Friday, September 28, 2012

Owning a property abroad for your family holiday | Family Budgeting

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Source: http://family-budgeting.co.uk/2012/09/26/owning-a-property-abroad-for-your-family-holiday/

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Thursday, September 27, 2012

Achieving work-life balance

You may have put years of sweat equity into your career, have a solid two decades of experience under your belt, and one day you end up answering to an inexperienced manager just a few years older than your first-born child. Without even thinking about it, you bring that frustration home in the evening, letting your feelings about your new boss ruin dinnertime.

It?s hard to be in the moment?? to enjoy time with your family ? when you bring the stressors of work home with you. Aside from what?s on your mind, many busy professionals have trouble ignoring their Blackberry and work-related tasks outside of office hours. For many people, the boundary between work and home isn?t as clear as their families might prefer.

The dissolving boundary between home and work

People who work ?normal business hours? and need to take care of a home or family issue during the day often must use work time to make a phone call or attend an appointment. That lost time must be made-up somehow, but often, people overcompensate and do more work at home than needed. Many social scientists point to cellphones as creating a constant tether to the workplace, resulting in an unhealthy compulsion to check work emails, voicemails or text messages at all hours of the day.

Creating balance

This difficulty in staying on top of personal business without creating conflicts at work has caught the attention of some businesses. Some utility companies, for example, have expanded their hours into the early evenings or even offer Saturday hours, to accommodate people with demanding schedules. Others have encouraged customers to use websites or?smartphone apps to obtain necessary information and keep up with account information.

Employers have demonstrated alternative strategies for helping employees reach a balance. On one side, some companies have begun to encourage employees to make their available hours public and to?turn off work cellphones and?avoid responding to email on personal time. But some technology can actually help busy professionals connect with family. Skype, for example, allows people traveling for business to communicate in real-time video with loved ones.

Everyone should develop their own methods of?depressurizing?from work and?creating a boundary between work and personal life. If necessary, use separate cellphones for business and personal life. Limit distractions at work to ensure maximum productivity, which means you?ll bring home less work. If you still have trouble finding balance, consider whether the demands of the job are unreasonable.

The take-home message

Technology has undoubtedly allowed a blurring of the distinction between home and work. Without a separation between the two, it?s impossible to be fully productive at work or fully enjoy time with family. Employers need to recognize and address these issues before problems arise, and employees need to develop a solution applicable to their position and needs. You, your family and your employer will be happier with the results of your reasonable time-management and creation of boundaries.

Source: http://carrieanddanielle.com/achieving-work-life-balance/

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Gilt's Susan Lyne on Social Media - Business Insider

While speaking at?Business Insider's?Social Media ROI Conference?Thursday, Gilt Groupe chairman Susan Lyne broke down what social media works for the flash sale site ... and what doesn't.

While?Gilt dabbled in Facebook commerce in 2011, the company ended up closing its stores.

"One of my friends said that it was like trying to sell something at a bar," Lyne said.

But the site, which is social in nature given that it was founded on the idea of friends inviting friends, has also found great social media successes.

"For every one of our businesses, there's a social media platform that's better for that business," Lyne said.

Jetsetter, Gilt's travel flash sale site, has a handle on Pinterest, Lyne's own admitted obsession.

"Jetsetter is huge on Pinterest," she said. "I think they might have more followers than any other brand."

The photo-sharing site is a natural fit for the travel platform. Jetsetter asked people to pin boards of their ideal vacations in various giveaways, and celebrity judges would pick winners and send them on incredible vacations. These initiatives inspired 700,000 pins and boosted Jetsetter's traffic by 150 percent.

On the other hand, Lyne said that "for Gilt City, we find Twitter is much more effective."

If a consumer Tweets #GoldenTweet after making a purchase, then he or she has a good shot of getting reimbursed for that service. Every 100 golden tweets gets its money back.

Gilt City has also found great use for Instagram (and Facebook) for its "Love Your City More" contest, asking people to post pictures that show what makes their city great.

These social campaigns are primarily created in-house as opposed to being created by agencies.

"Social is a small amount of our marketing budget," Lyne said, "But we're increasing all the time."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/gilts-susan-lyne-on-social-media-2012-9

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Son's DNA found inside mother's brain

Mothers always have their children in the back of their minds ? now it seems that this is quite literally true. Fetal DNA can enter a mother's brain and remain there for decades, according to autopsies of female brains.

During a pregnancy, cells from mother and fetus can cross the placenta and survive for decades in the skin, liver and spleen ? a phenomenon called fetal microchimerism.

Fetal DNA can also cross the blood-brain barrier and enter the brain of pregnant mice (Stem Cells, doi.org/ctfj7v). But it's unclear whether the same happens in humans, says Lee Nelson of the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle.

If it does, having foreign DNA in your brain may be one possible explanation for why certain neurological disorders, such as Alzheimer's disease, are more common in women who have had children(European Journal of Neurology, doi.org/dwwz99).

To investigate this, Nelson and her colleagues autopsied 59?brains of deceased women ? 33?of whom had Alzheimer's disease. They amplified the DNA that they found, creating many more copies, and looked for the presence of a male Y chromosome.

They found it in 63?per cent of the brains. This male DNA showed up in many different brain regions and some of it had been there for a very long time: one brain that contained the male DNA was from a 94-year-old woman.

Way in

Nelson says that pregnancy is the most likely explanation for the presence of male DNA, but having an organ transplant or an older brother, for example, could also explain it. Unfortunately, the pregnancy history was unknown for most of the people in the study.

Brains from people with Alzheimer's seemed slightly less likely to contain male DNA? ? the opposite of what the researchers expected. The authors say this might be due to the small number of brains analysed, or to unknown factors in the life history of the women.

The presence of fetal cells in a mother's body might allow her immune system to recognise her child's cells, to prevent them from seeming like foreign bodies that need to be attacked, says Edward Scott of the Department of Molecular Genetics and Microbiology at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

That might one day make it possible for a mother and child to accept transplants from one another without the need for immunosuppressant drugs, although he believes that the number of foreign cells may need to be artificially boosted to make this happen.

The next step, Scott says, is to determine what the fetal cells do when they reach the mother's brain.

Journal reference: PLoS ONE, doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0045592

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Ahmadinejad pushes new world order

NEW YORK (AP) ? After an hour of fielding questions about Syria, sanctions and nuclear weapons, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had enough. Now, he said, it was his turn to choose the topic ? his "new order" which will inevitably replace the current era of what he called U.S. bullying.

Continuing his hectic pace of media appearances and diplomatic meetings, Ahmadinejad presented an air of boredom when it came to the hot topic on everyone's mind ? Iran's nuclear program and the possibility of impending war. Whether it was feigned or sincere, he said he would much rather be talking about his vision of what the next world order might be.

Conveniently, it would be an order in which the U.S. and the traditional powers play a smaller role and every country has equal standing (though the state of Israel, he often predicts, will soon become a historical footnote).

"God willing, a new order will come and will do away with ... everything that distances us," Ahmadinejad told The Associated Press in an exclusive interview Tuesday, speaking through a translator. "All of the animosity, all of the lack of sincerity will come to an end. It will institute fairness and justice."

He said the world was losing patience with the current state of affairs.

"Now even elementary school kids throughout the world have understood that the United States government is following an international policy of bullying," he said. "I do believe the system of empires has reached the end of the road. The world can no longer see an emperor commanding it."

The interview was held on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly ? Ahmadinejad's last as president of Iran. He was to address the assembly Wednesday morning.

He also discussed solutions for the Syrian civil war, dismissed the question of Iran's nuclear ambition and claimed that despite Western sanctions his country is better off than it was when he took office in 2005.

Earlier Tuesday, President Barack Obama warned Iran that time is running out to resolve the dispute over its nuclear program. In a speech to the General Assembly, Obama said the United States could not tolerate an Iran with atomic weapons.

Ahmadinejad would not respond directly to the president's remarks, saying he did not want to influence the U.S. presidential election in November.

But he argued that the international outcry over Iran's nuclear enrichment program was just an excuse by the West to dominate his country. He claimed that the United States has never accepted Iran's choice of government after the 1979 Islamic revolution.

"Everyone is aware the nuclear issue is the imposition of the will of the United States," he said. "I see the nuclear issue as a non-issue. It has become a form of one-upmanship."

Ahmadinejad said he favored more dialogue, even though negotiations with world powers remain stalled after three rounds of high-level meetings since April.

He said some world leaders have suggested to him that Iran would be better off holding nuclear talks only with the United States.

"Of course I am not dismissing such talks," he said, asked if he were open to discussions with the winner of the American presidential election.

Israeli leaders, however, are still openly contemplating military action again Iranian nuclear facilities, dismissing diplomacy as a dead end. Israel and many in the West suspect that Iran is seeking to acquire nuclear weapons, and cite its failure to cooperate fully with nuclear inspectors. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Ahmadinejad also proposed forming a new group of 10 or 11 countries to work to end the 18-month Syrian civil war. Representatives of nations in the Middle East and elsewhere would meet in New York "very soon," he said.

Critics have accused Tehran of giving support to Syrian President Bashar Assad in carrying out massacres and other human rights violations in an attempt to crush the uprising against his rule. Activists say nearly 30,000 people have died.

Ahmadinejad said the so-called contact group hopes to get the Syrian government and opposition to sit across from each other.

"I will do everything in my power to create stability, peace and understanding in Syria," Ahmadinejad said.

Earlier this month, Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi announced the formation of a four-member contact group with Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia. But Saudi Arabia so far has not participated.

Ahmadinejad denied Iranian involvement in plotting attacks on Israelis abroad, despite arrests and accusations by police in various countries. He also vehemently disputed the U.S. claim that Iranian agents played a role in a foiled plot to assassinate the Saudi ambassador to the United States last year.

Ahmadinejad will leave office next June after serving two four-year terms. He threw out numbers and statistics during the interview to show that Iran's economy and the lives of average Iranians have improved under his watch. Since his 2005 election, he claimed, Iran went from being the world's 22nd-largest economy to the 17th-largest; non-petroleum related exports increased sevenfold; and the basic production of goods has doubled. Median income increased by $4,000, he said.

It was not possible to immediately verify his figures.

"Today's conditions in Iran are completely different to where they were seven years ago in the economy, in technical achievement, in scientific know-how," Ahmadinejad said. "All of these achievements, though, have been reached under conditions in which we were brought under heavy sanctions."

Iran has called for the U.S. and its European allies to ease the sanctions that have hit its critical oil exports and left it blackballed from key international banking networks.

Ahmadinejad said he had no knowledge of the whereabouts of Robert Levinson, a private investigator and former FBI agent who vanished in Iran five years ago. He said he directed Iranian intelligence services two years ago to work with their counterparts in the U.S. to locate him.

"And if any help there is that I can bring to bear, I would be happy to do so," he said.

He also claimed never to have heard of Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine who is imprisoned on espionage charges in Iran. Hekmati was arrested while visiting his grandmothers in Iran in August 2011, and his family has been using Ahmadinejad's visit to New York to plead for his release.

In spite of Ahmadinejad's assertions on the importance of dialogue and respect for others, he has presented a hard line in many areas in this week's media appearances.

He refuses to speak of the state of Israel by name and instead refers only to the "Zionists." And when asked on Monday about author Salman Rushdie, he made no attempt to distance himself from recent renewed threats on the author's life emanating from an Iranian semi-official religious foundation.

"If he is in the U.S.," said the president of Iran, "you should not broadcast it for his own safety."

____

Associated Press writers Edith M. Lederer and Wendy Benjaminson contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ap-interview-ahmadinejad-pushes-world-order-235145610.html

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Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Make The Right Decisions In Your Real Estate Transactions | Eric ...

Moving into the commercial property market can be a confusing experience. You no doubt have many questions about how to start, and this article can definitely help you. The tips below can help you begin your endeavor with commercial property.

You can save money on repair costs while cleaning up the property. First off, you may not be liable for cleanup expenses if you do not hold ownership interest, but if you do, you are on the hook. If you buy a Superfund site, you might be liable for millions of dollars in cleanup costs. To avoid this nightmare, have an environmental inspection done on the property prior to buying it. This costs a lot but it can end up saving you a lot.

Keep in mind when considering investing in apartment complexes that very small complexes can sometimes be more of a hassle than larger complexes. For that reason, some experts in the field recommend avoiding properties that have fewer than ten units. No situation is the same as another, and proper reseal should help you reach a knowledgeable decision regarding any purchase.

When you are comparing different properties, get tour site checklists. Don?t go any further than 1st round proposal responses, unless you let the owners of the property know. There is nothing wrong with hinting that you have other properties in mind. You may even get a more favorable deal!

If you?re a buyer or if you?re a seller, it?s important that you negotiate. Make it clear that you wish to be heard and refuse to accept an unfair price.

Just focus on one specific investment and narrow your time to that if you?re new to investing. Decide on one property type and educate yourself about the best way to handle it. It is far better to dominate one area of the commercial real estate market than to spread your investing order many different types of commercial buildings.

TIP! Locate a financing source prior to making any offers on pieces of commercial real estate. Talk to other people and get their help in drawing up a list of potential lenders.

When you?re writing letters of intent, try to keep it brief by agreeing with the bigger issues initially and let the lesser issues be resolved at a later time. This will make negotiations less tense and make gaining agreement on the smaller issues easier to complete.

Lease Forms

Standard lease forms should not be signed lightly. Large companies might insert extra requirements in the form, and they are often exceptionally lengthy. Avoid involuntarily signing away your rights by reading any such lease forms slowly and thoroughly.

TIP! Interest rates fluctuating is a major threat to commercial property investors. The current economy makes rates fall and rise with unpredictability, and can leave investors susceptible to majorly increased interest rates.

Ensure that the amount of money you want for your commercial property makes sense, given local market conditions. There are a lot of factors that determine the value of the lot.

Create an informative commercial real estate blog, or network with industry professionals on sites like Twitter or Facebook. After you have finished a deal, don?t vanish from sight online.

Record problems by taking digital pictures of them. Each photograph should clearly depict the point of contention, whether that happens to be a stain, hole or other problem.

TIP! Consider feng shui for your home office and your commercial real estate purchases. Two of the basic principles of feng shui, openness and a lack of clutter, are both features that are appealing to buyers, tenants, and customers.

Do a walk-through of each property on your short list. Consider going with a contractor when you are looking at places you want to buy. You can then make an initial offer and begin the bargaining phase. Before making any sort of decision after a counter offer, evaluate it once and then evaluate it again.

Your investment may require substantial amounts of your individual time and attention in the beginning. First, you will need to search for a golden opportunity. After you have purchased the property, you may have to spend some time and money making repairs or remodeling it. Don?t throw in the towel because the process is taking too long to complete. Your efforts will be rewarded.

Try to decrease potential events of defaults before negotiating a lease. If you are thorough, you are less likely to experience a tenant default. You don?t need this to happen.

TIP! It is critical when you are in the market for real estate that you know how to discern between a good deal and a not-so-good deal. When people are experienced in real estate, they can spot a good deal almost instantly.

An honest broker should be willing to answer questions about how they earn their money. Their answer should be discussed openly. Understand that there is still a profitable business to be ran behind the curtains, but a good firm will find an agreeable median between their financial needs and your real estate demands.

Dual Agency

Before paying any agent, check his or her disclosures; these can tell you a great deal about the agent?s character and ability. Watch for possible dual agency. What this means is that your chosen agency has an interest in buying and selling the property. In other words, the agency is working for both tenant and landlord simultaneously. Dual agency should be disclosed and both parties should agree to it.

TIP! Know how to get emergency maintenance performed on a property at a moment?s notice. Ask in advance who will be handling any emergencies that arise.

Don?t ignore the environment that a property you?re considering is in. You are required to clean up any environmental waste on your property. Are you considering a purchase of property in an area that is prone to flooding? You may want to reconsider your choice. It?s possible to get information specific to the locale you?re considering by contacting environmental assessment agencies in that area.

At any given time, you should place your focus on only one investment. For example, when starting out decide if you are going to invest in apartment complexes, office building, commercial land, or retail spaces. Learn more about all the different types of investment to make good decisions. Pouring all of your focus into a single niche of real estate allows you the opportunity to become a master of a single trade, rather than a ?jack of many?.

Pest Control

TIP! Stay on the lookout for sellers who are enthusiastic about making a deal. You have to look for them, especially those who need to sell below the market value.

Pest control is something you should look into when renting or leasing a property. This is especially true when renting in an area that has a lot of bugs or rodents, so be sure to talk to the rental agent about some pest control policies.

Hopefully, now that you have read this article, you are ready to tackle the world of commercial real estate. If you felt prepared before, you surely must feel like a pro by now! With luck, the advice in this article will point you in some new directions that lead you to commercial real estate

Source: http://www.maynaseric.com/make-the-right-decisions-in-your-real-estate-transactions-2

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Obama urges UN to confront roots of Muslim rage

President Barack Obama steps off Air Force One upon his arrival, Monday, Sept. 24, 2012, at JFK airport in New York. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama steps off Air Force One upon his arrival, Monday, Sept. 24, 2012, at JFK airport in New York. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

The Marine One helicopter, with President Barack Obama aboard, lands at the Wall Street heliport in New York, Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama appear on the ABC Television show ?The View? in New York, Monday, Sept. 24, 2012. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

UNITED NATIONS (AP) ? President Barack Obama is challenging the international community to confront the root causes of turmoil in the Middle East, saying the world faces "a choice between the forces that would drive us apart and the hopes we hold in common."

Obama was speaking to the United Nations General Assembly, saying the United States will not shrink from its role with nations under transition despite the killing of four Americans in Libya, including U.S. Ambassador Chris Stevens, and more than 50 people in violence tied to an anti-Muslim film.

Obama says the video is an "insult not only to Muslims, but to America as well."

The president opened his address Tuesday with a tribute to Stevens, saying the diplomat "saw dignity in the people he met."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-09-25-Obama/id-c0ab295ad6004948b1d6bb20d1df483d

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