Things to Remember

Agence France-Presse
First Posted 06:03:00 10/29/2008
OTTAWA -- US software behemoth Microsoft has doubled a cash reward for information on the whereabouts of a Canadian boy who ran away from home after his father took away his Xbox game console, it said Tuesday.

Brandon Crisp, 15, took off on his bicycle from his Barrie, Ontario home on October 13 -- Canada's Thanksgiving holiday -- and rode east along an old rail line.

He has not been seen since.

His father told local media he had removed Brandon's Xbox, built by Microsoft, after noticing changes in behavior since Brandon started playing "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" online.

The boy started skipping school, stealing money and ignoring his studies, his father said.

A local newspaper, the family's Internet service provider and Child Find offered a 25,000-dollar (US$19,500) reward for information leading to his return.

Microsoft topped it up with another $25,000, the company said Tuesday in an email to AFP, "hoping for his swift return."

"Like everyone, we are deeply worried about the disappearance of Brandon Crisp," the company said.

Exhaustive searches have not turned up a single clue beyond the boy's bicycle, found last week with a flat tire.

Police are said to be examining who Brandon played with online. "Law enforcement has contacted Microsoft about this matter and we are cooperating fully with them," said Microsoft.

On Sunday, 1,600 volunteer searchers packed up their reflective vests and ended their efforts to find him, while police stopped their air and water search.

In an interview with the daily Globe and Mail, the boy's father, Steve Crisp, said he had not known how important the gaming system was to his son and how he would react when it was taken away.

Experts commented that gamers may form bonds with fellow online players.

"This had become his identity, and I didn't realize how in-depth this was until I took his Xbox away," Steve Crisp told the Globe and Mail. "That's like cutting his legs off."

"This is such an issue that hits every parent out there, with video games that are starting to control our kids' lives," he said.

"I just took away his identity, so I can understand why he got so mad and took off. Before, I couldn't understand why he was taking off for taking his game away."

Now, Brandon's father says he just wants his son to come home.

• The Trick to Meeting Guys
• Decode His Body Language

1. Spending time apart strengthens your bond. Sure, it's important to hang out with your guy. But experts now know that it's almost as important not to hang out with him every so often. "When you take time away from each other, it gives you both the opportunity to collect new thoughts, new stories, and new ideas to share," says Jennifer Oikle, PhD, dating coach for Coupling Connection. But the benefits extend beyond having novel tidbits of conversation. "When you're with someone in the moment, you're not really spending time thinking about them," says Debbie Magids, PhD, coauthor of "All the Good Ones Aren't Taken." "When you're distanced, you really think about the person and yearn for them, and you look forward to seeing them again."
2. Your inkling that something is wrong in the relationship is probably right. By nature of being a woman, you have a keen intuition, so you'll feel any kind of distancing on a visceral level pretty quickly. And unless you're an overly suspicious or insecure person -- you know who you are! -- you should always trust your gut. Example: He's incommunicado. Before the days of emailing, texting, IMing, and Facebooking, if you didn't hear from your boyfriend for a day or two, it wasn't the end of the world (or your relationship). But now that communication is so easy and instant, it's usually a sign he's not fully invested.
   "When a guy wants to break up, he'll often start to create space," says Oikle. In other words, he'll stop calling quite as much, it will take him a bit longer to return your texts or emails, and he'll sometimes be "too busy" to hang out. "For the record, if a guy is into you, he'll never be too busy," says Paul Coleman, PsyD, author of "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Intimacy."
   If the pattern continues, confront your man about his behavior in a direct yet nonaccusatory way, saying something like "You haven't called me, and I'm thinking that means you're having second thoughts about us." If he doesn't give you a clear answer, well, let's just say he's giving you a clear answer.
3. If a man has a history of cheating on his girlfriends, he'll probably cheat on you too.Nasty Men," Sometimes a guy cheats on his partner because there is an emotional or physical void in the relationship. But more often than not, philandering is indicative of something wrong with him. According to Jay Carter, PsyD, author of "

   many guys two-time because they love the thrill of the chase

   many guys two-time because they love the thrill of the chase, they need to feed their ego, or they have a hard time turning down a woman when the opportunity presents itself.
   All those factors contribute to serial straying, "which is why men who cheat once usually cheat again," says Oikle. (A recent MSNBC.com survey found that men are twice as likely as women are to cheat more than once.) So if your guy cheated on his last girlfriend with you, don't necessarily write it off as an isolated incident.
4. He wants to think he's taking care of you. Despite the fact that many women are outpacing men on the college level and in the workplace, "lots of guys still derive their feelings of masculinity and self-worth by being of value to the person they love," says Allen Berger, PhD, author of "Love Secrets Revealed." "And they feel most valuable when they're doing things for that person." So even though you're an independent chick who can support herself, it may benefit your relationship if you step back once in a while and let him step up -- even if it's just to do something as simple as pay for dinner. Think of it this way: Letting him care for you shows you care for him.
5. If a guy tells you that he's not ready for a relationship, take his word for it. Believe it or not, men really hate to disappoint women. So if he's "gotten up the guts to actually cross the threshold and tell you that he's not ready for a relationship, he means business," says Oikle. There could be a variety of explanations for his antirelationship position (he has commitment issues, he wants to meet other people, he doesn't see you as girlfriend material), but in the end, the result is the same: He's doesn't desire to be your boyfriend. End of story.
   And no, he won't change his mind when he gets to know you a little better. "Once a guy decides how he sees a girl in his life, it's hard to break out of that thinking," says Coleman. Warning: If you stick around after he's told you this, he will likely take it as a sign that you're cool with the casual, nonexclusive nature of your relationship. So make sure you are.
6. Passion can grow as a relationship progresses. People used to think settling down meant saying goodbye to romance and passion. But research has found that young married couples are more satisfied in the romance department than their single counterparts are. Familiarity definitely has its perks. Couples who have been together for a long time have probably learned how to please each other and are more comfortable sharing their fantasies and desires to keep the romance alive.
7. You won't regret breaking up with a guy you're feeling unsure about. Nowadays, women may be impulsive about dating guys but not dumping them. "In fact, a lot of single women will try really hard to fit a square peg into a round hole because they want the relationship to work so bad," explains Magids. "It's only after a tremendous amount of thought and effort that they finally give up on it."
   In part, women go through that painstaking process because they fear they'll end up kicking themselves for ending a relationship too soon. But a new study from Northwestern University found that even in the short term, people aren't as upset as they thought they'd be after a breakup. So if you sense you're with the wrong person, don't fret so much about walking away to find a better mate.
8. You will always be the one to initiate a relationship talk. Unlike women, who are conditioned to take the pulse of a relationship from time to time, men don't contemplate the state of your union until something's wrong. And even then, they want to work it out in their mind, whereas women want to talk it out.
   When you go to initiate a relationship talk, bear in mind that men are uncomfortable with the unknown and paranoid that you'll end up in tears. So don't ambush him or it'll feel to him like going to the principal's office or being pulled over by a cop: surprising and nerve-racking, says Coleman.
   To put him at ease, try what Oikle calls a compliment sandwich: Start with something positive, work in the concern, and end with something positive. For example, if you're trying to gauge if a new guy sees your relationship as serious, say, "I really like you a lot. Are you thinking this is a long-term thing? We've been having so much fun that I hope you do!" That will be much easier for him to digest than "Hey, am I your girlfriend or what?" Or if you want to broach the subject of moving in with a dude you've been dating for a while, try "I think we have an amazing relationship, and I'm ready to take the next step and move in together. Think of how much fun we'd have living under the same roof!"

CARSON, Calif. – It was the kind of sunny California day perfect for the start of a brave new adventure and maybe, just maybe, David Beckham meant every word he said.

At the glitzy, open-air press conference to herald his arrival in the United States 16 months ago, Beckham spoke at length about his commitment to the Los Angeles Galaxy and his delight at charting new waters in Major League Soccer.

Even then, there was public doubt and skepticism, but as one of the world’s most recognizable soccer players spread his arms and beamed his winning smile, you wanted to believe him – and to believe in him.

It has taken a while, yet now we know how much the Galaxy, MLS and raising the profile of North American soccer really means to Beckham.

The midfielder’s imminent loan switch to AC Milan in the opening months of 2009 proves that Brand Beckham and England rank far ahead of the employer that facilitated his estimated five-year earnings of up to $250 million.

As addressed recently in this column, England and the chase for more cheap national team appearances has become an obsession for Beckham.

Every player has the right to represent his country if selected. However, the timing of the announcement of his move to Milan – before the MLS campaign has even ended – sends out the totally wrong message.

The Galaxy were eliminated from playoff contention last weekend, a defeat in Houston providing the final blow in an utterly humiliating season. What MLS’s highest-profile yet most deeply sickened franchise needs is strong leadership and a combined effort to ensure that fortunes improve in 2009.

What does a base salary of $33 million over five years and countless extras buy you these days? Apparently not Beckham’s undivided attention.

Beckham is showing the Galaxy and the league a chronic lack of respect. Every signal suggests that he wishes he had not come to America so soon, but that’s tough. No one forced him. It was his hand that scrawled the signature on the huge contract that sent his career off on a tangent.

However, the blame is not Beckham’s alone in this instance. If the Galaxy are not strong enough to stand up to him on the matter of a loan, then maybe he is within his rights to push the issue.

The Galaxy’s problem is that owners AEG seem to prioritize the bottom line over the product on the field. That approach is their prerogative, but soccer wisdom dictates that it makes more sense to develop a quality team and allow the extra revenue to follow.

Beckham is placed in an inflated position of strength because the Galaxy cherish their cash cow so dearly that they are afraid to stand up to him. Hence, the waving him on his way to Italy when he should be sitting down with head coach Bruce Arena and asking what he can do to help build a tighter, hungrier and more competitive squad for next season.

It would be wonderful to hear Beckham’s thoughts on the matter, but on Wednesday he shied away from any media questions, leaving the U.S. soccer public to guess about his mindset. The best indication on that front lies in Beckham’s performances for the Galaxy in the second half of the season.

Gone is the hungry warrior desperate for success. Instead, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star looks every bit a 33-year-old and, worse, one who is going through the motions.

The anger and gesticulations that inevitably follow every time he is tackled were once seen as a sign of commitment. Now, they fool nobody.

Whether it is right or not, seeing how Beckham fares in Milan will certainly be interesting. Financially, the deal makes perfect sense for the Serie A club. Yet Beckham faces a tough task in proving he is still capable of being competitive in the highly technical and talent-laden Italian league.

Undoubtedly, there will be rumor and speculation linking him with a permanent move, especially if he does show glimpses of impressive form in Italy. And if his heart is not in California, then maybe he should call time on his American experience, although it is hard to see how such an arrangement could be worked out.

What amount of money could Milan or another European club possibly offer the Galaxy that would compensate them for effectively signing away more than 50 percent of their net worth?

Yet the Galaxy have shown little propensity for making smart decisions in recent times. Why should they start now?

European stocks drifted at the open, after Asian stocks tumbled overnight on fears of a recession.

The FTSE-100 index was up 23.09 at 4063.98 - after opening lower - with France's Cac 40 up 11.9 at 3310.08 and Germany's Dax down 31.63 at 4539.44.

Japan's Nikkei index closed down 2.5%, recovering from earlier lows of as much as 7%, amid concern that slow exports could accelerate a fall into recession.

The White House is to hold a global summit on the crisis next month.

The meeting will debate the reforms needed to avoid another financial crisis and look at the progress being made. Leaders from the G20 group of nations - the world's leading industrialised countries and major developing nations - will attend.

In other developments:

• South Korea's Kospi index fell 7.4%, its lowest close since July 2005. The Korean won lost 5% of its value against the dollar
• Hong Kong's Hang Seng index was down 4.7%, at its lowest ebb since April 2005
• At one point, the Nikkei was trading at 8,016.61, its lowest level for more than five years. It recovered to close down 213 points at 8,460 points
• The yen strengthened against the dollar and the euro. The dollar hit a seven-month low of 96.85 yen, while the euro hit a six-year low of 123.40 yen.
• Indian shares opened down 4.8% at their lowest since June 2006. The rupee has so far shed nearly 21% against the dollar in 2008
• In Australia, the benchmark index closed down 4.4%.

Export fears

The fall in Japanese stocks was triggered in part by weak export data.

The impact of the global slowdown has had a clear impact on Japan's exports Tatsushi Shikano, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities

Its trade surplus plunged 94% to 95.1bn yen ($970.1m; £596.7m) in September and exports grew only 1.5% in September from a year earlier, far below forecasts.

Exports of Japanese cars to the US fell, a sign of slowing consumer demand in the world's largest economy.

The continued strength of the yen prompted fears that this will cause further damage to already weak exports.

"The impact of the global slowdown has had a clear impact on Japan's exports and this was even before the financial crisis erupted in September," Tatsushi Shikano, senior economist, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities.

News of weak Japanese exports knocked shares

"Sluggish export volumes will put a drag on Japan's industrial output and its export-reliant economy in the coming months," he added.

The plunge came in the wake of Wednesday's trading on Wall Street, where the Dow Jones index closed down 5.7%, amid an increasingly gloomy outlook for the global economy.

Job cuts at Yahoo and drugs firm Merck have increased economic concerns in the US.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Democrat Barack Obama has opened an 8-point lead over Republican John McCain two weeks before the U.S. presidential election, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby poll released on Tuesday.

Obama leads McCain 50 percent to 42 percent among likely U.S. voters in the latest three-day tracking poll, up from a 6-point advantage for Obama on Monday. The telephone poll has a margin of error of 2.9 percentage points.

"It was another very big day for Obama," said pollster John Zogby. "Things clearly are moving in Obama's direction."

It was the second consecutive day that Obama gained ground on McCain as the two head into the final sprint to the November 4 election.

Obama, an Illinois senator, expanded his lead among two key swing groups. His advantage with independent voters grew from 11 to 15 points, and his edge with women voters grew from 8 to 13 points.

Obama also took a lead among voters above the age of 70 and expanded his lead among Hispanics and Catholics. His support among Republicans grew from 9 percent to 12 percent a day after he received the endorsement of Republican former Secretary of State Colin Powell.

"Maybe this is the Powell effect," Zogby said. "That wasn't just an endorsement, that was a pretty powerful statement."

McCain narrowly trails Obama among men and saw his lead among whites drop from 13 points to 9 points, 51 percent to 42 percent. Zogby said Obama was doing better than 2004 Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry among crucial sub-groups.

"He is clearly outperforming Kerry," Zogby said. "But two weeks is a lifetime in politics."

This was the first time Obama has stretched his advantage over McCain, an Arizona senator, to more than 6 points since the tracking poll began more than two weeks ago. Obama's edge had been between 2 and 6 points in all 15 days of polling.

Some other tracking polls have showed the race tightening in the last few days. But with the help of his huge spending advantage, Obama has maintained an edge on McCain in key states.

The poll, taken Saturday through Monday, showed independent Ralph Nader gaining 2 percent support. Green Party candidate Cynthia McKinney and Libertarian Bob Barr each registered 1 percent support.

The rolling tracking poll surveyed 1,214 likely voters in the presidential election. In a tracking poll, the most recent day's results are added while the oldest day's results are dropped to monitor changing momentum.

The U.S. president is determined by who wins the Electoral College, which has 538 members apportioned by population in each state. Electoral votes are allotted on a winner-take-all basis in all but two states, which divide them by congressional district.

By Laurence Peter
BBC News, Brussels

Anxiety about national budgets dominated an EU summit where the rescue and supervision of banks vied with climate change as the most pressing issue.

The severity of the financial crisis has had an impact on the EU's ambitious plans to cut greenhouse gas emissions, which look likely to be watered down under pressure from a new "eastern bloc", along with Italy.

The billions of euros required to adapt large enterprises to the emissions targets threaten to put further strain on budgets already groaning under the weight of bank bail-outs and rising unemployment.

Poland, heavily reliant on coal-fired power stations, teamed up with seven other former communist countries to demand a reassessment of the burden imposed by the targets.

Then Italy's Prime Minister, Silvio Berlusconi, struck a protectionist note, saying Italian firms were "in no state to take on costs like those we thought about last year".

Fiercely debated

The European Commission will now look at the specific problems that some countries face in meeting the targets. But it is determined - along with the French EU presidency - to clinch a deal on the targets before next year.

The proposed changes to the EU's pioneering Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be fiercely debated in the European Parliament and by ministers, who are supposed to hammer out a deal strong enough to inspire the rest of the world. The EU is gearing up for major international talks next year on climate change.

Fiercely debated

The European Commission will now look at the specific problems that some countries face in meeting the targets. But it is determined - along with the French EU presidency - to clinch a deal on the targets before next year.

The proposed changes to the EU's pioneering Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) will be fiercely debated in the European Parliament and by ministers, who are supposed to hammer out a deal strong enough to inspire the rest of the world. The EU is gearing up for major international talks next year on climate change.

For those who want the European Union to walk with power and purpose on the world stage this summit is both triumph and tragedy BBC's Mark Mardell in his blog Mardell's Europe

One of the parliament's chief negotiators on the climate package, Green MEP Satu Hassi, urged EU leaders to "keep firm with the commitments already given".

"The financial crisis does not blow away climate change," she said, adding that the crisis "teaches us that early action is always wiser than emergency action".

Yet in the absence of a clear roadmap on the climate package, EU leaders were keen to show a united response to the banking crisis.

The turmoil in Wall Street, with the freezing of inter-bank lending, triggered emergency bank bail-outs by individual European governments before the 15 eurozone countries announced a joint multi-billion-euro plan to recapitalise banks and guarantee loans.

UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown basked in his fellow Europeans' praise for showing the way, with his rescue plan for British banks, estimated to be worth £500bn (641bn euros).

But, in contrast with his famously low-key appearances at EU summits, he joined the chorus of calls for more co-ordinated EU action.

'Crisis cell'

The EU plans to set up a "financial crisis cell" - a rapid response team tasked with co-ordinating EU action in any future financial crises. Any member state in trouble will be able to trigger the new alert system. The idea is to prevent any country's state intervention harming the interests of another EU member.

But France's President Nicolas Sarkozy also stressed the need for global solutions, to refashion the world's financial system and make it "fit for the 21st century".

He and commission president Jose Manuel Barroso will meet US President George W Bush on Saturday to prepare for a global crisis summit - a "G8 plus", including emerging powers like China and India.

President Sarkozy wants a tighter rein on the financial sector

Mr Sarkozy's priority is tighter financial supervision, with action on hedge funds, tax havens, executive pay and ratings agencies.

Maintaining the international competitiveness of European industry is looming as the next big challenge, once some stability returns to the banking system.

Mr Sarkozy says he wants to see the same joint EU effort applied to that problem as to the banking crisis.

Energy security is highlighted as another EU priority in the summit conclusions - though it was overshadowed by the urgent economic and climate agenda.

The fuel protests across Europe earlier this year - triggered by surging oil prices - and worries about the reliability of Russian gas supplies made energy security a pressing issue.

The EU wants to diversify its sources of supply, make the energy market more transparent and improve the Baltic region's pipeline network.

As for the Lisbon Treaty, which dominated the last EU summit in Brussels, the Irish government has pledged to come up with a plan by December. But the bank crisis has forced the EU's controversial institutional reforms onto the back-burner.

I was wondering if a school like this will be available in the Philippines. Nouveau Riche is a college which teach its students the ability to become successful entrepreneurs in the field of Real State Investing. Its success stories was tremendous but despite of that they were haunted with the report of the Nouveau Riche Scam branding them as a cheap MLM company and does not deserve to be called a University. But what is this all about?

Nouveau Riche Scam details many things including the fact that the properties sold is overprices, that they are really a Multi Level Marketing company and that their educational courses are priced too high. For my case every MLM company had received that treatment. MLM's defies the law of marketing on a definite target market that would definitely saturate. I have been to MLM and the first thing you should consider is the product and what you are about to sell.

For the Philippines, personalities like Manny Villar had made a lot of money through real state. Prominenza here in Baliuag. Bulacan is a great community which is offered to people and it is right beside SM. The cost of one house and lot costs more than 1.5Million pesos. Dealers abound and they get around 3%, so that's what they say to me.

When you to malls and even sidewalks you can see real state dealers giving out flyers about the latest condo units or subdivisions. Real state business is a regular thing and it is profitable but all of that defends on your capability and outlook.

Nouveau Riche University is a university that do teaches techniques on real state enterprising and well before going there I do suggest that people review Nouveau Riche Scam postings and evaluate for themselves. After all there are good and bad things about everything.

The Philippine government via the Department of Health (DOH) is ensuring that products coming into the country from China must be free from melamine contamination. The DOH is testing milk, chocolate, ice cream and dairy imported products and byproducts, even testing cosmetic products for possible overdose of melamine levels.

The United States’ Food and Drugs Administration and the European Food Safety Authority have pegged the tolerable daily intake for melamine at .5ppm and .63ppm.

Here is a list of products safe from melamine:

Anmum Materna Milk Powder Chocolate Flavor (400g)
Bear Brand Choco (300g)
Bear Brand Sterilized Milk (200ml)
Cadbury Choclairs
Carnation Calcium Plus Non-fat Milk Powder
Klim Instant Full Cream Milk Powder
Milk Chocolate Bar (40g)
Monmilk Breakfast Milk Walnut Milk Beverage
Monmilk Hi-Calcium Low Fat Milk (1L)
Monmilk Deluxe Pure Milk
Nestlé Chocolate Flavor Ice cream
Nestlé Dairy Farm Pure Milk
Nestlé Fresh Milk (1L)
Nestle Kitkat
Nestlé Milk chocolate (40g)
Nestlé Pops Ice Cream
Nestlé Vanilla Flavor Ice cream
Nestogen 1 DHA
Nesvita Cereal Milk Drink
Blue Tree Express Milk Drink or Green Apple Flavor (500ml)
Prime Roast Instant Nutritious Cereal (28g)

Put on hold are 22 brands of infant milk powder identified by the Philippine Embassy in Beijing, China to contain melamine. Greenfood Yili Fresh Milk and Mengniu Drink, found to have high traces of melamine.

In the watchlist are Sanlu (Shijiang Sanlu Group Co.), Panda Baby (Shanghai Panda Dairy Co., Ltd.), Syrutra (Syrutra International Inc.), Gucheng (Shanxi Gucheng Dairy Co, Ltd.), Hero (Jiangxi Bright & Hero Dairy C), Huimin/HMDP (Baoji Huimin Milk Co. Ltd.), Mengniu (Mengniu Dairy) and Kocci (Duojiaduo Dairy Industry (Tianjin) Co. Ltd.);

Yashili (Guangdong Yashili Group Co. Ltd.), Nanshan Beiyi (Hunan Peiyi Dairy Co.), Heilongjiang (Qining Dairy Co.), Yashili (Shanxi Yashili Dairy Co.), Jinbishi (Shenzen Jinbishi Milk Co. Ltd.), Scient (Guangzhou Shien Dairy Co.), Jinding (Guangzhou Jinding Dairy Co), Yili (Inner Mongolia Yili Industrial Group Co.), Ausmeadow Nutriment Co. Ltd.), Suncare Aikeding, (Qingdao Suncare Nutritional Tech Co. Ltd.), Yubao (Xi’an Baiyue Dairy Co. Ltd.), Leilei (Yantai Leilei Dairy Products Co. Ltd.), Baoanli (Shanghai Bao’anli Dairy Co. Ltd.), and Hikid (Fuding Chenguan Dairy Co. Ltd.).

WASHINGTON - Eating a tiny bit of a melamine, the chemical responsible for a global food safety scare, is not harmful except when it's in baby formula, U.S. food safety officials said Friday.
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Melamine-tainted formula has sickened more than 54,000 children in China and is being blamed for the deaths of at least four tots. The chemical has also turned up in products sold across Asia, ranging from candies, to chocolates, to coffee drinks, that used dairy ingredients from China. Authorities in California and Connecticut have found melamine in White Rabbit candies imported from China.

But infant formula made in the U.S. is safe, because manufacturers do not use any ingredients from China.

The Food and Drug Administration said Friday its safety experts have concluded that eating a very tiny amount of melamine — 2.5 parts per million — would not raise health concerns, even if a person ate food that was tainted with the chemical every day.

But officials stressed the scientific assessment does not mean that U.S. authorities will tolerate any melamine that is deliberately added to foods. In China, unscrupulous suppliers appear to have been adding melamine to make watered-down milk seem protein-rich in quality-control tests. That's because melamine is high in nitrogen, as is protein.

"If products are adulterated because they contain melamine, (authorities) will take appropriate actions to prevent the products from entering commerce," the FDA said in a statement. The agency said it was setting the 2.5 parts-per-million standard to address situations in which the chemical accidentally comes into contact with food, such as in cases where it is used for industrial purposes in a factory that makes food products.

Officials also stressed that infant formula sold to U.S. consumers must be completely free of melamine.

"There is too much uncertainty to set a level in infant formula and rule out any public health concern," the FDA said.

Melamine first came to the attention of U.S. consumers last year, when it touched off a massive pet food recall. Chinese suppliers of bulk pet food ingredients were found to have been adding the chemical to artificially boost the protein readings of their products. Thousands of pets here were sickened, and hundreds are believed to have died.

Melamine is harmful to the kidneys. It can cause kidney stones as the body tries to eliminate it, and in extreme cases, life-threatening kidney failure.

Days after contaminated White Rabbit Creamy Candy was found in California, Connecticut Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell Jr. said tests found melamine in bags of the candy sold at two New Haven stores, a West Hartford market and an East Haven store.

"We're concerned, obviously, there may have been bags sold of these before we got to them," Farrell said.

Anyone who has the candy should destroy it, Farrell said.

The contamination has been blamed for the deaths of four children and kidney ailments among 54,000 others. More than 13,000 children have been hospitalized and 27 people arrested in connection with the tainting.

Melamine, which is high in nitrogen, is used to make plastics and fertilizers and experts say some amount of the chemical may be transferred from the environment during food processing. But in China's case, suppliers trying to boost output are believed to have diluted their milk, adding melamine because its nitrogen content can fool tests aimed at verifying protein content.

Melamine can cause kidney stones, leading to kidney failure. Infants are particularly vulnerable.

Melamine has been associated with contaminated infant formula and other Chinese products containing milk protein.

On Wednesday, the Chinese government identified 15 more Chinese dairy companies as producing milk products contaminated with melamine, bringing the total to 20 companies. At least 100 batches of milk powder have been found to contain the chemical, according to data on the food safety administration's Web site.

Last week, California health officials announced it discovered traces of melamine in White Rabbit candy it tested. Queensway Foods Company Inc. of California distributed the candy and says it is recalling it

WASHINGTON (AFP) - US dailies on Friday differed sharply in scoring the vice presidential debate between Republican Sarah Palin and Democrat Joe Biden, suggesting that neither candidate clearly won over public opinion.

The Wall Street Journal said the first term Alaska governor "more than held her own" in debating foreign policy with the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and "won on points at least on Iraq and Afghanistan."

The conservative business daily said she had "shown herself worthy of the national stage" both in the debate and in her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention, and should be allowed to do more media interviews.

"Let Mrs Palin be herself, and then when she makes a mistake, as every candidate does, it won't be treated like some epic judgment on her fitness to be vice president," the Journal argued.

The New York Times gave a scalding review of Palin's performance.

"The debate did not change the essential truth of Ms Palin's candidacy: Mr McCain made a wildly irresponsible choice that shattered the image he created for himself as the honest, seasoned, experienced man of principle and judgment," it said.

"After a series of stumbling interviews that raised serious doubts even among conservatives about her fitness to serve as vice president, Ms Palin had to do little more than say one or two sensible things and avoid an election-defining gaffe" in Thursday's debate, it said.

"By that standard, and only that standard, the governor of Alaska did well."

The Washington Post gave both sides a tepid review.

"It is a measure of the low expectations for last night's vice-presidential debate that what was, in the end, rather a surface-skimming discussion full of evasion and mischaracterization, was viewed as good news for both Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Joseph Biden," it said.

"Mr Biden was neither discursive nor condescending, as he can be; Ms Palin was more confident and more coherent than she had been in the few, increasingly disastrous interviews she has given since joining the Republican ticket.

"But there was little serious give-and-take about the major issues of the day -- from the Wall Street bailout to the war in Iraq -- and much trading of canned and misleading talking points," the Post opined.

WASHINGTON - After a week of tumult, an unprecedented government bailout of the financial industry gained ground in the House on Friday and leaders in both political parties expressed optimism the $700 billion measure would clear Congress by day's end for President Bush's signature.
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With the economy showing fresh signs of weakness, the measure advanced past a key hurdle on a 223-205 vote.

An Associated Press tally showed 22 lawmakers who sent an earlier bailout bill to unexpected defeat on Monday had changed their minds and would vote in favor of the revised legislation, more than the dozen needed. Officials said changes made to the measure had sparked a far smaller number of defections among previous supporters.

"I'm optimistic about today. We're not going to take anything for granted but it's time to act," said House Republican Leader John Boehner of Ohio.

"I think it will pass," agreed Rep. Jim Clyburn, the chief Democratic vote-counter, as debate unfolded in the House chamber.

The Senate passed the measure earlier in the week on a bipartisan vote of 74-25.

"No matter what we do or what we pass, there are still tough times out there. People are mad — I'm mad," said Republican Rep. J. Gresham Barrett of South Carolina, who opposed the measure the first time it came to a vote. Now, he said, "We have to act. We have to act now."

Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., another convert, said, "I have decided that the cost of doing nothing is greater than the cost of doing something."

Critics were unrelenting.

"How can we have capitalism on the way up and socialism on the way down," said Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, a leader among conservative Republicans who oppose the central thrust of the legislation — an unprecedented federal intervention into the private capital markets.

If anything, the economic news added to the sense of urgency.

The Labor Department said initial claims for jobless benefits had increased last week to the highest level since the gloomy days after the 2001 terror attacks. Employers slashed 159,000 jobs from their payrolls, the most in five years. That came on top of Thursday's Commerce Department report that factory orders in August plunged by 4 percent.

The stock market opened higher on anticipation that the bill would pass, and the financial industry shakeout rolled on unpredictably.

Wachovia announced it had agreed to be acquired by San Francisco-based Wells Fargo & Co rather than by Citigroup. Executives said the new arrangement would keep the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., on the sidelines, thus preventing any depletion of the government's fund that backs bank deposits.

The FDIC said it was sticking behind the Citigroup plan, leaving the fate of the bank in limbo.

It was little more than two weeks ago that Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke concluded that the economy was in such danger that a massive government intervention in the private markets was essential.

The core of the plan remains little changed from its conception — the Treasury Department would have $700 billion at its disposal to purchase bad mortage-related securities that are weighing down the balance sheets of institutions that hold them. The flow of credit has slowed, in some cases drying up, threatening the ability of businesses to conduct routine operations or expand.

At the same time, lawmakers have dramatically changed the measure, insisting on greater congressional supervision over the $700 billion, taking measures to protect taxpayers, and insisting on steps to crack down on so-called "golden parachutes" that go to corporate executives whose companies fail.

Earlier in the week, the legislation was altered to expand the federal insurance program for individual bank deposits, and the Securities and Exchange Commission took steps to ease the impact of the questionable mortgage-backed securities on financial institutions.

The legislation had the support of the leadership in both parties — as was the case in the Senate, where it passed on Wednesday on a bipartisan vote of 74-25.

President Bush has been lobbying aggressively for its passage, and the White House issued the latest in a series of grim warnings of the risks of defeat. "If the financial markets fail to function, American families will face great difficulty in getting loans to purchase a home, buy a family car or finance a child's education," it said in a written statement.

The two major party presidential candidates, Barack Obama, the Democrat, and John McCain, the Republican also supported the bill and worked to assure its passage.

The vote on Monday staggered the congressional leadership and contributed to the largest one-day stock market drop in history, 778 points as measured by the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Across the Capitol, party leaders decided to add legislation extending a series of popular tax breaks, as well as spending on rural schools and disaster aid. They also grafted on a bill to expand mental health coverage under private insurance plans.

At the same time, the change in federal deposit insurance and the action by the SEC on an obscure accounting rule helped produce a trickle of converts.

GOP Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen of Florida, said she was switching her "no" vote to a "yes" after the Senate added some $110 million in tax breaks and other sweeteners before approving the measure Wednesday night.

"Monday what we had was a bailout for Wall Street firms and not much relief for taxpayers and hard-hit families," Ros-Lehtinen told The Associated Press. "Now we have an economic rescue package."

Republican Rep. Jim Ramstad of Minnesota also switched to "yes," partly because the Senate attached the mental health measure.

Democratic Rep. Emanuel Cleaver of Missouri was switching, too, said spokesman Danny Rotert, declaring, "America feels differently today than it did on Monday about this bill."

And Democratic Rep. Shelley Berkley of Nevada said she would back the bill after business leaders in her Las Vegas-area district made it clear how much it was needed. She said, "There isn't a segment of the population that hasn't been slammed and is not asking for some relief."

WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke bluntly warned Congress on Tuesday it risks a recession, with higher unemployment and increased home foreclosures, if lawmakers fail to pass the Bush administration's $700 billion plan to bail out the financial industry.

Bernanke told the Senate Banking Committee that inaction could leave ordinary businesses unable to borrow the money they need to expand and hire additional employees, while consumers could find themselves unable to finance big-ticket purchases such as cars and homes.

Bernanke's remarks came in response to a question from Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., the committee's chairman, who seemed eager to hear a strong rationale for lawmakers to act swiftly on the administration's unprecedented request.

"The financial markets are in quite fragile condition and I think absent a plan they will get worse," Bernanke said.

Ominously, he added, "I believe if the credit markets are not functioning, that jobs will be lost, that our credit rate will rise, more houses will be foreclosed upon, GDP will contract, that the economy will just not be able to recover in a normal, healthy way."

GDP is a measure of growth, and a decline correlates with a recession.

Bernanke outlined his grim scenario as committee members sat in silence, and as the Bush administration pressed lawmakers publicly and privately to act speedily.

Vice President Dick Cheney and Jim Nussle, the Bush administration's budget director, met privately with restive House Republicans, some of whom emerged from the session unpersuaded.

"Just because God created the world in seven days doesn't mean we have to pass this bill in seven days," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas.

Added Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., "I am emphatically against it."

Dodd and other key Democrats have been in private negotiations with the administration since the weekend on legislation designed to allow the government to buy bad debts held by banks and other financial institutions.

Despite expressions of unhappiness in both parties, the prospects for legislation seemed strong, with lawmakers eager to adjourn this week or next for the elections.

Differences remained, though, including a demand from many Democrats and some Republicans to strip executives at failing financial firms of lucrative "golden parachutes" on their way out the door.

The administration balked at another key Democratic demand: allowing judges to rewrite bankrupt homeowners' mortgages so they could avoid foreclosure.

Despite the unresolved issues, President Bush predicted the Democratic-controlled Congress would soon pass a "a robust plan to deal with serious problems." He was speaking to the United Nations General assembly.

Stocks held steady in pre-noon trading on Wall Street as Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told the Senate Banking Committee that quick passage of the administration's plan is "the single most effective thing we can do to help homeowners, the American people and stimulate our economy."

But even before Paulson could speak, lawmakers expressed unhappiness, criticism of the plan and — in the case of some conservative Republicans — outright opposition.

"I understand speed is important, but I'm far more interested in whether or not we get this right," said Dodd, who spoke first. "There is no second act to this. There is no alternative idea out there with resources available if this does not work," he added.

Sen. Richard C. Shelby of Alabama, the panel's senior Republican, was even more blunt. "I have long opposed government bailouts for individuals and corporate America alike," he said. Seated a few feet away from Paulson and Bernanke, he added, "We have been given no credible assurances that this plan will work. We could very well send $700 billion, or a trillion, and not resolve the crisis."

The legislation that the administration is promoting would allow the government to buy bad mortgages and other troubled assets held by endangered banks and financial institutions. Getting those debts off their books should bolster their balance sheets, making them more inclined to lend and easing one of the biggest choke points in the credit crisis. If the plan works, it should help lift a major weight off the sputtering economy.

Buttressing Paulson's comments, Bernanke said action by lawmakers "is urgently required to stabilize the situation and avert what otherwise could be very serious consequences for our financial markets and for our economy."

A third witness, Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox, urged Congress to regulate a type of corporate debt insurance that figured prominently in the country's financial crisis.

"I urge you to provide in statute the authority to regulate these products to enhance investor protection and ensure the operation of fair and orderly markets," he said. The debt insurance is known as credit default swaps.

So far this year, a dozen federally insured banks and thrifts have failed, compared with three last year. The country's largest thrift, Washington Mutual Inc., is faltering.

Republicans said the sheer size of the bailout would cost each man, woman and child in the United States $2,300.

If approved and implemented, that could push the government's budget deficit next year into the $1 trillion range — far and away a record.

Sen. Barack Obama, the Democratic presidential candidate, pointed to other potential consequences, as well. In an interview with NBC, he said that if he wins the White House, he would likely have to phase in the proposals he has outlined for new federal spending. He did not elaborate.

Congressional Republicans, in particular, piled on the criticism of the administration's suggested solution to the crisis.

"This massive bailout is not a solution, It is financial socialism and it's un-American," said Sen. Jim Bunning, R-Ky.

Dodd and others indicated that the stakes are too high for Congress not to act, but they made clear they would insist on changes in the administration's weekend changes.

Dodd said the administration's initial proposal would have allowed the Treasury secretary to "act with utter and absolute impunity — without review by any agency or court of law" in deciding how to administer the envisioned bailout program.

"After reading this proposal, I can only conclude that it is not just our economy that is at risk, Mr. Secretary, but our Constitution, as well," Dodd said.

The U.S. has taken extraordinary measures in recent weeks to prevent a financial calamity, which would have devastating implications for the broader economy. It has, among other things, taken control of mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, provided an $85 billion emergency loan to insurance colossus American International Group Inc. and temporarily banned short selling of hundreds of financial stocks.

TOKYO (Reuters) - The world's oldest man celebrated his 113th birthday on Thursday, telling reporters at his home in southern Japan about his joyful life and healthy appetite.

"I'm happy," said Tomoji Tanabe as the local mayor presented him with flowers and a giant tea cup glazed with his name and date of birth. "I'm well. I eat a lot," he added.

Tanabe, recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the oldest living male last year, eats mostly vegetables and believes the key to longevity is not drinking alcohol.

The former civil servant lives with his son, drinks milk every day and has no major illnesses, although he now writes in his diary only once or twice a month. He used to write on a daily basis.

"His favorite food is fried shrimp, but we've heard that he's cut back on oily food," said an official at his hometown of Miyakonojo, about 900 km (560 miles) southwest of Tokyo.

"He's said he wants to live for another 10 years, that he doesn't want to die." The Japanese are among the world's longest-lived people, with the number of those aged 100 or older at a record 36,276, a government report last week showed.

Japanese women have topped the world's longevity ranks for 23 years, while men rank third after Iceland and Hong Kong.

The Dow Jones closed down just over 500 points on September 15, 2008, the largest drop in a single day since the days following the attacks on September 11, 2001.^[14]

Lehman's bankruptcy is expected to cause some depreciation in the price of commercial real estate. The prospect for Lehman's $4.3 billion in mortgage securities getting liquidated sparked a selloff in the commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) market. Additional pressure to sell securities in commercial real estate is feared as Lehman gets closer to liquidating its assets. Apartment-building investors are also expected to feel pressure to sell as Lehman unloads its debt and equity pieces of the $22 billion purchase of Archstone, the third-largest United States Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT). Archstone's core business is the ownership and management of residential apartment buildings in major metropolitan areas of the United States. Jeffrey Spector, a real-estate analyst at UBS said that in markets with apartment buildings that compete with Archstone, "there is no question that if you need to sell assets, you will try to get ahead" of the Lehman selloff, adding "Every day that goes by there will be more pressure on pricing."^[15]

Several money-market funds and institutional cash funds had significant exposure to Lehman with the institutional cash fund run by The Bank of New York Mellon and the Primary Reserve Fund, a money-market fund, both falling below $1 per share, called "breaking the buck", following losses on their holdings of Lehman assets. In a statement The Bank of New York Mellon said its fund had isolated the Lehman assets in a separate structure. It said the assets accounted for 1.13% of its fund. The drop in the Primary Reserve Fund was the first time since 1994 that a money-market fund had dropped below the $1-per-share level.

Putnam Investments, a unit of Canada's Great-West Lifeco, shut a $12.3 billion money-market fund as it faced "significant redemption pressure" on September 17, 2008. Evergreen Investments said its parent Wachovia Corporation would "support" three Evergreen money-market funds to prevent their shares from falling.^[16] This move to cover $494 million of Lehman assets in the funds also raised fears about Wachovia's ability to raise capital.^[17]

About 100 hedge funds used Lehman as their prime broker and relied largely on the firm for financing. As administrators took charge of the London business and the U.S. holding company filed for bankruptcy, positions held by those hedge funds at Lehman were frozen. As a result the hedge funds are being forced to de-lever and sit on large cash balances inhibiting chances at further growth.^[18]

In Japan, banks and insurers announced a combined 249 billion yen ($2.4 billion) in potential losses tied to the collapse of Lehman. Mizuho Trust & Banking Co. cut its profit forecast by more than half, citing 11.8 billion yen in losses on bonds and loans linked to Lehman. The Bank of Japan Governor Masaaki Shirakawa said "Most lending to Lehman Brothers was made by major Japanese banks, and their possible losses seem to be within the levels that can be covered by their profits," adding "There is no concern that the latest events will threaten the stability of Japan's financial system."^[19] During bankruptcy proceedings a lawyer from The Royal Bank of Scotland Group said the company is facing between $1.5 billion and $1.8 billion in claims against Lehman partially based on an unsecured guarantee from Lehman and connected to trading losses with Lehman subsidiaries, Martin Bienenstock.^[20]

Lehman was a counterparty to mortgage financier Freddie Mac in unsecured lending transactions that matured on September 15, 2008. Freddie said it had not received principal payments of $1.2 billion plus accrued interest. Freddie said it had further potential exposure to Lehman of about $400 million related to the servicing of single-family home loans, including repurchasing obligations. Freddie also said it "does not know whether and to what extent it will sustain a loss relating to the transactions" and warned that "actual losses could materially exceed current estimates." Freddie was still in the process of evaluating its exposure to Lehman and its affiliates under other business relationships.^[21]

After Constellation Energy was reported to have exposure to Lehman, its stock went down 56% in the first day of trading having started at $67.87. The massive drop in stocks led to the New York Stock Exchange halting trade of Constellation. The next day, as the stock plummeted as low as $13 per share, Constellation announced it was hiring Morgan Stanley and UBS to advise it on "strategic alternatives" suggesting a buyout. While rumors suggested French power company Électricité de France would buy the company or increase its stake, Constellation ultimately agreed to a buyout by MidAmerican Energy, part of Berkshire Hathaway (headed by billionaire Warren Buffett).^[22][23][24]

Among economic indicators prompted by the announcement, on the first day of a two-day auction, Sotheby's earned commission on USD $15 million above estimates in London when fine artist Damien Hirst bypassed his representatives, Gagosian Gallery and White Cube, which is located in the UK and was invited to participate in the auction. Some buyers received six months to pay.^[25]"