Evidence does not prove Arafat poisoning: Russian report

A Russian report quoted by Palestinian investigators on Friday said there was insufficient evidence to support the theory that Yasser Arafat died in 2004 by polonium poisoning.The findings were far weaker than those of a Swiss laboratory announced with fanfare on Wednesday by Arafat's widow and Qatar-based al-Jazeera television.Palestinians remained unfazed by the results - which dampen but don't definitely disprove the possibility of death by poisoning -alligator shear and officials continue to blame arch foe Israel.Samples were extracted from Arafat's corpse last November by Swiss, French and Russian experts after an al-Jazeera documentary revealed unusually high amounts of the deadly Polonium isotope on his clothes.

"The outcome of the comprehensive report on the levels of Polonium-210 and the development of his illness does not give sufficient evidence to support the decision that Polonium-210 caused acute radiation syndrome leading to death," said Dr. Abdullah Bashir, quoting the conclusions of the Russian report.But Dr. Bashir said that both the Swiss and Russian reports found "large amounts" of the radioactive isotope in his remains.The Russian findings were significantly more cautious than Swiss conclusions which said that its tests "moderately support the proposition that the death was the consequence of poisoning with Polonium-210",alligator shear though the evidence was not conclusive.Arafat, a guerrilla leader who became the Palestinians' first president affectionately known by the nom de guerre Abu Ammar, contracted a sudden and mysterious illness while surrounded by Israeli tanks in his compound in Ramallah.

Palestinians have long blamed Israel for his death - a charge it denies - but a local investigation committee has made little tangible progress in explaining the case."Palestinians should stop leveling all these groundless accusations without the slightest proof because enough is enough. We have strictly nothing to do with this and that is all there is to it," Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told Reuters.Tawfiq Tirawi,skin analyzer intelligence chief at the time of Arafat's death and now head of the Palestinian committee, began Friday's press conference at the compound where Arafat first fell ill with a prayer for what he called "the martyr's soul".

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Wall Street ends session lower but posts gains for October

The outcome envisioned in the legislation, if realized, would be a win for Illinois, for Decatur and for ADM," said chief communications officer Victoria Podesta.Manar also wants to create a task force to boost the promotion of the company's new Midwest Inland Port intermodal facility.Along with opposition from Quinn, the proposal faces other potential roadblocks. During preliminary debate on incentives in the House,alligator shear top Democrats in the chamber raised red flags about giving taxpayer money to a successful company at a time when the state has a massive backlog of unpaid bills.In addition, a coalition of labor unions earlier said the General Assembly should ignore big corporations lining up for "special deals" and instead invest in "core public services.

"It is particularly outrageous that some of the same CEOs who seek taxpayer handouts are also leading the charge to strip teachers, alligator shear and other public employees and retirees of the modest pensions they paid for and earned," noted a statement by the We Are One coalition.Said Manar, "I just want to make sure we can keep and grow jobs in Illinois."The U.S. central bank on Wednesday said it will keep buying $85 billion of bonds per month, citing weaker economic signals, but it removed a phrase from a previous statement expressing worries about credit conditions, which some investors interpreted as a sign that the Fed could begin tapering earlier than expected.

"That leaves tapering on the table for December," said Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, in Greenwich, Connecticut.Before the Fed's meeting,skin analyzer many market participants were anticipating that the stimulus plan would not change until at least early next year.The Fed's accommodative monetary policy in recent years has contributed to the stock market's rally.The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI fell 73.01 points, or 0.47 percent, to close at 15,545.75. The S&P 500 .SPX lost 6.77 points, or 0.38 percent, to finish at 1,756.54. The Nasdaq Composite .IXIC dropped 10.91 points or 0.28 percent, to end at 3,919.71.The S&P 500 closed near its intraday low, with a wave of end-of-session selling marked by sell-order imbalances near the close.

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California Republican Rep. Denham backs overhaul bill

Frank Sharry, the head of America's Voice, an immigration reform advocacy group, called Denham's support for the broad bill a "major crack in the dam that has been blocking reform."Denham, now in his second term, represents a 40% Latino district that relies on immigrants to pick crops. He has been targeted by Democrats for next year's election; President Obama won the district last year. On Sunday, Denham said the bill he supports "makes securing the border a requirement,Fashion Dresses not a goal, and puts measurable benchmarks in place to be verified by independent sources to ensure that our border is secure."Appearing on "Al Punto," a Univision program on politics, Denham said he expects other Republicans to join him, and the more who do, the better the bill's chances.

He pledged to work to "make sure that the entire country focuses on this, and that we actually get more Republicans that are willing to take a stand and get out there. Yes, it's risky. We will get hit from the left and the right,Fashion Dresses and there will be a lot of different media that portrays us in different ways in our districts. But what is right for the American people and our economy should be the focus on the entire Congress."This year, Denham was one of six House Republicans who opposed an effort to cut off funding for an Obama administration program that halted deportation of young immigrants who are in high school or Fashion Dresses college or have served in the military. He is the sponsor of legislation that would allow people in the country illegally to gain legal status through U.S. military service.

The data center operated by Verizon's Terremark experienced a connectivity issue that caused it to shut down, affecting the federal government's already problem-plagued online marketplace Healthcare.gov and similar sites operated by 14 states and the District of Columbia, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.Obama administration and company officials could not say how long it would take to fix the connectivity problem.Separate technical problems that have stalled enrollment on Healthcare since its launch on October 1 are at the heart of a new Republican effort to discredit the healthcare law,Fashion Dresses also known as Obamacare, largely through congressional investigations to determine what went wrong in building the costly and complicated implementation system.

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Siemens, Intesa Sanpaolo, Rosneft

Siemens is set to be in focus Monday after announcing over the weekend that it will have cut a total of about 15,000 jobs world-wide by the end of the next business year.Sunday's disclosure marked the first major cost-cutting announcement by Siemens's freshly appointed chief executive, Joe Kaeser. Mr. Kaeser's predecessor, Peter L?scher, lost his job in July after failing to meet the company's profit targets.Siemens,Fashion Dresses which makes products ranging from high-speed trains to wind mills and gas turbines to medical equipment, employs about 370,000 people world-wide. Its dozens of subsectors are grouped into four main divisions: industry, energy, infrastructure and cities, and health care.Shares in Siemens are down 1% at €88.96  ($120.10) early Monday, but this is line with losses on the DAX index. The stock is trading just off the €90.33 high seen on Sept. 19, and this was the highest level seen since the summer of 2011.

Morgan Stanley keeps Siemens at overweight in its investment analysis, saying the stock offers one of its best ideas in terms of favorable risk/reward profiles, and clear catalysts.Italian banks are also in the spotlight,Fashion Dresses weighed down by political worries as Italian Prime Minister Enrico Letta launched a last-ditch effort over the weekend to rescue his government from collapse.This has resulted in Italian sovereign debt being hit hard, pushing the country's 10-year bond yield 0.26 percentage point higher to 4.68%, the highest since late June,Fashion Dresses and has weighed on Italian banking shares given their exposure to Italian government debt.Also weighing is the resignation Sunday of Intesa Sanpaolo's chief executive Enrico Cucchiani, following clashes with board members and executives over his management style and the bank's strategy.

Shares in Intesa Sanpaolo have dropped 3.7%, while UniCredit trades 3.6% lower.Russian state oil firm Rosneft is in the news Monday,Fashion Dresses after offering a buyout to minority shareholders in its TNK-BP Holding subsidiary at a premium to the current market price.Rosneft's board approved an offer at the average price for the last six months of 67 rubles ($2) per ordinary share and 55 rubles per preferred share, the company said in a statement.Rosneft gained control over TNK-BP in March, buying stakes from Russian consortium Alfa-Access-Renova and British oil company BP following a corporate conflict.However, this is unlikely to be the end of the saga. Raiffeisen doubts the minority shareholders will accept this offer "as the price of the buyout is significantly below the market valuation of TNK-BP Holding before the acquisition of TNK-BP International by Rosneft."

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China data boosts stocks as Syria diplomacy cools oil

Riskier assets saw a strong start in Europe after Monday's comments from U.S. President Barack Obama that Russia's plan to put Syrian chemical weapons under international control could be a breakthrough in the crisis. They were followed by upbeat industrial and retail figures from China.Asian shares ended at a 3-month high and the feel-good factor continued in Europe where early gains of 0.6 - 1 percent on London's FTSE .FTSE, Germany's Dax .GDAXI and Paris's CAC 40 .FCHI pushed the FTSEurofirst 300 .FTEU3 up 0.6 percent.Oil fell to $113 a barrel, its lowest in two weeks, while safe-haven U.S. and German government bonds and gold and other precious metals were also back-pedaling.

"What we are seeing is being driven by the tensions in Syria being watered down a bit and a strong performance in the Asian and U.S. markets overnight," said Lee Curtis, a sales trader at City Index in London."We had clients buying into the market first thing after the Chinese data, and they continue to hold their longs as well so they seem pretty bullish."Russia's proposal to work with Damascus to put its chemical weapons under international control could avert planned U.S. action although Obama said he will still continue efforts to convince politicians to back military action.

Lower oil prices are usually a particularly positive development for Asia, a region that relies heavily on imports for its energy needs.MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS rose 1.1 percent, extending Monday's 1.3 percent gain to reach highs not seen since early June.Tokyo's Nikkei .N225 closed 1.5 percent higher, adding to Monday's 2.5 percent rally as news that Tokyo had won the right to host the 2020 Olympic Games bolstered optimism for a lasting economic recovery.

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