Energy independence in America: Finally in reach?

10:30 AM America, energy, finally, independence, reach No Comments

| MSN Money staff

An MSN Money special report: with the United States in the middle of an oil and gas boom, the tantalizing prospect of energy independence seems closer than ever before. But there are some big compromises on the road to self-sufficiency.

We have since the oil shock of 1973, a long way completed, if Arab countries of the price of oil during the production-the United States in a crisis have triggered. The American energy story is now completely different. The United States are the world's fastest growing oil and natural gas producer in the world, and it leads many to questions whether we are the long-sought goal of energy independence to approach. We finally could care for us?

Use of new technologies to tap huge underground deposits, holds out the promise of American energy independence-along with care of the environmental and health dangers. The stakes could not be higher.

Declare your independence from the power grid is more than any - doable, especially if you have $30,000 to spare. See your electric meter backwards turn what it takes to get.

Only three years after the BP disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the region of oil industry boomt-- and it may be that only the beginning of a new cycle for long-term growth.

In the span of a generation, the idea of capturing power from sources other than fossil fuels or nuclear energy of utopian nonsense has gone, up to far in the national power grid. But now the country producing fossil fuels at prices not in years who use the alternative energy sector in a familiar Bindung--because if fossil fuel prices fall, interest in alternative tends to dry out.

From Fred flint stones foot-powered car on the Starship Enterprise Dilithium crystals, Americans have a rich history which introduce alternative energy sources for oil-free worlds. But what like science fiction just two decades probably been are - my dance floors, which produce energy and cars that run on chocolate-is quickly becoming reality.

A decade after the Americans finally ready again embracing nuclear power seemed to changing economic power and Japan's Fukushima catastrophe the industry have squeezed attempted comeback.

The number of vehicles in the United States anything other than plain old gasoline powered is still small, but growing steadily.

After the big market and a relatively mild withdrawal left many energy stocks to rally behind him. But they are lagging behind for the wrong reasons, say several asset managers, which can be generally used for outperformance on counted.

Read More

The next Bank of America to buy

2:30 PM America No Comments

| By Charley Blaine, MSN Money

Before it too large, was doomed to failure Bank of America was on financial services for the little guy. These days, smart regional banks fill this role and see off as good buys.

After the 1906 San Francisco earthquake devastated the city, Amadeo Pietro Giannini, President of the Bank of Italy, a portable Office eingerichtet-- a Board about two barrels. He took in cash and borrowed money for the reconstruction of a rule with only a handshake. He made each loan was paid.

In 1928, shortly before the stock market crash Giannini merged his bank-which he had Anna-with another in Los Angeles in San Francisco founded and took over the Bank name: Bank of America. As the name represented his ideal. He wanted to build a bank that have large and small businesses across the country with savers and investors.

Today, Bank of America is working with customers in more than 150 countries internationally, in 50 States and more than 40 countries. It has $2.2 trillion in assets and 12% of all bank deposits in the United States. It is the fourth-largest U.S. mortgage lender.

But Giannini might not recognize it. It would be certainly some of the decisions of recent years appalled. The disastrous acquisition of Countrywide Financial. The acquisition of Merrill Lynch , the $45 billion of Government help and$ 118 billion in loan guarantees, to conceal decline of the company required.

The bank notes low on customer service surveys, including a no. 1-ranking in MSN Money "Customer Service Hall of Shame." And is shares, which traded over $50 before the banking crisis, in the vicinity of 12 US dollars per share.

Charley Blaine

Which raises the question: there is a next Bank of America, where you bank or without investing concerns? The answer is Yes, at least for investors; among the best alternatives are BB & T (BBT), U.S. Bancorp (USB) and PNC Financial Services (PNC). Here is the reason.

The alternate fit not just the model, the Giannini presented, but they are much closer than what has become A B.

This model is a basic commercial banks nationwide practiced every day by more than 6,000 banks. Take deposits. Pay interest on savings deposits and Sparbriefe--admittedly not much now. Lend money to corporations new inventory pick, buy lots to build houses, on and to buy new plants and equipment. The loans can farmers and local businessmen to finance their operations. The banks risk management and, if all goes well, they grow, preferably add branches, which can diversify their risks to your company and to build capital.

A.P. Gambaro small bench some banks not always did: serve the little guy as even the rich. His bank took in deposits of immigrant merchants, to lend money to dealers and peddlers, payment of interest on their savings and them.

And, another important idea was Richard Sylla, the Henry Kaufman Professor of the history of financial institutions and markets of New York University says Giannini, a former produce wholesaler and American son of Italian immigrants. Giannini used the Bank of its customers to bring California's liberal law on branch banking. Today, the Giannini model runs through American banks.

Bank of America was a key figure in the development of the economy. The Bank helped to build the State wine industry Golden. It was a player in the financing of films. He bought the bonds, the Golden Gate bridge built. When Walt Disney more than $2 million budget make "snow white and the seven dwarfs" was Bank lent the money, him BofA to stop what should be a classic. The Bank was an early lenders for Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), the classic Silicon Valley startup.

It was perhaps important, a pioneer of the bank credit cards with the BankAmericard, the in Visa (V). In response, MasterCard (MA) invented the Bank competitors.

Giannini began also Transamerica, had the banks in the West, and Giannini would extend across the country are happy. But local bankers resisted change of State laws, particularly in the South and East.

The bank holding company Act of 1956 needs Transamerica and Bank of America, to go their separate ways. Transamerica by banks were what First Interstate Bancorp, now part of Wells Fargo (WFC) was outsourced.

But even the original Bank of America was not immune to problems created by too much growth. You suffered huge losses in the 1980s, when Latin American loans went bad. It suffered additional problems with the mortgage, securities transactions and the like. That gave Group, Charlotte, N.C., Bank, banks in the South and Northeast, an opening of Gambaro buy greedy Bank was. Group took the name of Bank of America, as well as Giannini.

Along the way become anything other than a small bench for the little guy.

The new owners continue to aggressively until the crash of 2008 to buy housing banks and other institutions. Bank of America was offering, as Lehman Brothers was denied, Merrill Lynch itself deeply problematic, because Merrill Lynch supports a risky bet on getting a major dealer in securities of subprime mortgages mortgages to borrowers with little, or had made even no credit histories.

The nationwide $4 billion – the "dumbest" of tenders, purchase by far was, says analyst Richard Bove Rafferty capital. (NYU Sylla is right.) Litigation of fraudulent foreclosures, horribly bad paperwork and fines have amounted to more than $40 billion, not to mention that the Bank absorbed by society losses as portfolio went south the subprime loans in the countrywide.

And you did that Bank of America's stock price-fall 95% from a peak of $54.90 in November 2006.

It is founded in history over the past years an important lesson about banks, at the very least, Bank of America. The enormous financial organizations which grew under deregulation proved to be extremely difficult to understand and even harder to manage. Citigroup (C) almost broke in 2008, hobbled by many of the same problems, the Bank of America charged. In the year 2012, JPMorgan Chase (JPM) suffered a loss deeply embarrassing trade. UBS (UBS), the Swiss Bank, have been forced to impose.

Read More

The most innovative companies in America

7:00 PM America, companies, innovative No Comments

The most innovative companies in the United States are diverse, hailing from both coasts and leading industries of open-source software to medical care. What all 10 together is the desire, often after industry already to keep developed standards. Within this central innovation is anything but passive.

No. 1: Salesforce.com
World-class: 1

Cloud computer King, tops Salesforce.com Forbes list of most innovative companies in the world for another year, that makes it also the most innovative company in America. The company maintains its lead with a clear innovation strategy. Read the complete list to see what has to say CEO Marc Benioff on innovation.

No. 2: Alexion
World-class: 2

The second most innovative company in America's anemia drugs of Solaris IRIS will gross $1.10 billion revenue this year and its shares have exceeded Apple since 2007. More information about Alexion check out Matthew Herper history at, as this company is innovative.

No. 3: Amazon.com
World-class: 3

After initial success of other peoples books sell this huge online retailing has now more than 20 million products stocked. The third most innovative company in America sold more than other manufacturers were. Thousands of companies use the cloud computing services and Amazon's Kindle fire accounts for 22 percent of the U.S. tablet market.

Amazon has by constantly to reinvent and reinvesting relevant. It has not only dividends since IPO at $18 in 1997. The original shares have split three times, now what 452,070 million shares outstanding. Now that was worth more than $245 per share.

No. 4: Red Hat
World rank: 4

"We everyone's daily life affect lives", says Red Hat CEO Jim Whitehurst. "Whether you want money out of ATMs, to buy a ticket or one Commons trade do not look, but we are in the background does make all that stuff that happen."

Red hat, produced, curated, and manage open source software. Developers from around the world use and improve the software. Red hat makes supported versions of products that well in open sourcing and systems personalize big business to help make money from companies. Imagine if the Windows operating system or Mac, running your laptop was completely customizable.

The idea of transparency and cooperation the infusion of the entire plant. Even mission statement was a group effort. "Red we hat on the products that we have, than with innovations work our customers, says Whitehurst innovative."It goes to community-driven innovation. "It's not come with what technologies require large companies, we work with Google and Amazon and other large companies to help to solve their own problems." The only listed open-source-software companies, Red Hat pass sales $1 billion last year for the first time.

No. 5: Intuitive surgical
World-class: 6

Intuitive surgical has 2.341 since Vinci Surgical systems installed in hospitals all over the world. This ergonomically designed robots have four arms, 3D is equipped with a camera and high resolution and the others keep traditional surgical tools. The camera allows a doctor to see a high resolution live feed of the insides of the patient. As he works, movements of the hand of the doctor on the instruments be scaled so that the whole procedure by a score of 1-2 cm can happen. The technology minimizes scarring and recovery time.

In July, intuitive surgical announced profits, 26 percent from a year to $537 million in the second quarter. Instrument and accessories sales accounted for 30 percent of income.

Rounding out the top-10 innovators in America are:

No.6: Edwards Lifesciences , No.7: FMC Technologies , No.8: Cerner , No.9: Monsanto and No.10: Perrigo. For more information about these companies, our gallery of the 10 most innovative companies in America.

© 2012 Forbes.com

Read More

Bank of America exec loses millions after court says you can't moon your boss

7:30 AM after, America, court, loses, Millions No Comments

You almost have to admire Jason Selch.

Back in 2005, Selch ended a meeting with his bosses at Bank of America by pulling down his pants and mooning them.

Most of us would, at the very least, understand that this would be not just the end of the meeting but the end of our job. You can get away with a lot of things in corporate America, but mooning your boss isn't one of them.

The self-confidence of Selch, however, is made of sterner stuff than that. Selch not only thought he shouldn't be fired. He took Bank of America to court when they fired him for the mooning.

Selch had been a Chicago-based employee at Wanger Asset Management for more than decade when it merged with Columbia Asset Management, a subsidiary of Bank of America, in 2005.

As so often happens in these Wall Street mergers, some of the employees of Wanger weren't happy with the way the new bosses planned to pay them. Bank of America, in particular, has a bad reputation for trying to squeeze the compensation packages of bankers and advisers at firms it acquires.

According to court documents, Selch's friend Chris O'Dea was fired after he refused to accept lower compensation. This ticked Selch off. (Hat tip: Court House News.)

Selch burst into a conference room where executives from Columbia were meeting to give them a piece of his mind. He wound up giving them a piece of something else as well.

First Selch asked if he had a non-compete agreement, which on Wall Street is usually a way of threatening to quit and go to work for a competitor.

After the executives said he didn't have a non-compete, Selch mooned them, told one of the New York-based executives never to return to Chicago, and left the meeting.

Extraordinarily, Selch wasn't fired. Instead he was issued a formal warning. Selch’s boss testified that while 99 percent of employees would have been immediately fired, Selch was one of the one percent who could be granted a one-free-mooning reprieve. The executive actually fought for Selch to keep his job.

When Columbia CEO Brian Banks found out about this incident, he insisted that Selch be fired. The behavior was too “egregious” to allow Selch to continue at Columbia. No free mooning at Bank of America, Banks decided — even if you are in the one percent.

The firing meant that Selch lost a multi-million contingent bonus package that would have vested if he had remained at the company a few months more. Because he was fired, Bank of America got the keep the money.

Selch sued, arguing that firing him after issuing a warning was a breach of contract. The warning had said he could be fired if he misbehaved in the future — yet after that one mooning, by all accounts Selch was well-behaved. What’s more, Selch argued that because the mooning didn’t interfere with his official duties, he couldn’t be fired “for cause.”

The trial court granted summary judgment to the defendants in the suit. Last Wednesday, a 3-judge appeals panel upheld the trial court, describing the mooning as “insubordinate, disruptive, unruly and abusive.”

So, just in case it was unclear, you can’t moon your boss and expect to keep your job. Or your bonus.

Ever made a dramatic exit from a job? Tell us about it.

Read More

The most powerful CEOs in America

11:30 AM America, powerful No Comments

Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

CEO Mark Zuckerberg has 56.5 percent of the voting shares of Facebook.

By Douglas A. McIntyre, 24/7 Wall St.
Several CEOs and founders of well-known American companies have complete control over their companies. Through voting power, they control the boards and strategic decisions of these corporations. The best current example is Facebook, which will go public in a few weeks. Founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg owns enough of the voting shares in the company that his decisions cannot be overruled by outside shareholders or the board under most circumstances. Zuckerberg is also the most visible American CEO among a small group who have complete control of their companies and how long they will remain at their jobs.

The most powerful CEOs fall into three categories. The first are founders who are currently CEOs. They may, by themselves, or with other founders, have voting control over their companies. Larry Page of Google is the best example of this. He started the Internet search engine with Sergey Brin. Together with Google’s chairman Eric Schmidt, who they hired, the three hold shares that have nearly two-thirds of the company’s voting rights.

24/7 Wall St.: The least powerful CEOs in America

The next category is founders who no longer have the majority of the vote in their companies, but who have been in charge successfully for so long that their job security is not in question. Jeff Bezos at Amazon.com is the best example of this group. He owns slightly less than 20 percent of the company that he started in 1994. This stake is greater than that of any other shareholder. But it is his status as founder and his tremendous success that ensure he will not be replaced unless he wishes to be.

The final category of powerful CEOs are relatives of founders. These CEOs inherited the voting rights, usually from their parents, and they use those rights to run the company for another generation. The best example of this is Brian Roberts of Comcast, whose father started the company. By almost any measure, Comcast has done well financially and in the stock market. Even if it did not, Roberts would have his job.

24/7 Wall St. reviewed the corporate structure, governance and voting rights of the 500 largest companies by market cap. Based on a review of company proxies, we identified those companies where the CEO had voting control of the company or was the company’s founder. We then limited the universe to those companies with market cap in excess of $30 billion.

24/7 Wall St.: America's nine most damaged brands

1. Facebook

Name: Mark Zuckerberg (Age: 27)Title: Founder, Chairman and Chief ExecutiveShares: 36.1 percent of the Class A shares and 56.6 percent of the Class B shares
As the initial public offering of Facebook approaches, the company faces three major hurdles with investors. The first is the company’s worth. Estimates have pegged Facebook’s market cap once it begins to trade at $100 billion. It is unclear whether investors will support that price for a company that had only a little over $1 billion in revenue last quarter and earnings of $205 million. The second is whether it can continue to keep Google and other competitors at bay as it has done so successfully up until now. For example, Internet research firm Comscore released data late last year that showed the average U.S. Facebook user spent seven hours and 46 minutes on the site during August. That is nearly four times the time spent by visitors to Google during the same time frame. The last question is how much it matters that founder Mark Zuckerberg appears to run the company with only the most modest advice from his board. When Facebook bought the photosharing application company Instagram for $1 billion, several in the media reported that the board was not briefed about the transaction until it was well underway. Through direct and indirect control of class B stock, Zuckerberg has 56.5 percent of the voting shares of Facebook, making investors nearly powerless to affect changes in the social network company.

2. Google

Name: Larry Page (Age: 39)Title: Founder and Chief ExecutiveShares: 28.4 percent of all voting power among shareholders
Larry Page was the CEO of search giant Google from its founding in 1998 until 2001. He and co-founder Sergey Brin brought in Eric Schmidt to run the company as chief executive. Page took the job back last year. Among them, the three have 65.8 percent of the class B voting shares. Google’s proposed stock split would give the founders even more power. Page’s immediate challenge a little over a year into his second stint as CEO is to show that Google can expand sales beyond its traditional search business. So far, Page has not had much more success in sales diversification than Schmidt had. Google’s Android mobile operating system is now among the most widely distributed in the world, and by some measures is in first place. But Google has been unable to demonstrate how this distribution makes it money. In addition, several patent suits have been brought against Google about Android’s intellectual property ownership, which makes the sales bar for the business even higher. Investors are also concerned about the fast growth of Google’s staff, which has added rapidly to costs. Google had 33,077 full-time employees at the end of the first quarter.

24/7 Wall St.: America's 10 Highest Paid CEOs (Which Are Worth It?)

3. Amazon.com

Name: Jeff Bezos (Age: 48)Title: Founder, Chairman, and Chief ExecutiveShares: 19.5 percent of all outstanding shares
At 48, Jeff Bezos is the grand old man of the American Internet. He founded Amazon in 1994, and the company has gone from a tiny online bookstore to the largest e-commerce business in the world. Amazon earned $130 million on sales of $13.18 billion in the last reported quarter. Bezos has increased Amazon products offerings over the years so that the company is a major force in consumer electronics, clothing, software, toys and even groceries. Bezos’s most widely regarded innovation is the e-reader business, driven by its Kindle hardware and an online library of tens of thousands of books. The Kindle and Kindle Fire tablet are leaders in the e-reader and tablet PC market. Amazon is one of the few companies that poses a threat to any of the Apple’s products. Amazon also has a large enterprise business line. Amazon Web Services offers clients e-commerce tools through the cloud. Companies that do not want to invest in their own server hardware, software and bandwidth can use the Amazon service as a turnkey solution.

4. Berkshire Hathaway

Name: Warren Buffett (Age: 81)Title: Chairman and Chief ExecutiveShares: 33.8% of Class B voting shares, also listed in proxy as a controlling person of the corporationWarren Buffett is the grand old man of American investing. Buffett has been a board member of the company since 1965 and its chairman and chief executive officer since 1970. Berkshire filings to the SEC say that “Major investment decisions and all major capital allocation decisions are made by Warren E. Buffett, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO.” He has built Berkshire Hathaway into one of the largest conglomerates in the world, as well as into a holding company for stakes in a number of well-known companies. These include total ownership of GEICO Auto Insurance, International Dairy Queen and Benjamin Moore. Berkshire also has significant investments in IBM, American Express, Coca-Cola and Wells Fargo. Berkshire is one of the most valuable public corporations in the county with a market cap of more than $200 billion.

5. Oracle

Title: Founder and Chief ExecutiveShares: 22.4% of company’s sharesLarry Ellison, who founded Oracle (ORCL) in 1977, has thrashed his competition in the global enterprise software industry, holding off challenges from Microsoft, SAP and a number of other companies. These companies would like to increase the part of their businesses that sell hardware and software to large businesses and governments. Ellison has made a number of shrewd buyouts, including Sun Microsystems, which increased Oracle’s business in Java software and the server market. The most powerful part of Oracle’s earnings engine is the license fees it charges its customers. The fees offer recurring revenue streams that can last for years. Not shy of exercising his control in the company, Ellison has rotated a number of people in and out of the number two position at Oracle. Its most recent president is disgraced former Hewlett-Packard CEO Mark Hurd. Ellison made a public statement about how foolish the HP board was to fire a talented executive, and then snatched him up within a matter of weeks. Ellison has several extremely expensive hobbies, including the support of an entry in the America’s Cup yacht race. His boat won the most recent competition.


6. Comcast

Title: Chief Executive, Chairman and son of founderShares: Owns or controls 100% of Class B voting sharesBrian Roberts, like a number of CEOs who control the voting shares of their companies, is the son of the founder. Ralph Roberts, who is 92, cobbled together a number of small cable companies as the industry grew from largely a rural and suburban business to one that serves large cities. Comcast, which was founded in Mississippi in 1967, now has 48.9 million video, high-speed Internet, and voice over IP customers. Comcast bought a controlling interest in NBC Universal from General Electric last year. The company is now only one of the largest distribution networks in the United States, but it is also one of the largest content producers because of NBC. The government struggled with potential “monopoly” problem when it approved the transaction. The cable industry used to be a de facto monopoly because cable companies controlled discrete regions of the country. Now, however, AT&T and Verizon have laid fiber in front of tens of millions of homes so that they can compete with cable companies in the broadband Internet and video markets. Comcast must also contend with improved technology for satellite TV, which makes these services more competitive with cable.

(Msnbc.com is a joint venture of Microsoft and Comcast's NBC Universal unit.)

7. Groupon

Title: Chief Executive Officer and CofounderShares: 41.7% of Class B voting sharesGroupon (GRPN) is widely considered the most poorly run of the Web 2.0 IPOs. The online coupon company has to restate earnings for its most recent quarter because of a “miscalculation” of its customer refunds. It has cut the original revenue statements by $14.3 million. The company admitted it has a “material weakness” in its financial reporting process, a tremendous warnings sign about the quality of a company’s management. This is not the first time Groupon had to restate its financials. It had to do so before its IPO as well because of SEC and potential investors challenged how it accounted for sales. Andrew Mason has been able to insulate himself from all of these catastrophes at least as far as his job security is concerned. Mason and two other cofounders, Executive Chairman Eric P. Lefkofsky and Bradley A. Keywell, own 100% of the voting shares. SEC filings directed to by the company to shareholders say this stock ownership “limit your ability to influence corporate matters.” What is at risk for Mason is his fortune. Groupon’s shares have dropped from a post-IPO high of $31.14 to just over $10 recently.


8. LinkedIn

Name: Jeffrey Weiner (Age: 42)Title: Chief Executive OfficerLinkedIn has done a good job convincing Wall St. that its professional social network has strong longer term prospects. From a post-IPO low of $55.98, shares have risen to more than $108. LinkedIn’s 2011 revenue was $522 million, up from $243 million the year before. Net income attributable to common stockholders rose from $3 million to $12 million. Growth rates are not the only thing that shareholder likes about LinkedIn. The company makes money from its more than 150 million members in two ways. LinkedIn sells its products online but also has a sales force that sells and markets products directly to companies. The revenue between these two businesses is nearly equal, which gives LinkedIn a diversity of sales that other social networks like Twitter do not have. CEO Jeffrey Weiner benefits from his relationship with the company’s largest shareholder, Reid Hoffman. Hoffman owns 45.4% of Class B voting shares. SEC filings by LinkedIn call his holdings as having a “significant influence over the management and affairs of the company.” Hoffman is a serial entrepreneur who made a fortune as a senior executive at PayPal. He also sits on the board of online game company Zynga.

Read More

Brain drain flowing away from America

12:00 AM America, Brain, drain, flowing No Comments

NEW YORK — Derek Capo was living the high life. He was in his early 20s, an analyst at hedge fund Everest Capital monitoring international equities, and soaking up the weather and nightlife of his hometown of Miami.

But looking ahead, as he'd been trained to do, Capo didn't like what he saw. The housing bust was starting to strangle the Florida economy, the stock market was looking increasingly erratic and he didn't want to pursue a pricey MBA in the middle of an economic crisis.

He also wanted to test his entrepreneurial muscles, by starting his own business, ideally in a locale that felt economically vibrant, with seemingly limitless possibilities. To do that, Capo left the U.S. in 2007.

He now lives in Beijing, having founded Next Step China. The firm offers Chinese-language immersion programs, and arranges opportunities for foreigners to teach, intern or volunteer in China. "I wanted to take the next step in my life and career," says Capo, now 29. "I connected the dots and decided that I should go somewhere different and learn something new, like Mandarin, to challenge myself. I picked China because it was growing so fast."

It's a curious phenomenon that sends Americans abroad to look for work. The U.S. has traditionally skimmed the best minds from around the world in pursuit of the American Dream. Indeed, according to polling firm Gallup, which surveyed people in 135 nations around the world, the U.S. was the top desired destination of those who wanted to relocate permanently to another country.

But with unemployment hovering around 9 percent, the use of food stamps at record highs and the Great Recession continuing to punish the budgets of so many families, the American economy is much less of a magnet. To some young entrepreneurs, economic possibilities seem brighter in places like Brazil, Russia, China or Latin America. Indeed, the State Department now estimates that 6.3 million Americans are studying or working abroad, the highest number on record.

In fact, according to a survey by marketing consultants America Wave, the percentage of Americans aged 25 to 34 actively planning to relocate outside the U.S. has quintupled in just two years, from less than 1 percent to 5.1 percent. "Those numbers have shot through the ceiling," says America Wave founder Bob Adams, who has run nine such surveys over the years. "They're very surprising, and not something I anticipated. They're looking for work because of the sluggish economy, and they've lost confidence that the U.S. is going anywhere."

Younger Americans seem even keener to look abroad, with 40 percent of those 18-24 expressing interest in foreign relocation, which is up from 15 percent two years ago. "There's a feeling among more entrepreneurial Americans that if you really want to get anything done, you have to get out of country and away from the depressing atmosphere," says Adams, who lives in Panama. " There's a sense of lost direction, so more people are looking for locations that offer more hope about the future."

Just ask Matt Landau, who also lives in Panama. The 29-year-old graduated from the University of Richmond in Virginia before moving "in search of work, a better economy, and a more fulfilling lifestyle," he says. While many of his economics-major buddies are trying to avoid Wall Street layoffs, he set up a travel and investment blog and runs a boutique hotel he fixed up in the historic district of Panama City.

But he now knows that moving abroad won't automatically lead to a life of wine and roses. Every country comes with challenges, including barriers of culture, language, bureaucracy, and economic troubles of its own. "Embrace the hurdles, as they're part of the journey," Landau says. "If you don't embrace them, they'll suffocate you."

Indeed, such a major life decision isn't to be taken lightly. It's a daring chess move for your career, but sometimes risky moves can backfire, as well. "That's why you need to create a plan for your period abroad," says Alexandra Levit, a career expert and author of books like New Job, New You. "Know in advance how long you are going to stay, and what you intend to accomplish during that time. Make sure the job you take will allow you to learn transferable skills that are relevant across a variety of roles and industries."

In-demand skills include IT, engineering and teaching. You can search for international jobs at familiar sites like Monster or Craigslist, or increasingly via social media like LinkedIn. There are also countless local job sites, depending on the particular country you're targeting; visit TransitionAbroad to search by region or profession. Every country has its own work-visa requirements, of course, so do your due diligence at the State Department's terrifically thorough website for Americans traveling abroad. 

More tips from Levit: Don't underestimate the costs of relocating abroad (including healthcare coverage), which can be substantial. Choose a location where you have some existing contacts and a potential support system, otherwise you could begin to feel isolated and depressed. And continue to cultivate your network back in the States, so that when you do come back home, the transition will be relatively seamless.

Or you might find that you really enjoy your new life abroad, and want to stay. For Matt Landau, it's now been six years, and he still hasn't tired of a lifestyle that includes plentiful surfing and snorkeling. "I don't regret leaving the States one bit," he says. "But when I do get homesick, I just hop on a five-hour flight back to the East Coast. It's like living in California -- except no one knows who Herman Cain is."

Copyright 2011 Thomson Reuters.

Read More

Netflix provides service in Brazil Latin America

2:05 PM America, Brazil, Latin, Netflix, provides, service No Comments

SAO PAULO - Netflix started his film and TV streaming service in Brazil on Monday, the bridgehead for a push in Latin America, which is key to the continued growth of the company after recent setbacks in the United States.

Netflix Inc. said that it is planning in 43 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean soon, the online movie rental company largest international expansion can extend.

"What is looking for Netflix, to do, combine to offer the World World World content", CEO Reed Hastings said as he opened the service in Brazil on Monday.

Netflix service in Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay will be on Wednesday and then expands to Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean within a week.

Movement brings challenges not seen in Netflix core markets, the United States and Canada.

Broadband reaches a far smaller percentage of the houses in Latin America as in the United States, and speeds are slower. Piracy of films is the most widespread on the planet, which means that many consumers can pick up a DVD or CD of the latest movies for less than a dollar. Also, Netflix has little brand recognition in the region and it is already a local competitor for Brazil.

"This will work only in Ecuador, Costa Rica or even Mexico, as it has in the United States,", said analyst Michael Pachter of Webbush securities. "It will depend on how many households to broadband access have and how the quality of the content will be."

Only 20 percent of Brazilian 42 million Internet users a connection speed of 500 kilobytes per second, according to a may report by Ibope Nielsen Online. A speed of about 800 kilobytes per second is the minimum required movies to stream online.

Netflix subscribers across the region will be able, TV shows and movies, which streamed on a variety of gadgets. Domestic and foreign content in Brazil, with some titles in Portuguese, Spanish or English, synchronized offered are, and people will also be able, for subtitling.

The service in Brazil cost 14,99 Reals per month (approx. $9), and new subscribers will receive the first month free.

In the United States a streaming subscription costs $8 per month, and customers more to pay to get DVDs by mail. As in Canada are the Netflix service in Latin America streaming-only, without the DVD option. Netflix streaming library in the United States is about one-fifth the size of the 100,000 selection in the DVD section.

Hastings rejected to say would be how many film and TV titles for the Latin American consumers. He also would not say how much has invested in the company the company.

Headquartered in Los Gatos, California, working on the expansion of its international nature, such as the service, which it launched in 2007 in the United States more ubiquitous is and how it is new pressure. March Netflix had 22.8 million subscribers in the United States, about 34,000 more than the number of households that subscribe to Comcast Corp. cable TV service.

The company tried to calm down, the Internet video with DVD subscribers about a price increase of less than 60 percent on plans outraged-to bundle distribution.

It is also scrambling to a potentially large gap in the video library, created in March, when it the rights to stream movies and TV shows by Starz Entertainment, part of liberty Media Corp. loses

Netflix had tried, Starz offer to renew, the recently-released movies from various Studios Walt Disney Co., to the talks last week to reduce, if Starz announced that it, published a contract with the Netflix streaming recently under the annual 30-million dollar deal to renew movies and TV shows online not, included.

These developments have fears, could lose Netflix subscribers in the United States, and that has the share price of around 25 percent of the company, increases, wipe from about $4 billion in shareholder wealth, since the price increases were in July.

Anti-piracy advocates hope that Netflix is a entry in Latin America market-based instrument for the rampant infringement of intellectual property rights in the region, that can provide by many watchdog groups as the worst in the world in place.

Kelsey Zahourek, Director of Washington-based monitor function property rights Alliance, hopes that Netflix can change consumer habits in Latin America.

"When you give consumers a relatively low-cost choice to all movies that they want for a relatively low prices, it goes to lower piracy rates," she said. "Increasing enforcement along with consumer habits change a long way in reducing piracy can go."

Hastings said that the use of peer-to-peer sharing networks to pirated movies in Canada spread has fallen since Netflix is, that entered the market, but he was doubtful, the service, that alone was the answer.

"We're going to eliminate not piracy with Netflix, but you can make a dent," he said.

___

Associated press writer Michael Liedtke in San Francisco contributed to this report.

Copyright 2011 of the associated press. All rights reserved. This material cannot be published, sent, rewritten or redistributed.

Read More