UK defense minister quits after scandal

British Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, leaves the Gare du Nord railway station prior to a meeting with his French counterpart, Gerard Longuet, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011. A close friend of Britain's defence minister was questioned by government officials Tuesday in an investigation into the extent of the politician's ties to the former industry consultant. Defence Secretary Liam Fox has acknowledged he acted inappropriately in allowing former roommate and best man Adam Werritty, who previously ran a now-defunct defense consultancy called Security Futures, to join him on numerous overseas trips and to arrange a meeting in Dubai with a potential supplier. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

British Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, leaves the Gare du Nord railway station prior to a meeting with his French counterpart, Gerard Longuet, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011. A close friend of Britain's defence minister was questioned by government officials Tuesday in an investigation into the extent of the politician's ties to the former industry consultant. Defence Secretary Liam Fox has acknowledged he acted inappropriately in allowing former roommate and best man Adam Werritty, who previously ran a now-defunct defense consultancy called Security Futures, to join him on numerous overseas trips and to arrange a meeting in Dubai with a potential supplier. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

British Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, gets into his car as he leaves the Gare du Nord railway station prior to a meeting with his French counterpart, Gerard Longuet, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011. A close friend of Britain's defence minister was questioned by government officials Tuesday in an investigation into the extent of the politician's ties to the former industry consultant. Defence Secretary Liam Fox has acknowledged he acted inappropriately in allowing former roommate and best man Adam Werritty, who previously ran a now-defunct defense consultancy called Security Futures, to join him on numerous overseas trips and to arrange a meeting in Dubai with a potential supplier. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

British Defense Secretary, Liam Fox, foreground, , leaves the Gare du Nord railway station prior to a meeting with his French counterpart, Gerard Longuet, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011. A close friend of Britain's defence minister was questioned by government officials Tuesday in an investigation into the extent of the politician's ties to the former industry consultant. Defence Secretary Liam Fox has acknowledged he acted inappropriately in allowing former roommate and best man Adam Werritty, who previously ran a now-defunct defense consultancy called Security Futures, to join him on numerous overseas trips and to arrange a meeting in Dubai with a potential supplier. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

In this Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011 photo British Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, leaves the Gare du Nord railway station prior to a meeting with his French counterpart, Gerard Longuet, in Paris. British Defence Secretary, Liam Fox has resigned, his office confirmed Friday Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

British Defence Secretary, Liam Fox, center, leaves the Gare du Nord railway station prior to a meeting with his French counterpart, Gerard Longuet, in Paris, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011. A close friend of Britain's defence minister was questioned by government officials Tuesday in an investigation into the extent of the politician's ties to the former industry consultant. Defence Secretary Liam Fox has acknowledged he acted inappropriately in allowing former roommate and best man Adam Werritty, who previously ran a now-defunct defense consultancy called Security Futures, to join him on numerous overseas trips and to arrange a meeting in Dubai with a potential supplier. (AP Photo/Jacques Brinon)

LONDON (AP) ? Britain's defense minister Liam Fox quit his post Friday after days of allegations about the influence-peddling of a close personal friend who joined key visits overseas and posed as an unofficial aide.

Fox acknowledged he had blurred the lines of his professional and private lives in allowing Adam Werritty, who had previously worked as a defense lobbyist, to organize meetings and join him during 18 trips overseas.

A government inquiry into the case will continue to investigate whether Werritty used his access and friendship with Fox for personal gain, or on behalf of others seeking to win favor or contracts with Britain.

Prime Minister David Cameron named Philip Hammond, who had been Transport Secretary, as Fox's replacement ? asking him to take on the task of implementing severe defense cuts under a national austerity program and to negotiate the exit from the violent conflict in Afghanistan by the end of 2014.

Fox wrote that he was leaving his role "with great sadness" in a resignation letter, but appeared to have little alternative after more than a week of scrutiny of his personal ties to Werritty.

"I mistakenly allowed the distinction between my personal interest and my government activities to become blurred," Fox told Prime Minister David Cameron in the letter.

Though he had no official or paid role with Britain's government, Werritty ? who was Fox's best man at his 2005 wedding and previously lived at Fox's apartment ? met with the minister at least 40 times since he took office, and had distributed business cards claiming to act as his aide.

Fox became the first Conservative Party lawmaker to resign from Britain's Cabinet since the country's coalition government was formed following an inconclusive election in May 2010.

However, Cameron's inner circle are also awaiting the outcome of an investigation into another Cabinet heavyweight ? with prosecutors reviewing allegations that Energy and Climate Change Secretary Chris Huhne attempted to dodge a speeding ticket to avoid a driving ban, a case that could further disrupt Britain's government.

Cameron had initially said he would await the outcome of a government report into Fox's friendship with Werritty before deciding on the minister's fate ? seeking to appear fair to a one-time challenger for the leadership of their Conservative Party.

Fox had pushed through work on an 8 percent cut to the defense ministry's annual 37 billion pound ($59 billion) defense budget, deciding that 17,000 troops, a fleet of jets and an aging aircraft carrier would all be lost.

He had ensured Britain's armed forces would be "fully equipped to meet the challenges of the modern era," Cameron said, in a letter to Fox.

"On Libya, you played a key role in the campaign to stop people being massacred by the Gadhafi regime and instead win their freedom," Cameron wrote.

Werritty, in his early 30s, has been interviewed by the government inquiry, but is yet to offer any public comment about his role or how he funded his hectic travel schedule following Fox across the globe.

Details released by Britain's defense ministry show Werritty joined Fox on visits to destinations including Washington, Bahrain, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka, Israel and on frequent travel to Dubai.

Werritty was present at a steakhouse dinner in Tampa, Florida, with Fox and Lt. Gen. John R. Allen ? now the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan ? and also joined family holidays with Fox in Spain and Switzerland.

The furor also saw Fox's colleagues forced to discuss repeated insinuations that he is gay.

Though Fox married his long-term girlfriend Dr. Jesme Baird in 2005, opponents raised similar questions about his relationship with Werritty after the extent of their contacts was revealed.

The younger man had previously worked for Fox's Atlantic Bridge organization, a now-defunct charity which promoted his hawkish foreign policy views and sought to become a forum for neo-conservatives in London and Washington.

Fox, who contended for the Conservative Party leadership but came in third in a contest won by Cameron in 2005, was closely allied to Margaret Thatcher ? who was patron of his charity. The ex-Prime Minister attended his 50th birthday party last month, even though she is now aged 86 and usually too weak to go out in public.

The departed defense minister was known in academic and policy circles as an Atlanticist who favored closer ties to the United States, was deeply skeptical about European allies and had alienated some parts of the party with his views.

Fox had clashed with other ministers over his links to Sri Lanka's government.

Main opposition Labour Party lawmaker Jim Murphy said that Fox's actions in allowing Werritty access to visits, and to arrange a meeting in Dubai with a potential supplier had breached rules governing the conduct of ministers.

"This issue has centered solely on his judgment and his conduct in one of the most serious jobs in the country," Murphy said.

Supporter Louise Mensch, a Conservative Party legislator, said Fox's exit was regrettable. "He was an outstanding Secretary of State for defense and a completely dedicated minister," she wrote on Twitter.

Analysts urged Hammond to quickly master his brief, with U.K. forces still in action in both Libya and Afghanistan.

"It's a morale issue, it's an uncertainty issue," said Guy Anderson, chief defense industry analyst at IHS Jane's. "At times of war, this can't be good."

Cameron's office said Hammond would be replaced at the transport ministry by Justine Greening, a rising 42-year-old legislator within Cameron's party.

___

Meera Selva and Cassandra Vinograd in London contributed to this report

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-10-14-EU-Britain-Defense-Secretary/id-c6ece07ecb9c446fb4cd72346d96113b

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Disregard Advisory (AP)

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S&P downgrades Spain by one notch on weak growth

MADRID (Reuters) - Standard and Poor's cut Spain's credit rating on Friday, sending the euro lower and underlining the challenges facing Europe's big powers as they prepare to meet G20 counterparts over the euro-zone debt crisis.

S&P, whose move mirrored that by fellow ratings agency Fitch last week, cited high unemployment, tightening credit and high private-sector debt among reasons for cutting the nation's long-term rating to AA- from AA.

At above 21 percent, Spanish unemployment is the highest in the European Union, reflecting a stagnant economy, the collapse of a decade-long housing boom and cuts aimed at reeling in a public sector deficit which reached 11.1 percent of GDP in 2009.

High yields on Spanish government bonds point to concerns that it could be the next euro zone economy to need bailing out after Greece, Ireland and Portugal, although an unpopular austerity program has gone some way to convincing investors that its deficit will fall to 6 percent of GDP this year as promised.

S&P announced the downgrade as finance ministers and central bank chiefs from the world's 20 biggest economies were due to meet later on Friday in Paris amid pressure to find an urgent and convincing solution to the deepening debt crisis.

"Despite signs of resilience in economic performance during 2011, we see heightened risks to Spain's growth prospects due to high unemployment, tighter financial conditions, the still high level of private sector debt, and the likely economic slowdown in Spain's main trading partners," S&P said.

It also noted the "incomplete state" of labor market reform and the likelihood of further asset deterioration for Spain's banks, and downgraded its forecast for Spanish economic growth in 2012 to about 1 percent.

In February, S&P had forecast 1.5 percent growth for 2012.

Juergen Michels, economist at Citi in London, said the market was still wary of developments in Spain's regional public finances, and was aware that fiscal problems would not disappear any time soon.

"The central government has made some progress but we are still to see any improvement in regional finances ... (and) the adjustment in the housing market is not finished by any means."

The spread on Spanish 10-year government bond yields versus their German counterpart were little changed in early trade in Europe compared to Thursday.

JOB DILEMMA

A botched labor market reform in 2010 did little to alleviate joblessness that is concentrated mainly amongst younger Spaniards, and a new government after November 20 general elections will be under pressure to tackle the issue.

The conservative People's Party is expected to win the election easily and deepen austerity measures but they have shied away from presenting specific policy measures for fear of eroding public support.

Like Fitch, which also now rates Spain at AA-, S&P signaled further possible downgrades for Spain, saying there was still a risk the euro zone's fourth-largest economy could slip into recession next year, with a 0.5 percent contraction.

"We could lower the ratings again if, consistent with our downside scenario, the economy contracts in 2012, Spain's fiscal position significantly deviates from the government's budgetary targets, or additional labor market and other growth-enhancing reforms are delayed," S&P said.

The euro dipped in Asian trade after the downgrade, though it still remained on track for its biggest weekly rally since January. It last traded at $1.3753, having shed around a third of cent.

Finance chiefs from outside the euro zone are expected to speak frankly when they meet their European counterparts at Friday's G20 meeting, given impatience growing over the crisis and its implications for the rest of the world.

Canadian Finance Minister Jim Flaherty set the tone late on Thursday, telling reporters before leaving Ottawa that euro zone actions were short of what was needed.

On Thursday, Fitch cut credit ratings or signaled possible downgrades for several major European banks. It downgraded UBS <UBSN.VX, Lloyd's Banking <LLOY.L> and Royal Bank of Scotland <RBS.L>. It also placed Barclays Bank <BARC.L>, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank <DBKGn.E> and Societe Generale <SOGN.PA> on watch negative.

(Reporting by Balazs Koranyi, Mark Bendeich and Elisabeth O'Leary)

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/14/sp-downgrades-spain-by-o_n_1010269.html

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Huskers lose DT Crick for season (AP)

LINCOLN, Neb. ? No. 14 Nebraska has lost defensive tackle Jared Crick for the season with a torn pectoral muscle.

Coach Bo Pelini disclosed the severity of the injury Wednesday as the Huskers (5-1, 1-1 Big Ten) head into their bye week.

Crick, a 6-foot-6, 285-pound senior from Cozad, Neb., was seventh on the defense with 22 tackles this season, including a sack. He ranks eighth on the Nebraska career sacks list with 20, including 9.5 in both 2009 and 2010.

Crick played in five games this season, but didn't suit up against Wyoming on Sept. 24 after suffering an unspecified injury against Washington a week earlier.

Pelini says losing Crick is a tough blow. He also says he believes Crick has a bright future in pro football.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/sports/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111012/ap_on_sp_co_ne/fbc_t25_nebraska_crick

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Single Men Slip Further Behind Married in Cancer Survival (LiveScience.com)

Men who have never been married are less likely to survive cancer than their married counterparts, and the mortality gap has widened over the last few decades, a new study suggests.

The study looked at changes in cancer survival in Norway over the past 40 years. In 1970, never-married men with cancer were 18 percent more likely to die than married men with cancer, and this risk increased to 35 percent by 2007, the researchers found. While never-married women were also less likely to survive cancer than married women, the difference between them remained relatively constant over the years.

The researchers said they don't know what's causing this growing disadvantage for unmarried men, but they hypothesized that it could be due to being in poorer health at the time of cancer diagnosis.

Experts in the U.S. said the cancer survival trend seen in Norway may be different from what's happening here, because of the countries' differing health care systems.

"[The effect] could be even worse in the U.S. because of the lack of access to health care," said Linda Waite, a sociologist at the University of Chicago, who was not involved in the study. "The health care system here is good, but only if you have access to it."

Marriage and mortality

Past research has shown that mortality rates from all causes are higher among unmarried people. People who have never been married ? as opposed to those who are divorced or widowed ? have the highest mortality rates.

Some studies show that this higher mortality rate for unmarried people has increased over time, though the reason behind this phenomenon is unclear. "This suggests an increasingly deteriorating health among never married [people] when compared to the married," said H?kon Kravdal, co-author of the new study.

In the new study, the researchers sought to find whether the association between marital status and cancer survival, specifically, had changed with time. Examining a database from 1970 through 2007 for the entire Norwegian population, researchers found 440,000 people diagnosed with cancer between the ages of 30 and 89, and they recorded their cause of death, marital status, education and other information.

The researchers found that men with cancer who had never been married had the greatest risk of death, regardless of various factors, such as age, education and cancer stage.

Moreover, they calculated that the mortality gap between never-married men and married men increased by 3.4 percent every 10 years.

Divorced and widowed men with cancer were also more likely to die than married men, though their risk didn't appear to increase with time.

The researchers saw a small rise in the cancer death risk for unmarried women compared with married women, but this result may have been due to chance.

"It?s always been bad for men," Waite said, adding that men often rely on their spouses to navigate health care systems.

Outlook getting worse

Marriage has a positive effect on health for both men and women because of the pressure a spouse exerts to eat right, exercise and visit the doctor when health issues arise, Kravdal said.

Kravdal said he thinks that the cancer survival outlook for unmarried people may be getting worse over time because "our society is becoming increasingly individualistic, with less caring for each other." Unmarried people now have less social pressure to keep up good health practices than in the past, he argued. The unmarried may be in poorer overall physical and mental health than the married by the time they are diagnosed with cancer, decreasing their chance of survival.

Waite said she thinks that the differences in cancer survival between those with partners and those without partners may be even bigger than the study found. The database the researchers used does not specify whether an unmarried person is living alone or cohabiting, and cohabiting people likely share the health benefits of married people, she said. This inclusion of cohabitating people likely drove up the overall survival rate of unmarried people.

But in any case, the study shows that "things are getting worse for the unmarried ? at least in Norway ? and we don't really know why," Waite said.

And with the changes happening in all societies, Kravdal adds, "I think the health advantages of having a partner will be greater in the future."

The study was published today (Oct. 13) in the journal BMC Public Health.

Pass it on: Now more than ever, men who have never been married may be less likely to survive cancer than married men.

This story was provided by MyHealthNewsDaily, a sister site to LiveScience. Follow MyHealthNewsDaily on Twitter @Facebook.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/science/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/livescience/20111014/sc_livescience/singlemenslipfurtherbehindmarriedincancersurvival

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Ford Chicago UAW local rejects contract-official (Reuters)

DETROIT (Reuters) ? Workers at a key Ford Motor Co plant in Chicago overwhelmingly rejected a four-year contract proposed by the company and the United Auto Workers, a local union official said on Thursday.

It was the second big Ford plant to reject the deal and the 77 percent margin throws into jeopardy the ratification of the Ford pact for the 41,000 UAW-represented production workers, said Scott Houldieson, secretary-treasurer of UAW Local 551.

Workers at U.S. Ford plants vote through October 18 on the proposed deal that Ford's head of global manufacturing, John Fleming, said would "improve our competitiveness here in the United States" as well as offer a fair deal for workers to share in the company's success.

Fleming made his comments last week when the UAW and Ford reached agreement on the tentative contract now being voted on by the rank-and-file.

Of the 2,317 Chicago Assembly Plant workers casting ballots, more than three-quarters voted to reject the proposed deal, Houldieson said.

Workers at the Chicago plant make up more than 6 percent of the No. 2 automakers' 41,000 UAW-represented workers.

The tentative Ford contract calls for profit-sharing and signing bonuses rather than wage increases for veteran workers, who have not received a wage hike since 2003.

Earlier this week, UAW Local 900, where 2,582 workers voted from three plants including Michigan Assembly in Wayne, Michigan, 51 percent voted to reject the proposed contract. On Tuesday, the UAW said that with about 7 percent of the overall vote counted, the ratification tally was running nearly 50-50.

Houldieson said he could not predict the outcome of the overall vote but said the margin in Chicago makes him believe that the "no" votes are now ahead in the current count.

"Michigan Assembly voted 'no' by a slim margin," said Houldieson. "If they get other plants to vote yes by small margins, then our vote definitely will tip the scales."

Houldieson said that he had heard from workers that they did not like the lack of a cost-of-living allowance in the contract and the continuation of a two-tier pay scale.

The proposed contract would raise newer workers who make "second-tier" wages of just over half that of veteran production workers, to $19.28 per hour over several years. But that would still leave the second-tier workers at 70 percent of the $28.12-per-hour pay of veteran workers, which was not enough for many voters, Houldieson said.

UAW President Bob King said on Wednesday that he expects ratification of the contract at both Ford and Chrysler. He said the union pushed for the best deal under difficult economic circumstances and that if the UAW is successful in organizing U.S. plants of Japanese, Korean and German automakers, it would have more power to fight for higher pay and benefits.

General Motors Co workers in late September ratified their new four-year contract, which is slightly less generous than the proposed Ford pact.

On Wednesday, Chrysler Group LLC and the UAW reached a tentative deal that is less generous than GM's contract. UAW officials said that Chrysler's 26,000 UAW-represented workers will hold ratification votes over the next two weeks.

(Reporting by Bernie Woodall; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Dave Zimmerman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111013/us_nm/us_ford_vote

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Record Crowd Attends DUG? Eagle Ford Conference

HOUSTON, Oct. 14, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Nearly 4,000 oil and gas industry professionals, investors and service company personnel attended Hart Energy's second annual DUG Eagle Ford conference and exhibition this week in San Antonio, Texas. ?The record turnout firmly established DUG (Developing Unconventional Gas) Eagle Ford as the world's largest unconventional resources conference. ?

The final tally shows 3,929 persons (total attendance) gathered October 10-12 at the Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center in San Antonio. ?Roughly 2,500 persons attended the inaugural DUG Eagle Ford event last year, but conference organizers were pleasantly surprised by this week's robust attendance.

"Early on, we expected more than 3,000 delegates to attend," said Barry Haest, Hart Energy's director of events, "but as the conference approached, our registrations kept climbing. ?Everyone in the oil and gas industry is excited about how much economic potential the Eagle Ford shale holds."

Production in the Eagle Ford has already reached 90,000 barrels per day and is spurring demand for more pipeline infrastructure, evidenced by the nearly 250 persons who attended the midstream workshop associated with Hart Energy's DUG Eagle Ford conference. ?Drilling permits across the region increased from just 33 in 2008 to more than 1,000 last year ? and more than 1,200 (twelve hundred) were issued by June of this year. ?

"The success of DUG Eagle Ford validates Hart Energy's role in providing information about emerging unconventional resource plays," said Rich Eichler, the Company's chief executive officer. ?"No other organization offers as much news, data and analysis about these plays ? or the audience which follows." ?During 2011, more than 12,000 investors, analysts and executives from oil and gas producers, midstream operators and service companies will attend Hart Energy's unconventional resource events.

For more than 30 years, Hart Energy has been the leader in covering energy news and technology for investors and energy industry executives. ?The Houston-based Company provides subscriber-only online information services (OilandGasInvestor.com, A-Dcenter.com, UGcenter.com, MidstreamBusiness.com), publishes industry magazines (Oil and Gas Investor, E&P, Midstream Business, FUEL), and produces high-level conferences and energy newsletters, notably the DUG? (Developing Unconventional Gas) and DUO? conferences, among others. ?Its research arm published the first Global Shale Gas Study in February and its Global Shale Oil Study will be published this fall. ?

SOURCE Hart Energy

Source: http://www.streetinsider.com/Press+Releases/Record+Crowd+Attends+DUG%E2%84%A2+Eagle+Ford+Conference/6857034.html

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