Sunday, March 31, 2013

Argentina offers to pay debts with cash, bonds

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) ? Argentina is offering a creative way out of its debt showdown in a U.S. appellate court.

Its proposed payment plan for $1.44 billion in debts left unpaid since the country's 2001 default is a mix of cash and new bonds that it says would provide the plaintiffs with a huge profit, but not a gargantuan one.

According to the math Argentina gave the appellate judges just before a midnight New York deadline, NML Capital Ltd. would eventually make an aggregate profit of a 284 percent on the bonds it bought five years ago, but not an unfair gain of 1,380 percent.

Argentina is appealing a ruling that would make it pay it all in cash up front.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/argentina-offers-pay-debts-cash-bonds-040817493--finance.html

bo ryan the last waltz earth day activities mel gibson splunk dark shadows iau

If 'Girls,' 'Full House' And More Had 'Game Of Thrones' Sigils

HBO has released a delightful sigil-maker before the start of the third season of Game of Thrones. This got me thinking, what would some of the most famous characters from fiction adopt as their sigils and mottos if they were in the world of Westeros? Let's have a look.

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/29/game-of-thrones-sigils_n_2980146.html

helicon zac efron and taylor swift real housewives of orange county bloom energy franklin graham jambalaya taylor swift and zac efron

Bee deaths stir up renewed buzz

From 2012: Honeybees may be victims of widely used insecticides. NBC's Anne Thompson reports.

By Alan Boyle, Science Editor, NBC News

This past winter has been exceptionally rough for honeybees ??and although it's too early to say exactly why, the usual suspects range from pesticides that appear to cause memory loss to pests that got an exceptionally early start last spring.

Friday marked the start of an annual survey that asks beekeepers to report how many bees they lost over the winter, conducted by the Bee Informed Partnership, the Apiary Inspectors of America and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The advance word is that the results will be brutal.??The New York Times, for example, quoted beekeepers as saying the losses reached levels of 40 to 50 percent?? which would be double the average reported last year.

One beekeeper in Montana was quoted as saying that his bees seemed health last spring, but in September, "they started to fall on their face, to die like crazy."


Dennis vanEngelsdorp, an entomologist at the University of Maryland who is one of the leaders of the survey team, said he can't predict what the past winter's average loss figure will be. The beekeepers' reports are being solicited online for the next two weeks, and the figures are due for release on May 7.

"What I can say is, when we were in California this year, the strength of the colonies that were there was significantly lower than it was in previous years," vanEngelsdorp told NBC News.?

Pesticides at issue
That's consistent with a mysterious ailment known as colony collapse disorder, which has stirred scientists' concern for the past decade. The malady almost certainly due to combination of factors ??including the Varroa mite, a single-celled parasite known as Nosema, several varieties of viruses, and pesticides. Researchers point to one particular class of pesticides, known as neonicotinoids, as a prime suspect.

Neonicotinoid-based pesticides are commonly applied as a coating on corn seeds, but the chemicals can persist in the environment. Although they have low toxicity for mammals, they've been found to have a significant neurotoxic effect on insects, including bees. Several European countries have banned neonicotinoids, the European Union has been looking at a wider ban, and the Environmental Protection Agency is considering new limitations as well. Just last week, a lawsuit called on the EPA to suspend the use of two types of neonicotinoids immediately.

Two recently published studies add to the concern: This week, researchers report in Nature Communications that neonicotinoids block the part of a bee's brain that associates scents with foods. They suggest that without that functionality, the bees effectively forget that floral scents mean food is nearby, and thus die off before they can pollinate. A study published in January in the Journal of Experimental Biology found a similar link to problems with scent-related learning and memory.

Mild winter, dry summer
Although neonicotinoids are currently front and center in the debate over colony collapse disorder, they're not necessarily the primary reason for this winter's dramatic dip in bee colonies.

VanEngelsdorp noted that the winter of 2011-2012 was easy on the bees: Losses amounted to just 21.9 percent, compared with a 2006-2011 average of 33 percent. However, the mild winter was kind to the bees' pests as well. VanEngelsdorp speculated that Varroa mites may have gained an early foothold in the hives last spring. By the time beekeepers started their treatments on the usual schedule, it was too late to keep the mites from weakening the colonies. That would help explain why the past winter's losses were worse than usual.

Scott Bauer / USDA via AP

A worker bee carries a Varroa mite, visible in this close-up view.

California beekeeper Randy Oliver, who discusses industry trends on the Scientific Beekeeping blog, said the past summer's drought was also a factor: "When there's a drought, the bees are in poor shape with the food," he told NBC News. He said he and other beekeepers predicted that there'd be heavy winter losses last July, when the scale of the drought became clear.

Heavy losses are bad news, and if bee colonies are becoming progressively weaker, that's worse news. It's not just because of the honey: The Department of Agriculture says that bee pollination is responsible for more than $15 billion in increased crop value each year. A bee scarcity increases costs for the farmers who need them for pollination, and that could lead to higher food prices. But Oliver said it's important to keep a sense of perspective about the bad news.

"The situation with the bees is not dire," he said. "The bees are doing OK. There's no danger that the bees will go extinct. ... That's just not true."

More about bees:


Alan Boyle is NBCNews.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's?Facebook page, following?@b0yle on Twitter?and adding the?Cosmic Log page?to your Google+ presence. To keep up with Cosmic Log as well as NBCNews.com's other stories about science and space, sign up for the Tech & Science newsletter, delivered to your email in-box every weekday. You can also check out?"The Case for Pluto,"?my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for new worlds.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/2a24ed5c/l/0Lcosmiclog0Bnbcnews0N0C0Inews0C20A130C0A30C290C175187930Ebee0Edeaths0Estir0Eup0Erenewed0Ebuzz0Dlite/story01.htm

obama sweet home chicago accenture match play george washington carver king cake fun. hepatitis c symptoms david bradley

A breakthrough for Lebanese e-commerce? | Web-Release.info

The Lebanese blogosphere?lit?up?last week when PayPal announced at the ArabNet conference that it would begin offering services in the country later this year. A gaggle of online commentators welcomed the news, with responses ranging from excitement to mere relief. ?I can?t tell you how much this helps me,? one commenter said.

PayPal is the leading global service that manages online payments. It is owned by eBay, the world?s top online marketplace, and rose to prominence alongside the site. But it has branched out and is moving rapidly into mobile technology and other new trends.

Yet until now, those Lebanese wanting to buy goods or services via PayPal have been unable to, or have been forced to use foreign cards. The reason, the company says, was strategic ? Lebanon?s market was not ready before. Even now e-commerce is still in its infancy, with only 9 percent of Internet users active in it ? the vast majority for online banking rather than buying goods ? according to a new poll by Ipsos.

While PayPal?s arrival will make life easier for consumers, the real beneficiaries may be Lebanon?s businesses. ?We?re definitely excited,? said Mohammed Bakhash, project manager for?Mira-Cl?, a business consultancy that also builds websites for e-commerce companies. ?I know a lot of clients who are trying to get around the fact that PayPal isn?t available in Lebanon,? he says.

There are other services for online payments, but none stack up against PayPal, according to Bakhash. Currently, most e-commerce sites ?get around this issue by creating an account and having a virtual credit card,? he said, adding that some banks offer payment solutions as well, but they?re ?very complicated and they charge a lot.? PayPal, on the other hand, is simple, cheap and ubiquitous.

The timeline of the arrival is still unclear. Speaking to Executive, PayPal?s Business Development Manager for the MENA region, Francis Barel, said it will hopefully be before the end of the year, provided a launch in Egypt goes smoothly.??We have said we?re planning to come to Lebanon in 2013???so we?re hoping it will be by the end of the year, but it?s a long process.?

The online spin-off of Lebanon?s leading bookseller?Antoine?already uses PayPal, but only for customers with foreign bank accounts or credit cards. ?At first the [focus] of the site was to sell outside Lebanon,? says Cyril Hadji-Thomas, CEO and co-founder of Books Without Borders, which manages Antoine Online. But ?now the positioning has changed a bit?the growing market is Lebanese customers.? Currently, around sixty percent of Antoine Online?s sales are in Lebanon, he says.

Hadji-Thomas thinks PayPal?s security safeguards and ease of use mean it will be popular in the market. ?With PayPal you can link your identity and it?s secure. Most of the time people don?t want to fetch their credit card to pay? the whole process is easier,? he says.

He believes Antoine Online is uniquely positioned to take advantage of PayPal?s move into Lebanon as they have their own delivery service that is used to the chaos of Lebanon?s address system, while people can also pick up the product from in-store. This mix of physical infrastructure, combined with a lack of customs hassles, provides a competitive advantage over foreign e-commerce sites, he says. ?We think we have a better offer than Amazon in the country.?

The missing link

However, PayPal?s introduction will only be a game changer if it coincides with changes in the Lebanese attitude towards online shopping, where poor infrastructure and low levels of trust prevent people buying online. ?The main issue is having Lebanon get [used] to the e-commerce market as standard,? Hadji-Thomas says.

Part of the problem is that there is still no legal or regulatory framework for e-commerce in Lebanon. A draft law was shelved in 2010 after activists?complained?that it was so poorly written that it would have provided government bodies with sweeping powers over many aspects of online life.

Another?draft law?has been proposed to address these concerns and lay a basic framework for e-commerce regulation. A government official, speaking on condition of anonymity as he was not allowed to talk to the press, said that if enacted, ?a lot of issues might be resolved, including logistics, security, payments, downloading, quality of software and protecting the rights of stakeholders.?

The law would also provide for transactions involving the government, the representative explains. For example, ?when [the government] automated registration of trademarks, we had to resort to LibanPost to make payments and transport the documents. If we had this transaction law, everything could have been done over the web,? he says.

But whether the government moves on e-commerce or not, the private sector will continue to advance the field. According to PayPal, the lack of proper regulation is a hindrance, but the markets?cannot?wait?for government action. As Barel said, ?I think [Lebanon] is quite ready.?

Source Executive Magazine

?

Related Press Releases:

Source: http://web-release.info/2013/03/30/a-breakthrough-for-lebanese-e-commerce/

oscar noms college board miami heat good friday tony romo Alexis Wright

Friday, March 29, 2013

Reuters: Walmart looking into crowd-sourcing online delivery

Reuters WalMart looking into crowdsourcing online delivery

Walmart is considering the slightly insane sounding idea of using its in-store customers to deliver online orders to help it compete with bricks and mortar-less competitors like Amazon, according to Reuters. The big box outfit currently ships internet purchases from just 25 of its stores using the likes of FedEx to handle delivery, but plans to drastically increase that number going forward. In theory, customers could sign up for the chore and drop packages off to customers who are on their route home in exchange for a discount. CEO Joel Anderson he could "see a path to where this is crowd-sourced," adding that "this is at the brain-storming stage, but it's possible in a year or two." Naturally, there's a gauntlet of insurance, theft, fraud and legal issues Walmart would need to run first -- along with the slightly skeevy idea of having a random stranger show up with your packages.

Filed under:

Comments

Source: Reuters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/28/reuters-wal-mart-looking-into-crowd-sourcing-online-delivery/

academy awards Sally Field The Oscars Searching For Sugar Man george clooney Zero Dark Thirty Academy Awards 2013

AT&T to take orders for Galaxy S 4 on April 16

NEW YORK (AP) ? AT&T says it will start taking pre-orders for the Samsung Galaxy S 4, the season's most eagerly awaited smartphone, on April 16 for $250.

The amount is $50 above the usual introductory price for high-end smartphones.

AT&T didn't say when the phone will go on sale in stores, or when the pre-orders will be delivered, but pre-orders usually start a week or two before deliveries.

The S 4 is the successor to the Galaxy S III, which has been the biggest competitor to Apple's iPhone. AT&T is the first U.S. carrier to announce a price and pre-order date, but others have said they'll sell the phone. British carriers started taking pre-orders on Thursday.

The Galaxy S 4 comes with a slightly bigger screen, a larger battery and a faster processor.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-03-28-ATandT-Samsung%20Galaxy%20S%204/id-c539af7602ae4646b08a0842b8343a5b

kansas jayhawks mega millions results louisville lotto numbers susan powell megamillions winners university of louisville

Thursday, March 28, 2013

Hurley Town Board puts off casino gambling vote - DailyFreeman.com

HURLEY ? The Town Board has delayed a vote to support siting a casino in Wawarsing until the developer can provide a presentation.

A resolution to endorse putting a casino on the former Nevele resort property was tabled during a meeting Tuesday, when board members said they were reluctant to support having a project in another town that they wouldn?t want in their own.

?There are some things in this that just didn?t sit that well with me,? Councilwoman Janet Briggs said. ?I?m not sure I would appreciate Wawarsing saying we?d love this in our county but only if it was in Hurley.?

The request for support came from Michael Treanor, chief executive officer for resort owner Claremont Partners Limited, which is seeking to convert the former Nevele resort into a 452-room, 3.5 million-square-foot casino if state lawmakers designate the site for one of up to seven gaming facilities.

Hurley Town Supervisor Gary Bellows said developers are seeking to have the facility, which closed in 2009 and was subject to bankruptcy proceedings last year, to become operational if a state proposition allowing non-tribal gambling is placed on ballots in November.

?I think the state requires that the facility be up and running four months, I believe it is,? Bellows said. ?I think at this point (state lawmakers) are looking at three (casinos) ... below Albany. They feel that one would happen in the New York City area, one would happen at Monticello, and possibly one other.?

Councilman John Dittus said he is opposed to casino gambling based on his experience as a police officer.

?From experiences in my other life when I was in law enforcement for 32 years I don?t think gambling is the solution to our economic woes in New York state,? Dittus said. ?I think the state took a look at things like getting an automobile plant built here, heavy industry, things like that. Gambling brings with it unsavory characters, other crime is connected to gambling, and I don?t think it?s good for our future if you have to resort to gambling to make money.?

Bellows said the resort would also have family attractions while keeping money from leaving the county for casino gambling in other areas.

?It is going to be more of a family resort,? he said. ?It?s going to have water parks and have a lot of other entertainment for families.

Source: http://www.dailyfreeman.com/articles/2013/03/27/news/doc51523a9699e0e000482390.txt

tomb of the unknown soldier HMS Bounty dominion power Heather Clem Con Edison LaGuardia Airport weather radar

Teens' struggles with peers forecast long-term adult relationships

Mar. 28, 2013 ? Teenagers' struggles to connect with their peers in the early adolescent years while not getting swept along by negative peer influences predict their capacity to form strong friendships and avoid serious problems even ten years later. Those are the conclusions of a new longitudinal study by researchers at the University of Virginia that appears in the journal Child Development.

"Overall, we found that teens face a high-wire act with their peers," explains Joseph P. Allen, Hugh P. Kelly Distinguished Professor at the University of Virginia, who led the study. "They need to establish strong, positive connections with them while at the same time establishing independence in resisting deviant peer influences. Those who don't manage this have significant problems as much as a decade later."

Researchers followed about 150 teens over a 10-year period (starting at age 13 and continuing to 23) to learn about the long-term effects of their peer struggles early in adolescence. They gathered information from multiple sources -- the teens themselves, their parents and peers, and by observing teens' later interactions with romantic partners. The teens comprised a racially, ethnically, and socioeconomically diverse group.

Teens who had trouble connecting well with their peers in early adolescence had difficulty establishing close friendships in young adulthood. Teens who didn't connect well at 13 also had more difficulty managing disagreements in romantic relationships as adults.

Teens who had trouble establishing some autonomy and independence with peers (especially with respect to minor forms of deviance such as shoplifting and vandalism) were found to be at higher risk for problems with alcohol and substance use, and for illegal behavior, almost a decade later.

Conversely, teens who were seen as desirable companions -- those deemed empathetic, able to see things from different perspectives and control their impulses, and having a good sense of humor -- were more likely to have positive relationships in young adulthood.

Teens who were able to establish some autonomy vis a vis peers' influences were more likely to avoid problematic behavior in young adulthood, with teens who showed they were able to think for themselves in the face of negative peer influences using less alcohol as early adults and having fewer problems with alcohol and substance abuse as young adults. But teens who were seen as desirable companions were more likely to have higher levels of alcohol use in early adulthood and future problems associated with alcohol and substance use.

"The findings make it clear that establishing social competence in adolescence and early adulthood is not a straightforward process, but involves negotiating challenging and at times conflicting goals between peer acceptance and autonomy with regard to negative peer influences," Allen notes.

"Teaching teens how to stand up for themselves in ways that preserve and deepen relationships -- to become their own persons while still connecting to others -- is a core task of social development that parents, teachers, and others can all work to promote," adds Allen.

Teens who managed both of these goals simultaneously -- connecting with peers while retaining their autonomy -- were rated by their parents as being most competent overall by age 23. "There is a positive pathway through the peer jungle of early adolescence," says Allen, "but it is a tricky one for many teens to find and traverse."

Share this story on Facebook, Twitter, and Google:

Other social bookmarking and sharing tools:


Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Society for Research in Child Development, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.


Journal Reference:

  1. Joseph P. Allen, Joanna Chango, David Szwedo. The Adolescent Relational Dialectic and the Peer Roots of Adult Social Functioning. Child Development, 2013; DOI: 10.1111/cdev.12106

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/~3/Shaf-2ktyMQ/130328080223.htm

What Time Do Polls Open Krysten Ritter v for vendetta Voting Locations atlanta falcons voting hours election results

A little less human: Golden Gate loses its toll collectors

By Ronnie Cohen

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In her job as a toll collector on the Golden Gate Bridge, Jacquie Dean has watched a cavalcade of humanity roll past her booth, from naked partiers to a generous soul who handed her a lobster dinner one holiday.

All that came to an end just after midnight on Wednesday when an all-electronic payment system replaced Dean and her co-workers.

Dean had planned to stay at her job until her retirement in 13 years. Instead she saw the end of an era in the Bay area, as the Golden Gate lost the human touch in a change officials say is expected to ease congestion and save a projected $2 million a year in labor costs.

Dean spent the past 19 years collecting Golden Gate Bridge tolls and says she feels sad about leaving the job, just like 27 other toll collectors made redundant since January 2011, when the bridge district board of directors decided to move to all-electronic payments.

"Our customers love us," Dean said. "We love them. You have customers who remember your birthday. It's a relationship that's reciprocated through the years."

It was also a relationship that developed every day in increments of six seconds. That is the amount of time the toll workers were supposed to spend with each customer. Some transactions took longer, and some were shorter.

Dean has waved through everything from a Pinto to a Lexus carrying expectant mothers clutching bulging bellies, feet on the dashboard, breath labored.

"I'll put the $6 in for you," she has told the worried fathers-to-be. "Go have a baby."

Dean also reminisced about a motorist who one New Year's Eve brought a lobster dinner to her tollbooth, complete with scalloped potatoes and pumpkin cheesecake.

And Dean laughed about men in wigs who came through on Halloween and - this being freewheeling San Francisco - introduced themselves as Gentleman Godiva, male versions of Lady Godiva, who rode her horse in the nude.

Dean said she took the men at their word that they were wearing only wigs, and trained herself never to look down.

Dean is unsure of her plans now she has lost her job.

The loss of the toll workers is a historic change for a bridge that has been celebrated in song and long ago became an American landmark and an icon of Art Deco design.

"The face of welcoming someone to San Francisco is changing," said bridge spokeswoman Mary Currie.

An estimated 20 million cars cross the Golden Gate into San Francisco every year and at one time, more than 100 toll takers worked on the bridge, which opened in 1937 and charges only for southbound trips.

On Tuesday, the last day drivers could hand their money to a human, only nine remained.

Before the last toll booths were closed, 86 percent of morning commuters driving from Marin County into San Francisco already paid the toll electronically with prepaid FasTrak tags, transponders that discount the $6 toll to $5.

Drivers can set up accounts for single trips or can buy individual crossings at kiosks in Bay area gas stations and convenience stores. The bridge district will photograph the license plates of vehicles that pass through the toll plaza without accounts and the registered owners of those cars and trucks will each receive an invoice for the $6 toll.

(Reporting by Ronnie Cohen; Editing by Alex Dobuzinskis and David Brunnstrom)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/human-touch-becomes-history-golden-gate-moves-electronic-090445983.html

2012 ncaa tournament schedule laurent robinson dantoni gillian anderson leah remini black and tan dwight howard trade

Citigroup looks to cut cash holdings to boost earnings

By David Henry

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Citigroup Inc is considering cutting its cash on hand by about $35 billion, which should help the bank buy higher yielding assets or redeem expensive debt to boost earnings.

Making the change will signal that the management of the third-largest U.S. bank by assets, which had to be rescued three times by the U.S. government in the financial crisis, is increasingly confident that its worst troubles are well behind it.

The move could give a 2 percent boost to Citigroup's bottom line this year and keep the bank's lending margins relatively strong even as competitors suffer from low interest rates.

The bank has enough liquid assets to cover an estimated 37 days of the cash drain expected in a scenario of acute stress under pending new regulations, based on Citi's financial reports through December. Treasurer Eric Aboaf and other executives would like to reduce that to about 33 days of coverage, or 10 percent more than is to be required under the new international rules known as the Basel III liquidity coverage ratio.

"In the framework of managing a company efficiently, that would be a good thing to do" over the next year or so, Aboaf told Reuters in an interview.

While the move would reduce the bank's pool of cash and liquid assets by about 10 percent, Citigroup would still have 10 percent more liquidity than regulators say they will demand. JPMorgan Chase & Co, which analysts and investors often see as a stronger bank than Citigroup, is below the pending regulatory minimum.

Citigroup may feel more confident, but the bank is also leaving itself a little more vulnerable to big swings in markets and economies around the world. Cash on hand is critical for staving off runs on the bank during bad times.

The Federal Reserve has not commented publicly on Citigroup's liquidity, but earlier in March it approved the company's capital plan as strong enough to withstand a stress test. The U.S. regulator is part of the international body that has drafted the new liquidity requirement that Citigroup exceeds.

"At the moment it is appropriate for Citi to take down their cash, but if we end up with very volatile capital markets and Citi is caught in that, then people will start to question them," said Charles Peabody of Portales Partners, a research firm for institutional investors.

Given Citi's huge problems in recent years it might seem surprising that it has so much leeway to reduce cash. By contrast JPMorgan, which maneuvered through the financial crisis less scathed than most major U.S. banks, has estimated it is 17 percent short of the expected Basel III levels, which are to be phased in by 2019.

Citigroup has had to be more conservative than JPMorgan because investors and regulators were less confident in it, but Citi's fortunes have turned, thanks in part to the U.S. housing market stabilizing.

During the financial crisis, while Citigroup struggled to survive, the U.S. authorities turned to JPMorgan to help them salvage failed financial institutions.

Even as recently as a year ago, Moody's Investors Service cut Citigroup's ratings as part of a broader financial services review globally. In March of last year, the Federal Reserve publicly rejected Citigroup's capital plan. It was a blow to confidence in the bank, as well as a sign of Citigroup's strained relationships with regulators. Executives at Citigroup had other reasons to be cautious too, including the European debt crisis, and the bank's portfolio of troubled mortgage assets left from the financial crisis.

But in recent months, the tide has turned. The bank has changed its leadership, pushing out Vikram Pandit and bringing in Michael Corbat, who has been assiduously building bridges with regulators. With the U.S. housing market starting to recover, the bank's losses on its portfolio of bad assets are abating, and the bank passed the Fed's stress test this year. In fact, that test suggested that Citigroup is safer than JPMorgan now. The regulator approved a plan for Citigroup to return $1.2 billion of additional capital to shareholders.

The bank's liquidity pool has reflected this shift. At the end of March 2012, Citigroup had $421 billion of cash on deposit at central banks and other unencumbered liquid assets, enough to cover about 43 days of acute stress and equal to about 22 percent of the bank's total assets, more than twice the percentage at the end of 2007 when the financial crisis had just taken hold.

In the middle of last year, as things started looking up for the bank, it quietly began to tap its liquidity, a move that accelerated in the fourth quarter as the company reduced its long-term debt by $32 billion and cut interest expense.

The draw left Citigroup's pool of liquid assets at $354 billion at year-end, $67 billion less than in March last year, but still at a level that CreditSights senior analyst David Hendler calls "robust."

"You really don't need that much liquidity," said a bond investor at a large money management firm who buys Citi debt and who declined to be named. He called the pile "excessive."

Citigroup had $1.86 trillion of assets at the end of December.

TURNING TIDE

With Citigroup lowering its cash holdings in the fourth quarter, the bank managed to lift its interest profit margin, known as its net interest margin, even as JPMorgan's margin fell.

Much the same could happen in coming quarters. While Citigroup has not committed to exactly when it will bring its liquidity down and by how much, the company, in contrast to JPMorgan, has guided analysts to expect steady interest profit margins, in the face of industry-wide low rates.

Those stable margins will help the bottom line. Drawing down the $35 billion of excess liquidity could easily save $350 million of interest expense, or about two percent of 2013 earnings, said Moshe Orenbuch, a bank analyst at Credit Suisse. The gains could be greater if the company were able to use the cash to make loans with attractive yields, he said.

In contrast, JPMorgan, which has not been under pressure to hold so much cash, is now increasing its holdings. Its Chief Financial Officer Marianne Lake told analysts in February that the company can quickly reach the liquidity requirements by steps including cashing out longer-term securities and taking in more deposits. JPMorgan intends to reach the minimum by year-end, the company said in a filing. But a measure of the bank's lending profitability, known as net interest margin, will suffer as a result, Lake said.

JPMorgan has accelerated plans to meet other upcoming Basel III requirements since losing $6.2 billion in its "London Whale" derivatives trades last year.

A JPMorgan spokesman declined to comment for this story.

Morgan Stanley has said its liquidity exceeds 100 percent of the new Basel III requirement, while Bank of America Corp and Goldman Sachs Group Inc have yet to disclose their liquidity scores under the new requirements.

How good the regulators' new liquidity requirements are at showing which banks are safe won't be known for sure until they are tested in a crisis, analysts said.

The new requirements were drafted after the 2008 bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, which happened as executives of the investment bank insisted they had more than enough liquidity.

But the sums Lehman said were available included securities that were pledged as collateral on derivatives trades, as well as instruments that could not be quickly turned into cash to pay creditors, according to a report by an examiner appointed by the bankruptcy court in the case.

Aboaf of Citigroup, which held some of Lehman's collateral, said none of the assets his bank counts as liquid are encumbered. (Reporting by David Henry in New York; Editing by Claudia Parsons)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/citigroup-looks-cut-cash-holdings-boost-earnings-065958504--sector.html

Sam Champion Engaged Infield fly rule Taken 2 Venezuela Elections Skyfall Chicago Marathon 2012 texas rangers

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Sports Stars Of The '90s: Where Are They Now?

Bleacher Report:

Just because athletes retire and aren't on television anymore constantly reminding you of their very existence doesn't mean they simply cease to exist.

That being said, let's take a look at some very random sports starts from the '90s and see what they were doing then and what they are doing now.

Read the whole story at Bleacher Report

"; var coords = [-5, -72]; // display fb-bubble FloatingPrompt.embed(this, html, undefined, 'top', {fp_intersects:1, timeout_remove:2000,ignore_arrow: true, width:236, add_xy:coords, class_name: 'clear-overlay'}); });

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/25/sports-stars-of-the-90s-w_n_2952163.html

tenebrae the lake house petrino arkansas roy williams matt lauer divine mercy chaplet albert pujols

Electric bacteria could be used for bio-battery

In an important step toward the creation of "bio-batteries," a new study reveals how bacteria produce electricity when proteins in their cell membranes come into contact with a mineral surface.

Scientists have known for some time that a family of marine bacteria known as Shewanella oneidensis, found in deep ocean sediments and soil, can create electrical currents when exposed to heavy metals like iron and manganese.

In a study published Monday in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers show that these proteins can ferry electrons across a membrane at a rate fast enough to produce the energy the bacteria need to survive.

Just as humans breathe oxygen and use it to generate energy, Shewanella bacteria can use minerals like iron oxide for respiration, study co-author Liang Shi, a microbiologist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash., told LiveScience. The bacteria are known to produce a current by shuttling electrons across their cell membranes, "but how this electron transfer from bacteria to mineral occurs is not well understood," Shi said.

There are two main possibilities for how it happens: The membrane proteins might transfer electrons directly to the mineral surface, or the proteins might use other molecules to help them carry electrons across the cell membrane.

To show how membrane proteins in these bacteria produce an electric current, researchers created a bubblelike structure of fatty molecules studded with these proteins, which mimicked the bacteria's cell membrane. It's much easier to study these bubbles than real bacterial cells, which are crowded with other structures, Shi said. The experiments were also run in an oxygen-free environment, since oxygen can interfere with the chemical reactions.

The bubbles contained an electron donor on the inside, and were exposed to an iron-containing mineral on the outside. The researchers measured the speed of the electrical current that developed across the membrane.

The speed of this current was very fast ? fast enough to suggest the bacteria use this mechanism to create their electrical currents in nature.

"Our research shows that these proteins can directly 'touch' the mineral surface and produce an electric current, meaning that it is possible for the bacteria to lie on the surface of a metal or mineral and conduct electricity through their cell membranes," study leader Tom Clarke, a biologist at the University of East Anglia, U.K., said in a statement.

Understanding how these bacteria function could enable scientists to develop bio-batteries that could store energy for sensors in remote environments, for example. Conversely, the reverse process ? putting electricity into the bacteria ? could be used to make the bacteria manufacture useful materials.

Bio-batteries are already being developed, Shi said, though not as part of this research. The next question is how these electron-shuttling proteins fit into the whole system, not just within the lab bubbles, he said.

Follow Tanya Lewis on Twitter and Google+. Follow us @livescience, Facebook & Google+. Original article on LiveScience.com.

Copyright 2013 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.


Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653377/s/29fb6d0a/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Ctechnology0Cfutureoftech0Celectric0Ebacteria0Ecould0Ebe0Eused0Ebio0Ebattery0E1B90A66434/story01.htm

syracuse basketball chipper jones chipper jones mickael pietrus heart transplant the international preppers

Doubt over Sanofi drug in EU may hurt wider MS market

LONDON (Reuters) - Uncertainty over European exclusivity for Sanofi's new multiple sclerosis (MS) pill Aubagio could disrupt the wider market and impact other companies, according to a leading industry analyst.

The French drugmaker won an approval recommendation on Friday for the medicine from the European Medicines Agency, but the regulator refused to give it a "new active substance" (NAS) designation because it is very similar to a much older drug.

Without this designation, Tim Anderson of brokerage Bernstein said generic copies could be launched in Europe in as little as three years - the time required for brief clinical studies of generics and to review applications for approval.

That might not be a disaster for Sanofi, since most of the drug's sales are expected to come from the United States, but Anderson said in a research note it could wreak "havoc" on the rest of the European MS market because of the price disparity that would suddenly exist between generic Aubagio and rivals.

Products that could be hit include injectable MS drugs like Teva's Copaxone and Biogen Idec's Avonex and Tysabri, as well Novartis's MS pill Gilenya. It could also hurt Biogen's new tablet, known as Tecfidera or BG-12, which was recommended for approval in Europe last week.

Sanofi said it was very disappointed by the European regulator's decision on the NAS designation for Aubagio and planned to request a re-examination of the case.

(Reporting by Ben Hirschler; Editing by David Holmes)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/doubt-over-sanofi-drug-eu-may-hurt-wider-081007479--finance.html

scarlett johansson tim tebow survivor snl peter frampton smokey robinson smokey robinson

Monday, March 25, 2013

Syracuse Holds Off Cal 66-60, Advances To Sweet 16 In NCAA Tournament

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Carl Hall #22 of the Wichita State Shockers dunks the ball in the first half while taking on the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Carl Hall #22 of the Wichita State Shockers steals the ball from Gary Bell, Jr. #5 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs alongside Demetric Williams #5 of the Shockers in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Demetric Williams #5 of the Wichita State Shockers and Kevin Pangos #4 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs go after a loose ball in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Kevin Pangos #4 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs reacts in the first half while taking on the Wichita State Shockers during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Kelly Olynyk #13 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs drives to the basket against Ehimen Orukpe #21 and Carl Hall #22 of the Wichita State Shockers in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Ron Baker #31 of the Wichita State Shockers and Elias Harris #20 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs go after a loose ball in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Carl Hall #22 of the Wichita State Shockers and Kelly Olynyk #13 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs go after a loose ball in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Cleanthony Early #11 of the Wichita State Shockers blocks Sam Dower #35 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Cleanthony Early #11 of the Wichita State Shockers reacts after making a three-pointer in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Carl Hall #22 of the Wichita State Shockers dunks the ball in the first half while taking on the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Ron Baker #31 of the Wichita State Shockers and Elias Harris #20 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs go after a loose ball in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Carl Hall #22 and Cleanthony Early #11 of the Wichita State Shockers react after Early makes a three-pointer in the first half against the Gonzaga Bulldogs during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

  • Wichita State vs. Gonzaga

    Mike Hart #30 of the Gonzaga Bulldogs and Carl Hall #22 of the Wichita State Shockers go after a loose ball in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at EnergySolutions Arena on March 23, 2013 in Salt Lake City, Utah. (Photo by Streeter Lecka/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Trent Lockett #22 of the Marquette Golden Eagles dives for the ball against Kellen Dunham #24 of the Butler Bulldogs in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Trent Lockett #22 of the Marquette Golden Eagles grabs a loose ball against Roosevelt Jones #21 of the Butler Bulldogs in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Head coach Buzz Williams of the Marquette Golden Eagles looks on from the sideline in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Andrew Smith #44 of the Butler Bulldogs drives to the basket and draws a foul against Davante Gardner #54 of the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Junior Cadougan #5 of the Marquette Golden Eagles shoots against Kellen Dunham #24 of the Butler Bulldogs in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Andrew Smith #44 of the Butler Bulldogs reacts after a play against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Derrick Wilson #12 and Trent Lockett #22 of the Marquette Golden Eagles celebrate after a defensive play in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Rotnei Clarke #15 of the Butler Bulldogs reacts after making a basket against the Marquette Golden Eagles in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Jamil Wilson #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles reacts after having a foul called on him in the first half against the Butler Bulldogs during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Head coach Brad Stevens of the Butler Bulldogs talks to his players after a double flagrant foul in the first half against the Marquette Golden Eagles during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Butler vs. Marquette

    Jamil Wilson #0 of the Marquette Golden Eagles handles the ball against Roosevelt Jones #21 of the Butler Bulldogs in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Cody Ellis #24 is called for a foul as he and Jordair Jett #5 of the Saint Louis Billikens defend against Johnathan Loyd #10 of the Oregon Ducks in the second half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Cody Ellis #24 of the Saint Louis Billikens drives past Carlos Emory #33 of the Oregon Ducks in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Cody Ellis #24 of the Saint Louis Billikens and Arsalan Kazemi #14 of the Oregon Ducks vie for posession in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    The Oregon Ducks bench reacts in the first half against the Saint Louis Billikens during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Arsalan Kazemi #14 passes the ball to Damyean Dotson #21 of the Oregon Ducks on a fast break in the first half against the Saint Louis Billikens during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Rob Loe #51 of the Saint Louis Billikens goes up against the Oregon Ducks in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon Henderson/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Arsalan Kazemi #14 of the Oregon Ducks drives against Cody Ellis #24 of the Saint Louis Billikens in the fist half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Head coach Jim Crews talks to Kwamain Mitchell #3 and Grandy Glaze #1 of the Saint Louis Billikens in the first half against the Oregon Ducks during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Kwamain Mitchell #3 of the Saint Louis Billikens drives against Arsalan Kazemi #14 of the Oregon Ducks in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    E.J. Singler #25 of the Oregon Ducks falls on Dwayne Evans #21 of the Saint Louis Billikens as Jordair Jett #5 of the Saint Louis Billikens recovers the loose ball in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Grandy Glaze #1 of the Saint Louis Billikens drives against Tony Woods #55 of the Oregon Ducks in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon Henderson/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Arsalan Kazemi #14 of the Oregon Ducks rebounds over Grandy Glaze #1 of the Saint Louis Billikens in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Tony Woods #55 of the Oregon Ducks goes up for a shot over Rob Loe #51 of the Saint Louis Billikens in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Head coach Dana Altman (L) and assistant coach Tony Stubblefield of the Oregon Ducks react in the first half against the Saint Louis Billikens during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Damyean Dotson #21 of the Oregon Ducks goes up against the Saint Louis Billikens in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Mike McCall Jr. #11 of the Saint Louis Billikens guards Johnathan Loyd #10 of the Oregon Ducks in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Thearon Henderson/Getty Images)

  • Oregon vs. Saint Louis

    Arsalan Kazemi #14 of the Oregon Ducks rebounds over Grandy Glaze #1 of the Saint Louis Billikens in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at HP Pavilion on March 23, 2013 in San Jose, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Kevin Ware #5 of the Louisville Cardinals defends Wes Eikmeier #10 of the Colorado State Rams in the second half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Colton Iverson #45 of the Colorado State Rams looks on in the first half agaisnt the Louisville Cardinals during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Peyton Siva #3 of the Louisville Cardinals falls trying to dribble around Colton Iverson #45 of the Colorado State Rams in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Montrezl Harrell #24 of the Louisville Cardinals takes a charge as Colton Iverson #45 of the Colorado State Rams goes up for a dunk in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Colton Iverson #45 of the Colorado State Rams handles the ball against Stephan Van Treese #44 of the Louisville Cardinals in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Montrezl Harrell #24 of the Louisville Cardinals reacts after a play against the Colorado State Rams in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Dorian Green #22 of the Colorado State Rams celebrates after making a three point basket against the Louisville Cardinals in the first half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Colton Iverson #45 of the Colorado State Rams looks up after being poked in the eye in the first half against the Louisville Cardinals during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Peyton Siva #3 of the Louisville Cardinals steals the ball from Greg Smith #44 of the Colorado State Rams in the second half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Colorado State vs. Louisville

    Colton Iverson #45 of the Colorado State Rams handles the ball and is fouled by Gorgui Dieng #10 of the Louisville Cardinals in the second half during the third round of the 2013 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Rupp Arena on March 23, 2013 in Lexington, Kentucky. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)

  • Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/24/syracuse-cal-ncaa-scores-2013_n_2942025.html

    summer solstice Summer Solstice 2012 Waldo Canyon fire nba finals K Michelle roger clemens multiple sclerosis

    We're Jealous! Celebrity Kids with Awesome Hairstyles

    We wouldn't usually take our style cues from a 4-year-old, but after seeing Seraphina Affleck's new bob, consider us inspired! Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner's daughter stepped out with a new cut recently, and the blunt chin-length style takes her natural cuteness to a whole new level. (It also goes perfectly with her chic grey cardigan -- very European!)

    Source: http://www.ivillage.com/celebrity-hairstyles-seraphina-affleck-gets-bob/1-a-529455?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Acelebrity-hairstyles-seraphina-affleck-gets-bob-529455

    aretha franklin whitney houston paul williams paul babeu kevin costner budweiser shootout animal house invincible

    Google+ for iPhone and Android update improves photo sharing, posting, location sharing, and more

    Google+ for iPhone and Android update improves photo sharing, posting, location sharing, and more

    If you use Google+ on your iPhone, you'll want to keep your eyes out for an update that will make sharing content, posting photos, and managing communities even easier. The update promises that you'll be able to do more in less time and have stricter control over your content when posting.

    When posting photos, you'll now have the ability to edit them natively within the Google+ app by adding filters, rotating, and cropping. The view profile section has also been tweaked and presents information in a much more streamline way. Anyone who has communities set up has probably noticed there wasn't much interaction or ways to control what posts you see via the app. With the update you'll now be able to control how many posts feed into your main stream via communities.

    Updates to location information including being able to only share location with certain circles. For example, if you'd like only your family and close friends to see your location information, you can set those circles in that way while leaving other circles without location information attached. That way, the way people view your profile will differ and the ones you choose to share location information on posts, the ones you share it with will see that information underneath your post.

    To see all the changes including screenshots of how changes will look, hit the link below.

    Source: Google+



    Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheIphoneBlog/~3/G77DoW2qT_U/story01.htm

    john edwards trial brandon weeden felicia day nfl 2012 draft st louis rams miami dolphins buffalo bills

    Rihanna drops in on Chicago-area high school

    (AP) ? Pop star Rihanna has dropped in on high school students in a northwestern Chicago suburb.

    Barrington High School earned Friday's visit as a reward for winning the singer's "Shine Bright Like a Diamond" video contest.

    The five-minute, student-produced video highlighted the school's volunteer and community service programs.

    The Chicago Sun-Times reports (http://bit.ly/10wxpTC ) that the singer told students she admired their passion and volunteerism.

    Rihanna showed up more than five hours late, but some in the crowd said she was worth the wait.

    She also posed for photos before heading off to her Friday night concert at Chicago's United Center.

    Barrington freshman Nisha Ali says "the fact that she came here and thanked us was a huge deal."

    ___

    Information from: Chicago Sun-Times, http://www.suntimes.com/index

    Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-03-23-People-Rihanna/id-65095e90af584494bbb49086a393c767

    super bowl recipes planned parenthood kobayashi margaret sanger paul george eddie long ufc 143 weigh ins

    Sunday, March 24, 2013

    Meteor Over Manhattan: East Coast Fireball Sets Internet Abuzz

    A bright meteor briefly outshined the lights of New York City Friday evening (March 22), according to reports by witnesses who used Twitter and the Internet to report sightings of the fireball streaking over a broad stretch of the U.S. East Coast.

    "Strange Friday night ? a meteor passed over my house tonight!" wrote one New Yorker writing as Yanksmom19.

    The first fireball sightings came at about 8 p.m. EDT (0000 March 23 GMT) and sparked more than 500 witness reports to the American Meteor Society. Reports of the meteor flooded Twitter from New York, Boston and Washington, D.C.

    "The witnesses range from along the Atlantic Coast ranging from Maine to North Carolina," Robert Lunsford, the society's fireball coordinator, wrote in an update. "This object was also seen as far inland as Ohio." [5 Amazing Fireball Videos]

    The CBS WUSA 9 television news station obtained several security camera videos of the fireball as it lit up the night sky over Washington and parts of Maryland.

    In New York, some observers reported seeing the meteor low in the sky as it streaked from west to east across the night sky.

    "It shot over Manhattan and broke up over the East Village," observer Ross E. of New York City wrote in his fireball report to the meteor society. In fact, the meteor streaked across hundreds of miles and was visible from many states along the Eastern Seaboard.

    According to Lunsford, meteors often appear closer than they actually are due to the observer's perspective.

    Fireballs occur every day and are typically caused by small space rocks about the size of a basketball disintegrating as they streak through Earth's atmosphere, officials with NASA's Asteroid Watch outreach program wrote in a Twitter post.

    On Feb. 15, a bus-size meteor exploded over Russia near the city of Chelyabinsk, shattering windows in hundreds of buildings and injuring nearly 1,500 people. That rare meteor explosion, which scientists have classified as a superbolide, was the most powerful in more than a century, NASA scientists said.

    The Earth is bombarded by nearly 100 tons of material from space every day, but most of those objects are tiny dust grains that burn up harmlessly in the atmosphere.

    NASA scientists and astronomers around the world regularly monitor the night sky for signs of larger asteroids that could pose an impact threat to Earth. Friday night's meteor came just days after back-to-back hearings in the House and Senate about the dangers posed by near-Earth asteroids. Those meetings were scheduled in the wake of the Feb. 15 Russian meteor explosion.

    Editor's note:?If you snapped an amazing photo of the East Coast meteor or any other night sky sight and you'd like to share it for a possible story or image gallery, please send images and comments, including location information, to Managing Editor Tariq Malik at?spacephotos@space.com.

    Email Tariq Malik at tmalik@space.com or follow him?@tariqjmalik?and?Google+. Follow us?@Spacedotcom,?Facebook?and?Google+.?Original article on SPACE.com.

    Copyright 2013 SPACE.com, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

    Source: http://news.yahoo.com/meteor-over-manhattan-east-coast-fireball-sets-internet-052545019.html

    george zimmerman charged big sean sherri shepherd sherri shepherd arkansas razorbacks trisomy 18 ozzie guillen

    Who was one of @TimTebow's NFL role models growing up? -Emmitt Smith

    Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

    Source: http://www.facebook.com/FACEofFOX30/posts/10151420303589215

    henrik stenson jobs act greg mortenson jim marshall died 2013 toyota avalon the secret life of bees full moon

    Stop ?Rushing? to Label Women and Telling them to Stay Home ...

    By Estelle Sobel Erasmus?

    Rush Limbaugh recently unleashed somewhat incoherent ramblings against women on his show?rehashing yet again the old, tired ?The Mommy Wars? where he gave his thoughts on how feminist women are following their natural instincts-finally, according to him? by staying home to take care of their children and tried to incite conflict between stay-at-home moms and working mothers.

    First he disparaged Raising America host, Kyra Phillips as ?the wife of John Roberts of Fox News,? without crediting her as an award-winning journalist and broadcaster.

    Next, Rush brought up the much-discussed and controversial (what else) cover of New York magazine this month, touting Kelly Makino, as the The Retro Wife. The story, talks about the trend of women who are purposefully leaning out of the workplace in droves.

    The journalist who wrote the story neglects to mention, however, throughout the mainly anecdotal story that the archaic policies of corporate america when it comes to parenting, and including the needs of caregivers, is part of what is making many women make that decision, not just that they want to be at home. In addition, Dr. Jocelyn Elise Crowley, ?Professor of Public Policy at Rutgers, states in her 2008 Sloan Report,?78.8% of stay-at-home moms plan to return to work for pay.

    Lisa Belkin had an excellent response to that article ?in the Huffington Post, which elaborated on some of the research and information lacking in the New York Magazine article.

    Of course, Rush jumped right on the ?women should stay home? bandwagon. In his show he said,

    ?Now, folks, it has become the norm, and now there are things called the mommy wars where more and more women ? liberal, feminist women ? are deciding that the way to really have it all is to get married, have a child, and stay home and raise the kid. ..So now the mommy wars have erupted and the feminists are upset at more and more women for deciding to let down the sisterhood, so to speak.But increasingly, by definition here, the numbers of women who are betraying feminism are liberal women. All these liberal women, and some liberal guys if they?ve got the guts to say so, act like they?ve come across some brand-new discovery: becoming a mother and actually staying home and raising the child.?

    In the quest to sell magazines via incendiary coverlines, Kelly and her complete views was misrepresented by the media

    She told the Huffington Post and reiterated to me, ?that my reason to leave work-like for many others-was a complex decision, largely based in economics and concern for my children; the description of my home life left out the fact that I help run North Jersey Moms Meetup Group, a non-profit parenting organization, in my spare-time, and like many others-that I feel blessed for the luxury to be home with my little ones; yet feel the sacrifice of my self-hood in this role. Every. Single. Day. Lastly, there?s the fact that I have every intention of a career later, even if it means I need to go back to school to do it. The reason why New York Magazine reached out to me initially is because of my experience with Stay At Home parents (SAHP), but they turned this into a case study and edited out anything that wasn?t retro.?

    This is no surprise to me. The misrepresentation of women and mothers in the media is rampant.

    My chapter on the misrepresentation of women and mothers in the media based on a chapter I wrote for the book?What Do Mothers Need?: Motherhood Activists and Scholars Speak Out on Maternal Empowerment for the 21st Century?(Demeter Press, 2013) ?just appeared on?The Broad Side?today. My chapter states:

    According to the National Organization for Women, the largest organization of feminist activists in the United States:

    Media stories on women, work and family often are incomplete, because the stories report only on the experiences and attitudes of small or elite groups of mothers. Reporters often use these small groups to convey their stories as common to all mothers.

    Other ways the media get it wrong:

    ?Framing the difficult options facing a mother as being a personal choice, rather than a result of public policy.

    ?Rehashing the Mommy Wars; the truth is that most women go in and out of the workforce during the course of their lives, and also while their children are growing up.

    ?By not recognizing that mothers who want to work, find fewer opportunities because of the inflexible, and archaic (set on a 1950s model of the man being the primary breadwinner and the wife and mother at home) structure of most of corporate America, which still believes that face time is key to getting ahead, even though most parents say the key to work satisfaction is the ability to have flexibility. Unfortunately, there is a gap between policy and practice because the concept of the ?perfect? worker does not reflect the realities of modern family (enmeshed in caregiving for both children and aging parents) and society.

    ?Confusing the ?work? of mothering (the activities that take care of a family) with the role of mother.

    ?Using the word mothering instead of the word parenting.

    In the NY magazine article that Rush Limbaugh so happily espoused as a reason women, even liberal women who are feminists should stay home, Kelly?s husband?s role was not a clearly elaborated one, other than saying that he was a management consultant and made a six-figure-salary. But Kelly did shed a little more light on her husband for me, making him a truly full-dimensional person.

    ?My husband Alvin is incredibly supportive; he dialed back on his career when I?needed him to before, and I?m sure he?ll do it again.?I think that we have an extremely egalitarian gender dynamic in our home and I wouldn?t want to have it any other way.?

    I am telling the media right now. Stop with rehashing these ?mommy wars, once and for all, and giving fodder to the likes of women-disparaging people like Rush Limbaugh.

    The real focus of the media should be the issues of public policy for mothers: childcare, healthcare for children, the inequality of pay, flexible jobs, and the struggles and challenges of real everyday life for mothers and caregivers.

    Mothers need to be involved in their own advocacy, and find one or many communities to provide support and encouragement as they seek to create change. To that end, as stated in my book chapter:

    ?If you read misleading portrayal of mothers in the media, including trend stories based on anecdotal accounts that are presented as facts contact organizations like the?Women?s Media Center? or?MissRepresentation?or NOW (http://www.now.org)

    ?Create a petition on Change.org

    ?Call, write or email the media outlet or company with your concerns.

    ?If you feel that companies are off base in how they represent mothers, post your comments on their Facebook walls or Twitter. Use the immediacy of social media to support your cause.

    ?To find community, join?Mothers & More, a national non-profit organization which touts the value of a mothers work whether paid or unpaid, provides opportunities to connect with like-minded women, and offers chances to give back to the community and economically disadvantaged women through advocacy efforts like Power of a Purse, where gently used and new purses are collected and provided to shelters.

    ? Check out?Moms Rising, a group that is aligned with Mothers & More which highlights the issues and provides links to letters you can sign that go straight to policy makers.

    ?Pay attention to bills on the table (check out www.usa.gov) that will take away your rights and write to your local congressperson via?writing to the United States House of Representatives.

    ?Write about the situation on your blog, or raise the situation to the attention of popular mom bloggers, whose community is one of the most powerful and influential online communities on the Internet.

    Kelly ended our discussion by sharing this thought with me, ?My greatest fear is that my piece is going to be used by conservatives to encourage women to stay home.?

    Let?s use this example of one woman being so terribly misrepresented to start a better conversation, raise awareness and question the stories we are reading, and push for policies that support the real value of the work of caregiving in our society.

    Isn?t that the real work we need to do?

    ?

    Estelle Sobel Erasmus is an award-winning journalist and former magazine editor-in-chief who is on the Board of Directors of the national non-profit?Mothers & More, a support, education and advocacy organization for mothers which emphasizes the value of a mother?s work whether paid or unpaid.

    Her writing was recently featured in the anthology, What Do Mothers Need? Motherhood Activists and Scholars Speak Out on Maternal Empowerment for the 21st Century (Demeter Press, 2013) and in theThe BlogHer Voices of the Year: 2012 book?for her article, ?We Changed the Conversation,? for which she was named a 2012 BlogHer Voice of the Year. Estelle was a 2012 cast member in the first ever Listen to Your Mother NYC production; and is a 2012 Circle of Moms Top 10 Winner for Best Family Blog by a Mom.

    Estelle chronicles her often humorous, sometimes serious but always transformative journey through motherhood, marriage and midlife on her blog,?Musings on Motherhood and Midlife. She also writes acolumn about women making a difference for examiner.com?and has been featured on The Broad Side, Kveller.com, Circleofmoms.com and Mamapedia.com.?Estelle?can be found on?Facebook,?Twitter, and?Pinterest.

    If you enjoyed this article, Get email updates (It?s Free)

    Posts You May Want to Read

    Source: http://musingsonmotherhoodmidlife.com/2013/03/22/stop-rushing-to-label-women-and-telling-them-to-stay-home/

    ncaa hockey role models ferdinand porsche gregg williams theraflu masters leaderboard frozen four