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• French Inflation Holds Near Three-Year High on Energy, Tax Rises
• France Telecom Cuts Dividend, Hoards Cash Amid Debt Crisis
• Italian Economy Slips Into Recession, Contracts 0.7 Percent
• Greek Rescue Talks Hit Snag as EU Presses for Assurances
• Lehman Crisis Veterans Say EU Shouldn’t Push Greece Too Far

By Mark Deen and Fergal O’Brien

(For more on Europe’s debt crisis, see EXT4.)

Feb. 20 (Bloomberg) — French business confidence arrested a seven-month decline in February, the latest sign that Europe’s second-largest economy may be starting to recover after unexpectedly expanding in the fourth quarter.

Sentiment among factory executives held at 92 after January’s reading was revised from an initially reported 91, Paris-based statistics office Insee said today. The reading matched the median forecast of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. A gauge of the outlook among businesses rose to a six-month high.

Business confidence in Germany, Europe’s largest economy, probably also rose in February, economists said before a report on Feb. 23. Finance ministers meet in Brussels today to conclude talks on a second Greek bailout as they seek to end a debt crisis that began more than two years ago and has undermined sentiment and growth across the region.

The indicator “suggests further stabilization in the business climate with upside surprises possible,” said Fabrice Montagne, an economist at Barclays Capital in London. “Looking ahead, however, we are still worried about a below long-term average reading in the first quarter and see room for the economy to contract slightly.”

The February confidence reading of 92 is the lowest in almost two years. Still, the order books gauge rose to minus 26 from minus 28 and the production outlook increased to minus 27 from minus 36.

Cautious Start

After predicting in December that the French economy would shrink in the fourth quarter of 2011 and the first quarter of 2012, Insee said last week that the economy grew 0.2 percent in the three months through December, helped by external trade and business investment.

“The word for the start of the year is ‘caution,’” Air Liquide SA Chief Executive Officer Benoit Potier said on Feb. 17. In November and December, the big companies “closed their taps. Now they’re starting to come back” and we’re seeing a “return to normality.”

The Ifo institute’s business climate index for Germany climbed to 108.8 from 108.3 in January, according to the median of 37 forecasts in a Bloomberg survey. The European Central Bank is set to allot a second tranche of three-year loans this month after a previous measure in December helped ease liquidity strains in the financial system.

Italy’s industrial orders rose 5.5 percent in December from November, the country’s statistics institute said today. From a year earlier, orders were down 4.3 percent.

Japan Deficit

In Asia today, Japan posted a record trade deficit in January as the yen’s strength and weaker global demand eroded manufacturers’ profits and slowed the nation’s recovery from last year’s earthquake and tsunami. The gap widened to 1.48 trillion yen ($19 billion) as shipments dropped 9.3 percent from a year earlier and energy imports surged, the Ministry of Finance reported in Tokyo.

Shipments to China, Japan’s largest market, fell 20 percent from a year earlier, the biggest decline since Aug. 2009. Exports to the European Union slid 7.7 percent and shipments to the U.S. advanced 0.6 percent.

Thailand Shrinks

Elsewhere in Asia, Thailand’s economy shrank 9 percent in the fourth quarter compared with the year earlier on the worst floods in almost 70 years. In New Zealand, producer input prices gained 0.5 percent in the same period from the three months through September, the smallest increase since the fourth quarter of 2009, Statistics New Zealand said in Wellington.

Asian stocks advanced after China cut banks’ reserve requirements to fuel lending and buoy economic growth, boosting demand for riskier assets. The MSCI Asia Pacific Index rose 0.8 percent as of 10:26 a.m. in London. The Stoxx 600 Europe Index gained 0.7 percent. U.S. markets are closed for the Presidents’ Day holiday.

In Europe, finance ministers will try to settle remaining disputes at a meeting today as they close in on a 130 billion- euro ($172 billion) bailout for Greece, which the country needs to make a bond payment on March 20.

The euro rose against the dollar for a third day on speculation of an accord. Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos said his country has delivered on everything needed to be able to get approval for the package. The euro gained 0.6 percent to $1.3218.

“We expect today to close a long period of uncertainty that has not been to the benefit of either the Greek economy or the euro area as a whole,” Venizelos said.

French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said that euro-area countries should be able to reach a deal.

“We have all the elements for an agreement,” Baroin said today on Europe 1 radio. “There are many structural reforms under way. We can’t wait because of the payment that is due in March.”

–With assistance from Barbara Sladkowska in Warsaw. Editors: Craig Stirling, Simone Meier

To contact the reporters on this story: Mark Deen in Paris at markdeen@bloomberg.net; Fergal O’Brien in London at fobrien@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net

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These exercises aim to reinforce the integrated abilities of the countrys anti-air defences, said a statement from the Katem-ol-Anbia military air base coordinating Irans anti-air and ballistic missile systems.

Missiles, anti-aircraft artillery, radars and warplanes were being deployed, it said.

The declaration, reported by the official news agency IRNA, came as officials from the UN nuclear watchdog were holding talks in Tehran on Irans suspect nuclear programme which has unsettled the West and Israel.

It also coincided with increasing speculation that Israel was mulling air strikes on Irans nuclear facilities.

These manoeuvres aim to reinforce the coordination between the military and the Revolutionary Guards for a total coverage of the countrys sensitive facilities, especially nuclear sites, the statement said.

The exercises, named Sarollah , covered a zone of 190,000 square kilometres (73,400 square miles) in southern Iran, it said.

This lawsuit is necessary to finally put a stop to [Tohmes] abuse, according to court documents filed on 17 February, [and] to unwind the self-serving and unconscionable agreements [Tohme] encouraged Jackson to enter into. Lawyers claim that Tohme duped his client into poor contracts, including an agreement to save the Neverland Ranch from foreclosure, collecting millions in consultancy fees.

Little is known about Tohme, who was described in his own press releases as Jacksons official and sole spokesperson. He worked for the pop star from January 2008 until March 2009. Im a nobody, Tohme said in a 2009 interview. Im not important. He also described himself as an ambassador at large for Senegal.

Tohme sued Jacksons estate in September 2010, shortly before the release of the documentary This Is It. Tohme was billed in the film credits as Jacksons personal adviser. He is allegedly seeking 15% of the revenue collected by the estate, a sum amounting to almost $50m (£31.5m), Billboard reports. We believe the facts will show that Mr Tohmes claims are meritless and that Mr Tohme engaged in wrongdoing with respect to Michael Jackson starting early in their relationship, insisted the Jackson estate attorney Howard Weitzman.

They are well taken care of they are fed, given water and lavished with attention. There is just one catch these cats would prefer to be in a forever home.

They are flood cats, pets that were among those left at the Souris Valley Animal Shelter due to the flooding of the Souris River this summer.

In all, 540 pets were housed either at the shelter or at an emergency shelter located at the NDSU North Central Research Extension Center. By the end of August, there were only 19 of these animals left. All the rest were collected by their families as they returned to their homes.

Of these 19 animals, 13 of them were adopted out. Six cats and one rabbit remain.

These are the last of the pets that we brought back from the emergency shelter, explained Susan Wagers, director of the Souris Valley Animal Shelter, as she stood in a room that housed the flood cats. For whatever reason, some of (the families affected by the flood) werent able to pick them up.

In addition to the flood animals, the shelter currently has 20 cats and 25 dogs available for adoption. While the cats recline quietly in their cages, sometimes pausing reflectively as they lick their paws, the dogs are more rambunctious and eager when a prospective adoptive family tours the facilities. There are some, like a large Great Dane, that, like their barks, bounce off the walls. Others, like Amethyst, a Yorkie mix, look at you with puppy dog eyes.

And then, there are some cages that are empty. These were the temporary homes for animals that are now with forever families.

These vacancies, a few months ago, were not common.

While the animal shelter was not physically affected by the flood the shelter is located at 1935-20th Avenue Southeast it became inundated with requests to house animals as homeowners moved out of their homes with the impending Souris River flooding.

Were full on a daily basis, anyway, Wagers said, so the shelter found itself hard pressed to deal with the serge in housing displaced pets.

According to Vanessa Carns, the shelters kennel supervisor, there are only 29 dog kennels and 36 cat kennels, the latter not including a cat room kitty city which can hold a maximum of 18 cats. Sometimes, depending on the number of animals at the shelter and their size, there are more than one of an animal found in a kennel. For example, a kennel could hold six kittens, Carns said.

In a story that ran in The Minot Daily News on June 1, 2011, the shelter reached capacity after it accepted 68 dogs and cats and one ferret from families who were forced to evacuate.

Normally, in an event of an emergency like this, the North Dakota State Fairgrounds are used as an emergency shelter, but that, too, was flooded. The timely intervention of the North Dakota Agriculture Department and the state veterinarians office helped the shelter find other accommodations; in this case, the seed warehouses at the NDSU North Central Research Extension Center were used.

For 2-1/2 months, until the end of August 2011, staff with the Souris Valley Animal Shelter were split between their regular location and the extension center, located south of Minot.

That forced us to close our doors for business, Wagers said, as there wasnt enough staff to be evenly divided between the two locales. The flood, she added, also caused the cancellation of four fundraisers, which could have produced a projected $15,000 for the shelter. The shelter is funded primarily from adoption fees $35 for cats, $45 for dogs, and in the case of the flood-affected rabbit, $15 donations, and from other services available at the shelter.

For their combined efforts in providing emergency accommodations for these animals, the Souris Valley Animal Shelter and the NDSU North Central Research Extension Center were honored by the North Dakota Department of Agriculture on Thursday. Jesse Vollmer, assistant state veterinarian, and Greg Wilz, deputy director of the North Dakota Department of Emergency Services, presented certificates of commendation to those involved. In addition to Wagers, who was honored as well as the shelters staff, those receiving certificates included Jay Fisher, director of the North Dakota State University North Central Research Extension Center, where the emergency shelter was located; Chad Anderson, a seed production specialist with NCREC; John Dhuyvetter, an extension livestock systems specialist with NCREC; and Lee Novak, an ag research technician.

In a press release issued Wednesday by the Department of Agriculture, state ag commissioner Doug Goehring commented on how impressed he was when he toured the emergency shelter in July.

The cages were neat and clean; the animals were fed, watered and exercised daily, and there was no interruption of the important agriculture research work at the extension center, Goehring said.

This is on behalf of a lot of folks. I just receive this as part of our staff, Fisher said following his receipt of the award. We were glad to help out where we could.

I am so proud of the staff at the animal shelter for the work that they did, Wagers said. In the very beginning, they were working, literally, 14 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week. We were split between two buildings. It was just nothing we have ever experienced before. I cant thank the extension folks enough.

Wagers noted that the staff at the extension center got that ball rolling for us, and helped get the seed warehouse prepped for the animals.

If it werent for them getting it all set up and going, I think wed be lost a few days into it, she said. Theyre definitely my new family.

Teachers and administrators in the Santa Maria Joint Union High
School District have for years been trying to find the biggest,
best piece of land to accommodate the growing number of county fair
and FFA projects of students at Santa Maria, Righetti and Pioneer
Valley high schools. 

The search could end in the district’s own backyard, where 1.5
acres of fenced-in dirt and wood chips has sat untouched behind the
district office at 2560 Skyway Drive since officials bought the
property in 1998.

That parcel also happens to be in the flight path of a Santa Maria
Public Airport runway, which would require the state to sign off on
the project because students would be using a site that sits within
two nautical miles of an airport runway.

Plans took a baby step forward last month when the district brought
the possibility of planning a new high school farm program campus
(in land about 4,000 feet northeast of a runway) before the Santa
Maria Public Airport District board of directors for their
information.

Superintendent Doug Kimberly said the property is not the only
local parcel the district is considering, but it seems like the
best fit.

“At this point, it’s more of a front-runner,” Kimberly said.
“Land’s not easy to find. We’re kind of just seeing what’s out
there. We’re looking forward to having all our teachers in one
place.”   

Students working on animal and plant projects are typically spread
on land all around the Santa Maria Valley.

Hector Guerra, an agriculture teacher at Pioneer Valley, said his
students have been traveling to work on projects in Nipomo, Orcutt
and the outskirts of Santa Maria since the school no longer
occupies land on Telephone Road free-of-charge like it had for
years.

“I was spread out all over the place, which made it a little
difficult,” Guerra said.

Righetti students use property off of Clark Avenue in Orcutt for
free now — though it’s recently gone up for sale by the owner — and
Santa Maria High kids freely use land off of Main Street going
toward Guadalupe.

Some students house animals or projects on their own properties or
pay to use other land.

Available school plots are typically reserved for first- and
second-year students who haven’t made enough contacts in the
community to store animals or plants elsewhere.

More than 150 students take on projects each year, Guerra said,
which could spell disaster if space can’t be found.

He said schools have been using plots between 2.5 acres and 5
acres, so moving into a 1.5 acre site would be difficult but not
impossible.

“It’s a lot of kids to be able to keep in one place,” Guerra said.
“It’s going to be tight. It’s all about building the skills.”

Kimberly said the district is still in the middle of its search,
but Guerra said he would like to see a centralized farm program
campus by next summer or school year.

“We’ve been looking for a while and come up short … Now the
pressure is on us,” Guerra said.

In these stressful times, the demand for relaxation beverages is growing and now KOMA Unwind Products are arriving in Georgia, said BeBevCo CEO Brian Weber.

Flash Foods of Georgia, a self-distributor through Distribution South, has operated since 1952. It distributes its own grocery products and fuel using its own transports internally or through subsidiaries of The Jones Co.

Distributor by distributor and chain by chain, we are getting our products in more locations at an ever-increasing pace. This deal is a major deal for us; in fact, its the biggest retail partner yet, said Weber.

BeBevCos Koma line includes the Koma Unwind Chillaxation drink in sugared and sugar-free versions, as well as the Koma Unwind Chillaxation shot.

In related news, Attitude Drinks also signed a new distribution agreement for its ready-to-drink real milk recovery drink Phase III Recovery. Sams Mart Inc. authorized the sale of the beverage at all North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia Sams Mart locations. Choice USA will distribute Phase III in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Savannah Distributing will distribute it in Georgia.

We are excited about the authorization of Phase III in Sams Mart, said Jack Shea, Attitude Drinks executive vice president of sales. We expect to repeat the initial success of Phase III in the Southeast, as we have done in New England. The authorization in Sams Mart is a big step in that direction.

Sams Mart Inc. started business in 1991 and now operates a chain of 150 stores in North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia.

By Julie Steenhuysen

CHICAGO (Reuters) – People who challenge their brains throughout their lifetimes — through reading, writing and playing games — are less likely to develop protein deposits in the brain linked with Alzheimers, US researchers said on Monday.

Prior studies have suggested that people who are well educated and stay mentally active build up brain reserves that allow them to stay sharp even if deposits of the destructive protein called beta amyloid form in the brain.

But the latest study, based on brain-imaging research, suggests that people who stay mentally engaged beginning in childhood and remain so throughout their lives actually develop fewer amyloid plaques.

Were not talking about the brains response to amyloid. Were talking about the actual accumulation of amyloid, Dr. William Jagust of the University of California, Berkeley, whose study appears in the Archives of Neurology, said in an interview. Its a brand new finding.

While small, the study also shows that starting brain-stimulating activities early enough might offer a way to prevent Alzheimers-related plaques from building up in the brain.

Currently, there are no drugs that can prevent Alzheimers disease, which scientists now think begins 10 to 15 years before memory problems set in.

Alzheimers Disease International estimates there are now 36 million people with the disease worldwide. As the population ages, that number will increase to 66 million by 2030, and to 115 million by 2050.

Last week, the US government released draft recommendations for a national Alzheimers plan that calls for finding effective treatments or prevention strategies by 2025.

The new study involved the use of an imaging agent known as Pittsburgh Compound B or PiB, which works with positron emission tomography, or PET scanners. This chemical sticks to and highlights deposits of beta amyloid.

Beta amyloid is the protein that many people feel may be the initiating factor in Alzheimers disease. It is the protein that is in the plaques of the brains of people with Alzheimers, Jagust said.

STARTING CROSSWORD PUZZLES LATE WONT HELP

The researchers studied 65 healthy, cognitively normal people aged 60 and older. Study participants were asked a battery of questions about how mentally active they had been during different periods of their lives starting at age 6. The questions included whether they had read newspapers, went to the library, wrote letters or e-mails and played games.

They also underwent extensive testing to assess their memory and thinking skills and their brains were scanned using the new tracer to look for amyloid deposits in the brain.

The team compared the brain scans with those of 10 Alzheimers patients and 11 healthy people in their 20s.

They found that people who had been the most mentally active had lower levels of beta amyloid than others who had been less mentally active.

People in the study who had recently taken up crosswords and other mental exercises did not appear to see much benefit.

What our data suggests is that a whole lifetime of engaging in these activities has a bigger effect than being cognitively active just in older age, said Susan Landau, another Berkeley researcher who worked on the study.

She said amyloid probably starts accumulating many years before symptoms appear, so by the time memory problems start, there is little that can be done. The time for intervention may be much sooner, she said in a statement.

One weakness is that the study relies on peoples memory of their mental activities, Jagust said.

He said staying mentally engaged may make the brain more efficient, which could have a protective effect, but that is still not clear.

(Reporting by Julie Steenhuysen; Editing by Michele Gershberg and Sandra Maler)

Placing the towns animal control officer on paid administrative leave and changing the lock on the old animal shelter the week before Christmas left volunteers concerned for the safety of the seven cats that had been sheltered there.

Town Manager Joseph M. Zeneski declined to comment on the status of part-time animal control officer Sheila S. Donohue, since it is a personnel issue, but said the towns animals are fine and living in Leicester.

Ms. Donohue also declined to detail issues that led to her administrative leave, but said, I have every intention of remaining animal control officer in Oxford and Dudley.

She has been part-time officer in Dudley since Oct. 3.

Mr. Zeneski said the cats were temporarily put in the care of Patricia D. Dykas, owner of Barton Brook Kennel and Animal Health Complex in Leicester. Ms. Dykas has been a temporary part-time animal control officer in Oxford for years.

Mr. Zeneski said that, contrary to rumors, Pat does not run a kill shelter. She runs a placement shelter.

Ms. Dykas said she has faced verbal and written attacks since agreeing to care for Oxfords cats.

I went on the Friends of Oxford Animal Shelter Facebook page. Things written about me there were lies. I replied and asked who was writing this stuff, so I could talk to them. My posting was deleted, and I am blocked from the site.

She said she had another surprise when she went to the Oxford shelter to feed the cats, and was greeted by an inspector from the Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, which had been contacted by someone from Oxford. She said the inspector told her for our safety and for the safety of the animals, I should remove them from the old shelter, so I did. There is no running water in the old shelter, which has little heat. The seven cats are now safe, warm and fed in Leicester.

Ms. Dykas said the rumor that she runs a kill shelter is misleading, since every animal shelter, even those called no-kill shelters euthanize animals that are suffering or dangerous, she said.

She is the animal control officer for Leicester and also contracts with Leicester, Worcester and Paxton to house animals at Barton Brook, which is an animal shelter for municipalities, she said. She receives no donations and deals only with cities and towns by contract. She holds one of four licenses issued by the state for an animal crematorium, which could lead to rumors.

People want to keep the ashes of their beloved pets. Thats a service we can offer, she said.

She said the Oxford cats are friendly and seem healthy. As soon as they are cleared by her veterinarian, they will be available for adoption.

We have a huge network, a lot of adoption resources. Im sure they will find good homes, she said.

She said she cannot adopt out animals from Worcester, since she is not an appointed official in the city, but can adopt out pets from Leicester and Oxford.

She works regularly with the Massachusetts Animal Coalition, which posts animals for adoption online, and the Boston Animal Rescue League and other licensed nonprofit shelters to find homes for many animals, she said.

Mr. Zeneski said the towns animals will likely move back to Oxford when the new shelter opens within a month. For the future, he said he is working with officials from Auburn and Leicester to put together a regional animal control plan.

Ms. Dykas said the goal of all those involved in municipal animal control is the same.

Our whole purpose is to eliminate suffering. That is what we do for those with no voice and no choice.

In time for next school year, the Otwell Agriculture Park and
Livestock Complex will open at 10998 Fairview Drive. It will
feature the Gullo Agriculture Learning Center, a classroom facility
with a poultry science wing, a small animal livestock barn courtesy
of Petroleum Wholesale, and a large animal livestock barn courtesy
of Kroger.

“There’s a huge need for it for our kids,” ORHS Principal Tommy
Johnson said. “Our kids are mainly suburban kids without a place to
keep animals at home.”

ORHS has roughly 250 students in the ag department, but not
every student can show an animal because of a lack of space and
subdivision rules.

“Due to neighborhood restrictions, kids are not able to have
animals other than domesticated cats and dogs,” said Kelly
Sullivan, ORHS agriculture science teacher. “They had to find a
place of their own.”

Sophomore Emma LeBlanc is lucky enough to be able to keep small
livestock at her home so she can show a goat this year, But, she’s
hoping to show larger livestock in the future.

“I know a lot of people have problems with restrictions and
finding a place to house animals,” LeBlanc said. “I think our ag
barn will help a lot of people. I know a lot of people can’t show
animals because they don’t have a place to house their animals.

“This will bring everyone together.”

James Wyatt, whose 17-year-old son Casey is involved with ORHS
FFA, has opened up his property to some of those students.

“It’s going to help benefit kids in that area,” he said. “I
think the ag department will grow. You have students who live in
subdivisions with no place to keep animals. I think that will
change a lot with this new complex.”

With the opening of the new complex, the school’s FFA program is
expected to triple, said Ramon Martinez, ORHS agriculture science
teacher.

“Since the beginning of this school year, our numbers have
grown,” he said. “We should be at full capacity by next year. We
have kids waiting to get in.”

It’s something that’s bittersweet for ORHS senior Claire
Sillyman, who is raising a goat this year and previously raised
rabbits. She drives 80 miles round-trip every day to care for her
animals at a friend’s house, but she will graduate before she is
able to use the new complex.

“It would save me a lot of money,” she said. “It really
would.”

The area wasn’t always full of neighborhoods.

“When my husband and I grew up, it was considered a rural area
and kids had land for their animals. But now, it’s more suburban …
and kids don’t have a place to keep their animals,” said Kim
Mobley, whose 15-year-old daughter Harlie is involved with ORHS
FFA. “With the opening of this complex, that’ll change.

“My daughter would like to get into the heifer or steer projects
before she graduates; and the only way we can do that is with this
ag complex.”

To make the new facility a reality, Conroe ISD entered into an
agreement with Montgomery County to lease the 28 acres for a period
of five years at a cost of $1 per year, according to an e-mail from
CISD Communications Director Kathy Clark. The district is
responsible for furnishing water and electricity to the site. The
entire project, including materials and labor, is being paid for
through donations.

When asked what the value of the new complex is, Sullivan
replied, “It is priceless. You can’t put a price on
generosity.”

The project started in September and will be completed by the
summer, officials said.

“The ag science program in the district is growing,” said Greg
Ship, Conroe ISD career and technical education coordinator. “This
will allow the teachers to teach all aspects in the industry. Most
ag careers require a secondary education degree. There is a need
for qualified agriculture scientists. This will give our students
an opportunity to move into those positions.

“It’s a great extension of the classroom for our students.”