Facebook just realized it made a horrible mistake

Facebook (FB) announced on Tuesday that it will begin opening Facebook Messenger to consumers who do not have a Facebook account, starting in countries like India and South Africa, and later rolling out the service in the United States and Europe. This is a belated acknowledgement of a staggering strategic mistake Facebook made two years ago. That is when the messaging app competition was still wide open and giants like Facebook or Google (GOOG) could have entered the competition. WhatsApp, the leading messaging app firm, had just 1 million users as late as December 2009. By the end of 2010, that number had grown to 10 million. Right now, it likely tops 200 million, though there is no current official number on the matter.

SMS usage started peaking in countries like Netherlands in 2010. Companies like Facebook, Twitter and Google were being offered a giant new market on a silver platter with more than 3 billion consumers worldwide use texting on their phones and many of them started drifting away from basic SMS towards IP-based alternatives a few years ago. None of the behemoths saw or understood the opportunity.

They allowed the mobile messaging market to turn into a free-for-all between tiny start-ups like KakaoTalk, Kik, Viber, WhatsApp, etc. And with astonishing speed, the global market picked a winner and rallied around it. Back in early 2011, there was serious debate about the relative merits of different messaging apps and which one might ultimately edge ahead.

In December 2012, the competitive landscape is stark. Kik is not a Top 5 app in any country in the world. Viber is a Top 5 app in 21 countries, but they are countries like Barbados, Nepal and Tajikistan. WhatsApp is a Top 5 app in 141 countries, including the U.S,, U.K., Germany, Brazil and India. The only real weakness of WhatsApp lies in China, Japan and South Korea, where local champions still lead. But those local apps have zero chance of breaking out of their home markets.

The mobile messaging app competition is over. It turned into a red rout sometime during late 2011 and WhatsApp has emerged as the sole beneficiary of a textbook case of the network effect.

Facebook, Google and Twitter threw away their golden chance to create an SMS killer and grab hold of a billion users globally. It would have been so easy and cheap to develop a simple texting app in 2009, leverage the current user base of any of the IT giants and then watch the app soar to global prominence.

And it is so very, very hard to do now. Dislodging WhatsApp now would mean neutralizing a smartphone market penetration advantage that is hitting 80% in some markets. People often ask me why I’m so fixated on WhatsApp and the answer is simple: it’s the most popular and important mobile app in the world. And it beat Facebook, Twitter, Google and other major companies before they even realized there was an important war being waged.

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Social Media News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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The Voice Reveals Top Four Contestants

TV Watch

By Julia Haskins

12/04/2012 at 09:35 PM EST

The Voice"'s top six contestants were under double pressure Monday night when they had to sing two songs each. But there was even more stress at Tuesday's elimination.

"It went as well as it could have gone," Team Blake's Terry McDermott said on Monday of his performances of "I Want to Know What Love Is" and Rod Stewart's "Stay with Me." "There was a lot of pressure stripping a song down, but it worked to my advantage."

"I felt good," said Team Cee Lo's Trevin Hunte, who performed "Walking on Sunshine" and Jennifer Hudson's "And I Am Telling You (I'm Not Going)." "I'm confident. I feel like I've really grown. I'm definitely happy with my performance. I just want to see how America votes."

His chance came Tuesday when he and McDermott stood alongside competitors Nicholas David (Team Cee Lo), Cassadee Pope (Team Blake), Melanie Martinez and Amanda Brown (both Team Adam) to hear host Carson Daly reveal the voting results. Keep reading to find out ...

America saved McDermott, Hunte and Pope, but Martinez said goodbye to the competition for good. "I love all of you who have supported me," she said to her fans. "I'm just so grateful for you."

Brown also met the same fate, making David the final member of the top four.

The semi-final show airs Monday at 8:00 p.m. on NBC.

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Study: Drug coverage to vary under health law

WASHINGTON (AP) — A new study says basic prescription drug coverage could vary dramatically from state to state under President Barack Obama's health care overhaul.

That's because states get to set benefits for private health plans that will be offered starting in 2014 through new insurance exchanges.

The study out Tuesday from the market analysis firm Avalere Health found that some states will require coverage of virtually all FDA-approved drugs, while others will only require coverage of about half of medications.

Consumers will still have access to essential medications, but some may not have as much choice.

Connecticut, Virginia and Arizona will be among the states with the most generous coverage, while California, Minnesota and North Carolina will be among states with the most limited.

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Online:

Avalere Health: http://tinyurl.com/d3b3hfv

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Wall Street slips as investors seek cliff progress

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks finished slightly lower in a quiet session on Tuesday as the back-and-forth wrangling over the "fiscal cliff" gave investors little reason to act.

Trading volume was light as legislators continue to negotiate a deal to avoid a $600 billion package of tax hikes and federal spending cuts that would begin January 1 and could push the economy into recession.

Just 5.86 billion shares changed hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and the NYSE MKT, below the year's daily average of 6.48 billion shares.

A key measure of investor anxiety has remained muted. The CBOE Volatility Index or VIX <.vix>, a gauge of market anxiety, was at 17.12, up 2.9 percent. It has not traded above 20 since July.

Optimism for progress was dented after remarks by President Barack Obama, who rejected a Republican proposal to resolve the crisis as "out of balance" and said any deal must include a rise in income tax rates on the wealthiest Americans.

"People don't know if what's going on is political posturing or real negotiations that represent progress," said Bernard Baumohl, managing director and chief global economist at the Economic Outlook Group in Princeton, New Jersey.

Expectations of higher taxes on dividends beginning in 2013 have pushed many companies to pay special dividends this year or advance their next payback to investors. Coach became the latest to move up the date of its next dividend payment, and the news lifted shares of the upscale leather-goods maker earlier in the session. By the close, though, Coach was down 1.2 percent at $57.52.

One of the S&P 500's top sectors for the day was health care <.gspa>, considered a defensive group.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 13.82 points, or 0.11 percent, to 12,951.78 at the close. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> dipped 2.41 points, or 0.17 percent, to 1,407.05. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> shed 5.51 points, or 0.18 percent, to close at 2,996.69.

The market has been sensitive to rhetoric from Washington, as a failure to reach an agreement could send the U.S. economy back into recession. Still, many expect a resolution to be found, which could extend the S&P 500's rally of 12 percent so far this year.

Differences within the Republican Party came to the fore on Tuesday as one senator opposed to raising taxes lashed out at Republican House Speaker John Boehner for proposing to increase revenue by closing some tax loopholes.

Congressional Republicans recently proposed steep spending cuts to bring down the budget deficit, but gave no ground on Obama's call to raise tax rates on the rich. The proposal was quickly dismissed by the White House.

"We're on hold trying to figure it out, but investors are stressed since they have to make decisions soon about how to proceed with their investments if taxes are indeed going up. We could see a real pick-up in volume over the next week or so," Baumohl said.

Netflix Inc was the S&P 500's top percentage gainer, advancing 14 percent to $86.65 after Walt Disney Co agreed to give the company exclusive TV distribution rights to its movies, starting in 2016.

Intel Corp shares rose 2.2 percent to $19.97 after the top chipmaker sold $6 billion in bonds to fund stock buybacks and other business activities.

Darden Restaurants Inc shares plunged 9.6 percent to $47.40 as the S&P 500's worst performer after the company warned that its latest quarter would miss expectations after unsuccessful promotions led to a decline in sales at its Olive Garden, Red Lobster and LongHorn Steakhouse chains.

In contrast, Big Lots Inc surged 11.5 percent to $31.27 after the close-out retailer posted a smaller-than-expected loss and boosted its full-year adjusted earnings forecast.

MetroPCS Communications shares tumbled 7.5 percent to $9.96 after Sprint Nextel appeared unlikely to make a counter-offer for the wireless service provider.

Almost half of the stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange closed lower, while 50 percent of Nasdaq-listed shares closed in negative territory.

After the closing bell, Pandora Media Inc

shares plunged 23 percent after the company reported its third-quarter results.

(Editing by Jan Paschal)

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5 Nations Summon Israeli Envoys to Protest Settlement Plans

JERUSALEM — Britain, France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark summoned the Israeli ambassadors to their countries on Monday to protest Israel’s plans for increased settlement construction, an unusually sharp diplomatic step that reflected the growing frustration abroad with Israel’s policies on the Palestinian issue.

After the General Assembly voted overwhelmingly last week to upgrade the status of the Palestinians at the United Nations, Israel announced plans for 3,000 more housing units in contested areas of East Jerusalem and around the West Bank.

Israel raised particular alarms with its decision to continue planning and zoning work for the development of a contentious area known as E1, a project vehemently opposed internationally because it would partially separate the northern and southern West Bank, harming the prospects of a contiguous Palestinian state in that territory.

The move raised questions in Israel about whether the country’s leaders were putting domestic political interests ahead of its foreign relations, with Israeli elections scheduled for late January.

“Bibi had to do something” in response to the United Nations vote, said Prof. Shmuel Sandler of the Begin-Sadat Center for Strategic Studies at Bar-Ilan Universiy, referring to the prime minister of Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu, by his nickname, “first because he is Bibi and second because of the elections.”

Mr. Sandler said that Mr. Netanyahu, a conservative, was making the mistake of competing against those farther to the right, adding, “But I don’t think he expected such a reaction” internationally.

Yet Israel remained defiant. The prime minister’s office issued a statement on Monday, saying, “Israel will continue to stand for its essential interests, even in the face of international pressure, and there will be no change in the decision it has taken.”

A press officer for United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said in a statement on Sunday that construction in E1 “would represent an almost fatal blow to remaining chances of securing a two-state solution.”

European countries long opposed to Israeli settlement construction went beyond their usual statements of condemnation. The countries that called in the Israeli ambassadors “expressed their strong protests about the announced settlement plans,” said Yigal Palmor, the spokesman for the Israeli Foreign Ministry.

Mr. Palmor said that the Israeli ambassadors told their hosts that Israel had been warning for months that the Palestinian bid at the United Nations would not go unanswered and that it would have implications.

Israel has described the bid as a unilateral Palestinian step that violates previous signed agreements. The Palestinians have long refused to negotiate with Israel without a halt in settlement construction.

France, Spain, Sweden and Denmark voted for the Palestinian upgrade, while Britain abstained. Although Israel had expected the resolution to pass, officials here expressed disappointment over the lack of support from several friendly European nations. Israel was particularly surprised by Germany’s decision to abstain in the vote, having expected Germany to go with Israel.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to visit Germany this week. Despite the so-called special relationship between Israel and Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel has not minced words about her opposition to Israeli settlement construction in the past.

Philippe Lalliot, a spokesman for the French Foreign Ministry, said in a statement on Monday, “Settlement activity is illegal under international law, hurts the confidence necessary for a return to dialogue and constitutes an obstacle to a just peace founded on the two-state solution.”

The British Foreign Office said that it deplored the Israeli settlement plans and that it had called on the Israeli government to reverse the decision.

But Israeli officials denied that the government’s policies were isolating Israel.

“It is well known that Europe and Israel have a different approach on settlements,” said one Israeli official, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “There is nothing new here. If European countries would have behaved differently in their vote at the United Nations last week,” he continued, “we may have reacted differently.”

Analysts here said that after showing strong support for Israel during its military campaign last month against Hamas, the Islamic militant group that controls Gaza, European countries had felt the need to bolster the more moderate Palestinian wing led by President Mahmoud Abbas in its United Nations bid.

At the weekly cabinet meeting on Sunday, Mr. Netanyahu said, “Today we are building and we will continue to build in Jerusalem and in all areas that are on the map of the strategic interests of the State of Israel.”

But beyond the tit-for-tat measures set off by the United Nations vote, analysts pointed to a trend of deteriorating relations between Israel and Europe in particular.

“That is because the top-level people making decisions here in recent years are completely insular and out of touch with the rest of the world, especially regarding the Palestinians and the settlements,” said Mark Heller, a foreign-policy analyst at the Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University. “Self-righteousness may be good for domestic politics,” he said, “but it is not a policy.”

At the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday, 138 nations voted in favor of upgrading the status of the Palestinians and 41 abstained. The nine that voted against it were Israel, the United States, Canada, the Czech Republic, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Panama and Palau.

Scott Sayare contributed reporting from Paris.

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Facebook voting begins on Instagram data-sharing, email privacy

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Facebook Inc opened the polls on Monday for its roughly 1 billion users to vote on a variety of changes to the social network‘s policies, including a proposal to scrap the user voting system that Facebook introduced in 2009.

Facebook also said it had “clarified” some of the proposed changes, specifying that a new policy allowing it to share user data with recently acquired photo-application Instagram will be carried out in compliance with applicable laws and that Facebook will seek user consent when necessary.

The proposed changes, which Facebook announced on November 21, generated roughly 89,000 user comments as well as concerns from some privacy-advocacy groups and a request for more information from the Data Protection Commission in Ireland, where Facebook’s European business has its headquarters.

“Based on your feedback and after consultation with our regulators, including the Irish Data Protection Commissioner‘s Office, we’ve further clarified some of our proposals,” said Elliot Schrage, Facebook Vice President of Communications, Public Policy and Marketing in a post on Facebook’s company blog on Monday.

Facebook is proposing to eliminate the 4-year-old system that allows users to vote on changes to its governance policies. The company says the voting system hasn’t functioned as intended and is no longer suited to its current situation as a large publicly traded company subject to oversight by various regulatory agencies.

Facebook said on Monday that it would incorporate user suggestions for creating new tools to “enhance communication” on privacy and governance matters.

Another proposal would loosen the restrictions on how members of the social network can contact other members using the Facebook email system. The company said it planned to replace the “Who can send you Facebook messages” setting with new filters for managing incoming messages.

Facebook’s potential information sharing with Instagram, a photo-sharing service for smartphone users that it bought in October, flows from proposed changes that would allow the company to share information between its own service and other businesses or affiliates it owns.

The change could open the door for Facebook to build unified profiles of its users that include people’s personal data from its social network and from Instagram, similar to recent moves by Google Inc.

Facebook said on Monday that the proposed change was “standard in the industry” and “promotes the efficient and effective use of the services Facebook and its affiliates,” such as allowing users in the U.S. to interact with users in Europe.

“This provision covers Instagram and allows us to store Instagram’s server logs and administrative records in a way that is more efficient than maintaining totally separate storage systems,” the company wrote in a separate post on its website Monday titled “explanation of changes”.

“Where additional consent of our users is required, we will obtain it,” Facebook said.

Facebook users have until December 10 to vote on the policies using a special third-party application provided by Facebook and Facebook said the results will be certified by an independent auditor.

The vote is only binding if at least 30 percent of users take part, and two prior votes never reached that threshold.

(Reporting By Alexei Oreskovic; editing by Andrew Hay)

Tech News Headlines – Yahoo! News

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PHOTO: See Molly Mesnick's Baby Belly

Noah Graham

Happy holidays! Celebrities gathered to celebrate the season Saturday, attending the Second Annual Santa’s Secret Workshop in West Hollywood, Calif. Presented by Bill Horn and Scout Masterson and held at the Andaz Hotel, the event benefitted L.A. Family Housing.

Among the revelers: Bachelor alums Jason and Molly Mesnick — whose first child together is due in March — attending their first event since announcing the happy news.

“I’m just about six months and feeling really good,” Molly tells PEOPLE.

“I’m at a perfect stage now so I’m trying to get as much done around the house as I possibly can while I have the energy.”

Also in attendance? Tori Spelling, Malin Akerman, Tiffani Thiessen, Ali Landry, David Boreanaz, Marla Sokoloff, Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney, Angela Bassett, Ian Ziering, Amanda Righetti, Marshall and Jamie Anne Allman, Kimberly Van Der Beek, Spencer Grammer and more.

Guests enjoyed manicures from Mom.me, cookie decorating with Jenny Cookies, photos with Santa from HP, create-a-card with Snapfish.com, and a craft bar from Jo-Ann Fabrics and Crafts.

Styled by Sybarite Designs, the event featured companies such as  SodaStream, Corolle, Stokke, Orbit Baby, Ergo Baby, Teddy Needs a Bath, Funktion, Numi Numi Design, Ju-Ju-Be, Innobaby and Joovy showcasing their latest products — be sure to enter this week’s giveaway for a chance to win them all!

Noah Graham

It was a family affair for Tori Spelling, who brought the whole gang for their first public event since 3-month-old Finn‘s birth in August.

Joining the actress, husband Dean McDermott and their newborn are Hattie, 13 months, Stella, 4, and Liam, 5½.

“I’m not going to lie. It’s a little crazy. It’s hard work,” Spelling tells PEOPLE.

“I think three was safe. Four tips you over the edge a little bit. Maybe it’s because they’re 10 months apart — but we’re so blessed. It keeps you on your toes.”

Noah Graham

With her first child on the way in April, Malin Akerman was all smiles at the event, posing with her growing belly.

“I’m feeling great,” the actress tells PEOPLE. “I’m closing in on five months now so it’s getting more and more exciting as time goes by.”

Noah Graham

White Collar star Tiffani Thiessen gave 2-year-old daughter Harper Renn a leg up at the event.

On the Landry-Monteverde family’s list? Meeting Santa! PEOPLE.com blogger Ali Landry held 13-month-old son Marcelo Alejandro while husband Alejandro Monteverde snuggled in behind 5-year-old daughter Estela Ines.

Noah Graham

Tiffany Rose/WireImage

Ravishing redhead Amanda Righetti showed off her growing belly at the event — The Mentalist star is due this winter with her first child.

Noah Graham

No Bones about it – David Boreanaz‘s children look like him! The actor and wife Jaime Bergman brought kids Jaden, 10, and Bella, 3, to meet Santa.

Always Sunny in Philadelphia stars Kaitlin Olson and Rob McElhenney brought their elder son Axel, 2, to the event, but little Leo, 7 months, sat this one out.

Tiffany Rose/WireImage

Noah Graham

Meeting Santa was twice as nice for Angela Bassett and Courtney B. Vance, who brought along their 6-year-old twins Bronwyn Golden and Slater Josiah (peace out, dude).

Tiffany Rose/WireImage

Who cares about photos — it’s time for a snack! PEOPLE.com blogger Kimberly Van Der Beek gives 2-year-old daughter Olivia (plus her doll!) a lift.

Picture perfect! Ian Ziering gets daughter Mia, 19 months, in the frame while enjoying the craft table. The actor and wife Erin expect their second child in May.

Meagan Reidinger

Meagan Reidinger

With a baby doll in tow, PEOPLE.com blogger Marla Sokoloff and her little lady, 9-month-old Elliotte, check out the event.

Spencer Grammer arrived with her main men — husband James Hesketh and their son, 13-month-old Emmett.

Tiffany Rose/WireImage

Tiffany Rose/WireImage

The event was a baby bump debut for Marshall and Jamie Anne Allman as well — the True Blood and Killing stars just announced that they’re expanding their family — by two. Twins are on the way this spring!

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Fossil fuel subsidies in focus at climate talks

DOHA, Qatar (AP) — Hassan al-Kubaisi considers it a gift from above that drivers in oil- and gas-rich Qatar only have to pay $1 per gallon at the pump.

"Thank God that our country is an oil producer and the price of gasoline is one of the lowest," al-Kubaisi said, filling up his Toyota Land Cruiser at a gas station in Doha. "God has given us a blessing."

To those looking for a global response to climate change, it's more like a curse.

Qatar — the host of U.N. climate talks that entered their final week Monday — is among dozens of countries that keep gas prices artificially low through subsidies that exceeded $500 billion globally last year. Renewable energy worldwide received six times less support — an imbalance that is just starting to earn attention in the divisive negotiations on curbing the carbon emissions blamed for heating the planet.

"We need to stop funding the problem, and start funding the solution," said Steve Kretzmann, of Oil Change International, an advocacy group for clean energy.

His group presented research Monday showing that in addition to the fuel subsidies in developing countries, rich nations in 2011 gave more than $58 billion in tax breaks and other production subsidies to the fossil fuel industry. The U.S. figure was $13 billion.

The Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has calculated that removing fossil fuel subsidies could reduce carbon emissions by more than 10 percent by 2050.

Yet the argument is just recently gaining traction in climate negotiations, which in two decades have failed to halt the rising temperatures that are melting Arctic ice, raising sea levels and shifting weather patterns with impacts on droughts and floods.

In Doha, the talks have been slowed by wrangling over financial aid to help poor countries cope with global warming and how to divide carbon emissions rights until 2020 when a new planned climate treaty is supposed to enter force. Calls are now intensifying to include fossil fuel subsidies as a key part of the discussion.

"I think it is manifestly clear ... that this is a massive missing piece of the climate change jigsaw puzzle," said Tim Groser, New Zealand's minister for climate change.

He is spearheading an initiative backed by Scandinavian countries and some developing countries to put fuel subsidies on the agenda in various forums, citing the U.N. talks as a "natural home" for the debate.

The G-20 called for their elimination in 2009, and the issue also came up at the U.N. earth summit in Rio de Janeiro earlier this year. Frustrated that not much has happened since, European Union climate commissioner Connie Hedegaard said Monday she planned to raise the issue with environment ministers on the sidelines of the talks in Doha.

Many developing countries are positive toward phasing out fossil fuel subsidies, not just to protect the climate but to balance budgets. Subsidies introduced as a form of welfare benefit decades ago have become an increasing burden to many countries as oil prices soar.

"We are reviewing the subsidy periodically in the context of the total economy for Qatar," the tiny Persian gulf country's energy minister, Mohammed bin Saleh al-Sada, told reporters Monday.

Qatar's National Development Strategy 2011-2016 states it more bluntly, saying fuel subsides are "at odds with the aspirations" and sustainability objectives of the wealthy emirate.

The problem is that getting rid of them comes with a heavy political price.

When Jordan raised fuel prices last month, angry crowds poured into the streets, torching police cars, government offices and private banks in the most sustained protests to hit the country since the start of the Arab unrest. One person was killed and 75 others were injured in the violence.

Nigeria, Indonesia, India and Sudan have also seen violent protests this year as governments tried to bring fuel prices closer to market rates.

Iran has used a phased approach to lift fuel subsidies over the past several years, but its pump prices remain among the cheapest in the world.

"People perceive it as something that the government is taking away from them," said Kretzmann. "The trick is we need to do it in a way that doesn't harm the poor."

The International Energy Agency found in 2010 that fuel subsidies are not an effective measure against poverty because only 8 percent of such subsidies reached the bottom 20 percent of income earners.

The IEA, which only looked at consumption subsidies, this year said they "remain most prevalent in the Middle East and North Africa, where momentum toward their reform appears to have been lost."

In the U.S., environmental groups say fossil fuel subsidies include tax breaks, the foreign tax credit and the credit for production of nonconventional fuels.

Industry groups, like the Independent Petroleum Association of America, are against removing such support, saying that would harm smaller companies, rather than the big oil giants.

In Doha, Mohammed Adow, a climate activist with Christian Aid, called all fuel subsidies "reckless and dangerous," but described removing subsidies on the production side as "low-hanging fruit" for governments if they are serious about dealing with climate change.

"It's going to oil and coal companies that don't need it in the first place," he said.

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Associated Press writers Abdullah Rebhy in Doha, Qatar, and Brian Murphy in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, contributed to this report

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Karl Ritter can be reached at www.twitter.com/karl_ritter

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U.S. worries subdue shares, Greek deal lifts euro

LONDON (Reuters) - European shares consolidated their recent rise on Tuesday after a surprise drop in U.S. manufacturing added to worries about stalled budget negotiations, while the euro hovered at a six-week high on optimism over Greece's plan to buy back debt.

The FTSEurofirst 300 index <.fteu3> of top European shares opened steady at 1121.46 points, with a 0.1 percent fall on London's FTSE 100 <.ftse> balanced by small gains on Frankfurt's DAX <.gdaxi> and Paris's CAC-40 <.fchi>.

Worries about a looming wave of U.S. spending cuts and tax hikes intensified on Monday, after the White House dismissed a budget deal proposal from Republicans, saying it did not meet President Barack Obama's pledge to raise taxes on the rich.

In a sign that U.S. manufacturing may also be struggling to gain traction, the Institute for Supply Management index of national factory activity in November hit it softest level since July 2009, possibly hit by the impact of superstorm Sandy.

Berkeley Futures associate director Richard Griffiths said worries over the U.S. budget situation were causing many traders to err on the side of caution by selling shares to take profits after recent rallies.

"There's a lot of doubt about it at the moment, hence stock markets are drifting lower. Sentiment has just turned a bit negative recently," said Griffiths.

The euro extended its recent rally, hitting a fresh six-week high of $1.3077 as markets were reassured by news that Greece was planning to buy back bonds to cut its debt, which first triggered the euro zone crisis three years ago.

The European single currency's rise helped push the dollar to a one-month low against a basket of currencies, with its index <.dxy> falling to 79.761.

In debt markets, German government bonds were steady, as concerns over U.S. budget talks supported safe-haven assets even as better than expected terms for Greece's buy-back underpinned higher-yielding euro zone bonds.

In Asian trading, MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan <.miapj0000pus> dipped from a nine-month high falling 0.2 percent, while Australian shares <.axjo> lost 0.6 percent and Japan's Nikkei fell 0.3 percent. <.ax><.t/>

U.S. stock futures pointed to a lower open on Wall Street when trading resumes and riskier assets such as commodities were also hit, with oil, copper and gold all losing ground.

"Oil markets are starting to come off on the weaker-than-expected manufacturing data and the fact that the U.S. economic outlook remains unclear," said Natalie Rampono, commodity strategist at ANZ in Sydney.

(Reporting by Marc Jones; Editing by Paul Taylor)

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India Ink: A Conversation With: India's Chief Climate Change Negotiator

DOHA, Qatar – With one week left for the U.N. climate change talks to conclude, developed and developing countries remain at odds on how to solve the crisis being linked to the recent spate of extreme weather events that have claimed lives and destroyed property worth billions of dollar.

India has agreed to a take on legally binding obligations after 2020. But for the next eight years, New Delhi wants developed countries to honor their commitments under previous agreements including significantly bringing down their carbon dioxide emissions as well as providing finance and technology to developing countries. Emissions of carbon dioxide hit a record high in 2011, with decreases by developing countries more than offset by increases from China and India.

As discussions heat up here in Doha, India’s chief negotiator, Meera Mehrishi, spoke to India Ink on the contentious issues playing out in the halls of the mammoth Qatar National Convention Center, where delegates from 194 countries have gathered.

Hurricane Sandy, which hit the United States in late October, raised a global alarm about the consequences of climate change. Why don’t these talks reflect urgency for action?

After Hurricane Sandy, I thought the point of view of the Western world would change a little bit. I don’t see that happening. Climate change is becoming a reality because we are facing weather that we have never faced earlier across the world, be it a developed or developing country. And I think at conferences like this, we should have a positive outcome and not just keep postponing things till the next meeting.

A senior negotiator from the United States, Jonathan Pershing, said last week that talks in Doha must phase out obligations under older agreements. How do you react to that?

I know.  But Jonathan Pershing, I find to be a very reasonable man. And yes, I heard that he had made this very strong comment earlier. But we have spoken to the American delegation and they are quite willing to sit down and talk about issues. At least, they are not completely throwing them out of the window. So let us see, while we keep the conversation going, what we are able to keep on the table.

What are India’s stakes at these talks?

Our country is being impacted by climate change. We have had freaky weather in India. The monsoons that used to come in July have started coming in September. The farmers are finding it difficult now because they continue to plant during what they perceive to be the monsoon season. We are losing our crop. It’s going to have huge repercussions on food security in the country. It’s going to take them time to adapt.  And we don’t know what will happen after five to ten years. How often will farmers try to adapt? It will be very difficult.

Last week, you asked the developed world to take higher emission cuts. Can differences between developed and developing countries be resolved in this remaining week?

I think attempts are being made to bridge the divide. Though we are having formal meetings, but we are having a lot of informal consultations. Countries are meeting bilaterally. Very contentious issues are being discussed. And I think everyone is keen to see a Doha outcome.

I think European Union in a meeting mentioned that they were willing to raise their targets to 30 percent. There are some conditionalities that still have to be looked at.  But there is a possibility of European Union raising their targets.

Could you elaborate on the contentious issues?

Well, one that is very contentious is the intellectual property rights-related issue.  Developing countries have been pressing that technology gets transferred from developed to developing countries. We are hoping that developed countries transfer that technology without us having to pay the royalty. But that’s not working out because there are very rigid views from that side because the private sector is involved. The private sector has spent a lot on research and development and I guess they would like some return on it. But then without technology, it will be difficult for developing countries to meet their targets.

Any other particularly tough issue?

Unilateral measures are the other problem for us. Do not take decisions bilaterally that impact other countries. The EUETS [European Union Emissions Trading System] is an example. You [the European Union] impose a tax on civil aviation on airlines that are coming into the European Union. But you’re imposing taxes on flights through their own airspace — that is not European Union airspace. And it had to be discussed keeping the principles of the UNFCCC [United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change] in view. Now that was not done. It was just announced that we are imposing this tax. They have stopped the clock now and it will be discussed in ICAO [International Civil Aviation Organization]. But we are hoping to see that the principles of the convention are kept in mind by the European Union. And we also want to see that no more unilateral actions are taken.

What about money? Is there any movement on mobilizing $100 billion by 2020?

We have set up institutions. We have a Green Climate Fund but how much money is going to come into that and from where … nobody is willing to make that commitment. That is a major problem for us.

On the finance problem, India and China are proud of their growth stories but they still want a slice of the funds. Does India really need this money?

But our growth story has stopped.  The growth is now 5.5 percent. I won’t say that we are desperate for money but it is always welcome. And in these multilateral forums, we are part of the larger group, G77 + China, we all speak with one voice.

Speaking of groups, how united is the BASIC [Brazil, South Africa, India and China] group now? There have been rumors of divisions inside, especially South Africa having its own agenda.

I don’t think the rumors are true. Because as BASIC, we have been meeting regularly for the last one year. And there are a lot of commonalities among the four countries. Yes, South Africa may have its own agenda. We may have our own agenda. Discussions maybe a little strong sometimes but we come to a consensus. I don’t think the unity of BASIC is going to break. Not now at all.

What commonalities keep BASIC together?

All four countries are developing rapidly. Growth of all four countries has slowed down. We also know that post-2020 to take on any kind of targets, we need to allow our countries to develop now. To develop we need finance and technology … that is where we come together. The idea is that we have to have a good sort of life for people in our countries. China’s growth has slowed down. Brazil is doing very well. But Brazil again has pockets in their country that like us have to develop rapidly.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed.

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