Chesapeake Energy: Managing Its Way Into Analysts' Good Graces

Chesapeake Energy?s (CHK) recent deal to sell its Appalachian Midstream Services, LLC, for $865 million to its spin off, Chesapeake Midstream Partners, LP (CHKM), may seem like hand waving to some. However, it is not.

Via this deal CHK has transferred debt obligations to an independent subsidiary, and it has gained a greater interest in the subsidiary. The publicly owned subsidiary has then taken on this debt load. This all means that CHK cannot be held liable for it. Plus the near monopoly pipeline business, CHKM, can borrow the money to finance this debt on good terms because it has a steady and defined income stream from its pipeline operations. Banks don?t like the big morass that is CHK any more than the analysts. It is too hard for them to determine what might fail and what effects any failure(s) might have on the overall company. With this action CHK has seemingly become more complex, but in actuality has become less complex to the bankers. This is a good thing. It should help CHK?s debt rating.

In another recent JV deal, CHK sold a 25% interest in 570,000 acres of CHK?s Utica Shale holdings to an undisclosed partner for $2.1B. $500M is scheduled to be paid by year-end 2011, and the remaining amount will be paid as development expenses in the Utica by 2014. This amounted to selling 142,500 net acres of its Utica lease holdings for a price near $15,000 per acre. This is nearly $12,500 per acre more than CHK paid for those acres ($2500/acre). This new money will allow CHK to fund some of its Utica development expenses. Plus it will pay off some of the debt incurred in buying the Utica lease holdings. It means CHK effectively bought roughly 700,000 of its Utica acres for free.

At the same time CHK formed a subsidiary for another part of its Utica Shale holdings. It sold $1.25B in perpetual preferred shares in this subsidiary, CHK Utica LLC, to EIG Global Energy Partners, GSO Capital Partners LP, and Magnetar Capital. This subsidiary owns approximately 700,000 net acres in the Utica. With this action CHK acquired $1.25B in immediate cash. Plus it sold no common shares in CHK Utica LLC, so it has retained complete control. In other words, CHK still owns those 700,00 acres. It has acquired the burden of the dividend payments for the preferred shares, but that is a lesser burden than its former debt. If CHK Utica LLC (CHKU) becomes cash strapped, it does not have to make dividend payments on time, although those payments will accumulate. The possibility of default is lessened considerably.

Effectively, CHK has moved development costs and debt burden into CHKU. This again decreases the liability of the parent company, but it does not really decrease its potential gains. Plus it again makes CHKU more understandable as a ?more simple entity? to banks. It makes CHKU more able to obtain favorable bank loans. Perpetual preferred shares have no maturity date, and they can be called at any time by the issuer (CHKU).

Analysts are going to soon realize that far from complicating the financial structure of CHK, this action (and others like it) simplify CHK?s financial structure to a banker. Plus they help to increase the book value of CHK?s assets, which again makes CHK a better overall credit risk. Since few now doubt the commercial viability of CHK?s Utica Shale holdings, this is even more true.

Some of the other ?monetization? actions CHK has taken just in the last year are:

1. It closed a JV with CNOOC (CEO) in the DJ and Powder River Basins for approximately $1.3B of cash and drilling carries in February 2011.
2. It closed the sale of Fayetteville Shale assets for net proceeds of approximately $4.65B in cash to a subsidiary of BHP Billiton Ltd. (BHP) in March 2011.
3. It repurchased approximately $2B in senior notes and contingent convertible senior notes YTD.
4. It closed VPP 9 proceeds of approximately $850M for approximately 180 bcfe of proved reserves for approximately $4.82/mcfe in May 2011.
5. It helped develop a recapitalization plan for Frac Tech Services LLC. It received a cash distribution of approximately $200M, and it now owns 30% of Frac Tech?s common stock, which has a $100 cost basis.
6. It is working on more monetizations.
7. Its growth projections were so strong in the first six months of the ?25/25 Plan" it amended the plan to a ?30/25 Plan? (30% production growth per year and 25% reduction of long term debt per year).

Along with the $2.1B and $1.25B deals described in detail above, these actions amount to a total of more than $10B. This is more than half of CHK?s market cap of $14.54B. It is approximately one third of its $27.22B Enterprise Value. This is huge, and it shows CHK?s true value. CHK lost very little overall in these deals, but it gained huge amounts of cash. CHK still has 15.1 million net acres in excellent oil and gas fields. 6.1 million net acres of these are in prime oil shale fields.

Huge amounts of CHK?s assets are extremely undervalued, as the above deals show. The sale of the Utica assets (acquired for $2,500/acre) for approximately $15,000 per acre is an example of just how undervalued many of these assets are on the books. CHK has prepared a NAV table analysis (see below), which attempts to estimate the true value of CHK?s assets. However, even this table far undervalues the assets. It does not come close to putting a ?real? value on CHK?s oil shale assets, and it only touches on the possible natural gas assets' ?real? value.

More and more world long term energy forecasts are predicting huge increases in natural gas use. This means huge increases in natural gas prices. A lot are predicting these increases will begin in 2012 as the U.S. finally begins to recognize the potential price gains from exporting LNG. There is also the possibility of a U.S. energy policy change that will emphasize natural gas use for transportation.

Click to enlarge

CHK sells at a PE of 11.4 and an FPE of 9.49. It pays a non-negligible dividend of 1.50%. There is a lot to like in this stock. I will try to follow up with a second article about its production progress. However, any serious investor should be looking at this stock for a long-term investment. If it has another $5B-$10B debt monetization year in 2012, that may really put it on analysts' radar. You will want to be in this stock at that time.

Disclosure: I have no positions in any stocks mentioned, but may initiate a long position in CHK over the next 72 hours.

Source: http://seekingalpha.com/article/316710-chesapeake-energy-managing-its-way-into-analysts-good-graces?source=feed

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Israel approves construction of 130 homes in east Jerusalem

By BNO News

JERUSALEM (BNO NEWS) -- The Jerusalem municipality on Wednesday approved a plan for the construction of 130 housing units in the east of the city, officials said.

The homes are to be built in the neighborhood of Gilo, which is regarded by the international community as a settlement. The plan still needs to be approved by the Interior Ministry and Regional Planning Committee, Ynet news reported.

Pepe Alalu of the left-wing Meretz party said the new homes will be built in three 12-story tower blocks in the neighborhood near the northern West Bank city of Bethlehem. He said that a large tourist complex will also be built in the heart of the Silwan, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem.

Palestinian Presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudeineh condemned the Israeli municipality's decision. He told the Palestine News and Information Agency (WAFA) that peace negotiations cannot be resumed without a complete halt of all settlement activities.

The move comes about two weeks after the Construction and Housing Ministry and the Israel Land Administration announced that hundreds of housing units will be marketed beyond the Green Line. According to the announcement, 348 of the units will be built in the town of Beitar illit, 500 in Har Homa in south Jerusalem and 180 in Givat Ze'ev in the northern part of the capital.

The four European Union members of the United Nation Security Council strongly criticized Israel's plan to expand its settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank. Britain, France, Germany and Portugal issued a joint statement, saying the Israeli settlements in Palestinian occupied territories and East Jerusalem are illegal under international law.

Last year, Israel and the Palestinian Authority stalled the peace negotiations, which were supported by the United States and the United Nations, after the Jewish nation refused to extend a moratorium on settlement building in the occupied Palestinian territory in September.

In response, Palestinian President Abbas broke off direct talks as recommended by Hamas, which has been designated as a terrorist organization by the European Union and countries such as the United States and Israel. Israel has since resumed settlement construction even though they have been labeled as a violation of international law by the international community.

Palestine has demanded a stop to settlement construction in the disputed East Jerusalem and West Bank area as a key element for continuing peace talks, aimed at reaching a two-state solution based on the 1967 Green Line. However, Israeli authorities have rejected the Palestinian solution based on the 1967 borders as that measure would leave a large population of Israelis in Judea and Samaria outside Israel's borders.

(Copyright 2012 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: sales@bnonews.com.)

Wednesday, December 28th, 2011 at 10:46 pm | BNO News | 1 Comment

Source: http://wireupdate.com/israel-approves-construction-of-130-homes-in-east-jerusalem.html

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New U.S. tactic for suspected Swiss bank tax cheats (Reuters)

(Reuters) ? U.S. authorities hunting in Swiss banks for suspected tax cheats have a new weapon in their arsenal: an arcane but aggressive legal maneuver more commonly used against drug smugglers, money launderers and Imelda Marcos, widow of the Philippine dictator.

Backed by court judges, federal prosecutors are issuing subpoenas -- official papers which compel the recipients to provide potentially damning evidence -- to United States taxpayers suspected of holding hidden accounts at Swiss and other offshore banks, according to criminal defense lawyers whose clients have received the papers.

The grand jury subpoenas are unusual in that they ask bank clients -- not the banks themselves -- to turn over to the authorities their bank account details since 2003, including statements with the highest annual balances. Taxpayers who refuse to comply potentially face a stark choice: be found in contempt of court and thus subject to civil or criminal fines and jail time, or disclose potentially incriminating evidence against themselves.

"This is a very hot issue right now," said Nathan Hochman, former assistant attorney general for the Tax Division of the Justice Department who is now in private practice at the law firm Bingham McCutchen. Hochman said that defense lawyers representing taxpayers were furious over the tactic, which already has been challenged in some courts.

NEW TACTIC IN SHOWDOWN

The subpoenas, at least a dozen of which have been issued over the past year or so, are the latest twist in a showdown between Switzerland and the United States over the battered tradition of Swiss bank secrecy. Swiss law, dating to 1934 and stemming from a medieval tradition, protects client bank information from disclosure; bankers who reveal client details can face jail time.

The subpoenas are evidence of tensions between Switzerland, the global capital of offshore wealth with an estimated $2 trillion in hidden assets, and the U.S. Justice Department, which is conducting criminal investigations of 11 Swiss banks suspected of enabling tens of thousands of wealthy Americans to evade U.S. taxes through secret bank accounts holding billions of dollars in hidden assets. The banks include Credit Suisse AG (CSGN.VX), which received a target letter last July notifying it that it was formally under criminal scrutiny; HSBC Holdings plc (HSBA.L), and Basler Kantonalbank, a large Swiss cantonal, or regional, bank.

The Justice Department is seeking to force the banks to disclose American client names and account information and pay hefty fines or face serious consequences, including possible indictment or deferred-prosecution agreements. "The number one thing is the customer data -- it is at the heart of the issue," said a U.S. government official briefed on the matter and on the subpoenas.

Earlier this month, the upper house of the Swiss parliament backed an amendment that would allow Switzerland to compel its banks to hand over American client data, even if authorities don't already know the client names; the lower house still has to approve it. The amendment covers an existing tax treaty between the United States and Switzerland in which the Alpine country has agreed to hand over client data but generally only if the U.S. side already knows the client's identity.

Tax lawyers representing clients receiving the subpoenas, known as Title 31 subpoenas, say that U.S. prosecutors are effectively staging an end-run around the treaty process. "The government is looking for a shortcut to traditional investigative steps in an international case," said a tax lawyer in Washington, D.C., who declined to be identified because he represented a taxpayer indicted by a grand jury in a sealed case.

Title 31 is a part of the U.S. Code of Laws that deals with money and finance. Federal prosecutors used the Title 31 subpoena strategy against Imelda Marcos around 1990 as part of a federal inquiry into bribes allegedly paid by Westinghouse Electric Corp to the Philippine government, according to prosecutors.

American taxpayers receiving the subpoenas include those who applied too late to one of two IRS voluntary disclosure programs, as well as clients who appear to have been "outed" by a clutch of recently indicted or charged Swiss bankers.

Federal prosecutors suspect that the nearly 20,000 U.S. taxpayers who came forward under the programs represent a fraction of the total tax evaders.

LEGAL WRANGLING

At issue is a U.S. legal principle known as the required records exception to the U.S. Constitution's Fifth Amendment. Courts have ruled that the amendment, granting persons the right not to be forced to incriminate themselves, has an important exception for "required records" that must be kept for activities that are regulated and of a "public" nature. Federal prosecutors issuing the court-backed subpoenas argue that offshore private banking falls into this category of activity.

But courts have issued conflicting opinions on whether that reasoning is correct.

Last August, in a closely watched case brought by a wealthy California taxpayer known only by the initials M.H., the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit upheld a district court's prior ruling that M.H. was in contempt of court for refusing to produce the bank documents.

Meanwhile, last September, a federal judge in Texas ruled that a different taxpayer did not have to comply with a subpoena for bank records because the records did not fall under the required records doctrine. The Justice Department is appealing against that ruling, according to court papers.

According to a criminal defense lawyer in Washington, D.C., with a client who has received a subpoena, the subpoenas are "tantamount to a required confession -- the production and authentication of records that are not in a regulated industry and have none of the 'public' aspects of other required records cases." The lawyer added that "while it may be a clever attempt, it pushes the 'required records' aspects of 5th Amendment case law to -- and most of us think well beyond -- its limits."

The lawyer declined to be identified, citing confidentiality rules governing grand jury subpoenas. But he added that some banks were "dragging their feet" in turning over documents to clients, while others, in particular "smaller banks," were refusing to do so. He did not identify the banks.

Jeremy Temkin, a criminal tax lawyer at Morvillo Abramovitz in New York, called the subpoenas on bank clients "an extension of the pressure on the Swiss to pressure on the American taxpayer. It's a very aggressive position."

(Editing By Howard Goller, Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/business/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111228/bs_nm/us_usa_swiss_client_subpoenas

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Emma Watson & Justin Bieber Have Most Influential Hair

Move over Jennifer Aniston, there are new hairstyle icons in town! Emma Watson and Justin Bieber have been named the most influential celebrities of 2011 when it comes to popular hairstyles.

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Perry challenges Santorum on earmarks (AP)

WASHINGTON, Iowa ? Texas Gov. Rick Perry is questioning former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum's conservative credentials.

Perry said Thursday that he's sometimes confused when Santorum talks about fiscal conservatism. Perry says the former senator loaded up federal legislation with so-called pork-barrel spending for his home state and calls Santorum a "prolific earmarker."

In the race for the GOP presidential nomination, Perry is casting himself as an economic and social conservative best suited to take on President Barack Obama. Perry has slipped in recent polling as Santorum, who also casts himself as the only true conservative, has risen.

Looking to halt Santorum's rise, Perry said, quote: "I love Iowa pork but I hate Washington pork."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_el_pr/us_perry

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The top 8 parenting controversies of 2011 (The Week)

New York ? Crotchless thongs, ADHD medication, chicken-pox lollipops, tiger moms ? parents had plenty to argue about this year

Moms and dads can all agree that parenting is no easy job. But ask them what's the best way to raise a kid, and get ready for an argument. Here, a list of eight parenting controversies that heated up talk at the dinner table in 2011:

1. Crotchless thongs... for 7-year-olds
A Colorado mom alerted the media when she visited a clothing store called Kid N Teen and found leopard-print, crotchless thong panties sized to fit girls as young as 7. The store's owner defended herself by saying that particular garment was meant for teens. But her critics ? and there were many ? said nobody should be urging teenage girls to buy underwear designed to make it easier, and faster, to have sex. "Holy triple inappropriate, Batman," said Meredith Carroll at Babble.

SEE MORE: To Train Up A Child: The book that's leading parents to kill?

?

2. ADHD: Are we over-drugging our kids?
The number of kids being treated for ADHD with prescription drugs, such as Adderall, rose from 1.8 million in 1996 to 2.3 million in 2008. The biggest jump was among teens. Some doctors chalked up the rise to greater recognition of ADHD, while others said we're in the middle of an over-prescription "epidemic." I've prescribed these drugs to kids for more than 30 years, said Dr. Lawrence Diller at?The Huffington Post. I believe in "the effectiveness and safety of these medicines." But we should all be worried about a medical system "that is so dependent on this treatment."

3. The "insane" mail-order "chicken pox lollipops" craze
One of the year's more bizarre twists in the vaccine wars came when authorities had to warn parents not to order lollipops licked by children infected with chicken pox, which are being sold online. The theory behind the candy is that you give it to your kids so the exposure will inoculate them. One doctor calls the trend a form of "Middle Ages vigilante vaccination," and health officials warn it's dangerous and illegal to send infected materials through the mail.

SEE MORE: 7 'hardcore' schoolyard brawls... between parents

?

4. Live birth... as performance art?
A pregnant New York City artist, Marni Kotak, arranged to have her baby in an art gallery...?as an audience watched. Kotak should be ashamed of the way she put her artistic vision ahead of the health and safety of her baby, said L.S. Carbonell at Lez Get Real. Her baby deserved to be born in a warm, safe place, not a public environment full of germs. But the sharing of intimate body functions is central to the history of performance art, said Ceridwren Morris at Babble, and the visceral act of giving birth certainly surely qualifies.

5. The great apple juice debate: FDA vs. Dr. Oz
TV medical expert Dr. Mehmet Oz caused a nationwide food fight when he said apple juice, which parents frequently give to their children, can have dangerously high levels of arsenic. The FDA fired back, saying "there is no evidence of any public health risk from drinking these juices."? Dr. Oz's statements are "extremely irresponsible," said Dr. Richard Besser at ABC News. Maybe, said Danielle Sullivan at Babble. But remember, the FDA shrugs off plenty of things many of us "do not feel are good for our kids," like trans fats, high fructose corn syrup, and meat injected with hormones and antibiotics.

SEE MORE: The 'insane' mail-order 'chicken pox lollipops' craze

?

6. Is Chuck E. Cheese creating tiny gambling addicts?
California mom Debbie Keller?sued Chuck E. Cheese Pizza for $5 million, claiming the restaurant's arcade games transform kids into gamblers. "It's time to crown a new hero in the mom world," said Jeanne Sager at The Stir. Chuck E. Cheese's games of chance are nothing but a training ground for Vegas. Then Keller should have just stayed away, said?Perez Hilton. If anyone's a gambling addict, it's her ? she's "rolling her legal dice for a $5 million jackpot!"

7. Vegan breastfeeding: A deadly crime?
A French vegan couple was prosecuted for neglect in the 2008 death of their 11-month-old daughter. They fed her only breast milk, which doctors say left the baby with a vitamin A and B12 deficiency due to her mother's diet. They also ignored a doctor's advice to get the baby treated in a hospital for bronchitis, trying natural remedies instead. This should "communicate a clear message to other vegans," said Sarah Pope at The Healthy Home Economist. "Abstinence from all animal foods is a danger to one's health and most particularly, your baby!" Nonsense, said Mike Adams at Natural News. This is simply anti-vegan bias.

SEE MORE: A 20th baby for the Duggars: Too risky?

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8. Do Chinese "tiger moms" raise the best kids?
Yale law professor Amy Chua ignited a national debate when she argued in The Wall Street Journal that strict Chinese mothers raise more successful children than coddling Western parents. "If the goal is efficiency, excellence, and success," says Henry Blodget at?Business Insider, it would appear that tiger moms do have "most American mothers beat." Sorry, but there are "downsides of telling children what they can and cannot do or be," says Mike Vilensky at New York. "It's hard to imagine a dictatorial mom like Chua raising a Bill Gates or a Mark Zuckerberg."

View this article on TheWeek.com
Get Jailing Balloon Boy's parents

Opinion Brief: Will spanking make your child successful?

Opinion Brief: Should babies be allowed in bars?

EssayThe last word: He said he was leaving. She ignored him.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/oped/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/theweek/20111229/cm_theweek/222363

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Essential Issues to Provide When Traveling to Mexico

Traveling to Mexico is among the issues which you do not desire to miss for the globe, but it wouldn?t be as fun or can even be disastrous when you fail to provide one of the most essential products. So what do you exactly have to bring?

one. Bring outfits that are proper for that climate. Many regions in Mexico have diverse weather, so you might too make sure the situation with the location where you are intended to go. For instance, those which are located in elevated areas for instance the Central Plateau could be a whole lot colder than these locations inside the plains. Therefore, you might want to stock on jackets and pants that can maintain you warm in the course of nighttime. The months of September until December can also be pretty cold as well.

2. Don?t neglect the sleeping bags or pads. There are many facilities for backpackers and transient travelers in Mexico, where accommodation can be definitely low-priced. Even so, they may possibly lack the important facilities, such as sleeping pads or bags. For those who select to remain here, you superior make certain that you can bring these essentials, or else, you?ll be sleeping uncomfortably around the floor. But if you would like to really feel pampered, calm, and unstressed when traveling to Mexico, you much better save some revenue for a great remain inside a hotel, including Grupo Mayan. It features first-class amenities and massive space for the fair cost.

three. Keep your cameras ready. You might depart all your jewellery behind your space, but don?t forget to keep the camera close to you when you?re out on a tour. Just about just about every city in Mexico has some thing to offer you to a traveler like you. The top way to preserve these recollections is to consider those snapshots. Just so you do not have to go scrambling for a lot more movies, use a digital digital camera, having a microSD that has huge potential. This way, it is likely to be just unlimited clicking.

four. Get rid of too-revealing dresses. Unless you are hitting the seaside, keep those tank tops, little T-shirts, and shorts within your bag initial. A good deal of people today in Mexico are staunch Catholics, which deem these dresses inappropriate to wear. What is extra, your excursion may perhaps include visits to some of their oldest churches. You do not wish to offend them by donning on these types of clothes. Stay clear of bringing shirts with offensive language or drawing printed on them. Even when you are the guest, you still would like to stay respectful to the tradition and personalities of the Mexicans.

five. Don comfortable shoes and slippers. Surely, there will likely be a whole lot of walking that you are heading to do in Mexico, so high-heeled sneakers and stilettos ought to be reserved for the night-out only. Pack a minimum of one rubber shoes along with a slipper, which you can use when you?re heading for the seaside.

6. Bring money. ATMs have their own schedules for refills, and also you do not wish to end up residing a day without any funds to spend. Thus, convey a fantastic quantity of cash with you. If you are remaining in a hotel, you could select to shop it within their safety deposit box.

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 29th, 2011 at 9:14 am and is filed under Travel Tips. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.basriel.com/travel-tips/essential-issues-to-provide-when-traveling-to-mexico/

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Supervolcanoes won't destroy Earth in 2012

The notion that the world will end with the coming of the new year, as some claim the ancient Maya predicted, has spawned a series of proposed methods for this planetary disaster: galactic forces, Earth's magnetic poles flipping, the eruption of a ?supervolcano.

Though it has been shown that the Mayans did not in fact predict 2012 would bring the end of the world, there have been supervolcano eruptions in Earth's past that have wrought significant destruction. One such eruption may have been the cause of a major ancient mass extinction event.

But is another supervolcano eruption on the way? At the dawn of the new year, researchers say: Don't hold your breath.

1. More science news from MSNBC Tech & Science

   1. 11 must-see science videos of 2011

      Science editor Alan Boyle's Weblog: Looking for viral videos with some scientific substance to them? Check out 11 must-see clips from the past year.

   2. Titanic collection to be put up for auction
   3. Infamous 'yeti finger' flunks DNA test
   4. Stephen Hawking seeks help to make voice heard

Catastrophic consequences
Supervolcanoes are capable of eruptions dwarfing anything ever recorded by man, spewing out thousands of times more magma and ash. A supervolcano eruption would have consequences similar to those from the impact of a mile-wide asteroid, potentially killing millions of people and disrupting climate and ecosystems by blotting out the sun with ash and cooling the Earth.

The largest supervolcano blast of the past 25 million years may have been the most recent one: the explosion of Mount Toba in Sumatra some 74,000 years ago. Scientists say Toba released a staggering 700 cubic miles of magma and a thick layer of ash over all of South Asia. By comparison, the famous explosion of the volcanic Indonesian island of Krakatoa ?in 1883 released about 3 cubic miles of magma.

There are roughly a dozen supervolcanoes today, some of them lying at the bottom of the sea. One, however, is in the middle of the United States.

The most recent giant eruption of the volcanically active area underlying Yellowstone National Park created the oval-shaped, 40- by 25-mile Yellowstone caldera. These energetic underpinnings are what fuel the park's famous geysers. [ Infographic: The Geology of Yellowstone ]

Minuscule odds
There is evidence that volcanic activity in Yellowstone will eventually lead to a colossal eruption capable of covering half the United States in 3 feet of ash. However, experts agree that super-eruptions are exceedingly rare, and the odds that one will occur in our lifetimes are vanishingly small.

In all, geologists have identified the remnants of about 50 super-eruptions. This may sound like a lot until it is put into the context of the full span of geologic history. Research suggests there is a super-eruption every 700,000 years or so, on average.

Scientists regularly monitor volcanically active regions globally, and there is absolutely no sign of a super-eruption looming anytime soon, said climate scientist Drew Shindell at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, who has studied what super-eruptions might do to climate.

There has only been only one super-eruption" in more than 100,000 years, so odds are minuscule for either near-future or within our lifetime," Shindell told OurAmazingPlanet.

In any case, the ancient Maya never predicted a supervolcano eruption in 2012 to begin with.

? 2011 OurAmazingPlanet. All rights reserved. More from OurAmazingPlanet.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45818146/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Daily App Deals: Get Zip Browser for iOS for Free in Today's App Deals [Deals]

The Daily App Deals post is a round-up of the best app discounts of the day, as well as some notable mentions for ones that are on sale.

The Best

Zip Browser (iTunes) Previously 99?, now Free. Zip Browser for iOS allows you to open and view the contents of ZIP files from within the Mail client on your iOS device. You can even upload or export files to Dropbox, Evernote, and more. Get it for Free. (via LogicBuy)

Free

iOS

Windows

The Rest

Android

Windows

• Roxio Creator 2012 | Roxio.com via LogicBuy | Previously 99.99, now 47.99 + free shipping with mail-in rebate + coupon code themacbun20, ROXIOSTORE15, ROXIOFREESHIP

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/rBu0nXEwDUI/daily-app-deals-get-zip-browser-for-ios-for-free-in-todays-app-deals

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NBA: 10 games on tonight's #KIATipOff schedule & you can catch them ALL with the NBA League Pass Preview. http://t.co/CkYEaryS

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10 games on tonight's #KIATipOff schedule & you can catch them ALL with the NBA League Pass Preview. on.nba.com/tqU6eu Il y a 39 minutes via HootSuite

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NFL Playoff Picture: Postseason Odds for Each AFC Bubble Team

Round 1-A of the playoffs begins this Sunday.? In this tournament, though, a win doesn?t guarantee advancement.?

Here are the five teams still fighting for the final two postseason seeds in the AFC, their odds and what needs to happen for them to sneak in.

?

Denver Broncos

With a win, the Denver Broncos are in.? In their house against an untalented Kansas City Chiefs squad, it?d be surprising if they didn?t take care of business.? Even if the Broncos do lose, though, they can still win the AFC West if the San Diego Chargers defeat the Oakland Raiders.

Odds: 75%

?

Cincinnati Bengals

With a win, the Cincinnati Bengals are in too, but their competition is about 10-times tougher than Denver?s.? Cincinnati is at home, but invading are the 11-4 Baltimore Ravens who are hungry to claim victory to the AFC North.?

If the Bengals can?t pull the upset, they?d need either the Jets and Raiders to lose or the Jets and Broncos to lose to make it to the postseason.

Odds: 50%

Oakland Raiders

It may be difficult for Raiders fans to stomach rooting for the Kansas City Chiefs, but they may not need to.? If the Broncos win, Oakland can still earn the Wild Card with a win of their own and some help.? That help would include a loss by the Bengals and Titans or a loss by the Bengals and Jets.

Odds: 50%

?

Tennessee Titans

The Indianapolis Colts may just be the team that keeps the Tennessee Titans out of the playoffs.? Beating the Houston Texans will be hard enough for the Titans, but they need plenty of help as well.?

Write this down: they?d get in with a Jets win and Raiders loss, a Jets win and a Broncos loss, or a Jets loss and Raiders and Broncos win.

Which team is least likely to be able to win their own game on Sunday?

Which team is least likely to be able to win their own game on Sunday?

• Broncos

• Bengals

• Raiders

• Titans

• Jets

Total votes: 5

Odds: 15%

?

New York Jets

It would take a miracle for the Jets to steal the second Wild Card spot.? If they can pull off a win against the Miami Dolphins in South Beach, New York must get more help than anyone to make the postseason.?

What would do the trick would be a Bengals loss, a Titans loss and either a Raiders or a Broncos loss.

Odds: 10%

?

David Daniels is a featured columnist at Bleacher Report and a syndicated writer. Follow?him?on Twitter.

Source: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1001475-nfl-playoff-picture-postseason-odds-for-each-afc-bubble-team

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Appeals court: Ark. can't stop desegregation funds

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) ? Arkansas cannot cut off millions of dollars in funding for desegregation programs in Little Rock-area school districts until the state asks a federal judge for permission to do so, an appeals court ruled Wednesday.

The 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals decision comes after U.S. District Judge Brian Miller ordered an end to most of the payments, calling them counterproductive. He accused the districts of delaying desegregation to keep getting state money.

The appeals court ruled that Miller decided to end the payments without the state specifically asking him to do so. The court said the state must ask, in a separate court action, before a judge could make such a ruling.

A spokesman for Attorney General Dustin McDaniel said Wednesday that no decision has been made about whether the state would file such a request.

Arkansas is required by a 1989 settlement to fund magnet schools, transfers between districts and other programs to support desegregation and keep a racial balance in the North Little Rock, Pulaski County and Little Rock school districts. Those costs currently add up to about $38 million a year, according to the appeals court's ruling.

State lawmakers have long wanted to end the desegregation program funding, though the districts say they're still necessary.

Battles over school desegregation in Little Rock date back to 1957, when nine black teenagers needed the protection of federal troops to integrate Central High School. Little Rock sued the state and its two neighboring districts in 1982, and two years later a judge agreed that the districts hadn't done enough to help the city schools desegregate.

Miller issued his order to end the payments earlier this year, after hearings about whether two of the three school districts in question ? North Little Rock and Pulaski County ? should be declared unitary, or substantially desegregated.

"That came kind of out of the blue," Stephen Jones, the lead attorney for the North Little Rock district, said Wednesday about Miller's ruling.

Miller wrote that the payments should end in order to avoid "an absurd outcome in which the districts are rewarded with extra money from the state if they fail to comply with their desegregation plans and they face having their funds cut by the state if they act in good faith and comply."

But the appeals court said Miller did not make "specific findings of fact" to support his decision.

Miller, who referred to himself as "a middle aged black judge," instead wrote: "After reading the briefs, the transcripts from the various hearings, and the scores of exhibits filed herein, it is very easy to conclude that few if any of the participants in this case have any clue how to effectively educate underprivileged black children."

The appeals court also reversed Miller's decision to deny the North Little Rock district's request to be declared unitary. Miller had denied the request in part because he said the district offered only anecdotal examples of its efforts to recruit black teachers.

The 8th Circuit disagreed, noting that more than 16 percent of the district's educators are black, compared to 9 percent statewide.

Miller didn't return a phone message left at his chambers Wednesday. But he removed himself from the desegregation case earlier this year, saying he could no longer make unbiased decisions after the state took over his hometown's school district in eastern Arkansas.

Jones, the North Little Rock district's lawyer, said he was pleased with the appeals court's decision to deem the district unitary.

"In a sense, it's anticlimactic because I don't think it really changes how we're going to conduct our day-to-day business," he said.

Another federal judge had previously declared the Little Rock district unitary, but Miller refused to declare the Pulaski County district entirely unitary in his May order. The appeals court upheld that part of Miller's ruling, which found the Pulaski County School District lacking in nine areas in which it had to make changes to be considered desegregated.

Wednesday's opinion notes that Miller found the Pulaski County district "has given very little thought, and even less effort to complying with its desegregation plan. Complying with its plan obligations seems to have been an afterthought."

The appeals court "found no reason to disagree" with Miller's conclusion.

The Pulaski County Special School District's lead attorney, Sam Jones, declined to comment Wednesday.

The Little Rock district's lead lawyer, Chris Heller, praised the appeals court's ruling, adding that part of Miller's decision in May "concerned issues that had not been presented to the district court."

McDaniel said in a statement that Arkansas is moving toward ending the legal action surrounding the decades-old desegregation case and in turn, "taking the courts out of the classrooms" in the county.

___

Follow Jeannie Nuss at http://twitter.com/jeannienuss

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/apdefault/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-12-28-Little%20Rock%20Desegregation/id-f1347c7ce6584b69bfa4c97e45cfcddb

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Bolivia's Morales hopes to build railway to Peru (AP)

LIMA, Peru ? Bolivia's president said Monday that he hopes to build a new railway linking his country to Peru that would facilitate exports to Asia.

Bolivian President Evo Morales said he has discussed the plan with Peruvian President Ollanta Humala. Morales told the Peruvian radio station RPP that the railway would run from Puerto Suarez, on Bolivia's border with Brazil, to the Pacific port of Ilo in Peru.

"It's my great dream," Morales said, adding that Brazil and Peru would also gain from having a railway link. He said it would carry agricultural products as well as other commodities to Asian countries.

Morales said in August after a visit to China that Chinese officials expressed interest in making the railway project a priority. It's not immediately clear how much the railway would cost, or how much financial support China might provide.

Bolivia and Peru currently export minerals to China including zinc and lead. Bolivia currently uses roads to truck shipments to Pacific ports in Chile.

Morales made the remarks Monday in the Peruvian city of Cusco, where he spent Christmas after meeting with Peru's president.

Humala also reiterated his support last week for Bolivia in its long-standing request that Chile provide the landlocked country with a corridor of land to access the Pacific coast.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111226/ap_on_re_la_am_ca/lt_bolivia_peru_train

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TRENDING: Potential Iowa GOP kingmaker conflicted about endorsing

Washington (CNN) - Iowa GOP Congressman Steve King, whose support is coveted by Republican presidential candidates, said he hoped to endorse one of them months ago. But like many other Iowa Republican voters, he is having a hard time picking a horse in this Republican field.

"I've said all along I want my head and my heart to come together, and when that happens I'll jump in with both feet. That just hasn't happened yet," King told CNN.

? Follow the Ticker on Twitter: @PoliticalTicker

King spoke by phone from his car as he was arriving for a hunting outing with former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania ? someone he calls a good friend, but not a candidate he's ready to endorse for president.

The Iowa Republican is a prominent conservative with rock solid credentials. Although Iowa voters are known for their independence, several Iowa Republican operatives tell CNN King's endorsement would be a big boon to any GOP candidate.

But King spoke with a mixture of bewilderment and lament about his inability to make a decision about which candidate to support. He even said he may change his mind and not endorse anyone at all.

"I have not come to the conviction where I can throw my energy behind a single candidate," said King.

Four years ago, King endorsed Fred Thompson, who was lagging behind but then went on to come in third in the Iowa caucuses.

King says this year he very much likes three of the lower tier candidates: Santorum, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann. Bachmann is one of King's closest friends and political allies in Congress and someone he says he has "great respect for." He made clear one issue he is weighing is whether to back one of these candidates who may not be viable this year, but could be someone he could help position for the next presidential election.

When it comes to Iowa's frontrunners, King had praise for former Speaker Newt Gingrich's economic plans, but called his immigration policies "troubling."

King is one of the biggest hardliners in Congress when it comes to illegal immigration, and Gingrich supports a path to legality for some illegal immigrants.

King said that's not a "deal breaker" but said it does "make it harder" to endorse Gingrich.

The Iowa Republican had the harshest words for his congressional colleague, Ron Paul ? particularly on the issue of foreign policy.

King recalled asking Paul what he would do with the military as commander in chief, and said Paul effectively answered that he would bring U.S. armed forces serving overseas back home.

"I do not want the Chinese knocking at our door, who would fill the power vacuum, as would the Russians, as would anybody else out there with aspirations. I think that would dramatically upset the balance of power in the world and would be something that could go down in history as one of the greatest mistakes this country would have potentially ever made," said King.

With little more than a week until the Iowa caucuses, King is well aware that time is running out for him to endorse, and if he does, for it to have an impact.

"I just haven't gotten to the point where I am convinced that one is so much better than the others and it's different for me than it is for someone going to the caucus to vote. They can put their vote up and walk away," King told CNN.

Source: http://rss.cnn.com/~r/rss/cnn_politicalticker/~3/J-6Jtgm56oo/

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NYTimes offers discounts in mistaken email gaffe (AP)

NEW YORK ? In today's digital age, it's easy to send out an email by mistake ? even for a company that's in the business of communication.

The New York Times thought it was sending an email to a few hundred people who had recently canceled subscriptions, offering them a 50 percent discount for 16 weeks to lure them back.

Instead, Wednesday's offer went to 8.6 million email addresses of people who had given them to the Times.

That was the first mistake. The second came when the Times tweeted this: "If you received an email today about canceling your NYT subscription, ignore it. It's not from us."

But the Times did send the original email, Times spokeswoman Eileen Murphy said.

"This email should have been sent to a very small number of subscribers, but instead was sent to a vast distribution list made up of people who had previously provided their email address to The New York Times. We regret the error," Murphy said in an email.

"The initial tweet was in error and we regret the mistake," she added.

The damage had already been done, however.

Many people called or wrote in. The newspaper initially honored the discount, even to people who were already paying full price and had no plans to cancel. Murphy said the newspaper stopped giving out discounts to people who received the email in error by early afternoon. She did not say how much the gaffe cost the company or specify how many people contacted the newspaper.

A parody Twitter account called (at)NYTSpam amassed 152 followers by Wednesday afternoon by making fun of the slip-up. The account's description of itself says: "Parody account. Not affiliated with (at)NYTimes or actual spammers -- just sick of bad digital strategy."

The newspaper has made big strides in raising revenue from digital subscriptions. It says it has gained 324,000 digital subscribers since restricting full online access to paying subscribers in March.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111228/ap_on_hi_te/us_new_york_times_erroneous_email

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For Iowa, campaign brings more attention than money (reuters)

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Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/179807705?client_source=feed&format=rss

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For Iowa, campaign brings more attention than money (Reuters)

DES MOINES (Reuters) ? Late on a recent Wednesday afternoon, Rick Perry walked into De Brito Baking Bistro in Mount Pleasant, Iowa, looking for its owner.

"Thank you, sir, for allowing us to come into your little bistro," the Texas governor and Republican presidential candidate said to his host, Jose Moreira. "I hope we generated a little business for you. One of our goals is to create jobs and in turn to create wealth and ... get the American economy moving again."

However much the January 3 Iowa caucuses boost the state's economy, Perry is certainly doing his part.

Desperate to give a jolt to a campaign that has struggled for traction after his poor performances in recent debates, Perry is outpacing all rivals in spending on TV ads - $2.86 million in December alone, according to the Des Moines Register. And this week, Perry's campaign is bringing in fellow Texans by the busload to tout his conservative credentials.

The caucuses that kick off the presidential nominating process can be a money-maker for a few Iowa businesses, as candidates and media flood the state for weeks of close-to-the-ground campaigning.

It's unclear how great the impact will be this year but business owners say they do know this: It's unlikely to come close to the boost they got in 2008, when Democrats and Republicans had contested caucuses here.

In 2008, the caucuses generated $25 million for the Des Moines area alone, according to Greater Des Moines Visitor and Convention Bureau.

That year, 2,500 members of the media visited the state. Iowa State University economist David Swenson estimates the candidates spent $15.5 million in Iowa then.

This time around, President Barack Obama is uncontested on the Democratic side. With only the Republicans competing, officials here say they expect less spending by campaigns and fewer members of the media to come here - roughly 1,500 by the time the causes are held.

Meanwhile, the campaigns generally have spent less time here with fewer staff members, partly a reflection of how different media strategies are coming into play this year.

Republican Newt Gingrich, for example, has had few staff members in Iowa but at one point was leading in the polls because of strong performances in nationally televised debates.

During the first nine months of 2011, Republican candidates spent $2.7 million in Iowa, less than 5 percent of the $55.8 million they spent nationwide.

Even so, some businesses in Des Moines, the state's capital and transportation hub, often manage to turn the caucuses into cash.

"It can be a real boon to local businesses," said an employee at the Village Bean Co. in Des Moines's East Village neighborhood.

Back in 2007, the Barack Obama campaign set up its headquarters next to the Baby Boomer Caf?.

"If it wasn't for the caucus and election last time I wouldn't be here today," owner Rodney Maxfield told local television station WHO-TV. Maxfield's restaurant gained renown when Obama's daughters began asking for his cookies by name.

Around the corner, the Raygun clothing store overflows with caucus-related apparel.

For $19, you can buy a T-shirt proclaiming "Corporations are people too" - a now famous comment made by candidate Mitt Romney, a former Massachusetts governor, at the Iowa State Fair this summer.

The store was packed last week as visitors finished their Christmas shopping.

A PIZZA CHAIN'S ROLE

Outside Des Moines, midwestern chain Pizza Ranch has secured its own prominent role in the presidential nominating process.

In March, The New York Times declared "The Road to the White House is Paved With Pizza" because the self-described Christian business and its 71 Iowa restaurants offer free space for candidates to meet with potential voters.

According to the Des Moines Register, Rick Santorum, a former U.S. senator from Pennsylvania, has popped into a Pizza Ranch 11 times during his tour of the state's 99 counties.

Michele Bachmann, a congresswoman from Minnesota, has made at least 18 visits to Pizza Ranch restaurants.

A few weeks ago, aides to Texas congressman Ron Paul told the Register they knew their candidate was surging in the Iowa polls because his crowds no longer could fit inside Pizza Ranch's dining rooms.

Despite Iowa's prominence as the first contest in presidential nominations, campaigns typically are tentative in their spending here, compared with the spending that takes place later in the process once the true contenders emerge.

During the early part of the 2008 election cycle - the third and fourth quarters of 2007 - Republican candidates spent six times as much in Virginia as they did in Iowa, according to Swenson, the Iowa State economist.

Even the millions spent on television ads in Iowa - $5 million so far this cycle, according to the Kantar Media Campaign Media Advisory Group - does not represent the true economic impact here, analysts say.

Although campaigns spend money for time on local TV stations, most of the advertising consultants and producers involved in such projects live elsewhere, so that money never really benefits Iowa.

Reporters' daily spending can give a slight bump to the local economy.

If those 1,500 members of the media spend an average of one week each in Iowa, they would generate 45 low-paying jobs for the state this year, Swenson said.

Citing Iowa's gross domestic product of $147 billion in 2010, Swenson predicts that the caucuses will contribute less than 0.01 percent of that amount to the state's economy.

Luckily, Iowa needs the business far less than other states this year. With an unemployment rate of 5.7 percent, Iowa has better jobless numbers than all but five states.

"I don't know that anybody out there can say we have a significantly greater amount of business activity as the consequence of the caucuses," Swenson said. "It's dinky."

(Editing by David Lindsey and Cynthia Osterman)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111227/pl_nm/us_usa_campaign_iowa_economy

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Iran threatens to stop Gulf oil if sanctions widened (Reuters)

TEHRAN (Reuters) ? Iran threatened on Tuesday to stop the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz if foreign sanctions were imposed on its crude exports over its nuclear ambitions, a move that could trigger military conflict with economies dependent on Gulf oil.

Western tensions with Iran have increased since a November 8 report by the U.N. nuclear watchdog saying Tehran appears to have worked on designing an atomic bomb and may still be pursuing research to that end. Iran strongly denies this and says it is developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

Iran has defiantly expanded nuclear activity despite four rounds of U.N. sanctions meted out since 2006 over its refusal to suspend sensitive uranium enrichment and open up to U.N. nuclear inspectors and investigators.

Many diplomats and analysts believe only sanctions targeting Iran's lifeblood oil sector might be painful enough to make it change course, but Russia and China - big trade partners of Tehran - have blocked such a move at the United Nations.

Iran's warning on Tuesday came three weeks after EU foreign ministers decided to tighten sanctions over the U.N. watchdog report and laid out plans for a possible embargo of oil from the world's No. 5 crude exporter.

"If they (the West) impose sanctions on Iran's oil exports, then even one drop of oil cannot flow from the Strait of Hormuz," the official Iranian news agency IRNA quoted Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying.

The U.S. State Department said it saw "an element of bluster" in the threat but underscored that the United States would support the free flow of oil.

"It's another attempt to distract attention away from the real issue, which is their continued non-compliance with their international nuclear obligations," spokesman Mark Toner said.

Rahimi's remarks coincided with a 10-day Iranian naval exercise in the Strait and nearby waters, a show of military force that began on Saturday.

"Our enemies will give up on their plots against Iran only if we give them a firm and strong lesson," Rahimi said.

JANUARY MEETING

Countries in the 27-member European Union take 450,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil, about 18 percent of the Islamic Republic's exports, much of which go to China and India. EU officials declined to comment on Tuesday.

About a third of all sea-borne oil was shipped through the Strait of Hormuz in 2009, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), and U.S. warships patrol the area to ensure safe passage.

Most of the crude exported from Saudi Arabia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait and Iraq - together with nearly all the liquefied natural gas from lead exporter Qatar - must slip through the Strait of Hormuz, a 4-mile wide shipping channel between Oman and Iran.

Iran has also hinted it could hit Israel and U.S. interests in the Gulf in response to any military strike on its nuclear installations - a last resort option hinted at by Washington and the Jewish state.

However, some analysts say Iran would think hard about sealing off the Strait since it could suffer just as much economically as Western crude importers, and could kindle war with militarily superior big powers.

"To me, if Iran did that it would be a suicidal act by the regime. Even its friends would be its enemies," said Phil Flynn, analyst at PFG Best Research in Chicago.

SAUDI REPLACEMENT?

Industry sources said on Tuesday No. 1 oil exporter Saudi Arabia and other Gulf OPEC states were ready to replace Iranian oil if further sanctions halt Iranian crude exports to Europe.

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi had said that Saudi Arabia had promised not to replace Iranian crude if sanctions were imposed.

"No promise was made to Iran, it's very unlikely that Saudi Arabia would not fill a demand gap if sanctions are placed," an industry source familiar with the matter said.

Gulf delegates from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) said an Iranian threat to close the Strait of Hormuz would harm Tehran as well as the major regional producers that also use the world's most vital oil export channel.

Oil prices spiked on Tuesday, fuelled by fears of supply disruptions and Iranian naval exercises in a crucial oil shipping route, with gains capped by simmering euro zone debt concerns.

Brent crude oil futures jumped more than a dollar to over $109 a barrel after the Iranian threat, but a Gulf OPEC delegate said the effect could be temporary. "For now, any move in the oil price is short-term, as I don't see Iran actually going ahead with the threat," the delegate told Reuters.

The industry source said that in the case of EU sanctions, Iran would most likely export more of its crude to Asia, while Gulf states would divert their exports to Europe to fill the gap until the market is balanced again.

A prominent analyst said that if Iran did manage to shut down the Strait of Hormuz, the ensuing spike in oil prices could wreck the global economy, so the United States was likely to intervene to foil such a blockade in the first place.

"First, the U.S. will probably not allow Iran to close the Strait. That's a major economic thoroughfare and not just for oil. You shut that Strait and we are talking a major hit on many Middle East economies," said Carl Larry, president of Oil Outlooks in New York.

"Second, there is no way that the Saudis (alone) have enough oil or quality of oil to replace Iranian crude. Figure Saudi spare capacity is 2 to 4 million at best. Of that spare, about 1-2 million is real oil that is comparable out of Iran. Lose Iran, lose 3.5 million barrels per day of imports. No way."

French President Nicolas Sarkozy proposed hitting Iran with an oil embargo and won support from Britain, but resistance to the idea persists within and outside the European Union.

An import ban might raise global oil prices during hard economic times and debt-strapped Greece has been relying on attractively financed Iranian oil.

Iran's seaborne trade is already suffering from existing trade sanctions, with shipping companies scaling down or pulling out as the Islamic Republic faces more hurdles in transporting its oil.

(Additional reporting by Parisa Hafezi in Tehran, Dmitry Zhdannikov in London, Robert Gibbons and Janet McGurty in New York, Amena Bakr in Dubai, Andrew Quinn in Washington; Writing by Mark Heinrich; Editing by Jon Boyle and Alison Williams)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111227/wl_nm/us_iran_oil_hormuz

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Foxconn to double its iPhone plant?s size, output (Appolicious)

Taiwanese tech manufacturer Foxconn, one of the companies that assembles Apple?s iOS mobile devices, intends to double the size of one of its biggest plant. This could allow it to produce twice as many iPhones.

The plant is located in the Chinese city of Zhengzhou and is one which the company uses to assemble Apple?s iPhone line of smartphones, Apple Insider reported. In 2011, the plant hired 100,000 new employees, and Foxconn is working with Zhengzhou to do the same in 2012, nearly doubling the size of the plant (it currently house 130,000 workers).

According to a report from the China Daily, Foxconn?s Zhengzhou plant produces more than 200,000 iPhones every single day. The assumption is that if the plant doubles the number of workers it employs, it?ll double the output. That could seriously help Apple, which has dealt with some major supply problems with its devices in the last year. The Cupertino tech giant struggled to fill demand for the iPhone 4S after its launch earlier this year, for example, and had similar problems with the last iteration of its smartphone. Having one of Foxconn?s plants double its output could help a great deal with those issues.

Foxconn, and Apple manufacturers in general, have something of a troubled past, however. Foxconn?s Zhengzhou plant saw several employees commit suicide during the past two years, raising serious concerns about working conditions. At the plant another Taiwanese iOS manufacturer, Pegatron, an explosion on Dec. 17 injured 61 workers after the aluminum dust used to polish iPads ignited, Bloomberg Businessweek reported. Back in May, a Foxconn plant suffered a similar incident, which resulted in the deaths of three workers and 15 others were injured. Working conditions in these plants have been a point of controversy for Apple, but outsourcing those manufacturing jobs to China has also been part of the iOS success story.

The plans for Foxconn?s Zhengzhou plant will put a $1.1 billion addition on the facility. Revenue from the huge plant ? it?ll be the largest in the world ? is projected to bring in $20 billion in sales revenue in 2012 alone. The company employs more than 1 million people and provides electronics to several device makers, of which Apple is just one.

And while the addition to Foxconn?s plant will likely be good news for Apple and iOS device owners, somehow it doesn?t seem likely to be an improvement for workers. The controversy over the conditions under which our technological devices are produced is likely to continue into the next year, along with their popularity.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/applecomputer/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/appolicious_rss/rss_appolicious_tc/http___www_appolicious_com_articles10594_foxconn_to_double_its_iphone_plants_size_output/44011911/SIG=130oltvu0/*http%3A//www.appolicious.com/tech/articles/10594-foxconn-to-double-its-iphone-plants-size-output

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Monday's sports briefs

Murphy QB Curtis named state's best

MURPHY ? Murphy senior quarterback Seth Curtis has been named the NCPreps.com 1-A football player of the year.

Curtis was also the Citizen-Times All-WNC Player of the Year and the Smoky Mountain Conference Back of the Year after leading the Bulldogs (12-4) to the NCHSAA 1-A championship, the first state title for the Cherokee County high school since 1996.

Curtis threw for 2,111 yards and 21 touchdowns with five interceptions, while rushing for 1,301 yards and 20 touchdowns.

Holiday hoops tourneys begin today

ASHEVILLE ? At least a dozen holiday basketball tournaments featuring Western North Carolina high school teams begin today. For a complete schedule of today?s first-round games, see Page C4.

Syracuse remains No. 1 in the nation

With Syracuse No. 1 for a third straight week, the top seven teams remain the same in The Associated Press' Top 25 college basketball poll.

The Orange received 54 first-place votes from the 65-member national media poll on Monday. Ohio State, Kentucky, Louisville, North Carolina, Baylor and Duke held their places from last week.

Solid ratings for NBA's return

NEW YORK ? NBA fans seem more excited about basketball?s return than bitter about the lockout based on television ratings for the league?s delayed openers.

The five Christmas games Sunday attracted large audiences, with the Bulls-Lakers matchup drawing the third-highest preliminary rating for a regular-season game on ABC. The 6.5 overnight rating trailed only a 7.3 for last year?s highly anticipated Heat-Lakers showdown and a 7.9 for another meeting between Miami and LA in 2004.

Rangers catcher hits umpire

CARACAS, Venezuela ? Texas Rangers catcher Yorvit Torrealba has been suspended from Venezuela?s professional baseball league for 66 games for striking an umpire.

Torrealba was arguing with the home-plate umpire Friday after striking out. He angrily put a hand on the umpire?s mask and shoved him. League President Jose Grasso Vecchio called Torrealba?s behavior unacceptable and a violation of league rules.

Source: http://www.citizen-times.com/article/20111227/SPORTS/312260046/1002/rss

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U-M Psychiatrist: 'Holiday Blues' Common Around Christmas

shelby-utica.patch.com:

As Christmas draws closer, we're bombarded with the final days of holiday parties, shopping for gifts and preparing for guests.

Commercials promising love in exchange for the latest gadget or jewelry bombard us 24 hours a day. The actors in the ads are always happy and smiling. Nobody ever seems to be disappointed.

Read the whole story: shelby-utica.patch.com

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Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/12/25/u-m-psychiatrist-holiday-_n_1169159.html

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Fire Emblem: Nintendo Announces First 3DS Game With Paid Download Content

They have been fighting against the concept of making customers pay for extra game content for years, but as previously reported, Nintendo has now changed its strategy. According to a report by Japanese business daily The Nikkei, Nintendo has chosen Fire Emblem as the first game on the 3DS to offer paid download content. Fire Emblem: Kakusei, the latest title in the classic RPG series, is scheduled for release in Japan in spring 2012 (it has been announced earlier this year).

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/Kah57rMLUxI/

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If you have an iPhone, would you get rid of the Facebook app?

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Source: http://www.macforum.biz/iphone-ipod-ipad-apps-ios/284556-if-you-have-iphone-would-you-get-rid-facebook-app.html

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Donating An Automotive | Articles Caravan

If in case you have an automotive that you realize longer use you will have to imagine donating it to a good cause. Many people are unaware that it is even conceivable to donate cars. In turn they only finally end up taking their car to the junkyard instead. Why supply your automotive to the junkyard for pennies, whilst you?ll be able to donate it to help other people that are in want?

The benefit of donating a car is that there are a lot of advantages that pass in conjunction with it that you may no longer even bear in mind of. Firstly, it is important to recognise that you?ll be able to donate your automotive even supposing it is not in highest operating condition. With a little bit of work your car can most likely get running once more and lend help in additional techniques than one. As well as, you by no means have to worry approximately riding your car to the donation middle or deciding to buy towing. They?re going to all the time come to you to pick out the automobile up; no questions asked.

To take service a step further, donation centers also are prepared to work with you to be able to be sure that the whole lot is going off easily from the start. They provide quick provider and advised consideration in order that you shouldn?t have to head from your way to ensure that your automotive is picked up on time, etc. Whilst you donate your car there is also a minimal amount of forms that you have to care for; this makes the method even quicker.

Donating an automotive can be used as a large IRS tax deduction. Many of us aren?t conscious about this, however it is likely one of the easiest reasons to donate your automobile to charity or another cause. Tax deductions can cross far in making sure that you don?t owe money at the finish of the year.

And naturally the largest good thing about donating an automotive is that you?re going to be serving to folks which can be in need. Your car would possibly cross to a circle of relatives that does not have any transportation, or the group you donate it to might use it to deliver clothes, meals, or furniture. Either means, you?ll be able to be relax assured that your donation goes to be put to good use.

To discover a charity or group that accepts automobile donations you?ll be able to merely go online or search the yellow pages. You shouldn?t have any issues finding an organization in your house that will be ecstatic to take your automobile off your hands. And if you can not find anybody to your house, check out anyone somewhat additional out. Chances are that they?re going to be just excited to help you out.

Overall, if you have an automotive that you simply not use look into donating it. The advantages that move in conjunction with this process are never-ending, and you will feel significantly better about your self whilst the whole lot is over and done.

If you need added info with reference to scrap car prices, swing by Howard K Lalone?s internet site this minute.

Source: http://articlescaravan.net/80824-donating-automotive/

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