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Fed's Bullard says effects of QE2 could lag by a year - Yahoo! News

ST. LOUIS (Reuters) - St. Louis Federal Reserve President James Bullard said on Thursday that while the central bank's massive bond buying program impacted financial markets immediately, its effect on the broad economy will lag by as much as a year.

"The effects of QE2 (the second round of quantitative easing) would be expected to lag by six to 12 months," Bullard said at a conference.

Gauging the effects of the easing program on the economy is complicated by shocks experienced in early 2011, he said. Fed policymakers have blamed disruptions from the devastating earthquake in Japan and the European debt crisis for slowing the economic recovery.

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Investors stay cautious as H2 starts: Reuters poll - Yahoo! News

LONDON (Reuters)- Investors have become a little more upbeat heading into the second half of the year, lifting stock allocations from 2011 lows but remaining cautious with plenty of safe-haven cash and bonds.

They also lifted their exposure to euro zone stocks and bonds in the month, despite the ongoing debt crisis.

Reuters asset allocation polls released on Thursday showed leading investors across the world recovering from May's retrenchment, brought on by fears over a stagnant U.S. economy, potential over-heating in China, and the euro zone debt crisis.

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Ford sees profit fading from record 1st-quarter level - Yahoo! News

DETROIT (Reuters) – No. 2 U.S. automaker Ford Motor Co (F.N) expects its profit for the rest of the year to ease off from the 13-year high it reported for the first quarter, pinched by higher commodity costs, an executive said.

The company expects second-quarter earnings to come in at or slightly below reported first-quarter levels, with earnings for the second half of the year to be slightly weaker than the first half, Bob Shanks, vice president and controller, said at an investors' conference on Wednesday.

"We continue to expect our structural costs this year to increase," Shanks said. "We also continue to expect that commodity costs will increase by about $2 billion."

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Woman disfigured by chimp to appear in documentary - Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – Charla Nash, who had her face ripped off by a 200-pound chimpanzee in February 2009, has signed a deal to tell her story in a documentary that will likely air on NBC this fall.

Nash recently successfully underwent a face transplant, which was documented on the network's "Today" show. Her double hand transplant was not successful, and they were removed shortly after.

Nash spoke with Meredith Vieira about her attack in November 2009. Around the same time, she revealed her mutilated face on "The Oprah Winfrey Show."

Nash has worn a veil since the attack, which left her blind and without eyes, nose, lips or hands. Sandra Herold, who owned the chimpanzee who attacked her, has since died.

The documentary is being made by NBC's Peacock Productions. It said it was in discussions with several networks about where the documentary would air, with NBC seemingly the frontrunner.

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'Battlefield 3' takes aim at 'Modern Warfare 3' - Yahoo! News

LOS ANGELES – Beyond the flashing flatscreens, blaring speakers and "booth babes" at last week's Electronic Entertainment Expo, there was no bigger showdown at the video game industry's annual extravaganza than the one brewing between "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" from Activision Blizzard Inc. and "Battlefield 3" from Electronic Arts Inc.

For the past four years, Activision reigned supreme with its "Call of Duty" franchise, breaking game sales records and earning critical acclaim for its polished shoot-'em-up realism. The Santa Monica, Calif.-based publisher may finally have a worthy adversary when EA releases "Battlefield 3" on Oct. 25, two weeks before "Modern Warfare 3" comes out Nov. 8.

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Eminem takes the big stage as rap rules Bonnaroo - Yahoo! News

MANCHESTER, Tenn. – After a little more than an hour of a hard-as-nails set that had the bikini-clad rumps shaking at Bonnaroo, Eminem thanked the crowd and left the stage.

Nearly 80,000 fans chanted "Shady! Shady! Shady!" in a thunderous roar for five minutes until hip hop's angry king returned to the stage for a triumphant encore of "Lose Yourself," capping the day rap took over Bonnaroo.

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Kirstie Alley says she's paying late Fla taxes - Yahoo! News

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Actress Kirstie Alley says she is paying $41,000 in property taxes from last year on her Tampa-area mansion after published reports noted the delinquency.

The "Cheers" star and recent "Dancing With the Stars" runner-up called it an oversight. A spokesman released a statement Thursday saying "we were not aware of the amount owed, and her accountant never received the bill."

Pinellas County tax records showed Alley owed $41,395, including fees and interest, on the $1.73 million mansion on Clearwater Harbor that she bought in 2008. The 2010 tax bill was due April 1.

Tax office spokesman Chad McLeod confirmed that one of Alley's representatives called Thursday and promised to send a certified check.

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Travelers to post loss, slow buybacks after storms - Yahoo! News

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Travelers Cos Inc (TRV.N) is slowing down its share buybacks and will post a second-quarter operating loss because of more than $1 billion in catastrophe losses, the property insurer said on Friday.

The company also warned of worst-case scenario industry losses on recent tornadoes in the United States.

Travelers shares were down 3.3 percent in early trading, making them the biggest drag on the Dow Jones industrial average (.DJI) and the biggest decliner among S&P insurance shares. (.GSPINSC)

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Fed's Plosser: Default debate political, not economic - Yahoo! News

LONDON (Reuters) – The debate over whether the United States should stage a mini-debt default is largely a political one, although action must be taken on the country's fiscal situation, a top Federal Reserve official said on Thursday.

An increasing number of U.S. Republicans do not believe the Obama administration's dire predictions of economic "catastrophe" if the U.S. debt limit is not increased, arguing that a period of technical default can be managed without plunging markets into chaos.

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Texas police probe psychic's mass grave hoax - Yahoo! News

HARDIN, Texas (AFP) – Texas police were investigating whether a tip-off from a psychic about a mass grave containing dozens of dismembered bodies was in fact a hoax after an intense search found no bodies.

State, local and federal agents combed the area around a rural home after a woman who claimed to be psychic called police twice to report the mass grave at in Hardin, Texas about 50 miles (31 kilometers) northeast of Houston.

She provided a very good description of both the outside and interior of the one-storey brown brick home and blood was found on the porch, which prompted police to get a search warrant and call in reinforcements.

Soon, local media were reporting that as many as 25 to 30 bodies -- including children -- were found on the rural property. But those reports turned out to be false.

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