1 day ago

NEW YORK (AP) — The government is predicting that it won’t be as hot this summer as it was last year. But you’ll probably still have the air conditioner going full blast at your small business. And you could probably shave some money off your electric bill without much effort.

If you take some steps now, you can save a lot. And not just this summer. The same things you do to cut your cooling costs now will save you money when it gets colder and you turn the heat back on.

Here’s a comforting thought for a new business owner who has an office for the first time: The same sort of things you do at home to cut your air conditioning expenses will apply for your workspace.

GET A NEW THERMOSTAT — AND SOME FANS

If you don’t have a programmable thermostat, get one. You can set it so the air conditioner goes on half an hour or an hour before your staff gets to work. And it can shut down automatically when it’s time for everyone to go home. You can bet that someone will forget to turn your cooling system off several times during the summer, but that won’t be a problem if you have an automatic shutdown scheduled.

Consider buying some fans or air circulators as well. They’re inexpensive, and they can help move cool air around an office. They can be particularly helpful if you have window or wall air conditioners rather than a central system where the cool air comes out of several ducts.

GET YOUR EQUIPMENT SERVICED

You need to have your air conditioning unit serviced. Don’t try to save money by skipping a service call this year. You’ll end up spending more to run it if your unit hasn’t been checked and cleaned. The last thing you want is to have it die on you at the hottest part of the summer.

Don’t assume that because you had the a/c serviced at the start of summer you’re done. Energy consultants recommend that air conditioning unit filters be changed at least monthly.

If your unit is on its last legs, consider replacing it now. You can probably get a good price from an appliance dealer because many small companies are still being careful about spending.

Beyond air conditioning, you can also save money by being sure that all your equipment is running efficiently. Remember that electricity rates are higher during the summer. So it costs more to run your lights and computers and, if you have a factory, your manufacturing equipment. If they’re working well, it’ll cost you less.

And if you’re buying any new equipment, make sure it’s the most energy-efficient you can get. The government’s Energy Star website, www.energystar.gov , has advice on how to find appliances that will help you save on electric bills.

FILL THOSE CRACKS AND CREVICES

You might not realize that the cracks in your walls or crevices between floor boards are costing you money. In the winter, you’d feel the drafts as cold air comes in. But warm air that comes into your air-conditioned space isn’t as jarring. Look around your entire premises for spots that need caulking or filling and get it done. If your window sashes don’t shut tight, get some of those foam-pellet-filled snakes to block the air flow.

NEED MORE IDEAS?

The Internet has plenty of sites with information about how you can save energy in your business. Among them:

–The Small Business Administration has energy saving tips at www.sba.gov

–The Energy Department’s Energy Star site has information about making your small business more energy efficient, and about appliances and machinery that will save you money. It also has tips for specific kinds of businesses, like stores and restaurants. Visit www.energystar.gov

–State government websites may also have information. Here’s the address for Oklahoma’s: www.okcommerce.gov/State-Energy-Office/Energy-Saving-Tips

–Many utilities also have tips. Here’s the Georgia Power site for businesses: www.georgiapower.com

Copyright © 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

May 27 (Bloomberg) — Treasuries headed for a second weekly gain as a debt crisis in Europe and signs of slowing growth in the worlds largest economy increased demand for the relative safety of government debt.

US 10-year notes pared earlier losses after the number of Americans signing contracts to buy previously owned homes plunged more than forecast in April, a sign the industry that triggered the recession continues to struggle. The government sold $99 billion of notes this week.

Weve been grinding higher for a while now in a slow, steady appreciation, said Scott Sherman, an interest-rate strategist at Credit Suisse Group AG in New York, one of 20 primary dealers that trade directly with the Federal Reserve.

Ten-year yields were little changed at 3.06 percent as of 10:19 am in New York, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The 3.125 percent note due May 2021 traded at 100 17/32.

The yields, which has fallen nine basis points this week, dropped to 3.04 percent earlier today, the lowest since Dec. 7. The 10-year yield will advance to 3.84 percent by year-end, according to a Bloomberg survey of financial companies with the most recent forecasts given the heaviest weightings.

Trading of Treasuries is scheduled to end at 2 pm in New York today and stay closed on May 30 for Memorial Day.

Total Return

Treasuries have returned 1.46 percent in May, heading for the best month since August, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch data. They rose 1.15 percent in April and have returned 2.49 percent so far this year.

You cant rule out a further leg down in yields, but ultimately Treasuries are coming towards the end of their recent rally, said Nick Stamenkovic, a fixed-income strategist at RIA Capital Ltd. in Edinburgh. The soft patch in the US economy is going to be short-lived.

The index of pending home resales declined 12 percent after a revised 3.5 percent increase the prior month, the National Association of Realtors said today in Washington. The median forecast in a Bloomberg News survey called for a 1 percent decline.

Pending homes sales is big problem, said William Larkin, a fixed-income money manager at Salem, Massachusetts-based Cabot Money Management, which oversees $500 million. If you look at the economy and the structural unemployment, such a large portion of it is related to housing markets.

Consumer Activity

Consumer purchases rose 0.4 percent after a revised 0.5 percent gain the prior month that was smaller than previously estimated, Commerce Department figures showed today in Washington. The increase compared with the 0.5 percent median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Incomes climbed 0.4 percent, matching the median forecast.

Group of Eight leaders said a strengthening global economy will pave the way to cuts in the debt built up during the recession that followed the 2008 financial crisis.

Europe vowed to fight its fiscal woes with determination, while President Barack Obama promised a clear and credible US deficit-reduction strategy. Japan was allowed to put off savings measures until its economy rebounds from the March earthquake and tsunami.

The global recovery is gaining strength and is becoming more self-sustained, according to a statement after a two-day summit in Deauville, France. Without mapping out binding targets, the leaders pledged to remain focused on the action required to enhance the sustainability of public finances.

–With assistance from John Detrixhe in New York. Editors: Paul Cox

3 days ago

TORONTO — The Canadian dollar closed lower Wednesday, failing to get a lift from a surge in crude prices on signs of growing demand.

The loonie fell 0.19 of a cent at 102.26 cents US with the currency pressured by low expectations that the Bank of Canada will raise interest rates this summer.

“The combination of last week’s poor (economic) data and the fact that the BoC is not expected to make any significant changes in next week’s rate announcement will continue to weigh on the Canadian dollar,” said CanadianForex vice-president John Curran.

The central bank makes its next announcement on interest rates Tuesday.

Oil prices rose after data showed that U.S. crude inventories rose less than expected last week. The Energy Information Administration said oil inventories rose 600,000 barrels against expectations of a 1.6-million-barrel jump.

At the same time, gasoline inventories were up 3.8 million barrels while analysts had expected supplies to rise by 750,000 barrels.

The July crude contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange gained $1.73 to US$101.32 a barrel.

Metal prices also gained ground with the July copper contract on the New York Mercantile Exchange ahead nine cents to US$4.11 a pound.

Rising worries about the European government debt crisis helped send bullion prices higher for a fourth day. The June gold contract in New York gained $3.40 to US$1,526.70 an ounce

Greece continues to be the main driver of European debt concerns, even more so after meetings Tuesday indicated a lack of consensus between the government and opposition parties.

Markets had been spooked earlier in the day on rumours that Greece’s Socialist prime minister, George Papandreou, might decide to call early elections in an attempt to get a renewed mandate for a strategy to deal with the mountain of debt.

“The idea of putting the austerity measures to a referendum has been floated within Greece, though this seems extremely unlikely to happen unless the government is confident the measures would pass,” said a commentary from RBC Dominion Securities.

“This currently looks highly unlikely.”

Traders worried about a slowing of the global economy also took in some dismal American data. U.S. durable goods orders dropped 3.6 per cent in April, worse than the 2.4 per cent drop that analysts had expected.

Copyright © 2011 The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Trading the markets is sometimes like being a relationship counselor. There are times when its easy to see how one thing done or said affects the others actions. We use a fancy term for it, correlational analysis. When the correlation is positive, both things move in the same direction and when its negative, they move in opposite directions. Pretty straightforward stuff like when the Dollar falls, gold climbs. Thats a negative correlation based on inflation. Similarly, the stock market rises as interest rates decline because businesses find cheaper money for expansion and capital equipment acquisition. Unfortunately, every good therapist knows that relationships change over time. These markets, in particular, are not performing true to pattern.

Fortunately, in the financial world, we have tools that let us quantify these relationships. Now, its true that over the last year, gold has rallied and the Dollar has fallen. However, over the last couple of weeks, both the Dollar and gold have rallied. I think there is a significant change in the underlying nature of their relationship that could cause this to continue throughout the summer.

The primary reason for the Dollars strength has not been the domestic economy. The strength should be attributed to the global fear of a collapsing Euro, which attracts money to the US as a flight to safety. Weve talked at length about the troubles in Ireland and Greece. Well, Spain and Portugal are right behind them. The global credit markets are already pricing in the pending defaults. Greek 10 year bonds are yielding north of 16% and Ireland and Portugal are both above 9%. This compares to the UK Gilt 10 year yield of 3.3% and the US 10 year Notes yield of 3.1%. The European Union is caught between balancing what the Unions lenders will accept as payment versus what rights of autonomy the borrowers will relinquish to remain in the Union itself.

The new catch phrase is a, reprofiling of debt. This word isnt even in Microsofts spell check. However, this invention by the European Central Bank is really a synonym for, default. They want to extend the maturity dates of Greek debt. The Euro has fallen 7% as weve hunted through Websters Dictionary for, reprofile. The reprofiling or, restructuring of Greek debt would seriously devalue the 50 – 80 billion the ECB has already contributed monetarily and devastate the value of the European Unions political solidarity.

The same fear of a Euro collapse has attracted money to the gold market. This week, gold hit an all time high priced in Euros. Investors are looking for a safer holding facility for their liquid cash than the Euro currency can provide them with. This move has been extended as the ECB has chosen to cancel its June meeting while reprofiling studies are being completed for their newly scheduled July meeting. Consequently, there have been four trading days in the last ten where both gold and the Dollar have rallied more than half of a percent. This compares to six days in the last twelve months when this has happened.

The rise in the Dollar has also coincided with a flood of money into US Treasuries and a decline in the US stock market. Commercial traders are aggressively rotating their positions from stocks to bonds as the Euro Zone drama is playing out. This is taking the classic low yield/high growth stock market relationship and turning it into a low yield/no growth scenario more consistent with times of fear. Weve seen commercial money buying 10yr Notes in six of the last seven weeks and selling in the stock indexes in each of the last four weeks.

Reconciling relationships means being able to cope with change and allowing the relationships participants to grow in their own directions. Being able to recognize these changes in the marketplace as they are happening requires a sound combination of reading the back-stories and quantifying the participants actions.

This blog is published by Andy Waldock. Andy Waldock is a trader, analyst, broker and asset manager. Therefore, Andy Waldock may have positions for himself, his family, or, his clients in any market discussed. The blog is meant for educational purposes and to develop a dialogue among those with an interest in the commodity markets. The commodity markets employ a high degree of leverage and may not be suitable for all investors. There is substantial risk of loss in investing in futures.

You have to hand it to the American public, and yes, even to elected officials, for making the national debt a top-line issue in the national dialogue. It’s become increasingly difficult, in an era of Lindsay Lohan travails and royal weddings, to get people to focus on something as deadly serious and unexciting as the debt.

But as a Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll shows, people may not necessarily grasp the concept of the debt. Of those polled, 48 percent said they were more worried about the impact of raising the debt limit than they were about the consequences of not raising the debt limit. Just 35 percent said they were more nervous about the impact of default. [See a slide show of 6 consequences if the debt ceiling isn't raised.]

They’re both unappetizing choices, to be sure (and Congress has until early August to fall on one sword or the other). Raising the debt ceiling understandably makes some people concerned that we are merely continuing down the same, fiscally irresponsible path. But default could send the markets and the overall economy into chaos.  [See a slide show of 6 ways to raise the debt ceiling.]

Perhaps it’s because of the way Americans have become used to handling their own finances. Some of us grew up in an era when we bought things on lay-away; now, it’s common to plunk down the credit card. Making it worse, many of us don’t see the use of a credit card as actually buying on credit–rather, it’s become a convenient way to avoid carrying too much cash. But inevitably, the balances–and the interest–grow. Banks may then (unasked, often) merely increase one’s credit limit, escalating the problem, Raising the debt limit arguably does the same. [Check out editorial cartoons about the budget and deficit.]

But allowing default would be tantamount to deciding not to pay one’s bills. It’s not the same as declining to buy more things with the over-used credit card. The country has obligations–to debt servicers as well as to people, states and programs getting federal monies–that it’s already committed to paying. Over-spending (whether it’s actual outlays or tax cuts) may have gotten us here, but we can’t get out of it by simply refusing to meet our current obligations. One way or the other, America’s bill will become due. The question is how much more damage will be done to the economy in the meantime.

• Check out political cartoons about the budget and deficit.
• Check out the 10 worst cities to find a job.
• Read more about the deficit and national debt.

• More Susan Milligan posts

Posted at 04:29 PM ET, 05/27/2011
Palin vs. Bachmann: My money’s on Bachmann
By Jonathan Capehart

The political world is in a tizzy over the magical mystery “One Nation” bus tour Sarah Palin will embark upon from Washington on Sunday. Is she running? Or is this another stunt in a near-three-year “Please don’t stop looking at ME!” crusade that has made Palin one very rich woman? Y’all know I’m in the latter camp. But that doesn’t preclude me from making a prediction. This cry for attention from Palin sets up the mother of all political showdowns between her and Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.). And in that fight, my money’s on Bachmann.

Remember, Palin isn’t running for president. The bus tour isn’t a sign. Neither is the new house in Arizona. Nor the rehires of old staff. The clearest sign that Palin isn’t running came from Fox News executive vice president of programming Bill Shine. “We are not changing Sarah Palin’s status,” he said yesterday. As Lawrence O’Donnell has been telling anyone who will listen, we’ve known as early as March 2 that Palin isn’t going to go for the Oval Office.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

If anything, this is about Palin protecting her brand as the Republican field comes into focus. As the focus of the party faithful and the national spotlight on her diminishes, so does her bottom line. And like any true star she refuses to leave the stage without a fight. But she is fighting like a star on the political stage. Sooner or later, Palin is going to have to come to terms with the fact that since November 2008, the American people have been telling her in increasing numbers that they don’t want her in the White House.

This aggregate of polls of Palin’s favorability (more like unpopularity) shows why I think Bachmann wins in a political fight with Palin. While I believe Bachmann will indeed run for the Republican nomination for president, I don’t think she’s running with the expectation to win. As I’ve explained before, Bachmann is the Al Sharpton of the 2012 Republican field.

Like Sharpton, she would come to the race with an established base that feels that she’s the only one speaking for them. Like Sharpton, expectations for Bachmann will be low because of her penchant for uttering glassy-eyed nonsense. And like Sharpton, she can’t possibly believe that she can run away with the nomination.

There are three reasons why Bachmann will excel in that role in a way Palin never could. Bachmann is a sitting member of Congress. She is casting votes that will have an impact on real people. She is relentlessly on message, and her message is loaded with information (some of it false) and void of any extraneous blather Palin is known for. And Bachmann doesn’t hide behind Twitter, Fox News and Facebook. She willingly sits with interviewers she knows will hold her accountable. Not Palin. Even her “fire in my belly” declaration was said from her Fox News cocoon and to Greta Van Susteren, who is so close to Palin you’d be forgiven for mistaking her for a body person.

As The Post’s Dan Balz has reported, while the Republican Party faithful like Palin personally, they don’t see her in the White House. “I have tremendous respect for her,” Georgia Vincent told Balz back in February, “but I don’t think that the presidency is where her talents could be best used.” Palin’s bus tour will demonstrate clearly where her talents are best used: in the service of Palin.

By Jonathan Capehart
 | 
04:29 PM ET, 05/27/2011

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Friday’s p-Op quiz: ‘Fire in the belly’ edition

6 hours ago

NEW YORK — New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has told Sports Illustrated that National Football League club owners took advantage of union leader Gene Upshaw’s death to try a money grab from players.

In a story on the magazine’s website, Brees said the ongoing lockout of NFL players while they fight an anti-trust lawsuit in court has its roots in the 2008 death of Upshaw from pancreatic cancer.

Upshaw’s death left a void in the NFL Players Association that management hoped to exploit, Brees said.

“Ever since Gene Upshaw passed away, I’m just going to lay it all out there, the owners saw blood in the water,” Brees said after a workout with other players in New Orleans.

“They felt like, ‘This is our opportunity to take a significant piece of the (financial) pie back at all costs, a piece that we will never have to give back again. This is our chance, while they don’t have leadership, while they are scrambling to find a new executive director. This is our time.’”

Brees became a hero to a city rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina’s 2005 devastation when he joined the Saints, devoted time and money to construction projects and led New Orleans to a first-ever Super Bowl title in 2010.

He is among the players whose name appears on the lawsuit undertaken when talks on a new contract broke down in March and minced no words in ripping the owners.

“Their philosophy was, ‘We’re going to give you a very sub-par deal, a slap-in-the-face deal, and hope that you’ll accept it because hopefully we’ve intimidated you enough into thinking that this is a take-it-or-leave-it deal, and you’re just going to succumb to the pressure,” Brees said.

“Well, guess what? We’re a lot more informed and educated than in the past, and we’re much better businessmen than you think and we’re going to stand up for what is right and what is fair.

“Fifty-fifty is fair. It has been fair for the last 20 years and I think the game has done pretty well over the last 20 years. I think franchise values have gone up at a pretty good rate over the last 20 years. So you can’t sit here and tell me that the system is broken.”

Billionaire owners began talks seeking an extra $1 billion, $2 billion total, from the $9.1 billion in annual revenues before dividing income with multi-millionaire superstars.

The inability to find common ground over how to divide a king’s ransom has jeopardized the scheduled September start of the 2011 NFL season and threatens to drive away supporters from America’s most popular spectator sport.

Brees pointed to owners opting out of the union deal in 2008 and attempts to take television contract money from games even if none were paid as signs the owners had no good faith interest in anything but a lockout.

“You’re telling me that they had no plans to lock us out and really wanted to get a deal done? I don’t think so,” Brees said.

Brees said to suffer through even a shortened season for not being able to divide the richest financial bounty in US sport would be ridiculous.

“If we miss football games because of this lockout, it would be the dumbest thing ever,” Brees said. “It would be detrimental to this game.

“We’ve built the most popular game in the country. Football means so much more to fans than just a form of entertainment or a game.

“By missing games, I think you’re making a huge mistake. I hope the owners understand that. This lockout needs to end and we need to get back to playing football.”

Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved.
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What happens when you cut funds for infant healthcare, weather satellites and Wall Street regulation? Nothing good

Roger Beverage, president and CEO of the Oklahoma Bankers Association, reversed his earlier opposition. Beverage called on the president to use his recess appointment powers to name Warren after 44 Republican senators said earlier this month they would oppose any nominee unless changes are made to the bureaus structure.

‘Wait no longer

“I encourage you to wait no longer and give Elizabeth a recess appointment before the July 21st transfer date,” Beverage wrote in a letter delivered last week.

Monday, Beverage said meetings with Warren prompted his change of heart. He said he wrote the letter out of frustration with the politics surrounding the appointment. He said the letter, on OBA letterhead, reflects his personal feelings and not those of the entire association.

“Pick somebody, whoever the hell it is — I suggest Ms. Warren — and lets get on with it,” Beverage said Monday. “This waiting and hanging around and playing political games is driving everybody crazy. In the meantime, weve got enough uncertainty out here around bankers and customers.”

Frank Keating, head of the American Bankers Association, said his organization takes no official position on who should head the newly created Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

“Well wait and see if his letter was helpful or not, but it really was his (Beverages) call,” Keating said. “Im not going to jump in the middle of peoples decisions to support or not support. The ABA view is were not going to get involved in the nomination process. Its not our hunt.”

The former Oklahoma governor, in Norman to attend the Oklahoma Bankers Association annual convention, said his organization will work with whomever is chosen to lead the consumer protection agency.

Opposed to agency

“If Elizabeth Warren is ultimately confirmed by the Senate, then we support her leadership, and where shes right, well agree, and where shes not right, we will disagree,” he said.

The American Bankers Association remains opposed to the consumer protection agency, arguing that banks already are “highly regulated,” he said.

Beverage admitted that some banking industry insiders “chewed on me” for sending the letter in support of Warren.

Warren, who grew up in Oklahoma City, is a Harvard law professor and was one of the first to call for a new federal agency aimed at protecting consumers.

“Shes a pretty big champion of community banks,” Beverage said. “Compared to some of the other names Ive heard, … Elizabeth Warren is head and shoulders above them. Shes gets both sides of the equation. She knows that you cant have consumer financial services without community banks.”

San Francisco, CA (PRWEB) May 24, 2011

Ever since Apple announced that it would not support Adobes Flash platform on the iPhone or iPad, Flash developers have had a hard time porting their games over to the mobile market. While Adobe and other companies have tried to alleviate this issue, the tools available to Flash developers have remained very limited.

But now, a small startup named Loqheart is attempting to change all of that by creating tools specifically for Flash developers who are eager to get into the mobile space.

The mobile market is clearly the new Gold Rush, but a lot of Flash developers have been left behind, said Don Quach, Co-Founder of Loqheart. While trying to create our own mobile games, we quickly learned that we basically had to create our own tools to make it work. Many other developers who also shared our frustration became incredibly interested in the tools we created for ourselves. Thus, we realized there was a huge need here, and thats why we started Loqheart.

Loqheart is making their debut by launching their first tool, Spriteloqtrade;, which gives Flash developers the ability to export their art assets and animations directly from Flash and into their mobile app. To best accomplish this, Loqheart has partnered with Ansca Mobile and built Spriteloq to work with Anscas mobile app development toolkit, Corona SDKtrade;.

David Ngo, co-founder of Loqheart, added, Corona is a perfect fit because they are widely known to be the quickest and simplest platform for developing mobile apps, and that balance of function and speed is in-line with Loqhearts philosophy. We are passionate about creating tools that not only work well, but are beautifully designed.

Were excited that Loqheart has chosen to create tools for Flash developers who use Corona, said Carlos Icaza, co-founder of Ansca Mobile, There is a large community of Flash developers out there, and we are delighted to work with Loqheart in helping those developers move to the mobile space. Above all, Spriteloq will allow Flash developers to focus on whats most important – using Corona SDK to create top-notch apps and games!

About Loqheart

Headquartered in San Francisco, CA, Loqheart is a team of two entrepreneurs who have a rich background in engineering, human-centered design, and crafting casual and social games. Loqheart is taking this user-experience expertise and applying it to game development tools, empowering Flash developers everywhere to quickly and efficiently get their applications to market.

To try out Spriteloq, or learn more about how Loqhearts tools can help you with your mobile game or application development, visit www.loqheart.com/spriteloq/

About Ansca Mobile

Ansca, Inc. (www.anscamobile.com) is a venture-backed Palo Alto, CA-based mobile development company founded by two former Adobe mobile engineers who led the Adobe Flash Lite engineering team. Their Corona SDK software development kit empowers developers of all backgrounds to create graphically rich games and applications for Apples iOS and Googles Android mobile platforms. Corona SDK-based applications have been downloaded more than 11M times in the first quarter of 2011 alone.

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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/5/prweb8475707.htm