Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/193785575?client_source=feed&format=rss
veterans barbados resorts the call helen mirren surrogates surrogates james garner
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Libya leaves African Cup happy after historic win
Associated Press Sports
updated 12:35 p.m. ET Jan. 30, 2012
BATA, Equatorial Guinea (AP) -In the end, Ihaab Boussefi's late volley wasn't enough to send Libya through to the African Cup of Nations quarterfinals.
Boussefi's second goal in Sunday night's game in Bata, however, did clinch a 2-1 win over Senegal for Libya's first victory at the tournament on foreign soil, ultimately sending the players home happy at the end of an inspiring adventure.
Libya was never expected to even reach the tournament with the civil war raging at home during its qualifying campaign. Some players even left the squad to fight for the rebels on the front line.
Somehow Libya made it, and at Estadio de Bata against Senegal the players celebrated an historic victory which was a just reward for the team's perseverance.
"For us, this result was so important because of the situation and the problems, the painful situation in Libya for the people," said Marcos Paqueta, Libya's Brazilian coach.
No one illustrated what it meant to Libya more than veteran goalkeeper and captain Samir Aboud, who sank to his knees at the final whistle with his arms held out in front of him to give thanks.
After more than a decade with the team, Aboud could celebrate a victory at the African Cup.
Libya's team made the final at home in 1982 but failed to win a game at its only other trip to the tournament in 2006.
To reach Gabon and Equatorial Guinea this year, the team had to play its home games in Mali and Egypt as chaos reigned back in Libya. Yet it came through qualifying unbeaten and, despite a loss in its opening game against co-host Equatorial Guinea at the tournament, lifted itself for a creditable draw against Zambia before the success against the Senegalese.
At Estadio de Bata, Libya also had to rally after Senegal equalized following Boussefi's fifth-minute opener. But striker Boussefi, one of 12 home-based players in the squad who had no club football in the buildup because of the suspension of Libya's league, popped up with a sweetly struck volley in the final minutes.
"The players did a great job," Paqueta said. "They provided a big effort and this crowned the achievements they have made since the beginning."
The coach also called for Libya's new leaders and its reformed football federation to support the team and help it develop, and not let its "crowning moment" go to waste.
Libya's joy contrasted with the despair of Senegal's highly rated players, who fell to a third straight loss at the Cup of Nations and an embarrassing end after being tipped as a possible contender for the title.
Even with one of the best forward lines at the tournament - which included Newcastle strikers Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse, Lille's Moussa Sow and captain Mamadou Niang - Senegal badly underperformed.
The team slipped to 2-1 defeats in all three games to exit the tournament without a point for the first time in its history and put coach Amara Traore's future in serious doubt.
Traore remained defiant afterward, however.
"There is no question, I will not resign. That is clear," Traore said. "I will not resign. I can't be clearer than that. It's clear. I will not resign. I have a burning desire to continue. The only certainty I have is to continue."
? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
advertisement
More newsGetty Images ContributorArsenal recovers
Roundup: Arsenal kept its bid to end a seven-year trophy drought on track Sunday.
Source: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/46187713/ns/sports-soccer/
powerball bulls tiger woods one for the money sarah burke death 10 minute trainer etta james funeral
Monday, January 30, 2012
Oil prices dip below $99 a barrel
NEW YORK (AP) ? Oil prices ended lower Monday on concerns that the U.S. economy could slow, and investors' worries eased about supply disruptions in the Persian Gulf.
Benchmark crude fell by 78 cents to finish at $98.78 per barrel in New York on Monday. Brent crude, which is used to price foreign oils that are imported by U.S. refineries, lost 71 cents to end at $110.75 per barrel in London.
The Commerce Department said Americans kept a tighter grip on their wallets in December. Consumer spending was flat, even though incomes rose by the most in nine months. The economy relies heavily on consumer spending, and analysts say the economic recovery could stall and energy demand may stay weak if spending doesn't pick up.
Meanwhile, Iran welcomed international weapons experts into the country in hopes of refuting claims that it is building a nuclear weapon. That eased concerns about possible military action in the region. Still, Europe plans to embargo Iranian oil this summer to pressure Iran about its nuclear program. If that happens, Iran says it could retaliate by blocking passage through the Persian Gulf, where tankers carry one-sixth of the world's oil exports.
The U.S. is ready to implement sanctions on Iran's central bank that will make it harder for Iran to sell oil.
In other energy trading, heating oil fell 2 cents to finish at $3.05 per gallon and gasoline futures fell 6 cents to end at $2.87 per gallon. Natural gas futures fell 4 cents to end the day at $2.71 per 1,000 cubic feet.
Associated Presschelsea clinton kat von d tiki barber minnesota vikings packers vs vikings packers vs vikings randall cobb
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Ford: Income skyrockets. Best year in a decade.
Ford saw its income jump 200 percent last year with a special tax allowance. Even without that, Ford has notched 10 consecutive quarters of profits.
Ford?Motor Co., with a more than 200 percent increase in net income for 2011, reported its strongest year in a decade as American automakers continue to recover from the tailspin of 2008 and 2009.
Skip to next paragraphOnly last week, General Motors Co. reported that its global sales for last year led the industry again, after the automaker had fallen out of first place during the recession. Both GM and Chrysler Group also are expected to report profitable 2011 financial results in the coming weeks.
Domestic manufacturers are in the middle of a slow but solid recovery, said Peter Nesvold, a Jefferies & Co. analyst.
Americans are still buying historically low numbers of vehicles _ less than 13 million last year _ yet the industry is profitable and GM's operating earnings are also expected to be in the billions, Nesvold said.
"Those facts alone aren't necessarily reasons to run out and buy the stocks, but from a fundamental standpoint, it is very encouraging to see a profitable?auto?industry at these levels," he said.
Although much of?Ford's?big gain came from a special tax allowance, it still posted an annual pre-tax operating profit of $8.8 billion, almost 6 percent above the prior year, and the best since 1999. It now has recorded 10 consecutive quarters of operating profits.
Nonetheless, the automaker's results were dragged down by losses in Europe and Asia and rising commodity prices, and it reported a percentage drop in fourth-quarter operating profit compared with the same period of 2010.
Ford's?annual net income reached $20.2 billion, helped by the special one-time, non-cash gain, and was the best since 1998. The company had piled up various tax-loss credits but was unable to use them until it became consistently profitable. Now it is starting to move the credits onto its balance sheet.
This year,?Ford?expects "to continue improving our business and delivering solid profits," said Alan Mulally, the company's chief executive.
But?Ford's?fourth-quarter operating profit fell almost 15 percent, to $1.1 billion, or 20 cents per share, from $1.3 billion, or 30 cents a share, in the fourth quarter of 2010. Analysts were expecting earnings per share of 25 cents. Its fourth-quarter revenue rose 6 percent to $34.6 billion.
"You can't sugar-coat the quarter. They came up short. But you have to be encouraged by the outlook," Nesvold said.
Ford's?shares fell 53 cents, or 4 percent, to $12.21.
As in prior quarters,?Ford?continues to do best in North America, its core market. The automaker reported an operating profit of $889 million for the region, compared with a profit of $670 million a year earlier.
Ford?sold 2.1 million vehicles in the U.S. market last year, an 11 percent increase. It was the No. 2 seller, capturing a 16.8 percent share of the market and trailing only General Motors.
The automaker's U.S. sales growth is a result of a product lineup that is "fuel-efficient, aggressively styled and more than competitive with traditional class-leading offerings from Toyota and Honda," said Alec Gutierrez, an analyst at Kelley Blue Book, the?auto?information company.
But?Ford?continued to struggle in Europe, losing $190 million, almost four times what it lost in the same quarter a year earlier. The European debt crisis is damaging the region's economy and will make it hard forFord?and its rival automakers to make money there this year, Gutierrez said.
Ford's?profit in South America was $108 million, down from $281 million in the prior year. It also posted a loss of $83 million in Asia _ in part because of the floods in Thailand _ compared with a profit of $23 million during the same period a year earlier.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/zKIr6oTm-HE/Ford-Income-skyrockets.-Best-year-in-a-decade
uppity uppity stuffing brandon mcinerney brandon mcinerney black friday 2011 deals nfl power rankings week 12
MasterCard's QkR mobile payment system enters trial in Australia
Continue reading MasterCard's QkR mobile payment system enters trial in Australia
MasterCard's QkR mobile payment system enters trial in Australia originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 27 Jan 2012 21:15:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
Permalink | | Email this | Comments
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/T8pLw8m7WSQ/
green bean casserole recipe karina smirnoff pumpkin cheesecake deviled eggs pie crust pie crust stuffing recipe
Video: Gingrich takes a tumble after debate
Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/46168899#46168899
google street view google street view gluten free diet oprah winfrey iaa blackberry torch 2 ea sports
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Candidate roots don't much matter in diverse Fla.
Republican presidential candidates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talk during a commercial break at the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney talk during a commercial break at the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
Republican presidential candidates, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney participate in the Republican presidential candidates debate in Jacksonville, Fla., Thursday, Jan. 26, 2012. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke)
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) ? Mitt Romney's ties to the Northeast gave him a boost on the way to winning the New Hampshire primary. Newt Gingrich's roots in the South probably had at least a little to do with his South Carolina triumph.
Neither presidential candidate is expected to benefit from such geographic ties in next week's Republican primary in Florida, a diverse state suffering through a world of economic hurt.
"Geography will not play any role in my decision," said Rich Cole, sounding like many voters across the state.
Cole, 68, lives in Florida's largest retirement community, The Villages, and hails from Pennsylvania, which candidate Rick Santorum represented in the Senate. Cole said he likes Santorum but plans to back Romney, for whom he voted four years ago. He thinks Romney gives Republicans the best chance of beating President Barack Obama in November.
A self-described "God-fearing conservative," Larry Dos Santos, of Venice, was leaning toward backing Gingrich. Dos Santos, a 65-year-old retiree from New York who lived nearly all his life on Long Island, noted that the former House speaker has some qualities that remind him of home.
"Telling it like it is is definitely like a New Yorker," he said of the former Georgia congressman. "Nobody pulls punches in New York."
While a candidate's roots may earn them kinship in Florida, hometown ties are unlikely to earn them a vote in a year when many Republicans here tell pollsters that electability and the economy are the two factors that rank above all else as they decide who to support in Tuesday's primary.
Geography seemed to make a difference in previous contests this year.
Romney, the former governor of neighboring Massachusetts, led comfortably in polls ahead of the New Hampshire primary and played up his New England ties often. He won by roughly 17 percentage points. In South Carolina, Gingrich spent more than a week emphasizing his Southern ties even though he had spent the better part of a decade living near Washington. Gingrich ended up winning the state by about 12 percentage points.
But Florida is different, and in no way homogeneous.
Although it is home to the southern-most tip of the U.S., Florida's overall culture is hardly Southern. It's filled with transplants from the Northeast and Midwest who settled along the Gold and Gulf coasts, as well as so-called snowbirds who spend part of the year here only to keep their voter registrations in other states.
Florida's southern region has huge Hispanic and Caribbean influences. The northwestern Panhandle has some communities that strongly identify with parts of the Deep South. Add in the huge, transient military presence around Jacksonville and elsewhere, and just about everybody can call themselves a Floridian.
All things being equal, Romney might be able to count on benefiting from the support of New Yorkers, who constitute one of the largest populations of non-native Floridians now living in the state, and other New Englanders. And Gingrich could seemingly count on the support of those in the conservative Panhandle, which borders Georgia.
"In a different kind of year, geographical roots could have an impact in Florida, but not this year," said Jennifer Donahue, a public policy fellow at Gettysburg College in Pennsylvania. "Florida has been hit so hard by the housing crisis that perhaps the only thing that will help a candidate reach voters is by articulating a vision that will help Florida's economy."
There's no guarantee that candidates can count on geographic ties. Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani hoped the love of transplanted New Yorkers would carry him to victory here four years ago. He ended up falling flat.
This year, Sean Foreman, a political science professor at Barry University in Miami Shores, said ideology trumps regional appeal.
"The moderate versus conservative battle is more important than where someone cut their political teeth," he said.
John Bowker, an 81-year-old retiree in Sun City Center, was born in Vermont and lived most of his life in New Jersey. He said he wanted to watch Thursday's debate and read the Sunday papers before making up his mind, but had ruled out at least one criterion: "Geography? That has not played a role in my thinking."
"I'm listening to what they are saying and how they are saying it," Bowker said.
Still, having a state in common with a candidate doesn't hurt.
Ellen Hoffman, a 73-year-old retired teacher living in The Villages, hails from Michigan, where Romney grew up.
"The Michigan connection first drew me to him," Hoffman said. But that wasn't enough, she said. His positions and electability are what made up her mind.
Associated Pressgamestop albert haynesworth banana republic apple store academy barnes and noble nook 12 days of christmas
FM hockey players honor cancer victims with special game
Read?more: Local, Sports, Education, Fayetteville Manlius, Fayetteville Manlius School District, Varsity Ice Hockey Team, Hockey Game, FM, Hockey Players, Cancer, Breast Cancer, Breast Cancer Awareness, Raising Money for Breast Cancer, Pink in the Rink, Nancy Chase, Matt Murphy, Kevin Hanon, St. Anne's Parish
FAYETTEVILLE -- The Fayetteville-Manlius?community has a big reason to?be proud tonight.? The Boys Varsity Hockey Team raised $8,000 in a charity game for the Carol Baldwin Breast Cancer Foundation.?
Hundreds came out to the "Pink in the Rink" at the Onondaga Nation Arena Wednesday.?The idea for the event started after Hockey Mom, Nancy Chase,?lost her battle with the disease.?
"A?lot of people remember her for her smile and her laugh especially. It just made her that much more of an inviting person, it meant a lot to us how welcoming she was and how she was a mother like figure for all of us whenever we were over there," said Derek Andrake.
Nancy was a teacher at Enders Road Elementary School and was involved in the F-M food pantry and a faithful communicant of St. Anne's parish.
"When Nancy?passed away?it?affected these kids a lot, and they wanted to give back.??It's really neat to see them say we want to do something in honor of not only Nancy, but in honor of this cause," said parent Matt Napierala.
The F-M community also continues to mourn the loss of 19-year-old Matt Murphy to leukemia and Father Kevin Hanon, St. Anne's beloved priest, to stomach cancer. The year before, another friend lost her father to brain cancer.
"They need to be proud of themselves.?We hope?that we?teach our kids this kind of stuff. But they get it. They're?very good?kids," said parent Deborah Bell.
Organizers also sold more than 900 "Pink in the Rink" t-shirts for the game. All proceeds are being donated to the Baldwin Foundation.? The team also dedicated a bench to the Chase family marked with "Chase Your Dreams."
Click?here?to see the interview with F-M hockey players which aired Wednesday morning on Today in CNY.
Source: http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=711639
google street view gluten free diet oprah winfrey iaa blackberry torch 2 ea sports ovarian cancer symptoms
Friday, January 27, 2012
Scientists Create World's First Atomic X-Ray Laser
New submitter newmission33 writes "Government researchers have created the fastest, purest X-ray laser pulses ever achieved, and have fulfilled a 1967 prediction that an atomic scale X-ray laser could be made in the same manner as visible-light lasers, according to a statement released Wednesday. Researchers at the SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory used the Linac Coherent Light Source to aim a powerful X-ray source beam, a billion times brighter than any previous source, at a capsule of neon gas and triggered an 'avalanche' of X-ray emissions to become the world's first 'atomic X-ray laser.'"
zoe saldana zooey deschanel and joseph gordon levitt andrew bailey debra messing ayaan hirsi ali rachel uchitel strait of hormuz
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Most Massive Galaxies Had Frenzied Star-Forming Pasts (SPACE.com)
Clusters of distant galaxies that were bursting with newborn stars in the early universe eventually became the most massive galaxies today, a new study finds.
A team of astronomers found a strong link between active starburst galaxies of the early universe and the giant elliptical galaxies we now see. The star formation in these early galaxies was abruptly cut short, and the researchers pointed to the eating habits of supermassive black holes as the likely culprit.
"This is the first time that we've been able to show this clear link between the most energetic starbursting galaxies in the early universe and the most massive galaxies in the present day," lead scientist Ryan Hickox, of Dartmouth College and England's Durham University, said in a statement.
The astronomers combined data from the European Southern Observatory's Atacama Pathfinder Experiment (APEX) telescope and Very Large Telescope, NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope, and others to examine the way bright, distant galaxies are grouped in clusters. [Video and photo of the massive galaxies]
What they found was that galaxies that are closely huddled together have larger halos of dark matter, the elusive, invisible material thought to make up most of the mass in the universe.
To study how these galaxies evolved, the researchers measured the masses of the dark matter halos around the galaxies and used computer simulations to predict how they grow over time. Their calculations showed that these starburst galaxies become giant elliptical galaxies, which are the most massive galaxies in the universe today.?
The starburst galaxies are so distant that their light takes roughly 10 billion years to reach Earth. This allows astronomers to observe them as they were 10 billion years ago, in the early universe. At that time, the galaxies were undergoing a frenzy of intense star formation, which scientists classify as starbursts.
The results of the new study are the most accurate clustering measurements ever made for this type of galaxy, European Southern Observatory officials said in a statement.
The astronomers found that these starbursts were extremely productive, doubling the number of stars in the galaxies. But the phase lasted only 100 million years ? a relatively brief period on cosmological scales. What caused this abrupt end to the rapid star formation was a process that has not been well understood.
"We know that massive elliptical galaxies stopped producing stars rather suddenly a long time ago and are now passive," study team member Julie Wardlow, of the University of California at Irvine and Durham University, said in a statement. "And scientists are wondering what could possibly be powerful enough to shut down an entire galaxy's starburst."
Observations from this new study point to supermassive black holes as a possible explanation. The intense bursts of star formation could have powered quasars, which are regions around black holes that gobble matter and give off intense radiation into space.
At that stage in the universe's history, starburst galaxies were gathered together in a way that is similar to quasars and were found within the same dark matter halos. Quasars are powered by supermassive black holes at their centers, and as they flung powerful bursts of energy into the cosmos, they also could have ?blown away the galaxies' surrounding gas, which is the raw material from which stars are born.
This dynamic process could have been powerful enough to abruptly shut down rapid star formation.
"In short, the galaxies' glory days of intense star formation also doom them by feeding the giant black hole at their center, which then rapidly blow away or destroys the star-forming clouds," David Alexander, of Durham University, said in a statement.
Follow SPACE.com for the latest in space science and exploration news on Twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
constitution james carville james carville rimm brad pitt brad pitt us constitution
Profile: Insider is surprise pick as new RIM CEO (Reuters)
FRANKFURT (Reuters) ? Insider Thorsten Heins, the new chief executive at BlackBerry maker RIM, is a surprise choice for those looking for a "transformational" leader from outside to turn around the Canadian group's fortunes.
Tall, soft-spoken and bespectacled, the Gifhorn-born Heins, 54, spent most of his working life at German engineering giant Siemens, where he oversaw a mobile telephone business which faced fierce pricing pressure and quality issues.
An avid fan of NBA basketball team the Miami Heat after having lived in Florida for four years, Heins rides a BMW motorbike when he is not road cycling or embarking on long-distance charity rides.
"We will take this to new heights," said Heins after taking over at Research in Motion from co-CEOs Mike Lazaridis and Jim Balsillie, who finally bowed to investor pressure and resigned. "Innovation is endless, we will have a lot of fun."
Heins spent more than 20 years at Siemens, having joined straight from university in 1984 where he met his wife Petra, a mathematician and physicist. The couple have a 21-year-old son and a 23-year-old daughter.
Heins' German roots were evident when he was asked about his choice of motorcycle. "Of course it's a BMW, I'm German."
By the mid-2000s, he had worked his way up to the helm of Siemens's mobile phone business, so he was no stranger to mobiles when he joined RIM.
The business was sold to Taiwan's BenQ in 2005, after Heins was promoted to the management board of the new Communications business, which was dismantled a year later.
"Unfortunately, it was too late to turn mobile devices because this division was already in a difficult situation, and therefore missed its opportunity to accelerate and improve itself," said Thomas Ganswindt, who was Heins's boss on the Communications board.
Heins was a "very strong" leader and someone "able to recognize what is needed by an ailing business", he said.
In his career at Siemens, Heins worked in R&D, customer service, sales and product management, ending as chief technology officer. He joined RIM in December 2007.
BATTLING APPLE
By the end of a mid-2011 restructuring, Heins was one of two chief operating officers, responsible for sales and for both hardware and software product engineering. "He played key roles in the creation of RIM's product portfolio," the company said.
Activist investors have clamored in recent months for a new, "transformational" leader to compete with Apple's iPhone and iPad and the slew of large-screen and powerful devices from Samsung and others using Google's Android operating system.
RIM marked Heins's ascent to the top role with a seven-minute YouTube video in which the 6 foot 6 inches CEO gave his vision for success with a noticeable German accent.
"He is not very well known outside of the company. He has been working in both Balsillie's and Lazaridis' shadow," said Alexandre Peterc, analyst at Exane BNP Paribas.
"He does strike me as someone who knows the industry very well given his background at Siemens. On the plus side he is a veteran of the industry and he knows his stuff, but that said, his background is very much tech and process orientated as opposed to strategic vision orientated.
"You don't say 'this is the next Steve Jobs' because a Steve Jobs is hard to come by," Peterc said.
"In our view, a CEO with a strong consumer electronics and supply chain background would have been ideal," Shaw Wu, Senior Technology Analyst at Sterne Agee, said.
Most who knew him paid tribute to his leadership skills.
"It is not a job that many people would have taken," said Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi.
"Thorsten is highly respected in terms of his knowledge of the industry and given that this appears to be a rather sudden turn of events, they needed someone who can quickly takeover the helm," said CCS Insight's Ben Wood.
RIM has been at pains to underline the orderly nature of the handover.
However, one analyst, who asked not to be named because of his relationship with the group, said it was astounding that the COO at a company of this size should have been so invisible to the market and investor community.
He said he had heard previously from executives within RIM that Heins was very highly regarded and that he was very much on top of his brief. "His name came up repeatedly, with regards to people at RIM who really rate him."
As takeover talk swirled and the financial world pondered whether Heins had been appointed to lead a turnaround or prepare RIM for sale, he clearly now is going to have to communicate quickly, get to know investors and raise his public profile.
(Reporting by Maria Sheahan; Additional reporting by Marilyn Gerlach, Nicola Leske, Kate Holton and Paul Sandle)
This story update corrects city of birth to Gifhorn, not Munich
20 20 gunner kiel gunner kiel baby lisa baby lisa paranormal activity wvu football
UK refinery of Petroplus back in production (AP)
LONDON ? The British refinery owned by collapsed Swiss energy company Petroplus Holdings has resumed shipments to customers.
Trucks were rolling out of the Coryton refinery near London on Thursday morning for the first time since the British subsidiary was placed in administration two days earlier.
Petroplus said on Wednesday that it had begun various forms of insolvency proceedings in Switzerland, France and Germany.
The company said a court had appointed Jaffe Rechtsanwaelte Insolvenzverwalter as administrator of the German operations. In France, FHB Administrateurs Judiciaires is administering the Petroplus operations.
Petroplus said it had filed in Switzerland for composition proceedings, a form of bankruptcy in which the company claims it acted in good faith.
Petroplus, Europe's largest independent oil refiner, filed for insolvency after failing to reach an agreement with its lenders on its $1.75 billion credit line.
Petroplus reported a net loss of $413 million in the first nine months of last year.
The company had announced on Dec. 30 that it would temporarily shut down its French and Belgian refineries "given limited credit availability and the economic climate in Europe."
Trading in the Petroplus shares had been suspended on Monday.
Refinery profitability has been squeezed as operating expenses and the cost of crude oil rose faster than the value of the products, and the economic slowdown in Europe has added to the pressure.
A survey by energy consultancy Wood Mackenzie in 2010 found that 29 of 96 refineries in the European Union did not generate a positive net cash margin.
matt hughes matt dodge matt dodge jon jones lost in space yahoo sports halloween costumes
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Verizon posts $2B 4Q loss on pension adjustment
A lineman for Verizon shields himself from the rain as he works on phone line on East Broad Street in West Hazleton, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Hazleton Standard-Speaker, Ellen F. O'Connell)
A lineman for Verizon shields himself from the rain as he works on phone line on East Broad Street in West Hazleton, Pa., Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2012. (AP Photo/Hazleton Standard-Speaker, Ellen F. O'Connell)
NEW YORK (AP) ? Verizon paid dearly to put iPhones in the hands of subscribers in the latest quarter, holding back its profits in the hope that its customers will rack up higher monthly bills and stay loyal.
The quarter saw the launch of the iPhone 4S, the second model to be sold by Verizon, and it was clear that many had been waiting for it. Verizon on Tuesday said it sold 4.3 million of them, and 7.7 million smartphones total.
But by the upside-down logic of the wireless industry, higher sales mean lower profits for the quarter. Verizon Wireless subsidizes each smartphone by hundreds of dollars, figuring that it will make the money back in service fees over a two-year contract. That means the wireless division, though still highly profitable, posted a rare drop in operating income for the fourth quarter.
An iPhone that Verizon buys from Apple for around $600 is sold in stores for $200. The question is whether phone companies ever really make that money back.
Sanford Bernstein analyst Craig Moffett argues that the example of AT&T, which has sold iPhones since 2007, indicates that the expected boost to profits never really materializes, because the phone companies have to keep subsidizing each new iPhone release.
"The earnings pop will always be a year away," Moffett wrote Tuesday.
In the results of Verizon Communications Inc., the phone company that owns 55 percent of Verizon Wireless, the effect of the iPhone sales was masked by large charge for adjusting the value of its pension plans.
The New York-based company reported that it lost $2.02 billion, or 71 cents per share, in the last three months of 2011. That compares with net income of $2.64 billion, or 93 cents per share, a year ago.
Verizon had warned that the big pension charge was coming.
Excluding the pension effect and another one-time item, Verizon earned 52 cents per share. That was a penny shy of the average forecast of analysts polled by FactSet. Comparable earnings last year were 54 cents per share.
Verizon had warned that hefty smartphone sales would hold back earnings, but analysts had expected a slightly smaller drop. Verizon shares fell 61 cents, or 1.6 percent, to close at $37.79 Tuesday. On Jan. 3, they hit a four-year high of $40.48.
Revenue rose 7.7 percent to $28.4 billion from $26.4 billion a year ago. The latest figure was in line with analysts' expectations.
Wireless accounted for all of the revenue increase, as Verizon's wireline division saw a small decrease. The "old" phone company essentially breaks even, despite the popularity of its cable-like FiOS TV and Internet service.
Usually, Verizon's overall revenue increase is driven higher monthly wireless service revenues, as it gains customers. But this quarter, the largest contributor to the rise in revenue was phone sales, which doubled from last year to $2.2 billion.
Verizon Wireless added 1.2 million new subscribers on contract-based plans, which are the most lucrative. It was the second-best result in the last two years, further solidifying the company's position as the industry leader, with 87.4 million phones and other devices on contract-based plans, and 108.7 million total.
Vodafone Group PLC of Britain owns the remaining 45 percent of Verizon Wireless, and lays claim to a corresponding share of the profits.
Associated Presswalmart black friday walmart black friday raiders vincent jackson veterans day oakland raiders carson palmer
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Royal crackdown on fascinators at Ascot racecourse (AP)
LONDON ? Organizers of the Royal Ascot race meeting say they're tightening their dress code by banning fascinators from the royal enclosure.
New rules put out by organizers Wednesday are the latest in a series of changes and clarifications put out by those behind the super-elite horse racing event held each June.
Ascot is a highlight of the British social calendar and organizers have been fighting to control the proliferation of provocative dresses, outrageous accessories and revealing tops.
Other rules introduced or reinforced Wednesday include the requirement that women must wear hats and clarify that dresses must fall below the knee.
The new rules also state that men must wear a suit and tie in some areas. Those in the royal enclosure must wear a top hat.
___
Online:
http://www.ascot.co.uk/
bengals vs texans nfl playoffs cincinnati bengals bengals the stand josh mcdaniels cotton bowl
Friday, January 20, 2012
USS Cole bombing: Judge allows prosecution to use 'sanitized' evidence
A ruling Wednesday puts Abdal Rahim Al-Nashiri at a significant disadvantage because prosecutors will be able to rely on declassified summaries of classified evidence.?
A military judge at Guantanamo Wednesday cleared the way for the government to prosecute the accused mastermind of the USS Cole bombing based on "sanitized" summaries of classified evidence rather than risk the disclosure of sensitive intelligence sources and methods.
Skip to next paragraphIn an important victory for prosecutors, the judge, US Army Col. James Pohl, rejected a request by defense lawyers representing alleged Al Qaeda leader Abdal Rahim Al-Nashiri that they be allowed to participate in the formulation of the unclassified summaries.
Judge Pohl seemed sympathetic to the defense request, but ultimately ruled that the Military Commissions Act required him to exclude defense lawyers from direct involvement in deciding how classified information will be summarized for use as evidence against their client.
The provision cited by the judge stems from an effort by Congress to make it possible for prosecutors at a military commission trial to tap into a vast trove of intelligence information for use as evidence while minimizing the risk of an unintentional disclosure of national secrets.?
The provision also helps the government ensure that classified documents revealing potentially embarrassing or illegal activities may be excluded from consideration as evidence in the case.
The ruling is a setback to defense efforts. It places attorneys for Mr. Nashiri at a significant disadvantage because the governing statute requires that once Judge Pohl approves evidence summaries, that action is final and not subject to reconsideration.
Defense lawyers had asked the judge to allow them to examine the proposed summaries and provide their perspective before the judge gave his final approval. Government lawyers objected, saying the statute forbids such a procedure.?
?Please don?t make this decision in a capital case in a complete vacuum,? Lead Defense Counsel Richard Kammen urged the judge. ?It really is just fundamental fairness given the stakes.?
The judge said his hands were tied by the provision in the Military Commissions Act.?
Prosecutor Anthony Mattivi took exception to Mr. Kammen?s comments. ?The government has no interest in the military judge making a decision in a vacuum,? he said. ?We want this to be sustained on appeal.??
Judge Pohl provided a concession to the defense team on the summary evidence issue. He said he would give them until the next hearing in the Nashiri case in April to submit any information to him that they feel might help the judge assess the relevance and accuracy of the government?s summaries from a defense perspective.?
But it is unclear how defense lawyers will be able to know what may be the subject of the government?s proposed summaries since they are being denied access to the underlying classified information. ???
?We don?t even know what the [government?s proposed summary] material is about,? Kammen said.?
?The investigation? What happened in Yemen? What happened in another place? We have no idea,? the lawyer said. ?So part of the challenge is guessing how it would impact our defense.??
Kammen added: ?Perhaps after we have reviewed the discovery, perhaps we will be able to discern what it may be about. But it will be, at best, an educated guess.??
Discovery is information gathered by prosecutors related to a case that must be turned over to defense counsel to help them prepare for trial.
So far defense lawyers have received more than 17,000 pages of material and are slated to receive an additional 60,000 to 70,000 pages.?
Although the judge is following the rules established by Congress for military commissions, the defense attorneys find themselves in an unusual position, particularly in a case in which the federal government is seeking the death penalty.
?Today was really about secrecy,? Kammen said. ?And it was about imposing rules unlike any rules in federal court, unlike rules in any capital case in any state court in the United States.??
reggie bush ufc 137 boston news matilda new jersey weather halloween movies halloween movies
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
New POWERBALL Game Launches With A Coast-To-Coast ?Parade? Across U.S.
JACKSONVILLE, Fla.--()--An enriched, bigger and better POWERBALL game with a jackpot starting at $40 million and a $1 million cash second prize kicks off Jan. 15 with an integrated advertising campaign being used by the majority of lotteries across the country. More than 20 state lotteries will be using customized versions of the commercials in English and Spanish that feature individual state scene selections, voiceovers, logos, supers and other local elements beginning Jan. 9.
??Parade? was selected from many concepts submitted last summer?
The campaign, by Jacksonville, Fla.-based St. John & Partners and the Florida Lottery?s agency of record since August 2009, is the result of an unprecedented national brainstorming program that began last summer where all of the state lotteries and their ad agencies were invited to submit concepts for the new game?s campaign launch.
?The entire process was one of collaboration rather than competition between the different state lotteries and their agencies,? said Jim Haynes, Nebraska Lottery Director and Chairman of the Multi-State Lottery Association (MUSL), a non-profit, government-benefit association owned and operated by the lotteries, which operates POWERBALL and other games.
?The states and agencies shared their best ideas and the result is a high quality campaign that all of our 44 members can use to promote the new POWERBALL -- providing additional cost savings for our members,? added Haynes.
The Florida Lottery, led by Secretary Cynthia O?Connell, worked closely with St. John & Partners in producing the ?Parade? campaign for the new POWERBALL game. ?Parade? features a festive holiday parade with a massive red POWERBALL balloon that dwarfs buildings and leaves the parade broadcast anchors speechless.
?St. John & Partners? creativity shows through with their use of computer generated imagery and effects ? making about 100 people look like thousands and transforming the downtown Miami location to look like ?Anywhere USA,? so that the commercials can air everywhere in the nation,? said O?Connell.
??Parade? was selected from many concepts submitted last summer,? said David Bishop, Deputy Secretary of Brand Management for the Florida Lottery. ?During lottery and consumer research, three concepts were selected as finalists and tested with online panels. ?Parade? was the lead contender and favorite in testing.?
The commercial was shot in the heart of downtown Miami in early November with both English and Spanish-speaking anchors providing play-by-play of the parade. David Woodward and Eduardo Abon co-directed the production with Miami based Lava Studio and Native Films. Working with Creative Director David Bonner, Art Director Aaron Peacock and Copywriter Hank Champion was Visual Effects Director Robert Kirkpatrick, who electronically cloned the marching band and crowd to create a scene with thousands of people out of a cast of only 120. Production coordination with all participating states was led by Brand Manager Caroline Eddings.
Since getting its start in April 1992 in 15 states with jackpots that started at a guaranteed $2 million, POWERBALL has grown into one of the world?s biggest and most recognizable lottery games. Today, as it nears its 20th birthday, the game is played in 44 jurisdictions across the nation, with players buying more than $3 billion annually in POWERBALL tickets. The biggest jackpot in the game so far was a $365 million prize split by eight co-workers at a Nebraska meat-packing plant in February 2006.
But with that success comes demand for innovation to keep things fresh ? and continue to deliver the attention-grabbing jackpots for which Powerball is known. Haynes said lotteries are responding with the latest changes in POWERBALL.
?We often hear from players who suggest that in addition to POWERBALL?s big jackpots, we give away more $1 million cash prizes,? Haynes said. ?We?re doing just that. And these new commercials convey the excitement that this is really big. We?re excited to deliver the opportunity to create more millionaires and also provide more opportunities to raise additional revenues for the respected causes benefitted by lotteries.?
The enriched POWERBALL game debuts on Jan. 15 and promises to create more millionaires, bigger starting jackpots that will grow faster, more chances to win a prize of at least $1 million cash and better overall odds for winning a prize. The ticket price also will change, moving from $1 to $2 and the Power Play? feature will still be available for an extra $1 per play. For that extra $1, players have the chance to win $2 million cash for the Match 5 prize ? twice the current prize. While the Power Play now has set prizes, players will still at least double their non-jackpot prizes when they purchase this option.
The new POWERBALL game will still offer players nine ways to win prizes, with its second prize moving up to $1 million in cash from the current $200,000, and the lowest prize level (for those who match just the POWERBALL) being elevated to $4 from $3. Players in the newly designed game will still choose their first five numbers from a pool of 59. But the group of numbers in the POWERBALL pool will shrink from 39 to 35, producing better overall odds of winning a prize in the game. Players today have a 1 in 35 overall chance of winning, which will improve to 1 in 31.8 in the revamped game. That means tens of thousands more winners each drawing. The POWERBALL jackpots will start at $40 million, double the current starting jackpot of $20 million. Powerball?s twice-weekly live drawings will be broadcast from the Florida Lottery?s studios.
About POWERBALL
POWERBALL drawings are Wednesdays and Saturdays at 10:59 p.m. Eastern Time, 9:59 p.m. Central Time, 8:59 p.m. Mountain Time and 7:59 p.m. Pacific Time. For more information about POWERBALL please visit www.powerball.com.
The 44 U.S. lotteries where POWERBALL? is available are: Arizona Lottery, Arkansas Lottery, Colorado Lottery, Connecticut Lottery Corporation, D.C. Lottery & CGCB, Delaware State Lottery, Florida Lottery, Georgia Lottery Corporation, Hoosier Lottery, Idaho Lottery, Illinois Lottery, Iowa Lottery, Kansas Lottery, Kentucky Lottery Corporation, Louisiana Lottery Corporation, Maine Lottery, Maryland Lott, Massachusetts Lottery, Michigan Lottery, Minnesota State Lottery, Missouri Lottery, Montana Lottery, Nebraska Lottery, New Hampshire Lottery Commission, New Jersey Lottery, New Mexico Lottery Authority, New York Lottery, North Carolina Education Lottery, North Dakota Lottery, Ohio Lottery, Oklahoma Lottery, Oregon Lottery, Pennsylvania Lottery, Rhode Island Lottery, South Carolina Education Lottery, South Dakota Lottery, Tennessee Education Lottery, Texas Lottery, U.S. Virgin Islands Lottery, Vermont Lottery, Virginia Lottery, Washington Lottery, Wisconsin Lottery and the West Virginia Lottery.
POWERBALL? is owned by the Multi-State Lottery Association which is a government-benefit, non-profit association owned and operated by 33 member lotteries. MUSL currently coordinates six multi-state games in the United States.
POWERBALL? and Power Play? are registered trademarks of the Multi-State Lottery Association.
medifast miami heat pro bowl sinead oconnor celtics braylon edwards jimmer fredette
Monday, January 9, 2012
Hot air balloon bursts into flames in NZ; 11 dead (AP)
WELLINGTON, New Zealand ? A hot air balloon carrying 11 people turned into a horrifying tower of "sheer flame" Saturday after hitting power lines near a rural New Zealand town, police and witnesses said. All aboard were killed in the deadliest air crash in New Zealand in nearly 50 years.
Two of those killed jumped out of the basket in desperation before the fiery balloon plummeted to farmland with a loud bang as it hit the ground. The balloon crashed near the township of Carterton, in a region well known for its hot air ballooning, in clear, bright early morning conditions with minimal wind.
The pilot and five couples from the Wellington area, about 95 miles (150 kilometers) south of the crash site, were killed. Some of the bodies were badly burned, said Superintendent Mike Rusbatch, a police district commander in Wellington, the capital.
"It's a tragedy as bad as tragedies get," local police commander Brent Register said.
Rusbatch said it appeared the balloon's basket struck power lines that set a fire on board. Witnesses told local media of seeing 32-foot (10-meter) high flames rising from the basket of the dark blue and maroon striped balloon before it plummeted to the farmland below.
Bevan Lambeth said the basket was on fire "and the power lines were holding the basket down, but it was still about 50 meters (165 feet) in the air. Then the whole basket started to go up in flames," as the balloon broke clear of the electric lines.
"I saw ... (it) then go straight up in the air and the flames just engulfed the whole balloon and it crashed to the ground. When it came down it came down really quickly," he told TVOne News.
An aerial photo of the crash site shows two circles of black ash in a green field, close to a white house.
The burning balloon was just above the trees when David McKinlay saw it as he watered his garden.
"It looked like he (the pilot) tried to raise it a bit higher ... all of a sudden there was just 10 meters of flames," he said.
The balloon rose to 500 feet (150 meters) before dropping quickly, and turned to "just a sheer flame as it hit the ground" with a big bang, McKinlay said.
Rusbatch, the police commander, said two people jumped from the basket before it hit the ground, but did not survive.
"We believe we know who the victims were," he told the news Web site Stuff. "... A tragedy for those involved and their families."
The only victim publicly identified so far is the pilot and balloon owner, Lance Hopping. He was safety officer for the Balloons over Wairarapa annual event, and was considered an experienced and safety-conscious pilot.
New Zealand Transport Minister Gerry Brownlee expressed condolences to the bereaved families on behalf of the government.
"We are deeply sorry to learn of this tragic accident and our hearts go out to those who are now mourning the loss of life," Brownlee said.
New Zealand's Transport Accident Investigation Commission opened an immediate inquiry. Investigating officer Peter Williams said investigators had looked at the crash site but had yet to begin witness interviews. The investigation could take up to a year, he said.
The crash was the deadliest air disaster in New Zealand since 1963, when a DC-3 airliner crashed in the Kaimai Range, killing all 23 passengers and crew aboard, according to the History Group of the New Zealand Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
In 1979, an Air New Zealand DC-10 airliner on a scenic flight slammed into Mount Erebus in Antarctica, killing all 257 people on board.
mall of america mennonite gordon hayward smokey robinson smokey robinson close encounters of the third kind pulmonary embolism
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)