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Thursday, August 1, 2013

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Video: Maria's Observation: The cracks beyond Detroit

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52624928/

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Wednesday, July 31, 2013

Home prices rose in May, but slower than expected

Economy

Staff reports CNBC.com

31 minutes ago

Nick Ut / AP

In this Tuesday, June 11, 2013, photo, a single house is offered for sale in Santa Monica, Calif. Latest data show home prices rose in May.

U.S. single-family home prices rose in May, the biggest annual jump since 2006, a closely watched survey showed on Tuesday.

The S&P/Case Shiller composite index of 20 metropolitan areas gained 1 percent on a seasonally adjusted basis, shy of economists' forecast for a 1.5 percent increase. That marked a slower pace from April's 1.7 percent rise.

(Click here to track the U.S. stock market in premarket trade following the report.)

On a non-adjusted basis, prices rose 2.4 percent.

Compared to May 2012, prices also fell short of expectations, rising 12.2 percent from a year earlier. Still, it was the biggest annual gain since March 2006, matching a record set in April.

The report was unlikely to alter economists' views that the housing sector continues to recover, making it a bright spot for the economy.

All 20 cities rose on a yearly basis, led by a 24.5 percent surge in San Francisco.

(Reuters contributed to this report)

Source: http://feeds.nbcnews.com/c/35002/f/663286/s/2f573223/sc/22/l/0L0Snbcnews0N0Cbusiness0Chome0Eprices0Erose0Emay0Eslower0Eexpected0E6C10A794660A/story01.htm

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Video: How ARM puts the 'smart' in smartphones

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Source: http://www.nbcnews.com/video/cnbc/52631487/

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Northeast Utilities Beats Earnings Estimates

Northeast Utilities (NU) announced second-quarter 2013 pro forma earnings of 55 cents per share, beating the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents and year-ago level by 10 cents.

The improvement in earnings was primarily driven by year-over-year rises in Electric Transmission, Electric Distribution and Generation, Connecticut Light and Power Company, NSTAR Electric, Public Service Company of New Hampshire, Western Massachusetts Electric Company, Natural Gas Distribution, and NU parent and other businesses' earnings.

On a GAAP basis, the company reported earnings of 54 cents per share versus 15 cents per share a year ago. The difference between GAAP and pro forma earnings was due to a penny cost associated with the impact of NSTAR merger.

Total Revenue

Northeast Utilities' revenues of $1,636 million beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate by $22 million and prior-year results by 0.4% primarily due to favorable performance from all the segments.

Operational Highlights

Northeast Utilities' overall retail electric sales increased 0.6% year over year to 12,911 Gigawatt hours. The company?s natural gas sales were 15,238 million cubic feet, up 12.9% year over year.

Northeast Utilities? total operating expenses decreased 12.5% year over year to $1.3 billion primarily due to lower purchased power, fuel and transmission costs, and operations and maintenance expenses. In addition, decline in the amortization of rate reduction bonds was also responsible for the lower expense.

Financial Update

As of Jun 30, 2013, Northeast Utilities had cash balance of $36.1 million compared with $45.7 million as of Dec 31, 2012.

Long-term debt as of Jun 30, 2013 was $7.7 billion versus $7.2 billion as of Dec 31, 2012.

Net cash flows provided by operating activities during the first six months of 2013 were $769 million, significantly higher than $320.4 million reported in the year-ago comparable period.

In the first half of 2013, capital expenditures increased to $700.3 million from $690.4 million a year ago.

Guidance

Northeast Utilities narrowed its full-year 2013 earnings guidance in the range of $2.45 to $2.60 per share from the prior guidance of $2.40 and $2.60 per share.

Other Company Releases

American Electric Power Co. Inc. (AEP) reported second-quarter pro forma earnings of 73 cents per share that missed the Zacks Consensus Estimate by 4 cents.

Entergy Corporation (ETR) is slated to release its second-quarter earnings on Jul 30. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is $1.02.

Exelon Corporation (EXC) is slated to release its second-quarter earnings on Jul 31. The Zacks Consensus Estimate is 55 cents.

Our View

In second-quarter 2013, Northeast Utilities experienced positive impacts from the NSTAR-merger. Both NSTAR Electric and NSTAR Gas Company performed well. We believe this merger will continue to support the company to increase its scale of operations, which will subsequently help to serve a wider customer base.

In addition, Northeast Utilities expects the Greater Springfield Reliability project to contribute significantly in 2013 as it will be online by this year.

However, stringent regulations and over dependence on transmission and distribution businesses, may to some extent, restrict Northeast Utilities? future performance.

Hartford, Conn. and Boston, Mass.-based Northeast Utilities provides energy delivery services to residential, commercial and industrial customers in Connecticut, New Hampshire and Massachusetts. The company currently has a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

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Source: http://news.yahoo.com/northeast-utilities-beats-earnings-estimates-143003862.html

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Possibly lethal fever hits thousands in parched Southern California farm region

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- California and federal public health officials say valley fever, a potentially lethal but often misdiagnosed disease infecting more and more people around the nation, has been on the rise as warming climates and drought have kicked up the dust that spreads it.

The fever has hit California's agricultural heartland particularly hard in recent years, with incidence dramatically increasing in 2010 and 2011. The disease -- which is prevalent in arid regions of the United States, Mexico, Central and South America -- can be contracted by simply breathing in fungus-laced spores from dust disturbed by wind as well as human or animal activity.

The fungus is sensitive to environmental changes, experts say, and a hotter, drier climate has increased dust carrying the spores.

"Research has shown that when soil is dry and it is windy, more spores are likely to become airborne in endemic areas," said Dr. Gil Chavez, Deputy Director of the Center for Infectious Diseases at the California Department of Public Health.

Longstanding concerns about valley fever were heightened last week when a federal health official ordered the transfer of more than 3,000 exceptionally vulnerable inmates from two San Joaquin Valley prisons where several dozen have died of the disease in recent years. A day later, state officials began investigating an outbreak in February that sickened 28 workers at two solar power plants under

construction in San Luis Obispo County.

Although millions of residents in Central California face the threat of valley fever, experts say people who work in dusty fields or construction sites are most at risk, as are certain ethnic groups and those with weak immune systems. Newcomers and visitors passing through the region may also be more susceptible.

Nationwide, the number of valley fever cases rose by more than 850 percent from 1998 through 2011, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In 2011, there were more than 20,400, with most cases reported in California and Arizona.

In California, according to the CDC, valley fever cases rose from about 700 in 1998 to more than 5,500 cases reported in 2011. The disease has seen the sharpest rise in Kern County, followed by Kings and Fresno counties.

Out of the 18,776 California cases between 2001 and 2008, 265 people died, according to the state health department.

Arizona saw an even steeper rise: The number of reported cases there went from 1,400 in 1998 to 16,400 in 2011, with the highest rates of infection occurring in Maricopa, Pima and Pinal counties.

Drought periods can have an especially potent impact on valley fever if they follow periods of rain, said Prof. John Galgiani, director of the Valley Fever Center for Excellence at the University of Arizona. Rainfall leads to fungus bloom, but limits dust.

"When it dries up, that's when the fungus goes into the air," Galgiani said. "So when there is rain a year or two earlier, that creates more cases if drought follows."

Another reason for the increase in cases, Galgiani said, is new residents, who are more susceptible to the disease, relocating to areas with the spores.

In addition, the CDC and the California Department of Public Health say improved reporting methods and better diagnosis also partially explain the increase in valley fever.

Despite that, an estimated 150,000 valley fever infections go undiagnosed every year, the CDC says. That's because valley fever is difficult to detect and there's little awareness of the disease, experts say. The fever often causes mild to severe flu-like symptoms, and in about half the infections, the fungus -- called Coccidioides -- results in no symptoms.

But in a small percent of cases, the infection can spread from the lungs to the brain, bones, skin, even eyes, leading to blindness, skin abscesses, lung failure, even death.

"Valley fever is a very common problem here, and it devastates people's lives," said Dr. Royce Johnson, professor of medicine at UCLA and chief of infectious diseases at Kern Medical Center. "But many patients don't know about it, and some physicians are only vaguely aware of it because half of our physicians come from out of state."

Dale Pulde, a motorcycle mechanic in Los Angeles County, said he contracted the disease three years ago after traveling to Bakersfield in Kern County and was coughing so hard he was blacking out; he spit blood and couldn't catch his breath. For two months, doctors tested him for everything from tuberculosis to cancer until blood tests confirmed he had the fever.

After two lung operations, Pulde gave up his job and is on disability. He says he has to take anti-fungal medication that costs him more than $2,000 per month out of pocket. He had to sell his house in Sylmar, Calif., to raise money for his treatment.

"When I found out that health officials knew about (this disease) and how common it is, I was beside myself," said Pulde, now 63. "Why don't they tell people?"

California public health officials say they are working to educate and train the public and doctors to recognize the illness.

The state has trained county health departments about the fungus, Chavez said. It has also included information on valley fever in a newsletter the California Medical Board sends to the state's licensed physicians. The CDPH website and social media feature information and data about the disease, including advice to limit outdoor activities on dry, windy days.

As prison officials gear up to move inmates from the endemic areas, doctors and patients say more needs to be done, including funding research to work on a cure.

"If the state is so concerned about prisoners, they should be worrying about all of us who live and work in the valley," said Kathy Uhley, a former realtor from Los Banos who contracted the fever last year.

-----Contact Gosia Wozniacka via Twitter at (at)GosiaWozniacka

Source: http://www.willitsnews.com/ci_23178888/fever-hits-thousands-parched-california-farm-region?source=rss_viewed

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Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Nokia VP unhappy with Windows Phone app progress

We won't be the first to say that the Nokia/Microsoft symbiosis has had its fair share of ups and downs. Regardless, if you have been paying close attention to their dealings, you can almost feel a sense of camaraderie between the two, despite the naysayers. In fact, it seemed like the duo is doing so well, that just a few weeks back everyone had a possible merger on their mind. Until, of course, that rumor was shot dead.

That being said, an interview with Nokia's VP and Manager of App development, Bryan Biniak, paints a slightly different picture. Perhaps more of a quibble, rather a full-blown critique, Biniak does raise several issues that Windows Phone as a mobile OS faces:

As you probably know, while Windows Phone is now officially in the top 3 of mobile OSes, its app store continues to lack a fair amount of big-name applications. Biniak does see and identify this as a major problem claiming that ?You can't sell a phone without the apps, you just can't?.
With that in mind, Biniak appears rather optimistic about the future of the partnership. Biniak's claim that there aren't any ?major gaps? in terms of apps gently shoved aside, the Nokia and Microsoft duo is apparently working extra hard on attracting every developer who's worth having to Windows Phone. What's more, he claims that by the end of 2013, the OS will have reached a point where
That's a big promise, and one we'll hold Nokia accountable for. Not out of spite, but the very opposite ? as consumers we want Windows Phone to succeed and raise the bar on the somewhat slumbering Android and iOS.

source: International Business Times

Source: http://www.phonearena.com/news/Nokia-VP-unhappy-with-Windows-Phone-app-progress_id45807

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