World stocks fall amid US budget impasse

An investor gestures at a private securities company on Monday March 4, 2013 in Shanghai, China. Uncertainty about the outcome of a budget battle in Washington pushed Asian stock markets lower on Monday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

An investor gestures at a private securities company on Monday March 4, 2013 in Shanghai, China. Uncertainty about the outcome of a budget battle in Washington pushed Asian stock markets lower on Monday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

An investor walks past the stock price monitor at a private securities company on Monday March 4, 2013 in Shanghai, China. Uncertainty about the outcome of a budget battle in Washington pushed Asian stock markets lower on Monday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)

BANGKOK (AP) ? Uncertainty about the outcome of a budget battle in Washington pushed world stock markets lower on Monday. Chinese shares dived amid moves to cool high housing prices.

President Barack Obama and his political opponents have failed so far to agree on a way to roll back automatic spending cuts that took effect Friday. Those cuts slash $85 billion from the nation's budget, which could slow down the economy.

U.S. lawmakers say they want to undo the cuts so that federal programs can be spared but are divided over whether higher taxes should be used to pay for them.

Evan Lucas of IG Markets in Melbourne said he believes the budget fight is just "another political distraction that will cause some investors to cash out and buy back in on the dips."

European stock markets opened lower. Britain's FTSE 100 declined 0.6 percent to 6,340.81. Germany's DAX fell 0.8 percent to 7,644.87 and France's CAC-40 lost 0.5 percent to 3,679.87. Wall Street appeared headed for a lower open too, with Dow Jones industrial futures slipping 0.3 percent to 14,029. S&P 500 futures shed 0.4 percent to 1,510.80.

Stock markets in China were dragged down by property shares that tumbled after China's Cabinet ordered new measures to cool surging housing prices. The government said it will raise required minimum down payments in areas where prices are deemed to be rising too fast and crack down on efforts to evade limits on how many properties each buyer can acquire. The Shanghai Composite Index slid 3.7 percent to 2,273.40.

"The policy was already given out two weeks ago but last Friday, more details came out," said Linus Yip, strategist at First Shanghai Securities in Hong Kong. That sent real estate shares lower. Hong Kong-listed Poly Real Estate plunged 10 percent. China Resources Land nosedived 8.9 percent. China Vanke Co., listed in Shenzen, toppled 10 percent.

Hong Kong's Hang Seng fell 1.5 percent to 22,537.81. South Korea's Kospi lost 0.7 percent to 2,013.15. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 dropped 1.5 percent to 5,010.50. Benchmarks in Singapore, Taiwan, Indonesia and the Philippines also fell.

But Japan's Nikkei 225 bucked the negative trend, rising 0.4 percent to close at 11,652.29. Investors are seemingly in a buoyant mood ahead of a leadership change at the Bank of Japan. Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa will step down March 19, making way for a new chief who supports Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's call for bolder monetary easing. The central bank meets Wednesday and Thursday for a regular monetary policy review.

Benchmark oil for April delivery was down 35 cents to $90.33 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell $1.37 to close at $90.68 a barrel on the Nymex on Friday.

In currencies, the euro fell to $1.3008 from $1.3017 late Friday in New York. The dollar fell to 93.56 yen from 93.58 yen.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/f70471f764144b2fab526d39972d37b3/Article_2013-03-04-World%20Markets/id-ba3f44526460492da8593b89f29f40e6

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Live Chat Support Software for Online Businesses - North-West Hub ...

If you run a business online you know that it is important to be connected to the customers you have acquired so far.? This means being available to the client and able to respond to any queries as soon as possible.? Using live chat support to provide a quick response is a great way to make sure that all queries are responded to in a timely manner.? Customer service is a great way to improve how your customers view your company and can greatly improve customer loyalty as well.? In order to have this capability you will need to either outsource your online support services to a specialized vendor or install the necessary software to get the job done.

Live chat support software will allow your customer service agents to provide the necessary online assistance immediately via messaging.? Instant messaging online is a bridge that allows the customers to ask any questions they may have or to ask for more information about a product that they are considering for purchase.? In many cases,? customers may be looking for what you have but may have a few questions on how the product works.? Getting the answer to their question immediately can either lead them to make the purchase, or have them withdraw from making the purchase.? Having your support agents available to answer questions real time can therefore help you boost sales.

Doing business online opens your business up to a global market and with this comes the complication of time zones.? If you do decide to carry out your own customer support then you will probably have to ensure that you have someone at the office 24hrs a day.? If this is not something you are willing to deal with, finding a service provider who can give live chat support round the clock is a great idea.? This means that no matter the time zone your clients are in they will get the help they need immediately.

With the world wheeling and dealing round the clock, the best solution is to have a customer service and support system that has all the features you could possibly need.? Find the live chat support software or service provider that will meet your needs and complement the other services you offer perfectly.? If you are doing business on the internet then you absolutely cannot afford to be without this service.? The software comes with a slew of reporting features, enhanced security, marketing features and the ability to monitor traffic real time.? Fantastic!

Source: http://www.northwesthub.org/live-chat-support-software-for-online-businesses

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Ask Your Coworker on a Date Without Getting Fired

According to a CareerBuilder survey of 4,000 U.S. workers, four out in 10 engaged in office romance. On top of that, 30% of those romances led to marriage. It turns out you can find love in the workplace?so long as you don't go looking for it in the wrong way and get yourself fired.

The Wall Street Journal decided to look into how to date a coworker without causing problems at the office. While it isn't so taboo anymore, you ought to proceed with some caution:

Simply asking a co-worker out isn't illegal, but proceed with utmost caution, [Anthony Oncidi, head of Proskauer Rose LLP's labor and employment group in Los Angeles], says. Telling a co-worker that you think he or she is hot could well be interpreted as sexual harassment (not to mention cheesy - Ed.), so pursue more subtle tack. Try asking your crush out to lunch with a group of other colleagues, for example, before proceeding to one-on-one activities, he says. Coming onto a colleague repeatedly if he or she is not interested can lead to complaints of a hostile work environment.

That aside, you ought to know your company's policies before proceeding and have an exit plan in place in case things go awry. If you handle yourself well, however, the worst-case scenario is that things may be a little awkward for a week or two. Romance isn't easy, whether it's in the workplace or not, but if you really like someone you shouldn't pass up a chance to get to know them better. For more tips, check out the full post over at the Wall Street Journal's At Work blog.

How to (Legally) Hit on Your Co-Worker | Wall Street Journal: At Work

Photo by Africa Studio (Shutterstock).

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/5oPsVXUxwqY/ask-your-coworker-on-a-date-without-getting-fired

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Signal 2 Plots Out the Cell Network In Your Area with Detailed Stats and Maps

iOS (Jailbroken): If you live in an area with terrible reception on your iPhone, you know that oftentimes it's as simple as moving from one part of a house to another to get a better signal. If you really want to dig into the numbers behind your reception, Signal 2 is an app that gives you a ton of info about your local cell network.

Most obviously, Signal 2 displays information about the cell network in your immediate area with a simple map. You can see where the nearest tower is, how your reception is, and just about anything else you'd want to know. While you can't really use this information to get a better signal, it is helpful if you're trying to figure out where else you can get a signal, or when you're just trying to get to the bottom of your bad cell coverage.

Signal 2 ($3.99) | Modmyi via iDownloadBlog

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/ifn9AjXULXk/signal-2-plots-out-the-cell-network-in-your-area-with-detailed-stats-and-maps

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Gate placement a concern for NASCAR after crash

Kyle Larson (32) goes airborne and into the catch fence during a multi-car crash involving Justin Allgaier (31), Brian Scott (2) and others during the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Larson's crash sent car parts and other debris flying into the stands injuring spectators. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Kyle Larson (32) goes airborne and into the catch fence during a multi-car crash involving Justin Allgaier (31), Brian Scott (2) and others during the final lap of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race at Daytona International Speedway, Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, in Daytona Beach, Fla. Larson's crash sent car parts and other debris flying into the stands injuring spectators. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

Injured spectators are treated after a crash at the conclusion of the NASCAR Nationwide Series auto race Saturday, Feb. 23, 2013, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. Driver Kyle Larson's car hit the safety fence sending car parts and other debris flying into the stands. (AP Photo/David Graham)

AVONDALE, Ariz. (AP) ? NASCAR will look at the placement of gates at its tracks after a Nationwide Series car crashed through the fence at Daytona and injured more than two dozen fans.

The fans were injured during the 12-car crash last Saturday when pieces of rookie Kyle Larson's car ripped through the fence, including a section where a gate connects the grandstand and the track.

"I think because of where it came through and having pieces that did get through and it being a gate area, that's really going to be the focus for us to look at," Steve O'Donnell, NASCAR's Senior Vice President, Racing Operations said Saturday from Phoenix International Raceway. "We're certainly going to look at fencing in general, but I think that particular area, that it was a gate, did impact it. We know the gate was locked, but does that provide as much stability as the rest of the fencing we believed it did? We've now got to look at that impact."

The crash occurred on the final lap of the Nationwide race the day before the Daytona 500, when leader Regan Smith tried to block Brad Keselowski and triggered a chain reaction. Larson's car went airborne during the wreck and slammed into the fence, sending debris into the stands.

O'Donnell said two injured fans remain at the hospital, but everyone else has been released.

The crash has forced NASCAR to take a closer look at its safety measures, particularly fencing around its tracks.

O'Donnell said NASCAR mostly leaves fencing up to the individual tracks, but may look at being more involved, similar to what it did requiring impact-absorbing SAFER barriers along concrete walls.

"It's important to note that most of the safety elements in that car did their job," O'Donnell said. "The driver, as you saw, walked away. However, the car then got up into the fence. Our focus is going to be if the elements in the car did their job, now what do we need to do in looking at the impact of the fence, what happened when that car impacted the fence with parts getting away."

O'Donnell also said that the tethers that hold Larson's car together worked, but that the section the tethers were attached to sheared the car, sending pieces flying.

"We've tethered a number of different things as we've learned and added safety aspects to the car, but what do we need to do in addition to that when we look at this aspect specifically?" O'Donnell said. "

Instead of bringing Larson's car immediately back to NASCAR's research and development center in Charlotte, N.C., it was left in Daytona so track officials use it in their investigation into what happened with the fencing. The car is in the process of being brought back to the R&D center, where it will be put back together and, with the help of video, hopefully determine what parts of the car came off when.

O'Donnell said NASCAR will bring in Larson's race team, which hasn't seen the car since it was impounded after the wreck, to talk about how the car was constructed and fabricated.

NASCAR also will bring in outside experts, including Dr. Dean Sicking, director of the Midwest Roadside Safety Facility at the University of Nebraska, officials from Indianapolis Motor Speedway and outside engineers to look at the fencing.

Daytona will have its experts work with an outside firm to analyze what was in place and analyze what may need to be done.

"When you talk about safety, I think Jeff Burton said it best: There's no end goal of safety, it's something we work on each and every day," O'Donnell said. "Same with this process. If there's something we can learn today, we'll apply that. If it's two months from now, we'll apply it as well.

O'Donnell said NASCAR will look at the issue of restrictor-plate racing at Daytona and Talladega, where the series stops in May, but he said he's comfortable with plate racing at the two superspeedways right now.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/347875155d53465d95cec892aeb06419/Article_2013-03-02-CAR-NASCAR-Daytona-Crash/id-c503c2066de14afa9cbdb4a0bc0aa99c

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Crews to raze Fla. home over sinkhole; man missing

SEFFNER, Fla. (AP) ? Crews planned to begin demolishing a Florida home Sunday that is perched over a huge sinkhole, deeming it too dangerous to keep searching for the man swallowed into the earth from his bedroom.

The search for Jeff Bush, 37, was called off Saturday. The 20-foot-wide opening of the sinkhole is almost completely covered by the house and rescuers feared it would collapse on them. Two neighboring homes were evacuated as a precaution.

Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill said heavy equipment would be brought in to begin razing the home Sunday morning. "At this point it's really not possible to recover the body," Merrill said, later adding "we're dealing with a very unusual sinkhole."

Jessica Damico, spokeswoman for Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, said the demolition equipment would be placed on what they believe is solid ground and reach onto the property to pull apart the house. The crew will try pulling part of the house away from the sinkhole intact so some of the residents' keepsakes can be retrieved.

Bush was in his bedroom Thursday night in Seffner ? a suburb of 8,000 people 15 miles east of downtown Tampa ? when the ground opened and took him and everything else in his room. Five others in the house escape unharmed as the earth crumbled.

The Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office is conducting the investigation. Det. Larry McKinnon said that sheriff's office and the county medical examiner cannot declare Bush dead if his body is still missing. Under Florida law, Bush's family must petition a court to declare him deceased.

"Based on the circumstances, he's presumed dead, however the official death certificate can only be issued by a judge and the family has to petition the court," McKinnon said.

During the weekend, the normally quiet neighborhood of concrete block homes painted in Florida pastels was jammed with cars as curious onlookers converged on the scene.

At the home next door to the Bushes, a family cried and organized boxes. Testing determined that that house and another had been compromised by the sinkhole. The families were allowed to go inside for about a half-hour to gather belongings.

Sisters Soliris and Elbairis Gonzalez, who live on the same street, said neighbors were worried for their safety.

"I've had nightmares," Soliris Gonzalez, 31, said. "In my dreams, I keep checking for cracks in the house."

They said the family has discussed where to go if forced to evacuate, and they've taken their important documents to a storage unit.

"You never know underneath the ground what's happening," added Elbairis Gonzalez, 30.

Experts say thousands of sinkholes form yearly in Florida because of the state's unique geography, though most are small and deaths rarely occur.

"There's hardly a place in Florida that's immune to sinkholes," said Sandy Nettles, who owns a geology consulting company in the Tampa area. "There's no way of ever predicting where a sinkhole is going to occur."

Most sinkholes are small, like one found Saturday morning in Largo, 35 miles away from Seffner. The Largo sinkhole, about 10 feet long and several feet wide, is in a mall parking lot.

The state sits on limestone, a porous rock that easily dissolves in water, with a layer of clay on top. The clay is thicker in some locations ? including the area where Bush became a victim ? making them even more prone to sinkholes.

Jonathan Arthur, the state geologist and director of the Florida Geological Survey, said other states sit atop limestone in a similar way, but Florida has added factors such as extreme weather, development, aquifer pumping and construction.

"The conditions under which a sinkhole will form can be very rapid, or they can form slowly over time," he said.

But it remained unclear Saturday what, if anything, had caused the Seffner sinkhole.

"The condition that caused that sinkhole could have started a million years ago," Nettles said.

Jeremy Bush, who tried to rescue his brother, lay flowers near the house Saturday morning and wept.

He said someone came to his home a couple of months ago to check for sinkholes and other issues, apparently for insurance purposes, but found nothing wrong. State law requires home insurers to provide coverage against sinkholes.

"And a couple of months later, my brother dies. In a sinkhole," Bush said Friday.

___

Follow Lush at www.twitter.com/tamaralush

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/crews-raze-fla-home-over-sinkhole-man-missing-082542889.html

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PS3, frozen foods and chocolate: the best and worst things to buy in March

March is a good month for sales on a plethora of products, including Playstation 3 game consoles, winter gear, and chocolate. But avoid spring clothing and Kindle apps, which will go on sale later in the year.?

By Lindsay Sakraida and Louis Ramirez,?Contributors / March 2, 2013

Playstation 3 game consoles are sold at Yamada Denki electronics shop in Tokyo. Following the introduction of the new PS4, PS3 consoles should see steep price drops in March.

Koji Sasahara/AP

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March is here, and even though you may be planning to stay glued to the couch for all of March Madness, you'll also likely be doing a bit of spring shopping ? especially if you're fond of online retailers like us! To help you save big, we've mined the extensive dealnews archives for sales, coupons, daily deals, and individual products from the past few years and to guide you in your quest to make the most savvy purchases this month.

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is devoted to finding the best deals on consumer goods, whether or not they're from an advertiser. For more great offers visit dealnews.com, which works with advertisers to craft offers for readers.

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Look for All-Time Low Prices on the PS3

Since Sony announced the long-awaited PlayStation 4 console just a week ago, it will soon be an excellent time to?buy a PlayStation 3; in years past, prices on previous-generation consoles have dropped by 60% to 64% once the newer models were released. However, keep in mind that Sony didn't announce a concrete release date for the PS4, and many believe details about preordering and price won't come until E3 in June, which together means that PS3 deals might come in at a trickle rather than a flood. If they drop the full 64%, that would put the 160GB PS3 model at as low as $144. Right now PlayStation 3 250GB bundles are priced at least $50 under the lowest price we could find.

Treat Yourself with Chocolate

Did you not get the sweets you hoped for on Valentine's Day? Well luckily you can peruse high-end chocolate shops for any lingering V-day treats. As always after a holiday, themed sweets go on sale and any treats that haven't been gobbled up will see discounts of up to 50% off. Look to stores like Godiva and the gift section of department stores for decadent ways to treat yourself on a budget.

Skip the Lingerie

You may think that immediately after the most romantic day of the year, you'd see huge discounts on lingerie, but although we do indeed see some price cuts, it's not really the best time to buy underthings. Instead, around June is when Victoria's Secret unveils its famed Semi-Annual Sale, and last year around the same time, we also saw excellent markdowns from a plethora of other retailers like aerie by American Eagle, Frederick's of Hollywood, Macy's, Soma Intimates, and Figleaves. That said, summer deals also paled in comparison to the October to December stretch, which saw numerous Editors' Choice offers from many of these same vendors.

Hold Off on Buying Spring Apparel

It's common knowledge that the best time to buy current season apparel is well after said season has begun. That's why cold weather apparel is still such a hot buy right now. But how long until you can don fashionable and cheap short sleeves, shorts, and flirty dresses all of which have started to filter into stores? A good rule of thumb is to wait at least two to three months after a season has begun order to score the best discounts on weather-appropriate apparel. In the meantime, if you simply must buy something new for spring now, keep an eye out for a coupon code for a nominal discount on whatever must-have full price apparel catches your eye.

Thinking of Buying Apps for Your Kindle Fire? Think Again.

While apps, games, and in-app purchases might not single-handedly make a huge dent in your wallet, they can add up. Knowing such, Amazon announced last month that it will start an Amazon Coins program for these Kindle Fire add-ons. When the program launches in May, the store will give out "tens of millions of dollars worth of Coins for customers to spend" in an effort to ignite interaction with the Kindle Fire app marketplace. These freebie coins are not yet being distributed, so we'd suggest holding off on any Amazon app purchases for few months until those apps you're craving can be had for free.

Say Bon Voyage with Luggage Deals

After a few months cooped up indoors, you may begin feeling the itch to get outside and take on an adventure or two. And if your travel gear is lacking, you're in luck! This time of year is a good time to buy new travel bags. Last year, luggage deals began to pick up steam in March, with sales at Walmart, eBags, Macy's, and Sears. This carried on in earnest throughout the spring though, so we'll continue to see an influx of deals in the coming months as well.

Stock Up on Frozen Foods

Were you aware that March is National Frozen Foods Month? No? Well, it is! And yes, this is largely a marketing ploy to draw attention to the frozen foods industry, but we could still very well see special promotions from different frozen food brands. In so many words: get excited for supermarket couponing! And if you come across a particularly hot deal, you can easily stock up on the long-lasting foodstuffs.

Savings on Last Year's Smartphones

Several phone manufacturers debuted a fleet of phones at Mobile World Congress in February, which simultaneously has turned several 2012 models into previous-generation goods. That means it's a great time to start looking for freebie phone deals (with 2-year contracts) or even for-profit offers that come with gift cards. Just keep in mind that it rarely takes long for new phones to see deals, and if you find a new device that strikes your fancy, waiting just a few months should yield a 50% off discount. Moreover, if you're interested in 2012's hottest phone ? the Samsung Galaxy S III ? then this month will also see good deals once the Galaxy S IV is announced on March 14.

Big Screen TVs Continue to Decline in Price &?2012's Top-Rated Plasmas Go on Sale

While we've yet to see any deals on 2013 HDTVs, February saw new all-time lows on premium 2012 TVs. 55" 3D TVs, specifically, hit $750 for the first time; that's $50 cheaper than we saw in January and $50 under our best Black Friday 2012 deal. Going forward shoppers interested in 55" 3D LED LCD HDTVs should look at prices in the $750 to $800 range. If you want to save even more, you can bypass 3D and look at 55" off-brand models, which are also undergoing all-time lows with deals in the $550 to $650 range. These prices are expected to continue into March as prices haven't increased since hitting their December price lows.

February also brought with it an abundance of deals on 60" 1080p LCD HDTVs, and the good news is that there's no sign of these deals slowing down either. In fact, February saw the second-lowest price on a 60" LCD ($848) outside of Black Friday. That said, we expect the deals to continue through March, so look for name-brand 60" sets in the $848 to $900 range.

And a quick note for videophiles, Panasonic's top-performing 2012 plasmas (in particular the VT50 and GT50 series) hit all-time lows in February. It's not often we find deals on these highly-rated series, but with the new 2013 models about to arrive, retailers have no choice but to clear stock by discounting previous year's sets. Definitely keep an eye out for these models if you want the best TV your money can buy.

Surface Deals Finally Arrive &?Core i3 Ivy Bridge Configs Continues Drop in Price

Laptop/tablet hybrids are the wave of the future, and February marked the first time we've seen deals on Microsoft's Surface RT and Surface Pro tablets. Though the savings were nothing to scoff at ($75 off both the entry level RT model and the just-released Pro model), we expect March to ring in similar and perhaps more aggressive Surface deals as more retailers begin to stock these machines and compete for your dollar.

If you're after a more traditional laptop experience, invest in an Ivy Bridge Core i3 laptop. These systems have slowly been descending in price, and February saw a new low price set for these notebooks: deals started at $340. Note that a Core i5 Ivy Bridge laptop will cost you roughly $100 more.

Ready to put this information to use? Set up an email alert now to keep abreast of any and all of these best buys in March. And for more price trend information, check out our consumer shopping research page.

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Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/feeds/csm/~3/TGWublk-Ci8/PS3-frozen-foods-and-chocolate-the-best-and-worst-things-to-buy-in-March

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