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Sunday, April 22, 2012
IMF announces $430 billion to boost resources
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde smiles during a G-20 news conference at the IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, Friday, April 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde smiles during a G-20 news conference at the IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, Friday, April 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
Mexico's Central Bank Gov. Agustin Carstens, standing at rear, Mexico's Finance Minister Jose Antonio Meade, left, International Monetary and Finance Committee (IMFC) chairman Tharman Shanmugaratnam, and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde finish a G-20 news conference at the IMF and World Bank Group Spring Meetings in Washington, Friday, April 20, 2012. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
WASHINGTON (AP) ? The International Monetary Fund says it has raised more than $430 billion in an effort to assure finance markets that it has sufficient firepower to handle any new problems from Europe's prolonged debt crisis.
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde announced the new figure at the conclusion of the discussions among finance officials of the Group of 20 major economic powers on Friday. She said that some countries including Russia, India, China and Brazil had made private pledges but did not want to issue public commitments until they had conferred with officials in their home capitals.
But she said when the public and private commitments were combined, the total raised would exceed $430 billion, nearly doubling the IMF's available resources to make loans to nations in trouble.
Lagarde called the fundraising a "huge effort" that would increase the current $485 billion in funds available for loans to a figure above $1 trillion.
"We have the necessary tools in the tool box and we will use this wisely," she told reporters at a news conference wrapping up discussions among finance ministers and central bank governors of the G-20 countries. The group includes traditional economic powers such as the United States and Germany and emerging powers such as China and Brazil.
The United States was represented in the talks by Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Lagarde said the extra resources would create to the stability of the global economy. Finance officials hope that the sizable increase in IMF resources will reassure financial markets that there will be a backstop should another, larger European country get into trouble in repaying its government debts.
Already three European nations ? Greece, Ireland and Portugal ? have been forced to accept IMF rescue packages along with sizable bailout support from other nations using the euro currency. But the concern is that Spain and Italy, much larger economies, are now facing economic difficulties. If either of those nations needed rescue packages, the costs would be far higher than what has been raised so far.
The fund raising effort exposed splits inside the 188-nation IMF. The United States and Canada refused to participate in boosting the IMF's resources, seeking to keep pressure on Europe to do more.
And the four countries that did not publicly reveal their contributions ? China, Russia, India and Brazil ? all expressed reservations about pledging additional resources until the IMF implements a 2010 agreement to give emerging market nations more of a say in how the IMF operates. There are doubts whether the deal to boost the voting power of China and other emerging countries can be achieved by the deadline of the fall meetings of the IMF.
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Outsource Services: Why Do Companies Outsource?
Lower Cost, Higher Efficiency
This is the major driving factor, a lot of companies achieve significant cost saving without compromising quality. Perhaps, it would cost more to perform such business functions in-house or within the country where the business resides. Amazingly, outsourcing benefits have gone beyond cost saving as you will find out in subsequent reasons why companies outsource operations.
Unstable Political and Business Climate
In 2008, Information Week survey revealed nearly 30% positive responses from CFOs, confirming their uncertainty about business/political climates as one of the major reasons for outsourcing. Of course, it is reasonable for a company?s hiring decision to be partly influenced by political interruptions in business activities, including fears about increased taxes and more unfavorable regulations. So, in addition to cost saving advantage, organizations are also prospecting into the years and even decades ahead as they use outsourcing increasingly to hedge against possible political upheaval that may obstruct business flow.
Small Business Growth Benefit
There?s a general assumption that big organizations hide under the umbrella of outsourcing to lay off their employees and reduce HR cost. However, we should not forget that small businesses are also using outsourcing services increasingly. The main reason is simply ?commodification?. This simply implies that small businesses are now capable of paying incrementally for business functions, which were previously affordable to only large corporations. The increasingly low outsourcing service fee charged by offshore vendors has made commodification possible. Thus, immediate cost saving is not the imminent benefit in this scenario; but to achieve rapid growth that wasn?t possible in the past years.
Time to Market is Accelerated
?The first to enter the market usually claims the largest market share?. This timeless business maxim points to another financial incentive for choosing outsourcing. A company achieves accelerated time to market by choosing to outsource some of its business functions. The reason is simple; the outsource services vendors are sufficiently trained and experienced experts in their various outsourcing fields. Therefore, performance speed is faster. Consequently, a company is able to introduce a new product to the market faster than using in-house employees. This also provides a competitive advantage for an organization.
The list of outsourcing benefits is definitely a long one. However, proper selection process is necessary for hiring the right vendor and achieving great benefits ultimately.
Daven Michaels is an award-winning outsourcer and author of the book, ?Outsource This!? Daven has been honored more than any other individual or outsourcing organization. You can get more information on outsourcing by visiting www.123Employee.com
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Carolina Chocolate Drops to Perform in Raleigh in September ...
Photo Credit: Crackerfarm
North Carolina?s own Grammy winning Carolina Chocolate Drops kick off PineCone?s 2012 Down Home Concerts at the Progress Energy Center for the Performing Arts on Friday, Sept. 21, 2012. Their latest release, Leaving Eden, has received widespread critical acclaim, and they?ve also penned a tune titled ?Daughter?s Lament? for The Hunger Games soundtrack.
?The Carolina Chocolate Drops are Piedmont musicians who have brought old-time stringband music back to the forefront of contemporary folk music. New audiences around the world are experiencing music from the African American stringband tradition for the first time through their music, and they are carrying on the legacy of their mentor, Piedmont fiddler Joe Thompson,? said William Lewis, Executive Director of PineCone. ?This concert, in particular, will honor Thompson?s legacy while celebrating the continuation of the African American stringband tradition, which the Chocolate Drops have made distinctive not only by learning the history and heritage of the music, but also by infusing it with their own perspectives and making it relevant in the present day. They have really put the Piedmont on the map in contemporary music circles, and we are thrilled to share their story, which epitomizes such a vital aspect of North Carolina?s music heritage.?
Tickets for this concert will be on sale for PineCone members from May 14-16; tickets will go on sale to the general public on Thursday, May 17, beginning at 10 a.m.
Tickets will be available at:
- Online at pinecone.org
- By phone via PineCone?s Box Office: 919-664-8302 (flat, $5-per-order handling charge)
- In person at Progress Energy Center Box Office, 2 E South St, Raleigh, NC
- Ticketmaster.com / Ticketmaster Charge by phone at 800-745-3000
- Ticketmaster outlets including Crabtree Valley Mall
Over the past year, CCD have played to a remarkably wide range of concert-goers, with appearances at the Newport Jazz Festival, the Grand Ole Opry, the Cambridge Folk Festival in the U.K., and even as part of the Dave Matthews Band Caravan, among many other events. They earned their first Grammy in 2010, lost founding member Justin Robinson, and added multi-instrumentalist Hubby Jenkins to their line-up, in addition to recording their latest album, Leaving Eden-a record of original compositions, covers, and traditional songs-with Nashville producer and musician Buddy Miller.
CCD formed after founding members Flemons and Giddens met Piedmont fiddler Joe Thompson at the Black Banjo Gathering in Boone, NC in 2005. They traveled to his home once a week to learn from him and jam with him, and they started performing as a tribute to Thompson, a chance to bring his music back out of the house again and into dance halls and public places. Their band name, Carolina Chocolate Drops, is a tip of the hat to popular 1930s black string band the Tennessee Chocolate Drops. Today, their music carries on Thompson?s old-time Piedmont music legacy and proves that the music of the past is as alive and vibrant today as it ever was. Join PineCone in September for a night celebrating North Carolina Piedmont music!
Read more about the Carolina Chocolate Drops
Visit the Carolina Chocolate Drops website
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Friday, April 20, 2012
Young Bay Area Slam Poets To Hit The Stage : News: SFAppeal
Dozens of young poets are preparing to take the stage this weekend for the semifinals of a youth spoken word competition in which Bay Area teens raise their voices and bare their souls.
Youth Speaks, a San Francisco-based nonprofit founded in 1996, is holding its 16th annual Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam, which began earlier this month with several hundred young poets in the preliminary rounds.
That number was whittled down to about 40 young people whose booming voices will fill auditoriums this weekend as they compete for one of 12 spots in the final round on April 27 at San Francisco's Masonic Auditorium.
Queen Shabazz, 17, a junior at San Francisco's Lick Wilmerding High School, is one of the semifinalists.
She learned about Youth Speaks from a community outreach coordinator at school her freshman year but wasn't too interested until she attended an open mic event in Oakland and was "blown away" by the performances, she said.
Shabazz is now a seasoned performer herself, and says her works--like those of most other Youth Speaks poets--are deeply personal.
"I write about my family. I write about life," she said.
She said her poems explore how confronting reality can sometimes be difficult.
"Even though reality can sometimes be daunting to people, I write about how we can change that," Shabazz said.
Shabazz said she was comfortable with public speaking when she joined Youth Speaks, but getting up in front of a crowd was a challenge for another semifinalist, 18-year-old Monica Mendoza, of Oakland.
"It was scary 'cause, first of all, I never really did any public speaking before Youth Speaks," Mendoza said.
Additionally, she said, she feels vulnerable sharing so much of herself with a large group of people.
"I never know if they actually care, if they actually want to hear this stuff," she said.
Mendoza has written since she was a child but never shared it with anyone until she joined Youth Speaks as a junior at Oakland's Life Academy.
She now attends Chabot College, and said the poem she performed in the preliminary rounds is about her parents and growing up as a child of immigrants.
"When I was young, people used to bother me about it," she said.
The audience liked her piece, she said.
"It always feels amazing to share something that's so personal and everybody being warm and welcoming," Mendoza said. "It just felt great."
Youth Speaks founder James Kass, a poet himself, was inspired to start the program in the mid-1990s while he was studying for his master's degree in creative writing at San Francisco State University.
At that time, he said, there were a number of state propositions, including Proposition 187, that he felt targeted young people, particularly those of color.
He felt compelled to help those young people express themselves.
"Everybody was talking about teenagers, but there were really very few opportunities for teens to be present in their own voices," Kass said.
It was the beginning of the dot-com boom, and he and a poet friend collected donated computers and began going to high schools offering free writing workshops. If students put in 40 hours with the program, they would get a free, used computer, he said.
The program quickly grew in popularity, and eventually, Kass said, "we didn't need to have donated computers anymore."
These days, Youth Speaks works with an estimated 35,000 to 40,000 students through its programs in schools, he said.
The Youth Speaks Teen Poetry Slam is one of a number of components of the program. The winners will go on to represent Youth Speaks at the national Brave New Voices competition this summer.
Youth Speaks serves mostly teens between the ages of 13 and 19. Those interested can attend one of the organization's regular workshops or open mic events.
"Kids literally can just show up," Kass said.
More information on the program and the semifinal rounds can be found on the organization's website at www.youthspeaks.org.
The "Grand Slam Finals" will take place on Friday, April 27, at 7 p.m. at the Masonic Auditorium at 1111 California St. in San Francisco. General admission is $18, and those ages 24 or younger pay $6.
Photo of poet Miles Bridges: Scott Chernis
Melissa McRobbie, Bay City News
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London Drugs photolab blog: In time for Mother's Day: Family Tree ...
I have a shoebox in my closet that?s filled with vintage family photos. Every year or so I stumble on this box of treasures, and I take a few minutes to browse through.
Step 8: Upload your completed file to London Drugs. Your calendar will be ready for pickup within a few days.
My family tree calendar turned out beautifully. Each month is a lovely combination of the generations, a heartwarming way to look at the weeks ahead.
See your store for exact session times.
This made me think, how can I get these little gems out of my shoebox and somewhere where I can enjoy them year-round?
This month?s photo project is a family tree calendar, one that incorporates all of your loved ones, past and present. Here?s how I put mine together.
Step 1: Gather photos from your family tree. Look for vintage pictures of your ancestors, as well as close-ups of the newest members of the family. My calendar did not include every aunt and cousin (my extended family is massive), just the family members who are particularly close.
Step 2: Create your digital photo file. An essential step to creating any calendar is to place all of your images into one digital folder. First, copy your digital photos into the file, then scan the rest Remember to use the colour scan setting, even for black and white photos?this will capture the nuance and character of the aging paper copy. If you don?t have a scanner or the time to digitize your images, we can scan the photos for you at any London Drugs photolab counter.
Step 3: Divide your photos into dates. Birthdates, wedding dates, special occasions, or times the photos were taken?any date that is significant to the photo and your family. My photo calendar has one main image and several small images on specific days. If you wish, you can place a picture on every day of the year.
Step 4: Decide how you will create your calendar. Home Edition software is free and easy to use, and our staff can always help if you have questions. Alternatively, you can bring your images into our store and let us build your calendar. It costs $25 for us to build a calendar without text?ask at the counter for details.
Step 5: If you are building your own calendar, open Home Edition and choose your calendar size and format. We now offer new sizes and formats for calendar?I selected the new 8?x12? coil bound calendar. It?s a smaller size that fits perfectly by my phone. You will then be prompted to select your photos. Choose your digital photo file.
Step 6: Choose your main pictures. For each month, you can have one or more main photos. For this calendar, I stuck with one main photo. To keep with the vintage feel, I opted for a sepia filter, black background, and a simple white border.
Step 7: Create ?events? for the special days in each month. You can add an image and caption that will be displayed on this day.Step 8: Upload your completed file to London Drugs. Your calendar will be ready for pickup within a few days.
My family tree calendar turned out beautifully. Each month is a lovely combination of the generations, a heartwarming way to look at the weeks ahead.
Questions? Come to a Home Edition workshop!
Throughout May, every photolab counter will be holding session in-store on how to build photobooks, calendars, and greeting cards.
- How to create a photobook will be held twice, morning and afternoon, on both Saturday May 12th and Saturday May 19th.
- How to create greeting cards will be held three times a day on Sunday May 13th and Sunday May 20th.
- How to create calendars will be held twice, morning and afternoon, on Wednesday May 16th and Wednesday May 23rd.
See your store for exact session times.
Written by Angela Ford, Amateur Photographer
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Health care compact bill meets public opposition | Health and Fitness
CONCORD ? A bill to establish a multistate compact to take over health care programs from the federal government met stiff opposition at a public hearing Thursday.
House Bill 1560 would allow the state to explore with other states ways to bypass federal health care regulations and programs, including Medicaid, Medicare and the national reform law passed two years ago.
The House passed House Bill 1560 on a 221-131 vote last month after killing an attempt to have a study committee review the issue.
Supporters of the bill said it would allow the state to craft a specific health care system for the state instead of one size fits all programs like Medicaid and Medicare.
?The current health care system is on an unsustainable path and the federal and state health care programs will be bankrupt if they continue on this path,? said House Deputy Majority Leader Shawn Jasper, R-Hudson.
But opponents who included people with disabilities and the elderly said the bill would put the state?s most vulnerable citizens at risk for no good reason.
Jeff Dickinson of Granite State Independent Living said the supporters and sponsors of the bill ?are basically saying ?Trust us,?? Dickinson said. ?We don?t know what we want to do with this but trust us.?
He said a disabled person he has to plan every aspect of his life. ?I?m not real good at ?Trust me,?? he said.
The bill is nearly identical to legislation approved in six states: Utah, Texas, Oklahoma, Indiana, Missouri and Georgia.
Supporters acknowledged about half the states would need to be on board before Congress took any action. Congress would have to approve the compact and allow the states to receive the federal money going to health care programs as block grants. New Hampshire would stand to receive about $2.9 billion.
A multistate commission would oversee the program, which would require health care to be improved in the compact states.
Corey R. Lewandowski, state director of Americans for Prosperity -New Hampshire, said ?This is not about what is covered, this is about who decides.?
He said the authority would no longer reside with ?faceless bureaucrats in Washington, but would bring authority back to New Hampshire to determine here what kind of care we want to offer.?
But several people on the Medicare program said they like the program and don?t want the state to be able to change it.
?I am a Medicare beneficiary who is very satisfied with the program and the guaranteed health care services made available to me, even though I have a pre-existing condition,? said Joan Jacobs of Portsmouth. ?I do not want my Medicare coverage terminated by the state of New Hampshire. I repeat: I don?t want my Medicare coverage terminated by the state of New Hampshire.?
She noted the bill is not home grown but a product of the American Legislative Exchange Council that ?will bring chaos to the health delivery system here in New Hampshire.?
The committee is expected to decide on its recommendation on the bill in the next two weeks.
The bill?s sponsors are House Majority Leader D.J. Bettencourt, R-Salem, and Senate Finance Committee Chair Sen. Chuck Morse, R-Salem.
Article source: http://www.unionleader.com/article/20120419/NEWS06/704209973
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