A lump of coal for 'Fiscal Cliff-mas'

21 hrs.

Reuters

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wall Street traders are going to have to pack their tablets and work computers in their holiday luggage after all.

A traditionally quiet week could become hellish for traders as politicians in Washington are likely to fall short of an agreement to deal with $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts due to kick in early next year. Many economists forecast that this "fiscal cliff" will push the economy into recession.

Thursday's debacle in the U.S. House of Representatives, where Speaker John Boehner failed to secure passage of his own bill that was meant to pressure President Obama and Senate Democrats, only added to worry that the protracted budget talks will stretch into 2013.

Still, the market remains resilient. Friday's decline on Wall Street, triggered by Boehner's fiasco, was not enough to prevent the S&P 500 from posting its best week in four.

"The markets have been sort of taking this in stride," said Sandy Lincoln, chief market strategist at BMO Asset Management U.S. in Chicago, which has about $38 billion in assets under management.

"The markets still basically believe that something will be done," he said.

If something happens next week, it will come in a short time frame. Markets will be open for a half-day on Christmas Eve, when Congress will not be in session, and will close on Tuesday for Christmas. Wall Street will resume regular stock trading on Wednesday, but volume is expected to be light throughout the rest of the week with scores of market participants away on a holiday break.

For the week, the three major U.S. stock indexes posted gains, with the Dow Jones industrial average up 0.4 percent, the S&P 500 up 1.2 percent and the Nasdaq Composite Index up 1.7 percent.

Stocks also have booked solid gains for the year so far, with just five trading sessions left in 2012: The Dow has advanced 8 percent, while the S&P 500 has climbed 13.7 percent and the Nasdaq has jumped 16 percent.

Equity volumes are expected to fall sharply next week. Last year, daily volume on each of the last five trading days dropped on average by about 49 percent, compared with the rest of 2011 - to just over 4 billion shares a day exchanging hands on the New York Stock Exchange, the Nasdaq and NYSE MKT in the final five sessions of the year,?from a 2011 daily average of 7.9 billion.

If the trend repeats, low volumes could generate a spike in volatility as traders keep track of any advance in the cliff talks in Washington.

"I'm guessing it's going to be a low volume week. There's not a whole lot other than the fiscal cliff that is going to continue to take the headlines," said Joe Bell, senior equity analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research, in Cincinnati.

"A lot of people already have a foot out the door, and with the possibility of some market-moving news, you get the possibility of increased volatility."

Economic data would have to be way off the mark to move markets next week. But if the recent trend of better-than-expected economic data holds, stocks will have strong fundamental support that could prevent selling from getting overextended even as the fiscal cliff negotiations grind along.

Small and mid-cap stocks have outperformed their larger peers in the last couple of months, indicating a shift in investor sentiment toward the U.S. economy. The S&P MidCap 400 Index overcame a technical level by confirming its close above 1,000 for a second week.

"We view the outperformance of the mid-caps and the break of that level as a strong sign for the overall market," Schaeffer's Bell said.

"Whenever you have flight to risk, it shows investors are beginning to have more of a risk appetite."

Evidence of that shift could be a spike in shares in the defense sector, expected to take a hit as defense spending is a key component of the budget talks.

The PHLX defense sector index hit a historic high on Thursday, and far outperformed the market on Friday with a dip of just 0.26 percent, while the three major U.S. stock indexes finished the day down about 1 percent.

Following a half-day on Wall Street on Monday ahead of the Christmas holiday, Wednesday will bring the S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index. It is expected to show a ninth?straight month of gains.

U.S. jobless claims on Thursday are seen roughly in line with the previous week's level, with the forecast at 360,000 new filings for unemployment insurance, compared with the previous week's 361,000.

(Reporting by Rodrigo Campos; Additional reporting by Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Jan Paschal)?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/business/lump-coal-fiscal-cliff-mas-1C7662773

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Tech Support in Wake of Superstorm Sandy - Computer Hardware ...

Speakers: Collin Mulliner, Nico Golde From analyzing to attacking mobile phones on a large scale. Smart phones, everybody has a smart phone! No! Just about 16% of all mobile phones are smart phones! Feature phones are the most common type of mobile phone in the world. Some time ago we chose to investigate the security of feature phones. In this talk we show how we analyzed feature phones for SMS security issues. We show our results and the kind of attacks that are possible with our bugs. This talk is about security analysis of a class of mobile phone the so-called ?feature phones?. We show how we analyzed these type of phones for SMS security issues and what kind of problems to overcome in the process. We show results for the major mobile phone manufacturers in the world. Everyone of them has problems. Finally we show what kind of global scale attacks one can carry out with these kind of bugs. The attacks range from interrupting phone calls, to disconnecting people from the network, and sometimes even bricking phones remotely. The talk is structured in the following way: * Introduction to the Topic * Problem Description * The Analysis (major part of the talk) * Analysis Results * A look at the Operator Network * Attacks based on our Results * Conclusions Speakers: Bruce Dang, Peter Ferrie There has been many publications on the topic of Stuxnet and its ?sophistication? in the mainstream press. But, there is not a complete publication which clarifies all of the ?
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Livingston, NJ (PRWEB) November 14, 2012

Technology problems, due to natural disasters like hurricanes and snowstorms or everyday issues like down servers or corrupted data, can cost a small business tens of thousands of dollars in lost income and productivity. Thankfully, Alpha Technology Group (http://www.alphatg.com) provides comprehensive Managed IT Services to medium-sized businesses (with 20-or-more computers) in Northern New Jersey, Manhattan, and the surrounding NY area. The company offers all the benefits of an in-house IT staff ? and more ? for a fraction of the costs.

In the wake of Superstorm Sandys flooding, power outages and downed phone lines, Alpha TG has supported more than 60 companies to meet their critical IT needs and ensure business continuity. Alpha TGs proactive emergency response and recovery plans for each client, and the staffs rapid reactions on Oct. 29 and every day since, have successfully ensured every clients critical systems are fully and seamlessly operational. Alpha TGs highly skilled team of technicians has provided ongoing support to keep email and phone systems online, to protect data with automated backups and remote shut downs, to repair or replace hardware, and to quickly answer any other client concerns or problems as they arise.

Clients on their Superstorm Sandy experiences with Alpha TG:

Alpha Technology Group has managed the IT for my dental practice since January, 2012, and before they came on board I would have been completely unprepared for the challenges Sandy posed to my office, said Dr. Elliot Rand, owner of the Rand Center for Dentistry in Flanders, NJ. Without the Backup Disaster Recovery System they installed before the storm, and the replacement of my server, I would have been in major distress.

Thanks to Alphas constant monitoring for the eminent power failure following Sandy, we were back up and running just 20 minutes after the lights went out, said Bruce Fuchs, President of Uneeda Enterprises of Spring Valley, NY. It would have cost us hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost business if Alpha hadnt gotten all our Virtual Machines back up.

Unlike most IT firms, Alpha TG guarantees around-the-clock availability and response times of less than 60 minutes. Billed as a flat-rate monthly fee, with life cycle equipment replacement built into the payment, Alpha TG makes small business budgeting simpler by offering a fixed annual IT expense.

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Source: http://computerhardware.only-the-news.com/tech-support-in-wake-of-superstorm-sandy-alpha-technology-groups-seamless-it-services-keep-businesses-running-in-new-jersey-and-new-york/

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PFT: Ravens' championship window is closing

AP

Every week we?ll bring you all the inactives from the early games in one post, constantly updated with the latest information. So check back often to see the full list as it becomes available.

Raiders at Panthers

Raiders: DT Richard Seymour,?RB Jeremy Stewart, LB Rolando McClain, WR Juron Criner, T Willie Smith, OL Lucas Nix, DE Dave Tollefson

Panthers:?QB Jimmy Clausen, WR David Gettis, RB Jonathan Stewart, LB James Anderson, C/G Geoff Hangartner, G Hayworth Hicks, DT Sione Fua

Saints at Cowboys

Saints: FB Jed Collins, RB Chris?Ivory, LB Scott Shanle, G Ricky Henry, DT Tyrunn Walker, DE Turk McBride, WR Saalim Hakim

Cowboys: DT Jay Ratliff, LB Kyle?Wilber, C Kevin Kowalski, OL David Arkin, DT Rob Callaway, T Darrion Weems, G Ron Leary

Titans at Packers

Titans: C Kevin Matthews,?QB Rusty Smith, WR Kendall Wright, CB Ryan Mouton, LB Colin McCarthy, T Michael Otto, DE Scott Solomon

Packers: WR Jordy Nelson, S Charles Woodson, RB Alex Green, RB James Starks, TE Tom Crabtree, DE C.J. Wilson, DE Jerel Worthy

Vikings at Texans

Vikings:?QB McLeod Bethel-Thompson, WR Stephen Burton, CB Brandon Burton, LB Audie Cole, OL Troy Kropog, DE Brian Robison, DE D?Aundre Reed

Texans:?CB Alan Ball, OL Antoine Caldwell, OL Andrew Gardner, OL Cody White, NT Terrell McClain, S Quintin Demps, CB Stanford Routt

Patriots at Jaguars

Patriots: TE Rob Gronkowski, CB Alfonzo Dennard, LB Brandon Spikes,?FB James Develin, DE Jake Bequette, DL Ron Brace, OL Markus Zusevics

Jaguars: RB Maurice Jones-Drew, RB Rashad Jennings, CB?Antwaun Molden, LB Brandon Marshall, OL Eben Britton, DE Austen Lane, RB Jonathan Grimes

Colts at Chiefs

Colts: LB Kavell Conner, C Samson Satele, RB Delone Carter, S Tom Zbikowski, WR Nathan Palmer, T Winston Justice, DT Antonio Johnson

Chiefs: TE Tony Moeaki, WR Steve Breaston, QB Ricky Stanzi, DT Anthony Toribio, DB Abram Elam, G Russ Hochstein, FB Nate Eachus

Bills at Dolphins

Bills: WR Marcus Easley, DE Mark Anderson, LB Chris White,?QB Tarvaris Jackson, OL Keith Williams, DL Jay Ross, OL Chris Scott

Dolphins: WR Davone Bess, LB Koa Misi, QB Pat Devlin, CB Nolan Carroll, OT Patrick Brown, TE Kyle Miller, DT Keeston Randall

Chargers at Jets

Chargers: RB Edwin Baker, LB Jonas Mouton, LB Demorrio Williams, T Stephen Schilling, WR Mike Willie, DT Aubrayo Franklin, TE Ladarius Green

Jets:?WR Mardy Gilyard, CB Aaron Berry, CB Donnie Fletcher, LB Ricky Sapp, DL Damon Harrison, G Caleb Schlauderaff, TE Dustin Keller

Redskins at Eagles

Redskins:?QB Rex Grossman, WR Brandon Banks, WR Dezmon Briscoe, LB Roddrick Muckelroy, LB Vic So?oto, G Adam Gettis, T Tyler Polumbus

Eagles: RB Stanley Havili, QB Michael Vick, RB Chris?Polk, DE Darryl Tapp, G Danny Watkins, OL Matt Kopa, WR Greg Salas

Bengals at Steelers

Bengals: CB Dre Kirkpatrick, K Mike Nugent, RB Daniel Herron, TE Richard Quinn, S George Iloka, DT Brandon Thompson, DT Devon Still

Steelers: CB Ike Taylor,?QB Byron Leftwich, CB Justin King, LB Adrian Robinson, DE Al Woods, OT Mike Adams, WR Plaxico Burress.

Rams at Buccaneers

Rams:??QB Austin Davis, RB Terrance Ganaway, DT Matt Conrath, T Joe Barksdale, WR Steve Smith, TE Cory Harkey, LB Sammy Brown

Buccaneers:?CB LeQuan Lewis, RB Michael Smith, G Roger Allen, WR Chris Owusu, WR David Douglas, DT Corvey Irvin, DT Matthew Masifilo

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/12/23/ravens-are-slumping-now-but-their-window-might-be-closing/related/

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GLHFCasting ? Why You Need Auto Insurance

There are more drivers on the road every year. This could lead to a higher possibility of a collision. If you get in a car accident, the car insurance you own can make a large difference in the experience you have. So how do you know what type of car insurance you need and how much to purchase? Mandated coverage varies by state/province but typically includes the following: Liability: This kind of insurance coverage will pay for the damage that you are responsible for. These damages may include bodily injury, and property damage. Bodily injury damages can include medical fees, lost wages, and pain and suffering. Property damage can refer to car repair costs or loss of property use. If you are sued, liability insurance will pay for your legal fees. Local laws typically mandate minimum amounts, but higher amounts can be purchased and are extremely helpful. Personal Injury Protection: Personal injury protection pays for all medical treatment for you or your passengers, no matter who was responsible for the accident. It is mandated in some states and optional in others. Local government typically sets minimum amounts. Medical Payments: This coverage is available in non-no-fault states; it pays regardless of who may be responsible. If you purchase this type of coverage, you will receive coverage for all types of medical or funeral costs. Collision: Damages resulting from a collision will be covered under this kind of car insurance. Comprehensive: This applies if your vehicle is stolen or damaged by something other than an accident, including weather damage or vandalism. Uninsured Motorist: This pays for damages when an insured person is injured in an accident caused by a driver who does not have liability coverage. Under-Insured Motorist: Many drivers have liability insurance that can?t pay for all the expenses they are responsible for. This type of insurance covers you in accidents involving those drivers. Emergency road service, car rental, and other varieties of car insurance can also be purchased. Car Insurance Petersburg Ak

Source: http://www.glhfcasting.com/why-you-need-auto-insurance-3/

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Poverty and fear of gangs drive young immigrants to U.S.

WORCESTER, Mass./PHOENIX, Arizona (Reuters) - Diego Canil Ordonez was just 16 years old when he realized he needed to get out of Guatemala after gang members arrived at the store where he worked to shake down his boss for money.

His boss didn't show up for work the next day, but the gang members did. They demanded cash from Canil Ordonez, who had seen his job at the store as a step up after spending years shining shoes to support his family, starting at age 9.

"They took me out of the store, and they took the money and they beat me up," Canil Ordonez, now 21, recounted in a recent interview at a social service center in Worcester, Massachusetts. "They were following me everywhere."

Fearing for his life, Canil Ordonez joined the ranks of a growing number of children from Central America to risk all on a hazardous journey to the United States, driven in part by widespread gang violence and grinding poverty.

During a harrowing trek across Mexico, his traveling companion, an 18-year-old male, was briefly kidnapped and held for ransom. The journey ended when the pair surrendered to immigration authorities in Texas; Canil Ordonez's friend could no longer walk because of injuries to his feet.

The number of such young migrants taken into custody by U.S. officials has risen dramatically in the past year, and while most are sent home, those who are fleeing abusive parents or gang-dominated communities can be granted refugee status, an October report from the Women's Refugee Commission found. The commission is a part of the International Rescue Committee, a nongovernmental organization founded in 1933 and based in the United States.

Some 13,625 such children were taken into custody and referred to children's services in the 12 months that ended in September, according to updated figures the commission provided to Reuters. That marks a sharp rise from the roughly 6,000 to 8,000 they served in each of the prior five years.

DESPITE PERILS, WOULD DO IT AGAIN

Most of these children come from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, the study found. They are fleeing street gangs such as MS-13, which has been accused of human trafficking, kidnapping, rape and murder, as well as crushing poverty, it said.

Central American children are caught between gang members who threaten to kill those who will not join their ranks and police who assume they already are gang-affiliated, the study found.

Most of the 151 people - 129 boys and 22 girls - interviewed by the researchers of the report, titled "Forced from Home: The Lost Boys and Girls of Central America," said they would make the dangerous trek again rather than remain in their homelands.

"These children exhibited both an urgent need to escape and an incredible will to survive," the report said. "Until conditions for children in these countries change substantially, it is expected that this trend will become the new norm."

The rise in arrivals over the past year comes as the overall number of arrests on the U.S. border with Mexico is at its lowest level since the early 1970s. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection official disagreed with the report's conclusion, saying the surge may not represent a long-term trend.

"This increase, however, is not inconsistent with historic migration trends and patterns, which are cyclical and vary month by month over a year," said the official, who declined to have his name published citing department policy.

KIDNAPPED BY THE CARTELS

The journey poses a host of dangers all its own, according to the report and Reuters interviews with five young men who made the illegal trip as minors. Many migrants travel across Mexico atop freight trains, with the constant risk of falling. They are also easy targets for robberies and kidnappings.

Franklin Chavarria was kidnapped and held for ransom by members of the violent Zetas drug cartel in Mexico when he was 16 years old and making his second attempt to enter the United States.

"The Zetas are dangerous. They want money, and they want to know if you have family in the States who can pay," Chavarria, now 20, said in an interview in Phoenix, Arizona.

"After five days I said to myself, 'What am I doing here? What's happening? What are they thinking?' I decided to get out before something bad happened," he said, adding that he managed to escape and keep going.

U.S. officials launched a public awareness campaign in Latin American media this month aimed at dissuading unaccompanied children from attempting the trip.

Videos, posters, radio spots and movie trailers are to run through March to illustrate the perils from "the perspective of grieving loved ones left behind," Customs and Border Patrol said in a news release.

'MORE AND MORE TRAUMATIZED'

Chavarria, who is originally from Honduras, now lives with a foster family in Arizona and attends high school. Canil Ordonez lives with a foster family in Connecticut and attends community college. Both now have green cards that make them legal permanent residents of the United States.

Their stories are typical. Many of the children granted refugee status are put in the care of Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities USA, who find foster families around the nation to care for them, lawyers to help seek citizenship and counselors to address the trauma many have experienced.

"Over the years, I've seen children coming who are more and more troubled, more and more traumatized," said Mary Bartholomew, a senior program manager at Lutheran Social Services in Worcester, who has been working with unaccompanied immigrant children for nearly a decade.

"Many of them have seen siblings murdered, many of them are pursued for gang membership ... many of them feel the pressure to join because some other family member is going to be harmed besides themselves," she said.

Two gang-related fears drive many young people to flee their countries: the risk of becoming a victim of violence or, for some, being forced to commit violent acts to survive.

"Those guys, they make you to do things that you don't want to do," said Selvin Munoz, now 23 and living in Worcester, who fled Honduras at age 16. "You're trying to be someone in life, but you can't, unless you join them selling drugs, killing people. And you don't want to do that. You want to be a better person."

(Editing by Cynthia Johnston and Prudence Crowther)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/poverty-fear-gangs-drive-young-immigrants-u-060612587.html

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Letting Someone Else Worry About Email Delivery | Make Money ...

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US budget negotiations setback drives stocks down

PARIS (AP) ? A failed attempt find a compromise in U.S. budget negotiations sent global stock markets plummeting Friday, as investors feared the world's largest economy could teeter into recession if no deal is found.

Without an agreement, the U.S. economy will fall off the so-called "fiscal cliff" on Jan. 1 when Bush-era tax cuts expire and spending cuts kick in automatically. The measures were designed to have a negative effect on the U.S. economy, in the hopes that the feared outcome would push lawmakers and President Barack Obama to find a deal.

"We've seen Europe's politicians repeatedly flirt lemming-like with cliff-diving in 2012, and now it's the turn of U.S. 'leaders,'" said Kit Juckes, an analyst with Societe Generale. "The nagging fear is always there that someone, on one side of the Atlantic or the other, will forget to let rational thought take over at the last second."

Amid the uncertainty, European shares fell. France's CAC dropped 0.15 percent to close at 3,661, while the DAX in Germany dropped 0.5 percent to end the day 7,636. The FTSE index of leading British shares retreated 0.3 percent to 5,939.

The euro also fell sharply, dropping 0.5 percent to $1.3159.

In Asia, Japan's Nikkei 225 index closed 1 percent lower at 9,940.06. Hong Kong's Hang Seng lost 0.7 percent to 22,506.29. South Korea's Kospi shed 1 percent at 1,980.42. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 0.2 percent to 4,623.60. Mainland Chinese stocks were mixed.

U.S. stock futures tumbled after rank-and-file Republican lawmakers failed to support an alternative tax plan by House Speaker John Boehner late Thursday in Washington. That plan would have allowed tax rates to rise on households earning $1 million and up. Obama wants the level to be $400,000.

In midday trading trading in New York, the Dow Jones industrial average dropped 1.25 percent to 13,147, while the broader Standard & Poor's index fell 1.3 percent at 1,424.

"The fiscal cliff is a real threat not just for U.S. growth next year but for the outlook for global growth," said Jane Foley, currency analyst with Rabobank.

When growth slows, energy demand does, too, and oil prices fell in anticipation.

Benchmark crude for February delivery fell $1.78 to $88.35 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

___

Pamela Sampson in Bangkok and Fu Ting in Shanghai contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-budget-negotiations-setback-drives-stocks-down-105615855--finance.html

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