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May 16, 2013

Experts: Smartphones another avenue for hackers

Filed under: small business, uk — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 12:46 am

Smartphones are increasingly popular not only with consumers, but also with thieves who see the devices as another way to tap into bank accounts and other sensitive information, experts say.

Many consumers simply don’t realize how vulnerable their Androids, iPhones and other devices can be. An April study by the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta said threats are proliferating, ranging from “phishing” — where consumers click a phony email or text message and are tricked into handing over personal information — to consumers’ reluctance to use security protections they normally have on home computers, like a password.

The study said there are several things that can make smartphones an easy target. Vast amounts of personal data are stored in emails, texts and other applications, and personal information is increasingly easily found on social media. Organized crime operations also see smartphones as the most vulnerable entry point into the electronic financial system, according to the Federal Reserve.

“We have some very bad characters who would like to take our money, take our identification, and run away with it,” said Marie Gooding, first vice president of the Atlanta Fed. 

Research the Fed cited, done by Boston-based Trusteer Inc., involved 20 computer servers that were used to send out more than 100,000 “phishing” emails. By studying the server records, Trusteer found that about 2,200 of the 3,000 responses the scam artists received came from smartphones.

Doug Johnson, vice president of risk management for the American Bankers Association, said he expects those numbers to get worse.

“This is one more platform criminals will continue to exploit as the channel grows,” he said.

The Fed helps operate the industry’s Automated Clearing House, a system that processed 21 billion transactions last year. While banks are required to adhere to authentication standards for ACH transactions, those protections are often unknowingly compromised by consumers.

“A lot of it has to do with all of the players making sure they have the strongest security controls they have, and then consumers being aware of what those controls are, and making use of them,” Gooding said.

Miami attorney Andrew Carter learned the hard way, after misplacing his phone amid the hubbub of a Christmas vacation. He had a mobile banking app installed on his phone, but had turned off his passcode lock because he found it annoying to enter whenever he wanted to use the phone.

“That was a big mistake,” he said. “I knew it intellectually, but I hadn’t really intuitively grasped that I had to be able to be a lot more secure with it.”

Weeks later, Carter found $2,000 had been withdrawn from his account by someone in Texas, possibly through emails retrieved from his phone. He also found someone trying to hack his Facebook account. 

Today, he keeps his phone locked and changed to a brand that allows him to remotely erase phone data — something he couldn’t do with his old phone.

Several manufacturers are planning new “biometric” technology, such as fingerprint scanners, that can make phones more secure. But even with those safeguards, consumer behavior can still lead to danger.

Vikram Thakur, principal security response manager for security software giant Symantec, said attackers can get complete control of a phone simply by getting people to click on a link. Without actually having the phone in their hands, the hackers can access messages, phone calls and personal information.

“The amount of information we’re storing on mobile phones these days kind of incentivizes the attackers to go after the platform,” he said.

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May 12, 2013

Tim Bosma: Suspect Dellen Millard comes from Toronto flight dynasty

Filed under: business, uk — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 7:29 pm

The man arrested in connection with the disappearance of Hamilton’s Timothy Bosma is the heir to an Ontario aviation dynasty and once held the world record for the youngest solo helicopter flight.

Dellen Millard, 27, of Toronto, was arrested and charged in Mississauga in connection with Bosma’s disappearance Saturday morning. His family founded and ran Millard Air, a charter airline that once flew out of Toronto and has operations in Waterloo Region, where Hamilton police were seen investigating Saturday at Millard Air’s hangar at the airport.

Bosma disappeared in Hamilton Monday when he took two men for a test drive of a pickup truck he was trying to sell online. Police have since been searching for two suspects, one of whom was described as having a tattoo on his wrist that reads “ambition.”

Millard, who police believe was driving the pickup truck during the incident, has such a tattoo, police said. Millard was arrested on Cawthra Rd. in Mississauga Saturday morning without incident. He was charged with forcible confinement and theft over $5,000.

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“Tim Bosma has not been located and our greatest priority is the welfare and locating of (him),” Hamilton Police Supt. Dan Kinsella said during a media briefing Saturday afternoon.

The remaining suspect is still at large. Police in three cities — Toronto, Waterloo and Hamilton — are participating in the investigation.

Toronto police blocked off Maple Gate Crt. in Etobicoke Saturday afternoon to investigate a house connected to the arrest of Millard. Hamilton police were seen at Millard Air Hangar 53 at the Waterloo Regional Airport the same day.

The Millard family has a storied history in Ontario’s aviation industry. Dellen’s grandfather, Carl, founded the private commercial airline, the Star reported in 1999.

Wayne Millard, Dellen’s father, took the reins on a 50,000-square-foot aircraft maintenance facility in Waterloo, according to Canadian Skies, an aviation trade publication.

Wayne died in late 2012. His obituary, published in the Star, was written by Dellen and praises Wayne’s love for animals and commitment to flying.

In 1999, Dellen became the youngest person to fly a helicopter solo at 14 years old, setting a world record and earning a free breakfast from the Brampton Flying Club. He set another record by taking his first solo flight in a Cessna 172, making him the youngest to fly both a helicopter and fixed-wing plane solo in one day.

“It was a great flight,” he told the Star then, moments after landing the Cessna and receiving applause from family members. “It went by a lot faster than I thought it would.”

The Brampton Flying Club refused to comment Saturday, telling the Star a manager would be available Monday.

“I really thought he turned out fine and I’d see him someday at an airline,” said Marilyn Daigle, Dellen’s flight instructor in 1999, who’s now a commercial pilot in Toronto. “He was sweet, smart, really lovely to teach . . . I just hope it doesn’t end up being true.”

Dellen Millard’s passion for planes seems to have been grounded later in life, as he turned his attention towards automobiles. He and a friend are listed as drivers in the 2009 Baja 1000, an off-road race in Mexico, according to the race roster.

Facebook photos of Dellen posted on the friend’s account show him working on vehicles in what appears to be an airport hangar. Calls to the friend’s home were not returned.

The other suspect, still at large, is described as white, between 5-foot-9 and 5-foot-10, with a small to medium build, dark hair. He was last seen wearing a red-hooded sweatshirt with the hood pulled up over his head.

“It is critical that we inform you of (Dellen Millard’s) arrest, however it is much more important that we continue to pursue every evidentiary lead,” Kinsella said Saturday.

On Friday, police announced they recovered Bosma’s cellphone in an industrial complex in Brantford, which is the direction he was last believed to be heading with the men.

Police believe his vehicle was in the area of downtown Brantford around 10:10 p.m. Monday, May 6. They are asking business owners with surveillance cameras to review their footage between 9:30 p.m. and 10:30 p.m. that day.

Bosma’s Dodge Ram, which has not been recovered, is described as black with an Ontario licence plate number 726 7ZW.

Anyone with information on the case is asked to call Hamilton police’s dedicated tip line at 905-546-2100.

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May 6, 2013

Asia stocks rise as investors cheer US jobs data

Filed under: Canada, mortgage — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 7:45 am

Asian stock markets rose Monday after a surprisingly strong U.S. jobs report pushed Wall Street stocks to new highs. Malaysian shares jumped after the country’s ruling political alliance won national elections.

The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard & Poor’s 500 index both rose to record highs Friday after the Labor Department reported that U.S. employers added 165,000 workers last month and many more in February and March than previously estimated. The unemployment rate fell to 7.5 percent, which was the lowest level in four years.

The report counterbalanced weeks of mixed signals about manufacturing and corporate earnings and renewed hopes of a recovery in the world’s largest economy.

“The dichotomy between hard economic data and asset market performance continues but unlike over past weeks at least there was some justification for the rally in equity markets following the stronger than expected US April jobs report,” said a market commentary from Credit Agricole CIB in Hong Kong.

Malaysia’s KLSE Composite surged 2.9 percent to 1,744.50 after the country’s governing coalition won national elections, albeit with a weakened majority, to extend its unbroken, 56-year rule.

Hong Kong’s Hang Seng rose 1.1 percent to 22,932.93. South Korea’s Kospi was 0.3 percent higher at 1,972.27. Australia’s S&P/ASX advanced 1 percent to 5,178.80. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan and the Philippines also rose. Japan’s Nikkei 225 index was closed for a public holiday.

On Friday, the Dow crossed 15,000 for the first time before closing 1 percent higher at 14,973.96. The S&P 500 index rose 1 percent to 1,614.42, closing above 1,600 for the first time. The Nasdaq composite index 1.1 percent to 3,378.63.

Benchmark oil for June delivery was up 97 cents to $96.58 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose $1.62 to close at $95.61 a barrel on the Nymex on Friday.

In currencies, the euro rose to $1.3124 from $1.3110 late Friday in New York. The dollar rose to 99.09 yen from 99.04 yen.

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May 4, 2013

Blue Jays

Filed under: economics, mortgage — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 5:01 pm

It was a surprising recall and an unlikely major-league start for Ricky Romero on Friday at the Rogers Centre. It wasn’t supposed to be this soon. The Jays’ 28-year-old lefthander remains a work in progress, with a single minor-league start under his belt on the way to his necessary rebuild. But the club decided he was ready to begin the next segment of his career. Romero’s results were mixed.

Facing the Mariners, replacing a disabled Josh Johnson, he lasted just four innings in a 4-0 loss facing the M’s ace, Felix Hernandez. After three shutout innings, looking re-energized and confident, Romero went back out and threw 37 pitches in the fourth, with two visits by a trainer — one for what may have been a blister and the other when his left arm was in the way on a hard comebacker by Jesus Montero. But the best news, the news that matters most to Romero at this point, is that he’s back.

The Jays have avoided any comparisons to the past, the Roy Halladay rebuild, for the obvious reason of not putting pressure on their current down, but not out, still improving starter. But the relationship between the reconstructing Romero and his current minor-league instructor, Dane Johnson, bears a striking similarity to that of their former star, Halladay, and his mentor, the late Mel Queen.

Nobody is suggesting that Romero will ever bounce back to match Halladay’s career numbers — the very comparison the Jays are trying to avoid — but the most important thing for the L.A.-born lefty’s rebuilt psyche is that he’s back in the majors with a new outlook and a new delivery.

The 50-year-old Johnson has been the organization’s minor-league roving instructor since 2004. On March 27, the day after Romero was given the devastating news of his demotion following another failed spring training start vs. the Pirates, Johnson, a second-round pick by the Jays in 1984, was handed the important assignment of fixing what was broken with the two-time opening day starter.

Every day in April, from 9:30 a.m. to noon, in addition to his normal duties seeing kid pitchers at the Jays’ extended spring camp, Johnson and Romero worked alone. Much has been made of several publicized Romero fixes — a more direct line to the plate and hands that never are raised above his head anymore — but there were other factors as important, many involving routine.

“Taking a step back and breaking down throwing programs,” Johnson said of the most difficult part of the rebuild. “Breaking down where the ball should come from, how he’s going to cross the T’s and dot the I’s in his throwing programs and how he was going to work around all the things that needed to be implemented in his delivery online payday loans.

“They came pretty quick, because No. 1 he’s a smart guy. No. 2 he’s a good athlete. No. 3 he’s a pro and when he realized himself that, ‘Hey, I do have to do these things to be able to be effective and throw strikes,’ it started the flow a little bit. He saw the progress. We had little victories along the way. He saw the results and took them into his games and he repeated it and he reaped the benefits of it.”

A lot of the change and the ability to convince Romero of the need for the change came in the video room, finding old video as a kid pro, comparing it to the success of 2011 and the failure of 2012.

“I went back to 2005-06,” Johnson explained. “I broke out the analog equipment. We got those tapes, not necessarily implementing them, we saw an explosive young kid at that particular time who got out over his front side and drove the ball with real great extension.

“That reminded him of a lot of things when he got into his throwing programs of what he could do, what he has to do. Again, it was more attention to detail on his throwing programs, on his (bullpen) sides, on his deliveries, paying attention to those. The focus now seems taken off the mound and going to home plate. Hopefully he has enough reps under his belt doing the things properly, technique-wise, mechanical-wise where he can worry about the hitter and what’s going on at home plate.”

Thus it was that a more confident Ricky Romero strolled with J.P. Arencibia from the bullpen to the dugout after the anthems had been played and then moments later headed out to the mound with a renewed confidence in what he could accomplish against major-league hitters — if he threw strikes.

“The first inning is going to be huge, the first hitter is going to be huge,” Johnson predicted. “Hopefully those go well and we’ll roll from there and I think you’ll see, if that continues to roll, I think you’ll see the guy getting back on the mound and working with good tempo and repeat his pitches.”

Romero’s first was a confidence boost. He retired Canadian leadoff man Michael Saunders on a 3-1 grounder to second base, allowed a line drive single to Kyle Seager, then had Kendrys Morales roll over on a grounder to short for an inning-ending double play. In his mind, he was back.

Source

May 3, 2013

Technophobe Warren Buffett finally joins Twitter

Filed under: Canada, management — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 1:29 am

OMAHA, Neb. • Billionaire Warren Buffett is known for being reluctant to invest in technology companies, but he now has a Twitter account.

Buffett unveiled his @WarrenBuffett online handle on Thursday during a speech.

Buffett has always resisted investing in technology companies because he says he can’t predict the future of those businesses the same way he can insurance or manufacturing.

Buffett says even though he may not understand Twitter well, he knows it can’t be all bad because one of the company’s co-founders is from Nebraska.

Buffett’s first tweet said simply “Warren is in the house.” By midday he had more than 32,000 followers.

Buffett doesn’t have a computer in his office, but he uses one at home for research, writing and playing bridge online.

Source

April 28, 2013

Is this Jihad 3.0? Smaller-scale, locally conceived attacks may be the future of terrorism

Filed under: marketing, online — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 4:29 am

From his hideout in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden detailed what he hoped would become of the group he created and chastised those who had veered off course.

“We need to extend and develop our operations in America and not keep it limited to blowing up airplanes,” states a 2010 letter from bin Laden to an ally in Yemen, which was uncovered in his Abbottabad compound after the Al Qaeda leader was killed.

Striking the tone of a perturbed CEO, bin Laden continued: “I need to remind you about the general politics of Al Qaeda … Al Qaeda concentrates on its external big enemy before its internal enemy.”

This was part of his vision — concentrate on hitting the U.S. and its allies at home in small-scale attacks that create panic, weaken the economy and force the U.S. to withdraw from Muslim lands.

Bin Laden would have been pleased lately.

On April 15, two bombs exploded within seconds at the finish line of the Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 200.

On Monday, RCMP arrested Raed Jaser in Toronto and Chiheb Esseghaier in Montreal, following allegations they were planning Canada’s first known Al Qaeda-directed terrorist plot: an attack on the Toronto-New York train route.

Then there are the recent cases of Canadians going abroad to fight. Two young men from London, Ont — Xristos Katsiroubas was 24, Ali Medlej 22 — were confirmed as participants in a deadly, Al Qaeda-linked terrorist attack in Algeria. And Somali authorities believe Mahad Ali Dhore, a former university student from Markham, was among the suicide bombers who attacked Mogadishu mid-month.

But does this spate of terrorism cases indicate a worrying new trend? Or is the real worry that the high-profile incidents will incite political opportunism and a repeat of what followed the 9/11 attacks — a dramatic reshaping of Western foreign policy and laws?

“First and foremost, keep calm, carry on being resilient; (those) are things we can do as a society,” says Ray Boisvert, a former assistant director at Canada’s Security Intelligence Service.

“If we do overreact, it will lead to empowering those who want to do stuff …I think there is value in that view to say, ‘Let’s not go ballistic and rewrite all the laws.’ We do have to be a little smarter.”

Evan Kohlmann, a U.S. terrorism analyst, agrees. He bemoans that our views of terrorism swing from one extreme to the other.

“When we are in the immediate wake of a terrorist attack or an uncovered terrorist plot, there is a surge of interest and concern in the problem of international terrorism,” he wrote in an email to the Star.

“Then, when nothing happens for a while, public interest gradually fades, and consequently any suggestion that there is a genuine threat from terrorism is pooh-poohed and dismissed out of hand as unjustified paranoia on the part of law enforcement.”

Says Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, director for the Center for the Study of Terrorist Radicalization: “There have been spikes in domestic terrorism in the U.S., and it’s then receded. We’re not experiencing an epidemic, but definitely we should be looking for implications that we can draw from . . . incidents like these.”

So what can be learned?

Boisvert says the Canadian case may prove to be an example of what he calls “Jihad 3 free 3-in-1 credit report.0.” — not an attack planned on the scale of 9/11, nor directed by Al Qaeda’s core, but a local plot that drew inspiration or some sort of support from Al Qaeda.

Michael Zekulin, a political science instructor at the University of Calgary and specialist in terrorism and radicalization, said that although this case may be considered Canada’s first taste of organized terrorism, he notes the country has always been a target, along with other western democracies.

He wonders if the alleged train plot could reveal that Al Qaeda’s connection here is limited, considering the two accused: a Tunisian doctoral student with a history of erratic behaviour, and a permanent resident with a lengthy criminal history.

If a large terrorist organization were directing the effort, “You would think that they’d have more to choose from,” Zekulin said.

He agrees that attacks in future will be less organized and perpetrated more by “self-radicalized” individuals. “They’re simply doing things on their own,” he said. “There is no way of telling how many of those there are . . . That’s a curveball for us.”

Although each case is distinct and probably motivated by a different grievance, at their most basic, such attacks are part of Al Qaeda’s legacy — what Wesley Wark, a national security policy expert at the University of Ottawa, says has been dubbed the “Al-Qaeda Narrative.” Its distinct message of jihad and destruction of the West by whatever means continues to resonate with a fraction of Muslims around the world, Wark said, including some in Canada.

“It’s resonating and providing the problem of homegrown terrorism — individuals without any direct connection to organized terrorist groups,” he said. They not only believe the message, but “they’re prepared to act on it. That’s the common denominator between the London group, the Via Rail bombers and the Boston bombing.”

While it seems clear the past week’s events will provoke renewed discussion on who is allowed into Canada and how they’re tracked, Zekulin said it’s imperative that we examine the individual motivation and rationale of people who seek to commit terror at home.

“The bigger concern is the homegrown people who have been here, born and raised, if not for extended periods of time,” he said. “That’s something that requires us to more fundamentally look at ourselves as a society and start asking ourselves how we . . . (have) to make an effort to make sure that multiculturalism is not just a buzzword.”

The risk, he said, is ending up with people who feel like isolated outsiders in a country that provides refuge but not acceptance.

Zekulin said it’s important for societies and governments to deplore individual attacks, but help deter future dangers.

“You absolutely have to condemn these attacks,” he said. “But that’s only one part of the equation. And that removes the existing individuals. It does nothing to address those who might come to replace them.

Source

April 23, 2013

Dudley Says More Needs to Be Done to Aid EU, U.S. Growth - Bloomberg

Filed under: money, mortgage — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 8:33 am

New York Federal Reserve Bank President William C. Dudley said European economic weakness and U.S. budget woes mean

April 20, 2013

Mo. Gov. Nixon vetoes local vehicle sales tax bill

Filed under: Uncategorized, business — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 2:13 am

JEFFERSON CITY • Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon has vetoed legislation that sought to re-impose local sales taxes on vehicles bought from out-of-state dealers or through person-to-person sales.

Nixon’s veto Friday marks the second time in two years he has rejected the Legislature’s attempt to reverse the effect of a 2012 Supreme Court ruling.

The court ruled that local sales taxes can only be charged on vehicles bought from Missouri retailers. If cities and counties want to tax vehicles bought elsewhere, the court said they need to adopt local “use taxes cheap business cards.”

The legislation vetoed by Nixon sought to get around that ruling by tying local sales taxes to the titling of vehicles. Local voters would have had a chance to repeal the taxes by 2016.

Nixon said the repeal section was not drafted well.

(Vehicle tax bill is SB182)

Source

April 16, 2013

Boston Marathon explosions: Pressure cookers used for blasts: report

Filed under: legal, marketing — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 8:33 pm

BOSTON—Boston law enforcement officials say the city’s downtown core will continue to be processed as a crime scene for at least several more days, with 30 explosives expert either on scene or en route to the city Tuesday morning.

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Speaking to reporters alongside representatives from the FBI, the Department of Alcohol Tobacco and Firearms, the fire department and other agencies, Timothy Alben, superintendent of Massachusetts State Police, said there were 176 confirmed casualties injured when two bombs exploded during the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Three people have died, including an 8-year-old boy, and others remain in critical condition.

A person briefed on the investigation says the explosives were in 6-litre pressure cookers and placed in black duffel bags.

The person says the explosives were placed on the ground and contained shards of metal, nails and ball bearings. The person spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the investigation was ongoing.

The person says law enforcement officials have some of the bomb components but did not yet know what was used to set off the explosives.

President Barack Obama said Tuesday morning the explosions were being investigated as an “act of terror,” although authorities still did not know who is responsible.

He called the bombing “a heinous and cowardly act” used to target innocent civilians.

Obama spoke to reporters at the White House after a briefing by his national security team.

Rick Deslauriers, who heads the FBI office in Boston, said his agents are following up tips and other leads, and interviewing a number of witnesses.

He refused to say whether police have anyone in custody or are guarding a patient at a local hospital, as was reported Monday by several local news stations.

“This is a worldwide investigation,” said Deslauriers. “We will go to the ends of the Earth.”

Police are analyzing closed circuit camera footage taken near the scene and have repeatedly asked the public to hand over video footage and photos taken around the time of the explosion near the crime scene.

It’s unclear how a perpetrator could have planted the bombs, which one official said were not hidden in trash bins. Alben said police conducted a sweep of the finish-line about an hour before the race started.

Meanwhile, downtown Boston was a ghost town Tuesday morning. Streets remained cordoned off, while military humvees were parked on street corners, and soldiers and police patrolled streets and alleys.

Bomb squad and tactical response SUVs were the only vehicles navigating the streets, sirens blaring and lights flashing.

Discarded drinking cups and litter were left in place, waiting to be analyzed at what had become a 13 square block crime scene. A three-and-a-half mile no fly zone remained in place over Boston for aircraft flying under 3,000 feet.

Michael Butcher was 15 metres away from Monday’s bomb blasts.

“I had a hard time breathing, I could really feel it in my chest,” said Butcher, whose wife Kelly was competing. “After the first one, a few people actually started moving toward the blast to help the injured. Then the second one happened and everyone was realizing we have to get out of here.”

It took the Atlanta couple about an hour to find one another.

“I didn’t know where she was, or if she was okay,” Butcher said. “My kids were at home freaking out. Then we just found each other wandering in the street.”

“After running 25 miles I had marathon brain, fuzzy thinking,” Kelly Butcher said. “I didn’t really know what had happened until my husband told me.”

Federal investigators said Tuesday morning that no one had claimed responsibility for the bombings one of the city’s most famous civic holidays, Patriots Day, according to The Associated Press. But the blasts among the throngs of spectators raised fears of a terrorist attack.

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Massachusetts State Police investigating the marathon bombing searched an apartment just outside Boston, in Revere. Officers were seen leaving with bags full of material. There’s no word of any suspects or motive in the attack. (April 16, 2013)

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Boston Marathon explosions put world’s cities on alert

Massachusetts Gov personal loans for bad credit. Deval Patrick said Tuesday that no unexploded bombs had been found at the Boston Marathon. He said the only explosives were the ones that went off Monday.

FBI agents searched a suburban Boston apartment overnight and appealed to the public for amateur video and photos that might yield clues to who carried out the Boston Marathon bombing, while a doctor treating the wounded said one of the victims was maimed by what looked like ball bearings or BBs, according to The Associated Press.

President Barack Obama was careful not to use the words “terror” or “terrorism” as he spoke at the White House on Monday, but an administration official said the bombings were being treated as an act of terrorism.

“We will find out who did this. We’ll find out why they did this,” the president said. “Any responsible individuals, any responsible groups, will feel the full weight of justice.”

Across the U.S., from Washington to Los Angeles, police tightened security, monitoring landmarks, government buildings, transit hubs and sporting events.

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The FBI took charge of the investigation, converging on a home in the suburb of Revere on Monday night and appealing for any video, audio and photos taken by marathon spectators. Authorities gave no details on the search. Investigators were seen leaving a building there early Tuesday carrying brown paper bags, plastic trash bags and a duffel bag, according to The Associated Press.

Investigators refused to give any specifics on the bombs and say, for example, where they might have been hidden or whether they were packed with shrapnel for maximum carnage, as is often the case in terror bombings overseas.

But Dr. Stephen Epstein of the emergency medicine department at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center told The Associated Press he saw an X-ray of one victim’s leg that had “what appears to be small, uniform, round objects throughout it — similar in the appearance to BBs.” He said it remained to be determined what exactly the objects were.

A European security official said Tuesday initial evidence indicates that the attacks were not the work of suicide bombers.

“So far, investigators believe it was not the work of suicide bombers, but it is still too early to rule it out completely,” said the official, who spoke to The Associated Press from the United States on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak about the U.S. investigation.

The Pakistani Taliban, which has threatened attacks in the United States because of its support for the Pakistani government, on Tuesday denied any role in the bombings.

The fiery explosions took place about 10 seconds and about 100 yards apart, knocking spectators and at least one runner off their feet, shattering windows and sending columns of smoke rising over the street. Victims lost limbs and suffered broken bones, shrapnel wounds and ruptured eardrums.

As many as two unexploded bombs were found near the end of the 26.2-mile course as part of what appeared to be a well-co-ordinated attack, but they were safely disarmed, according to a senior U.S. intelligence official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation.

Martin Richard, 8, was among the dead, according to a person who talked to a friend of the family and spoke on condition of anonymity. The person said the boy’s mother and sister were also injured as they waited for the race to finish.

Hospitals reported at least 144 people injured, at least 17 of them critically. At least eight children were being treated at hospitals.

The Boston Marathon is one of the world’s oldest and most prestigious races and about 23,000 runners participated. Most of them had crossed the finish line by the time the bombs exploded, but thousands more were still completing the course.

Boston Police Commissioner Edward Davis said authorities had received “no specific intelligence that anything was going to happen” at the race.

“We still don’t know who did this or why,” Obama said at the White House, adding, “Make no mistake: We will get to the bottom of this.”

Source

April 13, 2013

Euro Falls Versus Major Peers as European Finance Ministers Meet - Bloomberg

Filed under: legal, loans — Tags: , , , — ManInBlack @ 2:17 pm

The euro fell versus all but two of its 16 major peers amid concern that the region

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