The best and worst jobs of 2013

4:00 PM 2013, jobs, the best, worst, year No Comments

Cindy Perman , CNBC.com – 3 days

"Look for a new job" was one of the top new year's resolutions of 2013, with one in three employees (33 percent) telling Glassdoor.com they were looking to jump ship this year. But before dashing off resumes, consider the jobs landscape.

CareerCast has produced updated lists for the 10 Best and 10 Worst Jobs. They examined 200 jobs and ranked them based on income, outlook, environmental factors, stress and physical demands.

So what are the best jobs?

"Overall, what you see is most of the jobs break up into two categories — high tech and health care," said Tony Lee, publisher of CareerCast.com. "A lot of the health care, and even some of the non-health care, tie in … to the aging population. Almost every one of these jobs with a couple exceptions is benefiting from aging baby boomers."

And what about the worst?

It could be that it's a dangerous or stressful job or, in the case of this year's No. 1 worst job, that the hiring outlook is dismal.

"Even with an improving economy, it doesn't make a different with the worst jobs," Lee said.

This year’s worst jobs are different from last year’s. Last year, the food service industry — butcher, dishwasher and wait staff – made the bottom 10. Those remain tough jobs with low pay and little job security, but the economic recovery may have helped the restaurant industry improve back as more people go out to eat. Indeed, the National Restaurant Association reported that the restaurant job growth hit a 17-year high in 2012.

The best jobs of 2013 …


1. Actuary
Salary: $87,650
Change From 2012: Up 1


Actuaries are skilled in math and statistics and it's their job to figure out how long things will last — everything from measuring when a person might need insurance to when they'll tap their IRA.

"Anything that uses statistical analysis to determine when something is going to happen," Lee said.

This job scores high because of income and the job outlook. There is still a shortage of actuaries, Lee said.

2. Biomedical Engineer
Salary: $81,540
Change From 2012: New in 2013


Biomedical engineers analyze medical equipment, medical systems, imaging systems — everything to help a physician do his or her job.

This job scores high because the hiring outlook is very strong.

3. Software Engineer
Salary: $90,530
Change From 2012: Down 2


Whether it's purchasing something, mapping something, watching a video or something — a software engineer somewhere wrote that code and continues to update that code, Lee said.

There has always been demand for software engineers, he said, and with the rising popularity of cloud computing, there's even more demand.

This job scores high for the high income and strong outlook and low stress.


4. Audiologist
Salary: $66,660
Change From 2012: Up 2


Audiologists help patients with hearing and balance. Once again, this job is in demand due to the aging population. Adding to the demand, Lee said, is that this profession really exploded in the 1960s and now those audiologists are retiring — and there aren't as many people nowadays who want to be audiologists to fill that demand.

The job scores high because it's low stress, has a very strong hiring outlook and very good income.

5. Financial Planner
Salary: $64,750
Change From 2012: No Change


Financial planners manage people's money and retirement plan for them. There has always been demand for financial planners but that demand increased during the recession when so many people saw their life savings start to evaporate with the stock market.

"People were banking on the value of their home and it collapsed. They were banking on the value of their IRA and they find out — 'I'm ill-prepared and I need help,'" Lee said.

This job scores high because of the income, hiring outlook and physical environment.

6. Dental Hygienist
Salary: $68,250
Change From 2012: Down 2


Dental hygienists assist the dentist with everything from exams to cleanings.

Hygienists love their jobs, Lee said. They get to talk to people every day, have flexible schedules and make good money.

This job scores high because it's low stress, the hiring outlook is good and the median salary is decent.

7. Occupational Therapist
Salary: $72,320
Change From 2012: No Change


Occupational therapists are different from physical therapists in that they are focused on helping a patient recover enough to return to work. This can be anything from an office worker suffering from carpal tunnel to a construction worker who was hit by a falling brick.

This job scores high because it's low stress, the hiring outlook is good and the median salary is high.

8. Optometrist
Salary: $94,990
Change From 2012: Up 4


Optometrists specialize in eye care. This job scores high because they have a good work environment, there's a lot of demand given the aging population, the job growth is good and the median salary is high.

9. Physical Therapist
Salary: $76,310
Change From 2012: Up 3


Physical therapists help patients recover from a variety of ailments, with a focus on improving their quality of life. It's physical movement, psychological and emotional well-being. Patients include everyone from a victim of a car accident to an elderly person struggling with mobility issues.

"With the elderly population, there's great demand" for physical therapists, Lee said. "A lot of folks suffer from mobility issues — be it hip replacement, knee replacement, etc."

This job scores high because it has a good hiring outlook and low stress.

10. Computer Systems Analyst
Salary: $77,740
Change From 2012: Down 1


A computer-systems analyst reviews system use at a company — do they have the right equipment and bandwidth for their users? They monitor systems and usage and then make recommendations.

This job always tends to rank high, Lee said, because companies will always have demand for computer-systems analysis with the ever-changing needs of their organization and ever-changing technology.

And the worst jobs for 2013 …

1. Newspaper Reporter
Salary: $36,000
Change From 2012: Down 4


Newspaper reporters have always had low-paying, stressful jobs with long hours, but industry consolidation and growth of digital media have piled a bad job outlook on top of all that.

Lee said this was the biggest surprise for them — that newspaper reporter came in as the No. 1 worst job.

"Think about the jobs: Lumberjack — that's pretty tough. Soldiers on the front line. You can't imagine that newspaper reporter is worse," he said. "But then you look at the criteria and you see it's worse. The hiring outlook is just terrible — it's a negative number!"

"Now, it's not just the stress of duties of the job but whether you're going to get to keep your job," he said.

Plus, newspaper reporters are now being asked to do more — Tweeting, taking video, updating stories constantly.

Newspaper reporters may have the worst job ever but most still love what they do.

"They don't care. They got into the business for a reason. They stick it out even though they realize they might get laid off," Lee said.

2. Lumberjack
Salary: $32,870
Change From 2012: Up 1


"Lumberjack has always been at the bottom of the list — it's an incredibly dangerous job," Lee said. In fact, last year, it was the No. 1 worst job.

The job is outdoors in all weather and all conditions — and involves climbing trees with dangerous equipment like chainsaws.

"The hiring demand is shrinking," Lee said. "It's not as bad as meter reader, but a lot of the job that lumberjacks do is being mechanized," he said.

Still, like actors and soldiers, many a lumberjack will tell you they love their job.

Lee recalls one lumberjack they spoke to a few years ago who broke his leg twice and his collar bone and lost his pinky finger and just shrugged and said, "No big deal. Just part of the job."

3. Enlisted Military Personnel
Salary: $41,998
Change From 2012: No Change


It's no secret why soldier makes the list — dangerous, stressful work conditions that put your life at risk. No job security. Long stretches away from home and loved ones. And one of those factors alone would probably make the rest of us civilians break.

But here's the fascinating thing about the "worst" list — for many of these jobs, like soldier or actor — the people doing the jobs don't see it as the worst. Many love what they do and can't imagine it any other way.

"They're doing it for reasons beyond themselves — patriotism," Lee said.

4. Actor
Salary: $17.44 / hour
Change From 2012: Down 19


Although most of us think of acting as a dream job, it’s a tough slog for 99 percent of the profession.

The dramatic 19-place drop on the list from last year isn't due to any huge drop in demand for actors, but rather new data that CareerCast obtained: tough hiring outlook, low pay and a lot of stress.

5. Oil Rig Worker
Salary: $37,640
Change From 2012: Up 1


The oil industry makes billions annually, but one of the few positions that doesn't join in the chorus of "We're in the Money" is the oil rig worker. These workers maintain the machinery and repair it. They climb to the top of rigs in any weather, be it North Dakota in January or Texas in July, Lee said. So, physical demands, stress and danger, coupled with low pay, make it a sure thing for the "worst" list.

Plus, Lee adds, there isn't job security — if a well runs dry, the rig workers are laid off.

6. Dairy Farmer
Salary: $60,750
Change From 2012: Up 4


While there will always be demand for milk, this job makes the list primarily because of the danger of working with large livestock.

The hiring outlook has been tough — the industry is fast becoming a corporate business so "individual dairy farmers are have a much tougher time competing," Lee said.

7. Meter Reader
Salary: $36,400
Change From 2012: No Change


Oh, meter readers — as if the dogs, bad weather and no trespassing signs weren't tough enough, with electronic meter-reading technology, this job is going the way of the dinosaur. In fact, CareerCast reviews its list of 200 jobs every year, adding a few and removing a few depending on relevancy, and while meter readers made the cut this year, Lee said they have discussed taking it off the list altogether.

This job is "being replaced by the electronic meter reader and you don't need a person to show up and read your meter anymore," Lee said.

8. Mail Carrier
Salary: $53,090
Change From 2012: Down 9


Mail carriers have always had a tough job, braving the elements — not to mention desperate housewives and wary dogs. Add to that the decline in mail volume plus the threat of canceling Saturday delivery, and that drags the job down the list with a negative hiring outlook.

Saturdays haven't officially been canceled but the threat of it was built into this year's calculation and, Lee said, "It's pretty clear that's down the road."

9. Roofer
Salary: $34,220
Change From 2012: Down 15


"That has a lot to do with the decline in the housing market," Lee said.

You might think that with Hurricane Sandy and other home-damaging events last year that that might have offset some of the loss of work due to a weak housing market but Lee said repair is a small part of the roofing industry – the bulk of it is new construction.

It was always a dangerous job with low pay. Add in the tough outlook, and that lands this job squarely on the worst list.


10. Flight Attendant
Salary: $37,740
Change From 2012: Down 16


Flight attendants have always had a dangerous and stressful job but what made the job fall so many notches down the list this year was a "very poor hiring outlook" due to all the restructuring in the industry, Lee said. With the American and US Air merger, for example, that meant jobs being eliminated.

"It's getting worse," Lee said. "Airlines have decided that if they used to maintain four flight attendants on a flight, now they're looking to cut it to three. That's a 25-percent decrease."

"And, if you're a flight attendant who has been let go – there's no job available for you elsewhere," Lee said.

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Millennials leading the way on work-life balance

8:00 AM balance, leading, millennials, worklife No Comments

David Lees / Getty Images

Millennials surveyed said they seek work-life balance and value feeling appreciated at work.

By Amy Langfield, TODAY contributor
College-educated millennials have a slightly different set of expectations about the workplace, and employers need to make changes or risk losing the best new workers, according to a new study conducted by PwC, the University of Southern California and the London Business School.

Primary among their concerns is a better work-life balance.

Among millennials, 71 percent said work demands interfere with their personal lives. By contrast, 63 percent of their older colleagues made that complaint.

“Every generation would like a better work/life balance and I think the millennials are helping us see that, and maybe pulling us along,” said Terri McClements, PwC’s U.S. Human Capital Leader.

PwC initiated the study after it noticed an increasing number of its new hires were jumping ship after a short time. Since two-thirds of its workforce was born in the millennial bracket, (1980 to 1995 for this study), the professional services firm realized it might have a problem.

Chief among the complaints was the long-accepted practice of working like a dog right out of college in the hopes that one day translates into making partner at the firm. Millennials aren't convinced such a sacrifice would be worth the potential payoff later, the survey found.

That does not mean they are a new slacker generation.

“That perception is not correct,” McClements said. “They are equally committed.”

What the millennials want at work is to be judged on their impact, have fun, have a flexible schedule and get rewards for a job well done. They want an emotional connection to their work and to be part of a team focused on a goal. And while they are a wired generation, they want face-to-face contact when it comes to personal topics.

“Their experience is different,” McClements said.

The survey, PwC’s NextGen: A global generational study, included responses from 44,000 PwC employees globally, with nearly a quarter of responses coming from millennials.

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Personal phone for work email? Your company might take it

9:30 AM company, email, might, personal, phone No Comments

Nicolas Asfouri / AFP - Getty Images

A woman checks her smartphone in this file image.

By Bob Sullivan, Columnist, NBC News
If you use your personal smartphone or tablet to read work email, your company may have to seize the device some day, and you may not get it back for months.

Employees armed with a battery of smartphones and other gadgets they own are casually connecting to work email and other employer servers. It's a less-than-ideal security arrangement that technology pros call BYOD — bring your own device.

Now, lawyers are warning there's an unforeseen consequence of BYOD. If a company is involved in litigation — civil or criminal — personal cellphones that were used for work email or other company activity are liable to be confiscated and examined for evidence during discovery or investigation.

It's a possibility even technology pros rarely consider, said Michael R. Overly, a technology law expert in Los Angeles.

"You would be very surprised to hear that even extremely sophisticated business people seem shocked when they learn their personal phone, including email, GPS data, photos ... may be subject to review in litigation involving their employer," Overly said.

BYOD is a worldwide reality and a dramatic shift in the way companies outfit their employees with work tools. Cisco Systems Inc. released a report earlier this year saying 42 percent of all "knowledge workers" own the smartphones they use for work, and two-thirds of companies expect the employee-owned device phenomenon to increase.

Hidden cost
The convenience is hard to ignore, as is the personal touch — workers love picking their own phones — but of course, cost savings is the real driving force. Increasingly, companies are requiring workers to supply their own gadgets at their own cost, the way a restaurant might require waiters to purchase their own uniforms.

Even if companies reimburse those employees, there can be a big hidden cost for workers — the possibility of losing their phone for days or months while their company combs through it for data relevant to legal action.

“People’s lives revolve around their phone, and they are going to become more and more of a target in litigation,” Overly said. “Employees really do need to understand that .”

Giri Sreenivas, a mobile phone security expert at Boston-area firm Rapid7, warned discovery requirements can extend far beyond email stored on smartphones.

"Text messages and cellphone records might be subject to discovery, too, even if you never connected to company email," he said. "If lawyers believe the device was used for work purposes, it can be (taken).”

Race to keep up
How could firms gain the right to rummage through the most personal items on worker’s phones — pictures, texts, social media accounts? In many cases, it’s not a right, it’s a duty, says Overly. When a company is sued, and required to produce documents as part of a discovery process, it must make a good-faith effort to retrieve data — wherever it may be. That includes employee-owned gadgets.

In fact, Overly says he was part of a case recently where a judge sanctioned a company for a discovery violation because it failed to search BYOD devices during discovery. He declined to name the case.

Companies are racing to keep up with the trend — trying to set policies, inform workers of their rights, and superimpose BYOD rules over arrangements that organically evolved within their workplaces. Increasingly, companies are requiring workers to sign agreements that alert them to the potential of personal gadget seizure, Overly said.

Christopher Dahl runs a Seattle-based firm that specializes in digital document retrieval for lawyers called Lighthouse eDiscovery. While he says industry discussion is dominated by talk of BYOD discovery, he said gadget seizure has not become common — yet.

"We see mobile devices infrequently. We only had one come in last month," Dahl said. "It's typically pretty rare where the company can't get the same information from another location. Companies will have to disclose that the information is on that second location (the smartphone) but typically don't have to dig into that second place."

Red Tape wrestling tips
Workers wary of having their personal phone nabbed can carry two phones – one personal and one for work – but even that’s not fool-proof. An occasional connection from the personal phone to work email can make the phone subject to discovery. Going this route requires diligent work and personal separation.

"The No. 1 thing you can do to ensure your device is not subject to seizure is to remove any sort of company account ... and then inform the company it's been removed," said Sreenivas.

Dahl warned about accidental blending of personal and work data through a seemingly innocent USB charge connection that leads to accidental synching of data.

There may be a technology solution to this problem in the future. The newest Blackberry phone claims to create a work data-personal data divide, which has the potential to limit the searches that might be conducted by company lawyers

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Chiropractors adjust elephants, gerbils - even snakes

4:53 AM adjust, Chiropractors, elephants, gerbils, snakes No Comments

Sue Manning , The Associated Press – 5 days

Thirty years ago, Dr. Gene Giggleman was a veterinarian who thought chiropractors were quacks. Since then, he says he's straightened out thousands of dogs and cats, not to mention the occasional snake, hamster, gerbil and guinea pig.

"And I know people who have adjusted pigs, goats and rodeo bulls," said Giggleman, a professor at Parker University in Dallas, which specializes in chiropractic care.

In Southern California, Dr. Rod Block has tended to an elephant, a paralyzed iguana, a turkey, pigs, llamas and countless dogs and horses.

"You have to be very much in tune with the being of the animal you are working with," said Block, who limits his work these days to house calls throughout Southern California, where he works with several veterinarians.

"A chiropractor promotes the flow of energy within the body. Anywhere there is an obstruction or blockage of energy due to subluxation or a dysfunctional group of muscles, what the chiropractor does is normalize that function," Block said.

Giggleman spends most of his time teaching but still sees patients one day a week. Ninety percent of his patients need chiropractic care and 10 percent need traditional care, he said.

"I'm not an extremist either way. I am for whatever fixes your dog," he said.

The vets say any human or animal with a spine-related problem can benefit from an "adjustment."

Unlike Giggleman, who started as a veterinarian, Block spent 30 years as a human chiropractor before he switched gears 20 years ago and became certified by the Bluejacket, Okla.-based American Veterinary Chiropractic Association.

Classes take about a year of extra study, Block said.

The AVCA has certified over 1,000 veterinarians or chiropractors since 1989, said Leslie Means executive director of the group. There are 560 active members today and they have to be recertified every three years.

However, the certificates are not licenses to practice medicine. In states like Nevada and Oklahoma, getting a certificate is the only way you can set up shop. But states like California and Texas require those with certificates to work under the supervision of a veterinarian.

As a result, in many states, veterinarians and animal chiropractors work out of the same offices. They can make referrals to one another and even merge their telephone and online listings.

"We are more concerned about the quality than the quantity of life," Block said. One of his patients is a 38-year-old horse, owned by a veterinary professor. "He's not rideable, but he's mobile. He's off steroids and free to roam around and enjoy the remainder of his life relatively pain-free," Block said.

The horse doesn't get top billing in his new book though. "Like Chiropractic for Elephants" describes how he treated a gimpy elephant at a private sanctuary, how her herd accepted him and how she used body language to help him find her pain.

Through the book, Block said he hopes "to demystify chiropractic. People think that it's dangerous and that it's quackery. I really want to illuminate the differences between what allopathic (mainstream) veterinary medical care does and what chiropractic does and how the two integrate well even though they are at opposite ends of the pole.

"Above all, I want people to become more aware of the relationships they have with their animals, which I think is evolving," he said.

The story of Giggleman's first chiropractic success is included in "Chicken Soup for the Chiropractic Soul."

Sparky, a cocker spaniel, appeared to be having seizures, was on three drugs from three different vets and was going to be euthanized if Giggleman couldn't help him.

"I examined the dog. Although I was a fledgling, I could tell the dog's neck was out of whack or subluxated," he said. "When I reached down and petted the dog, it hurt him so bad, he flipped over and started shaking."

Giggleman adjusted Sparky and the dog lived another six years without seizures, he said.

On the spot, that made a convert out of Giggleman. He went on to co-found the Parker University animal chiropractic program.

"Chiropractic care is a drugless, non-surgical approach to treating animals," Giggleman said. And, he added, much cheaper than traditional medicine with its surgeries and drugs.

Leslie Means, the AVCA director, had a show dog, an 85-pound Siberian husky who was trained in hand signals. "She misread a signal and jumped off the front porch. There was a 10-foot drop," she said. X-rays were negative for broken bones but the dog cried constantly.

After seeing six vets and finding no relief for the dog, Means found the nearest animal chiropractor and made an appointment.

Means drove eight hours to get there, but after the appointment, the dog walked out of the office and jumped into the back seat of the car without so much as a whimper.

When Giggleman started teaching a course on how to adjust animals over a decade ago, the bulk of his students were chiropractors. "Now, for the first time, we are seeing more veterinarians than chiropractors," he said.

"There is no cure-all discipline," he said. "Chiropractic is complimentary care. There are times when pets need surgery."

Animals often get more out of chiropractic care than humans, he said.

"Animals don't lie. They are either better or not. They are very demonstrative with their adjustments. They don't have all the mental trash we deal with on a daily basis. They hold their adjustments better because they don't have all the stress we have."

Pet owners know when their animals need an adjustment, Giggleman said. "If you pay attention, you can tell something is wrong. There is a slang term we use in Texas — somebody will come in and say, 'He's ADR.' That means, 'Ain't doin' right, Doc,'" he said.

Giggleman teaches full-time and is semi-retired after 31 years of practice, but he sees patients one afternoon a week.

About once a month, a pet owner will come in and tell him: "If you can't do anything, I will have to put my pet to sleep."

He said he's able to save 80 percent of those animals. For the others "we get the animals out of some of the pain they are in and help the owners work through the whole issue as they prepare to part with their beloved pets."

There is a double blessing for those he saves, Giggleman said, "because not only are you making the pet better, but saving a life."

© 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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Rabbits (Playboy) get cold shoulder in the Indian State

12:00 PM Indian, Playboy, Rabbits, shoulder, State No Comments

Reuters – 1 day

MUMBAI - plans India's first Playboy to open Club in Goa coastal States have taken, last year a bone of contention with local politicians of the idea of "Hare" on its pristine beaches amid increasing pressure for better treatment of women after a fatal gang rape.

India has strict censorship laws and there is no Indian version of Playboy Magazine, but the Playboy brand in India revealed the promoters last year to open clubs around the country plans, customized dress with Indian customs.

A lawmaker from the right-wing party of that rules that the State had threatened a hunger strike if the Government allowed that set Playboy shop in Goa, to say that it would tarnish the image of the State.

"If the Government had to grant a license Playboy, it amounts to giving a license for prostitution," Michael Lobo told Reuters, adding that Playboy promoted vulgarity.

"We respect our women," he said. "We don't want to promote Goa as a sex tourism destination like Thailand."

Tens of thousands of tourists visit Goa during the high season October to March, its golden beaches, to enjoy, which are known for long night parties.

Media reports suggest that many other politicians and women's groups of Humongous share concerns, but the Bharatiya Janata Party, that rules Goa has not officially made known his displeasure.

On Monday, Goa Chief but told Minister Manohar Parrikar of the State Assembly that Playboy license application had been refused for "technical reasons", citing rules allowing such licenses for individuals but not companies.

Playboy clubs are promoted with images of naked women part of the hedonistic lifestyle of octogenarian Hugh Hefner, founder of Playboy Magazine. Playboy clubs around the world feature waitresses dressed in black satin bodice, bow tie, cuffs and bunny ears.

The clash underscores the growing pressure for a more restrictive climate in India after the brutal rape of a young woman in the capital New Delhi provoked widespread outrage over attitudes toward women in December.

Undaunted, the promoters of the brand Playboy in India - PB-lifestyle, has a license agreement with American Playboy Enterprises Inc - said she would try again.

"There are certain technical errors, we need to correct, and then we take it from there", said Sanjay Gupta, CEO of PB lifestyle. "I can not predict what will be the Government's decision."

Gupta, said that they have tried to make sure, the Playboy Club clothes offend not Indian sensitivities even weakening his characteristic Bunny costumes for local tastes – a first for Playboy clubs around the world.

He added that the Goa property was planned, not as a night club, but as a Beach Cafe, where women would be given special privileges. It was not specified, what were these privileges.

"The environment and atmosphere that we create women are friendly," said Gupta. "There is no male bastion, spouses are more than welcome."

The company still plans to open Playboy Clubs in other Indian cities.

Copyright 2013 Thomson Reuters.

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Would you buy an artificial diamonds?

4:30 AM artificial, diamonds, would No Comments

Sri Jegarajah, reporter, CNBC Asia Pacific, CNBC.com - 3 days

It is just an another high-end diamond showroom in a well-heeled Asian capital with their polished sales pitch and discrete security.

The stones were probably mined in South Africa; Cut, polished and finished in India and shipped to the luxury-hungry markets of Singapore, Hong Kong and Shanghai.

But the source of these gems is much closer than you think.

Just a few metres from the display cases in a nondescript industrial park in Northern Singapore is the first "overground" diamond mine owned and operated by privately owned type IIa technologies.

But grim-faced there is no mine workers in sight.

This is because the company claims that it can produce or grow - the purest and most rare title of the rough diamonds (type IIa) in a laboratory process called microwave plasma chemical vapor deposition. Simply put, carbon atoms are a natural process, 'Seed,' fast tracking on an initial diamond the thousands a matter of months long layered.

And because these stones lab are made, they are good for the environment and are free of the "blood diamonds" stigma that traditionally has spoiled their mined counterparts.

Breakthrough?
According to the company, competitors all over the world have tried that to develop, but here is purest type IIa diamonds in Singapore where the breakthrough happened.

Technical Director, Misra of eight R & D says DS, gave them the edge.

"That eight years was to understand enough time for us, every bit of technology in the process, able to achieve the success the other very hard have found," said Misra CNBC.

We were not the process movies, as the developers it was commercially sensitive. But managing director Vishal Mehta says that it increasingly strong demand for its diamonds laboratory-grown from high-tech industries such as semiconductor manufacturer heavy industry.

"We are really excited to say that the overwhelming response of customers was absolutely fantastic," said Mehta. "We bring the opportunity in many, many different applications on the traditional use of diamonds diamonds use."

The jewelry World Association defines synthetic diamonds as: "an artificial reproduction of a diamond, that basically the same chemical composition, crystal structure and physical properties such as their natural counterparts."

Renowned
Steve Benson, says head of communication at the Swiss Confederation is he anything illegal about a synthetic diamond, as long as the consumer is specifically informed that this is what or she buys.

"If the diamond not as 'synthetic' qualifies then the consumer not with what is required to an informed purchase decision, and he has produced or been duped claim can," Benson said.

But laboratory-grown diamonds the same recognition, premium and prestige than counterparts traditionally broken down?

Yes, you - do depending on the market segment – according to the International Diamond Council Ya'akov Almor.

A critical and growing role in industrial applications such as mining, construction and electronics have diamonds created by the people.

"Plastics have a place on the market and it's perfectly legitimate market. There is a need for a flawless, clean, synthetic diamonds especially for the semiconductor industry, "said Almor.

In fact, plastics have a decades-long history in the industrial market.

History
From the 1950s, scientists at GE in the vicinity of gemstone quality to develop synthetic diamonds for industrial purposes with an ultra high pressure system called "Diamond press" began. In 1982, Sumitomo Electric synthesized a 1.2 - Carat single crystal diamond, one of the world's largest artificial stones at the time.

And for more than 50 years item 6 - part of which de beers was group - design, develop and create it's called synthetic diamond Super material. And de beers sees "very exciting potential" for plastics in industrial applications, Lynette Gould of spokesman for said CNBC.

Of course occur problems in synthetic diamond with natural stones are mixed. "This is the last thing will jewelers," noted the International Diamond Council Almor.

Such tampering happened two years ago with the appearance in 2011 a large batch of synthetic diamonds, presumably by your dealer natural.

"An analysis of a grading Laboratory revealed that the entire batch synthetic," according to a report 2012 on the global diamond industry by Bain & co. and Antwerp World Diamond Center.

"The event was concern the high-quality fake diamonds was slipped into the market disturbingly,. The concerned batch created, "according to the report. produced by a process known as chemical vapor deposition (CVD), the stones, a diamond dealer can differ from natural diamonds without any special equipment,

The event highlights to make sure the meaning of diamond certificates for the authenticity of the purchased stones.

Distinction
De Beers' Lynette Gould is also quick to point out the difference.

"Diamonds are a natural mineral, created in the Earth billions of years," she says. "Plastics are not the same, and the name of diamonds is misleading." Diamond heart and imagination have captured peoples for centuries and as such had always its value, both emotionally and financially."

Veterans who are the diamond industry clearly on one more thing. Consumers of high-end diamond jewelry is the real deal and are willing to pay.

"The majority of consumers have told us during extensive independent research that they really want and are not ready, somewhat less satisfied,", said de beers Gould.

IDC Almor is just as strongly. "Synthetic diamonds take the emotion out of the equation and put the price point in the middle and that's not always what the customer wants."

Shlomo Tidhar, CEO of Singapore Diamond Exchange has the last word.

"I think that it will be very difficult for me as a man to a woman, I love to buy a synthetic diamond," Tidhar said. "This goes to hard for me to do, am I would not sure whether or not it and I me reluctant accept them to do."

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Millions sold rare pink diamond sold at auction for $39

4:07 AM auction, Diamond, Millions No Comments

The associated press, staff - 3 days

A rare pink diamond, which once owned by Indian royalty sold for $39.3 million at an auction in New York City.

The price of 34.65 carats of diamonds which sold at Christie's on Tuesday was the second-highest auctioned ever for a gem.

Seller and buyer were anonymous.

The gem was discovered in the Princie Diamond nicknamed 300 years ago in the Golconda mines in India.

It once belonged to the Nizam of Hyderabad, Indian Prince.

1960 Was acquired by the London branch of the jeweler Van Cleef & Arpels in an auction the diamond.

His name was awarded at a party at the company's Paris store. It was called "Phai" in honor of the 14-year-old Prince of Baroda, which party took part with his mother, Maharani SITA Devi.

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Highly-educated, female and 'opting out' of work

7:00 AM female, Highlyeducated, opting No Comments

The moms who graduate from the nation's best universities are also among the least likely college grads to be working full-time - or at all - a new analysis of government data finds.

About 70 percent of married moms who attended top-tier universities such as Princeton and Harvard were employed in 2010, the analysis showed.

That compares to about 80 percent of married moms who attended the nation’s least competitive universities, said Joni Hersch, the law and economics professor at Vanderbilt University who prepared the data.

The married moms from the nation’s best universities also tended to take more time out of the workforce than those who attended the least competitive universities, and to work fewer hours if they did work at all, she said. About 45 percent of the married moms from the best universities were working full-time, compared with about 57 percent of the married moms from the least selective universities.

Hersch’s analysis looked at married women between ages 21 and 54 who also had children under age 18, and is based on the National Survey of College Graduates, which provides government data on around 77,000 college graduates.

“Every dimension showed lower labor market activity,” Hersch said.

Hersch said she thinks the results are surprising in that women who attend the best universities in the country would seem to be the most coveted potential employees. That means that employers would presumably be more likely to accommodate their desire for work/life flexibility.

“The flexibility alone doesn’t explain it,” she said. “The elites are going to dominate the non-elites in terms of flexibility.”

She thinks it’s possible that the married moms who attended the most prestigious universities are more likely to work part-time, or not at all, in part because they can afford to do so.

That’s because other research has shown that graduates from top schools are more likely to come from wealthy families and to marry men who also attend prestigious universities and come from similarly wealthy families. That could give them more financial flexibility to opt out.

The tendency for these highly educated moms to work part-time or not at all even extended to many who had also earned advanced business degrees. But the weak economy seems to have played a role in sending some of these moms back into the workforce.

Hersch found that just about 35 percent of the married moms with MBAs who went to the best universities were working full-time in 2003, but that had increased to 54 percent by 2010.

By contrast, about 66 percent of the moms with MBAs who attended the least selective universities were working full-time in 2003, but that fell to about 48 percent in 2010.

She said that implies that in a strong economy, married moms who graduated from the best universities can hold out for the job they want. And in a weak economy, they can likely beat out the women from less selective universities to land a job if they want it.

Other researchers also have found evidence that moms with MBAs who attended prestigious universities tend to be more likely to “opt out” than their peers who get other advanced degrees, such as medical doctors and lawyers.

Catherine Wolfram, an associate professor at the University of California’s Haas School of Business who has studied this issue, said one problem may be that women who earn MBAs tend to be most qualified to work in business and finance. Unlike other fields such as medicine, she said it could be that women in business and finance find that there is little flexibility for going part-time or making other family accommodations.

“The work environment really matters,” she said.

Claudia Goldin, an economics professor at Harvard who also has studied these issues extensively, said it’s always been true that many women will slow their careers when they have children. But she questioned whether that should be considered a problem when women have long lives to pursue both professional and personal goals.

“There isn’t any change in opting out. Professional women, women who have advanced degrees - even women with BAs and nothing else - are having their kids a lot later,” she said. “So, seeing women slow down a bit in their 30s may have been a surprise to some, but it’s not a surprise to anyone on the ground.”

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Are billionaires just plain smarter? Study says yes

10:30 AM Billionaires, plain, smarter, Study No Comments

Robert Frank , CNBC – 1 day

A growing body of research tells us that success is not so much a function of raw intelligence, but of work, circumstances and time applied to a specific skill.

It's a theme that helps power the American meritocracy and drive the dream that anyone can make it if they just try hard enough – even in the knowledge economy.

But it may not be entirely true.

A new study from Jonathan Wai, research scientist at Duke University, finds a strong correlation between brainpower and success – especially wealth. As the study states: "the top one percent in wealth highly overlaps with the top one percent in brains."

About 45 percent of billionaires are in the top one percent of cognitive ability, the study states. Billionaires were generally smarter than Fortune 500 CEOs, where 38.6 percent were in the top 1 percent of brains. Senators ranked just below that, with 41 percent, along with federal judges 41 percent. Members of the House were less smart, with 21 percent. (The smartest sub group of the American rich and powerful are male Senate Democrats).

Even among billionaires, however, there are wide variations in brainpower. Billionaires who made their fortunes from investments and technology were far more likely to be in the top one percent of brains; 69 percent and 63 percent of them were brain-one-percenters. Billionaires who made their money in fashion and retail, as well as food and beverage, were less brainy: with 25 percent and 23 percent of them in the brain elite, respectively.

So higher brainpower is not just concentrated at the top: it's concentrated among certain segments of the top.

There is one caveat to the theory. The study measures cognitive ability by attendance at 29 selected "elite colleges," which, it says, typically requires high test scores and therefore indicates high intelligence and high IQ. "Elite college attendance indicates a high general ability level," the study says.

But not always. As the study concedes, factors other than test scores and IQ can play a role in admission to elite colleges, like legacy preferences, wealth, sports scholarships and other attributes. And some very smart people don't go to the elite schools for financial or other reasons.


An earlier study from a research scientist finds that "IQ really has no relationship to your wealth."

Still, the Duke study found that fully 88 percent of the Forbes billionaires graduated from college. I guess Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg are more exceptions than the rule.

© 2013 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved

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Buzz: Profits up, perks down, employees disgruntled

12:30 PM disgruntled, employees, perks, profits No Comments

The nation’s corporations have been turning in record profits of late, and yet you wouldn't necessarily know it from how their employees are being rewarded.

A Life Inc. post this week looked at how many at-work perks are disappearing even as many are being asked to work longer and harder.

Many said it’s a recipe for unhappiness.

“20 years with this company. There used to be so many little, cheap perks that were real motivators. Now there's virtually nothing,” one reader wrote. “I'm happy to have a job - and a decent one - but it is hard to watch the salaries of senior executives double in those 20 years....and profits higher....and none of the lower rank-and-file employees able to reap any of the rewards.”

Many lamented that their employees seem to think it’s better to motivate by fear than to give a pat on the back for a job well done.

“Our company has the ‘Princess Bride’ motivation package - Goodnight, sleep tight. I'll most likely fire you in the morning,” one reader joked.

But others said they don’t need perks – they’d rather have a raise.

“Spare the pat on the back. Give me the money,” one wrote.

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Work perks disappear as hours expand

2:30 PM disappear, expand, hours, perks No Comments

By Martha C. White, TODAY contributor
Is a pat on the back too much to ask?

Companies believe they’re doing a terrific job of motivating employees, but American workers don’t see it that way. After weathering the recession and being asked to do more with less, they’d like some kudos for their efforts.

“We found that employees with one foot out the door clearly feel recognition in their company is not frequent enough or fair enough,” Globoforce, a company that designs corporate rewards programs, said in its twice-yearly Mood Tracker survey last fall. About half of the employees who were looking for a new job said it was because they weren’t getting those “attaboys” for jobs well done.

When the economy was at its trough, employees didn’t mind giving up perks and working harder, because at least they still had jobs. But now things have changed: Corporations earned a record-high $1.75 trillion in the third quarter of 2012, and compensation for top executives has climbed even as wages for rank-and-file have stagnated.

A survey last fall of medium-sized and large companies conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management and Globoforce, found that although about three-quarters of respondents had programs in place to recognize employee achievements, this number slipped from the previous year.

That’s still a healthy majority, but there’s evidence that the decrease might be a longer-term trend dating back to the start of the recession. Surveys conducted every three years by the group WorldatWork found that recognition peaked in 2005 and 2008, when 89 percent of responding companies had recognition programs. In the group’s 2011 survey, that number slipped to 86 percent, and the amount they spent on these programs also dropped.

“There is an impact when things are taken away, particularly in this day and age when there are minimal increases in salary,” said Rodger Stotz, chief research officer with the Incentive Research Foundation. “The recognition becomes more valuable because it shows the organization values and appreciates the employee, and it has an emotional impact.”

Efforts to recognize good work and boost morale don’t have to be expensive, recognition experts say.

“My experience has been these programs don’t cost a lot of money, but there’s a lot of bang for the buck,” said Bruce Elliott, manager of compensation and benefits at the Society for Human Resource Management.

“It creates a culture of positivity,” Charlie Ungashick, CMO at Globoforce, said.

The problem is that the financial benefits of more motivated workers aren’t always evident. Much of the research conducted to assess results is attitudinal rather than quantitative, and the losses the come from dropping recognition efforts are similarly hard to quantify, said Frank Mulhern, associate dean of integrated marketing communications program at Medill School of Journalism Media and Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. “It’s hard for a CFO to see that.”

A little more than three-fifths of respondents in the SHRM survey said their company rewarded employees based on performance, but the people doing that hard work don’t see it that way. Just 37 percent of respondents in Globoforce’s Mood Tracker survey said people in their company were fairly rewarded according to their job performance.

More than half of workers say being “valued and rewarded” is what’s most important in choosing where to work, employee recognition program company Achievers found in a survey conducted last year, but a November Gallup poll found that slightly less than half of American workers are satisfied with the amount of recognition they get for the work they do.

Ungashick said companies were experimenting with new ways to give workers that pat on the back, like peer-to-peer recognition. And a growing number of managers are embracing benefits like flex time and working from home. But these “perks” are a double-edged sword: A Bureau of Labor Statistics study found that up to two-thirds of the time employees spend telecommuting is actually on top of the regular 40 hours they put in every week.

Industries with labor shortages see the most feel-good investment. Elliott says Silicon Valley, where big tech firms fight for top talent in programming and engineering, is a hotbed of incentives and little extras. After becoming CEO at Yahoo last July, Marissa Mayer implemented free lunch and gave employees iPods. (She also demanded that employees work from the office.)

But this sort of lavish perk isn’t the norm in most workplaces. “This emphasis on engagement, much of that is being pioneered in the high tech industries where there’s such a high value placed on human capital,” Mulhern said.

It’s another story at the lower end of the labor-market spectrum, where many of the jobs lost in the recession have been recovered, he said. “It’s more like the cost benefit isn’t necessarily there... for employees where there’s a high turnover and they’re easily replaceable.”

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Class of 2013 to face tough start in job market

9:30 AM class, market, start, tough No Comments

High school and college graduates are still being hobbled by years of weak economic growth and an extremely tight job market, and that difficult start in the job market could impact the class of 2013 for years to come, a new analysis finds.

“Graduating in a bad economy has long-lasting economic consequences,” said Heidi Shierholz, economist with the Economic Policy Institute, which prepared the report on young workers released Wednesday.

The liberal-leaning think tank looked at high school graduates between ages 17 and 20 who aren’t enrolled in further schooling, as well as college graduates between ages 21 and 24 who have a bachelor’s degree and aren’t seeking further education.

The analysis found that the unemployment rate for the high school grads who aren’t going to college has improved somewhat since hitting a high of 32.7 percent in 2010, but not enough to give young workers (and their parents) much comfort.

An average of 29.9 percent of high school grads between ages 17 and 20 who weren’t enrolled in further schooling were unemployed and actively looking for work between March 2012 and February of 2013, according to their analysis. That’s up from an average of 17.5 percent in 2007, when the job market was much stronger because the recession had not yet begun.

Getting a college degree still greatly improves people’s job prospects, but many young college graduates also continue to struggle to find a job after many years of high unemployment and dim job prospects.

The unemployment rate for young, recent college graduates who weren’t furthering their education stood at an average of 8.8 percent between March of 2012 and February of 2013, according to the EPI analysis. That’s down from an average of 10.4 percent in 2010, but still much higher than 5.7 percent in 2007.

The EPI report noted that more than half of young high school graduates were enrolled in a college or university, following a long-term trend toward more young Americans heading to college. Still, many are finding it difficult to finance the increasing cost of education, and the weak job market could make it hard for those young people to pay off their student loan debt.

That's especially true if they can’t land a well-paying job. The EPI analysis found that young high school grads were making an average of $9.48 an hour in 2012, while young college grads were earning an average of $16.60 an hour.

Both groups have seen wages fall in the past decade as the economy has weakened, according to EPI’s analysis. That could turn out to be a big problem for young workers because when you start out your career at a lower wage, it can take years and years to catch up.

According to EPI’s analysis, the class of 2013 could be earning less than they might have in a stronger economy for as long as 10 or 15 years.

Shierholz noted that the unemployment rate for young workers is always higher than average, and that’s especially true in times of economic distress. Now, she said, young workers are in a particularly tough place mainly because the overall job market has been so tough for so long.

“The unemployment rate of young workers is exactly what we would expect it to be just given the broader weakness in the labor market,” Shierholz said.

The overall unemployment rate fell to 7.6 percent in March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. But economists weren’t cheered by the drop because it came as many Americans stopped looking for work and therefore were no longer counted in the tally. The unemployment rate only includes people who have actively looked for a job in the past four weeks.

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American workers are at a breaking point

2:58 AM American, breaking, point, workers No Comments

Cindy Perman , CNBC.com – 4 days

The economy is supposed to be in recovery mode, but you wouldn't know it by the grunts and groans coming from the next cubicle.

A whopping 83 percent of American workers said they are stressed out by at least one thing at work, up sharply from 73 percent in 2012, according to a survey by Harris Interactive for Everest College.

"When you look at all the other economic indicators, there have definitely been some positive signs," said John Swartz, regional director of career services at Everest College. But relief of workplace stress isn't one of them.

"More companies are hiring, but workers are still weary and stressed out from years of a troubled economy that has brought about longer hours, layoffs and budget cuts," Swartz said.

Just 17 percent said nothing stresses them out about their jobs. It's interesting that workers 65 and older were the most likely (38 percent) to be in that group.

Stress is so ubiquitous and so dangerous that the American Institute of Stress calls it "America's New Black Death." You know, that little plague that is thought to have wiped out more than 100 million people in the 14th century.

"If black plague is what killed most people in Europe in the Middle Ages, then stress is what's killing us the most right now," said Dr. Daniel L. Kirsch, the president of the institute.

And while many sectors are still trying to claw back, the stress industry is thriving.

"It's actually a very good time to be in the stress business," Kirsch said. "The stress business is booming!"

So what did workers say is causing them the most agita? Everyone act surprised, it was a tie for No. 1: Low pay and unreasonable workload (14 percent each).

That was followed by annoying co-workers (11 percent), job not in a chosen career (8 percent), poor work-life balance (7 percent), lack of opportunity for advancement (6 percent) and fear of being fired or laid off (4 percent).

One of the biggest problems, Swartz said, is that too many companies are making decisions for short-term benefits and not thinking about long-term effects.

"I think, ultimately, [stress] can have a huge impact and a negative impact," he said. "If workers are stressed out and not feeling good about what they're doing, they're going to reach a breaking point. And the worst thing that could happen is for an organization to lose someone that's valuable. Then, you have to start from scratch … bring in new people. … There are significant costs associated with that."

"In many ways, the workplace is much different than it was a decade ago, and a growing number of Americans are not just sitting back," Swartz said. "They're stepping up and taking charge of their careers."

Of course, it's easy to blame The Company or The Man for keeping you down—and, for sure, they're involved. But most American workers started behind the eight ball, so to speak, before we even got to to the layoffs and heavier workload part.


A separate survey by USA Network (a sister network of CNBC, both owned by NBC Universal and Comcast) showed that just 79 percent of full-time working Americans are in jobs that reflect their true career passion. And roughly the same number admit that they have at some point thought about abandoning their field for something else. Most say they work to pay the bills and survive, while just 13 percent said they live to work.

And just 20 percent of those lucky enough to have their ideal position started off there.

"These findings reflect that many Americans feel trapped in their jobs," said Kurt Warner, a former NFL quarterback and Super Bowl MVP who is the host of USA's "The Moment," a show about giving someone a shot at his or her dream job.

"As someone who went from working in a grocery store to ultimately becoming an NFL quarterback, I encourage everybody to follow their dreams," Warner said. "The key to being happy in your job—and life—is to find your passion and live it. It's never too late to rewrite your life story."

Until then, cubicles across America will be filled with daydreams of better jobs—and winning the lottery.

And in case there were any illusions about employee happiness, consider this: Forty-two percent said if they won the lottery they would be outta here! and find another job; 32 percent said they would quit working altogether and 25 percent said they would stay put.

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The perils of cheap money

9:00 AM cheap, money, perils No Comments

| By Jim Jubak

Supply and demand for key commodities are out of whack, thanks to easy money policy. And that creates opportunities for savvy investors.

There is nothing for free.

So, Yes, the flood of cash from the world's central banks prevented the crash of the world financial system in the dark days after the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the near collapse of America international Group (AIG) and Citigroup (C). And Yes, President of the European Central Bank Mario Draghi promise to everything is necessary, has led to the rescue of the euro prior to the collapse of the market for Italian and Spanish Government bonds. And Yes, the big attraction triggered when China's economy prevents a hard landing, where the nation could have slipped growth rate below 7%. And, Yes, the Federal Reserve promises, at essentially 0% have kept interest rates the U.S. real estate market has finally.

But we are to count the cost.

Sometimes the price is obvious: produced in China it a real estate bubble, the landscape with ghost towns apartments, which is littered owned by speculators.

The price is sometimes obvious but delayed: one day the Bill due in higher inflation, higher interest rates and weaker currencies.

And the price is sometimes simply not too obvious. This is the case now in the area of raw materials, where a global policy of cheap money has transformed a modest slump sees a long, deep, depression in the hardest-hit sectors, such as natural gas, coal and iron ore, perhaps even likely.

How cheap money is a punishment recession for big commodity sectors related to the size already? Let me explain.

As if you my explanation of the link recession cheap money/goods purchase, I, you rethink your strategy and a schedule think investing in commodity stocks are submitted.

Jim Jubak

Let's start with the discrepancy between what I call the product depression and the slowdown of the world economy. Surely, the slowdown in China's economy should be-the drivers for the global market in raw materials from thermal coal, iron ore, copper-lead to a downturn of in commodity prices from their peaks.

A China growing at 10.4% in 2010 thanks to the country's post-global financial crisis stimulus efforts (let alone a 12% and 14% annual percentage rate grows China before the financial crisis), would consume as the economy of the country in the year 2012, more coal, iron ore, copper, oil, etc. as a China growing at 7.8%.

Take for example a look at iron ore. China's steel mills are the world's biggest consumer of iron ore (60% of global imports of iron ore are), and it makes sense that demand from China would slow down, how China's growth rate of close to 8% more moves 10% or 12%. Indeed: Goldman Sachs has projects in 2013 with the speed of the slowest growing of Chinese imports of iron ore in the past three years.

But remember that China's demand still is projected for imports of iron ore, by 4% in the year 2013--increasing. And global demand is expected to grow imports after iron ore by 8% this year.

Iron-ore prices, have already pulled back 6% this year. And the consensus among analysts surveyed Bloomberg projects that iron-ore prices fall additional 34% at the end of the year close to $90 per ton. (Iron ore sold $155 per ton at the local peak for about end of February 2013.)

The may not be the worst news. Prices could continue until 2014 and possibly until 2018, retreat according to the Morgan Stanley iron ore. Dignity to create a crisis that reflects the nine-year boom, the iron ore price rise saw seven times from the late 1990s, when the price was $15 to $20 per metric ton.

Forecasts for a huge drop in the price until end of this year and in the coming years sense not much considered only the demand side of the market however.

Rising demand from China for imports is 4% in 2013 and the price of iron ore is not only lower, but plunging film? Global demand climbed 8 per cent, but prices fall another 34% in 2013?

Ahh, take a look at the supply side. These same forecasts which say that worldwide demand is increasing by 8% in 2013 request also a 9.1% increase in seaborne supply (the default datum and for global iron imported ore because iron ore by my customers traveling by sea).

And this is only the beginning of a development that has grow to exceed demand growth, as well as new iron ore capacity comes online. Morgan Stanley projects that the global iron ore market in surplus in 2014 and that the surplus will transport continue to grow until 2018. This is not good for the price.

This basic history-slowed down but still solid growth in demand overwhelmed by a large increase in the supply-not with iron ore. The same falsely - single ply for certain Rohstoffmarkten--for raw materials as diverse as natural gas, thermal coal and copper.

Copper is projected, for example, to move to a global surplus in 2013, rising by 5.3% but offer as demand increases by 6.8% to 8% according to analysts.

The copper to a planned surplus of supply takes over demand by 330,000 tons in 2013 from a deficit of 95,000 tonnes in the year 2012 and 132,000 tonnes in 2011. Copper for delivery in three months closed at $7.958 a ton on 3. The average price for 2013 according to Goldman Sachs, $8.458 are a ton to $7,250 a ton fall in 2014.

This pattern of the bust and then back (commodity investors hope) raw materials is typical of the sector to boom boom. High prices lead producers increase their capital budgets and invest in new capacity. But it takes so long to find and these resources, which invests in new capacities, which then produces a temporary surplus in terms of reducing the result often in new capacity to develop over-investment, as each mining company prices.

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It is time, '' Poor' taxes'

1:30 PM taxes No Comments

| By Anthony Mirhaydari, MSN Money

The stroke on the nation's budget crisis is this: we need more people, workers and paying control. We need schaffen-the poor and jobs - to come to work.

The quality of work, driven by a healthy ambition, what makes America tick.

It is embedded deep into our national psyche an idea. Waves of pilgrims and immigrants cross sign not the oceans for welfare checks; They came for the opportunity to earn a better life through blood and work.

If the inner fire is extinguished, the economies are suffering. Innovation stands. Vitality is hidden. Expand budget deficits, and the masses to keep clamor for redistribution of the tax reform charade going in a modern context because tax revenues are dwindling, use spending exploded. Debt accumulates. Panic strikes. Other words, mixes the situation than a culture of leisure in Europe is faced with a bloated welfare system and "the rich enjoy one" mentality, disastrous effects.

The United States is on the same dangerous path. Busy advancement is replaced by inaction of foreign bondholders and financed a narrowing group of wealthy taxpayers. Also, few are feeling the sting of the Uncle Sam wasteful way. And too many are wages in the private sector with Government replace.

The only way out is to stop Coddling and "Control" the "poor". Here is what I think and why.

I games with the definitions here, attempting to enter two great points.

Anthony Mirhaydari

The first is that America on an unsustainable fiscal course. The problem of the debt/deficit is acute. Every day the national debt hits a new high. It stands nearly 16.8 trillion $ or more than $53.100 for every man, woman and child in this country.

Only the opposition party in Washington has set have the goal of balanced budget. And even then not the Republican House budget draft for 10 years to compensate for. Democrats in Congress and in the White House, don't think that this is a priority. The proposal by Senate Democrats never balanced and we ran a deficit amounting to 2.1% of GDP in the year 2023.

There are no easy solutions.

We need their social programs and reduce the cost of health care, of which none of the voters is popular. And we need the reality well, is that you do not is not to close deficit and taxes, government spending, if pay about half of the country's federal taxes.

Opinion polls, that to eliminate the only "solutions" such as foreign aid and to support raising taxes for rich Americans. That will solve the problem. The tax increases for the rich into the fiscal Cliff business are recorded in January in only about 68 billion $ per year draw. The current annual budget deficit is more than $1 trillion.

An analysis of the third way policy group found that even if we make the rich with any realistic tax increase, the national debt would still double over the next 30 years. Sorry folks, just don't work that mathematics.

In addition, the rich were the tax increases, greater share of the burden before January. According to the Congressional Budget Office paid in 2009 the upper 20% of households by income 94.1% of all income tax Verpflichtungen--65% 1979 compare you this with the declining share of the middle 20% (2.7% vs. 10.7%) and the lowest 20% (6.6% compared to 0%, due to increased tax credits).

These trends more than the differences in wages for this period. In other words, the tax code has become increasingly progressive and redistributive.

The fact is, that this is a Government by the people and for the people, but there may be fewer and fewer people funded him. The data suggest that a household in around $60,000 can bring in without having to pay any income tax. (It would have to pay more social security and Medicare taxes.)

By the numbers is a middle-class income. Income tax purposes it but too poor to pay.

The risk is that a tyranny of the majority will be tempted to tax even more wealth by top earners in response to the lousy economy, making everything worse for everyone.

To close the deficit, spending must be cut (see my last column "why do we need ' death panels '" for an idea). We need to expand the base, so that even low-income households have some skin in the game. We had a balanced distribution of the income tax burden as President Bill Clinton and the Republican congressional budget surpluses ran and the economy at the height of geschnellt-- despite the fact that income shares between rich and poor were unequal then than they are now.

If we would have rolled back about what the Bush tax cuts for those in the January-rather than just the who - would we bagged additional revenue more than $100 billion per year have. If we all would then be planned tax increases have admitted to meet, including higher property taxes, it would have already been in a total value of around 400 billion $ per year, or 40% of the current deficit.

Ideal if politicians can bring the economy back in gear and get back the 6 million full-time jobs, we have lost since 2007, will expand the taxable value of course, as more people to find better jobs earn more to climb out of poverty and pay more taxes. (We need are actually 11 million new jobs for those responsible also for the increase of the population.)

But stop the relentless and ultimately losing focus on the rich, who would be "their fair share of numbers" a good first step-make, because it will only further damage business confidence, reduced investment and setting, and reduces the incentives for entrepreneurs to take risks. When that happens, we all suffer.

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Facebook will have the last laugh

4:00 PM Facebook, laugh No Comments

| By Michael Brush, MSN Money

The bad taste left by a bungled IPO and persistent myths of corporate weakness are keeping the social-networking giant's stock down. But a lot of experts see big gains ahead.

Facebook is back in the doghouse. Its stock is significantly lagging the market this year. Recently around $25.50, it's down 21.5% from its Jan. 28 high, compared with 3.4% gains for the Nasdaq during the same time.

But in all the other ways, Facebook (FB) is doing better than ever. The stock is weak for all the wrong reasons.

Which means Facebook -- and investors who buy at today's prices -- is going to have the last laugh. Here's why.

Big picture, a lot of investors avoid Facebook because of the bad reputation left by its bungled initial public offering. Simply put, it was priced way too high when it hit the market last May, amid excessive Wall Street hype and accompanying trading snafus. The dive from $38 a share to below $18 last fall cost traders lots of money.

We were all reminded of this last week by the news that the Nasdaq Composite Index ($COMPX) has to pay out millions related to those trading problems.

More recently, Facebook has been dogged by a half-dozen persistent and outlandish myths. As reality sets in and these myths go away, investors will buy the stock of the world's most popular social website. That should push the stock up more than 35% over the next year, to about $35. It could send it up fourfold over the next several years.

Michael Brush

"I think the stock's really attractive here," says Tom Vandeventer, portfolio manager of the Tocqueville Opportunity Fund (TOPPX). He made a similar call in my Sept. 18 column ("Are Facebook and its brethren buys?") during another phase of weakness in the stock. Then it was at $21.50, ahead of a move to $32.50. (It's fallen back since.)

JPMorgan Chase analyst Doug Anmuth predicts Facebook will turn into an "enduring, blue-chip company" as it continues to show investors it can convert its popularity into profits. Short term, he's got a $35 price target over the next 12 months.

Kevin Landis, portfolio manager of Firsthand Technology Value Fund (SVVC) thinks Facebook will grow to match Google (GOOG) in market value over the next several years, a move that would quadruple Facebook's stock price to $107.

Given how much people love to hate Facebook, these predictions might sound crazy. But not if you explode the six myths holding Facebook back. Let's blow 'em up one by one.

A big knock on Facebook is that it can't make the move to mobile, because cellphone screens are so small it's tough to run ads there. Fourth-quarter results blew this myth out of the water.

Mobile ad revenue shot up to 23% of overall ad revenue, from zero at the start of the year. And it advanced an impressive 50% over the third quarter, to hit $305 million out of $1.33 billion total ad revenue. One reason for this is that Facebook mobile ads actually get a higher click-through rate than desktop ads, says Vandeventer.

In short, 2012 was the "show me" year for Facebook mobile, and it showed us. "A lot of what we had to do last year was simply improve our mobile development process. Now we're there," CEO and founder Mark Zuckerberg said in the company's fourth-quarter conference call. "Today, there's no argument. Facebook is a mobile company."

Next up: Doing the same thing on Instagram, Facebook's popular photo-sharing service. Trust me, ads are arriving there soon, and sales growth will follow.

Ads run in Facebook's "news feed," the main content area showing updates, feel too much like spam, say Facebook skeptics like Jon Burgstone, a managing director of Symbol Capital, who teaches engineering at the University of California, Berkeley. So they alienate Facebook users. "Facebook still hasn't figured out advertising," says Burgstone.

One simple number blows this myth away: 41%. That's how much advertising revenue grew in the fourth quarter, to $1.33 billion.

"One of the big drivers of this has been that as we rolled out our ads to News Feed, we found that it barely affected the level of engagement on Facebook," says Zuckerberg.

Yes, but Facebook can't charge as much as Google for ads, because the ads are less effective, say the skeptics. True, Facebook does charge less, but the ads work. And that lower cost means the return on Facebook ads is higher than at Google, one marketing expert tells me. This no doubt helps explain the huge fourth-quarter revenue growth.

"With Google ads, you see sales increase, but the cost is so high the profit margin is lower," says Kenneth Wisnefski of WebiMax, an online marketing firm with about 500 clients. "At Facebook, the return on investment is higher because the cost is lower."

Facebook says independent studies by research companies like Nielsen, Aggregate Knowledge and Datalogix found its ads reach more people at a lower cost compared with "other online channels," no doubt a reference to Google, which targets ads on the basis of search history.

This makes sense, since Facebook knows so much about users. And rest assured that Facebook will keep figuring out ways to convert what it knows about you into marketing power for advertisers. And it'll be able to charge advertisers more, as a result. "That's the endgame here," says Vandeventer.

Facebook is trying new things here all the time. One example is "Custom Audiences," a service that helps advertisers match campaigns to user demographics. Another -- in the very early stages -- is "Graph Search," which lets some Facebook users search the "social graph," or the constellation of posts and contacts at the site, just as you might use Google to search online content. "This is one of the products that I'm the most excited about," says Zuckerberg.

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9 infrastructure plays to make today

8:00 AM infrastructure, plays, today No Comments

| By Jim Jubak

The continuing build-out of the Internet offers investment opportunities, and money is starting to pour into repairs of the nation's highway network.

Despite the calls of the pileated woodpeckers and my daughter's questions about where the mules walked, I couldn't help thinking about investing in infrastructure as I hiked along the C&O Canal towpath near Point of Rocks, Md.

From Point of Rocks you can see almost 200 years of American infrastructure -- some of it abandoned forever, some almost lost and then revived, some in heavy use but crumbling. If you're looking for a crash course in about how to think about investing in U.S. infrastructure today, Point of Rocks is a great place to start.

In this column I'm going to give you a four-part system for thinking about infrastructure investing, as well as seven high-tech and two distinctly low-tech infrastructure ideas to research.

Today the long-deserted canal and the tracks of what was once the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad -- now CSX (CSX) -- share a tiny bit of flatland between a huge finger of rock and the Potomac River. This stretch of land was the prize in an epic court battle in 1828 between the canal company and the railroad, with Daniel Webster and future Supreme Court Chief Justice Roger Taney leading the two sides. The battle almost bankrupted the canal company before the two sides reached a compromise that gave the railroad the right to share the narrow right of way.

The canal company's attempt to use the courts to block its competition failed within 30 years. By1850, when the canal reached Cumberland, Md., the midpoint in the company's plan to tie the Ohio Valley to the Atlantic, the railroad had already been in business there for eight years. The canal company abandoned that plan, and by 1889 the canal company and its right of way were owned by the Baltimore and Ohio Railway, which itself used its control of the Point of Rocks right of way to block the Western Maryland Railway. In 1924, the canal went out of operation.

If you stay overnight in the house at Lock 28 that once sheltered the lockmaster and his family, you know that what was once the B&O Railroad still carries a lot of freight -- much of it in the middle of the night. The B&O, the first railroad in the United States to offer freight and passenger service to the public, broke ground for its network in 1828. By 1889 the railroad was handling 89% of U.S. tidewater traffic in soft coal. And then came competition with other railroads; by 1896 the B&O was shipping just 4% of that soft coal traffic. And then came competition for passenger travel from highways. Revenue passenger miles fell from 878 million in 1925 to 64 million in 1970. By 1964 the Baltimore and Ohio was effectively owned by the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway, and in 1987 the B&O became part of the CSX system.

Jim Jubak

As you walk to the lock house, you pass the bridge that takes U.S. 15 across the Potomac to Virginia. U.S. 15 is one of the original 1926 U.S. highways. Parts of its 792-mile length now run parallel to the more modern U.S. Interstate Highway System. But the highway is still a critical link in moving people and goods from South Carolina to New York. (The Potomac U.S. 15 Bridge played a major role in killing the Potomac River ferries. Today White's Ferry, just slightly downstream from Point of Rocks, is the last operating ferry on the river.)

So what's all this got to do with investing in infrastructure? This scene gives you a rough scheme for separating good infrastructure investments from bad.

First, infrastructure categories do die -- even if the death throes are drawn out. It took a long, long time to actually kill off the C&O Canal, even though by the time it reached Cumberland, Md., eight years behind the railroad, the demise of the canal company was assured. Because so much money has been invested in an infrastructure company such as the canal, however, the business has the ability to raise large sums of capital on those assets to cover "temporary" losses. And there often seem to be an endless stream of new owners who believe they can turn the situation around.

Second, infrastructure categories can reorganize and reinvent themselves. The railroads are a good example of this -- they shed their money-losing passenger services (the state of Maryland now runs the commuter trains that run on the old B&O tracks) -- and after rounds of mergers reinvented themselves as profitable freight operations.

Third, new infrastructure categories do emerge to kill off or seize a major share of business from entrenched infrastructure champions. Highways did this to railroads, for example (with the benefit of public-sector funding).

And, fourth, some infrastructure categories look to be so valuable that reinvestment to keep them operating is just about guaranteed. That U.S. 15 bridge across the Potomac fits that category.

Which current infrastructure investments fit into under these four rubrics?

Airlines are probably not Category 1 -- they seem unlikely to disappear, short of the invention of Star-Trek style transporters -- but they don't seem to fit smoothly into Category 2 either. I don't see an easy model that produces consistent profits from existing (or even merged) airline companies because it remains far too easy to raise capital to buy planes and start a new airline.

In my schematic, airlines are struggling to find a transformation equivalent to that of railroads and, until they do, they remain a cyclical bet. Buy the best operators when the losses for the industry are really large and sell when profits are in a recovery mode.

Overnight document and freight companies such as FedEx (FDX) and United Parcel Service (UPS) look to have a clear route to a railroad-style restructuring. Alternative document-delivery technologies continue to eat away at that part of these companies' business, but that leaves them with the lucrative just-in-time freight-delivery market.

And that market is growing as more and more of commerce moves to the Internet. Every sale at Amazon.com (AMZN), for example, is also a potential sale of FedEx and UPS. The attractiveness of that business and its solid prospects are currently buried under the difficulty of restructuring the delivery networks at those companies to cut out some of the costs inherent in a door-to-door one-document at a time delivery system.

The big March 21 earnings miss at FedEx, for example, was largely a result of delays in achieving $1.7 billion in cost savings by 2015. The consensus among analysts is that this job is so hard that the company will wind up producing a series of quarterly earnings disappointments as it misses savings targets again and again.

A good time -- clearly not yet -- to buy the stock is when everybody has thrown up their hands at the halting nature of the company's progress. That is, if you think, that time-sensitive international shipments of goods will continue to grow in volume.

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Hunting for the next Disney

10:00 AM Disney, Hunting No Comments

Disney's magic keeps customers and shareholders happy. But some upstarts could grow faster. So keep your eyes on Netflix and Pandora, and watch out for Angry Birds.

The only thing you hear coming out of the Walt Disney Co. (DIS) these days is happiness. And not just the happy laughter of children scampering through its theme parks.

Shareholders are happy, too. The shares are up nearly 13% this year after a 33% gain in 2012, a 50% increase in 2011 and a 16.3% gain in 2010. In fact, since the 2009 market bottom, Disney shares are up about 260% (not including dividends) -- the fourth-best performance among the stocks in the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU).

In the 21st century, Disney has emerged as a true media powerhouse with interests in cable and network television, movies, theme parks and online media. And one important thing is missing from Disney's recent past. The battles among various chiefs have subsided with Bob Iger in control as CEO.

So when investors go looking for the next Disney -- a young company that could produce similar successes and faster growth for the next couple of decades, at least -- they won't find any that can compete with the total package just yet.

Split Disney into its components, though, and you'll find a lot of smaller names with the potential to thrive. They include, believe it or not, troubled Netflix (NFLX) -- and the still-private company that created Angry Birds.

More 'Next Great Companies': Buy the next B of A | Buy the next Boeing | Buy the next Wal-Mart| Buy the next Starbucks| Buy the next Amazon.com | Buy the next Exxon | The hunt for the next Apple

Here's a look at what makes Disney magical for investors, and then some of the up-and-comers.

Disney is now the largest media company in the world. Walt Disney World, Disneyland and Tokyo Disneyland are the world's top theme parks. Disneyland Paris is Europe's top theme park. A new theme park will open in Shanghai in 2015.

It produces blockbuster entertainments like "Oz the Great and Powerful," the "Pirates of the Caribbean" series and the "Iron Man" movies.

Disney's stable of original characters -- from Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck to Woody and Buzz Lightyear in "Toy Story" -- are known to children around the world. Add to those the characters Disney has brought into the fold via big deals and you have an unmatched lineup. It acquired Pixar, the pioneering computer animation company behind films like "Toy Story," in 2006. It bought the Muppets and the Marvel line of comics and movies in 2009 for $4 billion, and Lucasfilm -- the company behind the "Star Wars" films -- in 2012 for $4.05 billion.

Increasingly important to Disney's bottom line -- and its stock price -- is its cable business, especially its 80%-owned ESPN sports networks. ESPN generated an estimated $10.3 billion in revenue in fiscal 2012, which ended in September, and an estimated 57% of the company's $9.9 billion in operating profit. It's a beautiful business. Cable operators pay Disney an estimated $5.81 per customer each a month to get ESPN and ESPN2, market researcher SNL Kagan says. Next highest are TNT at $1.18 and the Disney Channel at 99 cents.

In fact, what sets Disney apart from its competitors is the diversity of big revenue generators: cable and network television; theme parks where tickets run you around $100 a day, hotels and cruise ships; films; and merchandise.

It's strong enough that if a disaster strikes, like the massive film flop "John Carter" in 2012, the company can withstand the shock.

Disney's size and reach would probably surprise even the late Walt Disney. He had big, imaginative dreams, to be sure, but he wasn't a numbers guy. Not the way the modern Disney managers are. Walt's brother Roy ran the company, but Walt's creative genius was the critical element.

The brothers came to Los Angeles in the mid-1920s. Their first big success was a short cartoon called "Steamboat Willie" with a character that evolved into Mickey Mouse. The company broke into the big time with "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" in 1937.

After World War II, Disney moved into live-action movies. More importantly, Walt embraced television with a weekly television series and the Mickey Mouse Club. Disney also revolutionized amusement parks with Disneyland in the 1950s and Walt Disney World in Florida in 1971, five years after Walt Disney's death.

There was a lull in the 1970s, but things turned around when shareholders Sid Bass and Roy E. Disney, Walt's nephew, brought in Michael Eisner in 1984. By the time Eisner left, shares had soared 1,822%, not including dividends. Since Bob Iger took over in 2005, the shares have jumped an additional 135%. Revenue hit $42.3 billion in fiscal 2012, up from $6.1 billion in 1991. Net income jumped from $1.09 billion in 1991 to nearly $10 billion.

If you're looking for the next Disney, you're probably looking for a company that offers the growth potential of Disney in the Steamboat Willie days. That will come with more risk than the mature giant Disney carries today.

The alternative would be a traditional media company, but there really isn't one that matches up well against Disney. That world is dominated by a few names: Comcast (CMCSA), CBS (CBS), Viacom (ViA), Time Warner (TWX) and News Corp. (NWSA). All are well-established, but none is as diverse or beloved as Disney.

Rivaling those are some large companies that have been working on technologies that are reshaping the media world, and sometimes dabbling in content as well, including Google (GOOG), Amazon.com (AMZN) and Yahoo (YHOO). But those, too, are well-established companies that might match Disney's stock performance at times but are too big to be up-and-comers. (Read also, "Buy the next Amazon.com.")

Just below these in scale sit two of our "next Disney" candidates, Netflix and Pandora (P). And below that, you'll find possibly hundreds of Web-based companies producing content directly for Google's YouTube and other platforms.

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Google launches on the same day delivery service

7:00 AM delivery, Google, launches, service No Comments

MICHAEL LIEDTKE - 21: 00

Internet search leader Google takes a further step beyond information retrieval in food delivery.

The new service called Google shopping Express, first same-day delivery of food and other products online from a small group of consumers in San Francisco and suburbs that offer South of the town bought. The company based in mountain view, Calif., did not say, how many people are part of the test.

If the pilot program goes well, Google delivery service plans on other markets to expand.

"We hope that this will help users, the benefits of a local, same-day delivery service and help us the tires on the new service to connect", Google said in a Thursday statement.

The delivery is in Google's effort to improve confidence in the Internet consumer, have more options, online viewing to generate its sales the most.

Google has learned, the more time people spend online, the more likely are using its dominant search engine or one of their other popular services, such as the video site YouTube and Google mail, contain advertising.

The delivery could buy more online advertising Distributor, if Google's encourages consumers about their online shopping to do this on the same day delivery service, also stimulate. Having days to wait, or in some cases is one of more than a week for the provision of online orders of the biggest drawbacks of Internet shopping.

It is a problem, the Amazon and eBay, which have tried to solve, most e-commerce sites to operate, by we the same day service in some U.S. markets. Wal-Mart stores, the world of largest retailer, offers even same day delivery in five markets.

Are a mix of national, regional, and merchants in Google shopping express enter neighborhood. The most famous names on the list are target and Walgreen's. All dealers in the Google program will sell certain items on a central Web site. Google save courier service to pick up the orders at the dealer and then deliver them set at home or in the Office of the customer.

Although the couriers on a contract basis, they are issued Google-branded vehicles and uniforms society.

It remains unclear whether Internet shopping and same-day delivery can be profitable. Online food retailers Webvan broke in 2001, mainly because there was no pricing to develop plan, which would pay for the cost of delivery on the same day, without antagonizing against unwilling to pay buyers too much extra for extra comfort.

Google is still trying to figure out how much for his on the same day delivery service for free. Consumers do not have to pay a fee for the six-month trial in the San Francisco area. Instead, Google will earn at participating retailers.

Expansion of delivery on the same day there at the same time, which is preparing to Google some of its older on-line services to close, allowing it to devote more attention and money to other projects.

The realignment has angered some Google users. Have biggest complaints on Google Reader, the people to automatically receive headlines and links from their favorite sites allows, centered, and iGoogle, a page, consisting of from the Google search engine weather reports and stock quotes design set up by other online functions such as local allows surrounded.

Google Reader is expected to close in July and iGoogle is closed in November.

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