SBI sets more room for lending rate cuts

India's largest lender the State Bank of India   (SBI) on Monday hinted at  lending rate cuts going forward. However, the lender ruled out any further reduction in the base rate, the benchmark rate below which, RBI does not allow to lend.

"There is a scope for cutting rates if large scale projects come to closure," SBI Chairman Pratip Chaudhuri told reporters while addressing a press conference on rate cuts here in Mumbai.

"We are leading the path of lower interest rate. Lower EMIs are immensely helpful to individual households. We are sitting on an excess liquidity of 70,000-80,000 crore. In fact, the net interest income for august was higher than in July. Our net interest margin is very robust at 3.89%. We thought that we can possibly sacrifice a bit of NIM," he said.

Last week, the lender slashed base rate by 25 basis points to 9.75% with effect from September 20. At the same time, it reduced benchmark prime lending rate (BPLR) by 25 bps to 4.50%. Borrowers who had taken loans before September, 2010 will be benefited after BPLR cut. The Reserve Bank of India had replaced BPLR system with the base rate regime.

Earlier, SBI had reduced the interest rates on home, auto and SME loans by over 50 basis points, effective from August 07. However, that was a decrease in spread or the difference between base rate and the mark-up.

"Given that the bank has already reduced the base rate, another round of (base) rate cut is difficult. However, SBI may go for reducing rates by decreasing spreads in select loan categories," the chairman pointed out.

The reduction in base rate, according to Choudhuri, was more secular and benefits everyone to equal extent. There was criticism that banks are not passing on interest rate cut uniformly. The latest rate cuts also answered the same.

CNN. Iraq suffers deadliest day in nearly a month

The violence comes just days after dozens of prisoners broke out of jail Sunday's death toll in Iraq climbs to 30 The country's Shiite Muslim majority appears to be the main target of Sunday's bombings The level of violence seems to be rising in the country again after relative calm (CNN) -- At least 30 people were killed Sunday in a wave of bombings in Iraq, making it the country's deadliest day in nearly a month. The country's majority Shiite Muslim community appeared to be the main target of the attacks, with a Shiite shrine among the targets. The blasts seem to be part of a new increase in the level of violence in the country after a period of relative stability. There were seven explosions in and around Baghdad, which killed 20 people, police officials in the capital said. At least 37 other people were wounded in the blasts in the city center, the Baghdad neighborhoods of al-Mashahda and al-Amel, and the nearby city of Taji. A car bomb later exploded near a Shiite shrine in al-Madaan, killing four people. Nineteen other people were wounded, including four Iranians, police officials told CNN. Iraq is the site of many Shiite holy sites visited by pilgrims from Iran. The shrine is about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Baghdad. At least 15 killed in Iraq jailbreak And in the predominantly Shiite city of Kut, six people, including three Iraqi police officers, were killed and 10 people were wounded in a car bomb explosion at a police checkpoint. The incident occurred Sunday around 7 a.m. about 110 kilometers (68 miles) south of Baghdad in Wasit province. Health and police officials in Kut told CNN earlier that eight people were killed and 18 others wounded in that bombing, but the Interior Ministry then said some of those casualties were from a car accident. The violence comes just days after dozens of prisoners broke out of a jail in the northern Iraqi city of Tikrit. Among those who got out Thursday were several al Qaeda members on death row, according to authorities. The jailbreak occurred when armed men detonated two car bombs at the gates of Tasfirat jail. The explosions triggered clashes with security forces. Ten security forces and five prisoners died. Twenty security forces and 20 prisoners were wounded. Three weeks ago, at least 63 people were killed and roughly 200 others were wounded in a fresh wave of violence largely targeting Iraqi security forces and predominantly Shiite areas, government officials said. The September 9 blasts and shootings across Iraq came on the heels of a particularly brutal few weeks in the Middle Eastern nation. More than 70 Iraqi security force members were killed in August, according to the Interior Ministry. Iraq has battled political infighting among Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds, raising worries that the political conflict will return to the level of violence that nearly tore the country apart in 2006. While violence has decreased since the height of the U.S.-led war in 2005 and 2006, there has been a sharp escalation in attacks in recent months. In July, the number of dead hit a two-year peak with 325 deaths reported, according to the Interior Ministry. That was the deadliest single month since August 2010, it said. Baghdad's Shiite-dominated government has blamed the recent attacks on Sunni insurgents with ties to al Qaeda. U.S. troops completed their withdrawal from Iraq in December.

JAY-Z: 'NOT REALLY INTO POLITICS'

Rapper Jay-Z, who recently held a fundraiser that raised $4 million for President Barack Obama’s campaign, said he was just not that into politics.
Jay-Z told MTV News he was “not really into politics” because “a lot of people are serving their own agendas, so they just argue back and forth and they think about their next term.”
"And it's more about themselves than about the people,” Jay-Z said. “They're servicing the people, but we rarely get anything done because they're going back and forth with whatever they're doing, so I'm not really into politics."
He could have been speaking about Obama, but the rapper said he had to support Obama because he “is the first black President ever.”

2 Americans Killed By Afghan insider attack

 An Afghan soldier turned his gun on American troops at a checkpoint in the country's east, killing two Americans and at least two fellow members of Afghanistan's army in a shooting that marked both the continuance of a disturbing trend of insider attacks and the 2,000th U.S. troop death in the long-running war, officials said Sunday.
The string of insider attacks is one of the greatest threats to NATO's mission in the country, endangering a partnership key to training up Afghan security forces and withdrawing international troops.
Saturday's shooting took place at an Afghan army checkpoint just outside a joint U.S.-Afghan base in Wardak province, said Shahidullah Shahid, a provincial government spokesman.
"Initial reports indicate that a misunderstanding happened between Afghan army soldiers and American soldiers," Shahid said. He said investigators had been sent to the site to try to figure out what happened.
An Afghan official speaking on condition of anonymity said three Afghan soldiers were killed in the clash. It was not clear if the assailant was among the dead.
The attack happened about 5 p.m. in Sayd Abad district, Afghan Defense Ministry spokesman Gen. Zahir Azimi said in an emailed statement. He did not provide further details, saying he would wait for a report from investigators.
NATO forces announced the assault early Sunday morning, saying only that it was "suspected insider attack" and that a NATO service member and civilian contractor were killed.
One U.S. official confirmed that the service member killed was American, while another confirmed that the civilian was also American. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the nationality of the dead had not yet been formally announced.
Afghan soldiers and policemen -- or militants in their uniforms -- have gunned down more than 50 foreign troops so far this year, eroding the trust between coalition forces and their Afghan partners. An equal number of Afghan policemen and soldiers also died in these attacks, giving them reason as well to be suspicious of possible infiltrators within their ranks.
The attacks are taking a toll on the partnership between international and Afghan forces, prompting the U.S. military to restrict operations with small-sized Afghan units earlier this month.
The close contact -- with coalition forces working side by side with Afghan troops as advisers, mentors and trainers -- is a key part of the U.S. strategy for preparing the Afghans to take the lead in security operations as the U.S. and other nations prepare to pull out their last combat troops at the end of 2014, just 27 months away.
The number of American military dead reflects an Associated Press count of those members of the armed services killed inside Afghanistan since the U.S.-led invasion on Oct. 7, 2001.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Romney's Path to the White House Narrows

Mitt Romney's path to victory narrows, AP analysis shows

 Five weeks to Election Day, President Barack Obama is within reach of the 270 electoral votes needed to win a second term. Republican Mitt Romney's path to victory is narrowing.

To overtake Obama, Romney would need to quickly gain the upper hand in nearly all of the nine states where he and Obama are competing the hardest.

Polls show the president with a steady lead in many of them as Romney looks to shift the dynamics of the race, starting with their first debate Wednesday in Denver.

"We'd rather be us than them," says Jennifer Psaki, an Obama spokeswoman.

But Romney's political director, Rich Beeson, insists, "You still have an incumbent who's going to have a hard time getting over 50 percent in a lot of these states."

If the election were held today, an Associated Press analysis shows Obama would win at least 271 electoral votes, with likely victories in crucial Ohio and Iowa along with 19 other states and the District of Columbia. Romney would win 23 states for a total of 206.

To oust the Democratic incumbent, Romney would need to take up-for-grabs Florida, Colorado, Nevada, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Virginia, which would put him at 267 votes, and upend Obama in either Ohio or Iowa.

The AP analysis isn't meant to be predictive. Rather, it is intended to provide a snapshot of a race that until recently has been stubbornly close in the small number of the most contested states.

It is based on a review of public and private polls, television advertising and numerous interviews with campaign and party officials as well as Republican and Democratic strategists in the competitive states and in Washington.

In the final weeks before the Nov. 6 vote, Obama is enjoying a burst of momentum and has benefited from growing optimism about the economy as well as a series of Romney stumbles. Most notably, a secret video surfaced recently showing the Republican nominee telling a group of donors that 47 percent of Americans consider themselves victims dependent on the government.

To be sure, much could change in the coming weeks, which will feature three presidential and one vice presidential debate. A host of unknowns, both foreign and domestic, could rock the campaign, knocking Obama off course and giving Romney a boost in the homestretch.

Barring that, Romney's challenge is formidable.

Obama started the campaign with a slew of electoral-rich coastal states already in his win column. From the outset, Romney faced fewer paths to cobbling together the state-by-state victories needed to reach the magic number.

It's grown even narrower in recent weeks, as Romney has seen his standing slip in polls in Ohio, with 18 electoral votes, and Iowa, with six. That forced him to abandon plans to try to challenge Obama on traditionally Democratic turf so he could redouble his efforts in Ohio and Iowa, as well as Colorado, Florida, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Nevada and Virginia.

Romney is hoping that come Election Day, on-the-fence voters tip his way. But there are hurdles there, too.

Early voting is under way in dozens of states, and national and key states surveys show undecided voters feel more favorably toward Obama than Romney.

The Republican is in a tight battle with Obama in Florida, as well as Colorado, North Carolina and Nevada.

But Ohio's shifting landscape illustrates Romney's troubles over the past few weeks.

Republicans and Democrats agree that Obama's solid lead in public and private polling in the state is for real. Over the past month, the president has benefited from an improving economic situation in the state; its 7.2 percent unemployment rate is below the 8.1 percent national average. Obama's team also attributes his Ohio edge to the auto bailout and GM plant expansions in eastern Ohio.

Obama and his campaign have hammered Romney on his tax policies, arguing that the former Massachusetts governor favors the rich while the president as a defender of everyone else.

The president has seen the same good fortune in Iowa. A poll released Saturday by The Des Moines Register illustrates his advantage, showing Obama with 49 percent to 45 percent for Romney. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.5 percentage points.

"It's a direct result of the time and resources he's been forced to spend here," Iowa Republican strategist John Stineman said.

Indeed, Obama intently focused on the state ahead of an early voting period that began last week. He campaigned in Iowa aggressively this summer and dumped in a ton of TV advertising, much of it depicting Romney as wealthy and out-of-touch with working Americans.

Obama doesn't just have the wind at his back in those states.

The president also appears to be in stronger shape than Romney in Virginia, which has nine electoral votes, and in New Hampshire, with four votes, even though Romney vacations often in the state where he has a lakeside home. Romney and GOP allies are being outspent in that state considerably, a sign of trouble for the Republican challenger.

Underscoring his challenges, Romney also has been forced to spend millions of dollars a week defending himself in North Carolina, a GOP-leaning state that's more conservative than most of the states that will decide the election.

Polls now show a competitive race there. Democrats boast of having registered 250,000 new voters in the state since April 2011. It's an eye-popping total in a state that Obama won by just 14,000 votes four years ago. A flood of new voters, presumably a chunk of them Democrats, could help keep that state within Obama's reach this year.

Also, Romney's effort to challenge Obama in Democratic-leaning Wisconsin, home state of running mate Paul Ryan, appears to have fizzled. Despite millions of dollars spent on TV in the last few weeks by both sides, polls show Obama with a clear lead in Wisconsin.

Romney's goal of forcing Obama to defend Michigan — Romney's native state — and Pennsylvania never materialized.

"The big strategic moment coming out of the conventions in my view was whether or not Romney and his campaign could succeed in expanding the parameters of the battleground," said Tad Devine, a top adviser to 2000 Democratic nominee Al Gore and 2004 nominee John Kerry. "They have not been able to do that."

All this has left Romney with an extraordinarily tight path and few options but to bear down in the states where he is competing aggressively. Time, though, is running out.

Wenger wants more from Arsenal

The Gunners went into Saturday's showdown with the leaders at the Emirates Stadium unbeaten, and holding some genuine hope of making a real impact again at the business end of the table.

However, despite creating several good openings - with Blues keeper Petr Cech denying both Lukas Podolski and Olivier Giroud, who then missed a great chance in stoppage time - Arsenal were the architects of their own downfall against a well-drilled Chelsea outfit.

Goals from Fernando Torres and Juan Mata's free-kick secured a 2-1 victory for the visitors.

And Wenger said: "We can be much better. Technically we were average, and also so was our authority at the back.

"When you play at home and concede two goals from set-pieces, it is unacceptable.

"I think there is some psychological damage because we lost the game and the players are very disappointed, especially because we have lost a game we should not have lost and that is where we have some work to do, especially in some aspects of our defensive game."

Torres had got the better of Laurent Koscielny - who retained his place ahead of Per Mertesacker as captain Thomas Vermaelen returned to the defence - to fire the visitors ahead on 20 minutes after Arsenal failed to deal with Mata's free-kick into the penalty area.

Although Gervinho levelled with well-taken equaliser just before the break, another curling deadball delivery from Mata found its way into the bottom corner on 53 minutes as Koscielny's slight deflection only helped the ball past Vito Mannone.

While Cech's reactions - particularly from a deflected Giroud shot - certainly helped earn Chelsea their fifth win from six games, Arsenal's defensive shortcomings were again highlighted.

Wenger accepted the doom-mongers would soon latch on to that well-examined area of weakness.

"I can completely understand people's opinion," he said, "but what is important is the personality you show in a big game and that is where is some areas we were not at the [right] level."

Wenger passes 16 years at the helm this week but insists for him it has always been about meeting the next challenge head-on.

"I never look back, I always look forward," he said.

"I looked at the Chelsea game and look at the next game. It is not easy, it is never easy."

Arsenal midfielder Abou Diaby limped off on Saturday after less than 20 minutes.

Wenger said: "It is a thigh muscle strain. It is a minimum of three weeks."

Meanwhile, England international Jack Wilshere is expected to make his long-awaited return to action after 14 months out in an Under-21s match at West Brom on Monday afternoon.

Reuters Says That A Child was killed In Kenya church grenade attack

A nine-year-old boy was killed and three other children wounded when a hand grenade was thrown into a Sunday school session in a church in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, police and medical staff said.

Kenya has suffered a series of grenade attacks since it sent troops across the border into Somalia last October in pursuit of Islamist al Shabaab militants who it blamed for kidnapping its security personnel and Western tourists.

The attack on the church came days after Kenyan troops launched a surprise offensive on the southern Somali port of Kismayu, the last stronghold of the al Shabaab, forcing the rebels to flee.

Police said attackers threw the grenade into the Sunday school service in St. Polycarp's church on Nairobi's Juja Road.

The grenade exploded, spraying the children with shrapnel and fatally injuring the boy.

"We suspect this blast might have been carried out by sympathisers of al Shabaab," said deputy police spokesman Charles Owino.

"These are the kicks of a dying horse since, of late, Kenyan police have arrested several suspects in connection with grenades," he added.

Masked assailants launched simultaneous gun and grenade raids on two churches in the northern town of Garissa in July, killing at least 17 people.

Chelsea wins again, Tottenham ends Man United hoodoo

Premier League leaders Chelsea beat London rivals Arsenal 2-1 while Tottenham Hotspur ended their Old Trafford hoodoo and beat Manchester United 3-2 there for the first time since 1989 to leave Chelsea three points clear on Saturday (Sunday, PHL time).

The two games started and finished a superb day of action with Liverpool ending their worst start to a season for over a century with Luis Suarez scoring a hat-trick as they won 5-2 at Norwich City for their first league win at the sixth attempt.

Elsewhere Everton continued their best start for seven seasons, Nikica Jelavic scoring twice as they came from a goal behind to beat Southampton 3-1 at Goodison Park to climb to second in the table.

Champions Manchester City also trailed but hit back to win 2-1 at Fulham with a late winner from substitute Edin Dzeko pushing them up to fourth.

Unbeaten Chelsea, who won at Arsenal with goals from Spaniards Fernando Torres and Juan Mata, have won five and drawn one and top the table with 16 points, followed by Everton on 13, United on 12, City on 12 and Spurs on 11.

At the other end, Queens Park Rangers slipped to bottom place before they meet West Ham United on Monday.

Reading came close to their first win but ended up drawing 2-2 at home to Newcastle United for whom Demba Ba scored twice.

Hoodoo over

The most dramatic game was at Old Trafford where Spurs had not beaten United since a Gary Lineker winner 23 years ago - and not beaten them in any of their last 22 Premier League clashes home or away.

In that time they have led United on a number of occasions and 11 years ago to the day were 3-0 up against them at halftime at White Hart Lane before losing 5-3.

So despite Jan Vertonghen putting Spurs ahead after two minutes and Gareth Bale making it 2-0 after 32 minutes after a charging run and shot through the heart of the United defense, there was no taking victory for granted.

United, outplayed in the first half, controlled the game in the second after Wayne Rooney replaced Ryan Giggs and they pulled one back when Nani touched in Rooney's cross six minutes after the break, the first of three goals in less than three minutes.

Spurs replied almost immediately in the 52nd minute when Clint Dempsey fired into an empty net when United keeper Anders Lindegaard saved from Bale - but Spurs' lead lasted only one minute before Shinji Kagawa wriggled through a static Spurs defense to make it 3-2.

Tremendous Hotspur

United then bombarded Spurs goal for half-an-hour, hit the woodwork twice and had penalty appeals turned down, but could not force the equalizer as they slipped to their second league defeat of the season.

Manager Alex Ferguson told ESPN afterwards: "We made a poor start to the game and defended poorly. In the second half we were fantastic and should have got something out of the game but were very unlucky."

Spurs manager Andre Villas-Boas, whose team have not lost in seven matches in any competition since the opening day, said: "I thought we were tremendous today.

"The first half was totally different from the second, we fought for each other and ended up winning it tonight. We proved we can count on each other and can do some great things this year, that's the most important lesson we got from tonight."

Villas-Boas's old club Chelsea beat Arsenal in the lunchtime sunshine at the Emirates, inflicting Arsenal's first defeat of the season.

Torres put the European champions ahead after 20 minutes when Arsenal defended poorly at a Mata freekick with Torres holding off Laurent Koscielny to hook a volley home.

Gervinho equalized with a superb turn and shot after 42 minutes before Mata scored what proved to be the winner after 53 minutes when his free kick flew home, clipping Koscielny's leg on the way past stand-in keeper Vito Mannone.

Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo told Sky Sports: "I thought we were excellent today and deservedly won the game.

"From the start to the end we never defended too deep, we tried to take the initiative and go forward and create chances and the game went for us today."

Di Matteo also praised captain John Terry who played a commanding role in defense despite the cloud of a four-game ban hanging over him after he was found guilty by the FA of using racist language to Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand.

"It was the right choice to play John, he showed leadership and what a good defender he is," Di Matteo said.

Disappointed Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said: "We were a bit nervous at the start ... But we should never have lost this game.

"It is sad because we gave the game away at home, we conceded two soft goals on set pieces. They had three shots on target and scored two goals and you cannot concede goals at home like we did today."

In other matches Stoke City won for the first time with Peter Crouch scoring both goals in their 2-0 win over Swansea City while Sunderland also posted a first victory, beating Wigan Athletic 1-0. - Reuters

US Gets Sony Tablet S Update

If you live in USA and you own a Sony Tablet S and keep in mind we said Tablet S not Xperia Tablet S it’s update time! You will get all the goodies of the Xperia Tablet S on the Tablet S, meaning that the new features will be available for the owners of the 2011 Sony tablet. Android 4.0.3 brings all the extras on your device, the ones listed below.


The device gets the cool Guest Mode available, the one that allows you to share the slate with your family members, even kids, by controlling beforehand the apps they can access. Aside from the Guest Mode you get new media player applications: Walkman, Album and Movies. They have been redesigned and got new features, including a beautiful visualizer for Walkman, a nice layout for Album and simplistic UI for Movies. There’s also Small Apps feature, that allows you overlay a small browser, IR remote, calculator, voice recorder and timer on top of another app.

There’s also the option of using a Macro function on the Remote Control app. This you can program your Blu Ray player or TV set using the macro features of your infrared-packing Sony Tablet S. The list of improvements goes on to include new widgets, including Topics, Socialife for socializing in pure Flipboard style and Watch Now, with an interactive visual program guide, based on personal preference and real time trends from your social networking feeds.