Monthly Archives: February 2012

Panasonic to Lose $10.2 Billion

February 26, 2012   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.glasgowcomputers.com

Panasonic is expecting a record loss of $10.2 billion.

The Japanese company’s predicted loss for the year to March has exceeded expectations.  The loss is mostly due to restructuring charges and writedowns for its Sanyo Electric unit.

At a press briefing held in Tokyo on Feb. 3, Panasonic President Fumio Ohtsubo apologized for the unexpected loss.  He didn’t say however that he would be stepping down to allow someone else to revamp the company.

Panasonic joins rivals Sony and Sharp in giant losses for the TV business.  Between the three, they are expected to lose roughly $17 billion this year.

One of the reasons all three companies have suffered such grand losses is due to the emerging power of tablets and smartphones.  More and more consumers are now choosing to watch television on their devices rather then on an actual TV set.

To make up for some of the losses, Panasonic will be eliminating 17,000 jobs by the end of March.

Read More

Windows is Losing Out to OS X

February 26, 2012   Rebecca Welk   3 Comments

Despite Microsoft’s recent gains this past year, Windows has seen no growth, and has even declined by 5%. Apple and its software, OS X, had a gain of 5% in the last quarter and 22% in the past year. Microsoft’s overall revenue was only half of Apple’s.

According to a survey by Chikita, Windows operating system’s web browsing market share has fallen from 78.3% to 71.4% between August 2011 and February 2012.

Windows 8, which premiered in June 2011, may be Microsoft’s only hope. With a new logo and user interface, Windows 8 can also connect to Microsoft’s other products such as the Xbox 360.

Photo Credit: www.socialbarrel.com

Read more here.

Read More

U.S. Postal Service Plans to Cut 35,000 Jobs

February 26, 2012   Rebecca Welk   2 Comments

This past week, the United States Postal Service made the announcement that they plan to cut nearly 35,000 jobs, including 30,000 full-time jobs, and close 223 processing centers around the country.

Patrick Donahoe, the Postmaster General, said that over $20 billion needs to be cut from the budget by the year 2015. By making these recently announced cuts, the Postal Service is still only cutting $2.6 billion, which is not enough. If these cuts are not approved, the USPS could be losing $182.5 billion per year within the next three years.

Over the course of the past five years, the USPS has cut 140,000 workers, but still has nearly 650,000 jobs as of the end of 2011.

Photo Credit: www.newslincolncounty.com

Read more here

Read More

No Minor Matter for Minorities

February 25, 2012   Meagan Cahuasqui   No comments

With all the strides the United States has made over the years since its inception, inequality among the races still abounds.  The University of California, Berkley Center for Labor Research and Education released a study that revealed how deep the divide between the races really is.

The issue of Social Security has a strong impact on blacks and Latinos.  Elderly citizens who fall into these two categories rely on this source of income as their main means of financial survival.  Even so, a higher percentage of whites receive greater benefits from Social Security than do minorities.

Separated into three categories—the lower 25 percent, the middle 50 percent, and the upper 25 percent—a significantly smaller number of minorities fall into the upper 25 percent category of income distributed by Social Security.

Granted, the reduction of Social Security has left all elderly citizens more impoverished today than they were in the ‘30s.  But none have been more affected than blacks and Latinos.  While whites hold a 7.4 percent portion of the poverty level, blacks hold 19.3 percent and Latinos 19.0 percent.

The unbalance does not stop there.  As it is, blacks and Latinos are less likely to have a retirement plan of any kind at all than are whites.  Most do not opt to participate in an employer’s retirement plan because it consists of a 401k, which means not all are qualified to participate.

When an employer offers a 401k plan, the employee can have the company set a portion of his/her cash wages aside for a retirement fund.  According to the IRS website “these deferred wages…are not subject to federal income tax withholding at the time of deferral.”

Although the U.S. has come a long way in ensuring fairness for all in several ways, the country still has a long way to go.  Changes must still be made if all of its citizens are to maintain their dignity, especially come time for retirement.

Read More

Postal Service Continues to Lose Billions Quarterly

February 25, 2012   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.green.autoblog.com

The U.S. Postal Service has reported that they lost $3.3 billion in the final quarter of 2011.

The Postal Service has said that unless Congress agrees to make cuts in facilities and employees, the service will run out of money by October 2012.

This is now the ninth consecutive quarter of losses and the Postal Service hopes that this will increase pressure on Congress.

The Postal Service currently spends $220 million a day, which comes out to $1.3 billion for a six-day work week.

Last year the Postal Service had reached its $15 billion borrowing limit from the U.S. Treasury.  They currently are expecting a $14.1 billion loss for this fiscal year.  The service is hoping to eliminate around 220,000 jobs and close around 12 percent of all post offices in order to cut $20 billion annually in expenses by the year 2015.

Read More

Facilitator for “The Amazing Race” Dies

February 25, 2012   Joanelle Navarro   No comments

Photo Credit: www.ugandapicks.com

A facilitator for “The Amazing Race” has reportedly died by poisoning.

Jeff Rice was in Uganda with another facilitator when he died.  Both men were supposedly poisoned.

While details are sketchy, a source reveals that after Rice and his co-worker refused to give in to demands made by local thugs, both men ended up very sick due to poison.

Facilitators are often local people hired by production companies to make arrangements with the local officials prior to shooting in the country.

Rice was not working on “The Amazing Race” at his death, but he had worked on Season 20, which began airing on CBS on Feb. 19.  Rice had also worked on Animal Planet’s “Whale Wars,” along with multiple other shows and television movies.

CBS currently has no comment.

Read More

Stella McCartney uses flash mob instead of catwalk at London Fashion Week

February 25, 2012   Brittany Gasper   No comments

Photo credit: http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/

Stella McCartney is known for her Parisian venues when showing new collections, but while presenting her Fall 2012 clothing line at this year’s London Fashion Week, she managed to shock everyone.

On Feb. 18, McCartney presented her collection to around 100 guests – including singer Rihanna, models Alexa Chung and Kate Moss and American Vogue’s editor-in-chief, Anna Wintour. The evening began in a former church in London’s up-market Mayfair district with a magic show and a formal jazz band, but the surprise came during the black-tie dinner. Models wearing McCartney’s eagerly awaited evening collection separated from the crowd and began to dance in a flash mob.

Swinging through the air and jumping onto tables, the models and professional dancers moved to the sounds of Led Zeppelin while managing to show off the bright marbled prints and bold, full skirts of McCartney’s new collection.

“It was nice to see something new, something dramatic,” said Bianca Jagger.

Despite the full-time job of creating her presentation, McCartney has succeeded in juggling that with another collection she will reveal in Paris in two weeks. McCartney has also managed to design and keep secret the Olympic outfits for Great Britain which will be revealed this summer. Overall, McCartney has seemingly impressed everyone with her skill, style and presentation.

Read More

Girl Shoots Hoops During Coma

February 24, 2012   Rebecca Welk   8 Comments

Photo Credit: www.kansascity.com

In 2008, freshman basketball player Maggie Meier from Overland Park, Kansas, discovered that she had mycoplasma meningoencephalitis. This is a disease that caused severe swelling in her brain and numerous seizures. Eventually, one of her seizures sent her into a coma for over two months.

During those two months, Maggie did not walk or talk, but she did do one thing: shoot a beach ball. When Maggie would wake up, she would shoot the ball through her sister’s encircled arms. The Meiers would move her to a chair so she could also shoot through a mini-hoop by her bed.

After coming out of her coma, Maggie did not remember anything from her coma. She had to re-learn all basic skills such as walking, talking, reading, and socializing. The damage to her brain was only temporary and reversible. Basketball played a crucial role in Maggie’s recovery, and her coach supported her through the entire process.

Now a senior, Maggie is back on the varsity basketball team and prepared to attend Benedictine College in Kansas in the fall. She plans to earn a degree in special education.

Read more here.

Read More

Legally Blind Gymnast Beats All Odds

February 24, 2012   Rebecca Welk   2 Comments

Lola Walters, from California, seems like any other talented teenage gymnast. At the recent American Gymnastics Academy Long Beach Open, Walters competed against other gymnasts her age.

Although, Walters is slightly different from her competitors. She suffers from Nystagmus, which causes her to see double and classifies her as legally blind. Lola’s condition also minimizes her depth perception, which makes the beam competition difficult. But Walters does not let her eyesight stop her.

Lola’s touch plays a key role in her success. She often grounds herself by using touch through her hands and feet if she is seeing double or cannot see at all.

During her recent competition in Long Beach, the judges and Lola’s competitors were surprised to learn of her condition after watching her compete.

Photo Credit: www.abcnews.go.com

Read more here.

Read More

Apology from Aretha Franklin for Missing Whitney Houston’s Funeral

February 24, 2012   Jocelyn Apodaca   No comments

Aretha Franklin, long time friend of the Houston family and “Queen of Soul”, sent flowers of apology to Houston’s mother for missing the funeral.

The New York Daily News reported the flowers were delivered to Cissy Houston on Feb 21, three days after the ceremony in Newark, N.J.

Franklin was scheduled to sing at the funeral, cancelling last minute due to leg spasms.

“She was stunned and heartbroken,” a source close to the Houston family told the Daily News, adding Franklin watched the funeral live and text about it the entire time.

Franklin sent mixed messages when she missed the funeral and performed later that night at Radio City Music Hall, also attending the post-concert reception at the Ritz Carlton.

It appeared to sources that her leg was not well.

Reports speculated Franklin was disinvited from the the Houston funeral because of comments she made during her interview on NBC’s “Today” Show, according to Associated Press.

She later released a statement saying her comments were taken out of context.

She is also denying claims she was disinvited from the ceremony.

Read More
« Older posts
Newer posts »

  • Imaginaerum – Official Trailer

  • Free PR Web Directory

    News and Media link directory