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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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."

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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.

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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.

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Congressional Dairy Fix Would Still Raise Milk Prices

Dairy Manufacturers and Consumer Groups Oppose New Program
WASHINGTON, Dec. 31, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA) stated today that the legislation proposed by Congressional Agriculture Committee leaders would still cause a problem in the marketplace because it includes a controversial new program designed to limit the milk supply. That proposal, championed by Representative Collin Peterson (D-MN) yet resisted by consumer groups, food manufacturers and many dairy farmers, is known as the Dairy Security Act (DSA) and would require the government to intervene in milk markets to manipulate the supply of milk in order to keep milk prices artificially high.
"It is ironic that the threat of higher dairy prices for consumers, caused by the possible implementation of the 1949 Act, is being used to force Congress to pass a new program that will result in higher prices," said Jerry Slominski, IDFA senior vice-president for legislative and economic affairs.
The new program is included in a bill that would extend most existing farm programs for one year; it was placed on the House calendar by House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Frank Lucas (R-OK). That bill completely rewrites U.S. dairy policies, including the new program to control milk production, yet leaves all other agriculture programs unchanged. By insisting on its inclusion in the "fiscal cliff" legislation, its supporters are making it more difficult to pass that important legislation, should leaders come to an agreement on its details.
"The Dairy Security Act is a problem, not a solution," Slominski said. "IDFA supports an extension of existing dairy policies in the current farm bill to give Congress time to complete action on a new five-year farm bill and to allow for consideration of the alternative to the Dairy Security Act offered by Representatives Bob Goodlatte (R-VA) and David Scott (D-GA). We believe that alternative will pass if it is brought to the full House of Representatives for an up or down vote.
"A clean extension of the 2008 Farm Bill will avoid having the 1949 Act become relevant law and allow payments to dairy farmers when milk prices fall. The 1949 Act represents agriculture policies from the past and unless Congress passes a clean extension of the Farm Bill, Secretary Vilsack would be placed in the unenviable position of proposing rules to implement such policies. Although he will be able to delay any increase on consumer dairy prices for weeks if not months, Congress should still take action to avoid that situation," Slominski concluded.
Read IDFA's letter to Secretary Vilsack here.
Read the letter from consumer groups to Secretary Vilsack here.
The International Dairy Foods Association (IDFA), headquartered in Washington, D.C., represents the nation's dairy manufacturing and marketing industries and their suppliers, with a membership of 550 companies representing a $110-billion a year industry. IDFA is composed of three constituent organizations: the Milk Industry Foundation (MIF), the National Cheese Institute (NCI) and the International Ice Cream Association (IICA). IDFA's 220 dairy processing members run more than 600 plant operations, and range from large multi-national organizations to single-plant companies. Together they represent more than 85% of the milk, cultured products, cheese and frozen desserts produced and marketed in the United States. IDFA can be found online at www.idfa.org.

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Astrology Secrets Revealed: New Online Website PsychicTarot.us Reveals Astrology Advice for $5

Astrology has been a cornerstone of every known civilization, and PsychicTarot.us has announced the release of their new online marketplace for readers and clients. The new system allows readers to list their readings and sell to a global market.

Santa Barbara, CA (PRWEB) December 31, 2012
To further enhance the options for site users, the metaphysical market place PsychicTarot.us has added Astrology readings marketplace and astrological advice to their online offerings. Site users will be able to have a detailed and professional astrological reading that can tell them about their future, their love interests, or the best time to transact a business deal.
The new astrology readings section is available now, and professional readers are encouraged to create offers to share their services. People who would like to get their own reading can browse providers and choose the most interesting for their needs.
"Astrology history is long and rich with a devoted following, so we wanted to make this service available to our users as quickly as possible. There are so many talented astrologers out there, we are sure that this is going to be one of our most popular categories. Plus, with our marketplace, the astrologers will have a broader reach and the users will be able to get affordable astrology advice," PsychicTarot.us representative Katia Shayk said in a statement.
While many people immediately associate astrology with horoscopes, this is just one branch of the astrological science. From the Great Pyramids in Egypt to the ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, there has been a deep respect for the movements of the stars and planets, along with a belief that they influenced every aspect of each person's life and the planet's fate.
Astrology has been used to describe many different things, among them:

Human personality traits
Prediction of future events
The identification of auspicious events or times
The existence of extraterrestrial beings
Ms. Shayk continued; "We know that, along with tarot card reading, star readings are one of the most popular of the metaphysical sciences. The rich, famous and powerful have been known to use astrology to help guide their daily lives and actions. There is no reason to believe that everyone can't benefit from accurate astrological advice, it can be insightful, and quite a bit of fun."
One of the most powerful astrological signs is the eclipse, either lunar or solar. A reading of the eclipse legends brought to light in this Examiner article sound eerily similar to events occurring around the world today. Should events come to pass as suggested by the article, it would certainly lead additional credence to the power of astrological predictions to explain the events occurring in the world as well as predicting what may come.

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Muni tax break under threat from bipartisan scrutiny in congress

 The tax break that U.S. states, cities and counties get on the bonds they issue is in growing jeopardy now that Republicans, in addition to Democrats, are considering limits on the exemption.
As part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations to raise more federal government tax revenue, Republican lawmakers have joined Democrats in reevaluating the costly tax break, said Republican congressional aides and lobbyists.
Municipal bonds issued by states and localities are a $3.7 trillion U.S. market underpinned by a law that exempts their interest income from taxation. This allows states and localities to tap capital markets more cheaply than private-sector borrowers such as banks and corporations.
"The muni bond exemption is on the table, not only during tax reform, but also during the 'fiscal cliff,'" said Mike Nicholas of the Bond Dealers of America, a lobbying group for fixed-income securities dealers and banks.
That the tax break - deeply embedded in the economy and vital to state and local governments - would draw the interest of Republicans shows how far Washington has come in a short time in considering potentially dramatic tax-and-spending changes.
As the United States grapples with a huge budget deficit and a complex tax code that has not been revamped in 26 years, even once politically untouchable tax breaks are being questioned.
The "fiscal cliff" refers to sharp tax increases and spending cuts that take effect in 18 days unless Congress intervenes soon.
Some lawmakers from both parties are calling for a comprehensive tax code overhaul in 2013 and groups concerned with the muni bond exemption are worried.
"We have not felt this threat level being this real in a long time," said David Parkhurst, legislative director with the National Governors Association, which represents the leaders of U.S. states that rely heavily on the muni bond tax exemption.
SUBSIDIZING STATES, LOCALITIES
The exemption benefits bond investors on one side of the market and state and local governments on the other. Effectively a subsidy for states and localities, the muni exemption cost U.S. taxpayers about $26.2 billion in 2011.
President Barack Obama in 2011 included the exemption among items subject to his proposed 28-percent cap on deductions and other tax breaks for individuals earning more than $200,000.
That proposal alarmed muni bond issuers and investors, who were already on edge because of a proposal to kill the exemption entirely in 2010's Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan.
Now, Republicans are rethinking their traditional reluctance to tinker with muni bonds, largely because they want to find ways to increase federal revenues without raising tax rates.
Phasing out the muni bond tax break for individual taxpayers earning more than $200,000 could raise about $10 billion a year - or about $100 billion over a decade - Republican aides said.
In the fight over the "fiscal cliff," Republicans hope to refute Obama's argument that real deficit reduction cannot be achieved without raising tax rates on high-income Americans.
Senator Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said tax breaks of all sorts need to be weighed in the effort to raise revenue and cut the deficit, but that "they are not easy to get rid of."
FROM STATES TO SCHOOLS
New issuance of tax-exempt bonds is expected to hit about $400 billion in 2013, up from about $370 billion this year, according to investment bank Loop Capital Markets LLC.
Jurisdictions that issue tax-exempt bonds range from states to cities, counties and school districts. They defend the bonds as vital to transportation, infrastructure and other public projects, which would be threatened by an exemption roll-back.
"It certainly couldn't come at a worse time," New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli told Reuters last week, referring to the devastation the region suffered during Hurricane Sandy.
"Even before the storm, we had tremendous infrastructure needs that localities were trying to address and now we're going to have even more."
It is unclear exactly what sort of limitations Republicans have in mind. The Obama proposal would apply to all bond issues.
Citigroup Inc muni bond strategist George Friedlander has estimated that Obama's cap, if enacted, would raise state and local government borrowing costs.
The "fiscal cliff" talks and a possible tax code overhaul next year pose "a clear and present danger" for muni bond issuers and investors, Friedlander said in a recent research report.

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Boehner plan would bring top U.S. income tax rate to 39.6 percent: source

 House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's latest "fiscal cliff" proposal to President Barack Obama would see the top income tax rates rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent for those with net incomes above $1 million a year, according to a source familiar with the talks.
The source, who asked not to be identified, emphasized that the income tax rate increase would be in exchange for "significant entitlement reforms/spending cuts." Entitlement programs include Medicare and Medicaid healthcare for the elderly and poor and Social Security retirement benefits.
The White House has not accepted Boehner's proposal, according to another source. Under current law, the top tax rate is scheduled to rise to 39.6 percent on January 1, unless Congress extends the current 35 percent, as Republicans had been urging.

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House Republicans eye limited fiscal cliff bill

With time running short before a Dec. 31 deadline, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner will begin work on legislation that simply would extend current low income tax rates for all families with incomes below $1 million a year, according to an aide.
Negotiations will continue with the White House on a broader tax and spending deal, the Boehner aide said.
Boehner is presenting the plan to rank-and-file Republicans in a closed-door session.
On January 1, income tax increases for most Americans will begin unless Congress acts.
Last July, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a bill to extend the current low rates for all families with net incomes below $250,000 a year. The House Republican proposal, if passed by the House, would require agreement by the Senate or force a round of negotiations on a compromise between the two chambers.
In excerpts of remarks Boehner was delivering to his Republican members Tuesday morning, the speaker complained that "the White House just can't seem to bring itself to agree to a 'balanced' approach" to deficit-reduction in negotiations. At the same time, Boehner said Republicans were "leaving the door wide open for something better" than just the limited extension of current low tax rates for most Americans.
"Current law has tax rates going up on everyone January 1. The question for us is real simple: How do we stop as many of those rate hikes as possible?" Boehner said.
For months, Democrats have been urging House Republicans to pass a bill protecting middle-class taxpayers from a January 1 rate increase.

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Senator Reid rejects Boehner "fiscal cliff" backup plan

- House Speaker John Boehner's backup plan that would simply extend low income tax rates for households with incomes below $1 million a year "cannot pass both houses of Congress," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday.
Reid, a Democrat, said Boehner instead should focus on reaching a broad deficit-reduction deal with President Barack Obama. "Now is the time to show leadership, not kick the can down the road," Reid said.
Last July, Reid's Democrats passed a bill in the Senate that would have continued low tax rates, which are set to expire on December 31, for families with net incomes below $250,000.

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White House defends offer as 'good faith effort'

 The White House is defending President Barack Obama's proposal to set a higher threshold for tax increases than what he vowed to do during his presidential campaign. The White House says Obama has moved halfway to meet House Speaker John Boehner on a "fiscal cliff" deal that raises $1.2 trillion in tax revenue, down from the $1.6 trillion Obama had initially requested.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says that offering to raise taxes on taxpayers earning more than $400,000 rather than the $200,000 he ran on demonstrates, in Carney's words, Obama's good faith effort to reach a compromise.
The new tax proposal is contained in a broader plan that Obama gave Boehner Monday that would cut spending further and lower cost-of-living increases for most Social Security beneficiaries.

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Analysis: In ICE-NYSE deal, one CEO steps back, the other rises

(Reuters) - Duncan Niederauer, the chief executive of New York Stock Exchange operator NYSE Euronext, once boldly proclaimed that his company could not be acquired.
Last year, even when Niederauer was prepared to sell his company to Deutsche Boerse, he insisted that he be chief executive of the combined company. The deal ended up being quashed by German regulators.
But with the agreement by IntercontinentalExchange to buy NYSE Euronext for $8.2 billion, Niederauer has accepted he will have to at the very least play second fiddle. He will become president at the combined company, while still running the New York Stock Exchange, and report to ICE CEO Jeff Sprecher.
"In a sense he must be very frustrated because some of the big things he was trying to do did not work out," said Andre Cappon, president of CBM Group, a New York-based consultant for global exchanges.
To an extent, the world may have left Niederauer behind. His expertise was in stock trading, a business that now has razor-thin margins and is increasingly left to computers.
Sprecher, on the other hand, has ascended as derivatives have become a key part of financial markets and the financial crisis made listed derivatives relatively more important.
Born in Indiana near the Kentucky border, and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, he has a down-to-earth aura that belies his ambitious type-A personality, say people who know him.
Sprecher has not met with constant success, but when something goes wrong, he moves on.
"He's not afraid to fail," said one person who knows Sprecher well.
Among his misses: a failed bid to buy the Chicago Board of Trade in 2007, not to mention a failed joint bid for the NYSE with Nasdaq OMX Group Inc.
He made his move for the CBOT at the annual meeting of the Futures Industry Association, in Boca Raton, Florida, where CME Group officials had expected to deliver a progress report on their planned acquisition of their smaller rival.
Sprecher slipped the formal offer under the hotel doors of CBOT Chairman Charles Carey and CBOT CEO Bernard Dan, at about 6:30 in the morning of the conference's first day.
CME Group later raised its bid for CBOT and clinched the deal in mid-2007 - but Sprecher would still finish the year with two key acquisitions, the New York Board of Trade commodity market and Canada's biggest grains exchange.
This summer both Sprecher and Niederauer bid for the London Metals Exchange and lost. Within four months they were talking to each other about a much larger deal.
LETTING GO OF EGO
There was some bad blood between Sprecher and Niederauer last year, when Sprecher's ICE was part of the group that made an unsolicited bid for NYSE Euronext.
NYSE Euronext was instead focused on a different deal: selling itself to Deutsche Boerse. Sprecher admitted in an interview with Reuters that he tried to wreck the Deutsche deal by "calling out every wart and pimple" on the transaction.
The two men stopped talking for about six weeks.
But after ICE posted good fourth-quarter results in February, Niederauer extended an olive branch with a surprising three-word email to Sprecher: "Hey, great quarter."
"He and I had a preexisting friendship and I wondered if it was going to survive my trouble making," Sprecher told Reuters. Then the email arrived.
"He was very magnanimous and so I knew that he saw through what I was doing and we were still very cordial."
Niederauer took over as NYSE Euronext CEO at the end of 2007, just after his predecessor, John Thain, had completed the landmark deal to buy Franco-Belgian Euronext.
After a 22-year career at Goldman Sachs, mostly in equity trading, and just nine months as head of NYSE's trading operations, he took control just before the 2008 financial crisis triggered a seismic shift in the exchange world, one that seemed ill-suited to his background.
Equity investors, burned by scandals and volatility, were trading less and less; meanwhile new regulations would drive more derivatives onto exchanges like ICE and CME.
The answer, Niederauer thought, lay in Deutsche Boerse. But when regulators nixed the deal in February this year, he quickly laid out a new strategic plan for shareholders: clearing and technology - two areas in which ICE already excelled.
By June, Niederauer was saying it was "make-or-break time" for NYSE's nascent U.S. futures operation, which was clearly failing to thrive in the shadow of established rivals.
In working together at the merged venture, Sprecher and Niederauer may each find a comfortable way to co-exist, each playing to his respective strength, some say. But several people, including a NYSE investor and a board member of a rival exchange, questioned whether the partnership can last.
In an interview, Niederauer said he would remain at least through 2014 as an "important senior member" of Sprecher's management team.
He added: "People get too caught up in titles. Let's just worry about making it work and my guess is that if it's still fun for both of us in 2014, or 2015, or whatever, we will keep doing it."

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Stocks fall sharply after Republicans cancel vote

NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks are opening sharply lower on Wall Street.
The big drop comes after House Republicans called off a vote on tax rates. That left federal budget talks in disarray 10 days before sweeping tax increases and government spending cuts take effect.
The Dow Jones industrial average is down 116 points at 13,195. The Standard & Poor's 500 index is off 13 points at 1,430. And the Nasdaq composite index is down 54 at 2,996.

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RIM shares fall at the open after earnings

TORONTO (Reuters) - Research In Motion Ltd fell in early trading on Friday following the BlackBerry maker's Thursday earnings announcement, when the company outlined plans to change the way it charges for services.
RIM, pushing to revive its fortunes with the launch of its new BlackBerry 10 devices next month, surprised investors when it said it plans to alter its service revenue model, a move that could put the high-margin business under pressure.
Shares fell 16.0 percent to $11.86 in early trading on the Nasdaq. Toronto-listed shares fell 15.8 percent to C$11.74.

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Stocks open sharply lower after GOP cancels vote

NEW YORK (AP) — Stocks opened sharply lower Friday on Wall Street after House Republicans called off a vote on tax rates and left federal budget talks in disarray 10 days before sweeping tax increases and government spending cuts take effect.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell 140 points to 13,171 in the opening minutes of trading, a decline of 1 percent. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 15 points to 1,428. The Nasdaq composite index fell 52 to 2,997.
The House bill would have raised taxes on Americans making at least $1 million per year and locked in decade-old tax cuts for Americans making less. Taxes will rise for almost all Americans on Jan. 1 unless Congress acts.
House Speaker John Boehner had presented what he called Plan B while he negotiated with the White House on avoiding the sweeping tax increases and spending cuts, a combination known as the "fiscal cliff."
But Boehner scrapped a vote on Plan B on Thursday night after it became clear that it did not have enough support in the Republican-led House to secure passage. He called on the White House and the Democratic-led Senate to work something out.
The House will not meet again until after Christmas, if then.
Technology stocks were among the hardest hit Friday in early trading. Tech stocks in the S&P 500 were down 1.5 percent as a group. Apple, the most valuable company in the country, fell $10.04, or 2 percent, to $511.69.
It was not the first time that Wall Street expressed worry about "fiscal cliff" talks.
On the day after the election, when voters returned divided government to power, the Dow dropped 312 points. On Nov. 14, when President Barack Obama insisted on higher tax rates for the wealthy, the Dow dropped 185 points.
Stocks closed sharply lower Friday in Asia after House Republicans canceled their vote. The Nikkei index in Japan fell almost 1 percent, and Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index dropped 0.7 percent. Stocks were also lower in Europe.
In the bond market, the yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note fell 0.06 percentage point to 1.74 percent, an indication that investors were moving money out of stocks and into safer government bonds.
The price of oil fell $2.02, or 2.2 percent, to $88.12 per barrel.

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