Asian shares, euro fall on uncertainty over Greek bailout

TOKYO (Reuters) - The euro skidded on Wednesday and Asian shares fell after European officials failed to reach a deal on another bailout for Greece, a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke highlighted the dangers of a U.S. fiscal crisis.

U.S. stock futures eased 0.4 percent, pointing to a weak Wall Street open.

Financial spreadbetters predict London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> would open down as much as 0.2 percent, following weakness in Asia. <.l><.eu><.n/>

The euro slumped 0.5 percent to $1.2752, extending losses and retreating from Tuesday's two-week high of $1.28295.

The euro's decline lifted the dollar up 0.3 percent against a basket of key currencies <.dxy> and weighed on commodities such as gold, which eased 0.3 percent to $1,722.70 an ounce.

Euro zone finance ministers and Greece's international lenders will gather again on Monday. Their meeting in Brussels ended on Wednesday without an agreement on the next tranche of loans to Greece, as they haggled over myriad options on how to bring the country's debt down to a sustainable level, without which emergency aid cannot be disbursed to Athens.

"The euro is being sold because markets had believed the ministers would agree on aid for Greece at today's meeting," said Yuji Saito, director of foreign exchange at Credit Agricole in Tokyo.

"Instead, a settlement is postponed, highlighting the difficulty of getting consensus on the debt crisis. But I feel this is a typical European political show and an agreement will be reached."

The bearish news from Europe dragged down Asian shares, whose two-day rise had already been stalled after Bernanke on Tuesday repeated a warning that failure to avoid the $600 billion "fiscal cliff" in expiring tax cuts and government spending reductions could lead to recession in the United States.

The Fed chief said worries over how budget negotiations will be resolved were already damaging growth.

Concerns about the United States failing to raise its debt ceiling rattled financial markets in August 2011 and prompted Standard & Poor's to cut the top-notch U.S. government bond rating for the first time ever.

"The price action suggests market participants are unclear of what to make of recent developments and therefore this warrants some caution," said Stan Shamu, strategist at IG Markets.

But Hirokazu Yuihama, a senior strategist at Daiwa Securities, said that for all the concerns over the fiscal cliff, most of the market expected the U.S. Congress and White House to reach a compromise to avert the crisis.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> slipped 0.2 percent. Hong Kong <.hsi> shares bucked the falling trend but pared earlier gains to rise 0.5 percent while Shanghai shares <.ssec> inched up 0.3 percent.

Japan's Nikkei stock average <.n225> closed up 0.9 percent at a two month-high as exporters were buoyed by a weaker yen.

The yen has come under pressure on expectations that a general election on December 16 will result in victory for an opposition leader who wants the Bank of Japan to aggressively ease monetary policy to stem the economy from further deterioration. <.t/>

MACRO DATA EYED

Daiwa's Yuihama said concerns over third-quarter earnings have subsided as most Asian companies had already reported results.

"This has prompted investors to turn to economic fundamentals. Signs of recovery in the U.S. and China are offering some assurances that the global economic slump may not be as severe as previously feared, even if growth remains fragile," Yuihama said.

Investors will now focus on HSBC China flash PMI for November due on Thursday to see whether a low point for China, the world's second largest economy, is over. U.S. manufacturing figures are due later on Wednesday while those from Europe are due on Thursday.

Trading activity was slowing ahead of the U.S. Thanksgiving long weekend.

Going into the holiday, the dollar has been underpinned broadly by data indicating a moderate U.S. recovery taking root, while the yen remained under pressure, with more data showing Japan's economy struggling.

Japan's exports fell 6.5 percent in October from a year ago, dropping for a fifth consecutive month, weighed down by weakening global demand and a territorial row with China, its main customer.

In the U.S. on Tuesday, a report showed housing starts rose to the highest rate in more than four years in October.

The dollar rose to a 7-1/2-month high against the yen of 81.975 yen while the euro briefly touched a peak of 105.05 yen, its highest point since May 4.

A retreat in shares dragged oil lower, although prices remained supported by a lack of ceasefire between Israelis and Palestinians, which raised concerns about supply disruptions from the Middle East.

U.S. crude futures pared earlier gains and were up 0.1 percent to $86.85 a barrel by midafternoon, and Brent crude also trimmed earlier rises and was up 0.2 percent at $110.03.

Weak appetite for riskier assets also interest in Asian credit markets subdued, with the spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index tightening by 1 basis point.

(Additional reporting by Miranda Maxwell in Melbourne; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore & Kim Coghill)

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Obama Receives Warm Welcome in Myanmar

YANGON, MYANMAR — The generals predicted that the Americans would come — but not like this.

In the paranoid decades of military rule, members of Myanmar’s junta told diplomats that they feared an American invasion and regime change.

On Monday, there was a large American deployment to Myanmar, but of an entirely different kind. Two jumbo jets carrying President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and their substantial entourage arrived for a six-hour visit. They were greeted by hundreds of people along Yangon’s streets, many of them waving U.S. flags.

“I saw Obama and nearly fainted,” said U Sein Hla Maung, an accounting teacher, who was perched on a hill overlooking the airport. “I’m very excited.”

Across the city there were symbols of how much mistrust has dissolved between the two governments and how much Myanmar has changed over the past two years as it moves from a dictatorship and toward a democracy. There were graffiti tributes to Mr. Obama, and shops sold T-shirts with his image.

“You are the legend hero of our world,” read a large sign in English held by a group of women standing along the road where Mr. Obama’s motorcade passed.

The warm greeting that Mr. Obama received here was partly government pomp and protocol. Hundreds of students in uniform were bused to the airport to line the roads and chanted in unison a rehearsed greeting: “President Obama is warmly welcomed to Myanmar!”

But the hundreds of others who came to greet the president’s motorcade on their own said they were deeply moved by Mr. Obama’s presence.

“We’ve been waiting 50 years for this visit,” said Kyaw Soe Moe, a restaurateur who had stood along the road with two large American flags. “There is justice and law in the United States. I want our country to be like that.”

During Myanmar’s military rule, American flags were taboo and symbols of defiance. On Monday, well-wishers said it was a measure of new freedoms in the country that they could greet Mr. Obama holding the Stars and Stripes.

“America always meant support for democracy for us,” Win Min, a former student activist who was one of two interpreters of a speech Mr. Obama delivered during his visit. “It was the country that had the strongest criticism of the military regime. We looked up to America.”

In 1988, when students and striking workers rose up against military rule, they marched almost daily to the U.S. Embassy. The military put down the uprising in a crackdown that killed many. It has only been 20 months since the junta in Myanmar ceded power to the civilian government of President Thein Sein. Therefore, American flags strewn across the capital, and Air Force One parked at the airport in Yangon, were a novel and somewhat jarring sight.

“There were people in the old regime and there are probably some people in the new government who still fear America,” said U Thant Myint-U, a historian who was in the audience for Mr. Obama’s speech. “They are afraid of what American influence could unleash here.”

Mr. Obama’s visit suggests that the Myanmar government “now has gained a level of confidence,” Mr. Thant Myint-U said.

Some members of the governing party, which is led by former generals of the junta, sought to play down the visit.

“I want to say that America is not the only friend of our nation — China and India are our friends too,” said U Khin Maung Htoo, a member of Parliament with the Union Solidarity and Development Party.

Mr. Khin Maung Htoo also said it was inappropriate for Mr. Obama to have met Myanmar’s president in Yangon instead of Naypyidaw, the capital built and conceived by the military.

The timing of the visit was awkward for Mr. Thein Sein, who flew from a regional meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations in Cambodia to meet Mr. Obama and then flew back to Cambodia immediately afterward.

In his speech at the University of Yangon, Mr. Obama spoke about the changes to the country and offered a “hand of friendship” between two countries that had become “strangers.” The speech was carried live on Myanmar television, but without explanation the announcers stopped simultaneous interpretation in Burmese after several minutes.

Mr. Obama spoke about Myanmar’s continuing ethnic strife and said the country should harness the “power of diversity.” He said that people with his skin color were once denied the right to vote in the United States.

“And so that should give you some sense that if our country can transcend its differences,” Mr. Obama said, “then yours can too.”

On the street outside the university was U Ko Ni, a former political prisoner, who held up a sign: “Welcome Americans. No other nation has full human rights and democracy. We need and want democracy. Do help.”

Wai Moe contributed reporting from Yangon.

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Dancing with the Stars: Couples Perform Crazy Combinations in Semi-Finals

TV Watch

Dancing With the Stars

By Aaron Parsley

11/19/2012 at 11:05 PM EST

Shawn Johnson and Derek Hough

Craig Sjodin/ABC

It's the semi-finals!

The remaining five couples on Dancing with the Stars faced two rounds of competition on Monday. First, the pairs performed mixed-up routines, blending uncommon styles with unusual themes. Then, they celebrated the 25th anniversary of Michael Jackson's hit album Bad with more traditional ballroom numbers.

Keep reading for all the details and scores ...

Melissa Rycroft & Tony Dovolani
Last week's top scorers kicked off the night with a caveman hustle. "Fred and Wilma have never danced so well," Len Goodman said, while Bruno Tonioli said they lost footing during the turns. They scored a 27.5. But their red-hot Argentine tango to "Dirty Diana" was a perfect 30. "That was beyond anything I could have imagined for you," a thrilled Carrie Ann Inaba said. "I would be really disappointed if you're not here next week," Len added.

Shawn Johnson & Derek Hough
Hough said he would rather put mustard on ice cream than combine their Knight Rider theme with the Bhangra style. But the judges ate up the routine – and awarded the pair a perfect 30. In round two, their Argentine tango sparked disagreement on the panel. Bruno and Len held up 10s but Carrie Ann knocked off a point. "Every line was perfect, but dance is sometimes more than just movement and I thought that you lacked the real passion of the Argentine tango," she said.

Apolo Ohno & Karina Smirnoff
Their big top jazz routine was another sticking point for Carrie Ann and Bruno. She found the mime-themed dance "very disjointed," "out of sync" and "quite sloppy." He found it "edgy, surreal" and a "great mixture of jazz movement." They earned 27 points. But there was no arguing over their rumba to "Man in the Mirror," which earned a perfect 30. "It was like the sea," Len said. "There was wave after wave of effortless motion. There was a subtlety to it, there was a calmness. It captivated. It was fabulous."

Emmitt Smith & Cheryl Burke
The goal of their espionage lindy hop was to be cartoonish. Though that was tough for the former Dallas Cowboy, the judges were pleased and awarded the pair 27 points. "It was like a Looney Tunes version of James Bond," Bruno said. "It was the most fun performance I've seen you do." Their tango to "Leave Me Alone" was more of a challenge, but Len still gave Smith credit: "You've coped marvelously well with two dances that didn't really suit you," he said.

Kelly Monaco & Val Chmerkovskiy
Their surfer flamenco was super sexy – Val ended up in nothing but Speedo! – but the judges had issues with their technique, and handed out only 25.5 points. "It had a lot of aggression and a lot of fire. But the flamenco has very, very exact placement and it wasn't there," Bruno said. Carrie Ann called it "robotic." But they added 28.5 points with a romantic rumba to "I Just Can't Stop Loving You." "That was smoldering, driven by desire, consumed by lust," Bruno said. "The chemistry between you two is literally singeing."

Two couples are heading home Tuesday night, leaving just three to compete in next week's finale. Who deserves a chance at the mirror-ball trophy? Discuss in the comments below.

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Asian shares rise on hopes for U.S. fiscal deal

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Tuesday on hopes of a compromise in the U.S. fiscal crisis, while the euro fell after Moody's Investors Service scrapped France's top-notch credit rating, reminding investors of the downside risk from the euro zone debt woes.

With risk assets from stocks to commodities rallying over the past two sessions, recovering some of last week's sharp losses, markets were prone to profit taking as trading will likely slow ahead of Thanksgiving holiday weekend.

The dollar steadied against a basket of key currencies <.dxy> after Monday's 0.5 percent drop, capping commodities and gold. Oil also retreated from a near 3 percent jump on Monday.

U.S. stock futures eased 0.1 percent to hint at a weak Wall Street open. Financial spreadbetters predict London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> will open down as much as 0.3 percent. <.l><.eu><.n/>

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> added 0.7 percent, led by the materials and technology sectors <.miapjmt00pus><.miappjit00pus>.

Wall street climbed nearly 2 percent on Monday thanks to expectations that U.S. Congress reach a compromise to avoid $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts due to start in January - the "fiscal cliff" that threatens to derail the U.S. economy.

"There's some optimism at the moment about the Americans doing something constructive about their fiscal cliff problem," said Damien Boey, equity strategist at Credit Suisse.

Tech stocks lifted Korean shares <.ks11> up 0.6 percent and Hong Kong <.hsi> stocks added 0.8 percent to a one-week high.

Shanghai shares <.ssec> fell 0.5 percent, nearing their lowest since early 2009 hit on Monday, after data showed China's foreign direct investment inflows fell 3.45 percent in the first 10 months of 2012 from a year ago.

Japan's Nikkei average <.n225> inched down 0.1 percent, after reaching a fresh two-month high earlier in the day. <.t/>

As expected, the Bank of Japan took no fresh steps after a two-day policy meeting on Tuesday, reiterating that it would pursue powerful monetary easing as Japan's economy is weakening.

The dollar fell 0.2 percent to 81.23 yen, but held near its highest since April 25 of 81.59 yen touched on Monday.

David Baran, co-founder of Tokyo-based hedge fund Symphony Financial Partners, said Japanese equities and the yen were attractive in comparison to other Asian assets. Nikkei has stayed at the lower end of ranges through 2012 and there are expectations that next month's election will result in a government that wants the BOJ to take stronger stimulus steps.

"Just from a risk-reward standpoint, you are seeing investors looking at Japan, looking at the yen and natural extrapolation of maybe we've seen the end of the bottom range of the dollar/yen," he said. "If you are trying to trade big moves, turning points, then you are getting into low risk, high reward possibility in yen and subsequently Japanese equities."

TAIL RISKS REMAIN

Euro zone finance ministers are expected to give a tentative go-ahead for the disbursement of 44 billion euros in emergency loans to Greece at a meeting later on Tuesday and discuss how to reduce Greek debt and provide two extra years of external financing to help Athens meet its fiscal target.

Ratings agency Fitch on Monday warned that failure to reach a deal on the "fiscal cliff" could trigger a recession and push the U.S. jobless rate above 10 percent. Given such "far-reaching effects," Fitch said it did not expect Congress to allow it to happen, echoing recent market optimism.

But Richard Franulovich, senior currency strategist at Westpac Securities in New York, said in a note that the positive conciliatory rhetoric over the "fiscal cliff" could easily come unstuck, while anything that is produced at the euro zone finance ministers' meeting is likely to be piecemeal.

"Given our read of the fiscal cliff and Greek risks we remain comfortable fading strength in risk assets," he said.

The euro zone's debt crisis saw Moody's cut France's government bond rating to Aa1 and keep its negative outlook, citing the country's uncertain fiscal outlook and deteriorating economic prospects.

France's downgrade sent the euro down 0.3 percent to $1.2777 from $1.2810, before it steadied to $1.2797, and also weighed on the euro against the yen.

Hiroshi Maeba, head of FX trading Japan for UBS in Tokyo, said the reaction to the downgrade was limited, as trading was getting lighter ahead of Thanksgiving weekend.

"Given the recent market rally, the rest of the week is likely to be spent on adjusting positions before the long weekend, with any uptick giving way to profit taking," he said.

Brent crude held steady above $111 a barrel on Tuesday, less than a dollar away from a one-month top hit in the previous session, on hopes over the U.S. budget crisis and supply worries triggered by tensions in the Middle East.

U.S. crude futures eased 0.3 percent to $89.06.

Spot gold was nearly flat at $1,732.05 an ounce.

With risk appetite recovering, credit market spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index tightened by 4 basis points.

(Additional reporting by Clement Tan in Hong Kong and Thuy On in Sydney; Editing by Simon Cameron-Moore)

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Cisco to buy cloud-networking start-up Meraki for $1.2 billion

(Reuters) – Networking equipment company Cisco Systems Inc said it will buy privately held cloud networking company Meraki for $ 1.2 billion in cash as part of its cloud and networking strategy.

Cisco said the acquisition of Meraki, which was founded in 2006 by members of MIT’s Laboratory for Computer Science, is expected to close in the second quarter of Cisco’s 2013 fiscal year and is subject to regulatory approval.

Cisco’s second quarter runs until the end of January.

Meraki – funded by Sequoia Capital and Google Inc – offers Wi-Fi technology, switching, security and mobile device management from the cloud with a focus on mid-sized businesses.

“This is a very logical move for Cisco,” said ZK research analyst Zeus Kerravala.

He said the deal will allow Cisco to offer alternative solutions to traditional Wi-Fi deployment models like smaller competitors, such as Aruba Networks and Ruckus Wireless, which debuted on Friday.

“Cisco didn’t really have anything to counter that before,” Kerravala noted.

Meraki’s Chief Executive Sanjit Biswas said in a letter to employees posted on the company website that Cisco had approached the company several weeks ago.

The company’s founders had at first rejected the offer in favor of continuing Meraki’s strategy aimed at an initial public listing.

“After several weeks of consideration, we decided late last week that joining Cisco was the right path for Meraki,” Biswas said.

He also said that Meraki had achieved a $ 100 million bookings run rate, grown to 330 employees and had a positive cash flow.

(Reporting by Nicola Leske, editing by Gary Crosse)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Justin Bieber Brings His Mom to the American Music Awards

By Maggie Coughlan

11/18/2012 at 09:35 PM EST

Pattie Mallette and Justin Bieber

Jonathan Alcorn/Reuters/Landov

Mother knows best!

Despite his recent split from Selena Gomez, Justin Bieber still had a date for the 40th American Music Awards on Sunday: his mother, Pattie Mallette.

Malette – who recently penned Nowhere But Up: The Story of Justin Bieber's Mom – looked thrilled to pose for photographs with her son.

When Bieber won the first award of the night, for favorite pop/rock male artist, his proud mother, 38, beamed.

"I want to say this is for all the haters who thought I was just here for one or two years. I feel like I'm going to be here for a very long time," the singer said as he accepted the award.

The award was a highlight during a rocky week for Bieber, who on Friday reunited with Gomez, 20, for dinner at a Japanese restaurant in Los Angeles. But just five minutes after entering the restaurant, the couple emerged with Gomez looking visibly "mad," says a source.

Later that night, Bieber Tweeted "Things aren't always easy. there is a lot of pressure. im figuring it all out. im trying. but i care, i notice, i still hear u. #Beliebers."

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Asian shares rise on US fiscal hopes

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian shares rose on Monday, supported by hopes U.S. politicians can overcome an imminent fiscal crunch while the yen fell to a near seven-month low against the dollar on expectations a new government chosen in next month's election could pump large amounts of stimulus cash into the economy.

A 0.2 percent gain in U.S. stock futures point to a firm Wall Street open, and financial spreadbetters predict London's FTSE 100 <.ftse>, Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi> and Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> will open as much as 0.9 percent higher. <.l><.eu><.n/>

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> rose 0.5 percent, recovering from Friday's nine-week low.

Its energy sector <.miapjen00pus> outperformed as mounting supply concerns on escalating tension from Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip and Hamas rocket attacks on Israel underpinned oil prices.

The materials sector <.miapjmt00pus> was among top gainers as London copper rallied 1 percent to $7,684 a tonne on a renewed growth outlook for China and hopes for a solution to the U.S. fiscal cliff.

Australian shares <.axjo> climbed 0.6 percent but Shanghai shares <.ssec> underperformed with a 0.5 percent drop, having earlier touched levels not seen since early 2009.

"We had some positive leads from the U.S. on Friday. Our market had been underperforming last week," Peter Esho, chief market analyst at City Index, said of Australian equities. "There's some hope that the negotiations in the U.S. around the fiscal situation may somewhat improve - the prospects around that may improve this week."

Japan's Nikkei average <.n225>, which bucked the broad Asian downtrend on Friday and surged 2.2 percent, extended gains with a 1.4 percent climb to close at a two-month high. <.t/>

Speculation that the leader of the opposition Liberal Democratic Party, which is expected to win the December 16 elections, will call for more stimulus including further aggressive easing by the Bank of Japan also undermined the yen.

The BOJ begins a two-day policy meeting on Monday, and is expected to refrain from taking fresh policy steps.

The dollar hit a near seven-month high against the yen at 81.59 yen on Monday. A weaker yen helps support the economy and boosts sentiment for Japanese equities investors.

A senior trader at a foreign bank said investors had been underweight Japanese equities and the rally could have further to go as they start to put their money into Japan, advising investors to cover their positions in very heavily short-sold sectors such as electronics.

FISCAL CLIFF, GREECE EYED

Aside from Japanese politics, market players closely watched negotiations among U.S. Congressional leaders to avoid a budget crisis, and prepared for European officials' meeting on Tuesday to discuss aid for debt-stricken Greece.

Hope that U.S. politicians would find a way to steer clear of the "fiscal cliff" boosted U.S. stocks on Friday. European shares sank to a 3-1/2-month closing low, for their worst week since the end of May, on persistent concerns over U.S. fiscal policy and the euro zone debt crisis.

Top lawmakers from both major U.S. political parties on Friday hinted at the possibility of a budget compromise that involves spending cuts and additional revenue, although they were short on details.

"The good news is the tone of Friday's White House meeting but the prospect of no agreement until at least mid-December fits our view that the two sides are starting negotiations from rather distant points," Sean Callow, senior currency strategist at Westpac bank in Sydney, said in a note.

"As such, there will be plenty of negative headlines in coming weeks that weigh on Treasury yields and boost USD, which is yet again trading like a safe haven even when the bad news is generated by the US."

The dollar fell 0.2 percent, retreating from the two-month high of 81.455 hit on Friday against a basket of key currencies <.dxy>. The drop in the dollar supported gold, which added 0.5 percent to $1,721.60 an ounce.

The euro rose 0.1 percent to $1.2760, with traders waiting to know whether euro zone finance ministers and International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde would agree a way to make Greece's debt manageable.

"As the EU prepares a bundled aid package to avert a Greek default, headlines coming out of the meeting may fuel a relief rally in the euro, but we will maintain our bearish forecast for the single currency as the region faces a deepening recession," said David Song, currency analyst at DailyFX.

U.S. crude futures jumped 1 percent to 87.81 a barrel and Brent rose 0.7 percent to $109.70.

Asian credit market spreads on the iTraxx Asia ex-Japan investment-grade index were little changed.

(Additional reporting by Thuy Ong and; Ian Chua in Sydney, Dominic Lau in Tokyo; Editing by Eric Meijer)

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Russia Looks Askance at Corruption Drive

MOSCOW — Ripples of scandal are spreading in Russia’s Far East, where, auditors say, $472 million in construction financing was misallocated ahead of a government summit meeting. About $200 million in missing funds have led to firings in Russia’s space industry. And corruption in the Defense Ministry has figured prominently in Russia’s news cycles since Nov. 6, leaving the fate of its former minister uncertain.

In the past, President Vladimir V. Putin has always been reluctant to expel or prosecute high-level officials, despite widespread complaints about corruption. So the mushrooming scandals are unusual, raising questions about what has changed.

There is little doubt that the Kremlin has been battered by opposition campaigns highlighting official corruption. Political strategists, searching for ideas powerful enough to consolidate the country around Mr. Putin, may seize on fighting corruption as a Kremlin effort, and recent steps hint at a populist push to expose and punish guilty officials.

“A tough, uncompromising battle with corruption has begun,” announced Arkady Mamontov, a pro-government television host, in a much-hyped documentary titled “Corruption” that, though it was broadcast close to midnight on Tuesday, attracted nearly 20 percent of the television audience. “In the course of the next months, we will see many interesting things. The main thing is that we should not stand aside and watch what is happening, but take an active part in it.”

Political observers have watched the anticorruption drive curiously, debating where it might be headed, and especially whether, for the first time since Mr. Putin came to power, high-ranking officials would face prosecution. On Monday, the newspaper Vedomosti declared that Moscow was witnessing the beginning of a “cleansing of the elite” — a flushing out of a political system that lacks other mechanisms of renewal, like competitive elections. Others were skeptical that the effort would reach beyond midlevel officials.

“It cannot become an overall ideology, because Putin’s system is dependent on corruption — on corruption as a form of management and a guarantee of loyalty from officials,” said Aleksei Navalny, a blogger and anticorruption activist. “They will not kick out from under themselves the stool that they are standing on.”

Last week, it seemed the Kremlin had not decided how far to take its anticorruption drive. On Wednesday, Russian news agencies reported that the highest-level official to be implicated — the former defense minister Anatoly E. Serdyukov — had been offered a comfortable new job as an adviser to the director of Rostekhnologii, a company that produces and exports high-tech equipment.

The news prompted waves of angry commentary from those who had hoped Mr. Serdyukov would be prosecuted, including Adm. Vladimir Komoyedov, who heads the Defense Committee in the lower house of Parliament.

“There is a signal in the navy that means ‘man overboard,’ ” he said. “We all thought the former minister had fallen overboard, and his fate would be sorrowful. But it turned out he was still inside the submarine.”

Others said it was more evidence that Mr. Putin does not give up his own. By way of commentary, the newspaper Kommersant posted a still from “The Godfather” in which the Mafia don embraced one of his lieutenants, along with a quotation: “Friendship is everything.”

Officials the next day denied that Mr. Serdyukov had been offered the job. Asked about the case at a news conference, Mr. Putin confirmed that, but said it would not be a problem if Mr. Serdyukov was given a new position, since he has not been formally accused of wrongdoing.

“There is a generally accepted practice that a person is innocent as long as a court has not proven his guilt,” he said. “If he wants to gain work anywhere, I don’t think that we should prevent that. He has the right to work.”

The Kremlin faces a dilemma in resolving Mr. Serdyukov’s case. Russians largely supported Mr. Serdyukov’s dismissal, and some speculated that the anticorruption effort was bolstering Mr. Putin’s approval ratings. The firing was particularly popular among prosperous urban males — a population that has turned away from Mr. Putin in recent years, and which he is no doubt eager to win back. But a prosecution would shine light on a deep and pervasive flaw of Mr. Putin’s system, with unpredictable consequences.

Mr. Navalny said he was “cautiously optimistic” that information about corruption had begun to emerge into public view, even if high-level officials were not punished.

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14 Black Friday Tech Deals Start Early at Walmart

1. Apple iPad 2 — 16GB

$ 399

Click here to view this gallery.

[More from Mashable: Top 10 Twitter Pics of the Week]

This year Walmart is starting Black Friday on Thursday, so you can get an early start on your holiday tech savings. You’ll need to gobble up your Thanksgiving dinner early and get over to Walmart; the company is kicking off in-store deals at 8 p.m. local time on Thanksgiving, when you can snag a Nintendo Wii Console for $ 89.

The big electronics event begins at 10 p.m. with deals on a Samsung 43-inch plasma TV and a NOOK Color. Don’t worry that they’ll run out of those door-buster deals either. Walmart is offering a one-hour guarantee on select consumer electronics during Thursday’s 10 p.m. event.

[More from Mashable: Stylish HiRise Stand Elevates Laptops to the Ideal Height]

Walmart says customers inside the store and in line between 10 p.m. and 11 p.m. local time can purchase an Apple iPad 2 16GB with Wi-Fi for $ 399 and score a $ 75 Walmart gift card, an Emerson 32-inch 720p LCD TV for $ 148 and an LG Blu-ray Player for $ 38. If the store runs out of stock, you’ll receive a Guarantee Card for the item, which you must purchase by midnight and register online.

If shopping online from the comfort of your home is more appealing than elbowing your way through a jam-packed store, Black Friday specials will be posted on Walmart’s website early on Thanksgiving Day. Head to Walmart’s Facebook page or use its mobile app to check out all the deals.

Scroll through the gallery above to see the top 14 tech deals we spotted, and let us know if you’ll be out shopping the specials this Black Friday.

Thumbnail image courtesy of Flickr, el neato

This story originally published on Mashable here.

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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Taylor Swift and One Direction's Harry Styles: Are They Dating?

By Patrick Gomez

11/17/2012 at 10:40 PM EST

Taylor Swift and Harry Styles

Janet Mayer/Splash News Online; Don Arnold/Wireimage

Taylor Swift appears to be taking her love life in a new direction.

The "Never Ever Getting Back Together" singer is seemingly taking her lyrics to heart as she moves on from recent ex, Conor Kennedy, and enjoys the company of One Direction hottie Harry Styles.

"I had to literally do a double-take," an onlooker tells PEOPLE of finding Styles, 18, with Swift, 22, on the set of The X Factor Thursday morning.

Styles was on hand to watch Swift rehearse the debut of "State of Grace," which she performed later that night on the Fox reality show.

"He was smiling at her while she rehearsed. When she was done he jumped up on stage, picked her up, put her over his shoulder and carried her off stage," the onlooker says. "The whole crew was really surprised."

The young singers were also spotted by X Factor host Mario Lopez, who says he was slapped on the back by Styles during Swift's rehearsal.

"I said, 'What are you doing here,' " Lopez said on his 104.3 MY FM radio show Friday. "And he sort of [pointed] toward Taylor."

Lopez went on to say he later saw the two "hand-in-hand."

A telling sign of the budding relationship may have been a look Styles shared with his bandmate Niall Horan a week earlier after Horan told PEOPLE his favorite song of 2012 was Swift's "Never Ever Getting Back Together."

When asked if he would ever date Swift, Horan gave a small laugh, looked at Styles and answered with a succinct, "no."

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