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Passenger numbers to nearly double by 2032, FAA predicts

Airline travel will nearly double over the next two decades, growing enough to add another airline every year, the Federal Aviation Administration predicted Thursday.

The number of passengers will grow from a projected 732 million this year to 1.2 billion in 2032, according to the FAA's annual forecast. Under another measure, the number of miles those passengers fly will grow from 815 billion last year to 1.57 trillion in 2032.

MORE: FAA says fares will stay high as capacity remains tight

For comparison, that annual growth rate of 3.2% would add the equivalent of a JetBlue Airways every 10 months. JetBlue's passengers flew 2.5 billion miles in January.

"This year, more people will be flying more miles and we expect that to continue in future years," says Michael Huerta, acting FAA administrator.

The forecast released in conjunction with a two-day conference in Washington also projected growth of commercial operations at the largest 30 airports. Airports that are expected to grow the fastest, at more than 2.5% a year, are New York's John F. Kennedy, Washington's Dulles, Chicago's Midway, Orlando, Houston and Las Vegas.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the report underscored the importance of updating the country's air-traffic control system, under a project called NextGen.

"More and more Americans are relying on air travel and the Obama administration is committed to making sure the U.S. can meet our growing aviation demands," LaHood said.

Growth is expected despite expectations for higher fuel prices and a U.S. economy growing slower than some of the rest of the world. But FAA's pace of growth is slightly slower than last year's forecast, with a projection to reach 1 billion passengers three years later, in 2024.

The price of oil is projected to stay above $100 a barrel this year and reach $138 in two decades. Economic growth is projected at 2.6% each year domestically and 3.2% worldwide, according to FAA's projections by IHS Global Insight.

Salido retains WBO featherweight title over Lopez

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico (AP) – Mexico's Orlando Salido retained his WBO featherweight title Saturday by handing Juan Manuel Lopez of Puerto Rico his second big defeat in under a year.

The 31-year-old Salido earned a technical knockout in the tenth round at the Roberto Clemente Coliseum to improve to 38-11-2 with 26 KOs, while Lopez fell to 31-2 with 28 KOs.

"I was analyzing him…he was already tired," said Salido, who was warned several times for hitting below the belt. "It is a great victory."

Salido said he wanted to maintain constant pressure on Lopez, who knocked down Salido in the dying seconds of the fifth round with a forceful right.

Two of three judges had Lopez ahead on points when the fight ended.

"It was no doubt a difficult fight," said Peter Rivera, vice president of PR Best Boxing Promotions. "It could have ended for either fighter. Both were tired. We lost this fight, but it won't be the end."

Last April, Salido handed 28-year-old Lopez his first loss with another technical knockout in the eighth round.

Cheering the fighters were Puerto Rican boxing greats Felix "Tito" Trinidad and Ivan Calderon along with Mexican greats Julio Cesar Chavez, Jorge Arce and Juan Manuel Marquez.

The judges included Puerto Rican Cesar Ramos, who replaced Raul Nieves, along with Michael Pernick and Dennis Nelson of the U.S.

During Friday's final weigh in, Salido tipped the scales at the maximum 126 pounds (57 kilograms) and Lopez came in at 125.75 pounds (57 kilograms).

Salido, who is known for his powerful right hand, previously won two other fights before Saturday's rematch. He beat Filipino Weng Haya in an eighth-round TKO in a non title bout in December and obtained his first title defense against Japanese Kenichi Yamaguchi in an 11th-round TKO in July.

Lopez previously fought Mike Oliver (25-3, 8 KOs) in October, a non-title fight that he won in the second round.

Since June 2006, Lopez has won 16 of his last 18 fights by stoppage. The two other was the loss to Salido last year and a unanimous points win over Tanzanian Rogers Mtagwa in October 2009, when Lopez retained his WBO super bantamweight title for the fifth and final time before moving up to 126 pounds (57 kilograms).

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

2013 Chevy Malibu is 4-cylinder only, turbo an option

Chevrolet's 2013 Malibu -- when all models are finally on sale this year -- will follow the pattern of other redone mid-size sedan in dropping a V-6 option to go all four-cylinder all the time -- with a turbo four as the performance option and a hybrid four as the green machine.

So it has gone with the redone 2012 Hyundai Sonata and Kia Optima and will be for the coming 2013 Ford Fusion.

Out this summer, the standard Malibu will be come with a new 197-horsepower 2.5-liter, direct-injection four -- compared with the 169 hp. 2.4 in the 2012 model -- and 191 pounds-feet of torque -- up a healthy 31 lbs.ft. Chevy boasts that both numbers will beat the standard fours in the archrival Toyota Camry and coming new Fusion.

But coming in the fall will be the fun one -- the turbo model with a turbocharged 2.0-liter direct-injection four that puts out 259 hp. -- seven more than the current 3.6-liter V-6 -- and 260 pounds-feet of torque -- up 8 lbs.ft. from the V-6. Chevy says the turbo four will be able to muster an 0-60 time of 6.3 seconds.

The one 2013 Malibu model on sale now is upmarket Malibu Eco e-assist mild hybrid with a 2.4-liter, 182 hp. direct injection four. It's in showrooms alongside the previous-generation models being sold as 2012s. The Eco stickers for $25,235 plus shipping, while the regular 2013 Malibu should be closer to the 2012's base of $22,110 plus shipping.

Chevy says the 2013 Malibu is its first global mid-size and that it's already on sale in South Korea and China, with sales coming this year in more than 70 additional countries.

China: More than 20K abducted women, children rescued in '11

BEIJING (AP) – Chinese police rescued more than 24,000 abducted women and children across the country last year, the country's Public Security Ministry said Sunday.

Trafficking in women and children is a big problem in China, where traditional preference for male heirs and a strict one-child policy has driven a thriving market in baby boys, who fetch a considerably higher price than girls. Girls and women also are abducted and used as laborers or as brides for unwed sons.

A report from the ministry said police rescued 8,660 abducted children and 15,458 women in 2011 as nearly 3,200 human trafficking gangs were broken up.

It did not give any figures for the total number of women and children abducted last year. Exact numbers of victims are difficult to obtain as China's vast size, rural poverty and population of 1.3 billion mean many such cases never get reported beyond local areas.

The rescued children are usually put into orphanages while authorities try to reunite them with their families. In order to identify the rescued children, an "anti-abduction" DNA database has been set up to match missing children with their families.

"Public security organs across China will deepen the campaign against abductions to save more women and children and work hard to reduce the number of abduction and trafficking cases," the ministry said.

The report posted on the ministry's website said there were also cases of abductions to traffic women outside of China, saying police were sent to Angola, where they helped bust a gang trafficking Chinese women for prostitution. Nineteen Chinese women were rescued and 16 suspects detained.

It also cited a case from July last year when police broke up a crime ring where the main suspects were Vietnamese abducting children in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces in southern China.

The ministry said that in addition to a hotline, an official microblog account has been opened to collect tips on missing cases.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Marriage keeps your heart healthy after surgery

Marriage is good for your heart – in more ways than one, according to a new study that shows married adults who undergo heart surgery are over three times more likely to survive the first three months after the operation.

The study, which appears in the March issue of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior, also found that the likelihood of dying in the five years after surgery is nearly doubled for single people.

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"We found that marriage boosted survival whether the patient was a man or a woman," says Ellen Idler, a lead author of the study.

More than 500 patients in the study underwent either emergency or elective coronary bypass surgery. The study subjects were interviewed prior to surgery, and data on survival were obtained from the National Death Index.

"The findings underscore the important role of spouses as caregivers during health crises," Idler says. The higher long-term death rate for singles was linked to higher smoking rates -- but spouses may also play a role in discouraging smoking, the researchers say.

While marriage may have medical powers for healing hearts, it's becoming more common to remain unwed. Less than half of U.S. adults are currently married, the lowest percentage ever, according to the Pew Research Center.

Pink slime burgers, Army suicides, facing Alzheimer's alone

• Pink slime burgers: McDonald's is no longer using beef scraps treated with ammonia -- so-called 'pink slime' - but the burger-filler will keep showing up in the nation's school cafeterias, a report says. The U.S. government labels the product "generally recognized as safe," but celebrity chef Jamie Oliver and others have raised concerns.
• Military suicides: Suicides among U.S. soldiers rose 80 percent between 2004 and 2008. Many of the suicides can be linked to stresses associated with combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, Army researchers say.
• Facing Alzheimer's alone: One in seven people with Alzheimer's disease lives alone and half of those people don't have a caregiver, says a new report. These isolated individuals are at increased risk for falls, wandering and death.
• Circumcision death: Prosecutors are investigating the death of a New York City baby who developed herpes after a "ritual circumcision with oral suction." The ritual, practiced in ultra-Orthodox Jewish communities, involves sucking the blood from the wound after a newborn boy's foreskin is removed.

Today's talker: Is the prospect of living longer not enough to make you eat your fruits and veggies? Then consider this: Consuming produce might actually make you more attractive. Diets rich in fruits and vegetables seem to change (white) skin color in a way that fellow humans consider pleasing, scientists report. They say they'll have to do more research to see if non-Caucasians get similar results.

FDA links once-promising pain drugs to bone decay

The Food and Drug Administration says there is a clear association between the nerve-blocking medications and incidences of joint failure that led the agency to halt studies of the drugs in 2010. However, the agency also notes that those side effects were less common when the drugs were used at lower doses, potentially leaving the door open for future use. The agency released its safety analysis ahead of a public meeting next week where outside experts will discuss the drugs' safety.

On Monday, Pfizer Inc., Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals will make their case to continue studies of the drugs, with safety precautions to protect patients.

The request to restart testing is unusual, since drugmakers often abandon research on experimental drugs that appear to have safety issues. However, with more than 50 million U.S. adults diagnosed with arthritis — one in five — the potential multibillion dollar market opportunity may be too big to ignore.

If the drugs eventually win FDA approval though, they may be used for much narrower indications than initially envisioned. The FDA's proposed questions to its experts appear designed to limit any future testing of the drugs.

"Considering what is known thus far about the risks and benefit associated with this class of biologic agents, are there any populations for which further clinical development would be acceptable?" asks one agency discussion question.

Drugmakers once touted the drugs, known as nerve growth factor inhibitors, as a potential breakthrough for treating osteoarthritis, back pain and other chronic pain conditions. For more than a century doctors have treated pain with familiar painkillers like aspirin and Advil, or powerful opiate-based drugs. Both approaches can be problematic. Anti-inflammatory painkillers like Advil can cause stomach bleeding, while opiates carry a high risk of addiction

The injectable nerve-silencing drugs offered a new approach, by blocking proteins that control pain sensations throughout the body.

But problems with the drugs began to emerge in the summer of 2010. Beginning in June, Pfizer halted studies of its experimental injection tanezumab in patients with osteoarthritis, low back pain and diabetic nerve pain. The action was requested by the Food and Drug Administration, after researchers reported that osteoarthritis actually worsened in some patients, causing joint failure in some cases.

In December the FDA put a research hold on all drugs in the class after similar problems emerged, halting studies by Johnson & Johnson and Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc.

Regeneron was developing a compound called REGN475 in cooperation with Sanofi-Aventis. Johnson & Johnson was testing its drug fulranumab in several pain conditions. The FDA lifted its hold on a trial of the drug for cancer pain last summer, though studies for osteoarthritis remain on hold.

The drugmakers are expected to argue Monday that the joint deterioration was caused by a rare drug side effect caused by patients taking multiple painkillers simultaneously. According to briefing materials, Pfizer and J&J both found that the bone problems almost exclusively occurred in patients taking the experimental drugs along with traditional anti-inflammatory painkillers like aspirin and Advil.

The FDA's analysis published Thursday supports that theory, noting that the side effects were worst among patients taking both nerve-blocking drugs and older painkillers. However, the agency notes that Pfizer's tanezumab was associated with significant bone problems even when used alone. The FDA analyzed nearly 500 cases of bone damage reported by all three drugmakers studying the medications.

Pfizer executives are expected to argue for continued testing of the newer drugs, with restrictions on combining them with older painkillers. Additionally, if patients do not improve after taking a few doses, the drugs would be discontinued.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Maker of Fender guitars files for $200M IPO

NEW YORK (AP) – An instrumental piece of rock and roll history is going public.

Fender Musical Instruments, maker of legendary guitars strummed by the likes of Buddy Holly, Jimi Hendrix and Eric Clapton, filed papers Thursday for a $200 million initial public offering.

Founded in 1946 by Leo Fender, the company created the Telecaster and Stratocaster guitars in the 1950s.

The "Strat," a favorite of Hendrix and scores of others, went on sale in 1954. It had a sturdy, all-wood body that could stand up to repeated abuse, making it popular in the rock and roll world.

"The Fender brand in particular is closely associated with the birth of rock 'n roll and has a strong legacy in music and in popular culture," the company said in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

In its filing with the SEC, Fender said it's the country's biggest seller of electric, acoustic and bass guitars. It also makes amplifiers and other instruments including banjos, ukuleles and mandolins, and sells instruments under other brands such as Squier, Jackson, Guild, Ovation and Latin Percussion.

The classic Strat and Telecaster models are still made today, with prices ranging from a couple hundred dollars for a basic model to several thousand dollars for high-end and custom versions.

Fender went through several owners before making its push to the public markets. In 1965, Leo Fender sold the company to broadcaster CBS, which sold it to an investor group 20 years later.

Private equity firm Weston Presidio now owns 43% of Fender. Fender's distributor in Japan, Yamano Music, holds the No. 2 stake with 14% of the company.

Launching the IPO will help Fender pay down its debt load of $246.2 million. Fender said it plans to use about $100 million of the IPO's proceeds to repay debt, with money left over for working capital.

With sales in 85 countries, Fender said revenue could get a boost from growing interest in guitar-based music from emerging markets like China, India and Indonesia. But it warned that increasing popularity of other types of music, such as rap or house, could hurt demand for its guitars.

Guitars and amps make up nearly three-quarters of its sales.

In recent years, the Scottsdale, Ariz.-based company's guitars have been used by musicians from Bruno Mars to Shakira.

The company plans to trade the shares under the (FNDR) symbol on the Nasdaq, but didn't say when. It did not lay out how many shares the company and its shareholders intend to sell or set a price target on its stock. The final offering may differ from the $200 million in Thursday's filing as the IPO's bankers gauge investor demand for Fender shares.

With the overall stock market now trending up, the conditions for an IPO are improving and investors are looking upon the offerings more favorably. In recent weeks, several companies, mostly in the technology and Internet sector, have made splashes in their Wall Street debuts.

Fender said it posted net income attributable to common stockholders of $3.2 million in 2011, from a net loss of $17.3 million the year before. Revenue grew 13% to $700.6 million from $617.8 million.

J.P. Morgan and William Blair are managing the IPO.

Average rate on 30-year mortgage dips to 3.88%

Fixed mortgage remain a bargain at the start of the spring-buying season: The average rate on the 30-year mortgage dipped this week, while the 15-year loan fell to a new record low.

Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday that the rate on the 30-year loan ticked down to 3.88%, from 3.90% the previous week. That's slightly above the 3.87% average rate hit three weeks ago, which was the lowest since long-term mortgages began in the 1950s.

The average on the 15-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.13%, from 3.17% a week ago.

Rates on the 30-year loan have been below 4% for three months. That has made home-buying and refinancing more attractive for those who can qualify.

The super-low rates are helping the housing market recover, albeit slowly. Home sales have been rising and the four-week average of home purchase applications was up in January and February, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association.

In recent months, other signs have emerged that suggest the troubled housing market could start to turn around this year.

Builders are more optimistic after seeing more people express interest in buying a home. Construction has picked up and builders are requesting more permits to build single-family homes. And the supply of homes on the market is falling, which could send home prices higher.

A key reason for the optimism is the improving jobs market. Employers have added an average 200,000 net jobs per month from November through January. That has helped lower the unemployment rate for five straight months to 8.3%, the lowest level in nearly three years.

Frank Nothaft, Freddie Mac's chief economist, said a typical U.S. family now has more than double the income needed to purchase a median-priced home. That's the first time that's happened since records on home affordability were first recorded in the 1970s.

Still, home prices continue to fall. Millions of foreclosures and short sales — when a lender accepts less than what is owed on a mortgage — remain on the market. And the housing crisis and recession have also persuaded many Americans to rent instead of buy, which has led to a drop in homeownership.

Economists say housing is years away from returning to full health.

To calculate the average rates, Freddie Mac surveys lenders across the country Monday through Wednesday of each week.

The average rates don't include extra fees, known as points, which most borrowers must pay to get the lowest rates. One point equals 1% of the loan amount.

The average fees for the 30-year and 15-year fixed loans were unchanged at 0.8.

For the five-year adjustable loan, the average rate fell to 2.81% from 2.83%, and the average fee was unchanged at 0.7.

The average on the one-year adjustable loan ticked up to 2.73% from 2.72%, and the average fee was unchanged at 0.6.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

SEC chairman pitches budget boost to Congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission asked Congress for a big budget hike on Tuesday, pledging to use the extra funds to improve outdated technologies and hire more examiners, economists and other market experts.

"The rapidly expanding size and complexity of the markets presents enormous oversight challenges," SEC Chairman Mary Schapiro said in prepared testimony before the House appropriations panel that oversees the agency's budget.

"In FY 2013, the SEC will need to hire specialists in a number of areas to strengthen our oversight of the markets, protect against known risks, and best enable our markets to facilitate economic growth."

For fiscal 2013, which starts in October of this year, the SEC is requesting an 18.5 percent boost from its current fiscal 2012 budget of $1.32 billion.

The SEC's ability to convince lawmakers to agree to such a large funding increase remains in doubt.

Although the SEC's budget is deficit-neutral and offset by fees imposed on the industry, many of the Republicans who control the House have been reluctant to support raising the agency's funding amid concerns over the implementation of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial reform law.

The SEC has faced criticism in the past over whether it is accurately judging any potential economic harm that may come from its rules, an area that some lawmakers have focused on in their efforts to slow down Dodd-Frank.

Last year, a federal appeals court overturned a Dodd-Frank rule that would have made it easier for shareholders to nominate directors to corporate boards. In its ruling, a three-judge panel sided with the business groups challenging the rule and said the SEC had failed to properly weigh the rule's economic impact.

In an effort to convince lawmakers to boost the SEC's funding, Schapiro pledged on Tuesday to use some of the extra money toward bringing more economists on board.

"As the commission undertakes additional rulemaking and evaluates existing rules, continued access to robust, data-driven economic analyses is necessary to develop efficient rules and evaluate the effectiveness of our existing regulations," she said.

She also said more experts would be needed to carry out new responsibilities under the Dodd-Frank law, particularly in the area of over-the-counter derivatives.

"New staff also will be needed to help conduct risk-based supervision of registered security-based swap dealers and participants, including by using newly available data to identify excessive risks or other threats to security-based swap markets and investors," she added.

(Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Tine takes on the Chinese in All England badminton

Tine Baun, the only woman to have denied China an All-England Open singles title in the last ten years, has special reasons for wanting the chance to try again when the world's oldest tournament gets underway here on Wednesday.

The twice former champion from Denmark was unable to make a title defence last year because of a heel injury, and believes her special affinity with the century-old tournament she calls her second home offers hopes of defying the sport's greatest nation again.

Baun, formerly Rasmussen, also wants to do well because at the age of 32 this could be her last All-England Open. She expects to retire not long after the Olympic Games in August and says: "I could do one more All-England, but not two."

Despite another injury-affected season, Baun did enough at the Hong Kong Open in November to suggest her formidable smash and phases of inspirational attack can, when combined with triumphant memories, still make an impact.

There she beat Wang Shixian, the reigning All-England champion, before losing the final to Wang Xin, the Asian Games champion. Here in Birmingham, as the fifth seed she will draw hope from those matches, and from the ambience she loves.

"I feel that when I play, I play good matches," Baun said. "I've been struggling with the right hip, but it's getting better. And I feel that the spectators get behind me at All-England. This is a very special tournament for me."

Her main obstacles will be the trio of outstanding Wangs - Wang Yihan, the world champion, Wang Shixian, the All-England champion, and Wang Xin, the winner of several Super Series titles since last year.

The most dangerous is probably Wang Yihan, who won the 2009 All-England and this year's Malaysia Super Series, and is popular with European audiences both for her ability to impose a creative game and an evident range of emotions.

She should meet Baun again in the quarter-finals, and is favourite to regain the title. However the Dane may take comfort from having beaten her in a thrilling final two years ago, the last time either competed at the All-England.

By contrast Wang Shixian, the titleholder, is more of a running player, with consistency, good speed and excellent movement, all of which helped her win the Korea Super Series in Seoul two months ago.

And Wang Xin, the second seed, is a versatile player who attacks and defends well. However she has a possible semi-final against Saina Nehwal, the very able Commonwealth champion from India, who is probably due to make a mark in Birmingham.

Intelligent, well-ordered, and tactically astute, Nehwal has as one of her career ambitions to deny the brilliant Chinese a monopoly. Five of the eight women's singles seeds this week are from the world's most powerful badminton nation.

China is also very strong in all the other events, topping the seeding list in three of them. Cai Yun and Fu Haifeng head the men's doubles, Yu Yang and Wang Xiaoli the women's doubles, and Zhang Nan and Zhao Yunlei the mixed doubles.

Only in men's singles does another nation top the list - Malaysia, in the person of Lee Chong Wei, the defending All-England champion.

However China's Olympic champion Lin Dan narrowly beat Lee in the final of the world championships at Wembley in August, suggesting that China could repeat its unique 2009 All-England achievement of a clean sweep of all five titles.

Women's singles seeds:

1. Wang Yihan (CHN); 2. Wang Xin (CHN); 3. Wang Shixian (CHN); 4. Saina Nehwal (IND); 5. Tine Baun (DEN); 6. Jiang Yanjiao (CHN); 7. Li Xuerui (CHN); 8. Juliane Schenk (GER).

Men's singles seeds:

1. Lee Chong Wei (MAS); 2. Lin Dan (CHN); 3. Chen Long (CHN) 4. Peter Gade (DEN); 5. Chen Jin (CHN); 6. Sho Sasaki (JPN); 7. Kenichi Tago (JPN); 8. Lee Hyun Il (KOR)

Gas supplies to Jordan stop after 13th pipeline blast

Egyptian natural gas supplies to Jordan have again halted completely after the gas pipeline was blown up for the 13th time, Jordan's energy minister said Monday.

Official Jordanian news agency Petra quoted Energy and Mineral Resources Minister Qutaiba Abu Qura as saying Jordan is communicating with Egyptian officials to learn the extent of the damage and the time needed to resume gas flow to Jordan.

On Monday, an Egyptian security official said six armed men planted the bombs in the Masaeed area close to Arish.

During the Mubarak era, Egypt signed a 20-year gas deal with Israel, which has also received gas from the pipeline. The agreement is unpopular with some Egyptians, and critics say Israel gets the gas at rates much lower than international prices.

Previous explosions sometimes forced weeks-long shutdowns of the pipeline, which is run by Gasco, a subsidiary of the national gas company EGAS.

Egypt supplies Jordan with gas per an agreement signed in 2001 that was renewed last September.

Jordan relies on Egyptian gas supplies for 80 percent of its electricity. Repeated attacks on the pipeline have forced Jordan's electricity companies to use diesel and other fuels to run their power stations, causing the National Electric Power Company to lose about 1 billion dinars last year.

In November, Egypt said it would tighten security along the pipeline by installing alarms and recruiting security patrols from Bedouin tribesmen in the area.

Mena lending falls as Europe banks retreat

Dubai - Middle East and North Africa (Mena) lending fell to the lowest level in eight years as European banks retreat from the region due to the sovereign-debt crisis and as companies pursue record bond sales.

Borrowers based in a region that includes Gulf oil exporters Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates raised $1.97 billion of syndicated loans in January and February, the lowest amount for the same period since 2004 and 40 per cent less than in the first two months of last year.

Europe’s debt woes, which led to last month’s €130bn ($172bn) bailout for Greece, is forcing European lenders to trim more than €775bn from their balance sheets. As a result, loan borrowing costs for companies and financial institutions in the Middle East and North Africa rose to an average 210 basis points more than benchmark rates since October from 196 basis points in the first nine months of 2011, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

“Many international banks are experiencing their own difficulties, for example capital constraints, and are less inclined to participate in syndications in the region,” Philip Smith, senior director of financial institutions at Fitch Ratings Ltd, said in a telephone interview in London on March 2.

Pricing may also affect syndicated loan volumes as international lenders try to obtain higher spreads, Smith said.

An increase in risk appetite this year has meant regional companies are able to borrow money more cheaply through bond sales. During the first two months of 2012, companies in the region raised a combined $9.2bn from conventional and Islamic bond sales, the most since Bloomberg began tracking debt sales in the region in 1999. That surge compares with $1.1bn in same two months last year, Bloomberg data show.

Average yields on corporate bonds in the Middle East declined 25 basis points, or 0.25 of a percentage point, so far in 2012 to 4.969 per cent on March 2, according to the HSBC/Nasdaq Dubai Middle East Conventional Corporate US Dollar Bond Index.

“Historically, bond issuance in the region has been quite low but this is changing as the market matures,” Smith said.

Sales of sukuk, which comply with Islam’s ban on paying interest, surged more than eight-fold to $5.9bn in the predominately Muslim Gulf Arab region so far this year.

That includes a $4bn Islamic bond sale by the civil aviation authority of Saudi Arabia, a nation of 28 million people which has committed to investing more than $500bn to develop infrastructure and create jobs for youth.

Companies in the Middle East had long favored bank loans over bonds due to the lack of development of regional debt markets. In 2007, Middle Eastern companies raised a record $109.6bn in syndicated loans, while bonds in the region amounted to $34.3bn, data compiled by Bloomberg show.

That year, all of the top 10 mandated banks for Middle East and North Africa lending were based outside the region, including seven from Europe. European banks have since scaled back their regional business as European Union governments take steps to contain the sovereign-debt crisis, leading to a rise in borrowing costs.

“If the international banks are retreating we can see local banks taking up the balance,” Alexis Postel-Vinay, head of loans syndications, Middle East at BNP Paribas said in an e- mailed response to questions on February 29. Capital ratios of most UAE banks exceed 20 per cent, which are “much higher” than many European and US institutions, he said.

In 2011, syndicated lending in the Middle East and North Africa fell to $43.3bn, the lowest level since 2009, and only three of the top-10 banks were from Europe, data compiled by Bloomberg show. Regional lenders including National Bank of Egypt took up four of the top spots. So far in 2012, half of the top 10 mandated banks are based in the Arab world.

European banks may engage more in the region as borrowing costs for European banks start to fall. The three-month London interbank offered rate, or Libor, fell 10 basis points from a high of 0.582 per cent on Jan. 3 to 0.486 per cent on February 29. This is an increase of 24 basis points from a low of 0.245 per cent on June 15.

The three-month Emirates interbank offered rate, the rate at which banks in the UAE lend to each other, fell to 1.47 per cent on August 8, the lowest level since Bloomberg began collecting data in September 2006. It has since risen seven basis points to 1.536 per cent on March 4.

“With significant volumes of 2007-legacy transactions due for repayment in 2012 we are anticipating a pick-up in volumes later in 2012 as borrowers engage with lead arrangers on their refinancing requirements,” John Starling, a director for HSBC Holdings Plc’s loan syndicate in London, said in an e-mailed response to questions on February 28.

Loans valued at $43.9bn will mature in the region this year, an increase of more than $10bn from $33.6bn last year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. GCC companies have almost $90bn of foreign-currency debt maturing through the end of 2013, according to a December 19 estimate by Barclays Capital analysts.

Dubai and its state-controlled companies face about $10.3bn in debt repayments this year, according to Bank of America-Merrill Lynch estimates.

Other countries in the Gulf Cooperation Council, which includes the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, are also spending on infrastructure as they benefit from a rise in oil prices above $100 a barrel this year. Qatar, the world’s top exporter of liquefied natural gas, has ramped up spending as it prepares to host the 2022 Soccer World Cup.

Banks are likely to pick up some of the financing slack, even if volumes are lower than last year.

“Our commitment to the region remains the same, emerging markets are important to us, but there are some European banks that have chosen to exit,” Simon Meldrum, director of central and eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa loan syndicate at Royal Bank of Scotland Plc, said in a telephone interview in London on March 1. “It’s a quiet start to the year, but we are only two months in so I wouldn’t draw too many conclusions.”

Source: Alrroya

World internet economy expected to increase dramatically by 2016; BCG says

Dubai - The Internet economy of the world is projected to increase dramatically by 2016 providing companies and countries with a vital source of growth, according to The Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

The biggest driver is the unprecedented increase in the number of users around the globe—from 1.9 billion users in 2010 to a projected 3 billion users in 2016, about 45 percent of the world’s population. The rise of the emerging markets, the popularity of mobile devices, especially smart phones, and the growth of social media are also compounding the economic impact of the Internet.

In The Digital Manifesto: How Companies and Countries Can Win in the Digital Economy, the latest in a series of BCG reports on the rise of the Internet, BCG makes the case that businesses will be fundamentally transformed over the next five years. It also urges action by companies and countries, recommending the creation of a “digital balance sheet” and offering an agenda for chief executives and policymakers to build their digital advantage.

“No company or country can afford to ignore this development. Every business needs to go digital,” said David Dean, a coauthor of the report and a senior partner at BCG.

Joerg Hildebrandt, Partner and Managing Director at BCG Middle East added: “The findings of this report are particularly relevant for the Middle East as this is one of the fastest growing regions in terms of internet and smart phone penetration."

The Rise of the New Internet

The BCG report charts several major shifts that are not well understood by many corporate executives and policymakers. These include the following changes in the use and nature of the Internet:

From a Luxury to an Ordinary Good. Twenty years ago, at the Internet’s commercial birth, its use was restricted to the relatively wealthy. Today it is almost everywhere, with half the world’s population expected to use the Internet by 2016.

From Developed to Emerging Markets. By 2016, nearly 70 percent of the Internet users in the G-20 will be from emerging markets, up from 56 percent in 2010. China will have nearly 800 million Internet users—about the same number as France, Germany, India, Japan, the U.K., and the U.S. combined. The contribution of emerging markets to the G-20’s Internet economy will grow from less than one-quarter in 2010 to more than one-third in 2016.

From PC to Mobile. By 2016, mobile devices—increasingly, smart phones—will account for about 80 percent of all broadband connections in the G-20 nations.

From Passive to Participatory. Social media are changing global communication patterns. Countries such as Argentina, Brazil, Indonesia, and Mexico are going straight to social, with more than 90 percent of Internet users engaged in social media. In these countries, social media are used more extensively than in developed markets in the creation and sharing of content.

Why Every Business Needs to Go Digital

Consumers are starting to derive extraordinary value from the Internet, according to the BCG report. Across the G-20, $1.3 trillion of goods was researched online before being purchased offline—representing 2.7 percent of GDP, or more than $3,000 per connected household. In the largest G-20 economies, the perceived value that consumers place on the Internet, above what they already pay, is $1.9 trillion, or $5,000 per connected household.

Likewise, companies that make extensive use of the Internet—including social media—to sell, market, and interact with their customers and suppliers grow faster than those that do not. Over the past 18 months, BCG surveyed more than 15,000 small and medium-size enterprises around the world.

In the U.S., businesses with a medium or high Internet presence expect to grow by 17 percent over the next three years, compared with 12 percent for other companies. In the U.K., the overall sales of businesses with a medium or high Internet presence rose by 4.1 percent each year from 2007 to 2010—about seven times faster than so-called low-Web and no-Web businesses. This trend is consistent across all the countries surveyed, underscoring the Internet’s contribution to economic growth and jobs creation.

Hildebrandt added: "To compete, companies need to strengthen what we call their digital balance sheets by building their digital assets."

Source: Press Release

iPad dispute signals new era in trademark troubles

SHANGHAI (AP) — iPotato, isock, icouch, istove, i-you-name-it. An Internet search for "i" words from A to Z will turn up just about any combination you might think up, from all over the world, only a handful of them related to Apple Inc.

Given its penchant for "iproducts," Apple's current troubles in China over the iPad trademark are not its first, and are unlikely to be its last. China's importance as a major consumer market is bringing fresh headaches for companies, and even celebrities, seeking to protect and claim brand names. That's apart from the usual problems with piracy and other infringements.

Financially troubled Proview Electronics Co., a computer monitor and LED light maker, says it registered the iPad trademark in China and elsewhere more than a decade ago and wants Apple to stop selling or making the popular tablet computers under that name. Apple says Proview sold it worldwide rights to the iPad trademark in 2009, though in China the registration was never transferred.

The number and variety of such disputes is rising as Chinese companies seek to leverage trademarks to their advantage, either for the sake of acquiring attractive brand names or for financial gain, said You Yunting, a lawyer with the Debund Law Office in Shanghai, which specializes in trademarks and patents.

"This is an era of development and people are paying more attention to brand names now," said You. "China is not good at innovation. I'd say Proview would not be suing Apple if its financial situation was fine."

Apple and Proview are battling in Chinese and U.S. courts. Apple's right to make and market the iPad under that name in China may hinge on a pending ruling from the High Court in Guangdong, in southern China. Over the past month, the conflict has escalated with Proview challenging not only Apple's use of the mainland Chinese trademark but also the 2009 deal, which involved worldwide rights to the iPad name.

Whatever the outcome, the dispute highlights the rising stakes of the trademark name game in the increasingly lucrative China consumer market, one that most global companies cannot afford to miss out on regardless of the risks.

Verizon launches wireless broadband for homes

NEW YORK (AP) — Verizon Wireless on Tuesday announced a version of its wireless broadband service that's designed for use in rural and remote homes that can't get DSL or cable.

The service, called HomeFusion, could also appeal to some households where DSL is the only fixed-line option, since it's faster than most DSL services.

HomeFusion could provide potent competition for satellite broadband providers, which are often "providers of last resort" for rural homes.

The service requires the installation of a cylindrical antenna, about the size of a 5-gallon bucket, on an outside wall. The hardware costs $200, but the work is free.

Service starts at $60 per month for 10 gigabytes of data. That's enough of a monthly data allotment to download the complete works of Shakespeare 2,000 times, or to watch about 10 hours of HD-quality video using an Internet streaming service such as Netflix.

Dallas, Nashville, Tenn., and Birmingham, Ala., will be the first areas to get the service, later this month. By the end of the year, Verizon hopes to provide it everywhere it has coverage with its new "LTE" wireless network.

Verizon cites the same speeds for HomeFusion as for LTE data sticks: 5 to 12 megabits per second for downloads, and 2 to 5 megabits for uploads. However, LTE users frequently report much higher speeds, ranging up to 70 megabits per second for downloads.

By comparison, DSL service provided by Verizon Communications Inc., the fixed-line phone company that owns most of Verizon Wireless, provides download speeds up to 7 megabits per second in most areas.

Verizon's DSL service doesn't limit the data usage like HomeFusion does. The average U.S. and Canadian household usage of 22.7 gigabytes in September, as reported by Sandvine Inc.

However, a few heavy-using households skew the figure: the median usage was just 5.8 gigabytes. In other words, half of all broadband households used 5.8 gigabytes or less, and would have some headroom with a 10-gigabyte plan.

The 10-gigabyte plan would limit Internet movie watching to a few hours per month, and limit downloads of big software packages as well.

Verizon will sell step-up plans with 20 gigabytes of data for $90 per month and 30 gigabytes for $120 per month. It charges $10 per gigabyte of overage on any of the plans.

The $60 and $90 plans provide one-third more data per month than corresponding plans sold by ViaSat Inc. for its Exede satellite broadband service.

Wireless broadband for home use is not a new idea. Clearwire Corp. sells a similar service, without an external antenna, but has limited rural coverage. A number of smaller companies limit their service to one community.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Goal.com Predicts: Arsenal 2-1 AC Milan, Barcelona 3-1 Bayer Leverkusen

After last week's international action, the focus of the footballing world returns to the Champions League again as half of the round of 16 second legs are scheduled to take place this week.

On Tuesday, Italian champions AC Milan travel to Arsenal as they defend a commanding 4-0 lead from the first leg at San Siro three weeks ago.

Elsewhere, Portuguese powerhouse Benfica host Zenit St. Petersburg, aiming to overturn a 3-2 away defeat.

Barcelona lock horns with Bundesliga representatives Bayer Leverkusen at Camp Nou on Wednesday - the holders are 3-1 up.

Finally, surprise package APOEL Nicosia lost the away match against Olympique Lyonnais 1-0, and will be hopeful of turning the tables in the second leg at home.

Once again, Goal.com's expert reporters will be on hand to provide you with quality coverage and analysis, but here's what they think may unfold on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Arsenal
2-1AC Milan
KRIS VOAKES SAYS...

Arsenal have a point to prove after the first leg, and their domestic results have taken a turn for the better, but still this one is over as a contest.

No team has ever come from four goals back in a Champions League knockout tie, and Arsenal simply don't have the defence to back up whatever attacking intentions they may have in their quest to make history.

Expect the Gunners to give Milan a bit of a fright with an early onslaught, but the Rossoneri are likely to grab at least one at the other end to make the task that bit harder for Arsene Wenger's side.

Benfica
1-1Zenit St Petersburg
LUIS MIRA SAYS...

The match against Zenit could not have come at a worse time for the Aguias: they head into this game on the back on four winless matches and their Portuguese Liga title chances have taken a considerable blow after the 3-2 defeat against Porto in front of their own crowd.

Benfica will also be without Ezequiel Garay and Pablo Aimar, two players who have been key in defence and midfield, respectively.

In the first leg, there was little difference between the two clubs - but Benfica's poor run means that Zenit remain favourites to go through.

Barcelona
3-1
Bayer Leverkusen
CLARK WHITNEY SAYS...

The Catalan giants might have expected an even greater result had they played the first leg at home, but now with a 3-1 advantage, Pep Guardiola's side can cruise to the quarter-finals without too much trouble.

Given Leverkusen's sequence of three consecutive wins in the Bundesliga and the high probability of Barcelona to use at least a few reserves, it would not be the least bit surprising for the Germans to grab an away goal, or even two. Just don't expect a miracle.

APOEL Nicosia
1-1Olympique Lyonnais
ROBIN BAIRNER SAYS...

The domestic form of OL has been dreadful over the last few weeks, culminating in a pitiful 2-0 defeat away against Nancy last weekend.

However, Remi Garde's men boast a one-goal advantage heading into the second leg, and crucially they shut the Cypriots out three weeks ago, meaning that if they register even once, the hosts will have to score two more than them to progress.

Lyon should have it in their locker to find the net, and that would likely be enough, even if actually winning the match is beyond the ailing French club.

http://arabia.msn.com/news/sports/uefa/goal/2012/march/13377402/goalcom-predicts-arsenal-milan-barcelona-bayer.aspx?region=ksr.

Jupp Heynckes: I am responsible for Bayern Munich's current situation

Bayern Munich coach Jupp Heynckes has assumed responsibility for his team's poor form in recent games.

The Bavarian giants fell seven points off the pace in the race for the Bundesliga title after Saturday's 2-0 defeat at Bayer Leverkusen and Borussia Dortmund's 2-1 success over Mainz at the Signal Iduna Park.

Bayern Munich's sporting director Christian Nerlinger seemingly threw in the towel after the loss to B04, stating that the club must shift their focus to ending their poor run of form on the road.

German sources suggest that head coach Heynckes could be sacked if the Bavarians are unable to overturn the one-goal deficit from their first-leg defeat in the Champions League round of 16 tie against Basel.

'The criticism is valid also for myself [not just the players],' Heynckes told reporters after the loss to Bayer Leverkusen. 'I am the person responsible for the whole thing.

'Whoever coaches Bayern has to deal with such situations. I must remain calm and confident in myself. I think I have the necessary experience.'

The Bavarians host Hoffenheim on Saturday in their upcoming Bundesliga fixture, and three days later they welcome Basel at the Allianz Arena in the Champions League.

http://arabia.msn.com/news/sports/goal/all/2012/march/13376616/jupp-heynckes-responsible-for-bayern-munichs-current.aspx?region=ksr.

Limbaugh advertisers keep heading for the exits

More of Rush Limbaugh's advertisers say they are dropping his program after the conservative talk show host's derogatory comments about a Georgetown law student.

On Monday, AOL Inc. and Tax Resolution Services Co. were the eighth and ninth companies to say that they will suspend advertising on Limbaugh's program, one of the most popular radio shows in the country.

Limbaugh last week called student Sandra Fluke a "slut" and "prostitute" after she testified to congressional Democrats in support of their national health care policy that would compel her Jesuit college's health plan to cover her birth control.

He apologized over the weekend after several advertisers pulled out of his program. On Monday, he joked that he got a busy signal when he called his show because of the advertisers who are abandoning it.

Clear Channel's Premiere Radio Networks Inc. hosts Limbaugh's show. The company is supporting Limbaugh, whose on-air contract runs through 2016.

Premiere Radio said in a statement Monday that it respects Limbaugh's right to express his opinions, and said that "in an attempt at absurdist humor to illustrate his political point, Mr. Limbaugh used words that unfortunately distracted from the message he was trying to convey."

The company said Limbaugh did the right thing by "expressing regret for his choice of words and offering his sincere and heartfelt apology to Ms. Fluke."

Fluke said Monday that Limbaugh's apology changes nothing and that Americans have to decide whether to support companies that continue to advertise on his program.

The advertisers that have backed away from Limbaugh's program represent a broad range of industries, from technology to financial services to retailers.

Tax Resolution Services advises customers on tax disputes with the IRS. CEO Michael Rozbruch said Monday that his firm is pulling ads for now. The company has endorsements from Limbaugh and other conservative broadcasters on its website.

AOL, an Internet portal that runs the TechCrunch blog and the Huffington Post, said Monday that Limbaugh's comments "are not in line with our values."

Other companies that say they have left the show include flower delivery service ProFlowers, mortgage lender Quicken Loans, the maker of Sleep Number beds, mattress retailer Sleep Train, software maker Citrix Systems Inc., online data backup service provider Carbonite and online legal document services company LegalZoom.

Clear Channel Media and Entertainment operates more than 850 radio stations in the U.S., and Premiere says it's the largest radio content provider in the country, syndicating programs to more than 5,000 affiliate stations.

Clear Channel has declined to say how much revenue it stands to lose from advertiser defections. Its parent company was taken private in 2008.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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