The high court ruled that the businessman, Marvin Peugh, was entitled to be sentenced under a version of the sentencing guidelines in effect at the time he committed his crimes, not the more punitive guidelines later enacted.

In a 5-to-4 decision, the high court said a federal judges reliance on the tougher guidelines in fashioning Mr. Peughs sentence violated the concept of fundamental justice.

The ban on ex post facto laws is designed to promote basic fairness by preventing the government from changing the law midway through a criminal case when the new law will result in more severe punishment.

The issue in Marvin Peugh v. US was whether the ban on ex post facto laws should apply beyond statutes to include any new, tougher version of the sentencing guidelines.

The Ex Post Facto Clause forbids the [government] to enhance the measure of punishment by altering the substantive formula used to calculate the applicable sentencing range,wrote in the majority opinion.

That is precisely what the amended guidelines did here, she said. Doing so created a significant risk of a higher sentence for Peugh, and offended one of the principal interests that the Ex Post Facto Clause was designed to serve, fundamental justice.

In a dissent,said the sentencing guidelines may influence a judges sentencing decision but that the final sentence is discretionary. The Constitution bars ex post facto laws that increase punishment, not the enactment of discretionary guidelines that may result in a harsher sentence, he said.

It is difficult to see how an advisory Guideline, designed to lead courts to impose sentences more in line with fixed statutory objectives, could ever constitute an ex post facto violation. But that is exactly what the Court concludes, Thomas wrote.

The statutory range in effect at the time of [Peughs] offense remained in effect at his sentencing. The Guidelines sentencing range is not the punishment affixed to the offense, he said.

Mr. Peugh was convicted of five counts of bank fraud in a scheme that caused more than $2.5 million in losses by the victim bank.

At Peughs sentencing, he faced 70 to 87 months in prison under the 2009 sentencing guidelines. Peugh objected to use of the 2009 guidelines, insisting that the judge should use the guidelines in effect at the time of his crimes.

Under those 1998 guidelines, the appropriate sentence ranged from 30 to 37 months in prison.

Peughs lawyer argued that relying on higher guidelines enacted after his clients crimes were committed would amount to the use of an ex post facto law. The judge rejected the argument, and sentenced Peugh to 70 months in prison (five years and 10 months).

A panel of the Seventh US Circuit Court of Appeals also rejected the ex post facto argument and upheld the sentence.

In reversing those decisions on Monday, the Supreme Court said: A retrospective increase in the Guidelines range applicable to a defendant creates a sufficient risk of a higher sentence to constitute an ex post facto violation.

Joining Justice Sotomayor in the majority were Justices Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Elena Kagan.

Thomas dissent was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Antonin Scalia and Samuel Alito.

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MADRID (Reuters) - Spanish unemployment figures next week may strike a more encouraging note, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told an economic conference on Saturday, holding out some hope for an economy deep in its second year of recession.

Anger is high in Spain over the budget cuts and labor market changes that have left more than six million out of work, and a protest in Madrid on Saturday drew up to several thousand protestors, although that was fewer than similar events in the recent past.

Unemployment in Spain, the euro zone's fourth-biggest economy, jumped to a record 27.2 percent in April, adding to the European debate over whether to ditch policies focused on austerity in favor of efforts to spur economic growth.

"I'm not counting chickens here, however I recommend that you pay attention to unemployment and social security numbers on Tuesday the 4th ... If the patterns we've seen are confirmed they will be clearly encouraging," Rajoy said.

Tackling joblessness is a major challenge for the euro zone's leaders. Germany's Finance Minister warned this week that failure to solve youth unemployment - around a quarter of young people in the bloc cannot find work - could tear Europe apart.

While Spain and twice-bailed-out Greece have fared worst, unemployment hit new highs in both France and Italy in April and 12.2 percent of the currency bloc's workforce is jobless.

Protests against the "troika" of international lenders that has rescued struggling states but demanded painful spending cuts and tax rises were planned in several countries on Saturday but drew muted turnouts compared to previous rallies.

Austerity imposed by the International Monetary Fund, European Central Bank (ECB) and European Union is blamed at least in part for the pain felt by families who are deep in debt or have lost their homes after property bubbles burst.

Reuters witnesses said up to several thousand Spaniards gathered at the peak of Saturday's protest in central Madrid. 1,000 or fewer took to the streets in Lisbon, while only a few dozen rallied in austerity-weary Athens, where attendance at protests has dwindled in the absence of much impact on policy.

A march in the southern French city of Toulouse attracted 3,000 people, according to police. Former leftist presidential candidate Jean-Pierre Melenchon told French television the protests across Europe proved people had "a European consciousness, a political consciousness".

Anti-capitalist demonstrators clashed with police for a second day in Germany's financial capital Frankfurt, where they had cut off access to the ECB on Friday.

After cutting interest rates to record lows, the ECB is under pressure to do more to revive the euro zone's sickly economy, with the OECD calling this week for the bank to consider printing money for asset purchases to revive growth.

NO APOCALYPSE

In Spain, joblessness has grown for seven quarters in a row, leaving 6 million people out of work - more than the population of Denmark and including over half of under 25-year-olds.

Economists say unemployment will rise further this year due to the prolonged contraction, which has depressed consumption and frozen hiring.

Almost one-third of unemployed people have been out of work for more than two years, and two million Spanish households have no one earning a wage.

Rajoy said Spain had left the worst of its crisis behind and unemployment was slowing. He added the centre-right government hoped to lower taxes as soon as possible and would cut income tax by 2015.

"It's not right to feed people's fears and be swept along by irrational thinking. We aren't on the edge of a cliff, this isn't the eve of the apocalypse. There's some turbulence but we can bear it and overcome it successfully," he said.

Rajoy also repeated a call for Europe to do more to move quickly towards the fiscal and political union needed to calm financial markets and guarantee the future of the euro. "We aren't growing because Europe isn't growing," Rajoy said.

(Reporting by Andrei Khalip in Lisbon, Renee Maltezou in Athens and Jean Decotte in Paris; Editing by Catherine Evans and Patrick Graham)

The group, led by a postdoctoral researcher at MIT, proposes to use the venerable observatory to find small, rockyaround brown dwarfs, which are larger than planets but too small to ignite the nuclear fusion reactions that power stars.

Astronomers will seek planets crossing the face of these brown dwarfs, in the hopes that some of them will end up being capable of supporting life as we know it. []

The planets sought would orbit more closely thandoes to the sun, but the faint warmth of brown dwarfs could still make such inner regions habitable, researchers said.

"Our program represents an essential step towards the atmospheric characterization of terrestrial planets and carries the compelling promise of studying the concept of habitability beyond Earth-like conditions," the team's paper stated.

(Logo: )

SATURDAY, MAY 25: LANDMARK BRIDGES

Profile America Saturday, May 25th. Two famous landmarks at opposite ends of the country are having anniversaries around this time. Both are landmarks of the cities they serve, and both were considered engineering marvels when they were built. San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge opened in 1937, hailed as a technological marvel then as now. And, the Brooklyn Bridge, spanning New York's East River, opened in 1883 to link Manhattan and Brooklyn. It now daily carries thousands of automobiles, instead of the 1880s horse-drawn vehicles. More than 604,000 other bridges form a vital part of the nation's highway system. Of these, nearly a quarter are considered deficient and obsolete to cope with modern traffic. You can find more facts about America from the U.S. Census Bureau, online at .

Sources: Chase's Calendar of Events 2012, p. 285, 290Statistical Abstract of the United States 2012, t. 1090

Profile America is produced by the Center for New Media and Promotions of the U.S. Census Bureau. These daily features are available as produced segments, ready to air, on a monthly CD or on the Internet at(look for "Multimedia Gallery" by the "Newsroom" button).

SOURCE U.S. Census Bureau

Perez took down (at)chrisperez54 on Monday, not long after the two-time All-Star gave up a ninth-inning home run to Seattle's Endy Chavez. It was the second straight poor performance by Perez, who allowed back-to-back homers in the ninth on Saturday. The Indians won both games.

Several fans sent Perez harsh comments and there were a few profane remarks made toward him following Monday's win, which completed a four-game sweep by the first-place Indians, who entered Tuesday's game against Detroit leading the AL Central by 2 1-2 games over the Tigers.

Although he was one of the AL's top closers last season, Perez became a target for some fans when he criticized them for not supporting the Indians. Perez has always been active on Twitter, posting a daily favorite song and interacting with his followers.

In a statement released through the team, Perez didn't specify his reason for deactivating his account.

"The decision to deactivate my Twitter account was a personal choice I made in order to maintain the greater focus on the success of the team this season and our shared goals moving forward," he said. "We have an extremely positive and supportive group of players, coaches and staff members in our clubhouse and I want to participate in activities and routines that contribute positively to the culture we're building here.

"Out of respect for my teammates, I want to minimize any potential off-the-field distractions so this is the only time I will comment on this topic. Thank you for your understanding."

Perez was not in Cleveland's clubhouse before pregame batting practice and he did not speak with reporters after leaving the field.

Indians manager Terry Francona was aware of Perez's decision to abandon the social media site.

"I don't know if it's a good idea or a bad idea," he said. "I understand his reasoning was to focus more on what we're doing. I thought his thought process was really good. I don't think I've looked at a Twitter in my life. I don't even know if I know how. But I like his reasoning. I'm cool with it."

Francona wasn't with the Indians last season, but he knows Perez was a polarizing figure. Francona contacted Perez shortly after he was hired by the Indians and said the hard-throwing 27-year-old has been great to deal with and focused this season.

"Terrific and more," Francona said. "His level of communication with me has been fantastic."

Perez, who recorded 39 saves in 2012, is 2-0 with a 2.25 ERA and six saves this year.

LONDON (Reuters) - Debt may be everywhere but there's a scarcity of bonds.

With governments awash with debt and furiously selling new securities to fund bloated budget deficits, the idea of a bond shortage on the marketplace may sound puzzling.

Yet not only is "quantitative easing" by the world's major central banks sucking benchmark bonds out of the system, new regulations to strengthen banks and derivatives markets that effectively ring-fence bond holdings at commercial banks has raised concerns about a lack of bonds to lubricate the system.

And while Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke claims to be monitoring any sign of a reckless "reaching for yield" among investors as government and corporate borrowing costs sink around the globe, the skew in supply and demand for bonds speaks volumes.

JPMorgan estimates that the world's central banks and commercial banks alone now hold some $24 trillion worth of bonds - or 55 percent of the entire $44 trillion universe of government, asset-backed and corporate bonds as captured by Barclays Multiverse Global Bond Index.

What's more, these players hold more than two thirds of the government bond subset, which amounts to about $25 trillion.

"That's why we are in such a depressed bond yield environment," said JPMorgan economist Nikolaos Panigirtzoglou.

Cumulative bond buying since 2008 by four major central banks alone - the Fed, Bank of Japan, European Central Bank and Bank of England - reached more than $4 trillion this year. Added to existing holdings, that brings their total to $5.2 trillion.

With new Fed purchases of Treasury bonds set to top $1 trillion in 2013 and Bank of Japan bond buying more than half that amount, the year-end total will be about $6.5 trillion.

And as both the Fed's and the Bank of Japan's bond buying will exceed new bond sales by their governments by at least $100 billion this year, there will be fewer bonds around this year than last despite all the new debt sales.

Add to that $8.7 trillion of bonds estimated to be held by central banks in China and around the globe to bank their hard cash reserves, and $10 trillion of bonds held by commercial banks in the G4 developed economies to hold down risk-weightings on their assets - then there's not much left for everyone else.

With banks viewing Treasury bonds as a direct substitute for cash or "excess reserves" with slightly higher returns, the remaining bonds in the banking system get passed around like "hot potatoes" and yields converge, said Panigirtzoglou.

The central point of JPMorgan's number crunch was to show the remaining $20 trillion of the bond universe, held by non-banks such as pension, insurance, mutual and hedge funds, means the investment world is unlikely to be as overweight bonds as many had assumed. That total, they reckon, would only amount to about 30 percent of their combined bond and equity holdings.

And this tallies with asset managers, who are already eschewing what they consider to be scarce and over-expensive government debt in favor of often higher-yielding if lower quality corporate and emerging market bonds.

"Bizarrely, despite all this debt issuance there is a shortage of bonds," said Alan Higgins, Chief Investment Officer at British private bank Coutts, adding there were plenty of signs of what he called "leakage" within the more conservative fixed income funds to higher-risk securities as a result.

BOND DROUGHT?

What's more, this bond drought on the investment markets has added to growing concern about a shortage of high quality collateral - typically top-rated bonds - pledged and repledged within the financial system to raise cash.

For example, the latest meeting of the U.S. Treasury and bond market participants - the quarterly Treasury Borrowing Advisory Committee - discussed the problem late last month.

It concluded that with AAA- and AA-rated sovereign borrowers selling an estimated $2 trillion of new bonds annually, supply of this high-quality collateral would probably be two to three times demand in normal conditions. However, it said demand could well approach $10 trillion in "stressed markets".

This concern about having enough collateral available to generate credit within the financial system refocuses on a central aspect of the banking crisis and its aftermath.

International Monetary Fund economist Manmohan Singh has in a number of papers over the past year estimated that interbank mistrust and banks' narrowing definition of acceptable collateral reduced the re-use or re-pledging rate by the big banks to about 2.4 times from 3.0 before the crisis, involving a drop of up to $5 trillion in the cash generated by the banks.

That's more than the cash injected by the central banks' bond-buying programs since 2008 and for many this reduced "velocity" of cash-like collateral within the system helps explain why credit in the economy at large is still stalled.

For Singh, it's the rise in idle' or 'silo-ed' collateral due to institutional ring-fencing - QE, new bank capital and derivatives markets regulation and central bank reserve management and the like - that policymakers now need to watch closely.

(Editing by Ruth Pitchford)

On Friday, organizers said there were ''adverse weather conditions and, in particular, snow on the stage route in its entirety.''

The 19th stage in the 21-leg race had already been altered because of avalanche threats and sub-zero temperatures. With snow and ice predicted, the Gavia and Stelvio passes were cut from the route.

However, a longer 100-mile route from Ponte di Legno was set to be climbed to the original finish of Val Martello. The route was to go over the Tonale pass, which was also snowed over.

''The organizers have put the security of riders first and the UCI supports their decision,'' said Pat McQuaid, president of the international cycling federation. ''The riders have been racing in very difficult conditions this week, but today those conditions are just too extreme.''

Nibali, an Italian who rides with Astana, holds a 4:02 lead over 2011 Tour de France winner Cadel Evans of Australia, who rides for BMC. Rigoberto Uran of Colombia is third overall, 4:12 behind.

''It seems like a fair decision,'' Uran said. ''Being this cold, it's really impossible to bike.''

Nibali boosted his lead by winning Thursday's mountain time trial.

The 20th stage on Saturday was supposed to be another arduous leg but some of the major climbs have been removed, although the altered route will still begin in Silandro and finish with an uphill climb to Tre Cime di Lavaredo. It will now follow a 130-mile route, slightly longer than previously scheduled.

The race ends on flatter ground in Brescia on Sunday.

DUBAI, March 19 (Reuters Breakingviews) - Qatar's spending

spree is beginning to risk unintended consequences. The tiny

Gulf country has made its presence felt by splashing its cash on

seemingly random targets, buying Western luxury brands and large

stakes in blue-chip stocks at the same time as propping up the

Egyptian economy. The scale and frequency of Doha's investments

make it impossible to ignore but its investment style may be

undermining efforts to cultivate lasting strategic alliances.

Putting a number on how much Qatar is spending on foreign

investments and acquisitions isn't easy. The resource-rich

country will have a current account surplus worth 27 percent of

GDP, or $51 billion, this year, according to estimates by the

International Monetary Fund. The Qatar Investment Authority, its

sovereign fund, boasted of having $30 billion to spend last year

alone.

Some of Qatar's expenditure makes financial sense, earning a

decent return and diversifying the economy away from oil and gas

to other more stable sources of revenue. But many of its

high-profile projects - such as its expansion of its influential

Al Jazeera television network or purchase of trophy assets like

the Valentino fashion label - lack compelling commercial logic.

The only thing Qatar's investments have in common is that they

forge a new link between the emirate and the global system.

Buying connectivity

It's not hard to see why Qatar might want to buy

connections, familiarity and influence around the globe. The

tiny country with a local population of around 250,000 is the

richest in the world on a per capita basis. It is surrounded by

larger powers in an unstable region. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait

in 1990 showed the vulnerability of small Gulf states. Qatar's

security is partly strengthened by its status as the world's

largest supplier of liquefied natural gas, and the fact that it

is home to military bases used by U.S. forces." Still,

international spending boosts Qatar's visibility and gives

others a stake in its sovereignty.

The problem is that Qatari cash is still perceived as a last

resort by businesses in need of capital, rather than a

supportive steward like, say, Warren Buffett. That's partly

because Qatar has made a reputation for aggressively targeting

firms when they are in distress. Qatar's investment in British

bank Barclays in 2008 has generated good returns but it

has also been dogged with controversy. In the latest example,

Qatar is reportedly seeking an effective "first right of

refusal" from the government over some of Britain's biggest

infrastructure projects in exchange for investing billions.

It is often unclear what Doha wants back from its

investments - an ego boost, political, or a financial return.

Qatar appears most heavily invested in the UK, a favoured

destination for rich Gulf Arabs escaping the blistering desert

summer. The two countries share a royal connection. Real-estate

developer Qatari Diar famously scrapped its original plan for

the prime Chelsea Barracks site in London after

heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles objected to the modern design.

But the site, acquired in 2007, still remains undeveloped.

A lack of consistency is also a concern. Take the QIA

subsidiary Qatar Holding. It made a welcome evolution from a

passive to an active investor in global stock markets last year

when it forced Glencore to improve the terms on its

agreed merger with London-listed miner Xstrata. But

Qatar abstained from voting on the side issue of retention

bonuses which would have pitted it against top UK institutional

shareholders. It remains unclear if Qatar expects to develop

strategic links with the commodities giant.

Flexing muscle

Increasing investment confidence has coincided with a more

interventionist approach to foreign policy. Qatar was previously

content to play a regional role as a mediator. In recent years,

it has become an active supporter of the Arab spring, supporting

military intervention first in Libya and now in Syria. Doha has

thrown its weight behind Egypt's ruling Muslim Brotherhood with

aid worth more than $5 billion. But the Qatari flag has been

burnt in Tahrir Square as the Islamists blunder their way

through the transition. In France, a plan for Qatar to invest

millions of euros to help regenerate poorer suburbs has prompted

skepticism from local politicians.

Qatar's various initiatives have bought it high visibility

externally. But can it effectively manage its increasingly

sprawling interests? This is a small country that arguably lacks

the human capital needed to actively supervise such a diverse

portfolio, and communicate with its growing set of stakeholders.

Unanswered questions about the country's financial and political

objectives are hurting Qatar's image as rumor is left to runaway

with itself.

This will be difficult to put right as long as governance is

opaque and decision making is so tightly held within a small

circle of individuals, including the emir and the prime

minister. Other resource-rich countries have avoided the problem

by making fewer high-profile investments and relying more on

external fund managers to generate returns out of the spotlight.

Qatar is not blind to criticism. Doha is planning a bonanza

of initial public offerings at home, including the listing of a

$12 billion investment vehicle half owned by the sovereign fund,

to ward off any domestic discontent that its population isn't

sharing the benefits of the state's spending. That includes an

ambitious infrastructure rollout across the country to host the

football World Cup in 2022.

But Qatar cannot control the broader investment climate. The

Gulf emirate has found it easy to deploy funds and make a name

for itself in past years when demand for rescue funds has been

high and competition for assets scarce. In the process, Qatar

has won a reputation for being a demanding partner, aggressive

on fees, and unpredictable. As the Middle East settles post-Arab

spring, Western economies recover and capital becomes more

abundant, it will be harder for Qatar to throw its weight

around.

(The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions

expressed are her own.)

- For previous columns by the author, Reuters customers can

click on

(Editing by Chris Hughes and Sarah Bailey)

The official-looking envelopes read: "Important notice: reimbursement of IMU 2012", referring to an unpopular property tax brought in by the technocrat government of Mario Monti.

"The refund will be available either through a transfer into your bank account, or to you personally at the counter of the post office," the letters say.

Democratic Party leader Pier Luigi Bersani, whose center-left coalition was leading in the last opinion polls published before a pre-election blackout, called the letter a "scam".

"This is a way of campaigning which I just can't accept. It's time to be serious," he said.

Former anti-mafia prosecutor Antonio Ingroia, who leads a small center-left group, was even more scathing.

"With the letter sent to Italians promising money in exchange for votes, Berlusconi has committed one crime, possibly two," he wrote on his website, calling for the center-right leader to be prosecuted.

Berlusconi has made strong gains in polls since the start of the year in his campaign to return to power. He made the "shock proposal" to repay the levy in early February and has repeated it at every opportunity, hoping for a repeat of the lift he won with a similar pledge before the 2008 election.

Households in swing regions Sicily, Veneto, Campania and Lombardy, which could decide the outcome of the race for the Senate, received extended versions of the letter, according to the daily La Repubblica.

Surveys have shown IMU to be one of the most unpopular measures introduced by Monti's government. But according to a poll by the Demopolis institute in early February, 51 percent of Italians do not believe Berlusconi's pledge, and only 15 percent think it is credible.

(Reporting by Naomi O'Leary; editing by Andrew Roche)

Connors died at his Ontario home on Wednesday of natural causes, A-C-T said in a statement posted on Connors' website.

Born Thomas Charles Connors in Saint John, New Brunswick, Connors was raised by foster parents on Prince Edward Island and hitchhiked across Canada as a teenager.

Connors, who penned hundreds of songs mostly about Canadian history and traditions, earned his nickname from his habit of stomping the heel of his boot while keeping a song's time.

He rose to prominence in the late 1960s, and released more than 20 albums, including "My Stompin' Grounds" and "Believe in Your Country", over a five-decade career.

Connors retired in 1979 and returned his six Juno Awards for Canadian music in protest over the Americanization of the national music industry. He returned to music in 1988.

Connors thanked his fans in a posthumous statement released by his family.

"It was a long hard bumpy road, but this great country kept me inspired with its beauty, character, and spirit, driving me to keep marching on and devoted to sing about its people and places that make Canada the greatest country in the world," Connors said in the statement posted on his website.

"I must now pass the torch, to all of you, to help keep the Maple Leaf flying high, and be the Patriot Canada needs now and in the future," he added.

He is survived by his wife and four children.

(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Piya Sinha-Roy; and Peter Galloway)