By Sebastian Bailey, Contributor
How far have you come since setting those earnest New Year goals? And what do the next six months have in store – new experiences and challenge, or same old, same old? Mid-year performance reviews can leave us feeling fired up or flat, depending on how we feel about what’s next. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Fruitvale Station may be writer/director Ryan Coogler’s first feature film, but already he has mastered the gentle art of heartstring tugging. The movie begins with grainy, shaky, real cell phone footage of a group of young African-American guys sitting on the ground at a train station. It’s hard to make out exactly what is happening, but there’s a bit of shouting, mainly from the white police officers standing over them. One of the young guys is being held down on the ground by a police officer. He’s squirming, there’s a bit of a commotion, some more shouting, then BANG! All of a sudden, the police officer has fired his weapon and the young guy is not moving anymore.
It’s a powerful way to start the film – right at the end of this sad, true story. In the early hours of New Year’s Day in 2009 at Fruitvale Station in Oakland, California, Oscar Grant III was fatally shot in the back by a transit police officer. The officer claimed it was an accident, saying he was reaching for his taser instead of his gun, but regardless one man’s life was ended for no reason.
By The Huffington Post News Editors
WASHINGTON — A dramatic tax-raising deal last New Year‘s looked like it might be a breakthrough, signaling improved second-term relations between newly re-elected President Barack Obama and a divided Congress. At least that’s what the White House hoped.
But six months later, growing uncertainty over a sweeping immigration overhaul measure has dimmed expectations for a big summertime achievement and left Obama still in search of a marquee legislative accomplishment to mark his second four years.
Read More…
More on Immigration
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
Myanmar’s president said Sunday his country needs to learn from the violence and instability that has wracked the Southeast Asian nation over the last two years if it is to overcome the challenge of democratization.
Thein Sein spoke in a radio address broadcast to mark the start a day earlier of a traditional New Year holiday that is celebrated by revelers across Southeast Asia with friendly water fights.
Thein Sein, a former general, took office two years ago after Myanmar’s long ruling junta stepped down. He has since led an unprecedented transition toward democratic rule, releasing political prisoners, easing censorship and signing cease-fire deals with all but one of the nation’s rebel groups.
But the country has also been plagued by a war with ethnic Kachin rebels in the north, sectarian violence in western Rakhine state, and anti-Muslim pogroms in central Myanmar last month that left 43 dead in the city of Meikhtila and turned whole Muslim neighborhoods to ashen ruins.
“We have achieved successes that we had not hoped for and also experienced shocking and saddening events we had not expected,” Thein Sein said. But “during this long road toward democracy, we have to sustain our successes and take lessons from the losses, and be prepared to face the challenges ahead.”
For many decades, Myanmar’s four-day New Year festival, known as Thingyan, has marked one of the few times people here could cut loose under the watchful eye of their repressive leaders — albeit with squirt guns and high-powered hoses used to soak civilian targets.
The water has symbolically been used to cleanse past ills, and Thein Sein said people this year should use it to “cleanse black spots like the clashes, conflicts and instabilities” which plagued the nation.
Thein Sein‘s government imposed a state of emergency in the wake of the violence in Meikhtila last month, deploying the army to restore order.
From: http://feeds.foxnews.com/~r/foxnews/world/~3/5uCOZWoAeqM/
By Rich Duprey, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
It’s safe to call me something of a bear when it comes to electric vehicles. Though I find Tesla‘s luxury EVs sleek and awesome, I’m not ready to go so far with the automaker itself and am less than impressed with its quarterly profit reported the other day (at least till I see some hard-and-fast numbers).
And I’m still not willing to think General Motor‘s Chevy Volt is anything more than a taxpayer-financed, money-losing boondoggle at the moment as U.S. sales of the hybrid EV plunged 35% in March to 1,478 vehicles. And it should be noted that General Electric bought 160 of them — or 11% — for its fleet purchases. Consumer demand, therefore, is even less than what’s been depicted. Heck, even Tesla’s sold more EVs in the U.S. over the first three months of 2013 than GM has sold Volts and that was after juicing the financing with $3,000 in rebates.
While Toyota sold more than 22,000 Priuses in March, that’s 20% fewer than it sold last year.
Yet consumers are only willing to shell out $4 or $5 a gallon for gas for so long before they start looking at alternatives. And more so than Model Ss or Volts, it seems the EV they want is a Nissan Leaf, which recorded its best month ever for sales in March, moving 2,236 vehicles. Indeed, last month was the Japanese car maker’s best month ever across its Nissan and Infinity lines, with sales rising to 137,726 units, a 1% increase over 2012.
It remains difficult, nevertheless, to estimate real consumer demand for the cars since Nissan’s sales have been all over the place. Until last month, it hadn’t sold more than 1,500 cars in a month since Nov. 2012.
Along with all my other bearishness on the sector, I’m not sure the technology is completely ready for prime time. While the battery fires GM experienced has died from the headlines and the battery woes of the Tesla are no longer front and center, the implosion of A123 Systems and numerous other battery makers suggests there’s still room for technological improvement.
Yet after a sluggish start to the New Year, it could be that Nissan has turned over a new leaf and will give GM, Tesla, and even Toyota a run for their money in 2013.
Running down the highway
Near-faultless execution has led Tesla Motors to the brink of success, but the road ahead remains a hard one. Despite progress, a looming question remains: Will Tesla be able to fend off its big-name competitors? The Motley Fool answers this question and more in our most in-depth Tesla research available for smart investors like you. Thousands have already claimed their own premium ticker coverage, and you can gain instant access to your own by clicking here now.
CONVERSE, S.C., March 28 (UPI) — A South Carolina woman said a macabre display of tortured, executed dolls in her yard is part of a New Year‘s resolution not to be afraid to do what she wants.
By Alan Oscroft, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
LONDON — April will start off quite slowly for company news, but things will pick up around the middle of the month. There will be updates from a good few FTSE 100 companies, and we’ll keep you updated on them as the month progresses. But in advance, here are five of the most important diary dates.
April 11: Marks & Spencer
Marks & Spencer will be bringing us a fourth-quarter update on the 11th, shedding light on how the year to March 31 has gone — full results will be with us on May 21. The share price got a bit of a boost last week to 395 pence on rumors of an 8 billion pound bid in the offing from the Qatari Investment Authority, but other than that the shares have had a pretty lamentable few years.
Forecasts suggest a 7% drop in earnings per share, putting the shares on a price-to-earnings ratio of 12, with a nearly twice-covered dividend yield of 4.3%. With modest earnings and dividend rises penciled in for 2014 and 2015, the P/E would fall to 11 and 10.5, respectively, while the yield would rise to 4.5% and then 4.8%.
April 17: Tesco
Full-year results from Tesco are due on the 17th after what has been quite a tumultuous year. The share price famously slumped in January 2012 after the U.K.’s biggest supermarket reported a weak Christmas trading period. But since about October, the price has been steadily rising, reaching 378 pence today.
And this time around, things looked better over Christmas and New Year, with U.K. like-for-like sales up 1.8%, and the company reported “recovering in-store performance.” Forecasts for the year to Feb. 28 put the shares on a P/E of 12, with a 4% dividend yield.
April 24: GlaxoSmithKline
It’s time for first-quarter figures from GlaxoSmithKline on the 24th. The pharmaceuticals giant reported flat earnings for the year to December 2012 but lifted its total dividend by 5.7% to 74 pence per share for a yield of 5.5%. At the time, chief executive Sir Andrew Witty told us the firm expects 3% to 4% growth in core EPS for 2013, along with “further strong cash generation,” which should support increasing dividends.
Analysts are forecasting a 5.4% boost to this year’s annual payment, which would provide a yield of 5.2% on a share price of 1,506 pence — and that’s significantly above the average FTSE 100 dividend of around 3.1%.
April 24: Barclays
Barclays will also deliver first-quarter results on the 24th, continuing on from a strong performance in 2012, when the high-street bank reported a 24% rise in EPS and the fourth annual dividend raise in a row. After the 2009 payment was slashed to just 2.5 pence per share, it has crept back to 6.5 pence last year, with about 7.25 pence currently forecast for 2013. With the shares currently changing hands for 287 pence, that would be …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
As we celebrated the Samhein or the New Year with a Lubuntized wallpaper, now it’s time to make another one dedicated to my beloved fiesta, at the city of València in Spain, called Falles.
For those who don’t know what’s this about, just tell them it’s an ancient cult to the fire itself, as a life renewal symbol and the joy of passing through seasons (from autumn into spring). And they do …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Planet Ubuntu
By David Hanson, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
After sporting impressive capital ratios throughout 2012, and expanding into new markets with the acquisition of RBC Bank, PNC Financial Services will be rewarding its shareholders with an increased dividend.
Thursday evening, the Federal Reserve released the second part of the annual banking stress test results, which examined the largest U.S. banks’ ability to make capital distributions and maintain certain capital levels during an economic downturn. While it stood out as one of the most well-capitalized banks during last week’s stress tests, PNC shareholders received more good news, with an increased dividend, but they did not receive details.
Similar to its decision during last year’s tests, PNC did not release the amount by which it plans to hike its quarterly dividend. The bank’s board of directors will consider the official increase amount in April. Last year, PNC boosted its dividend roughly 17%. The company did acknowledge that it did not include a share repurchase plan in its capital plan because of its acquisition of RBC Bank, and other recent expansion efforts.
Despite the lack of details, these Comprehensive Capital Analysis and Review (CCAR) results highlight the strength and sustainability of PNC‘s balance sheet and evolving strategy.
How it will impact its capital ratios
Despite posting a lower actual Tier 1 common ratio in Q3 in 2012 compared to 2011 because of acquisitions, PNC posted an impressive minimum Tier 1 common ratio of 8.7% under the severely adverse scenario. That hypothetical 8.7% was determined with the assumption the bank will continue its $0.35 quarterly dividend throughout the nine-quarter stress period. Even with its newly approved capital plan, the CCAR results revealed that PNC‘s Tier 1 common ratio would only fall to 8.55%.
Regardless of some investors clamoring about the ease of the tests this year, it is hard to deny the improvements PNC has made to its balance sheet and business prospects. PNC‘s focus on building a stronger balance sheet, while continuing to expand into new markets when other banks are scaling back, should give investors confidence regarding the prospect of future capital gains, as well as dividends.
The big banks may be rushing to renew their focus on traditional banking, but well-run regional banks like PNC Financial are already there. PNC saw its share of hardships during the financial meltdown, but its management team thinks the bank is now back on track and ready to deliver for investors. Does this mean it’s time to buy PNC? To help you figure that out, one of The Motley Fool’s top banking analysts has authored a brand-new premium research report, delving into everything investors need to know about PNC today. To claim your copy, simply click here now for instant access.
A Pennsylvania family is pleading for any information on the disappearance of 17-year-old Jacob Samusenko, who was last seen nearly two months ago after returning home from a high school basketball game.
Lyubov Rafferty, the teen’s cousin, told FoxNews.com that Samusenko was last seen the night of Jan. 29, after his mother asked him to put the household trash outside their Eerie, Pa., home.
“Nobody actually saw him leave the house, but the trash was found outside, so we assume that’s what he did,” Rafferty said.
Samusenko’s mother discovered he was missing from the home later, after he failed to gather for nightly prayer with his parents and five siblings. Rafferty said it’s possible that Samusenko, a senior at Bethel Christian Academy, may have decided to go for a run around a part of Lake Eerie.
“It was uncharacteristically warm that night,” Rafferty recalled. “And we know it was one of his New Year‘s resolutions to go running on a daily basis.”
She said the boy’s mother drove around the route Samusenko would have run that night, but found no trace of her son. He was officially reported missing to police around 7 a.m. the following morning.
Rafferty claims police never searched the lake because it froze over by the next morning, when rain and snow began to cover the area. The teen’s disappearance is currently classified as a “missing persons case” because “there’s no evidence pointing in any specific direction,” Rafferty said.
“The family thinks he either went for a run and slipped into the lake, or somebody grabbed him,” she said, adding that the teen’s identification, wallet, money and coat were all left at the home. She also noted that Samusenko, a good student, was not depressed and had planned on attending Gannon University in Eerie for a degree in physical therapy.
A detective with the Eerie Police Department was not immediately available when contacted Thursday.
Samusenko is described as 5 foot, 5 inches tall and weighing approximately 130 lbs. He was last seen wearing black track pants. He has brown hair and brown eyes.
Anyone with information on Samusenko’s whereabouts is being urged to call the Eerie Police Department at 814-870-1115.
FoxNews.com’s Cristina Corbin contributed to this report.
By John Rosevear, The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
So far so good for General Motors in China in 2013: GM announced on Tuesday that its sales in the first two months of the year were up 7.9%.
That’s a respectable gain that comes even as key Japanese rivals like Toyota have reported declines, suggesting that GM, powered by solid results for its Buick and Chevrolet brands, could be gaining ground in the world’s largest auto market.
GM gains ground as Japanese rivals struggle
Not so long ago, the big Japanese automakers seemed poised for success in China, but nationalist feelings sparked by a territorial dispute between China and Japan last year led to sharp declines in sales for Toyota, Honda , and Nissan .
Toyota’s 2013 sales through February were down 13.3% from year-ago totals, suggesting that the Japanese giant – the leader in global sales in 2012 – still has work to do to repair its reputation in China. Honda and Nissan saw 4.1% and 14.1% declines over the same period, respectively.
Automakers doing business in China prefer to report January and February sales as a single combined total because of China‘s week-long New Year‘s celebrations, which sometimes fall in January and sometimes in February. Strictly speaking, nearly all automakers saw big increases in January and year-over-year declines in February this year – because those celebrations fell in February in 2013 and in January in 2012.
Meanwhile, General Motors, and in particular its Shanghai GM joint venture, which sells Buick, Chevrolet, and Cadillac models, has continued its steady growth trajectory so far in 2013.
Continued progress for GM’s key brands
Shanghai GM‘s sales were up 12.4% to 255,243 units in the first two months of 2013, a good gain and a record for the period. Highlights included strong sales for the upscale compact Buick Excelle XT hatchback and GT sedan, which saw sales rise more than 20% in February despite the holiday week. The Excelle GT and XT, China-only models that are closely related to the Buick Verano compact sold here in the U.S., have been consistently strong sellers for GM since their introduction in 2010.
Sales of the Chevrolet Malibu more than doubled in February, GM said, and the brand also saw a 22% gain for its Sail in February. The Sail, the first Chevy designed in and built specifically for the Chinese market, is an entry-level subcompact car that has been one of China‘s best-sellers since its introduction in 2010.
Cadillac sales were up on strong results for the SRX crossover, which is GM‘s key representative in the premium-SUV niche that has been one of China‘s hottest automotive segments in recent months. Cadillac’s overall China volumes are still tiny, especially in comparison with those of GM arch-rival Volkswagen‘s white-hot Audi brand. Increasingly, there are hints that GM has an ambitious long-range plan for Cadillac in China (and elsewhere), but such a plan is expected to take several years to implement.
Meanwhile, while VW hadn’t posted its February sales results …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
New Year, New Direction. Mississippi’s Boswell Regional Center Unveils New Website
MAGEE, Miss.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Boswell Regional Center, a Mississippi Department of Mental Health program in Magee, Mississippi recently unveiled a new look to its website, http://www.brc.ms.gov. The redesigned website features a fresh modern look and easier to locate navigation.
“The primary goal of the redesign is to reflect the new direction of our program. A direction intended to provide the individuals and families we serve with many new choices,” said Steven Allen, Director of Boswell Regional Center. “Our website is an important tool that allows us to showcase our services, history and programs. We are very excited about the future of our program and feel that the redesign will help us achieve our goals for years to come.”
Boswell Regional Center was established over 35 years ago and is one of five regional facilities in the state established to treat those with intellectual and developmental disabilities. Boswell operates under the Mississippi Department of Mental Health, which provides a continuum of care and services for thousands of Mississippians with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Other Information
Boswell website – http://www.brc.ms.gov
Official State of Mississippi website – http://www.ms.gov
About Mississippi Interactive
Mississippi Interactive is the official eGovernment solutions provider for the state of Mississippi. The company builds and manages interactive government services on behalf of the state and is a wholly owned subsidiary of eGovernment firm NIC (NAS: EGOV) .
About NIC
NIC Inc. (NASDAQ: EGOV) is the nation’s leading provider of official government portals, online services, and secure payment processing solutions. The company’s innovative eGovernment services help reduce costs and increase efficiencies for government agencies, citizens, and businesses across the country. NIC provides eGovernment solutions for more than 3,500 federal, state, and local agencies that serve 98 million people in the United States. Additional information is available at http://www.egov.com.
By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool
Filed under: Investing
Micro Business Owners Optimistic for the New Year
Vistaprint Survey Shows Small Businesses Owners Met Goal of Increasing Customer Base in 2012
VENLO, The Netherlands–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Vistaprint N.V. (NAS: VPRT) , a leading online provider of professional marketing products and services to micro businesses and the home, today revealed the results of its quarterly “Small Business Happiness Index.” The index gauges micro business owner sentiment and provides insights on topics that include overall happiness, customer growth, and revenue. Additionally, Vistaprint explored small business owners’ reflections on 2012, their outlook compared to this time last year, and their perspective on 2013.
Last year, the Small Business Happiness Index survey showed that the number one goal for small business owners was to increase their number of customers in 2012. This year, the survey revealed that 73 percent of small business owners did, indeed, see a positive increase in customer growth.
With regard to revenue, compared to this time last year, 60 percent of small businesses surveyed reported revenue growth in 2012, a slight decrease from the 71 percent of small business owners that reported an increase in revenue in 2011. However, 79 percent of small business owners anticipate their company will grow revenue in 2013.
“It is encouraging to hear that small business owners are optimistic about their revenue goals and company growth,” said Don LeBlanc, chief marketing officer for Vistaprint. “As a company, we are constantly evolving to meet the needs of our customers, and always look forward to the feedback from these surveys so that we can continue to help small business owners meet their goals with professional, affordable and personalized marketing materials.”
Similar to last year, a majority of the small business owners surveyed say word-of-mouth referrals from customers had the largest impact on customer growth. This year, small business owners plan to invest most in customer referrals through many strategies, including mentioning a referral program on business cards, postcards and marketing materials.
The quarterly Small Business Happiness Index survey generated nearly 1,300 responses from U.S.-based micro businesses (businesses with between 1-10 employees) and revealed that the vast majority of micro business owners are optimistic about running their own businesses, with 78 percent reporting that they are either happy or very happy. Even though it is only February, 48 percent of small business owners report that they are already on track to make …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance
By The Huffington Post News Editors
By Matt Spetalnick
WASHINGTON, March 2 (Reuters) – Just hours after across-the-board spending cuts officially took effect, President Barack Obama pressed Congress on Saturday to work with him on a compromise to halt a fiscal crisis he said was starting to “inflict pain” on communities across the United States.
Obama and a bipartisan group of congressional leaders failed on Friday to avoid the deep spending reductions known as the “sequester,” which automatically kicked in overnight in the latest sign of dysfunction in a divided Washington.
If left in place without legislative remedy, government agencies will have to hack a total of $85 billion from their budgets between Saturday and Oct. 1, cuts that over time could cause economic harm, slash jobs and curb military readiness.
“These cuts are not smart,” Obama said in his weekly radio and Internet address. “They will hurt our economy and cost us jobs. And Congress can turn them off at any time – as soon as both sides are willing to compromise.”
Obama signed an order on Friday night that started putting the cuts into effect.
At the heart of Washington’s persistent fiscal showdowns is disagreement over how to slash the budget deficit and the $16 trillion national debt, bloated over the years by wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and government stimulus for the ailing economy.
The Democratic president wants to close the fiscal gap with spending cuts and tax hikes – what he calls a “balanced approach.” But Republicans do not want to concede again on taxes after doing so in negotiations over the “fiscal cliff” at the New Year.
“The discussion about revenue, in my view, is over. It’s about taking on the spending problem,” John Boehner, the Republican House of Representatives speaker, said on leaving the talks between Obama and congressional leaders on Friday.
As Obama and his aides have done for weeks, the president in his radio address offered a litany of hardships he said would flow from the sequester, saying, “Severe budget cuts … have …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Huffington Post
President Hugo Chavez has been receiving chemotherapy since recovering from a severe respiratory infection in mid-January and “continues his battle for life,” his vice president said late Friday.
Vice President Nicolas Maduro suggested the chemotherapy was continuing in the government‘s first mention of it as among treatments that Venezuela‘s cancer-stricken president has received since his Dec. 11 cancer surgery in Cuba.
Maduro made the disclosure after a Mass for Chavez in a new chapel outside the military hospital where authorities say the socialist leader has been since being flown back to Caracas on Feb. 18.
The vice president quoted Chavez as saying he decided to return to Venezuela because he was entering “a new phase” of “more intense and tough” treatments and wanted to be in Caracas for them.
Maduro’s offering of the most detailed rundown to date of Chavez’s post-operative struggle came hours after an accusation by opposition leader Henrique Capriles that the government has repeatedly lied about Chavez’s condition.
“We’ll see how they explain to the country in the (coming) days all the lies they’ve been telling about the president’s situation,” Capriles, whom Chavez defeated in Oct. 7 elections, said in a tweet.
Chavez has not been seen nor heard from since going to Cuba for his fourth cancer surgery, except for a set of “proof of life” photos released Feb. 15 while he was still in Havana.
Chavez first revealed an unspecified cancer in the pelvic region in June 2011, and reported undergoing radiation treatment and chemotherapy after earlier operations.
The government has sent mixed signals on Chavez’s condition, although Maduro has said several times that Chavez was battling for his life. He repeated that Friday, and also accused opponents of spreading rumors about Chavez’s health to destabilize the nation.
Maduro, Chavez’s chosen successor, said his boss’ condition was extremely delicate over New Year‘s as he battled a respiratory infection that required a tracheal tube.
“In mid-January he was improving, the infection could be controlled, but he continued with problems of respiratory insufficiency. Afterward, there was a general improvement, and the doctors along with President Chavez decided to initiate complementary treatments,” Maduro said.
“You know what the complementary treatments are, right? They are chemotherapy that is applied to patients after operations.”
Cancer specialists couldn’t be reached immediately for comment on Maduro’s announcement. But oncologists have said that chemotherapy is sometimes given to slow a cancer’s progression, ease symptoms and extend a patient’s life.
The opposition says Chavez should either be sworn in for the new term he won in the election or declare himself incapable and call a new election. The constitution says he should have been sworn in on Jan. 10, but Venezuela‘s Supreme Court said it was OK to wait.
Earlier Friday, Maduro accused the Spanish newspaper ABC and Colombia’s Caracol network of spreading lies about Chavez’s condition.
ABC said without specifying its source that Chavez’s cancer had spread to a lung. It said he had been moved to an island compound in the Caribbean.
Chavez’s son-in-law, Science Minister Jorge Arreaza, said on state TV that Chavez continues “to fight hard …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Fox World News
We avoided New Year’s fiscal cliff, but we probably won’t avoid the sequester. How am I changing my economic forecast? Not much. (Background on the sequester for people who have been avoiding the subject: Sequestration is Washingtonian for automatic spending cut. Back in 2011, total federal debt was nearing its legal ceiling. Congress and the President had trouble finding common ground on the budget, and Congress refused to increase the debt limit without some move toward fiscal health. The deal was that a “Supercommittee” would be formed, which would find $1.5 trillion of deficit reduction over the ten-year planning horizon. The law stated that if a deficit plan was not enacted, then some budget cuts would automatically be implemented. The Supercommittee super-flopped, and we are now looking at those automatic budget cuts.) For forecasting purposes, we ignore the cries of imminent disaster (as much as it’s possible to ignore a crying baby or a yelping puppy). First we put the size of the spending cuts into perspective. The total amount of spending to be cut is $85 billion. This sounds like a lot of money to people who watch dollars and cents. It’s actually not too much money in Washington DC. Total federal spending last year was about $3.5 trillion, so the spending cut is roughly 2.4 percent of total expenditures. Anyone who has had to cut 2.4 percent from the family budget knows how difficult that is. However, these are not across-the-board cuts. Within the categories that are being cut, such as defense, the percentage reduction is as high as 7.8 percent. …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
Filed under: Coca-Cola Company, Stock Picks, Facebook, Tobacco, Dividend Stocks
It’s that time of the year again — the first days of Lent, when Catholics, and many Protestants as well, challenge themselves to forgo for 40 days a food, activity or product they love. The sorts of things “given up for Lent” tend to resemble the usual subjects of New Year‘s resolutions — like smoking and soda consumption — but recently even the use of social media has become fodder for 40 days of self-denial.
However, just because overindulging in such things is considered bad for you…
Give Up These 3 Vices for Lent, but Keep Them in Your Portfolio originally appeared on DailyFinance.com on 2013-02-20T05:00:00Z.
Full Circle Side-Pod Episode Thirteen: That’s How it Feels To Be Wrong
In this episode, Ubuntu Phone and TV.
File Sizes:
Running Time: 1 hour 21 mins 56 sec
Feeds for both MP3 and OGG:
RSS feed, MP3: http://fullcirclemagazine.org/category/podcast/feed
RSS feed, OGG: http://fullcirclemagazine.org/category/podcast/feed/atom
The podcast is in MP3 and OGG formats. You can either play the podcast in-browser if you have Flash and/or Java, or you can download the podcast with the link underneath the player. Show notes after the jump. 
Your Hosts:
Additional audio by Victoria Pritchard
Show Notes
01:52 | WELCOME and INTRO
04:52 | SINCE LAST TIME
14:46 | Catch-up with UDS and 13.04 Mid-Cycle Sprint with Alan, and we discuss rolling releases.
22:43 | Ubuntu Phone – the gloves are off!
In a video released over the New Year, Mark Shuttleworth demos the new Ubuntu Phone operating system.
In a glossy, well produced (if slightly long 8mins 37secs), Canonical founder and CTO Mark Shuttleworth talks us through Ubuntu Phone, An Industry Proposition, a product he hopes will challenge iOS, Android and now Tizen in the mobile market.
Some of the key features:
Ed’s links:
1.07:10 | Ubuntu TV:
1.19:37 …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Planet Ubuntu
February has arrived, and already the New Year’s break and its related resolutions feel like a distant memory. What were those resolutions again? Have you plunged back into the hectic, harried pace of 2012 and left your leadership resolutions behind? …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at Forbes Latest
By Leta Shy
It wasn’t too long ago that holiday excess transitioned to steadfast New Year‘s resolutions, but if you’ve fallen off the fit bandwagon, this week’s Mardi Gras and Lent offer another chance for you to recommit to a healthy resolution.
For many Christians, Tuesday’s Mardi Gras celebrations will lead to a season of penance starting on Wednesday that includes fasting, reflection, and giving up a vice. Even for some non-Christians or nonreligious folk, the 40-day period offers structure for those who’d like to do something to be healthier and happier.
Certain kinds of food are always popular for many people to give up for Lent; these 10 unhealthy foods are at the top of the list. Other people choose a different unhealthy vice, like smoking or too much TV. How about you? Are you giving something up for Lent, and if so, what is it?
