Dozens hurt after crash debris hits Daytona stands

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? With the start of the Daytona 500 just hours away, NASCAR officials still have some cleaning up to do amid growing questions about fan safety.

The season opener will go off as planned Sunday less than 24 hours after at least 33 people were injured when a car flew into the fence during a NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway, sending a tire and large pieces of debris sailing into the stands.

"Just seeing the carnage on the racetrack, it was truly unbelievable," driver Justin Allgaier said.

The final-lap accident Saturday marred the second-tier Nationwide Series race on the eve of a spectacle often called the Super Bowl of motorsports. Late into the night, track workers were scrambling to repair a huge section of fence that separates fans from the high-speed track.

Speedway President Joie Chitwood III has a news conference scheduled for Sunday morning to give the latest update on repairs and any safety changes that could be made before the "Great American Race."

The 12-car crash began about 200 feet from the start-finish line as the front-runners approached the checkered flag. Leader Regan Smith attempted to block Brad Keselowski for the win, triggering a horrific pileup that could have been much worse.

The front end of Larson's No. 32 car was sheared off, and his burning engine wedged through a gaping hole in the fence. Parts and pieces of his car sprayed into the stands, including a tire that cleared the top of the fence and landed midway up the spectator section closest to the track.

The 20-year-old Larson stood in shock a few feet from his car as fans in the stands waved frantically for help. Smoke from the burning engine briefly clouded the area, and emergency vehicles descended on the scene.

Ambulance sirens could be heard wailing behind the grandstands at a time the race winner would typically be doing celebratory burnouts.

"It was freaky. When I looked to my right, the accident happened," Rick Harpster of Orange Park said. "I looked over and I saw a tire fly straight over the fence into the stands, but after that I didn't see anything else. That was the worst thing I have seen, seeing that tire fly into the stands. I knew it was going to be severe."

Shannan Devine of Egg Harbor Township, N.J., was sitting about 250 feet from where the car smashed into the fence and could see plumes of smoke directly in front of her.

"I didn't know if there was a car on top of people. I didn't know what to think," she said. "I'm an emotional person and I immediately started to cry. It was very scary. Absolutely scary. I love the speed of the sport. But it's so dangerous."

Chitwood said 14 fans were treated on site and 14 others were taken to hospitals. Local officials said 19 people were taken to neighboring hospitals, including two who were in critical but stable condition.

Because of potential injuries, race winner Tony Stewart skipped the traditional victory celebration.

Stewart, who won for the 19th time at Daytona and seventh time in the last nine season-opening Nationwide races, was in no mood to celebrate.

"The important thing is what is going on on the frontstretch right now," said Stewart, a three-time NASCAR champion. "We've always known, and since racing started, this is a dangerous sport. But it's hard. We assume that risk, but it's hard when the fans get caught up in it.

"So as much as we want to celebrate right now and as much as this is a big deal to us, I'm more worried about the drivers and the fans that are in the stands right now because that was ... I could see it all in my mirror, and it didn't look good from where I was at."

There were at least five stretchers carrying injured people out of the stands, and a helicopter flew overhead.

Officials turned their attention to the track and the wreckage after injured were treated.

A forklift plucked Larson's engine out of the fence, and workers carried the tire out of the stands.

It was a chaotic finish to a race that was stopped for nearly 20 minutes five laps from the finish by a 13-car accident that sent driver Michael Annett to a hospital. His Richard Petty Motorsports team said he would be held overnight with bruising to his chest.

The race resumed with three laps to go, and the final accident occurred with Smith trying to hold off Keselowski through the final turn.

"It's Daytona. You want to go for the win here," Smith said. "I don't know how you can play it any different, other than concede second place, and I wasn't willing to do that today. Our job is to put them in position to win, and it was, and it didn't work out."

As the cars began wrecking all around Smith and Keselowski, Stewart slid through for the win, but Larson plowed into Keselowski and his car was sent airborne into the fence. When Larson's car came to a stop, it was missing its entire front end. Larson, who made his Daytona debut this week, stood with his hands on his hips before finally making the mandatory trip to the care center.

"I took a couple big hits there and saw my engine was gone," Larson said. "Just hope everybody's all right."

It appeared fans were lined up along the fence when Larson's car got airborne. But Chitwood said there was a buffer, adding there would be no changes to the seating before the Daytona 500.

"We don't anticipate moving any of our fans," Chitwood said. "We had our safety protocols in place. Our security maintained a buffer that separates the fans from the fencing area. With the fencing being prepared tonight to our safety protocols, we expect to go racing tomorrow with no changes."

Keselowski watched a replay of the accident and said it could cast a pall on the Daytona 500.

"I think until we know exactly the statuses of everyone involved, it's hard to lock yourself into the 500," Keselowski said. "Hopefully, we'll know soon and hopefully everyone's OK. And if that's the case, we'll staring focusing on Sunday."

___

AP Sports Writers Jenna Fryer, Dan Gelston and Jerome Minerva in Daytona Beach and Associated Press writer Jennifer Kay in Miami contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dozens-hurt-crash-debris-hits-daytona-stands-082709092--spt.html

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The Quiet Crisis

By MICHAEL FALCONE ( @michaelpfalcone )

NOTABLES

57 TERRIBLE CONSEQUENCES OF THE SEQUESTER: If the heads of 20 federal agencies are to be believed, disastrous consequences await if President Obama and Congress fail to reach a budget deal, triggering the automatic, across-the-board cuts known as "sequestration," notes ABC's Chris Good. Those cuts are slated to begin March 1, and earlier this month, the Senate Appropriations Committee asked agency heads to explain what would happen in such a scenario. They warned of terrible things: Greater risk of wildfires, fewer OSHA inspections and a risk of more workplace deaths, 125,000 people risking homelessness with cuts to shelters and housing vouchers, neglect for mentally ill and homeless Americans, Native Americans getting turned away from hospitals, cuts to schools on reservations and prison lockdowns. There's also a higher risk of terrorism with surveillance limited and the FBI potentially unable to disrupt plots, closed housing projects, and 600,000 women and children thrown off WIC. In short: Unless a budget deal is cut, the country will be in deep trouble, according to the Obama administration's highest-ranking agency officials. Here's what the agency heads warned will occur under a full year of budget sequestration: http://abcn.ws/YpBSCr

ON THE AGENDA: President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden attend the Democratic Governors Association Meeting in Washington, DC today. ABC's Mary Bruce notes that later the president meets with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan. Meanwhile, First Lady Michelle Obama is in New York today to talk about the third anniversary of Let's Move! This afternoon she tapes an appearance on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon," which airs tonight.

THIS WEEK ON 'THIS WEEK': Two powerhouse roundtables join George Stephanopoulos to tackle the latest challenges at home and abroad, Sunday on "This Week." House Intelligence Committee Chair Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., and Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel, D-NY, join ABC's George Will and Christiane Amanpour to debate the cyber threat from China and the latest challenges in Syria and Iran. Plus, the political roundtable debates looming budget cuts and all the week's politics, with George Will; Democratic strategist and ABC News contributor Donna Brazile; TIME contributor Steven Brill, author of this week's cover story "Bitter Pill" on rising health care costs; former Lead Auto Adviser and Counselor to the Treasury Secretary Steven Rattner; and Wall Street Journal columnist Kimberley Strassel. Tune in Sunday: http://abcnews.go.com/thisweek

THE ROUNDTABLE

ABC's RICK KLEIN: This crisis is a quiet one. Some scattered phone calls notwithstanding, real attempts to replace the automatic budget cuts with a negotiated compromise are basically non-existent, with just a week to go. Both sides seem confident with the hands they'll hold after the cuts go into effect. The White House has never seemed more confident in a budget stand-off, actually; President Obama is either singed or strengthened by failed talks of the past, and this time isn't really trying to reach a deal with Republicans. Polls suggest the president is right to feel insulated, since the public is more apt to blame the GOP. But there's only one president at a time, and if the impact is anywhere near what the administration claims it will be - longer airport lines, compromised national defense, a hit to the economy, even more forest fires and workplace deaths - there will be plenty of blame to go around.

ABC's JORDAN FABIAN: Is the possibility of immigration reform failing to pass this year being understated? Rep. Bob Goodlatte, the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, which will likely be tasked with passing an immigration reform bill before it reaches the House floor, on Thursday confirmed he's a hard "no" on a path to citizenship for undocumented immigrants living in the U.S. That could be a major problem. President Obama has indicated he will not support a bill that does not contain a pathway to citizenship, which is included in the White House and Senate plans. But Goodlatte is joined by many other Republicans who believe a path to citizenship would trample on the rule of law. Plus, there is still lingering distrust between Republicans and Obama when it comes to immigration. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on Thursday (who opposes comprehensive immigration reform) voiced these concerns this week. "I don't believe President Obama wants an immigration bill to pass, instead I think he wants a political issue. His objective is to push so much on the table that he forces Republicans [to] walk away from the table because then he wants to use that issue in 2014 and 2016 as a divisive wedge issue," Cruz said, according to the Dallas Morning News. That's not to say that comprehensive immigration reform will fail this year. Politically, the circumstances have never been better for it. But Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo may have summed it up best in saying that it will face a tough road to passage: "This confirms for me my belief that this entire debate is moving forward on the quite false assumption that the actual Republican Party somehow no longer exists. It does."

JON KARL'S QUESTION FOR CARNEY: IS THE U.S. ABOUT TO BECOME A 'SECOND-RATE POWER'? With sweeping budget cuts looming, ABC News' Chief White House Correspondent Jonathan Karl pressed White House Press Secretary Jay Carney yesterday about how these cuts would really impact America's military might. http://abcn.ws/YFaLFm

JONATHAN KARL: Jay, the current secretary of defense said that if the sequester cuts go into effect, we would turn into a second-rate power. Does the president agree that if these cuts go into effect, America will become a second-rate power?

JAY CARNEY: The president agrees with his secretary of defense - his current as well as his future. He agrees with the speaker of the House, he agrees with the numerous Republicans who have said on the record that the onerous cuts in the sequester to defense - the across-the-board, indiscriminate cuts to defense will harm our national security interests, will reduce our readiness, will result in a reduction in flight hours, will result - have resulted already in changes in our rotation for aircraft carriers to the Persian Gulf. These are real-world consequences. They also will result, as we learned yesterday, in hundreds of thousands of furlough notices to the men and women who are part of the national security team who work every day to protect the United States and our citizens. So, you know, the consequences here are real.

KARL: But Jay, on the military spending specifically, even if the cuts go into effect, the U.S. will spend more than China, Russia, all of Europe combined, far more. If we're a second-rate power, who's the first-rate power?

CARNEY: Look, I don't think the issue here is the language you use to describe it, because every characterization you make of it, if you're being honest about it, is negative. The impact will be negative. It will harm our national security, and that is a problem.

WHAT WE'RE READING

-" FOR WALMART MOMS, BUDGET BATTLES DON'T HIT HOME," by the Cook Political Report's Amy Walter. "Terms like 'chained CPI,' 'Bowles-Simpson,' and 'CR' are getting thrown around Washington with impunity. But, this isn't the language that moms speak around their kitchen tables. American moms are more worried about filling up their gas tank than the deficit. They are more concerned about the cost of college than the size of the Pentagon budget. Ideological battles over the budget won't pay for braces. They don't expect Washington to fix all their problems. But, they also don't believe that Washington gets their problems. These were the conclusions gleaned from two focus groups of so-called "Walmart moms" conducted for Walmart by Republican pollster Nicole McCleskey and Democratic pollster Margie Omero. This bipartisan group of twenty moms from the suburbs Kansas City, Missouri and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania are at once both happy with the quality of their lives, yet still frustrated to still be struggling economically. The most recent Gallup Confidence score captures this ambivalence as well. According to Gallup, 'Americans continue to remain as upbeat about the economy as they have been at any point in the last five years? Still, the public continues to view the economy more negatively than positively as a whole and continues to rank it as the most important problem facing the country.' In other words, Americans no longer feel like they are drowning, but they still feel as if they are treading water."

-" RUBIO REWRITES GOP MEDIA PLAYBOOK," a Reuters Op-Ed by GOP strategist Joe Brettell. "Rubio clearly understands the new media landscape. This was evident when he was caught up in the media storm sparked by his reaching for a water bottle during the Republican response to the State of the Union address. Most politicians today would have gone in a bunker, trying to let the story die. Rubio's decision, however, was to have fun with it - posting a picture of the bottle he drank online, and repeating the gesture in many interviews. ? Rubio's romancing of the press even extended beyond U.S. borders this week. During his visit to Israel, he sat for interviews with local TV - a risk, since any gaffe would have been quickly pointed out. ? Republicans have looked to Rubio to provide leadership. He has done this on two fronts: solving the GOP's growing disconnect with Latinos and other minority voters; and providing an effective template for how to tell the story to voters without sacrificing his principles. A Grand Old Party hoping to stay relevant would do well to follow his lead." http://reut.rs/15z6B7e

BUZZ

WILL THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION FIGHT FOR GAY MARRIAGE? There is one mystery left to solve before the Supreme Court gathers to hear a challenge to Proposition 8 in late March. That is, ABC's Ariane DeVogue writes, will the Department of Justice weigh in on the case in favor of opponents of Prop 8, the California ballot measure that defined marriage as between one man and one woman? And what will it say? Hollingsworth v. Perry concerns the California ballot initiative, enacted in 2008. In a brief filed with the court on Thursday, opponents of Prop 8 made broad arguments claiming that it is unconstitutional. "Proposition 8 is an arbitrary, irrational and discriminatory measure that denies gay men and lesbians their fundamental right to marry in violation of the due process and equal protection clauses," the opponents said. While the administration will certainly weigh in on the other gay marriage case in front of the court - a challenge to the federal law, the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) - it has never filed a brief in the Prop 8 case because it was not directly involved. Solicitor General Donald B. Verrilli Jr. is not required to file a so-called "friend of the court" brief in the Prop 8 case, but sources said the administration is considering the possibility at the highest levels. If it chooses to weigh in, it has to do so by the last week of February. http://abcn.ws/158M7Bh

MISSISSIPPI HOUSE SPEAKER WOOS GUN MAKERS. Speaker of the Mississippi House of Representatives Philip Gunn has made another move in reaction to potential federal gun control laws, this time wooing gun manufacturers to relocate to his state, reports ABC's Shushannah Walshe. "Gun manufacturers are under attack in anti-Second Amendment states," Gunn said in a release announcing that he sent 14 letters to CEOs of firearm manufacturers across the country Thursday, inviting them to move their operations to Mississippi. He said it is a state "where their industry and jobs will be appreciated." "We need more businesses to establish home base in Mississippi," said Gunn, a Republican. "We can provide these companies with an educated workforce, a superior quality of life, an evolving education system for their children, and the peace of mind that comes with knowing we support their industry." The letters went to manufacturers from Colorado to Connecticut, from North Carolina to New York. They included Smith & Wesson in Massachusetts, Sig Sauer in New Hampshire, Colt Manufacturing Company in Connecticut, Remington Arms Company in North Carolina and ten others. http://abcn.ws/W6HNlC

JOE BIDEN: 'MORAL PRICE TO BE PAID FOR INACTION' ON GUNS. Speaking just more than 10 miles from Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut, Vice President Joe Biden warned Congress that there is a "moral price" that will be paid if action is not taken to prevent gun violence, reports ABC's Arlette Saenz. "I say to my colleagues who will watch this and listen to this, I say to you: 'If you're concerned about your political survival, you should be concerned about the survival of our children. And, guess what? I believe the price to be paid politically will go to those who refuse to act, who refuse to step forward because America's changed on this issue. You should all know the American people are with us,'" Biden told a conference on gun violence at Western Connecticut State University in Danbury, Conn. "There's a moral price to be paid for inaction." The vice president praised the families who lost loved ones in the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., for the courage they have shown in the past two months and cited their tenacity as an example for all officials working on stemming gun violence. http://abcn.ws/12SYItY

KID PRESIDENT KICKS OFF OFFICIAL EASTER EGG ROLL. The Real President enlisted the help of Kid President yesterday as he kicked off the 2013 lottery for the annual White House Easter Egg Roll, notes ABC's Freda Kahen-Kashi and Mary Bruce. Making his Kid President debut, President Obama sent a special message to his mini-me. "Kid President, looks like you got my message," Obama said. "Yes Mr. President, I got your message," Kid President responded over a tin can phone. The 9-year old Kid President is a "self appointed voice for an entire generation," telling it like it is and calling all kids to "keep on giving the world a reason to dance." His platform? "I'm not in a party - I am a party." Robby Novak has become an internet sensation. His video "Pep-talk from Kid President to You" has over 10 million hits on YouTube. As for his RSVP to the Easter Egg Roll, he told the president, "This is historic ? Kids dancing. Eggs rolling. I'm in!" http://abcn.ws/138zEPk

IN THE NOTE'S INBOX:

-BLACK LEADERS TO PROTEST GUN CONTROL MEASURES. Star Parker, founder and president of the Center for Urban Renewal and Education (CURE), and a group of prominent figures from the black community (including Dr. Ken Hutcherson, former Dallas Cowboys linebacker and pastor of Antioch Bible Church in Washington and Harry C. Alford, president and CEO of the National Black Chamber of Commerce) will hold a news conference at 9:45 A.M. today at the National Press Club to speak out on the issue of gun control. According to a release, "Parker and other noted thought leaders, authors and speakers will make the case that the gun control laws currently being proposed are misguided because there is no evidence that these policies will prevent gun violence and other tragedies from happening again."

-CONGRESSMEN TALK UP SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE CANDIDATE. South Carolina GOP Reps. Mick Mulvaney and Jeff Duncan will hold a conference call at 11 a.m. ET to discuss their endorsement of South Carolina 1st Congressional District candidate Larry Grooms. Grooms is running in a crowded field of candidates that includes former Gov. Mark Sanford for the seat vacated by former congressman (now senator) Tim Scott. Call information: (866) 866-1333 http://tinyurl.com/a9pqcre

WHO'S TWEETING?

@RepKenMarchant: Happy Birthday to the Father of Our Country, George Washington pic.twitter.com/UvSPqf8Vcg

@DannyKanner: . @GovPeterShumlin compares @KenCuccinelli's opposition to social security and Medicare to @MittRomney #goodies #gifts #PolGovs

@HuffPostPol: Happy birthday, @davidaxelrod!

@BDayspring: This AM: @NRCC to @RepTierney - End Your Silence on Markey's Offensive Dred Scott/Slavery Remarks http://ow.ly/hX7ly #MASEN

@igorvolsky: Happy National Margarita Day!

Also Read

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/quiet-crisis-note-141430356--abc-news-politics.html

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Walk with tigers at London?s St Pancras

Released on: February 20, 2013, 8:00 am
Author: LondonTown.com
Industry: Travel

Tiger-themed exhibition at the international railway station

February 20, 2013, 8:00 am -- /EPR NETWORK/ -- Travellers, businessmen and holidaymakers should not forget to make Kings Cross St Pancras a destination in itself this spring, as the station continues to make a name for itself as more than just somewhere to pass through.

As well as wonderful new hotels in the area and an increasing profusion of bars, the station itself continues arich cultural program that includes music, live performance and art and activism.

And this March it hosts Tiger Tracks, an initiative supported by Joanna Lumley.

Tiger Tracks invites visitors to St Pancras International to take a walk on the wild side as they wait for their train - with tiger themed activities including music, entertainment and a photographic exhibition.

The event runs for three weeks from 1st March 2013. What is more, many of the bars, restaurants and shops at the station are taking part ? so make sure to look out for promotions and events that all the family can take part in.

The event culminates with an exclusive champagne reception and black tie Gala dinner at the 5 star St Pancras Renaissance Hotel on 21st March. A ?300 ticket includes champagne reception, dinner and entertainment as well as the support of a good cause - saving the wild tiger.

Those looking to find decent hotels near kings cross can turn to HotelMap, the interactive live guide that sources rooms and deals in London: deals on 1 st March include ?176 for a luxurious double room at the aforementioned St Pancras Renaissance Hotel. Or why not try an apartment, for ?78 a night, on Cartwright Gardens.

-ENDS-

?

Source: http://express-press-release.net/106/Walk-tigers-Londons-St-Pancras-34587130.php

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Nevada Legalizes Online Gambling, Opens Up Interstate Rollout

Hard-working Americans may no longer need to buy a plane ticket to sin city to lose their kids' college savings: Online gambling is now legal in Nevada, and may soon be available nationwide. Nevada unanimously passed an emergency measure to legalize gambling in the state and open up opportunities to enter legal compacts with states for their own residents.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/ui0TvtnAcSU/

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New Googleplex First Look: A 1.1 Million-Square-Foot Monster Optimized By Nerds

Vanity Fair's got a nice look at the new Google headquarters, including a rendering of the mammoth 1.1 million-square-foot campus. The architects say the complex was designed with rectangular buildings so that no two employees would be more than a 2.5-minutes walk away. Wanna Talk to Sergey? Just wander over and voice your opinions! What could go wrong. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/vESXokzqdtI/new-googleplex-first-look-11-million+square+feet-of-speedwalking-of-nerds

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Moody's strips UK of coveted triple-A debt rating

NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) - Britain suffered its first ever sovereign ratings downgrade from a major agency on Friday, after Moody's stripped the country of its coveted top-notch triple-A rating, dealing a major blow to finance minister George Osborne.

Moody's cut Britain's rating by one notch to Aa1 from Aaa, with a stable outlook, blaming weak prospects for Britain's economy over the coming years which have thrown the government's deficit reduction strategy off course.

Austerity has been the watch word for Osborne's fiscal policy since his Conservative-led coalition came to power in 2010 after an election in which he vowed to defend Britain's triple-A rating, which keeps down borrowing costs.

But weak growth - which the opposition Labour Party blames partly on too much austerity - has pushed the government's goal of largely eliminating the budget deficit by 2015 at least two years off track.

Many in financial markets had expected at least one major agency to downgrade Britain this year.

Following the release of January public finances data on Thursday, the government's fiscal watchdog said the government may struggle to reduce borrowing at all during the current fiscal year, which finishes at the end of March.

Britain now joins the United States and France in having lost its triple-A rating from at least one major agency, having held the top-notch rating from Moody's and S&P since 1978, and from Fitch Ratings since 1994.

Moody's said that despite considerable structural economic strengths, Britain's growth is expected to be sluggish due to a combination of weaker global economic activity and a drag "from the ongoing domestic public and private-sector de-leveraging process."

Trend growth for Britain's economy is between 2 and 2.5 percent, Moody's sovereign credit analyst Sarah Carlson said in a telephone interview with Reuters.

"We see growth slowly building back up to that trend ... but if you take a combination of the growth and fiscal dynamics, the result is that the debt burden of gross general debt to GDP peaks in 2016, which is substantially later than was expected a few years ago," she said.

Osborne insisted in a statement that now was not the time to change course and borrow more to boost growth, which the Labour Party as well as some political allies have recommended.

"Tonight we have a stark reminder of the debt problems facing our country and the clearest possible warning to anyone who thinks we can run away from dealing with those problems," he said. "Far from weakening our resolve to deliver our economic recovery plan, this decision redoubles it."

Sterling fell to around $1.5160 after the downgrade from about $1.5240, just off Thursday's fresh 2-1/2-year low.

"It's a pretty big deal. We didn't see a huge reaction in the pound because it's late in the New York session. But you'll see some more aggressive selling when the markets open (in Asia) on Sunday," said Kathy Lien, managing director at BK Asset Management in New York.

But Charles Diebel, a fixed income strategist at British bank Lloyds, was more sanguine about the impact of the downgrade on British government debt prices.

"This has been speculated as inevitable and is most likely largely in the market. I would expect only very limited damage to the gilt curve and to sterling. Historically, losing your AAA is actually a bond bullish event," he said.

(Additional reporting by Steven C. Johnson in New York and Michael Holden in London; Editing by James Dalgleish and Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/moodys-cuts-uk-credit-rating-one-notch-aa1-215314223--finance.html

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HP forecast beats Street, CEO says overhaul taking hold

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Hewlett-Packard Co's quarterly revenue and forecasts beat Wall Street expectations as it continued to cut costs under CEO Meg Whitman's turnaround plan, sending the No. 1 personal computer maker's shares up over 5 percent.

Whitman, who took the helm over a year ago after a failed bid to become governor of California, has launched a years-long turnaround to recapture some of the Silicon Valley icon's former growth trajectory.

She said on Thursday the company's efforts were gaining traction but "there's still a lot of work to do to generate the kind of growth we want to see."

"The turnaround is on track, and we did better than we expected that we would," she told analysts on a conference call after HP reported its quarterly results. "The patient showed some signs of improvement, and I think we should be encouraged."

Whitman also said reiterated that HP has no plans for a break-up of the company and the PC business is one that the company needs to be in, but it needs to "reallocate resources from the core PC business to mobile" and other services.

HP's fiscal first-quarter revenue shrank 6 percent to $28.4 billion (18.6 billion pounds) in a flat to shrinking personal computing market, but it beat the $27.8 billion Wall Street analysts had expected on average.

Net income fell 16 percent to $1.23 billion, or 63 cents a share, from $1.47 billion, or 73 cents a share, a year earlier.

HP is struggling to shore up its credibility on Wall Street while battling shrinking margins in an increasingly cut-throat PC market and cautious corporate IT spending. Like Dell Inc, HP is also struggling to sustain sales growth as smartphones and tablets surge in popularity.

Forrester analyst Frank Gillett said despite signs of progress, the business atmosphere - with PCs in decline - is challenging for HP.

"For HP, it's a multi-year journey and this is just one step," Gillett said. "They have a long road ahead."

Gillett said HP's data centre business could recover faster than its PC business.

Underscoring the severity of the industry's woes, Dell on Tuesday reported a 31 percent drop in profit as sales fell in virtually every major business division. CEO Whitman in October had warned of a tough 2013, with earnings set to decline steeply.

REVENUE DOWN ACROSS BUSINESS LINES

Revenue declined across all of HP's main business divisions. Networking was the sole bright spot, with sales rising 4 percent during the quarter.

Sales in the personal systems division, which includes PCs, slid 8 percent to $8.2 billion, while printing revenue fell 5 percent to $5.92 billion.

HP estimated fiscal second quarter earnings per share of 80 to 82 cents, higher than the average Wall Street forecast of 77 cents.

HP has suffered years of turbulence. Whitman became HP's third CEO in as many years after Leo Apotheker's abrupt dismissal. She is trying to revitalize the former industry icon via layoffs, cost cutting, and expansion into areas with longer-term potential such as enterprise computing services.

HP is laying off 29,000 employees over the next two years and has written off $10.8 billion mostly related to the write-down of its EDS services business. About 15,300 employees have left HP so far and the company is on track with its job cuts plan, HP Chief Financial Officer Cathie Lesjak said in an interview.

HP has lost more than two-thirds of its market value since 2010, when its capitalization topped out at about $104.5 billion. The company is now valued at about $32 billion.

Since Whitman took the helm in September 2011, the stock has fallen about 25 percent. On Thursday HP shares rose 5 percent, from a close of $17.10 on Nasdaq, in after-market trade.

(Reporting by Edwin Chan; Editing by Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/hp-forecast-beats-street-ceo-says-overhaul-taking-001304090--finance.html

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