Water ice discovered on Mercury

It's time to add Mercury to the list of worlds where you can go ice skating. Confirming decades of suspicion, a NASA spacecraft has spotted vast deposits of water ice on the planet closest to the sun.

Temperatures on Mercury can reach 800 degrees Fahrenheit (427 degrees Celsius), but around the north pole, in areas permanently shielded from the sun's heat, NASA's Messenger spacecraft found a mix of frozen water and possible organic materials.

Evidence of big pockets of ice is visible from a latitude of 85 degrees north up to the pole, with smaller deposits scattered as far away as 65 degrees north.

The find is so enticing that NASA will direct Messenger's observation toward that area in the coming months ? when the angle of the sun allows ? to get a better look, said Gregory Neumann, a Messenger instrument scientist at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland. [Latest Mercury Photos from Messenger ]

"There is an ongoing campaign, when the spacecraft permits, to look further northward," said Neumann, the lead author of one of three Mercury studies published online Thursday by the journal Science.

Researchers also believe the south pole has ice, but Messenger's orbit has not allowed them to obtain extensive measurements of that region yet.

Messenger will spiral closer to the planet in 2014 and 2015 as it runs out of fuel and is perturbed by the sun's and Mercury's gravity. This will let researchers peer closer at the water ice as they figure out how much is there. [Infographic: NASA's Messenger Mission to Mercury]

Similarities to the moon
Speculation about water ice on Mercury dates back more than 20 years.

In 1991, Earth-bound astronomers fired radar signals to Mercury and received results showing there could be ice at both poles. This was reinforced by 1999 measurements using the more powerful Arecibo Observatory microwave beam in Puerto Rico. Radar pictures beamed back to New Mexico's Very Large Array showed white areas that researchers suspected was water ice.

A closer view, however, required a spacecraft. Messenger settled into Mercury's orbit in March 2011, after a few flybys.? Almost immediately, NASA used a laser altimeter to probe the poles. The laser is weak ? about the strength of a flashlight ? but just powerful enough to distinguish bright icy areas from the darker, surrounding Mercury regolith.

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Neumann said the result was "curious": There were few bright spots inside craters.

Team member John Cavanaugh was pretty sure of what they were finding, Neumann recalled. Cavanaugh had been a part of NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter team, and he had seen a similar strange pattern on Earth's moon when LRO found ice at the lunar poles in 2009.

Flash heating on Mercury would mix nearly all of its ice with the surrounding regolith ? as well as with possible organic material borne to the planet by comets and ice-rich asteroids.

"So what you're seeing is the fact that water ice can't survive indefinitely in these locations because the temperatures apparently spike up," Neumann said.

Organics the big surprise
The team expected to find water ice on Mercury. Indeed, Messenger already drew a link this year between permanently shadowed areas on the planet and the "radar-bright" spots seen from Earth.

All researchers needed to do was point their instruments in the right spot, seek out bright areas and then measure the temperature and composition.

Messenger's neutron spectrometer spotted hydrogen, which is a large component of water ice. But the temperature profile unexpectedly showed that dark, volatile materials ? consistent with climes in which organics survive ? are mixing in with the ice.

"This was very exciting. You are looking for bright stuff, and you see dark stuff ? gee, it?s something new," Neumann said.

Organic materials are life's ingredients, though they do not necessarily lead to life itself. While some scientists think organics-bearing comets sparked life on Earth, the presence of organics is also suspected on airless, distant worlds such as Pluto. Scientists say comets carrying organic bits smashed into other planets frequently during the solar system's history.

Researchers are now working to determine if they indeed saw organics on Mercury. So far, they suspect Mercury's water ice is coated with a 4-inch (10-centimeter) blanket of "thermally insulating material," according to Neumann's paper.

It will take further study to figure out exactly what this material is, but Neumann said the early temperature curves could show organic materials such as amino acids.

Follow Elizabeth Howell @howellspace, or Space.com @Spacedotcom. We're also on Facebook and ?Google+.

? 2012 Space.com. All rights reserved. More from Space.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/50014362/ns/technology_and_science-space/

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Read all about it: Pope has not cancelled Christmas

VATICAN CITY (Reuters) - And so it came to pass that in the eighth year of Pope Benedict's reign, some tabloid and social media decreed that he had cancelled Christmas.

The day after Benedict's latest book "The Infancy Narratives - Jesus of Nazareth" - was published on November 20, Vatican officials found some headlines they were not expecting.

"Killjoy pope crushes Christmas nativity traditions," read one tabloid headline, claiming that Benedict had snubbed traditions such as animals in nativity scenes and caroling.

"Pope sets out to debunk Christmas myths," ran another.

Holy Scrooge! Some blogs unceremoniously branded Benedict the new Grinch that stole Christmas and one rocketed him to the "top of the grumpy list for 2012."

And then there was this zinger headline from a web news site: "Pope bans Christmas".

Coming little more than a month before Christmas, it was the last thing the Vatican needed - another image problem for the pope.

Alarmed by some of the headlines, the Catholic social network XT3 felt compelled to run a blog that dissected the media's coverage of the book.

It was headlined: "The pope has not banned Christmas".

So what was all the fuss about?

In the 137-page book, the pope states a fact: that in the gospels there is "no reference" to the presence of animals in the stable - actually, it was probably a cave - where Jesus was born.

Bloggers had a feast with that, with one calling it "Bombshell number one".

What some neglected was that just a few sentences down, the pope states that even today, "No representation of the crib is complete without the ox and the ass".

He explains: The tradition of the ass and ox came from reflecting on parts of the Old and New Testaments. Christian iconography then adopted the motif early in Church history to show that even animals knew Jesus was the son of God.

KEEP ON CAROLLING

In other words, the tradition that has developed over the centuries matters more than an unverifiable fact, at least as far as the case of the ox and ass in the stable is concerned.

"I think that what people need to realize here is that the pope is trying to be as historical as he can be," said Father Robert Dodaro, professor of patristics, or the study of early Church writings, at Rome's Patristic Institute.

"He wants to see the biblical narratives as history where possible but he is also trying to explain details in the narratives that cannot be historically verified," he said.

Some bloggers, taking their cue from television and website headlines, even wrote that the pope had spoken out against Christmas carols.

In the book, the opposite was true.

Benedict says the evangelist Luke wrote that at the moment of Jesus' birth the angels "said" the well-known phrase "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased".

But in the next line he explains that "Christianity has always understood that the speech of angels is actually song", that "the angels' song of praise has never gone silent", and that it is "only natural that simple believers (even today) join in their caroling on the Holy Night".

So, no need to cancel any school performances.

Another section of the book that irked some bloggers is where the pope restates what biblical scholars have known for decades, if not centuries - that Jesus was born several years earlier than the first century AD.

Benedict writes that since King Herod died in 4 BC, Jesus was probably born "a few years earlier". He attributes the erroneous fixing of the year of Jesus' birth to a miscalculation by the monk Dionysius Exiguous some 500 years later.

"No one's faith should be shaken by this book," said Dodaro. "On the contrary, it should be fortified by this account. This is a believable account of the birth of Christ," he said.

And in St Peter's Square, workmen have started building the Vatican's larger than life nativity scene, which is expected to have animals and singing angels.

(Reporting By Philip Pullella)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/read-pope-not-cancelled-christmas-171608916.html

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Movado sets 75-cent special dividend, ups guidance

PARAMUS, N.J. (AP) ? Movado Group Inc. on Wednesday announced a special cash dividend, the latest in a string of companies to set one-time payments before the end of the year, and lifted its guidance for the year after a strong fiscal third quarter.

Shares rose $1.79, or 5.6 percent, to $34.02 in premarket trading.

The Paramus, N.J., company's special 75-cent dividend will be paid in December, as will its regular quarterly dividend of 5 cents.

Many companies are making special end-of-year dividend payments or moving up their quarterly payouts because investors may have to pay higher taxes on dividend income starting in January.

Investors have paid a maximum 15 percent on dividends since 2003. But that rate will expire in January, rising to as much as 43.4 percent for the highest earners, unless Congress and President Barack Obama reach a deal on taxes and government spending. Even if there is a compromise, there's no guarantee that the tax rate for dividends will remain at its current level.

Movado, which designs watches and runs stores in the U.S., also raised its adjusted profit guidance for the year ending in January to $1.50 per share from $1.40 per share. Analysts polled by FactSet predict earnings of $1.47 per share. The period includes the critical holiday shopping season.

The company still projects revenue of $510 million, in line with analyst expectations.

Net income in the August-October quarter more than doubled, to $34.5 million, or $1.34 per share, from $16.4 million, or 65 cents per share, in the same quarter last year.

The recent quarter's results included a $9.9 million tax benefit. Excluding that, the company said it posted an adjusted profit of 67 cents per share. Analysts expected a profit of 61 cents per share.

Revenue rose 12 percent to $160.2 million from $142.6 million.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/movado-sets-75-cent-special-dividend-ups-guidance-133714770--finance.html

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Four Pennsylvania Generations Against Cuts - Unions.org

Amy Walker will let Pennsylvania?s Representatives and Senators know today that her mother, four daughters and granddaughter can?t afford cuts to Medicaid, Social Security and Head Start.

Amy is a member from SEIU 32BJ. She works in the food service industry in Pittsburgh and has never spoken to a member of Congress before today. But she?s ready to let her Congressional leaders know just how devastating the cuts to Medicaid and Social Security would be to her loved ones.

Her mother?s kidneys stopped functioning three years ago. Since then, she has to have dialysis treatments three times a week. Her medical condition has also made it impossible for her to continue working as a childcare worker. Medicaid and Social Security have allowed Amy?s mom to keep her promises to the children she adopted.

Cuts to Social Security would put Amy?s mom and siblings at risk of losing their home. Cuts to Medicaid could result in an early death for her mom and leave her siblings without a caregiver.

Amy?s young daughter and granddaughter will need Head Start to make sure that their futures are secure. Without Head Start, Amy?s daughter will not be able to study and work because she would lack the child care she depends on. And Amy?s granddaughter would miss out on the necessary academic and social skills? gains that are the product of a quality early childhood education.

Amy and her mom have worked hard for decades to improve their family?s opportunities. They want Congress to focus on creating jobs, not cuts. Four generations in her family need Congress to act responsibly and honor the mandate that voters made clear in November.

Four Pennsylvania Generations Against Cuts

originally appeared on

SEIU.org

on Wednesday, Nov 28, 2012.

Source: http://www.unions.org/home/union-blog/2012/11/28/four-pennsylvania-generations-against-cuts/

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Source: http://www.khaleejtimes.com/kt-article-display-1.asp?xfile=data/middleeast/2012/November/middleeast_November401.xml&section=middleeast

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Record-setting X-ray jet: X-rays from supermassive black hole 12.4 billion light years from Earth

ScienceDaily (Nov. 28, 2012) ? A jet of X-rays from a supermassive black hole 12.4 billion light years from Earth has been detected by NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory. This is the most distant X-ray jet ever observed and gives astronomers a glimpse into the explosive activity associated with the growth of supermassive black holes in the early universe.

The jet was produced by a quasar named GB 1428+4217, or GB 1428 for short. Giant black holes at the centers of galaxies can pull in matter at a rapid rate producing the quasar phenomenon. The energy released as particles fall toward the black hole generates intense radiation and powerful beams of high-energy particles that blast away from the black hole at nearly the speed of light. These particle beams can interact with magnetic fields or ambient photons to produce jets of radiation.

"We're excited about this result not just because it's a record holder, but because very few X-ray jets are known in the early universe," said Teddy Cheung of the National Academy of Sciences, resident at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington DC, and lead author of the paper describing these results.

As the electrons in the jet fly away from the quasar, they move through a sea of background photons left behind after the Big Bang. When a fast-moving electron collides with one of these so-called cosmic microwave background photons, it can boost the photon's energy into the X-ray band.

"Since the brightness of the jet in X-rays depends, among other things, on how fast the electrons are moving away from the black hole, discoveries like the jet in GB 1428 tell us something about the environment around supermassive black holes and their host galaxies not that long after the Big Bang," said co-author Lukasz Stawarz from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency in Kanagawa, Japan.

Because the quasar is seen when the universe is at an age of about 1.3 billion years, less than 10% of its current value, the cosmic background radiation is a thousand times more intense than it is now. This makes the jet much brighter, and compensates in part for the dimming due to distance.

"We're lucky that the universe gives us this natural amplifier and lets us detect this object with relatively short exposures," said co-author Aneta Siemiginowska, of the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, MA, "Otherwise we might miss important physical processes happening at very large distances from Earth and as far away as GB 1428."

While there is another possible source of X-rays for the jet -- radiation from electrons spiraling around magnetic field lines in the jet -- the authors favor the idea that the cosmic background radiation is being boosted because the jet is so bright.

Prior to the discovery of the jet in GB 1428, the most distant X-ray jet known was 12.2 billion light years away, and another is located at about 12 billion light years, both discovered by authors of the GB 1428 paper. A very similar shaped jet in GB 1428 was also detected in radio waves with the NSF's Very Large Array (VLA).

The particle beams that produce these three extremely distant X-ray jets appear to be moving slightly more slowly than jets from galaxies that are not as far away. This may be because the jets were less energetic when launched from the black hole or because they are slowed down more by their environment.

The researchers think the length of the jet in GB 1428 is at least 230,000 light years, or about twice the diameter of the entire Milky Way galaxy. This jet is only seen on one side of the quasar in the Chandra and VLA data. When combined with previously obtained evidence, this suggests the jet is pointed almost directly toward us. This configuration would boost the X-ray and radio signals for the observed jet and diminish those for a jet presumably pointed in the opposite direction.

Observations were also taken of GB 1428 with a set of radio telescopes at different locations around Earth that allows details to be resolved on exceptionally small scales. They revealed the presence of a much smaller jet, about 1,900 light years long, which points in a similar direction to the X-ray jet.

This result appeared in the September 1st, 2012 issue of The Astrophysical Journal Letters. Other co-authors of the paper are Doug Gobeille from University of South Florida in Tampa, FL; John Wardle from Brandeis University in Waltham, MA; and Dan Harris and Dan Schwartz from the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Chandra X-ray Observatory.

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

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Journal Reference:

1. M. A. Guerrero, N. Ruiz, W.-R. Hamann, Y.-H. Chu, H. Todt, D. Schoenberner, L. Oskinova, R. A. Gruendl, M. Steffen, W. P. Blair, J. A. Toal. Rebirth of X-ray Emission from the Born-Again Planetary Nebula A 30. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, September 1st, 2012 [link]

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/top_news/top_technology/~3/uVK7pvqWqWM/121128121508.htm

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Exclusive: Banks offer to help Sony offload battery unit - sources

By Emi Emoto and Tim Kelly

TOKYO | Tue Nov 27, 2012 4:08pm EST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Sony Corp has been approached by at least three investment banks offering to sell its battery business as the struggling Japanese group looks to offload non-core assets and focus on reviving its consumer electronics business, banking sources said.

Selling the unit, which employs 2,700 people and had sales last year of $1.74 billion, would help Sony cut costs and generate cash as it restructures its operations, three people involved in the preliminary discussions told Reuters.

The company, a byword for innovative gadgetry in the 1970s and 80s, has been battered by weak demand for its TVs in a fiercely competitive market. The TV business has racked up huge losses; Sony's market value has slumped to below $10 billion and ratings agency Fitch last week downgraded the company's debt to "junk" status - a move likely to push up borrowing costs and make asset sales more attractive.

CEO Kazuo Hirai has pledged to rebuild Sony around gaming, digital imaging and mobile devices, while nurturing new businesses such as medical devices. He is axing 10,000 jobs, closing facilities and selling assets. Any disposals would be part of a broader "garage sale" by Japan's leading electronics groups that are hurting in weak markets and tight financing.

Potential buyers for Sony Energy Devices Corp - founded in 1975 as Sony-Eveready, a joint venture with Union Carbide Corp - could include Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry and BYD Co Ltd, a Chinese carmaker backed by billionaire investor Warren Buffett, said one of the sources. Hon Hai is also in negotiations to become rival TV maker Sharp Corp's biggest shareholder.

FOREIGN INTEREST

Despite a strong yen, interest is likely to come mainly from potential foreign buyers, said the sources, who did not want to be named as the talks are private.

Selling the business overseas may not go down well with a Japanese government that in the past has kept technology at home by promoting alliances between local producers. Panasonic Corp, NEC Corp and Hitachi Ltd also make lithium-ion batteries, though the firms' fabrication technology differs.

Sony declined to comment on the possible sale of the business, which makes lithium-ion batteries used in smartphones, tablets and PCs. "At our corporate strategy announcement in April, (Hirai) said we would explore possible alliances in E-vehicle batteries and battery storage," said spokesman George Boyd.

As with TVs, Sony has struggled to compete against South Korean rivals in a battery business that is worth $18 billion a year. The small cells that power mobile devices now account for around 60 percent of the market, ahead of those used in cars and electrical tools, according to research company IHS iSuppli.

While lithium-ion battery demand has steadily expanded with the boom in mobile consumer electronics, severe price competition has resulted in razor thin margins that favor large-scale manufacturers with weak local currencies.

"The battery business is a prime example of the company's loss-making and unwanted assets. It doesn't make sense for them to keep it," said one of the banking sources.

FALLING MARKET SHARE

As Hirai doubles down on Sony's strength in consumer electronics, the company has sold a chemicals company, with 2,900 workers, and may also let go its U.S. headquarters building in New York go. At the same time, it has spent close to $2 billion on a U.S. game clouding company and a stake in medical equipment maker Olympus Corp.

Sony produced 74 million lithium-ion battery cells in July-September - almost 40 percent fewer than in the first quarter of 2008, when its output topped Samsung SDI Co Ltd's 110 million and LG Chem Ltd's 54 million, according to Techno System Research in Tokyo. Sony's market share is now 7 percent, dwarfed by Samsung SDI's 27 percent, Panasonic's 21 percent and LG Chem's 17 percent.

Sony's battery unit, which also makes button batteries for watches and smaller appliances and optical devices, has three factories in Japan and two overseas assembly plants in China and Singapore. It has yet to enter the more lucrative business for automotive batteries.

In its most recent filing, Sony valued the battery unit's fixed assets, including production sites and machinery, at 52 billion yen ($633 million). Under Sony's accounting rules, asset sales are typically booked as operating profit.

The cost to protect $10 million of Sony debt against default for five years has edged higher this week to almost $400,000. The CDS spreads had tumbled earlier this month - from above 480 basis points - after Sony said it would raise 150 billion yen ($1.9 billion) through a sale of convertible bonds.

($1 = 82.1200 Japanese yen)

(Additional reporting by Reiji Murai; Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/reuters/technologyNews/~3/nDloMOAg9hI/us-sony-batteries-idUSBRE8AQ19H20121127

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Quick Tips To Find A Trustworthy Real Estate Agent ? Daily News

How difficult it is to find a trustworthy real estate agent in Barrie? Are you sure that you want to work with such a specialist? It?s important for you to know from the very beginning that real estate Barrie agencies provide their clients with the chance to benefit of numerous services, including property management services.

Fortunately, finding a trusted real estate agent is not so difficult as long as you consider a few details. First of all, it?s necessary for you to understand that there?s a big difference between the services offered by real estate agents and those offered by realtors. Even if both are licensed to work in this field, realtors charge their clients with higher fees.

You can find a trusted real estate agent by simply asking for referrals. Maybe one of your friends is able to recommend you the services of a certain agent. You can be sure that if your friends/colleagues/family members were satisfied with the services offered by a certain agent they will give you a recommendation.

The online world represents a great tool for those who are not able to get recommendations from their friends/colleagues/family members. The internet is full of recommendations.

Before you make this important decision you?re advised to interview a few real estate agents. It will help you make the right choice. Please take into consideration the fact that if you skip doing some research you will not be able to find a trustworthy real estate agent. Remember that your goal is to find a committed real estate agent not one who does not care about the needs of his clients.

?

Source: http://www.rifondazione.co.uk/2012/11/26/quick-tips-to-find-a-trustworthy-real-estate-agent/

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Don't Be Bashful When You Talk To Credit ... - Doable Finance

Mon Nov 26, 2012, 2:00 am |

At the dawn of the so-called Great Recession, the country?s unemployment rate reached the highest level since the infamous Great Depression of the 1930s. As a result, many Americans were forced to take on crippling amounts of debt.

On top of that, when they tried to seek out help, they were bitten by snakes and squeezed by anacondas in the great swamp of financial miseries ? the quagmire of debt ? that they were thrown in.

They were unable to get out the sinking sand without the help of someone who could drag them out, wash them and start a new financial life.

They were seeking help from debt-settlement firms. Many folks have known for years that this industry has more bad apples than good ones. They are rife with scams.

Many such firms were created for the sole purpose of conning innocent consumers. The face of the bad was very similar to that of the good helper.

It?s hard to differentiate between the two kinds. Consequently, many folks were bitten by the bad kind and lost more to them than they owed to their creditors.

According to the Federal Reserve, as a nation, Americans owe $721 billion on outstanding credit cards. CreditCards.com did their calculations and came up with the staggering amount of $15,950 in credit card debt per household carrying only one card.

Just these numbers tell us that people want help ? any kind of help to get them out of the debt shit they have stepped in. However, only a fraction of people seek aid from a credit counselor.

Difference between Credit Counselor and Debt-Settlement Firms

We must understand the difference between a credit counselor and debt-settlement firms. Credit-counseling agencies have been getting bad raps unfairly because most folks confuse them with debt-settlement companies.

Credit counselors advise folks on how to make better budget and lifestyle decisions so that they can pay off their debt expeditiously. These counselors help debtors to develop a debt-management plan to pay back their creditors.

The best part is that you can attend many counseling sessions for free. Some counselors charge nominal fee, typically $20 per session.

On the other hand, debt-settlement firms offer to negotiate with a person?s creditors to slash the amount of debt they own. Many firms charge clients a large fee for their services.

Debt-settlement firms are rife with scam artists and the primary reason is that historically they charge huge fees. There is a lot more money to be made if you own or work for a debt-settlement firm.

Fortunately, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB), formed in 2010, has started to address some of those problems, but for many years deceptive debt-settlement agencies operated without a watchdog.

Even today under the watchful eyes of CFPB, some individuals and firms have been alleged to have deceived the American public, especially the senior citizens among us.

Be open to Credit Counselor?

There are misconceptions about consulting credit counselors:

• Many folks are afraid that consulting a credit counselor will hurt their credit score. Nothing can be further than the truth. Talking to one has no impact on a person?s credit or credit report.

• Walking into a physical location of a credit counselor can be intimidating and detrimental to their ego, especially if the person doesn?t want to admit face-to-face how much deep they have stepped in the quagmire of debt.

• The sense of shame that can accompany having to admit to a credit counselor they owe a heap of debt. This does not make sense in the case of folks who don?t feel ashamed when they keep on buying even when they don?t need to.

Red flags why you must talk to credit counselor?

You ought to consult a reliable and reputable credit counselor when these red flags are raised.

• Debt collectors are at your doorstep. They keep calling you day and night. You are unable to sleep because of your debt. In this case, the sooner you can get to a credit counselor, the better.

• You cannot repay a single dime towards your debt. You live paycheck to paycheck. Wake up and seek help.

• Debt is creating tension and uneasiness in your family. Media report many cases of divorces due to not being able to pay off debt.

• When you receive bills, you hide it from the family. You are ashamed to even show them the bill let alone talk about them.

• You are using cash advances on your credit card or you may be using the services of payday loans. In both cases, you are stepping deeper and deeper in the sinking sand.

• A time comes when you don?t even care how much you are in debt. That means there is no way you alone can manage ? to say the least ? or clean your debt shit.

• Your credit card has a maximum in a given month. You keep maxing out your card every month. Wake up and smell the credit counselor.

• If you have retirement account, you start and keep withdrawing from it.

In a Nutshell
Credit counselors, because they are a lot less expensive ? can I use the word cheap? ? can be a great help to come up with a budget for your household finances.

The important thing to remember is ?Don?t Be Bashful When You Talk To Credit Counselor.? Open up your little gray cells (Agatha Christie) and start talking about your debt to the credit counselor.

The Credit Card Song by Old Man Pie

Ahead of its time this is a cartoon animation that?s been up on the web since 2006 and is all about the credit crunch crisis.

Credit card spending and loans from banks are in their trillions of dollars and something has to give. We no longer spend what we have earned, we spend what we haven?t earned on the back of house price rises and yet more loans.

The banks are prospering and fat cats are awarding themselves massive bonuses, but it cannot continue.

Beware the debt time bomb may bring the walls of the western world clattering to the ground.

I hope you have enjoyed reading this article as much as I have enjoyed writing it.
So click on "Tweet This Post" above and send it to your followers on Twitter.

Related Posts On Doable Finance dot Com

1. Tips To See If Your Credit Counselor Is Honest
2. Find A Good Credit Counselor
3. Test Yourself If You Need Credit Counseling
4. 5 Steps How To Deal With Debt
5. Debt Collectors Are Allowed To Talk Down To You

Source: http://doablefinance.com/dont-be-bashful-when-you-talk-to-credit-counselor/

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Sandy washed away job market gains

13 hrs.

John W. Schoen , NBC News

It takes a lot to knock the U.S. economy off course.

One month after being clobbered by the largest storm ever?recorded in the North Atlantic, it?s becoming a little clearer just how big an economic impact Superstorm Sandy is having.

As the cleanup of visible damage continues around his office in lower Manhattan, Brian Drum is tallying up the damage to the job market.

?Hiring has slowed down tremendously ? it?s almost like it?s come to a halt,? said Brian Drum, CEO of Drum Associates, an executive recruiting firm. ?The jobs seem to be open, and the inventory seems to be available in terms of competent people. But companies are not making decisions.?

Those hiring decisions will have to wait for many potential employers ? still without power, communications or a place to issue paychecks. In New York City alone, about a third of the 100 million square feet of downtown office space was still out of operation a week after the storm, according to brokerage Jones Lang LaSalle.?That?s roughly the total office space available in downtown Houston.?

Sandy hit the East Coast on Oct. 29 and disrupted businesses from North Carolina to Maine. The nearly 1,000-mile-wide storm cut a wide path of death and destruction, killing 113 people, through a region that represents about a quarter of the U.S. economy.

Heavy rainfall combined with a storm surge, high winds, inland flooding and fires to leave millions without power and tens of thousands homeless. Thousands of retailers and restaurants were closed, many for good. Some 20,000 airline flights were canceled. Miles of roads and railways were destroyed or damaged. The storm forced shutdowns of financial markets and several nuclear power reactors.

With so many businesses closed, many of the roughly 10 million workers in coastal counties were tossed out of work. On Wednesday, the government reported that more than 75,000 workers filed a new unemployment claim last week in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, mostly in the construction, food service and transportation industries.

After a healthy pickup in hiring in the second half of the year, some analysts expect Sandy to wash away a big chunk of employment in the monthly jobs data for November, due out Dec. 7.

?We are concerned there may be an acute hurricane impact on November payrolls,? Deutsche Bank economist Joseph LaVorgna warned earlier this week in a note to clients.

LaVorgna noted that, following Hurricane Katrina in August 2005, the pace of new hires saw a downward swing of?127,000. He estimates the November report will show that hiring slowed to just 25,000 new jobs from a gain of 171,000 in October.

To be sure, there are other reasons for the pause in hiring decisions. Even before the storm hit, the ongoing recession in Europe and slower growth in China has brought a coordinated slowdown in the global economy. The November election did little to break the political gridlock over the federal budget and tax policy.

?I think people are still waiting to see whether there?s going to be compromise between the two factions in Washington,? said Drum. ?But the situation was certainly exacerbated by the storm. ?

A month later, ?thousands of families are still homeless and tens of millions of dollars of repairs have yet to be made. Despite lingering shortages of gasoline and isolated power outages, the region?s economy is back up and running.

?It wasn?t the massive disruption in the supply chain that might have been thought, given the severity of the storm,? said Andrew Tananbaum, executive chairman at Capital Business Credit, a lender that services the retail sector.

With the insurance claims process just getting underway, industry estimates ? of as much as $50 billion in property?damage???are still preliminary.

?This is the fourth loss we?ve had of significance in the last couple of years which is outside the models we might use to ascertain the cost of such extreme losses,? said Stephen Catlin, CEO at Catlin Group, a Bermuda-based insurer. ?There are still people without houses to live in and still people without electricity. It?s going to take a few more weeks before we?re really clear as to how much damage and how much insured loss has been incurred.?

Apart from the visible destruction, the economic impact has been widespread. The chaos unleashed by the storm has already begun showing up in the monthly data from industrial production and retail sales.

The Federal Reserve reported that the nation?s total industrial output shrank by 0.4 percent in October, largely because of storm-related production shutdowns at utilities and makers of chemicals, food, transportation equipment and computers and electronic products.

Airlines sustained hundreds of millions of dollars in losses from more than 20,000 canceled flights. United and Delta reported last week the two carriers lost a combined $135 million in revenues from the storm. The shutdown of New York City?s subway and commuter train network cost the city about $50 million in lost revenues, according to estimates from IBISWorld. The market research firm also figures the financial services industry lost $150 million in revenues after the storm knocked the NASDAQ and New York Stock Exchanges offline for two days ? the first such weather-related outage in more than a century.

Mortgage applications fell?by?almost 40 percent in Connecticut, 50 percent in New?York and more than 60 percent in New Jersey in?the week after the storm, according to the?Mortgage Bankers Association.

Retailers were among the hardest hit. A surge in sales of critical supplies and equipment before the storm was more than offset by a week of closed stores. Just a few days of lost business in October put a dent in the government?s monthly retail sales tally.

November sales data will show an even bigger impact. Retail spending (not including cars) dropped in the Northeast by about 20 percent in the week following the storm, according to data collected by MasterCard. But that drop in spending will be offset as households hit by the storm spend to repair and replace damaged items, including waterlogged cars and trucks.

?A large number of dealers are back up and running, but there are still dealerships facing difficulties???just as there are neighborhoods still facing significant problems,? said Paul Taylor, chief?economist?at the National?Automobile?Dealers Association.

Taylor said it?s too soon to know how many cars will have to be replaced, but initial estimates put the figure at between 100,000 and 250,000. He also estimates that the increased demand for used cars will push up prices up by about 1.5 percent nationally ? with bigger increases in states like New York and New Jersey,?where demand is strongest.

Increased spending on repairs and shopping trips delayed by Sandy?could help boost sales in December. But it may also cut into savings that were intended for holiday shopping.

That means nervous store managers may have to slash prices to avoid getting stuck with unsold goods, according to Jack Kleinhenz, chief economist for the National Retail Federation.

?I would imagine that those retailers in the area that were affected by the storm are going to be more prone to try and move their promotions and incentives out there,? he said.

The wider economic outlook is harder to assess, as the stimulus effect of rebuilding is spread over many months. But Sandy?s economic headwind at the end of 2012 could provide a boost to the first half of next year.

?With housing strong and vehicle sales likely to rebound as people replace Sandy-destroyed autos, the economy is on the rise,? said economist Joel Naroff. ?The only thing we have to fear is Washington itself.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/sandy-washed-away-job-market-gains-1C7187363

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"Fiscal cliff" talks stalled for now but progress possible

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. lawmakers have made little progress in the past 10 days toward a compromise to avoid the harsh tax increases and government spending cuts scheduled for January 1, a senior Democratic senator said on Sunday.

The United States is on course to slash its budget deficit nearly in half next year. Closing the gap that quickly, which in Washington is referred to as going over a "fiscal cliff," could easily trigger a recession.

"Unfortunately, for the last 10 days, with the House and Congress gone for the Thanksgiving recess ... much progress hasn't been made," Dick Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat, told ABC's "This Week" program.

Still, lawmakers in both the Democratic and Republican parties have been trying to convince the public - and financial markets - that they are willing to compromise and can reach a deal before the end of the year.

Durbin indicated Democrats might accept a reform of the government's Medicare health insurance program for the elderly that would make higher-income seniors pay more for their care.

Democrats traditionally oppose limiting Medicare benefits according to income, a practice known as "means testing." Durbin said Medicaid, a public health insurance program for the poor, also could be overhauled.

"We can make meaningful reforms in Medicare and Medicaid without compromising the integrity of the program, making sure that the beneficiaries are not paying the price for it, except perhaps the high-income beneficiaries," Durbin said.

A deadline looms over the talks. Without action by lawmakers and President Barack Obama, roughly $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts will start to hit households and companies in early January.

Republicans and Obama's Democrats are at an impasse over the president's wish to raise income tax rates on the wealthiest Americans, which Republicans say would hurt job creation.

Republicans also want to cut spending on social programs more than Democrats say they will accept.

Still, a growing group of Republican lawmakers are loosening their ties to Grover Norquist, the anti-tax activist famous for getting elected officials to sign a pledge that they will vote against any tax increases.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said Republicans will allow tax revenues to rise as long as social spending programs are reformed. "I will violate the pledge - long story short - for the good of the country, only if Democrats will do entitlement reform," he told "This Week."

Graham said he supported boosting revenues by closing tax loopholes rather than by raising tax rates.

Republican Senator Saxby Chambliss said last week he "cared more about the country" than a 20-year-old pledge, and on Sunday Republican Representative Peter King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told NBC's "Meet the Press" he agreed with Chambliss.

Durbin said the Democrats' will for substantial entitlement reform did not extend to Social Security, the federal government pension program, which he said only needs small tweaks to ensure long-term solvency.

"Bring entitlement reform into the conversation. Social Security, set (it) aside," Durbin said.

(Additional reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Todd Eastham and Bill Trott)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fiscal-cliff-talks-stalled-now-progress-possible-174437679--business.html

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5 Health and Fitness Tips | Health

Getting begun with a way of life of medical insurance fitness is not really the challenging strenuous process that anyone usually believe it is. When you really think about this, the challenging factor is often the commencing. Later on, the relax will likely be a lot simpler after you really get the hold of it. All it requires is self-control along with liability.

Below are 5 easy advices on how to get a jump on your path to excellent medical insurance fitness. Study every one and you?ll understand that it is actually simpler than you may be imagined it would be. You only need to take the preliminary few points.

Health and fitness guidelines #1: Begin small.

When your desired meals are something you have to avoid, there isn?t any significance in making it out if you just excessive when you can?t take the abstinence any more. Take reasonable activities. If you eat the dish each day try and cut down on your usage and create it just 3 instances regular. When you have maintained that, reduce further and create it once every seven times. Doing this, you can still take enjoyment in the meals but not develop up your desiring these.

Health and fitness guidelines #2: Strategy reasonably.

Establish objectives for yourself. But it does not actually suggest that you will need to wipe out yourself to get it so when you don?t you?ll also wipe out yourself. Developing too high objectives will usually only carry about disaster and aggravation. While you make, be sure that you is able to do it.

How will you know? Always be genuine. You know what you are equipped of. It is far better goal establishing techniques for yourself that you know you can utilize. Accomplishing them gives you a sensation of successes which will create you more self-confident and much more delighted to carry on with your career.

Health and fitness guidelines #3: Use a friend.

Sharing the side effects along with the excitement of successes with a good friend may help create the software simpler plus more bearable. In fact, those with a friend are better suitable for adhere to their programs than those who will be endeavor the tasks on their own. Merely because if you have a friend with you, he / she provides a support program that can help keep you on course which will help avoid you from breaking. Moreover to having a good friend along with you experiencing the same problems definitely creates the procedure more fun and much more satisfying.

Health and fitness guidelines #4: Have self-discipline.

This really is one of the few problems that can create or destroy your wants to lastly stay a healthy way of life. As a way to really adhere to the project, you should create self-discipline especially when it requires things which you desperately want to achieve or products that you are used to doing. Cravings in the procedure will be many and you need to be willing to deal with all of that!

Health and fitness guidelines #5: Exercise it for yourself.

Many men and ladies set out to stay a life of medical insurance fitness in trust of getting found by other people. Even though this is a justification, at instances, it?s not adequate to see you through the complete procedure. It is better that you just do this for yourself because you want a better and better you when in comparison to do it for other individual?s popularity. After all, the only actual popularity that you ever need to have is your own.

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Source: http://www.glossylicious.com/tip/5-health-and-fitness-tips/

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Europe mulls banning 'boxes' for abandoned babies

BERLIN (AP) ? German pastor Gabriele Stangl says she will never forget the harrowing confession she heard in 1999. A woman said she had been brutally raped, got pregnant and had a baby. Then she killed it and buried it in the woods near Berlin.

Stangl wanted to do something to help women in such desperate situations. So the following year, she convinced Berlin's Waldfriede Hospital to create the city's first so-called "baby box." The box is actually a warm incubator that can be opened from an outside wall of a hospital where a desperate parent can anonymously leave an unwanted infant.

A small flap opens into the box, equipped with a motion detector. An alarm goes off in the hospital to alert staff two minutes after a baby is left.

"The mother has enough time to leave without anyone seeing her," Stangl said. "The important thing is that her baby is now in a safe place."

Baby boxes are a revival of the medieval "foundling wheels," where unwanted infants were left in revolving church doors. In recent years, there has been an increase in these contraptions ? also called hatches, windows or slots in some countries ? and at least 11 European nations now have them, according to United Nations figures. They are technically illegal, but mostly operate in a gray zone as authorities turn a blind eye.

But they have drawn the attention of human rights advocates who think they are bad for the children and merely avoid dealing with the problems that lead to child abandonment. At a meeting last month, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child said baby boxes should be banned and is pushing that agenda to the European Parliament.

There are nearly 100 baby boxes in Germany. Poland and the Czech Republic each have more than 40 while Italy, Lithuania, Russia and Slovakia have about 10 each. There are two in Switzerland, one in Belgium and one being planned in the Netherlands.

In the last decade, hundreds of babies have been abandoned this way; it's estimated one or two infants are typically left at each location every year, though exact figures aren't available.

"They are a bad message for society," said Maria Herczog, a Hungarian child psychologist on the U.N. committee. "These boxes violate children's rights and also the rights of parents to get help from the state to raise their families," she said.

"Instead of providing help and addressing some of the social problems and poverty behind these situations, we're telling people they can just leave their baby and run away."

She said the practice encourages women to have children without getting medical care. "It's paradoxical that it's OK for women to give up their babies by putting them in a box, but if they were to have them in a hospital and walk away, that's a crime," Herczog said. She said the committee is now discussing the issue with the European Parliament and is also asking countries which allow the practice to shut them down.

Herczog also said it's wrong to assume only mothers are abandoning these children and that sometimes they may be forced into giving up children they might otherwise have kept. "We have data to show that in some cases it's pimps, a male relative or someone who's exploiting the woman," she said.

In some countries ? Australia, Canada and Britain ? it is illegal to abandon an infant anywhere. Yet, in the U.S. there are "safe haven" laws that allow parents to anonymously give up an infant in a secure place like a hospital or police department. A handful of other countries including Japan and Slovakia have similar provisions.

Countries that support this anonymous abandonment method contend they save lives. In a letter responding to U.N. concerns, more than two dozen Czech politicians said they "strongly disagreed" with the proposed ban. "The primary aim of baby hatches, which (have) already saved hundreds of newborns, is to protect their right to life and protect their human rights," the letter said.

However, limited academic surveys suggest this hasn't reduced the murder of infants. There are about 30 to 60 infanticides in Germany every year, a number that has been relatively unchanged for years, even after the arrival of baby boxes. That's similar to the per capita rate in Britain where there is no such option.

Across Germany, there is considerable public support for the boxes, particularly after several high-profile cases of infanticide, including the grisly discovery several years ago of the decomposed remains of nine infants stuffed into flower pots in Brandenburg.

Officials at several facilities with baby boxes say biological parents sometimes name the infant being abandoned. "The girl is called Sarah," read one note left with a baby in Lubeck, Germany in 2003. "I have many problems and a life with Sarah is just not possible," the letter said.

The secretive nature also means few restrictions on who gets dropped off, even though the boxes are intended for newborns. Friederike Garbe, who oversees a baby box in Lubeck, found two young boys crying there last November. "One was about four months old and his brother was already sitting up," she said. The older boy was about 15 months old and could say "Mama."

Still, Germany's health ministry is considering other options. "We want to replace the necessity for the baby boxes by implementing a rule to allow women to give birth anonymously that will allow them to give up the child for adoption," said Christopher Steegmans, a ministry spokesman.

Austria, France, and Italy allow women to give birth anonymously and leave the baby in the hospital to be adopted. Germany and Britain sometimes allow this under certain circumstances even though it is technically illegal. Eleven other nations grant women a "concealed delivery" that hides their identities when they give birth to their babies, who are then given up for adoption. But the women are supposed to leave their name and contact information for official records that may be given one day to the children if they request it after age 18.

For German couple Andy and Astrid, an abandoned infant in a baby box near the city of Fulda ended their two-year wait to adopt a child nearly a decade ago.

"We were told about him on a Sunday and then visited him the next day in the hospital," said Astrid, a 37-year-old teacher, who along with her husband, agreed to talk with The Associated Press if their last names were not used to protect the identity of their child. The couple quietly snapped a few photos of the baby boy they later named Jan. He weighed just over 7 pounds when he was placed in the baby box, wrapped in two small towels.

When Jan started asking questions about where he came from around age 2, his parents explained another woman had given birth to him. They showed him the photos taken at the hospital, introduced him to the nurses there and showed him the baby box where he had been left.

Earlier this year, the couple began the procedure to adopt a second child, a boy whose mother gave birth anonymously so she could give him up for adoption.

Astrid said Jan, now 8, loves football, tractors and anything to do with the farming that he sees daily in their rural community. She said it's not so important for her and her husband to know who his biological parents are.

But for Jan, "it would be nice to know that he could meet them if he wanted to," she said. "I want that for him, but there is no possibility to find out who they were."

____

Medical writer Maria Cheng reported from London.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/europe-mulls-banning-boxes-abandoned-babies-075454911.html

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Video: Ken Burns discusses new documentary

A Second Take on Meeting the Press: From an up-close look at Rachel Maddow's sneakers to an in-depth look at Jon Krakauer's latest book ? it's all fair game in our "Meet the Press: Take Two" web extra. Log on Sundays to see David Gregory's post-show conversations with leading newsmakers, authors and roundtable guests. Videos are available on-demand by 12 p.m. ET on Sundays.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/49955534#49955534

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The Obama Administration Boosts US Drugs Coverage

When Obama was re-elected the amount of drugs that are going to be available to patients in the US to millions of residents who will get insurance on the new nations health care overhaul will go up considerably. This existing new move will start late next year.

There will be an increase in benefits that are available to those that need to have prescriptions. This is a much waited on move by resident all around the US. Many haven?t been able to afford their health costs for a long time now. The law that was implemented was officially announced on Tuesday by the Health and Human services Department. The government set their rules for the minimum requirements to be able to qualify for the health care coverage and stopped the denial of coverage for those that already had health care problems.

The new rules will be made final, and they will control the whole way that the health insurance marketplace operates. It will start in 2014 and insurance companies in the US that offer health insurance will see significant changes!

When the government has set a minimum for standards of exactly what the insurance offered up for health should cover it is very far from what used to be normal. It is though very much welcomed and a move that should help those on low incomes a lot. The act means that Washington has to put a minimum baseline for the coverage.

The HHS said that they will also include in the new act to inpatient care and outpatient care, maternal care, childhood care, screenings for cancer, laboratory work and prescription drugs. It will also be covering those that suffer with mental health, those that abuse substances, dental treatment, vision care for kids and physical and congenital disorders. These are the things that workers employed with smaller businesses usually cannot get access to because it?s thought to be too expensive by the owners to provide. It does also mean that there will be more drugs like antidepressants released on prescription; this could have both a positive, and a negative effect. Considering that so many people suffer with mental health issues nowadays.

One question that is still there really is why Obama didn?t implement this sooner. Also, in a country like the US why should many not be able to afford decent healthcare? Surely, health care should be something that everyone can access with or without cash. It is everyone?s humanitarian right to be able to seek help when they are sick.

Should we be so thankful to a president who has been in office before and until this moment in time has not managed to implement such changes to the health care system? It is a matter of opinion really, and most of the opinions will also be based on financial status and where your pay cheque lies I guess, as with most things in life. Let?s keep an eye out and see what happens with all the new and exciting healthcare developments.

Source: http://www.hivehealthmedia.com/the-obama-administration-boosts-us-drugs-coverage/

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China Eastern seals $5.4 billion deal to buy 60 A320s

HONG KONG (Reuters) - China Eastern Airlines , one of the country's top three carriers, has agreed to buy 60 Airbus A320 aircraft for about $5.4 billion, expected to be delivered in stages from 2014 to 2017.

This is the first major deal involving Europe's Airbus and a Chinese airliner after the European Union agreed on November 12 to "stop the clock" for a year on plans to force non-EU airlines to adopt its Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).

The new aircraft will help the airline satisfy rising demand for domestic medium- and short-haul passenger routes, China Eastern said on Friday. The deal is subject to approval by the airline's shareholders and mainland regulators.

In a filing to the Hong Kong Exchange after markets closed, China Eastern said it planned to fund the purchase from its working capital, commercial bank loans and other sources it didn't specify.

While this may increase its debt-to-equity ratio, the airline said it did not expect the deal to have a substantial impact on its cashflow position or its business operation.

China Eastern said it had also entered a disposal agreement with Airbus for eight of its Canadair Regional Jets and 10 Embraer Regional Jets that have a combined book value of 1.5 billion yuan ($240 million).

These 18 aircraft are expected to be delivered to Airbus in stages from 2014 to 2016. China Eastern said it received these aircrafts between 2000 and 2007, which now have an average usage of about 8.2 years.

Airbus' Paris-listed shares was down 1.8 percent at 1120 GMT, having pared losses on the day. Shares of China Eastern Airlines rose 1.8 percent in Hong Kong and 0.3 percent in Shanghai on Friday.

(Reporting by Clement Tan and Alison Leung; Editing by Muralikumar Anantharaman and Mark Potter)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-eastern-seals-5-4-billion-deal-buy-112948508--finance.html

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My Wife Has a Migraine Headache - Profound Health Blog

My wife has been dealing with a migraine headache for the last three days. My heart is broken for her because I know that this has got to be a very painful experience. She asked me if I would be willing to drive her to nyc chiropractors for her appointment. Of course, I told her that I would do whatever I could. I have been trying to help her by cooking dinner and doing household chores so that she can relax.

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Source: http://www.profound-health.com/health-and-fitness/my-wife-has-a-migraine-headache/

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Coca Cola Vs. Hewlett Packard Advertising - Business Insider

In the latest Coca Cola 10K they declare advertising expense in millions of dollars as follows:

2009 ? ?$2,791
2010 ? ?$2,917
2011 ? ?$3,256

I like to measure advertising expenses in "Coca Cola companies", a Coca Cola company being about $3 billion per annum.

Here is the advertising expense for Hewlett Packard from their latest 10K.

Advertising

HP expenses advertising costs as incurred or when the advertising is first run. Such costs totaled approximately $1.2 billion in fiscal 2011, $1.0 billion in fiscal 2010 and $0.7 billion in fiscal 2009.

Not in my wildest dreams would I have guessed that HP would spend a third of a Coca Cola company on advertising.

I do not disbelieve the number - but I am stunned.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/coca-cola-vs-hewlett-packard-advertising-2012-11

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How to Fix a String of Christmas Lights

You're not alone on this one. At some terrible moment in early- to mid-December, we can almost hear the collective sigh of dismay as good people around this land untangle and plug in strings of bad mini lights. Above the din we also hear a few expletives, because the mass-produced sets can be pricey. Your impulse to fix them is noble, but the task should not be undertaken lightly (sorry, unavoidable pun), because the strands contain scores, if not hundreds, of tiny incandescent bulbs. Which one is the culprit? Or are there several burnouts?

Regardless, don't give up. With a few handy tools and a modicum of holiday spirit, mini lights can be repaired.

First step: diagnosis. You need to figure out if it's actually a bad bulb causing the malfunction or something else. Keep in mind that smaller sets are wired in series?that is, the electrical current must pass through each individual bulb in order to complete the circuit and illuminate the set. Larger strings often feature two or more series circuits wired in parallel, which explains why sometimes just a section of the strand won't light up. Often, simply replacing a bad bulb will fix the entire set or at least a section of it.

But locating the faulty bulb can be tricky. You'll need either a set of basic electrician's tools or the LightKeeper Pro ($19.95; lightkeeperpro.com), a dedicated tool that combines a voltage detector, a bulb remover, bulb and fuse testers, and a shunt repairer. More on that later.

If you're lucky, simply plugging in the mini lights will reveal a bad bulb. "Bad" may just mean it needs to be seated more firmly in its socket. In any case, you can remove and test a bulb using the LightKeeper Pro or a multimeter. If you install a new one, make sure it has the proper voltage rating or you risk damaging the whole set.

Fixing a string of lights isn't always that simple. All or part of it may be dark because of a broken filament or a sketchy shunt (see glossary). If a bulb's filament breaks, the shunt is supposed to redirect current through the base of the bulb, maintaining the electrical circuit. You can fix a faulty shunt with the LightKeeper Pro. Simply plug in the strand, remove a bulb that's in or near the darkened section, and insert the tool into the bulb's socket. Pulling the trigger activates a piezo circuit, which sends a high-energy pulse through the set. After about 20 pulses, any faulty shunt should be activated.

If you're still having trouble locating where the circuit is broken, try using a voltage detector. There's one built into the LightKeeper Pro, or you can use an electrician's model. Still nothing? Check the fuse located behind a small sliding panel on the male end of the plug. If it's fried (you can check it with the LightKeeper Pro), be sure to replace it with a new one of the correct rating, which should be indicated on the plug. And if all else fails, buying a new string may be irksome, but at least it'll keep some small part of your holidays bright.

Source: http://www.popularmechanics.com/home/improvement/electrical-plumbing/how-to-fix-a-string-of-christmas-lights-14774047?src=rss

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Business Sales Manager Job at RusselSmith Nigeria / JobNAVY.com

Job Title: Business Sales Manager

Job Reference Code: RS-BDD-04
Location: Lagos, Nigeria
Organisation: RusselSmith Group

SUMMARY OF FUNCTIONS
Responsible for the sale of the organization's tools & services to the both existing and potential customers using technical, organizational, and customer knowledge to influence customers and assist them in applying the tools/services to their needs resulting in revenue generation. In addition, provides input and participates in the marketing, market planning and technical development of tools and services.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
? Research customer needs and develop application of products and services in an effective manner by:
? Determining market strategies & goals for each product and service
? Researching and developing lists of potential customers
? Carrying out market research to determine customer needs & providing information to other staff
? Evaluating product & service marketability in terms of customers? technical needs
? Following up on sales leads and developing leads
? Maintaining up-to-date understanding of industry trends and technical developments that affect target markets
? Establishing & maintaining industry contacts that lead to sales with the customer to ensure sales opportunities for products & services.
? Develop and deliver sales presentations and close sales in a professional and effective manner by:
? Developing sales and marketing proposals for customers on technical products & services and making presentations to users/clients
? Developing technical presentations & workshops; maintaining up-to-date awareness of activities, industry trends & government regulations
? Making regular sales calls to develop relationships and follow up on leads; acting to close deals & finalize contacts
? Meeting established sales quotas and revenue goals
? Participate in sales forecasting and planning in an effective manner by:
? Researching, developing & maintaining long & short range sales & marketing plans
? Producing regular reports & final plans for management?s approval
? Maintaining an up-to-date awareness of strategic plans and procedures to coordinate market sales plans
? Monitoring, analyzing, & communicating sales data to contribute to product/service planning
? Develop and maintain communications in a cooperative and professional manner with all levels customers
? Represent the Company as a Brand Ambassador.
? Performs other duties and responsibilities as may be assigned.

Experience Required: 10 years and above

Skills/Qualifications Required:
? A good first degree in business management or marketing or equivalent. Masters degree would be an added advantage
? At least 5- 10 years of sales experience within a structured organization. 3years in a managerial capacity
? Good leadership skills
? Good team spirit and project management skills
? Good problem solving, initiative and negotiation skills with special emphasis on closing the sale.
? Good oral and written communication skills.
? Good formal presentation skills before both small and large groups.
? Ability to keep abreast of new sales trends and how they would apply to projects.
? Good relational skills
? Strong quantitative skills such as statistics and data analysis skills
? Good reasoning skills; communication skills; multi-tasking skills and organizational skills
? Strong analytical and data analysis skills
? Exhibits initiative, responsibility and flexibility
? Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Tools
? Represent the Company as a Brand Ambassador.

Published at 23-11-2012
Viewed: 64 times

Source: http://www.jobnavy.com/job/9828/business-sales-manager-job-at-russelsmith-nigeria/

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Best Black Friday Deals for Fitness Gear - Diet Reviews

We?re only a few days out from the biggest shopping day of the year. That?s right, Black Friday is just two days away. Have you made your shopping list?

You probably never thought about the calories you burn during your Black Friday extravaganzas, but you should because it can actually be a beneficial workout to help burn off your Thanksgiving indulgences. A 140-pound person can burn up to 226 calories just by standing for three hours, and some of those door-buster lines will no doubt last that long. That same person can burn up to about 982 calories when shopping for five hours (this includes the average estimated standing time as well). Needless to say, going out on Black Friday could be a way to help burn off the estimated 3,000 calories we consume on Thanksgiving Day.

To reduce your chances of holiday weight gain even further, we combed through the Black Friday ads and found impressive deals on fitness gear, kitchen appliances, and more that will help you stay on track with you health and fitness goals.

Aspire Yoga Products: 25% off at Sports Authority. We?re giving away a yoga prize pack valued at $240!

Wieder 3-Piece Kettlebell Kit: Found at Sears for only $29, which saves you $20.

BodyFit Medicine Balls: BodyFit will be 50% off at Sports Authority

Sodastream Geness Soda Maker: With the purchase of this item at Target you will receive a $20 gift card. The flavors, which are sold individually, are also on sale for buy two flavors get one free.

GPS Runner?s Watch: This watch at Olympia Sports is usually $99.99, but will be on sale for?$79.99.

Cuisinart ICE Frozen Yogurt, Ice Cream and Sorbet Maker: This machine can currently be found on Amazon for only $59.95. That?s more than $50 off! During this week, deals are changing daily on Amazon so get it while you can. You can also win a Zoku Quick Pop Maker in our holiday gift guide!

Mountain Bikes: There will be options for men, women and kids for only $99.99 at Sports Authority (usually $149.99).

Everlast 60-Pound Boxing Training Kit: For $49.99 you can get this all-inclusive training kit at Sports Authority that will leave you saving about $70.?

Rubbermaid 28-Piece Food Storage set: Be prepared to stock up for only $6.92 a piece at Wal-Mart. Resealable containers make meal planning a snap!

Magic Bullet: Usually $49, it will be on sale at Wal-Mart for only $29.

Ninja Blender: Save $50 off the Ninja blender at Wal-Mart, pay only $39. We are giving away a Ninja Professional blender!

Pro Form Treadmill: Save $150 dollars on this treadmill at Sports Authority! On sale for $349.99 ? usually $499.

Schwinn 125 Upright Bike: Regularly $399.99, by this piece of equipment for $199.99 at Sports Authority.

Schwinn 225 Recumbent Bike: $249.99 (usually $499.99) at Sports Authority.

Pro Form 395E Elliptical: What we found to be the best deal of this year?s Black Friday health and fitness gear was the Pro Form 395E Elliptical for only?$299.99 at Sears. That?s a 50% discount!

So when you?re out shopping this holiday season, make the best of it and see what you can do to burn a few extra calories. Parking in the back row may not be as horrible as it sounds! There?s not much that sounds better than enjoying a homemade Thanksgiving dinner, and then ending the holiday with hours of shopping to not only get great deals but burn dinner off as well! Have fun!

Also Read:

Win $1800 in Prizes in our 5 Holiday Gift Guides

5 Week Holiday Survival Guide with Bob Greene?s Best Life Diet and $5000 in Prizes

Running a Half Marathon Needed to Burn Thanksgiving Calories

November 22nd, 2012

Source: http://www.dietsinreview.com/diet_column/11/best-black-friday-deals-for-fitness-gear/

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