EU governments agree in principle on Iranian oil ban (Reuters)

BRUSSELS (Reuters) ? European Union governments have reached a preliminary agreement to ban imports of Iranian crude to the EU but have yet to decide when such an embargo would be put in place, EU diplomats said on Wednesday.

The agreement, news of which sent crude oil prices higher, followed talks in the last days of December between EU envoys, diplomats said. Objections to the idea, notably from Greece, were dropped during the talks, they said.

"A lot of progress has been made," one EU diplomat said, speaking on condition of anonymity. "The principle of an oil embargo is agreed. It is not being debated anymore."

A European ban on Iranian crude would be part of concerted Western action to put pressure on Tehran to abandon its nuclear program, which many governments worry aims at producing an atom bomb. Tehran says its aims are peaceful only.

The United States imposed new sanctions on New Year's Eve to cut financial institutions that work with Iran's central bank off from the U.S. financial system, thus blocking off the main source of Tehran's payments for crude.

Europe started preparing a new push against Iran's financial and energy sectors in December, with the aim of agreeing sanctions by the end of January.

A ban on exporting oil-related technology to Iran and more measures against shipping of crude are also under discussion, diplomats said.

Diplomats said there was still a debate among European capitals over whether to enforce a crude ban immediately after it is agreed or to wait a few months. Some EU member states are concerned about the economic impact of an embargo at a time when Europe is struggling with massive debt problems.

Greece, in particular, has been hesitant but Greek government sources said on Tuesday that Athens would not break ranks with its EU partners on the issue.

Tensions between the West and Iran -- the second biggest producer in the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries -- have already pushed up oil prices.

On Wednesday, the price of a barrel of benchmark Brent crude rose more than a dollar from its previous close to a session peak of nearly $114, following the news that Europeans had agreed in principle to ban Iranian crude.

Iran supplies a total of around 450,000 barrels per day to EU member states, making the bloc collectively the second-largest market for Iranian oil after China.

EU Energy Commissioner Guenther Oettinger has said that if there were a ban on Iranian imports, supplies could be bought from elsewhere, notably leading OPEC member Saudi Arabia.

(Reporting by Justyna Pawlak and Julien Toyer. Editing by Sebastian Moffett and Peter Graff)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120104/wl_nm/us_iran_eu_oil

tanuki mirror mirror trailer bob knight bob knight lavar arrington hope solo dancing with the stars hope solo dancing with the stars

NASA probe joins twin at moon on New Year's Day

This undated artist rendering provided by NASA on Dec. 21,2011 shows the twin Grail spacecraft mapping the lunar gravity field. The two probes are scheduled to enter orbit around the moon over New Year's weekend. (AP Photo/NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

This undated artist rendering provided by NASA on Dec. 21,2011 shows the twin Grail spacecraft mapping the lunar gravity field. The two probes are scheduled to enter orbit around the moon over New Year's weekend. (AP Photo/NASA, Jet Propulsion Laboratory)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? NASA says its twin spacecraft are now circling the moon on a mission to measure lunar gravity.

The latest probe slipped into orbit on New Year's Day, joining its twin, which arrived a day earlier.

The Grail spacecraft ? short for Gravity Recovery and Interior Laboratory ? will spend the next two months spiraling closer to the surface. In March, they will begin mapping the moon's uneven gravity field from orbit to understand its interior down to the core.

The probes were launched in September and took a roundabout trip to the moon.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-01-01-NASA%20Moonshot/id-7858ee936c564fdabdc1ee58f6b8a57e

happy holidays norad how to carve a turkey how to cook a turkey yorkshire pudding whitney cummings larry the cable guy

Minimum wage milestone: Why Washington State surpassed $9 an hour

Minimum wage laws raised the wage floor in eight states as of Jan. 1. Washington now tops all states, at $9.04 an hour. Economic effects of raising the minimum wage are in hot dispute.

Low-wage earners have a little more to celebrate this new year, at least in eight states.

Skip to next paragraph

In those states, 2012 means a higher minimum wage, under laws that peg the wage floor to inflation. The increase makes Washington the first state to set its minimum wage higher than $9 an hour.

Why Washington? Why now?

Simple. Washington pegs its minimum wage to the consumer price index, says Paul Sonn of the National Employment Law Project. That means whenever the cost of living increases, so does the minimum wage there.

Nine other states do the same. (One of them, Missouri, opted for no change this year, and Nevada's increase won't kick in until midyear, leaving eight states where the minimum wage rose as of Jan. 1.)?But Washington has been using that CPI-based formula since 2001, longer than any other state, and that's why its hourly wage is highest.

Of course enacting such a law is difficult. Most states that have laws tying minimum wages to the consumer price index have done so via ballot initiatives. This keeps the political football out of politicians' hands and gives it to voters, who mostly feel that raising the minimum wage as consumer prices increase is a good idea, says Mr. Sonn.

The new minimum wage laws, which also took effect Jan. 1 in Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Montana, Ohio, Oregon, and Vermont, will increase paychecks for more than 1 million workers, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).

In addition, another 394,000 workers will be indirectly affected by the increase. These workers are likely to also see a wage increase, as employers adjust their overall pay structures to reflect the new minimum.

The amount of increase per state ranges from $0.28 an hour in Colorado to $0.37 in Washington. New minimum wages in the eight states now are set between $7.65 an hour and $9.04 an hour, according to EPI. As a result, minimum-wage workers in Arizona will see an average of $298 more in their paychecks this year. In Oregon, the increase is $538.

The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, which might not sound bad for a typical high school-age minimum-wage worker. But as it turns out, minimum-wage workers are not typically high school kids.?According to data from the Labor Department, 80 percent of minimum-wage earners are older than 20. And about 60 percent of minimum-wage workers are female, even though women make up only 48 percent of the national workforce.

Effects on the broader economy as a result of raising the minimum wage are hotly disputed.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/t679ys2bZx4/Minimum-wage-milestone-Why-Washington-State-surpassed-9-an-hour

justin bieber paternity denver news kym johnson how old is justin bieber how old is justin bieber north dakota jobs referendum

Perry supports English as official language in US (AP)

MASON CITY, Iowa ? Republican presidential candidate Rick Perry said Friday he would like English to be made the national language of the United States, agreeing with a frustrated voter who railed over the presence of multiple languages in everyday American life.

Perry, whose campaign needs a boost before Tuesday's lead-off Iowa caucuses, spoke at a Cerro Gordo County GOP fundraiser and took questions from the audience at the Mason County Country Club.

The voter who told the Texas governor he was tired of multilingual directions for products drew applause when he said he'd like to see English become the official language of the U.S. government.

"I don't know how the rest of the conservatives in the room feel, but personally, I'm fed up with seeing the directions on every single product on every single shelf of every single store written in four languages," said the man, who didn't give his name.

Perry replied, "That is a statement, that's not a question, and I can agree with it."

Perry, whose state is home to millions of Spanish speakers, is struggling to regain momentum in Iowa. He joined the presidential race in August to great fanfare and then crashed after campaign missteps and lackluster debates.

Trying to connect with conservatives, Perry has seemed willing to embrace more conservative positions as time runs short.

Earlier this week, Perry strengthened his opposition to abortion even in cases of rape and incest. He previously had said he would allow abortion in those instances, as well as when the woman's life was in jeopardy.

A pastor asked Perry about the cases when he'd allow abortion and Perry surprised the audience when he said he had undergone a "transformation" on the subject. He seemed to say he opposed abortion in all cases.

A day later, the governor told reporters that he would still allow abortion when a woman's life was at stake. He did not elaborate.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111231/ap_on_el_pr/us_perry

miranda lambert kim kardashian divorce generators generators lesean mccoy while you were sleeping while you were sleeping

Animal Care & Control Of NYC Offers Tips For Keeping Pets Safe ...

NEW YORK (1010 WINS) ? New Year?s festivities are fun for people, but can be terrifying for your pets.

In fact, Animal Care & Control of NYC Executive Director Julie Banks says?the fear of both strangers and strange noises can overwhelm pets and cause changes in behavior.

?This holiday season, Animal Care & Control of NYC (AC&C) reminds all pet owners to protect their pets,? Bank said. ?We are asking the community to help by being a responsible pet owner.? Keep your dogs and cats indoors at all times, away from fireworks and safe during parties.?

Hear 1010 WINS? Susan Richard?s interview with Julie Bank:

AC&C offers the following tips to help you take care of your pet over the holidays:

-??? Keep your pets indoors and away from windows.? Fireworks can frighten pets and cause them to act out of the ordinary.

-??? Pay attention to your pet?s behavior and act accordingly. If your pet is frightened, try to comfort him or her but don?t coddle him too much as they will think its okay to be afraid.

-??? Do not allow children to touch frightened pets. Animals may bite or act aggressive when they feel vulnerable.

-?? Make sure your pets don?t slip out of an open door if you are having a party.

-??? Always have a current license and identification on your pet?s neck so if they get lost they can be returned. Owners can renew their pet?s license online at www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/vet/vet-doglicense-form.shtml. Consider getting a microchip for your pet as an added safeguard.

-??? If you have lost an animal, visit AC&C?s animal care centers.? Get locations and hours at www.nycacc.org .

Like this:

Be the first to like this post.

Source: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2011/12/31/ringing-in-the-new-year-tips-for-keeping-pets-safe/

roasted pumpkin seeds roasted pumpkin seeds pumpkin seed recipe mark madoff disturbia nick diaz michael myers

Obama to visit swing state Ohio to talk economy (Reuters)

HONOLULU (Reuters) ? President Barack Obama will visit the political battleground state of Ohio next week, ushering in the 2012 election year with a speech focused on the economy, the White House said on Thursday.

Obama will visit Cleveland on Wednesday, just after he returns from a more than week-long vacation in Hawaii, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said.

The president had put off his trip to Hawaii to wait for Congress to extend payroll tax cuts expiring at the end of December, which lawmakers eventually agreed to continue for only two months because of disagreements about how to offset their cost.

Efforts to broker a full-year deal for the payroll tax cuts, which the White House has said the middle class needs until the U.S. economy heals, are expected to hang over Washington in early 2012 and may be a major theme of Obama's Cleveland speech.

The Democrat will also seek to deflect attention from the Republican caucuses in Iowa and draw a contrast between Obama's economic vision and those laid out by potential Republican rivals for the White House in the November vote.

Obama's re-election chances are expected to hinge on the state of the U.S. economy and particularly the jobless rate, which at 8.6 percent is several percentage points higher than before the financial crisis that struck just before he took office.

In Hawaii, Obama has been golfing, spending time at the beach with his wife and daughters, and enjoying dinners with friends. The Obamas went to church on Christmas Day, and on Thursday, they visited the Pearl Harbor memorial.

(Reporting By Laura MacInnis and Travis Quezon)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/obama/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111230/pl_nm/us_usa_obama_ohio

vanessa bryant kurt busch kurt busch nfl mock draft 2012 adam lambert incendiary floyd mayweather

Stock index futures signal mixed open (Reuters)

(Reuters) Stock index futures pointed to a mixed open on Wall Street for the last session of the year on Friday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.06 percent, Dow Jones futures down 0.1 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.22 percent at 0930 GMT.

* European stocks inched higher in thin trade, with a number of euro zone indexes set to post 2011 losses of about 20 percent, hammered by the region's debt crisis.

* The U.S. Federal Reserve's balance sheet grew in the latest week with a rise in central bank liquidity swaps, even though holdings of Treasuries and agency debt declined, Fed data

showed on Thursday.

* The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission got a fresh dressing-down from the judge who rejected its $285 million settlement with Citigroup Inc (C.N), as he said the regulator kept him out of the loop on its efforts to salvage the case.

* Sears Holdings Corp (SHLD.O) identified 79 of the 100 to 120 Sears and Kmart stores it said earlier this week it would close, with the list split almost evenly between the two chains.

* U.S. stocks rallied on Thursday, moving the S&P 500 back into positive territory for 2011 ahead of the last trading day of the year, on more positive signals on the U.S. economy.

* The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) shot up 135.63 points, or 1.12 percent, to 12,287.04 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index (.SPX) gained 13.38 points, or 1.07 percent, to 1,263.02. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) advanced 23.76 points, or 0.92 percent, to 2,613.74.

* The S&P 500 edged above its 200-day moving average, a key measure of the market's long-term momentum.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson; Editing by David Holmes)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111230/bs_nm/us_markets_stocks

brett favre packers stock packers stock mastectomy st. nicholas st. nicholas heisman finalists