While we may never know what it looks like inside a black hole, astronomers recently obtained one of the closest views yet. The sighting allowed scientists to confirm theories about how these giant cosmic sinkholes spew out jets of particles travelling at nearly the speed of light.

Ever since the first observations of these powerful jets, which are among the brightest objects seen in the universe, astronomers have wondered what causes the particles to accelerate to such great speeds. A leading hypothesis suggested the black hole’s gigantic mass distorts space and time around it, twisting magnetic field lines into a coil that propels material outward.

Now researchers have observed a jet during a period of extreme outburst and found evidence that streams of particles wind a corkscrew path away from the black hole, as the leading hypothesis predicts.

“We got an unprecedented view of the inner portion of one of these jets and gained information that’s very important to understanding how these tremendous particle accelerators work,” said Boston University astronomer Alan Marscher, who led the research team. The results of the study are detailed in the April 24 issue of the journal Nature.

The team studied a galaxy called BL Lacertae (BL Lac), about 950 million light years from Earth, with a central black hole containing 200 million times the mass of our Sun. Since this supermassive black hole’s jets are pointing nearly straight at us, it is called a blazar (a quasar is often thought to be the same as a blazar, except its jets are pointed away from us).

The new observations, taken by the National Science Foundation’s Very Long Baseline Array (VLBA) radio telescope, along with NASA’s Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer and a number of optical telescopes, show material moving outward along a spiral channel, as the scientists expected.

These data support the suggestion that twisted magnetic field lines are creating the jet plumes. Material in the center of the galaxy, such as nearby stars and gas, gets pulled in by the black hole’s overwhelming gravity and forms a disk orbiting around the core (the material’s inertia keeps it spiraling in a disk rather than falling straight into the black hole). The distorted magnetic field lines seem to pull charged particles off the disk and cause them to gush outward at nearly the speed of light.

“We knew that material was falling in to these regions, and we knew that there were outbursts coming out,” said University of Michigan astronomer Hugh Aller, who worked on the new study. “What’s really been a mystery was that we could see there were these really high-energy particles, but we didn’t know how they were created, how they were accelerated. It turns out that the model matches the data. We can actually see the particles gaining velocity as they are accelerated along this magnetic field.”

The astronomers also observed evidence of another phenomenon predicted by the leading hypothesis ? that a flare would be produced when material spewing out in the jets hit a shock wave beyond the core of the black hole.

The anecdotal evidence for surging retail interest in forex is cropping up everywhere. Moreover, investors are no longer even limiting themselves to the spot market, utilizing derivatives to speculate on future exchange rates. In the UK, for example, 10% of investors intending to purchase real estate in the EU are utilizing forward agreements to hedge their exposure to the Euro, which has risen 10% against the Pound since the beginning of 2008. Evidently, prospective home buyers are hoping that the Euro returns to 2007 levels, which would significantly lower the cost of buying property there. However, if the Euro continues to appreciate, such investors could end up losing more than they bargained for. Homes Worldwide reports:

Even the movement in the markets over a couple of days can make the difference between owning a property and no longer being able to afford it.

Read More:

Saying that “everyone has the right to be treated, and die, with dignity,” the World Health Organization on Monday issued its first guide to planning end-of-life care.

The 51-page document was aimed not at individual doctors, but at national health ministers, said one of its authors, Dr. Cecilia Sep?lveda, palliative care expert with the health organization.

It contains formulas for calculating how many people in a country are in need of such care.

It also outlines typical obstacles to providing it: national laws that make it hard for pharmacists to stock powerful painkillers, lack of training for doctors and nurses, and fears of addiction on the part of patients.

It also cites countries that offer good end-of-life care despite national poverty ? mostly by having it done at home, by relatives given modest amounts of training.

The “most impressive” programs that Sep?lveda said she had found were in Uganda and in the state of Kerala in India. In both places, political leaders and medical doctors had combined their efforts.

In 2005, more than seven million people died of cancer, and 70 percent of them were in poor or middle-income countries where there was little money for diagnosis or treatment, the health organization report said. Unless a cure is found for cancer, more than 11 million people will die of it each year by 2030.

Although the report was initially written for countries preparing national cancer plans, it is also useful in countries with many people dying of AIDS or experiencing any other slow, painful death, Sep?lveda said.

They have collapsed 58% in six months on worries about the deteriorating mortgage and UK housing outlook.

After correctly forecasting that (3p easier at 350p) would hit the market with a mammoth 12bn fundraising and (9p off at 486p) would follow yesterday with a 4bn cash call, dealers are adamant that Barratts will wheel out a rights issue before its interim management statement on May 14.

Broker Kaupthing gives it no more than a 50% chance of trading through without new equity which will surely involve - like HBOS - a sizeable cut to the . Barratt bought Wilson Bowden for 2.2bn in February 2007 and has high debt levels of 1.7bn of which 0.8bn needs refinancing by next April.

The roofs caved in on other housebuilders. , which last week said it had mothballed its planned new developments after a sudden worsening of conditions in the market over the past three weeks or so, dropped 21p more to a year’s low of 581p and stands 60% below its peak. fell 4p to 128p and 8p to 256p.

Selling on further consideration of the deteriorating US housing market and vague rights issue talk left plumbing giant 19p off at 523p.

Spectacular first-quarter profit performances from oil giants (34p better at 613p) and Royal Dutch A (102p higher at 2043p) helped the Footsie climb 43 points at the outset. But with little support forthcoming from elsewhere the index drifted to close one point lower at 6.089.4.

Wall Street fell 45 points ahead of today’s Fed’s decision on US interest rates. Dealers expect a further 25 basis point reduction but reckon Bernanke & Co could say that’s it for the time being.

advanced 14p to 792p on news of a 250m five-year Engineering Modification Services contract for BP in Azerbaijan. AMEC will provide engineering and construction management services to enhance and extend the life of BP’s offshore installations in the Azeri sector of the Caspian Sea which represents around 20pc of BP’s global production.

Mines succumbed to profit-taking and lower metal prices. lost 77p to 1648p, 216p to 6010p and 59p to 1818p.

More than 26m shares changed hands and the close was 11p up at 100p following slightly better-than-expected first-quarter results. steamed 37p ahead to 2171p after reporting a strong start to the year. Trading in the first three months of the year is well ahead of last year.

Mark Tincknell, executive chairman of social housing firm trousered more than 8m after selling 2.25m shares at 375p to apparently satisfy pent-up institutional demand. The shares dipped to 386p before closing 4p to 396p.

City coverage and share tips

This is Money carries breaking City news through the day and exclusive reports from the Evening Standard, Daily Mail City and Financial Mail on Sunday. Bookmark and try these markets links…

«investing.thisismoney.co.uk»

Healthcare firm shed 5p to 66p after rejecting a buy-out proposal from 8% shareholder Aquisitek, a company associated with founder Barry Muncaster. Meldex is still talking to a number of other interested parties.

Bateman Litwin, a mid-sized oil, gas, power and renewable energy company, rose 5p to 133p. But eagle eyed dealers were interested to see that the trustee of the Bateman Litwin Employee Benefit Trust, SGS Trustee Ltd, embarrassingly had to cancel its March 26 sale of 1.4m shares at 217p on behalf of company employees after inconsistencies were found between the dealing instructions and actual execution of the sale. It appears that the stock was sold to an Israeli broker a day before a trading statement. Oops!

Bulls semen company lost 48p to 795p on profit-taking. In a third-quarter trading statement the company said it is on track to meet full-year expectations. The global dairy market has been buoyant due to strong milk prices and this is driving increased investment in dairy herds and greater demand for semen of a specific gender.

Caretech, a provider of learning disability care services, soared 40p to 408p as analysts gave the thumbs up to its 16.6m acquisition of Beacon, a provider of residential and supported living services for adults with learning disabilities in the South East of England.

Other stories:
Market report: Tuesday close
City news in brief: Wetherspoon, Game
2.8bn writedowns by German banks
Norwich Union brand to go in Aviva shake-up
Oil giants’ 3m an hour as petrol soars
Wall Street v the City? No contest
Yesterdays trading: Wellstream sale a boost
Celebrated City guru Higgs dies
HSBC faces new Korea buy delay
Newspaper and magazine share tips

How bad is your company’s credit? You may not think about it much, but you can bet your suppliers do. A bad credit rating can damage your company is several ways:

– Loss of eligibility for commercial credit. Bank loans are out of the question if you run afoul of your responsibilities.

– Having to pay cash for everything. Paying in cash ties up your working capital and impacts your cash flow. You’ll lose access to the 30-, 60- and even 90-day “loans” that trade-credit customers enjoy.

– Loss of early payment discounts. Many suppliers offer customers significant discounts to encourage payment before the official due date on their bills. If you’re a cash customer because of credit problems, you’re unlikely to get this discount.

To find out where you stand, order a credit report. See what it says about your company’s state of financial affairs. It’s a good idea to do this periodically to make sure the information is correct and current.

If you don’t like what you see, don’t panic. Bad company credit, like problems with personal credit, can be repaired. The best way to start is to talk with your creditors before your problems get out of hand. The goal is to arrange a payment schedule that is reasonable and fair to both sides.

If you find yourself awash in red ink and simply can’t pay your bills, act quickly to rebuild your credit. There are a number of steps to take, with bankruptcy as a last resort.

As soon as you realize that you cannot make your payments, contact your creditors at once. If you have paid your bills promptly in the past, creditors may be willing to work with you to set up an alternative payment schedule. Do not wait until your account is referred to a collection agency to take action.

You can ask creditors to extend the deadline for payment and to change the payments so that you can afford them. Expect to pay a “carrying charge” or higher interest on overdue accounts. The faster you act, the better terms you’re likely to get. If you can successfully complete a repayment plan, many creditors will continue doing business with your company.

Sometimes, credit problems aren’t due solely to a cash crunch. Mistakes, misunderstandings and structural issues within your company can tangle your credit accounts. If there is a snag, again, first try to deal directly with the creditor. Then look internally for problems that may have contributed to the situation.

Late payments are often linked to improper handling of paperwork, incorrect addresses, computer malfunctions or improperly trained employees.

A lot can go wrong on the paperwork front. Are you receiving your bills - are they being sent to the right address and to the right person? Are your checks being received by the right department and the right person? Is it clear when payments are supposed to be made?

Do you have someone in charge of paying bills at your office, or is there a chance they could slip through the cracks? Establish workable guidelines for handling bills, invoices and payments. And then stick to them.

The key to making it back to a good credit rating is to show an ability to meet commitments. Don’t take on more challenges than you can handle, even if it means sacrificing in other areas. Firmer credit

In general, these can help strengthen your business credit:

– Pay on time. Ensure that you pay within the terms set forth by your suppliers.

– Keep your personal finances in good order.

– Keep your business credit profile in good order.

– Keep your debt financing down.

– Contribute to your own profile. Communicate as much information about your business as you can to the company managing your business credit.

– Compare key financial indicators in your own report with other companies in your industry. Benchmark yourself to identify areas for improvement. How it helps

Good business credit allows you to procure larger loan amounts because banks see your business as financially stable and low risk. You can win new customers who feel secure that you are able to meet your commitments with them. And you can attract potential investors who feel confident about your business’ potential for future success.

AllBusiness.com provides information about products and services for entrepreneurs, small businesses and professionals to start, manage, finance and build a business. Visit «www.allbusiness.com».