Martes 15/3/11 La decision del Fed.

[admin]

Europe, Africa and Middle East
INDEX VALUE CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
Euro Stoxx 50 Pr 2,734.20 -117.91 -4.13% 08:36
FTSE 100 INDEX 5,624.43 -150.81 -2.61% 08:38
CAC 40 INDEX 3,719.00 -159.04 -4.10% 08:37
DAX INDEX 6,530.77 -335.86 -4.89% 08:38
IBEX 35 INDEX 10,117.30 -298.60 -2.87% 08:37
FTSE MIB INDEX 21,091.60 -712.71 -3.27% 08:37
AEX-Index 344.94 -11.38 -3.19% 08:37
OMX STOCKHOLM 30 INDEX 1,059.96 -31.60 -2.89% 08:52
SWISS MARKET INDEX 6,016.38 -258.09 -4.11% 08:37
More Europe, Africa and Middle East Indexes »
Asia-Pacific
INDEX VALUE CHANGE % CHANGE TIME
NIKKEI 225 8,605.15 -1,015.34 -10.55% 02:28
HANG SENG INDEX 22,678.20 -667.63 -2.86% 04:01
S&P/ASX 200 INDEX 4,528.70 -97.70 -2.11% 01:55

[FOR3X]

Baehrin declara estado de emergencia

[admin]

La manufactura en NY crecio a su ritmo mas rapido desde Marzo

Crecio 15.4 en Febrero y 17.5 en Marzo. Los economistas solo esperaban 16.1.

El indice empire cubre NY, NY y el sur de Connecticut.

Manufacturing in New York Area Grew at Faster Pace in March
By Bob Willis - Mar 15, 2011 8:48 AM ET
Manufacturing in the New York region accelerated in March at the fastest rate in nine months, a sign factories remain at the forefront of the economic expansion.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index rose to 17.5 from 15.4 in February. Economists projected an increase to 16.1, based on the median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. Readings greater than zero signal expansion in the so-called Empire State Index, which covers New York, northern New Jersey, and southern Connecticut.

Companies such as United Technologies Corp. are benefiting from rising exports, gains in business investment and inventory rebuilding. Even with the strength in manufacturing, the economy isn’t expanding fast enough to bring about sustained employment growth, Federal Reserve officials may conclude at today’s policy meeting.

“We’ve got the factory sector making a solid rebound,” Richard DeKaser, an economist at Parthenon Group in Boston, said before the report. “Stronger growth abroad is providing strength to exports.”

Estimates in the Bloomberg survey of 54 economists in the Bloomberg survey ranged from 10 to 22.4. The New York Fed’s gauge of the outlook for six months from now was unchanged at 49.4, today’s report showed.

A measure of factory employment rose to 9.1 from 3.6. The gauge of new orders decreased to 5.8 from 11.8 last month, and a measure of shipments fell to 1.6 from 11.3.

Raw Materials

An index of prices paid for raw materials increased to 53.3, the highest since August 2008, from 45.8 in February, while prices received increased to 20.8, the highest since September 2008, from 16.9.

A separate report today showed that prices of goods imported into the U.S. rose more than forecast in February, led by gains in crude oil and food.

The 1.4 percent increase in the import-price index exceeded the 0.9 percent median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey and followed a 1.3 percent rise in January, Labor Department figures showed. Prices excluding fuel rose 0.3 percent. Food costs over the past 12 months posted the biggest gain since records began in 1977.

Stock-index futures held earlier losses after Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said the risk of further radiation leaks from an earthquake-damaged nuclear power plant are increasing. Contracts on the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index expiring in June slumped 2.8 percent to 1,254.5 at 8:37 a.m. in New York.

Oil Prices

Oil for April delivery rose as high as $106.95 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange on March 7, and has since traded below $100 on speculation demand from Japan may fall after last week’s earthquake. Crude is up 23 percent from a year ago.

Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on March 1 said that the surge in oil and other commodity prices probably won’t cause a permanent increase in broader inflation.

Experience with such price gains in recent decades, along with currently stable labor costs, suggests a “temporary and relatively modest increase in U.S. consumer price inflation,” Bernanke said during his semi-annual monetary policy testimony before the Senate Banking Committee. He reiterated the Fed’s outlook that while growth will accelerate this year, he still wants to see a “sustained period of stronger job creation.”

Treasury Purchases
The comments suggest the Fed will stay on course to complete $600 billion of Treasury purchases through June in a bid to reduce unemployment. The Federal Open Market Committee is meeting today for the second time this year and will announce its policy decision at about 2:15 p.m. Washington time.

Economists monitor the New York and Philadelphia Fed factory reports for clues about the Institute for Supply Management figures on U.S. manufacturing during the month. The Philadelphia Fed’s report is due March 17. The Institute for Supply Management’s nationwide manufacturing report will be released on April 1.

Overseas demand for American goods is helping support manufacturers. Exports rose 2.7 percent in January to a record, according to Commerce Department data released March 10.

United Technologies Corp., the Hartford, Connecticut-based maker of Pratt & Whitney jet engines and Carrier air conditioners, on March 10 boosted the low end of its 2011 earnings forecast amid improving markets across its divisions.

‘Good Start’
“We’re off to a very good start,” Chief Executive Officer Louis Chenevert told analysts and investors at a meeting in New York. “We’ve seen markets in line with expectations. We’ve seen, in our short-cycle business, nice momentum.”

Consumer spending in the U.S. will rise 3.1 percent this year, the biggest gain since 2005, according to the median estimate of economists in a Bloomberg survey this month.

Manufacturing makes up 11 percent of the U.S. economy and about 6 percent of New York’s. Factories boosted payrolls by 86,000 workers in the first two months of the year, the best two-month gain since October-November 1997, according to Labor Department data.

To contact the reporter on this story: Bob Willis in Washington at bwillis@bloomberg

[admin]

Los niveles de radiacion bajan en Japon. Good.

Au down 1,390.8

Euro down 1.3883

-243

[FOR3X]

9:02 AM El ASN, la agencia de seguridad nuclear de Francia, dice la situación ahora en la planta de Fukushima las proporciones un 6 en la escala internacional de accidentes nucleares.Three Mile Island fue un 5 y Chernobyl era el único tiempo que el máximo de 7 se ha pegado alguna vez. "Nosotros estamos claramente en una catástrofe", dice al presidente del grupo.

[admin]

Ag down 34.08

-252

[admin]

Copper March 15,08:59
Bid/Ask 4.0728 - 4.0733
Change -0.0738 -1.78%
Low/High 4.0282 - 4.2009
Charts

Nickel March 15,08:59
Bid/Ask 11.3339 - 11.3407
Change -0.3500 -3.00%
Low/High 11.2251 - 11.8102
Charts

Aluminum March 15,08:59
Bid/Ask 1.1130 - 1.1139
Change -0.0252 -2.21%
Low/High 1.1082 - 1.1404
Charts

Zinc March 15,08:59
Bid/Ask 1.0177 - 1.0190
Change -0.0320 -3.05%
Low/High 1.0118 - 1.0537
Charts

Lead March 15,08:59
Bid/Ask 1.1198 - 1.1221
Change -0.0245 -2.14%
Low/High 1.1124 - 1.1500
Charts

[admin]

-239

Le dispararon a un soldado Saudi en Bahrain.

[FOR3X]

-266

scare time

[FOR3X]

dnn
ccj

[admin]

Se ven progresos en la planta nuclear en Japon. Se tiene mayor control pero aun es muy pronto para decir que se han solucionado los problemas, el reactor 5 y 6 se recalientan.

Las condiciones han mejorado y aunque los niveles de radiacion estan aun altos han bajado con respecto al dia anterior y no se espera que haya una reaccion imparable de escapes de gran magnitud.

El nivel de radiacion en Tokio - el cual habia subido el Martes en la maniana, aunque permanecen altos estan muy por debajo de los niveles que podrian ser daninios para la salud, tambien bajaron notablemente al final del dia.

El nivel de radiacion en la puerta de la planta habia subido a 11,000 microsievert por hora el Lunes en la miana, equivalente a la cantidad que una persona esta expuesta en 11 anios. Ese nivel ha caido por debajo de 600 - lo cual es equivalente a un examen de rayos X - en la tarde.


Japan Makes Progress at Troubled Nuclear Plant
Officials Regain Some Control, But Too Early to Say Problems Over; Reactors 5, 6 Heat Up

By YUKA HAYASHI

TOKYO—Japanese officials appeared to have regained some control of northeast Japan's troubled nuclear power plant Tuesday afternoon, at least for now, after spikes in radiation levels that followed a new explosion at one reactor and a fire at another earlier in the day put the nation on high alert.

Officials stressed it was too early to say the worst has been averted at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant, which has suffered serious problems in four of its six reactors since Friday's massive earthquake and tsunami. Determining the cause of the earlier radiation leaks and checking what's happening inside the overheating reactors was difficult.

Authorities also signaled a new area of potential worry: temperature at the remaining two reactors, both not operating at the time of the earthquake and so far not the subject of concern, has risen slightly, prompting the need for close monitoring. Officials were also probing a report that boiling water had been spotted near where the fire broke out Tuesday morning, another potential worrying sign.

But the conditions at the plant appeared to have stabilized in some aspects Tuesday afternoon. While radiation levels at the plant remain elevated, they have dropped significantly from earlier in the day, ruling out the continuation of unstoppable large-scale leaks.

Radiation levels in downtown Tokyo—which had also risen earlier Tuesday, though they remained well below levels that could damage human health—also fell sharply later in the day.

Earlier Tuesday, Prime Minister Naoto Kan warned of the possibility of further increase in radiation levels, as he called on the Japanese people to "act calmly." Officials said radiation levels at the plant had surged to levels that would have impact on the human body.

A fire that had broken out at one of the reactors earlier in the day—known as reactor No. 4—has been extinguished, while the conditions at two of the three overheating units—known as the No. 1 and No. 3 reactors—have been stabilized since regaining their cooling capabilities.

Authorities also continued to pour water in the No. 2 reactor, where an explosion early Tuesday appeared to have damaged its all-important containment structure, which keeps radiation inside from leaking out. "I think we need to see how things will go at the No. 2 units for a little bit longer before we can call it stable," Mr. Edano said.

Mr. Edano also said temperatures at No. 5 and No. 6 reactors, both not operating at the time of the earthquake, have risen slightly, prompting the need for close monitoring. The No. 4 reactor was also out of operation, but officials said its spent fuel storage pond had caught fire, ignited by a hydrogen gas explosion.

Sending the nation into a near panic, the government said earlier Tuesday radiation levels on the plant ground soared, attributing it to the possibility that radioactivity was released directly into the atmosphere from the plant on fire, No.4 reactor.

Speaking at a press conference late in the afternoon, chief cabinet secretary Yukio Edano said officials now suspect that those extremely high readings may have come from the debris from Monday's explosion coming to rest by the gauge.

"We don't have a situation where high-level radiation is permanently leaking out," Mr. Edano said. He cautioned it's too early for officials to lower their guard as the cause of the earlier spikes hadn't been determined for sure. Key information about the conditions inside the No. 2 reactor, with likely damage to its containment structure, also remains unavailable.

The radiation level at the plant's gate had shot up to over 11,000 microsievert per hour Monday morning, equivalent to the amount a person is exposed to in 11 years. That level has dropped to below 600—roughly equivalent to a medical X-ray—by mid-afternoon.

Earlier Tuesday, Japan's nuclear crisis showed signs of spinning out of control after officials reported a third explosion and warned of possible damage to critical container housing the No. 2 reactor. Tuesday's explosion at the No. 2 reactor for the first time raised the possibility that the key containment structure of the unit, which protects the reactor vessel and keeps dangerous radioactive materials from leaking out, had been damaged.

Prime Minister Naoto Kan then gave a brief address to the nation, saying, "The level [of radiation] seems very high, and there is still a very high risk of more radiation coming out."

"We will do our utmost to prevent further spreading of radiation leaks," he said. "I sincerely urge everyone in the nation to act calmly."

He said that anyone within 18 miles of the plant should stay indoors. Previously the government had said people living within 12 miles should evacuate.

As the fear of a disaster mounted, Tokyo shares plummeted Tuesday, pushing down the Nikkei Stock Average 11%.

Mr. Edano said the radiation levels at the nuclear plant have surged to levels that will "clearly have impact on the human body." The levels monitored at the plant as of early Tuesday morning ranged between 30 to 400 millisieverts per hour.

The Tokyo Metropolitan Government and other local authorities surrounding Japan's capital city said Tuesday they have detected higher-than-normal radiation levels, but the amounts aren't enough to cause immediate harm to the human body.

Tokyo said it measured a radiation level of 0.809 microsievert per hour in the Shinjuku district in the western part of the city center at around 10 a.m. local time, about 23 times higher than normal. By late in the day it had fallen to 0.0682 microsevert an hour. The usual daily average is around 0.035 microsevert an hour.

In Yokosuka, south of Tokyo, the radiation level hit as high as 0.212 microsievert per hour around 7 a.m., according to the Kanagawa Prefectural Government. But the level had fallen to around 0.1 microsievert per hour at around noon.

An official at the prefectural government said the recorded level is a fraction of the 600 microsieverts that a human body receives from one x-ray.

Exposure at the upper end of the range, at 400 millisievert, is equivalent to 40 rem. A single dose of 25 rem can cause temporary sterility in men. One hundred rems can cause radiation sickness and 500 rems likely will cause death. The U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission limits the exposure of U.S. nuclear workers to no more than five rem per year.

—Rebecca Smith, Phred Dvorak and Hiroyuki Kachi contributed to this article., which
Write to Yuka Hayashi at yuka.hayashi@wsj.com and Phred Dvorak at phred.dvorak@

[admin]

La radiacion ha bajado a lo que es equivalente a un examen de rayos X

[admin]

-164.08

[admin]

VIX up 25.40

Oil down 97.67

-206.92

[admin]

-230.61