text:
• Lagarde: 2011 year of 'failed starts and half-starts' in Europe
• US Fed holds interest rates, sets 2pc inflation target
• UK economy contracted 0.2pc in last quarter of 2011
• Merkel: Europe is 'economic headache of global economy'
• Soros: European debt crisis could destroy the EU
• Greek debt talks with creditors to resume on Thursday
23.55 That's it from our live coverage today, we'll be back in the morning.
22.40 Richard Blackden has an update from the US following Ben Bernanke's speech
Not good enough. That's the verdict Ben Bernanke has given today on the recent run of improving economic data.
Critics will accuse the Fed chairman of pouring unnecessary cold water on signs the recovery is gaining some traction. But he's made a prudent judgement. It's still not clear that the consumer spending that will probably have helped growth accelerate in the final three months of 2011 will be sustained this year.
After all, why wouldn't US consumers take advantage of the huge discounts that retailers offered in November and December to make purchases that they might otherwise have made this year?
There are other sensible reasons for the Fed's caution. The threat of Europe's debt crisis blowing up spectacularly hasn't gone away and the housing market remains weak.
And that's even before you consider the fiscal cuts that are coming next year - whoever is in The White House.
21.50 Just for the aviodance of doubt, the IMF has put out a statement sayig it has not asked the ECB to intervene in Greece's negotiations with its bondholders. The fund's spokesman William Murray said tonight:
To ensure debt sustainability for Greece, it is essential that a new program be supported by a combination of private sector involvement and official sector support that will bring debt to 120 percent of GDP by 2020.
The Fund has no view on the relative contribution of private sector involvement and official sector support in achieving this target. In line with this view, the IMF has not asked the ECB to play any specific role.
21.15 US stocks continued to climb after the Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates near zero, and the markets have closed up...
The Dow Jones rose 0.66pc, the S&P 500 advanced 0.87pc and the Nasdaq gained 1.14pc.
20.43 Tomorrow's front pages are starting to come in...
The Independent is running a piece with the headline: "Desperate Osborne set to gamble on early tax cuts".
"Pressure on Chancellor mounts as economy shrinks by 0.2 per cent," reads the standfirst.
Of course, if true, this would be flying in the face of Christine Lagarde's advice earlier on (19.43).
20.25 Gold prices have been on the rise since the US Fed announced that it would hold interest rates near zero until late 2014, up past $1,700. Oil, petrol and natural gas are also trading higher.
19.43 IMF boss Christine Lagarde has spoken to Channel 4's Jon Snow this evening. She said the UK needs to see through its austerity measures, and that focusing on the short-term risk of rising unemployment is to miss the main issue - jobs will come with growth, and growth will come from seeing through tough debt-reduction policies to the bitter end.
The right thing that has been decided by the British Government is to let the automatic stabilisation work. That gives the appropriate level of flexibility and we approve of that approach. Employment at the end of the day is really the target, but employment goes with growth, and that's what we're forecasting for the UK.
I would call the Europe 2011 a year of failed starts and half-starts and I would hope that 2012 can be a year of healing... not to talk about things but to do things.
19.24 The risk of a Lehman-style failure in Europe has been "dramatically reduced" by recent policy steps, says Bank of Canada Governor Mark Carney. Decisive action by the ECB to provide liquidity to the financial system has eased market pressure on Spain and Italy and boosted demand for their bonds, he said, speaking to Reuters:
It is absolutely essential that the financial system, the banking system specifically in Europe, is able to finance itself on a reasonable basis, that we're not worried about a Lehman event in Europe.
Our view is that given the measures that the ECB has taken and the heightened focus of the banking regulator in Europe on the health of these institutions that that tail risk has been dramatically reduced. That's incredibly important.
19.16 We mentioned earlier that the Fed was predicting "modest" growth in coming months - but it's now slashed its forecast for US growth over this year and next. It now projects growth for this year of between 2.2pc and 2.7pc, and of 2.8pc to 3.2pc in 2013.
19.07 The US Federal Reserve has also released a statement on its "longer-run goals and monetary policy strategy". Despite the title, this is actually quite interesting: for the first time the US central bank has set a target for inflation, bringing it into line with other state lenders around the world. From now on it's official policy that the US Fed aims for an inflation rate of 2pc:
Communicating this inflation goal clearly to the public helps keep longer-term inflation expectations firmly anchored, thereby fostering price stability and moderate long-term interest rates and enhancing the Committee's ability to promote maximum employment in the face of significant economic disturbances.
19.02 More from the US Fed now: six of the 17 officials see no interest rate increase before 2015. The official statement saying it would hold them until "at least" late 2014.
18.36 Jon Snow has just ridden back to Channel 4 headquarters from Downing Street where he interviewed Christine Lagarde after her talks with George Osborne.
18.21 US stocks erased some of their earlier losses following the Fed's announcement, then slipped into positive territory...
The Dow Jones is now up 0.22pc, the S&P 500 has climbed 0.3pc and the Nasdaq is 0.69pc higher.
Investors have also been rushing into US Treasuries: the yield on 10-year notes has fallen to 1.98pc from 2.05pc an hour before the release of the statement.
18.01 An interesting tweet from The Wall Street Journal's economics editor, David Wessel - the US Fed has just said it expects to hold interest rates until "at least" the end of 2014, but Ben Bernanke's term expires before then.
17.44 While there was no announcement about a new batch of QE, Operation Twist - the programme of swapping short-term debt for long - is to continue:
The Committee also decided to continue its program to extend the average maturity of its holdings of securities as announced in September. The Committee is maintaining its existing policies of reinvesting principal payments from its holdings of agency debt and agency mortgage-backed securities in agency mortgage-backed securities and of rolling over maturing Treasury securities at auction.
Ben Bernanke, chairman of the US Federal Reserve
17.41 The US Fed expects economic growth over coming quarters to be "modest", so expects that unemployment will decline "only gradually".
17.35 The US Federal Reserve has released its FOMC statement, announcing that it will keep its key interest rate between zero and 0.25pc "at least" until the end of 2014.
The statement says that the economy has been "expanding moderately, notwithstanding some slowing in global growth":
While indicators point to some further improvement in overall labor market conditions, the unemployment rate remains elevated. Household spending has continued to advance, but growth in business fixed investment has slowed, and the housing sector remains depressed. Inflation has been subdued in recent months, and longer-term inflation expectations have remained stable.
17.34 And while we're at it, here's the FTSE 100 on its own over the same period.
17.32 Time for a quick markets chart. Turn off individual markets by clicking on their names in order to get a closer view.
17.25 A quick video for you now: a multi-millionaire entrepreneur, a Welsh construction company owner and the head of the CBI give their thoughts on the 0.2pc contraction in the UK economy.
17.17 Twitter is awash with chatter about Merkel's speech now. Michael Hewson, senior market analyst at CMC Markets says:
While our own Louise Armitstead tweets that Merkel was looking slightly anxious ahead of her speech:
17.12 While we've been focused on Merkel's speech, the European markets have closed for the day.
The FTSE 100 ended the day off 0.5pc, the CAC fell 0.31pc and the DAX slipped just 0.04pc.
16.52 Angela Merkel's speech is now over. The key message was that confidence in Europe has been lost because it hasn't fulfilled what it promised. She strongly pushed the idea of structural reforms alongside austerity measures, but she won't promise what can't be delivered:
We have said right from the start that we want to stand up for the euro, but what we don't want is a situation where we are forced to promise something that we will not be able to fulfill.
Meanwhile, Christine Lagarde has arrived at Number 11 Downing Street for talks with George Osborne.
16.50 Merkel is now talking about how Europe is viewed by the rest of the world. Not well, she says:
Let me tell you, I know that we're labelled the big economic headache of the global economy, but if one is honest we're probably not the only headache the global economy has. We all have our work cut out for ourselves and will be kept busy for the next few months.
16.41 Those jobs are needed for the sake of young people in the eurozone, who are at risk of disillusionment caused by rising unemployment:
It's really, urgently necessary that particularly young people can have the experience that there is progress. I don't think it's a great miracle that you've seen many, many young people convinced that Europe isn't a good option for them.
16.38 Austerity isn't the only part of the solution, says Merkel:
It's not only austerity measures... this is not only in and of itself of the essence, but also structural reforms that lead to more jobs. We all now this takes longer than 12 months or 18 months to achieve. We still have to convince each other that this is necessary.
16.33 Merkel says there is a "very clear erosion of confidence" in Europe's strength around the world.
What is at the foreground of discussions is quite often the problem of public indebtedness. We have difficulties and weaknesses as regards competitiveness, and that's even more difficult to combat.
The financial and economic crisis that started in America left a deep imprint on Europe and we are still working on the fallout from this.
16.30 "There was a glaring lack of regulation that brought us into this predicament," she says in her opening statement, which formally launches the Davos meeting.
16.29 Angela Merkel is now starting her speech at Davos...
16.21 The Bank of Ideas, as the UBS office on Sun Street has been known since it was taken over by the Occupy the London Stock Exchange, has closed its doors to the public because of a court order obtained by the bank.
But protesters already inside are not leaving, and are promising to reopen soon. Supporter Jack Holborn said: "We fully intend to continue with all the wonderful work that has been initiated, including the Free University and the accessibility to arts rehearsal space as soon as possible."
16.05 Economist Nouriel Roubini proposes a debt crisis solution:
Europe needs massive monetary easing to get out of this crisis. The euro should be 20pc or even 30pc weaker.
16.00 Danny Alexander, Treasury minister, on whether the Government is cutting "too far and too fast":
15.56 Fabrizio Goria, financial reporter at Linkiesta:
15.29 Meanwhile, the IMF has said any halt in Iran's oil exports could push prices 20pc to 30pc higher.
The fund adds that a blockade of the Strait of Hormuz would constitute a "larger and unprecedented oil supply disruption".
"Financial sanctions against Iran may be tantamount to an oil embargo," the IMF said, and implied a supply decline of 1.5m barrels of oil per day.
15.26 International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde is in London today for talks with Chancellor George Osborne, as London hesitates to contribute to an expansion of the fund's resources. The IMF said in a statement:
We can confirm that IMF Managing Director Lagarde will be in London today for a meeting with UK Chancellor Osborne on topics of mutual interest.
15.17 Economist Robert Shiller (in Davos) believes the debt crisis will last 10 years... Joseph Stiglitz thinks that's optimistic.
While Ken Rogoff, economics professor at Harvard, believes "Europe is not ready for a Greek default".
15.12 Italian Deputy Economy Minister Vittorio Grilli says the Treasury's debt management strategy will take account of the fact most investor demand is for short and medium-term debt.
He hopes the recent fall in bond spreads will continue and that the spread on the government's 10-year bonds are more of a signal of confidence in the country than a measure of debt servicing costs.
He adds that markets are more interested in Italian policies than ratings agencies' marks.
Just for your information:
Italian three-year bond yield - 4.49pc
Italian five-year bond yield - 5.052pc
Italian 10-year bond yield - 6.246pc
15.11 First piece of US news is out. Pending home sales fell 3.5pc in December.
15.06 IMF says global inflation should ease this year but the risk of "damaging deflation" has risen in some advanced economies.
15.03 Reuters is reporting that HSBC is under investigation by a US Senate panel in a money-laundering inquiry.
14.53 The US Federal Reserve is expected to signal that interest rates will continue to be held at near 0pc for a long time in an announcement tonight.
The Telegraph's Richard Blackden writes:
US interest rates will stay at record low levels until at least 2014, according to economists, as Wall Street waits the publication later today of the Federal Reserve's own forecasts on rates for the first time. The central bank is adding interest rates to a set of projections it makes for unemployment, inflation and economic growth. The Fed's hope is that the greater transparency will provide investors with a clearer idea of the direction of monetary policy and, currently at least, encourage them to invest.
14.47 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has rejected as "unfounded" stereotypes about a domineering, dogmatic Germany whose economic strength hinders growth in the rest of Europe, saying such cliches did not help the cause of European integration.
There are lazy Germans and hard-working Germans, left-wing Germans and conservative ones. There are those who support competitiveness and those who want redistribution. Germany is just as varied as the rest of Europe. We should bury the old stereotypes.
14.42 US markets have opened
Dow -0.6pc
S&P 500 -0.5pc
Nasdaq -0.2pc
Apple shares have jumped 8pc on opening on Wall Street, to make the tech firm the largest company in the world by market cap ($418bn) - overtaking Exxon Mobil ($415bn).
It comes after Apple smashed expectations last night, more than doubling its fourth-quarter profit.
14.31 Swedish Finance Minister Anders Borg says strengthening the EU firewall is the first step to a crisis resolution, and that the ECB should play a "very active role". He adds that the EU fiscal pact is moving in the right direction and Sweden wants to be a part of it.
14.22 Time for recap of today's main headlines:
UK GDP falls 0.2pc in Q4 2011, worse than 0.1pc expected • Some MPC members believe further expansion of QE is likely to be required • IMF chief Christine Lagarde has warned that if a haircut on private sector Greek debt is not enough, public holders of debt will have to participate in renogotiation • The ECB is said to remain opposed to losses on its Greek debt holdings despite pressure • Greek debt talks will resume tomorrow in Athens • Portugal needs €30bn in additional EU/IMF funds to solve credit crunch • World Bank says it will make $27bn available over the next two years for emerging Europe, Cental Asia nations hit by eurozone crisis • George Soros warns that the European debt crisis could destroy the EU.
14.19 The great debate continues. Angel Gurria, secretary-general of the OECD, believes the ECB should take losses on Greek debt.
14.08 Ireland's treasury is tapping the bond markets for the first time in 16 months in a significant test of investor sentiment toward the bailed-out nation.
The National Treasury Management Agency says it has asked holders of €11.8bn of bonds due for repayment in January 2014 to switch them for new government bonds that mature 13 months later.
14.06 At least one country is growing in Europe - Poland's GDP jumped 4pc last year. However, the country faces a slowdown this year due to the fallout from the eurozone debt crisis.
A member of the European Union, Poland was the only one of 27 EU states to avoid recession during the global economic crisis in 2009.
13.56 Andrew Goodwin, senior economic advisor to the Ernst & Young ITEM Club, expects a "short, mild, technical recession UK GDP figures:
As we feared, a decline in GDP in Q4 is likely to be the first leg of a technical recession. The dire monthly output data for the early part of the quarter indicated that the economy had probably contracted in Q4, so today's figures don't come as a huge surprise.
"You can trace this figure back to the escalation of the eurozone crisis. The heightened uncertainty has damaged confidence, causing businesses and consumers to put their spending decisions on hold, paralysing the UK economy. There is a danger that this situation will persist, in the absence of a credible and sustainable solution to the Eurozone's woes.
"We still think it is likely that we will see another small contraction in Q1, before recovery takes hold later in the second half of the year. While we are set to see the dreaded double dip, this is likely to be a much milder recession than we had in 2008/09.
But Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls says the Government's economic policy "ripped out the foundations" of recovery before the hurricane in the eurozone arrived.
13.43 As there is much going on, we have decided to run two live blogs for the next few days - one on the eurozone debt crisis and one on Davos 2012. We will still cover Davos here, but our second live blog will offer a more in depth look at what goes on in front and behind the cameras.
13.40 Time for an update on the markets:
FTSE 100 -0.6pc
CAC -0.5pc
DAX -0.5pc
MIB -1pc
IBEX -1pc
13.37 Over in Germany, Deutsche Post - Europe's largest mail carrier - has been ordered to repay government subsidies after European Union regulators said they broke antitrust rules.
Deutsche Post must repay between €500m and €1bn in pension subsidies, the European Commission said today.
13.30 The US Federal Reserve is expected to signal that interest rates will continue to be held at near 0pc for a long time in an announcement tonight. We'll have the latest here.
13.06 The Telegraph's Jeremy Warner tweeting from Davos on the eurozone crisis:
13.04 George Soros is hitting out at European politics now. He says the continent is so undemocratic that it can't deal with the crisis it has created.
12.42 A bit of breaking corporate news. Tata Steel is cutting 110 jobs at its site in Corby, Northants.
12.40 The latest Davos seminar, on "Reshaping how businesses operate worldwide":
12.36 Danny Alexander, chief secretary to the Treasury:
A change in [economic] strategy would make things worse. Economy needs to rebalance but there will be a rebalance over time.
12.32 Slovakia's finance minister Ivan Miklos rules out increasing a second Greek rescue package.
12.29 During Prime MInister's Questions, Cameron is accused of using banker-bashing to cover up the dismal state of the economy.
12.28 World Bank says it will make $27bn available over the next two years for emerging Europe, Cental Asia nations hit by eurozone crisis.
12.21 Czech PM confirms his country is to give €1.5bn loan to IMF as part of European package.
12.16 George Soros on UK GDP figures:
To expect a rebound is unrealistic. But Britain is benefitting from not being part of the euro. The outlook for the euro is truly dismal. The EU is undemocratic to the point where the electorate is disaffected and ungovernable.
And on a Tobin Tax:
As a source of revenue, I'm in favour. But it won't be enough to prevent market excesses.
12.07 Prime Minister's Questions
Ed Miliband during PMQs: "Cameron is failing on unemployment, growth and borrowing. Policies are failing our country. PM says we are all in this together and we are not.
Cameron: "Economy grew last year. More people in work today than at time of last election... Fall in GDP reflects higher food and fuel prices, eurozone crisis and debt overhang."
Cameron: "Shouldn't be a question of committing further IMF funds until the eurozone shows it will stand behind its own currency. Role of IMF is to support currency not countries."
12.05 Soros on Greece:
He adds that "stimulus will have to come from the European Union. This will require eurobonds in one guise or another."
11.59 Gerard Lyons, chief economist at Standard Chartered, from Davos:
The euro is fundamentally flawed and cannot survive.
The Greek government has said the IIF will return to Athens tomorrow (Thursday) and aims to complete debt talks this week.
11.51 Michael Meister, parliamentary finance spokesman for German Chancellor Angela Merkel, has stated that the IMF and politicians can't dictate to the ECB.
Meister adds that such calls are "indecent".
11.49 Mark Carney, Governor of the Bank of Canada, says Europe is already in recession and sees GDP contraction of 1pc this year.
11.47 How about this for a soundbite from George Soros at Davos:
The austerity Germany wants to impose will push Europe into an inflationary debt spiral. The architects of the euro knew it was an incomplete currency when they designed it.
He adds that the ECB should work with the EFSF as a lender of last resort.
11.43 Quick update on the markets:
FTSE 100 -0.7pc
CAC -1pc
DAX -0.7pc
IBEX -1.3pc
MIB -1.1pc
Joshua Raymond, chief market strategist at City Index:
The fall in GDP had been long expected given the headwinds facing the services sector and the breakdown of activity in the Eurozone, a large UK trading partner. The lack of significant market reaction is likely to be down to the fact that today's data will have been of no real surprise to most investors.
11.38 Soros says the measures taken by the ECB during the euro crisis have relieved liquidity problems for banks but are not a cure for indebted countries. He adds that "the euro must survive because the alternative, a break-up, would cause a meltdown that Europe and the world can't afford".
Soros: "It leaves the weaker members of the eurozone like Third World countries. It is Germany that dictates European policy. At times of crisis the creditors are in the driving seat."
Telegraph Head of Business Damian Reece:
11.35 Richard Fletcher is now at lunch with George Soros... along with most of the other journalists, delegates and leaders:
11.33 Telegraph City Editor Richard Fletcher is tweeting from Davos. Unilever chief Paul Polman has said that "final salary pension schemes don't give young people the chance to enter the workforce". Here is Richard's reply:
11.26 Here is the first session at Davos 2012, focusing on capitalism in the 21st century. An often heated debate, but very interesting.
11.19 Italian PM Mario Monti says the EFSF and ESM bailout funds need to have adequate resources.
This comes as the EU Commission states that it has not changed its view on the size of public sector contribution to second Greek bailout.
11.08 UK CBI January factory orders index rises to four-month high. Manufacturing output expectation balance +15 this month (highest since May 2011), versus -8 in December.
11.06 Here's Chancellor George Osborne's view of that 2pc fall in GDP:
Meanwhile, Ireland is sticking to its 2012 GDP forecast of 1.3pc.
11.01 The PwC Global Risks report highlights top five threats to world security:
The increasing income gap between rich and poor, fiscal imbalances across the globe and the threat of wholesale cyber attacks have been identified as the biggest risks. The report reveals that income disparity could ultimately lead to social unrest as austerity drives across the West lead to increasing tension. The growing number of elderly people dependent on state help is also likely to cause funding strains in the future.
The chief of Portugal's industry confederation has said the country needs €30bn in additional EU/IMF funds to solve credit crunch. He expects the bailout to be extended, and the sum increased, bu the Goverment must show it is meeting goals first.
The EU has said Portugal is doing a "very serious job" on reducing its deficit.
10.48 The ECB is said to remain opposed to losses on its Greek debt holdings despite pressure to restructure them.
10.44 German Chancellor Angela Merkel has been speaking to French newspaper Le Monde:
Europe's imbalances need to be corrected, a weakened Germany is in no one's interest. Europe needs political union. We can't always promise more money for Europe.
10.40 Here's a chart of GDP in the UK:
10.38 With the UK heading for recession (see 09.37), the British Chambers of Commerce has urged Government to cancel proposed hike in business rates and provide more support for exporters.
Germany has sold €2.46bn in 3.25pc July 2042 bunds. Average yield 2.62pc versus 2.82pc previously. Bid-to-cover 2.1x versus 1.1x previously.
Good turnout, lower yield, Germany should be happy with that.
10.34 In Davos, Citigroup chief Vikram Pandit says the bank yesterday turned down a client doing a deal with "excessive amounts of leverage".
10.32 Who says the euro is pointless?
An unemployed Irish artist has built a home from the shredded remains of €1.4bn, a monument to the "madness" he says has been wrought on Ireland by the single currency, from a spectacular construction boom to a wrenching bust.
Frank Buckley (pictured above in the property) built the apartment in the lobby of a Dublin office building that has lain vacant since its completion four years ago at the peak of an ill-fated construction boom, using bricks of shredded euro notes he borrowed from Ireland's national mint. He said:
It's a reflection of the whole madness that gripped us. People were pouring billions into buildings now worth nothing. I wanted to create something from nothing.
10.17 IMF chief Christine Lagarde as warned that if a haircut on private sector Greek debt is not enough, public holders of debt will have to participate in renogotiation. She adds that equilibrium between private and public sector in Greek debt renegotiation is a "concerning question".
10.13 Meanwhile, in Davos, miniature snowmen have appeared with notes reading "Respect existance (sic) or expect resistance" and "We are the 99pc".
Remember the Occupy protesters are in town, living in igloos no less.
Meanwhile, inside the conference Citigroup chief Vikram Pandit is speaking:
10.05 Markets are now down after that UK GDP release:
FTSE 100 -0.3pc
CAC -0.5pc
DAX -0.2pc
IBEX -0.6pc
MIB -0.5pc
10.02 Here are the Monetary Policy Committee's minutes in full:
09.57 In addition to that GDP figure of -0.2pc, Construction sector output decreased by 0.5pc in Q4 2011 and output of the production industries fell by 1.2pc.
09.51 Chancellor George Osborne says GDP figures are "disappointing" but not unexpected due to eurozone crisis:
Britain has substantial debts and if we don't deal with those debts our economic problems will be substantially worse. And what we were reminded of this week is that the rest of the world is also facing real economic problems and countries that aren't dealing convincingly with their debt face worse economic prospects than we do.
"So I think we've got the right plan, we've got to stick to it, but we've got to accept that Britain's economic problems, difficult as they are, built up as they have been over the past 10 years, have been made worse by the situation in the eurozone and by the crisis on our doorstep.
Former Chancellor Alistair Darling says the UK's debt levels of more than £1 trillion are "alarming", and that "unless action is taken in the UK and eurozone, at best we will see growth flat-lining, at worst going back into recession".
09.43 The Bank of England has also been updating the UK on its outlook.
It said it voted unanimously earlier this month to keep interest rates on hold at 0.5pc and QE at £275bn; however, some MPC members thought further expansion of QE was likely to be required. There is no compelling reason to think that the QE impact was materially different from the first round.
The BoE added that there are considerable downside risks to the UK from the global economy. UK output will be broadly flat in Q4 2011 and Q1 2012.
Some MPC members saw risks to inflation as finely balanced and thought it was less clear that inflation would fall below target. However, the BoE sees inflation falling sharply in coming months.
Howard Archer at IHS Global Insight said:
The economy stuck one foot back through the recession door in the fourth quarter of 2011 as GDP contracted 0.2pc quarter-on-quarter. We suspect that the second foot will follow in the first quarter of this year. Hopefully, the recession will be modest and short-lived, although much will depend on events in the eurozone. We expect the economy to stabilise towards the middle of the year and then achieve modest growth in the second half. News that the economy contracted modestly in the fourth quarter of 2011 makes further quantitative easing by the Bank of England look even more of a racing certainty in February."
09.40 Sterling and gilts showed little reaction to the worse-than-expected GDP figures. The pound was down 0.3pc against the dollar at $1.5561, while the euro was up 0.3pc against the pound at 83.64p. March gilt futures briefly extended gains by 10 ticks, and was last 35 ticks up on the day.
UK GDP falls 0.2pc in Q4 2011, worse than 0.1pc expected. GDP rose 0.6pc in Q3.
Total GDP growth in 2011 was 0.9pc compared with 2.1pc in 2010.
Adam Chester at Lloyds Corporate Markets said:
Marginally weaker than expected. We were looking for down 0.2pc, the market was looking for down 0.1pc, so it confirms that we did see a contraction in activity in the fourth quarter. We think the UK economy will continue to contract until the middle of this year so we're looking at three consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth. So it's going to be a fairly challenging environment for the UK economy over the next six months and likely argues for further stimulus, and we expect further quantitive easing next month as well.
09.21 As well as Davos and the UK growth data, Greece is still in talks to sort out its debt problems. The Institute of International Finance (which represents banks in the discussions) is reportedly meeting in Paris "to really take stock" of the situation, after the eurozone took a tough stand on the talks earlier this week.
09.10 European data update:
German IFO business confidence rose to 108.3 versus an expected 107.6. Italian retail sales fall more than expected in November - 0.3pc fall versus and estimated rise of 0.2pc.
09.02 UK growth figures are to be released in just under 30 minutes. The ONS data are expected to show that the economy shrank in the last quarter of 2011.
(for a bigger version of this graph, click on the right-hand-side of the main image at the top of this blog)
OBR believes the UK economy shrank by 0.1pc, Standard Chartered thinks it will be down by 0.7pc, and Goldman Sachs' Dan Morris says a negative GDP figure is likely. But NIESR predicts it may have grown by 0.1pc.
According to the IMF, growth has been weaker than expected because of the "rise in sovereign yields, the effects of bank deleveraging on the real economy, and the impact of additional fiscal consolidation". The IMF again urged countries with "fiscal space" to slow down their consolidation plans, but refrained from identifying which countries it had in mind.
08.39 Time Davos Debate on Capitalism (featuring Brian Moynihan, chief of Bank of America) is focusing on job creation.
David Rubenstein, co-founder of the Carlyle Group, said: "Capitalism may be the worst form of systems, except for every other system."
08.22 Benedict Brogan, Telegraph Deputy Editor, reflects on the UK's national debt passing £1 trillion, in his daily email:
The national debt has passed a trillion pounds... George Osborne has known for 24 hours, and he doesn't look troubled in the Borgen style pic of him perched beside the Danish finance minister on front page of the FT. But the Treasury is betting is that we are perilously close to recession. It takes two quarters of course, so the likelihood is that Britain will escape the double dip, but the economy is still flatlining.
08.16 Barely 15 minutes into Davos and we have our first soundbite.
Brian Moynihan, chief executive of Bank of America:
We reflect the excesses of society... Banks reflect the plus and minuses of capitalism and that includes boom and bust times.
08.10 Telegraph Head of Business Damian Reece, at Davos:
08.07 European markets are open. The FTSE 100 is up 0.3pc, France's CAC is up 0.5pc, Germany's DAX has risen 0.5pc, Spain's IBEX is up 0.4pc and Italy's MIB is up 0.6pc.
In Asia, Japan's Nikkei rose 1.1pc, despite the country racking up its first trade deficit in 31 years:
Japan has relied on its trade surplus as a safety buffer, helping to preserve calm even as public debt balloons to reach 238pc of GDP this year – according to the International Monetary Fund – or over 260pc including the bonds of the Fiscal Investment and Loan Programme. The concern is that confidence in Japan's debt trajectory could evaporate fast.
07.57 The Telegraph's Angela Monaghan is tweeting from Davos:
But economist Nouriel Roubini is complaing there are "too many sessions to attend".
07.52 Davos delegate league: This year the US has the most number of delegates at the World Economic Forum with 754. UK: 298, Switzerland: 205, Germany: 133, India: 133, Russia: 80, Vatican: four, Iran: zero.
07.43 Spain's Economy Minister Luis de Guindos "sees light" at the end of the year for his battered economy, but warns that the first half odf 2012 will be "very hard". He adds that budget law is to be approved this week, including new tools to control regions, and maintains there is demand for Spanish debt. He states that Spain will not create a "bad bank".
Spain is set to release its key economic data for last year, which are expected to show the jobless rate, already Europe's highest, hitting a new high while economic growth slowed. The country has swung between recession and sluggish growth, and the number of unemployed has risen steadily, since the global financial crisis hastened the collapse of its once-buoyant property sector at the end of 2008.
07.37 Back in Europe, IMF chief Christine Lagarde has said that unifying the capacity of the EFSF and ESM bailout funds would send a strong signal of confidence. She adds that if good decisions are taken in the coming weeks in the EU, US, Japan and major emerging economies, then the end of 2012 will be better than the beginning.
07.34 In corporate news, WH Smith has seen like-for-like sales fall 5pc in the 21 weeks to January 21.
07.27 In just over 30 minutes, the FTSE 100 is expected to open up 0.4pc, as Davos gets under way and Mervyn King says there is no reason to despair over the UK economy.
The Governor of the Bank of England said "all crises come to an end", as official figures released today are expected to show that Britain is heading back towards recession.
Over in the US, the Federal Reserve is expected to signal that interest rates will continue to be held at near 0pc for a long time.
Jonathan Sudaria, a trader at Capital Spreads, said:
Despite European and US markets putting in a rather lacklustre performance yesterday as Greek debt talks hit a stalemate and the IMF slashed global growth forecasts, markets are set to edge up on the open following surprise Apple earnings after the US close.
In his State of the Union address last night, US President Barack Obama proposed to divert half the money America will save from the end of its wars in Iraq and Afghanistan into high-speed rail lines and repairs to the nation's roads and infrastructure.
07.24 Sir Martin Sorrell has told Sky that he believes the UK will avoid a double-dip recession. His view will be seriosuly tested this morning when UK growth figures for Q4 2011 are released. We'll have the latest here.
07.20 Telegraph's Louise Armitstead from Davos:
07.17 The Telegraph's Damian Reece has written a great comment piece on Davos:
Davos used to be about discovering the new things that people from around the world were thinking. Now it's about listening to people thinking the same things. It's a giant rubber stamp, which is not that surprising given the uncertain territory we're in. It's a numbers game. Safety in numbers. But the real value is coming here to learn what not to think. If you want inspiration of the contrary kind, then this is the place to be. It's a demi-paradise for anyone with an ounce of contrarian blood in their veins.
07.01 The Telegraph has Head of Business Damian Reece, City Editor Richard Fletcher, Sunday Business Editor Kamal Ahmed, Assistant Editor Jeremy Warner, Chief Business Correspondent Louise Armitstead and Economics Reporter Angela Monaghan in Switzerland. They will be reporting on the latest news from Davos over the next four days.
Richard Fletcher has started tweeting already:
06.55 Many world leaders are attending Davos this year, including the UK's David Cameron, South Africa's Jacob Zuma, Germany's Angela Merkel and Nigeria's Goodluck Jonathan. But there are also delegates from many organisations, causes and charities; here are just a few:
Bill Gates: co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Barbara Stocking: chief executive of Oxfam
Lord Turner: chairman of the FSA
Pascal Lamy: director-general of the WTO
Sir Martin Sorrell: chief executive of WPP
Davos: 10 power brokers to watch at the World Economic Forum
06.50 And the other big news today is likely to be coming from an extremely snowy Davos, where politicians, bankers and quite a few journalists have gathered for the World Economic Forum.
Jeremy Warner, who is in the Swiss resort, says this week's event won't provide a miracle solution to the eurozone crisis but it could help to lay the groundwork. He writes:
No one should expect breakthroughs from this Swiss Alpine retreat; Davos is not ultimately the place or event where decisions are made.
But the sheer concentration of central bankers, financiers, government ministers and business leaders assembled here for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting does at least provide an opportunity to bang heads together.
The summiting of the past year has produced nothing but disappointment, but Davos is not a summit and it's possible that its informal setting will help galvanise a more realistic approach to the eurozone's problems. In any case, hope springs eternal.
I'm told that Angela Merkel, the German Chancellor, will be a little bolder than we have seen to date in her support for viable long-term solutions in her opening remarks on Wednesday evening.
06.45 Ambrose Evans-Pritchard is also keeping a close eye on the eurozone, where the pressure on Greece is becoming almost unbearable ahead of next week's EU summit. He reports:
Austria's finance minister Maria Fekter said patience with Athens is exhausted. "Greece has failed its austerity targets by a wide margin. The Greeks have made decisions, but they weren't implemented. They have agreed to austerity measures, but costs haven't come down. This situation has caused great consternation," she said at a meeting of EU finance minister in Brussels.
"We're sending a direct message to Greece that the community expects more. We're not pleased and only when there's a written message on the table in front of us, can further assistance be discussed," she said.
The head of the European Commission's economics team Mario Buti said Brussels is prepared to allow credit default swaps (CDS) on Greek bonds to come into play if talks fail to reach a deal that gives Greece enough debt relief to claw its way back to viability. "Triggering CDS may have to be considered," he said.
The comment is a clear warning to private creditors holding €206bn (£172bn) of Greek debt that the EU will not step in with fresh money to prevent a default on March 20, when Greece must make a €14.5bn debt payment.
06.40 UK growth figures for the fourth quarter of 2011 are out this morning, and economics editor Philip Aldrick explains why they're not likely to paint a pretty picture:
Official numbers on Wednesday are expected to reveal the UK economy shrank by 0.1pc in the final three months of last year.
Evidence that the UK is contracting again would follow Tuesday's watershed moment for the national debt, which has breached £1 trillion for the first time in history.
Growth over the next two years in the world's advanced economies, including the UK, will be "too sluggish to make a major dent in very high unemployment", the IMF warned as it confirmed that it had cut its outlook for Britain in 2012 from 1.6pc to just 0.6pc – lower than the UK's official 0.7pc forecast.
06.38 A quick round-up of last night's news:
The IMF downgraded world growth forecasts and warned that the eurozone is facing recession • UK debt has passed £1 trillion for the first time • Bank of England Governor Sir Mervyn King urged Britain's business and banking elite to rein in pay and bonuses. He also urged against "despair" because "all crises come to an end" • Shares in Apple soared to new highs with the release of record results that smashed market expectations • Yahoo! chief pledged to improve as profit fell.
06.36 The business headlines in the papers this morning:
Daily Telegraph: Britain at risk as IMF warns of global slump
The Times: Diminishing returns: IMF in $440bn global warning
Financial Times: Watchdog to protect "irrational" customers
The Independent: UK public debt pile breachers £1 trillion barrier
The Guardian: IMF trims its global growth forecasts
06.35 This morning's papers are still dominated by the UK and European economies:
06.15 Good morning and welcome back to a combined Davos 2012 and debt crisis live blog.


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2012 MIDLAS Team
Even in the face of the extended economic downturn in one of the most isolated cities on earth, Midland Information, Debt, and Legal Advocacy Service Inc. (MIDLAS), remains focused on prevention. "It's easy to be reactive, but we are committed to being proactive," says Julia Burch, Chief Executive Officer of what she describes as a very "holistic" organization. MIDLAS provides free professional services — including financial counseling, emergency relief, domestic violence legal advice, disability advocacy and tenancy advocacy — to help empower disadvantaged and vulnerable residents of the northeast metropolitan region of Perth, Australia.
Founded in 1989 with just one financial counselor and one part-time administrator, MIDLAS has grown into a staff of 16 full- and part-time employees. "We service as many clients as possible in an area with tremendous unmet need — about 2,000 annually and counting," says Burch. At 72 percent, the overwhelming majority of MIDLAS clients receive some form of government income support.
Two years ago, the organization was using a variety of versions of outdated Microsoft Office software on a mismatched collection of Macs and PCs. This made file sharing and collaboration a challenge. "A computer should be a productive tool," says Burch. "In our case, our technology was an absolute mess." Then Burch learned about DonorTec, the technology donation program of TechSoup Global partner Connecting Up and applied. "We couldn't believe our luck!" she says of the discovery that MIDLAS could request donated Microsoft products.
Upgrading all of the organization's computers to the latest version of Office had an immediate positive effect on productivity. Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 drastically improved compatibility so that PC and Mac users with updated software can now share files and collaborate easily.
Having everyone on Outlook has enabled staff to better organize contacts and track communications, while the new version of PowerPoint is the go-to choice for creating presentations and training materials. Burch adds, "We now also bring our laptops on client visits to share financial and other tools and write up case notes in real time." The new software has made MIDLAS' delivery service much more connected and efficient.
"Getting the new technology was symbolic for us too," says projects manager Craig McAllister. "It has inspired us to push our boundaries and expand our services," he says. "We understand that crisis isn't just something that happens between the hours of 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. We want our clients to be able access information and resources 24 hours a day. This lies at the core of what we do." He and staff members have improved the website to highlight services and resources for clients. They are also using social media like Twitter and Facebook, in addition to blogs, videos, and webinars, to promote MIDLAS.
The organization's social media campaign aimed to raise awareness of its services, disseminate important information and advocacy options to clients, and build stronger connections within the social services community. Honoring its success, MIDLAS recently received the "Community Services Excellence Award for Outstanding Achievement in Raising the Profile of Community Services to Western Australians." Its work has been cited as being fundamental in reducing the levels of poverty in the communities MIDLAS serves.
Most of MIDLAS's clients have multifaceted and complex issues. "When things go wrong, they can have a snowball effect," says McAllister. Some clients may find themselves faced with the decision of having to choose between paying the rent and refilling their medical prescription. MIDLAS staff work closely with individuals to ensure that they never have to make this choice. "Our Microsoft donations from DonorTec have allowed us to work smarter and stay in closer contact with our network of other social service organizations to help the people of Perth."
CEO Julia Burch with Craig McAllister and another MIDLAS staffer at Western Australian Community Services Excellence Awards
More about nonprofit software donations from Microsoft
Do you work with a nonprofit? The Microsoft nonprofit software donation program, which is operated in partnership with TechSoup provides software donations to eligible nonprofit organizations around the world. Find out more at: http://www.microsoft.com/ngo.

subset: commoncrawl


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- Visit
- Explore
- Preservation
- School & Youth
- Get Involved
Small violet-colored scilla flowers blanket the garden and lawns of the Sarah Orne Jewett House and the nearby Hamilton House for a few weeks in early spring. A stroll through the tiny blooms is the perfect antidote to cabin fever.
The grounds of the Jewett and Hamilton Houses in South Berwick, Maine, are open dawn to dusk, year round, for your enjoyment.


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EOIN KELLY denied that there was any conflict of interest in accepting a GPA player of the month award in Dublin yesterday.
While the GPA has its own commercial link with Club Energise, the star Tipperary forward has endorsed the rival Lucozade Sport product.
Kerry's Colm Cooper resigned his membership of the players body when he agreed to endorse the Lucozade brand but Kelly was perfectly happy to accept the hurling award for May after his breathtaking start to the championship campaign.
"It (the award) was voted on by the players via text message as far as I know," said the Mullinahone man.
"The way it is with the GPA you can join up when you want.
"Our representative came around last week with forms but we weren't paying too much attention to it with the Munster final coming up; we had bigger things on our minds.
"The GPA and being a member of them or not was not a huge priority last week."


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Jewish World Review June 27, 2002/ 17 Tamuz, 5762
Lawrence Kudlow
http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | The sagging stock market is diverging significantly from the rising economy. It's a puzzling and very unusual event. Much of this disconnect can be traced to a loss of investor trust due to corporate corruption and the breakdown of accounting standards. Worries about domestic terrorist bombings are also weighing down Wall Street.
But there's more to it than that. Anti-growth policy mistakes by the Bush administration could be curbing investor appetites for longer-run stock-market commitments.
Recently, the administration's economic message has dramatically shifted away from the Reaganesque, free-market, free-trade, supply-side policy direction that George W. Bush touted during the 2000 campaign and last year -- when his broad-based tax-cut package was enacted into law, and hemispheric and global free trade were passionately supported. Instead of continuing with this winning formula, Bush has gone protectionist and regulatory. This shift is handcuffing investors.
In the name of political expediency, Bush is starting to sound more like Richard Nixon than Ronald Reagan. To win the 1972 election, Nixon gunned the money supply, imposed wage, price and energy controls, and set down a number of trade-import restraints. All this created inflationary recession -- or stagflation -- which blew up the economy and the Republican Party, and culminated in the election of a left-wing Democratic Congress in 1974. So much for short-run political expediency. It didn't work for Nixon. It won't work for Bush.
Consider this: The end of the post-Sept. 11 stock-market rally can be traced to March of this year. Since then, stock averages have slumped badly. It is no coincidence that a 30 percent steel tariff administered by the White House occurred that very same month, right at the market peak, marking the end of the stock market's war recovery.
Of course, the administration assured us that the tariff measure would have no palpable economic effect. But the exact reverse has occurred. Steel-price increases have ranged between 20 percent and 70 percent, covering a wide variety of steel-using industries, including old-economy manufacturers that would be responsible for a good amount of investment in the recovery. Sure, new Bush laws to lower tax rates on businesses are in effect. But the hike in the cost to make steel may be offsetting the positive results of any business tax cuts.
More, a new tax war between the United States and Europe may be coming on the heels of a threatened trade war over the steel issue. The Treasury Department and Republican Ways and Means Chair Bill Thomas are pushing to raise taxes on foreign-owned companies operating in the United States. This of course would repel foreign companies from operating here, and that's a significant negative for the growth of our economy.
Tax-policy officials are also moving to prevent American companies from reincorporating in low-tax havens such as Bermuda and Barbados. No one likes to see American firms relocate. But several companies are trying to reduce their overall tax costs in order to pass on higher after-tax profits to shareholders. That's not a lack of patriotism. It's a complaint against burdensome American business taxes. And there's a lot to complain about.
Of the 30 industrial-country members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the United States ranks 24th from the top, with one of the world's heaviest corporate tax burdens. Even more, as conservatives sweep to victory in European elections, every center-right leader is talking about across-the-board tax cuts. If these cuts are implemented, the United States will fall even further behind in the highly competitive global race for capital.
Misguided U.S. policies on taxes and trade -- which have also produced a slumping dollar -- are two reasons why foreign investment-flows into the United States have nearly come to a halt. But there are even more anti-growth policies coming from Washington.
Consumers overwhelmingly support Microsoft in its long-running anti-trust case. But the government -- via the Justice Department -- may desert America's leading software maker, and approve stifling sanctions desired by a handful of aggressive states. The DOJ is also launching a criminal inquiry into semiconductor makers for alleged collusion to prop up prices, even though the temporary rise in chip prices earlier this year has already been erased. Chip prices have dropped roughly 25 percent yearly for a half-dozen years. And the DOJ is taking on this deflating yet vital sector? That's economic illiteracy.
With so many anti-growth trade, tax and regulatory threats in the air, stock markets are stuck in a funk. The president appears to have lost his economic compass and would do well to return to the Gipper's sound plan for domestic growth. Stock averages hated Richard Nixon but adored Ronald Reagan. Surely there's a lesson in this.
JWR contributor Lawrence Kudlow is chief economist for CNBC. He is the author of American Abundance: The New Economic & Moral Prosperity. Send your comments about his column by clicking here.


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Utilities that serve the downtown area include: Anson-Madison Water District, Anson-Madison Sanitary District and Madison Electric Works.
All other areas of Madison have private water and sewer systems. Electricity is provided by Central Maine Power Company.
Located at 13 South Maple Street, the water district serves Madison's in-town areas. Other areas of town have private water systems.
Mike Corson, Superintendent of Anson-Madison Water District.
Teri Cowan, Office Manager
Their offices are located at 13 South Maple Street in Madison. Office hours are Monday through Friday 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM
Contact: Call 696-4221 or fax to (207) 696-5309
The Board of Trustees are: Christopher Roy, Randy Turner, Harry R. Withee, Clarence Ayotte, Dana Berry, Phil Curtis and Allen French.
Madison Electric Works is a publicly owned utility that operates as a quasi-municipal department serving electric customers in the downtown area, Madison Business Gateway and Backyard Farms. Incorporated in 1888 MEW's coverage area also includes parts of Anson, Starks and Norridgewock.
Office Hours are Monday through Friday 7AM to 4PM.
Calvin Ames, Superintendent
Madison Electric Works
6 Business Park Drive
Madison, ME 04950
Telephone: 696-4401; Fax (207) 696-5627
Board of Directors
Steve Dean (Chairman) 696-8290
Richard Bartlett 696-3198
Dennis Wright 696-5166
Craig Parker
Charles Worster 696-5398
Anson-Madison Sanitary District serves a portion of the Town of Madison with wastewater treatment.
Anson-Madison Sanitary District
Dale Clark, Superintendent
Offices are located at 52 Main Street Suite 1 Madison, ME 04950
696-5211 Office
696-3246 Emergency/physical plant
Hours are Monday, Tuesday and Thursday 8:00 AM- 4:00 PM
Board of Directors from Madison: Robert Roy (Chair), George Elias, Brock Hagopian, Robert Hagopian


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How to Find a Career Counselor
A career counselor can provide you with direction in your job search, expert advice, offer testing services and just act as a sounding board for some of your job search frustrations. There are usually fees involved for hiring a career counselor, and to get the most for your money look for a certified counselor.
Finding a Counselor
- The National Board for Certified Counselors offers a Find a Counselor service. You can search in their database by type of counselor as well as by location. The National Career Development Association also offers a Find a Counselor service.
- If you prefer to work with a psychologist, since you may have other stressors in your life to deal with beyond your career, you can find a psychologist through the American Psychological Association. There are many psychologists who specialize in career issues or psychological career testing, so this is a good option for a person who has additional concerns beyond careers.
- If you plan to relocate, you should consider working with a counselor in the city or town where you would like to live, to make the best use of their local network. Many counselors will offer distance counseling services if this is personal requirement.
Free or fee
As a student at a high school or a college, you can take advantage of the counseling services offered by your school. This is an excellent option for students--or for parents who are looking for a career counselor for their children--since the service is usually free or low cost. The programs are usually administered by trained professionals, usually with graduate degrees in counseling, education or business, and they can be gatekeepers to additional programs and services that students should use to find a job. Some college career centers are also open to their alumni at a lower cost than a private counselor.
Your employer may offer counseling as part of a mental health or workplace satisfaction initiative. These programs are usually free, though you might be limited by the number of sessions that you can participate in. Some of these programs can be self-paced or even distance learning, but they are still valuable since they can teach you career management basics that you can apply repeatedly in your career life span.
Finally, you can use the Find A Counselor services mentioned above to find an appropriate counselor. A counselor's fees will depend on their level of education and expertise. You can contact the certification agency, like the National Career Development Association, and ask about the current professional rate in your state.
Since you are paying for the service, you should get a highly trained, certified professional as a career counselor. Both the National Board for Certified Counselors and the National Career Development Association offer certification programs which means that the counselor has achieved a certain level of knowledge, taken courses on career development theory and practice, and training in ethics for counselors. They will also have to continue their education to hold on to their certification.
Counselors that are certified to give the Myers Briggs or another vocational test should be willing to show you that they are certified and when they were last certified since the tests will change over time.
A career counselor is a valuable guide for your career development, and though they charge a fee for their services, finding a certified counselor will mean that you are spending your time and money wisely.


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|It's morning at ~10.30pm.
Time to pose with the thermostat.
|Lighting up the night...
|With Michael, the master of Team WSF.
Check out #KeepHerInTheGame
|3 medals! From left: LA/SF Challenge, 52.4 race and Official SFMarathon
2nd loop finish time: 5:29. My slowest marathon by far, but who really cares?!
Total time: 10 hours and 45 minutes (ish).


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Fossil Rim
Drive through Zoo, Camping and Photography workshops!
Photography Classes!
Texas Main
Jacob's Review:
You can feed the animals right from your car! - If you have a two door car, the kids can get a better view taking turns in the front seat! Or little kids in the front seat on their parents lap! Or go on a van ride through the park. There is a trail, a playground and a lunch eating place. You can do a fossil hunt and a petting zoo.
Dad's Notes:
Over 30 different kinds of animals including Zebra, Rhino, cheetah & Giraffe!
Most animals range loose, it is a safari type zoo where you drive right through the animals habitats. The dangerous animals are not loose of course, but many exotic ones are.
The drive through Zoo's of Texas are great for kids! It really gives them a chance to see the animals close up! They get so excited and if you haven't been to one it is a definite see! This one in particular is very nicely done, a large area and really a great time for friends, family even a date!
Luxury bed and breakfast, and little cabins you can rent. Guided mountain bike tours on specific days - call for more info! Camping avail at nearby Dinosaur Valley SP. Both book up quick - call up to a month ahead for reservations.
2299 County Road 2008, Glen Rose, Texas 76043
Admission (subject to change):
Phone Numbers:
Hours(subject to change):
Drive Directions:
View Fun Things to Do near Dallas and Fort Worth by JacobGuide.com in a larger map
|Jacob Tip: Definitely buy some extra food - throw it away from the car a little bit around the Ostriches and Emus to keep them out of the car! Bring a camera - you have never been so close to so many wild animals!!
|Home | Tx Main | Killeen | Austin | Burnet | Waco | To San Antonio | To Dallas
|© 2004, 2012 ~ The Jacob Guide, all rights reserved.


text: Dear listmembers, I have two questions tonight: 1: Is it possible to define and then use different kind of fixed and non-breaking spaces in ConTeXt? For something I am working with I need 1/8th of an em, 1/4th of an em, and 1/3rd of an em - but would ideally want to be able to define any kind of fraction of an em. 2: Is it possible to have the overfull rules printed out in the margins? That way one can flip through the pages fast and instantly get an idea of the quality of the typesetting. Best regards, Mats Broberg


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Despite taking a battering in the recession, Jacksonville's economy is on its way to clawing back to its pre-recession standing, but still lags behind Florida's other major metropolitan areas.
Jacksonville's recovery has outpaced many other U.S. cities, according to a report released by the Brookings Institution and the London School of Economics on Tuesday. But overall, once-powerful American and European cities, battered by the real estate downturn and banking debacles, slipped economically while Asian cities rose in economic strength.
The study looks at the globe's 150 strongest cities and their outlying areas in terms of economic performance - 50 in the United States, 50 in Europe and 50 in Asia and other developing areas, and came to the conclusion that the Third World is rising meteorically while the First World is lagging behind.
"We are witnessing a historic shift in economic power from metros in the U.S. and Europe to metros in Asia," said Bruce Katz, vice president and founding director of the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program at a Tuesday press conference.
The study considered each metropolitan area's economic performance with measurements of the growth in its employment and the value of the goods and services it produced. Those figures were compared for three periods: pre-recessions, from 1993 to 2007; the recession, 2007 to 2010; and the recovery, 2009 to 2010.
"The global economy is led by its major metro economies," said Alan Berube , Senior Fellow and Research Director at the Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program and co-author of the report.
Jacksonville, for example, ranked 80th internationally before the recession, 125th during the recession and 90th in the recovery. The other three major Florida metropolitan areas fared similarly, but only Tampa ranked higher post recession than it did pre-recession. That city ranked below Jacksonville, at 83rd, before the recession, fell to 120th during the recession and has since recovered to take the 74th spot and the title of the state's strongest city economically.
Miami and Orlando were ahead of Jacksonville in the ranking before, during and since the recession, but both have eroded in economic prominence - Orlando significantly. Miami was ranked 66th before the recession, 122 during and 78 in the recovery. Orlando slid from its rank of the state's strongest city, in the 40th spot, before the recession; to 119th during and 85th in the recovery.
Of the top 10, four cities are Chinese - Shenzhen, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Beijing. Each was in the top 10 before the recession and virtually unaffected during the recession, holding to their top 10 spots. The holder of the top post-recession slot was Istanbul, Turkey. Others in the top 10 were Lima, Peru; Santiago, Chile; Manila, the Philippines and Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Berube said what's happening in China as that nation soaks up economic might is amazing. Shenzhen, China, the city holding the No. 2 spot internationally, has undergone a stunning transformation into an economic powerhouse of a city with a population of more than 10 million.
"As recently as 1980, it was a fishing village of 20,000 people," he said.
In contrasting the recession's ill effects in Florida with other areas in the U.S., however, nothing compares more starkly than Las Vegas. The Brookings data show that no other city was inflated as much by real estate boom-time growth and no other city was as dependant on construction and tourism, two industries that have been hard-hit. The Nevada city tumbled from its lofty rank in the 14th spot before the recession - the highest rank of any U.S. city - going into free-fall to the 128th spot during the recession. Its current rank of 146th shows that its tumble has continued despite the economic recovery, and today it is in danger of falling out of the top 150 altogether. Phoenix, another Southwestern desert city, also was in a strong position in its pre-recession ranking of 20th, and has managed to recover to the 68th spot.
Today, Austin, Texas, is the highest-ranking U.S. city in terms of economic productivity, according to the study. In a strong position in the 25th spot before the recession, it fell to 40th and since has recovered to the 26th spot, falling only one place in ranking.
Other American cities actually were helped by the recession. Virginia Beach, Va., is now the nation's second-strongest metro economy, rising from 92nd before the recession; 42nd during the recession and today ranking 36th. It is followed in ranking by Washington, D.C., which was propelled by the power of the area's government economy during the recession. That metro area rose from 85th before the recession to 36th during it. It has since fallen only slightly to the 37th spot.
The recession also helped Dallas, which rose from 71st before the recession, falling slightly to 75th during the recession and rising to the 39th slot in the recovery. Baltimore, too, was helped, rising from 109th before the recession to 89th at its height and 42nd in the recovery.
The report was prepared by Brookings and the London School of Economics and Political Science, with Deustche Bank Research supported by the Alfred Herrhausen Society, the International Forum of Deutsche Bank.
Wolfgang Nowak of the Alfred Herrhausen Society, said economic dynamics should be measured between cities, because urban areas account for nearly 50 percent of the world's economic output while representing only 12 percent of its population.
"Cities compete with each other," he said. "They are not competing with countries. Cities are the expression of humankind."
firstname.lastname@example.com, (904) 359-4609


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Category Archives: Frugal Tips-Other
Bust the tissue monster
Out of necessity, I came up with this idea. My son has been sick for the past two days and one of his ailments is a runny nose. Though prior to this, he seemed to constantly have a runny nose … Continue reading
Coffee Pot Planter
So my mom finally got a Keurig and apparently didn't want to throw away the old coffee pot. So, she turned it into a planter. This actually goes really well in her house with all the antiques and other decor. … Continue reading
Make your own grippy slippers
This is an easy and cheap way to make your own grippy slippers. The kids will have fun designing their own slippers to use in the wintertime. Go to my full article HERE to see the instructions, the items you … Continue reading
Make Your Own Wrapping Paper
We just moved 2 weeks ago and wrapping Christmas presents was the last thing on my mind. Now it is December 23rd, I do not have one single present wrapped (very NOT me) and I realized that most of my wrapping paper … Continue reading
Double Duty Ironing
Place aluminum foil under your ironing board pad to do some double duty ironing. The foil reflects the heat and irons the underside at the same time.


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Bronze medal in the last European Championships with the Czech Republic's Relay, Jan Šedivý is our guest today. His 13th place in the IOF World Ranking calls the attentions on him, now that the World Orienteering Championships are getting closer. Let us know a little better the athlete and understand his goals for Strömstad.
The first question is always the easiest. Who is Jan Šedivý?
Jan Šedivý (J. S.) - I was born in Prague in 1984 into an orienteering family. My father was co-founder of the orienteering club attached to the University of Economics in Prague. He also met there my mother, a 400 meters runner in that time. I have one brother; he used to be a great track and field runner, but he decide to do something else than sports and he's a surgeon. I played basketball in a good level, but I was too small. In 2011 I finished my studies in the University of Economics and started to work as a freelancer in digital marketing. Now, I have a small family. With my spouse (no time for wedding so far :-) we bring up a one and a half year boy. Orienteering, family and work, that's all I have now, but I love it.
How did you meet Orienteering? Was it love at first sight?
J. S. - I recall orienteering in my childhood as a nightmare. I was scared even on marked course for children. One weekend my father decided not to go to some local o-competition, because of really bad weather. After that I "prayed" each Friday for bad weather. :-) Of course, everything has changed after I grew up a bit. I started to love orienteering. I did ski-o a lot. I was in the Czech team till I was twenty and it really helped me. I met many great sportsmen like Ondrej Vodrazka and they inspired me.
What do you see in Orienteering that makes it so special?
J. S. - I think that orienteering is more than just a sport. It's a big family and we are like magicians from Harry Potter (laughs). Orienteers love nature, live actively and have positive mind and that's why I always feel myself alone when I'm leaving an orienteering competition.
I can see that you missed the World Orienteering Championships in Olomouc and you have to wait eight long years for running a major IOF event in your home country. How did you feel about that?
J. S. - I had long term injuries, both spring 2007 and 2008. I was also not passionate enough for orienteering that time. It hurts much more if you give it all and fail than if you just try. I was really focused on World Cup in Liberec in 2011, but I twisted my ankle two weeks before it. So I expected some injury again :-) And, of course, I was nervous and excited when it all begun.
How do you rate your performances in the individual races?
J. S. - The Middle Distance was perfect, both my performance and the result. Of course, I could have run faster (without few mistakes), but why couldn't I? I was hoping for a better result in the Long Distance but I didn't feel very well physically and also my orienteering was behind my expectations.
You could ending the European Championships with the bronze in the relay, which reminds my a sentence from Jan Kocbach: "Winning a Gold medal is always a great achievement – but sometimes winning a Bronze medal can be an even bigger achievement – based on what your starting point was". Is there any connection between Jeseník's European bronze and Lausanne's amazing World gold?
J. S. - Gold medal in Lausanne was something special. It exceeded by far all my "big" moments in orienteering. I didn't even dream that we could achieve it. It was such an unexpected euphoria, I'll never forget. Bronze medal in Jesenik was totally different. We weren't favorites, but the expectations from Czech fans were high and we also defended the silver medal from EOC in Portugal. Even knowing that it would be extremely difficult, a medal was something like a duty for us. I'm really proud that we kept the bronze at home.
How do you rate the European Orienteering Championships EOC 2016 overall?
J. S. - Very well. No big glitches, nice terrains and good weather. Maybe some runners expected more fans, but you have to take into account that EOc is not WOC. Holiday time is much better for public races and also this part of Czech Republic is a bit abandoned (at least by orienteers).
If I asked you to choose the European Orienteering Championships' Achievement, what would it be?
J. S. - Definitely, the relay finish of Merja Rantanen.
The World Orienteering Championships will be the next big challenge. Can you feel already some good vibrations about Strömstad's days?
J. S. - WOC in Sweden is, for most of orienteers, something unique. Special atmosphere, lots of fans, great terrains, that's simply why we do it. I will probably run all forest disciplines and I'm aiming for one individual race in TOP15 and TOP6 in the relay. It would be superb.
Who will be your main adversaries?
J. S. - I never consider the other athletes as adversaries. My enemy is just my physical condition, orienteering technique and mind. I have two months to enhance everything, to get enough power in my legs (because surface in Swedish forest is totally different compared to the Czech Republic) and to work on more precise orienteering technique. If I'll be able to improve both, also my mind will be self-confident enough to succeed.
Joaquim Margarido


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Work Step by Step
Based on the quotient rule of logarithms, we know that $log_{b}(\frac{M}{N})=log_{b}M-log_{b}N$ (where $b$, $M$, and $N$ are positive real numbers and $b\ne1$). We know that $ln(x)$ is a natural logarithm with an understand base of $e$. Therefore, $ln(\frac{e^{4}}{8})=log_{e}e^{4}-ln(8)$. Based on the definition of the logarithmic function, we know that $y=log_{b}x$ is equivalent to $b^{y}=x$ (for $x\gt0$ and $b\gt0$, $b\ne1$). Therefore, $log_{e}e^{4}=4$, because $(e)^{4}=e^{4}$. So, $log_{e}e^{4}-ln(8)=4-ln(8)$.


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Cycling, Art and Life in the North East of England
Finally the sun bring some warmth for a spring bike ride.
Welcome to 'Cycling For Arts Sake', let me explain what it's all about. A little while ago I decided to start cycling, not competitively, but pootling around the local area. I wanted to get some fresh air, de-stress and improve my fitness. That's all it was meant to be, but the bicycles had other ideas.
They're now an integral part of my life and my work as an artist, so this site just seemed the natural thing to do. It'll be fun to see how it evolves as my cycling and arts practice evolve, not to mention how they interact and influence each other.
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The Reality Check Project


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Donald J. Trump won the city concession yesterday to operate the Wollman and Lasker skating rinks in Central Park.
Mr. Trump, who restored the Wollman Rink in three and a half months after the city had been unable to do so in six years, relishes his role as the rink's savior and reluctantly accepted the less-popular Lasker Rink as part of the deal, a Trump spokesman said.
The concession to operate Wollman, awarded to Trump Ice Inc., is for four years and begins this fall. The Lasker Rink concession, for three years, begins a year later, in 1988. This season, the city will continue to operate the Lasker Rink in order to make $1.1 million in repairs to the refrigeration system before Mr. Trump takes over.
While Mr. Trump, who has been operating the Wollman Rink since last November, has said he made a profit at Wollman of $500,000, on revenues of $1.1 million, he said he plans to give them away to the city and private charities of his designation, such as the Police Athletic League. #15-Year Pact Proposal Rejected However, profits from the two rinks will be diminished if Lasker loses money, as it has done consistently over the last several years. ''Lasker was built in as part of the city's package,'' said Anthony Gliedman, vice president of the Trump Organization. ''Obviously, we would rather have had just Wollman.''
The Lasker Rink is to open Nov. 5, the same date as Wollman. Repairs to Lasker are to be made in the spring, before its use as a swimming pool.Continue reading the main story
Initially, Mr. Trump had sought a 15-year agreement with the city, according to Parks Commissioner Henry J. Stern. ''We didn't want to do that,'' he said, ''because this is a showcase facility and we didn't want it out of the public's hands until the next century.''
The idea of linking the management of Wollman and Lasker was Mr. Stern's, he said. ''I wanted the same first-rate professional service at Lasker as at Wollman,'' he said. Shuttle to Link 2 Rinks
Mr. Stern said he had talked with Mayor Koch about the concession after Mr. Trump attacked the Mayor, calling him ''a moron'' for not giving Mr. Trump tax relief on the Television City project he has proposed for the West Side. ''The Mayor told me to do what's best for the city,'' Mr. Stern said.
Mr. Gliedman said he hoped the Wollman Rink would make at least $500,000 in profits this year, half of which will go to Parks Department projects.
The city will operate a shuttle between the two rinks, so ''if people don't want to wait in line at Wollman, they'll get a free ride to Lasker,'' Mr. Stern said.
Admission fees at Lasker will be about half of those at Wollman, where it costs adults $5 to skate on weekends, $4 on weekdays. Children will pay $2 and senior citizens $2.50 at Wollman.
Under the agreement, Trump Ice is to operate the food service at Wollman in the summer, when the Parks Department hopes to use the rink for other recreational functions. Trump Ice has agreed to invest $200,000 for new skates and improvements at both rinks.
Trump Ice has selected the Ice Capades to run the rinks, and TAM Concessions to operate the food concessions.Continue reading the main story


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University Health Services (UHS) will distribute H1N1 flu vaccine to Penn State students from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 3, and from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 4.
While some sources report that the H1N1 flu has peaked, UHS continues to see many students with influenza-like illness (ILI). In addition, public health officials predict that a second wave of the illness is likely later this winter or spring. Getting vaccinated now will prevent illness from H1N1 should the virus cause further outbreaks.
Vaccination is free and available to students 24 years of age and younger, students with chronic health conditions (regardless of age), students who are pregnant or have recently been pregnant and students who serve as the primary caregiver to children 6 months of age or younger.
UHS strongly encourages all students to get vaccinated and students involved in THON in particular should make a point of receiving a vaccination. Children who are cancer survivors and may have weakened immune systems are especially vulnerable to influenza. Students who are dancing or working at THON and spending time with Four Diamonds kids at events leading up to THON should consider the safety of these children while deciding about their own vaccination. "Students involved in THON need to do the socially responsible thing and get vaccinated against H1N1 to help protect the kids," said Margaret Spear, UHS director.
Thursday's clinic will be held in 205 Student Health Center on Penn State's University Park campus. Appointments will be available beginning Wednesday, Nov. 25, and must be scheduled through the UHS Web site at http://www.sa.psu.edu/uhs/basics/online_access.cfm online. Friday's clinic will be held in 129 HUB-Robeson Center. No appointment is necessary for Friday's clinic.
Students are asked to wear a short-sleeved shirt and have their student ID ready in order to expedite the vaccination process.
The CDC provides information that can help students make informed decisions about vaccination at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/keyfacts.htm and http://www.cdc.gov/h1n1flu/vaccination/public/vaccination_qa_pub.htm.


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Anyone watching the still slow but improving progress of the electric car industry may have seen the Bloomberg Businessweek story on the "Tale of Two Electric Car Makers: Tesla Soars, Fisker Flops" (http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2013-05-08/a-tale-of-two-electric-car-makers-tesla-soars-fisker-flops). Tesla Motors not only produced a profit in the first quarter, as advertized, but also increased its guidance on sales for the year, from 20,000 to 21,000 cars. TSLA revenues were up 83 percent year-over-year to $562 million and the stock is soaring (see below).
While the article outlines supply chain and battery issues and other "kinks in its processes" Tesla needs to iron out, their stock is soaring and the outlook looks good. The contrast was provided by Anaheim, CA-based Fisker Automotive, which is laying off employees and hiring bankruptcy consultants, the article reports. Another electric car maker, Los Angeles-based CODA Automotive, recently filed for bankruptcy protection and announced it was "focusing its business strategy on the growing energy storage market," according to a company filing.
For more positive electric car news, the BBC posted an article this week on the Nissan Leaf (http://www.bbc.com/autos/story/20130509-leaf-charges-into-mid-life) as it "charges through mid-life." The Leaf, billed as "the first truly global mass-produced electric vehicle," now includes the Leaf S, a lower cost model "designed to lower the barrier of entry to EV ownership." One of the cost cutting moves was to move its assembly line from Japan to another Nissan factory in Smyrna, TE.
The BBC put the Leaf through its paces and managed to get 75 miles from a full charge, right about in line with Nissan estimates. Competitors mentioned in the article include the Toyota Prius PH-V and Ford C-Max Energi, both plug-in hybrids.
If anyone out there is charged up about the electric vehicle market, and knows of a small cap stock play in this market, please let us know. Meanwhile, we've been following a few small caps, plus Tesla to see how their stock is moving. We've also added a new company, Car Charging Group, to our list.
Palo Alto, CA-based Tesla Motors (Nasdaq: TSLA, http://www.teslamotors.com/) manufactures the Tesla Roadster, the Model S and other electric vehicles and electric powertrain components. It's way too large for our small cap blog focus, but just as a reference, the last time we looked at Tesla last February 20 it was trading at $38.90 with a market cap of $4.4 billion. As we mentioned, TSLA stock has been on a huge roll. It closed May 15 at $84.84, up $1.60 for the day. Its 52-week trading range is now $25.52-$97.12.
Santa Rosa, CA-based ZAP (OTC: ZAAP.OB, http://www.zapworld.com/) makes a variety of all-electric vehicles including trucks, motorcycles, shuttle buses and sedans and was formerly known as ZAPWORLD.COM. When we last checked on Feb. 20 its stock closed at $0.08 with a market cap of $24. ZAAP closed May 15 at $0.14, up 3 cents for the day, with a market cap of $42 million. Its 52-week trading range is $0.06-$0.27.
San Diego-based Maxwell Technologies Inc. (Nasdaq: MXWL, http://www.maxwell.com/) was formerly known as Maxwell Laboratories. The company manufactures ultracapacitors that are energy storage devices and power delivery systems for use in transportation, automotive, IT and industrial electronics. MXWL closed back on Feb. 20 at $10.01 with a market cap of $292 million. It closed May 15 at $6.36, up 11 cents for the day, with a market cap of $185 million. Its 52-week trading range is now $4.90-$11.08.
Miami Beach-based Car Charging Group (OTCQB: CCGI, http://www.carcharging.com/) caught our eye with the announcement March 12 that it was acquiring EVPass, a company building destination charging networks for EV charging. CCGI is also in the business of building charging station networks and has been busy making more acquisitions. Earlier this month, CCGI announced it had acquired 350Green LLC. CCGI closed May 15 at $1.34, up 4 cents for the day, with a market cap of $70.8 million. Its 52-week trading range is $0.60-$2.


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|Data card of million years
Japanese multinational conglomerate Hitachi has unveiled the chip, which it claims is resistant to many chemicals and unaffected by radio waves, can be exposed directly to high temperature flames and heated to 1,000 degrees Celsius for at least two hours without being damaged.
The chip is also waterproof, meaning it could survive natural calamities, such as fires and tsunami, the 'Daily Mail' reported.
"The volume of data being created every day is exploding, but in terms of keeping it for later generations, we haven't necessarily improved since the days we inscribed things on stones," Hitachi researcher Kazuyoshi Torii said.
"The possibility of losing information may actually have increased,' he said, noting the life of digital media currently available - CDs and hard drives - is limited to a few decades or a century," he said.
The company's new technology stores data in binary form by creating dots inside a thin sheet of quartz glass, which can be read with an ordinary optical microscope.
Provided a computer with the know-how to understand that binary is available - simple enough to programme, no matter how advanced computers become - the data will always be readable.
"We believe data will survive unless this hard glass is broken," said senior researcher Takao Watanabe.
The material currently has four layers of dots, which can hold 40 megabytes per square inch, approximately the density on a music CD, researchers said, adding they believe including more layers should not be a problem.
The company has not decided when to put the chip to practical use but researchers said they could start with storage services for government agencies, museums and religious organisations.


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Posted by Anuraj on Friday, March 22, 2013 Reading time :1 minute
.Net .Net 3.0 / 3.5 CodeProject Windows Forms
Long back I wrote a post about how to fix - System.InvalidOperationException – Cross-thread operation not valid exception, while we try to access user interface elements from a different thread, other than the thread(normally main thread), which created the user interface elements. .NET 2.0 brings us SynchoronizationContext which allows us to execute a section of code in the UI context (the thread that created the UI). Also, it allows us to specify if the background thread will block waiting for the UI thread (using Send) or will not block (using Post). SynchoronizationContext class can be used in Windows Forms, WPF, and ASP.Net etc. For Windows forms, you can get the UI context from the WindowsFormsSynchronizationContext.Current property. For WPF, the implementation is DispatcherSynchronizationContext class.
In the following example, I am updating the UI from a separate thread, without the _synchronizationContext.Post() method, it will throw an InvalidOperationException. Here is the implementation.
When the value is assigned to textbox, if you look the threads window, you can find, it is running under main thread.
You can find more details about WindowsFormsSynchronizationContext class in MSDN
What do you think? I would like to hear your thoughts, suggestions, and questions in the comments section below.


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Our Side Click from Bulgaria recently wrote:
"We are living in tough times in our town. The city is growing very fast and the government services have a lot of problems. A service like SeeClickFix can be very useful for us to attract some attention on many annoying problems which are disturbing our quality of life."
A call to arms was issued to get translators working to make SeeClickFix more useful for concerned Bulgarian citizens.
Our Side Click found at least five volunteer translators and has 133 Facebook members of his own group.
A couple issues were reported and the city already responded like on this one: http://seeclickfix.com/issues/12193
Goran Angelov, our Side Click, is helping to teach others how to use the tool by commenting on issues and responding to other people's comments; a great method to get SeeClickFix working in the community.
If you'd like to become a Side Click, please visit our page "Get Involved" http://www.seeclickfix.com/whats_a_sideclick.
From there, we can help you to utilize the tools to help others just like Goran Angelov has done in Bulgaria, where he first believed that issues might not get any response from government officials.
In fact, he's helping to change his community one issue at a time and proving that a little positive communication goes a long way.
Thanks to Goran Angelov and all our Side Clicks.


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Situated in the revitalized downtown business and entertainment district, The Westin Phoenix Downtown is a stylish hotel near the city's most compelling attractions. Upscale comfort awaits in contemporary rooms and suites, stylishly appointed with luxury amenities, modern essentials, signature Westin Heavenly® beds and beautiful views. Explore celebrated attractions, including the Phoenix Convention Center, Chase Field and Talking Stick Resort Arena, all within walking distance of your spacious room. Savor distinctive, farm-to-table seasonal cuisine at Province Urban Kitchen & Bar. Celebrate and succeed in sophisticated meeting and event space, enhanced by expert planners and custom catering. After a full day of business or fun, rejuvenate with a soothing massage or take an exhilarating dip in our gorgeous Lapis Terrace Pool. With a prime downtown location across from the Light Rail stop, our Phoenix hotel is a haven in the breathtaking Valley of the Sun.Show More
Refresh in the shimmering waters of our Lapis Terrace Pool, or lounge in a plush chair and enjoy a cocktail while gazing out over downtown Phoenix.
Energize in our 24-hour WestinWORKOUT® hotel fitness center with weight machines, free weights, cardio equipment and personal flat-screen TVs.
Treat your palate to wine, cocktails and fresh, farm-to-table fare at Province Urban Kitchen & Bar, just steps from your room.
The more you travel, the more your well-being can get left behind. Our signature wellness programs empower you to sleep, eat, move, feel, work and play well, so you can be at your best while on the road.
Maintain your workout routine while on the road in our state of the art, 24/7 WestinWORKOUT Fitness Studios featuring TRX functional equipment. Left your gear at home? Try our workout Gear Lending program in partnership with New Balance.Learn More


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The Cardon September 15, 2014 at 8:39 am
We go through life rarely knowing how lives intersect and affect. During a fundraising book signing for a public library system, an attractive woman made her way through the crowd. Laughing, with tears in her eyes, she flung herself into my arms and thoroughly embraced me.
"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" she cried.
I must have looked puzzled. Astonished.
"You were a homicide detective," she said.
I was—35 years ago.
A tough cop, I might add, to help clarify the incident. Four years with the Miami, Florida, police department, ten in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where I was a homicide detective. I worked the Miami ghettos for nearly four years, the roughest and most dangerous districts in the city. I busted down doors to arrest armed suspects, had been in 100mph high-speed chases, solved crimes, rescued victims, fought it out with criminals in dark alleys, killed a man in a gunfight. . . Former Governor David Boren once told the press that I was "perhaps the best homicide detective in the nation."
Cops are more often criticized than thanked.
So. . . Why was this pretty woman thanking me?
"My mother. . ." she explained. "She was devastated after it happened," she went on. "She was having a nervous breakdown. You were so kind to her. You calmed her down just by taking the time to talk to her. She never forgot it. Neither have I. We've kept up with you ever since. She still has your card you gave her."
Charles W. Sasser
Investigator, Tulsa Police Department
I was so touched by her story that I neglected to ask the circumstances of her mother's case. I had worked scores of cases over the years. I always tried to treat people—even bad guys—as I would wish to be treated.
I was touched that a woman would remember me and keep a simple business card for over 35 years. . .
"If you long to publish what you write, to become a writer, then perhaps I can help you find the magic pathway. . ." From Magic Steps to Writing Success by Charles W. Sasser. Available in paperback and in electronic e-book format from Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com, and from selected book stores.


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Raise Money for Medical Travel
Raise Money for Medical Travel
Create a fundraiser today to raise money for Medical Travel.
Start a Fundraising Campaign to Raise Money for Medical Travel Today!
Traveling isn't always for vacationing. There are many times where traveling is required for medical treatment. If you're experiencing travel needs related to medical treatment, then you can use Move Your Mountain to help raise money for medical travel needs.
Using an online fundraising platform allows you to seek help from your family and friends to help with travel expenses. They can be as minimal as a few tanks of gas and hotel nights, or thousands of dollars to fly to another country for treatment.
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