Israeli officials have reportedly let it be known that they won't give their United States counterparts a heads up if the country decides to launch an airstrike against Iran. According to the Associated Press, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has told this fact to every American official coming to Israeli hoping to talk them out of a pre-emptive strike of Iranian nuclear facilities. Officials say it's for the U.S.'s own good, since if they don't know about the strike in advance, they can't be blamed for failing to stop it. Never mind that most of Israel's enemies don't trust anything they say and would likely assume that the Americans were behind it anyway. RELATED: Did Israel Blow Up an Iranian Missile Base?
Israeli leaders likely also assume (rightly) that the United States doesn't want to help, so they will make any decision on a possible attack without American input. Netanyahu will be in Washington next week to meet with President Barack Obama and top Congressional and diplomatic officials. This news won't get those talks off on the right foot.
Photo: Ben and Marcos Welsh | Age Fotostock | Getty ImagesClean tech has become a major destination for investors, from venture capital firms to ordinary shareholders. The large and diverse sector, which covers everything from energy to transportation to construction, touches all sorts of industries and often blurs with other areas. Clean tech, like green, was once closely associated with the socially responsible investing movement, but its sheer size today has created a wealth of investment vehicles in alternative, as well as concepts such as energy efficiency and storage. Here’s a look at the largest funds, based on market capitalization. (Data is from Morningstar). Not surprisingly, many of the select, top holdings include clean-tech industries such as solar, global water resources, fossil fuels alternatives, wind energy, global warming and carbon emissions. The timing couldn’t be better as some analysts forecast $5 retail gasoline by the summer, as crude oil prices remain well over $100 a barrel. But because clean-tech investing can be volatile, investment strategists generally advise dipping into this space as part of a larger, diversified portfolio plan. Click ahead to see 10 select, large ETFs with a strong focus on clean-tech holdings. The data are based on one-year trailing returns as of Jan. 31. By Heesun WeePosted 01 March 2012
Fund size: $908.8 million 1-year trailing total return: -3.4 percent 5-year trailing total return: NASelect top holdings: Pentair, Calgon Carbon, Pall 
Photo: Flip Chalfant | Image Bank | Getty ImagesFund size: $256.1 million1-year trailing total return: -9 percent 5-year trailing total return: NA Select top holdings: Hyflux, Arcadis, Kurita Water Industries 
Photo: Sean Gallup | Getty ImagesFund size: $218.1 million1-year trailing total return: - 43.5 percent 5-year trailing total return: - 19.9 percent Select top holdings: Suntech Power Holdings, JA Solar Holdings, AMSC, STR Holdings
Photo: Joe Sohm | Digital Vision | Getty ImagesFund size: $193 million1-year trailing total return: +1.6 percent 5-year trailing total return: NA Select top holdings: Geberit AG, United Utilities Group, Severn Trent, American Water Works 
Fund size: $107.7 million1-year trailing total return: -13.2 percent 5-year trailing total return: -1.5 percent Select top holdings: Schneider Electric, Pall, First Solar 
Fund size: $90.2 million 1-year trailing total return: - 61.8 percent 5-year trailing total return: NA Select top holdings: GCL-Poly Energy Holdings, First Solar, GT Advance Technologies 
Photo: Kathy Collins | Getty ImagesFund size: $89.8 million1-year trailing total return: - 33.9 percent 5-year trailing total return: NA Select top holdings: LSB Industries, Renewable Energy, First Solar 
Photo: Hiroshi Hara | Amana Images | Getty ImagesFund size: $66.6 million1-year trailing total return: +3.5 percent 5-year trailing total return: NA Select top holdings: Basic Sanitation Company of the State of Sao Paulo (Brazil), Mueller Water Products, American Water Works 
Photo: Lisa J. Goodman | Photographer's Choice | Getty ImagesFund size: $63.8 million 1-year trailing total return: -40.2 percent 5-year trailing total return: NA Select top holdings: Cooper Industries, Kurita Water Industries, Enel Green Power 
Photo: Shaun Curry | Stringer | Getty ImagesFund size: $29.3 million 1-year trailing total return: - 21 percent 5-year trailing total return: NA Select top holdings: Vestas Wind Systems, Greentech Energy Systems, China WindPower © 2012 CNBC.com
Michael Blann | Photodisc | Getty ImagesConsumers are coming back, but they have limits, according to a recent study by WSL/Strategic Retail. Most consumers still feel as though they are struggling to afford the basic necessities.“Every retailer wants to think ‘Everything I sell is worth it! Shoppers will love it’, but the hard reality is 52 percent Americans feel they barely have enough to afford the basics," said Candace Corlett, president of WSL/Strategic Retail.Corlett's comments are based on a survey WSL/Strategic Retail conducted of 1,950 consumers in December regarding their shopping habits.Consumers have moved past the fear that was seen in the firm's 2010 How America Shops survey, Corlett said. However, they are returning to stores, but with limits.Feeling the StrainAnd it’s not just the lower-income consumers feeling the strain. Three groups are experiencing higher rates of financial struggle: those with incomes between $100,000 and $150,000, those aged 18 to 34 years old, and women. According to this year's “How America Shops” survey, it now takes an income of more than $150,000 to be able to afford the basics, some extras and to save too. As for the once-coveted 18- to 34-year-old market, it is now the demographic struggling the most when it comes to buying power. In addition, about 75 percent of women say it’s important to get the lowest price on everything they buy, up 12 percent points from 2008. In this group, 68 percent are using coupons regularly and 45 percent are only buying items on sale. Since the financial crisis, retailers have employed heavy promotions, perhaps unintentionally cementing these shopping behaviors. “Retailers have trained women to never pay full price and take pride in being a smart shopper,” Corlett said. “It’s a real struggle to sell anyone anything at full price.” Because price has become central for decision making, some brand names will suffer, particularly with women shoppers, Corlett said. Some 67 percent of women said that trusted brands are not worth paying for, and they are pausing to consider whether it’s a smart use of their money. “It’s an income issue, but it’s also a value issue," she said. "We have lost that mindset of we have to buy, buy, buy, buy. . .we’ve built in a lot of push back. Retail sales will be up, but people aren’t buying everything they want, they are buying what they need.” As a result, retailers need to ask themselves: can they afford to take price increases if they are selling to a shopper that can barely afford the basics?"Frivolous is out,” she said.Questions? Comments? Email us at document.write("");document.write("consumernation"+"@"+"cnbc.com");document.write('');. Follow Christina Cheddar Berk on Twitter @ccheddarberk. 
The use of British aid money in India, with its rapidly growing economy and ambitious space programme, has critics in both countries. But in the state of Bihar, a carefully targeted aid project is successfully reducing corruption, and improving the lives of some of the poorest people in the world.
Bihar's economy is growing fast, but many still live in poverty 
