text:
Specialization and Technology in Mexico: A Virtual Pattern of Development and Competitiveness?
By the end of the 80s and the beginning of the 90s, Mexico has shown important transformations in its pattern of industrialization and competitiveness. It is hard to determine whether this pattern might become a successful one in the near future. However, some points about the features which are presently prevailing can be emphasized: 1) The structural change in the composition of Mexican exports and the improved performance in competitiveness when the dynamics in market shares are considered. This pattern is mainly related to again in competitiveness which is supported by what has been defined in terms of static allocative efficiency. Still, when actual competitiveness is analyzed, domestic industry appears to maintain the traditional structure which emerged during the ISI period. In a sense, sectors and firms that developed technical capabilities and economies of scale in this period possess higher opportunities to achieve actual competitiveness. 2) The specificity of this pattern seems to support the hypothesis that the new Mexican specialization has not been followed by a change in both the development of production capacity and technological capabilities. Moreover, when the analysis is extended in the most recent years, it seems to confirm how the maquila industry is one of the leading actors in industrial modernization. The diffusion of this type of industry introduces only very weak linkages with domestic productive sectors, strengthening the specificities of the competitiveness pattern in terms of production capacity and technological capabilities.
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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
- Cimoli, Mario & Dosi, Giovanni, 1995. "Technological Paradigms, Patterns of Learning and Development: An Introductory Roadmap," Journal of Evolutionary Economics, Springer, vol. 5(3), pages 243-268, September.
- Casar, José I., 1995. "La industria mexicana a principios de los noventa," Sede de la CEPAL en Santiago (Estudios e Investigaciones) 30345, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
- Mortimore, Michael, 1995. "Restructuring and international competitiveness: the Mexican automobile industry," Sede de la CEPAL en Santiago (Estudios e Investigaciones) 30470, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
- Calderón Hoffmann, Alvaro & Mortimore, Michael & Peres Núñez, Wilson, 1995. "Mexico's incorporation into the new industrial order: foreign investment as a source of international competitiveness," Desarrollo Productivo 21, Naciones Unidas Comisión Económica para América Latina y el Caribe (CEPAL).
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Monika knows what she wants, and shes not shy about it. This babe is a little cutie, nice bubble ass, perky tittys, and a great smile to drop a load on. I did. This goes to prove that good things do cum in small packages.
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Australian consumers (71%) embrace cross-country commerce more than the UK (44%) and the US (42%).
Women and shoppers over 55 years old are more likely to choose merchants in their home country.
The two top reasons for buying from another country are unique merchandise at a better price.
Barriers include concern about shipping costs, distrust of online payments and security worries.Download this research report to get more valuable insights and advice to help you be the winner in this growing global competition.
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MIAMI -- A judge threw out federal charges yesterday against Greenpeace for a protest in which members of the environmental group clambered aboard a cargo ship loaded with
Greenpeace was charged under an 1872 law, not used in more than a century, that was intended to keep bordellos from sending prostitutes to board ships, attempting to lure sailors ashore.
US District Judge Adalberto Jordan ruled there was not enough evidence for the case to go to the jury. He put an end to the case after the prosecution rested.
Greenpeace argued that the charges were payback for its criticism of what the group said is the Bush administration's lax enforcement of international restrictions on mahogany trade.
In 2002, six Greenpeace activists spent the weekend in jail after two of them boarded the cargo ship APL Jade six miles from its dock in the Port of Miami to protest a 70-ton load of Brazilian mahogany. The group was indicted 15 months later under a law unused since 1890.


text:
Product Description
NS700 Soft Phone License Details and Specification
Panasonic KX-NS700 Soft Phone License - Activation Key Card. Available in:
- 01 User - (KX-NSM201)
- 05 Users - (KX-NSM205)
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Activation Keys and licenses are non refundable once issued. Please contact our friendly team if you have any concerns before making your purchase.
Once you have made your purchase, one of our team will contact you requesting the MPRID address of your current Panasonic system. Once we have this information and successful registration has been made, we will send you the Panasonic LIC File.
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Additional Information
NS700 Soft Phone License Information
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text:
Written on: 09/04/2013
I made an enquiry with this company weeks before my wife birthday. I never booked with them because someone else recommended a stripper that was really good, and so I booked with him. On the day he was arranged, I received a call very early saying it's the stripper I'd booked and unfortunately was unable to make it. Although very annoyed with him, he said he'd sort a replacement as to not spoil the night. I agreed. Very shortly a company phoned me saying they believe I'm after a stripper tonight and they could squeeze me in. I booked it and paid the deposit. It turned out the original booked stripper hadn't cancelled and knew nothing. This was the very first company I'd made an enquiry with that phoned cancelling pretending to be the proper one. This was done from a mobile no. This is just tricking people into booking up with them. They are just blatant liars and only interested in getting money out of you. They trade under lots of different company names on the net i.e strippergram-uk and there are also more. They are all the same horrible man. When booking they are a really nice company but once they have your money they are very abusive.
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Kukla's Korner Hockey
Does A Hard Salary Cap Really Matter?
by Paul on 01/29/12 at 11:15 AM ET
Comments (9)
from Larry Brooks of the NY Post,
For despite the perception that adoption of the hard cap has created a league-wide utopia of parity, the reality is there have been as many, if not more, chronic ne'er-do-wells in seven years under this system as existed in the NHL's uncapped world.
Ten of the league's 30 teams have not so much as won a playoff round in six years of cap tournaments, an increase of three teams when compared to the six seasons immediately leading into the lockout.
What's more, over the last four playoffs, seven teams have accounted for 78 percent of the playoff series victories as opposed to the final four tournaments preceding the cancelled season during which 11 teams accounted for 76 percent of series victories.
The cap lowered the bar, there is no doubt about that, though organizations such as the Bruins, Red Wings, Canucks, Penguins and Flyers — all of which have gone about it slightly differently — have managed to attain a consistent level of excellence even allowing for the obstacles presented by the collective bargaining agreement.
Filed in: NHL Teams, NHL Talk, | KK Hockey | Permalink
Shorter version from the Senile one "Oh if the Rags could just spend like govt. & still barely Make the playoffs"
Posted by Evilpens on 01/29/12 at 11:38 AM ET
Never been a Brooks follower, but the statistical backup for his argument against the cap is intriguing.
I hate the damn thing, for obvious reasons.
In the pre-cap days, poorly performing teams that didn't spend much could claim they didn't have the means to be competitive.
Now, what is their excuse?
Posted by Jeff OKWingnut from Quest for 12 on 01/29/12 at 11:46 AM ET
Amateurish, clown franchises will continue to be clown franchises, no matter what salary structure is imposed upon them or what city they play in. Imposing the cap didn't make the guys running the joke franchises any smarter, or make the guys running the good franchises any dumber. If anything, it raised the stakes . . . teams that tend to make dumb decisions free agent wise now have a harder time getting over them, giving teams that spend wisely another advantage.
Posted by Savage Henry on 01/29/12 at 11:48 AM ET
The hard cap is the best thing to happen to the league. Instead of having only 5 teams with star players we now have 20 teams. I fully expect fans of those five to whine about it, but the rest of us love It!!!
Posted by timbits on 01/29/12 at 08:51 PM ET
Posted by Savage Henry on 01/29/12 at 09:48 AM ET
Posted by SYF from Twerkin' with Anastasia Ashley on 01/29/12 at 09:16 PM ET
The cap makes it important for good teams to not only have good players but good management. Teams like Columbus who spend a lot of money are still crappy because their management sucks. The Wings spend but management knows what its doing so they have good teams. You can't just spend your way to a good team anymore like the Yankees do in baseball.
Posted by HockeyFanOhio from Central Ohio on 01/29/12 at 10:22 PM ET
In a sport where the revenue and growth are so lopsided toward two teams, the hard cap is a necessary safeguard against the runaway inflation the Leafs and Rags would cause in an uncapped world.
A couple people seem to think the Red Wings would be 'haves' in an uncapped system, probably because they used to be haves before. Well, the Maple Leafs weren't 6 times their size before. Their relationship to Toronto would be a Royals/Yankees one, not a sox/Yankees one.
To illustrate how great the disparity between Toronto and everyone else is, I'll just point out that Toronto could finance a second cap-max team that generated $0 revenue and still finish first among NHL clubs in overall profit. MLSE is worth more Money and has more cash on hand than the bottom 29 teams COMBINED.
If the new competitive spending threshold became $120 million (the Leafs could actually get close to $200 mil before they saw a drop of red), the Red Wings would have to lose a whopping $30 million dollars per year trying to win.
Posted by larry from pitt on 01/29/12 at 10:41 PM ET
Considering the relevant ownership, I think it's appropriate to expect a Wings/Leafs relationship to be like a Tigers/Yankees one more than a Royals/Yankees one. Still not on par, but not as skewed as it could be.
Posted by Savage Henry on 01/29/12 at 11:15 PM ET
There is no "hard" cap. If you have money to waste and you are in the Redden, you can just Finger a player to the AHL for relief. Teams on the lower end of the cap now have to pay at a higher level that keeps them spending good money after bad instead of becoming fiscally sound.
Posted by hockey1919 from mid-atlantic on 01/31/12 at 01:08 PM ET
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In comments marking the 40th anniversary of the close of Vatican II, the renowned Spanish theologian Father Olegario Gonzalez de Cardenal said given the "moral weight of Catholicism in the world," the history of the Church, the world and Spain is incomprehensible without "taking into account what that Council meant and what has come from it."
In an article published by the Spanish daily ABC, Father Cardenal noted, "The history of the Catholic Church in the 20th century is no longer comprehensible without Vatican II. The same is true for the history of Spain. Moreover, given the moral weight of Catholicism in the world, with its 1.5 billion members, with its presence in every geographic corner of the world and its specific vision of the meaning of human life, the history of the world in this century is also incomprehensible without taking into account what that Council meant and what has come from it. Just think of Poland, of John Paul II and the events of 1989."
"As an internal event of the Catholic Church," Father Cardenal continued, "it was normal in one sense and revolutionary in another. Normal because the collective search for truth is a constant in the history of the Church, together with the communitarian dimension of her expression and the ultimate decision regarding her dogmatic contents and moral demands by way of a material or representative meeting of all of the bishops."
Nevertheless, he explained, the Council was also revolutionary "because of its proposal to rectify past history by establishing a profound connection between the Christian conscience and modernity; to bring together the best social projects and hopes with the power of the Gospel; to create attitudes, expressions and institutions in the Church that aren't ambiguous but rather demonstrate her true essence and her mission to be God's sign for the world."
Vatican II and Spain
According to Father Cardenal, the history of Spain in the 20th century is "incomprehensible without that which Vatican II unleashed, liberated, made possible and demanded."
"Of the four transitions which have given birth to modern-day Spain (economic in 1959 with the development plans; religious in 1962-1965 with Vatican II; political in 1978 with the new Constitution; and moral and cultural, with the sharing of power between the different political parties), the religious transition was the most radical and complete, because it affected the personal and moral roots of the conscience, where everything either comes together or is torn apart."
Lastly, Father Cardenal notes that "religious freedom could not be an island in an ocean without other freedoms; in its wake these other freedoms had to come. Out of the spirit of the Council came the need for unity, reconciliation, consensus and peace in justice. This is the moral foundation of the transition to reconciliation in a democratic Spain."
"To try to forget, deny, or alter the meaning of these events is to violently turn the history we have experienced on its head and sow new seeds of uncivil discord," he said in conclusion.


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Stanford vs. Colorado Pick
BOULDER, CO (ATS Consultants) – Colorado hosts No. 15 Stanford on Saturday for a 2PM ET kickoff on FX, live from Folsom Field.
View Current College Football Odds
Stanford is 6-2 on the year and 1-2 on the road while Colorado is 1-7 overall and 0-4 at home. The Buffaloes are 1-7 against the spread this season while the Cardinal are 4-4 ATS. Stanford has won three straight against the Buffaloes and covered in four straight in this series.
Odds: The oddsmakers at Bovada.lv see Stanford as the clear favorite on the road, as the Cardinal have odds of -27.5 points at Colorado on Saturday. The over/under total has been set at 51 points.
Line Movement: Opening odds had Stanford also favored by 27.5 points. The spread moved up to 28 points during the week before closing back at 27.5.
Public Betting: Of the wagers that have been placed on this game, 80% are going on Stanford with odds of -27.5 points at Colorado on Saturday. Be sure to click on the public betting link to get the latest odds and betting percentages.
COLLEGE FOOTBALL FREE PICK: Stanford is 15-5-1 ATS L21 road games, Colorado is 7-21 ATS L28 conference games. Last year: STANFORD (-29.5) over Colorado, 48-7. Stanford has a bit of a quarterback controversy has backup Kevin Hogan, will take 12 to 20 snaps in this game, forcing Josh Nunes to play better. They Cardinal struggled last week to defeat lowly Washington State, 24-17 as Nunes struggled, throwing for 136 yards. Now the Cardinal travel to Boulder to take on a 1-7 team. Stanford has to get their offense together before facing Oregon State and Oregon. Stepfan Taylor, who ran for 189 yards against Cal two weeks ago, should have another big game, taking the pressure off both qbs.
Bet on College Football Week 10 OddsATSSportsline.com has been providing winning sports picks since 1992. Want more from ATS Consultants? Click Free Picks to get daily winners delivered directly to your inbox with no obligation!


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Evaluate these legacy Lenses, please.
Nikkor-Q Auto 135mm/f2.8
Decent, but not exceptional. Should be okay stopped down a bit...
Nikkor-H Auto 50mm/f2
The keeper of your 50's, nice lens. Will have to stop it down a touch on modern bodies.
Nikon Lens Series E 50mm/f1.8
Just your basic 50
Nikkor-SC Auto 50mm/f1.4
Just another 50
Nikkor-S Auto 35mm/f2.8
Just another 35
Zoom-Nikkor C 43mm-86mm/f3.5
Hate to be harsh, but I agree with the other poster - this lens isn't much. Throw in the dumpster and move on. Or drill out the lens elements and make a planter, cup holder, or pen holder out of it - that's all it's good for realistically.
Nikkor-NC Auto 24mm/f2.8
Pretty good in the film days, will struggle on high pixel density digital.
Overall none of your legacy Nikon lenses are going to be stellar performers mounted on a high resolution mirrorless body or on a modern high rez Nikon. The demands of DSLR sensors is different than those of film, and thus lenses that were quite well thought of 20 years ago may not be that amazing on digital. Not that they can't be used or aren't decent, but they often won't be anywhere near the image quality of more modern designs done during the digital era.
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|Apr 15, 2012
|Apr 16, 2012


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As I write this, the financial reform bill is in conference committee to reconcile the Senate and House versions of the proposed new law, which is expected to be finalized and presented to President Obama just in time for Independence Day. At this point, a fiduciary duty for all financial advisors (which appears in the
House bill but not the Senate bill) is still a possibility. In fact, the Obama Administration just released a list of five items it considered essential for financial reform: At the top is a fiduciary duty for brokers. As Deputy Treasury Secretary Neal Wolin put it in a speech on May 27 at the annual FINRA conference: "Clients receiving investment advice don't distinguish between broker/dealers and investment advisors and neither should the law."
Right now, though, it's still a less than even chance that we'll get a level fiduciary playing field this time around. Since the last time around occurred in 1940, you might think that doesn't bode well for finally getting financial consumers the protections they need and deserve from their advisors, regardless of whether she's a broker, an insurance agent, or a financial planner. Yet, as I sit here staring out at the Sangre de Cristo Mountains (playwright Eugene O'Neill said that the hardest thing about being a writer is convincing your wife that you're really working when you're looking out the window), I can't help but think that a fiduciary duty for all advisors is an idea whose time has finally come. In fact, I suspect it's another inevitable step in a long transition from product sales to a truly independent profession of financial advice.
My seemingly unfounded optimism stems from reflecting on the history of financial advice (the product of staring at the mountains), at least as far back as the start of the financial planning movement in 1971. I know, I know, those guys who met in the Chicago O'Hare Hilton were dyed-in-the-wool mutual fund salesmen looking for some way of selling funds during a down market when they couldn't give them away. But the solution they hit upon--comprehensive financial planning--was far more than merely a powerful new marketing tool (which indeed it was). Either through sheer brilliance or the intuition of good salesmen, in "financial planning," those guys hit upon the single solution to three major and related societal challenges that Americans were only just beginning to face: people were living longer (driving up the costs of retirement and medical care); Social Security and defined benefit plans were becoming increasingly untenable; and everyone would have to assume responsibility for their own retirement.
The Genesis of a Profession
In addition to creating a better way to sell financial products, those fund salesmen started the snowball of client-oriented advice down the mountain, where it continues to gain momentum. Once they started talking about giving advice on complex and often arcane subjects to a largely unsophisticated (in financial matters) public, they were really talking about a profession. And all true professions have, among other things, independence from outside influence, and a clear duty to use their superior knowledge for the clients'/patients' benefit, instead of their own.
While every major financial downturn from the Arab Oil Embargo in '73 to the Sub-Prime Collapse drove more clients to turn to advisors with a long-term, comprehensive perspective, the next major step toward independent advice came from technology: The desktop personal computer. It's hard to overemphasize the impact of the information revolution; on our society in general, and on financial advice in particular.
The computers on their desks enabled advisors to run calculations and analyze data that had formerly tied them to large institutions. The emergence of the Internet cut the cord: access to information, products, and tools far beyond the offerings of even the largest institutions was now available to any advisor, anywhere. The practical barriers to independent advice were down.
Riding on that technology wave came innovation after innovation, such as Schwab Advisor Services (which recently reclaimed its original name), which allowed advisors to deduct fees directly from client accounts, eliminating monthly billing. Even more important, it led to Schwab OneSource--the open mutual fund marketplace that sounded the death knell for proprietary products, and in my view, for wirehouses in general.
A Better Business Model
With a more powerful sales model (financial planning), access to a world of information and financial products, a system to painlessly receive client fees, and stronger, more client-oriented, client relationships, more and more advisors were asking themselves why they needed to split their revenues with a wirehouse, or even give up 20% to an independent B/D? As more advisors set up their own firms, either as RIAs or with a B/D affiliation, it became clear first to them and then gradually to the rest of the financial services world that independent advisory practices were actually a better business model.
It turns out (not unpredictably) that with a small office in a nice office park, an owner/advisor has far greater incentives to keep overhead low, staff to a minimum, and marketing efforts tied to successful results than do W-2 employees of large corporations. In short, the independent model is by far the most efficient way to deliver financial and investment advice. That's especially the case for the now-wealthy baby boom generation who never trusted institutions much, anyway. That's why we've seen banks, rollup firms, consolidators, and even some brokerage firms such as Raymond James all moving
toward owning or distributing through independents over the past 15 years or so.
The next step toward truly independent advice was the large-scale conversion to fee compensation. I can't help thinking about the parallels between the current fiduciary issue and the movement toward fee compensation some 20 years ago. As some of you may remember, fees were emerging as a far better business model for advisors and brokers (recurring, compounding revenues, a closer identity with clients' interests, etc.). Naturally, there was some institutional resistance to such a major change in the securities business; At first, charging fees on AUM was limited to a few "crazy" independent RIAs and financial planners.
But, in the early '90s, practice economics and client-orientation drove the fee movement to expand. And through the dogged efforts of NAPFA, Ron Rog?, Charles Schwab & Co., and others, the financial media began to catch on to the consumer benefits of fee compensation. Once explained clearly, the fee advantage was also an easy concept for financial consumers to understand. From that moment on, the handwriting was on the wall. Never ones to miss an opportunity to give clients products they want, Wall Street leaped onto that bandwagon--by 1999, Merrill Lynch had converted to fees, shortly followed by the other wirehouses.
So, What About Fiduciary?
Which brings us to the current debate over a fiduciary duty for brokers. To my mind, based on the long-term move toward independent advice, what's happening in Washington today is not so much a "debate" as an acknowledgement that the fiduciary duty for advisors has won the war (just as fees did in the '90s); now we're just down to the short strokes of how it will get formally implemented.
Just as with the "fee debate," the tipping point came when the national media finally "got" the difference, and started to explain it clearly to the public. I've long suspected that if consumers understood that their brokers did not have the duty to put their interests ahead of the brokerage firm's, there would be a citizen's revolt. It looks to me that that revolution is about to take place. Due to the discussions over financial reform, the coverage of when and if brokers or other advisors have a fiduciary duty to their clients has been overwhelming (to see what I mean, just Google it). Every media outlet from the New York Times to CNBC has covered the issue extensively (see "Different This Time" sidebar).
After all, Washington is rarely a leader: Most of the time, Congress is more than happy to merely jump on whatever bandwagon of popular trends happens to be passing at the moment. At present, in the aftermath of the Mortgage Meltdown, that bandwagon is mostly a knee-jerk Wall Street Reform. But included in that reaction to an immediately passed crisis (don't get me started), is at least one solution that has been percolating in the consciousness of consumer advocates, regulators, and some astute members of the media for some time: the fiduciary duty. We can debate the pros and cons of doing the right thing for the wrong reasons (see my May 5 blog on Goldman Sachs) another time, but regardless of the reasons, the "F" word in now firmly in the minds of the media and increasingly in the minds of the public. As consumers increasingly demand a fiduciary duty from their advisors, I can't help but believe it will be very hard even for Wall Street to get that genie back into the bottle.
Bob Clark, former editor of this magazine, surveys the advisory landscape from his home in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He can be reached at email@example.com.


text:
Mike Piazza set a major league record for home runs as a catcher last night in New York, and Shane Spencer hit a tiebreaking, three-run shot in the eighth inning of the Mets' 8-2 victory over the San Francisco Giants.
Barry Bonds was not in San Francisco's starting lineup for the third straight game because of a sinus infection, disappointing many of the 19,974 fans who showed up at Shea Stadium on a rainy night.
But Piazza made it worth their while, breaking Carlton Fisk's mark with his 352d homer as a catcher. He drove a 3-and-1 pitch from Jerome Williams off the bottom of the scoreboard in right-center in the first inning for a 1-0 lead.
David Weathers (2-1) worked a scoreless eighth for the win. Four Mets relievers combined for 4 2/3 hitless innings after Jae Seo left with a cracked nail on his right index finger.
Astros 6, Pirates 2 -- Roger Clemens moved into second place on the career strikeouts list behind fellow Houston-area native Nolan Ryan, and became the first six-game winner in the majors to lead the Astros over visiting Pittsburgh. Clemens struck out Raul Mondesi swinging in the fifth inning to pass Hall of Fame lefthander Steve Carlton with No. 4,137.
The Rocket finished the night with nine strikeouts -- running his career total to 4,140 -- in six innings. Clemens won his 316th career game, putting him only two behind Phil Niekro for 14th place. He gave up two runs on five hits.
Padres 2, Braves 0 -- David Wells turned in another dominating performance against host Atlanta, pitching seven scoreless innings and even beating out a bunt single in visiting San Diego's victory.
Wells (2-2) has made three career starts against the Braves and won them all. His ERA in those games is a microscopic 0.82 with just two earned runs in 22 innings.
Marlins 2, Dodgers 0 -- Brad Penny pitched 7 2/3 shutout innings to become Florida's career leader in victories, and they broke a four-game losing streak by beating Los Angeles in Miami.
Rockies 2, Expos 0 -- Joe Kennedy gave Colorado's new four-man rotation a great start, allowing only one hit over six scoreless innings and leading the Rockies over host Montreal.
Phillies 5, Cardinals 4 -- David Bell tied a career-high with four RBIs, including a three-run homer, leading Philadelphia over visiting St. Louis.
Diamondbacks 2, Cubs 0 -- Rookie Casey Daigle (1-1) outpitched Kerry Wood (3-2) for his first career victory, leading Arizona to victory in Chicago.
Reds 5, Brewers 4 -- In Cincinnati, Juan Castro hit a pinch homer in the bottom of the 10th, giving the Reds a victory against Milwaukee.


text:
Edit Article
wikiHow to Apply Basic Stage Makeup (for Women)
Makeup for the stage is very different than your natural makeup look. Read on to discover the tips to looking your best on the stage.
1Start with a layer of foundation, applied with a latex sponge. You want to achieve a nice even coverage. For lighter skin tones, choose a foundation a few shades darker than your natural tone as this will help combat the bleaching effect of stage lights.
2Before setting the foundation, make sure that any creases around the eyes have been worked out with the sponge.
3Shake out a neutral setting powder onto either your palm or a tissue.
4Carefully brush some powder over the eyelids to set the foundation as that is one of the most common areas for the foundation to crease.
5Apply powder to the rest of the face. Once all shine has disappeared, you will know that the foundation has been set properly.
6Brush the eyebrows through with an eyebrow brush to dislodge any trapped foundation and to define the shape.
7Use an eyebrow pencil to define to shape of the eyebrows. Go heavier than you normally would as the lights will bleach out a lot of the definition.
8To define the eyes, use a black liquid eyeliner going from the inner eye to the outer corner. If possible try to do it in one sweep and remember to stay close to the lash line.
9Use black mascara and coat the eyelashes from root to tip. Work it into the eyelashes.
10It is important to use blusher on stage to define bone structure. Choose a shade that is bolder than your normal one. Don't be afraid of rosy pinks or deep golds, depending on your skin tone.
11Apply the blusher to the cheekbones and sweep downwards. The stage lights will take away a lot of it so don't worry if in a normal light you think it is too bright.
12Use a lip balm to moisturize and prime the lips before adding colour.
13One of the most common lip colours for the stage is a bright red as it really helps to define the lips. Bolder colours are better under stage lights than more natural or muted ones.
14Apply the lip colour with a brush to achieve increased definition, particularly on the cupid's bow and corners of the lips.
Community Q&A
What makeup is good for sensitive skin - especially the eyes?wikiHow ContributorUse eye shadow with vitamin E in it. It soothes the eye.
What is the equipment used when applying basic makeup?wikiHow ContributorYou can use eyeliner, lipstick and some foundation or powder. Other than that, you might need a mirror and a brush.
Ask a Question
200 characters leftSubmit
- Powder blushers work well onstage.
- Stage lights wash out makeup so it is important for it to be quite bold. Try out your makeup under stage lights before your big production though as you don't want to go too bright by mistake.
- If you need to apply eyeshadow, choose a lighter or neutral tone like light pink or light brown.
- You want to go heavy with the foundation, but not too heavy. When you put it on, it should look you have a little tan.
- It is important to use good quality brushes and to clean them well. Good brushes are one of the best makeup investments you can make.
- Specialist stage make up has a much denser pigmentation which makes it better at resisting the stage lights than high street make up brands. Ben Nye is a relatively inexpensive specialist brand with excellent pigmentation.
- Do not use dirty brushes or old mascara and eye makeup
- When going over the eyelids with foundation and setting powder, be careful and very gentle. If you do get it in your eyes it will sting and need to be washed out.
- Do not use any of the products if you are allergic to them and it might be an idea to do a sensitivity test with them a few days prior to the event.
Things You'll Need
- Good quality foundation (liquid, cream or mousse)
- Latex sponge
- Neutral setting powder
- Powder brush
- Eyebrow brush
- Eyebrow pencil
- Black liquid eyeliner
- Black mascara
- Blusher
- Lip balm
- Lip colour (highly pigmented ones are best)
- Lip brush
Article Info
Categories: Basic Makeup | Theatrical Makeup
In other languages:
Español: aplicarse maquillaje escénico básico (para mujeres), Italiano: Fare un Trucco Teatrale Semplice (per Donne)
Thanks to all authors for creating a page that has been read 44,732 times.
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Josh Dean is a former deputy editor of Men's Journal and was one of the founding editors of PLAY, the New York Times sports magazine. His work has appeared in Rolling Stone, Outside, GQ, Popular Science, and many others. He lives in Brooklyn with his wife and son.
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Beijing, Sep 29 (IANS) China's slower growth and economic transition will pose significant risks for the already struggling shipping sector, rating agency Fitch said on Monday.
"Weaker data on exports and manufacturing in China and its economic transition increase uncertainty for container shipping," said Fitch in a report.
China is a key player in global trade, accounting for two-thirds of world iron ore imports, 20 percent of coal imports and 16 percent of oil imports, reported Xinhua.
China's slowing growth will therefore significantly cut demand for shipping services, while oversupply is rife in nearly all shipping segments, according to Fitch.
The rating firm expected global container demand growth to moderate to between 2 and 4 percent this year, compared to its previous forecast of 4 to 5 percent.


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Designer Christian Jackson taken the classic children's stories that many of us grew to know and love and simplified them into hyper-minimalist, iconographic posters. Inspired by fatherhood, he attempted to capture the beauty and honesty of popular classic children's stories through clever imagery, rich color, and old world texture. By mixing the old with the new these posters invoke the nostalgia of rich history while maintaining the aesthetics for modern home decore.
The images shown in the post are the free desktop backgrounds. You can buy the posters and other goods from his website.


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Winter Care
Caring for Senior Horses in Cold Weather
Learn how to help older horses stay warm and maintain weight this winter.
Photo by iStock
Winter is Coming: Are Your Horses and Farm Ready?
Three equine professionals offer tips for preparing your animals, facilities, and yourself for the deep freeze ahead.
Photo by iStock
How Does Forage Keep Horses Warm?
Dr. Clair Thunes explains how eating hay and the digestion process helps keep horses warm.
Photo by iStock
Winter is Coming: Are Your Horses and Farm Ready?
November 23, 2017
Three equine professionals offer tips for preparing your animals, facilities, and yourself for the deep freeze ahead.... Read More
Caring for Senior Horses in Cold Weather
November 21, 2017
Learn how to help older horses stay warm and maintain weight this winter.... Read More
Tips for Preparing Your Horse Barn for Winter
November 20, 2017
Check your hay supply, ensure water sources will remain thawed, be sure pasture fencing is secure, and more.... Read More
Poll Recap: Does the Time Change Affect Your Horse Schedule?
November 14, 2017
Of the 702 respondents, 293 (42%) said they ride less often because it's dark when they get home in the evening.... Read More
Fat Options to Help Your Horse Hold Weight During the Winter
November 13, 2017
Oil? Rice bran or flax seeds? Fat-fortified feed? Learn how to pick the best option for horses that are hard-keepers.... Read More
Cold Weather Challenges for Horses With Osteoarthritis
November 03, 2017
Plunging temperatures, snow, and freezing rain can trigger joint discomfort. Here's how to keep your horse comfortable.... Read More
Will Blanketing Compromise My Horse's Coat?
November 01, 2017
Will blanketing my horse occasionally during extreme cold temperatures compromise my horse's winter coat?... Read More
Poll Recap: Barefoot for Winter
October 10, 2017
Of the 413 respondents, 219 (53%) said they have their horses' shoes pulled for the winter months.... Read More
Conditioning Through the Seasons: Fall and Winter
October 06, 2017
Know how your horse's body reacts to cold weather and train accordingly to make the most of the chilly months ahead.... Read More
Formidable Frostbite
September 29, 2017
Healthy horses handle frigid temperatures well, but their extremities still are vulnerable to frostbite.... Read More
Researchers Study Owners' Blanketing, Clipping Knowledge
September 28, 2017
Half the owners didn't understand equine thermoregulation, including horses' bodily response to clipping and blanketing.... Read More
Fall Feeding Tips for Horses
September 11, 2017
As autumn approaches, consider whether you need to make changes to your horse's diet in preparation for winter.... Read More
Shake Off the Winter Doldrums and Get Back in the Saddle
March 16, 2017
Get a head start on readying horses for the warmer weather with these tips.... Read More
What's so Cool About Coolers?
February 22, 2017
Find out why using coolers on horses post-exercise makes good sense.... Read More
Cold Weather and Fresh Horses
January 26, 2017
Why do horses act "fresh" when it's cold outside? An equine behaviorist investigates. ... Read More
Getting Through Cold Spells Can be Stressful for Livestock
January 24, 2017
A combination of cold air and winds create dangerous conditions. Here's how to protect your horses and other animals.... Read More
Poll Recap: Winter Horse Care Concerns
January 17, 2017
Of the 556 respondents, 190 (34%) said their biggest concern is keeping horses' water sources from freezing.... Read More
Poll Recap: Dealing With Ice and Horses
January 10, 2017
Of the 395 respondents, 234 (59%) said ice is a problem on their horse property during the winter. ... Read More
Take the Winter Solstice Chore Efficiency Test
December 21, 2016
Can you pass Alayne's test? Get advice for winterizing and making your horse property chore-efficient. ... Read More
Winter Management for the Outdoor Horse
December 21, 2016
Many horses are well-equipped to live outdoors and thrive, provided certain provisions are met. Here's what to remember.... Read More
Risks Associated With Feeding Horses Traditional Bran Mashes
December 12, 2016
While steeped in tradition, feeding bran mashes can cause GI distress in horses. Learn why, and discover alternatives.... Read More
Managing Barns and Buildings During the Winter
December 10, 2016
Take steps to ensure your barns, arenas, and other structures stay safe when cold and snow abound.... Read More
Water Access in Winter
December 05, 2016
Horses need access to fresh and unfrozen water during the winter months. Here's what to remember.... Read More
Six Things Your Horse Really Wants for Christmas
December 01, 2016
Tractors, breeches, and horse-themed jewelry might make up your wish list. But what would your horse ask Santa for?... Read More
Holiday Gifts Your Horse Will Love
November 30, 2016
Not sure what to get your horse? Consider an enrichment toy or activity!... Read More
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Farm Call: Your Questions Answered
Will Blanketing Compromise My Horse's Coat?
Q. I was only planning on blanketing when the temperature drops under 20 degrees Fahrenheit and in extreme weather. Will this compromise my horse's winter coat enough that I would need to blanket more?


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Mobile phone effects on vision probed
An Australian study plans to use sensitive new tests to see if mobile phones can cause subtle effects which conventional techniques are unable to pick up.
University of Sydney and Australian National University researchers recently received a $300,000 grant from the National Health and Medical Research Council for the two year study which will probe the mobile phone usage patterns of over 2000 people and measure their visual function.
"Even after extensive research it is not conclusive that mobile phones cause any major damage other than traffic accidents," said ANU's Dr Ian Morgan of the Research School of Biological Sciences. "However, there has been little research into more minor effects on the human body."
The scientists believe that a region of the brain involved in processing audio and visual signals - the angular gyrus - is a prime candidate for damage because it is close to where mobile phones are held against the head.
The study will be based on a group of people identified as being mobile phone users in a previous study, the Blue Mountain Eye Study, which collected data on visual function.
Sydney University researchers led by Professor Paul Mitchell will gather additional detail about these people's pattern of mobile phone usage including how often they used the phone for and for how long.
In the second stage of research, ANU researchers will re-test the visual functions of the study participants using sensitive new testing procedures.
While there has been a heated debate over whether mobile phone radiation is physically capable of causing health problems, Dr Morgan says this study will bypass the question.
"We're not buying into the question of whether there is a biologically plausible mechanism for health effects," he said. "The ultimate test for the safety of mobile phones is whether they cause any deleterious effects."
The study will also not have any bearing on the question of whether mobile phones caused cancer.


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Maimonides: Nature, History, and Messianic Beliefs
MOD Books, 1997 - Religion - 86 pages
Presents Maimonides' messianic beliefs as stemming from his views of the structure of nature and the course of history. The author argues that Maimonides saw the messianic era as an historical period on one hand, and as a Utopian era of eternal peace and the recognition of God on the other.
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Political Realism
Messianism and Skepticism
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19th century According to Maimonides active messianism activist messianism adaptation appears attempted century C.E. clear concept constellation context differentiation divine providence entire world Eretz Israel Even-Caspi example existence explained God's prudence Gush Emunim hasten the end historical event ideal society ideology Igeret Teiman interpretation irrational commandments Islam Israelites Jewish philosophy Jewish religion Jews Judaism King Messiah Kingdoms of Israel laws of nature Maimonides regards Maimonides stresses man's nature mankind meaning medieval messianic beliefs messianic movements Middle Ages Midrash miracles Mishneh Torah monotheism monotheistic belief monotheistic religion Moses Muslim nations Noahide laws oath opposed ordination passive messianism philosopher political polytheism polytheistic mentality possible prudence and wisdom rabbinic establishment rabbis Ralbah rational and irrational realistic messianism realization Red Heifer redemption referred regard the messianic reinstitute Sa'adiah Saba religion sacrifices Sages Sanhedrin Shabbetai Zevi Song of Songs specific Spinoza understand universal religion Utopian thought words worship Yaakov Zionism


text:
Malcom Floyd was on cloud nine Tuesday, strolling around Chargers Park in white Crocs, smiling at and giving people hugs.
He was the car-crash victim one day after the accident. He was the avalanche survivor shaking off the cold.
The wide receiver stood at a press conference and smiled.
"Fortunately, I kind of dodged a bullet with this one," Floyd said.
Floyd went through the football equivalent of a near-death experience Monday, being carted off the practice field after landing awkwardly in the end zone during a one-on-one drill. He underwent an MRI on his right knee that night and waited about an hour for the results. The 31-year-old, from the time he fell to the moment he was told it was just a strain, wondered if his football career had ended.
With that worry, he wasn't alone.
Quarterback Philip Rivers has been throwing Floyd passes since they entered the league in 2004. Upon seeing Floyd on the ground, he said the thought crossed his mind that an August incompletion would be their last play together.
"It was scary," Floyd said. "You think about your family, think about your kids and think about your career. ... That stuff goes through your head when you go through something like that. But I'm here walking, and it's something we're going to take day by day."
Before the MRI results, the Chargers feared he tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). It'd be the same injury that ended wide receiver Danario Alexander's season Aug. 6, similarly suffered during a one-on-one drill in practice.
A source close to Floyd said Tuesday he "can't imagine" the 10th-year veteran will be able to play before the Chargers' Sept. 9 season opener against the Texans. While too early to forecast Floyd's status for that game — "We're going to take it day by day," coach Mike McCoy said — it seems certain he will miss the three remaining exhibitions.
That's fine. The Chargers know it could be much worse.
After fearing Floyd would miss the year, Rivers compared the sight of Floyd on two feet Tuesday to the team having just signed a new player. Rivers approached his teammate and asked how he was doing.
"He was like, 'Ah, I should have caught it,'" Rivers said. "That's the first he tells me. That's just Malcom. He's worried about catching the ball on one-on-ones in training camp in his 10th year. It's great to hear it's not too bad. ... It was a relief — a big relief."
The past three months of Chargers workouts have been riddled with knee injuries.
Among them, outside linebacker Melvin Ingram tore his ACL in May on the second day of organized team activities. Inside linebacker Jonas Mouton tore his ACL last month on the first day of day of training camp. Outside linebacker Devan Walker tore his lateral meniscus on July 31. Then came Alexander and Floyd.
Wide receiver Keenan Allen exited Tuesday's practice to receive treatment on his left knee. It's the same knee Allen suffered a torn posterior cruciate ligament last year, ending his final season at California. The treatment is said to be precautionary.
"We just wanted to work on the knee that he already had," coach Mike McCoy said. "It's just one of those dog days of camp."


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Party Recap
For my neice's 16th birthday, she wanted to have a big party, so we chose "Wonderland" as our theme. Guests had the option of dressing up as their favorite Wonderland character, and the evening was filled with games, lots of mini foods and surprises big and small.
Party Highlights
Best Dressed
All of them! Some of the girls really got into it and came to the party dressed to the part, but others just went into their closet to get creative with the character they chose.
tea cup birthday cake + ice cream bar
Activities / Games
The party started off with a photo shoot of the girls acting silly, and before they came into the house, they each recieved a card. The cards had instructions like, "bow to Alice everytime someone says Happy Birthday." Another might have read something like, "Say Happy Birthday everytime Alice (the birthday girl) stands up." Another said, "bow to Alice everytime she stands up." and so on - they all sort of triggered another person to do or say something. The girls had GREAT fun with it, and about half way through the party, I made them switch cards which only added to the hilarity.
Best Moment
Watching the birthday girl during the singing of "Happy Birthday" She was so touched by the whole party, and her expressions were priceless.
What People Ate
everything was in miniature: pizza rolls, fruit kabobs, finger sandwiches, taco cups
What People Drank
mystery drinks (we made it a game, where different sodas were served in various bottles and everyone had to guess what the drink was)


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These extra-smooth, high-quality charcoal sticks offer rich, intense, blendable blacks to create broad strokes or fine details. Individual sticks measure 3" × ¼" × ¼" (76 mm × 6 mm × 6 mm).
Compressed Charcoal, Set of 12
These sets contain 12 each of 2B, 4B, or 6B sticks.
Compressed Charcoal, Set of 4
This set includes an assortment of 2B, 4B and 6B Charcoals. Assortment may vary.
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Good quality professional grade charcoal brick
By ponysnpaint
from UT
Comments about General's Compressed Charcoal:
This charcoal applies to the paper surface in a smooth, uniformly dark manner that is very satisfying. I tried this brand out on a recommendation and have been very happy with it. I will order it again.
Bottom Line Yes, I would recommend this to a friend
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General Compressed Charcoal ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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I haven't used them yet, however they are my favorite brand since they are VERY compressed therefore they're very dark which is precisely the reason why I like this brand.
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The variety of the charcoal was not according to the package. There was no 6B, but instead too many 4B's. They did offer me a refund for the defective product.
Best darkest values of black in conte
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If you are a painter in the tradition of the French Academy, youneed the richess tones of black pigment to make contemporaryfigure studies.
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These compressed charcoal sticks are great! they draw on, smuge nicely and smoothly. Also they are very cheap here, if you buys from Michaels its more pricey.
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text: On Tue, Oct 12, 2010 at 05:29:03AM -0500, Jordon Bedwell wrote: > On Tue, 2010-10-12 at 11:10 +0100, Marcin Owsiany wrote: > > And it might be non-obvious, but some CPUs (e.g. the one in my > > not-so-old laptop) don't support PAE, so making the default kernel use > > PAE would make debian unbootable on them. > > Because it's too hard to have ubiquity What's ubiquity? > run a script that checks if the processor supports PAE and then enable > it by default if it does, right? Enable what? Last time I checked, a given kernel image either user PAE or not, there was no flag to control it. -- Marcin Owsiany <email@example.com> http://marcin.owsiany.pl/ GnuPG: 1024D/60F41216 FE67 DA2D 0ACA FC5E 3F75 D6F6 3A0D 8AA0 60F4 1216


text:
Bob Dylan
Shepherds Bush Empire, London W12
There are any number of staggering aspects of Bob Dylan's career as it is in 2003: the fact that this was his 102nd show of the year, and a continuation of his Never Ending Tour that started in 1987; that this was one of the smallest dates that he has played in Britain in 40 years, though he has also sold out three hugely vaster venues in London within the past two weeks; that, at 62, he has invented what one internet blogger has already christened 'The Bob', a new dance craze - 'at least for the generation d'un certain age'.
It is not in the least bit surprising that, from the front balcony of the 2,000-capacity Empire, there were more balding heads evident in the crowd than, well, women. It is amazing - let's not mess about - that he still walks among us, this Sixties icon, this peerless and still vital artist. In fact, he's here so frequently that you feel on first name terms with Bob.
This was something like my sixth Dylan show in six years, though I really am not counting. That probably does place me as a fan, but barely on the evolutionary scale as far as the many Bobheads here are concerned. But of course, none of us will ever get to call him Bob or Bobby or Zimmy or whatever, because he remains so elusive. And that, really, is the point about Bob.
With his bouffant shock of salt-and-pepper hair, pencil moustache and saggy features, and his outfit of black tailcoat, white shirt and black bowtie, Dylan appeared both older than contemporaries such as Macca and Mick, and wonderfully stranger. Then there was the dance, this old Vincent Price lookalike gliding from behind the upright electric piano that he has, incidentally, started playing instead of a guitar, and onto centre stage. Once, he bent down and examined his winkle-pickers for half a minute. Then he shuffled back. In fact, at moments he reminded me of Michael Jackson - if Jackson will ever properly age. There was a little marijuana being smoked down below; but Dylan certainly didn't look tonight like someone who caters to a heritage-industry notion of what Bob Dylan should look like.
Neither did he play in that way. First, it was ferociously loud - noisier than his fans might be expected to enjoy; second, everything received an eviscerating electric treatment - and that included rare gems such as 'Jokerman' and 'Quinn the Eskimo (The Mighty Quinn)', both of which were on the set list. It would be to misunderstand Bob fundamentally to think that he might ever perform the songs exactly as they are on the albums. Even Bobheads struggled on occasion to identify the songs with their usual game show contestant speed; but to hear the group tear into these sacred texts with so little tact and delicacy is thrilling.
Recent recruit Freddie Koella provided lascivious licks on lead guitar, Larry Campbell was the model of cool as his partner, and the rhythm section could have punched your lights out. Meanwhile, Bob was giving the Joanna a right old hammering. If part of the intention of the Never Ending Tour is to test the material and rescue it from the dry dust of historical association - as well as from the memories and expectations of the crowd - this was mission accomplished.
It is less clear whether every song can withstand such roughhousing, particularly since the phrasing and intelligence in Dylan's voice has been obliterated ('Under the Red Sky' only just survived). But to complain is to be churlish, and it wasn't as though everyone here didn't already know every lyric off by heart. It is more important that even in these intimate surroundings - and even with Bob smiling - he remains unknowable while his work still yields such riches.


text:
The Alfa Laval Rotacheck is designed to assist the validation of rotary impingement cleaning processing in pharmaceutical and personal care processing tanks. 3-A 74-05 and EHEDG compliant, the Rotacheck stores time and pressure data, automatically calculating the cleaning process's feedback. A light indication is integrated into the field housing offering this visual feedback to operators and maintenance staff on site. Proven to provide accurate feedback, the Alfa Laval Rotacheck is an ideal solution for verifying your tank cleaner is working at maximum capacity.
Gamajet Cleaning Systems, Inc., Exton, PA 19341. vwww.gamajet.com or call 610-408-9940
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text:
This week Activision released its quarterly earnings report, and there's good news in there for fans of Skylanders and Call of Duty.
According to a press release about the report, Skylanders sales are in the billions:
· As of December 31, 2013, the Skylanders franchise has generated, life-to-date, more than $2 billion in worldwide sales and, at the end of the year, Activision had sold approximately 175 million Skylanders toys worldwide.
· For the calendar year, in North America and Europe combined, Skylanders Giants™, including toys and accessories, was the #4 best-selling handheld and console game in dollars overall and Skylanders SWAP Force™, including toys and accessories, was the #6 best- selling handheld and console game in dollars overall.
The figures also show Call of Duty is not going anywhere for a while:
· In aggregate across all platforms in the U.S. and Europe combined, Activision Publishing's Call of Duty: Ghosts was the#1 best-selling title in both units and dollars and the #1 best-selling game on both next-gen platforms in both units and dollars.
It's all part of a better than expected quarter for Activision Blizzard, Inc., where the company pulled in more than $1.5 billion in revenue. If you're the kind of person that likes reading long press releases filled with financial information, boy are you in for a treat, because you can check out the full release here.


text:
Treasury prepares options to address tax inversions
Damian Paletta of the Wall Street Journalreported on Monday that US Treasury Department officials are assembling a list of administrative options for Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew to consider for ways to deter or prevent US companies from reorganizing overseas primarily to avoid paying federal taxes, an agency official said Monday.
Lew is expected to select one or more of the options as a way to address so-called tax inversions, which have become increasingly popular for US companies as a means to lower their tax bills by restructuring through transactions overseas.
Paletta wrote that Treasury officials are working through different ideas and the recommendations aren't expected to be made imminently, the official said. Still, the process, and recent comments on the matter by President Obama, appear to increase the likelihood that the administration will take some steps to either prevent companies from such reorganizations or to remove some of the benefits of such moves.
This process likely pushes the timeline for White House action into September, according to the article. Changes could range from concrete rules to proposals that take months to implement. But the interim Treasury process isn't expected to take months, the Treasury official said.
Regulator says rule to identify lead audit partners ready in September
Michael Rapoport of the Wall Street Journalreported last week that a new rule requiring accounting firms to tell investors exactly who is in charge of each company's audit is expected to be completed next month, according to the chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB).
The new PCAOB rule is aimed at giving investors more information and making auditors more accountable, Rapoport wrote. It would require accounting firms to disclose the name of their lead "engagement partner" in charge of each audit the firms perform, every year.
PCAOB Chairman James Doty "anticipates that we will move forward with the transparency project to disclose the name of the engagement partner in September," Colleen Brennan, a PCAOB spokeswoman, said August 13, according to the article.
The rule's supporters say identifying the lead audit partner will encourage auditors to perform better and help investors assess audit quality and performance, by making it possible to get a sense of an individual partner's track record, Rapoport wrote.
However, some big accounting firms have opposed disclosing the lead partners' names, citing potential liability and other concerns.
Tax burden in US not as heavy as it looks, report says
Let's get back to the topic of inversions for a moment. New York Times DealBook editor-at-large Andrew Ross Sorkin wrote on Monday that an academic paper written by Edward D. Kleinbard, a professor at the Gould School of Law at the University of Southern California and a former chief of staff to the congressional Joint Committee on Taxation, argues that the US tax code is not impeding global competitiveness. In fact, the opposite is true.
In his paper, Kleinbard wrote that despite the claims of corporate apologists, "international business 'competitiveness' has nothing to do with the reasons for these deals. Whether one measures effective marginal or overall tax rates, sophisticated US multinational firms are burdened by tax rates that are the envy of their international peers."
Professor Kleinbard contends that most US multinational companies don't pay anywhere near the US corporate tax rate of 35 percent. Companies paid, on average, 12.6 percent, according to the US Government Accountability Office, which last measured it in 2010, by deliberately stashing piles of cash abroad.
"Professor Kleinbard argues that lower tax rates are not driving companies to inversions; instead, he contends it is all the money that companies have overseas – some $2 trillion – and don't want to bring back to the United States despite protestations by many chief executives that they wish they could," Sorkin wrote.
H&R Block launches small business accounting services
H&R Block Small Business on Monday launched its brand new client accounting services to provide bookkeeping, payroll, tax, and coaching to small businesses, wrote James Dornbrook of the Kansas City Business Journal.
The service will be offered only in the Kansas City area for now and will gradually expand nationwide. All of the services will be provided out of the company's headquarters. Eventually, H&R Block Inc. will add client service representatives throughout its branch network to develop new business, help set up systems for clients, and answer questions.
"We've had a few offices offering similar services in the past, but what we're doing now is bringing it out on a bigger and more modern scale," said Jeremy Smith, director of H&R Block Small Business, according to the article. "It's easier for the clients to use. It's simpler, more integrated, and enables the clients to do things and us to do things we never could do before. So we're allowing clients to focus on their business and not worry about this back-office bookkeeping stuff."
The service eliminates paper by having clients drop their documents into a special scanner provided by H&R Block, which automatically loads it onto a cloud-based system that enables H&R Block and the client to view the documents at anytime, Dornbrook wrote. Clients can view their account through special smartphone applications that are part of the service. They can also approve invoices and make payments right from their mobile device.
AICPA membership now exceeds 400,000
The American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) on Tuesday announced that its membership recently surpassed the 400,000 mark.
The AICPA, which is the world's largest member organization representing the CPA profession, has seen solid growth in recent years, despite a volatile economic climate. Membership has increased nearly 13 percent in the past 10 years and 25 percent since 1994.
"We've come a long way since the early days of the 20th century, when the AICPA had just a little more than a thousand members," AICPA President and CEO Barry Melancon, CPA, CGMA, said in a written statement. "I'm particularly proud of the growth we've seen in the past seven years – a challenging period for many professional organizations because of the economic downturn. Hitting the 400,000-member mark is a testament to the multifaceted services offered by the AICPA and its commitment to the public interest, and it's also a reflection of the high regard in which the CPA credential is held in today's complex world."
The AICPA provides continuing education, a rigorous framework of ethical standards, technical guidance on accounting and audit matters, advocacy on issues important to the profession and the public interest, and a host of other key professional resources for members.
"While membership growth is an important measure of the AICPA's health and strength, it's only part of the equation," Melancon said. "We have a steadfast commitment to member engagement and satisfaction, too."
The AICPA plans to honor its 400,000th member – Jennifer Highsmith, a 27-year-old senior audit associate in the Jacksonville, Florida, office of Johnson Lambert LLP, a top regional public accounting firm – in October.
"I joined for multiple reasons," Highsmith said. "The AICPA is a great profession-wide organization to be part of, with a lot of volunteer opportunities. Once you have your license and a job as a CPA, it's kind of the cherry on top."
She decided to pursue accounting because of her aptitude with numbers and because her mother – who did some accounting work before going into teaching – convinced her it would be a rewarding career.
Highsmith will receive a certificate noting her status as the 400,000th member and has been invited to the AICPA's Fall Council meeting in Boston for recognition.
AICPA Accounting Competition challenges undergraduates to help guide businesses as management accountants
The AICPA also announced on Tuesday that the enrollment period for its 2014 Accounting Competition is now open, with a total of $40,000 in awards at stake.
The fifth annual competition, which concludes on December 22, challenges teams of undergraduates to play the role of management accountants and combine their accounting and financial expertise with strategic insight to help guide business decisions.
The business in question is a fictional company called Humble Pies Inc., run by two best friends from Charlotte, North Carolina. As demand for the company's pies has increases over the years and expanded to a national market, the co-owners hired a new controller, a CPA with her Chartered Global Management Accountant (CGMA) designation, to help them continue to grow. Over the course of three increasingly challenging tasks, the competition tests a team's ability to assist the controller and ensure that Humble Pies remains profitable and competitive.
The pace of business is now faster than ever, and therefore, the competition is deadline-driven. Teams have until 11:59 a.m. Eastern time on September 29 to submit their entries.
"Management accountants help businesses make decisions that position them for success by staying ahead of trends and leveraging innovation. Their expertise is in steering organizations of all sizes, and this year's competition allows students to gain exposure to the critical role CPAs play in business," Joanne Fiore, AICPA vice president of professional media, pathways, and inclusion, said in a written statement. "Companies of all sizes increasingly rely on management accountants for strategic business development. The competition challenges students to analyze business opportunities from a financial, strategic, and risk perspective, and help drive value."
The top three teams in the competition will each receive $10,000, as well as a trip package to Washington, DC, with their advisor, to present their case to an executive panel of judges. There, they will compete to earn money for their schools, with the first-place team taking home $5,000, second place earning $3,000, and the third-place team netting $2,000.
"This is a competition that will grow your career. It is a great way to learn more about accounting, learn how to work with other people, and actually present your ideas," said Donald Strite, a 2012 competition finalist.
The 2014 AICPA Accounting Competition is open to currently enrolled undergraduate students at two-year and four-year colleges, community colleges, and universities in the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and/or the U.S. Virgin Islands. Students compete in teams of three or four, with at least two of the team members being declared accounting-related majors, one of whom will serve as team captain. The one or two remaining members may come from any discipline. Each team may also elect to have an advisor who can be either a full-time faculty member or graduate student at a two-year or four-year degree institution, or a local CPA who is a member of the AICPA.
First-round submissions will be evaluated to determine the 15 semifinalists who will then compete for the three final spots.
Teams may register and find additional details on the 2014 AICPA Accounting Competition section of AICPA's ThisWayToCPA website, as well as in a short video.
All awards are fully funded by the AICPA Foundation.
Quick Links:
- TIL: Ancient Greeks used slaves as auditors so they could be beaten when they screwed up (Going Concern)
- Deloitte summer interns challenge rival firms to step up and get drenched in ice water (Going Concern)
- This year's AICPA Accounting Competition will double as CGMA advertising (Going Concern)
- New Deloitte CEO calls KC home (Kansas City Business Journal)
- PwC didn't want to say mean things about its client (Bloomberg View)
- Fabrinet postpones financial reports pending accounting investigation (Wall Street Journal)
- Why an LPA? (Dinesen Tax Times)
- The SEC is really teed off about insider trading on golf courses (Fortune)
- Oil industry's taxes create odd wedge for Alaskan voters (New York Times)
- Alaskans can craft a better oil tax deal than SB 21 (Alaska Dispatch)
- A devastating tax (Boston Herald)
- In a stew over inversions (Washington Post)
- A progressive way to end corporate inversions (Huffington Post)
- Cutting taxes is patriotic (US News and World Report)
- The OID fraud and criminal gullibility (Forbes)
- Oklahoma moves towards the gold standard (Forbes)
- Economic impacts of inequality (Forbes)
- A simple model for business planning (Forbes)
- IRS, Justice Department seek civil injunction in tax evasion case (Due Diligence)
- India quietly readies for FATCA (Due Diligence)
- American Tax Relief slammed by FTC (Due Diligence)
- New York state tax credits yield 'Dora and Friends,' other post-production gains (Variety)
- Detroit witness defends tax estimates behind debt plan (Bloomberg)
- New jobs reports shows Brownback's tax-cut promises still failing (Kansas City Star)
About Jason Bramwell
Jason Bramwell is a staff writer and editor for AccountingWEB. He has nearly 20 years of experience in print and online media as a journalist and editor.


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Not one, but two presidents of University of Texas College Republicans send racist tweets
A month after Lauren Pierce, former president of the University of Texas College Republicans, tweeted an insensitive message about President Barack Obama, her replacement did the same.
The Austin Statesman reported Monday that Cassie Wright, who replaced Pierce as president last month, took to Twitter on Sunday morning with some choice words about the 44th president. According to the story, at 2:46 a.m. Wright tweeted "My president's black, he snorts a lot of crack. Holla. #2012 #Obama." As of Monday morning, Wright's Twitter feed had been set to private and whether or not the tweet had been erased was unknown.
Wright became president of the student group after Pierce tweeted her way out of the position in early November: "Y'all as tempting as it may be, don't shoot Obama. We need him to go down in history as the WORST president we've EVER had! #2012," she wrote. The message came soon after an Idaho man was arrested outside the White House for firing a gun at the mansion.
The newspaper also reported that Pierce retweeted Wright's message on Sunday, but if that was true, she had deleted it by Monday evening.
Pure, uncut internet. Straight to your inbox.


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Sun., Aug. 16, 2009, 6:50 p.m.
WSU has earned its day off
As we wrote in our story for tomorrow's S-R, the unedited version of which is on the post below, Sunday was a day of change. Part of it was in the level of challenges the player were asked to meet, which we examined in the story. But there were some other aspects as well. We cover those on the link.
• After eight consecutive days of workouts, some two-a-days, the Cougars get a day off today. No practice. And, talking to a few players, they are looking forward to it – if by guys cheering when I mentioned it you get that feeling as well. They not only deserve a day of rest because of the work they've put in, but they probably also need it. There is physical fatigue, which is starting to set in, and there's mental fatigue, which probably played a part in Sunday's practice tempo. For much of the day things seemed a bit off, though the intensity picked up markedly when coach Paul Wulff injected the sprints and situations I wrote about in my story.
• One change I saw today concerned linebacker Mike Ledgerwood, which we mentioned in our morning post. I asked Wulff about the change this afternoon and he made it clear they want to get their best players on the field no matter where they play. "The thinking is we've got to find a second Sam linebacker to play, and we feel comfortable with," Wulff said. "So we're experimenting to see. Andy (Mattingly) we think can play, obviously, and then who is our next Sam linebacker right now, we're trying to find that out." Ledgerwood supported Chima Nwachukwu on a safety in one scrimmage session. ... Jesse Feagin bounced back up with the No. 1 defense Sunday, highlighting another of the many position battles going on. Casey Hamlett had a good scrimmage but Feagin's must have been better because regained the left end spot. ... Another player on the move on the depth chart is LeAndre Daniels. The freshman safety ran with the ones when WSU used five defensive backs, taking the spot usually held by Tyree Toomer. Toomer has been in a yellow, non-contact jersey the past couple days, but he's still participating and ran with the twos. ... As I mentioned in my story, freshman quarterback Jeff Tuel ran the No. 1 offense in the final 2-minute drill. He guided the group to two first downs before they stalled, forcing Nico Grasu to try a 42-yard field goal. Both Grasu and Patrick Rooney tried a handful of attempts from that distance, with both hitting about half their tries.
• There were still a handful of guys sitting out the afternoon session. Linebackers Andy Mattingly and Myron Beck seem to be getting closer, as is receiver Johnny Forzani, out of the boot and walking around. Defensive end Jessy Sanchez was not in pads, nor was running back Carl Winston. Jeshua Anderson is still a ways away with his hamstring. ... With the day off Monday, we're going to take it easy. We'll post in the morning and possibly in the evening, that is if there is something to post. My guess is there will be. I talked with Jason Stripling today and got his thoughts on his final year in Pullman. Plus I will have a Then and Now story with Dr. Ed Tingstad, the former Cougar who is now the athletic department's orthopedic surgeon.
• That's it for this now. Until we decide to post again …
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Has anybody ever heard of it? Do you subscribe to it? Do you like it?
Dog of the Day
Cat of the Day
Pet of the Day
Has anybody ever heard of it? Do you subscribe to it? Do you like it?
I love Fenway, JoJo, Olivia and Nonnie!
gentle bump.
I love Fenway, JoJo, Olivia and Nonnie!
I have never heard of it.
Sorry I've not heard of it, either.
Here is their web site:
Looks interesting.
The only one I get right now is Cat Fancy. I used to get Aquarium Fish, but stopped it about a year ago. I'm sure if I am going to add Dog Fancy, or a bichon mag. Now I will look this website over and think about it, too.
I saw that at barnes and noble and I really liked it.It had good infomation form what I read.
Nikki[human],Zippy[tabby],and Pumpkin[orange tabby]
Rest in Peace my Sweet Hammie Zoey
Jan 1,09-March 26,2010
Copyright © 2001-2013 Pet of the Day.com


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Over the past few weeks I have been watching the developments of the food retail industry, providing an excellent opportunity to search for stocks in this sector for investment purposes. One company I think is very interesting to analyze is Safeway Inc. (SWY). Although Safeway is one of the largest food and drug retailers in North America, with 1,335 operating store in the domestic market, 2014's talk of a leveraged buyout was rather loud. With no specific buyer in sight for now, the company's focus will be on maintaining its competitive advantages via the Lifestyle branded stores, while reducing capital spending post the remodel program.
After five years on the market, this stores portfolio has reached peak EBITDA margins of 90.80%, resulting in higher cash flow. However, this metric may not be sustainable in the long run, as supercenters and wholesale clubs continue to take over some of the company's market share, via its competitive advantage of low labor and distribution costs.
While there are many different factors to look at and consider when investing, I will analyze Safeway's total debt, total liabilities, debt ratios and what analysts believe about this company. By studying the debt part of the company, the investor will understand if it's able to keep its capital and use it for growth in the future.
Total Debt to Total Assets Ratio
This metric, used to measure a company's financial risk by determining how many assets have been financed by debt, results from adding short-term and long-term debt and then dividing this figure by the company's total assets. If the outcome is higher than 1, it means that a company´s total debt surpasses the value of its total assets. Au contraire, a debt ratio smaller than 1 indicates that a company's assets are worth more than its total debt.
Safeway's ratio has increased over the past three years from 0.32 to 0.37, which indicates that since 2010, the food retailer has added more total debt value than total assets, which is a bad sign for bond investors. However, given that the company's ratio of 0.37x is smaller than 1x, the financial risk faced by the company is relatively low: Its assets' value comfortably surpasses its total debt levels.
Debt ratio = Total Liabilities / Total Assets
The debt ratio shows the proportion of a company's assets that is financed through debt. It's key to look for firms with a ratio lower than 0.5, because otherwise it means most of the company's assets are financed through debt. Companies with high debt/asset ratios are said to be "highly leveraged" and could be in danger if creditors start to demand repayment of debt.
When looking at Safeway's debt ratio over the past three years, we can see that it has, in fact, increased from 0.66 to 0.79. I usually do not like to see the debt side of a company's balance sheet grow. In addition to this, the 2013 TTM numbers are above the 0.50 mark, which indicates that the company is financing most of its assets through debt. While this number increases, so does the risk of investing in the company.
Debt-to-Equity Ratio = Total Liabilities / Shareholders' Equity
This metric is another leverage ratio that compares a company's total liabilities with its total shareholders' equity. It's also a measurement of how much suppliers, lenders, creditors and obligators have committed to the company versus what the shareholders have committed.
A high debt-to-equity ratio generally means that a company has been aggressive in financing its growth with debt, resulting in volatile earning reports. It also indicates that a company may not be able to generate enough cash to satisfy its debt obligations, and therefore is considered a riskier investment.
I usually like companies with very low debt-to-equity ratios and conservative balance sheets, in general terms. On the contrary, Safeway's debt-to-equity ratio has escalated from 2.02 in 2011 to 4.00 in 2013, surpassing the 1x mark. Therefore, I assume that shareholders have invested more than suppliers, lenders, creditors and obligators, implying a high risk for the company and its stockholders.
Capitalization Ratio = LT Debt / LT Debt + Shareholders' Equity
(LT Debt = Long-Term Debt)
This ratio tells investors the extent to which the company is using its equity to support operations and growth, as well as helps in the assessment of risk. Companies with a high capitalization ratio are considered to be risky: If they fail to repay their debt on time, jeopardy of insolvency gets high. Furthermore, companies with an elevated capitalization ratio may find it difficult to get additional loans in the future.
Over the past three years, Safeway's capitalization ratio has increased, from 0.45 in 2011 to 0.63 in 2013. This implies that the company has less equity compared with its long-term debt. As this is the case, the company has had less equity to support its operations and as the ratio increases, so does the risk for the company. Standing at 0.63, financial risk is moderate.
Cash Flow to Total Debt Ratio = Operating Cash Flow / Total Debt
This coverage ratio compares a company's operating cash flow with its total debt. It provides an indication of a firm's ability to cover total debt with its yearly cash flow from operations. The larger the ratio, the better a company can weather rough economic conditions. As the ratio stands below 1x, the company does not have the ability to cover its total debt with its yearly cash flow from operations, making this stock option somewhat unfavorable.
Institutional Investors
It is important to check which hedge funds bought the stock in the last quarter and at what price they did so. I assume that if a prominent institutional investor put money into Safeway Inc., the stock will pass strict fundamental standards.
However, in this case, investment gurus John Hussman (Trades, Portfolio) and Ray Dalio (Trades, Portfolio) reduced or sold out their stocks this past quarter at an average price of $30.66, making me feel bearish about this company's future.
Analyst Outlook
Moreover, many analysts currently have a moderate outlook for Safeway. While analysts at Yahoo Finance expect the firm to retrieve EPS of $1.45 for the current fiscal year and an EPS of $1.51 for the next one, Bloomberg is estimating revenue to decrease slightly from 2013's $37.68B to $37.60B in the upcoming year.
Bottom line
I believe it's pretty clear that investors keep their hands away from this company for the time being, or at least until a buyer is announced to take over the firm. Considering Safeway's debt levels and instability of its balance sheet, it's difficult to predict further profitability for the moment, especially if the leverage buyout signifies changes in management. Although the company still pays a solid dividend yield of 2.10%, despite low cash flow levels, I think investors looking for long-term profits should turn to other industry players, like The Kroger Co. (NYSE:KR) or Whole Foods Market Inc. (NASDAQ:WFM).
Disclosure: Damian Illia holds no position in any stocks mentioned.


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Shamrock 'Charmed Jade'
|Oxalis (oks-AL-iss) (Info)
|Charmed Jade
Foliage Color:
Bloom Characteristics:
Water Requirements:
Average Water Needs; Water regularly; do not overwater
Where to Grow:
12-18 in. (30-45 cm)
6-9 in. (15-22 cm)
9-12 in. (22-30 cm)
USDA Zone 4a: to -34.4 �C (-30 �F)
USDA Zone 4b: to -31.6 �C (-25 �F)
USDA Zone 5a: to -28.8 �C (-20 �F)
USDA Zone 5b: to -26.1 �C (-15 �F)
USDA Zone 6a: to -23.3 �C (-10 �F)
USDA Zone 6b: to -20.5 �C (-5 �F)
USDA Zone 7a: to -17.7 �C (0 �F)
USDA Zone 7b: to -14.9 �C (5 �F)
USDA Zone 8a: to -12.2 �C (10 �F)
USDA Zone 8b: to -9.4 �C (15 �F)
USDA Zone 9a: to -6.6 �C (20 �F)
USDA Zone 9b: to -3.8 �C (25 �F)
Sun Exposure:
Light Shade
Partial to Full Shade
Full Shade
All parts of plant are poisonous if ingested
Bloom Color:
Pale Pink
White/Near White
Bloom Time:
Mid Spring
Late Spring/Early Summer
Other details:
May be a noxious weed or invasive
Soil pH requirements:
5.6 to 6.0 (acidic)
6.1 to 6.5 (mildly acidic)
6.6 to 7.5 (neutral)
Patent Information:
Propagation Methods:
By dividing rhizomes, tubers, corms or bulbs (including offsets)
From seed; direct sow outdoors in fall
From seed; winter sow in vented containers, coldframe or unheated greenhouse
From seed; stratify if sowing indoors
Direct sow as soon as the ground can be worked
From seed; sow indoors before last frost
From seed; direct sow after last frost
Seed Collecting:
Properly cleaned, seed can be successfully stored
This plant has been said to grow in the following regions:
Bartow, Florida
Clermont, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Winter Springs, Florida
Rochelle, Illinois
Richmond, Maineshow all
Gardeners' Notes:
On Jan 10, 2011, sunkissed from Winter Springs, FL (Zone 9b) wrote:
Years ago I was given this Shamrock plant and planted it right in the ground under a tree. It does very well in cooler months and even survives cold snaps as low as 30. Grows best in shaded area with filtered morning sunlight. I've moved it twice when shade trees were cut down, since it didn't do well in direct FL sunlight...transplanted very well. I've had one plant in a clay pot for well over five years and it displays most beautifully From Jan. through April.
On Oct 23, 2006, Viraghagymasz from (Zone 5a) wrote:
Oxalis triangularis 'Charmed Jade'(R), 'Charmed Wine'(R), and 'Charmed Velvet'(R) are bred by a Hungarian breeder J�zsef Retkes. I was so lucky and I had chance to see his collection. PW will introduce his new varieties in the folowing years. These varieties in Europe are running under the name Oxalis triangularis Xsalis (TM) 'Frosted Jade' (R), 'Burgundy Wine' (R) and 'Black Velvet' (R).
On Jun 9, 2006, MotherNature4 from Bartow, FL (Zone 9a) wrote:
This is a delightful little plant sold by florists as "False Shamrock." It is now June and mine has been covered with white flowers since St. Patty's day in March. Can't beat that, can you.