South African TB patients rampage

Authorities increased security Friday at a tuberculosis hospital where patients with drug-resistant forms of the disease went on a rampage to protest prison-like conditions.

Twenty-two patients were arrested Wednesday, accused of public violence and assault after they pelted staff with stones and vandalized equipment. But the local police station and prison refused to admit them because of fears of the highly infectious disease. Instead, they were returned to the hospital.

When the patients were arrested, they threatened staff members, saying that they would retaliate when they returned to the hospital, local health authority spokesman Sizwe Kupelo said. This will not be tolerated.

The Jose Pearson hospital, near the coastal city of Port Elizabeth, treats about 300 patients. Many have multidrug-resistant TB and the even more dangerous extensively drug-resistant TB, which is very difficult and expensive to treat. Those with drug-resistant strains are supposed to stay in the hospital for six months to two years, living in isolated wards surrounded by barbed wire and security guards.

South African authorities have reluctantly resorted to enforced confinement of patients with drug-resistant TB because of fears that it might otherwise spread through the community. TB is an airborne bacteria and can be spread easily through coughing or sneezing.

The country is gripped by a tuberculosis crisis, which is feeding off the AIDS epidemic and striking the weakened immune system of victims. Nearly 60 percent of South African TB patients have AIDS. The emergence of drug-resistant TB strains — often the result of not sticking to the standard six-month course of treatment — has worsened patients' chances of survival.

There were 2,901 cases of multidrug-resistant TB in South Africa last year, and 561 cases of extensively drug-resistant TB. But the reported figures are believed to be only an indication of the real situation, because many patients die before they can be diagnosed.

This year, the government is spending an additional 400 million rands (US$50 million euro32 million) on beds for people with drug-resistant TB. But anger, frustration and depression are high at hospitals like Jose Pearson, and there are constant staff shortages because nurses are afraid of contracting the disease.

Twenty-two patients cut through the hospital's wire fencing and escaped just before Christmas to spend time with their families. Most eventually returned after authorities searched house to house, but the same pattern was repeated at Easter.

The Eastern Cape provincial health department equipped the hospital with new televisions, DVDs and games to try to relieve the boredom.

The local Herald newspaper said tension at the hospital exploded Wednesday after patients refused to let a nurse give them their daily injection. A local government official arrived to try to defuse the row and when security guards opened a gate to allow the nurse to leave, patients stormed them.

The guards, armed with pepper spray and batons, formed a human chain behind the car and blocked the patients who wielded iron rods and golf clubs. Some patients hurled rocks and a large concrete brick through the window of the security booth and smashed video monitors. A large contingent of police arrived, donned protective masks and latex gloves, and arrested the patients, the newspaper reported.

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NYC urges docs to do routine HIV testing on adults

Health officials are trying to persuade doctors to offer HIV tests to nearly every patient in a New York City community hit harder than most by AIDS.

Under a new program announced Thursday, officials have set an ambitious goal of testing a quarter million adults in the Bronx, one of five boroughs that make up New York City, within three years.

We need every single individual to know their status, said Dr. Monica Sweeney, an assistant health commissioner who specializes in HIV prevention.

Like dozens of other states, New York now requires doctors to obtain a patient's written consent and provide a brief counseling session before giving them a test for the AIDS virus, a process that can take up to 20 minutes. That's enough to deter doctors and nurses from suggesting HIV tests to patients routinely, according to the city.

Now officials want health clinics to offer the tests to anyone who seeks care, even for something as simple as a broken wrist.

Federal health officials recommended routine HIV testing for all Americans ages 13 to 64 nearly two years go, but the effort has stalled. Some doctors have questioned whether so much testing is necessary, or worth the bureaucratic cost.

HIV testing in the Bronx is already fairly widespread. Nearly 7 of 10 Bronx adults have been tested at least once in their lifetime. But as many as 250,000 adults have never been tested, and statistics indicate that many are diagnosed far too late.

AIDS killed 357 residents of the borough in 2006, about a third of all AIDS deaths in the city.

City health officials have also urged changes in state law that would do away with both the consent form and the mandated counseling sessions, arguing that they have little benefit. Those changes have been opposed by some AIDS activists.

We find that period of time extremely useful, said Marjorie Hill, chief executive officer of the Gay Men's Health Crisis.

She said it gives doctors a time to talk with patients about ways to avoid HIV, or deal with an HIV infection.

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US checks if tomatoes caused Salmonella outbreak

As salmonella cases continue to climb, the government is checking if tainted tomatoes really are to blame for the record outbreak — or if the problem is with another ingredient, or a warehouse that is contaminating newly harvested tomatoes.

The widening outbreak — with 810 people confirmed ill — means whatever is making people sick could very well still be on the market, federal health officials warned on Friday.

Tomatoes remain the top suspect and the advice on which ones consumers should avoid hasn't changed, stressed Food and Drug Administration food safety chief Dr. David Acheson.

However, he said it is possible that tomatoes being harvested in states considered safe could be picking up salmonella germs in packing sheds, warehouses or other facilities currently under investigation.

Most worrisome, the latest victim became sick on June 15 — long after the outbreak began on April 10 and weeks after government warnings stripped supermarkets and restaurants of many tomatoes.

The source of contamination has been ongoing at least through early June. And we don't have any evidence that whatever the source is, it's been removed from the market, said Dr. Patricia Griffin of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Disease detectives at the CDC in Atlanta are double-checking their own probes just in case some other type of produce is really the culprit.

We have also kept an open mind about other possibilities and are looking into other ingredients, Griffin said.

She wouldn't identify other potential suspects, except to say that from the beginning some patients have told the CDC the tomatoes they ate were in salsa and guacamole.

For now, the FDA continues to urge consumers nationwide to avoid raw red plum, red Roma or red round tomatoes unless they were grown in specific states or countries that FDA has cleared of suspicion. Check FDA's Web site — http://www.fda.gov — for an updated list. Also safe are grape tomatoes, cherry tomatoes and tomatoes sold with the vine still attached.

But FDA's Acheson made clear that consumers should stay tuned in case that advice changes.

The facts keep changing here. The outbreak is continuing, he said. We need to re-examine all parts of this system and make sure that the consumer message is still solid.

FDA inspectors spent the last week chasing the best clues to date in the CSI-like hunt for the outbreak's source — but leads are growing cold.

Inspectors tested for traces of salmonella on farms in southern and central Florida and in three Mexican states, farms suspected to have harvested at least some of the tomatoes involved in the outbreak's earliest weeks. They also are following the path tomatoes took from those farms to packing houses and other distribution stops, testing water supplies and equipment along the way.

So far, every single one of 1,700 samples, mostly from farms, has been salmonella-free, a frustrated Acheson said Friday. Hundreds of other samples are still being tested.

Salmonella bacteria live in the intestinal tracts of people and animals. Food outbreaks typically are caused by direct contamination with animal feces or use of contaminated water on foods eaten raw or not fully cooked.

Fever, diarrhea and abdominal cramps typically start eight to 48 hours after infection and can last a week. Many people recover without treatment. In fact, the CDC estimates that for every confirmed salmonella patient, there can be 30 to 40 others who didn't see a doctor or weren't tested — although fewer are uncounted during headline-grabbing outbreaks.

But severe infection and death are possible. At least 95 people have been hospitalized in the current outbreak, and salmonella may have contributed to one person's death from cancer.

The outbreak's sheer scope — with illnesses being reported in 36 states and Washington, D.C. — and length make it unlikely that a single farm will be the culprit, Acheson acknowledged Friday.

That in turn points more suspicion at warehouses and other points in a tomato's path from farm to sale where bushels, even tons, may be repacked, or rewashed, or otherwise processed. Acheson said the investigation's big surprise is how many times tomatoes are repacked, as suppliers hand-pick their way through boxes to meet individual customers' demands for, say, small ripe tomatoes or larger greener ones.

And therein is a key problem: Some of the packing houses that handled suspect tomatoes from Florida and Mexico may now be handling freshly harvested tomatoes, Acheson said. FDA inspectors are hunting contamination in some of those packing houses now.

Clearly the message is, we need to be looking at all possibilities, he said. We need to re-examine all the information.

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Lack of sunshine vitamin may cloud survival odds

New research linking low vitamin D levels with deaths from heart disease and other causes bolsters mounting evidence about the "sunshine" vitamin's role in good health.

Patients with the lowest blood levels of vitamin D were about two times more likely to die from any cause during the next eight years than those with the highest levels, the study found. The link with heart-related deaths was particularly strong in those with low vitamin D levels.

Experts say the results shouldn't be seen as a reason to start popping vitamin D pills or to spend hours in the sun, which is the main source for vitamin D.

For one thing, megadoses of vitamin D pills can be dangerous and skin cancer risks from too much sunshine are well-known. But also, it can't be determined from this type of study whether lack of vitamin D caused the deaths, or whether increasing vitamin D intake would make any difference.

Low vitamin D levels could reflect age, lack of physical activity and other lifestyle factors that also affect health, said American Heart Association spokeswoman Alice Lichtenstein, director of the Cardiovascular Nutrition Laboratory at Tufts University.

Still, she said the study is an important addition to an emerging area of research.

"This is something that should not be ignored," Lichtenstein said.

The study led by Austrian researchers involved 3,258 men and women in southwest Germany. Participants were aged 62 on average, most with heart disease, whose vitamin D levels were checked in weekly blood tests. During roughly eight years of follow-up, 737 died, including 463 from heart-related problems.

According to one of the vitamin tests they used, there were 307 deaths in patients with the lowest levels, versus 103 deaths in those with the highest levels. Counting age, physical activity and other factors, the researchers calculated that deaths from all causes were about twice as common in patients in the lowest-level group.

Results appear in Monday's Archives of Internal Medicine.

The study's lead author, Dr. Harald Dobnig of the Medical University of Graz in Austria, said the results don't prove that low levels of vitamin D are harmful "but the evidence is just becoming overwhelming at this point."

Scientists used to think that the only role of vitamin D was to prevent rickets and strengthen bones, Dobnig said.

"Now we are beginning to realize that there is much more into it," he said

Exactly how low vitamin D levels might contribute to heart problems and deaths from other illnesses is uncertain, although it is has been shown to help regulate the body's disease-fighting immune system, he said.

Earlier this month, the same journal included research led by Harvard scientists linking low vitamin D levels with heart attacks. And previous research has linked low vitamin D with high blood pressure, diabetes and obesity, which all can contribute to heart disease.

The new research "provides the strongest evidence to date for a link between vitamin D deficiency and cardiovascular mortality," said Dr. Edward Giovannucci of the Harvard study of 18,225 men.

Low vitamin D levels also have been linked with several kinds of cancer and some researchers believe the vitamin could even be used to help prevent malignancies.

It has been estimated that at least 50 percent of older adults worldwide have low vitamin D levels, and the problem is also thought to affect substantial numbers of younger people. Possible reasons include decreased outdoor activities, air pollution and, as people age, a decline in the skin's ability to produce vitamin D from ultraviolet rays, the study authors said.

Some doctors believe overuse of sunscreen lotions has contributed, and say just 10 to 15 minutes daily in the sun without sunscreen is safe and enough to ensure adequate vitamin D, although there's no consensus on that.

Diet sources include fortified milk, which generally contains 100 international units of vitamin D per cup, and fatty fish — 3 ounces of canned tuna has 200 units.

The Institute of Medicine's current vitamin D recommendations are 200 units daily for children and adults up to age 50, and 400 to 600 units for older adults. But some doctors believe these amounts are far too low and recommend taking supplements.

The American Medical Association at its annual meeting last week agreed to urge a review of the recommendations.

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Health insurance lags most in Southwest, CDC says

The Southwest has the lowest rate of health insurance coverage in the country, with 30 percent of non-elderly adults and 18 percent of children uninsured, according to a new government study.

New England — with a rate of uninsured people less than half that of the Southwest — has the largest proportion of its population covered, the study found.

The study marks the first time the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has compared different regions of the country by health insurance status, said Robin Cohen, the lead researcher.

Cohen declined to theorize why Arizona, New Mexico, Texas and Oklahoma together have higher rates of uninsured people than other parts of the country.

But another expert said it likely comes from a combination of factors, including state policy decisions and the fact that many jobs in the Southwest are service, construction or other jobs without good health benefits.

Aggressive steps by states such as Massachusetts to increase coverage of their uninsured may widen the gap between regions like New England and the Southwest, said the expert, Ken Thorpe of Atlanta's Emory University.

"There are substantial inequities in coverage depending where you live, and they seem to be getting worse," said Thorpe, a health policy researcher.

The CDC study's results are based on a national, in-person household survey of more than 106,000 families in 2004 through 2006.

The researchers focused on non-institutionalized people under the age of 65, the age when Medicare insurance for the elderly kicks in.

The study presented estimates for the 41 states that had at least 1,000 respondents. But the researchers pooled data from the other states as well to come up with regional estimates.

Among those states for which there were data, Oklahoma had the highest percentage of people uninsured — more than 33 percent. Hawaii and Massachusetts were tied with the lowest percentage, at 9.5 percent.

The Southwest has a large American Indian population served by the Indian Health Service. The Indian Health Service was not counted as a form of insurance, in keeping with definitions used in other health insurance studies. But even if it had been counted as coverage, the Southwest still would have had the highest uninsurance rates, Cohen said.

In the six-state New England region, 11 percent of non-elderly adults were uninsured, as were a little under 4 percent of children.

Next best? Three regions that include the Great Plains, Great Lakes in the upper Midwest and the Northeast each had uninsurance rates of 14 to 15 percent for adults and about 6 to 7 percent for children.

The Southeast was the second-worst region, with nearly 23 percent of adults uninsured. The Rocky Mountain states were second worst for children, with nearly 12 percent uninsured.

For the nation as a whole, nearly 17 percent of people under 65 were uninsured at the time they were interviewed.

A second study by the CDC, also released Wednesday, presented 2007 data from the same annual survey. It found about 16.5 percent of Americans were uninsured at the time they were interviewed that year. That survey only covered 20 states and did not give a regional breakdown.

The CDC estimates that as many as 54 million Americans went uninsured during at least part of the year, and nearly 31 million were uninsured for a period of more than a year.

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Venezuelan 'System' brings classics to the barrios

A violin case slung over her shoulder, 10-year-old Daniela Fagundez trudges home along a row of muddy yards where chickens scratch among banana trees and laundry hangs drying on wire fences.

She's an unlikely classical musician, the daughter of a construction worker father who dropped out of high school and a mother who has cleaned houses to help the family get by. But Daniela has found a new world in music, and her eyes light up as she talks about the violin she was given through a unique program that has changed her life.

This is the most beautiful gift I've ever had, she says proudly. In the future, I'd really like to conduct the orchestra.

She is a participant in one of the most widely praised teaching systems in classical music today, a nationwide network of orchestras that has made Venezuela a powerhouse for producing talented musicians.

It is known as El Sistema — the National System of Youth and Children's Orchestras of Venezuela — and it's becoming a model internationally for getting children excited about classical music.

Daniela's orchestra of 6-to-12-year-olds spends afternoons rehearsing Beethoven's Symphony No. 7 and Merle J. Isaac's Gypsy Overture in the shade of a mango tree that towers over a colonial-era courtyard.

Many students come from humble families who otherwise couldn't afford instruments or formal training. A cement plant and chicken farms are the biggest employers in this small town, but music is giving the children a new direction.

The System was begun in 1975 and has been financed by successive governments since then. It was born as the dream of a visionary economist, musician and former congressman, Jose Antonio Abreu, who was driven by a conviction that all children should have access to a quality musical education.

Today there are some 150 youth orchestras and 70 children's orchestras in Venezuela. The System involves more than 250,000 pupils, extraordinary for a country of about 27 million people.

Its star graduate, charismatic conductor Gustavo Dudamel, has risen to fame performing in concert halls from New York to Berlin. The 27-year-old, with long, curly hair that bounces as he leaps into the air while conducting, takes over as music director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic in September 2009.

'El Sistema' has given me everything. It gave me the possibility of having a path in life with music, Dudamel said during a recording session in Caracas, motioning to his Simon Bolivar Youth Symphony Orchestra. Every one of those guys is 'El Sistema,' and they've been transformed by music.

He and the orchestra received long, thunderous ovations in November in two sold-out concerts at New York's Carnegie Hall.

Clive Gillinson, Carnegie's executive director, said the performers exuded the sheer joy of music, at times dancing with their instruments.

When the orchestra performs at home, admiring children often fill the front rows.

This musical revolution began with 11 young musicians under Abreu's tutelage. Rehearsals were first held in a classroom, a parking garage and loaned space in other buildings.

It grew very quickly. Already that first year we were able to have an orchestra with 100 kids, Abreu recalled.

He then founded orchestra after orchestra across Venezuela.

The teaching philosophy is straightforward. All are welcome, children as young as 3 begin with singing, xylophone playing and other exercises. An instrument is chosen according to each child's inclination and abilities — provided free for the majority who otherwise couldn't afford one.

The students learn largely by practice while theory is introduced along the way. Many of their teachers were trained in the same system, forming a regenerating bottom-up cycle as knowledge is passed along. By age 10, some standout students are already helping to coach their peers.

There are similarities with the Suzuki method, created by the late Shinichi Suzuki, which emphasizes getting a child to enjoy music by hearing it in a family atmosphere and playing it as early as possible.

But teachers here say their intensive program has developed its own characteristics and emphasizes collective advancement. Love of music and hard work are guiding principles — encapsulated in a slogan engraved on medals for orchestra members: Tocar y Luchar, or Play and Struggle.

The program has produced various world-class graduates. Bassist Edicson Ruiz, now 23, started playing in the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic at just 17.

Not all students are expected to become professional musicians. Abreu sees the program as an oasis that changes lives by giving kids an outlet away from the barrios and keeping them out of trouble. He calls it building spiritual richness.

Teachers say many students go on to successful nonmusical careers as doctors, engineers and other professionals. In Venezuela's prisons, inmates now play in similar orchestras set up in hopes that a connection to music will aid their rehabilitation.

International recognition of the youth program has been widespread. The System won its latest honor, Spain's Prince of Asturias Arts Prize, in May.

Its musicians have teamed up to share their methods with orchestras across Latin America. Programs modeled after the System have sprung up in places from Scotland to California.

The Los Angeles Philharmonic has created Youth Orchestra LA, aiming to establish several orchestras in inner-city communities. The first is the Expo Center Youth Orchestra, which has enrolled 150 children.

Classical music has a power, a power to change human beings, Dudamel said. And that's exportable to the entire world.

The youth orchestra foundation headed by Abreu has been financially supported by government after government in Venezuela, most recently by President Hugo Chavez. The 69-year-old maestro estimates the annual cost at some $60 million, mostly paid by the state.

And Chavez's government has latched on to the System as a symbol of national success. Members of the Simon Bolivar Orchestra are featured on state television wearing the yellow, blue and red of Venezuela's flag. One segment calls them the vanguard of the new fatherland.

In the town of San Sebastian de Los Reyes, the children don't have to look far for role models. Johnny Cubides, a 40-year-old who leads the music school, started in the System at 10. He stands in the courtyard helping tune children's instruments.

On a wall is a mural of Beethoven and a slogan: With music, we achieve all desired goals.

Daniela, like many others here, has taken the discipline to heart.

After nearly a year studying, her fingers have grown calloused from gripping the violin. And she sometimes holds an imaginary violin in the air while walking to class, gazing into the distance while her fingers dance over the strings.

Afternoon rehearsals last three hours. Later, Daniela often practices at home until her parents insist it's time to sleep.

She admires the teenagers in the youth orchestra, and after class she and two friends slip into a room where the older group is rehearsing. Daniela smiles with excitement. Asked what she likes about their music, she says: the energy.

I want to make it to the youth orchestra to play songs like they play. They have a lot of strength when they play — yes, a lot of joy.

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Iran issues warning over nuclear program

Iran's parliament speaker warned the West on Wednesday that it may face a done deal if it provokes Iran, a stern hint that Tehran could build nuclear weapons if attacked.

The speaker, Ali Larijani, who was once Iran's top nuclear negotiator, also warned that a short opportunity is left for a deal with Iran over its nuclear program, which the U.S. and some of its allies fear is aimed at producing a bomb.

Iran has long denied it intends to build a nuclear weapon, saying its program is meant only to generate electricity. Larijani, one of Iran's most powerful politicians, did not directly warn that Iran could change its intentions, but his vague comment appeared aimed at raising that possibility.

Larijani pointed to recent comments by Mohamed ElBaradei, the U.N. nuclear watchdog chief, who said in an interview last week that a military strike on Iran could turn the Mideast into a ball of fire and prompt Iran, even if it didn't produce a nuclear weapon today, to resort to an emergency plan to produce a nuclear weapon.

Larijani said the West should take Mr. ElBaradei's warnings seriously.

Don't provoke Iran otherwise you will face a done deal that will block the path of your return to a compromise with Iran, Larijani told an open session of the parliament broadcast live on state radio Wednesday.

The phrase he used in Farsi, amal-e anjam shodeh, means literally an accomplished act or fait accompli.

The warning came on the heels of military exercises by Israel that U.S. officials said were a message to Iran.

Israel sent warplanes and other aircraft on a major exercise in the eastern Mediterranean this month in a move that may have been meant as a show of force, as well as practice for the operations needed for a long-range strike mission.

Larijani, elected parliament speaker earlier this year, was previously Iran's top nuclear negotiator with the West and he holds a seat on the powerful Supreme National Security Council. He is also close to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

A hard-line newspaper also hinted on Wednesday that Iran may weaponize its nuclear program if attacked.

Even if Iran's nuclear facilities are totally destroyed — a possibility that is precisely zero — it will easily be revived within a short period of time, but with the difference that it may prompt a fundamental reconsideration in intentions, the daily Kayhan said in an editorial.

A top commander of the elite Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday warned that an attack on Iran would draw the U.S. into a new tragedy.

If you want to move towards Iran, make sure you will bring artificial legs and walking sticks because you will not have any legs to return on should you come, the television quoted Mohammad Hejazi, a top Guards figure, as saying.

Iran has spread its nuclear facilities throughout the country and has built key portions underground to protect from possible Israeli or American airstrikes.

In 1981, Israeli jets bombed Iraq's Osirak nuclear facility in an attempt to end then-Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein's nuclear program. Last September, Israel bombed a facility in Syria that U.S. officials have said was a nuclear reactor being constructed with North Korean assistance, a claim denied by Damascus and Pyongyang.

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NYSE Euronext to buy stake in Doha exchange

The state of Qatar has agreed to sell 25 percent of the Doha Securities Market to NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) for $250 million in a bid to become the booming region's financial hub and extend global links.

Transatlantic bourse NYSE Euronext -- which comprises the New York Stock Exchange and several leading European bourses -- said on Tuesday the deal was its largest-ever investment in a foreign exchange.

Qatar will retain a 75 percent majority ownership of the Doha Securities Market (DSM) and plans to sell a minority stake in the DSM in a domestic initial public offering within the next three years.

"This partnership lays the foundations for us to build Doha into a world class financial centre," Qatar Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani said in a statement.

"Our country's financial markets will be an integral part of a group which links together the world's major trading centers across the U.S. and Europe and now the Middle East," he added.

Western exchanges are looking to boost their presence in booming emerging markets amid a slowdown in European and American economies.

The Doha deal comes as the oil-rich region plays an increasingly active role in exchange consolidation among global stock market operators.

Qatar, with a population of one million and the world's biggest exporter of liquefied natural gas, last September bid for shares in Nordic bourse operator OMX AB and the London Stock Exchange (LSE.L), as Dubai looked to close a $4.9 billion three-way merger with Nasdaq Stock Market (NDAQ.O) and OMX.

Qatar eventually sold the OMX shares to Dubai, and accumulated a 15.1 percent stake in the LSE through its $60 billion sovereign wealth fund, the Qatar Investment Authority.

Dubai now holds 19.9 percent of transatlantic exchange group Nasdaq OMX and 20.4 percent of the LSE.

Under the three-way merger, closed in February, Nasdaq took a 33 percent stake in the Dubai International Financial Exchange, a bourse set up by the Gulf Arab business hub in 2005 to operate according to international standards of accounting and financial reporting.

NEW EXCHANGE

NYSE Euronext and Qatar will build a new cash and derivatives exchange in Doha, adopting the transatlantic bourse's technology, and will also work together to explore further business opportunities in the Middle East.

The new exchange is already seeking to recruit a chief executive officer and other senior officials and has put together a project management team to finalize the scope and timetable for the launch of the new market.

"It's very positive for the Doha Securities Market (DSM) and it comes at a time when the DSM is looking to have relationships with international agencies to upgrade the market efficiency," said Samer Al Jaouni, General Manager of Middle East Financial Brokerage Co.

"Many regional markets are going towards opening the door for derivatives and other alternatives such as marginal trading, but in terms of liquidity and market depth, I think it is very early for Qatar," he added.

The DSM, the main stock market of Qatar, was set up in 1995 and has 43 listed companies with a combined market capitalization of about $136 billion. Non-Qataris have been allowed to invest in DSM-listed companies since 2005.

In February, NYSE Euronext bought a 5 percent stake in Indian commodities exchange MCX for $55 million, while in May NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer told a Reuters summit that his exchange was working with Chinese authorities on the feasibility of allowing U.S. companies to list shares in Shanghai.

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Lone Star cleared of KEB unit price manipulation

A South Korean high court on Tuesday cleared U.S. private equity house Lone Star of manipulating the stock price of a former credit card firm, removing an obstacle to HSBC's $6.3 billion deal to buy control of Korea Exchange Bank.

The verdict, rejecting an earlier judgment, reduces legal uncertainties for Lone Star (LS.UL) and raises hopes for UK-based HSBC's (HSBA.L) purchase of KEB (004940.KS) from the U.S. company, a deal seen as a major test of South Korea's openness to foreign investors.

While the stock price manipulation case is the only legal issue involving Lone Star directly, former government officials and executives of KEB still face allegations that Lone Star's 2003 purchase of KEB was illegal. A verdict on that case is expected by the end of the year.

"The main case is whether or not Lone Star bought KEB on the cheap in collusion with various government officials. That hasn't been resolved," said Peter Tebbutt, a director of Fitch Ratings in Hong Kong.

"It is a good sign. It may indicate that the courts are leaning towards their (Lone Star's) way."

The South Korean government has remained cautious about the KEB sale given the legal troubles surrounding the investment firm.

President Lee Myung-bak also has been grappling for more than a month with daily street protests against his policies, raising speculation that the Lone Star-HSBC (0005.HK) deal would be unlikely to win regulatory approval by a deadline that was extended to July 31 by Lone Star and HSBC.

A lower court in February found both Lone Star and the head of Lone Star's South Korean operations, Paul Yoo, guilty of driving down the share price of KEB's former credit card unit by spreading rumors to allow the bank to buy the unit at below-market prices.

But the Seoul High Court threw out the previous judgment, saying that Lone Star's 2003 announcement of a possible capital write-down of the KEB card firm was not giving out false information, but was rather one option it was considering for the card unit.

"There is no evidence to prove Lone Star guilty of stock manipulation," Koh Eui-young, judge of the Seoul High Court said in a court ruling.

Shares in KEB fell 2.1 percent to close at 14,100 won, underperforming the benchmark index's (.KS11) 0.3 percent fall, reflecting lingering caution over the fate of HSBC's acquisition. HSBC's Hong Kong-listed shares ended 0.57 percent lower at HK$123 each.

PROSECUTORS TO APPEAL

Lone Star said in a statement it was "very gratified" by the ruling. Its chairman, John Grayken, said: "We maintained our innocence throughout this process, and are pleased today to have the court's confirmation. We hope that now we can all put this behind us and get back to business."

Hwang Jina, an HSBC spokeswoman, reiterated the bank's previous statement that it was committed to buying KEB and waiting for regulatory approval. KEB also welcomed the ruling.

HSBC (0005.HK) early this month threatened to drop out of the deal unless regulatory approval was given by the July 31 deadline.

But the country's financial regulator, the Financial Services Commission, said in a statement it was not appropriate to go ahead with the sale process for KEB while legal proceedings were ongoing.

Prosecutors will appeal the decision, a prosecutor said following the ruling.

That may convince officials to hold off on approving the deal until a supreme court decision and lead HSBC to pull out to look for other opportunities.

The High Court also handed down a suspended two and a half-year jail term for Lone Star's Yoo on separate charges of negligence of duties in Lone Star's other investment deals in South Korea. Yoo was cleared of the stock price manipulation charge.

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U.S. Morning Call for Monday, June 23, 2008

Overnight Global News

* The European stock market is trading mildly higher this morning with the European DJ Stoxx 50 up +0.55%. However, European automakers and airlines are trading generally lower this morning on higher oil prices. Daimler and Renault are each down -1.6% this morning. British Airways is down -1.3%. HBOS is down -3.1% this morning as the market continues to worry about the prospects for the UK's largest mortgage lender. Asia-Pacific stocks today closed moderately lower across the board: Japan -0.61%, Hong Kong -0.13%, China -2.10%, Taiwan -0.33%, Australia -0.09%, Singapore -0.75%, South Korea -0.93%, Bombay -1.91%.

* German June business confidence fell -2.2 points to a 2-1/2 year low low of 101.3 due to record oil prices and rising European interest rates.

* The markets this week will focus on (1) crude oil prices following weekend events which included a Nigerian rebel attack on a Chevron pipeline and the producer-consumer meeting in Saudi Arabia on Sunday (crude oil prices last week closed at $135.36, just below the recent record high of $138.80), (2) the banking crisis and any fresh news of write-downs or downgrades, and (3) anticipation of this week's FOMC meeting, which is expected to produce an unchanged funds rate target of 2.00%.

* On the US economic calendar, Tuesday brings the April S&P/CaseSchiller home price index (expected 16.0% y/y vs 14.4% in March), June US consumer confidence (expected 0.5 to 56.7), the June Richmond Fed manufacturing index (expected 3 to -6), the April house price index (expected 0.5%), the $30 billion 2-year T-note auction, and the beginning of the 2-day FOMC meeting. Wednesday brings May durable goods orders (expected unchanged overall and �0.9% ex-transportation), May new home sales (expected �2.7%), and the outcome of the 2-day FOMC meeting. Thursday brings weekly initial unemployment claims (expected 6,000), the final revision of Q1 GDP (expected +1.0% vs +0.9%), May existing home sales (expected +1.2%), and the $20 billion 5-year T-note auction. Friday brings May personal income (expected +0.4%) and spending (expected +0.6%), May core PCE deflator (expected unch from April at +2.1% y/y), and the final-June US consumer confidence index (expected +0.1 to 56.8).

* Fed policy? The market last week substantially curbed expectations for Fed tightening next year by about 30 bp. High crude oil prices and continued banking problems caused market participants to be less worried that the Fed will tighten quickly in response to the alarming inflation picture. The market is discounting a slight 10% chance of a 25 bp rate hike to 2.25% at the FOMC's meeting this week on Tuesday and Wednesday. The market is fully expecting that 25 bp rate hike by the September 16 FOMC meeting. The market is fully discounting a 50 bp rate hike to 2.50% by December 2008, a 75 bp rate hike to 2.75% by February 2009, a 100 bp rate hike to 3.00% by May 2009, a 125 bp rate hike to 3.25% by July 2009, and a 150 bp rate hike to 3.50% by September 2009.

Overnight U.S. Stock News

* June S&Ps this morning are trading +5.50 points on some short-covering after last week's sell-off. The US stock market last Friday sold off throughout the day and closed sharply lower (Dow -1.83%, S&P 500 -1.85%, Nasdaq Composite -2.27%). The S&P 500 fell -3.1% for the week.

* Bearish factors for stock prices last Friday included (1) the sell-off in the US automakers as GM fell -8.1% to its lowest price since 1982 and Ford slid -8.1% after Standard & Poor's placed both automakers credit ratings along with Chrysler's on CreditWatch with negative implications citing "financial damage" resulting from soaring fuel prices, (2) the -9.7% plunge in SanDisk which dragged down the tech sector after a Citigroup analyst lowered the company's rating to "hold" from "buy," citing slowing demand in Asia and Europe, (3) the -4.8% drop in Fannie Mae and -7.7% decline in Freddie Mac after Lehman Brothers said the two biggest US mortgage companies will continue to lose money as the housing market deteriorates, (4) the -4.3% loss in Citigroup after UBS said the biggest US bank will post more writedowns from subprime-infected investments and cut its Q2 earnings estimate for Citigroup to a loss of 40 cents from a previous prediction of a 37 cent profit, and (5) the sell-off in regional bank stocks after Merrill Lynch cut their EPS estimates for "large cap regional" US banks by 22% for 2008 and 19% for 2009 saying bank stocks now appear to be in "capitulation" mode.

* Bullish factors for stock prices last Friday included (1) +30% surge in Huntington Bancshares as the Ohio-based regional bank, which had already lost 60% of its market value this year, said Q2 uncollectible loans will be within its forecast, and (2) the +8.4% gain in Western Union as the world's largest money-transfer business raised its long-term profit forecast saying earnings per share will rise as much as 18% in the next three to five years and also authorized an additional $1 billion stock buyback.

* Corn Products is up +12% this morning on news of a buyout offer from Bunge for $4.2 billion in stock.

* US Steel is trading +1.1% in European trading this morning after Goldman Sachs put the stock on its "conviction buy" list.

* ConocoPhillips (COP) is up +0.4% and Exxon Mobil (XOM) is up +0.5% in European trading this morning on higher oil prices.

* MBIA (MBI) fell 4% in after-hours trading last Friday said it will probably have to make $7.4 billion in payments because of the 5-level downgrade by Moody's. MBIA said it has $15.2 billion in assets available to make these payments.

Today's U.S. Market Focus

* September 10-year T-notes this morning are trading -6 ticks due to the higher trade in S&Ps. September T-notes last Friday traded higher throughout the day and closed up +20 ticks. Bullish factors for T-note prices last Friday include (1) the action by Moody's Investors Service to cut the credit ratings on the two largest bond insurers, MBIA and Ambac, raising concern that credit market losses will continue, (2) flight-to-safety as the S&P 500 fell to a 2-1/2 month low after Merrill Lynch said regional bank stocks are in "capitulation mode" and after Lehman Brothers forecasted that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest US home financiers, may lose more money in Q2 as the housing market continues to deteriorate, and (3) geo-political concerns after a NYT article reported an Israeli military exercise earlier this month could have been a rehearsal for an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

* The dollar is trading lower this morning with the dollar/yen up +0.38 yen and the euro/dollar down -0.85 cents. The dollar index last Friday moved lower and closed at a 1-1/2 week low. Bearish factors for the dollar last Friday included (1) the larger-than-expected jump in May German producer prices, which sent the euro to a 1-1/2 week high, and (2) continued US financial concerns after Lehman Brothers said losses at the two largest US mortgage finance companies, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, may increase as the housing market continues to deteriorate, which would put a question mark on the Fed's ability to raise interest rates. Bullish factors for the dollar last Friday included (1) Insee's forecast for +1.6% growth rate for France this year, the slowest pace in five years as rising prices slow consumer spending and the housing market slumps, and (2) the IMF's statement that the US economic slump has been shallower than expected and that the Fed may have to raise interest rates "quickly" to contain inflation.

* August crude oil prices this morning are trading +81 cents a barrel and August gasoline is trading +1.58 cents a gallon. Saudi Arabia at the weekend producer-consumer conference announced a production increase of +200,000 bpd for July, although that was basically built into the market. The market remains concerned about recent supply disruptions in Nigeria and the North Sea. August crude oil prices last Friday rallied and closed up +$2.76 a barrel and August gasoline closed +8.21 cents a gallon. Bullish factors for crude oil prices last Friday include (1) a NYT report that Israel held a rehersal for a potential bombing attack on nuclear targets in Iran to which Iran, OPEC's second-biggest oil producer, said they would respond to an Israeli attack with a "heavy blow," (2) the slumping dollar, (3) the declaration of force majeure by Royal Dutch Shell on exports of Bonga crude for the remainder of June and July because militant attacks halted production on the Bonga offshore field (75 miles) off the coast of Nigeria, and (4) the planned strike today by Chevron oil workers in Nigeria which will cut production of about 350,000 bbl of oil a day. The main bearish factor for crude oil prices last Friday was speculation of a Saudi crude oil production increase of between 200,000 and 500,000 bbl a day after the conclusion of the weekend producer-consumer summit in Saudi Arabia

Today's U.S. Earnings Reports

Earnings reports (confirmed releases for companies with market caps above $10.0 bln listed by mkt cap): WAG-Walgreen (BEST earnings consensus $0.59 per share)
Global Financial Calendar
Monday 6/23/2008


United States
1300 ET Weekly 3-mo and 6-mo T-Bill auctions.
France
0300 ET Jun French PMI manufacturing expected 0.5 to 51.0, May +0.4 to 51.5.
0300 ET Jun French PMI services expected +0.3 to 50.8, May 2.3 to 50.5.
Germany
0330 ET Jun German PMI manufacturing expected 0.4 to 53.2, May unchanged at 53.6.
0330 ET Jun German PMI services expected 0.7 to 53.1, May 0.9 to 53.8.
0400 ET Jun German IFO business climate expected 1.0 to 102.5, May +1.1 to 103.5. Jun IFO current assessment expected 1.1 to 109.0, May +1.7 to 110.1. Jun IFO expectations expected 1.0 to 96.3, May +0.5 to 97.3.
Euro-Zone
0400 ET Jun Euro-Zone PMI manufacturing expected 0.3 to 50.2, May 0.1 to 50.6.
0400 ET Jun Euro-Zone PMI services expected 0.1 to 50.5, May 1.4 to 50.6.
0400 ET Jun Euro-Zone PMI composite expected 0.4 to 50.7, May 0.8 to 51.1.

...thanks for the trust you've shown in me and my business.

by Larry Swing

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Minimum Wage = Maximum Unemployment

Michigan's May unemployment rate of 8.5% is the highest in the country, and it's not even close: The state with the next highest jobless rate is Rhode Island at 7.2%, more than a full percentage point below Michigan. And compared to South Dakota, the state with the lowest rate of 2.9%, Michigan's rate is a whopping 5.6% higher. And it's about to get even higher this summer.

Reason? The minimum wage for adults will increase to $7.40 per hour in a week, "a move that has Michigan businesses shuddering," according to The Flint Journal.
And those younger than 18 get a double increase when the state raises its minimum wage 21 cents to $6.29 on July 1 and then the federal minimum wage goes up to $6.55 on July 24.

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Employers must pay the highest minimim wage for which employees are eligible, so the increase will put more money into many teens' pockets. And, in another year, the federal minimum wage jumps to $7.25 an hour for teens.
Some area businesses have felt the sting of the rising minimum wage and say they've had to make changes to maintain their profits. The rising labor costs mean local Dairy Queen owners Tom and Diane Baker are hiring fewer teens this summer, at a time when more Michigan teens than ever are looking for work.

"I have a stack of over 100 applications," Tom Baker said. "I've never had that in 20 years of being in business. People can't find jobs."
But the rising minimum wage means the Bakers are hiring at least two people fewer than in previous summers. They normally hire 14-16 summer employees, but this year it will be 12.

"It's hurting the business as far as profit and it's hurting the people who want jobs because you're hiring less," he said.

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MP: Legislation can artificially increase wages for unskilled workers, but the law cannot force employers to hire workers at those higher wages, and the evidence presented in the Flint Journal article suggests that local employers will now hire fewer workers this summer and in the future. We can hope that employers ignore the laws of economics, but experience tells us that they won’t. The thousands of unemployed, unskilled workers are the unfortunate victims of good intentions – their jobs have been destroyed by the minimum wage hike.
Look for Michigan's unemployment rate to rise above 8.5% this summer.

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Mississauga Local Locksmith Services – for Those Irritating Lock-Outs

One of those irritating facts of life concerns the illegal activities of people who make a living by helping themselves to the property of residents in the Mississauga area. Criminals are a real annoyance, as they are ceaselessly on the prowl for opportunities to burglarize properties or steal automobiles. Although people are generally made aware of criminal activity in their area through the local press and word of mouth, it’s quite surprising how many simply choose to bury their heads in the sand. This kind of attitude might well lead to a situation where an intruder breaks into a property. Aside from the highly unpleasant feeling of knowing that a complete stranger has roamed through your house and sifted through your belongings, break-ins naturally result in the loss of valuable property.

The good news is that thanks to Mississauga local locksmith services, Mississauga residents can sleep soundly. Mississauga local locksmiths provide a range of services for properties and vehicles. The types of services provided by local Mississauga locksmiths include the installation of intercom and alarm systems, fitting high-quality locks on doors, and re-keying locks. This last service is very useful in the management of multiple keys. Most Mississauga locksmiths do recommend installing approved locks on doors, to keep naughty people on the right side of the door to your property. Mississauga local locksmiths can also immobilize old locks that have been tampered with.

People tend to be forgetful and careless, and such behavior extends to their vehicles. Vehicles are susceptible to theft and careless behavior, just as properties are. Thus, one of the most in-demand services provided by Mississauga local locksmiths , is aiding people who have either lost the keys to their vehicles, or locked themselves out of their vehicles. This small and unpleasant event does not have to turn into a big drama when Mississauga locksmiths are available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and can often respond to calls within half an hour.

Locksmiths in the Mississauga area also work together with the local emergency services, and they can help in a variety of emergency situations. Think about a situation where an elderly woman is locked out of her apartment in the middle of the night. Certainly, a swift response by a local Mississauga locksmith would be more than welcome.

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Locksmith services can help prevent property crime and make you feel more secure. Mississauga local locksmiths provide a range of services that will increase the security around your home. Therefore, it’s worth your while acquainting with such services, and the sooner, the better.

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U.N. condemns Zimbabwean violence

HARARE, Zimbabwe The U.N. Security Council has unanimously condemned the Zimbabwean government because of violence that has marred the campaign leading up to a scheduled presidential election runoff, which forced the withdrawal of the opposition candidate from the race.

The council's statement -- issued late Monday --questioned the legitimacy of any election held under such circumstances but did not directly call for the runoff, scheduled for Friday, to be postponed.

Earlier, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon made that appeal, saying the vote runoff as currently scheduled "would only deepen divisions within the country and produce a result that could not be seen as credible."

But Boniface Chidyausiku, Zimbabwe's ambassador to the United Nations, said after the Security Council vote that the runoff would take place as planned.

"The Security Council cannot micromanage political elections in any country," he said. "They have expressed their view, and we take note of their view. But as far as we're concerned, the date is set."

Opposition candidate Morgan Tsvangirai, who announced Sunday that he was dropping out of the runoff, took refuge Monday in the Dutch Embassy in Harare. VideoTsvangirai says times are desperate for Zimbabwe people »

He cited an ongoing campaign of political intimidation, harassment and arrests by President Robert Mugabe's government and the ruling Zanu-PF party.

Mugabe spokesman George Charamba said Monday that "there is nothing on this good Earth that will stop the elections on the 27th."

"Even if Tsvangirai were to withdraw formally, which he hasn't done, the elections will still proceed," Charamba said.

Chidyausiku said the "violence is not widespread."

"The problem is the secretary general and other members of the (Security) Council are basing their arguments on sensationalist reports that are coming from Zimbabwe," he said. "When I talk to people at home, and what you see in the international media, you would think you are talking about two different countries."

Earlier, Secretary-General Ban joined Zimbabwe's African neighbors in calling for the runoff to be delayed. Holding a vote under under current conditions "would lack all legitimacy," Ban told reporters.

"The situation in Zimbabwe represents the single greatest challenge to regional stability in southern Africa today," he said. "The region's political and economic security are at stake, as is the very institution of elections in Africa."

Ban called Tsvangirai's withdrawal "understandable" and said a runoff "would only deepen divisions within the country and produce a result that could not be seen as credible."

But Mugabe, who has been Zimbabwe's only leader since it gained independence from Britain in 1980, has said "only God" can depose him, and has refused to recognize an opposition-led government. Tsvangirai said that under the current circumstances, "It doesn't matter whether I am in or not." Learn more about Zimbabwe »

"Staying in is not going to replace Mugabe, because Mugabe has said he will not leave even if he loses," Tsvangirai said in an interview with CNN. But he predicted that, with the country's economy in free fall, "the people of Zimbabwe will become more desperate."

"If we have 3 million leaving the country for political reasons, we are likely to double that figure, because no one will feel safe to stay in the country in that situation," he said.

Zimbabwe's state-controlled newspaper, the Harare Herald, addressed Tsvangirai's announcement in opinion pieces that urged the opposition leader to "grow up" and accused him of "grandstanding for a foreign audience while pretending to be doing it for the benefit of the people."

"We agree with him that violence is anathema not only to politics but to basic human decency, and it was high time he condemned the barbarism being visited by his supporters on innocent people countrywide," one such article said, echoing the government contention that it is supporters of Tsvangirai's Movement for Democratic Change party, not Mugabe supporters, who are causing the violence.

Another said Tsvangirai was "dancing to the master's tune" played from political offices in Washington and London.

Mugabe, meanwhile, told supporters at a rally in Chipinge that the United States and Britain were "telling a lot of lies about Zimbabwe, saying a lot of people are dying."

"These are all lies because they want to build a situation to justify their intervention in Zimbabwe," he said, according to the Harare Herald.

Tsvangirai led Mugabe in the March 29 election, but failed to win enough votes to avoid a runoff. The MDC initially claimed outright victory in the election, but weeks later, when the government finally announced the official results, the opposition party agreed to participate in the runoff. VideoWatch more about the impact of Tsvangirai's decision »

Tsvangirai was supposed to address a major political rally at Harare's stadium on Sunday, but it was called off after the MDC said youth militias loyal to Mugabe's Zanu-PF ruling party brutally beat its supporters. Video showed people being beaten on a street outside the stadium. The MDC said police stood by and took no action.

An MDC lawmaker remains in critical condition after being attacked as he headed to Glamis Arena for the rally, the party said.

A day later, Zimbabwe police raided the MDC's main offices in Harare, detaining dozens of people who had sought refuge from political violence.

MDC spokesman Nelson Chamisa denounced what he said were 60 arrests, including women and children who were either injured or fleeing from recent political violence.

But Zimbabwe national police spokesman Wayne Bvudzijena said police and health ministry officials took 39 people from the MDC offices to a rehabilitation center outside Harare to be questioned about their purported attacks.

Bvudzijena said the people were not arrested but will be questioned by police about their claims that they are victims of political violence. He said police and Zimbabwe health officials were responding to reports from the Red Cross and the MDC that some 2,000 people who were injured or fleeing violent attacks in Zimbabwe had sought refuge at the party offices.

When asked about the reason for the raid, Charamba told CNN it was part of "the ongoing crackdown on lawless elements that have been bringing so much violence" in Zimbabwe.

"The government will act on anyone, anywhere who is thought to be contravening the laws of the country," he said.

The Harare Herald reported that "37 supporters and their children" were removed from the building because they were living "under hazardous health conditions." The Herald quoted Police Superintendent Jessie Banda saying that the police would take the opportunity to search for "persons wanted for political violence who might have been using the MDC-T headquarters as their safe house."

Mugabe and his government have denied accusations that they are responsible for the violence, blaming the MDC.

"MDC has a reason to exaggerate what is happening in the country for political purposes," Charamba told CNN.

Charamba chided CNN and other news organizations for not reporting the purported deaths of war veterans loyal to Mugabe, who he said had been "hacked to death" by MDC loyalists.

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