Sony, Panasonic to work on 300GB optical disc

From the 650MB CD to the 4GB DVD and to the 50GB Blu-ray, the next optical media disc may contain a whopping 300 GB once it is release by 2015.

Sony and Panasonic have agreed to jointly develop the standard for these "professional-use next-generation optical discs."

"Both companies aim to improve their development efficiency based on the technologies held by each respective company, and will target the development of an optical disc with recording capacity of at least 300GB by the end of 2015," they said in a joint statement.


They will also continue to discuss the specifications and other items related to the development of the new standard.

Sony and Panasonic said optical discs have "excellent properties to protect them against the environment, such as dust-resistance and water-resistance, and can also withstand changes in temperature and humidity when stored."

Also, they said optical discs allow inter-generational compatibility between different formats, "ensuring that data can continue to be read even as formats evolve."

"This makes them a robust medium for long-term storage of content," they said.

It will not be the first time Sony and Panasonic work together, as they had developed products based on the Blu-ray format.

But they also noted optical discs will need to accommodate much larger volumes of storage in the future.

Before the joint work with Panasonic, Sony commercialized a file-based optical disc archive system in September 2012, housing 12 optical discs in a compact cartridge.

This July, Panasonic launched its LB-DM9 optical disc storage devices, using a magazine to house 12 100GB optical discs. — VC, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Angelina Jolie highest earning U.S. actress - Forbes

NEW YORK - Angelina Jolie, who will next be seen on the big screen in the film "Maleficent," is Hollywood's highest paid actress with estimated earnings of $33 million in the last year, according to Forbes.

She easily surpassed this year's Best Actress Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence, who came in second with $26 million, and pushed Kristen Stewart of the "Twilight" series, who topped the list last year, into third place with earnings of $22 million.

"Hollywood hasn't shied away from Jolie. She's still one of the few actresses who can demand a paycheck north of $15 million for the right movie - like Disney's retelling of the old Sleeping Beauty story, Maleficent," reporter Dorothy Pomerantz, wrote on Forbes.com.

Jolie, 38, made headlines earlier this year when she revealed she had a double mastectomy after learning she had inherited a high risk of breast cancer. "Maleficent" will be released next summer.

The celebrity mother, who has three biological and three adopted children with her fiance, actor Brad Pitt, rose from third place on 2012's list.

Jennifer Aniston, whose newest movie "We're the Millers" will be released in U.S. theaters next week, captured fourth place with earnings of $20 million and Emma Stone, who appeared in "The Amazing Spider-Man" with real-life boyfriend Andrew Garfield was No. 5 with $16 million.

Forbes talked to agents, managers and other people with knowledge of the film industry to compile the ranking based on estimated earnings from June 2012 to June 2013.

Sandra Bullock, who was third in last year's list, dropped to No. 7 with estimated earnings of $14 million and Julia Roberts slipped from sixth to 10th place this year, taking home $11 million.

Oscar-winner Bullock wowed audiences with the female buddy comedy "The Heat." Her 2009 film "The Blind Side," who which she won a best actress Academy Award, earned $309 million on a budget of $30 million, according to Forbes.

Mila Kunis, at No. 9, was a newcomer to the ranking this year with earnings of $11 million. Two films she starred in, "Ted" and "Oz: The Great and Powerful," earned a combined $1 billion at the global box office. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

M&A fever helps European stocks rally

Paris — European stocks rose on Monday as a flurry of big mergers and acquisitions deals boosted sentiment and helped the market bounce back after a two-session dip.

Shares in Irish drugmaker Elan jumped 8.3 percent after US peer Perrigo agreed to buy the firm for $8.6 billion, sparking a rally in health care stocks, with Shire up 2.1 percent and AstraZeneca up 1.2 percent.

Media shares also surged, boosted by a merger plan between Publicis and Omnicom unveiled over the weekend, in a deal worth $35.1 billion.

France's Havas soared 5.7 percent and UK's WPP added 1.7 percent. Publicis shares were halted on Monday.

At 0802 GMT, the FTSEurofirst 300 index of top European shares was up 0.4 percent at 1,209.40 points, after losing about 0.8 percent in two sessions. The benchmark index has risen 9 percent since late June.

Also among the biggest gainers on Monday, France's Essilor, an ophthalmic optics company, rose 4.1 percent after buying a 51 percent stake in photochromic lens unit Transitions Optical from PPG Industries Inc. for $1.73 billion.

The media and health care sectors have outperformed the market this year, with the STOXX Europe 600 media index up 17 percent and the STOXX Europe 600 health care index up 14.4 percent, while the FTSEurofirst 300 is up 6.9 percent.

"These big M&A deals are a big boost for the market, although the buzz is usually short-lived, so I remain relatively cautious at this point," said Philippe de Vandiere, analyst at Altedia Investment Consulting, in Paris.

"The market has risen quite a lot already and even though we didn't really have nasty surprises in earnings, there's no big catalyst seen ahead, and we see investors turning more defensive."

On the earnings front, French food group Danone gained 3.1 percent after saying sales growth accelerated in the second quarter, and keeping its full-year 2013 profit and sales outlook.

Siemens rose 1.5 percent. The German engineering conglomerate said its supervisory board will decide on the early departure of its chief executive on July 31.

Around Europe, UK's FTSE 100 index was up 0.6 percent, Germany's DAX index up 0.8 percent, and France's CAC 40 up 0.5 percent. The euro zone's blue-chip Euro STOXX 50 index was up 0.3 percent at 2,748.96.

"I'm quite positive, the market goes up slowly with some consolidation moves happening during the session," TradingSat analyst Alexandre Tixier said.

"Trading volumes remain brisk, which is a sign of strong buying appetite at this point. Our exposure to equities is at 80 percent right now." — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Publicis, Omnicom to merge to create advertising giant

PARIS - Publicis and Omnicom have announced merger plans to create the world's biggest advertising group, worth $35.1 billion, a tie-up that could put pressure on rivals to do deals to keep pace.

The transaction marks a return of jumbo-sized M&A among the world's "Big Six" advertising groups, which have spent the past few years buying up much smaller targets in emerging markets and among web marketing specialists.

The French and U.S. company presented the deal as a "merger of equals" in which Publicis and Omnicom shareholders will each hold about 50 percent of the new company's equity.

Publicis said the transaction was expected to create "significant value for shareholders", with expected synergies of $500 million. The merged group would keep its head offices in Paris and New York, it said.

"(Omnicom head John Wren) and I have conceived this merger to benefit our clients by bringing together the most comprehensive offering of analog and digital services," Publicis Chief Executive Maurice Levy said in a statement. Levy also said the French government was supportive of the merger.

The deal is likely to push the remaining advertising agencies to consider mergers to keep up. Current leader WPP may make a move for U.S.-based Interpublic, France's Havas or Japan's Dentsu, said Pivotal Research analyst Brian Weiser in a note.

"What would have been unthinkable previously would now make sense," he said.

Together, Publicis and Omnicom had combined 2012 revenue of $22.7 billion, with more than 130,000 employees, and they would overtake WPP, worth $24.1 billion.

The deal would bring together Publicis brands such as Saatchi & Saatchi and Leo Burnett with Omnicom's BBDO Worldwide and DDB Worldwide.

Wren and Levy will be joint CEOs for an initial integration and development period of 30 months, after which Levy will become non-executive chairman and Wren sole CEO, Publicis said.

Publicis shareholders will receive one newly-issued ordinary share of Publicis Omnicom Group for each Publicis share they own, plus a special dividend of 1.00 euro per share.

Earnings boost

Omnicom shareholders will receive 0.813 newly issued ordinary shares of Publicis Omnicom Group for each Omnicom share they own, together with a special dividend of $2.00 per share. They will also receive up to two regular quarterly dividends of $0.40 per share.

The companies said the transaction would be a cross-border merger of equals under Netherlands-based holding company Publicis Omnicom Group, with stock market listings in both New York and Paris.

Publicis said the deal, which had been unanimously approved by the boards of both companies, was expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2013 or the first quarter of 2014.

Levy said the merger would boost adjust earnings per share and that the new company would keep its BBB+ debt rating.

The head of rival agency Havas questioned the logic of the merger earlier on Sunday, saying digital business and technology had made scale irrelevant, and that the uncertainties associated with large mergers would distract staff away from clients.

"I'm not sure this is in the best interests of their clients or their talent," David Jones said. "Clients today want us to be faster, more agile, more nimble and more entrepreneurial, not bigger and more bureaucratic and more complex."

The CGT union said the merger would fly in the face of the government's ambitions to preserve French brands, adding that the merged group would be dominated by the U.S. in many areas.

The union called on the French government and competition authorities to avoid a monopoly situation being created, adding that it would mobilise to protect jobs.

Levy said he did not expect resistance to the deal from the French government. "We don't expect that the French government will have anything else other than great support," he said.

Moelis is acting as financial advisor to Omnicom, while Rothschild is advising Publicis on the deal. — Reuters

 source: gmanetwork.com

As Europe struggles, companies focus on cost cuts

DAGENHAM, England - Glistening chains on the turnstyles at Ford Motor Co.'s plant in east London illustrate how, even when companies unveil positive news about their European operations, it may not mean things are picking up in the economy.

Ford told investors this week that its European operation was performing better than expected and that its turnaround on this side of the Atlantic was on track.

But this recovery is largely premised on cutting costs, with demand for vehicles still falling across the continent and the industry facing overcapacity.

"The outlook for the business environment in Europe continues to be uncertain," Bob Shanks, the U.S. automaker's chief financial officer, told analysts on Wednesday.

A day later work stopped at the 750-strong Dagenham plant, which made bonnets and doors for Transit vans, and workmen lowered white concrete barriers across the entrances to employee car parks—all part of Ford's plan to create a "more efficient manufacturing footprint" in Europe.

Aggressive cost-cutting in Europe contributed to the better-than-expected second-quarter profit General Motors Co reported on Thursday.

Other sectors are also cutting back. Kimberly Clark shut a Spanish factory after the company decided to stop selling its Huggy diapers in most European markets and exit other businesses on the continent.

U.S. advertising group Interpublic, supermarket chain Carrefour, electrical goods makers Indesit and staffing group Randstad were among the companies which told investors in the past fortnight that weak European demand was forcing them to cut costs and jobs.

"Whatever earnings growth is coming is base-line activity or cost cutting. Capex [capital expenditure] is where companies are saving money, trying to keep the bottom line healthy," said Chris Weafer, senior partner with consultancy Macro-Advisory.

Recent economic data has suggested the euro zone is starting to turn a corner and Britain looks definitively to be back on a growth path.

Those improvements in leading indicators have prompted institutional investors to look at Europe with new interest.

With stock markets in Japan and the United States posting double-digit gains so far this year, investors may have squeezed as much as they can out of a recovery story there and are looking for the euro zone and Britain to pick up the growth baton.

But it will take more than the first tips of green shoots to persuade companies to invest heavily once more.

Chicken and egg

Investment plummeted after the financial crisis, with the euro zone business investment rate in the last quarter of 2012, the most recent period for which figures are available, at its second-lowest level since 2001.

The widespread focus among executives on scaling back, and the dearth of plans to spend more, highlighted how Europe was not out of the woods yet, despite some recent positive signs from Eurozone Purchasing Managers' surveys last week, said Yiannis Koutelidakis, economist at Fathom Consulting.

The absence of spending from companies is contributing to a chicken and egg situation, delaying the recovery that might prompt them to spend more.

"The lack of investment and the continued government austerity, is definitely a drag on the outlook," said Bert Colijn, economist at the Conference Board, a research organization.

"If we see a recovery in Europe in the second half of the year, which is something that is becoming more realistic, that recovery will be very slow."

Some businesses said predictions of recovery in the second half of 2013 were optimistic. Marco Milani, Chief Executive of Italy's Indesit, said he wasn't confident of recovery in 2014 and consequently was cutting back investment and shifting manufacturing out of Europe.

In June, the company published a plan that envisaged cutting its Italian workforce by a third and moving some operations to emerging markets, including Turkey.

Economists say these kinds of actions pose long-term risks for Europe, because even when demand recovers, it will increasingly be served from outside the continent.

"The crisis will leave structural scars on the economy," Koutelidakis said.

Corporate belt-tightening could even be accelerated if the United States starts withdrawing monetary stimulus, as Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has indicated it might. Such a move could raise borrowing costs for European businesses, further eating away at profits and discouraging investment.

Not all companies are reporting falling sales in Europe.

Home-appliance manufacturers Whirlpool Corp and Electrolux AB forecast a rebound in demand from Europe, suggesting consumer confidence may be returning.

It would be natural for consumer spending to pick up before capital investment.

"While southern Europe continues to lag, there are some positive trends in Germany, the Nordics in particular and the UK," Electrolux Chief Executive Keith McLoughlin told Reuters.

But even in some cases where companies reported strong European demand and plans to increase hiring to meet it, they retained an air of caution.

Swedish truckmaker Volvo reported healthy sales and said it was increasing production in Europe to help deal with a growing order backlog.

Yet Chief Executive Olof Persson told analysts on Wednesday that Volvo, which makes trucks under brands such as Renault and Mack as well as its own name, would take on temporary workers to raise output, rather than commit to taking on new full time employees.

"This production ramp up has been done with temporary workers. And this is what we're going to focus on very much going forward ... in order to be more agile in adapting to whatever comes ahead of us," Persson said. —Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Training with 5 degrees of freedom for strong core

At Superstar Gym – New York City. Our trainer Pawel on sensoboard, allows movements with 5 degrees of freedom that are quite similar to riding a surfboard or snowboard for example. Beside this training on the SENSOBOARD increases the strength of the muscles used while exercising and helps to prevent injuries. The reflexes of your muscles have to work really strong and your sensorimotor control improves with a regular training on the SENSOBOARD.

source: workoutloft.com

Four dimensions training

Now we at Workout Loft introduce four dimensions in training where the whole body is treated in dynamic oscillations that resemble waves with mountain (high point) and valley (low point). Thus for each exercise is the entire chain of muscles activated.

The muscle is a highly complex system, which responds to external forces adapted to the situation, depending on the movement of experience. Then the muscles in the elastic loops respond and not just act. The long landing phase when “Fallen”, the body must be decelerated and controlled. This transition in the muscle cells – from the stretch in the contraction – is the area in which to control the movement force is most needed. Doing so, the muscles respond very fast.

As we add new dimension of instability to the weight training muscles are forced to respond fast and through it the effectiveness of workout is maximized.

It is also scientifically proven that adding new component of instability in weight training forces muscles to work faster, harder and respond faster which translates in leaner and stronger you.

source: workoutloft.com

Is suspension training worthless or worth adding to the fitness program?

Suspension training is a part of functional training and can be used to develop fitness training modules for athletes to optimize the core performance, stability and balance.

Functional training is always used to serve athletes to achieve the optimum performance. It is not a miracle or a way to replace the weight training.

Top athletes use weight training in combination with functional training moves to achieve peak performance.

They do not avoid the strength training and weights.


They just add functional training to enhance their performance achieved in the gym. While some think that functional moves are some sort of miracle workout.

Thus suspension training can benefit someone who is lifting weights due that involves stabilization muscles that are not used often during weight training.

But again it is not miracle and never will replace nor have such great benefits as weight training.

It is just add on. Not replacement.
And so long some new add on comes to the market that will have better benefits than suspension training, the suspension training will go away into history.

Even now suspension training advanced into new dimension of fitness training that makes almost TRX thing of the 80′s.

The new generation of reactional suspension trainers is amazing for the building core strength and I truly recommend for athletes which performance depends on core strength.

source: workoutloft.com

Twitter working to make reporting abusive tweets easier

Micro-blogging service Twitter is working on a feature that will make it easier to report abusive tweets such as threats of harm or rape, a tech site reported over the weekend.

A report on CNET said the move, which seeks to simplify the procedure on various platforms, comes amid outrage over tweets that contain threats of rape.

"We're testing ways to simplify reporting, e.g. within a Tweet by using the 'Report Tweet' button in our iPhone app and on mobile Web," it quoted Twitter UK general manager Tony Wang as saying.

CNET also quoted a Twitter representative as saying the ability to report individual tweets for abuse is available on Twitter for iPhone, "and we plan to bring this functionality to other platforms, including Android and the Web."

Outcry
CNET said Twitter's moves may have stemmed from outrage over rape threats received by freelance journalist and feminist campaigner Caroline Criado-Perez.

The abusive tweets reportedly came after she helped campaign to have novelist Jane Austen honored on England's 10-pound banknote in 2017.

Many scored Twitter's current requirement for users to search for details on how to report someone for abuse.

They called for a feature that should be available on each user's page.

CNET said Criado-Perez was pleased by Wang's tweets.

"I'm glad that they're looking into simplifying the report process. This is absolutely paramount. When you're under a sustained attack like I have been for the past 48 hours or so, you simply can't be expected to fill out forms, find the link for each tweet, and explain what is wrong with it. It needs to be a one-click automated process. Under the current system it would take me about a week to report the abuse," she said.

On the other hand, Twitter's representative said the site has rules people agree to when they sign up to use Twitter.

"We will suspend accounts that once reported to us, are found to be in breach of our rules," the representative said. — LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

The Best Time Of The Year To Buy A Car

My 13 year old SUV named Moose feels like it’s on its last legs. There’s a loud whiny noise every time I turn the steering wheel, which likely means the power steering box is cracked. Moose drips engine oil everywhere he goes and now he leaks coolant!

With a Blue Book value of only around $3,000, spending ~$1,000 to fix doesn’t seem prudent. It costs around $100 to fill up his 24 gallon tank and he only gets roughly 16 miles per gallon. Luckily I only drive about 6,500 miles a year.

The other reason why I’m looking to buy a new car is due to the advancement in safety features. Better brakes, better traction control, and more airbags would be nice. I’m not even sure my airbags work after 13 years!

One of my all time favorite things to do is spend time at a car dealer. There’s nothing like inhaling that new car smell and taking the latest models for a spin for free. All told I’ve probably visited a car dealership 25 times in the last 12 months and probably over 100 times in the last five years. Call me thorough, crazy, an enthusiast, or simply a consumer who shows great constraint for not spending any money on one of his favorite things. Whatever you say there’s nothing better than finding something you love to do that’s free.

THE BEST TIME TO GET THE BEST DEALS ON A CAR

 

Car salespeople probably hate me, but that’s good for those of you who are looking to get some insights into exactly when is the best time to buy a car. You see, I LOVE to negotiate. Finding sales people’s breaking points is a scintillating experience. It’s a respectful battle based on gamesmanship and false compliments e.g. “Have you lost some weight Sam? You deserve to buy this new car!”

If you ever want to work on your negotiation skills, practice at a car dealership. They are consistently some of the most aggressive sales people in any industry. This post will focus mainly on the best times to buy a car and not so much on negotiating tactics.

* Tax Season. Ask any small business owner who is not in the tax business and they will tell you that business always sees a cyclical slowdown in April. The reason being that plenty of people owe taxes by April 15. I personally owed a surprising five figure tax bill due to a retroactive law that raised taxes by 3% for those who make more than a certain amount in California. As a result, I didn’t spend money on anything other than necessities in March and April. (See: What Happens If I Don’t Pay My Taxes?) From my position as an online publisher, I see an increase in search traffic related to saving money and reducing taxes as opposed to search results relating to making more money, buying stuff, and going on vacations. Time period: March, April.

* Memorial Day Weekend. Memorial Day is the traditional start of Summer. After researching car incentives for over 10 years, Memorial Day Weekend, and the following 30 days, is the absolute best time to buy a car. One of the key reasons is that auto dealerships need to clear inventory for next year’s models which come out in the Fall. For example, the 2014 BMW 335i Coupe will come out in August 2013. This launch cycle is consistent with practically every major auto manufacture in existence. Memorial Day Weekend will also have brand new left over inventory from the previous year. These are often the best deals because you not only get a new car, you get a huge discount, and a warranty that starts at the time of purchase and not the time of manufacture. For example, I found a 2012 BMW 335i Coupe for $11,500 off to $44,700. Time period: End of May and the month of June.

* Labor Day Weekend. Labor Day Weekend marks the end of Summer and the beginning of Fall. Vacation is over and its back to the salt mines baby! A lot of people blow plenty of money during the Summer and the last thing on their mind is to spend tens of thousands of dollars on a new vehicle. Besides, folks who were looking for a new vehicle probably bought one just three to four months earlier during Memorial Day Weekend. However, because the following year’s models are now out in the Fall, current year models start looking very dated. Any left over current year models will be heavily discounted. Unfortunately, you will also be tempted by the new models! Time period: End of August, early September.

* End Of Year. There are always going to be end of year holiday sales. The best day of the year is probably the day before and the day after New Years where one day makes a car one year older or one year newer. Blue Book values plunge the first day of the New Year for example. Your new 2013 car come January 1, 2014 just doesn’t sound as new as on December 31, 2013. Time period: End of December.

If you just can’t wait for any of these four time periods, then at least wait until the end of the month. Car salespeople have quotas, and those who are lagging are the most motivated to sell you a car at the lowest of margins. It’s up to you to find the hungriest or greenest car salesperson at the dealership! The best time to refinance a mortgage very closely mimics the best time to buy a car due to similar sales incentives.

ONE NEGOTIATION TIP TO REMEMBER

 

If there’s one negotiation tip I’ve come away with after speaking to hundreds of car salespeople is that you must always be willing to walk away to get the best price. Even after you’ve spent an hour negotiating, walk away for a bit and go through the pros and cons. Get some lunch or literally go for a nice long walk. During this time period of wait, your salesperson will be wondering if you’ll ever come back. He’ll start doing the math on how much lower he’ll be willing to go if you do come back.

If you’ve decided now is the time to buy the car, go back and wait until he offers something extra before you start negotiating again. You should already have in mind through online research what the invoice, MSRP, and second hand price are for the car you like. Now it’s a matter of you being patient enough to get the deal of the year!

As for replacing Moose, I brought him to my trusty mechanic of 11 years to see what was wrong. He told me that I needed to replace my power steering pump and hoses as expected. Given that he’d have to take off the radiator to get in there, I told him to also replace my serpentine belt. You’re supposed to replace the belt every 100,000 miles and Moose already had 120,000 with no change! All in all, the cost came out to $880 vs. $1,600 if I were to take Moose to the dealer. Please never go to the dealer for service. If my mechanic said I’d have to spend more than $1,000 I would sadly have traded in Moose for a newer vehicle.

source: financialsamurai.com

Should I Get Roadside Assistance Coverage Insurance? Hell Yeah!

Every winter, I make the 180 mile trek from San Francisco to Squaw Valley, Lake Tahoe to enjoy the epic snow. There is truly nothing more magical than spending hours riding on powder and having a beer or two in the outdoor hot tub when you’re finished! Oh, the stories I could tell you about what happens in the hot tub.

On the other hand, there’s nothing more frustrating than getting a flat tire at night in the mountains while it’s snowing. I know how to change a tire, but I sure as hell don’t plan to risk my life changing a tire in darkness on a one lane road in the mountains while cars zoom by. I might get a nice settlement if I do get into an accident. But, I also might lose a leg in the process!

Every month, I spend 98 cents to get roadside assistance insurance for Moose. Add up the cost over 84 months of ownership, and we’re talking $83 worth of premiums. And you know what? My roadside assistance insurance is worth every penny! I already mentioned how my alternator died just as I was pulling into my garage thank goodness. A tow truck came when I got back from vacation to follow me to my mechanic thanks to roadside assistance. What I haven’t told you about are my other more traumatic incidences!

IT WAS A DARK AND STORMY NIGHT

 

Before Moose, there was Sherman, a beautiful two-door, 1989 BMW 635i coupe. He was champaign in color, with immaculate 18″ wheels and tinted windows. Every time I drove Sherman, I felt like a mafia don warped back in time. I bought him for a mere $2,400 and ended up investing $1,000 to get everything right, or so I thought!

I was driving back from Berkeley in the dumping rain when my brakes suddenly STOPPED WORKING! My heart panicked as I could see traffic start to bunch up about a quarter mile ahead so I immediately released the gas pedal.

I started weaving left to right to buy more travel time so Sherman would eventually come to a halt. I was only about ~60 feet away before I going to crash into a shiny new Mercedes when I saw a safety turnoff. Luckily, I managed to guide Sherman past the cars whizzing by to my right to come to a complete stop in the gravel pit.

My hands were shaking as I put both of them together and thanked my lucky stars. After staring dumbfoundly at the dashboard, which by now let up like a Christmas tree, I called roadside assistance for help. The rain was still pouring down as I waited for 40 minutes until a flatbed tow truck came. He hoisted Sherman up and I rode in the front. “Having a bad day?“, the driver asked as we headed towards my mechanic.

I WOULD HAVE PAID SO MUCH MORE

 

If it wasn’t for roadside assistance, I’d probably just sit there like a vegetable for a while. Maybe the Bridge Authority would have come out to finally help. I guess my marbles would have returned to eventually call for a tow truck before the age of smartphones. The tow would have cost me at least $300 + mileage to get Sherman back to the City. With roadside assistance, I didn’t have to pay a penny.

People who don’t have roadside assistance don’t understand how difficult the situation can be until they are in a bind. There is something priceless by just dialing your insurance company’s roadside assistance hotline to get someone over within an hour. Then there is the obvious monetary savings as well. I’ve needed roadside assistance six times in the past 11 years. The 98 cents a month I pay is nothing!

Here are some conditions which should propel you to get roadside assistance:

* If you drive to work
* If you drive long distances to work
* If you drive in inclement weather
* If you drive an old car
* Your car has a history of maintenance problems
* You bought a second hand car and don’t know its full history
* If you have no clue on how to fix or maintain your car
* If you enjoy peace of mind

With winter coming, I encourage everybody to call their insurance company to add on roadside assistance. At least inquire about the costs and benefits. If the $5-10 a month is too much, take it off once better weather returns!

source: financialsamurai.com

Obama narrows choices for new Fed chairman - NY Times

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Barack Obama has narrowed his choices to succeed Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke to "some extraordinary candidates" and will announce his pick "over the next several months," he said in an interview with the New York Times.

In the interview, released on Saturday, Obama said he wanted a Fed leader who would focus on helping the economy grow and not just work abstractly to keep inflation in check and markets stable, the Times reported.

"The idea is to promote those things in service of the lives of ordinary Americans getting better," Obama said. "I want a Fed chairman that can step back and look at that objectively and say, 'Let's make sure that we're growing the economy,'" he said.

Former U.S. Treasury Secretary Lawrence Summers and Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen are thought to be the two top candidates for the job.

Senior White House officials said earlier this week Obama had made no decision about who to nominate to replace Bernanke when his term expires on Jan. 31. Bernanke, who has led the Fed since 2006, is widely believed not to want to stay on for a third four-year term.

The central bank plays a key role in guiding the world's largest economy and has taken on new financial oversight responsibilities following the worst U.S. financial crisis since the Great Depression.

 Summers is a former economic adviser to Obama. Yellen is a former Clinton administration official; she would be the first woman to lead the Fed. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

US businesses set to step up capital goods spending

Washington — A gauge of planned business spending on capital goods rose in June, buoying hopes of an acceleration in economic growth in the second half of 2013.

The data on Thursday was the latest to suggest factory activity was regaining some momentum after hitting a soft patch earlier this year and it fit in with views that the drag on the economy from tighter fiscal policy was ebbing.

A separate report showed new claims for jobless benefits edged higher last week, but remained within a range that suggests the labor market's recovery is on track.

Non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy for business spending plans, increased 0.7 percent last month, the Commerce Department said. May's gain was also revised higher, to 2.2 percent from 1.5 percent.

"That seems to portend an increase in capex as we roll into the third quarter and suggests that third-quarter growth is going to pick-up," said Jacob Oubina, senior US economist at RBC Capital Markets in New York.

However, shipments of these so-called core capital goods—used to calculate equipment and software spending in the gross domestic product report, fell 0.9 percent last month. The drop, which followed a 1.9 percent increase in May, was a reminder of just how much economic growth in the second quarter slowed.

Forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers cut its projection for second quarter GDP growth by two-tenths of a percentage point to a 0.5 percent annual rate on the weak shipments number. JPMorgan also lowered its forecast to 0.5 percent.

Higher taxes and deep government spending cuts have dampened economic activity in the first half of the year, but the drag appears to be fading.

In addition to the increase in planned business investment spending, the report showed overall orders for long-lasting manufactured goods jumped 4.2 percent as demand for transportation goods and machinery increased.

It was a third straight month of gains and pushed orders for these goods, which range from toasters to aircraft, to a record high, surpassing the previous peak reached in December 2007, the month the economy slipped into recession.

Labor market improving

While a separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 7,000 to 343,000 last week, economists said volatility linked to annual auto plant shutdowns was likely distorting the picture.

Automakers traditionally close plants in July for retooling. However, they have either shortened the shutdown period or completely forgone the closures, throwing off the model that the government uses to adjust the data for seasonal variations.

A four-week average of new claims, which irons out the week-to-week volatility, held at levels that economists say are consistent with improving labor market conditions.

"It appears from the four-week average of claims that there is no evidence of a pickup in job losses in July," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York. He said that bodes well for next week's report on employment growth in June. Economists expect that report to show US employers added 184,000 workers to their payrolls.

Although a surge in bookings for civilian and defense aircraft and solid demand for motor vehicles buoyed orders for durable goods in June, there were also signs of strength in other categories.

In addition, unfilled orders recorded their largest gain since December 2007. Even more encouraging, order books for core capital goods rose a solid 1.7 percent.


"With unfilled orders on the up and core orders swinging higher the odds of a shift higher in investment spending, so critical to the economic outlook, is beginning to gel," said Eric Green, chief economist at TD Securities in New York. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Corning develops germ-proof smartphone glass

After making scratchproof glass for smartphones and tablets in past years, Corning is now working on making its famous Gorilla Glass resistant to germs and glare as well, a tech site reported.

Mashable said Corning is adding anti-reflective and anti-microbial technology to further protect the touchscreens of mobile electronic devices.


"Corning is working to invent a cover glass that can kill both drug-resistant bacteria and drug-resistant viruses," it quoted Corning senior vice-president and operations chief of staff Jeffrey Evenson as saying at the MIT Technology Review Mobile Summit 2013 last June.


Evenson said Corning started its work on anti-microbial technology for the health care industry, but eventually realized a bigger market for the successor of Gorilla Glass.

Mashable noted germ-fighting screens would be good news for any consumer as recent studies indicated cell phones have more germs than a toilet seat, kitchen counter, a pet's food dish, checkout screen and doorknob.

Also, Evenson said Corning is working on anti-reflective glass to counter screen glare.

"It's going to make sunlight reading much, much easier," Mashable quoted Evenson as saying. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Stem cell advance boosts prospects for retina treatment

PARIS - Blind mice have been able to see once more in a laboratory exploit that marks a further boost for the fast-moving field of retinal therapy, according to a study published on Sunday.

Scientists in Britain used stem cells—early-stage, highly versatile cells—taken from mice embryos, and cultured them in a lab dish so that they differentiated into immature photoreceptors, the light-catching cells in the retina.

Around 200,000 of these cells were then injected into the mice's retinas, some of which integrated smoothly with local cells to restore sight.

The rodents were put through their paces in a water maze and examined by optometry to confirm that they responded to light.

Embryonic stem cells "could in future provide a potentially unlimited supply of health photoreceptors for retinal transplantations to treat blindness in humans," Britain's Medical Research Council (MRC) said in a press release.

Photoreceptor loss lies behind degenerative eye diseases such as retinitis pigmentosa and age-related macular degeneration, also called AMD.

Stem cells have triggered a huge interest and investment on the back of hopes that they can become replacement tissue, grown in a lab dish, for cells damaged by disease or accident.

But the exciting field has to overcome big obstacles.

One is the ability to coax these immature cells into safely becoming the specialised cells that are needed, rather than turn cancerous.

This is where the new work marks a gain, according to lead researcher Robin Ali at the University College London Institute of Ophthalmology and Moorfields Eye Hospital.

His team previously found that sight could be restored in blind mice by transplanting immature photoreceptors called rod cells that were taken from the retinas of healthy rodents.

The latest research takes things further because the transplanted material comprises all the different nerve cells needed for sight—and they were not taken from other animals.

Instead, they were grown in a lab and differentiated into the right cells thanks to a new technique, pioneered in Japan, that replicates the shape of the retina.

"Over recent years, scientists have become pretty good at working with stem cells and coaxing them to develop into different types of adult cells and tissues," said Ali.

"But until recently, the complex structure of the retina has proved difficult to reproduce in the lab. This is probably because the type of cell culture we were using was not able to recreate the developmental process that would happen in a normal embryo."

Ali added: "The next step will be to refine this technique using human cells to enable us to start clinical trials."

The study appears in the journal Nature Biotechnology.

Last month, Japanese authorities approved proposals for the world's first clinical trials using stem cells harvested from a patient's own body.

The goal is to test therapy for AMD using so-called induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS.

These are adult cells that have been reprogrammed to return to their infant, versatile state. Provided that they are proven safe, they can provide a non-controversial alternative to stem cells culled from early-stage embryos. —Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Hong Kong marks anniversary of Bruce Lee's death

HONG KONG - Hailed as cinema's first martial arts hero and a cinematic bridge between the cultures of East and West, Bruce Lee helped put Hong Kong on the movie world map.

So why are some in the city marking the 40th anniversary of his death in a toilet?

"In 1958, Bruce Lee was a student at St Francis Xavier's [College]," Wong Yiu-keung, chairman of the Bruce Lee Club, explains.

"One day, he was caught in a fight in a washroom by one of the fathers.

"But the priest also boxed back in his home country. So, he didn't punish him. Instead, he invited him to the boxing classes. Lee later participated in an interschool competition and won."

The incident was significant in Lee, who died from swelling of the brain aged just 32, deciding to tunnel his love of martial arts into something positive.

A short time afterwards he opened a martial arts school in the United States, where he was born.

Fans of Lee will visit his Hong Kong alma mater this weekend as one of several stops on an unofficial "Bruce Lee trail" in the former British colony, where the star spent his childhood.

Other points on the walk include Lee's statue on the Avenue of the Stars and the Bruce Lee Club house, both in the Tsim Sha Tsui neighbourhood of the southern Chinese city, which is without a permanent museum dedicated to the screen legend.

Fans will also take in a monastery in the New Territories which featured in perhaps his most famous movie, "Enter the Dragon".

A five-year exhibition at the Hong Kong Heritage Museum, featuring memorabilia from his life and films including his iconic yellow jumpsuit, was due to be opened Saturday by his daughter Shannon Lee.

"The way I know my father is not through media. The way I know my father is in number of different ways," Lee, who was four when her father died, said Friday.

"It's through the people who knew him well, his friends, my family. It's also through his own words, because he wrote voluminously.

"I have all of his library books, thousands of books and he would underline in them and write notes in the margins, so I know him from him."

Some of those notebooks, poetry, and family photos are among 600 items showcased at the museum until 2018.

A 20th century cultural icon who founded Jeet Kune Do, Lee's untimely death in Hong Kong in 1973 left fans around the world reeling.

"I remember the funeral in Hong Kong primarily, because it was just so chaotic. There were so many people," his daughter said.

"It was hot, humid, and it was just sort of like this whirlwind. And there was so much going on and so much sadness and as a little kid, I just sort of remember being dragged through that whole process and the feeling of the chaos all around me."

Lee's legacy lived on, inspiring a new generation of actors such as Jackie Chan and breaking down barriers for Asian actors in Hollywood.

"He won his fame from Kung Fu, which does not need language to deliver," Lee's biographer Roger Lo said.

"Just like dance and music. You can watch it whoever you are. It is like Charlie Chaplin whose silent movies were borderless.

"Lee was also a bridge between the cultures of East and West. He was educated both in Hong Kong and the United States.

"He appeared on American televisions and also Chinese movie theatres," he added.

Chaplin Chang, the author of a new biography "The Bruce Lee They Knew" published this month, says that Lee's real life personality, not just screen persona, are part of his enduring appeal.

"People may give him god-like status. But he is just a human."

Chang, in the Chinese-language version of his biography, attempts to portray the action hero from an unconventional perspective, showing that the screen icon could be difficult at times but was generally friendly towards his subordinates.

"He was not only (about) movies, nor was he only (about) martial arts. With his philosophy, his legacy lives on for generations. Therefore, he is admired by many even now," Chang said.
-  Agence France-Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

Marvel's 'agents' hope to entice Comic-Con fans to lagging ABC

LOS ANGELES - Disney offered Marvel comic devotees an exclusive look at its new television series "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" on Friday as its ABC network hopes to engage the "super fans" at Comic-Con to bounce back from a ratings decline.

Banking on the huge success of Marvel's films that include 2012's "Avengers," ABC and Disney's television series tries to lure young fans of the films to a new platform for the universe created by the comic books.

They had their first shot at San Diego's annual comic convention, which has become a venue for television studios to bring fans their favorite shows, building hype around upcoming seasons.

Unlike the films that focus on superheroes such as Iron Man, Thor and Captain America, "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" side-steps costumed crime-fighters to center on Agent Phil Coulson, a high-level government official who commands Marvel's Supreme Headquarters, International Espionage, Law-Enforcement Division.

The series' executive producer, Joss Whedon, creator of sci-fi TV series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and director of Disney's Marvel box office hit films "Thor" and "Avengers," said on Friday that the show would take a more human focus.

"'The Avengers' is the epicenter of the Marvel universe and this is the periphery, this is about the people who did not get the big hammer or gamma radiation, and are dealing with things on a human scale," Whedon told reporters.

For ABC, which has suffered a ratings decline that put it last of the four largest TV networks among the young audience coveted by advertisers, Comic-Con is a quick way to tap into Marvel's devoted fan base.

Last year's "The Avengers" had the largest box office opening at the North American box office, while this year's "Iron Man 3" grossed more than $400 million at domestic theaters.

Not much is known about "Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D" but on Friday, fans were given an exclusive look at the first episode of the television series, set to air on Sept. 24.

Coulson, played by Clark Gregg, has had supporting roles in the "Iron Man," "Thor" and "Avengers" films, where he quickly became a hit with his humorous and often sarcastic one-liners.

"'The Avengers' made him a fan favorite, he was the audience surrogate in the movies...and the way Clark brings him to life, people love that," said Jeff Bell, the show's co-writer and producer.

In "Avengers," Coulson was seemingly killed off, but in the trailer for the new television show, the agent is very much alive and the mystery behind his death is resolved.

'The most dialed in'

Another network on high display on Friday was HBO, which brings its raunchy vampire series "True Blood" and medieval fantasy series "Game of Thrones" to San Diego each year, and both attract a slew of fans.

"Game of Thrones" devotees dressed as their favorite character from the show to attend the panel featuring cast and crew, who discussed the past season. HBO is also hosting fan interactive experiences, parties with the cast. It even debuted a new beer in honor of the show.

"Comic-Con over the past few years has seen such a growth in terms of size and scale of what's going on, there's a lot more noise and clutter, and we're always looking for ways to stand out in the market there," said Zach Enterlin, HBO's senior vice president of program advertising.

"The fans that come to San Diego are almost super fans, and the most dialed-in and most engaged and most passionate," he added.


Comic-Con, now in its 44th year, attracts more than 125,000 people and brought an estimated $75 million to the city of San Diego last year, according to the San Diego Convention Center. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Apple releases 3rd beta of iOS 7 to developers

Apple Inc. has released to developers the third beta of its upcoming iOS operating system for mobile devices such as the iPhone and iPad.

The latest beta includes performance improvements and fixes for problems including issues with Messages, iCloud and AirPlay apps, tech site CNET reported.

“The user interface received a few tweaks as well, including more transparent folders, redesigned music controls, and the calendar now shows which days you have events on. The update also brought with it enhancements to FaceTime and a better Siri voice,” CNET said.

It said the latest beta came two weeks after the second beta of iOS 7.

CNET also said it is “standard practice” for Apple to release several beta versions of software before it rolls it out to the public.

Apple had four beta versions for iOS 6, it noted.

“So we can expect at least one more beta to arrive for iOS 7,” CNET said. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Microsoft Outlook web app coming to iPhone, iPad

Users of Apple's iPhone and iPad devices may now use Outlook Web App, after Microsoft released a native app for the platform.

Steve Chew, a senior product marketing manager in the Exchange technical marketing team, said the user must be subscribed to Office 365 to use the software.

"Our goal is to help our customers remain productive anytime, anywhere.  This includes providing a great email experience on smartphones and tablets," he said in a blog post.

He said OWA for iPhone and iPad offer the same email, calendar and contact functionality a user gets in Outlook Web App on the browser.

But these apps also offer additional capabilities "that are only possible through native integration of the app with mobile devices," he added.

Chew said a subscription to Office 365 that includes the latest update of Exchange Online is required to use the app.

Meanwhile, Microsoft said voice input is only available in English (AU, CA, GB, IN, and US) for now.

It added the app must be running on the device for it to be wiped remotely. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Google eyes television over the internet

NEW YORK CITY - US Internet giant Google is scrambling to deliver pay television online and has met with some content providers on licensing, The Wall Street Journal reports Tuesday.

"If the Web giant goes ahead with the idea, it would join several other companies planning to offer services that deliver cable TV-style packages of channels over broadband connections," the Journal reported.

"Intel Corp. and Sony Corp. are both working on similar offerings, while Apple Inc. has pitched various TV licensing ideas to media companies in the past couple of years," the report said.

Google's effort, if successful, has the potential to seriously undermine the current pay-cable television "ecosystem," it added. — Agence France Presse

source: gmanetwork.com

U.S. consumer inflation stabilizing, industrial output up

WASHINGTON - U.S. consumer prices accelerated in June and underlying inflation pressures showed signs of stabilizing, keeping on track expectations the Federal Reserve will start tapering its bond purchases later this year.
   
Other data on Tuesday showed industrial production pushed higher in June as manufacturing output found some momentum, raising hope a recent slowdown in factory activity was either over or close to running its course.
   
The Labor Department said its Consumer Price Index increased 0.5 percent, the largest rise since February, after nudging up 0.1 percent in May. Gasoline prices accounted for about two thirds of the increase in the CPI.
   
Economists polled by Reuters had expected consumer inflation to increase 0.3 percent last month.
   
In the 12 months through June, consumer prices advanced 1.8 percent after rising 1.4 percent in May. It was also the largest increase since February.
   
Stripping out volatile energy and food, consumer prices increased 0.2 percent for a second straight month. That took the increase over the 12 months to June to 1.6 percent, the smallest increase since June 2011. The so-called core CPI had increased 1.7 percent in May.
   
While both inflation measures remain below the Federal Reserve's 2 percent target, details of the report suggested the recent disinflation trend was fading, with medical care costs rising. Prices for new motor vehicles, apparel and household furnishings also increased.
   
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke, who last month said the central bank would start cutting back the $85 billion in bonds it is purchasing each month to keep borrowing costs low, has viewed the low inflation as temporary and expects prices to push higher.
   
Alan Ruskin, an analyst at Deutsche Bank in New York, said the report should "counter arguments that there is a material deflation risk."
   
In a separate report, the Fed said output at the nation's factories, mines and utilities rose 0.3 percent last month after a flat reading in May. The increase reflected a 0.3 percent rise in manufacturing output.
  
Economists said it suggested some pickup in economic activity at the end of the second-quarter.
  
"If manufacturing growth is on the verge of accelerating into the second half of the year, this, along with solid gains in housing, should support growth in the second half of 2013," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.
   
Prices creeping up
   
Tepid economic growth has been keeping a lid on inflation pressures. While some pockets of pricing power are starting to gradually emerge, there is no consensus on whether this trend will hold, given still-high unemployment.
   
Last month, gasoline prices soared 6.3 percent after being flat in May. June's increase in the cost of gasoline was the largest since February. When unadjusted for seasonal fluctuations, gasoline prices rose only 0.6 percent.
   
Food prices increased 0.2 percent after slipping 0.1 percent the prior month.
   
Overall housing costs maintained their steady rise, with owners' equivalent rent - which accounts for about a third of the core CPI - increasing 0.2 percent after a similar gain in  May.
   
Medical care services rose 0.4 percent after being flat in May, while medical care commodities rebounded 0.5 percent as the cost of prescription drugs increased. Medical care commodities had dropped 0.5 percent the previous month.
   
Weak medical care costs have been the one of the key contributors to the low inflation rate.
   
Economists cite a host of reasons for the downward pressure on health costs, ranging from the expiration of patents on a number of popular prescription drugs to government spending cuts that are reducing payments to doctors and hospitals for Medicare.
   
"It's unclear we have seen all the medical care softness or we might see softness later this year from the effect of sequester," said Laura Rosner, an economist at BNP Paribas in New York.
   
Apparel prices pushed up 0.9 percent, the largest increase since August 2011, after edging up 0.2 percent in May.

New motor vehicle prices increased 0.3 percent. They had been flat in May. Prices for used cars and trucks fell for a second straight month. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Canada coroner says Glee star Monteith died of heroin-alcohol overdose

CALGARY, Alberta  - Canadian authorities on Tuesday said Cory Monteith, the 31-year-old heartthrob of Fox's musical-comedy television series "Glee," died of an overdose of heroin and alcohol.

The British Columbia Coroners Service said in a release that post-mortem testing on the star, who was found dead on Saturday in a Vancouver hotel room, died of "a mixed-drug toxicity involving heroin and alcohol."

However, the service said Monteith's death was unlikely to have been intentional.

"It should be noted that at this point there is no evidence to suggest Mr. Monteith's death was anything other than a most-tragic accident," the Coroners Service said.  — Reuters

 

source: gmanetowrk.com

LG unveils world's thinnest HD LCD smartphone panel

Smartphones promise to get even slimmer - but more high-definition - in the coming months, after electronics firm LG unveiled what it claims to be the world's slimmest display.

LG Display said its new Full HD LCD panel for smartphones measures 5.2 inches, and promises a "superior viewing experience."

"Only 2.2mm thin with a 2.3mm bezel, LG Display’s new panel is both slimmest and narrowest among existing Full HD LCD panels designed for mobile devices. This world’s slimmest Full HD LCD panel will provide larger visible display space on smartphones, critical as mobile devices are used for multimedia viewing more than ever before," it said.

At the heart of the display is LG's Advanced One-Glass-Solution (OGS), which promises an enhanced touch screen experience.

It also uses Dual Flexible Printed Circuits between the panel and touch film, reducing the number of lines on the panel by more than 30 percent.

"Utilization of a direct bonding system has also resulted in Optical Clear Resin between the panel and touch film for greater brightness," it said.

The panel has 1,080X1,920 pixels consisting of Red, Green, Blue (RGB) sub-pixels, and a brightness of 535 nits at maximum.

An Ambient Contrast Ratio results in a reading of 3.74:1 based on 10,000 lux, allowing good performance even in strong outdoor sunlight.

However, tech site CNET said LG isn't alone in working on such advanced displays. So are Samsung, Nokia, and Apple.

These companies "have been working on flexible smartphone and tablet screens for years," it added. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Canadian authorities to perform autopsy on 'Glee' star Monteith

Canadian authorities said on Monday they will perform an autopsy including toxicology tests to determine the cause of death of actor Cory Monteith, the 31-year-old heartthrob of Fox's musical-comedy television series "Glee" who was found dead on Saturday in a Vancouver hotel room.

The British Columbia Coroners Service said the autopsy will be carried out immediately but results will not be available for several days. Toxicology tests are used to determine if drugs, alcohol or other substances were in his body at the time of death.

"We do understand there's a lot of public interest in this case and we will try to get it done in as good a time as we can without compromising the integrity of the investigation," said Barbara McLintock, a spokeswoman for the Coroners Service.

Monteith was found dead shortly after noon on Saturday in his room at the Fairmont Pacific Rim hotel. Vancouver police said they believe he was alone in the room after returning to the hotel early on Saturday morning.

Monteith was public about his struggles with substance abuse. In April, he completed voluntary treatment for unspecified substance addiction at a rehab facility. He had also been treated in a facility at age 19.

The actor, who grew up in Victoria, British Columbia, told Parade magazine in 2011 that he had a serious drug problem during his teenage years for which he received treatment.

Monteith began his career in a number of small roles leading up to a recurring part between 2006 and 2007 in the ABC Family science-fiction drama "Kyle XY" and another role around the same time on the MTV series "Kaya."

"Glee," a show set in the small town of Lima, Ohio, was Monteith's breakthrough. The show is centered on a high school glee club. Popular for its song and dance routines and big-name guest stars, the show has won Golden Globe and Peabody awards.

Monteith played high school athlete Finn Hudson in the series. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Halle Berry, Olivier Martinez marry in France

NEW YORK - Actress Halle Berry and French actor Olivier Martinez were married over the weekend in France, her representative said on Sunday.

Berry, 46, a best actress Oscar winner for the 2001 film "Monster's Ball," is pregnant with the couple's child due this fall. They announced their engagement early last year.

Berry and Martinez, 47, who starred in "Unfaithful" and "Dark Tide," the latter co-starring with Berry, married on Saturday at a chateau in Vallery, France, attended by friends and family members.


It is the third marriage for Berry, who is divorced from baseball player David Justice and singer Eric Benet and has a daughter with Gabriel Aubry. Martinez has never previously married and was once romantically linked to singer Kylie Minogue. — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

'Cry analyzer' helps detect health problems in babies

Your baby's cries may mean more than "Feed me" or "Change my diapers" – they could also contain crucial clues of possible health problems.

Working on this theory, researchers at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital have developed a tool that analyzes babies' cries.

"Slight variations in cries, mostly imperceptible to the human ear, can be a 'window into the brain' that could allow for early intervention," Brown University said.


The new tool will perform "finely tuned acoustic analyses" of babies’ cries.

"With the tool, the team hopes their baby cry analyzer will lead to new ways for researchers and clinicians to use cry in identifying children with neurological problems or developmental disorders," the university said.

Stephen Sheinkopf, assistant professor of psychiatry and human behavior at Brown, who helped develop the new tool, said babies' cries contain subtle clues to their condition.

He said birth trauma or brain injury stemming from complications in pregnancy or birth, or extremely premature births can have ongoing medical effects.

"Cry analysis can be a noninvasive way to get a measurement of these disruptions in the neuro-biological and neuro-behavioral systems in very young babies,” he said.

Sheinkopf said he plans to use the tool to look for cry features that might indicate autism.

“We’ve known for a long time that older individuals with autism produce sounds or vocalizations that are unusual or atypical. So vocalizations in babies have been discussed as being useful in developing early identification tools for autism. That’s been a major challenge. How do you find signs of autism in infancy?” he said.

The cry analyzer breaks down recorded cries into 12.5-millisecond frames, and analyzes each frame using at least 80 parameters.

“It’s a comprehensive tool for getting as much important stuff out of a baby cry that we can,” said Harvey Silverman, professor of engineering and director of Brown’s Laboratory for Engineering Man/Machine Systems.

Silverman and his graduate students Brian Reggiannini and Xiaoxue Li worked with Sheinkopf and Barry Lester, director of Brown’s Center for the Study of Children at Risk, on the project.

Lester, who studied baby cries for years, says this research may trace its roots to the 1960s with a disorder called Cri du chat (cry of the cat) syndrome.

Cri du chat stems from a genetic anomaly similar to Down syndrome, and babies who have it have a distinct, high-pitched cry.

“The idea is that cry can be a window into the brain,” Lester said.

“Cry is an early warning sign that can be used in the context of looking at the whole baby,” he added. — LBG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Actress Sarah Lahbati posts P10k bail for libel case

 

Following her return to the Philippines, actress and TV personality Sarah Lahbati on Friday posted P10,000 bail before the Makati City Regional Trial Court.

 

The bail was in connection with the libel suit lodged against her by GMA Films President Atty. Annette Gozon-Abrogar, over posts Lahbati allegedly made on her Twitter account.

 

Among those who accompanied Lahbati in posting bail at the Makati City Regional Trial Court Branch 59 were her mother and lawyer, radio dzBB's Manny Vargas reported.

The report said the court set Aug. 22 as the date for Lahbati's arraignment, where she has to personally appear.

Gozon-Abrogar lodged a libel suit against Lahbati over posts on Lahbati's Twitter account linking the GMA Films president to alleged irregularities in management.

 

Earlier this year, Lahbati left the country supposedly to go on vacation in Switzerland. —KG, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

 

Pirate Bay founder raising funds for spy-proof messaging app

As many netizens are still concerned over privacy in the wake of reports about US government surveillance, a messaging app promising to protect the privacy of its users is now in the works.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the developer of the app is the founder of The Pirate Bay, which had been linked to the distribution of pirated materials on the Internet.

"We're building a message app where no one can listen in, not even us. We would rather close down the service before letting anyone in," the developers said on the app's homepage.

Hemlis, taken from Swedish word for “secret,” uses end-to-end encryption to ensure only the two people in a text conversation will have access to its data.

Tech site GigaOM said one of those behind the app is Peter Sunde, co-founder of The Pirate Bay.

"Unlike traditional messaging apps, which leave data trails that companies and the government can access, the security within Hemlis means that no outside force—not even Sunde and his team—would be able to see a message’s contents," it said.

 

 

To earn revenue from the app, Sunde and his team charges to unlock extra features in the app. — VC, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com

Dollar at three-year high, bonds gain as Greek deal eyed

London — The dollar climbed to a three-year high on Monday and gold was hovering near a three-year low after last week's strong US jobs data fed expectations that the country's central bank could soon wind back stimulus.

The dollar index, which measures the greenback against a basket of major currencies, rose to 84.588, its highest since July 2010, before a slight dip in early European trading left it at 84.450.

Friday's US jobs data bolstered the view the Federal Reserve will soon start reducing its long-running stimulus program, but analysts are now wondering whether the dollar's recent rise can continue at the same pace.

"Clearly the dollar is on the front foot and so the question is: can it sustain the momentum?" said Rabobank senior currency strategist Jane Foley.

"As it gains ground it acts as implicit monetary tightening so that could make some of the Federal Reserve governors quite nervous. I do think there will be plenty of opportunity to take some profits in these dollar positions."

After falls in Asia, Europe's broad FTSEurofirst 300 stock index started the week up 1 percent, regaining some of the ground lost at the end of last week. London's FTSE, Frankfurt's DAX and Paris's CAC 40 climbed 1 - 1.3 percent.

Investors expect Greece to reach a deal over its latest aid payment at a meeting of euro zone finance ministers later in the day, and there was relief after weekend moves to calm Portugal's political crisis.

Europe's bond markets were calmer as a result with benchmark German Bunds and euro zone periphery debt all higher after last week's turmoil in Portugal and Greece and Friday's strong US data.

Egypt tensions

The Fed's plans to cut back its current $85-billion-a-month bond buying program has been the main driver of financial markets over the last month, driving up global bond yields and triggering big swings in other asset markets.

Gold, often favored as a hedge against inflation which can be a by-product of stimulus programs, was near a three-year low at $1,227.59 an ounce after its recent sell-off.

Emerging markets have been particularly hard hit by the Fed's policy shift. Investors had directed much of the cheap Fed cash into emerging assets in search of higher yields and that trend is now reversing as investors look to increase their exposure to the United States again.

The Indian rupee hit a record low on Monday, leading declines among emerging Asian currencies, with sentiment also bruised by China's plan to choke off credit in a bid to force consolidation in industries plagued by overcapacity.

Elsewhere, the rising US dollar nudged Brent crude oil futures below $108 a barrel, although an escalation of political tensions in Egypt prevented too much slippage.

State television said 42 people were killed on Monday in Cairo, when the Muslim Brotherhood said shots were fired at supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi near the military building where he is being held.


"What's underpinning the strength in the oil market is the tensions out of the Middle East," said Ben Le Brun, an analyst at OptionsXpress in Sydney. "That's going to continue to put a floor under oil prices." — Reuters

source: gmanetwork.com

Asiana Airlines identifies two fatalities in San Francisco crash; flight recorders recovered

Two passengers killed in the crash of an Asiana Airlines Boeing 777 landing at San Francisco were identified as 16-year-old Chinese nationals, an airline spokesperson said on Sunday.

The dead were identified as Ye Meng Yuan and Wang Lin Jia, both students, Asiana Airlines said.

The Boeing 777 crashed on Saturday, bursting into flames, killing the two young passengers and injuring more than 180 people, officials said.

U.S. officials examined flight information recorders and began investigating the crash.

There was no immediate indication of the cause of Saturday's accident but Asiana said mechanical failure did not appear to be a factor. The airline declined to blame either the pilot or the San Francisco control tower.

Eric Weiss, a spokesman for the National Transportation Safety Board, said the plane's "black boxes" - the cockpit voice recorder and flight data recorder - had been recovered and were being sent to Washington for analysis. The Federal Aviation Administration also was investigating.

NTSB Chairman Deborah Hersman said on Sunday there was no indication of a criminal act but it was too early to determine what went wrong.

"Everything is still on the table," she said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Witnesses said the tail of the plane, which was coming in from Seoul, appeared to hit the approach area of the runway that juts into San Francisco Bay. One witness said the plane appeared to be coming in too low and too fast.

The tail came off and the aircraft appeared to bounce violently, scattering a trail of debris before coming to rest on the tarmac.

Pictures taken by survivors showed passengers hurrying away from the wrecked plane. Thick smoke billowed from the fuselage and TV footage later showed the aircraft gutted and blackened by fire. Much of its roof was gone.

The dead were both teenage female Chinese nationals who had been seated at the rear of the aircraft, according to government officials in Seoul and Asiana.

The crash was the first fatal accident involving the Boeing 777, a popular long-range jet that has been in service since 1995. It was the first fatal commercial airline accident in the United States since a regional plane operated by Colgan Air crashed in New York in 2009.

"For now, we acknowledge that there were no problems caused by the 777-200 plane or (its) engines," Yoon Young-doo, the president and CEO of the airline, told reporters on Sunday at the company headquarters on the outskirts of Seoul.

Asiana said the flight, which had originated in Shanghai, had carried 291 passengers and 16 crew members. The passengers included 141 Chinese, 77 South Koreans, 61 U.S. citizens and one Japanese citizen but the airline did not give the nationality of the others.

Dale Carnes, assistant deputy chief of the San Francisco Fire Department, said 49 people were hospitalized with serious injuries. Another 132 suffered moderate and minor injuries.

Five people were in critical condition at San Francisco General Hospital, according to spokeswoman Rachael Kagan. She said a total of 52 people were treated for burns, fractures and internal injuries. Three people were critical at Stanford Hospital.

San Francisco International Airport, a major West Coast hub and gateway to Asia, was shut down for several hours after the crash as scores of safety workers scoured the airfield for debris.

'TOO LOW AND TOO FAST'

Survivor Benjamin Levy told a local NBC station he believed the Asiana plane had been coming in too low.

"I know the airport pretty well, so I realized the guy was a bit too low, too fast, and somehow he was not going to hit the runway on time, so he was too low ... he put some gas and tried to go up again," he said in a telephone interview.

"But it was too late, so we hit the runway pretty bad, and then we started going up in the air again, and then landed again, pretty hard."

Levy said he opened an emergency door and ushered people out. "We got pretty much everyone in the back section of the plane out," he said. "When we got out there was some smoke. There was no fire then. The fire came afterward."

Photos and TV images showed that emergency chutes had been deployed from at least two of the aircraft's exits.

Ying Kong of the Bay Area city of Albany, who was waiting at the airport for her brother-in-law, Fawen Yan, 47, from Richmond, California, said he telephoned her after surviving the crash to say it had been "really smoky and scary."

"He feels it difficult to breathe, but he's OK," she said. "He said a lot of people had to run."

Vedpal Singh, a native of India, was on board the flight along with his wife and son when the aircraft struck the landing strip.

"Your instincts take over. You don't know what's going on," said Singh, who had his arm in a sling as he walked through the airport's international terminal and told reporters he had suffered a fractured collar bone.

"I'm very, very thankful to God," he said.

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee said Saturday night, "It is incredible and very lucky that we have so many survivors."

INVESTIGATION UNDER WAY

The Asiana flight left Seoul at 5:04 p.m. Korean time and touched down in San Francisco at 11:28 a.m PDT, according to FlightAware, a website that tracks flights.

Asiana, South Korea's junior carrier, has had two other fatal crashes in its 25-year history.

A senior Asiana official said the pilot was Lee Jeong-min, a veteran pilot who has spent his career with the airline. He was among four pilots on the plane who rotated on two-person shifts during the 10-hour flight, the official said.

Boeing expressed concern for those on board and said it will provide technical assistance to the NTSB investigation.

A San Francisco airport spokesman said that a component of the facility's instrument landing system that tracks an incoming airplane's glide path was not working on Saturday.

Pilots and air safety experts said the glide path technology was far from essential for a safe landing in good weather.

A British Airways 777-200ER crash-landed a few yards short of a runway at London's Heathrow Airport in 2008. All on board survived. Investigators blamed the crash on fuel blockages caused by ice particles formed during the long flight from Beijing - a finding that led to changes in the design of the Rolls-Royce engines used on some 777s.

The Asiana 777-200ER that crashed in San Francisco on Saturday was powered by engines from Pratt & Whitney, a subsidiary of United Technologies.  — Reuters

 

source: gmanetwork.com

Hackers hit Club Nintendo

Hackers broke into a website of Japan-based gaming company Nintendo, and may have compromised the data of several Japan-based members of its Club Nintendo, a gamer-oriented site reported.

Nintendo said it noted some 23,000 unauthorized log-ins with 15 million attempts between June 9 and July 4 on Club Nintendo's Japanese site, Kotaku.com reported.

"In Japan, it's possible that Club Nintendo members' full names, home addresses, phone numbers, and mail addresses were compromised," it said.

However, it said credit cards may not be an issue since these are not used with Club Nintendo.

For now, it said Nintendo is strengthening its security, voiding current passwords and asking Club Nintendo members to change their passwords via email.

Club Nintendo is Nintendo's member rewards site, which offers products in exchange for members registering their consoles and games.

A separate report on The Next Web said Nintendo started an investigation on July 2 after noting a “large” number of errors on the site.

It added there is "absolutely no chance" of any credit or debit card information being leaked as part of the breach.

"Players can only redeem prizes based on the points they receive for each registered game or console, somewhat reducing the impact of the hack," it said. — TJD, GMA News

source: gmanetwork.com