Monday, February 1, 2010

Almanacs “The Almanac - Feb.1 - Post Chronicle” plus 3 more

Almanacs “The Almanac - Feb.1 - Post Chronicle” plus 3 more

The Almanac - Feb.1 - Post Chronicle

Posted: 01 Feb 2010 04:20 AM PST

Today is Monday, Feb. 1, the 32nd day of 2010 with 333 to follow.

The moon is waning. The morning star is Mercury. The evening stars are Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Venus, Uranus and Neptune.

Those born on the date are under the sign of Aquarius. They include composer Victor Herbert in 1859; Hattie Caraway of Arkansas, first woman elected to the Senate, in 1878; film director John Ford in 1894; actor Clark Gable in 1901; poet Langston Hughes in 1902; humorist S.J. Perelman in 1904; cabaret singer Hildegarde Loretta Sell in 1906; film and special effects director George Pal in 1908; actor Stuart Whitman in 1928 (age 82); former Russian President Boris Yeltsin in 1931; singer Don Everly, rock parodist Ray "Dr. Hook" Sawyer and comedian Garrett Morris, all in 1937 (age 73); actor Sherman Hemsley in 1938 (age 72); actor/director Terry Jones ("Monty Python's Flying Circus") in 1942 (age 68); singer Rick James in 1948; actor Billy Mumy ("Lost in Space") in 1954 (age 56); Princess Stephanie of Monaco and actor Sherilyn Fenn, both in 1965 (age 45); singer Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley and ex-wife of Michael Jackson, in 1968 (age 42); and actor Michael C. Hall in 1971 (age 39).

On this date in history:

In 1790, the U.S. Supreme Court convened in New York City for its first session.

In 1861, Texas seceded from the United States.

In 1865, U.S. President Abraham Lincoln signs the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which abolished slavery.

In 1896, Giacomo Puccini's opera "La Boheme" premiered in Turin, Italy.

In 1946, Norwegian Trygve Lie of Norway is selected to be the first U.N. secretary-general.

In 1968, the communist Viet Cong began a major offensive of the Vietnam War with a fierce attack on the South Vietnamese city of Hue.

In 1979, Ayatollah Khomeini, symbol of the Iranian revolution, returned to his homeland.

In 1991, South African President F.W. De Klerk announced that he would seek repeal of key laws on which the apartheid system was based.

Also in 1991, at least 1,200 people were killed in an earthquake that struck Afghanistan and Pakistan.

And in 1991, 34 people were killed and 24 more injured when a USAir jet hit a SkyWest plane on a runway at Los Angeles International Airport.

In 1996, a telecommunications bill cleared the U.S. Congress that would lift most restrictions on telephone competition and broadcast station ownership and also required V-chips in television sets.

In 2001, former U.S. President Bill Clinton said he and his wife would return $86,000 in gifts they received in 2000 but would keep $104,000 worth of others they received prior to 2000.

In 2003, the space shuttle Columbia broke apart during its descent over the southwestern United States. All seven astronauts aboard were killed.

In 2004, suicide bombings targeting the two main Kurdish party headquarters in the northern Iraqi city of Irbil killed 100 people and injured many others.

Also in 2004, 251 people were trampled during the Hajj pilgrimage to Mecca.

In 2004, during the Super Bowl halftime show, Justin Timberlake tore off part of Janet Jackson's top garment, exposing her right breast and touching off strong criticism, a Federal Communications Commission investigation and a hefty fine for CBS. Timberlake apologized, blaming it on "a wardrobe malfunction."

In 2006, Ben Bernanke became the U.S. Federal Reserve chief, replacing Alan Greenspan, who held the position for 18 years.

In 2008, an estimated 100 people were killed and another 123 injured in suicide bombings by two women at a Baghdad pet market.

In 2009, rebels staged three artillery attacks on Sri Lanka, killing at least nine people as the last shelling hit a hospital ward for women and children.

Also in 2009, Iceland swore in its first female prime minister, Johanna Sigurdardottir, who will lead an interim government.

A thought for the day: "One's mind, once stretched by a new idea, never regains its original dimensions." Oliver Wendell Holmes said that. (c) UPI

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

Has January Already Jinxed the Year Ahead? - Smart Money

Posted: 01 Feb 2010 03:59 AM PST

Traders in the U.S., meanwhile, may be focused on the Institute for Supply Management's manufacturing report for January, due out at 10 a.m. According to a Reuters poll, economists expect a reading of 55.2, indicating that the manufacturing sector is expanding for the sixth straight month. One hopeful sign was the December reading for the Chicago PMI index, which came in better than expected last week and is usually a good proxy for the national manufacturing data. It could be a "helpful piece of data" that keeps the Dow from breaking 10,000, notes Stephen Pope, chief global equity strategist for Cantor Fitzgerald.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

China manufacturing expanded in Jan, surveys show - Fresno Bee

Posted: 01 Feb 2010 03:59 AM PST

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.

European markets steady at start of busy week - Fresno Bee

Posted: 01 Feb 2010 03:16 AM PST

"Question marks over the strength of the global recovery continue to weigh on investor sentiment and with a number of high profile economic and corporate announcements due in the coming days, expect further clarity here," said Ben Potter, research analyst at IG Markets.

On the economic front, investors around the world have a raft of economic data to assess, culminating in Friday's U.S. nonfarm payrolls report for January - three consecutive increases in weekly jobless claims data have soured the mood ahead of the report, which often sets the stock market tone for a week or two.

The key economic release Monday will be the monthly manufacturing survey from the Institute for Supply Management

Greece's debt crisis will also remain in the spotlight, particularly on Wednesday, when the European Commission is set to give its view on the Greek government's plan to bring borrowing under control over the coming few years.

On the following day, the European Central Bank president Jean-Claude Trichet will no doubt be pressed to give his opinion on Greece's debt problems in his monthly press conference after the bank's latest interest rate decision.

On Thursday, both the European Central Bank and the Bank of England are expected to keep their benchmark interest rates unchanged at the historic lows of 1 percent and 0.5 percent respectively. However, the Reserve Bank of Australia is expected to raise interest rates again by a quarter point to 4 percent on Tuesday, although all eyes will be on whether it indicates a pause.

Corporate earnings statements will likewise be watched closely, particularly in London where five of the biggest companies by market value will issue their latest trading updates, including pharmaceuticals company Glaxo SmithKline PLC and mobile phone operator Vodafone PLC.

However, oil companies could well end up garnering the most interest around the world - Britain's BP PLC, BG Group PLC and Anglo-Dutch Royal Dutch Shell are all poised to report their latest quarterly statements.

The U.S. ExxonMobil Corp. will kick off the oil companies' reporting season later today.

Other major European earnings statements will come from Swiss pharmaceuticals company Roche AG, Spain's Banco Santander and Deutsche Bank AG.

Earlier in Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average fluctuated before closing up 6.98, or 0.1 percent, at 10,205.02 while South Korea's Kospi rose 4.46, or 0.3 percent, to 1,606.89, helped by news the country's exports surged in January, posting their biggest gain in more two than decades, thanks to strengthening overseas demand and a weaker local currency.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng index rebounded from its early fall to finish higher by 0.6 percent to 20,243.75.

In China, news that manufacturing activity was still strong in January was taken as more evidence the government will maintain its efforts to keep a lid on growth and inflation. Shanghai's key index led Asia's slide, falling 47.93, or 1.6 percent, to 2,941.36. Markets in Australia, Singapore and Taiwan also lost ground.

Oil prices made tentative gains, with benchmark crude for March delivery up 28 cents to $73.17.

The dollar was up 0.6 percent at 90.30 yen while the euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.3892.

Five Filters featured article: Chilcot Inquiry. Available tools: PDF Newspaper, Full Text RSS, Term Extraction.
Posted by at

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)