Study could spur wider use of prenatal gene tests

A new study sets the stage for wider use of gene testing in early pregnancy. Scanning the genes of a fetus reveals far more about potential health risks than current prenatal testing does, say researchers who compared both methods in thousands of pregnancies nationwide. A surprisingly high number — 6 percent — of certain fetuses declared normal by conventional testing were found to have genetic abnormalities by gene scans, the study found. The gene flaws can cause anything from minor defects such as a club foot to more serious ones such as mental retardation, heart problems and fatal diseases. "This isn't done just so people can terminate pregnancies," because many choose to continue them even if a problem is found, said Dr. Ronald Wapner, reproductive genetics chief at Columbia University Medical Center in New York. "We're better able to give lots and lots of women more information about what's causing the problem and what the prognosis is and what special care their child might need." He led the federally funded study, published in Thursday's New England Journal of Medicine. A second study in the journal found that gene testing could reveal the cause of most stillbirths, many of which remain a mystery now. That gives key information to couples agonizing over whether to try again. The prenatal study of 4,400 women has long been awaited in the field, and could make gene testing a standard of care in cases where initial screening with an ultrasound exam suggests a structural defect in how the baby is developing, said Dr. Susan Klugman, director of reproductive genetics at New York's Montefiore Medical Center, which enrolled 300 women into the study. "We can never guarantee the perfect baby but if they want everything done, this is a test that can tell a lot more," she said. Many pregnant women are offered screening with an ultrasound exam or a blood test that can flag some common abnormalities such as Down syndrome, but these are not conclusive. The next step is diagnostic testing on cells from the fetus obtained through amniocentesis, which is like a needle biopsy through the belly, or chorionic villus sampling, which snips a bit of the placenta. Doctors look at the sample under a microscope for breaks or extra copies of chromosomes that cause a dozen or so abnormalities. The new study compared this eyeball method to scanning with gene chips that can spot hundreds of abnormalities and far smaller defects than what can be seen with a microscope. This costs $1,200 to $1,800 versus $600 to $1,000 for the visual exam. In the study, both methods were used on fetal samples from 4,400 women around the country. Half of the moms were at higher risk because they were over 35. One-fifth had screening tests suggesting Down syndrome. One-fourth had ultrasounds suggesting structural abnormalities. Others sought screening for other reasons. "Some did it for anxiety — they just wanted more information about their child," Wapner said. Of women whose ultrasounds showed a possible structural defect but whose fetuses were called normal by the visual chromosome exam, gene testing found problems in 6 percent — one out of 17. "That's a lot. That's huge," Klugman said. Gene tests also found abnormalities in nearly 2 percent of cases where the mom was older or ultrasounds suggested a problem other than a structural defect. Dr. Lorraine Dugoff, a University of Pennsylvania high-risk pregnancy specialist, wrote in an editorial in the journal that gene testing should become the standard of care when a structural problem is suggested by ultrasound. But its value may be incremental in other cases and offset by the 1.5 percent of cases where a gene abnormality of unknown significance is found. In those cases, "a lot of couples might not be happy that they ordered that test" because it can't give a clear answer, she said. Ana Zeletz, a former pediatric nurse from Hoboken, N.J., had one of those results during the study. An ultrasound suggested possible Down syndrome; gene testing ruled that out but showed an abnormality that could indicate kidney problems — or nothing. "They give you this list of all the things that could possibly be wrong," Zeletz said. Her daughter, Jillian, now 2, had some urinary and kidney abnormalities that seem to have resolved, and has low muscle tone that caused her to start walking later than usual. "I am very glad about it," she said of the testing, because she knows to watch her daughter for possible complications like gout. Without the testing, "we wouldn't know anything, we wouldn't know to watch for things that might come up," she said. The other study involved 532 stillbirths — deaths of a fetus in the womb before delivery. Gene testing revealed the cause in 87 percent of cases versus 70 percent of cases analyzed by the visual chromosome inspection method. It also gave more information on specific genetic abnormalities that couples could use to estimate the odds that future pregnancies would bring those risks. The study was led by Dr. Uma Reddy of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

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Canada OKs CNOOC's takeover bid for Nexen

TORONTO (AP) — Canada approved China's biggest overseas energy acquisition, a $15.1 billion takeover by state-owned CNOOC of Canadian oil and gas producer Nexen, but vowed Friday to reject any future foreign takeovers in the oil sands sector by state-owned companies. Prime Minister Stephen Harper said the government would only consider future takeover deals in the oil sands by state-owned companies in exceptional circumstances. "To be blunt, Canadians have not spent years reducing ownership of sectors of the economy by our own governments only to see them bought and controlled by foreign governments instead," Harper said. Harper's Conservative government has been studying whether CNOOC's deal and a smaller foreign takeover, Malaysian state-owned oil firm Petronas' $5.2 billion bid for Progress Energy, represent a "net benefit" to the country. The Harper government also approved the Petronas deal on Friday. Concerns had been raised that approvals could lead to a flood of deals that put control of Canada's vast energy resources in Chinese hands, but Harper said the approvals should be seen as the end of a trend and not the beginning. He said no other industrialized country would allow a major sector of its economy to be taken over by state-owned companies from another country. The prime minister noted that 15 companies dominate production in the Alberta oil sands and said the sector represents 60 percent of all the oil production around the world that is not already in state hands. He feared a few larger purchases by foreign state-owned companies could rapidly transform the industry from one that is essentially a free market industry to one that is effectively under the control of a foreign government. Canada's new position may not go over well in China where they are eager for an even greater share of Canada's oil. Alberta has the world's third-largest oil reserves after Saudi Arabia and Venezuela: more than 170 billion barrels. Daily production of 1.5 million barrels from the oil sands is expected to increase to 3.7 million in 2025. CNOOC and other big state-owned Asian energy companies have increased purchases of oil and gas assets in the Americas as part of a global strategy to gain access to resources needed to fuel their economies. Chinese companies have moved more carefully since CNOOC tried seven years ago to buy Unocal but was rejected by U.S. lawmakers who cited national security fears. Harper's government originally turned down Petronas' bid for Progress Energy in October. The government did not publicly explain the decision to block the deal but said a new policy framework for foreign takeovers would be released soon. Petronas was allowed to reapply. The decision to turn it down in October raised doubts about whether Canada is open to foreign investment. Harper's Conservative government also rejected Anglo-Australian BHP Billiton's hostile takeover bid for Potash Corp. in 2010 and the sale of Vancouver-based MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates' space-technology division to an American company in 2008. But Harper has lobbied the Chinese to invest in Canada's energy sector and has said billions in foreign investment is needed to develop Canada's vast oil and gas deposits. Turning down CNOOC's bid would have harmed relations with China. Harper said the Nexen transaction by itself did not raise fears. Most analysts believed the deal would be approved because more than 70 percent of Nexen's assets are outside Canada. Analysts say a company like Suncor, Canada's largest oil company, would have been off limits. Nexen, a mid-tier energy company in Canada, operates in western Canada, the Gulf of Mexico, North Sea, Africa and the Middle East, with its biggest reserves in the Canadian oil sands. It produced an average of 213,000 barrels of oil a day in the second quarter of this year. The acquisition vastly expands CNOOC's holdings in Canada, where the company has already invested about $2.8 billion. Chinese state-owned company has invested billions in Canadian energy in recent years. Nexen's board approved the takeover in July after CNOOC offered a 62 percent premium on the stock price. Shareholders voted overwhelmingly to support the deal in September. The deal still needs approval in Britain and the U.S. where Nexen also has assets. The stock has long traded at 10 percent discount to the offer on fears Canada would not approve the takeover. The stock jumped 15 percent, or $3.43 to $26.95, in afterhours trading in New York after closing down 6.5 percent in the regular session after the government said an announcement would be made after the close. Progress also traded down 5.4 percent in the regular session on fears Canada wouldn't approve that deal. In an apparent show of commitment to Canada's interests, CNOOC is pledging to set up a regional headquarters in Calgary, Alberta, where Nexen is based. It also says it will keep the Canadian company's management and projects in place and list shares on the Canadian bourse in Toronto. Petronas has also made a series of promises in the proposed takeover of Progress. John Manley, president of the Canadian Council of Chief Executives, applauded the decisions to approve the deals, noting Canada needs foreign capital. "The decision to approve the acquisitions of Nexen Inc. and Progress Energy Resources Corp. sends a positive signal to investors in Canada and around the world," Manley said. First Asset Investment Management Analyst John Stephenson said foreign state-owned companies will continue to grab minority stakes in Canada's oil sector.

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Russia fumes at US bill as "reset" plan takes hit

MOSCOW (AP) — What happened to the "reset"? U.S.-Russian ties have again plunged into acrimony amid disputes ranging from disagreement on Syria to Russian President Vladimir Putin's clampdown on dissent. A U.S. bill intended to lift Cold War-era trade restrictions but also containing sanctions against Russian officials accused of rights abuses has become the latest flashpoint, with Moscow venting its outrage and threatening a quid pro quo. While U.S.-Russian ties haven't yet plunged to the lows seen during George W. Bush's presidency, a senior Russian lawmaker warned Friday that the legislation approved by the Senate could be a prologue to an even deeper crisis. Alexei Pushkov, the Kremlin-connected head of the Foreign Affairs committee in the lower house of Russia's parliament, said that Moscow was particularly annoyed by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton's pledge this week to oppose Russia's efforts to create alliances of post-Soviet nations as an attempt to "re-Sovietize the region." "If the U.S. administration wants to have a kind of geopolitical contest with the Russian Federation on the post-Soviet space, I think that the (trade) law will be just the first step in a new crisis, and a serious crisis between Moscow and Washington," Pushkov told The Associated Press. Moscow's concerns about what it perceives as American meddling into its home turf contributed to a sharp downturn in U.S.-Russian relations under Bush, which hit their lowest point during the August 2008 Russian-Georgian war. After announcing a policy of "reset" in relations with Moscow in 2009, President Barack Obama signed the landmark New START nuclear arms pact with Russia and encouraged cooperation in other areas. But U.S.-Russian relations later worsened again over Russia's support for the embattled Syrian regime, U.S. missile defense plans and Putin's crackdown on dissent. Amid the growing strain, Putin accused the U.S. State Department of fomenting massive protests in Moscow against his re-election to a third presidential term in March. The anti-American rhetoric was followed by action. In September, Moscow ordered an end to the U.S. Agency for International Development's two decades of work in Russia, saying that the agency was using its money to influence elections — a claim the U.S. denied. And in another sign of increasing friction with Washington, the Kremlin announced in October that it had no intention of automatically extending a 20-year old deal with the United States to help secure Russia's nuclear stockpiles. The bill approved by the U.S. Senate on Thursday is named after Russian lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who was arrested by officials whom he had accused of a $230 million tax fraud. He was repeatedly denied medical treatment, and died in 2009 after almost a year in jail following a severe beating by guards. Russian rights groups accused the Kremlin of failing to prosecute those responsible. U.S. State Department spokesman Mark Toner hailed the bill, saying it will offer Americans greater access to the Russian market and adding that "we share Congress' goals of promoting respect for human rights in Russia." Russia's Foreign Ministry called the U.S. Senate vote a "show in the theater of the absurd." It warned that Russia will respond to the new legislation in kind, adding that the U.S. will have to take the blame for the worsening of U.S.-Russian ties. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov told Russian media that he warned Clinton during their meeting in Dublin that Russia "will ban entry to the Americans who are in fact guilty of violating human rights." Pushkov, the senior lawmaker in the Russian lower house, said it will respond to the Senate move with legislation that would impose travel restrictions and an assets freeze on U.S. citizens accused of human rights violations. He told the AP that lawmakers are considering two versions of the bill. One would target U.S. citizens accused of violating the rights of Russian citizens in the United States, while a broader version would be aimed at U.S. citizens accused of rights violations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and other nations. "The United States is involved in massive and a well-proven violation of human rights all over the world," Pushkov said. On a conciliatory note, he added that Moscow believes that the Obama administration still wants to enhance cooperation with Russia and voiced hope that relations could eventually improve. But Pushkov also described Clinton's claim that the Russian-led regional groupings represented an attempt to restore the Soviet empire as a "very belligerent" statement. And he said it is an example Washington should avoid repeating it if it is serious about a "reset." Clinton made the statement before sitting down for talks with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov to discuss the Syrian crisis — another key point of tension between Moscow and Washington. Washington accuses Moscow of propping up Bashar Assad's regime despite its bloody crackdown on an uprising that began in March 2011. Russia and China have used their veto power at the U.N. Security Council three times to block sanctions against Assad's government, and Moscow has continued to provide Assad with weapons despite strong U.S. protests. At a meeting in Dublin that also involved the U.N. peace envoy for Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, Clinton and Lavrov agreed to support a new mediation effort Brahimi would lead. Despite Russian leaders' angry rhetoric, the Kremlin is unlikely to take any strong anti-U.S. action for fear of causing an even bigger strain in relations, Sergei Alexashenko, an economist who was a deputy chief of Russia's Central Bank, told Ekho Moskvy radio late Thursday. Many observers say Moscow's worst fear is that European Union nations will follow the U.S. and pass similar laws. British authorities already have reportedly compiled a list of 60 Russian officials barred from entry over their alleged involvement in Magnitsky's death. Alexei Navalny, Russia's leading anti-corruption whistleblower and opposition leader, wrote in his blog that officials' anger against the U.S. legislation stems from fear of losing their assets. "Don't confuse the interests of Russia and Russian officials' fear for their corruption savings in foreign banks," he said. "The Magnitsky act is absolutely pro-Russian. It is aimed at scoundrels who stole 5.4 billion rubles, laundered it abroad, then tortured and killed a Russian citizen."

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UK hospital: Nurse involved in Kate hoax call dies

LONDON (AP) — The news that Prince William and the former Kate Middleton were expecting their first child — joyous news for a couple looking forward to starting a family — immediately turned bittersweet with the simultaneous announcement that the duchess was being hospitalized for acute morning sickness. Then there was an invasion of her privacy by two disc jockeys who impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles to gain information on her condition. By Friday, the sadness merely deepened, with the news that the nurse who unwittingly took the hoax call had died. The royal couple quickly issued a statement expressing their condolences over the death of Jacintha Saldanha, the 46-year-old mother of two duped by the Australian DJs, who had suddenly found herself at the vortex of a global incident. They stressed they had not complained about the hoax call, and indeed offered praise for the staff. The hospital, too, stressed that Saldanha had not been reprimanded. And yet the week can only be described as tragic, with the happiness so tarnished by the latest developments. Saldanha was found dead early Friday at apartments affiliated with King Edward VII hospital in central London, where she worked for four years. Police didn't release a cause of death, but said they didn't find anything suspicious. A coroner will make a determination on the cause. 2DayFM, the Australian station that performed the prank early Tuesday, said in a statement posted on Facebook and Twitter that the two disc jockeys, Mel Greig and Michael Christian, would not return to the station until further notice. They had apologized for the hoax Wednesday. A spokeswoman for the station did not return messages seeking further comment. Greig and Christian's Twitter accounts were deactivated following the news of Saldanha's death. Saldanha took the hoax call by the pair, who impersonated Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Charles to elicit information on the duchess, the hospital said. She later transferred the call to the nurse caring for the duchess, who was admitted to the hospital Monday with acute morning sickness. "Our thoughts and deepest sympathies at this time are with her family and friends," hospital chief executive John Lofthouse said in a statement. "Everyone is shocked by the loss of a much loved and valued colleague." St. James's Palace, the office of the duchess and her husband Prince William, also expressed sadness at the death, but insisted that it had not complained about the hoax. "On the contrary, we offered our full and heartfelt support to the nurses involved and hospital staff at all times," the palace said in a statement. Saldanha's family asked for privacy in a statement issued through London police. "We as a family are deeply saddened by the loss of our beloved Jacintha," the statement said. Australia's media watchdog, the Australian Communications and Media Authority, said it was looking into the hoax. "These events are a tragedy for all involved, and I pass on my heartfelt condolences to the family of the deceased nurse in London," the authority's chairman, Chris Chapman, said in a statement. "The ACMA does not propose to make any comments at this stage but will be engaging with the licensee, 2DayFM Sydney, around the facts and issues surrounding the prank call." During the hoax call, a woman using the often-mimicked voice of Britain's monarch asked about the duchess' health. She was told by the second nurse who took the call from Saldanha that the duchess, the former Kate Middleton, "hasn't had any retching with me and she's been sleeping on and off." The nurse went on to tell the radio personalities that the duchess had had an uneventful night, as a dog barking sound was heard in the background. The alleged queen and prince talk about traveling to the hospital to check in on the patient. The hospital said it supported Saldanha in the aftermath of the call and that its phone protocols were under review. The Australian station placed the recording of the conversation on its website, but later said it was sorry. "We were very surprised that our call was put through. We thought we'd be hung up on as soon as they heard our terrible accents," Greig and Christian said in a joint statement with the station at the time. "We're very sorry if we've caused any issues and we're glad to hear that Kate is doing well." The station's chief executive officer, Rhys Holleran, had spoken with the presenters after the nurse's death, and that both were deeply shocked. The hosts "have decided that they will not return to their radio show until further notice out of respect for what can only be described as a tragedy." Christian's Twitter account has since been taken down. Officials from St. James's Palace have said the duchess is not yet 12 weeks pregnant. The child would be the first for her and Prince William.

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APNewsBreak: Dhaka factory lost fire certification

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) — The factory where 112 garment workers died in a fire should have been shut down months ago. The fire department refused to renew the certification it needed to operate, a top fire official told The Associated Press. And its owner told AP that just three of the factory's eight floors were legal. He was building a ninth. Government officials knew of the problems, but the factory just kept running. The Capital Development Authority could have fined Tazreen Fashions Ltd. or even pushed for the demolition of illegally built portions of the building, said an agency official, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media. But it chose to do nothing, rather than confront one of Bangladesh's most powerful industries, he said. "I must say we have our weaknesses. We could not do that," he said. "Not only Tazreen. There are hundreds more buildings. That's the truth." Bangladesh's $20 billion-a-year garment industry, which accounts for 80 percent of Bangladesh's total export earnings, goes virtually unchallenged by the government, said Kalpona Akter, executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity, a labor rights group. "These factories should be shut down, but who will do that?" she said. "Any good government inspector who wants to act tough against such rogue factories would be removed from office. Who will take that risk?" Fire officials did challenge the factory, though they appeared reluctant to go too far. When the factory's fire safety certification expired June 30, Dhaka's fire authorities refused to renew it, a fire official told the AP, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. A factory must be certified to operate, but the department usually gives factory owners some time to upgrade conditions. If they fail to do so, the department can file a court case to get it closed down. But it rarely does, and did not in Tazreen's case. "These factories should be closed, but it is not an easy task," the fire official said. "We need to follow a protracted legal battle. Always there is pressure because the owners are influential. They can manage everything." The Nov. 24 fire tore through the ground floor of the behemoth white, concrete factory, which fills most of a block in the Dhaka suburb of Savar. About 1,400 employees were cutting fabric and sewing clothes for Wal-Mart, Disney and other Western brands. Dipa Akter had no idea she was in any danger during the three years she worked at the Tazreen factory. "We never thought such a big fire could happen at Tazreen. We thought there would be no problem if there was a fire. There are three stairways ... we never thought our colleagues would die this way," she said. Now, the factory stands gutted, its cavernous floors littered with burned clothes, yarn, machinery and furniture. Glass from windows broken by desperate workers who tried to jump to safety is scattered along with black ash on the floors and staircases. Though the factory had three staircases, it had no specially designed emergency exits. Fire extinguishers in the building either didn't work or workers didn't know how to use them, survivors said. The fire official declined to provide specifics about what violations the department had uncovered in the months before the fire. "I can't explain more because the case is very sensitive and this is under investigation," the official said. The chairman of the Capital Development Authority, Nurul Huda, did not return calls seeking comment. Tazreen's owner, Delwar Hossain, said the government granted him authorization to construct a three-story factory. Nonetheless, he added five more floors and was constructing a ninth when the blaze broke out, he said late Thursday. The construction is in direct violation of a law that requires advance written approval of factory construction and expansion. When asked why he went ahead with the expansion anyway, he responded: "My mental condition is not good. I am under pressure. Please don't ask me anything else." Hossain is a former accounts manager at a garment factory who started his own company, Tuba Textiles Mills Ltd., in 2004 and now has a dozen factories of his own. Other factory owners hold parliamentary posts and other prestigious positions. In one sign of the industry's power, the government has dispatched a special police force just to maintain order in the factories. The risky conditions at the Tazreen plant were known not only to government officials, but to major U.S. retailers whose products were made there. Wal-Mart audited Tazreen in 2011, giving it an "orange" or high-risk rating. Months later it did a second audit, and early this year the factory was no longer authorized to produce merchandise for the retail giant. However, an AP reporter who visited the factory last week found Wal-Mart brands were still being made there. The company said a supplier — who has since been fired — had moved Wal-Mart production there without its knowledge. Akter, the rights activist, estimates that more than half the nation's more than 4,000 garment factories have safety arrangements only on paper. Factory owners "are very powerful, or backed by powerful associations and people," Akter said. She added that many inspectors are bribed to ignore violations. In the two weeks since the blaze, the fire department has inspected 232 factories in the industrial area where Tazreen was located. It found that more than one-quarter of them — 64 — lacked fire safety licenses or safety measures such as fire extinguishers, water reservoirs and workers trained to fight a fire, said Dhaka fire chief M. Abdus Salam.

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Global slowdown, austerity to constrain UK economy - BCC

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain's economic growth in the next two years will be weaker than previously thought, held back by a global slowdown and domestic austerity measures, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) said on Tuesday. The BCC revised down its gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecasts for 2013 and 2014 to 1.0 and 1.8 percent respectively from 1.2 and 2.2 percent, also citing weak household consumption. Economists polled by Reuters last month predicted similar rates of growth and the BCC report will provide gloomy reading for chancellor George Osborne the day before he presents a half-yearly budget statement to parliament. "We expect quarterly growth to increase gradually over the next two years, but we have to accept that it will remain modest and below trend for some time," said BCC Chief Economist David Kern. "Although there will be a slow improvement over the medium term, GDP will only return to its pre-recession levels at the end of 2014." After two recessions in four years, Britain bounced back to growth in the last quarter, helped by extra working days and London's hosting of the Olympic Games. But analysts reckon the economy will expand by a far lower 0.1 percent in the current quarter and will barely pick up in the year ahead. The recovery has been hampered by a protracted debt crisis in the euro zone, Britain's main trading partner, as well as by the government's debt-cutting plans. Osborne said on Sunday that it was taking longer than hoped to deal with Britain's debts, but insisted he would stick with the programme when he delivers what is known as the Autumn Statement on Wednesday. However, the BCC said the government also needed to support growth, job creation, exports, investment, and business confidence. "The fact remains that growth is still too weak. We are calling for decisive action in the Autumn Statement. Business wants a hybrid strategy that delivers both deficit reduction and (economic) growth," said John Longworth, BCC Director General. Public sector net borrowing in the 2012-13 year will be 104.1 billion pounds, the BCC said, around 12 billion higher than the Office for Budget Responsibility, an independent fiscal forecasting body, predicted in March. The trade group, representing firms employing more than one in five private-sector workers in Britain, said unemployment was likely to peak at around 8.1 percent in the final months of next year partly due to job losses in the public sector. It also revised up its inflation forecasts for this year and next.

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New York Film and TV Tax Credits Support 28,900 Jobs: Study

LOS ANGELES (TheWrap.com) - New York's film and television production tax credits supported 28,900 jobs in the state and generated $6.9 billion in economic activity last year, according to a new study commissioned by Hollywood's main lobbying group. Overall, the state's film and television production industry grew by 25 percent between 2008 to 2011 despite the fact that the country was mired in recession, the study's authors write. During that period, economic activity across the state declined by 1.6 percent. The research and report was conducted by economic development consultants HR&A Advisors and was paid for by the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which has been a major supporter of production tax credits across the country. New York began offering production tax credits in 2004 and has handed out more than $1 billion in benefits. Last summer, Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation that increased production credits from 10 percent to 30 percent for films that shot in New York state and raised the benefit to 35 percent for post-production work done in the state. Opponents of tax credits have argued that local film production rarely has the positive economic impact that states hope and that they tend to dole out more tax revenue than they take in from productions. Groups such as the MPAA counter that the New York experience is a model for how these incentives are intended to work and foster new industries around the film business. "These findings further confirm that the New York State production incentives have grown into a major economic driver in the state's economy," Chris Dodd, Chairman and CEO of the Motion Picture Association of America, said in a statement. "Not only does film and television production in New York employ the thousands of men and women working on some of the most popular television shows and films, it also supports small businesses in every sector of the economy - dry cleaners, restaurants, florists - who benefit when a production comes to town." Of the jobs sustained by New York based films and shows like "Girls" and "Boardwalk Empire," 12,600 jobs were directly associated with productions and 16,300 were supported in related businesses. The study says that productions that utilized the credits spent $1.5 billion on goods and services in New York, up from $600 million in 2004. Further, the study says that the incentives helped generate $4.2 billion in personal income to the New York economy in 2011. Since 2004, the number of productions participating in the program has jumped from a total of 18 productions in 2004 to 135 productions in 2011.

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Japan candidates hit streets in first national vote since Fukushima disaster

FUKUSHIMA, Japan (Reuters) - Candidates hit the streets on Tuesday at the official start of a campaign for a parliamentary election that is expected to return the opposition Liberal Democrats to power but risks furthering the policy stalemate plaguing the world's third-biggest economy. In a sign that last year's nuclear crisis still weighs on Japan's national psyche, both former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) leader, and Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda kicked off the campaign in the northeastern prefecture of Fukushima, site of the world's worst radiation disaster in a quarter century. The role of nuclear power is one hot topic in the first national poll since the March 2011 earthquake and tsunami devastated Tokyo Electric Power Co's Fukushima Daiichi plant, causing meltdowns, forcing 160,000 people to flee and destroying a myth that atomic power is safe, cheap and clean. Voters are also focused on how rival parties plan to rescue Japan's economy from what looks like its fourth recession since 2000 and cope with a rising China, ties with which have been chilled by a territorial feud that is feeding nationalist sentiment in both countries. "Our mission is to protect the safety of our children and the public, to protect our territory and beautiful waters," Abe told a crowd in a city square in Fukushima City under cloudy skies. "We are determined to win a majority with (LDP ally) the New Komeito party and take back power. "We just cannot afford to lose," he said to applause, though one listener carried a placard targeting the LDP's decades-long promotion of nuclear power saying, "It is the LDP that built nuclear plants in Fukushima". Media opinion polls suggest that of the 12 parties running some 1,500 candidates, the LDP will win the biggest number of seats in parliament's powerful lower house. POSSIBLE PARTNERS That would give Abe, who quit suddenly in 2007 after a troubled year in office, the best shot at forming the next government, probably with long-term ally, the New Komeito. But surveys published on Monday also show that the LDP's lead over Noda's Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) has narrowed, increasing the possibility that the main conservative opposition party will need a third partner to form a government. If so, the LDP would be eyeing potential post-election allies. Options include the newly launched, right-leaning Japan Restoration Party founded by popular Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto in a bid to woo voters fed up with the two main established parties, or other small groups, or even a chastened DPJ. "Our economic policy is simple," Hashimoto told a crowd in Osaka, western Japan. "We will destroy the vested interests who until now have skimmed off all the cream." Abe insists he will give no ground in a row with China over rival claims to tiny, uninhabited isles in the South China Sea and wants to spend more on defense and loosen the limits of Japan's pacifist constitution on the military. He wants to pressure the Bank of Japan to ease its already hyper-loose monetary policy and to gear up public works spending to rescue the economy, steps Noda has criticized as irresponsible given Japan's mammoth public debt, already the worst among advanced nations at twice the size of the economy. The pro-nuclear LDP says it will gradually restart off-line reactors judged safe, while thinking about Japan's best energy mix over the next decade. The Democrats aim to exit atomic power by the 2030s, although some skeptics doubt their commitment. How any of the parties would secure lasting growth while reining in a ballooning social security bill in Japan's fast-ageing society remains unclear. The Democrats surged to power for the first time in 2009, promising to put politicians, not bureaucrats, in charge of governing and to pay more heed to the interests of consumers than corporations in designing policies. Critics say the fractious party honored its pledges mostly in the breach. "This election is about whether we will move forward with what we must do, or turn back the clock to the politics of the past," Noda told a crowd in Iwaki, also in Fukushima prefecture. Noda, the party's third premier in three years, enacted - with opposition help - a sales tax rise to curb public debt. But that step sparked a stream of defections from the party. Many voters have yet to decide how to vote. "The LDP looks set to assume power. But I don't think things will change drastically under LDP rule," said a 62-year-old public servant after listening to Abe's speech. "If you live in Fukushima, you would want quicker reconstruction and decontamination rather than constitutional amendments and military buildup."

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Oil falls below $89 on US manufacturing worries

BANGKOK (AP) — Worries about the U.S. economy following the release of a disappointing manufacturing report sent oil prices lower Tuesday. Benchmark crude for January delivery was down 27 cents to $88.82 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract finished up 18 cents at $89.09 a barrel on the Nymex on Monday. Manufacturing the U.S. shrank in November to its weakest level since July 2009, a trade group said Monday, because companies are worried about the "fiscal cliff" — sharp tax increases and spending cuts that take effect in 2013 unless U.S. political leaders strike a budget deal before then. Flaring tensions in the Middle East, including Egypt's widening political crisis and reports that Syria may be readying its chemical and biological weapons against rebels, kept prices from falling more. There was no immediate threat to oil supplies, but there are persistent worries that fighting could eventually spread to a neighboring oil producer. "Markets have to factor in the risk. They can't ignore at least the possibility of that sort of thing happening," said Ric Spooner, chief market analyst at CMC Markets in Sydney. Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, fell 34 cents to $110.58 per barrel on the ICE Futures Exchange in London. Other energy futures on the New York Mercantile Exchange: — Heating oil fell 0.9 cent to $3.047 a gallon — Natural gas was unchanged at $3.591 per 1,000 cubic feet — Wholesale gasoline fell 0.9 cent to $2.717 a gallon.

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Australia lowers key interest rate to 3 percent

Australia's central bank cut its benchmark interest rate by a quarter percentage point Tuesday, taking it to its lowest level since the global financial crisis, as slower growth in China, uncertainty over the U.S. outlook and stubbornly weak conditions in Europe undermine the Australian economy. The Reserve Bank of Australia's decision to lower the rate to 3 percent was its fourth rate cut this year and widely predicted by economists. The stalemate in Washington over automatic tax increases and spending cuts, Europe's financial woes, lower commodity prices and an economic slowdown in China — Australia's biggest export market — prompted the decision, Reserve Bank Governor Glenn Stevens said in a statement. The bank last dropped the rate to the record low of 3 percent in April 2009 in a bid to stimulate the economy during the height of the global financial crisis. Australia's economy remained relatively strong during the downturn, as Chinese demand for the nation's vast mineral resources, particularly iron ore, fueled a mining boom. But China's slowing economy has prompted concerns that the boom won't last another three years as previously thought. In October, Stevens predicted it would hit its peak next year. That has prompted the bank to try and kick-start other parts of the Australian economy with rate cuts. "Recent data confirm that the peak in resource investment is approaching," Stevens said Tuesday. "Available information suggests that the near-term outlook for non-residential building investment, and investment generally outside the resources sector, remains relatively subdued." CommSec economist Savanth Sebastian said mining was the clear area of concern for the bank. "The Reserve Bank in the last couple of months has really, finally admitted that the mining investment boom isn't going to run for another three years — it's 12 to 18 months," he said. "That has to be the key driver of this result." Sebastian thinks it's likely the bank will cut rates again when it next meets in February, though he predicts the rate will not be lowered below 2.75 percent. The bank's decision also follows the release of weaker-than-expected retail spending figures just weeks before Christmas. The Australian Bureau of Statistics on Monday reported retail spending remained flat in October, surprising economists who had predicted a rise of 0.4 percent. Treasurer Wayne Swan was quick to counter concerns about the nation's financial health, saying Australia remained in great shape. "Anybody who thinks that rates are at the same levels now for the same reason they were at lows during the global financial crisis simply can't be taken seriously when it comes to economic policy," he told reporters in Canberra, noting that the Australian dollar was at around 60 U.S. cents during the downturn. It now fetches around $1.04.

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