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Technorati Tags: news,malaysia,usa,america,oil news,crude oil prices news Those smart Americans have done it again! It is crystal clear that they are much smarter than poor and desperate Malaysians who only know how to make noise and more noise. Look at the following news clip, Malaysians. Those smart Americans shortened their working days per week and now they can save money on gas/petrol!

As a direct result of the unstable economy, few banks are now willing to offer tenent loans. Although tenent loans have been very popular for a few years, the rates for these loans have gone up and availability has gone down. Experts are recommending applying for a tenent loan at several banks to increase the [...]

USA Today reported on Monday that drivers have cut back their time on the road by 30 billion miles.That’s no small beans, particularly in a country as car-obsessed as the United States. It’s the biggest dip in American mileage since the Iranian Revolution prompted gas shortages in 1979-1980.Curiously, driving in the West has dropped off more than in any other region of the country. Declines ar

Voices from Russia have a small piece on the Russian version of The Coast of Utopia, in which they bat around more thoughts on the play's characters and ideas. They also provide further explanation as to how May's Stanford University event came about:[...] An international cultural and educational project [was] initiated by Tom Stoppard. The project, known as “Strolling Along the Coast of Utopia

Every now and then you will receive junk mails from credit card companies, banks, investment, retirement and mortgage companies. But if you are a careful consumer, you will notice that the junk mails in your mailbox is decresing all the time in the past few months. Good new or bad news? In the first quarter of [...]

Nashville, Tennessee – Nissan North America Inc. has announced it will increase production of the Altima at its facility in Canton, Mississippi to meet consumer demand. An additional shift of production will be added to the car system at the plant.The company reported record sales of 34,428 units for the Altima sedan, hybrid and coupe in May, up 38.3 per cent versus the previous year.Workers cur

London, June 11 (ANI): Scientists have made a major breakthrough in migraine therapy by developing new anti-migraine drugs with fewer side effects, which according to them, will soon hit the markets. These drugs would have an upper hand on existing therapies, said scientists, who developed these drugs, owing to improved understanding of the mechanism that makes [...]

PARIS - AS oil prices soar, airlines are coming back down to earth with a bump - cutting routes and capacity, ramping up prices and axing jobs as bosses freely admit the industry is in the 'worst crisis since 9/11.'Oil prices on Friday broke through the US$139-a-barrel (S$190) level for the first time in New York and US$138 in London, powered by a wilting dollar.A weakening US currency lowers the

Fewer expats expected to fill top posts in 5 years - Singapore  Firms to turn to local talent as Asian developing nations mature: Survey By Nicholas Fang    TOP executives at large companies in emerging Asian powerhouses such as China and India are likely to be local talent in five years’ time, instead of high-cost expatriates. This is among the [...]

A U.S. National Institute of Mental Health study reported in the journal Brain Stimulation has found that a new form of electroconvulsive therapy (ECT) is just as effective as older forms in treating depression but with far fewer of the cognitive side effects found in the older forms. Dr Harold Sackeim and colleagues from Columbia University randomly assigned 90 depressed patients to either right

Duration of activity: 10. – 17. January 2008 Location of activity: Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina Organizer: South East European Youth Network key words leader, youth exchange, Youth in Action... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

SACRAMENTO – An obscure program embraced years ago by the state Air Resources Board threatens to dramatically scale back the number of cleaner-running cars that automakers are required to roll out in California. The board has operated a complex incentive system that rewards automakers with special credits for quickly introducing experimental and costly cars that run on alternative power sources

For years, homebuilders and others across the U.S. have been planning for the wave of 78 million baby boomers to retire. However, a Business Week article argues that some of these past estimates have been too optimistic, as a combination of falling housing prices, a bear market in stocks and a gradual reduction in defined benefit pension plans will force many boomers to continue work well into th

Traditionally face lift surgery involves some degree of scarring due to the incisions involved. With the endoscopic approach to this cosmetic procedure however, the chances of scarring are reduced considerably. The endoscopic technique is better suited for those individuals who have less facial tissue. Cosmetic surgeons can work on those parts of the face that require closer attention paid to f

TAMPA -- Hillsborough school officials are looking to bump up thermostats and reduce administrative spending in the face of statewide education budget cuts. Schools and district offices will be asked to push indoor temperatures to 76 degrees, two degrees higher...

From the Vancouver Sun today:. While one coast of Canada will be digging out from a blizzard this weekend, the other coast will be basking in a heat wave…. Except… The worst city to be in this weekend is Saskatoon, which is forecast to ...

AP - Getting hitched may be the right move for Delta and Northwest. But for beleaguered air travelers, it could usher in an era of fewer flights, more confusion at the airport and even more crowded planes. Original post by AP

Fewer venture capital firms raised larger rounds of funding in the first quarter compared with the same time frame in 2006 and 2007, the National Venture Capital Association and Thomson financial reported Monday.A total of 57 firms raised $6.26 billion compared with 83 funds and $6.21 billion in 2007 and 75 funds and $6.59 billion in 2006.Mark Heesen, the NVCA president and a keynote speaker later this week at the Council for Entrepreneurial Development’s annual venture conference, said the need for capital is helping drive up the overall size of funds.“The interest by venture capitalists in capital intensive industries such as life sciences and clean technologies will likely drive fund sizes upward for the foreseeable future,” Heesen said.

An Idol Gives Back show without an elimination is really just a so-so event. Although the program was last night’s most watched program, it was down 34% in the demos from a year ago. 8pm [ Diane Sawyer] American Idol (6.7/18 in 18-49) had 17.6 million feeling charitable. Deal or No Deal (9.6 million, 2.4/7) was up 300,000. Big Brother (

April 9, 2008 Fewer home loans taken up as property market cools further Mortgage default rate also falls but some banks see refinancing deals rise By Grace Ng THE number of home loans taken up has fallen sharply in recent months as the property market continues to contract. Only 4,200 new home loans were approved in January, up about 13 per cent on the 3,722 in December but down 21 per cent from the peak of 5,319 last August. The Credit Bureau of Singapore figures also show that 2,544 second mortgages were taken up in January, a 31 per cent drop from the high of 3,698, also last August. 'We expect the growth in new mortgages to slow further this year,' said Credit Bureau general manager Mark Rowley. Inquiries for new home loans have also dropped, down to 8,923 in February, the lowest sin

Fewer home loans taken up as Singapore property market cools further  Mortgage default rate also falls but some banks see refinancing deals rise By Grace Ng, Finance Correspondent  COOLING OFF   THE number of home loans taken up has fallen sharply in recent months as the property market continues to contract. Only 4,200 new home loans were approved in January, up [...]

Fewer new homes being built in metro region - New Mexico Business Weekly:: "Permits for the construction of new homes in the Albuquerque metro area declined nearly 20 percent, to 263, in February 2008 compared to the same month in 2007, according to research firm DataTraq. Permits for the construction of new homes in the Albuquerque metro area declined nearly 20 percent, to 263, in February 2008 compared to the same month in 2007, according to research firm DataTraq.The city of Albuquerque issued the largest number of permits, with 122, followed by Rio Rancho, with 105. Permits in the metro area rose 55 percent from January to February. Home building activity traditionally slows during the coldest months of the year."Albuquerque MLS SearchRio Rancho Real EstateAlbuquerque Real Estate News

Press Release - Desperate attempt of Pune real estate brokers - agents or a fact?According to broker Raju Punjabi, Astitva Real-estates," The investor has almost entirely exited the Pune market and the residential sector is now driven by the serious end user." Since the residential property is available for sale at high capital costs and there is a wide gap between monthly EMI and monthly rent, the end user is moving towards the affordable rental option."The monthly rental of a 2BHK flat:A 2BHK apartment is the maximum transacted residential property in Pune and is currently fetching a monthly rental of Rs 15,000 in posh localities such as Koregaon Park and Kalyani Nagar. Kalyani Nagar due to its well laid out social infrastructure, good ambience and quality of life is in great demand by I

Reducing kids' salt intake could help them cut back on sugary sodasChildren who eat less salt drink fewer sugar-sweetened soft drinks and may significantly lower their risks for obesity, elevated blood pressure and later-in-life heart attack and stroke, researchers reported in Hypertension: Journal of the American Heart Association.Previous studies have shown that dietary salt intake increases fluid consumption in adults. But researchers at St. George’s University of London, England, are the first to examine whether the same is true in children.“Sugar-sweetened soft drinks are a significant source of calorie intake in children,” said Feng J. He, M.D., lead author of the study. “It has been shown that sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption is related to obesity in young people. Howe

Have teenagers gone nuts? The Federal Highway Administration is reporting that the percentage of teenagers with driver's licenses is going down. Yeah, decreasing! What is up with that? When I was growing up, my teenage years focused on just one objective... driving. All I wanted was to get my driver's license. That little card with your picture on it was the golden ticket. You could borrow your parent's car, fill the tank (and grab a candy bar) for $20, and nobody could reach you until you returned. We didn't have cell phones, text messaging or GPS tracking. A driver's license represented freedom. So, what happened? Experts aren't blaming unmotivated teenagers. Instead, they point the finger at the environment in which we are raising our kids. In today's world, parents are much more like

Single reading of screening mammograms with computer-aided detection (CAD) is more efficient than double reading and yields a higher sensitivity than the first reader in a double reading program, according to a study conducted by researchers at Charlotte Radiology in Charlotte, NC. In addition, the readings with CAD had a significantly lower recall rate than double reading. The double reading

In a shocking report (not really) released by the General Accountability Office (ie - the US federal government), they stated that there are fewer primary care docs now than there was about 10 years ago. The first thing I have to comment about is the name - "General Accountability?" - What's up with that? To whom are they accountable? Let me answer that - nobody!Anyway, in this Associated Press article, the report goes on to say that in 2006, there were about 22, 146 American docs in residency programs across the United States. In 1995 (when I was in medical school), the number was about 23, 801. For the next few years after that, the number plateaued. Then, right when I graduated is when the fall started to happen."It is troubling to me that the number of Americans pursuing a career in pr

Lansing State Journal - Teen pregnancies are down and fewer teens are binge drinking or using tobacco products. “We are trying to change between mandated health care and mandated auto insurance is that auto insurance is affordable, health insurance is not. Here’s read continue WISH-TV - Tonight, the focus is [...]

Well, doesn’t look like I can jinx it now, but I still do worry. Bianca is set to go to her new home tomorrow morning. The weather should be good for the drive. I seriously am going to miss this girl. I’ll have to go to an agility trial up in Boise next summer to visit her. I definitely plan on it. I have to get her bag ready today… Tony liked to steal her toys out of her bag so I had to put them away. And treats, and everything else in there. Tony doesn’t chew toys up, but he does like to carry them around and he gets to excited when he gets a new toy. With my ankle out of commission for a while I haven’t been exercising the dogs, or myself, as much as I should. Maybe some exercise equipment would help us all.. doggie treadmill anyone?

Two-thirds of teens, or 66.9 percent, indicated they would like to start their own business someday, according to the sixth annual JA Worldwide “InterpriseT Poll on Entrepreneurship,” down from the 70.9 percent who expressed interest in becoming entrepreneurs in last year’s poll and the first decline since 2004. The poll was administered in early 2007, and more than 800 teens aged 13-19 participated. “There appears to be a connection between teens’ interest in starting a business and the overall state of employment in the country,” said Gerald M. Czarnecki, president and chief executive officer of JA Worldwide. “Starting with the 2001 recession, the job market experienced considerable weakness for several years and teen interest in becoming entrepreneurs climbed. When the job market improves, as it has in recent years, interest in starting a business seems to decline. Whether teens opt to start their own business or work for an existing busi

I see many new and older homes in and around Tallahassee and Pensacola, Florida. I have observed that homebuyers want bigger kitchens and that the kitchen is very much the center of activity, conversation and planning. It is used as an office, decorative piece, place for preparing checks to pay the bills. It is a [...]

Good news on the cancer front: Death rates are dropping faster than ever, thanks to new progress against colorectal cancer.A turning point came in 2002, scientists conclude Monday in the annual "Report to the Nation" on cancer. Between 2002 and 2004, death rates dropped by an average of 2.1 percent a year.Sources:Yahoo News October 15, 2007

Government curbs on secondhand smoke in New York led to nearly 4,000 fewer hospital admissions for heart attacks in 2004, according to a new statewide study. In the study, published yesterday in the American Journal of Public Health, the State Department of Health reviewed nearly half a million hospital admissions for what is known as acute myocardial infarction, or heart attack. Researchers concluded that such admissions fell more than 8 percent in 2004 from what would have been the expected level of admissions for that year. That was equivalent to 3,813 fewer hospital admissions, they said.New York Times September 28, 2007

Inactivation of a vitamin K-dependent protein may contribute to the development of varicose veins, says a new study that highlights the role of supplementation for improving vascular health.The study, published in the Journal of Vascular Research, indicates that inadequate levels of vitamin K may reduce the activity of the matrix GLA protein (MGP) to reduce vascular proliferation and mineralisation, thereby stopping the development of varicosis. Food Production Daily August 23, 2007

As much as I rant and rave about illegal immigrants I don’t think that they are dumb people. They obviously have the common sense to leave their third world sewer pit home to immigrate to America. In addition, coming into America they often have to live in the poorest parts of any given city. Moreover, what do they see there? They see other races that have been the recipients of the Democrats largesse for the past 40 or so years. They can put 2 + 2 together. So, on the one hand the Democrats are offering them the keys to the kingdom but with many strings attached. It’s inevitable that a certain percentage would be able to see the truth around them. The class warfare and constant propaganda of the left is a hard hill to climb. But some seem to be doing just that to see past the propaganda and lies. Today they are registering as Independents but I bet you they will be voting conservative. Look at the Cubans that live in south Florida. They have seen first hand the devastating effects o

When AdSense first appeared, publishers could only place a single ad unit on a page. (Yes, I’ve been using AdSense for that long!) That restriction was later relaxed to allow up to three ad units per page. (See Chapter 22: Know the Program Policies.) As you can imagine, many publishers immediately added two more ad units to their pages. Assuming each ad unit was showing four ads (the maximum allowed), that meant that up to 12 ads were being shown on a given page. But is that the right thing to do? Does each ad unit you add make you more money?

According to available data, the European travel agencies have sent fewer tourists to Greece in the past five years. The number of European tourists who spend summer holidays in Greece declined in five-year span. Greek Chamber of Hoteliers said the hoteliers' losses hit 10 percent, adding that there is no compensation for the loss.

Every so often I spot someone at my local library who is paying a late-return fine that almost equals the cost of the book they are returning. I often wonder why, at that point, they don't just kick in the last buck or two and keep the book for themselves. Now I see that one Florida county library system has a policy of never charging late fees and that the result is that they are losing fewer

Despite what has been dubbed the "Harry Potter Effect" -- which credits J.K. Rowling's blockbuster book series with turning Game Boy addicts into lifelong readers -- reading is in serious decline among teens nationwide, according to a forthcoming federal study.A decade of Potter-mania peaks at 12:01 a.m. Saturday, when 12 million copies of the seventh and last book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows," go on sale in the United States. Thus far, the books have sold 325 million copies in 64 languages worldwide.

One of the many changes made in the Small Business and Work Opportunity Tax Act of 2007 reduces the number of partnership returns that will need to be filed for 2007. Under the old law, if both a husband and wife were sole owners of their unincorporated business they were required to file a partnership tax return (Form 1065). Partnership tax returns can quickly become complex and are generally

Indian outsourcing firms, Microsoft, Google and others speak out on the restrictions on hiring foreign help The pervasiveness of the Internet allows for a new definition of a “global market,” opening doors not only for businesses, but also labor forces. While a corporation may cater its products and services to a worldwide audience, it must adhere to strict rules with it comes to their human resources. One such regulation by the U.S. government is the H1-B non-immigrant visa, which allows employers to seek temporary help (six years per visa) from skilled foreigners who have the equivalent U.S. Bachelor's Degree education. The most well known example of H1-B visa holders are workers from India providing IT duties to large Indian outsourcing firms and U.S. corporations. Out of the top 10 companies receiving workers thanks to H1-B visas, seven of them are Indian outsourcing firms, while the remaining three are Microsoft, IBM and Oracle. In the early 1990s, the quota on th

In 1973 doctors in Israel staged a month-long strike and during that month, mortality fell by 50 percent. A couple of years later, a two-month work stoppage by doctors in the Columbian capital of Bogotá led to a 35-percent decline in deaths. And during a “work slowdown” by doctors in Los Angeles protesting against the sharp increase in premiums for liability insurance, the number of deaths fell by 18 percent. Once doctors were back at work full time, mortality immediately jumped back to the previous level. Every year, 1.2 million Britons are hospitalized as a result of improper medical care. In the United States – where 40,000 people are shot to death each year – the chance of getting “killed” by a doctor is three times greater than being killed by a gun. And every year significantly more people die from an infection sustained while in the hospital than as a result of traffic accidents. Over 20 years ago the American culture critic Ivan Illich wrote that health care has be

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - The "American Idol" triumph of 17-year-old Jordin Sparks drew nearly 6 million fewer viewers than last year's finale, in the latest sign that U.S. television's highest-rated show may have finally hit its peak.According to a final tally from Nielsen Media Research on Thursday, 30.7 million fans watched as the Arizona teenager was crowned the youngest champion at the end of the sixth installment of Fox network's amateur singing contest.The Wednesday night total is down 16 percent from the 36.4 million who tuned in to see gray-haired soul crooner Taylor Hicks claim victory at the conclusion of last year's competition.For the season as a whole, "American Idol" was down slightly in average overall audience compared with 2006, and off a bit more in ratings for viewers aged 18 to 49, the key young-adult crowd most prized by advertisers.That marks the first year-to-year decline in the show's Nielsen numbers since its 2002 inception, despite media hype and Internet

Thanks to the Baghdad security plan, U.S. troops working in the city's vast northern sector are dealing with 40 percent fewer roadside bombs these days, their commander, Army Col. Paul Funk, said Friday. "I used to see somewhere in the neighborhood of 120 [improvised explosives] a month," he said. "Now I'm down to less than 65 to 70." Funk, who leads the 1st Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, spoke with Pentagon reporters in a remote briefing from his headquarters at Camp Taji, Iraq. He said that the drop has occurred since the 3,800 soldiers of the "Iron Horse" Brigade Combat Team deployed to Taji from Fort Food, Texas, in November 2006. To date, the brigade has found a total of 330 roadside bombs since formally taking over the sector in the early part of December, Funk said. Funk said that he believes the reason that his troops are encountering fewer bombs is because "the enemy doesn't have time to do as thorough a reconnaissance as they used to when they put them in." Overall, Funk s

This week, I’m running a series on how to wear separates well. See also: tip one, tip two and tip three. Tip: To look great in separates, wear fewer accessories than you would with a dress. An outfit made up of separates already has two, three or even more elements to it, before you’ve added a single accessory. Add a bunch of accessories and it becomes very difficult to coordinate. Here’s how to get it right (and some pictures of real people who have). When you wear a dress, you have a single look from neck to knee (or wherever the dress ends). That means you can go a little bit nuts with other items — shoes, bag, jewelry, watches, scarves, belts or sashes, hats or hair accessories etc. You could wear one of each of the above and look fine as long as they all worked. When you’re wearing separates, you already have two, three or even more things to coordinate, just looking at the garments. If you then pile on the accessories as well, you can easily look like y

Mozilla Corp.’s Firefox suffered from 26% fewer vulnerabilities in the second half of 2006 than Microsoft Corp.’s Internet Explorer, a security company’s research said yesterday. According to Symantec’s tally, 40 Firefox vulnerabilities were disclosed between August and December 2006; Internet Explorer (IE), meanwhile, was hit with 54 bugs. For all of 2006, however, [...]

MILAN, March 11 — Two operating systems run more than 95 percent of the world’s computers, but dozens of systems are behind the 2.5 billion mobile phones in circulation, a situation that has hampered the growth of new services, industry executives and independent specialists say. “There are too many operating systems already and more are coming on stream, making things complicated for smaller

Immigrants from Asia have lower rates of psychiatric disorders than American-born Asians and other native-born Americans, according to the first national epidemiological survey of Asian Americans in the United States.

Ask any teenager who drives and acts responsibly why they have not been in an accident. The answer is their parents impose consequences for their negative actions and behavior. It is as simple as that!

Real Estate Pricey Homes and Lots of Them Fewer sales mean more houses to choose from. Buyers have gained breathing room, if not a lot a great deals. This is the time when buyers have time to shop and compare and cam make a throughful purchase. It is not like a year ago when buyers were walking around with a check in their pocket and writing offers on the hood of their car. There were 69,499

A recent Dutch research study has proven the fact that Optimists have a lot fewer chances of suffering from strokes or heart attacks than Pessimists. The reason thought is that Optimists tend to exercise more and have a bigger power of adaption to the stress of day to day life together with a straight forward going attitude. Researchers declared:"It's likely that optimism affects cardiovascular health in a number of ways, both directly and indirectly. One possibility is that optimists are better at coping with adversity, and may, for example take better care of themselves when they do fall ill. This study suggests that being positive and optimistic as we get older may have some effect on our wellbeing and reduce the risk of heart and circulatory disease. Previous research on lack of social support, depression, and having lack of control in life showed that people may be more at risk of developing coronary heart disease. This new study adds weight to the argument that if we feel optimi

Sponsor This PostIn attempt to grab as many customers before the launch of the PS3, supermarket giant Asda is selling the PS2 for a measly £50. Sony may be trying to boost sales after the dismal performance of the PS3 (Wii takes console crown), and may also be following the cut price of the Xbox 360 which Microsoft recently announced. My local store mentioned there may be possible price drops for the Xbox and Gamecube which would be great to see. Possible prices for the Xbox are at £30 and the Gamecube for £25-£40. I'll let you know more when I have more news.Sony have swapped out the hardware-based backward compatibility on the PlayStation 3 for software-based ones. This means less PS2 games will be playable on the PS3, which is already having enough trouble keeping the visual quality up-to-par with the older console.

Carmakers should add more flash and trash to their web sites. Words of wisdom from CarGurus.com CEO Langley Steinart. Speaking with Advertising Age [sub], Steinart asserted that a six-month study of shoppers on his website indicated that 62 percent of pages viewed consisted of photos and videos. Based on this info, he uncategorically concludes that online shoppers "first and foremost want videos." He was shocked (shocked I tell you) to discover that car-shopping web surfers have to read automakers' websites to glean information about a car. "You have to fall in love with the car visually. Are you going to fall in love over braking power?" Regarding the science behind his study, Mr. Steinart admits he has no way of knowing his site's demographics-- other than they "cut across all ages." The Guru-in-Chief also couldn't say how may visitors to his site are shopping for a vehicle (instead of reading editorials and blogs or looking for parts, access

iCasualties.org reports 4118 U.S. military deaths in Iraq from March '03 to July '08. In 2005 (the last year where full data is available), 43,443 American died in road accidents. The rate of deaths per 100 million miles driven has steadily decreased. But the increasing number of miles driven means that the total number of [...]