Quinn signs bills to help ex-offenders get jobs

SARA BURNETT,Associated Press

CHICAGO (AP) ? Gov. Pat Quinn signed a series of bills Saturday he said will help ex-offenders get jobs so they can stay out of prison and become productive members of society.

The Chicago Democrat said the measures also will give judges and prosecutors more options for sentencing non-violent criminals. He noted more than half of Illinois inmates return to prison within three years of their release, many because they go back to committing crimes to provide for themselves or their families.

"Formerly incarcerated individuals shouldn't face a life sentence of no job prospects and no opportunities to better themselves just because they have served time in prison," Quinn said during a ceremony at a church on Chicago's South Side. "These?new?laws will help them get back on their feet, contribute to their communities and keep one offense from becoming a life-long barrier."

The measures also could help Quinn gain support among progressive voters in advance of a 2014 Democratic gubernatorial primary. Former White House chief of staff Bill Daley, also a Chicago Democrat, has said he's running against Quinn. Four Republicans have announced they're running: state Sens. Bill Brady and Kirk Dillard, venture capitalist Bruce Rauner and state Treasurer Dan Rutherford.

The three bills signed into law Saturday were approved by the Democrat-controlled Legislature with bipartisan support.

One measure increases a tax credit for employers who hire qualified ex-offenders to $1,500 per employee. It previously was capped at $600. Employers may take the credit for up to five years. It applies to any ex-offender hired within three years of their release from prison.

Rep. Art Turner, a Chicago Democrat and lead sponsor of the bill, said he's hopeful more employers will take advantage of the credit.

"Programs like this must be part of a creative approach to reducing recidivism and addressing the larger challenges of unemployment and violence in our communities," he said.

Another bill creates a "second-chance probation" option for non-violent offenders. It allows some convictions to be cleared from a person's record after successful completion of at least two years of probation. It was sponsored by Rep. Tom Cross of Oswego, the Republican leader in the Illinois House, and Sen. Linda Holmes, an Aurora Democrat.

The other legislation ensures motions to seal or expunge a criminal record are heard in a timely manner and that court orders are delivered to the proper authorities.

Saturday's bill signings come one day after Quinn signed legislation to add several non-violent felonies to the list of offenses for which records may sealed. The offenses include theft, retail theft, forgery, possession of burglary tools and possession with intent to manufacture or deliver a controlled substance. Previously records were only eligible to be sealed for people convicted of prostitution or drug possession.

The measure also easily passed the Democrat-controlled Legislature, despite concerns from some critics that it would prevent employees from knowing whether they may be hiring someone with a criminal history.

The?new?law requires a person to wait four years from the termination of their last sentence before asking for their records to be sealed. They also would have to pass a drug test within 30 days before filing their petition to seal. If a judge grants the petition, the sealed records can no longer be seen by most potential employers or other members of the public, except by court order. Law enforcement agencies, however, still have access, and if the person is later convicted of another crime the court may order their sealed records to be unsealed.

State Sen. Kwame Raoul, a Chicago Democrat and a chief sponsor of the bill, said in a statement the legislation will help people who have been convicted of crimes to leave behind the stigma of a criminal conviction.

"When people have served their sentences, public safety and a sense of humanity demand that we give them the opportunities they need to stay out of prison ? a genuine chance at an education, a job and a future," Raoul said.

The lead sponsor in the Illinois House was Rep. LaShawn Ford, also a Chicago Democrat. Ford is under indictment for bank fraud but those charges were filed in federal court, so the legislation would not apply to him if he is convicted. He has pleaded not guilty.

___

Information from the General Assembly's website about the bills is available online here:?SB1659, HB3010, HB2470 and HB3061.

?

Source: http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2013-08-03/quinn-signs-bills-help-ex-offenders-get-jobs.html

djokovic josh smith Andre Iguodala Ernesto Arguello Cricinfo barry manilow cher

Double Fine's Dropchord entrances iOS, Android and Ouya users

Double Fine's rave simulator rhythm-driven Dropchord launched for iOS, Android and the Ouya this week for $3.

Dropchord assigns ends of a line to each of a player's fingers and tasks them with gathering notes and dodging scratches. The game focuses on getting the highest score possible and its leaderboards encourage competitive play with friends. Dropchord's neon visuals pulse to the beat of its electronic soundtrack and switch styles with each song.

The game's Standard Mode moves players through stages while gradually adding new gameplay mechanics, while a Full Mix Mode supplies an endless session that gradually becomes more difficult.

Dropchord previously launched on PC and Mac for the hands-oriented Leap Motion.Double Fine's Dropchord entrances iOS, Android and Ouya users originally appeared on Joystiq on Sat, 03 Aug 2013 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

More...

Source: http://www.evilavatar.com/forums/showthread.php?t=195969&goto=newpost

Felix Baumgartner Little Nemo gawker Romney Bosses Day 2012 Arlen Specter Winsor McCay

UNICEF Supply Annual Report 2012 : India is the Largest Supplier

UNICEF recently released its Supply Annual Report for 2012. The Report is an yearly assessment of the UNICEF supply programme which provides women and children with an equitable access to life-saving supplies. The?UNICEF Supply Division recently moved its base to Copenhagen, Denmark with a state of the art warehouse to ensure timely reach of life-saving supplies all over the world. Its activities in influencing markets, innovation and supporting supply chain strengthening continued apace during the year, with substantial achievements in terms of reduced prices, reduced supply chain costs and the introduction of new products. Regarding encouraging innovation, the program has several innovation projects in the pipeline. These are mainly aimed at development of low-cost diagnostic devices that make accurate diagnosis under extreme environmental conditions.?

UNICEF procured $1.86 billion worth of supplies globally for children and women during the year. In addition, $608 million worth of services were procured. The major commodities procured were: vaccines, pharmaceuticals, nutrition, medical supplies and equipment, international freight, bed nets, construction, water and sanitation, education, printed educational supplies. Vaccines accounted for $1053 million, and pharmaceuticals trailed at $226 million.

India was the largest supplier country in 2012, with ?$558 million worth of services and supplies. Belgium came in second, contributing less than half of India's supplies with a figure of $349 million. Serum Institute of India Ltd supplied vaccines/biologicals worth $254 million dollars, making it the largest supplier in India. Mylan Laboratries (pharma company) is at?a distant second spot, with supplies worth $ 45 million. Other significant suppliers are Ranbaxy Labs, Hetero Labs, Aurobindo Pharma, Haffkine Bio-Pharmaceutical Corporation, Biological E and Micro Labs Pharma. UNICEF makes great efforts to buy supplies where they are used. Almost two-thirds of the top 33 supplier countries are countries where UNICEF has development programmes.

Close to two-thirds of the UNICEF supplies delivered went to Sub-Saharan Africa. 24% of the supplies went to Southern and Eastern Asia, and the Pacific. India absorbed commodities worth $23 million and procured services worth $52 million. India's neighbours Pakistan and Bangladesh used supplies worth $231?million and $64 million respectively.?

India has consistently been the largest supplier since 2007. UNICEF has recognised India's contribution to glocal aid, and international groups have lauded India's role in increasing access to medicines in the developing world. In fact, India is not only the largest supplier to UN groups, but also to the M?decins Sans Frontieres (MSF) and International Dispensary Association. Indian medicines are also extremely affordable. Anti RetroViral (ARV) treatment in Europe was $10,000 per patient a year, until Indian manufactured drugs brought it down to $95 patient a year. India happens to be the largest supplier of generic ARVs to low and middle income countries. Paul Cawthome (MSF Access Campaign Coordinator-Asia)?highlighted the the worldwide dependency on India as a drug supplier best, when he said : 'It comes as a great relief to millions around the world who depend on a continuous supply of Indian generic medicines that the Indian Supreme Court has ruled against Novartis.' In another instance, when Big pharma threatened legal action against the South African government in the latter's efforts to bring down prices for HIV-AIDS treatment, Indian pharma major Cipla stepped in and offered to supply drugs at just $350 per patient per year. This exposed inflated rates of medicines in the global market, and the case against SA government was withdrawn.?

These scenarios demonstrate India's inclination to increase global accessibility to medicines. Hopefully the efforts will also be emulated by other nations in the wake of rising healthcare costs, especially in the developed countries.

Source: http://spicyipindia.blogspot.com/2013/08/unicef-supply-annual-report-2012-india.html

photoshop cs6 beta cate blanchett nfl news tebow jets romney etch a sketch jeb bush sherry arnold

Russian Sports Minister: We will arrest pro-gay ?Sochi 2014? Olympic athletes, guests (Americablog)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/323317166?client_source=feed&format=rss

glamping forgetting sarah marshall taraji p. henson shuttle discovery bonnie raitt internal revenue service intc

Vodafone may have to sell $1 billion Bharti stake under India licence rules

NEW DELHI | Fri Aug 2, 2013 5:39pm BST

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Vodafone Group Plc may be forced to sell its 4.4 percent stake in India's top telecom services provider Bharti Airtel Ltd - worth about NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Vodafone Group Plc may be forced to sell its 4.4 percent stake in India's top telecom services provider Bharti Airtel Ltd - worth about $1 billion (654.6 million pounds) - billion (654.6 million pounds) - after rules published on Friday outlawed crossholdings in rival telecom companies.

Under the rules, no carrier can own a direct or indirect equity stake in another operating in the same of any of India's 22 telecom service areas. Bharti and Vodafone provide services in all of them.

The telecoms ministry's new licensing rules also say that no stakeholder other than the government, banks and financial institutions, which owns 10 percent or more in a carrier will be allowed to own a stake in any other carrier.

Companies must comply with the rules within a year from the date of grant of new licences, the ministry said. Applications for the licences may take months to process.

Vodafone, which owns a majority stake in Vodafone India - India's No. 2 phone carrier, has owned its Bharti stake for years. At Bharti's stock price of about 345 rupees, the stake is worth roughly $1 billion.

Bharti declined to comment and Vodafone did not reply to an email seeking comment.

(Reporting by Devidutta Tripathy; Editing by Louise Ireland)

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/08/02/uk-vodafone-india-idUKBRE9710W020130802?feedType=RSS&feedName=internetNews

ncaa final four 2012 uk vs louisville university of kansas buckeye west side story final four 2012 bridesmaids

Parents cheer as Florida schools chief resigns | Video

Parents and education activists across South Florida hailed the departure of Florida's Education Commissioner Tony Bennett, saying they strongly disagreed with his emphasis on high-stakes testing and data driven reforms.

Bennett resigned Thursday, three days after reports alleged that while he was Indiana's education commissioner he pushed top staffers to raise from a "C" to an "A" the grade of charter school run by a friend and campaign donor. The grade was raised by changing the way high school scores are counted in schools without a senior class.

But Bennett had turned down calls by the Indianapolis schools superintendent a year before to make a similar change on behalf of two non-charter schools, according to the Indianapolis Star.

"If he tweaked [the scores in Indiana]," said Clare Kirchman, a parent in Jupiter, "what can we really count on?"

Bennett, who was appointed to the Florida job in December, on Thursday did not deny acting on the charter school's behalf. "I believe we did the right thing for Indiana schools," he said.

But he said he was stepping down because he didn't want to be a distraction and "it was not fair to Gov. Scott and his pursuit and his very hard work in making Florida the greatest in the country. I end my tenure with my head held high."

But even before the controversy, South Florida teachers and parents had campaigned hard in letters to elected officials and through social media against Bennett coming to the state.

"That man has been distraction since the day he walked into the state," said Lisa Goldman, founder of Testing is not Teaching, an advocacy group in Palm Beach County. "He shouldn't have come."

Debra Wilhelm, president of the Classroom Teachers Association in Palm Beach County, said Bennett often made decisions without consulting the teachers he'd be impacting.

"It seemed like every other day decisions were being made on behalf of educators," she said. "But you have to get the advice from the educators themselves."

Last month Bennett recommended schools not be allowed to drop more than one letter grade to safeguard them from several changes to the grading formula. Many criticized the move.

"If you keep arbitrarily changing the grades and the rules, they have no meaning whatsoever," said Goldman.

Some saw Bennett's exit as an opportunity to turn around the state of public education.

"This is going to be a tipping point that could get worse or it could get better," said Mark Halpert, founder of the Florida Advocacy Coalition on Learning Disabilities. "It's most likely to mobilize those who want to see public schools succeed.''

Andy Ford, president of the Florida Education Association, said the resignation is proof the state's school-reform and accountability policies are "incoherent and unsound."

"These policies have no value advancing education in this state and have lost the public's trust," Ford said Thursday. "It's past time that we include teachers, parents and administrators in developing solutions, not just listen to the 'reformers' who have an approach that has been a disaster for public education in Florida."

Sharon Glickman, president of the Broward Teachers Union, said it was time for voters to once again elect Florida's school chief.

"These are our children and their education," she said. "It's got to be an elected official so we can pick the right person for the job."

But some greeted Bennett's announcement with sadness, including Gov. Rick Scott, who encouraged him to stay.

Scott made an appearance Thursday in Delray Beach and said Bennett "did a great job" and gave him credit for helping with such initiatives as increased funding, teacher raises and debit cards for teachers to buy classroom supplies.

The state Board of Education will meet Friday to begin discussing a successor.

Both Bennett and Scott said they want to see Chancellor of Public Schools Pam Stewart appointed as interim commissioner.

Talk of a succesor also prompted some to highlight the need for stability in that job.

The previous education commissioner, Gerard Robinson, resigned abruptly one year ago after facing criticism from local educators about the state's accountability system.

"Florida has not been able to maintain an education commissioner for a long time. That's a poor reflection on the state," said Robert Mayersohn, a Parkland parent. "It puts a stain on education in Florida."

kyi@tribune.com, 954-747-3033 or Twitter @karen_yi

Source: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/fl-florida-tony-bennett-resigns-2-20130801,0,1708536.story?track=rss

paul pierce Trey Burke immigration reform jared leto jared leto Tony Snell shabazz muhammad

The US Student Loan Problem ? Facts, Charts, & Thoughts ...

By Walter Kurtz, Sober Look

The US Congress is nearing a compromise on the issue of student loan interest rates. Apparently loan rates will be changed from fixed to floating with an overall cap (see story). While rates are important, there is a much bigger issue at hand. Now with the help of some great data from Barclays Research let?s take a quick look at where we stand with the overall student loan problem and how we could move forward. Here are six facts to consider:

1. There is about a trillion dollars worth of student loans outstanding with all but 15% of that owned or guaranteed by the federal government. The chart below shows the student loan amount held directly by the federal government. That balance is rising at about $110 bn per year.

?

2. Higher education still provides a clear financial advantage, with the unemployment rate among college graduates at about half that of those with just a high school diploma. However when you add student loans into the mix, the financial situation of graduates is not as compelling. For example, while homeownership has declined across the board, the decline has been much sharper for those with student loans.

?

3. Not surprisingly, since 2008, the credit score of young people with student loans increasingly lags the score of those without this type of liability.

?

4. Based on the expected repayment schedule of outstanding student debt, an increasingly large volume of loans is forecast to be repaid each year. Yet since 2007 the actual repayments keep falling further behind the repayment expectations. Based in this trend, the situation for 2013 looks a bit scary.

?

5. Student loans now have the highest delinquency rate among all major consumer credit asset classes. Based on the latest data, the trend isn?t encouraging.

?

6. While there is a perception that student loan delinquencies are limited to generation-Y borrowers, delinquencies are rising across all ages.

?

The data clearly shows that the risk to the taxpayers is on the rise and the strain on US consumers from student loans isn?t going to improve any time soon. The unlimited availability of student loans has allowed colleges to sharply raise tuition and fees over the past few years ? often simply because they could (as they?kept on hiring). Rising cost for higher education in turn forced students to take out larger loans and in greater numbers, increasing the overall loan balances. This feedback loop is clearly unsustainable, particularly as household income growth remains weak. Higher delinquencies are inevitable and as long as the government funds this program, there really is only one way to arrest rising levels of student debt.

Consider the fact that Social security recipients in the US have their pay increases linked to the inflation rate. Of course the actual inflation rate that retirees experience is often higher than it is for younger generations. Pension recipients often don?t benefit to the same extent from declining prices of electronics, apparel, and a number of other products. The planned adjustment to increases using the so-called ?chained CPI? will make the increases even smaller (see story). But American retirees will have to make due.

Why then is it so difficult to ask US colleges and universities who benefit from taxpayer-funded loans to live by the same standards as the social security recipients? The taxpayers funding this program should insist that if a college accepts over a certain percentage of students paying with federally backed student loans, that college must agree to cap tuition and fees. It?s time for institutions of higher learning to start living by the concept of ?chained CPI? rather than to just keep writing research papers on it.

Sober Look

Sober Look was founded by Walter Kurtz, a New York based hedge fund manager and credit markets specialist.

More Posts - Website

Source: http://pragcap.com/the-us-student-loan-problem-facts-charts-thoughts

robert griffin iii dontari poe space shuttle nyc monkeypox nick perry 30 rock live nfl draft picks 2012

U.S. stocks end mixed following Fed; dollar falls

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street stocks ended a volatile session near flat and the dollar surrendered gains on Wednesday after the U.S. Federal Reserve offered no indication that a reduction in the pace of its stimulus program is imminent.

The Fed said it will continue to buy $85 billion in mortgage and Treasury securities per month in its ongoing effort to bolster an economy still challenged by federal budget-tightening and weak growth overseas.

Stocks were up before the release of the Fed's policy statement, bolstered by data that showed the U.S. economy grew more quickly than expected in the second quarter.

U.S. economic growth, as measured by gross domestic product, accelerated in the second quarter by a 1.7 percent annual rate, the government said. Economists had expected a 1.0 percent gain.

The dollar had risen on the data, which drove expectations that the Fed would start to scale back its assets purchases this year. But the Fed announcement trimmed most of those gains, though the U.S. currency remained higher against the yen.

"The Fed continues to try to talk down the concerns of kind of a premature taper. In fact, there were even tones in this piece that were a little disinflationary," said Burt White, chief investment officer at LPL Financial in Boston.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 21.05 points, or 0.14 percent, at 15,499.54 at the unofficial close, weighed by American Express. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 0.23 point, or 0.01 percent, at 1,685.73. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 9.90 points, or 0.27 percent, at 3,626.37.

The Fed's stimulus is seen by many as central to the S&P 500's gain of nearly 19 percent so far this year. It was the 10th straight session in which the S&P 500 traded within 10 points of the 1,700 level, considered key resistance for the U.S. market. The Nasdaq touched a near 13-year high at the session peak.

On Thursday, attention will switch to the European Central Bank and Bank of England policy meetings and data on global manufacturing, followed by the U.S. monthly employment report on Friday.

Signs the developed world's central banks will keep monetary policy loose for a long time to support a tentative economic recovery have put many equity and commodities markets on course for their best month of the year in July.

But strategists have also cautioned that the gains, which pushed the MSCI World Equity index to its best monthly rise, a gain of 4.8 percent, since January 2012, have increased the risk that investors could find reasons over the next few days to cash out.

"At the least what we expect is a lot more volatility and we think the volatility comes with a bit more downside risk than upside potential," said Wouter Sturkenboom, investment strategist at Russell Investments in London.

EUROPEAN STOCKS RISE

In Europe, stock market gains were underpinned by data showing the number of people out of a job in the euro zone fell for the first time in more than two years in June.

Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 index closed up 0.2 percent for its best month since June 2012.

The dollar fell 0.2 percent against the yen while the euro gained 0.3 percent against the dollar. The dollar index fell 0.2 percent. Much of the dollar's strength in recent months was on the expectation that the Fed was closer to paring back stimulus than not.

"Today's FOMC statement maintains the Fed's maximum flexibility on quantitative easing," said Joseph Trevisani, chief market strategist at WorldWideMarkets, in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. "The end of the program was never going to be a cut and dried announcement in the official policy statement but in the various pronouncements of Chairman Bernanke."

Prices for U.S. Treasuries reversed early losses to trade higher after the Federal Reserve statement. The benchmark 10-year note rose 7/32 in price to yield 2.58 percent after the statement.

German Bund futures hit session lows after the U.S. data, falling as low 141.82, but were last up 0.3 percent at 142.91 after the Fed statement.

GOLD

Gold fell 0.4 percent. But it is still up 7.2 percent for the month, snapping a three-month losing run and marking its biggest monthly rise since January 2012, though it is down 21 percent since the beginning of 2013.

U.S. crude rose 2 percent to $105.16 a barrel, extending gains after the Fed statement. It had risen earlier on news that oil stocks at Cushing, Oklahoma, the delivery point for U.S. crude futures, are at their lowest since April 2012, according to data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

(Reporting by Nick Olivari; editing by James Dalgleish, Dan Grebler and Leslie Adler)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/asian-shares-dollar-steady-ahead-fed-outcome-010901686.html

live news nbc UMass Dartmouth Katherine Russell MBTA Fox News Live Boston lockdown

Cleveland kidnapping victim: I cried every night

Ariel Castro listens in the courtroom during the sentencing phase Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. Three months after an Ohio woman kicked out part of a door to end nearly a decade of captivity, Castro, a onetime school bus driver faces sentencing for kidnapping three women and subjecting them to years of sexual and physical abuse. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Ariel Castro listens in the courtroom during the sentencing phase Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. Three months after an Ohio woman kicked out part of a door to end nearly a decade of captivity, Castro, a onetime school bus driver faces sentencing for kidnapping three women and subjecting them to years of sexual and physical abuse. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Images from the video provided by Hennes Paynter Communications shows from left: Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight. The three women held captive in a Cleveland home for a decade broke their public silence in a 3-minute, 30-second video posted on YouTube at midnight Monday July 8, 2013. They said the support and prayers of family, friends and the public is allowing them to rebuild their lives after what Berry called "this entire ordeal." (AP Photo/Hennes Paynter Communications)

Ariel Castro enters the courtroom during the sentencing phase Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. Three months after an Ohio woman kicked out part of a door to end nearly a decade of captivity, Castro, a onetime school bus driver faces sentencing for kidnapping three women and subjecting them to years of sexual and physical abuse. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Ariel Castro sits in the courtroom during the sentencing phase Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. Three months after an Ohio woman kicked out part of a door to end nearly a decade of captivity, Castro, a onetime school bus driver faces sentencing for kidnapping three women and subjecting them to years of sexual and physical abuse. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

Ariel Castro, center, listens in the courtroom during the sentencing phase Thursday, Aug. 1, 2013, in Cleveland. Defense attorney's Craig Weintraub, left, and Jaye Schlachet sit beside Castro. Three months after an Ohio woman kicked out part of a door to end nearly a decade of captivity, Castro, a onetime school bus driver faces sentencing for kidnapping three women and subjecting them to years of sexual and physical abuse. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak)

CLEVELAND (AP) ? One of the victims of convicted Cleveland kidnapper and rapist Ariel Castro says at his sentencing hearing that she cried every night and that her years in captivity "turned into eternity."

Michelle Knight says she spent 11 years in hell and that Castro's hell is now beginning.

Her appearance is the first time she's been seen publicly since her rescue from the house where she was held captive for 10 years.

The 32-year-old Knight was the first woman abducted by Ariel Castro in 2002 after he lured her into his house with the promise of a puppy for her son.

Castro has pleaded guilty to charges that he repeatedly raped Knight and two other victims, and also forced Knight to miscarry after he impregnated her.

Knight was the only victim to testify. Relatives spoke for the other two victims.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2013-08-01-Missing%20Women%20Found/id-00bcee5877cb4f5dbb43fe26b878b9fa

live news nbc UMass Dartmouth Katherine Russell MBTA Fox News Live Boston lockdown

National ? Body of 4th S Korean climber found in Japan Alps

[unable to retrieve full-text content]

Source: www.japantoday.com --- Wednesday, July 31, 2013
Japanese police Wednesday said they had retrieved the body of a fourth South Korean climber who died along with three compatriots after the group disappeared on a mountain range in central Japan. The male victim's body was found by a creek near the 2,728-meter Mount Hinokio in Nagano Prefecture, a? ...

Source: http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/body-of-4th-s-korean-climber-found-in-japan-alps

doma aaron hernandez aaron hernandez today show Wendy Davis Jordan Ozuna Federer

Home prices make biggest yearly jump since 2006

Economy

Staff reports CNBC.com

8 hours ago

Nick Ut / AP

In this Tuesday, June 11, 2013, photo, a single house is offered for sale in Santa Monica, Calif. Latest data show home prices rose in May.

U.S. single-family home prices rose in May, the biggest annual jump since 2006, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, shy of economists' forecast for a 1.5 percent increase. That marked a slower pace from April's 1.7 percent rise.

(Click here to track the U.S. stock market in premarket trade following the report.)

On a non-adjusted basis, prices rose 2.4 percent.

Compared to May 2012, prices also fell short of expectations, rising 12.2 percent from a year earlier. Still, it was the biggest annual gain since March 2006, matching a record set in April.

The report was unlikely to alter economists' views that the housing sector continues to recover, making it a bright spot for the economy.

"The cities that bubbled in the past are bubbling again," Robert Shiller, economist and co-founder of the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, told "Squawk on the Street" on Tuesday.

"To me, it seems to be at least partly psychological. They've seen it before and they're ready for it again ? It seems like California has historically been the most bubbly state in the country and it continues."

Shiller said that the new factor emerging in the numbers is the effect of institutional investors on home prices. "They've learned about momentum and they're saying 'hey, this is it.' The housing market is showing a lot of upward momentum. And you know, I think they're probably right, at least for the short term."

"For a flipper who can get out in about a year, it seems to be a fairly safe bet," he added.

All 20 cities rose on a yearly basis, led by a 24.5 percent surge in San Francisco.

(Reuters contributed to this report)

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/2f578066/sc/24/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Chome0Eprices0Emake0Ebiggest0Eyearly0Ejump0E20A0A60E6C10A794660A/story01.htm

Silver Linings Playbook daniel day lewis Life of Pi Christoph Waltz Quvenzhané Wallis dancing with the stars cast kristen stewart

MF Global sues banks for restricting competition in CDS

By Karen Brettell

NEW YORK (Reuters) - MF Global has sued 12 large banks, accusing them of restricting competition in the $25 trillion credit default swap market, the latest in a string of lawsuits alleging that banks impeded new entrants by blocking exchange trading of the contracts.

The case, filed on Monday in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of Illinois, follows similar suits filed by an Ohio-based pension fund, the Sheet Metal Workers Local 33 Cleveland District Pension Plan, and by a group of Danish pension funds in the same court.

An additional plaintiff, the Value Recovery Fund, has filed a similar lawsuit in the Southern District of New York.

The companies allege that dealers used their ownership and controls over clearing, data and other entities crucial to the market to block an independent clearinghouse from offering exchange trading, to deny market participants real-time price information and to stop new participants from entering the market.

As a result of the bank actions, the companies allege that they paid artificially high trading costs to buy and sell the credit default swaps, contracts that are used to protect against losses if a borrower defaults or to speculate on a company or country's credit quality.

Markit, the main CDS price provider and owner of the benchmark CDS indexes, and trade group the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), which owns documentation and other licenses, are also named in the suit.

The 12 banks named in the complaint are Bank of America Corp , Barclays , BNP Paribas , Citigroup Inc , Credit Suisse , Deutsche Bank , Goldman Sachs Group Inc , HSBC , JPMorgan Chase & Co , Morgan Stanley , The Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS .

Markit, ISDA and all banks named in the suit either declined comment or did not immediately respond for comment.

(Reporting by Karen Brettell; Editing by Ken Wills)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/mf-global-sues-banks-restricting-competition-cds-212313564.html

Final Four 2013 final four Ray J I Hit It First Rick Pitino Spike Albrecht NCAA Championship Game michigan basketball

Ms. B: The Good News: Get your Business Online with Google and ...

Wishing your business was online?

The City of Chester in a partnership with Google?and Mayor John A. Linder,would like to announce a yearlong initiative to get Chester's businesses online through Google's Get Your Business Online program.

?Although 97% of Internet users are now looking online to find local products and services, 58%of American businesses still do not have a website. Through increased participation in the Get Your Business Online program, Mayor Linder hopes to close that gap.

Get Your Business Online provides small business owners with a custom domain name, web hosting and access to educational resources -- all free for one year. Since its debut in July 2011, the program has helped over 135,000 businesses successfully get online and start growing.

?

Unable to view the video? ?

?To watch the Get Your Business Online message from Mayor Linder, and learn more about what a website can do for your small business!?

City of Chester Mayor, John A. Linder

Source: http://msbeecusd.blogspot.com/2013/07/get-your-business-online-with-google.html

Jimmy Hoffa Rick Rubin The Wolf of Wall Street marilyn monroe MAC Cosmetics The Voice Results Miss USA 2013

Google Glass and talking dogs? The dream of every kid coming true

Staff The Business Review

Dogs can understand some sophisticated commands. But until now, they?ve never been able to talk back, save for a bark or growl.

Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology are working on a device that dogs can wear that will allow them to ?talk? with the help of other devices like Google Glass, Fast Company reports.

The research is not for novelty?s sake, but is focused on working dogs, like bomb sniffers and rescue K9s. How does the device work? Fast Company reports that the dogs wear vests that have sensors. Each sensor has unique info and is triggered when tugged by the dog?s mouth. The vest can then interact with a human wearing Google Glass.

?A bomb sniffing dog could tell you what kind of bomb you have,? lead researcher Melody Jackson tells Fast Company. ?A search-and-rescue dog could pull something on their vest and have it geolocate and tell you exactly where that person is.?

Read the full story here.

Source: http://feeds.bizjournals.com/~r/vertical_24/~3/C2zYM5zT0-4/google-glass-and-talking-dogs-the.html

NRA Golden Globes 2013 Sandy Hook conspiracy Stuart Scott Holly Rowe Chief Keef FRANK ZAMBONI

Explosions rock propane plant in central Florida

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) ? A series of explosions rocked a propane tank servicing plant in central Florida, northwest of Orlando, late on Monday, wounding some people and prompting the evacuation of homes within a mile of the facility, authorities said.

Read More

Source: http://yesbuthowever.com/explosions-rock-propane-plant-in-central-florida/

grand canyon skywalk tonga pid corned beef hash the walking dead season 2 finale born free walking dead finale

Japan's PM may rethink tax hike; could shake markets, unsettle support

By William Mallard

TOKYO | Sun Jul 28, 2013 9:15am BST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan's most significant fiscal reform in years - a planned increase in the country's sales tax - could be delayed or watered down in a move that might rattle financial markets and amount to an own goal for the prime minister.

Despite holding the strongest political mandate of any prime minister in years, there are signs Shinzo Abe is seriously rethinking the plan out of concern it could derail a nascent economic recovery he has crafted with an aggressive policy mix, dubbed Abenomics.

Abe says he will decide in the autumn whether to proceed with the first part of the two-stage plan after gauging the state of the economic recovery, especially GDP data that is due on Sept 9. The tax, similar to general sales tax and value added tax in other countries, is due to rise to 8 percent in April 2014 and then 10 percent in 2015.

Abe does not want to raise the tax, given the likely economic and political repercussions, but he understands the risks of upsetting the markets by giving the appearance of backtracking on promised reform, said a person involved in crafting economic policies. At 5 percent, Japan and Canada have the lowest equivalent consumption taxes in the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, OECD data shows.

The stakes in Japan are high. The tax hike was passed into law last year with the support of Abe's current coalition parties and the previous government and is meant to be the first step toward repairing Japan's tattered finances. However, the law also requires the government to judge the economic conditions before giving the final go ahead.

Reneging on fiscal reform could hit investor confidence, which has allowed Tokyo to borrow money cheaply even though its $5 trillion public debt, well over twice the nation's annual economic output, is the heaviest burden in the industrial world.

At the same time, Abe has stressed that his top priority is to rouse Japan from 15 years of deflation and tepid growth through his Abenomics programme of heavy government spending, massive monetary easing and promises of a longer-term growth strategy.

Abe himself admitted the thorny dilemma just hours after scoring a landslide win in upper house elections on July 21 that gave his ruling bloc a clear parliamentary majority.

"It will be a difficult decision," he said of the looming tax choice.

"The economy is just starting to recover and now is the best chance for Japan to emerge from deflation," Abe said. "I don't want to lose this chance. At the same time, markets are watching (our progress) on Japan's fiscal reform."

SPLIT

Despite his electoral triumph, Abe's team is split.

A small number of vocal reflationists, such as cabinet office adviser Koichi Hamada, say Abe should prioritise recovery and go-slow on raising the tax. Pitted against them, the Finance Ministry says it is vital for Japan to show markets and trading partners that it is serious about putting its fiscal house in order.

Japanese media reported on Saturday that Abe had instructed his government to study the impact on the economy and prices of four tax-hike options, including sticking with the existing plan, raising the rate 1 percentage point a year for five years and delaying the hike entirely.

Abe, speaking at a news conference on a visit to Manila, said: "I haven't yet issued any instructions to come up with several proposals."

Government officials also say they haven't received any formal orders to draw up fresh scenarios, although an advisory panel to the premier had already been mandated to study the impact of the current plan on the economy and prices.

Public opinion may play to the advantage of the reflationists.

A survey of 902 people in the Nikkei business daily, conducted just after the election, found only 11 percent supporting the existing plan, compared with 58 percent who favour "flexibility" in the timing or scale of the increase and 27 percent who oppose raising the tax at all.

History too provides a cautionary tale for Abe, who got a rare second chance at running the government in December.

Noboru Takeshita, the premier who forced the first sales tax through parliament in 1988, and Ryutaro Hashimoto, who raised it to 5 percent from 3 percent in 1997, were driven from office as their public support collapsed - although other problems also plagued both men. The decision to double the tax contributed to the defeat of Abe's predecessor, Yoshihiko Noda.

Adviser Hamada, a 77-year-old emeritus professor at Yale University and a key member of Abe's brain trust, told Reuters on July 23 that Japan needed much more evidence of a sturdy recovery before raising the tax.

The economy, which grew at an annualised rate of 4.1 percent in the first quarter - the fastest among Group of Seven industrial powers - needs to maintain similar growth for two more quarters before enduring a tax hike, Hamada said.

BOND TRADERS WATCHING

He set the bar higher still, saying he is pushing Abe to wait not only until growth picks up but until employment improves, ensuring a firmer footing for the recovery.

The government should wait until unemployment falls to 3 percent from around 4 percent now and job seekers outnumber job offers "in all regions" of the country, Hamada said.

Although the latest data shows there were 90 seekers for each 100 job offers in May nationally, only four of Japan's 10 regions have more labour demand than supply.

It is unclear how much influence Hamada has on fiscal policy, but the views of the reflationists might "have significant influence on Abe's thinking on this subject," said former Bank of Japan deputy governor Kazumasa Iwata, head of the prominent think tank, the Japan Centre for Economic Research.

Some government officials are keen to start fiscal reform, privately worried that changing the tax plan would endanger Japan's promise to halve its budget deficit - excluding debt-financing - from fiscal 2010 levels by fiscal 2015 and balance the budget five years later.

They say raising the tax in incremental steps each year could be too easily derailed, since the politically sensitive hikes would have to be approved for five years in a row - with national elections scheduled in three years.

Finance Minister Taro Aso has strongly insisted on sticking with the tax-hike plan, saying it is an international promise. Still, Aso signalled last week he is willing to soften the economic blow by offering another dollop of fiscal stimulus.

The Japanese government-bond market, which lets Abe's government borrow 10-year money for less than 0.8 percent, would be hit hard if Abe changes the sales-tax plan, said Tadashi Matsukawa, head of Japan fixed income at PineBridge Investments.

"The whole of Abenomics would basically crash under that scenario," he said, adding he thinks it unlikely Abe will change the plan.

Iwata, the former BOJ deputy governor, told Reuters that if Abe postponed the agreed tax hike, that would endanger the rest of the fiscal-reform schedule.

"If Japan can't raise the tax rate even when the economy is in good shape, that may lead to market distrust over Abe's governance," Iwata said.

(Reporting by Sumio Ito, Yuko Yoshikawa, Hitoshi Ishida, Kaori Kaneko, Leika Kihara and Lisa Twaronite; Writing by William Mallard; Editing by Neil Fullick)

Source: http://uk.reuters.com/article/2013/07/28/uk-japan-economy-tax-idUKBRE96R02820130728?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

jon bon jovi jon bon jovi Kliff Kingsbury Amish Mafia Dave Grohl 121212 Cal State Fullerton