Video: Speaker Boehner on Gingrich, 2012

October 30: Plouffe, roundtable

Nearly a year away from the 2012 election, we?ll talk to the president?s 2008 campaign manager, now White House Senior Adviser, David Plouffe. Then author of the definitive new biography on the late Apple CEO, Steve Jobs, Walter Isaacson; Author of the new book ?The Time of Our Lives,? NBC News Special Correspondent, Tom Brokaw; Former Governor of Michigan, Jennifer Granholm; and Republican strategist, Mike Murphy.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3032608/vp/45714575#45714575

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Job market brightens as unemployment claims sink

In this Dec. 12, 2011 photo, people wait to talk with potential employers at a job fair sponsored by National Career Fairs, in New York. The number of people seeking unemployment aid dropped to its lowest level since May 2008 last week, a hopeful sign that layoffs are declining and hiring may pick up. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

In this Dec. 12, 2011 photo, people wait to talk with potential employers at a job fair sponsored by National Career Fairs, in New York. The number of people seeking unemployment aid dropped to its lowest level since May 2008 last week, a hopeful sign that layoffs are declining and hiring may pick up. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

In this Dec. 12, 2011 photo, Stephen Rutkowski, a chiropractor from Greenwich, Conn., waits in line to attend a job fair sponsored by National Career Fairs, in New York. The number of people seeking unemployment aid dropped to its lowest level since May 2008 last week, a hopeful sign that layoffs are declining and hiring may pick up. (AP Photo/Mark Lennihan)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The outlook for the job market is looking brighter.

Far fewer people are seeking unemployment benefits than just three months ago ? a sign that layoffs are falling sharply.

The number of people applying for benefits fell last week to 366,000, the fewest since May 2008. If the number stayed that low consistently, it would likely signal that hiring is strong enough to lower unemployment.

The unemployment rate is now 8.6 percent. The last time applications were this low, the rate was 5.4 percent.

The big question is whether fewer layoffs will translate into robust hiring. It hasn't happened yet, even though job growth has increased in recent months.

The four-week average of weekly unemployment applications, which smooths out fluctuations, dropped last week to 387,750. That's the lowest four-week since July 2008. The four-week average has declined in 10 of the past 12 weeks.

"Labor market conditions have taken a turn for the better in recent weeks," Michael Gapen, an economist at Barclays Capital, said in a note to clients. "Payroll growth should improve in the coming months."

Separately, the prices companies pay for factory and farm goods rose 0.3 percent last month. The figure was pushed up by higher food and pharmaceutical prices. But energy prices barely rose, keeping inflation in check.

In the 12 months ending in November, wholesale prices have increased 5.7 percent, the Labor Department said Thursday. It's the smallest year-over-year increase since March.

The department's producer price index measures price changes before they reach consumers.

A mixed picture of manufacturing emerged from other reports Thursday. Factory output fell in November for the first time in seven months, according to the Federal Reserve. Manufacturers made fewer cars, electronics and appliances.

But some economists noted that auto sales rose in November, suggesting that production will rebound.

And the Federal Reserve Banks of Philadelphia and New York said manufacturing expanded in their regions. Manufacturing has been a key source of growth this year.

Still, the U.S. manufacturing sector could weaken in 2012. Growth is slowing in Asia. Europe is likely already in recession. And U.S. companies are reducing their investment in machinery and other large equipment.

The downward trend in applications suggests that companies are cutting fewer workers as the economy picks up. It also comes as Congress is wrangling over whether to extend emergency unemployment benefits, which are set to expire at the end of this year.

Growth may top 3 percent in the final three months of this year, according to many economists. That would be up from 2 percent in the July-September quarter.

Other recent reports suggest the job market is improving a bit. In the past three months, net job gains have averaged 143,000 a month. That compares with an average of 84,000 in the previous three months.

In November, employers added 120,000 jobs, and the unemployment rate fell to 8.6 percent from 9 percent. That was the lowest unemployment rate in 2? years. But about half that decline occurred because many of the unemployed gave up looking for work. When people stop looking for a job, they're no longer counted as unemployed.

Employers posted fewer jobs in October than in the previous month, the government said Tuesday, though the decline was modest.

Job openings have risen by about 35 percent since the recession officially ended in June 2009. But they're still about 25 percent below pre-recession levels.

More than 7.4 million people are receiving unemployment benefits, according to Thursday's report. About 2 million will lose their benefits by mid-February if the emergency program expires.

Lawmakers differ over how long benefits should last. The House passed a Republican bill Tuesday that would renew emergency aid but reduce the maximum duration to 59 weeks from the current 99 weeks.

Democrats want to keep the full 99 weeks. The measure is part of broader legislation in the Democratic-led Senate that would also extend a Social Security tax cut.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-15-Economy/id-7d2a9f2c47fd4a2c859aff02e7b66e30

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Pantech P9070 brings a dose of AT&T LTE love to the FCC

Pantech's making all sorts of progress in the US LTE market, first with the budget-friendly Breakout on Verizon and then the mysterious P4100 tablet that went through the FCC this week carrying AT&T 700 / 1700 LTE bands. Now, a handset that has the same frequencies as the aforementioned tablet (including Band 5, which uses 850MHz) just made it through the Federal approval process. Known only as the P9070, little is known about this device other than the fancy blueprint above and diagram-o'-measurements below. It already received WiFi certification in August, so it seems to have been in testing for a while. Could this be Pantech's big hit for CES 2012?

Continue reading Pantech P9070 brings a dose of AT&T LTE love to the FCC

Pantech P9070 brings a dose of AT&T LTE love to the FCC originally appeared on Engadget on Thu, 15 Dec 2011 23:50:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/j0k4KRPqucM/

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Atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens dead at 62 (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? British-born journalist and atheist intellectual Christopher Hitchens, who made the United States his home and backed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq, died on Thursday at the age of 62.

Hitchens died in Houston of pneumonia, a complication of cancer of the esophagus, Vanity Fair magazine said.

"Christopher Hitchens - the incomparable critic, masterful rhetorician, fiery wit, and fearless bon vivant - died today at the age of 62," Vanity Fair said.

A heavy smoker and drinker, Hitchens cut short a book tour for his memoir "Hitch 22" last year to undergo chemotherapy after being diagnosed with cancer.

As a journalist, war correspondent and literary critic, Hitchens carved out a reputation for barbed repartee, scathing critiques of public figures and a fierce intelligence.

In his 2007 book "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything," Hitchens took on major religions with his trenchant atheism. He argued that religion was the source of all tyranny and that many of the world's evils have been done in the name of religion.

The son of a British naval officer, Hitchens studied at Oxford University and worked as literary critic for the New Statesman magazine in London before moving to New York to work as a journalist in 1981. He settled in Washington the following year, initially as correspondent for the left-wing magazine The Nation. He retained his British citizenship when he became an American citizen in 2007.

Hitchens was not one to mince words. In his book on Bill Clinton "No one left to lie to", he called the former U.S. president a "rapist" and a "con man." He once referred to Mother Teresa of Calcutta as a "fanatical Albanian dwarf."

The author of 25 books - including works on Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine and George Orwell - and countless articles and columns, Hitchens never lost his biting humor.

'CANCER ELITE'

"I'm a member of a cancer elite. I rather look down on people with lesser cancers," Hitchens said in an interview with CBS "60 Minutes" aired on March 6, 2011.

In a 2010 interview with Reuters, Hitchens dismissed criticism that he moved from left to right and helped former U.S. President George W. Bush sell the 2003 war with Iraq to the American public with what turned out to be bad intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.

"Saddam was an enemy of the civilized world and he should have been taken out a long time before," Hitchens said of Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein. "I have no regrets about that at all."

The 2001 attacks on the United States by Islamic fundamentalists in hijacked passenger planes made Hitchens ever more critical of the role of religion in the world, and led him to appreciate the merits of American democracy.

"I am absolutely convinced that the main source of hatred in the world is religion, and organized religion," he wrote.

Hitchens is survived by his wife, Carol Blue; their daughter, Antonia; and his children from a previous marriage, Alexander and Sophia, Vanity Fair said.

In his last essay on www.vanityfair.com, dated "January 2012," Hitchens said his illness made him question the saying attributed to German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche that "Whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger."

A painkiller injection just before typing the article titled "Trial of the Will," Hitchens wrote, caused "numbness in the extremities, filling me with the not irrational fear that I shall lose the ability to write. Without that ability, I feel sure in advance, my 'will to live' would be hugely attenuated."

(Editing by Mohammad Zargham)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/religion/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111216/ts_nm/us_christopherhitchens

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Meet the 25 Most Viral People on the Internet [Internet]

Sometimes a story or idea goes viral because it's too big to be ignored. But more often it's because a single human being passes it along to an audience that's either massive, highly influential, or both. There aren't too many people who can do that. More »

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/_yYytjgyb58/

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PFT: Peyton not cleared to practice yet

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It?s one thing for guys like Dolphins linebacker Karlos Dansby or a pastor to opine that God is working through Tim Tebow.? It?s quite another for Tebow to say it.

And it?s quite another for Tebow to say that God is actually speaking to him.

And while Tebow has yet to say it publicly, he?s saying it to his teammates.

?Tebow came to me and said, ?Don?t worry about a thing,? because God has spoken to him,? linebacker Wesley Woodyard said after Sunday?s win over the Bears, according to Mark Kiszla of the Denver Post.? Woodyard then forced the Marion Barber fumble in overtime, when the Bears were in field goal position.

Even though the story itself is a couple days old (which makes it nearly as old as the New Testament in Internet time), the concept is timeless.? Regardless of whether Tebow actually has a burning bush in his backyard, Tebow?s faith has fueled a level of confidence that could be unprecedented in professional sports.? He truly believes his team is going to win, so his teammates believe it.

And, perhaps most importantly, his opponents believe it, too.

For the teams who play the Broncos, it?s like continuing to try to beat an older brother in ping pong.? No matter what happens, that feeling of doubt inevitably emerges, and it all falls apart.

Many believe that this entire dynamic ? Tebow?s confidence, his teammates? confidence, and the ensuing lack of confidence on the part of the opponents ? faces its biggest test yet on Sunday, when the Patriots come to town.? Win or lose, however, the Tebow/Broncos confidence won?t be going away any time soon.

?It?s not necessarily prophesying,? Tebow has said.? ?But sometimes you can feel God has a big plan.?

If/when the Broncos lose or fail to make the playoffs or lose in the playoffs, Tebow will regard the outcome as part of God?s plan.? And then Tebow will prepare himself for the 2012 season, with the same week-in, week-out confidence that has made his team far better than the sum of the individual pieces.

It?s become fashionable to point out that Tebow has received too much credit for the accomplishments of his teammates.? But those same teammates who are 7-1 under Tebow?s leadership were 1-4 under Kyle Orton.

So regardless of how Tebow is getting his confidence, it?s that confidence that has made him one of the best players in the NFL.? And the Broncos would be crazy not to embrace this guy for the next decade or longer.? Plenty of guys can throw a football, but very few can inspire grown men wearing the same uniform to believe that together they can achieve great things.? Even fewer can cause the grown men wearing a different uniform to sense that, no matter what they do, it?s simply not their day.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2011/12/14/peyton-manning-still-not-cleared-to-practice/related/

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Sony eyes Vita push, feels Fitch heat (Reuters)

TOKYO (Reuters) ? Sony Corp, set to report a $1 billion loss this year, is banking on a big slate of new software to drive sales of its new PlayStation Vita handheld games device, even as Fitch downgraded the Japanese electronics giant to a notch above junk.

Welshman Andrew House, who took the top job at Sony Computer Entertainment in September, must plot a much-needed success story for the Vita, negotiating a minefield of consumer gloom and competition from smartphones and tablet PCs such as Apple Inc's iPhone and iPad.

Sony, which has forecast a fourth straight annual loss this year, launches the Vita in Japan this weekend.

It hopes a package of 24 software titles at launch will help the gadget avoid the fate of rival Nintendo's 3DS, which flopped shortly after launch, forcing a hefty price cut.

"It's unprecedented for us to achieve that degree of publisher and development support ... we adopted a different approach to the lead-up to the platform in terms of our relationships with publishers and developers," House told reporters at Sony's Tokyo head office on Thursday.

He said he hoped the Vita would outsell its predecessor, the PlayStation Portable (PSP), which has shipped 73 million units since launching in late-2004.

The videogames unit made a first profit in 5 years in the year to March, as it squeezed production costs for the Playstation 3, boosting profits for the whole company. The unit's sales accounted for more than a tenth of Sony's 7 trillion yen in total revenue.

But costs involved in driving Vita sales may push the unit back into the red this year, adding to Sony's struggle with huge losses in televisions.

Sony needs the Vita to be a hit to ease the pain from its TV business, which is set for an annual loss of $2.2 billion, an eighth straight year of losses. Sony is looking to halve that loss next year, but has given few details on how it plans to get the business back into profit.

FITCH MOVE

The Fitch ratings agency turned up the heat by downgrading Sony to BBB- - a notch above non-investment, or junk, grade - from BBB, citing the group's weakened financial performance and the challenges it faces in recapturing its former strong position in key markets.

"A likely overall FY12 EBIT loss, excluding financial services, and an increase in debt driven by acquisitions will significantly weaken Sony's credit profile," said Nitin Soni, Associate Director in Fitch's Asia-Pacific Telecommunications, Media and Technology team.

Sony said in October it was taking over its mobile phone joint venture with Ericsson for $1.5 billion, and is also leading a group to buy EMI's music publishing operations in a deal valued at $2.2 billion.

"Of course, if the rating is downgraded it makes it more expensive for them to raise money, so it's not good," said Keita Wakabayashi, an analyst at Mito Securities.

"(Sony has) slashed its profit outlook for the current year and even if the North American market has improved slightly, European and Japanese markets and emerging markets are in a severe state. So downgrades are something we'll have to keep in mind."

VITA

The Vita, featuring a 5-inch OLED display and 3G connectivity, sold out in advance bookings in Japan, where buyers have rushed to upgrade from the PSP. Sony has not provided a unit sales target for the Vita.

The United States and Europe may pose a tougher challenge as a February 22 launch date for the Vita comes well after the crucial year-end holiday sales season.

"We've been told the PS Vita sold out on pre-bookings. How it sells next year depends on the software. If they can come up with something like Monster Hunter they will be able to sell a lot, but if they don't, prospects don't look so bright," said Mito's Wakabayashi, referring to a game title that drove sales of the PSP in Japan.

The challenge from smartphones and tablets comes on top of competition from long-standing domestic rival Nintendo, which aims to sell 16 million of its cheaper 3DS handheld games devices by March. Sony on Thursday said it was keeping to its target of selling 15 million PS3 game machines in the year through March.

Another rival, Microsoft, doesn't offer a portable device.

After a slump in sales, Nintendo slashed the price of its handheld gadget in August by about 40 percent to $170, compared with $249 for the PS Vita, or $299 for the 3G version.

The games industry has shrugged off the broader economic gloom and is forecast to top $81 billion by 2016, according to research firm DFC Intelligence, up 23 percent from this year and more than three times the size of the recorded music industry.

Much of that growth is likely to be in online, social and casual games, rather than the traditional hardware model that has been Sony's staple.

Japan's software houses are pouring resources into mobile social gaming, and industry executives have expressed some concern over the future for dedicated handheld gaming devices.

Sony was criticized in June, when it announced the pricing of the Vita, for making the gadget too expensive, and has teamed up with U.S. telecoms firm AT&T as Vita's exclusive carrier. Many U.S. iPhone users have complained that AT&T provided poor connectivity.

Sony shares closed down 1.5 percent on Thursday, their lowest in two weeks.

(Reporting by Isabel Reynolds, Editing by Ian Geoghegan)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/tc_nm/us_sony_vita

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