Author: Serkadis

SPRINGFIELD — The race to replace Democratic lieutenant governor nominee Scott Lee Cohen on the general election ballot could become even more crowded than the original field of six candidates who vied for the office.

Gov. Pat Quinn suggested Monday that anyone interested should speak up.

But the decision will come down to Democrats on the party’s central committee, which could vote in March on a new candidate, if not sooner.

Not surprisingly, some downstate leaders said the new candidate should be from outside of Chicago.

Vermilion County Circuit Clerk Lynn Foster, who represents the 15th Congressional District on the state central committee, said her first choice is to find someone from south of Interstate 80 in order to balance the Chicago-heavy Democratic ticket.

“It needs to be someone from downstate,” Foster said.

Among potential candidates, she pointed to state Sen. Mike Frerichs, D-Gifford, as a possibility. She also mentioned Springfield Mayor Tim Davlin as a potential consideration.

In addition, most of the five other candidates who ran for lieutenant governor in the first place could be angling to get appointed to the job.

State Rep. Arthur Turner of Chicago has openly said he’d like the spot, and he’s been backed in the past by powerful Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan.

State Sen. Terry Link, D-Waukegan says he’s interested as well. Link argued that the Democratic candidates who ran for the office in the primary should get top consideration from the state party.

State Rep. Mike Boland, D-East Moline, also wants consideration, saying he won more downstate counties last week than everyone but Cohen.

He notes that with state Sen. Bill Brady of Bloomington and businessman Jason Plummer of Edwardsville, the potential GOP ticket has two downstate candidates.

“We’re loaded up with Chicago people,” Boland said of Democrats’ statewide nominees. “We need a little balance there.”

Boland said that because Quinn has to run with whoever the party selects, he should speak up about who he wants.

State Rep. Jay Hoffman, a Collinsville Democrat who represents the 19th Congressional District on the state central committee, agreed.

He said the panel must look to Quinn for leadership on the issue, since the person will have to work closely with the governor on the campaign trail and, if they win, once they are in office.

“Deference should be given to the governor’s choice,” Hoffman said.

But, given that the embattled Cohen announced his decision to quit the ticket very recently, and during the Super Bowl, some party leaders haven’t made up their minds yet.

Cohen was pressured out by party leaders after records alleged he once held a knife to his girlfriend’s throat, used steroids and owed child support payments, among other things.

State Rep. John Bradley, D-Marion, said he heard that his name has come up as a potential contender. He said he’s not necessarily pursuing the spot, but that he’d seriously consider it if Quinn and party leaders asked him.

“I’m honored and humbled that my name is in the discussion,” Bradley said.

Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi has expressed interest to party officials after narrowly losing his campaign to be state comptroller last week.

Krishnamoorthi, of Hoffman Estates, grew up in Peoria and touted the nearly successful campaign as a reason why he might be a good fit.

“We won a following across the state,” Krishnamoorthi said.

Shirley McCombs of Petersburg, who represents the 18th Congressional District on the state central committee, didn’t name any frontrunners. She said it’s too early to begin making a list of whom she favors.

“My interest is to get the best person we can find,” McCombs said. “We need somebody who can help get the mess straightened out with the budget and the state back on track.”

Read the original article from Herald & Review.

Sometimes I have to wonder whether everyone has taken leave of their senses. The big “news” doing the rounds in the last twenty four hours is that Apple execs have admitted they are prepared to change the price of the iPad should consumer reception (read: sales) demand it.

Yeah, that’s right; Apple admitted it might revisit the price of the iPad sometime in the future, and change it according to sales performance. Shocking, that a company might operate according to a business plan designed to encourage sales and make money, eh? Apparently, that’s somehow mind-boggling news.

It got started because of a report by Matt Phillips of the Wall Street Journal, who wrote;

Apple intends to stay “nimble” on pricing of the iPad, possibly lowering prices if the newly unveiled tablet device fails to gain traction among consumers.

(Top prize goes to Engadget for their humorous response/headline, “Apple to be ‘nimble’ on iPad pricing, athletic on pommel horse”.)

Phillips quoted a note from Credit Suisse analyst Bill Shope who, following a meeting with Apple executives, said;

“While it remains to be seen how much traction the iPad gets initially, management noted that it will remain nimble (pricing could change if the company is not attracting as many customers as anticipated),”

This only bolsters my long-held belief that analysts are, apparently, paid for pointing out the blindingly-obvious. That tendency to wrap together common sense and “what we all knew anyway” as “something new and worthy of reporting” is usually exemplified by Gene Munster, but since he’s been quiet for the last week or so, I guess Shope will have to do.

(I predict that, in the weeks ahead of the iPad launch, Munster, or some inspired analyst like him, will issue a note to the press proclaiming, “Apple’s App store sales will perform better in this quarter than in the same quarter last year.” Or it’ll be something even more obvious, like “Apple will sell more iPads this year than they did in 2009…” and I guarantee the tech press will rush to report that ‘advice’ like it’s vitally important “news.” You just wait and see.)

Confidence

The point here is that Apple is doing nothing revolutionary or surprising by admitting the fact that, according to the ebb and flow of consumer demand, it will revisit its pricing strategy for the iPad. This is what all businesses do with all products, all the time. Apple is always revising its prices; MacBooks, iMacs, iPods and iPhones get at least one price change on an annual basis. It’s not a big deal that they will do the same for the iPad, and it certainly doesn’t point to any lack of confidence in the product itself.

Let’s not forget the infamous iPhone price-cut of ‘07; after launching the iPhone with a hefty $599 asking price, Apple reduced it by a whopping $200 just a few months later. The only difference between then and now is Apple’s transparency (yeah, I can’t believe I said that either). During his keynote presentation late last month, Steve Jobs said of the iPad; “We want to get this into the hands of as many people as possible.” That is, after all, the overriding reason for the agreeably-low price of the entry-level iPad.

Here Come the Trolls

Sadly, the predictable fan-baiting didn’t take long, with the likes of Should-Know-Better-Than-That Windows evangelist Paul Thurrott writing, in a blog post provocatively entitled “Do Not, Under Any Circumstances, Buy an iPad”;

Following news that I was right about Apple’s decision to not allow iPad pre-orders would cause many potential buyers to reassess things, comes this unbelievable bit of news directly from Apple itself: The company said that it would aggressively lower prices on the iPad if/when it doesn’t take off in the marketplace.

Aside from the clumsy jumble of clauses and inventive use of the adjective ‘aggressively’, (as far as I can see, neither Shope nor Phillips ever used that word) I really want to point out, one last time, and for the record — this is not “unbelievable” news. Far from it. It is, in fact, the most ordinary, run-of-the-mill, standard business practice, entirely believable news one could expect from a consumer electronics company. (Quite what Apple’s flexible pricing strategy has to do with Thurrott’s theory about the inability to pre-order an iPad is beyond me; can anyone say “straw man?”)

It comes down to this; the wider tech press are, inexplicably, falling over themselves to write-off the iPad as a failure before it’s even out of the starting gate. (Don’t forget, the iPod was panned by critics and tech “experts” when it first launched. The iPhone was subject to its own fair share of harsh criticism, too.)

No one can say exactly how successful the iPad will be, and while there’s no harm in speculating (after all, much Apple coverage is precisely that) it’s sad to see how some corners of the tech community choose to interpret every little thing Apple does (or says it might do) as “evidence” of failure.

I think I’m being rational and level-headed. You might think I’m a shameless fanboy. Either way, let me know exactly what you think in the comments below.

Related GigaOM Pro Research:

• Web Tablet Survey: Apple’s iPad Hits Right Notes
• 5 Tips for Developers Targeting the iPad
• How AT&T Will Deal with iPad Data Traffic

WOODSTOCK – District 200 might retain its preschool program even without state grant money.

Tonight, the school board will consider a plan that would institute a tuition-based preschool program.

“This is not ideal,” said Vicki Larson, principal of Verda Dierzen Early Learning Center. “But this is kind of a fix.”

District 200’s preschool program largely has been funded through state grants. The state’s fiscal woes have left the status of those grants uncertain. As of January, the district had received $36,000 of an expected $1.9 million in state grant money.

Of that grant money, $1 million was for the district’s preschool program.

District officials planned to use reserve funds to make up any shortfall for this year but did not want to face the same situation next year. School officials came up with the tuition-based plan to preserve the preschool program.

“This proposal was a way to offer something,” said Barb Banker, District 200 director of community services.

The tuition rate scale has not been released by the district. The school board is expected to discuss the change and vote on tuition rates for preschool at its meeting today.

The change will have consequences for the district. The preschool program is for at-risk children who are eligible under the state grant guidelines. Specifically, the students are low-income and have academic status and family issues.

The students often come from the homes of single parents or young parents.

Larson said that with tuition, the district could lose many of its at-risk children. On the flip side, by accepting tuition, the program would be open to more families.

The preschool serves about 360 students; officials believe that with tuition being charged, that would fall to about 100 students.

The district also would expect to lay off some of its preschool staff.

“We definitely will be losing some fabulous staff members,” Larson said. “And it’s definitely a hard market out there. But, they’ve been really positive about everything.”

If grant money materializes, the families of at-risk students who chose to pay tuition would have that money refunded to them.

Larson said that ultimately a tuition-based program was better than no program at all. She said allowing the program to lapse and then restarting when grant money returned would be more difficult.

If you go:

The District 200 school board meeting is at 7 p.m. today, Feb. 9, at the Clay Professional Development Center, 112 Grove St., Woodstock.

By BRIAN SLUPSKI, [email protected]

Read the original article from the Northwest Herald.

Email marketing giant MailChimp released at the start of February 2010 a revised version of their newsletter management service, named MailChimp v5. The service went live without any special fees for its 240,000 users.

During last year, MailChimps’s competitors released many tools and add-ons for their services. The heat was es… (read more)

After more than a decade of renting space from the Crystal Lake Park District, a county Islamic group wants a place of its own.

The Islamic Center of McHenry County is looking to open a community center in an existing home and frame barn on 5 acres at 5008 E. Crystal Lake Ave., just outside of city boundaries.

The group, which received tax-exempt status about three years ago, is seeking a conditional use permit from the McHenry County Zoning Board of Appeals.

The center will host religious services and outreach to promote interfaith dialogue, and will be open to the community at large, said board President Dr. Tanveer Ahmad, who has practiced internal medicine in the county for 18 years.

Other functions may include community assistance and a food pantry. The group has about 60 members, Ahmad said, many of whom would like to worship closer than existing centers in Elgin and Rolling Meadows.

“It’s about time to have a permanent place. This group has been here for a long time,” Ahmad said.

Neighbors don’t mind the idea, said Crystal Lake Planning and Zoning Commission Member Jim Batastini, whose property borders the proposed center to its north.

The county zoning board will hear the request at its Wednesday meeting.

Neighbors hired attorney Joe Gottemoller to address residents’ concerns about parking and traffic, many of which were handled when the proposal came before the Crystal Lake City Council last Tuesday.

Although the land is unincorporated, the city gets a say because the property lies within the city’s mile and a half planning jurisdiction.

“Our goal is not for Joe to stand up and object to the use,” Batastini said. “It’s a small congregation, and a bunch of very nice people, and they just want a place of worship.”

By KEVIN P. CRAVER, [email protected]

Read the original article from the Northwest Herald.

Filed under: Hybrid, Safety, Lexus, Toyota

In what is perhaps our least surprising announcement of the young day, Toyota has officially announced that it will recall 2010 model Prius and Lexus HS250h models globally along with the Toyota Sai in Japan to fix an issue the performance of their braking systems. The latest in a series of safety related problems with Toyotas became public fodder last week when Toyota acknowledged that customers of the third generation hybrid had complained of a loss of stopping power at low speeds.

Toyota has also acknowledged that it has developed a software update to improve the blending of the regenerative and
friction braking systems and implemented the update into new production models sometime in January. The automaker did not, however, order a recall of vehicles in customer hands until more than a week after reports of the issue turned up in the media.

The Prius, Prius PHEV, HS250h and Sai (a Toyota badged version of the Prius sold only in Japan) are all being recalled for the software bug fix. In total about 400,000 vehicles are involved in this recall. First- and second-generation Priuses are not included since they have a different braking system, although there are concerns that there could be performance issues with those vehicles, too.

In the same release, Toyota has also announced that it will recall about 7,300 2010 model Camry sedans to inspect a power steering hose that may sit to close to a brake hose and cause it to wear through. Official press release after the jump.

[Source: Toyota]

Tired of Toyota recall news? Try out the recall-free version of Autoblog.

Continue reading Officially, Official: Toyota recalls 2010 Prius and Lexus HS250h for ABS fix

Officially, Official: Toyota recalls 2010 Prius and Lexus HS250h for ABS fix originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 10:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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You might have come across the Famitsu cover leaked last week that featured BlazBlue: Continuum Shift. Apparently the leaked cover was legit, as the latest issue of the Japanese gaming mag has confirmed that Continuum

The first victim of the China bubble might not be China. More likely it will be Vietnam, the communist cousin that has gotten in way over its head copying Chinese stimulus policies.

Hanoi responded to the global downturn in a similar way as Beijing: an enormous stimulus that promoted easy lending and further expansion of industrial capacity. The stimulus worked at first, producing 5.5% GDP growth rates and high stock market gains. But then it went awry.

Asia Times correspondent Shawn Crispin describes the swift deflation of the VN Index:

Financial analysts say that because there was virtually no underlying demand for working capital among state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and export-oriented private companies that received the bulk of the new credits, much of the money was recycled into the local stock market. The footloose liquidity contributed to making Vietnam’s stock market one of the world’s best performers during the first half of 2009; it then fell dramatically in the second half.

At the same time, Hanoi was unable to control inflation or shut down currency black markets:

The State Bank of Vietnam (SBV) has required that small banks, which contributed to inflation through rampant lending in 2008, triple their underlying capital by year’s end or face closure. The government has also ordered closed gold exchanges across the country – a restriction that will come into full force in March in a bid to stop local dumping of dong for gold.

The latest from Vietnam is a high CDS spread, rapidly approaching the level of sick man of Europe Greece.

China has dealt with these problems thanks to its powerful government and significant resource advantage. But there’s plenty cause for worry in Beijing. Not only does over-stimulation in Vietnam presage a similar crisis in China, but an economic collapse in Vietnam could destroy investor confidence throughout the region.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Vietnam Goes Crazy For Gold, While Broke Westerners Liquidate Their Holdings
• The Complete Guide To Investing And Making Money Off The MAVINS
• The Next BRICs: Six Surging Countries You Must Pay Attention To This Decade

They are photos you would expect to find on a porn site or in hate mail, not in corporate headquarters.

But a Fox Chicago News investigation has found racist and sexist e-mails being circulated through the offices of a major city contractor.

Our story begins two years ago, when Olivia Roberts got the office manager’s job for a suburban contracting company.

She was riding high, she recalls. “I was trying to fit in,” she said, “and then I started seeing these e-mails.”

The e-mails were from top company officials. Pornographic e-mails, lurid photos, women engaging in oral sex.

Over the next year there would be racist e-mails ridiculing Hispanics. Offensive jokes about President Obama’s race. One e-mail was even titled, “Jokes to Offend Everyone.”

“I have collected at least six inches of e-mails on this type of behavior,” Roberts said, “What does that say?”

Roberts worked in the Texas office for Harbour Contractors. It’s a family-owned business based in Plainfield, Illinois.

They’ve earned millions from city contracts at O’Hare Airport, many of them no-bid.

“They said one thing, behaved one way, and then behind closed doors this is what they said and this is how they acted,” Roberts said.

And so, for example, the Chicago Public Building Commission had no idea that on the very day it gave Harbour Contractors $30 million to build a new police station, a manager e-mailed a Christmas greeting showing topless women to executives, saying “Breast Wishes for Christmas.”

Mayor Daley chaired that PBC meeting and voted for the deal. The Harbours and the Daleys have been long-time business acquaintances and reportedly, friends, a tie the Mayor laughed off at a recent press conference.

“Everybody is a friend with my family. I just want to tell you everybody’s a friend. I just met these individuals. They’ll be friends too,” he said.

Companies doing business with the city must comply with federal laws banning discrimination. Mayor Daley explained how he would expect this situation to be handled.

“You take action against that individual,” Daley said. “That’s what they did, I understand, is fire the individual.”

But someone must have misled the Mayor. Harbour’s attorney says no one was fired for sending offensive e-mails. He says the company just recently became aware of the full scope of the problem.

But one of the e-mails was sent three years ago, to Harbour’s owner and CEO, Patrick Harbour. It’s called “Let’s Play Border Patrol.” It’s a video game for shooting undocumented workers.

No one from the company would speak on camera. But in a statement, the company admits a few disparaging e-mails went to Patrick Harbour, but added; “… he has no recollection of seeing any of the offensive material.”

After a few months on the job, Roberts says she complained to her boss about the e-mails. But when they didn’t stop, she says she was too intimidated to raise the issue again.

“The issue is whether you have the right to bring that stuff into the work place and force it on women — force it on African-Americans, says John Hendrickson, supervising attorney for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission’s Midwest office. “You don’t have that right,” says Hendrickson.

He would not comment on Roberts’ case, but he says higher-ups typically set the tone for all of the employees in the workplace.

Hendrickson says, “And if they see that managers are engaged in that conduct themselves, and we have plenty of those cases, or managers are aware of it and don’t put a stop to it, boom! There you go. It’s going to metastasize like cancer, shoot through the workplace.”

At Harbour, a vice-president and human resources director sent a sexist e-mail, with a photograph, to Olivia’s boss.

“I have one that he forwarded, of a woman naked… picking up a beer keg,” says Roberts. “This is the HR director. This is the person that, who authored the employee relations manual telling me what is allowed and not allowed.”

The company’s technology expert, who Olivia says co-authored the manual on how the computers were to be used, sent out a slew of offensive emails.

“It’s unacceptable,” says Mayor Daley. “Any type of conduct that gets any employee that deals with sexual or sexual relationships, anything is unacceptable. By your company or my company, the city of Chicago, by anyone.”

Harbour, in its statement, says it regrets that its “internal polices and controls failed.” It said the company works to treat employees and businesses fairly, adding it “… is strongly opposed to racial, sexual and all other offensive behavior such as was depicted in some of these e-mails.”

The apology comes too late for Olivia Roberts. The e-mails continued until the spring of 2009, when the project in Texas finished, and her job was phased out. She later filed a complaint with the EEOC. “I had to become invisible,” Roberts says, trying to hold back her tears. “And, I’m sorry. It just changed who I was. It was really hard.”

Roberts says she was not satisfied with the EEOC handling of her case, so the agency has now given her permission to proceed on her own, with a federal lawsuit, which she may be filing soon.

A spokesperson for the Chicago Public Building Commission told us, “The alleged misconduct, while it does not appear to be related to any PBC project, is unacceptable.”

One PBC Commissioner, Adela Cepeda, told us she finds Harbour’s behavior “absolutely abhorrent,” and has asked PBC attorneys “to determine what steps PBC can take on this.”

Read the original article from FOX Chicago News.

Facebook has 400 million people so it’s safe to assume that pretty much everyone uses it. Yet, most people will also admit, albeit reluctantly, that their use of the social network falls more on the frivolous, trivial side. Every once in a while though, the site redeems itself and shows the true power of social media and just how much can be achieved if we just come together as humans. One way that Facebook is helping mankind is by settling age old disputes which have plagued the collective i… (read more)

We’ve seen this before, with individual authors like Paulo Coelho and David Pogue, who both found that as more people were able to get unauthorized copies of their ebooks, their sales actually increased. So, this shouldn’t come as a surprise, but some new research looking at the impact on sales of unauthorized files getting out found a “significant jump in sales” (found via Michael Scott):

Brian O’Leary discussed his firm’s research on the effect on sales when a title finds its way into an unsanctioned online market. The findings — a significant jump in sales — have surprised many in the business.

To be fair, he does go on to say this doesn’t mean just “don’t worry about” unauthorized access. Instead, he says it’s important to figure out what kind of unauthorized access helps sales and what kind hurts — and that still needs to be studied. But, the early results certainly suggest that the stuff that helps quite often outweighs the stuff that hurts (sometimes by quite a bit).

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Last week we joked that the Shanghai Index was the index to watch.

Actually, what you should be watching is the Athens Index. The Dow is up triple digits on the open, because Athens just did a huge move.

Why? There’s no actual news, just a major sentiment swing and a belief that some kind of bailout must be at hand.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Can It Hold 3,000?
• What Happens If Greece Leaves The Eurozone? A Massive Run On The Bank, That’s What
• Niall Ferguson: The Next Greece? It’s The US!

It’s been 13 years, but the demand for Final Fantasy VII has not returned to the planet. The PSOne classic has long been a mainstay (qjnet/playstation-3/final-fantasy-vii-reigns-supreme-on-psn-downloads.html) on PSN’s most downloaded (qjnet/playstation-3/ffviii-and-ffvii-are-psns-top-downloads.html) list, and the clamor for a

From Green Right Now Reports

Fifty-five countries that combine to produce 78 percent of all global greenhouse emissions from energy use have offered pledges to reduce that output by 2020, according to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The group includes China and the United States.

The national pledges were required under the Copenhagen Accord forged at the climate change talks in Copenhagen in December. Pledges cover the period after the end of 2012 when the first phase of the Kyoto Protocol emissions targets expires.

“Greater ambition is required to meet the scale of the challenge,” UNFCCC Executive Secretary Yvo de Boer said. “But I see these pledges as clear signals of willingness to move negotiations towards a successful conclusion.”

None of the countries went beyond the commitments made at or before the Copenhagen summit. The steepest emissions cut was pledged by Norway, which offered to cut greenhouse gases 30 to 40 percent below 1990 levels for the period beyond 2012 as long as major emitting parties agree on emissions reductions in line with the 2°Celsius (3.6° Fahrenheit) target.

To avert the most catastrophic effects of climate change, most scientists say it will be necessary to keep global temperature rise to 2°Celsius above the pre-industrial temperature, or around 1.2°C (2.16°F) above today’s level. To keep within the 2°C ceiling, those scientists say global emissions of greenhouse gases will have to peak by 2020 at the latest, be cut by at least 50 percent of their 1990 levels by 2050, then continue to decline.

Targets pledged under the Copenhagen Accord fall short of these levels, but cuts would reduce the emissions linked to climate change.

Japan pledged the next steepest cut of 25 percent below 1990 levels, while Russia pledged a 15 to 25 cut depending on accounting of the potential of Russia’s forests to absorb the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide.

The United States and Canada each pledged a 17 percent cut below 2005 levels.

China pledged to lower its carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP by 40-45 percent by 2020 compared to the 2005 level, increase the share of non-fossil fuels in primary energy consumption to around 15 percent by 2020 and increase forest coverage by 40 million hectares and forest stock volume by 1.3 billion cubic meters by 2020 from the 2005 levels.

Copyright © 2010 | Distributed by Noofangle Media

Filed under: Coupe, Performance, BMW

Technical details of BMW‘s coming M1 have leaked before and the important bits are these: Aluminum, twin-turbo six-cylinder, 350 horsepower, 310-plus pound-feet of torque, six-speed dual-clutch gearbox, electronically-controlled rear M differential and around 3,300 pounds. Now details on the car’s appearance are bursting through the cracks and the mods aim to separate this from lesser 1-er siblings by including a trapezoidal central grille, two lateral intakes, different headlights, a “ducktail” integrated rear spoiler and the quad pipes standard on all Ms.

A host of the changes serve both functional and aesthetic purposes. The six-piston brakes up front are getting a lot of attention, which is part of the reason for the reshaped grille up front as well as lip spoilers above the brake duct inlets. The track has been increased front and rear, which will necessitate new wheel arches. Up top will be a carbon fiber roof to lower the center of gravity and down low will be ducts in the rear diffuser for better aerodynamics. When we finally do see it next year, the whole package will sit on two choices of 18-inch wheels: Standard or Competition.

[Source: 1 Addicts]

More details about rumored hotted-up BMW 1 Series surface originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 09 Feb 2010 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Press Release: HTC Corporation, a global designer of mobile phones, has announced the appointment of Vladimir Malugin as its new marketing director for EMEA.  Formerly head of products and marketing at Polaroid Consumer Electronics and head of market development at Eastman Kodak, Malugin will be responsible for HTC’s overall brand, marketing and communications across EMEA.

“HTC is a brand to watch in the mobile space,” says Vladimir Malugin, marketing director, HTC EMEA. “HTC has a reputation for cutting-edge innovation and design and provides a unique mobile experience for its users. It is an exciting time as HTC builds broad consumer awareness and further reinforces its position as a leading smartphone designer. I am thrilled to be joining at such an important stage in its evolution as a consumer brand and look forward to contributing to its continued success.”

Vladimir Malugin brings a wealth of experience having held top European marketing and management roles in for a variety of leading consumer brands. Malugin has also previously led the business development function for a mobile chipset start-up and established a marketing and digital consultancy supporting a variety of businesses including multi-national companies.

“HTC looks for individuals who are able to articulate and effectively wield HTC’s unique, customer-centric brand,” says Florian Seiche, vice president, HTC Europe. “Vladimir’s appointment is an important step in establishing our global vision for HTC.”

The recent market swoon has coincided with a surge in the much-beleaguered greenback.

With Europe heading into financial chaos, and China threatening to bring down several emerging markets, investors are fleeing into the dollar, undermining the cheap-dollar carry trade.

So, how do you play a dollar surge, when by definition, most assets go down when the dollar is strengthening.

David Rosenberg of Gluskin Sheff ponders the question:

Since the onset of the credit crisis in 2007, there have seen three occasions when a surge in risk aversion caused a period of U.S. dollar strength on flight-to-safety trades — July 15, 2008 to September 11 2008 (around the GSEs); September 22, 2008 to November 21, 2008 (post-Lehman financial collapse) and then from December 17, 2008 to March 5, 2009 (the final leg down in the financials). Here is what happened, on average, during these dollar-rally episodes — ultra-defensive strategies and heightened volatility.

He then outlines 10 specific patterns...

How to take advantage of a surging dollar >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Morgan Stanley: The Dollar Will Rally No Matter Where The Economy Goes
• The Goldman Sachs Guide To Surviving 2010
• How To Get A Job At Bloomberg

Seeking a happy relationship? If so – what traits are you prioritzing finding in a partner?

Most of the people I coach say they focus mainly on finding a partner who is sexy, smart, funny, successful, charismatic.

Although these qualities are important, in my book PRINCE HARMING SYNDROME I explain how there are 5 essential traits which must come far before these traits.

For the purposes of this blog, I will only be honing in on 1 of these 5 traits – the trait of “happy.”

Basically, if you want to live happily ever after, your partner has to be healthfully happy!

It’s like this:

If your partner is consistently unhappy, it will be as if they are giving off “a smell of unhappiness”—which can create two problems:

1. Firstly, your partner is often not aware that this “smell of unhappiness” is emanating from them.  They just  know “unhappiness is abounding.” The risk? They will sniff around, see you close by, then blame that unhappy stench all on you!

2. Secondly, your partner’s bad unhappiness smell can ruin your mood, making your home environment hard to be within. Sure, it’s good to be there to support your partner—but not if you’re doing it so much it makes you potentially get depressed too.

Psychologists and biologists even have  a name for this: “emotional contagion.” They claim unhappiness spreads not just because of obvious psychological reasons—but primal, evolutionary ones.

“The original form is the contagion of fear and alarm,” said Frans de Waal, a psychologist and primate expert at Atlanta’s Emory University. “You’re in a flock of  birds. One bird suddenly takes off. You have no time to wait and see what’s going on. You take off, too. Otherwise, you’re lunch.”

Translation: Getting caught up in another’s negativity is a hardwired survival mechanism. Psychologists believe that “emotional contagion theory” is also a form of hardwired human mimicry—our instinctive human tendency to unconsciously imitate facial expressions, vocalizations, postures and body movements.

For example: If someone scratches their nose, you might suddenly feel your nostrils twitch. Or if someone yawns and stretches and gets sleepy, you might yawn and feel more tired, too. Mimicry is such a strong foundation of our human emotional development that even at a mere 1-hour old, a newborn infant will be hardwired to mimic a person’s facial gestures. Hence why you can smile at a 1-hour old baby, and this 1-hour old baby  will smile back!

Translation: Our built-in human system for mimicry explains why we humans can transfer our good and bad moods to each other—if we aren’t careful!

Numerous studies have shown how when one person in a romantic coupling gets depressed, the other becomes more depressed. Psychologists believe this transfer of emotions is yet another form of empathy. In London’s University College, psychologist Tonia Singer and colleagues used brain scans to explore empathy in 19 romantic couples. She hooked both individuals to brain scans. One partner in the couple was given a slight electric shock while the other partner watched. Each of their scans showed identical brain reactions. Although only one partner was shocked, both partners’ pain centers lit up—as if both had been jolted.

On a more happy note…Howard Friedman, a psychologist at University of California at Irvine thinks “emotional contagion” is also why some people can inspire others to positive action—like a a joyous/exuberant partner in a romantic coupling. Friedman believes it’s because the happy person’s happy facial expression, happy voice, happy gestures and happy body movements conspire to transmit happy emotions.

For all these reasons, if you want to be in a happy relationship, you must prioritize finding a happy partner. If your partner is consistently unhappy, it won’t matter if they’re incredibly sexy, wildly funny, impressively successful, adorably charismatic — your relationship will be weighed down under the heaviness of their moods.

Hence if you’re single right now, you need to consciously focus on seeking a partner who embraces character values which help them to be emotionally stable, even-tempered, addiction-free, nutritionally balanced, physically active and full of high self-esteem — all of which will better ensure your partner will be healthfully happy – and together you might then live healthfully happily ever after!

Curious what those other 4 essential traits of the 5 in total might be? Check out PRINCE HARMING SYNDROME by clicking this line, right here, right NOW.

Oh – and if you enjoy by blog, I’d highly appreciate it if you helped to spread the viral word – by forwarding my url to friends/family/coworkers/crushes, linking to a post on Twitter ( follow me @notsalmon),and/or joining my FREE Be Happy Dammit newsletter by clicking RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW (you’ll be in a friendly crowd of 20,000 happy members!). Much-o appreciation-o!

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Here’s a brilliant chart from FT Alphaville. It’s the Portuguese sovereign CDS curve, and as you see it’s inverted.

In other words, investors think there’s a greater chance of a Portuguese default in the short term than in the long term.

The time is right now for the ECB to solve the problem. If they can do it, they’re in good shape. If they can’t come up with a fix, then a bust could be imminent.

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See Also:

• Europe’s Choice: Dismantle The Euro, Or Cede All National Sovereignty To Brussels
• ECB Chief Trichet Flies To Emergency Meeting On The Crumbling Euro
• The Euro Experiment Failed: Europe Is Less Unified Than Ever

Remember the Toyota Prius braking problem we’ve been talking about for some time now? Well, Toyota today finally announced that it will conduct a voluntary safety recall on approximately 133,000 2010 Toyota Prius units and 14,500 2010 Lexus HS 250h units to update software in the vehicle’s anti-lock brake system (ABS).

While in the U.S. that number totals 147,500, the worldwide recall involves 437,000 vehicles, including the Toyota Prius and Sai hybrid. The Sai is sold primarily in Japan.

“The ABS, in normal operation, engages and disengages rapidly (many times per second) as the control system senses and reacts to tire slippage,” Toyota said in a statement. “Some 2010 model year Prius and 2010 HS 250h owners have reported experiencing inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady application of brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the ABS is activated in an effort to maintain tire traction.”

Toyota said that the production allocation for the 2010 Toyota Prius received the upgrade last month and that the HS 250h will get the upgrade this month.

The Japanese automaker said that it will begin mailing letters to Prius owners included in the recall next week and HS 250h owners within the next few weeks. Owners will only receive a letter if their vehicle is involved in the recall.

Check out the FAQs about the 2010 Toyota Prius and Lexus HS 250h Recall after the jump.

FAQs About the 2010 Prius/2010 Lexus HS 250h/Camry Voluntary Recalls

1. What is the problem with the 2010 Prius?

The anti-lock brake system (ABS) in the 2010 model-year Prius, in normal operation, engages and disengages rapidly (many times per second) as the control system senses and reacts to tire slippage. Some owners have reported experiencing inconsistent brake feel during slow and steady application of the brakes on rough or slick road surfaces when the anti-lock brake system (ABS) is activated in an effort to maintain tire traction.

2. How is Toyota responding to this Prius issue?

Toyota has responded to owner concerns with a running production change for the 2010 Prius that was introduced last month, improving the ABS system’s response time, as well as the system’s overall sensitivity to tire slippage.

The recall will allow Toyota dealers to perform this software update in the anti-lock brake systems of 2010 Prius vehicles sold prior to this production change.

3. Why does this only impact 2010 Prius models?

First- and second-generation Prius vehicles use a different ABS system and are not involved in this campaign.

4. What is the problem with the Lexus HS 250h?

The anti-lock brake system on the Lexus HS 250h shares similar component design to the 2010 Prius, so it has been included on this recall.

5. How is Toyota responding to this Lexus issue?

The software adjustment planned for the Lexus HS 250h production and dealer modification is being finalized and will be announced very soon.

6. How many vehicles are impacted?

This recall involves approximately 133,000 2010 model year Prius vehicles and 14,550 Lexus Division 2010 HS 250h vehicles.

7. What should 2010 Prius and Lexus HS 250h customers do if they experience this braking issue?

If a Prius or Lexus HS 250h owner were to experience this condition, pressing hard on the brake pedal will stop the vehicle safely.

8. Are these vehicles safe to drive until they get their update?

The vehicles are safe to drive because pressing hard on the brake pedal will stop the vehicle.

9. When can I get my vehicle fixed?

Toyota will begin sending letters to Prius owners included in this recall by mail next week and Lexus HS 250h owners within the next few weeks to let them know when to bring their vehicles into a dealership. Owners will only receive a letter if their vehicle is involved in the recall.

10. How long will it take for a dealer to repair my vehicle?

The software update should only take approximately 30 minutes to install, depending on technician workflow.

11. Is the repair covered by warranty? Will drivers have to pay any money out of pocket for this work?

Toyota will cover all repair costs associated with this work.

12. Is this recall related to the ongoing Toyota recalls associated with sudden unintended acceleration?

No, this recall is unrelated to the ongoing recall of Toyota vehicles for sticking gas pedals and floor mat entrapment issues.

12. Where can I get more information on this recall?

Information for Toyota customers can be found at www.toyota.com/recall and at the Toyota Customer Experience Center at 1-800-331-4331.

Information for Lexus customers can be found at lexus.com and at the Lexus Customer Assistance Center at 1-800-255-3987.

– By: Omar Rana