Santorum edges Romney in belated Iowa GOP count

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, carries 7-month-old Leah Locklear as he campaigns in Irmo, S.C., Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, carries 7-month-old Leah Locklear as he campaigns in Irmo, S.C., Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

Republican presidential candidate, former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum speaks during a campaign stop at the Beacon Drive-In, Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, in Spartanburg, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) ? In a surprise flip, Rick Santorum edged front-runner Mitt Romney by 34 votes in the final tally of the Iowa caucuses, Republican officials said Thursday. But no winner was declared because some votes remain uncertified two weeks after the event's closest contest ever.

The state party initially had declared Romney the victor ? by just 8 votes ? in the first voting for the Republican presidential nomination, based on the count the morning after the Jan. 3 caucuses.

Iowa Republican Chairman Matt Strawn announced the new, certified totals Thursday, but said the party would not name an official winner because the results were so close and some votes can't be counted. Results from 8 of the state's 1,774 precincts were not certified to the state party by Wednesday's 5 p.m. deadline.

Of the votes certified, however, Strawn said Santorum was the winner.

Unofficial election night results from the 8 precincts gave Santorum 81 votes and Romney 46. If those results had been certified, Santorum's lead in the final tally would have been 69 votes.

Santorum was quick to claim the Iowa victory, saying in a fundraising email that "the incredible news" makes the score for Romney and himself 1-1. Romney followed Iowa with a strong win in New Hampshire. The third contest, South Carolina's primary, is Saturday.

Romney called the Iowa results a "virtual tie." In a written statement, the former Massachusetts governor praised Santorum's "strong performance" in the state.

The certified results: Santorum with 29,839 votes and Romney at 29,805, a difference of 34. Ron Paul finished third with 26,036. Newt Gingrich finished fourth with 16,163 votes. Turnout for the caucuses was 121,503.

Strawn blamed the lack of certification on various problems, including a county chairman who went on vacation without mailing in the final documentation.

"It isn't an election that is run by state officials and that's one of the strengths of the caucus process," he said.

Four Lee County precincts are among those listed by the party as not turning in certified vote totals. Lee County GOP Chairman Don Lucas said he believes supporters of a candidate ? he's not sure which ? took the certification document to report to the candidate how they did and never brought it back.

One Franklin County precinct also was among the eight that weren't certified.

Rick Grote, a member of the Franklin County GOP central committee, was the site chair for seven precincts that met at a high school in Hampton. He said the chair for the Geneva/Reeve precinct apparently failed to send the form certifying the vote count to the state party.

But Grote said both he and his brother took pictures of the form, but were never contacted by the state party.

"I don't know why somebody didn't call me or talk to me about, 'Hey, we're missing this E-form. Got any clues on what's going on?' At that point, I could have said, I took separate photos of it. My brother took separate photos of it. We could sign an affidavit saying we took pictures, these were the numbers," Grote said.

Strawn said the party had no choice but to stick by its system.

"You have to have one form that all county chairs and all precinct chairs knew well in advance that that was the record," he said. "We just can't vouch for someone saying those are the numbers absent proof of that."

Former Iowa Republican Chairman Richard Schwarm said the vote problems won't ultimately make a difference. He noted that actual delegates will be selected later in the spring as Republicans continue their convention process.

"I think people realize it's a tie," Schwarm said. "It's a straw poll that has no impact on how we pick delegates."

The Associated Press projected based on election night results that Romney would end up with 13 delegates and Santorum 12. With the release of the certified tally, the AP is withdrawing one delegate from Romney's projected total and leaving it unallocated.

"Our goal throughout the certification process was to most accurately reflect and report how Iowans voted on the evening of Jan. 3," said Strawn.

The new numbers could give a boost to Santorum and other candidates trying to undermine Romney's dominance over the field as South Carolina voters go to the polls, with the Florida primary next up.

The field narrowed further Thursday when Texas Gov. Rick Perry abandoned his presidential bid and endorsed Newt Gingrich, the former speaker of the House of Representatives.

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator, and other Republican candidates are competing to attract voters seeking a more conservative alternative to Romney.

The Des Moines Register first reported the certified caucus totals on Thursday.

___

Associated Press writer Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2012-01-19-Iowa%20Caucuses/id-897a13c1024f41659db064d269b785a7

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Actor Wahlberg apologizes for 9/11 comments

[unable to retrieve full-text content]NEW YORK (AP) ? Actor Mark Wahlberg has apologized for asserting that he would have stopped terrorists from flying an airliner into New York's World Trade Center on Sept. 11 if he had been on the plane.

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2012-01-18-People-Mark%20Wahlberg/id-bc33b6c1f3f2490199ad8116c9e616ce

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SpaceX delays trial run to space station

By Irene Klotz

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida | Tue Jan 17, 2012 3:46pm EST

CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida (Reuters) - Space Exploration Technologies, a startup space transportation firm hired by NASA to fly cargo to the International Space Station, is delaying a planned February 7 test flight to allow more time to prepare for the mission, a company spokeswoman said on Tuesday.

The launch of the company's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon capsule from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station has not yet been rescheduled.

"We believe that there are a few areas that will benefit from additional work," said Kirstin Brost Grantham, a spokeswoman for the company, also known as SpaceX.

"We will continue to test and review data. We will launch when the vehicle is ready," she said.

The flight will be the second and possibly last test flight before privately owned SpaceX begins delivering cargo to the station under a $1.6 billion NASA contract.

The firm, based in Hawthorne, California, and founded by Internet entrepreneur Elon Musk, hopes to combine its two remaining test flights into one with a berthing at the space station, pending NASA's approval.

SpaceX successfully launched, orbited and landed a Dragon capsule during a test flight in December 2010.

NASA has hired SpaceX, as well as a second company, Orbital Sciences Corp to fly supplies to station after the retirement of the space shuttles last year.

The station, a $100 billion research laboratory flying about 240 miles above Earth, also is serviced by Russian, European and Japanese ships.

SpaceX and Orbital, which plans to debut its Antares rocket and Cygnus cargo capsule this year, are in line to be the first commercial firms to fly to the outpost, which is staffed by rotating crews of six astronauts.

SpaceX also has a $75 million NASA contract to upgrade its Dragon capsule to carry astronauts.

The United States hopes to break Russia's monopoly on crew transportation to the station by supporting private industry efforts to develop passenger spaceships. Congress allotted $406 million for NASA's so-called Commercial Crew program for the year that began October 1.

Russia charges NASA about $60 million per person for rides to the station.

Also this week, United Launch Alliance, a partnership of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, has hired NASA's former shuttle launch director Michael Leinbach to oversee the company's transition from launching U.S. government satellites to launching people.

Of the four firms NASA currently is backing for space taxi development, all but SpaceX plan to use United Launch Alliance's Atlas 5 rockets to put their spaceships into orbit.

"Mike's expertise in human launch systems provides a strong synergy in bringing together two world-class launch cultures," Jerry Jamison, a United Launch Alliance vice president, said in a statement.

NASA intends to release a solicitation for the next phase of its Commercial Crew program in February.

Other firms currently receiving NASA funding for space taxi development are Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corp, and Blue Origin, a startup owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

(Editing by Kevin Gray and Eric Walsh)

Source: http://feeds.reuters.com/~r/reuters/scienceNews/~3/pGCEBPgrhi4/us-usa-space-business-idUSTRE80G22G20120117

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Luxury watches seek solace in glamour of bygone eras (Reuters)

GENEVA (Reuters) ? Simple elegance for debt-ridden Europe, glitzy diamonds and gold for booming Asia.

The pieces being unveiled by Switzerland's luxury watchmakers at the Geneva watch fair harked back to bygone eras with classic shapes, roman numerals and a good dash of gold to lend a sheen to troubled economic and political times.

"The high-end watch industry has a duty to make the world smile," Richard Mille, the founder and CEO of Richard Mille watches, told Reuters.

With 1920/30s fashion on the catwalks ahead of the cinema release of "The Great Gatsby", king of jewelers Cartier presented its first pocket watch in years, a limited edition 18-carat white gold piece with matching chain and stand.

Less of a trinket to be carried around and more an object of desire to be displayed proudly on a desk, the Cartier pocket watch is limited to 10 pieces.

Cartier declined to comment on how much the piece would retail for, saying it was priced on demand only. Watch blogs speculated it could be anywhere upwards of 500,000 euros ($640,800).

Many brands delved through their back catalogues from the 1940s and 50s for inspiration while Parmigiani, a newcomer among high-end watch brands , said a desire for old-style glamour meant its quietly elegant designs were proving more popular than ever.

"We lost out previously because we weren't so 'bling bling' but now consumers are returning to what is more simple and more discreet," the brand's CEO told Reuters.

DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER

Moving on from all that talk of simplicity and classic lines, there is still plenty for those who like their luxury to be a little more overt.

At Cartier, the dazzle from precious stones adorning its range of 31 jewelry items with hidden watches was almost blinding.

And despite soaring prices for both diamonds and gold, there was no shortage of either in Geneva, with brands saying Asian customers were keen on such pieces.

"We've made a lot of products with diamonds, because the demand is there," Jean-Marc Pontroue of Roger Dubuis, whose watches start from around 13,000 Swiss francs ($13,800), told Reuters.

Piaget unveiled a one-off version of its Emperador Coussin XL model at the show, the watch's face and strap sparkling with 876 baguette-cut diamonds and 983 brilliant-cut diamonds, and said the piece was more likely to go to an Asian customer, rather than someone in Europe.

Luxury growth was driven predominantly by Asia in 2011, but experts see growth in China slowing this year, and brands were quick to point out they were not just sending everything to Asia.

"We cannot deliver to only one country, we will wait until the end of the week to see who will benefit from our pieces," Girard Perregaux CEO Stefano Macaluso said.

Although the brands were keen to emphasize they create pieces for a global audience, there was no denying the influence of Asia on many watches at the fair.

Designs in enamel, a technique that has long been popular in China, were on show at Vacheron Constantin and Van Cleef & Arpels, while Cartier also unveiled a watch with an enameled dragon motif in the traditional Chinese colors of red and black.

SAILING AWAY

Finally, for those wanting to get away from it all on their yacht, or for those seeking an unusual work of art for dry land, Montblanc has the answer for 290,000 euros.

The Regulateur Nautique set consists of a chunky free-standing navigational clock, complete with display stand for a matching wristwatch in either red or white gold.

No shrinking violet, the navigational clock weighs 120 kg (265 lb, is 93 cm (37 inches) tall and 56 cm (22 inches) in diameter. It stands on a heavy granite base and the clock itself tilts to keep it stable in rough seas.

The stand also includes a display case for the wristwatch , a safe-haven to secure it in stormy weather, a sentiment many in Europe will surely appreciate.

($1 = 0.7802 euros)

($1 = 0.9436 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Victoria Bryan, Nathalie Olof-Ors and Caroline Copley, editing by Paul Casciato)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/fashion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/lf_nm_life/us_watches_fashion

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D. Boerse, NYSE stress European nature of deal in EU letter (Reuters)

FRANKFURT (Reuters) ? Top executives at Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gne.DE) and NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) sent a letter to European Commissioners emphasizing the "European" nature of a combined company, in a bid to salvage their deal after antitrust regulators threatened to block it.

The letter was sent by NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer and Deutsche Boerse chief Reto Francioni on January 13, and was addressed to European Union Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and also copied to the remaining 26 commissioners, a copy of the letter seen by Reuters shows.

In it, executives from Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext expressed "profound concern" that blocking the takeover "would represent a serious missed opportunity at a critical juncture for Europe."

Earlier this month, European Commission antitrust regulators signaled they would recommend blocking a merger over concerns about creating a dominant player in derivatives, a source told Reuters.

Deutsche Boerse and NYSE have now focused their efforts to convince the so-called college of 27 commissioners that EU antitrust commissioner Joaquin Almunia's conclusions are wrong, and that approving the deal would help advance EU interests.

"The transaction will facilitate the effective implementation of European Union financial services regulation and offer a unique opportunity to deepen regulatory cooperation and reduce the risk of regulatory arbitrage," the letter said.

"If this combination is prohibited by the College of commissioners, the global consolidation of exchanges might very well shift the balance towards countries favoring 'light touch' regulation, which would severely endanger the European Commission's agenda," the letter continued.

In the letter Deutsche Boerse Chief Reto Francioni and NYSE Euronext head Duncan Niederauer said the new company would be domiciled in the European Union and be strictly under European supervision.

Furthermore, 80 percent of the governance of the company and

70 percent of the revenues would be generated within the European Union, the letter said.

"The new company would accelerate the integration of Europe's capital markets, and serve as the vanguard for the implementation of European Union and G20 regulatory reforms," the letter said.

The college of commissioners will give a formal ruling by February 9.

Both executives again emphasized that a review of the deal should look at the derivatives market from a global, rather than just European perspective, and should include the over-the-counter market.

"Contrary to the views expressed by the Directorate General for Competition, effective competition will continue to exist, in particular due to over-the-counter trading, the global nature of the derivatives market, and our strong global rivals.

"For instance, CME, the largest derivatives exchange in the world, competes with us directly in Europe, has more employees in Europe than NYSE Liffe and a larger interest rate derivative portfolio than our combined businesses."

The letter said Europe would be disadvantaged given that the U.S. had approved the merger of Chicago Mercantile Exchange with the Chicago Board of Trade in 2007 to create CME.

The European Commission has demanded Deutsche Boerse and NYSE sell either the Eurex derivatives arm or Liffe, a move that both exchanges have ruled out so far.

German union representatives on Wednesday said they would be pleased if the European authorities blocked the deal. "We had feared there would be grave consequences for Frankfurt as a financial centre if the deal succeeded."

(Reporting By Foo Yun Chee in Brussels; writing by Edward Taylor; Editing by Helen Massy-Beresford)

(This story is corrected in the second paragraph to reflect number of commissioners to 26, from 27)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/stocks/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120116/bs_nm/us_deutscheboerse_nyse

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Olympus probe finds 5 auditors responsible

Vehicles pass by Logistex Co., Olympus Co.'s product warehouse and distribution center, in Kawasaki near Tokyo Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. An internal investigation at Olympus Corp. found that five current and former auditors are responsible for a combined 8.38 billion yen ($109 million) in losses linked to the Japanese company's accounting scandal, and plans to sue them. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

Vehicles pass by Logistex Co., Olympus Co.'s product warehouse and distribution center, in Kawasaki near Tokyo Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. An internal investigation at Olympus Corp. found that five current and former auditors are responsible for a combined 8.38 billion yen ($109 million) in losses linked to the Japanese company's accounting scandal, and plans to sue them. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

People cycle by Olympus Logistex Co., Olympus Co.'s product warehouse and distribution center in Kawasaki near Tokyo Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. An internal investigation at Olympus Corp. found that five current and former auditors are responsible for a combined 8.38 billion yen ($109 million) in losses linked to the Japanese company's accounting scandal, and plans to sue them. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

A man cycles by Olympus Logistex Co., Olympus Co.'s product warehouse and distribution center, in Kawasaki near Tokyo Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. An internal investigation at Olympus Corp. found that five current and former auditors are responsible for a combined 8.38 billion yen ($109 million) in losses linked to the Japanese company's accounting scandal, and plans to sue them. (AP Photo/Koji Sasahara)

TOKYO (AP) ? An internal investigation at Olympus Corp. found that five current and former auditors are responsible for a combined 8.38 billion yen ($109 million) in losses linked to the Japanese company's accounting scandal, and plans to sue them.

The panel's report released Tuesday said it found two accounting firms hired by Olympus as external auditors, KPMG Azsa LLC and Ernst & Young ShinNihon LLC, had not violated their fiduciary duties.

Olympus has admitted a cover-up of investment losses of 117.7 billion yen ($1.5 billion) dating back to the 1990s and is suing 19 former and current executives for damages.

The scandal first came to light after former CEO Michael Woodford raised questions about questionable transactions, including paying exorbitant prices for financial advice from an obscure Wall Street firm and for small companies outside Olympus' main business. He was promptly fired by the board in October.

The panel said that auditor Minoru Ohta was aware of the cover-up but had failed to draw attention to it, and was responsible for losses totalling 3.73 billion yen. Four other auditors also failed to fulfill their duties and were responsible for about 4.66 billion yen in losses, the report said.

Olympus plans to file a lawsuit against the five men with Tokyo District Court, a company official said.

Japanese prosecutors have begun a separate investigation and raided company headquarters and former President Tsuyoshi Kikukawa's home last month.

Olympus barely met its mid-December deadline to avoid being removed from the Tokyo Stock Exchange by filing corrected earnings for the April-September first half and for the past five fiscal years.

Woodford, a British national, had demanded the resignation of the entire board and mounted a campaign to win back the top job with a new slate of directors. But earlier this month, he said he was giving up his fight after failing to win backing from major investors and Japanese megabanks.

___

Associated Press writer Mari Yamaguchi contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2012-01-17-AS-Japan-Olympus/id-ba95573ef010458ba4fd46fa9bcacb42

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Georgia university chancellor says students shouldn't fear higher fees

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Source: jacksonville.com --- Tuesday, January 17, 2012
ATLANTA - Legislators concerned about rising college costs heard the University System chancellor say Tuesday he?ll take a hard stance on requests for higher tuition and fees while the technical colleges consider closing satellite campuses. read more ...

Source: http://feeds.jacksonville.com/~r/JacksonvillecomNews/~3/oY9Tv6VESXE/georgia-university-chancellor-says-students-shouldnt-fear-higher-fees

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