Clinton arrives for NATO talks, praises allies

BRUSSELS – U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, arriving Friday at NATO headquarters, welcomed an expected series of announcements by allied nations of additional military, civilian and financial support for the war effort in Afghanistan.

Clinton was attending a string of meetings here with allied foreign ministers and with representatives of non-NATO countries that have troops in Afghanistan, plus Russia. She sought to sell President Barack Obama's revamped war strategy, which banks on major new allied contributions, not just to escalate the combat effort but also to bolster civilian functions and provide more development aid.

Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top American commander in Afghanistan, also was to attend the meeting of NATO's main political council to explain the 43-nation military mission, which he has sought to revise and reinforce since he took over command last June. He has described conditions in the fight against Taliban extremists — now in its ninth year — as serious and deteriorating.

Allied governments need to be able to sell their publics on the idea of enlarging the war, and particularly those countries in which political parties share power have to be sure "the political stars are in alignment" before they announce new commitments, Clinton said.

Clinton made the comments in an interview with reporters traveling with her from Washington. She departed the U.S. capital Thursday shortly after testifying before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, where she joined Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, in defending the president's decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan.

Clinton told reporters she was pleased that allies have responded positively to the Obama plan.

"We are encouraged that they are going to — beginning (Friday) but not ending (Friday) — have a number of public announcements about additional troop commitments and additional civilian assistance and development aid, as well," she said without naming any countries.

She said she had discussed the matter with her counterparts from 20 to 25 countries over the past week.

NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Wednesday that the allies will contribute at least 5,000 more troops to the war effort "and probably a few thousand more."

The U.S. now has about 71,000 troops in Afghanistan, while 42 other NATO and non-NATO nations have a total of 38,000 troops there. They are fighting a far smaller collection of Taliban militants who enjoy a haven across the border in Pakistan.

European countries have been reluctant to add large numbers of soldiers to a war that often looks unwinnable and to support an Afghan government tainted by corruption and election fraud. Some leaders are waiting for an international conference on Afghanistan in London in late January before promising any more troops.

Asked about the criticism that has focused on Obama's decision to announce a date in 2011 to begin the withdrawal of American troops from Afghanistan, Clinton said that it has been misunderstood by some and that others were simply seeking to create a controversy.

"There have been some misunderstandings about what that date meant," she said, referring to Obama's announcement that beginning in July 2011, the U.S. troop contingent would begin to be withdrawn. The administration has said the pace and scale of the withdrawal will be determined after a further assessment of conditions on the ground, starting with an administration review in December 2010.

"Some people seized on that, for whatever reason or lack of understanding, as a way to try to create a difference where I'm not sure there is one," Clinton said.

She also took a gentle stab at the Bush administration's approach to running the war. She said Afghanistan's defense chief had told her last month that for the first time he felt like a full participant in the NATO military structure, as a result of changes made by McChrystal, who was appointed to the top command by Obama several months after he took office. Referring to the more limited Afghan participation before McChrystal's arrival, she said, "That's a little bit discouraging, when one looks back."

Clinton also was scheduled to meet separately in Brussels Friday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov for eleventh-hour talks on a follow-on to the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty that expires at midnight Friday. Both sides have said they don't expect to complete a draft agreement — let alone get it ratified by their national legislatures — before the existing treaty expires. But they hope to wrap it up by the end of December and to make arrangements for monitoring each other's nuclear arsenals in the interim.

Upon her arrival in Brussels, Clinton's aides said she had recorded earlier in the week two video messages directed at the people of Afghanistan and Pakistan to "echo the themes and messages" from Obama's West Point speech on his Afghan war plan. The Clinton videos are available via the internet in Arabic, Dari, English, Pashto and Urdu, her aides said.

Health bill survives first big test - on Medicare

WASHINGTON – Unflinching on a critical first test, Senate Democrats closed ranks Thursday behind $460 billion in politically risky Medicare cuts at the heart of health care legislation, thwarting a Republican attempt to doom President Barack Obama's sweeping overhaul.

The bid by the bill's critics to reverse cuts to the popular Medicare program failed on a vote of 58-42, drawing the support of two Democratic defectors. Approval would have stripped out money needed to pay for expanding coverage to tens of millions of uninsured Americans.

The broader legislation aims to extend health coverage to 31 million who now lack it, while barring insurance industry practices such as denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions. Though the overhaul is estimated to cost about $1 trillion over a decade, the Congressional Budget Office has said it would cut federal deficits by $130 billion over that period, and probably reduce them further in the 10 years beyond that.

"Our bill does nothing to reduce guaranteed Medicare benefits," said Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., as several fellow Democrats accused Republican critics of making false claims of potential harm during three days of debate.

The AARP supported the 10-year package of cuts in projected spending, giving Democrats political cover for their decision to pare back subsidies to private Medicare plans as well as payments to hospitals, hospices, home health agencies and other providers.

Republicans disagreed vigorously. "Medicare is already in trouble. The program needs to be fixed, not raided to create another new government program," said the party's leader, Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky.

The Medicare vote came not long after the Senate backed a guarantee for all insured women age 40 and older to receive mammograms with no out-of-pocket costs. The breast cancer screening test would be included in an array of preventive measures that insurance plans would be required to cover. The proposal cleared on a near party-line vote of 61-39, one more than the 60 needed for passage. It essentially wiped out a federal advisory committee recommendation to defer routine mammograms until women reach the age of 50.

The day's votes were the first since the Senate's health care debate began on Monday, and demonstrated the ability of Democrats to move ahead in the face of implacable Republican opposition.

At the same time, Democrats worked in private meetings to settle controversies within the party that are still standing in the way of the bill's passage. The most contentious of these involves proposals for the government to sell insurance in competition with private companies, an approach supported by liberals but opposed by most Democratic moderates and conservatives.

"Our caucus is now in the process of negotiating with ourselves because we need all 60 of us to get this done," said Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., after one closed-door meeting. Senate procedures require 60 votes to overcome Republican delaying tactics designed to kill the bill.

Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he expected all such issues to be worked out soon, but he did not specify precisely when.

For the time being, that left the two parties free to engage in an intensely political debate on health care, an issue that is certain to play a role in next year's midterm elections.

Unwilling to allow Republican charges on Medicare to go unanswered, Democrats responded with an alternative that stated no guaranteed benefits would be cut from the program and its finances would be strengthened.

The lead proponent of that provision was Sen. Michael Bennet of Colorado, who was appointed to his seat earlier in the year and faces a difficult campaign in 2010. "This is a message amendment," his office informed fellow Democrats in an e-mail unintended for publication, indicating its purpose was partially political.

The bill "does not take away any seniors' guaranteed Medicare benefits," Bennet said on the Senate floor. "We know that the bill extends Medicare solvency for five additional years." It passed 100-0.

Sen. John McCain of Arizona, Obama's Republican opponent in last year's presidential race, laid bare the political nature of the debate by making a recording to be telephoned automatically to thousands of voters in states represented by Democrats, urging the deletion of the Medicare cuts. The calls were paid for by the National Republican Senatorial Committee and took aim at Bennet as well as Sens. Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas, who is seeking a new term next year, and Ben Nelson of Nebraska.

In the end, Nelson and Sen. Jim Webb of Virginia were the only Democrats to support McCain's proposal.

On the other side, Republicans would not allow the Democrats to go unchallenged on women's health with a proposal long backed by Sen. Barbara Mikulski requiring the government to develop a list of tests to be covered at no additional cost to the patient.

On Wednesday, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., made it explicit that mammograms would be covered for women at age 40.

More broadly, Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, backed an alternative that gave GOP senators opposed to the Democratic proposal a measure they could support. It urged the insurance industry to consult with medical experts in deciding what preventive tests to provide. But it provided no government guarantee that any would be required, did not rule out copays for patients undergoing the procedures, and would have wiped out a list of free tests for men and women that Democrats wrote into their legislation.

It failed on a vote of 59-41 with Nelson siding with the Republicans.

Political philosophy played a hidden role in the struggle over women's health. Republicans have accused Democrats for months of supporting a federal takeover of health care. Murkowski quietly shelved an earlier draft of her amendment that would have given the government authority to require additional preventive tests and raised the cost of the bill by $30 billion over a decade. One Republican said conservatives objected, forcing the switch.

Overall, the $1 trillion legislation would require most Americans to purchase insurance and provide federal subsidies to lower and middle income individuals and families to defray the cost. Businesses would not be required to provide coverage to their employees, but large firms would face a penalty if they did not and if any of their workers received federal subsidies.

Consumers would be allowed to shop for insurance in a new marketplace in which companies would compete for business by selling policies that provide benefits according to standards established by the federal

Senators: Take action against White House crashers

WASHINGTON – Two senators said Sunday that authorities should pursue criminal charges against the Virginia couple who crashed last week's state dinner at the White House.
"You've got to send a strong deterrent that people just don't do this kind of thing," Democrat Evan Bayh of Indiana said on "Fox News Sunday."
Republican Jon Kyl of Arizona agreed, saying, "If it's a federal crime to lie to a federal agent, and these people didn't tell the truth about their invitation, then they should be in some way brought to justice here, again, as an example to others not to do it."
According to authorities, Michaele and Tareq Salahi were allowed into the White House dinner Tuesday night even though they were not on the guest list. The Secret Service has apologized for the breakdown in security, and an investigation into possible criminal behavior is ongoing.
Casey Margenau, a friend of the Salahis, appeared Saturday on Fox News Channel's "Geraldo at Large" and said, "I understand that they spent Friday with the Secret Service and they have been cooperating."
The New York Times, citing an anonymous federal official, reported Sunday that the Secret Service interviews with the Salehis continued through Saturday.
Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan refused Sunday to provide information on the investigation, telling The Associated Press, "We are not going to comment any more this weekend."
"It's an incredible situation," said Bayh. "I mean, of course, people have been laughing about it, ... but it's not a laughing matter that people could get that close to the president and the vice president who aren't sup

Indians still haunted by worst industrial accident

BHOPAL, India – Hazra Bi wishes she could forget. But her damaged family is a living reminder of that December night 25 years ago when lethal gas leaked from a pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, in the worst industrial disaster the world has ever seen.
The gas that swept through her poor neighborhood left her nearly blind in one eye, menopausal at 36, with searing headaches and breathlessness. It left her son, then 4, unable to control his bladder and suffering debilitating panic attacks. And two years ago it gave her a granddaughter born severely underweight, her legs like twigs, who still cannot walk or talk.
The Bhopal industrial disaster killed about 4,000 people in the early hours of Dec. 3, 1984. A few days later the death toll had doubled. Over the next few years, the lingering affects of the poison nearly doubled the toll again, to about 15,000, according to government estimates. Local activists say the real numbers are almost twice that.
A quarter-century later, thousands like Bi are still grappling with the affects of exposure to the deadly gas as it winds its way through generations not even born when the disaster struck. Rights groups say toxic waste from the plant still contaminates the soil and groundwater in nearby neighborhoods.
"We're still finding children as young as 2 months old being born with birth defects," says Satinath Sarangi, director of the Sambhavna Trust Clinic, which offers free health care for those exposed to gas or polluted water.
According to the government, at least 500,000 people were affected by the gas leak, and activists like Sarangi say that thousands of children, born to parents directly exposed to the gas leak or poisoned by the contaminated water, are suffering from cleft lips, missing palates, twisted limbs.
Varying degrees of brain damage are being found, as are chaotic menstrual cycles, they said. Even more common are all sorts of skin, vision and breathing disorders.
Government officials say there is no current contamination and dismiss assertions that the birth defects are related to the disaster. Babulal Gaur, the state minister for Gas Relief and Rehabilitation, says the diseases plaguing the children are only a consequence of living in poor slums.
American chemical company Union Carbide Corp. has said that the accident — which took place when water entered the sealed tank containing the highly reactive MIC — was an act of sabotage by a disgruntled employee, never identified, and not lax safety standards or faulty plant design, as claimed by some activists.
Union Carbide was bought by Dow Chemical Co. in 2001. Dow says the legal case was resolved in 1989, when Union Carbide settled with the Indian government for $470 million, and that all responsibility for the factory now rests with the government of the state of Madhya Pradesh, of which Bhopal is the capital.
Tomm F. Sprick, a spokesman for Union Carbide gave The Associated Press a statement saying "the groundwater issue at the Bhopal site is best addressed by the state government of Madhya Pradesh, which owns the site and is responsible for clean up activities," and that the company gave the Indian government all the toxicity information about the chemicals involved in the manufacture of MIC.
It's a responsibility that the state government accepts.
"Dow Chemical does not own that site. We do," says Gaur, the minister.
Through the twisting, dirt-filled alleys of the slums that bore the brunt of the gas leak, it's impossible to walk past more than a dozen homes without finding at least one young child with visible physical abnormalities.
Dressed in a faded blue sweater and bright red pants, Hazra Bi's granddaughter, Taheba, drags herself across the floor as she plays with a piece of silver foil.
"A 2-year-old walks, talks, responds to its name, but this is the fate of the third generation of Bhopal," Hazra Bi says, as she watches over the child.
Elsewhere in the city, 26-year-old Rizwana Bi sits on a plastic mat minding her 8-year-old daughter Menaz, who looks half her age and whose twisted body is strapped into a special chair with a wooden back to support her spine.
Rizwana and her husband (who are unrelated to Hazra) both were exposed to the gas as children, and have two sons, both of whom have severe speech defects and poor mental development.
She is one of dozens of parents who bring their children to a special school and clinic run by the Chingari Trust, a nonprofit organization funded in large part by the prestigious Goldman Environmental Prize awarded in 2004 to Bhopal activists and survivors Rashida Bee and her friend and neighbor, Champa Devi Shukla.
Chingari, which means "spark" in Hindi, says it has identified hundreds of children with disabilities ranging from cerebral palsy to speech defects who were born to parents exposed to the gas or the contaminated water.
Hundreds of tons of toxic material from the factory still sit in a warehouse on the premises, but Gaur says there is no contamination of either the soil or water.
The tragedy of Bhopal's children is compounded by the lack of any detailed research into the long term health implications of exposure to the gas.
In 1985 the Indian Council of Medical Research — the top government-funded body conducting medical investigations — initiated two dozen studies into the likely biomedical impact of MIC exposure. Most of those studies were never published, say doctors involved in the research.
"We were told that studies could not be published because of some legal issues, but to date those studies have not been published," said Dr. N.R. Bhandari, a pediatrician who was the main investigator in five studies.
According to V.M. Katoch, the New Delhi-based head of the medical council, most of the main findings of the investigations were published and "the individual studies will not merit a publication anyway."

Asia stocks rebound after UAE pledges bank support

HONG KONG – Asian stock markets rebounded Monday from their steep fall last week after the United Arab Emirates moved to contain the fallout from Dubai's debt crisis.
Major markets jumped by 2 percent or more after tumbling on Friday amid fears Dubai's debt problems could lead to more financial instability just as the global recession is easing.
The UAE's central bank helped soothe investor fears, at least for now, by pledging Sunday to make extra funding available to all banks in the country, including foreign institutions with local branches.
However, the bank's announcement, aimed at shoring up confidence and averting a bank run, did not mention any specific help for Dubai. The troubled emirate, which splurged on flashy developments and other investments during the credit boom, said last week it now needed at least a six-month reprieve from paying its roughly $60 billion debt.
Nearly every market traded higher in Asia, with Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average climbing 224.82 points, or 2.5 percent, to 9,306.34.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng added 703.15 points, or 3.3 percent, to 21,837.65 and South Korea's Kospi added 2.7 percent to 1,565.80. Both those markets tumbled nearly 5 percent on Friday.
Elsewhere, Shanghai's market climbed 2.4 percent, Australia's index was 2.7 percent higher and Taiwan's benchmark rose 1.7 percent.
Asia's turnaround followed Europe, where markets recovered Friday.
Uncertainty surrounding Dubai's fate sent Wall Street lower, though the losses were less than other markets.
The Dow on Friday fell 154.48, or 1.5 percent, to 10,309.92. The broader Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.14, or 1.7 percent, to 1,091.49, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 37.61, or 1.7 percent, to 2,138.44.
Wall Street futures pointed to a higher open in the U.S. Monday.
Oil prices rebounded to near $77 a barrel in Asia as panic about the global fallout from Dubai's debt problems abated.
Benchmark crude for January delivery rose 61 cents to $76.66 in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.91 to settle at $76.05 on Friday.
In currencies, the dollar was steady at 86.65. The euro was higher at $1.5059 from

For 3rd time, Woods cancels meeting with police

WINDERMERE, Fla. – Tiger Woods finally gave his side of the story Sunday — on his Web site, not to police — and took the blame for an "embarrassing" car crash that gave him cuts, bruises and public scrutiny like never before.
His statement failed to clear up any questions about the middle-of-the-night accident outside his Isleworth estate in which his wife told police she used a golf club to smash the back windows of the Cadillac SUV to help him out.
"This situation is my fault, and it's obviously embarrassing to my family and me," Woods said on his Web site. "I'm human and I'm not perfect. I will certainly make sure this doesn't happen again."
The statement was posted around 2 p.m. Sunday, about an hour after Woods' attorney told the Florida Highway Patrol that for the third straight day golf's No. 1 player would be unavailable to talk to troopers.
This time, the meeting was not rescheduled.
Even so, Sgt. Kim Montes of FHP said troopers went to Woods' $2.4 million estate anyway, only for attorney Mark NeJame to turn them away. The attorney gave troopers Woods' driver's license, registration and insurance as required by law for such accidents.
Woods said the crash was a private matter, and he intended to keep it that way.
"Although I understand there is curiosity, the many false, unfounded and malicious rumors that are currently circulating about my family and me are irresponsible," he said. "The only person responsible for the accident is me. My wife, Elin, acted courageously when she saw I was hurt and in trouble. She was the first person to help me. Any other assertion is absolutely false."
Woods is scheduled to compete at his Chevron World Challenge, which starts Thursday in Thousand Oaks, Calif., although his tournament director did not know Woods' status for the tournament — whether he would play or even attend.
Even with his first public comments on the 2:25 a.m. Friday accident, Woods left several questions.
• Where he was going at that time of the night?
• How did he lose control of his SUV at such a speed that the air bags didn't deploy?
• Why were both rear windows of the Cadillac Escalade smashed?
• If it was a careless mistake, why not speak to state troopers trying to wrap the investigation?
"We have been informed by the Florida Highway Patrol that further discussion with them is both voluntary and optional," Mark Steinberg, his agent at IMG, said in an e-mail. "Although Tiger realizes that there is a great deal of public curiosity, it has been conveyed to FHP that he simply has nothing more to add and wishes to protect the privacy of his family."
Woods' wife turned troopers away from their home in the exclusive gated community outside Orlando on Friday, the day of the accident, because she said he was sleeping. Steinberg called troopers en route to Woods' house on Saturday and postponed the meeting until Sunday.
"We're just continuing our traffic crash investigation," Montes said. "If we have somebody who we feel is pertinent to the investigation, then we will interview them."
She said the 911 caller was interviewed Saturday, and investigators might speak with other people who were at the scene as well.
The FHP released the 911 call from an unidentified neighbor on Sunday.
"I have a neighbor, he hit the tree. And we came out here just to see what was going on. I see him and he's laying down," the neighbor told dispatchers without ever identifying the victim as Woods.
Asked if the victim was unconscious, the neighbor replied, "Yes."
Part of the call were inaudible because of a bad connection. At one point, the voice of a woman is heard yelling, "What happened!"
"We're just trying to get the police here right now," the neighbor says to the woman. "We don't know what happened. We're figuring that out right now. I'm on the phone with the police right now."
According to the FHP accident report, Woods had just pulled out of his driveway when he struck a fire hydrant and then a tree. Woods said he had cuts, bruising and "right now I'm a little sore."
Montes said the Woods' car was towed for "safekeeping," and authorities have already documented where the damage is on the vehicle and the point of impact.
The accident came two days after the National Enquirer published a story alleging that Woods had been seeing a New York night club hostess, and that they recently were together in Melbourne, where Woods competed in the Australian Masters.
The woman, Rachel Uchitel, denied having an affair with Woods when contacted by The Associated Press.
Los Angeles attorney Gloria Allred confirmed she was representing Uchitel when she was reached by the AP on Sunday.
"She is with me in L.A.," Allred said later in an e-mail to the AP. "We plan to meet and then we'll decide on the next step, which we do not plan to announce to the press."
Uchitel arrived at Los Angeles International Airport late Sunday morning, where she was met by Allred and escorted out of the baggage claim area and into a black car. Uchitel did not speak to reporters except to ask that she be left alone.
Aside from occasional criticism of his temper inside the ropes, Woods has kept himself out of the news beyond his sport. In an October posting on his Facebook account, Woods wrote, "I'm asked why people don't often see me and Elin in gossip magazines or tabloids. I think we've avoided a lot of media attention because we're kind of boring. ..."
___
AP Golf Writer Doug Ferguson in Jacksonville, and Associated Press writers Linda Deutsch in Los Angeles, and Sarah Larimer in Miami contributed to this report.

Dubai and Abu Dhabi markets set to fall on debt woes

DUBAI (AFP) – Stock markets in Dubai and neighbouring Gulf emirate Abu Dhabi were set to open sharply lower on Monday as investors in the United Arab Emirates finally get their chance to react to Dubai's debt crisis.
The exchanges have been closed for the four-day Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha since the once-booming city state announced that its main Dubai World holding company was seeking to suspend payments on its debt.
The trend on the two UAE bourses is expected to reflect the sharp falls in Asia and Europe on Thursday and the United States on Friday, while some analysts predict the Dubai index may plunge by its one-day limit of 10 percent.
"I expect Gulf bourses to dive like the September crash last year," following the Lehman Brothers bankruptcy, predicted Saudi economist Abdulwahab Abu-Dahesh.
However, the UAE central bank on Sunday tried to limit the impact of the crisis by saying it was pumping more liquidity into the banking system.
"This is a step aimed to calm investors... Markets should be calmer (than feared) tomorrow," Emirati financial analyst Nasser bin Gaith said on Sunday.
He said he expected the decision to have no real immediate impact on Dubai's debt problem, pointing out that Dubai World is largely indebted to foreign banks.
"On practical level, there is no direct impact... Local banks have limited exposure to Dubai World, unlike foreign banks," he said.
British banks reportedly have a total exposure of 30 billion dollars to Dubai World.
The central bank said the UAE banking sector stands stronger and more liquid than a year ago, and that it enjoys a "strong base of stable deposits."
Other Gulf stock markets have also been on holiday since Thursday for Eid al-Adha, sparing them an immediate impact from Dubai's announcement.
However, the news sent shock waves throughout other markets around the world on Thursday and Friday as investors feared a possible default by Dubai and its state-owned businesses, which together owe 80 billion dollars.
Dubai and Abu Dhabi will be the only Gulf stock markets to open on Monday. Kuwait follows on Tuesday and Saudi Arabia's financial market, the largest Arab bourse in capitalisation, will remain on holiday until Saturday.
Sheikh Ahmed bin Saeed al-Maktoum, head of Dubai's Supreme Fiscal Committee, said on Thursday: "Further information will be made available early next week."
Dubai does not have big oil reserves, unlike Abu Dhabi which sits on around 95 percent of the UAE's crude deposits and runs the world's largest sovereign wealth fund valued by analysts at 400 to 500 billion dollars.
Two Abu Dhabi-controlled banks subscribed to Dubai bonds worth five billion dollars in a deal announced a few hours before Dubai revealed its debt problems.
The UAE central bank, backed by the coffers of Abu Dhabi, previously scooped up Dubai bonds worth 10 billion dollars in February, earmarked to help solve the debt problems of Dubai entities.
But doubts have been growing about Abu Dhabi's commitment to buoy Dubai, whose growth came to a screeching halt amid the global credit crunch before going into reverse gear.
Property prices in the once-booming desert city have slumped by 50 percent from their peak, and the Dubai stock market index is already down by two-thirds from its high around two years ago.
The International Monetary Fund welcomed Sunday the decision by the United Arab Emirates central bank to pump liquidity into its banking sector.
"The United Arab Emirates is a strong resource-based economy and we welcome today's announcement by the central bank of the UAE making available to banks a special additional liquidity facility," a statement from the IMF said.
British bank Standard Chartered, which has huge operations in the Middle East, said the UAE central bank had acted "decisively and pragmatically" in moving to pump more liquidity into the sector.
"Their support for the banking system will underpin consumer and market confidence in the economy," said Standard Chartered chief executive Peter Sands.

Dubai crisis, holiday sales will dominate trading

NEW YORK – Investors may have to do some emotional juggling as the trading week begins.
While markets around the world continue to assess the fallout from Dubai's worrisome debt problems, investors trying to get a handle on the global economy will also factor in some encouraging U.S. retail sales over the Thanksgiving weekend. The question for many is whether they should focus on the possibility of another spreading credit crisis, or signs that consumer spending in this country may indeed be stabilizing.
News that Dubai's investment arm, Dubai World, could default on $60 billion in debt sent world markets skidding on Thanksgiving, and U.S. stock markets initially followed when trading resumed Friday after the holiday. Wall Street regained some ground as overseas exchanges stabilized and as analysts reported that U.S. banks had relatively limited exposure to the problems in the Persian Gulf city-state.
Stock index futures showed more signs of steadying late Sunday. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 0.3 percent, while Standard & Poor's 500 futures rose 0.4 percent.
Stock markets were also up as the week's trading began Monday in Asia.
Investors might have had some reassurance from Sunday's news that the United Arab Emirates' central bank will offer additional liquidity to banks, a move designed to keep credit markets from freezing up.
Still, Dubai World's troubles gave a jolt to investors who had set aside many of their concerns about risk during the stock market's almost nine-month rally. Suddenly, they had to worry that the crisis in Dubai could be a harbinger of similar problems in other countries. And if traders decide to hunker down rather than take on more risk, they're likely to keep selling stocks and turn to the relative safety of Treasury bonds and the dollar.
"Markets were getting a bit complacent," said Jeff Mortimer, chief investment officer at Charles Schwab Investment Management. "This is a wake-up call" that the economic recovery is going to be choppy and uneven, he added.
Right now, some analysts aren't worried that the stock rally might be in jeopardy — and say traders may decide to focus on growing evidence of a U.S. economic recovery.
"I don't think it's big enough to be a game-changer," Mortimer said of Dubai's debt problems. "It gets my attention. But does it push the trains off the tracks and is everything lost? Certainly not."
Retailers' reports that Thanksgiving weekend sales were respectable may be a pleasant distraction for the stock market. Store owners said shopper traffic was up from a year ago, and held steady through the weekend after a big surge Friday. However, consumers were focusing on the basics, as expected.
Investors have been concerned that rising unemployment would make consumers reluctant to spend on nonessentials. The market will get stores' official take on the weekend on Thursday, when many of the big companies release their sales results for November.
The first few days of December will also bring key economic reports including the Labor Department's November employment report, scheduled for Friday. The number of jobs being lost each month has generally been declining, with 190,000 slashed in October, and economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect that number to have fallen to 130,000 in November.
The unemployment rate, meanwhile, is forecast to remain stable at 10.2 percent.
Analysts have been questioning whether the stock market has gotten ahead of the actual economic recovery, especially since some of its recent advance has been due to the dollar's weakness. Many investors were theorizing that the falling dollar would help guarantee that U.S. interest rates would remain stable, making it easier for companies to borrow. Moreover, when the dollar is down, companies that do business with other countries find it easier to sell their goods and services overseas, and their profits rise when those sales are translated into dollars.
Stocks have been on a fairly steady churn higher since hitting 12-year lows in March. Even with Friday's sell-off, the Dow is still up more than 57 percent from the March bottom.
The Dow lost 1.5 percent on Friday, but was down less than 0.1 percent for the holiday-shortened week. U.S. markets were closed Thursday for Thanksgiving and closed three hours early on Friday.
The S&P 500 index tumbled 1.7 percent Friday, and was essentially flat for the week after a big rally Monday was offset by Friday's declines.
In other economic data expected this week, the Institute for Supply Management releases its monthly readings on the manufacturing and service sectors.
Economists predict the ISM manufacturing index, due out Tuesday, dipped to 55 in November from 55.7 in October. A reading above 50 indicates growth in the sector. The ISM service-sector index, due Thursday, is forecast to have risen to 51.5 last month from 50.6 in October.
"The Dubai incident raises the intensity of the numbers" this week, said Alan Gayle, senior investment strategist for RidgeWorth Investments. Weak economic data on top of renewed signs credit markets haven't fully recovered could be enough to send the market lower and set the tone for December trading, Gayle said

Rush starts as holiday shopping season revs up

The nation's retailers are ushering in the traditional start of the holiday shopping season with expanded hours and deep discounts on everything from toys to TVs to lure crowds of shoppers.
A number of stores, including Walmart and many Old Navy locations, opened on Thanksgiving, hoping to make the most of the extra hours. Toys R Us opened most of its stores at midnight Friday.
Online sellers also pushed to grab a piece of the action, pushing deals on Thursday and even earlier in the week.
After suffering the worst sales decline in several decades last holiday season, the good news is that the retail industry is heading into the Christmas selling period armed with lean inventories and more practical goods on their shelves that reflect shoppers' new psyche.
Still, with unemployment at 10.2 percent and consumers still struggling with tight credit, many analysts expect total holiday sales to be about even from a year ago.
Optimism was rising in early fall as shoppers came to life, but stores have seen a sales slowdown since right after Halloween, putting merchants more on edge.
"There are going to be ebbs and flows," said Marshal Cohen, chief retail industry analyst at NPD Group Inc., a market research firm, noting financial challenges among shoppers.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, has lures like deeply discounted TVs like 42-inch plasma Emerson HDTVs for $448, and other electronics like $78 Magnavox Blu-ray disc players, for the early morning specials that start at 5 a.m.
Toys R Us, which threw open its doors just after midnight Friday, five hours earlier than a year ago, is hawking 250 early morning specials that offer discounts of up to 65 percent on such items as VTech Learning Laptops and Little Tikes Jump 'n Slide Bouncer.
Midprice department store operator Kohl's Corp., which is set to open at 4 a.m., is offering deep discounts on cashmere sweaters, dresses and select kitchen appliances.
The nation's largest electronics chain, Best Buy Co., will open its doors at 5 a.m. will have such deals as $999.99 Samsung 46-inch flat-panel TVs, a savings of $700; and Sony laptops for $479.97, a savings of $180.
With the early morning specials limited, crowd control is expected to be a big focus for merchants this year in the aftermath of the death of a Wal-Mart worker at a Long Island store during last year's Black Friday shopping madness.
Wal-Mart kept most of its stores open through the night to prevent such mad dashes.
Rival Target Corp., which is opening at 5 a.m. Friday, is spreading hot items throughout the store to make sure customers have space to shop, as it has done in the past.
The promotional blitz typical for the traditional start of the holiday shopping season has high stakes for retailers who've suffered through a year of sales declines. It's also important for the broader economy, which could also use a kickstart from consumer spending.
Black Friday gets its name because traditionally was the day when huge crowds would push stores into "the black," or profitability. But the weekend doesn't provide a forecast for the rest of the season, which accounts for as much as 40 percent of annual sales and profits for many stores.
Still, retailers closely study buying patterns for the Thanksgiving weekend to gauge shoppers' mindset — what kinds of items they're buying, what deals are luring them.
Stores need to perform well for the traditional start because chances are slim they'll be able to make up for lost sales for the rest of the season.

CPSC chief pledges swift action after crib recall

WASHINGTON – The head of the Consumer Product Safety Commission on Tuesday promised swift action to get dangerous products off the market, acknowledging that the agency didn't move quickly enough on a record recall of more than 2 million cribs linked to four deaths.

"We were not advancing this case as quickly as possible," Chairman Inez Tenenbaum said in an interview with The Associated Press. "So, I put all of the resources for the agency on this project so that they could accomplish this goal of recalling the crib."

At issue are some 2.1 million drop-side cribs made by Stork Craft Manufacturing of Canada. Four infants suffocated in the cribs.

CPSC said the recall involves 1.2 million cribs in the United States and almost 1 million in Canada. Sales of the cribs being recalled date back to 1993 and nearly 150,000 of the cribs carry the Fisher-Price logo.

Stork Craft insisted Tuesday that its cribs are safe if used properly.

Chief executive Jim Moore said the four deaths linked to the recall happened a long time ago and were found to be a result of improper use. He said all parents need to do to fix the crib is to install a free kit from the company that converts the drop-side to a fixed, immovable side.

Drop-side cribs have one side that moves up and down to allow parents, especially shorter adults, to lift children from the cribs more easily. There have been 110 incidents of the drop-side detaching from the Stork Craft cribs, according to CPSC.

In the case of Stork Craft and other drop-side cribs, the hardware used to put the crib together can break, deform or become missing after years. There also can be problems with assembly mistakes.

Parents often take the crib apart after one child has grown out of it, and then reassemble the crib later for another baby — and that can lead to parts that aren't assembled properly. The hardware and misassembly problems can cause the drop-side to detach, creating a dangerous V-like space between the drop-side and the crib mattress, where a child can become trapped and suffocate.

More than 5 million drop-side cribs have been recalled in the past two years — recalls associated with the deaths of a dozen children.

CPSC is considering mandatory standards for crib design. Given the history of troubles with drop-sides, Tenenbaum said there is a compelling reason to ban the cribs altogether. If she had a baby, she said, she would not put the infant in a drop-side crib.

ASTM International, an organization that sets voluntary industry safety standards for everything from toys to the steel used in commercial buildings, approved a new standard last week that requires four immovable sides for full-size cribs — a big step toward eliminating the manufacture of new drop-side cribs since the industry group won't certify them.

In Suffolk County, N.Y., legislation was signed into law Tuesday that bans the sale of any crib with a side that moves up and down. The law takes effect in February and is believed to be a first ban of its kind.

The Stork Craft cribs were manufactured and distributed between January 1993 and October 2009. They were sold at major retailers including BJ's Wholesale Club, Sears and Wal-Mart stores and online through Target and Costco.

In January, Stork Craft recalled about 500,000 cribs because of problems with the metal brackets that support the mattress.

Consumers can contact Stork Craft, 877-274-0277, to order the free repair kit, or log on to

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5 reasons banks don't get it (and a few banks that do)

(Money Magazine) -- You might think your bank would be rolling out the red carpet for you right now. Barely a year ago the biggest players nearly obliterated themselves and the economy with freewheeling lending practices and needed your tax dollars to bail them out. And with investment banking and commercial lending shaky for now, banks need your retail business more than ever.

Yet financial institutions seem to be alienating customers in droves. Just 35% of people feel highly committed to their bank, down six percentage points from 2007, according to a recent J.D. Power & Associates study.

The most common reasons people now switch? High fees and poor service, reports Javelin Strategy & Research. But given the importance of retail business to the industry, "banks have to make their customers' lives easier. The ones that recognize that will have an enormous competitive advantage," says Greg McBride of Bankrate.com.

Besides, the things that would make your life easier are far from outrageous requests. They're innovations that some banks and credit unions have already shown it's possible to deliver, like lower fees, smarter technology, and help from a live human being. Take note, banks: You want happy customers who will gladly hand you their cash? Grant them the five things on this wish list.

Wary consumers, rising unemployment snag recovery

The economy is not growing as fast as the government first thought and the recovery still faces significant obstacles, including households nervous about spending and rising unemployment.

Economists expect new reports Wednesday to give a better picture of how things are shaping up for the final three months of the year.

New filings for unemployment benefits likely will show a slight improvement while consumer spending should post a rebound in October after an auto-related plunge in September. Sales of new homes are expected to grow, propelled by first-time buyers taking advantage of a special tax credit.

Even with signs of strength, economists worry the recovery could falter if consumer spending, which makes up 70 percent of economic activity, drops in the face of unemployment that is already at the highest point in 26 years and is expected to keep rising.

Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expect that new applications for unemployment benefits dipped to 500,000 last week, from 505,000 the previous week. The four-week average for claims posted its 11th consecutive decline last week, falling to 514,000, the lowest level in a year.

The number of people receiving continuing claims is expected to fall slightly to 5.58 million for the week ended Nov. 14, from 5.61 million in the previous week.

Still, such slight improvements will not be enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising. The jobless rate hit 10.2 percent in October and many analysts believe it will keep rising to 10.5 percent or higher before starting to improve next summer.

Some employers are continuing to lay off workers. Struggling Internet company AOL last week said it plans to cut up to 2,500 jobs, more than a third of its work force, once it is spun off from the media conglomerate Time Warner Inc. And Hartford, Conn.-based health insurer Aetna Inc. said it will cut 625 jobs, or nearly 2 percent of its staff, and will make similar job cuts in the first quarter of 2010 due to the lagging economy and the potential impact of health care reform.

Federal Reserve policymakers said at their November meeting that the unfolding recovery likely will be gradual with the unemployment rate probably remaining elevated over the next several years, according to minutes of the discussions released Tuesday.

The weak jobs market, which is depressing incomes, is keeping a lid on consumer spending. Economists expect personal incomes rose 0.2 percent in October, better than the flat reading in September. They expect consumer spending to increase 0.5 percent in October, after falling 0.5 percent in September.

The spending rebound likely will reflect that car sales recovered last month after a plunge in September following the end of the government's popular Cash for Clunkers sales incentives.

While a 0.5 percent rise in consumer spending would get the fourth quarter off to a solid start, economists worry such spending is unsustainable.

On the housing front, sales of new homes likely rose to an annual rate of 410,000 homes in October, from 402,000 in September, according to Thomson Reuters.

But like the rebound in consumer spending, the worry is that the strength in October reflects temporary factors that will fade in the months ahead. Sales of existing homes soared 10.1 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 6.1 million units in October, the National Association of Realtors reported Monday.

It was the biggest monthly increase in a decade but reflected a rush by first-time buyers to take advantage of a tax credit of up to $8,000 that had been scheduled to expire in November. Congress earlier this month extended the credit until next spring.

The overall economy grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent in the July-September quarter, the Commerce Department reported Tuesday. That was down from an initial estimate of 3.5 percent growth in the third quarter, as consumer spending was weaker than initially estimated.

Many economists believe that growth will continue at around a 2.5 percent rate in the current quarter but will slip to perhaps 1.5 percent in the first half of next year as the impact from the government's $787 billion stimulus program begins to fade.

by Rob Lever Rob Lever – Tue Nov 24, 3:19 pm ET

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Federal regulators announced Tuesday the recall of 110,000 Toyota pickup trucks in 20 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that road salts can cause "excessive corrosion" of the Toyota Tundra's frame, which holds a spare tire mounted underneath the vehicle. NHTSA said dislodged spare tires can cause hazards for other vehicles on the road.

The corrosion can also damage the rear brake lines and lead to brake system failures, the NHTSA said.

The agency urged Tundra owners to remove the spare tires even before taking the vehicles to a dealers to be remedied.

The recall involves Tundras from model years 2000 through 2003 that are registered in states where chemical de-icers, such as road salts, are used to treat roadways during the winter.

The states included in the recall are: Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia.

NHTSA said Toyota will contact owners of affected vehicles and ask that they bring the vehicles to a local dealer to be inspected and repaired.

Toyota will either replace the damaged portion of the vehicle's frame, or apply a rust-resistant compound to the affected area, depending upon how bad the corrosion is. Toyota will also contact Tundra owners outside of the United States, according to NHTSA.

It was the second major safety problem for Toyota in as many months. In October, the Japanese automaker issued a safety warning for 3.8 million Lexus and Toyota cars because of potentially deadly floor mats.

US third quarter growth revised down to 2.8 percent

by Rob Lever Rob Lever – Tue Nov 24, 3:19 pm ET

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US economic rebound in the third quarter was weaker than initially estimated, the Commerce Department said Tuesday in cutting its estimate to a 2.8 percent annual pace of expansion.

The gross domestic product (GDP) figure was revised down from last month's estimate of 3.5 percent growth.

The growth figure was in line with most analyst forecasts, taking into account updated data, notably on consumer spending and trade.

Despite the downward revision, the report showed the first expansion for the economy after four straight quarters of contraction, including a 0.7 percent drop in the second quarter.

The data from the July-September period show the world's biggest economy appearing to emerge from its brutal recession, but with less momentum than previously thought.

Sal Guatieri, economist at BMO Capital Markets, said the revised figure does little to change his outlook for steady if less than spectacular growth.

"We still think the economy will expand at a three percent annual rate in the fourth quarter," he said.

"We're looking for modest growth in 2010 of about 2.5 percent."

Separately, the Federal Reserve raised its outlook for US economic growth in 2010 to a range of 2.5 to 3.5 percent, and said the troubles in unemployment appeared to be near a peak.

In a new forecast accompanying minutes from the Fed's policy meeting November 3-4, the central bank said participants "anticipated that economic recovery would be gradual, with real gross domestic product growing at a moderate pace and the unemployment rate declining slowly over the next few years."

The range for 2010 growth was boosted slightly from a July projection of between 2.1 and 3.3 percent.

The new forecast also suggests that unemployment, which hit a 26-year high of 10.2 percent in October, could ease in early 2010.

"Participants generally anticipated that the unemployment rate would rise somewhat further during the final months of 2009 and then decline steadily over the next few years," said the forecast accompanying minutes from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting.

The government's third quarter report showed personal consumption expenditures -- the main driver of economic activity -- increased 2.9 percent in the quarter, revised down from an estimate last month of 3.4 percent.

Even though consumer spending rose, a large portion of that came from the auto sector, with sales boosted by the government's "cash for clunkers" incentives to trade in older vehicles.

The revised figures showed exports of goods and services increased 17.0 percent in the third quarter, but imports grew at a faster pace of 20.8 percent, a factor that hurts GDP.

Augustine Faucher at Moody's Economy.com said the data showed a jump of 10.6 percent in corporate profits, and added, "this bodes well for near-term hiring and investment."

Faucher said the latest report "points toward continued economic expansion in the near term, but with growth that is below the economy's potential."

Others said the report showed a still-struggling economy.

"For all the fiscal and monetary stimulus, the best we could do was 2.8 percent," said David Rosenberg, chief economist at Gluskin Sheff & Associates.

"It's sad really but to be completely expected amid a collapse in private sector credit and shrinking household balance sheets. Strip out the government-administered medication, and the economy was flat on the quarter... Even if the recession is over, and we have yet to be fully convinced, there is no recovery."

Although many economists say the US recession is over, an official declaration has yet to come from the private National Bureau of Economic Research, seen as the official arbiter of business cycles.

The NBER panel does not use the definition employed in many countries of recession as two consecutive quarters of declining GDP. It says a recession is "a significant decline in economic activity spread across the economy," with drops in output, income, employment and sales.

Dynex buys Deutsche Bank share of joint venture

GLEN ALLEN, Va. – Dynex Capital Inc., a mortgage real estate investment trust, said Monday its subsidiary, Issued Holdings Capital Corp., has bought Deutsche Bank's shares of a joint venture for $9.5 million in cash, giving Dynex 99.75 percent ownership.
The joint venture holds subordinated commercial mortgage backed securities with a par value of $38.7 million and redemption rights for about $182.5 million in callable securities. They are collateralized principally by seasoned multifamily housing loans originated by the company from 1996 to 1998.
Dynex, based in Green Allen, Va., said it expects to record a noncash charge of about $3 million during the fourth quarter.
CEO Thomas B. Akin said the purchase simplifies its balance sheet.
Dynex shares rose 2 cents to $7.99 on Monday.

India may get $1 billion in IT outsourcing contracts: report

MUMBAI (Reuters) – Leading Indian outsourcers such as Tata Consultancy (TCS.BO), Infosys (INFY.BO) and Wipro (WIPR.BO) stand to gain contracts worth about $1 billion in the next one or two years as U.S. banks emerge from the troubled asset relief program, the Economic Times reported on Monday.

The newspaper said JPMorgan (JPM.N), Goldman Sachs (GS.N) and Morgan Stanley (MS.N) that received approval to buy back government stake worth $68 billion earlier this year are among the firms seeking operational efficiencies by outsourcing non-core IT and back-office projects to India.

American Express (AXP.N), Bank of New York Mellon (BK.N) and Capital One, which have started repaying government debt, were also considering outsourcing, it said.

(Writing by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Ranjit Gangadharan)

D.R. Horton sees 26 perecent spike in 4Q orders

Homebuilder D.R. Horton Inc., saw new home orders spike 26 percent from a year ago in the latest quarter as buyers raced to close deals and take advantage of a federal tax credit. But a wider-than-anticipated loss fueled by write-downs sent shares tumbling more than 15 percent Friday.

The surge in orders came as many first-time homebuyers sought to qualify for an $8,000 tax credit that was set to expire at the end of this month before Congress extended it into next year.

D.R. Horton, which caters primarily to first-time buyers, and other builders have seen home orders improve thanks to the incentive. But the tax credit also has raised concerns that it has merely pulled sales forward.

Some builders noted recently that customer traffic began to slow in September and October as would-be buyers realized they might not be able to close on a home by the tax-credit deadline. And new home sales in September dropped 3.6 percent nationwide — the first decline since March.

D.R. Horton CEO Donald Tomnitz told Wall Street analysts orders began to slow this month, but predicted that completed sales would rise from now on.

"We strongly believe our closings in 2010 will be greater than in 2009 and that we will continue this growth in the upcoming years," Tomnitz said.

Still, the builder cautioned that foreclosures, high levels of unsold homes and rising unemployment remain a challenge for the industry.

"These headwinds continue to impact our business both in our sales volumes and operating margins," the executive told analysts.

The fallout from the sluggish economy and still-weak housing market continues to squeeze homebuilders, and D.R. Horton is no exception. The company, based in Fort Worth, Texas, hasn't reported a quarterly profit since 2007.

For the fiscal fourth quarter ended in September, D.R. Horton posted a loss of $231.9 million, or 73 cents per share, compared with a loss of $799.9 million, or $2.53 per share, a year earlier.

Revenue plunged 42 percent to $1.01 billion.

While the company stemmed its quarterly loss, it racked up $192.6 million in costs due to write-downs on the value of unsold homes, land and other assets.

"We were looking for them to not have to write down as much inventory this quarter." said Robin Diedrich, an analyst with investment firm Edward Jones.

That contributed to the wider-than-expected loss. On average, analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters forecast a quarterly loss of 30 cents per share on revenue of $1.11 billion.

The disappointing results drove the company's shares down $1.88, or 15.4 percent, to close at $10.37 Friday.

The write-downs are necessary because foreclosures continue to escalate in many markets, driving down home values, which in turn forces builders to adjust the value of their assets.

The homebuilder, which operates in 27 states, said homes closed during the quarter totaled 4,810, down about 30 percent from the same quarter of fiscal 2008. The average sales price slipped 4 percent to $205,100.

Senate Democrats at odds over health care bill

WASHINGTON – Moderate Senate Democrats threatened Sunday to scuttle health-care legislation if their demands aren't met, while more liberal members warned their party leaders not to bend.

The dispute among Democrats foretells of a rowdy floor debate next month on legislation that would extend health care coverage to roughly 31 million Americans. Republicans have already made clear they aren't supporting the bill.

Final passage is in jeopardy, even after the chamber's historic 60-39 vote Saturday night to begin debate.

"I don't want a big-government, Washington-run operation that would undermine the ... private insurance that 200 million Americans now have," said Sen. Ben Nelson, a conservative Nebraska Democrat.

Nelson and three other moderates — Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas and Connecticut independent Joe Lieberman — agreed to open debate despite expressing reservations on the measure. Each of them has warned that they might not support the final bill.

One major sticking point is a provision that would allow Americans to buy a federal-run insurance plan if their state allows it. Moderates say they worry the so-called public option will become a huge and costly entitlement program and that other requirements in the bill could cripple businesses.

"I don't want to fix the problems in our health care system in a way that creates more of an economic crisis," said Lieberman.

The sway held by such a small group of senators has annoyed their more liberal colleagues, who could vote against a final bill if it becomes too watered down.

Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, said he didn't think rank-and-file Democrats would feel compelled to go that far. At the same time, Brown warned Democratic leaders not to make too many concessions.

"I don't want four Democratic senators dictating to the other 56 of us and to the rest of the country — when the public option has this much support — that (a public option is) not going to be in it," said Brown.

The Senate bill would require most Americans to carry insurance and provide subsidies to those who couldn't afford it. Large companies could incur costs if they did not provide coverage to their work force. The insurance industry would come under significant new regulation under the bill, which would first ease and then ban the practice of denying coverage on the basis of pre-existing medical conditions.

Congressional budget analysts put the legislation's cost at $979 billion over a decade and say it would reduce deficits over the same period while extending coverage to 94 percent of the eligible population.

The House approved its version of the bill earlier this month on a near party-line vote of 220-215.

Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said the health care bill must be passed by the end of the year so that President Barack Obama and lawmakers can shift their attention to the economy and improving employment rates.

Such a timeline also would enable Obama to claim victory on a major domestic priority when he delivers his State of the Union speech in January.

But with one-third of Senate seats up for election in 2010, politics will factor heavily into the outcome of the debate on health care.