China steps up effort to diversify FX reserves

BEIJING (Reuters) - China has set up a new unit to help diversify its $3.31 trillion holdings of official reserves, the country's currency regulator said on Monday.
The State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said the SAFE Co-Financing office had been created to explore new investment options that preserve and increase the value of the world's largest currency reserve stockpile.
"In recent years, the central bank and SAFE have been creating new ways of using foreign exchange reserves to support the real economy and serve for the "venturing abroad" strategy," SAFE said in a statement on its website.
"After conducting this co-financing work, we have provided favorable financing environment and conditions for Chinese financial institutions and other FX market players to expand their economic and trade activities," it added.
The statement did not specify how much of the reserves would be at the disposal of the new office nor what the possible investment directions would be.
Caixin magazine, an independent publication focused on finance, reported on Monday that the new SAFE office would provide liquidity for Chinese banks to make loans for domestic firms to support overseas investments.

Read More..

U.S. economy to grow 2.5 percent this year: Fed's Evans

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2013, improving to 3.5 percent growth in 2014, top Fed official Charles Evans said on Monday.
Evans also forecast the U.S. unemployment rate would be 7.4 percent this year, easing to about 7 percent in 2014.
"One good indicator of labor market improvement would be if we saw payroll employment increase by 200,000 each month for a number of months. We've been averaging about 150,000, but it's been very uneven ... we need a higher pace of employment growth and less volatility in that pace," Chicago Fed President Evans said.
The creation of 1 million jobs over six months would be a "substantive" improvement, but bringing unemployment down to the key level of 6.5 percent was likely to take much longer, probably until mid-2015, he said, speaking at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision last year to tie monetary policy to specific economic conditions should help boost the recovery without letting inflation take hold, said Evans, a chief architect of the policy.
It also provides additional accommodation by assuring markets that rates will remain low even after the economy perks up, he said.
"Given more explicit conditionality, markets can be more confident that we will provide the monetary accommodation necessary to close the large resource gaps that currently exist," he said. "Additionally, the public can be more certain that we will not wait too long to tighten if inflation were to become a substantial concern."
Last month, the Fed ramped up asset purchases aimed at spurring growth, and pledged to keep rates near zero until the unemployment rate drops to 6.5 percent, as long as inflation expectations do not climb above 2.5 percent.
Evans, who rotates into a voting spot on the Fed's policy-setting panel this year, had been pushing for exactly such a threshold-based policy for more than a year, saying the Fed needed to take a much more activist role in trying to meet its mandate to boost employment.
His speech on Monday was his first since mid-2011 to omit an explicit call for further Fed easing, suggesting he is now comfortable that the current stance of monetary policy will help bring down unemployment, still high at 7.8 percent.
Kansas City Fed President Esther George and other critics of the Fed's bond-buying program and low-rate policy have warned the central bank's actions could overheat the economy, leading to unwanted inflation.
Evans, one of several policy "doves" set to speak early this week, sought to head off such criticism.
While the Fed's new 2.5-percent inflation threshold "allows for inflation at times to run modestly above" the Fed's 2-percent goal, it in fact acts as a safeguard against overheating, he said.
The U.S. economy grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the third quarter, but growth is expected to have slowed in the final months of the year. Last month, Fed policymakers said they expected GDP growth of between 2.3 to 3.0 percent this year, and 3.0 to 3.5 percent in 2014.
Meanwhile, most expect inflation to run a bit below the Fed's 2-percent target.
U.S. lawmakers on January 1 struck a partial deal that avoids the worst of planned tax rises known as the "fiscal cliff," but put off big decisions on spending cuts for two more months.
Evans said the effects of fiscal policy on U.S. growth are so far about what he had expected when making his growth forecasts late last year.
But he cautioned lawmakers on taking overly aggressive steps to cut back spending.
"The United States must consolidate its public sector finances; but it must do so gradually if we are to avoid further economic turmoil or another downturn," Evans said.

Read More..

Chicago-area RTA: United running 'sham' business

CHICAGO (AP) — A transportation agency plans to file a lawsuit Monday alleging that United Airlines is falsely claiming to buy huge amounts of jet fuel out of a small, rural Illinois office that doesn't even have a computer to avoid paying tens of millions of dollars in taxes in Chicago, where the purchases are allegedly being made.
The Regional Transportation Authority alleges United Aviation Fuels Corp., a subsidy of United Airlines, has operated a "sham" office in the DeKalb County community of Sycamore since 2001 after reaching an agreement to pay the town more than $300,000 a year — a fraction of what it would have owed in sales taxes in Chicago and Cook County.
"The only reason that United Fuels has an office in Sycamore is to attempt to create a sham tax situs (location) for fuel sales in a lower taxing jurisdiction," reads a draft of the lawsuit obtained by The Associated Press.
United officials say they have not seen the lawsuit, but that the Sycamore operation is legal.
The RTA, which contends the office has no computer and is staffed by one person who only works part time, said consultants visited the site on a recent weekday and found it locked with nobody inside. The agency said judging from the few chairs and empty desks seen through a window, there is little, if any, business occurring in the office.
"Whoever is out there is not negotiating hundreds of millions of dollars worth of jet fuel," said Jordan Matyas, the RTA's chief of staff. He said any negotiations for fuel — as well as delivery scheduling, accounting, credit approval and administrative decisions — are being done in the Willis Tower in downtown Chicago, where United is headquartered.
The RTA alleges that American Airlines is engaged in a similar "sham" business out of an office it rents in Sycamore's City Hall. But Matyas said American was not included in the lawsuit because the airline remains in bankruptcy, and that suing American would require litigating the case both in federal bankruptcy court in New York and in Cook County Circuit Court, where the RTA plans to file its suit against United. He added that the RTA does plan to pursue legal action against American at some point.
The two airlines are spending a staggering amount of money on fuel. Based on sales taxes that were paid in Sycamore, the RTA estimates that in 2012 alone the two airlines spent "approximately $1.2 billion on jet fuel the airlines" for jets at O'Hare, Matyas said in an email, adding that it is unclear how much of that was later sold to other airlines.
United officials said they have not received a copy of the complaint, but "believe that any such suit would be without merit."
"In fact, the operation of our fuel subsidiary in Sycamore has been examined by tax authorities in the past and has been determined to comply with all applicable laws," spokeswoman Megan McCarthy said in an email.
American spokeswoman Mary Frances Fagan said in an email that the airline does not comment on pending litigation but added: "What American is doing is permitted under Illinois law."
Sycamore's city manager, Brian Gregory, declined comment.
The RTA said in a prepared statement that "sales tax dodges" have cost the city of Chicago $133 million in lost sales tax revenue since 2005. They have cost Cook County an additional $60 million and Metra, Pace and the Chicago Transit Authority another $96 million, according to the RTA, which oversees the three agencies and relies on sales tax revenue for much of its funding.
"CTA, Metra and Pace have had to work with constrained budgets and have needed to raise fares and reduce service because the money's just not there," RTA executive director Joe Costello said in the news release. "Now we know why."
The lawsuit is potentially embarrassing for Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel, who earlier this year called United's decision to move its corporate headquarters to Chicago "great news for all Chicagoans."
When told of the lawsuit, Emanuel spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton said: "The City has been supportive of efforts in Springfield to ensure corporations pay their fair share, but we have not seen this specific lawsuit and therefore cannot comment on it."
According to the RTA, the total sales tax rate in Sycamore is 9.5 percent, compared to 8 percent in Chicago. But the RTA contends the airlines are getting an even better deal: The two companies have entered 25-year agreements that call for Sycamore to "kick back" most of its share of the sales tax on jet fuel — as much as $14 million a year — in exchange for payments of at least $300,000 a year from each airline.
A document provided by the RTA contends that the agreement with United calls for Sycamore to receive $360,000 to $556,000 between 2003 and 2026.
The lawsuit is part of a larger effort by the RTA to combat similar deals between various communities and companies.
The RTA, the city of Chicago and Cook County in 2011 filed lawsuits against Kankakee and the village of Channahon. They alleged that those communities' tax incentive programs are costing other government agencies millions of dollars, because they allow companies to avoid paying higher sales taxes by moving purchases through satellite offices in areas where the sales tax rates are lower.
According to the RTA's lawsuit against Kankakee and Channahon, the agency is owed at least $100 million in lost revenue. The communities contend their programs are legal.

Read More..

Sweden scraps rule, paves way for more north Americans

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - The Swedish Ice Hockey Association has cleared the deck for more players from north America in its clubs by deciding to scrap a rule that limits teams to two non-EU players.
"There has been a desire from clubs to avoid having to limit themselves only to the European market," association chairman Christer Englund told Aftonbladet newspaper.
"Instead of forcing clubs to limit themselves, they can now recruit from north America. There aren't too many countries that can deliver players of high class. We also get players with a different playing style."
Englund ruled out any negative impact of the decision taken by the association's elite committee.
"It makes no difference if they come from the Czech Republic or north America," he added.
(Reporting by Philip O'Connor in Dublin; editing by Amlan Chakraborty)

Read More..

Mediators unable to breathe life into stalled labor talks

NHL and the NHL Players Association regarding the difficulties of their current labor …more
(Reuters) - National Hockey League (NHL) owners and players appear no closer to ending a lockout that could wipe out an entire season after working with U.S. federal mediators for a second consecutive day on Thursday.
The mediators and NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) Executive Director Donald Fehr were back at the table Thursday but, unlike Wednesday, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman and deputy commissioner Bill Daly did not participate.
"There has been contact between the parties today," NHLPA special counsel Steve Fehr, who said he spoke with lead NHL counsel Bob Batterman, told reporters.
"I think we're done with contact for tonight, expect there will be contact tomorrow but I am not sure if it will be by telephone or in person."
Bettman has said he cannot see the NHL, which normally runs an 82-game regular season, playing less than a 48-game campaign. But with 42.8 percent of the season already canceled, time is quickly running out.
The two sides appear to have inched closer on the main sticking point of how to divide $3.3 billion in revenue.
The league is seeking an immediate 50-50 split while players, who will see their share chopped from 57 percent, want the cuts brought in gradually with a "make whole" provision in place to cover money that would be lost on current contracts.
Several other contentious items remain on the table, including the length of a new collective bargaining agreement and contract limits to drug testing and continued participate in the Winter Olympics.

Read More..

Labor dispute moves into courts with talks stalled

(Reuters) - After three months of failed negotiations, the labor dispute between the National Hockey League and locked out players moved into the courts on Friday, with the league filing a class action complaint against the players' union.
The league asked U.S. courts to confirm the legality of the lockout. It also filed an unfair labor practice against the players' union.
The move appears to be a pre-emptive strike by the league after reports circulated that the NHL Players' Association (NHLPA) would seek a vote from its members to proceed with a "disclaim of interest" and no longer represent players in bargaining.
Dissolving the union would free players to file anti-trust lawsuits in the courts and have the lockout found illegal.
"Today, in response to information indicating that NHL players have or will be asked to vote to authorize the National Hockey League Players' Association's executive board to proceed to "disclaim interest" in continuing to represent the players in collective bargaining, the National Hockey League filed a class action complaint in Federal Court in New York seeking a declaration confirming the ongoing legality of the lockout."
The league also said it was simultaneously filing an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that by threatening to "disclaim interest," the NHLPA is engaging in an unlawful subversion of the collective bargaining process and conduct that constitutes bad faith bargaining under the National Labor Relations Act.
The legal maneuvering comes a day after the sides had spent two unsuccessful days with U.S. federal mediators trying to jump start stalled talks on a new collective bargaining agreement.
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman has said he cannot see the league, which normally runs an 82-game regular season, playing less than a 48-game campaign. But with 42.8 percent of the schedule already canceled, time is quickly running out on salvaging even a partial season.
The two sides appear to have inched closer on the main sticking point of how to divide $3.3 billion in revenue.
The league is seeking an immediate 50-50 split while players, who will see their share chopped from 57 percent, want the cuts brought in gradually with a "make whole" provision in place to cover money that would be lost on current contracts.
Several other contentious items remain on the table, including the length of a new collective bargaining agreement and contract limits to drug testing and continued participate in the Winter Olympics.

Read More..

Local Leaks Tipsters Allege Steubenville Victim Was Drugged

The latest information posted to Local Leaks, the Wikileaks-like site that has devoted itself to finding details about Steubenville's so-called "Rape Crew", is what they say is an account from the night of the alleged gang-rape of a 16-year-old girl. Local Leaks, which uses and utilizes hacks and tipsters driven to the site from the hacktivist group known as Anonymous, posted what they say is a basic picture of what happened on the night in question which they say is derived "from a number of young people in Steubenville who were witness to various parts of this horrendous crime." Their account goes on to name specific people, but since we aren't privy to those documents or tips, naming those people without verification doesn't seem fair and we've redacted the names of the boys who are not facing charges.
RELATED: One of Steubenville's 'Rape Crew' Wants to Get Out of Steubenville
(Update, January 8: Local Leaks speaks out — meet the hackers behind the Steubenville Files.)
RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Steubenville High's Football 'Rape Crew'
Here's the first section of the newly posted report:
After being convinced, with some amount of coaxing – to attend the parties that night with the “Rape Crew” by by XXX’s girlfriend XXX, Jane Doe was picked up at a volleyball team party she was attending in the early evening of August 11th and transported in a vehicle with Richmond, XXX and XXX in it. Jane Doe was administered a “date rape” drug snuck into her drink almost immediately, possibly while still in the vehicle enroute to the nights “festivities”.
That sort of falls in line with what's been said. But we're not sure how someone knows for sure that the victim was snuck a "date rape drug." That's a dangerous implication and adds a sinister side of premeditation. As The New York Times Juliet Macur and Nate Schweber reported, because by the time the alleged victim went to the police "it was too late for toxicology tests to determine if she had been drugged." However, there were reports of the victim being drugged, according to Rachel Dissell of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
RELATED: Inside the Anonymous Hacking File on the Steubenville 'Rape Crew'
The second portion reads:
In any case, she has no memories after being picked up. The first party of the night was at the home of Assistant Coach XXXXX, where XXXXX, XXXX, XXXXX, and XXXXX were already engaged in heavy drinking and drug use. At this location Jane Doe was raped multiple times by Richmond and Mays and at least two other assailants from the “Rape Crew”. At that point the “party” went on the move. They first stopped at another Assistant Coach’s home, Coach XXXX. XXXXX didn’t like what he saw, and asked them to leave. Once again, they hit the road with an unconscious Jane Doe in tow.
We know there was drinking. "Some in the crowd, which would grow to close to 50 people, arrived with beer. Those who did not were met by cases of it and a makeshift bar of vodka, rum and whiskey, all for the taking, no identification needed," reads the Times report. From reports we know there were multiple parties that night, but the apartments being at multiple coaches' houses have largely been unconfirmed.
RELATED: A Heartbreaking Look Inside the World of India's Gang Rape Victim
Anonymous, from tips from Steubenvillers, has a theory that the boys involved had an apartment which they used for parties:
4401 the athletes used to party. It was known as "the apartment". I am told this is where the rape crew honed their skills
— #KnightSec (@KYAnonymous) January 3, 2013
And they're also claiming that a coach or coach's house was involved:
RELATED: Protestors Take to Streets of India While Victim's Body Is Flown Home


Here's the next part:
While en route to XXXX’s house, Jane was again raped and sodomized in the back seat of a vehicle – and this was video recorded by XXXXX who was in the front seat. Her attackers in the car were again Mays and Richmond.
Now, again, knowing exactly what happened in the back seat would be hard for anyone that wasn't there. Though, this account jibes with what at least one witness told police. From the Times report:
That player told the police that he was in the back seat of his Volkswagen Jetta with Mays and the girl when Mays proceeded to flash the girl’s breasts and penetrate her with his fingers, while the player videotaped it on his phone. The player, who shared the video with at least one person, testified that he videotaped Mays and the girl “because he was being stupid, not making the right choices.” He said he later deleted the recording.
And the last part:
Once they arrived at XXXXX’s house Jane Doe was carried to the basement where she was again raped multiple times by multiple attackers, one of which was XXXXX. Finally, having sated themselves and exhausted any further entertainment that Jane Doe could provide for these animals, she was unceremoniously dumped (still unconscious) onto the front lawn of the XXXXX residence – where at least one member of the “Rape Crew” proceeded to urinate on her.
Well there's obviously some editorializing there ("further entertainment"... "animals"). But tweets from that night confirm that people were, at the very least talking about the alleged victim being urinated on while unconscious. According to The New York Times report, the party didn't end with this girl on the front lawn. "The girl slept on a couch in the basement of that home that night, with Mays alongside her before he took a spot on the floor.
The big takeaway from this report is that the account, from which is said to be gathered and confirmed from multiple sources, says there the girl was raped multiple times by multiple people and that the two Steubenville foortball players facing charges, Malik Richmond and Trent Mays, weren't the only ones involved.
Since the Times report last month, the reporting on this story has been driven by a kind of hacker vigilantism more than professional journalists. These new details may be unconfirmed, but they are the leads that the mainstream outlets who are headed for Ohio will be following.

Read More..

Android’s explosive content consumption growth threatens Apple

Smartphone market share surveys from IDC and Kantar have shown for a long time that the Android phone volume surge is leaving the iPhone in the dust in major growth markets from Brazil to India. But one thing that Apple has had on its side has been the propensity of iPhone owners to consume far more content than Android phone owners. One argument has been that it does not matter if iPhone has a 5% share vs. Android’s 40% share if Apple (AAPL) still dominates in  app revenue generation and browsing volume. Content is king. Another argument is that it does not matter who moves the most units, since only hardware margins count. Here Apple reigns supreme.
[More from BGR: First leaked picture of the Samsung Galaxy S IV emerges]
In the long run it’s difficult to say whether selling smartphones at extremely high margins is more important than dominating mobile content. As consumers keep shifting their precious entertainment consumption minutes to smartphones from television, print media and video games, the value of owning the mobile browsing and mobile application markets increases. Samsung (005930) is playing the deep game of flooding the world market with hundreds of millions of Android phones, most of them cheap, some of them very expensive. The goal is to blanket the globe with Samsung devices and bet that the content consumption of Android devices can catch up with Apple in aggregate.
[More from BGR: Google’s rumored ‘X Phone’ could be an ‘attack on Samsung’]
That is why it’s interesting to see how different research houses started to detect clear signs of Android surge in content consumption in 2012. According to AppAnnie, Google Play showed 48% download growth over the summer, while iOS download volume ticked up by just 3%. In South Korea, Google Play moved ahead of iOS in app revenue generation.
And StatCounter numbers on mobile browser usage seem to be pointing to the same direction. A year ago, Android phones had 17% mobile browsing market share in the Philippines vs. iPhone’s 12%. In January 2013 that lead had grown to 27% vs. 14%. This was the first month when Android took the browsing share lead from Opera in the Philippines. As feature phones fade, Android is grabbing their share of mobile page views.
In Brazil, Android’s mobile browser share has vaulted from 19% to 38% in a year. The iPhone still has a respectable 11% share, which is maybe five times higher than iPhone’s slice of smartphone shipments in Brazil. But that outperformance is no longer enough to keep up with the avalanche of Android phones that are now a prime vehicle for mobile content consumption for Brazil’s middle classes.
In Germany, Europe’s leading mobile market, Android has just pulled into a dramatic 51% vs. 31% lead in page views. In Russia, Android has opened a 25% vs. 18% lead in just the past five months. In affluent Japan, iPhone is leading Android by just 48% v. 44%.
Apple is still punching way above its unit volume class when it comes to grabbing consumers who use the smartphone most frequently for content consumption purposes. But the Google (GOOG)-Samsung strategy of swamping the market with cheap smartphones is working. Android’s lead in mobile browsing is growing at an accelerating rate in many major markets. The new wave of sub-$150 smartphones from Samsung, Huawei and ZTE is shooing consumers across the globe under Google’s mobile content umbrella. These consumers will shape the future of mapping, shopping, localized news and other mobile content industries.
One of these days Apple must choose between the goals of dominating mobile content and maintaining sky-high phone operating margins. The blended iPhone ASP of $620 is not compatible with competing against the Android Armada in Latin America, Africa and Asia, and perhaps not even in Germany or Spain.

Read More..

Look Who's Already in Trouble Over the Steubenville Rape Case

If this was the week that the whole country found out about the alleged gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in football-crazedSteubenville, Ohio, next week might be the one when the punishments arrive. Steubenville High's famed football coach may resign as soon as Monday, and the recent graduate whose shocking video confession was leaked by hackers who took the case nationalmay be in trouble with his college.

RELATED: Everything You Need to Know About Steubenville High's Football 'Rape Crew'

Instagram photos from the night in question emerged almost immediately after the August incident, and today the site LocalLakes, which is partnering with the hacking collective Anonymous to collect eyewitness details and speak truth to rumor, provided a narrative of what it says happened. But the most emotional — and viral — leak out of the so-called The Steubenville Files came in the form of this unsavory video, in which a former Steubenville student is thought to be referring to the victim when he says local football players "raped her more than the Duke lacrosse team": 

RELATED: Inside the Anonymous Hacking File on the Steubenville 'Rape Crew'

RELATED: Local Leaks Tipsters Allege Steubenville Victim Was Drugged

The YouTube video identifies the speaker as former Steubenville student Michael Nodianos, who according to his Twitter account or someone who had access to it, said some pretty gross things the night of the alleged attack: 

Local Leaks and Anonymous tracked Nodianos, now 18, to Ohio State University and released his e-mail and personal information on the Internet, adding that he might have had a gun in his possession during the filming. On Friday afternoon OSU's press office gave in to just how crushing the effects of the viral wave of leaked information has become, releasing the following cryptic statement:

Sexual assault is a terrible act of aggression and violence, and our hearts go out to all victims. The situation in Steubenville is particularly disturbing, and our thoughts are with those affected. To our knowledge, the only students who have been criminally charged in this matter are high school students with no affiliation to Ohio State. To the extent there are inquiries about any Ohio State student, the university is not at liberty to comment due to Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) regulations, other than to confirm that the student in question was in attendance at Ohio State only through Dec. 12.

When reached for comment by The Atlantic Wire, an Ohio State spokeswoman refused to clarify the statement, merely repeating the last line above (emphasis ours). But the phrase "only through" is still throwing us for a loop: Why isn't he there any longer? Because OSU is still on vacation until January 7? Because Nodianos decided to leave? Or has he been punished by the school? Nobody's really saying.

Someone who has spoken up about Nodianos and the viral video is Jefferson County Sheriff Fred Abdala. "Sheriff Abdalla is proud of his town but when it comes to the video released Wednesday, he called it disgusting," reports WTRF-TV. But Sheriff Abdala still doesn't like the way the national press has covered the involvement of Anonymous and LocalLeaks: 

This is all over the world now. It's in the Huffington Post and New York Times but some of these papers are reporting this stuff based on what this Anonymous is telling them. How do you support what they're saying? Where's your proof? I thought newspapers where to be able to back it up with good, solid information. How can you do a story when someone is giving you information that's not even factual?

But... but... that video? Can't we agree it's pretty disgusting? The Steubenville Files allege that Sheriff Abdala and Steubenville football's head coach, Reno Saccoccia, are friends. Abdala hasn't denied that allegation because, well, it seems like everyone in Steubenville knows Coach Reno.

Now rumors are surfacing that Saccoccia, who has become a Friday Night Lights-style legend in the small Ohio city during his 35 years at Steubenville High, will be resigning on Monday. The school is on a community-wide gag order at least until the rape trial's preliminary hearings on Februar 13, butthere are growing calls for the coach, who didn't bench his players when he was told even the non-accusers were posting photos of the alleged victim as she was allegedly being attacked, to either resign or be fired. And those calls will only grow louder on Saturday, when an Occupy Steubenville rally rolls into town.

Read More..

Egypt's ultraconservative party names new leader

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt's largest ultraconservative Islamist party, which has emerged as a potent political force in the country, elected a new leader on Wednesday after the previous head broke away to form his own political group following months of infighting.
Younis Makhyoun, a 58-year-old cleric and trained dentist, was selected in a consensus vote to lead the Salafi Al-Nour party, one of several religion-based parties to take root after the 2011 Egyptian uprising. His election marks the consolidation of power of the religious clerics who cofounded the party and successfully faced down a challenge from the previous leadership to separate the group's politics from its religious ideology.
Makhyoun takes over just two months before President Mohammed Morsi is expected to call for new parliamentary elections, and Al-Nour's new leader immediately turned his sights on the vote. He described the next parliament as "the most dangerous and the most important" in Egypt's history because its mission will be "to purify all laws from whatever violates Islamic Shariah law."
Makhyoun was among the Islamist-dominated constituent assembly that wrote Egypt's new constitution. The charter deeply polarized Egyptians and sparked deadly street protests, but passed by a 64 percent "yes" vote in a referendum in which around 33 percent of voters participated.
Islamists perceive the constitution as the first step toward redefining Egypt's identity to conform to Shariah, or Islamic law.
"We want to liberate Egypt from slavery and submission," Makhyoun said while trying to assuage fears of women and Christians by saying Shariah would "liberate women from the West's moral decay that brought humiliation."
Al-Nour was founded by a group of influential hardline Salafi clerics shortly after the 2011 Egyptian uprising that toppled longtime strongman Hosni Mubarak.
Their single-minded dedication to applying Islamic law sets them apart from Egypt's strongest Islamist force, the Muslim Brotherhood, which shares many of the Salafi fundamentalist beliefs but also has a history of political pragmatism to achieve its ends.
Salafis follow the Wahhabi school of thought, which predominates in Saudi Arabia. They promote a strict interpretation of Islamic law which mandates segregation of the sexes, bans banks from charging interest and punishes theft by cutting off thieves' hands.
Al-Nour made a surprisingly strong showing in the country's first parliamentary elections last year, capturing 25 percent of the seats and trailing only the Muslim Brotherhood, the country's best-organized political force. Their success reflected years of grassroots organizing throughout the country, giving them a ready-made network of support when they entered politics.
That parliament was disbanded by a court order last year. A new one should be elected within two months starting from the day the Egypt's new constitution is put into effect, according to the charter.
The party has been riven by internal feuds over the past year as it struggles to reconcile democratic maneuvering with religious ideology. Al-Nour's founder, Emad Abdel-Ghafour, broke away earlier this month to form a new party over disagreements tied to the role of a body of clerics in the group's politics.
Some of the divisions were also linked to concerns with the Brotherhood. Some Salafis fear the Brotherhood is too willing to compromise in pursuit of an Islamic state. During last year's parliamentary elections, Al-Nour split from an electoral alliance with the Brotherhood after complaining of the group's attempt to monopolize the alliance.

Read More..

Saudi executes maid despite appeals for reprieve

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Saudi authorities say a Sri Lankan domestic worker has been executed for killing a Saudi baby in her care in 2005.
The case spurred global appeals to call off the beheading of Rizana Nafeek because she was 17 at the time of the killing. Rights groups called the death sentence a violation of international codes governing the rights of minors. She had denied strangling the 4-month-old boy.
A statement Wednesday from the Saudi Interior Ministry said the execution was carried out, but it gave no other details.
Groups such as Human Rights Watch strongly condemned the execution.

Read More..

Winter storm slams Mideast, 2 die in West Bank

AMMAN, Jordan (AP) — The fiercest winter storm to hit the Mideast in years has unleashed deadly flash flooding in the West Bank, dumped a rare foot of snow on desert Jordan, and disrupted traffic on the Suez Canal in Egypt.
The unusual weather was a particularly harsh blow for the vulnerable Syrian refugees, especially about 50,000 sheltering in the Zaatari tent camp in Jordan's northern desert. Torrential rains over the past four days have flooded 200 tents and forced women and infants to evacuate in temperatures below freezing at night, whipping wind and lashing rain.
"It's been freezing cold and constant rain for the past four days," lamented Ahmad Tobara, 44, who evacuated his tent when its shafts submerged in flood water in Zaatari camp.
In the West Bank town of Ramallah, a Palestinian official said on Wednesday two West Bank women drowned after their car was caught in a flash flood a day earlier. Nablus Deputy Governor Annan Atirah said the women abandoned their vehicle after it got stuck on a flooded road and their bodies were found apparently swept away by surging waters. Their driver was hospitalized in critical condition.
The storm dumped at least a foot of snow on many parts of Jordan, shutting schools, stranding motorists and delaying international flights, Jordanian weatherman Mohammed Samawi said. He called it the "fiercest storm to hit the Mideast in the month of January in at least 30 years."
The rare, heavy snowfall blocked all streets in Jordan's capital, Amman, and isolated remote villages, prompting warnings from authorities for people to stay home as snow ploughs tried to reopen clogged roads. The country's Meteorology Department said the storm, accompanied by lashing wind, lightning and thunder, dumped the most snow in northern regions and some parts of usually arid southern Jordan.
The snowstorm followed four days of torrential rain, which caused flooding in many areas across the country.
In Egypt, torrential rains, strong winds and low visibility disrupted Suez Canal operations over the past three days and also closed down several ports. The number of ships moving through the Suez Canal dropped by half because of poor visibility, the official MENA news agency reported. A canal official said that by Wednesday, operations had returned to normal. He spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters.
MENA also reported that ports in the northern Mediterranean city of Alexandria and Dakhila were shut down, while cities in the Nile Delta suffered power outages and fishing stopped in cities like Damietta, northeast of Cairo.
MENA also reported ten fishermen went missing after their boat capsized near Marsa Matrouh on the Mediterranean.

Read More..

Soccer-Sporting and Porto agree swap of Izmailov for Miguel Lopes

LISBON, Jan 8 (Reuters) - Portuguese Premier League club Sporting agreed to swap Russian midfielder Marat Izmailov for Porto's Portugal international Miguel Lopes, the Lisbon club said in a statement on Tuesday.
"Sporting informs that Marat Izmailov was transferred to Porto and that Miguel Lopes was signed with a contract that runs until June 2018 and has a buyout clause of 20 million euros ($26.13 million)," Sporting said in a filing to the Portuguese stock market regulator's website (www.cmvm.pt).
Russian international Izmailov, 30, joined Sporting in 2007 and has been an influential player in the last few seasons. However, he has been plagued by several injuries of late and sparsely used in the first team.
Lopes, 26, is a versatile defender who can play both as a left and right back and was perhaps the biggest surprise call-up in Portugal's Euro 2012 squad.
Sporting, who sacked coach Franky Vercauteren on Monday and replaced him with Jesualdo Ferreira, provided no further details on the deal or if any transfer fees had been involved.
Porto are second in the league, three points behind leaders Benfica but with a game in hand. Sporting, enduring one of their worst ever seasons, languish in 12th place, one point above the relegation zone.

Read More..

Soccer-Lazio ease into Italian Cup semis

Jan 8 (Reuters) - Lazio beat Catania 3-0 on Tuesday to waltz into the Italian Cup semi-finals and keep their so far successful season on track for silverware.
The Rome club, riding high in second in Serie A, never looked in difficulty once Romanian defender Stefan Radu headed in a corner on the half hour.
Brazilian midfielder Hernanes converted Sergio Floccari's assist midway through the second half to seal matters before adding another classy goal in stoppage time.

Read More..

UPDATE 1-Soccer-Spanish King's Cup last 16 results

Jan 8 (Infostrada Sports) - Results from the Spanish King's Cup Last 16 second leg matches on Tuesday
Last 16
Tuesday, January 8, second leg
Valencia - Osasuna 2-1 (halftime: 1-1)
First leg: Osasuna - Valencia 0-2. Valencia win 4-1 on aggregate.
Malaga - Eibar (III) 4-1 (halftime: 0-1)
First leg: Eibar - Malaga 1-1. Malaga win 5-2 on aggregate.
Next Fixtures (GMT):
Wednesday, January 9
Sevilla v Real Mallorca (1830)
Real Madrid v Celta Vigo (2030)
Real Zaragoza v Levante (2030)
Thursday, January 10
Getafe v Atletico Madrid (1830)
Barcelona v Cordoba (II) (2030)
Real Betis v Las Palmas (II) (2030)

Read More..

More than 400 Million Devices Are Connected in U.S. Homes, According to The NPD Group

There are 425 million devices connected to the Internet in U.S. homes, according to a new Connected Intelligence report from global information company, The NPD Group.

Port Washington, New York (PRWEB) January 02, 2013
There are 425 million devices connected to the Internet in U.S. homes, according to a new Connected Intelligence report from global information company, The NPD Group. The Connected Home report found that while computers are still the primary connected device, numerous others are diminishing the computer’s relevance to the broadband content marketplace. This trend is being fueled by devices such as gaming consoles and Blu-ray Disc players adding to the number of Internet connected HDTVs, and the connectivity piped directly to the TV itself. Strong consumer retail sales in developing categories such as tablets and smartphones are also impacting the traditional computer’s share of Internet connected devices.
By the end of 2013, a shift towards more screen-sharing across devices is expected. Smaller screens such as the smartphone have the greatest reach now with an estimated 133 million users, with tablets contributing another 31.8 million screens. The development of the shared screen experience, by throwing content from a smaller screen to the TV, is converging device ecosystems and will allow for over-the-top content to become even more prominent on the TV.
“Mobile is adding another dimension powered by screen sharing technologies that allows users to project their tablet or smartphone onto their TV,” said John Buffone, director, NPD’s Connected Intelligence. “Through 2013, multi-screen and multi-device synergy will lead the growth in the broader connected device market, but only if services consumers desire are delivered in a simplistic manner. In this connected world, content providers and consumer technology OEMs need to determine the optimal mix of services and have them on the right devices.”
Are consumers embracing the ability to access apps on their TVs? Read John’s blog to find out.
Methodology

More than 4,000 U.S. consumers, age 18 and older were surveyed in the fourth quarter of 2012. The number of installed and internet connected devices includes those that deliver broadband applications such as computers, tablets, smartphones, HDTVs, Blu-ray Disc Players, video game consoles, and streaming media set top boxes. These devices must actually be connected to the Internet not just be Internet capable. Networking devices and others such as routers, modems, mobile hot spots, and pay TV set top boxes were excluded from this analysis. E-readers were also excluded due to the limited content array they offer.

Read More..

NewsWatch Features Creatoverse, a Sandbox App that Fosters Your Creativity, on AppWatch

NewsWatch, a nationwide television show, recently aired a news segment about “Creatorverse”, a new tablet app by Linden Lab. The segment aired as part of “AppWatch”, a weekly review of the top apps in the marketplace.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) January 02, 2013
NewsWatch, a nationwide television show, recently aired a news segment about “Creatorverse”, a new iPad app by Linden Lab. The segment aired as part of AppWatch, a weekly review of the top apps in the marketplace.
NewsWatch recently discovered Creatorverse, a sandbox style app that fosters a user’s creative side. Creatoverse is produced by Linden Lab, the developers of Second Life, and it allows users to design unique creations, from circular objects to motors, to ramps with jumping cars, and then set those designs in motion with simple commands.
The Creatorverse interface is intuitive and easy to understand for users of all ages. Andrew Tropeano, host of AppWatch, performed a demo of the app and was able to draw a car with two wheels on a road with several jumps. He added directional commands, gravity, and motion, then sent the car flying. It was easy, fun, and thought provoking.
Users can create their own designs or they can remix other Creatorverse user’s designs already made and shared to the cloud-based “Creatorverse Galaxy”. Once users create their design, they can save it to their device or share it to the Creatorverse Galaxy for everyone to play with and make their own. Creatorverse is a unique product that stimulates user’s creativity while still being fun and easy to use.
Creatorverse is currently available for iOS, Android, and Amazon devices for $4.99.

For more information or to download the “Creatorverse” app, go to the Creatorverse website.
NewsWatch is a weekly 30-minute consumer oriented television show that airs on the ION Network Thursday mornings at 5:30am across the nation. NewsWatch regularly features top travel destinations, health tips, technology products, medical breakthroughs and entertainment news on the show. A recent addition to NewsWatch, AppWatch is a weekly segment that provides viewers app reviews and game reviews of the latest and hottest apps and games out on the market for iOS and Android devices. The show airs in 180 markets nationwide as well as all of the top 20 broadcast markets in the country, and is the preferred choice for Satellite Media Tour and Video News Release Distribution.

Read More..

Adapting To An Evolving U.S. Economy: Charitable Giving And “The Fiscal Cliff”

Avrum D. Lapin to join the founder of EJewishPhilanthropy.com to host a seminar for nonprofit leaders that fundraise in the United States and Israel

Jerusalem, Israel (PRWEB) January 02, 2013
Avrum D. Lapin, Director and Senior Partner of the Philadelphia fundraising firm The EHL Consulting Group, will join Dan Brown, the founder of popular philanthropy blog EJewishPhilanthropy.com, to host a seminar that explores fundraising ideas for Israel-based organizations seeking to innovate and adapt to an ever-evolving American marketplace. The two experts will discuss the newest trends in global philanthropy, and highlight the techniques that successful nonprofits employ as they plan for future success.
The free seminar, “Adapting to an Evolving U.S. Economy: Charitable Giving and The Fiscal Cliff” will be held on Monday, January 7th from 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM at PresenTense Hub, Hillel 14, 4th Floor in Jerusalem, Israel.
“As donors slowly recover from the Great Recession and re-prioritize their personal finances, nonprofit organizations around the world are significantly impacted,” notes Mr. Lapin. “How will the charitable marketplace in the U.S. be impacted by the outcome of the negotiations between the President and Congress around the so-called ‘Fiscal Cliff,’ and what are the implications for Israel-based nonprofits?”
Topics for the presentation will include:

    Giving in Response to Possible "Fiscal Cliffs": Learning how factors such as tax breaks, politics, and charitable deduction limitations may impact the scope of giving in 2013...and beyond.
    Personalized Donor Pages: Discovering how the most successful nonprofits are leveraging their social media connections to engage new donors online and expand their networks.
    Cause vs. Org: Understanding how online "investment models" are changing the way philanthropists identify potential nonprofit partners.
“Smart nonprofits are finding ways to adapt to the ‘New Normal.’ New technologies and techniques are being introduced into the marketplace. Our job is to ascertain if these strategies are working and to help perfect them,” Mr. Lapin concludes.
The EHL Consulting Group
The EHL Consulting Group is a nonprofit fundraising consultant firm located in suburban Philadelphia, and is one of only 38 fundraising management firms that belong to the Giving Institute. Founded in 1991, the Philadelphia fundraising firm guides nonprofit organizations across the United States and around the world in understanding and implementing the most effective ways to raise money and sustain support. For more information, visit http://www.ehlconsulting.com.

Read More..

Native protest disrupts Toronto-Ottawa-Montreal rail service

TORONTO (Reuters) - Aboriginal demonstrators disrupted passenger rail service on routes connecting Toronto with Ottawa and Montreal on Saturday, a day after Canada's prime minister agreed to meet with First Nations leaders to discuss grievances behind a growing native protest movement.
About 1,000 people traveling on four trains were stranded on VIA Rail routes in eastern Ontario when the railway stopped service in both directions Saturday evening, said a VIA Rail spokeswoman, Annie Marsolais. The passengers were completing their trips on buses provided by the railway.
VIA Rail could provide no firm timetable for the resumption of service, saying it was awaiting further information from local authorities about the protest, which was blocking tracks near Marysville, about 205 kilometers (127 miles) east of Toronto.
Authorities on the scene of the protest could not immediately be reached for comment.
It was at least the third major rail disruption in the past month by demonstrators from the loosely organized Idle No More movement. Protesters blocked a Canadian National Railway line in Sarnia, Ontario, for about two weeks until Wednesday, and there were shorter blockades elsewhere in the country, including one that delayed passenger trains between Montreal and Toronto for several hours last Sunday.
There were also scattered demonstrations on U.S.-Canadian border crossings in the Niagara region near Buffalo, New York, and in eastern Ontario, according to the media reports.
OLIVE BRANCH
Saturday's protests came even though Prime Minister Stephen Harper extended an olive branch to the angry aboriginal movement on Friday by agreeing to a January 11 meeting to discuss social and economic issues.
The meeting is a key demand from Theresa Spence, a native chief from northern Ontario who has been on a hunger strike for 26 days on an island within sight of the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa.
Harper said next Friday's meeting would address economic development, aboriginal rights and the treaty relationship between the government and native groups. He described it as a follow-up to a meeting with aboriginal leaders last January as well as talks in November with Assembly of First Nations National Chief Shawn Atleo.
DISMAL CONDITIONS
Many of Canada's 1.2 million aboriginals live on reserves where conditions are often dismal, with high rates of poverty, addiction and suicide.
Treaties with Ottawa signed a century ago finance their health and education in a way that many experts say is now dysfunctional.
Idle No More was sparked by legislation that activists say Harper's Conservative government rushed through Parliament without proper consultation with native groups and which affects their land and treaty rights. But it has broadened into a complaint about conditions in general for native Canadians.

Read More..

Navy supply ships set to join F-35 as political lightning rod in 2013

OTTAWA - The navy's long-delayed, much-studied joint support ship program is expected to come under the political microscope within weeks in what is likely another defence equipment embarrassment for the Harper government.
The parliamentary budget officer has been examining the program and is poised to release his findings soon after MPs return from their Christmas break later this month.
Kevin Page's incendiary analysis of the F-35 fighter jet program sparked a raging political fire that continues to burn.
Now, documents obtained by The Canadian Press under access to information offer a glimpse of a troubled ship program set to deliver less capable ships than originally envisioned.
The $2.9 billion program to replace the navy's nearly 45-year-old supply ships with three new vessels was originally announced in 2004.
The program was later scaled back and relaunched with a $2.6 billion budget, but factoring in inflation, by the time the ships are delivered in 2018 they'll end up costing more than the original program.

Read More..

'Gangster Squad' actor Josh Brolin arrested for public intoxication in Calif on New Year's Day

SANTA MONICA, Calif. - Actor Josh Brolin spent some of New Year's Day and the following morning in a Southern California jail cell after getting arrested for misdemeanour public intoxication.
Santa Monica Police Lt. Darrell Lowe says the actor was not given a citation for the Tuesday arrest, which means he likely won't have to appear in court.
Lowe says Brolin was arrested just before midnight January 1, when officers found him heavily intoxicated on a Santa Monica sidewalk. He was booked into jail and released about six hours later after he had sobered up.
A call to a publicist for Brolin was not immediately returned Sunday.
Brolin is starring in the crime film "Gangster Squad," which opens this week.

Read More..

Report: Lance Armstrong weighs doping admission

The New York Times reported Friday that Lance Armstrong, who has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told associates he is considering admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The report cited anonymous sources and said Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running events at age 41. Armstrong was been banned for life from cycling and cannot compete in athletic events sanctioned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Yet Armstrong attorney Tim Herman denied that Armstrong has reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
Herman told The Associated Press he had no knowledge of Armstrong considering a confession and said: "When, and if, Lance has something to say, there won't be any secret about it."
Armstrong, who recovered from testicular cancer that had spread to his lungs and brain, won the Tour de France from 1999-2005. Although he has vehemently denied doping, Armstrong's athletic career crumbled under the weight of a massive report by USADA detailing allegations of drug use by Armstrong and his teammates on his U.S. Postal Service teams.
The report caused Armstrong to lose most of his personal corporate sponsors and he recently stepped down from the board of Livestrong, the cancer-fighting charity he founded in 1997.
Armstrong is facing other legal hurdles.
The U.S. Department of Justice is considering whether to join a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed by former Armstrong teammate Floyd Landis. A Dallas-based promotions company has also said it wants to recover several million dollars paid to Armstrong in bonuses for winning the Tour de France. The British newspaper The Sunday Times has sued Armstrong to recover $500,000 paid to him to settle a libel lawsuit.

Read More..

Friday's Sports In Brief

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) -- Alabama coach Nick Saban sent home two backup players from the BCS championship game for violating curfew.
A person with knowledge of the decision said the players were freshman linebackers Dillon Lee and Ryan Anderson. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the school didn't release names.
A statement from Saban announced the disciplinary action. Alabama's student newspaper, The Crimson White, first identified the players.
Lee played in eight games, mostly on kickoff coverage. He did intercept a pass in his college debut against Michigan in the season opener and made his only tackle in that game.
Anderson didn't play this season.
The second-ranked Crimson Tide will play No. 1 Notre Dame on Monday night.
ARLINGTON, Texas (AP) - Heisman Trophy winner Johnny Manziel of Texas A&M became the fourth FBS quarterback with 20 touchdowns passing and 20 touchdowns rushing in the same season.
Manziel got his school-record 20th rushing touchdown on the Aggies' opening drive of the Cotton Bowl against Oklahoma when he tiptoed 23 yards down the sideline. He added a 5-yard TD run before halftime. The first freshman to win the Heisman, Manziel also has 24 passing TDs.
The other 20-20 quarterbacks were Auburn's Cam Newton and Florida's Tim Tebow, who like Manziel are Heisman winners from the SEC, and Nevada's Colin Kaepernick.
Three other A&M players had 19 rushing TDs in a season, the last Jorvorskie Lane in 2006.
NHL
NEW YORK (AP) - A federal mediator held over 12 hours of separate talks with the NHL and the players' association before stopping for the night with a promise to get going again in the morning.
The sides remained apart all day, buffered by the presence of federal mediator Scot Beckenbaugh, who shuttled back and forth between the hotel where the union is working, and the league office. He started at 10 a.m. EST and wrapped up discussions for the day shortly before 11 p.m.
Similar talks were scheduled to begin at 10:30 a.m. Saturday.
It still isn't known when the league and the union will get back together at the bargaining table. Neither side provided details, but the all-day discussions may signal progress.
NFL
NEW YORK (AP) - With the ink not even dry on the New York Jets' dreadful season, Rex Ryan fled to the Bahamas only to be photographed lounging poolside at a resort hotel, book in hand, with an interesting tattoo gracing his right biceps.
It showed his wife, Michelle, wearing an unmistakably green Jets jersey emblazoned with the unmistakable No. 6 of embattled quarterback Mark Sanchez - and nothing else.
The Daily News ran a front-page photo and by lunchtime it was an Internet sensation. That's pretty much the way the NFL team's soap-opera season played out. Ryan was criticized for sticking with Sanchez despite losing efforts when Tim Tebow was available. The Jets finished the season 6-10.
NBA
LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant is no longer a holdout. He's on Twitter.
With five words - ''The antisocial has become social'' - the Los Angeles Lakers guard sent the first tweet from his account. About 365,000 people were following his verified account, (at)kobebryant, within a few hours.
Bryant tiptoed into the Twitterverse last week when he briefly took over Nike basketball's account, sending out things like a photo of him hanging out with his daughter, an ice bath that he was dreading and even a suit he was wearing to a particular game.
Heat star LeBron James has 6.8 million followers, the most of any NBA player.
GOLF
LONDON (AP) - World No. 1 Rory McIlroy said he may skip the 2016 Olympics because of the dilemma over which country to represent.
McIlroy, from Northern Ireland, is eligible to compete for either Britain or Ireland when golf returns to the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. McIlroy said in a BBC documentary that missing the Olympics is ''definitely an option'' because ''I don't want to upset too many people.''
McIlroy stirred controversy last year when he said in a British newspaper interview that he felt ''more British than Irish.'' He then posted a letter on Twitter saying he grew up ''a proud product of Irish golf'' and had not made a decision on the Olympics.
COLLEGE BASKETBALL
NEW YORK (AP) - The seven Catholic schools that have decided to leave the Big East and form their own league continued to plot the future, retaining Proskauer Rose LLP and Pilson Communications, Inc., to aid in their defection.
St. John's, Georgetown, Marquette, DePaul, Seton Hall, Providence and Villanova all decided last month to set off on their own as the Big East continues to reshape itself.
The university presidents met in New York to discuss the future of the new league. They vow to ''Honor the history and tradition on which the Big East was established.''
There is no timetable for when other schools will join the league.
CYCLING
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) - The New York Times reported that Lance Armstrong, who has strongly denied the doping charges that led to him being stripped of his seven Tour de France titles, has told associates he is considering admitting to the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
The report cited anonymous sources and said Armstrong was considering a confession to help restore his athletic career in triathlons and running events at age 41.
Armstrong was banned for life from cycling and cannot compete in athletic events sanctioned by the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and the World Anti-Doping Agency.
But Armstrong attorney Tim Herman told The Associated Press he had no knowledge of Armstrong considering a confession.

Read More..

Report says Armstrong may confess to doping

Lance Armstrong is reportedly considering a change in course, dropping his years of denials and admitting that he used performance-enhancing drugs.
The New York Times, citing anonymous sources, reported late Friday that Armstrong has told associates he is thinking about the move.
However, Armstrong attorney Tim Herman says that the cyclist hasn't reached out to USADA chief executive Travis Tygart and David Howman, director general of the World Anti-Doping Agency.
USADA stripped Armstrong of his seven Tour de France titles last year and issued a report portraying the cyclist as the leader of a sophisticated doping operation on his winning teams.
A USADA spokeswoman declined comment on Saturday while Howman was quoted by the Sunday Star-Times in New Zealand, where he is vacationing, saying Armstrong has not approached his group.

Read More..

Netflix suffers Christmas Eve outage, points to Amazon

 An outage at one of Amazon's web service centers hit users of Netflix Inc.'s streaming video service on Christmas Eve and was not fully resolved until Christmas day, a spokesman for the movie rental company said on Tuesday.
The outage impacted Netflix subscribers across Canada, Latin America and the United States, and affected various devices that enable users to stream movies and television shows from home, Netflix spokesman Joris Evers said. Such devices range from gaming consoles such as Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 to Blu-ray players.
Evers said that the issue was the result of an outage at an Amazon Web Services' cloud computing center in Virginia, and started at about 12:30 p.m. PST (2030 GMT) on Monday and was fully restored Tuesday morning, although streaming was available for most users late on Monday.
"We are investigating exactly what happened and how it could have been prevented," Evers said.
"We are happy that people opening gifts of Netflix or Netflix capable devices can watch TV shows and movies and apologize for any inconvenience caused last night," he added.
An outage at Amazon Web Services, or AWS, knocked out such sites as Reddit and Foursquare in April of last year.
Amazon Web Services was not immediately available for comment. Evers, the Netflix spokesman, declined to comment on the company's contracts with Amazon.

Read More..

Netflix blames Amazon for Christmas Eve outage

An outage at one of Amazon's web service centers hit users of Netflix Inc's streaming video service on Christmas Eve and was not fully resolved until Christmas Day, a spokesman for the movie rental company said on Tuesday.
The outage impacted Netflix subscribers across Canada, Latin America and the United States, and affected various devices that enable users to stream movies and television shows from home, Netflix spokesman Joris Evers said. Such devices range from gaming consoles like the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 to Blu-ray DVD players.
Netflix, which is based in Los Gatos, California, has 30 million streaming subscribers worldwide, of which more than 27 million are in the Americas region that was exposed to the outage and could have potentially been affected, Evers said.
Evers said the issue was the result of an outage at an Amazon Web Services' cloud computing center in Virginia and started at about 12:30 p.m. PST (2030 GMT) on Monday and was fully restored before 8:00 a.m. PST Tuesday morning, although streaming was available for most users by 11:00 p.m. PST on Monday.
The event marks the latest in a series of outages from Amazon Web Services, with one occurring in April of last year that knocked out such sites as Reddit and Foursquare.
"We are investigating exactly what happened and how it could have been prevented," Evers of Netflix said.
"We are happy that people opening gifts of Netflix or Netflix capable devices can watch TV shows and movies and apologize for any inconvenience caused last night," he added.
Officials at Amazon Web Services were not available for comment. Evers, the Netflix spokesman, declined to comment on the company's contracts with Amazon.

Read More..

Number of e-book readers increasing in United States: survey

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The popularity of electronic books is increasing in the United States, with nearly one-quarter of American bibliophiles reading e-books, according to a survey released on Thursday.
The number of e-readers aged 16 years and older jumped from 16 percent in 2011 to 23 percent this year, while print readers fell from 72 to 67 percent in 2012, in a survey conducted by the Pew Research Center.
"The move toward e-book reading coincides with an increase in ownership of electronic book reading devices," the organization said. Its report analyzed reading trends among the 75 percent of Americans who read at least one book in the last year.
"In all, the number of owners of either a tablet computer or e-book reading device ... grew from 18 percent in late 2011 to 33 percent in 2012."
E-book owners increased from 4 percent in May 2010 to 19 percent in November 2012, while people with tablets jumped from 3 percent to 25 percent during the same period, according to the report.
People most likely to read e-books are well-educated, 30- to 49-year-olds who live in households earning $75,000 or more.
More women, 81 percent, read books, compared to 70 percent of men, and the number of readers declines as people age. The trend toward e-books impacted libraries, which stocked and loaned more e-books.
"The share of recent library users who have borrowed an e-book from a library has increased from 3 percent last year to 5 percent this year," according to Pew.
Even awareness that library stock e-books has grown, from 24 percent late last year to 31 percent now.
The findings were based on a telephone survey of 2,252 people, aged 16 years and older, across the United States and a similar poll the year before. It had a 2.7 percent margin of error.

Read More..

China tightens Internet controls, legalizes post deletion

 China unveiled tighter Internet controls on Friday, legalizing the deletion of posts or pages which are deemed to contain "illegal" information and requiring service providers to hand over such information to the authorities for punishment.
The rules signal that the new leadership headed by Communist Party chief Xi Jinping will continue muzzling the often scathing, raucous online chatter in a country where the Internet offers a rare opportunity for debate.
The new regulations, announced by the official Xinhua news agency, also require Internet users to register with their real names when signing up with network providers, though, in reality, this already happens.
Chinese authorities and Internet companies such as Sina Corp have long since closely monitored and censored what people say online, but the government has now put measures such as deleting posts into law.
"Service providers are required to instantly stop the transmission of illegal information once it is spotted and take relevant measures, including removing the information and saving records, before reporting to supervisory authorities," the rules state.
The restrictions follow a series of corruption scandals amongst lower-level officials exposed by Internet users, something the government has said it is trying to encourage.
Li Fei, deputy head of parliament's legislative affairs committee, said the new rules did not mean people needed to worry about being unable to report corruption online. But he added a warning too.
"When people exercise their rights, including the right to use the Internet, they must do so in accordance with the law and constitution, and not harm the legal rights of the state, society ... or other citizens," he told a news conference.
Chinese Internet users already cope with extensive censorship measures, especially over politically sensitive topics like human rights and elite politics, and popular foreign sites Facebook, Twitter and Google-owned YouTube are blocked.
Earlier this year, the government began forcing users of Sina's wildly successful Weibo microblogging platform to register their real names.
The new rules were quickly condemned by some Weibo users.
"So now they are getting Weibo to help in keeping records and reporting it to authorities. Is this the freedom of expression we are promised in the constitution?" complained one user.
"We should resolutely oppose such a covert means to interfere with Internet freedom," wrote another.
The government says tighter monitoring of the Internet is needed to prevent people making malicious and anonymous accusations online, disseminating pornography and spreading panic with unfounded rumors, pointing out that many other countries already have such rules.
Despite periodic calls for political reform, the party has shown no sign of loosening its grip on power and brooks no dissent to its authority.

Read More..

Hunger strike pressures Canada PM, aboriginal protests spread

A Canadian aboriginal chief in the third week of a hunger strike is urging Prime Minister Stephen Harper to "open his heart" and meet with native leaders angered by his policies as small impromptu protests spread beyond Canada's borders.
Chief Theresa Spence from the remote northern Ontario community of Attawapiskat has been fasting since December 11 and has vowed to continue until Harper commits to talks on a litany of complaints, including new legislation that she says will harm native lands.
"He's a person with a heart but he needs to open his heart. I'm sure he has faith in the Creator himself and for him to delay this, it's very disrespectful, I feel, to not even meet with us," she said in an interview in Ottawa.
Spence is at the center of an unprecedented Canadian aboriginal protest movement called "Idle No More" that began with four women in the province of Saskatchewan raising awareness about the Conservative government's budget legislation passed earlier this month.
The legislation, which has also been criticized by opposition politicians, reduces environmental protections for lakes and rivers and makes it easier to sell reserve lands.
Aided by Facebook and Twitter, their protest proliferated and is now drawing comparisons to the "Occupy Wall Street" movement.
"Flash mob" protests with traditional dancing and drumming have erupted in dozens of shopping malls across North America. There have been rallies, marches and highway blockades by aboriginal groups across Canada and supporters have emerged from as far away as New Zealand and the Middle East.
The campaign aims to draw attention to dismal conditions faced by many of the country's 1.2 million natives, including poverty, unsafe drinking water, inadequate housing, addiction and high suicide rates.
'I'M WILLING TO DIE'
Camped out in a traditional teepee within sight of Ottawa's Parliament buildings, Spence appeared weak and short of breath but resolute on Thursday, Day 17 of her hunger strike, staying warm by a wood stove as a snow storm raged outside.
To critics who question her strategy and say her demands are too vague, Spence replies that she has run out of patience.
"I know it's hard for people to understand what I'm doing but it's for this pain that's been going on too long with our people," she said, sitting on her makeshift bed and flanked by supporters.
Blankets hung from the inside walls of the teepee and a faint aroma of cedar rose from branches spread on the ground. Spence is consuming only water, fish broth and a medicinal tea.
"It has to stop and I'm willing to suffer until the meeting goes on. Even if I don't make it, people will continue my journey. Like I keep saying, I'm willing to die for the people of First Nations because the suffering is too much," Spence said.
Spence was in the headlines last year when a housing crisis in her community forced people to live in tents in temperatures of minus 40 Fahrenheit (minus 40 Celsius).
The Canadian government suggested taxpayer funds were being squandered and appointed an outside adviser to oversee the town's finances, a move seen as insensitive and later rejected by the courts.
At the core of Spence's protest are what aboriginal groups say are unfulfilled promises by the federal and provincial governments dating back to treaties in the early 1900s that would give aboriginal groups a stake in natural resources development, among other benefits.
Many native communities are affected by mining developments or projects like Enbridge Inc's planned C$6 billion ($5.9 billion) Northern Gateway Pipeline. The project, which has yet to win government approvals, would take oil sands crude to the Pacific coast.
Harper met with native leaders in January but Spence says he imposed his own agenda. Harper's office declined to comment.
A spokesman for Aboriginal Affairs Minister John Duncan said the minister has tried repeatedly to reach Chief Spence.
"We will continue trying to engage the chief and other First Nation leaders to discuss how we can build on the progress we have made since 2006," said the spokesman, Jason MacDonald.
MacDonald said Ottawa had built and renovated schools and homes, invested in safe drinking water, introduced legislation to protect the rights of women on reserves and settled over 80 land claims.
Health minister Leona Aglukkaq, the one aboriginal member of Harper's cabinet, urged Spence on Friday to resume eating and to meet with Duncan.
SIMILAR TO 'OCCUPY' MOVEMENT?
Meanwhile, with the help of social media the Idle No More movement has taken on a life of its own in much the same way the first "Occupy Wall Street" camp gave birth to a multitude of "occupy" protests with no specific demand or leadership.
But Peter Russell, an expert in aboriginal politics at the University of Toronto, says unlike the "99 percent" campaign, aboriginals at just 3 percent of the population historically have taken drastic action to be recognized. He sees no sign "Idle No More" will dissipate soon.
Events listed on the group's Web site for Friday include rallies in Los Angeles and London, where protesters plan to present Queen Elizabeth with a letter.
But organizers say they've lost track. Their initial Facebook page has 33,000 members and the Twitter hash tag was mentioned 40,000 times in a single day at its peak on December 21.
"This has spread in ways that we wouldn't even have imagined," said Sheelah McLean, an instructor at the University of Saskatchewan who was one of the four women who originally coined the "Idle No More" slogan.
"I don't think the hash tag is the most important thing that has happened," she said.
"What this movement is supposed to do is build consciousness about the inequalities so that everyone is outraged about what is happening here in Canada. Every Canadian should be outraged.

Read More..

Retailer John Lewis posts record Christmas sales

 John Lewis said on Wednesday it had posted a 14.8 percent rise in sales in the run-up to Christmas and the first days of its clearance, helped by demand for technology and a leap in online offerings.
Britain's biggest department stores group reported sales of 684.8 million pounds for the five weeks to December 29, including a record take of 31.7 million pounds for the first day of its sales in stores on December 27. Like-for-like sales, which strip out the impact of new stores, rose 13 percent.
John Lewis has traditionally outperformed its high-street rivals in recent years due to its strong online offering, new modern stores and more affluent customer base.
Online sales for the five weeks rose 44.3 percent on a year ago, and now accounted for a quarter of the total John Lewis business, the employee-owned group said on Wednesday.
Electrical and home technology sales were 30.9 per cent up, it said, while fashion and beauty increased 10.4 percent.
Managing director Andy Street said: "I am delighted that John Lewis has delivered record breaking sales figures over the Christmas period and the first five days of clearance.
"In an economic climate which continues to be volatile, to have achieved these results is testimony to the strength of the John Lewis brand and the commitment of all our partners to give outstanding service.

Read More..

UK norovirus sickness cases reach over 1.1 million

 More than 1.1 million people in Britain have succumbed to the norovirus winter vomiting disease so far this season, and health officials expect cases to jump higher after a Christmas and New Year dip.
Britain's Health Protection Agency (HPA) said cases of highly contagious norovirus have risen earlier than expected this winter - a trend that has also been seen across Europe, Japan and other parts of the world.
Health officials in the United States said last week that more than 400 people on two cruise ships had been taken ill with a sickness suspected of being due to the norovirus, and hospital wards and nursing care homes in Europe have been forced to close to try to stop infections spreading.
Norovirus is transmitted by contact with infected people or contaminated surfaces, food or water.
HPA data released on Wednesday showed there have been 3,877 laboratory-confirmed cases of norovirus in Britain this winter, 72 percent higher than the number of cases reported at the same point last year. The reason for the rise in not known.
For every laboratory-confirmed case, scientists estimate some 288 unreported cases, as the vast majority of those affected don't go to a doctor. This means the number of people affected in the UK so far is likely to be more than 1.1 million.
"As we have seen in previous years, there has been a dip in the number of confirmed laboratory reports owing to the Christmas and New Year period," said John Harris, the HPA's norovirus expert.
But he added that the HPA expected to see a rise in the number of laboratory reports in the next few weeks.
Norovirus symptoms include a sudden onset of vomiting, which can be projectile, and diarrhoea, which may be profuse and watery. Some victims also suffer fevers, headaches and stomach cramps.
"If you think you may have the illness then it is important to maintain good hand hygiene to help prevent it spreading," said Harris. "We also advise that people stay away from hospitals, schools and care homes as these environments are particularly prone to outbreaks."

Read More..

Governor announces lawsuit vs NCAA over Penn State scandal

 Pennsylvania Governor Tom Corbett said on Wednesday he will ask a federal court to throw out the multimillion-dollar sanctions levied by the NCAA against Penn State University over the Jerry Sandusky sex-abuse scandal, saying the punishment threatens to cause devastating damage to the state's residents and economy.
The sanctions, which included an unprecedented $60 million fine, are "overreaching and unlawful," the governor said at a news conference in State College where the university is located.
The National Collegiate Athletic Association, the governing body of U.S. collegiate sports, fined Penn State $60 million in July and voided its football victories for the past 14 seasons in a dramatic rebuke for its failure to stop Sandusky's sexual abuse of children.
"This was a criminal matter, not a violation of NCAA rules," Corbett said. He added that he believed the NCAA acted as it did because it benefited from the sizable penalty.
"These punishments threaten to have a devastating, long-lasting and irreparable effect on the state, its citizens and its economy," the governor said. "I cannot and will not stand by and let it happen without a fight."
The NCAA said it was disappointed by Corbett's move.
"Not only does this forthcoming lawsuit appear to be without merit, it is an affront to all of the victims in this tragedy - lives that were destroyed by the criminal actions of Jerry Sandusky," NCAA General Counsel Donald Remy said in a statement.
Sandusky, Penn State's former defensive coordinator, was convicted in June of 45 counts of sexually abusing 10 boys over 15 years, some in the football team's showers. He is now serving a prison term of 30 to 60 years.
The scandal sparked a national discussion and awareness of child sex abuse, embarrassed the university and implicated top officials in the cover-up, including the late Joe Paterno, the legendary football head coach.
Corbett said a lawsuit, to be filed later on Wednesday, will ask a federal court to throw out all Sandusky-related sanctions against Penn State.
James Schultz, general counsel for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, who will be handling the case for the governor, said the NCAA failed to follow its own bylaws in determining the penalties against Penn State.
Schultz said Corbett has the proper legal standing to sue the NCAA because he is acting on behalf of state residents and businesses "collaterally damaged" by the NCAA sanctions.
The sanctions hurt businesses and residents, particularly in State College where fall football weekends bring heavy visitor traffic, he said.
"In the wake of this terrible scandal, Penn State was left to heal and clean up this tragedy that was created by the few," Corbett said.
The university recently made the first payment of $12 million of the sanctions toward a national fund to support the victims of child abuse. Other sanctions included a ban on its football team from appearing in bowl games for four years.
According to the governor's office, Penn State football was the second most profitable collegiate athletic program in the nation in 2010-11 when it brought in $50 million, generating more than $5 million in tax revenue.
Penn State released a statement saying it was not party to the lawsuit and reiterated its commitment to comply with the NCAA sanctions.
The governor was asked about the report into the Penn State scandal produced by former FBI director Louis Freeh that was the basis of the NCAA sanctions. The report was scathingly critical of the university and said Penn State leaders covered up Sandusky's sexual abuse of children for years.
"The Freeh report is an incomplete report," Corbett said.
The family of Joe Paterno, who was fired by the Penn State board of trustees who said he failed to do enough when he was alerted to suspicions about Sandusky, said: "The fact that Governor Corbett now realizes, as do many others, that there was an inexcusable rush to judgment is encouraging."
The family, which took strong exception to the Freeh report, had said it was convening its own experts to review the case and the actions of the board and school administration. Paterno died a year ago of lung cancer.
His family said on Wednesday it expects to release its findings "in the near future."
The Sandusky scandal was revealed by a state grand jury convened in 2009 by Corbett, then Pennsylvania's attorney general.
Attorney General-elect Kathleen Kane, a Democrat, has vowed to probe Corbett's handling of the case. She has said that by convening a grand jury, Corbett failed to protect children by delaying prosecution for more than two years.
Corbett, a Republican, has said he welcomes an investigation into how he handled the case.
A poll of Pennsylvania voters in September found they had a poor view of his handling of the scandal as attorney general.
The Franklin & Marshall College survey noted only one in six registered voters thought he did an excellent or good job, and nearly two thirds thought he did a fair or poor job.
Also, more than half of respondents believed the NCAA sanctions imposed as a result of the Sandusky case were unfair.

Read More..

Catholic Church closes London's gay-friendly "Soho Masses"

 The Catholic Church will stop gay-friendly Masses in the central London church that has held them for the past six years, London's archbishop said on Wednesday.
The 18th-century church in Soho, the heart of London's gay scene, has been hosting the twice-monthly Masses with the support of the local Church hierarchy, but Archbishop Vincent Nichols said in a statement that gay Catholics should attend Mass in their local parishes rather going to separate services.
"The Mass is always to retain its essential character as the highest prayer of the whole Church," Nichols said, stressing there would still be pastoral care to help gay Catholics "take a full part in the life of the Church."
The Vatican teaches that gay sex is sinful but homosexuals deserve respect.
The decision on the "Soho Masses" came after sharp criticism of same-sex marriage by Pope Benedict and bishops in Britain and France, where the governments plan to legalise gay nuptials.
Nichols has spoken out in recent weeks against same-sex marriage but Church officials and a spokesman for the Soho gay congregation said the decision to stop the Soho Masses was not explicitly linked to that debate.
"We don't see any direct cause and effect," said Joe Stanley, chairman of the Soho Masses Pastoral Council.
London's approved gay-friendly Masses were launched in early 2007 while the Vatican's top doctrinal official was Cardinal William Levada, the former archbishop of San Francisco, a city with a large gay community and several gay-friendly churches.
Nichols reaffirmed his support for them last February. Since then, Levada was replaced by Archbishop Gerhard Mueller, who German Catholic media have said wanted to clarify the apparent contradiction between them and Church teaching on homosexuality.
The Our Lady of the Assumption church will now become a parish for disaffected Anglicans who became Catholics in protest against moves in their churches towards allowing female and gay bishops.
Conservative Catholics in Britain have long complained to the Vatican about the Soho Masses, saying they flouted Church teaching on homosexuality, and small groups sometimes protested outside the church during the services.
The archbishop's office declined to comment on his statement or any discussions with the Vatican.

Read More..

Malala's father given diplomatic role in UK

The father of a teenage Pakistani activist shot in the head by Taliban for advocating girls' education has been given a diplomatic post in the U.K.
Malala Yousufzai has been recovering at a hospital in Birmingham, England, after she was shot in October in Pakistan. The Taliban have vowed to target her again.
Pakistan's High Commissioner to Britain, Wajid Shamsul Hasan, confirmed a BBC report Wednesday saying that Malala's father, Ziauddin, has been appointed Pakistan's education attache in Birmingham.
The position — with an initial 3-year commitment — virtually guarantees Malala will remain in the U.K.
Malala's case won worldwide recognition for the struggle for women's rights in Pakistan. In a sign of her reach, the 15-year-old made the shortlist for Time magazine's "Person of the Year" for 2012.

Read More..

Mobile Device Accessory Manufacturer New Trent Announces CES Products and Distribution

Established supplier of mobile power accessories, hard-shell cases and tablet keyboards to meet marketplace demand through new distribution alliances.

Fremont, CA (PRWEB) December 31, 2012
New Trent, a trusted manufacturer of battery technology for leading electronics products, has announced its presence at CES (Consumer Electronics Show) in Las Vegas in it's plan for expansion of its mobile accessory distribution program of cutting-edge accessories for Apple® and Android® mobile devices.  
The five year-old Fremont, CA-based company plans to add at least six new products to their vast consumer product line of affordable mobile accessories that are noted for increasing iPad® and iPhone® battery life by up to six times, integrating low-profile keyboards with hard-shell cases, and miniaturizing external batteries for use on a long list of phones, games and GPS devices.
New Products include mobile accessories catered towards the newly released Apple® iPad Mini and a new facelift to their existing product line of mobile backup batteries. New Trent invites all individuals attending CES to come by their booth, at North Hall #4437 to the first to check out their new products, and leave with free gifts.
According to Johnson Jeng, Director of New Trent’s marketing and business development, “After demonstrating the potential of our product line with highly successful results on Amazon, Buy.com and our own e-store, we are confident that with our newly designed products, we will be able to forge alliances with top names in B2B and B2C product sales. We look forward to meeting new distributors at CES and make 2013 a great year."

Read More..

Start the New Year With a Clear Mind and Body by Eliminating Clutter From the Home

And Make Some Extra Money Selling Those Unwanted Things on eBid.net

Miami, FL (PRWEB) December 31, 2012
The positive physical and psychological effects of clearing clutter from your life have been well-documented. Benefits include creating a focused mind, finding extra time in the day to exercise, reducing accidents - and earning some extra cash selling unnecessary clutter online. One of the best options for selling goods is the online worldwide marketplace eBid (http://www.ebid.net) because with its zero listing fees and only 0% - 3% final value fees, sellers earn the best profits out of any other online auction site. And with over 5.3 million live auction listings, New Years' cleaners will be able to tap into a huge audience of potential buyers for their stuff.
Mark Wilkinson, co-founder of eBid said, "Multiple studies and articles have shown that eliminating clutter is one of the healthiest things a person can do for their lives. And likewise, independent measurements have shown that eBid is one of the best values on the Net for generating a little profit from some of those extra nicknacks just laying around. Of course, after the holidays it's an even better time to keep your house cleared, keep those unneeded gifts in the box and sell them on eBid."
eBid represents a $5.7 billion marketplace spanning 23 territories, covering more than 100 countries and five continents. Competitive features like zero insertion fees, low final cost fees, a "Make An Offer" button and "Multiple Item Checkout" as well as a generous affiliate program and wide territorial coverage have all combined to propel eBid into this top bracket. Transactions on eBid may be completed using multiple, secure payment systems, either PPPay.com, Google Wallet, PayPal, or Skrill (Moneybookers).
With eBid's affiliate program, participants who add banners/links to their website, emails or Facebook pages can earn up to $104.99 for a single referral. Affiliates are rewarded for not only sign-ups to the basic eBid "BUYER" account status but also when the referral makes a free upgrade to "SELLER" status and, most impressive of all, affiliates are rewarded with 50% of any upgrade fees when their referrals upgraded to "SELLER+" status. eBid's "SELLER+" status is a great advantage for higher volume merchants. A one-time fee of $49.49 gives the seller a lifetime of zero listing fees and zero final value fees. Merchants may also opt for a short-term subscription upgrade to zero fees ($1.99 for 7 Days / $6.99 for 30 Days / $16.99 for 90 Days). http://us.ebid.net/help_affiliate.php
About eBid.net

Founded in the UK in 1999, eBid.net is now a global company with a presence in 23 territories across the UK, Europe, USA and Canada, Africa, Asia, Australasia and South America. With a commitment to person to person online auctions, eBid.net is recognized as the "best eBay alternative" by Webuser Magazine.

Read More..

ListedBy’s Stephan Piscano Perspective Featured In REI Voice Magazine’s 2013 Market Predictions

Feature projects outlook from ten prominent U.S. city, state and national real estate industry leaders and city executives.

Napa, CA (PRWEB) December 31, 2012
ListedBy (http://www.ListedBy.com), the first free online real estate marketplace and social network with live bidding public real estate auctions and ‘Best Offer’ functionality today announced that its CEO and Founder Stephan Piscano’s outlook for the real estate industry has been featured by REI Voice Magazine (http://www.reivoice.com) as part of its 2013 Market Predictions feature.
“2013 could be your last opportunity to realize huge returns on investment properties,” wrote Piscano, for REI Voice 2013 Market Predictions. “We started telling all of our partners, clients and investors at the end of 2011, that 2012 would be the last opportunity to see deals like we had been seeing for the last 3 years, and I personally told all those close to me that we would look back at 2012 and ask, how much did we capitalize on it?”
Opinions and forward outlook from ten high profile experts in real estate make up this year’s predictions. The article covers perspectives at the city, state and national levels, and features thoughts from prominent insurance, asset management and real estate investment senior managers as well as REALTOR® council, county assessment and city economic development executives.
Continued Piscano: “I believe that interest rates remaining low, combined with lack of inventory, combined with the potential for rapid inflation will cause the market to continue to rise in 2013 and beyond. There will still be exceptional investment opportunities. It will be several years before the market is fully recovered but this year could be your last opportunity for a while to capitalize on the unreal 23% ROI (Return On Investment) type of investment properties for a while. Investors will start seeing more types of real estate investments take place such as owner-carry-financing, due to the millions of Americans who have damaged credit but still may have solid income or in some cases even be multimillionaires who are tired of buying everything cash and want leverage.”
ListedBy also published The 2013 Real Estate Market, a forward looking opinion on the market based on two possible economic scenarios for the coming year. The article can be viewed at http://blog.listedby.com.
# # #
About ListedBy
ListedBy is the first free online real estate marketplace and social network with live bidding auction and ‘Best Offer’ functionality. Buyers, sellers, real estate professionals and service providers join ListedBy to network and to list, research, buy and sell real estate assets in a collaborative, transparent environment. ListedBy is headquartered in Napa, and is privately funded. For ongoing news, please visit http://www.listedby.com/about.
ListedBy, LB Social and the ListedBy logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of ListedBy, LLC and / or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Third party trademarks and brands mentioned are the property of their respective owners.

Read More..