Gaza aid convoy pelted with stones in Egypt

A British convoy led by MP George Galloway with medical relief for Gaza was pelted with stones and vandalized in the Egyptian town El-Arish on Sunday, an organizer said.
he convoy, which set out from London last month carrying relief supplies valued at one million pounds (1.4 million dollars), arrived in El-Arish, about 45 kilometers (28 miles) from the Rafah passage to Gaza, on Saturday.

"It's an absolute disgrace," convoy organizer Yvonne Ridley told AFP. "The power was cut. During cover of darkness members of our convoy were attacked with stones.
"Vandals also wrote dirty words and anti-Hamas slogans," she said. "Several people in the convoy were injured in the attack."
A security official told AFP that during a power cut, which is a frequent occurrence in the town, children had pelted the convoy with stones.
The convoy is expected to head to Rafah on Monday after a dispute arose between organizers and Egyptian officials, who had welcomed the activists, over the inclusion of non-medical aid in the convoy.
Egyptian officials have said they would allow medical relief through the Rafah passage but non-medical goods such as food would have to pass through Israel's crossings with the Palestinian enclave.
"George Galloway is still in negotiations," Ridley said. "What we have agreed to do is to separate the medical aid from the non-medical aid. The non-medical will go into Gaza via the Egyptian Red Crescent."

Ten Libyan trucks carrying medicine were allowed to transfer their aid to Gaza on Sunday, a border official said.
Egypt opened the Rafah crossing to aid and Palestinian wounded during Israel's 22-day war in Gaza in December and January, which killed 1,300 Palestinians and 13 Israelis, but has since closed it to aid.


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Barclays hit by toxic loan fears

shares fell again today ahead of what are expected to be difficult negotiations with the government over whether it will be allowed to participate in the asset protection scheme and at what cost.

Shares in the bank were down by more than 10% by lunchtime as analysts drew parallels with the amount of loans Lloyds put into the APS scheme at the weekend. Barclays reportedly has a much larger exposure than its rival to at risk loans.
Lloyds, in total, injected £260bn of loans into the Asset Protection Scheme in a deal thrashed out last week. As a result it will be 77% owned by the government.
Most of the risky loans came from Lloyds' recent acquisition, HBOS, but analysts were still shocked that Lloyds itself had sheltered £44bn from its own loan book under the APS.
Reports today suggested Barclays is still mulling the possibility of joining the APS, but its final decision will depend on what is in its shareholders' best interest.

It refused to join the last government bail-out of the bank sector, raising money instead from a group of Middle East investors. But the bank was criticised for the move, as it ended up paying more, even though it kept the UK government off its share register.
Weekend reports suggested Barclays may be considering putting up to £150bn in to the scheme, but is concerned about the harsh terms and conditions attached to Lloyds' participation.


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Telecom Argentina says 4Q profits fall 52 percent

Telecom Argentina says 4Q net income falls 52 pct as costs rise despite rate cap

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) -- Telecom Argentina SA said Friday that net income fell 52 percent in the fourth quarter as government caps prevented the company from raising rates even as inflation boosted expenses.

Profit dipped to 130 million pesos ($35.6 million) in the October to December period, from to 270 million pesos last year, Argentina's third-largest mobile phone service provider said. Analysts at the Buenos Aires-based consultancy Grupo SBS had predicted a 38 percent drop.
Regulations freezing mobile phone fees kept the Buenos Aires-based company from raising rates to keep up with soaring administrative, advertising and rent costs, a company filing said.

Operating costs rose 15 percent to $8.6 billion pesos in 2008, while sales rose just 10 percent, the company said.
Argentina's official inflation index reached 7.2 percent last year, although independent economists claim that yearly consumer price gains are closer to 20 percent, but have been underreported since 2007 to save the government money on inflation-linked bonds.
Telecom Argentina shares fell 0.5 percent to 5.37 pesos in Buenos Aires ahead of the earnings report. Telecom Italian and an Argentine investor group are majority shareholders in the company.


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Rising costs

The situation could get worse soon. Prices at the pump have been pushed to levels many couldn't conceive of even a year ago, and analysts and the Energy Department are both expecting the cost of gas to rise even further this spring and summer.

For many, obligatory commutes and a lack of public transportation make it tough to cut back much on the one thing that could make the most difference — driving itself. Still, faced with paying $3.50 or more per gallon, some Americans say they have been forced to drop their cars altogether, or at least to reduce trips to the mall or even grocery store.
Patricia Brown had never commuted via public transportation until about a year ago, when gas prices hit $3. Now Brown spends one hour and 45 minutes every day on a bus and train, plus another 17 minutes (yes, she’s timed it) walking 1.1 miles from the station to her office.
Brown, who lives in Glen Carbon, Ill., said her commute used to take anywhere from 45 minutes to over two hours depending on traffic, and giving up her car has meant sacrificing time at the gym and night classes. But on the plus side, Brown said she’s happy to leave the driving to someone else when the weather gets nasty, while she knits or crochets. The cost savings also have allowed the 63-year-old to stay on financial track.

“I can save more money for my retirement,” she said.
For people who are already retired, a sudden spike in gas prices can be even more of a blow.


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