News briefs:August 3, 2010
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FTC begins antitrust inquiry of Google
Saturday, June 25, 2011 Google has confirmed that it has “received formal notification,” that the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating its business practices. The acknowledgment was posted on the internet search engine company’s blog Friday. Google said it was unclear about the nature of the probe. A broad FTC investigation would cause the company be tied up in defending itself for years, and according to Bloomberg, might well be the government’s biggest antitrust case since the Microsoft probe. The FTC will likely launch an anti-trust investigation, as the company has been the target of many past smaller ones, according to CNN. Mercury News reported Friday morning that the FTC review will probably focus on whether Google is using its dominance in the internet search business to promote its own products and services. Google’s rivals say Google unfairly profits from its monopoly in the search engine business by using its…
China leads medal race after day two of competition at London Paralympics
Saturday, September 1, 2012 London, England — Following the second full day of competition at the 2012 Summer Paralympics, China leads the medal race with 13 gold medals and 34 medals in total. Australia comes second with 7 gold, and the Ukraine is third with 6 gold medals. China’s large medal haul was distributed across several sports, with 15 from swimming, 5 each from athletics and track cycling, 4 from judo, 3 from powerlifting, 2 from shooting. Australia’s first medal of the Games was won in women’s standing air rifle shooting event where Natalie Smith captured a bronze medal during the first medal event of the Games. One of Australia’s bronze medals came in athletics’ F35–36 shot put event. Kath Proudfoot originally was listed as finishing fifth, but the Australians appealed this citing errors in how her results were calculated. Their appeal was successful, and Proudfoot came away with her…
Queensland mops up after Cyclone Larry’s billion dollar devastation
Tuesday, March 21, 2006 Areas in far north Queensland remain without electricity, running water or sewerage after Category 5 Cyclone Larry hit the coast on Monday morning. Queensland Premier Peter Beattie has declared a state of emergency in Innisfail and says he is worried about the outbreak of diseases. Army engineers are among more than 1,000 people assisting in Queensland’s cyclone relief effort. Premier Beattie says it could be more than a week before power is restored in Innisfail. “The whole bloody place is blown apart… this is going to be a long, slow recovery,” he said. Larry caused widespread damage as it crossed the coast south of Cairns, with winds of up to 290km/h (180 mph). Thousands of buildings were damaged and most of the Australia’s banana crop has been destroyed. Thousands of kilometres of power lines were brought down. Many key roads are flooded. State Emergency Service volunteers…
Birks to create 2010 Olympic, Paralympic jewelery; wines on menu
Thursday, February 8, 2007 Birks was recently announced as the “Official Supplier of Jewelery” for the 2010 Vancouver-Whistler Olympics. The company will create licensed products with the logos of the 2010 Olympic Games, 2010 Paralympic Games, and the Canadian Olympic team emblem, including necklaces, earrings, pendants and rings. The partnership was announced at an employee celebration in Vancouver, to mark the centenary of Mayors Jewelers Inc., an American company Birks acquired in 2002. The six-year sponsorship includes the rights to the Canadian Olympic team logo during the Beijing 2008 and London 2012 Olympic Games. Thomas A. Andruskevich, president and CEO, Birks & Mayors stated in a press release: We are extremely proud to take part in this journey that honors our best athletes and celebrates excellence as the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games shine on the world wide stage. Canadians look to Birks to mark the most important celebrations in their…
U.S. Real Estate Forecast From A Supply &Amp; Demand Perspective
Click Here To Know More About: Financial Advisor Fee Best Financial Advice By Real Estate Advisor On any given day, people can easily find articles and news stories describing an impending bust of the so-called real estate bubble. Despite this gloomy prediction, many experts believe that the recent slowdown in housing will be a gradual and modest readjustment rather than sharp bust or decline. These experts believe that factors that lead to a sharp decline in the real estate market are just not present in the current economic outlook. In fact, a recent study by the Joint Center for Housing Studies at Harvard University noted that ‘despite the current cool-down, the long-term outlook for housing is bright.’ The rise and fall of the real estate market is subject to the forces of supply and demand, and these factors point to stable and positive growth in the real estate segment. SUPPLY…
Wikipedia victim of onslaught of April Fool’s jokes
This article mentions the Wikimedia Foundation, one of its projects, or people related to it. Wikinews is a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. Friday, April 1, 2005 Today Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone with access to the Internet can edit, was the victim of an onslaught of practical jokes, as April Fool’s Day kicked in various timezones around the world, at least those parts which follow the Gregorian calendar. It is believed that Wikipedia contributors were kept busy tidying up and removing prank articles and changes made by other Wikipedia contributors, and were expecting to be cleaning up the aftermath for days afterwards.
Dungog, Australia residents celebrate continued protection of local forest
Thursday, September 5, 2013 Local residents of Dungog, a small country town in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, held a celebratory nature walk on Sunday after they received assurance that their local forest was deemed worthy of “enduring protection.” Previously, a proposal before the NSW government to log over one million hectares of protected national park forests had caused alarm among nature conservationists. To celebrate the continued protection of national parks in NSW, a free guided walk was held on Sunday in the Black Bulga Range Conservation Area. This family-friendly nature ramble meandered along the mountain’s ridge, with locals enjoying the forest, sharing a cup of billy tea and knowledge about the local forest’s ecology and history. The physical presence of the locals in the forest demonstrated their continued use of this area and the importance of national parks for the community. Since early 2012, the possibility of logging for…
California releases search warrant for Wells Fargo bank on identity theft
Saturday, October 22, 2016 The California Department of Justice on Wednesday released the warrant and affidavit of a criminal investigation of the Wells Fargo bank. The State of California served the warrant on October 5 to search the San Francisco headquarters of Wells Fargo for felonious activities related to identity theft. The warrant said property to be seized at the bank’s San Francisco headquarters was related to the unauthorized creation of accounts by Wells Fargo employees including the names of individuals for the accounts; account information and fees; the names of employees and their managers who created accounts without the consent of the Wells Fargo customers in question; and all communications including emails referencing the unauthorised accounts. California Attorney General Kamala Harris’s criminal probe is part of an increasing list of officials nationwide questioning the business practices of Wells Fargo such as California State Treasurer John Chiang who announced a…
US financier Madoff to remain free on bail
Tuesday, January 13, 2009 A federal court in New York, New York ruled Monday that American financier Bernard Madoff can remain free on a US$10 million bond. Madoff faces charges of securities fraud in case that may reveal losses as large as US$50 billion. He was originally arrested on December 11, 2008. Federal prosecutors had argued that Madoff had violated terms of his bail by mailing valuables to relatives from his Manhattan apartment, where he is under house arrest. Judge Ronald L. Ellis ruled that, “The government fails to provide sufficient evidence that any potential future dissemination of Madoff’s assets would rise to the level of an economic harm.” The judge, however, did say that “it is appropriate that his ability to transfer property be restricted as completely as possible.” Madoff will be required to submit a complete inventory of items in his apartment. A Wall Street adviser, Madoff was…