December 2011

The Stir: Walmart, Target, Macy’s and More: Guide to Gift Return Policies

December 28, 2011

Sure, you’re grateful that your sister-in-law or great aunt thought of you this year, but did you really need a pair of polka dot socks or a critter cap? Every year, this post-gift-giving week is the one in which we’re stuck with several items we’d rather return for something we will actually wear or use. As much as I admit I’m terrified by the crazy lines at the mall, I’m devising my plan of attack for returning and exchanging certain gifts — and impulse buys I bought for myself while gift-shopping! — as we speak. Part of that game plan is knowing what the stores return policies are before heading there, so as to avoid argument or anguish once face-to-face with a store employee! It’s always wise to have a receipt, gift receipt, and your photo ID. But here, all you need to know about returning to Walmart, Target, Macy’s, J.C. Penney’s, Sears, Best Buy , and more … Walmart : Most items can be returned within 90 days with a receipt — exception for some electronic and regulated items. If you don’t have a receipt, you can return in store for cash refund (if under $25), store gift card or sometimes an exchange. Must be returned in original packaging. Target : If you have the credit or debit card used to make the purchase originally, some Target stores can reprint your receipt or help you do the return by looking up the purchase with your card. They make it really easy, which is great! The other official need-to-knows? Your item must be returned in new and unused condition within 90 days of purchase, with the exception of: computer hardware, cameras/camcorders, gift cards, prepaid cell phones, and prepaid cards, which have to be returned within 45 days. Music, movies, video games, and software can only be exchanged if unopened. All returns must have receipt or gift receipt. And remember to bring your photo I.D.! Barnes & Noble : The book giant has a pretty straightforward return policy for most of its products across the board. You have two weeks (14 days) to return just about anything that came from the store or the site, including a NOOK. Just bring the item and your receipt to your local B&N bookstore for a refund to the original form of payment or, if you have a gift receipt, for a refund as a gift card. Items that aren’t accepted for returns include: NOOK Books, magazines, downloadable PDFs for SparkNotes products, gift cards, and shrink-wrapped items that have been opened. Best Buy : Depending on what you’re looking to exchange or return, you have a different window of opportunity. For computers, monitors, projectors, camcorders, digital cameras, iPads, tablets, and radar detectors, you have 14 days. For all other products, it’s 30 days. (Reward Zone Program Premier Silver members have 45 days for all other products.) Bring the original receipt as well as your valid photo ID for all exchanges, returns, price matches and warranty repair services. J.C. Penney’s : The department store recommends says bringing your order to one of their 1500 jcpenney stores or jcp.com service center is the quickest and easiest way to return merchandise and receive an immediate refund or credit. An original receipt dated within 90 days of the purchase is required for return/exchange of merchandise for a full refund of the purchase price on the original method of payment. Debit card transactions will be refunded as cash. If you don’t have a receipt, the price refunded will be the lowest on sale price within the last 30 days. A refund will be issued only in the form of a Merchandise Return Voucher or a credit to the customers’ JCPenney charge card. Macy’s : Gift returns will receive store credit. You can return most purchased items, both in store and online. Don’t forget your merchandise and an invoice/receipt or confirmation email. And you can’t return food/gourmet gifts! Sears : Return in original packaging with receipt or email confirmation. Must be within 90 days for most items. Home electronics, air conditioners, gas-powered equipment, jewelry and watches must be returned within 30 days. Video Games, CDs, DVDs, computer software and sports/toy collectibles can only be returned unopened. Customized jewelry can’t be returned or exchanged. Return in form of original payment method. Most purchases made from 11/13/11 to 12/10/11 have extended 120-day return time frame, which sounds like good news! And fine jewelry, consumer electronics, and mattresses have an extended 60-day time frame. Do you plan to make a return or exchange this week? Written by Maressa Brown on CafeMom’s blog, The Stir . More from The Stir : After Christmas Sales 2011 You Don’t Want to Miss How To Be a Smart Online Shopper What Your Shopping Cart Reveals About Your Life 5 Naughty Things You Can Do While Shopping Online

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Whistleblower Documents Shed Light On Case Against Big Bank

December 28, 2011

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Confidential whistleblower documents that helped spark a massive state and federal investigation into how Bank of New York Mellon Corp charged pension funds for currency exchange, provide a rare window into how a bank insider aided a lawsuit against the bank. The information provided by whistleblower Grant Wilson, who worked at BNY Mellon, included a detailed analysis of how the bank allegedly provided “fictitious” foreign-currency costs for pension funds. The analysis included a step-by-step guide to how currencies were traded and internal profits generated by the bank, according to documents seen by Reuters. A memo detailing fellow employees also was provided. Aided by Wilson’s information, multiple states, including Virginia, Florida and New York, have sued BNY Mellon, alleging that the bank improperly charged state and local pension funds for foreign exchange. The Department of Justice also has sued the bank. The allegations center on claims that BNY Mellon provided unfavorable currency-exchange rates for state and local pension funds for a decade. In a lawsuit in October, the New York attorney general alleged BNY Mellon earned $2 billion over the decade from the trading. A bank spokesman said the bank believes that many comments detailed in the documents were taken out of context or not said at all. “A handful of purported statements cherry-picked from millions of documents gathered over a decade do not reflect the way we do business or the value we provide our client,” the spokesman said. The documents illuminate why insiders with highly confidential information can be a potent force in whistleblower lawsuits. Much of the information a whistleblower provides remains confidential. Wilson, for example, worked at the bank even as he secretly provided to his legal team — lawyers in Boston and New York — information about how BNY Mellon allegedly conducted foreign-exchange trading. Wilson’s information was provided to the legal team that filed whistleblower lawsuits against BNY Mellon in 2009 and then aided state attorneys general in subsequent probes. The legal team includes Boston lawyer Michael Lesser, and Philip Michael, a lawyer in New York, as well as Harry Markopolos, a fraud investigator best known for warning that Bernard Madoff was operating a fraudulent scheme. Lesser, an attorney at Thornton & Naumes, said Wilson was not available for a comment. The information then was provided by Wilson’s lawyers to the Florida attorney general in 2009 and 2010. The attorney general at the time was weighing whether to intervene in an October 2009 whistleblower lawsuit against BNY Mellon. That lawsuit was based on Wilson’s information. In August this year, Florida Attorney General Pamela Jo Bondi filed her lawsuit in Leon County. A bank spokesman said the Florida lawsuit is “without merit.” The Wall Street Journal earlier this year identified Wilson as the whistleblower behind the state and federal investigations and reported the existence of the documents. Wilson, according to the documents, worked as a foreign-exchange trader for 19 years. He joined a predecessor bank to BNY Mellon in 1997 and left this spring. He worked at BNY Mellon’s Pittsburgh office. The documents detail Wilson’s experience at the bank, noting that the trader “possesses deep and sophisticated knowledge and personal experience in these businesses, particularly with regard to foreign exchange.” The documents note that he “never received a reprimand” during his career. Wilson’s first-hand knowledge was crucial to the state lawsuits. Information provided in 2009 underpinned subsequent state claims. Wilson “can describe, step-by-step, how the fraud is committed against the affected funds and how the various departments of the Bank work to make the process as profitable as possible,” one document alleges. Wilson and his lawyers, for example, provide 11 chronological steps to explain how pension clients allegedly receive a “falsified trade price,” documents show. Those clients used a so-called “standing-instruction” program in which they effectively give control of foreign exchange to the bank. In one document, Wilson’s lawyers provide a question-and-answer tutorial so the Florida attorney general’s office knows the right questions to ask BNY Mellon employees. The documents also show how Wilson aided the legal effort even as he continued to work at BNY Mellon. One memo was written by Wilson’s lawyers in August 2010, some eight months before Wilson left the bank. In the memo, Wilson’s lawyers tell the Florida attorney general that Wilson knows that efforts to obtain documents from the bank are being stymied with “claims of difficulty in production or other delays.” The memo, using Wilson’s knowledge of the bank, states that the information actually could be easily obtained because it is “centrally stored.” “It is stored at a state-of-the-art facility that should hasten, rather than hinder, any document response from the bank.” A month later, in September 2010, Wilson’s lawyers submitted another memo to Florida’s attorney general, noting: “We would also like to remind you that (Wilson) continues in his employment at the bank. Specific information, documents and conversations mentioned here could be connected” to Wilson. That memo alleges that BNY Mellon “is now actively and hurriedly formulating a strategy” aimed at preserving profits from the foreign-exchange business at the center of the state inquiries. The memo explains that BNY Mellon publicly wants to provide a supposedly more “transparent” foreign-exchange system. Actually, the “Project Gateway” strategy provides “no true change,” the memo claims. The memo also claims that one BNY Mellon client had received better pricing on currency transactions even as the bank continued “to steal” from other clients. The documents also show some inside BNY Mellon allegedly worried about the impact of the investigations and whether profits would soon disappear. One employee, having learned that probes were looking at how BNY Mellon traded currencies, said: “It’s over, it’s all over,” according to a March 2010 document. Another document describes two months later how a senior banker addressed FX traders and told them the bank had received 16 subpoenas. This employee told the traders, “We have not done anything wrong.” In a seven-page memo, Wilson and his legal team provided detailed biographies of fellow traders and employees at BNY Mellon to help determine whether they might be helpful in the whistleblower legal effort. One employee was described as “worried about job security … Not financially secure. Scared and probably loyal to the Bank. But also would not be inclined to perjure herself … She has a lot of information.” Another senior executive “likes to rant and rave … Mr. Wilson assumes he will want to defend the bank.” A sales executive “seems willing to push the envelope when it comes to producing profits.” (Reporting by Carrick Mollenkamp; Editing by Michael Williams and Maureen Bavdek) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Steven Cohen: Sustainability, Politics, and Consumerism

December 28, 2011

As 2011 ends and we find some time for reflection, I am thinking a lot about the issue of material consumption and sustainability. Many of my students believe that a key answer to the crisis of planetary sustainability is for individuals to reduce their material consumption. When they say this, they are not thinking of the planet’s poorest people, but the planet’s richest people. There is a case to be made for seeing the issue of sustainability in these terms, but I’m not sure the issue can or should be confined to a focus on individual consumption. In any case, there is a strong argument for learning how to measure and assess the sustainability of all forms of economic consumption. It is important to understand the power and seductiveness of material consumption and our modern technological way of life. In America, less than one percent of our population works on farms as compared to 40% at the start of the 20th century. Most of us are no longer directly involved in a daily struggle for food, water and shelter. Cheap and plentiful energy has helped make many of us mobile, comfortable, entertained, educated and well-fed. Those at home and around the world who do not share in this bounty, want it. And the root cause of much of the political turmoil in the world can be found in the gap between economic aspirations and realities. America’s wealth and its level of political stability are closely connected phenomena. Presidential elections are won and lost on the degree to which candidates can convince voters that they can create economic growth. During Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign for president his political advisors constantly reminded him, “it’s the economy, stupid!” Political power and economic growth are closely connected in our system. A great threat to political stability is a situation where young people receive an education and then are unable to find a meaningful way to use what they have learned. They are wide open targets for cynical political manipulation by unscrupulous political leaders. All unemployment is politically destabilizing: of the educated or uneducated, of those young and those no longer young. People without work have less of a stake in society and are less concerned with its breakdown. Work is not simply a source of sustenance in the modern world, but a key part of an individual’s identity. With the population increasing on the planet, reduced consumption could lead to increased unemployment. So in order to assure full employment we need to increase rather than decrease economic consumption. Of course all consumption is not equally sustainable. Downloading an application on your smartphone uses fewer nonrenewable resources than driving to the mall. Borrowing a book from a library uses fewer nonrenewable resources than buying the book from a book store. Moreover, creating an “app” and operating a library both require people and enable them to hold jobs. More and more of our economic production relates to ideas, knowledge and entertainment. Still, we all consume food, clothing, shelter and transportation and those goods require the use of material resources. Material economic production and consumption is non-optional and is growing quickly in China and India and throughout the developing world. How do we ensure that the material consumption we require is sustainable? Is there a chance that we can move from an ecologically destructive, fossil fuel and resource intensive economy to something else? Do people understand the crisis before us? Judging by the American presidential campaign, the answer has to be no. The Obama Administration keeps throwing environmental protection and renewable energy development under the political bus. The Republicans are worse and want to end EPA and continue to outdo each other in thinking of new ways to increase our reliance on fossil fuels. It is a truly terrifying moment when you realize that our political leadership completely misunderstands the connection between environmental protection and economic growth. To these folks, regulations are “job killers” and scientific evidence does not seem to make much of a difference in the national political dialogue. It is difficult to have a meaningful public conversation on the issue of consumption and sustainability when the national political class in the United States still debates environmental issues like it’s 1969. I think that a reduction of economic consumption would destabilize our politics and society. But I think if we do not make the transition to a renewable energy and material-based economy, the reduction in the planet’s ability to produce goods is only a matter of time. The planet’s productive systems are powered by the sun. Ultimately, human productive systems must mirror the planet’s, either through processes powered by the sun such as photosynthesis or through artificial or nuclear suns we create for ourselves. Polluting our air and water to keep the economic machine moving is a short-run and ultimately self-defeating policy. But even if shutting down that machine was politically feasible (and it is not), a shrinking world economy would cause massive human misery. The inevitable conclusion is that the issue of sustainability will eventually reach and even dominate the American political agenda. It will not be defined by a smaller economy, but a different sort of economy: With more resources devoted to preserving the planet and its productive capacity. There is a paradigm shift underway toward a sustainable, renewable economy. You see it in many cities, communities and in a growing number of corporations. Support for sustainability is more common among young people than old people, and it is as much a cultural and social mindset as it is a political motivation. In fact, at this point, the political force of sustainability is latent rather than manifest. But it is coming. At its core will be a new form of consumerism and new modes of production. Production will be more efficient and renewable. Consumers will resist goods and services that are not sustainable. Our political and regulatory institutions will both lead and follow these new realities. Unfortunately, this will not happen during the presidential election year about to start. But it is in our future.

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Breastfeeding Moms Stage ‘Nurse-In’ To Protest Target Store Policy

December 28, 2011

Chicago-area mothers joined a nationwide demonstration against restrictive corporate breastfeeding policies Wednesday morning at Target stores citywide. The “nurse-in” is an increasingly popular tool for breastfeeding advocates and nursing mothers to highlight alleged violations of Illinois law, which does not classify public nursing as indecency . Whole Foods stores were recently targeted after an employee reportedly told a nursing mother to cover up , and Wednesday’s demonstration was inspired by a recent incident at a Houston-area Target store, Time reports. Michelle Hickman was reportedly nursing her baby at a Target Nov. 29 when several employees asked her to move to a fitting room. Hickman says one employee intimated that she could be cited for public indecency, although her infant was covered with a blanket. According to the Best for Babes Foundation, an pro-breastfeeding online community helping to organize the demonstration, Hickman felt harassed, and called Target Guest Relations, who repeated that the store’s policies “are different from the law,” although the company’s headquarters released a statement supporting public nursing in their stores after a similar incident in 2006 . About a dozen Chicago moms told NBC Chicago they plan to meet at the Target on North Elston to breastfeed at 10 a.m. for about a half hour. The store has expressed support for the demonstration. The Facebook page co-created by Hickman organizing the demonstration currently has over 6,000 members, and more than 100 nurse-ins are scheduled in more than 35 states, according to Time .

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Wall Street’s Reduced Profitability Shows Regulations Are Working

December 28, 2011

Wall Street reported nearly $3 billion in losses in the third quarter of 2011, reducing profits through September to $9.6 billion, which was well below forecasts, according to a recent analysis by the New York State comptroller. The comptroller estimates that Wall Street banks and smaller brokerages may cut some 10,000 jobs in New York City by the end of 2012.

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Former Obama Adviser: Geithner Set Obama Up For Payroll Tax Success

December 28, 2011

Progressives have a spring in their step this holiday season after the debacle suffered by House Republicans in the debate over the payroll tax. Many liberals will be surprised to learn that a good deal of the credit belongs to one of their least-favorite members of the president’s economic team: Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner, whose economic and strategic counsel set the trap that the House hardliners fell into.

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Pagemill Partners Announces Promotions

December 28, 2011

PALO ALTO, CA–(Marketwire – Dec 28, 2011) – Pagemill Partners LLC has announced that effective January 1, 2012, the following employees have been promoted:

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Jared Bernstein: U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness in Global Trade

December 28, 2011

Those of us ensconced in debates in support of U.S. manufacturing often hear opponents claiming that the over-regulated U.S. labor market and unionized heavy industry render us uncompetitive in global markets. That may sound convincing given competition from emerging markets, but there are lots of advanced economies with long records of positive net exports, while we continue to run large deficits in manufactured goods, year after year. If you’re thinking the difference must be prices, you’re thinking like an economist… and you’re pretty much wrong. This new BLS report (including a link to their rockin’ new dashboard — go BLS!) provides the data in the form of manufacturing compensation costs across countries, with conversions to dollars using market exchange rates. First, as shown in the first figure, in the most recent year for which they have complete data, we’re toward the low end of the advanced economies in terms of compensation costs. Second, in dollar terms, manufacturing compensation costs have increased much faster elsewhere over the past decade (figure two; these summary measures use trade-weighted currencies, based on each countries relative share of U.S. trade; you can use the dashboard link above (open the Excel file) to view individual countries). *OECD, Eastern Europe, East Asia Source: BLS Now, compensation costs aren’t the whole story, especially with manufacturing becoming more capital intensive, but at least by these measures, which of course account for exchange rate movements (essential when we’re discussing price competitiveness), there’s not much support at all for an argument that overpaid manufacturing workers are the source of our competitive disadvantage. I’d argue it has a lot more to do with the lack of a coherent manufacturing policy, wherein public and private representatives strategize on the best ways to boost the sector and gain global market share. Of course, this means retiring the canard that “we don’t pick winners.” Our competitors are well ahead of us in these endeavors and this is not the time for ideological sloganeering. This post originally appeared at Jared Bernstein’s On The Economy blog.

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As Seen On TV, Inc. Expands Board of Directors

December 28, 2011

Greg D. Adams Appointed as Independent Director

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Procrastinating Shoppers Gave Retailers A Boost In Lead Up To Christmas

December 28, 2011

NEW YORK — A mall trade group says that last minute shoppers gave merchants a solid lift during the final week before Christmas. Sales at stores opened at least a year rose 0.9 percent for the week ended Saturday compared with the previous week and was up 4.5 percent compared with the same period a year ago, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs Weekly Chain Store Sales Index, released Wednesday. The index serves as a sales proxy to 24 major stores including Macy’s Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. ICSC expects that holiday sales for the November and December combined will be in line with its forecast of 3.5 percent.

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Mainstream GOP Voters Consider Candidate On The Fringe

December 28, 2011

SAN ANTONIO — Ron Paul wants to legalize pot and shut down the Federal Reserve. He thinks the federal government has no authority to outlaw abortion, no business bombing Iran to keep it from acquiring a nuclear weapon, and no justification to print money unless it’s backed up by gold bars. And he might win the Iowa caucuses. The closer the first votes of the 2012 presidential campaign get, the more competitive the Texas congressman has become. It’s a moment his famously fervent supporters have longed for. Plenty of others are asking: What’s Ron Paul about, again? As in his two prior quixotic campaigns for president, Paul has toiled for months as a fringe candidate best known for staking out libertarian positions. As every other Republican candidate lined up to attack President Barack Obama’s health care law and to promise tax cuts, Paul again demanded audits of the Federal Reserve and a return to the gold standard. Leading in some state polls, Paul is getting a look from mainstream voters in Iowa, where the 76-year-old obstetrician has emerged as a serious contender in the Jan. 3 caucuses – and in other early voting states, should he pull off a victory. The sudden rush of attention to Paul’s resume hasn’t been kind. He’s spent the past week disowning racist and homophobic screeds in newsletters he published decades ago, including one following the 1992 riots in Los Angeles that read, “Order was only restored in L.A. when it came time for the blacks to collect their welfare checks three days after rioting began.” “Everybody knows I didn’t write them and they’re not my sentiments, so it’s sort of politics as usual,” Paul said during a recent Iowa campaign stop. Looking to cut into Paul’s support, rivals laid into him on Tuesday. In an interview on CNN, Newt Gingrich said Paul holds “views totally outside the mainstream of virtually every decent American.” And Rick Santorum chided, “The things most Iowans like about Ron Paul are the things he’s least likely to accomplish and the things most Iowans are worried about about Ron Paul are the things he can accomplish.” Paul returns to Iowa on Wednesday, giving his impressive grass-roots organization in the state a last chance to present, and perhaps defend, positions he’s staked out over a long political career and reiterated during the 13 Republican debates held this year. Paul has served a dozen terms in Congress as a Republican, but he espouses views that have made him the face of libertarianism in the U.S. He blames both Republicans and Democrats for running up the federal debt and opposes any U.S. military involvement overseas. He wants to bring home all troops from all U.S. bases abroad. He vows to do away with five Cabinet-level departments – Commerce, Education, Energy, Housing and Urban Development, and Interior – and repeal the amendment to the Constitution that created the federal income tax. He opposes federal flood insurance and farm subsidies and wants to remove marijuana from the federal list of controlled substances while allowing states to decide how to regulate it. He says he’ll cut $1 trillion out of the first budget he offers as president. He doesn’t believe in a border fence but says illegal immigrants shouldn’t get a free education in public schools. He’s reliably described by political pundits as non-establishment, quirky, unorthodox. During a Republican debate in Sioux City, Iowa, earlier this month, Paul defended his views and rejected the idea that they make him unelectable. “The important thing is, the philosophy I’m talking about is the Constitution and freedom, and that brings people together,” Paul said. “It brings independents in the fold and it brings Democrats over on some of these issues.” Paul doesn’t always side with the most extreme conservative proposals. When it comes to Gingrich’s suggestion that judges could be hauled before Congress to explain their rulings, Paul joined other Republicans in dismissing the idea. Paul’s recent surge in Iowa isn’t the first time the GOP establishment has been forced to pay attention to him. A fundraising blitz that netted $5 million in one day in 2008 led Republican operatives to weigh whether he was a bigger threat to siphon votes than previously thought. Now he may be in his best position yet to do more than just steal votes. “I see this philosophy as being very electable, because it’s an American philosophy, it’s the rule of law,” Paul said.

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Italian Short-Term Debt Costs Half At Auction, But Concerns Still Loom

December 28, 2011

MILAN (Reuters) – Italian short-term debt costs halved at auction on Wednesday as a new package of budget austerity and an injection of cheap long-term money from the European Central Bank won Rome some respite in thin year-end markets. Analysts warned market tensions could easily reignite and pointed to a new test on Thursday when Italy will sell up to 8.5 billion euros ($11.1 bln) of longer-term bonds, including three- and ten-year paper. But the average rate of 3.25 percent at which Italy sold 9 billion euros of six-month BOT bills was down from a euro lifetime record of 6.50 percent just a month earlier. “Many things have changed from a month ago: the government has won a confidence vote on its austerity package and the ECB has acted to help banks,” an Italian bill trader said. “This doesn’t mean we can rule out further problematic auctions. Markets are easily unnerved.” Demand for bills totaled 1.69 times the amount on offer, a clear improvement versus a bid-to-cover ratio of around 1.5 at the end of November. This is the first Italian debt sale since the ECB provided 490 billion euros in cheap three-year loans to euro zone banks on December 21 in an unprecedented move aimed at easing credit strains. Expectations of a strong take-up at the ECB’s tender contributed to an equally dramatic fall in Spanish short-term borrowing costs this month. Madrid’s six-month debt costs more than halved to 2.4 percent at an auction on the eve of the ECB’s tender. However, doubts about how much of the cheap three-year funds would find their way into troubled government bonds weighed on Italian and Spanish yields in the following sessions. Italy’s ten-year yields briefly climbed back above 7 percent this week, pushing the premium over the equivalent German benchmark above 500 basis points. On Wednesday, the yield stood at 6.8 percent, giving a premium of 489 basis points over Germany. Credit Agricole strategist Peter Chatwell said the results bode well for the auction of three-year bonds on Thursday but he was less sure about the 10-year sale – typically a better measure of underlying interest from external investors. “Demand for short term paper is good. It remains to be seen whether this extends to the longer maturities,” he said. Italy paid a euro lifetime record high yield of 7.56 percent to sell ten-year bonds at the end of November. TESTING START Italy can count on key support from retail domestic investors at short-term sales but longer-term bonds remain more challenging. With more than 91 billion euros of bonds maturing in the first four months of 2012, Rome faces a crucial test early next year. In a push to regain market confidence, in the run-up to Christmas Italy’s parliament gave the final seal to an emergency austerity budget rushed through by a new technocrat government. Market attention will now turn to the reform agenda of Prime Minister Mario Monti who has promised to tackle Italy’s chronic low-growth problems — after inaction by former PM Silvio Berlusconi pushed the country to the brink of financial disaster. Monti has convened a cabinet meeting on Wednesday to outline his plans and he could provide some indications to investors in his traditional year-end press conference on Thursday. Analysts expect Monti’s 33 billion euro austerity package to further depress Italy’s weak internal demand, making government’s efforts to revive growth through a series of long-delayed liberalizations even more crucial. Italy also sold on Wednesday 1.7 billion euros of 24-month, zero-coupon CTZ bonds at an average yield 4.85 percent, sharply down from 7.8 percent a month ago. For the first time, the Treasury set a target range for the CTZ sale, as it does for other bonds. It gives a set amount for bill auctions. The Treasury had planned to sell between 1.5 billion and 2.5 billion euros of CTZs. ($1 = 0.7654 euros) (Additional reporting by William James in London) Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters. Click for Restrictions .

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Italian debt under pressure before year-end auction

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Saudi Press Agency) Italian government bond yields edged higher on Tuesday and were expected to rise further this week with investors growing nervous that thin liquidity may complicate …

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Brazil to be world’s fifth-largest economy by 2015

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Saudi Press Agency) SPABrazil will overtake France to become the world’s fifth-largest economy by 2015 at the latest, dpa quoted Brazilian Finance Minister Guido Mantega as saying …

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Japan’s Nov industrial production declines 2.6%

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) Japan’s Ministry of Economics, Trade and Industry said that in November, the country’s industrial output fell a seasonally adjusted 2.6 percent, recording the first drop in 2 months, …

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Japan- TEPCO to Conduct Endoscopy of Fukushima Reactors

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Qatar News Agency) Tokyo Electric Power Company says it will use an industrial endoscope to study the inside of a damaged reactor at the Fukushima Nuclear power plant. The utility says …

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S. Korea Eyes US$70 Billion in Overseas Construction Orders in 2012

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Qatar News Agency) South Korea will seek to boost its overseas construction orders to US$70 billion next year as part of efforts to revive the slowing construction industry, the government …

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Afghanistan Cabinet Approves China Oil Exploration Dea

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Qatar News Agency) Afghanistan’s cabinet has approved a deal to allow China National Petroleum Corp (CNPC) for the development of oil blocks in the Amu Darya basin. The basin is …

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Greg Voakes: 8 All-Star Entrepreneurs Who Didn’t Bother With A Master’s Degree

December 28, 2011

Believe it or not, it is possible to get filthy rich without spending half of your life in school. And you don’t have to be on a chest-baring reality show to do it. These wildly successful people did it, all without setting foot in grad school. Many of them never even earned an undergraduate degree. If you’ve got enough brains, you’re willing to take risks, and you’re just a tad cocky, consider following in their footsteps before you shell out hundreds of thousands of dollars for that pretty piece of paper. Here are 8 all-star entrepreneurs who didn’t bother with a Master’s degree:

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South Korea’s industrial production unexpectedly fell in November

December 28, 2011

The South Korean industrial production is unpredictably knocked out in November for the second consecutive month, as the escalating European debt crisis is negatively impacting the global economies …

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Iran launches new jet fuel output unit

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) Iran’s Deputy Oil Minister, Alireza Zeighami, said that in a step that would boost the country’s jet fuel production by 450,000 liters a day, Iran initiated a new jet fuel output unit, …

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Iran’s economy grows to 5.5%

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) Iran’s deputy economy minister, Mohammadreza Farzin, said that in the previous calendar year, which ended on March 20, 2011, the country’s economic growth rate was at 5.5 percent, reported …

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Deposits at ECB reach record high at USD538b

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) The European Central Bank (ECB) said that total deposits with the bank surged to reach USD538 billion, recording their highest level ever, reported The National. The bank added that the …

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US administration to ask for extra USD1.2tr in borrowing authority

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) The Obama administration said that it almost reached its borrowing limit and would ask for additional USD1.2 trillion, reported AP. It added that the increase would raise the debt limit …

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Audi to invest USD17b over 5 years

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) German car maker Audi’s Chief Financial Officer, Axel Strotbek, stated that the company would invest a total of USD17 billion over the course of the coming five years in new products and …

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Iran warns to block Gulf oil if sanctions tightened

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) The western tensions with Iran on its controversial nuclear program to it’s a dangerous level as Iran threatened to block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions …

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China to build world’s highest airport in 2012

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) China’s government said that in 2012, the country would start constructing the world’s highest airport in Tibet’s Nagqu town, at an altitude of 4,436 meters above sea level, reported Arab …

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Li Ka-shing’s Horizons ventures takes significant stake in HzO

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) HzO, Inc., a leading technology company with proprietary advanced materials that protect electronics from water, humidity, and other liquids, announced today that Horizons …

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Samsung, Sharp, Chimei, Epson, HannStar, Hitachi pay USD553m price fixing settlement

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) Seven of the largest LDC makers in the world including Samsung Electronics Co., Sharp Corp, Chimei, Epson, HannStar and Hitachi, settled consumer and state regulatory allegations of …

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Kazakhstan- ILS announces Proton launch delay of SES-4 satellite

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) ILS has informed SES (Paris:SESG) (LuxX:SESG) that the launch of the Proton launch vehicle with the SES-4 satellite was postponed for approximately 25 days for technical …

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Air China readjusts its Paris schedule

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) Starting March 10, 2012, Air China will resume Shanghai-Paris rotations CA833/4 and change the Shanghai-Beijing-Paris service CA933/4 to Beijing-Paris direct service. …

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.TK is to become the largest and safest country code domain in 2012

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) Dot TK, the registry for .TK Internet domain names, today announced that the number of active .TK domain name registrations is larger than these of Russia (.ru) and China (.cn) …

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US- The Taffrail Group appoints new senior advisors

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) The Taffrail Group today announced the appointment of two new Senior Advisors, Norio Hattori and Murray Air. “I am very pleased to announce the addition of Norio Hattori …

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US- FilmOn.com announces NCAA College football, basketball channels

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) FilmOn.com Inc., the US Division of the World’s largest Internet based HD television service http://www.FilmOn.com, today announced a partnership with XOS Digital, the leading …

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Top leaders will disclose their strategies at AUTOMOTIVE WORLD Technical Conference

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) At AUTOMOTIVE WORLD 2012 Technical Conference, world’s leading companies such as Toyota, GM, VW, Nissan, Ford, Honda, Daimler, Robert Bosch, etc., will disclose their latest …

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A.M. Best affirms ratings of CIGNA Life Insurance New Zealand Ltd.

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of A- (Excellent) and issuer credit rating of “a-” of CIGNA Life Insurance New Zealand Limited (CLINZ) (New Zealand). …

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India- DENSO to exhibit for the first time at the 11th Auto Expo 2012

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) DENSO Corporation will exhibit for the first time at the 11th Auto Expo 2012, in New Delhi, India, from Jan. 5 to 11, 2012. To introduce its wide range of advanced …

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A.M. Best affirms ratings of Sompo Japan Insurance Inc.

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating (FSR) of A+ (Superior) and issuer credit rating (ICR) of “aa-” of Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. (Sompo) (Japan). …

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A.M. Best affirms ratings of Asian Reinsurance Corporation

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) A.M. Best Co. has affirmed the financial strength rating of B++ (Good) and the issuer credit rating of “bbb” of Asian Reinsurance Corporation (Asian Re or the Corporation) …

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ActionCOACH business coach Stefan Kazakis committed to "making positive impacts" in his community

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) Put yourself in the mind of a child who has just suffered severe burns. You are anxious, fearful and, of course, in pain. The mindset of such a child presents challenges for …

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Enstar Group announces closing of 2nd, 3rd tranches by GS Capital Partners

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) Enstar Group Limited (“Enstar”) (Nasdaq:ESGR) today announced the simultaneous closing of the second and third tranches of an investment in Enstar by certain affiliated funds …

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Indoona:The new service for phone calls, video calls and the sending of free

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Asia Pulse) indoona is the first free application in Europe which allows phone calls, the sending of multimedia messages and video calls free of charge to indoona users anywhere in the …

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Italy imposes USD1m fine on Apple

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) Italy’s anti-trust authority said that since Apple mislead consumers on assistance services and guarantees for its products, the agency imposed a USD1 million fine on the US firm, reported …

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Moody’s reaffirms Canada’s AAA rating status

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – ProactiveInvestors – UK) Moody’s Investor Service has given Canada a vote of confidence Friday as it reaffirmed the country’s AAA credit rating while calling the federal government’s …

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Christmas optimism for retailers may be short-lived

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – ProactiveInvestors – UK) After a bumpy year for the retail sector, the outlook for 2012 looks no more clear as uncertainty persists around consumer spending power and the economy in …

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S. Korea- LCD makers in $553mn US price-fixing accord

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Gulf Times) Samsung Electronics Co, Sharp Corp and five other makers of liquid crystal displays agreed to pay $553mn to settle consumer and state regulatory claims that they conspired to …

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US Endeavour acquires ConocoPhillips stake in 3 oil fields

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) Endeavour International Corp. said that it acquired ConocoPhillips’ stake in 3 oil fields in the UK’s North Sea with USD330 million to become one of the biggest independent producers in the …

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US Rex Energy to boost 2012′s gas output

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) US Rex Energy Corp. said that it would boost next year’s gas output to an average daily production of 66 million and 72 million cubic feet, compared with an expected output of between 37 …

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GE Transportation to invest USD72m in Pennsylvanian plants

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN) General Electric Co.’s transportation unit said that it would construct a diesel engine plant and upgrade an existing plant in western Pennsylvania with an investment of around USD72 …

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Ireland shoots for greener economy

December 28, 2011

(MENAFN – Saudi Press Agency) There may be enough wind power and other forms of alternative energy in Ireland to remove 250 million tons of carbon dioxide by 2050, UPI quoted the government as …

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