blimpish verifiability: April 2013

Saturday, April 13, 2013

By Arshad Mohammed and Jack Kim

SEOUL (Reuters) - Secretary of State John Kerry warned North Korea on Friday it would be a "huge mistake" to test launch a medium-range missile and said the United States would never accept the reclusive country as a nuclear power.

Addressing reporters after talks with South Korea's president and leaders of the 28,000-strong U.S. military contingent in the country, Kerry also said it was up to China, North Korea's sole major ally, to "put some teeth" into efforts to press Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear ambitions.

Kerry, like other U.S. officials, played down an assessment from the Pentagon's intelligence agency that the North already had a nuclear missile capacity.

The United States, he said, wanted to resume talks about North Korea's earlier pledges to halt its nuclear program.

But he also stressed that Washington would defend its allies in the region if necessary and pointedly said that Kim Jong-un, the North Korean leader, "needs to understand, as I think he probably does, what the outcome of a conflict would be".

North Korea has repeatedly said it will not abandon nuclear weapons which it said on Friday were its "treasured" guarantor of security.

Kerry's visit coincided with preparations for Monday's anniversary of North Korean state founder Kim Il-Sung's birth date, a possible pretext for a show of strength, with speculation focusing on a possible new missile test launch.

Kerry, who flies to China on Saturday and to Japan on Sunday, said that if North Korea's 30-year-old leader went ahead with the launch, "he will be choosing, willfully, to ignore the entire international community".

"I would say ahead of time that it is a huge mistake for him to choose to do that because it will further isolate his country and further isolate his people, who frankly are desperate for food, not missile launches."

SHRILL RHETORIC

The North has issued weeks of shrill threats of an impending war following the imposition of U.N. sanctions in response to its third nuclear test in February. Kerry said the threats were "simply unacceptable" by any standard.

"We are all united in the fact that North Korea will not be accepted as a nuclear power," he said.

Kerry later told U.S. executives in Seoul that China, as an advocate of denuclearization, was in a position to press for a change in the North's policy.

"The reality is that if your policy is denuclearization and it is theirs as it is ours, as it is everybody's except the North at this moment ... if that's your policy, you've got to put some teeth into it," he told the gathering.

But North Korea showed little inclination for further talks.

Rodong Sinmun, the mouthpiece of the ruling Workers' Party, said Pyongyang would never abandon its nuclear program.

"The DPRK will hold tighter the treasured sword, nuclear weapons," it said, referring to the country by its official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

BIRTHDAY CELEBRATIONS

North Korean state television showed footage of newscasts from other countries depicting the trajectory a North Korean missile launch might take.

It also showed preparations for the Kim Il-Sung birthday festivities, including floral tributes, and a stadium of thousands of school children of the Korean Children's Union, each wearing a red scarf and saluting and marching in unison.

Speculation has mounted of an impending medium-range missile test launch in the North after reports in South Korea and the United States that as many as five medium-range missiles have been moved into position on the country's east coast.

Officials in both countries believe the North is preparing to test-launch a Musudan missile, whose range of 3,500 km (2,100 miles) or more would put Japan within striking distance and may threaten the island of Guam, which houses U.S. military bases.

The North has been angry about annual military drills between U.S. and South Korean forces, describing them as a "hostile" act. The United States dispatched B52 and B2 stealth bombers from their bases to take part.

Hours before Kerry's arrival, a U.S. lawmaker quoted a report by the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency, one of the 17 bodies that make up the U.S. intelligence community, as saying it had "moderate confidence" that North Korea had developed a nuclear bomb that could be fitted on a ballistic missile.

But Kerry poured cold water on the report said it was "inaccurate to suggest that the DPRK has fully tested, developed capabilities" as set down in the document.

South Korea's Defence Ministry said it did not believe North Korea could mount a nuclear warhead on a missile.

A U.S. official had earlier suggested that Washington's greatest concern was the possibility of unexpected developments linked to Kim Jong-un's "youth and inexperience". Asked if war seemed imminent, he replied: "Not at all."

South Korean President Park Geun-hye, meeting officials from her ruling Saenuri Party before her talks with Kerry, struck a conciliatory note by suggesting Seoul should at least listen to what North Korea had to say.

"We have a lot of issues, including the Kaesong industrial zone," local media quoted her as saying. So should we not meet with them and ask: "Just what are you trying to do?'"

The president was referring to North Korea's closure this week of the jointly run Kaesong industrial park, with the loss of 53,000 jobs.

Kerry said the United States would not object to the South talking to the North. He also did not rule out the possibility of U.S. aid some day flowing to the North, but suggested this could only happen if Pyongyang undertook real denuclearization.

Kerry sounded upbeat about resolving a dispute between the United States and South Korea over a civil nuclear cooperation agreement that expires next year, saying he thought a compromise could be found by Park's visit to Washington next month.

South Korea is believed to want the right to reprocess its spent nuclear fuel, which would allow it to deal with a mounting stockpile of nuclear waste.

However, this could also allow it to produce bomb-grade fissile material, a step Washington is loathe to see it take in part because of its nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea.

"We are ... very concerned at this time about not having any ingredients that could alter our approach ... to either of those," he said. But Kerry added that he was "confident that one option or another will be able to come to fruition (with South Korea) by the time that President Park comes to Washington."

(Additional reporting by Ju-min Park in SEOUL, Sui-Lee Wee in BEIJING, John Ruwitch in SHANGHAI, and Patricia Zengerle, Mark Hosenball and Jeff Mason in WASHINGTON; Writing by Ronald Popeski and Arshad Mohammed; Editing by Nick Macfie and Jon Hemming)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/north-korea-likely-launch-nuclear-missiles-u-spy-010606895.html

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McDonald's Works On Customer Service - Business Insider

McDonald's is trying to reach dissatisfied customers by adding people to fetch sauce packets and Happy Meal toys, according to a report by Julie Jargon at The Wall Street Journal.?

The restaurant chain found that one in five customer complaints were related to customer service, and that number is increasing all the time, according to a leaked presentation distributed to franchise owners.?

To help deal with the problem, the company created a new position of "runner."

That person will "hand out cups and sauce packets, and fetch juice boxes for Happy Meals," Jargon writes.?

Having the "runner" on hand will help clear up confusion and free up time for the cashiers, who are supposed to tell every customer "thank you" when they're done.?

The company is also implementing a "dual-point" ordering system around the U.S., which involves the customer ordering at one end of the counter and taking a receipt with a number. When the number appears on a screen, his order will be ready at the other end.

But Jargon points out that one of the chain's biggest problems is high employee turnover.?

Because most employees make a low hourly wage, they are less likely to be loyal to the company or think twice about leaving.?

"Let's say I'm in front at the register and the grill's not pushing out food quickly enough. So you have to wait on food, and the customer is getting aggravated at you because you're not giving them the food quick enough, and the grill gets aggravated with the cashier because we're asking where the food is," a McDonald's employee told Jargon.?

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/mcdonalds-works-on-customer-service-2013-4

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Friday, April 12, 2013

Groundbreaking improv comic Jonathan Winters dies

FILE - This May 6, 1997 file photo shows comedian Jonathan Winters posing at a hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Winters, whose breakneck improvisations inspired Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and many others, died Thursday, April 11, 2013, at his Montecito, Calif., home of natural causes. He was 87. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes, file)

FILE - This undated file image shows comedian and actor Jonathan Winters. Winters, whose breakneck improvisations inspired Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and many others, died Thursday, April 11, 2013, at his Montecito, Calif., home of natural causes. He was 87. (AP Photo, file)

FILE - This July 9, 2012 file photo shows Jonathan Winters at the kick-off of The Last 70mm Film Festival Presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, Calif. Winters, whose breakneck improvisations inspired Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and many others, died Thursday, April 11, 2013, at his Montecito, Calif., home of natural causes. He was 87. (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP, file)

FILE - This Sept. 22, 1967 file photo released by ABC shows comedian Jonathan Winters, hosting "Holiday on Ice." Winters, whose breakneck improvisations inspired Robin Williams, Jim Carrey and many others, died Thursday, April 11, 2013, at his Montecito, Calif., home of natural causes. He was 87. (AP Photo/ABC-TV, file)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Jonathan Winters, the cherub-faced comedian whose breakneck improvisations and misfit characters inspired the likes of Robin Williams and Jim Carrey, has died. He was 87.

The Ohio native died Thursday evening at his Montecito, Calif., home of natural causes, said Joe Petro III, a longtime family friend. Petro said Winters died of natural causes and was surrounded by family and friends.

Winters was a pioneer of improvisational standup comedy, with an exceptional gift for mimicry, a grab bag of eccentric personalities and a bottomless reservoir of creative energy. Facial contortions, sound effects, tall tales ? all could be used in a matter of seconds to get a laugh.

On Jack Paar's television show in 1964, Winters was handed a foot-long stick and he swiftly became a fisherman, violinist, lion tamer, canoeist, U.N. diplomat, bullfighter, flutist, delusional psychiatric patient, British headmaster and Bing Crosby's golf club.

"As a kid, I always wanted to be lots of things," Winters told U.S. News & World Report in 1988. "I was a Walter Mitty type. I wanted to be in the French Foreign Legion, a detective, a doctor, a test pilot with a scarf, a fisherman who hauled in a tremendous marlin after a 12-hour fight."

The humor most often was based in reality ? his characters Maude Frickert and Elwood P. Suggins, for example, were based on people Winters knew growing up in Ohio.

A devotee of Groucho Marx and Laurel and Hardy, Winters and his free-for-all brand of humor inspired Johnny Carson, Billy Crystal, Tracey Ullman and Lily Tomlin, among others. But Williams and Carrey are his best-known followers.

Winters, who battled alcoholism and depression for years, was introduced to millions of new fans in 1981 as the son of Williams' goofball alien and his earthling wife in the final season of ABC's "Mork and Mindy."

The two often strayed from the script. Said Williams: "The best stuff was before the cameras were on, when he was open and free to create. ... Jonathan would just blow the doors off."

Winters' only Emmy was for best-supporting actor for playing Randy Quaid's father in the sitcom "Davis Rules" (1991). He was nominated again in 2003 as outstanding guest actor in a comedy series for an appearance on "Life With Bonnie."

He also won two Grammys: One for his work on "The Little Prince" album in 1975 another for his "Crank Calls" comedy album in 1996. He also won the Kennedy Center's second Mark Twain Prize for Humor in 1999, a year after Richard Pryor.

Winters was sought out in later years for his changeling voice and he contributed to numerous cartoons and animated films. Fittingly, he played three characters in the "The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle" movie in 2000.

"These voices are always screaming to get out," he told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that year. "They follow me around pretty much all day and night."

Winters had made television history in 1956, when RCA broadcast the first public demonstration of color videotape on "The Jonathan Winters Show."

Winters quickly realized the possibilities, author David Hajdu wrote in The New York Times in 2006. He soon used video technology "to appear as two characters, bantering back and forth, seemingly in the studio at the same time. You could say he invented the video stunt."

Winters was born Nov. 11, 1925, in Dayton, Ohio. Growing up during the Depression as an only child whose parents divorced when he was 7, Winters spent a lot of time entertaining himself.

Winters described his father as an alcoholic. But he found a comedic mentor in his mother, radio personality Alice Bahman.

"She was very fast. Whatever humor I've inherited I'd have to give credit to her," Winters told the Cincinnati Enquirer in 2000.

Winters joined the Marines at 17 and served two years in the South Pacific. He returned to study at the Dayton Art Institute, helping him develop keen observational skills. At one point, he won a talent contest (and the first prize of a watch) by doing impressions of movie stars.

After stints as a radio disc jockey and TV host in Ohio from 1950-53, he left for New York, where he found early work doing impressions of John Wayne, Cary Grant, Marx and James Cagney, among others.

One night after a show, an older man sweeping up told him he wasn't breaking any new ground by mimicking the rich or famous.

"He said, 'What's the matter with those characters in Ohio? I'll bet there are some far-out dudes that you grew up with back in Ohio,'" Winters told the Orange County Register in 1997.

Two days later, he cooked up one of his most famous characters: the hard-drinking, dirty old woman Maude Frickert, modeled in part on his own mother and an aunt. The character was the forerunner of Johnny Carson's Aunt Blabby.

Appearances on Paar's show and others followed and Winters soon had a following. And before long, he was struggling with depression and his drinking.

"I became a robot," Winters told TV critics in 2000. "I almost lost my sense of humor ... I had a breakdown and I turned myself in (to a mental hospital). It's the hardest thing I've ever had to do."

Winters was hospitalized for eight months in the early 1960s. It's a topic he rarely addressed and never dwelled on.

"If you make a couple of hundred thousand dollars a year and you're talking about to the blue-collar guy who's a farmer 200 miles south of Topeka, he's looking up and saying, 'That bastard makes (all that money) and he's crying about being a manic depressive?'" Winters said.

When he got out, there was a role as a slow-witted character waiting in the 1963 ensemble film "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World."

"I finally opened up and realized I was in charge," Winters told PBS interviewers for 2000's "Jonathan Winters: On the Loose." ''Improvisation is about taking chances, and I was ready to take chances."

Roles in other movies followed, as did TV shows, including his own. But while show business kept Winters busy, he stayed with his painting.

"I find painting a much slower process than comedy, where you can go a mile a minute verbally and hope to God that some of the people out there understand you," he told U.S. News and World Report in 1988. "I don't paint every day. I'm not that motivated. I don't do anything the same every day. Discipline is tough for a guy who is a rebel."

Among his books is a collection of short stories called "Winters' Tales" (1987). He also was a painter.

"I've done for the most part pretty much what I intended ? I ended up doing comedy, writing and painting," he told U.S. News. "I've had a ball. And as I get older, I just become an older kid."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-04-12-Obit-Winters/id-092391c9a50545d9b4367d74ef0adf1b

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Man accused of harassing Colo. theater victims' families

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) ? An Oregon man has been accused of harassing at least a dozen families of the victims of the mass shooting in Aurora, Colo., telling them the killings didn't happen or the caskets of victims were empty.

Kevin Purfield, 45, of Portland pleaded not guilty at Thursday's arraignment on charges of telephone harassment and stalking counts, both misdemeanors. Multnomah County Judge Adrienne Nelson increased Purfield's bail from $10,000 to $100,000 at the prosecution's request and appointed Cate Wollam as his attorney.

Aurora police spokesman Frank Fania said Purfield was adept online at finding ways to make contact with the family members, and used email, social media and phone calls to get to them.

Then Purfield spun fantastic theories, Fania said.

"It starts out that the shootings didn't really happen," Fania said. "It goes into things such as that at the funeral your relative's body wasn't in the casket."

Sometimes, if he didn't get a rise out of a relative, he dropped the communication, Fania said. In other cases, and particularly if the relative responded, Purfield launched into vile, obscene "flat-out attacks," Fania said.

The attacks changed the communications into harassment, he said.

Fania said the family members were in several states, and Oregon authorities were brought into an investigation in February.

Portland police said they'd had previous contacts with Purfield, including one instance Sgt. Pete Simpson described as a "mental health hold." Public defender Audra Kaleta, who represented Purfield at the arraignment, told the judge that Purfield has had mental health issues.

Purfield was arrested and booked Wednesday. His next court date is May 17.

James Holmes is charged with killing 12 people and injuring 70 at an Aurora movie theater on July 20. A judge entered a not guilty plea on his behalf. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-colo-theater-victims-families-harassed-165929216.html

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Take Softer, More Flattering Smartphone Photos with a Piece of Wax Paper

Take Softer, More Flattering Smartphone Photos with a Piece of Wax Paper Flash diffusers for digital cameras help you avoid the unflattering effects of direct flash. If you'd like to take more pleasing portraits with your smartphone as well, all you need is a bit of wax paper.

Take Softer, More Flattering Smartphone Photos with a Piece of Wax Paper In an article about taking better photos with your smartphone, PC Magazine offers this easy flash-hacking tip and an example of the softer effect you might get with diffusing (wax paper shot on the left, naked iPhone 5 flash on the right):

Depending on what type of case you use to protect your phone, it shouldn't be that hard. Grab some wax paper from the pantry and use it to the cover up the flash. This will be easiest if you have a case that covers the entire back of your phone, with a cutout for the flash and lens. I took a few quick snaps here in the PCMag Labs and the difference is subtle; portraits with the naked flash resulted in a bit of harsh light that was downright unflattering, but adding the wax paper softened it a bit. The difference is subtle, but considering how easy it is to implement, why not do it?

For many of us, our smartphones are our main camera. Any tweaks we can use to take better pictures with these pocket cameraphones will help make our photos more interesting.

How to Take Better Photos With Your Smartphone | PC Magazine

Photo by Branden Kowitz

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/mkkUr8J6B-I/take-softer-more-flattering-smartphone-photos-with-a-piece-of-wax-paper

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Thursday, April 11, 2013

Obama budget would increase U.S. clean-energy spending

By Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama proposed a dramatic increase in clean-energy spending on Wednesday as he sought to expand U.S. government support for electric cars, wind power and other "green" technology despite persistent Republican criticism.

The president would pay for the expansion in part by eliminating tax breaks and subsidies for oil, gas and coal industries. Previous efforts by Obama's fellow Democrats to repeal the $4 billion worth of fossil-fuel subsidies have fallen short.

Obama's budget plan for fiscal 2014, which begins October 1, would boost clean-tech spending by 40 percent over current levels, marking one of the largest increases in a blueprint that otherwise would cut spending in a wide range of other programs, from environmental protection to retirement benefits.

The president's budget proposal stands a slim chance of becoming law in its current form.

Republicans who control the House of Representatives have criticized Obama's clean-energy initiatives as wasteful boondoggles, pointing to the high-profile bankruptcies of companies like solar-panel maker Solyndra that benefited from federal backing.

But the budget proposal signals that clean energy will remain a priority for Obama in his second term in office.

"These increases in funding are significant and a testament to the importance of clean energy and innovation to the country's economic future," the administration wrote in its budget proposal for the coming fiscal year.

Obama has transformed the Energy Department from a low-profile agency largely focused on managing the nation's nuclear stockpile into a research and development powerhouse.

The department has underwritten everything from automotive battery startups to research projects that aim to turn "biofuels" like algae into the gasoline of the 21st century, thanks to a $35 billion boost for clean-tech and energy efficiency funding in the 2009 economic stimulus measure.

The effort has not always panned out. Most recently, Fisker Automotive, a hybrid sports car maker that tapped nearly $200 million in government loans, laid off most of its employees in a last-ditch effort to stave off bankruptcy.

But the administration can point to successes as well. Since 2008, the United States has nearly doubled its energy generation from wind, solar, geothermal and other renewable energy sources. Support for energy research could lead to breakthroughs in the years to come, the administration says.

While many government agencies would see minimal increases or spending cuts under Obama's budget proposal for fiscal 2014, the Energy Department would get an increase of 8 percent over current levels, to $28.4 billion.

It would boost spending on advanced vehicles by 75 percent in the coming year to $575 million, and make vehicle research less subject to the whims of Congress by setting up a fund that would hand out $200 million each year.

In an effort to make solar and wind power as affordable as conventional energy sources, the administration would spend 29 percent more than it currently does to integrate those types of energy into the national electric grid.

The budget would increase support for biofuels by 24 percent and boost funding for physics and other forms of basic science research by 5.7 percent.

It would set up a $200 million competition to encourage state governments to boost energy efficiency, modeled on the administration's Race to the Top education program.

(Reporting by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Fred Barbash and Will Dunham)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-budget-increase-u-clean-energy-spending-152641412--business.html

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Wednesday, April 10, 2013

Insight: Pakistan's booming market no black and white matter

By Katharine Houreld

KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan's chaotic financial heart is home to 18 million people, Taliban bombers, contract killers - and one of the world's most successful stock markets.

With 49 percent returns in 2012, the Karachi Stock Exchange (KSE) was one of the five best performing markets in the world. Now it is seeking a foreign partner to buy a stake and take over management of a market that has risen three-fold over the past four years.

At least some of that performance came on the back of a government amnesty that allowed people holding undeclared assets or "black money" to invest it freely in the market. And the relatively illiquid market has also been vulnerable to manipulation.

But government officials say the market's success highlights the economic potential of a country better known for spiraling sectarian violence, the war against al Qaeda and the Taliban, crippling power cuts and entrenched corruption.

The market's benchmark index continues to soar to record highs -- up 10.34 percent year to date -- fueled in part by expectations May elections will mark Pakistan's first transfer of power from one democratic government to another. Previous civilian governments were all dismissed by Pakistan's ultimate power: the military.

"Pakistan has a lot to offer investors and this is our chance to show it," said Nadeem Naqvi, the KSE chairman. He plans to embark on a series of roadshows for potential foreign partners that will take him to London, Frankfurt and Hong Kong in the coming months.

Many of the companies listed on the KSE offer double-digit returns, low stock prices and resilient business models in this frontier market with a population of 180 million. The index still has an attractive price/earnings ratio of $8.50 despite the soaring returns of the past few years.

Pakistan now has a 4 percent weighting in the MSCI Frontiers Market Index and has become somewhat of a discovery for foreign investors chasing new markets and yields.

THE SEAMIER SIDE

But the KSE's spectacular rise last year can at least be partly attributed to another factor entirely - the cleansing of "black money".

The market took off last year just as a government decree was finalized allowing people to buy stocks with no questions asked about the source of the cash. Average daily volume more than doubled last year to 173 million shares from 79 million in 2011.

Authorities say the measure will bring undocumented funds into the tax net in a country where few pay taxes. But some critics decried it as a gift to corrupt officials and criminals seeking to launder dirty cash.

"Politics and dirty money go hand in hand in Pakistan," said Dr. Ikramul Haq, a Supreme Court lawyer and a professor on tax law.

"People want to be outside the regulatory framework and outside the tax net."

The black money amnesty also drew attention to the seamier side of the Karachi stock market. Interviews with regulators, brokers, market officials and analysts showed insider trading and other manipulations are routine. Regulators have been largely ineffectual in controlling the shady practices.

The Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) said it found 23 violations of securities laws that merited fines in fiscal year 2011-12 (April/March). The market regulator sent warning letters in another 19 cases, it said in its annual report. (http://www.secp.gov.pk/)

That's a drop in the bucket, says Ashraf Tiwana, dismissed as head of SECP's legal department after years of clashes with his bosses over fraud in the market. He has petitioned the Supreme Court to replace the SECP chairman and commissioners.

"There's a lot of fraud, a lot of market manipulation ... but not enough action has been taken, especially not enough criminal action has been taken," Tiwana told Reuters. "They're just passing small fines and giving out warning letters."

Regulators are too close to the market, Tiwana said. The head of the stock exchange is a former broker and the two top members of the SECP are former employees of Aqeel Karim Dhedhi, founder of one of the country's biggest brokerage houses.

BIG DHEDHI

Nicknamed "Big Dhedhi" for his ability to move markets, Aqeel Karim Dhedhi heads one of Pakistan's largest domestic conglomerates, the AKD Group.

Lately, the well-known philanthropist and leading member of Pakistan's business establishment has been trying to fend off arrest over allegations of insider trading.

An SECP investigator accused traders, including Dhedhi's brokerage, of buying shares in a state-run Sui Southern Gas Co before an official announcement allowing the company to raise its prices. In the weeks before Sui Southern's announcement, the stock price jumped from 13.5 rupees to 20 rupees, its biggest hike in five years.

The National Accountability Bureau, the state-run anti-corruption agency, called it a case of insider trading. But the SECP said its own confidential investigation showed no evidence of fraud. The SECP whistleblower in the case has been suspended from her job for disclosing "confidential information".

Dhedhi strongly denied any wrongdoing and said he purchased his gas stocks years before the announcement.

"There is nothing there. The (SECP) report totally cleared us," said Dhedhi, a burly man wearing a traditional long cotton shirt and baggy pants. "I'm proud to say that in more than 40 years of operating, we've never paid a penny in fines."

Dhedhi says he often offers advice to government officials on financial policy. His business empire includes two equity funds that were among the best performing in Asia in 2012.

"The SECP has really started listening to the market," Dhedhi said, a suited executive acting as translator.

REVOLVING DOOR

Dhedhi remains under investigation. But even if regulators were to find him guilty of insider trading, past practice shows he would likely get a slap on the wrist. The SECP's fines are almost always a fraction above the amount of money made in the stock manipulation, and sometimes even less.

In December, a broker was fined half the amount he made from trades that manipulated the share price of tobacco giant Philip Morris. In February, the SECP fined Pakistani brokerage BMA Capital $500,000 - after it made $460,000 by misleading a foreign client. BMA Capital has appealed.

Imtiaz Haider, the SECP commissioner in charge of market regulation, acknowledged fines were largely symbolic. If they were too high, he said, brokers might not be willing to pay them. Contesting fines in the congested court system could take years.

"The purpose is more to name and shame," Haider said in an interview. "It causes them reputational damage."

Like KSE Chairman Nadeem Naqvi, Haider is a former employee of Dhedhi's. Both men denied any conflict of interest.

"It's important to have people in charge who know the way markets work," Haider said. "I've had lots of other jobs than just working for Dhedhi."

The SECP can revoke licenses, impose hefty fines, or open criminal cases against offenders. But it almost never does. It has launched only 10 criminal cases in the past five years - all still held up in the judicial backlog. It has issued dozens of small fines.

"We have great laws and regulations but they are not properly enforced," said Khalid Mirza, a former SECP chief. "The SECP is just catching the small fish as far as I can see."

Naqvi, the KSE head, acknowledged his priority has been to boost the market, not to crack down on it.

"My management style isn't confrontational because I want to build confidence in the market," he said.

Separating the commercial and the regulatory functions of the market is one of the main reasons the KSE is looking for a foreign partner. It has appointed Deutsche Bank as its advisor on its quest to demutualise - a process that will separate those two functions.

"Demutualization is another step on the road to reform," Naqvi said. "Right now we have a fairly robust system. But I'm not saying its foolproof."

BLACK TO WHITE

The Karachi market's small size and lack of liquidity make it vulnerable to manipulation. Market capitalization is only $41.5 billion - the Bombay stock market's capitalization is more than 10 times higher at $578 billion.

Only a quarter of the shares are freely floated - about 30 percent of that is held by foreign funds and investors, including Franklin Templeton, Invesco Ltd, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Mackenzie Financial Corporation.

Since only 60 of KSE's 600 listed companies trade regularly, small trades can rapidly make a big difference in a company's share price.

Boosting volumes on the exchange was one of the intentions behind Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's decree last April turning black money into white.

It said no questions could be asked by the Federal Board of Revenue about the source of funds invested in stocks till July 2014. The investments become legally legitimate.

The pool of such funds is potentially huge. A report by the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime projected the size of Pakistan's informal or "black" economy at $34 billion in 2010-11, one-fifth of the formal economy.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force, which monitors money laundering, said the decree did not contravene Pakistan's existing anti-money laundering legislation. But anecdotal evidence suggests controls are lax.

In one case shown to Reuters by a lawyer, a man invested $10 million buying stocks in a single transaction. His address: a Karachi slum notorious for Taliban infiltration.

(Additional reporting by Abhishek Vishnoi in Mumbai, India; Editing by Bill Tarrant)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/insight-pakistans-booming-market-no-black-white-matter-210635962--sector.html

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Video: KPMG Resignation Unrelated to Ackman or Icahn: Source

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/51479100/

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JC Penney looks to old CEO to secure its future

FILE - In this Wednesday, May 14, 2008, file photo, Ron Johnson, speaks to reporters in front of the central glass staircase in the Apple store on Boylston Street in Boston. Ron Johnson was ousted as head of JC Penney on Monday, April 8, 2013, after restructuring backfired. Mike Ullman was named CEO. (AP Photo/Josh Reynolds, FIl1)

In this Oct. 23, 2009 photo, Mike Ullman, Chairman and CEO of J.C. Penney Company, Inc., visits a company store in New York. Mike Ullman was named CEO of JC Penney's after Ron Johnson was ousted on Monday, April 8, 2013, after restructuring backfired. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

NEW YORK (AP) ? J.C. Penney is hoping its former CEO can revive the retailer after a risky turnaround strategy backfired and led to massive losses and steep sales declines.

The company's board of directors ousted CEO Ron Johnson after only 17 months on the job. The department store chain said late Monday, in a statement, that it has rehired Johnson's predecessor, Mike Ullman, 66, who was CEO of the department store chain for seven years until November 2011.

The announcement comes as a growing chorus of critics including a former Penney CEO, Allen Questrom, called for Johnson's resignation as they lost faith in an aggressive overhaul that included getting rid of most discounts in favor of everyday low prices and bringing in new brands.

The biggest blow came Friday from his strongest supporter, activist investor and board member, Bill Ackman, who had pushed the board in the summer of 2011 to hire Johnson to shake up the dowdy image of the retailer. Ackman, whose company Pershing Square Capital Management, is Penney's biggest shareholder, reportedly told investors that Penney's execution "has been something very close to a disaster."

On Saturday, Ullman received a phone call from Penney's chairman Thomas Engibous asking him to take back his old job, according to Penney spokeswoman Kate Coultas. The board met Monday and decided to fire Johnson.

Neither Johnson nor Ullman were available for an interview.

Until early last week, some analysts thought the board would give Johnson, a former Apple Inc. and Target Corp. executive, until later this year to reverse the sales slide. A key element of Johnson's strategy was opening new shops featuring hot brands to help turn around the business. They began opening last year and had been faring better than the rest of the store.

"I truly believed that he had until holiday 2013," said Brian Sozzi, CEO and chief equities strategist Belus Capital Advisers. "Today's announcement is an indictment of his strategy."

Under Ullman, the chain brought in some new brands such as beauty company Sephora and exclusive names like MNG by Mango, a European clothing brand, but he didn't do much to transform the store's stodgy image or to attract new customers. He's expected to serve mostly as a stabilizing force, not someone who will make changes that will completely turn the company around.

"What they need is a little bit of stability and essentially adult supervision," said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy. "(Ullman) did nip-and-tuck surgery," said Craig Johnson, president of Customer Growth Partners, a retail consultancy. "But this was a place that needed radical surgery."

Sozzi said he thinks that Ullman will only serve as an interim CEO. He expects the Plano, Texas company's board will hand off the job to another executive who may want to take the company private. Ullman is getting a base salary of $1 million and the company didn't sign an employment agreement, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing.

Johnson's removal marks a dramatic fall for the executive who came to Penney with much fanfare. There were lofty expectations for the man who made Apple's stores cool places to shop, and before that, pioneered Target's successful "cheap chic" strategy by bringing in products by people such as home furnishings designer Michael Graves at discount-store prices.

Few questioned Johnson's savvy when it was announced in June 2011 that he was leaving his role as Apple's senior vice president of retail to take over the top job at Penney, a chain that had gained a reputation in recent years of having boring stores and merchandise.

But Johnson's strategy led to spiraling sales and losses. The initial honeymoon with Wall Street ended soon after customers didn't respond favorably to his changes. Johnson revised his strategy several times in an attempt to bring back shoppers with little success. The turnaround plan was closely watched by industry observers who wanted to see if Johnson could actually change shoppers' behavior. The plan failed and now worries are mounting about the company's future.

Penney's stock price Monday evening showed investors' frustration with Johnson and it's uncertainty about Penney's future. When news began to leak after the market closed that Penney was ousting Johnson, the stock, which had closed at $15.87 in the regular session, climbed nearly 13 percent to $17.88 in after-hours trading. But as pleased as investors were about getting rid of Johnson, they didn't appear impressed with his replacement. After Penney announced Ullman would take over, the stock reversed course falling as far as 11 percent from its regular closing price, to $14.10. That's 21 percent from its after-hours high.

Johnson's future at Penny became uncertain after the department store retailer reported dismal fourth-quarter results in late February that capped the first full year of a transformation plan gone wrong. Penney amassed nearly a billion dollars in losses and its revenue tumbled almost 25 percent, from the previous year, to $12.98 billion.

Under Johnson, 54, Penney ditched coupons and most of its sales events in favor of everyday low prices. It's bringing in hipper designer brands such as Betsey Johnson and updating stores by installing specialty shops devoted to brands such as Levi's to replace rows of clothing racks. Johnson's goal was to reinvent Penney's business into a trendy place to shop in a bid to attract younger, wealthier shoppers. Johnson, the mastermind behind Apple's profitable stores, rolled out his plan and it turned off shoppers who were used to heavy discounting. Once-loyal customers have strayed from the 1,100-store chain. It hasn't been able to attract new shoppers to replace them.

Initially, Wall Street supported Johnson's ideas. In a vote of confidence, investors drove Penney's stock up 24 percent to $43 after Johnson announced his vision in late January 2012. But as Johnson's plans unraveled, Penney's stock lost more than 60 percent of its value. Credit rating agencies downgraded the company deeper into junk status. On Monday, the stock closed down about 50 percent from when Johnson took the helm.

In one of the biggest signs of the board's disapproval of Johnson's performance, Johnson saw his 2012 compensation package plummet nearly 97 percent to about $1.9 million, according to an SEC filing last week. He didn't get any stock or option awards, or a bonus. In 2011, he had received a stock award worth $52.7 million on the day it was granted. The award was given to Johnson after he was named CEO and made a $50 million personal investment in the company.

In yet another blow to Johnson's turnaround strategy, Vornado Realty Trust, one of Penney's biggest shareholders, sold more than 40 percent of its stake in the company last month. The company's chairman and CEO, Steve Roth sits on Penney's board.

A court battle with department store Macy's Inc. over a partnership with Martha Stewart also has raised questions about Johnson's judgment. Macy's, which has had long-term exclusive rights to the Martha Stewart brand for products such as bedding and bath items, is trying to block Penney from opening Martha Stewart mini-shops, planned for this spring. Macy's contends that Penney's deal with Stewart infringes on its own deal with the home maven. If Penney loses, it will have to take a big loss on the products that it ordered from Martha Stewart Living.

During the fourth quarter that ended Feb. 2, Penney's loss widened to $552 million, or $2.51 per share, up from a loss of $87 million, or 41 cents per share a year ago.

Total revenue dropped 28.4 percent to $3.88 billion.

Penney's results for the full year were even more staggering. For the fiscal year, Penney lost $985 million, or $4.49 per share, compared with a loss of $152 million, or 70 cents per share, in the year ended January 28, 2012. Revenue fell 25 percent, to $12.98 billion, from the previous year's $17.26 billion.

While acknowledging that Penney made some mistakes during the fourth-quarter conference call with investors, Johnson said Penney would start offering sales in stores every week ? about 100 of the 600 or so the chain offered each year prior to his turnaround plan. And it would bring back coupons.

Critics have said that one of Johnson's greatest missteps was that he didn't test the pricing plan with shoppers before rolling out the strategy. He argued that testing would have been impossible because the company needed quick results and that if he hadn't taken a strong stance against discounting, he would not have been able to get new stylish brands on board.

"Experience is making mistakes and learning from them, and I have learned a lot," Johnson said at the time. "We worked really hard and tried many things to help the customer understand that she could shop any time on her terms. But we learned she prefers a sale. At times, she loves a coupon."

During his tenure, Johnson had spoken of being around for the long-haul and referred to his plan as a multiyear strategy. His plans were only partially realized. Shops for Joe Fresh, featuring brightly colored clothes were launched last month. A new home area sporting names like Jonathan Adler and Michael Graves will be launching this spring. Other brands were expected to be unveiled in coming years as the stores transformed into a collection of up to 100 mini-shops.

But the company's board wasn't willing to wait to see how those plans would turn out after racking up such severe losses so quickly. Now, that Johnson is out, the worry on Wall Street is that Ullman won't be able to turn around business fast enough.

"Ullman is in a crisis zone," said Sozzi. "This is not a normal situation. He has a short window to get in and see what's wrong with the company and put a Band-Aid on the fundamental problems."

____

Associated Press Business Writers Candice Choi and Joseph Pisani contributed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-04-09-JC-Penney-CEO/id-dae1d2cb11954d3990eb5610db930995

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New Owners for Wally's Wine & Spirits, Brand Expansion ... - Eater LA

Tuesday, April 9, 2013, by Kat Odell

Wally's Wine & Spirits, a longtime hub for wine collectors and spirit hounds, is losing its founding member, Steve Wallace. An ABC transfer went live a few days ago naming new owners, Armand Marciano of GUESS? Jeans and William Payne.

What does this mean for Wally's? According to a piece in The Daily Meal last month, Christian Navarro, Wallace's longtime biz partner, will stay on as co-owner with the aforementioned new parties. And for those who have hoped Wally's would expand over the years, shop growth is planned for the future. [EaterWire]

Wally's Wine & Spirits

2107 Westwood Blvd, Los Angeles, CA 90025

USA

34.0449 -118.433

Source: http://la.eater.com/archives/2013/04/09/new_owners_for_wallys_wine_spirits_brand_expansion.php

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Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Thatcherism: the radical ideology that became the global norm

By Jeremy Gaunt

LONDON (Reuters) - More than three decades after Margaret Thatcher became Britain's prime minister, her economic legacy - reviled and revered - still ripples across the world.

Whether it is euro zone finance ministers demanding debt-laden countries privatize state-run companies, U.S. politicians seeking spending cuts and curbs on unions, or Britain itself putting its Royal Mail on the auction bloc, the tenets of Thatcherism, for better or worse, are alive.

Thatcher, who died on Monday aged 87, stood for deregulation, a smaller state, free markets and privatization. If that sounds familiar, it is because her playbook has been copied around the world.

None of those policies were common in 1979 when Thatcher became Britain's first woman prime minister with the country reeling in post-war economic decay.

"She shifted the boundaries of what was politically possible," said Steve Davies, a director and economic historian at Britain's Institute of Economic Affairs think tank.

"On the one side policies such as privatization and deregulation came to be taken seriously. On the other, policies that were taken seriously - like the command economy - are no longer taken seriously."

Thatcherism - and its U.S. cousin Reaganomics, after the president, Ronald - were seen as radical departures. The term privatization, for example, was barely known before her tenure. A Google search in 2013 brings up more than 14.5 million hits.

When Thatcher took over Britain, much of its industry like those of other European countries was in the hands of the state.

She sold off steelmakers, carmakers, aerospace firms, oil and gas giants, airlines and the telecoms monopoly - often to strong objections from political opponents and workers within the former state-owned industries. Even public housing was offered for sale, at a discount, to the tenants who lived in it.

There is still opposition. The U.S. public services union ASCME, for example, describes privatization as "driven by wrong-minded public officials and corporate greed."

FILE - In this June 23, 1982 file photo, Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gestures with her pen as she answers a reporters question during a news conference at the United Nations. ... more? FILE - In this June 23, 1982 file photo, Britain's Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher gestures with her pen as she answers a reporters question during a news conference at the United Nations. Ex-spokesman Tim Bell says that Thatcher has died. She was 87. Bell said the woman known to friends and foes as "the Iron Lady" passed away Monday morning, April 8, 2013. (AP Photo/File) less? ?

And not all privatizations were successful. Bold competition has brought down costs and encouraged growth in some areas such as telecommunications. Complex, heavily infrastructured businesses such as railways - privatized by her successor John Major - have arguably done less well.

But the debate now is generally on how far privatization should run, not on whether it should be unwound.

Sell-offs of state-owned businesses are now a de rigeur part of euro zone bailout programs. In Greece, the European Union/International Monetary Fund bailout requires the sale of real estate, more than 20 companies, and dozens of marinas and ports.

Thatcher's economic influence outside of Britain was most visible in Eastern Europe. After the fall of the Communist bloc at the end of her tenure, new leaders there made her a hero and embraced privatization as the express route to capitalism.

In many countries the transfer of state assets to private hands was a success; in others, less so.

In Russia, a privatization scheme designed by self-professed Thatcherites was brazenly run by its own beneficiaries. It awarded the crown jewels of Soviet industry to a handful of politically-connected insiders, creating a caste of overnight billionaires, more than a few of whom would later become Thatcher's neighbors in London's exclusive Belgravia district.

"The emergence of oligarchic structures and dramatic increases in inequality... demonstrate the limitations of applying Baroness Thatcher's legacy too literally," said Erik Berglof, chief economist at the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development.

DEREGULATION

Thatcher's "big bang" deregulation of British financial markets saw the City of London strut into its role as Europe's banking capital, and helped turn global finance into the swaggering industry it became for the past generation.

Other industries faced the opposite fate on her watch. Her biggest battles were with coal miners, in a state-run sector that was already in rapid decline after Britain discovered cheaper, safer and cleaner offshore natural gas.

When she took power there were nearly a quarter of a million coal miners in Britain, sustaining communities that had known little else since the industrial revolution. When she left there were barely 50,000 people still working in the mines. Today only a few thousand remain.

Her embrace of deregulation would get mixed reviews at the moment, given the excesses that led to the financial crisis of 2008. Indeed, there has been something of a backlash against the relatively unfettered wealth-creation Thatcher espoused.

[Related: Thatcher 'leaned in' before it was a thing]

"Thatcher created a more dynamic and laissez-faire society, but the social cost in terms of communities destroyed was immense," said Timothy Ash, a strategist at Standard Bank who remembers long lines of police vans outside his school, which was adjacent to a coal mine that was later closed down.

But free market economics - epitomized by Europe's single market, which Thatcher supported even as she waved her handbag threateningly at much of the rest of the bloc's ideas - has become the dominant economic philosophy in most of the world.

Again, the argument today is on the issue of how much you can protect your economy or control excesses, rather than on the assumption that you should run things from the center.

"There are still legitimate question about outcomes," said Glenn Hubbard, dean of Columbia University Graduate School of Business in New York. "But she tremendously advanced the case of free markets for goods, capital and labor around the world."

(Additional reporting by Carolyn Cohn and Sujata Rao; Editing by Peter Graff)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/thatcherism-radical-ideology-became-global-norm-181101505--business.html

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WrestleMania 29 results

All WWE programming, talent names, images, likenesses, slogans, wrestling moves, trademarks, logos and copyrights are the exclusive property of WWE, Inc. and its subsidiaries. All other trademarks, logos and copyrights are the property of their respective owners. ? 2013 WWE, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This website is based in the United States. By submitting personal information to this website you consent to your information being maintained in the U.S., subject to applicable U.S. laws. U.S. law may be different than the law of your home country. WrestleMania XXIX (NY/NJ) logo TM & ? 2013 WWE. All Rights Reserved. The Empire State Building design is a registered trademark and used with permission by ESBC.

Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/29/wrestlemania-29-results

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Monday, April 8, 2013

Honus Wagner baseball card fetches $2.1 million

Honus Wager baseball card, known as 'holy grail' of sports memorabilia, sells for $2.1 million. That's a record for a public auction, although a similar Honus Wagner baseball card sold privately for more.

By Brendan O'Brien,?Reuters / April 6, 2013

This is the front and rear of America's new $2.1 million baseball card ? a 1909 Honus Wagner card sold Saturday April 6, 2013, by Goldin Auctions in an online auction.

Goldin Auctions/AP

Enlarge

A rare Honus Wagner baseball card, dubbed the "Holy Grail" of sports memorabilia, was sold on Saturday for a record $2.1 million, according to Goldin Auctions, which oversaw the bidding.

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The selling price of the 1909 T206 White Border Honus Wagner card was $500,000 more than the $1.6 million the same card was purchased for in 2008, according to Ken Goldin, who runs the auction house.

A wealthy businessman, who wishes to remain anonymous, bought the card, Goldin said. The seller also is anonymous, he added.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame calls the card the "Holy Grail" of sports collecting and describes it as "baseball's most famous collectible."

The card is part of the T206 set issued from 1909 to 1911 in different brands of cigarette and loose tobacco packs by the American Tobacco Company. It is one of 44 Honus Wagners that have been authenticated from the set, Goldin said.

Wagner, a major league shortstop and the best player at the time, complained about being on a baseball card that advertised cigarettes, Goldin said.

"They never issued the card," Goldin said. "Most of them were pulled and destroyed (but) about 125 escaped the factory."

The baseball card, known as the "Jumbo Wagner" because of its unusually large borders, shows Wagner wearing the team uniform of the Pittsburgh Pirates, with whom he spent most of his professional career.

One of the five original Baseball Hall of Famers, Johannes Peter "Honus" Wagner - nicknamed "The Flying Dutchman" for his speed - hit .329 and stole 722 bases in 21 seasons.

The $2.1 million is the highest amount ever paid for a baseball card in a public auction. Some 15 bids were placed during the auction that began with an opening bid of $500,000, set by the auction house.

In 2007, a similar Honus Wagner card, once owned by hockey great Wayne Gretzky, fetched $2.8 million in a private sale, reportedly making it the most ever paid for a baseball card.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/UB_jfghvoEk/Honus-Wagner-baseball-card-fetches-2.1-million

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Gas prices fall to $3 a gallon in some markets

Paul A. Eisenstein , The Detroit Bureau ? ? ? 3 hrs.

If your wallet is still hurting from the painfully high fuel prices much of the country experienced over the winter there?s some good news next time you head to the pump.

The average price of a gallon of regular unleaded gas has dipped to just $3.58, a three-cent dip since late last week, 15 cents from a month ago, and 36 cents off of what the typical American motorist was spending this time in 2012.

That?s a sharp turnaround from February when some states saw gas surge to near or all-time records, particularly along the West Coast.

The Detroit Bureau: Are Wagons Ready for Revival?

Buyers are still paying an average $4.359 in Hawaii and $4.027 in Washington, D.C., but California is back under the $4 mark, at $3.998, according to GasBuddy.com, a fuel price tracking service. And it?s down to $3.286 in Montana ? where motorists are paying just $3.261 in Billings.

Some reports indicate that the price has dropped below the $3 mark in a few Rocky Mountain communities near major refineries. And GasBuddy is forecasting still ?more markets? will dip under that break point in the coming days.

The Detroit Bureau: Fisker Fiasco Worsens

While crude prices posted some gains in early Monday trading, petroleum futures have been in sharp decline for several weeks. One key reason, reports the federal Energy Information Administration is that the country?s inventories are now at a 22-year peak.

The U.S. has been rapidly ramping up oil production for several years and is expected to actually be a larger producer than Saudi Arabia and other OPEC providers by mid-decade. That doesn't necessarily translate into lower prices, as petroleum is traded as a global commodity. But despite concerns about Mideast instability ? notably reductions in production in war-torn Syria ? there appears to be a good supply, if not a glut of the black gold now available around the world.

The Detroit Bureau: Germans May Give UAW Breakthrough Chance to Unionize VW "Transplant"

According to Tom Kloza, chief analyst with the Oil Price Information Service, only a major ?disruption in the Mideast? would likely provoke a sharp spike in fuel prices around the world.

That said, analysts warn that Americans can?t be complacent. Traders continue trying to push up the price of crude. And as U.S. motorists have been seeing, regional spikes are becoming more common. That can follow the changeover from summer to winter fuel blends designed to reduce regional air pollution problems. It can also result from maintenance and other issues, such as those that affected large swaths of the Midwest and Pacific Coast over the last year.

Even in areas where prices top the national charts today, the figures are significantly down from year-ago levels ? when California stood at $4.28 a gallon, for example.

The Detroit Bureau: Ford Reveals Alternatives for F-150

The sudden decline in gas prices may be fueling a shift in the U.S. new car market, meanwhile. Sales of pickups, in particular, surged during March and light trucks outsold passenger cars on the whole, despite recent trends moving in the opposite direction.

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/653351/s/2a7a3c1d/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Cgas0Eprices0Efall0E30Egallon0Esome0Emarkets0E1C9255115/story01.htm

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Michael Bloomberg needs more thorough background check system for his ?Mayors Against Illegal Guns? (Michellemalkin)

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Sunday, April 7, 2013

WrestleMania 29 results

Up-to-the-minute WrestleMania 29 results

For complete WrestleMania 29 results and coverage, including exclusive videos and photos, stick with WWE.com throughout the night. From the Intercontinental Championship Match on the special one-hour Live Interactive Pre-Show (which begins at 6 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT) to the Post-Show, WWE.com gives you more access than ever before to the biggest event of the year, The Showcase of the Immortals. Don't miss out on WrestleMania, airing on pay-per-view at a special start time of 7 p.m. ET/4 p.m. PT.

WWE Championship Match
The Rock (c) vs. John Cena (PREVIEW)

No Holds Barred Match (If Triple H loses, he must retire)
Triple H vs. Brock Lesnar (PREVIEW)

The Undertaker vs. CM Punk (PREVIEW)

World Heavyweight Championship Match
Alberto Del Rio (c) vs. Jack Swagger (PREVIEW)

Ryback vs. Mark Henry (PREVIEW)

Randy Orton, Sheamus & Big Show vs. The Shield (PREVIEW)

Chris Jericho vs. Fandango (PREVIEW)

WWE Tag Team Championship Match
Team Hell No (c) vs. Dolph Ziggler & Big E. Langston (PREVIEW)

Tons of Funk & The Funkadactyls vs. Team Rhodes Scholars & The Bella Twins (PREVIEW)

Intercontinental Championship Match (Interactive Pre-Show)
Wade Barrett (c) vs. The Miz (PREVIEW)

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Source: http://www.wwe.com/shows/wrestlemania/29/wrestlemania-29-results

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We are interested in buying investment properties ... - Zillow Real ...

Hello!

It's great that you want to invest in real estate.? It's the best wealth generating investment available!

However, you want to narrow down a strategy based on markets that make the most sense, then look at turnkey properties that fit your investment goals.

I would suggest starting with our free report, "Building Wealth in Real Estate" found on our website. Our blog is chock-full of helpful information for you, but you should also download our "2013 Housing Market Forecast" as a supplement to the Building Wealth report.

I'm sure you have a lot of questions on how to start, what to look at, areas to consider and those to avoid.? Feel free to contact me if you would like a little guidance.

Continued success,

Marco Santarelli
Norada Real Estate Investments
...

Source: http://www.zillow.com/advice-thread/We-are-interested-in-buying-investment-properties-for-rental-income-Any-suggestions-please/486605/

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