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Gap-fill exercise

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Microsoft Sends In the Clouds at TechEd 2012

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) put its updated cloud offerings and business tools the spotlight Monday for the start of its annual TechEd Conference.

In the keynote address kicking off the confab, Satya Nadella, president Microsoft server and tools business, discussed Microsoft's focus helping consumers transition to cloud computing.

Nadella outlined the company's three various cloud solutions designed different types of customers company recently released a cloud-optimized upgrade to Windows Server 2012, with updates storage, network scalability Windows Azure also received an upgrade with additional support across several platforms.

The newest software release is the final shipping version of Windows Intune 3, adds management and security benefits on device management Each PC covered Intune will receive a Windows 8 upgrade when that software launches.

It's twentieth annual TechEd North America conference, and more 10,000 IT professionals gathered in Orlando

see what the company be rolling out this year Microsoft hopes that the new cloud offerings it is showcasing the event can help steer an easy customer transition into cloud.

The company also showed its upcoming Windows 8 platform The final version of the system is expected

launch by the end of this year and feature greater mobile platform versatility previous versions At TechEd Tuesday, Microsoft specifically highlighted the ways Windows 8 is "enterprise-ready design," touting its improved security and management features.

Together, the new Windows Server, Azure and Intune offerings meant to ease a gradual consumer shift the cloud With many major software and hardware providers looking to also expand their cloud offerings, Microsoft needs identify the areas where

it can become the industry standard, said Larry Carvalho, owner of RobustCloud, told TechNewsWorld.

"With the amount of existing customers already Exchange, Office 365 is a place that Microsoft shows an area where it

currently leading," he said.

By rolling its three-pronged approach to cloud integration across public, private and hybrid clouds, Microsoft also showing it can be the cloud solution a variety of markets.

"Where it can be a leader is in Infrastructure a Service, especially with their support of multiple languages and frameworks,"

said "The announcement shows Microsoft's understanding of marketplace demands and their strategy matches behind these needs."

That understanding of the market across multiple sectors sits well with developers, said Carvalho, could be a huge advantage for the seasoned company as it attempts a shift into the cloud computing area.

"Microsoft's experience in courting developers puts the chances their cloud success ahead Oracle (Nasdaq: ORCL), IBM (NYSE: IBM) and HP," said Carvalho.

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A beta version of the system available next month will give individuals the ability to change their devices Windows 7 and Windows 8 without having to reconfigure applications or settings The flexibility could also be a draw large corporations reluctant undergo a massive transition to a new operating system.

Still, Microsoft has a way to go before it can prove Windows 8 is going truly be the system that the tech world

been waiting, said Michael Silver, research vice president and distinguished analyst at Gartner (NYSE: IT).

"Microsoft has a few challenges, and I'm not sure they will resolved by the end of week," he told TechNewsWorld large enterprises will largely skip Windows 8 for traditional PCs, but they may deploy it for tablets and hybrid or convertible devices The real question is if Microsoft can improve its lot with consumers, which has been very difficult for them in the past."

"Mid-Adapted from: TechNewWorld, June 12, 2012; Available at

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Bank Of England Offers Loans To Spark Economy

UK bank stocks risen strongly after the Bank England pledged to offer new, low-cost loans toencourage lending Britain's shrinking economy

a speech in the City of London last night, the bank's governor Sir Mervyn King blamed eurozone crisis for

"exceptional circumstances" which banks are struggling to borrow affordable rates from international markets

Sir Mervyn said: "It would complement the Government's existing schemes, and tackle high level of funding costs directly "Itcould, hope, be place within a few weeks."

response, shares in part-nationalised Royal Bank of Scotland and Lloyds banking Group were the biggest risers

on the FTSE 100 early trading - up six and 4 per cent respectively Barclays' share price rose 3%

But there was some scepticism

Banking commentator Iain Anderson told Sky News: "Given the stresses in system the moment, this is going

have to be a very significant package to a difference

"We're going to have to see detail, we're going to have to the numbers before we can work if it canmake a difference."

The shadow Chancellor Ed Balls argued the bank and Treasury could not use the eurozone crisis an excuse forthe shift policy

He told Sky News it an admission that the UK economy's recovery had damaged by the coalition's lack of action

to secure growth

In his speech, the Chancellor also outlined Government's proposals to prevent future banking crises and protect depositors'and taxpayers' money in the of a banking collapse

George Osborne told City grandees in Mansion House speech: "I believe that we have found a workable way

solve I called the 'British dilemma' - protecting British taxpayers in a that does not make the UK uncompetitive as

home of global banks."

New reforms to banking regulation, based the recommendations of the Independent Commission Banking,

splitting high street and investment banks to ensure ordinary savers' money is protected risky investments goingwrong

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The banking industry has resisted the reforms arguing they will push the cost of business and that higher costswill have to be passed to customers who have grown accustomed free banking services.

Kevin Burrowes, UK financial services leader at PwC said: "We all want stable, highly competitive, customer focused UKbanking sector

"The very heavy burden of all this regulation and the management effort required address it could potentially ourbanks uncompetitive globally

"The rapidly growing financial institutions emerging markets will seek exploit the opportunities this gives them."

Adapted from: Sky News, June 15, 2012

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Analysts Cut Earnings Forecasts, Embarassingly Late

Mid-year profit warnings in northern Europe have -footed equity analysts who forecast strong earnings a globaleconomic slowdown — the latest embarrassment a profession whose own value many investors question

Thomson Reuters data average analysts' forecasts for earnings growth Germany, Netherlands,Switzerland, Sweden, Norway and Belgium were broadly stable, or even raised, the first half of the year

Yet in that there was no shortage of evidence of global slowdown, China and the struggling euro states ofsouthern Europe business sentiment surveys even from the of Germany Sure enough, among the mid-yearupdates from companies, a raft of profit warnings disappointed investors who the advice of bullish analysts andhave seen share drop

Many analysts are revising estimates downwards, but some clients the damage is Many see it asundermining — again — the entire case brokers employing research analysts at and question their objectivity.Analysts themselves say, — and many fund managers agree - that the value of work is far

confined to profit and share price forecasts

They do not lack critics, : "They're not very valuable," said fund manager Michael MacPhee Baillie Gifford

"Human are incredibly bad forecasting anything," he said, adding that he and colleagues rarely saw any point

even speaking to analysts investment banks

For some, forecasting has little more credibility aimlessly throwing at a board Unsurprisingly, Peter Steiner,analyst at BHF-Bank in Frankfurt, disagrees His forecasting has a clear empirical , he says

Like most of counterparts, he constructs computer models of the businesses covers These formulae-filledspreadsheets attempt capture the variables, such commodity prices and interest , which determine acompany's profits Steiner constantly updates the variables the model to reflect changing circumstances,

refining his forecasts

Critics, however, say many analysts seem actually more influenced by and winks from investor relationsdepartments — to analysts usually send their research notes before publishing — than the answers thrown out

by their models

The narrow deviation analysts forecasts around the average or consensus level often seen as proof of this, andthe result can be that forecasts fail to get of market data as analysts wait for managers to tell them of the on theirbusinesses of economic trends visible earlier

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In with other analysts, Steiner then cut his price target following interview, to 29 euros share from

36 euros However, by that , the share price had already fallen over 5 percent around 20 euros a share

Had the analysts foreseen weakening of profits, which a reading of economic data Metro's European marketsmight helped predict, then they might have cut forecasts a week earlier and their clients could netted big profits

Similarly, analysts were surprised June 26, when German chipmaker Infineon lowered its sales and margin outlook, less

two months after it raised its sales outlook

And the same day, steelmaker Salzgitter said profits would fall sharply this year Just six weeks earlier, on May 15, theGerman firm said it expected stable profit in 2012

Adapted and abridged from: CNBC, July 13, 2012

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Businesses Slow to Adopt Health-Care Reform Requirements

The Supreme Court's decision uphold the Affordable Care Act caused changes all Americans, but perhaps businesses

most affected New research, , has found that a majority of those businesses have not the steps necessary to meet the requirements of the law set to effect in 2014.

Businesses did not a decision on to do because they were waiting for the Supreme Court to rule the Affordable Care Act that the law has been upheld, 40 percent of businesses said will begin taking action to become compliant Another 16 percent said they will wait after the election in November to start changes.

The initial delay by employers now many businesses worrying about they need to do to comply the law Almost half of the respondents said that the tax on high-cost plans set to go effect in 2018 is their top concern of

new law An additional 28 percent of respondents were worried the part of the law requiring employees working more than 30 hours a week to be eligible health-care coverage.

"Employers with large part- populations, such as retailers and health-care organizations, are faced the difficult choice of either increasing the number of employees eligible coverage, or changing their work strategy so that employees work fewer hours," said David Rahill, president of the health and benefits business human resources consulting firm Mercer,

conducted the research “With the average cost of health coverage now exceeding $10,000 employee, a big jump

enrollment is not economically feasible many employers."

One way businesses are looking help with costs is by pursuing other health benefit management strategies More half of the respondents to the survey said they would be pursuing strategies to keep costs down.

The information in this research was on a poll of more than 4,000 employees.

Adapted from: CNBC, July 11, 2012.

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Weak Sales Deflate Business Owners’ Optimism: Survey

Small business owners’ pessimism the U.S economy seems to be rising temperature For the second month in a

, the Small Business Optimism Index declined, according to a monthly by the National Federation of IndependentBusiness

“Optimism fell last year at the same , but not like this,” said William Dunkelberg, chief economist theNFIB The index was three points in June, after a one-tenth of a point decline in May

Hiring small business owners remains weak, according the survey construction and manufacturingsaw increases, overall, the index saw a three-point decrease the survey from May Nine percent of the owners adding

average of 2.6 workers per firm over the past months, and 12 percent reduced employment an average 2.8 The remaining 79 percent of owners no change in employment

Capital spending, , was down, with a three-point decrease from May, as 52 percent of respondents said havepurchased equipment, vehicles, or facilities over the six months In 2007, number was 60 percent

However, said Dunkelberg, the salient indication that optimism will not increase soon is the sales number —down 7 points in past three months “That drives everything,” he said “Profits, the need to hire, funds makingcapital expenditures Without sales, you have of that.”

Weak sales were cited 23 percent of respondents as their biggest business problem; 28 percent reported lower sales

the past three months, while 26 percent said had higher sales

The survey, was sent to members in early June, measured, for the part, the sentiments of 740 small businessowners before the Supreme Court’s ruling the health-care mandate, which many small business owners saidwould create an extra burden if they had to provide health insurance all employees The NFIB was a plaintiff thecase that went the Supreme Court in March, arguing that the individual mandate was unconstitutional The court

in late June that the mandate was constitutional, calling it a tax

“The predominant view business owners is that Obamacare is good, and they were hoping adecision that would take it apart, at the mandate part,” said Dunkelberg, who said that the court’s decision had little effect

this month’s survey, but predicted it will depress the optimism index in the months

Is there anything that could push business owners to reverse course now and November? Dunkelberg said that a stagnantCongress and the economic situation in Europe don't Main Street a lot of reason to hope things will change anytime

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“Washington keeps nothing There are two strong sides, and keeps the other from doing anything Washington isparalyzed, and Europe is falling ,” he said.

While real estate could continue its trend in some markets, and profitability might hold in some sectors, the overalleconomy is going to continue seeing and starts, he said

“We’re going to be pessimistic November, when we see what the voters say and what we’re going to be on," hepredicted "Then, we may still be pessimistic, but at least know what direction we’ll be ”

Adapted from: CNBC, July 10, 2012

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4 Tips for Building a Mighty Brand

It all started with a shirt

Kevin Plank, University of Maryland football player, wanted to practice and play something a little more

than cotton He was tired wet, soggy, thin T-shirts —he needed something that would him dry, butnot weigh him as an athlete Seven prototypes followed The most impressive iteration was of lightweightpolyfibers and didn't hold to moisture; it also applied compression —which hadn't done It became the stapleUnder Armour T-shirt

Sixteen years , the desire to continue to create something better than already exists has led Plank's sportswearfirm project a 2012 net revenue exceeding $1.78 billion Plank is Under Armour's president, CEO, and board chairman He

led the expansion of the Under Armour brand a wide array of kinds of athletic apparel, well asstreet-wear shoes and accessories

It's easy to forget that not so ago, Under Armour wasn't a household Here's how Plank took his company fromleft-field idea to mainstream

Solve Real-World Problems

When you work , you sweat When you sweat your clothes wet — and then you're stuck them ToPlank this was a problem So he says he a solution "Our job is to be smart , to be humble enough, to identifywhat's happening out in the world and what are the things we can do to it a little bit better," Plank says Heworked to Under Armour an aspirational brand — but not one that's too out of for average consumers: Thebrand's self-stated mission to "empower athletes everywhere."

Stay Focused on a Single Mission

a white board in Plank's office, a simple message helps not lose of his initial goal: "Don't forget to sellshorts and shoes," it In other words: Never lose sight of your primary It was a steadfast focus on this goal thatfirst enabled Plank to start his business in 1996 — and for its growth to reach rocket-speed By 2003 Under Armour was No

2 the Inc 500

Believe in the Power of Other People

When Plank started Under Armour, had $17,000 in cash and $40,000 available credit cards to fund the company

"[I was] smart enough to be nạve to not know what I couldn't accomplish," he says But Plank says not knowing

quickly he could burn his funds made Plank take the entrepreneurial leap of , and learn the value of the people

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believed in him.

Incredibly grateful to those who helped him started, Plank launched a fund at the University of Maryland financebudding entrepreneurs "We can get up with all the things we can't do, but I encourage people believe," Planksays "Optimism is a free stimulus — so why not us — and not you?"

Trust Mom

When Kevin Plank spoke National Small Business Week in Washington, D.C., he brought his mother Karen Mills,Small Business Administration administrator, approved, saying as introduced Plank: "Anybody brings their motheralong is OK by me."

But Plank more than polite reason to bring his mom along It was who introduced Plank to some of his mostvaluable initial relationships And — many entrepreneurs' mothers have at one time or — she also providedsome funds his fledgling business "Any self-respecting entrepreneur has borrowed money form their mother at some

," Plank says

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In February 2008, Leah Busque was headed to dinner with her husband when realized they were of dog food She had no idea that simple need at specific moment would eventually lead to creating a business providing thousands of opportunities.

She registered for the domain for TaskRabbit.com that night and four months left her job as an IBM software engineer to start the San Francisco- online tasks marketplace.

"How other companies can say they've created 4,000 jobs in the last 12 months?" said Busque "To me, it's a staggering number for a start of our size That's what me really excited about the opportunity and the picture."

Concierge and errand-running service start ups have cropped to provide quick gigs for people seeking supplemental income or

spending money, including Exec, a task-management service offered as employee perk; Agent Anything, in college students complete tasks; and Zaarly, which attracted $1 million investors, including actor Ashton Kutcher.

But some of her 4,000 "taskrabbits" do run quick such as delivering groceries or cleaning, Busque is thinking beyond that — she wants to create she calls "micro-entrepreneurs." "The vision for TaskRabbit is to revolutionize the world's labor

Can you explain your concept micro-entrepreneurship?

We're at a where people are starting to rethink and redefine what work to them, and the typical 9-to-5 job that you work

for 40 hours a week and retire from after 30 years is an old of thinking This concept of micro-entrepreneurship is to get people the tools and resources to be own bosses, and decide how they want to work, how much they want to

paid and what skills they want share.

How did the recession actually into your success?

I incorporated and launched in September 2008, right the stock market had crashed, the economy was shambles and people were getting off left and right I was surprised by wanted to be taskrabbits — lawyers, pharmacists, teachers, all

had just been laid off typical full-time careers When these people came to me, that's when it me just how much potential this tiny idea

So you know of people who are making a doing this work full time?

We have seen that For , Chris in San Francisco laid off from his job at Macy's and is now about $5,000 per month doing handyman services full , which used to be his hobby on the Another person we know this is Mark

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in Boston, who worked construction and got laid off in 2008 On TaskRabbit, he started a lot of handyman-type jobs, and he has made the as the economy has improved not to go to a full-time job but to continue being his own

We see folks in every market we've launched who are doing this full time.

The key here is people embracing they thought was a hobby or just something they like to do the side — whether that's handyman , event planning or amateur photography — and making that their full-time work It's really about

empowering people to do what love.

Have you seen more demand people interested in this type of work vs traditional jobs?

We have another 5,000 taskrabbits a waitlist We get emails from people day asking when TaskRabbit is coming to their city, so we're working as we can to expand to locations.

Do you think this shows an entrepreneurial solution the jobs problem can be more efficient than a political solution?

I just know that times of economic turmoil and downturns, we entrepreneurs emerge, and it's happening now more than

I believe this is not just TaskRabbit's platform, but it's about enabling thousands of entrepreneurs this country to take the concept of work into their own and on their own

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As the economy colors and polarizes voters' attitudes, the Election Day outcome President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney may be decided the margins by narrower issues energize small but crucial slivers of the population.

three months, the economy by most measures faltered Yet the White House contest has remained locked in , with the incumbent holding to a slight national lead or in a virtual with his rival Analysts from both parties have no

that absent a defining, unpredictable moment, the race will remain neck and until November.

That, several strategists say, means secondary issues such as health , immigration, education, even little mentioned social issues

as abortion, guns or gay rights could a difference when targeted to the audiences those conditions, the advantage, these strategists say, rests Obama.

"Part of the power of the presidency, of the power of incumbency, is having the ability an executive order to

rules, make effective law that is deeply satisfying a large group of supporters," said Steve Schmidt, Republican John McCain's presidential campaign manager in 2008 and aide in President George W Bush's re-election operation "Being able to deliver if you're an incumbent president really important parts of the Democratic party coalition, that's enormously important thing."

Obama already moved to shore up his support certain voting blocs, with directives on birth and

immigration.

He's given his backing to marriage and brawled with congressional Republicans on of lower student loan rates.

Each issue won praise from disparate groups of voters, many of had voiced frustration with the president or enthusiasm for Obama had been waning.

"In every single state will be micro-targeted advertisement, direct mail, or online campaign to get voters there to kind of hit them those personal issues that are important them," said Rodell Mollineau, president of a pro-Obama political organization, American Bridge "Whether you're pro-choice or -choice, pro-immigration or anti-immigration, you will be touched one or the other."

The role of these secondary issues is similar the part that gay marriage ballot initiatives played in 2004 contest between President George W Bush and Democratic John Kerry That election was dominated by the war in Iraq and national security

Though the extent to 11 ballot issues, especially ones in Michigan and Ohio, helped turn Bush voters eight years ago is a matter of debate, many analysts believe the initiatives at primed the vote for the incumbent.

Adapted and abridged from: CNBC, July 14, 2012.

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EPEAT CEO: Apple's Exit Spurred a Customer Backlash

On Monday, Apple public with its decision to pull its products a popular environmental registry On Friday, it'sback in What gives?

It turns the customer backlash was big

In a letter posted the Apple website, hardware chief Bob Mansfield calls Apple's move to pull computers from theElectronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) environmental lists "a mistake," and says Apple's relationship

EPEAT "has become stronger as a of this experience."

But there's a more to it than that

In a phone conversation with EPEAT CEO Robert Frisbee, I learned that Apple's exit from the organization major waves.Frisbee said he got a flood of feedback "dozens" of purchasers, many of were concerned that they wouldn't be

to follow through planned purchases that included Apple equipment

EPEAT-certified goods up more than $65 billion in purchases annually Frisbee said he didn't know Applereceived the same volume of feedback (But I bet they )

Here's Apple's reversal really matters The old Apple didn't care this kind of stuff It sold its products

overwhelmingly to individual , and one of the advantages was that it didn't to worry too much thepreferences of corporate purchasing departments

Sure, were small exceptions — it sold an eMac computer to education customers that was crafted the needs ofthat institutional audience, for example But Apple has largely shrugged the concerns of corporate customers, at least whenthey conflicted Apple's internal priorities making a more elegant product

Note that its laptops no have the removable batteries I.T departments covet, and the version of Apple's Final CutPro editing program was a drastic departure from previous versions it upended professional video workflows,and prompted some pro video shops abandon the product

Which brings us to EPEAT situation The new Apple is poised become the largest technology company in theworld revenue – and if it's going to fulfill potential, it can't afford to alienate major purchasers of Macs, iPhonesand iPads

No question, that's exactly Apple's withdrawal of its products from the EPEAT registry would have Some majorbuyers like educational customers and governments require that or all of their technology purchases be EPEAT certified NoThis is not registered version of Total HTML Converter

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Perhaps important, Apple had developed a reputation corporate purchasing departments for not being the easiestsupplier to work

The real danger here might been bruising the trust of the institutional purchasers will be a key constituency if theiPad and iPhone are going to become mainstays of the office as as the home

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China Has Massive Firepower to Battle Global Slowdown: Stephen Roach

Plenty of market pundits point to China the main culprit behind weakness in the US stock

They say because the data suggests China’s economy is slowing you should run for ; China is trouble.

But Yale University senior fellow and former Morgan Stanley Asia executive chairman Stephen Roach thinks they’re all of hooey.

“ of people who say things like this,” he tells us CNBC’s Fast Money Halftime Report “Oftentimes they’re just talking

own book.”

What he thinks China skeptics don’t understand or conveniently forget is that China is an export and investment led economy.

“Urbanization in China is happening at a that the world has never seen before Currently, China is moving 15-20 million people

the countryside into the city and to do that need to build a huge amount of low and middle income shelter and

is an ongoing feature of the Chinese economy.”

In other , when China's exports slow, is currently the situation, Beijing ramps investment in urbanization.

“The state planning agency has approved of new projects – the rate of approval has picked materially, and that’s the tool really works (to drive the economy), says Roach.

But you don’t have to take his for it All you need to do is at Beijing’s actions a few years back.

“In 2009 they had exports collapse they put the pedal to the metal on the investment ,” he says, And by 2010 China had bypassed Japan as the world’s second economy.

“China has huge pipeline of unmet investment needs the urbanization needs of their economy It’s what they did (to drive the economy) 3-years ago and I'm convinced they’ll it again.”

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By looking at its stock , trading right around all-time , you would never suspect that Costco Wholesale may not be

what it once was.

To suggest otherwise is heresy Wall Street, especially if you throw in the company’s fortress- balance sheet and cash flow statements And not forget that dividend.

But retailers, you also have to look same-store sales — usually defined sales of stores open more a year And

at Costco, if you go back more than a year — and strip the impact of gas inflation and foreign currencies — sales have been

a slow bleed for more than a year, slipping to 5 percent last month.

Add back gas and foreign currency, and they’re freefall — a disappointing 3 percent last month, a quarter of it was a year earlier And while renewal rates robust, in the past quarter there was a pronounced deceleration shopper

frequency.

All of which the question: Is Costco broken?

Remember, we’re talking one of the best companies in America and certainly one of the greatest retailers in the With only a few exceptions, its revenue growth back to the early 1990 has been the double-digits Part of that is the result

a steady stream of new store openings in U.S and abroad, rising membership fees and uncanny customer loyalty.

But a company as good as Costco isn’t immune to forces its control.

And not broken, the question you’ve to ask: Has something outside of macro economic forces changed

enough to affect the company the margin?

In this , I believe the “on the margin” is something intangible: A shift in demographics — more , the aging McMansion baby boomer population that has evolved downsized empty-nesters.

This is a theory I concocted in because I am one of The very notion of this lit my Twitter, Facebook, and Google+ accounts when I floated the idea recently.

The reason is simple: As almost anybody in increasingly non-exclusive but continuously growing club (confirmed by Census Bureau stats) can say: We simply don’t buy as at Costco as we used to My wife and maintain the Costco membership we

had since we first signed in 1991 at the San Ramon, Calif., store But our kids are of the house and we just don’t need as much stuff — certainly less stuff bulk.

Adapted and abridged from: CNBC, July 13, 2012.

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Spanish Reforms Slash $69 Billion, but a Gap Remains

The Spanish government's most recent reforms slash 56.4 billion euros ($69 billion) from the public in the nexttwo and a years, an official document showed on Saturday, leaving a gap to be by taxes on energy

Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy pledged 65 billion euros savings from tax hikes and spending on

Wednesday in a painful package aimed convincing the EU and investors his government is serious reform

The 8.6 billion euro shortfall be covered by other measures as new energy and environmental taxes, according

to a document international investors posted the Economy Ministry website

Of the 56.4 billion euros of measures laid so far, about 34.4 billion euros will come from changes tax rates and 22billion spending cuts until 2014

The government said it will approve a new energy tax scheme in July that force utilities and consumers to sharethe burden of a 25 billion euro tariff deficit energy companies

Spain needs erase 65 billion euros from its public deficit in to reach EU debt reduction targets by 2014 It must cutits deficit of 8.9 percent of gross domestic product to 6.3 percent in 2012, 4.5 percent in 2013 and 2.8 percent the year

Speaking a party rally in Granada, Rajoy said the unpopular reforms necessary to put the country on

a path of growth and job

" of us like the decisions taken in the last days, but if we hadn't taken them things would be worse,"Rajoy told his supporters "This is great country and you have a government that will get us of this crisis."

Spain's two largest unions pledged widespread action in September protest the measures but stopped of sayingwhether the movement will be in the of a general strike The country's public workers have already called their own strike

September

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Many unemployed find work in a large market the government has so struggled to fight.

Madrid also reserves the right to backtrack a pledge to compensate cutting civil servants' 2012 Christmas bonusthrough a 2015 pension fund contribution it is struggling to its deficit goal

In another move to revenues, the government will eliminate a tax break for first- home buyers who purchasedbefore January 20, 2006, the state bulletin showed

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Pumping adrenaline with karts, flights and guns

If you like sound of rumbling motors, wind your hair, watching the ground way up above or shootingpellets colour at your friends, then you are the right place Bratislava region can provide all manner of ’adrenalineexperiences’ only limited the time you have, the money in your wallet and people want to take with you

The forests of Bernolákovo provide a perfect spot paintball A small river forms a natural border on side and arising hill other Between them are trees, trenches, barricades, moats and built towers, patrolled by battalions ofmen clasping guns, wearing helmets, protective vests and camouflage clothes

“Paintball is about shooting as much you can,” said Michal Velčík, a 31-year-old paintball event manager “That’sRambo style The winning team will be the that communicates better and is coherent.“

are several different game styles to try The most common is the “team death-match”, the aim is simple: shootyour enemies But strategy changes games where the objective is to capture a flag, or in participants have only

10 pellets in the magazine, forcing to think wisely when to shoot and when to fire

Games require at eight players (smaller groups should call in advance), and cost €12.30 person, includingequipment hire and an initial 100 pellets Not for something that lasts upwards of three hours

Fans of fast cars should head the kart-racing track in Ivanka pri Dunaji, an indoor hall filled artificial light andwhizzing carts speeding around a tyre-walled track

“You should come with a friend or family so you can compete with each and compare your race times,“ saidLinda Kočišová, 34, an operator standing a counter of a small bar, where the riders can relax a while andprepare for another round

A spin on the track costs €8 a circuit, and works at about a euro per minute The price kart hire and helmet (butnot a balaclava, is an additional €2.50 unless you bring your own) and you are free drive as fast youwant

Although tourist flights in Kráľová pri Senci are not officially considered of the adrenalin sport family, flying about 200 metres

the ground in a light aeroplane constructed for two people likely get many people’s blood pumping

“Flying is for lunatics want to see places from above,“ said Peter Chromek, 48, a pilot with about 7,000 flight hours, as hegently teased a small airplane of its hangar But up in the air, after a quick look someone like Chromek, who pilotsthe two-seater plane, any fear is replaced the exhilaration of flight

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Goldman Sachs and the $580 Million Black Hole

THE business deal hell began to crumble even the Champagne corks were popped

The deal, the $580 million sale of a highflying technology , Dragon Systems, had just been approved its boardand congratulations were exchanged But even , at that moment of celebration, there was a sense that something

amiss

The chief of Dragon had received a congratulatory bottle the investment bankers representing the acquiringcompany, a Belgian competitor Lernout & Hauspie But he hadn’t heard from Dragon’s own bankers GoldmanSachs

“I still have received anything from Goldman,” the executive wrote in an e-mail the other bank “Do they knowsomething I should ?”

More than a decade , that question is still reverberating in a brutal legal battle Goldman and the founders ofDragon Systems — along a host of other questions that to the heart of how financial giants Goldmanoperate and what exactly they owe clients

James and Janet Baker spent nearly two decades building Dragon, a voice technology company, a successful, dollar enterprise It was, they say, “third child.” So in late 1999, when offers to buy Dragon began rolling , thecouple made what seemed a smart : they turned to Goldman Sachs advice And why not? Goldman,

all, was the leading dealmaker on Wall Street The Bakers wanted best

This, of , was before the scandals of the subprime mortgage era It was the bailouts, before Occupy Wall Street,before ordinary Americans began complaining “banksters” and “muppets” and “the vampire squid.” In , beforeGoldman Sachs became, for many, synonymous Wall Street greed

And yet, today what happened next to the Bakers seems remarkable With Goldman Sachs the job, the corporate

of Dragon Systems in an all-stock deal went terribly Goldman collected millions of dollars fees —and the Bakers lost everything when Lernout & Hauspie was revealed to a spectacular fraud L.& H had

founded by Jo Lernout and Pol Hauspie, had once been hailed as stars of 1990s tech boom Only later

the Bakers learn that Goldman Sachs itself had at one considered investing in L.& H but had walked after some digging into the company

This being Wall Street, a lot of money is now at In federal court in Boston, the Bakers are demanding damages,

interest and legal fees, that could top $1 billion That figure is nearly twice Goldman paid to claimsthat it misled investors about subprime mortgage investments the financial crisis of 2008

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than scientific fact.

They are widely credited advancing speech technology far faster anyone thought possible, primarily because of

an epiphany Mr Baker had doing his doctorate research He figured that speech recognition could, in

, be reduced to math You didn’t have to teach a computer recognize accents or dialects, Mr Baker realized —you just had to calculate the mathematical probability of one sound following His algorithms proved remarkably accurate andeventually the industry standard

The Bakers founded Dragon Systems in 1982 in an old Victorian house in West Newton, Mass At that , despite having twoschool- children and a big mortgage, they were determined to take no venture and to finance the company’sgrowth its own revenue — once they had a product They figured could last 18 months, maybe 24

Their first product was a software for a British-made PC called the Apricot that let users open files and run programs

voice command Then came DragonDictate, a groundbreaking speech- -text system for dictation that still requiredthe speaker to pause Between Every Word

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Open Cloze

Yahoo Stuck Without SQL Injection Antidote

An SQL injection hackers access to hundreds of thousands of Yahoo users' email addresses and passwords,

were promptly posted on the Web Security wonks Yahoo through the wringer for it, saying SQL injection defense should be

of any decent set of security measures , the FTC swatted Google, Amazon smartphone rumors bubbled, and RIM took an angry crowd of shareholders

The term "SQL injection" sounds pretty scary of medical, painful, maybe even lethal And it can be, for websites that fall

to it It involves tricking a site forming a rogue SQL command that prompts a database to deliver its contents rightinto the of the attacker If it's successful, a hacker can access to a ton of sensitive information

The side of SQL injection is that it's not exactly cutting It's something security pros have seen time and

again, and they've developed a set of precautions and best practices websites can follow in toprotect themselves

Unfortunately, Yahoo apparently wasn't in the of following those guidelines

The company recently confirmed nearly half a million unencrypted email addresses, complete passwords, hadbeen into the hands of hackers by of Yahoo's Voice website The hackers then posted the information publicly

as a sort of shame- -you directed Yahoo

Security gurus were quick to jump the company's throat its poor hygiene SQL injection is not some mystical,esoteric act of cybersorcery that nobody understands It may not be literally the trick in the book, but it's old andwell- enough that Yahoo is getting pummeled for falling it

Obviously, Yahoo users should change passwords ASAP As with any email and password , it's not just youremail that's risk if you use the same combo any other site, that account's security has been compromised

FTC Polishes Its Paddle

The U.S Federal Trade Commission is ready to bend Google over its and give it a $22.5 million spanking

the search company's apparent habit of violating the privacy of people use Apple's Safari Web browser

Although it's the biggest fine levied by the FTC, that $22.5 million paddling is unlikely to cause Google real anddirect financial pain To stretch the analogy past its breaking point: Everything about Google is big, even its end,and the FTC's tiny little hands won't raise so as a welt

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privacy And they'll probably keep saying that, but at least the FTC can counter that it showed its that one time.And companies tempted to disregard user privacy might sit and take notice, especially if their pockets aren'tnearly deep as Google's.

So what did Google do to get itself into this in the first place? According to privacy watchdog groups, it

circumventing certain settings in Apple's Safari browser insert cookies in users' machines permission Googleclaimed it was all a big mistake, that they never meant to do But that argument apparently didn't score many points

the FTC And given the post-Google Buzz consent agreement the company signed the commission that allowedfor fines of up to $16,000 per violation day, perhaps Google decided it would be smart to cap it at $22.5 million while it still

the chance

Adapted and abridged from: technewsworld.com, July 14, 2012

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Consumers Leaving Less in Vegas: Las Vegas Sands President

More people visiting the Las Vegas strip, but they’re spending as much as they to, Michael Leven, Las Vegas Sands president & COO, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Friday.

“In May, we had lousy numbers in of gross gaming revenue but visitation was ,” he said “We're getting less spend

person and that's what statistically happening.”

He continued, “People don't have as much in their pocket and don't spend as much as used to and that has a downward spiral profits.”

That won’t change, Leven said, job growth picks up “If we can't more jobs, we can't get more spending," he said “We're

a consumer- society and Las Vegas is a consumer-driven place.”

He also said it’s more challenging for Las Vegas Sands to develop gaming properties the U.S “We're not looking

in the United States, and we can't, because the difficulty of business here is getting more and difficult every day,” he said.

, much of the gaming company's development has focused Asia, including Vietnam, Korea, Japan and Taiwan, Leven said.

Las Vegas Sands is looking in areas like Spain are counter-cyclical, Leven said “No one can a prediction as

to what Europe is going to look five years from and if we do anything in Spain we're making a long- bet on the European population and European economy,” he stated.

He also sees China as opportunity and not a problem “I think we to look at the great China consumer that’s growing,” he said “It’s going to be the largest consumer in the world and we need to manufacture and spend money and time and research building business sell to China."

For Las Vegas Sands, Leven said Chinese consumers are “the highest level gamblers and buyers of consumer that we have.”

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Europe: When losing money makes sense

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) There is a remarkable trend developing in European bond , where investors are increasinglywilling to money to certain governments in exchange for next to

In the most extreme example, yields 2-year German bonds turned negative this week, falling to a record -0.5% That means, in

at least, investors could end losing money if they hold the bonds maturity

Germany is eurozone's largest economy and its bunds are considered the safest assets available for investors

are expecting the worst But the flight to safety is becoming widespread as investors hunt amarginally better return

This week, 2-year yields briefly negative for France, while Denmark and Switzerland are more firmly below zero

yields for AAA-rated Finland and the Netherlands fell record lows

The trend reflects a heightened aversion risk as Spain and Italy struggle to avoid victim to the crisis that draggeddown Greece, Portugal and Ireland Yields on bonds by Italy and Spain rose this week as investors demand higher premiums

to hold debt is considered risky

"The rise benchmark yields in say Italy and Spain to worryingly high levels shows a concern amongst manyparticipants about fiscal sustainability," said Andrew Milligan, head of global strategy Standard Life Investments

The yield, or interest , on a bond falls when prices rise A negative yield means investors effectively paying thegovernment to take money

"The analogy I use is that it's like putting money under the ," said Schwab fixed-income strategist Kathy Jones "Investorstrust the core countries and -euro countries to return their money, if it costs them something."

Some analysts say the surge demand for short-term, ultra-safe bonds is to moves by the European Central Bank,

recently cut the rate it pays banks to hold money overnight to zero

Without getting a yield the ECB, banks that want a safe place to park their money are looking And that means

"the short-dated debt of the least risky economies in the single currency ," said Nicholas Spiro, director of

London-consultancy Spiro Sovereign Strategy

There is another reason the move helped drive down yields this week, said Tobias Blattner, a ECB economistwho now works at Daiwa Capital Markets in London

The deposit rate serves a floor for money market funds, he said, many of stopped accepting inflows this week

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"Investors who normally park money those funds need to put it somewhere else," said Blattner Short-term bonds

by AAA-rated governments, are safe and liquid, are one of the main alternatives, he added

The drop in short- French bond yields this week represents a significant change in market sentiment PresidentFrançois Hollande, who to power in May by campaigning against government austerity

"For , investors are giving Hollande the benefit of the ," said Nick Stamenkovic, fixed-income strategistRIA Capital Markets in Edinburgh

his heated campaign rhetoric, Hollande has a more moderate approach since the election, said Antonio Barroso,

an analyst political research firm Eurasia Group

"Overall, the strategy of Hollande regarding fiscal consolidation seems to be of incrementalism and anticipated damagecontrol," Barroso wrote in a note clients "The president knows that despite the current positive market environment, thepressure French sovereign debt could return any moment."

Adapted from: CNN Money, July 13, 2012

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Are Self-Directed IRAs Too Good to Be True?

Just you can do something doesn't that you should You may be perfectly of cross-breeding troutwith electric eels, for example, but you probably shouldn't do it you're very angry at fishermen

You can invest in a array of things via your individual retirement account, from the usual stocks, bonds andmutual funds Office buildings? Sure Small businesses? Check Unregistered securities? Yep

And you can invest in all of these self-directed IRAs Should you? most people, no But for a few people, it can

sense

An IRA is simply a tax-deferred retirement account, and has very to do with what you decide to put that account.You can have an IRA stuffed stocks or bulging bonds You can't put most collectibles in an IRA, or whole lifeinsurance, or subchapter S corporations (You can have U.S gold coins an IRA, but that's a story another day.)

A self-directed IRA allows you to invest in things than securities registered with state or federal Forexample, you can use the assets a self-directed IRA to buy a rental property, or even as the payment for amortgage a rental property

There are restrictions, , on self-dealing: You can't rent the place to yourself, for example And you must have a qualifiedthird- custodian for the IRA

Self-dealing restrictions investing in small businesses — especially proprietorships — are also complex, and youshould see a tax lawyer you put IRA money into a small business "Self-directed IRAs have helped fund thousands of smallbusinesses that wouldn't be there," says Tom Anderson, president of Retirement Industry Trust Association,

a trade group

So You can put many types of investments a self-directed IRA What are the drawbacks?

The most obvious is while the IRA will shelter gains transactions inside the account, you'll lose other tax benefits

If lose money, you can't deduct your losses, and you won't get capital gains treatment profits when you

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And this brings us to biggest problem with self-directed IRAs: the potential fraud The Securities and ExchangeCommission and North American Securities Administrators Association put an investor alert self-directed IRA fraud in September.

The alert for interesting, if sad, reading The Missouri Securities Division, for example, orders against StephenGwin in 2007 misleading senior citizens into investing in unregistered securities self-directed IRAs he controlled

He sold them — what else? — free lunch seminars In 2010, the SEC shut a Ponzi scheme that took $9.2 million

Lots of people are looking for alternatives stocks, and that's understandable But some investments don't deserve yourmoney because they're there If you're not willing to time checking a self-directed IRA, don't do it

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PC Makers Hope Windows 8 Will Revive Sales

PC makers, jilted of late by consumers attracted tablets and smartphones, are pinning their hopes a change

fortunes on the October launch of the Windows 8 operating , announced last week

But industry executives and analysts warn the chill of a slowing global economy could quash those hopes inprevious downturns, such as in aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, consumer demand new electronic gadgetsappears to no be decoupled from the state of broader economy

Worldwide PC shipments fell to 87.5m units the second quarter, according preliminary figures released by theresearch firm Gartner last week The 0.1 per cent decline a year earlier represented the seventh consecutive quarter ofvirtually flat to single- growth

Acer, the world’s third-largest computer vendor unit shipments, had previously forecast 10 cent annual growth inthe number of computers it ships That has now been trimmed zero to 5 per cent growth, according to companysource

“Uncertainties in the economy various regions, as well as consumer’s low interest PC purchases, were some ofthe key influences, said Mikako Kitagawa, analyst Gartner

Kirk Yang, head of Asia ex-Japan tech hardware research Barclays, says PC makers’ ability to excite consumers will be key

their success at a when cutbacks in corporate and government budgets have been hurting PCsales

Consumers “don’t have to buy – I’m sure everybody’s PC works today, everybody’s mobile phone still works –but they rush to buy an iPhone 5 or Samsung Galaxy because it’s something exciting,” said Mr Yang

So , it appears that the supply chain is not betting that happening For the third quarter, the Taiwanese companiesthat manufacture than 90 per cent of the world’s notebook PCs forecasting an average of 7 per cent quarter-

-quarter unit growth, below their historic average of 21 per cent growth, says Jenny Lai, analystwith HSBC

Economists with HSBC expect overall Asian electronics production grow just 1.5 per cent in August, below the three-yearaverage of 3.7 cent growth

Asian PC brands are still faring better their US counterparts HP lost two percentage of global market share

a year earlier, falling to 14.9 per cent in the second quarter, China’s Lenovo gained two to become a second with 14.7 per cent Dell dropped to fourth as it overtaken by Taiwan’s Acer, whose compatriot Asus closed

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fifth with near-40 per cent growth in market

HP has restructuring after reversing a plan to spin its PC business, while Dell has been focusing onsoftware and services, but both are responding to long- , low-margin problems and the eastward shift of the PC business,

“People are not bracing a strong second half,” says William Dong, head of Taiwan securities for UBS “There’s a chance only

we start to look to the 2013 outlook, and there’s a lot of ifs and buts that.”

HSBC’s Ms Lai points that sales data from prior launches of new Windows versions show evidence that buyershad postponed their purchases after the launches Christine Wang, an analyst Daiwa, points out that Windows 8

is designed mostly tablets and might have a limited impact PC notebook sales

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Banks Behave Badly Redux: Is It Killing Confidence?

It wasn't supposed to be this

After the worst financial crisis the Great Depression almost took the global economy over a , tough new

regulations and stronger internal controls the world's major banks were meant to help restore confidence thefinancial system

But recent headlines some top investors and strategists questioning there has been any progress

The signs of a falloff investor confidence are not hard spot

U.S Treasurys, the traditional safe- for risk-averse investors, are drawing big demand though they offer only theslimmest of returns, while U.S equity mutual funds racked up big outflows

And even some of that investment trend may reflect the fragility of the U.S economic recovery, the real problem lies

, said Larry Jeddeloh, founder and chief investment officer of the TIS Group, an institutional research firm alsomanages client money

"The bigger problem, I think investors are focusing , is confidence in the financial system eroding," hesaid "There have been a litany of failures and confidence-reducing events recently should cause anyone with a stockcertificate and a heartbeat to think hard what to do with their stocks," said

Wider Distrust

For many small and some big investors, the recent headline events create a perception that the system can

gamed — and that they could money because those who are to manipulate a rate or a stock price or have insideinformation wield a big advantage, investors and strategists say

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worst, in cases like the failed brokerages MF Global and PFGBest — the echoes of the Bernie Madoff and AllenStanford Ponzi scams also ringing in investors' — it means that someone could simply raid account and take theirmoney.

It all feeds a wider political backdrop The speed with the Occupy Wall Street movement gathered pace last year

seen by some economists and major investors a growing symbol of the distrust banks and theinability or unwillingness of the authorities to crack on corporate malfeasance and greed

Almost of the scandals lead to allegations that regulators are asleep at the or simply lack the firepower to keep

with the misbehavior

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Fat Profits: How Investors Can Capitalize on Obesity Battle

More than -third of Americas are considered obese, and investors looking to capitalize the battle to reverse thattrend could find themselves -fed

Getting financially fat the "globesity" fight to help overweight Americans is latest investing thesis from Bank ofAmerica Merrill Lynch, believes global efforts to attack the problem will provide opportunities to money

The firm divides its recommendations four sectors and more than 50 stocks that will benefit, particularly for those investors

longer time frames

"Although it is difficult to accurately gauge the link such exposure and share price performance we considerfighting obesity exposure an important and positive point track, given that obesity is a sustainability megatrend a25-50 year lifespan," BofA equity analyst Sarbjit Nahal said an analysis for clients

Some 1.4 billion of the world's 7 billion residents considered overweight, and 500 million are classified obese,according to the World Organization

In the U.S., the Centers Disease Control and Prevention says 35.7 percent of the population is obese, nine stateshaving more than a 30 percent and no state under 20 percent

Medical costs associated obesity are currently around $150 billion a year, with those numbers only expected

climb

Such statistics help the case for the BoA fat-fighting play

"This will require a 25-50 year 'systems perspective,' our view, targeting multiple stakeholders and environments, going

health to include the food and beverage industry, schools, work environments, insurers tackling sedentary lifestyles andencouraging increasing physical activity," Nahal said

The firm breaks its recommendations four sectors: pharmaceuticals and health care; food; commercial weight loss, dietmanagement and nutrition; and sports apparel and equipment

Among the long of stocks BofA recommends: The pharma plays include Allergan [AGN 89.765 -0.985 (-1.09%)] and St JudeMedical [STJ 38.68 -0.23 (-0.59%)]; while in food familiar names ConAgra [CAG 24.77 -0.51 (-2.02%)], Heinz [HNZ 54.999 -0.221 (-0.4%)] and Panera [PNRA 144.95 -2.36 (-1.6%)]

The four diet management and nutrition stocks the list include Herbalife [HLF 48.66 0.51 (+1.06%)] and Weight Watchers[WTW 50.66 1.02 (+2.05%)], the sports apparel and equipment space includes Under Armour [UA 47.10 -0.30 (-0.63%)],

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Dick's [DKS 47.98 -0.20 (-0.42%)] and Nike [NKE 93.28 -0.69 (-0.73%)].

"We view Medicare’s adoption of obesity counseling coverage as a significant step recognizing obesity as

legitimate health concern," Nahal said

Health care stocks been solid performers in 2012, ranking fifth of the 10 sectors the Standard & Poor's 500 [.SPX1354.97 -1.81 (-0.13%)] with a 9.9 percent gain, returns have slowed considerably in the second quarter

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JPMorgan has its "London Whale" trading losses behind it, but the question is how much money the bank can

from its regular operations, Dick Bove, Rochdale Securities bank analyst, told CNBC’s “Squawk Box” Monday.

The losses could bigger, Bove said “but there’s a chance that you may actually see a profit coming of the residuals from this trade.”

According to Bove, “The core issue should be how money can this company make its operations And I think in the second half of this year, it’s not going to make much money.”

Bove said the underlying numbers JPMorgan were not all that great in second quarter.

The bank posted second-quarter net income $4.96 billion, or $1.21 a share, compared $5.43 billion, or $1.27 a share a year earlier.

The $4.4 billion trading loss after taxes reduced earnings share by 69 cents in the quarter, the company said JPMorgan said it cleaned its Chief Investment Office, made the disastrous credit bets, and that any problems were isolated the group.

One trader the Chief Investment Office, Bruno Iksil, took big enough positions in the credit derivatives markets to earn the

"The London Whale." Iksil has left the bank, a source said Friday.

"We have put most of this problem us and we can now focus our energy on what we do best," JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said a statement.

From here, Bove expects credit income to down at JPMorgan “It’s trouble maintaining its non-interest income and

expenses are too high,” he added “I think they’re a buck a share a quarter for the next couple of quarters and that’s terrific.”

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G4S Boss Buckles To Be Questioned

Nick Buckles, the Chief Executive of G4S, will be called today by the Home Affairs Select Committee

He will asked explain the "omnishambles" of his company's arrangements security for the Olympic Games

The private security company failed employ enough people its reassurances, so 3,500 soldiers and police fromforces the country are being drafted in to up the shortfall

G4S repeatedly assured ministers it would "overshoot" recruitment targets and only admitted it would fail lastweek, Home Secretary Theresa May told MPs

There are questions about the level of training the G4S staff who will be duty have received

MPs the Home affairs Committee will want to know precisely G4S realised there was a problem, and when

told ministers and London Mayor Boris Johnson that they would fail to provide the guards they promised

The company's contract the government was £284m, but it now stands to lose £50m, and MrBuckles has admitted that he may lose his job as a

Mrs May said: "G4S only told Government that they would be to meet their contractual arrangements lastWednesday and we immediate action."

As as the 3,500 troops, police officers from nine forces have also been switched to Olympics security duties

The forces involved are Dorset, Surrey, Hertfordshire, Northumbria, South Wales, Strathclyde, West Midlands, Thames Valley and GreaterManchester

Assistant Commissioner Chris Allison, national Olympics security co-ordinator, said: "Forces are sure they makethe best use of their resources locally to all they can to minimise the impact local policing."

But West Midlands Police Federation chairman Ian Edwards said it "chaos, absolute chaos"

Shadow Home Secretary Yvette Cooper said: "It is incomprehensible that with 11 days to , the Home Secretary still doesn'tknow how staff G4S are likely to provide We all want the G4S shambles sorted swiftly now But if even moretroops and police are to be needed, they need to know fast they can prepare."

Committee Chairman Keith Vaz will want to know it was that this crisis has come to a less than two weeksbefore the Olympics begins a report by HM Inspectorate of Constabulary warned concerns over security 10This is not registered version of Total HTML Converter

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The shortfall in security guards provided by G4S and the drafting of armed forces personnel a shocking development soclose to Games.

"It is vital that the public is safe and not left of pocket by this debacle."

Adapted and abridged from: Sky News, July 17, 2012

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