Jan
18

Google Steps Over the Line

Cited: CNN 

Google is just about as big as it gets in any market, and bigger than everyone else by a far cry in the search engine business. But now they are poised to get even bigger and their next giant step could land them afoul of anti-trust laws that try to govern the ever changing landscape of high tech information gathering. Google’s new feature is called Google Search, plus Your World, which guides the search results to each user by tapping into Google’s social network, Google+. So, your search results will now contain Google+ posts and profiles. One issue with the new iteration of the old Google search is that you won’t find any Facebook, or Twitter posts or profiles when you do your search and lawyers familiar with Internet anti-trust law say that Google could find itself in court over their new search tool.

For its part, Google says that the allegations are completely without merit and that their Good Search+ tool benefits its customers and that Google is under no obligation to promote anyone else’s services. Unfortunately for Google, they may just be too big for their own good because while it is indeed true that even if you have a monopoly you don’t have to go out of your way to help the budding competition, when you are as big a Google you are in fact obliged to make sure that the market is fair for everyone operating in your space. A small price or a big price to pay for being the Goliath? Only time and the courts will tell.

Google can also point to the limitations placed on them by Facebook and Twitter in trying to level the playing field, neither of which allow Google to crawl through their sites for information that can be used in Google searches.

My take:

I’m not sure I understand any of it to be perfectly honest. Nor do I know how or if it will ever effect me or my life. I guess if Google is so big and makes so much money from what they do, other search engines should follow suit or get out of the way.

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Jan
18

Casinos May Hold the Answer to Fiscal Questions

Cited: MSNBC

Financially strapped states are turning to casino gambling and entertainment venues within these casinos to help balance the books. In New York, Governor Cuomo announced that his office would begin talks with a large Malaysian company called Genting Group to map out plans to expand the casino at Aqueduct Race track just outside of New York City. The news follows on the back of similar proposals and changes to the state laws governing gambling across the United States. Massachusetts recently passed a law allowing gambling in up to three resort casinos while Ohio is just about ready to open its first gambling hall after voters there approved the opening of up to four such entertainment centers in the state. Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Florida as just a few more cash-strapped states that are turning to adult entertainment to try to get their books back into the black.

In addition to the additional revenue from these gambling facilities, both lawmakers and the voters hope that the tourism that will come along with these casinos will more than placate their concerns over the societal consequences of being a state with legalized gambling. And the additional revenues are nothing to sneeze at as Genting Groups new “racino” in Aqueduct, though still limited to video slots and electronic table games, is poised to make $13 million next week, with expected annual revenues at $676 million, 44% of which will go to the state education fund.

However, industry analysts also note that there is stiff competition for these entertainment dollars and that there isn’t an unlimited pool of gamblers for states to draw from. They point out that as the casino in New York opened, older casino areas in nearby Atlantic City and Connecticut have seen a drop-off in revenues. They also note that Las Vegas casinos lost nearly $4billion in 2011, with the recent recession still gripping this gambling Mecca with both hands.

My take:

Gambling your way out of fiscal problems for the state is probably like trying to do it as an individual….risky, very risky. There’s every chance that these casinos do well and everyone prospers. There’s also an equal chance that they attract a bad element, lose favor if the economy doesn’t start to get rolling and putting more people back to work, and then they become a problem, and an eyesore. We’ll just have to see.

 

 

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Jan
18

Shopping at the Drug Store is Costly

Cited: MSNBC

The next time you drop by CVS, or Walgreen’s, or Rite Aid to have a prescription filled, make sure that’s the only thing you buy. More and more of these popular drug stores are turning into supermarkets with everything on their shelves from toothpaste, shaving cream, and aspirins, to cupcakes, soda, beer, snacks and milk. And while it might be convenient to pick up a few items while you’re waiting for your prescription to be filled, it’ll probably cost you quite a bit more than you might expect to pay for these grocery items.

A new report from Consumer World cautions consumers that grocery items at your local pharmacy can cost as much as 36% more than the same items at the supermarket. In conducting the research for their report Consumer World targeting 25 items found in three supermarkets and three drug stores in a suburban Massachusetts neighborhood. What they found is that at even the most expensive of the three supermarkets, prices there were still 17% cheaper than at the least expensive drug store.  The price variations on some of the items was incredible, much more than even  the surveyors had expected to find.

The reason for the price gouging at the drug stores is simple, they want to increase their overall profitability by raising prices on front-of-the-store items that people will probably buy out of need, convenience, and impulse. They don’t make any claims to be the best bargain store around when it comes to non-drug or healthcare related items so they can charge whatever the market will allow. The best way to shop at a drug store is like you should shop everywhere else, when they are running specials. More often than not these drug stores will beat supermarket prices for certain products when they run an ad or offer a coupon for purchase of the item, and only then. So stay away from the Ben & Jerry’s while your waiting for your antibiotic at Walgreen’s, unless you have a coupon.

My take:

There’s nothing new here as I’m sure that everyone expects to pay a little more for groceries at a drug store, or even at 7-Eleven for that matter. I never thought the difference in price would be as high as 36% but now that I know, I’ll be a lot more careful about picking up groceries at the drug store.

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Jan
18

Guilty Plea In Girl’s Brutal Murder

Cited: CNN

The man accused in the kidnapping and brutal murder of a seven-year old, Atlanta girl pleaded guilty today of the horrific crimes.  The girl, Jorelys Rivera, lived in an apartment complex in Canton, Georgia, just outside of Atlanta. Her killer, Ryan Brunn, was a maintenance worker at the same complex. Brunn described in court today how he lured the unsuspecting young girl into an empty apartment and then brutally killed her. His diabolical plan started when he found a skate that Jorelys had lost. Brunn took a photo of the skate and then showed it to Jorleys and told her that he would take her to retrieve the lost toy.

When he got the little girl into the apartment, Brunn then tied her up, taped her mouth and then beat her repeatedly with the skate and then stabbed her in her chest and head. Jorelys family members were present in the courtroom as Brunn recounted his heinous crime causing them tremendous anxiety as they are described to have been crying and shaking during the proceedings.  After he killed Jorelys, Brunn told the court that he put her body into a trash compactor behind one of the apartment building and then went out to party with some friends.

Whether it was guilt or some other demon possessing this madman, Brunn later put a note on the trash compactor saying that the little girl is inside. It didn’t take long for police to find her body and for their investigation to lead to Brunn. For his guilty plea, Brunn will get a life sentence with no chance for parole.

My take:

We can only hope that the inmates make Mr. Brunn very welcome in his new home and that he is tormented every day by image of that poor young girl, her grieving family, and the retribution he will experience in this life while in prison, and the next.

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Jan
18

Weight Loss Surgery Options

Cited: MSNBC

Losing weight can be a vexing problem and when the only option is surgery, even  then there are many things to consider. The two most often sought procedures are gastric bypass and gastric binding. New research into both weight-loss surgeries reveals that while gastric banding might be easier insofar as initial complications and recovery time, then long term benefits of gastric bypass might outweigh the benefits of gastric banding. The study also shows that patients that went for the gastric bypass surgery lost more weight faster than those who got the gastric band.

One of the main problems highlighted by researchers conducting the most recent study is that when complications do arise with gastric bypass they are often more serious and harder to deal with than those normally seen in gastric band surgery.

The study was conducted on 442 obese patients between 1998 and 2005. Half of the patients had gastric band surgery, the other half had gastric bypass. Following the surgery, doctors followed up with each patient twice a year for the next six years to monitor their health and of course their weight.  Initial complications from the survey were higher in the gastric bypass patients, especially from infection with up to 17% of them having some type of infection from the procedure. Only 5% of the gastric band patients had post-surgery infections.  However, the post surgery results for the bypass patients was much better with their group losing more weight faster and without the need for repeat surgery, a common issue with many gastric belt patients.

Doctors are quick to warn that not all complications are alike for every patient. Gastric bypass patients can be susceptible to hernias, enlarged esophagus,  and other medical problems that will effect each patient differently so there are no across-the-board comparisons to be made with one surgical procedure vs. the other.

My take:

When I get to the point that the only way to lose weight is to operate on my stomach that is the time to take a longer look in the mirror. Unless you have exhausted every other possible way out, or down as the case may be, including exercising a little more and eating a lot less, there’s no way I’m going under the knife because I can’t stop eating….

 

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Jan
18

Goldman Sachs Still Raking-In The $$$

Cited: CNN

Goldman Sachs may have found itself at the government’s doorstep just a couple of year’s ago as the banking crisis supposedly threatened the financial stability of Wall St’s biggest financial casino. But, it seems that things are getting much better for the investment bankers at Goldman, who reported today that earnings in the fourth quarter of 2011 topped $1 billion. And as hard as it is to fathom, the earning results for Goldman actually fell short of analysts forecasts despite reversing losses posted in the third quarter of 2011. A spokesman for Goldman Sachs said that a large portion of the profits generated in Q4 2011 came from reduced salaries at the firm.

Goldman said that salaries and bonuses paid out in 2011 declined by 21% to $12.2billion though it doesn’t appear that any Goldman execs will have to put their homes on the market anytime soon as the average salary at the financial giant is still approximately $367,00 down from $430,000 in 2010. Goldman also achieved the profitably fourth quarter by cutting its staff by 7%.

Net revenues reported were approximately $6 billion, which were higher than in Q3, but a bit lower from 2010 when the firm reported net revenues of $8.6 billion for Q4 2010. One of the biggest culprits behind the loss of revenue for Goldman came from the mergers and acquisitions group which saw a drop-off in business of some 43%.  Goldman is also quick to point out that expenses were also held in check in 2011 vs. 2010 while also making a decrease in their litigation expenses a priority.

Goldman’s earnings report was well-received by the market with their shares gaining 1% following the press release.

My take:

I have to hope that the government made a lot of money on their loans to Goldman or else something is dangerously wrong with the system. These guys asked for the biggest “Mulligan” of all-time, got it, and now they are lighting their cigars with $100 bills again. It’s always the same………

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Jan
18

Wasted Tax Monies Flow to Education Company

Cited: Google News/Daily News

New York Governor Cuomo provided a glaring example of how taxpayer money is being bilked by education companies whose executives are making obscene salaries from services they provide to the school districts across New York State. The governor used a PowerPoint presentation in identifying the head of Ellen Cooper Associates of Syosset, Ms. Ellen Cooper, as one of the most glaring examples of the problem in the education system and the payouts to private providers of service to this system. Ms. Cooper earned approximately $3.2 million last year with $2.2 million in salary and fringe benefits and another $1 million from shareholder distributions dating back to 2009.

Ms. Cooper’s company is called Cooper Kids Therapy Associates and for their services the firm earned $19 million in 2009, the lion’s share of which came from state, federal, and county funding. When contacted for comment following Governor Cuomo’s speech and presentation, Ms. Cooper declined comment and said that she didn’t know anything about the salary figures illuminated by the governor.  According to Governor Cuomo, there are over 140,000 service providers under contract with various school districts in New York State and the CEO’s of these companies are earning somewhere between $50,000 and $1 million per year, all of which coming from tax payer dollars.

In order to put a lid on the excessive pay being earned at the tax payer expense but without proper scrutiny, the governor is proposing that salaries paid to these execs be capped at $199,00 from funds paid by the state, city, or county. His proposal would also mandate that at least 85% of monies paid to these service providers go directly to the services to their clients and not to executive pay.

My take:

Sounds like Ms. Cooper has been making a very nice living on the backs of the public and a school system struggling to find its way. I do hope that more than just identifying her salary, the governor investigates her further to see if perhaps some other financial impropriety might also be putting my money into her Gucci pocketbook.

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Jan
18

World Bank Rains on the Parade


Cited:CNN

The World Bank has seen fit to rain on what was a small parade, but a parade none-the-less. At a time when data from the U.S. economy is starting to look a little better and the European debt crisis is looking manageable, the World Bank is telling everyone, ‘don’t look know but…..’ The World Bank is one of the most respected financial non-government organizations in the world so their words do carry some weight. And in the case of the global economy, their words are a warning that the global economic crisis and the shocks to the system experienced in 2008 might pale in comparison to what lies ahead. Not exactly the type of speech that will get anyone to strike up the band.

The particulars of the World Bank message begin with revised growth estimates for the world’s largest economies. They are revising their growth forecast for the United States to 2.2% from earlier estimates at 2.9%, and just marginally higher for 2013 at 2.4% The usual suspects for the revised forecast is a slowdown for the U.S.’s largest trading partners and the quagmire that is still Washington politics.

For the developing world, the World Bank has scaled-down its growth forecast from 6.2% to 5.4%, while for developed countries overall their growth projections for 2012 are 1.4% from 2.7% previously announced. Among the principal problems weighing on global output according the the World Bank are a recession in Europe, the continued issues facing the most debt ridden Euro-zone nations – Greece, Italy, Portugal, Span, a slowdown in India and Brazil, as well as an uncertain political climate and failure to address outstanding fiscal issues in the United States.

My take:

The problems facing the global economy weren’t going away that easily so its not a surprise to see the World Bank come along to provide a dose of reality into the fray. Until Washington gets its act together and works together to address U.S. fiscal issues, and Europe figures out how to get the laggards back into the black, the world economy will plod along, with many bumps along the way.

 

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