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U.S. data and M&A lifts stocks

HONG KONG (Reuters) – Japanese shares rose on Friday, lifted by news of a mega merger in the steel sector, while a rebounding dollar put a slight dent in a commodities rally that saw copper hit a record $10,000 a tonne in the previous session.

While there are signs that the global economy is gaining momentum, many market players were on the sidelines, eyeing developments in Egypt after the White House was said to be discussing the immediate resignation of Hosni Mubarak as one of several scenarios for a transition of power.

The U.S. move comes after 10 days of anti-government protests in Egypt and ahead of a mass "Day of Departure" rally planned by protesters in Cairo's Tahrir Square on Friday to force Mubarak to quit.

Clashes between pro- and anti-Mubarak demonstrators have fueled fears of possible disruptions to energy supplies and boosted crude oil prices, which were headed for a second straight week of gains.

Brent crude for March gained 31 cents on Friday to $102.07 a barrel at 0525 GMT, after touching $103.37 on Thursday, the highest intraday price since September 26 2008, and then sliding on a stronger dollar. U.S. crude rose 39 cents to $90.93.

Japan's Nikkei (.N225) shares gained 1.1 percent, lifted by steelmakers which surged on news of a mega merger in the sector that would create the world's No.2 steel producer.

Tough competition from steelmakers in China and India, shrinking demand from domestic automakers and rising prices for raw materials such as coal and iron ore prompted the deal which would likely see Nippon Steel acquiring Sumitomo Metal, valued at $11 billion.

Shares of Nippon Steel (5401.T) and Sumitomo Metal (5405..T) rallied sharply, rising 9 percent and 16 percent, respectively.

"The news will likely raise expectations that more Japanese companies will seriously try to increase their competitive edge in the global market," said Shinichiro Matsushita, a senior market analyst at Daiwa Securities.

"On top of last week's NEC-Lenovo deal, these deals will boost investor sentiment toward Japanese stocks."

The Nikkei has risen 3.1 percent so far this year and is Asia's top performing market as investors continue to favor developed markets over emerging markets that are battling with high inflation and political risk. The MSCI Asia ex-Japan index (.MIAPJ0000PUS) is up just 0.6 percent.

Australia's key stock index (.AXJO) rose 0.9 percent as heavyweighted commodity-related stocks rallied. Most other markets in Asia remained shut for the Lunar New Year holidays and will reopen on Monday.

Spurred by further signs that the global economic recovery is gaining traction and speculative buying, copper hit $10,000 a tonne for the first time in London overnight, before easing slightly. Sugar retreated as well after spiking to 30-year tops on Wednesday as a killer cyclone battered Australia's sugar cane fields. Wheat rebounded after a brief decline, staying near the 2008 highs seen in the last session after a snowstorm that paralyzed the U.S. grain belt.

Surging food prices have come back into the spotlight after they helped fuel the discontent that toppled Tunisia's president in January and spilled over to Egypt and Jordan.

Global food prices tracked by a U.N. agency hit their highest level on record in January.

Markets fear many central banks may have to take more aggressive action to contain growing inflationary pressures, which could dampen global growth.

Weighing on commodity prices on Friday was a rebound in the U.S. dollar (.DXY) as stronger-than-expected growth in the U.S. services sector showed a resilient economy.

Rising service-sector activity, improved jobless claims figures and stronger-than-expected retail figures in the U.S. have raised confidence ahead of Friday's payrolls report that is expected to show the economy adding 145,000 jobs in January.

A strong jobs report could help the dollar extend gains against the euro.

The euro was on the defensive after its more than 1 percent drop overnight after European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet threw cold water on expectations of a rise in euro zone interest rates.

The single currency was trading at $1.3633 by the afternoon in Asia, moving further away from a 12-week high of $1.3862 set on Wednesday.

(Additional reporting by Antoni Slodowski in TOKYO)

(Editing by Kim Coghill)

Zuckerberg dad: Mark got computer exposure young

NEW YORK – Mark Zuckerberg's father said in a radio interview Friday that an early exposure to computers inspired his son's interest in technology, and he encouraged parents to support their children's strengths and passions with a balance of "work and play."

"My kids all grew up around the office and were all exposed to computers," said Dr. Edward Zuckerberg, a dentist. "There are advantages to being exposed to computers early on. That certainly enriched Mark's interest in technology."

Zuckerberg said he computerized his offices in 1985. His son Mark Zuckerberg, cofounder and CEO of Facebook, was born in 1984 and was raised in the house where his father's dental offices are located in Dobbs Ferry, N.Y., in suburban Westchester.

The dentist spoke for an hour on Westchester station WVOX in an interview with Paul Feiner, supervisor of Greenburgh. Dobbs Ferry is a village in the town of Greenburgh.

The dentist said his own computer science background was "limited" — he majored in biology in college — but he said he's "always been technologically oriented in the office" and "always had the latest high-tech toys," including an early Atari 800.

"It came with a disk for programming," he said. "I thought Mark might be interested and I imparted that knowledge to him. From there it took off."

He said Mark got a book on programming, but "ultimately his ability to program was self-taught."

Feiner and a number of callers to the live radio program asked Zuckerberg for advice on parenting.

"Probably the best thing I can say is something that my wife and I have always believed in," he said. "Rather than impose upon your kids or try and steer their lives in a certain direction, to recognize what their strengths are and support their strengths and support the development of the things they're passionate about."

Zuckerberg said he "didn't believe in physical discipline" but added that certain behaviors require parents to let children know "right there on the spot, this is a behavior that will not be tolerated. If you impart your dislikes about certain negative behaviors early in their lives, they will learn to understand what your feelings on certain matters are."

Zuckerberg said he was not familiar with a new best-seller called "Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother," which recommends pushing children to succeed academically in part by limiting extracurricular activities.

Zuckerberg said he doesn't want to portray himself as an expert on childrearing, but he said: "I think that extremes in any form in parenting are not good. Children need to be well-rounded. There's a place for work and a place for play."

He described Mark as "a good student" with "a special affinity for math and sciences," as well as a "very quiet guy" who "doesn't like to boast about his accomplishments." He said that when Mark was named Time magazine's person of the year, his famous son remarked that "it must have been a really slow year. He's very humble."

"I'm proud of his accomplishments and the accomplishments of all my kids," he added. Mark's sister Randi is marketing director for Facebook, his sister Donna is a Ph.D. candidate in classics at Princeton, and the youngest, Arielle, is a senior at Claremont McKenna College with a minor in computer science. Her dad said "she's doing a job search right now."

Asked for his opinion of the movie "The Social Network," Zuckerberg said, "If I sat back and looked at it as a movie and not as a story about my son, it was a tolerable experience." But he added that there were aspects of the film "which did not accurately reflect the way certain situations occurred. That was disturbing to me."

Asked by a caller whether his wife, Karen, worked when their children were young, he said, "My wife was a superwoman. She managed to work and be home. We had a unique situation because my office was in the house. I highly recommend it if it works for your occupation. It did afford the ability to work and be home with the kids at the same time."

Karen Zuckerberg is a psychiatrist but she helps out in her husband's office.

Zuckerberg said he uses Facebook to promote his dental practice and spends about an hour a day on the site. He also still does Mark's "routine dental care."

Most X-Rays, Scans Unnecessary for Acute Low Back Pain

MONDAY, Jan. 31 (HealthDay News) -- X-rays, CT scans and MRIs may be routinely ordered for people with low back pain, but often these tests are unnecessary, suggests new guidance from the American College of Physicians.

What's more, these imaging tests have the potential to cause harm by exposing people to unnecessary radiation and by uncovering abnormalities -- such as a bulging disc -- that may not be causing the symptoms.

However, once such abnormalities are uncovered, they may be treated, potentially with an unneeded surgery, experts say.

And then there's the matter of expense.

"Health-care costs are increasing unsustainably, and a crucial concern for everyone is how do we maintain or improve the quality of care without increasing costs? One way is for physicians to stop ordering tests that may not be beneficial," said Dr. Amir Qaseem, one of the authors of the back pain guidelines, and director of clinical policy in the medical education division of the American College of Physicians (ACP) in Philadelphia.

The new guidelines on diagnostic imaging for people with low back pain are published in the Feb. 1 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.

Almost everyone will experience back pain at some point in their lives, according to the U.S. National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke. The costs of treating low back pain are staggering: the ACP guidelines estimate that about $90 billion is spent each year in the United States on low back pain. In 1997, the average cost of treating one patient with back or neck problems averaged $4,795, according to the ACP. By 2005, that amount had climbed to $6,096.

Imaging tests make up a significant portion of those costs. The bill doesn't only include the test, but follow-up that might occur afterward such as additional tests, referrals and additional treatments that sometimes include surgery.

Despite this increase in spending, the ACP cite data from six different studies that found that people with spine problems who got radiological tests had similar or worse scores on quality of life and physical functioning assessments a year later, compared to patients who went without the scans.

One of the reasons that the increased spending may not be improving outcomes is that most people with back pain will get better on their own -- no matter what tests or interventions are done, the ACP experts said. In fact, they say, most people with acute back pain will begin to feel better within a month.

Overall, the results of X-rays, CT scans and the like rarely affect treatment plans, says the ACP, and if an abnormality is found on an imaging test, it can be difficult to know if that's the cause of the symptoms or if it was always there.

For example, in one study of people over 60 who did not have any back pain, the ACP reports that 90 percent had either spinal disc degeneration or a bulging disc in their back, and another 21 percent had narrowing in their spinal canal.

"Essentially, using routine imaging is not benefiting patients and it may even be harmful, because it can lead to further unnecessary additional tests, perhaps invasive procedures and increased radiation," said Qaseem.

So, what drives doctors to order these tests? Qaseem said there are a number of reasons. One is that physicians may feel that a patient expects a diagnostic test. Another is "defensive medicine," when a doctor orders a test to be sure he or she hasn't somehow missed an unusual condition. The wider availability of scanning technology may play a role, as may certain financial incentives, he said.

Dr. Anders Cohen, chief of neurosurgery and spine surgery at The Brooklyn Hospital Center in New York City, agreed that patient expectations and a concern about malpractice are significant contributors to the overuse of imaging for back pain.

"Back pain is one of the more poorly understood aspects of medicine, and diagnosing and treating low back pain can be a tricky diagnosis, even for people who do it full-time. But there does need to be some curtailing in the use of imaging, because diagnostic costs are getting out of control," said Cohen.

However, both experts said that doctors can usually tell from a physical exam and someone's description of their pain whether or not an imaging test is really necessary.

Both Cohen and Qaseem said that a better dialogue between patient and physician could go a long way in reducing the use of unnecessary imaging tests.

"Shared decision-making is really important. Most patients don't want to get tests that aren't beneficial, so it's important to talk. Patients need to ask questions like, 'If I do get this test, what are the benefits or harms?'" said Qaseem.

"We have a bountiful access to technology, but we don't necessarily need all that stuff every time. The majority of back pain will get better without surgery. We need to empower patients, and let patients be a part of the process," said Cohen.

More information

Read more about back pain from the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

N.Z museum mulls options for mummified Maori heads

WELLINGTON (AFP) – For decades, New Zealand has campaigned for museums to repatriate the mummified and heavily-tattooed heads of Maori warriors held in collections worldwide -- now it must decide what to do with the gruesome but culturally valuable relics.

New Zealand's national museum Te Papa has more than 100 of the heads, known as toi moko, in storage in Wellington, along with about 500 skeletal remains plundered from Maori graves as recently as the 1930s.

In Maori culture, the dark swirls and geometric designs of traditional facial tattoos on men recognised high birth and rank, as well as achievements on the battlefield.

Te Herekiekie Herewini, who leads Te Papa's repatriation programme, said the heads of deceased chiefs or family members would be mummified as a way of preserving their spirit, while enemies' heads were preserved as war trophies.

"Initially the mummification of heads and bodies was part of our normal mourning process," he said.

"But when Europeans came, they saw the exotic nature of the heads and they became a coveted trading item because they were of commercial value in Europe, America and Australia."

The heads became so valuable that in the late 18th and early 19th Centuries, some Maori hunted members of rival iwis (tribes) and murdered them to supply the burgeoning market in European museums for exotic human remains.

"For some of the iwi, trading in toi moko was strategic in accessing items such as muskets and European tools," Herewini said.

The trade in human heads was banned in the 1830s but over the next century museums turned their attention to skeletal remains.

New Zealand medical students also fed the demand, as they were required to take their own skeletons when they attended overseas colleges, with most of the bones robbed from Maori tombs.

"People would go to known caves or hidden burial sites where they knew Maori remains were and, without permission, they would take them and trade them," Herewini said. "Every museum wanted their own Maori head or Maori skeleton."

The grisly curios continued to be displayed in museums around the world, including New Zealand, until the 1970s.

Herewini said it was around then that Maori began pushing for the repatriation of their ancestors' remains, often meeting fierce resistance from institutions which feared it would set a precedent that could eventually see them forced to return human remains such as ancient Egyptian mummies.

The French parliament last year voted overwhelmingly inavour of returning around 15 Maori toi moko after years of debate about the implications of the move.

"These are much more than simple museum pieces," French lawmaker Michele Tabarot said at the time.

"These are human remains and some of these people were deliberately murdered to satisfy a despicable trade."

Herewini said repatriating remains was an emotional issue for Maori, who had a strong connection to the land and wanted to give the warriors the dignity of a proper funeral.

"For us, it's taking an ancestor back home, so it's the whole process of remembering," he said. "They're family members and it's important for them to be returned home to their resting place.

"The iwi don't know exactly who these people are but they do know they're connected to the land. They think about the different battles they were in, the different lifestyle they lived and the possible connections they have with them directly."

While the remains are returned to their iwi whenever possible, Herewini said that a lack of historical records meant about a quarter of the heads and bones held at Te Papa could not be identified.

They are stored in acid-free boxes in a special area of the museum and never go on display. Even viewing images of toi moko is considered taboo in Maori culture, Herewini said.

Building a permanent mausoleum for the unidentified remains in Wellington is under consideration but the Ngati Kuri tribe, in the country's far north, has put forward an alternative proposal.

They want to bury them near Te Rerenga Wairua, or Cape Reinga, the northernmost point in New Zealand, where Maori believe the spirits of the dead depart for the afterlife.

"It's a special area where there are ancient burial sites," Ngati Kuri Trust chairman Graeme Neho said. "Provided the other iwi agree, we believe placing their final resting place there would be a comfort to them and we would be their guardians."

Regardless of the remains' final destination, Herewiri sad he would continue his quest to return Maori ancestors to their homeland.

"For me, it's about righting a wrong, whether that was committed by Maori or Europeans is really immaterial," he said.

"It's completing the circle and bringing these people back home."

Brazil's president: 8,000 homes for slide victims

RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil is building 8,000 new, free homes for survivors of the deadly mudslides that ripped away mountainsides near Rio de Janeiro, President Dilma Rousseff announced Thursday.

The president said the housing initiative is a partnership between private companies, the federal government and Rio de Janeiro state, where floods and slides killed more than 837 people and left 541 missing.

She said about 20,000 people lost homes and relatives in this month's floods.

"Their pain is insurmountable, and their loss has no price, but this initiative can improve the situation a little," she said at a news conference.

A consortium of 12 construction companies will donate 2,000 of the homes on land made available by the state. The other 6,000 homes will be paid for by state and federal governments, also on land set aside by the state, according to Rousseff and Rio state Gov. Sergio Cabral.

The homes will go to those who are in shelters and to families that are now being removed from areas that are at risk of future mudslides, said Cabral.

The federal government is also investing heavily in prevention, mapping out fragile terrain that is prone to flooding and mudslides and clamping down on unauthorized building in risky areas, Rousseff said. It is allocating $60 million for state and local government rebuilding efforts and $6.6 billion for drainage and hillside stabilization projects.

Cabral said more than 100 bridges were damaged or destroyed, as well as 10 highways and many more rural roads, schools and health clinics.

The government-run Agencia Brasil news service said the Brazilian air force announced that it plans to cease emergency-aid helicopter flights on Friday for the mountain communities north of Rio where heavy rains destroyed whole neighborhoods

The helicopters flew about 170 trips a day over 10 days, ferrying food, water, medication and hundreds of people who had been stranded in remote areas.