Wall Street drops on growth fears, quarter remains positive

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks fell on Friday as investors locked in gains at the end of a strong quarter and amid uncertainty ahead of the result of stress tests on Spanish banks.

Equities added to their losses following a weaker-than-expected read on the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago's index of Midwest business activity, which fell to 49.7 in September from 53.0 in August.

The final read on the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey on consumer sentiment was also less than expected, though it advanced to its highest in four months.

"We had been seeing good data recently, but now we seem to be following the slowdown in China and Europe and we're seeing weakness," said Paul Nolte, managing director at Dearborn Partners in Chicago.

A plan for economic reform in Spain had sparked a rally Thursday, though the bank stress-test results and a review of Spain's credit rating by Moody's, both due later in the day, could compound the nation's challenges in dealing with its debt.

Investors are also worried about anti-austerity protests across Europe, which could make political maneuvering more difficult.

Trading was light following Thursday's gains and on the last day of the quarter, when money managers reposition their portfolios. The S&P has advanced 5.5 percent over the past three months.

All ten S&P sectors fell, though losses were limited in technology as U.S. shares of Research in Motion rocketed 13 percent to $8.04 on the back of a smaller-than-expected quarterly loss.

Nike Inc warned of slowing orders in China, the latest company to caution on how economic weakness in the Asian giant was impacting its business. Shares fell 2.4 percent to $93.63 and pressured consumer discretionary stocks down 0.9 percent as weakest on the day.

The Dow Jones industrial average was down 111.61 points, or 0.83 percent, at 13,374.36. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index was down 10.17 points, or 0.70 percent, at 1,436.98. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 20.60 points, or 0.66 percent, at 3,116.00.

The S&P is down 1.6 percent this week so far, for a second straight week in the red, though Thursday's rally narrowed the losses from five straight days of declines. The Dow is down 1.5 percent for the week and the Nasdaq is down 2 percent.

Wall Street's gains in the quarter were largely linked to expectations for measures by central banks around the world to boost their economies.

After those expectations were met, stocks have struggled for direction and trading has been thin, as investors looked to new catalysts amid lackluster data and lowered corporate earnings outlooks. Advance Micro Devices , which cut its outlook in July, has slumped 41 percent to be the S&P's worst performer this quarter.

U.S. consumer spending rose in August by the most in six months as households stretched to pay for higher gasoline prices, according to a Commerce Department report.

There may be volatility on Friday as investors "window dress," or undergo a last-minute push to reposition portfolios ahead of the quarter's end. MetroPCS and Sprint Nextel are the S&P's two biggest gainers in the quarter, with the former almost doubling in value.

(Editing by Bernadette Baum)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/wall-street-opens-lower-last-day-quarter-134617078--finance.html

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Rhode Island nightclub fire site donated for memorial to victims

CAMBRIDGE, Massachusetts (Reuters) - A Rhode Island land owner on Friday donated the site of a nightclub where 100 people died in a 2003 fire for a long-planned permanent memorial to victims of the nightmarish blaze.

Ray Villanova transferred the site in West Warwick, Rhode Island, to The Station Fire Memorial Foundation, an organization of victims' friends and relatives, said Victoria Eagan, the group's vice president and a survivor of the fire.

The property had been tied up in litigation for years, she said.

On February 20, 2003, sparks from the hard rock band Great White's fireworks show ignited the small wooden building's highly flammable foam sound insulation. Nearly a third of the crowd of 458 people were trapped.

In addition to those who died, some 200 people were injured. Many of the survivors were left with permanent injuries, such as burns and missing limbs.

Since the blaze, mourners have maintained a temporary memorial on the property, originally erecting 100 crosses fashioned from debris from the nightclub.

In 2009, hundreds of survivors and victims' relatives reached a $176 million settlement with more than 50 defendants in cases filed as a result of the fire.

The band's tour manager and two men who owned the nightclub pleaded guilty to 100 counts of involuntary manslaughter.

Eagan said the group would move ahead with plans for the memorial, with groundbreaking next year on the 10th anniversary of the fire.

"This is a very, very positive milestone toward the last step, we feel, in getting a permanent memorial built," said Eagan. "We're very humbled and honored to be the people entrusted with this responsibility."

A lawyer representing Villanova in the transfer of the property deed did not immediately respond to a message seeking comment.

(Editing by Ellen Wulfhorst)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/rhode-island-nightclub-fire-donated-memorial-victims-185900291.html

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New fish species offers literal take on 'hooking up'

Friday, September 28, 2012

Fishing hooks aren't the only hooks found in east-central Mexican waters.

A new species of freshwater fish described by a North Carolina State University researcher has several interesting ? and perhaps cringe-inducing ? characteristics, including a series of four hooks on the male genitalia.

Females of the new species ? the llanos mosquitofish, or Gambusia quadruncus ? also have distinguishing characteristics, including a colorful anal spot.

A paper describing the new species, which lives in a diversity hotspot and seemingly branched off from its closest relative more than one million years ago, appears in the Journal of Fish Biology.

Dr. Brian Langerhans, assistant professor of biology at NC State and the lead author of the paper, says that these interesting characteristics may play important roles in mating control and success.

While more research is needed, Langerhans says that four-hooked genitalia on males can serve a purpose when females attempt to block or restrict mating attempts.

"Typically, reproduction is more costly in females, so females favor ways of reducing mating with 'lower quality' males," Langerhans says, "but reproduction is cheap in males and so selection favors ways of mating with as many females as possible. In Gambusia, some females, including G. quadruncus, have evolved modifications that appear to function as a blocking device ? essentially a big ball of tissue blocking most of the genital pore ? restricting entry of the male's gonopodial tip. Thus, the female would have to behaviorally allow the male to mate or the male would have to evolve a counter response to avoid this problem."

The four-hooked genitalia could be that counter-response, Langerhans says.

"Having four hooks on the gonopodium may provide a means of overcoming female resistance, latching on to the gonopore and transferring sperm in a manner that facilitates effective sperm transfer. Or it may serve to stimulate the female in a manner that causes responses in the female that facilitate effective sperm transfer," Langerhans says.

Somewhat similarly, the colorful anal spot on females appears to serve as a signal that only certain males are desired for mating.

"The differing, species-specific female anal spots appear to influence male mating behavior by signaling the location of the gonopore to the male, sometimes indicating the reproductive status of the female, and distinguishing fish of their own species from fish of other species to reduce costly cross-breeding, which can result in fish with reduced fitness," Langerhans says. "So it may be that G. quadruncus evolved different anal spots to help reduce interspecies matings and possible formation of hybrids."

###

North Carolina State University: http://www.ncsu.edu

Thanks to North Carolina State University for this article.

This press release was posted to serve as a topic for discussion. Please comment below. We try our best to only post press releases that are associated with peer reviewed scientific literature. Critical discussions of the research are appreciated. If you need help finding a link to the original article, please contact us on twitter or via e-mail.

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Source: http://www.labspaces.net/123959/New_fish_species_offers_literal_take_on__hooking_up_

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Squats! So easy a child can do them! ? North Jersey Health & Fitness

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?A quick fact about squats: squatting below parallel is not only NOT bad for your knees, but they are actually good for them. Why? Because squatting above parallel actually results in putting unnatural stress on your knees. By not allowing the quads, hips, hamstrings, and glutes to perform the complete range of motion, it creates muscular imbalances that produce shearing forces on the knees. In other words, not squatting below parallel is what?s really bad for your knees and it?s full squats that will actually increase knee joint stability (when performed correctly).

The only way squats can be bad for your knees is if you don?t work on your form. That?s why when it comes to this exercise you have to leave your ego at the door before you set foot in the gym. It?s not about how heavy you can squat, but how heavy you can squat WITH GOOD FORM.?

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Sorce: http://vonsfitnesstips.com

Source: http://www.northjerseyhealthandfitness.com/2012/09/27/squats-so-easy-a-child-can-do-them/

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Avon Online Marketing Tips ? Internet Marketing Guide

Avon Online Marketing Tips

Avon online marketing tip 1: brand yourself, not your company. Naturally as a home based business owner, you want to go straight into talking about your company- your company?s history, founders, products, service, compensation plan, etc. That is actually the wrong way to go when marketing online. Remember, people are joining you, not your business. So you must brand yourself. It?s very important that you learn to sell yourself, your knowledge, your expertise, your experience, and your skills. Pitching your company will not set yourself apart from all the other home based business owners who are doing the exact, same thing. Setting yourself apart from the crowd is a must. You have to determine what makes you unique. Learn to brand yourself by giving value, by helping others, by providing solutions to your prospects? problems. That is the most effective way people will join you.

Avon online marketing tip 2: use a domain name. In order to successfully market your business online, you must have a domain name forwarded to your company website. There are a couple of reasons why you should do this. The main reason is to help your prospects to find you on various search engines. The second reason is for branding purposes. Everyone in your network marketing company has the exact, same web address minus the username or IBO number attached at the end. You can?t possibly brand yourself using the same website address as everyone else. This is why you need a domain name.

Avon online marketing tip 3: use customizable capture pages. A customizable capture page is another must. A capture page allows you have a website that?s unique to you and it allows you to have a unique message directed to your prospects. Next, a capture page allows your prospects to place their name and contact information in an opt-in form, in exchange for further information. Once someone opts into your site; they become your lead and that is powerful because it turns a cold lead into a warm lead.

Avon online marketing tip 4: use an email auto-responder. An email auto-responder is one of the most important components needed for online marketing. An email auto-responder is where all you leads will be saved. This is extremely powerful because it allows you to actually own your own leads. So if for some reason you had to leave your company, you would still have access to all your leads. The other great thing about an email auto-responder is that it allows you to send email messages, newsletters, videos, blog posts, etc. to all your leads at once. Lastly, having an email auto-responder allows you to monetize your leads. When you?re sending emails and newsletters to your prospects, you could inform them of new company products, promotions, bonuses, etc., which results in more cash flow for your business.

Avon online marketing tip 5: use a marketing system. The beauty of using a marketing system is that it?s already set in place. All you have to do is follow the step by step instructions. A marketing system does four essential things. One, it helps you generate targeted leads. Two, it helps generate cash flow. Three, it offers extensive online marketing training, whether it?s training on how to use blogs, videos, pay per click, list builders, social media, search engine optimization, banners, solo ads, articles, classifieds, forums, etc. Four, it offers duplication, so your downline will have the same, exact training to build their business online, which increases your teams? retention rate of staying in the business. A system also saves you time from having to physically teach each of your teammates how to market online.

These 5 marketing tips are essential if you?re looking to generate any type of success online.

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Source: http://internet-marketing-guide.org/avon-online-marketing-tips/

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Auto Sales Barreling Ahead, But Trucks & SUVs Lag

The U.S. economy is giving mixed signals these days. Stocks are up, as are home sales, but hiring -- though not on the decline -- is often described as anemic.

And yet, the U.S. auto market is charging full-steam ahead. In fact, J.D. Power predicts that the industry will see 12% growth this year, with 11.8 million vehicles sold at retail and another 2.7 million sold to fleet operators, for total sales of 14.5 million.

Power bases those predictions on current sales data, which shows that U.S. consumers are likely to purchase?952,200 new vehicles this month. That's 12% higher than September of last year, and maintains the 12% pace of growth we've seen earlier this year.

Winners, losers

Power says that most segments of the auto market are on track to see big gains in 2012. The biggest of the bunch will likely be?sub-compacts, compacts, and midsize vehicles, which could see sales growth of 25% (or more) above 2011.?

The losers? Midsize utilities and large SUVs.

Our take

J.D. Power's predictions are in keeping with trends we've seen throughout 2012 in the new and used auto markets, most of which are a result of high gas prices. (Today's national average: $3.81.)

In short, current shoppers are looking for fuel-efficient rides. That's why the average fuel economy of new cars sold is on its way up again?and why used vehicles -- especially gas-sippers like the Toyota Prius -- are retaining their values so well.?

The strength of the 2012 auto market is also a reflection of the challenges seen in 2011. Japanese automakers in particular struggled with natural disasters like the Tohoku earthquake and tsunami that struck in March of last year, which was followed a few months later by torrential flooding,?crippling production in Thailand. That caused new-vehicle shortages, which in turn caused prices to stay high, deterring some customers.

But 2012 doesn't just look good by comparison to 2011: it looks good no matter what metric you use. In fact, LMC Automotive (formerly J.D. Power Automotive Forecasting)?predicts that this year's growth spurt will continue in 2013, with total sales of 15 million vehicles, 12.3 million of which will be sold to retail shoppers like us.

If you've got other thoughts about the growth of the auto sector -- or why that growth may/may not continue -- drop us a line, or leave a note in the comments below.

Source: http://www.thecarconnection.com/news/1079393_auto-sales-barreling-ahead-but-trucks-suvs-lag

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Boaters in the Construction Industry - The Hull Truth - Boating and ...

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