RBS Results: Good News For Taxpayers?

"RBS's management is taking steps to repair the balance sheet, reducing reliance is wholesale funding - and that's helping their margins," he said.
"They appear to be ahead of schedule in their restructuring plan."
But while RBS is making a loss, the rest of the UK's banking industry is seeing a return to bumper profits.
Last week Barclays, Which avoided direct government support in the wake of the financial crisis, reported profits of £ 11.6bn, and the market-leading investment bank Goldman Sachs reported profits of around £ 8.7bn earlier this year.
So how can RBS be doing so badly when the rest of the industry seems to be doing so well?
The first answer is that RBS is still dealing with the fall-out from the financial crisis. Turning bad loans cost the bank a total of £ 13.8bn in the Write-Downs last year.Read More Story,http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8528268.stm

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Kris Allen Recalls 'Destruction' He Witnessed In Haiti

The idea for the trip to Haiti came from "Idol" creator Simon Fuller. As soon as Fuller made the suggestion, Allen came onboard. They ended up handing out food, breaking up fallen concrete with a Sledgehammer and Rubble clearing with his hands, all the while working side by side with the Haitian people. Allen's last stop took him to a tent where mothers come to breastfeed their babies and care for their children.

During Thursday's show, viewers will be asked to make online or text-message donations to the Idol Gives Back Foundation, with funds going to support the United Nations Foundation's ongoing efforts in Haiti. "I wanted to go over there and help," Allen said. "I felt like I did that in a little way. I think that me being on the show is going to be a bigger help than we are going there with the little bit of manpower that I have."Read More Story,http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1632605/20100224/allen_kris_american_idol_.jhtml

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Chris Brown Says Tiger Woods Deserves A Second Chance

"I hope he gets back on the field and does his thing, 'cause he is the best at it," said Brown, who referred to the Rihanna incident as a "hiccup and a major mistake" during the lighthearted phone interview with the radio station. His career appears To Have taken a hit as a result of the assault - his latest album, Graffiti has stalled out short of 300.000 copies after nearly three months in stores. 

"Whatever [Woods'] personal life is, and this goes for me and him, his personal life is his personal life," he said. "Nobody has the Right to place judgment or make any judgment is anybody else's personal life when they're not directly involved with them." 

Brown said they caught glimpses of the Woods apology on TV and opined, "He plays golf." That's his sport, that's his hobby, that's his love, that's what people love him for. They do not love him for the other stuff that they talk about. ... Even with me, I do music, I sing songs, I'm an entertainer, I'm a performer. But people make mistakes. " 

Asked if they would ever reach out to Woods, Brown said he'd rather be a fan from afar, confident that the golfer has people in his inner circle who can help him. "I think people have to realize that everybody's human," he said. "The good thing is, if you learn from your mistakes, then that's a part of life. I think that's a part of living and learning from mistakes and becoming a better person and growing from situations."Read More Story,http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1632608/20100225/brown__chris__18_.jhtml

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Octomom Appears On TV, Is Weird

Just Because she convinced a doctor to fill her with so many embryos that throughout her pregnancy you could hear them all screaming in terror like people trapped in a burning skyscraper every time so much as she bent over, it does not mean that Nadya Suleman ISN 's normal. And yesterday she has appeared The View to prove how normal she is.

That said, what actually did Nadya Suleman Babble was and squeak and yelp and wail and contradict herself several times within the space of the same breath and show everyone what she looks like in swimwear and generally make Whoopi Goldberg pull a face like she was being forced to watch a graphic video of animal cruelty. Job done, then.Read More Story,http://www.hecklerspray.com/octomom-appears-on-tv-is-weird/201044062.php

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Fans Get All Access To Alice in Wonderland

Depp, who plays the Mad Hatter, Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland "will be joined by fellow stars Helena Bonham Carter and Anne Hathaway in London for the premiere Thursday, and fans can virtually join the event as it is streamed live online. You do not even have to get a new dress!

Promising enchantment from the glamorous red carpet and interviews with the cast, the line feed begins at 1:15 pm.Read More Story,http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20346809,00.html

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'American Idol' Recap: Top 12 Guys Under-Perform

The Evening started with comments from the judges. Kara DioGuardi made a case for contestants, saying nerves play a big role in these performances.

Simon Cowell and Ellen DeGeneres were less Forgiving.

"If you lose it tonight or forget the words, your career is over," Cowell warned. And Ellen, in an effort to explain the difference between what the judges hear and experience what TV viewers, said, "It's totally different here. If we're saying you do not sound good here, you sound worse at home."Read More Story,http://www.nj.com/entertainment/index.ssf/2010/02/american_idol_recap_top_12_guy.html

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The Curious Case Of Andrew Koenig

"You are loved, you count, you matter," Koenig's mother Judy Koenig said Wednesday, addressing her son from police headquarters in Vancouver, British Columbia, 10 days after he was Last Seen.

"We think he's probably in a very depressed state," Judy Koenig told Reporters.

Koenig's father, "Star Trek" actor Walter Koenig, told the media his son stopped taking anti-depressants a year ago.

Asked if Koenig might try to hurt himself, Walter Koenig replied, "I think it's almost impossible not to explore that as one of the options."

Then, with tears welling in his eyes, he added, "There are so many people out there who really care about him.".Read More Story,http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/day-11-growing-pains-andrew-koenig-missing/story?id=9933027

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Newmont Mining Profit Soars As Sales Jump

Thurs Gold Prices rose more than $ 1,200 an ounce in December and have remained above the benchmark $ 1,000 level since October. While prices have been aiding the industry, Newmont, the world's second-biggest miner after Barrick Gold Corp. has also been cutting costs.

The company reported a profit of $ 558 million, or $ 1.13 a share, up from $ 4 million, or a penny a share, a year earlier. Excluding items such as year-earlier write-Downs of marketable securities, earnings climbed to $ 1.14 from 26 cents as revenue soared 90% to $ 2.52 billion.

Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters had most recently forecast earnings of 79 cents to $ 2.06 billion in revenue.

Net gold sales rose 55%, while copper sales were more than 10 times higher-from $ 47 million to $ 533 million.

The company also said its gold reserves rose by 8% last year while they climbed 17% for copper.Read More Story,http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704479404575087110136830000.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

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Palestinians Rally in Hebron

Al Jazeera's Nour Odeh, reporting from Hebron, said the protesters were commemorating the deaths of 29 people who were killed when Baruch Goldstein, a US-born Israeli settler opened fire is Muslims praying in a mosque in Hebron in 1994.

The protest also follows a decision by Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister, to add the site of the mosque to its list of National Heritage sites.

"Hebron is always a flash point where Confrontations often erupt between the Palestinian residents and the Israeli soldiers guarding about 400 Israeli Settlers who live right in the heart of Hebron's old city," our correspondent said.

"This is a very, very tense place, the most heavily populated district in the West Bank and the most divided.

"The old city is divided into two areas: one under full Israeli control and one under Palestinian control, and in the Old City, Palestinians are restricted from using their cars and they are banned from a lot of streets.

"So there's a lot of tension on a daily basis."Read More Story,http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/02/20102251020844375.html

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India Gives 3 Dossiers To Pakistan, Seeks Handing Over Of Hafiz

"It was emphasized that the Government of India could not but take a serious note of such actions as it was duty bound To ensure the security of its citizens," Ms.. Rao said.

Describing Mumbai attacks as "a symptom of a larger problem" of the terror emanating from Pakistan, Ms.. Rao said she "stressed The importance of expeditious action by Pakistan on these issues, including by following up on the leads that have emerged following the arrest in the United States of Headley and David Coleman Tahawuur Hussain Rana."

At the talks, Ms.. Rao handed over to Mr. Bashir three dossiers detailing activities against India by groups and individuals based in Pakistan. The dossiers contained 34 names of those involved in attacks in Mumbai and perpeptrators of other acts of terror here.

India demanded handing over of Retired Army Major Iqbal besides Hafiz Saeed and some Lashker operatives like Muzzamil, Abu Hamza, Abu Kahfa, Usman and Sajjid Mir in connection with the Mumbai terror attacks.Read More Story,http://beta.thehindu.com/news/article113413.ece

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Summit Needs Real Debate

The Figures are already grimly familiar. Americans spend more for health care than any other developed nation, yet get only average results. Health care is on track Thurs Consume 20 percent of all dollars spent. Insurance premiums are rising at an intolerable rate, threatening the finances of employers who provide the benefit. Tens of millions of Americans lack access to health care, or they use hospital emergency rooms. Unless out-of-control cost increases are somehow reined in, more employers will cut health benefits and even more Americans will go uninsured.

Yet the Obama Administration and Congress have mishandled this issue almost from the start. President Obama offered too little leadership while Congressional Republicans have undermined every effort enthusiastically Thurs proceed, having adopted a political strategy Thurs oppose Obama no matter the national interest. They have offered nothing of real use in more than a year of discussion. Meanwhile, the costs of Health Care Continue to Soar, with one-year rate increases above 30 percent in some parts of the country.

Increasingly dire Against that backdrop, Obama and Congressional leaders are holding a health care summit today. The president challenged Republicans to come with their own ideas, yet when Obama announced his own approach earlier this week, Republicans responded that in doing so, they had killed the chance for a meaningful summit.Read More Story,http://www.buffalonews.com/2010/02/24/968248/summit-needs-real-debate.html

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Australia Warns Israel On Passports

"It is not a trifling matter," Rudd said. "It is not something you just push to one side. We will not leave a single stone unturned."

Dubai authorities have warned their Australian counterparts of the possible use of forged passports in the slaying of Jan.19, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in a hotel room in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Three of the 26 possibly fraudulent passports are Australian. The others are British, Irish, French and German.

Dubai's police chief, Lt.. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim, has said he was nearly "100 per cent" certain that Israel's Mossad secret service masterminded the killing. Hamas has also blamed Israel and vowed revenge.

Israeli officials have a policy of not commenting about any allegations are of its spy agency's activities.

Australian officials do not believe the three Australian passport holders - Joshua Daniel Bruce, Adam Marcus and Nicole Korman Sandra McCabe - had any involvement in the incident, Smith said.Read More Story,http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2010/02/25/australia-israel-passports.html

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India Asks For Saeed's Arrest, Pak Raises Balochistan

The Two Sides have made it clear that although they have their differing core concerns, they are going into these crucial talks with "an open mind".

For India, the core concern is terrorism and the alleged use of Pakistani Territory by anti-India terror outfits, but it is willing to discuss other issues. Pakistan has made it clear that it will focus on the Kashmir dispute and other issues like sharing of river waters.

The Pakistani delegation will also call on the National Security Adviser Shivshankar Menon, a former foreign secretary and a former Indian envoy in Islamabad Thurs, Friday evening. On Friday morning, the Pakistanis will call on External Affairs Minister SM Krishna before heading back to Islamabad.

The outcome of the talks is expected Thurs Determine the future trajectory of engagement between the two neighbors.

Indian and Pakistani leaders met at Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt last year. But this is the first structured dialogue since the attack in Mumbai in November 2008 that put the brakes on the composite dialogue between the two countries.Read More Story,http://www.hindustantimes.com/newdelhi/India-asks-for-Saeed-s-arrest-Pak-raises-Balochistan/512792/H1-Article1-512660.aspx

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Brian Westbrook Released By Philadelphia Eagles

December 2nd, 2009 Eagles' Westbrook still out, Jackson uncertainPHILADELPHIA - Brian Westbrook remains sidelined with a concussion and DeSean Jackson's status for Philadelphia's game at Atlanta is uncertain after he sustained a head injury. Westbrook will miss his third straight game after his Sustaining second concussion in a three-week span is Nov.

DeSean Jackson's uncertain status with concussion; Brian Westbrook to be re-EXAMINED

November 30th, 2009 Jackson's status remains uncertain with concussionPHILADELPHIA - Eagles wide receiver DeSean Jackson's status is uncertain after he sustained a concussion in Sunday's 27-24 win over Washington. Meanwhile, running back Brian Westbrook will be re-EXAMINED this week after missing the last two games with his second concussion of the season.

Eagles have to move is without Brian Westbrook in the back field

November 18th, 2009 Eagles move is without WestbrookPHILADELPHIA - LeSean McCoy can not be a rookie anymore. Brian Westbrook sidelined with Sustaining after two concussions in three weeks, the Philadelphia Eagles are Turning to McCoy in a back field where the most experienced ball carrier is a full-back.Read More Story,http://mashtrends.com/02/google-trends/brian-westbrook-released-by-philadelphia-eagles/25/

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