Two researchers said they have uncovered a hidden file on Apple Inc. iPhones that keeps a record of where the phone has been autoclave and when it was there—a database that is unencrypted and stored by default.
The security experts, Alasdair Allan and Pete Warden, also created a program that lets iPhone owners see what the device has stored about their whereabouts. The maps produced by the program show details stretching back months.
It's not clear why the data are stored on the devices. There's no evidence the information is transferred to Apple. The company didn't respond to a request for comment.
"Ever since iOS 4 arrived, your device has been storing a long list of locations and time stamps," said Mr. Allan, a technology author, in a post on the website of technology publisher O'Reilly Media.
Mr. Allan and Mr. Warden, a former Apple employee, were expected to present their findings Wednesday at a conference hosted O'Reilly Media. The Guardian newspaper also reported on their discovery.
The news follows a Wall Street Journal investigation last December which cold room revealed that smartphone apps expose personal details about their users. An examination of 101 apps showed 56 sent the phone's unique device ID to other companies without users' awareness or consent, and 47 sent location information. Companies receiving that information included Apple, Google Inc. and advertising networks.
Wednesday's research looks not at specific apps but at data collected during general use.
The researchers say the database they uncovered is restored each time an iPhone owner backs up the phone, even if the person switches to a new iPhone. IPhones and iPad 3G models running the latest version of Apple's iOS operating system have the database on it, they say. The file is transferred to any computer synced to the phone or tablet, the researchers say.
The latest version of Apple's operating system, iOS 4, heralded the impact crusher launch of Apple's mobile-advertising platform. Apple has previously said it uses location data to serve ads and provide certain services. The company says this can be prevented by turning off location services.
Wireless providers have long collected similar location data, which is important to have for call routing and for billing. But they store the data securely and the data aren't saved on phones.
The researchers say they found the database when looking into how they might make a graphic that displayed mobile data. "At first we weren't sure how much data was there, but after we dug further and visualized the extracted data, it became clear that there was a scary amount of detail on our movements," they wrote.
The researchers said Apple hadn't responded to them about the electronic ballast issue. Mr. Warden worked on desktop software for the company for five years, he said. "We're both big fans of Apple's products, and take no pleasure in uncovering this issue," the researchers wrote.
Wednesday, April 20, 2011
Gerard Smith – TV on the Radio bassist – dies aged 34
TV on the Radio bassist Gerard Smith has died of lung cancer, only a month after announcing that he was stainless steel pipe taking time off from the US art rock band to get treatment.
The band cancelled five upcoming tour dates in Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis and Denver in support of their well-received fourth studio album Nine Types of Light, which debuted at No 12 in the Billboard charts.
The Guardian's review of the album said: "You only need hear opener Second Song – which somehow blends an alt-country melody with a cosmic funk chorus requesting 'every lover on a mission, shift your known position' – to realise this Coach Bags band are still light years ahead of their peers."
Smith joined the group full time in 2005, just in time to record their album Return to Cookie Mountain, which saw them break through to mainstream success. A message posted on the band's website said he had been diagnosed with cancer after their latest album was finished. He was 34.
The band wrote on their website in March: "Gerard has been undergoing treatment and will be unable to participate in the upcoming tour … [He] is fortunate enough to have health insurance and is receiving excellent medical care. We appreciate your concern and support for Gerard and his family."
His death has been announced in a statement on the site.
"We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved gearbox friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer. Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly," reads the statement.
The band cancelled five upcoming tour dates in Detroit, Chicago, Minneapolis and Denver in support of their well-received fourth studio album Nine Types of Light, which debuted at No 12 in the Billboard charts.
The Guardian's review of the album said: "You only need hear opener Second Song – which somehow blends an alt-country melody with a cosmic funk chorus requesting 'every lover on a mission, shift your known position' – to realise this Coach Bags band are still light years ahead of their peers."
Smith joined the group full time in 2005, just in time to record their album Return to Cookie Mountain, which saw them break through to mainstream success. A message posted on the band's website said he had been diagnosed with cancer after their latest album was finished. He was 34.
The band wrote on their website in March: "Gerard has been undergoing treatment and will be unable to participate in the upcoming tour … [He] is fortunate enough to have health insurance and is receiving excellent medical care. We appreciate your concern and support for Gerard and his family."
His death has been announced in a statement on the site.
"We are very sad to announce the death of our beloved gearbox friend and bandmate, Gerard Smith, following a courageous fight against lung cancer. Gerard passed away the morning of April 20th, 2011. We will miss him terribly," reads the statement.
players adjourned until May 16
Court-ordered mediation between the NFL and locked-out players lasted another five hours damper Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Boylan adjourned talks until May 16.
"We're going to be back here on May 16 to continue the mediation, and I think everybody thinks it was helpful," NFL Players Association outside counsel Jim Quinn said. "And that's really where we are."
When asked for the reason for the almost-monthlong break in talks, Quinn responded, "That's what the judge wanted, and we follow what the judge wants."
The next step in the process should come shortly, with Judge Susan Nelson due to rule on the players' request for an injunction to lift the NFL lockout. Also scheduled before the resumption of mediation is the May 12 hearing on the fate of the television-revenue case, over which U.S. District Judge David Doty will preside.
The sides met for 26 total hours over four days, trying to settle the led flexible strip consolidated Brady et al v. National Football League et al and Eller et al v. National Football League et al antitrust cases. It was the first set of face-to-face talks between the sides in 34 days, and the next break is set to encompass another 26 days.
"There are a lot of uncertainties right now," NFL general counsel Jeff Pash said as the league-imposed lockout hit its 40th day. "When we're back together, we'll know more. People's legal positions will be clearer. The network case is not a major factor, has never been a major factor, as far as our thinking goes.
"But we'll be back here ready to make a deal, because that's the only way that we're going to solve this problem, by having a comprehensive labor agreement, by setting out all the terms, addressing all the issues and getting it wrapped up so we're not spending all our time in court."
Nelson emphasized April 6 that she will rule on the players' motion for an injunction to lift the NFL lockout in "due course," and that decision has loomed over these talks. She said at the time that she expected to rule in "a couple weeks." It now has been two weeks.
"I think fans want solution. I want solutions," he said. "I think the players want solutions, and I think the teams want solutions. That's why we have to be working at it in negotiations and figuring out how to get to that point."
Over the four days of mediation, seven of the 10 members of the league's labor committee made appearances, with co-chairman Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers and Pat Bowlen of the Denver Broncos joined by cable ties Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy the last two days. Commissioner Roger Goodell also was part of the league's contingent, as were Broncos president Joe Ellis and Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay.
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith returned to the talks Wednesday after tending to a family emergency Tuesday, and current players Mike Vrabel and Ben Leber also were in attendance, as they have been throughout this mediation.
Goodell said all parties involved remain committed to ending the league's first work stoppage since 1987.
Pash wouldn't delve into the condition of talks between the league and players.
"You can't measure this like a stock table, what's going up or down on any given day. But it's always a positive to be able to talk to people," Pash said. "I don't think it's ever too early to talk, I don't think it's ever too early to state positions, and sometimes you have to state them multiple times and you have to really listen to the other side multiple times.
"I think this was a valuable process, I don't think a single minute of it was wasted time, and I think the effort and the sincerity and the creativity that the chief magistrate judge brought to the process was exemplary and is going to be very helpful to us down the road."
The NFL released its 2011 regular-season schedule after golf irons Tuesday's mediation session, and Goodell has maintained an optimistic tone. He spoke to New York Giants season-ticket holders Wednesday in a conference call during a break in mediation, telling them, "We're planning to play a full season, and we're going to negotiate as hard as we can to get that done."
"I do feel very positive about the 2011 season, and I think everybody has come here with the idea of having a 2011 season, and it's just not been easy to get to that point," Eller said. "I think everybody is working hard to that goal, and seeing them work to that end makes me much more optimistic. I would certainly say we're going to have a 2011 season."
The NFL's season is scheduled to open Sept. 8, with the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers hosting the New Orleans Saints, and that's less than five months away, with free agency, trades and other roster decisions still up in the air with the lockout in place.
"We have to identify the solutions and get it done," Goodell said. "It is tough for me to project. We're going to continue to make the preparations for the season and work as hard as we can to solve those issues in advance so we can play every game and high pressure sodium lamp every down of the season."
Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller, the lead plantiff in one of the antitrust cases against the league, echoed Goodell's optimism, even with talks now shelved for nearly a month.
Smith said he was unaware of the report, and Vrabel said he hadn't heard of it, either, although he did say that players "do have a seat, with Ben and me."
The Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday that a group of about 70 "mid-tier" players was considering hiring a law firm to get a seat at the mediation table, upset that talks broke off last month after 16 days in front of a federal mediator in Washington. However, NFL Network calls to about a dozen player agents revealed nothing to confirm the report.
"That's why we're here," Vrabel said. "... We're players here to exercise bike represent the players, and De works for us. They do (have a seat). And I think if they're unhappy with that seat, we have to vote in a new executive committee and a new board of reps."
"We're going to be back here on May 16 to continue the mediation, and I think everybody thinks it was helpful," NFL Players Association outside counsel Jim Quinn said. "And that's really where we are."
When asked for the reason for the almost-monthlong break in talks, Quinn responded, "That's what the judge wanted, and we follow what the judge wants."
The next step in the process should come shortly, with Judge Susan Nelson due to rule on the players' request for an injunction to lift the NFL lockout. Also scheduled before the resumption of mediation is the May 12 hearing on the fate of the television-revenue case, over which U.S. District Judge David Doty will preside.
The sides met for 26 total hours over four days, trying to settle the led flexible strip consolidated Brady et al v. National Football League et al and Eller et al v. National Football League et al antitrust cases. It was the first set of face-to-face talks between the sides in 34 days, and the next break is set to encompass another 26 days.
"There are a lot of uncertainties right now," NFL general counsel Jeff Pash said as the league-imposed lockout hit its 40th day. "When we're back together, we'll know more. People's legal positions will be clearer. The network case is not a major factor, has never been a major factor, as far as our thinking goes.
"But we'll be back here ready to make a deal, because that's the only way that we're going to solve this problem, by having a comprehensive labor agreement, by setting out all the terms, addressing all the issues and getting it wrapped up so we're not spending all our time in court."
Nelson emphasized April 6 that she will rule on the players' motion for an injunction to lift the NFL lockout in "due course," and that decision has loomed over these talks. She said at the time that she expected to rule in "a couple weeks." It now has been two weeks.
"I think fans want solution. I want solutions," he said. "I think the players want solutions, and I think the teams want solutions. That's why we have to be working at it in negotiations and figuring out how to get to that point."
Over the four days of mediation, seven of the 10 members of the league's labor committee made appearances, with co-chairman Jerry Richardson of the Carolina Panthers and Pat Bowlen of the Denver Broncos joined by cable ties Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones and Green Bay Packers CEO Mark Murphy the last two days. Commissioner Roger Goodell also was part of the league's contingent, as were Broncos president Joe Ellis and Atlanta Falcons president Rich McKay.
NFLPA executive director DeMaurice Smith returned to the talks Wednesday after tending to a family emergency Tuesday, and current players Mike Vrabel and Ben Leber also were in attendance, as they have been throughout this mediation.
Goodell said all parties involved remain committed to ending the league's first work stoppage since 1987.
Pash wouldn't delve into the condition of talks between the league and players.
"You can't measure this like a stock table, what's going up or down on any given day. But it's always a positive to be able to talk to people," Pash said. "I don't think it's ever too early to talk, I don't think it's ever too early to state positions, and sometimes you have to state them multiple times and you have to really listen to the other side multiple times.
"I think this was a valuable process, I don't think a single minute of it was wasted time, and I think the effort and the sincerity and the creativity that the chief magistrate judge brought to the process was exemplary and is going to be very helpful to us down the road."
The NFL released its 2011 regular-season schedule after golf irons Tuesday's mediation session, and Goodell has maintained an optimistic tone. He spoke to New York Giants season-ticket holders Wednesday in a conference call during a break in mediation, telling them, "We're planning to play a full season, and we're going to negotiate as hard as we can to get that done."
"I do feel very positive about the 2011 season, and I think everybody has come here with the idea of having a 2011 season, and it's just not been easy to get to that point," Eller said. "I think everybody is working hard to that goal, and seeing them work to that end makes me much more optimistic. I would certainly say we're going to have a 2011 season."
The NFL's season is scheduled to open Sept. 8, with the Super Bowl champion Green Bay Packers hosting the New Orleans Saints, and that's less than five months away, with free agency, trades and other roster decisions still up in the air with the lockout in place.
"We have to identify the solutions and get it done," Goodell said. "It is tough for me to project. We're going to continue to make the preparations for the season and work as hard as we can to solve those issues in advance so we can play every game and high pressure sodium lamp every down of the season."
Hall of Fame defensive end Carl Eller, the lead plantiff in one of the antitrust cases against the league, echoed Goodell's optimism, even with talks now shelved for nearly a month.
Smith said he was unaware of the report, and Vrabel said he hadn't heard of it, either, although he did say that players "do have a seat, with Ben and me."
The Sports Business Journal reported Wednesday that a group of about 70 "mid-tier" players was considering hiring a law firm to get a seat at the mediation table, upset that talks broke off last month after 16 days in front of a federal mediator in Washington. However, NFL Network calls to about a dozen player agents revealed nothing to confirm the report.
"That's why we're here," Vrabel said. "... We're players here to exercise bike represent the players, and De works for us. They do (have a seat). And I think if they're unhappy with that seat, we have to vote in a new executive committee and a new board of reps."
Scientists ask: Is the kilo losing weight?
Ensuring a pound of butter is indeed a pound, or a gallon of milk a full gallon, has long been the OBD2 code scanner province of government agencies that deal with weights and measures. But now it seems scientists are having a little trouble with the golfball size piece of metal that is used to set the standard weight for a kilogram, or kilo.
Americans might not think the definition of a kilo affects them, but it does. Since 1893 “the pound has been defined as a derived measure of the kilo,” says Richard Davis, formerly the kilogram specialist with the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology and then the secretary of the Consultative Committee for Mass and Related Quantities.
A bunch of these prototypes have been made over the years, seven of which are kept in a triple-locked vault at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sèvres, with one known as the International Prototype.
Not that the 50 micrograms will affect someone buying a pound of coffee in America or a kilo of potatoes in Germany. “It’s a pretty small effect, it’s the weight of a small grain of sand and this has no consequence,” says Michael Stock, director of the autoclave International Bureau’s Electricity Dept. “It’s only people working at the highest levels of science who will be affected.”
The problem is that as these prototypes have been taken out and weighed, which last happened in 1990, something odd has turned up — their weights began diverging. The international prototype, for example, weighed 50 micrograms less than the others, meaning it had lost weight or the others were getting heavier, or they were all moving a bit — no one knows for certain. And no one knows what caused the changing weights either.
But to scientists, for whom very precise measurement is important, it’s a big deal. So they decided to start working on a new standard based on a universal constant— a measure that relies on science principles rather than on an object whose size or other properties could change from one sample to another.
The standard for a meter, for example, is now defined as “the length of the path axial fan traveled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second.” Again, even for Americans who don’t know a kilometer from a kleptomaniac, this is an issue because the official definition of a foot is exactly 0.3048 meters.
The whole system is based on a group of scientists in France who, after the revolution of 1789, started to set up a universal measurement system to get away from the hodgepodge of measurements then existing in Europe, many of which were based on things like the length of the current king’s arm. “What do you do when you get a new king?” says Stock.
There are seven base units in the International System of Units (things like seconds, meters, degrees) and every one of them but the kilo has one of these universal constant definitions. Only the kilo, the definition of which was adopted in 1889, is still defined by a man-made artifact — in this case a cylinder of metal made up of 90% platinum and 10% iridium that’s 1.54212598 inches high by 1.54212598 inches in diameter. Which, by definition, weighs exactly one kilo.
The system began to be adopted by the rest of the world in the 19th century when industrialization and international trade made having similar measuring systems important.
But finding a universal constant for a kilo isn’t as easy as it might seem.
One suggestion was to create a precise sphere of pure silicon that weighed exactly one kilo, then count the number of silicon atoms it contained and define a kilo as the weight of that many silicon atoms. But while that sounds simple, it turns out to be technically very difficult.
Another idea was to base it on a relationship with an esoteric concept in physics cone crusher called the Planck Constant, something even Stock had trouble expressing in layman’s terms. But, he assured a reporter, it works. And it would allow scientists to create a definition of the kilogram based on a universal physical constant.
Except that the experiments to establish it may be a little beyond science just yet. Groups in the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland and France have been doing the experiments and so far they have not come up with the same number.
“That’s the problem,” says Stock. “There are different results and they don’t agree.”
It is unlikely that the universe is shifting under our feet, the researchers say. More that our measuring ability isn’t quite up to capturing the extremely small thing being measured here.
For now, the kilo stays linked to the platinum/iridium cylinder locked away electronic ballast outside Paris. The meeting of the General Conference on Weights and Measures, which could adopt a new definition of the kilo, is scheduled for 2015. Asked whether we can expect a definitive kilo by then, Stock smiles. “Probably yes, but good science takes time.”
Americans might not think the definition of a kilo affects them, but it does. Since 1893 “the pound has been defined as a derived measure of the kilo,” says Richard Davis, formerly the kilogram specialist with the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology and then the secretary of the Consultative Committee for Mass and Related Quantities.
A bunch of these prototypes have been made over the years, seven of which are kept in a triple-locked vault at the International Bureau of Weights and Measures in Sèvres, with one known as the International Prototype.
Not that the 50 micrograms will affect someone buying a pound of coffee in America or a kilo of potatoes in Germany. “It’s a pretty small effect, it’s the weight of a small grain of sand and this has no consequence,” says Michael Stock, director of the autoclave International Bureau’s Electricity Dept. “It’s only people working at the highest levels of science who will be affected.”
The problem is that as these prototypes have been taken out and weighed, which last happened in 1990, something odd has turned up — their weights began diverging. The international prototype, for example, weighed 50 micrograms less than the others, meaning it had lost weight or the others were getting heavier, or they were all moving a bit — no one knows for certain. And no one knows what caused the changing weights either.
But to scientists, for whom very precise measurement is important, it’s a big deal. So they decided to start working on a new standard based on a universal constant— a measure that relies on science principles rather than on an object whose size or other properties could change from one sample to another.
The standard for a meter, for example, is now defined as “the length of the path axial fan traveled by light in vacuum during a time interval of 1/299,792,458 of a second.” Again, even for Americans who don’t know a kilometer from a kleptomaniac, this is an issue because the official definition of a foot is exactly 0.3048 meters.
The whole system is based on a group of scientists in France who, after the revolution of 1789, started to set up a universal measurement system to get away from the hodgepodge of measurements then existing in Europe, many of which were based on things like the length of the current king’s arm. “What do you do when you get a new king?” says Stock.
There are seven base units in the International System of Units (things like seconds, meters, degrees) and every one of them but the kilo has one of these universal constant definitions. Only the kilo, the definition of which was adopted in 1889, is still defined by a man-made artifact — in this case a cylinder of metal made up of 90% platinum and 10% iridium that’s 1.54212598 inches high by 1.54212598 inches in diameter. Which, by definition, weighs exactly one kilo.
The system began to be adopted by the rest of the world in the 19th century when industrialization and international trade made having similar measuring systems important.
But finding a universal constant for a kilo isn’t as easy as it might seem.
One suggestion was to create a precise sphere of pure silicon that weighed exactly one kilo, then count the number of silicon atoms it contained and define a kilo as the weight of that many silicon atoms. But while that sounds simple, it turns out to be technically very difficult.
Another idea was to base it on a relationship with an esoteric concept in physics cone crusher called the Planck Constant, something even Stock had trouble expressing in layman’s terms. But, he assured a reporter, it works. And it would allow scientists to create a definition of the kilogram based on a universal physical constant.
Except that the experiments to establish it may be a little beyond science just yet. Groups in the United Kingdom, the United States, Switzerland and France have been doing the experiments and so far they have not come up with the same number.
“That’s the problem,” says Stock. “There are different results and they don’t agree.”
It is unlikely that the universe is shifting under our feet, the researchers say. More that our measuring ability isn’t quite up to capturing the extremely small thing being measured here.
For now, the kilo stays linked to the platinum/iridium cylinder locked away electronic ballast outside Paris. The meeting of the General Conference on Weights and Measures, which could adopt a new definition of the kilo, is scheduled for 2015. Asked whether we can expect a definitive kilo by then, Stock smiles. “Probably yes, but good science takes time.”
April 29 for next-to-last shuttle launch
NASA’s next-to-last space shuttle flight is set to begin late next week, and special preparations are under way in case the commander’s wife, wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, is able to attend.
Endeavour is scheduled to blast off April 29 on its final voyage, the second last stainless steel pipe before the shuttle program ends. Mission managers set the launch date Tuesday.
The mission will be led by Mark Kelly, Giffords’ husband. He is awaiting doctors’ permission for his wife to attend the afternoon launch.
Giffords was critically wounded in Tucson, Ariz., three months ago and has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation at a hospital in Houston, home to Kelly and the rest of the astronaut corps.
Launch director Mike Leinbach said he hopes Giffords comes and stressed it would not be a distraction to his team.
“There’s a whole separate team working that issue,” Coach Bags he told reporters. “Hope she comes, but I don’t know if she will or not.”
Leinbach said there are security issues to deal with if Giffords travels to Florida for the liftoff. “Where does she go and how many people … there are just all kinds of things.”
“I hope she comes,” he added. “That would be cool.”
Kelly took a monthlong leave from NASA to be at his wife’s hospital bedside. He’s flown three times before in space, most recently in 2008. Crew families view launches at Kennedy Space Center from a restricted area, so Giffords likely will not be seen publicly if she attends.
The six-man crew will arrive Tuesday, shortly before the start of the countdown. Liftoff is scheduled for 3:47 p.m. the following Friday.
Endeavour will fly to the International Space Station and deliver a $2 billion particle physics experiment. The mission is scheduled for 14 days, but NASA expects to add two bonus days once the shuttle is in orbit.
It will be the 134th shuttle mission overall and the 25th for Endeavour, NASA’s youngest shuttle. It was built to replace Challenger, which was gearbox destroyed during liftoff in 1986.
The top of Endeavour’s wings still look factory fresh, Leinbach said. But the external fuel tank has been through a lot — namely, Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Part of the roof caved in at the New Orleans assembly plant and struck the tank. To commemorate the rebuilding effort, a picture showing a shuttle soaring through the eye of a hurricane was attached to the tank, the first such logo in shuttle history.
Leinbach said emotions are high as the shuttle program draws to a close. Only one other launch remains, by Atlantis at the end of June.
Earlier this month, 535 contractor workers were laid off in the latest round of cutbacks.
“That put a little bit of a somber mood on the team, I’d say, but we’re dealing damper with it,” Leinbach said. “The emotional aspect is very, very real. It’s very difficult to put into words.”
Leinbach said Kennedy Space Center got “a big boost” last week when NASA said Atlantis would go on display at its visitor center. The shuttle-winning museums were announced last week on the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle launch. Discovery is going to a Smithsonian branch in suburban Washington, and Endeavour will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
NASA is under presidential direction to hand over orbital trips to commercial companies, so it can focus on expeditions to asteroids and Mars. For the next few years at least, American astronauts will continue to fly Russian capsules to and from led bulbs the space station, paying tens of millions of dollars per seat.
Endeavour is scheduled to blast off April 29 on its final voyage, the second last stainless steel pipe before the shuttle program ends. Mission managers set the launch date Tuesday.
The mission will be led by Mark Kelly, Giffords’ husband. He is awaiting doctors’ permission for his wife to attend the afternoon launch.
Giffords was critically wounded in Tucson, Ariz., three months ago and has been undergoing extensive rehabilitation at a hospital in Houston, home to Kelly and the rest of the astronaut corps.
Launch director Mike Leinbach said he hopes Giffords comes and stressed it would not be a distraction to his team.
“There’s a whole separate team working that issue,” Coach Bags he told reporters. “Hope she comes, but I don’t know if she will or not.”
Leinbach said there are security issues to deal with if Giffords travels to Florida for the liftoff. “Where does she go and how many people … there are just all kinds of things.”
“I hope she comes,” he added. “That would be cool.”
Kelly took a monthlong leave from NASA to be at his wife’s hospital bedside. He’s flown three times before in space, most recently in 2008. Crew families view launches at Kennedy Space Center from a restricted area, so Giffords likely will not be seen publicly if she attends.
The six-man crew will arrive Tuesday, shortly before the start of the countdown. Liftoff is scheduled for 3:47 p.m. the following Friday.
Endeavour will fly to the International Space Station and deliver a $2 billion particle physics experiment. The mission is scheduled for 14 days, but NASA expects to add two bonus days once the shuttle is in orbit.
It will be the 134th shuttle mission overall and the 25th for Endeavour, NASA’s youngest shuttle. It was built to replace Challenger, which was gearbox destroyed during liftoff in 1986.
The top of Endeavour’s wings still look factory fresh, Leinbach said. But the external fuel tank has been through a lot — namely, Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Part of the roof caved in at the New Orleans assembly plant and struck the tank. To commemorate the rebuilding effort, a picture showing a shuttle soaring through the eye of a hurricane was attached to the tank, the first such logo in shuttle history.
Leinbach said emotions are high as the shuttle program draws to a close. Only one other launch remains, by Atlantis at the end of June.
Earlier this month, 535 contractor workers were laid off in the latest round of cutbacks.
“That put a little bit of a somber mood on the team, I’d say, but we’re dealing damper with it,” Leinbach said. “The emotional aspect is very, very real. It’s very difficult to put into words.”
Leinbach said Kennedy Space Center got “a big boost” last week when NASA said Atlantis would go on display at its visitor center. The shuttle-winning museums were announced last week on the 30th anniversary of the first shuttle launch. Discovery is going to a Smithsonian branch in suburban Washington, and Endeavour will go to the California Science Center in Los Angeles.
NASA is under presidential direction to hand over orbital trips to commercial companies, so it can focus on expeditions to asteroids and Mars. For the next few years at least, American astronauts will continue to fly Russian capsules to and from led bulbs the space station, paying tens of millions of dollars per seat.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Microsoft Takes Patent Fight to Supreme Court
Microsoft Corp. took its fight to overturn a $290 million patent infringement judgment to the Supreme Court Monday, in a case that gearbox could re-calibrate the balance of power in information-age intellectual property disputes.
The immediate question before the high court was whether it's too hard to get an invalid patent thrown out. The broader question, raised by the Justices, is how the law should balance providing incentives for innovation, while ensuring that private parties can't lock up obvious or previously known developments.
Microsoft attorney Thomas Hungar told the Justices that lower courts were wrong to require that the software giant prove by "clear and convincing" evidence that a patent held by Toronto-based software company i4i LP is invalid. Normally, the standard of proof in civil lawsuits requires a preponderance of evidence – a less exacting standard.
The lower court held Microsoft to the "clear and convincing" evidence standard, and refused to invalidate i4i's claim to holding a patent for a certain feature of Microsoft's popular word processing program. Microsoft had argued damper the feature was based on already known technology, not a patentable invention.
If upheld by the Supreme Court, Mr. Hungar said, the decision "ensures the enforcement of invalid patents."
But Mr. Hungar's argument ran smack into a 1934 precedent from one of the court's most revered justices, Benjamin Cardozo, who in a case involving radio technology wrote that once issued, patents enjoy a presumed validity "not to be overthrown except by clear and cogent evidence."
"You're contradicting Cardozo?" said Justice Antonin Scalia, the court's senior member, who presided over the hearing because Chief Justice John Roberts, who owns Microsoft stock, recused himself.
Mr. Hungar said the Cardozo opinion concerned a narrower and different subset of patent challenges,
"But Justice Cardozo certainly didn't limit his holding in the way you led flexible strip suggest," retorted the court's newest member, Justice Elena Kagan. "The language of that opinion is extremely broad."
Justice Samuel Alito observed that when Congress revised the patent statute in 1952, it made no reference to the requiring challengers to reach the clear and convincing standard.
"The phrase, 'shall be presumed valid,' doesn't seem to me at all to suggest clear and convincing evidence," Justice Alito said. "Most presumptions can be disproved by much less."
Attorney Seth Waxman, representing i4i, said Congress was aware both of the 1934 Cardozo opinion and nearly 30 years of lower court precedent requiring clear and convincing evidence to invalidate a patent.
"Congress has actively acquiesced" in the clear and convincing standard, Mr. Waxman said.
Justice Stephen Breyer and several other justices groped for cable ties different methods that lower courts, the Patent Office, inventors and businesses could employ to ensure that only legitimate patents were enforced.
"It's a bad thing not to give protection to an invention that deserves it; and it is just as bad a thing to give protection to an invention that doesn't deserve it," said Justice Stephen Breyer. "Both can seriously harm the economy. What we're trying to do is we're trying to get a better tool, if possible, to separate the sheep from the goats."
The immediate question before the high court was whether it's too hard to get an invalid patent thrown out. The broader question, raised by the Justices, is how the law should balance providing incentives for innovation, while ensuring that private parties can't lock up obvious or previously known developments.
Microsoft attorney Thomas Hungar told the Justices that lower courts were wrong to require that the software giant prove by "clear and convincing" evidence that a patent held by Toronto-based software company i4i LP is invalid. Normally, the standard of proof in civil lawsuits requires a preponderance of evidence – a less exacting standard.
The lower court held Microsoft to the "clear and convincing" evidence standard, and refused to invalidate i4i's claim to holding a patent for a certain feature of Microsoft's popular word processing program. Microsoft had argued damper the feature was based on already known technology, not a patentable invention.
If upheld by the Supreme Court, Mr. Hungar said, the decision "ensures the enforcement of invalid patents."
But Mr. Hungar's argument ran smack into a 1934 precedent from one of the court's most revered justices, Benjamin Cardozo, who in a case involving radio technology wrote that once issued, patents enjoy a presumed validity "not to be overthrown except by clear and cogent evidence."
"You're contradicting Cardozo?" said Justice Antonin Scalia, the court's senior member, who presided over the hearing because Chief Justice John Roberts, who owns Microsoft stock, recused himself.
Mr. Hungar said the Cardozo opinion concerned a narrower and different subset of patent challenges,
"But Justice Cardozo certainly didn't limit his holding in the way you led flexible strip suggest," retorted the court's newest member, Justice Elena Kagan. "The language of that opinion is extremely broad."
Justice Samuel Alito observed that when Congress revised the patent statute in 1952, it made no reference to the requiring challengers to reach the clear and convincing standard.
"The phrase, 'shall be presumed valid,' doesn't seem to me at all to suggest clear and convincing evidence," Justice Alito said. "Most presumptions can be disproved by much less."
Attorney Seth Waxman, representing i4i, said Congress was aware both of the 1934 Cardozo opinion and nearly 30 years of lower court precedent requiring clear and convincing evidence to invalidate a patent.
"Congress has actively acquiesced" in the clear and convincing standard, Mr. Waxman said.
Justice Stephen Breyer and several other justices groped for cable ties different methods that lower courts, the Patent Office, inventors and businesses could employ to ensure that only legitimate patents were enforced.
"It's a bad thing not to give protection to an invention that deserves it; and it is just as bad a thing to give protection to an invention that doesn't deserve it," said Justice Stephen Breyer. "Both can seriously harm the economy. What we're trying to do is we're trying to get a better tool, if possible, to separate the sheep from the goats."
'shuttle successors'
With its shuttles about to retire, the agency has offered $270m (￡166m) of funds to four firms to help them mature designs for new orbiting vehicles.
Blue Origin, Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corp and SpaceX hope to sell bakugans astronaut "taxi" services to Nasa by mid-decade.
Until then, US crews will have go to the space station on Russian rockets.
"The next American-flagged vehicle to carry our astronauts into space is going to be a US commercial provider," said Ed Mango, Nasa's Commercial Crew Programme manager.
"The partnerships Nasa is forming with industry will support the development of multiple American systems capable of providing future access to low-Earth orbit."
The winning companies have a range of concepts under developments.
SpaceX, which has garnered much publicity recently, is perhaps the most advanced in its plans. It has already flown a rocket called Falcon 9 and a capsule called Dragon. It is being offered $75m over the next year if it meets certain milestones in advancing Dragon's crew-carrying capabilities.
The long-established Boeing company stands to win the high pressure sodium lamp largest award depending on developments. It has a capsule design called CTS-100 which could transport up seven astronauts to the space station. The $92.3m Nasa support will help Boeing get the vehicle through to its preliminary design review.
Sierra Nevada Corporation has already received considerable financial support in Nasa's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) effort, and is in line to get a further ￡80m in the latest round of funding. It is developing a shuttle-like vehicle that would launch atop a rocket.
The fourth recipient, Blue Origin, is a company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin has kept much of its space development activity secret, but it has requested funds from Nasa to help it mature systems for a cone-shaped crew vehicle. It has been awarded up to ￡22m.
Perhaps just as interesting as the companies that have won awards are the companies that have missed out.
These included ATK which makes the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) that lift the space shuttle off the ground. ATK wants to marry an evolution of these SRBs with the main core stage of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket. The concept, known as Liberty, would be used to launch other companies' capsules and spaceplanes.
ATK will now have to secure funds elsewhere if it wants to exercise bike carry the Liberty idea forward.
Also missing out on CCDev money is United Launch Alliance (ULA). This is the company that operates Atlas and Delta rockets for the US Air Force and for Nasa.
These vehicles frequently orbit satellites, but ULA believes the rockets could be modified to launch humans also.
Sierra Nevada, Boeing and Blue Origin had all talked about using an Atlas 5 to loft their proposed crew ships.
Where Monday's announcement from Nasa leaves ULA's plans is uncertain. Again, it will need to use its own funds or find a partner if it wishes to continue with the project to man-rate the Atlas and Delta rockets.
Nasa is keen that the next era of vcm ids human spaceflight include a strong commercial element. It plans to substantially increase its seed funding in 2012.
The philosophy is not shared by many in the US Congress who would prefer Nasa to lead the development of a shuttle successor along traditional procurement lines.
Blue Origin, Boeing, Sierra Nevada Corp and SpaceX hope to sell bakugans astronaut "taxi" services to Nasa by mid-decade.
Until then, US crews will have go to the space station on Russian rockets.
"The next American-flagged vehicle to carry our astronauts into space is going to be a US commercial provider," said Ed Mango, Nasa's Commercial Crew Programme manager.
"The partnerships Nasa is forming with industry will support the development of multiple American systems capable of providing future access to low-Earth orbit."
The winning companies have a range of concepts under developments.
SpaceX, which has garnered much publicity recently, is perhaps the most advanced in its plans. It has already flown a rocket called Falcon 9 and a capsule called Dragon. It is being offered $75m over the next year if it meets certain milestones in advancing Dragon's crew-carrying capabilities.
The long-established Boeing company stands to win the high pressure sodium lamp largest award depending on developments. It has a capsule design called CTS-100 which could transport up seven astronauts to the space station. The $92.3m Nasa support will help Boeing get the vehicle through to its preliminary design review.
Sierra Nevada Corporation has already received considerable financial support in Nasa's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) effort, and is in line to get a further ￡80m in the latest round of funding. It is developing a shuttle-like vehicle that would launch atop a rocket.
The fourth recipient, Blue Origin, is a company set up by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos. Blue Origin has kept much of its space development activity secret, but it has requested funds from Nasa to help it mature systems for a cone-shaped crew vehicle. It has been awarded up to ￡22m.
Perhaps just as interesting as the companies that have won awards are the companies that have missed out.
These included ATK which makes the solid rocket boosters (SRBs) that lift the space shuttle off the ground. ATK wants to marry an evolution of these SRBs with the main core stage of Europe's Ariane 5 rocket. The concept, known as Liberty, would be used to launch other companies' capsules and spaceplanes.
ATK will now have to secure funds elsewhere if it wants to exercise bike carry the Liberty idea forward.
Also missing out on CCDev money is United Launch Alliance (ULA). This is the company that operates Atlas and Delta rockets for the US Air Force and for Nasa.
These vehicles frequently orbit satellites, but ULA believes the rockets could be modified to launch humans also.
Sierra Nevada, Boeing and Blue Origin had all talked about using an Atlas 5 to loft their proposed crew ships.
Where Monday's announcement from Nasa leaves ULA's plans is uncertain. Again, it will need to use its own funds or find a partner if it wishes to continue with the project to man-rate the Atlas and Delta rockets.
Nasa is keen that the next era of vcm ids human spaceflight include a strong commercial element. It plans to substantially increase its seed funding in 2012.
The philosophy is not shared by many in the US Congress who would prefer Nasa to lead the development of a shuttle successor along traditional procurement lines.
Winklevoss Twins petition to void court ruling on Facebook settlement
On Monday, Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss filed a OBD2 code scanner petition with the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to overturn a court ruling from last week that said the two men can't get out of their 2008 settlement with Facebook.
For about $65 million in cash and stock, the Winklevosses settled a suit against Facebook that claimed co-founder Mark Zuckerberg stole the idea for the social networking website while working on a site for them called ConnectU when the three were students at Harvard.
The settlement is now worth more than $160 million because of Facebook's rocketing popularity and value.
The investment firm T. Rowe Price exercise bike recently bought $190.5 million in Facebook shares.?Facebook, now the Internet's most visited website,?is valued at about $50 billion.
A three-judge panel at the Court of Appeals ruled?against the twins last week and now the two are looking to an 11-judge panel to consider their appeal.
The Winklevosses have argued in court documents that after the settlement was reached, they found out that their stock was worth less than were led to believe in the 2008 agreement.
The appeal was filed by the Winklevosses' lawyers at the law firm Howard Rice. Jerome B. Falk Jr., one of the twins' lawyers, said in a statement that the appeal is not for the courts to decide whether?the substantial settlement is worth being kept or not, but rather whether?the settlement was reached legally.
"Settlements should be based on honest dealing," Falk said. "Courts have wisely refused to high pressure sodium lamp enforce a settlement obtained by fraudulent means. The panel's decision shut the courthouse door to a solid claim that Facebook obtained this settlement by committing securities fraud. Our petition asks the full 9th Circuit to reopen that door."
Apple has sued Samsung for allegedly copying the iPad
Apple has sued Samsung for allegedly copying the iPad, iPod and iPhone with its Galaxy Tab and Galaxy handsets.
Samsung copied Apple technologies, designs and even packaging with its Google Android-based products, according to a complaint filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Apple is golf irons seeking a jury trial in the case.
"Instead of pursuing independent product development, Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple's innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design, in violation of Apple's valuable intellectual property rights," Apple said in the complaint.
Late last year, Samsung became the first major consumer electronics maker to roll out a tablet to compete with the iPad. It is also one of the world's largest makers of mobile phones, especially handsets that use Android.
The complaint includes 10 charges of patent infringement, two of trademark violation and two of trade dress violations, plus unjust enrichment and unfair business practices. Apple named Samsung Electronics, Samsung America and Samsung Telecommunications America as defendants. The case was filed at the district court in San Francisco but is being transferred to Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler at the court's Oakland, California, location.
A spokesman for Samsung in the U.S. said the company had no cable ties comment on the lawsuit. Apple officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The allegations span a broad range of Samsung's mobile devices, including the Epic 4G, Captivate, Indulge, Nexus S and Galaxy S 4G smartphones as well as the Galaxy Tab. Apple singled out the Galaxy product line for criticism.
"The copying is so pervasive, that the Samsung Galaxy products appear to be actual Apple products -- with the same rectangular shape with rounded corners, silver edging, a flat surface face with substantial top and bottom black borders, gently curving edges on the back, and a display of colorful square icons with rounded corners," the complaint said.
Apple wants an injunction to stop Samsung's alleged intellectual property violations, along with led bulbs actual and punitive damages, Samsung's "wrongfully obtained profits" and funds for corrective advertising about the allegedly confusing products.
Samsung copied Apple technologies, designs and even packaging with its Google Android-based products, according to a complaint filed Friday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California. Apple is golf irons seeking a jury trial in the case.
"Instead of pursuing independent product development, Samsung has chosen to slavishly copy Apple's innovative technology, distinctive user interfaces, and elegant and distinctive product and packaging design, in violation of Apple's valuable intellectual property rights," Apple said in the complaint.
Late last year, Samsung became the first major consumer electronics maker to roll out a tablet to compete with the iPad. It is also one of the world's largest makers of mobile phones, especially handsets that use Android.
The complaint includes 10 charges of patent infringement, two of trademark violation and two of trade dress violations, plus unjust enrichment and unfair business practices. Apple named Samsung Electronics, Samsung America and Samsung Telecommunications America as defendants. The case was filed at the district court in San Francisco but is being transferred to Magistrate Judge Laurel Beeler at the court's Oakland, California, location.
A spokesman for Samsung in the U.S. said the company had no cable ties comment on the lawsuit. Apple officials could not immediately be reached for comment.
The allegations span a broad range of Samsung's mobile devices, including the Epic 4G, Captivate, Indulge, Nexus S and Galaxy S 4G smartphones as well as the Galaxy Tab. Apple singled out the Galaxy product line for criticism.
"The copying is so pervasive, that the Samsung Galaxy products appear to be actual Apple products -- with the same rectangular shape with rounded corners, silver edging, a flat surface face with substantial top and bottom black borders, gently curving edges on the back, and a display of colorful square icons with rounded corners," the complaint said.
Apple wants an injunction to stop Samsung's alleged intellectual property violations, along with led bulbs actual and punitive damages, Samsung's "wrongfully obtained profits" and funds for corrective advertising about the allegedly confusing products.
Sunday, April 17, 2011
super rich see federal tax drastically
As millions of procrastinators scramble to meet Monday's tax filing deadline, ponder this: The super rich pay a lot less taxes cold room than they did a couple of decades ago, and nearly half of U.S. households pay no income taxes at all.
The Internal Revenue Service tracks the tax returns with the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes each year. The average income on those returns in 2007, the latest year for IRS data, was nearly $345 million. Their average federal income tax rate was 17 percent, down from 26 percent in 1992.
Over the same period, the average federal income tax rate for all taxpayers declined to 9.3 percent from 9.9 percent.
The top income tax rate is 35 percent, so how can people who make so much pay so little in taxes? The nation's tax laws are packed with breaks for people at every income level. There are breaks for having children, paying a mortgage, going to college, and even for paying other taxes. Plus, the top rate on capital gains is only 15 percent.
There are so many breaks that 45 percent of U.S. households will pay no jaw crusher federal income tax for 2010, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.
"It's the fact that we are using the tax code both to collect revenue, which is its primary purpose, and to deliver these spending benefits that we run into the situation where so many people are paying no taxes," said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the center, which generated the estimate of people who pay no income taxes.
The sheer volume of credits, deductions and exemptions has both Democrats and Republicans calling for tax laws to be overhauled. House Republicans want to eliminate breaks to pay for lower overall rates, reducing the top tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Republicans oppose raising taxes, but they argue that a more efficient tax code would increase economic activity, generating additional tax revenue.
President Barack Obama said last week he wants to do away with tax breaks to lower the rates and to reduce government borrowing. Obama's proposal would result in $1 trillion in tax increases over the next 12 years. Neither proposal included many details, putting off hard choices about which tax breaks to eliminate.
In all, the tax code is filled with a total of $1.1 trillion in credits, deductions and exemptions, an average of about $8,000 per taxpayer, according to an analysis by the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent electronic ballast watchdog within the IRS.
More than half of the nation's tax revenue came from the top 10 percent of earners in 2007. More than 44 percent came from the top 5 percent. Still, the wealthy have access to much more lucrative tax breaks than people with lower incomes.
Obama wants the wealthy to pay so "the amount of taxes you pay isn't determined by what kind of accountant you can afford."
Eric Schoenberg says to sign him up for paying higher taxes. Schoenberg, who inherited money and has a healthy portfolio from his days as an investment banker, has joined a group of other wealthy Americans called United for a Fair Economy. Their goal: Raise taxes on rich people like themselves.
Shoenberg, who now teaches a business class at Columbia University, said his income is usually "north of half a million a year." But 2009 was a bad year for investments, so his income dropped to a little over $200,000. His federal income tax bill was a little more than $2,000.
"I simply point out to people, 'Do you think this is reasonable, that somebody in my circumstances should only be paying 1 percent of their income in tax?'" Schoenberg said.
Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee stainless steel pipe , said he has a solution for rich people who want to pay more in taxes: Write a check to the IRS. There's nothing stopping you.
"There's still time before the filing deadline for them to give Uncle Sam some more money," Hatch said.
Schoenberg said Hatch's suggestion misses the point.
"This voluntary idea clearly represents a mindset that basically pretends there's no such things as collective goods that we produce," Schoenberg said. "Are you going to let people volunteer to build the road system? Are you going to let them volunteer to pay for education?"
The law is packed with tax breaks that help narrow special interests. But many of the biggest tax breaks benefit millions of American families at just about every income level, making them difficult for politicians to touch.
The vast majority of those who escape federal income taxes have low and medium incomes, and most of them pay other taxes, including Social Security and Medicare taxes, property taxes and retail sales taxes.
The share of people paying no federal income tax has dropped slightly the past two years. It was 47 percent for 2009. The main difference for 2010 was the expiration of a tax break that exempted the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits from taxation, Williams said.
In 2009, nearly 35 million taxpayers got a tax break for paying interest on their home mortgages, and nearly 36 million taxpayers took the $1,000-per-child tax credit. About 41 million households reduced their federal income taxes by veterinary syringes deducting state and local income and sales taxes from their taxable income.
About 36 million families cut their taxes by nearly $35 billion by deducting charitable donations, and 28 million taxpayers saved a total of $24 billion because their income from Social Security and railroad pensions was untaxed.
"As a matter of policy, there would be a lot of ways to save money and actually make these things work better," said Leonard Burman, a public affairs professor at Syracuse University. "As a matter of politics, it's really, really difficult."
The Internal Revenue Service tracks the tax returns with the 400 highest adjusted gross incomes each year. The average income on those returns in 2007, the latest year for IRS data, was nearly $345 million. Their average federal income tax rate was 17 percent, down from 26 percent in 1992.
Over the same period, the average federal income tax rate for all taxpayers declined to 9.3 percent from 9.9 percent.
The top income tax rate is 35 percent, so how can people who make so much pay so little in taxes? The nation's tax laws are packed with breaks for people at every income level. There are breaks for having children, paying a mortgage, going to college, and even for paying other taxes. Plus, the top rate on capital gains is only 15 percent.
There are so many breaks that 45 percent of U.S. households will pay no jaw crusher federal income tax for 2010, according to estimates by the Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.
"It's the fact that we are using the tax code both to collect revenue, which is its primary purpose, and to deliver these spending benefits that we run into the situation where so many people are paying no taxes," said Roberton Williams, a senior fellow at the center, which generated the estimate of people who pay no income taxes.
The sheer volume of credits, deductions and exemptions has both Democrats and Republicans calling for tax laws to be overhauled. House Republicans want to eliminate breaks to pay for lower overall rates, reducing the top tax rate from 35 percent to 25 percent. Republicans oppose raising taxes, but they argue that a more efficient tax code would increase economic activity, generating additional tax revenue.
President Barack Obama said last week he wants to do away with tax breaks to lower the rates and to reduce government borrowing. Obama's proposal would result in $1 trillion in tax increases over the next 12 years. Neither proposal included many details, putting off hard choices about which tax breaks to eliminate.
In all, the tax code is filled with a total of $1.1 trillion in credits, deductions and exemptions, an average of about $8,000 per taxpayer, according to an analysis by the National Taxpayer Advocate, an independent electronic ballast watchdog within the IRS.
More than half of the nation's tax revenue came from the top 10 percent of earners in 2007. More than 44 percent came from the top 5 percent. Still, the wealthy have access to much more lucrative tax breaks than people with lower incomes.
Obama wants the wealthy to pay so "the amount of taxes you pay isn't determined by what kind of accountant you can afford."
Eric Schoenberg says to sign him up for paying higher taxes. Schoenberg, who inherited money and has a healthy portfolio from his days as an investment banker, has joined a group of other wealthy Americans called United for a Fair Economy. Their goal: Raise taxes on rich people like themselves.
Shoenberg, who now teaches a business class at Columbia University, said his income is usually "north of half a million a year." But 2009 was a bad year for investments, so his income dropped to a little over $200,000. His federal income tax bill was a little more than $2,000.
"I simply point out to people, 'Do you think this is reasonable, that somebody in my circumstances should only be paying 1 percent of their income in tax?'" Schoenberg said.
Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee stainless steel pipe , said he has a solution for rich people who want to pay more in taxes: Write a check to the IRS. There's nothing stopping you.
"There's still time before the filing deadline for them to give Uncle Sam some more money," Hatch said.
Schoenberg said Hatch's suggestion misses the point.
"This voluntary idea clearly represents a mindset that basically pretends there's no such things as collective goods that we produce," Schoenberg said. "Are you going to let people volunteer to build the road system? Are you going to let them volunteer to pay for education?"
The law is packed with tax breaks that help narrow special interests. But many of the biggest tax breaks benefit millions of American families at just about every income level, making them difficult for politicians to touch.
The vast majority of those who escape federal income taxes have low and medium incomes, and most of them pay other taxes, including Social Security and Medicare taxes, property taxes and retail sales taxes.
The share of people paying no federal income tax has dropped slightly the past two years. It was 47 percent for 2009. The main difference for 2010 was the expiration of a tax break that exempted the first $2,400 of unemployment benefits from taxation, Williams said.
In 2009, nearly 35 million taxpayers got a tax break for paying interest on their home mortgages, and nearly 36 million taxpayers took the $1,000-per-child tax credit. About 41 million households reduced their federal income taxes by veterinary syringes deducting state and local income and sales taxes from their taxable income.
About 36 million families cut their taxes by nearly $35 billion by deducting charitable donations, and 28 million taxpayers saved a total of $24 billion because their income from Social Security and railroad pensions was untaxed.
"As a matter of policy, there would be a lot of ways to save money and actually make these things work better," said Leonard Burman, a public affairs professor at Syracuse University. "As a matter of politics, it's really, really difficult."
The euro is facing new difficulties
Katainen, 39, has had challenges before: as finance minister in the coalition before Sunday's election he steered Finland through a recession.
He also has steadily moved his center-right party closer to the center stainless steel pipe and has now given it the leadership of government for the first time in 20 years.
But forming a new coalition which matches his europhile inclinations with the more euro-skeptic stance of True Finns leader Timo Soini will be hard.
Katainen, who grew up in a small town in central Finland and was a part-time teacher before entering local politics in his early 20s, noted that Finnish parties had always worked for compromises.
"It is our duty to form a majority government," he said on Sunday.
The election result showed Katainen's National Coalition Party narrowly won the election, gaining 43 seats in parliament, just topping the main opposition Social Democratic Party's 42 seats. The True Finns won a hefty 39 seats.
The biggest party in the outgoing coalition, the Center Party, suffered a big defeat and said it would go into opposition. Katainen will likely turn to the True Finns and the Social Democrats when he veterinary syringestries to build a new coalition.
Strongly pro-European, Katainen is a vice president of the European People's Party (EPP), a grouping of center-right parties in the European Parliament.
His party wants a cut in corporate tax to help create jobs and boost economic activity. It is also the most eager to promote nuclear power projects in the Nordic country.
As Finland's public debt is set to rise, the party is seeking to stabilize long-term finances by reforms such as raising the retirement age and halving the number of municipalities.
Retirement is a likely deadlock, since Social Democrats have said they will not enter a government that plans to raise the minimum age.
Tax cuts will be difficult to agree with both the Social Democrats and True Finns.
In talks with fellow finance ministers to create a stability mechanism for Europe, Katainen had to balance between Europe's hopes to lean more on triple-A-rated countries including Finland, and growing euro-criticism at home.
Since taking the party helm at age 32, Katainen has led the National Coalition, traditionally Finland's conservative party with ties to business, in a more liberal direction, Coach Bags winning new supporters among younger middle-class voters.
He cuts an image of a clean living and energetic family man and father of two. His dapper appearance is in stark contrast to the burly and folksy Soini.
Because of his schoolboy looks, Katainen has had to endure the nickname "Jyrki-boy" borrowed from a popular Finnish song and struggle to emerge from the shadow of former party leader and presidential candidate Sauli Niinisto and his cohorts.
He came into his own as party leader in 2008 when he sacked his foreign minister, Ilkka Kanerva, a National Coalition veteran politician, after Kanerva's text messages to an erotic dancer were splashed over the Finnish press.
Katainen replaced Kanerva at the foreign ministry with Alexander Stubb, another of a younger generation of media-savvy liberal internationalists in the National Coalition.
The two close friends smiled while checking Sunday's results together from an iPad at party celebrations.
But with Katainen as prime minister and Stubb as autoclave a possible foreign minister again, their balancing act with EU and domestic pressure is going to get trickier than before.
He also has steadily moved his center-right party closer to the center stainless steel pipe and has now given it the leadership of government for the first time in 20 years.
But forming a new coalition which matches his europhile inclinations with the more euro-skeptic stance of True Finns leader Timo Soini will be hard.
Katainen, who grew up in a small town in central Finland and was a part-time teacher before entering local politics in his early 20s, noted that Finnish parties had always worked for compromises.
"It is our duty to form a majority government," he said on Sunday.
The election result showed Katainen's National Coalition Party narrowly won the election, gaining 43 seats in parliament, just topping the main opposition Social Democratic Party's 42 seats. The True Finns won a hefty 39 seats.
The biggest party in the outgoing coalition, the Center Party, suffered a big defeat and said it would go into opposition. Katainen will likely turn to the True Finns and the Social Democrats when he veterinary syringestries to build a new coalition.
Strongly pro-European, Katainen is a vice president of the European People's Party (EPP), a grouping of center-right parties in the European Parliament.
His party wants a cut in corporate tax to help create jobs and boost economic activity. It is also the most eager to promote nuclear power projects in the Nordic country.
As Finland's public debt is set to rise, the party is seeking to stabilize long-term finances by reforms such as raising the retirement age and halving the number of municipalities.
Retirement is a likely deadlock, since Social Democrats have said they will not enter a government that plans to raise the minimum age.
Tax cuts will be difficult to agree with both the Social Democrats and True Finns.
In talks with fellow finance ministers to create a stability mechanism for Europe, Katainen had to balance between Europe's hopes to lean more on triple-A-rated countries including Finland, and growing euro-criticism at home.
Since taking the party helm at age 32, Katainen has led the National Coalition, traditionally Finland's conservative party with ties to business, in a more liberal direction, Coach Bags winning new supporters among younger middle-class voters.
He cuts an image of a clean living and energetic family man and father of two. His dapper appearance is in stark contrast to the burly and folksy Soini.
Because of his schoolboy looks, Katainen has had to endure the nickname "Jyrki-boy" borrowed from a popular Finnish song and struggle to emerge from the shadow of former party leader and presidential candidate Sauli Niinisto and his cohorts.
He came into his own as party leader in 2008 when he sacked his foreign minister, Ilkka Kanerva, a National Coalition veteran politician, after Kanerva's text messages to an erotic dancer were splashed over the Finnish press.
Katainen replaced Kanerva at the foreign ministry with Alexander Stubb, another of a younger generation of media-savvy liberal internationalists in the National Coalition.
The two close friends smiled while checking Sunday's results together from an iPad at party celebrations.
But with Katainen as prime minister and Stubb as autoclave a possible foreign minister again, their balancing act with EU and domestic pressure is going to get trickier than before.
The deadly storms kill at least 45 people
Askewville, N.C., a town of a few hundred in rural Bertie County, awoke to near total destruction Sunday morning after a powerful, unusually large tornado touched down and then swept across 6 miles, flattening autoclave everything in its path, killing 11 people and injuring 50 more.
“It is devastating,” County Manager Zee Lamb said Sunday after surveying the damage in his 700-square-mile county. “We’ve had hurricanes, floods. We’ve had tornadoes before. But we’ve never seen anything like this.”
The county has shifted from search and rescue to recovery, he said. “People are already starting to clean up the debris, but it’s a real big mess.”
Tornadoes, high winds and flooding rains ripped across the South for three days, killing at least 45 people in six states Thursday through Saturday in the deadliest storm outbreak to hit the USA in more than three years. The Storm Prediction Center noted 243 initial reports of tornadoes in 13 states — an “astounding” number, Weather Channel meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said.
Severe storms in February 2008 killed 57 people across the Southeast.
The tornado that struck Bertie County was one of 62 in North Carolina, causing “significant damage” in 26 counties, according shaded pold motor to Julia Jarema, North Carolina Emergency Management spokeswoman. The state confirmed 23 deaths.
The storm hit the state late Saturday morning, and more continued into the evening.
“ We still don’t have a full grasp of what the damage is,” Jarema said.
Initial assessments found more than 65 homes destroyed and more than 600 damaged, but not all counties had reported, she said. Streets were blocked by downed trees and power lines, and more than 250,000 homes and businesses had lost power. A coordinating officer from the Federal Emergency Management Administration arrived Sunday.
“There is a lot of damage, and there are a lot of people who are hurting impact crusher physically and emotionally right now,” Jarema said.
In Bertie, the tornado destroyed at least 75 buildings, Lamb said. One extended family lost four homes and their business, he said.
“It’s just so spread out and so destroyed, he’s not going to be able to salvage much. The whole area is flattened. There’s nothing left,” Lamb said. “The debris is spread out over miles. There’s stuff in trees.”
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency after the storm caused flash flooding, power outages and, in Carroll County, a mudslide. Nine counties reported damage to homes and businesses,
downed trees and power outages. Waynesboro City and four counties reported flash flooding. The state confirmed five storm-related deaths.
One tornado touched down Saturday night at the switchyard of a Surry, Va., nuclear power station, cutting off electricity and triggering a shutdown of two reactors, according to a statement issued by Dominion Virginia Power. The company reported no release of radioactive material and notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “They shut down exactly as they are designed to do,” NRC spokesman Joey Ledford said. “There is no danger.”
The Surry power station in southeastern Virginia, across the James River from historic Jamestown, generates 1,598 megawatts of electric power . The tornado did not strike the two reactors, which are housed in steel-reinforced concrete containment buildings designed to withstand tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, the company said.
Meteorologists attributed the storms’ ferocity to cold air from the Plains colliding with warm, humid air from the electronic ballast Gulf of Mexico. Weather Channel meteorologist Mark Ressler predicted more strong storms with tornadoes, high winds and hail Tuesday in eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
“It is devastating,” County Manager Zee Lamb said Sunday after surveying the damage in his 700-square-mile county. “We’ve had hurricanes, floods. We’ve had tornadoes before. But we’ve never seen anything like this.”
The county has shifted from search and rescue to recovery, he said. “People are already starting to clean up the debris, but it’s a real big mess.”
Tornadoes, high winds and flooding rains ripped across the South for three days, killing at least 45 people in six states Thursday through Saturday in the deadliest storm outbreak to hit the USA in more than three years. The Storm Prediction Center noted 243 initial reports of tornadoes in 13 states — an “astounding” number, Weather Channel meteorologist Jonathan Erdman said.
Severe storms in February 2008 killed 57 people across the Southeast.
The tornado that struck Bertie County was one of 62 in North Carolina, causing “significant damage” in 26 counties, according shaded pold motor to Julia Jarema, North Carolina Emergency Management spokeswoman. The state confirmed 23 deaths.
The storm hit the state late Saturday morning, and more continued into the evening.
“ We still don’t have a full grasp of what the damage is,” Jarema said.
Initial assessments found more than 65 homes destroyed and more than 600 damaged, but not all counties had reported, she said. Streets were blocked by downed trees and power lines, and more than 250,000 homes and businesses had lost power. A coordinating officer from the Federal Emergency Management Administration arrived Sunday.
“There is a lot of damage, and there are a lot of people who are hurting impact crusher physically and emotionally right now,” Jarema said.
In Bertie, the tornado destroyed at least 75 buildings, Lamb said. One extended family lost four homes and their business, he said.
“It’s just so spread out and so destroyed, he’s not going to be able to salvage much. The whole area is flattened. There’s nothing left,” Lamb said. “The debris is spread out over miles. There’s stuff in trees.”
Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell declared a state of emergency after the storm caused flash flooding, power outages and, in Carroll County, a mudslide. Nine counties reported damage to homes and businesses,
downed trees and power outages. Waynesboro City and four counties reported flash flooding. The state confirmed five storm-related deaths.
One tornado touched down Saturday night at the switchyard of a Surry, Va., nuclear power station, cutting off electricity and triggering a shutdown of two reactors, according to a statement issued by Dominion Virginia Power. The company reported no release of radioactive material and notified the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. “They shut down exactly as they are designed to do,” NRC spokesman Joey Ledford said. “There is no danger.”
The Surry power station in southeastern Virginia, across the James River from historic Jamestown, generates 1,598 megawatts of electric power . The tornado did not strike the two reactors, which are housed in steel-reinforced concrete containment buildings designed to withstand tornadoes, hurricanes and earthquakes, the company said.
Meteorologists attributed the storms’ ferocity to cold air from the Plains colliding with warm, humid air from the electronic ballast Gulf of Mexico. Weather Channel meteorologist Mark Ressler predicted more strong storms with tornadoes, high winds and hail Tuesday in eastern Kansas, eastern Oklahoma, Missouri, Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky and Tennessee.
Thursday, April 14, 2011
The world's oldest man in Montana died, at the age of 114
Walter Breuning's earliest memories stretched back 111 years, before home entertainment came with a twist of the radio dial. They were of his grandfather's tales hydraulic motor of killing Southerners in the Civil War.
Breuning was 3 and horrified: "I thought that was a hell of a thing to say."
But the stories stuck, becoming the first building blocks into what would develop into a deceptively simple philosophy that Breuning, the world's oldest man at 114 before he died Thursday, credited to his longevity.
Here's the world's oldest man's secret to a long life:
• Embrace change, even when the change slaps you in the face. ("Every change is good.")
• Eat two meals a day ("That's all you need.")
• Work as long as you can ("That money's going to come in handy.")
• Help others ("The more you do for others, the better shape you're in.")
Then there's the hardest part. It's a lesson Breuning said he learned from his grandfather: Accept death.
"We're going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you're born to die," he said.
Breuning died of natural causes in a Great Falls hospital where he had been a patient for much of April with an damper undisclosed illness, said Stacia Kirby, spokeswoman for the Rainbow Senior Living retirement home where Breuning lived.
He was the oldest man in the world and the second-oldest person, according to the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group. Besse Cooper of Monroe, Ga. — born 26 days earlier — is the world's oldest person.
In an interview with The Associated Press at his home in the Rainbow Retirement Community in Great Falls last October, Breuning recounted the past century — and what its revelations and advances meant to him — with the wit and plain-spokenness that damper defined him. His life story is, in a way, a slice of the story of the country itself over more than a century.
At the beginning of the new century — that's the 20th century — Breuning moved with his family from Melrose, Minn., to De Smet, S.D., where his father had taken a job as an engineer.
That first decade of the 1900s was literally a dark age for his family. They had no electricity or running water. A bath for young Walter would require his mother to fetch water from the well outside and heat it on the coal-burning stove. When they wanted to get around, they had three options: train, horse and foot.
His parents split up and Breuning moved back to Minnesota in 1912. The following year, as Henry Ford was led downlight creating his first assembly line, the teenager got a low-level job with the Great Northern Railway in Melrose.
"I'm 16 years old, had to go to work on account of breakup of the family," he said.
That was the beginning of a 50-year career on the railroad. He was a clerk for most of that time, working seven days a week.
In 1918, his boss was promoted to a position in Great Falls and he asked Breuning to come along.
There wasn't a lot keeping Breuning in Minnesota. His mother had died the year before at age 46 and his father died in 1915 at age 50. The Montana job came with a nice raise — $90 a month for working seven days a week, "a lot of money at that time," he said.
Breuning, young and alone, was overwhelmed at first. Great Falls was a bustling town of 25,000 with hundreds of people coming and going every day on trains that arrived at all hours.
"You go down to the depot and there'd be 500 people out there all climbing into four trains going in four directions," he said.
World War I was still raging in Europe, and Breuning, who had just turned 20, signed up for military service but wasn't called up. He wanted to join an Army unit formed by Ralph Budd, who was the railroad's cable ties vice president at the time and who later would become its president.
He sent Budd an application, and the reply was disappointing. Budd said Breuning couldn't join the unit because he wanted the young man to get a college education. The war ended later that year.
"So I never got into the war. The war ended too quick for me," Breuning said.
The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1919 and the nation was riding a postwar wave into the Roaring `20s.
Walter Breuning bought his first car that year.
It was a secondhand Ford and cost just $150. Breuning remembered driving around town and spooking the horses that still crowded the dirt streets.
"We had more damn runaways back in those days," Breuning said. "Horses are just scared of cars."
The year may have started well, but it went downhill fast. Drought struck. The price of hay skyrocketed and farmers had to sell their cattle. It was the first wave of agricultural depressions that would hit Montana over the next two decades.
The railroad started laying off people. Breuning had some seniority, so rather than losing his job, he was transferred to Butte. It was there he met his future wife, Agnes.
Agnes Twokey worked for the railroad as a telegrapher. She and Breuning worked the same shift in the office, and they got along well. Their friendship turned into a two-year courtship, and then they got married and returned to Great Falls.
Things were looking up for Breuning, Montana and the nation. Great Falls gave Montana its first licensed radio station in 1922. The following year, Jack Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons fought for the world heavyweight golf irons championship east of Great Falls in Shelby.
Breuning was optimistic. He and his wife bought property for $15 and planned to build a house.
Then it all went off the tracks. The Great Depression struck.
"Everybody got laid off in the `30s," Breuning said. "Nobody had any money at all. In 1933, they built the civic center over here. Sixty-five cents an hour, you know. That was the wage — big wage."
People began to arrive in Great Falls searching for work. He recalled transplants from North Dakota telling tales of desperate families pulling weeds from the ground and cooking them up for food.
Breuning's seniority paid off again — he held onto his job. But he and his wife never built their house. They sold the lot for $25, making a tidy $10 profit. It turned out to be the only time Breuning ever owned property — he was renter for the rest of his life.
Despite the hard times of the decade, he said what he considered the nation's greatest achievement came in 1935, when President Franklin Roosevelt signed Social Security into law as part of his New Deal.
"I think when Roosevelt created Social Security, he probably did the best thing for people," Breuning said. "You hear so much about throwing Social Security out. Don't look for it. Hang on to your hat. It'll never go away.
World War II lifted the nation out of its economic slump. Industry went into overdrive to support the war. With the men headed overseas to fight, the women took their places in factories.
Montana's Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, was the sole vote against the U.S. entry into the war.
By that time, Breuning was in his 40s and too old to be drafted. So he kept working on the railroad.
The man who otherwise preached kindness and service to others acknowledged that he had mixed feelings about the war and the Nazis. He expressed some sympathy toward Hitler.
The war ended in 1945 when President Harry Truman dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The debate over whether Truman did the right thing was argued in the streets and cafes of Great Falls.
Breuning stuck up for Truman, saying there probably would have been a lot more people killed had Truman not made the decision to bomb the Japanese.
"I think he did pretty dang good," Breuning said. "But you know, all presidents done something good. Well, most of them. Except that last one."
Breuning, a self-described Republican, meant President George W. Bush.
"He got us into war. We can't get out of war now," he said. "I voted for him. But that's about all. His father was a high pressure sodium lamp pretty good president, not too bad. The kid had too much power. He got himself wrapped up and that's it."
The 1950s brought rock-and-roll, put the U.S. in the middle of the Korean War and kicked off the space race with the USSR's launch of Sputnik. The world was introduced to Elvis Presley, Fidel Castro and Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
For Walter Breuning, the 1950s was marked by the death of his wife. Agnes died in 1957 after 35 years of marriage.The couple didn't have any children.
More than 50 years later, Breuning kept his feelings on his marriage and Agnes' death guarded.
"We got along very good," was about all he'd say. "She wouldn't like to spend money, I'll tell you that."
Breuning never remarried. "Thought about it. That's about it."
He did what he always did. He kept working.
Work was a constant in Breuning's life, what he did to get through the hard times and what he used to keep his mind active. One of the worst things a person can do is retire young, Breuning said.
"I remember we had a worker in the First National Bank one time retired early. He wanted to go fishing and hunting so bad. Two months (later) and he went back to the bank. He got his fishing and hunting all done and he wanted to go back to work," Breuning said.
"Don't retire until you're darn sure that you can't work anymore. Keep on working as long as you can work and you'll find that it's good for you," he added.
The same year the Beatles released their first album, Breuning decided it was time for him to retire from the railroad at age 67. It was 1963 and he had put in 50 years as a railroad worker.
But he stuck by his philosophy and kept working. He became the manager and secretary for the local chapter of the Shriners, a position he held until he was 99.
But he remained a fiercely loyal railroad man, so loyal that he only took an airplane once in his life, and that was to attend the funeral of a relative in Minneapolis.
His beloved railroad underwent many changes soon after he left.In 1970 it merged with other railroad companies to become the Burlington Northern Railroad.
His fellow clerks began to feel the effects of technology. In the 1970s, computers started changing industries and the need for manpower. At the railroad, men and women were laid off at depots and freight offices. Superintendents and clerks like Breuning were given their walking papers.
But even with so many of his former co-workers out of jobs, Breuning was adamant that the rise of the computer was good for the railroad industry and the world.
"I think every change that we've ever made, ever since I was a child — 100 years — every change has been good for the people," Breuning said. "My God, we used to have to write with pen and ink, you know, (for) everything. When the machines came, it just made life so much easier."
Breuning had lived in a sparse studio apartment in the Rainbow Senior Living retirement center since 1980.
When he was recognized as the world's oldest man and brought the retirement home some notoriety, he was offered a larger room. Breuning said no, Rainbow executive director Tina Bundtrock said in October.
Breuning would spent his days in an armchair outside the Bundtrock's office in a dark suit and tie, sitting near a framed Guinness certificate proclaiming him the world's oldest man.
He would eat breakfast and lunch and then retire to his room in the early afternoon. He'd visit the doctor just twice a year for checkups and the only medication he would take was aspirin, Bundtrock said.
His good health was due to his strict diet of two meals a day, Breuning said.
"How many people in this country say that they can't take the weight off?" he said. "I tell these people, I says, 'Get on a diet and stay on it. You'll find that you're in much better shape, feel good.'"
He had no family left but a niece and a nephew. They visited a couple of times at the retirement home, but they were strangers to him, he said.
Breuning's real family, his support group, was there in the Rainbow.
"Yeah, we're all one big family, I tell you that. We all talk to each other all the time. That's what keeps life going. You talk," he said.
Breuning talked current affairs with the other residents. One of his main causes was to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"War never cured anything. Look at the North and South right today. They're still fighting over the damn war. They'll never get over that," he said.
Along with debating others about the fate of the nation, Breuning also spent time a lot of time reflecting. Sitting in his armchair, he would reach back across the century and lose himself in a flood of memories that began with his grandfather's Civil War stories.
He also thought about what might have been. After 97 years in Montana, Breuning said he thought back to his transfer to Great Falls back in 1913.
What course would he have gone on, how different would that century have been for him if he had stayed in Minnesota?
"Sometimes I wonder what would have exercise bike happened had I not moved to Great Falls. I think about that once in a while. What would have happened?" Breuning said. "I had a good job back (in Minnesota). But life is good here too."
But he didn't regret anything, and he implored others to follow his philosophy.
"Everybody says your mind is the most important thing about your body. Your mind and your body. You keep both busy, and by God you'll be here a long time," he said.
Breuning was 3 and horrified: "I thought that was a hell of a thing to say."
But the stories stuck, becoming the first building blocks into what would develop into a deceptively simple philosophy that Breuning, the world's oldest man at 114 before he died Thursday, credited to his longevity.
Here's the world's oldest man's secret to a long life:
• Embrace change, even when the change slaps you in the face. ("Every change is good.")
• Eat two meals a day ("That's all you need.")
• Work as long as you can ("That money's going to come in handy.")
• Help others ("The more you do for others, the better shape you're in.")
Then there's the hardest part. It's a lesson Breuning said he learned from his grandfather: Accept death.
"We're going to die. Some people are scared of dying. Never be afraid to die. Because you're born to die," he said.
Breuning died of natural causes in a Great Falls hospital where he had been a patient for much of April with an damper undisclosed illness, said Stacia Kirby, spokeswoman for the Rainbow Senior Living retirement home where Breuning lived.
He was the oldest man in the world and the second-oldest person, according to the Los Angeles-based Gerontology Research Group. Besse Cooper of Monroe, Ga. — born 26 days earlier — is the world's oldest person.
In an interview with The Associated Press at his home in the Rainbow Retirement Community in Great Falls last October, Breuning recounted the past century — and what its revelations and advances meant to him — with the wit and plain-spokenness that damper defined him. His life story is, in a way, a slice of the story of the country itself over more than a century.
At the beginning of the new century — that's the 20th century — Breuning moved with his family from Melrose, Minn., to De Smet, S.D., where his father had taken a job as an engineer.
That first decade of the 1900s was literally a dark age for his family. They had no electricity or running water. A bath for young Walter would require his mother to fetch water from the well outside and heat it on the coal-burning stove. When they wanted to get around, they had three options: train, horse and foot.
His parents split up and Breuning moved back to Minnesota in 1912. The following year, as Henry Ford was led downlight creating his first assembly line, the teenager got a low-level job with the Great Northern Railway in Melrose.
"I'm 16 years old, had to go to work on account of breakup of the family," he said.
That was the beginning of a 50-year career on the railroad. He was a clerk for most of that time, working seven days a week.
In 1918, his boss was promoted to a position in Great Falls and he asked Breuning to come along.
There wasn't a lot keeping Breuning in Minnesota. His mother had died the year before at age 46 and his father died in 1915 at age 50. The Montana job came with a nice raise — $90 a month for working seven days a week, "a lot of money at that time," he said.
Breuning, young and alone, was overwhelmed at first. Great Falls was a bustling town of 25,000 with hundreds of people coming and going every day on trains that arrived at all hours.
"You go down to the depot and there'd be 500 people out there all climbing into four trains going in four directions," he said.
World War I was still raging in Europe, and Breuning, who had just turned 20, signed up for military service but wasn't called up. He wanted to join an Army unit formed by Ralph Budd, who was the railroad's cable ties vice president at the time and who later would become its president.
He sent Budd an application, and the reply was disappointing. Budd said Breuning couldn't join the unit because he wanted the young man to get a college education. The war ended later that year.
"So I never got into the war. The war ended too quick for me," Breuning said.
The 19th Amendment gave women the right to vote in 1919 and the nation was riding a postwar wave into the Roaring `20s.
Walter Breuning bought his first car that year.
It was a secondhand Ford and cost just $150. Breuning remembered driving around town and spooking the horses that still crowded the dirt streets.
"We had more damn runaways back in those days," Breuning said. "Horses are just scared of cars."
The year may have started well, but it went downhill fast. Drought struck. The price of hay skyrocketed and farmers had to sell their cattle. It was the first wave of agricultural depressions that would hit Montana over the next two decades.
The railroad started laying off people. Breuning had some seniority, so rather than losing his job, he was transferred to Butte. It was there he met his future wife, Agnes.
Agnes Twokey worked for the railroad as a telegrapher. She and Breuning worked the same shift in the office, and they got along well. Their friendship turned into a two-year courtship, and then they got married and returned to Great Falls.
Things were looking up for Breuning, Montana and the nation. Great Falls gave Montana its first licensed radio station in 1922. The following year, Jack Dempsey and Tommy Gibbons fought for the world heavyweight golf irons championship east of Great Falls in Shelby.
Breuning was optimistic. He and his wife bought property for $15 and planned to build a house.
Then it all went off the tracks. The Great Depression struck.
"Everybody got laid off in the `30s," Breuning said. "Nobody had any money at all. In 1933, they built the civic center over here. Sixty-five cents an hour, you know. That was the wage — big wage."
People began to arrive in Great Falls searching for work. He recalled transplants from North Dakota telling tales of desperate families pulling weeds from the ground and cooking them up for food.
Breuning's seniority paid off again — he held onto his job. But he and his wife never built their house. They sold the lot for $25, making a tidy $10 profit. It turned out to be the only time Breuning ever owned property — he was renter for the rest of his life.
Despite the hard times of the decade, he said what he considered the nation's greatest achievement came in 1935, when President Franklin Roosevelt signed Social Security into law as part of his New Deal.
"I think when Roosevelt created Social Security, he probably did the best thing for people," Breuning said. "You hear so much about throwing Social Security out. Don't look for it. Hang on to your hat. It'll never go away.
World War II lifted the nation out of its economic slump. Industry went into overdrive to support the war. With the men headed overseas to fight, the women took their places in factories.
Montana's Jeannette Rankin, the first woman elected to Congress, was the sole vote against the U.S. entry into the war.
By that time, Breuning was in his 40s and too old to be drafted. So he kept working on the railroad.
The man who otherwise preached kindness and service to others acknowledged that he had mixed feelings about the war and the Nazis. He expressed some sympathy toward Hitler.
The war ended in 1945 when President Harry Truman dropped the atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The debate over whether Truman did the right thing was argued in the streets and cafes of Great Falls.
Breuning stuck up for Truman, saying there probably would have been a lot more people killed had Truman not made the decision to bomb the Japanese.
"I think he did pretty dang good," Breuning said. "But you know, all presidents done something good. Well, most of them. Except that last one."
Breuning, a self-described Republican, meant President George W. Bush.
"He got us into war. We can't get out of war now," he said. "I voted for him. But that's about all. His father was a high pressure sodium lamp pretty good president, not too bad. The kid had too much power. He got himself wrapped up and that's it."
The 1950s brought rock-and-roll, put the U.S. in the middle of the Korean War and kicked off the space race with the USSR's launch of Sputnik. The world was introduced to Elvis Presley, Fidel Castro and Sen. Joseph McCarthy.
For Walter Breuning, the 1950s was marked by the death of his wife. Agnes died in 1957 after 35 years of marriage.The couple didn't have any children.
More than 50 years later, Breuning kept his feelings on his marriage and Agnes' death guarded.
"We got along very good," was about all he'd say. "She wouldn't like to spend money, I'll tell you that."
Breuning never remarried. "Thought about it. That's about it."
He did what he always did. He kept working.
Work was a constant in Breuning's life, what he did to get through the hard times and what he used to keep his mind active. One of the worst things a person can do is retire young, Breuning said.
"I remember we had a worker in the First National Bank one time retired early. He wanted to go fishing and hunting so bad. Two months (later) and he went back to the bank. He got his fishing and hunting all done and he wanted to go back to work," Breuning said.
"Don't retire until you're darn sure that you can't work anymore. Keep on working as long as you can work and you'll find that it's good for you," he added.
The same year the Beatles released their first album, Breuning decided it was time for him to retire from the railroad at age 67. It was 1963 and he had put in 50 years as a railroad worker.
But he stuck by his philosophy and kept working. He became the manager and secretary for the local chapter of the Shriners, a position he held until he was 99.
But he remained a fiercely loyal railroad man, so loyal that he only took an airplane once in his life, and that was to attend the funeral of a relative in Minneapolis.
His beloved railroad underwent many changes soon after he left.In 1970 it merged with other railroad companies to become the Burlington Northern Railroad.
His fellow clerks began to feel the effects of technology. In the 1970s, computers started changing industries and the need for manpower. At the railroad, men and women were laid off at depots and freight offices. Superintendents and clerks like Breuning were given their walking papers.
But even with so many of his former co-workers out of jobs, Breuning was adamant that the rise of the computer was good for the railroad industry and the world.
"I think every change that we've ever made, ever since I was a child — 100 years — every change has been good for the people," Breuning said. "My God, we used to have to write with pen and ink, you know, (for) everything. When the machines came, it just made life so much easier."
Breuning had lived in a sparse studio apartment in the Rainbow Senior Living retirement center since 1980.
When he was recognized as the world's oldest man and brought the retirement home some notoriety, he was offered a larger room. Breuning said no, Rainbow executive director Tina Bundtrock said in October.
Breuning would spent his days in an armchair outside the Bundtrock's office in a dark suit and tie, sitting near a framed Guinness certificate proclaiming him the world's oldest man.
He would eat breakfast and lunch and then retire to his room in the early afternoon. He'd visit the doctor just twice a year for checkups and the only medication he would take was aspirin, Bundtrock said.
His good health was due to his strict diet of two meals a day, Breuning said.
"How many people in this country say that they can't take the weight off?" he said. "I tell these people, I says, 'Get on a diet and stay on it. You'll find that you're in much better shape, feel good.'"
He had no family left but a niece and a nephew. They visited a couple of times at the retirement home, but they were strangers to him, he said.
Breuning's real family, his support group, was there in the Rainbow.
"Yeah, we're all one big family, I tell you that. We all talk to each other all the time. That's what keeps life going. You talk," he said.
Breuning talked current affairs with the other residents. One of his main causes was to end the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
"War never cured anything. Look at the North and South right today. They're still fighting over the damn war. They'll never get over that," he said.
Along with debating others about the fate of the nation, Breuning also spent time a lot of time reflecting. Sitting in his armchair, he would reach back across the century and lose himself in a flood of memories that began with his grandfather's Civil War stories.
He also thought about what might have been. After 97 years in Montana, Breuning said he thought back to his transfer to Great Falls back in 1913.
What course would he have gone on, how different would that century have been for him if he had stayed in Minnesota?
"Sometimes I wonder what would have exercise bike happened had I not moved to Great Falls. I think about that once in a while. What would have happened?" Breuning said. "I had a good job back (in Minnesota). But life is good here too."
But he didn't regret anything, and he implored others to follow his philosophy.
"Everybody says your mind is the most important thing about your body. Your mind and your body. You keep both busy, and by God you'll be here a long time," he said.
China Home Sales Increase in First Quarter
China’s housing sales value rose 26 percent in the first quarter as homebuyers increased their purchases even as the government stepped up its measures to curb speculation. Property stocks exercise bike climbed to a five-month high.
The value of homes sold increased to 860.7 billion yuan ($132 billion) from a year earlier, the Statistics Bureau said today, driving overall property transactions 27 percent higher to 1.02 trillion yuan. The amount was released separately from home prices after the government in January changed the way it reports housing price data in 70 cities.
Premier Wen Jiabao said April 13 in a cabinet meeting that the country faces challenges including rising property prices in many cities even as real estate transactions shrink. About 40 Chinese cities last month said they will cap new home prices below annual economic and disposable per-capita income growth or keep them steady following the central government’s measures to rein in housing values.
“Home sales and investment, lagging indexes, remained strong, but the volume for new construction dropped,” said Bai Hongwei, a Beijing-based property analyst at China International Capital Corp., the country’s biggest investment bank. “It showed the government’s measures are working. If real estate investment drops sharply, it will immediately impact China’s economic growth a lot.”
China’s economy grew a more-than-estimated 9.7 percent in the first quarter and high pressure sodium lamp inflation accelerated in March to the fastest pace since 2008, the government said today.
Home sales value in March rose to 414 billion yuan, close to the total of the first two months this year of 447.1 billion yuan, based on calculations subtracting government data in the first two months from the first-quarter figures. A total of 158.5 million square meters (1.7 billion square feet) of homes were sold from January to March.
New home construction rose 20 percent in the first quarter to 310.2 million square meters, the statistics bureau said.
The effects of the government’s controls on the property market were evident in the first quarter, Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the statistics bureau, said in Beijing today. The government is pushing for the golf irons development of more low-cost homes, which will have a “relatively big” impact on housing prices as supply increases, he said.
February new home prices increased in all but two of the 70 Chinese cities monitored by the government. The national statistics bureau is scheduled to report March’s home price data on April 18. Nationwide prices rose 0.6 percent in March, led by smaller cities, SouFun Holdings Ltd. (SFUN) said on April 1.
China’s investment in real estate rose 34 percent to 885 billion yuan in the first quarter, according to the government data today. The current tightening measures will remain in place for the led downlight remainder of 2011 and likely into 2012, Jones Lang LaSalle, a property consulting company, said this week.
The value of homes sold increased to 860.7 billion yuan ($132 billion) from a year earlier, the Statistics Bureau said today, driving overall property transactions 27 percent higher to 1.02 trillion yuan. The amount was released separately from home prices after the government in January changed the way it reports housing price data in 70 cities.
Premier Wen Jiabao said April 13 in a cabinet meeting that the country faces challenges including rising property prices in many cities even as real estate transactions shrink. About 40 Chinese cities last month said they will cap new home prices below annual economic and disposable per-capita income growth or keep them steady following the central government’s measures to rein in housing values.
“Home sales and investment, lagging indexes, remained strong, but the volume for new construction dropped,” said Bai Hongwei, a Beijing-based property analyst at China International Capital Corp., the country’s biggest investment bank. “It showed the government’s measures are working. If real estate investment drops sharply, it will immediately impact China’s economic growth a lot.”
China’s economy grew a more-than-estimated 9.7 percent in the first quarter and high pressure sodium lamp inflation accelerated in March to the fastest pace since 2008, the government said today.
Shares Rise
The measure tracking property stocks on the Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.9 percent to the highest since Nov. 8 as of the 11:30 a.m. midday break. It’s also the biggest advance among five industry groups on the benchmark gauge today.Home sales value in March rose to 414 billion yuan, close to the total of the first two months this year of 447.1 billion yuan, based on calculations subtracting government data in the first two months from the first-quarter figures. A total of 158.5 million square meters (1.7 billion square feet) of homes were sold from January to March.
New home construction rose 20 percent in the first quarter to 310.2 million square meters, the statistics bureau said.
The effects of the government’s controls on the property market were evident in the first quarter, Sheng Laiyun, spokesman for the statistics bureau, said in Beijing today. The government is pushing for the golf irons development of more low-cost homes, which will have a “relatively big” impact on housing prices as supply increases, he said.
Clear Targets
The government has clear targets, is resolute and has forceful measures to control the market, he said at a briefing to discuss the nation’s first-quarter economic performance.February new home prices increased in all but two of the 70 Chinese cities monitored by the government. The national statistics bureau is scheduled to report March’s home price data on April 18. Nationwide prices rose 0.6 percent in March, led by smaller cities, SouFun Holdings Ltd. (SFUN) said on April 1.
China’s investment in real estate rose 34 percent to 885 billion yuan in the first quarter, according to the government data today. The current tightening measures will remain in place for the led downlight remainder of 2011 and likely into 2012, Jones Lang LaSalle, a property consulting company, said this week.
Sales of Video, Computer Games Drop 16% in March
March wasn't a good month for the gaming industry.
Sales of video and computer games dropped 16% last month to $735.4 million, according to NPD Group data, as reported by the.
Hardware sales, meanwhile, were up 12%, to $494.5 million, thanks in part to Nintendo's new 3DS handheld console.
But overall, when including accessories and other game-related gadgets, the gaming industry saw its total sales drop 4% from a year ago, to $1.53 billion.
But, the Times notes, the good news for the industry is that consumers may still be spending big on games, by instead putting their money into apps for mobile devices or buying downloadable games, and those numbers weren't included in NPD's most recent report.
Sales of video and computer games dropped 16% last month to $735.4 million, according to NPD Group data, as reported by the.
Hardware sales, meanwhile, were up 12%, to $494.5 million, thanks in part to Nintendo's new 3DS handheld console.
But overall, when including accessories and other game-related gadgets, the gaming industry saw its total sales drop 4% from a year ago, to $1.53 billion.
But, the Times notes, the good news for the industry is that consumers may still be spending big on games, by instead putting their money into apps for mobile devices or buying downloadable games, and those numbers weren't included in NPD's most recent report.
Dinosaurs May Have Hunted at Night
Some dinosaurs didn't go to sleep when the sun went down. Like many living animals, some paleo-beasts stayed awake or woke up to forage or begin the hunt for prey.
This discovery, which relied on evidence within fossilized remains of dinosaur eyes, challenges the conventional wisdom damper that early mammals were nocturnal, or active at night, because dinosaurs had already taken the day shift.
"When we look at living vertebrates today, living birds, lizards and mammals we see such a great diversity of when they're active during the day," said study researcher Lars Schmitz, a postdoctoral researcher in ecology and evolution at the University of California Davis.
Some animals today, like us, are active during the day, while others prefer nighttime. Still others are active periodically throughout a 24-hour cycle. So Schmitz said he and colleague geologist Ryosuke Motani asked: "Why isn’t it possible that dinosaurs are nocturnal as well?"
To find out, they looked into the preserved beasts' eyes. Specifically, they looked at the width of the eye socket, and the dimensions of the scleral ring, a ring of bone that surrounds the iris of the eye in birds, lizards and dinosaurs. (Humans and other mammals don't have this bone.)
Nocturnal animals need to let the maximum amount of light possible into their eyes, so they need a larger opening within the scleral ring. Daytime living species, meanwhile, have much more light with which to see. A smaller opening reduces the amount of energy these animals have to spend constricting their pupils to reduce the amount of light coming in, and it also allows them to see a clear and focused image at a large range of depth, according to Schmitz.
Other animals are active at dusk and dawn or at sporadic intervals throughout the day — nowadays this includes large herbivores, like the fallow deer, certain birds, the large hairy armadillo, the Amazon tree gearbox boa and even dogs. Their eyes need both acuity and a good sensitivity to light. As a result, they have an intermediate-size scleral ring — among those that have this bone — and an overall larger eye.
In the fossils, researchers examined the proportions of certain features of the eye to determine a species' habits. They looked at the size of the opening inside the scleral ring, where the pupil would be, as well as the eye socket to determine the diameter of the eye, and at the diameter of the external edge of the scleral ring to determine the length of the eye. They then compared this information with data from living species.
Day, night and in between
Among 33 species of dinosaurs living during the Mesozoic era, about 250 million to 65 million years ago, they found a spread of lifestyles that resembled those among modern animals, an indication that dinosaurs too spread out to occupy the available ecological niches.
As with modern flyers, like birds and bats, the majority of the flying dinosaurs — including three pterosaurs and all of the four avian dinosaurs (the ancestors of modern birds) studied — were awake during the day. However, five species of dinosaur fliers were either nocturnal or awake periodically, two of which may have had activity resembling certain nocturnal seabirds.
Most of the plant-eating dinosaurs were awake periodically. For herbivorous animals, like elephants and the herbivorous dinosaur Protoceratops andrewsi, larger size means a need to spend more time foraging and eating. Large animals are also more prone to overheat, so they try to avoid being active during the heat of the day, shifting their activity into nighttime hours, according to Schmitz.
Predators, both dinosaur and modern, gain an advantage by hunting at night, and all of the dinosaur predators analyzed were either nocturnal or periodically active. The finding could help to set the stage for other dinosaur findings. For instance, fossil evidence has documented an attack by one of these night dwellers, Velociraptor mongoliensis, on the periodically awake Protoceratops. This attack probably happened in the OBD2 code scanner twilight or low-light conditions, the researchers write.
These results indicate that dinosaurs and early mammals did not split the day and night; in fact, it's not yet clear whether early mammals were nocturnal at all, and that idea needs to be evaluated, Schmitz said.
This discovery, which relied on evidence within fossilized remains of dinosaur eyes, challenges the conventional wisdom damper that early mammals were nocturnal, or active at night, because dinosaurs had already taken the day shift.
"When we look at living vertebrates today, living birds, lizards and mammals we see such a great diversity of when they're active during the day," said study researcher Lars Schmitz, a postdoctoral researcher in ecology and evolution at the University of California Davis.
Some animals today, like us, are active during the day, while others prefer nighttime. Still others are active periodically throughout a 24-hour cycle. So Schmitz said he and colleague geologist Ryosuke Motani asked: "Why isn’t it possible that dinosaurs are nocturnal as well?"
To find out, they looked into the preserved beasts' eyes. Specifically, they looked at the width of the eye socket, and the dimensions of the scleral ring, a ring of bone that surrounds the iris of the eye in birds, lizards and dinosaurs. (Humans and other mammals don't have this bone.)
Nocturnal animals need to let the maximum amount of light possible into their eyes, so they need a larger opening within the scleral ring. Daytime living species, meanwhile, have much more light with which to see. A smaller opening reduces the amount of energy these animals have to spend constricting their pupils to reduce the amount of light coming in, and it also allows them to see a clear and focused image at a large range of depth, according to Schmitz.
Other animals are active at dusk and dawn or at sporadic intervals throughout the day — nowadays this includes large herbivores, like the fallow deer, certain birds, the large hairy armadillo, the Amazon tree gearbox boa and even dogs. Their eyes need both acuity and a good sensitivity to light. As a result, they have an intermediate-size scleral ring — among those that have this bone — and an overall larger eye.
In the fossils, researchers examined the proportions of certain features of the eye to determine a species' habits. They looked at the size of the opening inside the scleral ring, where the pupil would be, as well as the eye socket to determine the diameter of the eye, and at the diameter of the external edge of the scleral ring to determine the length of the eye. They then compared this information with data from living species.
Day, night and in between
Among 33 species of dinosaurs living during the Mesozoic era, about 250 million to 65 million years ago, they found a spread of lifestyles that resembled those among modern animals, an indication that dinosaurs too spread out to occupy the available ecological niches.
As with modern flyers, like birds and bats, the majority of the flying dinosaurs — including three pterosaurs and all of the four avian dinosaurs (the ancestors of modern birds) studied — were awake during the day. However, five species of dinosaur fliers were either nocturnal or awake periodically, two of which may have had activity resembling certain nocturnal seabirds.
Most of the plant-eating dinosaurs were awake periodically. For herbivorous animals, like elephants and the herbivorous dinosaur Protoceratops andrewsi, larger size means a need to spend more time foraging and eating. Large animals are also more prone to overheat, so they try to avoid being active during the heat of the day, shifting their activity into nighttime hours, according to Schmitz.
Predators, both dinosaur and modern, gain an advantage by hunting at night, and all of the dinosaur predators analyzed were either nocturnal or periodically active. The finding could help to set the stage for other dinosaur findings. For instance, fossil evidence has documented an attack by one of these night dwellers, Velociraptor mongoliensis, on the periodically awake Protoceratops. This attack probably happened in the OBD2 code scanner twilight or low-light conditions, the researchers write.
These results indicate that dinosaurs and early mammals did not split the day and night; in fact, it's not yet clear whether early mammals were nocturnal at all, and that idea needs to be evaluated, Schmitz said.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Microsoft playing long game with Windows Phone
Looks like Microsoft is getting serious about its next version of Windows Phone, the version that will have multitasking, third-party "Live Tiles" and other cool features. But the software giant isn't promising any quick updates: Developers will get tools in May, then the next version will reach consumers "by the end of this year. This happens to coincide with the promised launch autoclave of Nokia's Windows Phone models. Perhaps that's the point. Perhaps Microsoft is biding its time.
The next version, codenamed "Mango," seems pretty nice, though not exactly unexpected. The key features are:
According to Jay Greene at Cnet, Belfiore shared a mea culpa for several minor bungles, including screwing up the first WP7 update back in February, and announcing that all phones had been updated when they hadn't.
But Microsoft can afford to be apologetic right now, because they're in an off year. Besides apology, caution is the other theme:
"Today, we’re telling developers about the set of Windows Phone Developer Tools coming next month for Mango," wrote Matt Bencke, head of developer and marketplace for Windows Phone, on a Microsoft blog.?"We’re also talking about steps we’ve taken to extend the reach that developers will have with the next version of Windows Phone. What we aren’t doing is demonstrating UI or end user features and capabilities. Today is about preparing developers for the next opportunity."
Let's face it — even people who are very interested in Windows Phone are likely to wait until Nokia has popped a device. And meanwhile, the pickins are almost deliberately slim: The only impressive Windows Phone 7 device in the U.S. remains the Samsung Focus, and it's only at AT&T. Where they sell a lot of iPhones. For those who have already bought in, Belfiore shared a nice consolation: Angry Birds (finally) comes to WP7 on May 25.
Microsoft has had periods like this before: Before Windows 7 launched, before Xbox 360 launched, even now, as it repositions its "slate" strategy in the iPad-dominated tablet electronic ballast business. By and large, these soft periods have benefitted the company. If Windows Phone and Nokia time it right, and go big, they may grab customers in a major way. They just won't be grabbing many customers in the meantime.
The next version, codenamed "Mango," seems pretty nice, though not exactly unexpected. The key features are:
- Multitasking, or something close enough: "Live Agent" programming tools will let apps play music and continue file downloads in the background, after the user leaves the apps. The tools also let apps communicate with home screen tiles, so you can get at-a-glance flight information, for instance. There are also improved notifications.
- Twitter integration in People: A massive absence was felt (among Twitter users at least) when WP7 shipped with Facebook integration but no Twitter. There is a Twitter app, of course, but this would let you roll your Twitter friends in, and choose the best way to communicate with them and your social group.
- Motion-sensor and camera integration with apps: Many of the coolest new apps for iPhone and Android revolve around camera and motion sensor data — put them together with some graphics or text and you get "augmented reality." Windows Phone wants to augment its reality too.
- Increased SkyDrive functionality: Microsoft talks cloud, but consumers are currently more likely to experience it using services from Amazon and other competitors. Enhancing cloud features in Windows Phone is win-win.
- A bunch of other stuff I won't (or can't) explain that will help developers make nicer apps.
According to Jay Greene at Cnet, Belfiore shared a mea culpa for several minor bungles, including screwing up the first WP7 update back in February, and announcing that all phones had been updated when they hadn't.
But Microsoft can afford to be apologetic right now, because they're in an off year. Besides apology, caution is the other theme:
"Today, we’re telling developers about the set of Windows Phone Developer Tools coming next month for Mango," wrote Matt Bencke, head of developer and marketplace for Windows Phone, on a Microsoft blog.?"We’re also talking about steps we’ve taken to extend the reach that developers will have with the next version of Windows Phone. What we aren’t doing is demonstrating UI or end user features and capabilities. Today is about preparing developers for the next opportunity."
Let's face it — even people who are very interested in Windows Phone are likely to wait until Nokia has popped a device. And meanwhile, the pickins are almost deliberately slim: The only impressive Windows Phone 7 device in the U.S. remains the Samsung Focus, and it's only at AT&T. Where they sell a lot of iPhones. For those who have already bought in, Belfiore shared a nice consolation: Angry Birds (finally) comes to WP7 on May 25.
Microsoft has had periods like this before: Before Windows 7 launched, before Xbox 360 launched, even now, as it repositions its "slate" strategy in the iPad-dominated tablet electronic ballast business. By and large, these soft periods have benefitted the company. If Windows Phone and Nokia time it right, and go big, they may grab customers in a major way. They just won't be grabbing many customers in the meantime.
JPMorgan Credit Swaps Show Bank’s Record Profits Fail to Impress
Record earnings from JPMorgan Chase Co. (JPM) failed to improve its creditworthiness in the eyes of swaps traders, as reduced provisions for bad mortgages accounted for almost half of its profit.
Credit-default swaps on the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, which investors use to hedge against losses or to speculate on creditworthiness, climbed 0.2 basis point to 71.7 basis points, according to CMA.
Profits rose 67 percent to $5.56 billion, the New York- based company said today in a statement. The results beat the average per-share estimate for adjusted earnings of $1.15 by 26 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Provisions for credit losses dropped 83 percent to $1.17 billion as defaults and late payments declined, allowing the bank to release money that had been reserved for bad loans.
“One of the reasons they did very well is they released a lot of reserves,” said Jason Brady, a managing director at Thornburg Investment Management Inc. in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The firm oversees $73 billion of assets, including stocks and bonds from both companies. “That doesn’t mean they’re making tons of money, it just means they’re not losing it,” Brady said.
Contracts protecting the debt of Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender, climbed 0.5 basis point to 129.8 and those on Morgan Stanley increased 0.5 basis point to 137, according to CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market.
Swaps on Citigroup Inc. added 0.1 basis point to 119.4 and contracts on debt issued by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gained 1.1 basis points to 111.3.
‘Fewer Risks’
JPMorgan, led by Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, posted a record $17.4 billion in earnings last year, in part by releasing about $7 billion of reserves against bad loans back into income as the U.S. economy improved. Dimon, 55, has said he doesn’t consider reserve releases as “quality” earnings because they don’t represent growth in the bank’s businesses.
The bank may also settle an investigation by federal regulators into its foreclosure practices as early as today, executives said on a conference call.
The cost of protecting U.S. corporate bonds from default was little changed from the highest level this month after a report that U.S. retail sales increased in March.
Retail Sales
The Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index, which investors use to hedge against losses on corporate debt or to speculate on creditworthiness, increased 0.1 basis point to a mid-price of 95.1 basis points as of 5:04 p.m. in New York, according to index administrator Markit Group Ltd.
Sales at U.S. retailers rose in March for a ninth consecutive month, easing concern that the jump in food and fuel costs would cause consumers to retrench.
Purchases increased 0.4 percent following a 1.1 percent February gain that was larger than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington.
The credit swaps index, which typically falls as investor confidence improves and rises as it deteriorates, is at the highest level since March 31.
The price of Markit’s CDX North America High Yield Index, which falls as investor confidence deteriorates, declined 0.2 percentage point to 102.2 percent of face value.
Credit swaps pay the buyer face value if a borrower fails to meet its obligations, less the value of the defaulted debt. A basis point equals $1,000 annually on a contract protecting $10 million of debt.
Credit-default swaps on the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, which investors use to hedge against losses or to speculate on creditworthiness, climbed 0.2 basis point to 71.7 basis points, according to CMA.
Profits rose 67 percent to $5.56 billion, the New York- based company said today in a statement. The results beat the average per-share estimate for adjusted earnings of $1.15 by 26 analysts surveyed by Bloomberg. Provisions for credit losses dropped 83 percent to $1.17 billion as defaults and late payments declined, allowing the bank to release money that had been reserved for bad loans.
“One of the reasons they did very well is they released a lot of reserves,” said Jason Brady, a managing director at Thornburg Investment Management Inc. in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The firm oversees $73 billion of assets, including stocks and bonds from both companies. “That doesn’t mean they’re making tons of money, it just means they’re not losing it,” Brady said.
Contracts protecting the debt of Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. lender, climbed 0.5 basis point to 129.8 and those on Morgan Stanley increased 0.5 basis point to 137, according to CMA, which is owned by CME Group Inc. and compiles prices quoted by dealers in the privately negotiated market.
Swaps on Citigroup Inc. added 0.1 basis point to 119.4 and contracts on debt issued by Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gained 1.1 basis points to 111.3.
‘Fewer Risks’
JPMorgan, led by Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon, posted a record $17.4 billion in earnings last year, in part by releasing about $7 billion of reserves against bad loans back into income as the U.S. economy improved. Dimon, 55, has said he doesn’t consider reserve releases as “quality” earnings because they don’t represent growth in the bank’s businesses.
The bank may also settle an investigation by federal regulators into its foreclosure practices as early as today, executives said on a conference call.
The cost of protecting U.S. corporate bonds from default was little changed from the highest level this month after a report that U.S. retail sales increased in March.
Retail Sales
The Markit CDX North America Investment Grade Index, which investors use to hedge against losses on corporate debt or to speculate on creditworthiness, increased 0.1 basis point to a mid-price of 95.1 basis points as of 5:04 p.m. in New York, according to index administrator Markit Group Ltd.
Sales at U.S. retailers rose in March for a ninth consecutive month, easing concern that the jump in food and fuel costs would cause consumers to retrench.
Purchases increased 0.4 percent following a 1.1 percent February gain that was larger than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington.
The credit swaps index, which typically falls as investor confidence improves and rises as it deteriorates, is at the highest level since March 31.
The price of Markit’s CDX North America High Yield Index, which falls as investor confidence deteriorates, declined 0.2 percentage point to 102.2 percent of face value.
Credit swaps pay the buyer face value if a borrower fails to meet its obligations, less the value of the defaulted debt. A basis point equals $1,000 annually on a contract protecting $10 million of debt.
World PC shipments fall below forecasts
An unexpected drop in worldwide personal-computer shipments in the first veterinary syringes quarter appeared to catch market researchers by surprise, with some analysts issuing unusual warnings to PC makers in their press releases about the impact of Apple Inc.’s iPad.
Rival firms Gartner and IDC both issued their first-quarter data on Wednesday, noting that the single-digit declines in shipments had not been expected. Both firms were looking for slight growth in the quarter.
“Weak demand for consumer PCs was the biggest inhibitor of growth,” Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa said in a statement.
She added that lower PC prices, which had previously stimulated growth, no longer attracted buyers.
“Instead, consumers turned their attention to media tablets, and other consumer electronics.”
One IDC analyst also talked about the impact from media tablets, cautioning PC makers in language known to many in the tech industry as coming from Clayton Christensen’s book, “The Innovator’s Dilemma.”
“Good-enough computing has become a firm reality, exemplified first by mini notebooks [netbooks] and now media tablets,” said IDC analyst Jay Chou in a press release, using a term from the book, a bible in Silicon Valley. The phrase refers to a new, Coach Bags cheaper product that usurps an entrenched one but is seen as “good enough” to attract massive users.
“Macroeconomic forces can explain some of the ebb and flow of the PC business, but the real question PC vendors have to think hard about is how to enable a compelling user experience that can justify spending on the added horsepower,” Chou added.
Another IDC analyst, Bob O’Donnell, gave another take, saying that while it was “tempting to blame the decline completely on the growth of media tablets, we believe other factors, including extended PC lifetimes and the lack of compelling new PC experiences, played equally significant roles.”
An interesting point made by Gartner was that without the OBD2 code scanner growth in corporate sales — PCs purchased by corporate users — the industry would have seen one of its worst declines in recent history.
At least they all seem to agree on one thing: The PC, at least for consumers, is becoming increasing irrelevant.
Rival firms Gartner and IDC both issued their first-quarter data on Wednesday, noting that the single-digit declines in shipments had not been expected. Both firms were looking for slight growth in the quarter.
“Weak demand for consumer PCs was the biggest inhibitor of growth,” Gartner analyst Mikako Kitagawa said in a statement.
She added that lower PC prices, which had previously stimulated growth, no longer attracted buyers.
“Instead, consumers turned their attention to media tablets, and other consumer electronics.”
She cited the launch of Apple Inc.’s /quotes/comstock/15*!aapl/quotes/nls/aapl (AAPL 335.65, -0.48, -0.14%) ?iPad 2 in February as having an impact, as consumers either switched to an iPad or held back from buying a PC. “We’re investigating whether this trend is likely to have a long-term effect on the PC market,” Kitagawa said.
“Good-enough computing has become a firm reality, exemplified first by mini notebooks [netbooks] and now media tablets,” said IDC analyst Jay Chou in a press release, using a term from the book, a bible in Silicon Valley. The phrase refers to a new, Coach Bags cheaper product that usurps an entrenched one but is seen as “good enough” to attract massive users.
“Macroeconomic forces can explain some of the ebb and flow of the PC business, but the real question PC vendors have to think hard about is how to enable a compelling user experience that can justify spending on the added horsepower,” Chou added.
Another IDC analyst, Bob O’Donnell, gave another take, saying that while it was “tempting to blame the decline completely on the growth of media tablets, we believe other factors, including extended PC lifetimes and the lack of compelling new PC experiences, played equally significant roles.”
An interesting point made by Gartner was that without the OBD2 code scanner growth in corporate sales — PCs purchased by corporate users — the industry would have seen one of its worst declines in recent history.
At least they all seem to agree on one thing: The PC, at least for consumers, is becoming increasing irrelevant.
More than 2 million computers worldwide were infected with malicious software in a “massive fraud scheme” that the U.S. disabled as part of a autoclave criminal investigation, the Justice Department said.
“The scale of the botnet is huge,” said Don Jackson, the director of intelligence at Dell Secureworks, a cyber security firm that said it first discovered Coreflood. “The scale of the operation itself, in terms of the core team, is very small and very close-knit.”
Bank Transfers
The stolen information was used to make bank transfers in some cases of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Justice Department said. Thieves attempted to transfer more than $934,000 from an unnamed defense contracting company in Tennessee in one case. They removed $78,421 from the bank account of an unidentified law firm in South Carolina and $115,771 from an unidentified real estate company in Michigan, according to court papers.
The department filed a civil complaint, criminal seizure warrants and issued a cold room temporary restraining order in coordinated action with Microsoft Corp., which issued a software patch yesterday to correct a vulnerability in its Windows operating system. The vulnerability allowed the software to spread from one computer to another creating a so-called botnet.
The action was aimed at software called Coreflood, which collects passwords and financial information that was used by criminals, the Justice Department said in a statement today. The group of computers infected with Coreflood, known as the Coreflood botnet, is suspected by the U.S. of operating for almost a decade and infecting more than 1.8 million computers in the U.S. alone.
Americans are believed to have lost millions of dollars in the scheme, according to an FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation remains open. Authorities were unable to tally how much money was stolen “due in part to the large number of infected computers and the quantity of stolen data,” according to court documents.
People in Russia
The company, based in Atlanta, concluded that the botnet is cone crusher controlled by as few as three people in Russia, Jackson said. The hackers specifically targeted corporations, downloading private e-mails and confidential financial data, he said.
The U.S. attorney in Connecticut filed a civil complaint against 13 unidentified defendants known as John Does, alleging wire fraud, bank fraud and international interception of electronic communications, according to the statement. Authorities also obtained search warrants for computer servers and a seizure warrant for 29 domain names.
“Botnets and the cyber criminals who deploy them jeopardize the economic security of the United States and the dependability of the nation’s information infrastructure,” Shawn Henry, executive assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch, said in the statement
The complaint alleges that some of the John Does are the owners of Coreflood domains, the computer addresses that are used by the botnet to issue instructions and extract the data. Laura Sweeney, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said she couldn’t comment on 13 civil defendants’ country of origin.
Botnet Control
In this case, authorities seized the command-and-control apparatus and sent commands to computers to shut down the malware.
“There has been a real legal barrier to do this because electronic ballast essentially you are issuing instructions to someone else’s computer,” said Alex Cox, principal research analyst at NetWitness Corp., a cyber security firm based in Reston, Virginia.
The operation to shut down Coreflood is the first time U.S. law enforcement has seized control over a botnet and used that authority to send instructions to computers belonging to victims, according to court papers.
“That is very, very significant,” Cox said.
U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant in Hartford, Connecticut, ruled the U.S. could set up a substitute server to replace the seized ones. The ruling allowed the server to be operated, under law enforcement supervision, by the Internet Systems Consortium, a nonprofit group based in Redwood City, California.
Security Breach
“Should the government inadvertently acquire the content of any communication, it will destroy such communication upon recognition,” prosecutors said in court papers.
Authorities will also collect the Internet protocol addresses of computers infected with the virus. Prosecutors said they would work with Internet service providers to notify individual customers of the security breach.
The size of the botnet and the fact that it has escaped for years a systematic effort to shut it down is unusual,
said Jackson. He said that the software had features that allowed it to spread quickly through corporate computer networks before it was discovered. Among its victims were U.S. government contractors, a state police agency and a major hotel chain, from which the software stole thousands of credit card numbers belonging to customers.
“There is clearly a strong public/private stainless steel pipe momentum happening in the fight against botnets,” Richard Boscovich, a lawyer in Microsoft’s digital crimes unit, said by e-mail. The unit was “was happy to provide technical information from the lessons we learned from the recent Rustock and Waledac botnet takedowns to assist these agencies,” he said.
“The scale of the botnet is huge,” said Don Jackson, the director of intelligence at Dell Secureworks, a cyber security firm that said it first discovered Coreflood. “The scale of the operation itself, in terms of the core team, is very small and very close-knit.”
Bank Transfers
The stolen information was used to make bank transfers in some cases of hundreds of thousands of dollars, the Justice Department said. Thieves attempted to transfer more than $934,000 from an unnamed defense contracting company in Tennessee in one case. They removed $78,421 from the bank account of an unidentified law firm in South Carolina and $115,771 from an unidentified real estate company in Michigan, according to court papers.
The department filed a civil complaint, criminal seizure warrants and issued a cold room temporary restraining order in coordinated action with Microsoft Corp., which issued a software patch yesterday to correct a vulnerability in its Windows operating system. The vulnerability allowed the software to spread from one computer to another creating a so-called botnet.
The action was aimed at software called Coreflood, which collects passwords and financial information that was used by criminals, the Justice Department said in a statement today. The group of computers infected with Coreflood, known as the Coreflood botnet, is suspected by the U.S. of operating for almost a decade and infecting more than 1.8 million computers in the U.S. alone.
Americans are believed to have lost millions of dollars in the scheme, according to an FBI official who spoke on condition of anonymity because the criminal investigation remains open. Authorities were unable to tally how much money was stolen “due in part to the large number of infected computers and the quantity of stolen data,” according to court documents.
People in Russia
The company, based in Atlanta, concluded that the botnet is cone crusher controlled by as few as three people in Russia, Jackson said. The hackers specifically targeted corporations, downloading private e-mails and confidential financial data, he said.
The U.S. attorney in Connecticut filed a civil complaint against 13 unidentified defendants known as John Does, alleging wire fraud, bank fraud and international interception of electronic communications, according to the statement. Authorities also obtained search warrants for computer servers and a seizure warrant for 29 domain names.
“Botnets and the cyber criminals who deploy them jeopardize the economic security of the United States and the dependability of the nation’s information infrastructure,” Shawn Henry, executive assistant director of the FBI’s Criminal, Cyber, Response and Services Branch, said in the statement
The complaint alleges that some of the John Does are the owners of Coreflood domains, the computer addresses that are used by the botnet to issue instructions and extract the data. Laura Sweeney, a Justice Department spokeswoman, said she couldn’t comment on 13 civil defendants’ country of origin.
Botnet Control
In this case, authorities seized the command-and-control apparatus and sent commands to computers to shut down the malware.
“There has been a real legal barrier to do this because electronic ballast essentially you are issuing instructions to someone else’s computer,” said Alex Cox, principal research analyst at NetWitness Corp., a cyber security firm based in Reston, Virginia.
The operation to shut down Coreflood is the first time U.S. law enforcement has seized control over a botnet and used that authority to send instructions to computers belonging to victims, according to court papers.
“That is very, very significant,” Cox said.
U.S. District Judge Vanessa Bryant in Hartford, Connecticut, ruled the U.S. could set up a substitute server to replace the seized ones. The ruling allowed the server to be operated, under law enforcement supervision, by the Internet Systems Consortium, a nonprofit group based in Redwood City, California.
Security Breach
“Should the government inadvertently acquire the content of any communication, it will destroy such communication upon recognition,” prosecutors said in court papers.
Authorities will also collect the Internet protocol addresses of computers infected with the virus. Prosecutors said they would work with Internet service providers to notify individual customers of the security breach.
The size of the botnet and the fact that it has escaped for years a systematic effort to shut it down is unusual,
said Jackson. He said that the software had features that allowed it to spread quickly through corporate computer networks before it was discovered. Among its victims were U.S. government contractors, a state police agency and a major hotel chain, from which the software stole thousands of credit card numbers belonging to customers.
“There is clearly a strong public/private stainless steel pipe momentum happening in the fight against botnets,” Richard Boscovich, a lawyer in Microsoft’s digital crimes unit, said by e-mail. The unit was “was happy to provide technical information from the lessons we learned from the recent Rustock and Waledac botnet takedowns to assist these agencies,” he said.
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Game email inbox want to make zero of fun
Can making email into a game make you more productive, encourage you to develop better habits and make email more fun? That’s the idea behind Baydin’s The Email Game, which applies gearbox gameplay mechanics to the process of working through your inbox.
After authorizing the app with your Gmail or Google Apps account, you’re presented with the top email in your inbox and have 90 seconds to decide what to do with it: Archive, reply, label or “boomerang” (which archives the email, but will bring it back into your email automatically at an allotted time). Each positive action taken adds points to your score and moves you to the damper next email. Take more than the allotted 90 seconds, or “skip” the email without deciding to take action on it, and you’ll lose points.
If you decide to reply to a message, you’re given three minutes to compose your reply. Again, if you delay, you’ll lose points, although you can always click the “add time” button if you have to compose a particularly long email. Note: By default, The Email Game adds a link to itself in your email signature, which I found a bit annoying; you can remove it in the app’s settings page.
The Email Game isn’t the first app to try to turn email into a game; we’ve previously written about 0boxer, for example, which also awards points for completing email actions, although The Email Game is the first app I’ve seen that adds time limits to discourage procrastination. Unlike 0boxer and InboxScore, however, The Email Game doesn’t have any social features, so you can’t compete with friends using an led downlight online leaderboard, and it also doesn’t seem to be able to keep track of your scores between sessions; it’s probably not something that you’d want to use on an ongoing basis. However, it’s certainly a fun way to motivate yourself to power quickly through your inbox in order to achieve “inbox zero.”
The “gamification of work” is something that’s attracting the attention of a few companies recently. Rypple, for example, is using gaming mechanics to increase engagement with its employee feedback app. While it remains to be seen as to whether gaming mechanics really can improve worker engagement and productivity, as Jessica noted in a recent post, game enthusiasts do tend to display the kind of traits — being bottom-line oriented, tolerant of diversity, comfortable with constant change, happy to learn, and intensely interested in innovation — that should also be advantageous in the workplace.
The free version of The Email Game works only with Gmail and Google Apps accounts. An enterprise edition is available that works with Outlook/Exchange or IMAP accounts and cable ties costs a rather pricey $20/seat/month.
After authorizing the app with your Gmail or Google Apps account, you’re presented with the top email in your inbox and have 90 seconds to decide what to do with it: Archive, reply, label or “boomerang” (which archives the email, but will bring it back into your email automatically at an allotted time). Each positive action taken adds points to your score and moves you to the damper next email. Take more than the allotted 90 seconds, or “skip” the email without deciding to take action on it, and you’ll lose points.
If you decide to reply to a message, you’re given three minutes to compose your reply. Again, if you delay, you’ll lose points, although you can always click the “add time” button if you have to compose a particularly long email. Note: By default, The Email Game adds a link to itself in your email signature, which I found a bit annoying; you can remove it in the app’s settings page.
The Email Game isn’t the first app to try to turn email into a game; we’ve previously written about 0boxer, for example, which also awards points for completing email actions, although The Email Game is the first app I’ve seen that adds time limits to discourage procrastination. Unlike 0boxer and InboxScore, however, The Email Game doesn’t have any social features, so you can’t compete with friends using an led downlight online leaderboard, and it also doesn’t seem to be able to keep track of your scores between sessions; it’s probably not something that you’d want to use on an ongoing basis. However, it’s certainly a fun way to motivate yourself to power quickly through your inbox in order to achieve “inbox zero.”
The “gamification of work” is something that’s attracting the attention of a few companies recently. Rypple, for example, is using gaming mechanics to increase engagement with its employee feedback app. While it remains to be seen as to whether gaming mechanics really can improve worker engagement and productivity, as Jessica noted in a recent post, game enthusiasts do tend to display the kind of traits — being bottom-line oriented, tolerant of diversity, comfortable with constant change, happy to learn, and intensely interested in innovation — that should also be advantageous in the workplace.
The free version of The Email Game works only with Gmail and Google Apps accounts. An enterprise edition is available that works with Outlook/Exchange or IMAP accounts and cable ties costs a rather pricey $20/seat/month.
Rising fuel prices raise import and export prices
Import and export prices continued rising in March, according to the Department of Labor Statistics, the result of surging commodity and fuel prices as well as the backlash of a weakened American dollar.
“On a grand scale, two things are happening,” said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Tuesday. “One, commodity prices are going through the roof. Two, the rise in oil prices, when it’s gone from $80 dollars to $105 or $107 per barrel, translates led bulbs into about $160 billion more that goes into foreign pockets. That’s about 1 percent of our gross domestic product, which is a pretty big chunk of change.”
Growing fuel prices and nonfuel imports including animal feed and metals led the spike in import prices, which rose 2.7 percent in March. It’s the largest increase since a similar 2.7 percent rise in June 2009.
Import prices have been steadily increasing for the past 12 months, rising 9.7 percent.
Fuel prices jumped 9 percent in March, which represents the largest monthly rise since June 2009. Over the 12-month period ended March, fuel prices ballooned by 28.7 percent, largely the result of skyrocketing petroleum prices.
Hufbauer noted that a weaker American dollar contributed to the rise in oil prices.
“The dollar is down relative to the cable ties currencies for most countries,” he said. “So, what that means is that foreign suppliers generally tend to absorb a fair amount of dollar devaluation relative to their currency.”
Adolfo Laurenti, deputy economist at Chicago-based Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc., said a weakened dollar was a “curveball.”
“The dollar has continued to weaken,” Laurenti said Tuesday. “But, there might be reason to expect the dollar to gain some ground, especially against the euro.”
Exports prices rose by a slight 1.5 percent last month, led by international demand for cotton, corn and nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials. The March boost in prices represents the largest increase since a 1.5 percent increase in November. Over the past 12 months, export prices rose 9.5 percent, the largest increase since July 2008.
Poor weather in the major corn producing countries such golf irons as Russia and Australia increased international demand for U.S. corn, pushing export prices up by 9.2 percent in March. During the past 12 months, corn prices shot up by 77.7 percent, driving a yearlong increase in overall agricultural export prices.
“The emerging economies have been doing very well in the last years,” Hufbauer said. “Those economies have been growing quite fast, and in those economies fast growth translates into pretty big additional demand for food claims, which puts pressure on the demand side.”
Hufbauer noted that as emerging economies see growth, they tend to shift toward a meat-based diet, which requires more corn for animal feed.
Similarly, an influx of Chinese demand for cotton boosted the fiber’s export prices by 10.5 percent in March, further increasing export prices.
“Again, we’ve had pretty good weather,” Hufbauer said. “Egypt is a big cotton producer, and there is a lot of chaos right now. Chaos reduces shipments, which is one reason for an increased demand for U.S.-produced cotton.”
Despite international demand for U.S. products, domestic machinery manufacturing metal halide lamp export prices hardly moved, signaling tough world competition for heavy machinery.
“It’s just part of the business cycle coming out of recession. There are up months and down months,” said Jim Nelson, vice president of communications for the Illinois Association of Manufacturers.
“It’s a competitive environment that is a living breathing things, much like the economy. As global competition becomes more intense, the less influence any one country has over price. It’s a competitive atmosphere. Producing the exercise bike best products that will be long lasting is always the way the U.S. succeeds in the world market.”
“On a grand scale, two things are happening,” said Gary Hufbauer, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute for International Economics, Tuesday. “One, commodity prices are going through the roof. Two, the rise in oil prices, when it’s gone from $80 dollars to $105 or $107 per barrel, translates led bulbs into about $160 billion more that goes into foreign pockets. That’s about 1 percent of our gross domestic product, which is a pretty big chunk of change.”
Growing fuel prices and nonfuel imports including animal feed and metals led the spike in import prices, which rose 2.7 percent in March. It’s the largest increase since a similar 2.7 percent rise in June 2009.
Import prices have been steadily increasing for the past 12 months, rising 9.7 percent.
Fuel prices jumped 9 percent in March, which represents the largest monthly rise since June 2009. Over the 12-month period ended March, fuel prices ballooned by 28.7 percent, largely the result of skyrocketing petroleum prices.
Hufbauer noted that a weaker American dollar contributed to the rise in oil prices.
“The dollar is down relative to the cable ties currencies for most countries,” he said. “So, what that means is that foreign suppliers generally tend to absorb a fair amount of dollar devaluation relative to their currency.”
Adolfo Laurenti, deputy economist at Chicago-based Mesirow Financial Holdings Inc., said a weakened dollar was a “curveball.”
“The dollar has continued to weaken,” Laurenti said Tuesday. “But, there might be reason to expect the dollar to gain some ground, especially against the euro.”
Exports prices rose by a slight 1.5 percent last month, led by international demand for cotton, corn and nonagricultural industrial supplies and materials. The March boost in prices represents the largest increase since a 1.5 percent increase in November. Over the past 12 months, export prices rose 9.5 percent, the largest increase since July 2008.
Poor weather in the major corn producing countries such golf irons as Russia and Australia increased international demand for U.S. corn, pushing export prices up by 9.2 percent in March. During the past 12 months, corn prices shot up by 77.7 percent, driving a yearlong increase in overall agricultural export prices.
“The emerging economies have been doing very well in the last years,” Hufbauer said. “Those economies have been growing quite fast, and in those economies fast growth translates into pretty big additional demand for food claims, which puts pressure on the demand side.”
Hufbauer noted that as emerging economies see growth, they tend to shift toward a meat-based diet, which requires more corn for animal feed.
Similarly, an influx of Chinese demand for cotton boosted the fiber’s export prices by 10.5 percent in March, further increasing export prices.
“Again, we’ve had pretty good weather,” Hufbauer said. “Egypt is a big cotton producer, and there is a lot of chaos right now. Chaos reduces shipments, which is one reason for an increased demand for U.S.-produced cotton.”
Despite international demand for U.S. products, domestic machinery manufacturing metal halide lamp export prices hardly moved, signaling tough world competition for heavy machinery.
“It’s just part of the business cycle coming out of recession. There are up months and down months,” said Jim Nelson, vice president of communications for the Illinois Association of Manufacturers.
“It’s a competitive environment that is a living breathing things, much like the economy. As global competition becomes more intense, the less influence any one country has over price. It’s a competitive atmosphere. Producing the exercise bike best products that will be long lasting is always the way the U.S. succeeds in the world market.”
Oil prices continue sharp fall
Oil prices suffered their biggest two-day loss in 11 months and stocks dropped today on concerns about the strength of global growth metal halide lamp and as Goldman Sachs warned crude was set for a pullback.
The price of crude traded in New York slid more than 3%, bringing losses since Friday to 5.8%. Goldman Sachs predicted Brent prices would fall back to $US105 in "coming months," down from $US120 today, and the International Energy Agency said high prices could be eroding demand.
World stocks, as measured by the MSCI's main world equity index, were down 1.3%, the index's biggest one-day decline in four weeks.
Worries over global growth were heightened after Japan's economic minister warned that damage caused by last month's earthquake and tsunami could be worse than initially thought for the world's third-largest economy.
Japan's decision to put the severity of radiation leakage at exercise bike its stricken Fukushima nuclear plant on a par with the worst nuclear disaster, at Chernobyl, also weighed on sentiment.
"The market is increasingly becoming concerned about the situation in Japan and that high oil prices and high commodity prices will eventually hurt economic growth," said Mark Bronzo, money manager at Security Global Investors in Irvington, New York.
US stocks ended lower after disappointing revenue figures from aluminum maker Alcoa Inc, the Dow component that marked the start of the quarterly earnings season with its release after the market close on Monday. Energy stocks led losses on the benchmark S&P 500.
The S&P energy index, the market's top performer in the first quarter, shed 3%.
"The leadership has been for the longest time in those sectors that are highly related to global growth and commodity prices. So once the commodity space starts rolling over, then equities are poised to follow," said Robert Van Batenburg Spark Plug, head of equity research at Louis Capital in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 117.53 points, or 0.95%, to end at 12,263.58. The Standard Poor's 500 Index dropped 10.30 points, or 0.78%, to 1,314.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 26.72 points, or 0.96%, to 2,744.79.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares slipped 1.7%, with miners and energy firms among the heaviest losers. Emerging markets, which count several resource exporters in their ranks, fell 1.9%.
Brent crude oil fell $US3.06 to settle at $US120.92 a barrel. The May Brent contract expires on Thursday. US May crude fell $US3.67 to settle at $US106.25.
"Fear of demand destruction is killing this market. There is a feeling that the recent rally lifted oil prices to unsustainable levels," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
Spot gold fell from yesterday's record high while silver sagged a day after hitting a 31-year high.
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, fell about 2% in its sharpest one-day decline in a month as raw materials markets came under pressure from the sell-off in oil.
Safe-haven demand
Safe-haven demand boosted Treasury prices. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was up 23/32, with the yield at 3.498%.
Thirty-year bonds rose more than a point in price, last yielding 4.579%.
The yen and Swiss franc rose sharply as jittery investors sold riskier trades funded by borrowing in the two low-yielding currencies.
"Carry trades are owned heavily and looked overextended, especially the gearbox yen crosses. These are the ones looking shaky," said Tom Fitzpatrick, chief technical strategist at CitiFX in New York.
The yen firmed to a 1-1/2-week high versus the US dollar, though gains are likely to be curbed by the Bank of Japan's perceived determination to keep monetary policy loose to aid economic recovery.
The dollar fell 1.2% against the Swiss franc to 0.8957 francs. It earlier dropped to 0.89421, its lowest in more than three weeks.
The euro rose to a 15-month high against the dollar above $US1.45, boosted by reported buying from China and news that China, the world's second-largest economy, was willing to purchase more Spanish debt.
Dovish comments from key US Federal Reserve officials weighed on dollar sentiment.
Two of the Fed's most powerful officials, Janet Yellen and William Dudley, said the US central bank should damper stick to its super-easy monetary policy as inflation is not a threat and unemployment remains too high.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.3% at 74.835 after hitting 74.704, its lowest since December 2009.
The price of crude traded in New York slid more than 3%, bringing losses since Friday to 5.8%. Goldman Sachs predicted Brent prices would fall back to $US105 in "coming months," down from $US120 today, and the International Energy Agency said high prices could be eroding demand.
World stocks, as measured by the MSCI's main world equity index, were down 1.3%, the index's biggest one-day decline in four weeks.
Worries over global growth were heightened after Japan's economic minister warned that damage caused by last month's earthquake and tsunami could be worse than initially thought for the world's third-largest economy.
Japan's decision to put the severity of radiation leakage at exercise bike its stricken Fukushima nuclear plant on a par with the worst nuclear disaster, at Chernobyl, also weighed on sentiment.
"The market is increasingly becoming concerned about the situation in Japan and that high oil prices and high commodity prices will eventually hurt economic growth," said Mark Bronzo, money manager at Security Global Investors in Irvington, New York.
US stocks ended lower after disappointing revenue figures from aluminum maker Alcoa Inc, the Dow component that marked the start of the quarterly earnings season with its release after the market close on Monday. Energy stocks led losses on the benchmark S&P 500.
The S&P energy index, the market's top performer in the first quarter, shed 3%.
"The leadership has been for the longest time in those sectors that are highly related to global growth and commodity prices. So once the commodity space starts rolling over, then equities are poised to follow," said Robert Van Batenburg Spark Plug, head of equity research at Louis Capital in New York.
The Dow Jones industrial average dropped 117.53 points, or 0.95%, to end at 12,263.58. The Standard Poor's 500 Index dropped 10.30 points, or 0.78%, to 1,314.16. The Nasdaq Composite Index dropped 26.72 points, or 0.96%, to 2,744.79.
The FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares slipped 1.7%, with miners and energy firms among the heaviest losers. Emerging markets, which count several resource exporters in their ranks, fell 1.9%.
Brent crude oil fell $US3.06 to settle at $US120.92 a barrel. The May Brent contract expires on Thursday. US May crude fell $US3.67 to settle at $US106.25.
"Fear of demand destruction is killing this market. There is a feeling that the recent rally lifted oil prices to unsustainable levels," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFGBest Research in Chicago.
Spot gold fell from yesterday's record high while silver sagged a day after hitting a 31-year high.
The Reuters-Jefferies CRB index, a global commodities benchmark, fell about 2% in its sharpest one-day decline in a month as raw materials markets came under pressure from the sell-off in oil.
Safe-haven demand
Safe-haven demand boosted Treasury prices. The benchmark 10-year US Treasury note was up 23/32, with the yield at 3.498%.
Thirty-year bonds rose more than a point in price, last yielding 4.579%.
The yen and Swiss franc rose sharply as jittery investors sold riskier trades funded by borrowing in the two low-yielding currencies.
"Carry trades are owned heavily and looked overextended, especially the gearbox yen crosses. These are the ones looking shaky," said Tom Fitzpatrick, chief technical strategist at CitiFX in New York.
The yen firmed to a 1-1/2-week high versus the US dollar, though gains are likely to be curbed by the Bank of Japan's perceived determination to keep monetary policy loose to aid economic recovery.
The dollar fell 1.2% against the Swiss franc to 0.8957 francs. It earlier dropped to 0.89421, its lowest in more than three weeks.
The euro rose to a 15-month high against the dollar above $US1.45, boosted by reported buying from China and news that China, the world's second-largest economy, was willing to purchase more Spanish debt.
Dovish comments from key US Federal Reserve officials weighed on dollar sentiment.
Two of the Fed's most powerful officials, Janet Yellen and William Dudley, said the US central bank should damper stick to its super-easy monetary policy as inflation is not a threat and unemployment remains too high.
The US dollar index, which tracks the greenback against a basket of major currencies, was down 0.3% at 74.835 after hitting 74.704, its lowest since December 2009.
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