New York, N.Y., United States (4E) – U.S. markets were little changed on the open Thursday as investors continue to worry about the situation in Greece and await the pricing of the highly anticipated initial public offering for Facebook.

Just after the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 16 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index fell 3 points and the NASDAQ dipped 8.

Stocks fell on Wednesday for a fourth straight session as pessimism over Greece’s financial situation persisted.

While European leaders were vocal about their support for keeping Greece in the eurozone, they also cautioned that the ailing, debt-ridden country must stick with unpopular austerity measures if Greece is going to continue to receive help–mainly bailout money–to stave off a near-imminent default.

In world markets Thursday, European stocks fell in midday trading. Asian markets finished the day higher.

On the U.S. home front, investors’ reaction was tepid to new labor market data that showed initial jobless claims were unchanged in the week ended May 12 from the revised figure of 370,000. The number was weaker than industry analysts expected.

In corporate news, Wal-Mart and Sears both reported earnings that came in ahead of forecasts, while Aeropostale and Applied Materials will report after the close.

However, the biggest news of the day, also to come after the close, is the pricing of the social networking giant Facebook. The company has raised the number of shares to be issued and the price range. The offering is considered massively oversubscribed by analysts and shares are expected to pop when they begin trading Friday morning.

In currencies and commodities, the dollar slipped against the Japanese yen, but rose against the euro and British pound.

Oil for June delivery added 59 cents to $93.40 a barrel.

Gold futures for June delivery jumped $16.30 to $1,555.29 a troy ounce.

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Richmond, VA, United States (4E) – Investor Warren Buffett’s company Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A and BRK.B) is expanding its holdings in the newspaper business.

Its subsidiary, BH Media Group, will pay $142 million to buy a controlling interest in the Media General newspaper chain, which owns 63 daily and weekly papers in the southeastern United States. The deal does not include the Tampa Tribune.

In addition, BH Media will also loan Media General $400 million and give it a $45 million flexible credit line.

Buffet is investing in newspapers at a time when falling circulation and advertising revenue have put many local newspapers under financial pressure.

Berkshire already owns the Buffalo News, the Omaha World Herald and has a stake in the Washington Post.

Nevertheless, Buffett, chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is upbeat about the future of newspapers.

“In towns and cities where there is a strong sense of community, there is no more important institution than the local paper,” Buffett said in a statement. “The many locales served by the newspapers we are acquiring fall firmly in this mold and we are delighted they have found a permanent home with Berkshire Hathaway.”

Media General is not getting out of the news business, but said that it had shifted its model toward its broadcast and digital businesses in recent years. After the sale of the 63 newspapers, Media General’s company operations will include the Tampa Tribune newspaper along with 18 network-affiliated television stations and their associated websites.

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Beijing, China (4E) – The leaders of China, Japan and South Korea on Sunday agreed to start negotiations for a free trade agreement later this year during their Fifth Trilateral Summit meeting in the Chinese capital.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and South Korean President Lee Myung-bak made the announcement in a joint press conference after the meeting.

Bilateral talks on the FTA between China and South Korea started early this month and are expected to last two years, according to China’s Minister of Commerce Chen Deming.

The three-way FTA is projected to raise the gross domestic product (GDP) of China by up to 2.9 percent, Japan by 0.5 percent, and South Korea by 3.1 percent. The three major traders account for 90 percent of the East Asian GDP and 20 percent of the world’s GDP, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry white paper. They also account for 70 percent of East Asia’s trade and 20 percent of the world’s trade.

Trade between the three countries amounted to $690 billion in 2011.

China is the biggest trading partner of Japan and South Korea. Japan and South Korea is China’s fourth and sixth biggest trading partner, respectively.

The three countries also agreed to expand the use of their currencies, promote the development of Asian bond markets and promote recycling economy.

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Sehba, Libya (IRIN) – A tenuous peace has taken hold in Libya’s southwestern city of Sebha more than a month after tribal clashes killed at least 70 people, with tensions still high between communities living here, many of whom have their own armed militias, according to local residents.

“You see that place?” Adoum Abaka, a Tubu from Tayuri, a poor neighborhood of Sebha inhabited mainly by Tubu and Tuareg families, told IRIN, pointing to a nearby building on a hill with gaping holes where the walls used to be. “That is where some of us hid when Tayuri was under attack by the Awlad Sulayman [tribe]. We were fighting with Kalashnikovs. One person was killed there.”

The latest clashes erupted in March between the Tubu ethnic group and the Arab Awlad Sulayman and Awlad Abu Seif tribes. The clashes are said to have begun after a man belonging to the Abu Seif family was killed allegedly by the Tubu. But other narratives suggest the conflict followed a dispute over several million dollars which the ruling Transitional National Council (TNC) was planning to spend in Sebha. The violence went on for six days until the TNC brought in forces from the north to quell it. .

The same communities clashed in February in the oasis of Kufra.

TNC forces have brought some semblance of peace to Sebha, but most tribal groups still have their own militias. Wanees Abu Khamada, head of the Special Forces and military governor of southern Libya, told IRIN the military recently banned people from carrying weapons at night. However, no process has yet been established to take back the weapons.

When asked if the army lacked the ability to bring the region under control, he said: “We are still trying. The army is not weak, but it is restricted by law. The militias on the other hand can just go and attack a place on their own.”

Despite the presence of the military, residents of Sebha are apprehensive. Adam Ahmad of Tayuri said the ceasefire between the two groups was an “obligation”, and many were afraid of what would happen if the army pulled out.

“Fighting has ceased, but we don’t know for how long,” said Al-Zarooq from the local council.

Outside the camp council of Tayuri, an assortment of weapons, including mortars, rockets, artillery and unexploded munitions lie scattered on the ground.

In nearby Al-Hijara, charred remains of abandoned houses and cars stand testimony to the destruction wrought on the neighborhood. Ali Mohamed Boubacar Julwar, a teacher who fled Sebha for the southern town of al-Qatroun, came back to find his family gone and his house destroyed.

“I found my neighbors outside, no shelter, their property stolen,” he said. “They said Awlad Sulayman did it, and some Sebha families.”

Identities and allegiances

The Tubu, an indigenous black African tribe, live in southern Libya, along the Tibesti mountain range, and in Chad and Niger. While some Tubu from Chad were encouraged to migrate north to work in the oil industry under former president Muammar Gaddafi, many indigenous to Libya experienced marginalization and exclusion by the same regime and took up arms on the rebel side during the 2011 uprising. Those living in Kufra in the southeast had their identity cards and passports withdrawn under a 2007 policy aimed at deterring more of them from entering Libya and authorities in the area were told to treat them as foreigners.

“The nomadic nature of the Sahara desert tribes and the fact that they have extensions in neighboring countries were reasons for the previous regime to deny them their rights,” Adam Ahmad, a Tubu leader and head of Tayuri camp council, told IRIN.

During recent clashes, local perceptions of the Tubu as outsiders fuelled the violence, as residents in Sebha unrelated to the initial disputes were urged to take up arms against them.

“The Awlad Sulayman told the people of Sebha that the Tubu want to control the city,” Omar, a resident of Sebha who preferred not to give his full name, told IRIN. “So the people of Sebha, who have always been prejudiced against the Tubu, attacked their areas.”

The discourse over who is truly Libyan and who is an outsider underlies multiple conflicting accounts of the Sebha clashes and larger identity politics in the region.

The city, home to about 210,000 people, has long served as a hub and transit point for migrants entering the southern borders, often illegally, from Niger, Chad and other countries. As increasing numbers of Tubu arrived in Sebha to support their people during the clashes, the conflict escalated, and xenophobic fears of foreigners led to some cases of arbitrary arrests of African migrants from neighboring countries like Chad.

“Not all the Tubu are Libyan. Libyans are welcome here, but outsiders are not,” said Mohamed Shahhat, a member of the local council in Sebha, from the Awlad Sulayman tribe. “There are rumors around that Tubu have their nation in the south of Libya. We are afraid of a situation similar to what is happening in Mali where the Tuareg are trying to establish their country. The Tubu are not just a tribe, they are a nation.”

While the Awlad Sulayman express fears of a Tubu takeover, the Qaddadfa and Awlad Sulayman are among the most prominent tribes in Sebha. Many of the latter were allied to the Gaddafi regime, while others fought on the rebel side during the uprising. In the four months after Sebha was liberated, residents of Sebha allege that Awlad Sulayman militias took control of the city and that crimes were committed.

Members of the Awlad Sulayman were reluctant to talk to IRIN about their involvement in the conflict or to give interviews with those whose relatives were killed.

Ayoub al-Zarooq said the Awlad Sulayman may have their own ambitions to assume control of the area around Sebha. “Many of the militias are from Awlad Sulayman. The street talk is that they want to control the city and perhaps even the south of Libya,” he said.

It is difficult to say who truly holds power here, according to Bill Lawrence, director of the North Africa Project of International Crisis Group (ICG). “Certain districts in and around Sebha are controlled more by one group or another, and certainly Awlad Sulayman have had the upper hand, but I would not say that one or another group truly holds power, especially after the revolution which made things murkier,” he said.

Security south of the city

Both the Tubu and the Awlad Sulayman have lived side by side for decades and both inhabit regions that extend beyond Libya’s borders. It is in these border regions where migrants and smuggled goods make their way north that the conflict which spread to Sebha is said to have originated. “They say the fight started here in Sebha, but in fact, trafficking and smuggling routes are in control of these two groups,” said Omar. “And each one pays the other. This is where the fight actually began, on the border.”

Ahmad Naas Mohamed, a member of the local council from the Abu Seif tribe, denied these claims. “Awlad Sulayman are not controlling the border areas, they are just doing some commerce there,” he said. “It is the Tubu who are in control.”

Adam Ahmad of Tayuri local council said much of the southern border region is controlled by the Tubu, but that the Awlad Sulayman may also have their own trafficking routes. Al-Zarooq said the borders presented the greatest security challenge to the southern region, and stability in Sebha would largely depend on securing these regions.

“Stability depends in part on dialogue between the communities and the ability of leaders to avert the worst,” ICG’s Lawrence said. “Eventually, the overall stability of Libya and these regions will depend on issues of legitimacy and governance and service delivery.”

The government has said it will investigate the Sebha clashes, but military governor Abu Khamada said it will take time and facts are hard to gather.

Meanwhile, the residents of Al-Hijara are still waiting for justice. Yusuf Said, a young Tubu who said his mother was killed in the local hospital during the conflict, believes the Tubu must be ready to defend themselves again.

“We consider the war is not over,” he said.

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– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

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New York, N.Y., United States (4E) – United States markets started Wednesday higher as European developments continue to take center stage.

Just after 9:30 a.m. on Wall Street, the Dow, coming off a 63-point loss Tuesday, was up 32 points, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gained 5 points and the NASDAQ was higher by 8.

Greece failed to agree on a coalition government Tuesday, so all parties were meeting Wednesday to set up a caretaker government that will conduct new elections.

The instability in the country haunts finance ministers, eurozone nations and investors worldwide that the ailing Mediterranean country will have to leave the 17 eurozone region and return to the drachma.

Greece will hold fresh elections in June.

In world markets, European equities were mixed in midday trading while Asian markets ended the day lower.

In U.S. economic news, housing starts jumped to an annual rate in April of 717,000, from a revised level of 699,000 the previous month.

Facebook, set to price Thursday night and begin trading Friday, increased the size of its initial public offering by 25 percent, seeking to raise up to $16 billion.

Shares of JCPenney slipped after it reported a much wider loss than expected, while shares of Deere & Co and Target Corp. gained following earning reports that beat expectations.

JP Morgan shares continued to move up after the bank, which reported a $2 billion trading loss on Friday, reaffirmed CEO Jamie Dimon’s pay package during its shareholder meeting Tuesday.

In currencies and commodities, oil for June delivery fell $1.10 to $92.98, a six-month low.

Gold, falling with the euro, slid $16.80 to $1,540.30 a troy ounce.

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New York, N.Y., United States (4E) – Moody’s Investor Service downgraded the debt rating of 26 Italian banks Monday amid worries about a double dip recession.

The move means Moody’s now ranks Italy’s banks lower than most of their Western European peers.

Italy’s banks have been struggling from the effects of a weak economy and government austerity measures.

Moody’s noted that support from the European Central Bank lowered the default risk of many of the banks.

The ratings agency lowered its long-term debt and deposit rating by one notch each for 10 banks, by two notches for eight banks, by three notches for six banks and by four notches for two banks.

Moody’s also downgraded the short-term rating on 21 banks by one or two notches, which resulted in long-term rating downgrades.

The firm maintains a negative outlook for all 26 banks.

Moody’s said that Italy relapsed into recession early this year and there are no clear signs of a recovery.

Government austerity measures and other reforms are weighing on Italy’s economy, which could result in further loan delinquencies, in particular among corporate and small business borrowers.

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New York City, NY, United States (4E) – While a welcome relief for consumers, the reason behind the fall is troubling.

On Monday, crude oil prices slipped below $95 a barrel, a new low for 2012, on worries that Greece may be forced to abandon the euro currency.

In early afternoon trading on New York’s Mercantile Exchange, crude oil for June delivery dipped $1.75 to $94.38 a barrel.

Gasoline prices at the pump have also come down across the U.S., dropping almost 21 cents a gallon since last month when they hit a year high of $3.939 cents. The latest drop in crude prices should help to keep them down.

Earlier concerns that propelled oil lower were mounting woes of a slowdown in the growing and gas guzzling Asian nation China

Speculation Monday that ailing Greece will revert back to the drachma, leaving the euro zone currency, pushed the dollar higher and forced crude lower. The rising dollar makes oil more expensive for investors trading in other currencies, which have to convert to dollars to buy U.S. dollar traded oil.

Also falling in concert, was gold. June gold futures finished off $20.30 to $1563.70 a troy ounce

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Midvale, Utah, United States (4E) – Ally Financial ResCap mortgage on Monday filed for prepackaged bankruptcy protection.

The bank, owned by taxpayers, said the filing will allow the bank to take another step to repay the U.S. treasury.

Ally’s ResCap unit operates under the GMAC Mortgage brand. At one time, it was the nation’s leading subprime lender. Problems with those home loans for risker borrowers, and the steep drop in the company’s core auto finance business, forced the Treasury to shell out some $15.8 billion in bailout funds in 2009 in an effort to rescue the ailing auto industry and bubble-bursting housing market.

ResCap began as the finance unit of automaker General Motors under the GMAC name. It changed its name to Ally after the bailout. In addition to its auto finance business, Ally also operates as an online commercial bank.

The struggling bank said it is seeking strategic alternatives for its international businesses, a euphemism that the overseas arm is up for sale.

Ally said it expects GMAC to continue to make and service mortgage loans during the bankruptcy process. Its portfolio of home loans, currently valued at less than half its original value, will be auctioned off as part of the bankruptcy process.

GMAC said it will make a so-called “stalking horse” bid of $1.6 billion for those loans, adding that it anticipates them to attract higher bids from investors.

In a statement, Ally CEO Michael A. Carpenter said, “The action by ResCap will enable Ally to achieve a permanent solution to its legacy mortgage risks and put these issues behind us. This action, along with pursuing alternatives for the international businesses, will allow Ally to focus 100 percent of its energies on further strengthening its already leading U.S. auto finance and direct bank franchises.”

At present, the U.S. Treasury owns about 74 percent of Ally’s outstanding stock. To date, Ally has repaid, through dividends and loan repayments, about $5.5 billion of the bailout funds it received.

The company also said Monday that upon successful completion of the bankruptcy auction and disposal of its international business, it should be able to pay back roughly two-thirds of the government bailout.

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Bangkok, Thailand (IRIN) – A vaccine against one of the most neglected yet fatal tropical diseases is being tested for the first time in a clinical trial in India and the US. After malaria, leishmaniasis is the second largest parasitic killer, and the visceral form is the most deadly.

“Visceral leishmaniasis (VL) kills 50,000 persons per year, 70 percent of them children. It can be treated but the costs are too high… at hundreds of US dollars per person,” said Dr Franco Piazza at the Infectious Disease Research Institute (IDRI), a Seattle-based NGO that developed the vaccine with funding from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

VL , also called kala-azar or black fever, infects an estimated half million persons or more annually. It is found most commonly in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Brazil and Sudan.

The leishmaniasis group of diseases is transmitted by infected sand flies, which carry a parasite that attacks the liver, spleen and bone marrow. Left untreated, VL is almost always fatal, said Philippe Desjeux, a specialist in the infection at the San Francisco-based non-profit OneWorld Health.

The clinical trial testing IDRI’s vaccine is led by Gennova Pharmaceuticals, – a Pune-based Indian company to which IDRI has transferred its technology – in collaboration with the Banaras Hindu University in Varanasi.

“We have just opened a formulation centre [research and production facility] for vaccines against neglected diseases in Pune,” said Sanjay Singh, the chief executive officer of Gennova. “If the vaccine passes all the tests, producing it in India will make it affordable to all the people who are affected by VL.”

The infection is one of more than a dozen grouped as “neglected tropical diseases”, occurring mostly in tropical countries where they kill an estimated half million people annually and for which few treatments exist due to lack of funding for research and treatment.

A total of 72 volunteers are participating in the trial, but scientists say it will take years of testing to roll out an affordable vaccine to the 200 million people globally at risk of VL infection.

VL is most fatal in South Sudan, where poverty and conflict make even relatively inexpensive methods like treated bed nets to protect people from infected sand flies hard to implement.

The WHO has warned that VL is spreading to previously unaffected countries due to co-infections of HIV and leishmaniasis, while the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has said climate change can also spur the spread of the disease.

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This article was amended on 11 May 2012. The original report erroneously reported that OneWorld Health was part of the vaccine trials

– Provided by Integrated Regional Information Networks.

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Washington, D.C., United States (4E) – JP Morgan saw its shares fall in trading over a risky investment strategy that has so far cost the bank $2 billion, but its continued association with PetroChina could cause more trouble.

Stockholders will vote on a shareholder proposal that JP Morgan divest its portfolio of PetroChina stock.

Criticism of Chinese oil giant PetroChina (PTR) stems from its support of genocidal government in Sudan. PetroChina is the largest oil company in China and among the largest in the world. It is the publicly traded arm of state-owned oil and gas firm China National Petroleum Company. The communist government owns CNPC and dictates its policies.

Many other institutions long ago divested their portfolios of PetroChina stock, including Fidelity and Harvard University.

JP Morgan (JPM, Fortune 500) is PetroChina’s largest U.S.-based shareholder. The bank owns almost 1.3 billion Hong Kong-listed shares of PetroChina worth nearly $1.8 billion.

Shareholders favoring getting rid of the PetroChina stock call it a human rights issue.

The citizen-led nonprofit Investors Against Genocide point out that the U.S. government has economic sanctions on Sudan and that investing in a company that supports the Sudanese government undermines the spirit of those sanctions.

Most of the PetroChina holdings are tied to the bank’s wealth management business. Moreover, the bank says that while it is sensitive to human rights issues that it holds shares of PetroChina at the direction of its customers.

 

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