The blue whale, once hunted to the verge of extinction, is making a comeback with numbers thought to have risen from a few hundred to a few thousand, scientists have said.

The International Whaling Commission’s 2007 scientific report http://www.iwcoffice.org/sci_com/screport.htm that the Antarctic population of the blue whale, thought to be the largest animal ever to live on Earth, rose by 8% per year in the 25 years to 2003/04.

The report was presented to the IWC’s conference in Alaska, which concluded earlier today with countries voting to continue a 21-year-old moratorium on commercial whaling.

Although difficult to accurately monitor, the number of blue whales living south of 60 degrees south is thought to have increased from 450 in the early 1980s to around 2,300, the report said.

“The most recent data is really encouraging,” the IWC’s head of science Greg Donovan told the BBC.

“Blue whales have now been increasing by about 7-8% per year for the last 10 years at least, for which we have good data.

“The abundance is still very low, it’s about 2,300 for the whole southern hemisphere so it’s a tiny fraction of what it used to be, but it’s good news they’re increasing.”

There is less data available for the northern hemisphere, but off the Icelandic coast a recovery has also been noted.

The IWC believes the global population of blue whales, which grow to 30 metres long and weigh up to 200 tonnes, is around 4,500.

Hunters mercilessly pursued the blue whale during the 19th and 20th centuries until a ban was imposed in the 1960s, by which time the species was perilously close to extinction.

Before large-scale hunting started the global blue whale population was thought to have totalled 200,000.

With up to 30,000 killed by commercial hunters every year, the population fell to just a few hundred by the time the ban was brought in.

Scientists say the blue whale’s ability to communicate with potential mates over large distances have helped stocks recover.

Meanwhile, Japan threatened to walk out of the IWC after anti-whaling countries refused to discuss a plan to allow a small amount of whaling by four Japanese coastal communities.

The anti-whaling countries also secured enough votes to continue the moratorium on hunting.

The ban, enacted in 1986, aims to protect several vulnerable species. Pro-whaling nations, including Japan, Norway and Iceland, say populations have rebounded and the ban is no longer necessary. Norway and Iceland do not recognise the ban and conduct commercial whaling.

The commission also passed Greenland’s revised proposal to increase its aboriginal quota of minke whales to 200, as well as to hunt fin and bowhead whales.

Greenland originally wanted to renew hunting of humpback whales but met adamant opposition from critics who noted that humpbacks and bowheads have low reproduction cycles.

Ed Balls today drew battle lines with David Cameron over education, pledging Labour would raise standards for everyone while the Conservatives were focusing only on the “elite”.

The schools secretary accused the Tory leader of operating a “crude [education] policy”, that would be as “socially divisive as the 11-plus was unfair and wrong”.

“We know David Cameron’s back-to-basics is back-to-privilege, back to the past,” he said. “World-class education not for all, but for the privileged elite.”

Mr Balls used his keynote speech to the Labour party conference in Bournemouth to unveil plans to:

end bullying

introduce a new scheme to improve pupils’ writing skills

offer a greater strategic role for local government in driving up standards, and

set up an independent exam regulator.

Under the last proposal, the Qualifications and Curriculum Authority will be split in two.

One body will establish and oversee the curriculum and exams system, the other will act as an independent regulator in an effort to limit the annual debate about grade inflation and “dumbing down”.

Mr Balls told delegates: “I want to end young people being told that the GCSE or A-level grades they are proud of aren’t worth what they used to be.”

The secretary of state said that Labour’s decade in power had raised standards in education, but not enough, as he pledged to do more to help teachers and parents.

“I believe we need to do more to support parents in the difficult job of bringing up children in today’s complex work,” he said.

Jim Knight, the schools minister, would work with employers and unions to draw up a new and flexible framework for the terms and conditions of all support staff.

“This will give heads more options and greater freedom to manage and it will enhance the role and position of teaching assistants even further,” Mr Balls said.

Announcing proposals to ensure every pupil left primary school with the three Rs, Mr Balls said a new “Every child a writer” scheme would be introduced alongside similar schemes for reading and maths.

On bullying, Mr Balls said that it was time to “put an end to bullying, once and for all” for pupils and teachers.

“That means no cyber-bullying on mobile phones. That means no homophobic bulling in the playground,” he said.

Promising every child the best start in life, Mr Balls said: “We will listen to parents and young people. We will hear their ideas and concerns. And we will act, as we draw up our national children’s plan.”

Lowe’s («www.businessweek.com») tried to lower Wall Street’s expectations this week as the entire retail sector watches for signs that consumer spending may be slowing.

Sales at Lowe’s are below previous estimates, a trend that should push earnings this year to the “low end or slightly below” prior guidance of $1.97 to $2.01 per year, the retailer said. Also, as chief financial officer «investing.businessweek.com» said in a statement, “The current pressures will likely continue into 2008,” lowering estimates for 2008 earnings growth to the “mid-single digit[s].” Faster growth should follow in 2009 and 2010.

The news came from Lowe’s just as another big retailer, Target («www.businessweek.com»), warned it expects September same-store sales grow in a range of 1.5% to 2.5%, compared to the 4 to 6% growth expected. The news was alarming because Target has consistently turned in strong growth. The report “suggests a tidal change in consumer spending may have occurred, especially since much of the shortfall is attributed to a drop in customer traffic,” wrote Bernard Sosnick of Oppenheimer («www.businessweek.com»). Target shares were off fell 4.59% to $61.35.

Expectations for Lowe’s sales were already much lower than for retailers like Target. The decline in the housing market has taken a big bite out of the home improvement chain’s sales. When same-store sales fell 2.6% in the second quarter, investors were actually impressed, sending the stock higher last month.

The big debate among analysts Tuesday was whether the Lowe’s results were indeed a sign of a reluctant American consumer or merely an effect of bad weather. Lowe’s blamed its weak sales on drought conditions in the mid-Atlantic, the Southeast and the West. The bad weather hurt outdoor categories like lawn, garden and nursery departments.

Many analysts, especially those who believe Lowe’s stock is undervalued, acknowledged broader problems in housing or consumer spending, but said they believed bad weather was the main culprit. UBS («www.businessweek.com») analyst Brian Nagel saw the news as a “buying opportunity” as shares dipped. The new, lower numbers can even be taken as a positive sign. “It signals that management is now more realistic with respect to the current environment,” he wrote.

Lowe’s shares fell $2.04, or 6.68%, to $28.51 per share.

One problem is that no one is at all confident where retail spending is going at the moment.

“Our sense is that the company is being very cautious in an environment where they have little visibility into future trends,” Bear Stearns («www.businessweek.com») analyst Christopher Horvers wrote. Sales seem to be volatile from weak to week, “indicative of the overall strain that the consumer is under.”

Shares of both Lowe’s and Home Depot («www.businessweek.com»), its archrival, are off about 20% from their 52-week highs. At least so far, however, Lowe’s seems to have done a better job containing the damage from housing’s decline. Home Depot same-store sales fell 5.2% last quarter, double Lowe’s drop.

That’s one reason many analysts remain positive on Lowe’s long-term growth.

Lowe’s “continues to show significant pace of innovation (merchandising, systems, training), running too fast for [Home Depot] to catch up anytime soon,” wrote David Schick of Stifel Nicolaus. (Stifel seeks business from Lowe’s.)

Another hope for retailers and especially the home improvement chains is the recent cut by the Federal Reserve in interest rates. Cycles when the Fed is easing rates tend to be good times for these stocks, analysts say. UBS’s Nagel says “most of the outperformance in Lowe’s shares has occurred during periods of Fed easing.”

Lower rates often stimulate demand for housing by allowing borrowers to afford higher prices. One problem this cycle, however, is no one knows how far home prices still have to fall before they hit bottom. On Tuesday, new data showed U.S. existing home sales dropping 4.3% in August.

(Lowe’s is a UBS client, and a member of its research team owns Lowe’s shares.)