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		<title>Instant Breaking News - Business News</title>
		<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/</link>
		<description>Instant Breaking News Articles</description>
		<language>en</language>
		<pubDate>Mon, 06 Feb 2012 04:44:03 -0500</pubDate>

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			<title>New Technology to Lower Car Insurance</title>
			<description><![CDATA[Brand new site has been created to find the cheapest car insurance for where you live.&nbsp; It uses advanced technology to find the cheapest car insu[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Brand new site has been created to find the cheapest car insurance for where you live.&nbsp; It uses advanced technology to find the cheapest car insurance providers for your specific location, car, mileage, and driving history.&nbsp; 

The new site has been rated #1 for over 3 weeks now and user ratings have averaged 3.7/4.0.

Click here to check out the new car insurance site]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/752/New_Technology_to_Lower_Car_Insurance</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/752/New_Technology_to_Lower_Car_Insurance</guid>
			<pubDate>Sat, 20 Feb 2010 21:48:12 -0500</pubDate>
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			<title>US Economy: GDP Shrinks, Worst Recession in 50 Years</title>
			<description><![CDATA[The U.S. economy plunged again in the first quarter, making this the worst recession in at least half a century.
Gross domestic product dropped at a[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[The U.S. economy plunged again in the first quarter, making this the worst recession in at least half a century.
Gross domestic product dropped at a 6.1 percent annual pace, weaker than forecast, after contracting at a 6.3 percent rate in the last three months of 2008, the Commerce Department said today in Washington. The report, which reflected a record slump in inventories and further declines in housing, comes hours before Federal Reserve officials decide how much money to pump into the economy.
Smaller stockpiles may set the stage for a return to growth in the second half of the year amid signs Fed efforts to reduce borrowing costs and unclog lending are starting to pay off. The contraction persisted even as lower gasoline prices and larger tax refunds helped bring an end to the worst slump in consumer spending in almost three decades.
&ldquo;We are likely to emerge from this recession very slowly and the recovery will be very weak,&rdquo; said Richard Berner, chief U.S. economist at Morgan Stanley in New York. &ldquo;The aggressive policy response we have gotten will take time to work, but it will counter the still-strong headwinds holding the economy back.&rdquo;
Stocks rose for the first time in three days as bank shares rallied on an analyst report that non-performing assets will peak this year. The Standard &amp; Poor&rsquo;s 500 Index was up 2.1 percent at 872.76 as of 10:50 a.m. in New York. Treasuries were little changed, with benchmark 10-year notes yielding 2.99 percent.
Slump&rsquo;s Magnitude
The world&rsquo;s largest economy has shrunk 3.3 percent since peaking in last year&rsquo;s second quarter, already making this the second-worst recession since the Great Depression. GDP shrank 3.8 percent during the 1957-58 contraction, according to figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.
The median forecast of 71 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News projected GDP, the sum of all goods and services produced, would shrink at a 4.7 percent pace. Estimates ranged from declines of 2.8 percent to 8 percent. Today&rsquo;s advance report is the first of three estimates on first-quarter growth.
Consumer spending, which accounts for about 70 percent of the economy, climbed at a 2.2 percent annual pace last quarter, the most in two years. Purchases dropped at an average 4.1 percent rate in the last half of 2008, the biggest slide since 1980.
Part of the improvement may be due to government efforts to stem the recession. In its last meeting on March 18, the Fed pledged to double mortgage-debt purchases to $1.45 trillion and buy as much as $300 billion in long-term Treasuries. That&rsquo;s helped bring down rates on mortgages and auto loans.
Fed Statement
The central bank&rsquo;s statement today, due at around 2:15 p.m., may acknowledge that the pace of economic decline has moderated in the past six weeks and may reiterate it will keep the benchmark rate low for an extended period and continue to boost its balance sheet to revive lending.
&ldquo;Most people are saying we could bottom out in the second half of the year, maybe in the third quarter, and then see positive growth again,&rdquo; Christina Romer, the White House&rsquo;s chief economist, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. &ldquo;We&rsquo;re certainly looking for some positive news towards the end of the year.&rdquo;
Companies trimmed stockpiles at a $103.7 billion annual rate last quarter, the biggest drop since records began in 1947. Excluding the reduction, the economy would have contracted at a 3.4 percent pace.
Good and Bad
&ldquo;This is one of those good-bad numbers,&rdquo; Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economic Advisors Inc. in Holland, Pennsylvania, said in a Bloomberg Television interview. &ldquo;Businesses are running about as lean as they possibly can be. It sets up the reality that any sort of increase in demand will cause firms to have to increase production.&rdquo;
As a result, Naroff predicted growth won&rsquo;t &ldquo;be nearly as bad in the current quarter, and will probably be reasonably good.&rdquo;
Companies cut total spending, including equipment, software and construction projects, at a record 38 percent annual pace.
Residential construction also decreased at a 38 percent pace last quarter, the most since 1980.
&ldquo;The hangover from the Bush administration is even worse than we thought,&rdquo; Congresswoman Carolyn B. Maloney, chairman of the Joint Economic Committee, said in a statement. &ldquo;These numbers reflect a drawdown in business inventories and continued weakness in the housing and commercial real estate markets. Americans are starting to spend more and I&rsquo;m optimistic that we will begin to see the effects of the stimulus next quarter.&rdquo;
Obama Stimulus
President Barack Obama signed a $787 billion stimulus plan into law in February that included increases in spending on infrastructure projects and a reduction in taxes.
One reason for the larger-than-projected decline in GDP was that government slashed spending at a 3.9 percent pace, the most since 1995. The drop reflected a cutback in defense spending and the biggest decrease in state and local government outlays since 1981, reflecting slumping tax revenue.
Recent announcements by companies including General Motors Corp. indicate the economy will shrink again this quarter, albeit at a slower pace. GM last week said it will idle 13 U.S. assembly plants for multiple weeks to trim production by 190,000 vehicles from May through July. Sales in its home market fell 49 percent this year through March.
Still, data in recent weeks, including signs of stability in home sales, residential construction and consumer confidence, signal the recession will ease.
Ford Motor Co., working to avoid a federal bailout, is among companies seeing some improvement. The automaker last week posted a first-quarter loss that beat analysts&rsquo; estimates.
&ldquo;We&rsquo;re not quite sure where the bottom is,&rdquo; Ford&rsquo;s Chief Executive Officer Alan Mulally said in an April 24 Bloomberg Television interview. &ldquo;But we believe with the stabilization of the banks, freeing up the credit, and the stimulus packages we have, both monetary and fiscal, that we&rsquo;re going to see an uptick in the third and fourth quarter.&rdquo;
Source: By Bob Willis (Bloomberg)]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/735/US_Economy:_GDP_Shrinks,_Worst_Recession_in_50_Years</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/735/US_Economy:_GDP_Shrinks,_Worst_Recession_in_50_Years</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 29 Apr 2009 10:47:34 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>GM to Cut 21k Jobs and Dump Chrysler</title>
			<description><![CDATA[DETROIT &ndash; General Motors Corp. said it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the governmen[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[DETROIT &ndash; General Motors Corp. said it will cut 21,000 U.S. factory jobs by next year, phase out its storied Pontiac brand and ask the government to take company stock in exchange for half GM's government debt as part of a major restructuring effort needed to get more government aid.
The struggling automaker also said it will offer 225 shares of common stock for every $1,000 in notes held by bondholders as part of a debt-for-equity swap.
The annoucements came in a filing Monday with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
GM is living on $15.4 billion in government loans and faces a June 1 deadline to restructure and get more government money. If the restructuring doesn't satisfy the government, the company could go into bankruptcy protection.
GM said in a press release that it also will ask the government to take 50 percent of its common stock in exchange for canceling half the government loans to the company as of June 1.
GM said the bond exchange would wipe away $27 billion in unsecured debt if successful. The company estimates that after the exchange, bondholders would own 10 percent of the company.
In addition, GM is offering the United Auto Workers stock for at least 50 percent of the $20 billion the company must pay into a union run trust that will take over retiree health care expenses starting next year.
All the stock offerings mean that current common stockholders would own only 1 percent of the company under the deals, the press release says.
In premarket trading, GM shares rose 10 cents, or 5.9 percent, to $1.79.

Courtesy of news.yahoo.com]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/726/GM_to_Cut_21k_Jobs_and_Dump_Chrysler</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/726/GM_to_Cut_21k_Jobs_and_Dump_Chrysler</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 27 Apr 2009 08:33:18 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Why Twitter Advertising Could Be A Huge Success</title>
			<description><![CDATA[I've been using Tweetie's great Twitter app for the iPhone this week (check out the handy bookmarklet for super-easy link[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[I've been using Tweetie's great Twitter app for the iPhone this week (check out the handy bookmarklet for super-easy linking) after moving up from Twitterrific. While I'm scrolling through my recent tweets, I actually notice: There's no advertisement.
And you know what? For the first time ever, in any medium, I sort of missed it. The arguments for and against hosting ads on Twitter are still raging, and the company still hasn't shown its hand when it comes to a real business plan. But I'm betting Twitter will surprise everyone if it can get its act together connecting users with advertisers for a couple of reasons:
It's honest.&nbsp; If you host an ad, mark it as such (Twitterrific does), and no problem. A (small) number of ads don't clutter up my feed and if free services mean a pitch or two, well, I'll suffer through it just like I do on Facebook and The New York Times. I'm not talking about experience-killing ads like Twitter spam or marketers pretending to be users to infiltrate my feeds. Well-defined, unobtrusive ads are a separate animal, and unlike banner ads, I actually notice them when they're mixed in with my tweets.
I can tell advertisers what I want. I'll warily admit it: Serving up advertising based on my hashtags might actually be welcome. If I'm getting excited about #susanboyle, an iTunes link to her (possible) duet with Elaine Paige would actually be a help. Since I'm the one having the conversation and choosing to join a group tweeting the same, why (again) would a single ad nestled amid my latest tweets and addressing something I'm legitimately interested in be a problem? The entire concept of Twitter is so specific and the discussion is so user-controlled that it should almost be a gift for advertisers. I'm telling them what I want. I have to pick the hash, and find out who else is using it. That weeds out inconsistent searches and should eventually wrap up my interests like a gift for anyone who wants to sell me something. So does using multiple hashes per tweet.
As a relative Twitter newbie I know I'm a bit new to this debate, so thoughts and corrections are welcome. Jason Calacanis, for example, wrote back in December:
Imagine if every 10th, 20th, or 100th tweet was an advertisement. Would that be so horrible? No, not at all. &ldquo;your free Twitter account is brought to you by Apple&rsquo;s iPhone&rdquo; would be perfectly acceptable to users and advertisers on the web. These ads will get solid click through if targeted well&hellip;. also they could be display/visual ads that really &ldquo;pop&rdquo; off the page since Twitter pages are text based (as opposed to say Flickr where the graphical ads would compete with the photos).&quot;
Still, compared to the rest of the business models I've seen for Twitter, advertising seems the most promising    .
&nbsp;
&nbsp;
By Kirk Shinkle USNews&nbsp; Why Twitter Advertising Could Be A Huge Success]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/718/Why_Twitter_Advertising_Could_Be_A_Huge_Success</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/718/Why_Twitter_Advertising_Could_Be_A_Huge_Success</guid>
			<pubDate>Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:05:16 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Reports Show US Unemployment Continues to Rise</title>
			<description><![CDATA[April 23 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans filing first-time  applications for unemployment insurance rose last week to 640,000 as forecast,  whi[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[April 23 (Bloomberg) -- The number of Americans filing first-time  applications for unemployment insurance rose last week to 640,000 as forecast,  while total benefit rolls reached a record, indicating the labor market  continues to deteriorate.
Initial jobless claims increased by 27,000 in  the week that ended April 18, from a revised 613,000 the prior week, the Labor  Department said today in Washington. The number of people staying on  jobless-benefit rolls rose by 93,000 to 6.14  million, the 12th straight week the figure has set a record.
Job losses may continue all year even as the longest recession in the postwar  era shows signs of reaching a trough. The release indicates employment cuts may  come close to topping 650,000 for a record fifth straight month in April because  today&rsquo;s report covers the week of the monthly payroll survey.
&ldquo;There is nothing suggesting at this point that payroll declines are going to  abate,&rdquo; said Tom Porcelli, a senior economist at Castlestone Management Ltd.  in New York. &ldquo;We could bounce along the bottom here for a while.&rdquo;
Stock-index futures were higher and Treasuries were little changed after the  report. Futures on the Standard &amp; Poor&rsquo;s 500 Index were up 0.7 percent as of  8:36 a.m. in New York. Benchmark 10-year notes yielded 2.94 percent.
Estimates in the Bloomberg News survey of 43 economists ranged from 610,000  to 700,000 initial claims. Claims for the prior week were revised from an  initially reported 610,000.
Four-Week Average
The four-week moving average of initial claims, a less volatile measure, fell  to 646,750 from 651,000.
The jobless rate among people eligible for benefits rose 0.1 percentage point  to 4.6 percent, the highest since January 1983, in the week ended April 11.  These data are reported with a one-week lag.
Twenty-five states and territories reported an increase in new claims for the  week ended April 11, while 28 reported a decrease.
Initial jobless claims reflect weekly firings and tend to rise as job growth,  measured by the monthly non-farm payrolls report, slows or falls.
The Labor Department reports payrolls on May 8.
The U.S. lost 663,000 jobs last month, Labor said April 3, and the unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 percent, the  highest level since 1983.
The economy has lost about 5.1 million jobs since the recession began in  December 2007. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg in early April said unemployment  will rise to 9.5 percent by the end of the year.
Auto Industry
The auto industry is at the forefront of manufacturing layoffs. General  Motors Corp., operating on $13.4 billion in U.S. government loans, told  employees that 1,600 salaried workers will be dismissed this week. Combined with  250 earlier job cuts and other resignations and retirements, the moves will  complete &ldquo;the bulk&rdquo; of GM&rsquo;s plan for eliminating 3,400 U.S. salaried positions,  said Tom Wilkinson, a GM spokesman.
&ldquo;These are difficult actions,&rdquo; GM North America President Troy Clarke wrote  in an e-mail to employees on April 20. &ldquo;Given the economic realities facing GM,  these actions are necessary to help ensure the long-term viability of our  company.&rdquo;
Firings also continue in the battered financial industry. Asset manager Legg  Mason Inc. said this week it will cut 40 additional jobs in the U.S., after  firing 200 employees in December because of a decline in assets and fees.
The company is trying to &ldquo;align our operating costs with the realities of the  marketplace,&rdquo; according to an internal memo obtained from the Baltimore-based  firm.
Source: Bloomburg U.S. Initial Jobless Claims Rose to 640,000 Last  Week]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/709/Reports_Show_US_Unemployment_Continues_to_Rise</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/709/Reports_Show_US_Unemployment_Continues_to_Rise</guid>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2009 10:01:20 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Obama Coming Down Hard On Credit Card Companies</title>
			<description><![CDATA[President Barack Obama has a tempting target in his sight:  credit card companies that are abusing their customers.
He meets today with representativ[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[President Barack Obama has a tempting target in his sight:  credit card companies that are abusing their customers.
He meets today with representatives of the businesses, which are fighting new  regulations that would protect consumers.
Given the years of deceptive practices and sky-high interest rates charged by  the credit card industry, Obama is making the right move at the right time.
With tough economic times facing them, more Americans are finding it  difficult to pay their bills. Bills are soaring, in part, because of interest  rates charged by the companies.
That's one good reason the the House Financial Services Committee just  endorsed a bill to hold down rates and fees.
Obama's aides say they want a tougher bill that would strengthen consumer  protections against the often-arbitrary fees charged by the companies.
Obama should vigorously pursue the new rules. While it's true many Americans  abused the cards by going too far into debt, the credit card industry bears some  blame for making credit so easy to get and then for imposing high fees and other  charges on their customers.]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/707/Obama_Coming_Down_Hard_On_Credit_Card_Companies</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/707/Obama_Coming_Down_Hard_On_Credit_Card_Companies</guid>
			<pubDate>Thu, 23 Apr 2009 09:49:51 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Freddie Mac Executive Is Found Dead</title>
			<description><![CDATA[David B. Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of the troubled  mortgage giant Freddie  Mac, was found dead Wednesday morning at his home in[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[David B. Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of the troubled  mortgage giant Freddie  Mac, was found dead Wednesday morning at his home in Northern Virginia, the  police said.



David B. Kellermann


Related



Doug Mills/The New York Times
Police on Wednesday outside the Vienna, Va., home where David  B. Kellermann, the acting chief financial officer of Freddie Mac, was found  dead.



The executive apparently committed suicide by hanging himself, according to  people with knowledge of the investigation.
A spokeswoman for the Fairfax County police said there were no signs of foul  play. A police spokesman said that they would not comment on whether a note was  found, but did say that no files or anything except the body have been removed  from the house.
Police were called to the home at 4:48 a.m., reportedly by Mr. Kellermann&rsquo;s  family. His body was taken away by the Fairfax Coroners Office shortly before 9  a.m. By then, the large home about 20 minutes outside Washington was surrounded  by eight television trucks and about two dozen reporters. When a neighbor in a  car inquired what had happened, and was told of Mr. Kellermann&rsquo;s death, she  began screaming and drove away.
Mr. Kellermann, 41, had been Freddie Mac&rsquo;s chief financial officer since  September. He was named to the position when the federal government seized the  company and ousted its top executives last fall. In recent weeks, according to  neighbors and company officials, Mr. Kellermann had received a bonus of about  $800,000. Such bonuses &mdash; which totaled $210 million for executives at Freddie  Mac and its sibling company Fannie  Mae &mdash; caused some controversy earlier this month, and some lawmakers called  for them to be rescinded.
According to neighbors, Mr. Kellermann hired a private security firm after  reporters came to his house to ask about his bonus.
Mr. Kellermann was also involved in recent tense conversations with the  company&rsquo;s federal regulator over its public disclosures. Freddie Mac executives  wanted to emphasize to investors that the company was being run for the benefit  of the government, rather than shareholders.
The company&rsquo;s regulator, the Federal Housing Finance Authority, had  reportedly pushed to play down that language. Freddie Mac ultimately reported  that it made changes to business practices to help the government that &ldquo;have  increased our expenses or caused us to forgo revenue opportunities.&quot;
Mr. Kellermann&rsquo;s death is the latest blow to the company. The chief  executive, David  M. Moffett, resigned last month after apparently clashing with the company&rsquo;s  regulator over compensation issues and independence.
In  a statement, the interim chief executive of Freddie Mac, John  A. Koskinen, said the company was saddened by the news of Mr. Kellermann&rsquo;s  death.
&ldquo;We extend our deepest condolences to David&rsquo;s family and loved ones for this  terrible personal tragedy,&rdquo; Mr. Koskinen said, adding that Mr. Kellermann would  be &ldquo;be most remembered for his affability, his personal warmth, his sense of  humor and his quick wit.&rdquo;
Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, which together own or back more than half of the  home mortgages in the country, have been hobbled by skyrocketing loan defaults  and have received about $60 billion in combined federal aid.
Mr. Kellermann had been with Freddie Mac for 16 years, and reported to the  chief executive, according to a profile on the company&rsquo;s Web site. He was  responsible for Freddie Mac&rsquo;s financial reporting, capital oversight, and  compliance with federal oversight requirements, and also oversaw the annual  budgeting and financial planning.
Before becoming chief financial officer, Mr. Kellermann had served as senior  vice president, corporate controller and principal accounting officer. He was a  graduate of the University  of Michigan and a volunteer board member of the D.C. Coalition for the  Homeless.
Regulators with the Securities and Exchange Commission and Department of  Justice have been interviewing Freddie Mac officials about possible accounting  violations and other topics, the company disclosed in March. It is not known if  Mr. Kellermann was one of those interviewed.
The company recently disclosed in a public filing that in September it  received a federal grand jury subpoena seeking documents concerning the  company&rsquo;s accounting, disclosure and corporate-governance practices. The  investigation is being overseen by the United States Attorney&rsquo;s Office for the  Eastern District of Virginia. Freddie Mac has said it is &quot;cooperating fully in  these matters.&quot;
by Jack Healy and Doug Mills of the New York Times]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/700/Freddie_Mac_Executive_Is_Found_Dead_</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/700/Freddie_Mac_Executive_Is_Found_Dead_</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 22 Apr 2009 10:38:26 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Delta Loses 800 Million in the 1st Quarter of 2009</title>
			<description><![CDATA[ATLANTA &nbsp;-- Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest airline operator, said Tuesday it was instituting a $50 fee for most passengers to check a[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[ATLANTA &nbsp;-- Delta Air Lines Inc., the world's biggest airline operator, said Tuesday it was instituting a $50 fee for most passengers to check a second bag on an international flight -- a first among major U.S. carriers -- as it reported a $794 million first-quarter loss due to the weak economy and bad bets on fuel hedges.
AMR Corp.'s American Airlines and UAL Corp.'s United Airlines, which both posted hefty first-quarter losses, said they were studying Delta's move, but did not immediately announce any plans to match it. Among foreign carriers, British Airways has a fee for a second checked bag for some passengers for travel to some international destinations.
Atlanta-based Delta said its fee was effective Tuesday for travel beginning July 1. The company expects to generate more than $100 million annually from the new fee. Delta already charges fees for the first and second checked bags on domestic flights.
It also said that it will ground its entire fleet of 14 B747-200 freighter aircraft in its cargo unit effective Dec. 31, due to the age and inefficiency of the aircraft.
Delta said the loss for the three months ended March 31 was 96 cents a share, and compares to a loss of $6.39 billion, or $16.15 a share, for the same period a year ago.
Revenue increased 40 percent to $6.68 billion, but that was skewed by Delta's acquisition of Northwest Airlines in October. In the year-ago quarter, before the acquisition, Delta posted revenue of $4.77 billion.
Excluding special items, Delta said its first-quarter loss was 84 cents a share. Analysts polled by Thomson Reuters, who generally exclude one-time items from their estimates, expected Delta to post a loss of $1.01 per share for the first quarter on sales of $6.7 billion.
Delta, like other airlines, has been cutting jobs and capacity to weather the global economic downturn.
Delta previously said it will reduce international capacity by 10 percent beginning in September. As a result, in the December 2009 quarter, Delta expects system capacity to be down 6 percent to 8 percent and international capacity to be down 9 percent to 11 percent, year-over-year.
Elite frequent fliers and active military are exempt from paying Delta's new fee for a second checked bag on international flights. The first checked bag on international flights remains free.
Delta said it posted $684 million in realized fuel hedge losses in the first three months of the year. As oil prices soared to $147 a barrel last July, many airlines hedged a portion of their future fuel needs. When market prices came tumbling down in the months that followed, some airlines were stuck with those hedges and had to pay higher prices for a portion of their fuel.
Delta ended the quarter with $5 billion in unrestricted liquidity, which was unchanged from the balance at Dec. 31, 2008.

Courtesy of finance.yahoo.com]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/686/Delta_Loses_800_Million_in_the_1st_Quarter_of_2009</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/686/Delta_Loses_800_Million_in_the_1st_Quarter_of_2009</guid>
			<pubDate>Tue, 21 Apr 2009 09:14:11 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Stock Market Takes a Hit Today</title>
			<description><![CDATA[NEW YORK &ndash; Investors are back to worrying about banks.
Long-present unease about soured loans bubbled over on Monday after Bank of America Corp[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[NEW YORK &ndash; Investors are back to worrying about banks.
Long-present unease about soured loans bubbled over on Monday after Bank of America Corp. said it set aside $13.4 billion to cover lending losses, even as it posted a profit for the first quarter, and as anxiety grew about the results of the government's &quot;stress tests&quot; to determine if banks will need more government bailout money.
While Bank of America and other big banks like Citigroup Inc. have fared better so far this year than many believed they would, nervousness is growing now over the massive losses from defaulting loans that are yet to come. On Sunday, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel said some banks will need help.
Financial stocks suffered some of the day's worst declines: Bank of America plunged 24.3 percent and Citigroup fell 19 percent. Those two components of the Dow Jones industrial average contributed to a daily loss in the index of 290 points, or 3.6 percent. That was the biggest Dow drop since early March, before the market's big rally from nearly 12-year lows.
Joe Saluzzi, co-head of equity trading at Themis Trading LLC, said traders are skeptical about bank earnings and believe the better-than-expected profit reports may be disguising problems.
&quot;They're looking at bank numbers and are saying they are not that great,&quot; Saluzzi said.
Traders have been looking for some pullback ever since the Dow jumped 24 percent from its early March lows. But that pullback could end up being more significant than a mere correction if the market cannot shake its concerns about banks. With the stress test results expected in early May, the market is likely to see more volatility.
Worries about banks' debt problems were aggravated by news reports that their lending remains tight and that the government may swap its debt in banks for ownership stakes as its $700 billion bailout fund runs down.
Because of the central role lending plays in keeping businesses of all kinds going, investors have been hunting for signs of a recovery in banks before they get more optimistic about the broader economy.
The market has been encouraged by early indications that a government drive for lower interest rates has been helping banks step up lending, but investors are still sensitive to any signs of trouble &mdash; including the comments from Emanuel and senior White House adviser David Axelrod, who said some banks &quot;are going to have very serious problems.&quot;
Energy and materials companies also fell along with the prices of key commodities they rely on, such as crude oil.
The market declines were broad and deep, outweighing what would otherwise be positive news about a step-up in deal activity. After a deal with IBM Corp. didn't work out, troubled technology company Sun Microsystems found a buyer in Oracle, a leading maker of business software, while PepsiCo Inc. said it would bid $6 billion to buy its two biggest bottlers.
The Dow fell 289.60, or 3.6 percent, to 7,841.73.
Courtesy of news.yahoo.com]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/685/Stock_Market_Takes_a_Hit_Today</link>
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			<pubDate>Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:40:38 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Recent News Spells Trouble For Wii</title>
			<description><![CDATA[In the three years since it first launched, the Nintendo Wii has sailed past competing systems from Sony and Microsoft to consiste[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[In the three years since it first launched, the Nintendo Wii has sailed past competing systems from Sony and Microsoft to consistently claim the top spot in the console war.
But if a recent rash of troubling stories about the Wii is a vision of things to come, the tide might be turning for the seemingly unbeatable machine.


Wii On Top For Now, But For How Long?

Kinks in the system's shiny white armor starting showing last month. Despite steady success in Japan, the Wii fell into second place in March as the underdog Playstation 3 clambered atop the region's sales charts for the first time in 16 months. That was enough to garner some uncharacteristically somber comments from Nintendo President Satoru Iwata, who deemed the climate in Japan &quot;unhealthy&quot; for the Wii.
But to Cowan &amp; Company analyst Doug Creutz, the U.S. market isn&rsquo;t necessarily any healthier, at least if you're thinking of investing in a console game. In an interview with Gamasutra, Creutz called the Wii &quot;fool's gold&quot; for third-party game developers.
&quot;The choice here is really between investing for the Xbox 360 and PS3 -- since their capabilities are fairly similar -- or the Wii,&quot; he said. &quot;I would caution investors and developers that the larger installed base of the Wii is really a bit of a red herring.&quot;
Crueutz goes on to point out that while the 19 million Wiis in North America trounce competing consoles individually, combined sales of the 360 and PS3 actually top 22 million. That represents a larger chunk of the pie for game developers who can more easily port games back and forth from the two systems. Additionally, Creutz notes that Nintendo's first-party games and the Guitar Hero and Rock Band franchises account for nearly one-half of all Wii software sales, a far larger percentage than what's found on the other consoles. Comparatively, the Wii is simply a tougher nut to crack for third-party developers. 
Peter Moore, president of enormous third-party game maker EA Sports, echoed Creutz's concerns while speaking at a recent conference.
&quot;You simply can't take what you're doing on the PS3 and Xbox and port - that's a dirty word - down to the Wii,&quot; he said, insisting that instead you have to build Wii games &quot;from the ground up.&quot; 
He's not the only one at EA with issues. Earlier in the month, an EA producer confessed to having trouble incorporating Nintendo's upcoming Wii MotionPlus control attachment into its Grand Slam Tennis game, raising questions about when the tech would be ready for consumers. Nintendo answered that by officially announcing a release date only to curiously push back the release of the game they've repeatedly used to show off the new technology, surefire smash sequel Wii Sports: Resort.
Of course, it's not all doom and gloom. NPD Group reports that the Wii again led the way in March 2009, outselling both the 360 and PS3 by a wide margin. Nintendo is also enjoying strong numbers for its newly released DSi handheld, with the company reporting first-week sales of over 600,000 units in the U.S. and Europe. Mario's checking account won't run out of funds any time soon.
The question is, will gamers run out of interest? The last two major first-party Wii games, Wii Music and Animal Crossing: City Folk, failed to generate the kind of excitement (and, in turn, sales) that Nintendo is accustomed to, a fact that analyst Ed Barton of Screen Digest believes is a big reason why the Wii is struggling. While older blockbusters like Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii are still selling well, Barton points out that the company needs new experiences to drive new sales.
Nintendo hopes to deliver exactly that with upcoming high-profile games like the aforementioned Wii Sports sequel and a remake of classic boxing game Punch Out!, but that still leaves plenty of wiggle room for the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360 to continue closing the gap. And if Japan is any indication (and it usually is), that gap can disappear in a heartbeat. 
So what do you think? Is the Wii destined for a downfall, or is this just a mid-life crisis? 
&nbsp;]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/665/Recent_News_Spells_Trouble_For_Wii</link>
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			<pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2009 09:59:28 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Student Aid Faces an Overhaul</title>
			<description><![CDATA[The Administration aims to cut middlemen such as Sallie Mae, Bank of America, and Citigroup out of the student loan game
By Jessica Silver-Greenberg[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Administration aims to cut middlemen such as Sallie Mae, Bank of America, and Citigroup out of the student loan game
By Jessica Silver-Greenberg
Last summer the government desperately wanted to keep private lenders in the student loan market. Now, President Barack Obama plans to cut out the middlemen as part of a sweeping overhaul of the federal loan program. While students stand to benefit from the switch, already-hobbled lenders, including Sallie Mae (SLM), Bank of America (BAC), and Citigroup, (C) would likely lose billions of dollars in profits.
Currently, the government distributes education funds through two sources: private lenders and its own in-house program. Each school decides which of the options to make available to its students. Financial companies have been big beneficiaries of the system, collecting huge fees from the government; in the last school year private student lenders handed out nearly 80% of the $65 billion in federal funds. By lending directly to college-bound students, the U.S. figures it can save $94 billion over the next decade and reroute the extra money to needy student borrowers. &quot;The proposal allows us to focus on what we do best, acquire capital for loans&mdash;and that saves taxpayers money,&quot; says Robert Shireman, a senior adviser in the Administration.
This change, which could take effect in 2010 if Congress gives the O.K., would be a major blow to student lenders. Private-label loans&mdash;those without the backing of the U.S.&mdash;have already dried up amid the credit crunch. This new proposal, part of the President's budget, threatens the core of lenders' profits. Student lending giant Sallie Mae, the nation's biggest private player, disbursed $19 billion in federal loans last year, roughly 70% of its total volume. That's why the industry is gearing up for a fight. &quot;We believe there are alternative ways to reach the President's education goals,&quot; says Sallie Mae spokeswoman Martha Holler. Says Michael Reardon, a student lending executive at Citi: &quot;Schools and borrowers will not enjoy the many critical benefits without private-sector involvement.&quot;
Analysts say the industry's arguments may not carry much sway. Lenders insist that they provide valuable services, including running financial-literacy programs that help students budget payments. But the default rate for federal student loans made by private lenders is 7.3%, compared with 5.3% for direct federal loans, according to the Education Dept. Critics contend that the program is simply a freebie for private lenders. &quot;This is the last vestige of Soviet-style capitalism,&quot; says Barmak Nassirian, a director at the American Association of Collegiate Registrars &amp; Admissions Officers, an education nonprofit.
Already, private lenders are feeling the pinch as more schools decide they don't need the middlemen. The trend gained steam after New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo investigated the cozy relationship between private lenders and financial aid officers a couple of years ago. Since the credit crisis, it has only accelerated. Some 1,624 colleges and universities now bypass the private lenders and go straight to the government for money, including Pennsylvania State University, Northeastern University, and Indiana University. That's up from 1,075 last year.
Michigan State University made the switch in the fall. After several lenders exited the industry, harried parents started calling the financial aid office, worried that their children wouldn't get the necessary money. To assuage those fears, the school opted to deal directly with the government's direct-loan program instead of working with private lenders. &quot;Our students have peace of mind that they will get their loans,&quot; says Val Meyers, associate director of financial aid at Michigan State. &quot;We haven't had any complaints.&quot;
Silver-Greenberg is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com.]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/661/Student_Aid_Faces_an_Overhaul</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/661/Student_Aid_Faces_an_Overhaul</guid>
			<pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2009 07:20:13 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Citigroup results beat forecasts</title>
			<description><![CDATA[Citigroup has reported its first quarterly net profit in nearly two years, the latest US bank to see an improvement in its performance.

It made a p[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Citigroup has reported its first quarterly net profit in nearly two years, the latest US bank to see an improvement in its performance.

It made a profit of $1.6bn (&pound;1.1bn) compared with a loss of $5.1bn a year earlier. Revenues rose 99% to $24.8bn. 

However, once dividend payments to preferred shareholders were taken into account, it suffered a near-$1bn loss. 

Shares in Citigroup initially rose, before falling into negative territory, closing 9% lower at $3.65 in New York. 

The news, together with better than expected results from conglomerate General Electric, boosted markets as Wall Street's winning streak extended to a sixth week. 

Among banks, shares in Bank of America, due to post its quarterly results on Monday, gained 2.5%.

&quot;We had our best overall quarter since the second quarter of 2007,&quot; chief executive Vikram Pandit said.

'Tentative hopes'
Citigroup made apre-arranged $2.7bn dividend payment to preferred shareholders, and said it had made a $7.3bn credit loss from bad loans. 

However, it gained from an accounting rule that allowed the bank to post a one-time gain of $2.5bn.

The bank also said it had seen an improvement in trading activity and it had cut costs. 
Citi's results came hot on the heels of positive earnings reports from Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.

&quot;Of course the fact that all of these have had such a strong first quarter has led to some tentative hopes that perhaps the banking sector crisis is bottoming,&quot; said Richard Hunter, head of UK equities at Hargreaves Lansdown.

Challenges remain
Although Citi reported a profit, its losses in credit cards and consumer loans both increased sharply, the BBC's Karen Nye in New York pointed out.

&quot;Even the strongest banks have admitted to a few weak spots,&quot; she added.

Citigroup has received $45bn in government aid from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (Tarp).

The bank has also cut the size of its workforce to 309,000 people from 374,000 at its peak.

&quot;It was slightly better than anticipated, but we probably underestimated how much government support would be a wind at their back,&quot; said Michael Holland, founder of Holland &amp; Co.

But Citi's problems are not over yet, he added. &quot;There's no doubt the challenges are still enormous for Citigroup.&quot;&nbsp;

Courtesy of BBC News]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/663/Citigroup_results_beat_forecasts_</link>
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			<pubDate>Sat, 18 Apr 2009 07:20:09 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Bailout Acronym Soup: A Handy Guide</title>
			<description><![CDATA[A look at some of the government's financial bailout programs
msnbc.com
updated 7:47 a.m. ET, Mon., April  13, 2009

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			<content:encoded><![CDATA[A look at some of the government's financial bailout programs
msnbc.com
updated 7:47 a.m. ET, Mon., April  13, 2009

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The many government programs that have been launched since the economy began melting down last year may seem more like alphabet soup than a plan for recovery. Here&rsquo;s a look at some of the main programs created in response to the financial crisis, and what you should know about them.
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP): This extensive bailout program was originally designed to buy up the bad debt that was threatening the financial stability of some U.S. banks. The $700 billion program quickly morphed into billions of dollars in direct government investments in financial institutions in exchange for partial ownership. Insurance giant AIG and automakers General Motors and Chrysler also have received TARP money.
Public-Private Investment Program (PPIP): In March, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner announced a plan to use $75 billion to $100 billion in TARP money, combined with private investments, for the original purpose of buying up bad debt. The aim of the program is to clean up banks&rsquo; balance sheets so they can more easily make loans.
Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF): The Federal Reserve and Treasury created this program to lend up to $200 billion to financial institutions that offer bundled loans for small businesses and consumers. The hope is that the program will make it easier and cheaper for Americans to get student loans, car loans and other types of credit.
Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TGLP): The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. created this program in another effort to get banks to lend money more freely again. The TGLP guarantees certain types of debt issued by financial institutions, and deposits in certain accounts, such as business&rsquo; payroll accounts, in the event the bank fails or files for bankruptcy. Thousands of banks are participating in the program.
Capital Assistance Program (CAP): This program also aims to ensure that financial institutions will be able to lend money. One aspect of the program evaluates banks to make sure they have enough funds to continue operating even if the economy gets worse. Another aspect gives the government the ability to provide banks with capital if they need it to keep operating and there are no private funding options available because of the poor market.
Targeted Investment Program (TIP): This program, also run by the Treasury Department, allows the government to provide aid to a troubled financial institution if that company&rsquo;s problems could have a ripple effect on other aspects of the U.S. economy, such as creditors. 
Homeowner Affordability and Stability Plan: This government program (no acronym yet) is targeted at curbing the foreclosure crisis. The program aims to help millions of families restructure their mortgages to avoid foreclosure and also provides other tools to stem the pace of foreclosures. Those elements include a plan to let judges modify mortgages in bankruptcy proceedings, and a plan to provide assistance to renters who have lost their homes in foreclosure.
Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF): This program aims to make it easier for companies to get a kind of short-term loan, called commercial paper, that many companies routinely use to pay employees, purchase supplies and do other day-to-day financing activities. The government created the program, funded by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, to purchase some commercial paper for a short period of time, in an effort to get the commercial paper market flowing again following the financial crisis last fall.
Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility (AMLF): This program provides loans so some financial institutions can buy certain types of commercial paper from money market mutual funds. The goal of the program was to make it easier for the funds to pay investors who wanted to cash out, while also helping to get the market for short-term business loans flowing more normally again.
Money Market Investor Funding Facility (MMIFF): This program also was created in the fall of 2008 with the aim of keeping low-risk mutual funds operating normally in order to reassure investors that they could easily get their money out if they wished. The program provides financing for private companies to buy certain short-term, low-risk investments.
Sources: Subsidyscope, FDIC, Treasury Department, Federal Reserve, msnbc.com
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URL: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29900110/]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/651/Bailout_Acronym_Soup:_A_Handy_Guide</link>
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			<pubDate>Fri, 17 Apr 2009 07:10:25 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>What Products Are Getting Cheaper As The Economy Sinks</title>
			<description><![CDATA[The Consumer Price Index, which measures how much people pay for typical goods  and services, dropped 0.4 percent over the past year. That's the first[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[The Consumer Price Index, which measures how much people pay for typical goods  and services, dropped 0.4 percent over the past year. That's the first time the  government has recorded a 12-month price decline since 1955. While economists  typically see that kind of drop as bad news for the nation's economic growth,  it's also partly good news for consumers, at least in the short term, because it  means they can buy cheaper food, clothes, and other items
Some items have fallen in price more than others. Falling energy prices,  including those for natural gas and motor fuel, helped drive the March price  drop. Food also sold for less last month, so a typical shopping trip in March  cost about the same as it would have back in October. Dairy products were  especially discounted, but the prices for meat, poultry, fish and eggs also went  down. Used cars and trucks, airline tickets, and hotels became cheaper, as well.
Not everyone found their wallets surprisingly full, however. Smokers had an  especially hard time. Tobacco and smoking products rose in price by 11 percent.  New vehicles cost more -- about 0.6 percent. Those who prefer the produce aisle  had to pay extra; the prices of fruits and vegetables went up. Over the last  three months, the cost of clothing went up over 5 percent. Medical care also  became more expensive, so it might not be the best time to have an appendectomy  or get those tonsils removed (Unless a doctor tell you to, of course!)
Here's a guide to what products you can get a good deal on and which haven't  come down in price -- at least not yet.
Food and beverages. While the food and beverages index has gone up by  4.3 percent over the past year, how much consumers pay depends a lot on whether  they are eating out or cooking for themselves at home. In March, the cost of  food eaten at home -- everything from pasta to cereal to olive oil -- fell by  0.4 percent. But food eaten away from home, at restaurants or other places, went  up, as did the price of alcoholic drinks. That's one reason why personal finance  experts say cooking at home is one of the best decisions you can make for your  bottom line. Based on the fact that the price of eggs and cereal have been  falling, you might want to consider Cheerios for breakfast and a frittata for  dinner. The Verdict: You can get a good deal on food, as long as you're  willing to cook  it yourself, and say no to that pre-dinner drink.
Housing. The price of housing, which includes rent, hotels, household  insurance, and home furnishings, edged up 1.4 percent for the year, but March  saw a slight decline. So if you've been putting off buying that trip that  requires a hotel stay, now could be your time to make a move. Just be sure to  shop around, because prices vary by region, and some establishments are more  eager to get your business than others. As for that new sofa that you've had  your eye on, you might want to hold off, since the home furnishings index inched  upwards in March. The Verdict: Now is the time to take advantage of cheap  hotels, but wait to redecorate your living room.
Apparel. The clothing index, which covers clothes as well as footwear,  has been edging up in recent months, but fell slightly in March. For the year,  prices are up about 1.5 percent. If you're willing to wait it out and hope last  month's trend continues, then don't buy those new Nikes yet. The Verdict:  The cost of clothes appears to be dropping, but it's still up for the year -- so  try to delay  that shopping spree.
Gas. The gas index rose 8.3 percent in February and then fell 4  percent in March, so now is a much better time to fill up the tank than a couple  months ago -- and much, much better than last summer, when soaring gas prices  kept people close to home. The Verdict: Gas is cheap, but it may not stay  that way for long.
Transportation. The transportation index involves much more than just  car purchases; it includes gas and public transportation, too. It saw the  biggest decline in price of any other category over the last year, dropping just  over 13 percent. While the drop in gas prices drove that trend, the pump isn't  the only place to find deals. Airfares have declined for seven months in a row,  and prices of used cars and trucks have also dropped a bit. The Verdict:  Now is a great time to buy that used Prius or fly to visit family in another  city, but hold off on new car purchases.
Education and communication. The cost of tuition, personal computers  and other educational supplies went up 3.6 percent for the year, just as many  workers frustrated with a sluggish job market hope to ride  it out by going back to school. The Verdict: College and graduate  degrees haven't gotten any cheaper, but they might still be your best option,  especially if you are looking to retrain for a new career.


    
        
            &nbsp;
            2008
            2009
        
        
            Gasoline, Unleaded Regular, dollars per gallon
            3.258
            1.949
        
        
            Eggs, Grade A, Large, dollars per doz.
            2.203
            1.693
        
        
            Milk, fresh, whole, fortified, dollars per gallon
            3.781
            3.116]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/643/What_Products_Are_Getting_Cheaper_As_The_Economy_Sinks</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/643/What_Products_Are_Getting_Cheaper_As_The_Economy_Sinks</guid>
			<pubDate>Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:55:58 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Burger King Yanks Ad</title>
			<description><![CDATA[MEXICO CITY (Reuters) &ndash; Fast food giant Burger King apologized Tuesday for an advertisement featuring a squat Mexican draped in his country's fl[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[MEXICO CITY (Reuters) &ndash; Fast food giant Burger King apologized Tuesday for an advertisement featuring a squat Mexican draped in his country's flag next to a tall American cowboy and said it would change the campaign.
Mexico's ambassador to Spain said posters released in Europe for Burger King's new Tex-Mex style &quot;Texican whopper,&quot; a cheeseburger with chile and spicy mayonnaise, inappropriately displayed the Mexican flag, whose image is protected under national law.
The ambassador wrote a letter complaining to Burger King and requested the ad campaign be discontinued.
Burger King said the ads were meant to show a mixture of influences from the southwestern United States and Mexico, not to poke fun at Mexican culture, but said it would replace them &quot;as soon as commercially possible.&quot;
&quot;Burger King Corporation has made the decision to revise the Texican Whopper advertising creative out of respect for the Mexican culture and its people,&quot; it said in a statement.
&quot;The existing campaign falls fully within the legal parameters of the United Kingdom and Spain where the commercials are being aired and were not intended to offend anyone,&quot; the company added.
A TV version of the ad shows the strapping cowboy and the pint-sized Mexican wrestler -- nicknamed &quot;Just a Little Bit&quot; -- living together as roommates. At one point, the American lifts up the Mexican to help him put a trophy on a high shelf.
Mexico was involved in another controversial ad campaign last year when Absolut vodka posted billboard ads in Mexico with an early 19th century map showing chunks of the United States as part of Mexico.
The campaign angered many U.S. citizens and was later dropped.]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/632/Burger_King_Yanks_Ad</link>
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			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2009 15:46:30 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Job Interview tactics that backfire</title>
			<description><![CDATA[Reported by the Wall Street Journal
In recent weeks, recruiters for Consolidated Container Co. have seen job candidates arrive up to an hour early fo[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Reported by the Wall Street Journal
In recent weeks, recruiters for Consolidated Container Co. have seen job candidates arrive up to an hour early for interviews. Other candidates have alluded to financial hardships while in the hot seat, and one person even distributed bound copies of documents describing projects he completed for past employers.
These sorts of tactics aren't exactly winners.


    
        
            
            
                
            
        
    
    
    In today's ultracompetitive job market, even getting an interview is a feat. Yet recruiters and hiring managers say many unemployed candidates blow the opportunity by appearing desperate or bitter about their situations &mdash; often without realizing it.
    &quot;People are becoming a lot more aggressive,&quot; says Julie Loubaton, director of recruiting and talent management for Atlanta-based Consolidated Container. &quot;They often wind up hurting themselves.&quot;
    At an interview, you want to stand out for the right reasons. To do so, you'll need to leave your baggage and anxiety at the door. For starters, wait until 10 minutes before your scheduled interview time to announce yourself. Arriving any sooner &quot;shows that you're not respectful of the time the hiring manager put aside for you,&quot; says Ms. Loubaton, adding that a candidate who arrived an hour early made workers uncomfortable. &quot;Companies really don't want someone camped out in their lobby.&quot;
    Signal confidence by offering a firm handshake, adds Wendy Alfus Rothman, president of Wenroth Consulting Inc., an executive coaching firm in New York. Focus your attention on the interviewer. Avoid looking around the room, tapping your fingers, or other nervous movements.
    No matter how you're feeling, keep your personal woes out of the interview process, asserts Ms. Alfus Rothman. Instead, always exude an upbeat attitude. For example, if you were laid off, instead of lamenting the situation, you might say the experience prompted you to reassess your skills, and that's what led you here. &quot;You want to demonstrate resilience in the face of unpredictable obstacles,&quot; she says.
    Meanwhile, show you've done your homework on the company by explaining how your background and track record relates to its current needs, adds Deborah Markus, founder of Columbus Advisors LLC, an executive-search firm in New York. This is particularly important if the firm is in a different industry than the one you worked in before. To stand out, you'll need to look up more than just basics on company leadership and core businesses. You'll also need to find out &mdash; and understand &mdash; how recent changes in the marketplace have affected the firm, its competitors and industry overall. Read recent company press releases, annual reports, media coverage and industry blogs, and consult with trusted members of your network. &quot;Companies that may have been performing well just a few months ago might be in survival mode now,&quot; says Ms. Markus. &quot;You want to understand how [they're] positioned today.&quot;
    Also, be sure to show you're a strong fit for the particular position you're seeking, adds Kathy Marsico, senior vice president of human resources at PDI Inc., a Saddle River, N.J., provider of sales and marketing services for pharmaceutical companies. Offer examples of past accomplishments &mdash; not just responsibilities you've held &mdash; and describe how they're relevant to the opportunity. &quot;You must differentiate yourself like never before,&quot; she says. &quot;You need to customize yourself and make yourself memorable.&quot;
    Sherry R. Brickman, a partner at executive-search firm Martin Partners LLC, says a candidate recently impressed her with this sort of preparation. &quot;He knew the company's product line and what markets it was already in,&quot; she says of the man, who was interviewing for an executive post at a midsize industrial manufacturer. &quot;He clearly and effectively explained how he could cut costs, increase sales and expand market share based on what he'd done in his current job.&quot; The candidate was hired.
    Be careful not to go too far, though, in your quest to stand out. For example, it may be tempting to offer to work temporarily for free or to take a lesser salary than what a job pays. But experts say such bold moves often backfire on candidates. &quot;Employers want value,&quot; says Lee Miller, author of Get More Money on Your Next Job ... In Any Economy. &quot;They don't want cheap.&quot;
    Your best bet is to wait until you're extended a job offer before talking pay. &quot;In a recession, employers are going to be very price sensitive,&quot; says Mr. Miller. &quot;The salary you ask for may impact their decision to move forward.&quot; Come prepared having researched the average pay range for a position in case you're pressured to name your price, he adds. You might say, for example, that money isn't a primary concern for you and that you're just looking for something fair, suggests Mr. Miller. You can try turning the tables by asking interviewers what the company has budgeted for the position.
    In some cases, you may be looking just for a job to get you through so you might consider a less-than-perfect fit. But if you aren't really excited about an opportunity, keep it to yourself, warns David Gaspin, director of human resources at 5W Public Relations in New York. &quot;I've had times where people come in and it's clear that if they really had their preference, they'd be doing something different,&quot; he says. &quot;You don't want to put that out on the table. Nobody wants to hire someone who's going to run for the door when times get better.&quot;
    After an interview, take caution with your follow-up. If you're in the running for multiple jobs at once, make sure to address thank-yous to the right people, career experts advise. Also look closely for spelling and grammatical errors. In a competitive job market, employers have the luxury of choice, and even a minor faux pas can hurt your chances.
    If all has gone well, don't stalk the interviewer. Wait at least a week before checking on your candidacy, adds Jose Tamez, managing partner at Austin-Michael LP, an executive-search firm in Golden, Colo. Call recruiters only at their office, even if their business card lists a home or cell number. Leave a message if you get voicemail. These days, recruiters typically have caller ID and can tell if you've tried reaching them multiple times without leaving a voicemail. &quot;There's a fine line between enthusiasm and overenthusiasm,&quot; he says.]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/627/Job_Interview_tactics_that_backfire</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/627/Job_Interview_tactics_that_backfire</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:13:45 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Sex Talk at Work Hurts Bottom Line</title>
			<description><![CDATA[&nbsp;
Some people enjoy flirtation and sexual innuendos in the workplace, and others find it rude, but either way it seems to drag down everyone's m[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[&nbsp;
Some people enjoy flirtation and sexual innuendos in the workplace, and others find it rude, but either way it seems to drag down everyone's morale. Especially among men, a surprising new study reveals.
In a new study of 238 people, 10 percent of women and 46 percent of men who had experienced office titillation, such as listening to a lewd joke or being approached in an overtly sexual way, found it enjoyable rather than bothersome. In a follow-up study of 1,004 employees, 40 percent had encountered sexual behavior on the job and half rated it a pleasurable or benign occurrence.
So you might think that sex talk boosts the morale of many in the workplace.
In fact, pundits have long argued that banning all sexual references, in fear of harassment charges, sterilizes the work environment and undermines office productivity, said lead researcher Jennifer Berdahl of the University of Toronto.
&quot;All sexual behavior does not equal sexual harassment ... because some people obviously enjoy it,&quot; Berdahl said. And since enjoyable environments have been linked to better morale and productivity, she thought the pundits could be correct.
They aren't.
It didn't matter if employees found lewd behavior fun or rude. Either way, the more they experienced it, the lower their morale, the studies found.
The detriments seem particularly strong in heterosexual all-male interactions, i.e. &quot;frat house behavior,&quot; Berdahl said.
&quot;Men may feel pressure to laugh, but they walk away feeling uncomfortable, like they were humiliated slightly,&quot; she said. &quot;A lot of these behaviors are designed to 'one-up' another man.&quot;
Women, too, feel small when exposed to such behavior, perhaps because it highlights their weaker physicality in an environment where they should be seen as equals, write Berdahl and colleague Karl Aquino of the University of British Columbia.
The researchers offer two theories on why people who like locker room behavior in the office feel just as lousy as those who hate it. One is that sexual banter is a guilty pleasure, like eating junk food or having too much to drink.
&quot;You might sit down and eat an entire bag of Cheetos and think 'Mmmm, that was good,' but afterwards you just feel gross, and it might impede your work,&quot; Berdahl said.
An additional cause could be the degradation of office morale in general. When employees are hung over from sexual intoxication, including those who find it offensive (often the majority), it can cause a strain on working relationships, Berdahl said.
Even when it is fun and flattering, she said, &quot;it may not be sexual harassment, but it is unprofessional and a detriment to the work environment.&quot;
The research is detailed in the January issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology.
By Robin Nixon]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/628/Sex_Talk_at_Work_Hurts_Bottom_Line</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/628/Sex_Talk_at_Work_Hurts_Bottom_Line</guid>
			<pubDate>Wed, 15 Apr 2009 08:13:43 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>GM stock tumbles on bankruptcy reports</title>
			<description><![CDATA[WASHINGTON (AFP) &ndash; General Motors skidded on the stock market Monday after reports that the government was directing the troubled auto giant t[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[WASHINGTON (AFP) &ndash; General Motors skidded on the stock market Monday after reports that the government was directing the troubled auto giant to lay the groundwork for a June 1 bankruptcy filing.
GM plunged 17.65 percent to 1.68 dollars at 1405 GMT in initial trades as the market opened after a long Easter weekend.
The New York Times reported Monday that the Treasury Department was directing GM to prepare for a bankruptcy court-supervised restructuring despite the company's public contention that it could still reorganize outside court.
President Barack Obama?s auto task force spent last week in meetings and on conference calls with GM officials and advisers in Detroit and Washington, the newspaper said, quoting people with knowledge of the plans.
Those talks are expected to continue this week.
The goal is to prepare for a fast &quot;surgical&quot; bankruptcy, the report said.
The government on March 30 gave GM, which has received 13.4 billion dollars in public aid, 60 days to come up with an aggressive restructuring to be eligible for further aid the company says it needs to avoid collapse.
Some analysts say creditors are pressing GM for a better deal.
&quot;GM?s creditors seem to believe that they should get a better deal than the car company is offering them so that it can reduce its debt,&quot; said Douglas McIntyre of 24/7 Wall Street.
&quot;Even the most senior creditors are being asked to take a very modest portion of the face value of their loans to help the huge car company get out of financial trouble,&quot; he said.
Creditors believe that they have the ability to stop or at least draw out a Chapter 11 bankruptcy process, McIntyre said.
&quot;That would make a bankruptcy less attractive to the Treasury, which would simply like to get the GM matter resolved in a way that does the least to disrupt the industry, its suppliers, and its employees,&quot; he said.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the creditors may find that they have very few rights.
The paper said, &quot;Some bondholders fear GM?s fast-track reorganization inappropriately mirrors what was done last fall when Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy protection as the US financial system seized up.&quot;
The government decided to let Lehman, the US investment banking icon, collapse in September last year amid financial turmoil following a home mortgage meltdown.
&nbsp;]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/625/GM_stock_tumbles_on_bankruptcy_reports_</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/625/GM_stock_tumbles_on_bankruptcy_reports_</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 13 Apr 2009 13:57:14 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>REPORT: Entrepeneurs Are Using Twitter To Gain Customers</title>
			<description><![CDATA[Entrepreneurs are finding the fast-rising microblogging site to be a useful tool for reaching out to customers 
Here's what happened when Chris Savag[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[Entrepreneurs are finding the fast-rising microblogging site to be a useful tool for reaching out to customers 
Here's what happened when Chris Savage, the chief executive of Wistia.com, searched for the phrase &quot;private video sharing&quot; on Twitter, a social networking site. One post he found read, &quot;A teacher requested a private 'video sharing' Web site so that specialists can observe student behavior&mdash;can anyone refer one?&quot;
That got Savage's attention. He e-mailed back: &quot;Still looking for a private video sharing site?&quot;
Minutes later came the reply: &quot;YES! It's the first request for one&mdash;thought I'd hit up my tweets before [I] go digging.&quot;
Savage: &quot;Cool. You may want to check out Wistia.com. Full disclosure, I'm the CEO; -)&quot;
While this exchange may seem a bit cryptic, Savage is one of a growing number of business owners to whom it makes an awful lot of sense. Savage frequently trolls Twitter looking for sales leads for his five-person, $1 million company, which makes software that facilitates video sharing through a private network. Although Savage has been using Twitter for only a year, it's already helped him find 12 new clients for his Lexington (Mass.) company. &quot;This is a no-cost way of marketing,&quot; he says. Because Twitter provides a public forum, each post becomes a form of promotion as other users follow Savage's posts. &quot;You are building a reputation; people can go back and look at your Web site and the quality of your content, and you are becoming part of the community,&quot; Savage says. Other business owners are using Twitter for market research and to keep an eye on customer service issues.
BREVITY'S BRAWN
Twitter distinguishes itself from MySpace and Facebook by relying less on picture-laden profiles and more on posts of fewer than 140 characters, referred to as &quot;tweets&quot; or &quot;microblogs.&quot; Twitter's simplicity is paired with a powerful search function that allows users to mine others' updates in real time for useful nuggets. &quot;Twitter lets you stay on top of what is happening within your client base,&quot; says Chip Lambert, owner of Network2Networth, a business development consultancy in Phoenix. &quot;You can look at conversations and reposition yourself, your products, and your services in a way that appeals to the market you are reaching out to.&quot;
An estimated 5 million people use Twitter, according to Cambridge-based Forrester Research. Twitter co-founder Biz Stone says businesses &quot;that are not quite big enough to make an impact on the Web, or to spend resources there,&quot; have been some of the earliest users of the site. He says some San Francisco-based coffee shops and bakeries have sent tweets to tell their customers about specials or products they may be out of that day. One Los Angeles taco truck uses Twitter to tell customers where it will be that day. &quot;Businesses use this as a hybrid between marketing and customer service,&quot; says Stone. &quot;They use the Twitter Search to track mentions of their products and services and as a way to begin a conversation.&quot;
Like any online forum, Twitter may not be for everyone. Its immediacy and conversational nature make it a boon to those whose products and services may take a bit more explaining or back-and-forth. And it can be a time suck. &quot;One of the major drawbacks is that [Twitter] is very addictive,&quot; says Savage, who has 800 followers and in turn follows just as many. He uses a popular add-on called Tweet Deck, which lets members organize messages by category.
GETTING STARTED
Joining Twitter is easy and free. You create a user name and password, then log onto the site. (You can also sign up to have tweets delivered to your mobile phone.) Once inside, there's a big box at the top labeled &quot;What are you doing?&quot; While you could start by typing something as mundane as &quot;I am drinking my coffee and checking out Twitter,&quot; you'll see tabs on the right that say &quot;following,&quot; &quot;followers,&quot; and &quot;updates,&quot; enabling you to follow others whose posts you find interesting. Once you've been posting for a while, people follow you too. A certain viral element takes over, and soon you may wind up in the middle of a Twitter community with common interests.
You'll also find thousands of irrelevant posts. &quot;It is easy to get lost and sidetracked,&quot; says Lambert, who suggests entrepreneurs think strategically about how they might use Twitter. A mortgage broker, for example, could follow discussions people are having about new tax credits, learn what advice they're getting and which sites they're linking to, and then compose a suitable message to address them.
The viral component of Twitter has helped Andra Watkins, founder of Positus, a consulting firm based in Charleston, S.C. She joined Twitter about six months ago, and at first found it a bit daunting. &quot;I did not grow up using these tools and it has taken me time to develop the voice and approach,&quot; she says. Still, she has built a following of 600 Twitterers&mdash;friends, colleagues, bloggers, and potential customers. She in turn follows about 600 other people, including a group from her home state of South Carolina&mdash;85% of whom she figures could help bring in business. She also follows influential bloggers and those with large Twitter followings, in hopes of establishing a dialogue with them, and keeps tabs on her competitors. Watkins sometimes sends out tweets that have nothing to do with her business, such as a few complaining about exercise. &quot;It makes me more approachable,&quot; Watkins says. In the past six months, she's found 10 new paying clients through Twitter.
Other business owners, like Michael Coffey, chief executive of BlueCotton in Bowling Green, Ky., are using Twitter to enhance customer service. The 25-employee, $4 million company lets customers design their own shirts online. For the past two months, two of Coffey's factory workers have used iPhones to snap pictures of completed shirts, and then to send photo tweets to customers right before shipping. &quot;Customers have some anxiety when they purchase shirts online,&quot; Coffey says. The tweets help alleviate those concerns&mdash;and have won new customers who spot the designs on Twitter. &quot;Having people follow BlueCotton is a feather in our cap,&quot; Coffey says. &quot;It helps create real fans of the company.&quot;
By Jeremy Quittner from Businessweek]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/613/REPORT:_Entrepeneurs_Are_Using_Twitter_To_Gain_Customers</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/613/REPORT:_Entrepeneurs_Are_Using_Twitter_To_Gain_Customers</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 14:30:25 -0400</pubDate>
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			<title>Top 10 Careers for '09 Graduates</title>
			<description><![CDATA[&nbsp;This summer, diplomas will be handed out, hats will be tossed in the air and college graduates will look to enter that elusive Real World they'v[...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[&nbsp;This summer, diplomas will be handed out, hats will be tossed in the air and college graduates will look to enter that elusive Real World they've heard so much about. It's all very exciting and nerve-wracking, in a good way.
Of course, student loan repayments are six months away and, as anyone who's turned on the news in the last year will tell you, the economy's not exactly booming.
Never fear, graduates. Yes, the hiring market is slower than it was when you entered college, but there are still jobs to be had. To help your search and calm your nerves, we've put together a list of 10 jobs that college grads should look for this year.
How did we do it? We looked at the National Association of Colleges and Employers' &quot;Job Outlook 2009&quot; survey of employers to see what industries were hiring and which majors interested them most. Then we looked at the Bureau of Labor Statistics' &quot;Occupational Outlook Handbook&quot; to see what positions fell under both categories and were expected to grow between 2006 and 2016.
Keep in mind that not every employer in these industries will be hiring at the same level and that many factors can come into play during the hiring process, such as your location. Also, the economy's erratic behavior and the stimulus bill could give some other jobs a big boost. Still, these are 10 jobs that new graduates have a good chance of finding in 2009.
&nbsp;
Accountants and auditors
2006 employment: 1.27 million
2016 employment: 1.5 million
Percentage increase: 18
Best for: Accounting majors

Database administrators
2006 employment: 119,000
2016 employment: 154,000
Percentage increase: 29
Best for: Computer science, information science or management information systems majors
Electrical engineers
2006 employment: 153,000
2016 employment: 163,000
Percentage increase: 6
Best for: Engineering majors
Financial analysts
2006 employment: 221,000
2016 employment: 295,000
Percentage increase: 33
Best for: Finance, economics, business administration, accounting or statistics majors
Management analysts
2006 employment: 29,000
2016 employment: 30,600
Percentage increase: 5.5
Best for: Business administration majors
Marketing managers
2006 employment: 167,000
2016 employment: 192,000
Percentage increase: 15
Best for: Business administration majors
Mechanical engineers
2006 employment: 226,000
2016 employment: 235,000
Percentage increase: 4
Best for: Engineering majors
Network systems and data communications analysts
2006 employment: 262,000
2016 employment: 402,000
Percentage increase: 53
Best for: Computer science, information science or management information systems majors
Personal financial advisers
2006 employment: 176,000
2016 employment: 248,000
Percentage increase: 41
Best for: Accounting, business, finance, economics, mathematics or law majors
Sales managers
2006 employment: 318,000
2016 employment: 351,000
Percentage increase: 10
Best for: Business administration majors]]></content:encoded>			<link>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/611/Top_10_Careers_for_'09_Graduates</link>
			<guid>http://www.instantbreakingnews.com/article/611/Top_10_Careers_for_'09_Graduates</guid>
			<pubDate>Mon, 06 Apr 2009 13:56:11 -0400</pubDate>
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