Packers sack Steelers, bring Lombardi Trophy home again
The ghosts of football past cast long shadows in Green Bay. But Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers emerged from them Sunday night with a career-making MVP performance against the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers, leading the Packers to a 31-25 victory in a glitzy Super Bowl XLV battle.
"It's a dream come true," Rodgers said. "It's what I dreamt about as a little kid watching Joe Montana and Steve Young, and we just won the Super Bowl."
It is the fourth Super Bowl victory for the Packers and a record 13th NFL title for a club that joined the league in 1921. Green Bay did something few teams have done in the past 45 years: stop the Steelers in America's premier sporting showcase. Pittsburgh still owns a record six Super Bowl victories, now against two losses.
The battle of beloved old-school NFL franchises was played before a crowd of 103,219 at Cowboys Stadium, the nation's newest and largest palace of pro football.
Green Bay grabbed control of the game with two touchdowns in the space of 24 seconds in the first quarter and then never trailed, despite a furious Pittsburgh comeback effort.
Rodgers connected with Jordy Nelson for an arching 29-yard touchdown pass over the head of cornerback William Gay for a 7-0 Packers lead. Gay provided tight coverage on the play, but Rodgers picked on him, and the left side of the Pittsburgh pass defense, for much of the night.
Pittsburgh took over on its own 7 on the next possession. And, on the first play, defensive tackle Howard Green overpowered guard Chris Kemoeatu and got up in the face of Ben Roethlisberger in the end zone. The Steelers quarterback forced a fluttering pass downfield and into the arms of roaming safety Nick Collins, who darted through a maze of potential Pittsburgh tacklers and into the end zone for a 37-yard score.
Gifted with a 14-0 lead, Rodgers and the Green Bay offense spent much of the night picking apart the league's No. 1 scoring defense. Rodgers completed 24 of 39 passes for 309 yards, three touchdowns, no interceptions and a 112.0 passer rating and easily outshined Roethlisberger.
"We put everything on (Rodgers') shoulders," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "He did a lot at the line of scrimmage for us against a great defense. He did a hell of a job."
The Steelers finally got on the board with a 33-yard field goal from Shaun Suisham early in the second quarter after a long drive stalled out in Green Bay territory. But Big Ben threw a second first-half interception (Jarrett Bush) when he tried to force the ball into Mike Wallace.
"There's probably a lot of throws I'd like to have back," Roethlisberger said. "I don't put the blame on anybody but myself."
The pick set up Green Bay's third score, a 21-yard pass from Rodgers to Greg Jennings. The Packers now held a 21-3 lead and looked ready to put it in cruise control: no team in Super Bowl history had overcome a deficit of greater than 10 points.
But Big Ben and the Steelers were at their best when the situation looked hopeless. They whipped up a seven-play, 77-yard scoring drive in just 1:45 to move within 21-10. Roethlisberger opened the drive with a 37-yard throw to Antwaan Randle-El and later connected with Hines Ward for 14 yards on 3rd and 10. He capped the drive with an 8-yard throw to Ward with 39 seconds to play in the quarter.
Rodgers was brilliant in the first half, with two touchdown passes while guiding the Pack to a seemingly insurmountable lead. But the Packers suddenly struggled early in the second half. They failed to gain a single first down on the opening drive and punted the ball away. Pittsburgh returner Antonio Brown was taken down at the 35, while a facemasking penalty on Green Bay's Tom Crabtree moved the ball to midfield.
Then Pittsburgh unleashed the old-school smash-mouth football so often associated with the franchise: the Steelers needed just five plays -- each one on the ground -- to suddenly pull within 21-17. The drive was capped by Rashard Mendenhall's 8-yard touchdown run up the middle behind a battered offensive line that lost starting center Maurkice Pouncey in the AFC title game and then lost right tackle Flozell Adams with an injury in the first half.
The Steelers stuffed the Packers again on the next drive and threatened to close the gap even further. But Suisham's 52-yard attempt sailed wide left.
Green Bay wrested control back on the first play of the fourth quarter, when Ryan Pickett and Clay Matthews combined to force Mendenhall (game-high 14 carries, 63 yards) to fumble. Desmond Bishop pounced on the loose ball, giving the Packers the ball at its own 45.
Bishop credited some inspirational words from star defensive back Charles Woodson, who was injured in the first half, for the fact that he was in the right place at the right time.
"I don't think I played well in the first half, but Charles Woodson tried to speak at the half about what this game meant, and he choked up a bit," Bishop said. "There was something about what he said that just made me want to play harder."
Eight plays after the fumble recovery, Rodgers connected for an 8-yard touchdown to Jennings -- his third touchdown pass -- and Green Bay had a 28-17 lead with just 12 minutes to play. Nelson, a third-year kick-return specialist, emerged as an unlikely star for the Packers, in the tradition of Max McGee, the unexpected hero who caught two touchdowns in Super Bowl I.
Nelson nearly hauled in a 51-yard touchdown that Rodgers overthrew down the right sideline in the first quarter and scored the team's first touchdown on a similar play. Rodgers later teamed up with the receiver for a 38-yard gain that moved the ball deep into Steelers territory and set up the Jennings touchdown reception. Nelson ended the night with nine receptions for a game-high 140 yards -- both career bests. His effort was needed on a night when steady Donald Driver was forced out of the second half with an ankle injury.
"Aaron gave me a little signal if it was press coverage to go deep (on the touchdown catch)," Nelson said. "It was actually a screen play, but he checked to a go route."
After the Jennings score put Pittsburgh in an 11-point hole, Roethlisberger took control on the next drive, much like he did at the desperate end of the first half: he completed 6 of 7 passes to move the ball from his own 34, capping the drive with a beautiful long pass near the left sideline to speedster Mike Wallace for a 25-yard score. Randle El raced around left end for the 2-point conversion, and Pittsburgh was within field goal range, 28-25, midway through the final stanza.
But Green Bay had one more score in it, marching from its own 25 to the Pittsburgh 5 with just over 2 minutes to play. Mason Crosby booted the 23-yard field goal to provide the final 31-25 margin.
The Steelers, and Roethlisberger, were unable to recapture the last-second magic they displayed in their Super Bowl XLIII victory over the Cardinals, when a furious 88-yard touchdown drive provided the final points in a 27-23 win.
Rodgers, meanwhile, capped his impressive 2010 campaign, and his impressive young career, with a defining performance that puts him in the conversation with an impressive array of great champion Packers passers. In fact, Rodgers was already the highest-rated passer in regular-season history (98.4).
With his effort in Super Bowl XLV, he's now in the NFL record books (min. 150 attempts) as the highest rated passer in postseason history, too (112.6). He surpassed the record previously held by Packers Hall of Famer and five-time champion Bart Starr (104.3).
"It feels awesome," said joyous Packers coach Mike McCarthy, who joins Curly Lambeau, Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the four coaches who led the "Titletown" Packers to their NFL-best 13 league championships. "It's great to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Green Bay.
Oprah Has Officially Been Announced as Oscar Presenter
On Feb. 27, live from the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Oprah Winfrey, Sandra Bullock, Jeff Bridges, Marisa Tomei and Halle Berry will be presenting to some of the best actors and actresses one of the most coveted awards, an Oscar, at the 83rd Academy Awards.
Oprah Winfrey, who has presented in the past, was nominated for best supporting actress for her work in “The Color Purple,” Sandra Bullock won best actress last year for “The Blind Side,” Jeff Bridges won best actor last year for “Crazy Heart,” Halle Berry won best actress in 2002 and Marisa Tomei received a best supporting actress Oscar for “My Cousin Vinny” in 1993.
And if you missed it, this year’s hosts have officially been announced as Anne Hathaway and James Franco. Tune in on Feb. 27 on ABC at 8 p.m. EST.
Tom Brady unanimous pick as NFL MVP
The New England Patriots quarterback on Sunday became the first unanimous choice for the Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player Award since the AP began using a nationwide panel of media members who cover the league.
He surpassed himself, too: In 2007, when Brady won his first MVP, he got 49 votes; one voter went for Brett Favre.
"It is always flattering to be chosen for such a prestigious award," said Brady, a former Michigan quarterback. "But I also look at it as a team award, as nothing in football gets accomplished without the mental toughness and determination of every player and coach associated with that team.
"I am very humbled to be a part of an organization where winning comes first, and our goals are based around the success of the team."
Those successes, including three Super Bowl titles in the last 10 years, are in great part due to Brady's excellence.
Although he didn't set nearly as many passing marks as in '07, Brady by far was the league's top performer in leading New England to a 14-2 record, best in the NFL. He had a record streak of 355 throws without being intercepted, and passed for 36 touchdowns with only four picks.
Brady followed his previous MVP trophy with a lost season, tearing left knee ligaments in the first half of the 2008 opener. His return in 2009 was solid, although hand and rib injuries slowed him.
This year, even with a sore right foot that required postseason surgery, Brady was simply dynamic. He twice threw for four touchdowns in a game and four times had three. Twelve times, he had a passer rating of at least 100.
And he guided a young team in transition to 14 victories.
"Brady is so special because he's such a great leader and all the players can relate to him," team owner Robert Kraft said. "These kids (rookies) who come in live in awe of him, but the nice thing is he treats them well.
"He works very hard, he studies very hard," Kraft added. "Being a great quarterback isn't just being very skilled. It's being able to process information quickly, to make the adjustments, and I think he's fabulous at that."
Source: The Detroit News
Stoudemire scores 41 points, Knicks beat 76ers
Apparently not getting enough of a workout, Amare Stoudemire did a few push-ups before heading to the line for some late-game free throws.
Stoudemire wants the New York Knicks to be tougher, and on Sunday he simply overpowered the Philadelphia 76ers.
The All-Star forward matched his season high with 41 points on 17-of-21 shooting in the Knicks' 117-103 victory, which gave them a split of an important home-and-home series.
"He understands the big moment and the stage," Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni said. "That's why he came to New York."
Rookie Landry Fields added a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds as the Knicks rebounded from a 100-98 loss Friday night in Philadelphia to snap a two-game losing streak and win for just the fourth time in 13 games.
"We knew how important this game was for us," Stoudemire said. "In Philly they caught us off guard with their energy and the way they play, and we came out tonight and retaliated."
Stoudemire, outplayed by Elton Brand on Friday, rebounded with his 17th career 40-point game. Raymond Felton had 13 points and 13 assists as the Knicks shot a season-best 59.7 percent.
"We just kept playing uphill," Sixers coach Doug Collins said. "Amare was super. Their two guards had 38 points and 14 assists."
Stoudemire scored 21 on Friday, but shot only 7 of 19 and was one of several Knicks who couldn't contain Brand. He had 28 points for Philadelphia, which could have moved within a game of New York for sixth place in the Eastern Conference. But there was no late run, two nights after the Sixers rallied with a 15-0 burst in the fourth quarter.
This time, Fields hit three of the Knicks' five 3-pointers that helped them stay well ahead in the final period.
"STAT said it best," Fields said of Stoudemire. "We need four good quarters, not just two, not just three. We did that well tonight."
Brand shot 10 of 14, two nights after finishing with a season-high 33 points and 16 rebounds in his best performance since the 2006-07 season. Lou Williams scored 19 points and fellow reserve Thaddeus Young had 16, but the Sixers had their three-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the second time in eight games.
"They have a really talented team. They can score in bunches and you saw that tonight," Brand said. "We had a great streak and we're playing really well, so we need to regroup and get on to Atlanta."
The Knicks quickly extended a four-point halftime lead to double digits in the third quarter, opening a 15-point advantage midway through the period. Philadelphia cut it to three by the end, but the Knicks were up 86-80 after hitting 63 percent of their shots in the third.
Three-pointers by Wilson Chandler and Toney Douglas pushed it to 92-80 early in the fourth, and the Sixers never could put much of a dent in New York's lead.
The only negative for the Knicks was Stoudemire's 14th technical foul of the season, which puts him two away from an automatic one-game suspension. Called by referee Bob Delaney for his reaction after being whistled for a foul while going for a steal, Stoudemire said even the official told him it wasn't a bad display, and planned to call the league office in hopes of getting it rescinded.
"I don't know how you play the game without emotion," D'Antoni said, adding Stoudemire never curses. "I do not get it. It's an emotional game and I would rather players play with emotion."
The Knicks seemed to be in control of the No. 6 seed - which could mean avoiding a first-round matchup with Boston or Miami - after their strong December, but the Sixers put together a 20-13 stretch after starting the season 3-13 to put the pressure on.
Starting point guard Jrue Holiday shot only 1 of 8 and has been held below 10 points in five of the last eight games. He said offensively he "just didn't have it today."
"I think everybody has games were they're not so good offensively," Holiday said. "One thing I pride myself on personally is defense and I think I played defense well today."
The Knicks shot 59 percent in the first quarter, with Stoudemire scoring 10 points for a 31-24 lead. He had nine more in the second, including a three-point play with 32 seconds left as New York led 55-51 going to halftime.
Source:AP
Wade gets 28 and Heat ease past Clippers, 97-79
Dwyane Wade had 28 points, eight rebounds and eight assists and the Heat stretched their winning streak to six games on Sunday afternoon with a 97-79 win over the Los Angeles Clippers .
Chris Bosh scored 16, Eddie House added 15 and LeBron James had a season-low 12 points for Miami. The Heat started the fourth quarter on an 18-4 burst to pull away.
"Finally in the second half, we got it going," Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said.
Griffin had his 42nd double-double for the season, finishing with 21 points and 16 rebounds. Randy Foye scored 15, Baron Davis added 14 and Ryan Gomes added 12 for Los Angeles, which fell to 3-17 away from home - not the best of signs for a team now two outings in to what'll become an 11-game road trip by the end of the month.
The Clippers shot 32.5 percent in a game that ended around brunch time in Los Angeles - 11:42 a.m. Pacific time, to be precise.
"We just weren't sharp and weren't good offensively," Clippers coach Vinny Del Negro said. "The guys battled. Our bench was poor today. We didn't get anything from the bench, which really hurt us. We're just not deep enough now to go through those lulls."
Miami remained 1 1/2 games behind Boston for the best record in the Eastern Conference. Boston beat Orlando 91-80 later Sunday.
Miami led by 16 early, held a 15-point lead in the third, but found themselves only up nine early in the fourth quarter. Consecutive jumpers by House, the last a 3-pointer, quickly pushed the margin to 75-61 with 10:09 remaining. The Clippers missed their first 10 shots of the fourth, not getting on the scoreboard for the quarter until 7:31 was left to play.
House left his mark on the Clippers in the fourth. He fouled Griffin on a fast break with 7:08 left, sending the presumptive rookie of the year sliding into the basket support.
"Barely pushed him," James insisted to his longtime manager, Maverick Carter, who was sitting courtside.
Crew chief Ed Malloy huddled with referees Eric Lewis and Tommy Nunez Jr., who determined House's foul merited an ejection as a Flagrant-2. They also gave Davis a technical for the way he reacted to the play, then went to a lengthy video review.
"I've got a Super Bowl party, man," James yelled at them. "C'mon."
The call was changed to a Flagrant-1, House stayed in the game, and play resumed after about five minutes. The Clippers made two free throws and Griffin scored on the ensuing possession to get Los Angeles within 79-67, but Wade and James quickly answered with layups.
"I don't have any thoughts about it. I'll look at it on film and see what it looks like," Griffin said.
Said House: "I wasn't trying to hurt him."
What House did in the ensuing moments hurt the Clippers more. He hit two quick 3-pointers, and suddenly, it was 91-67 with 4:21 remaining.
The game started just past noon Eastern, with all NBA games Sunday having early tips so to avoid conflicting with the Super Bowl.
For the Clippers, it was the earliest start to a game since Feb. 4, 2007 - and they certainly lacked the early spark they had on the way to beating Miami in Los Angeles last month.
"It's tough," Del Negro said. "But I'm a big fan of 'no excuses."'
The Clippers had 44 points in the first quarter of that January meeting with Miami. They weren't even there by halftime Sunday, reaching the 44-point mark when Griffin made a pair of free throws with 8:33 left in the third quarter.
"We knew we had to get ready and get out and get to the fight early on, so we didn't have one of those first quarters like we had in L.A.," Wade said.
Griffin had his share of now-standard highlight-reel moments, including a dunk with about 3 minutes left in the first quarter that even left some on the Heat bench shaking their heads. Foye had missed a 3-pointer from the left side and Griffin - in one motion - leaped with his right arm outstretched, cradled the ball and slammed it through for a 15-13 lead.
That's when Miami got rolling - and the sleepy start to an early game ended.
Mike Miller had a lob to James for a transition dunk that put the Heat up 20-17, and Wade made a pair of 3s within a minute early in the second quarter to cap a 10-2 burst.
The Heat quickly tacked on a 10-0 run as well, with James beating Griffin to close it.
Griffin bumped James and sent him sprawling to the court about 30 feet from the basket, so James asked for the ball on the same possession, called a clear-out, drove at Griffin and had an acrobatic layup for a 42-27 lead - one of his few baskets, not that it mattered to him.
"Wins take care of themselves," James said. "That's all that matters to me."
Source:AP
Rondo scores 26 as Celtics beat Magic 91-80
Rajon Rondo kept scoring inside while the Orlando Magic continued missing from outside.
Boston's pass-first point guard drove aggressively to the hoop and scored 26 points to lead the Celtics to a 91-80 win on Sunday.
"He totally dominated us," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said, "got where he wanted to go anytime he wanted to go."
With Rondo scoring 11 points, the Celtics extended a 46-43 halftime lead to 70-61 after the third quarter. They led by eight to 16 points the rest of the way.
Paul Pierce had 18 points and Kevin Garnett scored 16 for the Celtics, who improved to 23-4 at home. Dwight Howard had 28 points - only six in the second half - and 13 rebounds for the Magic, who lost for the fifth time in eight games despite playing tight defense on Pierce and Ray Allen.
"They didn't leave Ray or Paul's body. I tried to be aggressive," Rondo said. "The lane just opened up a lot more even though Dwight was down there."
The Celtics rallied after a scary injury to backup guard Marquis Daniels with 11:01 left in the second quarter. He was taken off the court on a stretcher after a collision with Gilbert Arenas and Orlando ahead 24-17.
Dr. Brian McKeon, the Celtics' team physician, said Daniels bruised his spinal cord. Danny Ainge, the team's president of basketball operations, said Daniels had full function and, as a best case, would miss one to two months.
The injury helped the Celtics "a lot," Rondo said. "It's crazy to say you have to wait for something to happen to get a boost. That's how it is."
Boston led by three at halftime and stretched that to 70-55 with 3:36 left in the third quarter. At that point, the Celtics had made 9 of their 10 shots in the period while the Magic had hit just 4 of 18.
"I just could not find anything for us to run to get a decent shot," Van Gundy said.
Orlando scored the last six points of the third quarter, cutting the lead to 70-61, but the Celtics came right back with a 7-2 run to go ahead 77-63.
"I thought Rondo took the third over," Garnett said. "In the second half, we had a lot more energy emotionally."
Allen made 2 of 4 3-point attempts and moved within three of the NBA record of 2,560 made 3-pointers held by Reggie Miller. Allen can improve on his total of 2,557 at Charlotte on Monday night.
The Magic made just 3 of 24 shots from 3-point range after entering the game ranked ninth in the NBA with a 36.8 percentage. They've taken and made the most 3-pointers in the league.
"If their 3-point game is going, they're going to be tough to beat," Pierce said. "We feel like Dwight couldn't beat us by himself."
Overall, the Magic took 30 more shots (32 for 93, 34.4 percent) than the Celtics (30 for 63, 47.6 percent) but made just two more. Ryan Anderson had 12 points for the Magic, but Gilbert Arenas was scoreless on seven shots and Hedo Turkoglu went 1 for 10 with 4 points.
"If we're going to come in on the road and play the Boston Celtics you've got to have guys playing at a very high level," Van Gundy said. "We didn't have a single perimeter guy have a good game."
Leading by three at halftime, Boston took control by scoring the first seven points of the third quarter, taking a 53-43 lead. Pierce began the spurt with a 15-footer, Garnett added a baseline jumper and Allen hit his second 3-pointer of the game.
Jason Richardson followed with a 3-pointer for the Magic before Rondo made two free throws and Pierce sank a layup for a 57-46 lead with 8:23 left in the quarter.
It was 65-55 before the Celtics ended the quarter with five straight points - a 3-pointer by Rondo and a layup by Garnett.
"The Miami Heat and Boston are rolling right now," Howard said of the top two teams in the Eastern Conference. "We're going to be OK. We've got things we've got to work on."
The Magic had raced to a 12-2 lead before the Celtics took their first lead 41-40 with 1:01 left in the half on two free throws by Garnett.
Boston's Glen Davis bruised his head and Orlando's Jameer Nelson was kicked in the ribs when they collided under the Magic's basket with 3:57 left in the first quarter. Both left the game but returned in the second quarter.
Source:AP
Egypt unrest: Banks reopen after week of closure
Some banks in Egypt have reopened for a few hours after a week of closure in the wake of continued street protests.
It came as the government warned of the damage which continued unrest could do to the nation's economy.
"We want people to go back to work and to get paid, and life to get back to normal," army commander Hassan al-Roweny said.
Last week Credit Agricole Bank said the protests were costing the country at least $310m (£192m) a day.
Currency steady
Economists at the bank also revised down their economic growth estimate for Egypt this year from 5.3% to 3.7%.
Following a week-long closure, the Egyptian pound opened weaker against the US dollar, although not to the extent some traders had expected.
The currency was trading at about 5.90 to the dollar, slightly below the 5.8550 before banks were closed.
"I am confident that the market will be orderly," central bank governor Farouk el-Okdah had said late on Saturday before markets reopened.
As people clamoured to enter the banks, staff tried to establish some sort of system for dealing with their customers.
For the past week, with banks closed, there have been long queues at ATM machines as Egyptians sought to withdraw their money.
Tourism hit
Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has been holding talks with ministers to try to get the economy moving.
The Egyptian stock market, which remains closed, is down by about 20% since the beginning of the year.
Meanwhile, many shops have been closed during 12 days of protest, while some prices have been pushed up.
Trade Minister Samiha Fawzi Ibrahim has said exports were down 6% in January and that the authorities were providing extra food to try to stabilise prices and curb shortages.
Many factories in the major cities remain shut and state media said the stock market would not open on Monday, as had earlier been planned.
Last week Vice-President Omar Suleiman said one million foreign tourists had fled the country over the previous nine days, costing $1bn in lost revenues for a country where tourism accounts for some 6% of GDP.
Japan and Australia to talk trade amid farm sector row
Japan and Australia will hold talks in Tokyo on Monday aimed at securing Japan's first free-trade agreement with a major agricultural exporter.
Negotiations fell apart last April over calls to open up Japan's farming sector.
For years Japan has protected its inefficient farming industry, and has put high tariffs on imports.
But Japan's sluggish economy could be causing a shift in policy and thinking, analysts said.
"There has been some change in attitude, even in the strong farmer lobby groups," said Akio Okawara of the Sumito Research Institute.
"There is a realisation that they have to be a little accommodating. Japan needs to change."
Cultural traditions
Japan cites food security and cultural reasons for its protection of the farming sector.
It has placed heavy tariffs on imported products such as grains. On rice the import levy is 800%, while on wheat it is 250%.
According to the BBC's Phil Mercer in Sydney, one Australian farming representative said the position taken by Japan's Ministry of Agriculture during previous rounds of talks had reflected the sensibilities of many Japanese farmers.
The representative said Japan's farmers were "old and very conservative".
Estimates put about half of Japan's farmers at more than 65 years of age.
Stalled talks
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan has said he wants to prioritise trade to boost Japan's economy.
Bilateral trade between Australia and Japan is worth about $60bn (£37bn) annually.
Some analysts say that while Japan is still keen to protect its domestic markets, it has other needs that may prompt it to make compromises at the negotiating table.
Roland Buerk, the BBC's correspondent in Tokyo, says Japan would welcome greater access to Australia's vast supply of raw materials, particularly uranium for nuclear power generation.
Japan is also heavily dependent on other imports to meet its energy needs.
"If the talks don't result in an agreement it might not hurt Japan's economy in the short term but in the long run Japan needs to open up its markets," said Mr Okawara of the Sumito Research Institute.
Trade Landscape
Analysts say the bilateral trade talks with Australia are a test-case for Japan.
In June, Prime Minister Kan will have to decide whether or not to take part in a trans-Pacific free-trade agreement.
The US has taken the lead on this pact and it involves eight other countries.
But for Japan to take part, the government would have to agree to open up many more of its barriers to trade.
Left behind?
Many of Japan's trade rivals in the region have been marching ahead with deals aimed at boosting sales and economic growth.
Last year South Korea inked free-trade deals with the US and the European Union giving its electronics and car companies better access to those markets.
Analysts said that this put further pressure on Japanese companies and had amplified the threat of them being left behind in a competitive global marketplace.
Not least because China has also signed trade deals with the US and is expected to overtake Japan as the world's second-largest economy later this year.
US unemployment down in January as jobless give up
US unemployment fell in January to 9% from 9.4% a month earlier, the Department of Labor said.
It is the second such monthly fall, after unemployment fell from a rate of 9.8% in November.
But despite this, the number of jobs created, at 36,000, was far below the expected 140,000.
The poor figure may have been due to blizzards during January, which are thought to have kept many workers at home.
The total number of unemployed fell by 600,000 versus December, according to the data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Some economists interpreted the drop in unemployment as symptomatic of a long-term decline in overall employment levels.
As job-seekers give up looking for work, they ceased to be classified as unemployed.
The number of people "marginally attached to the workforce" - meaning they were not actively looking but available to work - stood at 2.8 million, up from 2.5 million a year earlier.
Winter blues
The number of new private sector jobs - at 50,000 - was also well below expectations of 150,000, which had been built up by a sustained fall in unemployment benefit claims in recent months, as well as strong industry survey data.
Most of the new jobs created came in manufacturing (up 49,000), particularly in durable goods such as car construction.
The retail sector added a further 28,000, and healthcare 11,000.
However, these gains were partly offset by continued job losses in other parts of the economy, notably construction where employment fell 32,000.
The US housing and commercial property markets continue to be heavily depressed, although the Department suggested the January data may have been affected by "severe winter weather".
A separate household survey carried out by the department found that 866,000 people did not work in January because of the weather conditions.
"The severe winter weather that occurred during the sample week appears to explain most of the weakness," said Paul Ashworth, chief economist at Capital Economics in Toronto.
The weather may also have had a hand in a 38,000 drop in employment in transport and warehousing, with the brunt borne by couriers.
Low participation
There were some positive signs in the data, such as:
- the number of long-term unemployed fell slightly to 6.2 million
- those working part-time because they cannot find full-time work fell to 8.4 million from 8.9 million
- job creations for the previous two months were revised up by a total of 40,000
Opinions on the seemingly contradictory numbers differed greatly.
Many economists blamed the poor job creation number on the dreadful weather and data revisions.
Others said it evidenced a continuing long-term decline in overall employment levels.
The labour force participation rate - which calculates the number of workers, both employed and unemployed, as a percentage of the working-age population - declined to 64.2%, according to Bill McBride of the economics blog Calculated Risk.
"This is the lowest level since the early '80s," he notes. "The participation rate is well below the 66% to 67% rate that was normal over the last 20 years."
Confusion
Others still admitted their exasperation at reading between the lines.
"I don't even know what to think, to be honest," said Dan Cook, senior market analyst at IG economics.
"Last month we saw a drop in the unemployment rate that was sizable, now it's dropped down to 9%, yet we only added 36,000 jobs.
"My first question is where are all the workers going - are they all just giving up? Right now, as a market participant myself I am having trouble what to make of this data."
The apparent contradiction may also be due to the fact that the data come from two different sources.
The unemployment figure is based on a survey of households, whereas the job creation number comes from a separate survey of employers.
India's economic growth under 'threat' from inflation
India's prime minister has warned that the country's rapid economic growth is under "serious threat" from inflation.
Manmohan Singh said getting inflation under control was a matter of urgency, raising the prospect of an eighth interest rate rise in under 12 months.
Emerging markets like India, where GDP growth is running at 8.5%, are helping to drive global economic recovery.
But Mr Singh said India's inflation rate of 8.4% - and food price inflation of 17% - was unsustainable.
"Inflation poses a serious threat to the growth momentum. Whatever be the cause, the fact remains that inflation is something which needs to be tackled with great urgency," he said.
Analysts believe that surging food and oil prices mean that India's central bank may have to raise interest rates before its next policy meeting, which is scheduled for 17 March.
India's stock market has fallen this year on fears that high inflation will scare off foreign investors.
Wages in India are also rising as workers demand pay that keeps up with the cost of living.