Muara Teweh!

By SUZAN FRASER
The Associated Press

ANKARA, Turkey — Soldiers battled separatist Kurdish rebels across southeast Turkey, trapping about 100 in caves near the Iraqi border after blocking escape routes across the frontier, Turkey’s state-run news agency reported Monday.

The guerrillas denied the report.

President Abdullah Gul pledged to remain resolute in the fight against the rebels, addressing the nation as massive military parades across the country celebrated the 84th anniversary of the Turkish republic.

“The struggle that we have been leading for a long time, as a nation, against this terrorism curse is now being led with more determination,” he said after a parade through the capital with Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, the head of the military. » Read more after the jump →

important? Because many companies sprout up overnight to take your money and run after the New Year, never to be heard from again. We know this because we’re usually the one’s getting the phone calls after Christmas asking for help with competitor’s units.

______
http://www.motorxtremes.com/

Housing Development Finance Corp., the Indian lender part owned by Citigroup Inc., said second- quarter profit rose 76 percent on demand from homebuyers in the world’s fastest-growing major economy after China.

Net profit rose to 6.46 billion rupees ($164 million) in the three months ended Sept. 30 from 3.68 billion rupees a year earlier, the home mortgage lender said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange.

Borrowers have withstood nine increases in interest rates since October 2004 as salaries rise in the $906 billion economy and the government offers tax rebates to homebuyers. Wages may grow about 15 percent this year, the fastest in the Asia-Pacific region, according to Hewitt Associates Inc., a U.S.-based human resources company.

The lender reported a one-time gain of 3.13 billion rupees, lifting net income above the 4.56 billion rupee median estimate of five analysts surveyed by Bloomberg News. » Read more after the jump →

REDDING, Calif., — /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Bank of Commerce Holdings , a $616.0 million asset financial holding company, and parent company of Redding Bank of Commerce(TM), Roseville Bank of Commerce(TM), Sutter Bank of Commerce(TM) and Bank of Commerce Mortgage(TM) today announced third quarter 2007 operating results.

“The strength of our core banking business continued to serve us very well through the third quarter 2007. Top line revenues increased to $32.5 million in 2007 compared with $29.1 million in 2006, an 11.5% increase over the prior year. Overall, our performance remains above average and consistent with our goal of achieving upper quartile performance compared with our peers. While our operating results declined 10% on a year-over-year basis, a nonrecurring event accounted for almost half of this variance.

“Our loan and deposit trends were solid and our team continued to earn more of our customers business. We maintained our conservative risk management practices and our strong balance sheet and capital ratios. We are not immune to the evolving slowdown in the housing sector, » Read more after the jump →

By BEN FELLER, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - First lady Laura Bush, an increasingly prominent voice on matters at home and abroad, says the difference lately is not her policy role in the White House but rather the attention she gets for it.

“The fact is, I’ve been involved for a long time in policy, and I think I just didn’t get a lot of coverage on it,” she said in a rare Sunday talk show appearance.

“I mean, I really do think there’s a stereotype. And I was stereotyped as being a certain way because I was a librarian and a teacher and, you know, had the careers that traditional women have,” she said.

She returned last week from the Middle East, where she promoted breast cancer awareness in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Jordan. » Read more after the jump →

WASHINGTON - In another jab at his chief rival, Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama says in an ad released Sunday that the country needs an honest dialogue about Social Security in order to fix the system.

Obama launched the spot a day after he directly challenged Hillary Rodham Clinton on the issue while campaigning at a senior center in Des Moines, Iowa.

He accused Clinton, the Democratic front-runner, of dodging tough questions about whether the government should tax workers’ earnings above the present cap of $97,500 to help pay for Social Security benefits.

“I don’t want to just put my finger out to the wind and see what the polls say,” Obama says in the 30-second television ad that was to begin airing Sunday in Iowa. “I want to bring the country together to solve a problem.” » Read more after the jump →

WASHINGTON - Rudy Giuliani, to quote a Democratic rival, would be like President Bush on steroids in the way he would go about protecting the U.S. from terrorists. In reality, Giuliani doesn’t seem very different from Bush on the issue.

The former New York mayor says the government shouldn’t be shy about eavesdropping on citizens. He is prepared to use military force to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons and root out terrorists in Pakistan. And he opposes a U.S. pullout from Iraq.

Former FBI Director Louis Freeh, a Giuliani friend and adviser on homeland security issues, said in an interview: “I would say they’re very much joined at the hip on these policies, and particularly the mind-set and commitment of both the president and Mayor Giuliani to stay on offense.”

Giuliani sounds more muscular. » Read more after the jump →