It News

November 28, 2012

America's Most Popular Holiday Destination Is ... ?

By Darren Booth | CNBC

Fliers this year can expect to pay about 8 percent more for holiday airfares and 6 percent more for New Year's airfares to top destinations than in 2011, according to a study released by Orbitz Monday. But some locations saw prices for flights and hotels drop.

The Orbitz Holiday Travel Insider Index analyzed hotel and flight booking data from its website to rank the most popular holidays destinations for 2012. The study provides the top 10 holiday destinations for Christmas and New Year's, evaluating the average airfare and daily hotel rates in each of the most popular
markets.

'sexy' Kim

China's People's Daily falls for 'sexy' Kim Jong-un spoof

RICK WALLACE, TOKYO CORRESPONDENT From: The Australian November 29, 2012

A SPOOF report declaring North Korea's portly young leader the "Sexiest Man Alive" for 2012 seems to have caught out China's main state-run newspaper.

The People's Daily Online reported, apparently in all seriousness, that The Onion had crowned Kim Jong-un, the rogue hermit state's playboy leader, this year's top international heart-throb.

'I'll keep that'

'I'll keep that': Prince William fuels Kate Middleton pregnancy rumours after accepting baby gift

28 Nov 2012
By Andy Rudd

Pilot Wills given baby romper suit with a picture of a helicopter and the words “Daddy’s little co-pilot” during Cambridge walkabout

Prince William has fuelled rumours that he and Kate Middleton are planning to have children soon after he accepted a baby present during a walkabout in Cambridge.

Facebook Makes It Official: An External Advertising Network Is Coming Soon

By Mathew Ingram on November 26, 2012

A view of an Apple iPad and iPhone displaying the Facebook app's splash screen

There’s been a lot of discussion over the past few days about the recent changes to Facebook’s (FB) privacy and governance policies—including the revelation that (gasp!) Facebook is not actually a democracy—but one element of the new rules has gotten less attention than it probably should: Namely, the giant social network is going to use the data it has about your likes and dislikes to show you ads outside of Facebook. This is the first real confirmation that the company is going to roll out an advertising network that extends beyond just its own walled garden, and it could turn out to be one of the biggest factors in the success or failure of Facebook’s revenue-growth strategy.

Home prices: Biggest rise in more than 2 years

By Chris Isidore | CNNMoney.com

2012/11/27
In another sign of a housing market rebound, home prices posted the biggest percentage gain in more than two years in the third quarter, according to the closely followed S&P/Case-Shiller index.
The 3.6% increase from a year earlier is more than three times the rise in the previous quarter and was the biggest jump in prices since the second quarter of 2010. But that 2010 rise was much more of a temporary

Marvin Miller

Marvin Miller spoke truth to power, changed sports forever

By Thomas Boswell, Tuesday, November 27,2012

The most important man in sports in the past 40 years died at age 95 on Tuesday. Marvin Miller, whose union won free agency for baseball players in 1975 and thus eventually gained the same fundamental bargaining rights for all pro athletes, lived to see his vilified ideas utterly vindicated. What started as a cause became commonplace. What was once controversial became incontrovertible.

When I started on the baseball beat, there was no free agency, in baseball or any sport. It was a different world. One story from that time defines for me why everything Miller stood for was right — both then and in

$500 million

Record Powerball result of changes to boost sales

2012/11/27
By By DAVID PITT, Associated Press

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The historic Powerball jackpot boosted to $500 million on Tuesday was all part of a plan lottery officials put in place early this year to build jackpots faster, drive sales and generate more money for states that run the game.
Their plan appears to be working.
Powerball tickets doubled in price in January to $2, and while the number of tickets sold initially dropped, sales revenue has increased by about 35 percent over 2011.

Google’s Search for a Second Act

By Jeff Macke | Breakout 2012/10/18

Google (GOOG) reports third quarter results after the bell today in one of the most highly anticipated events of this earnings season. According to Yahoo Finance the Street is expecting Google to have earned $10.65 per share on revenues of $11.9 billion. As usual, the numbers mean less than the guidance and updates on the company's growing stable of business lines.
With GOOG stock up 30% in the 3 months since their last report, traders have a lot riding on the name. In the attached clip IronFire Capital founder Eric Jackson tells Breakout what he wants to hear from the company tonight.

5 dividend stocks that insiders like

By Meena Krishnamsetty | MarketWatch 2012/10/18

Sometimes, dividend yields can look attractive because the company's stock price has dropped; this can be a concern if the lower stock price is tied to poorer business performance, which could in turn lead to dividend cuts. It's also generally a good idea to review a history of insider purchases and sales — particularly purchases, as they tend to be more predictive of future performance — when looking at stocks. Here are five stocks which pay high dividend yields, are at least flat year to date, and have seen at least one insider purchase in the last three months:
Aldo Zucaro, CEO of Old Republic International Corporation(ORI), bought about 10,000 shares of the company in August 2012. Old Republic is an insurer whose products include asset insurance (auto, marine, etc.) and specialty coverage. It is unprofitable when looking at the last four quarters, but grew its revenue slightly in the second quarter of 2012 and sell-side analyst consensus is for positive

A Daily Multivitamin Reduces Cancer Risk in Older Men

By Olivia B. Waxman October 18, 2012

There hasn’t been strong evidence to support the idea that vitamins can combat cancer—until now.

In the first rigorous, long-term study of multivitamins and their effect on cancer, older men who took daily vitamins lowered their risk of cancer by 8% compared to men who skipped the supplements over an average of 11 years of follow up.

Participants included 14,641 male U.S. male physicians ages 50 and over for 11 years enrolled in the Physicians’ Health Study. The men were randomly assigned to take a multivitamin —Centrum Silver — or a placebo, and neither they nor the scientists were aware of their status. Overall, they were healthy; two-thirds exercised on a regular basis and only 4% were current smokers. The doctors’ mean age was 64. Nine percent (1,312) reported a history of cancer (excluding nonmelanoma skin cancer).

(MORE: Vitamins and Supplements Linked to a Higher Risk of Death)

Bank of America says housing has ‘begun to turn,’ but mortgages still bring banks headaches

Associated Press, Published: October 17

NEW YORK — For banks, mortgage-making kept profits humming before the financial crisis, then blackened reputations and stamped out earnings when the crisis hit.

Now, the business of mortgage lending is more of a mixed bag.
Bank of America, the country’s second-biggest bank, reported Wednesday that mortgage originations jumped over a year ago — up 18 percent to $21 billion. But the mortgage unit still lost money as the bank worked through problem mortgages issued before the crisis.

Federal Reserve bombing plot foiled in NYC

FBI says man tried to blow up Federal Reserve Bank in NYC

Atlanta Business Chronicle by Carla Caldwell, Morning Call Editor
Date: Thursday, October 18, 2012

Federal prosecutors have charged a 21-year-old Bangladeshi man with conspiring to blow up the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The man, Quazi Mohammad Rezwanul Ahsan Nafis, tried to remotely detonate what he believed was a 1,000-pound bomb in a van he parked outside the building in Lower Manhattan on Wednesday, reports the New York Times.
Nafis, who came to the United States in January on a student visa, worked to make contacts and recruit people to form a terrorist cell to help him carry out an attack, according to a criminal complaint in the case.

The Best and Worst U.S. Cities for Travel Taxes

How Much of Your Vacation Dollar Goes to Levies on Hotel Rooms, Rental Cars and Flights by Municipalities
By SCOTT MCCARTNEY

17, 2012
In Chicago, the tax on a case of Miller Lite beer runs about 9%. That pales in comparison with the 16.4% tax on a hotel room and the 23% tax on car rentals at O'Hare International Airport.

Travel is one of the most heavily taxed activities in the U.S., even though most cities and towns try hard to encourage visitors and tourism. Travelers don't vote where they travel, so cash-strapped cities and states continue to push fees and taxes onto hotel rooms, rental cars and airports. Cigarettes are about the only thing taxed more heavily among consumer purchases.

Is The Idea Of 'Gay Travel' Counterproductive?

10/16/2012
Form huffingtonpost.com

During my recent visit to the all-but-destroyed island of Bali, a local friend convinced me to stay someplace I wouldn't have chosen on my own: Spartacvs, an all-male, clothing-optional resort.

Now, I love naked men as much as the next gay dude with a travel blog. But my sexuality is never among my first considerations when choosing a destination.

Ironically, since Bali's scenery and culture, which are always among my first considerations when choosing a destination, have been badly mutilated by decades of excessive tourism, Spartacvs became something of a refuge for me.

Amazon to hire more than 50,000 for holiday season

2012/10/16

A box from Amazon.com is pictured on the porch of a house in Golden

(Reuters) - Online retail giant Amazon.com Inc said it will hire more than 50,000 seasonal employees at its fulfillment centers across the United States, as the company and its rivals gear up for the winter holiday season.
Retailers typically add seasonal staff in the weeks leading up to the holiday shopping season to work in stores and help in other areas, such as in distribution and fulfilling online orders.
"Temporary associates play a critical role in meeting increased customer demand during the holiday

Vikram Pandit to Step Down as Citigroup CEO

By CNBC | CNBC
2012/10/16

File photograph of Citigroup's CEO Vikram Pandit giving an interview on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange

Vikram Pandit announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as CEO of Citigroup. The board of directors named Michael Corbat its new chief executive.
President and Chief Operating Officer John Havens also resigned.
After finishing 5.5 percent higher Monday, shares of Citigroup (C) were lower in pre-market trading following the announcement. (Click here to get the latest quotes for Citigroup.)

10 Money Mistakes That Can Ruin a Marriage

By Renee Morad | Money Talks News – Fri, Oct 12, 2012

Couples who reported disagreeing about finances once a week were 30 percent more likely to get divorced than couples who reported disagreeing about them once a month.

As anyone who’s been there knows, there’s no such thing as a friction-free marriage. But arguing can be ominous when the topic is money.
Couples who reported disagreeing about finances once a week were 30 percent more likely to get divorced than couples who reported disagreeing about them once a month, according to a Utah State University study.
In another survey, published in the Forum for Family and Consumer Issues, finances proved to be the leading cause of conflict in marriage, with 39 percent of respondents listing it as their primary issue and 54 percent as their secondary issue.
Here are 10 of the most common mistakes couples make when dealing with money.

1. Not talking enough about finances

Citigroup profit drops as it writes down brokerage unit

2012/10/15
(Reuters) - Citigroup Inc said quarterly profit plunged on a $4.7 billion write-down of its stake in a brokerage operated by Morgan Stanley, but North American mortgage lending revenue increased and capital markets results rebounded.
The New York-based global bank on Monday said third-quarter net income was $468 million, or 15 cents a share, compared with $3.77 billion, or $1.23 a share, a year earlier.
Adjusted earnings, excluding the previously announced write-down and an accounting charge for the change in the value its debt, was $3.27 billion, or $1.06 cents a share, compared with $2.57 billion, or 84 cents a share, a year earlier.

Cramer's Earnings Preview for Next Week

By Drew Sandholm | CNBC

What follows is "Mad Money" host Jim Cramer's "Game Plan" for the week of Monday, Oct. 15.
MONDAY, OCT. 15
Citigroup (C) will report earnings before Monday's opening bell. Although earnings results from rivals JPMorgan Chase (JPM) and Wells Fargo (WFC) failed to excite Wall Street Friday, Cramer thinks the banking sector is still worth a look.
(Related: Big Opportunity in Banks: Pro.)
"The group is cheap. The companies are making tons of money and they will soon be returning billions of dollars to shareholders," Cramer said. "They're making gobs of cash thanks to the robust mortgage market."
Unfortunately for Citi, though, Cramer doubts it will have enough mortgage business to offset its weakness in emerging markets.
"I'd stick with JPMorgan and buy more Wells Fargo before I'd venture into the world of Citigroup, though," he added.
(Read More: Are JPMorgan's Revenue Springs Drying Up?)
TUESDAY, OCT. 16
Coca-Cola (KO) is scheduled to deliver earnings Tuesday morning.
"KO shot the lights out last quarter and I bet it's even better this time because the dollar has gotten weaker versus where it was the last time they reported," Cramer said. "That's going to make for a

Former Cambodian King Norodom Sihanouk Dies

Ron Corben
October 14, 2012

BANGKOK — Chinese state media reports that Cambodia's King Norodom Sihanouk, one of Southeast Asia's defining leaders, has died in Beijing. He was 89. King Sihanouk led Cambodia to independence, but war and his role in the murderous reign of the Khmer Rouge marred his life and times.