China, Japan stand their ground in islands row, but keep talking

BEIJING/TOKYO (Reuters) - China claimed islands at the core of a row with Japan as its "sacred territory" in talks between the two countries' foreign ministers, Xinhua news agency said on Wednesday, as neither side showed any sign of backing down in a long-festering feud.

Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba urged China to exercise restraint at what he called a tense hour-long meeting over the dispute, which triggered violent anti-Japanese protests in China this month and is threatening ties between Asia's two biggest economies, Japan's Kyodo news agency said.

Xinhua said Yang reiterated China's "solemn position on the issue of Diaoyu Islands, which have been China's sacred territory since ancient times".

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura told a news conference in Tokyo the two sides had agreed to keep talking.

"There is no magic bullet in foreign diplomacy. We need to hold talks through various channels taking into account of broad perspective," Fujimura told a news conference in Tokyo.

Sino-Japanese relations deteriorated sharply this month after Japan bought the isolated East China Sea islands, called Senkaku in Japan and Diaoyu in China, from their private owner, sparking the anti-Japan protests across China.

In a sign of the economic fallout, Japanese automakers Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co Ltd and Suzuki are curtailing production in China in the wake of the protests that shuttered dealerships and darkened their sales prospects in the world's top car market.

China's meetings with Japanese diplomats - at the United Nations and a day earlier in Beijing - suggest Beijing does not want tensions over the island chain, believed to be in waters rich in natural gas deposits, to lead to a rupture in relations. This is, after all, the Year of Japan-China Friendship.

But the unyielding tone of China's published remarks suggests that the row is far from over. Beijing has repeatedly called the islands its "sacred territory since ancient times".

"The Japanese move is a gross violation of China's territorial integrity and sovereignty, an outright denial of the outcomes of victory of the world anti-fascist war and a grave challenge to the post-war international order," said Yang, according to the Xinhua summary of his comments.

DOMESTIC DYNAMICS

Sino-Japanese ties have long been plagued by China's bitter memories of Tokyo's military aggression in the 1930s and 1940s as well as present rivalry over regional resources and clout.

The row coincides with a once-in-a-decade leadership change in China, while Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's ruling party faces a drubbing in an election expected in months, domestic dynamics that are make it hard for either side to retreat.

Noda is under fire from the main opposition party, which picked former prime minister and security hawk Shinzo Abe as its new leader, and possible next premier, on Wednesday. Abe has been most vocal of the candidates in urging Tokyo take a tougher line in its territorial dispute with China and South Korea.

Japan, which says the islands' purchase was meant to fend off a more provocative bid by the nationalist governor of Tokyo, Shintaro Ishihara, to have his metropolitan government buy them, is trying to keep communications channels open.

China postponed a ceremony marking the 40th anniversary of the resumption of diplomatic ties with Japan, but an official at the Japan-China Economic Association said Toyota Motor chairman Fujio Cho and Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Japanese business lobby Keidanren, and other representatives of Japan-China friendship groups would attend an event on Thursday in Beijing.

Patrol vessels from the two countries have also been playing a tense game of cat-and-mouse in the waters near the disputed islands, raising concerns that an unintended collision or other incident could escalate into a broader clash.

(Editing by Nick Macfie)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/china-carrier-show-force-japan-tension-festers-000709338.html

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NYC auction offers 125 meteorites for sale

NEW YORK (AP) ? A New York City auction will offer 125 meteorites for sale, including a large chunk of the moon and a 179-pound iron cosmic rock that evokes Edvard Munch's iconic painting "The Scream."

The sale, one of the largest of its kind, is being held by the Dallas-based Heritage Auctions on Oct. 14.

The sale also includes a large piece of the Peekskill meteorite, famous for puncturing a Chevy Malibu in 1992 about 50 miles north of Manhattan, and the largest complete slice of the most famous meteorite in the world, the Willamette, a huge specimen that is housed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York.

The moon rock has the highest pre-sale estimate of $340,000 to $380,000; less than 0.1 percent of all meteorites recovered are lunar in origin. The18-inch-tall meteorite dubbed "The Scream" is estimated at $175,000 to $225,000.

"When I first saw this meteorite (The Scream) I saw the resemblance in a heartbeat," said Darryl Pitt, who has consigned the piece to the auction. "It is sculpted in part by atmospheric entry and most significantly by its exposure to the elements on earth over millennia."

Three of the concave hallows are evocative of Munch's image of a man holding his head and screaming under a streaked sky. It is classified a Gibeon and was discovered in the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa.

More than half of the meteorites in the sale come from the Macovich collection, the world's largest grouping of iron meteorites. Specimens from the collection are found at the natural history museums in London, New York and Paris and The Smithsonian in Washington, D.C., among others. Its principal owner is Pitt, who said that 20 years ago all meteorites were selling for the same price irrespective of their aesthetic attributes.

"That has radically changed with the introduction of the first natural history auction in the mid-1990s," he said in an interview. "I was on a mission to popularize meteorites. I knew that the only way I would be able to attract interest on the part of the public was to offer objects that were more visually captivating."

"The overwhelming majority of meteorites are not aesthetic," he said.

The cover lot in the sale is of an iron meteorite with naturally-formed holes that resemble a mask. The catalog says it is "arguably the most exotically aesthetic" and was discovered by indigenous tribesmen in Namibia with a metal detector. It is estimated to bring $140,000 to $180,000.

The Peekskill piece has a pre-sale estimate of $47,500 to $55,000.

There are others that have lower estimates but come with interesting stories, like a small portion of a meteorite estimated at about $4,000 that fell from the sky in 1492. It was later chained up in a church so it couldn't fly back into orbit.

Meteorite prices today depend on many variables. But there are two main markets: one of aesthetic iron meteorites and the other is of samples whose value is predicated on attributes other than aesthetics, like a piece of the planet Mars.

About two dozen of the meteorites in the sale have museum provenance and have no reserve.

"The point is I wanted to create a sale that had something for everyone," Pitt said.

___

Online:

Heritage Auctions: www.ha.com

E-catalog: http://fineart.ha.com/c/ecatalog.zx?saleNo=6089

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-09-26-Meteorite%20Auction/id-581c9888fb1742628c21e8b2b6ff386e

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EUR/USD: Euro trading lower amid Merkel/Hollande disagreement ...

GCI Forex News - EUR/USD: Euro trading lower amid Merkel/Hollande disagreement over banking union

EURUSD Movement

For the 24 hours to 23:00 GMT on Friday, EUR rose 0.05% against the USD and closed at 1.2982.

On Friday, the German Finance Minister, Wolfgang Schaeublem, stated that the Spain does not need a European bailout citing the nation is doing the right thing and would be successful.

Separately, the Moody?s Investors Service affirmed Austria?s triple-A rating but maintained a negative outlook.

Meanwhile, the Greece Prime Minister, Antonis Samaras, stated that the nation leaving the Euro-zone is not an option and would be a disaster. Additionally, a senior Greece finance ministry official stated that the nation hopes to close a deal with international creditors on austerity package in about a week citing progress has been made. However he added there are still elements that need to be investigated and clarified.

In economic news, leading economic index in Germany rose 0.1% to a reading of 102.6 in July, while the coincident economic index grew 0.1% to 107.2 in July.

Over the weekend, the European Central Bank (ECB) Executive Board member, Benoit Coeure, stated that the recent economic and inflation data do not justify another cut in interest rates, citing that confidence was returning.

In the Asian session, at GMT0300, the pair is trading at 1.2939, with the EUR trading 0.33% lower from Friday?s close, on speculation that disagreement among leaders of the Euro-zone region on debt- crisis solutions is curbing prospects for growth.

Over the weekend, reports emerged that German Chancellor, Angela Merkel and the French President Francois Hollande were at odds as to when to roll out a program to centralize Euro-zone bank supervision.

The pair is expected to find support at 1.2895, and a fall through could take it to the next support level of 1.2852. The pair is expected to find its first resistance at 1.3015, and a rise through could take it to the next resistance level of 1.3092.

In the day ahead, investors await the release of IFO ? business climate, current assessment and expectations data in Germany.

The currency pair is trading below its 20 Hr and 50 Hr moving average.

Source: http://forexnews.gcitrading.com/currencies/eurusd/eurusd-euro-trading-lower-amid-merkelhollande-disagreement-over-banking-union.htm

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New SARS-like virus detected in Middle East

LONDON (AP) ? Global health officials are closely monitoring a new respiratory virus related to SARS that is believed to have killed at least one person in Saudi Arabia and left a Qatari citizen in critical condition in London.

The germ is a coronavirus, from a family of viruses that cause the common cold as well as SARS, the severe acute respiratory syndrome that killed some 800 people, mostly in Asia, in a 2003 epidemic.

In the latest case, British officials alerted the World Health Organization on Saturday of the new virus in a man who transferred from Qatar to be treated in London. He had recently traveled to Saudi Arabia and is now being treated in an intensive care unit after suffering kidney failure.

WHO said virus samples from the patient are almost identical to those of a 60-year-old Saudi national who died earlier this year. The agency isn't currently recommending travel restrictions and said the source of infection remains unknown. Still, the situation has raised concerns ahead of next month's annual Hajj pilgrimage, which brings millions of people to Saudi Arabia from around the world.

Health officials don't know yet whether the virus could spread as rapidly as SARS did or if it might kill as many people. SARS, which first jumped to humans from civet cats in China, hit more than 30 countries worldwide after spreading from Hong Kong.

"It's still (in the) very early days," said Gregory Hartl, a WHO spokesman. "At the moment, we have two sporadic cases and there are still a lot of holes to be filled in."

He added it was unclear how the virus spreads. Coronaviruses are typically spread in the air but Hartl said scientists were considering the possibility that the patients were infected directly by animals. He said there was no evidence yet of any human-to-human transmission.

"All possible avenues of infection are being explored right now," he said.

No other countries have so far reported any similar cases to WHO, he said, and so far there is no connection between the cases except for a history of travel in Saudi Arabia.

Hartl said the first patient may have had an underlying condition but it probably didn't make him more susceptible to catching the virus.

Other experts said it was unclear how dangerous the virus is.

"We don't know if this is going to turn into another SARS or if it will disappear into nothing," said Michael Osterholm, a flu expert at the University of Minnesota. He said it was crucial to determine the ratio of severe to mild cases.

Osterholm said it was worrying that at least one person with the disease had died. "You don't die from the common cold," he said. "This gives us reason to think it might be more like SARS," which killed about 10 percent of the people it infected.

Britain's Health Protection Agency and WHO said in statements that the 49-year-old Qatari national became ill on Sept. 3, having previously traveled to Saudi Arabia. He was transferred from Qatar to Britain on Sept. 11 and is being treated in an intensive care unit at a London hospital for problems including kidney failure. Respiratory viruses aren't usually known to cause serious kidney problems.

In Qatar, Mohammed bin Hamid Al Thani of the Public Health Department said the patient was in Saudi Arabia for Ramadan during the summer and fell ill after returning to Qatar. Doctors could not immediately identify the virus and decided he should be treated in London.

A public health official, Abdullakef al-Khal, said there is no indication that the patient's family or others were infected.

"There is no special alert for now," he said. "We are being vigilant."

David Heymann, chairman of the Health Protection Agency, said the new virus didn't appear that similar to SARS.

"It isn't as lethal as SARS and we don't know too much about its transmissibility yet," he said. "If people are getting infected, they aren't getting serious disease."

Heymann said none of the health workers involved in treating the Qatari patient had fallen ill.

Saudi officials said they were concerned that the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage next month could provide more opportunities for the virus to spread. They advised pilgrims to keep their hands clean and wear masks in crowded places.

The Hajj has previously sparked outbreaks of diseases including the flu, meningitis and polio.

___

Frank Jordans in Berlin and Abdullah Shihri in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/bbd825583c8542898e6fa7d440b9febc/Article_2012-09-24-New%20SARS%20Virus/id-db1b56b3794748f18f4a08661151fc05

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Report: Premium hikes for top Medicare drug plans

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Seniors enrolled in seven of the 10 most popular Medicare prescription drug plans will be hit with double-digit premium hikes next year if they don't shop for a better deal, says a private firm that analyzes the highly competitive market.

The report Monday by Avalere Health is a reality check on the Obama's administration's upbeat pronouncements. Back in August, officials had announced that the average premium for basic prescription drug coverage will stay the same in 2013, at $30 a month.

The administration's number is accurate as an overall indicator for the entire market, but not very helpful to consumers individually since it doesn't reflect price swings in the real world.

"The average senior is going to benefit by carefully scrutinizing their situation, because every year the market changes," Avalere President Dan Mendelson said. Avalere crunched the numbers based on bid documents that the plans submitted to Medicare.

The report found premium increases for all top 10 prescription drug plans, known as PDPs. However, the most popular plan ? AARP MedicareRx Preferred ? is only going up 57 cents per month nationally, to $40.42 from the current $39.85.

The seven plans with double-digit premium increases were: the Humana Walmart-Preferred Rx Plan (23 percent); First Health Part D Premier (18 percent); First Health Part D Value Plus (17 percent); Cigna Medicare Rx Plan One (15 percent); Express Scripts Medicare-Value (13 percent); the HealthSpring Prescription Drug Plan (12 percent); and Humana Enhanced (11 percent).

Another two plans in the top 10 also had single-digit increases. They were the SilverScript Basic (8 percent) and WellCare Classic (3 percent).

On the plus side for consumers, a new low-cost plan entered the market. Premiums for the AARP MedicareRx Saver Plus Plan will average $15 a month nationally, although it won't be available everywhere. That's $3.50 less than the current low-cost leader, the Humana Walmart plan, whose premiums are rising to $18.50.

The new AARP plan is run by UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation's largest health insurance company. United pays AARP for the right to use its name on a range of Medicare insurance products, a successful business strategy that has proven lucrative for both partners. When Humana and Walmart teamed up to offer their low-cost plan in 2011, United felt the competition.

"There is a real focus on the premium in this market," Mendelson said. "If a plan fields an offering with a low premium, it knows it can capture a significant number of customers."

Medicare spokesman Brian Cook did not dispute the Avalere estimates. "We continue to encourage seniors to shop around and find the plan that works best for them," he said.

Medicare's open enrollment season starts Oct. 15, and beneficiaries have a wide variety of choices of taxpayer-subsidized private prescription plans. Seniors and family members can use the online Medicare Plan Finder to input individual prescription lists and find plans in their area that cover them.

About 90 percent of Medicare's nearly 50 million beneficiaries have some form of drug coverage, with more than 17 million enrolled in private plans through the prescription drug program.

President Barack Obama's 2010 health care law is improving prescription drug plans by gradually closing the coverage gap known as the doughnut hole for those with high prescription drug costs.

The Avalare numbers did have one silver lining for the Obama administration. When the projections are tweaked to account for seniors switching to lower-cost coverage, premiums for 2013 are likely to remain steady.

Separately, the administration recently announced that average premiums for Medicare Advantage insurance plans will barely inch up next year on average, while enrollment in the private medical plans will continue to rise. Many Medicare Advantage plans also combine prescription drug coverage in one package deal.

But the biggest premium announcement is yet to come. Virtually all seniors pay the Part B premium for outpatient care, including those with traditional Medicare as well as those in private plans. Currently $99.90 a month, the Part B premium it is expected to rise next year by less than $10.

___

Online:

Avalere study: http://tinyurl.com/8j9g5mm

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/report-premium-hikes-top-medicare-drug-plans-063601073--finance.html

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Important Advice You Need About Commercial Real Estate | Tic ...

Commercial property is not something to go into half-cocked. You can earn a lot of money through real estate investments, but you can also lose your investment and end up in a worse position than you started in. You need to make wise investments in the buying process, and also when securing loans to purchase the property. This article will carefully guide you through the real estate process.

Take a tour of a property you might purchase. Think about asking a contractor to assist you in evaluating each of the properties, since they will likely see things that you may miss. Put forth your initial proposals, then open the table for negotiations. Before you decide whether you want to accept an offer or not, be sure to carefully evaluate all counteroffers.

One counterintuitive fact about the apartment market is that many experts recommend avoiding properties with fewer than ten units, as they are actually more of a pain to deal with than large complexes. Look into your unique situation to make the best decision.

When selling commercial property, advertise locally and outside of your region. A lot of sellers fall into the misconception that only the local buyers are interested parties in potential purchase. Many investors will consider purchasing a property outside their own region if the price is right.

TIP! One of the biggest differences between a residential loan and a commercial one is the size of the down payment you?re required to make. Approach different lenders and consider all your options until you find the best deal.

There are a lot of different kinds of real estate agents. There are agents who only represent tenants and there are full-service brokers who work with both tenants and landlords. Consider hiring a tenant-only broker as he?ll have the most experience in dealing with situations such as yours.

Invest in properties with multiple units. For example, with more units you?ll be able to charge a smaller profit on each and ensure they fill up quickly, and yet reap great rewards. A lot of investors are unwilling to even bother with properties with few units, and most experts also suggest that more units generally means more money.

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Source: http://tictracker.com/important-advice-you-need-about-commercial-real-estate-2/

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PFT: Ref says he goofed on two Niners challenges

Reuters

On Sunday afternoons during the NFL season, I?m sitting in my house with three TVs showing games in one room, plus another game showing on my iPad, with my laptop at the ready to check scores and stats. I have the Sunday Ticket package and I watch the Red Zone channel and the Game Mix channel, and I?m the fastest draw in the West when I need to change the channel. My wife brings me snacks so I don?t have to get up for even a minute. If anyone should be able to keep up with every single thing that happens on an NFL Sunday, it?s me.

And as this Sunday?s nine early games came to the late fourth quarter, even I couldn?t keep up with it all. What an amazing Sunday afternoon.

Don?t you wish we could see Sunday?s highlights as edited by Steve Sabol? Sabol, the NFL Films president who died of brain cancer on Tuesday, would have told an amazing story with the material the NFL gave him on Sunday. The nine early games featured three overtimes, three other games decided by a touchdown or less, a shocking upset by the Vikings, a tremendous defensive effort by the Bears and a Bills-Browns game that was, well . . . let?s just say there were eight really good games.

My choice for the best game of the day was that insane finish in Tennessee, where the Lions came back from 14 points down with 18 seconds remaining to send the game into overtime, only to end up losing 44-41. But the Chiefs-Saints battle was also lots of fun, and every time I looked at the Bengals? 38-31 win over the Redskins I saw one of the league?s bright young stars (either Cincinnati?s A.J. Green or Washington?s Robert Griffin III) making a big play. There was no shortage of greatness on display on Sunday.

These are the days when you sit there on your couch and just say, This is why I love football. What a great day.

Here are my other thoughts from Week Three in the NFL:

The replacement officials need to pick up the pace. Games are simply taking far too long. Heading into this week the average length of games was about five minutes longer this season than last season, and maybe that doesn?t sound like much. But those delays while the officials are sorting things out are making some games really drag. The Steelers-Raiders game, in particular, felt like it was taking forever. If Raiders kicker Sebastian Janikowski had missed his game-winning field goal and the game had gone into overtime, it?s entirely possible that it still would have been going on into the start of Sunday Night Football.

The NFL needs to fine Bill Belichick heavily. I don?t care how bad the officials are ? and they were bad during Sunday night?s Patriots-Ravens game ? you simply cannot put your hands on an official. Belichick put his hands on an official. A fine of $100,000 might be enough to send the message that that simply cannot happen.

Still, the Belichick story shouldn?t overshadow the larger issue. The quality of the officiating in the NFL right now simply isn?t acceptable. The NFL has to fix it.

How did Matt Schaub get cleared so quickly? NFL teams are supposed to have an excess of caution about players suffering concussions, taking the time to have the medical staff check anyone who takes a hard hit to the head, and only clearing players to return to the field if everything is OK. So something seemed suspicious about Texans quarterback Matt Schaub missing only one play after taking a brutal and illegal helmet-to-helmet hit, a hit that had him crumpling to the ground and grabbing his head. I hope I?m wrong to be skeptical, but it sure didn?t seem like Schaub was out long enough to get the kind of thorough examination that a hit like that would warrant.

Jason Hanson should be a Hall of Famer some day. Hanson, the Lions? 21-year veteran kicker, is the oldest player in the NFL at age 42, and has played 314 games with the Lions, the most games any player has played with one team in NFL history. But Hanson doesn?t just have longevity on his side, he has one of the most impressive kicking legs the game has ever seen. On Sunday against the Titans he went 4-for-4 on field goals, making kicks from 47, 53, 33 and 26 yards. That 53-yard field goal was the 51st field goal of his career from 50 yards or farther, the most any kicker has made in NFL history. Oh, and when Lions punter Ben Graham went down, Hanson stepped in and punted flawlessly, averaging 39.3 hards a punt and landing one of them inside the 20-yard line. Hanson probably won?t make it to the Hall of Fame because kickers are remembered for big field goals in big games, and the Lions haven?t been in many big games in Hanson?s career. But the Hall of Fame is supposed to be about individual greatness, and there?s been no greater kicker in NFL history than Jason Hanson.

Jamaal Charles is in very good company. Charles, the Chiefs? starting running back, had 233 rushing yards and 55 receiving yards in Sunday?s win over the Saints, joining Jim Brown as the only players in NFL history with at least 225 rushing yards and 50 receiving yards in the same game. Charles and Brown are also the only NFL players with more than 230 rushing yards in two different games. And if Charles keeps running at his career 6.0 yards-per-carry average and gets 196 more rushing attempts, he?ll break Brown?s record for the highest yards-per-carry average of any running back in NFL history with at least 750 carries. For half a century, Brown has been the gold standard for NFL running backs. It?s amazing that Charles is putting himself in Brown?s company.

Greg Schiano is right in the kneeldown controversy. Schiano, the Buccaneers coach who angered Giants coach Tom Coughlin last week by instructing his players to try to force a fumble while the Giants were kneeling down to run out the clock, did it again on Sunday against the Cowboys. Coughlin might not like it, but I do. Schiano coaches football the right way: Play hard until the game is over.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/09/23/ref-says-he-gave-the-49ers-two-challenges-they-didnt-have/related/

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Romney and Ryan say Obama jeopardizes U.S. leadership in space (Los Angeles Times)

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Elite Indonesia squad arrests 10 suspected Islamic militants

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US, EU approve Universal takeover of EMI

FILE - The Beatles perform at the "Ed Sullivan Show," in New York in this Feb. 9, 1964 file photo. Universal Music Group can buy the famed British music company EMI, including the hugely lucrative Beatles catalogue, the European Union's competition regulator said Friday Sept 21 2012, but must jettison some of the famed label?s other big acts, including Coldplay and Pink Floyd. (AP Photo)

FILE - The Beatles perform at the "Ed Sullivan Show," in New York in this Feb. 9, 1964 file photo. Universal Music Group can buy the famed British music company EMI, including the hugely lucrative Beatles catalogue, the European Union's competition regulator said Friday Sept 21 2012, but must jettison some of the famed label?s other big acts, including Coldplay and Pink Floyd. (AP Photo)

European Commissioner for Competition Joaquin Almunia gestures while speaking during a media conference at EU headquarters in Brussels, Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Universal Music Group can buy the famed British music company EMI and keep the hugely-lucrative Beatles catalogue, the European Union's competition regulator said Friday, but must jettison some of its biggest acts, including Coldplay and Pink Floyd. (AP Photo/Virginia Mayo)

BRUSSELS (AP) ? Universal Music Group got approval Friday from American and European regulators to buy the famed British music company EMI, including the hugely lucrative Beatles catalogue. But the EU imposed stringent restrictions on the deal, forcing Universal to sell some of EMI's biggest acts, such as Coldplay and Pink Floyd.

Among EMI's assets that must go is Parlophone, home to those two British bands as well as Kylie Minogue and David Bowie. The Beatles, which is part of Parlophone, was exempted.

Universal will also have to sell off EMI's classical music divisions, its French and other local branches and labels that are home to Depeche Mode and The Ramones.

The U.S. Federal Trade Commission said that Universal and Emi's businesses were different enough from each other that the deal wasn't anti-competitive. It added that it didn't see the need to impose the same conditions on the deal as European regulator because of the differences between the U.S. and European markets.

EU Competition Commissioner Joaquin Almunia said that the fact that the companies involved trade in music made the case a particularly emotional one.

"This has been one of the most difficult discussions in my life as commissioner for competition because of ... the existence not only of an industry ? we are used to dealing with mergers between companies in very different sectors ? but the existence of a cultural dimension," said Almunia.

The FTC's decision was the last hurdle that Universal, which already represents Jay-Z, Nirvana and U2, had to clear before it can go ahead with its $1.9 billion purchase of EMI's recorded-music division, where talent is nurtured.

Universal's rivals, like Warner Music and small independent labels, have strongly protested the deal, saying it could squeeze out other players.

"This decision has finally put a freeze on Universal's ability to expand further," Helen Smith, executive chair of Impala, an industry group for independent labels, said in a statement Friday. "However, this decision nonetheless reinforces what is already a powerful duopoly."

The Universal deal is one part of the break-up of EMI. Regulators have already allowed a group led by Sony Corp. to buy EMI's music publishing arm for $2.2 billion.

If the Universal deal goes through, its average market share in European countries would be less than 40 percent after the asset sales, Almunia said.

Simon Dyson, the editor of Music & Copyright, an industry newsletter, said it appeared Universal's global market share would rise from around 29 percent to 34.5 percent ? but that because the company was already such a big player, the acquisition was unlikely to drastically change the industry.

"A digital music service can't launch without a company that's got one-third of the world's music, but it also can't launch without a company that has one-quarter," he said. "I genuinely don't see this as big a deal as some of the critics."

Still, if the U.S. also approves the deal, it will mean that the number of major record labels drops from four to three.

Almunia said that was a concern for European regulators, and they are trying to remedy it by insisting that Universal sell about two-thirds of the assets they're getting rid of to one buyer, in the hopes of creating another significant player in the music business, even if it won't be as large as the old EMI ? which was already the smallest of the four "majors."

He hinted that the EU wouldn't want to see either Warner or Sony be the buyer of that chunk, although he said that it was up to Universal to decide whom they wanted to sell to.

Universal welcomed the announcement, brushing off suggestions that it is being forced to sell so much of EMI that the deal might not make sense any more.

"We are delighted Universal Music will retain over two-thirds of EMI on a global basis, contributing to the accretive nature of the deal," the company said in a statement.

The company noted that it is acquiring several iconic artists ? and particularly the Beatles collection. Almunia said the British sensation's songs were exempted from the Parlophone sale because companies themselves propose asset sales in competition negotiations. The regulator can only then approve or deny the proposal; it does not make its own recommendations for what should be sold off.

Dyson agreed that, even with the asset sales, Universal did pretty well.

"They've got arguably the two biggest bands in history ? the Beatles and the Rolling Stones," he said. "That's nothing to sniff at."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-21-EU-EMI-Universal/id-40f88dd670354a2e8d879ecab2e003f7

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Why Are You Blogging

A lot of people ask me about blogging and how to make money from blogging. It?s not that I have suddenly become an authority on blogging but more I suspect, because I have actually committed to producing a blog a day and have started to generate traffic to my authority site.

There are many reasons why someone would blog, for me my current aim is to grow an audience and get people visiting my authority site Work With Gordon. I write about various topics but mainly subjects related to online business, work from home and create your own business. This is the niche market that I want to specialise in and while I learn my trade and create my brand I am using blogging as a platform to get exposure.

I also promote various products through my authority site so it goes without saying that if I am blogging with purpose I will have more eyes on my site and therefore more sales of my products.

The first step is to understand why you are blogging. It?s very important that you think about why you are blogging and don?t simply just write something down and expect people to find it. That?s the whole point about blogging, to express your views and then have other people read it and engage with you.

There are many different reasons people blog:

Political or Religious Blogs

You can blog to make political or religious statements. Religious groups find the blog format great for generating interest, encouraging interaction and even sharing on social sites.

Personal Journals

People use blogging as an easy and effective way of keeping a diary. Documenting difficult or satisfying experiences can be easily managed on a blog. It can also be kept private or made available to a select group of friends and family.

Quick Sites for Online Profit

There are thousands of blogs been setup every day entirely for profit. There are AdSense blogs, niche blogs, blogs designed to sell a single product or product bundles. There are list building blogs, affiliate blogs and many more. Blogs can be setup fast, automated and set loose as an income generator.

Developing Your Expertise

Blogging is a great way to become an authority figure. It can help you build a reputation as a leader in your field of expertise. Bloggers can gain popularity, employment and even new cliental by blogging as an expert.

Business and Brand Building

There are big benefits to building a great brand. Thousands of businesses of every size have discovered the benefits of building brands by blogging.

Customer Support and List Building

Every business understands the importance of customer support, interaction and development. Blogging is an easy method for meeting those needs. Blogs encourage customer engagement and can help build email lists.

SEO and Search Traffic

Search engines love blogs and using the blog format can help bring in search engine traffic. Blogging makes it easy to build back links by participating on other relevant blogs, submitting to blog directories and blog post rating sites.

For me personally there is a combination of reasons I do blogging. I am trying to create an authority site and share the knowledge I am developing in the various niches I am involved with. I am relatively new to the world of online marketing, blogging and making money online niches. You may ask how I can say I want to be an authority however, for me I only have to know slightly more about my niche markets than my readers to be an authority. I am not trying to portray myself as something I am not, but if you have never blogged before I can certainly offer some good advice.

Make Sure You Are Blogging With Purpose

Most of the people I talk to want to blog to make money. To do this we need to understand some core principles of what we are writing about and why we are writing about it! If the purpose of blogging is to make money there are five key components that you should think about before writing your blog:

Product ? To make money blogging you need to have something to sell. It really can be anything, there are over 2 billion people on the internet and there is a market out there for your product.

Target Market ?Who you are directing your blog at. To make money blogging you need to understand who is most likely to buy your product. If you?re product wedding dresses you would target recently engaged women for example.

Discover How Your Target Market Shops ? The internet runs on search! Behind every search is a live person ACTIVELY looking for more information or to purchase a solution to a pressing problem. Target this ?search? and make sure that your blogging is seen by your target market.

Create Problem Solving Content ? People do not like to be sold stuff but love to buy things. If you can provide a solution to a problem they have then they will gladly part with their cash ? if you are doing a hard sell you are less likely to make money blogging than if you are providing a solution to a problem.

Promote Content To Rank ? Over a million people search for ?Buy A Website? each month on Google. If you were selling websites imagine how much money you would make if you could get ranked on page one! Remember when you rank for the KEYWORDS people use to shop for your product or service you win traffic to your site and make money blogging.

Make Money Blogging

You do not have to be a SEO guru to structure your blog to make money blogging. Here is a great TEN STEP formula blog checklist to help you get started:

1. Choose great Keywords and include them in your title.
2. Repeat title in the first sentence of your blog and make it a bold H1 tag.
3. You should include Keyword rich H1, H2, and H3 tags in your blog.
4. You should link back to a previous blog.
5. Anchor text for hyperlinks. Anchor text is the visible characters and words that hyperlink display when linking to another document or location on the web.
6. What you put in your title tags is important ? make use of your chosen keywords.
7. Add a category to your blog.
8. Always have a call to action. Tell your prospect how they can get your product or service.
9. Have a good signature for your blog.
10. End your blog with a repeat of your header, H3 tagged and underlined.

I hope you find this article useful, if you have any further questions or would like to add value (or criticism) then please do leave some feedback. One of the best ways of promoting your blog is to have readers engaging through commentary and sharing.

Together we can achieve more,

Skype: workwithgordon

gordon@workwithgordon.com

P.S. Looking to start your own online business? Sign Up For My FREE 7 Day Video Marketing Bootcamp!

Why Are You Blogging

Gordon Robinson

Source: http://www.workwithgordon.com/blogging/

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Watch This Brand New iPhone 5 Burst into Flame [Video]

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Space shuttle Endeavour takes to California skies

The Space Shuttle Endeavour sits atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Endeavour returned to its California roots after a wistful cross-country journey that paid homage to NASA workers and former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The Space Shuttle Endeavour sits atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Endeavour returned to its California roots after a wistful cross-country journey that paid homage to NASA workers and former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The retired shuttle Endeavour piggy-backs a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Aircraft Carrier during its final flight Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 as the pair soar over White Sands Missile Range east of Las Cruces, N.M, before reaching their landing destination in California. (AP Photo/Las Cruces Sun-News, Shari Vialpando-Hill)

Bill Mader, of Las Cruces, checks out the Endeavour flyover with his binoculars on Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012.. "God, it's really something," he said while he mentioned that his brother, Dr. Thomas Mader, of Anchorage, Alaska, was an optical surgeon who had an ocular pressure experiment on one of the shuttles in the past. (AP Photo/The Las Cruces Sun-News, Robin Zielinski)

In this photo provided by the Southwest Photo Bank, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, watch the Space Shuttle Endeavor fly over Tucson, Ariz. on its way to Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Kelly, Endeavour's last commander, requested that the shuttle pass over Tucson to honor Giffords, who is recovering after suffering a head wound in a shooting rampage last year. (AP Photo/Southwest Photo Bank, P.K. Weis) MANDATORY CREDIT

Ashely Olson, left, poses with her sisters, Alexis, center, and Alyssa in front of the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Endeavour returned to its California roots after a wistful cross-country journey that paid homage to NASA workers and former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Space shuttle Endeavour took off Friday morning on a sightseeing tour of California, the last aerial hurrah before retiring to a Los Angeles museum.

Hitching a ride on top of a jumbo jet, the pair departed Edwards Air Force Base, 100 miles north of Los Angeles, circling the high desert that gave birth to the shuttle fleet and headed north toward Sacramento.

Thousands of spectators jammed rooftop buildings and streets around the state Capitol for a glimpse as Endeavour soared overhead. School children squealed as the shuttle looped around a second time.

Endeavour was headed for San Francisco Bay area and several Los Angeles-area landmarks including the Santa Monica Pier, Hollywood Sign and Disneyland.

At the Griffith Observatory, overlooking the Hollywood Sign, throngs of people ? many dressed in shorts and flip-flops with kids in tow ? camped out on beach chairs and blankets on the lush lawns, waiting for a flyover later in Endeavor's journey.

The nearly 5-hour flyover will culminate with an afternoon landing at the Los Angeles International Airport for an arrival ceremony ? then, in a few weeks, a slow-speed journey across town through neighborhoods to its final museum home.

Since Endeavour will buzz by some of the Golden State's most iconic sights, law enforcement and transportation authorities warned motorists not to "gawk and drive."

"We want people to take in this majestic show," Los Angeles police Cmdr. Scott Kroeber said earlier this week. "But if you're driving, please drive and don't try to take in the show simultaneously."

Extra officers will be on duty along the freeways near the airport to make sure traffic flows smoothly as the shuttle zooms overhead.

Endeavour returned to its birthplace Thursday after an emotional cross-country ferry flight that made a special flyover of Tucson, Ariz., to honor its last commander, Mark Kelly, and his wife, former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Giffords, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, was "hooting and hollering" as Endeavour looped around her hometown, according to her former aide C.J. Karamargin.

NASA's shuttle fleet, which retired last year after three decades of flight, was assembled in Palmdale near Edwards Air Force Base. The military outpost 100 miles north of Los Angeles served as the original shuttle landing strip and remained a backup site in case of stormy weather at Cape Canaveral, Fla.

"We're so excited to be welcoming Endeavour home in grand style with these flyovers," Jeffrey Rudolph, president of the California Science Center, said earlier this week.

The youngest shuttle, Endeavour replaced Challenger, which blew up during liftoff in 1986. NASA lost another shuttle, Columbia, in 2003 when it disintegrated during re-entry. Fourteen astronauts were killed.

During 25 missions, Endeavour spent 299 days in space and orbited Earth nearly 4,700 times, racking up 123 million miles.

On its maiden flight in 1992, a trio of spacewalking astronauts grabbed a stranded communications satellite in for repair. It also flew the first repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope to fix a faulty mirror. But most of its flights ferried cargo and equipment to the International Space Station, which is near completion.

Under White House orders to explore beyond low-Earth orbit, NASA is hitching rides on Russian rockets to the orbiting laboratory until private companies can provide regular service.

Endeavour is the second of three remaining shuttles to head to its retirement home. In April, Discovery arrived at the Smithsonian Institution's hangar in Virginia. Atlantis, which closed out the shuttle program, will stay in Florida where it will be towed a short distance to the Kennedy Space Center's visitor center in the fall.

Endeavour will remain at an airport hangar for several weeks as crews ready the shuttle for its own road trip. Unlike Atlantis, it will creep through city streets to the California Science Center near downtown.

Some 400 trees will be cleared along the 12-mile route to make room, a move that has riled some residents in affected neighborhoods. Museum officials have pledged to replant double the number of chopped trees.

___

Online:

Shuttle history: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle

California Science Center: http://www.californiasciencecenter.org

___

Alicia Chang can be followed at http://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-21-Space%20Shuttle-Last%20Stop/id-dda8ce1ce1074cd3be6617db4b647156

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Shuttle to sightsee around Calif with low flyovers

The retired shuttle Endeavour piggy-backs a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Aircraft Carrier during its final flight Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 as the pair soar over White Sands Missile Range east of Las Cruces, N.M, before reaching their landing destination in California. (AP Photo/Las Cruces Sun-News, Shari Vialpando-Hill)

The retired shuttle Endeavour piggy-backs a modified Boeing 747 Shuttle Aircraft Carrier during its final flight Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012 as the pair soar over White Sands Missile Range east of Las Cruces, N.M, before reaching their landing destination in California. (AP Photo/Las Cruces Sun-News, Shari Vialpando-Hill)

In this photo provided by the Southwest Photo Bank, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, watch the Space Shuttle Endeavor fly over Tucson, Ariz. on its way to Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Kelly, Endeavour's last commander, requested that the shuttle pass over Tucson to honor Giffords, who is recovering after suffering a head wound in a shooting rampage last year. (AP Photo/Southwest Photo Bank, P.K. Weis) MANDATORY CREDIT

In this photo provided by the Southwest Photo Bank, former U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, watch the Space Shuttle Endeavor fly over Tucson, Ariz. on its way to Los Angeles, Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Kelly, Endeavour's last commander, requested that the shuttle pass over Tucson to honor Giffords, who is recovering after suffering a head wound in a shooting rampage last year. (AP Photo/Southwest Photo Bank, P.K. Weis) MANDATORY CREDIT

Ashely Olson, left, poses with her sisters, Alexis, center, and Alyssa in front of the Space Shuttle Endeavour at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Endeavour returned to its California roots after a wistful cross-country journey that paid homage to NASA workers and former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

The Space Shuttle Endeavour sits atop NASA's Shuttle Carrier Aircraft (SCA) at the NASA Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., Thursday, Sept. 20, 2012. Endeavour returned to its California roots after a wistful cross-country journey that paid homage to NASA workers and former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her astronaut husband. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES (AP) ? Space shuttle Endeavour will spend its last flying day Friday not rocketing into space, but doing what most tourists do when visiting California: Taking in the state Capitol, Golden Gate Bridge and the Hollywood Sign.

In what promises to be a crowd-rousing air show, Endeavour, strapped atop a 747 jumbo jet, will take off after sunrise from Edwards Air Force Base in the Mojave Desert and dip low over various landmarks in a 4 1/2-hour sightseeing flight before landing at the Los Angeles International Airport.

It's Endeavour's last aerial hurrah before it spends its retirement years as a museum piece.

"We're so excited to be welcoming Endeavour home in grand style with these flyovers," said Jeffrey Rudolph, president of the California Science Center, where the shuttle will go on permanent display.

Since Endeavour will buzz by some of the Golden State's most iconic sights, law enforcement and transportation authorities warned motorists not to "gawk and drive."

"We want people to take in this majestic show," Los Angeles police Cmdr. Scott Kroeber said earlier this week. "But if you're driving, please drive and don't try to take in the show simultaneously."

Extra officers will be on duty along the freeways near LAX to make sure traffic flows smoothly as the shuttle zooms overhead.

Endeavour returned to its birthplace Thursday after an emotional cross-country ferry flight that made a special flyover of Tucson, Ariz., to honor its last commander, Mark Kelly and his wife, former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords.

Giffords, who is recovering from a gunshot wound to the head, was "hooting and hollering" as Endeavour looped around her hometown, according to her former aide C.J. Karamargin.

NASA's shuttle fleet, which retired last year after three decades of flight, was assembled in Palmdale near Edwards Air Force Base. The military outpost 100 miles north of Los Angeles served as the original shuttle landing strip and remained a backup site in case of stormy weather at Cape Canaveral, Fla.

The youngest shuttle, Endeavour replaced Challenger, which blew up during liftoff in 1986. NASA lost another shuttle, Columbia, in 2003 when it disintegrated during re-entry. Fourteen astronauts were killed.

During 25 missions, Endeavour spent 299 days in space and orbited Earth nearly 4,700 times, racking up 123 million miles.

On its maiden flight in 1992, a trio of spacewalking astronauts grabbed a stranded communications satellite in for repair. It also flew the first repair mission to the Hubble Space Telescope to fix a faulty mirror. But most of its flights ferried cargo and equipment to the International Space Station, which is near completion.

Under White House orders to explore beyond low-Earth orbit, NASA is hitching rides on Russian rockets to the orbiting laboratory until private companies can provide regular service.

Endeavour is the second of three remaining shuttles to head to its retirement home. In April, Discovery arrived at the Smithsonian Institution's hangar in Virginia. Atlantis, which closed out the shuttle program, will stay in Florida where it will be towed a short distance to the Kennedy Space Center's visitor center in the fall.

Endeavour will remain at an airport hangar for several weeks as crews ready the shuttle for its own road trip. Unlike Atlantis, it will creep through city streets to the California Science Center near downtown.

Some 400 trees will be cleared along the 12-mile route to make room, a move that has riled some residents in affected neighborhoods. Museum officials have pledged to replant double the number of chopped trees.

___

Online:

Shuttle history: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle

California Science Center: http://www.californiasciencecenter.org

___

Alicia Chang can be followed at http://twitter.com/SciWriAlicia

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/b2f0ca3a594644ee9e50a8ec4ce2d6de/Article_2012-09-21-Space%20Shuttle-Last%20Stop/id-ca9b54ac52ec416d824796de3d12a96d

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Video: Romney Tape: The Missing Two Minutes

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Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/49095670/

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