US economy contracts for the first time in 3-1/2 years

17 hrs.

John Schoen , NBC News

The U.S. economy stopped dead in its tracks in the last three months of the year, according to the latest government data, as the halting recovery was slammed by Superstorm Sandy and fiscal cliff political gridlock.

But economists said the surprise 0.1 percent contraction in the fourth quarter's annual growth rate was likely a brief pause in an otherwise halting, four-year recovery from the 2007 recession.

??This isn't the start of a new recession,? said Paul Ashworth chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics.

The Commerce Department's report on fourth quarter gross domestic product, the first of several that are typically revised as more data becomes available, followed a stronger-than-expected 3.1 bounce in growth during the preceding three months.Forecasters had been expecting a weak performance of about 1.1 percent growth in the final quarter of 2012 after Sandy shuttered millions of businesses and factories in early November.?

Besides the storm, the weakness appeared to be the result of other one-time factors, including the biggest defense spending cuts in 40 years and a slow build in company stockpiles. Those two factors alone slashed 2.6 percentage points from growth.

The big contraction in defense spending, which reversed an upswing in the third quarter, came as Congress remained deadlocked over compromise needed to avert across-the-board spending cuts known as the sequester. The ??fiscal cliff? compromise reached at the end of the year?postponed those cuts until March 1.?

A top Defense Dept. official said last week that the Pentagon already is eliminating all 46,000 of its temporary civilian workers in anticipation of budget cuts. Deputy Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said that if Congress fails to head off mandatory budget cuts by March 1, some 800,000 Pentagon civilian employees will face furloughs and reduced paychecks by April, cutting spending by about $5 billion.?

The other big drag on third quarter growth, the draw-down in business inventories, followed a backup in merchandise in late summer after a slowdown in China and Europe left many U.S. manufacturers with unsold goods. As businesses sold off their backlogs by year-end, the sharp drop in inventories lopped off?1.3 percentage points in GDP growth.

Heavy equipment maker Caterpillar, Inc. said this week that it reduced its inventories by $2 billion in the fourth quarter as global sales declined from a year earlier.?

The?draw-down?means manufacturers are well-positioned for a pick-up in demand this year, according to Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moodys Analytics.?

?That augurs very well going into the first quarter,? he said. ?You can feel things started to pick up again."

That pickup has been reflected in fresher data on the economy?s performance in December, including upbeat reports on home and car sales, business investment and manufacturing orders.??Those reports have raised hopes that the ongoing move to balance the federal budget with tax increases and spending cuts won?t dampen the emerging recovery.

Signs?of?strength
Ironically, the gloomy headline on Wednesday?s GDP report masked two additional signs of economic strength.?

Businesses and consumers were big spenders in the fourth quarter - despite worries that the ongoing budget gridlock had prompted both to sit on the sidelines until the standoff was resolved.??Consumer spending ? which accounts for roughly 70 percent of GDP ? was also up sharply, adding 1.5 percent to GDP.?The recovering housing market added 3-tenths of a percent to growth.

Business investment in new equipment and software jumped 12.4 percent from the preceding three months, adding 9-tenths of a?percent to the economy?s overall expansion rate.?

?The collapse in government spending and cautious inventory controls hide the simple fact that households are spending, businesses are investing and the housing market is expanding,? said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors.

The strength in consumer and business spending helps support the idea that the economy?s long-term trend of a fairly tepid 2 percent growth rate remains intact. The initial tally for all of 2012 showed the economy grew by 2.2 percent, a bit better than 2011's growth of 1.8 percent.

?The reality is that the economy is growing between 2 to 2.5 percent,? said Zandi. ?That?s how fast it?s been growing since the recovery started two-and-a-half years ago.?

That growth pace is slower than typical recoveries in the last half century, which is why the unemployment remains stuck at painfully high levels. The economy has created roughly 150,000 jobs a month, on average, for the past two years, barely enough to keep up with population growth. As a result, the unemployment rate has been falling slowly and has remained stuck at 7.8 percent for the past two months.

Economists expect the government?s January jobs report Friday to show the unemployment rate remained at that level again this month.?That tepid pace of growth and hiring is expected to continue into this year, due in part to the year-end budget deal that ended a two-year Social Security ?tax holiday.??

The increase will cost wage earners about two percent of their take-home pay (until they reach this year?s $113,700 income limit.)?That means a household earning the median $50,000 a year will have about $1,000 less to spend. A household with two highly-paid workers will have up to $4,500 less. ?

A key measure of consumer confidence plummeted this month after Americans noticed the reduction in their paychecks, the Conference Board reported Tuesday.

With growth historically weak and unemployment high, the Federal Reserve has promised to keep interest rates near zero, despite the potential long-term risk of inflation. Central bank Chairman Ben Bernanke has answered critics by saying that the Fed is ready to begin raising rates if price increases begin creeping back into the economy.

Though prices are rising in the housing and stock markets, there is little sign of inflation at the consumer or producer price level. Wage growth has also been flat since the recovery began.?

Still, the risk remains that the Fed?s ?exit strategy," whenever it comes, will put another damper on the economy.?

?I?m afraid that house prices could get to depend on the extremely low mortgage rates which will turn around when the Fed stops its (low interest rate) policy,? said Harvard economist Martin Feldstein, who served as chief economic advisor to President Reagan. ?At some point the Fed is going to have to start raising long term interest rates.?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/economywatch/us-economy-contracts-first-time-3-1-2-years-1B8174851

wrestlemania results womens final four josh hutcherson google april fools office space shell houston open mega millions winners

Pennsylvania favors background checks for gun purchases: poll

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Gun control is generally a tough sell in Pennsylvania - a Republican-ruled state with a large rural population - but a new poll suggests strong support for some measures, especially universal background checks on gun buyers.

A Quinnipiac University poll released on Wednesday found that voters in the state support requiring background checks for all gun purchases by a margin of 95 to 5.

Six in 10 voters in the Keystone State also favor a nationwide ban on the sale of assault weapons, while nearly as many support a ban on the sale of magazines with more than 10 rounds, the poll found.

In the aftermath of the December 14 massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, where a gunman killed 20 first graders and six educators after killing his mother, New York approved a set of new controls and lawmakers in Connecticut are considering doing the same.

President Barack Obama has proposed a series of new federal laws, including expanding background checks.

Voters in Pennsylvania also favor an idea put forward by the National Rifle Association, the powerful gun lobby, that armed guards be stationed at schools as an alternative to restrictions on guns.

Pennsylvania voters say by a margin of 46 to 42 percent that having armed guards in schools would do more to reduce gun violence than stricter gun laws.

The telephone survey of 1,221 registered voters was conducted January 22-27, and had a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points.

(Reporting by Edith Honan; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pennsylvania-favors-background-checks-gun-purchases-poll-110458596.html

swizz beatz mpaa south carolina debate lauren scruggs william shatner seattle weather skier sarah burke

Baseball ProGUESTus: Pete Rose, Perpetual Pitchman by Michael Clair

January 29, 2013

by Michael Clair

Most of our writers didn't enter the world sporting an?@baseballprospectus.com?address; with a few exceptions, they started out somewhere else. In an effort to up your reading pleasure while tipping our caps to some of the most illuminating work being done elsewhere on the internet, we'll be yielding the stage once a week to the best and brightest baseball writers, researchers and thinkers from outside of the BP umbrella. If you'd like to nominate a guest contributor (including yourself), please?drop us a line.

Michael Clair is a writer and comic. His baseball writing can be found at Old Time Family Baseball and The Platoon Advantage. Find him on Twitter @clairbearattack.
?

Pete Rose is a complex man. He?s baseball?s hit king, owner of perhaps the worst haircut in sporting history, a compulsive gambler, and (this is starting to sound like a Kenny Rogers song), a huckster, one of the greatest on this Earth.

During and after Rose?s peak, he?d sell anything possible, lending his name, face, and pageboy cut to anyone who would take him. Rose started out hawking men?s suits with Johnny Bench and has seemingly touched every American corporation along the way, including energy bars, board games, chili, and auto repair. He even came close to signing a deal with an online bookmaker in 2005 before realizing, oh wait, this is a terrible idea.

And if you?re into humiliation, Rose has no problem selling his pride or dignity, too?you can buy a signed baseball on which Rose has confessed to gambling or you can watch his new reality series, Pete Rose Hits & Mrs., an already endangered show that, as Will Leitch has pointed out, is mostly about Rose staring at breasts.

There are just so many choices. And Rose just sold so many things.

After reading a ?How Stuff Works? article on effective sales techniques, watching Alec Baldwin?s ?Coffee is for closers? speech from Glengarry Glen Ross, and from my own experience being the worst telemarketer at a non-profit theatre one summer during college, I think I?m in an expert-level position to judge the effectiveness of Rose?s more popular ad campaigns.

Jockey

(image via LA Times)

Sales Technique: Desire

Notes: This advertisement for Jockey appeared in Playboy in 1977, and surely Jockey?s sales went through the roof. Because while most people read the magazine for the articles, when they flipped the page and saw a nearly nude Pete Rose, bowl cut cascading atop his brow, his hairy arms and legs shining against the simple backdrop, and his thunder effectively hidden in the patterned, brief-cut underwear, how could one stop from running to their nearby department store, cash in hand? Notice the sexual innuendo as Rose holds not one, but two bats. Well done, Jockey. Well done.

My lone complaint? Why not a bikini cut so we could see a little more thorn on the rose? (If you catch my drift.)

Pete Rose Batting Practice?(click to expand)

(image via Tomorrow?s Heroes)

Sales Technique: Inspire consumer confidence

Notes: In the 70s, after leaving the Reds for the Phillies, Pete Rose knew he needed to inspire a new generation of batters, ones who could pick up his slack once he retired. Rather than traveling around the country looking for his rightful heir, a time-consuming task, Rose introduced the Pete Rose Batting Practice device from Turco, a small apparatus that was essentially cowbell, rubber band, and baseball. Rather than shoot a new commercial, one in which the product would actually have to be used, Rose released this comic book advertisement in which young Bobby wonders how he could ever become a great hitter. Well, the secret?s out: cowbell, rubber band, baseball. That?s all you need.

Grecian Formula

Sales Technique: Empathy

Notes: Compare the difference between the above advertisement and this one for Vitalis Dry Control (click to expand):

(image via eBay)

Gone is the brash young man who expects, nay, demands to have control over his hair and all those around him. Instead, he?s been replaced by an older, wiser Pete Rose, one who has seen the ravages of time on his own body, watching that helmet of hair turn from dirt brown to ash gray. Save for Grecian formula. This is a man who knows not everyone can be the hit king, but everyone can have a great head of hair.

Aqua Velva

Selling Technique: Manhood

Notes: Pete Rose, unable to ignore even the most mild of hecklers, is offering the one thing that can?t be bought or bottled: the feeling of being a man. And Aqua Velva, with its lack of ?fancy perfumes? and ?fancy bottles??because dammit, this is America and that?s how we do things?is the closest you?ll ever get. The commercial then ends with four guys singing sort of near key because there is nothing more manly than an impromptu barbershop quartet.

Oddly enough, Rose would win the Aqua Velva award in 1979 for most consecutive games with a hit. He truly was an Aqua Velva man.

Encyclopaedia Britannica

(image via 4192Cards.com)

Sales Technique: Man?s most primal of emotions, fear

Notes: The ad copy lures you in, reminding you of how important information is in today?s society, and of your duty to protect and prepare your children for the future. You then scan down the copy and find Pete Rose, his eyes vacant and soulless, his teeth bared and menacing. You know that if you don?t buy Encyclopaedia Britannica 3, there is a fair chance that Rose will break into your home and destroy everything you?ve ever loved.

Assuming this is what the ad team had in mind, I think they succeeded.

Wheaties

Selling Technique: The Flavor of Success

Notes: Rose doesn?t need to say anything in this one. Instead, all he has to do is sit back with a big, heaping bowl of Wheaties and let his on-field performance speak for itself. The songwriter and performer, using Rose as their muse, write lines of pure poetry like ?Lots of hustle, that?s our Pete/That?s why he?s eating what the big boys eat.? The commercial, as all good art should, leaves me wanting more. What, I ask myself, are some other things that big boys eat?

And in case you were wondering if Rose actually ate Wheaties, he had to sign an affidavit claiming he did. And Rose would never lie about something as important as that.

Atari

Sales Technique: Dream of the future

Notes: In the world of tomorrow, one run by the Atari gaming system, the fantastical talents of Pete Rose, Pele, and Don Knotts will be joined into one awesome baseball smacking, soccer ball smashing, neurotic Superman. This is the world that Atari is offering.

I?m certain that on some cutting room floor there is the scene where, after the hidden TV umpire announces that Rose is out, Charlie Hustle dives head first into the television, representing man?s defeat at the hands of our new electronic gods.

Kool-Aid

Sales Technique: Kidz Rule

Notes: While Rose is featured in this one, the real star is the hypercolored world and magical, sparkly baseballs that can only be caught by backflipping infielders. Rose represents The Man, the one forever trying to get kids to go to sleep and do their homework. But the Kool-Aid Man, his Technicolor red innards always in view, knocks down the walls of the establishment, robbing Rose of a home run and letting the kids know just who?s in charge now.

Don?t worry if you?ve missed these themes: the song?s jingle lets you know that Kool-Aid is for ?Hot kids just like you.??

Tegrin

Selling Technique: Respect authority

Notes: Note the harsh lighting, the gray backdrop, and Pete Rose?s gravelly voice, an octave lower than in the past, alerting you to how tough he?s gotten. That?s right, you?re in Pete Rose?s prison and it?s time to start talking, or else Rose is going to have to rough you up and, boy, is he going to enjoy it.

Gone is the plastered hair of Rose?s youth; now we have a puffy orb atop his head, one that can resist any and all attackers. Tegrin, unlike those ?pretty shampoos? will not only defeat dandruff in hand-to-hand combat, it will take out the four major causes of flaking and itching.

Really wished they sat on a freeze frame of this, though:?

WEBN Radio

Sales Technique: Penis Envy

Notes: What is there to say about this late period Pete Rose ad? It?s a dick joke. A 30-second long joke about how enormous Pete Rose?s wiener is. The only thing missing is the sound of a person in an off-camera stall farting.

Rose, like all great auteurs, was interested in telling one story that he wove through all of his advertorial work: the plight of the American male. Someone who was judged on the quality of his aftershave, the grace with which he accepted aging, or the tenacity with which he attacked dandruff.

And while media studies classes could endlessly analyze the dystopian future promised in Rose?s advertisements, the man knew how to move product. Whether as the happy-go-lucky man of the 70s, at peace while smiling like an idiot in his underwear, or as the grim-faced Rose of the 80s, whose hair becomes a literal helmet for protection against the uprising technopunks of the future, Rose could sell. He could hit and he could sell.

Pete Rose may have been an outfielder/first baseman, but in my book, he?ll always be a closer. And a visionary.

Source: http://www.baseballprospectus.com/article.php?articleid=19501

toyota recall northern lights sign of the times keystone pipeline purim acc tournament big ten tournament

Genes behind aggressive endometrial cancer

Jan. 28, 2013 ? In a major breakthrough for uterine serous carcinoma (USC) -- a chemo-resistant, aggressive form of endometrial cancer, Yale researchers have defined the genetic landscape of USC tumors, findings that point to new treatment opportunities.

The collaborative team -- which included researchers with expertise in gynecological cancer, genomics, and computational biology -- identified a number of new genes that are frequently mutated in USC. The results of this comprehensive genetic analysis of USC are published in the Jan. 28 Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) online early edition. The researchers were supported as part of a collaborative program with Gilead Sciences, Inc.

Endometrial cancer is the most prevalent gynecologic tumor in women, with over 47,000 newly diagnosed cases and about 8,000 deaths in 2012 in the United States alone. Patients with type I endometrial cancer tumors generally have a good outcome, but those with type II, or USC, have more relapses and deaths, and the disease is more aggressive.

"We have clearly identified the mutations that are responsible for USC tumors," said senior author of the study Dr. Alessandro Santin, professor of obstetrics, gynecology and reproductive sciences at Yale School of Medicine, and program leader of the gynecological cancers research program at Smilow Cancer Hospital at Yale-New Haven and a member of Yale Cancer Center. "In addition to a number of well-known cancer genes, we found three genes that had not previously been associated with cancer that are found in these tumors. This finding points to new pathways that could be important in developing therapies down the road."

The team collected tumors from 57 women affected with USC to try to determine the molecular basis of the tumor's aggressive behavior. They sequenced all the genes from the tumors and identified mutations that are crucial for these tumors to grow. The team also studied the copy number variations -- genes that are not mutated but are amplified in the tumors to give them a growth advantage over normal tissues.

The newly-identified cancer-related genes included two -- CHD4 and MBD3 -- that are found in the same protein complex and play a role in remodeling the genome to allow certain regions to be turned on and off. The discovery of a third gene, TAF1, was a surprise to researchers because it is a core component of the machinery responsible for transcribing a large fraction of the protein coding genes in the human genome.

"The detailed study of different cancers continues to produce new and unexpected discoveries," said corresponding author Dr. Richard P. Lifton, Sterling Professor, chair of genetics at Yale, and a Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator. "These new findings define the biological basis of this cancer, and suggest new opportunities for personalized therapy."

Other authors on the study include first author Siming Zhao, Murim Choi, John D. Overton, Stefania Bellone, Dana M. Roque, Emiliano Cocco, Federica Guzzo, Diana P. English, Joyce Varughese, Sara Gasparrini, Ileana Bortolomai, Natalia Buza, Pei Hui, Maysa Abu-Khalaf, Antonella Ravaggi, Eliana Bignotti, Elisabetta Bandiera, Chiara Romani, Paola Todeschini, Renata Tassi, Laura Zanotti, Luisa Carrara, Sergio Pecorelli, Dan-Arin Silasi, Elena Ratner, Masoud Azodi, Peter E. Schwartz, Thomas J. Rutherford, Amy L. Stiegler, Shrikant Mane, Titus J. Boggon, and Joseph Schlessinger.

In addition to Gilead, the study was funded in part by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the National Cancer Institute, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute.

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 Yale University. The original article was written by Karen N. Peart.

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

---

Journal Reference:

1. Siming Zhao, Murim Choi, John D. Overton, Stefania Bellone, Dana M. Roque, Emiliano Cocco, Federica Guzzo, Diana P. English, Joyce Varughese, Sara Gasparrini, Ileana Bortolomai, Natalia Buza, Pei Hui, Maysa Abu-Khalaf, Antonella Ravaggi, Eliana Bignotti, Elisabetta Bandiera, Chiara Romani, Paola Todeschini, Renata Tassi, Laura Zanotti, Luisa Carrara, Sergio Pecorelli, Dan-Arin Silasi, Elena Ratner, Masoud Azodi, Peter E. Schwartz, Thomas J. Rutherford, Amy L. Stiegler, Shrikant Mane, Titus J. Boggon, Joseph Schlessinger, Richard P. Lifton, and Alessandro D. Santin. Landscape of somatic single-nucleotide and copy-number mutations in uterine serous carcinoma. PNAS, January 28, 2013 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1222577110

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/top_health/~3/EP2l8s8WQrw/130128151917.htm

south dakota state long beach state beasley trailblazers michael beasley jermaine jones hbo luck

Withdrawal from civil society panel was America's own decision ...

Mr. Lavrov said Russia first learnt about America?s decision to withdraw from the working group from a public announcement of the US State Department?s officials.

?We were notified only orally, no written announcement was submitted to us in this respect,? the minister said at a Moscow press conference.

---

?US withdrawal from working group on civil society reduces chances for dialogue ? Peskov?

America?s decision to quit the working group on civil society of the Russian-US bilateral presidential commission will reduce opportunities for a dialogue between the two nations, President Putin?s spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

He voiced Moscow?s regret over this step. ?We can only regret the fact that we are losing this dialogue format, without finding any substitution for it,? Mr. Peskov said.

The US voiced its decision to withdraw from the Russian-US working group on civil society issues, which was set up on the way of Obama?s policy of improving ties with Russia, known as the ?reset,? in 2009.

The announcement to this effect was made Friday by Thomas Melia, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.

Kremlin regrets US withdrawal from civil society working group

Moscow regrets the U.S. decision to quit the bilateral Presidential Commission's working party on civil society.

"We regret whenever a bilateral format is cancelled without an appropriate substitute," presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said.

US leaves Russian-US presidential commission's group on civil society

The US has made a decision to withdraw from the working group on civil society issues of the Russian-US bilateral presidential commission, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State in the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Thomas Melia told Interfax on Friday.

Voice of Russia, Interfax, RIA

Source: http://english.ruvr.ru/2013_01_28/Withdrawal-from-civil-society-working-group-was-America-s-own-decision-Lavrov/

winning lotto numbers lottery tickets mega lottery sag aftra mega mill power ball april fools pranks

95 YC ? Real Estate Property Management

Working with a property management company can be a great resource for owners of residential, commercial, or industrial properties. Property management works the same as management in any other field by overseeing the care and financial needs for any property. They work to find quality tenants who respect and care for the property and always pay on time. We will act as a liaison between the owner and the tenant alleviating the burden of busy owners. Hiring a reputable property management company can make the real estate process simple. Our managers have the skills and knowledge to make your ownership experience simple and painless. Take comfort in the knowledge that we will treat your real estate as if it were our own. Residential Property Management Taylorsville

No comments yet.

RSS feed for comments on this post.

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Source: http://www.95yc.com/real-estate-property-management/

the weather channel national grid LIPA MBTA Cnn Live Garcinia Cambogia Little Things One Direction

Bangladesh probing if factory's 1 exit was locked

DHAKA, Bangladesh (AP) ? Bangladesh's government is investigating allegations that the sole emergency exit was locked at a garment factory where a fire killed seven women.

The fire Saturday at the Smart Export Garment Ltd. factory occurred just two months after a blaze killed 112 workers in another factory, raising questions about safety in Bangladesh's garment industry, which exports clothes to leading Western retailers. The gates of that factory were locked.

Government official Jahangir Kabir Nanak said Sunday an investigation has been ordered into the cause of Saturday's fire and allegations that the emergency exit was locked.

Altaf Hossain, father of a garment worker killed in the latest fire, has filed a police case against three directors of the factory, accusing them of negligence involving the fire, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Sub-inspector Shamsul Hoque told The Associated Press. He said police had begun an investigation.

Doctors said most of the victims died from asphyxiation.

"When I tried to escape through the emergency exit I found the gate locked," factory worker Raushan Ara was quoted as saying by Dhaka's Prothom Alo newspaper.

The newspaper said at least 50 people were injured in a stampede triggered by the fire, and six of them were hospitalized.

Some of the injured jumped out of the windows of the two-story factory, survivors said.

Dhaka Metropolitan Police Deputy Commissioner Monzurul Kabir said the bodies of seven women were recovered from the top floor of the factory. He said the factory was making pants and shirts, but could not provide further details.

Fire official Abdul Halim said it took firefighters about two hours to bring the blaze under control.

Volunteers joined firefighters in battling the fire as a large crowd gathered outside the factory awaiting word on the fate of relatives. Family members were seen crying near the body of a female worker named Josna, who was 16.

About 250 workers were working at the time of the fire, newspapers said.

It was not immediately known if the factory produced garments for any international companies. The owner was not available for comment, and the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association said the factory was not a member so it had no details.

Earlier this month, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. alerted its global suppliers that it will immediately drop them if they subcontract their work to factories that haven't been authorized by the discounter. The stricter contracting rule, along with other changes to its policy, come amid increasing calls for better safety oversight after the deadly fire in late November at a factory owned by Tazreen Fashions Ltd. that supplied clothing to Wal-Mart and other retailers. Wal-Mart has said the factory wasn't authorized to make its clothes.

Wal-Mart ranks second behind Swedish fast fashion retailer H&M in the number of clothing orders it places in Bangladesh.

Fires have caused more than 600 deaths of garment workers in Bangladesh since 2005, according to research by the advocacy group International Labor Rights Forum.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bangladesh-probing-factorys-1-exit-locked-021658022--finance.html

rail gun harrisburg top chef texas great pacific garbage patch ben affleck and jennifer garner google privacy changes windows 8 preview

Guild gold: Actors gather for SAG's big night

Workers set up signage on the red carpet before the 19th annual SAG Awards on Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Jan. 27, 2013. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

Workers set up signage on the red carpet before the 19th annual SAG Awards on Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Jan. 27, 2013. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

Seating placards for the 19th annual SAG Awards are seen inside the Shrine Auditorium on Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Jan. 27, 2013. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

Rico Rodriguez, left, and Nolan Gould roll out the red carpet for the 19th annual SAG Awards on Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Jan. 27, 2013. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

An Actor statue for the 19th annual SAG Awards are seen on stage, Saturday, Jan 26, 2013 in Los Angeles. The SAG Awards will be held Jan. 27, 2013. (Photo by Matt Sayles/Invision/AP)

FILE - Dick Van Dyke, left, and Mary Tyler Moore co-stars of The Dick Van Dyke Show pose backstage at the Palladium with the Emmys won in the Television Academy's 16th annual awards show, in Los Angeles, Calif. They won the Emmy Award for best actor and actress in a series. Van Dyke is the recipient of the Life Achievement Award at the upcoming 19th Annual SAG Awards ceremony on Sunday, Jan. 27, 2013. (AP Photo, File)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? A puzzling Academy Awards season will sort itself out a bit more on Sunday with the Screen Actors Guild Awards, where top performers gather to honor their own in what often is a prelude for who'll go home with an Oscar.

Among nominees for the 19th annual guild awards are Oscar winners Daniel Day-Lewis, Sally Field and Tommy Lee Jones for the Civil War epic "Lincoln"; Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway for the Victor Hugo musical adaptation "Les Miserables"; and Jennifer Lawrence, Bradley Cooper and Oscar recipient Robert De Niro for the oddball romance "Silver Linings Playbook."

De Niro and Jones are in an exclusive supporting-actors group where all five nominees are past Oscar winners. The others are Alan Arkin for the Iran hostage-crisis thriller "Argo," Javier Bardem for the James Bond adventure "Skyfall" and Philip Seymour Hoffman for the cult drama "The Master."

Honors from the actors union, next weekend's Directors Guild of America Awards and Saturday night's Producers Guild of America Awards ? whose top honor went to "Argo" ? typically help to establish clear favorites for the Oscars.

But Oscar night on Feb. 24 looks more uncertain this time after some top directing prospects, including Ben Affleck for "Argo" and Kathryn Bigelow for "Zero Dark Thirty," missed out on nominations. Both films were nominated for best picture, but a movie rarely wins the top Oscar if its director is not also in the running.

Steven Spielberg's "Lincoln" would seem the Oscar favorite with 12 nominations. Yet "Argo" and Affleck were surprise best-drama and director winners at the Golden Globes, and then there's Saturday's Producers Guild win for "Argo," leaving the Oscar race looking like anybody's guess.

The Screen Actors Guild honors at least should help to establish solid front-runners for the stars. All four of the guild's individual acting winners often go on to receive the same prizes at the Academy Awards.

Last year, the guild went just three-for-four ? with lead actor Jean Dujardin of "The Artist" and supporting players Octavia Spencer of "The Help" and Christopher Plummer of "Beginners" also taking home Oscars. The guild's lead-actress winner, Viola Davis of "The Help," missed out on the Oscar, which went to Meryl Streep for "The Iron Lady."

The guild also presents an award for overall cast performance, its equivalent of a best-picture honor. The nominees are "Argo," ''The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel," ''Les Miserables," ''Lincoln" and "Silver Linings Playbook."

Yet the cast prize has a spotty record at predicting the eventual best-picture recipient at the Oscars. Only eight of 17 times since the guild added the category has the cast winner gone on to take the best-picture Oscar. "The Help" won the guild's cast prize last year, while Oscar voters named "The Artist" as best picture.

Such past guild cast winners as "The Birdcage," ''Gosford Park" and "Inglourious Basterds" also failed to take the top Oscar.

Airing live on TNT and TBS, the show features nine television categories, as well.

The SAG ceremony also includes awards for film and TV stunt ensemble. The film stunt nominees are "The Amazing Spider-Man," ''The Bourne Legacy," ''The Dark Knight Rises," ''Les Miserables" and "Skyfall."

Receiving the guild's life-achievement award is Dick Van Dyke, who presented the same prize last year to his "The Dick Van Dyke Show" co-star, Mary Tyler Moore. Van Dyke's award will be presented by his 1960s sitcom's creator and co-star, Carl Reiner, and Alec Baldwin.

___

Online:

http://www.sagawards.com

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2013-01-27-SAG%20Awards/id-f6e12e49bb694e8da99eb19e58170ce5

game of thrones season 2 dierks bentley kenny chesney academy of country music awards brad paisley zac brown band aubrey

Imaginarium Designs: Goodbye Adriana and welcome Sandrine and ...

?

?

Hello Everyone

Did you enjoy our blog hop on Australia Day. Thanks for all the lovely comments left on our blog. Nat will be choosing a winner.

Today we get to say goodbye to another of our design team from 2012.

Adriana?is another South Aussie Lady from my home town. I love her work. She does vintage so well. Adriana is a master at using colour and her work is always beautiful.

?

?

This layout is a perfect example of Adriana's work. Just look at all the detail she has added to her page.

She also does altered art projects so well. I love this little billboard, Adriana did.? She has done some amazing work for us last year. I will miss her from our team. I know she has lots planned for this year and I wish her all the best in what ever venture she does.

Now its time to introduce you to Sandrine Dawes.

?

?

Here is what she had to say about herself.

?

"Now a little bit about myself: I live in a small country town called Roma in QLD, I am married with a 6 year old boy and a 2 year old daughter. I run a mechanical workshop with my husband where I work full time. I enjoy the country lifestyle as I originally come from a tiny village in the North of France! I met my husband overseas and he was from Roma! Photography and scrapbooking are a big part of my life, I really enjoy the creative release it provides!!! I also really enjoy traveling, visiting new places with my family. I have been scrapbooking since end of 2006 thanks to a friend who showed me her work. My style is vintage with a splash of grungy elements, I do love inks and stamps and circles!!! I mainly get my inspiration from my children and the photos, the papers, colour scheme etc. I sometimes start a layout with a new technique in mind, I do love to use products creatively especially chipboard! I am currently on 3 Design Teams: Scrapping Outback, Fat Cats Card Corner and Meg?s Garden. "

?

I am sure you are going to love all Sandrine's work this year. I can't wait to share her work here with you all.

To see more of Sandrine's work, visit her blog

?

Now it's time to re-introduce Carole Maurin to you.

?

Here is what she had to say about herself, when she applied for our team last year.

"I?like to use chipboards in all differents ways i can, as you could see on my blog: just like they are, with paint, papers, glitter, embossing powder and more. I also like to find new ideas or misuse of chipboards.

I'm an eclectic scapper! I can scrap any kind of stuffs, any style, any colors! I like to try new stuffs, to share my art with people. Scrapbooking is my passion since 7 years and i am already a proud designer in many DT."

?

You can see from Carol's layout her love of eclectic. It shows in all her work. She also has a great eye for colour and design. I always love seeing what she comes up with. She is from France and I find her work as a real chic look to it!?

?

Again an other lovely layout from Carol, I love the simplicity of this layout and the way she has put it all together.

I know you are going to love Carol's work this year as she shares her projects with us all.

to see more of her work visit Carol's Blog

Well that it for today, I still have more ladies to introduce to you over the rest of this week

so make sure you visit and leave a comment for the ladies. I will be choosing one person from each post to win some chipboard to play with.

thanks for looking

Jane

?

Source: http://imaginariumdesigns.blogspot.com/2013/01/goodbye-adriana-and-welcome-sandrine.html

real housewives of orange county bloom energy franklin graham jambalaya taylor swift and zac efron basketball wives manny ramirez

Video: ?You like Jim better?? Ravens coach pranks parents

>>> with sibling rivalry set to reach new heights next weekend at the super bowl it was time to have a little fun with jack and jackie harbaugh. they got a suspicious call from baltimore.

>> our next question from john from baltimore. your line is open.

>> yeah. is it true that both of you like jim better than john?

>> john, how are you?

>> is that john harbaugh ?

>> yes, it was john harbaugh . when asked how they would like the super bowl to end, the parents said the diplomatic answer, they hope the nfl lets it be a tie between john's ravens and jim's san francisco 49ers , but not going to happen. tough

Source: http://video.today.msnbc.msn.com/today/50585523/

billy crystal oscar winners 2012 billy crystal oscars 2012 angelina jolie oscars chardon high school christopher plummer viola davis

16 Charged For Allegedly Faking Accidents For Insurance Money ...

Clockwise from top left: Mosier Jules, Stacia Steele, Michael Pugh, and Troy Hall, who are all accused of participating in an insurance scam. (credit: NY Attorney General?s Office)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) ? Their scheme has come to a crashing halt.

Attorney General Eric Schneiderman?s office announced the arrest of 16 people who allegedly staged six ?accidents? to get insurance money.

They allegedly crashed into buses, livery cabs and cars they rented, and then acted like they were hurt.

According to Schneiderman, they tried to bilk insurance companies out of more than $330,000 by faking injuries.

Prosecutors outlined several of the incidents, which all worked in roughly the same way. In one case, five of the alleged scammers were on board a city bus when another scammer crashed a U-Haul into it. The people on the bus pretended to be injured.

Prosecutors said most of those accused agreed to take money before the ?accident? to participate in the scheme. Once they were ?injured,? they would get treated and fill out insurance forms, lying about the extent of their injuries.

Only two of the group got a total of $13,500 from insurance settlements.

The 16 face multiple felony charges, including insurance fraud and grand larceny.

?This all-too-common staged accident scheme puts innocent lives in danger so perpetrators can rip off the system to make a quick buck,? Schneiderman said. ?Breaking up these criminal operations means safer streets and a fairer market for consumers whose insurance premiums skyrocket as a result of this kind of fraud.?

Source: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/01/24/officials-16-arrested-in-auto-accident-insurance-scheme/

bobby brown suzanne somers colbert colbert report legionnaires disease underwear bomber unclaimed money

Kerry: U.S. will 'do what we must' to stop nuclear Iran

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Sen. John Kerry, President Barack Obama's nominee for secretary of state, said Thursday that the United States will "do what we must" to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon even as he signaled that diplomacy remains a viable option with Tehran.

Testifying at his confirmation hearing, and with Senate approval a foregone conclusion, Kerry addressed a range of concerns raised by members of the Foreign Relations Committee, from his past outreach to Syrian President Bashar Assad to GOP concerns about the nomination of Republican former Sen. Chuck Hagel to be defense secretary.

"The president has made it definitive ? we will do what we must to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon," Kerry said in his opening statement. "I repeat here today: Our policy is not containment. It is prevention, and the clock is ticking on our efforts to secure responsible compliance."

Pressed on Iran and its nuclear ambitions, Kerry said he was hopeful that the U.S. and other nations could make progress on the diplomatic front, but that Tehran needs to understand it must prove that its program is for peaceful purposes.

"It is not hard to prove," he said, stressing that "intrusive inspections" are required.

In an unexpected exchange, Kerry found himself defending Obama's controversial pick of Hagel to be the next defense secretary against GOP criticism.

Sen. Bob Corker, the senior Republican on the panel, expressed concerns about Hagel's support for an 80 percent reduction of U.S. nuclear weapons, a major issue for the Tennessee lawmaker and his home state. The Y-12 nuclear facility is located near Oak Ridge, Tenn., and any cuts would have an impact on local jobs.

"I know Chuck Hagel. I think he is a strong patriotic former senator, and he will be a strong secretary of defense," Kerry said of Hagel, who like Kerry served in Vietnam.

The Massachusetts senator urged lawmakers to be realistic, arguing that an 80 percent cut is an aspiration that would be unlikely in the current climate.

On Syria, Kerry was asked about his outreach to Assad, now an international pariah after months of civil war and unending violence against his citizens.

Kerry said there was a moment where Syria reached out to the West but that the moment has long passed.

"History caught up to us. That never happened. And it's now moot, because he (Assad) has made a set of judgments that are inexcusable, that are reprehensible, and I think is not long for remaining as the head of state in Syria," the senator said. "I think the time is ticking."

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., a fierce critic of Obama's policy on Syria, said the status quo is unacceptable with the United Nations estimating that 60,000 have been killed and the heavy influx of refugees in Jordan and Turkey.

After a recent visit to the refugee camps, McCain warned that Syrians frustrated with the U.S. response will be a recruitment target for extremists.

"We can do a lot more without putting American boots on the ground," McCain said. "Otherwise, we will be judged harshly by history."

Kerry said it was imperative to continue discussions with Russia and others in dealing with Syria, but he was realistic.

"I don't have optimism," he said.

The hearing was an odd juxtaposition. Kerry has served on the committee during his entire 28 years in the Senate and has chaired the panel for the last four. On Thursday, he sat at the witness table, his voice at times cracking from emotion, facing his colleagues and friends.

Obama chose Kerry to succeed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, who introduced the senator. "John is the right choice," Clinton told the panel. "He will bring a record of leadership and service that is exemplary."

Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., the incoming chairman who presided over the confirmation hearing, noted that Kerry was the first senator on the panel in a century to ascend to the Cabinet post. Corker told Kerry, "you've almost lived your entire life for this moment."

A lone protester shouting about the Middle East interrupted the hearing. Just as Kerry completed his prepared testimony, the woman began shouting about the Middle East and was escorted from the room.

The Vietnam War, a long, bitter conflict that decimated a generation of draft-age men, played a prominent role at the hearing.

In his testimony, Kerry alluded to his controversial moment before the committee some 42 years ago, when the decorated Vietnam veteran testified about his opposition to the war, and famously asked, "How do you ask a man to be the last man to die for a mistake?"

"Today I can't help but recognize that the world itself then was in many ways simpler, divided as it was along bi-polar, Cold War antagonisms," Kerry said. "Today's world is more complicated than anything we have experienced ? from the emergence of China to the Arab Awakening: inextricably linked economic, health, environmental and demographic issues" as well as issues such as proliferation.

McCain, who also introduced Kerry, said their friendship took root with their work on a committee seeking to resolve the status of POWs and missing in action from Vietnam as well as efforts to ensure normal U.S. relations with Vietnam during President Bill Clinton's administration.

"Helping to establish a relationship with Vietnam that serves American interests and values, rather than one that remained mired in mutual resentment and bitterness, is one of my proudest accomplishments as a senator, and I expect it is one of John's as well," McCain said. "Working toward that end with John, and witnessing almost daily his exemplary statesmanship, is one of the highest privileges I've had here."

The hearing is the first of three for Obama's national security nominees, and the least controversial.

Hagel will face tough questions about his past statements on Israel, Iran, nuclear weapons and defense spending at his confirmation hearing next Thursday before the Senate Armed Services Committee. John Brennan, the president's choice for CIA director, will be quizzed about White House national security leaks and the use of unmanned drones at his hearing next month.

The job of the nation's top diplomat would be the realization of a dream for Kerry, whom Obama passed over in 2008 when he chose Clinton. When Joe Biden became vice president, Kerry replaced the former Delaware senator as chairman of the committee.

Obama nominated Kerry after Susan Rice, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, removed her name from consideration following criticism from Republicans over her initial comments about the attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.

Kerry, 69, is the son of a diplomat and has served as Obama's unofficial envoy, using his skills of persuasion with leaders of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

In advance of the hearing, Kerry said he plans to divest holdings in dozens of companies in his family's vast financial portfolio to avoid conflicts of interest if he is confirmed.

He notified the State Department earlier this month that within 90 days of his confirmation he would move to sell off holdings in three trusts benefiting him and his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry. In the Jan. 8 letter to the department's Office of the Legal Adviser, Kerry said he would not take part in any decisions that could affect the companies he has holdings in until those investments are sold off.

Kerry is the wealthiest man in the Senate, worth more than $184 million, according to a 2011 Senate disclosure.

___

Associated Press writers Matthew Daly and Stephen Braun contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kerry-must-stop-iran-nukes-171414491--politics.html

NASA Robert Bork instagram mark sanchez christina aguilera Mayan End Of The World Olivia Black

Apple shares plunge as growth appears to stall

NEW YORK (AP) ? Apple shares plunged Thursday after the company reported quarterly results that point to growth slowing after five blowout years.

The stock was down $53.55 or 10 percent, at $460.46 in midday trading.

Apple Inc. is still the world's most valuable company, a position it's held for more than a year. It's now worth just 3.5 percent more than No. 2 Exxon Mobil Corp, however.

Late Wednesday, Apple reported October-December earnings that were flat compared with the year before. Sales grew 18 percent from the year before, but the startup of production lines for multiple new products like the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini held back profits.

Of more concern to investors is Apple sales growth forecast for the current quarter of around 7 percent ?far from the 50-percent-plus rate it's often hit in recent years. Apple usually lowballs its forecasts, but Chief Financial Officer Peter Oppenheimer indicated that it's moving toward providing more realistic figures from now on.

Analysts believe Apple is unable to fully capitalize on the global smartphone boom with just one new ?and very expensive? phone model every year. There has been speculation among company-watchers that Apple may launch a cheaper iPhone, or a premium model with a bigger screen, but CEO Tim Cook put a damper on those rumors in his comments on a conference call following the report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/495d344a0d10421e9baa8ee77029cfbd/Article_2013-01-24-US-Apple-Stock/id-4d574337d2aa40aea82968c548517f9e

the cutting edge fox 8 news indy 500 angelina jolie leg daytona artie lange nascar daytona 2012

Spring Conference | Regina Family Child Care Homes Co-Op

It?s that time of year! Time to meet up with old friends and hopefully make some new ones. Join us at the 2013 RFCCHCL Spring Conference.

Saturday March 23, 2013 8:00am ? 4:30pm Best Western Seven Oaks Inn ? 777 Albert St. Regina Sask

Workshops:

?Programming for Creative Visual Arts? with Maxine Hanofski

Discover the difference between crafts and art. Max will share various creative visual arts for specific groups (infants, toddlers, pre -school and school age). Learn how to encourage and implement creative arts invitations and experiences; develop and extend project work; how to speak to children about the aesthetics of art; how to share art history, the lives and works of artists past and present; and how to display children?s art. Both individual and team approaches for the implementation of art experiences offered by early learning educators in child care homes and centres will be explored.

You will enjoy hands-on child friendly art invitations to explore your own creativity, as well as gather creative ideas to share with children, staff and co-workers

Maxine is a professional award-winning artist and an Atelierista (in-house artist and studio teacher) at the Regina Early Learning Centre. Maxine enjoys working in various media, including textile art, acrylic on rock, and pen and ink with watercolor wash. She is currently pursuing her diploma in Early Childhood Education.

?Let?s Play? with Louise Bacque?

Louise will use the ?Hop & Move? family resource material. This will include fun filled activities and ideas for play that integrate physical movement, oral language, early literacy and healthy eating. Children learn through play, and they do best when learning is active. You will participate in making some of your own resource materials

Louise was born in Montreal and has moved many times, now living in Swift Current. Louise operated a family childcare home for 23 years earning her Early Childhood diploma (level III) in the evenings. The Early Learning Branch of the Government contracts Louise to facilitate: ?Play and Exploration? phase1 and? Play and Exploration Infant and Toddler?. She also facilitates for ?Leap BC?.

?Handbooks, Contracts and Policies?- Round Table

facilitated by Nona Laird

What is a mission and philosophy statement, and why should you have one. Tips from other Family Childcare providers on contracts, policies and handbooks.

Reminder:

You can apply for the professional development grant and receive your registration fee back making the conference free.

Make sure you come prepared for our fantastic TRADE FAIR and SILENT AUCTION

For more information contact Nona Laird 306-789-8324 nonalaird@gmail.com

Like this:

Be the first to like this.

Source: http://rfcchcl.com/2013/01/23/spring-conference/

seahawks natalie wood patriots Sandy Hook Hoax 2014 Corvette Stacie Halas justin timberlake

Nokia ?Not Considering Android?, Plans Its Own Low-Cost Lumia Plus Asha Strategy

Despite recent suggestions that Nokia is at least keeping an open mind about adopting Google's Android platform, the company has reiterated that it is sticking to its guns with Windows Phone and its homegrown S40-based Asha devices. Speaking during its Q4 earnings conference call today CEO Stephen Elop said Nokia is working with Microsoft to drive the Windows Phone platform lower down the price spectrum.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/KQ2yALfdvuo/

joe flacco 2013 nissan altima masters par 3 contest google augmented reality glasses wonderlic test texas tornado fantasy baseball

Stiffer jail term urged for former Liberian president

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Prosecutors called for a stiffer sentence for former Liberian president Charles Taylor on Tuesday, telling war crimes judges in the Hague he played a direct role in crimes against humanity during the civil war in Sierra Leone.

Meanwhile, Taylor's defense, which wants his conviction overturned, wrote in filings to the court hearing both appeals that the conviction was "plagued with internal inconsistencies, misstatements of evidence and conflicting findings".

Taylor, 64, was sentenced to 50 years last year after being found guilty of aiding and abetting war crimes and crimes against humanity during the 11-year war in neighboring Sierra Leone, in which an estimated 50,000 people had died by 2002.

He was found not guilty of either ordering or planning the atrocities.

But prosecutors told Tuesday's appeal hearing that Taylor's involvement went beyond helping the commission of crimes, saying that he should be convicted for the direct commission of war crimes and for instigating them.

They also asked for his prison sentence be raised to 80 years, which they had originally demanded in May 2012.

"He was aware of the crimes (being committed in Sierra Leone) through his own sources, as president of Liberia, and through media reports," Brenda Hollis, head prosecutor at the Special Court for Sierra Leone, said at the hearing on Tuesday.

Dressed in a dark suit and a bright red tie, Taylor leaned forward with his hands clasped together, listening attentively in a windowless former basketball court in a suburb of The Hague.

Prosecutors put their appeal case in the morning, with the defense team taking over in the afternoon.

Over more than a decade of brutal conflict, Revolutionary United Front rebels murdered, raped and mutilated their way across Sierra Leone.

In return for providing arms and ammunition for the conflict, Taylor received "blood diamonds", as the stones from Sierra Leone's conflict zones were known, including a 45-carat diamond and two 25-carat diamonds.

The prosecution argues the relationship was even closer, and that Taylor was in direct charge of the rebels as they terrorized a civilian population.

"What was Charles Taylor's reaction to all these reports of atrocities?" asked Nicholas Koumjian, a member of the prosecution. "To send more ammunition."

His actions were evidence of his direct involvement in the crimes, Koumjian added. When Taylor instructed Sam Bockarie, an RUF commander, to make the attack on the Sierra Leonean capital Freetown "fearful", he had known that brutality might ensue, Koumjian said.

"He was saying this to the RUF, not to a boy scouts' troop," Koumjian said. "Putting people's heads on sticks. That's what 'make it fearful' meant."

The appeals hearing will continue on Wednesday.

(Editing by Alison Williams)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stiffer-jail-term-urged-former-liberian-president-142320910.html

Garcinia Cambogia Little Things One Direction Bob Ross Hurricane Categories Hurricane Sandy new jersey atlantic city

Can a Web Site Get Visitors to 'Feel' - You're the Boss Blog - The ...

My company, Abe?s Market, is an online marketplace for natural and organic goods that connects Americans who want to live a more healthful lifestyle with passionate business owners they may not otherwise find. We get hundreds of thousands of visitors every month, and our monthly sales growth has been in double digits. Based in part on that experience, the editors of You?re the Boss have asked me to be the host of regular conversations on the blog about what works and what doesn?t when selling online. We?re looking for small businesses that would like to have their sites evaluated by the blog?s readers. (If you are interested in volunteering your site, please see below.)

This first post is about American Giant, a start-up clothing manufacturer that makes all of its clothing in America and sells online only. The company was founded by Bayard Winthrop, who has a rich understanding of how clothing is made and sold. He believes the current clothing supply chain is broken, and he thinks his opportunity lies in bypassing retailers and distributors to sell directly to consumers through the Web. He introduced American Giant last February, and he considers the company an ode to the glory days of American-made, high-quality cotton clothing.

That sounds nice, of course, but here is the obstacle: Can Mr. Winthrop persuade people to buy sweatshirts they cannot touch or try on? Will people buy based on images and word of mouth alone?

American Giant is a new brand with none of the market recognition enjoyed by companies like Lands? End, Polo or Gap. Mr. Winthrop, who aims to take on those billion-dollar clothing brands, thinks American Giant, which is based in San Francisco and manufactures all of its products in the United States, can not only survive but conquer. But clearly the Web site ? especially its photography ? will be very important to that effort.

When the site was introduced in February, it featured the photos below. While the photos were professional, the team at American Giant, which has raised $2 million in start-up financing from Donald Kendall, a former chairman of PepsiCo, had doubts about their impact. Some feared that the photos felt flat, were contrived and provided little sense of the brand?s story.

The Web team also questioned the decision to cut off the model?s head instead of showing his face and making a personal connection. This led to an interesting dynamic. Early on, the site?s conversion rate ? the percentage of visitors who actually make a purchase ? was lower than projected. But the company was extremely successful with its social media and word-of-mouth marketing. This led to increased traffic, to styles? selling out much faster than expected and to better than anticipated revenue (in fact, the clothing is selling so well ? thanks in part to some very positive reviews ? that the company cannot fulfill orders before March). But American Giant recognized that it was missing an opportunity to convert a larger percentage of its visitors from browsers to buyers.

I am a big fan of management that is critical of its own decisions and willing to revisit them quickly. Even though American Giant had already spent considerable amounts of money on its photography, it decided to invest a significant sum, $35,000, to redo the shots.

Right and below are some shots it recently unveiled on the site. The new theme focuses on real world heroes, showing the American Giant line in action on everyday people. Mr. Winthrop explained that the new tagline ? ?Don?t Get Comfortable? ? is intended to create ?an intimate and provocative look at what hard work and dedication is: a pillar of the American Giant brand.?

The crucial choice was not to use professional models. Instead, the company tapped local people, including a pastry chef, a creative agency strategist, a sports bar owner, an amateur boxer and a music producer, in an attempt to make the campaign more realistic and attainable. The team feels that the background and texture add visual interest, the lighting is more natural and the close-up shots of the sweatshirts demonstrate the fit.

To help display the new photography, the American Giant Web team added a home page carousel and three capsule features below it. Take a look at the photos below and at the redesigned site and tell us what you think.

As you look at the site, here are some questions to consider:

• Do you think the photography and the stories behind it make a difference?
• Was the money spent on new photography worth the investment?
• Should the company have focused more attention on, say, social media marketing?
• What would the site have to do to convince you that its products really are superior?
• Do the photos convey the company?s story in a compelling way that makes you want to buy the clothes?

Please share your comments below. In a follow-up column next week, we will tell you how American Giant has been doing since the redesign and what Mr. Winthrop thinks of your suggestions.

Would you like to have your business?s Web site or mobile app reviewed? This is an opportunity for companies looking for an honest (and free) appraisal of their online presence and marketing efforts.

To be considered, tell us about your experiences ? why you started your site, what works, what doesn?t and why you would like to have the site reviewed ? in an e-mail to youretheboss@abesmarket.com.

Richard Demb is co-founder of Abe?s Market, an online marketplace for natural products that is based in Chicago.

Source: http://boss.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/01/23/can-a-web-site-get-visitors-to-feel-the-cotton/

James Holmes Minka Kelly sex tape Colorado shooting Colorado shooting victims aurora Angie Everhart tom hardy

Volkswagen expands R-Line cosmetic enhancement package to SUVs

The R-Line is currently on offer in the U.S. for the CC and Beetle models and now the R-Line package is expanded to the 2014 model year Tiguan and Touareg SUVs - which were introduced at the 2013 North American International Auto Show (NAIAS). The R-Line clad Touareg and Tiguan wear an aggressive face and feature an enhanced interior for a dynamic and sporting appearance. The R-Line is only metal deep without any performance upgrades.

The Tiguan R-Line features unique 'Mallory' 19-inch aluminum alloy wheels, and a sport-tuned suspension for a more dynamic driving characteristic. Additional enhancements include body-coloured side-skirts, wheel arch extensions, R-Line rear spoiler, LED license plate illumination and a R-Line badge mounted on the front grille. Bi-xenon headlights surrounded by LED daytime running lights are also standard.

In the cabin, the Tiguan R-Line features 'metallic-finish' dash and door trim, a sporty flat-bottom R-Line multi-function steering wheel with paddle shifters, stainless-steel R-Line scuff plates, aluminum sport pedals and a black headliner. A Fender Audi system finishes off the interior upgrades providing a 10-channel, 400 watt amplifier with eight speakers and a rear subwoofer.

The Touareg R-Line adds a sport-tuned suspension while wearing 20-inch aluminum-alloy wheels, a unique front bumper, R-Line badges, LED taillights and oval-shaped dual exhaust tips at the rear. In the cabin, the R-Line package brings a unique high-gloss black and brushed aluminum trim on the dashboard, center console and doors. More importantly, you can find stainless steel finished R-Line scuff plates, aluminum sport pedals, and an R-Line steering wheel.

Source: http://www.sgcarmart.com/news/article.php?AID=7311

mary louise parker cher morgellons nhl all star draft seal team 6 touch nitrous oxide

Google adds ARM support to Chrome's Native Client

Google's Native Client endowed x86 machines with the ability to run apps compiled from C and C++ right inside Chrome in 2011, and now ARM devices are finally getting their time to shine. Mountain View's latest Native Client SDK adds support for ARM hardware, and tweaking existing Native Client apps to run on the architecture sounds pretty painless. According to Page and Co., developers just have to add a new file extension to their app, tweak a manifest file and get ahold of the fresh SDK. ARM support is reason enough for developers to celebrate, but Google says it's working on a next-gen Portable Native Client that'll let apps work regardless of architecture and without having to recompile, to boot. If you're ready to start coding, hit the source link for more details.

Filed under: Desktops, Laptops, Tablets, Internet, Google

Comments

Source: Google Chromium Blog

Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/VdhsWJ3nOXs/

tony parker the five year engagement chris kreider correspondents dinner 2012 white house correspondents dinner 2012 whcd 2012 nfl draft

Obamas attend church before inauguration (Reuters)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS and RSS Feed via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/278472876?client_source=feed&format=rss

moonshine news channel 4 radar weather morosini death jacoby ellsbury jacoby ellsbury lionel richie

Internet Marketing: Proven Strategies That Work

Note From Steve: This is a guest post from another blogger. (Click here info about guest posting on my site.)

Internet marketing is one of the many options available to people who are exploring additional avenues to maximize their earnings. Apart from internet marketing being a high income fetching hub, it can be a challenging exercise too. This is the case since online technology provides space for all players to play their game, and if they score goals or not, it is up to them.

Therefore, internet marketing is very competitive and sometimes frustrating if one cannot play his game smart. Because of the competitive nature of online business, there are various strategies that internet gurus employ in order to stay ahead of the competition. The following are some of the internet marketing explained strategies employed by online business people in order to increase reach effectiveness.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization)

SEO has become one of the most widely used methods of driving traffic towards websites, blogs and any other online sites intended for public use. SEO experts target search engines as a means of reaching millions of internet users worldwide. The reason why search engines are targeted is because search engines are used by many researchers to acquire information from the internet.

In ensuring that search engines respond positively to a certain website, SEO experts first conduct ?keyword research to determine probable phrases to be used by online users when searching. They later use these keywords to write compelling content, which in turn brings attention of users to the website.

Affiliate marketing

Affiliate marketing is one of the best internet marketing strategies that business people use. This kind of marketing is based more on commission and networking, whereby one person can promote a product to many people. Once these people buy the product, the person who promoted the product earns a certain commission. One of the reasons why the strategy is highly successful is that it involves groups of people known to one another. For instance, an affiliate can be someone?s uncle or a close a friend. Because of the relationship developed earlier, it becomes easier to sell among these people.

Content writing

Producing great content for the website is another way of driving traffic. Through content creation, people get to know about the website. This is because it is through this content that search engines are going to detect the existent of that website in the first place.

For content to be appealing to many people, it has got to have certain characteristics:

Simplicity ? simple and precise content appeals more to the readers than hard and complex content. In most cases, online clients will always move away from sites that have complex content.

Fresh ? employment of SEO techniques ensures that the website content is visible over the internet. This though is not enough as that content ought to be fresh and up to date. Fresh and up to date content is more believable since it is deemed to be relevant to the most recent challenges in the market.

Organized ? the way the website content is organized always determines how many people will read it. Poorly arranged content makes it hard for the client to get answers, which means that most clients will look for an alternative.

Derek Dirks passion is in local SEO, email marketing and building beautiful WordPress sites. He has been doing web design and internet marketing for the past 7 years. Lately he has been helping with marketing for photographers.

Did you like this? Share it:

Source: http://www.weberinternetmarketing.com/strategies/

jambalaya taylor swift and zac efron basketball wives manny ramirez easter 2012 jeremy lin espn sassafras