Earlier this week, the Forex Blog speculated that the tide was turning on the Euro, which had retreated from the $1.60 threshold. Sure enough, the month of April saw the best monthly performance by the Dollar in over two years. The sudden about-face by the Dollar stems from changes in interest rate expectations. Only a couple weeks ago, the consensus among investors was that the Fed would cut rates further at its next meeting; the only point of uncertainty was whether rates would be cut by 25 or...

LOS ANGELES: A Missouri woman was indicted Thursday for her alleged role in perpetrating a hoax on the online social network MySpace against a 13-year-old neighbor who committedsuicide.

Lori Drew, 49, of suburban St. Louis, who allegedly helped create a MySpace account in the name of someone who did not exist to convince Megan Meier she was chatting with a 16-year-old boy named Josh Evans, was charged with conspiracy and fraudulently gaining access to someone elsescomputer.

Megan hanged herself at home in October 2006, allegedly after receiving a dozen or more cruel messages, including one stating the world would be better off withouther.

Salvador Hernandez, assistant agent in charge of the Los Angeles FBI office, called the caseheart-rending.

“The Internet is a world unto itself,” he said. “People must know how far they can go before they must stop. They exploited a young girls weaknesses. Whether the defendant could have foreseen the results, shes responsible for heractions.”

Drew was indicted by a federal grand jury on one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing protected computers without authorization to get information used to inflict emotional distress on thegirl.

Drew has denied creating the account or sending messages toMegan.

Dean Steward, a lawyer representing Drew in the federal case, said a legal challenge to the charges was being planned. He characterized them as unusual andpuzzling.

“We thought when prosecutors in St. Louis looked at the case and all the facts, it was clear no criminal acts occurred,” Stewardsaid.

A man who opened the door at the Drew family home in Dardenne Prairie, Missouri, on Thursday said the family had nocomment.

Megans mother, Tina Meier, said she believed media reports and public outrage helped move the case forward forprosecution.

“Im thrilled that this woman is going to face charges that she has needed to face since the day we found out what was going on, and since the day she decided to be a part of this entire ridiculous stunt,” shesaid.

Megans father, Ron Meier, 38, said he began to cry “tears of joy” when he heard of the indictment. The parents are now separated, which Tina Meier has said stemmed in part from the circumstances of their daughtersdeath.

Tina Meier has acknowledged Megan was too young to have a MySpace account under the Web sites guidelines, but she said she had been able to closely monitor the account. Meiers family has also acknowledged that Megan was also sending mean messages before herdeath.

Megan was being treated for attention deficit disorder and depression, her family has said. Meier has said Drew knew Megan was onmedication.

MySpace issued a statement saying it “does not tolerate cyberbullying” and was cooperating fully withauthorities.

The U.S. attorney, Thomas OBrien, said this was the first time the federal statute on accessing protected computers has been used in a social-networking case. It has been used in the past to addresshacking.

“This was a tragedy that did not have to happen,” OBriensaid.

Both the girl and MySpace are named as victims in the case, hesaid.

Rebecca Lonergan, a former federal prosecutor who now teaches law at the University of Southern California, said use of the federal cyber crime statute may be open tochallenge.

Lonergan, who used the statute in the past to file charges in computer hacking and trademark theft cases, said the crimes covered by the law involve obtaining information from a computer, not sending messages out to harasssomeone.

“Here it is the flow of information away from the computer,” she said. “Its a very creative, aggressive use of the statute. But they may have a legally tough time meeting theelements.”

She said, however, that because “a very bad harm was done,” the courts may grant somelatitude.

MySpace is a subsidiary of Fox Interactive Media, which is owned by News Corp. The indictment noted that MySpace computer servers are located in Los AngelesCounty.

Due to juvenile privacy rules, the U.S. attorneys office said, the indictment refers to the girl asMTM.

FBI agents in St. Louis and Los Angeles investigated the case, Hernandezsaid.

Each of the four counts carries a maximum possible penalty of five years inprison.

Federal officials said Drew will be arraigned in St. Louis and moved to Los Angeles for trial. Her lawyer, however, said Drew did not have to surrender in Missouri but would be arraigned in early June in LosAngeles.

The indictment says MySpace members agree to abide by terms of service that include, among other things, not promoting information they know to be false or misleading; soliciting personal information from anyone under age 18 and not using information gathered from the Web site to “harass, abuse or harm otherpeople.”

Health Canada has issued a warning to consumers about the Trophic brand natural health product labelled “Kelp and Glutamic Acid HCI” because of high levels of iodine. It warns that pregnant or breastfeeding women, or people with thyroid conditions such as Graves’ disease, are most vulnerable. Too much iodine can lead to the enlargement of the thyroid, the butterfly-shaped gland at the front of the neck that regulates metabolism, and can cause it to become underactive or...