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PARIS – A conference bringing together more than 60 nations Thursday added $1 billion to the fight against deforestation and boosted the morale of those hoping to save the world’s forests — a key defense against global warming.

Three months after a morose ending to climate change talks in Copenhagen, the one-day ministerial meeting in Paris attended by heavily forested countries such as Indonesia and those in the Amazon and Congo basins amounted to a confidence-builder for nations wondering what comes next in the battle against deforestation, many delegates said.

“We entered the meeting with $3.5 billion. It went to $4.5 billion (here) and we want to arrive in Oslo with $6 billion,” Brazilian Environment Minister Carlos Minc said after the closed-door talks.

A follow-up to the Paris meeting is planned in Oslo, Norway, in May.

Brice Lalonde, who heads climate negotiations for France, said: “We must go on. … There is a post-Copenhagen landscape where we will be more pragmatic.”

The 64 nations agreed to create a core structure of some 10 countries to work on the mechanics of equitably distributing funds and other issues. The idea is to arrive at the U.N. climate talks in Cancun, Mexico, in December with a concrete plan devoted specifically to the critical issue of deforestation.

Efforts to halt that culprit in climate change have bogged down along with the wider goal of reaching a legally binding global agreement to limit greenhouse gas emissions while helping poor nations adapt to, and cope with, climate change.

Thursday’s meeting focused on an aspect of a forest program — Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation, or REDD — that was approved at the Copenhagen conference.

REDD Plus, discussed in Paris, is an incentive program based on providing funds to nations working to reduce emissions through good forest governance and protecting biological diversity and the rights of indigenous people.

Reclaiming the forest in many cases entails retraining people whose livelihoods are linked to the forest — or its destruction.

Deforestation — the burning of woodlands or the rotting of felled trees — is thought to account for up to 20 percent of C02 released into the atmosphere — as much as that emitted by all the world’s cars, trucks, trains, planes and ships combined cash advance payday loan.

Due to deforestation from logging, crop-growing and cattle grazing, Indonesia and Brazil have become the world’s third- and fourth-largest carbon emitters, after China and the U.S.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy, opening the conference, said defending the world’s forests demanded more aggressive funding.

“Those who don’t want to do anything are those who don’t want to pay,” he said. He reiterated his appeal for a tax on financial market transactions worldwide that could be earmarked for a global climate fund.

“Together, we will demonstrate that it is possible to achieve concrete and measurable results, as of this year, starting with … the fight against deforestation,” Sarkozy said. He called the Copenhagen conference “frustrating.”

France, Norway and four other countries pledged an initial $3.5 billion to REDD Plus through 2012. The core coordination group established in Paris will, among other things, see where the funds are spent and ensure it is done fairly.

Minc, the Brazilian minister, said: if “we will arrive in Cancun with things that work, we won’t repeat the problems of Copenhagen.”

Many delegations were seeking a share of the funds and guidance about how to obtain them.

“What we need here are step-by-step guidelines to be followed to access funding,” said Wandoso Sisnanto, an adviser for Indonesia’s Forest Ministry.

“After Copenhagen, we have had no chance to talk … and now we can work with each other, coordinate. It’s really worthwhile to again build trust among us,” he said.

Many funding programs are in the works, and individual countries are moving ahead with their own programs to fight deforestation and educate local populations who live off forests — estimated at more than 1 billion worldwide — to do so in a sustainable way.

Meeting on deforestation boosts morale, budget

NEW YORK (AFP) – Embattled US automaker General Motors on Wednesday announced its vice chairman Robert Lutz would retire in May.

"Lutz will retire effective May 1, 2010, capping a 47-year career in the global auto industry that included senior leadership positions at four of the world?s leading automakers," GM said in a statement personal business card.

GM says vice chairman to step down in May

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Wal-Mart Stores Inc (WMT.N) reported a higher quarterly profit on Thursday but said sales at its existing U.S. namesake stores fell during the holiday quarter and forecast earnings for the current quarter that could miss Wall Street estimates.

Profit for the fourth quarter that ended January 31 rose to $4.63 billion, or $1.21 per share, from $3.79 billion, or 96 cents per share, a year earlier.

The company said earnings per share excluding a charge of 4 cents per share for restructuring and a tax benefit of 10 cents per share were $1.17.

Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of $1.12 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S easy fast payday loans.

Sales in the quarter rose 4.6 percent to $112.82 billion.

Total U.S. same-store sales fell 1.6 percent, with sales rising 0.7 percent at its Sam's Club warehouse division and falling 2 percent in its Walmart stores. It had forecast U.S. same-store sales to be flat, plus-or-minus 1 percent.

For the first quarter it expects earnings per share from continuing operations to range from 81 cents to 85 cents. Analysts were expecting 85 cents.

(Reporting by Nicole Maestri; editing by John Wallace)

Wal-Mart profit rises but forecast light

LONDON (MarketWatch) — U.S. stock futures were stronger Tuesday after a three-day break, with investors returning to a rally in commodity prices, notably gold.

S&P 500 futures rose 4.4 points to 1,083.50 and Nasdaq 100 futures added 8.25 points to 1,791.50. Futures on the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 31 points.

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U.S. stocks rose last week, with the S&P 500 rising 0.9% to snap a four-period losing run.

Investors are returning to a rally in gold prices — up some $26 an ounce in electronic trade — and firmer commodity prices across the board. In euro terms, gold rose to an all-time high of 818 euros an ounce.

The dollar index fell 0.2%. The euro recovered somewhat as European finance ministers demanded fresh budget cuts from Greece if a review of the country’s debt-slashing measures doesn’t meet approval next month.

The New York Federal Reserve’s Empire State Index for February, along with the National Association of Home Builders’ housing market index, also for February, will be released Tuesday, as will securities inflows for December easy pay day loans.

Earnings also are due from companies including Merck & Co. , Kraft Foods and Qwest Communications .

Terra Industries on Monday accepted a $4.1 billion takeover bid from Norway’s Yara. See full story.

Barclays reported a surge in profit as the U.K. bank said 2010 has started out more strongly than 2009. See full story.

Virgin Calls On Europe To Be Tougher On BA, AA

Virgin Atlantic CEO Steve Ridgway shares his views on DOT’s decision to tentatively approve antitrust immunity to British Airways and American Airlines and what Virgin’s game plan is going forward.

AMR may advance as the American Airlines parent received tentative approval for antitrust immunity on transatlantic flights with partners British Airways and Iberia, with the airline only forced to divest four slots at London’s Heathrow Airport.

Rigel Pharmaceuticals may advance after reaching a deal to license its rheumatoid arthritis drug to AstraZeneca for as much as $1.25 billion before royalties.

The pan-European Dow Jones Stoxx 600 rose 0.6%, and strong results from Westpac helped the Australian S&P/ASX 200 rise 0.5%. China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and Singapore were closed for Lunar New Year.

Indications: U.S. stock futures stronger after three-day break

Export and import statistics released Wednesday for the United States and China offered the latest signs that world trade was starting to recover from the global financial crisis.

China said its exports climbed 21 percent in January from a year earlier, while imports surged 85.5 percent. The healthy jump in exports could fuel further calls from the United States and the European Union for China to break the peg of its currency, the renminbi, to the dollar and allow the renminbi to appreciate.

In the United States, foreign demand for American goods like meat and auto parts increased in December. Exports rose 3.3 percent, to $142.7 billion, continuing an upward trend. That was not enough, however, to offset the 4.8 percent increase in imports, which totaled $182.9 billion. The increase in imports suggested that American businesses and consumers were growing more confident about spending.

“That’s consistent with the rebound in manufacturing activity,” said Julia Coronado, senior United States economist at BNP Paribas. “Companies have to increase production to meet demand, and that requires a lot of imported goods, so in the near term we will probably see further widening.”

Over all, for December, the gap between the value of American imports and exports was $40.2 billion — its highest level in a year — up 10.4 percent from November. Wall Street analysts had expected the deficit to grow to $35.8 billion.

The larger-than-expected trade gap could mean that the government will have to revise its estimate for economic expansion in the fourth quarter of last year. Last month, the government said the economy expanded at a rate of 5.7 percent from October to December — the fastest pace in six years — aided by a narrowing gap between imports and exports.

A weak dollar has made American products, like airplanes and microchips, cheaper for many foreign buyers. “Exports will continue to be boosted by better economic conditions abroad,” Joshua Shapiro, chief United States economist for MFR Inc., wrote in a research note on Wednesday.

A surge in exports helped narrow the politically important trade gap with China, which retreated 10 payday loan lenders.3 percent.

Oil imports rose sharply in December, contributing to the swelling trade gap, reaching $28.1 billion, from $24.4 billion in November.

In recent months, steep rises in oil prices have often been a central reason for the widening trade deficit. But that was not the case in December. Prices increased only slightly in December — up 66 cents to $73.20 a barrel — indicating that much of the growth in imports was the result of businesses simply importing more oil. Excluding petroleum goods, the trade deficit in December was little changed from November.

China’s exports have recovered more rapidly, partly because the low value of the renminbi has kept Chinese goods relatively inexpensive in foreign markets. The rebound has been so rapid in fact that some factory executives in the Pearl River delta region near Hong Kong have begun complaining of shortages of steel containers in which to ship their goods. Container shipping companies have begun to raise rates and remove discounts.

“With the export recovery taking hold more strongly, the outlook for export manufacturing, ports and container shipping sectors appears to be brighter, compared to last year,” Jing Ulrich, the chairman of China equities and commodities at J.P. Morgan, said in a research note.

China’s imports in January rose impressively, in line with economists’ expectations, because imports a year ago were so weak. Many Chinese export factories nearly stopped buying raw materials then as their orders dried up, but they have been restocking since late spring.

Exports and imports both benefited this year from the timing of Chinese New Year, which will be Sunday. It fell on Jan. 26 last year, and a weeklong holiday at the end of January last year helped curtail economic activity in China.

The China trade surplus was $14.17 billion last month, compared with $18.43 billion in December and $39.1 billion in January of last year, according to figures released Wednesday by the General Administration of Customs in China.

Latest Data Hints at a Recovery in World Trade

SINGAPORE — Singapore Airlines, one of the world’s biggest carriers by market value, on Tuesday reported its best quarterly profit in almost two years as cargo volumes rebounded and travel improved.

The airline industry is recovering from its worst downturn last year, but growth in the more profitable business class segment, where SIA thrives, is slow and could take time to capture pre-crisis level.

“Passenger loadings in January and bookings in hand indicate that the recovery in the third quarter is likely to continue in the final quarter of the current financial year,” SIA said in a statement.

“The business outlook for the group in 2010 is encouraging, but it must be acknowledged that uncertainties linger over the global economy.”

The Singapore carrier saw a strong December when cargo traffic turned positive for the first time in 19 months and year-end travel boosted demand, but it has trailed the recovery seen by Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific, which is helped by China’s strong demand.

CLSA expects February’s Singapore Airshow could boost premium traffic and the mass market could benefit from the opening of the city-state’s two casino resorts later this year fast cash advance.

But the aviation industry body I.A.T.A. said last week the sector could face a tough 2010, making up for the lost demand in 2009 and handling new security demands.

SIA, 55 percent-owned by state investor Temasek Holdings, reported a net profit of 403.7 million Singapore dollars ($286.3 million)) in its third quarter, its highest quarterly profit since March 2008.

The results compared to a net profit of 337 million Singapore dollars a year ago, but below analysts’ average forecast of 448 million Singapore dollars.

Earnings from U.S. rivals so far this quarter have been mixed, raising concerns about the industry’s recovery.

At the close of trade, SIA shares were down 8.6 percent since the start of the year compared to an 9.4 percent drop in shares of Cathay Pacific and a 6 percent drop in the broader Singapore market.

Reuters

Singapore Air Profit Rises as Demand Bounces Back

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HONG KONG – Asian stock markets dropped sharply Friday as disappointing company forecasts and growing concerns about debt-laden European nations shook investor hopes for a quicker global recovery. European markets opened higher.

Steep falls across Asia followed strong gains the day before, marking a return to heavy selling that’s pulled markets worldwide lower in the past week. The dollar continued to strengthen as investors looked for safer bets, pulling down prices for commodities.

Lackluster outlooks from major U.S. technology companies Qualcomm Inc. and Motorola Inc. exacerbated worries that global demand and corporate earnings, after improving in 2009, could prove weaker than expected this year.

Investors are also increasingly unnerved by rising debt levels in European countries like Greece and Portugal — focusing the market’s worries on the huge amounts of government borrowing and its ultimate effects on the financial system. Moody’s ratings agency added to fears that have dragged the euro to multi-month lows with a warning that Portugal’s credit rating could suffer unless its deficit was reduced.

Mark Tan, fund manager at UOB Asset Management in Singapore, said uncertainty surrounding U.S. bank regulation plans, Chinese lending curbs and other problems were being used as an excuse to book profits after last year’s rally. He expected the markets to resume an upward trend soon.

“We believe this correction will be short and sharp,” said Tan, who helps manage more than $10 billion in assets. “There’s a lot of confusion in the market at the moment. But the liquidity and economic fundamentals are still good, so this is a correction in a relatively positive market.”

Early going in the Europe, Britain’s FTSE 100 added 0.7 percent, Germany’s DAX was up 0.8 percent and France’s CAC-40 rose 0.7 percent. Wall Street futures pointed to a slightly higher open in the U.S. Friday. S&P futures gained 0.9 point, or 0.1 percent, to 1,08.40.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average tumbled 216.25, or 2.1 percent, to 10,198.04. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index slid 234.38, or 1.2 percent, to 20,121.99, and South Korea’s Kospi fell 40 points, or 2.4 percent, to 1,602.43.

India’s market shed 0.4 percent and Shanghai was down 0.2 percent. Australia’s benchmark tumbled 2.2 percent, its resource-heavy market dragged lower by easing commodity prices fast payday loans.

Adding to investors’ unease was an initial report, to be released Friday, on U.S. gross domestic product in the fourth quarter. American GDP, a measure of the country’s economic output, is expected to rise 4.5 percent.

Global markets have gotten off to a rough start in 2010, with most down sharply for the year. Developing countries have been hit especially hard in the latest downdraft.

China and Indian benchmarks are now off about 9 percent and 7 percent for the year, respectively, as investors scale back their investments in riskier assets like equities in so-called emerging markets.

Overall, investors pulled more money out of developing market investment funds than they put into them during the week ending Jan. 27, according to a survey by EPFR Global, a Boston-based firm that tracks global fund flow data. It was the first time emerging market funds had suffered outflows of money in about 3 months.

Asian tech stocks felt part of the brunt of Friday’s selling as sentiment toward the industry continued to sour. South Korean tech giant Samsung Electronics Co. lost 3 percent even as it posted a fourth quarter profit. Japanese memory chip maker Elpida tanked 9 percent.

Also slammed were resource companies, with mining giant Rio Tinto down nearly 5 percent as a stronger greenback brought down prices for commodities, which are priced in dollars.

Meanwhile, Toyota Motor Corp. fell another 2 percent. The world’s largest automaker is struggling to salvage its safety reputation in the wake of massive recalls in the U.S., Europe and China.

Another bout of selling in the U.S. further weakened sentiment.

The Dow fell 115.70, or 1.1 percent, to 10,120.46. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index fell 12.97, or 1.2 percent, to 1,084.53, while the Nasdaq fell 42.41, or 1.9 percent, to 2,179.00.

In currencies, the euro continued to slide, falling to $1.3967 from $1.3976. The dollar was higher at 90.25 yen from 89.87 yen.

Oil prices lingered near a six-week low below $74, with benchmark crude for March delivery fluctuating before rising 26 cents to $73.90 a barrel. The contract lost 3 cents to settle at $73.64 on Thursday, the lowest since Dec. 14 when crude dropped to $73.46.

Asian markets resume slide; Europe stocks gain

BERLIN — Military officials from the European countries with orders to buy the Airbus A400M military transport plane tried and failed again Friday to resolve differences over how to share billions of euros in cost overruns, but said they would resume negotiations this coming week in Berlin in the hope of meeting a Jan. 31 deadline.

Many of the participating countries need the aircraft urgently as they play a greater and more demanding role in peacekeeping missions. The repeated delays — the A400M is now more than four years behind schedule — represent a big setback for European military cooperation.

Military procurement ministers from the seven customer nations met until late into the night Thursday with top managers from Airbus and its parent company, European Aeronautic Defense & Space.

“We will meet again early next week here in Berlin,” a German defense ministry spokesman, who asked not to be identified, said Friday. “All of the participants do want a solution to this problem.” Two people with direct knowledge of the negotiations said they would likely take place Tuesday.

Alexander Reinhardt, a spokesman for EADS, said nailing down the critical details of how to finance the program remained a thorny issue.

“The negotiations have been difficult, as expected,” Mr. Reinhardt said.

Seven countries — Belgium, Britain, France, Germany, Luxembourg, Spain and Turkey — together ordered 180 A400Ms in 2003 for €20 billion, or $28.2 billion. Last year, EADS and Airbus asked them to help cover an additional €5.2 billion in costs and to accept significant delivery delays. The company has asked the countries to agree to an additional 25 percent payment, or around €5 billion, according to people with direct knowledge of the negotiations.

The Airbus chief executive, Thomas O. Enders, warned this month that without an agreement soon, the project might have to be abandoned, placing as many as 40,000 European jobs at risk.

But while France said it would consider paying more, Germany has been more than reluctant. It has ordered 60 of the 180 aircraft, while France has ordered 50.

France was supposed to receive the first deliveries of the A400M transport aircraft late last year and Germany in 2010, but the plane made its first test flight only last month. Both countries will now have to wait several years more, according to the German Defense Ministry faxless cash advance.

Germany, however, has little room to maneuver. With 4,300 German troops based in northern Afghanistan, Berlin needs access to such aircraft for transporting not only troops but also such heavy equipment as tanks, armored personnel carriers and helicopters.

Without the A400M, it must either modernize at huge expense its Transall aircraft, which are more than 30 years old, or lease Russian Antonov aircraft.

“We want the A400M but not at any price,” the German defense minister, Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, reiterated during an interview with the Bayernkurier newspaper to be published Saturday. “Our willingness to compromise has its limits.”

Britain, too, is furious about the delays, especially given its big role in Afghanistan.

The German Defense Ministry official said that cost was not the only issue still on the table, but range and payload as well. The A400M is currently several tons over its specified weight.

An audit of the A400M program by PricewaterhouseCoopers, which was commissioned last year by the governments, has blamed a significant portion of the cost over-runs on EADS and Airbus for failing to put proper budget controls in place. It also said the manufacturer had consistently underestimated development costs.

The auditor’s report, which was leaked to several European media this past week, estimated that the A400M was roughly €7.6 billion over budget.

EADS and Airbus have rejected the findings of the audit, but have so far failed to provide their own cost estimate for the program, now four years behind schedule.

EADS has already written off €2.4 billion in costs for a project that continues to expend cash at a rate of around €100 million each month.

The seven countries failed to meet an year-end 2009 deadline to agree on a new delivery schedule and financing arrangement for the contract, and last month set a new deadline of Jan. 31.

With the financial crisis and recession straining budgets across Europe, the governments have been reluctant to come up with more money.

Nicola Clark reported from Paris.

Pressure Mounts for Deal for Airbus Military Plane

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HAMPTON, Va. — As the military rushes to place more spy drones over Afghanistan, the remote-controlled planes are producing so much video intelligence that military analysts are finding it more and more difficult to keep up.

Air Force drones collected nearly three times as much video over Afghanistan and Iraq last year as they did in 2007 — about 24 years’ worth if watched continuously. That volume is expected to multiply in the coming years as drones are added to the fleet and as some start using multiple cameras to shoot in many directions.

A group of young analysts already watch every second of the footage live as it is streamed to Langley Air Force Base here and to other intelligence centers, and they quickly pass warnings about insurgents and roadside bombs to troops in the field.

But military officials also see much potential in using the archives of video collected by the drones for later analysis, like searching for patterns of insurgent activity over time. To date, only a small fraction of the stored video has been retrieved for such intelligence purposes.

So the Air Force and other military units — mindful of the post-9/11 criticism that government agencies focused too heavily on collecting data without enough tools to spot patterns — are turning to the television industry to learn how to quickly share video clips, like the highlight plays in a football game, and display a mix of data in ways that make analysis faster and easier.

They are even testing some of the splashier techniques used by broadcasters, like the telestrator that John Madden popularized for scrawling football plays. It could be used to warn troops about a threatening vehicle or circle a compound that a drone should attack.

“Imagine you are tuning into a football game without all the graphics,” said Lucius Stone, an executive as Harris Broadcast Communications, a provider of commercial technology that is working with the military. “You don’t know what the score is. You don’t know what the down is. It’s just raw video. And that’s how the guys in the military have been using it.”

The demand for the Predator and Reaper drones has surged since the terror attacks in 2001, and they have become one of the most critical weapons for hunting insurgent leaders and protecting allied forces.

The military relies on the video to catch insurgents burying roadside bombs and to find their houses or weapons caches. Most commanders are now reluctant to send a convoy down a road without an armed drone watching over it.

The Army, the Marines and the special forces are also deploying hundreds of smaller surveillance drones. And the Central Intelligence Agency uses drones to mount missile strikes against Al Qaeda leaders in Pakistan.

Air Force officials, who take the lead in analyzing the video from Iraq and Afghanistan, say they have managed to keep up with the most urgent assignments. And it is clear, on a visit to the analysis center in an old hangar here, that they are often able to correlate the video data with clues in still images and intercepted phone conversations to build a fuller picture of the most immediate threats.

But as the Obama administration sends more troops to Afghanistan, the task of monitoring the video is only going to grow more challenging.

Instead of carrying just one camera, the Reaper drones, which are newer and larger than the Predators, will soon be able to record in 10 directions at once, and then in 30 by 2011 and as many as 65 after that. Even the Air Force’s top intelligence official, Lt. Gen. David A. Deptula, says it could soon be “swimming in sensors and drowning in data.”

He said the Air Force will have to funnel many of those feeds directly to ground troops to keep from overwhelming its intelligence centers. He said it is working more closely with field commanders to identify the most important targets, and it is adding 2,500 analysts to help handle the growing volume of data.

With a new $500 million computer system that is being installed now, the Air Force will also be able to start using some of the television techniques and send out automatic alerts when hot information comes in, complete with highlight clips and even text and graphics payday loans.

“If automation can provide a cue for our people that would make better use of their time, that would help us significantly,” said General Norton A. Schwartz, the Air Force’s chief of staff.

Officials acknowledge that in many ways, the military is just catching up to features that have long been familiar to users of YouTube or Google.

John R. Peele, a chief in the counterterrorism office at the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which helps the Air Force analyze videos, said the drones “proliferated so quickly, and we didn’t have very much experience using them. So we’re kind of learning as we go along which tools would be helpful.”

But Mark A. Bigham, an executive at Raytheon, which designed the new computer system, said the Air Force had actually moved more quickly than most intelligence agencies to create Web-like networks where the data could be shared more easily.

In fact, it has relayed drone video to the United States and Europe for analysis for more than a decade. The operations, which now include 4,000 airmen, are headquartered at the base here, where three analysts watch the live feed from a drone.

One never takes his eyes off the monitor, calling out possible threats to his partners, who immediately pass alerts to the field via computer chat rooms and snap screenshots of the most valuable images.

“It’s mostly through the chat rooms — that’s how we’re fighting these days,” said Colonel Daniel R. Johnson, who runs the intelligence centers.

He said other analysts, mostly enlisted men and women in their early 20s, study the hundreds of still images and phone calls captured each day by other planes and send out follow-up reports melding all the data.

Mr. Bigham, the Raytheon executive, said the new system will help speed that process. He said it will also tag basic data, like the geographic coordinates and the chat room discussions, and alert officials throughout the military who might want to call up the videos for further study.

But while the biggest timesaver would be to automatically scan the video for trucks and armed men, that software is not yet reliable. And the military has run into the same problem that the broadcast industry has in trying to pick out football players swarming on a tackle.

So Joseph Smith, a Navy commander assigned to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, which sets standards for video intelligence, said he and other officials have climbed into broadcast trucks outside football stadiums to learn how the networks tag and retrieve highlight film.

“There are these three guys who sit in the back of an ESPN or Fox Sports van, and every time Tom Brady comes on the screen, they tap a button so that Tom Brady is marked,” Cmdr. Smith said, referring to the New England Patriots quarterback. Then, to call up the highlights later, he said, “They just type in: ‘Tom Brady, touchdown pass.”‘

Lt. Col. Brendan M. Harris, who is in charge of an intelligence squadron here, said his analysts could do that. He said the Air Force has just installed telestrators on its latest handheld video receiver, and harried officers in the field will soon be able to simply circle the images of trucks or individuals they want the drones to follow.

But Colonel Harris also noted that the drones often shoot gray-toned video with infrared cameras that is harder to decipher than color shots. And when force is potentially involved, he said, there will be limits on what automated systems are allowed to do.

“You need somebody who’s trained and is accountable in recognizing that that is a woman, that is a child and that is someone who’s carrying a weapon,” he said. “And the best tools for that are still the eyeball and the human brain.”

Military Is Deluged in Intelligence From Drones

Filed at 12:31 a.m. ET

HONG KONG (AP) — Most Asian markets started off 2010 with moderate gains Monday as investors weighed mixed signs from the region’s economies.

Japan’s stock benchmark rose 1 percent to lead the region, while crude oil prices touched $80 a barrel. The dollar slipped against the yen and rose against the euro.

Investors were encouraged by a report showing China’s manufacturing expanded at its fastest rate in 20 months last month, the latest sign the world’s third-largest economy was continuing to grow strongly, aided by government stimulus measures.

But the mood was offset by worries about another recession in Singapore after the government said the local economy shrank last quarter for the first time since early 2009.

In Japan, the Nikkei 225 stock average advanced 103.79 points, or 1 percent, to 10,649.81, with Japan Airlines surging more than 35 percent amid reports the Japanese government was readying additional financing to the troubled airline.

South Korea’s Kospi added 0 no faxing payday loans.5 percent to 1,691.48, Australia’s main index was up 0.2 percent and India’s benchmark gained 0.4 percent.

Other markets slipped, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng off 0.3 percent at 21,809.36 and Shanghai’s index down 0.4 percent to 3,265.51. Singapore’s market dropped 0.2 percent.

Last week in the U.S., the Dow Jones industrial average closed out the year shedding 120.46, or 1.1 percent, to 10,428.05. For the year, the Dow rose 1,651.66, or 18.8 percent.

The broader Standard & Poor’s 500 index, considered to be the market’s best barometer, fell 11.32, or 1 percent, to 1,115.10. The S&P ended the year with a gain of 211.85, or 23.5 percent.

Oil prices rose in Asia, with benchmark crude for February delivery up 64 cents at $80.

The dollar fell to 92.75 yen from 93 yen, and the euro was lower at $1.4287 from $1.4323.

Asian Stock Markets Open 2010 With Modest Gains

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Wall Street rose at the open on Tuesday after data showed U.S. home prices were unchanged in October, ending five straight months of increases but suggesting a slow stabilization in the sector.

The Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) was up 20.63 points, or 0.20 percent, at 10,567.71. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index ( loan until payday.SPX) added 2.16 points, or 0.19 percent, at 1,129.94. The Nasdaq Composite Index (.IXIC) rose 2.75 points, or 0.12 percent, at 2,293.83.

(Reporting by Edward Krudy; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Wall Street opens up after home price data

HO CHI MINH CITY, Vietnam — More than many countries, Vietnam has been buffeted by the ups and downs of globalization.

A relatively new player in the global economy, it benefited from a flood of Western capital and interest in the 1990s and early this decade, only to be devastated by the reverberations of the latest economic crisis in the United States, 7,500 miles away.

Vietnam’s strategy for competing in the global arena — and a relatively successful one until recently — had been to carve out niche markets where it could deliver, say, quality products like handicrafts or specialized clothing that China could not.

But all of Vietnam’s main export industries are heavily dependent on sales to the United States. In 2009, the United States was the biggest importer of Vietnamese goods, absorbing about a fifth of the country’s exports.

Furniture companies, to take one industry, have had a huge drop in orders after the rapid downward spiral in sales of new homes in the United States. “A lot of the smaller factories have had a very, very difficult time,” said Michael Gunther, a manager at Honai Furniture, a 900-employee company about 20 miles outside of Ho Chi Minh City that makes a range of items from bedroom dressers to parts for bows and arrows.

About 20 to 25 percent of Honai’s production goes to the United States while the rest is exported to other parts of the world, particularly Europe. Mr. Gunther said the company had not had to lay off anyone even as smaller competitors went out of business, a trend that has allowed Honai to at least sustain itself.

“We’ve had customers ask us to increase our capacity but we can’t because we’re at full capacity,” he said.

Vietnam’s economy grew 4.6 percent for the first nine months of 2009, compared with the same period in 2008, according to the World Bank, in part because of government stimulus measures. While a developed country like the United States would be happy with such growth, Vietnam in recent years had been able to sustain an average growth rate above 7 percent.

At the same time, the country has seen a strong retrenchment in exports. In the first 10 months of 2009, Vietnamese exports declined 13.8 percent compared with the period in 2008, the World Bank said.

Though that drop is less than declines in most other developing countries, it could make 2009 the first year with a decline in exports since the beginning of Vietnam’s economic reforms, the World Bank said.

The pullback is a significant growing pain for Vietnam, one of the world’s newer export economies. Compared with others in the region like Thailand and Malaysia, Vietnam is still an infant in its experiences with globalization.

For decades after the Vietnam War, the economy limped along, sustained largely by its agriculture. Until President Bill Clinton and the Senate lifted the United States trade embargo in 1994, Vietnam was a bit player in the export market. Even after that shift, it took years for the country’s manufacturing sector to be competitive, particularly given its location near more mature exporting countries like China.

In order to square off against China, many manufacturers try to rely on niche industries and specialties rather than competing solely on price or low labor costs payday loan.

Dai Viet Garment Ltd., based in Ho Chi Minh City, has been able to sustain its business because it specializes in making the thoub, a man’s tunic, for Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern markets.

Demand is pretty stable for the garments, which has allowed the company to keep its work force of 500 direct employees busy as well as 300 more through subcontractors.

Many factory owners say that labor costs make up about 20 to 30 percent of the cost of manufacturing, so cutting workers, overtime or wages does not help much in response to lower demand. In addition, the shipping and transportation networks are much more robust in China, which can put Vietnam at a disadvantage.

“What makes the difference is the labor cost and delivery time,” said Diep Thanh Kiet, chairman of Dai Viet Garment.

As Vietnam’s tourism market grows, particularly attracting new golf resorts and vacationers from other nearby countries in Southeast Asia and elsewhere, furniture manufacturers like Sadaco are turning to supply such new resorts.

Tran Quoc Manh, chairman of Sadaco, says he has also sought to diversify his customer base by finding clients in China and in growing areas of Vietnam, like Dalat City, where new villas are being built. But the local market cannot substitute for the huge potential of the global consumer.

“The local market is still very small compared to the U.S. market, and overall exports to the U.S. continue to grow, though not as much as pre-crisis projections would have had it,” said Frederick R. Burke, a managing partner in the Vietnam office of the law firm Baker & McKenzie, who advises exporters.

Accurate government statistics on job losses in Vietnam are hard to come by, and even business people here say they believe that the government is playing down the cutbacks.

The World Bank said there was abundant anecdotal evidence of increased hardship in the first half of the year.

“Job losses were widespread in industrial parks in late 2008 and early 2009. But few took the form of open layoffs,” Viet Tuan Dinh and Martin Rama wrote in a report in June for the World Bank. “Nonrenewals of contracts and incentives for voluntary departures were more common.”

Corporate enterprise is still guided by the hands of the officially socialist government of Vietnam, a country where the hammer-and-sickle flag flies alongside the red Vietnamese flag at many government office buildings and where socialist motivational banners are a common sight at factories.

The Vietnamese government tried several measures to force factories to keep their employment levels up during the economic downturn, and it adopted a sizable fiscal stimulus package as well.

But many economic experts are optimistic that a global recovery will help the country regain its growth track.

“The government is learning through experience,” said V. Bruce J. Tolentino, chief economist at the Asia Foundation, a nonprofit group based in San Francisco. “They are pragmatic, and that pragmatism is serving them well.”

Vietnam Is Refining Its Role on the Global Stage

LOS ANGELES (MarketWatch) — HSBC Holdings PLC’s long-awaited Shanghai stock listing will seek to raise $8 billion, a report said Sunday, well above previous forecasts for the banking giant’s mainland Chinese debut.

The British newspaper Observer reported that HSBC’s Shanghai initial public offering will total 5 billion pounds ($8.1 billion). Previous reports had expected the IPO, which has yet to receive approval from Chinese officials, to be worth $5 billion. See previous report on HSBC’s Shanghai IPO plans.

The report also said HSBC will become “the first international company” to list on the Shanghai exchange, beating other companies in the race for a Shanghai share presence. Lawyers in London say that the China Securities Regulatory Commission is expected to change its laws in January to allow foreign and non-mainland companies to list in Shanghai, the Observer report said payday loan lenders.

HSBC is already well capitalized and doesn’t need the money from the IPO, but rather, it is keen to raise its profile with Chinese retail investors as it expands its branch network and looks at buying stakes in rival Chinese banks, the report said.

The unconfirmed report was the latest after months of news accounts tipping moves by large foreign companies seeking to list in Shanghai.

HSBC seeks $8 billion in Shanghai listing: report

KUWAIT (Reuters) – Kuwait's sale of its stake in Citigroup (C.N) earlier this month was not due to a dispute with the U.S. bank, the Gulf Arab state's finance minister said in published remarks on Sunday.

Mustapha al-Shamali told al-Rai newspaper that there is no dispute between the country's sovereign wealth fund the Kuwait Investment Authority (KIA) and Citigroup.

"The exit of KIA from its stake in Citigroup for $4.1 billion was not due to any dispute between the two parties but it was an opportunistic investment," Shamali was quoted as saying direct payday loans.

The minister's comment comes days after the Financial Times said that the KIA has held internal discussions about scaling back its banking operations with Citigroup.

Last week, KIA said it had sold its stake in Citigroup, making a $1.1 billion profit.

(Reporting by Rania El Gamal; Editing by Thomas Atkins)

Kuwait finance minister says no dispute with Citi: report

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The retired couple met with Scott Kays in early March as the stock market continued to slide, in need of emotional support as much as financial help. They’d been burned in the meltdown and were ready to sell everything.

Kays was sure that would be a mistake, but he didn’t come down hard. “You don’t sit there and say, ‘It’s nonsense for you to feel this way,’” the Atlanta-based financial adviser explained. “I’d think something was wrong if they weren’t scared.”

Reposition your portfolio for the New Year

Bill Baldwin, president and co-founder of Pillar Financial Advisors, speaks with WSJ’s Daisy Maxey about how his company is repositioning its clients’ portfolios for 2010.

Instead Kays asked questions. He listened. He found common ground. “We’re all hurting,” he recalls telling them. “I understand that. But you can’t let your emotions make decisions for you. Emotional decisions are almost always bad decisions.”

Then Kays hung out his professional shingle and doled out investment facts and logic. Stocks were oversold and undervalued, he suggested, adding that investors likely had seen the worst. Bailing, he told the couple, would mean forfeiting a chance to make back what they’d lost.

The gambit worked. Said Kays: “I think we put enough doubt in their minds for them to question any decision to sell.” Days later, U.S. stocks began their explosive surge.

The stock market may be rational, but those who buy and sell aren’t always. All too often, emotions derail successful investment outcomes. And with studies showing that the pain of financial loss is far greater than the pleasure of monetary gain, emotions can be especially dangerous when an investment portfolio is tanking.

The best investment practitioners play Dr. Jekyll to investors’ Mr. Hyde. They appreciate that investors, faced with abrupt shifts in fortunes, can become overly despondent or euphoric and act rashly. Accordingly, they’ve learned to steer clients through emotional minefields by showing empathy — but also staying cool under pressure.

Here are three steps financial advisers say they take to keep clients on track:

1. Plan ahead

Investors’ risk capacity and risk tolerance are not always equal. Risk tolerance tends to reflect longer-term goals and how a nest-egg will be used in the future. Risk capacity is immediate — reactions to short-term uncertainty that can crack an investor’s composure and torpedo a portfolio.

Investors are more likely to stay on target if they establish their objectives in calmer times.

“Try to figure out what could go wrong and what to do with that while you still like one another,” said Norm Boone, a San Francisco-based adviser. “When things get tighter, you’ve got a means for working these things out.”

An investment policy statement can meet that need, reminding investors of the rational decisions they made before fear or greed grabbed hold. Yet all too often, the investment policy statement tends to be standard issue — boilerplate that outlines risk tolerance, asset allocation, performance objectives and the like.

That’s not good enough for Boone, who advises shredding the standard document and drafting a customized blueprint for the client absolutely free credit report. Determine the client’s investing and life goals, agree on asset allocation and portfolio rebalancing, and work to minimize surprises, he said. Rely on the investment policy statement to cement this understanding, and, importantly, to bring clarity to future communication, portfolio monitoring and allocation adjustments.

“The IPS is the central document to the investment process,” Boone said. “But it has to be a negotiated document. Otherwise it becomes meaningless to one of the two parties. The downside is it takes longer. The upside is that once you have those discussions, you build trust and confidence.”

2. Offer flexibility

Some investors feel empowered by keeping their money in separate pools, or buckets. For example, one bucket follows the core investment allocation, another holds a couple of years’ worth of living expenses in cash to help the client avoid selling in a bear market, while a third gives the account holder an outlet for his or her impulses, however irrational.

Ross Levin, an Edina, Minn.-based adviser, suggests tagging one bucket for income, one for inflation protection, and one for heirs and charity. Another, smaller bucket could be used for the client’s discretion.

The core strategy, of course, is subject to market gales, and in 2008 almost every type of bucket tipped over. Still, such an arrangement can give investors a sense of comfort and control.

“When things get crazy, some clients think they need to do something,” Levin said. “We carve out some money they can experiment with.”

3. Be a financial physician

Advisers should listen and empathize, but stay true to their beliefs. Give clients reasons to respect the advice for which they are paying.

“My role is not to dictate what the client is doing, but to give options in a way that clients can understand,” said Brian Kompelien, a Minneapolis-based adviser. “If that is done, the client has a vested interest and is more likely to stick with it when things get rough.”

When the market tanks, investors’ most extreme fear is that they will run out of money — that they will lose status, be forced to downsize, and all they worked for will be lost. That calls for an adviser who exudes warmth and understands clients’ distress, yet is cool under fire when discussing and making investment decisions.

Be reflective, not reflexive, said Meir Statman, a finance professor at Santa Clara University in California who studies investor behavior. In this way, the best advisers promote both wealth and well-being, and manage both investments and investors.

“The role of advisers is to calm and to guide,” Statman said. “When a client leaves the office, that person had better be calm and collected. Even if the diagnosis is bad — a lack of sufficient funds for retirement — they have a sense of where they stand and a plan for where to go next.”

Weekend Investor: Keeping emotions in check and portfolios on track