Yearly euro inflation at record high of 4.1%

Yearly inflation in the 15 euro nations rose to a record high of 4.1 percent in July, the EU statistical agency Eurostat reported Thursday.

Prices have not climbed as fast since inflation records started in 1996 for the countries that eventually formed the euro.Soaring fuel and food prices are Europe's biggest economic problem, eating into household spending -- one of the engines of economic growth -- as people steer away from major purchases and luxury goods.Accelerating prices and signs that growth is stalling create a major dilemma for the European Central Bank, which acted last month to cool inflation by hiking borrowing costs for the first time in a year.But the bank may have to hold back from more interest rate increases as the European economy stumbles and companies slash staff.Eurostat reported that the jobless rate in the 15 countries that share the euro had risen to 7.3 percent in May and June from a year ago. It revised upward an earlier estimate of 7.2 percent for May as unemployment worsened from a record low it hit in December 2007.

Obama says he opposes slavery reparations, apology

Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama opposes offering reparations to the descendants of slaves, putting him at odds with some black groups and leaders.

The man with a serious chance to become the nation's first black president argues that government should instead combat the legacy of slavery by improving schools, health care and the economy for all."I have said in the past — and I'll repeat again — that the best reparations we can provide are good schools in the inner city and jobs for people who are unemployed," the Illinois Democrat said recently.Some two dozen members of Congress are co-sponsors of legislation to create a commission that would study reparations — that is, payments and programs to make up for the damage done by slavery.Obama has worked to be seen as someone who will bring people together, not divide them into various interest groups with checklists of demands. Supporting reparations could undermine that image and make him appear to be pandering to black voters."Let's not be naive. Sen. Obama is running for president of the United States, and so he is in a constant battle to save his political life," said Kibibi Tyehimba, co-chair of the National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America. "In light of the demographics of this country, I don't think it's realistic to expect him to do anything other than what he's done."But this is not a position Obama adopted just for the presidential campaign. He voiced the same concerns about reparations during his successful run for the Senate in 2004.
There's enough flexibility in the term "reparations" that Obama can oppose them and still have plenty of common ground with supporters.

BMW's profit slides nearly 33 percent

Germany automaker BMW says second-quarter net profit slid nearly 33 percent and it has abandoned its yearly profit forecast, blaming a drop in U.S. sales, rising costs for raw materials and the strong euro.
The Munich-based company is the world's biggest maker of luxury cars. It said Friday it earned euro507 million (US$791.5 million) in the April-June period, down 32.7 percent from last year.
Sales fell half a percent to euro14.6 billion (US$22.8 billion) in the quarter compared with a year earlier.The company has revised its earnings forecast. Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer says BMW now expects pre-tax return on sales for the year of at least 4 percent.The news spooked investors, who sent the company's shares plunging before they leveled off to euro26.90 (US$41.89), down 6.9 percent.

More than 10,000 detainees released in Iraq

BAGHDAD - The U.S. military said Saturday it has released more than 10,000 detainees in Iraq so far this year — more than in all of 2007 — as it continues to try phase out its running of Iraqi prisons.

The military said about 21,000 people remained in custody, and it is currently releasing about 45 detainees and detaining 30 a day.The United States wants to transfer the detainees to Iraqi control. Reaching that goal has been slowed partly by the lack of adequate Iraqi prison space and trained guards. More than 8,900 people were released from detention last year.The U.S. military says its detention system is authorized by a U.N. resolution under which the Iraqi government allows U.S. troops to arrest people at will. U.S. military attorneys say it also complies with international laws covering warfare and was created in "the spirit" of the Geneva Conventions.Commanders say they are entitled to hold any prisoner until the detainee is no longer considered a threat to U.S. forces. Local law and court rulings do not apply, they add. Rights groups have criticized U.S. detention policy as a misrepresentation of international law, which they say requires some form of legal process to detain someone.The military has increased control over prisons to correct widespread U.S. prison abuses that sparked international criticism.Allegations of abuse at U.S. prisons escalated in 2004 with the release of pictures of grinning U.S. soldiers posing with detainees at the Abu Ghraib facility west of Baghdad. Some were naked, being held on leashes or in painful and sexually humiliating positions.That prison has since been closed, and 11 U.S. soldiers were convicted of breaking military laws. Five others were disciplined in the scandal.