Eurozone's economic growth accelerates
The economy of the 17 countries that use the euro grew by 0.8% in the first three months of 2011, up from 0.3% in the previous quarter.
Germany was largely responsible for the better-than-expected figure, reporting growth of 1.5% in the period.
There was a surprisingly strong 0.8% growth rate from debt-laden Greece.
France grew 1%, Italy and Spain grew 0.1% and 0.3% respectively and Portugal slid into recession after contracting for the second quarter in a row.
Growth there declined by 0.7%, following a 0.6% contraction in the final quarter of 2010.
"This is almost certainly as good as it gets for the eurozone and growth seems likely to moderate over the coming months in face of significant headwinds," said Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight.
Greece's positive showing in the quarterly figures was a surprise, although compared with the same quarter of the previous year, the economy has contracted by 4.8%.
Platon Monokroussos at EFG Eurobanka said the figures were, "a huge positive surprise, a reading that is significantly above market expectations".
He attributed the growth in the quarter to a recovery in exports.
Ken Wattret at BNP Paribas said: "Big picture-wise, once again the theme is divergence between the core and periphery and the core countries account for the vast majority of euro area output.
"The periphery are getting the worst of both worlds. The core countries like Germany are doing really well and that's keeping the euro strong, and it's making the ECB [European Central Bank] more inclined to tighten policy."
He added that what the countries on the periphery really needed was low interest rates and a weaker euro.
Portugal's downturn is expected to get worse as a result of the austerity measures agreed as part of its bail-out by the EU and the IMF.
Italy's growth figure was worse than expected, with the 0.1% rate the same as it was for the last three months of 2010.
Last month, the Italian government cut its growth forecast for the whole of 2011 from 1.3% to 1.1%.
The rise in Spain's latest quarterly growth rate to 0.3% from 0.2% in the previous quarter is more encouraging as the country tries to avoid a third consecutive year of contracting GDP.
It is struggling to deal with an unemployment rate of 21.29%, which is the highest in the industrialised world, as it attempts to recover from the financial crisis and a property slump.
For comparison, UK GDP grew by 0.5% in the first three months of 2011 and the US by 0.4%.
Figures earlier in the week showed that German exports and imports had both risen to their highest monthly level since records began in 1950.
Germany's GDP figures from Destatis showed that domestic demand had been one of the strongest drivers of growth.
The country's growth figures were "fantastic", according to Christian Schulz at Berenberg Bank.
"Consumption will become more and more the engine of growth in the future, since unemployment is dropping starkly," he said.
"France also expanded robustly. The eurozone core remains the anchor for the entire currency union."
France's growth rate was its fastest since the second quarter of 2006.
France's economy minister Christine Lagarde said she was now "very confident that the (government) forecast of 2% growth for 2011 can be met".
She added that the manufacturing sector had been a particularly strong driver of growth in France.
GDP figures from the eurozone |
||
|---|---|---|
| Country | Q1 2011 growth | Q4 2010 growth |
|
Eurozone |
0.8% |
0.3% |
|
Austria |
1.0% |
0.9% |
|
Belgium |
1.0% |
0.5% |
|
Cyprus |
0.0% |
0.4% |
|
Estonia |
2.1% |
2.3% |
|
Finland |
0.3% |
1.7% |
|
France |
1.0% |
0.3% |
|
Germany |
1.5% |
0.4% |
|
Greece |
0.8% |
-2.8% |
|
Italy |
0.1% |
0.1% |
|
Netherlands |
0.9% |
0.7% |
|
Portugal |
-0.7% |
-0.6% |
|
Slovakia |
1.0% |
0.9% |
|
Spain |
0.3% |
0.2% |
Japan's government approves Tepco compensation scheme
Japan's government has approved a plan to help Tokyo Electric Power (Tepco) compensate victims of the crisis at its tsunami-crippled nuclear plant.
Payouts are expected to run into the tens of billions of dollars over the Fukushima nuclear plant breakdown.
The assistance could help Tepco avoid bankruptcy, but the government insisted it was not meant as a bail-out.
Meanwhile, this summer the firm also plans to restart thermal power plants shut since the March earthquake.
Oil-powered
The move is to help it avoid possible power shortages during the peak season for demand.
Tepco plans to restart the 600 megawatt No 2 unit and 1,000 megawatt No 4 unit, both oil-fired, at its Hirono thermal plant, about 20 km (12 miles) south of the Fukushima plant.
A 1,000 MW coal-fired unit at Hitachinaka in Ibaraki, north of Tokyo, will also come into operation.
The crisis has brought Tepco, Asia's biggest power firm, to the brink of ruin and there has been concern about how the company would pay a massive compensation bill.
Now Japan's government has agreed to use taxpayer's money to help - reports say more than $60bn.
Strict conditions
Under the plan a state-backed institution will be created from which Tepco can draw money to pay out claims.
In return the company will fall under close government supervision. It will remain listed on the stock exchange but will use profits to pay back the money over a period of years.
Tepco - which serves an area that accounts for 33% of Japan's economy - had earlier agreed to drastic restructuring in return for government help.
The conditions agreed by the company include massive cost-cutting, no upper limit for compensation payouts and accepting an investigation of its management.
Other electricity companies with nuclear power stations will also be expected to contribute, says the BBC's Roland Buerk in Tokyo.
The government is expected to provide as much support as needed to prevent companies from going into the red, and is expected to fund the scheme by issuing special-purpose bonds.
The scheme eases fears that Tepco's problems could destabilise Japan's financial markets.
But it may face opposition in parliament if it is seen as too lenient on shareholders and management, our correspondent says.
Japanese media have reported that Tepco may have to raise electricity prices in order to help pay for payments.
Tepco's shares dropped on Friday and were trading about 6% lower at 452 yen.
Banking stocks also fell, on fears they may have to rework their loan agreements with Tepco.
Plant shutdown
Meanwhile, the operators of Japan's ageing Hamaoka nuclear plant south-west of Tokyo say they have begun shutting down one of its last two functioning reactors.
The plant is located in the Tokai region near a tectonic faultline just 200km from Tokyo.
Seismologists have long warned that a major earthquake is overdue in the region.
Last week Prime Minister Naoto Kan called for the plant's closure in the light of the catastrophic events at the Fukushima plant.
On Thursday, Tepco said that damage to a reactor at the Fukushima plant was worse than originally thought.
Water is leaking from the pressure vessel surrounding reactor 1 - probably because of damage caused by exposed fuel rods melting, according to a spokesman.
Cooling systems to the reactors were knocked out by the tsunami, causing fuel rods to overheat. There were subsequently explosions in the buildings housing four reactors, three of which had been operating at the time of the earthquake.
Engineers are pumping water into the reactors to cool them as they work to restore the damaged cooling systems.
Tepco has said that it may take up to nine months to achieve a cold shut-down at the plant.
Pfizer sets aside $772m for drug illness claims
The drugs giant Pfizer has put aside $772m (£476m) to resolve claims its hormone replacement drugs cause serious illness.
Pfizer, which is the world's largest drugmaker, said the money provides "the minimum expected costs to resolve all of the other outstanding" lawsuits over the drugs.
The company did not say how many cases would be settled.
Pfizer has already settled a third of claims relating to the drugs.
At the height of the litigation, the company faced more than 10,000 claims.
Much of the claims were inherited along with Pfizer's 2009 takeover of Wyeth, which makes the menopause treatment drug Prempro.
In 2002 a study linked the drug with breast cancer.
More than six million women took Prempro and related menopause drugs to treat symptoms including hot flushes and mood swings.
Wyeth has won dismissals of more than 3,000 cases before they came to be tried.
Inflation in US food and fuel prices slows
Inflation in the US slowed in April, mainly due to smaller price rises in fuel and food.
Consumer prices rose 0.4% in April, having risen 0.5% in March, according to figures from the Labor Department.
Petrol prices rose 3.3%, down from March's 5.6% increase, while food prices were up 0.4% compared with 0.8% the month before.
Core CPI, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.2%, following March's 0.1% increase.
Rising prices of new vehicles and used trucks were responsible for the core rise.
Spending squeeze
"The real story is that core is edging up. There is a clear acceleration in the core number in recent months," said James O'Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global in New York.
"Clearly the core number has moved away from the deflation zone in the last six months. It's just a matter of time when the Fed will tighten."
Consumer prices were up 3.2% compared with April 2010, following March's corresponding figure of 2.7%.
Core CPI rose 1.3% on the year, up from an annual rate of 1.2% in March.
Rising fuel and food prices are squeezing consumers, whose wages are not keeping up with them.
Average weekly earnings adjusted for inflation fell 0.3% in April, having declined by 0.4% in March, the Labor Department said.
Lil Wayne To Be 'Unplugged' On MTV This June
Rapper Lil Wayne will be the latest artist to be featured on MTV's Grammy/Emmy Award winning music series "Unplugged" this June.
Lil Wayne will perform acoustic versions of different songs from his lengthy discography for the "Lil Wayne: Unplugged" special that will premiere on June 12th on MTV2, MTV and MTV.com.
“Lil Wayne is an amazing choice for Unplugged as he is at hip-hop’s forefront - leading a new generation of artists whose appeal spans across music genres and playlists,” Amy Doyle, EVP, Music and Talent, MTV told AllHipHop.com in a statement.
“Lil Wayne’s skills, influence, and catalog are a powerful addition to the legacy of artists who have rocked the Unplugged stage,” Doyle said.
Lil Wayne joins artists like LL Cool J., Jay-Z, Mariah Carey, Bob Dylan, Lauryn Hill, Hole, Alicia Keys and Korn, who have all performed on "Unplugged."
Lil Wayne, who is putting the final touches on his 9th studio album Tha Carter IV, will on "Unplugged" on Sunday, June 12th at 9 PM ET.
TOK, Octane lash out at Kartel
Artistes are now fuming following a Blackberry broadcast message sent out by deejay Vybz Kartel yesterday where he called the names of artistes who he believed also wore hair extensions.
After he had tongues wagging with his new hairstyle and later attempted to convince the public that it was his real hair, deejay Vybz Kartel yesterday sent out a BlackBerry broadcast message which now contradicts his original statement about his shoulder-length braids.
In the broadcast message, the artiste suggested that the recent negative talks about his new hairstyle stem from the 'badmind' of his success as a musician. He also alluded that he is being unfairly targeted as other artistes have worn extensions and they have not come under the scrutiny that he has been subjected to.
The broadcast message read: 'First off I'd like to say that all the fuss about my hair, as with every other thing that I do has nothing to do with anything except plain old badmind. Because when I was involved in the Ninja Man incident a few years ago, I had in extensions then, why didn't the hullabaloo commence then? Because I wasn't on top so the hating wasn't necessary. When I did "Never Love Another Girl" video in 2005, my hair was permed, why didn't the inquisition commence? Because I wasn't on top so the hating wasn't necessary ... What I'm saying is that when you're on top, people find all kinds of faults and flaws to point out in their quest to tear you down but guess what, I couldn't care less what people say or think about Kartel ... P.S. Mavado, Elephant Man, Machel Montano (whose hair is done by the same girl who did mine) T.O.K. etc have all had extensions put in. Talk bout that."
broadcast message
T.O.K. members, however, have not taken too kindly to Kartel's allusions and Bay-C has since sent out a Blackberry broadcast message of his own. It read: 'To all who seem to be confused, T.O.K. has never worn extensions. To each his own, it's not for me to judge. Having said that, make it clear ... mi a Rasta! Lion of the tribe of Judah! Don't confuse the mane of a lion with the tail of a horse! Bombrush dem!'
Although the broadcast message received by The WEEKEND STAR made no reference to I-Octane, an email from the artiste's manager, Ray Alexander, showed him to be included among the above-mentioned names.
I-Octane's camp also issued a release last night in direct response to Kartel's broadcast message.
"I can't control what another artiste chooses to say," said I-Octane in a release sent to The Jamaica WEEKEND STAR. "But I've been growing my locks for several years now and the people at Jus Natural in Portmore can vouch for that."
He went on to say that he won't allow anyone to shift his focus from music and he won't spend time thinking or even talking about this issue.
The photographs of Vybz Kartel's hairstyle - a headshot of him in an orange shirt and another in which he suggestively poses on a bed in yellow and blue gear - have also managed to set off a frenzy of comments on popular overseas-based website mediatakeout.com. Several of the comments were riddled with expletives and expressed the disgust of the viewers with his skin bleaching practices with
Lindsay Lohan sentenced to jail
Lindsay Lohan has been sentenced to four months in jail over the theft of a gold necklace from a shop in Los Angeles last year.
The actress changed her plea to no contest, which under California law effectively means she admitted taking the jewellery worth $2,500 (£1,529).
Officials say the actress is likely to serve 17 days of the sentence and that will probably be under house arrest.
Lindsay Lohan has until 17 June to report to jail.
The 24-year-old released a statement saying she had already started 300 hours of community work at a women's shelter.
Lohan said: "I hope to be able to fulfil my obligation without any press attention. I think the media spotlight should be on issues such as homelessness and domestic violence instead of on me."
Along with working at the women's shelter, she will do 120 hours of community service at the coroner's office in Los Angeles, have to complete an anti-shoplifting class and will remain on probation for the next three years.
The star was on probation for a 2007 drink-drive case last January when a jewellery store in the Venice area of Los Angeles told police that she'd taken a necklace without permission.
The theft happened three weeks after Lohan was released from rehab.
She had been sent there for three months of treatment after failing a separate drug screening for cocaine and amphetamines.
Lohan also tested positive for alcohol shortly after the theft was reported.
Officials at the pre-trial hearing say the actress, best known for roles in Mean Girls and Ugly Betty, is unlikely to face jail time because of prison overcrowding.
Venus withdraws from French Open
Venus Williams pulled out of the French Open on Friday, 24 hours after her younger sister Serena withdrew, making it the first Grand Slam tournament since 2003 without either Williams.
Venus' agent, Carlos Fleming, wrote in an e-mail to The Associated Press that the seven-time Grand Slam champion notified tournament organizers she wouldn't compete at Roland Garros, where play starts May 22.
The 30-year-old American has been off the tour since January, when she stopped playing only minutes into a match in the third round of the Australian Open because of a hip injury. A left knee injury limited her to just one tournament over the final six months of 2010.
Serena pulled out of the French Open on Thursday; she hasn't entered a tournament since winning her fourth Wimbledon singles championship in early July. A few days later, she cut her foot on glass at a restaurant in Germany, an injury that led to two operations. The second surgery was in October, and she said she spent 10 weeks in a cast and 10 weeks in a walking boot.
She returned to practice last month and said Thursday in a statement issued by her agent that she hopes to "be back competing this summer."
The sisters are among the most dynamic and attention-drawing players in tennis history. Both were ranked No. 1 by the WTA, and they own a combined 20 Grand Slam singles titles -- 13 for Serena, seven for Venus. They have played each other in eight major finals, including at the 2002 French Open, won by Serena.
But a series of health problems have limited them lately, and in this week's rankings, Serena is 17th, Venus 19th.
While the 29-year-old Serena hasn't pointed to a specific target date for her return to action, Venus is entered in a grass-court tournament in Eastbourne, England, that begins June 11. Fleming wrote Friday that Venus "is on track to be ready to play at Wimbledon," which starts June 20.
This French Open will be the third consecutive Grand Slam tournament missed by Serena. Venus, though, had played in the previous 16 in a row, and 30 of the last 32.
The only other time both Williams sisters pulled out of one of tennis' four major tournaments was the 2003 U.S. Open, when Venus had an abdominal injury, and Serena was coming off left knee surgery. Before that, one or the other - and usually both -- participated in every Grand Slam tournament since Serena's first, the 1998 Australian Open.
Grizzlies push Thunder back to OKC for Game 7
Zach Randolph is doing everything he can to keep the Memphis Grizzlies ' memorable playoff run going as long as possible.
Randolph had 30 points and 13 rebounds, and the Grizzlies avoided elimination by beating the Oklahoma City Thunder 95-83 Friday night to push their Western Conference semifinal to Game 7.
The Grizzlies had never won a game before when facing elimination, but that was back in 2004, 2005 and 2006, when they were swept out of the postseason each of those years. These Grizzlies are having not only the best playoff run in franchise history, but they now have won more games this postseason than any other No. 8 seed from the West.
Game 7 will be Sunday in Oklahoma City, with the winner advancing to play the well-rested Dallas Mavericks .
O.J. Mayo, who started in place of Sam Young, scored 16 points for Memphis. Mike Conley had 11 points and 12 assists, and Tony Allen added 10 points as the Grizzlies also improved to 5-1 on their home court in this postseason, with a sellout crowd standing for the entire second half cheering to keep this stunning run going at least one more game.
Memphis outscored the Thunder 51-29 in the second half and 46-38 in the paint.
Russell Westbrook led the Thunder with 27 points, and James Harden had 14. Kevin Durant, the NBA's leading scorer in the regular season, was held to a postseason-low 11 points.
Randolph had been limited to just 19.8 points and 31.9 percent shooting since he scored a career-best 34 points in Game 1. He had been the focus of the Thunder's defense.
But the power forward, named to the All-NBA's third team on Friday, scored 11 in the fourth to preserve Memphis' lead. He scored six straight points, capped by a 12-foot fallaway jumper that sent the fans into a frenzy chanting his nickname.
Oklahoma City just couldn't get to the basket or sink shots in the second half. The Thunder had a fast break with Westbrook driving to the basket, but he just couldn't finish the shot. Randolph came up with the rebound, then Mayo hit a 19-footer to push the Grizzlies' lead to 88-79 with 3:11 left.
The Thunder had their biggest lead at 54-41 just before halftime and looked ready to blow out Memphis, just as they did in Game 5 on Wednesday night in Oklahoma City.
But Shane Battier ended the first half with a 3-pointer, and the Grizzlies used that as the start of an 18-5 run into the third. Randolph's bucket with 5:19 left in the third tied it at 59, Marc Gasol tied it again at 65, and Mayo's three-point play put Memphis ahead to stay at 68-65 with 2:10 left.
Oklahoma City hit only 6 of 22 from the floor in the third compared to Memphis, which hit 10 of 18 after shooting only 38.3 percent in the first half.
Durant picked up his second personal on a questionable offensive foul with 7:37 left in the first quarter and sat for the rest of the period. With Battier defending him most of the night, Durant went 1 of 10 from the floor in the second half.
The Thunder used a 20-7 spurt during which Westbrook scored seven, and Harden capped it with back-to-back 3-pointers for a 52-39 lead with 1:03 remaining. Unlike Game 5, they couldn't build on this lead.
AP
West Indies face Pakistan test
West Indies will look to put the disappointment of the one-day series loss behind them, when they face Pakistan in the opening Test of the two-match series starting here today.
The regional side lost the one-day series 3-2 after trailing 3-0 at one stage; and will be hoping to turn around their fortunes in the game's longer version and walk away from the tour with some form of success.
West Indies start the series with the odds stacked them. They are missing their leading opener in Chris Gayle, who is campaigning in the Indian Premier League, and will also be without their main all-rounder, Dwayne Bravo, who is also playing in the lucrative Twenty20 league.
However, captain Darren Sammy said the 13-man squad had remained focused and was upbeat ahead of the clash at the National Stadium at Providence.
"The guys have been working very hard. We have added some new players and they've been working quite hard. The guys put in some good work in the two-day practice game we had ... we are all confident and ready," said the all-rounder, whose form has been dodgy.
"We believe we can win the series. We believe this because we have worked hard in the build-up to the series and we know we have the ability to perform on home turf and get the better of the Pakistanis.
"We saw an improved batting performance in the last two matches of the one-day series and everyone in the team is feeling confident and fully prepared."
Though encouraged by the comeback in the one-day series, Sammy said it was important his side changed gears as Test cricket represented new challenges.
"It's not like it is in the one-day format. It's about occupying the crease and putting up good totals. Dessie (Desmond Haynes) has been doing some good work (with the batsmen) and the guys look ready to go for the Test match."
The batting will centre around the experienced duo of Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan, who is playing his first Test since being overlooked for the Sri Lanka series last November. Recalled opener Lendl Simmons is in form following four successive half-centuries in the one-day series and stylish stroke-maker Darren Bravo is also due runs.
The side has been lifted by the return of fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who is poised to play his first Test in two years after recovering from a back injury that required surgery.
If he plays, he will line up alongside rookie speedster Kemar Roach in the pace attack, with exciting leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo in line for his Test debut following a successful start to his international career in one-dayers.
West Indies have not won a Test match since they beat England in February 2009, while Pakistan have never won a Test series in the Caribbean.
Pakistan have been boosted by the return of strike bowler Umar Gul, but have lost experienced batsman Younis Khan, who was forced to return home following the death of his brother.
They have won just four of the 21 Tests they have played in the Caribbean.
SQUADS:
WEST INDIES - Darren Sammy (captain), Brendan Nash (vice-captain), Devendra Bishoo, Carlton Baugh Jr, Darren Bravo, Shiv Chanderpaul, Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons, Devon Smith.
PAKISTAN - Misbah-ul Haq (captain), Abdur Rehman, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, Hammad Azam, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Salman, Saeed Ajmal, Tanvir Ahmed, Taufiq Umar, Umar Akmal, Umar Gul, Wahab Riaz.
CMC