Calculated Risk: Fed's Beige Book: Economic activity "expanded ...

by Bill McBride on 10/10/2012 02:00:00 PM

Fed's Beige Book:

Reports from the twelve Federal Reserve Districts indicated that economic activity generally expanded modestly since the last report.

Consumer spending was generally reported to be flat to up slightly since the last report. A number of Districts characterized retail sales as expanding at a modest pace ...

And on real estate:
Residential real estate showed widespread improvement since the last report. All twelve Districts reported that existing home sales strengthened, in some cases substantially. Selling prices were steady or rising. Boston, Atlanta, Minneapolis, Dallas and San Francisco noted declining or tight inventories, which have put upward pressure on prices. Modest price increases were reported in the New York, Richmond, Chicago, and Kansas City Districts. New York and Richmond reported relatively strong demand at the high and low ends of the market, whereas Philadelphia and Kansas City noted relative strength for mid-range homes; Boston indicated a shift in the mix toward lower or medium priced homes. New home construction and sales were more mixed but still mostly improved: increased construction and/or new home sales were reported in the Atlanta, Chicago, St. Louis, Kansas City, Dallas and San Francisco Districts. Multi-family construction, in particular, was described as robust in the Boston, New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and Dallas Districts. Residential rental markets continued to be characterized as strong, even in the New York and Atlanta Districts where rents increased somewhat less strongly than in recent months.

Commercial real estate markets were mixed since the last report. Office markets showed signs of softening in the northeastern Districts--Boston, New York and Philadelphia--with New York remarking on substantial new supply coming on the market in early 2013. In contrast, Atlanta, Minneapolis and San Francisco noted some improvement, while most other Districts reported stable or mixed market conditions. Industrial markets showed some strength in the New York, Philadelphia, Cleveland and Atlanta Districts, while conditions were described as sluggish in Richmond and mixed in St. Louis. Atlanta noted weakness in the market for retail space. Commercial construction activity was also mixed: Atlanta, Minneapolis and Kansas City reported some improvement in non-residential construction activity, while Richmond and Dallas noted that activity was sluggish.

"Prepared at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and based on information collected on or before September 28, 2012."

More sluggish "modest" growth. And more positive comments on residential real estate ...

Source: http://www.calculatedriskblog.com/2012/10/feds-beige-book-economic-activity.html

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Specialty Home Improvement Projects You Will certainly Love

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Advice To Follow When Planning On Doing Any Form Of Home ...

Author: Greg James | Total views: 67 Comments: 0
Word Count: 893 Date: Thu, 11 Oct 2012 6:03 AM

There is no homeowner who doesn't think about improving their home, whether it be major or minor. This article is full of advice to help you do that. Imagine the sense of accomplishment you'll feel when see the results of your home improvement efforts. Keep reading to get going now.

Consider radiant heat floor tiles if you replace the tiles you currently have. These are a special form-factor, which allows electricity to create power through a heating element and warm the ground beneath your toes. There are luckily some easy ways to do it yourself. You can add onto this project by doing it yourself or hiring a contractor. Once you step onto that warm floor on a cold morning, you will be forever grateful that you installed heated floors.

A popular choice for homeowners considering home improvement is vinyl decks. Vinyl is popular because it is easy to maintain: it only needs to be cleaned twice a year in order to keep it in good shape. The best season to clean your decks are fall and spring.

Keep your new flooring looking great by not letting people walk on it unless they remove their shoes. Lay down some slippers you can or have areas where shoes can easily be slipped off to provide encouragement to get everyone to take their shoes off. This will keep dirt and other various debris from getting smashed into carpet and scratching up floors.

Put nail holes in the rim of paint can. A common problem that occurs with paint cans is that paint spills from the can as the lid is replaced, thanks to a channel in the can. Use a nail to make several holes all the way around the can's perimeter into the channel's bottom in order to fix this.

Use wallpaper and varnish to create an inexpensive back-splash in your kitchen. Use a wallpaper you like. Measure your wall space and cut your paper a little large. Apply the paste and allow it to sit for a while, until it becomes tacky. Then, hang the wallpaper over the area you applied the paste, using a squeegee on the paper to eliminate bubbles and smooth things out. Finally, cut the edges to make it fit perfectly. Varnish should then be brushed on. Enjoy!

When you are doing major renovations on your home, think wisely and decide to make bathrooms accessible for the handicapped. Although you may not need your bathroom to be handicap-friendly now, if you stay in the home when you get older, you may need it to be. Even if you eventually sell the property, the improvements you make will enhance the value of the home.

You don't have to spend lots of money to brighten up your kitchen and bath. Just invest a few dollars in good light fixtures. Track lighting can appear dated and should be changed out in favor of more modern fixtures. This fix is best installed by a professional electrician and should cost under one thousand dollars. Pendant lights are a great option to use in the kitchen for an elegant appeal.

Look for and watch "how to" videos regarding the job you want to do. Try to be as specific as possible when it comes to the model numbers. Many people have the same questions as you and there are online answers available for you all. These videos make it unnecessary for you to reinvent the wheel when it comes to completing any project.

If you'd like to improve your home's energy efficiency levels, place weather stripping by your doors and windows. It is a cheap fix that will seal the air leaks around the windows and doors and reduce the cost of heating and cooling your home. You won't experience drafts on cool, breezy nights, either.

Remember to consider landscaping when thinking about home improvement projects. Your front lawn is the first thing people see when they look at your home, and a beautiful front lawn can impress your neighbors and any visitors. Keep the grass neatly mowed, and install plants and shrubs to make your property look attractive.

Listening to music while you work can help you pass the time. This isn't a bad idea, but you might want to skip the headphones. They can block important noises and reduce your alertness, hampering your safety.

When thinking about home improvement, make certain you monitor surroundings and even then just make improvements that are logical. Forgetting things like insulation in the North, or sun-shielding in the South, will seriously lower the value of any renovations you make. Add value to your home, not negative features.

Painting is one of the simplest and most affordable home improvements you can do, yet it is also one of the most effective. Fresh paint has the ability to make a home feel new again and is easy and cheap to apply. Fresh paint makes your home more attractive to buyers.

As mentioned in the introduction, feng shui is a great idea about arranging things in the home. Feng shui is a unique type of home improvement. It can provide your home with a whole new feel and look.

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Source: http://www.content4reprint.com/family/advice-to-follow-when-planning-on-doing-any-form-of-home-improvement.htm

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Rev2 to Showcase New RiskView? Outage Risk Analytics? Report ...

Demonstration will be on display in ARRIS booth #2802

ORLANDO, OCTOBER 10, 2012 ? Rev2, a rapidly growing Business Risk Analytics? provider focused on delivering solutions that improve business performance, announced it will showcase its new RiskView? Outage Risk Analytics? report generation capability at the SCTE Cable-Tec Expo? to be held next week. RiskView Outage Risk Analytics? helps cable operators and other service providers drive down costs and improve their customers? experience by delivering the capability to correlate data across operational groups often siloed by disparate OSS systems to deliver a comprehensive view of performance metrics.

RiskView can be rapidly configured to deliver daily or weekly actionable reports that help the operator?s maintenance organization prioritize their work. The reports provide detail on outage-related issues in the service delivery infrastructure based on how much money they are costing the business.

Typical reports include the Top 10 and Top 20 streets, nodes, or serving groups ranked according to their overall financial cost over a 7-day, 2-week, or 1-month period. The reports are generated by the RiskView Reporter? application, which provides zero?touch report generation. The color-coded, crisply organized reports are generated in industry standard XML, which is easily imported into spreadsheets and databases. The resulting reports can be emailed to one or more recipients on a regular, easily customizable basis.

Integration with ARRIS

The reports will be showcased in the ARRIS Group, Inc. (Nasdaq: ARRS) exhibit in booth #2802. The demonstration will feature live RiskView Outage Risk Analytics running in concert with ARRIS ServAssure Advanced? performance management, ARRIS EventAssure? proactive outage management, and ARRIS WorkAssure? workforce management solutions. The combined ?quad-play? solution proactively optimizes MSO network operations, reduces cost and complexity and ensures a premium customer experience.

?Rev2?s new RiskView outage risk reports are already demonstrating value at many leading MSOs,? said Bryant Isaacs, President, Media & Communications Systems at ARRIS. ?Risk-View augments the ARRIS solutions with analytics that automatically generate an adjunct work order for WorkAssure, which helps operators prioritize infrastructure issues based on their financial impact.?

SCTE Cable-Tec Expo? will be held at the Orange County Convention Center, October 17-19, 2012. Pre-conference and preview events will take place on Oct. 16 and technical workshops and sessions are scheduled for October 16-19. The industry?s engineering show of the year hosts 10,000 attendees annually and provides the opportunity to discover and learn first-hand about the latest in cable telecommunications technology, products and services in one cost-effective setting.

About Rev2

Rev2 is a rapidly growing Business Risk Analytics? provider focused on delivering solutions that improve business performance. Our patent-pending RiskView? Risk Concentration Analysis? framework offers the ability to identify, compare and quantify vulnerabilities across the entire enterprise before they impact business performance. RiskView identifies the materiality of risks according to their potential impact on business performance, helping our customers to prioritize and schedule business process improvement, problem resolution, and overall spending. RiskView outcomes typically include: Reduced organizational risk profile; Reduced OpEx; Improved customer experience; and competitive advantage.

Contact us today for a Proof of Concept tailored to your business: 400 Columbus Ave., Suite 240E, Valhalla, N.Y. 10595, 914.614.8600. http://rev2.com, infoatrev2dotcom.

About ARRIS

ARRIS is a global communications technology company specializing in the design, engineering and supply of communications and IP technologies that support broadband services for residential and business customers around the world. The company supplies broadband operators with the tools and platforms they need to deliver and monitor advanced video, data and voice subscriber services, including whole home video across multiple screens, ultra high-speed data, personalized advertising and carrier-grade telephony. Headquartered near Atlanta, in Suwanee, Georgia, USA, ARRIS has R&D centers in Beaverton, OR; Chicago, IL; Cork, Ireland; Kirkland, WA; Redwood City, CA; Shenzhen, China; State College, PA; Tel Aviv, Israel; Wallingford, CT and Waltham, MA, and operates support and sales offices throughout the world. Information about ARRIS products and services can be found at www.arrisi.com.

###

Copyright ?2012 Rev2. All rights reserved. The RiskView? solution is a registered trademark of Rev2. The Rev2 Business Risk Analytics? logo design and the Risk Concentration Analysis? (RCA) methodology are trademarks of Rev2. All other trademarks in this document are the properties of their respective owners.

Source: http://www.rev2.com/2012/10/10/rev2-to-showcase-new-riskview%C2%AE-outage-risk-analytics%E2%84%A2-report-generation-capability-at-scte-cable-tec-expo%C2%AE/

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Ignoring death threats, Federer wins in Shanghai

SHANGHAI (AP) ? Roger Federer ignored recent death threats from a Chinese blogger and won his opening match at the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday, beating qualifier Lu Yen-Hsun 6-3, 7-5 in the second round.

Federer said he was aware that the blogger had recently issued an apology.

The 17-time Grand Slam champion has had heavy security surrounding him at all times since arriving in Shanghai.

"I felt fine" Federer said. "There was maybe one quick thought. I saw one of the bodyguards outside of the court. I thought, still around, obviously. I have bodyguards every time I play a match on a center court, which is normal.

"Once the match started, got underway, I never thought about it again."

Federer saved the one break point he faced and broke serve once in each set to secure his path to the third round. He'll next face 13th-seeded Stanislas Wawrinka.

"I thought it was a good match for me," Federer said. "Obviously, not having been broken is a good thing early on in a tournament. You hope it sets a trend for more to come."

Novak Djokovic also advanced, beating Grigor Dimitrov of Bulgaria 6-3, 6-2. Two-time defending champion Andy Murray received a walkover into the third round after the withdrawal of Florian Mayer because of a rib injury.

Sam Querrey of the United States rallied past 14th-seeded Kei Nishikori 2-6, 6-2, 6-4 in another second-round match.

Djokovic won the China Open in Beijing last week for his fourth title of the year and 32nd of his career. He has won 66 matches this season, the most of any player on tour.

Djokovic didn't offer Dimitrov a break-point opportunity and never lost more than one point in any service game. He also served four games at love.

"Very pleased with my serving in Beijing and obviously the first match today," Djokovic said. "So that's something that I've been working on, obviously. Relying on the serve in today's tennis is a big advantage. So I try to get as many free points as possible. It helped me a lot to defeat my opponent."

If Djokovic wins in Shanghai and Federer loses before the quarterfinals, the Serb would reclaim the No. 1 ranking next week.

Murray has a 9-0 record after winning finals against David Ferrer last year and Federer in 2010. The third-ranked player from Scotland also won the Olympic gold medal at the London Games and a title in Brisbane this year.

Murray had short notice about Mayer's injury and withdrawal.

"I went to the gym this morning in the hotel, and he was in the gym at the same time," Murray said. "I didn't know until 15, 20 minutes ago."

Fifth-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga beat Benoit Paire 7-6 (7), 7-5 in an all-French match.

For the second straight day at the tournament, a match went to three tiebreaker sets. Marcos Baghdatis of Cyprus upset 12th-seeded Milos Raonic of Canada 7-6 (4), 6-7 (5), 7-6 (3).

Nishikori won the opening set against Querrey before fading. He sought a medical timeout for a right ankle injury that he sustained last week when he won the Japan Open.

"It's disappointing, but I was close to a win even with this injury," Nishikori said.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ignoring-death-threats-federer-wins-shanghai-152635423--spt.html

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Ryan prepares to take on skilled debater Biden

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2012 file photo, Republican vice president candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. speaks in Swanton, Ohio. Ryan is preparing for his debate against Vice President Joe Biden, a man who has been sparring over public policy since the Wisconsin congressman was learning to talk. (AP Photo/Madalyn Ruggiero, File)

FILE - In this Oct. 8, 2012 file photo, Republican vice president candidate, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis. speaks in Swanton, Ohio. Ryan is preparing for his debate against Vice President Joe Biden, a man who has been sparring over public policy since the Wisconsin congressman was learning to talk. (AP Photo/Madalyn Ruggiero, File)

(AP) ? To prepare for his biggest test yet on the national stage, untested debater Paul Ryan has been hauling two thick briefing books around the country and intently studying up on Vice President Joe Biden, who has been sparring over public policy since the Wisconsin congressman was learning how to talk.

Ryan, the 42-year-old Republican vice presidential nominee, has suggested his youth will be an asset in connecting with voters at the sole vice presidential debate Thursday in Kentucky against the 69-year-old former senator. But risks abound for the GOP rising star, who hasn't participated in a campaign debate since his first run for office 14 years ago.

The main goal for Ryan's inner-circle: get him comfortable answering questions in broad terms that connect with voters and avoid the wonky, in-the-weeds answers more appropriate for a budget hearing than a living room.

Ryan's team wants to keep him talking about positive changes a Romney-Ryan administration would mean for the country, not a full-throated defense of the campaign's sometimes nebulous math.

As the House Republicans' top budget writer, aides say Ryan is confident he can handle questions about federal spending and taxes. He is a bit more nervous on international affairs ? and for good reason. Ryan was thrust into the national spotlight a few months ago when he joined the Republican ticket but has limited exposure in that arena.

Biden is a former chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and a skilled debater, both within the administration and against its critics, and someone whose opinion President Barack Obama seeks out on major decisions.

Ryan also is bracing for Biden to try to help Obama overcome a rough patch by staking out an aggressive tone.

"I really think that because they had such a bad debate that Joe is just going to come flying at us," Ryan said this week.

His biggest worry: looking unprepared the way his mentor and former boss, Jack Kemp, did in the 1996 debate against Vice President Al Gore.

Ryan has spent hours huddling with advisers to polish his delivery and has been cramming with aides to sharpen his grasp of foreign policy and national security issues. As they prepared in Virginia's mountains about 150 miles from Washington, Ryan focused on trying to shoehorn knowledge gained from seven terms in the House into two-minute answers. He has watched video of Biden's 2008 vice presidential debate and recent campaign appearances. He knows Biden's cadences and verbal ticks, including the signature "ladies and gentlemen" and punchy "folks" to get the audience's attention.

Ryan also has spent time working on trying to keep Biden from cutting him off, talking over him or throwing a wrench into his rehearsed answers. During practice debates, his stand-in for Biden, former Solicitor General Ted Olson, has been aggressive in trying to throw Ryan off his game.

Above all else, aides tell Ryan to avoid specific numbers.

"He's learning how to debate," said Michael Steel, Ryan's traveling spokesman who was a top aide to House Speaker John Boehner. "It's not about learning policy. ... It's about learning how to debate at this level."

Ryan and his aides also are trying to play up the vice president's skills and perhaps set unrealistic expectations for Biden, who is doing his own cram sessions in Delaware before the meeting in Danville, Ky.

"Joe Biden's been doing this for 40 years," Ryan told WTMJ-AM radio in Milwaukee. "I mean, the man ran for president twice, he's the sitting vice president. And this is my first time on this kind of stage. So sure, there's a lot of pressure."

He later seemed to suggest that his youth gave him the upper hand.

"I've been in Congress 14 years. I'm a younger person. I'm next generation," he told WTOL in Toledo, Ohio. "I'm in my 40s. Joe Biden is in his 60s. I'm used to debating people in Joe's generation in Congress."

Ryan aides note that more people watched Biden's 2008 debate against then-Gov. Sarah Palin, the GOP vice presidential nominee, than any of Obama's debates against Republican John McCain. But that was as much about Palin's celebrity and curiosity about her and not the weight of the vice presidents' roles.

This time, Republicans have nominated a wonk who is a walking collection of think tank studies ? not a first-term governor from Alaska like Palin.

Ryan and Olson practiced three times before heading into more intense sessions in the Virginia mountains. They wore suits and ties and dined on room service in Washington hotels for two sessions, then donned plaid shirts and ate Jimmy Johns sandwiches at the other session in Ryan's hometown of Janesville, Wis.

In Virginia, they simulated the debate setting, in which Biden and Ryan will be seated.

Kerry Healey, who was Romney's lieutenant when he was governor of Massachusetts and now advises him on foreign policy, stood in for debate moderator Martha Raddatz of ABC News and even channeled the newswoman's speaking style.

Ryan has tried to keep the number of advisers in the room with him to fewer than 10. From time to time, Romney aides from the Boston campaign headquarters joined the preparations, including strategist Russ Schriefer, longtime loyalist Beth Myers and conservative liaison Peter Flaherty. Foreign policy hand Dan Senor also has been helping Ryan.

Ryan hasn't debated since his first run for Congress ? in 1998 at age 28.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2012-10-10-US-Ryan-Debate-Stakes/id-f1f5a0389ea74414ab218711b0491ede

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Humble Bundle goes literary, offers octuplet of books at a humble price

Humble Bundle goes literary, offers octuplet of books at a humble price

The Humble Bundle tends to be associated with not just low prices, but also indie video games (and occasionally music). Today's bundle, however, centers on the literary-minded among us, offering a set of eight e-Books for just under $10. Of course, a main staple of the bundle is its pay what you want price model, which applies here as well -- should you only want six of the books, you can pay any price (one penny for six books! hot dog!). If you want access to John Scalzi's Old Man's War and Signal to Noise by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, you've gotta shell out over the average payment price (currently sitting at $9.84). If you want that sub-$10 price, we'd suggest heading over sooner than later. Another good reason? You've only got two weeks before this humble e-Book bundle disappears forever.

Continue reading Humble Bundle goes literary, offers octuplet of books at a humble price

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/10/09/humble-ebook-bundle/

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Police investigate 2 in journalist kidnapping

LONDON (AP) ? British police are investigating Wednesday whether a British man and woman arrested on suspicion of supporting terrorism offenses in Syria were part of a group that held two veteran war journalists hostage in Syria in July.

The abduction of photographers John Cantlie and Jeroen Oerlemans highlighted concerns that British Muslims might be slipping into Syria to join extremists. Both said after their week-long ordeal that some of their captors spoke with British accents.

Police seeking clues in the case searched two east London properties Wednesday ? one day after the two 26-year-old suspects were arrested at Heathrow Airport after arriving on a flight from Egypt.

Police would not comment on British press reports that one of the suspects may be a British National Health Service doctor believed to have been involved with a terror group inside Syria. Cantlie had told the British press earlier that one of his captors claimed to be a British medic who said he had taken a sabbatical from his work so that he could treat badly injured fighters in Syria.

There were also indications that some French citizens may also be interested in taking up arms in Syria.

France's interior minister said members of a suspected terror cell linked to an attack on a kosher grocery appeared to have plans to travel to Syria to join the civil war unfolding there. Police found bomb-making materials as part of the probe of the group, which was described as "extremely dangerous."

A counterterrorism official in France, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly on the matter, said authorities have noticed a recent trend for the Syrian conflict to be luring French fighters, and the phenomenon has been increasing in the last few months. He would not specify how many people that might involve in France, or whether anyone had been detained.

Most of those fighting the regime of President Bashar Assad are believed to be ordinary Syrians and soldiers who have defected, having become fed up with the authoritarian government, analysts say. But increasingly, foreign fighters and those adhering to an extremist Islamist ideology are becoming involved in the Syrian conflict.

Syrian rebels concerned about alienating Western supporters have downplayed the newcomers' impact on the struggle to dislodge Assad.

"It's exaggerated, the role and the numbers," said George Sabra, spokesman for the Syrian National Council. He blamed in part the international community for using the issue as a way to back out of commitments to help the Syrians opposing Assad.

He said the foreign fighters do not present long-term problems.

"They say they've come to help the Syrian people and they'll return home again," he said. "We're not worried because they're an external phenomenon and they'll remain one."

European intelligence officials said the?issue of foreign fighters joining the Syrian conflict is complex. There is evidence that foreigners have joined the fight against the Assad regime, but the number of foreign extremists joining the fight remains unclear.

"We know there have been British, French and other Western nationals joining this fight in Syria but we're not seeing enough evidence to indicate there is a groundswell of foreign extremists on the battlefield. On the contrary, it seems that some of these fringe groups are waiting for an opportunity to come after the battle is over," said a European security official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to reporters.

British officials have said fewer than 100 nationals or people with links to Britain are thought to have traveled to Syria to fight against Assad's regime.

Officials have said unlike Libya, it's harder to track individuals getting into the conflict area since there are multiple entry points.

Although officials aren't worried about an immediate threat to the UK, officials have warned that any skills learned on the Syrian battlefront could present potential threats to Britain and beyond.

The Syrian government has always blamed the uprising on foreign terrorists, despite months of peaceful protests by ordinary citizens that only turned violent after repeated attacks by security forces.

Talk about the role of foreign jihadists in the Syrian civil war began in earnest, however, with the rise in suicide bombings. U.S. National Director of Intelligence James Clapper said in February that those attacks "bore the earmarks" of the jihadists in neighboring Iraq.

A U.N. panel warned last month that the number of foreign fighters in the conflict was growing ? a development which it said could radicalize the rebellion against Assad's rule. The Quilliam Foundation, a London-based think tank studying extremism, estimated that there were a total of 1,200-1,500 foreign fighters across Syria.

A British police statement said the man and woman were arrested on suspicion of the "commission, preparation or instigation of acts of terrorism." The statement did not include the suspects' names or any other identifying information.

Police said the possible link to the July abduction of the journalists was one of several lines of inquiry being pursuied.

Oerlemans, a prominent Dutch photographer who was shot twice during a failed attempt to escape from his captors, told The Associated Press Wednesday that the ages of the two suspects arrested at Heathrow was consistent with the ages of the people who held him hostage shortly after he entered Syria on July 19. But he said there were no women involved in the kidnapping.

"But that doesn't mean it's not one of the guys in the camp," he said of the man arrested at Heathrow.

The suspects were taken to a central London police station and remain in custody.

________

Paisley Dodds in London, Elizabeth A. Kennedy in Beirut, Lori Hinnant and Jamey Keaten in Paris and Michael C. Corder in Amsterdam contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/police-investigate-2-journalist-kidnapping-131939050.html

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Taliban gunmen shoot 14-year-old girl activist

A wounded Pakistani girl, Malala Yousufzai, is moved to a helicopter to be taken to Peshawar for treatment in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. A Taliban gunman walked up to a bus taking children home from school in Pakistan?s volatile Swat Valley Tuesday and shot and wounded a 14-year-old activist known for championing the education of girls and publicizing atrocities committed by the Taliban, officials said. (AP Photo/Sherin Zada)

A wounded Pakistani girl, Malala Yousufzai, is moved to a helicopter to be taken to Peshawar for treatment in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan on Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. A Taliban gunman walked up to a bus taking children home from school in Pakistan?s volatile Swat Valley Tuesday and shot and wounded a 14-year-old activist known for championing the education of girls and publicizing atrocities committed by the Taliban, officials said. (AP Photo/Sherin Zada)

In this photo released by Inter Services Public Relations department, Pakistani soldiers carry wounded Pakistani girl, Malala Yousufzai, from a military helicopter to a military hospital in Peshawar, Pakistan. A Taliban gunman walked up to a bus taking children home from school in Pakistan?s volatile Swat Valley Tuesday and shot and wounded the 14-year-old activist known for championing the education of girls and publicizing atrocities committed by the Taliban, officials said. (AP Photo/Inter Services Public Relations Department)

A wounded Pakistani girl, Malala Yousufzai, is moved to a helicopter to be taken to Peshawar for treatment in Mingora, Swat Valley, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 9, 2012. A Taliban gunman walked up to a bus taking children home from school in Pakistan?s volatile Swat Valley Tuesday and shot and wounded a 14-year-old activist known for championing the education of girls and publicizing atrocities committed by the Taliban, officials said.(AP Photo/Sherin Zada)

(AP) ? Fourteen-year-old Malala Yousufzai was admired across a battle-scarred region of Pakistan for exposing the Taliban's atrocities and advocating for girls' education in the face of religious extremists. On Tuesday, the Taliban nearly killed her to quiet her message.

A gunman walked up to a bus taking children home from school in the volatile northern Swat Valley and shot Malala in the head and neck. Another girl on the bus was also wounded.

The young activist was airlifted by helicopter to a military hospital in the frontier city of Peshawar. A doctor in the city of Mingora, Tariq Mohammad, said her wounds weren't life-threatening, but a provincial information minister said after a medical board examined the girl that the next few days would be crucial.

Malala began writing a blog when she was just 11 under the pseudonym Gul Makai for the BBC about life under the Taliban, and began speaking out publicly in 2009 about the need for girls' education ? which the Taliban strongly opposes. The extremist movement was quick to claim responsibility for shooting her.

"This was a new chapter of obscenity, and we have to finish this chapter," Taliban spokesman Ahsanullah Ahsan by telephone.

The shooting provoked outrage across the country, angering Pakistanis who have seen a succession of stories about violence against women by the Taliban.

"This attack cannot scare us nor the courageous Malala. This cowardly act cannot deter Malala to give up her efforts," said Azizul Hasan, one of the girl's cousins.

Prime Minister Raja Pervaiz Ashraf condemned the attack and called her a daughter of Pakistan. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland called the shooting "barbaric" and "cowardly."

Leila Zerrougui, the U.N. special representative for children in armed conflict, condemned the attack "in the harshest terms." ''Education is a fundamental right for all children," she said in a statement. The Taliban "must respect the right to education of all children, including girls, to go to school and live in peace."

The attack displayed the viciousness of Islamic militants in the Swat Valley, where the military conducted a major operation in 2009 to clear out insurgents, and a reminder of the challenges the government faces in keeping the area free of militant influence.

In her BBC blog, Malala wrote about not wearing her uniform to school after officials warned it might attract the Taliban's attention, and how many other students moved out of the valley after the Taliban issued an edict banning girls from school. She wrote about the Taliban movement had kept her family from going out after sunset.

While chairing a children's assembly supported by UNICEF in the valley last year, the then-13-year-old championed a greater role for young people.

"Girl members play an active role," she said, according to an article on the U.N. organization's website. "We have highlighted important issues concerning children, especially promoting girls' education in Swat."

She was nominated last year for the International Children's Peace Prize, which is organized by the Dutch organization KidsRights to highlight the work of children around the world.

Malala was shot on her way home from a school run by her father, Ziauddin, who is also known in the valley for promoting education of girls.

The bus was about to leave the school grounds in Mingora, the largest city in Swat Valley, when a bearded man approached it and asked which one of the girls was Malala, said Rasool Shah, Mingora's police chief. Another girl pointed to Malala, but the activist denied it was her and the gunmen then shot both of the girls, the police chief said.

The Swat Valley ? nicknamed the Switzerland of Pakistan ? was once a popular tourist destination for Pakistanis. Honeymooners used to vacation in the numerous hotels dotted along the river of the same name running through it. But the Taliban's near-total takeover of the valley just 175 miles (280 kilometers) from the capital in 2008 shocked many Pakistanis, who considered militancy to be a far-away problem in Afghanistan or Pakistan's rugged tribal regions.

Militants began asserting their influence in the valley in 2007 ? part of a wave of al-Qaida and Taliban fighters expanding their reach from safe havens near the Afghan border.

By 2008 they controlled much of it and began meting out rules and their own brand of justice. During about two years of its rule, the Taliban forced men to grow beards, restricted women from going to the bazaar, whipped women they considered immoral and beheaded opponents.

Taliban militants in the region also destroyed around 200 schools. Most were girls' institutions, though some prominent boys' schools were struck as well. The private school owned and operated by Malala's father was temporarily closed under the Taliban.

At one point, the Taliban said they were halting female education, a move that echoed their militant brethren in neighboring Afghanistan who during their rule barred girls from attending school.

While the Pakistani military managed to flush out the insurgents during the military operation, the Taliban's top leadership escaped, leaving many of the valley's residents on edge.

Kamila Hayat, a senior official of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, said Malala's activism sent a global message that Pakistani girls could fight for their rights. But she also worried that Tuesday's shooting would prevent other parents from letting their children speak out against the Taliban.

"This is an attack to silence courage through a bullet," Hayat said. "These are the forces who want to take us to the dark ages."

The problems of young women in Pakistan were the focus of a separate case before the high court, which ordered a probe Tuesday into an alleged barter of seven girls to settle a blood feud in a remote southwestern district. The tradition of families exchanging unmarried girls to settle feuds is banned under Pakistani law but still practiced in the country's more conservative, tribal areas.

A tribal council ordered the barter in early September in the Dera Bugti district of Baluchistan province, the district deputy commissioner, Saeed Faisal, told the court. He did not know the girls' ages but local media reported they were between 4 and 13 years old.

The Advocate General for the province could not confirm the incident.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry ordered Faisal to ensure that all members of the tribal council ? and a local lawmaker ? who belongs to one of the groups believed involved ? appear in court on Wednesday.

___

Santana reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writer Abdul Sattar in Quetta and Zarar Khan and Asif Shahzad in Islamabad contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-10-10-Pakistan/id-463a01985c184fe7ba1abeb0cd89dcbf

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Commercial Real Estate Tips That Can Benefit Anyone | Eric Chua ...

When selling or buying commercial real estate, make sure that everything is in order. Regardless of how skilled you think you are, it is possible that you lack knowledge in a certain aspect of the field. The following article offers some great insight into buying and selling commercial real estate.

If you are considering apartment complexes as your next investment, remember that smaller complexes may be more trouble than they are worth. In fact, many experienced investors recommend only investing in properties with 10 or more units. Each situation is different; however, the research about a particular property will govern your decision.

A large commercial property may be a better buy than a smaller one. A building including five units is no more difficult to administrate than one with fifty. A five-unit building requires commercial financing just as the larger buildings do, and buying a larger building with more units costs less per unit.

TIP! Find out how the firm that you are thinking of working with measure results. Find out what they mean when they say a property has enough space, that a negotiation went well or other critical factors used in assessing and acquiring commercial property.

Learn to understand the commercial real estate metric called Net Operating Income (NOI). You need to keep your numbers positive if you are going to be successful.

Don?t ever underestimate the value of the relation between you and lenders, be them private or investors. Remember that many properties sell before they can even be listed; therefore, a more complete network improves your chances of locating the best opportunities.

You must absolutely confirm that your real estate?s asking price is realistic. There are a ton of variables when it comes to what will give you success.

TIP! Compile a number of people to partner with financially. These can be professional lenders, friends and family.

Understand that properties won?t just sustain themselves. If you purchase a property without taking upkeep into account, you could find yourself with a lot of unexpected bills. The building may need repairs or updates to its systems. All buildings degrade over time, but some building types are more prone to it than others. Make sure you develop a plan for the long term to manage repairs such as these.

You should carefully consider the neighborhood in which you purchase commercial real estate. Expensive, luxury-oriented businesses will thrive in more affluent neighborhoods. Bargain-oriented goods and services will find a more receptive market in lower- to middle-class areas.

Make sure you have the right access that has utilities on commercial properties. Your particular business might need additional services, such as cable, but at the minimum there should probably be sewer, water, phone, electric and gas.

TIP! Use your blog to establish an expert reputation. This assists in locating people to buy or lease your property.

Make sure you always remain cool, calm, and collected when you begin to look for commercial real estate. Don?t jump into a new investment too quickly! You might regret it if that property is not right for you. Be patient, as it could take as long as a year for just the right investment property to turn up.

At first, you may be required to spend a significant amount of time on a commercial investment. It will take time to find a lucrative opportunity, and after purchasing a property, it may need repairs or remodeling. You should know what to expect and not give up. Your rewards are down the road, and they are worth it.

If you are considering purchasing property, keep in mind that there is a very real threat that inflation is going to spike soon. In the past, investors didn?t have to worry about this because their leases required lenders to adjust their mortgage interest rate based on the inflation rate. Unfortunately, this practice has become vanishingly rare, which makes you at higher risk to suffer losses due to inflation.

TIP! When you are selling a commercial property, always make sure to include all buyers; this includes local and non-local buyers. Too many sellers assume that their property is likely to only sell to someone local.

You can post to social networking sites, and you should also send out newsletters about your commercial properties. If you maintain a regular presence in these contacts? lives, then they?ll think of you first the next time they are ready to make a deal.

Before you enter into any negotiations for a lease on commercial real estate, attempt to decrease anything that may be thought of as a default event. So a tenant can?t default on a lease they sign with you in this type of situation. A default is frustrating and costly.

TIP! Regardless of whether you are buying or selling the property, it is in your best interest to negotiate. You should make sure that they hear you and you get the fairest price for your property.

If you are renting out your property, be sure that they are always occupied. Remember that if you have empty units, you have to take care of them. Maintenance costs on empty units can add up. If you have multiple unoccupied properties, try to determine the reasons why, and rectify the problems that are keeping tenants from renting the spaces.

Every prospective real estate purchase should include thorough onsite inspections; it is equally important to verify the inspectors? credentials. Pest removal companies should be closely checked because many non-professionals do this work. By hiring an experienced professional, you?re less likely to run into problems after you buy the property.

Purchasing commercial properties is more time-consuming and complex compared to the purchase of a home. Keep in mind, though, that the complexity is required to ensure that your real estate investment gives you a high return.

TIP! Try to find the proper financing first. The process of getting a commercial loan is vastly different to that of a residential mortgage.

There is always more to learn when it comes to commercial real estate, so don?t make the mistake of assuming you know all you need to know. Always assume that you need to learn more, and always use tips like the ones provided to you here to establish a stronger position in the market. Use this information wisely, and

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/commercial-real-estate-tips-that-can-benefit-anyone

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