Free Republic

Rejecting allegations of having links with Maoists, Nepal's seven-party alliance agitating against King Gyanendra's direct rule has said it was instead trying to bring the rebels into the democratic fold. "We don't have any plans to forge an alliance with the Maoist rebels," Nepali Congress central member and former Foreign Minister Ramsharan Mahat said. "The purpose of all our efforts is to motivate them to come to multi-party democracy," Mahat told PTI. The minister was responding to the US government's statement issued yesterday warning pro-democracy political parties against any possible alliance with the Maoists waging insurgency for the past ten...

SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) - Calpine Corp. stock closed down more than 9% on Friday after the independent power producer posted its third-quarter results, which it subsequently had to correct, and Fitch Ratings cut the firm's credit rating. San Jose, Calif.-based Calpine turned in a third-quarter loss on Thursday that was wider than analysts expected. See full story. The company then later Thursday corrected its press release detailing its financial results to account for certain charges and items. Among the changes, Calpine corrected its earnings before income taxes depreciation and amortization for the nine-month-period through Sept. 30 to $880.4 million, down...