Harbaugh’s 49ers prove they are the real deal
Now the question is just how far Jim Harbaugh’s team can go?San Francisco are 5-1, the number two seed in the NFC behind the unbeaten defending Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers, and they have a 2.5 game lead in the NFC West.The 49ers have come from behind to win three straight road games — in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Detroit.Before this season, pundits questioned whether their quarterback Alex Smith, in his seventh year, was ever going to be the right man for the job.However, few are asking that now after the way he led his team to a game-winning touchdown at noisy Ford Field.”I’ve never been a part of something like this, especially since I have been a pro,” Smith said after Sunday’s win.It is all in marked contrast to last year’s 0-5 start under then coach Mike Singletary, their worst start since 1979.The 6-10 finish to the season, after Singletary was fired with just a game remaining, was a major under-achievement for a team widely viewed as having plenty of talent.It is not only Smith who has undergone a transformation under Harbaugh, who joined the 49ers after a successful spell as head coach at Stanford University.LOCKER ROOM COMMITMENT”The locker room is what jumps out at me. Just so different — the commitment level, the sacrifice, guys are just different and it is fun to be a part of. They just don’t quit and it shows up on game day,” said Smith.Harbaugh hit the headlines for being involved in a post-game handshake incident with his opposite number, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. While the NFL ruled on Monday there was no need for a fine, the incident highlighted the rookie coach’s passion.That emotion was on display in footage of the 49ers locker-room after the game where Harbaugh made an impassioned speech in which he praised “the best defensive performance I have ever seen”.After the game he had said: “To see your guys go out and perform that way, yeah, you do get emotional. It fires me up, it fires me up a lot. I’m not going to apologize for that.”Smith certainly did not feel the need for apologies from his coach, saying: “This team loves and appreciates the fact that our coach is fiery and a competitor. We like that.”While there is an all-round solidity to the 49ers, it is their defense which is making the strongest impression — linebacker Patrick Willis produced three pass break-ups against Detroit to continue his excellent season.The 49ers are second in the league in rushing defense and they also showed they can get after the quarterback — Aldon Smith came with two sacks on Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford.The secondary ensured that Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, who had nine touchdowns in five games, did not make a score.On the offensive side, running back Frank Gore is currently the fifth most productive player in rushing yards — he has made 541 yards in five starts and exceeded 100 yards in each of his last three games, scoring a touchdown in each one.For Harbaugh, though, defeating the Lions in Detroit was above all about character and the melding together of the component parts into an effective collective.”I really felt that our team came together through adversity. They were tough conditions to play in, but they hung together and they found a way to win,” he said.
Harbaugh’s 49ers prove they are the real deal
Now the question is just how far Jim Harbaugh’s team can go?San Francisco are 5-1, the number two seed in the NFC behind the unbeaten defending Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers, and they have a 2.5 game lead in the NFC West.The 49ers have come from behind to win three straight road games — in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Detroit.Before this season, pundits questioned whether their quarterback Alex Smith, in his seventh year, was ever going to be the right man for the job.However, few are asking that now after the way he led his team to a game-winning touchdown at noisy Ford Field.”I’ve never been a part of something like this, especially since I have been a pro,” Smith said after Sunday’s win.It is all in marked contrast to last year’s 0-5 start under then coach Mike Singletary, their worst start since 1979.The 6-10 finish to the season, after Singletary was fired with just a game remaining, was a major under-achievement for a team widely viewed as having plenty of talent.It is not only Smith who has undergone a transformation under Harbaugh, who joined the 49ers after a successful spell as head coach at Stanford University.LOCKER ROOM COMMITMENT”The locker room is what jumps out at me. Just so different — the commitment level, the sacrifice, guys are just different and it is fun to be a part of. They just don’t quit and it shows up on game day,” said Smith.Harbaugh hit the headlines for being involved in a post-game handshake incident with his opposite number, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. While the NFL ruled on Monday there was no need for a fine, the incident highlighted the rookie coach’s passion.That emotion was on display in footage of the 49ers locker-room after the game where Harbaugh made an impassioned speech in which he praised “the best defensive performance I have ever seen”.After the game he had said: “To see your guys go out and perform that way, yeah, you do get emotional. It fires me up, it fires me up a lot. I’m not going to apologize for that.”Smith certainly did not feel the need for apologies from his coach, saying: “This team loves and appreciates the fact that our coach is fiery and a competitor. We like that.”While there is an all-round solidity to the 49ers, it is their defense which is making the strongest impression — linebacker Patrick Willis produced three pass break-ups against Detroit to continue his excellent season.The 49ers are second in the league in rushing defense and they also showed they can get after the quarterback — Aldon Smith came with two sacks on Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford.The secondary ensured that Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, who had nine touchdowns in five games, did not make a score.On the offensive side, running back Frank Gore is currently the fifth most productive player in rushing yards — he has made 541 yards in five starts and exceeded 100 yards in each of his last three games, scoring a touchdown in each one.For Harbaugh, though, defeating the Lions in Detroit was above all about character and the melding together of the component parts into an effective collective.”I really felt that our team came together through adversity. They were tough conditions to play in, but they hung together and they found a way to win,” he said.
Harbaugh’s 49ers prove they are the real deal
Now the question is just how far Jim Harbaugh’s team can go?San Francisco are 5-1, the number two seed in the NFC behind the unbeaten defending Super Bowl champions, the Green Bay Packers, and they have a 2.5 game lead in the NFC West.The 49ers have come from behind to win three straight road games — in Cincinnati, Philadelphia and Detroit.Before this season, pundits questioned whether their quarterback Alex Smith, in his seventh year, was ever going to be the right man for the job.However, few are asking that now after the way he led his team to a game-winning touchdown at noisy Ford Field.”I’ve never been a part of something like this, especially since I have been a pro,” Smith said after Sunday’s win.It is all in marked contrast to last year’s 0-5 start under then coach Mike Singletary, their worst start since 1979.The 6-10 finish to the season, after Singletary was fired with just a game remaining, was a major under-achievement for a team widely viewed as having plenty of talent.It is not only Smith who has undergone a transformation under Harbaugh, who joined the 49ers after a successful spell as head coach at Stanford University.LOCKER ROOM COMMITMENT”The locker room is what jumps out at me. Just so different — the commitment level, the sacrifice, guys are just different and it is fun to be a part of. They just don’t quit and it shows up on game day,” said Smith.Harbaugh hit the headlines for being involved in a post-game handshake incident with his opposite number, Lions head coach Jim Schwartz. While the NFL ruled on Monday there was no need for a fine, the incident highlighted the rookie coach’s passion.That emotion was on display in footage of the 49ers locker-room after the game where Harbaugh made an impassioned speech in which he praised “the best defensive performance I have ever seen”.After the game he had said: “To see your guys go out and perform that way, yeah, you do get emotional. It fires me up, it fires me up a lot. I’m not going to apologize for that.”Smith certainly did not feel the need for apologies from his coach, saying: “This team loves and appreciates the fact that our coach is fiery and a competitor. We like that.”While there is an all-round solidity to the 49ers, it is their defense which is making the strongest impression — linebacker Patrick Willis produced three pass break-ups against Detroit to continue his excellent season.The 49ers are second in the league in rushing defense and they also showed they can get after the quarterback — Aldon Smith came with two sacks on Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford.The secondary ensured that Lions receiver Calvin Johnson, who had nine touchdowns in five games, did not make a score.On the offensive side, running back Frank Gore is currently the fifth most productive player in rushing yards — he has made 541 yards in five starts and exceeded 100 yards in each of his last three games, scoring a touchdown in each one.For Harbaugh, though, defeating the Lions in Detroit was above all about character and the melding together of the component parts into an effective collective.”I really felt that our team came together through adversity. They were tough conditions to play in, but they hung together and they found a way to win,” he said.
SEC asks companies to disclose cyber attacks
The Securities and Exchange Commission issued guidelines on Thursday that laid out the kind of information companies should disclose, such as cyber events that could lead to financial losses.Senator John Rockefeller had asked the SEC to issue guidelines amid concern that it was becoming hard for investors to assess security risks if companies failed to mention data breaches in their public filings.”Intellectual property worth billions of dollars has been stolen by cyber criminals, and investors have been kept completely in the dark. This guidance changes everything,” Rockefeller said in a statement.”It will allow the market to evaluate companies in part based on their ability to keep their networks secure. We want an informed market and informed consumers, and this is how we do it,” Rockefeller said in a statement.There is a growing sense of urgency about cyber security following breaches at Google Inc, Lockheed Martin Corp, the Pentagon’s No. 1 supplier, Citigroup, the International Monetary Fund and others.Tom Kellermann, chief technology officer of security firm AirPatrol Corp, said that the SEC guidance tells companies to report cyber attacks and disclose steps to remediate problems.”They must also incorporate cyber events into their material risk reports,” said Kellermann, who has advised U.S. President Obama on cyber policy.The SEC gets into specifics, telling companies what type of data they might need to provide investors.”Examples of estimates that may be affected by cyber incidents include estimates of warranty liability, allowances for product returns, capitalized software costs, inventory, litigation, and deferred revenue,” it says.(The document can be accessed on the SEC’s website: www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/guidance/cfguidance-topic2.htm )A report out earlier this month found that U.S. banks are losing ground in the battle to combat credit and debit card fraud because they balk at the expense of higher security. Globally, however, security is improving in the payment industry, according to data from The Nilson Report, a California trade publication.There is some hope of U.S. legislation to address the problem, although the House of Representatives appears more interested in tackling it piecemeal while the Senate is opting for a more far-reaching approach.Most of the concern has been focused on critical facilities like nuclear power, electricity, chemical and water treatment plants.
Japan Sept wholesale prices rise 2.5 pct yr/yr
From the previous month, wholesale prices declined 0.1
percent, against the median forecast of a 0.3 percent drop.Overall final goods prices — the prices of finished
products charged to businesses — gained 0.6 percent in
September from a year earlier.Domestic final goods prices, which loosely track the
consumer price index, also increased 0.6 percent from a year
earlier.Details were as follows (preliminary, with percentage
change; economists’ median forecast in parentheses; previous
figures may be revised):SEPT AUG JULY SEPT INDEX
Year-on-year +2.5(+2.5) +2.6 +2.8 105.4
Mth-on-mth -0.1(-0.3) -0.2 +0.2 —-To view the full tables, go to
Rail bombs raise fear of left-wing attacks in Germany
Noone has been hurt but hundreds of trains have been delayed
and the spate of attacks has triggered fears of a surge in
left-wing violence.Federal police and prosecutors are now in charge of the
investigation. Dozens of experts, some in protective clothing,
are scouring railway tracks for clues. Police helicopters are
hovering over railway lines to spot possible suspects.”We are looking at a new dimension of left-wing violence
which is extremely worrying,” Interior Minister Hans-Peter
Friedrich said.”It is an attempt to comprehensively and systematically put
at risk the working of a city which is of great importance,” he
told Focus magazine.Over the summer, mystery attackers set on fire over 100 cars
in mostly affluent districts of Berlin. Police have not
discovered who was responsible but many politicians blamed
left-wing radicals targeting the rich.The latest attacks have reawakened memories of the deadly
Red Army Faction attacks in the 1970s and 1980s which killed
dozens of people, including some top establishment figures.The series of arson attacks started on Monday. Most of the
devices, which consist of bottles with flammable liquid, have
not exploded although on Wednesday one caught fire.Most bombs have been planted on tracks in the Berlin area —
one was on the high-speed link between Berlin and Hamburg.Railway operator Deutsche Bahn has offered a reward of
100,000 euros for clues and federal prosecutors, who usually get
involved only in cases of national security, say they suspect
“anti-constitutional sabotage”.A group called the “Hekla Reception Committee — Initiative
for more Social Eruptions” claimed responsibility on Monday,
saying it aimed to cause widespread disruption and it opposed
Germany’s part in the Afghanistan war.Asked about fears of a new wave of RAF-type terrorism,
Friedrich said historical comparisons were difficult.”But we must be extremely vigilant and make sure that the
readiness to commit violence seen in these attacks does not
develop into a new form of left-wing terrorism.”Germany’s intelligence service has for months warned about
the danger of growing left-wing militancy.On Saturday, left-wing protests are due to take place across
Europe, including in Berlin.
BlackBerry outage frustrates investment bankers
“It’s one of those things — you don’t realize how important it is to breathe, until you can’t do it,” said the New York-based banker, who declined to be named because he was not authorized to speak about the subject on behalf of his bank.The banker is one of millions of BlackBerry users in various regions around the world who have been plagued by service disruptions over the last three days, with North American users of Research in Motion’s popular handheld device being the latest to get hit on Wednesday.Indeed, Wall Street honchos and others who tend to spend more time on their BlackBerry than perhaps with their families were left frustrated at the service disruption — a sentiment that does not bode well for Research in Motion.The disruptions were the worst since an outage swept North America two years ago, and analysts said it could ratchet up the negative sentiment toward a company already losing market share to rivals such as Apple and Samsung.Research in Motion advised clients of the outage in the Americas and said it was working to restore services. The company wasn’t immediately available to comment on this article.The disruption comes on top of increasing demand from bankers to be allowed to use other devices on company networks. Some do not want to carry two phones, and some prefer tablet computers such as iPads over laptops.Banks also have an incentive in allowing employees to use their own devices, as it can save on costs that come with the company paying for the BlackBerry and the service plan.One London-based banker, who advises telecom and technology companies, said he has been increasingly using an iPad with clients during pitches but was worried about data security.”I only use my iPad for publicly available information at the moment because we are not yet sure about security for nonpublic and sensitive information,” said the banker said, who wasn’t authorized to speak publicly about the subject.One of Blackberry’s main selling points has been Research in Motion’s top-tier security features.But mobile device management companies such as Good Technology and MobileIron are offering alternatives, allowing some banks to start letting employees use other devices like iPhones, iPads and Google Inc’s Android-based phones on the company’s network.Credit Suisse, for instance, allows employees to connect to other devices, while Barclays Capital allows some employees to use iPhones and iPads. Standard Chartered switched from BlackBerry to iPhones for many users several months ago.At Sagent Advisors, an independent investment bank in New York, 10 percent to 15 percent of the users have switched to iPhones, while another 10 percent to 15 percent have taken up Android devices.”It is still mostly BlackBerry but quickly moving away,” said Terrence Barron, Sagent’s head of marketing and communications. “Over time there has been much more of sliding over to Android devices and iPhones for us.”Still, Blackberry remains ubiquitous on Wall Street, and some bankers said they prefer the device over others when it comes to work.One Houston-based investment banker who focuses on energy sector deals said while Wednesday’s disruption was frustrating, he felt it was not frequent enough to force a change at his firm.”If BlackBerry were down every other day it would be a pretty big issue,” the banker said. “It just forces you to actually call your assistant. It’s like the old days, when you had to talk to people.”The banker, who requested anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, said he also carries an iPhone for personal use.
