Selected by zyaadaguy

• Most Topular Stories

• Can IPL5 make a comeback for advertisers?

  Social Networking and New Markets

  zyakaira

  16 Jan 2012 | 11:22 pm

  After four editions of the IPL that went successfully for advertisers, the last one saw a decline of 40% in average viewership from 5 to a little over 3 in TRP ratings. With 160 mln viewers expected this year again across the 70 odd matches, the sponsors may not lack visual display opportunities but add on advertisers esp those who pay match day list prices may not be willing to keep the budget for IPL5. that’s still 5 mln people per game in this countruy of 1.1 bln with 500 mln Tv Sets (300 mln  TV households ) Global sports brands like the Superbowl will also be looking at lower aud…

• The Housing Recovery 2012: Bank settlement could reach $30 bln, credit for action could grow benefits

  The Banking and Strategy Initiative

  zyakaira

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:40 am

  The settlement reached before dawn today will likely be extended to the next 9 largest servicers making the settlement grow to $30 bln from $26 bln. Further , banks will claim credit throughout the year for each action undertaken under the pact, and as the LA Times puts it, the total amount of assistance to borrowers could increase by $15 bln to $40 bln and more when the other nine mortgage servicers sign up. Califfornia is going to annoounce its commitment to the settlement likely ‘walking away’ with $17 bln from the settlement for her state alone. The complex series of credits…

• Greek Deal Faces Scrutiny

  WSJ.com: What's News US

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:35 am

  Euro-zone finance ministers gathered in Brussels will review a new Greek political accord on budget austerity and the details of a planned debt restructuring aimed at slashing the country's debt burden to private creditors

• U.S. Regulators Approve First Nuclear Power Plant In A Generation

  News

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:09 am

  The last time the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a plant was in 1978, a year before the partial meltdown of Three Mile Island.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• DST Global's Deal With Facebook

  DealBook

  By EVELYN M. RUSLI

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:04 am

  DST Global, the investment firm founded by the Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, agreed to an extended lockup schedule for its Facebook shares in a contract from 2010.

• 

  Social Networking and New Markets

• Can IPL5 make a comeback for advertisers?

  zyakaira

  16 Jan 2012 | 11:22 pm

  After four editions of the IPL that went successfully for advertisers, the last one saw a decline of 40% in average viewership from 5 to a little over 3 in TRP ratings. With 160 mln viewers expected this year again across the 70 odd matches, the sponsors may not lack visual display opportunities but add on advertisers esp those who pay match day list prices may not be willing to keep the budget for IPL5. that’s still 5 mln people per game in this countruy of 1.1 bln with 500 mln Tv Sets (300 mln  TV households ) Global sports brands like the Superbowl will also be looking at lower aud…

• Can IPL5 make a comeback for advertisers?

  zyakaira

  16 Jan 2012 | 11:07 pm

                  Filed under: Financial Services, IPL, Lifestyle Brands, Marketing, Sports, Sports Marketing

• Social Advertising?: NAB follows bad with the good..

  zyakaira

  25 Jul 2011 | 4:37 am

  Or, how to destroy your unique, good brand value with faulty viral lessons No after they won their award at Cannes for the Break up campaign, National Australian Bank have not really sat down idle. They have been busy running a contest which will form a basis for a future viral campaign with a slogan contest, getting the winner an ATM inside his house. If they don’t watch it, the Break up campaign ( see below) will soomn become a larger “Stick ‘em up” for their new found customers NAB stick 'em up On 18 July 2011, NAB tweeted about the ATM offer, and added…

• Social Advertising: Facebook and Social Gaming breaks

  zyakaira

  20 Jul 2011 | 12:26 am

  Image via CrunchBase As this is a well timed wholistic review of social advertising, an update too many is already forcing me to change my headlines quickly to catch the right brands and the right market..Facebook’s own ad platform is delivering a 74% higher price in the second quarter over last year taking facebook revenues to nearly 3 times its Year 1 performance including the boost in volumes. The platform already has four major markets defined in ad metrics measurement across US, UK, Germany and more. Twitter has continued receiving a dichotomy of value disinterest and PE investment…

• A Grand Prix for National Australian Bank, Gold for Commonwealth

  zyakaira

  21 Jun 2011 | 7:13 am

  For the best use of broadcast. The Silver in the category went to Mudra for the Silent National Anthem series for ADA’s BIG Cinemas The NAB campaign has won the PR Grand Prix, while Media Lions had CBA grabbing a Gold Lion for its campaign by THE WHITE AGENCY BREAK UP BBDO Melbourne designed this Break Up campaign..Go BBDO AS I see from here thee is just one Cannes Score card update and another AFAQs newscard that s publishing the result, wonder if any of you have caught the live blogs too.. NAB BIG Cinemas Related articles Ad Agency Wins Cannes Lions PR Prize (mediabistro.com) Romanian…

• 

  The Banking and Strategy Initiative

• The Housing Recovery 2012: Bank settlement could reach $30 bln, credit for action could grow benefits

  zyakaira

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:40 am

  The settlement reached before dawn today will likely be extended to the next 9 largest servicers making the settlement grow to $30 bln from $26 bln. Further , banks will claim credit throughout the year for each action undertaken under the pact, and as the LA Times puts it, the total amount of assistance to borrowers could increase by $15 bln to $40 bln and more when the other nine mortgage servicers sign up. Califfornia is going to annoounce its commitment to the settlement likely ‘walking away’ with $17 bln from the settlement for her state alone. The complex series of credits…

• The Top 500 Bank Brands Pt 2 , Biggest Winner, Biggest Losers

  zyakaira

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:16 am

  The Banker put the Top 500 brands list for Banks to use in the February 2012 issue, showing everyone how Bank of America lost the most brand value from 2010 to this year, and thats Bank of America and Merrill Lynch added together..an interesting news in the list of winners was that none of the US banks counted in there, We all know Chinese banks made it to the Top 20 in the survey. These Top 20 banks or otherwise weren’t that much news though as the ones who grew the most, Master card jumped ten places from last year and Visa moved up too..(Sign of the times) Also moving uop were…

• The Housing Recovery 2012: A $26 bln settlement with U.S. Govt.

  zyakaira

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:33 am

  The Government signed into an abiding contract a $26 bln settlement with the five large banks, according to the WSJ. Citi, Ally Financial, Chase, Bank  of America and Wells Fargo that together handle about 27 mln mortgages or 55% of all US mortgages and as of midnight 8 hours ago, the banks had signed up the settlement with 49 states, Oklahoma holding out and likely to be included in the final announcement in the next couple of hours. Only $5bln is counted to fines including $1.5 bln for those who foreclosed since September 2008 right till the last month of 2011 at $2000 each ($1500) $20 bln…

• US Economy: Jobless claims take a dip, Whitehouse sneaks a 8% number

  zyakaira

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:22 am

  Image via Wikipedia Though the jobless claims will keep falling thru the year at a slow rate teh whitehouse sneaked an optimistic piece of data oto keep the fragile recovery on rails, saying there are goin gto be 2 million jobs in the year, ending the year withan ambitious 8% unemployment rate. The 4 week jobless claims were down to 366.5k as the number of the week was just 359k. Housing starts and Price indices come next week, Wednesday with the Empire State index and Thursday  with the Philly fed also reporting, even as the foreclosure settlement is eagerly awaited by the bank stocks incl.

• CBOE gets Earnings Kicker | Earnings insight

  zyakaira

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:50 am

  With Average Daily Volumes of 4,830 contracts, the $500 mln+ revenue from the Exchange got CBoE a $1.60 EPS with the operating margin jump to nearly 48% from a respectable 40% last quarter. That’s goin g to be a well deserved pop and quite a surprise. The exchange generated $203 mln in operating cash flow in 2011 up 53% even as it returned 93 mln to shareholders this year in buybacks. The conference call is on right now Image via Wikipedia Image by Getty Images via @daylife Related articles What are the S&P500 (SPX) and its CBOE Volatility index VIX telling us today?

• 

  WSJ.com: What's News US

• Greek Deal Faces Scrutiny

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:35 am

  Euro-zone finance ministers gathered in Brussels will review a new Greek political accord on budget austerity and the details of a planned debt restructuring aimed at slashing the country's debt burden to private creditors

• Alibaba Wants Its Stake Back

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:07 am

  Alibaba Group plans to borrow $3 billion to buy back shares that Yahoo owns in the Chinese e-commerce company.

• Treasury Explores Final Exit From Bank Bailouts

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:05 am

  The Treasury Department is weighing the sale of stakes it owns in hundreds of smaller banks, potentially accelerating the government's exit from the financial-system rescue and the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

• Ford Shakes Up Executive Ranks

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:57 am

  Ford said finance chief Lewis Booth and Derrick Kuzak, chief of global product development, would retire April 1, ending the tenure of two important architects of the car maker's turnaround.

• Rio Tinto's Profit Slumps 59%

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:51 am

  Rio Tinto's CEO and finance chief will forgo their annual bonuses, after the miner reported a 59% drop in annual profit, hit by a $8.86 billion charge on the company's aluminum business.

• 

  News

• U.S. Regulators Approve First Nuclear Power Plant In A Generation

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:09 am

  The last time the Nuclear Regulatory Commission approved a plant was in 1978, a year before the partial meltdown of Three Mile Island.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Ban On Insider Trading By Lawmakers Passes House, Heads To Obama's Desk

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:35 am

  By a nearly unanimous vote this morning the House passed the STOCK Act. It will explicitly ban insider trading by members of Congress and their staffs.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Wael Ghonim: Creating A 'Revolution 2.0' In Egypt

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:24 am

  The protests that led to the Egyptian revolution last year were organized in part by Wael Ghonim, who used an anonymous Facebook page to coordinate the demonstrations. In his new book, Ghonim explains how social media helped transform his country.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Gorbachev: Russia's Putin Has 'Exhausted' Himself

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:21 am

  The former soviet leader warned if things don't change after the upcoming presidential elections, protests will continue.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• Conservatives Hope To Reach Hard-Pressed Youth

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:00 am

  Young conservatives are bringing new energy to this year's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) with a panel called, "Why Am I Living in My Parent's Basement?" Host Michel Martin talks with two young people attending, about how they hope to bring under-30 voters to their side of the aisle.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

• 

  DealBook

• DST Global's Deal With Facebook

  By EVELYN M. RUSLI

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:04 am

  DST Global, the investment firm founded by the Russian billionaire Yuri Milner, agreed to an extended lockup schedule for its Facebook shares in a contract from 2010.

• Diamond Foods Debacle May Crack Open a MAC

  By STEVEN M. DAVIDOFF

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:36 am

  Why Procter & Gamble appears to have very good grounds to walk away from the sale of Pringles to Diamond Foods.

• A Bond King at a Crossroad

  By AZAM AHMED

  9 Feb 2012 | 6:15 am

  Bill Gross, head of the bond giant Pimco, is at a crossroad, Reuters reports, after a bad year for the legendary manager's top fund and as regulators consider whether to designate his West Coast firm "too big to fail."

• Oracle to Buy Taleo for $1.9 Billion

  By EVELYN M. RUSLI

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:31 am

  Oracle has agreed to acquire the Taleo Corporation for $1.9 billion as it continues to expand its footprint in so-called cloud services.

• K.K.R.'s Profit Fell 68% in 4th Quarter

  By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:20 am

  K.K.R. reported $225.5 million in adjusted fourth-quarter profit, down 68 percent from the period a year earlier, but the investment firm said the outlook for deals was improving.

• 

  Real Time Economics

• Democrats Offer to Trim Duration of Unemployment to 93 Weeks

  Siobhan Hughes

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:00 am

  Democrats working out a way to extend federal jobless benefits have proposed lowering the amount of time the unemployed could receive extra aid to 93 weeks from 99 weeks, according to Democratic aides. AFP/Getty Images The offer, which comes just weeks before the expanded benefits expire, was met with frustration by Republican negotiators. Sen. John Barrasso (R, Wyo.) complained that the Democrats’ plan didn’t reform the program and didn’t outline a way to pay for the assistance. “Our progress on resolving unemployment issues over the past week and the latest offer…

• Wholesale Inventories Increased in December

  WSJ Staff

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:39 am

  By Eric Morath and Tom Barkley U.S. wholesale inventories and sales both posted solid increases in December, as a broad restocking by businesses helped propel stronger economic growth at the end of last year. The inventories of U.S. wholesalers increased by 1.0% from the prior month to a seasonally adjusted $473.17 billion, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires had forecast a 0.5% increase. Sales rose at the fastest pace since March, up 1.3% in December to $413.11 billion. The U.S. economy grew by 2.8% on an annualized basis during the final three…

• Secondary Sources: Construction Unemployment, Golden Echoes, Overvalued Euro?

  Phil Izzo

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:35 am

  A roundup of economic news from around the Web. –Construction Unemployment: Lawrence Mishel looks at how much impact the construction industry has on the unemployment rate. “In the early aftermath of the housing collapse in 2007, the unemployment rate was 4.6 percent, just one-tenth of a percentage point higher than if there were no construction sector. By 2011, the unemployment rate had risen to 8.9 percent and would have been 8.6 percent without construction. The rise in unemployment from 2007 to 2011 was 4.3 percentage points (going from 4.6 percent to 8.9 percent) and would…

• ECB Statement on Expansion of Acceptable Collateral for Loans

  WSJ Staff

  9 Feb 2012 | 7:10 am

  The European Central Bank announced the approval of new eligibility criteria for some euro-zone countries seeking to use its liquidity operations. Here’s the central bank’s statement. The Governing Council of the European Central Bank (ECB) has approved, for the seven national central banks (NCBs) that have put forward relevant proposals, specific national eligibility criteria and risk control measures for the temporary acceptance of additional credit claims as collateral in Eurosystem credit operations. Details of these specific national measures will be made available on the…

• Vitals Signs: Euro on the Rebound

  Josh Mitchell

  9 Feb 2012 | 5:41 am

  The euro has rebounded in recent days as European officials work to resolve the sovereign-debt crisis in the 17-nation currency bloc. The euro settled at $1.326 on Wednesday, reaching its highest value since early December. The currency fell to $1.266 on Jan. 16 amid concerns that the Continent’s woes could lead to a financial crisis and weigh on the global economy.

• 

  Neuromarketing

• Super Bowl Ads: “Second Payoff” Pays Off

  Roger Dooley

  8 Feb 2012 | 11:11 am

  The Super Bowl is the biggest day of the year for football fans, and just about as important for neuromarketing companies. The first results of neuromarketing studies from the big game are trickling out, and Innerscope Research observed a strategy employed by multiple advertisers: a “second payoff” at the end of the ad, after the [...]

• Neuromarketing Fun: Add Your Caption

  Roger Dooley

  7 Feb 2012 | 5:32 am

  Want to win a signed copy of my new book, Brainfluence: 100 Ways to Persuade and Convince Consumers with Neuromarketing? I thought we could have a little fun while we’re waiting for the results of the Super Bowl neuromarketing studies to roll in. Read on… Neuromarketing scares some people, even though the techniques used by [...]

• NeuroBowl: Neuromarketing and Super Bowl 2012

  Roger Dooley

  3 Feb 2012 | 5:51 am

  The Super Bowl may be the biggest sports event of the year and the biggest advertising event of the year, but it’s also the biggest event of the year for neuromarketing companies. With $3 million being spent on every 30 second spot, you can be sure that lots of advertisers rang up their favorite neuromarketing [...]

• Social Personalization and the Doppelganger Effect

  Roger Dooley

  1 Feb 2012 | 5:18 am

  Are you overlooking a way to personalize your ads that goes far beyond the usual “Dear Roger” salutation? In my recent article, Put Your Customer in the Ad, I mentioned that LinkedIn was using profile pictures for targeted ads. Since then, I’ve been able to capture a couple of examples. The first one surprised me [...]

• Time Warner Opens NYC Neuromarketing Lab

  Roger Dooley

  26 Jan 2012 | 5:42 am

  Time Warner Inc. is opening their new “Medialab” at its New York City headquarters. The media giant expects to “generate valuable insights into consumer behavior, evolving media habits and industry trends across all of Time Warner’s businesses, brands and advertising partners.” The lab sounds like one of the more diverse facilities dedicated to this kind [...]

• 

  The Bankwatch

• Global Risks 2012 | WEF

  Colin Henderson

  24 Jan 2012 | 9:11 pm

  This from the World Economic Forum as it opens tomorrow.  Major systemic financial failure remains at the top in terms of impact, but less likely than water or food shortages.  Click the pic for the full pdf. Filed under: Uncategorized

• The Volker Rule: Allow customers decide where their money should be

  Colin Henderson

  23 Jan 2012 | 9:55 pm

  This piece from Douglas J. Elliott, Fellow, Economic Studies, Initiative on Business and Public Policy at Brookings does an excellent job at highlighting what it is that investment bankers just do not get about life in the real (banking) world. The Volcker Rule and its Impact on the U.S. Economy First off I like the Glass Steagall/ Volker Rule approach to banking.  I believe it provides clarity and lucidity to people and allows them to frame their lending and investment approaches within their own personal context.  It also allows governments to quantify their contingent liability…

• The real reasons for offshore outsourcing of manufacturing become clearer

  Colin Henderson

  22 Jan 2012 | 4:08 pm

  This is a seminal article and one that western companies and governments should study.  The general assumption is that manufacturing work is outsourced overseas due to lower wages.  Not so. How the U.S. Lost Out on iPhone Work | NY Times Apple executives say that going overseas, at this point, is their only option. One former executive described how the company relied upon a Chinese factory to revamp iPhone manufacturing just weeks before the device was due on shelves. Apple had redesigned the iPhone’s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began…

• UK Cameron moves to use Government ownership influence with Banks to address their lack of acceptance of role in 2008 crisis

  Colin Henderson

  19 Jan 2012 | 10:33 am

  As it became clear in 2009 the influence of Government on banks that the took control of that year had to become a consequential factor in how those banks operate.  My hypothesis at the time was that those banks would lose the innovation incentive and in effect become utilities that provide a basic banking service. I am surprised it took this long, but David Cameron has made the first consequential step by setting a very low limit on bank bonuses on RBS and it appears to also impact all government owned banks so Lloyds and HBOS too.  The piece is headlined in reference to the…

• “We’re in the midst of a fundamental restructuring of that financial services industry” | Carney

  Colin Henderson

  15 Jan 2012 | 7:39 pm

  This piece in the FT talks about the FSB (Financial Stability Board).  I had to remind myself that the FSB is the G20 designate to fix the banking system, and not the KGB successor.  The quote in the title indicates the goal of the group but the reality of the need for this piece indicates that it is not being taken too seriously yet, hence we must remember … FSB.  The good news is that the FSB has one of the better and clear thinking Central Bank governors in Mark Carney.  The challenge that is faces is critical for the world. Filed under: Uncategorized

• 

  NYT > Business

• Mortgage Plan Gives Homeowners Bulk of the Benefits

  By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and SHAILA DEWAN

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:32 am

  Under the settlement, about $5 billion would go to states and federal authorities, $17 billion would be earmarked for homeowner relief and $3 billion would go for refinancing.

• Is This Living Room Big Enough for My TV?

  By SAM GROBART

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:10 am

  Huge televisions, once an expensive oddity, are now the affordable norm.

• Breakthrough on Austerity Clears Way for Greek Deal

  By RACHEL DONADIO and NIKI KITSANTONIS

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:27 am

  After days of talks, Greek political leaders reached a deal Thursday to support a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by Greece’s financial backers in return for a bailout.

• DealBook: Credit Suisse Reports First Quarterly Loss in 3 Years

  By JULIA WERDIGIER

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:20 am

  The Swiss bank posted a net loss of $698 million in the fourth quarter, as its core businesses experienced a slowdown in a weak economic environment.

• Central Banks in Europe Hold Interest Rates

  By JACK EWING and JULIA WERDIGIER

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:13 am

  The Bank of England did say it would increase its purchases of government bonds to keep the British economy from slipping into recession.

• 

  trendsspotting blog

• “Trends and Innovations in Mobile Accessories” Research Report

  Dr. Taly Weiss

  1 Feb 2012 | 8:03 am

  We are happy to announce the release of a new TrendsSpotting research report  uncovering  major  trends  in  Mobile  Accessories. Based  on  exploration  of  over  2000  new  accessories  released  since  2011  +   CES  2012  and  a  market  analysis  of  major  market  trends  characterizing  this   growing  market, TrendsSpotting  has  identified  about  150  recently  released   products  that  reflect  new  emerging  trends  in  mobile  accessories. The  innovations  analyzed  in  this  report  are  profiled  according  to …

• LEADING DIGITAL WOMEN PREDICT 2012

  Dr. Taly Weiss

  11 Jan 2012 | 6:20 pm

  For the last five years TrendsSpotting trends research company has published prediction reports covering trends in tech, mobile and social media, suggested by leading technology and business experts. TrendsSpotting’s Influencers Prediction Reports 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008 are read by thousands of readers and are used by leading companies to plan their future (viewership at Slideshare/TrendsSpotting). As TrendsSpotting is involved in re-placing the role of women in the digital world (see us at Microsoft’s Women Think Next and WIFT), we have decided that this year we will dedicate this…

• Emerging market for mobile health products

  Dr. Taly Weiss

  9 Nov 2011 | 3:15 am

  In the past year, products using mobile devices to monitor health conditions are becoming more popular with the first ones now getting accepted by the Food and Drug Administration. Among health care apps entering the market are blood pressure monitoring cuffs, CT-scan viewers, and pocket ultrasound machines. The market is still at its first steps but rapid growth is expected: according to mobile market consultancy research2guidance, by 2015 30 percent of the world’s smartphone users will be using mobile health products, up from 5 percent today. The big promise for consumers are…

• 2020 Predictions -Model for Future Innovations

  Dr. Taly Weiss

  14 Oct 2011 | 2:12 am

  Based on the concept of “The Internet of Things” TrendsSpotting has developed  a working model for NPD.  ”The ANA Model” was developed  and implemented while working with tech companies, and allows us to predict future products and services. The “ANA Model” identifies the process where data is collected from reported “Actions”, then delivered to predefined monitor systems or professionals by “Notifications”. The outcomes can “Alert” people through a visualized system. Few daily activities are presented to reflect the…

• How crowdsourcing games help solve scientific problems: Review of current projects

  Dr. Taly Weiss

  6 Oct 2011 | 7:09 am

  It has been shown that the human capacity has still important advantages over computers. Scientists have learned to use crowd sourcing tools to improve their research. To achieve cooperation, they present models of the problems in a game like display and challenge the partipants to find solutions. Scientists in Carnegie Mellon University (look up Luis von Ahn) were the first to use human brains to help them solve problems associated with searching for images on the web (computers are not very good at distinguishing images from each other using visual cues). This lead to the development…

• 

  NYT > Home Page

• TIMESCAST: TimesCast | February 9, 2012

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:37 am

  Greece reaches a deal on austerity measures | Rush Limbaugh’s new radio rival | The dangers and benefits of yoga.

• Mortgage Plan Gives Homeowners Bulk of the Benefits

  By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and SHAILA DEWAN

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:32 am

  Under the settlement, about $5 billion would go to states and federal authorities, $17 billion would be earmarked for homeowner relief and $3 billion would go for refinancing.

• Efforts to Stop Use of Underage Models During New York Fashion Week

  By ERIC WILSON

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:02 am

  Arguing that a model at the age of 16 may have the maturity to deal with designers and photographers.

• Libya’s New Government Unable to Control Militias

  By ANTHONY SHADID

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:57 am

  The Arab world’s most sweeping revolution is foundering as the interim Libyan government seems to be paralyzed by its lack of power to control competing militias.

• Breakthrough on Austerity Clears Way for Greek Deal

  By RACHEL DONADIO and NIKI KITSANTONIS

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:27 am

  After days of talks, Greek political leaders reached a deal Thursday to support a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by Greece’s financial backers in return for a bailout.

• 

  NYT > Business Day

• Is This Living Room Big Enough for My TV?

  By SAM GROBART

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:10 am

  Huge televisions, once an expensive oddity, are now the affordable norm.

• Mortgage Plan Gives Homeowners Bulk of the Benefits

  By NELSON D. SCHWARTZ and SHAILA DEWAN

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:58 am

  Under the settlement, about $5 billion will go in cash payments to states and federal authorities, $17 billion will be earmarked for homeowner relief and roughly $3 billion will go for refinancing.

• Breakthrough on Austerity Clears Way for Greek Deal

  By RACHEL DONADIO and NIKI KITSANTONIS

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:27 am

  After days of talks, Greek political leaders reached a deal Thursday to support a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by Greece’s financial backers in return for a bailout.

• DealBook: Credit Suisse Reports First Quarterly Loss in 3 Years

  By JULIA WERDIGIER

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:20 am

  The Swiss bank posted a net loss of $698 million in the fourth quarter, as its core businesses experienced a slowdown in a weak economic environment.

• Central Banks in Europe Hold Interest Rates

  By JACK EWING and JULIA WERDIGIER

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:13 am

  The Bank of England did say it would increase its purchases of government bonds to keep the British economy from slipping into recession.

• 

  NYT > Most E-Mailed

• Is This Living Room Big Enough for My TV?

  By SAM GROBART

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:10 am

  Huge televisions, once an expensive oddity, are now the affordable norm.

• Op-Ed Columnist: The White Underclass

  By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:00 am

  We need a national conversation about the dimensions of poverty or a chunk of working-class America could be calcified into an underclass.

• California Housing Market Braces for Facebook Millionaires

  By MICHAEL COOPER

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:59 am

  The Bay Area and Silicon Valley expect the windfall from the Facebook stock offering to make their in-demand region even hotter.

• In Struggling Tupper Lake, Resort Project Creates Rift

  By LISA W. FODERARO

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:17 am

  A project in Tupper Lake, N.Y., was approved after a nearly decade-long tug of war between environmentalists and pro-development residents.

• Katherine Boo on Her Book ‘Behind the Beautiful Forevers’

  By CHARLES McGRATH

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:57 am

  Katherine Boo, the author of “Behind the Beautiful Forevers: Life, Death and Hope in a Mumbai Undercity,” lets a story of poverty tell itself.

• 

  NYT > Media & Advertising

• Media Decoder Blog: Huckabee's Latest Campaign Is Aimed at Radio Stations

  By BRIAN STELTER

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:41 am

  The former Arkansas governor is starting a talk-radio show that will compete with Rush Limbaugh, and his focus is getting radio stations to carry it.

• Media Decoder Blog: The Occupy Movement May Be in Retreat, but Its Ideas Are Advancing

  By DAVID CARR

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:50 am

  Is the Occupy Wall Street movement petering out, or has it already won a big victory by shaping the political campaign of 2012?

• New Settlements in Britain’s Hacking Scandal

  By RAVI SOMAIYA and ALAN COWELL

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:50 am

  Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper subsidiary was reported to have reached a new batch of settlements on Wednesday in the hacking scandal.

• Media Decoder Blog: The Breakfast Meeting: Young People Drift From TV Sets (Which Are Getting Huge!)

  By NOAM COHEN

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:28 am

  Also, Mike Huckabee takes on Rush Limbaugh, Rick Santorum gets a big lifeline, and the rise of Pinterest.

• Advertising: Marketing Financial Risk Management to Clients and Providers

  By STUART ELLIOTT

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:13 am

  A campaign encouraging professionals to become certified as financial risk managers is centered on photographs of men in business garb recoiling as if they had been punched.

• 

  NYT > Thomas L. Friedman

• Freedom at 4 Below

  6 Feb 2012 | 9:00 pm

  Observing democratic awakenings in places like Egypt, Syria and Russia puts a glow in your heart and a pit in your stomach.

• Russia: Sort of, but Not Really

  3 Feb 2012 | 9:00 pm

  Vladimir Putin has been unable to make the political, economic and educational changes needed to make Russia a modern European state. Will he step up?

• The Politics of Dignity

  31 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

  From Cairo to Moscow, humiliation has been the most underestimated force in politics.

• Made in the World

  28 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

  There is a big gap in how C.E.O.’s and political leaders look at the world.

• Average Is Over

  24 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

  In the 21st-century economy, everyone is going to have to find a little something extra to stand out in their field of employment.

• 

  NYT > Gretchen Morgenson

• DocX Faces Foreclosure Fraud Charges in Missouri

  5 Feb 2012 | 9:00 pm

  The charges against DocX, which provided home foreclosure services to lenders across the nation, are one of the few criminal actions to follow reports of widespread improprieties against homeowners.

• Mortgage Tornado Warning, Unheeded

  3 Feb 2012 | 9:00 pm

  Inspired by a personal experience, a businessman began delving into the practices of the mortgage industry, including Fannie Mae. His findings have been prescient.

• An Investment Wipeout That Didn’t Have to Happen

  3 Feb 2012 | 9:00 pm

  An investor won an arbitration case over money lost in a complex security. But he’s still angry at financial institutions.

• Mortgage Task Force Has Fancy Name, but Will It Get Tough?

  28 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

  President Obama’s new task force has much to tackle in the mortgage mess — and soon, if it wants to allay suspicions that the authorities have given powerful institutions a pass.

• Hazard Insurance With Its Own Perils - Fair Game

  21 Jan 2012 | 9:00 pm

  A costly type of coverage, imposed on home buyers who have let insurance lapse, is the subject of a widening investigation in New York State.

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  chrisbrogan.com

• Throw Away the Maps

  ceb

  6 Feb 2012 | 1:30 am

  People judge us by the path they’ve seen us walk before. They can’t anticipate our future steps. We, ourselves, look to how things have been, what seems to be the lay of the land, without realizing that the maps are not the territory. Want to succeed at work? Then don’t try to do your job. Instead, work towards something larger, more meaningful, and something that blends your convictions internally with your best ability to help others externally. Want to create something new? Then throw away the old, or maybe join two disparate old things together into something new. The…

• The Next Social Networks

  ceb

  5 Feb 2012 | 1:30 am

  The rage in social networks right now is Pinterest, partly because it’s probably the first social network that has a much higher adoption rate by females than males, and partly because it’s an interesting concept: somewhere between visual social bookmarking and scrapbooking. What also might not be immediately obvious is that it’s just “easier” to interact there. In that way, Pinterest has something in common with Instagram, which is community around photos. What I’m interested in, though, is Gentlemint, which I keep calling “Pinterest for…

• Learn From Adele – Build Your Platform

  ceb

  3 Feb 2012 | 1:30 am

  Jacq and I just watched Adele Live At The Royal Albert Hall (amazon affiliate link), and though every song was just wonderfully done, I found myself fascinated by what Adele was doing in between each song. Because even though most people would be interested in hearing her belt out her amazing repertoire of hits, what I took away from the performance was Adele’s real magical ability: the ability to resonate with her audience. What Adele Could Teach You About Impact I’m writing something about this right now for my upcoming book with Julien Smith, but I had to share some of the…

• Rob Gokee is a Musical Wizard

  ceb

  2 Feb 2012 | 8:05 am

  I had such a great experience working with award winning musical composer Rob Gokee. We did some musical work together, and the process was so amazing. Rob helped me create my theme song for Shhh! The Secret Show. So anyhow, he and I sat down to do an interview, and it’s a bit long, but it’s totally worth it. We talk about what collaboration feels like at a distance, what it takes to get music like this made for your own show, and a lot more. Rob’s a hero to me, and has been part of the community for a while. I was so fortunate to have worked with him. Can’t see the…

• Build Your Platform – Start

  ceb

  30 Jan 2012 | 1:30 am

  The following is part ONE of a series called Build Your Platform. If you find it interesting, please consider subscribing for free to get the rest of the series. This post is long. You might want to bookmark it for later. The age of social media oversaturation is upon us. People are declaring Twitter bankruptcy to go along with their email bankruptcy. They cite not wanting to start on yet another social network as their reason for not getting more involved with Google+. And just as soon as you start getting into Pinterest, you hear about Path, but wait: there’s Gentlemint, which is…

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  NowSourcing.Com » Blog

• This Week In Infographics: Dirty Valentines and The Walking Debt

  Kristina

  9 Feb 2012 | 8:17 am

  While there is no underlying theme to this week’s list, we feel that the best way to describe these would be: just cool. First of all, Keeping It Kleen wins the award for most creative way of incorporating love and hygiene for Valentine’s day. The funny and disgusting stats are a refreshing break from the lovey dovey or single ready to mingle infographics. Next, for those of you out there who are trying to figure out how in the world you are going to pay off your student loans – good luck with that. Luckily, we have a rundown of social media jobs and salaries that may help…

• Evolution of Flash Memory

  greg

  1 Feb 2012 | 11:14 am

• Patriotic and Protest Songs

  greg

  1 Feb 2012 | 11:12 am

• Buyer Beware: BBB Highlights Top 10 Online Scams

  greg

  1 Feb 2012 | 11:10 am

• The 5 Types of People You Look Up Online

  greg

  1 Feb 2012 | 11:09 am

• 

  Board Game Blog (site blog) by Boardgame Beast!

• Play Board Games

  22 Jan 2012 | 6:58 am

  Play-board-games.com is a site for people who love to play board games. From reviews and winning strategies to play sessions, this site offers fun information

• The Hobbit Board Game

  16 Jan 2012 | 7:22 am

  The Hobbit Board Game Board game manufacturer: Fantasy Flight Games Number of players: 2-5 Ages: 11yrs+ Time: 45-60 minsQuick Verdict Journey with Bilbo

• Quarriors Dice Game

  15 Jan 2012 | 12:34 pm

  Quarriors dice game Dice game manufacturer: WizKids Games Number of players: 2-4 Ages: 11yrs+ Time: 30 minsQuick Verdict Love deck building games, but

• Epigo Board Game

  4 Jan 2012 | 5:53 am

  Epigo Board Game Board game manufacturer: Masquerade Games Number of players: 2 (4 with variant) Ages: 11+ Time: 30 minsQuick Verdict Backed by a concept

• Christian Bible Study Game for Homeschool Teaching

  21 Dec 2011 | 9:20 am

  Bible Trivia is a Christian Bible study game that's peerless as a teaching game for homeschool or Sunday school. It's a perfect Christian game for teaching the Scriptures.

• 

  Investment Banking News - Investment Banking News Headlines | Bizjournals.com

• U.S. Postal Service posts $3.3B loss

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:30 am

  Strong holiday shipping was not enough to offset a continued decline in First-Class Mail, leading to a $3.3 billion quarterly loss for the United States Postal Service, compared to a loss of $290 million in the same quarter a year earlier. The Postal Service’s shipping business was up 7 percent from a year ago last quarter, its fiscal first quarter. Shipping accounted for 17 percent of its total revenue. First-Class Mail revenue fell 4.1 percent. First-Class Mail revenue has declined 15 percent and volume down 25 percent since 2006.

• S&P revises Lockheed Martin outlook to negative

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:30 am

  Standard & Poor's said this week that it affirmed its rating on Bethesda-based Lockheed Martin Corp. and revised the outlook to negative from stable, Reuters reported. "The outlook revision reflects our expectations that lower defense spending will result in a modest decline in revenues, earnings, and cash flow over the next few years," said Standard & Poor's credit analyst Christopher DeNicolo.

• Glen Burnie Bancorp profit up in 4Q

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:16 am

  Glen Burnie Bancorp's fourth-quarter profit rose 15 percent, while earnings for the full-year also grew. The parent company of Bank of Glen Burnie (NASDAQ: GLBZ) posted a fourth-quarter profit of $756,000, or 28 cents per share, compared with a profit of $655,000, or 24 cents per share, in the year-ago period. For the full year, profit was nearly $3 million, or $1.10 per share, up from nearly $2.1 million, or 76 cents per share in 2010. The Bank of Glen Burnie has eight branches in Anne Arundel County...

• National mortgage settlement website launched

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:15 am

  A website for people who might be entitled to payments under the foreclosure practices settlement between banks and the government is here. “Learn how to find out if your loan is affected by this settlement, the timeline for relief, how you will know if you are eligible,” the site’s homepage says. Philadelphia market leader Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) and four other big banks will pay $26 billion. Payments to borrowers could be in the range of $2,000.

• Kansas expects $50M from national mortgage settlement

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:08 am

  A national settlement announced Thursday with major banks regarding their mortgage practices should bring $50 million to Kansas, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said. The $25 billion settlement with Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Wells Fargo and Ally Financial (GMAC) could provide direct payments to more than 4,000 Kansas homeowners who lost their homes to foreclosure. It also will cover investigations of misconduct in the housing market and provide a civil penalty to the state. Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster said Tuesday he expected more than $40 million from the…

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  U.S. News

• Bin Laden Back From the Dead in New Zombie Movie

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:30 am

  Zombie Bin Laden will soon be coming to a screen near you

• How the Foreclosure Deal Affects Homeowners

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:12 am

  An agreement struck Thursday could help 1 million homeowners get on steadier financial ground.

• Obama Picks Up Pointed Playlist

  9 Feb 2012 | 10:04 am

  Obama releases new 2012 playlist with a message.

• Despite Inflation Forecast Prices on Everyday Items Expected to Climb this Year

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:54 am

  Americans are likely to see cost hikes on everything from cell phone bills to orange juice this year.

• Rick Santorum's Sweep Means It’s Still Anybody’s Race

  9 Feb 2012 | 9:50 am

  The GOP finds itself in the unusual position of not being sure who its nominee will eventually be.

• 

  Inside Facebook

• Facebook shares climb 10% in private auction to $103B valuation

  Kim-Mai Cutler

  8 Feb 2012 | 9:39 pm

  Facebook’s shares climbed 10 percent from a week ago in a private auction that valued the company at $103.4 billion. SharesPost, which arranges sales of shares in privately held companies, said it completed an auction of 150,000 shares of Class B stock today at a clearing price of $44. That’s up 10 percent from a week ago, where shares cleared at $40 with a $94 billion valuation. Facebook may raise around $5 billion after filing for an initial public offering last week. While we don’t know what the ultimate market capitalization will be, the fact that the shares cleared at a…

• Liveblogging Inside Social Apps: Social Apps for Marketers and Brands, Maximizing Audience Engagement

  Brendan Irvine-Broque

  8 Feb 2012 | 6:03 pm

  We’re at the San Francisco Design center, blogging Inside Network’s third annual Inside Social Apps conference. The final panel of the day focused on how marketers and brands can use social apps to maximize audience engagement. Joining moderator Josh Constine, of Techcrunch, were Context Optional CEO Kevin Barenblat, Buddy Media Senior VP Carla Bourque, Facebook Page Product Manager Russ Heddleston, Starz Media VP of Digital Media David Katz, Hearsay Social CEO and Starbucks Board Director Clara Shih. All of the panelists agreed that building mobile experiences and applications is…

• 60 million users engaged with apps on Facebook mobile platform since launch; average 5 times per month

  Brendan Irvine-Broque

  8 Feb 2012 | 5:23 pm

  Facebook Director of Product Management Carl Sjogreen revealed that more than 60 million users have engaged with mobile applications via Facebook, 320 million times per month since the mobile platform launched in October 2011. Sjogreen shared this statistic during a fireside chat with Founder of Inside Network Justin Smith at the Inside Social Apps conference in San Francisco. This means that 60 million users navigated to either mobile web or native applications that integrated with Facebook, and these users engaged with the app roughly five times per month. With 425 million monthly active…

• Liveblogging Inside Social Apps: Facebook Platform Roadmap in 2012

  Brittany Darwell

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:52 pm

  We’re at the San Francisco Design center, blogging Inside Network’s third annual Inside Social Apps conference. Founder of Inside Network Justin Smith sat down with Facebook Director of Product Management Carl Sjogreen for a fireside chat called “The Facebook Platform Roadmap in 2012.” With the company filing for an initial public offering last week, Sjogreen was unable to share too much about the future of monetization the platform, but he provided insight on the state of Open Graph, mobile and games on Facebook. The following is a paraphrased transcript of the discussion.

• Facebook appends its 2005 stock plan to its IPO filing in new amendment

  Kim-Mai Cutler

  8 Feb 2012 | 2:36 pm

  Facebook added a horde of documents to its filing for an initial public offering, including a copy of the 2005 stock plan. There are also some offer letters to executives, the five-year agreement with Zynga and an agreement from 2010 with Russia’s Digital Sky Technologies when the late-stage investment firm held an 8.2 percent stake in the company. Perhaps the most interesting thing though is a copy of the 2005 stock plan. In there, you can see how options and restricted stock units for the company were structured. The Zynga-Facebook agreement is the exact same one the gaming company…

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  How to Change the World

• Raising Money: What Not to Say and What Not to Believe #OfficeandGuyK

  GuyKawasaki

  20 Jan 2012 | 10:46 am

  Over the past two weeks via my partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve provided templates of models for you to create enchanting PowerPoint pitches, Word business plans, and Excel financial models. They are all available for you to download from my SkyDrive account. I hope these documents and blog posts help you save a boatload of time and increase the quality of your efforts.I leave you with two sets of top ten lies: one of entrepreneurs and one of investors so that you know what not to say and what not to believe. Top Ten Lies of Entrepreneurs “Our projections are…

• Design a Sam Adams beer

  GuyKawasaki

  20 Jan 2012 | 8:24 am

  Now this is a fun project. I’m helping Sam Adams “tap” the knowledge of beer drinkers and crowd source its next brew. Join the party by getting the app and designing your beer: The final brew will be released in Austin in the first week of March. #sponsored

• How to Create an Enchanting Financial Forecast #OfficeandGuyK

  GuyKawasaki

  17 Jan 2012 | 1:52 pm

  This is the third post in my Microsoft partnership, and it’s all about numbers. The topic is crafting your financial forecast to include in your pitch. Bill Reichert, my partner at Garage Technology Ventures, created an Excel model and wrote this blog post. There’s a lesson in this too: Get the best person for the job. His grasp of financial models and how to present them exceeds mine by two orders of magnitude. The Purpose of Financial Projections When it comes to financial projections, there are two types of entrepreneurs: first, the “visionary entrepreneur” who…

• How to Create an Enchanting Business Plan #OfficeandGuyK

  GuyKawasaki

  12 Jan 2012 | 8:16 am

  Here is the second post in my series about planning, pitching, and launching a new business venture. In partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps, I’ve created a Word document that outlines a good business plan. It’s saved to my SkyDrive folder here. Feel free to download it and use it as inspiration. And if you’re working with a partner, you can use the free Word Web App to stay in sync. I provided the PowerPoint document before the Word document because a good business plan is an elaboration of a good pitch as opposed to a good pitch being a distillation of good business plan.

• How to Create an Enchanting Pitch #OfficeandGuyK

  GuyKawasaki

  9 Jan 2012 | 8:01 am

  Welcome to the first in a series of blog posts I’ll be doing as part of a partnership with Microsoft and Office Web Apps. Over the next two weeks, I’ll cover everything a budding entrepreneur needs to turn an idea into an enchanting investment opportunity—from the perfect pitch to a killer business plan to financial forecasts. I’m going to start with a little dissertation on creating effective PowerPoint pitches for your company. I embedded the sample deck for you to click through by using the PowerPoint Web App. When you’re ready to get started, you can download the…