Euro steadies as Greek euro exit fears calm

AP, LONDON, May 9: The euro steadied Monday as a string of official denials calmed investor fears of a Greek exit from the common currency.

It became increasingly apparent, however, that Greece will need to ask for more money or easier terms for paying back a euro110 billion ($160 billion) European Union and International Monetary Fund bailout package it was given last May.

"We think that Greece does need a further adjustment programme," Eurogroup Chairman Jean-Claude Juncker said after a Friday evening meeting with the Greek, French, German, Italian and French finance ministers, along with the EU's monetary affairs commissioner Olli Rehn and European Central Bank President Jean-Claude Trichet.

Officials vehemently rejected a report from German magazine Der Spiegel that the country was seeking to exit the eurozone and bring back the drachma. Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said Greece was working on what to do over the coming two years given that the markets appear closed.

"In essence this will surprise no one; it had already become apparent that Greece probably cannot meet its debt obligations over the next couple of years without further assistance," said Jane Foley, senior currency strategist at Rabobank International.

"Rather than return to the market next year as the original bailout has assumed, is now seems fairly likely that Greece will instead ask for more funds from the EU," Foley added.

There were concerns in the markets that the EU's policymakers and institutions are once again struggling to keep up with broader market developments. The markets are clearly of the view that Greece will have to restructure its debts in some form or another, voluntarily or involuntarily — the yield on the 10-year bond was up another 0.11 percentage points at a staggering 15.62 percent.

At present, the eurozone rules don't allow for a restructuring until 2013 at the earliest.

"The chain of events is increasingly proving the limits of the EU's muddle-through strategy," said Christian Carrillo, an analyst at Societe Generale.

By early morning London time, the euro was up 0.3 percent on the day at $1.4416. In late European trading Friday, the single currency slid to a low of $1.4306 from around $1.45 before the euro exit speculation mushroomed.

Softbank reports robust earnings on smartphones

Ap, TOKYO, May 9: Softbank Corp., the only Japanese mobile carrier offering the hit iPhone, said annual profit nearly doubled despite suffering damage from the March 11 quake and tsunami that battered northeastern Japan.

Softbank, which did not break down quarterly numbers, reported Monday that profit for the fiscal year ended March 31 swelled to 189.71 billion yen ($2.37 billion) from 96.72 billion yen the previous year.

It said the increase was driven by a booming smart phone business that offset a special loss of 14 billion yen ($175 million) caused by the disasters.

Those losses were from fixing telecommunications networks and equipment destroyed by the magnitude-9.0 quake and ensuing tsunami, as well as offering free services to those in the disaster zone whose mobile phones were out of operation for any period, according to Softbank.

The Tokyo-based Internet and communications conglomerate said sales for the fiscal year climbed nearly 9 percent to a company record 3 trillion yen ($37.5 billion) from 2.76 trillion yen.

Separately, Softbank said it had invested $62.5 million in Gilt Groupe Inc., which operates an online shopping service, offering fashion clothing. Softbank has also agreed to acquire 50 percent of the Japan subsidiary of Gilt Groupe, to accelerate its expansion in Japan, it said.

Softbank, long the underdog in Japan's telecom industry, has seen its fortunes improve in recent years with the popularity of the iPhone and iPad from Apple Inc.

Its founder and president Masayoshi Son, often praised as the Bill Gates of Japan for having pushed Internet businesses, has been outspoken in criticizing the government's recent handling of the nuclear reactor crisis that was spawned by the tsunami.

Son, who owns 21 percent of Softbank Corp., has donated 10 billion yen ($125 million) toward the disaster effort, in addition to the 1 billion yen ($12.5 million) donated by Softbank Group.

"We want to be the kind of company that is liked by society," he told a news conference.

Son said sales results show Softbank is growing in the mobile business at a time when its two major rivals in Japan, NTT DoCoMo and KDDI Corp. were strugggling to grow. Softbank mobile users had grown from 15 million in 2005 to 25.4 million today, said Son.

"Our numbers were all good," he said of the earnings results.

Son said Softbank has gotten over the damage to its bottom line from massive broadband investments it made six or seven years ago.

But he promised to make key investments in response to complaints that Softbank cell phones had poor connections, instead of chasing immediate profit growth.

He said the company will invest 500 billion yen ($6.25 billion) this year in equipment, and another 500 billion yen ($6.25 billion) in 2012. Softbank invested 420 billion yen ($5.25) last year, he said.

Softbank did not disclose sales numbers for the iPhone or iPad in Japan. But long lines have formed outside stores whenever new models have arrived. Son said the new white iPhone 4, as well as the iPad 2, which both went on sale in Japan on April 28, were proving popular.

The company did not give a forecast for this year.

About 19 percent of Softbank's telecommunications equipment nationwide was damaged by the March 11 quake and tsunami, but nearly all of it has been fixed, including using substitute satellite connections, Son said.

In the long term, Son said he was banking on growth in Asia, and positioning Softbank group companies to become No. 1 in the region in the Internet business, with strategic investments, such as Renren Inc., which runs an online social network in China.

Softbank shares edged down 0.8 percent to 3,230 yen ($40) in Tokyo, shortly before the earnings were announced.

Asia shares boosted by US jobs growth, Europe down

AP, BANGKOK, May 9: Better-than-expected growth in U.S. jobs and a bounce back in commodity prices led to modest gains in Asian markets Monday, but Europe opened broadly lower amid concerns over Greece's debt crisis.

Oil rose above $100 a barrel, regaining some ground after last week's plunge. In currencies, the dollar weakened against the euro but was up against the yen.

The possibility that Greece — mired in recession because of austerity measures — may need more time to repay its debts, weighed on markets in Europe. Britain's FTSE 100 was 0.3 percent lower to 5,959.40. Germany's DAX slipped 0.9 percent to 7,431.45 and France's CAC-40 lost 0.9 percent to 4,022.36.

Wall Street appeared set for a higher opening, however, with Dow Jones industrial futures up 46 points to 12,615 and S&P 500 futures 5.4 points higher to 1,340.

The U.S. Labor Department reported Friday that private employers hired 268,000 people in April, the most since February 2006. Taking into account job cuts of government workers, the economy added a total of 244,000 jobs overall last month, well above the 185,000 jobs that analysts had predicted and easing worries that the economic recovery was faltering.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng rose 0.8 percent to 23,336, with retail, raw materials and energy companies among the leaders. Anhui Conch Cement Co. Ltd. rose 2.9 percent and PetroChina Co. Ltd., the publicly traded unit of China's biggest oil and gas company, was 1.7 percent higher.

Australia's S&P/ASX 200 added 0.3 percent to 4,756.80, with BHP Billiton Ltd., the world's largest mining company, gaining 0.4 percent and rival Rio Tinto Ltd. up 0.6 percent.

A rebound in oil and commodities following last week's slide gave investors the confidence to wade back into shares, said Jackson Wong, vice president at Tanrich Securities in Hong Kong.

"There were oversold sectors — sold off on concerns that overall, the markets would crash. But everything is stabilizing, so investors are buying," Wong said.

But Japan's Nikkei 225 stock average ran into headwinds as the country struggles to rebuild following the March earthquake and tsunami. Down 0.7 percent at 9,794.38, the index has lost 4 percent since the March 11 disasters killed more than 25,000 people, destroyed towns, upended a nuclear power plant and washed away entire industries.

Shares of Chubu Electric Power Co., which operates the Hamaoka nuclear plant along Japan's Pacific coast, plunged 10.3 percent after the government asked the company to shut three reactors while the utility builds a seawall and improves backup systems to protect the reactors from a major earthquake and tsunami.

Nuclear energy provides more than one-third of Japan's electricity, and shutting the three reactors would likely worsen power shortages expected this summer.

South Korea's Kospi finished lower, by 0.4 percent lower at 2,139.17.

Mainland Chinese shares edged higher as investors snapped up bargains after last week's big losses.

The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index gained 0.3 percent to 2,872.46 and the Shenzhen Composite Index gained 0.7 percent to 1,203.07. Shares in nuclear energy and railways led the gains.

"Nuclear shares led the advance because of reports that approvals for nuclear projects might resume by August," said Yang Yining, an analyst at Capital-edge Investment & Management, based in Shanghai. China halted approvals of new nuclear plants in March after the tsunami crippled Japan's Fukushima Dai-ichi plant.

On Wall Street on Friday, better-than-expected job growth helped send shares higher after a four-day slump.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained 54.57 points to close at 12,638.74. The Standard & Poor's 500 index rose 5.10 to 1,340.20. The Nasdaq composite rose 12.84 to 2,827.56.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was up $2.96 to $100.17 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.62 to settle at $97.18 on Friday.

The euro rose to $1.4406 after tumbling to $1.4337 late Friday in New York. The dollar strengthened to 80.66 yen from 80.58 yen.

Central Japan nuclear plant to temporarily close

AP, TOKYO, May 9: The operator of a coastal nuclear power plant agreed Monday to the Japanese government's request to shutter three reactors there until it builds a seawall and other tsunami protections.

Chubu Electric Power Co. acted at a special board meeting after Prime Minister Naoto Kan requested the temporary shutdown at the Hamaoka plant amid concerns a earthquake magnitude 8.0 or higher could strike the region within 30 years.

The government acted after evaluating Japan's 54 reactors for quake and tsunami vulnerability after the March 11 disasters that crippled the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant in northeast Japan.

"We understand that the prime minister's request is based on increased concerns over nuclear power in the wake of the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant accident," Chubu Electric President Akihisa Mizuno said at a news conference.

About 79,800 people live within a 6-mile (10-kilometer) radius of the Hamaoka plant about 125 miles (200 kilometers) west of Tokyo.

Nuclear energy provides more than one-third of Japan's electricity, and shutting the Hamaoka plant is likely to exacerbate power shortages expected this summer.

The three reactors account for more than 10 percent of Chubu's power supply. The Hamaoka plant is a key power provider to central Japan, including nearby Aichi, home of Toyota Motor Corp.

Since the March 11 disasters, Chubu Electric drew safety measures that include building a 40-foot-high (12-meter) seawall nearly a mile (1.5 kilometers) long over the next two to three years, company officials said. Chubu also promised to install more emergency backup generators and other equipment and improve the water tightness of the reactor buildings.

The Hamaoka plant lacks a concrete sea barrier now. Sand hills between the ocean and the plant are up to 50 feet (15 meters) high, deemed enough to defend against a tsunami around 26 feet (8 meters) high, officials said.

The government earlier estimated the improvements to the Hamaoka plant could take two years.

Oil rises to near $100 on weaker US dollar

AP, SINGAPORE, May 9: Oil prices rose to near $100 a barrel Monday in Asia, bouncing back from last week's plunge, as a weaker U.S. dollar made commodities less expensive for investors with other currencies.

Benchmark crude for June delivery was up $2.36 to $99.54 a barrel at late afternoon Singapore time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $2.62 to settle at $97.18 on Friday.

In London, Brent crude for June delivery was up $2.52 to $111.65 a barrel on the ICE Futures exchange.

Oil prices fell 15 percent last week as the dollar strengthened and traders worried that slowing U.S. economic growth didn't justify a 35 percent increase from February to near $115 on May 2.

The euro rose to $1.4434 on Monday from $1.4312 on Friday while the dollar was little changed at 80.65 yen.

Some analysts are taking heart from a larger-than-expected increase in U.S. jobs last month. Non-farm payrolls rose by 244,000 jobs in April, while the unemployment rate rose to 9.0 percent from 8.8 percent in March.

"The fundamental backdrop in the market remains entirely unaltered, with global oil demand still showing continued strength," Barclays Capital said in a report. "The general (oil price) trend from here should be higher, rather than lower."

Other analysts expect oil to drop as higher U.S. gasoline prices — up 37 percent from a year ago — undermine crude demand. U.S. gross domestic product growth slowed to 1.8 percent in the first quarter.

"We expect oil to fall further as the global economy slows, the dollar continues to rebound, and the risk premium due to unrest in the Middle East eventually fades," Capital Economics said in a report.

In other Nymex trading in June contracts, heating oil rose 6.0 cents to $2.91 a gallon and gasoline added 7.0 cents to $3.16 a gallon. Natural gas futures were up 3.7 cents at $4.27 per 1,000 cubic feet.

UK banks won't appeal payment protection ruling

AP, LONDON, May 9: British banks on Monday gave up the fight against compensating customers who were missold payment protection insurance on mortgages and other loans, and now face a compensation bill estimated at 4.5 billion pounds ($7.4 billion).

The British Bankers' Association said it took the decision in the "interest of providing certainty" for bank customers.

"We continue to believe that there are matters of important principle which we will be taking forward in other ways with the authorities," the association said, without specifying the issues.

The Financial Services Authority has estimated that banks will pay a total of 4.5 billion pounds to settle claims

Natalie Ceeney, who heads the Financial Ombudsman Service, said the agency had been received up to 5,000 complaints each week from consumers since October.

"We will be working with the banks, over the coming weeks, to ensure that consumers' complaints are dealt with fairly and promptly," Ceeney said.

Lloyds Banking Group last week was the first to break ranks, taking a 3.2 billion-pound provision for repayments to customers. Barclays announced Monday that it had also decided against joining an appeal, and was making a provision of 1 billion pounds for compensation.

The Financial Services Authority has told banks that customers must be told if the insurance is optional, and they must be advised of their right to cancel. The agency also said the seller must be sure that the customer is eligible to claim under the policy, since some exclude nonresidents, the self-employed or people with certain health problems.

The banks had argued that the FSA's standard should not be applied retrospectively.

Schools may ban chocolate milk over added sugar

AP, LOS ANGELES, May 9: Chocolate milk has long been seen as the spoonful of sugar that makes the medicine go down, but the nation's childhood obesity epidemic has a growing number of people wondering whether that's wise.

With schools under increasing pressure to offer healthier food, the staple on children's cafeteria trays has come under attack over the very ingredient that made it so popular — sugar.

Some school districts have gone as far as prohibiting flavored milk, and Florida considered a statewide ban in schools. Other districts have sought a middle ground by replacing flavored milks containing high-fructose corn syrup with versions containing sugar, which some see as a more natural sweetener.

Los Angeles Unified, the nation's second-largest school district, is the latest district to tackle the issue. Superintendent John Deasy recently announced he would push this summer to remove chocolate and strawberry milk from school menus.

But nutritionists — and parents — are split over whether bans make sense, especially when about 70 percent of milk consumed in schools is flavored, mostly chocolate, according to the industry-backed Milk Processors Education Program.

Many, including the School Nutrition Association, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Dietetic Association, American Heart Association, and National Medical Association, argue that the nutritional value of flavored low-fat or skim milk outweighs the harm of added sugar. Milk contains nine essential nutrients including calcium, vitamin D and protein.

A joint statement from those groups points to studies that show kids who drink fat-free, flavored milk meet more of their nutrient needs and are not heavier than non-milk drinkers.

"Chocolate milk has been unfairly pegged as one of the causes of obesity," said Julie Buric, vice president of marketing for the Milk Processors Education Program.

Others note the nation's child obesity epidemic and say flavored milk simply needs to go.

Eight ounces of white milk served in Los Angeles public schools contains 14 grams of natural sugar or lactose; fat-free chocolate milk has an extra six grams of sugar for a total of 20 grams, while fat-free strawberry milk has a total of 27 grams — the same as eight ounces of Coca-Cola.

"Chocolate milk is soda in drag," said Ann Cooper, director of nutrition services for the Boulder Valley School District in Louisville, Colo., which has banned flavored milk. "It works as a treat in homes, but it doesn't belong in schools."

Flavored milk is also a target of British TV chef Jamie Oliver, who has made revamping school food a signature cause.

For a segment to be aired on his "Food Revolution" TV show, he recently filled a school bus with white sand to represent the amount of sugar Los Angeles Unified school children consume weekly in flavored milk.

"If you have flavored milk, that's candy," he told The Associated Press.

Oliver cheered Deasy's proposal to remove flavored milk from schools during a recent joint appearance on the "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" show.

If the school board adopts the ban, Los Angeles Unified would join districts including Washington and Berkeley, Calif.

But efforts by some other districts turned sour after children drank less milk. Milk consumption drops by 35 percent when flavored milks are removed, according to the Milk Processors Education Program.

Cabell County, W.Va., schools brought chocolate milk back at the recommendation of state officials, and Fairfax County, Va., did the same after its dairy provider came up with a version sweetened with beet sugar rather than high-fructose corn syrup.

The Florida Board of Education also backed away from its proposed ban on chocolate milk after the state agricultural commissioner urged the board to look at all sugary food and beverages served in schools.

The Los Angeles district has worked with its dairy supplier on flavored versions using the sweetener Truvia and chicory, district spokesman Robert Alaniz said.

Cooper and others argued children will drink plain milk if that's what's offered.

"We've taught them to drink chocolate milk, so we can unteach them that," Cooper said. "Our kids line up for milk."

Boulder Valley hasn't been barraged with complaints since removing chocolate milk two years ago, but it hasn't tracked whether milk consumption has dropped, she said.

Parents line up on both sides of the issue.

Deborah Bellholt, a South Los Angeles mother, said none of her six children ranging from pre-school to high school age will drink plain milk. "By allowing kids flavored milk, they still get the calcium they need," she said. "If not, they'd bypass it."

But Mimi Bonetti, a suburban Los Angeles mother with two elementary school-age children who drink plain milk, said she gets angry that chocolate milk is portrayed as nutritious. Children can get calcium and other nutrients from other foods, she said.

"If you offer them the choice of chocolate or plain, of course they're going to choose chocolate," Bonetti said. "When you're telling kids that drinking chocolate milk is a healthy choice, it's sending the wrong message."

Ask kids, and most vote for chocolate. Suburban Los Angeles seventh-grader Nacole Johnson said plain milk tastes yucky. If there were no chocolate milk, "I wouldn't drink it," she said.

Turkey hosts UN forum on world's poorest nations

AP, ISTANBUL, May 9: Speakers at a U.N. conference in Turkey that aims to help the world's poorest countries say rising food and fuel prices have put additional pressure on people living in poverty.

In a keynote speech on Monday, Nepalese Prime Minister Jhalnath Khanal also said the impact of climate change, including droughts and floods, is hurting countries that are struggling to develop.

U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon is among thousands of delegates at the meeting in Istanbul.

The conference of "least-developed countries" lists 48 members. Thirty-three are in Africa, 14 are in Asia and one — Haiti — is in the Americas.

US, China to talk trade, currency, human rights

AP, WASHINGTON, May 9: America's massive trade deficit with China, currency rates and human rights concerns will all be on the agenda when top officials from the United States and China sit down for high-level talks this week.

The annual meetings will bring together top officials from both countries representing dozens of government agencies in the areas of trade and finance, and foreign policy.

While no major breakthroughs are expected, both sides hope to build on the progress made during a state visit by Chinese President Hu Jintao to Washington in January.

That visit helped smooth relations that had been strained in 2010 over such issues as U.S. military sales to Taiwan.

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke will lead the U.S. team.

Both countries will, for the first time, bring top military leaders to the discussions in an effort to defuse military tensions that were heightened last year by the U.S. arms sales.

The Chinese team will be led by Vice Premier Wang Qishan, China's top economic policymaker, and State Counselor Dai Bingguo, a veteran diplomat.

The talks will begin with an opening session and then break into separate discussions on the economy and foreign policy. The U.S. and Chinese leaders are also scheduled to meet Monday with President Barack Obama. The talks wrap up on Tuesday.

China is facing threats of U.S. economic sanctions on goods shipped here to its largest foreign market unless it does more to end what U.S. manufacturers say are unfair trade practices, including currency manipulation, that have cost American jobs.

At the same time, China, America's biggest foreign creditor, wants assurances that its $1.2 trillion in U.S. Treasury holdings are safe despite the impending congressional debate over raising the government's $14.3 trillion borrowing limit.

"The Chinese are astounded that the U.S. government would let the debate get to the stage where there is even a remote possibility of a default," said Eswar Prasad, a China expert at Cornell University.

The higher debt limit is needed to make sure America can keep paying the interest bill on the debt to China and other investors.

While Geithner said last week that the U.S. would press China to accelerate efforts to revalue its currency, the yuan, he also sounded a conciliatory tone. He noted that the yuan has risen in value by 5 percent since last June, and even faster once inflation was taken into account.

A softer approach on China's currency will not please American manufacturers. They contend that China's currency is undervalued by as much as 40 percent and they want Congress to approve economic penalties if Beijing doesn't move faster.

The U.S. trade deficit with China last year was a record $273 billion, one-fifth more than in 2009. The administration is considering filing new trade cases against Chinese practices that U.S. companies contend are unfair.

U.S. officials say they want to see more progress on economic commitments made in January.

Those include closer monitoring of Chinese government purchases of software, a move intended to boost Beijing's buying of legal U.S. software and reduce its use of pirated software. American companies say such theft is costing them billions in lost sales.

The Chinese also pledged to revamp a policy that limits the ability of U.S. companies to compete for Chinese government projects unless the products are designed in China. American businesses regard this as an effort to force them to turn over their technology to China or be locked out of its government market.

On foreign policy, officials said Clinton will renew efforts to gain China's support in confronting nuclear threats from North Korea and Iran, and she will raise the issue of human rights.

China recently undertook the biggest security crackdown in years, apparently prompted by the communist leadership's fear of Middle East-inspired unrest migrating to China.

The high-level talks began in 2006 in the Bush administration and focused on economic issues. The Obama administration expanded the focus in 2009 to include foreign policy as well as economic concerns.

Arizona seeks online donations to build border fence

AP, PHOENIX, May 9: Arizona lawmakers want more fence along the border with Mexico — whether the federal government thinks it's necessary or not.

They've got a plan that could get a project started using online donations and prison labor. If they get enough money, all they would have to do is get cooperation from landowners and construction could begin as soon as this year.

Gov. Jan Brewer recently signed a bill that sets the state on a course that begins with launching a website to raise money for the work, said state Sen. Steve Smith, the bill's sponsor.

"We're going to build this site as fast as we can, and promote it, and market the heck out of it," said Smith, a first-term Republican senator from Maricopa.

Arizona — strapped for cash and mired in a budget crisis — is already using public donations to pay for its legal defense of the SB1070 illegal immigration law.

Part of the marketing pitch for donations could include providing certificates declaring that individual contributors "helped build the Arizona wall," Smith said. "I think it's going to be a really, really neat thing."

Construction would start "after we've raised a significant amount of money first" but possibly as soon as later this year, Smith said.

"If the website is up and there is an overwhelming response to what we've done and millions of dollars in this fund, I would see no reason why engineering or initial construction or finalized plans can't be accomplished," he said.

The nearly 2,000-mile U.S.-Mexico border already has about 650 miles of fence of one type or another, nearly half of it in Arizona. The state's 376-mile border is the busiest gateway for both illegal immigrants and marijuana smuggling.

Department of Homeland Security spokesman Matthew Chandler said federal officials declined to comment on the Arizona legislation.

State Corrections Director Charles Ryan said getting inmate labor to help construct border fencing wouldn't be a problem.

Minimum-security prisoners already have been used to clear brush in immigrants' hiding spots near the border and clean up trash and other material dumped by border-crossers, he said.

Work crews of Arizona inmates also have been used to refurbish public buildings, build sidewalks and construct park facilities.

At 50 cents an hour, "we are a relatively inexpensive labor force," Ryan said. "If we have the funding to do it, we're capable of doing it."

Arizona's existing border security fund is being used to pay for legal costs of defending SB1070 in court, though Brewer's 2010 executive order creating the fund allows its money to be used for any "border security purpose." A federal judge has blocked implementation of key parts of SB1070, but Brewer has said she'll take the case to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.

The fund through Wednesday has received nearly 44,000 donations totaling more than $3.7 million, collected online and through mailed donations since May 2010. Roughly half of the money has been spent, and Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson said the balance is also needed for SB1070-related legal expenses.

Smith and other supporters of the border-fence legislation haven't produced any cost estimates for the state project, saying only that the state should be able to do it far more inexpensively than the federal government.

That still could be put the state's costs in the tens of millions of dollars — or more.

A 2009 report by Congress' Government Accountability Office said costs of federal fencing work to keep out people on foot ranged from $400,000 to $15.1 million per mile, while costs for vehicle barriers ranged from $200,000 to $1.8 million. Costs varied by such things as types of fencing geography, land costs and labor expenses, the report said.

Brewer signed the Arizona fence bill on April 28, and it will take effect with most other new state laws on July 20.

It took the bill about 2 1/2 months to land on her desk, easily winning approval on party-line votes during a legislative session dominated by budget-balancing work

During committee hearings and floor debates, Republicans said the state has a legal and moral obligation to take action because the federal government hasn't done enough to secure the border.

"My constituents want this thing fixed and fixed once and for all, and we're going to do it," Republican Sen. Al Melvin of Tucson said during a February committee hearing. "People should not be dying in the desert."

Democrats questioned the project's feasibility and called it a feel-good distraction from pressing for more comprehensive action on border and immigration issues.

"If we are here to pass symbolic legislation and not really address border security, SB1406 does the job. But people don't benefit from symbolic legislation," Democratic Rep. Catherine Miranda of Phoenix said April 18 House vote.

Under the bill, the border fencing work could be done either in conjunction with other border states or by Arizona alone.

Smith said the committee will consider where to build the fence and what kind of fence is needed.

But the eventual choice could be like double- and triple-fence barriers already installed along the border in Yuma County in southwestern Arizona because they appear to block crossings, he said.

Any type of fence would require approval of landowners, but Smith said he expects that to be forthcoming from the state and private land owners, including ranchers who have complained of break-ins and other trouble associated with smugglers and illegal crossings.

Individual ranchers likely will cooperate with the state fencing project, just as they have done with federal officials on placing helipads, watering stations and communications equipment to help officers patrolling the border, an Arizona Cattle Growers Association official said.

However, the 1,100-member association didn't take a position on the fence bill, said Executive Director Patrick Bray.

"We certainly appreciate the efforts put into this legislation, however the funding is a huge question. It's an empty solution because we don't know where the money is going to come from."

Bray added: "We want to stay focused on the overall border security issue. At this point we are looking for a more comprehensive security approach rather than this pieces that might come to fruition."