as opposed to being a risk-off asset," said Jordan Lambert, a trader at Spreadex. It's not just against the euro that the dollar has been benefiting. Against the yen,toms shoes sale, it's near the 84 yen mark, way above the mid 70s yen it was trading at for much of last year. Unsurprisingly Japanese stocks have garnered a lot of support in the wake of the yen's retreat, with investors hoping it will help the country's exporters. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose a further 0.7 percent to 10,123.28 its highest close since late July. Elsewhere in Asia, Hong Kong's Hang Seng closed 0.2 percent higher to 21,353.53. But mainland Chinese shares fell, a day after Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao said curbs that have started to cool surging housing prices will remain in place despite complaints they might worsen an economic slowdown,toms shoes coupon. Construction and real estate sales are key drivers of China's growth. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index lost 0.7 percent to 2,373.77 and the Shenzhen Composite Index shed 0.8 percent to 960.96. ____ Pamela Sampson in Bangkok contributed to this report. Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Your comment will be posted immediately, unless it is spam or contains profanity. For more information,http://zkratch.com/members/home, please see our Comments FAQ. An insider's guide to politics and policy, available on the iPad or as a PDF download.
WASHINGTON (AP) Senate Republican and Democratic leaders ended their standoff Wednesday over President Barack Obama's judicial nominations and agreed to debate a small-business bill that both parties favor in this presidential and congressional election year,http://desw.net/viewthread.php?tid=691473&extra=. On the brink of 17 grueling votes in a row to fill vacant judgeships, Majority Leader Harry Reid and his Republican counterpart Mitch McConnell announced a schedule that would speed up the confirmation process. Under the deal, the Senate would vote on a total of 14 noncontroversial nominees by May 7, a dozen of them to U.S. District Court seats and a pair to the U.S. Circuit Court. The deal came after both sides sought to score political points and settle a Republican grudge against Obama for making appointments during congressional recess, without votes. Reid and the Democrats complained that McConnell and the Republicans were slow-walking the list of nominees, even those arousing no objections,http://yq.cyunet.com/bbs/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=58882. McConnell insisted the pace was reasonable and demanded that the Senate return to the small business bill at a time when voters of all stripes say the economy is the No. 1 concern. In response, Reid scheduled back-to-back votes on 17 nominees. Points made, both leaders announced a deal at midday before the standoff turned into a real fight that might have pleased their parties' bases, but alienated a broader electorate hostile to partisanship on Capitol Hill. Under the deal, the Senate would consider two or three nominees a week before May 7. The nominees would fill District Court seats in West Virginia,toms shoes reviews, Utah, California, New York, Virginia, Nevada, Louisian