After another emergency, FAA grounds Boeing 787s

The federal government grounded Boeing's newest and most technologically advanced jetliner Wednesday, declaring that U.S. airlines cannot fly the 787 again until the risk of battery fires is addressed.
The Federal Aviation Administration's emergency order affects only United Airlines, the lone U.S. carrier to operate 787s. United said it would put passengers on other aircraft and work closely with the FAA and Boeing to review its fleet of six Dreamliners.
The FAA action came on the same day that Japan's two biggest airlines — which fly almost half of the world's 50 787s — voluntarily grounded them pending full safety checks. Air India has also grounded its fleet of six Boeing 787 aircraft.
Boeing said it was working around the clock with investigators.
"We are confident the 787 is safe, and we stand behind its overall integrity," Jim McNerney, company chairman, president and CEO said late Wednesday in a statement.
The FAA decision was another setback for a plane that was supposed to establish a new standard for jet travel but has instead been beset by one mishap after another.
The latest trouble arose when pilots for Japan's All Nippon Airways smelled something burning and received a cockpit warning of battery problems on a flight from Yamaguchi Ube airport in western Japan to Tokyo. They made an emergency landing Wednesday at Takamatsu airport in western Japan, and passengers evacuated using inflatable slides.
An inspection found that a flammable liquid had leaked from the main lithium-ion battery below and slightly behind the cockpit. Investigators found burn marks around the damage.
Japan's Kyodo News agency quoted a transport ministry investigator as saying that the liquid leaked through the electrical room floor to the outside of the aircraft. The transport ministry said the leak could have led to an accident.
That problem followed a Jan. 7 battery fire aboard a Japan Airlines plane parked at Boston's Logan Airport. Both incidents involved the same type of battery, raising worries that the jet's electrical problems could be more dangerous than previously thought.
"Anytime you have a fire on board — whether it's the battery that has caused it or a passenger that caused it or another electrical component — that's a very a serious situation on an aircraft and something not to be taken lightly," said Kevin Hiatt, president of the Flight Safety Foundation.
So far, no one has suggested that the plane's fundamental design can't be fixed. But it's unclear how much will need to be changed.
The remedy could range from relatively quick-and-easy improvements to more extensive changes that could delay deliveries just as Boeing is trying to speed production up from five planes per month to 10.
The 787 is the first plane to make extensive use of lithium-ion batteries, which have been the focus of concerns in the past for their potential to catch fire. The FAA issued a special rule for their use in the 787. The plane has two batteries — the main one near the front and a second one in the rear.
Boeing and the airlines will need to move quickly to determine whether the problem is a flaw in the batteries themselves, in the plane's wiring or in some other area that's fundamental to the plane's electrical system.
Boeing has booked orders for more than 800 of the planes from airlines around the world attracted by its increased fuel efficiency.
The jet's lightweight design makes it more of a fuel-sipper, and it's so lightweight in part because it uses electricity to do things that other airplanes do with hot air vented through internal ducts. So a 787 with electrical problems is like a minivan that won't haul kids. It goes to the heart of what the thing was built to do.
Before it carried paying passengers, the 787 was closely reviewed by inspectors from Boeing and the FAA.
Mike Sinnett, chief engineer on the 787, said last week that the plane's batteries have operated through a combined 1.3 million hours and never had an internal fault. He said they were built with multiple protections to ensure that failures "don't put the airplane at risk."
The lithium-ion design was chosen because it's the only type of battery that can take a large charge in a short amount of time.
Neither GS Yuasa Corp., the Japanese company that supplies the batteries for the 787, nor Thales, which makes the battery charging system, would comment on the recent troubles.
Japan Airlines and All Nippon Airways are two of the 787's biggest customers.
ANA was especially proud of its 787 fleet. Its executives' business cards and the top of its website read "787" and "We fly 1st." ANA got the first one Boeing delivered in late 2011, more than three years late.
Other 787s have had problems with certain electrical panels and fuel leaks.
Back on Jan. 9, ANA canceled a domestic flight to Tokyo after a computer wrongly indicated there was a problem with the 787's brakes. Two days later, the carrier reported two new problems with the aircraft — a minor fuel leak and a cracked cockpit windscreen.
Many of the 787's problems are typical of well-established planes around the world, Hiatt said, adding that he would have no qualms about flying aboard a 787.
"That airplane is the most scrutinized plane in the air," he said. "I would get on the airplane tomorrow."
Hours before the FAA announced its emergency order, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood dismissed any doubts about the FAA's diligence in certifying the plane.
"Our people are the best, but we need to work with Boeing and to make sure everything we've done has been done correctly," he told reporters Wednesday at a luncheon in Washington.
The FAA's move canceled plans by LOT Polish Airlines to begin regular 787 service between Chicago's O'Hare Airport and Warsaw. The inaugural flight landed at O'Hare late Wednesday, but passengers said the airline called off the return trip.
Last week's fire, which was also tied to the battery in the back of the plane, prompted investigations by both the National Transportation Safety Board and the FAA.
The NTSB said Wednesday that it would send an investigator to Japan to join the latest probe, and that representatives from the FAA and Boeing were on their way, too.
United frequent flier Josh Feller said he changed his plans to fly a United 787 from Los Angeles to Houston next month because of the 787's troubles.
"I've been following the 787 news closely, and the latest incident finally spooked me into changing my flight," he said by email. "It's an unnecessary risk, and since I was going out of my way to fly the plane in the first place, decided to change flights."
Boeing shares dropped $2.60, or 3.4 percent, to close Wednesday at $74.34, and the selloff continued in after-hours trading.

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Fewer US homes repossessed by banks in 2012

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Lenders took possession of fewer U.S. homes in 2012 than a year earlier, as the pace of new homes entering the path to foreclosure slowed and banks increasingly opted to allow troubled borrowers to sell their homes for less than what they owed on their mortgage.
All told, banks repossessed 671,251 homes last year, down nearly 17 percent from 804,423 the year before, according to data released Thursday by foreclosure listing firm RealtyTrac Inc.
The trend, along with an annual decline in overall foreclosure activity, suggests that the country's foreclosure woes are easing, at least on a national level.
But half the states experienced higher levels of foreclosure activity last year and many are expected to continue seeing increases this year, RealtyTrac said.
All told, foreclosure activity, defined as the number of homes that received at least one foreclosure-related filing, declined 3 percent last year. That translates to 1.8 million U.S. homes, and represents a drop of 36 percent from a peak of 2.9 million homes in 2010, the firm said.
Florida had the nation's highest foreclosure rate last year, with 3.1 percent of households, or one in 32, receiving a foreclosure-related filing during the year.
Generally, states such as Florida and New York, where the courts play a role in the foreclosure process, take longer to work through their cases than California, Utah and other so-called nonjudicial states with a more streamlined process.
The judicial states also have taken longer to work through a backlog of cases that built up in 2011 when foreclosure processing slowed as the mortgage industry addressed allegations that lenders had processed foreclosures without verifying documents.
As a result, foreclosure activity rose last year in 25 states, most of them states with a judicial foreclosure system, while it declined in 25 others, most of those being non-judicial foreclosure states, RealtyTrac said.
Among the states with the biggest increases were New Jersey, Florida and Illinois. States with the biggest annual decline in foreclosure activity included Nevada, Utah and Arizona.
Many of the states with a judicial foreclosure process, including Florida, Illinois, Ohio and Indiana, should be caught up with their foreclosure backlog halfway through this year, said Daren Blomquist, a vice president at RealtyTrac.
Other states, such as New York and New Jersey, where the foreclosure process can run an average nearly three years, will continue to play catch-up through most of 2013, he added.
Blomquist expects foreclosure activity will decline in non-judicial foreclosure states through the first half of the year. But laws passed last year in California, Oregon and Nevada aimed at making it more difficult for lenders to foreclose on homeowners may end up deferring foreclosures in those states until later in the year.
"That could mean that, although we are comfortably past the peak of the foreclosure problem nationally, 2013 is likely to be book-ended by two discrete jumps in foreclosure activity," Blomquist said.
While foreclosure activity declined last year, the inventory of homes in some stage of foreclosure or in banks' possession climbed 9 percent to 1.5 million homes, RealtyTrac said.
Florida accounted for the biggest share of foreclosure inventory last year, or 20 percent of the national total.
Blomquist forecasts that between 500,000 and 600,000 homes will end up being repossessed by banks nationally this year, noting that, historically, about half of all homes that enter the foreclosure process end up being taken back by lenders. Last year, 1.1 million homes got started on the path to foreclosure.

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Citgo to be dropped from NH suit on gas additive

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A judge has granted a request to remove Citgo from a New Hampshire lawsuit accusing the oil company and another petroleum giant of failing to warn state officials about the gasoline additive MTBE.
The state's lawsuit against ExxonMobil and Citgo went to trial Monday. But a judge Wednesday granted a motion from the state and Citgo to remove the company from the case provided the two sides reach an agreement by Feb. 15. Lawyers for the state declined to say whether that meant a settlement is in the works.
The state sued the companies in 2003 alleging that gasoline containing MTBE — methyl tertiary butyl ether — was a defective product and that the oil companies had a duty to warn state officials about its special properties and ability to contaminate groundwater in greater levels than traditional gasoline. It estimates that more than 40,000 wells are contaminated and was seeking more than $700 million from both companies to monitor drinking water wells and clean up high-risk sites where MTBE contaminated groundwater.
Lawyers for the oil companies did not return calls Wednesday. In opening statements earlier, they said the product wasn't defective — it did what it was supposed to do by reducing lead content in gas and making it burn cleaner — and that the state is inflating its estimates of how many wells were contaminated. Oil companies say the state is looking for a scapegoat; The state says it wants to hold companies responsible for their product.
New Hampshire filed its lawsuit in 2003, four years before it banned the use of MTBE. The case is the first brought by a state over MTBE contamination to reach trial.

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ECB to hold fire as euro zone economy shows glimmers of hope

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The European Central Bank is expected to keep interest rates at a record low of 0.75 percent on Thursday, refraining from a cut as the euro zone economy shows some signs of stabilising and inflation still tops its target.
The 17-country euro zone is in recession, but recent data points to some stabilisation, and ECB President Mario Draghi could strike a slightly more positive tone in the news conference that follows the rate decision.
"Rates are definitely on hold. Nothing has been spectacular enough in recent data to force the ECB to any action," Deutsche Bank economist Gilles Moec said.
"There is a recession, but no further deterioration. Lending is weak, but also not deteriorating further, so the ECB is not compelled to act."
The 23-man Governing Council will find some comfort from improving business morale as well as a survey of purchasing managers, which gave tentative signs that the worst of the downturn may have passed.
"Since the December meeting key figures have generally surprised on the upside," Nordea analyst Anders Svendsen said in a note to investors.
While the ECB had, in Draghi's words, "a wide discussion" on reducing rates last month, the grounds for such a move have not grown and Executive Board members have argued against a cut.
Yves Mersch said last month he did not see the logic of a debate about the ECB cutting its main rate and Peter Praet said there was little room to cut.
Another cut of the refinancing rate would raise the question of whether the ECB would also lower its deposit rate - currently at zero - by the same amount, which would push it into negative territory, essentially charging a fee, for the first time.
Even though Draghi has said the bank was "operationally ready" for such a step, it has grown increasingly wary of the idea over the past couple of months, a source with knowledge of the ECB's thinking said.
Negative deposit rates could deal a hefty blow to money market funds, which have already seen cash outflows since the ECB cut the deposit rate to zero in July. The rate is a peg for short-dated money market rates and at zero it is already almost impossible for funds to generate a return for their investors.
Executive Board member Joerg Asmussen said last month he would be "very reluctant" about the ECB cutting the deposit rate any further, adding that "our (monetary) policy is very accommodative".
INFLATION STUBBORN
ECB staff projections published last month saw inflation at about 1.4 percent in 2014, which would usually justify another interest rate cut.
The central bank also sees inflation falling below 2 percent this year with underlying price pressures remaining moderate.
But inflation has eased more slowly than the ECB initially expected and as long as it misses the target - it has been above 2 percent for more than 2 years - a cut could be difficult to justify.
Furthermore, in the euro zone's largest economy, Germany, prices rose faster in December than in the previous month.
In addition to gauging whether the ECB is entertaining another cut or not, Draghi will be pressed on what other options the ECB has, especially to improve lacklustre bank lending.
ECB data showed last week that bank lending to the private sector fell at an annual rate of 0.8 percent in November.
At his December news conference, Draghi attributed the drop mainly to demand factors, but added that in a number of countries, credit supply is restricted.
A move by global regulators to give banks more time and flexibility to build up cash reserves is expected to do little to support a recovery in Europe, where recession-hit firms and households have scant appetite for more debt.
"One thing the ECB needs to engineer is recovery in lending," Rabobank economist Elwin de Groot said.

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APNewsBreak: Deal in Mass. suit on pregnancy drug

BOSTON (AP) — Four sisters who claimed their breast cancer was caused by a drug their mother took during pregnancy in the 1950s reached a settlement Wednesday with Eli Lilly and Co. in the first of scores of similar claims around the country to go to trial.
Neither Eli Lilly nor lawyers for the women would disclose the financial terms of the settlement, which was announced on the second day of testimony during a federal trial in Boston.
Eli Lilly said it continues to believe its medication "did not cause the conditions alleged in this lawsuit" but the settlement was in its "best interest."
"Settling this trial helps us get back to what we want to focus on as a company; developing important new medications through research and partnerships with doctors and patients," it said in a statement.
A total of 51 women, including the Melnick sisters, filed lawsuits in Boston against more than a dozen companies that made or marketed a synthetic estrogen known as DES.
DES, or diethylstilbestrol, was prescribed to millions of pregnant women over three decades to prevent miscarriages, premature births and other problems. It was taken off the market in the early 1970s after it was linked to a rare vaginal cancer in women whose mothers used it.
Studies later showed the drug did not prevent miscarriages.
Attorney Aaron Levine, representing the Melnick sisters, told the jury during opening statements that Eli Lilly failed to test the drug's effect on fetuses before promoting it as a way to prevent miscarriages.
Lawyer James Dillon, for Eli Lilly, told the jury that there was no evidence the drug causes breast cancer in the daughters of women who took it.
Dillon also said that no medical records show the mother of the four Melnick sisters took DES or that, if she did take it, it was made by Eli Lilly. Leading researchers at the time recommended that DES be used for pregnant women who had consecutive miscarriages, he said.
DES was not patented and was made by many companies.
The Melnick sisters, who grew up in Tresckow, Pa., said they all developed breast cancer in their 40s.
Levine told the jury their mother did not take DES while pregnant with a fifth sister and that sister has not developed breast cancer.
The four Melnick sisters also had miscarriages, fertility problems or other reproductive tract problems long suspected of being caused by prenatal exposure to DES. They were diagnosed with breast cancer between 1997 and 2003 and had treatments ranging from lump-removal surgery to a full mastectomy, radiation and chemotherapy.
Thousands of lawsuits have been filed alleging links between DES and vaginal cancer, cervical cancer and fertility problems. Many of those cases were settled.
Attorney Andrew Meyer, who's handled numerous medical malpractice cases, said the settlement in this case could signal settlements in other cases.
"When one settles a case, they recognize they can lose it," he said. "The reason they can lose it is because there's enough evidence for the plaintiffs to be able to win it. So it's not just optics, it isn't."
Columbus, Ohio, resident Irene Sawyer also is suing Eli Lilly, alleging that her prenatal exposure to DES caused her breast cancer. She called the settlement "a huge victory" for DES daughters.
"The bottom line is that this company put out a drug without testing, without knowing the consequences of this drug," she said.
It's wonderful, she said, that drug companies "are starting to realize this is not right, that there are consequences.

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Tech delegation pressing NKorea Internet openness

PYONGYANG, North Korea (AP) — A private delegation including Google's Eric Schmidt is urging North Korea to allow more open Internet access and cellphones to benefit its citizens, the mission's leader said in the country with some of the world's tightest controls on information.
Former New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also said his nine-member group called on North Korea to put a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests that have prompted U.N. sanctions, and the delegation asked for fair and humane treatment for an American citizen detained. He spoke in an exclusive interview in Pyongyang with The Associated Press on Wednesday.
Before departing on Thursday, he told reporters his trip had been productive and successful.
"We enjoyed our trip to the DPRK, especially with the North Korean people, and we had a good opportunity to talk about expanding the Internet and cell phones in the DPRK," Richardson said at the Pyongyang airport.
The visit has been criticized for appearing to hijack U.S. diplomacy and boost Pyongyang's profile after North Korea's latest, widely condemned rocket launch. Richardson has said the delegation is on a private, humanitarian trip.
Schmidt, the executive chairman of the U.S.-based Internet giant Google, is the highest-profile American business executive to visit North Korea since leader Kim Jong Un took power a year ago.
Although Schmidt often meets with government officials around the world on behalf of Google, he didn't make this trip at the company's request.
Schmidt has not said publicly what he hopes to get out of his visit to North Korea. However, he has been a vocal proponent of Internet freedom and openness, and is publishing a book in April with Jared Cohen, director of the company's Google Ideas think tank, about the power of global connectivity in transforming people's lives, policies and politics.
Cohen doesn't typically accompany Schmidt on Google-sanctioned trips, a sign that the two men may be primarily interested in gathering more material for their book.
On Wednesday, Schmidt toured the frigid quarters of the brick building in central Pyongyang that is the heart of North Korea's own computer industry. He asked pointed questions about North Korea's new tablet computers as well as its Red Star operating system, and he briefly donned a pair of 3-D goggles during a tour of the Korea Computer Center.
Even if Schmidt isn't officially representing Google in North Korea, the company stands to benefit if the country's leadership were to loosen its Internet restrictions.
For years, the Mountain View, California, company has pushed for more accessible and affordable Internet connections and Web-surfing devices on the premise that its business ultimately will make more money if people spend more time online.
Besides the world's most dominant search engine, Google also offers a variety of other services that rank among the most popular destinations on the Internet. More Internet traffic translates into more opportunities to sell digital ads, which account for most of its more than $50 billion in annual revenue.
Richardson told The Associated Press that his delegation was bringing a message that more openness would benefit North Korea. Most in the country have never logged onto the Internet, and the authoritarian government strictly limits access to the World Wide Web.
"The citizens of the DPRK will be better off with more cellphones and an active Internet. Those are the ... messages we've given to a variety of foreign policy officials, scientists" and government officials, Richardson said.
The four-day trip, which began Monday, is taking place at a delicate time in U.S.-North Korean relations. Less than a month ago, North Korea shot a satellite into space on a long-range rocket, a launch widely celebrated in Pyongyang but condemned by Washington and others as a banned test of missile technology.
The State Department criticized the trip as "unhelpful" at a time when the U.S. is rallying support for U.N. Security Council action. Schmidt advised President Barack Obama during his 2008 election campaign and was once considered a potential candidate for a Cabinet-level appointment. Schmidt has repeatedly said that he has no plans to leave Google for a government job.
State Department spokesman Peter Velasco said from Washington that he did not believe the delegation had been in contact with U.S. officials since they arrived in Pyongyang.
However, Richardson said the delegation has pressed the North Koreans for a moratorium on missile launches and nuclear tests.
In 2006 and 2009, North Korea followed up similar launches with nuclear tests. Pyongyang is believed to be working on mastering technology that would allow it to mount a nuclear device on a long-range rocket capable of striking the United States.
Richardson also said the delegation is pushing for "fair and humane treatment" of an American, Kenneth Bae, now in North Korean custody on suspicion of committing "hostile" acts against the state.
The group also has urged government officials and scientists to offer more cellphones and to open up the Internet to the North Korean people, he said.
North Korea has exercised strict control over its population of 24 million since it was founded by Kim Il Sung in 1948, including tight rules on the flow of information and close monitoring of the people's interaction with the outside world.
But as the Asian nation's tiny economy has languished in its isolation, the government has sought in recent years to turn its economy around by carefully and cautiously reaching out to foreign nations — primarily neighboring China and Southeast Asian allies — for help.
Young North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, who took power a year ago following the death of his father, Kim Jong Il, has made improving the economy a focal point of national policy for 2013, and has urged the people to expand their knowledge of science and technology to reach that goal.
Across the snowy capital, new propaganda signs and slogans reiterate those goals, exhorting the people to "break through the cutting edge" and "push back the frontiers" of science and technology in the spirit of the Dec. 12 space launch.
The number of cell phone users has surpassed 1.5 million in a few short years, with help from the Egyptian telecommunications giant Orascom, which provides a 3G cell phone service.
However, offering open Internet access has not been part of the strategy. Experts see North Korea as one of the least connected countries in the world.
Though global broadband Internet is available in North Korea, few have permission to log onto the World Wide Web. Those with computers and Internet access typically are restricted to a domestic Intranet site that filters the information and publications available to North Koreans.
On Tuesday, Schmidt, Richardson and their delegation chatted with students at Pyongyang's elite Kim Il Sung University who have permission to access the global Internet for research purposes.
On Wednesday, the group toured the main library in Pyongyang, the Grand People's Study House, where locals still in their winter coats were crowded into drafty, unheated halls at computers with Intranet access to the library's archive of books, documents and newspapers.
Later, the delegation visited the multi-story Korea Computer Center, the hub of North Korea's software and computer product development, where a quote from Kim Jong Il reads: "Now is the era for science and technology. It is the era of computers."
Inside an atrium exhibition hall lined with widescreen displays showing off North Korea's computer products, the Google group fiddled around with the new Samjiyon tablet computer utilizing foreign-made hardware and North Korean software and linked to the Internet through a wifi router.
They learned about North Korea's data encryption software, face recognition devices, video chat room software and instant messaging services.
So far, the computer center has teamed up with nations including China, Russia and India to develop products — but is hoping to reach out to establish partnerships with other countries also, officials told Schmidt and Richardson.
Schmidt, who as chief executive of Google until 2011 oversaw the Internet search provider's expansion into a global Internet giant, speaks frequently about the importance of providing people around the world with Internet access and technology.
Google now has offices in more than 40 countries, including Russia, South Korea and China, another country criticized for systematic Internet censorship.
There are no major U.S. firms operating in North Korea, which fought against the United States in the Korean War of the 1950s. The foes signed a truce in 1953 to end the fighting, but never a peace treaty, and the two countries still do not have diplomatic relations.
U.N. sanctions ban the trade with North Korea of weapons and items that could be used for nuclear purposes, as well as luxury items. The U.S. also prohibits the import of North Korean-made goods into the United States.
Some conservatives in the United States have had harsh criticism of the Schmidt-Richardson trip.
Schmidt and Richardson "have joined the long list of Americans and others used by the Kim family dictatorship for political advantage," John Bolton, who served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the George W. Bush administration, wrote in the New York Daily News.
"North Korea has repeatedly welcomed prominent Americans to help elevate its stature. It is seeking direct negotiations with Washington, for in the distorted vision of the nation's leadership, this might lead to full diplomatic recognition and 'equal' status in the world community."

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Drilling barge pulled from rocks off Alaska island

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A large floating drill rig that ran aground a week ago on a remote Alaska island arrived as planned Monday in the shelter of a Kodiak Island bay after being towed about 45 miles through swells as high as 15 feet, officials said.
The Royal Dutch Shell PLC vessel was lifted off rocks late Sunday and towed away from the southeast side of Sitkalidak Island, where it sat exposed to the full-on fury of Gulf of Alaska winter storms since grounding near the beach there on New Year's Eve.
The Kulluk — a circular barge with a diameter as long as nearly three basketball courts — was towed for about 12 hours to the protected waters in Kiliuda Bay, where it will undergo further inspection, including an underwater look at its hull.
"We could not be more impressed with the caliber of the response and recovery crews who were safe and meticulous in their effort to move the Kulluk offshore," Shell Alaska spokesman Curtis Smith said by email.
The vessel will remain in the bay 43 miles southwest of the city of Kodiak until inspectors review its condition and the Coast Guard clears it to travel. Shell incident commander Sean Crutchfield said there's no timetable for departure.
"Until we have that damage assessment, we'll not be able to develop those plans," Crutchfield said at a news conference Monday.
The massive effort to move and salvage the ship involves more than 730 people, according to the Unified Command, which includes the Coast Guard, Shell and contractors involved in the tow and salvage operation. Eleven people are aboard the ship — a salvage crew of 10 people and one Shell representative
Shell earlier reported superficial damage above the deck and seawater that entered through open hatches. Water has knocked out regular and emergency generators, but portable generators were put on board last week.
The Kulluk is 266 feet in diameter with a derrick in its middle and a funnel-shaped, reinforced steel hull that allows it to operate in ice. Its derrick rises 160 feet. The barge drilled last year in the Beaufort Sea and was headed to Seattle for upgrades and maintenance when it ran into trouble.
Its towing vessel, the 360-foot anchor handler Aiviq, on Dec. 27 lost its line to the Kulluk in heavy seas and hours later lost power to all four of its engines, possibly due to contaminated fuel.
Four reattached lines between the Aiviq or other vessels also broke in stormy weather. The Aiviq on New Year's Eve again broke its line, leaving the Kulluk attached to the tugboat Alert.
Coast Guard Capt. Paul Mehler, the federal on-scene coordinator, said Monday the Alert also experienced a mechanical problem the night the Kulluk went aground. The agency is investigating.
"The understanding the night of the response was that when she was taking maximum power, there was an engine problem," Mehler said. "They did recover that within 30 minutes. The details of that, I couldn't answer yet."
Inspections after the grounding determined that the Kulluk could be towed, and the Aiviq on Sunday reattached a tow line. Tension was added to test the line Sunday night and increased as high tide approached, Crutchfield said.
He was not on scene but did not hear of complications.
"The Kulluk came off reasonably easy, would be my assessment," he said.
Mehler said he was in the command center when salvors reported the Kulluk had come off the rocks.
"I won't say that I saw anyone high-fiving," Mehler said. "I'll say there was certainly a sense of relief, but recognizing now we have a lot more work to do."
Likewise, the tow "has gone pretty much according to plan," Crutchfield said.
Inspections will involve an underwater look at the hull with divers or remotely operated underwater vehicles or divers or both, he said.
The Kulluk will be tethered to two tugs in the bay and will attempt to set its anchor. If that doesn't work, he said, additional tugs will be used to keep it in place. Four more tugs were on scene Monday.
A tug trailing the drill vessel used infrared equipment to watch for oil sheens and reported no petroleum discharge.

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New York can't object to $115 million AIG shareholder deal: judge

NEW YORK (Reuters) - New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman cannot stop a $115 million settlement between American International Group Inc shareholders and the insurer's former chief executive and others, a U.S. judge ruled on Monday.
The New York Attorney General lacks standing to object to the settlement, U.S. District Court Judge Deborah Batts in Manhattan wrote in her decision. She also denied Schneiderman's request to intervene.
Batts will decide whether to approve the accord reached in 2009 between shareholders and former AIG Chief Executive Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, former Chief Executive Howard Smith, other executives and Greenberg's companies C.V. Starr & Co and Starr International Co.
The judge set a fairness hearing for April 10 and could approve the settlement afterward. If she does and no one appeals, it would effectively end a high-profile civil fraud case against Greenberg and Smith brought by the Attorney General's office in 2005.
A spokesman for Schneiderman did not immediately return a call for comment. A spokeswoman for Boies, Schiller & Flexner, which represents Greenberg and his companies, had no immediate comment. Lawyers for the shareholders and Smith also did not immediately return calls for comment.
The New York Attorney General's plea for the parties to re- negotiate raises concerns of "undue delay" and demands court action based on "sheer speculation and hotly contested expert evaluations," the judge wrote in her ruling.
In August, Schneiderman urged Batts to reject the accord, saying an expert for shareholders made a math error that caused the payout to be too low. Lawyers for the shareholders responded the error had no significant effect.
They also said it was "entirely speculative" to expect the shareholders to fare better in new talks.
Lawyers for Greenberg, Smith and the Starr entities had also urged approval of the settlement.
At issue is a 2000 transaction with General Re Corp, a unit of Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc , which various government investigators have said allowed AIG to inflate loss reserves by $500 million without transferring risk.
Schneiderman argued a math error by the expert caused the transaction to get no weight in the calculation of damages.
Projections and arguments as to the amount of damages include nothing, $100 million, $543 million, $1.2 billion and $6.5 billion, the highest estimated by the New York attorney general's expert, the judge said in her ruling.
The state case against Greenberg and Smith was brought by former New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer under the Martin Act, New York's powerful securities fraud law. Greenberg and Smith are awaiting an appeal in the case at the state's highest court.
If the federal accord is approved before the state case, the "broad terms of the releases" would preclude New York pursuing its case on behalf of AIG shareholders, Schneiderman has said in court papers.
The case is In re American International Group Inc Securities Litigation, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York, No. 04-08141.

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Insight: In "fiscal cliff" bill, White House was key to corporate tax breaks

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - As the Congress rushed last week to approve a "fiscal cliff" tax bill that raised income taxes on the wealthy, Washington lobbyists were fretting over a drama that was playing out within the negotiations: whether the bill would include about $64 billion in tax breaks for businesses.
The bill extended several tax breaks backed by both parties, including $14.3 billion in credits for research and development projects for thousands of U.S. businesses. But it also had other provisions - breaks for companies involved in wind energy, auto racing, rum, Hollywood films and much more.
In the end, the bill approved by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama included all of those things, thanks partly to the White House's interest in promoting wind and other alternative sources of energy, and in subsidizing research and development costs for companies.
It also became a lesson in how Washington's taste for dishing out favors to special interests is alive and well, despite bipartisan calls for the government to reduce the tax credits it gives businesses and individuals at a time when the nation's debt tops $16 trillion and is growing.
Some business lobbyists told Reuters they were surprised that the package of tax credits - which had been approved by the Democrat-led Senate Finance Committee in August - survived the negotiations over the tax bill. The main part of the bill extended Bush-era income tax cuts for individuals with incomes of less than $400,000 and couples who make less than $450,000.
The longer the negotiations dragged on, lobbyists for various causes had figured, the more likely the bill would focus solely on the core issues of the talks: raising income taxes on the wealthy, allowing a payroll tax cut for all Americans to expire, and extending unemployment insurance benefits.
The lobbyists' expectations also were lowered by the emergence of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican, as a key negotiator in the talks.
McConnell has spoken on the Senate floor about the need to rethink Congress' approach to various tax breaks, saying that many had been "reflexively extended" for years "without any meaningful review or oversight."
His words were echoed in September by 47 House Republicans who had urged Republican Speaker John Boehner to eliminate the wind energy tax credit, which had split the Republican Party and drawn criticism from Mitt Romney, the Republican nominee for president.
But in the final hours of the negotiations over the fiscal cliff bill, lobbyists pushing the additional tax breaks appear to have had a key ally: President Obama, who during his re-election campaign had touted the need to increase the nation's investment in alternative energy sources such as wind.
Tax credits for the energy industry make up a big chunk of the "add-ons" that were attached to the fiscal cliff bill - about $18.1 billion worth, of which $12.1 billion represents a dramatic expansion of write-offs for wind energy investments.
McConnell's spokesman, Don Stewart, said the White House insisted that it would a "deal breaker" if the entire package of tax credits was not in the bill. Stewart also said the White House initially wanted to make all of the tax breaks permanent, rather than extend them only through the end of this year.
"The White House ... can't deny that the only reason the (business tax breaks were) included in the final agreement is because the president insisted" they be in there, Stewart said.
White House spokesman Jay Carney on Monday said that Obama supported the overall package of tax breaks for businesses. He emphasized that the president favored the wind energy credit and tax benefits for research and development to encourage "job-creating research investments."
Carney also said that many of the tax breaks in the fiscal cliff bill had bipartisan support.
"It would strain the credulity of everyone in this room to suggest that Republicans did not support or want tax credits for business," Carney said during his daily briefing to reporters.
Some Democratic strategists said that given the rush to get a fiscal cliff bill through Congress before U.S. financial markets opened for the new year last Wednesday, it likely seemed unrealistic to pick apart the package of tax credits - known as "extenders" - that had passed the Senate Finance Committee on a bipartisan, 19-5 vote.
So the package - with its $222 million credit for the rum industry, a $78 million write-off for the owners of NASCAR auto racing tracks and tax credits for the film industry that could total $248 million, among other things - survived intact, like a holiday bonus to Washington's lobbyists.
"I reacted, like, 'Wow,' " said Rich Gold of Holland & Knight, who lobbied for tax breaks for wind energy and railroad maintenance.
He represented the Juno Beach, Florida-based company NextEra Energy as well as the Greenwich, Connecticut-based Genesee & Wyoming, a freight rail company.
"The (fiscal cliff) package had gotten so skinny," Gold said, "that I just didn't expect it to happen at the end of the day."
THE WAY WASHINGTON WORKS
Outrage over the tax breaks flowed from small-government advocates and conservative voices such as the Wall Street Journal's editorial page, which called the tax credits a "crony capitalist blowout."
Such business tax breaks are called extenders because lawmakers usually extend them all at once, adding them to other tax bills as they move through Congress. Government budget analysts project their total costs over 10 years, even though many of the breaks are extended for only one or two years at a time.
During a session in which a bitterly divided Congress had trouble passing any legislation, let alone a controversial tax bill, the fiscal cliff package was the only vehicle for such tax breaks in the final hours of the session that ended Wednesday. A new Congress, including House and Senate members just elected in November, began meeting Thursday.
Critics and supporters alike said that tucking expensive tax incentives into last-minute bills is how Washington has worked for years.
"They always do this," said Tom Schatz, president of Citizens Against Government Waste. The difference this time was that more people were watching the high-stakes talks over the fiscal cliff bill, he said.
"Many people are being made aware of these tax breaks," Schatz said.
Republican strategist John Feehery, who favors the wind energy tax credit, said the fiscal cliff deal was never expected to reform the U.S. tax code, as some in Washington had hoped.
"This was not going to be a tax reform package. This was going to be an agreement or disagreement over whether we keep the current tax policies in place. And these extenders are, by and large, keeping current policy in place," said Feehery, who leads a group called the Red State Renewable Alliance, which touts the benefits of the wind industry in conservative states.
'CORPORATE WELFARE'?
Like Feehery and White House spokesman Carney, supporters of tax credits for wind energy and other industries argue that such incentives often boost the economy and create jobs.
Critics argue that the breaks are "corporate welfare," handed out to whoever can hire the best lobbyists or contribute the most to lawmakers' campaigns.
During the past two years, the American Wind Energy Association spent $4.5 million lobbying and gave more than $335,000 in campaign contributions to federal candidates, most of them members of Congress, according to the Senate's lobbying database and the watchdog group Center for Responsive Politics.
Fiscal conservatives aren't the only ones lobbying against such tax breaks.
Those opposing the wind energy credits include some in the nuclear power industry, which itself has received more than $100 billion in federal subsidies since the 1940s, according to the watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense.
Chicago-based Exelon Corp, the largest nuclear power operator in the United States, spent $6.4 million on lobbying during the first 10 months of 2012, according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Exelon also is investing in wind energy but was a vocal voice against the tax credit approved by Congress, saying in a statement that "wind energy can and should stand on its own in competing with other clean energy alternatives."
Republican Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa, a member of the Senate Finance Committee who first proposed the wind energy tax credit back in 1992, said that such provisions are not a giveaway by the U.S. Treasury because they encourage investments that might not otherwise be made.
"Using the tax code to stimulate investment is altogether different than appropriating money," he said.
LAWMAKERS TORN
Even so, Grassley's vote on the fiscal cliff bill reflected how some lawmakers were torn over the legislation to prevent income tax increases on most Americans.
Last summer, Grassley joined five other Republicans and 13 Democrats on the Senate Finance Committee in voting for the package of tax credits that wound up being included in the fiscal cliff bill.
But when the Senate voted 89-8 last week to approve the bill, Grassley was among the eight senators opposing it even though it included the wind energy credits he calls crucial to a developing industry in his state.
"The big picture is what ruled as far as I was concerned," Grassley told Reuters in an interview. "The bill does nothing on the expenditure side. ... It didn't cut down on the deficit."
By contrast, Arizona Republican Senator John McCain, a longtime critic of special-project spending known as "earmarks," said he reluctantly voted for the "flawed" agreement because he didn't want to see income taxes go up on all Americans.
Without action by Congress, the Bush-era tax cuts that save middle-class families about $2,000 a year would have expired at the end of 2012.
McCain's distaste for the tax credits in the bill was clear.
"It's hard to think of anything that could feed the cynicism of the American people more than larding up must-pass emergency legislation with giveaways to special interest and campaign contributors," he said in a statement.
After the Senate approved the fiscal cliff deal early on New Year's Day, it moved to the House, where some Republicans complained about the "bloated" package during a closed-door party meeting. But the objectors decided they did not have the votes to amend the bill, House Republican aides said.
The deal passed the House on a vote of 257-167, with opponents of the wind energy credit making up a good chunk of the Republicans' "no" votes. Some are vowing to return to the issue in the new congressional session.
"With taxpayers on the hook for unsustainable corporate welfare, there's no question we're going to come back to it in the new Congress," Representative Mike Pompeo, a Kansas Republican, said in an e-mail.

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BMW to pare back car discounts in Germany: magazine

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - BMW will cut back on sales discounts in Germany and focus on maintaining profit margins rather than market share, Chief Executive Norbert Reithofer told German weekly WirtschaftsWoche.
"We have decided that this year in Germany we will not defend market share at any price, and that profitability must come first," Reithofer told the magazine.
The volume of discounts will therefore be pared back substantially. "We're not just talking 5,000 cars," Reithofer told the magazine.
Auto manufacturers in Germany often give large dealerships cash bonuses to "self register" a purchase by the dealership, rather than a real customer, as a way to flatter monthly sales figures.
Based on currently available statistics, BMW still holds the crown of being the world's biggest maker of premium cars, ahead of rivals Mercedes-Benz and Audi.
Separately, Reithofer said the premium auto maker needs to sell a "five digit number" of electric vehicles from 2020 onwards in order to comply with European Union emission rules to cut BMW's average carbon dioxide emission level to 101 grams per kilometer per vehicle.

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SAP CEO says China to become as important as U.S.: paper

 German business software maker SAP sees potential for one million new customers in China, five times the number it currently has world-wide, German weekly paper Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung said.
"China will be as important for us as the United States," SAP's co-Chief Executive Jim Hagemann Snabe told the paper, according to an advance extract.
Snabe said SAP wants to open the Chinese market by securing a deal with authorities to allow cloud computing services.
"We want to find a solution with Chinese authorities this year if possible," Snabe told the paper.
As part of SAP's growth strategy, it plans to invest around $2 billion in China by 2015.

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Depardieu flies to Russia, may receive passport

MOSCOW (AP) — Russian President Vladimir Putin's spokesman says French actor Gerard Depardieu has flown to Sochi, where he is likely to meet with Putin and receive a Russian passport.
Putin on Thursday approved the actor's application for Russian citizenship, causing a scandal in France, where Depardieu has been fighting a proposed 75 percent income tax on the superrich.
Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted by the state RIA Novosti news agency as saying Depardieu arrived Saturday in Sochi, the host city of the 2014 Winter Olympics, and could meet with Putin on Saturday evening.
Peskov said "it cannot be excluded that during the meeting Depardieu could receive a passport.

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ReferralBuzz Announces Partnership with TruliaTwin Cities’ Referral Service for Home Remodeling Experts and Their Customers Partners with Leading Online Real Estate Market

Twin Cities’ referral service for home remodeling experts and their customers partners with leading online real estate marketplace.

Minneapolis, MN (PRWEB) December 21, 2012
Starting in January 2013, ReferralBuzz Inc., in Minneapolis, will be the exclusive partner in the 7 county Twin Cities metro and St Cloud, MN, Madison, WI, Cedar Rapids, IA for the new "Find a Pro - Home Improvement" feature on Trulia. Trulia is a leading online marketplace for home buyers, sellers, renters, and real estate professionals. ReferralBuzz will be the first home improvement recommendation resource on the Trulia website.
Founded in 2011, ReferralBuzz gives consumers a free, easy way to find great service providers - including providers who’ve earned recommendations from social media, neighbors, and friends. ReferralBuzz also gives home remodeling experts the tools they need to market their services and increase referrals using the power of social media.
With unique info on areas people want to live that can’t be found anywhere else, Trulia provides the inside scoop on properties, places, and real estate professionals. Prospective home buyers, sellers, and renters can learn about agents, neighborhoods, schools, crime, commute times, and even ask the local community questions. Meanwhile, real estate professionals use Trulia to connect with millions of transaction-ready buyers and sellers each month via Trulia’s hyper-local advertising services, social recommendations, and top-rated mobile real estate apps.
"The partnership with Trulia will provide a huge benefit to our customers through greater exposure,” says ReferralBuzz Founder Lisa Schneegans. “We will be able to feed information onto the "find a pro" section of Trulia's website from the ReferralBuzz website and provide the inside scoop to homeowners, buyers and sellers on local home improvement service providers."
For ReferralBuzz Service Providers, the partnership with Trulia means:

Service Provider’s ReferralBuzz profile will be seen by hundreds of thousands of consumers interested in home improvement in your service area.
Service Providers ReferralBuzz subscription will include a Trulia "Find A Pro" listing that will be automatically be uploaded from your ReferralBuzz profile.
Referral Buzz Service Providers will be able to participate in Trulia Voices "Ask an Expert"
ReferralBuzz will have the exclusive banner ad on the new Trulia mobile app for our metro area. Subsequently giving the service provider’s profile an opportunity to be seen by thousands of people.
How It Works for Homeowners

To get started, homeowners simply sign on at http://www.referralbuzz.com. Homeowners can view exclusive deals, request estimates and get ideas for their own projects from other customers’ pictures and feedback. Homeowners can sign in through Facebook and see which providers their “Friends” have used and recommend.
How It Works For Service Providers

ReferralBuzz provides a set of very easy to use tools for service providers to help them enhance their business. Automated tools include:
Social Referrals-Get customer referrals through their social networks, the “word of mouth” in the digital age.
Customer Feedback-After a job is completed ReferralBuzz makes the request for feedback automatically.
Stay In Touch Email-This in-touch e-mail system turns great customers into repeat customers and helps customers keep you in mind.
Facebook Posting-Automatically post your projects, photos and specials on your own Facebook page.
Digital Portfolio-Keep your visual assets at your fingertips. Photos sell your service better than any sales pitch. Email your presentation to the prospect, right from your IPad.
Project Communication-Communication during a project is often the key to keeping a job on track. ReferalBuzz makes that easy. And, once the project is done, an automated sequence of feedback requests, social referrals and emails begins. Clients feel well taken care of, long after you’ve left the job site.

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Politis & Matovina, P.A. Earns BBB Accreditation

Politis & Matovina, P.A. announced its recent accreditation by BBB Serving Central Florida. As a BBB Accredited Business, Politis & Matovina, P.A. is dedicated to promoting trust in the marketplace.

Daytona Beach, FL (PRWEB) December 21, 2012
Politis & Matovina, P.A. is committed to BBB's Standards of Trust. This week, Politis & Matovina, P.A. announced its recent accreditation by BBB Serving Central Florida. As a BBB Accredited Business, Politis & Matovina, P.A. is dedicated to promoting trust in the marketplace. According to BBB reports by Princeton Research, seven in ten consumers say they are more likely to buy from a company designated as a BBB Accredited Business. BBB is a resource for the public, providing objective, unbiased information about businesses.
"We are pleased to be a BBB Accredited Business because we value building trust with our clients," said Michael Politis, Senior Partner/Owner. "Our BBB Accreditation gives our clients confidence in our commitment to maintaining high ethical standards of conduct."
BBB Accredited Businesses must adhere to BBB's "Standards of Trust," a comprehensive set of policies, procedures and best practices representing trustworthiness in the marketplace. The standards call for building trust, embodying integrity, advertising honestly and telling the truth, being transparent, honoring promises, being responsive and safeguarding privacy.
About Politis & Matovina, P.A.

Politis & Matovina, P.A. is a personal injury law firm known for providing aggressive and high quality representation to injured victims, not insurance companies. With offices located in Port Orange, Ormond Beach, Palm Coast and Orange City, our firm focuses on ALL injury cases involving wrongful death, auto/motorcycle accidents, slips and falls, boating accidents, pedestrian accidents and bicycle/moped accidents. We also have departments dedicated to criminal defense and immigration law. We can be reached 24 hours a day, 7 days a week for your legal emergencies. Driven to achieve justice for our clients, we know that Results Matter. Let us put our experience to work for you. Visit http://www.TheJusticeAttorneys.com for more information.
About BBB

BBB's mission is to be the leader in advancing marketplace trust. BBB accomplishes this mission by creating a community of trustworthy businesses, setting standards for marketplace trust, encouraging and supporting best practices, celebrating marketplace role models and denouncing substandard marketplace behavior. Businesses that earn BBB Accreditation contractually agree and adhere to the organization's high standards of ethical business behavior. BBB is the preeminent resource to turn to for objective, unbiased information on businesses and charities. Contact BBB serving Central Florida at (407) 789-9008.

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Car-Specials.com Set to Give Customers a Fresh Car-Shopping Experience

Car-Specials.com is a new car search service that is bringing fun and excitement back to the car shopping game. With an ultra-fast, intuitive interface and a superior selection of new and used cars from local dealerships, Car Specials offers consumer-friendly search options and low-cost, dealer-centric service.

Carmel, Indiana (PRWEB) December 21, 2012
Car-Specials.com is a new kind of online automotive marketplace, offering efficient, customizable search options that cater to every different kind of car shopper. Whether a customer is looking for a new or used vehicle, or wants to search by color, make or body style, Car-Specials.com provides incomparable search functionality and a large selection of vehicles.
Veering away from the kind of automotive website that focuses on the sale and not the customer relationship, Car Specials.com focuses on giving consumers the connection to a particular vehicle that they would expect from walking into a dealership, all from the comfort of their own home. Car-Specials.com is currently in its pilot phase, adding new and used car deals from new dealerships every week.
By enabling visitors the option of selecting make, model, year, price range, body style, geographic location, and more, Car-Specials.com allows customers to take total control over their search. Unlike some of the larger car search engines, visitors can even search new and used vehicles at the same time. From sedans and coupes to SUVs, wagons, and sports cars, a wide variety of vehicles and brands assures that each customer can find their ideal vehicle, matching their lifestyle and budget, all in one place.
“Online car shoppers don’t want just any vehicle, they want the perfect one,” said Roger Laurendeau, President of Car-Specials.com. “We strive to provide the best vehicle choices and a streamlined system that makes the process of finding and purchasing a new car fast, convenient, and fun.”
Online car shopping is packed with large companies that charge dealers huge sums of money to list their vehicles. By contrast, Car-Specials.com is a small company with lower costs for dealerships, affording dealers the option of passing those savings on to the customer.
Customers interested in taking Car Specials for a test drive may visit http://www.car-specials.com. Dealers interested in working with Car-Specials.com to market their vehicles should contact Roger Laurendeau at 317-805-4933.
About Car-Specials.com
Car-Specials.com is an online automotive marketplace, dedicated to providing dealers with a wide-reaching, low cost option for marketing their vehicles online. Car Specials offers its customers lightning-fast search with a variety of customizable search options for finding their next new or used vehicle.

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Brand id│Strategic Partners Launches Revolutionary Personal Branding Success Program for Women

The Breakfast Club is a 12-month strategic mastermind program for Baltimore women who are ready to expand their “circle of influence, strategically map out their personal and professional path to success, and uplevel their visibility in the marketplace through personal branding.

Baltimore, Maryland (PRWEB) December 21, 2012
Two Maryland business women have partnered to unveil a program specifically designed to help 25 local entrepreneurs and executives dramatically elevate their personal and professional lives in 2013 and redefine the "goold old boy network.". The program is called The Breakfast Club, a 12-month strategic mastermind that will expand their “circle of influence” and strategically map out the personal and professional path to success of each participant through networking, personal branding, life coaching and strategic planning.
Founded by Jennifer Ransaw Smith, CEO of Brand id Strategic Partners, a full-service personal branding agency and Susan Stern, CEO of Live Now a Personal Success Coaching firm, The Breakfast Club is revolutionizing “business as usual.” This program leaves no stone unturned when it comes to mapping out a plan for success.
Although named The Breakfast Club, the program is so much more. In fact, a monthly breakfast is just a small component of what is being offered (held at Miss Shirley’s Inner Harbor). Twice a year, participants will meet at the Mt. Washington Conference Center for an all day “working session” to design personal and professional blueprints. In addition, each participant will have access to both Brand id Strategic Partners and Live Now group coaching programs, meaning they will spend six months working on their “personal brand” and four months working on their “life’s vision.”
“As far as the level of comprehensiveness, Susan and I wanted to put something uniquely special together that truly supported local women. So many women are not use to investing in themselves, so we wanted to use an affordable price point. “You are your greatest asset to your company, spouse, children and/or community. Our personal and professional lives are more connected than most people imagine, and investing in both aspects will dramatically uplevel your life this year, “says Susan.
Our members are going to get opportunities to elevate at every level. From networking monthly to yearly strategic planning and online support, we wanted women to be able to walk away knowing they had taken their lives to an entirely new level and felt supported every step of the way,” said Jennifer Ransaw Smith. “We wanted something for all of those women who know they want more, but just don’t know how to get it.”
The program is ideal for mid-to-senior-level executives and entrepreneurs who want to:

    Be surrounded by a group of women who are committed to helping you succeed
    Receive support, encouragement and inspiration as you skyrocket toward your goals
    Become more focused on where you are going and what you need to do to get there
    Expand their person “circle of influence”
    Be able to test ideas, connect with amazing resources and feedback
    Maximize what they are able to accomplish in a 12-month period
The Breakfast Club (http://www.breakfastclubonline.com) runs from January 24rd until December 31, 2013 and is limited to only 25 participants. First come, first served. The investment is $3,000 and payment options are available. For more information about the program, please visit http:///http://www.breakfastclubonline.com
Brand id│Strategic Partners is a full-service integrated personal branding agency that helps entrepreneurs, senior level executives, and subject matter experts transform from unknown to known. We offer a multi-disciplinary approach to brand elevation both on and offline by providing both business-to-consumer (personal branding) and business-to-business (leadership branding) communication strategy.

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Fleetwood Mac Tickets Take Off Online at BuyAnySeat.com

Tickets to Fleetwood Mac’s upcoming 34-city North American Tour are creating traffic spikes in search traffic online for seats, said Felina Martinez at ticket marketplace BuyAnySeat.com. The tour kicks off April 4, 2013 in Columbus, Ohio and is the band’s first trek since 2009.

Denver, CO (PRWEB) December 22, 2012
It’s hard to believe that it has been 45 years since Fleetwood Mac’s first album, and 35 years since they band released their best-selling Rumours album, which has sold over 20 million copies in the U.S. to date.
But like other iconic 60’s bands lately, Fleetwood Mac is heading back out on the road again. The group’s 34-city North American tour kicks off April 4, 2013 in Columbus, Ohio. The tour stops in numerous cities including New York, Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas and Los Angeles. The trek’s final concert is slated for June 12, 2013 in Detroit.
“Internet traffic for Fleetwood Mac tickets has been spiking,” said Felina Martinez at online ticket marketplace BuyAnySeat.com. “Part of this surge of new traffic may be related to the Holiday season and gift giving, but we believe it’s also due to the band’s legions of loyal followers of all ages around the globe.”
“Since Fleetwood Mac fans span all nationalities and age groups from pre-teens to those in their 70’s and 80’s, we’re proud to be able to offer buyers a complete selection of Fleetwood Mac tickets, with a worry-free guarantee to protect their purchase,” said Martinez.
“To access the continuously updated selection of tickets we have available, fans can go to BuyAnySeat.com and search for Fleetwood Mac – then select their tickets,” said Martinez.
Fleetwood Mac is a British-American rock band formed in London in 1967 by Peter Green, who had been playing in the blues band John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers. He named the band in an attempt to entice Mick Fleetwood and John McVie to join him. While Fleetwood joined right away, McVie did not join for several weeks.
After years of member additions and departures, and tumultuous times within the band, Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks joined the group – and the band finally found mainstream success with the 1975 release of a second self-titled album. The album became the band's first number one album in any country and their first multiplatinum album. This newfound success was repeated two years later with Rumours, which has become their best selling album thus far.
The next two albums, Tusk and Mirage, were not as successful as Rumours, despite an 18-month worldwide promotional tour. The albums still reached number four and number one respectively, and both reached double-platinum status.
The album Tango in the Night was released in 1987 and became the band’s best-selling album since Rumours, and ranked 3x platinum in the U.S. and 8x platinum in the U.K. The 90’s decade was one of limited success for the band, with the two albums released failing to chart very high in the U.S. The band's fortunes improved again with the release of the 1997 live album The Dance, which reached number one in the U.S. and 5x platinum status. The band also saw a modest success with 2003's Say You Will. (Sources: Official Website, fleetwoodmac.com and Wikipedia.com)
Both Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham released solo albums and toured last year. The band itself hasn’t released an album since 2003, but did tour together in 2009. Insiders say Christine McVie unfortunately will not be joining the tour this time. But for fans, there’s always hope.

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Explore Talent Presents LA Casting Calls for Crew Jobs

Los Angeles, CA (PRWEB) December 25, 2012
Explore Talent presents LA casting calls for crew jobs on the site http://www.exploretalent.com. For those living in Los Angeles, job announcements are available on the site. Job listings include producer, sound technician, photographer, sound mixer, director, sound engineer, etc.
"We are excited to include crew jobs in our roster of entertainment jobs," said Daniel Jackson, Senior Marketing Director for Explore Talent.
Explore Talent is a professional site that connects actors, models, musicians and dancers with jobs in the United States. The online community has been responsible for new collaborations and business ventures in entertainment. Explore Talent is responsible for connecting girls with teen modeling, and finding gigs for movie extras. Explore Talent also helps aspiring entertainment professionals further their careers with contests that showcase their profiles to members of the social media community. Furthermore, the Explore Talent site features celebrity videos, exclusive interviews with actors, actresses and musicians, such as Joan Rivers, Akon and T-Pain.
Explore Talent's proprietary software and vast infrastructure is the most advanced entertainment-based technology of its kind. The site's popularity is based on the fact that there are many ways for talent to network, make friends and connect with other industry players, participate in a wide variety of contests and earn prizes for being active on the site. The easy access to a pool of over seven members attracts industry players who are posting every month about 50,000 new auditions and job openings, which is 30 times more than any other site.

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Warning Claim on Alleged Defective Wright Hip Implant Lawsuit Dismissed: AttorneyOne Informs

According to court documents, on October 3rd, 2012, parts of the lawsuit filed in Arizona District Court (case no. 2:2011cv02113), alleging defective Wright Profemur Hip implant, were dismissed by a US District Judge. Now, AttorneyOne.com, a recognized authority on law, can provide helpful, proven advice and simple solutions including how to get in contact with legal counsel so anyone can easily and inexpensively deal with cases of alleged Wright Profemur Hip Replacement severe adverse events.

San Diego, CA (PRWEB) December 25, 2012
AttorneyOne.com, a recognized authority on law, informs on the latest news concerning Wright Profemur Hip Replacement: According to court documents, on October 3rd, 2012, parts of the lawsuit filed by Virginia M. Welch, in Arizona District Court (case no. 2:2011cv02113), alleging defective Wright Profemur Hip implant, were dismissed by US District Judge David Campbell.
In the lawsuit, plaintiff claims she was implanted with Profemur Z hip in 2006 and in 2009 she had to undergo painful removal surgery as the radiographs revealed that the acetabular cup had rotated approximately 90 degrees clockwise. US District Judge dismissed the failure to warn claim, but upheld the design defect claim. AttorneyOne.com will provide all latest information on possible Wright Recall lawsuits.
As published by the US Securities and Exchange Commission, in its quarterly earnings report for the quarterly period ended June 30th, 2012, Wright Medical mentioned that it received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Tennessee requesting records and documentation relating to the Profemur hip replacement devices. The subpoena covers the period from January 1, 2000 to August 2, 2012.
AttorneyOne.com can provide simple solutions including how to get in contact with legal counsel easily and inexpensively in case of severe adverse events from Wright Profemur Hip Replacement. Sean Burke, director of Media Relations for AttorneyOne.com, adds that the relevant information illustrates the existence of alleged threat from Wright Profemur Hip Replacement. "For that reason", he continues, "our focus should squarely fall on getting the word out and assisting people in finding the right legal assistance.”
On June 21st, 2012 Bloomberg published that FDA reported approximately 16,800 adverse events related to metal-on-metal hip implants (including Wright Profemur Hip Replacement) in the US from 2000-2011.
AttorneyOne.com has further information on Wright Profemur Hip Replacement lawsuits including how to get in contact with legal counsel.

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LeaseQ Reports Equipment Lending Up 3.2% In November

A recent industry survey reveals a marked increase in equipment leasing and financing activity for the month of November. An equipment leasing provider breaks down the numbers.

Boston MA (PRWEB) December 25, 2012
LeaseQ, one of the leading providers of commercial and business equipment leasing and financing in the United States, is reporting an increase in equipment based lending for the month of November, on the order of 3.2%. The increased business was first reported in a survey taken by the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), noting that more than $6.4 billion in new equipment was financed during the month, up from $6.2 billion during the same period the previous year.
The growth of sales and orders for several capital equipment companies dropped off some in November, a clear reflection of buyers increasing doubts and worries over the long term strength of the US economy, unclear visibility on economic conditions for the end-market, and growing anxiety over the so-called fiscal cliff crisis. The conventional wisdom is that any additional growth may have been stunted over the possibility of higher taxes and cuts in government spending.
Spending for equipment needs has grown faster in than most other areas of the broader US economy, with more and more companies replacing worn out or outdated material after having had to defer such projects for much of the recession that began in 2008. Since the beginning of this year, however, financing volume has been back up over 15% to $72.2 billion. December is also likely to show a demonstrable surge in spending as companies rush to complete 2012 capital spending programs before the end of the year. December is almost always the busiest month of the year for financing activities.
In other related activity, credit portfolio quality was mixed in November, with loans and leases past due by more than 30 days accounting for about 2% of net receivables. This was after six months of consecutive drops. Charge offs amounted to 0.5% of net receivables, and the approval rate for loans and leases was 77% in November.
Respondents in the survey included Welss Fargo, Bank Of America, Fifth Third Bank, Caterpillar, Deere & Co., Volvo, and Dell.
Based in Boston MA, LeaseQ is one of the leading providers of commercial equipment lease finance options in the United States, offering a wide range of lending options for everything from small business startups to Fortune 500 companies.

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