Fed to keep buying bonds, but may point to plans to taper

By Alister Bull

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Federal Reserve likely will decide at the end of a policy meeting on Wednesday to continue buying bonds at an $85 billion monthly pace, but it could alter an accompanying statement to spell out the possibility of scaling back purchases later this year.

Even if it does, the Fed is unlikely to clarify whether that process will begin in September, as financial markets expect, or later. Fed officials would prefer to see more evidence that the recovery in the job market is first fully entrenched.

The 19 members of the U.S. central bank's policy-setting committee will conclude a regular two-day gathering with a statement at 2 p.m. (1800 GMT).

"I expect that sentiment (of leaning toward a reduction in purchases later this year) to work its way into the policy statement. But they have to be careful because the market has not reacted well to hints of tapering," said Scott Brown, an economist at Raymond Jones in St. Petersburg, Florida.

The Fed cut interest rates to almost zero in late 2008 and has since more than tripled the size of its balance sheet to around $3.6 trillion via three massive rounds of bond buying aimed at holding down longer-term borrowing costs.

At a news conference on June 19, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank likely would start to curtail its current bond-buying round later this year, with an eye toward bringing it to a close by the middle of 2014.

But the U.S. economy is still lumbering through a soft patch induced by belt-tightening in Washington. A report on Wednesday is expected to show U.S. economic growth slowed to just a 1.0 percent annual pace in the second quarter, down from 1.8 percent in the prior three months.

As a result, the Fed will be careful to stress that any action it takes will be conditional on the economy improving. Officials will want to avoid the type of market maelstrom touched off when Bernanke laid out the plan for trimming bond purchases, comments that spooked stock and bond markets alike.

While reassurances from Bernanke and other Fed officials that any pull-back of purchases did not mean the central bank was getting anywhere near jacking up interest rates helped contain the market fallout, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note still stands about a full percentage point above where it was in early May. Mortgage rates have risen a similar amount, posing a potential risk to the housing recovery.

RATE HIKE EXPECTATIONS

It is also possible that Fed officials will adjust the economic thresholds they have laid out to guide expectations about when they eventually will begin to raise rates. The Fed has vowed to hold rates near zero until the unemployment rate hits 6.5 percent, provided the outlook for inflation does not push above 2.5 percent.

The head of the Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank, Narayana Kocherlakota, advocates reducing the jobless rate threshold to 5.5 percent to signal that any rate hikes are a long way off. Bernanke last month said officials might agree to a lower figure.

But Fed watchers view a change at the current meeting as unlikely, partially because of difficulties among the officials in gaining sufficient consensus.

"A threshold of 5.5 percent would put the point of the funds rate lift-off well below where six persons on the committee see the natural unemployment rate," JPMorgan economist Michael Feroli wrote in a note to clients, referring to the level of unemployment officials think can be achieved without touching off inflation.

Quarterly Fed projections in June showed six of the 19 officials on the committee saw the long-run or natural rate of U.S. unemployment lying between 5.8 percent and 6.1 percent.

Instead, Feroli said the chances were better that the Fed might alter its inflation threshold to stipulate that rates would not be lifted if inflation was running too low - say under 1.5 percent. The Fed's preferred inflation gauge was up just 1 percent in the 12 months through May.

"Complementing the current 2.5 percent inflation ceiling with a 1.5 percent inflation floor seems perfectly reasonable," said Feroli.

(Reporting by Alister Bull; Editing by Diane Craft)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fed-keep-buying-bonds-may-point-plans-taper-040405715.html

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Cyrus says wild-child behavior part of growing up

LONDON (AP) ? Miley Cyrus' transformation from a sweet-faced child star into a twerking, wild-child sensation has garnered plenty of debate, but she says it's not really all that deep ? she just grew up, y'all.

"I think people forget what it feels like to be 20," she said in a recent interview. "People just evolve and that's all that's happened to me. But people think a mad scientist somehow cooked up this potion and turned me in to a different human, which it wasn't. All I did was get a haircut and buy some clothes and everyone thinks that I am made into a robot that changes with what's popular every 10 years."

Cyrus has raised eyebrows as she continues to distance herself from her former life as the star of the Disney show "Hannah Montana." Now engaged to actor Liam Hemsworth, Cyrus is concentrating on her musical career and due to release an album in the fall.

Cyrus has one of the summer's biggest hits with "We Can't Stop"; it's now No. 2 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart. In the song's video, which has reached 100 million views on YouTube, Cyrus dances suggestively amid bizarre imagery, including a skull made of french fries. Cyrus says the video was inspired by her own life and the wild parties she's been at.

Besides, Cyrus says acting a little crazy can actually be good for the soul.

"That's why I think some people kind of fall off and they end up going crazy because you don't give yourself time to go crazy," she said. "That's what you're supposed to do; you are 20, you are supposed to be a mess because you haven't figured it out yet, and 10 years from now I am supposed to have it all together."

___

Online:

http://www.mileycyrus.com/

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyrus-says-wild-child-behavior-part-growing-093437543.html

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More Than 20 California Horses Seized

More than 20 Ramona, Calif., horses are under rehabilitative care after being seized from their owner in late July. The seizure comes after nearly a dozen horses were removed from the same property in May.

On July 15, officers from the San Diego County Department of Animal Services noticed that a number of horses were thin and posted a notice for the animals' owner Lori Patton explaining that the animal's would be seized if their condition did not improve. Patton protested the seizure, but a hearing officer ruled July 22 that the seizure was justified. As a result, the horses were removed from the property.

Department of Animal Services Director Dawn Danielson said that a veterinary examination revealed that all the horses were underweight and some required dental care. All are receiving rehabilitative care, she said.

?The owner was not providing the necessary care to improve the health of the horses which left us no choice but to seize her animals and take them into protective custody,? Danielson said.

She said Patton has until the end of July to reclaim the animals, pay for their veterinary and upkeep costs, and cover the cost of their impoundment.

A telephone number listed to Patton was disconnected, according to a recording attached to the number.

Danielson said July's seizure is the second by the Department of Animal Services in recent months. Previously 10 horses were taken from the same property after they were found without access to food or water, she said. Most of those animals have been adopted.

The investigation into the most recent incident is ongoing, Danielson said.

Source: http://feeds.thehorse.com/~r/TheHorse/News/~3/laGrVtULdyM/32291

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Pacquiao lacks political experience to run as president ? analysts

Boxing champion and Sarangani Rep. Manny Pacquiao is not just too young to run as president in 2016?he also lacks the political experience to gun for a national post, political analysts say.

"Is he really serious? It must be a big joke. I hope he was only engaged in humor," said Bobby Tuazon, policy studies director for the Center for People Empowerment in Governance.

Pacquiao in an AFP report categorically said he is aspiring to run for a presidential position. He did not state when.

Pacquiao won't be allowed to run for president in 2016?he will only be 37 at the eve of the presidential elections. The constitution requires presidential candidates to be at least 40 years of age.

Tuazon said if Pacquiao is serious about running for president someday, he must publicize his records in Congress to show him as a "perennial absentee with poor performance to show."

"How can he say he is qualified to run when there are no records to show that he is a credible congressman when is he just banking on his popularity?" Tuazon said.

House records show that since he assumed his post in the 15th Congress, Pacquiao has been among the top absentees?he was only able to attend 47 of the 73 session days in the first regular session, 27 of 59 sessions in 2011, and 41 of the 61 session days in 2012.

Ramon Casiple, executive director of the Institute for Political and Electoral Reform, agreed that Pacquiao's record in the House of Representatives is a "failing" one.

He added that he could not think of any legislation to associate Pacquiao with except his anti-Reproductive Health law crusade when it was still a bill in Congress.

"Wala pa siyang matino na nagawa sa House. Except siguro kung mag-shape up siya in time for 2022," Casiple said, referring to the next presidential elections after 2016.

Pacquiao has authored 12 bills through his three-year stint in the 15th Congress, including bills on the establishment of a hospital in Sarangani province, a prohibition on cellphone networks to send unsolicited messages to subscribers, the establishment of breast care centers in every region, and the creation of a Philippine boxing commission.

For the 16th Congress, he has refiled three of his previous bills while adding two new ones?bills on the establishment of community fitness centers in every barangay, and the amendment to the Philippine Sports Commission Act.

Eligible

Then again, "anybody can run in this country. Basta you fulfill the requirements sa Constitution," Casiple said.

Article VII Section 2 of the 1987 Philippine Constitution states that "no person may be elected President unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines, a registered voter, able to read and write, at least forty years of age on the day of the election, and a resident of the Philippines for at least ten years immediately preceding such election."

Meanwhile, Edmund Tayao, a political analyst from University of Santo Tomas, recognized that Pacquiao is an eager learner in politics, attending various trainings and seminars in lawmaking.

But he noted that Pacquiao still lacks short of public policy understanding.

"Running for national office, especially if it requires a public policy understanding, I think, is too early for him," Tayao said.

Casiple said he believes Pacquiao would aim for a senatorial post in 2016, which if he wins "would make him in a position to possibly run as president in 2022."

Tayao said Pacquiao should stick to being a local official instead of a national post such as president or senator.

But for Tuazon, maybe Pacquiao should "stick to boxing."

"He should be stuck to where he is good at, not in politics where performance and public records are more important," he said.

Pacquiao earlier said he wanted to run as vice-president in the 2016 polls.

Pacquiao first ran for congressman in 2007 in General Santos City but lost to veteran politician Darlene Antonino-Custodio. His wife Jinkee ran and won as Sarangani vice governor in the 2013 polls, while his brother Rogelio "Ruel" Pacquiao lost as General Santos City representative. ? BM, GMA News

Source: http://www.gmanetwork.com/news/story/319687/news/nation/pacquiao-lacks-political-experience-to-run-as-president-analysts

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Credit Union Classic: Final round delayed because of weather

By M.F. Piraino

The final round of the Credit Union Classic presented by Wegman's at Drumlins Country Club was delayed because of weather.

At 2:15 p.m., it was announced play will resume approximately 3 p.m. The remaining field of 78 players headed to the practice green or the driving range to get loose before returning to the course.

Play was halted this morning when the horn sounded at 10:48 a.m. right before the lead trio of Olivia Jordan-Higgins, Megan McChrystal and K.P. Kongkraphan were getting ready to tee off on the second hole. Although there was no lightning in the area, tournament officials said an excessive amount of rain was the culprit for the delay.

Jordan-Higgins is in the lead at 7-under. McChrystal of Florida sits in second with a 137. She birdied the first hole to drop to 6-under. Kongkraphan is in third at 4-under. Six players are tied for fourth.

Source: http://blog.syracuse.com/divots/2013/07/credit_union_classic_final_rou.html

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2nd body found in NY river where best man fell in

PIERMONT, N.Y. (AP) ? A second body was pulled from the Hudson River on Sunday near where a bride-to-be and her fiance's best man went missing after a nighttime boat crash near the Tappan Zee Bridge.

The body of a man believed to be 30-year-old Mark Lennon was discovered by someone on a recreational watercraft who then called 911, Rockland County Sheriff Louis Falco said. The body was found near Piermont about a mile downstream from where the body of a woman believed to be bride-to-be Lindsey Stewart was found Saturday.

Falco said both families had been notified and were distraught. The bodies have since been taken to the medical examiner's office; neither person was wearing a life vest.

"I don't think you can put words to what we have to tell these families," he said.

Stewart was set to be married Aug. 10. Lennon was the best man.

Lennon and Stewart were thrown into the river Friday night after their speedboat crashed into a barge carrying materials for the construction of a replacement for the bridge. Four other friends, including Stewart's fiance, Brian Bond, and the boat operator, Jojo John, were hospitalized.

John, 35, of Nyack, was charged Saturday with vehicular manslaughter and three counts of vehicular assault from a hospital bed, where he was recovering from his injuries in the crash, said William Barbera, chief of the Rockland County Sheriff's Office. Authorities say they suspect John was intoxicated at the time of the crash, but they are awaiting results of blood tests.

Attempts to reach John's family weren't immediately successful and it wasn't clear if he had an attorney.

Authorities have declined to identify the other two boat passengers, saying they're considered witnesses to a crime. One of them has been released from the hospital.

Authorities have said the barge was equipped with lights, but it was still difficult to see on the water late at night. Falco said Sunday that the lighting would be a part of the investigation.

"We will determine if those barges were lit properly and if it was a factor," he said.

Sheryl Palacio, a high school biology teacher from Valley Cottage, went to the pier Sunday with her two young sons and father and said she knows Bond, an art teacher, and John.

"I've known Brian my whole life," she said. "He's an outstanding teacher, a wonderful, kind, respectful man. Now his best friend is missing and his other best friend is charged with manslaughter."

Palacio said John worked as a banker at a local Chase branch and opened accounts for her two boys.

"I just want to make sure everyone knows he was a good man, happy and loving," she said. "He was always telling me about his nieces and nephews."

Palacio's father, Mitchell Turk, of Orangeburg, said he visited with Bond's mother, Jean, at her home in Pearl River on Sunday.

"It's sad and quiet there, long faces. They're trying to carry on, doing as well as can be expected," Turk said.

The group left the village of Piermont for a short trip aboard the 21-foot Stingray across the river to Tarrytown, about 30 miles north of New York City, authorities said.

Stewart, of Piermont, worked for an insurance company. She and Bond were to be married at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church in Pearl River, with a reception at a vineyard in Hillburn, her stepfather, Walter Kosik, said.

The couple had known each other for years and used to go to church together, he said.

"They have been friends the whole time, and they fell in love about 3 ? years ago," Kosik said.

The New York State Thruway Authority, which is overseeing the bridge project, said it was reviewing safety procedures. It said the lighting on the barges appeared to be functioning normally.

"Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims and their families during this difficult time," the authority said in a statement.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/2nd-body-found-ny-river-where-best-man-183823670.html

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The Beach Boys: Sloop John B

I was just in a Beach Boys mood tonight, but there are so many options that it was hard to choose. Sloop John B stands out because it's catchy, dark and relatable. It's a folk song from early 1900s sailors in the West Indies after all. And there comes a time in every person's life when you just have to shake your head, turn to the person, animal, boulder or spirit guide next to you and say, "This is the worst trip I've ever been on." [Amazon, iTunes, Spotify]

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Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/rpSNpfb1Iek/the-beach-boys-sloop-john-b-944943506

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