 (Reuters) - The Canadian dollar gainedslightly against the U.S. dollar on Wednesday as investorappetite for riskier assets was whetted by remarks from U.S.Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who reaffirmed his vowto keep interest rates low. Bernanke told Congress that a weak job market and lowinflation would likely allow the U.S. central bank to keepinterest rates at very low levels for "an extended period".[ID:nN23153536] But the Canadian currency hit some bumps earlier in the dayafter dismal data showed sales of newly built U.S.single-family homes hit their lowest level since recordsstarted in January 1963, hinting at possible troubles for thefragile U.S. housing market"s recovery. [ID:nN24373288] "It"s been kind of a mixed bag today and on balanced wehaven"t really moved that much from opening levels," saidGeorge Davis, chief technical strategist at RBC CapitalMarkets. "Bernanke went out of his way to emphasize that there is nochange to the Fed"s monetary policy despite what people mayhave been thinking from last week"s increase in the discountrate... (and) that basically settled the markets down." U.S. stocks and oil prices also turned higher as investorswelcomed the promise of more cheap money. [.N] [O/R] "The risk trade is tentatively back on. Equities are up,various other asset classes such as commodities are edginghigher and the Canadian dollar normally enjoys an upward tiltwhen that happens," said Eric Lascelles, chief economics andrates strategist at TD Securities. The Canadian dollar closed at C$1.0540 to the U.S. dollar,or 94.88 U.S. cents, slightly up from Tuesday"s close atC$1.0566 to the U.S. dollar, or 94.64 U.S. cents. EQUITIES UP, BONDS DOWN With U.S. equity markets higher, Canadian bond prices werelower across the curve. The two-year Canadian government bond CA2YT=RR fell 2Canadian cents to C$100.315 to yield 1.340 percent, while the10-year bond CA10YT=RR lost 13 Canadian cents to C$102.370 toyield 3.448 percent. Canadian bonds also lagged their U.S. Treasurycounterparts, with the difference between 10-year yieldsnarrowing about 1.6 basis points to 24.1. "I think part of the story is from a technical perspectivethe U.S. market had seemed quite cheap and there was quite agreat appetite to buy U.S. bonds to resolve that issue,"Lascelles said. "Whereas in Canada the perception was that there was nevermuch of an outlier, and it"s still the case that Canadian bondsare roughly fair valued and just haven"t fully participated inthe recent movement." Also souring market sentiment, Canada"s auction of 30-yearreal return bonds met with weaker demand than usual as marginalinvestors shied away from lower-yielding but saferinflation-protected government debt. [ID:nN2499749] "It seems as though the real return bond market is nolonger the one-way ticket to riches that it was, going back afew months ago," Lascelles said. (Reporting by Claire Sibonney; editing by Peter Galloway)
CurrenciesSaturday, July 31, 2010
CANADA FX DEBT-C$ perks up after dovish Bernanke comments
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
SIX NATIONS 2010: Will Greenwood backs Jonny Wilkinson Josh Lewsey on Danny Cipriani Ian McGeechan tips Scots to kick Italy - video special
With Jonny Wilkinson under pressure from everyone to deliver in England"s RBS Six Nations clash with Ireland tomorrow, fellow World Cup winner Will Greenwood has backed the Toulon fly-half.
Wilkinson missed three kicks against Italy last time out and the blame for England"s poor displays - despite opening with two wins - have been laid at his feet.
But Greenwood insists Wilko is his own worst critic and although he admits the two had differences on the pitch, Wilkinson"s experience and professionalism will see him through.
VIDEO: Will Greenwood backs Wilko to get it right against Ireland
Meanwhile, ex-England back Josh Lewsey believes his former Wasps team-mate Danny Cipriani is doing the right thing by quitting London for Australia.
Lewsey and Cipriani famously came to blows in training last season but former Army officer Lewsey believes "phenomenal talent" Cipriani is doing the right thing by joining Melbourne Rebels and will start enjoying his rugby away from the English media glare in an environment more suited to his game.
VIDEO: Josh backs Danny to grow stronger in Oz
Ex-Scotland and British & Irish Lions coach Sir Ian McGeechan is tipping Scotland to banish their Cardiff blues by beating Italy in the RBS Six Nations this weekend.
The Scot would rather his former charges were at Murrayfield after their crushing last-gasp defeat against Wales but is confident they can negate the threat of a tough-tackling Italy side on the smallest of all the pitches in the tournament.
VIDEO: Geechs on how the Scots can bounce back
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Heartbeat meets Taggart for lady heading military force
Sexism in the military force? There probably is, but arrange lends a uninformed viewpoint on life, chuckles Justine Curran, the new arch emissary of Tayside, from her roost on the corner of a black tanned hide sofa.
Sometimes, she says, the similar to being the Queen, the universe smells of uninformed paint. Its positively opposite than Ive experienced as Ive come up. When people think about arch constable, they lend towards to think about a big man.
She tilts her head behind and the grin becomes a guffaw. But they do think that. Im not the picture they have in their head.
Police headquarters, Dundee, will never be the same again. Blonde, 42, and most nearer to 5ft than the burly, 6ft copper of legend, Ms Curran cuts an unusual figure in the macho universe of the Scottish constabulary.
Related LinksPolice seize feign engineer wardrobe value 1mMummified physique related to Dorset attempted murderShe is disarmingly open in conversation, sounds similar to the stand up comic Victoria Wood (she was lifted in the same piece of Lancashire), and introduces herself as Justine over the phone to colleagues. She is, in the difference of a youth officer, unequivocally tasteful and they never pronounced that about James Anderton, the arch of military when Curran assimilated the Manchester force twenty years ago.
Not the slightest of her new achievements has been to win unbroken posts as partner arch constable, in Manchester and on Tayside, whilst her initial matrimony fell apart. These days, after nonetheless an additional promotion, Ms Curran lives in farming Perthshire with her dual primary-age young kids and Gordon Meldrum, the Director-General of the Scottish Crime and Drug Enforcement Agency The Plod Couple as they were christened by The Sun. The embarrassment, she giggles.
For all her great humour it would be a inapplicable designation to think of Ms Curran as a soft touch. In 2007, she was the initial lady to be allocated partner arch emissary of Greater Manchester Police and was Gold Commander in assign of open sequence the day and night that 150,000 Rangers fans descended on the city for the 2008 UEFA Cup Final. That eventuality fast descended in to scenes of open immoderation and violence. Films of infamous attacks on the military were flashed around the universe over the internet and on TV.
When headlines came by on Thursday that one of the misfortune offenders, Scott McSeveney, 21, from Shotts, had been found guilty at Manchester Crown Court of aroused disorder, Ms Curran could perceptibly disguise her pleasure (I thought: Bloody good.). Just dual years go she had watched open-mouthed in abhorrence as live CCTV footage showed a heartless conflict on Personal Computer John Goodwin in Piccadilly Gardens.
This was an military military military officer who had a throng spin him, she recalls. When you see the footage, it is unequivocally sickening. It looked similar to they were perplexing to kill him, they were perplexing to lift his steel sheet off.
In the evident issue of the riot, one Scottish journal attempted to pin censure on the military and city legislature for their disaster to carry out the crowds or yield competent facilities. That is simply ridiculous, says Ms Curran.
It interests me when people say, What when went wrong that day? As if you could carry out all to stop these things. There were up to 150,000 people in Manchester city centre.
If all 8,000 officers from the force had been on the street, we wouldnt have been means to stop people.
The numbers dont smoke-stack up. To spin up in a city that had offering you liberality and handle similar to that? It is appalling.
Ms Currans no-nonsense strain emerges again in her attitudes to the Scottish governments plan effectively to annul short sentencing for teenager offences, together with a small crimes of assault. Senior colleagues, particularly David Strang, the arch emissary of Lothian and Borders Police, await the offer and hold it will revoke crime, but she can conduct usually the faintest of praise.
Its a bit counter-intuitive she says, a bit difficult, but may be there is a multiple of approaches. The actuality is, as a cop, you wish to get to those who are causing problems for people, who are blighting their lives, usually in all being bad, and get them sealed up.
Crime is simply inbred in a small people, she believes, a schooled poise picked up from mums and dads. We have been traffic with the same people for generations, she says. So does she have a name for folks similar to that? Ms Curran guffaws. Aye, one or two, she laughs.
Her prophesy for preferred encampment policing is something similar to the TV series, Heartbeat, in that an agreeable nation law enforcemetn military military officer binds lean in a small Yorkshire village. Its that indication where your military military military officer knows the community, the family groups and knows the partners as well in Heartbeat the the alloy and assorted others. Between them they know the people to be concerned with. Its about perplexing to get upstream from it.
If the informative anxiety point seems trite, it competence be excusable. Ms Curran loves play and ballet and complicated both as a child; it was usually after a grade in classics at the University of Hull that she staid on a career in the police.
Her progressing passions lingered in her day job, and she was never antithetic to practising pirouettes and plis in the corridors of the old military domicile construction in Manchester. It had these prolonged wooden retard building corridors, a small of them would have usually a integrate of doors, she says.
Its screamed out for me to do something. Its not utterly the same here. Well, women of a sure age, you have to try. She tells these tales in a proceed that creates it easy to hold that women officers who still usually comment for twenty-five per cent of the Tayside force could move a uninformed proceed to the talk room and the inquire of suspects.
They can, she says, since whatever ruses her masculine counterparts come up with, in that rarefied environment, there is still a physiological reaction, man-to-man.
Its the rutting ram thing, isnt it? she says. It is simpler [for a woman] to set up a rapport. People are not threatened, it is simpler to have that conversation, people are some-more peaceful to open up. There are a small stunningly learned interviewers of both genders, the not exclusive, but as a generality, there is a greeting for women.
Ms Curran took up her post on Tayside last month, a immeasurable domain embracing the city of Dundee, along with farming beats, that extends far in to the Highlands. Heartbeat meets Taggart, but as opposite from Greater Manchester with a race larger than the total of Scotland than it is probable to imagine.
Wont she miss the big city? The reason I get up in the sunrise is the thought that I can have it improved here. I have desired the operational hurdles of big cities, so a bit of me hankers for that. But I love it here. I know this probably sounds a small Pollyannaish, but I am ardent to do my bit.
Life and crime
• Justine Curran was innate in Sheffield and brought up in Parbold, Lancashire. She complicated classics at Hull University
• She assimilated Greater Manchester Police in 1989, where her initial post was as a emissary in Wigan. In 1991 she was promoted to sergeant, and to examiner in 1995. Three years after she was done arch examiner with shortcoming for policing Manchester city centre
• After a short move to Merseyside, she returned to Greater Manchester Police as arch superintendent in 2003. Four years later, Ms Curran was promoted to partner arch emissary and done obliged for 6 divisions. She headed the opposite terrorism section obliged for the North West Region
• The following year, 2008, as arch military military military officer for open sequence policy, she was confronted by the complaint of policing the Uefa Cup Final and, weeks later, the fallout after a Manchester law enforcemetn military military officer was shot passed during a precision exercise.
• She assimilated Tayside Police as emissary arch emissary in February, and was allocated arch emissary last month
hair wigAndy Murray: give players a contend over Davis Cup captaincy
Andy Murray believes that the players should have a contend in the preference of Great Britains Davis Cup captain.
The British No 1 has called for a players deputation to be sent to the LTA with their preference should John Lloyd compensate the cost for the seismic loss in Lithuania last week.
In his initial open greeting to the 3-2 better that sent Great Britain to inside of one compare of relegation to the Europe/Africa Zone organisation III, Murray who did not fool around in the tie in Vilnius, preferring to let the younger patrol players benefit experience pronounced that he felt it was usually right that those charged with the charge of behaving should be given a conference about who should lay in the chair.
He did not reply but delay to either Greg Rusedski who was sounded out by the LTA the week prior to the outing to Lithuania about the awaiting of replacing Lloyd should be the choice. It is ordinarily believed, though Murray has never pronounced as much, that he and Rusedski are not the closest of allies.
Related LinksHenman not meddlesome in Davis Cup captaincyMurray strikes a bombardment as politicians stick on inLloyd faces the song as LTA final answersMultimediaNET POST: GB miss out on ITF"s money injectionIf John does lose his job, I would similar to the players to have a contend and this is not only about me, Murray pronounced last night. Its not down to me alone. If there are twelve players in a room and eight of them contend they would be happy with Greg being captain, thereafter he should be the captain.
It is about removing the right man, the one who can majority appropriate be the cause of the players. They should have a clever say, but, of course, in the finish it is down to the LTA to decide.
Murray points to the incident that prevails in a lot of countries, Spain and France to the fore, who deliberate plainly with the heading players prior to creation their judgment.
Alex Corretja, Murrays consultant, who is with him here for the BNP Paribas Open, told the universe No 4 but irrationality that it was needed for the players to feel gentle with the man they are seated subsequent to at such vicious moments.
Whether Murray will put himself brazen for preference for the relegation play-off opposite Turkey in Jul expected to be staged on weed at Devonshire Park, Eastbourne he could not say. It is some-more than probable, generally if he has only endured a scattered Wimbledon, that he would not be equates to to lift himself for such a tie so soon.
There was a potential defamation of the LTAs graduation of unfamiliar coaches over those neat in this nation when he said: We need to engage people who love British tennis and love this diversion with a passion. Now we have ten opposite nations carrying an input.
The Paribas Open represents Murrays initial contest given his argumentative exit from the Barclays Dubai Championships last month, when he was knocked about in the third turn by Janko Tipsarevic, of Serbia, and confessed that he had used the compare as a equates to of experimentation.
I played a 2hr 45min match, it was one of the majority interesting of the tournament, I essentially crushed a pole thereafter and thats the initial time in years Ive finished that, he said. I attempted my best, I gave 110 per cent. If I annoyed anyone, of march I apologise.
hair wigMonday, July 26, 2010
Two-year decrease in UK construction industry slows
Britain"s building a whole industry, the slouch of the country"s frail economy, one after another to cringe in Feb but the gait of contraction is slowing.
The Chartered Institute of Purchase and Supply/Markit building a whole PMI index of wake up edged down from 48.6 in Jan to 48.5 in February. Any celebration of the mass subsequent 50 indicates contraction rather than growth.
However, February"s celebration of the mass is the second top of any month in the past dual years, reduce usually than January, signalling that there is a little stabilisation in the sector.
Although practice one after another to tumble sharply, at a faster gait than in January, certainty over destiny wake up levels remained high, the consult said.
Related LinksConstruction zone retrogression enters 23rd monthUK building a whole shrinks for 22nd monthUK building a whole shrinks for 18th month in a rowDavid Noble, the arch senior manager at the Chartered Institute of Purchasing Supply, said: While the UK economy solemnly pulls in to liberation mode, the building a whole zone has right away been cramped in retrogression domain for dual years and is still really fragile.
"Though this was a comparatively medium rate of contraction, difficult handling conditions, apocalyptic continue and appropriation constraints dampened altogether zone activity."
Sarah Ledger, an economist at Markit, added: Construction companies remained confident over destiny wake up for the subsequent twelve months. Nonetheless, intensity cuts in open spending could negatively stroke zone performance, suggesting that infirmity will be a key thesis over the entrance months.
Within the building a whole sector, that accounts for 6 per cent of Britain"s GDP, housebuilding stretched for a sixth unbroken month but polite engineering and blurb work, such as offices and factories, one after another to contract.
CIPS pronounced that new orders perceived by building a whole companies fell for a third unbroken month, nonetheless at usually a extrinsic pace.
Howard Archer, the arch UK and European economist at IHS Global Insight, said: "The building a whole zone is radically stabilising after fast a vital recession. Nevertheless, the building a whole zone is expected to be strike by the Government"s need to rein in the spending, that is firm to strike output on infrastructure and open buildings."
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Husband and mother are locked up for defrauding authorities of 4.6m tax
They lived in a palace propitious out with the most appropriate antiques and a protected containing scarcely half a million pounds in cash. But currently Patrick Small and his mother Mary were sent to prison after revelation a �4.6 million taxation rascal over sixteen years.
Small, 56, and his 50-year-old mother secluded millions of pounds in bank accounts in the Isle of Man, unwell to acknowledgement taxation over a duration dating behind to 1995. It was their impracticable lifestyle that eventually drew the courtesy of rascal investigators.
Belfast Crown Court Judge Anthony Hart locked up Patrick Small for 3 and a half years and Mary Small for dual and a half. He one after another the couple, who have 3 children, to compensate �4 million compensation.
The decider pronounced of Patrick Small: He was rebuilt in a prejudiced and unedifying conform to change as most of the censure on to his mother as he could. The decider pronounced the integrate built at slightest twenty houses, together with their own, with the money, generated by their builders merchants" commercial operation in Dungannon, Co Tyrone, and lived in a sprawling 12,000 sq ft mansion.
Related LinksEx-police arch of New York locked up for taxation fraudFraud costs �30 billion each yearCustoms officers who raided the wealthy home detected �492,238 in a secluded safe.
Mr Justice Hart added: Such was the scale of the defendants taxation semblance that the assign have reliable that this is by far the largest box of the kind to come prior to the Crown Court in Northern Ireland. The justice was told that the integrate siphoned off income and cheques from their commercial operation and pickled the income afar in undeclared off-shore bank accounts.
The Smalls at one theatre purported their annual gain amounted to less than �30,000 and claimed family taxation credits to get by.
At one theatre their skill portfolio, together with the houses, unbuilt housing and construction land, was value scarcely �7 million, nonetheless it was supposed that these resources are right away rather less since the serious mercantile downturn.
The justice was told that when Revenue officials raided their home they found scarcely half a million pounds in income in a dark safe.
Jailing the pair, Mr Justice Hart pronounced that since the aggravating contribution a custodial judgment was inevitable, nonetheless he supposed the hard times it would pose, quite in the box of Mrs Small.
In all Mrs Small certified 3 charges of intrigue the Inland Revenue and Customs Excise and 9 charges of fake accounting. Mr Small pleaded guilty to dual charges of cheating.
The Inland Revenue non-stop the inquiries since of concerns about income being secluded that helped account the couples lifestyle. The defendants were arrested in Nov 2005.
At that time, Mrs Small denied the life of alternative accounts possibly in Northern Ireland or offshore when interviewed by a taxation official.
The justice was told that commercial operation annals were evenly falsified to disguise what they were doing.
The decider pronounced Mr Small, who uses a wheelchair and suffers from diabetes, hypertension and is morbidly obese, had a highly-strung celebrity and had taken assign of construction their most properties. They were next to partners in the business, authorised and matrimonial sense, he added.
His strong idea that he is pang from insanity and has usually a short time to live is not probable and instead he is someone who, either on purpose or differently is immaterial, has assured himself that his mental condition is deteriorating to a most some-more poignant grade than is in actuality the case, he said.
The decider combined that in the box of Mary Small he deliberate that her co-operation via the case, her genuine distress and the outcome of her seizure on her young kids fit a some-more kindly judgment than that imposed on her husband.
However, he pronounced the amounts concerned were really large in truth and there was one after another dissimulation of income by assorted equates to over most years, as well as dishonesty of the taxation authorities when she was interviewed on a prior occasion.
Clare Merrills, mouthpiece for Revenue and Customs, said: The Smalls were hidden taxpayers income over most years and obviously had no issue with enjoying the benefits of the open services while not contributing towards them. Even �2 million stashed in offshore accounts didnt deter them from claiming taxation credits.
Income taxation and VAT rascal are not victimless fiddles and the days are prolonged left when stealing resources off-shore was seen as a protected gamble for escaped UK taxes.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Carcass of 100-tonne fin whale cleared ashore in Cornwall
The body of one of the giants of the seas has been cleared up on a Cornish beach.
The 56ft (16.9m) fin whale, the worlds second largest animal after the blue whale, came ashore at Porthtowan nearby St Ives after floating in shipping lanes for 3 days.
Sightseers were urged to stay afar from the rotting carcass, that weighs 100 tonnes and is twice as prolonged as a stand in decker bus.
It is not surprising for fin whales to be sighted off Cornwall but usually frequency are they cleared ashore.
Related LinksLargest creatures on earth get acrobatic Joy for whale rescuers after calf is bornMan-made sound blamed for whale deathsJan Loveridge, of Cornwall Wildlife Trusts Marine Strandings Network, pronounced that the whale might have been killed in a incident with a ship.
She added: We have taken samples but do not nonetheless have an viewable means of death. It is majority expected that it was struck by a ship.
It has probably been passed for about a week.
A orator for the Maritime and Coastguard Agency pronounced that since of the size, and the risk it acted to shipping, the whale had been tracked for 3 days and sailors had been warned of the position.
The body is as well large to move but the Coastguard pronounced it might still be cleared out to sea with the tide. The open was warned to keep a area since the whale might have been diseased.