Housing, factory data point to momentum in economy

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Contracts for U.S. home resales hit a 2-1/2-year high in November and factory activity in the Midwest expanded this month, suggesting some strength in the economy despite the threat of tighter fiscal policy.

The National Association of Realtors said on Friday its Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed last month, increased 1.7 percent to 106.4 - the highest level since April 2010 when the home-buyer tax credit expired.

November marked the third straight month of gains for signed contracts, which become sales after a month or two, and followed a 5 percent increase in October.

A separate report showed the Institute for Supply Management-Chicago business barometer rose to 51.6 in December from 50.4 in November. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the regional economy. It was the second straight month of growth and was driven by a rebound in new orders.

The data suggested some of the growth momentum from the third quarter carried into the final three months of 2012, even as businesses and households braced for sharp cuts in government spending and higher taxes in the new year.

Data so far in the fourth quarter ranging from consumer spending, housing, employment and the various manufacturing indicators have been fairly upbeat.

"We don't see much evidence that the economy was slowing as we headed into the end of the year, but everything could change on January 1," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.

There are fears that currently stalled budget talks in Washington will fail to steer clear of a $600 billion "fiscal cliff" of less government spending and higher taxes, which could tip the economy back into recession.

"There is nothing here to suggest that the economy has enough momentum to withstand the shock if we go over the fiscal-cliff with no quick return," said Ryding. "The good news right now is it looks like we could have the mid-twos kind of GDP (growth) for the fourth quarter."

STRENGTHENING HOUSING RECOVERY

The economy grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the third quarter. The latest Reuters survey of economists put fourth-quarter gross domestic product growth at a 1.2 percent rate, mostly because of superstorm Sandy, which struck the East Coast in late October and fiscal cliff-related cutbacks in business spending.

U.S. financial markets ignored the data as attention remained focused on the developments in Washington surrounding the fiscal cliff.

Stocks on Wall Street fell, putting the Standard & Poor's 500 index on track for a fifth straight day of declines. U.S. Treasury debt prices rose, while the dollar was little changed against a basket of currencies.

Though the employment gauge in the Chicago ISM survey fell to a three-year low in December, economists expected a rebound given the strength in new orders.

"The drop in employment reflects the weakness in new orders in November and to a lesser degree the fiscal cliff. With the bounce back in new orders, employment will also bounce back," said Eric Green, chief economist at TD Securities in New York.

The pending home sales report pointed to a strengthening in the housing market recovery. Contracts were up 9.8 percent in the 12 months through November.

The housing market has turned the corner after a dramatic collapse, which dragged the economy through its worst recession since the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Home sales and prices are rising, encouraging builders to undertake new construction projects. Home resale contracts were up in three of the country's four regions. They were unchanged in the South.

"The housing revival seems to be happening in a way that puts some positive feedback loop, a virtuous cycle into the economy," said Jerry Webman, chief economist at OppenheimerFunds in New York.

(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani; Editing by Neil Stempleman)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pending-home-sales-hit-two-half-high-november-150635032--business.html

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Les Miserables and Django Unchained Shatter Christmas Records

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95% The Central Park Five

All Critics (58) | Top Critics (25) | Fresh (55) | Rotten (3)

Expect your blood pressure to rise during The Central Park Five.

The doc is rife with smart or wrenching or shameful moments. The fresh interviews with the accused, now men, are invaluable.

As grim a portrait of the criminal justice system as can be imagined.

How could this second crime have occurred? The film asks that question but only partly answers it, and in the process it raises an even more troubling one.

"The Central Park Five" is worth seeing, both for the ways it's timeless and for the ways it encapsulates an era.

What's amazing about listening to them speak now, often through tears, is the absence of bitterness.

Puts the crime and the times in sharp perspective.

Burns and company conduct a thorough, riveting investigation that does a far better job of assessing the tragedy than the justice system did two decades before. Of course, hindsight is an advantage we all take for granted.

It's a gripping story that comes in a well-crafted package.

A heartbreaking expose' about a rush to judgment which ruined five, innocent young lives.

Exclusive interviews with former heads of Israel's counter terrorism agency reveal insiders' analysis about the country's policies. Fascinating. Frightening.

"The Central Park Five" is a sobering indictment of racism and vigilante justice, yet it is constrained by a PBS-style deference to the very system it critiques.

You can't help but wonder why this film wasn't made 20 years ago, when it could have saved these men some time behind bars.

What keeps the film from being an impossible downer is the guts and spirit and smart words of the Central Park Five, four of whom, now freed, are interviewed at length.

A miscarriage of justice on this scale would have been tragic had it resulted from an honest mistake - but, as this meticulously researched movie makes clear, honesty had little to do with it.

The [documentary] team builds a solid story from the time of the crime through the release from prison those wrongly accused and railroaded into confessing to a crime they did not commit.

The result is both compelling and infuriating.

The Central Park Five provides background drawn from contemporary media images, including crime scene footage accompanied by a detective's grisly description, as well as reflections by those involved.

Not only gripping and heartbreaking, but terrifying.

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Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_central_park_five_2012/

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Federal workers feel unease over potential layoffs, furloughs unleashed by ?fiscal cliff? (Washington Post)

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REFERENCES AND EDUCATION DIRECTORY ? Benefits Of ...

Each person is created in their own unique way and it is very hard for all people to speak in only one language. This means that in any locality one may find different people who speak different languages. This is what makes people unique from one another. Despite the different languages that exist in the world communication still needs to take place hence the importance of translating one language to various languages to ensure that communication is enhanced. There are various benefits of translation services Dallas residents can gain from.

It is not uncommon to have conferences to be organized in the city. The conference organizers invite various guests from different continents who speak quite a number of various languages. In a place where each person speaks a different language from the other, there needs to be a means of interpreting one language into the other in order to enhance communication, hence the benefits of the above service.

There are various great writers in the city whose books are read by people all over the world. In order for one to be a recognized writer, they need to have their books distributed to the whole world. The books will only be read by people who may understand the language. There is therefore the need to have the books translated into as many languages as possible to increase the number of people who will have access to the book.

Over the years the Bible has been translated into various dialects. This is because there is need for each individual to be able to access the contents. This was made possible by translating it into the different dialects. Those in charge of interpretation of the Bible are in various parts of the globe and this makes the above city no exception. There ability to have access to these services is very beneficial to them.

Quite a number of tourists visit Dallas each year. Most of these tourists do not speak English thus making communication very hard. It is however easy to communicate with them by the use of interpretation service where the interpreter is able to speak the languages of both party and thus tell one party what the other party is communicating.

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All people are not gifted with the ability to speak and hear, hence for dumb and deaf people it is important to translate what they are trying to communicate by sign language into the normal language used by people. This ensures that communication is enhanced between people who cannot speak and those who can. No one thus feels left out in process of communication.

The benefits attributed to having a language interpreted into very many languages are quite many. Owing to the advantages of translation services Dallas residents are using the above services more often. In addition various people are going back to school to learn different languages due to the lucrative nature of the one having a business that deals with interpretation of languages.

You can visit the website www.tlctranslation.com for more helpful information about Benefits Attributed To Translation Services Dallas Residents Can Benefit From

Source: http://referencesandeducation.info/2012/12/benefits-of-translation-services-dallas-residents-may-benefit-from/

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Good Reads: gun laws, lottery winners, online education, and tech gets sensory

A round-up of this week's long-form good reads include Britain's gun laws, the burden of lottery winners, online courses vs. the college experience, and sensory developments in high-tech.

By Gregory M. Lamb,?Staff writer / December 22, 2012

Arizona Lottery officials stand next to an enlargement of the winning $587.5 Million Powerball ticket last week during a news conference in Scottsdale, Ariz. Phoenix resident Matthew Good claimed the second half of last month's record $587 million Powerball jackpot, pocketing $192 million after taxes.

Matt York/AP/File

Enlarge

The Sandy Hook school shooting in Connecticut brought a deluge of media attention to gun control. One useful perspective came from the Lexington?s Notebook column in The Economist magazine. Britain?s gun-related homicide rate is drastically lower than that of the United States not only because guns are harder to purchase, but because ammunition is scarce, the writer points out. In one recent incident in a crime-plagued British neighborhood, for example, ?the gang had had to make its own bullets, which did not work well....?

Skip to next paragraph Gregory M. Lamb

Senior editor

Gregory M. Lamb is a senior editor and writer.

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In one recent year England and Wales experienced 39 fatalities from crimes involving firearms; the US had 12,000. In Britain, ?The firearms-ownership rules are onerous, involving hours of paperwork. You must provide a referee who has to answer nosy questions about the applicant?s mental state, home life (including family or domestic tensions) and their attitude towards guns. In addition to criminal-record checks, the police talk to applicants? family doctors and ask about any histories of alcohol or drug abuse or personality disorders.?

Some US gun owners argue that they might need firearms to fight a tyrannical government. But ?I don?t think America is remotely close to becoming a tyranny, and to suggest that it is is both irrational and a bit offensive to people who actually do live under tyrannical rule,? the writer responds.

Lottery burdens

Are you eager to win the next big lottery? BloombergBusinessWeek writer David Samuels offers the cautionary tale of Jack Whittaker, a contractor in Scott Depot, W.?Va., who 10 years ago found that his $1 Powerball lottery ticket had won him a $93 million payout after taxes.

Mr. Whittaker tried to do good with his bonanza, giving away a good portion to charitable groups, especially churches. But he still descended into alcohol addiction; was divorced by his wife; became tied up (by his own count) in some 460 legal actions; and lost his beloved granddaughter, on whom he had lavished piles of cash, to drug addiction. Before his lottery ?win,? Whittaker?s contracting business had afforded him a comfortable life. ?Nobody knew I had any money,? Whittaker said. ?All they knew was my good works.? His life back then, he notes sadly, ?was a lot easier.?

Source: http://rss.csmonitor.com/~r/csmonitor/globalnews/~3/AKzyBc8881w/Good-Reads-gun-laws-lottery-winners-online-education-and-tech-gets-sensory

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Two toddlers die in Chicago apartment fire

By Michelle Relerford and Alexandra Clark, NBC Chicago

Two toddlers who died in a fire early Saturday morning were left alone with two other young boys when the blaze broke out inside their Chicago apartment on the city's southside, police said.

Family and friends gathered Saturday evening for a vigil to honor 2-year-old Jariah and 3-year-old Jarvis. The boys were alone with a 7-year-old and a 4-year-old when the fire ignited.

Neighbor Tiffany Williams recounted what the boys who escaped told her: "They said they heard the baby crying, beating on the door but they couldn't go back to get her cause they were choking on the smoke."

Read more at NBC Chicago

Authorities believe a hot plate used for heat sparked the flames, but the cause remains under investigation. When the fire started, a relative helped the two older boys to safety, but Jariah and Jarvis stayed trapped inside the apartment.

---

A resident who called 911 just before 3:30 a.m. told authorities that young children were trapped inside the burning home in the 6400 block of South Paulina Street in the West Englewood area, Fire Media Affairs Director Larry Langford said. When firefighters arrived, the fire had blown out a window, with the open air feeding the flames.

?Everybody concentrated and made a frantic search to find them,? Langford said.

But ?extensive? fire made it difficult for firefighters to reach the rear bedroom where the fire started, and where the children were located.

Witnesses said the children's mother was frantic.

"She was going crazy, no one could control her," Williams said.

Firefighters used a saw to cut the bars off a basement window in an attempt to reach the children, but they were unable to rescue the toddlers in time. They later found the children's bodies in the three-bedroom apartment on the first floor of the two-story gray stone building.

Fire investigators continue to sort out what caused the fire. They are also talking with the mother, who police said left the four children home alone.

"They said their mother was getting dressed told them to go in their room and go to sleep," said Williams. "They said they were left there alone and they'd been there by themselves for a long time."

The two surviving children were taken into the custody of Illinois Department of Children and Family Services.

Crews have not found any working smoke detectors in the home, Langford said. The Chicago Fire Department canvassed the neighborhood on Saturday, starting at 10 a.m., to pass out smoke alarms and share fire safety information.

?

Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/12/22/16095857-two-toddlers-die-in-chicago-apartment-fire-no-adults-were-home?lite

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