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Wednesday, October 23, 2013

South Africa cuts growth forecast, sees tighter budget gap

By Stella Mapenzauswa

CAPE TOWN (Reuters) - South Africa's government said the economy would grow less than hoped this year due to strikes and power shortages but promised to keep state finances in check, also cutting its budget deficit forecast.

Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan urged ratings agencies that have downgraded Pretoria's credit over the past year to take note of its fiscal prudence.

"We are running a sustainable fiscal ship," he told reporters before his interim budget speech to parliament in which he sought to allay fears of increased populist spending ahead of elections next year.

"Hopefully the ratings agencies will do their homework and recognise that in a very turbulent environment, and one in which we've got huge historical legacies to overcome, we actually are keeping a fairly good 19-year record of good fiscal management."

The Treasury slashed 2013 growth expectations to 2.1 percent of GDP from 2.7 percent forecast in February, suggesting prospects of a near-term cut in the country's stubbornly high unemployment rate are slim.

Widespread labour strikes and power supply constraints have this year hit the continent's largest economy, which languished in recession in 2009.

But it also lowered the budget deficit forecast for the year to March 2014 to 4.2 percent of GDP from the 4.6 percent seen in February due to lower spending and technical effects from changes to how it calculates the fiscal balance.

Spending for the period was predicted at 1.14 trillion rand against revenue of 999 billion rand, resulting in a much lower deficit than the 4.9 percent that economists polled by Reuters had expected.

Spending is set to rise to 1.24 trillion rand in 2014/15 and 1.44 trillion by 2016/17.

The Treasury said it would strike a balance between keeping the deficit in check while supporting growth along the lines of the National Development Plan, pouring money into health, education, infrastructure, and social assistance to the poor.

MISSING THE BIG IDEA

"The level of expenditure remains well contained, while the fiscal stance avoids a premature consolidation that could jeopardise higher economic growth, which is required to create jobs," it said.

The rand gained against the dollar to 9.7700 from 9.8135 before Gordhan started his speech to parliament, while bonds recovered from session lows on news of the lower deficit forecast.

Analysts also reacted positively to the deficit headlines, but weak growth and a high wage bill remain a concern for ratings agencies, and the budget was devoid of big ideas to move the economy up a gear.

"While some effort is made to commit to an overall spending ceiling, and some re-prioritisation of expenditure is planned, these are piecemeal efforts," said Standard Chartered economist Razia Khan.

"Anyone hoping for a bolder effort to arrest medium-term deterioration will be disappointed."

Weak growth in Europe, a major trading partner, has dampened demand for South African exports and made it difficult for the private sector to create much-needed jobs.

"Labour disputes, electricity shortages and other supply-side disruptions have weighed down business and consumer confidence, and lowered demand for goods and services," the Treasury said.

Economic recovery over the next three years could increase employment by 1.7 percent a year, but this is too little to make a major dent in joblessness that affects a quarter of the labour force.

Both the private and public sectors have been under pressure from frequent labour unrest, which has resulted in above-inflation wage settlements of 7.9 percent in the first half of this year from 7.6 percent in 2012.

The Treasury anticipates inflation to remain below its 6 percent upper-limit target in the next three years, but weakness in the rand, which has fallen nearly 16 percent to the dollar this year, posed a risk to that forecast.

The current account deficit, long a source of vulnerability for the currency during spates of global risk aversion, was projected to remain above 6 percent of GDP over the medium term as savings lag investments.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/south-africa-slashes-2013-gdp-growth-forecast-2-120523532--business.html
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Gold near 4-week highs on hopes US will keep stimulus

By A. Ananthalakshmi

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Gold traded near its highest in four weeks on Wednesday after tepid U.S. jobs data bolstered hopes that the Federal Reserve will maintain stimulus policies supportive of bullion prices.

U.S. nonfarm payrolls in September increased by a lower-than-expected 148,000, raising fears about economic recovery amid a budget battle in Washington.

Spot gold eased 0.3 percent to $1,335.91 an ounce by 0630 GMT, after rallying nearly 2 percent in the previous session to $1,344.46 - the highest since September 20. U.S. gold was trading near its three-week high.

A continuation of the Fed's $85 billion monthly bond purchases would burnish gold's inflation-hedge appeal.

"Gold prices will hold at this level because of poor jobs data and possible delay in tapering until next year," said Helen Lau, an analyst at UOB Kay Hian Securities in Hong Kong.

"The reason why they will postpone tapering is because the Fed needs reliable jobs data to make their decision and this data will be distorted temporarily by the October shutdown."

The jobs data on Tuesday indicated that the economy was losing its momentum even before a 16-day shutdown earlier this month that will likely dampen October numbers. Fed officials have said they need to see strong recovery in the labour market before they begin any tapering.

Most U.S. primary dealers polled by Reuters on Tuesday believe the Fed will not start cutting its monthly bond purchases until March of next year and said the recent government shutdown and standoff over raising the U.S. debt ceiling had a significant impact on the Fed's timing.

PHYSICAL DEMAND

Gold premiums in India hit $120 an ounce to London prices on Tuesday as the domestic market failed to get enough supply to meet strong festive demand.

In China, Shanghai spot prices were trading at a premium of $7 an ounce.

Gold demand in China could increase as higher home prices stoked inflation fears, said Lau of UOB Kay Hian.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gold-near-4-week-highs-hopes-us-keep-083428323--finance.html
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London uses van with X-ray machine to find TB

LONDON (AP) — London may be famed for its historic sites, double-decker buses and West End shows, but it now has a more dubious distinction: It has become the tuberculosis capital of Western Europe.

In response, health officials are taking to the streets in an effort to stop the spread of the infectious lung disease, with a high-tech white van equipped with an X-ray machine that drives around London offering free check-ups. Similar vans were once commonly used in Europe and the U.S. in the 1950s but most disappeared about two decades later when TB rates dropped. But in recent years, the disease has surged in the U.K.

Last year, London had more TB cases than the Netherlands, Belgium, Greece and Norway combined. It also had more TB than African countries including Eritrea and Gambia.

"We kind of took our eye off the ball and now TB has become a big problem again," said Dr. Alistair Story, who runs the mobile TB van for University College London Hospitals. He said the vast majority of TB in the U.K. is among the homeless, drug users and prisoners because they live in cramped, close conditions, which makes them susceptible to infections. Despite the belief that TB is being imported into the U.K. by recent immigrants, Story said their rates of infection are low.

"It's certainly not the case that we could have closed the borders and avoided the problem," he said, pointing out that other European countries with high levels of immigration, including France and Germany, have not had similar spikes of TB. Last year, London had about 3,500 TB cases.

Tuberculosis is a highly infectious bacterial disease often spread by coughing or sneezing and kills more than 1 million people worldwide every year. It most often attacks the lungs and is highly treatable. More than 95 percent of TB deaths occur in developing countries and experts are increasingly concerned about the rise of drug-resistant strains, which require more toxic drugs to treat.

London's £460,000 ($743,329) TB van has an X-ray machine whose scans can be instantly read by a radiographer. On average, the van picks up about one new TB case per week and screens about 10,000 people a year. If an X-ray looks worrying, staffers call a hospital to arrange confirmatory tests. The entire process of getting an X-ray and its results takes about 90 seconds.

On a recent weekday morning, a steady trickle of patients streamed into the van after getting a ticket for a free X-ray from a nearby homeless shelter. To convince homeless people to get tested, the van relies on former TB patients including Horace Reid. In 2009, Reid got tested on the van after he and several friends ran to catch a bus.

"I didn't know anything was wrong until I missed the bus and couldn't breathe," he said. "(The doctors) told me I had TB and that I could die," he said. Reid, 58, eventually recovered and now tries to convince skeptics to get an X-ray.

Dr. Norman Edelman, senior medical adviser at the American Lung Foundation, said the van is a practical attempt to curb TB.

"The people most likely to get TB are the hardest to find, so it's good to go out looking for them," he said.

Danny Hastie, 20, said despite getting sick numerous times last year, he didn't bother seeing a doctor. Hastie was recently in prison and has been living on the streets for more than a year.

"I heard about this van and thought I would give it a go," he said. "It's (scary) at first because you're thinking, 'oh, I might have a chest infection,' but when they say that you're clear, it puts your mind at rest."

British experts said the van was a good way of finding cases of TB among the homeless but said wider screening tests were needed to tackle the problem.

Dr. Ajit Lalvani, chair of infectious diseases at Imperial College London, said 70 percent of people with latent TB who arrive in Britain are missed. They aren't currently infectious, but Lalvani said the TB bacteria could sicken them in the future and cause them to infect others. Catching these patients would require a more expensive blood or skin test that isn't commonly used.

"There is a vast reservoir of TB that comes into this country silently," he said. "The mobile van is providing a great service, but until we test more widely, we will never get rid of TB in the U.K."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/london-uses-van-x-ray-machine-tb-075414102.html
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Selena Gomez Tells Fans "The Sexiest Thing is Class": Watch Here!

She's dealt with tons of criticism over her "good girl" image, but that hasn't stopped Selena Gomez from telling others that she continues to remain confident and true to herself.

During her sold-out show at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut on Saturday (October 19), the "Come and Get it" hitmaker told her fans that she's happy with who she is and nothing's changing her attitude.

"Every day I get told I'm not sexy enough or I'm not cool enough or if I did this or if I did that, I would have people who love me. Look at this room!," the 21-year-old singer stated. "I don't have to do anything of that to have love!"

The former Disney star continues to explain how appreciative she is that her young fans and their families "trust" her for being one of the few singers with a squeaky clean style.

"Let me tell you one thing: the sexiest thing... is class," Selena added.

Source: http://celebrity-gossip.net/selena-gomez/selena-gomez-tells-fans-sexiest-thing-class-watch-here-1048520
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The 1975, Influenced By The '80s

The 1975's self-titled debut is out now.

Dave Ma/Courtesy of the artist

The 1975 has been on a meteoric rise in 2013. The pop-rock quartet's self-titled debut album landed at No. 1 in the U.K. Earlier this summer, the band opened for The Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, London.

While the band is rooted in the present with its current success, its throwback influence goes beyond its name. Lead singer Matthew Healy says The 1975 was inspired by the 1980s — specifically, '80s teen movies.

"Those movies, they discuss everything that I discuss: love, fear, sex and a longing for something beyond. A longing for something bigger," says Healy. "Everybody knows the feeling of a moment being particularly cinematic. I don't know what the world was like before cinema and music and art existed. All I know is that my brain is based around the things that I've seen. And I think the idea of romance, that kind of lustful desire, that's what I am obsessed with."

John Hughes, the filmmaker behind cult classics like The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller's Day Off and Sixteen Candles, put teen angst front and center in his productions; Healy says those movies have stayed with him and influenced the lyrical imagery of songs like "Heart Out."

"It's an obvious fist-in-the-air moment. You can imagine doing an amazing freeze-frame shot to this song," says Healy. "There's such a visual element to it when I'm writing. I have quite a clear-cut narrative — a tiny John Hughes movie, if you will — in my head when I'm writing."

Source: http://www.npr.org/2013/10/22/239678245/the-1975-influenced-by-the-80s?ft=1&f=1039
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Tuesday, October 22, 2013

Beijing Will Test This Giant Smog-Devouring Pollution Vacuum

Dutch artist Daan Roosegaarde has designed everything from smart highways for the United Kingdom to a dance floor that generates electricity. But his latest project is the most off-the-wall yet: Roosegaarde plans to build and test a pollution-collecting system in smog-addled Beijing.

Is TrueCrypt truly secure? Let's have a fundraiser to find out

TrueCrypt is one of the most widely used disk-encryption applications in the world. But though it's open source, it's never had its security or features -- or its precompiled binaries -- audited thoroughly.

But now cryptography researchers Kenneth White and Matthew Green have decided to raise the money to have TrueCrypt's source code thoroughly audited by disinterested third parties. The results of the audit will be tracked on the website IsTrueCryptAuditedYet.com. (The answer thus far: No.)

Kicking off with a fundraiser on Indiegogo and a complementary one on FundFill, the two have thus far raised some $46,000 -- with 53 days left to go in the Indiegogo campaign.

Of all the encryption or security software out there with source code available, why audit TrueCrypt? Green puts it this way: "There's a shortage of high-quality and usable encryption software out there. TrueCrypt is an enormous deviation from this trend. It's nice, it's pretty, it's remarkably usable."

But the problems with TrueCrypt, especially in the post-Snowden age, are many and unnerving. For one, while some folks have looked at the source code, there's never been a really systematic, rigorous analysis of the program by professional cryptographers.

The Ubuntu Privacy Group did conduct its own analysis of the program's behavior, and while it didn't find anything that looked like an obvious backdoor, the group did find strange discrepancies in the way TrueCrypt works on different platforms, along with a possible attack on the way keyfiles are used. (They didn't find anything that looked like a backdoor, though.)

Second, since most people use the precompiled binaries of the program rather than generating the program from source code, there's speculation about whether the binaries offered at TrueCrypt's site are trustworthy. The program is also not easy to compile from its source code, as a number of people have discovered.

Finally, and maybe most important, no one knows who actually wrote the program.

The creators might well be taking pains to hide their identities to avoid being harassed, which makes sense. There might well be people foolish enough to think that threatening the creators of the program would be a way to get them to disclose a weakness in the software and thus compromise every TrueCrypt volume on the planet. (Unlikely.)

Still, as Green puts it, "I would feel better if I knew who the TrueCrypt authors were."

The audit proposed by Green and White covers four points: Have the source code audited by a professional outfit qualified to do such work; have a lawyer analyze the terms of the source code license used by TrueCrypt, which is not considered to be a true open source license due to some of its terms; pay out bounties for any bugs found in the code; and create binaries that can be verified against the source code.

Open source code is generally considered easier to secure than closed source code, but that doesn't mean open source code is automatically more secure -- it just means the auditing process is easier to conduct. Expertise is still needed -- and in the real world, expertise worth having is worth buying.

This story, "Is TrueCrypt truly secure? Let's have a fundraiser to find out," was originally published at InfoWorld.com. Get the first word on what the important tech news really means with the InfoWorld Tech Watch blog. For the latest developments in business technology news, follow InfoWorld.com on Twitter.

Source: http://www.infoworld.com/t/encryption/truecrypt-truly-secure-lets-have-fundraiser-find-out-229254
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