employs in the league cup
for us the league cup is exclusively for young players and the fa cup is one
to win he added
but we have worked for that policy and it is not coincidence there is four
or five years of hard work and patience behind that
we have so many players that we have hard time finding them chance to
play
like wenger west ham manager gianfranco zola is more concerned by his side
league position than aiming for success in the cup and with long battle
against relegation looming the italian could also rest key players
only goal difference is keeping the hammers out of the relegation zone after
monday defeat at tottenham and zola knows his team need to show more of the
battling qualities that helped them fight back from two goals down to draw with
arsenal earlier this season
zola could hand young striker frank nouble first start in place of suspended
mexican striker guillermo franco while he is unlikely to risk scott parker if
the midfielder who is strongly rumoured to be moving on in the january
transfer window is still struggling with the hamstring problem that forced him
off against tottenham
hammers midfielder valon behrami knows playing arsenal at such difficult time
for his club is hardly ideal but the swiss star hopes good result can spark
more profitable second half of the season
we are struggling in the premier league we have lot of injuries and at this
moment in time it is not great game for us he said
it very nice to play in the fa cup because it different atmosphere but
it tough game it is not very kind draw
football ancelotti expects step up in cup class
london jan afp
chelsea manager carlo ancellotti will have his first taste of fa cup football
this weekend and the italian is already aware it has markedly different
flavour in england compared to his homeland
there domestic knockout competitions are all but ignored with even clubs like
ac milan and juventus who have both had spells with ancelotti at the helm
going through the motions in front of sparse crowds
many believe the fa cup no longer has the place in english hearts it once
enjoyed but nonetheless ancelotti knows the famous trophy remains worth
fighting for as chelsea proved last season when they came back from behind to
beat everton in the final
it is very important competition in england ancelotti said in italy the
italian cup is not so important
we want to do our best and it is one of our objectives our aim to win it
last year we won it we want to do the best again this year
championship side watford are the visitors to stamford bridge for third round
clash on sunday and ancelotti will not need reminding that stumble at this
hurdle precipitated former chelsea boss luiz felipe scolari exit almost year
ago
chelsea were held at home by southend united third tier league one team and
although the replay was negotiated successfully the brazilian was dismissed in
february just month later
with chelsea guaranteed to be leading the premier league table going in to the
new year few are predicting similar fate for ancelotti but the italian
confirmed he had not fallen into the trap of treating the fixture as training
match for the league tests that follow
want to put out my best team he said although african nations cup
commitments will force him to make do without didier drogba salomon kalou john
obi mikel and michael essien
the latter is also injured at the moment and remains in london but ancelotti
predicted he would soon be able to join the ghana squad in angola and insisted
he was confident all of his african contingent would return unscathed
essien will stay here for another week because he needs treatment he said
he ll be ready in week to go and play in the african nations cup
we are not worried about their fitness the players are used to playing lot
of games during the season they will return in good condition
ancelotti admitted he knew little of watford save he is big fan of their
former chairman the pop star elton john but promised he would step up the
research soon
watford are good team he said don know them very well but have an
opportunity to watch dvd every team can give you problems if you don stay
focused
watford whose manager malky mackay became permanent appointment before the
season started when former chelsea academy coach brendan rodgers left for an
ill fated spell at reading are mid table in the championship
but as well as hoping to cause an upset they will also be using the fixture as
an opportunity to bring in much needed funds after the club almost went into
administration earlier in december
this was avoided when former chairman jimmy russo and his brother vince received
repayment of loan of almost five million pounds
football celtic face must win clash with red hot rivals rangers
glasgow jan afp
celtic host rangers team in red hot form when the sides meet in this season
second old firm derby at parkhead on sunday in game tony mowbray side can
afford to lose
win for rangers would see them open ten point lead over their rivals at the
top of the scottish premier league albeit celtic have played game less as
the season reaches the half way stage
walter smith side are in rich vein of form at the moment having scored
times as they ended december with six straight wins in the league including the
midweek mauling of dundee united
mowbray who succeeded gordon strachan in the summer came off the worst the
last time the sides met at ibrox in october when celtic lost
but the celtic manager insists he will be concentrating on enjoying his first
derby in charge at parkhead rather than worrying about the form of rangers
have confidence in this team don look at this game and sit and think
about what rangers can do mowbray said
we will set the team up as positively as we can and try to give rangers as many
problems as possible
the derbies are always exceptional occasions with great atmospheres
there is expectation and anticipation but hopefully the team has great
confidence from the way we ve been playing
we ve been creating lot of chances in recent weeks and we can also take
positives from the first derby
the celtic manager will be without injured pair shaun maloney and scott brown
but japanese midfielder koki mizuno has resumed training and south korean
midfielder ki sung yueng could make his debut
despite his side fantastic form of late smith has his own worries going into
the game
scotland striker kenny miller is suspended after his appeal against his sending
off for violent conduct in the win over dundee united was rejected while pedro
mendes and kevin thomson are out injured
nacho novo and sasa papac are suffering from sickness bug madjid bougherra is
off to the african nations cup with algeria and smith says his squad is severely
depleted
we re down to the bare minimum of players at the present moment smith said
we only have players available for sunday
while we ve doing well recently we re still aware of the fact that we could
have one or two problems going into sunday game if the bug that seems to be
going around the place spreads to anyone else
miller strike partner kris boyd has never started at parkhead since smith
returned to rangers in january
however with goals for the season including five against dundee united which
took him past henrik larsson as the all time top scorer in the spl the goal
machine looks odds on to get slot up front
and team mate steven whittaker has backed him to continue his scoring streak and
break his duck at parkhead
there has always been bit of criticism towards kris that he doesn score
against the bigger teams but as far as can see hibs and dundee united had
aspirations of challenging the old firm this season and he has done okay
against them these past two games said whittaker
as far as scoring against celtic on sunday think kris looks as though he is
going to score every time he is in the box right now
his record is absolutely sensational and there is no doubt that he is full of
confidence going into sunday game
fixtures gmt unless otherwise stated
saturday
dundee united aberdeen falkirk st johnstone motherwell hamilton st
mirren kilmarnock
sunday
celtic rangers hibernian hearts
australian breakthrough may save tasmanian devils
sydney jan afp
australian researchers have cracked the genetic origin of the deadly cancer that
is threatening to wipe out tasmanian devils raising hopes friday that the
animal future is safe
australian national university scientists said they have unlocked the genetic
fingerprint of the contagious cancer which starves the dark furry marsupial
to death by disfiguring its face so badly it cannot eat
it uniquely horrible cancer and it is critical to know about it at the
genetic level professor jenny graves said
it has wiped out around percent of the world devils and is likely to lead
to their extinction in the wild within to years
the scientists made the discovery by comparing the genes active in both healthy
and sick tasmanian devils an animal now found only on the southern australian
island from which it derives its name
they found that the origin of the cancer was tumour of type of cell that
normally wraps itself around nerves to insulate them
the development offers hope that the disease which causes painful death can
be more easily identified at earlier stages
we realised the tumour profile was fairly unusual and included genes that made
some strange proteins graves said
the good news is that one of the active proteins is easy to detect and it will
give us the chance to diagnose the cancer early which is important for setting
up cancer free insurance populations
it also allows us to study the way the cancer changes over long period which
potentially offers new insights for all cancer research
the finding reveals that the tumour arose from one cell in one animal probably
less than years ago but has been spread throughout the tasmanian devil
population by biting
since it was first reported in the cancer has spread quickly through the
wild population of the tasmanian devil the world largest surviving marsupial
carnivore
the animal named by early european settlers for its spine chilling screeches
dark appearance and reputed bad temper is now endangered
world stocks rebound in but uncertain
paris jan afp
after dismal world stockmarkets recorded spectacular rebound in
even though the economy was in crisis but confidence had not been completely
restored and there were fears for
in frankfurt the market ended the year percent higher and in paris it closed
percent up
london registered percent gain for the year and the dow jones the star
index of the new york stock exchange showed an annual jump of percent
over the course of the year
in asia the rebound was even more spectacular shanghai gained percent over
the year and hong kong percent in tokyo the leading nikkei index grew by
percent over
we avoided catastrophe said gregori volokhine an analyst from the meeschaert
investment group in new york
the markets were saved from deep depression by the massive intervention of
government and central banks who injected liquidity into financial system in
agony he said
cantor fitzgerald analyst marc pado also in new york warned that this did not
mean the markets had fully recovered confidence
we cannot say confidence is back we saw some investors cashing out from
equities to invest in bond markets he said
worries about the collapse of the financial system are over there is kind of
relief in the market now but cannot say it is confidence
the markets were etched with extreme pessimism from january to march with most
falling to historic lows by spring
investors thrown by the september collapse of us banking giant lehman
brothers feared the nationalisation of financial institutions that had received
massive state aid to overcome the crisis
money markets later rallied to an unexpected rise thanks mainly to convincing
results of the economic stimulus plans put in place by various governments and
encouraging business performances
late in the year however panic gripped the markets again when the possibility
of bankruptcy was raised in dubai in november
but by the end of most money markets ended the year by recovering large
part of their losses and some like london had even regained the level
reached before lehman brothers failed
in europe the lisbon stock exchange rose percent over the year in brussels
it was up percent madrid gained percent amsterdam percent milan
percent and the swiss market more than percent
it was similar situation in the gulf where all the markets registered gains
over the year
in south america the sao paulo stockmarket grew percent for the year
but despite improvements in the stock markets most of the world economies
remained limp growth was generally negative except in emerging countries such
as india brazil and china
unemployment had exploded reaching historic high of percent in the united
states and percent in spain
will be test year for the markets analysts said
investors want to see if the financial system can again function on its own
without help volokhine said
larry hatheway and kenny liew from swiss bank ubs predicted the markets would
next year see less significant gains than in
the analysts said the cautious outlook hinged on economic uncertainties the
dollar euro relationship possible price hikes for raw materials questions over
interest rates and the explosion of us and european deficits
toyota hybrid prius faces us probe over brakes
detroit michigan dec afp
toyota is facing potential safety issue with its highest profile vehicle the
prius the latest in plague of quality problems that forced it to recall four
million vehicles in
growing number of owners allege that the brakes on the third generation
toyota prius can malfunction unexpectedly with at least complaints filed so
far with the national highway traffic safety administration
the japanese automaker said it has launched its own investigation
robert becker is one of those filing among at least who have already
submitted their concerns to the national highway traffic safety administration
office of defects investigation
he says he was heading to work on the west side of manhattan coming up to an
intersection and squeezing the brakes of his prius to slow down
but when the car hit pothole becker suddenly had the sensation of losing
control as the brakes released forcing him to slam down on the pedal
it scared the hell out of me wasn sure could stop in time he said
adding the problem has repeated itself number of times since then
becker is not alone as nhtsa defects office reveals
one complaint on file quotes an owner initially convinced myself must
have been letting up on the brake when hit the bump but when this same thing
happened three days ago on slippery icy roads knew for percent certain
had not let up on the brake
the prius brake problem has become hot topic on numerous websites but federal
investigators are so far declining to comment although the file is open to the
public
toyota admits it is aware of what spokesman called the behavior people are
reporting
we re investigating those complaints as quickly as possible spokesman mike
michels added
exactly what is happening is unclear like the vehicle gasoline electric
powertrain the brakes are also hybrid technology
during light to moderate braking the car is slowed by regenerative system
that turns the vehicle kinetic energy into electricity which is then stored
in battery for more aggressive stops the prius also has conventional
hydraulic brake system
some speculation focuses on the regenerative system and whether sharp jolt to
the vehicle could inadvertently trick vehicle sensors and controls into
releasing the brakes
but michels cautioned toyota will have to look at variety of things rather
than throwing out theories the important thing is to do scientific analysis
when we have an answer we will provide it to owners as soon as possible he
said
the prius problem is one of the last things toyota needs right now
just months ago the automaker was basking in headlines reporting that it had
finally beaten arch rival general motors to become the world best selling
automaker
but by march things didn look so good battered by the recession in the us
its key market the maker reported its first annual loss in half century
in august california highway patrol officer and three members of his family
were killed in fiery crash when their lexus went out of control
two months later toyota announced it would recall million vehicles blaming
the problem on floor mats that could come loose and jam the accelerator pedal
another recall impacted tundra pickups which according to nhtsa are
prone to excessive corrosion so severe their brakes could fail
in all toyota will have recalled around four million cars trucks and
crossovers in the united states during that about four times more than
in previous years
and it means toyota will have recalled more vehicles than any other auto
manufacturer for the first time ever
it is looking like could also be difficult year another probe was
recently opened by the government into complaints that versions of toyota
corolla and matrix models may be prone to unexpected stalling sometimes at
highway speeds
although prius sales will only account for about units this year less
than seven percent of toyota us total it has been positioned as the company
halo vehicle due to its environmentally friendly hybrid technology
but analyst stephanie brinley of autopacific inc warned that if it is
suddenly seen as dangerous the damage to toyota could be huge
early customers may be more willing to accept problems with new technology she
added but for late adopters who care more about mileage and less about
technology this could be red flag
world stocks rebound in but uncertain
paris jan afp
after dismal world stockmarkets recorded spectacular rebound in
even though the economy was in crisis but confidence had not been completely
restored and there were fears for
in frankfurt the market ended the year percent higher and in paris it closed
percent up
london registered percent gain for the year and the dow jones the star
index of the new york stock exchange showed an annual jump of percent
over the course of the year
in asia the rebound was even more spectacular shanghai gained percent over
the year and hong kong percent in tokyo the leading nikkei index grew by
percent over
we avoided catastrophe said gregori volokhine an analyst from the meeschaert
investment group in new york
the markets were saved from deep depression by the massive intervention of
government and central banks who injected liquidity into financial system in
agony he said
cantor fitzgerald analyst marc pado also in new york warned that this did not
mean the markets had fully recovered confidence
we cannot say confidence is back we saw some investors cashing out from
equities to invest in bond markets he said
worries about the collapse of the financial system are over there is kind of
relief in the market now but cannot say it is confidence
the markets were etched with extreme pessimism from january to march with most
falling to historic lows by spring
investors thrown by the september collapse of us banking giant lehman
brothers feared the nationalisation of financial institutions that had received
massive state aid to overcome the crisis
money markets later rallied to an unexpected rise thanks mainly to convincing
results of the economic stimulus plans put in place by various governments and
encouraging business performances
late in the year however panic gripped the markets again when the possibility
of bankruptcy was raised in dubai in november
but by the end of most money markets ended the year by recovering large
part of their losses and some like london had even regained the level
reached before lehman brothers failed
in europe the lisbon stock exchange rose percent over the year in brussels
it was up percent madrid gained percent amsterdam percent milan
percent and the swiss market more than percent
it was similar situation in the gulf where all the markets registered gains
over the year
in south america the sao paulo stockmarket grew percent for the year
but despite improvements in the stock markets most of the world economies
remained limp growth was generally negative except in emerging countries such
as india brazil and china
unemployment had exploded reaching historic high of percent in the united
states and percent in spain
will be test year for the markets analysts said
investors want to see if the financial system can again function on its own
without help volokhine said
larry hatheway and kenny liew from swiss bank ubs predicted the markets would
next year see less significant gains than in
the analysts said the cautious outlook hinged on economic uncertainties the
dollar euro relationship possible price hikes for raw materials questions over
interest rates and the explosion of us and european deficits
wall street ends recovery year on weak note
new york dec afp
wall street suffered the slings and arrows of one of the most tumultuous years
in stock market history in but managed stunning recovery that eclipsed
weak finish
wall street stocks stumbled thursday amid thin volumes as many traders were away
from their desks ahead of the new year holiday friday
the dow jones industrial average slid percent to
the technology rich nasdaq composite shed percent at and the
broad market standard amp poor index lost percent at
but compared with months ago the blue chip dow was up percent its
steepest annual gain since
the nasdaq gained whopping percent over the year and the amp
index was up percent
still the blue chip dow remains down percent from its highs and is
still struggling around the level first reached in
the story is similar for the amp index up percent for but
still hovering near levels and percent below record highs in october
the nasdaq has failed to even come close to the boom days that pushed the index
above in march but closed with blistering rise of
percent
though the market ended the year with solid gains that hardly tells the story
of dramatic near meltdown for the main indexes followed by rebound that
capped the final year of lost decade for stocks
the market opened sinking fast as the financial crisis deepened with the
september collapse of lehman brothers in the dow lost percent
the steepest drop since while the amp slid percent the nasdaq
tumbled percent in the biggest loss year since its creation in
it was depression like scenario with the broad market plunging more than
percent from october to march farther and faster than in
but by the spring some began to sense recovery in the economy and wall
street regained confidence setting up one of the biggest market rallies in
history over the ensuing months
ed yardeni at yardeni research said the market appeared to turn when the
amp index slid to the ominous number of
when the amp bounced off on march felt like professor robert
langdon in the da vinci code he said
that devilish number had to be the low also realized if that was the low
then was too bearish so started to focus on what could go right and became
increasingly convinced that the bull market was legit while the bears growled
that it was sucker rally
the question for many investors now is whether this snapback was bear market
rally or the beginning of new bull run that carries the market to new highs
investors are nervous but optimistic heading into the new year said michael
hartnett chief global equity strategist at bank of america merrill lynch global
research
some argue the massive bounce since march was simply new wave of speculation
fueled by easy credit from the federal reserve which has kept interest rates
near zero since december and pumped hundreds of billions of dollars into
the financial system
it is one thing to have the fed pump liquidity into the system but it is quite
another for the liquidity to be re leveraged into credit and recycled into the
economy said david rosenberg chief economist and strategist at gluskin sheff
amp associates
there is obviously close connection between money turnover and the stock
market but if we don see the banks begin to extend credit in it is
hard to see the bounce from oversold lows as being sustained in the coming
year
milton ezrati economist and market strategist at investment firm lord abbett
said the stock market is still licking its wounds as optimism rebounds
it has been humbling and sobering experience to say the least he said
but for all the caution taught by the events of signs of recovery
have become unmistakable and as expected the market has moved up in
anticipation of the economic improvement likely in
peter buchanan economist at cibc world markets said will be remembered
more for what didn happen than what did
buchanan said the year opened with talk of financial and economic armageddon
but that recovery came with surprising speed
few developments have been more striking than the turnaround in equity
markets he said
for fred dickson at da davidson amp co the outlook for the stock market in
is positive but subdued
we expect the economy to continue to show slow incremental improvement through
the year but we believe the process will try the patience of investors
politicians and most americans
us dollar loses luster in turbulent decade
washington dec afp
the us dollar lost much of its luster over the past decade as its status as
global reserve currency was challenged and its value against most key currencies
saw erosion
on the foreign exchange market the euro was virtually at parity with the dollar
on december but decade later the greenback has fallen by percent
against the single european currency
the euro launched on january ended in new york trading at
dollars on thursday the last trading day of the year
the dollar rapid fall against the euro is ironic as the us federal reserve had
to come to the rescue of the faltering single european currency in september
as part of coordinated market intervention by major central banks
the greenback also faced the same misfortune against other key currencies
while it was roughly stable against the british pound it has lost nearly
percent against the yen and hefty percent against the swiss franc in the
past decade
the trade weighted us dollar index measure of the value of the us dollar
relative to other world currencies has lost percent in the past years
one of the biggest falls by percent was against the canadian dollar the
currency of the top us trading partner
despite the bearish performance the dollar remains the benchmark of the
exchange market
according to recent figures from the bank for international settlements which
serves as bank for central banks the share of transactions involving the
dollar fell slightly to percent in from percent in
the dollar also is less benchmark in official reserves than it was years
ago
on december the international monetary fund imf estimated the share
of dollar based assets held by governments excluding the united states and
china was percent however on september it dipped to
percent
the dropping dollar share was offset mostly by the euro which some skeptics had
doubted could rise to the challenge as common european currency at its launch
the euro is already beginning to challenge the us dollar status as the
world primary reserve currency and it is an understatement to say that over
the past years the euro has come long way said kathy lien director of
currency research at global forex trading
in it was inconceivable to ask the head of the imf whether the dollar
status was being threatened
today he talks about it himself
expect the dollar to remain the principal reserve currency for some time
imf managing director dominique strauss kahn said in speech in november in
beijing
ten years ago the then federal reserve chief alan greenspan raised in congress
the possibility of monetary union involving dollarized countries
the greenback was once common in everyday life in argentina which was seriously
considering ditching the peso as well as in bolivia russia and the
philippines
today the south american trade bloc mercosur led by brazil and argentina has
abandoned the dollar in favor of local currencies for their trade and moscow
sees the future of the ruble as reserve currency
some countries whose currencies are pegged to the us dollar including the gulf
nations and hong kong also faced strain as the greenback depreciated
kuwait broke ranks with fellow gulf states in and dropped the peg to help
fight then soaring inflation
in the federal reserve found over percent of us coins and dollar
notes abroad but the share dropped to approximately percent in
at the start of the decade any proposal to quote oil in currency other than
the dollar would have been seen as far fetched today the arab oil rich states
are reportedly toying with the idea with china russia japan and france
in the debate on the international monetary system after the asian
financial turmoil focused on remedies to check currency instability today the
issue of post dollar scenario is being discussed
bullish wall street grapples with rate concerns
new york dec afp
wall street enters the first trading week of on bullish note but the
market remains dogged by concerns on the timing of any interest rate hike by the
federal reserve amid economy recovery
