e-Coops

Canadian viewers won’t see a hike in their cable and satellite TV bills because of a new subscription fee broadcasters proposed last fall, but they will likely start seeing more commercials soon, according to changes the CRTC announced Thursday.

The Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission revealed its decisions regarding several contentious issues discussed during hearings last November that scrutinized the state of the Canada’s TV landscape.

The federal regulator has denied the proposal from conventional broadcasters including CanWest and the CBC to introduce a subscription fee to cable and satellite companies who carry their signals, currently available free over the airwaves.

Supporters had argued that the so-called “carriage fee” was a necessary measure because traditional broadcasters are facing an increasingly difficult climate where audiences are fragmented and advertising growth is slow.

However, the cable and satellite companies called the proposal a new “tax” that would force a hike to the consumer, which could then cause viewers to drop their service and seek out other TV alternatives, like grey-market satellites from the U.S. Gradual reduction of advertising restrictions

While the CRTC did not feel the subscriber fee “to be warranted at this time,” it recognized the financial difficulties faced by conventional broadcasters and decided to remove restrictions on how much advertising they can air as an alternate way to increase revenues.

Currently, broadcasters can show up to 12 minutes of advertising per hour, including segments promoting programs in their lineups.

As of September 1, this restriction will increase to a maximum of 14 minutes of advertising in prime time between 7 p.m. and 11 p.m.

A year later, the limit will increase to 15 minutes across all time periods. As of September 2008, all advertising time restrictions will be lifted. The CRTC will review the impact of these increased ad times in spring 2008.

“The Commission considers it essential that [over-the-air] broadcasters have the flexibility to maximize advertising revenues to respond to the negative impact of audience fragmentation,” according to a statement from the regulator issued Tuesday. Analog-to-digital deadline

The CRTC also set August 31, 2011 as a deadline for Canada’s switch from analog to digital and HD broadcasting signals. An exception will be made for northern and remote regions that lack digital transmitters.

Many other countries around the world had already set their targets dates for the switch.

In December, the Netherlands became the first country to switch completely to broadcasting digital signals for television. Other European countries are set to switch this year, while the U.S. is scheduled to end analog TV transmission in 2009.

Japan and the U.K. plan to complete their own move to digital by 2011 and 2012, respectively.

A deadline was necessary, the regulator said, to avoid a situation where Canadian viewers “turn to foreign programming to take advantage of this new technology because there is not enough Canadian digital programming available.”

The commission also said that it is confident that the next few years will provide ample time for broadcasters to make the necessary technological transition, as well as give creators enough to time to produce Canadian programming in HD.

Tuesday’s announcement also included a new closed captioning policy English and French-language broadcasters will have to caption 100 per cent of their programs between 6 a.m. and midnight. CRTC defers look at Cancon programming

The commission also praised French-language broadcasters for devoting a “consistently high” level of their programming budgets about 90 per cent to Canadian content.

The corresponding situation in English Canada was “cause for concern” because the proportion English-language broadcasters spent has decreased to approximately 40 per cent, the regulator said.

However, the CRTC deferred its examination ofspecific spending by broadcasters on Canadian programming until the licence renewal hearings scheduled for spring 2008.

For years, various groups have criticized the CRTC’s 1999 decision to remove the rule forcing private conventional television broadcasters to spend a minimum amount on Canadian dramatic programming. They charge that the result has been a sharp drop in Canadian-made TV shows.

Real time volatility indexes complement equity index volume trade analysis.

Vancouver, BC (http://www.prweb.com/) May 30, 2007 — MarketVolume.com, the single source of real time advance-and-decline trade volume analysis for all U.S. equity markets, announced today the introduction of VIX, the S&P 500 volatility index, as well as the VXN for the Nasdaq 100 and the VXO for the S&P 100.

See http://www.marketvolume.com/content/products/mktsum/mktsum_volatility.asp.

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As an example, MarketVolume.com cites its SBV analysis in conjunction with market volatility between March 13 and 15: МVIX volatility shot up from 14.5 to over 20 over the course of one trading day,Н said Korzinin. МThis indicates hyper-market activity, but in which direction going forward? MarketVolume.com clients following the SBV chart in addition to the VIX had confirmed for them that this served as a buying opportunity,Н he said.

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GW Communications
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Democratic Rep. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, chairman of the House Agriculture Committee, is an avid hunter who voted to repeal a ban on assault weapons in the 1990s. A devoted outdoorsman, he led a fight in 2004 to overturn a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone National Park. Each time, he aroused the ire of some in his own party.

He even plays guitar in a rock band full of Republicans.

Today, Peterson will join forces with rural state lawmakers from both parties as he pushes a controversial $286 billion farm bill. Once again, it’s a fight along philosophical and regional lines that has little to do with party affiliation.

The bill, which provides spending for farm subsidies and other programs over five years, has been blasted by the Bush administration and Democrats such as Rep. Ron Kind of Wisconsin as a boondoggle that funnels money to millionaires while hurting small farmers, the environment and taxpayers.

To the critics, such as Ken Cook of the non-partisan Environmental Working Group, Peterson is the affable face of the status quo, a longtime friend of agribusiness who never met a farm subsidy he didn’t like. He turned aside proposals by President Bush to cap subsidies and shift the money into areas such as renewable fuels. Instead, he crafted a bill that largely preserves the crop supports already in place: a system that hands out the bulk of the benefits to the richest farms.

Peterson, an eighth-term former accountant who flies his own plane around his vast northern Minnesota district, says he achieved what changes were politically possible, including barring payments to farmers who earn more than $1 million a year.

“We have done something that people thought could never be done,” he said, sitting in his office in front of a placard that reads “No Farms, No Food.” When pressed, though, he acknowledges that he never supported payment caps.

“Some people want to make everything about the rich and the poor,” he said. “They do it on taxes, whatever Ц it’s kind of a phony argument, but a lot of people have bought into it, and it’s what I have to deal with. That’s politics. Some of my constituents will lose their benefits.”

The Agriculture Department says 7,000 people nationwide will be effected by the $1 million income cap. In Peterson’s district, which includes sugar beets, wheat and poultry, 58% of the $2.8 billion paid out in crop subsidies from 1995 to 2005 went to 10% of recipients, according to the Environmental Working Group, which tracks farm spending. The chairman says he has no problem with that. “Ten percent of the farmers produce 90% of the food,” he says.

Peterson, who has not had a serious re-election race since 1996, has taken in hundreds of thousands of dollars in contributions from agriculture interests in recent years. Of $938,128 that he raised in 2005 and 2006, $388,186 came from agribusiness, the vast majority from outside his district, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which counts campaign contributions. He has raised $359,962 through June, and 43% Д $153,667 Д came from farmers or agribusiness interests, records show.

“People give you money based on what committees you are on I guess,” Peterson said. “But I haven’t made a single [fundraising] call.” He says he supports full public financing of campaigns.

As he fends off brickbats, Peterson holds an ace: He won early support for his bill from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who in 2002, supported far-reaching cutbacks to farm subsidies. The two bonded when Pelosi visited his sprawling district last summer, he said.

“She, I think, trusts me that I know what I’m doing,” he said. “She’s a practical politician like I am.”

Contributing: William Risser

Facebook, one of the hottest social-networking sites on the Internet, landed in a Boston courthouse Wednesday facing charges that its founder stole the idea for the company from a competing site.

ConnectU, a much smaller social network in Connecticut, charges that Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg took the idea for the online college community from ConnectU, where he worked in 2003 and 2004.

Facebook asked federal Judge Douglas Woodlock to throw out the suit, but Woodlock put off the decision, giving ConnectU founders Divya Narendra and Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss until Aug. 8 to provide more specific allegations against Zuckerberg and other Facebook founders.

Woodlock sounded skeptical about the claim, wondering if the ConnectU founders had made a substantive agreement with Zuckerberg or had more of a handshake deal.

“Dorm room chit-chat does not make a contract,” Woodlock said.

Ian Ballon, an intellectual property attorney in the East Palo Alto office of Greenberg Traurig LLP, said ConnectU’s founders will have to show that the specifics of their vision matched what ultimately became Facebook.

“It’s very easy to allege a contract, and it’s easy to allege trade secret misappropriation, but there has to be something more specific,” Ballon said. “You don’t necessarily have to have a contract, but you do have to have specificity. Oftentimes, when someone comes up with a great idea and goes to market with it, someone pops up and says, ‘That’s my idea.’

“This happens much more often in the entertainment or advertising industry than in technology,” Ballon said. “It’s one thing if someone had an abstract idea. It’s another thing if what they conceptualized is Facebook.”

The Winklevoss brothers, identical twins who are on the U.S. rowing team and hope to compete at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, said they came up with the idea for a collegiate social network in 2002 and asked Zuckerberg to join their team in September 2003. “We gave him the HarvardConnect.com code and shared our ideas,” said Cameron Winklevoss. “We told him the idea was confidential.”

They were shocked when Zuckerberg started his site as TheFacebook.com in February 2004, he said.

He said they filed a cease-and-desist request six days later. They also hired a developer and introduced their site, ConnectU, on May 1, 2004, “but it was too late. Facebook’s foothold and first-mover advantage were too huge to overcome,” he said.

Facebook has 31 million users from various age groups, compared with about 70,000 users for ConnectU, the Associated Press reported. Last year, Facebook reportedly rejected a $1 billion takeover offer from Yahoo.

Facebook said its fight against ConnectU will continue.

“We continue to disagree with the allegations that Mark Zuckerberg stole any ideas or code to build Facebook,” Facebook spokeswoman Brandee Barker said in an e-mailed statement. “We intend to honor the judge’s request not to comment further in the media and will continue to vigorously defend this case in court.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report. E-mail Dan Fost at dfost@sfchronicle.com.

Action Insight | Written by ActionForex.com | Jul 26 07 08:09 GMT |
Forex Daily Technical Report Focus on New Homes Sales and Durables, Kiwi Tumbles after RBNZ Hike

Dollar is generally firm and sets to continue the current recovery as markets are turning focus to today’s new home sales and durable goods orders data. As pointed out before, the greenback was in extremely oversold condition and the current correction is inevitable. Even if today’s data disappoints, reaction could be muted as the more important Q2 GDP is on the card for release tomorrow. Though, Euro should also be provided some support by stronger than expected M3 growth which reaccelerated to Mar’s peak of 10.9%. Germany Ifo dropped to 106.4, slightly below expectation of 106.5 but remains health.

Overnight, RBNZ raised OCR again by 25bps to 8.25%. In the accompanying statement, Governor Bollard pointed to the recent strength in the economy and growing capacity constraints to justify today’s move. Also, he once again mentioned the overvalued Kiwi currency. Conditionally, RBNZ believed that this would be the last rate hike in their cycle if no surprises come in with the next round of data. Kiwi tumbled after the news as markets believe that RBNZ will at least be on hold to assess the impact of the prior successive rate hikes before making another move. EUR/USD

Daily Pivots: (S1) 1.3667; (P) 1.3749; (R1) 1.3803; «www.actionforex.com»

EUR/USD’s correction from 1.3851 is still in progress today. Outlook remains unchanged. A short term top is likely in place at 1.3851, with bearish divergence condition in 4 hours MACD and RSI, and after failing to sustain above 1.3822 projection target. Intraday bias is currently still on the downside and further decline should be seen towards support zone of 1.3567 to 1.3658, with 38.2% retracement of 1.3262 to 1.3851 at 1.3626. On the upside, above 1.3711 will turn intraday outlook consolidative first and could probably bring recovery to 4 hours 55 EMA (now at 1.3770). But sustained break of 1.3851 is needed to confirm recent rally has resumed. Otherwise, risk remains on the downside.

In the bigger picture, the current development dampened the original view that rise from 1.3262 is the last advance in a five wave structure that started at 1.2483. Firstly, the current momentum of the rise from 1.3262 is seen stronger than the prior rally from 1.2865 to 1.3681. Secondly, the falling trend line in both daily MACD and RSI were broken, negating the bearish divergence conditions. In other words, the underlying bullishness in EUR/USD could be much stronger than we originally thought.

Focus remains on 1.3822 resistance. Sustained trading above this level will add much weight to the case that whole medium term rally from 1.1639 is indeed resumption of multi-year up trend from 0.8223 (00 low). That is, further rise should be seen in medium term towards 95 high of 1.4523 with much chance to extend further to 61.8% projection of 0.8223 to 1.3668 from 1.1639 at 1.5004.

On the downside, as long as 1.3481 cluster support (61.8% retracement of 1.3262 to 1.3851 at 1.3487) holds, any pull back will still be treated as correction to rally from 1.3262 only and another rise is still in expected after completion. However, break will put 1.3262 low into focus. And break will indicate that medium term rally from 1.1639 has likely completed after being limited by 1.3822 resistance as originally expected.

GBP/USD

Daily Pivots: (S1) 2.0470; (P) 2.0550; (R1) 2.0615; «www.actionforex.com»

Cable’s correction from 2.0652 is still in progress and continues to press 4 hours 55 EMA (now at 2.0485). As discussed before, a short term top is in likely place at 2.0652, with bearish divergence condition in 4 hours MACD and RSI. Intraday bias is still on the downside and further decline is expected to be seen to short term rising trend line (now at 2.0400). On the upside, above 2.0652 will indicate an intraday low is formed. But sustained break of 2.0677 fibo resistance is needed to confirm recent rally has resumed. Otherwise, risk remains on the downside.

In the bigger picture, the sustained break of 2.0207 projection target confirms underlying upside momentum is still strong. Also, it added much credence to the case that whole up trend from 1.7047 is resumption of multi-year up trend from 1.3680. In such case, further rally should then be seen to 61.8% projection of 1.3680 (01 low) to 1.9554 (05 high) from 1.7047 (05 low) at 2.0677 first. Sustained trading above 2.0677 will target 2.1 psychological resistance.

On the downside, in case of a pull back, downside should be contained by support zone between 2.0056 and 2.0206 and bring another rally. Break of 2.0056 will suggest that lengthier consolidation will come first with the prospect of another test the medium term rising trend line (now at 1.9823) But medium term outlook will be neutral at worst at long as 1.9621 support remains intact.

USD/CHF

Daily Pivots: (S1) 1.2048; (P) 1.2107; (R1) 1.2192; «www.actionforex.com».

USD/CHF’s correction from 1.1960 is still in progress today. Intraday bias remains on the upside as long as 1.2114 minor support holds and further rebound should still be seen. On the downside, below 1.2114 will turn intraday outlook consolidative fist. Also, since a short term bottom is in place at 1.1960 with bullish convergence conditions in 4 hours MACD and RSI, firm break of 1.1960 is needed to confirm fall from 1.2467 has resumed. Otherwise, consolidation could still extend further.

In the bigger picture, USD/CHF has likely completed a medium term triangle consolidation already, which started at 1.1919 with five waves to 1.2467. Firm break of 1.1993 will confirm this case. 1.1878 (06 low) will be the initial target. And since, in such case, fall from 1.2467 is viewed as resumption of medium term down trend from 1.3283, further weakness should be seen to 100% projection of 1.3283 to 1.1919 from 1.2768 at 1.1404, with much chance to extend to retest 1.1288 (04 low).

On the upside, break of 1.2232 resistance will mess up the short term picture a little bit. In such case, chance is swung to the case that the triangle consolidation indeed started at 1.1878. In other words, the overall outlook didn’t change and just that another rally should be seen before completion. Hence, even in such case, upside should be limited below 1.2467 high and bring another medium term decline.

USD/JPY

Daily Pivots: (S1) 119.99; (P) 120.31; (R1) 120.81; «www.actionforex.com»

4 hours MACD’s cross above signal line suggest that a short term low is possibly in place at 119.76. But still, break above 190.95 resistance is needed to confirm. Otherwise, intraday bias remains on the downside and further decline is still in favor towards 118.35/57 cluster support zone (38.2% retracement of 108.99 to 124.13 at 118.35 and 61.8% retracement of 115.13 to 124.13 at 118.57).

On the upside, above 120.95 will indicate a short term bottom is formed and turn into consolidation. But a break above 120.60 resistance is still needed to indicate fall from 124.13 has completed. Otherwise, risk remains on the downside after finishing recovery.

In the bigger picture, rise from 115.13 has made a top at 124.13 and turned into consolidation since then. But still, rally from 108.99, which is treated as resumption of whole up trend from 101.66, is in progress. Even in case of a deeper correction, downside is expected to be contained by 118.35/57 cluster support zone (38.2% retracement of 108.99 to 124.13 at 118.35 and 61.8% retracement of 115.13 to 124.13 at 118.57) and bring rally resumption. Next medium term upside target will be resistance zone of 100% projection of 101.65 to 121.38 from 108.99 at 128.72 and 100% projection of 108.99 to 122.17 from 115.13 at 128.31.

However, break of 118.35/57 cluster support argue that rise from 108.99 has possibly completed and put 115.13 low into focus.

EUR/JPY

Daily Pivots: (S1) 164.57; (P) 165.44; (R1) 166.18; «www.actionforex.com»

EUR/JPY turns sideway after reaching as low as 164.70. At this point, correction 168.93 is still in progress and intraday bias remains on the downside as long as 166.18 minor resistance holds. Next downside target will be 164.23 cluster support (61.8% retracement of 161.49 to 168.95 at 164.34). On the upside, above 166.19 will indicate a temporary low is formed and bring consolidation, probably with recovery to 4 hours 55 EMA (now at . But break of 167.32 resistance is needed to indicate fall from 168.93 has completed. Otherwise, risk remains on the downside even in case of recovery.

In the bigger picture, break of the short term rising trend line suggest that rally from 150.75 has possibly completed with bearish divergence condition in daily MACD and RSI. Deeper correction could not be seen to 161.49 support first. And break will confirm that a medium term top is in place at 168.93 and bring deeper correction, possibly with a retest of medium term trend line support (now at 155.67

However, with medium term trend line remains intact, whole medium term rally from 130.60 is still treated as in progress and the interpretation remains unchanged. First wave up ended at 143.60, subsequent correction ended at 137.167. The third wave up ended at 159.63 while fourth wave correction has ended at 150.75. Rise from there represents the final advance in this structure. With 61.8% projection of 137.16 to 159.63 from 150.75 at 164.64 taken out decisively, next medium term upside target will be 100% projection of 137.16 to 159.63 from 150.75 at 173.22.

Forex News Digest

«www.bloomberg.com»

«www.bloomberg.com»

«www.bloomberg.com»

«www.bloomberg.com»

«c.moreover.com»
Thu, 26 Jul 2007 03:18:00 GMT from Daily Telegraph Australia

«c.moreover.com»
Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:45:00 GMT from Nine MSN

«c.moreover.com»
Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:38:00 GMT from Bloomberg

«c.moreover.com»
Thu, 26 Jul 2007 02:38:00 GMT from Sympatico MSN Finance

«c.moreover.com»
Thu, 26 Jul 2007 01:27:00 GMT from Bloomberg

«www.actionforex.com» Economic Indicators Update
GMT Ccy Events Actual Consensus Previous Revised
21:00 NZD RBNZ’s rate decision 8.25% 8.25% 8.00%
23:50 JPY Japan CSPI Y/Y Jun 1.40% 1.40% -0.30%
6:00 GBP U.K. N’wide hse prices M/M Jul 0.10% 0.50% 1.10%
6:00 GBP U.K. N’wide hse prices Y/Y Jul 9.90% 10.60% 11.10%
8:00 EUR Euro-Zone M3 sa Y/Y Jun 10.9% 10.70% 10.70%
8:00 EUR Euro-Zone M3 sa 3 Mth Jun 10.60% 10.70%
8:00 EUR Germany IFO index Jul 106.4 106.5 107.0
12:30 USD U.S. Durable goods orders Jun 1.80% -2.40%
12:30 USD ex. defence Jun 1.00% -2.80%
12:30 USD ex. transportation Jun 0.50% -0.40%
12:30 USD U.S. Jobless claims 310 K 301 K
14:00 USD U.S. New home sales Jun 895 K 915 K
14:00 USD U.S. New home sales M/M Jun -1.60% -1.60%

«www.actionforex.com»