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<channel>
	<title>Finance &#38; Business World</title>
	<link>http://myfinlife.com</link>
	<description>Finance blog: read, write, think.</description>
	<pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 08:46:06 +0000</pubDate>
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		<title>Web developer: Make $30 an hour, no bachelor&#8217;s degree required</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/web-developer-make-30-an-hour-no-bachelors-degree-required/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/web-developer-make-30-an-hour-no-bachelors-degree-required/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 22 May 2013 08:46:06 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[management]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[
 Become a web developer. 

 The job is growing quickly, offers a median salary around $30 an hour, or $62,500 a year, and does not necessarily require a bachelor&#8217;s degree. 
 That&#8217;s because companies can&#8217;t meet all the demand for workers. The job is still too new, and the labor pool is not quite [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>
<p> Become a web developer. </p>
</p>
<p> The job is growing quickly, offers a median salary around $30 an hour, or $62,500 a year, and does not necessarily require a bachelor&#8217;s degree. </p>
<p> That&#8217;s because companies can&#8217;t meet all the demand for workers. The job is still too new, and the labor pool is not quite large enough yet. </p>
<p> &#8220;There aren&#8217;t enough bodies to fill all the seats,&#8221; said Judi Wunderlich, co-founder of WunderLand, a Chicago recruiting firm specializing in digital, marketing and creative jobs. </p>
<p> Computer-related jobs are expected to grow by about 22% between 2010 and 2020, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. </p>
<p> And for web and mobile developers specifically, traditional college programs can hardly keep up. Even though many schools offer computer science courses, the field is changing so rapidly. The curriculum is rarely the same from year to year. </p>
<p> &#8220;If somebody wants to get into this job, it just doesn&#8217;t make sense to get a college degree,&#8221; Wunderlich said. </p>
</p>
<p> As of 2010, about 38% of web developers had less than a four-year college degree, according to Census data. Instead, many workers in this field are self-trained. </p>
<p> Take for instance, Matt Kenefick. Growing up, he devoted himself to learning how to code. He viewed it mostly as a hobby and actually intended to become an architect. After just a few weeks in college though, architecture lost its appeal. </p>
<p> At 18, he dropped out and turned to coding as a full-time job. With little more than a high school diploma in hand, he started making around $65,000 a year. </p>
<p> Since then, he has worked for Percolate, Vimeo and other startups, and now, at age 25, he&#8217;s earning more than six figures. </p>
<p> &#8220;Nobody really cares about your education in this field &#8212; it&#8217;s can you do it, or can you not?&#8221; he said. &#8220;Now, when I interview people and they list schooling on their resume, instead I ask, &#8217;show me what you&#8217;ve done <a href="http://easy-quick-payday-loans.com">quick cash</a><!-- . -->.&#8217;&#8221; </p>
<p> For beginners attracted to this field, some online programs like Codeacademy offer free training. Meanwhile, intensive training programs, which can cost several thousand dollars, are also popping up in major cities. </p>
<p> In Chicago, The Starter League offers a three-month class in web development for $8,000, and Mobile Makers offers an 8-week course in building iPhone and iPad apps for $7,000. General Assembly offers 12-week programs in various locations including New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Boston. That program costs $11,500. </p>
<p> You can also learn the old-fashioned way. Chris Lemke was driving trucks for a living, when he picked up two books on building mobile apps, back in December 2011. </p>
<p> &#8220;I liked math and decided to give it a whirl,&#8221; he said. &#8221; A month or two later, I had a tipping calculator in the App Store.&#8221; </p>
<p> About a year after tinkering on his own, the 29-year-old Lemke scored an apprenticeship with VOKAL Interactive, and is learning the rest on the job. </p>
<p> To say this occupation is attainable for anyone though is a bit of stretch. It still requires some math chops and long hours of practice. </p>
<p> &#8220;You have to be a self-starter to go along with this,&#8221; Kenefick said. &#8220;In the beginning, it was literally all day and all night, day after day, I was practicing and building up my portfolio. I&#8217;m pretty sure it&#8217;s more work than going to college.&#8221; </p>
<p> Web developer is among CareerCast&#8217;s list of &#8220;best jobs that don&#8217;t require four-year degrees.&#8221; Other jobs on the list include plumber, electrician, paralegal and industrial machine repairer. </p>
<p> View the full list here.  </p>
<p><a href='http://money.cnn.com/2013/05/21/news/economy/web-developer-job/index.html' rel='nofollow'>Source</a></p>
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		<title>Senators work through changes to immigration bill</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/senators-work-through-changes-to-immigration-bill/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/senators-work-through-changes-to-immigration-bill/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Mon, 20 May 2013 18:18:04 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[money]]></category>

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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://myfinlife.com/senators-work-through-changes-to-immigration-bill/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[Senators working on a wide-ranging immigration bill have agreed to tighten controls on the asylum system that allows people fleeing war or persecution to find refuge in the U.S.
Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina offered the amendment, which would terminate asylum or refugee status for anyone who returns home to the country they fled, [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Senators working on a wide-ranging immigration bill have agreed to tighten controls on the asylum system that allows people fleeing war or persecution to find refuge in the U.S.</p>
<p>Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina offered the amendment, which would terminate asylum or refugee status for anyone who returns home to the country they fled, unless they can show a good reason for doing so.</p>
<p>Graham said the change was merited in light of the Boston Marathon bombings. The brothers who allegedly set off the bombs arrived in the U.S. as boys when their family sought asylum here.</p>
<p>The amendment was approved on voice vote Monday as the Senate Judiciary Committee entered its third week of weighing amendments to a bipartisan immigration bill.</p>
<p>THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP&#8217;s earlier story is below.</p>
<p>The Senate Judiciary Committee is aiming this week to pass a landmark immigration bill to secure the border and offer citizenship to millions, setting up a high-stakes debate on the Senate floor.</p>
<p>First, the committee must resolve a few remaining disputes.</p>
<p>One involves amendments over high-skilled immigrant visas sought by the high-tech industry but opposed by labor unions. The bill as written increases the availability of these visas, but includes restrictions aimed at ensuring U.S. workers get the first crack at jobs. Silicon Valley companies view some of the restrictions as too onerous and are lobbying to soften them.</p>
<p>Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, seen as a swing vote on the committee, is on the side of the high-tech industry, while Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., is championing the labor position. Lawmakers and lobbyists have been trying to find a compromise that could win Hatch&#8217;s support for the overall bill without alienating Durbin, one of its authors.</p>
<p>There&#8217;s also a disagreement over whether gay Americans should be given the right to sponsor their foreign-born spouses for green cards like straight Americans can. Gay rights groups are pressuring Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., to offer an amendment allowing this, but Republican authors of the immigration bill insist that they&#8217;ll abandon their support for their legislation if such a measure is included.</p>
<p>Both disputes were put off until last week as lawmakers negotiated behind the scenes and weighed their options. The three public work sessions the Judiciary Committee held over the last two weeks featured little suspense, as committee members waded through some of the 300 amendments that were filed to the bipartisan bill. The legislation seeks to dramatically remake the U.S. immigration system and allow tens of thousands of new high- and low-skilled workers into the country.</p>
<p>Committee members accepted a number of Republican-sought changes to the bill, including provisions tightening up border security. But majority Democrats and the two Republican committee members who helped write the legislation _ Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham _ fended off major changes, branded &#8220;poison pills,&#8221; that could jeopardize the delicate compromises at its core.</p>
<p>This week, in addition to the high-tech and gay marriage disputes, amendments will focus on the crucial sections of the bill dealing with the 13-year path to citizenship the legislation offers the 11 million people in this country who are here illegally.</p>
<p>Democrats have the votes to ensure committee passage of the legislation by the end of the week, before Congress breaks for its Memorial Day recess. The outcome is less certain on the Senate floor, where Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has promised the measure will be considered in June. Less certain still is the outcome in the GOP-controlled House, where Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, has not said publicly how or when he&#8217;ll proceed with bringing immigration legislation to a vote.</p>
<p><a href='http://www.stltoday.com/business/national-and-international/senators-work-through-changes-to-immigration-bill/article_01f7c823-db6f-5769-8c6d-39b0e3e2b72d.html' rel='nofollow'>Source</a></p>
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		<title>Elijah Harper</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/elijah-harpers-body-to-lie-in-state-at-manitoba-legislature/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/elijah-harpers-body-to-lie-in-state-at-manitoba-legislature/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 19 May 2013 03:22:05 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[WINNIPEG&#x2014;The Manitoba government says Elijah Harper&#x2019;s body will lie in state in the province&#x2019;s legislature.
Harper, who as a member of the legislature blocked the Meech Lake constitutional accord in 1990, died Friday at age 64.
The province says the public will be able to view Harper on Monday afternoon and that books of condolences will be [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>WINNIPEG&#x2014;The Manitoba government says Elijah Harper&#x2019;s body will lie in state in the province&#x2019;s legislature.</p>
<p>Harper, who as a member of the legislature blocked the Meech Lake constitutional accord in 1990, died Friday at age 64.</p>
<p>The province says the public will be able to view Harper on Monday afternoon and that books of condolences will be available.</p>
<p>Later that evening, a funeral service will be held at Glory and Peace Church in Winnipeg.</p>
<p>The burial service will take place Thursday in Red Sucker Lake, where Harper was born and was once chief of the Ojibwa-Cree Red Sucker Lake First Nation.</p>
<p>Jennifer Wood, a longtime friend who worked with Harper in Winnipeg and in Ottawa, said the casket will be open during the viewing and that there will be a Manitoba flag draped over a portion of it <a href="http://businesscardsabc.com">Business Card Holders</a><!-- . -->.</p>
<p>Wood said she believes Harper would have been pleased many of the people he worked with at the legislature will be able to publicly pay their respects.</p>
<p>&#x201c;I know it&#x2019;s exactly what Elijah would have wanted,&#x201d; she said.</p>
<p>The Meech Lake deal was intended to win Quebec&#x2019;s signature on the Constitution but Harper said it ignored aboriginal rights.</p>
<p>He was a member of the New Democrat opposition in the legislature at the time and the accord had to be ratified by Parliament and most other legislatures. His vote against it prevented it from being ratified by Ottawa&#x2019;s deadline and eventually scuttled it.</p>
<p><a href='http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/05/18/elijah_harpers_body_to_lie_in_state_at_manitoba_legislature.html' rel='nofollow'>Source</a></p>
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		<title>World stocks mixed ahead of key US economic index</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/world-stocks-mixed-ahead-of-key-us-economic-index/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/world-stocks-mixed-ahead-of-key-us-economic-index/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 17 May 2013 10:34:02 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
		<category><![CDATA[bank]]></category>

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		<description><![CDATA[World stock markets were mixed Friday as investors digested a slew of disappointing data from the U.S. ahead of the release of a key measurement of the country&#8217;s economic outlook.
Investors were looking ahead to the Conference Board&#8217;s index of leading indicators for April, to be released later Friday. The index is designed to anticipate economic [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>World stock markets were mixed Friday as investors digested a slew of disappointing data from the U.S. ahead of the release of a key measurement of the country&#8217;s economic outlook.</p>
<p>Investors were looking ahead to the Conference Board&#8217;s index of leading indicators for April, to be released later Friday. The index is designed to anticipate economic conditions three to six months out. Analysts hope the figures will balance out several discouraging economic reports released Thursday, including a jump in unemployment aid applications to their highest level in six weeks.</p>
<p>Britain&#8217;s FTSE 100 fell marginally to 6,684.26. Germany&#8217;s DAX retreated 0.4 percent to 8,332.22. France&#8217;s CAC-40 was less than 0.2 percent down at 3,972.01. Wall Street, however, appeared ready to rally again: Dow Jones industrial futures rose 0.1 percent to 15,225 and S&amp;P 500 futures added 0.1 percent to 1,649.70.</p>
<p>Earlier in Asia, Japan&#8217;s Nikkei 225 index rose 0.7 percent to close at 15,138.12, reversing a lower open. Australia&#8217;s S&amp;P/ASX 200 added 0.3 percent to 5,180.80, pushed up by gains in BHP Billiton, the world&#8217;s largest mining company. The stock rose 1.9 percent on bargain-hunting. Australia &amp; New Zealand Banking Group rose 1.3 percent.</p>
<p>Benchmark in mainland China and Indonesia also rose while those in Taiwan, India, Singapore, New Zealand and the Philippines fell. Markets in Hong Kong and South Korea were closed for public holidays.</p>
<p>Evan Lucas of IG Markets in Melbourne said market declines could be explained by investors cashing in their gains following strong rallies. Japan&#8217;s benchmark Nikkei 225 index has returned 45 percent so far this year. The Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s 500 has delivered a terrific first four months. It&#8217;s up 16 percent.</p>
<p>&#8220;There is always an uneasy feeling underlying the markets when they start making all-time highs,&#8221; Lucas said.</p>
<p>Shares linked to gold, which has suddenly fallen afoul of investors like George Soros, dropped. Australia&#8217;s Newcrest Mining was down 2.3 percent. Lao Feng Xiang, a major, Shanghai-listed gold retailer, fell 0.5 percent.</p>
<p>Corporate earnings, which have been helping to power Wall Street to all-time highs, took a step back on Thursday after Wal-Mart, the world&#8217;s largest retailer, reported a disappointing first-quarter profit and acknowledged a sales slump. Personal computer maker Dell posted dismal first quarter earnings.</p>
<p>Markets were also reacting to comments by John Williams, head of the Federal Reserve&#8217;s San Francisco branch, who told an audience that the Fed could end its bond-buying program this year. But Williams&#8217; comments made clear that the Fed would only curtail its stimulus effort when the economy looked strong enough. The Dow Jones industrial average and the Standard &amp; Poor&#8217;s 500 both dropped Thursday, having closed at record highs the day before.</p>
<p>Benchmark oil for June delivery was down 21 cents to $94.95 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose 86 cents to $95.16 per barrel on the Nymex on Thursday.</p>
<p>In currencies, the euro fell to $1.2866 from $1.2907 late Thursday in New York. The dollar rose to 102.55 yen from 102.06 yen.</p>
<p><a href='http://www.stltoday.com/news/world-stocks-mixed-ahead-of-key-us-economic-index/article_449bea4a-496f-5eef-844a-e9e2abdd3bed.html' rel='nofollow'>Source</a></p>
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		<title>Judge scolds Trump, attorney during heated testimony at Chicago trial</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/judge-scolds-trump-attorney-during-heated-testimony-at-chicago-trial/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/judge-scolds-trump-attorney-during-heated-testimony-at-chicago-trial/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Wed, 15 May 2013 20:10:01 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://myfinlife.com/judge-scolds-trump-attorney-during-heated-testimony-at-chicago-trial/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[CHICAGO&#x2014;A scowling Donald Trump raised his voiced on the witness stand Wednesday while an attorney grilled him and then rolled his eyes at the Apprentice star&#x2019;s answers, leading a federal judge to scold both men in open court and order them to behave.The admonition came during Trump&#x2019;s second day on the stand at a civil [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>CHICAGO&#x2014;A scowling Donald Trump raised his voiced on the witness stand Wednesday while an attorney grilled him and then rolled his eyes at the Apprentice star&#x2019;s answers, leading a federal judge to scold both men in open court and order them to behave.The admonition came during Trump&#x2019;s second day on the stand at a civil trial where he is accused of making false promises to an 87-year-old investor to get her to purchase condos at his glitzy Trump International Hotel &#038; Tower in Chicago.</p>
<p>&#x201c;You have been dancing around and boxing each other,&#x201d; U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve said, scolding Trump and plaintiff&#x2019;s attorney Shelly Kulwin. &#x201c;This is not a boxing match.</p>
<p>&#x201c;Let&#x2019;s get control of ourselves,&#x201d; the judge added before a brief recess.</p>
<p>Aggressive questioning on Wednesday focused on what Trump knew and when regarding the alleged bait-and-switch in which a profit-sharing plan was promised to Jacqueline Goldberg but withdrawn after she agreed to buy two condos.</p>
<p>The testimony offered a rare inside look at the management style of the 66-year-old Trump, known for scrutinizing the competence of contestants on his Apprentice TV show and then firing them.</p>
<p>Pressed over and over, the real estate magnate insisted he couldn&#x2019;t remember just when key business decisions were made or by whom, or even if he was present &#x2014; telling jurors neither he nor his top executives made a habit of taking notes.</p>
<p>&#x201c;We get things done. We don&#x2019;t write about it,&#x201d; he said <a href="http://unsecured-personal-loans-quick.com">guaranteed high risk personal loans</a><!-- . -->.</p>
<p>A central issue at the trial is whether Trump himself plotted from the start of the tower&#x2019;s development in the early 2000s to entice investors with a profit-sharing plan &#x2014; fully intending to cancel the offer after they put their money down.</p>
<p>On the stand, Trump portrayed himself as a big-picture guy who delegated others.</p>
<p>&#x201c;I don&#x2019;t run hotels &#x2014; I build them,&#x201d; he said.</p>
<p>The trial stems from a lawsuit filed by Goldberg, who agreed in 2006 to buy two condos for around $1 million apiece at the 92-story luxury building; it opened in 2009. She seeks the return of a $500,000 deposit and other unspecified damages.</p>
<p>With Goldberg sitting nearby, Trump accused her of agreeing to a buyers&#x2019; contract that gave Trump rights to cancel the profit-sharing offer as he saw fit. Even though she knew that clause was there, he said, she went ahead and bought the condos anyway.</p>
<p>&#x201c;And then she sued me,&#x201d; he boomed, raising his arms. &#x201c;It&#x2019;s unbelievable!&#x201d; The judge told jurors to disregard Trump&#x2019;s statement.</p>
<p>It took Trump and the plaintiff&#x2019;s attorney just minutes to clash as testimony started Wednesday morning. Kulwin complained that Trump, a New Yorker, kept rushing to answer questions before he had completed them.</p>
<p><a href='http://www.thestar.com/business/real_estate/2013/05/15/judge_scolds_trump_attorney_during_heated_testimony_at_chicago_trial.html' rel='nofollow'>Source</a></p>
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		<title>Search ends in Bangladesh; death toll put at 1,127</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/search-ends-in-bangladesh-death-toll-put-at-1127/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/search-ends-in-bangladesh-death-toll-put-at-1127/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 14 May 2013 06:06:00 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
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		<description><![CDATA[SAVAR, Bangladesh • Several of the biggest Western retailers embraced a plan that would require them to help pay for factory improvements in Bangladesh as the nearly three-week search for victims of the worst garment-industry disaster in history ended Monday with the death toll at a staggering 1,127.
Bangladesh’s government also agreed to allow garment workers [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>SAVAR, Bangladesh • Several of the biggest Western retailers embraced a plan that would require them to help pay for factory improvements in Bangladesh as the nearly three-week search for victims of the worst garment-industry disaster in history ended Monday with the death toll at a staggering 1,127.</p>
<p>Bangladesh’s government also agreed to allow garment workers to form unions without permission from factory owners. That decision came a day after it announced a plan to raise the minimum wage in the industry.</p>
<p>The collapse of the eight-story Rana Plaza factory building April 24 focused worldwide attention on hazardous conditions in Bangladesh’s garment industry, where workers sew low-cost clothing that ends up on store shelves around the globe, including the U.S. and Western Europe.</p>
<p>The disaster came months after a fire at another garment factory in Bangladesh killed 112 workers.</p>
<p>Swedish retailing giant H&amp;M, the largest purchaser of garments from Bangladesh; British companies Primark and Tesco; C&amp;A; and Inditex, owner of the Zara chain, said they would sign a contract that requires them to conduct independent safety inspections, make reports on factory conditions public and cover the costs of repairs. It also requires them to stop doing business with any factory that refuses to make necessary safety improvements.</p>
<p>Two other companies agreed to sign last year: PVH, which makes clothes under the Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Izod labels; and German retailer Tchibo.</p>
<p>Among the big holdouts so far are Wal-Mart Stores, which is the second-largest producer of clothing in Bangladesh behind H&amp;M; and the Gap.</p>
<p>Labor groups are setting Wednesday as the deadline for companies to commit to the plan.</p>
<p>Based on the seven companies that plan to participate in the pact, somewhere between 500 and 1,000 of the 5,000 factories operating in Bangladesh will be covered, according to Scott Nova, executive director of the Worker Rights Consortium, one of the organizations pushing for the agreement.</p>
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<p>The Rana Plaza owner and eight other people, including garment factory owners, have been detained in the investigation. Authorities say the building owner added floors to the structure illegally and allowed the factories to install heavy equipment that the building was not designed to support.</p>
<p>Working conditions in the $20 billion industry are grim, a result of government corruption, desperation for jobs, and industry indifference. Minimum wages for garment workers are among the lowest in the world — 3,000 takas ($38) a month.</p>
<p>Bangladesh’s Cabinet approved an amendment to the 2006 Labor Act on Monday lifting restrictions on forming unions in most industries, government spokesman Mosharraf Hossain Bhuiyan said. The old law required workers to obtain permission before they could unionize.</p>
</p>
</p>
<p>Bangladesh’s government has in recent years cracked down on unions attempting to organize garment workers. In 2010 the government launched an Industrial Police force to crush street protests by thousands of workers demanding better pay and working conditions.</p>
<p>On Monday, nearly 100 garment factories shut down in the Ashulia industrial area near Dhaka after protests erupted over the death of a worker, Parul Akter, 22, whose body was found Friday inside a garment factory.</p>
<p>A local police official, Badrul Alam, said she committed suicide.</p>
<p>Thousands of workers took to the streets and vandalized vehicles and shops before police used sticks to disperse the protesters. </p>
</p>
</p>
</p>
<p><a href='http://www.stltoday.com/news/national/search-ends-in-bangladesh-death-toll-put-at/article_ff52c617-0bd2-5e4a-844d-37730d1c2cfd.html' rel='nofollow'>Source</a></p>
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		<title>Report on expenses of Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy missing language on clarity of rules</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/report-on-expenses-of-conservative-sen-mike-duffy-missing-language-on-clarity-of-rules/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/report-on-expenses-of-conservative-sen-mike-duffy-missing-language-on-clarity-of-rules/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Sun, 12 May 2013 15:13:57 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://myfinlife.com/report-on-expenses-of-conservative-sen-mike-duffy-missing-language-on-clarity-of-rules/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[OTTAWA&#x2014;Two hundred and twenty words found in reports admonishing Sen. Mac Harb and Sen. Patrick Brazeau for claiming expenses for their Ottawa homes are missing from a similar write-up on Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy.
The Senate standing committee on internal economy, budgets and administration that called in external auditors to examine the living expenses the three [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>OTTAWA&#x2014;Two hundred and twenty words found in reports admonishing Sen. Mac Harb and Sen. Patrick Brazeau for claiming expenses for their Ottawa homes are missing from a similar write-up on Conservative Sen. Mike Duffy.</p>
<p>The Senate standing committee on internal economy, budgets and administration that called in external auditors to examine the living expenses the three senators claimed for their time spent working in the Ottawa area tabled reports for each of them Thursday recommending they pay back the money they were given from April 1, 2011 to March 31 of this year plus interest.</p>
<p>All three reports acknowledged the auditors from Deloitte found that criteria for determining primary residence, which must be at least 100 kilometres away from Parliament Hill for senators to be eligible for up to $22,000 in annual living expenses, to be lacking in the rules and guidelines.</p>
<p>Two of the reports &#x2014; the ones addressing the expenses of Harb and Brazeau &#x2014; disagreed with that finding and concluded the forms senators sign when declaring their primary and secondary residences in order to receive the living allowance is clear enough for them to have known better.</p>
<p>&#x201c;Your subcommittee considers this language to be unambiguous and, plainly, if a senator resides primarily in the (National Capital Region), he or she should not be claiming living expenses for the (National Capital Region),&#x201d; read the reports for Harb and Brazeau.</p>
<p>The report tabled on Duffy does not express any disagreement with this finding of ambiguity by Deloitte and even goes so far as to say that the committee is addressing the issue <a href="http://instant-payday-loan-service.com">fast payday loan</a><!-- . -->.</p>
<p>&#x201c;The three senators signed the same form. They read the same rules, the same policies (and) the same guidelines. If that form and rules and guidelines were clear in the case of Harb and Brazeau, why wouldn&#x2019;t you say the same thing with respect to the forms that Sen. Duffy signed?&#x201d; Liberal Senate Leader James Cowan asked Friday.</p>
<p>Conservative Sen. David Tkachuk, who chairs the committee on internal economy, did not respond to messages Friday. Duffy could not be reached for comment either.</p>
<p>Another source close to the deliberations said the reason is that Duffy defended himself by saying he found the whole issue of primary residence confusing.</p>
<p>&#x201c;The Senate rules on housing allowances aren&#x2019;t clear, and the forms are confusing,&#x201d; Duffy said in a statement emailed to media in February as he offered to reimburse the expenses.</p>
<p>Duffy, who declared his primary residence to be a cottage in Cavendish, P.E.I., the province he represents in the Senate, already reimbursed the $90,172 he claimed for mortgage payments on his home in Kanata, about 22 kilometres away from Parliament Hill as well as mileage, meals and incidentals while in the Ottawa area.</p>
<p>Harb, who is asked to refund $51,482, has resigned from the Liberal caucus as he prepares to fight the findings in court.</p>
<p><a href='http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2013/05/10/report_on_expenses_of_conservative_sen_mike_duffy_missing_language_on_clarity_of_rules.html' rel='nofollow'>Source</a></p>
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		<title>LCBO strike: Stock up before Victoria Day weekend, stores warn</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/lcbo-strike-stock-up-before-victoria-day-weekend-stores-warn/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/lcbo-strike-stock-up-before-victoria-day-weekend-stores-warn/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Fri, 10 May 2013 22:53:58 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://myfinlife.com/lcbo-strike-stock-up-before-victoria-day-weekend-stores-warn/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[With the real threat of a strike by LCBO workers before the Victoria Day long weekend, the provincial agency is strongly suggesting drinkers stock up before next Friday&#x2019;s strike or lockout deadline.
Neither side appears optimistic a deal will be reached by May 17 as Ontario residents gear up for one of the most popular holidays [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>With the real threat of a strike by LCBO workers before the Victoria Day long weekend, the provincial agency is strongly suggesting drinkers stock up before next Friday&#x2019;s strike or lockout deadline.</p>
<p>Neither side appears optimistic a deal will be reached by May 17 as Ontario residents gear up for one of the most popular holidays of the year, the Victoria Day long weekend.</p>
<p>&#x201c;In advance of the first long weekend of the summer, customers are encouraged to shop early for the best product selections,&#x201d; Bob Clevely, LCBO&#x2019;s senior vice-president, retail operations, said in a statement released Friday.</p>
<p>&#x201c;Customers entertaining this weekend can avoid any possible service disruptions by shopping our stores early and stocking up,&#x201d; he said.</p>
<p>The LCBO says regardless of the status of labour negotiations, all LCBO stores &#x2014; except for some locally-owned agency stores &#x2014; will be closed on Victoria Day, which will be celebrated on May 20{+ }this year.</p>
<p>Some agency stores will observe their normal business hours Victoria Day. These operators contract with LCBO to sell alcohol, along with other products, in communities that are too small to support regular LCBO stores.</p>
<p>Negotiations with the Ontario Public Service Employees Union are still ongoing.</p>
<p>&#x201c;It is not going well,&#x201d; OPSEU president Warren (Smokey) Thomas, told the Star.</p>
<p>Last month, 7,000 workers at the largest wine and spirits buyer in the world voted 95 per cent in favour of a strike. Outstanding issues include wages and benefits, job security and improvements to health and safety standards.</p>
<p>&#x201c;They want us to take four years of zeroes,&#x201d; he said of the wage offer from the LCBO.</p>
<p>But a senior source in the LCBO said they are being treated no differently than teachers or any other public servants, who have been asked to share the pain as the debt-ridden province attempts to rein in spending.</p>
<p>&#x201c;For some reason they don&#x2019;t think they are civil servants,&#x201d; the source said, adding that&#x2019;s driven by the fact the LCBO is a money-maker and they feel they should share in the wealth.</p>
<p>A major sticking point for the union is hours of work, with some employees called in to do a little as two-hour shifts a day, Thomas said.</p>
<p>Meanwhile, OPSEU filed a legal claim Friday with the Ontario Human Rights Tribunal against the LCBO and the Ontario government for wage discrimination against female employees of the Crown-owned retail giant.</p>
<p>The union is claiming the LCBO deliberately classifies regular, year-round customer service work as &#x201c;casual&#x201d; so it can then pay the majority of its employees &#x2014; most of whom are women &#x2014; less than those classified as permanent workers.</p>
<p>&#x201c;There is nothing casual about the LCBO&#x2019;s casual employees,&#x201d; Thomas said in a news release.</p>
<p>&#x201c;This group of workers is the backbone of a corporation that hands over more than $2 billion each year to the provincial treasury. The LCBO and the Ontario government are, in our view, violating both the Ontario Human Rights Code and a moral code.&#x201d;</p>
<p>In a statement, The LCBO said, &#x201c;we can confirm there has been no discrimination as alleged.&#x201d;</p>
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		<title>U.K. Industrial Output Rises More Than Forecast on Energy - Bloomberg</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/uk-industrial-output-rises-more-than-forecast-on-energy-bloomberg/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/uk-industrial-output-rises-more-than-forecast-on-energy-bloomberg/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Thu, 09 May 2013 09:45:56 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://myfinlife.com/uk-industrial-output-rises-more-than-forecast-on-energy-bloomberg/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[U.K. industrial production rose more than economists forecast in March as cold weather boosted demand for electricity and gas. 
Output increased 0.7 percent from February, when it gained 0.9 percent, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median forecast of 31 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a gain of [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>U.K. industrial production rose more than economists forecast in March as cold weather boosted demand for electricity and gas. </p>
<p>Output increased 0.7 percent from February, when it gained 0.9 percent, the Office for National Statistics said today in London. The median forecast of 31 economists in a Bloomberg News survey was for a gain of 0.2 percent. Electricity and gas surged 2.4 percent, the most since October. The data also showed that production increased 0.2 percent in the first quarter, matching an estimate in last month</p>
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		<title>Missing Cleveland women: Amanda Berry</title>
		<link>http://myfinlife.com/missing-cleveland-women-amanda-berrys-frantic-call-leads-police-to-3-women-missing-for-decade/</link>
		<comments>http://myfinlife.com/missing-cleveland-women-amanda-berrys-frantic-call-leads-police-to-3-women-missing-for-decade/#comments</comments>
		<pubDate>Tue, 07 May 2013 18:21:54 +0000</pubDate>
		<dc:creator>Shark</dc:creator>
		
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		<guid isPermaLink="false">http://myfinlife.com/missing-cleveland-women-amanda-berrys-frantic-call-leads-police-to-3-women-missing-for-decade/</guid>
		<description><![CDATA[CLEVELAND&#x2014;The woman&#8217;s voice was frantic and breathless, and she was choking back tears. &#x201c;Help me. I&#8217;m Amanda Berry,&#x201d; she told a 911 dispatcher. &#x201c;I&#8217;ve been kidnapped and I&#8217;ve been missing for 10 years and I&#8217;m, I&#8217;m here, I&#8217;m free now.&#x201d;
Cleveland women who disappeared found
Those words led police to a house near downtown Cleveland where Berry [...]]]></description>
			<content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>CLEVELAND&#x2014;The woman&#8217;s voice was frantic and breathless, and she was choking back tears. &#x201c;Help me. I&#8217;m Amanda Berry,&#x201d; she told a 911 dispatcher. &#x201c;I&#8217;ve been kidnapped and I&#8217;ve been missing for 10 years and I&#8217;m, I&#8217;m here, I&#8217;m free now.&#x201d;</p>
<p>Cleveland women who disappeared found</p>
<p>Those words led police to a house near downtown Cleveland where Berry and two other women who vanished a decade ago were found Monday, elating family members and friends who had longed to see them again.</p>
<p>Authorities later arrested three brothers. They released no names and gave no information about them or what charges they might face. A relative said one of them is the homeowner, his nephew Ariel Castro.</p>
<p>City officials have scheduled a news conference for Tuesday morning.</p>
<p>Police Chief Michael McGrath said he thinks Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight were tied up at the house and held there since they were in their teens or early 20s.</p>
<p>A 6-year-old also was found in the home, but police didn&#8217;t disclose the child&#8217;s identity or relationship to anyone in the home. The women appeared to be in good health and were taken to a hospital to be evaluated and be reunited with relatives.</p>
<p>Neighbour Juan Perez told NBC&#8217;s &#x201c;Today&#x201d; show that he rarely saw Castro or anyone else at the house.</p>
<p>&#x201c;I thought the home was vacant. I thought he probably had another property and he would just come and check and see if everything is OK.&#x201d; Perez said. &#x201c;I didn&#8217;t even know anybody lived there.&#x201d;</p>
<p>The women&#8217;s escape and rescue began with a frenzied cry for help.</p>
<p>A neighbour, Charles Ramsey, told WEWS-TV he heard screaming Monday and saw Berry, whom he didn&#8217;t recognize, at a door that would open only enough to fit a hand through. He said she was trying desperately to get outside and pleaded for help to reach police.</p>
<p>&#x201c;I heard screaming,&#x201d; he said. &#x201c;I&#8217;m eating my McDonald&#8217;s. I come outside. I see this girl going nuts trying to get out of a house.&#x201d;</p>
<p>Neighbor Anna Tejeda was sitting on her porch with friends when they heard someone across the street kicking a door and yelling.</p>
<p>Tejeda, 50, said one of her friends went over and told Berry how to kick the screen out of the bottom of the door, which allowed her to get out.</p>
<p>Speaking Spanish, which was translated by one of her friends, Tejeda said Berry was nervous and crying. She was dressed in pyjamas and old sandals.</p>
<p>At first Tejeda said she didn&#8217;t want to believe who the young woman was. &#x201c;You&#8217;re not Amanda Berry,&#x201d; she insisted. &#x201c;Amanda Berry is dead.&#x201d;</p>
<p>But when Berry told her she&#8217;d been kidnapped and held captive, Tejeda said she gave her the telephone to call police, who arrived within minutes and then took the other women from the house.</p>
<p>On a recorded 911 call Monday, Berry declared, &#x201c;I&#8217;m Amanda Berry. I&#8217;ve been on the news for the last 10 years.&#x201d;</p>
<p>She said she had been taken by someone and begged for police officers to come to the home on Cleveland&#8217;s west side before the man returned.</p>
<p>&#x201c;I&#8217;ve been kidnapped, and I&#8217;ve been missing for 10 years,&#x201d; she told the dispatcher. &#x201c;And I&#8217;m here. I&#8217;m free now.&#x201d;</p>
<p>Berry disappeared at age 16 on April 21, 2003, when she called her sister to say she was getting a ride home from her job at a Burger King. About a year later, DeJesus vanished at age 14 on her way home from school. Police said Knight disappeared in 2002 and is 32 now.</p>
<p>Berry is now 27, according to the National Center for Missing &#038; Exploited Children. Authorities didn&#8217;t provide a current age DeJesus. They were found just a few miles from where they had vanished.</p>
<p>Police said one of the brothers who was arrested, a 52-year-old, lived at the home, and the others, ages 50 and 54, lived elsewhere.</p>
<p>Ramsey, the neighbour, said he&#8217;d barbecued with the home&#8217;s owner and never suspected anything was amiss.</p>
<p>&#x201c;There was nothing exciting about him &#x2014; well, until today,&#x201d; he said.</p>
<p>Julio Castro, who runs a grocery store half a block from where the women were found, said the homeowner arrested is his nephew, Ariel Castro.</p>
<p>Berry also identified Ariel Castro by name in her 911 call.</p>
<p>Attempts to reach Ariel Castro in jail were unsuccessful Monday. Messages to the sheriff&#8217;s office and a jail spokesman went unanswered, and there was no public phone listing for the home, which was being searched by dozens of police officers and sheriff&#8217;s deputies.</p>
<p>The uncle said Ariel Castro had worked as a school bus driver. The Cleveland school district confirmed he was a former employee but wouldn&#8217;t release details.</p>
<p>The women&#8217;s loved ones said they hadn&#8217;t given up hope of seeing them again.</p>
<p>A childhood friend of DeJesus, Kayla Rogers, said she couldn&#8217;t wait to hug her.</p>
<p>&#x201c;I&#8217;ve been praying, never forgot about her, ever,&#x201d; Rogers told The Plain Dealer newspaper.</p>
<p>Berry&#8217;s cousin Tasheena Mitchell told the newspaper she couldn&#8217;t wait to have Berry in her arms.</p>
<p>&#x201c;I&#8217;m going to hold her, and I&#8217;m going to squeeze her and I probably won&#8217;t let her go,&#x201d; she said.</p>
<p>Berry&#8217;s mother, Louwana Miller, who had been hospitalized for months with pancreatitis and other ailments, died in March 2006. She had spent the previous three years looking for her daughter, whose disappearance took a toll as her health steadily deteriorated, family and friends said.</p>
<p>Councilwoman Dona Brady said she had spent many hours with Miller, who never gave up hope that her daughter was alive.</p>
<p>&#x201c;She literally died of a broken heart,&#x201d; Brady said.</p>
<p>Mayor Frank Jackson expressed gratitude that the three women were found alive. He said there are many unanswered questions in the ongoing investigation.</p>
<p>At Metro Health Medical Center, Dr. Gerald Maloney wouldn&#8217;t discuss the women&#8217;s conditions in detail but said they were being evaluated by appropriate specialists.</p>
<p>&#x201c;This is really good, because this isn&#8217;t the ending we usually hear in these stories,&#x201d; he said. &#x201c;So, we&#8217;re very happy.&#x201d;</p>
<p>In January, a prison inmate was sentenced to 4 1/2 years after admitting he provided a false burial tip in the disappearance of Berry. A judge in Cleveland sentenced Robert Wolford on his guilty plea to obstruction of justice, making a false report and making a false alarm.</p>
<p>Last summer, Wolford tipped authorities to look for Berry&#8217;s remains in a Cleveland lot. He was taken to the location, which was dug up with backhoes.</p>
<p>Two men arrested for questioning in the disappearance of DeJesus in 2004 were released from the city jail in 2006 after officers didn&#8217;t find her body during a search of the men&#8217;s house.</p>
<p><a href='http://www.thestar.com/news/world/2013/05/07/frantic_call_leads_police_to_3_women_missing_for_decade_ive_been_missing_for_10_years_im_free_now.html' rel='nofollow'>Source</a></p>
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