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New App Makes Podcasts Without People
Podcasting News – MagneticTime has introduced MT-Podcast , an application that lets users produce podcasts without people . MT-Podcast translates scripts from text into a"natural sounding"male or female voice in MP3 format, which can be posted on the Internet as a

Dow Ends Down 7, Nasdaq Finishes Up 8
Orlando Sentinel – NEW YORK — Stocks finished an uneven session mixed Friday as investors grappled with the implications of a terror attack against a Saudi Arabian oil processing plant and a surprising decrease in factory orders. The major indexes also ended the week

Fortune launches South African fund of hedge funds
MAR – Feb-20-2006 – Fortune has entered into a joint venture with South Africa's Novare Investments in July 2005. Novare is a leading investment advisor and investment manager, which is part owned by South Africa's largest black-owned quoted company

Investors cheer tame'core'inflation
Washington Times – NEW YORK (AP) — A combination of moderate inflation and falling oil prices energized Wall Street yesterday, sending stocks higher as investors grew optimistic about an end to the Federal Reserve's interest rate raises. The core rate of inflation

The Bourse Conspiracy
Baltimore Chronicle – F or an administration that shrouds itself in the sophomoric secrecy of the Skull and Bones Club, it's surprising how its plan to invade Iraq could be read like a book. With Iran, though, it's got the drapes closed and the shades drawn. In fact

New York Foreign Exchange
Boston Globe – Special Drawing Rights(SDR) are based on exchange rates for U.S., British, European, and Japanese currencies. Source: International Monetary Fund. The Federal Reserve Board's index of the value of the dollar against 7 other currencies weighted on the

Links to other sources of news and commentary
Online Journal – In an ideal world, leaders would try to do both what's right and what's smart, what's honorable and what works with voters. But in modern-day America, Republicans focus on the"smart"part and Democratic leaders often go oh-for-two, as happened in

Currencies: Dollar expected to rise on US rate expectations
International Herald Tribune, France - Feb 19, 2006 LONDON The dollar could rise against the yen and euro this week after the new Federal Reserve chairman, Ben Bernanke, signaled that US interest rates would

Safety in numbers through a 'bond-of-bonds' fund
Bangkok Post, Thailand - Feb 26, 2006 This could be a basket of equities from five different countries, a boot full of bonds that mix government and corporate issues and currencies together, or for

Skype offers more payment options and local currencies
Strategiy, United Arab Emirates - 17 hours ago on most continents – including Europe, the Americas, Asia and Oceania – to buy and keep track of their Skype Credit in 14 local currencies, including Euros, US

Dollar eyes April showers as China clouds gather
Reuters - 7 hours ago Asian governments would therefore be more willing to allow their own currencies, such as the Japanese yen, to appreciate, aware that they would not be losing

Area deaths
Daily Home Online – TALLADEGA Funeral services for George Earl Beavers, 52, will be Saturday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m. at Terry's Chapel. Mr. Beavers died Wednesday, Feb. 8, at Citizens Baptist Medical Center. He attended Greater Ebenezer Baptist Church. He was employed

Obituaries for Thursday, February 23, 2006
Valdosta Daily Times – She was born on Sept. 15, 1928 in Berrien County to the late Winston and Eula Mae Flanders Pierce. She was a homemaker and was of the United Methodist faith. She was a widow of Orburn Jessie Moore who died Jan. 10, 2006. She is survived by one son

Hill to be honored with lifetime achievement award
Macon Telegraph – Willie Hill, the first black candidate elected to a citywide Macon City Council post, will be honored by his church this weekend with a lifetime achievement award."He's given over 30 years to the community,"said Virgil Adams, the banquet's co

At Chicago Merc, bet on snow
Allentown Morning Call – CHICAGO | First came temperature futures, then frost-day futures. Now futures involving how much snow falls at Logan Airport in Boston or New York's Central Park. In the latest evidence that almost anything goes in the marketplace

Upcoming black history month activities
Lufkin Daily News – Here is a brief round-up of Black History Month activities for today and this coming week. The list will be updated each week, spotlighting activities of the week. Angelina College"Quilts Made With Love"display through Friday. Champions of

Chemical Attack – Airway and Anxiety Management
Medscape News – Case Authors: James M. Madsen, MD, MPH, FCAP, COL, MC-FS, USA; Derrick Hamaoka, MD, Capt, USAF, MC, FS; Molly Hall, MD, Col, USAF, MC, FS Series Authors: Stephanie R. Black, MD; Daniel Levin, MD; David M. Benedek, MD, LTC, MC, USA; Steven J. Durning

CME Cattle Review: Mixed Amid Options, Hedging, Spreading
CattleNetwork.com – CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed mixed Wednesday, with the placement of short hedges ahead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture monthly cattle-on-feed report pressuring deferred contract month prices

Hundred percent coco oil okay for vehicles
Manila Bulleting Online – Now it can be told. It is okay to use 100 percent filtered coconut oil to run vehicles and other machines that usually consume diesel oil. No less than Director Jesus Emmanuel Paras of the Philippine Coconut Authority will tell you this. He himself

CME Cattle Review: Mixed After 2-Week Wait For Cash
CattleNetwork.com – CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–With the market entering its second week of waiting for widespread cash live cattle trade to develop, Chicago Mercantile Exchange live cattle futures closed mixed in very light action Thursday. February was 40 points lower at 90

Vardenafil May Improve Both Erectile Dysfunction and Mild Depression
Medscape News – To earn CME credit, read the news brief along with the CME information that follows and answer the test questions. Release Date: January 18, 2006 ; Valid for credit through January 18, 2007 Credits Available Physicians – up to 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1

Fed Minutes Underscore Inflation Worries
Smart Money – WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) — The Federal Open Market Committee decided in late January that it was"close"to stopping hiking interest rates, but concluded that a few more hikes might be needed to keep inflation contained, according to a summary of the

Oil Ends Below $60 a Barrel
Street.Com – Light, sweet crude for March delivery lost $1.67, or 2.7%, to settle at $59.67 a barrel on the Nymex, as traders focused on plentiful inventories and disregarded reports that Iran had restarted its nuclear development program. The easing of world

IntercontinentalExchange up 200% in 1st report
Atlanta Journal Constitution – IntercontinentalExchange, a global online energy and commodity futures trading company based in Atlanta, Thursday reported a 200 percent increase in fourth-quarter 2005 net income on the strength of surging crude oil and gas prices and record trading

Futures trading booms in January
– BEIJING, Feb. 7 (Xinhuanet) — For the first month of 2006, total turnover in China's futures market was up 33.91 percent year-on-year, the China Securities Journal reported Tuesday. The futures turnover reached 1.13 trillion yuan (141 billion U.S

Running on Empty
Smart Money – GOT A GUT FEELING about how much the Wawa around the corner will charge for a gallon of gas next month? If you're an individual investor with a few grand to spare and an appetite for risk, then the CBOE Futures Exchange has a new derivative that just

Attack on Saudi Oil is Ominous
Los Angeles Times – A suicide bomb attack at a huge Saudi Arabian petroleum facility rattled world energy markets Friday, sending crude prices soaring more than $2 a barrel in New York as it underscored the fragility of world oil supplies. The massive Abqaiq processing

Agencies play musical chairs with e-Travel vendors
Federal Times – The Agriculture and Justice departments canceled their eTravel contracts with EDS Corp. Two other agencies the Office of Personnel Management and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have canceled their contracts with CW Government Travel

Short-term rates rising, trading says
Chicago Tribune – In a swift reversal, financial markets have decided that short-term U.S. interest rates may not be near the top of the current rate-tightening cycle. One way to watch the ebb and flow of traders'sentiment about short-term interest rates is to track

Gasoline Prices Ease Back Down
Los Angeles Times – The relief for car owners may be short-lived as refiners prepare to shift to fuel that is formulated for summer driving. By Ronald D. White, Times Staff Writer With oil prices slipping and gasoline supplies plentiful, service stations around the

Long bonds long on fans 
Chicago Tribune - Feb 09 3:36 AM
Investors, taxpayers and the CBOT eagerly await Thursday’s auction of the first new 30-year Treasury bonds since 2001 When the Treasury Department issues 30-year bonds Thursday for the first time in 4 1/2 years, they are likely to be well-received by investors with far-off horizons, taxpayers worried about the nation’s budget deficit and the Chicago Board of Trade. Save to My Web

CBOT Corn Review: Modestly Lower, Early Buying Wanes 
CattleNetwork.com - Jan 31 12:29 PM
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–Corn futures traded at the Chicago Board of Trade settled slightly lower Monday, unable to retain opening level gains built upon spillover from stronger soybean prices and light fund buying, sources said.Save to My Web

global 
Kitco.com - Feb 03 11:56 AM
Globally this consumption is not necessarily that of excess or overindulgence. Rather it may be considered more or less a movement of economic progressivism.Save to My Web

CBOT Corn Review: Down On Funds Absence, Soy Weakness 
CattleNetwork.com - Feb 01 2:29 PM
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–Corn futures traded at the Chicago Board of Trade ended modestly lower Wednesday, but above lows set earlier in the session as spillover weakness from soybeans and the lack of significant fund buying as compared to recent sessions weighed on corn futures, traders said.Save to My Web

Corn Price Advances 3.25 Cents 
El Financiero - Feb 08 5:06 PM
Mi rcoles, 8 de febrero de 2006 18:48 hrs. Mexico City, February 8 (Finsat)- On the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) Wednesday farm products led advancers in a rebound from several losing sessions.Save to My Web

U.S. Stock-Index Futures Fall; Google, Merrill Drop in Europe 
Bloomberg.com - Feb 13 4:23 AM
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — U.S. stock-index futures dropped on speculation that the pace of earnings growth won’t be sustained. Google Inc. fell in Europe after Barron’s said the shares of the world’s most-used search engine may drop by half in the next year amid increased competition.Save to My Web

PRICES HIGHER ON TAIPEI FUTURES MARKET 
Central News Agency - Feb 24 12:02 AM
Taipei, Feb. 24 (CNA) Prices on Taipei’s stock futures market were higher Friday as the Taiwan Stock Exchange (TAIEX) Capitalization Weighted Index for March moved up 34 points to close at 6,527, with 33,242 contracts changing hands.Save to My Web

Stock futures slip before oil data 
Reuters via Yahoo! News - Feb 23 6:11 AM
U.S. stock index futures signaled a slightly lower market open on Thursday as investors awaited data on U.S. oil supplies, which could affect crude’s price, a source of volatility for stocks.Save to My Web

Stock futures rise after retailers’ profits 
Reuters via Yahoo! News - Feb 21 5:07 AM
U.S. stock futures signaled a slightly higher market open on Tuesday as retailer Home Depot Inc. reported earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.Save to My Web

German shares slightly higher midday as US futures rise; Continental AG sparkles 
FinanzNachrichten - 17 minutes ago
FRANKFURT (AFX) – Shares were slightly higher in midday trade as US stock futures pointed to gains on Wall Street this afternoon and as Continental AG ( Nachrichten / Aktienkurs ) gained sharply on the back of its full-year results yesterday, which today prompted a raft of brokers to hike their price targets on the issue, dealers said.Save to My Web

Stock futures point up on retailers’ profits 
Reuters via Yahoo! News - Feb 21 4:01 AM
U.S. stock futures pointed to a higher market open on Tuesday as several major retailers, including Home Depot Inc. and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. , posted earnings that beat Wall Street expectations.Save to My Web

Grain and Soybean Futures Decrease 
AP via Yahoo! News - Feb 23 7:56 AM
Grain and soybean futures decreased in early activity Thursday on the Chicago Board of Trade.Save to My Web

Oil Prices Rise to More Than $61 a Barrel 
AP via Yahoo! Finance - 6 minutes ago
Crude oil futures rose back above US$61 a barrel Friday as persistent concerns over Nigerian supply disruptions and Iran’s nuclear program overshadowed U.S. government data showing gains in domestic crude supplies.Save to My Web

Nigeria unrest hits crude oil futures 
Sydney Morning Herald - Feb 21 6:15 PM
US crude oil futures rose more than $US1 after unrest disrupted production and exports in Nigeria and Ecuador. -Save to My Web

Agencies play musical chairs with e-Travel vendors
Federal Times – The Agriculture and Justice departments canceled their eTravel contracts with EDS Corp. Two other agencies the Office of Personnel Management and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission have canceled their contracts with CW Government Travel

Fed Minutes Underscore Inflation Worries
Smart Money – WASHINGTON (Dow Jones) — The Federal Open Market Committee decided in late January that it was"close"to stopping hiking interest rates, but concluded that a few more hikes might be needed to keep inflation contained, according to a summary of the

Boonshoft among biggest givers
Dayton Daily News – Boonshoft ranked 41st on a list released Monday by the Chronicle of Philanthropy. The publication, which covers nonprofit organizations and charitable giving, annually ranks the 60 donors who give the most money to charitable causes, either directly

Gasoline Prices Ease Back Down
Los Angeles Times – The relief for car owners may be short-lived as refiners prepare to shift to fuel that is formulated for summer driving. By Ronald D. White, Times Staff Writer With oil prices slipping and gasoline supplies plentiful, service stations around the

Wheat Review: Higher, Led By Technicals, Funds, Weather
CattleNetwork.com – CHICAGO (Dow Jones)– U.S. wheat futures finished higher Thursday, benefiting from light technical buying early in the session, with the gains extended on fund buying late, sources said. CBOT March wheat settled 7 cents higher at $3.59 per bushel

Tokyo exchange gets US nod to sell contracts
Business Times Malaysia – TOKYO, Thurs: The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (Tocom), the world's second-largest energy and metals futures market, said it secured US Government approval for members to sell contracts in that country. The US Commodities Futures Trading Commission

White House Faces Opposition to User Fees
KFMB – President Bush hates new taxes, that's for sure. But tell that to airline passengers, higher-income veterans and owners of freighters using the St. Lawrence Seaway. They are among those hit up for billions of dollars under his new budget plan. The

CBOE announces strategic alliance with HedgeStreet Inc
MAR – Feb-22-2006 – Chicago, IL and San Mateo, CA: The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), the world's largest options exchange, and HedgeStreet Inc., the newly designated U.S. exchange for binary options and futures, announced today that they have

A Story of the Euro, the Dollar, Oil & the Yellow Metal
Resource Investor, VA - 17 hours ago When the euro came into being into 1999, it was traded down heavily against other heavyweight currencies such as sterling, the dollar and the yen.

Currencies: Dollar gains as Fed chief signals further rate rise
International Herald Tribune, France - Feb 15, 2006 billion a month earlier. Foreign investors need to exchange their currencies for dollars to buy US securities. The investment figures

Great Eastern to launch 2 foreign currencies-linked funds
The Edge Daily, Malaysia - Feb 21, 2006 Great Eastern Life Assurance (Malaysia) Bhd will launch two foreign currencies-linked funds for parents planning to send their children overseas for further

Commodity currencies emerge as new safe-havens
Reuters.uk, UK - Feb 15, 2006 Global geopolitical tensions show no sign of abating and 2006 may see the rise of a new breed of safe-haven asset, as commodity-backed currencies find favor

Finance Chief's Alert Sends Yen Reeling AROUND THE MARKETS
Black Enterprise, NY - Feb 19, 2006 The yen fell sharply on Friday as traders pared bets that the Bank of Japan would raise interest rates this year. After a government

There's no stopping the buck if smaller countries decide to cash
The Age, Australia - Feb 20, 2006 Ecuador and El Salvador, in 2000 and 2001, respectively, abandoned their currencies, adopted the dollar and placed monetary policy in the capable hands of Alan

CBOT to offer'BIG'Dow Jones futures contract
Crain's Chicago Business – (Reuters) The Chicago Board of Trade said on Monday it would list a new futures contract on the Dow Jones industrial average, to be known as the"BIG"Dow contract. The No. 2 U.S. futures exchange said the contract would meet the demand for a

Update 1: CBOT Holdings Posts 4Q Profit on Rates
Forbes – CBOT Holdings Inc., which operates the Chicago Board of Trade, on Thursday reported a fourth-quarter profit, up from a year-ago loss, as results benefited from a higher average rate per contract. Shares of the company rose $4.64, or 4.6 percent, to

CBOT Corn Is King In Open Interest In Physical Commodities
CattleNetwork.com – CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–The amassment of speculative interest in commodity markets has not only launched Chicago Board of Trade corn futures to record open-interest levels, it also has propelled corn futures to the status as the most-liquid physical

Wheat Review: Higher, Led By Technicals, Funds, Weather
CattleNetwork.com – CHICAGO (Dow Jones)– U.S. wheat futures finished higher Thursday, benefiting from light technical buying early in the session, with the gains extended on fund buying late, sources said. CBOT March wheat settled 7 cents higher at $3.59 per bushel

Return of 30-year bond behind rise in CBOT shares
Crain's Chicago Business – (AP) The return of 30-year Treasury bonds could boost volume on the Chicago Board of Trade , a move analysts say could help the exchange's own stock price. The Treasury Department sold $14 billion of the bonds with a yield of 4.53 percent on

The World's Most Misleading Words
Stockhouse Canada – Note: Conflicts and Disclosure Policy- StockHouse Editorial writers may own, buy, or sell shares in public companies mentioned in their articles. Please be advised that a conflict may exist and that any investment decisions you make are your own

Trading Newsflashes: EZX Connects Buy Side to Liquidnet
Wall Street and Technology – EZX, a provider of trading infrastructure and FIX connectivity based in Springfield, N.J., reports that it's built interfaces into Liquidnet, the electronic marketplace for block equity trading, on behalf of several buy-side institutions, according

Washington to step up pressure over renminbi
MSNBC – Washington is again seeking to increase pressure on Beijing to allow its currency to rise against the dollar, with threats growing in Congress to consider legislation aimed at slowing the burgeoning US trade deficit with China. US pressure over the

In Japan, Day-Trading Like It's 1999
New York Times – YUKA YAMAMOTO dutifully quit work to assume her expected role as suburban homemaker when she married six years ago. But she quickly grew bored at home, and when she saw a television program about online stock investing, she took $2,000 in savings and

The Case for Fewer but Stronger Currencies
Hendersonville Times-News – OUTSOURCING isn't just a one-way street on which rich countries shift jobs overseas. In recent years, some developing countries have contracted out the work of setting monetary policy to the United States. Ecuador and El Salvador, in 2000 and 2001