Oil rises above $94 on China, US recovery hopes

BANGKOK (AP) — Oil prices rose above $94 on Monday, supported by signs of economic recovery in the U.S. and China.
Benchmark oil for February delivery was up 56 cents to $94.12 per barrel at midday Bangkok time in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract dropped 26 cents to finish at $93.56 a barrel in New York on Friday.
Gordon Kwan, head of energy research at Mirae Asset Securities Ltd. in Hong Kong, said oil prices were rising on signs that the fragile economic recoveries in the world's two biggest economies appeared to be gaining traction. The U.S. housing market has shown steady improvement, while China's trade growth rebounded strongly in December.
"China and the U.S. appear to be on a very solid track of economic recovery. This supports oil prices at much higher levels." He said that prices were also moving up because of increased energy consumption in China, which is enduring its coldest winter in nearly three decades.
"There is the possibility that West Texas Intermediate could reach $95 per barrel in the coming days and Brent could go to $115," Kwan said.
Brent crude, used to price international varieties of oil, was up 39 cents to $110.23 per barrel on the ICE Futures exchange in London.
In other energy futures trading on Nymex:
— Wholesale gasoline rose 0.3 cent to $2.758 a gallon.
— Heating oil rose 1.1 cents to $3.02 a gallon.
— Natural gas rose 3.3 cents to $3.36 per 1,000 cubic feet.

Read More..

U.S. economy to grow 2.5 percent this year: Fed's Evans

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2013, improving to 3.5 percent growth in 2014, top Fed official Charles Evans said on Monday.
Evans also forecast the U.S. unemployment rate would be 7.4 percent this year, easing to about 7 percent in 2014.
"One good indicator of labor market improvement would be if we saw payroll employment increase by 200,000 each month for a number of months. We've been averaging about 150,000, but it's been very uneven ... we need a higher pace of employment growth and less volatility in that pace," Chicago Fed President Evans said.
The creation of 1 million jobs over six months would be a "substantive" improvement, but bringing unemployment down to the key level of 6.5 percent was likely to take much longer, probably until mid-2015, he said, speaking at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision last year to tie monetary policy to specific economic conditions should help boost the recovery without letting inflation take hold, said Evans, a chief architect of the policy.
It also provides additional accommodation by assuring markets that rates will remain low even after the economy perks up, he said.
"Given more explicit conditionality, markets can be more confident that we will provide the monetary accommodation necessary to close the large resource gaps that currently exist," he said. "Additionally, the public can be more certain that we will not wait too long to tighten if inflation were to become a substantial concern."
Last month, the Fed ramped up asset purchases aimed at spurring growth, and pledged to keep rates near zero until the unemployment rate drops to 6.5 percent, as long as inflation expectations do not climb above 2.5 percent.
Evans, who rotates into a voting spot on the Fed's policy-setting panel this year, had been pushing for exactly such a threshold-based policy for more than a year, saying the Fed needed to take a much more activist role in trying to meet its mandate to boost employment.
His speech on Monday was his first since mid-2011 to omit an explicit call for further Fed easing, suggesting he is now comfortable that the current stance of monetary policy will help bring down unemployment, still high at 7.8 percent.
Kansas City Fed President Esther George and other critics of the Fed's bond-buying program and low-rate policy have warned the central bank's actions could overheat the economy, leading to unwanted inflation.
Evans, one of several policy "doves" set to speak early this week, sought to head off such criticism.
While the Fed's new 2.5-percent inflation threshold "allows for inflation at times to run modestly above" the Fed's 2-percent goal, it in fact acts as a safeguard against overheating, he said.
The U.S. economy grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the third quarter, but growth is expected to have slowed in the final months of the year. Last month, Fed policymakers said they expected GDP growth of between 2.3 to 3.0 percent this year, and 3.0 to 3.5 percent in 2014.
Meanwhile, most expect inflation to run a bit below the Fed's 2-percent target.
U.S. lawmakers on January 1 struck a partial deal that avoids the worst of planned tax rises known as the "fiscal cliff," but put off big decisions on spending cuts for two more months.
Evans said the effects of fiscal policy on U.S. growth are so far about what he had expected when making his growth forecasts late last year.
But he cautioned lawmakers on taking overly aggressive steps to cut back spending.
"The United States must consolidate its public sector finances; but it must do so gradually if we are to avoid further economic turmoil or another downturn," Evans said.

Read More..

U.S. economy to grow 2.5 percent this year: Fed's Evans

HONG KONG (Reuters) - The U.S. economy is expected to grow by 2.5 percent in 2013, improving to 3.5 percent growth in 2014, top Fed official Charles Evans said on Monday.
Evans also forecast the U.S. unemployment rate would be 7.4 percent this year, easing to about 7 percent in 2014.
"One good indicator of labor market improvement would be if we saw payroll employment increase by 200,000 each month for a number of months. We've been averaging about 150,000, but it's been very uneven ... we need a higher pace of employment growth and less volatility in that pace," Chicago Fed President Evans said.
The creation of 1 million jobs over six months would be a "substantive" improvement, but bringing unemployment down to the key level of 6.5 percent was likely to take much longer, probably until mid-2015, he said, speaking at the Asian Financial Forum in Hong Kong.
The U.S. Federal Reserve's decision last year to tie monetary policy to specific economic conditions should help boost the recovery without letting inflation take hold, said Evans, a chief architect of the policy.
It also provides additional accommodation by assuring markets that rates will remain low even after the economy perks up, he said.
"Given more explicit conditionality, markets can be more confident that we will provide the monetary accommodation necessary to close the large resource gaps that currently exist," he said. "Additionally, the public can be more certain that we will not wait too long to tighten if inflation were to become a substantial concern."
Last month, the Fed ramped up asset purchases aimed at spurring growth, and pledged to keep rates near zero until the unemployment rate drops to 6.5 percent, as long as inflation expectations do not climb above 2.5 percent.
Evans, who rotates into a voting spot on the Fed's policy-setting panel this year, had been pushing for exactly such a threshold-based policy for more than a year, saying the Fed needed to take a much more activist role in trying to meet its mandate to boost employment.
His speech on Monday was his first since mid-2011 to omit an explicit call for further Fed easing, suggesting he is now comfortable that the current stance of monetary policy will help bring down unemployment, still high at 7.8 percent.
Kansas City Fed President Esther George and other critics of the Fed's bond-buying program and low-rate policy have warned the central bank's actions could overheat the economy, leading to unwanted inflation.
Evans, one of several policy "doves" set to speak early this week, sought to head off such criticism.
While the Fed's new 2.5-percent inflation threshold "allows for inflation at times to run modestly above" the Fed's 2-percent goal, it in fact acts as a safeguard against overheating, he said.
The U.S. economy grew at a 3.1 percent annual rate in the third quarter, but growth is expected to have slowed in the final months of the year. Last month, Fed policymakers said they expected GDP growth of between 2.3 to 3.0 percent this year, and 3.0 to 3.5 percent in 2014.
Meanwhile, most expect inflation to run a bit below the Fed's 2-percent target.
U.S. lawmakers on January 1 struck a partial deal that avoids the worst of planned tax rises known as the "fiscal cliff," but put off big decisions on spending cuts for two more months.
Evans said the effects of fiscal policy on U.S. growth are so far about what he had expected when making his growth forecasts late last year.
But he cautioned lawmakers on taking overly aggressive steps to cut back spending.
"The United States must consolidate its public sector finances; but it must do so gradually if we are to avoid further economic turmoil or another downturn," Evans said.

Read More..

S.Africa's rand mostly flat as farming strike looms

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South Africa's rand held mostly steady on Monday as a strike that hit the farm belt last week looked set to intensify, posing a risk to agricultural production in Africa's largest economy.
The rand was positioned to trade within a narrow range against the dollar this week after being pushed down in the previous session following a sovereign ratings downgrade by Fitch, which warned of growing social instability and labour unrest.
Dealers expect short covering could benefit the rand at the start of the week, but that manufacturing data on Wednesday may give it a knock.
Unions have warned that farm workers' protests last week in the western grape-growing region were expected grow as workers seek to have their daily wages doubled to 150 rand from about 70 rand presently. Two people died in similar farm protests last year.
At 0634 GMT, the rand was at 8.7200, not too far from its 8.7255 New York close on Friday. It traded at a high of 8.7185 earlier.
"While the downgrade may be fully priced by now, the fact that the strike activity persists and the probability that this week's mining and manufacturing data could disappoint suggest that rand bulls should not become too enthusiastic about the chances of a swift recovery," Absa Capital said in a note.
Several major mining firms have yet to recover from crippling strikes that left more than 50 people dead last year and slowed production in the crucial sector.
The sovereign ratings downgrade may squeeze foreign exchange supply but some traders expect low returns in developed markets to underpin demand for South Africa's higher yielding paper.
The yield for the 13-year benchmark lost 3.5 basis points to 7.130 percent while the yield on the 2015 note was down 2.5 basis point to 5.325 percent.

Read More..

White House defends offer as 'good faith effort'

WASHINGTON (AP) — The White House is defending President Barack Obama's proposal to set a higher threshold for tax increases than what he vowed to do during his presidential campaign. The White House says Obama has moved halfway to meet House Speaker John Boehner on a "fiscal cliff" deal that raises $1.2 trillion in tax revenue, down from the $1.6 trillion Obama had initially requested.
White House spokesman Jay Carney says that offering to raise taxes on taxpayers earning more than $400,000 rather than the $200,000 he ran on demonstrates, in Carney's words, Obama's good faith effort to reach a compromise.
The new tax proposal is contained in a broader plan that Obama gave Boehner Monday that would cut spending further and lower cost-of-living increases for most Social Security beneficiaries.

Read More..

Factbox: U.S. House "Plan B" tax bill likely to have short shelf life

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. House of Representatives is likely to vote this week on what is being called "Plan B" on avoiding the "fiscal cliff."
The Republican-sponsored legislation aims to extend current low tax rates for most families. Without such action by Congress, across-the-board income tax rates will rise on January 1.
The combination of $500 billion in tax hikes and $100 billion in spending cuts, which are scheduled to start in the new year, could push the U.S. economy into recession, according to experts.
House Speaker John Boehner, the top Republican in Congress, and Democratic President Barack Obama have been trying for weeks to avoid the fiscal cliff with an alternative tax and spending-cut deal. Boehner says he is offering this very limited alternative in case negotiations with Obama fail.
Here are key elements of Boehner's Plan B:
* A House vote is expected on Thursday.
* Boehner expressed confidence on Wednesday that the measure would pass but some House Republican aides were not yet predicting that.
* The White House has said Obama would veto the Boehner Plan B in the unlikely event it made it to his desk.
* Democrats are viewing Plan B as nothing more than a diversion from attempts to reach a broad deficit-reduction deal to avoid the fiscal cliff. They see it as a way for Boehner to give his conservatives a vote on a measure that they can tout as a tax-cut bill for all but the wealthiest and inoculate them against Democratic accusations of obstruction.
* Republicans argue that they are acting responsibly by providing a backstop against massive tax increases in case the Obama-Boehner negotiations fail.
* Once Plan B is dealt with, all attention will shift to whether Obama and Boehner can work out a broad agreement by December 31 or whether the country will go off the cliff. If that happens, there is speculation that some sort of deal might be worked out in the early weeks of January to avoid the full brunt of the tax hikes and spending cuts.
* Under Boehner's Plan B, current low tax rates would be made permanent for families with net annual incomes of up to $1 million. The measure would let tax rates rise on income above $1 million. Without action by Congress, all income tax rates are set to rise on January 1 with the expiration of tax cuts enacted a decade ago by then-President George W. Bush.
* Plan B includes a grab bag of other expiring tax provisions. It would permanently fix the alternative minimum tax so that middle-class taxpayers do not creep into a tax bracket intended for the wealthiest. Annual AMT fixes have prevented tens of millions of households from paying a higher tax rate.
Also included are moves to maintain estate taxes at their current 35 percent rate per individual after a $5 million exemption. The White House backs reverting to the 2009 estate tax levels of 45 percent tax after a $3.5 million exemption per individual, though some moderate Democrats back keeping the current law.
Plan B legislation would raise dividend and capital gains tax rates for those earning $1 million and over to 20 percent, from its current 15 percent for most who pay such taxes. Most Democrats back raising the current 15 percent tax rate on investment income to 20 percent for households earning more than $250,000.
* The Joint Committee on Taxation estimates the plan would reduce U.S. revenues by around $4 trillion over 10 years.
* The plan does not address spending issues, including automatic across-the-board spending cuts also looming at year's end.
* The bill does not address how to resolve a looming stand-off over the government's borrowing authority. The government will need to raise the "debt ceiling" in the next few months to avoid default, and Obama wants higher borrowing authority approved promptly. House Republicans continue to want to hold back and use it as leverage in ongoing fiscal cliff talks, according to aides.
* Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid already has warned there are not the votes in his chamber to pass Boehner's plan. But if the House sent the Senate such a bill, Reid could respond in one of a few ways. He could declare that the Senate in July passed its version of this legislation, but with a $250,000 threshold, and take no further action. Or, he could offer a variation of the Senate-passed bill. Obama has proposed a $400,000 cut-off for maintaining low income tax rates. Reid could embrace that level or another one.
* The legislation is being inserted into an existing bill that originally had to do with Burma trade policy. A House Rules Committee spokesman said this was being done to avoid some potential procedural delays.

Read More..

U.S. charges three Swiss bankers in offshore account case

Three Swiss bankers accused of conspiring with American clients to hide more than $420 million from the tax-collecting U.S. Internal Revenue Service were indicted, the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan said on Wednesday.
The indictment named Stephan Fellmann, Otto Huppi and Christof Reist, all former client advisers with an unnamed Swiss bank. None of the bankers have been arrested, authorities said.
Their attorneys were not immediately known.
The indictment said the unnamed bank did not have offices in the United States.
Banking secrecy is enshrined in Swiss law and tradition, but it has recently come under pressure as the United States and other nations have moved aggressively to tighten tax law enforcement and demanded more openness and cooperation.
In April, two Swiss financial advisers were indicted on U.S. charges of conspiring to help Americans hide $267 million in secret bank accounts.
In January, prosecutors charged three Swiss bankers with conspiring with wealthy taxpayers to hide more than $1.2 billion in assets from tax authorities.
UBS AG, the largest Swiss bank, in 2009 paid a $780 million fine as part of a settlement with U.S. authorities who charged the bank helped thousands of wealthy Americans hide billions of dollars in assets in secret Swiss accounts.

Read More..

Powder Metallurgy Industry Top 10 Companies Analysis in New Market Research Report at ReportsnReports.com

ReportsnReports.com adds “Top Ten Companies in Powder Metallurgy” new market research report to its store.

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) December 27, 2012
The scope of this report is focused on a select 10 companies in the powder metals industry. This is in many ways a selected due diligence of the key companies and drivers in the PM marketplace. An attempt has been made to include top companies in metal powder manufacturing as well as those companies that use powder metal to fabricate components. Also included are descriptions of several up-and-coming global players—companies that appear to have the potential to become major contributors in the PM market.
This report on identifies:

     The top 10 major manufacturers of powder metal and other related materials, such as ceramics and nanopowders, special alloys and metal matrix composites, and companies that make parts and components for automotive products, industrial and tolling equipment, recreation and hobby items, appliances, business machines and other products.
     It is written with the intent of covering two major segments of the powder metallurgy industry: (1) those companies that manufacture metal powders, and (2) those who use the metal powders to fabricate components.
     Also included are descriptions of several up-and-coming global players—companies that appear to have the potential to become major contributors in the PM market.
Powder metallurgy is sometimes referred to as the chipless process, meaning there is nearly zero waste of material. This is due to the absence of machining operations compared to conventional metallurgical methods mentioned earlier. Statistics show that 97% or higher of the input material is retained in the final part. This alone saves the industry huge amounts of money as all conventional metal processing methods result in double-digit waste of material between incoming material and final product.
This focused report profiles the top 10 companies of this industry globally, and provides comments on several transformative changes that are happening in the powder metallurgy industry. The industry as such has a wide range of companies as players—including metal powder manufacturers, part manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, end users and several unique supporting suppliers.
The industry is well developed and mature, and has several global communities, groups, associations and similar organizations that support, campaign for, lobby and market the needs and services of the industry. These range from local clusters to international organizations of various sizes and membership counts. Overall, the industry is estimated to have more than 5,000 companies, not to mention the several thousands of less-established upcoming players.
The powder metallurgy industry caters to a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, medical and dental. In the recent years there have also been several new applications for powdered metals such as conductive inks, paints and electronics. This report will explore these application areas in detail.
That report provides a global review of the industry with trends, regulatory aspects and other macro-level factors. In that report, numerous companies are listed in brief along with their region of operation and products. The goal of this document is to provide a more in-depth look at the top-tier companies in the industry and to take a closer look at how the products from these companies are addressed in the market, thus providing an explorative financial and technical review to the readers.
The objectives include identifying companies that are considered the leaders and what technologies or management contributions make them leaders. There are certain market drivers and some constraints to both the companies and to the evolving technology they seek to dominate. There is a desire to ascertain whether these companies will be able to meet the continuing demand for their products by proprietary technology, strategy alliances, superior marketing or other sought-after advantages.
Most of the information presented in this report is based on that available from annual reports, various regulatory filings, company website, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and other public sources, and the author hereby acknowledges the same. Additional information was sourced from industry experts and people with a close understanding of the industry dynamics.
Buy your copy of report @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=211263 .
The Top 10 Companies In The Powder Metallurgy Industry: Basf, Carpenter Technology Corp., Fukuda Metal Foil And Powder Co., Gkn Plc, H.C. Starck, Hitachi Powder Metals Co. Ltd. , Hoganas, Ab, Metaldyne Llc, Miba Ag, Rio-Tinto.
Browse more reports on advanced materials market @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/market-research/advanced-material/.
About Us:

ReportsnReports.com (http://www.reportsnreports.com/ ) is an online market research reports library of 200,000+ in-depth studies of over 5000 micro markets. Our database includes reports by leading publishers from across the globe. We provide 24/7 online and offline support service to our customers.

Read More..

Phil Gramm's Proposal to End Wind Subsidies Could Hurt Wind Industry in Texas

Phil Gramm, a former United States senator from Texas and economics professor at Texas A&M, has published a piece in the Wall Street Journal attacking wind power subsidies as a distortion of the energy marketplace.
The ending of that subsidy, in the form of a tax credit, will adversely affect the wind power industry in Texas, according to a recent New York Times article.
Wind power subsidies are costly compared to other forms of energy
Gramm points out in his article that the United States has spent $24 billion since 1992 to encourage the development of a wind power industry in the form of direct spending, tax credits, loan guarantees, and other support. The subsidies cost $52.48 per million watt hours, as opposed to nuclear power at $3.10, hydropower at 84 cents, coal at 64 cents, and natural gas at 63 cents. Wind power also benefits from federal mandates as well as state support.
Wind power subsidies distort the energy market place
The problem, according to Gramm is that supporting costly wind power is displacing other, cheaper forms of energy production, such as natural gas. The subsidies are so high, Gramm suggests, that wind farm owners could actually pay utility companies to buy the electricity they generate and still make money. Additionally, wind power only works when the wind is blowing, causing utility companies that use wind to also have backup sources in case of calm weather.
Wind power in Texas depends on tax credits
The New York Times points out that the wind power industry in Texas depends on the tax credits due to expire at the end of 2012. Texas Republicans such as Sen. John Cornyn and Gov. Rick Perry, who had previously supported the wind power tax credit, are now supporting its abolishment in the name of tax reform. Wind farms have until the end of the year to qualify for the tax credit, should it expire, thus sparking a boom in construction being rushed before the deadline. The tax credit lasts for 10 years.
Texas oilman T. Boone Pickens had been proponent of wind power
Ironically, one of the most famous oilmen alive, T. Boone Pickens, had at one time been a proponent of wind power. According to Gigaom.com, Pickens could not get his wind farm built in Texas due to the recession that started in 2008 and the lack of power transmission lines. An attempt by him to build a wind farm in Minnesota fared no better. Pickens appears to be withdrawing from the wind power industry and concentrating instead on natural gas.

Read More..

eBazR.com - Global Trading Platform - Launches New Markeplaces and Mobile App

eBazR.com global online auction, e-store –and classified advertising site has launched a Mobile Application and additional Marketplaces – Jobs portal, Homes portal and a Blogs portal, offering traders an alternative to eBay – Amazon.

(PRWEB) December 26, 2012
eBazR,s Online Marketplace currently provides eight diverse markets:

    Auctions: is an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses can trade, buy and sell their products and services globally, Formats include: Buy it Now, Fixed Price, Dutch and Live English auction.
    Blogs: is a free blog-publishing tool from eBazR for easily sharing your thoughts with the world. eBazR Blogger makes it simple to post text, photos and video onto your personal or team blog.
    Classifieds: Ads for cars, jobs, flats and much more. Sell or buy anything on a local, National and Global basis, quick and free.
    Homes: is an online real estate property portal for properties for sale and to rent from the top estate agents and developers in the world
    Jobs: is an employment job board, eBazR premier global online employment solution for people seeking jobs and the employers who need great people as a "job board" to a global provider of a full array of job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent management products and services.
    Motors: is a site where sellers list cars for sale, so you're not dealing with the reliability of the site - it's down to the individual sellers, Buy and sell autos, trucks, parts, motorcycles, boats, accessories, and other used cars and vehicles on eBazR online auction site find, list, buy and sell, used cars, autos, motorcycles, car, used car, truck, parts, accessories, boats, online auction.
    Stores: Start your own business and sell bulk items, Build, Easily create a beautiful, hosted online store, Manage, Process orders, manage inventory and sell more, Grow Get found on Google, eBay, Facebook and much more
    Trades People: The Smarter Way to Find Tradesmen! And A Smarter Way to Find Customers, Find local recommended tradesmen who've been approved by others. Post a job, get a quote and pick the most reliable tradesman with the best reviews!, become a member of the largest rated tradesmen directory, receive potential leads for jobs in your area and see your business grow, introduces people with home improvement projects to tradesmen who have been rated and recommended by others.
eBazR.com, offers a viable alternative to popular online trading sites such as eBay, Amazon without the high fees. It also features optional social networking tools, such as instantly posting your listings on Twitter and Facebook, so that you can promote your products quickly and easily.
eBazR.com provides both professional traders and people who want to make money and sell unwanted personal items the ability to buy and sell across the world in their own currency. This makes tapping into a global marketplace easy and risk free for Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Retailers of all sizes and individuals who want to make extra money listing their Goods and services.
eBazR has just launched its new free mobile application with augmented reality functionality. By exploiting the latest digital technologies, eBazR invites its customers to explore the uncompromising quality on the eBazR Marketplace, and to find, Buy, Bid and Sell your Goods, Items and Services in a fun and unexpected way.
“At eBazR, we have a passion for creativity and for all kinds of digital means of expression. We continuously try to bring our customers exceptional experiences, and by using augmented reality, we are adding a digital layer around our products and Services. The application is one part entertainment and one part service. Ultimately, it adds excitement and value to anyone who trades on eBazR Marketplace”, says Elliot Carver, Global Marketing Manager at Carver Media Group.
To try the app, the user needs an augmented reality visual code that comes with this release. Consumers that cannot get hold of the QR Code can download and print a tag from eBazR.com. “In an intriguing and visually stunning way, the application shows how eBazR goes to unnecessary lengths to make a good ,safe trading environment”, Elliot Carver, continues.
The FREE Mobile App can be downloaded for from ITUNES App Store and Google Play

The eBazR Marketplace mobile app is available free for iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPad2, Android and Blackberry on eBazR, It was created by eBazR in collaboration with Carver Media Group, the digital agency of eBazR Plc.
Visit http://www.eBazR.com to find out more and take advantage of online trading across the world.

Read More..

ListedBy and Revestor Enter Marketing Agreement

Partnership builds on synergies in the real estate investment market.

NAPA Calif. (PRWEB) December 26, 2012
ListedBy (http://www.ListedBy.com), the first free online real estate marketplace and social network with live bidding public real estate auctions and ‘Best Offer’ functionality, and Revestor (http://www.revestor.com), a real estate platform that enables home buyers and investors to instantly evaluate a property’s likely returns, today announced a co-marketing agreement that builds on a number of synergies between the two organizations, including strengths and appeal within the real estate investment market segment.
The partnership incorporates a revenue share component and covers multiple cross-platform exposure and promotion programs.
"We are very pleased to partner with Bill Lyons and the Revestor team,” said Stephan Piscano, CEO and Co-Founder, ListedBy. “Buyers on ListedBy.com are looking for the type of analysis that Revestor provides, and Revestor users will benefit greatly from the free exposure ListedBy.com offers to help investors market assets to our highly targeted buyer community.”
"We are excited to offer to ListedBy members an additional tool for success, as we are about bringing to Revestor users the ability to research and buy investment properties including off-market assets on ListedBy,” said Bill Lyons, CEO and Member, Revestor.
Consumers and real estate investors across the United States can use Revestor's technology in their home buying process to estimate the risks involved with a home purchase and expectations for future potential performance of specific properties.
ListedBy members use the platform to research MLS listings nationwide and to view, bid on, or purchase homes and investment properties instantly online. Users can submit a ‘Best Offer’ on a desired property, or purchase the asset outright through the Buy-It-Now function. Buyers can also bid on listings through on-going commercial and residential real estate auction events on the site, including real estate foreclosure auctions, completely free of charge.
About Revestor
Revestor is a new real estate marketplace for consumers and investors to search homes for sale. With their patent pending technology, anyone buying real estate can search the unique application to find homes estimated to offer the best return. Users apply the information to make buying decisions that will benefit them in the long run, whether as a place to rent, live or invest in. For more information, visit http://www.revestor.com.
About ListedBy
ListedBy is the first free online real estate marketplace and social network with live bidding auction and ‘Best Offer’ functionality. Buyers, sellers, real estate professionals and service providers join ListedBy to network and to list, research, buy and sell real assets in a collaborative, transparent environment. ListedBy is headquartered in Napa, and is privately funded. For ongoing news, please visit http://www.listedby.com/about.

Read More..

Introducing TicketHurry - A Safe, New Way to Buy Tickets Online

Online shoppers can breathe easy, TicketHurry is a safe, low-priced marketplace for tickets to any event.

(PRWEB) December 26, 2012
Everyone has heard the news stories: “concert ‘A’ has sold out within a matter of seconds, demand is sky high!” These headlines seem dire but never again should fans lose hope in seeing their favorite performers live. Even when Ticketmaster and the local box office are sold out, TicketHurry has consumers covered. Reports almost never highlight those sources as only being a slice of the concert pie, which means crazed fans can buy up the stock almost immediately. TicketHurry collects tickets from a wide assortment of official ticket brokers, offering the seats that were unavailable at the box office. However ticket shopping can be confusing, and a common question among first-time buyers is “is it safe?”
To that question they may receive opposing answers but each are easily debunked. The world can be a dangerous place, so yes, sometimes websites are scams that should not be trusted. Fortunately websites take time to build, so in many cases the validity of a business can be discerned by the effort put into the website - which will seem obvious at first glance. Most ticket-selling marketplaces are completely legit and professional, and even offer protection against any complications with the event purchase. If you ever run into any problems with a ticket purchased through TicketHurry, they will investigate it and issue a full refund. The tickets will typically arrive by mail, or give the option to print and go; just as is standard from Ticketmaster. This should alleviate concerns for ticket buyers, who can now rest easy knowing they won't miss their favorite artists. Most major events that have been announced as sold out from the box office are still available, with tickets just waiting for a new home!

Read More..

NewsWatch features Hyatt Hotel and The Michael Mondavi Family's "Canvas Art of Wine" iPad App on AppWatch

NewsWatch, a nationwide television show, recently aired a news segment about “Canvas Art of Wine”, a new app by Hyatt Hotels and the Mondavi Family. The segment aired as part of “AppWatch”, a weekly review of the top apps in the marketplace.

Washington, DC (PRWEB) December 26, 2012
NewsWatch, a nationwide television show, recently aired a news segment about “Canvas Art of Wine”, a new app by Hyatt Hotels and the Mondavi Family. The segment aired as part of “AppWatch”, a weekly review of the top apps in the marketplace.
Hyatt Hotels and The Michael Mondavi Family teamed up to create Canvas Wines, the signature wine brand of the hotel chain. The app allows users to take photos of their travels, share experiences, and mail customized postcards to their friends and family.
The Canvas Art of Living Postcard app offers the ability to create digital and print postcards to share with family and friends. Users can capture everyday moments or special occasions with the Canvas Art of Living Postcard app!
To download the app, users should visit http://www.canvaswines.com/living or at their next stay at a Hyatt, order a glass of Canvas wine. When they receive the glass of wine, the Hyatt Hotel bartender will provide a coaster that will include a QR code. This code will automatically direct a mobile phone’s web browser to the Canvas Wines website. From the site, users can download the Canvas Art of Living app and start sharing their many travel and wine experiences!
Once users have downloaded the app from either the iTunes Store or Google Play, they can select one of the many postcard designs inspired by Canvas Wines, upload a photo from their smartphone or take a new photo, create their own personalized headline and custom message, then send the card. All finished postcards are automatically saved to a user’s personal gallery.

A user’s digital postcards can be shared via email, text message or on Facebook. Users can convert their digital postcard into a printed postcard to share with family and friends. This customized postcard will be printed and mailed for just $1.99.
For more information or to download the “Canvas Art of Living” app, go to Canvas Wines.
NewsWatch is a weekly 30-minute consumer oriented television show that airs on the ION Network Thursday mornings at 5:30am across the nation. NewsWatch regularly features top travel destinations, health tips, technology products, medical breakthroughs and entertainment news on the show. A recent addition to NewsWatch, AppWatch is a weekly segment that provides viewers app reviews and game reviews of the latest and hottest apps and games out on the market for iOS and Android devices. The show airs in 180 markets nationwide as well as all of the top 20 broadcast markets in the country, and is the preferred choice for Satellite Media Tour and Video News Release Distribution.

Read More..

eBazR.com - Global Trading Platform - Launches New Markeplaces and Mobile App

eBazR.com global online auction, e-store –and classified advertising site has launched a Mobile Application and additional Marketplaces – Jobs portal, Homes portal and a Blogs portal, offering traders an alternative to eBay – Amazon.

(PRWEB) December 26, 2012
eBazR,s Online Marketplace currently provides eight diverse markets:

    Auctions: is an online auction and shopping website in which people and businesses can trade, buy and sell their products and services globally, Formats include: Buy it Now, Fixed Price, Dutch and Live English auction.
    Blogs: is a free blog-publishing tool from eBazR for easily sharing your thoughts with the world. eBazR Blogger makes it simple to post text, photos and video onto your personal or team blog.
    Classifieds: Ads for cars, jobs, flats and much more. Sell or buy anything on a local, National and Global basis, quick and free.
    Homes: is an online real estate property portal for properties for sale and to rent from the top estate agents and developers in the world
    Jobs: is an employment job board, eBazR premier global online employment solution for people seeking jobs and the employers who need great people as a "job board" to a global provider of a full array of job seeking, career management, recruitment and talent management products and services.
    Motors: is a site where sellers list cars for sale, so you're not dealing with the reliability of the site - it's down to the individual sellers, Buy and sell autos, trucks, parts, motorcycles, boats, accessories, and other used cars and vehicles on eBazR online auction site find, list, buy and sell, used cars, autos, motorcycles, car, used car, truck, parts, accessories, boats, online auction.
    Stores: Start your own business and sell bulk items, Build, Easily create a beautiful, hosted online store, Manage, Process orders, manage inventory and sell more, Grow Get found on Google, eBay, Facebook and much more
    Trades People: The Smarter Way to Find Tradesmen! And A Smarter Way to Find Customers, Find local recommended tradesmen who've been approved by others. Post a job, get a quote and pick the most reliable tradesman with the best reviews!, become a member of the largest rated tradesmen directory, receive potential leads for jobs in your area and see your business grow, introduces people with home improvement projects to tradesmen who have been rated and recommended by others.
eBazR.com, offers a viable alternative to popular online trading sites such as eBay, Amazon without the high fees. It also features optional social networking tools, such as instantly posting your listings on Twitter and Facebook, so that you can promote your products quickly and easily.
eBazR.com provides both professional traders and people who want to make money and sell unwanted personal items the ability to buy and sell across the world in their own currency. This makes tapping into a global marketplace easy and risk free for Manufacturers, Wholesalers, Retailers of all sizes and individuals who want to make extra money listing their Goods and services.
eBazR has just launched its new free mobile application with augmented reality functionality. By exploiting the latest digital technologies, eBazR invites its customers to explore the uncompromising quality on the eBazR Marketplace, and to find, Buy, Bid and Sell your Goods, Items and Services in a fun and unexpected way.
“At eBazR, we have a passion for creativity and for all kinds of digital means of expression. We continuously try to bring our customers exceptional experiences, and by using augmented reality, we are adding a digital layer around our products and Services. The application is one part entertainment and one part service. Ultimately, it adds excitement and value to anyone who trades on eBazR Marketplace”, says Elliot Carver, Global Marketing Manager at Carver Media Group.
To try the app, the user needs an augmented reality visual code that comes with this release. Consumers that cannot get hold of the QR Code can download and print a tag from eBazR.com. “In an intriguing and visually stunning way, the application shows how eBazR goes to unnecessary lengths to make a good ,safe trading environment”, Elliot Carver, continues.
The FREE Mobile App can be downloaded for from ITUNES App Store and Google Play

The eBazR Marketplace mobile app is available free for iPhone 3GS, 4, 4S, iPad2, Android and Blackberry on eBazR, It was created by eBazR in collaboration with Carver Media Group, the digital agency of eBazR Plc.

Read More..

Phil Gramm's Proposal to End Wind Subsidies Could Hurt Wind Industry in Texas

Phil Gramm, a former United States senator from Texas and economics professor at Texas A&M, has published a piece in the Wall Street Journal attacking wind power subsidies as a distortion of the energy marketplace.
The ending of that subsidy, in the form of a tax credit, will adversely affect the wind power industry in Texas, according to a recent New York Times article.
Wind power subsidies are costly compared to other forms of energy
Gramm points out in his article that the United States has spent $24 billion since 1992 to encourage the development of a wind power industry in the form of direct spending, tax credits, loan guarantees, and other support. The subsidies cost $52.48 per million watt hours, as opposed to nuclear power at $3.10, hydropower at 84 cents, coal at 64 cents, and natural gas at 63 cents. Wind power also benefits from federal mandates as well as state support.
Wind power subsidies distort the energy market place
The problem, according to Gramm is that supporting costly wind power is displacing other, cheaper forms of energy production, such as natural gas. The subsidies are so high, Gramm suggests, that wind farm owners could actually pay utility companies to buy the electricity they generate and still make money. Additionally, wind power only works when the wind is blowing, causing utility companies that use wind to also have backup sources in case of calm weather.
Wind power in Texas depends on tax credits
The New York Times points out that the wind power industry in Texas depends on the tax credits due to expire at the end of 2012. Texas Republicans such as Sen. John Cornyn and Gov. Rick Perry, who had previously supported the wind power tax credit, are now supporting its abolishment in the name of tax reform. Wind farms have until the end of the year to qualify for the tax credit, should it expire, thus sparking a boom in construction being rushed before the deadline. The tax credit lasts for 10 years.

Read More..

Powder Metallurgy Industry Top 10 Companies Analysis in New Market Research Report at ReportsnReports.com

ReportsnReports.com adds “Top Ten Companies in Powder Metallurgy” new market research report to its store.

Dallas, Texas (PRWEB) December 27, 2012
The scope of this report is focused on a select 10 companies in the powder metals industry. This is in many ways a selected due diligence of the key companies and drivers in the PM marketplace. An attempt has been made to include top companies in metal powder manufacturing as well as those companies that use powder metal to fabricate components. Also included are descriptions of several up-and-coming global players—companies that appear to have the potential to become major contributors in the PM market.
This report on identifies:

     The top 10 major manufacturers of powder metal and other related materials, such as ceramics and nanopowders, special alloys and metal matrix composites, and companies that make parts and components for automotive products, industrial and tolling equipment, recreation and hobby items, appliances, business machines and other products.
     It is written with the intent of covering two major segments of the powder metallurgy industry: (1) those companies that manufacture metal powders, and (2) those who use the metal powders to fabricate components.
     Also included are descriptions of several up-and-coming global players—companies that appear to have the potential to become major contributors in the PM market.
Powder metallurgy is sometimes referred to as the chipless process, meaning there is nearly zero waste of material. This is due to the absence of machining operations compared to conventional metallurgical methods mentioned earlier. Statistics show that 97% or higher of the input material is retained in the final part. This alone saves the industry huge amounts of money as all conventional metal processing methods result in double-digit waste of material between incoming material and final product.
This focused report profiles the top 10 companies of this industry globally, and provides comments on several transformative changes that are happening in the powder metallurgy industry. The industry as such has a wide range of companies as players—including metal powder manufacturers, part manufacturers, equipment manufacturers, end users and several unique supporting suppliers.
The industry is well developed and mature, and has several global communities, groups, associations and similar organizations that support, campaign for, lobby and market the needs and services of the industry. These range from local clusters to international organizations of various sizes and membership counts. Overall, the industry is estimated to have more than 5,000 companies, not to mention the several thousands of less-established upcoming players.
The powder metallurgy industry caters to a wide range of industries including automotive, aerospace, medical and dental. In the recent years there have also been several new applications for powdered metals such as conductive inks, paints and electronics. This report will explore these application areas in detail.
That report provides a global review of the industry with trends, regulatory aspects and other macro-level factors. In that report, numerous companies are listed in brief along with their region of operation and products. The goal of this document is to provide a more in-depth look at the top-tier companies in the industry and to take a closer look at how the products from these companies are addressed in the market, thus providing an explorative financial and technical review to the readers.
The objectives include identifying companies that are considered the leaders and what technologies or management contributions make them leaders. There are certain market drivers and some constraints to both the companies and to the evolving technology they seek to dominate. There is a desire to ascertain whether these companies will be able to meet the continuing demand for their products by proprietary technology, strategy alliances, superior marketing or other sought-after advantages.
Most of the information presented in this report is based on that available from annual reports, various regulatory filings, company website, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) and other public sources, and the author hereby acknowledges the same. Additional information was sourced from industry experts and people with a close understanding of the industry dynamics.
Buy your copy of report @ http://www.reportsnreports.com/purchase.aspx?name=211263 .
The Top 10 Companies In The Powder Metallurgy Industry: Basf, Carpenter Technology Corp., Fukuda Metal Foil And Powder Co., Gkn Plc, H.C. Starck, Hitachi Powder Metals Co. Ltd. , Hoganas, Ab, Metaldyne Llc, Miba Ag, Rio-Tinto.

Read More..