Exclusive: Goldman finds a way past Volcker with new credit fund

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group is looking to raise up to $600 million from its wealthy customers for a publicly traded credit fund that will provide loans to mid-sized companies - believed to be the first fund of its kind for the Wall Street bank.

The new fund, in which Goldman could invest another $150 million of its own money, is being structured as a business development company, an investment vehicle that is specifically exempt from the so-called Volcker Rule that puts limits on some activities by Wall Street firms.

A January marketing brochure for the fund, reviewed by Reuters, said the fund will provide loans to "underserved middle market public and private companies" that commercial banks have largely refrained lending to since the financial crisis began.

The fund is a way for Goldman to keep a hand in the credit business despite new constraints on trading credit products that are expected to come with the finalization of the Volcker Rule. The rule that would ban proprietary trading carries exemptions in its current form for lending and small business development.

A spokesman for Goldman's asset management group, which is sponsoring the Goldman Sachs Liberty Harbor Capital fund, declined to comment.

The fund's portfolio, valued at around $50 million, already includes an average stake of about $8.5 million in six companies, with a weighted average yield of roughly 11 percent, according to the brochure. The investments are in both senior secured loans and unsecured high-yield debt.

The new fund comes at a time that Wall Street firms are looking to find new ways to entice their best brokerage customers into new products. While business development companies are not a new innovation, the Goldman fund could be a sign of things to comes from Wall Street firms as they adjust to prospect of lesser trading dollars because of the Volcker rule.

The Volcker rule is named after former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker.

The rule, which is still being hashed out by regulators, would limit the kind of activities Wall Street banks can engage in, including capping the amount of money firms like Goldman can invest in their own hedge funds and private equity funds and preventing them from trading certain kinds of financial products for their own accounts.

Changes banks including Goldman have made in anticipation of the Volcker Rule's prop-trading ban have already altered the competitive landscape noticeably in the credit space. Last fall a managing director at the private equity firm Blackstone Group took a jab at Goldman and other Wall Street banks, thanking Volcker for taking away its largest competitor in the credit space.

And while it is unlikely that funds that extend loans to businesses will be impacted by the Volcker rule, Goldman is one of several Wall Street firms that has lobbied regulators to make clear that loans made by credit funds are no different from traditional bank loans.

Jaret Seiberg, senior policy analyst at Guggenheim Partners, said it would make sense for Wall Street's biggest banks to follow Goldman's lead.

"Lending is outside the scope of the Volcker Rule, so investing in loans seems like a smart strategy going forward," Seiberg said.

In its current form, the Volcker Rule also exempts investments that are designed primarily to help develop small businesses and, as the rule puts it, "promote the public welfare."

"'We like small business,' is the historical background," said Rick Carnell, a professor at Fordham Law School who focuses on regulation. "Banking law contains various exemptions for financing small business which go back decades."

The managers of the Goldman fund are the same group of portfolio managers that have oversee group of credit hedge funds for Goldman's asset management group, some of which also make business loans.

The Liberty Harbor group is led by Gregg Felton, who joined Goldman in 2006 for the now defunct hedge fund Amaranth Advisors.

Business development companies function much like real estate investment trusts and pay out 90 percent of the ordinary income they generate by way of dividends. Publicly traded business development companies provide an opportunity for investors to easily move in and out of the fund by buying or selling shares.

According to the marketing materials, if Goldman takes the fund public, it expects to do so by July 1, 2015.

As opposed to a traditional credit fund, business development companies offer investors greater transparency into investments because the funds must comply with all Securities and Exchange Commission regulatory filing requirements.

(Reporting by Matthew Goldstein and Emily Flitter; Editing by Richard Chang)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/exclusive-goldman-finds-way-past-volcker-credit-fund-210416659--sector.html

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Sofia Vergara and Nick Loeb: On the Rocks?

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Al Qaeda claims assassination of Sunni lawmaker in Iraq

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Al-Qaeda's Iraqi affiliate said it had carried out a suicide bomb attack that killed a Sunni Muslim lawmaker last week as he toured a construction site in the westerly Anbar province, where Sunnis have been protesting against the government for three weeks.

Members of the Sunni minority accuse the Shi'ite-led government of marginalizing them, and the wave of protests has raised fears that the OPEC country could again slide into widespread sectarian conflict.

The Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), an umbrella group for al Qaeda-linked Sunni insurgents, said it was responsible for the assassination of Efan al-Esawi, describing him as the "dog of the Americans" and the "tail of the Shi'ites".

Esawi was one of the architects of the Sahwa tribal resistance that helped to subdue al Qaeda-linked insurgents battling U.S. troops in the Sunni heartland of Anbar at the height of the conflict of the last decade.

Posing as a worker, the attacker hugged Efan al-Esawi before detonating an explosive vest, killing them both on the spot.

"He insisted on his disbelief, treachery and war against Muslims ... until he died at the hands of the mujahideen in his current state, to be an example and a lesson for those after him," the U.S.-based SITE Intelligence Group quoted ISI as saying in a statement on Sunday.

The ISI also claimed responsibility for other attacks in Anbar province and across the country, without giving details.

On Wednesday more than 35 people died in a suicide bomb attack and other bombings in northern Iraq and Baghdad.

Al Qaeda's Iraqi branch also voiced support for the Sunni protests and said it was fighting to "cut off the vein that is extending the life of the criminal Nusayri regime to kill your brothers in the Levant".

In neighboring Syria, mainly Sunni rebels are fighting President Bashar al-Assad, most of whose ruling establishment are members of the Shi'ite-derived Alawite or Nusayri sect, adding to the strain on Iraq's own delicate sectarian and ethnic balance.

Sunni anti-government protests erupted in Iraq in late December after state officials arrested members of a Sunni finance minister's security team on terrorism charges. Authorities denied the arrests were political, but Sunni leaders saw them as a crackdown.

Since the fall of Sunni strongman Saddam Hussein after the U.S.-led invasion, many Sunnis feel they have been marginalised by the Shi'ite leadership.

Violence in Iraq is well down since the height of sectarian bloodletting in 2006-2007. But last year saw a rise in violent deaths for the first time in three years, with more than 4,400 people killed.

(Reporting by Aseel Kami; Editing by Isabel Coles and Kevin Liffey)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/al-qaeda-claims-assassination-sunni-lawmaker-iraq-092415774.html

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Inauguration weekend kicks off with day of service

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2009, file photo, Barack Obama, left, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts, not seen, as his wife Michelle, holds the Lincoln Bible and daughters Sasha, right and Malia, watch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Obama's second inauguration is shaping up as a high-energy celebration smaller than his first milestone swearing-in, yet still designed to mark his unprecedented role in American history with plenty of eye-catching glamour. A long list of celebrity performers will give the once-every-four years right of democratic passage the air of a star-studded concert, from the bunting-draped Capitol's west front of the Capitol, where Obama takes the oath Jan. 21, to the Washington Convention Center, which is expected to be packed with 40,000 ball-goers that evening. (AP Photo/Chuck Kennedy, Pool)

FILE - In this Jan. 20, 2009, file photo, Barack Obama, left, takes the oath of office from Chief Justice John Roberts, not seen, as his wife Michelle, holds the Lincoln Bible and daughters Sasha, right and Malia, watch at the U.S. Capitol in Washington. Obama's second inauguration is shaping up as a high-energy celebration smaller than his first milestone swearing-in, yet still designed to mark his unprecedented role in American history with plenty of eye-catching glamour. A long list of celebrity performers will give the once-every-four years right of democratic passage the air of a star-studded concert, from the bunting-draped Capitol's west front of the Capitol, where Obama takes the oath Jan. 21, to the Washington Convention Center, which is expected to be packed with 40,000 ball-goers that evening. (AP Photo/Chuck Kennedy, Pool)

FILE - In this Tuesday, Oct. 13, 2009 file photo, the shadow of President Barack Obama is cast on a wall as he leaves a news conference in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington after the Senate Finance Committee voted to approve a health care bill. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

FILE - In this combination of file photos, the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. speaks at a peace rally in New York on April 15, 1967, left, and President Barack Obama speaks at an election night party in Chicago after winning a second term in office on Nov. 7, 2012. Inauguration Day coincides with the King holiday, marking what some say is an inextricable tie between the nation's first black president and the civil rights movement. Obama plans to incorporate the legacy of that movement into his inauguration. (AP Photo, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Three days of inaugural celebrations kicked off in Washington Saturday, with President Barack Obama heading up a National Day of Service ahead of his swearing-in for a second term.

The president and first lady, Michelle Obama, planned to volunteer in the Washington area Saturday. Vice President Joe Biden, his wife, Jill, and others members of his family spent the morning filling care packages for U.S. troops serving overseas, veterans and first responders.

Obama added the day of service projects in 2009 and hopes it will become a tradition for future presidents.

Volunteers also gathered on the National Mall on a crisp, sunny morning in Washington for a service summit. In a videotaped message played at the event, Mrs. Obama said the volunteers were "showing once again that by giving back, we can lift up our fellow citizens and build stronger, healthier communities."

Former first daughter Chelsea Clinton, the honorary chairwoman of the volunteer effort, kicked off the summit by praising her family's "chain of service."

The president will be officially sworn in for his second term on Sunday in a small ceremony at the White House. He'll take the oath of office again on Monday before hundreds of thousands of people on the National Mall, followed by the traditional parade and formal balls.

Thousands of workers and volunteers were making final preparations for the celebration. Hotels and government buildings along the parade route were adorned with red, white and blue bunting. White tents, trailers and generators lined the Mall.

Yet there is decidedly less energy surrounding Obama's second inauguration than there was in 2009. That history-making event drew 1.8 million people for the swearing-in of the nation's first black president.

This time, Obama takes the oath of office following a bruising presidential campaign and four years of partisan fighting. He's more experienced in the ways of Washington. He has the gray hair and lower approval ratings to show for it.

For at least the inauguration weekend, the fiscal fights and legislative wrangling will be put aside in favor of pomp and circumstance.

The White House did not say in advance what Obama's service project would be. In 2009, he helped spruce up a shelter for homeless teens in one of Washington's poorer neighborhoods then visited wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center.

The White House sees the call to service as a way for Americans across the country to honor the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. The day Obama publicly takes the oath of office marks King's birthday, and 2013 is the 50th anniversary of the civil rights leader's March on Washington.

Also Saturday, Michelle Obama and Jill Biden were hosting the Kids' Inaugural Concert, an evening event paying special tribute to military spouses and children.

The crowds pouring into Washington were expected to be far smaller than they were four years ago, and there will be fewer inaugural balls for the president and first lady to attend. Still, Obama's swearing-in at the Capitol is expected to draw up to 800,000 people, which would make it the largest second.

The president was still working on his inaugural address heading into the weekend. He isn't expected to delve deeply into the policy objectives he'll tackle in a second term, but the tone and theme of the speech will set the stage for the policy fights to come.

Aides said he will make the point that while the nation's political system doesn't require politicians to resolve all of their differences, it does require Washington to act on issues where there is common ground. He will speak about how the nation's core principles can still guide a country that has changed immensely since its founding.

Temperatures were forecast to fall throughout the weekend and be in the 30s on Monday when the crowds gather along the parade route that will take Obama from Capitol Hill to the White House.

Despite scaling back on some of the revelry, the inauguration will be a star-studded affair. Top acts including Beyonce, Katy Perry and Brad Paisley have signed on to perform at the weekend's events.

The inauguration also is bringing thousands of Obama campaign staffers and donors to Washington, with many getting invitations for tours and other events at the White House. On Friday, the president and first lady held two private events for donors who helped finance his 2012 campaign.

___

Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.

___

Follow Julie Pace at http://twitter.com/jpaceDC

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-19-US-Obama-Inauguration/id-a292d05489454dc79b8a85050ad3ef7c

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Sacramento Real Estate Boom Leads Nation In Growth

According to a report issued this week by Realtor.com, real estate in Northern California is booming -- especially in one housing market that was among the hardest hit of any in the country by the collapse of the housing bubble.

The report, which looked at the year-over-year increases in median home sale prices in housing markets across the United States, found that the Sacramento area had the largest gains of any metro region. This data suggests that sagging housing prices, which have been a drag on the economy in much of California's Central Valley for years, are not only beginning to rebound, but are doing so with surprising strength.

Five of the top 10 cities with the fastest growth are located in Northern California and two more are in the southern portion of the state.

(SCROLL DOWN FOR THE FULL LIST)

"In Sacramento, you have a desirable area that was hit really hard by the housing bubble, with a lot of foreclosures and a lot of overbuilding," said Alison Schwartz of Move, Inc., the operator of Realtor.com, who noted that the spike in prices in the area is largely a result of how far home values had dropped in the region during the recession.

During much of the 2000s, loose financing led to an oversupply of housing being built in the San Francisco Bay Area's far outlying suburbs in the run-up to the crash. Since then, there's been little new construction; so as demand naturally increases with the gradually improving economy, supply hasn't been able to keep up and prices have jumped.

Additionally, many homeowners in the region still underwater on their mortgages, making it impossible for them to sell and further drying up some of the liquidity that would otherwise be present in the market.

Schwartz explained that it isn't exclusively people re-entering the housing market after the recession or, for that matter, first-time home buyers who are driving this new demand. "A lot of investors are looking to buy cheap properties that are relatively undervalued at the moment because they were built at the wrong time."

Not only did Sacramento have the biggest gain in home sale prices over the course of the past year, but it also had the largest percentage of its listed houses go off the market, an inventory reduction of just over two-thirds. Even so, Sacramento's median listing price is still well below its mid-bubble 2006 peak.

The Stockton-Lodi area, which was hit just as hard by the housing bubble, saw similarly staggering inventory reductions.

Housing price gains can't come soon enough for many homeowners in the region, which has been wracked by foreclosures and a flood of underwater mortgages.

"There are certain subdivisions in ... [the Central Valley area] where one out of every two or three houses are in foreclosure," Ruben Villalobos, an attorney and school board member in the nearby city of Modesto, told The Huffington Post in an interview last year.

Many of the other Northern California cities sitting atop the list owe their rapid price increases to a fairly different set of factors than those underlying Sacramento's swift ascent. Places like Santa Barbara, San Francisco and San Jose largely retained their value during the recession and owe the continued strength of their real estate markets to their booming economies where high-income people want to live.

While San Francisco only had the third-highest jump in housing prices over the past year, the report found that the City by the Bay had, far and away, the highest median home sale price in the country of $749,000 -- about double the median price of buying a home in New York City.

Check out the full top 10 list here:

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/01/17/sacramento-real-estate-boom_n_2498428.html

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AP source: Rangers, Harrison agree to $55M deal

FORT WORTH, Texas (AP) ? A person familiar with the deal says the Texas Rangers and All-Star pitcher Matt Harrison have agreed to a $55 million, five-year contract.

The deal includes an option for a sixth season, according to the person, who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity Wednesday night because the team hadn't announced the agreement.

Several media outlets had reported the deal earlier, all citing anonymous sources.

Harrison was 18-11 with a 3.29 ERA in 32 starts last year for the Rangers, and 32-20 the past two seasons.

The deal came a day after the 27-year-old left-hander filed for salary arbitration. Harrison could have become a free agent following the 2014 season.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-01-16-BBA-Rangers-Harrison-/id-cec6f9b7713445daa49c3548d870b982

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Sports & Recreation 2017: Lionel Messi (Superstars of Soccer

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Can a Pair of Socks Really Make a Difference in Athletic Performance?

A pair of socks is a pair of socks is a pair of socks. Right? Not anymore. Even a pair of socks have technology that can improve athletic performance now. More »

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Dry outlook troublesome for drought-stricken U.S.

(Reuters) - Forecasts for a return to dry weather for the balance of January in the already drought-stricken U.S. western Midwest and Plains are renewing worries among agriculture interests following the worst drought in more than 50 years in 2012.

"Dry weather will prevail in core drought areas of the western Midwest and Central Plains through the last half of January," said Joel Widenor, agricultural meteorologist for Commodity Weather Group. "This will also prevent any long-term stabilization in river levels in the middle Mississippi River Valley."

Heavy rainfall over the weekend in the southern Midwest provided much-needed soil moisture in some areas and also boosted river water levels, an agricultural meteorologist said on Tuesday.

However, the western Midwest and Plains States, areas where nearly all of the U.S. hard red winter wheat is grown, remained dry, and there are no forecasts for drought-relieving rain or snow soon.

Rainfall over the weekend was concentrated in the southern and southeast Midwest and helped boost river shipping prospects on the main U.S. waterway, the Mississippi River.

"It certainly was welcome and lifted the water level south of St. Louis," said Don Keeney, meteorologist for MDA EarthSat Weather. "The only problem now is it looks dry for about two weeks, so water levels will be receding again."

Two to four inches of rain, and up to five inches in some areas, were received over a broad area of the U.S. Delta and southern Midwest, he said.

Keeney said a cold snap this week may have caused some minor winterkill in areas of western Nebraska, and a blast of cold Arctic air is expected next week centered on the Midwest.

"It will drop to the single digits in the north, so this will need to be watched for some possible harm to some wheat," he said. The bitter cold will not reach into the U.S. Plains hard red winter wheat region, he added.

The U.S. Plains remained tightly gripped by a severe drought, according to a report issued last week by a consortium of federal and state climatology experts, and fears mounted that another hot, dry year could lie ahead for key crop-growing and cattle-grazing regions.

The government declared much of the central and southern U.S. Wheat Belt a natural disaster area last Wednesday due to persistent drought threatening the winter wheat harvest.

In its first disaster declaration of the new year, the Agriculture Department made growers in large portions of four major wheat-growing states - Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma and Texas - eligible for low-interest emergency loans.

(Reporting By Sam Nelson; editing by John Wallace)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/dry-outlook-troublesome-drought-stricken-u-133001176.html

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Somali official says French hostage likely killed

MOGADISHU, Somalia (AP) ? A Somali intelligence official says that the French intelligence agent held hostage for more than three years by Islamic militants in Somalia was likely killed by his captors during the failed rescue attempt by French commandos.

The official said Sunday that the home where the agent was held was destroyed in the attack Saturday, and that intelligence networks "do not have any information indicating he is still alive." The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not permitted to speak to the press. He said that all sources indicated that the agent, known by his code-name Denis Allex, was killed during the attack, most likely by his captors.

The militant Islamist group al-Shabab denies Allex was killed and claims to have a wounded French soldier in custody as well.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/somali-official-says-french-hostage-likely-killed-151032107.html

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11 Alternatives To Paying For Cable - Business Insider

Call us old fashioned, but you can't go wrong with good old antennas if you're looking for basic channels without all the fuss of gadgets.

Depending on where you live, you can get standard stations like ABC, NBC, CBS, CW, Fox, public access channels, and PBS. People in well-populated cities will probably find this option more viable.?

Cost: Antennas typically range from $4 to $55. There are many to choose from, however, so check out Antenna Web to help you decide.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/11-alternatives-to-paying-for-cable-2013-1?op=1

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The China stock market on Thursday snapped the two-day slide in which it had ret...

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Wall Street slips as earnings season gets under way

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks fell on Tuesday, retreating from last week's rally on the "fiscal cliff" deal in Washington, as companies started to report results for the fourth quarter.

After a 4.3 percent jump in the two sessions around the close of the fiscal cliff negotiations, the S&P has declined a bit, with investors finding few catalysts to extend the rally that took the benchmark to five-year highs.

"We had a brief respite, courtesy of what happened on the fiscal cliff deal and the flip of the calendar with new money coming into the market," said Bucky Hellwig, senior vice president at BB&T Wealth Management in Birmingham, Alabama.

Shares of AT&T Inc dropped 1.7 percent to $34.35, making it one of the biggest drags on the S&P 500, after the company said it sold more than 10 million smartphones in the quarter.

This figure beat the same quarter in 2011, but also means increased costs for the wireless service provider. Providers like AT&T pay hefty subsidies to handset makers so that they can offer discounts to customers who commit to two-year contracts.

Fourth-quarter profits are expected to beat the previous quarter's lackluster results, but analyst estimates are down sharply from October. Quarterly earnings are expected to grow by 2.7 percent, according to Thomson Reuters data. Dow component Alcoa, the largest U.S. aluminum producer, reported results after the closing bell.

The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> dropped 55.44 points, or 0.41 percent, to 13,328.85. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index <.spx> fell 4.74 points, or 0.32 percent, to 1,457.15. The Nasdaq Composite Index <.ixic> lost 7.01 points, or 0.23 percent, to 3,091.81.

"The stark reality of uncertainty with regard to earnings, plus the negotiations on the debt ceiling, are there and that doesn't give investors a lot of reason to take bets on the long side," Hellwig said.

With AT&T's fall, the S&P telecom services index <.gspl> was the worst performer of the 10 major S&P sectors, down 2.7 percent.

Sears Holdings shares dropped 6.4 percent to $40.16 a day after the company said Chairman Edward Lampert would take over as CEO from Louis D'Ambrosio, who is stepping down due to a family member's health issue. The U.S. retailer also reported a 1.8 percent decline in quarter-to-date sales at stores open at least a year.

Markets went lower as some of the first reported earnings were weak.

"It doesn't seem to be bouncing back, it might stay here or sell off a little further," said Stephen Carl, head of U.S. equity trading at The Williams Capital Group in New York.

Shares of restaurant-chain operator Yum Brands Inc fell 4.2 percent to $65.04 a day after the KFC parent warned sales in China, its largest market, shrank more than expected in the fourth quarter.

GameStop was one of the worst performers on the S&P 500 as shares slumped 6.3 percent to $23.19 after the video game retailer reported low customer traffic for the holiday season and cut its guidance.

Shares of Monsanto Co gained 2.5 percent to $98.42 after reaching a more than four-year high at $99.99. The world's largest seed company raised its earnings outlook for fiscal year 2013 and posted strong first-quarter results.

Volume was below the 2012 average of 6.42 billion shares traded per day, as 6.19 billion were traded on the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE MKT and Nasdaq.

Declining stocks outnumbered advancing ones on the NYSE by 1,495 to 1,458, while on the Nasdaq decliners beat advancers 1,305 to 1,158.

(Reporting by Gabriel Debenedetti; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Nick Zieminski)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-index-futures-signal-lower-wall-street-open-093952702--finance.html

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Nintendo chief describes Wii U sales as 'not bad', says supplies were misjudged at launch

There's almost a gory fascination with watching Wii U sales right now, because we know they're short of the thunderous launch of the original Wii and it's only a question of "by how much?". Nevertheless, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata has insisted to Reuters that the Wii U's reception has been "not bad" in terms of hard figures, and that the next-gen console is "selling steadily" even though shelves haven't been depleted like they were with its predecessor. Satoru admits that trying to launch two versions of the console simultaneously was a "challenge" and that quantities weren't balanced quite right, with too few of the premium $350 option and an excess of the $300 model that early adopters didn't much want. Nintendo sales trends have a habit of doing wild things, of course, so like the pension paperwork says: previous performance isn't necessarily an indication of future success.

Filed under: Gaming, Nintendo

Comments

Source: Reuters

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/01/07/wii-u-sales-satoru-iwata/

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10 reasons why you&#39;ll love scuba diving. - The official blog of ...

Is Scuba Diving the World of Silence as Cousteau professed?

Hmm? I?d say yes and no!

Surprised?

Ok? let?s dive in and find out why.

?Marseilles, Aug 1997, 8:30 pm. Sunset on the horizon. On the Zodiac -our tanks are filled up with regulators in place. We put our wets on and a warm breeze welcomes us. We talk softly, each one of us dreaming about the next hour to come for a night dive that looks very promising.

Because at night everything is different! And species that you never see during a day dive will now appear in front of you and tease you under the beam of your lights.

The boat stops.

The moon is here with its crescent a bit arrogant.

We start our dive, slowly?? *

I was 18 when I took my very first scuba class. I had always dreamed about diving in the ocean. For years, each week I watched the epic adventures of Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Calypso crew on TV. I was just a kid? but so impressed. Breathing quietly underwater? I couldn?t believe it!

I wanted to do the same thing and see it all myself!

Nowadays, according to the Dema 2012 Annual Report there are around 6 million active scuba divers worldwide, with half of those in North America.

Recreational Scuba Diving has become a very popular, family-oriented sports activity. It wasn?t always like that. Indeed, scuba diving? (SCUBA means Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus) was originally the exclusive activity of? military groups.

However in 1943 ?Navy officer Jacques-Yves Cousteau and a young engineer, ?mile Gagnan, developed the now famous Aqua-Lung? a self-contained and automatic regulator. A new sport was born! And for everyone to enjoy? though that took a few decades to happen.

For the purpose of this post I?ll use the term recreational diving ?diving for leisure and fun. This is different from technical diving which requires specialized training and equipment.

?We continue our descent toward that depth that seems to suck all of us deeper and deeper.

The Ocean is like a skin at the same time soft and sensual, warm and cold, safe and dangerous?

We?re now close to the Wall. I remember the pre-dive briefing but what I see with my light makes me forget to breathe!

I cannot take my eyes away from this vision: so much to see and watch.

I?m weightless?simply floating? staring at an abundance of colors and forms of all sizes: small hydroids in a polypoid shape turning the rock into a red-yellow carpet, clavelines or light bulb tunicates in grapes, and moving with the water flow??

So why should Scuba Diving be your next great adventure?

Reason 1: There?s No Gravity!

Yes? that?s a huge discovery! Strapping on a tank of air and diving into the sea gives you an immediate feeling of flying or floating in space? just like an astronaut! No other place on earth can bring you this wonderful, unmatched sensation. It?s called neutral buoyancy. And that is why NASA has been conducting training to simulate deep-space missions at the Aquarius Reef Base underwater habitat off Key Largo, Fla since 2001.

The moment I start my descent it?s like a freefall. But I?m in control. I can choose to go slowly or just dive in and rush -arms open like I?m sky diving! A great feeling ? )

Reason 2: You?ll Discover the Ocean as Another Planet

The underwater world is like no other you?ve seen: Right in front of your eyes is an ecosystem that has remained untouched and out of reach from air-breathing bipeds for millions or years.

Reason 3: It?s a Family Adventure

The truth is it has always been a family activity as Cousteau himself started the trend with his wife and two suns over 40 years ago. It was truly a family adventure!

It?s possible to discover scuba diving with the whole family and share many fun memories. Today even your 8 year-old child can take PADI (Professional Association of Diving Instructors) courses. There are indeed plenty opportunities for adventures including shore dives, or spending the afternoon on a boat dive. Kids never stop smiling as they spend a few hours discovering and exploring. Then, when they get out of the water, they can?t wait to put their hands on books telling them about the ?new fish or sponges or corals they have discovered through the glass of their masks.

Oh? almost forgot. Kids Sea Camps are also a very nice way to let your child discover and enjoy an outdoor activity with friends! See this beautiful video (with your kids!):

And I can see now a question at the tip of your tongue: Is there an age limit? To my knowledge, no. It all depends on one?s physical and mental health.

So be ready to plan trips with kids and grandparents.

Having doubts?! Check this recent article by Stan Waterman, who?s 88 and diving more than ever!

Reason 4: It?s an Encounter of the 3rd Kind

I couldn?t skip this reason? the one that makes me go diving again and again: Scuba Diving gives me the chance to meet new species and remember that incredible experience for the rest of my life!

In my case, diving? -on the great Barrier Reef in Australia has been a constant source of discovery and wonder: This is where I saw my Manta Rays? swimming (or maybe flying!)near me during a drift dive!

But See what Brian Skerry from National Geographic has to say about his encounter with a? well just watch the video!

Reason 5: You can Choose Your Dive

That?s the beauty of Scuba Diving! There are so many dive types that the choices may sometimes be overwhelming! But it?s not! Simply choose according to your taste, destination and level of certification. Your dive is yours to enjoy!

Types of available dives can include from shore, a boat, a pier or drift dives; they can include caves, wrecks or even search and recovery dives; and they can be done day or night.

You can even try experimenting with underwater photography or videography dives, especially in warm water destinations! When you return home you?ve got plenty of treasured memories to talk about and share on your Facebook page.

Reason 6: You can Choose Your Location

Why is Scuba Diving so great? You can dive worldwide!

In the States you have many choices: Oceans, lakes, rivers and quarries. And let?s not forget the Florida Keys, or the Hawaiian and Catalina Islands.

I?ll not telling you to go here or there because I think one place is better than another. By experience, each new destination I?ve visited has been a very special discovery for me: in British Columbia -which provides some of the best cold-water dives around I saw giant white anemones.

In Egypt, it was the blue spotted rays and giant Napoleon fish that delighted me.

In Australia, I loved the Great Barrier Reef (by the way it?s the largest living organism on Earth). Diving over boomies and watching that tiny coral life just under my ever astonished eyes (and observing reef sharks swimming around!) was an experience I?ll never forget!

In the Caribbean I had the chance to see seahorses -and wonderful night creatures like lobsters and crabs?

I can safely say every dive is different and every one a thrilling adventure!

Reason 7: You Meet Nice People and Learn Different Cultures

I remember when I was diving off Lady Eliot Island, the first coral reef Island on the Great Barrier Reef. You can see on the photo below how the reef atoll extends far away from the island. Impressive, isn?t it!

At the end of the dive we always had some warm hot chocolate to drink. And the captain of the boat was pretty cool. He?d learned Swahili and always teased us by replying: ?Acoona Matata (No Worries)!?

Anyway, scuba diving will let you discover the many faces of human culture wherever you travel. And you?ll grow from these experiences.

Reason 8: As You Learn More About the Ocean You?ll Want to Protect It

Generally scuba divers share the same fascination and respect for the underwater world. We all have our secret language with hand signs and our favorite dive spots with so many wonders that we can all talk about these experiences for hours.

It?s like being part of a special group or community. And that community is bound to cherish and thus protect the water around us from pollution, oil and bad fishing practices? to name just a few.

ProjectAware Foundation is a growing movement of scuba divers all around the world dedicated to protecting the oceans:

Reason 9: You Can Take Your Adventure to the Next level

This is obvious. I think by now you?ve guessed that scuba diving can be very rewarding and fulfilling. But now there is something new to experience. It?s like an underwater treasure hunt and it?s called geocaching!

When you go geocaching you become the Indiana Jones of the 21^st century! You plan your next adventure by reading hints and following coordinates to find tiny treasures known as caches. You can get real creative at this new game and surprise people. (You may even surprise yourself!)

You can practice this sport as a beginner or even as a tech diver.

Reason 10: You?ll find a World of Silence to Escape Into and Explore

Now I?ll answer my question at the top of this post: Is Scuba Diving the World of Silence as Cousteau professed?

We know how cacophonous the terrestrial world can be. Well, below the surface the noise quietly fades away.

You descent and observe. You?re lost in your thoughts while automatic movements make your dive safe. You?re alone?

But not quite. You can hear your own breathing (remember Darth Vader ?that was no special effect in the movie!) The lullaby of bubbles moving up towards the surface. The slip of an eagle ray just passing by? or the swish of a lobster crawling on the ocean floor.

It?s a very peaceful experience. Finally you give up swimming and just drift lazily with the current.

At the bottom of the sea, it?s a different world that no back-to-nature documentaries can match.

You sit on a sandy place, stop thinking and enjoy the view: a tiny fish swimming under the sand to hide, or an anemone fish -its colors hypnotizing you?

Suddenly you feel lucky to be part of a world you can witness without efforts.

How incredible! You never imagined this to be ?part of our beautiful planet!

?Time is running out and so is my air. I start the ascent. It?s with lots of regrets that I turn away from this marvellous spectacle.

?I turn off my flash light.

?The moon shines its ?light fully on us.

I arrive at the surface, my mind filled with colorful memories??

Take away tips

• Get your scuba diving certification with a renowned organization like PADI,NAUI or SSI. To enjoy SCUBA Diving it?s imperative to get educated and certified under controlled conditions with the supervision of an instructor
• Plan your dive as much as you can. Read about new places so you can discover the best dive for your next adventure!
• Search Exvana?s directory of over 400 Dive Shops across North America for training, sales, rentals and dive trips.

Now sit down, relax and get a feeling of underwater extreme beauty of colors and shapes with this superb video:

Valerie Leroyer is a freelance blogger for the Outdoor Industry. Follow her on Twitter or LinkedIn.

*the poem above is by the author after a dive in the Mediterranee.

Source: http://blog.exvana.com/10-reasons-why-youll-love-scuba-diving/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=10-reasons-why-youll-love-scuba-diving

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Source: http://ysudtic.posterous.com/10-reasons-why-you39ll-love-scuba-diving-the

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Missing dog mystery is on Mass. author's mind

Author Dennis Lehane stands next to a poster for his missing dog in Brookline, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. The dog, a beagle named Tessa, went missing on Christmas Eve 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Author Dennis Lehane stands next to a poster for his missing dog in Brookline, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. The dog, a beagle named Tessa, went missing on Christmas Eve 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

A poster for a missing dog is attached to a shop window, in Brookline, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. The missing dog, a beagle named Tessa, which belongs to author Dennis Lehane, went missing Christmas Eve 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

Dog groomer Casey Mabardy, of Lexington, Mass., places a poster for a missing dog in the rear window of her car, in Brookline, Mass., Thursday, Jan. 3, 2013. The missing dog, a beagle named Tessa, that belongs to author Dennis Lehane, went missing on Christmas Eve 2012. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)

BROOKLINE, Mass. (AP) ? There's a new mystery on Dennis Lehane's mind, but the story isn't something the best-selling author can control from behind a keyboard.

The plot kicked off Christmas Eve, when the crime novelist's rescue beagle Tessa escaped from his yard after an outdoor gate latch didn't lock all the way.

Since then, Lehane's family has launched an all-out search. They've posted fliers, organized foot searches and used social media to try to bring Tessa back to their home in Brookline, Mass., near Boston.

The 47-year-old author of books including "Mystic River" and "Gone, Baby, Gone" is offering a monetary reward and has said he'll name a character in his next book after whoever finds Tessa.

Lehane said Thursday outside his home that he's surprised by the media attention the story has attracted, and thinks it has something to do with the character offer.

But he said as word of the missing dog spread, his family has heard from people across the country on a "Finding Tessa" Facebook page. They even got an offer of help from a dog psychic in San Francisco.

"No dog since Lassie ever got this attention ... the flip side of the comedy is, who wouldn't do this for their dog?" he said.

The doggie dilemma comes as Lehane faces a Friday deadline for finishing a movie script based on his short story "Animal Rescue," timing he said may be "sadistic irony." The movie is scheduled to begin shooting in March in New York City.

The author said he's been spending about four hours a day searching for the tri-colored female beagle after he finishes writing, and his wife has dedicated about 10 hours a day to the effort.

They adopted the 4-year-old beagle not long ago from a Florida rescue agency. Before that, Tessa was a stray in Georgia.

With the help of Twitter and Facebook accounts, Lehane and his wife organized two search efforts Thursday in sections of Brookline and Boston, where they suspect Tessa could be. In the beginning, there were three sightings within about two miles of their home not long after a house sitter reported that the dog was loose.

But the trail went cold for days after a sighting near a McDonald's restaurant. Tessa wasn't wearing tags, but does have a microchip.

"Every dog expert we talk to is strongly suggesting that she's in somebody's house," Lehane said. "That's why we keep saturating the area with pictures. Because somebody could have her and just not know."

Missing dog posters dotted the family's Coolidge Corner neighborhood Thursday, including in the front windows at Durty Harry's dog grooming shop where Tessa is a client. Shop owner Michelle Fournier said interest in the search took off even before people knew Tessa had a famous owner.

"This is about a dog and her family. This is about a community who loves dogs," she said.

Lehane said Thursday that Tessa is so sweet that she'd taken to spooning the family's puppy before her disappearance. He said if someone knows where Tessa is, he only cares about a happy ending, not about solving the mystery of where she's been.

"It's a no-questions-asked issue," the author said. "... Bring the dog to a shelter or call me and I will pick up the dog."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-01-04-People-Dennis%20Lehane-Dog/id-93743fed6793411281e10be79fe79351

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CSN: Colts are hot, Ravens most definitely are not

The Indianapolis Colts have won five of their last six games. The Ravens have lost four of their last five.

Ask them both, and they have momentum going into Sunday?s wild-card playoff game at M&T Bank Stadium.

The Colts? only loss during that stretch was to the Houston Texans, a division foe they defeated in the regular-season finale. The Ravens? only win during their stretch was vs. the New York Giants, which allowed them to clinch the AFC North and a home playoff game.

?You?d love to go into the playoffs with momentum,? Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. ?We talked at great length about that as a football team this past week.?

Ravens coach John Harbaugh could?ve won his finale at the Cincinnati Bengals, but he decided that being healthy for the opener would be momentum enough.

After two series, he pulled his starters and lost 23-17. Five starters didn't even dress.

?We thought about everything,? he said. ?We really did. We took all of it into consideration and we weighed it all out. We felt like we could win the game with the guys we had, and we almost pulled it off. With a little better field position, we would have pulled it off. ? We tried to win the game, but some other factors weighed heavier in our minds.?

The New Orleans Saints won the 2010 Super Bowl after losing the last three games of the regular season.

"Whatever team plays the best in the playoffs is going to win it, so (if) you want to call that getting hot, I'd say it's pretty important," Harbaugh said. "Starting this week, whoever plays the best will be the champion."

Source: http://www.csnbaltimore.com/blog/ravens-talk/ravens-colts-take-different-paths

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GLHFCasting ? The Many Benefits to Accounting

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Pakistan: 9 militants shot dead, dumped on road

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (AP) ? Pakistani intelligence officials say they have found the bodies of nine militants dumped in the North Waziristan tribal region.

Three intelligence officials say the nine people were shot several times in the head and chest. Their bodies were found Monday off a road in Pir Kili village. They said the dead men were linked to the Pakistani Taliban.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to reporters.

North Waziristan is a hub of militant activity near the Afghan border.

The militants' bodies were found one day after 21 tribal police personnel who had been abducted were found dead in another tribal region.

The incidents illustrate the conflicts among warring factions and militants that plague Pakistan.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-12-31-Pakistan/id-0e94a63778f34eddbb951963fb78935a

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