Facebook Will Be Baked Into Dozens Of Mobile Devices This Year

Late last year we broke the news about the
upcoming Facebook Phone project, which
sparked a media frenzy as the social network
claimed this to be wrong, only to later admit that
it did exist (the explanation being that there was
no ‘Facebook Phone’, but that there are many
Facebook Phones). Last week we got a video
demo of one of these devices: the Android-based,
INQ Cloud Touch. And today HTC announced
its own Facebook-branded phones. But this is
only the beginning.


Today Facebook announced on its blog that we’ll
be seeing many similar integrations over the
coming months:
In addition to these new phones from INQ and
HTC, you ’ll also be seeing similar deep Facebook
integration on dozens of other devices over the
course of this year. Some manufacturers will be
highlighting Facebook as a part of their phones ’
on-screen interfaces, and others will use our
brand as an element of the device hardware itself.
The Facebook functionality on the INQ devices
include single sign-on (you won ’t have to keep
reentering credentials for various applications,
because it will use your Facebook account) and
links to popular features like Chat and Places. The
HTC devices actually have a Facebook hardware
button.
However, while these devices will all feature
prominent Facebook integration, we ’re also
hearing that Facebook continues to work on a
different and more exciting project: a ‘social’
version of Android that includes much deeper
Facebook integration throughout the OS,
stripping out Google ’s apps in favor of its own. In
other words, Facebook could have its own
mobile operating system in the not-so-distant
future.

Source: Http://techcrunch.com/2011/02/15/facebook-will-be-baked-into-dozens-of-mobile-devices-this-year/

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Egypt's Military Dissolves Parliament; Calls for Vote

CAIRO - The Egyptian military, for the first time
publicly laying out the terms of its rule, said
Sunday that it had dissolved the country's
parliament, suspended its constitution and called
for elections in six months, according to a
statement by the Supreme Council of the Armed
Forces read on state television.

The announcement went a long way toward
meeting the demands of protests, who distrusted
both houses of parliament after elections in the fall
that were widely considered corrupted.
The announcement came only minutes after the
prime minister, Ahmed Shafiq, made his own
appearance on state television and said the
country's economy was "stable" and that the
primary focus of the new caretaker government
would be "to bring security back to the Egyptian
citizen."
It was unclear whether the two statements were
meant to compliment each other. The military did
reiterate though that the civilian cabinet would
remain in place over the next six months.
In Cairo's central Tahrir Square, cars began circling
the roundabout for the first time in over two
weeks as Egyptians and tourists flocked around
pictures of dead protesters that hung from
clotheslines at one end of the square.
The police, civilians and soldiers with guns slung
over their shoulders effected a form of impromptu
crowd control, forming human chains to keep the
crowds from spilling into traffic.
Nearby, about 500 police officers joined protesters
at the Interior Ministry and shouted for better
wages.
Even as pockets of protests continued, a measure
of normalcy returned to the capital as Egyptians
awaited word from the new military-led
government on its impending negotiations with
opposition groups.
Just two days after Hosni Mubarak relinquished his
post as president and withdrew to the resort of
Sharm el Sheikh, the form of the military council
to which he had ceded power began to take
shape. The military statement confirmed that Field
Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, 75,
considered a loyalist of Mr. Mubarak, was the
council's leader.
The military has sought to reassure Egyptians and
the world that it would shepherd a transition to
civilian rule and honor international commitments
like the peace treaty with Israel. But even though it
had begun acting on the protest movement's
demands, it was still unclear how or when military
leaders would meet directly with protest leaders in
order to start the process of bringing opposition
figures into the government.
Exultant and exhausted opposition leaders claimed
their role in the country's future over the weekend,
pressing the army to lift the country's emergency
law - which suspending the constitution would
seem to do - and release political prisoners. And
they vowed to return to Tahrir Square next week
to celebrate a victory and honor those who had
died in the 18-day uprising that toppled Hosni
Mubarak after nearly 30 years of authoritarian rule.
The impact of Egypt's uprising rippled across the
Arab world as protesters turned out in Algeria,
where the police arrested leading organizers, and
in Yemen, where pro-government forces beat
demonstrators with clubs. The Palestinian
leadership responded by announcing that it
planned to hold presidential and parliamentary
elections by September. And in Tunisia, which
inspired Egypt's uprising, hundreds demonstrated
to cheer Mr. Mubarak's ouster.
Reporting was contributed by David D. Kirkpatrick,
Anthony Shadid, Mona El-Naggar, Dawlat Magdy
and Scott Nelson from Cairo, Thomas Fuller from
Tunis and J. David Goodman from New York.

Source: Http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/02/14/world/middleeast/14egypt.xml

READ MORE ................... Egypt's Military Dissolves Parliament; Calls for Vote

D.Boerse, NYSE narrow in on name as talks intensify.

FRANKFURT - Deutsche Boerse and
NYSE Euronext may call a merged company "DB
NYSE Group," according to two people close to
the negotiations, though the companies said no
name for what could become the world's largest
exchange operator has been picked.
The Frankfurt- and the New York-based
companies will likely sidestep thorny issues of
technology in a bid to strike a merger deal by
early next week, the Europe-based sources said.
The companies are edging toward an outline
deal to be agreed on Tuesday or Wednesday,
one source said.The exchange operators said on Saturday their
negotiations continued. "No name has been
finalized and we expect any decision on a name
would be made at a later date, subject to the
successful completion of a merger agreement,"
they said in a joint statement.
Earlier this week, the companies unveiled the first
details of the merger plan that would give
Deutsche Boerse shareholders about a 60
percent stake, and name NYSE Euronext's head
Duncan Niederauer as chief executive.
The two Europe-based sources said the sides
have still not finalized a merger document that
can be presented to Deutsche Boerse's board of
directors, confirming earlier reports.
They said the name DB NYSE Group has
emerged as the front runner among the options
for the new company.
Negotiations over a name, and where to locate
various operations across the two continents,
highlight some of the difficulties in bringing
together companies that are both operationally
complicated and symbols of national pride.
Decisions over leadership, including the
composition of a combined company's board,
have been made, sources said earlier this week.
In their talks, the two sides are hammering out a
framework deal which focuses on functions and
personalities but key issues, such as over
information technology (IT), are likely to be
postponed.
"How you make the details work later on is a
different matter," one of these people said.
Rather than deciding now which technology
platform to use for derivatives trading on a
group level, the parties are seeking to agree on
"a person for IT coordination."
This person will later decide whether to use
Deutsche Boerse's Eurex or Euronext's Liffe
technology, or whether to develop a new
platform using staff from both camps.
It is also not yet decided whether the combined
group will take the legal form of SE or an NV (the
corporate designation) for the Amsterdam-based
legal entity, the person said.
Despite the uncertainty, there is quiet optimism
the two sides will be able to make an
announcement early next week.
Unlike when talks between the two companies
were disrupted by a leak in December 2008,
negotiations have now reached "a much more
mature level," and are more likely to bear fruit, a
person close to the deal said.
The two powerhouse exchange operators said
on Wednesday they were in advanced talks to
merge, just hours after London Stock Exchange
unveiled a bid for Canadian market operator TMX
Group Inc.

READ MORE ................... D.Boerse, NYSE narrow in on name as talks intensify.

Euro Struggles Under $1.38, Good Support For Pound.

LONDON (Dow Jones)--The euro lost its perch
above $1.38 and continues to struggle just under
that level after some mixed economic data ahead
of the European Central Bank's interest rate
decision and subsequent news conference, all of
which come against the backdrop of heightened
tensions in Egypt.Euro-zone services sector performance proved
better than expected in January, with Germany
and France growing strongly despite weaker
figures elsewhere in the currency bloc. However,
retail sales in the euro zone fell for the second
month running in December. Taken together, the
data underscore the area's two-speed economy
and the dilemma facing European Central Bank
rate setters.
The ECB's rate verdict, at 1245 GMT, is widely
expected to bring no change but the news
conference after the event, at 1330 GMT, will be
the main draw. Whether ECB chief Jean-Claude
Trichet hardens the rhetoric on inflation will be
central for the euro's immediate future.
For now, at least, talking tough seems to be the
only option for the ECB as its hands are tied on
interest rates.
"Today's [Thursday's] ECB policy decision is
expected to be a non-event and the focus again
falls on President Trichet's subsequent press
conference. Hawkish overtones are expected
given the latest euro-zone CPI print for January
came in at +2.4% year-on year, which is well
above the ECB's target," said Gareth Berry
currency strategist at UBS. He added that UBS
economists don't expect a policy rate rise until the
fourth quarter of the year.
Concerns about the euro zone's debt woes
continues to simmer in the background, with
Standard & Poor's downgrade of Ireland
Wednesday working as a timely reminder. But
investors appear to have taken in their stride
Thursday's government bond offerings from
Spain and France which, although successful,
weren't exactly well received. Spain sold a total of
EUR3.5 billion of two-year and five-year bonds,
with respective cover of 2.0 and 1.8, while France
sold EUR1.725 billion of 3.75% 2021 OATS at a
yield of 3.61%, the highest since December 2009.
It feels like only yesterday that the market awaited
every euro-zone auction with bated breath, notes
Citi, adding that the auctions appear to have gone
unnoticed.
Overnight, Egypt moved back into the headlines
after skirmishes between protesters and
government forces left five dead. That left
investors a bit more wary about holding on to
assets considered less safe and led to fresh
demand for the dollar. The greenback also found
support from a strong ADP jobs report which
added to expectations of a strong payrolls
number Friday.
The pound was again the European session's star
performer as economic data Thursday shored up
U.K. rate-rise expectations.
The U.K.'s dominant services sector rebounded in
January, showing surprisingly solid growth after
activity in December was hit by heavy snowfall.
The services Purchasing Managers Index jumped
to 54.5 in January from 49.7 in December,
research group Markit and the Chartered Institute
of Purchasing and Supply. The surge easily
exceeded the modest rise to 51.5 predicted by
analysts polled by Dow Jones Newswires and
comes on the heels of strong equivalents in the
manufacturing and construction industries. The
new year looks to have started on a much
stronger footing after the cold snap towards the
end of 2010 dented fourth-quarter activity.
"The pound is being underpinned by rising U.K.
interest rate expectations borne from a spike in
inflation," said Neil Mellor, currency strategist at
Bank of New York Mellon.
In the light of the PMIs, the 0.5% drop in U.K.
fourth quarter GDP looks increasingly like a one-
off.
The pound hit a day high of $1.6277--close to its
highest level in a year--as investors moved to
price in early BOE rate rises.
The euro was at $1.3769 from $1.3810 late
Wednesday in New York, according to EBS. The
dollar was at Y81.73 from Y81.55, while the euro
was at Y112.52 from Y112.51. The pound was at
$1.6215 from $1.6184. The dollar was at CHF
0.9441 from CHF0.9400
The ICE Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar
against a trade-weighted basket of currencies,
was at 77.251 from 77.086.

READ MORE ................... Euro Struggles Under $1.38, Good Support For Pound.