Interest Rates

<br></a><br>Daily Pilot - Like Rosemond and Agnant, Sabatino wanted to ride Combs‘ rising star, and he too leaned on Shakur to leave Interscope Records and sign with Bad Boy.<br><br>New-style Sarkozy likely after voter romance ends<br>Times of Oman - Just 10 months since Sarkozy won power, many voters feel he has not protected them from the rising cost of living and think he has focused too much on his private life, marrying former model Carla Bruni after a whirlwind romance.<br><br>TSX tumbles, U.S. pares losses<br>Globe and Mail - Not to be outdone, gold also touched new highs, rising to $1,033.90 an ounce. The U.S. dollar, meanwhile, plunged to record lows against the euro.<br><br>Engineers Week 2008<br>Sun-Journal - It is a generally accepted fact that the earth‘s average surface temperature is rising. The effects have been particularly noticeable in the past 10 years when we have seen many of the warmest years in the history of temperature measurement. The <br><br>Our Rising Rivers: Up the Rock River<br>Quad-Cities Times - The foot of the Rock River where it converges with the Mississippi River in Rock Island County, Ill. (Contributed photo) (Yahoo! maps) BLOG REPORT: 7:09 a.m. -- We have all heard the reports and seen the photos and video footage of the Rock River <br><br>Students abroad work hard to get into old boarding schools<br>International Herald Tribune - International applications are rising at U.S. schools. At Exeter, students from Australia, Bosnia and Guatemala have recently joined their more established counterparts from Britain, Canada and Japan to bring the total international representation to <br><br>Industrial production down 0.5 percent<br>Forbes - However, the ever-rising supply of dollars in foreign hands leaves the United States vulnerable if there is a sudden reversal of that trend. Worries have grown recently given the sharp decline in the value of the dollar, which has fallen to record <br>

<br></a><br>Punch - A casual search on World Bank sites would show that Lahmeyer was on November 6, 2006, barred for seven years from handling any contract in which the bank s money is staked, owing to the firm s conviction for corrupt practices.<br><br>A soldier from Vesta who had an impact<br>Marshall Independent - He joined his father‘s bank in Vesta and eventually became its president. Don was asked if his brother‘s war-time record made him a hero. He said no, but you could almost read that he meant yes anyone who steps up when called at a time like that <br>

<br></a><br>Houston Chronicle - In their third game since losing Yao Ming for the season, the Rockets also extended to six their club record of consecutive double-digit wins (by an average of 17.5 <b>points</b>)<br><br>Wine Wins Big at Fresh & Easy Neighborhood Market<br>Earthtimes - At this competition, Fresh & Easy Northwood Cabernet Sauvignon received 92 <b>points</b>, making it one of six wines to receive the highest score a silver medal wine can receive.<br><br>North Carolina back at No. 1 in men‘s AP poll<br>Houston Chronicle - North Carolina, which rallied from 18 <b>points</b> down to beat BC 90-80 in its only game last week, received 38 first-place votes and 1,745 <b>points</b> from the 72-member national media panel.<br><br>U.S. Economy: Factories, Construction Spending Drop (Update1)<br>Bloomberg - The Fed, which has lowered the benchmark rate by 2.25 <b>percentage</b> <b>points</b> since September, is ready to continue cutting borrowing costs if needed, Chairman Ben S.<br><br>Brazil Stocks Gain, Led by Usiminas; Colombian Shares Decline<br>Bloomberg - The Bolsa index fell 1,211.95 <b>points</b> Feb. 29, the biggest move that day among markets included in global benchmarks. Corp. Geo SAB, Mexico‘s second-largest homebuilder by sales, rose 5.9 percent to 35.61 pesos, erasing most of a 6.5 <br>

<br></a><br>Reuters - Pushed down a by a fall in banking shares, the benchmark MerVal index ended down 1.17 percent to 2,136.79 <b>points</b>, accumulating a 2.83 percent fall over the last two sessions and falling into negative territory for 2008, down 0.69 percent.<br>

<br></a><br>New York Times - A reverse mortgage, the saleswoman explained, would give Ms. Baker instant access to hundreds of thousands of dollars tied up in the value of her home.<br><br>A-Rod, Duncan overpower Phillies<br>Major League Baseball - American League MVP Alex Rodriquez clubbed his first home run of the spring in the fifth. Jesus Montero and Wilson Betemit also went deep. Phillies on the mound: Adam Eaton struggled in his first Grapefruit League outing of 2008.<br><br>Franklin routs Richland 80-60 to take fifth place<br>Seattle Post Intelligencer - Richland, which had been picked to finish fifth in its own league went home with the eighth-place trophy. It was 20th time the Bombers have earned state hardware, but was their first since a seventh-place finish in 1998.<br><br>Carter‘s Goal and Assist Lift Flyers<br>Newsday - The Islanders, who have the league‘s worst home power-play <b>percentage</b>, had scored only once in their previous 28 chances anywhere the previous six games.<br><br>Israeli Strikes Kill 50 in Gaza<br>Forbes - Tareq Dardouna, a Jebaliya resident, said a relative was killed outside his home in the crossfire that began at 3 a.m. “His body is still on the ground,“ Dardouna said in a telephone interview from his home, where he was tending to four wounded people <br><br>Georgia‘s first black police officers may take pension battle to court<br>CNN - Today, white officers who entered the fund before that year are taking home hundreds of dollars more every month in retirement benefits than their black counterparts.<br><br>Judge releases several Edison students<br>Miami Herald - In several cases, Circuit Judge Barbara Areces found no probable cause and sent the kids home. The descriptions of the incident that police provided on several of the students‘ arrest affidavits were too vague, Areces said.<br><br>Bush: No Promises On Troop Withdrawals<br>CBS News - (AP) President Bush declined Saturday to repeat promises made by others in his administration that more U.S. troops will return home from Iraq than scheduled before he leaves office. Decisions about troop cuts beyond those now planned through July <br>

<br></a><br>MSN MoneyCentral - Bank of America Ord Shs ( BAC ) Stock Quote , Chart , News , Add to Watchlist NEW YORK (Reuters) - Visa Inc, the world‘s largest credit card network, said it may raise up to $18.8 billion in the largest U.S. initial public offering, amid concern that <br><br>Wal-Mart gives more to charity<br>Boston Globe - Wal-Mart said U.S. donations went to organizations including the National Teacher of the Year program, hospital aid group Children‘s Miracle Network, The Salvation Army, United Way and food bank America‘s Second Harvest.<br><br>Markets up on housing hopes<br>Chicago Sun-Times - Dresdner Bank said Monday it intends to support such a package that would shore up the bond insurer s balance sheet. Everyone is waiting to see how the Ambac matter comes out, said Peter Cardillo, chief market economist at Avalon <br><br>Heavenly Tax Havens<br>Wall Street Journal - The German government‘s purchase of data stolen from a Liechtenstein bank has reinvigorated longstanding debates about privacy, law enforcement and international relations. Much of the fallout has followed predictable patterns. Some argue that <br><br>NT$ advances on overseas fund inflows<br>China Post - Taiwan‘s central bank increased its benchmark rate to 3.375 percent in December, while the U.S. Federal Reserve has cut borrowing costs five times since September to 3 percent.<br><br>Forex Radio - Dollar Looks Ahead To Busy Week, Commodity Currencies <br>DailyFx - Firmly to Downside on Bearish US Economic Outlook Feb 14 - Forex Radio - US Dollar and Carry Trade Drop on Bernanke Testimony, Further Losses Ahead? Feb 13 - Forex Radio - US Dollar Sees Tepid Reaction to Retail Sales, British Pound Rallies Big on Bank <br><br>HDFC Bank buys Centurion in India‘s biggest financial sector buyout<br>International Herald Tribune - MUMBAI : HDFC Bank, India‘s third-biggest lender by market capitalization, has agreed to buy Centurion Bank of Punjab, making the all-share deal the biggest buyout in the nation‘s financial sector. The boards of the two banks will meet on Feb. 25 to <br><br>Pakistan attempts to block local YouTube access, takes out site for <br>International Herald Tribune - To be honest, there‘s not a single thing preventing this from happening to E-Trade, or Bank of America, or the FBI, or the White House, or the Clinton campaign,“ Underwood said.<br>