Back on home turf

POINT OF VIEW: Diarmuid Gavin’s floating garden won gold at the Chelsea Flower Show and is destined for Cork. He says he didn’t spend millions to bring it to Chelsea, outlines the inspiration and teamwork behind it, and believes it will deliver value for money
ON THE ROAD from Killorglin going towards Ballinskelligs there’s a gentle curve and then a concrete bridge. Driving past in May each year I always peer over at the badly drained field full of rushes and sulphur yellow flowering flag iris. The same small pool of water is formed in a corner dyed dark through bog tannin, one clump of Arum lily standing proud and flowering brilliant white, with decadent leaves and a rude stamen. This was to be the starting point for the Irish Sky Garden at Chelsea. I brought a brilliant team from home to London on a strict budget, generously granted by Fáilte Ireland. The plan was to make an Irish garden, to create awareness of our beautiful little island that drips with natural and man-made riches and is definitely open for business.
The genesis of the project came about almost two years ago. I was approached by the Cork Midsummer Festival of the Senses to create an exhibit around the theme of gardens. I was to design a garden dramatic enough to grab attention at the Chelsea Flower Show. The garden would then be brought back to display at the Cork Midsummer Festival before being incorporated in a brand new city centre park in Cork. The total budget was €2.3 million, with 75 per cent coming from Fáilte Ireland, and 25 per cent from Cork City Council. The idea that developed for Chelsea, the notion of the Irish Sky Garden, was a beautiful green garden reminiscent of those Kerry bog pools on the ground, with a pavilion that floated into the air, to give visitors a new perspective on Chelsea, on London and indeed on Ireland and design. It was great fun to develop, but extremely difficult to execute.
I brought the notion to Bob Sweet, the head of shows development at the Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), and Alex Baulkhill, the head of the Chelsea Flower Show. They were full of encouragement but mindful of the technical obligations. They were excited but nervous. Until they saw the garden rise, that didn’t change.
I rounded up a team. On the Niall Mellon Township Trust, I had watched the work of garden builder Dermot Kerins from Kenmare in awe. His no-nonsense approach made things happen. Sean Cunningham spent eight years with me working for the BBC building gardens. As a technician there was none better. Landscape contractor Bryan Cullen from Kilcoole in Wicklow is the hardiest of souls, wearing short trousers winter and summer, binding a team together with a smile the width of Ireland. And Gerry Conneely of Clontarf was the wise shoulder, the planting companion, the man with a great eye.
We spent months in planning meetings. I commissioned Arups in Dublin to engineer our structure. It had to be millimetre-precise if we were to hang 30 tonnes of steel over garden lovers in London. Arups embraced the spirit of our adventure and Nugent Manufacturing in Naas won the tender to build. Without a contract from the sponsors or a penny, Nugent borrowed to create this Chelsea dream.
I went plant-hunting, to Cork first, where the Nangle and Niesen nursery agreed to sponsor a truck load of birch. With my family, I drove from Dublin through Britain to mainland Europe, five countries in four days, looking at trees, shrubs and grasses.
And then, on May 4th, still without funding, we started in Chelsea. It was daunting to be faced with the largest ever plot given to an outside garden. I needed the space to house the crane. The overall design involved lots of plants and a minimum of hard materials. A ribbon-like path would shimmer through the sloping site, crossing more than 25 pools, half of them dyed ink black. Green planting, Irish style, would tumble down the hill as if in streams to be met by flowing rivers of grasses crossing east to west. The path would eventually lead to the pink pavilion, planted all over in turf, but inside there would be a profusion of delicious perennials. Two Lutyens benches faced each other and behind and underneath peonies and hostas, rodgersias and ornamental kiwi, campanula and geranium drifted. Six people at a time would be strapped into the benches and lifted.
There had never been a proper hanging or flying garden. Technically, to live up to the brief that I had written for the judging committees of the RHS, the garden needed to fly once with someone in it. During the previous 18 months I had been prepared for somebody to put a stop to this project. It hadn’t happened yet. Four-hour-long meetings took place on successive days – men in hard hats with calculating machinery and notebooks poured over every detail. I kept away, planting. Dermot Kerins negotiated many a tense moment.
But the planting was turning out to be a joy. We created a waterfall effect of beautiful bamboos and a screen behind them of Cork birch. I took inspiration from a photograph taken in Sligo, and made a stream of water running over moss-covered boulders, pure and dark green and beautiful. In the back of our plot I started placing taxus, yew. We built them up slowly so they appeared to tumble down a hill. Looking from the front of the garden, you couldn’t see the pathways it cut through. And beyond it the yew turned into pin-cushion Buxus sempervirens. Around their base swirled a sea of dwarf pine.
That is when something special happened. Groups of other gardeners started to visit every evening on their way out. They stood and looked and the green seemed to rejuvenate aching limbs. They were generous with their comments. We were on to something. It wasn’t the big pink thing that would fly that excited people; it was the delicate planting, telling the story of a garden through green textures.
By the end of the first week some money had arrived. Conditions remained tough. We had rented a cheap flat for the group an hour and a half away: two bedrooms, occasionally up to 12 people, sleeping bags all over the floor. But that meant an accommodation bill costing £12 per night per person. The daily routine never changed. We arrived at 7am and achieved real work before breakfast at 10am. That was an unhealthy bread roll stuffed with sausage or bacon. I took charge of lunch. I visited supermarkets, feeding the team for between £90 and £100. We were without fail the last to leave the site, straggling home exhausted at 9pm.
And yet the Irish boys were the most popular on site. Machines, JCBs, mini diggers whizzed around flying tricolours. The good humour that inhabited every leaf of our plot proved infectious with the neighbours. Reinforcements arrived. A woman in Tipperary read about our endeavours and rang her son Bennie, a boss in London’s Royal Parks. Bennie appeared daily and nightly, bringing Gareth and other workers, apprentices and trainees, day after day to give us a dig out. The Irish and the Royal Parks united in the week that Queen Elizabeth was visiting home. Others arrived, and worked hard.
Then suddenly it was all over. The garden was complete ahead of schedule, due to Dermot Kerins’s diligence, with plenty of time left over for detailing. The average cost of sponsorship for a garden in Chelsea is £250,000. That’s what sponsors pay to contractors to build gardens. The Fáilte Ireland budget for the Chelsea part of this project was €621,000. We finished €100,000 under budget. Every leaf of the garden is being repatriated to Ireland under the ownership of Cork City Council. So the cost of us bringing part of Cork’s new park to Chelsea, therefore, didn’t turn out to be €2.3 million as has been reported. That’s what we spent to build a garden twice the size of any other and now Cork will have the beautiful yews, the amazing hornbeams clipped into surreal conical shapes, the soft clipped box, acres of ornamental grass, over 30 steel circular pools and a flying pavilion.
On the Sunday evening, Alan Titchmarsh and the BBC featured our garden heavily on its preview show. We immediately received a text from Fáilte Ireland: “Congratulations, brilliant job, thank you for your patience. Job done.”
Our fee is the standard industry norm of 10 per cent of the project’s value. With part of my fee, I hired an agency in England, Stuart Higgins, to promote Ireland. I spoke to 40 stations about the Irish Sky Garden, about gardens in Ireland, about Cork and how we are open for business. I went on the Graham Norton Show on Radio 2, the One Show, breakfast television on BBC, ITV and Sky. I wrote articles for UK newspapers and printed 25,000 leaflets to hand out, encouraging people to visit Ireland.
The week of the flower show is a blur. I’ve never felt validated by awards or medals. But to be the subject of so much warmth from Britain and Ireland when gold was achieved took me completely by surprise. Gardeners loved it and the public loved it. The critics loved it. And to cap events, those who voted loved it. The Irish Sky Garden was awarded the prestigious People’s Choice Award.
The big surprise was how beautiful the pod was, inside and outside, but also its motion. It floated into the sky quite wonderfully. Inside, its turf-covered roof ensured a sense of seclusion and calm. Soon the celebrities were out and the surreal moments of Chelsea began. Helen Mirren stepped aboard; Bill Bailey kept her seat warm; and John and Norma Major proudly told me from our perch above London that he had been granted the freedom of Cork. Will Young bought his mother and Mrs Titchmarsh took a ride in my flying garden two days before Alan did. Hundreds followed them – people would wink at me and ask could they have a trip. I was asked to introduce some members of our team to Queen Elizabeth. So myself, mum, Dermot and Gerry talked to the queen about her trip to our island the week before. She said it had been wonderful.
Sean and Bryan, the final members of the team cleaning up in Chelsea, came home a few days ago. After the initial enthusiasm, I feel a bit battered because seemingly I’ve spent millions. A councillor has been on the radio and in the press saying the fault is mine, that I don’t know how to deal with councils. We deal with them successfully most days. One newspaper has run a story on how appalling my own garden is, and on a structure I am looking for planning permission for in it. Another is going to reveal what a failure my previous Chelsea designs have amounted to in their afterlife. Journalists or their scouts sit in cars, waiting outside my home. It’s not nice but I did get to build a garden and see it fly high
Source http://www.irishtimes.com/

Self-control is the key to an investor’s life

“I know I’m gone too far,

Much too far I gone this time,
And I don’t want to think what I’ve done,
I don’t know how to stop”
“No Self Control”
Peter Gabriel, 1980
Self-control is the key to much in life and in investment it is the key to almost everything. Over the past two decades, research bringing the findings of experimental psychology to finance has detailed how far even the most intelligent people go wrong when they invest, because they cannot control their emotions.
The field of behavioural finance is fascinating but the issue has always been: can anyone make any money out of it? As inevitable as human errors may be, they do not seem to translate into inevitable gains or losses for particular stocks or bonds. Rather than offering everyone a way forward, behavioural research often reads more like a counsel of despair.

The latest entrant to the field of behaviouralism attempts to correct this. Barclays Wealth this week published a survey of 2,000 very wealthy people the world over, all of whom had at least £1.5m in investable assets. It asked about their self-control and strategies they employed to overcome personal indiscipline. I am not sure how scientific any such survey can be, as it relies on self-assessment, but the results are interesting.
The wealthy seem as caught up in the “paradox of trading” as everyone else. In sum, the market is difficult to time and so the more you trade, the less likely you are to make money. The only certainty is that the transaction fees will pile up (so the financial services industry has an interest in encouraging this). Heavy trading is almost always a waste of money – unless you have access to very good information, a lot of leverage and are prepared to do it full-time.
Barclays Wealth found that a third of its wealthy respondents thought that “to do well in the financial markets you have to buy and sell often”, while 40 per cent described themselves as trying to time the market rather than use a “buy and hold” strategy. Despite this, 16 per cent said that they traded too much. These were disproportionately drawn from the camp that thought it necessary to buy and sell often. Trading appears to be troublesomely addictive: people do it too much and cannot stop themselves.
Women are less prone to this problem than men, while age also brings greater self-control.
So how are over-traders to set about controlling themselves? Barclays cites approvingly the example of Ulysses, who tied himself to a mast to ensure that he did not fall victim to the sirens’ song.
The strategies it details are almost as drastic. They include deliberately limiting your options (by, for example, buying highly illiquid investments). Two-thirds of the very wealthy do this in their financial life, apparently.
Some 76 per cent resort to “avoidance” strategies, such as avoiding news about how prices are changing. As with options-limiting strategies, they are less likely to try this in finance than they are in real life.
However, 89 per cent try applying strict rules. Examples that Barclays asked about included setting deadlines to overcome procrastination (used by 90 per cent) and using cooling-off periods, such as taking an enforced break of 24 hours after seeing a house before making an offer for it (cooling-off methods were used by 92 per cent).
It found that many wealthy individuals dealt with their indiscipline by delegating decisions to others – which does not so much deal with the problem as avoid it altogether. It works only so long as the person you choose turns out to have strong self-control.
All of these are intriguing notions. But it seems to me that the most natural solution is to deliver ourselves from temptation altogether. Amateur traders have a strong tendency to lose money. It is something that none of us – even the wealthiest among us – should try doing at home, unless we make it a full-time occupation.
A better approach, surely, is to invest passively, dripping money into index-tracking products on a regular basis. That way our own self-control is not tested, and we are not even vulnerable to an undisciplined fund manager. Maybe we could be more ambitious and try investing in highly quantitative funds that attempt to take advantage of market inefficiencies. They set out to pick up the money that others lose through indiscipline. But this only makes sense if the fees are low.
Away from the rich, it would be best if the investment industry could design products that create no temptation for tinkering or over-trading. If the default option on offer from pension and insurance providers is good, then we can all get on with the more enjoyable things in life.
But for that to happen, the investment industry itself needs to show a little more self-discipline.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2011. You may share using our article tools. Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

Source http://www.ft.com/

Lock into the best exchange rates

Using your bank to transfer money abroad may not be the best option says Melanie Wright 

Tempting as it may be to use a high street bank to transfer your money abroad, it could end up costing you dear.

If you are moving overseas, buying a holiday home abroad, or are already based outside the UK, you can usually beat the banks by using a currency broker to move your money. Not only do they generally offer more competitive exchange rates, but you can benefit from lower transfer fees too.

This is especially important when currency rates are volatile and you have to worry about getting your timing right. Recent weeks, for example, have seen the euro rally after an agreement in principle to extend loans to debt-laden Greece for three years, while the US dollar has weakened following poor US economic data. While the value of the pound has slowly improved since plummeting against many currencies over the last few years, exchange rate turbulence remains a real concern.

One of the problems with using a high street bank to transfer money is that they will usually only be able to buy or sell your currency on the day of transfer. This could mean you end up moving your money on a day when the exchange rate conspires against you.

Specialist currency brokers, however, are able to use various tools to enable you to avoid getting caught out by exchange rate movements. For example, they can help you lock into favourable rates up to two years in advance. It is worth bearing in mind, however, that if the exchange rate moves to your advantage during the period you have chosen to fix, you won’t be in a position to benefit from this.
Don’t underestimate the impact favourable exchange rates can make. It can leave you thousands of pounds better off, especially if you are transferring large sums.
For example, recent research reveals that if you were buying US$100,000 with sterling you could save over £1,000 on the exchange rate and transfer fee alone by using currency broker Moneycorp, provider of the Telegraph International Money Transfer Service, when compared with a high street bank.
Transfer fees are a serious consideration when moving money overseas. High street bank transfer fees typically range from £20 to as much as £40, and, if you are making regular transfers, you will have to pay this fee each time. You will also need to pay a foreign exchange rate and another fee from the bank that receives the funds, typically around 0.5 per cent
Moneycorp, charges a set fee of £15 for a one-off transfer, irrespective of the amount, and if you are making regular payments, you can opt to move funds via Direct Debit at only £4 a transfer. But despite all the advantages of using a currency broker, many people still prefer to stick with well-known banking names because they consider them to be safer.
However, currency brokers are either regulated or authorised by the Financial Services Authority, and there are various checks you can make regarding the safety of your funds.
First, make sure you find out whether your money will be kept in a separate account while in the broker’s control. You should also look at the company’s track record – how long have they been around, and are there testimonials from customers which demonstrate that they offer a high level of customer service? Be wary of new companies that haven’t been around for long and aren’t able to demonstrate a strong customer commitment and financial health.
Peace of mind
Larger currency brokers must be authorised by the Financial Services Authority, and if you want to check whether a company is regulated by the FSA, you can find out at www.fsa.gov.uk/register/home.do. Smaller companies do not have to be authorised by the FSA and so most of these will only be registered. However, they do have the option to be authorised if they want to. Always ask what safeguards are in place before conducting any transactions so you have peace of mind that the company you are dealing with is safe.
There are many issues you need to consider when making money transfers, but you must be aware that failing to consider all the available options and missing out on competitive exchange rates is likely to leave you worse off.
Sending money overseas?
The Telegraph International Money Transfer service, provided by Moneycorp, is safe, secure and easy to use.
The main benefits:

• Highly competitive exchange rates
• No commission charges
• Fast transfers, low fees
• Ability to fix exchange rates for a set time period, helping protect from adverse currency movements
• FSA authorised Payments Institution

To get the best exchange rates and your first transfer free, call 0800 910 1844.
Our free Telegraph Guide to International Money Transfers Written by Rosie Murray-West, the Telegraph’s Deputy Personal Finance Editor, the guide looks at how to get the best rates.
Call 0844 543 9872 or visit www.telegraph.co.uk/readerguides
Source  http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

U.S. Halts Mortgage Aid for 3 Banks

The federal government has stopped providing assistance to three big banks with funds from its Making Home Affordable Program until they substantially improve their performance with respect to mortgage modification.
These three banks, J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM - Analyst Report), Bank of America Corp. (BAC - Analyst Report), and Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC - Analyst Report), have burned up taxpayers’ money in the form of aid but have done almost nothing to protect distressed people from losing their homes.
The Making Home Affordable Program was initiated by President Obama in 2009 with the goal of providing homeowners, who are struggling to maintain their home mortgage payments, the opportunity to refinance or obtain a loan modification.
Also, the Treasury is in the process of using up a significant amount of taxpayers’ money through Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) to continue with housing and other support programs. However, given the lackluster progress, it can be said that the foreclosure-prevention program is a failure.
The government’s Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) has assisted about 609,000 homeowners to retain their homes through proper mortgage modification. But the number is significantly lower that the target of modifying mortgages of 3 to 4 million homeowners.
Now the government feels that these three banks are primarily responsible for the malfunction in its program. The Treasury Department said on Thursday that support from these banks were not sufficient to help distressed homeowners to permanently lower their mortgage payments. As a result, there are chances that these people will be evicted from their homes.
These banks had harassed borrowers at the time of modifying their mortgages. They often forced borrowers to repeatedly submit paperwork, polluting the system with red tape.
While the government wanted to make distressed homeowners’ life easier, these banks made them run around for months with hope. According to the Treasury, these banks incorrectly determined that many borrowers were ineligible to even get help from them.
Considering these banks’ uninspiring progress during the first quarter of 2011, the government has decided to withhold up to $1,000 per permanent loan modification aid from these lenders.
In May, these banks received $24 million in government aid for the program. In total, the Treasury has spent about $2 billion as yet out of the total $50 billion TARP funds allotted to the housing and other support programs.
According to these banks, the Treasury had squeezed the program several times in its first two years. As a result it was difficult for them to comply.
We believe punishing these banks would be a good lesson for all the lenders who get government assistance but do not perform properly. This withholding of financial assistance would prevent these banks to modify mortgages.
But the harassment of distressed borrowers would reduce to some extent as lenders will now be under pressure to enhance their performances for fear of losing government assistance. Hopefully, borrowers can now live in their own homes.
Source http://www.zacks.com/

Casino: Losing money with joy

Apart from the waiter and three customers at the bar, the casino looked empty. Most gamblers would not come in at noon. From the anterior end of the Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos Island, the door to the casino is very conspicuous and looks directly to the reception.
It is a closed compartment with an underground enclosure encompassing some inner rooms where some Lagos “big guys” make and lose money.
From the popular ‘Craps’, the complex dice-rolling game under the bridges in Lagos, gambling grows to such games as slot machines, Blackjack and Roulette, in the casino of various clubs and hotels.
At Eko Hotel, the casino opens in the morning but the gamblers stroll in at night. They come in and head straight to the bar to take some drinks. At about 6.00p.m, the bar receives more customers who now stylishly shake their heads and legs to the playing music.
Almost all the gamblers who visited the casino that night drank a small measure of alcohol, perhaps to prepare their minds for the risk ahead. With a sip of brandy or other such drinks, they moved to the games room, most of them foreigners of the Asian descent, to play for fun.
Murmuring in their local languages, it was a bit difficult for any spectator to understand their conversation except when they made big money, which intermittently aroused some noise and jubilation.
Of course, excitement is a common scene at the casino but not for a player who just lost a huge sum of money. There are occasions when gamblers visit the casino in exotic cars but leave shamelessly in scrap vehicles. The truth is that they bet with their property when they run out of cash.
Unlike the Eko Hotel where there is a bit of decorum, the casino at the Federal Palace Hotel, Ahmadu Bello Way, could be hot for a new comer. Gamblers and spectators are always welcomed by thick smoke of cigarette from the inside.
As a journalist, the best time to enjoy the place is during the presentation of prizes to winners.
Reporters are invited and lodged in rooms to cover the event, which usually takes place in the midnight.
The casino is a haven for ladies of easy virtue who prey on men with their striking look and seductive moves. They ensure that any lucky winner at the casino does not go home with his whole cash as they display their eye-catching nudity to entice the gamblers.
Beside the slot machine in which the player deposits a coin and pulls a lever to make three reels containing multiple symbols spin and roulette, which involves a spinning wheel with several numbers on it and a small ball, no other game is put in the open chamber of the casino.
Blackjack is a card game in which players try for a combination of cards closest to 21, without going over. In the game, number cards are their face value, kings, queens and jacks are worth 10, and aces can be worth one or 11.
This game is played in the inner room of the casino by very wealthy people and it is done with heavy cash. Two prominent Lagos residents patronise this inner room regularly. One of them has run bankrupt while the other one is still being sustained by his talent.
For blackjack, a single gambler can play with coins without gaining any profit for the whole day but for roulette, two or more people could play it. The players bet on what number the ball will land on when the wheel stops. They can bet on a combination of possible numbers for fewer odds.
Nobody is allowed to come into the casino with cameras as special security guards are strategically positioned to fend off any prying eyes.
While it may be exciting to make money at the casino, a lucky gambler seldom quits the arena with his lot because of his co-gamblers and the beautiful daughters of eve who would be waiting to share from the jackpot. Invariably, a gambler either loses his money to the game or to the dignified prostitutes at the arena.
As Mr. Rotimi Nureni puts it, “The sharing is a normal thing among gamblers. That is what they do.
They hardly take money home. It is either they lose all their money to the machines or share whatever gains they have made with their friends.”
Nureni has worked at the Eko Hotel for about 20 years. He told the Nigerian Tribune that he spent his leisure at the casino as a spectator but always watched with pain as players gambled their ways to penury with no sign of hurt on their faces.
He said, “Every night, these gamblers, including important people in the society, come around to waste their money and get back to their cars and zoom off as if nothing has happened to them. It is unbelievable. The whole thing looks to me as if they have been cursed,” he exclaimed.
From one casino to another, players have similar tales of woe but with optimism that they can still win the jackpot.
While the players refused to speak with the Nigerian Tribune, one of the guards at the casino reluctantly grinned, adding that many gamblers had made fortune at the casino while some had been wrecked financially.
“It is difficult to quit the game when you are in it. It is better for one not to get into it at all. It begins from the game of Craps under the bridge and grows to spin board that requires big money,” he said.
According to him, gamblers have lost millions and won millions of naira at the casino but they never stop coming. “Each time they win big money, they throw up a party for us to celebrate with them and if it is otherwise, they still feel as if nothing has happened. Gambling is a spiritual game,” he said.
Source http://tribune.com.ng/

Tim Hortons will follow troops home to Canada

After serving 2.1 million customers more than three million cups of coffees and $18,000 a week of baked goods, Tim Hortons' wildly successful five-year run in Afghanistan is to end this fall.
"We are looking at closing up on Oct. 31 or sometime soon after that," said Colin Culligan, the manager of the Canadian Forces' coffee and doughnut franchise at Kandahar Airfield until his fourth tour of duty in this distant desert ended a few days ago.
"The equipment, including the ovens for the doughnuts and the coffeemaking machines, is all going home. The trailers they are housed in are public infrastructure. I understand that they are being purchased by the Americans."
By order of the House of Commons, all Canada's combat troops are to withdraw from Kandahar by the end of next month. Tim Hortons is leaving a little later so it can provide comfort food to the small army of Canadian logisticians who are to spend the next few months tearing down, cleaning and packing the staggering amounts of equipment accumulated here over the years.

Exporting Canada's favourite fastfood outlet to the far side of the world was the brainchild of Gen. Rick Hillier, the former chief of defence staff. The general saw it as "a way of enhancing morale, as a force multiplier," Culligan said.
While predictably popular with Canadians posted to Kandahar, foreign troops make up about two-thirds of Tim Hortons customers and generate about two-thirds of the revenue here. Canadians buy more coffee. The Americans and Brits prefer doughnuts.
Until now, 323 Canadian civilians have slung "double doubles" at Kandahar's Tim Hortons, each of them serving six months at a time. Many have wanted to return here but only a few were chosen to come back. Competition for the jobs -which pay about $20,000 per tour -has been so intense that from 3,000 applicants only 65 men and women are chosen for each rotation.
"Our employees tend to be very well educated," said Culligan, a longtime Cineplex employee who was hired by the Canadian Forces Personnel Support Agency in 2006 after spotting an online job advertisement for Tim Hortons in Kandahar.
"Some have been vice-presidents of small companies. Others have master's degrees. We do not just have young people but people with established careers. They are very easy to manage."
Seventy per cent of the CFPSA employees in Kandahar are women. Among the cardinal rules for those who work at Tim Hortons as well as the troops, is that there must be no fraternization, no drugs and no booze. Nevertheless, a social life of sorts has evolved at this dusty tent and trailer city of about 30,000 soldiers and civilians about 20 kilometres south of Kandahar City. Two Tim Hortons workers met and fell in love in Kandahar and are now married in Canada with two children. And a female worker at Tim Hortons married a soldier she met here.
One of the unique aspects of operating in a war zone is that Tim Hortons temporarily ceases operations whenever the Taliban launch a rocket attack. "We reopen 15 minutes after the all clear," Culligan said, adding "that is definitely not something that they do at any Tim Hortons in Canada."

Among the challenges is that supply orders must be placed eight weeks in advance. Between 12 and 14 weeks of dough and coffee are stored inside 26 sea containers at Kandahar Airfield. Five new ovens are kept in stock, in case one breaks down.
Convoys bringing supplies from Canada have sometimes been attacked in Pakistan. Another complication has been that Afghan customs have frequently delayed deliveries of pre-made doughnuts as well as coffee and cream for as much as a year. To circumvent this logjam, supplies were shipped by sea to Europe and then flown from there to Kandahar on military flights.
Troops get a lot of coffee and doughnuts for free. The Canadian Legion has donated close to $1 million in Tim Hortons gift cards. Similar donations have come from business groups, churches and schoolchildren.
"Our franchise does make money, although it doesn't show a profit," Culligan said. "All revenues go toward the morale and welfare of the troops for things such as Christmas parties and family gatherings. One-third of that is spent on the troops here, one-third to whichever base in Canada is supplying the bulk of the troops for a rotation, and one-third to the other bases at home."
Most people in Kandahar regard the Tim Hortons as a corporate store but the parent company sells the CFPSA inventory at cost. Tim Hortons has also contributed $80,000 to the Roll Up the Rim contest, which has awarded prizes of up to $5,000 to some NATO soldiers.
"Tim Hortons doesn't make a cent here, but my personal feeling is that it has got a lot of great PR from this," Culligan said. "They've done great things for us, so I am happy for them. This has been a chance for them to showcase their product for Americans."

Source http://www.vancouversun.com/

Cramer: How to Play Chinese IPOs

Despite the fact that he dislikes the Chinese market, Cramer believes there is money to be made in Chinese initial public offerings – if home gamers play their cards right. But the “Mad Money” host cautioned that Chinese stocks usually make terrible investments. They tend to be “destroyers of wealth” because the government does not have enough regulatory frame work to make owning the stocks safe.

“There’s very little corporate governance, informal auditing, and of course, the prospect of government intervention since, remember, it's still officially a communist country,” he added.

So how can home gamers capitalize on Chinese IPOs without taking too much risk?

“You will only make money in these stocks if you get in on the deal,” Cramer noted. “The IPO price is the only price worth paying.”

But these are not stocks to own. According to Cramer’s research, the Chinese IPOs get a pop that lasts a day, but after that it’s downhill. He said the only way to speculate safely is by getting in on the deal and then selling within the first couple of days.

As for non-IPO stocks, Cramer is sticking to his guns and only recommending Baidu [BIDU  121.69    -1.52  (-1.23%)   ], China’s version of Google [GOOG  509.505    -7.225  (-1.4%)   ], as an investment. He thinks the Chinese market is in bear mode until at least September, when he suspects the interest rates may be tightened. If home gamers are looking for another play, he suggests Louisville, Ky.-based restaurant company Yum! Brands [YUM  52.80    -0.90  (-1.68%)   , which owns KFC. KFC, Cramer said, is highly popular in China.
Source http://www.cnbc.com/

Kirk Communications’ goal? Becoming the top SEO company NH

PRLog (Press Release) – Jun 10, 2011 – Kirk Communications (www.kirkcommunications.com) is focusing its efforts to become the top SEO company, NH. "We're well on our way," says CEO, Nate Tennant. "As Google and the other search engines become more sophisticated, our technology as well as the experts on our team have become indispensable to our clients," Tennant said.  

One way to become the top SEO company New Hampshire is to make sure that clients are satisfied. The fact that Kirk has yet to lose a single SEO client since going into business is a clear indication of their success.

"For us, becoming the top SEO company NH is a worldwide effort," Tennant said. "We have offices here in Portsmouth, New Delhi, India and Luxembourg," he continued.  Each office has unique expertise, for example, the people in India are experts at research and placing off-page SEO press releases on sites appropriate for the subject matter. "That's something no other SEO company NH is doing right now, Tennant said.


About Kirk Communications

Kirk Communications is an SEO company NH with additional offices in Luxembourg and New Delhi, India. In addition to being an SEO company New Hampshire Kirk Communications is a global provider of integrated marketing solutions including social media programs, public relations, Web site design and development, Search Engine Optimization (SEO), Pay per Click (PPC) analytics and advanced 3D animation. The company shares its philosophy, based on a focused commitment to strategic and tactical corporate communications, with clients across a broad range of vertical markets including technology, financial services and healthcare. Beyond being an SEO company NH, Kirk Communications offers an extensive suite of state-of-the-art SEO and PPC analytics, that, in conjunction with innovative message development, helps its customers refine their brand, increase visibility and stay ahead of their competitors. Kirk Communications counts among its clients IDG, JungleTorch, Dorcy International, Optimize Interactive, Atlantic Plastic Surgery Center, SeaNet Technologies and Animetrics. For more information, please visit us on the web at www.kirkcommunications.com.

Source http://www.prlog.org/

Internet Marketing and SEO Training Class Announced in California

The Bay Area Search Engine Academy, a California training academy that teaches internet marketing and search engine optimization training classes in the San Francisco Bay Area, has opened registration for their next hands-on workshop. The class will be held during the week of June 20, 2011 at the RT Fisher Educational Enterprises, Inc. facility near Jack London Square in Oakland, California.
Thomas Petty, President of the Bay Area Search Engine Academy, said, "The search engines change their rules all the time. We're constantly updating the material for our classes so students can learn the latest techniques for getting their websites onto the search engines."
The workshop is a hands-on class where students are encouraged to bring a wireless-enabled laptop to work on their own websites in the classroom. Because the classes are kept very small, each student gets individual attention from the instructors.
Petty said, "These aren't large seminar type events. We want each person to get plenty of time to get their specific questions answered and problems addressed."
The workshops are designed for business owners and entrepreneurs who have only the basic understanding of the web. The Master-level workshop is five days long, and includes search engine optimization, paid placement strategies, social media and blogging techniques. Students who sign up for the Master workshop also receive six months of mentoring from Petty after the course has finished.
"Whenever you walk away from a class, there are always questions when you start to implement what you learned. We cover that with a further six months of personal mentoring to make sure the SEO knowledge sticks," Petty said.
The Bay Area Search Engine Academy also offers employees of companies seeking training credit with college-level continuing education units (CEUs), but they must be requested ahead of time.
Those wishing to register for the workshop should do so through the company website at www.bayareasearchengineacademy.org or contact them toll-free at 888-807-5658.
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For the original version on PRWeb visit: www.prweb.com/releases/prweb2011/6/prweb8551469.htm
Source http://www.sfgate.com/ 

No home to call their own

The number of homeless households in England is set to jump dramatically this week as councils publish their official figures. Martin Hilditch finds out why
When he was in opposition housing minister Grant Shapps made a name for himself by pledging to do more to battle homelessness.
Since the Conservative Party gained power he has made good on his promise to give the issue a high profile - setting up a cross-departmental group to tackle the problem.
This week, however, significant numbers of councils will leave him in little doubt about the scale of the challenge he still faces. Across England councils as geographically diverse as Crawley and Durham, Manchester and Norwich will post their first large increases in homeless numbers for years.
These are no small jumps. Freedom of information requests by Inside Housing, which obtained the figures ahead of their expected publication on Thursday, reveal that 37 out of the 51 councils who provided figures for 2010/11 saw homelessness increase (Inside Housing, 3 June). On average the 37 had made 40 per cent more homelessness decisions than in 2009/10 and granted 25 per cent more applications.
Puzzling trend
On the face of it the trend is puzzling - many of the councils that will report jumps this week continued to see falls in homelessness during the recession. So what is causing the dramatic increases?
Looking in more detail at the figures provides some clues as to what might be happening. Durham Council, a unitary authority formed in April 2009 when seven district councils were abolished, made 920 homelessness decisions in 2010/11 - a jump of 57 per cent from the 588 in 2009/10. Of its homelessness applications, 384 were granted - up 46 per cent from 264.
Drilling down into the figures, however, reveals an even bigger percentage jump. In 2009/10 domestic violence was the reason for a household becoming homeless in 75 cases. In 2010/11 the figure rocketed. Last year it was the reason for homelessness in 153 cases - a massive increase of 104 per cent.
Andrew Burnip, housing solutions core team manager at Durham Council, describes the domestic violence figures as ‘a huge leap’. He says the rise in homlessness figures is partly a symptom of the ongoing stresses placed on households first by the recession and then by cutbacks under the coalition.
‘Where households have seen incomes drop and they have been relying probably on the minimum wage and where their working hours have been cut back, that does inevitably put pressure on relationships and some eventually present to us in housing need,’ he states.
Mr Burnip is at pains to point out, however, that there could be other reasons for the rise. Since becoming a unitary authority - and as a result of the recession - the council has taken great pains to promote its homelessness service, including running adverts on the local radio station.
While this approach may drive up homelessness figures, it will ultimately be beneficial to both the council and the community and save money in the long term, he suggests.
‘What we wanted to do is make sure that people are aware that the earlier they come for advice the better the outcome is going to be for that individual and their family,’ he states. ‘It is the old mantra of prevention really.’
However, Durham Council is not taking prevention to the extremes that some of the previous district authorities did - by stopping some people from making homeless applications in the first place, known as gatekeeping.
‘There was an indication [after the unitary was formed] that a bit of gatekeeping was more prominent in some areas than others,’ he adds. ‘Effectively there wasn’t a homelessness application being taken.’
Financial pressure
A complicated picture then - but Lisa Kennedy, housing options team leader at Northampton Council, says she is clear that the increase in its figures are ‘mostly to do with the economic climate’. The authority found 462 households to be homeless in 2010/11 - a jump of 66 per cent on the 278 the previous year.
Ms Kennedy states that domestic violence is an issue that has become more prevalent - causing about 35 per cent of its homelessness cases. ‘The main causes of domestic violence tend to be economic pressures,’ she states.
The council has also seen an increase in owner-occupier and private repossessions, she states, and an ‘an awful lot of parental evictions’, where parents ask their children to move out.
She is pessimistic about the immediate prospects for an improvement in the figures, saying that the current increase is partly a ‘ripple effect’ from the recession. ‘A lot of people have been depending on things like savings,’ she states. ‘I think this is the tip of the iceberg, to be honest.’
A spokesperson for Birmingham Council, which saw homeless decisions rise by 66 per cent to 8,499 in 2010/11 and acceptances jump by 25 per cent to 4,207, says it has ‘seen unprecedented levels of homeless households approaching the authority’ over the past year because of the economic downturn.
The authority says it has responded by launching four new housing advice centres and that homeless acceptances for January to March 2011 were down on the previous quarter.
Manchester Council, however, puts its increase - a 97 per cent rise in decisions to 2,504 and a 33 per cent jump in acceptances to 643 - down to ‘in part a tightening of our procedures to ensure homeless decisions were made on any homeless household approaching the service where there was reason to believe they may be homeless and in priority need’. The implication, like Durham, is that it was ending previous gatekeeping practices.
A Communities and Local Government department spokesperson says that despite these rises ‘statutory homelessness remains at historically low levels’. This is certainly true, although Manchester and Durham’s response raises questions about how this has been achieved in some cases.
The spokesperson adds that the Localism Bill will give councils more flexibility to discharge their homelessness duty in the private rented sector when it becomes law at the end of this year. This would make it easier for councils to reduce homelessness figures because they would no longer have a duty to house applicants if they turn down an offer of a private rented home. At the moment it may have to place them in temporary housing until a suitable social home can be found.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of homelessness charity Shelter, says that this new freedom - coupled with figures in March which revealed growing numbers of households in England were becoming homeless after being kicked out by private landlords - suggests a worrying future for many families.
‘This will ultimately trap them in a constant cycle of insecurity and homelessness,’ he states.
Whatever the implications for the future, the figures make it clear that communities are under stress now. Mr Shapps’ reputation as housing minister will be defined by his response.
Source http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/

Dungannon Care Home under threat

A DUNGANNON Care Home is facing an uncertain future after its parent company ran out of money.
Southern Cross Healthcare, which is responsible for operating Geanann Care Home - began under-paying its landlords this week as if faced up to a bill totalling £230m.
The purpose-built 54-bed nursing home, situated on the Ballygawley Road, was constructed at the height of the property boom and opened in 2008.
It offers care for people with dementia and challenging behaviours related to mental health.
The extent of the crisis facing Southern Cross, which owns 23 care centres across Northern Ireland, was exposed when the firm, which leases most of its properties, revealed it had unilaterally decided to cut the amount of rent it paid `by almost a third.
It is to defer 30 per cent of its monthly cash rental payments from 1 June to 30 September 2011, creating what it called a “summer platform” to work out a restructuring package.
However, the measure has not been agreed with landlords.
Age NI chief executive Anne O’Reilly has warned that, whatever happens, the wishes of elderly residents must come first.
She said: “There are basically three ways to care for older people: in their homes; in residential care or in hospitals.
“More and more people are choosing to remain at home as their first choice so we think this whole issue needs to be reviewed. And we get the sense that this is beginning to happen in Northern Ireland.
“This links to the Southern Cross story because there has been systematic underfunding going back five years in this area and we are beginning to see the effect. Only 0.1 per cent of public spending goes into elderly social care compared to five per cent into the health service as a whole.
“The feeling is that things are getting tighter and tighter for social care outside hospital which results in less spending on residential care homes. This results in residents and their families having to pay top-up fees and selling their homes to pay for care. We are asking for a fundamental review.
“We are getting reassurances that Southern Cross is working through these difficulties to find a way to make it work. But we have to make sure older people’s wishes are paramount in how Southern Cross moves forward.”
Source http://www.tyronetimes.co.uk/

Leed the way

Nick Kerchum's house definitely stands out from its Craftsman-style neighbours in the west side of Vancouver.
The sleek, contemporary residence has distinctive horizontal lines both inside and out, and a pronounced terracing effect from the roof overhangs; at certain junctures, it almost looks like cubes or blocks have been strategically stacked atop each other.
There's more behind the design than simply a desire for style. Kerchum began planning the home in late 2006, with the goal of making it as environmentally friendly as possible. It's the first LEED Platinum-rated home in Western Canada, and is also rated Built Green Platinum.
Those roof overhangs create cooling shade in the summer, and bring the sun's warmth in during the winter. Oversized rectangular tiles of black basalt on the main floor absorb heat during the day, and release it into the evening. Both are aspects of passive solar design.
Solar tubes on the roof heat the hot water for the house, and four green roofs help manage stormwater run-off. Trellised apple trees and other food-bearing plants reduce the carbon footprint associated with filling the family pantry.

A number of these measures are becoming more and more commonplace as interest in sustainable design grows, but they were fairly unusual at the time when Kerchum began planning the home five years ago.
"I had a vision that this was something people would be very interested in," he says. "I wanted to be an early innovator - it was so new, we even had certification issues, because the Canadian Green Building Council hadn't even been set up yet. We registered through the U.S. one and switched halfway through."
Kerchum was more motivated than most to persevere; he and boyhood friend Galen Evans were on course to set up their own green-focused construction company, Natural Balance Home Builders.
It took two years to complete, but the home has subsequently won a number of national building awards. It now serves as the ultimate show home to demonstrate a range of environmentally friendly construction methods, as the offices for the business are in the basement. Kerchum and his family live in the floors above.
Many eco-conscious buyers find it confusing to sort through all of the different rating systems that are out there. Different systems focus on different elements, says Evans, and there are varying amounts of time, effort, and expense involved.
"LEED has more categories, for instance, than Built Green," explains Evans. "It's a more accurate representation of a home's impact on the environment, but there's two to five times the paperwork involved, and a higher expense."
Natural Balance works with sustainable building consulting firm E3 Eco Group. CEO Einar Halbig says the confusion is common.
"People are feeling a bit dumb; they don't understand all of the acronyms - but no one understands it all! If you're not in the building or design industry, why would you?" Here's his quick definition list: . LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It was originally developed for commercial buildings, and then adapted to residential use. It's a rating system that's fairly well known across North America. Builders try to earn points in categories that cover the construction process as well as the ongoing use of the home. Depending on the number of points earned, a home can be designated LEED Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum, with Platinum being the highest level available.

. Built Green is a certification process used in B.C. and Alberta, administered by members of provincial home building associations. The checklists aren't as complicated or long as those for LEED, say Kerchum and Evans.
. The property development arm at the University of British Columbia uses its own designation of REAP, or Residential Environmental Assessment Program. Simon Fraser University has its own development guidelines for on-campus projects.
. R2000 is a federal government standard that's existed since the early 80s. It's essentially a pass/fail system -you either meet the conditions for the standard or you don't. It's being reviewed, and the new program is expected to be much more aggressive about energy targets.
. EnerGuide numbers are straight math; they measure how much power a home uses. Every additional point means a boost in energy efficiency of three to five per cent.
Halbig says it's a good baseline for consumers. The average older single family home probably has a rating of 66; LEED and Built Green both require a minimum of 72. The Kerchum house is rated at an astounding 88, which means it uses 60-70 per cent less energy than another home of the same size. It gets exponentially harder to get each additional point, as there is there is a finite level of efficiency.
Halbig says consumers also have to look at the construction process, and see how choices around materials, landscaping, and water usage are evaluated.
He recommends that anyone contemplating applying for a certification should first do an in-depth evaluation with a certified energy adviser.
"They can check where you can apply for incentives or rebates, and also where you can best spend your money. If you're only experiencing a six-per-cent heat loss in your attic, it doesn't make sense to spend 20 per cent of your budget on more insulation there."
He also says bringing in a certified energy adviser during the design process of a new home can mean significant savings.
The stickiest question of all may be how much these ratings or certifications will ultimately mean for an increase in value for a home.
Halbig admits it's a complicated question.
"Some of these investments require a long-term view. Look at your time frame -if you're going to be in the home for less than five years, it may not pay off," he says.
"But also project forward. What will energy costs be in 10, 20, or 30 years, and will buyers be willing to pay for a house that saves them money right now?" He also points that many other home improvements, like kitchen and bathroom renovations, don't involve any return on the investment until the home is resold. However, improved energy efficiency has an immediate impact on the bottom line.
Kerchum, Evans and Halbig all agree that while it may take research and spending some money to meet environmental certification standards for home construction, it does pay off in better quality of life inside the home. While significant progress has been made in multi-family developments, the single-family home is one of the areas where the most work needs to be done.
The trio says it only makes sense to get the help of an expert in such a relatively new area, if only to navigate what a certification truly means.

Source http://www.vancouversun.com/

Bush Theatre to kick off life in new home with 24 hour showpiece

AN AMBITIOUS 24-hour celebration will mark the Bush Theatre opening the doors to their new Shepherd's Bush home in the autumn.
The theatre has announced its inaugural season at their new home in the old library, in Uxbridge Road, after 39 years in the upstairs dining room of the Bush Hotel.
It will open with Sixty-Six Books, which will see playwrights, poets, novelists and songwriters penning their own interpretation of the 66 books of the King James Bible to make its 400^th anniversary between October 14-29.

AN AMBITIOUS 24-hour celebration will mark the Bush Theatre opening the doors to their new Shepherd's Bush home in the autumn.
The theatre has announced its inaugural season at their new home in the old library, in Uxbridge Road, after 39 years in the upstairs dining room of the Bush Hotel.
It will open with Sixty-Six Books, which will see playwrights, poets, novelists and songwriters penning their own interpretation of the 66 books of the King James Bible to make its 400^th anniversary between October 14-29.
This will be followed by The Kitchen Sink by Bush's Associate Playwright Tom Wells between November 16 and December 17 and Our New Girl by Nancy Harris, the Bush's Pearson Playwright in Residence between January 12 to February 11, 2012.
New writing theatre company Tamasha will end the season with their production of Snookered as the Bush Theatre ends the season between February 28 and March 24.
Ms Rourke said: "This is a big moment in the history of a small theatre. With the crucial engagement of Hammersmith and Fulham Council, and our key supporters, we are opening our doors on a permanent new home for the Bush Theatre.
"The building will house a flexible auditorium, rehearsal room, playtext library, offices and welcome the local community to its auditorium and cafe and bar.
"In order to realise the full vision of the company in this extraordinary building there is more money to raise. When we open the doors for our inaugural production, Sixty-Six Books, we will use all the spaces in the new home and immerse audiences in the beauty and the potential of the building.
"Sixty-Six Books will engage with over 100 artists - writers, actors, designers and directors and the opening performance will be a 24 hour celebration of our new home."
Leaving to Join Covent Garden theatre Donmar Warehouse after five years at the Bush, Ms Rourke is proud of her part in the theatre's legacy and history.

She said: "The journey of the past five years has been the happiest and most exhilarating of my career. The company has a permanent new home, our writers' website bushgreen.org is nearly at 5,000 members and the company can look to its 40th anniversary next year with hope and pride.
"In its dedication to new work, new audiences and great nights out, the Bush team will always be an inspiration to me. The company and its constituency of artists are thriving and I am proud to leave the Bush on a high and in its new home."
The Bush Theatre is also launching their Bush Local scheme to offer discounts to people who live and work in the vicinity of the theatre.
For more details and to book for the autumn and winter season visit www.bushtheatre.co.uk.

Source http://www.fulhamchronicle.co.uk/

ExxonMobil Finds A Home At Fox News

by Jocelyn Fong
Download Fox News' brand new iPad app and you'll notice something curious: there's an ExxonMobil advertisement on nearly every page, sometimes filling the whole screen. Click on it and you can watch a video of a smiling ExxonMobil geologist touting the natural gas boom. As the tech news website Mashable reported, this is because "Exxon is the exclusive launch partner for Fox News' iPad app":

"We decided we wanted to work with one sponsor," [Fox News' Jeremy] Steinberg said, explaining that there are always question marks surrounding a launch, so Fox News wanted a partner comfortable with that. He said Exxon, which is in the midst of a new branding campaign, thought the app was a perfect platform for broadcasting its message.

It makes sense that one of the biggest funders of interest groups that obfuscate the threat posed by global warming would team up with the news outlet that has done more than any other to promote misinformation about climate science.
The partnership further undermines ExxonMobil's 2008 pledge to stop funding groups "whose positions on climate change could divert attention" from the need to develop secure, clean energy. As an internal email revealed last year, it has been the policy of Fox News to question even the basic fact that the planet has warmed in recent decades.
Climate change is not the only issue on which ExxonMobil might find Fox News' coverage agreeable. Last month in the midst of both soaring profits for big oil and attempts by Congressional Democrats to roll back oil companies' tax breaks, ExxonMobil's spin could be heard on Fox News.
With the notable exception of Bill O'Reilly, many on Fox eagerly passed along talking points first outlined by ExxonMobil vice president of public affairs Ken Cohen in a series of blog posts designed to preempt any backlash against Exxon's massive first quarter earnings report.
"WE INCURRED A TOTAL U.S. TAX EXPENSE OF ALMOST $59 BILLION"
In an April 27 post, Cohen wrote: "Last year, our total taxes and duties to the U.S. government topped $9.8 billion, which includes an income tax expense of $1.6 billion. Over the past five years, we incurred a total U.S. tax expense of almost $59 billion, which is $18 billion more than we earned in the United States during the same period." (Cohen repeated these figures in posts on April 28 and May 2.)
Cohen also provided the following graphic to underscore that Exxon has paid billions in taxes to the U.S. Treasury, as you'd expect the most profitable company in America to do:

Cohen also provided the following graphic to underscore that Exxon has paid billions in taxes to the U.S. Treasury, as you'd expect the most profitable company in America to do:

ROTHMAN: Ken Cohen actually made a point to say yeah, ExxonMobil, we're a huge taxpayer in this company. They provided us with this graphic as part of their conference call. Pays more taxes than virtually any other publicly traded company in the United States. Look at that: 59 billion to the United States over the past five years, compared to earnings of over $41 billion from U.S. operation.

That night Lou Dobbs appeared on The O'Reilly Factor and said of ExxonMobil: "They pay $59 billion over the past five years. Their net profits from U.S. operations, $41 billion" (accessed via Nexis).
And on May 10 Ben Ferguson, radio host and frequent Fox guest, said on Fox News' America Live that Obama "should stop making these oil companies into evil companies.  I mean, look at the profits the other day of Exxon. They posted $11 billion in profits. They paid $10 billion of those dollars in profits went to taxes." He later added: "we're getting $10 billion out of $11 billion in profit from Exxon."
So what's wrong with Fox News reporting a company's tax bill? Well, nothing, if the numbers are accurate. But the reality is that ExxonMobil's claim to have paid $59 billion in U.S. taxes over the past five years, including $9.8 billion last year, is highly misleading.
Exxon inflates these numbers by including the money they collect from consumers for state and federal gasoline taxes. You pay the tax, but Exxon counts those dollars as part of its own tax burden.
According to the Washington Post, ExxonMobil officials said that of the $9.8 billion in U.S. taxes they say they paid in 2010, $6.2 billion was gas taxes paid by drivers. CNN noted that Exxon used the same fuzzy math for the figures it gave for its U.S. tax bill the first quarter of 2011.
Not only that, but the company has been overstating its tax bill by counting gasoline tax payments for a while, as Robert McIntyre showed in 2006. But rather than letting viewers in on how these figures were calculated, Fox News simply repeated the disingenuous claim that Exxon's tax payments eclipse its earnings.
Fox News personalities also withheld important information from their viewers about ExxonMobil's tax rate. On the May 19 edition of Fox & Friends Eric Bolling argued that expanding oil drilling in the U.S. is good for tax revenue, adding: "Exxon pays 45 percent tax rate. Conoco, 42 percent. The oil companies are the highest taxed on the planet." Martha MacCallum used the same talking point while hosting the May 12 edition of America Live:

MACCALLUM: Lots of anger on display on Capitol Hill today over record profits for oil companies and the subsidies that they get from taxpayers. But we dug a little bit deeper into this story and the numbers. And we found that the three largest oil companies, ExxonMobil, Conoco Phillips and Chevron, pay at least 40 percent tax on their profits.  So their tax rate is 40 percent.

Bolling and MacCallum suggested that Exxon pays over 40 percent of its revenue in taxes to the United States. But that's not the case. The vast majority of Exxon's earnings come from outside the United States, and the figures provided by Bolling and MacCallum probably refer to the company's worldwide tax rate.
According to CNNMoney, ExxonMobil "does business in some of the mostly highly taxed countries in the world. Want to extract petroleum in Nigeria? Be prepared to fork over up to 85% of your profit in tax payments." BusinessWeek reported that "Russia and Libya charge companies up to 90% of the revenues they collect for extracting oil."
Those figures are bound to skew Exxon's reports on its overall tax rate and don't tell us anything about the tax breaks it gets from American taxpayers, or about how much expanded drilling would help the deficit.
As for what the company contributes to the U.S. Treasury, CNN reported on May 4: "Exxon's average effective U.S. income tax rate over the last six years is about 29%, according to the firm's security filings and an interview with a top Exxon tax lawyer."
"WE EARNED ABOUT 7 CENTS PER GALLON"
In an April 27 post, Exxon's Ken Cohen wrote: "For every gallon of gasoline, diesel or finished products we manufactured and sold in the United States in the last three months of 2010, we earned a little more than 2 cents per gallon. That's not a typo. Two cents." The next day, Cohen added:

During the first three months of this year, for every gallon of gasoline and other products we refined and sold in the United States, we earned about 7 cents. Compare that to the 40 to 60 cents per gallon that went from gasoline consumers to the government (state and federal) in gasoline taxes.

Cohen repeated the claim that "we earned about 7 cents" per gallon in an April 30 post.
On May 12, when five oil executives appeared before the Senate Finance Committee to defend their tax breaks, Fox News correspondent Doug McKelway delivered a report during America's Newsroom which included Cohen's talking point:

MCKELWAY: Oil companies admit that they are making record profits these days when oil is spiking towards $4 a gallon but they say it's not their responsibility. They're not doing it. It's a reflection of supply and demand, increasing thirst for oil worldwide and also because of the commodities market. They say they're not responsible.
HEATHER NAUERT (host): All right, hey Doug, by the way, what do they pay in taxes? A lot of folks are asking that question.
MCKELWAY: An interesting statement came out from ExxonMobil earlier this week in regard to what they pay in taxes. I'll read it to you verbatim, Heather.  It says for every gallon of gasoline and other products we refine and sold in the United States, we earned about 7 cents per gallon. That's what Exxon says. Compare that, they say, to the 40 to 60 cents per gallon that went to government, federal and state governments that they received in taxes from every gallon of gasoline. So the difference is clear. The oil companies maintain it is the state and federal government which is addicted to oil.
NAUERT: That's an interesting one. The government's the one making money off of it. Not the companies.

Later that day radio host Jason Lewis appeared on Fox News' America Live and said: "Exxon Mobil made two cents a gallon in the first quarter. Government with an 18.4 cents a gallon tax and state taxes makes anywhere from 40 to 70 cents a gallon. Who's gouging whom?" Host Martha MacCallum replied, "Very interesting."
Radio host Ben Ferguson made a similar claim during his May 10 appearance on Fox's America Live, saying that "their average on a gallon of gas right now is 0.3 cents per dollar you spend they're making cash off it. So about 3 cents on every gallon. They're not killing it."
However, there's good reason to question ExxonMobil's cents per gallon figures. When asked in 2008 why the Energy Information Administration doesn't calculate the average profit earned on a gallon of gas, EIA economist Neal Davis said that trying to determine such a figure would be "heroic at best" and "sadly misinformed ... at worst."
Amy Jaffe, director of the Energy Forum at Rice University's Baker Institute, said via email that "ExxonMobil makes profits in every aspect of their business, from producing oil from the wellhead to manufacturing gasoline." Jaffe added: "I don't know if they mean that they only make 7 cents at the retail pump. Or they only make 7 cents at the rack. Or they only make 7 cents at the refinery processing manufacturing operation. Or they only make 7 cents on all three together."
On May 27 FactCheck.org examined ExxonMobil's claim and concluded that "the 7-cents-per-gallon figure grossly underestimates the industry's earnings. It includes only earnings from the sale of gasoline and not earnings on producing and selling crude oil. There are no independent figures on how much oil companies earn on a gallon of gasoline." From the post:

We called ExxonMobil and asked how Cohen arrived at his figure. Spokeswoman Kristen Hellmer said it was determined by dividing ExxonMobil's "downstream earnings ($694 million) by the number of gallons of gasoline and other products refined and sold during the quarter in the U.S. (9,355 million gallons). The result is 7.4 cents per gallon." Downstream earnings are what the company earns from refining crude oil into gasoline and other petroleum products and then selling it. But that ignores "upstream earnings," which is how much Exxon earns in producing and selling crude oil. And the cost of oil exceeded $100 a barrel in the first quarter of 2011.
Oil industry analyst [Tom] Kloza called the 7-cents-per-gallon figure "disingenuous," because it ignores high earnings from oil production. "Bringing crude oil to market has been incredibly profitable," Kloza said. "It is disingenuous to say in the downstream we are making only this much."
ExxonMobil reported that its upstream earnings were $8.7 billion in the first quarter -- up $2.9 billion, or 49 percent, compared with a year ago. As of August 2010, it was the third largest oil refiner in the U.S.

Fox News is a network that can often be counted on not to scrutinize misleading statistics and talking points when doing so would contradict its broader political aims. Which means that on energy and environmental policy, Fox News and ExxonMobil are natural allies.

Rethinking summer adventures: 5 tips on how to entertain kids at home

NEW YORK — If high gas prices have you rethinking your summer adventures and recalculating the cost of traveling to a more refreshing climate, you may need to change focus to find free or low-cost ways to have a ball at home.ou don't want to spend more on keeping cool and busy at home than you would on hanging out at the beach.
Jodi Furman — author of a blog called livefabuless.com, which offers tips on how to save money without making big sacrifices — suggests starting by sitting down with your kids to find out what activities they really want to participate in.
Some ideas will ring familiar, like playing hopscotch or running through the sprinkler.
"It's easy to forget what you did when you were a kid, but I always go back to the well," says Rita Arens, a money section editor of BlogHer, the largest women's online network. Arens, who grew up on a farm in Iowa, also writes a blog called surrenderdorothyblog.com.
And there's much more at your fingertips already.
Source http://www.therepublic.com/
— WATER FUN. If you don't have access to a private or community pool, or you don't want to make the schlep, remember that water games at home can be just as fun. Think about running through sprinklers, battling with water pistols or playing ambush with buckets of water.
Sliding toys can cost as little as $20. Walmart.com's start with the $19.97 "Wham-O Slip 'N Slide NASCAR," which features a water spray arch and splash pool and works with a standard garden hose. If you want to splurge, there's even an 18-by-11-foot Banzai Wipeout Big Curve Water Slide for $699, with a motor.
— CREATIVE ACTIVITIES: When it's just too hot to be outside, consider craft projects and board games next to the air conditioner or room fan.
Arens suggests collecting recyclable items, from soda cans and toilet paper rolls to two-liter plastic soda bottles. Try cereal boxes for bodies and yogurt containers for arms, and spray all the pieces the night before with metallic silver paint. Provide pipe cleaners, duct tape and other fasteners and prepare for a science fiction odyssey.
Or try the free workshops that home improvement retailers offer for children on making small items like birdhouses. (The Home Depot and Lowe's both offer such classes; check http://www.Lowes.com and http://www.homedepot.com for schedules and information.) Or buy a kit online; Lowe's cost $5.98.
— OUTDOOR ENTERTAINING: When it's too hot to cook indoors, consider grilling, and then stay outside to enjoy the cooling weather as the day winds down. That's also when hopscotch on the sidewalk or driveway begins to sound like a good idea. Use glow-in-the-dark chalk, widely available online and in stores.
Many stores are offering attachments that help you grill much more than burgers and hot dogs. Home Depot's Stok Grill has a pizza stone, a vegetable tray and griddle so you could at least think about cooking breakfast and lunch outside, as well as dinner.
— STAYING COOL. If your home doesn't have central air conditioning, focus on efficient ways to keep it cool, from installing a ceiling fan with the living room light or putting in a window air conditioner.
If you can cool just the room your family uses most, a small air conditioner should do the job fine, and it may not cost as much as you think. The California Energy Commission says a 6,000 BTU machine is sufficient for a 350-square-foot room. Consumer Reports recommends two that size for $165. And the federal government's Energy Star calculator estimates it would cost about $83 a year to operate such an air conditioner in notoriously sweltering Washington, D.C.
Just make sure to buy an energy-efficient machine and change or clean the filter at least every three months.
— SHARE AND SHARE ALIKE: Try to coordinate activities with neighbors. One may have a water slide; the other a swing set. "Everyone has different stuff," said Dudley Blossom, chair of the marketing and management department of LIM College.
"We are all in this together," agreed Furman, noting many families can't afford summer camp. "Kids have a nice social hour. You're just not on your own."

Ericsson Money Services brings connected mobile money to Europe

* Ericsson Money available across seven European countries. * Connected mobile money services that make sending, receiving and spending money on mobile phones easy and instant. * Money transfers are now more like mobile communication, enabling convenient, instant and safe access for families, social sharers, cash-only consumers and non-domestic workers. * Plans to broaden availability of Ericsson Money and connect with other similar services globally.

Today, Ericsson (NASDAQ:ERIC) Money Services launches the first of a number of new mobile money services, Ericsson Money, across seven European countries. Mobile phone users in the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Poland and Sweden can sign up from today at www.ericssonmoney.com to send and receive money to and from friends and family and withdraw cash.
This is the first step toward bringing a full suite of convenient, cost-efficient, secure and instant mobile financial services to consumers globally.
As money transfers become more like mobile communication, our mobile phones will become central to not only our social lives, but also our financial lives. After easily creating a safe and secure mobile wallet online, users will be able access their money safely from the Ericsson Money network through their phones.
Ericsson Money today enables people to send and receive money instantly and withdraw cash - such as parents to their children at university or on their travels using the handset as the access point to their personal mobile wallet. Transferring money to family and friends who are just around the corner, at a café, or even in a different country will now be as quick and easy as sending a text message.
For consumers, the services will offer greater freedom of choice, access to money, and a faster and more convenient way to share money with friends and family. People who can benefit immediately include:
* Families: parents can send money to their children away at university, on holiday or on a gap year.
* Social sharers: people can conveniently share the cost of a meal, settle small debts and transfer money between friends and family.
* Cash-only consumers: consumers used to transacting only with cash can take a first step into banking.
* Non-domestic workers: overseas workers can send money home to their families without having to use postal or personal cash transfers, which are often time-intensive.
Ericsson Money Services plans to make Ericsson Money available to the rest of Europe soon. In the near future, consumers will be able to connect with other similar services globally (via Ericsson Money Interconnect), making sending money as quick, easy and natural as sending a text message a reality for people around the world.
Before too long, it will be possible to make secure bill payments, shop online and pay in retail stores instantly through Ericsson.
Semir Mahjoub, Ericsson Vice-President and President of Ericsson Money Services, says: “Ever since mobile phones went mainstream they have become the backbone of our social lives. We text, we tweet, we instant message, we connect via social networks for millions of hours per month. For many people today, accessing information and services on the mobile is as instinctive as taking the next breath.
“To Ericsson, it's logical that as connected consumers in every other part of our lives we should have the same freedom of choice, access and availability in our financial lives. Simply having a friend's phone number, irrespective of where he or she is in the world, will open up access to financial services and mobile money in a new way. It's an exciting time for a new industry and we are really looking forward to accelerating the pace at which individuals around the world can benefit from globally connected money services in their everyday lives by making money transfer more like mobile communication,” Mahjoub concludes.
Source http://www.itweb.co.za/