Rosa Rodriguez Pens New Book Helping Parents and Daughters Plan for the Important Celebration

The Quintessential Guide to Planning a Sweet 16.

Brooklyn, NY (PRWEB) January 10, 2013
Party planning can be quite overwhelming, especially when it’s in preparation for something as important as a Sweet 16 birthday party. The popularity of MTV’s “My Super Sweet 16” has raised not only the excitement for the celebration, but also expectations. To help plan for one’s Sweet 16, Rosa Rodriguez has penned the new book, “Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen: A practical guide for planning and celebrating a Sweet Sixteen” (published by AuthorHouse).
“Teenage girls and their mothers will no longer have to look at wedding books or types of party books and adjust what they read for the Sweet 16 party,” Rodriguez explains. “This book is practical, with short to the point chapters, and doesn’t assume the parents can afford to spend $20,000 or more on a Sweet 16 party. In fact, it actually discourages parents from over spending.”
Rodriguez has practical experience planning and celebrating Sweet 16s and Quinceañeras, having planned several herself. Now she takes her wealth of knowledge and helps other parents and their daughters plan for their own celebrations.
“Happy Birthday Sweet Sixteen” shows the benefits of planning with attention to detail through to the party itself, showcasing how proper planning can lead to a successful and stress-free party for both parents and children. In addition, it is colorfully illustrated by artist Alana Lively, whimsically leading readers through the book.
About the Author

Rosa Rodriguez has a certificate in travel and tourism from New York University which included learning how to plan and celebrate parties and events. She has practical experience planning and celebrating Sweet 16s and Quinceañeras. As an administrative assistant to high level executives, she planned business breakfasts and lunches, and while working at the public relations department of a large New York law firm she learned the behind-the-scenes aspects of planning a big event, assisting in pre-event activities, during the event and with post-event activities.
Alana Lively is an illustrator, painter, writer and stay-at-home mom. She grew up in Denver and attended the University of Kansas where she studied art and majored in English creative writing. She lives in Denver with her husband, Peter, and her two beautiful red-headed daughters, Katie and Ellie. She is currently taking film acting classes and co-producing short films with her husband. Lively enjoys running, going out for coffee and organic gardening.
AuthorHouse, an Author Solutions, Inc. self-publishing imprint, is a leading provider of book publishing, marketing, and bookselling services for authors around the globe and offers the industry’s only suite of Hollywood book-to-film services. Committed to providing the highest level of customer service, AuthorHouse assigns each author personal publishing and marketing consultants who provide guidance throughout the process. Headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, AuthorHouse celebrated 15 years of service to authors in Sept. 2011.For more information or to publish a book visit authorhouse.com or call 1-888-519-5121. For the latest, follow @authorhouse on Twitter.

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Hollywood's 'Golden Age Theater' Arrives in Las Vegas for One Performance Only

Performance of L. Ron Hubbard’s science fiction thriller “Tough Old Man” taking place at Church of Scientology Las Vegas on Saturday, January 12 at 1:00 PM

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) January 10, 2013
The Golden Age Theater located in Hollywood, California has sent a team of popular actors to perform the science fiction thriller written by master storyteller L. Ron Hubbard. It is called “Tough Old Man”— Moffat is sent for final training under the senior constable of the Frontier Patrol in interplanetary service—Old Keno. Moffat searches to discover why Old Keno doesn’t feel extreme cold or heat, and never seems to eat, and what he finds provides a totally unexpected ending.
The performance of “Tough Old Man” features Skip Harris, Ryann London and Gino Montesinos.
Gino Montesinos has starred at such premiere American theaters as The Mark Taper Forum, Lincoln Center and the New York Shakespeare Festival. His film work includes supporting roles in Collateral, Cellular and Bruce Almighty. In television, he has guest-starred on CSI:NY, 24 and ER.
Skip Harris is a veteran Broadway stage actor and a talented and versatile singer. His stage performances include appearances in the original Sweeney Todd, Cats and Beauty and the Beast.
Ryann London began her acting career in theater at the age of 13 with a role in Steel Magnolias. She’s shared the screen with such performers as John Travolta, Dennis Farina, Tori Spelling and Zachary Quinto.
It will take place at the Church of Scientology Las Vegas, 2761 Emerson Avenue, on Saturday, January 12. Doors open at noon and the show starts at 1:00PM. The performance is free. All are invited.
The Golden Age Theater has received CBS Radio’s highest four-star rating giving the shows “FOUR STARS (Highest Rating) [for] Southern California’s most refreshingly unique entertainment experience.”
Stories from the Golden Age contains 153 stories all written by Hubbard during the 1930s and 1940s—in genres ranging from Mystery to Thriller, Science Fiction and Fantasy to Adventure and Western, using his own and fifteen pen names—widely considered America’s Golden Age of Fiction. The print version of each work includes the pulp fiction artwork that originally accompanied the story in magazine publication.

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JazzMyApp.com - Pinterest for Mobile Apps

The team behind mobile9 launched JazzMyApp.com to be the Pinterest for mobile applications. It is designed for users to share and discover trending apps with a click of a button.

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (PRWEB) January 10, 2013
JazzMyApp (http://www.jazzmyapp.com/) - the Pinterest for mobile applications - lets users easily share and discover awesome apps with a click of a button.
With over a million apps available, finding good apps remains a challenge for consumers. JazzMyApp aims to solve the app discovery problem by highlighting trending apps with help from bookmarklet, a little browser tool popularized by Pinterest.
"JazzMyApp users can 'pin' apps from any articles on the Internet using our bookmarklet. On top of that, we automatically pull in recommendations from over 100 blogs including TechCrunch, The Next Web, Mashable and many others. With the two combined, we hope to help users discover the most talked about apps and app deals. Our users are able to discover trending apps even before the native app store lists them." said Patrick Ooi, founder of JazzMyApp and mobile9.com.
To get started, users have to connect their Facebook account with JazzMyApp. Once done, install the "Jazz App" bookmarklet by dragging and dropping the button onto the bookmark bar. When users jazz from an app store or website, JazzMyApp automatically grabs app and features it on jazzmyapp.com for other users to follow, re-jazz and comment on. As users start jazzing, the apps will go to their personal jazz board, making it easy for them to organize all their favorite apps in one place. Users can also browse through other users' collections and add to their own jazz board. It builds an enjoyable journey through sharing, exchanging and discovering awesome apps.

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Abound Resources Community Bank Survey Reveals That Regulations, Rates, and Economic Recovery Dampen Optimism

Abound Resources, a leading bank consulting firm, released the results of its recent survey of community bank executives.

Austin, Texas (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
Abound Resources, a leading bank consulting firm, released the results of its recent survey of community bank executives. The results highlight that community bank CEOs are much more pessimistic going into 2013 than they were going into 2012. The primary driver of the pessimism is an increasingly difficult regulatory environment.
In 2012, despite uncertainty about the economy and regulations, CEOs felt they could plan for the impact of bank regulations. However, going into 2013 they are concerned about increasing regulations, uncontrolled powers of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and increasing inconsistency among bank examiners.
“This year bank CEOs are decidedly more pessimistic than they have been since we launched our annual survey four years ago,” said Brad Smith, President and CEO of Abound Resources. More than one-third (36%) of bank CEOs report they are either very or somewhat pessimistic about their bank’s outlook for 2013. In 2012, only 21% were pessimistic and none were very pessimistic. Only about one-quarter (28%) are optimistic or very optimistic about 2013, compared to 45% in 2012.
Other major issues of concern are a weak economy and loan demand. Both of these factors were mentioned by 67% of CEOs as major concerns in 2013.
In terms of setting growth priorities for 2013, growing commercial loans, growing mortgages and mortgage originations and increasing market share among the small business segment were the top three.
On the operating side of the equation, priorities are consistent with prior year surveys in that streamlining work flows and increasing operational and technology efficiencies are the primary focus.
2013 is the year of bank workflow improvements. In 2012, streamlining bank workflows was cited by 45% of CEOs as a priority, second to improving efficiency ratios (64%). This year, improving bank workflow is the number one efficiency and cost saving priority for CEOs (60%), followed closely by improving the bank efficiency ratio (58%). According to Brad Smith, “There is a built-up demand for improving bank workflow since so few banks made workflow improvements last year. Bank workflow improvement projects are tricky as middle management is often resistant to changing how they work, or they don’t know how to make changes beyond a few tweaks.”
A complimentary copy of a White Paper analyzing the complete survey results is available for download by clicking here.
ABOUT ABOUND RESOURCES
Abound Resources is a full service bank consulting firm with the sole purpose of helping community banks achieve their goals - whether those goals are for growth, efficiency, technology or risk management. In fact, we guarantee it.
Abound Resources offers an array of services designed to improve performance and profitability and help community banks cope with an increasingly stringent regulatory environment.
Our seven practice areas are each headed by an experienced practice leader:

    Technology – bank technology plans, bank vendor evaluations, core vendor RFPs, bank contract negotiations, bank vendor management
    Performance Management – bank workflow improvement, revenue enhancement, bank efficiency improvement
    Lending – loan process improvement, loan origination vendor evaluations and implementations
    Small Business and Commercial – small business deposit and fee income growth programs, bank cash management programs
    Strategic Planning – bank strategic plans, risk tolerance planning, one page strategic plans, competitive differentiation
    Sales and Marketing – branch performance improvement, sales coaching and training, e-marketing strategies and campaign management
    Risk Management and Compliance – ERM, bank IT audits, information security assessments, bank compliance, BSA review

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Rosacea Care Company, One of First Out of the Gate With Sea Buckthorn, Will Introduce New Products Featuring the Remarkable Ingredient in 2013

The Rosacea Care Company, one of the first to use Sea Buckthorn in the treatment of rosacea and sensitive skin, will introduce new products featuring the ingredient this spring. The soothing and healing qualities of Sea Buckthorn, which contains contains high concentrations of Vitamins C and E as well as flavonoids and oils rich in essential fatty acids, have proven to be an effective approach to relieving the irritation, discomfort and facial redness often associated with rosacea .

Pittsfield, Massachusetts (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
It may sound like a race horse -- perhaps the son of Seabiscuit -- but Sea Buckthorn has proven to be one of the richest and most effective skin care ingredients for treating rosacea and sensitive skin. The Rosacea Care Company, which features the ingredient in its popular Night Cream, will shortly add two new products incorporating Sea Buckthorn. The specific products are currently in the trial phase and will be released in the spring.
Sea Buckthorn (Hippophae rhamnoides) has a long history of use in Asia and the Far East as a primary healing agent. It is a shrub with vibrant orange berries and grows in the mountainous regions of Russia and China as well as along certain maritime coasts. It contains high concentrations of Vitamins C and E as well as flavonoids and oils rich in essential fatty acids. It is also a potent antioxidant.
According to Marina Perry, Vice President for Product Development at Rosacea Care, the soothing and healing qualities of Sea Buckthorn provide an effective approach to relieving the irritation and discomfort often associated with rosacea, a skin disorder characterized by facial redness, frequently accompanied by pimples and visible blood vessels. There is no cure, but it is possible to control the symptoms, and that’s where the healing powers of Sea Buckthorn can play a major role.
Perry was born and raised in Russia, where households regularly maintain a supply of Sea Buckthorn Oil to use for treating burns and healing wounds. “In my family,” she says, “whenever there was any kind of burn, abrasion or skin problem, my mother immediately reached for the bottle of cling-berry, as we called it, and the pain and inflammation disappeared.” Perry also notes that some cosmetologists today see anti-aging properties in Sea Buckthorn. “My mother used it as a skin moisturizer, and I can attest that well into her 60’s she had skin like a baby.”
The botanical name for Sea Buckthorn contains the Latin word Hippophae, which means ‘shiny horse.’ Perry explains that there is a legend that ancient Greeks believed that horses who fed on these plants recovered more quickly from battle wounds and developed shiny coats in the process. She adds, “So maybe the reference to Seabiscuit isn’t that far off after all.”
Rosacea Care offers the world’s most comprehensive line of professional skin care products for the treatment of rosacea and sensitive skin. Each of the Rosacea Care products has been exclusively designed and developed by leading dermatologists and research laboratories to provide a helpful and supportive response to these skin conditions. The family-owned company, founded in 2000, is based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. Rosacea Care has customers in 80 countries.

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Pwnie Express Participates in Department of Energy Cyber Security Workshop

Pwnie Express, Leader in Innovative Pentesting Products Joins Leaders in Government and Academia at Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory to Discuss Cyber Security.

Oak Ridge, TN (PRWEB) January 08, 2013
Vermont-based Pwnie Express, leader in innovative penetration testing products, will be a Silver Sponsor at this year’s Cyber Security and Information Intelligence Research Workshop (CSIIRW) held at Oak Ridge National Laboratory on January 8-10, 2013.
The conference brings together like-minded leaders, researchers and practitioners from Government, Industry and Academia to meet and discuss pertinent issues and needs, establish relationships and identify opportunities for collaboration - to ensure a comprehensive strategy for cybersecurity and information intelligence founded on sound principles and technologies.
Approximately 300-350 mid-senior level researchers, as well as agency and industry executives are expected to participate in this year's workshop. DOE National Laboratories participating include: Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Argonne National Laboratory (ANL), Idaho National Laboratory (INL), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Nevada National Security Site (NNSS), Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Sandia National Laboratories (SNL), and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL)
About Pwnie Express

Pwnie Express is the premier global provider of innovative, cost effective, rapid deployment penetration testing products. Their products have been incorporated into the cyber-security toolboxes of over one hundred security service providers, several Fortune 50 companies and various federal agencies. The Pwn Plug has been named as the Editors Choice in PC Magazine and Pwnie Express has been named by CIO On-line as one of the 7 hottest security companies to watch. They have recently been featured in Wired.com, The Information Systems Security Association (ISSA) Journal, Ars Technica, PC Magazine, and Slashdot. Pwnie Express has also been named one of the the 2012 Industry Innovators in Analysis and Testing by SC Magazine.

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Canada's seven-month budget gap narrows to C$10.6 billion

 Canada's federal budget deficit narrowed in the first seven months of the fiscal year to C$10.57 billion ($10.68 billion) from C$13.90 billion in the same period last year as personal and corporate income tax revenues rose and debt charges were lower.
The monthly shortfall in October was C$1.68 billion, compared with a gap of C$2.13 billion a year earlier, the Department of Finance said in a report on Friday.
The Conservative government in October pushed back by one year, to 2016-17, the date it expects to eliminate the deficit. Most economists believe that if the economy continues to grow, the books could be balanced sooner.
Ottawa has estimated a 2012-13 deficit of C$26 billion, including a C$1 billion cushion for risk.
In the April-October period, revenues increased by 3.6 percent, or C$4.9 billion, from the same period in 2011, pushed up by personal income tax and corporate income tax. Program expenses rose by 2 percent, or C$2.7 billion, on increases in elderly benefits and direct program expenses.
Public debt charges decreased 6.1 percent, or C$1.1 billion, on a lower effective interest rate.

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"Fiscal cliff" creates waiting game for payrolls firms

WASHINGTON/NEW YORK (Reuters) - At payroll processing businesses across the United States, the "fiscal cliff" stalemate in Washington means uncertainty over tax-withholding tables just days before the start of 2013.
The U.S. Internal Revenue Service still has not issued the tables for next year that show how much money employers should hold back from workers' paychecks to cover federal income taxes.
Payroll processors need the tables to get their systems geared up for the new year. The tables are set by many factors, including tax rates and annual inflation adjustments.
In anticipation of late-breaking developments, Rochester, New York-based Paychex Inc will be serving Buffalo chicken wings for staffers working late on New Year's Eve, said Frank Fiorille, an executive at the payroll processing giant.
"Our systems are flexible enough that we can wait almost up until the last minute and still make changes," he said.
The IRS appreciates of the impact of Congress' inaction.
"Since Congress is still considering changes to the tax law, we continue to closely monitor the situation," IRS spokesman Terry Lemons said in a statement. "We intend to issue guidance by the end of the year on appropriate withholding for 2013."
Tax rates are slated to rise sharply for most Americans if Congress and President Barack Obama fail to reach an agreement that averts the "fiscal cliff" approaching at year-end.
"The political process will determine one way or the other what" the IRS must do, said Scott Hodge, president of the Tax Foundation, a business-oriented tax research group.
For now, he said, from the tax-collection agency's viewpoint, "doing nothing is probably the best course." This would be because withholding tables distributed now might only have to be revised if Congress acts in the next few days.
Some payroll servicers are not waiting for formal IRS guidance. The American Payroll Association, which represents about 23,000 payroll professionals, told members on Friday to rely on 2012 withholding tables until the IRS releases the new forms for 2013.
The association said its decision was based on a statement earlier this month from an IRS official.
The agency would not confirm that policy on Friday.
Tax preparer H&R Block Inc said it will use 2012 tax-withholding tables if the 2013 tables are not issued.
Executives said they were frustrated with the uncertainty in Washington, but were doing their best to cope.
"We are not doctors or surgeons and this is not life threatening," said Rob Basso with Advantaged Payroll Services, an Auburn, Maine-based payroll processor that serves 30,000 businesses. "It is annoying and disruptive to people's lives, but we will get through it."

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Future of state estate taxes hangs on U.S. "fiscal cliff"

(Reuters) - Falling off the "fiscal cliff" is a bad thing, right?
Not necessarily for some state governments that could begin collecting more in estate taxes on wealth left to heirs if the United States goes over the "cliff," allowing sharp tax increases and federal spending cuts to take effect in January.
In an example of federal and state tax law interaction that gets little notice on Capitol Hill, 30 states next year could collect $3 billion more in estate taxes if Congress and President Barack Obama do not act soon, estimated the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, a Washington think tank.
The reason? The federal estate tax would return with a vengeance and so would a federal credit system that shares a portion of it with the 30 states. They had been getting their cut of this tax revenue stream until the early 2000s. That was when the credit system for payment of state estate tax went away due to tax cuts enacted under former President George W. Bush.
With the return of the credit system next year as part of the "cliff," states such as Florida, Colorado and Texas - which have not collected estate tax since 2004 - could resume doing so. California Governor Jerry Brown has already begun to add the anticipated estate tax revenue into his plans, including $45 million of it in his 2012-2013 revised budget.
Brown may or may not be jumping the gun.
CLOUDY CLIFF AHEAD
The outlook on the "fiscal cliff" coming up at year-end is uncertain. Democratic President Barack Obama has said he hopes for a last-minute deal to avert it. That would need to get done soon, with Congress just now coming back from its holiday break.
Chances of an agreement became more remote last week after Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives fumbled their own legislative attempt to prevent the fiscal jolt that economists say could trigger a recession.
House Speaker John Boehner abruptly adjourned the chamber for the holidays after failing to gather the votes from within his own party to pass legislation he and other Republicans had drafted, after walking out of negotiations with Obama.
Weeks of inconclusive political drama over the "cliff" have focused largely on individual income tax rates and spending on federal programs such Medicare and Social Security, but many tax issues are also involved, including the estate tax.
At the moment, under laws signed a decade ago by Bush, the estate tax is applied to inherited assets at a rate of 35 percent after a $5 million exemption. That means a deceased person can pass on an inheritance of up to $5 million before any tax applies. Inherited wealth passed to a spouse or a federally recognized charity is generally not taxed.
Obama wants to raise the rate to 45 percent after a $3.5 million exemption. Republicans have called for complete repeal of the estate tax, which they call the "death tax," though Boehner earlier this month called for freezing the estate tax at its present level. It was difficult to determine what the Republicans want after last week's events in the House.
STATES STAND TO GAIN
If Congress and Obama do not act by December 31, numerous Bush-era tax laws will expire, including the one on estate taxes. That would mean the estate tax rate will shoot up next year to the pre-Bush levels of 55 percent after a $1 million exemption.
It would also mean that for the first time in years, a portion of that estate tax would go to the states, through the return of the credit system.
Under that old law, estates paying the tax could get a credit against their federal tax bill for state estate tax payments of up to 16 percent of the estate's value.
If the fiscal cliff were allowed to take hold unaltered by Washington, 30 states would again automatically begin getting their share of federal estate taxes. The state laws are generally written so the state estate tax amounts are calculated under a formula based on the amount of the federal credit.
This would help states that have struggled with lower tax revenues since the 2007-2009 financial crisis and resulting recession, according to research by the Pew Center on the States, though painful federal spending cut backs would also hurt the states.

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Exclusive: Profits up, but Britain gets less tax from big firms

LONDON (Reuters) - Big companies in Britain now pay less tax than they did 12 years ago despite a big jump in profitability, a Reuters analysis of official data shows. Tax campaigners say the trend is the clearest signal yet that tax avoidance has blossomed under a more business-friendly strategy at the UK tax authority Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Large companies' payments of corporation tax - the UK equivalent of corporate income tax - totaled 21 billion pounds ($34 billion) in 2011/12, HMRC data shows. That was down five billion pounds or 21 percent since 2000/01 when the government, then controlled by the Labour Party, took the first steps towards a more collaborative approach to big business.
At the same time, the gross operating surplus for all companies in the UK - a widely watched measure of companies' profitability compiled by the Office of National Statistics - has risen 65 percent, to 329 billion pounds. The economy has grown by 55 percent over the same period, and receipts of both personal income tax and small companies' income tax are higher.
HMRC and the finance ministry denied the figures showed an increase in tax avoidance - legal tactics used by multinationals such as Google, Amazon and Starbucks. They cited recent economic weakness and lower corporation tax rates. The UK's official corporation tax rate was steady at 30 percent between 2000 and 2007 but has been gradually cut. In the last tax year it was 26 percent.
Reuters calculations show the lower tax rate and the weak economy account for about half the fall, leaving around 2.6 billion pounds of the difference in the amount of corporate tax paid between 2000/01 and 2011/12 unaccounted for.
John Christensen of Tax Justice Network, a tax campaigningoogleg group, said the figures show successive governments' attempts to create a more business-friendly administration - which includes a policy known as "enhanced relationship" based on mutual trust - have encouraged companies to use such tactics.
"These figures tell a more powerful story than any figures I have seen so far," he said, adding that senior HMRC staff had told him in recent years that they were "alarmed" at the drop in payments from large companies. HMRC defines these as firms with annual profit of more than 1.5 million pounds.
The finance ministry declined to comment on the calculations.
"PARADOXICAL"
Prem Sikka, a professor of accounting at Essex University who has written extensively about tax avoidance, said that even allowing for the tax cut, the figures were "paradoxical".
"How are they managing to reconcile higher profits with lower taxes?" he said. "It can't be done ... unless they are booking these profits somewhere else." Companies reporting for tax purposes are increasingly diverting UK profits to lower-tax jurisdictions, he said.
Google, for example, channels $4 billion of UK sales through Ireland each year, most of which ends up in Bermuda. Google said it complies with tax law in every country in which it operates but that it also has an obligation to its shareholders "to run our business efficiently".
When shown the calculations, an HMRC spokesman said the downward trend may also have been emphasized by a shift in the way taxes were paid from 1999 which led to "elements of double counting" in 2000/01 and 2001/02. That could make revenues in those years look artificially high. He declined to quantify the impact of this.
Sikka dismissed the impact of this change.
"That wouldn't make any difference to the total tax liability," he said.
HMRC's own data does not point to a spike in corporation tax payments over the period the changes were initiated.
Total corporation tax payments were just 2 billion pounds higher in 2001-2002 than in 1998-1999, a rise of 7 percent, while GDP rose 16 percent over the period.
The government's tax minister, David Gauke, who has described corporation tax as one of "the most economically damaging taxes", called the tax authority's current approach "very successful" in a September speech. He declined requests for an interview.

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House sets Sunday session as "fiscal cliff" deadline nears

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The House of Representatives will return to Washington on Sunday night, just over a day before income tax rates are set to spike higher, in a last-ditch chance to avert the year-end "fiscal cliff."
Senior Republican aides confirmed that House Speaker John Boehner on Thursday told members to be back in Washington in time for a 6:30 p.m. EST (2330 GMT) legislative session on Sunday.
The House may then stay in session until January 2, the final day of the current Congress, according to a Twitter message from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor.
That is the day that another component of the "fiscal cliff" - $109 billion in automatic spending cuts to military and domestic programs - is set to start.
The House went on recess a week ago amid a deadlock over how to resolve ways to avoid the $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts that could throw the U.S. economy back into recession.
Some media outlets reported that Obama would meet with congressional leaders on Friday, but several congressional aides said no such meeting had yet been arranged.
If a meeting occurs, Obama is not expected to offer a new "fiscal cliff" solution and he is instead likely to stick to the outline he set out a week ago for a stop-gap fix, according to a senior Democratic aide.
That would include legislation to shield most Americans from any income tax increase starting on January 1, except for those households with net incomes above $250,000 a year. Obama also wants an extension of expiring benefits for the long-term unemployed.
So far, the Republicans who control the House have refused to go along with any measure that would raise income taxes on anyone.
Meanwhile, House Republican leaders held an approximately 35-minute telephone conference call with rank-and-file members on Thursday, according to one Republican aide.
"There were a lot of different members who spoke on the call. All had questions. All had comments," the aide said, refusing to elaborate.

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Kenyan house prices rise in Q3 on interest rate drop

 Kenya's house prices rose by 7.1 percent in the third quarter of 2012 compared to the same period last year, a real estate firm said on Wednesday, as lower mortgage rates on the back of falling interest rates spurred demand for prime real estate.
Housing has been one of Kenya's fastest growing sectors over the last decade, fuelled by a burgeoning middle class with higher disposable incomes. Returns on investments in the sector have easily outpaced those of equities and government securities.
HassConsult, a real estate firm which publishes the only regular property price index in the country, said a reduction in lending rates by commercial banks was expected to spur further growth of the property market and help support an upward movement of house prices.
"The week that the central bank dropped the rates, activity peaked up (September)," said Sakina Hassanali, marketing manager at HassConsult.
"Confidence in the property market has come back ... If the last six weeks are any clue, then the coming (quarter), so long as mortgages continue going down, we are in a better place than we were six months ago."
The central bank has cut its benchmark rate twice since July by a total of 500 basis points to 13 percent, having raised the rate to 18 percent last year to fight double-digit inflation and stabilise the shilling.
Inflation fell to 5.32 percent in September from 6.09 percent previously, having peaked at 20 percent late last year, while the shilling has largely oscillated at 85 to the dollar this year, from a record low of 107 in October last year.
The lending rates in commercial banks have dropped to about 19 percent, from as high as 30 percent earlier in the year, easing the cost of funding for both house developers and buyers.
"Even the psychological satisfaction of (investors) knowing that the rates are coming down, makes (investors) make that buying decision instantly," said Caroline Kariuki, the managing director of The Mortgage Company.
The east African nation of 40 million people has a massive housing shortage with annual demand at 250,000 units per year against a supply of 60,000 units, a World Bank study showed.
Kariuki said a steady rise of diaspora remittances to a record high of $891.1 million in 2011, had boosted development of the real estate sector, while China was singled out as one of the top foreign investors in east Africa's biggest economy.
"... We have seen (Chinese investors) getting financing at very cheap rates for their projects, so you will find that they have became significant players in Kenya," said Kariuki.
China is one of the main players in the construction of Kenya's infrastructure such as roads.

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As online voting begins, Oscars take extra steps not to leave voters behind

The Academy opened online voting for the first time in his history on Monday. But in the days leading up to the unprecedented move away from paper ballots, AMPAS also took measures to make sure that chunks of its membership aren't left on the sidelines by the digital revolution.
"We're trying to enfranchise as many members as possible," AMPAS COO Ric Robertson told TheWrap.
Months ago, the organization set up stations in the lobby of its Beverly Hills headquarters where members could register to vote electronically and also receive answers to questions about the process.
In November, the organization extended the deadline for voters to request paper ballots.
And in the week before that new December 14 deadline, AMPAS took an extra step that essentially made that deadline irrelevant. Academy officials, worried about the number of members who hadn't chosen either option, decided to mail paper ballots to every one of its 5,856 members whose dues were current but who hadn't signed up for the online-voting option.
"If you've paid your dues and you haven't registered to vote electronically, we're going to send you a paper ballot whether or not you've asked for one," said Robertson.
That final decision by AMPAS officials, he said, will make the percentage of potential nominating voters commensurate with what it has been in prior years, when all voters whose dues were paid automatically received paper ballots.
"Between those who registered to vote electronically and those who are receiving paper ballots, we're at a number that is similar to what we've had in the past," he said.
As for the breakdown in this first year of online voting, Robertson said that "the majority of voting members" have registered to cast their votes by computer.
The move to online voting, he added, is particularly important this year, when the deadline to return nominating ballots is January 3, two weeks earlier than usual.
"The voting period for nominations is essentially the holiday season," he said. "Whether you're vacationing in Hawaii or working in Mexico, it's now much easier to vote - and you don't have to worry about being out of town while your ballot is sitting in your mailbox back in West L.A."
Still, Robertson admits that not every AMPAS voter has embraced moving into the online age.
"We have some members who are not shy in any way about saying, 'I'm going to vote paper and I'm not changing,'" he said. "But I was really pleasantly surprised that the number of people who registered to vote electronically was higher than I anticipated."
Throughout the year, he added, the Academy has had focus groups with members to explain the online voting process. And though the Screen Actors Guild had its nominations leaked early last week through an error on its website, Robertson insists that the Academy is not worried.
"I am confident about it," he said. "We have taken extensive measures to make sure our system is secure and protected."
While in past years, PricewaterhouseCoopers partners have told TheWrap that a large number of members voted and returned their nominating ballots immediately after receiving them, Robertson said he doesn't expect a similar early rush this time.
"Most of our members are still trying to see the movies," he said. "I don't think too many people are going to be voting right away this year.

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Muni tax break under threat from bipartisan scrutiny in congress

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The tax break that U.S. states, cities and counties get on the bonds they issue is in growing jeopardy now that Republicans, in addition to Democrats, are considering limits on the exemption.
As part of the "fiscal cliff" negotiations to raise more federal government tax revenue, Republican lawmakers have joined Democrats in reevaluating the costly tax break, said Republican congressional aides and lobbyists.
Municipal bonds issued by states and localities are a $3.7 trillion U.S. market underpinned by a law that exempts their interest income from taxation. This allows states and localities to tap capital markets more cheaply than private-sector borrowers such as banks and corporations.
"The muni bond exemption is on the table, not only during tax reform, but also during the 'fiscal cliff,'" said Mike Nicholas of the Bond Dealers of America, a lobbying group for fixed-income securities dealers and banks.
That the tax break - deeply embedded in the economy and vital to state and local governments - would draw the interest of Republicans shows how far Washington has come in a short time in considering potentially dramatic tax-and-spending changes.
As the United States grapples with a huge budget deficit and a complex tax code that has not been revamped in 26 years, even once politically untouchable tax breaks are being questioned.
The "fiscal cliff" refers to sharp tax increases and spending cuts that take effect in 18 days unless Congress intervenes soon.
Some lawmakers from both parties are calling for a comprehensive tax code overhaul in 2013 and groups concerned with the muni bond exemption are worried.
"We have not felt this threat level being this real in a long time," said David Parkhurst, legislative director with the National Governors Association, which represents the leaders of U.S. states that rely heavily on the muni bond tax exemption.
SUBSIDIZING STATES, LOCALITIES
The exemption benefits bond investors on one side of the market and state and local governments on the other. Effectively a subsidy for states and localities, the muni exemption cost U.S. taxpayers about $26.2 billion in 2011.
President Barack Obama in 2011 included the exemption among items subject to his proposed 28-percent cap on deductions and other tax breaks for individuals earning more than $200,000.
That proposal alarmed muni bond issuers and investors, who were already on edge because of a proposal to kill the exemption entirely in 2010's Simpson-Bowles deficit reduction plan.
Now, Republicans are rethinking their traditional reluctance to tinker with muni bonds, largely because they want to find ways to increase federal revenues without raising tax rates.
Phasing out the muni bond tax break for individual taxpayers earning more than $200,000 could raise about $10 billion a year - or about $100 billion over a decade - Republican aides said.
In the fight over the "fiscal cliff," Republicans hope to refute Obama's argument that real deficit reduction cannot be achieved without raising tax rates on high-income Americans.
Senator Orrin Hatch, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, said tax breaks of all sorts need to be weighed in the effort to raise revenue and cut the deficit, but that "they are not easy to get rid of."
FROM STATES TO SCHOOLS
New issuance of tax-exempt bonds is expected to hit about $400 billion in 2013, up from about $370 billion this year, according to investment bank Loop Capital Markets LLC.
Jurisdictions that issue tax-exempt bonds range from states to cities, counties and school districts. They defend the bonds as vital to transportation, infrastructure and other public projects, which would be threatened by an exemption roll-back.
"It certainly couldn't come at a worse time," New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli told Reuters last week, referring to the devastation the region suffered during Hurricane Sandy.
"Even before the storm, we had tremendous infrastructure needs that localities were trying to address and now we're going to have even more."
It is unclear exactly what sort of limitations Republicans have in mind. The Obama proposal would apply to all bond issues.
Citigroup Inc muni bond strategist George Friedlander has estimated that Obama's cap, if enacted, would raise state and local government borrowing costs.
The "fiscal cliff" talks and a possible tax code overhaul next year pose "a clear and present danger" for muni bond issuers and investors, Friedlander said in a recent research report.

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Boehner plan would bring top U.S. income tax rate to 39.6 percent: source

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner's latest "fiscal cliff" proposal to President Barack Obama would see the top income tax rates rise to 39.6 percent from 35 percent for those with net incomes above $1 million a year, according to a source familiar with the talks.
The source, who asked not to be identified, emphasized that the income tax rate increase would be in exchange for "significant entitlement reforms/spending cuts." Entitlement programs include Medicare and Medicaid healthcare for the elderly and poor and Social Security retirement benefits.
The White House has not accepted Boehner's proposal, according to another source. Under current law, the top tax rate is scheduled to rise to 39.6 percent on January 1, unless Congress extends the current 35 percent, as Republicans had been urging.

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House Republicans eye limited fiscal cliff bill

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - With time running short before a Dec. 31 deadline, House of Representatives Speaker John Boehner will begin work on legislation that simply would extend current low income tax rates for all families with incomes below $1 million a year, according to an aide.
Negotiations will continue with the White House on a broader tax and spending deal, the Boehner aide said.
Boehner is presenting the plan to rank-and-file Republicans in a closed-door session.
On January 1, income tax increases for most Americans will begin unless Congress acts.
Last July, the Democratic-controlled Senate passed a bill to extend the current low rates for all families with net incomes below $250,000 a year. The House Republican proposal, if passed by the House, would require agreement by the Senate or force a round of negotiations on a compromise between the two chambers.
In excerpts of remarks Boehner was delivering to his Republican members Tuesday morning, the speaker complained that "the White House just can't seem to bring itself to agree to a 'balanced' approach" to deficit-reduction in negotiations. At the same time, Boehner said Republicans were "leaving the door wide open for something better" than just the limited extension of current low tax rates for most Americans.
"Current law has tax rates going up on everyone January 1. The question for us is real simple: How do we stop as many of those rate hikes as possible?" Boehner said.
For months, Democrats have been urging House Republicans to pass a bill protecting middle-class taxpayers from a January 1 rate increase.

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Senator Reid rejects Boehner "fiscal cliff" backup plan

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - House Speaker John Boehner's backup plan that would simply extend low income tax rates for households with incomes below $1 million a year "cannot pass both houses of Congress," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid said on Tuesday.
Reid, a Democrat, said Boehner instead should focus on reaching a broad deficit-reduction deal with President Barack Obama. "Now is the time to show leadership, not kick the can down the road," Reid said.
Last July, Reid's Democrats passed a bill in the Senate that would have continued low tax rates, which are set to expire on December 31, for families with net incomes below $250,000.

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White House defends offer as 'good faith effort'

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is defending President Barack Obama's proposal to set a higher threshold for tax increases than what he vowed to do during his presidential campaign. The White House says Obama has moved halfway to meet House Speaker John Boehner on a "fiscal cliff" deal that raises $1.2 trillion in tax revenue, down from the $1.6 trillion Obama had initially requested.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says that offering to raise taxes on taxpayers earning more than $400,000 rather than the $200,000 he ran on demonstrates, in Carney's words, Obama's good faith effort to reach a compromise.
The new tax proposal is contained in a broader plan that Obama gave Boehner Monday that would cut spending further and lower cost-of-living increases for most Social Security beneficiaries.

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Why the Slowest Investors Win the Race

Anyone who attended kindergarten remembers Aesop's fable about the tortoise and the hare. The story's moral has implications for investors: Slow but steady wins the race.

Hare investors try to sprint to the finish line of a comfortable retirement without girding their portfolios against the perils of volatility — frequent ups and downs in asset value. So they tend to lag far behind tortoise investors, who take these precautions, which I'll explain in a moment.

Volatility reflects uncertainty, and markets tend to punish uncertainty with lower prices. Yet just because an investment is volatile doesn't mean it has no place in your portfolio. Because they may be less likely to go down with other assets in the portfolio, volatile investments may add highly beneficial variety, known as diversification.

Let's say you own tech stocks like Apple and IBM. Adding more tech stocks to your portfolio doesn't decrease overall risk, so you add a gold-mining stock instead. Though highly volatile in itself, the gold-mining stock is less likely to go up or down with tech stocks, so it increases the portfolio's diversification.

Because there's little correlation between gold-mining stocks' price movements with those of tech stocks, these categories are said to have a low correlation. That sounds complicated, but you can easily look up the differences in price movements between different types of investments to see whether they're correlated, and if so, how closely.

Aware of the downsides of volatility, tortoises avoid it by assembling highly diversified portfolios. That means traditional investments such as U.S. stocks and bonds, mixed with a dash of non-traditional (alternative) assets. These may include emerging market stocks, Treasury bonds and real estate securities. The price movements of these investments have a history of not being highly correlated with U.S. stocks or bonds.

Tortoises are like a savvy retailer on a tropical resort island who wisely sells umbrellas as well as sunscreen to help cover losses during rainy periods. Every once in while, the rain falls on everything -- which is what happened in late 2008, much to the dismay of investors. In the financial meltdown, stocks, bonds and real estate both in the US and abroad swooned, leaving little quarter for investors.

Tortoise-style investors add a touch of alternative investments, knowing this may cut their overall returns some years, but they'll sleep more peacefully with the knowledge that it can counter-balance heavy losses in traditional investments.

Hares aren't focused on this balanced approach. Instead, they assemble highly aggressive portfolios of assets that tend to rise or fall in lockstep. They're not concerned with cutting their losses because, compelled by greed, they're not planning to have any losses ior they believe they can defy gravity. This was not unlike the employees who loaded up on their company's shares before the recession, only to see their investment go south along with their job.

Like the Aesop's hare, hare investors are overconfident and turn a blind eye to the ravages of volatility, which take a long time to recover from. Tortoises, having sustained less damage, continue their slow but steady progress.

The math of recovering from hits may astonish you. Let's say your portfolio loses 33 percent of its value, leaving you with two thirds of what you had. Many believe they'd be back where they started if they gain 33 percent. But this gain wouldn't restore their losses. They would actually need to make a 50 percent gain to get back to where they started. The reason is that the gain is based on a lower value than what you started with.

Heavy gains followed by just a large losses from volatile investments is comparable to the hare in Aesop's fable sprinting for periods and then, winded, lying down to take a nap. Like the tortoise, investors with adequately diversified portfolios don't tend to need as much recovery time.

Such losses are even more damaging than they appear at first blush. Not only do hare portfolios lose time that could be used to make progress toward the goal, but they also miss out on the benefits of compounding from reinvested gains . Though tortoises' gains may be far lower than those made by hares during their sprints, they're more likely to enjoy the benefits of compounding.

These awkward reptiles plod steadily toward the finish line while the halting progress of hares leaves them far behind.

Ted Schwartz, a Certified Financial Planner®, is president and chief investment officer of Capstone Investment Financial Group http://capstoneinvest.net. He advises individual investors and endowments, and serves as the advisor to CIFG Funds. Because Schwartz has a background in psychology and counseling, he brings insights into personal motivation when advising clients on achieving their wealth management goals. Schwartz holds a B.A. from Duke University and an M.A. from Oregon State University. He can be reached at ted@capstoneinvest.com.

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Low prices boost SF home sales to 5-year Jan. high

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Home sales in the San Francisco Bay area reached a five-year high for January, as prices and mortgage rates plunged, a real estate tracking firm reported Thursday.

However, many of those purchases involved properties that were subject to foreclosures or short sales, indicating the housing market is far from recovered.

The survey by San Diego-based DataQuick also showed the median sales price in the region fell nearly 3 percent last month from December to $326,000 — less than half the peak price of $665,000 reached in 2007 but up from the low of $290,000 recorded in 2009.

A total of 5,479 new and existing homes were sold in the nine-county area, according to DataQuick. The figure was down nearly 27 percent from December but marked a 10.3-percent improvement over January 2011.

The December-to-January drop was normal for the season, while the January-to-January jump showed real improvement, DataQuick said.

The year-over-year increase in January marked the seventh annual jump in a row, the firm said.

Home sales were buoyed by "lower prices, ultra-low mortgage rates, a modestly improved economy and a record level of investor purchases," DataQuick said in a statement.

The lower median price in January was "a reflection of how skewed the market has become toward distressed, lower-cost properties," DataQuick President John Walsh said in the statement. "The higher-end sales have slowed in recent months as many struggle to qualify for loans and others just sit tight."

Distressed property sales — the combination of foreclosure and short sales — made up more than half of all sales of existing homes. Absentee buyers, who mostly are investors, bought more than a quarter of all homes sold, DataQuick reported

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