Important Things to Know About Payday Loans! - Information ...

Most people, who live on a fixed monthly salary, try to plan out their monthly expenses, including those that are over and above the regular ones, such as a holiday outing, or a medical check-up.

But despite all the planning, many a time, you may find yourself faced with urgent expenses for which you may not have enough left to spare nor can you defer it till your next payday. In such situations, fast payday loans come in as a handy solution.

Payday loans are short term payday advance loans that are provided to borrowers when they need money urgently to tackle financial emergencies. These types of loans are given at significantly higher interest rates and the borrower needs to repay by the next payday.

It is true that fast payday loans give you money and peace of mind, but at times they can be quite confusing. Hence, it is essential to know the financial terms involved in these loans, before going in for a payday loan.

Discussed below are some of these important aspects:

<b>1. Annual Percentage Rate: </b>

Annual Percentage Rate, also known as APR is the standard measure to find out the total cost of a fast payday loan. Usually, on a 30 day payday loan, the APR is 1355 percentage. There are many lenders who do not prefer to disclose the APR values to the customer. However, it?s important to know the APR value as it tells the exact amount needed to return back to the lender.

For example, you borrowed ?100 from any financial company for a period of one month. At the end of the month you need to return the original ?100 plus ?25 as interest. That ?25 indicates that there is an APR of 25% on the payday loan.

<b>2. Roll over: </b>

Suppose you have borrowed say ? 200 but by the time of your next payday, you are unable to repay the loan. Then what? Here comes the facility of ?roll over?.

Roll over is a very commonly used term in the loan industry. This facility is quite helpful for borrowers who are unable to repay the loan on time and wish to apply for an extension on their loan. With roll over, payday lenders extend the repayment date to the next payday.

But, now the borrower needs to pay more interest as the lender usually charges additional fee for each rollover, thus, adding more interest to the original debt value. It is possible to have multiple rollovers on one single fast payday loan but not all payday lenders provide such facility.

<b>3. Borrowing from a trusted provider: </b>

Before selecting a money lending company, the borrower must be aware of the authenticity of that company. Take it as a negative signal, if very little information is available about the lender?s profile, or if a lender speaks too much about the terms and conditions of the loan.

<b>4. Local rules and regulations: </b>

Payday advance loan is a very new concept, but due to its attractive features it has gained popularity. Yet, in many countries it is regarded as a controversial practice and at times had to face legal battles to prove its worthiness. Hence, it becomes very important to apply for a loan from a payday loan lending company which is approved and legal.

Keep in mind these above mentioned points to avoid future inconvenience while applying for a fast payday loan.

Daniel Bell is a writer on business and finance. He specializes in writing on Payday Advance, financial planning and investment options. His write-ups highlight the different aspects of Fast Payday Loans provided by UK companies.

This entry was posted on Thursday, June 28th, 2012 at 9:10 pm and is filed under Loans. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Source: http://www.informationwarehouse.co.uk/finance/loans/important-things-to-know-about-payday-loans/

ash wednesday kate walsh cnn debate equatorial guinea marine helicopter crash chicago weather star jones

Greatlakesbeer: @beertasterca Great Lakes Brewery Long Weekend Retail Store hours: Saturday: 10-6 Sunday: Closed Monday: Closed Hoppy Canada Day Everyone!!

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://twitter.com/Greatlakesbeer/statuses/218905667564609536

solicitor general neighborhood watch dennis rodman dodgers sale tami roman jetblue captain los angeles dodgers

AP sources: Some at Gitmo could go to Afghanistan

FILE - In this May 25, 2012 file photo, Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks, in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Obama administration is considering a new gambit to restart peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The plan to send several Taliban detainees from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a prison in Afghanistan, could boost the credibility of Afghan President Hamid Karzai as he and U.S. officials try to draw the Taliban back to peace negotiations. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

FILE - In this May 25, 2012 file photo, Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks, in Kabul, Afghanistan. The Obama administration is considering a new gambit to restart peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The plan to send several Taliban detainees from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a prison in Afghanistan, could boost the credibility of Afghan President Hamid Karzai as he and U.S. officials try to draw the Taliban back to peace negotiations. (AP Photo/Anja Niedringhaus, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The Obama administration is considering a new gambit to restart peace talks with the Taliban in Afghanistan that would send several Taliban detainees from the military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to a prison in Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan officials told The Associated Press.

Under the proposal, some Taliban fighters or affiliates captured in the early days of the 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and later sent to Guantanamo under the label of enemy combatants would be transferred out of full U.S. control but not released. It's a leap of faith on the U.S. side that the men will not become threats to U.S. forces once back on Afghan soil. But it is meant to show more moderate elements of the Taliban insurgency that the U.S. is still interested in cutting a deal for peace.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and others have said that while negotiations with the Taliban are distasteful, they are the best way to settle the prolonged war.

The new compromise is intended to boost the credibility of the U.S.-backed Afghan government. President Hamid Karzai and U.S. officials are trying to draw the Taliban back to negotiations toward a peace deal between the national Afghan government and the Pashtun-based insurgency that would end a war U.S. commanders have said cannot be won with military power alone.

The Taliban have always been indifferent at best to negotiations with the Karzai government, saying the U.S. holds effective control in Afghanistan. The Obama administration has set a 2014 deadline to withdraw forces and is trying to frame talks among the Afghans beforehand.

Under the new proposal, Guantanamo prisoners would go to a detention facility adjacent to Bagram air field, the largest U.S. military base in Afghanistan, officials of both governments said. The prison is inside the security perimeter established by the U.S. military, and is effectively under U.S. control for now. It is scheduled for transfer to full Afghan control in September.

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta would have to sign off on the transfer and certify that the men did not pose a danger. He would not confirm details of the new proposal at a Pentagon news conference Friday, but he said discussions continue to try to promote a peace deal.

"There are no specific commitments that have been made with regard to prisoner exchanges at this point," he said. "One thing I will assure you is that any prisoner exchanges that I have to certify are going to abide by the law and require that those individuals do not return back into the battle."

Any such transfer is unlikely to include the five most senior Taliban figures held at Guantanamo, the subjects of separate negotiations with the Taliban that have stalled, a senior U.S. official said.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the transfer is still under discussion and no offer has been made.

Afghan officials and other diplomats said it is not yet clear whether the new proposal could include those five, but said it has not been ruled out. Republicans in Congress bitterly opposed the plan to send those men to house arrest in Qatar, a Persian Gulf nation that has emerged as a key broker with the Muslim Taliban. The opponents feared the men would be set free and endanger the U.S.

The latest proposal was a topic of recent discussions in Washington with members of Karzai's peace committee, a group of elders charged with reaching out to the Taliban on the government's behalf.

"The possibility is strong," for a transfer to Afghanistan that includes the five top figures, said Ismail Qasemyar, international relations adviser for the Afghan High Peace Council.

Afghans involved in the discussions were still angling to get all 17 prisoners, including the five most senior men, released or transferred. The Taliban has demanded release of all the Guantanamo detainees as a condition for talks.

The Taliban abandoned direct talks in March, accusing the U.S. of reneging on several promises. The United States considers the talks suspended, not dead. The U.S. and the Afghan government are pursuing several new avenues to restart talks, including the use of proxy emissaries to the Taliban, diplomats said.

Karzai has long sought the return of all 17 Afghans imprisoned at Guantanamo, men he sometimes calls brothers, as a point of national pride. He has argued that their imprisonment at the detested Guantanamo prison undermines his credibility as a national leader, and that Afghanistan's own institutions should deal with captured insurgents.

The U.S. has said publicly that, in regards to the five senior Taliban, they would be transferred to another country's control, not released. But terms for the proposed transfer to Qatar were fairly loose. Officials briefed on the discussions said the men would have to agree not to return to fighting, forswear any ties to al-Qaida, and submit to a ban on their travel. Beyond that it was not clear how closely they would be controlled by the Qatar government.

The Taliban would have been asked to release Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, the only U.S. prisoner of war from the Afghan conflict.

Qatar recently sent a letter to U.S. officials with proposals to rekindle talks, a U.S. official said, but it was not clear whether the new proposal for transfer to Afghanistan was among them.

The latest Bagram proposal would appeal to the Taliban, Qasemyar said.

"The High Peace Council could use that opportunity as a goodwill gesture," he said in an interview.

Qasemyar said that the proposal may have benefits for the U.S. beyond boosting his organization's bargaining power with the Taliban.

"What I gathered from what I heard in Washington is the U.S. government was afraid that if they released a prisoner and he went back to fighting," the Obama administration "would lose faith before the Congress or before the people of the United States," he said.

A way around that concern, Qasemyar said, is "to send them to the Afghan government. Then that responsibility would be shifted to our side."

Karzai supports the new proposal, Qasemyar said, despite some concern in the Afghan government that the five could become a rallying point for ethnic tension in Afghanistan.

Mullah Norullah Nori, for example, could be a problem for Karzai. He was a senior Taliban commander in Mazar-e-Sharif when the Taliban fought U.S. forces in late 2001. He previously was a Taliban governor in two provinces in Northern Afghanistan, where he has been accused of ordering the massacre of thousands of Shiite Muslims.

___

Riechmann reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writers Heidi Vogt in Kabul and Lolita C. Baldor and Robert Burns in Washington contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-06-29-US-Afghanistan-Taliban/id-4bf2d78bee52445a93bb660ff2d8c304

standing rib roast its a wonderful life its a wonderful life rex ryan yule log ham recipes adrian peterson

Saipem wins new offshore contracts worth $350 mln

[ [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 2]], 'http://yhoo.it/KeQd0p', '[Slideshow: See photos taken on the way down]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['Connery is an experienced stuntman', 7]], ' http://yhoo.it/KpUoHO', '[Slideshow: Death-defying daredevils]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['know that we have confidence in', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/LqYjAX ', '[Related: The Secret Service guide to Cartagena]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['We picked up this other dog and', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JUSxvi', '[Related: 8 common dog fears, how to calm them]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 5]], 'http://bit.ly/JnoJYN', '[Related: Did WH share raid details with filmmakers?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['accused of running a fake hepatitis B', 3]], 'http://bit.ly/KoKiqJ', '[Factbox: AQAP, al-Qaeda in Yemen]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have my contacts on or glasses', 3]], 'http://abcn.ws/KTE5AZ', '[Related: Should the murder charge be dropped?]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 5]], 'http://yhoo.it/JD7nlD', '[Related: Bristol Palin reality show debuts June 19]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['have made this nation great as Sarah Palin', 1]], 'http://bit.ly/JRPFRO', '[Related: McCain adviser who vetted Palin weighs in on VP race]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['A JetBlue flight from New York to Las Vegas', 3]], 'http://yhoo.it/GV9zpj', '[Related: View photos of the JetBlue plane in Amarillo]', ' ', '630', ' ', ' ', ], [ [['the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 15]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/white-house-stays-out-of-teen-s-killing-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120411/martinzimmermen.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['He was in shock and still strapped to his seat', 6]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/navy-jet-crashes-in-virginia-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/cv/ip/ap/default/120406/jet_ap.jpg', '630', ' ', 'AP', ], [ [['xxxxxxxxxxxx', 11]], 'http://news.yahoo.com/photos/russian-grannies-win-bid-to-sing-at-eurovision-1331223625-slideshow/', 'Click image to see more photos', 'http://l.yimg.com/a/p/us/news/editorial/1/56/156d92f2760dcd3e75bcd649a8b85fcf.jpeg', '500', ' ', 'AP', ] ]

[ [ [['did not go as far his colleague', 8]], '29438204', '0' ], [ [[' the 28-year-old neighborhood watchman who shot and killed', 4]], '28924649', '0' ], [ [['because I know God protects me', 14], ['Brian Snow was at a nearby credit union', 5]], '28811216', '0' ], [ [['The state news agency RIA-Novosti quoted Rosaviatsiya', 6]], '28805461', '0' ], [ [['measure all but certain to fail in the face of bipartisan', 4]], '28771014', '0' ], [ [['matter what you do in this case', 5]], '28759848', '0' ], [ [['presume laws are constitutional', 7]], '28747556', '0' ], [ [['has destroyed 15 to 25 houses', 7]], '28744868', '0' ], [ [['short answer is yes', 7]], '28746030', '0' ], [ [['opportunity to tell the real story', 7]], '28731764', '0' ], [ [['entirely respectable way to put off the searing constitutional controversy', 7]], '28723797', '0' ], [ [['point of my campaign is that big ideas matter', 9]], '28712293', '0' ], [ [['As the standoff dragged into a second day', 7]], '28687424', '0' ], [ [['French police stepped up the search', 17]], '28667224', '0' ], [ [['Seeking to elevate his candidacy back to a general', 8]], '28660934', '0' ], [ [['The tragic story of Trayvon Martin', 4]], '28647343', '0' ], [ [['Karzai will get a chance soon to express', 8]], '28630306', '0' ], [ [['powerful storms stretching', 8]], '28493546', '0' ], [ [['basic norm that death is private', 6]], '28413590', '0' ], [ [['songwriter also saw a surge in sales for her debut album', 6]], '28413590', '1', 'Watch music videos from Whitney Houston ', 'on Yahoo! Music', 'http://music.yahoo.com' ], [ [['keyword', 99999999999999999999999]], 'videoID', '1', 'overwrite-pre-description', 'overwrite-link-string', 'overwrite-link-url' ] ]

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/saipem-wins-offshore-contracts-worth-350-mln-091835295--finance.html

lindsay lohan on snl real housewives of disney awakenings phantom of the opera agoraphobia andrew lloyd webber obscura

Singapore church defends pastor, officers over fraud

AFP - A Singapore-based Christian church rocked by a massive financial scandal has stood by its founder and four aides who could face life imprisonment for allegedly misusing the congregation's funds.

Pastor Kong Hee, 47, founder of the City Harvest Church, and four officers were charged on Wednesday with varying degrees of involvement in a scheme to siphon off Sg$24 million ($19 million) to finance his wife's singing career.

In addition, more than Sg$26 million in church money was allegedly misappropriated to cover up the original diversion.

In a statement posted on its website late Thursday, the church denied any wrongdoing by the five, who are out on bail while on trial.

"It has been suggested that the church has been cheated of Sg$50 million. This is not accurate," executive pastor Aries Zulkarnain said in the statement.

"The Sg$24 million, which went to investment bonds, was returned to the church in full, with interest. We didn't lose the $24 million, nor did we lose 'another $26.6m' as alleged," he added.

"The church did not lose any funds in the relevant transactions, and no personal profit was gained by the individuals concerned."

Zulkarnian, a co-founder of the group, said Kong will continue preaching at the church, which has a membership of more than 30,000 and assets estimated at more than Sg$100 million in 2009.

Meanwhile, the accused pastor's wife, who goes by the name Sun Ho in the entertainment industry, has been widely ridiculed by Singaporeans who dismissed her claims of using music to foster the church's evangelical mission.

Now believed to be in her early 40s, she based herself in Hollywood while trying to break into the international music industry.

Videos of Sun Ho's song and dance numbers on YouTube -- many featuring her in skimpy clothing and dancing provocatively -- have become overnight sensations since the scandal broke, but for the wrong reasons.

Ho's previously obscure music video "Mr Bill", where she plays an Asian wife who calls herself a "geisha" and sings about killing her black husband, had been viewed more than 150,000 times by Friday morning.

"Isn't 'thou shalt not kill' one of the ten commandments?" a YouTube viewer commented on the video-sharing site.

Kong and his wife became minor celebrities in Singapore after launching the church, which has affiliates in neighbouring Malaysia and other countries.

The church is known for services that resemble pop concerts.

Singapore authorities have cracked down on heads of charities found to have been involved in irregularities.

In 2009, a prominent Buddhist monk was jailed for six months for misappropriating hospital funds and lying about it to authorities.

Source: http://www.france24.com/en/20120629-singapore-church-defends-pastor-officers-over-fraud

golden globe winners the express zappos hacked jane fonda morgan freeman jon huntsman bit coin

Oil heads for worst quarter since 2008 crisis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Crude oil futures fell 3 percent o n T hursday, heading for the worst quarterly performance since the 2008 financial debacle, on worries that an EU summit will not find durable solutions to the euro zone crisis, stifling global growth prospects.

Weaker U.S. equities on Wall Street after the U.S. Supreme Court decision upholding key elements of President Barack Obama's healthcare reform law added to the day's pressures on crude futures.

Despite recent gains, Brent crude futures were on track to end the second quarter with a drop of about 25 percent, the worst since the last quarter of 2008, at the height of the financial crisis after the collapse of Lehman Bros.

U.S. crude futures, meanwhile, were poised to see a fall of about 24 percent, also the biggest quarterly loss since the last quarter of 2008.

Trading on Wall Street was volatile, with healthcare stocks hit after the Supreme Court upheld the centerpiece "individual mandate" provision of the Obama healthcare overhaul. Equities were already lower on skepticism that the European Union Summit will result in concrete measures.

"It's the euro zone problems, the strength of the dollar and the weak equities, said Stephen Schork, president of the Schork Group in Villanova, Pennsylvania, commenting on the reasons for the day's price drop.

By 2:40 p.m. EDT (l840 GMT), Brent crude oil futures for August traded in London at $91.63, down $1.87, after having slid to a session low of $90.88.

U.S. August crude settled at $77.69 a barrel, falling $2.52, the lowest settlement for front-month U.S. crude since October 4 last year.

"The further fall in equities triggered by the Supreme Court decision ... exerted selling pressure on crude futures," said Addison Armstrong, director of market research at Tradition Energy in Stamford, Connecticut.

Technical support for U.S. crude at around $79 was breached in the surge of selling after equities slid further, Armstrong said.

Economic data released on the day also weighed on crude futures. U.S. GDP for the for the first quarter grew at a 1.9 percent annual pace, but consumer spending and export growth were not as robust as previously thought.

Another set of data showed that weekly jobless benefit claims fell, but still remained too high, reflecting weakness in the job market.

In Wednesday's trading, crude futures rose on a strike by Norwegian oil workers that reduced North Sea oil output and data that showed U.S. crude and distillate stockpiles declined last week. In overnight Asian trading, crude futures initially rose on Thursday on those factors, but later retreated amid negative perception about the EU summit.

LOW EXPECTATIONS

EU leaders began a meeting in Brussels on Thursday openly divided, with German Chancellor Angela Merkel pitting herself against France and Italy and insisting they put the bloc's fundamental problems ahead of emergency action.

But French President Francois Hollande said he expected agreement on emergency steps to help euro zone partners whose borrowing costs have reached unsustainable levels.

"Market sentiment is very negative," said Carsten Fritsch, a commodities analyst at Commerzbank in Frankfurt. "There are concerns that the EU summit will disappoint."

Analysts say the euro zone debt and financial crisis is stifling activity in the region, eroding investor confidence and dampening economic growth outlook in other parts of the world.

NORWAY STRIKE

Norwegian oil production has been further cut by 290,000 barrels per day, according to a union official, from 240,000 bpd earlier this week, as an oil workers' strike that began on Sunday continued with no signs of a resolution.

But the government of Norway, the world's eighth-largest oil exporter, has said it is not about to intervene, a local industry association said.

State-controlled oil and gas company Statoil shut its key Oseberg field center on Sunday and other fields including Statoil's Heidrun field and BP's have also been affected by the strike.

IRAN SANCTIONS

Crude oil futures have fallen about 30 percent from their year's high of $128.40 for Brent and $110.55 for U.S. crude, both hit in March, despite a slated embargo of Iranian crude beginning July 1.

The fall in prices has been largely due to a rise in the output from the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, mostly with higher supplies from Saudi Arabia, which is countering the threat of a sudden drop in Iranian supplies. In a meeting earlier this month, however, OPEC agreed to adhere to its output target of 30 million bpd set in December.

Iran is at loggerheads with world powers over its disputed nuclear program that earlier this year had raised fears of that Tehran would block the Strait of Hormuz, a vital oil shipping lane.

Keeping an eye on Iran, Saudi Arabia has reopened an old oil pipeline built by Iraq to bypass Gulf shipping lanes, giving Riyadh scope to export more of its crude from Red Sea terminals should Iran try to block the strait, industry sources said.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration, which has imposed global financial sanctions intended to make business with Iran difficult, has granted exceptions to the sanctions to China and Singapore, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/oil-heads-worst-quarter-since-2008-crisis-190817850--finance.html

daylight savings time 2012 ricky rubio day light savings time peter paul and mary edgar rice burroughs dallas clark litter

More Than Just a Logo: How Branding Affects Your Customers ...

Coke or Pepsi? In blind taste tests scientists have concluded that most of us can?t tell the difference. But you know which one you prefer, don?t you?

The power of branding

In an interesting variation on the Pepsi Challenge, researchers strapped people into MRIs and had them taste two drinks: one clearly labeled ?Coke? and the other an unlabeled competitor. Time and again Coke was the preferred choice, but the kicker is that both drinks were Coke.

Given branding information, the consumer?s perception of the product changed, and the MRI revealed why. When tasting the clearly labeled Coke, parts of the brain lit up that are associated with memory and nostalgia. The brand was triggering an emotional reaction. Much like it did back in 1985?

Remember ?New Coke??

New Coke is often cited as one of marketing?s greatest blunders. When Coca-Cola tried to win the cola wars by reformulating their flagship soda, the public had a visceral reaction. It took less than three months for Coca-Cola ?Classic? to returned to store shelves.

But what happened wasn?t a matter of people not liking New Coke. In taste tests before and after its release people really did prefer the sweeter flavor of New Coke. But something happened amongst those who felt betrayed by Coke?which was no longer ?the real thing.? This very vocal minority revolted against the new formulation and succeeded in getting the corporate giant to backpedal.

(Read more about New Coke)

The emotional side of branding

Coke?s brand isn?t about quenching thirst, it?s about making the world a better place. It?s ?A Coke and a Smile.? It?s buying the world a Coke and keeping it company. It?s playful polar bears and cute little penguins.

Hell, Coke is even (somewhat inaccurately) credited with giving us the modern incarnation of Santa Clause. Coke?s brand invokes warm, nostalgic feelings that successfully convince us that Coke, in fact, tastes better.

How do people feel about your brand?

Coke has had 120 years to perfect its brand and they back it up with a billion dollars of advertising each year. If Coke is spending that much to promote an internationally recognized, century+ old brand? what about you and your company?

It?s up to you to define and communicate to your customers what your brand stands for. Your mission is to create an emotional connection with your customers. Because, as the above examples demonstrate, that emotional connection is a powerful motivator that will win you more sales.

If you want your customers to choose you, you must communicate on an emotional level. I help you do just that. Contact me today for a free consultation.

Source: http://www.business2community.com/branding/more-than-just-a-logo-how-branding-affects-your-customers-behavior-0200547

zynga stock sam houston state university sam houston state university bradley manning whoopi goldberg tebowing tebowing

Ukraine signs $2.4bn currency swap deal with China

bne


June 27, 2012

The National Bank of Ukraine (NBU) and People's Bank of China have signed a currency swap deal worth 15bn yuan ($2.36bn), aimed at boosting mutual trade, investment and financial stability, according to a statement on the Chinese bank's website. Ukraine will welcome other potential benefits as well.

Worth the equivalent of up to UAH19bn, the currency swap aims to boost exports and imports between the pair, develop investment and generally support financial stability in the two countries, the Chinese bank said. The deal lapses in three years and can be terminated at any time before that by mutual consent.

The arrangement will enable companies to use national currencies for export-import operations without the need to use a third-party reserve currency. Kyiv, struggling to keep its fiscal head above water, will welcome the benefits the deal offers its central bank reserves and exchange rate management. It is also likely to hope that it will lead to an increase in Chinese investment in the country, which remains limited.

"We consider the deal to be positive for Ukraine, especially in the current market environment, even though CNY is not a fully convertible currency and may not be counted towards international reserves under IMF methodology," Dragon Capital's analysts write in a note. "The NBU's reserves declined by $0.9bn to $31bn in May (-3.3% year to date) due to repayments to the IMF and probably remained on a downward trend in June due to F/X market interventions and external public debt redemptions," they add.

"The swap deal will strengthen the NBU's ability to support the UAH:USD exchange rate as some Ukrainian-Chinese trade contracts (in 2011, net imports of Chinese goods to Ukraine totaled $4bn) may now be quoted in CNY rather than USD, thus reducing local importers' dollar demand and easing pressure on the F/X rate being targeted by the central bank."

For Beijing, the deal is just the latest in a long-running campaign to quash the role of the US dollar as a reserve currency. As the largest trader in the world ? as well as the biggest holder of US Treasuries ? China is highly exposed to fluctuations in the value of the dollar, and has expressed outrage over recent actions such as the Fed's quantitive easing programmes, which have destabilized the currency. It has signed currency swap agreements with a series of countries over the past few years, mostly in Asia and Eastern Europe.

Source: http://www.bne.eu/story3744

elliot la galaxy la galaxy jordy nelson hot chelle rae guile alton brown

Hard Drive Recovery: A Closer Look ? Computer Support

Have you ever experienced losing all of your files from your computer, external hard drive, USB or any other secondary storage? That may be one of the dreaded situations of almost anyone who depend on the computer for their work, projects or school work. And hard drive recovery is the answer to this kind of problem.

Data recovery is very important nowadays because almost everything is saved or stored in computers, such as pictures, documents, music, movies and a lot more. That is why the risk of accidentally deleting or losing these important files or documents is always present. If your external memory or computer acquires virus or any malware, you may need to reformat it and this could also mean deleting all the files in your computer or external hard drive. Or worse, if your computer crashes you could lose all of your files! But with data recovery or hard drive recovery, you will be able to recover your files from your computer or hard drive and this is very helpful for a lot of people.

But what is it exactly?

Data recovery is a process wherein you recover, salvage or retrieve your files or different data from any damaged, corrupted or even from an inaccessible storage or second storage such as USBs or any external hard drives.

When do you need it?

Recovering of data or any file may be necessary on any, but not limited to the following situations:

1. During an operating system (OS) failure. This is the most common scenario or situation wherein you need to perform data recovery. The goal of data recovery in this situation is to simply retrieve and copy all important or necessary files to another disk or storage.
2. ?During a disk-level failure. This usually happens if your computer or external hard drive has a compromised disk partition file system or a hard disk failure. However, data or files cannot be easily read in this situation. This may involve the following: repairing the file system, master boot record or partition table or a hard disk recovery.
3. If files have been deleted or ?accidentally? deleted from any storage medium. The files or the content of the file are not removed permanently or completely, but only references to those files are removed, so files or data may still be recoverable.

Where to get help?

Adachi Computech Solutions will be a great help for recovery or retrieving your data from your computer or your storage medium. For whatever concern regarding computers, be sure to check out Adachi.

?

?

Source: http://www.adachicomputech.com/blog/2012/06/294/

solar storms uganda the parent trap invisible children kony 2012 space weather sunspots pac 12 tournament

Stocks rally as Europe unveils debt crisis plans http://ht.ly/bUWbk

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=10150984483377856&id=262971987855

matt bomer westminster kennel club dog show jeremy lin game winner chocolate covered strawberries shrimp scampi kate upton si cover lobster recipes

Video: A Tale of a Housing Recovery

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://video.msnbc.msn.com/cnbc/48017462/

supreme court health care joe oliver joba chamberlain new york mega millions jetblue jetblue michelle malkin

stephaniefalla: RT @freddier: En dos horas y media estaremos en vivo con @cvander en #mejorandola desde el Google IO 2012.

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

corned beef recipe time change daylight savings rpi dst friends with kids pacific standard time

Video Game Pioneer Atari Marks 40 Years Of Gaming | FOX8.com ...

(CNN) ? When people talk about the beginnings of the video game industry, one name invariably bubbles to the top: Atari.

The video arcade and console company was formed 40 years ago Wednesday, although the games and consoles from its late ?70s-early ?80s heyday continue to evoke memories from gamers today.

In 1972, Nolan Bushnell and Ted Dabney were looking to produce an electronic tennis game to be called ?Pong.? They formed Atari Inc. on June 27 of that year and released the black-and-white tennis game five months later. The gaming world hasn?t been the same since.

?Pong?s? primitive, two-dimensional graphics look ridiculous now, but it was an immediate hit and is considered the first commercially successful video game.

But Atari?s more lasting contribution to living-room entertainment may have been the Atari VCS, more commonly known as the Atari 2600. The home video-game console launched in 1977 and sold more than 30 million units before being discontinued in 1992 according to a Business Week report.

Many people credit the Atari 2600 as their gateway into the world of electronic gaming.

?While I had dabbled with the NES at a friend?s house and Apple II titles at my uncle?s, this was the first console that was mine,? said Matt Paprocki of Toledo, Ohio. ?It sucked me in and kept me there. I doubt any parent knows how important a little console that plays video games can be, or what it can do for someone?s life. It?s a path I started on and stayed on well into my adult life, all because of that faux wood box fitted with ungainly switches.?

?You never forget your first love!? said Matt Thebert of Lawrenceville, Georgia. ?But it also was the beginning of a whole era of populist electronics and computing where you could have in your home, finally, a computer and video games. Which as a kid meant I could explore these worlds from my home, not from a computer lab or, at that time, the public library, where we would reserve time in one-hour chunks on the Apple IIe to play ?Zork? in its amber glory.?

Atari Inc. was sold to Warner Communications in 1976 as Bushnell looked for help marketing his home console. The company began developing other systems ? The Atari 400, 800 and 5200 ? but were never able to duplicate the success of the Atari 2600 console.

Many say it offered a new way to interact with family and friends.

?All of my cousins loved it because we could root for the ones that were playing,? said Willie Jefferson Jr. of Houston. ?Plus, we knew we?d get a chance to play in a few minutes. The 2600 cemented gaming into my fabric.?

?It meant a lot, now that I think about it,? said Jason Konoza, from Edmonton, Canada. ?Personal interaction and socializing. The hours spent playing ?Space Invaders? together, or ?Home Run? or ?Circus Atari? against each other. My best friend Mark and I would write down our high scores for ?Frostbite? and keep them in the box.?

But in the early 1980s, the company?s missteps ultimately sealed its downfall as Atari Inc.

The biggest and most publicized was the release of ?E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial? and a port of the arcade version of ?Pac-Man,? two games that were widely lambasted by critics for poor game play and design.

?Sadly, looking back, it seems like the 2600 could have been the best thing in gaming, by bringing it into so many households,? said T.J. Lauerman of Teaneck, New Jersey. ?But also a tragedy that could have killed home gaming as we know it after the ?E.T.? debacle.?

By 1984, Atari Inc. was technically no more. Warner Communications divided the company, selling off parts as the video game market crashed with a glut of poorly designed games. The Atari name has changed hands several times since and is now in the hands of Infogrames as a wholly owned subsidiary, as of 2008.

That company, renamed Atari, SA in 2010, has recently focused its efforts on mobile and social gaming, releasing Atari titles for the iPhone and iPad. Bushnell rejoined the company in 2010 to sit on its board of directors, reconnecting Atari with its past.

In recent years, longtime fans have posted comments online voicing their frustrations with what they consider to be the misuse of the Atari name as a tool to for easy profits.

Atari says they are listening.

?Atari?s fans are an incredibly passionate group, and the current team at Atari understands that there has been negative sentiment about how the brand had been used as part of a retail distribution business for third party console games. And, frankly, many of them resulted in low ratings.? the company said in a statement.

?Over the past few years, we?ve decided to exit that business and focus our efforts on restoring the real values behind the Atari brand. We believe the success of this new initiative lies in the mobile games business, as evidenced by the critical and commercial success of some of our more recent titles.?

The company also points to its Pong Indie Developer Challenge, a developers? competition seeking a reimagined version of ?Pong? for Apple?s mobile devices. The winner will receive $50,000 and will be announced August 2.

Atari calls the challenge an example ?of our commitment to making new games based on our core IP that, like the original hits, are fun, ?easy to learn but difficult to master.?

However, one of the enduring legacies of the Atari name remains the Atari 2600 console, the black box with the faux wood stickers.

?As it was my first introduction to gaming for me personally, it was a groundbreaking time in gaming and I think it should be listed in the Top 5 of video game consoles,? said Nikki Rau-Baker of Atlanta.

?It?s the system that kicked off the gaming revolution,? Jefferson said. ?It made the way for the PS3, 360 and Wii ? and beyond.?

Today, most Atari 2600s are collecting dust in attics or buried in landfills. But some gamers are still able to enjoy the console?s 8-bit graphics and retro music 40 years later.

?I still have my original working Atari 2600 console,? said Konoza of Edmonton. ?Sometimes I need a break from playing games with a controller with 14 different buttons, dual analog sticks, and full motion control. Just holding a simple joystick, knowing that I can master a game using one button, brings comfort to me.

?In a complicated world, you need a little dose of simplicity.?

?

bcs rankings miguel cotto vs antonio margarito rockefeller center art basel 2011 art basel 2011 straight no chaser straight no chaser

South Korea And Japan Set To Sign Historic Defense Agreement

Wounds from history heal slowly in Asia. Yet, despite pervasive resentment against Japan's control over their country in the early 20th?century, South Korea now looks ready to move forward to establishing closer security relations with its eastern neighbor.

The South Korean government gave the nation a shock on Wednesday. It announced the approval of a landmark decision to sign a new military agreement with Japan.

The General Security Military Information Agreement (GSOMIA) would allow the two counties to pass classified military intelligence to one another directly, improving cooperation and consensus amid Northeast Asian security crises.

Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura confirmed on Wednesday that negotiations between the two countries would soon be concluded. By Friday, South Korea's Ambassador to Japan, Shin Kak-soo, could be sitting down with Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba to put the pen to the new pact.

South Korean news agency Yonhap reported that the Korean Cabinet finalized the decision on Tuesday.

Follow us

The GSOMIA has long been pushed by Japan and South Korea's mutual ally, the U.S., to improve military contacts and intelligence transfers between Seoul and Tokyo. Previously, the U.S. had served as something of a middleman for intelligence that moved between the two countries.

Incentives for the new agreement are largely seen to have come from diminishing tolerance in both countries for North Korean provocations and rising concerns over China's military growth.

The North Korean government followed the announcement by making a statement saying the government of South Korean President Lee Myung-bak was "selling the nation out."

That was a sentiment which many South Koreans themselves echoed. Members from 48 civil society groups gathered to protest the decision outside of government offices. The short span between the approval and public disclosure has led opposition politicians and activist groups to harshly criticize the government.

Japan and South Korea remain embroiled over divergent interpretations of their recent past. Koreans remain deeply emotional over the annexation of the Korean Peninsula by the former Japanese Empire, from 1910 to 1945. Coupled with ongoing territorial disputes between the two over the Dokdo Islands (which South Korea administers, but Japan calls Takeshima and says belong to its Shimane Prefecture), historical memories and national narratives of past Japanese oppression leave many Koreans wary of a close diplomatic relationship.

No surprise then, that some called the new agreement an implicit absolution of war crimes committed by Japan during WWII, including forced sexual slavery of "comfort women" by Japanese army officers then stationed in Korea.

The Korean Council for Women Drafted for Military Sexual Slavery by Japan, an activist group which seeks to publicize wartime abuses of women, issued a response to the government saying that it had "insulted the victims of sexual slavery."

The leader of the opposition Democratic United Party told Korean news angencies that the Cabinet had broken an earlier promise to consult the National Assembly (legislature) before making their decision.

In 2006, after learning that Japan prepared to send oceanographic vessels to survey the area around the Dokdo islands, the government of then president Roh Moo-hyun announced that it would send 20 armed ships to the area to stop any trespassing Japanese vessels. That spat was only six years ago -- and that indicates how effective pressure from a changing balance of power in East Asia has forced both governments to begin working past their differences.

Nevertheless, President Lee's New Frontier Party will now face closer scrutiny over the issue of the Acquisition and Cross-Servicing Agreement (ACSA). That agreement could further strengthen Korean-Japanese defense relations by allowing for exchanges of military equipment (except combat arms and weapons). The ACSA could allow Japanese troops to enter South Korean territory (with invitation), something that hasn't taken place since the end of WWII.

A formal alliance between the two countries remains largely wishful thinking. Nevertheless, American policy makers increasingly see a trilateral relationship as the key to securing Northeast Asia as the U.S. executes its "pivot" to an Asia-centric strategy.

"We welcome closer ties between our allies, Japan and the Republic of Korea," said the U.S. State Department on Wednesday.

carlos mencia packers stock sale packers stock sale jason mayhem miller margarito margarito horton hears a who

A Nation Of Meat Eaters: See How It All Adds Up

As Allison Aubrey and Dan Charles reported today on Morning Edition, meat has more of an impact on the environment than any other food we eat. That's because livestock require so much more food, water, land, and energy than plants to raise and transport. (Listen to the audio above for their conversation with Morning Edition's Linda Wertheimer.)

Take a look here at what goes into just one quarter-pound of hamburger meat. (Mobile users: To see the images, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on "View Non-Mobile Version Of This Story.")

What It Takes To Make A Quarter-Pound Hamburger

?

And that's not even including the animal's waste or the methane emissions from its digestion.

But there are fewer cows around than there were in the 1970s.

Cattle inventory, in millions

In the meantime, though, farmers and scientists have found ways to get more meat out of every cow. So even though cattle inventory has dropped, the U.S. is still producing more beef now than in the 1970s.

Average dressed weight of cattle (what's used for meat), in pounds

And if you look at the last century, meat consumption overall in the U.S. has risen dramatically. It's only in the last few years that it has begun to drop a bit.

U.S. total meat consumption, in billion pounds

Though meat consumption in the U.S. has dropped off slightly in recent years, at 270.7 pounds per person a year, we still eat more meat per person here than in almost any other country on the planet. Only the Luxumbourgers eat more meat than we do.

As U.S. beef consumption began to decline in the 1970s, poultry began to rise quickly. A couple of years ago, chicken surpassed beef as our no. 1 meat of choice. Our consumption of pork has also risen slightly over the years.

U.S. meat consumption per person, in pounds

ivan rodriguez planetary resources mothers day gift ideas natalee holloway scotty mccreery megan fox pregnant metta world peace suspension

Rome Mayor delivers his first State of the City Address

Some community members and leaders gathered at the historic train station tonight in Rome for Mayor Joseph Fusco's 2012 and first State of the City Address.

Mayor Fusco talked about many initiatives and projects he says he's looking forward to make happen during his term.

He stressed the importance of fiscal responsibility to help keep the City of Rome financially fit. Mayor Fusco says it all comes down to making smart decisions like buying new or used equipment.

He also says it's important to focus on efficiency and collaboration among various departments to get work done.

And as many people packed the train station to listen to what Mayor Fusco had to say, the Mayor is asking the community to step up and be involved.

"If we are looking for volunteers we are showing that people have done it by example and myself I have been involved in many projects and continue to be involved in Relay for Life and Canal Fest. If I expect people to step up to the plate I will have to do so and continue to do so. I have to set a good example," said Mayor Fusco.

Mayor Fusco closed his address by saying "many hands make light work."

He says he wants feedback from the community and is willing to make changes at grassroots levels.

The Mayor also touched upon public safety and economic growth saying, obviously, bringing jobs and other opportunities are key to that growth.

x factor winner footlocker julia gillard julia gillard pecan pie the hobbit trailer red velvet cake recipe

Australopithecus Sediba Preferred Forest Foods, Fossil Teeth Suggest

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Australopithecus sediba apparently lived on a diet of leaves, fruits, wood and bark, scientists report, while other hominins in Africa mainly consumed grasses.

kim mulkey sarah palin today show dallas tornado video 1940 census instagram for android dallas news dallas fort worth

Spain, Russia?charged for?fans' racist abuse

By GRAHAM DUNBAR

Associated Press Sports

updated 1:35 p.m. ET June 26, 2012

KIEV, Ukraine (AP) -UEFA charged the Spanish and Russian football associations on Tuesday for racist chants by fans at the European Championship, and fined Croatia after its fans displayed racist banners.

The charges follow reports that monkey noises were directed by Spain fans at Italy forward Mario Balotelli, and that Russian fans targeted Czech Republic defender Theodor Gebre Selassie. Both players are black.

UEFA said it opened disciplinary cases for "improper conduct of their supporters (racist behavior, racist chanting)."

The European football body said its disciplinary panel will deal with the cases Thursday.

Spain and Russia will likely receive financial penalties if the cases are proven.

Russia has already been fined ?185,000 ($230,000) after being charged by UEFA over its fans' conduct at all three of its group-stage matches in Poland.

UEFA also threatened Russia with a six-point deduction in its 2016 European Championship qualifying group after some of its fans attacked stadium stewards in Wroclaw following the Czech match on June 8. UEFA has said the deduction would be enforced if fans repeated their violent behavior. The Russian FA has appealed that sanction.

In the first proven case of racist abuse at Euro 2012, UEFA fined the Croatia football association ?80,000 ($100,000) for a range of charges including insults directed at Balotelli.

Discrimination monitors appointed by UEFA reported that around 300 Croatia supporters made monkey noises at the Italy forward during a June 14 match in Poznan.

Also Tuesday, UEFA fined Croatia ?30,000 ($37,400) after fans displayed "racist banners and symbols" at a June 18 match against Spain in Gdansk. The charges also related to fans who threw fireworks.

A Spanish fans' group previously reported that some Spain followers made monkey noises at Balotelli during a June 10 match in Gdansk. The group, affiliated to the Football Supporters Europe network, said other Spanish fans intervened urging the offenders to stop.

Gebre Selassie acknowledged that he was racially abused by Russians during the opening group match but declined to file a complaint.

UEFA received reports from monitors supplied by FARE, a Europe-wide fans' network, and later asked Czech team officials to help provide evidence which could be used to prosecute the case.

Russian fans displayed "illicit" imperialist flags and set off fireworks at each match, while a fan carrying a national flag aloft ran across the pitch after the match against Poland in Warsaw on June 12.

UEFA pledged a zero-tolerance policy toward combatting racism and discrimination inside Euro 2012 stadiums.

Russia was heavily favored to advance from Group A but was eliminated as the Czechs and Greece reached the quarterfinals.

On Monday, Russia FA president Sergei Fursenko announced his resignation during a televised meeting with state President Vladimir Putin.

In a second published verdict Tuesday, UEFA fined the Portuguese association ?7,000 ($8,750) because a supporter tried to invade the pitch during the quarterfinal victory against the Czechs in Warsaw last Thursday.

? 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

advertisement

More newsAnne-Christine Poujoulat / AFP - Getty Images

Portugal has puncher's chance

PST: If Cristiano Ronaldo can convert when Portugal gets a rare chance, they could upset Spain, while Germany is better and should beat Italy in the other semi.

mary j blige burger king islands joe flacco 2013 nissan altima masters par 3 contest google augmented reality glasses wonderlic test

What you need to know about Autism Spectrum Disorder ? FAQs

What is Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) is a disability that causes a hindrance to the patient?s mental development. This is usually manifested by difficulties interacting socially and by delayed faculty developments. Autism can manifest as early as age three.

What are the different types of Autism?
?There are five types of Autism Spectrum Disorder namely:
Asperger?s syndrome ? This is the mildest form of autism disorder. This is characterized by severe obsession about a single object or topic. When they become obsessive about it, they will try to study everything related to that object and they will not stop discussing it for a long time. Males are more likely to be affected by this syndrome.

Rett syndrome ? It is a neurodevelopmental disorder in the brain that affects not only the social skills of the person but also his physical traits.

This is characterized as having small hands and feet, decreased rate of growth and repeated body movements. People who are affected by this syndrome have no verbal skills.

Pervasive developmental disorder ? This Autism Spectrum disorder is the middle ground between those diagnosed with Asperger?s syndrome and Autistic disorder. It means that the person affected is not as good as a person with Asperger?s syndrome but not as bad a person diagnosed with Autistic disorder.

Childhood disintegrative disorder ? This disorder is very rare. It is characterized by normal to stopped development. A person with childhood disintegrative disorder develops on a normal pace at early age and stops at one point.

An abrupt stop in the development makes them lose most areas of function.

Autistic disorder ? This includes mental retardation and seizures. People with autistic disorder shows signs of repetitive movements and language malfunction.

What causes Autism Spectrum Disorder?

Some types of Autism Spectrum Disorder are considered as ?idiopathic? or originating from an unknown cause. Though a lot of factors relates to autism such as genes, vaccines and parenting, they are just correlation which does not actually pinpoint a cause.

Can Autism be passed on?

Though genetic play a big part in autism disorders, there no scientific proof to validate that claim. However, it is safe to assume that greater risks of Autism Spectrum Disorders can be expected from families with such history.

Does poor nutrition affect Autism?

Yes, poor nutrition definitely affects Autism. However, the same can be said about healthy people. Nutrition affects all aspects of health, whether you are in peak form or not. But poor nutrition does not cause autism.

What are the treatments available for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder?

1. ?Behavioral training ? This type of training induces self help and positive reinforcements. This training includes Special Education and sensory integration.

2. ?Different therapies ? Depending on the type of Autism Spectrum Disorder, the person affected may be needing physical, speech and occupational therapy. It targets different function areas to work properly.

3. ?Parental Support and training ? This is particularly important when it comes to treating Autism disorders. Parents need to employ special care to make their child feel understood and cared for.

4. ?Medicines ? This is used to tone down some symptoms of autism like stress, anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorders.

WWE Fathers Day Quotes Stevie J mothers day 2012 cinco de mayo osama bin laden death spinal muscular atrophy

The Google Nexus Tablet: The Top 6 Must-Have Features

Google I/O is nearly upon us, and all signs point to Google revealing a tablet later today. The device leaked and then over the last few hours several high-level sources confirmed the device's existence. It's likely a low-end, 7-inch tablet powered by Google's latest mobile operating system, Jelly Bean. Try as they might, Google has yet to deliver an answer to the iPad. Most Honeycomb and Ice Cream Sandwich tablets were flops, and it's devices like the Kindle Fire and Nook Tablet that have managed to make an impact though they hide their Android underpinnings beneath custom user interfaces. Apple is dominating in the tablet wars and with Microsoft officially throwing down with the high-priced Surface, the Google Nexus Tablet must be a success.

brandon jacobs brandon jacobs brian dawkins askew emma roberts north korea news north korea news

How To Find The Right Donor-Advised Fund (And Why ...

Donor-advised funds have long been a popular vehicle for charitable giving, and many in the field expect the popularity of DAFs to continue to grow as the Baby Boom generation reaches retirement. ?But as the concept has grown in popularity, so have the number of options and providers. It is therefore important that both donors and their advisors understand the types of funds available and choose the ones that will best facilitate their wealth management and charitable goals. So how do you find the best donor-advised fund for your purpose and how do you find the right provider?

The first step is understanding your options. ?There are four major types of DAF providers, each of which is explored below.

The Donor-Advised Fund Marketplace?

1. ?National DAF Organizations -?Today there are approximately 30 national organizations that sponsor DAFs. Some are the charitable arm of for-profit financial services institutions such as the Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, the Schwab Charitable, and the Vanguard Charitable Endowment Program. Others are independent sponsoring organizations (i.e., they are not affiliated with a particular financial institution or charity) such as the National Philanthropic Trust and the American Endowment Foundation. Unlike most DAF options, national organizations are issue and geography agnostic, which is fine if a donor is set on where his/her funds will go, but can be a huge deterrent to those donors who could benefit from targeted philanthropic advice.

National funds most often appeal to donors because of their technological capabilities. Their websites allow donors to simply login and access grant activities and other national databases with relevant information about prospective grantee organizations (i.e. Guidestar and Charity Navigator).

National funds also provide fee calculators on their websites so that donors know exactly how much services will cost. The relative low cost of national funds is another reason donors choose them. Because of their large capacities, national funds charge up to 40% less than other DAF options, according to Wright-Violich, representative of Schwab Charitable.

National funds are also attractive to donors because they have the expertise to deal with complex gifts and they have the most sophisticated investment options. Donors with large accounts ($10 million+) have access to alternative investments, allowing them to customize their investment choices so that their DAFs have similar investment flexibility to private foundations.

2. ?Community Foundations ? There are also more than 700 community foundations that sponsor donor-advised funds, as well as hundreds of faith-based institutions. In fact, it was such institutions that originally pioneered the DAF as an alternative to the relative inefficiency of checkbook giving or the more complicated process of establishing a private foundation. ?Over the years these organizations have become very technically savvy, with many offering similar online access and investment options as the national DAFs.

What really sets community foundations apart, however, is the local expertise and community commitment. ?These foundations become very involved in their local nonprofit sector, thereby giving their donors access to extremely beneficial information on how use their funds to make an impact in their local community. ?Many community foundations even have a grant process where local nonprofits can submit grant requests that are compliled into a ?catalogue? of opportunities for donors. ?For donors interested in impacting their local community, this is by far the best option, even if the cost is a bit higher than national DAFs. ?This does not, however, mean all donations must go to the local community. ?Donors still have the flexibility to donate anywhere in the world.

3. ?Public Foundations ? Public foundations typically give nationally and sometimes internationally, often focusing on a particular issue or geographic region. Their staff members usually have regional and/or issue specific expertise that they use to assist DAF holders in finding causes that interest them. For example, the Peace Development Fund houses DAFs for donors interested in creating systemic social change throughout the Americas.

4. ?Other Charities ? Other public charities, like hospitals and universities, set up donor-advised funds within their organizations to advance their own charitable missions.

Finding The Right Donor-Advised Fund Provider

When selecting a DAF provider, with a little due diligence donors can ensure that the organization they select is one that reflects their interests and values. After all, there are almost as many different types of DAFs as there are donors.

The main reason donor-advised funds were designed was to remove the barriers to giving, by outsourcing the administration, record keeping, and due diligence on the charities. ?If you know what parts of the charitable process you want to control, what parts you want to outsource, and what you want the outcome to be, you will have the information you need to make the right choice.

Related articles

Like this:

Be the first to like this.

real housewives of orange county bloom energy franklin graham jambalaya taylor swift and zac efron basketball wives manny ramirez

Colorado wildfires worsen, 32,000 flee homes

COLORADO SPRINGS (Reuters) - A wildfire raging near some of Colorado's most popular tourist sites worsened on Tuesday, forcing 32,000 people from their homes, prompting evacuations from the U.S. Air Force Academy and swallowing numerous houses at the edge of Colorado Springs.

From the vantage point of a command post about 10 miles from the path of advancing flames, the entire community of Mountain Shadows, a northwest subdivision, appeared to be enveloped in an orange glow after dark.

"This is a fire of epic proportions," Colorado Springs Fire Chief Rich Brown said as ash drifted down on the city and the thick smell of smoke permeated the air.

Colorado Governor John Hickenlooper flew into the city Tuesday night by helicopter to meet with fire commanders and tour the fire zone first-hand. He noted that the blaze was one of at least a dozen wildfires burning throughout the state.

"This is the worst fire season in the history of Colorado," he said during an impromptu news conference, adding that from the air he saw many homes destroyed in a glowing landscape that looked "surreal."

The Waldo Canyon Fire, which has roared through at least 6,200 acres of dry timber since Saturday, has grabbed attention for days because of its proximity to landmarks like the famed mountaintop of Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy.

The blaze claimed its first property losses on Tuesday as wind-driven flames swept over containment lines into Colorado's second-most populous city, consuming an unknown number of homes on the town's outskirts as authorities hurried to evacuate residents.

El Paso County Sheriff Terry Maketa said 32,000 people had been evacuated, and an Air Force Academy spokesman said the evacuation zone included two communities of single-family homes on academy grounds housing civilian and military personnel and their families.

"We are in a very critical situation now. Unfortunately we do have structures and homes that are burning in the northwest corner of Colorado Springs. We have mandatory evacuation over a considerable area," fire information officer Rob Deyerberg told Reuters.

A mushroom cloud of gray, black and brown smoke, topped by billowing, white cumulus clouds, rose nearly 20,000 feet into the sky and hung over the area as residents scrambled to heed evacuation orders.

The sudden closure of service stations along with other businesses, leaving fleeing motorists unable to fill up their cars, added to a sense of urgency as roads filled with traffic.

Closer to the blaze, which has been fanned by winds blowing into the southern Rockies from the prairies to the east, trees were visibly twisting from the heat of the flames.

"It's a very hostile environment out there," fire information officer Anne Rys-Sikora said.

Asked how quickly the fire was spreading after the latest flare-up on Tuesday afternoon, incident commander Rich Harvey said, "If I gave acreage right now, it would be wrong in five minutes. It's growing."

DEATH IN UTAH

Still, the Waldo Canyon Fire, burning primarily within the Pike National Forest on the western fringe of Colorado City, was dwarfed in size by wildfires elsewhere across the state, and by a fatal blaze that flared with renewed intensity in Utah.

Authorities said on Tuesday a body was found in the ashes the fast-moving Wood Hollow Fire about 100 miles south of Salt Lake City, marking the first fatality in a blaze that has scorched over 39,000 acres of rolling hills covered by parched cheat grass and sagebrush.

Flames fanned by high winds into a second county forced the closure of Utah's state Route 89 for a second time and prompted the evacuation of the entire town Fairview, a community of more than 1,200 residents according to the latest census, state emergency managers said.

The blaze already has leveled an estimated 30 homes and killed 75 sheep, authorities said.

The Wood Hollow Fire is believed to be one of just two western wildfires that have claimed lives in recent weeks.

The other is the High Park Fire near Fort Collins, Colorado, south of Denver, which now ranks as that state's second-largest blaze on record and its most destructive ever, having consumed 87,250 acres in steep mountain canyons since it was sparked by lightning two weeks ago.

The High Park has destroyed 248 homes and killed a 62-year-old grandmother, whose body was found in the ashes of her cabin, while leaving an estimated 4,300 residents displaced by evacuations.

Colorado accounts for several of the 29 large active wildfires being fought across the country on Tuesday. The bulk of them were in seven western states -- Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Montana, New Mexico, Arizona and California, the National Interagency Fire Center in Boise, Idaho, reported.

Although federal authorities say the fire season got off to an early start this summer in parts of the northern Rockies, the number of fires and acreage burned nationwide is still below the 10-year average for this time of year, according to fire agency records.

(Additional reporting by Ellen Miller in Grand Junction, and Jennifer Dobner in Salt Lake City; Editing by Cynthia Johnston, Eric Walsh and Lisa Shumaker)

live with regis and kelly heavy d funeral christopher walken ok state ok state kurt budke regis philbin

Panic as cops kill cops at Mexico City airport

Travelers run for cover as federal officers are killed by cops suspected of drug trafficking. Msnbc.com's Dara Brown reports.

By msnbc.com news services

MEXICO CITY -- Three policemen died in a shootout with two other officers suspected of drug trafficking at Mexico City's airport on Monday, as panicked travelers scrambled for cover in the busy facility.

The shootout occurred when three federal officers approached the two suspects in the airport's Terminal 2, which handles international and domestic flights. Two agents were killed at the terminal and another later died of his injuries in hospital.

---

More than a dozen shots were heard, Milenio Television reported. Television footage showed a body lying on the floor of the terminal in what appeared to be a publicly accessible area of the airport.

Three shots rang out at first, witness Israel Lopez, a 23-year-old Mexico City student who had gone to the airport to see off a friend, told The Associated Press. Lopez didn't see who those shots were directed at, but then the gunfire came closer.

Alfredo Estrella / AFP - Getty Images

Federal Police officers stand guard at an entrance near the fast-food area of Benito Juarez international airport Terminal 2, in Mexico City, where two police officers were shot dead and a third was wounded on Monday. Airport spokesman Jorge Andres Gomez said authorities are going through the security cameras to know the exact events of the shooting.

"We were in the food court, and some policemen came in and started shooting at another policeman who was on the floor," Lopez told the AP. "We dove to the floor and covered ourselves with chairs."

Lopez said the shooters wore blue uniforms like those of federal police who provide security at the airport. He said the shooters then ran to the parking area "as if they were pursuing somebody," and he lost sight of them.

'One of the safest places'
Robert Gray, an evangelical missionary from Hart, Michigan, but who has lived with his family in the city of Puebla for the past four years, arrived at the airport after the shooting with his wife, two daughters and son to catch a flight back to the U.S. to visit family.

"It's surprising to see it happening at the airport. It's one of the safest places in the city," Gray told the AP.

The suspects, who remain at large, are believed to be part of a larger group of officials involved in a cocaine ring, Mexico's security ministry said in a statement.

"The Federal Police has identified the two officers who opened fire and several investigative units are now focused on capturing them," the federal Public Safety Department said in a statement.

14 mutilated corpses, threat message to drug cartel found in Mexican city

Airport spokesman Jorge Gomez told Milenio that aircraft departures and arrivals continued normally after the incident.

The airport said in a press statement that the terminal and flights were operating normally following what it described as "a dispute in an open-access area." But the food court remained blocked to public access for hours after the shooting.

Mexico's drug war is also part of a drug culture with roots in music, movies and even religion

Mexico City has seen relatively low murder rates compared to the rest of the country, where drug violence has killed around 55,000 people in the past five-and-a-half years.

Severed heads
But attacks have been creeping up in the capital and its surrounding neighborhoods, with more than 300 gangland killings recorded last year.

Mexico's airports and ports are busy areas for drug smugglers. So far this year federal police have seized more than 440 pounds of cocaine at the capital's airport, double the amount taken there last year.

Alfredo Estrella / AFP - Getty Images

A passenger speaks on her cellphone at Benito Juarez international airport Terminal 2, in Mexico City, where two police officers were shot dead and a third was wounded on Monday.

In 2007, the severed heads of three employees of a customs brokerage firm were found near the airport and in the nearby state of Mexico.

The decapitations were apparently retaliation for the seizure of a half-ton of Colombian cocaine at the airport, officials said at the time.

Mexico got wrong man in high-profile drug arrest?

In 2008, federal police chief Edgar Millan was gunned down inside his Mexico City home, and one of the suspects in that killing had worked as an anti-drug officer at the Mexico City airport.

The suspect had a notebook with detailed information on drug trafficking at the airport, and officials said federal investigations into those operations may have been a key motive for Millan's killing.

Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

More world news from msnbc.com and NBC News:

Follow us on Twitter: @msnbc_world

?

WWE Fathers Day Quotes Stevie J mothers day 2012 cinco de mayo osama bin laden death spinal muscular atrophy

'Shame' punishments like ponytail cutting increase

In this June 6, 2012, photo, Valerie Bruno holds a photo of her three daughters as she poses for a photo outside the Carbon County Court Complex in Price, Utah. Bruno said she has filed a complaint with the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission against 7th District Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen for telling her to cut off her daughter's ponytail in court to reduce the 13-year-old's required community service at the May 2012 hearing. (AP Photo/The Deseret News, Geoff Liesik)

In this June 6, 2012, photo, Valerie Bruno holds a photo of her three daughters as she poses for a photo outside the Carbon County Court Complex in Price, Utah. Bruno said she has filed a complaint with the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission against 7th District Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen for telling her to cut off her daughter's ponytail in court to reduce the 13-year-old's required community service at the May 2012 hearing. (AP Photo/The Deseret News, Geoff Liesik)

This photo provided by the Utah State Courts via The Deseret News shows 7th District Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen. Judge Johansen agreed to cut back community service time for a 13-year-old girl went to court for cutting a 3-year-old girl's hair into a bob if the mother of the teen chopped off her daughter's ponytail in court. The mother has since filed a formal complaint, saying the judge at the May 2012 hearing intimidated her into the eye-for-an-eye penalty. (AP Photo/Utah State Courts via The Deseret News)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) ? Unconventional sentences that shame defendants ? such as walking through town with a humiliating sign or sleeping in a doghouse rather than in a jail ? appear to be steadily increasing.

And this disturbing trend, according to one legal scholar, is turning state courts into circus shows.

The most recent example occurred in Utah when a 13-year-old girl went to court for cutting a 3-year-old girl's hair into a bob with dollar-store scissors, said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University.

"These are punishments that often appeal to the public and bring a type of instant gratification for the court," he said.

The teen and her 11-year-old friend were referred to court for the March incident involving the toddler and for harassing another girl in Colorado by telephone.

The judge agreed to cut back community service time if the mother of the teen chopped off her daughter's ponytail in court.

The mother has since filed a formal complaint, saying the judge at the May hearing intimidated her into the eye-for-an-eye penalty.

"I fail to see how the court reducing itself to the level of a 13-year-old teaches a moral let alone legal lesson," Turley said. "The court was doing precisely what the 13-year-old did to a child."

Turley, who has written extensively on how shaming undermines justice, said the sentence conveys the wrong message.

"The use of arbitrary and capricious authority is not what this girl needs to learn. The court is showing her he can do to her what she did to other people," Turley said.

KSL-TV initially reported the story after the teen's mother, Valerie Bruno, of Price, Utah, obtained audio of the juvenile court hearing and shared it with the reporter.

Bruno said she has filed a formal complaint against 7th District Juvenile Judge Scott Johansen with the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission.

The commission said it is barred from commenting on whether a complaint has been filed. It only becomes public if disciplinary action is taken against a judge.

Under state law, judges are given discretion in coming up with sanctions for youth that will change their behavior in a positive way.

Bruno told the Deseret News that she felt intimidated into following through with the judge's suggestion. The 11-year-old also was ordered to get her hair cut short but was allowed to go to a salon.

Bruno was put on the spot in court and ordered to cut her daughter's hair all the way "to the rubber band" after the victim's mother said Bruno had not sliced far enough.

Mindy Moss, mother of the toddler, told The Salt Lake Tribune she originally called police about the malicious haircut because she feared the girls' behavior could become more serious.

The older girls had apparently befriended the toddler while playing at a McDonald's, then used a pair of scissors purchased from a nearby dollar store to cut off several inches of her hair. KSL said surveillance video at the McDonald's helped identify the 13-year-old. She was ordered to serve 30 days in detention and to perform 276 hours of community service ? which Johansen said he would reduce by 150 hours if the ponytail was cut in his courtroom.

"Not to make excuses for the girl but ... feeling intimidated by the court is a very common response," Turley said of the mother's complaint. "Many feel they are not in position to refuse these types of demands."

He said shame sentences also occur in adult courts and have judges "acting like little Caesars."

In a 2009 column for USA Today, Turley cited an abusive father in Texas given a choice of spending 30 days in jail or 30 nights sleeping in a doghouse. He chose the doghouse to be able to keep his job.

In an Ohio case, a municipal judge sentenced two teens found guilty of breaking into a church on Christmas Eve to march through town with a donkey and a sign reading, "Sorry for the Jackass Offense." The same judge later ordered a woman to be taken to a remote location to sleep outside for abandoning kittens in parks.

Turley said Texas Judge Ted Poe made people shovel manure to degrade them. Poe parlayed his "poetic justice" into a congressional seat, while Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio has faced complaints over orders that male inmates wear pink underwear.

"To some extent, we've seen the merging of law and entertainment in the last 10 years," Turley said, noting that citizens are being given a steady diet with television programs such as Judge Judy and Judge Brown.

He said he has seen no evidence that shame sentences have any more impact than conventional ones and thought society had "turned back the door" on such primitive sentences in the 18th century.

Turley said very few judges end up being disciplined.

"It's the obligation of every state bar to protect the integrity of the legal system," Turley said.

Utah state bar officials referred comment to the judicial conduct commission.

Associated Press

storage wars millionaire matchmaker millionaire matchmaker shawshank redemption 3 10 to yuma west virginia football west virginia football