AYLESBURY, England (Reuters) - The United States told Japan it would be watching for any sign it was manipulating its currency downward, but Tokyo said it met no resistance to its policies at a meeting of Group of Seven finance ministers which will conclude on Saturday.

As ministers and central bankers met on Friday in a stately home set in rolling countryside 40 miles outside London, differences were also evident over whether to prioritize debt-cutting or promoting economic growth.

U.S. Treasury Secretary Jack Lew said Japan had "growth issues" that needed to be dealt with, but that its attempts to stimulate its economy needed to stay within the bounds of international agreements to avoid competitive devaluations.

"I'm just going to refer back to the ground rules and the fact that we've made clear that we'll keep an eye on that," Lew told the CNBC business news channel.

The yen hit a four-year low against the dollar on Friday, beyond the psychologically important 100-yen mark. It also trades at a three-year low against the euro.

The moves were driven in part by Japanese investors shifting into foreign bonds, a move that had been expected since the Bank of Japan unveiled a massive stimulus plan in January.

Tokyo insisted its tumbling yen was not a hot topic at the meeting of finance chiefs, despite rhetoric about a global currency war.

"Japan took bold monetary and fiscal action to end prolonged deflation, with the government and the Bank of Japan working far more closely together," Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters after hours of talks with fellow G7 ministers and central bankers.

"The G7 didn't have a particular problem ... I think Japan's stance is gaining broader understanding," he said.

Policymakers are concerned Japan is engineering an export-led recovery that could hinder other regions' ability to grow.

But having urged Tokyo for years to do something to revive its economy, other world powers are not in a strong position to complain now that it is doing so. Then there is the fact that central banks such as the Federal Reserve and Bank of England have printed money in the way the Bank of Japan is.

"It is important that in line with the previous decisions at the G20 and IMF that there is no talk about currency wars," EU economics chief Olli Rehn told reporters as he arrived at the summit. "There is discussion about how better to coordinate our economic policies."

German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble said foreign exchange rates were on the agenda and that Japan had promised to take a cautious approach to the currency issue.

Participants welcomed the return to an informal G7 with no official communique. That could mean more robust debate than is generally aired at the meetings of the United States, Germany, Japan, Britain, Italy, France and Canada.

"There are no taboo subjects," International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde said.

A senior Japanese Finance Ministry official said Tokyo was honoring an agreement that monetary policy should focus on domestic objectives, not manipulating currencies. As a result, Japan does not mind other countries monitoring its policies, the official said.

He also said there was no discussion on the yen's decline at the G7 session on Friday.

GROWTH DEBATE

British finance minister George Osborne, host of the two-day meeting at the 17th-century Hartwell House, is keen for his peers to focus on what more central banks can do to help growth at a time when most governments are trying to cut bloated debts.

This is "an opportunity to consider what more monetary activism can do to support the recovery, while ensuring medium-term inflation expectations remain anchored," he said.

Debate is also heating up about the need for governments to ease up on austerity, something Germany, Britain and Canada view as a mistake but Washington, Paris and Rome are in favor of.

"For a global recovery ... it cannot be led by the United States alone ... There are countries in Europe that have more fiscal space to create a bit more economic demand," Lew said.

Rehn said there was room for a "smoother path of fiscal adjustment" in Europe as long as structural reforms intensified.

Britain's Finance Ministry said the talks would also focus on bank regulation and tax avoidance.

The emergency rescue of Cyprus in March acted as a reminder of the need to finish an overhaul of the banking sector, five years after the world financial crisis began.

As at last month's IMF meeting, Germany may come under pressure to give more support to a banking union in the euro zone. The plan could help strengthen the single currency area, but Berlin worries it may pay too much for future bank bailouts if it signs up to a scheme to wind up failing banks.

Nonetheless, Osborne will push his fellow G7 ministers to set up mechanisms worldwide to shut down failing banks, which would otherwise be considered "too big to fail".

Some officials said they did not know why Britain had called the meeting so soon after the IMF discussions in Washington.

No formal decisions are expected at the meeting, which will help prepare the way for a G20 leaders' summit in Russia in September. Talks will wrap up with a round of closing news conferences on Saturday afternoon.

(Additional reporting by David Milliken, Gernot Heller and Christina Fincher, writing by Mike Peacock; editing by Jeremy Gaunt, Giles Elgood and G Crosse)

But that's not all. One of the devices is said to be a high-end phone "featuring a screen that allows for three-dimensional images without glasses," . 

That's right: Amazon is reportedly building a 3D smartphone.

Using retina-tracking technology, images on the smartphone would seem to float above the screen like a hologram and appear three-dimensional at all angles, they said. Users may be able to navigate through content using just their eyes, two of the people said. []

Just like the 3D TV, phones with three-dimensional screens never really caught on with American consumers. LG, HTC, Samsung, and even Motorola have been making Androids with glasses-free 3D screens — which use ato give the illusion of depth — since at least 2010.

Engadget'sof the LG Optimus 3D (2011), for example, said the 3D viewing experience was "definitely cool" in a "let me whip out my phone at a bar and make conversation" kind of way. However, Engadget said the display eventually made your eyes feel like they were just "juggled through a meat grinder."

In Japan it's been a different story.has been producing 3D phones for our ultra-hip friends overseas since all the way back in 2002. The phones have been such a consistent hit that  in 2011. (It looks pretty fun, too.)

As for what Amazon's planning — who knows? Maybe the Kindle Fire Phone 3D (not its real name) will be great for getting your Michael Bay fix on the go. Or maybe you'll be able to snag one on-contract for Amazon's favorite hardware price point: $0.

What about you? Would you use a 3D Amazon phone?

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MIAMI (Reuters) - The Chicago Bulls suffered their worst ever playoff defeat on Wednesday to the Miami Heat but took comfort in having stolen homecourt advantage from the defending champions.

A depleted Bulls team split the opening two games of the series and, despite Miami's brutally spectacular 115-78 win on Wednesday, remain defiant as the Eastern Conference semi-finals now shifts to the Windy City for the next two games.

"We got punched in the mouth," said Bulls center Joakim Noah, who was ejected in Wednesday's game where, at one stage, Chicago trailed by 46 points. "We'll be back; we'll be back in two days. That game isn't going anywhere. The ball is going to go up and we'll be there.

"We came here and we did our job. We won a game; we got the homecourt (back)."

The series resumes at Chicago's "Madhouse on Madison" on Friday and the Heat's LeBron James understands why the Bulls will not be too deflated by their recent thrashing.

"They did what they wanted to do. They came in and stole home court from us. Now we have to go to Chicago and try to take it back," said James.

While the Heat's dominance on both sides of the ball in Game Two bode well for their chances of making a third straight trip to the Eastern Conference final, the physical nature of Wednesday's clash is likely to continue.

The much-vaunted difference between regular season and playoff basketball was sharply evident in a game which saw nine technical fouls and plenty of hard challenges.

The Bulls had Noah and Taj Gibson ejected in the fourth quarter with Gibson, who left the court yelling abuse at the officials, likely to face a fine.

But while Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau was disappointed that his players lost their composure he was dismissive of the suggestion that the game had been chippy and said he expected his team to match the Heat physically.

"It was just playoff basketball. You have to have more fight, more determination. They are a great team, you have to keep coming for 48 minutes. You can't relax," he said.

"You got to get into a fight, you're going to get hit. You have to own your own space."

His Miami counterpart, Erik Spoelstra, argued that his team had been clean in the battle but said they now needed to put Wednesday's emotions aside.

"We were able to save this one but we are still in the hole," said Spoelstra.

"They got what they needed. They got one. It doesn't matter about the (Game Two) score. We need to move on and get ready to go into the lion's den on Friday."

(Editing by Frank Pingue)

According to an article from , a new study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences has found that environmental labeling on products can be a hurdle to some buyers. The study, titled "Political ideology affects energy-efficiency attitudes and choices," specifically looked at potential light bulb buyers and assessed how their political orientations impacted their preference towards purchasing bulbs labeled with "protect the environment" stickers. Overall, political divisions played a role up until price became a purchasing factor.

Here are some facts and details fromand implications of it related to marketing products as environmentally-friendly:

* The study was conducted by Dena Gromet and Howard Kunreuther of the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, and Richard Larrick of Duke University.

* Exactly 210 individuals participated and they were given a brief description of energy efficiency and a short survey on the value they placed on reducing environmentally harmful carbon dioxide emissions, dependence on foreign oil, and the financial cost of energy for consumers.

* The political leanings of each participant were also recorded as the independent variable by the researchers.

* With a fixed amount of money, the test subjects had to make the choice of whether they wanted to buy a regular, incandescent light bulb or an energy-efficient compact fluorescent bulb. The latter lasts 9,000 hours longer and cut energy costs by 75 percent.

* Efficient bulbs were presented with a "protect the environment sticker" in some cases, and in others, there was a blank sticker instead.

* The main finding was that the more conservative participants were, the less they favored investing in energy-efficient technologies and reducing the problems of the three surveyed issues.

* As for those who consider themselves liberal, they tended to favor the three issues all equally and more so than their conservative counterparts.

* The liberal group did not see a significant increase in selection of the energy-efficient when the "protect the environment" label was added.

* However, when money was the predominant factor and both bulbs cost the same, both groups overwhelmingly chose the compact fluorescent bulb over the traditional bulb. Only one individual in the study did not choose in this way.

* The implications of the study are especially important as related to green marketing and how this can pose a problem to individuals adopting such technologies.

* Gromet said, "There's not going to be a one-size-fits-all message that will appeal equally. It's important to know the market you're appealing to; there are some messages you may want to avoid," noted .

Rachel Bogart provides an in-depth look at current environmental issues and local Chicago news stories. Currently pursuing her master's degree in environmental science, she applies her knowledge and passion to both topics to garner further public awareness.

May 7 (Sports Direct) - Highlights of Tuesday's NHL playoff games.

- - -

Sharks 4, Canucks 3 (overtime)

Patrick Marleau scored a power-play goal at 13:18 of overtime as hosts San Jose completed a sweep of their Western Conference first-round series against Northwest Division champions Vancouver.

Daniel Sedin received a questionable penalty for boarding Tommy Wingels, and the sixth-seeded Sharks needed only 15 seconds to take advantage.

Cory Schneider stopped captain Joe Thornton's shot from the high slot, but Marleau pounced on the loose puck in the crease and poked it in to complete the first playoff sweep in franchise history.

Joe Pavelski scored two power-play goals, Brent Burns also tallied and Antti Niemi made 32 saves for San Jose.

Mason Raymond and Alex Burrows each recorded a goal and an assist, defenseman Alex Edler also scored and Schneider turned aside 43 shots for the Canucks, who were winless in seven meetings with the Sharks in 2013.

- - -

Islanders 6 Penguins 4

John Tavares' second goal in as many contests snapped a tie midway through the third period as eighth-seeded New York evened its Eastern Conference first-round series with visiting Pittsburgh at two games apiece.

Captain Mark Streit collected two goals and an assist, Casey Cizikas tallied and set up two scores and Kyle Okposo scored for the third straight game.

Evgeni Malkin collected a goal and an assist for his fourth straight two-point performance of the series for Pittsburgh.

James Neal scored in his return from a two-game absence and Brandon Sutter and Pascal Dupuis also tallied for the top-seeded Penguins, who host Game Five on Thursday.

Pittsburgh scored its first third-period goal in the series 41 seconds into the session to claim a 4-3 edge but Former Penguins defenseman Brian Strait tied it up before Tavares' decider.

- -

Senators 3 Canadiens 2 (overtime)

Cory Conacher tied the game with 22.6 seconds remaining in the third period and Kyle Turris scored at 2:32 of overtime as hosts Ottawa edged second-seeded Montreal to take a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

After Conacher forged a 2-2 tie by burying a loose puck at the top of the crease, Turris beat goaltender Peter Budaj to put the seventh-seeded Senators within one victory of advancing.

It was just the second shot faced by Budaj, who started the overtime session after Carey Price (30 saves) suffered an undisclosed injury at the end of the third period.

After a scoreless first session, Defenseman P.K. Subban and rookie Alex Galchenyuk tallied to give the Canadiens a 2-0 lead. Ottawa halved the deficit with 8:05 remaining in the third

Game Five is Thursday in Montreal.

- - -

Blackhawks 3, Wild 0

Patrick Sharp scored twice and Corey Crawford made 25 saves for his second career playoff shutout as visiting Chicago took a commanding 3-1 lead in its Western Conference first-round series.

The top-seeded Blackhawks will try to end the series when they hosts Game 5 on Thursday. Bryan Bickell added his third tally of the postseason with 7:14 remaining in the contest.

Josh Harding, who has started every game of the series for eighth-seeded Minnesota with Niklas Backstrom injured, stopped five of six shots but left at the end of the first period following a collision with Chicago captain Jonathan Toews.

Rookie Darcy Kuemper allowed two goals on 18 shots in relief.

- - -

(Editing by Jahmal Corner)

The fourth-seeded Wolverines (31-7) are back in the final for the first time in 20 years, when a brash group better known as the Fab Five was the talk of college basketball.

Top-seeded Louisville (34-5) is trying to bring its first title back to the state of Kentucky's "other" school since 1986. Sitting on the bench with the Cardinals is sophomore guard Kevin Ware, the team's inspiration since snapping his tibia in the regional final last weekend.

Cardinals coach Rick Pitino is working the sideline hours after being named to the Naismith Memorial Hall of Fame.

Pitino is trying to become the first coach to lead two programs to national championships. He took Kentucky to the title in 1996.

Smith, the Louisville team leader who Pitino has nicknamed "Russdiculous" for some of his wild and wildly effective antics on the court, scores 18.9 points a game for the Cardinals during the season but has picked up the scoring in the tournament, averaging 25 in the five Louisville wins.

The Cardinals are playing without their main reserve, Ware, who broke his leg in the regional final against Duke. Needing a pickup without Ware, reserve swingman Luke Hancock scored 20 points in the 72-68 win over Wichita State. And rarely used walk-on Tim Henderson made two key 3-pointers during the comeback.

"The other night, we were not going to play in the championship game unless a walk-on steps up and makes a play to give us momentum," Pitino said in a pregame interview.

Chris Webber, who infamously called a timeout the Wolverines didn't have at the end of Michigan's 77-71 loss to North Carolina in the 1993 final, has had very little to do with his alma mater in recent years, but was on hand at the Georgia Dome to watch Monday's game.

In the program's first Final Four game since then, Michigan topped Syracuse 61-56 on Saturday despite an off night from Burke, who finished with only seven points on 1-for-8 shooting.

Burke, a sophomore, seriously considered leaving for the NBA after last season but decided he had unfinished business left in Ann Arbor. He picked up the AP Player of the Year award, among others, and is now one victory away from the ultimate prize in college hoops.

Before leaving the locker room, Michigan coach John Beilein gave his team a pep talk: "You play with poise, play with confidence, you do all those things today and we're going to have one heck of a celebration," he said.

Monday night's game is the final act in what has been an ugly season overall in college hoops, with scoring at its lowest (67.49 points per team) since 1951-52 and shooting at its worst (43.3 percent) since 1964-65. The 131.2-points-per-game average during March Madness is the lowest since the 3-point line was brought to the game in 1987.

"Who knew, right?" Psy said as he was presented his Tribeca Disruptive Innovation Award. "Giving me this award in itself is innovation, I think."

Referring to his sudden worldwide fame both on and off the Internet, where his videos have racked up more than one billion views on YouTube, Psy said, "I still cannot believe what happened right now."

"I'm still figuring out the reason for this happening like this," he said, noting that he had been working in music in his native South Korea for over a decade.

The Disruptive Innovation Awards honor those whose ideas have broken the mold to create significant impact.

"In our fourth installment, we are exploring the ever-increasing gap between the rate of technological change and the bumpier, slower-moving cultural adoption and diffusion," said Craig Hatkoff, a festival co-founder and the awards' chief curator.

Wearing a black suit and stylish white dress shirt, Psy, known for his megahit "Gangnam Style" as well as his energetic and flamboyant performances, charmed the audience with self-effacing remarks offered in rather halting English.

"I don't want to say this but, it's kind of embarrassing, but ... maybe, am I handsome?" The audience expressed its approval with cheers and applause.

The awards were presented at New York University, marking a homecoming of sorts for Psy, whose real name is Park Jae-sang.

"I applied to this school in 1996, but I failed. What a success," he said. "Finally, I entered this building this morning."

Other recipients of the Disruptive Innovation Awards included Beck, a conservative television and radio commentator, fashion designer Norma Kamali, Chobani yogurt mogul Hamdi Ulukaya, music and film entrepreneur Peter Shapiro and Forbes Media, in addition to Tharp who received a lifetime achievement award.

(Reporting by Chris Michaud, Editing by Jill Serjeant and Paul Simao)

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Creatine, a supplement favored by bodybuilders, modestly boosted muscle strength in patients with fibromyalgia, Brazilian researchers report.

Apart from helping with muscle weakness, though, the treatment had little effect on other symptoms of the mysterious disorder, such as chronic pain, fatigue, memory loss, depression, anxiety and sleeplessness.

"The improvements in muscle function did not reflect improvements in general symptoms as we hypothesized," said senior study author Bruno Gualano, a professor at the University of So Paulo School of Physical Education and Sports in Brazil.

As many as one in 50 Americans suffers from fibromyalgia, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The condition typically strikes in middle age, affects women more often than men and is thought to be triggered by stress.

Current treatments for fibromyalgia symptoms include three FDA-approved drugs - antidepressants Savella and Cymbalta, plus the nerve-pain medication Lyrica - along with antiepileptic drugs and sedatives. Experts noted, however, that the drugs are not very effective and come with many side effects.

Non-drug treatments for fibromyalgia include exercise, massage and meditation.

Previous research has found that brain and muscle tissues in fibromyalgia patients have reduced levels of creatine - a chemical critical to cells' ability to generate energy - which might explain the weakness and neurological symptoms, Gualano and his colleagues note in the journal Arthritis Care & Research.

One study found that creatine supplements improved general fibromyalgia symptoms, but the research was not rigorously done, which made the results difficult to interpret.

So Gualano's team conducted a 16-week double-blind, randomized, controlled trial, the gold standard for medical research, in which fibromyalgia patients daily consumed either creatine (15 patients) or placebo pills (13 patients).

Neither the trial staff nor the patients knew who was getting the real supplement, or even what substance the supplement was supposed to be, until after the study period was complete.

At that point, the creatine-supplemented group showed modest strength improvements when tested on leg presses (10 percent improvement) and chest presses (8 percent improvement).

But, participants were also surveyed on an array of other symptoms, including their pain levels, moods and sleep, and those in the supplement group didn't report any changes in overall quality of life.

"It was a well-done study, but not very exciting," said Dr. Don Goldenberg, rheumatology chief at Newton-Wellesley Hospital in Boston, who was not involved in the study.

Most researchers consider fibromyalgia a disease of the nervous rather than muscle system, Goldenberg said.

"Muscle strength is not a primary problem for people with fibromyalgia; it's chronic pain and fatigue," he told Reuters Health.

He wasn't surprised that creatine supplements didn't affect a host of other symptoms.

"I would encourage people to do strengthening exercise rather than to use a supplement to strengthen," Goldenberg said. "To say that (creatine supplementation) is something that I'm going to recommend to my patients? No."

"I don't think patients are going to gain much at all (from the study); false hope perhaps," said Pam Stewart, chairwoman of the non-profit Fibromyalgia UK. "The extra strength it gives to muscles is not long lasting and in everyday life, that isn't usually what patients need."

Instead, patients need to get better sleep, lead less stressful lives and pursue low-impact exercises, Stewart told Reuters Health.

Still, because anti-fibromyalgia medicines typically target the brain, but have limited effectiveness and several side effects, their use is limited and researchers applauded any attempts to find alternatives.

"Looking at new approaches is a really important thing to do," Goldenberg said. "I'm just not that enthusiastic about this particular approach."

For chronic pain, Goldenberg thinks the longer the disease is not treated or diagnosed, the worse the symptoms become.

"One of the messages for people is get an early diagnosis and get early therapy," Goldenberg said. However, "many chronic pain syndromes have overlapping symptoms, making diagnosis difficult."

Though creatine failed to pan out as a therapy on its own, Gualano said that he'd like future studies to combine the supplement with exercise and anti-fibromyalgia drugs to see if it enhances their effects.

Gualano also said he would recommend creatine supplementation to help build muscle and strength in patients, but stressed that exercise is also very important for all fibromyalgia patients.

"Exercise is the most important therapeutic tool that physicians have to treat rheumatic patients including fibromyalgia," Gualano said.

SOURCE: bit.ly/12GtIuD Arthritis Care & Research, online April 1, 2013.

May 3On this day. 1961: President Kennedy, receiving an honorary degree from George Washington University, joked that it only took him two minutes to earn it — in contrast to his wife's two years.

Quote of the day

"Industry, thrift, and self-control are not sought because they create wealth, but because they create character." -Calvin Coolidge

More from West Wing Reports...

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DEAR REALLY READY: Although you think you are ready to start dating, your parents will have to make the ultimate decision on when you enter the "dating game." Their decision will most likely be based on whether you have demonstrated the beginnings of emotional maturity.

Here's how: You need to have proven to them you can handle responsibility, carry out school assignments and chores, be honest with them and keep your word. It will also depend upon whether they know the boy in question, and whether he is responsible enough to be trusted with their most precious possession, which is you.

DEAR ABBY: I have been married for 27 years to a man who is a church pastor. We have had to move every six to eight years, partly because he was repeatedly unfaithful. We have gone through his alcoholism, gambling and womanizing, and my two suicide attempts. We have been trying to work things out, but I suspect that he's back to his old ways.

I work part-time, but haven't been able to find a full-time job after our most recent move, so I am financially dependent on him. I have two adult children who don't live near me. Most of the people I know are through the church, and they are all great supporters of my husband.

I feel trapped, and I don't know how to fix my life at this point. Have you any suggestions? -- TRAPPED ON THE EAST COAST

DEAR TRAPPED: You will have to do it in stages. The first should be to talk with a licensed therapist who is not associated with the church. It will help you to clarify your thinking and become more emotionally stabilized.

Next, continue looking for full-time employment. If necessary, start by volunteering. It will help to widen your circle of acquaintances and perhaps lead to a job.

Then, once you are feeling better about yourself, you will be better able to decide what to do about your unhappy marriage.

DEAR ABBY: After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year, I moved 900 miles from home. Shortly after the move, my dog had to be put to sleep. Because of all the stress, my M.S. flared up and I was admitted to the hospital.

After my third day there I was lonely, so I went to the gift shop (the Pink Smock) and bought myself some pretty flowers and knick-knacks as a pick-me-up. While I was paying for them, the ladies behind the counter asked me if I needed a card for the flowers. I explained I was buying them for myself because I was alone.

After I returned to my room, about an hour later more flowers arrived. I thought my mom had sent them to me from afar. The card read: "Feel Better Soon! From the Ladies at the Pink Smock."

Abby, that has to be the most thoughtful thing a stranger has ever done for me, and I wanted to share it. I am so touched! -- RACHEL IN SANFORD, N.C.

DEAR RACHEL: Your letter is an example of what strong medicine an act of kindness can be. I don't know which hospital the Pink Smock is in, but whoever runs it should know what an asset those caring women in the gift shop are. Kudos to them, and I hope you are doing much better now.

Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Write Dear Abby ator P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069.

What teens need to know about sex, drugs, AIDS and getting along with peers and parents is in "What Every Teen Should Know." Send your name and mailing address, plus check or money order for $7 (U.S. funds) to: Dear Abby, Teen Booklet, P.O. Box 447, Mount Morris, IL 61054-0447. (Shipping and handling are included in the price.)