Clock ticks down for decision on Detroit finances

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing speaks during a new conference announcing a framework for future decision making titled "Detroit Future City" at the DWPLTP Homebase on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, Max Ortiz)

Detroit Mayor Dave Bing speaks during a new conference announcing a framework for future decision making titled "Detroit Future City" at the DWPLTP Homebase on Wednesday, Jan. 9, 2013. (AP Photo/The Detroit News, Max Ortiz)

FILE - In this file photo taken Dec. 11, 2012 Gov. Rick Snyder speaks at a news conference in Lansing, Mich. Early forecasts suggest that the political climate at the Michigan Capitol will be chilly when lawmakers return in January. A slightly larger bloc of Democrats in the state House won't be enough to overcome majority Republicans or the GOP grip on the Senate and governor's office. But the party out of power remains bitter about a legislative landslide in the final working days of 2012 that included sending nearly 300 bills to Gov. Snyder and transforming labor bastion Michigan into the nation's 24th right-to-work state. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya, File)

(AP) ? Detroit's fiscal future could soon be out of its hands if a team of state officials determines that the nation's former auto and manufacturing giant is so firmly entrenched in a financial emergency that it cannot climb out on its own.

Mayor Dave Bing, who has been dead-set against state oversight, said earlier this week that results of a monthlong review of the city's red ink-stained books could be presented as early as Friday to Gov. Rick Snyder.

But that will probably be delayed after Snyder on Thursday asked the state-appointed review team to take a closer look at Detroit's cash flow problems and potential options for addressing health care, pension and other long-term obligations.

If the governor determines there is a financial emergency, the mayor would have 10 days to request a hearing under Michigan law. Snyder could then revoke his decision or appoint a manager who would be responsible for overseeing all of Detroit's spending.

"I think we've proven to Lansing at this point in time that we are focused," Bing said Tuesday. "We're working very closely with Lansing in terms of what it is we need to do, what their expectations of us are, and we'll stay on target."

But the precise timing is uncertain. The process could span more than a month if the governor chooses to use the full 30 days allotted by law to make his choice, and if Bing seeks a hearing to argue against a state takeover.

The mayor said his team spent most of the holidays working on ways to fix a $327 million budget deficit and chronic cash-flow concerns.

The current review is led by state Treasurer Andy Dillon and includes Michigan's auditor general and private-sector financial experts. They started their work in mid-December.

A previous team did the same job 12 months ago and stopped short of declaring a financial emergency.

Instead, that team's work led to an agreement between Bing, Snyder and Dillon that allowed the mayor to continue his restructuring with some state assistance short of opening the Michigan Treasury's checkbook.

But the work has been slow and any successes modest. Snyder, a Republican, may have little choice but to turn the job over to someone else. That comes with its own dangers.

"There is a double-edged sword with the appointment of an emergency manager," said Genevieve Nolan, an analyst in the Chicago office of Moody's Investor Service. "The manager could come in and have additional tools for stabilizing the city's finances or possibly improving its cash position. But the appointment of an emergency manager is technically one step to bankruptcy."

Moody's in November further downgraded several of Detroit's bond ratings, indicating an increased risk of default or bankruptcy.

If a manager is appointed, Bing and the City Council would keep their jobs, but the manager would decide all financial matters. And only the manager would have the power to authorize the city to take the bankruptcy route.

"It's not quick and it is painful," said John Filan, vice president of Development Specialists Inc., Chicago-based turnaround specialists. "You go through a bankruptcy and a lot of things slow down. I can't imagine any governor wanting to see this unless it's an absolutely last resort."

What may work in Bing's favor is the apparent change of heart by at least six members of the nine-member City Council who this week approved more than $7 million in outside contracts required by the state as part of the mayor's restructuring. The council also backed Bing in removing a rogue city attorney who legally challenged the earlier agreement between the city and state.

In 2013, the city should see "a lot of the changes we implemented start to drop down to the bottom line," Bing said.

Some of those changes include pay cuts, changes in city employee benefits, as well as planned layoffs and unpaid furlough days.

The capitulation by the City Council may be enough to convince Snyder to let Bing continue his overhaul of city finances, Filan said.

"If an emergency manager comes in, there is going to be a lot of friction, resistance and pushback," Filan said. "It may ultimately work because hardball is hardball. A lot more gets done if there is cooperation."

Regardless of the review team's recommendations, Snyder has the option of determining that Detroit's financial problems are not serious enough for intervention or that a serious financial problem does exist but an agreement containing a plan to resolve the problem has been adopted.

Michigan Republicans pushed through a new emergency manager law during a lame-duck legislative session last month. It was signed by Snyder and takes effect March 27.

The law will give local governments and ailing school districts the opportunity to choose their own remedy. If a review team finds that a financial emergency exists, those communities can request an emergency manager, ask for a mediator, file for bankruptcy or submit a reform plan to the state.

Five other Michigan cities and three public school districts have emergency financial managers. Detroit would be the largest city in the state to get one if a manager is appointed.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-01-11-Detroit%20Finances/id-e44f8f3bcf1c4e53a5f835ca17b094fb

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Career advice for Miss Alabama USA

Two days after the BCS championship, the biggest story from the game has not been Alabama's win, but comments made about Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron's girlfriend as she watched from the stands. Katherine Webb, who is Miss Alabama USA 2012, talks about her overnight fame, saying she's not offended and thinks people have been "unfair" to the commentators.

By Martha C. White

Katherine Webb achieved Internet stardom in a roundabout, awkward way, but career coaches say the incident could propel the beauty queen onto bigger and better ventures.

College football stirs passions, but usually not the kind Brent Musburger expressed when he waxed poetic about Webb?s appearance on Monday night during the University of Alabama?s victory in the BCS title game.

For Webb, Miss Alabama USA 2012 and girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, the attention and a subsequent apology from ESPN for Musburger?s remarks turned into a social media blowout, with her number of Twitter followers spiking to more than 254,000 from a little over 2,000.

Webb easily could take advantage of her overnight fame?as a springboard to celebrity status, and she wouldn't be the first.?"Baywatch" star Pamela Anderson was discovered back in 1989 during a BC Lions football game in Vancouver, when a camera scanning the crowd projected her onto the Jumbotron. Other fans? reaction, plus her lucky choice of a Labatt T-shirt, landed her a gig as a spokesmodel for the beer, and the rest was history.

Webb should ask herself, ?What does she want to create?? said Elene Cafasso, founder and president of executive coaching firm Enerpace. ?Does she want to parlay this into her own business??

Webb has already gotten at least one offer. Donald Trump tweeted, ?We are going to ask Katherine Webb to be a judge at the Miss USA Pageant coming up in Las Vegas.?

In an interview with TODAY's Matt Lauer on Wednesday, Webb said she was ?flattered? by Musburger?s comments and didn?t find them derogatory, but she seemed eager to deflect the spotlight. ?I?m honestly really shocked,? she said. ?We need to draw back our attention to who the real winners are, and that?s, you know, the Alabama football team.?

?That?s not surprising, even if you like the attention,? said James Bailey, psychologist and professor of leadership at George Washington University. ?It could be a little overwhelming? to get this kind of social media-fed notoriety, especially since Webb had no control over the situation.

So far, Bailey said Webb displayed a measured response to the hype and was probably figuring out what to do next.

Career coach Brenda Griffin agreed. ?It did come out of nowhere. She was just at a football game,? she said. ?What she?s doing, I think, is preparing herself for more.?

At 23, Webb is familiar with being in the public eye thanks to her pageant participation, and that could be an asset, according to an article?about overnight fame written by Northeastern University associate psychology professor C. Randall Colvin.??People who pos?sess a well-??formed and mature iden?tity will be less likely to suc?cumb to the pit?falls of fame and instead might use their fame to benefit others,? he said.?

?Doing good for others...my objective for all this media madness,? Webb tweeted.

Webb could take Trump up on his offer and become more involved in the pageant world, or she could lend her fame to Alabama?s football program. ?I?ll do whatever I can to help the team out and support A.J.,? she told Lauer.?Griffin said Webb could parlay her Twitter fame into a platform for advancing a cause or interest close to her heart, or she could use the interactivity of the Internet as a kind of litmus test.

?A good way is to tweet about various topics and see what kinds of responses you get,? Griffin suggested. ?You can measure engagement in that way, to see what people are really interested in.??

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Source: http://lifeinc.today.com/_news/2013/01/10/16449588-miss-alabamas-career-could-see-boost-from-media-blitz?lite

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Lehigh?s C.J McCollum Will Not Rush Recovery to Protect NBA Future

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C.J. McCollum

Kevin Jairaj- US Presswire

Lehigh guard C.J. McCollum has the bigger picture in the forefront of his decision making. The nation?s leading scorer suffered a broken foot in a game against VCU last week and in a best case scenario could be ready to go in a little over two months, just in time for the Patriot league tournament.

Lehigh coach Brett Reed knows the risk of putting McCollum back on the floor too soon. The stakes are much higher than a conference championship.

There were four NBA general managers and 29 scouts on hand when McCollum went down against the Rams. The preseason All-American has a bright future at the next level and won?t risk re-injury by speeding up the healing process.

McCollum has averaged 21.3 points over his career at Lehigh, and last year he dropped 30 points in an NCAA tournament shocker over the Duke Blue Devils.

The estimated recovery time is eight to 10 weeks but there is a chance that Lehigh will be without their star the remainder of the season.

There will be a lot people arguing that this is a selfish move by McCollum, others will applaud him for protecting a hopeful lucrative career. Only time will tell.

Replacing McCollum will be impossible, the Mountain Hawks will look for veteran guys to step up and hope for a little luck along the way. Senior Forward Gabe Knutson is averaging 15.7 points a game while Junior Mackey McKnight has proven himself as another scoring option, tallying 11.3 points each night he hits the floor.

McCollum wasn?t the entire team, but most of their offensive schemes were focused around him. It will be a tough road for the Mountain Hawks.

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Follow this writer on twitter @seanlabar?

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Source: http://www.rantsports.com/ncaa-basketball/2013/01/10/lehighs-c-j-mccollum-will-not-rush-recovery-to-protect-nba-future/

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Bill Young no longer Oklahoma State football defensive coordinator

Oklahoma State has parted ways with defensive coordinator Bill Young.

The Oklahoma State Cowboys are parting ways with defensive coordinator Bill Young. Jimmie Tramel confirmed the story with Young himself. Young also served as the defensive line coach.

After winning a Big 12 Championship in 2011 that resulted in a Fiesta Bowl bid, Oklahoma State's defense had their troublesome moments in 2012. They gave up 59 points to Arizona in Tucson, 41 points to Texas, 44 to Kansas State, and then finished the regular season with two losses to Baylor and Oklahoma which saw them surrender over 1200 combined yards of offense and 92 combined points. Young has also struggled with health issues, missing the first two games of 2012 recovering from a dangerous aneurysm.

Who's likely to replace Young? Pete Roussel of Coaching Search (who reported last night that Young was on his way out) indicated that Young's replacement would be Oklahoma State co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach Glenn Spencer. Young is the third member of the Oklahoma State coaching staff to depart this fall, along with offensive coordinator Todd Monken and inside receivers coach Doug Meacham.

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Source: http://www.sbnation.com/college-football/2013/1/10/3862230/oklahoma-state-bill-young

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'Fifty Shades' trilogy to be released in hardcover

ORLANDO, Florida (Reuters) - A Florida man's ex-wife used a stun gun on him, tied him to a truck bumper and dragged him for half a mile before he escaped, the Volusia County Sheriff's Office reported. Robert Hall, 54, remained in the surgical intensive care unit on Thursday at Halifax Health Medical Center in Daytona Beach, where he was being treated for a broken pelvis, broken facial bones and bleeding in his brain, according to the sheriff's office. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fifty-shades-trilogy-released-hardcover-145954443.html

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Uganda Red Cross Society equips MV Kalangala Ship with first aid ...

The Uganda Red Cross Society (URCS) has equipped MV Kalangala ship with first aid supplies to enable the operators attend to any minor injuries and ailment of passengers on board.

MV Kalangala operates on Lake Victoria from Nakiwogo in Entebbe and docks at Lutokoba in Kalangala.

Through its Kalangala Branch, URCS provided 8 packets of condoms, 14 bandages, five face masks, 1,000 tablets of panadol, 1,000 tablets of magnesium, one packet of diclophenac tablets, two rolls of cotton wool, five bottles of disinfectants, two rolls of gauze, four packets of disposable gloves and 1, 000 pieces of plasters.

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The supply was made following a request from the ship operators.

According to URCS Kalangala Branch, passengers get minor injuries every time they are rushing to board the ship especially when they are not in time.

The injuries are usually cuts or bruises. Some pregnant women from Kalangala have given birth during transit for referral to Entebbe, hence the need for gloves and cotton wool during such incidences.

URCS? Secretary General Michael Richard Nataka says the agency is committed to enhancing road and water transport safety through its first aid and emergency response programmes.

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Source: http://www.independent.co.ug/news/news/7189-uganda-red-cross-society-equips-mv-kalangala-ship-with-first-aid-supplies

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Middle Georgia State College Adjusts to New Name

When students at the school formerly known as Macon State College came back for the spring semester, they returned to an entirely new school - Middle Georgia State College.

The new college is a result of the merger between Macon State and Middle Georgia College, which took effect in January. The Macon site is now one of the college's 5 campuses, which also include Warner Robins, Cochran, Dublin, and Eastman.

The new name also began the process of changing everything at the school to reflect the new title. Vice President for Fiscal Affairs Nancy Stroud says everything from letterheads to envelopes, and signs has to be changed.

Staff members are also beginning to use the new name when answering phone calls, which they say takes some getting used to after growing accustomed to Macon State. "It's like when you get married, sometimes you still use your old name," says Stroud.

Response from students 13WMAZ spoke with?say the new name seemed overwhelmingly positive. Many said the new name was a better reflection of the school's size. "Middle Georgia just makes it sound a bit bigger and more connected with other institutions more so than Macon State which sounds more limited," says transient student Jordan Jackson.

The new team name for MGSC is the Knights, and their colors are purple, black, silver, and gray.? They have already replaced a large Macon State sign on I-475 and plan on changing their signs on campus.

Source: http://bleckleydodgepulaski.13wmaz.com/news/education/80675-middle-georgia-state-college-adjusts-new-name

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El juicio a Bradley Manning viaja dos siglos atr?s.

Fiscal?a recurre a todo para condenar a Manning | Cubadebate

www.cubadebate.cu

La fiscal?a militar de EE.UU. ha recurrido a un caso de hace dos siglos para probar que el soldado norteamericano Bradley Manning ayud? a la red terrorista Al Qaeda, al filtrar cables clasificados a WikiLeaks. Y es que durante la Guerra Civil estadounidense de 1863, un soldado ayud? al enemigo propo...

Source: http://www.facebook.com/cubadebate/posts/474058345990985

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Holiday PC sales slide for first time in 5 years

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Wilson Rothman, CES 2013

More CES 2013?stories are below, but?if you want to follow all of the action,?here's your chance. Read more

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Holiday season sales?of personal computers fell for the first time in more than five years,?according to tech industry tracker IDC, as Microsoft's new Windows 8 operating system failed to excite buyers and many instead opted for tablet devices and smartphones.

The slump caps a miserable year for PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard, Lenovo and Dell , which saw the first annual decline for more than a decade with no immediate signs of relief.

"The sense is that until Windows 8 is fully installed and prices start to come down, we will be in this state of negative dynamics in the PC market," said Aaron Rakers, an analyst at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co.

In the past, a new operating system from Microsoft tended to stimulate a spurt of new PC sales, but PC makers simply did not get enough attractive machines into the market, said IDC.

"Lost in the shuffle to promote a touch-centric PC, vendors have not forcefully stressed other features that promote a more secure, reliable and efficient user experience," said Jay Chou, senior research analyst at IDC.

This year could be better, he suggested: "As Windows 8 matures, and other corresponding variables such as ultrabook pricing continue to drop, hopefully the PC market can see a reset in both messaging and demand in 2013."

PC makers sold 89.8 million units worldwide in the fourth quarter of last year, down 6.4 percent from the same quarter of 2011. That was slightly worse than expected by most.

For all of 2012, 352 million PCs were sold, down 3.2 percent from 2011. That was the first annual decline since 2001, according to IDC.

IDC is forecasting a meager 2.8 percent growth in PC sales for 2013.?

(c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2013. Check for restrictions at:?http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp?

Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/technolog/holiday-pc-sales-slide-first-time-5-years-1B7931427

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Fall in China headline bank lending may signal strength of recovery

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - While weak bank lending figures in December may prompt worries that China's economic recovery is faltering, most of the recent decline is due to a fall in discounted bills, which have little relationship to investment.

In fact, analysts say the lower proportion of bill discounting in overall lending may signal improving risk appetite by banks as China's economic outlook improves.

At the same time, a surge in undiscounted bills in recent months suggests that overall credit demand in the world's second-largest economy remains strong but is now being satisfied through off-balance sheet credit.

Net new loans in December totaled 454 billion yuan ($72.92 billion), well below market expectations of 550 billion yuan.

The lending breakdown shows that bill financing loans fell by 191 billion yuan.

That makes corporate bills the main source of volatility in the headline total. If outstanding bill financing had merely been flat, rather than declining, net new lending in December would have been 643 billion yuan, well above market expectations of 550 billion yuan.

In fact, bill financing has declined by a total of 518 billion yuan since September, compared to 1.46 trillion in net new loans in this period.

This trend is a dramatic reversal of the pattern seen in early 2012, when bill financing accounted for 17 percent of net new loans in January through August, including 35 percent in April.

But the recent trend may actually be good news for China's economic recovery, while the previous rise in bill financing was likely a symptom of China's economic slowdown in mid-2012.

Discounted bills are short-term loans typically used by smaller firms to boost cash flow and working capital. All are less than one year, and many are less than three months. That means the trend of such loans don't track the trend in investment spending.

"If banks want to shorten the duration of their credit risk, they will use bill financing to fill up their loan quotas," said Ethan Mou, rates strategist at Bank of America-Merrill Lynch in Hong Kong.

"If the proportion of bill financing is dropping and the medium- to long-term new loans are picking up, that's a sign that loan demand is picking up and banks are now less risk-averse," he said.

SHADOW FINANCE

Market watchers have traditionally paid close attention to monthly new yuan bank loans as a gauge of investment demand.

But in 2011 the People's Bank of China introduced a new data series called total social financing (TSF) in an effort to capture a broad range of fundraising channels.

Central bank officials have said recently that they view TSF as the key metric to gauge the impact of monetary policy.

Just as bill financing explains much of the volatility in overall bank lending, undiscounted bills - also known as bankers' acceptances (BAs) - are among the most volatile components in TSF.

BAs are commonly used around the world as a tool for settling international trade transactions. But in China they have also increasingly been used as off-balance-sheet financing for the domestic economy. The PBOC's decision to include BAs in TSF was an attempt to better track this channel of shadow financing.

When an exporter receives a letter of credit from an importer and submits it to his bank, the bank may issue a BA to the exporter - essentially a promise by the importer's bank to pay the importer at a future date.

But a BA, which the issuing bank records off-balance-sheet, need not be issued based on a letter of credit. The bank also requires the importer to place margin deposits at the bank worth 10-50 percent of the value of the BA.

If the importer wants cash right away, he may redeem the BA immediately at a discount to its face value. At that point the discounted bill appears on the discounting bank's balance sheet as a loan.

PBOC considers undiscounted bills a form of financing because in China they are commonly used as payment for supplies, utility bills, or even taxes. In that case, the payee is essentially extending credit to the payer, since the payee will not receive cash until the BA matures.

Traditionally, most BAs are discounted, but the ratio has fallen in recent years.

Banks issued 503 billion yuan in new, undiscounted bills in the last four months of 2012, while discounted bills declined by 518 billion yuan in the same period. That suggests that banks merely shifted discounted bills off-balance-sheet.

Regulators have taken repeated steps in recent years to crack down on deceptive use of BAs, including requiring margin deposits to be counted towards banks' required reserve ratio and tightening rules for the endorsement transfer of BAs.

But the surge in undiscounted bills in recent months suggests the cat-and-mouse game is continuing.

($1 = 6.2262 Chinese yuan)

(Reporting by Gabriel Wildau; Editing by Kim Coghill)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/fall-china-headline-bank-lending-may-signal-strength-075235947--sector.html

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