Distressed Debt Investing: Understanding Incentives: An Often ...

Before I begin, I'd like to thank CNBC for recognizing?Distressed Debt Investing?as one of today's best alternative financial blogs. For those interested, you can view the entire list here: CNBC's Best Alternative Financial Blogs

On a number of posts in the past, I have tried to discuss how I weigh incentives and motivations of major players in the investment situations I am analyzing. ?In essence, if you had to boil down a key determinant of how I view incentives, it goes something like this: People want what best for them, and that often means getting paid. ?Whether that be management teams, board of directors, FAs, shareholders, etc, in the end, and as shallow as it sounds: follow the dollars (specifically the ones that can be earned 100% ethically), and you can more often than not, come out with the solution that inevitable plays out.

The example I often point to is that of management team's sizable equity incentive plans granted during the bankruptcy process. ?More often than not, a management team will have a SCANT equity holding of the debtor prior to entering Chapter 11. ?Then, out of seemingly thin air, management is granted 4, 6, 8, or 10% of the company via options that generally trigger when the company emerges from bankruptcy or hits some makeshift financial goal negotiated with creditors that are driving the process (read: distressed funds / distressed private equity) and the financial advisers. ?And because the debtor has the sole right to file its own plan of reorganization, management's incentives are to broker the best deal for themselves financially...i.e. "Well the unsecured creditors are offering us 5% of the equity - if the subs can up that to 10%, we'd be more inclined to support them." ?Bankruptcy judges are many times loathe to confirm a plan that is not the debtors own creation, it stands to reason that the management team has just scored an amazing pay day for themselves.

In my opinion, the annual proxy is the most important, yet the least read of companies' SEC filings. ?While the entire document is a treasure trove of information (management bio, board bio, shareholder makeup, board makeup, board compensation, etc), the most important nugget of information to me is the report of the compensation committee. ?This, in no uncertain terms, will tell you what guideposts and targets a board (almost always directed by a consultant hired by the management team) has set up for its executive management team to maximize their financial compensation. ?Not only that, but it lays out items like acceleration of benefits on a change of control which can lend a clue whether a company is preparing itself to be sold to the highest bidder.

Let me take an example. ?A specialty metals manufacturer recently changed the make-up of their management compensation to eliminate leverage metrics. Historically, the compensation committee targeted a conservative Debt / EBITDA ratio, management hit that ratio (like clockwork), and got paid. ?Last year, after a few more aggressive board members joined the board, that leverage target was removed from the compensation structure. ?Since then, the company has added over a full turn of leverage moving spreads out considerably. ?No credit analyst reported on this. ?No one even talked about it or mentioned it in an 8k or a transcript. ?It was subtly removed from the one year's proxy to the next. ?And if you had caught it, you may have been out of the bonds before their prices fell.

In addition, I think board compensation and make up is something that is often overlooked by the analyst community. Let's talk about the economics of being a board member: ?I'd say the average S&P 500 board member is making between 100k-200k/year for attending 5-8 meetings a year where all their expenses are paid, they are put up in a 5-star, and are wined and dined by management teams that they either have a related business with, or have been friends for a number of years. ?These board members have the clout of being on a big-name company board of directors. ?They can brag to their friends about that. ?People DO NOT give that up easily. ?If there is a hostile offer for a company and the target's board will be replaced, AND that same board will not make a windfall on acceleration of stock options, then I doubt that hostile will work out. ?Tender offers can work, but a highly incentivized board of directors will pay a highly incentivized law firm to work out defenses that will keep the pay checks coming.

There are other most?esoteric incentive structures that analysts need to be cognizant of that are often overlooked. In a bankruptcy for instance, a financial adviser's terms of agreement with the company / equity committee / unsecured committee is often filed publicly with the court. ?FAs will take a monthly fee but the real dollars come from incentive fees for selling the company. ?These incentive fees are often structured at various tier levels. ?Believe me when I tell you that FAs are not setting ultra lofty goals for themselves as to not receive their incentive kickers: ?They will set reasonable goals that can be used as a base line for valuation work in terms of recoveries to various constituents.

In the beginning of January, I wrote up, as a long idea, the AMR 2001-1 As and Bs EETC (as a strip) on the Distressed Debt Investors Club. This past Friday, AMR elected to 1110A?the collateral backing that deal sending the bonds soaring today. ?My thesis rested not only on the large deficiency claim that rejecting these aircraft would bring about, but also on some more qualitative work. ?Despite the MD-80 status as uneconomic fuel hog, AMR needs a number of these legacy planes to continue operations in certain routes. And as the planes backing the 2001-1 deal were some of the newest MD-80s, it'd stand to reason they'd accept these. ?But for me, an important intangible: ?Boeing owned the equity of the planes backing the deal. ?(AMR was leasing them from Boeing). If you haven't heard, AMR has purchase?commitments?for nearly $3 billion of Boeing new build planes over the next five years. ?I think it was in AMR's best interest to keep things running smoothly on the new order side with Boeing and as an act of good faith, accepted this collateral, despite the economics that say rejection was the correct choice for AMR. ?The leases will probably be re-worked, but in the end, the catalyst, the incentives, and the mis-pricing was there for an fantastic investment opportunity.

Peter Lupoff, founder of Tiburon Capital Management, advocates something called the Rational Actor's Assessment:

Rational Actor?s Assessment is a game theory approach where we identify every rational financial actor and consider their anticipated behaviors if pursuing their own rational self-interest. Rational Actor?s are Management, Bond Holders (perhaps a new, activist bondholder), Bank Debt Holders, Private Equity, Competitors, the Trade, Unions, Biggest Shareholder, etc. Any constituent group whose behaviors can influence outcomes

You lay out what is best for each stakeholder, and then play the game. I've recommended it in the past:?Bruce Bueno de Mesquita's The Predictioner's Game?is simply the best book on the topic. ?The book uses game theory in the lens of international politics. ?I think though it is just as relevant to evaluating whether a merger is going to go through, if a company is going to overspend on capex to meet sales incentive targets, if the unions will play ball in a bankruptcy etc. ?You will never be able to play out every situation in your head (or an Excel spreadsheet - points to self with two thumbs) with 100% accuracy, but you can improve your ability to?gauge?how situations will play out and by doing that should vastly improve your investment success.

Source: http://www.distressed-debt-investing.com/2012/01/understanding-incentives-often.html

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Downton Abbey, Season 2

She will be haunted, of course, but at least she was brave. This episode offered a great deal of courage?upper lips were stiff even as lower lips quivered with oncoming sobs. There was William, bravely pushing Matthew aside as a shell fell near them in Amiens. (And I guess now we know why all the other war scenes looked so shitty?they blew their budget on this one, to excellent effect.) There was paralyzed Matthew, bravely sending Lavinia away, doing what he thought was best even though it was as cruel as could be. (Hell, in 1918 it apparently took a great deal of courage even to allude to the marital act in private conversation with your fiancee.) Mrs. Hughes faced up to the dastardly major in passing along Ethel?s letter. And there was Mary, perhaps the bravest of all, confessing her shame to Sir Richard and, with clear eyes, asking for his help in stamping out Mrs. Bates? plans to ruin the Crawleys.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=16e5e9a7bb60f499589e6bd7904b59bc

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Private investors near deal on Greek debt

ATHENS, Greece?? A disorderly and potentially devastating Greek debt default is looking much less likely.

Greece and investors who own its bonds have reached a tentative deal to significantly reduce the country's debt and pave the way for it to receive a much-needed euro130 billion bailout.

Negotiators for the investors announced the agreement Saturday and said it could become final next week. If the agreement works as planned, it will help Greece remain solvent and help Europe avoid a blow to its already weak financial system, even though banks and other bond investors will have to accept multibillion-dollar losses.

Still, it doesn't resolve the weakening economic conditions in Greece and other European nations as they rein in spending to get their debts under control.

Under the agreement, investors holding euro206 billion in Greek bonds would exchange them for new bonds worth 60 percent less.

The new bonds' face value is half of the existing bonds. They would have a longer maturity and pay an average interest rate of slightly less than 4 percent. The existing bonds pay an average interest rate of 5 percent, according to the think tank Re-Define.

The deal would reduce Greece's annual interest expense on the bonds from about $10 billion to about $4 billion. And when the bonds mature, instead of paying bondholders euro206 billion, Greece will have to pay only euro103 billion.

Without the deal, which would reduce Greece's debt load by at least euro120 billion, the bonds held by banks, insurance companies and hedge funds would likely become worthless. Many of these investors also hold debt from other countries that use the euro, which could also lose value in the event of a full-fledged Greek default. This is the scenario analysts fear most and why they hope investors will voluntarily accept a partial loss on their Greek bonds.

The agreement taking shape is a key step before Greece can get a second, euro130 billion bailout from its European Union partners and the International Monetary Fund. Besides restructuring its debt with private investors, Greece must also take other steps before getting aid. It must cut its deficit and boost the competitiveness of its economy through layoffs of government employees and the sale of several state companies, among other moves.

Greece faces a euro14.5 billion bond repayment on March 20, which it cannot afford without additional help.

The country got its first bailout in May 2010 when the EU and the IMF signed off on a euro110 billion aid package, most of which has already been disbursed.

Private investors hold roughly two-thirds of Greece's debt, which has reached an unsustainable level ? nearly 160 percent of the country's annual economic output. By restructuring the debt held by private investors, Greece and its EU partners are hoping to bring that ratio closer to 120 percent by the end of this decade. Without a deal, analysts forecast that ratio ballooning to 200 percent by the end of this year as the Greek economy falters.

Meanwhile, Greece's public creditors ? ? the IMF, the EU and the European Central Bank ? are baffled by the government's repeated failure to meet deficit targets. They want more government wage cuts. That is meeting resistance by Greek politicians afraid of losing an election tentatively scheduled for the spring. But those same politicians also worry that the nation will be denied a second bailout if doesn't reduce its deficit.

Greek Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos on Saturday night asked those who oppose structural changes to reconsider their stance.

"The coming days will be decisive for the next decade ... We must answer to tough dilemmas and we must do so with foresight and a sense of responsibility and not hide behind each other," he told reporters after meeting with the public creditors.

In return for the first bailout, Greece's public creditors have unprecedented powers over Greek spending. However, Greece's problems will not be fixed simply by cutting government spending. In order to bring its debts to a more manageable level, the country must also find ways boost economic output, which would enable it to collect more taxes.

If no debt-exchange deal is reached with private creditors and Greece is forced to default, it would very likely spook Europe's ? and possibly the world's ? financial markets. It could even lead Greece to withdraw from the euro.

Sarah Ketterer, co-manager of Causeway International Value Fund, a $1.4 billion mutual fund that invests in European stocks, said the region's markets have rebounded this month largely on expectations that negotiators would reach a deal along the lines of the one being finalized now.

Any last-minute breakdown in the talks could trigger a sharp decline in European markets, she said. But a rally is unlikely if negotiations succeed.

"The equity markets have ... largely already discounted this, and you can see that in the confidence that has returned in European equities since the end of December, and especially for financial stocks," Ketterer said.

She said there "really was no other option" than reaching a deal for bondholders to take a haircut of 50 percent or more.

Ketterer said a Greek deal could help restore bond market confidence. That would help Italy manage its own debt crisis ? one that Ketterer views as more critical than Greece's because of Italy's greater size.

The investors who own Greek bonds are being represented by Charles Dallara, managing director of the Washington-based Institute of International Finance, and Jean Lemierre, senior adviser to the chairman of the French bank BNP Paribas.

___

AP personal finance writer Mark Jewell in Boston, Elena Becatoros in Athens and Gabriele Steinhauser in Brussels contributed to this report.

Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46175493/ns/business-stocks_and_economy/

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Neeson's 'The Grey' tops box office with $20M (AP)

NEW YORK ? Beware the Liam in Winter. Liam Neeson's "The Grey" topped the weekend box office with $20 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, continuing the actor's success as an action star in the winter months.

The Alaskan survivalist thriller opened above expectations with a performance on par with previous Neeson thrillers "Taken" and "Unknown." Those films, both January-February releases, opened with $24.7 million and $21.9 million, respectively.

But the R-rated "The Grey," which has received good reviews, drove home the strong appeal of Neeson, action star. It's an unlikely turn for the 59-year-old Neeson, previously better known for his dramatic performances, like those in "Schindler's List" and "Kinsey."

"Liam is a true movie star, period," said Tom Ortenberg, CEO of Open Road Films. It's the second release for the newly formed distributor, created by theater chains AMC and Regal.

"My guess is that Liam Neeson in action thrillers would work just about any time of year."

January is often a dumping ground for less-stellar releases, a tradition held up by two badly reviewed new wide releases: "Man on a Ledge," with Sam Worthington, and "One for the Money" with Katherine Heigl.

"One for the Money" fared better, earning $11.8 million, while "Man on a Ledge" opened with $8.3 million.

Those were reasonably solid returns, and, in an unusual twist, were both ultimately for Lions Gate Entertainment. Its film studio, Lionsgate, released the romantic comedy "One for the Money." The action thriller "Man on a Ledge" was released by Summit Entertainment, which Lions Gate bought for $412.5 million earlier this month.

"One for the Money" was helped by a promotion with Groupon, the Internet discount site, with which Lionsgate previously partnered for "The Lincoln Lawyer." David Spitz, head of distribution for Lionsgate, said the large number of older, female subscribers of Groupon matched well with the audience of "One for the Money."

Groupon email blasts, he said, had a significant promotional effect.

Last week's box-office leader, "Underworld: Awakenings," Sony's Screen Gem's latest installment in its vampire series, came in second with $12.5 million, bringing its cumulative total to $45.1 million.

The unexpectedly large haul for "The Grey," strong holdovers (such as the George Lucas-produced World War II action film "Red Tails," which earned $10.4 million in its second week) and the bump for Oscar contending films following Tuesday's nominations added up to a good weekend for Hollywood. The box office was up about 15 percent on the corresponding weekend last year.

So far, every weekend this year has been an "up" weekend, after a somewhat dismal fourth quarter in 2011.

"`Mission: Impossible,' I think, really helped reinvigorate the marketplace, and that's carried over into the first part of the year," said Paul Dergarabedian, box-office analyst for Hollywood.com. "That's good news for Hollywood after the down-trending box office of 2011."

Oscar favorites "The Descendants," "Hugo" and "The Artist" sought to capitalize on their recent Academy Awards nominations. Each expanded to more theaters and saw an uptick in business.

Fox Searchlight's "The Descendants," which is nominated for five Oscars including best picture, added 1,441 screens in its 11th week of release. It added $6.6 million and has now made $58.8 million, making it one of Fox Searchlight's most successful releases.

Sheila DeLoach, senior vice president of distribution for Fox Searchlight, said the film's nominations and its recent Golden Globes wins (for best drama and best actor, George Clooney) "played a big role" in its weekend box office.

Paramount's "Hugo," which led Oscar nominations with 11 including best picture, saw a 143 percent jump in business over its last weekend. In its tenth week of release, it earned $2.3 million, bringing its total to $58.7 million.

The Weinstein Co.'s "The Artist," with 10 Oscar nominations including best picture, expanded a modest 235 screens to bring it to a total of 897 screens in its 10th week of release. It earned $3.3 million, with a total of $16.7 million.

The Weinstein Co. is being careful with the black-and-white, largely silent film. Thus far, it has appealed particularly to older audiences.

"It's not the same type of picture as any other picture in the marketplace," said Erik Loomis, head of distribution for the Weinstein Co. "Now that the nominations are out, we're going to look to capitalize on it as best we can. ... We're being very, very meticulous with it. We're not throwing it out there and grabbing every theater we can. At some point, we'll open the floodgates on the movie, maybe closer to the awards."

Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Hollywood.com. Final figures will be released Monday.

1. "The Grey," $20 million.

2. "Underworld: Awakening," $12.5 million.

3. "One for the Money," $11.8 million.

4. "Red Tails," $10.4 million.

5. "Man on a Ledge," $8.3 million.

6. "Extremely Loud & Incredibly Close," $7.1 million.

7. "The Descendants," $6.6 million.

8. "Contraband," $6.5 million.

9. "Beauty and the Beast," $5.3 million.

10. "Haywire," $4 million.

___

Online:

http://www.hollywood.com/boxoffice

___

Universal and Focus are owned by NBC Universal, a unit of Comcast Corp.; Sony, Columbia, Sony Screen Gems and Sony Pictures Classics are units of Sony Corp.; Paramount is owned by Viacom Inc.; Disney, Pixar and Marvel are owned by The Walt Disney Co.; Miramax is owned by Filmyard Holdings LLC; 20th Century Fox and Fox Searchlight are owned by News Corp.; Warner Bros. and New Line are units of Time Warner Inc.; MGM is owned by a group of former creditors including Highland Capital, Anchorage Advisors and Carl Icahn; Lionsgate is owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.; IFC is owned by Rainbow Media Holdings, a subsidiary of Cablevision Systems Corp.; Rogue is owned by Relativity Media LLC.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/topstories/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120129/ap_on_en_mo/us_box_office

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Chicago Area Cats, Dogs & Other Pets Up For Adoption (1/27 ...

Popeye is a 1-3-year-old male domestic shorthair who got left behind an apartment complex when his people hitched town and took off without him. He loves being picked up and is super playful silly, and love giving other cats what for. Visit Popeye at the Red Door Animal Shelter, 2410 W. Lunt Ave., Chicago. Click here or call (773) 764-2242 for more information.

Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/01/27/chicago-area-cats-dogs-ot_n_1237566.html

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Viadeo vies for Arab expansion with Moroccan branch (Reuters)

RABAT (Reuters) ? Viadeo, the world's second-biggest online networking site for professionals after LinkedIn, said on Friday it had opened a regional branch in Morocco as it seeks to expand its presence in the increasingly-wired Arab world.

Viadeo, which targets professionals, job seekers and recruiters, shelved plans for an initial public offering last year to focus on growth in emerging markets.

"Morocco is the first country in Northern Africa and within the Arab world where Viadeo has established an office; this follows the opening of an office in Senegal in March 2011," Viadeo said in a statement.

Morocco accounts for a quarter of Viadeo's 2 million members in Africa. The increasing use of Internet and high youth unemployment in the Arab world, which hovers around 30 percent in Morocco, is a boon for businesses like Viadeo.

"The membership base in Morocco has doubled in less than a year and represents the second French speaking community of the platform after France," it said.

(Reporting By Souhail Karam; Editing by Jon Loades-Carter)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wr_nm/us_viadeo_morocco

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Bomb attack in Baghdad kills 24: police, hospital (Reuters)

BAGHDAD (Reuters) ? At least 29 people were killed when a suicide bomber detonated his explosives near a Baghdad marketplace on Friday, the latest attack on a mainly Shi'ite neighborhood since a political crisis erupted in December, police and hospital sources said.

The bomber exploded his vehicle near a passing Shi'ite funeral procession by a small street market in the Zaafaraniya neighborhood, killing at least 29 and wounding around 60 more, police officials and sources at three hospitals said.

Iraqi authorities blame Sunni Islamist insurgents for attacks targeting Shi'ites in an attempt to stoke the kind of sectarian violence in 2006-2007 which killed tens of thousands.

"The suicide car bomber failed to arrive at the Zaafaraniya police station so he blew himself up close to shops and the market," said an official at the office of Baghdad security spokesman Qassim al-Moussawi.

The funeral was for a Shi'ite real estate agent who was killed by gunmen in Baghdad a day earlier, police said.

A string of attacks has targeted Shi'ites during the crisis triggered when Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government sought the arrest of a Sunni vice president and asked lawmakers to remove a Sunni deputy prime minister shortly after the last U.S. troops left Iraq on December 18.

Violence has eased since the heights of sectarian strife unleashed by the 2003 invasion that ousted Sunni dictator Saddam Hussein. But Iraqi forces are still battling Sunni insurgents and rival Shi'ite militias.

Maliki, a Shi'ite, says his moves against Sunni leaders were legal decisions and not politically motivated. But many Sunnis, already feeling alienated, worry measures are part of a drive by Maliki to consolidate his power at their expense.

(Reporting Kareem Raheem; writing by Patrick Markey; Editing by Myra MacDonald)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/iraq/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120127/wl_nm/us_iraq_violence

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House Republicans Question the Safety of Chevy Volt Batteries (ContributorNetwork)

House Republicans railed against the Obama Administration Wednesday during an investigative hearing on General Motors' Chevy Volt, after a probe conducted by the federal auto safety agency ruled that the electric cars' batteries are not prone to causing fires. "The Chevrolet Volt is safe to drive and it has been safe to drive the whole time," asserted David Strickland, head of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Not only would I drive it, I would [take] my wife, my mother and my baby sister along for the ride."

The contention ignited after a government investigation was administered that resulted in three fires breaking out after a series of side-impact crash tests were conducted. General Motors, the NHTSA, and Democratic lawmakers all contended that leaking battery coolant may have prompted a delayed ignition (the fires did not occur until days later), and that there is no conclusive evidence that the batteries pose any danger.

However, the final verdict did not satisfy Republicans, largely due to President Barack Obama's relentless push for environmentally-friendly policies. The electric car market, where the Chevy Volt currently holds the spotlight, is one of the President's most touted "green" accomplishments (not to mention, the federal government still lays claim to 26.5 percent of GM's shares). "Whose best interest were you acting in?" Rep. Mike Kelly (R-Pa.) charged. "It certainly wasn't the American public."

The White House's "green" agenda creates a conflict of interest, the GOP lawmakers argued, particularly as the President works to usher in new mileage requirements that were negotiated last year. Moreover, the administration doled out hundreds of millions of dollars in taxpayer-funded subsidies to help foster the Volt's development, including $151.4 million in stimulus funds for a Michigan-based company that produces lithium-ion batteries.

In a preliminary report, Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform subcommittee expounded on how in 2008, the domestic automobile industry endured a perilous spike in labor costs, as expensive union contracts threatened the viability of Ford, GM, and Chrysler.

The federal government, in its meddlesome fashion, intervened and attempted to prop up the companies to divert the possibility of bankruptcy. This "too big to fail" mentality is what paved the way for the auto bailouts, where the federal government captured a large stake in GM and Chrysler. This, the lawmakers allege, is the "conflict of interest" they are alluding to.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/uscongress/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ac/20120126/us_ac/10885737_house_republicans_question_the_safety_of_chevy_volt_batteries

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Siri Can Translate Languages for You with a Tweak [Video]

Siri is more powerful than Apple lets on so it's up to the tweaking, hacking, tinkerish souls of the jailbreak community to unleash her full potential. Like this latest Siri hack, Lingual. It's a jailbreak-only tweak that turns Siri into a translation device. Just say what you want to Siri, name the language you want to translate it to and Siri will display it in its translated glory. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/GANM11PgwKs/siri-can-translate-languages-for-you-with-a-tweak

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Vikings stadium planners go after Minneapolis roadblocks (Star Tribune)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, RSS Feeds and Widgets via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/191150747?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Nation's oldest federal judge dies at age 104 (AP)

WICHITA, Kan. ? As the nation's oldest sitting federal judge in history, U.S. District Judge Wesley Brown allowed himself few concessions to his advancing age as he insisted on presiding over significant and often complex cases right up until his death at 104.

Brown died Monday night at the Wichita assisted living center where he lived, his law clerk, Nanette Turner Kalcik, said Tuesday.

During his long tenure, the senior judge in Wichita repeatedly tried to explain why he had not yet fully retired from the federal bench.

"As a federal judge, I was appointed for life or good behavior, whichever I lose first," Brown quipped in a 2011 interview with The Associated Press. How did he plan to leave the post? "Feet first," Brown said.

He came to work at the federal courthouse every day until about a month ago when his health deteriorated, U.S. District Judge J. Thomas Marten said. Undeterred, the ailing Brown then had his law clerks bring work to the hospital and later to the assisted living center while he recuperated. His law clerks were with him virtually non-stop, taking turns to be there except at night during the past few weeks.

Brown was appointed as a federal district judge in 1962 by then-President John F. Kennedy.

"When Judge Brown spoke, we listened because_ while nobody has seen it all ? he certainly came closer to it than anybody I have ever known," Marten said. "And his message was always the same: remember who you are and what your job is."

In 1979, Brown officially took senior status, a type of semiretirement that allows federal judges to work with a full or reduced case level. He continued to carry a full workload for decades.

"I do it to be a public service," Brown said in the AP interview. "You got to have a reason to live. As long as you perform a public service, you have a reason to live."

His long tenure on the federal bench surpasses even that of Joseph Woodrough, a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit who, until Brown, had been the longest practicing judge in the federal judiciary when he died in 1977 shortly after turning 104.

"Judge Brown always said he hoped he would be remembered as a good judge, not just an old judge ? and I think it was a sincere concern of his," U.S. District Judge Eric Melgren said.

As a federal judge, Brown could have retired at full salary, but he never had a real interest in that, Melgren said.

"He frequently encouraged ? or, you know, frankly even admonished us ? to remember that our duty as judges was to take the responsibility for the administration of justice in our courtrooms and collectively in our district court," Melgren said. "He was very committed to it."

Brown's stooped frame nearly disappeared behind the federal bench during hearings. His gait was slower, but his mind remained sharp as he presided over a tightly run courtroom even after turning 104 last June.

Brown removed himself from the draw for assignment of new criminal cases in March, and by the time he died he was no longer presiding over hearings. He kept an active civil caseload, but during the last months of his life referred evidentiary hearings on his remaining civil to magistrate judges for their recommendations before making a decision.

"I will quit this job when I think it is time," Brown said last year. "And I hope I do so and leave the country in better shape because I have been a part of it."

Another of his law clerks, Michael Lahey, said he took a turn for the worse just a week before his death.

"He finally wore out," Lahey said. "He maintained his abilities right up to the end."

Among the cases he was still handling when he died is a constitutional challenge to a new Kansas law restricting insurance coverage for abortions. He also was presiding at the time over a multi-defendant lawsuit filed by Omaha-based Northern Natural Gas Co. in its bid to condemn more than 9,100 acres in south-central Kansas to contain gas migrating from an underground storage facility.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brent Anderson has practiced law in Brown's courtroom for 20 years as a federal prosecutor and for more than seven years before that as a private attorney.

"Judge Brown ran his courtroom in a firm and fair manner so you knew when you were going into Judge Brown's courtroom you had better know the rules and you had better follow the rules," Anderson said. "On the other hand, there was no more compassionate judge than Judge Brown."

Anderson recalled an incident that occurred when Brown was about 98. A cell phone started ringing in the courtroom ? twice. Nervous lawyers pulled out their cell phones to make sure they were turned off. Then, while sorting through some paperwork on the bench, the judge realized it was his own cell phone that had gone off.

"He immediately fined himself $100 and held himself in contempt and said, `I guess I learned my lesson,'" Anderson recalled.

Brown ? who was born on June 22, 1907, in Hutchinson, Kansas ? was six years older than the next oldest sitting federal judge. At least eight other federal judges are in their 90s, according to a federal court database.

Brown started his career with the law firm of Williams, Martindell and Carey in Hutchinson. He graduated from the Kansas City School of Law, which later became the law school for the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Except for two brief breaks from the firm ? one at age 27 when he was elected Reno County attorney and the other at age 37 when he joined the Navy ? Brown spent his Hutchinson career practicing law there. In 1939, he became a partner.

He moved to Wichita at age 50 after receiving his first federal appointment as a bankruptcy judge in 1958. Four years later, he was appointed a federal district judge.

He outlived two wives and only moved into an assisted living center in recent years.

"His impact is more than he lived to be 104," Melgren said. "He was a model for us for how we are to conduct ourselves as judges."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120125/ap_on_re_us/us_obit_brown

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HBT: Darvish wants to be 'best pitcher in the world'

Reason I was out the past few days: trip to Texas. Reason for the trip to Texas: none of your beeswax, frankly, but know this: the entire time I was there I barely heard a single word about the Rangers. Maybe that?s because I was doing way too much of this. Hard to say.

All I know for sure is that the Rangers buzz is going to get pretty big down there pretty soon as everyone wakes up from football season and realizes just how great a race there?s going to be in the AL West this year. And a big part of that is going to be Yu Darvish.

There was a press conference in Tokyo this morning featuring Darvish. Oh, and 10,000 fans too, which tells you what kind of figure Darvish is over there. At the press conference, Darvish set his sights pretty high when explaining his move to the United States to pitch for the Texas Rangers:

?I want to become the kind of pitcher that will make people say ?Darvish is the No. 1 pitcher in the world? ? I want to feel the thrill of pitching against the world?s best hitters. It was becoming harder to stay motivated in Japan.?

World?s best hitters, huh? ?Did anyone tell him just how many games he?s going to have against the A?s, Mariners and Astros over the next several years?

Oh well, I won?t tell him if you won?t. Would hate to disappoint him.

Source: http://hardballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/01/24/darvish-wants-to-become-the-best-pitcher-in-the-world/related/

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iVoices: The Florida Debated Seemed like 'Gilligan's Island'

iVoice Jim Higley says Monday night's GOP debate seemed "shipwrecked somewhere and headed for disaster"

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/ivoices-florida-debated-seemed-gilligans-island/1-h-421569?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Aivoices-florida-debated-seemed-gilligans-island-421569

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97% The Artist

"This is a film made for a guy like me. A guy who wasted, wastes, and will waste hours and hours on movies because they are simply my life and I feel quite sad that I still cannot express through words what I feel when I watch these movies." Michel Hazanavicius' reverence towards the artistry of the era of silent films lashes out a poetic mediation on Hollywood and also on the life of the artists that we adore. "The Artist" jumps over the gimmick form and gives it's content a great value. Filled with emotion and joy, the film succeeds to deliver not only one of the best tributes to our cinema but also one of the sweetest love stories and stories of struggle and dedication. The story is quite ravishing. George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), a silent-film actor faces the prospect of change, true love, loneliness, disappointment and commitment to the acting world. The hard time of accepting change in the art that made you a great man is understandable. The desire to fight against the current is a theme that lives through this emotional mirage. The power to accept it though, the power to fight for yourself as a human being and for your artistry is the brave resolution a honest man will always come to. Being an actor is not an easy job. You have to deal with your own ego, with your own passion and desire to change the world through your work. You have to give up your pride and surrender to the new. You have to also embrace and remember the past and who you were. You have to deal with eventual financial collapse and work your way to the top again. You have to handle personal frustrations and the frustration of others. It's a messy character that you become in the real life but for an actor... what's the definition of "real life"? The same issues our protagonist must face. Thanks to a great character design and development, George Valentin and his little four-legged friend become truly unforgettable on screen. Peppy Miller (Berenice Bejo) is the new pair of legs in Hollywood. A breath of fresh air which got acquainted with the acting world thanks to George. She's passionate and has a warm heart but she's dedicated to a life that George does not understand yet. The relationship between these two progresses beautifully by adding salty moments through the vast display of typical but funny situations. Their chemistry is one of the best I've seen in recent years in movies and obviously it works like hell. You cannot hold but to embrace these characters and support them and cheer for them. This movie was made to move audiences by using a technique that has been lost in the archives of natural beauty. However, the film's main purpose is still to pay respects to the classics. You can see that through the elements of both acting and storytelling met in the classic films of Hollywood. The technical execution is also superb giving the film a sense of realism and authenticity. The score composed by Ludovic Bource is simply brilliant. Subtle, full of energy and emotion, and quite varied. The addition of a classic musical masterpiece like the Vertigo theme is the stand out moment. A powerful tool used perfectly in suiting our characters evolution and the most important moments in our story. "The Artist" is brilliant especially in this age and it deserves all the praise and all the nominations and awards in all the categories. Tragic, inspiring, emotional and most of all, melancholic. This movie really shows it's artistry through it's design, it's craft, it's acting, it's tribute to the greatness of cinema but most of all, through it's beautiful story. This is a film made for a guy like me. A guy who wasted, wastes, and will waste hours and hours on movies because they are simply my life and I feel quite sad that I still cannot express through words what I feel when I watch these movies. They complete me. I could go on and on on the importance of this film in today's puzzled world. However, I will not do that and I will only advise you to watch it and can only hope for you to enjoy it as much as I did. Storyline: 9.0 Acting: 10 Technical Execution: 9.3 Replay Value: 9.0 =================== Overall: 9.3

January 23, 2012

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_artist/

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The price of your soul: How the brain decides whether to 'sell out'

Public release date: 22-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Beverly Clark
beverly.clark@emory.edu
404-712-8780
Emory University

Emory University neuroscience study finds that decision-making over 'sacred values' prompts a distinct cognitive process

An Emory University neuro-imaging study shows that personal values that people refuse to disavow, even when offered cash to do so, are processed differently in the brain than those values that are willingly sold.

"Our experiment found that the realm of the sacred whether it's a strong religious belief, a national identity or a code of ethics is a distinct cognitive process," says Gregory Berns, director of the Center for Neuropolicy at Emory University and lead author of the study. The results were published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

Sacred values prompt greater activation of an area of the brain associated with rules-based, right-or-wrong thought processes, the study showed, as opposed to the regions linked to processing of costs-versus-benefits.

Berns headed a team that included economists and information scientists from Emory University, a psychologist from the New School for Social Research and anthropologists from the Institute Jean Nicod in Paris, France. The research was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation.

"We've come up with a method to start answering scientific questions about how people make decisions involving sacred values, and that has major implications if you want to better understand what influences human behavior across countries and cultures," Berns says. "We are seeing how fundamental cultural values are represented in the brain."

The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record the brain responses of 32 U.S. adults during key phases of an experiment. In the first phase, participants were shown statements ranging from the mundane, such as "You are a tea drinker," to hot-button issues such "You support gay marriage" and "You are Pro-Life." Each of the 62 statements had a contradictory pair, such as "You are Pro-Choice," and the participants had to choose one of each pair.

At the end of the experiment, participants were given the option of auctioning their personal statements: Disavowing their previous choices for actual money. The participants could earn as much as $100 per statement by simply agreeing to sign a document stating the opposite of what they believed. They could choose to opt out of the auction for statements they valued highly.

"We used the auction as a measure of integrity for specific statements," Berns explains. "If a person refused to take money to change a statement, then we considered that value to be personally sacred to them. But if they took money, then we considered that they had low integrity for that statement and that it wasn't sacred."

The brain imaging data showed a strong correlation between sacred values and activation of the neural systems associated with evaluating rights and wrongs (the left temporoparietal junction) and semantic rule retrieval (the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex), but not with systems associated with reward.

"Most public policy is based on offering people incentives and disincentives," Berns says. "Our findings indicate that it's unreasonable to think that a policy based on costs-and-benefits analysis will influence people's behavior when it comes to their sacred personal values, because they are processed in an entirely different brain system than incentives."

Research participants who reported more active affiliations with organizations, such as churches, sports teams, musical groups and environmental clubs, had stronger brain activity in the same brain regions that correlated to sacred values. "Organized groups may instill values more strongly through the use of rules and social norms," Berns says.

The experiment also found activation in the amygdala region, a brain region associated with emotional reactions, but only in cases where participants refused to take cash to state the opposite of what they believe. "Those statements represent the most repugnant items to the individual," Berns says, "and would be expected to provoke the most arousal, which is consistent with the idea that when sacred values are violated, that induces moral outrage."

The study is part of a special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, titled "The Biology of Cultural Conflict." Berns edited the special issue, which brings together a dozen articles on the culture of neuroscience, including differences in the neural processing of people on the opposing sides of conflict, from U.S. Democrats and Republicans to Arabs and Israelis.

"As culture changes, it affects our brains, and as our brains change, that affects our culture. You can't separate the two," Berns says. "We now have the means to start understanding this relationship, and that's putting the relatively new field of cultural neuroscience onto the global stage."

Future conflicts over politics and religion will likely play out biologically, Berns says. Some cultures will choose to change their biology, and in the process, change their culture, he notes. He cites the battles over women's reproductive rights and gay marriage as ongoing examples.

###

For more info: http://www.emory.edu/esciencecommons

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate experience, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Emory encompasses nine academic divisions as well as the Carlos Museum, The Carter Center, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, Georgia's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 22-Jan-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Beverly Clark
beverly.clark@emory.edu
404-712-8780
Emory University

Emory University neuroscience study finds that decision-making over 'sacred values' prompts a distinct cognitive process

An Emory University neuro-imaging study shows that personal values that people refuse to disavow, even when offered cash to do so, are processed differently in the brain than those values that are willingly sold.

"Our experiment found that the realm of the sacred whether it's a strong religious belief, a national identity or a code of ethics is a distinct cognitive process," says Gregory Berns, director of the Center for Neuropolicy at Emory University and lead author of the study. The results were published in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.

Sacred values prompt greater activation of an area of the brain associated with rules-based, right-or-wrong thought processes, the study showed, as opposed to the regions linked to processing of costs-versus-benefits.

Berns headed a team that included economists and information scientists from Emory University, a psychologist from the New School for Social Research and anthropologists from the Institute Jean Nicod in Paris, France. The research was funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, the Air Force Office of Scientific Research and the National Science Foundation.

"We've come up with a method to start answering scientific questions about how people make decisions involving sacred values, and that has major implications if you want to better understand what influences human behavior across countries and cultures," Berns says. "We are seeing how fundamental cultural values are represented in the brain."

The researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to record the brain responses of 32 U.S. adults during key phases of an experiment. In the first phase, participants were shown statements ranging from the mundane, such as "You are a tea drinker," to hot-button issues such "You support gay marriage" and "You are Pro-Life." Each of the 62 statements had a contradictory pair, such as "You are Pro-Choice," and the participants had to choose one of each pair.

At the end of the experiment, participants were given the option of auctioning their personal statements: Disavowing their previous choices for actual money. The participants could earn as much as $100 per statement by simply agreeing to sign a document stating the opposite of what they believed. They could choose to opt out of the auction for statements they valued highly.

"We used the auction as a measure of integrity for specific statements," Berns explains. "If a person refused to take money to change a statement, then we considered that value to be personally sacred to them. But if they took money, then we considered that they had low integrity for that statement and that it wasn't sacred."

The brain imaging data showed a strong correlation between sacred values and activation of the neural systems associated with evaluating rights and wrongs (the left temporoparietal junction) and semantic rule retrieval (the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex), but not with systems associated with reward.

"Most public policy is based on offering people incentives and disincentives," Berns says. "Our findings indicate that it's unreasonable to think that a policy based on costs-and-benefits analysis will influence people's behavior when it comes to their sacred personal values, because they are processed in an entirely different brain system than incentives."

Research participants who reported more active affiliations with organizations, such as churches, sports teams, musical groups and environmental clubs, had stronger brain activity in the same brain regions that correlated to sacred values. "Organized groups may instill values more strongly through the use of rules and social norms," Berns says.

The experiment also found activation in the amygdala region, a brain region associated with emotional reactions, but only in cases where participants refused to take cash to state the opposite of what they believe. "Those statements represent the most repugnant items to the individual," Berns says, "and would be expected to provoke the most arousal, which is consistent with the idea that when sacred values are violated, that induces moral outrage."

The study is part of a special issue of the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, titled "The Biology of Cultural Conflict." Berns edited the special issue, which brings together a dozen articles on the culture of neuroscience, including differences in the neural processing of people on the opposing sides of conflict, from U.S. Democrats and Republicans to Arabs and Israelis.

"As culture changes, it affects our brains, and as our brains change, that affects our culture. You can't separate the two," Berns says. "We now have the means to start understanding this relationship, and that's putting the relatively new field of cultural neuroscience onto the global stage."

Future conflicts over politics and religion will likely play out biologically, Berns says. Some cultures will choose to change their biology, and in the process, change their culture, he notes. He cites the battles over women's reproductive rights and gay marriage as ongoing examples.

###

For more info: http://www.emory.edu/esciencecommons

Emory University is known for its demanding academics, outstanding undergraduate experience, highly ranked professional schools and state-of-the-art research facilities. Emory encompasses nine academic divisions as well as the Carlos Museum, The Carter Center, the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and Emory Healthcare, Georgia's largest and most comprehensive health care system.

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-01/eu-tpo011912.php

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Romney's $20 Million IRA: A Lousy Investment? (Time.com)

Mitt Romney may have made the classic IRA mistake: holding low-tax investments inside a tax-favored account. His IRA strategy isn't clear, of course. Romney continues to guard his personal finances. But details are trickling out, and even if it turns out that Romney's traditional IRA is built right for him, the securities he holds in it serve as a valuable reminder that not all investments belong in a tax-favored account.

Romney's IRA is valued at between $20.7 million and $101.6 million, according to The Wall Street Journal. That's an extremely wide range that the Journal found in Romney's latest financial disclosure report, filed in August. His IRA produced income between $1.5 million and $8.5 million last year.(MORE: Cash Back: Banks Battle for Your Rollover IRA.)

So he's not like most of us, financially speaking. But he is exactly like us in that he has limits on how much he can contribute to an IRA, or to a 401(k) plan that can be rolled into an IRA. Given those limits it's remarkable that he has been able to amass such wealth in a tax-deferred account.

For most of his years at Bain Capital, the annual IRA pre-tax contribution was capped at $2,000 and the annual 401(k) pre-tax contribution, including employer match, was capped at $30,000. Other limits are in force today: $5,000 for an IRA ($6,000 if you over 50); $16,500 for a 401(k) ($22,000 if you are over 50).

Assuming Romney was maxing out pre-tax contributions, as should anyone who can afford to do so, he still would have needed extraordinary returns within his tax-deferred accounts to build such a big balance. He must have been investing in stocks and other high-growth potential vehicles, which produce a capital gain.

Here's the rub: The max capital gains tax is just 15%. That's what Romney would pay in federal tax upon selling his stocks from a taxable account. Yet when Romney begins taking distributions from his IRA, as he must in his 71st year, the money will be subject to federal income tax at rates of up to 35%. That tax-rate disparity is why it often makes sense to hold stocks in a taxable account and things like real estate investment trusts, rental properties, bonds and other income-generating investments in an IRA or 401(k). This is especially true for the wealthy, like Romney, whose net worth is about $250 million. Rich people have ample resources to max out tax-deferred vehicles with bonds and hold their stocks in a taxable account -- all while maintaining a desired asset allocation of, say, 60% stocks and 40% bonds.(MORE: More Fees, Fewer Branches as Banks Cope With Lower Profits.)

This doesn't necessarily work with limited resources. If you only save in a 401(k) and must stretch to get the full company match, you're probably better off with a mix of stocks and bonds in that account. Stocks also make sense in a tax-deferred account with at least 20 years before distributions begin, according a study by T. Rowe Price. And holding stocks in your IRA won't hurt if your income tax rate will shrink when you begin to take distributions.

But, in general, it makes sense to add low-tax investments like stocks (even dividends get taxed at a max 15%) to a taxable account and income-generating investments to a tax-deferred account -- especially with fewer than 10 years to retirement. A presidential candidate probably knows that. But thanks, Mitt, for the reminder.

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Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/time/20120123/us_time/httpmoneylandtimecom20120120romneysirabigandpossiblymisdirectedixzz1k0kuv4ptxidrssfullnationyahoo

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Intel results exceed Street, capex jumps (Reuters)

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) ? Intel Corp's quarterly results modestly beat Wall Street's expectations as it faces a tough PC market, and the chipmaker said it was sharply increasing its capital expenditures in an apparent bid to speed up its entry into tablets and smartphones.

Intel warned last month that the damage wrought by flooding in Thailand - the world's largest producer of computer drives - would curtail December-quarter earnings in a PC market already hit by a weak economy.

Adding to its troubles, Intel has failed to find a foothold in smartphones and tablets, where processors based on ARM Holdings' power efficient chip designs are widely used.

Rushing to speed up its development of competitive chips for smartphones and tablets, Intel said it would boost capital expenditures in 2012 to $12.5 billion, plus or minus $400 million. Last year its capital expenditures were $10.7 billion.

"The biggest surprise is the capex for the new year," said Evercore Partners analyst Patrick Wang. "They're investing to catch up and not only be at parity but exceed where the handset incumbents are."

Lenovo and Motorola Mobility have agreed to use Intel's new Medfield chip in upcoming smartphones, and investors are keen to see how the new devices do with consumers.

Intel's main PC client group raised its revenue 17 percent in the December quarter to $9 billion. Its revenues from selling server chips for data centers rose 8 percent.

After flooding in Thailand ruined factories and sensitive machinery, shortages of the components are expected to persist through the first half of 2012 and disrupt PC production.

"Last quarter they underestimated the flood impact. I am wondering if they are still underestimating the Thailand flood impact, and the market's ability to ramp back up to get to these numbers," said RBC analyst Doug Freedman.

Upbeat earnings forecasts by Linear Technology, Xilinx and TSMC this week have made investors cautiously optimistic that a drawdown of inventories in the broader chip industry, including semiconductores used in automobiles, communications and factories, may be ending, clearing the way for higher sales.

SKINNY LAPTOPS

Hoping to safeguard its position in PCs, Intel this year will kick off its largest marketing campaign since 2003, with "Ultrabooks" - instant-on super-thin laptops it hopes can stand up to the likes of Apple's Macbook Air, while giving off some of the technological chic the iPad and other tablets exude.

Fears of falling PC sales hurt the shares of Microsoft, Dell Inc and Intel for much of 2011. Intel's stock has recovered over the past three months, partly due to the chipmaker's relatively high 3.3 percent dividend yield.

Still trading at a modest 10.8 times expected earnings, the shares recently hit a 52-week high.

Intel said revenue in the current quarter would be $12.8 billion, plus or minus $500 million. Analysts on average had expected current-quarter revenue of $12.770 billion, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

The world's leading chipmaker said revenue in the fourth quarter was $13.9 billion, up 21 percent and slightly higher than the $13.718 billion expected.

GAAP net income in the fourth quarter was $3.4 billion, up 6 percent. GAAP earnings per share were 64 cents. Analysts had expected 61 cents.

Intel had a gross margin of 64 percent in the fourth quarter, with a non-GAAP gross margin of 65 percent. Analysts on average expected 64.6 percent.

Shares of Intel were unchanged after its earnings report from a close of $25.63, up 0.95 percent on Nasdaq.

(Reporting by Noel Randewich,; Additional reporting by Poornima Gupta; Editing by Gary Hill)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/semiconductor/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120119/bs_nm/us_intel

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Google's 4Q disappoints as advertising prices sink (AP)

SAN FRANCISCO ? What was supposed to be a celebration of the most prosperous quarter in Google's 13-year history instead turned into a major letdown.

The disappointment sunk in Thursday after Google's fourth-quarter earnings report showed the Internet search leader fetched less money per click on its ubiquitous online ads.

That came as an unsettling surprise because investors had assumed a surge in online holiday shopping in the U.S. would enable Google Inc. to charge more for its ads. Instead, the average price decreased by 8 percent from the same time in 2010.

Google executives traced part of the decline to technical changes aimed at delivering more ads that attract people's interest. Those tweaks apparently paid off as the total clicks on Google's ads increased 34 percent from the previous year.

Most of the trouble seemed to be rooted in Europe, where government debt woes are hurting the economy, said Benchmark Co. analyst Clayton Moran. "I think everyone underestimated how quickly the European online ad market would suffer."

The weakening euro also converted into fewer dollars during the quarter, another factor that undercut Google.

It all added up to a dramatic slowdown in Google's earnings growth that alarmed investors. Net income edged up just 6 percent from the same October-December period in 2010, coming off year-over-year increases of more than 25 percent in each of the previous two quarters.

Google shares plunged $57.67, or 9 percent, to $581.90 in extended trading after the results were announced.

The showing could renew Wall Street concerns about Google's moneymaking prowess under the direction of co-founder Larry Page, who replaced Eric Schmidt as CEO last April. Page took the job with a reputation for being more willing to invest in long-term projects at the expense of short-term profits. In the latest quarter, Google's operating expenses rose 34 percent from the previous year, outpacing a 25 percent increase in revenue.

If Google's stock falls as sharply during Friday's regular trading as it did in Thursday's extended trading, the shares will be worth slightly less than they were when Page became CEO.

Even before the deceleration in Google's fourth-quarter earnings, analysts have been fretting that the company's proposed $12.5 billion acquisition of cellphone maker Motorola Mobility Holdings Inc. will crimp profits. The deal is still awaiting approval from regulators in U.S. and Europe.

Buying Motorola is part of Page's push to expand Google's empire beyond the dominant Internet search engine that generates most of the company's revenue. Much of the money is being poured into Google's Android software for smartphones, its Chrome web browser, its YouTube video site and a social networking service called Plus that is being quickly built to challenge Facebook.

Page, 38, made it clear he sees no reason to change what he has been doing so far. "I am very happy with our results overall in the quarter," he told analysts during a Thursday conference call.

More people probably would have shared in his ebullience if not for the curse of great expectations.

With more people than ever before shopping for holiday gifts and bargains on computers and mobile devices, Google was supposed to scale new financial heights in the October-December period.

Analysts had forecast Google would earn $3 billion for the first time during any three-month period since the company's 1998 inception. Instead, Google made slightly less money than it did a quarter earlier.

The company earned $2.7 billion, or $8.22 per share, in the fourth quarter. That compared to net income of $2.5 billion, or $7.81 per share, at the same time in 2010.

The most recent quarter included an $88 million charge to account for the diminished value of a $500 million investment that Google made in wireless network provider Clearwire Corp. in 2008. Google had previously absorbed a $355 million charge on its Clearwire investment.

If not for costs covering employee stock awards, Google said it would have earned $9.50 per share. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected $10.51 per share.

Revenue totaled $10.6 billion, up from $8.4 billion in the previous year. It's the first time Google's quarterly revenue topped $10 billion, but even that figure fell shy of analyst projections.

After subtracting ad commissions, Google's revenue totaled $8.1 billion. That was about $300 million below the average analyst forecast. Revenue would have been about $240 million higher had exchange rates in Europe remained steady with the third quarter's rates, according to Patrick Pichette, Google's chief financial officer.

While investors fixated on Google's falling ad prices, Page hailed the inroads the company is making beyond the Internet search engine that brings in most of its revenue.

The Plus service that Google introduced seven months ago now has more than 90 million users, Page said. That's more than double the approximately 40 million users of three months ago. Facebook still has a big lead with more than 800 million users after nearly eight years in existence.

About 80 percent of Plus users visit the service at least once a week, according to Google. The company is trying to increase the frequency by including recommendations about Plus accounts in its search results, a recent change that has raised questions about whether Google is abusing its position as the Internet's leading gateway to unfairly promote its own services over its rivals.

Page is hoping Plus can be as successful as Google's Gmail service, which now has 350 million accounts, and the Android software, which is now running on 250 million smartphones and other devices, according to numbers the company released Thursday.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120120/ap_on_hi_te/us_earns_google

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Best and Worst-Dressed at the People's Choice Awards

See whose fashion flourished (Lea Michele! Emma Stone!) and whose flopped (Kelly Osbourne!)at the star-studded awards ceremony

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/best-and-worst-dressed-peoples-choice-awards-2012/1-b-418009?dst=iv%3AiVillage%3Abest-and-worst-dressed-peoples-choice-awards-2012-418009

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Capping an era of L.A. oil exploration

It almost seemed as though oil drilling rigs were ready to tap into Los Angeles' first petroleum field again.

But the workers setting up a pair of derricks south of Echo Park last week were plugging some of the city's oldest wells ? not drilling new ones.

The sealing of the long-abandoned wells by Allenco Energy to make way for a 45-unit affordable housing project marks the end of an era for the Los Angeles City Oil Field, which sparked Southern California's oil boom 120 years ago.

The city's first commercially successful oil well was drilled about 350 feet away, at the corner of Glendale Boulevard and Rockwood Street.

In 1892, pioneering oil wildcatter Edward L. Doheny and partner Charles A. Canfield used picks and shovels and, finally, a sharpened 60-foot-long eucalyptus tree trunk to drill about 200 feet down near the corner of Glendale Boulevard and Colton Street.

At first, their shallow well produced less than 10 gallons of thick, fuel-grade oil a day. But that was enough to begin the stampede for black gold that quickly spread across the Los Angeles Basin and beyond, and made Doheny a rich man.

Soon, drillers were sinking their pumping pipes as deep as 900 feet. When oil at that level started to run out, they bore down to 1,200 feet, then 1,500 feet. Most Los Angeles oil was found no deeper than that.

Four and sometimes five wells were drilled on small residential lots along a narrow swath that extended the Los Angeles City Oil Field about 31/2 miles from the Chinatown area south of Dodger Stadium west to Berendo Street. Tent cities sprang up to house bootleggers and prostitutes who streamed in behind the growing horde of oil drillers.

Modern oil field maps on file with the state's Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources show that about 1,250 wells were drilled into the field before it was sucked dry. When that happened, drillers and speculators moved on to untouched reservoirs in hilly areas in Long Beach, Santa Fe Springs, Inglewood and Torrance.

One of the first eager young oil hunters to join the Doheny rush was Edward A. Clampitt, who had arrived in Los Angeles in 1888. He is listed in state records as the operator responsible for the five wells at the corner of Glendale Boulevard and Rockwood Street.

Although state oil well records are sketchy before 1915, Clampitt's wells are believed to have been sunk before 1900. Later he would own oil-producing land in the Newhall Pass area and serve on the Los Angeles City Council.

Petroleum geologist Dale Kunitomi, who has studied Southern California oil fields since 1967, is among those who are convinced that Clampitt and his colorful family were the inspiration for the Clampett clan in the CBS TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies." It ran from 1962 to 1971 and starred Buddy Ebsen as family patriarch Jed Clampett.

"I went to Belmont High School in the early 1960s, and you would see Clampitt Oil Co. signs on oil field installations up there," Kunitomi said. "I said to myself: So the 'Beverly Hillbillies' are real!"

Kunitomi said early well-plugging was often a casual procedure. "They'd take rocks and debris and toss it down the hole. But pressure can build up and water can seep beneath the oil and push it up," and methane gas can leach out of the ground, he said.

The potential threat from seeping methane and hydrogen sulfide prompted Los Angeles school officials to halt construction of the half-built Belmont Learning Complex in 2000. Finishing the project, now called the Roybal Learning Center, at the edge of the Los Angeles City Oil Field doubled the final cost to more than $400 million.

Don Drysdale, a spokesman with the Division of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources, confirmed that such things as old telephone poles were used as oil well plugs before rules were tightened in the 1970s.

These days, rules spell out the type of casing and amount of concrete plugging that has to be done and specify that a "diligent effort shall be made to recover junk" from abandoned wells.

The city has issued a demolition permit for the restaurant, butcher shop and office building that operated near the old wells until recently, and awarded a grading permit to allow plugging to begin, said David Lara, a spokesman for the Los Angeles Department of Building and Safety. Although abandoned wells fall under the jurisdiction of the state, the city also has rules about escaping methane gas.

The affordable apartments will be developed in conjunction with the Filipino Workers Center by LTSC Community Development Corp., operated by the Little Tokyo Service Center. Construction on the $20.5-million project will start in April and take about 18 months, said Takao Suzuki, director of real estate development for the service center.

Because there may be seven abandoned oil wells on the site instead of the five shown on state records, his organization has allocated $1 million for plugging costs, he said.

bob.pool @latimes.com

Source: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-old-wells-20120109,0,6747771.story?track=rss

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