Greek contagion threat pushes global shares into red for year

LONDON (Reuters) - World shares slid and German borrowing costs hit record lows on Friday as a deepening Spanish banking crisis, uncertainty about Greece's future in the euro zone and lackluster U.S. data bolstered safe-haven assets.

World stocks, as measured by the MSCI index , dropped 0.7 percent and are now below where they began the year, having relinquished all the first-quarter gains fuelled by the European Central Bank's injection of more than a trillion euros of three-year money.

That rally is now a distant memory as an ugly week for stock markets looked likely to end even uglier.

Across the board, riskier assets from commodities such as oil and currencies like the euro and the Australian dollar were all heading for big weekly losses.

While U.S. stock futures pointed to a modestly higher open on Wall Street, following a sharp drop on Thursday, the FTSEurofirst 300 of leading European shares slid 0.6 percent to 975.71 by 1130 GMT, falling for a fifth day running and taking its weekly loss so far to nearly 5 percent.

Facebook will make its Wall Street debut after the world's No.1 online social network raised about $16 billion in one of the biggest initial public offerings in U.S. history.

Benchmark 10-year German bond yields hit a record low of 1.396 percent and two-year yields also fell to their lowest-ever level at just 0.028 percent.

Investors were spooked by a ratings downgrade of 16 Spanish banks by Moody's Investors Service - although the move had been expected - and an unexpected contraction in U.S. regional factory activity reported on Thursday.

Sentiment has soured to such an extent that an opinion poll showing Greeks are returning to establishment parties which support the country's bailout had little impact.

If they vote that way in the June 17 elections, Greece's place in the euro zone would look more secure and the threat of contagion engulfing countries such as Spain would diminish.

"European markets are still in a very fatalistic mood because of Greece and possible contagion," said Lex van Dam, hedge fund manager at Hampstead Capital, which manages $500 million of assets.

"My view is that it is very likely that the ECB will step in before the situation spirals out of control, which will support the markets."

G8 MEETING

The safe-haven dollar rose against a basket of major currencies to hit a four-month high of 81.758 , while the euro marked a four-month low around $1.2640 before recovering some poise.

Some traders said the euro would settle with investors wary of holding positions over the weekend when a G8 meeting of leaders of major industrial economies takes place.

No major policy decisions are expected but officials said U.S. President Barack Obama hoped to promote discussion on steps to resolve the euro zone crisis.

Greece has captured the headlines in recent days but the much larger Spanish economy poses an equal threat.

Spain's banks, saddled with bad loans after a property boom collapsed, may need a bailout that would strain Madrid's already stretched finances and possibly require an international bailout regardless of any contagion threat from Greece.

Spanish 10-year yields are well above the 6 percent level which investors regard as a pivot point that could accelerate a climb to 7 percent, a cost of borrowing widely seen as unaffordable.

The cost to insure Spanish government debt against default hit a record high after the mass Moody's downgrade of Spanish banks.

Emerging stocks hit their lowest since December 2011 after falling 7 percent this week, and were on track for their ninth consecutive week in the red, the longest loss-making stretch since 2008.

Japan's Nikkei dropped 3 percent to log a seventh consecutive week of losses and MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan fell 2.5 percent. It has shed more than 11 percent in May, wiping out all its 2012 gains.

Brent crude slipped below $107 per barrel to its lowest in 2012 as the euro zone crisis and weak U.S. data raised fears of a global slowdown that could dent oil demand.

Gold, the traditional safe haven, rose towards $1,590 an ounce, building on the previous session's hefty gains.

"We've got a bit of a perfect storm at the moment," Michael McCarthy, a markets strategist at CMC Global Markets in Sydney said.

(Additional reporting by Tricia Wright, Florence Tan, Jan Harvey, Dominic Lau, Nia Williams and Marius Zaharia; Editing by David Stamp and David Holmes)

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Cops: NATO protesters held on terror charges

The city of Chicago will be on a virtual lock-down this weekend as world leaders gather for the NATO summit. Thousands of protestors have already descended on the business district, and even more are expected this weekend. NBC's Katie Tur reports.

By NBCChicago.com and msnbc.com wire services

Three protesters at the NATO summit in Chicago have been charged with terrorism conspiracy stemming from allegations that they planned to make Molotov cocktails, police said.?

Chicago police Lt. Kenneth Stoppa told The Associated Press early Saturday that the three were being held on charges of conspiracy to commit terrorism, possession of an explosive or incendiary device and providing material support.


He said they would face a bond hearing later Saturday morning.?

Stoppa identified the men charged as 20-year-old Brian Church, of Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.; 24-year-old Jared Chase, of Keene, N.H.; and 24-year-old Brent Vincent Betterly, of Oakland Park, Mass.?

Mike Barrett, CEO of Diligent Innovations Consulting and former director of strategy for the Bush administration's Homeland Security Council, talks the G8 summit being held at Camp David, and the upcoming NATO Summit kicking off in Chicago this weekend where Occupy Wall Street protesters are already waiting.

Their attorney, Sarah Gelsomino, told AP the men were "absolutely in shock and have no idea where these charges are coming from."?

Six others initially arrested have been released.

They were all detained in a raid Wednesday on?a home in Bridgeport on Chicago's South Side,?NBCChicago.com reported.

Beer or bombs?
But the group of protesters said what police thought was suspicious was actually a home beer-brewing operation.

?We were handcuffed to a bench and our legs were shackled together. We were not told what was happening,? one of those detained but later released, Darrin Ammussek, told the station.

?I believe very strongly in non-violence, and if I had seen anything that even resembled any plans or anything like that, we wouldn?t have been there," he added.

Scenes from Chicago protests surrounding NATO summit

He claimed that during 18 hours in custody, police never told him why he was arrested, read him his rights or allowed him to make a phone call, The Associated Pres reported. He said he remained handcuffed to a bench, even after asking to use a restroom.?

"There were guards walking by making statements into the door along the lines of 'hippie,' 'communist," 'pinko,'" a tired-looking Annussek told reporters just after his release.?

Nurses (yes, nurses) lead charge for Wall Street 'sin' tax

NBCChicago.com said that the National Lawyers Guild had threatened legal action if the detained protesters were not released or charged by Friday night.

?They came in with guns drawn and broke into a unit that was not housing protestors in order to get into another unit in the building that was housing protestors,? Kris Hermes, of the National Lawyers Guild, told NBCChicago.com.

Police superintendent Garry McCarthy would not discuss the incident.??We?re not going to talk about it, it?s an ongoing investigation that is not completed, we are not going to talk about it,? McCarthy told the station Friday.

National Lawyers Guild representatives are seeking a copy of the search warrant affidavit used in the raid.

Security has been high throughout the city in preparation for the summit, where delegations from about 60 countries, including 50 heads of state, will discuss the war in Afghanistan and European missile defense.?

Among the pre-NATO protests planned for Saturday was a march on the home of Mayor Rahm Emanuel. The big show will be on Sunday, the start of the two-day NATO summit, when thousands of protesters are expected to march 2? miles from a band shell on Lake Michigan to the McCormick Place convention center, where delegates will be meeting.?

Cops: No 'banana peel' arrests
On Friday, Chicago police on bicycles and foot tailed activists through the streets of the city, but ignored taunts and went out of their way to make as few arrests as possible. Protesters made a lot of noise and tried to evade police, but otherwise were relatively uneventful.?

In all, police said there was a single arrest on a charge of aggravated battery of a police officer. Another man was briefly taken into custody, but he was released a short time later after being questioned by police, a department spokesman said.?

Also, officers were seen trying to arrest a man who scaled a bridge tower and pulled down part of a NATO banner. Earlier, police handcuffed a man at the end of a noisy but largely peaceful rally organized by the nation's largest nurses union.?

From the police side of the protest line, it went largely how Chicago Police Superintendent Garry McCarthy envisioned it earlier this month when he said, "We're not going to lock somebody up for dropping a banana peel."?

Michael Olstewski, 22, a recent music school graduate who came to Chicago from Atlanta, one of hundreds of protesters who took to the streets on Friday for a spontaneous march, said protesters may be waiting to make a big statement.

He said he didn't do anything to get arrested Friday, "but later in the week ... If I feel it's strategic and a powerful statement" he would provoke police into arresting him.?

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is a breaking news story. Please check back for more details.

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

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Japanese woman, 73, reaches Mount Everest summit

Devendra Man Singh / AFP - Getty Images

Tamae Watanabe in a picture from 2004.

By msnbc.com staff

Tamae Watanabe, who on May 16, 2002 at the age of 63 years became the oldest woman to climb Mount Everest, smashed her own record on Saturday, reaching the peak of the world's highest mountain at the age of 73, Kyodo news service reported.

Watanabe is a veteran climber who has also conquered Mount McKinley, North America's highest mountain, and other top peaks around the world.


She launched her ascent from the Tibetan north side of the mountain, according to EverestNews, which reported she would attempt to reach the peak on Friday.

Min Bahadur Sherchan of Nepal is the oldest man to reach the top of Everest at the age of 76 years, 340 days.

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

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Vermont Bans Fracking

Clearly you haven't studied the effects of lubricating geological strata. Their having the same problem up around Calistoga, CA where they've been enhancing geothermal systems by injecting water to increase the steam but also as a side effect lubricating strata, and causing earthquakes from sub 1.0 to nearly 5.0 on the Richter Scale. In the case of Fracking, these are places where there was little or no movement in the ground and you created movement first by creating an artificial fault network (the Fracking itself) and then by applying a lubricant to help the gas migrate to the surface. All of that said, there are a host of ways to manage and mitigate these problems, and we need to be looking at how we can best balance the interest of the many with the well being of those impacted.

However, the real problem surrounding fracking is that ex-VP Cheney ramrodded legislation through for his good friends at Halliburton and its subsidiaries allowing them to claim the contents of their fracking fluid as a "Trade Secret", and virtually excusing them from all clean water law. The result is that a few greedy, nasty, bad men, did really sorry things to a few people's drinking water and used a number of small rural communities as their toilets. There is worrisome evidence that a few people have died. There is significant evidence that a number of people have been exposed to toxic levels of benzene, heavy metals, and a whole raft of other known carcinogens and neurotoxins. The culprits are folks who are well connected, have friends all the way to the Supreme Court and the chance they'll even receive even a wrist slap is vanishingly small. At best, those who have been assaulted and abused (or their grandchildren... if any survive) may in distant decades collect some small monetary recompense for their suffering and almost certainly shortened life spans. This is not an indictment on the industry. I believe its possible to "Frack" safely and with clear consideration for the environment and the people that live in said environment. It is, as with so many other things, a situation where a few really disgusting self serving two legged vermin, have paved the entire scenery with their personal manifest destinies and left all including responsible business men and women holding a bag full of their rancid social excrement.

A just system would punish the guilty and reward the innocent. We are sadly in a longing search for a just system. We need to come up with a better game than simple "Monetary Profit", because this game is killing us all.

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Staying on TRAC: Outdoor recreational facilities tour

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UIS Recreational Sports wants you to have fun in the sun this summer! The department maintains a variety of outdoor recreational facilities on campus, which are open to students and members.

Additionally, the department has all the equipment you will need, such as basketballs, footballs, volleyballs, soccer balls, and horseshoes along with other items available for use.

?All you have to do is bring your iCard to TRAC and check out the equipment. It is free of charge,? said Matt Panich, Rec Sports assistant director of facilities and membership services. ?You can also reserve facilities if you have an opportunity to come out and use them with a number of other people.?

Highlighted Outdoor Facilities:

South Fields

  • Located just south of The Recreation and Athletic Center (TRAC)
  • Great for soccer, cricket, and other field sports?
Rec Park
  • Located north of Pennyroyal Court
  • Features a sand volleyball court, basketball court, & softball field
  • A great location for flag football or soccer?
Disc Golf Course
  • A total of 9 holes located across campus
  • The first hole starts near Lincoln Residence Hall?
Complete list of outdoor facilities: www.uis.edu/recsports/facilities/

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Parents with Anxiety Pass it on to their Kids ... - Anxiety In Teens

Parents with Anxiety Pass it on to their Kids ? Stopping the Cycle

Posted on 17 May 2012 by Admin

In the June 2009?issue of the Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, researchers from John Hopkins School of Medicine found that parents with anxiety disorders are up to 7 times more likely to have children with anxiety disorders. The researchers looked at 40 families and had half get 8 sessions of cognitive behaviour therapy, while the other half had no treatment until a year later. During the course of the initial year of the study, 30 percent of the kids whose families received no treatment were diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, while none of the kids in the treatment group were diagnosed. In addition, kids in the treatment group showed a 40 percent drop in anxiety symptoms in the year following treatment.

Given that approximately 20 percent of kids develop anxiety disorders in the general population, this research gives us a clear direction in terms of prevention.?

READ MORE

Oldie but goodie- Parents, what trends are you finding in your families, both as parents of children with anxiety or perhaps being a child of someone with anxiety?

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Thunder rally to edge Lakers 77-75 in Game 2

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, left, tumbles over Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum during the first quarter of Game 2 in an NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference semifinal, in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, left, tumbles over Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum during the first quarter of Game 2 in an NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference semifinal, in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace, right, shoots in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka during the first quarter in Game 2 of an NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference semifinal, in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, left, blocks a shot by Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum during the second quarter in Game 2 of an NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference semifinal, in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Los Angeles Lakers forward Metta World Peace (15) shoots in front of Oklahoma City Thunder forward Serge Ibaka, center left, during the first quarter in Game 2 of an NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference semifinal, in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

Los Angeles Lakers center Jordan Hill, right, dunks in front of Oklahoma City Thunder guard Russell Westbrook (0) during the second quarter in Game 2 of an NBA basketball playoffs Western Conference semifinal, in Oklahoma City on Wednesday, May 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) ? Down in desperation time, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks called on Kevin Durant to show that he's more than just a three-time scoring champion. And that meant guarding one of the NBA's all-time best.

Durant was up to the challenge, keeping Kobe Bryant from excelling as usual in his closer's role while sparking the Thunder's rally for a 77-75 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals Wednesday night.

Durant scored 22 points and rattled in the go-ahead basket on a baseline runner with 18 seconds left as Oklahoma City scored the final nine points. He also had a crucial steal from Bryant to fuel the rally.

"People talk about how I score the ball," said Durant, one of only seven players to lead the NBA in scoring three straight seasons.

"They don't look at me when we go on the other end. I think this whole playoff run, I've been picking it up on the defensive end."

Oklahoma City trailed by seven with 2 minutes left before surging back with a series of defensive stops by its stars to rally from that deficit in the closing stages of a game for the second time this postseason. The Thunder also were down by seven with 2? minutes left in Game 1 of the first round against defending NBA champion Dallas.

"They won't quit. That's not in their DNA," Brooks said. "They're not wired that way and if they were, they wouldn't be here. We're not going to win every game, but we're going to fight to the last second of the game and we did that tonight.

"If we would have gotten down on ourselves with 2 minutes to go, we would have lost by 12 and we would go to L.A. 1-1."

Instead, Oklahoma City takes a 2-0 lead into Game 3 on Friday night at Staples Center.

Bryant and Andrew Bynum scored 20 points apiece for the Lakers, who came up empty on their last six possessions after Bynum's hook shot made it 75-68 with 2:09 remaining.

Struggling throughout the second half and missing 20 of their first 27 shots, the Thunder came alive after Brooks called a timeout when Bynum's basket gave Los Angeles its largest lead of the game.

James Harden drove for a layup before Durant used his height advantage to reach up and tip away a pass from Bryant. He then ran out for a right-handed dunk at the other end.

Brooks had switched Durant onto Bryant with about 5 minutes left, after Bryant had hit a pair of jumpers as the Lakers started to inch away.

"That wasn't the game plan going in, but there was a moment when I thought Kobe was starting to fill it and I thought Kevin's length would bother him," Brooks said.

That's exactly how it played out ? with the 6-foot-9 Durant using his wingspan to come up with an energizing steal and fast-break chance.

Russell Westbrook then forced another turnover by challenging an outlet pass to Bryant along the sideline. Officials originally ruled that it went off Westbrook, but changed the call after seeing on replay that he didn't touch it and Bryant whiffed on the contested catch.

"What they did the last few minutes there, they just made gambles," Bryant said. "They just jumped in the passing lanes. It's something that we're not accustomed to seeing. It's just flat-out risks defensively."

Harden made the next stop, blocking Bryant's jumper on the Lakers' next possession and getting a layup in transition off it to cut the deficit to one in the final minute.

Bryant then missed on a 3-pointer and the Thunder got the ball back with the chance to take the lead and Durant was able to make it happen on the offensive end.

"I think Kevin has improved on being a two-way player," Brooks said. "I think the last three years it's taken our team to a different level and it takes his game to a different level."

Steve Blake missed an open 3-pointer from the right side with about 5 seconds left after Metta World Peace couldn't get the ball to Bryant on the inbounds play.

Bryant, who was the primary option on the play, said Blake's shot was in the air by the time he turned around to look for an inbounds pass.

"Blake was wide open. We didn't have any timeouts left and he got a clean look, a really good look," World Peace said. "He can knock that down."

Durant was then fouled with 0.3 seconds left and made his first try before missing the second on purpose ? failing to hit the backboard or rim for a violation.

The Lakers got a desperation try, but Harden intercepted World Peace's long pass for Bynum.

Westbrook added 15 points for Oklahoma City, which matched its lowest scoring total of the season but still gutted out the win. The Thunder had ripped apart the Lakers' defense with their pick-and-roll attack in Game 1, scoring 119 points in a 29-point blowout.

Pau Gasol had 14 points and 11 rebounds for L.A.

Historically, the loss makes a huge difference. Los Angeles is 29-12 when splitting the first two games of a seven-game series and has lost 17 of 19 when falling into a 2-0 hole. The Lakers' last comeback was in the 2004 West semifinals against San Antonio.

The Thunder have won all nine of their series after leading 2-0, dating to the franchise's days in Seattle.

"We've got to win," Bynum said. "It's do or die come Friday."

Bryant almost led the Lakers to a big bounce-back victory in this one.

He drilled a jumper from the left wing and Blake followed with a 3-pointer before World Peace hit one of two free throws for a 69-63 advantage with 7:27 remaining. Bryant then answered Serge Ibaka's jumper before missing his final five shots.

He also had a hand in two turnovers in the final 2 minutes, the first created by Durant's defense.

"He used his length on Kobe. Coming up with that steal was huge," Lakers' coach Mike Brown said. "That's what great players are supposed to do. They're supposed to take on the challenge at the end of the game and he did.

"He won the game for them, basically."

Notes: The NBA fined Devin Ebanks $25,000 on Wednesday for actions related to his Game 1 ejection and Bynum $15,000 for failing to speak to reporters Tuesday. Bynum talked at the Lakers' morning shootaround Wednesday and called it a make up for skipping the previous day. ... Harden caught World Peace with an inadvertent elbow to the face in the first quarter. ... After making 10 of 15 shots in Game 1, Westbrook was 5 for 17.

Associated Press

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How To Be Productive In Discus Fish Care - Pet Society

There are distinctive species of discus fish: the wild ones that have originally come from Arizona as well as the ones which have been domesticated since the 1920s. On the other hand, due the domestication approach, some have develop into additional sensitive to illness and would call for much more interest because of the inbreeding that has occurred.

This is why suitable discus fish care reveals that it will be greatest to breed discus applying various stocks from a further pet shop to avoid the genetic disorders.

There are numerous discus fish care pointers which have to be considered prior to taking undertaking discus fish care like generating positive that the aquarium size is large adequate to supply movement for the fish. The water temperature must also be blended effectively and it need to include a water filtration technique that consists of the 3 stages of purification like the biological, mechanical and chemical stage to ensure that the water inside the tank is f.ree of impurities like algae which will cause diseases to the discus fish. If you ever determine to put a further variety of fish inside the tank ensure that they're compatible together with the discus fish.

Discus fish care through the Breeding Stage

It really is difficult to get to know or check the sex of the discus just by holding them. This is why through the breeding stage, you'd need to give them selections of 8 pairs of partners and let them select on their very own naturally. Once they get paired up, they'll breed and be territorial. You should ensure that they have driftwood, rocks and plants in which they're able to hide their eggs.

Through breeding, provide ample food and ensure that there could be much less competition inside the aquarium tank.? Be cautious in altering the water condition. Ensure that that the water is soft and has the best temperature. Check for suggested temperature in your neighborhood pet shop and be sure to utilize water that's safe from contaminants and chemicals.

Correct discus fish care can show off these great pets and they are effectively loved by owners since they are an interesting selection. It is possible to teach them to feed within your hands and they may be very observant and interactive species that is sure to bring color and life into any space.

Apart from offering numerous hours of entertaining, it also helps the owner minimize stress levels by basically viewing them. They have a magnetic personality to them and may boost the aesthetic capacity of a place exactly where they're located.

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Video: Name that veep!

Military families get free entry into national parks

Active-duty military personnel and their dependents will soon be able to enter every national park for free as part of an effort to thank service members and their families for the sacrifices they make, the Interior Department announced Tuesday.

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5.14.12 CATCH ALL THE COYOTES ACTION IN ROUND 3 ...

The Phoenix Coyotes have moved on to Round 3 of the playoffs, taking on the LA Kings in the Western Conference finals. Sunday May 13th marked the first game, with the Kings defeating the Coyotes 4-2. Tune in live to catch all the action of Round 3 or set your DVR to record.

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Tuesday, May 15??????? 6pm???? NBC Sports Network 158/958HD

Thursday, May 17?????? 6pm???? NBC Sports Network 158/958HD

Sunday, May 20????????? 12pm?? NBC 12/812 HD

Additional games to be announced

Orbitel Communications is a locally based broadband communications company providing cable TV, high speed internet, and digital telephone services to the residents and businesses of Maricopa. For more information contact Orbitel by phone at 520-568-8890, on the web at OrbitelCom.com, or in person at their offices in the Bashas' Shopping Center.

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