At a glance: Oil rises on improving economic news

The price of oil rose Thursday on an improved outlook for U.S economic growth while lawmakers continued their tussle over solutions to avert a "fiscal cliff."

On the New York Mercantile Exchange:

Benchmark crude rose $1.58 to close at $88.07.

Heating oil rose 3 cents to $3.04 a gallon

Natural gas fell 15 cents to $3.65 per 1,000 cubic feet

Wholesale gasoline gained 5 cents to $2.79 a gallon

On the ICE Futures Exchange in London:

Brent crude, which is used to price international varieties of oil, rose $1.25 to $110.76 per barrel

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/glance-oil-rises-improving-economic-news-221056183--finance.html

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US economy grew at 2.7 percent rate in summer

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. economy grew at a 2.7 percent annual rate from July through September, much faster than first thought. The strength is expected to fade in the final months of the year because of uncertainty about looming tax increases and government spending cuts.

The Commerce Department said Thursday that growth in the third quarter was significantly better than the 2 percent rate estimated a month ago. And it was more than twice the 1.3 percent rate reported for the April-June quarter.

The main reason for the upward revision to the gross domestic product was businesses restocked at a faster pace than previously estimated. That offset weaker consumer spending growth.

GDP measures the nation's total output of goods and services ? from restaurant meals and haircuts to airplanes, appliances and highways.

Most economists say economic growth is slowing to below 2 percent in the current October-December quarter. That's generally considered too weak to rapidly lower the unemployment rate.

Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist at Capital Economics, said companies are likely restocking more slowly now. Businesses typically cut back on restocking when they think consumers will spend less. Consumer spending drives roughly 70 percent of economic activity.

Economists cite two reasons for the anticipated weakness in consumer and business spending.

Superstorm Sandy halted business activity along the East Coast in late October and November. And spending may weaken in the final weeks of the year, if lawmakers and Obama fail to reach a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff." That's the name for sharp tax increases and spending cuts that would occur in January without a deal.

Companies are "likely thinning inventories just in case Congress fails to do its job, which is always a possibility," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors.

A separate report Thursday showed the negative impact of Superstorm Sandy is starting to fade. The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell 23,000 to a seasonally adjusted 393,000 last week, the Labor Department said. It was the second straight drop after Superstorm Sandy had driven applications to 451,000 three weeks ago.

Still, consumers and businesses appeared to be more cautious over the summer, according to the GDP report.

Consumer spending grew at a weaker 1.4 percent rate in the third quarter, down from the 2 percent rate estimated a month ago and nearly in line with the 1.5 percent rate in the second quarter.

Businesses spending on equipment and software fell at an annual rate of 2.7 percent in the third quarter, the first decline since the depths of the recession in April-June 2009.

The report showed continued strength in homebuilding, which rose at an annual rate of 14.2 percent. And government spending expanded at an annual rate 3.5 percent, marking its first positive contribution to overall economic growth in two years. The increase was driven by a big jump in defense spending.

While economists predict slower growth in the final months of the year, several reports suggest economic activity picked up in October and early November. And if Congress and the White House reach agreement and avoid the fiscal cliff, economic growth could accelerate next year, many economists say.

A Federal Reserve survey released Tuesday showed improved consumer spending and steady home sales helped lift growth from October through early November in most parts of the United States. The one exception was the Northeast, where the storm led to widespread disruptions.

The Labor Department said employers added 171,000 jobs last month and hiring in September and August was stronger than previously thought.

Rising home values, more hiring and lower gas prices pushed consumer confidence in November to the highest level in nearly five years, according to the Conference Board.

A better mood among consumers appears to have encouraged businesses to invest more in October after pulling back over the summer.

There are already signs that consumer optimism is leading to more spending. A record number of Americans visited stores and shopping websites over the four-day Thanksgiving weekend, according to a survey by the National Retail Federation.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-economy-grew-2-7-percent-rate-summer-133946759--finance.html

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Wedding Vows By Phone Count Especially When A Goat Is Involved

BALTIMORE (November 28, 2012)?An appeals court in Maryland appeals court has ruled that Noel Tshiani is married even though he skipped the ceremony in the Democratic Republic of Congo and said his wedding vows over the phone.

The Maryland court noted Tshiani answered questions and the families exchanged money, clothes and a goat.

The court ruled while the ceremony was unusual it was valid.

Tshiani was ordered to pay his ex alimony and child support.

Source: http://www.kwtx.com/news/offbeat/headlines/Wedding-Vows-Over-The-Phone-Count-Especially-When-A-Goat-Is-Involved-181241361.html

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Free Webinar: 3 Steps To Building A Successful Customer List ...

Webinar details Free Webinar: 3 Steps To Building A Successful Customer List

Come back after the Webinar to rate it! ? Share This Webinar


Do you want to build an online business with a large email list of potential new customers that are really interested in your products or services? Are you wondering how other people manage to get thousands of people signing up to their business mailing list whilst your contact database feel uncomfortably empty?

The most effective way of building up a good stable customer list is through opt in marketing.

If you want to know the secrets of creating a constant stream of new customers, tune in to the Internet Business Kick Start Webinar ??? ??? 3 Steps To Building A Successful Customer List'

It???s totally free, so register now to get instant access to the webinar!

Thursday, November 29, 2012


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Source: http://www.webinarlistings.com/calendar/events/index.php?com=detail&eID=19143

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Cuomo Tells Insurance Companies To Pick Up The Ball With Sandy ...

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (credit: Governor's Office)

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (credit: Governor?s Office)

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - One month after superstorm Sandy, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says New Yorkers are recovering well, with one notable exception.

WCBS 880?s Marla Diamond On The Story

?We?re getting many, many complaints from people who say ?We have insurance coverage, but we can?t contact the insurance company. We cant get adjusters to show up at the property,?? Cuomo said Thursday.

Cuomo has ordered insurance companies to follow up on claims within six days or be fined $1,000 per case.

?Frankly, this is a health and safety issue and people need heat on and they need the electricity on,? Cuomo said.

He urges homeowners to start work before the adjuster arrives and document everything.

Cuomo also announced today that, at his direction, Department of Financial Services (DFS) Superintendent Benjamin M. Lawsky will continue the moratorium barring insurance companies from cancelling or terminating homeowners? and small business owners? insurance policies in storm stricken areas for any reason, including non-payment of premiums, for an additional 21 days through December 15.

At the governor?s direction, Lawsky launched an online report card system concerning insurance companies who are operating in the areas that were affected by Hurricane Sandy.

Cuomo said this action will hold insurance companies accountable to consumers and allow New Yorkers to see the performance of their insurance company compared to other companies. The report cards will be published on the DFS website and will be frequently updated. They will be available at www.NYInsure.ny.gov.

Among other criteria, insurance companies will be graded on:

? Number of claims and dollar amount of claims
? Average time for an adjuster to inspect
? Number of claims closed with and without payment so far
? Amount of claims paid so far
? Total number of consumer complaints
? Number of complaints as a percentage of number of claims

DFS will be publishing report cards on the following companies:

? Nationwide
? Liberty Mutual
? Hartford
? FM Global
? Allstate
? Chartis/AIG
? State Farm
? USAA
? Utica National
? Zurich
? Metropolitan
? Narraganset Bay Insurance Company
? QBE
? Arch
? New York Central Mutual
? Amtrust Financial
? Travelers
? Tower
? Adirondack Insurance Exchange
? Chubb
? GEICO
? Andover
? Assurant
? NYPIUA

Have you had trouble with your insurance company since Sandy? Please share your story below.

Source: http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2012/11/29/cuomo-tells-insurance-companies-to-pick-up-the-ball-with-sandy-claims/

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City Examines Incentives for Visa Jobs

News, Top Stories

November 28, 2012 5:44 pm by: Mark Dewey

The Austin City Council today reviewed its plan to offer incentives to the credit card company Visa to establish an information technology center in the city.

The incentives total $250 per job per year, for 10 years. To earn the money, Visa has to create 794 full-time jobs. Those jobs average $113,000 annual salary plus benefits. The council heard comments from the public, including Paul Robbins, who said Austin?s already high housing and utility costs are a reason to oppose incentives for ventures like Visa and Formula One.

?Credit transactions and race cars are not at the top of this pyramid,? Robbins said.

If the council approves the plan, the state of Texas will pay Visa an additional $8 million in incentives.

Source: http://kut.org/2012/11/city-examines-incentives-for-visa-jobs/

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School of Rock: An Interview with Scott Walton ? UC San Diego ...

In the words of Neil Young, rock and roll can never die. But to find out how it was born, look no further than MUS-40060: History of Rock Music. The online course takes you on a journey through the history of America?s most defining art form, examining how society has shaped the genre throughout the years ? and vice versa. Geared toward musicians and non-musicians alike,?History of Rock Music urges students to make valuable connections between rock music and their own culture.

We checked in with UC San Diego professor Scott Walton to discuss the course, the art of rebellion, and the ways in which rock and roll continues to impact our daily lives.

Q: What was it that drew you to teaching about the history of rock music?

Scott: In high school I was in several rock and blues bands and was completely absorbed with that music. So I?ve always had an interest, and as an educator, teaching rock history is not only a wonderfully engaging topic, but it?s also easy to connect musical developments with socio-political trends.

Q: How will History of Rock Music use the online medium to complement its subject matter?

Scott: Online teaching platforms such as Blackboard provide wonderful tools for sharing and collaboration. In an online setting, students are often more comfortable expressing opinions and engaging in in-depth conversations with their classmates, compared to a large, face-to-face lecture classroom setting. The lecture notes are PDF-based, and once students download the files from our course Blackboard website, they?ll have a useful resource rich with images, links to various websites, and streaming links to audio and video clips.

Q: Rebellion is a key theme of your course. How has rebellion manifested itself in rock and roll throughout the years?

Scott: Almost all popular music in the U.S. over the past century has served as a site for social or political resistance at some point. Early blues musicians were pushing back at Jim Crow, jazz musicians in the ?30s were instrumental in desegregating the entertainment industry, and when rock emerged in the 1950s it was resisting the comfortable Eisenhower-era notions of American life. Everything opened up in the ?60s with rock and soul musicians playing central roles in the civil rights movement, antiwar protests, and the sexual revolution. Activists viewed music as one of the most important emblems of their resistance to mainstream society.

Q: Do you think rock still has the power to affect social and political change?

Scott: I believe it does. One only has to look at the role musicians and actors played in the last presidential election, supporting presidential candidates and helping to get out the vote. Having Bruce Springsteen perform at a political rally gets a whole lot more people out to hear a message!

Q: The phrase ?rock is dead? gets tossed around a lot. Do you agree with it?

Scott: People also say that jazz is dead. You can only make a statement like that if you think way too much, and listen way too little.? :-)

Discover the musical, historical, and cultural context of this 20th century American art form and how it?s shifted our political and social attitudes as a nation over the decades in this engaging online course starting January 14th. Make sure to enroll on or before December 10th to receive a $25 discount off of the registration fee.

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Tags: 1950s, 1960s, activist, antiwar protests, bruce springsteen, civil rights, desegregation, jazz, Jim Crow, protest, revolution, rock, rock and roll, Scott Walton, sexual revolution, social change

Source: http://ucsandiegoextension.wordpress.com/2012/11/28/school-of-rock-an-interview-with-scott-walton/

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sapiens siana: [WATCH]: What is good cardio? - Aerobic Fitness ...

Rating: 4

www.scoobysworkshop.com What is ?good cardio?? Thats of the most frequent questions I get asked. People are always asking if some specific machine or activity is good cardio or not. Before we go into what IS good cardio, lets review WHY cardio is so important ?#1 lose fat! ? want 6-pack abs? Only way is to lose fat thru cardio and nutrition. ?#2 Cardio can improve your mood and significantly reduce depression. Its been prooven by study after study, cardio can make you happier! ?#3 Perform better at school or work! Daily cardio reduces mental fatigue and gives you more energy. A recent study from the U of G showed that daily cardio reduces fatigue by 65%! ?#4 Tons of other health reasons ? oreduce risk of heart disease oreduce blood pressure oreduce risk of diabetes olive longer ? 2hrs longer for every 1hr of exercise You?ve heard me say this before and I will repeat it again ? cardio is much more important than lifting weights and if you only have 20min a day for fitness, you should spend the whole time doing cardio. Its clear that there is a lot of confusion about cardio, its really quite simple. In this video I?m going to tell you how to know what is good cardio and how to tell at a glance if a piece of cardio equipment is good or not. Lets start with the basics. The purpose of cardio is to elevate your heart rate and keep it target zone for at least 20 minutes. How elevated does your heart rate need to be? Depends on your goal, your age, and your health. If you have ?

Source: http://aerobic-fitness.vrg-healthfitness.com/2012/11/27/watch-what-is-good-cardio-2/

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Source: http://sapiens-siana.blogspot.com/2012/11/watch-what-is-good-cardio-aerobic.html

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LibreOffice (for Mac)

We reviewed LibreOffice in 2011, and, as it was then, it's still the best no-cost alternative to Microsoft Office that you can find for Windows, Linux, and OS X. In this review, I focus on LibreOffice for OS X, and the Mac-specific reasons why you might or might not want it. I think you're far better off paying for Microsoft Office if you use Windows, while, under Linux, LibreOffice is your only choice if you want a full-featured office suite.

What is LibreOffice?
Some technical details first. LibreOffice is an offshoot from the old OpenOffice.org application suite, now renamed Apache OpenOffice. Like any other office suite, LibreOffice gives you a word-processor (Writer), a spreadsheet app (Calc), presentations and graphics apps (Impress and Draw), plus database, mathematical, and other tools. LibreOffice is fuller-featured and more up-to-date than any other OpenOffice variant, but it still suffers from a clunky interface with a 1990s look and feel.

On the Mac, if you need to share documents with a Microsoft-Office-centric world, you'll want Microsoft Office for the Mac, the only Mac application suite that's fully compatible with Windows-based formats, and a powerful and elegant app by any standard. The best Mac-native alternative to Microsoft Office is Apple's iWork suite with its dazzling graphics and high level of Office compatibility, and its ability to share and sync documents to other Macs and iOS devices through iCloud, but Microsoft's suite is the obvious first choice if you share documents with Windows users.

Libre Means Free
So where does that leave LibreOffice? For one thing, LibreOffice costs nothing, it exports to the latest Microsoft Office formats in addition to its native ODT format, and it's the obvious first choice for any organization that requires the use of open formats and open-source software. Also, LibreOffice is one of the few apps running under OS X that give you a fighting chance of importing legacy documents created by old Windows and MS-DOS apps?and even documents created by ancient Mac apps that almost no other current Mac app can open. For example, LibreOffice opens documents created by any version of WordPerfect, including the DOS, Mac, and Windows versions. This matters because law firms and many government agencies still have thousands of documents in WordPerfect format, and these might otherwise get orphaned if the office switched to the Mac.

LibreOffice also opens Microsoft Works documents that Microsoft Office for Windows can't open, and its graphics module opens vector graphics in CorelDraw and Visio formats. The latest development version (soon to be officially released as version 3.7) opens Microsoft Publisher documents?a feat no app other than Microsoft Publisher has ever performed on any platform.

An Office Alternative?
As a Microsoft Office alternative, LibreOffice ranks as fair-to-good, which is a lot better than nothing. It's harder to use, less flexible, less easily automated, and a lot worse-looking. It opens almost any recent Word file with fairly faithful formatting, and does a good job of opening Excel worksheets if they aren't exceptionally complicated and don't use Excel's latest graphic features. If all you need is the ability to edit and save uncomplicated Word files on the Mac, then OS X's built-in TextEdit may be all you need, just as Windows' built-in WordPad may be all you need to edit such files under Windows.

As a tool for importing and converting legacy documents, LibreOffice ranks as good, which is better than any rival on OS X, but it can't match older utilities like MacLinkPlus (formerly available from DataViz) which won't run under recent versions of OS X. LibreOffice won't solve all legacy-file problems, however. For example, it can't open files created by the ancient MS-DOS versions of Microsoft Word?but neither can the latest Mac version of Microsoft Word. I keep wishing that Microsoft's Mac Business Unit will create import filters for legacy formats such as WordPerfect and Word for MS-DOS, but I've been waiting a long time, and I'm not very hopeful. Meanwhile, for anyone who really needs to run legacy DOS or Windows apps on a Mac, there's always the option to buy an app like VMware Fusion or Parallels Workstation that makes it possible to run a Windows app on the OS X desktop.

Other OpenOffices
LibreOffice isn't the only OpenOffice offshoot available for the Mac. A slightly more Mac-native branch of OpenOffice called NeoOffice is available for download to anyone who donates $10 per year. NeoOffice lags behind LibreOffice in its feature set, and its import filters tend to lack features built into LibreOffice's filters; for example, LibreOffice can import non-western alphabets in WordPerfect documents, but NeoOffice can't. NeoOffice has one major advantage over LibreOffice: it's far more stable. Under OS X?though not under Windows or Linux?LibreOffice crashes a lot more often than any modern app should, often when opening a document or changing an option. NeoOffice tends to stay open when performing the same operation.

LibreOffice isn't for every Mac user, but for anyone who has to work with oddball formats and legacy documents, it's an essential tool. And you can't argue with the price.

More Office Suite Reviews:
??? LibreOffice (for Mac)
??? Google Drive
??? WordPerfect Office X6
??? iWork for iPad
??? Keynote (for iPhone)
?? more

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/0GfuafqMX78/0,2817,2412491,00.asp

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Miami-Dade mayor tells election advisory group county should have ?best electoral process in the nation?

Members of a group examining Miami-Dade elections peppered a county attorney and the elections supervisor with questions Wednesday morning as they began their review of state and local laws and practices, to eventually suggest improvements.

They were particularly interested in how Miami-Dade verifies voter signatures on absentee ballots, where the county can set up early-voting sites and how to speed up the voter check-in process at precincts on Election Day.

County Mayor Carlos Gimenez convened the election advisory group after the presidential election earlier this month was marked by long lines and a surge of absentee ballots that took several days to count. The group met for the first time Wednesday at the county elections headquarters in Doral.

Gimenez welcomed the 13 group members, who then listened to presentations by Elections Supervisor Penelope Townsley and the assistant county attorney in charge of elections, Oren Rosenthal.

Townsley, whose department runs about 20 elections a year, outlined absentee, early and Election Day voting preparations and procedures, showing off the department?s master computer file that keeps track of tasks and deadlines and a web video that explains to voters how their absentee ballots are tracked.

?We?re very proud of the policies and procedures that we have in place,? she said. ?However, we do realize that there?s opportunity for improvement.?

Townsley went over challenges that affected the Nov. 6 general election, including a 10-12 page ballot that required the department to issue emergency procurements so its vendors could outfit absentee-ballot machines to accommodate that many pages. The machines prepare ballots to be mailed and sort and open ballots received, though trained elections employees are in charge of verifying voter signatures.

Signature-verification software exists, but the department has not bought it because it has not found software it considers accurate enough, Townsley said.

The department also had to redesign absentee-ballot envelopes to fit the lengthy ballot.

Though Miami-Dade had enlisted 150 temporary workers to assist with ballot counting, Townsley said only 60 of them showed up to work. The others said the elections work was too short, or that they feared working would result in their becoming ineligible for unemployment benefits.

Another problem: The department was overwhelmed with voter calls about absentee ballots, receiving on average 2,000 calls a day and more than 7,500 on Election Day.

And for the first time this year, state law required counties to count absentee ballots continuously, beginning on Election Day and until the count was complete, requiring round-the-clock shifts for workers and the canvassing board that has the ultimate say on rejecting invalid voter signatures.

The elections department has not yet submitted its ?after-action report,? a post-mortem detailing how things went during the election.

Several of the questions raised by advisory group members would require changes to state law. For example, Florida limits early-voting sites to elections offices, city halls and permanent libraries ? though the county could spend more money to open more of those sites.

State law also requires counties to identify early-voting sites 30 days in advance, which essentially prohibits opening last-minute sites due to overwhelming voter interest.

Source: http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/11/28/3116005/group-to-begin-reviewing-miami.html

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