robertjump: February 2013

Monday 11 February 2013

Stocks drift lower to start week

Stocks dropped on Wall Street Monday, and trading volume was light.?With major stock indexes near record highs, many think that the stock market's six-week rally is ready for a pause.

By Associated Press / February 11, 2013

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange after the opening bell Monday. Solid earnings reports have helped stocks rally in recent weeks.

Brendan McDermid/Reuters

Enlarge

U.S. stocks drifted lower in thin trading Monday, pulling the Standard & Poor's 500 index back from a five-year high.

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The broad-market index edged up slightly last week, enough to put it at its highest level since November 2007. With little in the way of market-moving news Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.92 of a point to close at 1,517.01.

Seven of the 10 industry groups within the S&P 500 dropped.

Now, with major indexes near record highs, many think the stock market's six-week rally is ready for a pause.

"The consensus seems to be that we're due for a correction," says Brian Gendreau, market strategist at Cetera Financial Group. "If you compound the increase we've had so far, this year would be the best year ever for stocks. And nobody thinks that that's going to happen."

The best year ever for stocks? For the S&P 500 index it was 1933, when the index rebounded 46 percent in the middle of the Great Depression.

In other trading Monday, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 21.73 points, or 0.2 percent, to 13,971.24. UnitedHealth Group led the Dow lower, losing 62 cents to $57.12.

The Nasdaq composite fell 1.87 points to 3,192.00.

Trading volume was light, with 2.6 billion shares trading on the New York Stock Exchange. That compares with a two-month moving average of 3.4 billion.

Solid earnings reports have helped feed the rally in recent weeks. Of the 342 companies in the S&P index that reported results through last week, two out of every three have beat?Wall?Street's?earnings estimates, according to research from Goldman Sachs.

Gendreau pointed to three reasons he believes that stocks still have room to run. Even after the market's recent surge, the typical stock looks fairly priced when compared to underlying earnings. Corporations keep finding ways to boost profits, which helps lure stock prices higher. And Americans looking for places to put their savings have few attractive alternatives.

"I'll go out on a limb and say that I think earnings growth, attractive valuations and pent-up demand will add up to a fairly strong year for equities," Gendreau said.

Apple's stock gained following reports over the weekend that the tech giant is developing a wristwatch-like gadget, a smart watch. The device would reportedly run the same operating system used for iPhones and iPads. Apple rose $4.95 to $479.93.

The stock market raced to a stunning start this year. A last-minute deal in Washington to avoid tax hikes and spending cuts known as the "fiscal cliff" eased fears that the budget cuts could lead the U.S. into a recession. Markets soared in relief.

The Dow and the S&P 500 have already gained more than 6 percent for the year. The Nasdaq is up 5.7 percent.

In the market for U.S. government bonds, the yield on the 10-year Treasury hovered at 1.95 percent on Monday, unchanged from late Friday. The yield began the year trading at 1.70 and has moved steadily higher as worries about a recession have dissipated, drawing traders out of the Treasury market, the world's biggest hiding spot.

Among other companies in the news Monday:

? Loews Corp. said Monday morning that it lost $32 million in its fourth quarter, hurt by insurance losses from Superstorm Sandy and sliding prices for natural gas. The holding company, which has dealings in insurance, oil and gas and hotels, is largely controlled by the Tisch family of New York. Its stock sank 34 cents to $43.51.

? Danish drug maker Novo Nordisk dropped 14 percent. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration refused to approve the company's proposed diabetes treatments until it received more data, which the drug maker said it couldn't supply this year. Novo Nordisk's depositary receipts lost $26.89 to $165.40.

? Carnival Corp., the cruise-ship operator, sank 29 cents to $38.72. An engine room fire over the weekend left its cruise ship Triumph stranded in the Gulf of Mexico. The company said Monday that the ship's automatic extinguishing systems put out the fire and that nobody was injured.

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/JEetVd_Mae0/Stocks-drift-lower-to-start-week

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All About Insurance: The Winter boat Insurance

While lots of people opt to permit their watercraft to stay uninsured when not in use, this decision can be disastrous for the boat owner. In lots of areas of the country use of boats and other types of watercraft over the long winter months is impossible, due to climate changes and adverse climatic conditions. Lots of boat owners mistakenly think that, when a boat is in winter storage, insurance coverage for the vessel is no longer a necessity.

The boat owner who designs to store a vessel for any timeframe ought to speak about the importance of winter storage protection designs with a trusted insurance representative. Most insurance designs will give the boat owner a reduced rate for winter storage coverage, while still allowing for the vessel's owner to protect his valuable property. Selecting this option can safeguard the boat owner's investment, and permit for peace of mind, when in cases where winter storage is a necessity.

Statistically speaking, more boats are damaged every year while in winter storage, than those that are in actual use. In some cases whole vessels are lost, due to unforeseeable circumstance. Damages to a stored vessel can run from minimal (such as destruction by nesting animals, petty theft of stored items, or even slight weather destroy) to major (such as total destruction of the watercraft by a fire or natural catastrophe). because the boat is not in use, does not mean it is entirely shielded from unexpected events.

Source: http://their-insurances.blogspot.com/2013/02/the-winter-boat-insurance.html

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US Airs Banned Film 'Rhino Season' in Iran (Voice Of America)

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Sunday 10 February 2013

Behemoth storm drops 2 feet of snow on Northeast

Louie Rodriguez of the New Bedford Forestry Department cuts a fallen tree at the intersection of Rotch St. and Maple St. in New Bedford, Mass., on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, after heavy snow and winds from a storm. Snow began falling across the Northeast on Friday, ushering in what was predicted to be a huge, possibly historic blizzard and sending residents scurrying to stock up on food and gas up their cars. The storm could dump 1 to 3 feet of snow from New York City to Boston and beyond. (AP Photo/Standard Times, Peter Pereira)

A woman crosses Congress Street during a snow storm, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, in Portland, Maine. Snow began falling across the Northeast on Friday, ushering in what was predicted to be a huge, possibly historic blizzard and sending residents scurrying to stock up on food and gas up their cars. The storm could dump 1 to 3 feet of snow from New York City to Boston and beyond. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

A man walks his dog past the snow covered "Boy and Bird" fountain in the Boston Public Garden in Boston, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. Mass. Gov. Deval Patrick declared a state of emergency Friday and banned travel on roads as of 4 p.m. as a blizzard that could bring nearly 3 feet of snow to the region began to intensify. As the storm gains strength, it will bring "extremely dangerous conditions" with bands of snow dropping up to 2 to 3 inches per hour at the height of the blizzard, Patrick said. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

This image released by NASA from NOAA's GOES-13 satellite captured at 9:01 a.m. on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013 shows a massive winter storm coming together as two low pressure systems merge over the northeast U.S. Snow began falling across the Northeast on Friday, ushering in what was predicted to be a huge, possibly historic blizzard and sending residents scurrying to stock up on food and gas up their cars. (AP Photo/NASA)

A man battles fierce winds as he climbs a hill after leaving his car in a parking lot to avoid being towed during a parking ban, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, in Portland, Maine. The National Weather Service issued a blizzard warning for Maine's southern coast. The forecast calls for up to 2 feet of snow and winds gusting to 50 mph. (AP Photo/Robert F. Bukaty)

BOSTON (AP) ? A behemoth storm packing hurricane-force winds and blizzard conditions swept through the Northeast on Saturday, dumping more than 2 feet of snow on New England and knocking out power to 650,000 customers in the region.

More than 28 inches of snow had fallen on central Connecticut by early Saturday, and areas of southeastern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New Hampshire notched 2 feet or more of snow ? with more falling. Airlines scratched more than 5,300 flights through Saturday, and New York City's three major airports and Boston's Logan Airport closed.

The wind-whipped snowstorm mercifully arrived at the start of a weekend, which meant fewer cars on the road and extra time for sanitation crews to clear the mess before commuters in the New York-to-Boston region of roughly 25 million people have to go back to work. But it could also mean a weekend cooped up indoors.

For a group of stranded European business travelers, it meant making the best of downtime in a hotel restaurant Friday night in downtown Boston, where snow blew outside and drifted several inches deep on the sidewalks.

The six Santander bank employees found their flights back to Spain canceled, and they gave up on seeing the city or having dinner out.

"We are not believing it," said Tommaso Memeghini, 29, an Italian who lives in Barcelona. "We were told it may be the biggest snowstorm in the last 20 years."

The National Weather Service says up to 3 feet of snow is expected in Boston, threatening the city's 2003 record of 27.6 inches.

In heavily Catholic Boston, the archdiocese urged parishioners to be prudent about attending Sunday Mass and reminded them that, under church law, the obligation "does not apply when there is grave difficulty in fulfilling this obligation."

Halfway through what had been a mild winter across the Northeast, blizzard warnings were posted from parts of New Jersey to Maine. The National Weather Service said Boston could get close to 3 feet of snow by Saturday evening, while most of Rhode Island could receive more than 2 feet, most of it falling overnight Friday into Saturday. Connecticut was bracing for 2 feet, and New York City was expecting as much as 14 inches.

Early snowfall was blamed for a 19-car pileup in Cumberland, Maine, that caused minor injuries. In New York, hundreds of cars began getting stuck on the Long Island Expressway on Friday afternoon at the beginning of the snowstorm and dozens of disabled motorists remained early Saturday as police worked to free them.

About 650,000 customers in the Northeast lost power during the height of the snowstorm, most of them in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The Pilgrim Nuclear Power Plant in Plymouth, Mass., lost electricity and shut down Friday night during the storm. Authorities say there's no threat to public safety.

At least four deaths were being blamed on the storm, three in Canada and one in New York. In southern Ontario, an 80-year-old woman collapsed while shoveling her driveway and two men were killed in car crashes. In New York, a 74-year-old man died after being struck by a car in Poughkeepsie; the driver said she lost control in the snowy conditions, police said.

Forecasters said wind gusts exceeding 75 mph could cause more widespread power outages and whip the snow into fearsome drifts. Flooding was expected along coastal areas still recovering from Superstorm Sandy, which hit New York and New Jersey the hardest and is considered Jersey's worst natural disaster.

In Manhattan, streets normally bustling after midnight, were quiet Saturday but for the hum of snow blowers, the scrape of shovels and the laughter from late night revelers who braved the snow.

Bill Tavonallo, 39, said he walked home on purpose from a Manhattan bar to enjoy the snow falling.

"With Sandy, we were scared. But this is wonderful," he said, his glasses crusted with ice. "It's nice to have a reason to slow down."

In Massachusetts, Gov. Deval Patrick enacted a statewide driving ban for the first time since the Blizzard of '78, a ferocious storm that dropped 27 inches of snow, packed hurricane-force winds and claimed dozens of lives.

In New York, Fashion Week, a series of designer showings with some activities held under tents, went on mostly as scheduled, though organizers put on additional crews to deal with the snow and ice, turned up the heat and fortified the tents. The snow did require some wardrobe changes: Designer Michael Kors was forced to arrive at the Project Runway show in Uggs.

For Joe DeMartino, of Fairfield, Conn., being overprepared for the weather was impossible: His wife was expecting their first baby Sunday. He stocked up on gas and food, got firewood ready and was installing a baby seat in the car. The couple also packed for the hospital.

"They say that things should clear up by Sunday. We're hoping that they're right," he said.

Said his wife, Michelle: "It adds an element of excitement."

___

Associated Press writers John Christoffersen in Fairfield, Conn., Samantha Critchell and Colleen Long in New York and Sylvia Wingfield in Boston contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-09-US-Northeast-Snow/id-97ec4c23f114478883789bd2e6f36eb9

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Obama to lay out economic growth plan in State of Union speech

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama will describe his plan for spurring the economy in his State of the Union address on Tuesday, offering proposals for investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy and education, a senior administration official said on Saturday.

In the annual presidential address to Congress, Obama plans to show he has not lost sight of the economic woes of middle-class Americans - issues that dominated the 2012 election campaign but have been overshadowed recently by efforts to cut the deficit, overhaul immigration laws and curb gun violence.

"The potential success of his second term is hugely dependent on the rate at which the economy grows," said Ruy Teixeira, a political scientist with the liberal-leaning Center for American Progress.

"There's no problem the Democrats have that can't be solved with faster growth. Conversely, there's not much they'll be able to do if growth stays slow."

Obama previewed his economic growth plan in a speech to House of Representatives Democrats this week, telling them he would stress the importance of education, development of clean energy, and infrastructure.

There were no details on the new initiatives for infrastructure, manufacturing, clean energy and education, elements first reported by the New York Times.

But any new spending will face tough opposition from Republicans in Congress who are focused on cutting spending and reducing the deficit.

Obama has urged Congress to take steps to postpone harsh government spending cuts slated to take effect on March 1, and the White House took pains on Friday to describe how the cuts would affect ordinary Americans' lives.

Obama has said he is willing to cut a "big deal" with Republicans to trim spending on the Medicare and Social Security programs for the elderly, but has insisted in ending long-standing tax breaks for oil companies, private equity firms and corporate jet owners to create more revenue for government.

(Editing by Peter Cooney)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-lay-economic-growth-plan-state-union-speech-022047207.html

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More coincidence than conspiracy at fashion week

A model walks the runway during the Victoria Beckham Fall 2013 fashion show during Fashion Week, Sunday, Feb. 10, 2013, in New York. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)

NEW YORK (AP) ? During every season of designer previews at New York Fashion Week a few key, quirky items seem to pop up on different runways. They're not quite trends since one has to think they're partly for runway effect not retail orders, but they're part of the style zeitgeist nonetheless. So, how does the ball start rolling on items such as oversized fur mittens, harnesses or sleeveless coats?

It's safe to say designers don't take a meeting together to decide what direction to go in.

"The honest answer is some of it is plain and simple coincidence," said Cindi Leive, editor in chief of Glamour magazine. "These designers are creating hundreds of looks over the course of a season. It would be more unusual if there were no overlap."

Still, she said, there also are fashion cycles and sociological factors to consider as catwalk collections are prepared.

Take fur ? both real and fake. Leive said Sunday it has been on every runway so far on this fourth of eight days of fashion week.

After the recession, no one was touching fur, she said, but it has slowly made a comeback as people feel a little more comfortable about spending money. The interpretation this go-around has been impactful, with an emphasis on oversized unexpected fur touches such as hoods, handbags and boots, but they're not as expensive as a full-length coat.

It's important for fashion insiders to be aware of what's happening in other parts of culture, including politics and art, said Marie Claire executive editor Nina Garcia earlier in the week as she prepared to judge aspiring designers at "Project Runway."

"Successful designers soak it all in," she said.

Fashion week continues in New York through Thursday, when the influential Marc Jacobs closes out things. Runway previews then move on to London, Milan and Paris.

VICTORIA BECKHAM

The opening look at Victoria Beckham's show was a windowpane plaid coat. She also incorporated more sweaters and knits into her collection, with a nod to mod with some geometric, colorblocked shift dresses.

The most unexpected looks were the flashes of bright yellow, including a sleeveless trench; the techno shine she added to pleated skirts that the audience could only see as the models walked; and the long cape-style tuxedo coat.

One of the important evolutions for fall is the softer shoulder, which she used to tweak one of her popular zip-back, slim-fit dress silhouettes.

For shoes, she put models in lower kitten heels, made in collaboration with Manolo Blahnik, which was a bit of a surprise for a woman known for skyscraper stilettos.

"I'm always designing what I want to wear," she said.

CHRISTIAN SIRIANO

The "Project Runway" alum used the Russian opera as the inspiration for his fall runway show, using a book of Russian opera houses as reference.

The girl wearing this collection, he said, was on her way to see the Russian opera.

"I wanted it to be a story of what she wears during the day, what she'll wear for a cocktail dress, what she'll wear to the opera," he said.

His vintage-inspired day looks evoke many eras, from the 1940s to the 1960s, and were mostly separates of turtlenecks paired with loose leather trousers and faux fur vests in muted colors such as white, black and camel.

One ensemble included a pointed-toe flat in a penny loafer style, a surprise inclusion given fashion's love for the high heel. Siriano explained it as a way to ensure its wearability, and also because he "wanted it to be a bit more demure, a bit simple."

Other shoes in the collection included bootie heels and heeled penny loafers with gold trim, echoing the filigree that anchored many of the evening dresses that closed the show.

JOSEPH ALTUZARRA

Joseph Altuzarra's urban, confident, fashion-forward customer wears graphic black-and-white leather ? layers it on, in fact ? and then there's the fox or mink fur on top. She's not shy about drawing attention in fur mittens, shiny grommet embellishment and strategically placed zippers. She wears her high-waisted trousers with a low-slung belt.

His fall-winter collection also includes optic white pants and a khaki cotton sleeveless trench worn with a khaki four-button tailored skirt.

The silhouette he offers his customers is strong and slim, sometimes with a little bump at the hip.

"The design and construction emphasize the nip of the waist and exaggerate the hip, while shrunken proportions mixed with a bolder shoulder volume sharpen the classic silhouette," he says in describing the shape.

___

AP Writer Amanda Kwan contributed to this story.

___

Follow Samantha Critchell on Twitter at http://twitter.com/AP_Fashion

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-10-NY%20Fashion%20Week-Day%204/id-c75c3cbd55514b948825b23e0f43c2e3

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Syrian rebels shut down key Damascus highway

This image taken from video obtained from Ugarit News on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, show smoke and fire rising on a main highway in Damascus, Syria. Rebels pushed forward in their battle with the Syrian army in northeastern Damascus on Friday, shutting down a main highway with a row of burning tires, activists said. A number of rebel brigades launched a campaign Wednesday to attack regime checkpoints along the highway and have been clashing in the area since. The government has responded by shelling number of rebel areas nearby. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

This image taken from video obtained from Ugarit News on Friday, Feb. 8, 2013, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, show smoke rising from fighting near a main highway in Damascus, Syria. Rebels pushed forward in their battle with the Syrian army in northeastern Damascus on Friday, shutting down a main highway with a row of burning tires, activists said. A number of rebel brigades launched a campaign Wednesday to attack regime checkpoints along the highway and have been clashing in the area since. The government has responded by shelling number of rebel areas nearby. (AP Photo/Ugarit News via AP video)

In this Wednesday, Feb. 6, 2013 photo, Syrian people carry their belongings after they crossed the river which separates between Free Syrian Army fighters and government forces in the Bustan Al-Pasha neighborhood, north of Aleppo, Syria.(AP Photo/Abdullah al-Yassin)

In this Thursday, Feb. 6, 2013 photo, a Syrian woman sits on the ruins of her house, which was destroyed in an airstrike by government warplanes a few days earlier, killing 11 members of her family, in the neighborhood of Ansari, Aleppo, Syria. (AP Photo/Abdullah al-Yassin)

This citizen journalism image provided by Edlib News Network, ENN, which has been authenticated based on its contents and other AP reporting, shows anti-Syrian regime protesters holding a banner during a demonstration, at Kafr Nabil town, in Idlib province, northern Syria, Friday, Feb. 8, 2013. (AP Photo/Edlib News Network ENN)

BEIRUT (AP) ? Rebels pushed forward in their battle with the Syrian army in Damascus on Friday, clashing with regime soldiers in contested neighborhoods in the northeast and shutting down a key highway out of the capital with a row of burning tires, activist said.

In Geneva, the U.N. refugee agency said there has been a huge increase in the number of people fleeing Syria, with 5,000 refugees crossing the borders daily into neighboring countries. Agency spokesman Adrian Edwards said Friday the mass exodus "is really a full-on crisis right at the moment."

The latest fighting in Damascus, some of the heaviest to hit the city since July, began Wednesday with a series of rebel attacks on regime checkpoints along the main road from Damascus to northern Syria. Opposition fighters and government forces have been clashing in the area since, and regime troops have also responded by shelling a number of rebel-held districts nearby.

The violence has brought the civil war that has destroyed entire neighborhoods of other Syrian cities closer to the heart of the capital, which has mostly been spared heavy fighting. Still, the offensive did not appear to be coordinated with rebels on other sides of Damascus and it was unclear whether the rebels would be able to hold their ground.

Both the rebels and the regime of President Bashar Assad consider the fight for Damascus the most likely endgame in a civil war that has already killed more than 60,000. The government controls movement in and out of the heavily defended city with a network of checkpoints, and rebels have failed so far to make significant inroads.

A spokesman for one of the opposition groups fighting in the area said the rebels sought to open a path for a future assault on the city.

"This is not the battle for Damascus. This battle is to prepare for the entry into Damascus," he said via Skype, giving only his nickname of Abu al-Fida for fear of reprisals.

The fighting revolved around the capital's main highway heading toward the country's north. Abu al-Fida said one checkpoint on the highway changed hands twice on Thursday but was securely in rebel hands Friday. He said rebels were within a half-kilometer (half-mile) from Abbasid square and were firing mortars at a military base near the landmark plaza.

Online videos showed a row of burning tires laid across the highway, blocking all traffic. Smoke rose from a number of areas nearby, reflecting clashes and government shelling.

The videos appeared genuine and corresponded to activist reports.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported clashes in Jobar and shelling and airstrikes on the nearby areas of Zamalka and Qaboun. Rebels also battled government troops in the southern neighborhood of Yarmouk, as well as in the rebel-held suburbs of Daraya and Moadamiyeh, where six people died in a government shell attack, it said.

Also Friday, the Observatory said 54 were killed, including 11 women, in a bombing at a bus stop near a military factory earlier in the week.

Observatory director Rami Abdul-Rahman said an explosive-laden mini-bus blew up at a bus stop near the factory in Buraq, near the central city of Hama, while workers were waiting for rides home. The factory makes military supplies, but not weapons, he said.

The area is government-controlled, which is why reports on the blast were slow to emerge.

"These people work for the Ministry of Defense, but they are all civilians," he said, adding that no one from the military was killed in the blast.

Facebook pages for nearby villages posted names of the dead and pictures of mass graves. A page for the nearby town of Salmiyeh listed more than forty residents it said were killed in the blast.

Syria's state news agency reported the explosion on Wednesday evening, saying "terrorists" detonated a car bomb near a factory. It did not say what the factory produced or specify the number of dead and wounded. The regime refers to rebels fighting to topple the Assad regime as terrorists.

No one has claimed responsibility for the blast, which resembled others in recent months that appeared to target buildings associated with Syria's military and security services.

Some of the bombings have been claimed by an al-Qaida-linked group fighting alongside the rebels, Jabhat al-Nusra, which the U.S. had designated a terrorist organization.

As the situation in Syria has worsened, foreign jihadists have flocked to Syria to join what they consider a holy war to replace Assad's regime with an Islamic state in Syria. Most of the foreign fighters are Arabs from Egypt, Tunisia, Libya and other countries.

Late Thursday, the chief of the Netherlands' top intelligence agency warned that dozens of Dutch citizens are fighting with Syria's rebels and could return home battle-hardened, traumatized and radicalized.

General Intelligence and Security Service chief Rob Bertholee told the Dutch show Nieuwsuur that hundreds of people from around Europe and dozens from the Netherlands have travelled to Syria to join rebels fighting Assad.

He said propaganda romanticizing the civil war is helping draw foreigners into Syria's maelstrom of violence.

Syria's crisis began with peaceful protests in March 2011 and evolved into a civil war as the opposition took up arms to fight a government crackdown on dissent. The U.N. said last month that more than 60,000 people have been killed in the conflict.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-02-08-Syria/id-95fb31ac3b544702a71598f2af072514

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microRNA Used to Identify Triple-Negative Breast Cancer Subtypes

Dr. Charles Shapiro. Photo: The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center

Cancer Research 11 hours ago

Columbus, OH (Scicasts) ? A new, large-scale study of triple-negative breast cancer shows that small molecules called microRNA can be used to define four subtypes of this aggressive malignancy.

The findings, by researchers at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center ? Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute (OSUCCC ? James) working with collaborators in Italy, could lead to new screening methods, prognostic markers and perhaps new targeted treatments for this aggressive and often-fatal form of breast cancer.

?The treatment of women with triple-negative breast cancer is challenging because this malignancy can be very different genetically from one patient to another,? says co-senior investigator Dr. Charles Shapiro, director of Breast Medical Oncology and professor of internal medicine at the OSUCCC ? James.

?We believe these microRNA signatures define novel sub-sets of triple-negative breast cancer and offer new insights into the biology of the disease and better ways to treat these patients,? Shapiro says.

The microRNAs that compose the signatures are involved in regulating cell growth, proliferation and survival, and in cell movement and migration.

?These findings strongly suggest that microRNAs play an important role in triple-negative breast cancer and might be used to better identify the most effective treatment for a patient?s tumour,? says co-senior investigator and researcher Dr. Kay Huebner, professor of molecular virology, immunology and medical genetics at Ohio State.

?Several of the deregulated microRNAs we found in the cancer samples are involved in chemo-resistance or radio-resistance. MicroRNA profiles can help us to improve and personalize therapies for individual patients,? she says.

Triple-negative breast cancer accounts for about 15 percent of all breast cancers. It is characterized by cancer cells that lack oestrogen, progesterone and HER2 receptors. For this reason, these tumours do not respond to hormone therapies or HER2-targeted treatments.

MicroRNAs help regulate the kind and amount of proteins that cells make. They do this by binding with messenger RNA (mRNA), molecular copies of genes that are translated into proteins. When microRNA is bound to an mRNA, the messenger molecule cannot be translated into a protein. Instead, it is either temporarily stored or destroyed.

This study investigated associations between microRNA expression levels, mRNA expression levels and overall survival and distant-disease-free survival in women with triple-negative breast cancer.

Shapiro, Huebner and their colleagues evaluated 59 normal, 165 tumour and 54 metastatic matched tissue samples, obtained through The Stefanie Spielman Fund for Breast Cancer Research at the OSUCCC ? James.

The researchers ran a complete microRNA profile and a cancer-focused panel of genes for each sample. They then generated microRNA signatures represented by certain prognostic microRNAs that, when deregulated, indicate odds of survival.

?This was a large cohort of triple-negative breast cancer cases and a major analysis effort that we believe makes this work extremely valuable,? Huebner says.

To stratify the cancers, the researchers determined microRNA and mRNA expression profiles in tumour, adjacent-normal tissue and lymph-node metastatic tissue from 173 women with the triple-negative breast cancer.

?We identified microRNAs and mRNAs that uniquely represent primary and metastatic tumours, and that are specifically deregulated in that stage of the disease, says co-author Dr. Pierluigi Gasparini, a postdoctoral researcher in Huebner?s laboratory.

The results define microRNA expression signatures that characterize and contribute to the differences between primary and metastatic tumours.

?We now want to learn which of these deregulated microRNAs might represent early biomarkers for cancer or metastasis detection,? Gasparini says.

The study?s key technical findings include:

?? ?The microRNA signatures correlated with prognosis and were correlated with changes in mRNA expression;
?? ?Two microRNA signatures were predictive of overall survival and distant disease-free survival, respectively, in patients 50 years of age or younger;
?? ?mRNA expression profiling resulted in clustering of triple-negative breast cancer into four molecular subclasses with different expression signatures.

?We believe these findings will be a reference point not only for our lab but also for many other research teams that might not have access to large patient populations, and hope that they will accelerate even more research on triple-negative breast cancer,? Huebner says.

The study is published in the journal PLoS ONE.

Source: http://scicasts.com/cancer/5394-microrna-used-to-identify-triple-negative-breast-cancer-subtypes

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Saturday 9 February 2013

Yen regroups following finance minister commentary | Daniels Trading

Yen regroups following finance minister commentary

Feb 08, 2013 06:30 AM

Friday saw the Japanese yen advance for a second consecutive trading session in the aftermath of commentary by the finance minister regarding the monetary unit, according to Bloomberg.

Gains for the yen were the highest in nearly two years after Finance Minister Taro Aso said the yen lost value too quickly. Prime Minister Shinzo, since before he was elected in December, has been encouraging monetary easing policies to boost the globe's third-largest economy.

"Central bank and government officials from around the world have given FX markets the gift of volatility this year," senior currency strategist Win Thin with Brown Brothers Harriman in New York told the news source on Friday. "Yesterday, it was ECB President Draghi's second press conference in a row that caught markets by surprise. Today, it was Japan Finance Minister Aso's turn, as he apparently told reporters that the recent pace of yen weakness has been too fast."

The yen 's gains on the final trade session of the week climbed as high as 1.6 percent, the top increase since one day in March 2011.

Abe is facing the responsibilities of naming three of the Bank of Japan's highest-ranking officials, which is to occur in March and April, according to Reuters.
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Source: http://www.danielstrading.com/resources/news/Futures-Market-News/Yen-regroups-following-finance-minister-commentary_383799/

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Friday 8 February 2013

Mastering online marketing: maximising the potential of display ...

Increased investment within the online display space in particular has had a significant impact on the overall growth in this spend, not least because of the exciting innovations emerging within the industry ? including the roll-out of new advertising formats from the Internet Advertising Bureau, in a bid to advance the sector?s mobile capabilities. Additionally, advances of ad technologies now arm businesses with better tools for online targeting, as well as the introduction of ?rich media? and interactive ad adverts which are more effective at attracting higher levels of engagement from consumers .
However the massive spurt in internet users, alongside the growing amount of advertising inventory available at marketers? disposal ? knowing how to effectively reach your target audience can be difficult. While employing a ?spray and pray? tactic ? where advertisers issue a blanket of communications across a wide range of sites ? may enhance brand awareness, targeting segmented end-users with relevant campaigns which result in a drive to action or a ?click?, is inherently more valuable.
Achieving the coveted click however is becoming more difficult, thanks to the sheer number of advertising impressions reaching consumers across all digital channels. Inundated with increasing volumes of marketing messages, online users are likely only to respond to messages which are relevant to them ? rather than act on a generic ad they may stumble across when browsing online. Against this backdrop, businesses rolling out display campaigns should take the following factors into consideration:
1) Understanding consumer behaviour
While it is tempting to place your online display advertising on sites which attract the highest number of unique users, this is not necessarily the most effective way to reach with your target audience. We recently conducted research with YouGov that highlighted the types of websites consumers visit and the environments in which they are most engaged and open to advertising. The results found that 92 per cent of consumers now visit sites relevant to their interests when searching for content on the web ? the main reasons being that they regard these as reliable, engaging and trusted sources of information. Not only that, due to the personal connection they feel with special interest sites, the results shown that consumers have a more receptive mind set when visiting them. Consequently users are more likely to pay attention to relevant ads that are featured on these sites ? something which is true for 39 per cent of 18-24 year olds.
The results point to the need for businesses to take a specialist and targeted approach to marketing online ? yet is an area that is yet to be mastered. Currently 52 per cent of consumers feel that the majority of the online adverts they receive are only occasionally or rarely relevant to them. In order to help improve this relevance, marketers must seek out and purchase the online inventory which best reflects their product or service offering ? i.e. if you sell you sports equipment, then you should be ensuring your ads are hosted on sport specific inventory, such as sport blogs or websites.
2) Don?t over rely on technology
Technological innovations are undoubtedly playing a major role in making display campaigns more effective. For example, automated algorithmic and programmatic buying technologies ? such as Real Time Bidding (RTB) ? automatically serve the most relevant marketing to the most relevant consumer based on their interests, all in real-time. This means, if a woman is looking at jeans on the Selfridges website; a Selfridge?s ad promoting a sale in women?s jeans could be shown on other fashion websites that the woman later browses on ? something very difficult to achieve using a manual approach. For advertisers, automated ad platforms help ensure budget is spent only on the most appropriate and relevant publisher sites, while at the same time, benefits publishers by ensuring their available inventory is fully utilised.
However, there are also certain drawbacks to these solutions. Algorithmic approaches lack creativity and are not always as compelling as other display formats can be. For example, promotions which make use of bespoke solutions, such as branded whole page take overs ? rather than simple banner ads ? can create more visual impact and capture more consumer attention. Furthermore, purely technological solutions eliminate human judgement ? something crucial when delivering online display campaigns. Problems may occur when automated technology platforms shift inventory without taking into account the appropriateness of each ad placement. Imagine if you saw an ad from an airline featured on a news site which is covering an air disaster, this is probably the result of programmatic buying. The lesson here is if display ads are not proactively managed in advance and left solely to automation, they can end up on inappropriate sites and therefore risking brand damage.
3) Provide a seamless experience
With consumers being exposed to rising volumes of ad impressions, ensuring display campaigns are integrated into publishers? sites flawlessly, creatively and cleverly, is essential. Not only this, but advertisers should also encourage publishers to provide users with the tools to maximise their digital experience ? so users? are more engaged with both the content and marketing present on the site. This includes making sure that content can be consumed and easily shared over as many touch points as possible, as well as featuring more exciting advertising. This might involve hosting rich media ads, or ads which feature products catalogues, or even the use of gamified adverts ? each which offer real value to the consumer and stands apart from standard banner marketing.
The array of publisher sites available to marketers means that sustaining a relationship with each may prove untenable. Therefore, working with ad agencies that are familiar with the complexity of the display market and who have the experience of rolling out dynamic online campaigns becomes increasingly important. By working with ad buyers and agencies that have close relationships with publishers makes it easier when encouraging them to adopt creative campaigns that fit and are delivered flawlessly.
In a climate of competition, but also great opportunity, businesses need to get a handle on which campaigns are most compelling to consumers and also identify which online properties are most effective when housing campaigns. By taking the time to think carefully about who you want to target, how and where you want to reach them and adopting a creative approach ? which doesn?t rely on technology alone ? will provide the initial steps to online display success.

Source: http://www.bullfax.com/?q=node-mastering-online-marketing-maximising-potential-display

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Study Author Comments On Financial Incentives That Affect End-of ...

The author of a study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) on February 5, 2013, commented that many patients continue to receive aggressive treatments at the end of life, with on average three transitions in the site of care in the last three months of life. An interview with Joan M. Teno, MD, of Brown University, summarized the conclusions she draws from the data produced by the study.

Findings of the Study

Based on an analysis of Medicare data for more than 800,000 patients aged 66 years or older who died in 2000, 2005, or 2009, the study found that fewer individuals are dying in acute care hospitals than in the past and that more are receiving hospice care. A growing number are receiving care in an intensive care unit in their last month of life, and individuals are facing more transitions between different care sites in their final three months.

Financial Incentives

There are financial incentives to provide more care in fee-for-service care, Dr. Teno commented. We don?t get paid to talk with patients about their goals or care or probable outcomes of care, she said, but we are paid for hospitalizations, and there are financial incentives for nursing homes to transfer patients back to acute care. She suggested ?we need to restructure how we pay hospital systems? and she is hopeful about the potential of bundling of Medicare payments through accountable care organizations.

Although some advocates have proposed using the site of death as a measure of the quality of care patients receive at the end of life, Dr. Teno said that we ?need to go beyond site of death and look at health care transitions.? Such transitions are difficult on a dying patient and family, she said. One transition that often occurs is from an acute care hospital to a nursing home. When that happens, the nursing home has to ?represcribe? all the patient?s medications, she explained. There is often a delay in getting medicine to the patient. Patients may not get effective palliative care when you move them, especially in the last three days of life, she concludes.

Advice for Clinicians

Hospice care, for many patients, ?is an add-on to aggressive care,? said Dr. Teno. ?We need to talk with patients about goals of care,? she said, and offered the following advice to clinicians: ?Don?t wait until a patient is actively dying to refer to hospice.? She suggested that the clinicians get a palliative care consultation and talk with patients about their goals for care early on. ?We have to thoughtfully navigate care at the end of life to give the right care at the right time and in the right location, she said, ??honoring the patient?s right to choose.?

Source: http://health.wolterskluwerlb.com/2013/02/author-of-study-comments-on-financial-incentives-that-affect-the-quality-of-end-of-life-care/

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Press Release: 2013 Global Conference Draws Area Exporters ...

Feb. 19 event to be moderated by former Global President of the Entrepreneurs? Org., Troy Hazard

BISMARCK, N.D. ? North Dakota businesses and international trade professionals from around the world will have the opportunity to connect at Global Business Connections 2013, hosted by the North Dakota Trade Office on Feb. 19 at the Ramkota Hotel, Bismarck.? The event will consist of educational breakout sessions, a panel discussion with leading business professionals, a networking reception and a keynote address provided by international entrepreneur and business television correspondent, Troy Hazard.? Additionally, Gov. Jack Dalrymple will present the 2012 Global Business Awards during a special ceremony.

?North Dakota continues to expand its presence in the global marketplace and this annual conference is a valuable tool for emerging and experienced exporters who want to take greater advantage of export opportunities,? said Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley, chairman of the North Dakota Trade Office board of directors.

The conference will feature educational breakout sessions surrounding the following topics:? The Bank of North Dakota?s Export Enhancement Program; Navigating the Food Safety Modernization Act; Doing Business in Singapore; and, Increasing Exports with Innovation Jumpstart.? These one-hour sessions are designed to give a close-up look at hot button international issues and allow participants to ask questions of experts in each field.

The Export Enhancement Program, a new agreement between the Bank of North Dakota and Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank), will be officially introduced to the public during GBC 2013.

?Issues such as the Food Safety Modernization Act and the new Export Enhancement Program with Ex-Im Bank and the Bank of North Dakota are on the minds of our exporters ? they are looking for more information, and this event will provide a venue for attendees to ask questions,? said Dean Gorder, executive director of NDTO.? ?GBC brings together exporters of all experience levels and global business experts from around the world and is an opportunity for business leaders to tap into a variety of international resources.?

Australian serial entrepreneur, Troy Hazard, will kick off the event at the opening luncheon, act as moderator for the panel discussion and tie the day together with a closing keynote.? Hazard is a national network television host, best selling business author and has served as the Global President of the Entrepreneurs? Organization, in addition to building 11 businesses over the past two decades.? Hazard currently hosts ?Gettin? Down 2 Business!? on BIZ TV Network.

Gov. Jack Dalrymple is scheduled to present North Dakota?s 2012 Exporter of the Year Award and the Service to Exporters Award to two North Dakota companies that have demonstrated excellence in the international marketplace over the past year.

Other speakers and panel guests include:? Gov. Jack Dalrymple; Lt. Gov. Drew Wrigley; Howard Dahl, Amity Technology; Steve Dickinson, Fredrikson & Byron, P.A.; Tom Heffelfinger, Best & Flanagan, former U.S. Attorney of Minnesota; King Rogers, King Rogers Group, LLC, Temi Group; David Saxowsky, NDSU; Randy Schwartz, Dakota Manufacturing Extension Partnership; Bob Humann, Bank of North Dakota; Curt Hanson, Trade Acceptance Group.

To view the GBC 2013 agenda or to register, visit www.ndto.com.

Source: http://ndto.com/2013/02/press-release-2013-global-conference-draws-area-exporters-international-business-experts/

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Thursday 7 February 2013

Animal Magnetism: How Salmon Find Their Way Back Home

Bright red sockeye salmon swim up the Fraser River to the stream where they were born.

Current Biology, Putman et al.

Bright red sockeye salmon swim up the Fraser River to the stream where they were born.

Current Biology, Putman et al.

Before they end up filleted and saut?ed on your dinner plate, salmon lead some pretty extraordinary, globe-trotting lives.

After hatching in a freshwater stream, young salmon make a break for the ocean, where they hang out for years, covering thousands of miles before deciding its time to settle down and lay eggs in the same stream they were born.

So how do these fish find their way back to their home river?

According to one theory, it's all about magnetism. When salmon are young, the theory goes, they imprint on the pattern of the Earth's magnetic field at the mouth of their native river. Years later, when the salmon head back home to spawn, they home in on that pattern. In a study published Thursday in Current Biology, the scientists behind that theory now say they have evidence that's exactly how the fish are navigating.

Magnetic detection "is one part of their toolkit for being really efficient navigators," says the study's lead author, Nathan Putman, a postdoctoral researcher at Oregon State University in Corvallis. The fish also use their sense of smell to help them locate the exact stream of their birth.

The finding could be helpful for fishery managers who'd like to predict where their fish will be and how their populations might change due to climate change and fishing pressures, Putman says.

Around the world, many salmon stocks are on the decline, and scientists would like to explain odd events, like why millions of wild salmon didn't return to the Fraser River in 2009. It's possible a glitch in the salmon's navigational abilities played a role.

An even bigger concern is whether being raised in hatcheries somehow alters salmon's "internal GPS." Spawned in tanks, these salmon are released into streams and rivers and account for a large amount of the "wild" salmon that swim in the ocean and end up on your dinner plate.

Putnam worries that something about their hatchery upbringing could throw off how these salmon perceive magnetic fields. Because the Earth's magnetic field is relatively weak and can be overpowered by man-made objects, it's possible that something as simple as the iron reinforcements in the fish tanks, or nearby electrical cables, could throw off the salmon's magnetic imprinting.

"Then they might not be very good at navigating, and that could cause problems," he says.

If salmon born in hatcheries get lost on the way back home, they could end up in the wrong stream and interbreed with wild salmon populations. That's a problem, because studies suggest that hatchery-raised salmon aren't nearly as good at surviving outside captivity as their wild counterparts ? and when they mate, the wild stock ends up genetically weaker.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/02/07/171384063/animal-magnetism-how-salmon-find-their-way-back-home?ft=1&f=1007

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Rihanna Will Support Chris Brown Throughout His ... - Hollywood Life

Rihanna has vowed to stand by Chris during his darkest hours, and pledges she will help him get through all the pain he?s currently facing in his life. Continue reading for all the EXCLUSIVE details!

Chris Brown, you got a girlfriend? Well, if you didn?t, you do now. Rihanna is claiming Chris, and says she will be with him every step of the way,?HollywoodLife.com?is exclusively reporting. She even attended court with him?on Feb. 6 as he faces accusations that he violated his probation by faking his community service!

In the early morning hours on Feb. 6, Rihanna was comforting Chris and accompanied him to a Los Angeles recording studio because ?he was sad and she wanted to be there for him,? a source close to the 24-year-old Unapologetic artist tells HollywoodLife.com exclusively. ?Poor baby, with all the sh** he been going through she felt she needed to be there for him.

?Rihanna don?t want to see nobody she cares about being hurt on any level, especially Chris,? the source adds. ?She loves [him] so much and told him to roll to the studio to get his mind off s**t instead of just going to the house to smoke and sleep. She thought that would help his a** a lot, to get his mind off s**t.?

Chris Brown?s Many Troubles

Chris has been going through a lot, indeed. Earlier this week, the police report involving the Chris and Frank Ocean brawl claimed Chris hurled anti-gay epithets at Frank.

And on Feb. 5, reports hit the internet claiming Chris faked documents relating to the number of hours he was sentenced to complete for community service, stemming from his 2009 Rihanna assault case. Chris and his attorney are due in court in Los Angeleson Feb. 6 ?to respond to such claims.

Breezy About To Have A Meltdown?

Our source says Chris is on the verge of a meltdown because of his portrayal in the media.

?Life is bothering [him,]? the source explains. ?Just because you got money, fame and all that, don?t mean you happy.

?Chris just going through some sh** though, that?s all. [People] be forgetting he got a heart. He got feelings. He human. He hurt just like the next.

?He a big boy though, he will be all right and Rihanna?s down for him and will be there every step of the way. If he?s down, she?s down. If he?s up, she?s up. That?s how in sync they are.?

Sound off, HollywoodLifers. Do you think Rihanna will succeed at being Chris? rock?

WATCH: Chris Brown Totally Faked His Community Service!

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??Eric Ray

More Chris Brown In Trouble News:

Chris Brown?s Lawyer: Prosecutors Have ?Completely Lost Their Minds?
Chris Brown Threatened To Shoot Frank Ocean During Fight ? Report
Chris Brown Respects Frank Ocean & Decision To Not Press Charges

Source: http://hollywoodlife.com/2013/02/06/rihanna-chris-brown-trouble-court-date-community-service/

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Obama to promote his agenda to House Democrats

LANSDOWNE, Va. (AP) ? Predicting a tough road ahead, President Barack Obama urged House Democrats to stick to their principles on guns, immigration and the economy as they confront congressional Republicans in legislative fights to come.

Addressing Democratic lawmakers who assembled Thursday for their annual retreat in Lansdowne, Obama said that one fundamental question will guide all of his second-term policies: Whether the policy gives every American a fair shot at success.

"It won't be smooth. It won't be simple. There will be frustrations. There will be times when you guys are mad at me, and occasionally I'll read about it," Obama said. He asked Democrats to keep in mind their aspiration to better their community that prompted them to seek public office in the first place. "If we keep that in mind every single day," he said, "I have no doubt that we will continue the extraordinary progress that we've made already."

To House Democrats fatigued from spending the past few years in the minority, Obama offered a glimmer of hope:

"As a byproduct of doing that good work and keeping that focus, I would expect that Nancy Pelosi is going to be Speaker again pretty soon," the president said, referring to the California Democrat who served as House speaker before Republicans took control of the chamber in 2010.

Offering hints about the issues he will highlight Tuesday night in his annual State of the Union address, Obama said lawmakers should expect to hear him talk about job creation, education, clean energy and taxes and spending, among other issues.

He said he's still anxious to achieve a broad budget deal with Republicans, but brushed off a GOP plan to avert impending across-the-board spending cuts that he argued would spare the wealthy from sacrifice while putting all the burden on more vulnerable groups like seniors and disabled children.

"If that's the choice we've got, I promise you we can win that debate, because we're on the right side of this argument," Obama said.

After Obama's brief public remarks to the House members, reporters were ushered out of the room before he took lawmakers' questions in private.

White House officials say Obama's top priority is job creation and that he will make a case for fiscal policies that encourage economic growth. Setting up a contrast with Republicans who are insisting on spending cuts, not tax increases, to stanch federal red ink, Obama told reporters Tuesday, "We can't just cut our way to prosperity."

Obama met privately for more than two hours Wednesday with Senate Democrats. The White House said the president spoke briefly, took questions from 10 of the senators assembled, then spent an hour chatting with them in smaller groups. Obama's spokesman, Jay Carney, said the session was focused on coordinating what Democratic senators are doing with the administration's own efforts to promote Obama's priorities.

The meeting with House Democrats follows Wednesday's vote in the Republican-controlled House that would require the president to submit a budget that balances the federal ledger. The bill was symbolic, meant as a taunt to the president. It has little chance in the Senate but, still, 26 House Democrats voted for it.

In the Senate, Democrats hold the majority and can be far more effective at driving Obama's legislative agenda. But a unified Democratic caucus in the House is critical on issues that might divide Republicans, such as an overhaul of immigration laws or even some fiscal policies.

Carney has said Obama and lawmakers have made "significant progress" toward a bipartisan deal on immigration. The Senate has taken the lead assembling comprehensive legislation, including a path to citizenship for the nation's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants.

Gun control has been a thornier issue. Many Democrats are reluctant to embrace Obama's call for banning certain weapons. But Obama has argued that other proposals, such as universal background checks, have broad public support.

Vice President Joe Biden, addressing House lawmakers at the retreat Wednesday, said they can support the measures he and Obama are proposing without fear they'll be booted from office. He urged them not to learn the wrong lesson from the 1994 election, when Democrats lost control of Congress after supporting a ban on assault weapons that has since expired.

"I'm here to tell you the world has changed," Biden said. "Public attitudes have changed since 1994. Social media has changed. The ability to misrepresent our positions has changed."

On fiscal issues, Obama is calling on Congress to pass a short-term package of spending cuts and tax revenue to give lawmakers time to negotiate a broader deficit-reduction deal and to avoid deep spending cuts that are set to automatically kick in on March 1.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/obama-promote-agenda-house-democrats-080437438--politics.html

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TSX may open lower on Europe fears, Suncor results

(Reuters) - Canada's main stock index looked set to open lower on Wednesday, hurt by renewed concerns about the health of the euro zone's economy and weaker-than-expected results from Suncor Energy Inc , the country's biggest oil company.

Obama taps REI chief Sally Jewell for Interior secretary (reuters)

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Wednesday 6 February 2013

Jennifer Lawrence At 'THR' Nominees' Night 2013 (PHOTOS)

www.justjared.com:

Jennifer Lawrence is smashing while attending the 2013 The Hollywood Reporter Nominees' Night held at Spago on Monday (February 4) in Beverly Hills, Calif.

Read the whole story at www.justjared.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/02/05/jennifer-lawrence-thr-nominees_n_2621642.html

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Tuesday 5 February 2013

Clean Your Car with WD-40

Clean Your Car with WD-40 WD-40 is one of those special multi-purpose products with more than a few surprising uses (in fact, WD-40 claims this miracle spray has over 2,000 uses). WD-40 can be effective at removing the most difficult stuff from both your car exterior and interior.

One of the things that struck me in this graphic from The Secret Yumiverse on DIY car cleaning is the many ways WD-40 can be used with your car: removing bugs, grime, old bumper stickers, tree sap, and bird droppings on the outside, and crayon, grease, and gum on the upholstery or carpet.

WD-40 won't get out every stain or fix every problem, but it sure can come in handy. For more household items you can use to clean your car with, check out the post below.

9 DIY Tricks for Cleaning Your Car | The Secret Yumiverse

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/l3vny3NNdlc/clean-your-car-with-wd+40

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