Stocks soar on budget deal, but problems lurk

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The ?fiscal cliff? compromise, for all its chaos and controversy, was enough to send the stock market shooting higher Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

A trader works on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The ?fiscal cliff? compromise, for all its chaos and controversy, was enough to send the stock market shooting higher Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The ?fiscal cliff? compromise, for all its chaos and controversy, was enough to send the stock market shooting higher Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The ?fiscal cliff? compromise, for all its chaos and controversy, was enough to send the stock market shooting higher Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange in New York, Wednesday, Jan. 2, 2013. The ?fiscal cliff? compromise, for all its chaos and controversy, was enough to send the stock market shooting higher Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

NEW YORK (AP) ? The "fiscal cliff" compromise, even with all its chaos, controversy and unresolved questions, was enough to ignite the stock market on Wednesday, the first trading day of the new year.

The Dow Jones industrial average careened more than 300 points higher, its biggest gain since December 2011. It's now just 5 percent below its record high close reached in October 2007. The Russell 2000, an index that tracks smaller companies, shot up to 873.42, the highest close in its history.

The reverie multiplied across the globe, with stock indexes throughout Europe and Asia leaping higher. A leading British index, the FTSE 100, closed above 6,000 for the first time since July 2011, at 6,027.37.

In the U.S., the rally was extraordinarily broad. For every stock that fell on the New York Stock Exchange, roughly 10 rose. All 30 stocks that make up the Dow rose, as did 94 percent of the stocks in the Standard & Poor's 500 index.

U.S. government bond prices dipped sharply as investors pulled money out of safe-harbor investments. And the VIX, the "fear index" that measures investors' expectations of future market volatility, plunged more than 18 percent to 14.68, the lowest close since October.

The very last week of each year and the first two days of the new year usually average out to a gain for U.S. stocks. But the size of this year's gains made it stand out.

The Dow has risen on the first day of the trading year for each of the past four years, from 2009 to 2012. The average gain was 171 points ? sizable, but still much smaller than Wednesday's leap of 308.41.

In the midst of the euphoria, many investors remained cautious. The deal that politicians hammered out merely postpones the country's budget reckoning, they said, rather than averting it.

"Washington negotiations remind me of the Beach Boys song, 'We'll have fun, fun, fun 'til her daddy takes the T-Bird away,'" Jack Ablin, chief investment officer of BMO Private Bank in Chicago, wrote in a note to clients.

"Nothing got solved," added T. Doug Dale, chief investment officer for Security Ballew Wealth Management in Jackson, Miss.

According to these and other market watchers, investors were celebrating Wednesday not because they love the budget deal that was cobbled together, but because they were grateful there was any deal at all.

"Most people think that no deal would have been worse than a bad deal," said Mark Lehmann, president of JMP Securities in San Francisco.

The House passed the budget bill late Tuesday night, a contentious exercise because many Republicans had wanted a deal that did more to cut government spending. The Senate had already approved the bill.

The late-night haggling was a product of lawmakers wanting to avert a sweeping set of government spending cuts and tax increases that kicked in Tuesday, the start of the new year, because there was no budget deal ready. The scenario came to be known as the fiscal cliff, because of the threat it posed to the fragile U.S. economic recovery.

The bill that passed Tuesday night ended the stalemate for now, but it leaves many questions unanswered.

The deal doesn't include any significant deficit-cutting agreement, meaning the country still doesn't have a long-term plan or even an agreement in principle on how to rein in spending. Big cuts to defense and domestic programs, which were slated to kick in with the new year, weren't worked out but instead were just delayed for two months. And the U.S. is still bumping up against its borrowing limit, or "debt ceiling."

"There's definitely another drama coming down the road," said Lehmann. "That's the March cliff."

The political bickering that's almost certain to persist could have another unwelcome effect: influencing ratings agencies to cut the U.S. government's credit score. That happened before, when Standard & Poor's cut its rating on U.S. government debt in August 2011, and the stock market plunged.

Even so, Wednesday's performance gave no hint of the dark clouds on the horizon.

The Dow enjoyed big gains throughout the day, up by more than 200 points within minutes of the opening bell. It swelled even bigger in the final half hour of trading, and closed up 2.4 percent to 13,412.55.

The Standard & Poor's 500 jumped 36.23, or 2.5 percent, to 1,462.42. The Nasdaq rose 92.75, or 3.1 percent, to 3,112.26.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose sharply, to 1.84 percent from 1.75 percent. Prices for oil and key metals were up. The price of copper, which can be a gauge of how investors feel about manufacturing, rose 2.3 percent. The Dow Jones transportation index rose to its highest point since July 2011.

The gains persisted despite small reminders that there are still serious problems punctuating the world economy, like middling growth in the U.S. and the still-unsolved European debt crisis. The government reported that U.S. builders spent less on construction projects in November, the first decline in eight months. And the president of debt-wracked Cyprus said he'd refuse to sell government-owned companies, a provision that the country's bailout deal says it must at least consider.

Among stocks making big moves, Zipcar shot up 48 percent, rising $3.94 to $12.18, after the company said it would sell itself to Avis. Avis rose 5 percent, up 95 cents to $20.77.

Marriott rose 4 percent, up $1.52 to $38.79, after SunTrust analysts upgraded the stock to "buy." Headphone maker Skullcandy dropped 13 percent, losing 99 cents to $6.80, after Jefferies analysts downgraded it to "underperform."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-01-02-Wall%20Street/id-30c9ca4a5331408186315a987df02b8b

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Sorting stem cells: Scientists propose a new way to isolate early stage embryonic stem cells

Jan. 3, 2013 ? When an embryonic stem cell is in the first stage of its development it has the potential to grow into any type of cell in the body, a state scientists call undifferentiated. A team of researchers from Scotland has now demonstrated a way to easily distinguish undifferentiated embryonic stem cells from later-stage stem cells whose fate is sealed.

The results are published in the American Institute of Physics' (AIP) journal Biomicrofluidics.

The researchers used an electric field to pull stem cells through a fluid in a process called dielectrophoresis. They varied the frequency of the voltage used to generate the electric field and studied how the cells moved, a response that was affected by the cell's electrical properties. The researchers found that differentiated stem cells could store a significantly greater charge on their outer membranes, a characteristic that might be used to effectively identify and separate them from undifferentiated cells.

The researchers write that the wrinkling, folding, and thinning of a cell's membrane as it differentiates may explain why the later-stage cells can store more charge. The sorting method may prove useful in separating cells for biomedical research or ultimately for treatments of diseases such as Parkinson's.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by American Institute of Physics (AIP), via Newswise.

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Journal Reference:

1. Srinivas Velugotla, Steve Pells, Heidi K. Mjoseng, Cairnan R. E. Duffy, Stewart Smith, Paul De Sousa, Ronald Pethig. Dielectrophoresis based discrimination of human embryonic stem cells from differentiating derivatives. Biomicrofluidics, 2012; 6 (4): 044113 DOI: 10.1063/1.4771316

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/matter_energy/biochemistry/~3/3iEvcLX9Ruo/130103130758.htm

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Pilot Catches Thief at His Home During Fly-By

Pilot David Zehntner was flying his personal plane from North Carolina to his Florida home when he decided to fly over his house and saw something unusual.

"He observed a silver truck with white camper in his driveway and lowered his altitude to get a closer look," the Charlotte County Sheriff's office said in a news release. "He saw a man looking into the windows of his home then attach his red trailer and pull out of his driveway."

Zehntner called the police and then began following the thief in his plane.

The runaway trailer was located by authorities who stopped the robber at a traffic stop. Gary Robert Haines, 59, of Stafford, Va., was arrested and charged with grand theft, police said. By then, Zehntner had landed his plane and came to the scene to get his trailer back.

Police found a loaded rifle and bullets inside of Haines' pickup truck, the report said.

Haines was taken to Charlotte County jail and released on Monday on $2,500 bond. Authorities are still investigating the theft and the weapons that were found in the pickup.

Zehntner did not respond to request for comment.

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/blogs/abc-blogs/pilot-catches-thief-home-during-fly-110048406--abc-news-topstories.html

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The International Society for Krishna Consciousness

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His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Founder-Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness

The message of the Vedas, India?s ancient spiritual and philosophical texts, is that the human form of life is meant for reviving our original God consciousness through the practice of spiritual discipline. The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) is a worldwide, nonsectarian movement dedicated to propagating this message for the benefit of mankind. The Society was founded in 1966 by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, who had come to the United States a year earlier on the order of his spiritual master (Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami) to teach Krishna consciousness in the Western world.

Over the years, ISKCON has steadily grown in popularity and influence, and today it is widely recognized by theologians, scholars and laymen as a genuine and important spiritual movement. The reason for this is twofold: first, the philosophy which guides the lives of ISKCON?s members is grounded firmly in the teachings of the Vedic literatures, specifically the Bhagavad-gita and the Srimad-Bhagavatam; second, the spiritual master and founder of ISKCON, His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, is a leader of substantial erudition and integrity. As the current representative of an unbroken chain of self-realized spiritual masters, reaching back to Lord Krishna Himself, His Divine Grace is the leading exponent of Vedic culture in the world today.

Fire ceremony sanctifies initiation of new devotees. Essentially unchanged for thousands of years, the Vedic rite shows the authenticity of ISKCON?s life-style.

ISKCON is an educational, cultural, and philosophical movement with nearly one hundred centers in thirty countries throughout the world. These centers enable full-time members to live in close association, following the principles of Vedic life, and also provide a place where interested visitors can learn about the philosophy and culture of Krishna consciousness and participate in its various functions.

The members of ISKCON are of all ages, of varying degrees of education, and from many walks of life: students, teachers, scientists, servicemen, laborers and professionals. Indeed, numerous races, creeds and nationalities are represented in ISKCON. The unifying characteristics that bring such diverse individuals to Krishna consciousness are high ethical standards and a sincere desire to understand spiritual truth. As a prerequisite for the serious pursuit of spiritual life, all devotees voluntarily abstain from meat-eating, illicit sex, intoxication and gambling.

Traditional play highlights ISKCON?s cultural activities, dramatizing events from Sanskrit literature. Arts unify worship and education.

In contrast to the complexity and anxiety of modern life, the Krishna conscious life-style is based on the principle of ?simple living and high thinking.? Devotees rise very early?about 4:00 A.M.?and spend the morning hours in meditation and study; attending classes in the profound and practical philosophy of Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srila Prabhupada?s translations of these two Vedic classics are regarded by many scholars as the most erudite and authoritative available. In the morning hours, the devotees also meditate on the maha-mantra, composed of the following transcendental names of God: Hare Krishna, Hare Krishna, Krishna Krishna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Vedic literature states that this meditation is the simplest and most sublime process for reviving God consciousness in the current materialistic age.

Network TV plays host to Krishna devotees on the David Susskind show. Hundreds of mass-media presentations have familiarized Americans with the practices and views of ISKCON.

During the day, the main activity is preaching Krishna consciousness. Many devotees go out to public places to distribute the Society?s books and its official journal, Back to Godhead magazine, which has a monthly circulation of more than a million copies in thirteen languages. This literature is provided by the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust, the publishing arm of ISKCON, which is the exclusive publisher for the works of His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Since its inception in 1972, the BBT has quickly become the world?s largest publisher and distributor of English and foreign-language editions of India?s spiritual classics. To date, the BBT has published a total of sixty 400-page hardbound volumes, each profusely illustrated with original paintings by devotee artists. It is principally through the distribution of this literature (as well as by contributions from members and well-wishers) that the Society is financially maintained.

Editorial and graphic arts divisions of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust are housed in this building in residential Los Angeles.

In addition to book distribution, devotees engage in a wide variety of activities, including teaching, outside jobs, artistic pursuits, and farming. The qualification in Krishna consciousness is not the kind of work one performs, but that it be done in the spirit of devotion to God. As Lord Krishna tells His devotee Arjuna in the Bhagavad-gita, ?All that you do should be done as an offering unto Me.? (Bg. 9.27)

Once a year, the members of ISKCON journey to the Society?s international headquarters at Sridhama Mayapur, West Bengal, India. Srila Prabhupada has proposed establishing an Institute of Vedic Studies at this site, where visitors from all over the world can learn about Vedic culture and witness it in practice. Presently the world center includes a large facility for massive distribution of food to thousands of needy families. Another major Indian center is in Vrindavan, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, where the Society has recently opened the magnificent Krishna-Balarama Temple and International Guest House.

Back to Godhead magazine rolls off the presses as BBT officials check quality of printing. The publication has a monthly circulation of more than one million.

In the United States and other countries, ISKCON has established a series of rural asramas, each a model of Vedic agrarian life. A voiding modern farm machinery as far as possible, they demonstrate that a human being need not depend on the artificial economy of the city. He can live peacefully and simply in the country while pursuing a spiritual life.

For the children of ISKCON there is Gurukula, the Society?s primary and secondary school system. Taught by academically qualified members of the Society, the children learn Vedic language and culture as well as the usual subjects like English, math, and history. The unique feature of Gurukula is that the entire educational process is centered around the goal of self-realization.

Throughout the wor

Propagating Krishna consciousness is a major daily activity of ISKCON?s members. Here a devotee shows the Bhagavad-gita As It Is to an interested couple in New York?s Central Park.

ld, the Krishna Consciousness Society has been recognized for its cultural and welfare activities. Mayors and law enforcement officials in major metropolitan areas have praised the Society for its success in helping young people overcome drug dependence. Addictions? Magazine declared, ?Krishna consciousness is close to one hundred percent successful in stopping drug use.? The mayor of San Francisco has proclaimed a Ratha-yatra Day in honor of the spectacular festival held annually by ISKCON. In addition, ISKCON is establishing centers for Vedic studies in several major American cities to enable college students and residents to take courses in Vedic philosophy, religion, arts, social thought and psychology.

Thus the International Society for Krishna Consciousness?a dynamic and effective spiritual movement?is making a significant contribution to the intellectual, cultural and spiritual life of contemporary man.

Exquisite ISKCON temple in Vrindavan, India, the birthplace of Lord Krishna, was constructed in 1974 and is already a popular pilgrimage site. International Guest House stands in rear.

First building of a future city, this dormitory rises above the fertile Ganges plain at ISKCON?s world headquarters in Mayapur, West Bengal, India.

Free food distribution at Mayapur aids Indian families. Col. D. R. Suri of UNICEF declared, ?The Society has been rendering a humane service by distributing foodstuff in West Bengal.? Former United States ambassador to India Kenneth Keating said, ?You have my admiration and blessings for your selfless work.?

Cow protection, a mainstay of Vedic culture, contributes to the prosperity of ISKCON?s many farm communities.

Rolling hills of West Virginia cradle ISKCON?s flourishing New Vrindavan farm. Begun in 1968, it now spreads over one thousanand acres and has over a hundred devoted workers.

Personalized teaching insures a high standard of education at Gurukula, ISKCON?s primary and secondary school system. In his book Hare Krishna and the Counterculture (John Wiley and Sons, Inc.), Dr. J. Stillson Judah of the Graduate Theological Union says, ?The student is taught to be kind to everyone, not to be quarrelsome, to be charitable, clean, benevolent, self-controlled, completely devoted to God and free from material desires.?

Tens of thousands join ISKCON?s Ratha-yatra Festival in dozens of cities worldwide. Mayor Joseph Alioto officially proclaimed ?Ratha-yatra Day? in honor of the San Francisco celebration.

Source: http://krishna.org/the-international-society-for-krishna-consciousness/

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NHL, union dig in for a long day of talks

NEW YORK (AP) ? The NHL and the union are back at the bargaining table and seem determined to work toward a deal to save the hockey season.

A full day of talks was planned for Tuesday, one day after negotiations resumed following nearly three weeks apart. On Monday, the players' association presented a counterproposal to an offer made by the league late last week. The NHL spent Monday night reviewing the document, then got together again with the union Tuesday.

Small groups from each side were to meet or confer by conference call during the afternoon about provisions of a potential collective bargaining agreement. A full meeting of negotiating teams wasn't expected at the league office before 5 p.m. EST.

What is clear is that time has become a real factor.

"We've said we need to drop the puck by Jan. 19 if we're going to play a 48-game season," Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "We don't think it makes sense to play a season any shorter than that."

That leaves a little less than two weeks to reach an agreement and hold one week of training camp before starting the season. All games through Jan. 14 have been canceled, claiming more than 50 percent of the original schedule.

The NHL is the only North American professional sports league to cancel a season because of a labor dispute, losing the 2004-05 campaign to a lockout. A 48-game season was played in 1995 after a lockout stretched into January.

The NHL was supposed to be celebrating its annual outdoor Winter Classic between the Toronto Maple Leafs and Detroit Red Wings on Tuesday ? the 108th day of the lockout ? at Michigan Stadium. But that game was canceled long ago along with the All-Star game.

Monday's talks marked the first time the NHL and union met in person since Dec. 13. Bettman says a deal must be reached by Jan. 11 so the season can begin eight days later.

When the sides met Monday, the union brought a condensed counterproposal in response to the NHL's 288-page contract offer. There were some discussions between the negotiators and some time spent apart in internal meetings.

Neither side would elaborate on what was offered in either proposal or characterize any of Monday's discussions that union executive director Donald Fehr said "weren't terribly long."

"There was an opportunity for the players to highlight the areas they thought we should focus on based on their response, and that's something we've got to look at very closely in addition to the myriad of other issues," Bettman said. "The process continues and we're anticipating getting back together."

That neither offer was quickly dismissed could be taken as a positive sign that perhaps the gap has narrowed.

"I'm out of the prediction business," Fehr said. "You get up every day and you try to figure out how to make an agreement that day, and if it fails you try and do it the next day. That's exactly where we are."

Bettman also reserved judgment when asked if progress was made.

"I think it would be premature for me to characterize it and not particularly helpful to the process," he said.

It is still possible this dispute eventually could be settled in the courts if the sides can't reach a deal on their own.

The NHL filed a class-action suit this month in U.S. District Court in New York in an effort to show its lockout is legal. In a separate move, the league filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board, contending bad-faith bargaining by the union.

Those moves were made because the players' association took steps toward potentially declaring a "disclaimer of interest," which would dissolve the union and make it a trade association. That would allow players to file antitrust lawsuits against the NHL.

Union members voted overwhelmingly to give their board the power to file the disclaimer by Wednesday. If that deadline passes, another authorization vote could be held to approve a later filing.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/nhl-union-dig-long-day-talks-173313665--nhl.html

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Column: Gun debate revives enduring American fight (The Arizona Republic)

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