The Acorn

2011-03-27T07:56:00.000-07:00

Creativity is a blessing from nature but we can develop it by careful planning through education.
This is all the more important in a democratic country like India, where we accept even the mediocres to contribute their best and create something new.
Hence, it is necessary that parents and teachers provide healthy conditions at home and the school. This would enable children to express themselves and contribute something new for the society, which may be termed as creativity.

Our suggestions

1. Freedom of Response:

Children generally respond teachers in a usual and routine manner. Parents and teachers should encourage children to respond in their own way. They may be allowed to say what they would like to say. This would lead to creativity. If there is problem in the class, let every child respond in his own way. The teacher should keep in view that every child has a contribution to make. Allow them to think in various directions and express their creativity.

2. Satisfy the ‘Ego’ of the Child:

All of us have a ‘self ego’. We want to be recognized by others. This ‘ego’ is all the more stronger during the childhood stage. We, as parents and teacher should try to provide opportunities to satisfy it.

3. Encourage Original Ideas:

If we find that a child achieved his original ideas about a particular aspect of life, we should encourage it. Constant submission to facts suppresses the opportunity of the child. It has been correctly said, ‘Uniformity is the enemy of originality’.

4. Remove Hesitation and Fear:

Children are generally kept under strict control. They fear their parents and hesitate in speaking their mind. This kills the initiative of the child. Originality is only possible when we give enough freedom and space to children to express their own views.

5. Provide Suitable Atmosphere:

The watchwords for the provision of this type of atmosphere are: Sympathy, liberty, and the proper provision of co-curricular activities in the school.

6. Development Special Habits:

Children require special habits to be creative. These habits are hard work, persistent effort, self reliance and self confidence. We should encourage children to develop these habits. We can then expect any thing that is creative from them.

7. Let the Children Meet Creativity:

Every community has centers where creativity can be seen easily. We may organize excursions to centers of art, art galleries, museums, and places of artistic excellence. Thus the children will come in contact with creativity and get an inspiration to create something new.

8. Avoid the Stumbling Block to Creativity:

Certain factors like conservative outlook, an unsympathetic attitude towards children, fixed and rigid habits of works, unnecessary anxiety, over emphasis over school works, authoritarian attitude of teacher, etc. are some of the stumbling blocks in the path of creativity. We should try to avoid these stumbling blocks as far as possible.

9. Reorganize the Curriculum:

Certain principles should be kept in view while reorganizing the curriculum. These are:
a) The Curriculum should be a child-centered
b) The Curriculum should highlighted ideal concepts then facts
c) It should highlight that children have the capacity to find out truth and discover things.
d) It should reduce the importance of annual examination.
e) It should allow the child to do something in the academic field freely without the fear of examination.

10. Reform the Evolution System:

Much has been said about the reforms in the system of evaluation. We can say that the child’s progress should be judged for what he dose during the entire year and not on the basis of his achievement in the annual examination. The day to day progress of the child should be properly assessed and entered in the cumulative card. Any other observation showing the creativity of the child should be clearly indicated in the card.

11. The use of some Special Techniques:

Mention may be made for special psychological techniques to find out the creativity of the child.
These are:

a) Brain Storming:

It implies storming the brain of the child with new ideas and nothing down the reactions and techniques of solving them as suggested by the child. This reaction takes place in the classroom where every child gets an opportunity to express his ideas. When the reactions of the entire class are noted down, a free discussion follows. Common suggestion are weaned out and these lead creativity.

b) Using of Teaching Models:

Certain teaching models suggested by psychologists are of immense value form locating the creativity of the child. Mention may be made of such two models:
i)

Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model

and
ii)

Suchman Inquiry Training Model.

c) Use of the gaming technique: Children like pay. We should like to find out their creative talent through games. We may organize games of this type in the class. Some examples of such games are
1. Name all the square things you can think of.
2. Name the new type of programs you will like to have on T.V.
3.Tell all the aspect in which a cat and a dog are alike.
4. What will do if you get oil paints and a brush, etc.
They may also be given some materials like. They may also be asked to play with wooden cubes and construct some new and novel designs. They may be asked to color a picture, etc.

12. Self Example is Better than Precept:

Parents and teacher may keep in view that if they want their children to create something new they themselves should be devoted persons and put forward an example before their children in the field of creativity.

The Diversity Within Charter Schools

2011-03-27T07:54:00.000-07:00

Whether you’re just starting the charter school research, or already have an impression of what charter schools are like - the facts say for themselves: most students from New york charter school receive financial help. The grants are also financed for schools in Michigan and are given to students in Ohio charter schools.
More than a quarter of all students from North Carolina charter schools are international. Charter schools are considered to be much more diverse than public schools. The first ones seek the vital diversity and draw from many geographic areas, whereas local schooling options are dependent on neighborhood living patterns. They search for that mutual understanding, where populations tend to concentrate along ethnic or socio-economic lines.
Charter schools create more meaningful opportunities for different students in many aspects. One of them is to interact with one another. Students communicate in classrooms or playing fields. Wherever you are, you will always be surrounded by a diverse community that you will inevitably get to know throughout the year.

importance of instructional objectives in teaching, learning and evaluation?

2011-03-27T07:52:00.001-07:00

The aim of education is to transfer knowledge to students through mediums of instruction. In India, it is mostly done via the lecture method where a teacher delivers lecture in the classroom and students follow him. Without debating on the methodologies of instruction, we can say that a without a clear objective, the system of teaching-learning and evaluation process won’t succeed as instructional objectives are part of the whole systematic instructional process. Before organizing any activity, one must know where exactly that would lead and incase of instructional objectives where would it take students.
There are two types of objectives in educational process- i) instructional objectives and ii) behavioral objectives.
When the teacher selects the course, subject matter, materials and resources, methodology and activities that takes the teacher and students at a measurable level of achievement it is known as instructional objective. To succeed, the instructional objectives require skills and personality development through tangible, concrete ways in a classroom situation.
Importance of Instructional Objectives:
Instructional objectives are of immense significance in today’s education process. They provide organizers of the process with the opportunity to delve into learners mind and know where they are heading. Instructional objectives provide teachers the opportunity to design proper assessment procedure through tests and evaluation. Students know what they are supposed to do, use before or after a particular class. Instructional objectives also help trace the amount of change that has been brought about in a student. It gives a definite direction to the whole teaching-learning and evaluation process of a particular class in classroom situations. It also helps both the teacher as well as students in determining particular educational goals and enables them to focus their attention on specific learning activities to achieve those goals. Through instructional objectives – the organizers of educational process can determine the resources, course materials, curricular and co-curricular activities, relevant contents and references etc. which are so vital to make the process functional.
Instructional objectives also lead the teacher into discovering the best learning situations, strength and weaknesses of the prevalent learning process, level of growth and development of learners through a pre-determined evaluation process. In short, instructional objectives help in monitoring and evaluating the whole educational process in minute details.

Online Education Blog Education Online | Resource Guide & Information For Teachers And K-12 Students Subscribe to RSS feed CNA North Carolina Training: Guide to CNA NC Programs We can see that there is a huge increase of medical services because of outgrowing population in country. An urgent need regarding medical personnel has aroused among different hospitals and long term facilities to serve the needs of the people. In fact, in North Carolina (NC), there are lots of jobs for certified nursing assistants (CNAs). A certified nursing assistant is a person, who takes care of the patients in hospitals and clinics under the strict supervision of Registered Nurse. If we talk about NC CNA jobs, there are various openings in the hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, military areas and other long term hospitals. The students willing to become certified nursing assistant should apply for a course in the CNA school of North Carolina. The CNA program offered by the school should be approved by North Carolina Board of Nursing. The course of the CNA program covers the essential duties a certified nursing aide has to serve taking care of the patients. After the course, the students have to go for training in a hospital, clinic or nursing home in North Carolina. Thereafter, on completing the course and training, the students become eligible for the competency examination held by the North Carolina State. The exam has two parts, written and performance tests. On successfully passing the examination, the students are awarded certificate of nursing aide and their names are included in nurse registry of North Carolina. The average annual salary a certified nursing aide can earn in North Carolina is around $30000. It can be seen that there are various opportunities for certified nursing assistants in North Carolina with a handsome CNA salary package. I am Jeniffer, i love creating blogs and e-commerce sites. .right now i am focusing on one of my CNA Exam which i created last year and would request visitors to go through my website once and suggest me if anything which can improve my readers January 25th, 2011 | Posted in Nursing, Vocational Training | 1 Comment Top 5 Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language Over the past years, English has become a global language. With some 380 million native speakers, it is currently the most widely spoken and written language in the world. However, this doesn’t mean that English is the only language that must be learnt by people who want to make their life easier, and transform it into a great experience. I say this whilst bearing in mind the statement of American President, Obama- that he is embarrassed by the fact that he doesn´t speak a foreign language. English is his native language, but in the 21st century, speaking just this language isn´t enough anymore.Foreign Language So, if someone’s ever said to you that learning another language is a waste of time and it´s unrewarding, you should know that the person telling you this did to you a great disservice. You should take advantage and learn a language as long as you´re still young…Here are five reasons to convince you of the importance of foreign language learning. 1. To increase your employment potential Knowing languages will open up employment opportunities that you wouldn´t have had otherwise. Most companies nowadays are multinational and international companies who do business abroad. Therefore, they need bilingual or even multilingual employees. In fact, all sectors demand people with foreign language skills, and having these kind of skills will certainly give you an edge over monolingual people, who are competing for the same job as you do. 2. To enhance your travel experiences I’m not saying that it’s impossible to travel to foreign countries without speaking their native language. Just that by speaking the language spoken in the country you travel to, you can get the most out of your experience. When you know the language, you don´t feel embarrassed anymore, and are able to communicate and participate in their daily lives and to understand their cultures by surpassing the language barrier. Moreover, people are much more receptive if they see you making an effort to speak their language, and that can only turn your experience into the trip of your life. Nowadays there are many possibilities to combine traveling with learning a language. For example, there are many language schools spain that offer the possibility to learn Spanish and they organise sightseeing trips throughout the country. 3. To improve your chances of studying at a great college or University The majority of universities believe that knowing a foreign language (and, of course, a bit about its culture) is a requirement for admission, so they ask for language diplomas or they give you exams to test your knowledge. Most educational institutions require you to have studied a foreign language for at least 2 years, as this is a part of what every educated person should know. 4. To make friends By learning other languages you can communicate with a great number of people. Through meeting foreign students while studying abroad or through establishing a connection with a pen-pal, you connect to another world, to other traditions and cultures, and you become friends of these people, in one way or another. 5. For your personal satisfaction Any process that requires all your effort and hard work will at the end bring you a lot of joy and a feeling of having achieved something. Learning a foreign language isn´t easy at all, you´ll have a lot of small issues and problems to tackle along the way, you´ll have to focus on spelling, grammar, reading, and so forth, but at the end, you will be pleased and proud of yourself as learning a foreign language is one of the highest intellectual goals that one could have, and you have achieved it. Are you still thinking of learning a foreign language? What are you waiting for? Do it! September 30th, 2010 | Posted in Articles, Career Guide, Language Education | 1 Comment Practice Test to Evaluate Your CNA Exam Preparation

2011-03-27T07:51:00.000-07:00

If you are looking for the best ever job opportunities then, CNA training and passing of cna certification test can avail you quickest employment. The Certification requires clearing of Federal and state specified Certified Nursing Aide Evaluation Test. Once the student pass out the Evaluation Test, he/she can find jobs in different health care centers, long term care centers, hospitals, nursing homes, adult care units etc.
It is generally found that nursing aide students tend to get nervous during CNA Competency Evaluation Test and achieve results, which are below their competency level. The reasons which lead to their actions are their poor knowledge of cna exam practice test questions and their lack of understandings about the different way, how they can prepare themselves for such tests.
A CNA student, who is keen to tender compassionate, nursing care to the sick people, must undertake Practice Test to review their readiness for the CNA exam and various types of questions usually asked during the Certification test. The Practice Test is also the way to enhance the confidence level, which is necessary for the Competency Test. A student must also know that appearing for the Practice Test also inform them about the situations they tend to face during the actual state and federal approved CNA Exam.
To sit and appear for the Practice Test, a CNA student is needed CNA training of 75 hours, which includes classroom theory learning and clinical trainings, which are duly approved by state and federal agencies. But, it is also essential to remember that, different states have their own training program duration and their completion varies from 75 hours to 15o hours, as per specific state requirements.
There are online sites, which offer Practice Test to CNA students and they are required to respond to the questions based on their CNA training programs. The Practice Test questions, which are asked are also alike to the questions given to the students during CAN Exam.
If you are also willing to evaluate your test skills by sitting for the Practice Test, you can find Test Hand Book from NNAAP website. For any additional information, you can get in touch with your State Board of Nursing and Nurse Aide Registry.

Top 5 Reasons to Learn a Foreign Language

2011-03-27T07:50:00.000-07:00

Over the past years, English has become a global language. With some 380 million native speakers, it is currently the most widely spoken and written language in the world. However, this doesn’t mean that English is the only language that must be learnt by people who want to make their life easier, and transform it into a great experience. I say this whilst bearing in mind the statement of American President, Obama- that he is embarrassed by the fact that he doesn´t speak a foreign language. English is his native language, but in the 21st century, speaking just this language isn´t enough anymore.
So, if someone’s ever said to you that learning another language is a waste of time and it´s unrewarding, you should know that the person telling you this did to you a great disservice. You should take advantage and learn a language as long as you´re still young…Here are five reasons to convince you of the importance of foreign language learning.
1. To increase your employment potential
Knowing languages will open up employment opportunities that you wouldn´t have had otherwise. Most companies nowadays are multinational and international companies who do business abroad. Therefore, they need bilingual or even multilingual employees. In fact, all sectors demand people with foreign language skills, and having these kind of skills will certainly give you an edge over monolingual people, who are competing for the same job as you do.
2. To enhance your travel experiences
I’m not saying that it’s impossible to travel to foreign countries without speaking their native language. Just that by speaking the language spoken in the country you travel to, you can get the most out of your experience. When you know the language, you don´t feel embarrassed anymore, and are able to communicate and participate in their daily lives and to understand their cultures by surpassing the language barrier. Moreover, people are much more receptive if they see you making an effort to speak their language, and that can only turn your experience into the trip of your life. Nowadays there are many possibilities to combine traveling with learning a language. For example, there are many language schools spain that offer the possibility to learn Spanish and they organise sightseeing trips throughout the country.
3. To improve your chances of studying at a great college or University
The majority of universities believe that knowing a foreign language (and, of course, a bit about its culture) is a requirement for admission, so they ask for language diplomas or they give you exams to test your knowledge. Most educational institutions require you to have studied a foreign language for at least 2 years, as this is a part of what every educated person should know.
4. To make friends
By learning other languages you can communicate with a great number of people. Through meeting foreign students while studying abroad or through establishing a connection with a pen-pal, you connect to another world, to other traditions and cultures, and you become friends of these people, in one way or another.
5. For your personal satisfaction
Any process that requires all your effort and hard work will at the end bring you a lot of joy and a feeling of having achieved something. Learning a foreign language isn´t easy at all, you´ll have a lot of small issues and problems to tackle along the way, you´ll have to focus on spelling, grammar, reading, and so forth, but at the end, you will be pleased and proud of yourself as learning a foreign language is one of the highest intellectual goals that one could have, and you have achieved it.
Are you still thinking of learning a foreign language? What are you waiting for? Do it!

CNA North Carolina Training: Guide to CNA NC Programs

2011-03-27T07:48:00.001-07:00

can see that there is a huge increase of medical services because of outgrowing population in country. An urgent need regarding medical personnel has aroused among different hospitals and long term facilities to serve the needs of the people. In fact, in North Carolina (NC), there are lots of jobs for certified nursing assistants (CNAs). A certified nursing assistant is a person, who takes care of the patients in hospitals and clinics under the strict supervision of Registered Nurse.
If we talk about NC CNA jobs, there are various openings in the hospitals, nursing homes, clinics, military areas and other long term hospitals. The students willing to become certified nursing assistant should apply for a course in the CNA school of North Carolina. The CNA program offered by the school should be approved by North Carolina Board of Nursing.
The course of the CNA program covers the essential duties a certified nursing aide has to serve taking care of the patients. After the course, the students have to go for training in a hospital, clinic or nursing home in North Carolina. Thereafter, on completing the course and training, the students become eligible for the competency examination held by the North Carolina State. The exam has two parts, written and performance tests.
On successfully passing the examination, the students are awarded certificate of nursing aide and their names are included in nurse registry of North Carolina. The average annual salary a certified nursing aide can earn in North Carolina is around $30000.
It can be seen that there are various opportunities for certified nursing assistants in North Carolina with a handsome CNA salary package.
I am Jeniffer, i love creating blogs and e-commerce sites. .right now i am focusing on one of my CNA Exam which i created last year and would request visitors to go through my website once and suggest me if anything which can improve my readers

Futures Fall on Ireland Debt, China Rates Concern

2010-11-26T01:54:00.001-08:00

By Edward Krudy NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. stocks index futures fell on Friday on expectations China would raise interest rates, hitting commodity prices and sending the local stock market into a tailspin. * China stocks fell 5.2 percent on Friday for their biggest percentage loss in over a year, while global commodities tumbled on speculation the central bank is about to raise interest rates to tackle inflation. For details, see * "The macro today is the thing that is going to rule," said Kim Caughey, senior equity research analyst at Fort Pitt Capital Group in Pittsburgh. "China in the past year, whenever they've raised interest rates, it has hit the market." * Resource-related stocks were likely to take the brunt of selling as crude oil CLc1 dropped almost $2 a barrel to near $86, while copper CMCU3 fell around 2 percent. In early trading, Exxon Mobil Corp XOM.N fell 1 percent, while Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold Inc FCX.N was off 2.3 percent. * S&P...

U.S. Stock Index Futures Signal Lower Open

2010-11-26T01:54:00.000-08:00

* Futures for the Dow Jones industrial average DJc1 , the S&P 500 SPc1 and the Nasdaq 100 NDc1 fell 0.8 to 1.2 percent, pointing to a sharply weaker start for equities on Wall Street on Friday. * Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers release at 1455 GMT preliminary November consumer sentiment index. Economists in a Reuters survey expect a reading of 69.0 compared with 67.7 in the final October report. * Companies announcing results on Friday include Agilent Technologies A.N , D.R. Horton DHI.N and JCPenney JCP.N . * G20 leaders drew a veil over their economic policy disputes on Friday, agreeing to tackle tensions that have raised the spectre of currency wars and giving the nod to countries that have seen huge capital inflows to impose controls. * At 1530 GMT, ECRI releases its weekly index of economic activity for Nov. 5. In the prior week the index read 123.2. * The chief executive of Wal-Mart Stores Inc's WMT.N Asia operations said...

US Online Report Business News

2010-11-26T01:53:00.002-08:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Without a boost from Washington policymakers or data showing budding strength in the economy, Wall Street's rally may be running out of fuel as the S&P 500 eases off its 2010 high. DETROIT/NEW YORK (Reuters) - China's SAIC Motor Corp Ltd <600104.SS> has reached an agreement in principle to take a stake in General Motors Co <GM.N> if Chinese regulators approve a deal to deepen an existing alliance between the two automakers, three people familiar with the matter said. DUBLIN/BERLIN (Reuters) - Ireland did not rule out the possibility that it may have to turn to Europe for help in dealing with its debt crisis on Sunday but said that no application had been made for assistance yet. MELBOURNE (Reuters) - Top global miner BHP Billiton <BHP.AX> on Monday scrapped its $39 billion bid for Canada's Potash Corp <POT.TO>, the world's biggest deal this year, and bowed to calls from investors to return cash with a $4.2 billion share...

Alibaba Reports $55 Million profit

2010-11-26T01:53:00.001-08:00

Alibaba.com Ltd. which is the largest e-commerce company in China, reported a record net profit during the quarter of July to September, as the company realized a revenue from value-added services buffered slowing subscriber growth. Further, the company warned of easing growth as China's exports may cool during the coming period. On the other hand, the company released its an income statement, where the net profit surged 55%m to 366 million yuan (55 million American dollar) during the third quarter, compared with a previous profit 236 million yuan a year earlier. The company noted that its paying members rose 29.7% year-on-year, and they rose 5.3% quarter-on-quarter during the third three months ended Sept. 30, to 750,937 member.

Weekahead – the View From Reuters Asia News Editors

2010-11-26T01:53:00.000-08:00

SINGAPORE, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Following is the view from Reuters Asia editors on the news that is likely to matter most this week: ASIA MARKETS OUTLOOK Whether it is just an opportunity to correct recent market patterns or something more deeply bearish, investors have decided that a period of avoiding risk is in order. As a result, the combination of the Group of 20 nations being unable to solve their disagreements over global imbalances and resurfacing fears about the euro zone periphery's ability to manage its debt could mean the coming week will be volatile. A lot may depend on whether European Union officials do anything to ease pressure on Ireland's finances. Markets swung around on Friday on rumours of a bailout, later denied, so the EU finance ministers meetings on Tuesday and Wednesday should get even more attention than usual. But even beyond that, the risk rally that began in May and took off in earnest in late August when...

China Wins 100 Orders for First Jetliner

2010-11-26T01:52:00.001-08:00

By Alison Leung and Tim Hepher ZHUHAI, China, Nov 16 (Reuters) - China announced a 100-plane order for its first commercial jetliner, a first step in its ambitions to challenge Airbus EAD.PA and Boeing BA.N for a slice of a global market worth $1.7 trillion. State-owned COMAC, or Commercial Aircraft Corp of China, unveiled the orders at the country's largest air show on Tuesday, ending a dearth of orders in the two years since it launched designs for the 150-seat C919. As air travel expands with a billion Chinese predicted to be flying for business and leisure early next decade, China wants to reduce its reliance on foreign planes and foster a domestic industry worthy of a country capable of putting a man in space. COMAC said the orders came from four Chinese airlines, which was no surprise given government encouragement for the project, but also the leasing arm of General Electric GE.N , which will supply the C919 engines together with France's Safran..

Five World Markets Themes Next Week

2010-11-26T01:52:00.000-08:00

LONDON (Reuters) - Following are five big themes likely to dominate thinking of investors and traders in the coming week and the Reuters stories related to them. 1/ LET'S CALL IT A YEAR Six weeks to go to year-end and there are already signs that liquidity in stressed parts of financial markets is drying up. Whether this is due to markets starting to seize up for certain assets, such as some peripheral euro zone sovereign debt, or a desire among banks and speculators to book any profits early, the result is likely to be increased volatility in the weeks ahead. Bid/offer yield spreads on Irish government bonds have widened, reflecting a lack of willing buyers other than the European Central Bank and thus feeding into record wide sovereign spreads over euro zone benchmarks. The risk is that flows will be increasingly dictated by these liquidity considerations rather than fundamental factors and moves could be exacerbated by the banks' year-end book-balancing. 2/ SELF-FULFILLING PROPHECIES Sovereign...

Finnish Finance Minister Says “Obvious”; Ireland Needs Support

2010-11-26T01:51:00.002-08:00

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Finnish Finance Minister Jyrki Katainen said on Wednesday it was "quite obvious" that Ireland would need outside financial help, but an official review of the country's financial health would be concluded in "a few days or weeks." EU finance ministers agreed on Tuesday that a joint IMF, ECB, European Commission mission would go to Ireland this week to assess the health of its state finances and banks, after mounting turmoil in Irish debt markets. "For me personally, it is difficult to believe that Ireland wouldn't need any outside financial help. The purpose of the mission is to find the right ways to restructure the financial sector and make it healthier than it is at the moment," Katainen said. "I think that it's quite obvious that some outside help is needed but we haven't decided anything concerning this yet... I think the process will be quite quick and after a few days or weeks we will know more." Katainen said the mission...

Nikkei Edges Lower After Hitting 5-Mth High on Yen

2010-11-26T01:51:00.001-08:00

By Aiko Hayashi and Chikafumi Hodo TOKYO, Nov 16 (Reuters) - Japan's Nikkei ended slightly lower on Tuesday, losing steam after touching a five-month intraday high as profit-taking set in amid worries over the outlook for corporate profits and the impact of tighter credit in China. The Nikkei, a laggard compared to other major stock markets this year, has been on an upward trend since the start of the month, helped by the Federal Reserve's quantitative easing that has brought expectations of increased liquidity for global shares. The benchmark now faces resistance at its 200-day moving average, around 9,923. Market participants say foreign investors have been active buyers of Japanese shares since last week, especially after the dollar reclaimed some ground against the yen. Selling of Japanese government bonds has also benefited the domestic stock market, with JGB yields climbing on the growing view that a Fed-inspired bull run in U.S. Treasuries was over. "Foreign institutions, such as pension funds, have been allocating part of their...

U.S. Oil Dips on Dollar Rise, Gasoline Reversal

2010-11-26T01:51:00.000-08:00

By Robert Gibbons NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. oil prices shed early gains to end slightly lower on Monday, weighed down by extended gains in the dollar on higher Treasury yields and a slide in gasoline on speculation about a major refinery restart. The late losses amid tepid trading volume and mixed economic data deepened oil's 3.3 percent dive on Friday, when anxiety over a possible Chinese interest rate rise triggered the biggest commodities rout in a year and a half, pulling oil off a 25-month high. U.S. crude for December delivery

Asia Asset Bubble Monitor-Credit Booming, But Perps Show Limits

2010-11-26T01:50:00.000-08:00

y Prakash Chakravarti and David Lau HONG KONG, Nov 17 (Reuters) - Asia's booming credit markets are not yet bubbling over, with investors drawing a line at exotic perpetual bonds, though some equity valuations in red-hot Southeast Asian bourses appear stretched. Asia ex-Japan, with its favourable economic fundamentals and stable balance sheets, has been a magnet for foreign capital, one whose attraction have been made all the more powerful by expectations that money will stay cheap in advanced economies for a long time. A growing number of emerging economies in Asia and elsewhere in the world have been imposing or considering capital controls to keep the influx of speculative money from feeding potentially destabilising bubbles and complicating policymaking even further. Visiting bankers from the West have been struck by the boldness of Asia's nouveau riche, who last month bought three bottles of 141-year-old Chateau Lafite Rothschild wine at Sotheby's in Hong Kong for $232,692 each, nearly triple the highest estimate. It's no surprise then that...

Top Democrat Signals Deal on Bush-Era Tax Cuts

2010-11-26T01:49:00.001-08:00

By Richard Cowan and Kim Dixon WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top Democrat in the Senate said on Tuesday he was willing to consider a temporary tax cut extension for all income levels, a step that could pave the way for a possible deal with Republicans on Bush-era tax cuts. "This is something we will take a look at," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told reporters, referring to a plan to extend all the cuts for two or three years. Many leading Democrats like Reid previously opposed continuing tax cuts for the wealthiest, while they want a permanent extension of existing tax cuts for those individuals making $200,000 or less annually. Reid and his fellow Democrats will hold a second day of closed meetings on Wednesday to talk about upcoming legislation. While agreeing to look at extending all current tax cuts, Reid said he personally opposed the idea. "For people to say that these upper-income tax cuts affect most small business is simply not true. My...

Best Buy Says Holiday Shoppers May Buy at Last Minute

2010-11-26T01:49:00.000-08:00

By Alex Dobuzinskis HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. Reuters - Consumers might delay this year's holiday shopping until the last minute because of the sluggish economy, the head of consumer electronics retailer Best Buy Co Inc <BBY.N> said. Brian Dunn, the chief executive officer of Best Buy, also said he expects strong sales for e-readers, smartphones, tablet computers such as the Apple Inc <AAPL.O> iPad, and gaming products like Microsoft Corp's <MSFT.O> Kinect and Sony Corp's <6758.T> Playstation Move. "I think it's (holiday spending) going to be exciting, but I think it will be late this year," Dunn told Reuters on the sidelines of an Intel Corp <INTC.O> investor event. He said the slow economy was still affecting consumers. "I think people will sort of take a just-in-time approach to it," he said on Tuesday. Best Buy will offer free shipping this holiday season, he said, following the lead of Wal-Mart Stores Inc <WMT.N>. "I think they got the jump on us by a little bit, but you know..

Stocks End Flat

2010-11-26T01:48:00.001-08:00

By Leah Schnurr NEW YORK (Reuters) - Investors were unable to recoup recent losses in the market on Wednesday, suggesting the struggles recently experienced by stocks are far from over. A late-day selloff did not inspire confidence. Volume was light and early buying faded, as financials led the market downward. The S&P 500 is down nearly 4 percent since November 5 after rallying nearly 13 percent in September and October. "I think the market is in a deterioration trend. It's worrisome at this point, considering that we had a selloff yesterday with pretty big volume and poor advance-decline numbers," said Frank Gretz, market analyst and technician at the Shields & Co brokerage in New York. "The market is certainly vulnerable, and I think it is in fact headed for a correction." Financials sagged after the Federal Reserve said it will evaluate the ability of 19 large financial institutions to withstand losses in "adverse" economic scenarios. The announcement accompanied guidance on potential dividend increases, first reported on...

Obama Honors Buffett, Bush Senior, Germany’s Merkel

2010-11-26T01:48:00.000-08:00

By Alister Bull WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama on Wednesday named billionaire Warren Buffett a winner of the 2010 Medal of Freedom, along with former President George H.W. Bush and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. "These outstanding honorees come from a broad range of backgrounds and they've excelled in a broad range of fields, but all of them have lived extraordinary lives that have inspired us," Obama said in a statement. The president picked a total of 15 people for the 2010 award, the highest U.S. civilian honor, which will be presented at a White House ceremony early next year. In addition to Bush, other politicians named by Obama were civil rights champion Congressman John Lewis and Merkel, the first woman and first East German to serve as Chancellor of a unified Germany. The honor to Bush, the 41st U.S. president and a Republican, could be seen as a bipartisan gesture by Democrat Obama. Writer Maya Angelou, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and murdered aid worker Doctor Tom...

GM Pulls Off Biggest U.S. IPO Ever

2010-11-26T01:47:00.001-08:00

By Clare Baldwin and Soyoung Kim NEW YORK (Reuters) - General Motors Co <GM.UL> pulled off the biggest initial public offering in U.S. history on Wednesday, raising $20.1 billion after pricing shares at the top of the proposed range in response to huge investor demand. Including an option that would allow underwriters to sell more shares, expected to be exercised in coming days, GM looks set to raise $23.1 billion, making it the biggest initial public offering ever. "What was that statement that used to float around? What's good for GM is good for America? Well, I think in this case, what's good for GM is good for the American taxpayer," said Adrian Cronje, chief investment officer at Atlanta-based wealth management firm Balentine LLC. The strong response to the stock sale reflects a groundswell of investor confidence that GM is moving beyond its unpopular, taxpayer-funded bankruptcy in June 2009 with sharply lower costs and higher profit potential. The government's stake in GM will drop to...

Air France-KLM Raise Earning Forecast

2010-11-26T01:47:00.000-08:00

Air France – KLM Group raised its earnings forecast for this year on new routes that witnessed higher demand from consumers. The company’s announcement helped push the share higher where the company’s targeting an operating profit of $408 million for the 12 months ending March 31, 2011. Four new routes will be open to each Asian, African and Middle Eastern destination by 2014, accordingly, raising the capacity for those regions by 6.5 percent. CEO Pierre-Henri Gourgeon said that “The main purpose of our development in China is to have a good part of their huge potential for air transport.” The company’s share rose by 5.10 percent in trading, adding €0.68 to trade at €13.90 a share.

More Shoppers at Malls on Black Friday Weekend

2010-11-26T01:46:00.000-08:00

By Jon Lentz NEW YORK (Reuters) - As many as 138 million U.S. shoppers could be hunting for Black Friday bargains during the three days after Thanksgiving, according to a retail trade group survey released on Thursday. Nearly 60 million Americans plan to hit the stores, while an additional 78 million might join the crowds of shoppers, the National Retail Federation said. The total number of possible shoppers is 4 million more than forecast last year, when the NRF forecast 134 million Americans would be out shopping over the three-day weekend. The group does a follow-up survey to ascertain how many of those consumers actually did shop over the weekend, but it includes shoppers on Thanksgiving day. Black Friday, which falls on November 26, is a key date for retailers, representing the traditional post-Thanksgiving kickoff to the holiday shopping season. Retailers from Macy's Inc to Best Buy Co Inc try to lure shoppers through "door-buster" deals offering low prices on coveted gifts and the deals continue...

US Online Report Business News

2010-11-26T01:45:00.001-08:00

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Expectations about Black Friday, when Americans traditionally get serious about holiday shopping, could sway stocks next week if it looks like the economy will get a pop from consumer spending. FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke hit back on Friday at critics of the U.S. central bank's bond-buying program and issued a thinly veiled attack on China's policy of keeping its currency on a leash. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Wells Fargo & Co <WFC.N> will pay Citigroup Inc <C.N> $100 million to settle multiple lawsuits over the contentious 2008 purchase of Wachovia Corp, closing another chapter in the receding financial crisis. LISBON/DUBLIN (Reuters) - French President Nicolas Sarkozy said on Saturday he expected Ireland to raise its corporate tax rate but added that an increase would not be a condition for any bailout. NEW YORK (Reuters) - Semiconductor shares rallied on Friday as robust revenue from Marvell Technologies buoyed the sector, but the market ended flat for the...