Obama today signed a budget law that relaxes restrictions on travel to Cuba
March 13, 2009 by
Filed under Politics
Washington, 11 mar (EFE) .- The U.S. president, Barack Obama, is scheduled to sign today the relaxation of restrictions on travel and remittances to Cuba, a measure contained in a budget law that passed the Senate last night. The White House confirmed to Efe that “expects” Obama sign today so far, something that could at 1120 local time (15.20 GMT), when according to his official schedule has scheduled an announcement on the specific budget items that Congress added to the law, often to benefit their constituency.
The law passed last night by the Senate reversed a series of measures that the former president, George W. Bush had adopted in 2004 and tightened the conditions for sending remittances or traveling to the island, against the U.S. maintains an embargo for over 45 years.
Now, Americans can visit their relatives in Cuba once a year by the time they want, instead of once every three years and only for fourteen days as was the case since 2004.
From now on, these people may also spend on the island up to $ 170 per day, instead of the 50 authorized by Bush.
In addition, more flexible regulations governing the export of medicines and food to the island, which until now were limited to one hundred U.S. dollars a month.
It also expands the definition of family to include cousins, aunts and uncles. So far only one could visit relatives or to rescue up to second degree: parents, siblings, children, grandparents or grandchildren.
This means that many more U.S. citizens may travel to the island and many more Cuban citizens may receive assistance from their relatives in the U.S.
The law is expected to adopt today Obama may be a prelude to a deeper review of its policy towards Cuba.
“We review our policy towards Cuba in order to determine how best to encourage democratic change on the island and improve the lives of its people,” he said on Tuesday the U.S. Treasury secretary, Timothy Geithner.
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World richest people – 793 people are part of our list of billionaires worldwide in 2009
March 13, 2009 by
Filed under Business
The rich, like the rest of us have had to cope with a financial crisis in the past year. At present, 793 people are part of our list of billionaires worldwide, a reduction of 30% over last year.
From 1125 up to the billionaires list last year, and 373 are not included, because their fortunes declined 355 and 18 because they died. There are 38 new members over three magnates who returned to the list again after reaching a fortune of more than 10 digits. For the first time since 2003 the world lost billionaires.
The world’s rich are also much poorer. His fortune amounts to a combined net total of $ 2.4 billion, about $ 2 billion less than last year. The average net wealth fell by 23%, to $ 3 billion. The last time we had an average so low was in 2003.
Bill Gates lost $ 18 billion, but kept his title of richest man in the world. Warren Buffet, the No. 1 last year, saw his wealth decline by $ 25 billion when the shares of Berkshire Hathaway fell almost 50% in 12 months, but still he managed to drop only a place to become No. 2 on our list. The Mexican telecom entrepreneur Carlos Slim Helú, also lost $ 25 billion and fell to the No. 3 post.
It was hard to escape the killing, whether it was in the bag, the market for raw materials, real estate or technology. Even those that were profitable businesses were hit by frozen credit markets, consumers spend little coins and increasingly weak.
The person who lost more this year, in dollars, who was won over last year. Indians Anil Ambani lost $ 32 billion (76% of his fortune) when its shares of Reliance Communications, Reliance Power and Reliance Capital collapsed.
Ambani is one of 24 Indian billionaires, except one, are all poorer than last year. 29 other Indians completely lost its status as multimillionaires when Indian stock market fell by 44% last year and the value of the rupee depreciated by 18% against the dollar. India is no longer the country with more billionaires, that gave rise to China which has 28.
Russia has become the epicenter of the decline of the market for raw materials, finishing with 55 billionaires (two thirds of their harvest of 2008). Among them: Dmitry Pumpyansky, an industrial region of the Ural Mountains, which lost $ 5 billion when the shares of its factory pipes, TMK, fell 84%. Who also left the list is Vasily Anisimov, the father of the Moscow version of Paris Hilton, Anna Anisimov. This man lost $ 3.2 billion if the value of Metalloinvest Holding, one of the largest mining companies and mineral processing in Russia, fell along with their real estate properties.
Twelve months ago, Moscow has overtaken New York as the capital of the world with 74 billion dollar against the 71 magnates of New York. At present, there are 27 in Moscow, while in New York is 55.
Having fallen in recent years, EE. UU. resuming his power is as a store of riches. Americans account for 44% of the money and occupy 45% of places on the list, which means an increase of seven and three percentage points respectively compared to last year. Still, it has 110 billionaires from the previous year.
Most hurt were those whose fortunes were linked to Wall Street. Former AIG director Maurice (Hank) Greenberg, saw his fortune of $ 1.9 billion almost completely disappears when the government of the United States. UU. had to get bailed andalusia giant insurance. Today, Greenberg fails to raise $ 100 million. The former president of Citigroup, Sandy Weill, also disappeared from the list.
Last year there were 39 U.S. billionaires fund investment managers free, there are 28 this year. Twelve of the giant U.S. private equity outside the list of billionaires.
Stephen Schwarzman of Blackstone Group, who lost $ 4 billion and Kohlberg Kravis and Roberts’ Henry Kravis, who lost $ 2.5 billion, retaining its status as multimillionaires despite its diminished fortunes.
Worldwide, 80 out of 355 falls with regard to the list last year were from the world financial fortunes and investment.
While 656 billionaires have lost money last year, only 44 increased their fortunes. Those who won money were those aimed at consumers concerned about the budget (Tadashi Yanai of UNIQLO), predicted the crisis (the investor John Paulson) or just in time effect (Guy Laliberté from Cirque Du Soleil).
So, is there a place where one can make a fortune today? These 38 new entrants offer a few clues. Among the most notable of the new billionaires are the Mexican Joaquin Guzman Loera, a major supplier of cocaine to the United States. UU., Chuanfu Wang of China, whose byd Co. began selling electric cars in January, and John Paul Dejoria who keeps clean the world with his Paul Mitchell shampoo and happy with their Tequila Patrón.
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Museum discovers a “secret” in Lincoln’s clock
March 13, 2009 by
Filed under Entertaiment
The museum said they had agreed to open the watch to find out whether the message was actually there after the great-great-grandson of a watchmaker, Doug Stiles, of Waukegan, Illionis, liaise with the institution.
The American Civil War began when Confederate troops fired on Fort Sumpter in Charleston, South Carolina, on April 12, 1861.
Forty-five years later, the watchmaker Dillon said the New York Times that he had been repairing the watch pocket Licoln when he heard that there had been the first shots of war.
The craftsman said he had unscrew the casing of the machine and used a sharp instrument to mark the historic day in the president’s watch. Told the newspaper that, as far as he knew, nobody had ever seen enrollment.
“Lincoln never knew the message he was carrying in his pocket,” said the director of the National History Museum, Brent Glass, in a statement. “It’s a personal side of the story about an ordinary watchmaker inspired to record something for history,” he added.
Lincoln was elected the sixteenth president of the United States in November 1860. In the preliminaries of the war, South Carolina and six other states declared their secession from the Union before the inauguration of Lincoln in March 1861.
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10 Questions that you should never ask in a job interview
March 13, 2009 by
Filed under Business
These 10 questions are less suitable for a job that should never arise, unless you do not want the job.
1. “What makes your company?”
This was a reasonable question for an interview in 1950 or 1980, before the Internet existed. Currently, it is your job to investigate any company to have an interview before putting a foot in it. We need to introduce a job knowing what the company, who your competitors and what their successes (or challenges) have been reported recently.
2. “Will you check my background?”
It is amazing how often a candidate for a position does this question, causing alarm in the interviewer, instead of a more general “could you please tell me a little about their selection process from this point “. Many people have problems with his record of concern to them during their job search or are not sure how solid the references could be given a job. If you are invited to a second interview, then you can deal with any sensitive issue of its past. Asking “are you going to check my background?” makes it appear that it has something to hide.
3. “When can I apply for a pay rise?”
Companies pay people to fear than what they should pay as much as fear of more, because a person who is not paying enough in relation to their counterparts in the labor market is a person who could leave soon post. Instead of asking for its first increase before getting the job, he can ask (in a second interview) “Does your organization a conventional performance review and pay once a year.”
4. “Do you have another job available?
Job hunting requires fast thinking at the time of speaking honestly and, if a job is below your abilities, you’ll do better if he speaks with candor rather than turn to the case with this question. It does not need to discard the option is offered, might say, “job sounds interesting, but frankly, I was earning 30% more people and supervised in my previous job. Could you help me understand the career of this role? . This gives the interviewer, if being given a hint to mention another vacancy that may exist.
5. “How soon can be transferred to another job?”
When you answer this question, is announcing “I will go to the first opportunity.” If you like the work, accept it. If not for you, wait for the right opportunity. Almost all workplaces will keep you in doubt for at least a year before approving an internal transfer, so look for a job with the idea probably will not work after changing the way you had hoped.
6. “Could you tell me which lines of public transport are at your site?
Enter the Internet and find out for yourself. Problem is not possible to find the pattern that you get to work.
7. “Do you have to go on smoking breaks?
If you work in retail or a call center could apply breaks. In the rest of the work, do not ask if your urge to smoke gets so into his work that he feels the need to investigate the matter, ask your best friend or your partner to help you stop smoking as a gift for finding a new job. Many companies ban smoking on their premises and some do not like to hire smokers. Why give a possible reason for rejecting a boss?
8. “Is (my condition) covered by your insurance?”
This is a bad question for two reasons. Should not be a perfect stranger to our medical problems, especially when the person is deciding whether or not to give us a job. Ask to see a copy of the prospectus provided by the company when you make an offer. This is a bad question from a standpoint of view, only a tiny percentage of people in human resources, and no department manager, knows all the diseases covered by your insurance plan. Either way, your pre-existing condition not covered under almost any corporate plan for at least a year.
9. “They ask for a drug test?”
If you have any philosophical objection to drug testing, wait until you are asked to undergo one and express your objection. Otherwise, your question sounds more like, “do not pass such a test, so you better not ask.
10. “If you hire me, can I wait until (a period of more than three weeks from the date) to start working?”
After hire, give a firm anticipates a period of at least two weeks to notify his change of job in your current job. If you are not working, you would like to see it before. If you order too long before starting to work-unless you have a very good reason, who hired him would think, “How serious is this candidate about the job.” In any case, if you want to request an extension to the date of commencement of work, request after receiving an offer for the position. Not before.
This article was retold and it was written by Liz Ryan
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Pamela Anderson fuss fashion in Paris
March 6, 2009 by
Filed under Entertaiment
PARIS (Reuters) – Actress Pamela Anderson is a gateway for contoneó on Friday against a cheerful audience in Paris, while the designer Vivienne Westwood asked fashion lovers struggling against the economic crisis making the most of the clothes.
Large blankets turned into pink tulle dress and joined the rebel Westwood distinctive stamp on the show, culminating in Anderson along the first platform with a tutu and then with a tight shirt.
In racks after the parade held in the elegant Place Vendome, close to the Ministry of Justice of France, a redhead Westwood shared a few details to pass the economic hard time while the women parade in Paris began to take color.
“Buy less, choose well, Mézclenlo everything. Use your shirts backwards, and have two ways to carry,” said British designer to the press.
Aside from the flamboyant tulle, Westwood included a range of jackets and dresses that could easily be used in the office, continuing the trend of showing usable parts at affordable prices as we saw in New York and Milan.
“I sell a lot, does not seem to affect me,” said Westwood on the setback suffered by large retail chains to major labels spend a common framework.
Westwood wanted to “kidnap” her fashion show to talk about climate change, describing it as a greater threat to the financial collapse.
“We’re in a terrible state. We need to save the human race,” he said with a sigh.
With its roots in punk rock, Westwood is known for inserting political messages in their shows.
But even the house Christian Dior, unknown as to its social, also suffered the impact of the crisis.
While the recession Dior challenged a few weeks ago with a show full of haute couture dresses to gala rioja Marie Antoinette, his collection Fall / Winter tried to have a balance between creativity and the more sober garments.
The Spanish designer John Galliano offered a glimpse of the Middle East for inspiration, with caps as Genghis Khan skin and coats with fur cuffs, dress canary yellow and red cherry, with many details in silver and jewels.
But like many of his colleagues, the Spaniard added a lot more practical clothing. Jackets with balloon sleeves and a similar polleras color best suited to the environment: gray.
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Obama creates a new post responsible for information technology
March 6, 2009 by
Filed under Politics
The U.S. president, Barack Obama, on Thursday created the new post of responsibility for the information, by the investment policy and control of federal spending on information technology, announced the White House.
Obama appointed Vivek Kundra, the current strategy and operations officer of technology in the municipality of Washington, for the position of federal chief information at the White House.
Obama and meets one of his campaign promises of bringing the government in the twenty-first century “to use new technologies to reform and encourage exchanges between Americans and their executive.
