Has the HTC Droid DNA been given its gold watch and sent packing? Verizon CS says yes, and it's no longer listed for sale
A reader sent in a pretty interesting screenshot, accompanied by some equally interesting information about the HTC Droid DNA. According to Verizon customer service, the DNA is now officially retired. The screenshot of chat with a CS (you can find it after the break) actually uses the word retired, and subsequent inquiries led to a statement from Verizon saying "HTC halted production in efforts to push out an upcoming project on the horizon".
Now normally, we would place little to no faith in the words of an online chat with customer care from any provider. We're not judging, they have a difficult job and get way more harassment than anyone deserves. But after hearing about this, we went looking on Verizon's website, and found that the DNA is nowhere to be seen. You can't buy one from Big Red. Verizon loves to take our money, so there must be a reason they don't want to sell us a Droid DNA.
Now consider the on and off rumors about the HTC One coming to Verizon. We're pretty sure that you'll never be able to buy an "HTC One" for use on Verizon. But ask us if you'll be able to buy a premium HTC device with Sense 5, the new camera, Boomsound, a kick-ass display, and all the other goodies that come with the HTC One and our answer would be different. Don't let semantics like official names fool you. We're pretty confident that something very close to the HTC One is "on the horizon" for Verizon Wireless.
We never pretend that we know what goes on inside the minds of carrier corporate executives. We certainly question many of their decisions, but we're not at the meetings and don't have access to the data they use when they decide things like which phones to sell, and when to stop selling them. And of course, all this could be wrong and the DNA is simply out of stock for a while. We're just going to keep watching this, and when it all works out, we'll let you know.
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) ? Four people were hurt Sunday when a driver crashed his car into a Wal-Mart and then assaulted customers inside, officials said.
The man hit two cars in the parking lot at about 11:15 a.m. with his red Oldsmobile Cutlass sedan then crashed through the storefront near the pharmacy and collided with a beer display before stopping, police and witnesses said.
The unidentified driver then got out of his car and used a blunt object to attack people, San Jose police Officer Albert Morales said. The driver was arrested when officers arrived.
Investigators have not determined how fast the driver ? described as a man in his 30s ? was going at the time of the crash but the car went about 20 feet into the Wal-Mart Supercenter that had about 70 people inside in San Jose, Morales said.
One person suffered what Morales described as serious injuries. He did not know the extent of the injuries to the three other people but said they were not life-threatening. The injured included a store employee.
Customer Sharon Kaye told the San Jose Mercury News the driver sideswiped her car as he made several runs around the parking lot before driving between poles at the entrance and crashing into the store.
"At first, I thought I may have done something to anger him while driving," she said. "But then I realized he was out to get into the store."
After the crash, the entrance to the Wal-Mart was roped off with yellow police tape, and workers put up large boards covering the automatic doors where the car had entered.
A Wal-Mart spokeswoman told the Mercury News that the store remained shut down for several hours, and an employee was among those hurt.
"We're obviously very concerned about the associate who was injured," spokeswoman Kory Lundberg said.
Shopper and witness Tianna Doan told the newspaper the employee was a cashier who was hit with the object and had a head injury.
Calls to the store by The Associated Press went unanswered Sunday.
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Information from: San Jose (Calif.) Mercury News, http://www.mercurynews.com
According to a new Harris Poll survey, conducted on behalf of the management consulting firm Accenture, less than one-third of U.S. doctors think patients should have full access to their own electronic health records.
As a patient, you may literally trust your doctor with your life, and the doctor-patient relationship relies on this level of trust. The relationship should be one of give and take, even if the exchange is sometimes dominated by the professional.
So it may come as a surprise that 65 percent of docs believe their patients should have only limited access to their electronic health records, and 4 percent believe patients should have no access at all.
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One thing is clear ? patients believe electronic medical records improve their care. According to a 2011 survey, conducted by GfK Roper on behalf of Practice Fusion, a San Francisco-based electronic health record provider, 78 percent of patients whose doctors kept electronic medical records felt that their care improved.
"Patients want their healthcare to reflect the fact we're in the 21st century," said Ryan Howard, CEO of Practice Fusion. "They want to have prescriptions sent electronically, to receive email appointment reminders and to review past diagnoses and upcoming appointments online."
?Several US health systems have proven that the benefits outweigh the risks in allowing patients open access to their medical records, and we expect this trend to continue,? said Mark Knicrehm, senior global managing director of Accenture Health, of the poll?s results.
While a majority of doctors in the Accenture survey wouldn?t trust patients with full access to their records, 81 percent said they wanted their patients to keep the records up to date, which may seem like a disconnect.
Primarily, though, the doctors are referring to updating personal information, not medical information. Almost all doctors polled think patients should update their own demographic information (95 percent), family history (88 percent), medications (86 percent), allergies (85 percent), and even some medical information, like new symptoms and self-administered test results (81 percent).
There seem to be few disadvantages to giving patients access to records and some real advantages, according to experts and commentators. So why do many doctors feel that their patients should not have full access to their electronic medical records?
Stephen Baker, author of The Numerati blog, wrote that patient sensitivity may be to blame for doctors' unwillingness to share medical records.
?This would not be a problem if we, as a society, weren't so hypersensitive to 'hurtful' words, and eager to sue in cases of errors,? Baker stated on his blog.
He used an example of a doctor speculating about his or her patient being the victim of abuse. While the patient might be offended on reading this information in their electronic medical record, the doctor might feel that it's important to document their observations. Baker concluded, ?if we want the data, we should be ready to see and accept it, even when offensive. This openness would pay off richly.?
Thomas J. Vento, MD, a family doctor in private practice in Reisterstown, Md., sees the benefits of open access to medical records, because patients can help prevent medical errors.
"It?s a great idea to give your family doctor a copy to keep in his file, but it?s also very important to have your own copy of the health journal in case of a medical emergency," Dr. Vento said. "Being an active voice in health care is an integral part of getting the best care you can for yourself and your children."
After a 2012 study found that doctors failed to read many test results when patients were discharged from hospitals, experts claimed that electronic records could help "prevent important information from falling through cracks."
"[This] problem could be solved with electronic medical records that keep track of test results and alert doctors when the results have not been reviewed," said Gordon Schiff, MD, associate director of the Brigham Center for Patient Safety Research and Practice, at the time. "Patients also can play a role by keeping track of their tests and asking their doctor about the results."
As doctors and medical institutions continue to switch to electronic medical records, and patients demand more access, the debate will continue: How much information should patients have access to?
"Electronic Health Records: Doctors Want to Keep Patients Out" originally appeared on Everyday Health.
Personas hacen fila mientras un guardia de seguridad abre la puerta de una sucursal del banco Laiki en Nicosia, el viernes 29 de marzo de 2013. Los bancos abrieron normalmente por segundo d?a pero contin?an los l?mites a los retiros de dinero ante la crisis financiera. (AP Foto/Petros Giannakouris)
Personas hacen fila mientras un guardia de seguridad abre la puerta de una sucursal del banco Laiki en Nicosia, el viernes 29 de marzo de 2013. Los bancos abrieron normalmente por segundo d?a pero contin?an los l?mites a los retiros de dinero ante la crisis financiera. (AP Foto/Petros Giannakouris)
NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) ? Big depositors at Cyprus' largest bank may be forced to accept losses of up to 60 percent, far more than initially estimated under the European rescue package to save the country from bankruptcy, officials said Saturday.
Deposits of more than 100,000 euros ($128,000) at the Bank of Cyprus will lose 37.5 percent in money that will be converted into bank shares, according to a central bank statement. In a second raid on these accounts, depositors also could lose up to 22.5 percent more, depending on what experts determine is needed to prop up the bank's reserves. The experts will have 90 days to figure that out.
The remaining 40 percent of big deposits at the Bank of Cyprus will be "temporarily frozen" until further notice, but continue to accrue existing levels of interest plus another 10 percent.
The savings converted to bank shares would theoretically allow depositors to eventually recover their losses. But the shares now hold little value and it's uncertain when ? if ever ? the shares will regain a value equal to the depositors' losses.
Emergency laws passed last week empower Cypriot authorities to take these actions.
Europe has demanded that big depositors in the country's two largest banks ? Bank of Cyprus and Laiki Bank ? accept across-the-board losses in order to pay for Cyprus' 16 billion euro ($20.5 billion) bailout. All deposits of up to 100,000 are safe, meaning that a saver with 500,000 euros in the bank will only suffer losses on the remaining 400,000 euros.
Cypriot officials had previously said that large savers at Laiki ? which would be absorbed in to the Bank of Cyprus ? could lose as much as 80 percent. But they had said large accounts at the Bank of Cyprus would lose only 30 to 40 percent.
Analysts said Saturday that imposing bigger losses on Bank of Cyprus customers could further squeeze already crippled businesses as Cyprus tries to rebuild its banking sector in exchange for the international rescue package.
"Most of the damage will be done to businesses which had their money in the bank" to pay suppliers and employees, said University of Cyprus economics Professor Sofronis Clerides. "There's quite a difference between a 30 percent loss and a 60 percent loss."
With businesses shrinking, the country could be dragged down into an even deeper recession, he said.
There's also concern that large depositors ? including many wealthy Russians ? will take their money and run once capital restrictions that Cypriot authorities have imposed on bank transactions to prevent such a possibility are lifted in about a month.
Cyprus agreed on Monday to make bank depositors with accounts over 100,000 euros contribute to the financial rescue in order to secure 10 billion euros ($12.9 billion) in loans from the eurozone and the International Monetary Fund. Cyprus needed to scrounge up 5.8 billion euros ($7.4 billion) on its own in order to clinch the larger package, and banks had remained shut for nearly two weeks until politicians hammered out a deal, opening again on Thursday.
But fearing that savers would rush to pull their money out in mass once banks reopened, Cypriot authorities imposed a raft of restrictions, including daily withdrawal limits of 300 euros ($384) for individuals and 5,000 euros for businesses ? the first so-called capital controls that any country has applied in the eurozone's 14-year history.
Under the terms of the bailout deal, the country' second largest bank, Laiki ? which sustained the most damaged from bad Greek debt and loans ? is to be split up, with its nonperforming loans and toxic assets going into a "bad bank." The healthy side will be absorbed into the Bank of Cyprus.
On Saturday, economist Stelios Platis dismissed the rescue plan as "completely mistaken" and criticized Cyprus' euro area partners for insisting on foisting Laiki's troubles on the Bank of Cyprus.
Clerides said it appears that some euro area countries such as Germany and Finland wanted to see the end of Cyprus as an international financial services center, while others, such as eurogroup chief Jeroen Dijsselbloem, wanted to use the country as an "guinea pig" to send the message that European taxpayers would no longer shoulder the burden of bailing out problem banks.
But German Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble challenged that notion, insisting in an interview with the Bild daily published Saturday that "Cyprus is and remains a special, isolated case" and doesn't point the way for future European rescue programs.
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AP business correspondent Geir Moulson contributed from Berlin.
Though we don't get to see its smartphone wares too often stateside or in Europe, NEC has always said its mobile division was a big part of its business. Now it looks to be trying to fob that arm off to PC venture partner Lenovo, according to unnamed Bloomberg sources. The Japanese company is also said to be eying potential domestic buyers if that doesn't pan out, and Reuters recently reported that it's selling retail subsidiary NEC Mobiling to the tune of $850 million. The move is said to be in the works to bolster profitability after two straight years of smartphone operation losses and 10,000 layoffs, but as always, such unattributed material needs to be digested with beaucoup salt.
Reuters is reporting that Lenovo?(LNVGY), the Chinese electronics giant, is in talks to acquire NEC?s mobile phone unit. Lenovo has been speculated to be in talks with both Nokia (NOK) and BlackBerry (BBRY) over the past two years. Various brokerages have claimed that it is negotiating to buy Nokia?s feature phone unit, Nokia?s Lumia phone unit or BlackBerry?s hardware operations. If Lenovo ends up buying the NEC handset operations, it would acquire a technologically highly sophisticated operation with a minuscule annual production volume of roughly 4 million units.
[More from BGR: iPhone 5S announcement rumored for June 20th, launch in July]
The acquisition would open the door for the world?s No. 2 PC vendor to try to execute an aggressive cross-over to smartphone market ? Lenovo would presumably be well positioned to ramp up smartphone volumes rapidly. This would mean that the most likely buyer of Nokia or BlackBerry would gobble up a much cheaper and more easily integrated alternative.
[More from BGR: Google?s ?Babble? cross-platform messaging service gets detailed in purported leak]
NEC enjoyed its halcyon days around 2001, when its global mobile phone market share briefly spiked close to 10% and hit double digits in Germany and the United Kingdom. That was the period when i-mode was the hottest buzzword in the mobile telecom industry and Japanese vendors like Sony (SNE), Panasonic and NEC were making big gains in Europe and North America. The Japanese vendors were badly dented by the phone industry downturn in 2001-2003 and mostly retreated from the global competition to their home market.
Lenovo is one of China?s most ambitious electronics companies; its acquisition of IBM?s (IBM) PC business made it the world?s second largest personal computer brand. The company has come to regret that purchase, however: Soon after it snapped up the PC division it became obvious that smartphones would become the most important consumer electronics category and that the PC was entering its twilight era.
China and India are now bursting with smartphone brands with heady global growth numbers. Huawei, Micromax, Spice, Karbonn and others are enjoying 80%-plus volume growth by capitalizing on one of biggest trends in the industry as growth has shifted from North America and Europe to South-East Asia and China. Until now, Lenovo has watched the triumphant expansion of these upstarts silently seething. The giant may now be ready to make its move.
Ironically, Lenovo just might be about to repeat the timing mistake it made with its big personal computer acquisition. Global smartphone volume growth has slowed from over 50% to about 35% in just a year. Growth in North America and Europe is sputtering badly right now. If Lenovo buys the NEC phone division and starts to ramp up seriously in 2014, it just might enter the global smartphone competition just when the volume growth falls below 25% amidst intensifying competition.
From Channing Tatum and Dwayne Johnson kicking Cobra butt in G.I. Joe: Retaliation to Saoirse Ronan fighting against an alien species on Earth in The Host, here are the movies to check out this weekend. Plus, don't miss the films that have already hit theaters! Will you be grabbing your popcorn and catching one of them this weekend?
HUMBLE, Texas (AP) ? The march to the Masters for Rory McIlroy looks more like a crawl.
McIlroy only had four birdie putts on the front nine, none closer than 20 feet. He took two chips to reach the second green. He found the water on the third-easiest hole at Redstone Golf Club and made double bogey. What he salvaged Thursday in the Houston Open was a 73, along with some optimism.
"I think I'm still a little bit tentative on the golf course and not committing to my shots fully," McIlroy said. "But I think that just takes time and, hopefully, another three rounds this week and some good scores will give me confidence going into the Masters."
D.A. Points, using an old putter he once took from his mother, opened with five straight birdies on his way to an 8-under 64, giving him a one-shot lead over Cameron Tringale and John Rollins. Also coming to life was Angel Cabrera, the Argentine with two majors and a house at Redstone. He had a 66.
McIlroy, playing in the afternoon when the wind kicked up, was happy just to stay in range. Right when it looked as if the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland was headed for a big number, he rattled off three quick birdies and got it back to even par before he failed to convert a superb flop shot into par.
"I fought back well. I didn't get too down on myself," McIlroy said. "It would have been great to finish even par, but I made a couple of shots back, so that's not too bad."
Even so, the Houston Open is his final stop before the Masters, and it's not as if McIlroy has loads of rounds behind him. Thursday was only the ninth round he has completed in five tournaments this year. And he no longer has the No. 1 ranking, taken back by Tiger Woods last week at Bay Hill.
The first step is making the cut at Redstone on Friday, and seeing more good shots.
"My swing is not as free flowing because I'm working on a few things and getting into a couple of bad habits," McIlroy said. "But it's definitely feeling more natural than it has been the last few weeks."
Points first borrowed the Ping Anser from his mother during his junior years in Illinois, and like most golfers, he abandoned it once he stopped making putts. But he recently asked Ping to clean it up for him and add some weight. He also got a putting lesson ? no, not from Steve Stricker ? and he was on his way.
"Maybe I'm an idiot for not having used this putter the whole time," Points said. "It worked well today."
Points, whose only win came with actor Bill Murray at his side at the Pebble Beach National Pro-am, made all five of his opening birdies from inside 15 feet. He dropped only one shot along the way.
A mild wind gained strength in the afternoon, and Rollins still managed a 65.
"I knew the conditions were going to be tough out there, knew the greens were fast, so that makes it tough as well," Rollins said. "I just kept the ball in front of me and gave myself a lot of opportunities and got a solid round out of it."
Phil Mickelson was at 4 under and right in the mix until he hit his tee shot into the water on the sixth hole and made double bogey, nearly hooked a 3-wood into the hazard on the next hole and three-putted for bogey, and then made bogey on the par-3 ninth from a bunker to wind up at 72.
"It was a disappointing finish," Mickelson said. "I feel really good with the putter, and I believe that as the tournament goes on, I'll get better."
Mickelson played with defending champion Hunter Mahan, who didn't hit the ball his best and it finally caught up with him at the end for a 74. Also in the group was Geoff Ogilvy, who needs to finish in the top 50 in the world to get into the Masters. Ogilvy is currently at No. 50, though he will lose spots through the formula this week. He had three penalty shots in his round of 73.
Lee Westwood hit two shots in the water and still salvaged a bogey and was in the large group at 68 that included Riviera winner John Merrick and Jimmy Walker.
Charles Howell III had a 69 in his bid to get into his hometown major at Augusta National. Howell would need to finish at least in fourth place alone to have any chance of moving into the top 50.
Points was just trying to see some reasonable results, having made only two cuts all year. He did manage to join a group of stars in the Tavistock Cup earlier this week and, upon leaving home Tuesday, he grabbed a handful of putters. One of them once belonged to his mother.
Ping rep Matt Rollins had some weights added to the putter, and equally important was an impromptu lesson from Lamar golf coach Brian White.
"It's one of those things," Points said. "I holed some nice par putts yesterday in my pro-am. I didn't hit it great, but I made a few good putts and the ball was going in the hole with nice pace and rolling real tight. And I thought, 'All right, this might be the key that kind of gets me going.'"
That it did.
For McIlroy, it was another slow start. He has yet to break par in his five opening rounds this year ? that includes the Match Play Championship ? and found himself behind early. He was in a fairway bunker on the eighth hole, opened the face of 9-iron to advance the ball as far as he could, and caught the lip. With some 250 yards for his third shot, a 5-wood leaked into the water and he walked off with a double bogey.
But he never got down on himself.
"I think I learned from that over the last few weeks. I've got to keep my spirits up," McIlroy said. "I felt like I was doing that a bit too much at the Match Play and the Honda, and obviously we saw what happened there."
Frustrations boiled over at the Honda Classic halfway through the second round when McIlroy walked off the course. He vowed not to do that again.
Mickelson, meanwhile, was going along nicely despite some errant tee shots, such as his one on the 12th hole. He sliced the tee shot so far left that it bounced off the cart path, across the 13th tee box and down a slope toward the bushes. He was about pin-high, only 100 yards left of the green. He hit wedge into about 15 feet and turned to the gallery and said, "It's all about angles."
The angles caught up with him. Mickelson tee shot on the sixth never cleared the water, leading to his sloppy finish.
They won't make a sound no matter how many of them you try to toss in a bucket, and you can't pitch them in a fountain and wish for good luck. But make no mistake, bitcoins are getting big.
The online alternative currency, previously little more than a curiosity in financial markets since its 2009 inception, has zoomed in trading value since the Cyprus banking crisis erupted two weeks ago.
With fears spreading that even insured deposits might not be safe in similar nations hit by banking crises, those looking for a haven to store their wealth have fled to the complicated world of digital cash.
"Incremental demand for bitcoin is coming from the geographic areas most affected by the Cypriot financial crisis?individuals in countries like Greece or Spain, worried that they will be next to feel the threat of deposit taxes," Nicholas Colas, chief market strategist at ConvergEx, said in a report on the startling trend.
Read More: It's Back! Dark Cloud From Europe Stalls US Stock Market Bull Run
Bitcoins operate on a network that, at least on the surface, resembles a typical exchange on the capital markets. Buyers can exchange their paper currencies for bitcoins and use them wherever they are accepted. Sellers can exchange their bitcoins back for their original currency.
But the value of the currency has been anything but typical.
Bitcoincharts.com lists the value of bitcoins compared to other currencies, including U.S. and Canadian dollars, euros and pounds.
Cypriots fear run on banks as branches prepare to reopen
On one of the U.S. currency exchanges, labeled "Mt. Gox," the bitcoin value has zoomed to more than $87 in Wednesday trade. That represents close to a 20 percent gain over just the past week, a one-month gain of 41 percent and nearly a quintupling of value in the past year.
The "Mt. Gox" euro trading has seen numbers nearly identical to the dollar pairing.
Read More: Cyprus Controls to Hit Foreign Transactions
A more sober perspective might suggest that bitcoins are at best a momentary bubble and at worst a risky chance to take considering their novelty.
But the trend also exemplifies just how nervous cash-holders are over the European situation.
"This is a clear sign that people are looking for alternative ways to get their money out of the country," said Christopher Vecchio, currency analyst at DailyFX. "If we're going to talk about the stability of the euro and whether or not there are going to be capital controls in place not just in Cyprus but around the euro zone, I think there is some efficacy behind bitcoins as an alternative liquidity vehicle."
The role of alternative currency had been falling largely to gold over the past several years. But the precious metal has been on a pretty aggressive downward path since its most recent peak in October.
Gold advocates, though, continue to stress its importance as a safe haven and store of wealth.
"Why would anyone trust an electronic form of money that could get hacked and then diluted into oblivion?" said Michael Pento, president of Pento Portfolio Strategies. "We already have a form of money that is indestructible and whose supply cannot be increased by any government or individual decree. It's called gold."
Yet currency pros are at least willing to give bitcoins the benefit of the doubt as a legitimate trading vehicle as situations like Cyprus continue to crop up.
The $964 million bitcoin network pales to the $4 trillion a day in total currency trading, but it's clearly growing.
"Right now it seems safe. Personally it wouldn't be my preferred vehicle to trade money because it's unregulated," Vecchio said. "But people are deeming it legitimate even though it's not backed by a sovereign. That could be the attraction behind it. There's no sovereign credit risks to bitcoins."
With this year?s golf season just around the corner, golfers looking to escape the unreliable British weather can take advantage of a range of ?sun-sational? spring offers currently available in Gran Canaria, voted European Golf Destination of 2013 at the prestigious IAGTO Awards.
Gran Canaria offers the ideal golfing climate all year-round, with average temperatures ranging between 20 ? 24C, as well as a variety of high-quality golfing facilities at the seven golf courses available with the Gran Canaria Golf Association.? Enjoy the 18-hole par 71 course at Spain?s oldest golf club, the Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas, the technically challenging course at Lopesan Meloneras Golf or one of the longest courses in Spain at El Cortijo Club de Campo.
Examples of golf packages available to Gran Canaria this May include:
Seven-Night Bed and Breakfast Accommodation at Lopesan Costa Meloneras Resort from ?399 per person
Leisure Link Golf Holidays is offering a seven-night package at the Four Star Lopesan Costa Meloneras Resort Corallium Spa & Casino from only ?399 per person. Located on the coast and only a few metres from Dunas de Maspalomas Nature Reserve, the hotel offers a variety of services to golfers including special lockers for golf bags and free transfers to the golf course. Price includes seven nights? accommodation in a twin or double room and a five green fee golf pass. Price is based on travel in May 2013. To book visit www.leisurelinkgolf.com, call 01708 339300 or email reservations@leisurelinkgolf.com.
Seven-Night Bed and Breakfast Accommodation at Sheraton Salobre Hotelfrom ?439 per person
Your Golf Travel is offering a seven-night package at the Sheraton Salobre Hotel from only ?439 per person. Package includes seven nights? bed and breakfast accommodation and five rounds of golf including El Cortijo, Maspalomas, Salobre North, Salorbre South and Meloneras. Price is based on two people sharing a twin or double room, and travelling during May/June 2013. To book, visit www.yourgolftravel.comor call 0808 163 3392.
For more information on Gran Canaria Golf visit www.grancanariagolf.com.
-Ends-
About Gran Canaria Golf
Gran Canaria Golf is made up of seven magnificent courses spread around the Island ? Maspalomas Golf, Real Club de Golf de Las Palmas, El Cortijo Club de Campo, Lopesan Meloneras Golf, Salobre Golf & Resort ? North and South Course and Anfi Tauro Golf. All designed by specialists in the field, each offers an oasis of tranquillity where golfers can enjoy the peace and serenity needed to improve their game or to simply partake in their favourite sport.
The U.S. housing market will see no surge at the start of spring, as fewer buyers signed contracts to purchase existing homes in February. An industry index of so-called pending home sales fell 0.4 percent from January but is up 8.4 percent from February of 2012.
While the number of for-sale listings increased more than the seasonal norm, realtors still say a lack of supply is keeping many potential buyers from desired deals. Pending home sales are a one to two month forward indicator of closed sales.
"Only new home construction can genuinely help relieve the inventory shortage, and housing starts need to rise at least 50 percent from current levels," said Lawrence Yun, chief economist for the National Association of Realtors in a release. "Most local home builders are small businesses and simply don't have access to capital on Wall Street. Clearer regulatory rules, applied to construction loans for smaller community banks and credit unions, could bring many small-sized builders back into the market."
Sales of newly built homes fell nearly five percent in February, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Inventories did rise, but only slightly, as the nation's home builders struggle with labor and land shortages, as well as higher costs for materials.
Pending home sales fell 2.5 percent month-to-month in the Northeast, rose 0.4 percent in the Midwest, fell 0.3 percent in the South and rose 0.1 percent in the West, according to the Realtors.
"The volume of home sales appears to be leveling off with the constrained inventory conditions, and the leveling of the index means little change is likely in the pace of sales over the next couple months," Yun added.
A better sign for March, after two weeks of declines, mortgage applications to purchase a home jumped 7 percent during the past week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association. This as interest rates fell slightly, due to concerns over the banking crisis in Cyprus.
"The rebound in mortgage applications is a small piece of a brighter housing outlook," says Bob Walters, chief economist for Quicken Loans. "Interest rates are still at record lows despite their upward trend, and consumers are taking advantage of record home affordability. Look for more buyers to enter the market this spring and a more robust housing recovery to occur."
Mar 26 (Reuters) - Leading money winners on the 2013 PGATour on Monday (U.S. unless stated): 1. Tiger Woods $3,787,600 2. Brandt Snedeker $2,859,920 3. Matt Kuchar $2,154,500 4. Steve Stricker $1,820,000 5. Phil Mickelson $1,650,260 6. Hunter Mahan $1,553,965 7. John Merrick $1,343,514 8. Dustin Johnson $1,330,507 9. Russell Henley $1,313,280 10. Kevin Streelman $1,310,343 11. Keegan Bradley $1,274,593 12. Charles Howell III $1,256,373 13. Michael Thompson $1,254,669 14. Brian Gay $1,171,721 15. Justin Rose $1,155,550 16. Jason Day $1,115,565 17. Chris Kirk $1,097,053 18. ...
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. has taken its first real swipe at China following accusations that the Beijing government is behind a widespread and systemic hacking campaign targeting U.S. businesses.
Buried in a spending bill signed by President Barack Obama on Tuesday is a provision that effectively bars much of the federal government from buying information technology made by companies linked to the Chinese government.
It's unclear what impact the legislation will have, or whether it will turn out to be a symbolic gesture. The provision only affects certain non-defense government agency budgets between now and Sept. 30, when the fiscal year ends. It also allows for exceptions if an agency head determines that buying the technology is "in the national interest of the United States."
Still, the rule could upset U.S. allies whose businesses rely on Chinese manufacturers for parts and pave the way for broader, more permanent changes in how the U.S. government buys technology.
"This is a change of direction," said Stuart Baker, a former senior official at the Homeland Security Department now with the legal firm Steptoe and Johnson in Washington. "My guess is we're going to keep going in this direction for a while."
Rep. Dutch Ruppersberger of Maryland, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said he supports the restriction and doesn't think it would be too cumbersome for federal agencies. The Defense and Energy departments already are mindful of how its networks are built.
"Anything we can do to call awareness to the fact that we're continuing to be cyberattacked, we're continuing to lose jobs, and that billions of dollars in American money is being stolen," Ruppersberger said in an interview Wednesday.
In March, the U.S. computer security firm Mandiant released details on what it said was an aggressive hacking campaign on American businesses by a Chinese military unit. Since then, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew has used high-level meetings with Beijing officials to press the matter. Beijing has denied the allegations.
Congressional leaders have promised to push comprehensive legislation that would make it easier for industry to share threat data with the government. But those efforts have been bogged down amid concerns that too much of U.S. citizens' private information could end up in the hands of the federal government.
As Congress and privacy advocates debate a way ahead, lawmakers tucked "section 516" into the latest budget resolution, which enables the government to pay for day-to day operations for the rest of the fiscal year. The provision specifically prohibits the Commerce and Justice departments, NASA and the National Science Foundation from buying an information technology system that is "produced, manufactured or assembled" by any entity that is "owned, operated or subsidized" by the People's Republic of China.
The agencies can only acquire the technology if, in consulting with the FBI, they determine that there is no risk of "cyberespionage or sabotage associated with the acquisition of the system," according to the legislation.
The move might sound like a no-brainer. If U.S. industry and intelligence officials are right, and China is stealing America's corporate secrets at a breathtaking pace, why reward Beijing with lucrative U.S. contracts? Furthermore, why install technical equipment that could potentially give China a secret backdoor into federal systems?
Last fall, Ruppersberger and House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., released a report urging U.S. companies and government agencies to drop any business with Chinese telecommunications companies Huawei Technologies Ltd. and ZTE Corp. because of the security risks they pose.
"Any bug, beacon or backdoor put into our critical systems could allow for a catastrophic and devastating domino effect of failures throughout our networks," Rogers said in a statement accompanying the report.
But a blanket prohibition on technology linked to the Chinese government may be easier said than done. Information systems are often a complicated assembly of parts manufactured by different companies around the globe. And investigating where each part came from, and if that part is made by a company that could have ties to the Chinese government could be difficult.
Huawei, the third-largest maker of smartphones, says it is owned by its employees and rejects claims that it is controlled by the communist government or China's military.
Depending on how the Obama administration interprets the law, Baker said it also could cause problems for the U.S. with the World Trade Organization, whose members include U.S. allies like Germany and Britain that might rely on Chinese technology to build computers or handsets.
But in the end, Baker says it could make the U.S. government safer and wiser.
"We do have to worry about buying equipment from companies that may not have our best interests at heart," he said.
___
Follow Anne Flaherty on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AnneKFlaherty.
GW professor researching ways to improve human tissue dissection, reduce blood transfusionsPublic release date: 26-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Latarsha Gatlin lgatlin@gwu.edu 202-994-5631 George Washington University
WASHINGTON A George Washington University researcher recently received a grant to study ways to cut human tissue more efficiently, an effort that could minimize the need for blood transfusions and other products for patients during surgery.
Surgery comes with its own set of hazards but the introduction of outside blood or blood products can put a patient at even greater risk. Michael Keidar, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Science at George Washington University, has been awarded a $445,000, five-year grant by U.S. Patent Innovations Inc. to develop technology that would limit such introductions by making plasma cutters and coagulators more effective.
Plasma cutters work by sending a pressurized gas, such as argon through a small channel. Through the channel, a negatively charged electrode is emitted and a spark is generated. As the gas passes through the channel, the spark heats the gas until it turns to plasma. This reaction creates a stream of directed plasma, which can be used to create precise incisions in medical patients and tissue.
Plasma, not to be confused with blood plasma which is the liquid component of blood and normally holds blood cells, is one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with solid, liquid and gas. Like gas, plasma does not have a defined shape or volume however unlike gas, it can be manipulated for use as beams or lasers.
Dr. Keidar's research will explore the range and parameters of plasma in several, currently used devices and investigate the effects of adjusting such variables as the flow rate and voltage to plasma, monitoring tissue reaction to those changes and identifying if the modifications are valuable to the commercial marketplace.
"Our main objective is to understand the basic physics of the plasma phenomena as well as plasma interaction with living tissue" said Dr. Keidar. "We will use existing devices and apply a variety of plasma diagnostics as well tissue temperature measurements to study physics. I expect that this research will lead to new devices and new applications."
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GW School of Engineering and Applied Science
GW's School of Engineering and Applied Science prepares engineers and applied scientists to address society's technological challenges by offering outstanding undergraduate, graduate, and professional educational experiences and by providing innovative, fundamental, and applied research activities. The school has five academic departments, 11 research centers, 90 faculty, and more than 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Core areas of academic excellence include biomedical engineering, cybersecurity, high performance computing, nanotechnologies, robotics, and transportation safety.
George Washington University
In the heart of the nation's capital with additional programs in Virginia, the George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the District of Columbia. The university offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study, as well as degree programs in medicine, public health, law, engineering, education, business and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of undergraduate, graduate and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 130 countries.
-GW-
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
GW professor researching ways to improve human tissue dissection, reduce blood transfusionsPublic release date: 26-Mar-2013 [ | E-mail | Share ]
Contact: Latarsha Gatlin lgatlin@gwu.edu 202-994-5631 George Washington University
WASHINGTON A George Washington University researcher recently received a grant to study ways to cut human tissue more efficiently, an effort that could minimize the need for blood transfusions and other products for patients during surgery.
Surgery comes with its own set of hazards but the introduction of outside blood or blood products can put a patient at even greater risk. Michael Keidar, associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering at the School of Engineering and Applied Science at George Washington University, has been awarded a $445,000, five-year grant by U.S. Patent Innovations Inc. to develop technology that would limit such introductions by making plasma cutters and coagulators more effective.
Plasma cutters work by sending a pressurized gas, such as argon through a small channel. Through the channel, a negatively charged electrode is emitted and a spark is generated. As the gas passes through the channel, the spark heats the gas until it turns to plasma. This reaction creates a stream of directed plasma, which can be used to create precise incisions in medical patients and tissue.
Plasma, not to be confused with blood plasma which is the liquid component of blood and normally holds blood cells, is one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with solid, liquid and gas. Like gas, plasma does not have a defined shape or volume however unlike gas, it can be manipulated for use as beams or lasers.
Dr. Keidar's research will explore the range and parameters of plasma in several, currently used devices and investigate the effects of adjusting such variables as the flow rate and voltage to plasma, monitoring tissue reaction to those changes and identifying if the modifications are valuable to the commercial marketplace.
"Our main objective is to understand the basic physics of the plasma phenomena as well as plasma interaction with living tissue" said Dr. Keidar. "We will use existing devices and apply a variety of plasma diagnostics as well tissue temperature measurements to study physics. I expect that this research will lead to new devices and new applications."
###
GW School of Engineering and Applied Science
GW's School of Engineering and Applied Science prepares engineers and applied scientists to address society's technological challenges by offering outstanding undergraduate, graduate, and professional educational experiences and by providing innovative, fundamental, and applied research activities. The school has five academic departments, 11 research centers, 90 faculty, and more than 2,500 undergraduate and graduate students. Core areas of academic excellence include biomedical engineering, cybersecurity, high performance computing, nanotechnologies, robotics, and transportation safety.
George Washington University
In the heart of the nation's capital with additional programs in Virginia, the George Washington University was created by an Act of Congress in 1821. Today, GW is the largest institution of higher education in the District of Columbia. The university offers comprehensive programs of undergraduate and graduate liberal arts study, as well as degree programs in medicine, public health, law, engineering, education, business and international affairs. Each year, GW enrolls a diverse population of undergraduate, graduate and professional students from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and more than 130 countries.
-GW-
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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Now that The Place Beyond the Pines is hitting theaters, we're gearing up for some quality time with our boyfriend Ryan Gosling. (Okay, fine, he's not our boyfriend, but as soon as Eva Mendes is done with him, we call dibs.) Though he's threatened to take a break from acting -- say it ain't so! -- he's given us plenty of magical moments to re-watch over and over.
Domestic workers in Hong Kong have long been treated a notch below other foreign workers, and are told that admission into the country can never be for the purposes of settlement.
By Robert Marquand,?Staff writer / March 25, 2013
Sringatin, a member of a domestic workers union, cries outside the Court of Final Appeal in Hong Kong Monday, March 25, 2013. Hong Kong's top court ruled against two Filipino domestic helpers seeking permanent residency Monday, the final decision in a case that affects tens of thousands of other foreign maids in the southern Chinese financial hub.
Kin Cheung/AP
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Hong Kong?s top court announced that foreigners can enter the city as maids and domestic helpers, but cannot expect to settle there as permanent residents.
Skip to next paragraph Robert Marquand
Staff writer
Over the past three decades, Robert Marquand has reported on a wide variety of subjects for?The Christian Science Monitor, including American education reform,?the wars in the Balkans, the Supreme Court, South Asian politics, and the oft-cited "rise of China." In the past 15 years he has served as the Monitor's bureau chief in Paris, Beijing, and New Delhi.?
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The verdict deals a blow to a huge contingent of Filipino maids and nannies ? estimated at some 300,000 females, usually unmarried and under 35 ? who make up a diaspora in Hong Kong. The domestic workers are increasingly seen as an indispensable part of the fast-paced city's social fabric, helping keep the Chinese family working and orderly in a highly competitive environment.
Yet sadly for the maids, today?s ruling reverses a lower court verdict that would have allowed the women?to seek residency.?Had it been upheld, the ruling would have been a breakthrough for the rights of domestic workers, who often complain of overwork, second-class status, and occasionally, abuse.
The system for foreign workers in Hong Kong is stratified. As CNN notes today:
While other foreign workers can apply for permanent residency after spending seven consecutive years in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, domestic helpers are excluded from the law.
Justice Ma wrote in his ruling that foreign domestic helpers are "told from the outset that admission is not for the purposes of settlement."
The ruling was greeted with disappointment by campaigners.
"It's very unfortunate and it's sad but in a way it will make us stronger as it highlights the social exclusion that foreign domestic workers face in Hong Kong," said Cynthia Tellez, General Manager of the?United Filipinos in Hong Kong.
In recent years the ubiquitous Filipino maid has become a staple part of Hong Kong culture. They are known for hard work, dignity, and efficiency. Collectively, they have built a kind of mini-civic society: They have their own postal system, often police themselves, have a variety of support groups, and even run ballots and campaigns for elections back home.
Most middle- and upper-echelon Hong Kong families hire a maid, and apartments usually include a tiny space as the maid?s quarters or abode.
For many years on Sundays, usually their only day off, Filipino nannies peacefully and colorfully gathered in central Hong Kong, along the main boulevard, past the city hall and the old Admiralty building, putting down blankets or chairs and pulling out lunch baskets, stretching out two-or three deep on a sidewalk in a line that often is a half-mile long.
Yet the right of maids to assemble has been under attack, and their overall legal status has been shrinking, as the city contemplates the costs (said to be $3 billion or more) of offering them the kinds of equal access that would involve education and other social services.
The South China Morning Post writes:
The judgment ends the right of abode saga started by a judicial review sought by Evangeline Vallejos Banao, a mother of five, who has worked in Hong Kong since 1986. She had argued that an immigration provision barring domestic workers from permanent residency was unconstitutional.
Mark Daly, a lawyer for Vallejos, said his client was ?speechless but calmly resigned and said ?no problem.?
Vallejos won a High Court ruling in 2011 granting her the right to request permanent residency status, denied to the city?s 300,000 foreign maids until then. The decision however was overturned later on a government appeal.
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Public release date: 26-Mar-2013
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