No policy changes are expected as Fed ends meeting

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is widely expected Wednesday to stick with its aggressive efforts to strengthen a still-subpar economy.

The Fed will likely end a two-day meeting with a statement noting that job growth remains modest and that it's standing by its campaign to keep loan rates at record lows to help ease unemployment.

The central bank's efforts include buying $85 billion a month in Treasurys and mortgage bonds to try to keep long-term borrowing costs down.

Investors will have only the Fed's brief statement to study for clues to its thinking. This isn't one of the four policy meetings each year that are capped by a news conference by Chairman Ben Bernanke.

Besides buying bonds to keep long-term rates down, the Fed has said it plans to keep its key short-term rate near zero at least until the unemployment rate dips below 6.5 percent from its current 7.6 percent. The goal is for consumers and businesses to borrow and spend more to energize the economy.

Many economists had suggested that the Fed might scale back its bond purchases in the second half of 2013 if job growth accelerated. But the jobs report for March was surprisingly weak. And inflation has been running below the Fed's target rate, allowing it to keep stimulating the economy without igniting price increases.

"I am not looking for any major action from this meeting," says David Jones, an economist at DMJ Advisors.

The minutes of the Fed's last meeting in March indicated that some policymakers favored slowing and eventually ending its bond buying — as long as the economy and the job market kept improving. Some feared that keeping rates too low for too long could escalate inflation, fuel speculative asset bubbles or unsettle markets once the Fed has to start raising rates or unloading its record $3 trillion investment portfolio.

Early this month, though, the government said U.S. employers added only 88,000 jobs in March, far below the 220,000 average in the previous four months. Last week, it said the economy grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the January-March quarter — a decent growth rate but one that's expected to weaken in coming months because of federal spending cuts and higher Social Security taxes.

At the same time, consumer inflation as measured by the gauge the Fed most closely monitors remains well below its 2 percent target. That gauge rose just 1 percent in the 12 months that ended in March.

Many analysts now think the Fed will keep the Fed's easy-credit policies unchanged, possibly for the rest of the year.

"The government's fiscal austerity is kicking in and hitting the economy hard," says Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics. "I am not looking for any change in Fed policy at this meeting, not with this weak growth and low inflation."

The Fed's goal is to keep price changes from hurting the economy. This could occur if inflation raged out of control or if the opposite problem — deflation — emerged. Deflation is a prolonged drop in wages, prices and the value of assets like stocks and houses.

The United States last suffered serious deflation during the Great Depression of the 1930s but Fed policymakers worry more about the threat of deflation any time prices go lower than 2 percent. They want to avoid following the path of Japan, which has struggled with weak growth and deflation for more than two decades.

Economists believe the latest economic data will embolden the majority of officials who back Bernanke's commitment to keep borrowing rates down until the economy shows sustained improvement — as long as inflation stays low.

Brian Bethune, an economics professor at Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., says the Fed needs to be especially cautious in signaling any policy shift because the U.S. economy has been serving as a global engine of growth. Many European countries are still struggling to escape a recession that followed the region's debt crisis.

"Anything the Fed did that could disrupt things or create uncertainty could tip the whole global economy back into recession," Bethune says.

Few expect the central bank to start raising short-term rates before late 2015 or early 2016. And many economists think the Fed will keep buying $85 billion in bonds each month for the rest of this year, before starting to curtail its purchases in early 2014.

Via Yahoo News!

Weightlifting body changes dress code, benefits Muslim woman

Kulsoom Abdullah wants to keep her body covered during official competitionsThe International Weightlifting Federation modifies its rulesRules now specify outfits can be full-body, tight-fitted unitard

Atlanta (CNN) -- The International Weightlifting Federation has modified its rules and will allow athletes to wear a full-body, tight-fitted unitard during competition, the group said.

Wednesday's rule change was prompted by an Atlanta woman, who wanted to take part in competitions governed by IWF rules but still adhere to the modest dress of her Muslim faith.

"Weightlifting is an Olympic Sport open for all athletes to participate without discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex, age, or national origin in accordance with the principles of the Olympic Charter and values," Tamas Ajan, IWF president, said Wednesday. "This rule modification has been considered in the spirit of fairness, equality and inclusion."

Before the change, the IWF's technical and competition rules said weightlifting outfits -- officially called "costumes" -- had to be collarless and not cover the elbows or knees.

Abdullah, a 35-year-old with a doctorate in electrical and computer engineering, is not an Olympic athlete, but enjoys lifting weights.

She generally wears loose, long pants past the ankles, a long-sleeve, fitted shirt with a loose T-shirt over it, and a hijab, or head scarf, covering her hair.

"It's what I believe in. It's what I've chosen to do," Abdullah told CNN this month about her decision to wear modest garb. "I've always dressed this way publicly."

She can deadlift 245 pounds (111 kg) and get up 105 pounds (47.5 kg) in the snatch, in which the competitor lifts the barbell from the floor to over her head in a single motion. She likes to compete with other women in her weight class -- she generally weighs in the 106-pound (48 kg) or 117-pound (53 kg) classifications.

"It guess it's empowering," she says. "There's a lot of technique involved, so someone who's this big muscular person -- it's possible I could lift more than they do. There's speed and timing to it -- you have to be explosive. I think it's great just for confidence building ... I guess I got hooked."

The review was prompted by the Atlanta resident wanting to take part in tournaments in the United States, including one coming up in July. But USA Weightlifting informed her that those events are governed by IWF rules, which at that time precluded her dressing in keeping with her beliefs.

Abdullah says she understands the need to make sure she isn't wearing anything under her clothes to give her a competitive advantage. She says judges could check to make sure she is not wearing something on her elbows, for example, that might help her.

Numerous athletic agencies have faced similar questions in the past and, in some cases, have determined that allowing special clothing violates fairness or equality among all contestants.

FIFA, the international federation governing soccer, recently refused to allow Iran's women's soccer team to wear headscarves while playing in an Olympic qualifying round in Amman, Jordan.

Abdullah told CNN her effort is not just about herself. "I should at least try," she said, "if not for me then maybe for other women who -- if they have my faith or another faith -- dress a certain way."

CNN's Josh Levs contributed to this report

CNN

Report: Food prices trigger diet changes

Protests that erupted in December in Tunisia over food prices and unemployment eventually spread around north Africa.54 percent of people are not eating the same kind of food as they did two years ago 39 percent of those who changed their diet blamed the rising price of food The U.N. Food Price Index hit an all-time high in February 2011

(CNN) -- People around the world are changing their diets because of soaring food prices, according to a new study.

The majority of people in most countries surveyed by international aid agency Oxfam said they're no longer eating the same kind of food as they did two years ago, with 39 percent globally blaming rising food costs and another 33 percent citing health reasons.

The poll also shows the effects of globalization on the world diet, with both pasta and pizza ranked among the top three favorite foods in many countries.

The United States, Russia and India were among the 17 countries surveyed.

"Our diets are changing fast and for too many people it is a change for the worst," said Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam. "Huge numbers of people, especially in the world's poorest countries, are cutting back on the quantity or quality of the food they eat because of rising food prices."

High and volatile food prices represent an increasingly large and unpredictable proportion of household income in developing countries, according to Abolreza Abbassian, an economist for the U.N.'s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

"People in poorer countries are already eating once a day, so when prices go up, people spend all their income on food," Abbassian told CNN. "They can't have more income, so the only thing they can do is eat less or more inferior food."

Between now and 2020, the likelihood of prices in real terms declining is very, very little.
--Abdolreza Abbassian, FAO economist

Seventy-six percent of respondents in Kenya told Oxfam that they've changed their diets, with 79 percent blaming food prices. In Mexico, 65 percent of respondents changed diets, with more than half blaming prices as well.

While food costs have hit the developing world the hardest, the West is not immune to the effects of rising prices. In the United States, 55 percent of respondents said they no longer eat the same kinds of food they did two years ago, and 31 percent attribute the change to food prices.

After 30 years of relatively constant prices, the cost of food staples like grains, meats and sugar soared in mid-2008, with experts blaming everything from extreme weather to biofuel production and shortsighted economic policies.

In February of this year, the U.N. Food Price Index -- a number representing the average prices of five main foods including meat, dairy and cereals -- hit an all-time high of 238, nearly 20 percent higher than during the 2008 food crisis.

Another 44 million people worldwide were driven into poverty due to high food prices since June 2010 -- in addition to the 1.2 billion people already living below the poverty line of $1.25 a day, according to the World Bank.

Abbassian said the FAO doesn't expect much in the way of price relief anytime soon.

"Between now and 2020, the likelihood of prices in real terms declining is very, very little" due to the lack of fundamental changes in the global agricultural market, said Abbassian.

Part of the reason for this, said Abbassian, is the five billion people in the world who aren't below the poverty line.

"Prices today, as high as they may seem, may not seem high to people in emerging economies, so they carry on buying, and you're not getting price rationing," said Abbassian, referring to the point where food becomes so expensive that people stop buying it.

"The danger is that these people keep paying regardless of the price, and they are increasing the price of the food for people who can't afford it even more."

According to Abbassian, since the free market food system cannot look after the world's poorest people, one solution would provide targeted aid to subsidize food prices for those under the poverty line.

The agricultural ministers of the G-20 countries are due to meet in Paris next week to discuss food prices -- and while previous meetings have yielded little, Abbassian expressed optimism that this time would be different.

G-20 countries have "realized that food prices are a problem, and that this problem cannot be solved by pledges and empty promises," said Abbassian. "And that is quite a striking difference from the past."

CNN

Nuclear task force: No immediate changes needed in U.S.

A federal task force says U.S. reactors don't have significant safety issues. Shown in Virginia's North Anna Power Station.Task force does not recommend immediate changesBut changes are expected when its study is completedWatchdog group does not see that "the picture is quite as rosy"

Washington (CNN) -- A federal task force set up following the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in Japan says no immediate changes are needed to improve the safety of nuclear reactors in the United States. But it said it expects to recommend changes when it completes its study in 60 days.

"As we stand today, the task force has not identified any issues that we think would undermine our confidence in the continued safety and emergency planning for nuclear plants in this country," task force leader Charles Miller told the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission on Thursday. "That said, we do expect that we're likely to have findings and recommendations that will further enhance the safety of the nuclear plants in this country."

But an industry watchdog group said the NRC task force is "pulling its punches" by failing to take immediate actions to address shortcomings.

"I think if you're listening carefully, they're telling two different stories," said Ed Lyman of the Union of Concerned Scientists. "On the one hand, they say we don't need to take any immediate action. On the other hand, their inspections have turned up problems with compliance on the measures that are supposed to be in place to deal with severe accidents. It doesn't sound like the picture is quite as rosy."

The NRC set up the internal task force shortly following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan to provide a quick review of the incident and report on lessons that could be applied domestically. The task force will also brief the NRC in June and July, and its recommendations will set the stage for more in-depth studies.

An NRC official, meanwhile, told the commission that post-Fukushima safety inspections of U.S. nuclear plants found some lapses.

"None of the observations poses a significant safety issue," Martin Virgilio testified. "But there were observations that equipment that was relied on would not start, that it had not been maintained. There were some places where the capability to deal with large fires and explosions ... there were discrepancies in terms of the procedures, the equipment and the training."

The problems have been addressed, he said.

At Thursday's briefing, the task force listed a number of areas it is exploring and gave hints where it believes change may be necessary. Among them:

• Scenarios involving multiple reactors or spent fuel pools: Disaster plans in the U.S. typically envision problems at one reactor or storage facility. But the Fukushima disaster showed the complications of dealing with multiple, simultaneous disasters, the task force said. "If you're dealing with a multi-unit event at the same time, you have considerations with regard to adequate staffing, how to triage, who makes decisions on how to triage and how you go about proceeding with what you need to do first," Miller said.

• Examining lengthy blackouts: The Fukushima event is challenging notions that power blackouts can quickly be resolved. And the NRC needs to look at contingencies where infrastructure damage prevents quick repairs to damaged nuclear sites.

• Severe accident management guidelines: The industry implemented the guidelines, known as SAMGs, as a voluntary initiative in the 1990s. "Consequently, we do not evaluate them as part of the agency's routine reactor oversight process," Miller said. He said the task force noticed during its examination that the guidelines apply to the reactor core and containment buildings but do not cover spent fuel pools.

• Radioactive contamination: Miller said the task force is exploring the industry's ability to have real-time radiation measurements during accidents, both on site and off site.

• Potassium iodide: "If you look at the days following Fukushima, even in the United States, there were various levels of information being given out about the prophylactic used of KI (potassium iodide's formula), not all of which was prudent. And I think we need to take a look at whether further education in that regard is necessary."

CNN

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Alabama Weighs Changes to Child Custody Laws Aimed at Uniting Broken Families

FoxNews.com

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The Alabama Senate is considering rewriting the state's child custody laws based on a controversial plan that has divided lawmakers over uniting broken families.

The bill would require divorced parents to share equal custody unless one is declared unfit. Supporters say the bill will inject fairness into custody battles that usually favors mothers, and allows both parents to raise their children. But opponents say the bill could hurt children by destabilizing their lives.

The Senate Children, Youth Affairs and Human Resources Committee narrowly passed the legislation this week in a 3-2 vote and it now heads to the full state Senate.

Republican Sen. Paul Bussman, a divorced father who says he got little time with his children when they were growing up, sponsored the bill.

Bussman told the Birmingham News that he saw his children every other weekend and once during the week in the wake of his divorce 15 years ago.

"I'm over the anger, but I understand the problem," he told the newspaper.

Democratic Sen. Vivian Davis Figures opposes the concept.

"This is a bad bill," Democratic Sen. Vivian Davis Figures told the newspaper. "We cannot have a one size fits all (approach) where children are concerned. You just can't."

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Obama Changes Tack on Budget, Returns to Congress With New Budget

Associated Press

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WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama and the U.S. Congress are shifting from short-term budget concerns to debates over the nation's long-term economic future, and everything -- from Medicare and Medicaid cuts to tax hikes for the wealthy -- is on the table.

Much will be revealed at midweek, when the House of Republicans and Senate are expected to vote on a budget for the remainder of this fiscal year and Obama unveils his plan to reduce the deficit, in part by scaling back Medicare and Medicaid, the government's chief health programs for seniors and the poor. The House, too, may vote on Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's spending plan for next year as Democrats readied arguments that it proposed "draconian" cuts to Americans who need help the most.

Meanwhile, congressional officials were putting to paper a deal struck Friday night that would fund the government through September and cut $38.5 billion in spending. They were operating under a one-week extension of the budget, which passed the House and Senate in the last hour before the government was to begin shutting down.

The House's 348-70 vote to extend funding a few days provided no guarantees for the measure being written Monday that would fund the government through the next six months, but leadership aides said they expected it to pass as early as Wednesday.

Whatever its fate, official Washington raced ahead to frame the upcoming fight over raising the nation's debt limit and the election-year budget as a pair of interconnected battles that would make Friday's nail-biter seem minor.

To be sure, the Republicans had succeeded in turning what's usually a fight over spending into a series of battles over spending cuts -- a thematic victory for House Republicans swept to power by a populist mandate for smaller, more austere government.

"We've had to bring this president kicking and screaming to the table to cut spending," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Republican from Virginia, said on "Fox News Sunday."

Presidential adviser David Plouffe said Obama has long been committed to finding ways for the nation to spend within its means. He confirmed that the president would unveil more specifics for deficit reduction with a speech Wednesday that would reveal plans to reduce the government's chief health programs for seniors and the poor.

"You're going to have to look at Medicare and Medicaid and see what kind of savings you can get," Plouffe said Sunday on NBC's "Meet the Press."

But he contrasted Obama's approach to the Republicans in familiar terms.

"We can't take a machete," Plouffe said on ABC's "This Week." "We have to take a scalpel, and we're going to have to cut, we're going to have to look carefully."

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GOP seeking dramatic changes in Medicare and Medicaid

"U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., chairman of the House Budget Committee, holds up a copy of the 2012 Republican budget proposal during a news conference on Tuesday."

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House GOP budget to call for big changes to Medicare, Medicaid

House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan's spending plan is to be unveiled Tuesday. STORY HIGHLIGHTSSeniors would get vouchers for private insuranceMedicaid would be cut by up to $1 trillionCorporate tax rate would be cut, but corporation loopholes would endProposal would not touch Social Security Washington (CNN) -- House Budget Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, will unveil a highly anticipated 2012 Republican budget next week that proposes dramatic changes to political lightning rods: entitlements.

The plan, to be released Tuesday, calls for a controversial overhaul of Medicare, the health care program for seniors, and imposes deep cuts in Medicaid, which provides health benefits to low-income Americans, according to House Republican sources with knowledge of the proposal.

Starting 10 years from now, in 2021, Americans would no longer enroll in the Medicare program, but instead receive vouchers for private insurance, according to the GOP sources, who stressed anyone 55 or older now would not be affected by the change.

The plan is modeled after one Ryan proposed last year with Alice Rivlin, budget director under President Bill Clinton.

Details of how Ryan's Medicare voucher program would work are still unclear, but the Ryan-Rivlin plan said the amount of the voucher -- a lump sum payment from the government -- would be calculated in part by taking the average federal cost per Medicare enrollee.

The GOP aims to save billions of dollars in revamping Medicare, a large contributor to the massive federal deficit and debt.

Sources said they did not yet know how much savings Ryan would project by drastically changing the Medicare program.

On Medicaid, Ryan's plan calls for deep cuts, as much as $1 trillion. The program would also fundamentally change -- the federal share of the Medicaid system would become block grants to the states.

CNN has been told that the House GOP budget plan does not call for significant change to the Social Security program. Republicans argue that while Social Security is a factor in the nation's fiscal crisis, it doesn't contribute as much to the soaring debt as Medicare.

Two House GOP lawmakers briefed on the proposal told CNN they and others on the House Budget Committee believe it's a mistake not to tackle Social Security.

As for so-called discretionary spending, one of the sources -- who would not speak on the record before the plan is publicly announced -- said Ryan's proposal promises to roll back spending to 2006 levels.

It's unclear how much that would slash, but it is expected to be far more than the roughly $61 billion in spending cuts House Republicans passed in February.

Ryan is expected to give specifics on how much savings the plan would create when it is unveiled Tuesday.

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