420: Athletes That Reportedly Smoke Weed or Have Been Arrested for Marijuana

Forex - XAU/USD (Gold) Technical Analysis

ISE FX British Pound* ST: the downside prevails.

Update on supports and resistances.

Resistance3 : 72
Resistance2 : 70.8
Resistance1 : 69
Last Price : 65.98
Pivot Point: 69
Support1 : 65
Support2 : 63
Support3 : 60

Pivot: 69

Our preference: Short positions below 69 with targets @ 65 & 63 in extension.

Alternative scenario: Above 69 look for further upside with 70.8 & 72 as targets.

Comment: the pair is rebounding on its support but remains within a bearish channel.

72
70.8
69
65.98 (last)
65
63
60



*USD/GBP Index: the ISE Exchange measures the strength and weakness of the US DOLLAR versus the BRITISH POUND. For details go to www.ise.com

Smartphone sales rose 72 pct last year

Worldwide smartphone sales rose 72.1 percent last year, accounting for 19 percent of total mobiles sales, according to a Gartner report published on Wednesday.

The total mobile device sales rose 31.8 percent to 1.6 billion units last year, the report said.

However, the market leader Nokia saw its share declining to 28.9 percent in 2010 compared to 36.4 percent in 2009.

Samsung, which stood second in worldwide mobile sales, increased in its market share from 17.6 percent in 2009 to 19.5 percent last year. Samsung sold 281.1 million units in 2010.

LG Electronics also saw it market share declining to 7.1 per cent from 10.1 percent.

Nokia and LG saw their market share erode in 2010 as they came under increasing pressure to refine their smartphone strategies,” said Carolina Milanesi, research vice president at Gartner.

While Research In Motion (RIM) increased it share from 2.8 percent to 3 percent selling 47.4 million units last year, Apple sold 46.6 million units with a gain in share from 2.1 percent to 2.9 percent.

Shares of both Sony Ericsson and Motorola reduced to half last year compared with 2009.

Strong smartphone sales in the fourth quarter of 2010 pushed Apple and Research In Motion (RIM) up in our 2010 worldwide ranking of mobile device manufacturers to the No. 5 and No. 4 positions, respectively, displacing Sony Ericsson and Motorola, said Milanesi.

In the smartphone operating system (OS) market, Android saw its share increased to 22.7 percent last year, up 888.8 percent compared with 2009.

Nokia's Symbian remained at the top position despite a fall in market share to 37.6 percent in 2010 from 46.9 percent in 2009.

Gartner also said that sales of Android overtook Nokia's Symbian unit sales in the fourth quarter last year.

Android sales in the fourth quarter of 2010 continued to be driven by broad availability of many high-end products from HTC (Desire range, Incredible and EVO), Samsung (Galaxy S) and Motorola (Droid X, Droid 2), the report said.

ISE FX Euro* ST: under pressure.

Update on supports and resistances.

Resistance3 : 78.5
Resistance2 : 77
Resistance1 : 75.45
Last Price : 73.54
Pivot Point: 75.45
Support1 : 72.8
Support2 : 71
Support3 : 69.7

Pivot: 75.45

Our preference: Short positions below 75.45 with targets @ 72.8 & 71 in extension.

Alternative scenario: Above 75.45 look for further upside with 77 & 78.5 as targets.

Comment: the pair remains on the downside and is challenging its support, the RSI is mixed to bearish.

78.5
77
75.45
73.54 (last)
72.8
71
69.7



*USD/EUR Index: the ISE Exchange measures the strength and weakness of the US DOLLAR versus the EURO. For details go to www.ise.com

Daily Technical Report - GBP/USD

British Pound (GBP)

The Pound rose against the Dollar as speculations believe that accelerating inflation may prompt the Bank of England to raise interest rates shortly. The GBP/USD's resistance is 1.6100 on the daily chart, if the pair breakup this level the pound probably will hit 1.6200 level. Overall, GBP/USD traded with a low of 1.6033 and with a high of 1.6124. Today, interest rate decision is expected to remain unchanged at 0.5%, Manufacturing Production is expected at 0.50% vs. 0.60% prior.

GBP/USD - Last: 1.6070

iPhone now in IBM Lotus Notes

IBM is releasing the availability of Lotus Notes and Domino 8.5.1 Software with iPhone support.

The beta release of Lotus Notes wit Domino software will give capabilities for e-mail and calendaring tools to the Apple iPhone as well as supporting Microsoft's Exchange ActiveSync.

Though iPhone users can already access Notes e-mail via the IBM Lotus iNotes ultralight client, the new ActiveSync support will mean push access to the popular software, including the ability to view Notes mail, calendar and contacts data when not connected on the iPhone.

Providing Microsoft Exchange ActiveSync support via the Lotus Notes Traveler software is part of IBM's pledge to provide enterprises with the choice and flexibility to select the mobile devices and carriers that best suit their needs, said Kevin Cavanaugh, vice president of messaging and collaboration at IBM. This will allow employees 'on the go' to work smarter.

The release will also include version 1.3 of IBM's free Lotus Symphony document, spread sheet and presentation applications.

I look forward to Exchange ActiveSync support. Johnson Controls health care and education industry customers use Apple platforms, and we've begun to officially provide application support on those. Mobile messaging is considered a critical application, said Jim Marshall, Director of Global Architecture for Johnson Controls, Inc., a Lotus Notes customer.

The software already supports BlackBerry Enterprise Server version 5.0, which was announced last week.

IBM has trawled hundreds of blogs and Twitter sites looking for feedback from users on its software, and has been making changes to deal with common problems and customer annoyances.

To test drive IBM Lotus Notes 8.5.1 software starting on May 15, visit http://greenhouse.lotus.com.

Leon Russell in spotlight with Elton John album, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, Bluesfest lineup

Leon Rusell, better known has 'The Master of Space and Time' among music lovers, is currently enjoying another stint in the spotlight as he finds himself busy basking in the early success of his collaborative album with Sir Elton John 'The Union', the inclusion in the list of 2011 inductees into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the announcement that he is part of the legedary line-up at the Bluesfest.

Despite their busy schedules, Leon Russell and Elton John appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman on Wednesday to perform 'Hey Ahab' from their Grammy-nominated album 'The Union'. The single 'If It Wasn't for Bad', which sets the tone as an opener on the album, made it to the Grammy nominations list despite the fact that the album was released after the Grammy eligibility period.

Leon Russell and Elton John's association is not set to end with the album as British rock star is slated to induct the American piano man into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

Meanwhile, Bluesfest, which is considered Australia's favorite counter-culture, family-orientated, ethnically and artistically diverse music festival, announced on February 9 that Leon Russell was one among the musical geniuses who will be performing at the Byron Bay festival between April 21 and April 25.

Among the other luminaries who will perform at the Bluesfest, which in 2010 won Australian Event of the Year and Best Cultural or Arts Event at the Australian Event Awards, are Bob Dylan, B.B. King, Mavis Staples, Booker T., Grace Jones, and John Legend.

Drug industry hits back as EU finalises probe

SEVILLE, Spain - Europe's pharmaceutical industry hit back at the European Commission on Thursday, saying a probe into lack of competition in the sector was exaggerated and misleading.

The industry was caught on the back foot last November when Competition Commissioner Neelie Kroes published preliminary results of an inquiry that concluded major drug companies were delaying or blocking the entry of cheaper generic medicines.

She found delays in getting generics to market had cost healthcare providers about 3 billion euros ($4.1 billion) between 2000 and 2007.

But Thomas Cueni, leader of a drug industry taskforce on the issue, said this equated to less than 1 euro out of an average 430 euros per capita spent on medicines in Europe each year.

Furthermore, most of the delays were down to regulatory and other bureacratic issues, rather than deliberate action by companies, he said.

It appears that DG Competition (Directorate General for Competition) officials got seduced by the anecdotes they collected and they missed the big picture, Cueni said at the the European Federation of Pharmaceutical Industries and Associations annual meeting in Spain.

The Commission -- the European Union's executive arm -- is expected to issue its final report in July and drugmakers are braced for a bruising battle.

Kroes kicked off the sector investigation in January 2008 with a series of raids on makers of brand-name drugs, including AstraZeneca (AZN.L), GlaxoSmithKline (GSK.L), Pfizer (PFE.N), Merck (MRK.N) and Sanofi-Aventis (SASY.PA).

There were also raids on generic drugmakers suspected of colluding to limit the entry of generics, sometimes in exchange for payments from originator companies.

The Commission's findings could open the door to action against individual companies, with the potential for large fines down the road.

So far, however, Cueni said he was not aware aware of any investigations against specific manufacturers.

The branded industry, which denies wrongdoing, says the Commission has failed to recognise the complexity of the market and the vital importance of defending patents, though it does accept there may be room for improving the patent system.

This could include the introduction of a common European patent, applicable in all EU countries, and the introduction of a specilaised patent litigation system.

There is a continued need to talk about improvements in processes in the European patent system, Cueni said.

But what we can't afford and what we don't need is general questioning of the legitimate defence of intellectual property rights in an industry which needs them more than anybody else.

Any weakening of patents would both undermine incentives for investment and jeopardise attempts by Europe to persuade developing countries to respect intellectual property, he said.

(Editing by Dan Lalor) ($1 = 0.7377 euro)

Daily Technical Report - USD/JPY

Japanese Yen (JPY)

The Yen continued to trade with a narrow range and closed almost unchanged after no serious data from the Japanese and the US regions effected on this pair. The USD/JPY traded with a very narrow range during the Europe and the US sessions yesterday, as long as the rate between 82.00-83.00 the direction is still unclear. Overall, USD/JPY traded with a low of 82.20 and with a high of 82.66. No economic data expected today.

USD/JPY-Last: 82.55