plus 3, Oil Rises, Heading for Weekly Gain on Optimism About U.S. Jobs - BusinessWeek

Oil Rises, Heading for Weekly Gain on Optimism About U.S. Jobs - BusinessWeek
Government should defend climate science - San Francisco Chronicle
China economy faces 'crucial' year: Wen - YAHOO!
FBI embeds cyber-investigators in Ukraine, Estonia - San Francisco Chronicle

Oil Rises, Heading for Weekly Gain on Optimism About U.S. Jobs - BusinessWeek

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 02:09 AM PST

March 05, 2010, 8:57 AM EST

By Grant Smith

March 5 (Bloomberg) -- Crude rose above $81 a barrel in New York after data showed the U.S. lost fewer jobs than forecast in February, bolstering the outlook for oil demand in the world's largest energy consumer.

"The figures were better than expected, and that's boosted oil prices," said Mike Wittner, head of oil market research at Societe Generale SA in London. "Fewer job losses than forecast is positive in the short term for U.S. GDP, and therefore the outlook for oil demand."

Crude oil for April delivery rose as much as $1.13, or 1.4 percent, to $81.34 a barrel, in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the highest intraday price since Jan. 12. The contract was at $81.12 at 1:52 p.m. London time. Brent crude oil for April delivery rose $1 to $79.54 a barrel on the London-based ICE Futures Europe exchange.

--Editors: Mike Anderson, Steve Voss.

To contact the reporters on this story: Grant Smith in London at gsmith52@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Stephen Voss on sev@bloomberg.net

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Government should defend climate science - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 05 Mar 2010 12:08 AM PST

The status quo has many guardians, but the future is an orphan. From our out-of-control health care system to lax banking regulation, vested financial interests are having a field day distorting the facts in service of another year's or decade's profits. Climate change is the latest issue to take a beating. The formula for legislative obstruction is now well established: When confronted with facts about a future threat, today's vested interests unleash an army of attack dogs to scour the landscape for the irrelevant anomaly or misleading mud with which to sow doubt. Thus, a single weather event in Washington, D.C., becomes fodder for mindless mockery of the mountain of scientific evidence on significant climatic changes around the world; personal e-mails "reveal" that some scientists can be petulant; and a few mistakes in a 3,000-page, 130-country scientific collaboration are blown grossly out of proportion to discredit the enterprise - indeed, the entire scientific process.

The attacks are withering yet remarkably effective. Why? Because the opponents know, in tried-and-true techniques from the cigarette wars, that they don't have to "win" the argument; all they have to do is sow doubt, and that is enough to weaken public resolve and delay action.

They also know that in today's world the caution and caveats of most scientists are no match for a carefully orchestrated, well-bankrolled public relations offensive.

Government should help equalize that contest. The fundamental purpose of government is to protect its citizens and provide for the common welfare and security of the public. That is why we have the Central Intelligence Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the Food and Drug Administration.

At the behest of the world's governments, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was formed in 1988 to provide a careful, global, peer-reviewed assessment of the scientific evidence and the risks associated with climate change. The IPCC has been one of the most important and far-reaching scientific undertakings in history, involving thousands of the world's top scientists - who are not paid for this work. Five years ago the National Academy of Science and its counterparts in 10 other countries reaffirmed the essential findings of the IPCC - that we live in an atmospheric greenhouse; that human activities are increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases; that the climate is already showing clear signs of warming; and that the Earth's climate will change significantly if we continue on our current path.

What can the government do? It can stand up for the scientific method at the highest levels, including the president, and explain and defend what science is telling us about the prospect of costly, perhaps catastrophic climate change. We need to see and hear this support before the scientists are overwhelmed and the public debate is even more muddled by the reckless and relentless attack machines of the vested financial interests and the echo chamber of the media.

Timothy E. Wirth is president of the United Nations Foundation.

This article appeared on page A - 14 of the San Francisco Chronicle

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China economy faces 'crucial' year: Wen - YAHOO!

Posted: 04 Mar 2010 10:56 PM PST

BEIJING (AFP) – China on Friday predicted another year of rapid expansion in 2010 but pledged to ensure the benefits of economic growth are shared more evenly, as concern mounts over a widening rich-poor divide.

In his annual "state of the nation" address to open parliament, Premier Wen Jiabao also pledged to tame inflation and curb rampant bank lending to forestall a risky bubble in the world's third-largest economy.

Wen said China would target eight percent economic growth in 2010, which he called a "crucial year" in the battle against the global slowdown.

"This year the main targets we have set for economic and social development are increasing GDP by approximately eight percent... (and) holding the rise in consumer prices to around three percent," Wen told lawmakers.

Eight percent growth is a figure authorities feel is the minimum necessary to avert widespread joblessness and social unrest in the world's most populous country. Despite the global crisis, the economy grew 8.7 percent last year. Related article: China to address needs of poor

With the world downturn exposing the volatility of foreign trade, the agenda for the National People's Congress will be topped by Beijing's efforts to retool the economy away from its long reliance on cheap exports.

"This is a crucial year for continuing to deal with the global financial crisis, maintaining steady and rapid economic development and accelerating the transformation of the pattern of economic development," Wen said.

He offered a fresh pledge to boost domestic consumption as a means to diversify the economy, and vowed to maintain a "proactive fiscal policy". China launched a 586-billion-dollar stimulus package in 2008.

Wen said China would keep the value of the yuan "basically stable" in 2010, a stance sure to rile the country's key Western trading partners, which say the currency is kept low to boost exports.

China annually sees thousands of protests -- often violent -- by those who have missed out on the nation's economic boom, and Wen promised to expand the social security umbrella. Related article: Plans to develop Xinjiang, Tibet

"We will not only make the pie of social wealth bigger by developing the economy, but also distribute it well on the basis of a rational income distribution system," he said.

"We will carry out reform of the household registration system and relax requirements for household registration in towns and small and medium-sized cities," he said.

China expects to run up a budget deficit of 1.05 trillion yuan (154 billion dollars), up 10 percent from last year, Wen said, as it maintains the hefty stimulus plan and upgrades social security. Related article: Corruption battle a 'high priority'

He also acknowledged government concern over a flood of lending that has caused inflation fears to spike, saying authorities would slash new bank loans by about a fifth in 2010 to 7.5 trillion yuan.

"We are emphasising sound development and we need to guide all sectors to focus on transforming the pattern of economic development and restructuring the economy," Wen said.

The NPC, with up to 3,000 members, has no real legislative power but meets to rubber-stamp the decisions of the Communist Party elite in an annual ritual aimed at putting a veneer of democracy on China's rigid political system.

On the eve of the congress opening, China unveiled the smallest increase in its defence budget for at least 10 years and vowed that its rapid military modernisation posed no threat to other countries. Related article: China to keep modernising the military

Wen also vowed to rein in soaring real estate prices and expand low-cost housing.

High housing prices have topped the list of public concerns in surveys, with violent clashes reported nationwide in recent months, sparked by forced evictions as officials and developers seek to cash in on the market. Related article: Need to rein in property prices: Wen

Wen's pledge to maintain economic growth sent stock markets in Hong Kong and Shanghai slightly higher.

As is customary during major political events in China, security has been tightened in the capital to prevent disruption.

Extra police and more than 700,000 civilian volunteers have been deployed to keep public order, according to official media reports that dubbed the effort a "great moat" of security around Beijing.

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FBI embeds cyber-investigators in Ukraine, Estonia - San Francisco Chronicle

Posted: 04 Mar 2010 09:23 PM PST

Over the past few months, the agents have begun working hand in hand with local police to help crack tough international cybercrime investigations, said Jeffrey Troy, chief of the FBI's Cyber Division, in an interview at the RSA Conference in San Francisco. Because virtually all cybercrime crosses international borders, this type of cooperation is crucial, law enforcement experts say.

The embedding was inspired by a successful operation in Romania, begun in 2006, which led to close to 100 arrests. "We looked at that and said, 'Where else can we do this,'" said Troy, who heads up FBI cybercrime operations.

The FBI has a history of embedding its agents with international police. In the 1980s, U.S. agents worked with Italian law enforcement to crack mob cases that involved the two countries. "This is not a new model, but it's certainly new to cyber," Troy said.

Troy wouldn't comment on what cases the agents were working, but he said, "those countries were selected for a reason."

Currently, there is one embedded agent in each of the three countries, and one remains in Romania, Troy said.

Security experts say the Ukraine is home to a large number of online scammers and the creators of bank-account-emptying malware such as the Zeus Trojan. "Ukraine's a huge problem," said Paul Ferguson, a researcher with Trend Micro. "I would rank it above Russia right now."

Traditionally, securing law enforcement cooperation with Ukrainian police has been a problem, however. "It's encouraging that they have someone embedded there," Ferguson said. "I hope it's more than just a token presence."

Ferguson had no comment on why the FBI might be in Estonia, but his company has linked a widespread rogue-antivirus operation to an unnamed Estonian company that displayed 1.8 million scam "You are infected" messages to Web surfers in July 2009.

The third FBI agent is stationed in The Hague, the Netherlands.

Back in the U.S., agents have also created an in-house botnet expert group of technically savvy agents who can help the FBI's local law enforcement teams investigate botnet-related cases, Troy said. Now more than ever, scammers are using botnet-infected computers to steal banking credentials from victims and move that money offshore.

Recently, the FBI helped shut down a massive botnet, called Mariposa, which had infected millions of computers worldwide.

Troy called botnets "a significant threat."

"There are zillions of botnets out there," he said.

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