Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:51 pm Post subject: What manga are you reading now?
What manga are you reading now?
I am currently reading Boku no Hatsukoi wo Kimi ni Sasagu
Summary
Takuma and Mayu's story began when they were only 8 years old. During his childhood, Takuma was constantly hospitalised due to his heart condition. He soon became friends with Mayu, the daughter of the doctor in charge of his case. Day by day they grew closer and closer. However, the summer when Takuma was 8, he made a promise to Mayu that he couldn't keep... Their story unfolds as they grow older and their bond gets stronger..
The German chancellor (left) does not want to pour more euros into the current EU rescue fund
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Global Economy
EU austerity drive country by country
In graphics: Eurozone's woes
Q&A: Why bond markets matter
Europe's bad debt 'dominoes'?
Concerns about the stability of the eurozone are set to dominate a meeting of European leaders in Brussels.
The two-day summit is expected to see an agreement to set up a permanent system for rescuing countries that get heavily into debt.
But there is still much debate about how such a system should operate.
Meanwhile concern over Spain's financial stability continued as it was forced to pay a higher rate of interest in a government bond sale.
Spain has been under financial market scrutiny since the Irish Republic was forced to take an aid package of 85bn euros (£72bn; $113bn) last month.
That bail-out followed the 110bn-euro rescue of Greece in May.
Arriving at the summit, Sweden's Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt stressed that beyond crisis management there was a long-term need for EU countries to reform labour markets and boost competitiveness.
Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou said "the challenge is a collective one now - more integration... and all have to live up to their responsibilities".
'Succeed together'
Issues on the agenda in Brussels include:
How to change the EU's Lisbon Treaty to allow changes to create a permanent stability mechanism for eurozone members
Whether to increase the eurozone's 750bn-euro temporary bail-out fund, the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF)
The possibility of creating pan-European bonds to boost confidence in the euro.
But even assuming that leaders do agree to the way countries are helped, the slow pace of politics in Brussels means a permanent stability arrangement will not come into force until 2013, says BBC Europe correspondent Matthew Price.
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Start Quote
The lesson of the last year is - it's best to be prepared for the worst”
Andrew Walker
Economics correspondent, BBC World Service
How private investors will have to share the pain
In the meantime they will have to rely on the current temporary mechanism that has already been used to rescue Greece and the Irish Republic, he added.
And analysts have expressed concern that talks will not address a key issue - whether or not investors who have bought bonds in struggling euro nations will have to lose money, or in the language of the financial world, take a "haircut", on their investment between now and 2013.
This was causing "uncertainty" in financial markets, said Carsten Brzeski, a senior analyst at ING.
"This is an inconsistency. The politicians need to address this insolvency issue in the period between now and 2013," he told the BBC.
German caution
French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie said that the EU had to stop speculators from attacking eurozone countries and would adopt ways to do that at the summit.
And separately the Prime Minister of Luxembourg, Jean-Claude Juncker, said European leaders were determined to do everything to ensure the eurozone's financial stability.
On Wednesday, German Chancellor Angela Merkel stressed Berlin's commitment to help its European partners, pledging that: "Nobody in Europe will be abandoned. Europe will succeed together."
But she has been an opponent of some suggested actions, including increasing the eurozone's euro bail-out fund or introducing euro bonds.
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In truth Europe does not yet have a convincing answer to the crisis and the financial markets know it”
Gavin Hewitt
BBC Europe editor
Hewitt: The euro crisis that defies answers
Concerns reflected
In its latest bond auction, Madrid managed to raise 2.4bn euros.
But the yield on the Spanish bonds - essentially the interest rate which the government must pay in order to borrow money - was higher than that on previous auctions of similar bonds.
The Spanish treasury sold 1.8bn euros worth of 10-year bonds at an average interest rate of 5.4% - up from 4.6% in the last such auction in November,
And it was forced to pay a rate of 6% to sell 618m euros in 15-year bonds, up from 4.5% in October.
The rising cost of borrowing reflects investors' concern about the outlook for the Spanish economy and its banking sector in particular.
Madrid insists it will not need to apply for a bail-out from the EFSF - the temporary rescue scheme funded by the EU and International Monetary Fund.
Downgrade threat
While the demand for Spanish bonds remained oversubscribed, concerns remained about Spain's ability to get affordable funding to refinance its debts and support its banks, said Kathleen Brooks, research director at Forex.com.
And this had wider implications for the single currency, she added.
"Spain is the canary in the coal mine for the survival of the eurozone," Ms Brooks said.
On Wednesday, ratings agency Moody's said it was reviewing Spain's credit rating with a view to downgrading it - warning of problems the country faced in refinancing its debts next year.
Moody's had already cut Spain's sovereign debt rating from the top, triple-A rating to Aa1 in September.
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The new Force India will get its first outing at the Jerez test
Force India have unveiled the 2011 car that Britain's Paul di Resta hopes to drive to success in his debut year.
Scotsman Di Resta and German Adrian Sutil helped take the wraps off the new car at the team's Silverstone base.
"We've got high aims of finishing in a good constructors' championship position and I know that I've got to play my part in this," Di Resta said.
The team will assess the new car's performance at the second winter test, which begins in Jerez on Thursday.
Force India finished eighth in the team standings last season, with Sutil's best performances coming in Malaysia and Spa, where he finished fifth.
SARAH HOLT'S BLOG
The likeable Di Resta, whose promotion has been expected for some time, has plenty of reasons to feel confident about his first season in F1
At the presentation of the VJM04, the team were united in their determination to build on that foundation in the coming season.
"This year there is even more to be optimistic about," said team owner and principal Vijay Mallya.
"We've got three race drivers that are hungry to take the next steps in their careers, whether that be points, podiums or wins."
Di Resta signed for Force India in January after winning the team's support last season as their reserve driver.
The 24-year-old, who becomes the third British driver on the grid alongside McLaren duo Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button, made a solid start to his first full season in F1, testing the 2010 car in Valencia last week.
"It was a very productive test," Di Resta said. "For me it was also about getting back into the team environment, re-establishing the relationships I've built within the team and preparing as much as I can for the start of the season.
"I don't want to say exact targets [for the season] as there are so many factors that can come into play," Di Resta said.
"What I do want to do is to have a positive approach, finish, be consistent and contribute strongly to the team's overall performance."
Hulkenberg positive about Force India role
Sutil, who is entering his fifth season in F1, added: "The progress the team has shown over the past two years has been very impressive and what I've seen in the factory and at the wind tunnel over the past weeks indicates that the rate will continue this year.
"I feel very good and confident. I just missed out on the top 10 last year in the drivers' standings - I'm pretty hopeful I can get in there this season."
Force India have the experienced Nico Hulkenberg waiting in reserve and the German will take part in the majority of Friday practice sessions.
Despite an impressive rookie season, Hulkenberg, who took pole at last season's Brazilian Grand Prix, was released by Williams in favour of Pastor Maldonado, whose presence in the team is tied to a multi-year, multi-million-pound sponsorship from the Venezuelan state oil company.
"I want to help the team as much as I can," Hulkenberg said. "We want to be within the best five teams in 2011 and I will try my best to assist on that. Personally I want to satisfy the team to be back in a race car in 2012."
The 2011 car has been overseen by new technical director Andrew Green after his predecessors James Key and Mark Smith both left for rival teams within the last year.
A raft of rule changes for the new season means design departments have had to manage the return of the Kers power-boost device, the introduction of a moveable rear wing and the removal of the double-diffuser and the F-duct aerodynamic aid, as well as the difficulties of designing a car to suit the Pirelli tyres.
"Everything is different, but visually a lot of it is subtle,' explained Green. "The most obvious visual change is that we've gone away from a conventional roll-hoop to a blade.
"We've recovered a lot of the aerodynamic performance, we believe. We still have a little bit to go because it does take a long time to move aerodynamically from one position to another.
"Exhaust management will also be a big area of development this year. There will be an upgrade for the first race, so there are some changes that will come into effect at the Bahrain test.
"Further down the line there are some big updates for the front of the car coming in for the first European race.
"There are some big developments in the pipeline, probably bigger than this team has seen for quite a while. I think we're looking for a much stronger finish to the season."
The Spanish Hispania team also revealed the first interpretation of their car for the new season, the F111, on Tuesday.
However, the team have opted not to take part in next week's test and instead will do some private filming with tyre supplier Pirelli, who are replacing Bridgestone in 2011.
Hispania do not intend to run the F111 until the final test in Bahrain.
The new Hispania will wait until Bahrain until getting a run out
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