Italy's Monti wins definitive confidence vote (Reuters)

ROME (Reuters) ? Prime Minister Mario Monti won an overwhelming vote of confidence on Friday after warning politicians they would have to face the Italian public if they sabotaged a sweeping package of reforms aimed at ending an acute debt crisis.

Monti won the vote by 556 to 61 after a similar comfortable vote in the upper house on Thursday. His unelected government of technocrats is now fully empowered.

Monti, who also holds the economy portfolio, has outlined to parliament a broad raft of painful reforms to shore up public finances and increase competitiveness after a decade of stagnant growth.

Monti, appointed on Wednesday to succeed Silvio Berlusconi after the discredited center-right leader lost his majority, said he intended to serve until the next scheduled election in 2013.

Politicians have been suspected of wanting to topple the technocrat government, which many of them opposed, within months.

But Berlusconi said on Friday he was ready to see it serve out the full term. He denied telling supporters he could "pull the plug" whenever he wished.

Monti told the lower house before the vote his success in passing deep and painful reforms would depend on the support of parliament.

"I'm not asking for a blind vote of confidence. We're asking for a vigilant vote of confidence," he said.

"But we think that if we do a good job, then you too, when you give us a vote of confidence or withdraw it, should remember what the consequences will be for citizens' confidence in you," he said.

The remark was a clear warning to squabbling politicians who have attracted public outrage for failing to take action as Italy slipped closer to an economic abyss after its borrowing costs soared out of control under Berlusconi.

The politicians were forced to acquiesce to an unelected government of technocrats by the power of international markets.

POLICY PRIORITIES

Monti had laid out his policy priorities in a maiden speech to the upper house on Thursday in which he outlined a mix of pension and labor reforms and hinted he would reintroduce a housing tax scrapped by Berlusconi.

The former European Commissioner has won the backing of all the main parties except the pro-devolution Northern League, Berlusconi's key partner in the outgoing coalition.

However Berlusconi's center-right People of Freedom (PDL) party made clear its support is conditional. The biggest force in parliament has opposed key options in Monti's reform agenda, notably the possible levying of a wealth tax on privately held assets.

Monti told reporters after the successful vote that he would meet the euro zone's most powerful leaders, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, next week. He would also meet EU Commission chief Jose Manuel Barroso and European Council President Herman van Rompuy.

Financial markets, upset by the escalating euro zone debt crisis, appeared to welcome Monti's speech on Thursday, with yields on 10 year bonds dipping below the 7 percent level widely seen as a symbolically critical red line.

But they remain at untenably high levels of over 6.7 percent and the spread over German Bunds, the risk premium paid by investors to hold bonds considered less safe than benchmark German paper, is more than 480 basis points.

Italy, the third largest economy in the euro zone with a decade of anemic growth and one of the world's highest public debts, has been at the center of the Europe-wide financial crisis because of fears it would be forced to seek a bailout that would overwhelm the EU's financial defenses.

But with the European Central Bank in the market buying Italian bonds, attention has shifted to other countries including France and Spain, which are also considered vulnerable.

Monti dismissed complaints that his non-elected administration had been imposed undemocratically by the so-called "grandi poteri" or great powers, the big business and church establishment which had become openly hostile to Berlusconi's scandal-plagued government.

However protests against the "bankers' government" by thousands of students across Italy on Thursday highlighted the problems his administration will face in pushing through painful austerity measures that will hit millions of Italians.

(Additional reporting by Gavin Jones; Writing by James Mackenzie and Barry Moody; Editing by Jon Hemming)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111118/ts_nm/us_italy

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Video: Lawyer for alleged Sandusky victims speaks out

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45353500#45353500

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CSN: Looking to future, Cubs bet big on Sveum

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MILWAUKEE ? The Cubs weren?t looking for a celebrity manager. Their brand name is now Theo Epstein.

The search was quick, clean and efficient ? everything the new president of baseball operations wants this organization to be.

It ended Thursday with Dale Sveum agreeing to a three-year deal with an option for 2015. The 52nd manager in franchise history will be introduced Friday morning at a Wrigley Field news conference.

The sum of Sveum?s experience as a major-league manager is 12 games with the Brewers in 2008 ? plus a first-round playoff exit ? after Ned Yost was fired. The interim manager was passed over for Ken Macha and it happened again last year with Ron Roenicke.

Back then, did Sveum ever think he?d be the center of attention for two iconic teams?

So much is about timing, and here it all played to Sveum?s advantage. The bench is short for experienced major-league managers now available. Rangers pitching coach Mike Maddux didn?t want to uproot his family from Texas.

Epstein and general manager Jed Hoyer had confidence in the process that revealed Terry Francona and Joe Maddon as the two finalists some eight years ago in Boston. The Red Sox, of course, cast their shadow over everything.

When Epstein flew to Tampa, Fla., on Nov. 2 to fire Mike Quade in person, he had already spent weeks doing background checks on potential replacements for Francona. Two days later, Philadelphia Phillies bench coach Pete Mackanin was brought in for the first interview.

The Brewers media guide lists Sveum?s nickname as ?Nuts.? That bullet point didn?t match up with his low-key attitude when Cubs executives put him in front of the media on Nov. 7.

?The only time I really get too excited or emotional is when I?m arguing with umpires,? Sveum said. ?Other than that, I don?t show a lot of emotion. So probably stoic would be (a) better way (to describe) my personality.

?One trait that you have to have as a manager is never to let your players see one way or the other how you?re feeling. Whether you?re nervous or whether you?re mad, whatever, I think it?s a bad trait to show body language to the players nowadays.?

That familiar clubhouse presence ? Sveum was the third-base coach on the 2004 championship team in Boston ? appealed to the Cubs and Red Sox. He played parts of 12 seasons in the big leagues, which gives him instant credibility.

Sveum emerged as an All-American quarterback at Pinole Valley High School in San Francisco?s East Bay region. He turned down a scholarship offer to play football and baseball at Arizona State University.

The Brewers made Sveum a first-round pick in 1982. Five years later, he generated 25 homers and 95 RBI. He was never the same player again after colliding with teammate Darryl Hamilton and breaking his leg in 1988. He has unique insight into the game.

Sveum widened his perspective during six seasons as a coach ? third base, bench, hitting ? on the Milwaukee staff.

Brewers general manager Doug Melvin got used to showing up at his Miller Park office and finding Sveum already there beginning his work shift. Melvin called Sveum passionate and well-prepared, someone who ?knows players? and has a ?competitive edge.?

People who?ve known Epstein for a long time describe him as extremely competitive, someone who?s always looking to get ahead and stay there. He beat his old team to Sveum.

Everything sharply came into focus this week in Milwaukee, where the owners and general managers assembled for their meetings. The Cubs jumped in front of the Red Sox and met with Sveum on Tuesday night.

Sveum then had lunch with Boston ownership on Wednesday, hours before Cubs chairman Tom Ricketts would check into the Pfister Hotel. Maddux couldn?t convince himself he really wanted the job and would withdraw his name from consideration.

That night the Red Sox signaled they would expand their search and word began to spread that Sveum had an offer from the Cubs.

Epstein and Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington left the meetings on Thursday with an agreement to revisit the compensation negotiations after next month?s Rule 5 draft. Getting Sveum to Chicago wasn?t going to be the drawn-out process it was for Epstein.

The long-range plan is building from within, and the manager?s office will be on the ground floor. Sveum will turn 48 next week and can grow into the job. The Cubs won?t need him for the headlines or to sell tickets. Everyone in the room will know: This is Epstein?s guy.

Source: http://www.csnchicago.com/baseball-chicago-cubs/news/Looking-to-the-future-Cubs-bet-big-on-Sv?blockID=596348&feedID=661

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Heavy D to be honored by stars, family (AP)

MOUNT VERNON, N.Y. ? A private funeral will be held Friday in Mount Vernon for hip-hop star Heavy D, who died last week at a Los Angeles hospital after collapsing outside his home. He was 44. His family said he died of complications from pneumonia.

Diddy, the Rev. Al Sharpton and singer Anthony Hamilton are among those expected to pay tribute to the influential rapper, known for hits like "The Overweight Lover's in the House" and "Now That We Found Love."

Heavy D was born in Jamaica but was raised in Mount Vernon, just north of New York City.

He often mentioned Mount Vernon in his rhymes, and had proudly claimed the city as "Money Earnin' Mount Vernon."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111118/ap_en_ot/us_heavy_d_funeral

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GE investing $1B in Silicon Valley software hub (AP)

SAN RAMON, Calif. ? General Electric Co., a maker of power plants, jet engines and medical imaging equipment, said Thursday that it is investing $1 billion in a new software headquarters in Silicon Valley with plans to hire 400 software-related staffers to develop what it calls the "Industrial Internet."

The headquarters will be in San Ramon, about a half-hour drive east of Oakland, in leased space at the Bishop Ranch office complex.

The Fairfield, Conn.-based industrial giant is hoping to attract technology experts who live in the so-called East Bay region of the greater San Francisco area, but may not like the long commute to the South Bay, which is home to leading technology companies such as Google Inc., Apple Inc. and Intel Corp.

The company, which has 300,000 employees around the world, already has 5,000 software workers. The new center will focus on innovating software that runs increasingly intelligent machines and equipment.

"It's equipment being connected onto a network and the ability to gather that information, analyze it and act upon it," Bill Ruh, a GE vice president who is leading the initiative, said in an interview. "That's what we think of as the Industrial Internet."

GE has hired 50 workers already and plans to add another 350 over the next 18 months, Ruh said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/software/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111117/ap_on_hi_te/us_general_electric_silicon_valley

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'Harry Potter' Stars Change The Wizarding World

FROM MTV MOVIES: The books are long finished, the movies are now over, but all it takes is one step inside the Wizarding World of Harry Potter in Orlando, Florida, to know that "Potter" is forever.

Still, despite the ever-flowing butterbeer and copious amounts of "Potter"-based roller-coaster rides, there's always room for improvement, even at the [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2011/11/15/harry-potter-stars-change-the-wizarding-world/

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Fed economist sees long recovery slog (Reuters)

St. LOUIS (Reuters) ? The U.S. economic recovery will likely be a long slog over several years and there is not a whole lot the Federal Reserve can do to speed the process, according to a top economist at the central bank.

"Something's happened in U.S. labor markets that we can't overcome," St. Louis Federal Reserve Bank Research Director Christopher Waller told Reuters in an interview. "No matter what we do, recovery is going to be slow."

Under President James Bullard, the St. Louis Fed has staked out the middle ground between officials who advocate all-out efforts to boost growth and those urging restraint out of fears easy money policies are setting the stage for inflation.

Bullard, who said on Tuesday that the Fed should refrain from a further easing of monetary policy unless the U.S. economy falters from its current modest growth pace, has become something of a bellwether for Fed policy.

The remarks from Waller late Tuesday, Bullard's top policy adviser, illustrate a sense among some officials that the central bank has done what it can to lift the world's largest economy and that there may be no shortcuts on the road to health after an unusually deep and wrenching recession.

"There's no point in trying to say, 'Cure cancer with monetary policy'," he said. "It's just not possible."

MODEST JOB GAINS

The Fed cut overnight interest rates to near zero almost three years ago and bought $2.3 trillion in bonds in a further effort to try to boost growth.

More recently, it moved to lower long-term borrowing costs by shifting its bond holdings into longer maturities. In addition, it promised to hold rates at exceptionally low levels well into 2013 to assure markets that it will be in no hurry to raise rates when the economic skies start to clear.

Even with the Fed's ultra-easy money stance and an economy poised to grow respectably over the next few months, the unemployment rate, which stood at 9 percent in October, will likely come down only gradually, Waller said.

He expects declines of roughly a half-percentage point a year, in line with the same slow pace that followed the previous two recessions.

"The pattern seems to be reemerging. (Unemployment) stays high and it just trickles down," Waller said.

Fed economists are trying to understand why the U.S. job market no longer seem to manage the bold post-downturn advances of the past. Possible explanations include employer reluctance to rehire workers once they've been let go, as well as the deep cuts to construction jobs related to the crash of housing markets specific to the most recent recession, Waller said.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke has called the lofty level of unemployment a national crisis, and financial markets have begun to expect the U.S. central bank to launch a further round of asset purchases to push the sluggish recovery into higher gear next year.

But those expectations may be skewed by recent remarks from central bank officials representing an activist faction, such as Chicago Fed President Charles Evans and Fed Board Governor Daniel Tarullo, Waller said.

HOUSING MAY LAG

One growth-enhancing step policymakers have discussed is expanding purchases of mortgage-backed securities to help heal housing markets. MBS buying helped stop the decline in house prices in 2009, Waller said, but there are questions about whether the move would be as effective now as it was then.

"Now, we don't see the economy going off a cliff, we don't see the stock market crashing, we don't see jobs disappearing by 700,000 a month, so the circumstances are different," he said. With mortgage interest rates at rock-bottom levels, Waller said it is possible that pretty much anyone able and interested in buying a house has already bought one, so the only benefit would be in encouraging refinancing.

And although many view housing as an essential component of a more robust rebound, it may be unreasonable to expect that sector to rapidly regain any of its pre-crisis sparkle, he added. Housing oversupply and the slow pace of resolving problems from decimated home values will make the pace of recovery in this sector painfully slow, he said.

"It's going to take a while to get this turned over," Waller said. "We just have to accept that housing is moribund and we can't expect it to get us out of this."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111116/pl_nm/us_usa_fed_recovery

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