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Monday, October 31, 2011
A Magical Puff of Smoke Could Outshine Any Costume Tonight [Video]
China shuts 50 microblogs for porn, vulgarity (Reuters)
BEIJING (Reuters) ? China has shut 50 microblogs for distributing pornography and carrying "vulgar content", state media said on Monday, as the government steps up monitoring of the internet.
"The microblogs were shut down for violations that include carrying pornographic images and videos, information for prostitution, as well as illegal advertising for sex-related drugs and productions," Xinhua news agency said.
"Members of the public reported the microblogs, which were then investigated and closed by authorities," it added, citing an unidentified official at one of the country's internet regulators, the State Internet Information Office.
The government has called for stricter policing of the nation's wildly-popular Twitter-like microblogs that more than 200 million Chinese use. Homegrown micro-blogging sites have also served as lively arenas for public discussion over government policies and scandals.
The spread of porn and vulgar material has been effectively contained since a crackdown on Internet- and cellphone-based pornography was launched in 2009, Xinhua said.
"Authorities will continue to take measures to cut down on new channels used for spreading pornography and vulgar material."
It provided no other details.
China's microbloggers showed their potency in a string of recent official scandals, particularly an online uproar in the wake of a high-speed bullet train crash in July that killed 40 people. Microbloggers led the charge in challenging rail officials' evasive accounts of the disaster.
Chinese state media have demanded that Internet companies, regulators and police do more to cleanse websites of "toxic rumors".
China heavily filters the Internet, and blocks popular foreign sites such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter.
(Reporting by Ben Blanchard)
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Statue of Liberty marks 125 years
NEW YORK?? To mark the 125th anniversary of the Statue of Liberty, 125 immigrants from 46 countries were sworn in as United States citizens during a ceremony Friday.
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The naturalization ceremony on Liberty Island kicked off a daylong celebration of the dedication of the statue in 1886, which has welcomed millions of new immigrants to America on their way to Ellis Island.
Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar told the new Americans on Friday that diversity strengthens the nation.
For her birthday this year, Lady Liberty is getting a high-tech uplift. Five webcams attached to the torch held high in New York harbor will offer views not seen by the public in nearly a century.
The webcams went live during a ceremony on Liberty Island marking the 125th anniversary of the dedication of the copper-clad monument, which was a gift from France to the people of America.
From computers afar, viewers will be able to watch live video streams of traffic, boats and airplanes in high-resolution panoramic images showing the Manhattan skyline, the city's borough of Brooklyn and neighboring New Jersey.
"For people who don't come to the Statue of Liberty, it will be a whole new opportunity for them to see the statue, what's around it and how it fits into the whole cityscape," Stephen Briganti, president of the Statue of Liberty-Ellis Island Foundation, said in an interview on Tuesday.
Officials closed the torch to the public in 1916 during World War One, following an explosion at a nearby munitions depot, blamed on German saboteurs, that damaged the statue.
Since then, the sweeping views have been seen only by a handful of people involved in the statue's maintenance.
"It's a heck of a climb," said Briganti, who last made the difficult ascent in the statue's right arm in the 1980s.
The cameras are housed inside steel containers slightly smaller than shoe boxes, he said.
One points directly straight down, offering an unusual view of the statue's crown and anyone milling around the statue's base some 300 feet below.
"I call that the 'Hi Mom!' view," Briganti said, suggesting that visitors to the statue might arrange to wave to friends and family at home.
Two other webcams are being set up in Brooklyn, pointing at the statue.
EarthCam, a New Jersey-based webcam technology company, donated the cameras.
Internet users will be able to access the streams from EarthCam's website and the National Park Service's Statue of Liberty website.
Officials are planning a day of events on Friday on Liberty Island to mark the anniversary, including a reading of Emma Lazurus' poem "The New Colossus" by actress Sigourney Weaver and renditions of both the French and U.S. national anthems.
After the celebration, access to the statue's interior, including its crown, will be closed for about a year while the statue is renovated, although Liberty Island will remain open to visitors.
Information from the Associated Press and Reuters was included in this report.
? 2011 msnbc.com
Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45076727/ns/travel-news/
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Sunday, October 30, 2011
Cards win World Series, beat Texas 6-2 in Game 7
St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols reacts as he scores during the first inning of Game 7 of baseball's World Series against the Texas Rangers Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Ezra Shaw, Pool)
St. Louis Cardinals' Albert Pujols reacts as he scores during the first inning of Game 7 of baseball's World Series against the Texas Rangers Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Ezra Shaw, Pool)
St. Louis Cardinals' David Freese hits a two-run double off Texas Rangers starting pitcher Matt Harrison during the first inning of Game 7 of baseball's World Series Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
St. Louis Cardinals starting pitcher Chris Carpenter throws during the first inning of Game 7 of baseball's World Series against the Texas Rangers Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Ezra Shaw, Pool)
Texas Rangers starting pitcher Matt Harrison throws during the first inning of Game 7 of baseball's World Series against the St. Louis Cardinals Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum)
St. Louis Cardinals' Allen Craig hits a solo home run during the third inning of Game 7 of baseball's World Series against the Texas Rangers, Friday, Oct. 28, 2011, in St. Louis. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson)
ST. LOUIS (AP) ? Pushed to the brink, the St. Louis Cardinals saved themselves. A frantic rush to reach the postseason on the final day. A nifty pair of comebacks in the playoffs. Two desperate rallies in Game 6.
Turns out these Cardinals were merely gearing up for a gigantic celebration.
The Cardinals won a remarkable World Series they weren't even supposed to reach, beating the Texas Rangers 6-2 in Game 7 on Friday night with another key hit by hometown star David Freese and six gutty innings from Chris Carpenter.
"This whole ride, this team deserves this," said Freese, who added the Series MVP award to his trophy as the NL championship MVP.
A day after an epic Game 6 that saw them twice within one strike of elimination before winning 10-9 in the 11th inning, the Cardinals captured their 11th World Series crown.
"It's hard to explain how this happened," Cardinals manager Tony La Russa said.
Following a whole fall on the edge, including a surge from 10? games down in the wild-card race, La Russa's team didn't dare mess with Texas, or any more drama in baseball's first World Series Game 7 since the Angels beat Giants in 2002.
Freese's two-run double tied it in the first, with Cardinals star Albert Pujols raising his arms as he scored. Good-luck charm Allen Craig hit a go-ahead homer in the third.
Given a chance to pitch by a Game 6 rainout and picked by La Russa earlier in the day to start on three days' rest, Carpenter and the tireless St. Louis bullpen closed it out.
No Rally Squirrel needed on this night, either. Fireworks and confetti rang out at Busch Stadium when Jason Motte retired David Murphy on a fly ball to end it.
"We just kept playing," Cardinals star Lance Berkman said.
Said La Russa: "If you watch the history of baseball, teams come back."
The Rangers, meanwhile, will spend the whole winter wondering how it all got away. Texas might dwell on it forever, in fact, at least until Nolan Ryan & Co. can reverse a World Series slide that started with last year's five-game wipeout against San Francisco.
Ryan left tight-lipped. When a reporter tried to ask the Rangers president and part-owner a question, someone in his entourage said: "He's not talking."
Texas had not lost consecutive games since last August. These two defeats at Busch Stadium cost manager Ron Washington and the Rangers a chance to win their first title in the franchise's 51-year history.
"I just told them they're champions, which I believe," Washington said. "Someone has to win, someone has to lose and the Cardinals did it. ... They were the better team. They are the world champions. All we can do is come back next year and commit ourselves to it, like they did this year."
This marked the ninth straight time the home team had won Game 7 in the World Series. The wild-card Cardinals held that advantage over the AL West champions because the NL won the All-Star game ? Texas could blame that on their own pitcher, C.J. Wilson, who took the loss in July.
A year full of inspiring rallies and epic collapses was encapsulated in Game 6. Freese was the star, with a tying triple in the ninth and a winning home run in the 11th. His two RBIs in the clincher gave him a postseason record 21.
The Cardinals won their first championship since 2006, and gave La Russa his third World Series title. They got there by beating Philadelphia in the first round of the NL playoffs, capped by Carpenter outdueling Roy Halladay 1-0 in the deciding Game 5, and then topping Milwaukee in the NL championship series.
"I think the last month of the season, that's where it started," Pujols said. "Different guys were coming huge, getting big hits, and we carried that into the postseason and here we are, world champions."
By the time Yadier Molina drew a bases-loaded walk from starter Matt Harrison and Rafael Furcal was hit by a pitch from Wilson in relief, the crowd began to sense a championship was near.
The Cardinals improved to 8-3 in Game 7s of the Series, more wins than any other club. Yet fans here know their history well, and were aware this game could go either way ? Dizzy Dean and the Gas House Gang won 11-0 in 1934, but Whitey Herzog and his Cardinals lost 11-0 in 1985.
If the Cards were nervous before taking the field, it didn't show.
"We were all in the clubhouse and we were a loose bunch of guys," Motte said. "We were in there hanging out, dancing around, had music playing. We were all like that's the way we win and that's how we play the best and we came out we were able to do it today. It's just amazing."
On this evening, all the stars aligned for St. Louis.
Starting in place of injured Matt Holliday, Craig hit his third homer of the Series and made a leaping catch at the top of the left field wall. Molina made another strong throw to nail a stray runner. And Carpenter steeled himself to pitch into the seventh, every bit an ace.
"It was in our grasp and we didn't get it," Washington said, referring to Game 6. "Tonight we fought hard for it and the Cardinals got it."
Pujols went 0 for 2, walked and was hit by a pitch in what could have been his last game with the Cardinals. Many think the soon-to-be free agent will remain in St. Louis.
"You know what? I'm not even thinking about that. I'm thinking about, you know, we're the world champions and I'm going to celebrate and whenever that time comes, you know, then we'll deal with it," he said.
Pujols did plenty of damage. His three-homer job in Game 3 was the signature performance of his career and perhaps the greatest hitting show in postseason history.
Dismissed by some as a dull Series even before it began because it lacked the big-market glamour teams, it got better inning by inning.
Craig hit a solo home run in the third, an opposite field fly to right that carried into the Cardinals bullpen and got their relievers dancing. The super-sub put St. Louis ahead 3-2 with his third homer of the Series. He was in the lineup only because Holliday sprained his right wrist on a pickoff play a night earlier and was replaced on the roster.
By then, the largest crowd at 6-year-old Busch Stadium was buzzing. The fans seemed a bit drained much earlier, maybe worn out from the previous night.
They grew hush in the first when Hamilton and Michael Young hit consecutive RBI doubles. Texas might have gotten more, but Ian Kinsler strayed too far off first base and was trapped by Molina's rocket throw.
Freese changed the mood in a hurry as St. Louis tied it in the bottom half. Pujols and Lance Berkman drew two-out walks and pitching coach Mike Maddux trotted to the mound while Freese stepped in to a standing ovation.
Freese rewarded his family and a ballpark full of new friends by lining a full-count floater to the wall in left center for a two-run double. Pujols raised both arms as he crossed the plate ? another frozen moment, courtesy of Freese. Harrison was in trouble, and Wilson began warming up after only 23 pitches.
Carpenter wasn't sharp at the outset, either. All over the strike zone, he started seven of the first 10 batters with balls. Pitching coach Dave Duncan made a visit in the second to check on the tall righty, lingering for a few extra words.
"I was hoping to have an opportunity to go ahead and pitch in that game and fortunately it worked out," Carpenter said. "It started off a little rough in the first. But I was able to collect myself, make some pitches and our guys did an awesome job to battle back. And I mean, it's just amazing."
NOTES: Texas set a Series record by walking 41 batters, one more than Florida in 1997. Of the 34 runs the Cardinals scored, 11 reached on walks and two more on hit batters. ... The crowd was 47,399. ... The Cardinals will play the first game of the 2012 season in North America, opening the Miami Marlins' new ballpark on April 4.
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DeWitt leads AFA to 42-0 win against New Mexico
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) ? When Air Force quarterback Tim Jefferson went out in the first quarter with an injury against New Mexico, there was no reason for the Falcons to panic.
Backup Connor Dietz took over and led the Falcons to a 42-0 victory against the winless Lobos on Saturday.
"It was one of those times where Tim went down and I had to step up for my team," Dietz said. "They all made it really easy for me to come in. They all did their part, which just makes my job that much easier."
Dietz led the Falcons (4-4, 1-3 Mountain West) to 335 rushing yards, running for 87 on six carries, including a 39-yard burst up the middle with a minute remaining in the first half that put them up 35-0.
"It was just a draw," he said of the long score. "The defense was playing back and our offensive line had some great blocks and our fullback led up on the linebacker. It made my running lane pretty easy so all I had to do was run forward.
"As a ball carrier, that's the best feeling you can have, because you see daylight and green and all you have to do is not get touched."
Fullback Mike DeWitt had four touchdown runs for Air Force.
"We're fortunate to have an awesome backup quarterback," he said. "He does a great job. He's always ready and getting warm on the sideline and he did a great job today. It's not good to lose your starting quarterback but it's nothing big so I'm sure he'll be back in there. It was just business as usual."
Air Force coach Troy Calhoun also had no qualms about putting Dietz out there.
"To be able to have Connor Dietz available and to be able to help us as a football team is a real plus," he said.
New Mexico (0-8, 0-3) had 63 yards from Crusoe Gongbay on 10 carries.The Lobos totaled 223 yards in getting shut out for a second straight week.
"Everyone is mad," Gongbay said. "Mad after every game."
The Falcons scored their first touchdown when Austin Briehl recovered a teammates' fumble in the end zone. DeWitt scored three straight touchdowns, going in from 4, 12 and 3.
Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/newsok/home/~3/Jqn7hrPBG6c/312153
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Saturday, October 29, 2011
Video: Teacher pleads insanity in student sex scandal
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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/45059096#45059096
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Google TV set for major refresh
Google TV gets better apps, new interface, improved search.
According to a new biography, Apple CEO Steve Jobs was actively developing an Apple TV prototype ? a prototype that Bloomberg News says is being steered by the same guy who helped build iTunes. Of course, the Apple TV, if it ever arrives, is likely a ways off. In the meantime, here's something concrete: Google TV is getting a major overhaul, which will strip down the interface, add TV-optimized Android apps, and improve search functionality.
Skip to next paragraphIn a post at the Google TV blog, exec Mario Queiroz says the software refresh ? which will be available this weekend via an over-the-air update ? boils down to four distinct bullet points. First, the platform will get a "new YouTube experience specifically built for Google TV." Second, it will get a simpler interface. Third, it will make it easy to hunt for content on Live TV, Netflix, YouTube, and HBO GO. Fourth, there will be an influx of apps.
"50 developers have seeded the Market with cool and useful apps for the TV," Queiroz wrote, and more apps are expected soon.
"Given so much choice, we?re committed to delivering the best way to discover and engage with the high-quality entertainment on your television, whether that comes from your cable or satellite provider (DISH, Comcast, DIRECTV, etc.) or from the Web (YouTube, Netflix, and thousands more)," Queiroz wrote. "The initial version of Google TV wasn?t perfect, but launching it gave us the opportunity to learn."
"These are still early days," he added, "and we?re working hard to move forward with each update."
In related news, this week a research firm called ABI announced that Android, long the king of the US smartphone wars, had also become the leader in app downloads. ABI estimates that in the second quarter of 2011, Android was responsible for 44 percent of all mobile app downloads, compared to 31 percent on Apple's iOS. "Android?s open source strategy is the main factor for its success," ABI wrote in a press release.
For more tech news, sign up for the weekly BizTech newsletter, which ships every Wednesday.
Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/0REDNVLiQmU/Google-TV-set-for-major-refresh
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Friday, October 28, 2011
Performance artist gives birth in NYC art gallery (AP)
NEW YORK ? A performance artist who said giving birth is the "highest form of art" has delivered a baby boy ? inside a New York City art gallery
Marni Kotak gave birth at 10:17 a.m. on Tuesday, the Microscope Gallery in Brooklyn said in a brief statement, adding that everyone was recuperating on Wednesday. It said the baby was 21 inches long and weighed 9 pounds, 2 ounces.
The gallery said 19 to 20 people were present for the relatively quick birth in a birthing pool. The gallery gave no other details. A video of the birth will be added to the gallery's upcoming exhibition.
The 36-year-old artist had set up a home-birth center at the gallery, turning the space into a brightly decorated bedroom with ocean blue walls and photo-imprinted pillows.
During "The Birth of Baby X" durational piece, which began Oct. 8, Kotak spent as much time at the gallery as possible talking to visitors about motherhood, art and other issues. She said those who left their contact information would be notified when she went into labor.
She expected about 15 people to attend.
Kotak, who was born in Norwood, Mass., said all her performances focus on everyday life experiences. She has been re-enacting events from her life for more than 10 years, including her own birth, losing her virginity in "a sunny blue Plymouth" and her grandfather's funeral.
In combining the birth of her child with artistic expression, Kotak said she wanted to show "this amazing life performance that ... is essentially hidden from public view" and that addresses social taboos regarding the human body.
"She's in the tradition of using your life as your authentic material and shaping and forming it" ? a tradition that goes back to 1959 when filmmaker Stan Brakhage recorded the birth of his first child as a work of art, said feminist artist Carolee Schneemann, whose own works deal with taboo themes of sexuality.
"She's vulnerable, she's exposed," she said of Kotak. "It's the most basic visceral experience that also has the most taboos."
The entire gallery was given over to the installation. The artist even carved out space for a fully-stocked refrigerator and a portable shower with curtain pockets filled with photos from her three baby showers.
___
Online: http://www.microscopegallery.com
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Vanguarda Agro exits Brazilian biodiesel business : Biofuels Digest
In Brazil, Vanguarda Agro is moving out of biodiesel and shifting its focus solely to agriculture. It has recently sold a biodiesel refinery in Rosario do Sul and a vegetable-oil extraction plant in Rio Grande do Sul state to rivals Camera Agroalimentos for $33 million. The facility is currently idle as it didn?t receive any contracts for production during the government auction in August.
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Source: http://biofuelsdigest.com/bdigest/2011/10/26/vanguarda-agro-exits-brazilian-biodiesel-business/
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The Air Force's Rocket-Killing Megawatt Laser Runs on Rocket Fuel [Video]
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Thursday, October 27, 2011
Mitchell Bard: Income Inequality Is the Achilles Heel in the GOP Strategy to Demonize Occupy Wall Street
"I don't care about that."
That is what Rick Perry said in the New York Times when John Harwood told him his tax plan would increase income inequality. Give Perry credit for his honesty. After all, he just articulated out loud what is the accepted dogma of the modern Tea Party-owned Republican party, which is completely dedicated to protecting the wealthy and corporations on the backs of the (rapidly shrinking) middle class, by way of a religious adherence to far-right free market principles.
But there is a danger to Republicans adopting a "Let them eat cake" approach. By dismissing income equality as a key issue, the GOP is headed for a trip wire the party doesn't seem to see coming.
We see it in their approach to Occupy Wall Street. The GOP strategy seems to be that if they can dismiss the protesters as a bunch of crazies (or "human debris," as the always vile Rush Limbaugh put it), then Americans won't notice the issues underlying the protest.
In the short term, the Republican strategy will probably work. By highlighting the elements that look and sound the most out of the mainstream, average Americans won't be able to relate to the protesters and will be wary of being grouped with them.
But what the Republicans are missing is that the anger underneath the Occupy Wall Street protests isn't limited to the dedicated individuals sleeping in a Lower Manhattan park.
So long as the GOP can frame Occupy Wall Street as an attack on the rich or an attack on capitalism, its appeal will be limited. No matter how tough things are with the U.S. economy, Americans don't hate rich people. On the contrary, they aspire to be rich people.
But the middle class can't become wealthy if the government is, through action and inaction, helping the rich get richer while keeping the middle class down, as it has done for the last 30 years (something Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson demonstrate in "Winner-Take-All Politics").
And Americans have no use for unfairness. They want there to be a correlation between hard work and success. For the financial executives who caused the 2008 financial crisis, there wasn't even a correlation between success and success. Wall Street bankers made billions of dollars for recklessly devising and selling financial instruments they knew were junk, resulting in a near financial collapse that required a government bailout from the Bush administration.
The resulting recession and economic stagnation hit the middle class hard while leaving the wealthiest Americans untouched and corporations flush with cash. (Paul Krugman provided a great recap earlier this month of the abuses that led to the financial crisis.)
The bottom line is that income inequality has been skyrocketing since Ronald Reagan took office (and accelerated under George W. Bush) behind policies (like massive unpaid-for tax cuts for the wealthy) that had the effect of redistributing income from the middle class upward.
Mother Jones recently compiled some staggering statistics on income inequality:
- Between 2007 and 2009 (pre- and post-financial crisis), Wall Street profits rose 720 percent while American's home equity plummeted 35 percent, all while the unemployment rate went up 102 percent.
- The average income of the top 1 percent has nearly quadrupled since 1980, but the top 20 percent showed only modest growth while the bottom 80 percent flatlined during that period. As a result, the top 1 percent's share of income has exploded by nearly 120 percent since 1980, while the top 20 percent went up a bit and the bottom 80 percent lost its share of income. Put another way, if income growth was equal during the period, the top one percent would have made597,241 less per household (totaling673 billion), while the bottom 90 percent would have made more (between3,733 and10,100 per household, depending on where the family fell in the percentile list).
- Even as the top 1 percent made out like bandits over the last 30 years, they actually bore less of the tax burden. Between 1992 and 2007, the 400 taxpayers with the highest incomes experienced a 392 percent increase in income but saw their average tax rate go down 37 percent.
- As of 2007, the top 1 percent of Americans in wealth controlled 34.6 percent of America's net worth. The top 10 percent controlled a whopping 73 percent of the country's wealth. And these figures came before the housing bubble burst, hitting the middle and working classes especially hard.
The AP recently did a study that found that the recovery from the 2008 recession has been the most unequal of any recovery since the 1930s. The money did not find its way to the middle class. The percentage of the economy made up of workers' pay and benefits hit an all-time low, all while corporate profits surged, as did CEO compensation. And the stock market recovery put money in the pockets of the wealthiest 10 percent of Americans, even as the middle class continued to struggle and lose ground. In fact, the New York Times ran a front page story today noting how there has been a 53 percent increase in poverty in the suburbs since 2000, with the bulk of that coming after the 2008 financial crisis.
The key to why the Republicans are miscalculating in dismissing income inequality lies in a telling piece of data Mother Jones provides: The actual distribution of income in the United States is far more unbalanced than Americans think it is, and, as importantly, far, far above what they think it should be.
The Republicans want to claim that the Democrats are engaging in class warfare by trying to let the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy expire, but the Republicans have been waging a class war on behalf of the top ten percent against everyone else for the last 30 years.
It's not about hating on the rich. Nobody begrudges entrepreneurs and hard-working visionaries like Steve Jobs and Warren Buffet their successes. No, the anger underneath Occupy Wall Street is about fairness. And income inequality fostered by government policy is not fair.
As unemployment continues to remain high, the economic situation remains murky, and Americans start to see the redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the wealthy, anger will intensify. And when the anger moves from more easily dismissible protesters in Lower Manhattan to a larger swath of the American citizenry, comments like Perry's "I don't care about that" will not be received well.
The participants in Occupy Wall Street may not look like Middle America, and they may not have a polished plan to rectify the problems they are seeking to publicize, but that doesn't make the anger they are expressing less real. More importantly, that anger is shared by more Americans than would make the GOP comfortable.
So Republicans should ridicule Occupy Wall Street at their own risk. They may be able to belittle the protesters, but they can't hide income inequality from the American people.
?
Follow Mitchell Bard on Twitter: www.twitter.com/MitchellBard
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mitchell-bard/income-inequality-is-the_b_1031922.html
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Economy grew 2.5 pct. in Q3 as consumers rebound
FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2011 file photo, a shopper carrying bags is silhouetted at a mall in Los Angeles. The U.S. economy grew modestly over the summer after nearly stalling in the first six months of the year, lifted by stronger consumer spending and greater business investment. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
FILE - In this Sept. 29, 2011 file photo, a shopper carrying bags is silhouetted at a mall in Los Angeles. The U.S. economy grew modestly over the summer after nearly stalling in the first six months of the year, lifted by stronger consumer spending and greater business investment. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon, File)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. economy grew modestly over the summer after nearly stalling in the first six months of the year, lifted by stronger consumer spending and greater business investment.
The Commerce Department said Thursday that the economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter. That's the stronger growth in a year and nearly double the 1.3 percent growth in the April-June quarter. It's also a vast improvement over the anemic 0.9 percent growth for the entire first half of the year.
While 2.5 percent growth is enough to ease recession fears, it's far below what's needed to lower painfully high unemployment, which has been near 9 percent for the past two years. Analysts project similar growth for the October-December quarter.
Nonetheless, the report on U.S. gross domestic product, or GDP, sketched a more optimistic picture for an economy that only two months ago seemed destined for another recession. And it was delivered on the same day that European leaders announced a deal that marked a turning point in their two-year debt crisis.
Stocks surged on the European deal and maintained their gains after the report on U.S. growth was released.
"This has been a morning of encouraging news," said Jennifer Lee, a senior economist for BMO Capital Markets. "The fourth quarter may see some pullback in U.S. economic growth ... but the positive details underlying the GDP report should help ease fears of a U.S. recession..somewhat."
Consumers helped drive much of the growth. They spent at an annual rate of 2.4 percent ? more than triple the rate in the spring. They bought more cars, furniture and clothing.
Households also increased their spending on services by the most in more than five years. Spending on services rose a solid 3 percent. Much of the gain was because they spent more on health care and to cool their homes during an unseasonably hot summer.
Still, Americans spent more even though they made less money. Their after-tax incomes adjusted for inflation fell at a rate of 1.7 percent in the summer, the biggest decline since the third quarter of 2009 ? just as the recession was ending.
Economists believe that growth in consumer spending, which accounts for 70 percent of economic activity, will be restrained until incomes start growing at healthier levels, which is unlikely until hiring picks up.
"Households funded their extra consumption by running down their saving rate," said Paul Ashworth, chief U.S. economist for Capital Economics, who predicts growth will cool off in the fourth quarter and next year.
Businesses also helped boost third-quarter growth by stepping up their investment in equipment and software. That category surged 17.4 percent ? nearly three times the rate from spring. They also invested more in new buildings, a sign that some could be expanding despite the sluggish economy.
The GDP report measures the country's total output of goods and services. It covers everything from bicycles to battleships, as well as services such as haircuts and doctor's visits.
In August, many thought the economy was destined for another recession after the government said growth fell to less than 1 percent for the first six months of the year. High gas prices, the growing debt crisis in Europe and wild fluctuations in the stock market also contributed to those fears, which have receded in recent weeks after reports showed improvements in hiring and consumer spending.
Economists project growth in the range of 2.5 percent to 3 percent for the October-December quarter and for all of next year ? just enough to keep the unemployment rate from rising.
For the 14 million people who are out of work and want jobs, that's discouraging news. And it's an ominous sign for President Barack Obama, who will be facing voters next fall.
There have been some encouraging signs.
A measure of business investment plans rose in September for the second straight month and by the most in six months, according to a government report Wednesday on orders for longer-lasting manufactured goods.
And consumers stepped up their spending on retail goods in both July and September. The main reason for the September gain was more people bought new cars, a purchase people typically make when they are confident in their finances.
Economists warned that even their modest assessment of growth of around 2.7 percent for next year will fall short if the European debt situation does not get resolved. And the outlook could dim further if U.S. lawmakers allow a Social Security tax cut and extended unemployment benefits to expire at the end of this year.
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Video: Men don?t know how to save money!
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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29054368/vp/45032821#45032821
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Wednesday, October 26, 2011
Netflix stock plunges on brutal 3Q, somber outlook (AP)
SAN FRANCISCO ? Netflix jolted its shareholders again with a third-quarter financial report that portrayed a company in crisis.
The video subscription service's latest blooper reel, released Monday, included an even larger customer exodus than the company had foreseen after announcing an unpopular price increase in July. What's worse, the report contained a forecast calling for more defections during the next few months.
The backlash will deprive Netflix Inc. of some of the revenue that management had been counting on to finance the company's expansion plans while it pays higher fees for Internet video streaming rights. The result: Netflix expects to post losses next year when it starts selling its steaming service in Britain and Ireland. The company didn't offer further specifics besides saying it won't go into any other overseas markets until it's making money again.
None of the developments pleased Wall Street as Netflix lost more than a quarter of its value after the bad news came out. If that sharp decline holds in Tuesday's trading, it will mark the first time Netflix's stock price has fallen below $100 in nearly 14 months.
Netflix shares shed $32.01, or nearly 27 percent, to $86.83 in Monday's extended trading.
It's the latest setback for a former stock market darling whose shares topped $300 just 4- 1/2 months ago. Netflix's market value had already plunged by about 60 percent, or nearly $9 billion, before Monday's late sell-off.
Netflix lost its luster among consumers and investors by raising prices as much as 60 percent in the U.S. and bungling an attempt to spin off its DVD-by-mail rental service.
Raising the prices had to be done, according to Netflix CEO Reed Hastings. He said, however, that Netflix should have taken more time to explain to subscribers that the company needed the money to pay movie and television studios for rights to stream more video over high-speed Internet connections.
"We became a symbol of the evil, greedy corporation," Hastings said in a Monday interview with The Associated Press. "Then we faced a reputational hit that created significantly more cancellations than we anticipated."
The company, which is based in Los Gatos, ended September with 23.8 million U.S. subscribers, down about 800,000 from June. Netflix had predicted it would lose about 600,000 U.S. subscribers in a forecast released last month.
Management expects to gain U.S. subscribers in the current quarter, although Netflix didn't set a specific target. But a substantial number of Netflix's customers are expected to choose between renting DVDs through the mail, or streaming Internet video, instead of paying for both services.
The biggest hit is expected on the DVD side, a service that Netflix has been de-emphasizing to save money on mailing costs as its spends more to license movies and TV shows for its Internet video library. The company expects its DVD subscribers to fall from 13.9 million as of Sept. 30 to as low as 10.3 million at the end of December.
Hastings said he expects Netflix's DVD subscriptions to steadily decline, much like what has happened to AOL Inc.'s dial-up Internet connection service during the past decade as high-speed alternatives became more affordable.
Netflix's streaming subscriptions in the U.S. may rise by as much as 100,000 subscribers in the quarter, according to the company's projections.
The company's outlook looks even grimmer compared with how rapidly Netflix had been growing. From the end of 2009 through June of this year, Netflix had gained 12.3 million U.S. subscribers ? adding an average of 2 million customers every three months.
From a financial perspective, Netflix did better than analysts expected in the July-September period.
The company earned $62.5 million, or $1.16, per share, in the third quarter. That compared to income of $38 million, or 70 cents per share, at the same time last year.
The performance topped the average earnings estimate of 96 cents per share among analysts polled by FactSet.
Netflix's revenue climbed 49 percent from the same time last year to nearly $822 million ? about $9 million above analyst estimates.
Netflix's downfall leaves Hastings ? the only CEO the company has ever had ? in a precarious position.
Once regarded as one of the savviest leaders in technology and entertainment, Hastings has turned into a punching bag for frustrated Netflix customers and shareholders. Many of them are still befuddled by his recent decision making.
After Netflix's higher prices kicked in on Sept. 1, Hastings amplified the outrage by outlining a plan to toss the DVD rental business onto a separate website called Qwikster. The split from the Internet streaming service got panned so badly that Hastings reversed course in less than three weeks.
"I am not a quitter," Hasting said Monday after the AP asked him if would heed some investor calls for him to resign. "We made some mistakes, but I think our 10-year track record is extremely positive. We are going to focus on making this a great global streaming business. I am very excited about that."
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Turkey quake death toll exceeds 200, set to rise (Reuters)
ERCIS, Turkey (Reuters) ? Rescuers clawed through rubble on Monday to free people trapped by an earthquake that killed at least 239 people and wounded 1,000 in southeast Turkey. Hundreds more were feared dead.
Earthmoving machines and soldiers joined the frantic search through mounds of smashed concrete after Sunday's 7.2 magnitude quake struck the city of Van and the town of Ercis, some 100 km (60 miles) to the north, in Turkey's Kurdish heartland.
"Be patient, be patient," rescuers told a whimpering boy, pinned under a concrete slab with the lifeless hand of an adult, with a wedding ring, visible just in front of his face.
As dawn broke, the scale of devastation became clear.
In Van, an ancient city of one million on a lake ringed by snow-capped mountains, cranes shifted rubble from a collapsed six-storey apartment block where 70 people were feared trapped.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan flew swiftly to Van to assess the scale of the disaster in a quake-prone area that is a hotbed of activity for Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) rebels.
His deputy Besir Atalay, speaking in Van, put the death toll at 239, with 1,150 injured. The interior minister said hundreds more were unaccounted for.
Erdogan said he feared for the fate of villages which rescue teams had yet to reach. "Because the buildings are made of mud brick, they are more vulnerable to quakes. I must say that almost all buildings in such villages are destroyed," he told an overnight news conference in Van.
Newspapers said trauma had been piled on trauma in the southeast, where a PKK attack killed 24 Turkish soldiers in Hakkari, south of Van, last week. "Homeland of Pain. Yesterday terrorism, today earthquake," said Radikal newspaper.
Erdogan earlier flew by helicopter to Ercis, a town of 100,000 that was harder hit than Van, with 55 buildings flattened, including a student dormitory. "We don't know how many people are in the ruins of collapsed buildings," he said.
At one crumpled four-storey building in Ercis, firemen from the major southeastern city of Diyarbakir tried to reach four missing children. Aid workers carried two black body bags, one apparently containing a child, to an ambulance. An old woman wrapped in a headscarf walked alongside sobbing.
A distressed man paced back and forth before running towards the rescue workers on top of the rubble. "That's my nephew's house," he sobbed as workers tried to hold him back.
A group of women, some with faces covered by headscarves, wept as they looked on under a chilly blue sky.
COLD NIGHT IN OPEN
Nearby, aid teams handed out parcels of bread and food, while people wrapped in blankets huddled around open fires after spending a cold night on the streets.
Rescue efforts were hampered by power outages after the quake toppled electricity cables to towns and villages across much of the barren Anatolian steppe near the Iranian border. It also damaged the main Van-Ercis road, CNN Turk reported.
More than 100 aftershocks have jolted the region since the quake struck for around 25 seconds at 1041 GMT on Sunday.
"I just felt the whole earth moving and I was petrified. It went on for ages. And the noise, you could hear this loud, loud noise," said Hakan Demirtas, 32, a builder who was working on construction site in Van at the time.
"My house is ruined," he said, sitting on a low wall after spending the night in the open. "I am still afraid, I'm in shock. I have no future, there is nothing I can do."
The Red Crescent said about 100 experts had reached the earthquake zone to coordinate operations. Some 4,000 tents and 11,000 blankets, stoves and food were being distributed.
At Van airport, a Turkish Airlines cargo plane unloaded aid materials onto waiting military vehicles for distribution.
Workers set up a tent city in the Ercis sports stadium, as ambulances, sirens wailing, ferried the injured to hospital.
Dogan news agency reported that 24 people were pulled from the rubble alive in the two hours after midnight.
One nurse told CNN Turk news channel that Ercis hospital was so badly damaged that staff were treating injured in the garden, and bodies were being left outside the building,
Erdogan later returned to Ankara for a cabinet meeting to discuss the response to the disaster. He said Turkey could cope by itself, but thanked nations offering help, including Armenia and Israel, which both have strained relations with Ankara.
U.N Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said he was deeply saddened by the loss of life and devastation. "He expresses his heartfelt sympathies to the government and people of Turkey at this time of loss and suffering," a U.N. statement said.
The quake had no impact on Turkish financial markets as they opened on Monday. Industry Minister Nihat Ergun said Ankara would provide support for small businesses affected.
In Van, construction worker Sulhattin Secen, 27, said he had first mistaken the quake's rumble for a car crash.
"Then the ground beneath me started moving up and down as if I was standing in water. May God help us. It's like life has stopped. What are people going to do?"
(Additional reporting by Ibon Villelabeitia in Ankara; Writing by Simon Cameron-Moore and Daren Butler; Editing by Alistair Lyon)
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