Spurs beat Clippers 103-100 in OT on Neal's key 3s
Gary Neal hit key 3-pointers in regulation and overtime, Tony Parker scored 30 points and the San Antonio Spurs held off the Los Angeles Clippers 103-100 on Saturday to earn their NBA-leading 10th consecutive victory.
Neal was one of six Spurs in double figures with 17 points. He stole the ball and hit the tying 3-pointer with 5.7 seconds left in regulation. His 3 with 25 seconds to go in overtime snapped a 98-all tie.
Matt Bonner added 13 points, Tim Duncan had 11 points and 17 rebounds, Danny Green had 11, for the Spurs, who improved to 6-0 on their annual rodeo trip that includes nine games.
Blake Griffin had 22 points and 20 rebounds, and Chris Paul and Randy Foye scored 21 points for the Clippers.
SI
Ailing Arsenal beaten by Sunderland FA Cup
Arsenal are almost certain to finish without a trophy for the seventh year running after deservedly losing at Sunderland in the FA Cup fifth round.
Fourth in the Premier League and facing likely elimination in the Champions League, Arsenal's season is in tatters.
Kieran Richardson put Sunderland ahead with a deflected drive after Johan Djourou's error conceded a free-kick.
Arsenal pushed for an equaliser but Sebastian Larsson's shot was put into his own net by Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain.
It was an unfortunate moment for the 18-year-old, who was one of Arsenal's more impressive performers on a dark day for the club.
Arsene Wenger will inevitably come under increased pressure but not for the first time this week he was badly let down by his players.
Wenger demanded a response from them following Wednesday's 4-0 Champions League last-16 first-leg defeat by AC Milan.
But he got nothing of the sort as the 10-time winners, whose last trophy was the 2005 FA Cup, were out-thought, out-fought and out-worked by Martin O'Neill's spirited Sunderland side.
Wenger's current team clearly lack the quality of previous squads and they will not be relishing next Sunday's Premier League visit of high-flying local rivals Tottenham Hotspur.
Arsenal actually looked sprightly in the opening minutes, passing and moving with an urgency that showed their determination to prove a point following the humbling in Italy.
Gervinho, back from the Africa Cup of Nations and one of five Arsenal changes, showed what the Gunners had been missing in his six-week absence with a darting run down the left.
Mikel Arteta then curled a free-kick narrowly wide as the visitors put Sunderland on the back foot and probed for an opener.
But, all season long, Arsenal have reacted poorly to even the smallest of setbacks, and so it proved again as left-back Francis Coquelin went off with a hamstring injury in the 10th minute.
He was replaced by Sebastien Squillaci, who partnered Djourou in central defence, with Thomas Vermaelen shifting across, and, from that moment on, Arsenal's back line appeared vulnerable.
They received little protection from a midfield in which Aaron Ramsey and Alex Song took knocks, but that could not excuse individual errors and a general lack of concentration and organisation.
Song was fortunate to escape after the ball struck his hand inside the penalty area before Djourou lost possession on the left and earned a caution for hauling down Craig Gardner.
The resultant free-kick from Larsson was headed out to Richardson on the left and, under minimal pressure, his shot deflected off Squillaci and into the bottom corner.
Before that, Gervinho drew a fine save from Simon Mignolet and Arsenal wanted a penalty for what looked like a perfectly-timed challenge on Robin van Persie by John O'Shea.
But those were their only clear openings in a half that saw the Gunners become increasingly ragged as Sunderland denied them time and space with an intelligent and energetic display.
The tone was set by tireless captain Lee Cattermole, but it would be unfair to highlight individuals in a team whose hunger and cohesion could not be matched by their opponents.
It was a shame that only 26,042 spectators - just over half-capacity - were at the Stadium of Light to witness their efforts.
Sunderland came close to a second before half-time - James McClean firing into the side-netting after Jack Colback's knockdown from another Larsson cross - but Arsenal held on.
The 4,000 away supporters urged Arsenal forward after the break but there was no structure to their attacks and Sunderland comfortably repelled everything thrown at them.
Wenger made a double substitution on 52 minutes - Theo Walcott and Tomas Rosicky coming on for Aaron Ramsey and the apparently injured Squillaci - but the difference was barely noticeable.
The killer blow arrived when Stephane Sessegnon robbed Oxlade-Chamberlain of possession, surged at the bedraggled Arsenal rearguard and fed Larsson on the right.
The ex-Gunner's shot came back off the post but Oxlade-Chamberlain inadvertently bundled it over the line. It summed up Arsenal's day and, perhaps, their entire campaign.
Everton 2 Blackpool 0
Two early goals helped Everton comfortably beat Blackpool to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals for the second time in nine years.
Royston Drenthe scored after 49 seconds from Marouane Fellaini's pass.
Denis Stracqualursi then made it a dream start for the hosts on six minutes when he tapped in.
Stracqualursi could have added to his total as Everton had chances to put the tie out of sight, while Kevin Phillips blazed over a penalty late on.
The veteran striker hit the bar from a free-kick with Lomana LuaLua also hitting the post, but they were isolated efforts for the visitors, who also lost Gary Taylor-Fletcher as a result of a first-half collision with Everton keeper Tim Howard.
Those events summed up a miserable afternoon for Ian Holloway's team who were outclassed by their Premier League opponents and will now return to their battle for Championship promotion, starting with a key game at home to West Ham on Tuesday.
For Everton, the victory extends their unbeaten run to seven games during what has been a profitable period which has included wins over Chelsea and Manchester City at Goodison.
Blackpool's poor start to the game was at odds with a run that has seen them go 10-games unbeaten since the turn of the year.
Holloway's men were up against top-flight opposition for the first time this season and they ran into an Everton side brimming with confidence.
But the way in which they were two goals behind within six minutes quickly mapped out a game in which they failed to wrest any sort of control.
Holloway had made seven changes to his side following Tuesday's win over Doncaster. The team had barely got their bearings when Drenthe found the top corner after Fellaini teed up the Dutchman after Magaye Gaye had delivered a cross.
That lead was soon doubled after six minutes when Drenthe's corner found Gaye. His header was blocked, but Stracqualursi tapped in for his second goal in two FA Cup starts.
Taylor-Fletcher managed one effort for Blackpool in reply, but he was injured and subsequently stretchered off in a lacklustre Blackpool showing.
Everton were without Landon Donovan, who missed what would have been his last game for the club before returning the United States after a loan spell, and the cup-tied Steven Pienaar.
But they still created a host of chances with Stracqualursi twice going close, Matt Gilks saving from Darron Gibson and Johnny Heitinga heading off target.
Holloway perhaps chose his starting XI with Tuesday's game against West Ham in mind, and it was not until he made changes midway through the second half that his side made any telling impression on the game.
Still, Fellaini could have scored twice thereafter - firing over from six yards following a shot that was cleared off the line by Craig Cathcart.
LuaLua's strike against the post and Phillips's spot-kick miss were only late flutters for Everton in a contest they should have settled much earlier.
Everton boss David Moyes: "I think when you play Blackpool you are never in control. They score lots of goals in the last five minutes of games. Our goalkeeper Tim Howard made a brilliant save and they missed a penalty kick, so they had opportunities.
"We had six or seven great chances to put the game to bed and we didn't get the third goal. While it was still 2-0, Blackpool kept going."
Blackpool manager Ian Holloway: "We have been beaten by the better team today, but I thought we showed character to come back into it later on in the game. A lot of teams I've had in the past might have gone completely and capitulated there, but we managed to haul ourselves back into it.
"But we were nowhere near as good as we normally are because David has a great team here."
Leewards crushed by an innings by ruthless Jamaica
Luckless Leeward Islands plunged to another embarrassing defeat, yesterday, going down to rampant defending champions Jamaica by an innings and 201 runs at Sabina Park. The visitors, following on by 300 runs, could only last until an hour after lunch on the third day before being dismissed for a hugely disappointing 99, as their indifferent form in the Regional Four-Day Championship continued.
Starting the third day of the contest needing a miracle to avoid defeat after being dismissed for 104 on Friday, the Leewards got a fluent 55 from Test opener Kieran Powell but he was just one of two batsmen in double figures as the innings collapsed in a heap.
Overall, the left-handed Powell faced 124 balls and hit seven fours before being ninth out with Leewards on the brink of defeat.
Left-arm spinner Nikita Miller snared five for 16 to finish with match figures of seven for 47 while leg-spinner Odean Brown claimed four for 32 to complete match figures of nine for 38.
The loss was the third straight for the Leewards who were beaten by Guyana in the first round and also went down to Combined Campuses and Colleges last week.
For Jamaica, however, it was their third straight win and it solidified their status at the top of the standings on 36 points.
Leewards’ collapse started when opener Javier Liburd (1) edged left-arm pacer Sheldon Cotterell to Simon Jackson at slip at 17 for one.
However, Powell played positively and was the brains behind a 39-run, second wicket stand with Montcin Hodge who got 15.
The right-handed Hodge struck two fours off 56 balls and helped to raise the Leewards’ 50 off 87 balls.
Once Hodge was trapped lbw by Miller on 56 for two, the Leewards lost five quick wickets for 17 runs to plunge to 73 for six.
The end came swiftly with Miller getting Powell to hole out to long-on before having Nelson Bolan stumped.
China cuts banks’ reserve requirements
China’s central bank cut the amount of cash that commercial lenders must hold as reserves yesterday for the second time in nearly three months, the latest step to shore up the slowing economy. The People’s Bank of China (PBOC) is on the course of gentle policy easing to cushion the world’s second-largest economy against stiff global headwinds, although it has been treading warily. The PBOC delivered a 50-basis-point (bps) cut in banks’ reserve requirement ratio (RRR), effective from Friday, after repeatedly defying market expectations for such a move.
It would cut the RRR for the biggest banks to 20.5 per cent from 21 per cent, injecting an estimated 400 billion yuan (US$63.5 billion) into the banking system that could be used for lending. “It’s not a big surprise. Although they (Chinese leaders) stress policy stability, an RRR cut is necessary. Trade and monetary data in January pointed to some downward pressure on the economy,” said Hua Zhongwei, an economist at Huachuang Securities in Beijing.
“But policy easing will be gradual given the central bank sounded cautious about inflation in its fourth-quarter monetary policy report.” China’s once turbo-charged economy is likely to slow to 8.2 per cent in the first quarter from 8.9 per cent in the previous quarter, according to the latest Reuters poll. The central bank announced its first cut in RRR in three years on November 30, 2011. That move took the rate down from a record 21.5 per cent. The lower reserve ratio has been followed by a gradual relaxation of some controls on credit at smaller regional institutions in recent months to support the slowing economy.
Investors had expected an RRR cut ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, but they were wrong-footed as the central bank opted for open market operations to provide short-term cash for banks. A Reuters poll conducted in January showed the central bank may cut the reserve ratio by a total of 200 bps throughout 2012 to 19 per cent.
The government is reluctant to give the green light to another bout of big bank lending, with inflation risks lingering and, more importantly, policymakers are determined to cool down the property sector to ward off a speculative bubble. Few analysts believe the central bank will cut interest rate cuts this year, with annual inflation staying stubbornly higher than the one-year deposit rate of 3.5 per cent.
UK and France sign nuclear energy agreement
The UK has signed a deal with France to strengthen co-operation in the development of civil nuclear energy.
The government said it reiterated the UK's commitment to nuclear energy "as part of a diversified energy mix".
The coalition said the agreement would create a number of commercial deals in the nuclear energy field, worth more than £500m and creating 1,500 UK jobs.
The deal was signed at a summit between PM David Cameron and President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris.
'Joint framework'
"This joint declaration will signal our shared commitment to the future of civil nuclear power, setting out a shared long term vision of safe, secure, sustainable and affordable energy, that supports growth and helps to deliver our emission reductions targets," a statement from Downing Street said.
The two governments will work together with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) "to strengthen international capability to react to nuclear emergencies and establish a joint framework for cooperation and exchanging good practice on civil nuclear security".
The move comes 11 months after a tsunami in Japan wrecked the nearby Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, leaking radioactive material into the air and sea.
UK and French public and private sector bodies in the civil nuclear power industry will also work more closely in a number of areas.
These include education and training, research and development, and security.
"As two great civil nuclear nations, we will combine our expertise to strengthen industrial partnership, improve nuclear safety and create jobs at home," said Mr Cameron.
Eight sites
Last June, ministers announced plans for the next generation of UK nuclear plants.
The government confirmed a list of eight sites it deems suitable for new power stations by 2025, all of which are adjacent to existing nuclear sites.
The sites are: Bradwell, Essex; Hartlepool; Heysham, Lancashire; Hinkley Point, Somerset; Oldbury, Gloucestershire; Sellafield, Cumbria; Sizewell, Suffolk; and Wylfa, Anglesey.
Rolls-Royce is expected to win a £400m ($632m) share in the building of the first of the planned power plants.
France's Areva will supply the core of the nuclear reactors and Rolls-Royce will supply other engineering work.
"Rolls-Royce will become our prime manufacturing partner to supply some £100m of key critical components of the reactor for each EPR [next generation nuclear power plant] that's constructed in the UK," said Robert Davies from Areva UK.
Rolls-Royce plans to build a factory in Rotherham to meet orders resulting from the deal.
Earlier this month, the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved the first nuclear reactors to be built in the country since 1978.
Positive economic data spark rally on Wall Street
A latest bunch of positive economic data sparked a rally on Wall Street on Thursday, pushing major indexes to fresh multi-year closing highs.
The Dow Jones industrial average gained 123.13 points, or 0.96 percent, to 12,904.08, only about 100 points away from the 13,000 key mark.
The Standard & Poor's 500 rose 14.81 points, or 1.10 percent, to 1,358.04, and the Nasdaq Composite Index rallied 44.02 points, or 1.51 percent, to 2,959.85, a new 12 year closing high.
Thursday' s data continued to show the U.S. economic recovery was picking up.
The Labor Department said that the number of people applying for jobless benefits dropped 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 348,000 last week, the lowest level in almost four years.
The four-week moving average of new jobless claims declined 1, 750 to 365,250. The average has remained below the 400,000 mark since November, a positive sign of improvement for the sluggish jobs market.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department reported housing starts jumped 1.5 percent to an annual rate of 699,000 units last month, beating previous expectations.
A closely followed index of manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area reached a four-month high in February in further evidence of the continued strength in the manufacturing sector.
According to the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, its manufacturing index climbed to 10.2 in February from 7.3 in January to reach the highest level since October.
Investors were also heartened by some reports that the European central bank had agreed to swap Greek bonds for new bonds, spurring hopes that a complete Greek bond swap deal could be reached in the near term.
Now, Greece is scrambling to get the 130-billion- euro bailout at the Monday meeting of euro zone finance ministers to avert a chaotic default when 14.5 billion euros in debt repayments fall due on March 20.
Among stocks in focus, General Motors surged about 9 percent after the company reported a record 7.6-billion-dollar profit last year, two years after it nearly collapsed.
In other markets, the U.S. dollar fell against major currencies in late New York trading and oil prices rose on hopes for a Greek debt deal.
Light, sweet crude for March delivery gained 51 cents, or 0.50 percent to settle at 102.31 dollars a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.
Canadian stocks rally on positive U.S. data
The Canadian stock market was higher on Thursday as positive U.S. economic data helped traders balance doubts as to whether Greece will get the bailout money needed to head off bankruptcy and the possibility of downgrades involving some of the world's biggest banks, including Royal Bank of Canada.
The S&P/TSX Composite Index rose 123.88 points, or 0.06 percent, to close at 12,362.03 while the S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index gained 3.55 points, or 0.22 percent, at 1,633.58.
Moody's Investors Service said it may lower the ratings of some of the world's largest banks as well as those of some securities firms because their long-term prospects for profitability and growth are shrinking.
Banks under review for downgrades include Royal bank of Canada, one of the Canada's five biggest banks, Citigroup, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Morgan Stanley.
The announcement comes just days after the ratings agency said that it was cutting the ratings of Italy, Portugal and Spain, partly because of Europe's weakening economy.
Royal Bank of Canada's stock was off 10 percent at 53.36 Canadian dollars.
Investors are gradually reassessing their assumption that Greece will get a bailout worth 130 billion euros and an accompanying 100-billion debt euros writedown by private bondholders.
On Wednesday evening, after a conference call between the 17 euro zone finance ministers, more hurdles were put in front of Greece. One involves the possibility of setting up an account, separate from Greece's general budget that would be dedicated to paying off Greece's massive debt.
But Investors felt relieved by the U.S. economic data, especially the index of manufacturing activity in the Philadelphia area. The Philadelphia Federal Reserve's manufacturing index reached a four-month high of 10.2 in February in further evidence of the continued strength in the manufacturing sector.
The base metals and mining sector led the gainers, up 1.15 percent as the March copper contract approached 0.16 percent to 3. 82 U.S. dollars a pound. Teck Resources advanced 2.34 percent to 39.38 Canadian dollars.
The energy sector was up 1.34 percent as the U.S. economic reports pushed the March crude oil contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange ahead 0.51 percent to 102.32 U.S. dollars a barrel. Canadian Natural Resources rose 1.84 percent to 37.07 Canadian dollars.
Canada's third largest insurance giant Sun Life Financial Inc. reported it lost 525 million Canadian dollars in the latest quarter. Its share lost 0.05 percent to 20.88 Canadian dollars.
Economically speaking, Statistics Canada said on Thursday that the Canadian manufacturing sales improved 0.6 percent in December to 49.9 billion Canadian dollars, the fifth hike in six months.
On the currency front, the Canadian dollar improved from early lower levels amid positive U.S. data and rose 0.22 U.S. cents to 100.29 U.S. cents. One U.S. dollar was buying 0.9971 Canadian dollars at 5 p.m. local time (2200 GMT) on Thursday, compared with 0.9993 Canadian dollars on Wednesday.
US Congress backs payroll tax cut
The US Congress has voted in favour of extending a payroll tax cut until the end of 2012, ending months of debate.
The bill now moves on to President Barack Obama, who has promised to sign it into law.
The deal would extend a payroll tax cut the White House says saves middle-class Americans some $1,000 (£630) a year.
Republicans had demanded that the tax cut be offset by budget cuts elsewhere, but later agreed to add the estimated $100bn cost to the US budget deficit.
Correspondents said the deal was a compromise by fiscally conservative House Republicans, who had fought last December for a deal that did not increase the deficit.
Bipartisan vote
The Senate approved the $143bn measure by a 60-36 vote.
Moments earlier, the House of Representatives passed the bill by a broad 293-132 vote.
The law also extends jobless benefits to people who have been out of work for more than six months, and prevents a significant cut in reimbursements for doctors who treat patients on Medicare, a goverment-sponsored health programme.
The payroll tax debate sparked an impasse in Congress at the end of 2011.
Republicans in the House were put on the defensive as the year drew to a close after negotiations broke down on how to pay for the cut.
After a climbdown by Republican House Speaker John Boehner, Republicans eventually agreed to a two-month extension while a House and Senate panel brokered a year-long deal.
Compromises
Extending the cut, which was originally passed in 2010, was part of a wide-ranging jobs plan launched by President Barack Obama in September 2011.
As part of the year-long deal, Democrats dropped requests for new tax breaks.
Republicans had wanted to reduce the extension of unemployment benefits from 99 weeks to 59 weeks. The White House wanted a 79-week extension as a compromise.
The eventual deal settled on 73 weeks of in states with high unemployment.
The Republicans also dropped a condition that potential recipients of unemployment benefits must be drug-tested first.
Fake US bonds worth trillions seized
Italian prosecutors say they have broken up an organised crime ring that was hiding trillions of dollars of fake US bonds.
Worth $6 trillion, the bonds were found in three metal boxes in a warehouse in the Swiss city of Zurich.
Italian authorities have arrested eight people and are investigating them for fraud and other crimes.
Prosecutors are not sure what the gang was planning, but think they intended to sell the counterfeit bonds.
Investigators, based in Potenza in southern Italy, say the fraud posed "severe threats" to international financial security.
In cooperation with Swiss police, they tracked down three metal boxes to a warehouse in Zurich. The crates contained thousands of fake US bonds that gave the appearance they had been issued by the US Federal Reserve in 1934.
US officials confirmed that the bonds were counterfeit.
Fake US securities have been seized in Italy before and there were at least three cases in 2009.
But this case is on a different scale to previous investigations, as the fake bonds have a value equivalent to almost half of the entire US debt pile.
"Everything began with an investigation into mafia clans in the Vulture-Melfese area in the southern Basilicata region," said Giovanni Colangelo, the head of the prosecutor's office in Potenza.