EU ministers to draw up financial defense plan
May 9, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
BRUSSELS – The chair of a meeting of European Union finance ministers promised to do “whatever is necessary” to set up a rescue mechanism for the embattled euro and keep speculators at bay before markets open Monday.
Spanish Finance Minister Elena Salgado said Sunday the ministers would use an emergency meeting to work out plans to improve the stability of the euro after the currency was rocked over the past weeks by of the Greek financial meltdown.
“We are going to defend the euro,” said Salgado, who presided over the ministerial meeting. “We have to give more stability to our currency … We will do whatever is necessary” to reach agreement among the 27 ministers, she said.
So far, the finance ministers have been tightlipped what the measures will be.
They could involve balance of payment support that has already been available to some EU nations outside of the eurozone. There is also talk about specific loan guarantees, which countries like Britain could well oppose since it could be seen as a bailout fund.
The measures will have to be cleared and specific enough by the time markets open because vague promises have been unable to calm markets over the past weeks.
Underscoring the urgency, the European Commission is already working out the details of the deal.
“This is an important moment for both the Europeans and the others,” said French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde.
Financial markets have continued to sell off the euro and Greek bonds even as EU leaders have insisted for days that the Greek financial implosion is a unique combination of bad management, free spending and statistical cheating that doesn’t apply to other euro-zone nations.
Many economists think Greece will eventually default anyway, which could deal a sharp blow to the euro and lead to sharply higher borrowing costs for other indebted countries in Europe.
Default, or market contagion to other countries could lead to panic, intimidating consumers from spending and making banks fearful to lend money to businesses and consumers.
The vow to push budget shortfalls below the euro’s 3 percent limit echoes promises that have been regularly broken ever since governments in 1999 set a three-year deadline for achieving balanced budgets. The euro region’s overall deficit is forecast at 6.6 percent of gross domestic product in 2010 and 6.1 percent in 2011.
Plans for a European credit-rating authority are already under consideration at the European Commission, the bloc’s Brussels-based executive agency. It also is investigating whether ratings companies such as Standard & Poor’s wield too much power over investors’ perceptions of governments.
Asked whether steps to stem speculation against government bonds would include restrictions on short sales or credit default swaps, European Commission President Jose Barroso said “some of the points you have mentioned will be contemplated.”
google maps
May 9, 2010 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
Google Earth has been used for many purposes including those needed for the media, and most recently for showing the aftermath of earthquakes, which helps rescue teams find people by comparing before and after Google maps.
In this latest story, Google Earth’s software was used to find the world’s biggest Beaver Dam in Canada. This dam can be seen from space and according to the Telegraph, is over “twice the length of the Hoover dam” and measures 2,790ft.
It’s pretty amazing what the mammals did to make this dam over many months. 
Stone, mud, and trees were used to build a type of moat. One researcher – Jeane Thie – used Google Earth maps and satellite imagery to find the dam, and study it.
Beavers: Wetland and Wildlife biologist, Sharon Brown, said that the Beavers wanted a good habitat, and other animals would also use this and it’s great for the environment.
source:product-reviews
Elijah Wood Girlfriend
Elijah Wood Girlfriend, Elijah Wood and Robin Williams are in negotiations to reprise their penguin alter egos in Happy Feet 2, the follow-up to the 2006 computer animated musical about a young tap-dancing social outcast named Mumble amongst a society of uncannily talented singing penguins. But under the tutelage of some funky fresh penguins including Ramon and the master of funk Lovelace (both voiced by Williams) Mumble gets the courage to be true to himself and his happy feet. The sequel’s story is being kept under wraps but George Miller is writing and directing again.
Next up Variety says Frank Langella (Frost/Nixon) will be joining Liam Neeson, January Jones and Diane Kruger in Orphan director Jaume Collet-Serra’s action thriller Unknown White Male. The story follows a doctor (Neeson) who, while visiting Berlin with his wife (Jones), is in a car accident that leaves him in a coma. He awakens to find that he has been inexplicably replaced by another man, leading the good doctor on a frantic quest to uncover the truth behind his stolen identity. Langella plays Cole, who comes forward as the doctor’s colleague and just might be able to help him take back his life. Hopefully Langella will still be speaking like Richard Nixon in this and all following roles.
Meanwhile, THR reports that Kate Bosworth (superman Returns) has joined director Jean-Marc Vallee’s next film Lost Girls and Love Hotels, which tells the story of a woman (Bosworth) who tries to forget her past while working in Tokyo as an English specialist at a stewardess training institute by day and losing herself in a sex- and drug-addled oblivion by night. She finds herself on the road to redemption when she becomes interested in a missing Western girl. Do you smell that? It’s a traditional fresh baked indie film about someone who comes close to actually ends up hitting rock bottom forcing them to find and redeem themselves. Maybe The Smiths or even Elliot Smith will be on the soundtrack too!
Finally, THR has a casting announcement for Brother’s Keeper, a PG-rated family drama being produced by WWE Films. Yes, that WWE, so it’s no surprise that wresting champion turned sub-par actor John Cena will be joining Patricia Clarkson, Danny Glover, Devon Graye and Madeleine Martin. Director Mel Damski, who has recently directed episodes of USA’s Psych, hasn’t directed a feature film since 1985’s Mischief will be responsible for the story of a teenage boy (Graye) who tries to reunite his mother (Clarkson) and estranged older brother (Cena) 10 years after the death of their father, a state college wrestling legend. A brilliant student with no apparent athletic talents, the teenager decides to join the high school wrestling team as a way to pull the family together. He will come of age, oh yes, he will come of age.
Elijah Wood Girlfriend was first posted on December 24, 2009 at 1:03 pm.
Where is Santa Right Now
Where is Santa Right Now, Where is Santa right now? Track Santa on Google Earth! Also check out Norad Santa Tracker 2010 to figure out how to find the jolly man in the red suit with plenty of presents for good little boys and girls.
Are you ready for find out where is Santa right how? It is easy to track Santa on Google Earth through Norad Santa Tracker 2009. The Santatracker was started back in 1955 and continues to thrill children around the world today.
To track Santa on Google Earth, click here to download Google Earth for the Norad Santa Tracker 2009 to see…where is Santa right now? I just realized the Santatracker wasn’t working for me because this computer doesn’t have Google Earth!
Check out this YouTube video showing how to track Santa on Google Earth with the Norad Santa Tracker 2009 to figure out where is Santa right now?
Where is Santa Right Now was first posted on December 24, 2009 at 7:40 pm.
santa norad tracker 2009
December 24, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under World News
TrendPK.com santa norad tracker 2009:Santa’s in Burma (Myanmar)! Or wait – now the Taj Mahal. Pakistan is next. Eager youngsters (and the young at heart) can track the jolly guy online in many formats this year – with the help of Google Maps, Google Earth, Facebook, Twitter, and, of course, the North [...]
Is consumer getting what he wants?
December 4, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under Technology
On a global level, consumers are well-aware of their needs and wants. They know what choices are available to them and they can prioritize their purchases intelligently. The presence of transparent system in most developed countries and the strong presence of consumer rights bodies allow consumers to enjoy a large variety of choices, stand up for their rights and even influence the government to take appropriate steps if need be.
However, in third-world countries like Pakistan, consumer awareness is comparatively low. Most of the consumers are swindled of their hard-earned money without realizing it. When they do realize that they have purchased an inferior product, it’s too late to reverse the damage. Several reasons can be identified for low consumer awareness in Pakistan. Few of them are low literacy level, low internet penetration and high level of corruption and crime rate. One of the effective quick fixes for this problem can be that companies take the initiative to act like responsible corporate citizens and educate consumers about the difference between spurious products and authentic products and at the same time highlight the relative advantages and disadvantages of using each type of product.
The current on-going global recession has slowed down consumer spending all over the world including the developing countries. Our economy is worst-hit because of various other factors that have made many products much less affordable for the consumers. Some of these factors include double-digit inflation and increasing import duties on many products.
A prime example of such products is a mobile phone. A few months back government categorized all mobile phones as luxury items and imposed a flat rate of PKR 750 on all mobile phones being imported regardless of their prices. This has made all mobile phones available locally much more expensive especially for the low-tier consumers.
Mobile phone manufacturers have recently shifted their focus towards developing countries where mobile phone penetration is lower than that of developed countries. In many developed nations number of mobile phones is higher than the number of population of that country. Even though, in recent times, Pakistani telecom industry has experienced accelerated growth in mobile phone subscription and mobile phone penetration, there’s still a huge chunk of population particularly in rural areas where mobile phone penetration is low. This is the potential untapped market being targeted by mobile phone manufacturers operating in Pakistan.
While the government’s objective behind higher import duties was to reduce the widening trade deficit, in effect, it has had an overall negative impact on consumers, mobile phone manufacturers and government itself.
The authentic mobile phones that are available with manufacturers’ warranty are now out of the reach of a common man. Consumer need for using a mobile phone is still being fulfilled. However, this gap is being filled by mobile phones available through grey channels and Chinese mobile phones. These mobile phones are available at cheaper rates but they are not reliable and furthermore they are not accompanied by the warranty that comes with original handsets. There’s no guarantee that the mobile handset available from grey channels would contain all the accessories and even if all the accessories are part of the packaging, there’s no guarantee of the authenticity of these accessories. Similar problems are associated with Chinese mobile phones. They can malfunction at any moment resulting in loss of all the important contacts and other data stored in the mobile phone.
Sale of mobile phone manufacturers operating in Pakistan has declined to a great extent. Most of these sales of mobile phone manufacturers are being eaten away by the flourishing grey channels. They are facing a tough time in improving sales locally.
Due to high import taxes, import of mobile phones has declined by almost 70% in the first half of fiscal year 2008-09 compared to the same period of last fiscal year. The direct result is lower tax revenues being earned by the government. Further tax evasion takes place every time mobile handsets are imported via grey channels; this activity has been rising particularly after imposing of higher import duties breeding greater corruption in society.
In the current scenario, consumers who are suffering the most are ones who deserve to get the greatest relief in terms of prices. Mobile phones have become an important means of earning livelihood for wage-workers who use mobile phone services to communicate their product and service rates. As human dependence on mobile phones for communication is increasing, mobile phone is going further away from the category of luxury goods. This holds true specifically for the low-cost mobile phones used by low-tier consumers. These consumers are certainly not getting what they want. Due to increased prices of mobile phones, they are left with no other choice but to buy unreliable handsets through alternative channels. It is the low-tier consumers who are bearing the greatest burden of tax revenue. A flat rate of PKR 750 implies that a mobile handset of PKR 50,000 now costs PKR 50,750 while a handset of PKR 2,500 costs PKR 3,250. This means that a person buying a PKR 3,250 mobile handset is paying 30% taxes while a person buying PKR 50,750 mobile handset is paying only 1.5% of taxes.
In order to improve level of consumer awareness, mobile phone manufacturers can run awareness campaigns to educate consumers about the cons being faced by the consumers when they don’t purchase authentic product. On the other hand, government must rethink whether low-cost mobile phones (priced PKR 5,000 or below) are luxury item or not. By not considering low-cost mobile phones as luxury items, government will benefit consumers, mobile phone manufacturers and the economy on the whole. Taking the suggested measures will not only curb mobile phone smuggling but also lead to higher tax revenues as more mobile phone imports will take place through authorized channels. Then eventually the consumer will get what he really wants.
Written by Danish Hassan
Is consumer getting what he wants? was first posted on January 31, 2009 at 7:51 pm.
Google Earth Dives into ocean Exploration
December 4, 2009 by Trend PK
Filed under Technology
Google launched a new service on Monday to allow Internet users to explore the depths of the world’s oceans from the comfort of their homes on dry land. The “Ocean in Google Earth” feature allows users to virtually dive beneath the water surface, explore 3D underwater terrain and browse ocean-related content contributed by marine scientists. Nearly four years after Google Earth enabled users to zoom in to view streets, and later explore galaxies in the sky, the latest version of the software allows virtual travelers to cross miles of unchartered territory underwater.
Ocean in Google Earth was unveiled formally at the San Francisco Academy of Sciences by former vice president Al Gore, acclaimed oceanographer Sylvia Earle and Google executives. “With this version of Google Earth… you can now dive into the world’s oceans that cover almost three quarters of the planet and discover new wonders,” said Gore, a champion in the battle against climate change. Gore pointed out a history feature at Google Earth that lets people see how parts of the planet are changing over time, often due to human influences. “This is an extremely powerful educational tool,” Gore said.
“My hope is that people around the world will use Google Earth to see for themselves the reality of the climate crisis.” Google Earth users can click icons on sea maps to see video of creatures that thrive in those locations. Internet surfers can opt to swim virtually undersea as though they are sharks, dolphins or turtles. Ocean was inspired in part by a teasing comment Earle made to Google Maps and Earth director John Hanke. Earle was at an event when she praised the California firm’s online mapping service but suggested it be called “Google Dirt” because it ignored the 71 percent of the planet covered by water, Hanke recounted.
“Talk about a dream coming true,” Earle said as she stood behind an aquarium lectern and demonstrated Ocean on a large wall screen. “They compressed what it took me 50 years to understand; that the world is really blue. People talk about the world being green, but without the blue there wouldn’t be any green.” Google Earth users will be able to record videos of undersea adventures, overlay their own voices or sound tracks, and then share them with friends, according to Hanke. Musician Jimmy Buffett, whose hits include “Margaritaville” and “Son of a Son of a Sailor,” is collaborating with Google to use Earth and Ocean to let fans travel with him on a coming concert tour starting in the Hawaiian Islands. Buffett joked that he has lived by the bumper sticker motto: “Without geography, you are nowhere.” “You will see the travels of Jimmy,” Buffett said. “It’s fun, but it makes people aware of what we need to do to protect this beautiful planet and its blue heart.”
By allowing users to explore underwater volcanoes, hunt for whales and learn more about shipwrecks, Google says Ocean offers a platform for everyday Internet browsers to link up with the scientific community. The feature includes 20 different layers of content contributed by leading ocean explorers, scientists and researchers, such as photos and videos of “hot spots” around the world and information on marine protected areas.
Google Earth Dives into ocean Exploration was first posted on February 4, 2009 at 11:18 am.
Meb Keflezighi Wins NYC Marathon
Meb Keflezighi Wins NYC Marathon, Meb Keflezighi captured the New York marathon on Sunday, becoming the first American in over two decades to win the race.
Keflezighi clocked two hours, nine minutes and 15 seconds, leaving out Robert Kipkoech Cheruiyot of Kenya by 41 ticks.
Derartu Tulu of Ethiopia won the women’s side by only eight seconds on Ludmila Petrova of Russia, timing 2:28.52.
Paula Radcliffe, who won the last two New York marathons, finished fourth.
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Meb Keflezighi Wins NYC Marathon was first posted on November 2, 2009 at 3:36 pm.
