GLOBAL MARKETS: European Stocks Led Up By Techs But Caution Remains

--European stocks up; decent earnings help the main indexes
--ARM leads gains in London; tech sector storms ahead
--Portuguese 10-year government bond yields remain elevated
--Euro-zone unemployment rate digested
By Michele Maatouk & Andrea Tryphonides
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
LONDON (Dow Jones)--European stocks posted strong gains and the euro was higher against the dollar as investors tentatively welcomed the European Union leaders' agreement on a new fiscal pact, to be signed off in March, and a bailout mechanism that will come into force in July, while good earnings also boosted sentiment Tuesday.
However, traders are still wary as Portugal's 10-year government bond yield remained elevated early Tuesday and there was still no agreement between Greece and its private-sector creditors.
Investors are concerned that Portugal may need another bailout or a Greek-style debt-restructuring if it cannot regain access to the capital markets. At 1040 GMT, the Portuguese 10-year government bond yield was at 15.98%, according to Tradeweb.
"One cannot deny that Portugal is now under fire on the financial markets, especially given the recent downgrade of its sovereign debt to junk status by Standard & Poor's," said ING. "The risks are growing that Portugal ultimately could require ESM assistance, possibly to be agreed over the second half of 2012, for likely take-down from 2013. That said this does not mean that Portugal needs a Greek-style PSI deal," said ING.
"Remember that the Greek restructuring brings Greek debt down to 120% of gross domestic product. Portuguese debt is still comfortably below this level, and is likely to remain below in the next coming couple of years even if we discount a deep and persistent recession. So, an elevated second bailout risk, but PSI risk remains low," added ING.
Still, decent earnings, particularly in Europe's technology sector, helped the main stock market indexes higher.
At 1040 GMT, the benchmark Stoxx Europe 600 index was up 0.8% at 254.62. If it holds Tuesday's gains, the index is likely to close the month up by around 4%. London's FTSE 100 was up 0.8% at 5717.86, Frankfurt's DAX was 0.9% higher at 6506.18 and Paris's CAC-40 was 1.2% higher at 3304.14.
At the same time, U.S. stock-index futures pointed to a firmer open on Wall Street, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average front-month futures contract and the S&P 500 futures contract up 0.5% at 12,669.00 and 1315.80, respectively.
In London, ARM Holdings was up 4.6% and leading the blue-chip FTSE 100 index following the company's fourth-quarter results. The results beat market expectations largely due to strong demand for smartphones and tablets and the company said it is on track to meet expectations in the first quarter 2012. The results boosted the Stoxx Europe 600 tech sector, which was up 1.2%.
Also in London, British Sky Broadcasting gained 2.7% following well-received results. BSkyB reported an 8.4% jump in first-half net profit, underpinned by new pay-television and broadband customers. News Corp., which owns Dow Jones & Co. and The Wall Street Journal, holds about a 39% stake in BSkyB.
Elsewhere, steelmaker Thyssenkrupp jumped 1.4% after it came to an agreement to sell its Inoxum stainless steel division to Finland's Outokumpu Oyj. Outokumpu dropped 8.2%.
On the data front, the euro-area unemployment rate for December came in at 10.4%, unchanged from a revised November level and in line with economists' forecasts. ING said the unemployment figures "make for worrying reading," adding, "The only piece of solace is that the pace of increase in unemployment appears to be slowing."
Earlier, most Asian stock markets finished modestly higher Tuesday after the euro zone's move toward a closer fiscal union and positive economic data in Japan.
Japan's Nikkei Stock Average gained 0.1%, Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2%, South Korea's Kospi Composite added 0.8%, Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index advanced 1.1%, while China's Shanghai Composite gained 0.3%.
Stronger-than-expected Japanese industrial production data supported the Tokyo market, although the yen's strength continued to hobble exporter stocks.
In foreign exchange markets, hopes that Greek talks on the restructuring of its debt will soon come to some sort of happy conclusion provided broad support for regional risk-sensitive currencies and the euro. There was also some good economic news out of Germany, which helped the euro. Seasonally adjusted unemployment fell in January by 34,000 and the adjusted unemployment rate hit a record low of 6.7%. Experts had expected unemployment to fall by 10,000 in adjusted terms and have an adjusted rate of 6.8% for January.
At 1045 GMT, the single currency was at $1.3186 against the dollar, from $1.3141 late Monday in New York. The dollar was at Y76.34, from Y76.33.
Spot gold was at $1,739.00 per troy ounce, up $10.00 from its New York settlement Monday, bolstered by a stronger euro. March Nymex crude oil futures were up $1.03 at $99.81 per barrel and Brent oil futures were 95 cents higher at $111.70. The March bund contract was down 0.44 at 139.23.
-By Michele Maatouk, Dow Jones Newswires; +44-20-7842-9447; michele.maatouk@dowjones.com

Barack Obama's drone statement: Pakistan calls missile strikes 'unlawful'

ISLAMABAD: Hours after President Barack Obama confirmed that US drones regularly target militants in its tribal belt, Pakistan today said such attacks were "unlawful" and a violation of its sovereignty.



"Our position on drone strikes is clear and based on principles. Drone attacks are unlawful, counter-productive and hence unacceptable," Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said in a text message sent to PTI.


"We cannot condone the violation of our sovereignty," he said.

Obama confirmed for the first time that US drones had targeted militants in Pakistan's tribal areas during a chat with users of Google+ and YouTube.

He said "a lot of these strikes have been in" Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

"For the most part, they've been very precise precision strikes against al-Qaeda and their affiliates, and we're very careful in terms of how it's been applied," Obama said.

"This is a targeted focused effort at people who are on a list of active terrorists, who are trying to go in and harm Americans, hit American facilities, American bases, and so on... For us to be able to get them in another way would involve probably a lot more intrusive military action than the ones we're already engaging in," he said.

Dhoni the best man to lead India: Akram

Sydney: Under-fire Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni got much-needed support from former Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram who said the "hullabaloo" about his leadership is "ill-timed" as speculated replacement Virender Sehwag is not qualified for the job.
"The entire hullabaloo around MS Dhoni's captaincy is extremely ill-timed. Captain-bashing is a favourite pastime of cricket pundits in the Indian sub-continent and the media just loves it," wrote Akram in his column for a sports website.

"...I believe Dhoni is the best man to lead India and will remain so in the immediate future...In recent times, BCCI's planning has reflected poorly on India's overseas performances. So, it would be unfair to make Dhoni a scapegoat.
"There are two names - Sehwag and Virat Kohli -- doing the rounds as 'next' captains. In my book, none of them qualify for the job," he said.
Akram said while the pressure on Dhoni is understandable after consecutive Test whitewashes on foreign soil but Sehwag was not too impressive either when he got the chance to lead the side in the final Test against Australia.
"Sehwag was very unimpressive when he led the Indian team at Adelaide and Kohli is a kid who has just begun his career.
He can wait for another five years. I had expected better body language from Sehwag and his team during the Adelaide Test, but I was disappointed," he said.
"This 'I give-a-damn' attitude is counter-productive when the chips are down. What did Sehwag do to salvage India's pride at Adelaide? I sometimes see streaks of Shahid Afridi in Sehwag. That dreadful propensity to self-destruct!" he explained.
"Dhoni may not have done enough as skipper, but two bad series does not mean he should be derided and kicked out. Does the BCCI really have an option?"
Akram said he expects a "new" India to take the field in the shorter format starting tomorrow with a Twenty20 against Australia even though bowling remains an area of concern.
"There is still a lot to play for in Australia. With Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina and Praveen Kumar coming in, India are a solid ODI and T20 team. I think India have the right mix to give high-flying Australia a run for their money and we shall see a 'new' India in the first T20," he said.
"India's bowling remains a concern. Ishant Sharma has been the biggest disappointment. He has talked about the 'luck factor'. All that is just a lame excuse. After playing 45 Test matches, Ishant has not learnt to take responsibility," he said.
"When a quick bowler can't make an impact on a Perth or MCG wicket, he never will. First things first, he must first learn to bowl on one side of the wicket."
Akram said Inda need to keep their confidence level up to get the results.
"Self-belief will be crucial going forward in the remainder of the Australian tour. India must not tamper with their batting order. Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir must open the innings because they already have a 'feel' of the conditions," he said.
"The more India back themselves, the better they will play. It's a brand new chapter and India must demonstrate the body language of a world champion. Hope Dhoni shows the way with his young brigade," he added.

Tata Global, Tata Coffee soar on rollout plans with Starbucks

Stocks of Tata Global Beverages traded with strong gains, a day after the company outlined its plans to roll out stores in alliance with global coffee chain Starbucks. The joint venture, in which Tata Global will be a 50 per cent partner, will launch 30-50 outlets this year with an investment of Rs 400 crore ($80 million) to be split equally.

At 1030 hours, stocks of Tata Global traded with 4 per cent gains on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The BSE Sensex traded with 1 per cent gains.

Analysts said the deal can result in re-rating of Tata Global on account of margin expansion. Tata Global trades at 22 times price earnings and benefits of the roll out will accrue to the company.

Star Bucks, which operates in 57 countries and has more than 17,000 stores worldwide, operates at margins of 18 per cent against Tata Global's margins of 9.5 per cent.

Tata Coffee, which will be the sourcing partner for coffee beans in the country, also traded with nearly 1 per cent gains.

However, there might be some correction in prices of Tata Coffee going forward, analysts said. Investors had earlier estimated benefits of store roll out to come to Tata coffee, which will now accrue to its parent Tata Global.

Tata Coffee stocks have surged over 50 per cent since the MOU was signed with Starbucks a year ago.

Kolkata teen suicide: Father files police complaint against school principal

Kolkata:  The father of a 14-year-old girl, who jumped to her death on February 1, has filed a police complaint blaming the principal of her school for abetting his daughter's suicide.

The girl, Deepshikha, and a 15-year-old boy, Sudipto, both students of Class 8 in Julien Day School, jumped off the roof of the four-storey building where Sudipto's family lives. Deepshika was declared dead upon arrival at the hospital. Sudipto is in hospital with serious injuries. He underwent a brain surgery.

They both took the extreme step after allegedly being upbraided by the school principal for bunking a PT class. Deepshikha and Sudipto had been caught bunking class and allegedly threatened with suspension by the principal. Hours later, the two went to Sudipto's home, wrote a suicide note and jumped off the roof.

The suicide note was not addressed to anyone and it did not blame anyone. It said, "We are sorry to have disappointed our parents. We were born in the wrong time in the wrong country."

Deepshikha's father has now filed a police complaint against the principal and four others. Along with the prinicipal of the school, the father has also named Sudipto in his complaint for forcing Deepshikha to go to his house and commit suicide. Sudipto's mother - a doctor - is accused of taking her son to hospital in an ambulance but leaving the girl behind. Also named are the ambulance driver and the driver of Deepshikha's school bus for not taking steps when he noticed she was missing after school.

"I will not leave the principal. I want to know what it is he did that he forced my daughter to take this decision," says Mr Deepak Dam, the girl's father.

The principal of the school, M Mcnamara, has denied reports that after the students were discovered missing from class, he threatened to suspend them.

"They were called to my room because they did not attend PT classes. We just wanted to know why. They were not suspended or threatened and there was no talk of a transfer certificate or suspension," he said.



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Sourav Ganguly suggests playing Irfan and Tiwary

Melbourne: India should draft all-rounder Irfan Pathan and Manoj Tiwary in the side for the next tri-series match even if it means dropping a spinner along with Suresh Raina, suggested former skipper Sourav Ganguly.

India will play Sri Lanka on Wednesday after losing the first match to Australia by 65 runs.

India had rested Virender Sehwag and included two spinners in Ravichandran Ashwin and Rahul Sharma for the first match, a ploy which failed to impress Ganguly.

"In the next game, India should play Irfan Pathan instead of a spinner, as that will add variety to their attack. Pathan is a left-hander who swings the ball well. Pathan is needed because India is playing too many spinners, whereas even in Sunday's game, Vinay Kumar and the Australian pacemen made the most of the pitch," Ganguly said.

Ganguly said Bengal batsman Tiwary deserved a place in the side in place of Raina.

"I also wonder why Manoj Tiwary is not playing. Here is a man who scored a hundred in his last match against the West Indies under pressure, and on current form should play ahead of Suresh Raina who has looked suspect against the short stuff," Ganguly wrote in his column for 'Sydney Morning Herald'.

Ganguly also felt that Sehwag's presence in the top-order was crucial to India.

"India also needs the injured Virender Sehwag back. Sachin Tendulkar had not played a one-day match for 10 months, and it's not easy to accelerate from the word go.

"Gautam Gambhir did get a good fifty in the last Twenty20 game, but hasn't looked convincing as yet," he said.

Survival training for when a pilot's world turns upside down

New York:  The pilot sat strapped to a chair, held in place as if he were in the backseat of a helicopter. Beside him, on a mock wall, was a window. The window was closed.

The pilot wore opaque goggles. He could not see the window or anything else. The chair was attached to a rotating stand in the chest-deep water of a swimming pool. A petty officer spun a large wheel, flipping the chair backward with a gentle whoosh. The pilot was now underwater, upside down.

Another exercise in the test had begun.

The pilot - feet near the surface, head near the bottom, sightless - was to disconnect himself from the buckled straps, wiggle free, open the window and pull himself through and out, a series of movements intended to simulate what he might need to do in an aircraft that had struck the sea at night.

Every four years, the Navy requires its pilots and those who fly with them to renew their skills in escaping from downed aircraft or surviving an ejection and parachute descent into water. The refresher class, depending on where each student is based, is held in one of several schools like this one, the Aviation Survival Training Center on this Navy base in coastal Washington State.

In the peculiar way that demanding and slightly frightening training is often viewed by those who undergo it, the course is simultaneously appreciated and loathed.

The pilot who was flipped upside down on this day, Lt. Cmdr. Kelsey N. Martin, struggled briefly with the buckle that held the straps across his torso. He soon broke free and swam through the window without the assistance of the rescue swimmer watching alongside.

Later, he offered the common sentiment. "I was not looking forward to this," he said, before adding: "This training is actually very valuable. I say that because I know four guys who have ejected over water, and all of them lived."

The test with the chair that flips upside down - known as the Modular Shallow Water Egress Trainer - was one exercise of several.

Lieutenant Commander Martin and his classmates also had to pass a swim test wearing boots, flight suit and helmet; demonstrate that they could inflate a life preserver with a breathing tube while treading water; and complete several situational exercises, including escaping from a parachute harness that, via an electric pulley, dragged each man backward through the water as he tried to undo the harness's buckles.

This drill was meant to replicate the experience of being pulled across the ocean surface by a parachute driven by high winds, which could drown a pilot who had survived an otherwise successful ditching.

The final exercise, the so-called dunker, involved being seated wearing opaque goggles in a simulated helicopter as it was dropped into 12 feet of water and rotated upside down. Several pilots and crew members would have to escape at once, while safety divers watched, ready to rescue anyone who became stuck.

That exercise, like the overturned chair, taught crew members to choose an exit and then rely on "reference points" to get there - firm handholds inside the aircraft with which to pull themselves, handhold by handhold, toward an opening.

The course, which lasts two days, seeks to drill reactions into aircrews for surviving the most likely dangers they might face.

(Lieutenant Commander Martin is an E/A-18G pilot. Though jet pilots do not fly helicopters, they sometimes are carried as passengers within them and are required to complete the helicopter training, too. Two journalists from The New York Times were also required to complete a recent course before receiving permission to fly inside carrier-based F/A-18s for coverage of the Afghan war.)

Cmdr. Richard V. Folga, the school's director, said the reasoning behind the training is locked in aviation math. Every year, no matter how much attention aviation squadrons pay to maintenance and safety, naval aircraft experience catastrophic failures. Pilots and aircrews end up in the sea.

The Navy sometimes loses as many as 8 to 10 jet aircraft a year, he said. And so, after a day in a classroom receiving instruction and doing practice drills, the crews head to the pool for a long session in the water, in case one day the math catches up to them.

Commander Folga said he knows some officers attend with dread.

"If I could guarantee that you would never need this training, I would say, 'O.K., sit in the back and use your iPhone and do whatever you want to do while the rest of us work,' " he said. "But these exercises are all based on real incidents, and sometimes on recurrent real incidents."

He added: "No one plans for this kind of mishap. People don't go to work one day expecting that they will have to eject. But it happens. And when it happens, they have to be ready."

That statement aligned with the experience of Lt. Jonathan D. Farley, an F/A-18 pilot who volunteered in late 2007 to serve as a downed pilot for a rescue-training exercise on the West Coast. Lieutenant Farley was picked up from the ground by an MH-60 helicopter crew.

As the helicopter returned to an aircraft carrier with him in a back seat, the exercise turned real.

"I wasn't paying attention," he said. "I was along for the ride." Then he saw multiple warning lights flash at once in the cockpit's instrument panel. A crewman near him pointed toward the water and then assumed a brace position.

The helicopter was going down.

Without time to prepare, Lieutenant Farley was trapped in a sequence straight from the dunk-tank course.

The pilot up front managed to maintain enough control over the crippled helicopter to put it onto the surface softly. But it immediately flipped over. Cold water rushed in and closed around the passengers and crew. They were sinking, upside down, just as Lieutenant Commander Martin did at his recent course.

Lieutenant Farley followed the only instructions he knew. "I did exactly what the training had taught me," he said. "I grabbed a reference point, drew my breath right before the water went over my head and unbuckled."

As he slipped free from his seat, he could see nothing. He pulled himself toward where he thought he might escape, but lost his way. He does not remember finding the exit, but he must have. Just before his lungs gave out he was on the surface, the last man out.

Everyone survived: two pilots up front, three crew members and the two passengers. A second helicopter had been flying with the MH-60. Its crew plucked the survivors from the sea.

Lieutenant Farley, who said he is not a strong swimmer, spoke of the survival course in the same tone as many of those who know they will have to attend the class again. "I hate it with a passion," he said. "But if you are in a bad situation and have trained for it, then you revert to your training and what you know. It is why I am alive."



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