2011 Quality of Living survey - Interesting compilation by Mercer

2011 Quality of Living survey: "European cities dominate worldwide quality of living rankings

Vienna ranks highest for quality of living; Baghdad, the lowest

Luxembourg ranks highest for personal safety; Baghdad, the lowest

In UK, Aberdeen and Glasgow rank 44 for personal safety; London ranks 68 out of 221 cities
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Vienna has the best living standard in the world, according to the Mercer 2011 Quality of Living Survey. Zurich and Auckland follow in second and third position, respectively, and Munich is in fourth with Düsseldorf and Vancouver sharing fifth place. Frankfurt is in seventh, followed by Geneva in eighth, while Copenhagen and Bern share ninth place.

European cities represent over half the cities amongst the top 25 in the ranking . London (38) is the highest-ranking UK city and is followed by Birmingham (52), Aberdeen (54) and Glasgow (56). Belfast (63) is the lowest-ranking of the UK cities that Mercer surveys. Globally, the cities with the lowest quality of living are Khartoum, Sudan (217), Port-au-Prince, Haiti (218), N’Djamena, Chad (219), and Bangui, Central African Republic (220). Baghdad, Iraq (221) ranks last in Mercer’s table.

Mercer conducts the survey to help governments and multi-national companies compensate employees fairly when placing them on international assignments. Mercer’s Quality of Living reports provide valuable information and hardship premium recommendations for major cities throughout the world. Mercer’s Quality of Living index list covers 221 cities, ranked against New York as the base city.

This year, the survey separately identifies those cities with the highest personal safety ranking based on internal stability, crime levels, law enforcement effectiveness and the host country’s international relations. Luxembourg tops this personal safety ranking, followed by Bern, Helsinki and Zurich – all ranked at number two. Vienna ranks fifth, while Geneva and Stockholm both rank sixth. Baghdad (221) is the world’s least safe city, followed by N’Djamena, Chad (220), Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire (219), Bangui, Central African Republic (218), and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (217).

Aberdeen and Glasgow both rank 44 and are the highest ranking UK cities on the personal safety list. Birmingham (53) and Belfast (63) both rank higher than London (68).

Slagin Parakatil, Senior Researcher at Mercer, commented: “Companies need to keep on top of current developments to ensure that their compensation packages remain competitive and continue to motivate expatriate employees. That means reviewing major events, such as social unrest, economic turmoil or natural disasters and their impact on the success of overseas placements.

“The top-ranking cities for personal safety and security are in politically stable countries with good international relations and relatively sustainable economic growth. Most of the low-scoring cities are in countries with, civil unrest, high crime levels and little law enforcement,” said Mr. Parakatil.

Americas

Canadian cities dominate the top of the ranking for this region. Vancouver (5) has the best quality of living and is followed by Ottawa (14), Toronto (15) and Montreal (22). Honolulu (29) and San Francisco (30) are the highest-ranking US cities. In Central and South America, Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe (63), ranks highest, followed by San Juan, Puerto Rico (72), and Montevideo, Uruguay (77). Port-au-Prince, Haiti (218), ranks lowest in the region.

Canadian cities also dominate the higher end of the personal safety ranking for this region, with Calgary, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto and Vancouver all ranked jointly at 17. In the United States, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston and San Francisco all rank 53. Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe (40), is again the highest-ranking city in Central and South America, followed by Nassau, Bahamas (66), San Juan, Puerto Rico (79), and Panama City, Panama (92). At the other end of the personal-safety scale, Caracas, Venezuela (205), Port-au-Prince, Haiti (202), Bogotá, Colombia (196), and Kingston, Jamaica (192), rank lowest in the region.

Mr Parakatil said: “The disparity in living standards between North and South America is still considerable. Though a number of South and Central American countries have experienced positive change, political and safety issues predominate in the region. In particular, drug trafficking, drugs cartels and high levels of street crime, combined with natural disasters, continue to impair the region’s quality of living.”

Europe

Vienna is the European city with the highest quality of living. German and Swiss cities dominate the top of the ranking, with three cities each in the top 10. Zurich (2) is followed by Munich (4), Düsseldorf (5), Frankfurt (7) and Geneva (8), while Bern shares ninth place with Copenhagen.

In the next tier are Amsterdam (12), Hamburg (16), Berlin (17), Luxembourg (19), Stockholm (20), Brussels (22), Nurnberg (24) and Dublin (26). Paris ranks 30 and is followed by Oslo (33), Helsinki (35) and London (38). Lisbon is number 41, Madrid is at 43 and Rome ranks 52. Prague, Czech Republic (69), is the highest-ranking eastern European city, followed by Budapest, Hungary (73), Ljubljana, Slovenia (75), Vilnius, Lithuania (79), and Warsaw, Poland (84). The lowest-ranking European city is Tbilisi, Georgia (214).

With seven cities in the top 10, European cities also fare well in the personal safety ranking. Luxembourg ranks highest, followed by Bern, Helsinki and Zurich, which all rank second. Vienna (5) is ahead of jointly ranked Geneva and Stockholm (6). In Eastern Europe, Ljubljana (30) and Prague (47) rank highest for personal safety, whereas Moscow (199) and Tbilisi (215) rank lowest.

Mr Parakatil said: “European cities in general continue to have high standards of living, because they enjoy advanced and modern city infrastructures combined with high-class medical, recreational and leisure facilities. But economic turmoil, high levels of unemployment and lack of confidence in political institutions make their future positions hard to predict. Countries such Austria, Germany and Switzerland still fare particularly well in both the quality of living and personal safety rankings, yet they are not immune from decreases in living standards if this uncertainty persists.”

Asia-Pacific

Auckland (3) is the highest-ranking city for quality of living in the Asia-Pacific region and is followed by Sydney (11), Wellington (13), Melbourne (18) and Perth (21). The highest-ranking Asian cities are Singapore (25) and Tokyo (46). Hong Kong (70), Kuala Lumpur (76), Seoul (80) and Taipei (85) are other major Asian cities ranked in the top 100. Meanwhile, Dhaka, Bangladesh (204), Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan (206), and Dushanbe, Tajikistan (208), rank lowest in the region.

At 8, Singapore ranks highest for personal safety, followed by Auckland and Wellington – both ranked 9. Canberra, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney all rank 25, and all the Japanese cities on the list (Tokyo, Kobe, Nagoya, Osaka and Yokohama) rank 31. The region’s lowest-ranking city for personal safety is Karachi, Pakistan (216).

“As a region, Asia Pacific is highly diverse. Countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore dominate the top of both our general and personal safety rankings, in part because they have been continuously investing in infrastructure and public services,” said Mr Parakatil. “In general, the region has seen a greater focus on city planning. Nevertheless, many Asian cities rank at the bottom, mainly due to social instability, political turmoil, natural disasters such as typhoons and tsunamis, and lack of suitable infrastructure for expatriates.

Middle East and Africa

Dubai, UAE (74), ranks highest for quality of living across the Middle East and Africa and is followed by Abu Dhabi, UAE (78), Port Louis, Mauritius (82), and Cape Town, South Africa (88). Johannesburg ranks 94 and is followed by Victoria, Seychelles (95), Tel Aviv (99), Muscat, Oman (101), and Doha, Qatar (106). Africa has 18 cities in the bottom 25, including Bangui, Central African Republic (220), N’Djamena, Chad (219), Khartoum, Sudan (217), and Brazzaville, Congo (214). Baghdad (221) is the lowest-ranking city both regionally and globally.

At 23, Abu Dhabi has the highest personal safety ranking in the Middle East and is followed by Muscat (29), Dubai (39), and Doha (67). Port Louis (59) and Victoria (79) are the only African cities in the top 100. Elsewhere in the region, Tunis, Tunisia, ranks 140, Casablanca, Morocco, is at 147 and Cairo ranks 176. At 185, Algiers is followed by Tehran (188), and towards the bottom of the list is Tripoli (204). In terms of personal safety, Baghdad (221) is the lowest-ranking city regionally and globally, along with N’Djamena, Chad (220), Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire (219), Bangui, Central African Republic (218), and Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo (217).

Mr Parakatil said: “The recent wave of violent protests across North Africa and the Middle East has temporarily lowered living standards in the region. Many countries such as Libya, Egypt, Tunisia and Yemen have seen their quality of living levels drop considerably. Political and economic reconstruction in these countries, combined with funding to serve basic human needs, will undoubtedly boost the region as a key player in the international arena.”

He added: “Currently, expatriates and locals need to exercise extreme caution when going about their everyday activities in the most dangerous cities. The roots of unrest vary from country to country, and many places remain volatile. So companies should ensure they monitor the impact this might have on their local expatriates. Furthermore, employers should review their expatriate strategies to ensure they contain specific safety measures such as secure accommodation and effective communication channels if evacuation becomes necessary.”

"It is also worth noting that some of this region's cities, including Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Muscat, rank quite high on the personal safety list. This is mainly due to their internal stability and low crime levels," concluded Mr Parakatil.

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Notes for editors
The worldwide rankings are produced annually from the most recent Worldwide Quality of Living Survey, conducted by Mercer. Individual reports are produced for each city surveyed. Comparative quality-of-living indexes between a base city and a host city are available, as are multiple-city comparisons. Further information is available from Mercer Client Services in Warsaw, on tel. +48 22 434 5383. Or see www.mercer.com/qualityofliving

The list of rankings is provided to journalists for reference, and should not be published in full. Publications and other media outlets may reproduce the top 10 and bottom 10 cities in either list in a table. The data was largely collected between September and November 2011, and is regularly updated to take account of changing circumstances. In particular, the assessments are revised in the case of significant political, economic and environmental developments.

Updated index
This year's Quality of Living press release is published in November rather than April/May as in previous years. It is based on data from Mercer's latest Quality of Living Survey. The new timing of the survey and press release provides a more current assessment of quality of living in the world that employers can use for planning purposes.

Expatriates in difficult locations: Determining appropriate allowances and incentives
Companies need to be able to determine their expatriate compensation packages rationally, consistently and systematically. Providing incentives to reward and recognise the efforts that employees and their families make when taking on international assignments remains a typical practice, particularly for difficult locations. Two common incentives include a quality-of-living allowance and a mobility premium.

• Quality-of-living or “hardship” allowances compensate expatriates for decreases in the quality of living between their home and host locations.

• By contrast, a mobility premium simply compensates for the inconvenience of being uprooted and having to work in another country.

A quality-of-living allowance is typically location-related, whilst a mobility premium is usually independent of the host location. Some multinational companies combine these premiums, but the vast majority provide them separately. The latter approach is clearer and more transparent.

Mercer hardship allowance recommendations
Mercer evaluates local living conditions in all the 420 cities it surveys worldwide. Living conditions are analysed according to 39 factors, grouped in 10 categories:

1) Political and social environment (political stability, crime, law enforcement, etc)
2) Economic environment (currency exchange regulations, banking services, etc)
3) Socio-cultural environment (censorship, limitations on personal freedom, etc)
4) Health and sanitation (medical supplies and services, infectious diseases, sewage, waste disposal, air pollution, etc)
5) Schools and education (standard and availability of international schools, etc)
6) Public services and transportation (electricity, water, public transport, traffic congestion, etc)
7) Recreation (restaurants, theatres, cinemas, sports and leisure, etc)
8) Consumer goods (availability of food/daily consumption items, cars, etc)
9) Housing (housing, household appliances, furniture, maintenance services, etc)
10) Natural environment (climate, record of natural disasters)

The scores attributed to each factor allow for city-to-city comparisons. The result is a quality-of-living index that compares relative differences between any two locations. For the indices to be used effectively, Mercer has created a grid that allows users to link the resulting index to a quality-of-living allowance amount by recommending a percentage value in relation to the index.

The information and data obtained through the Quality of Living Reports (the “Reports”) are for information purposes only and are intended for use by multi-national organizations and government agencies. They are not designed or intended to use as the basis for foreign investment or tourism. In no event will Mercer be liable for any decision made or action taken in reliance of the results obtained through the use of, or the information and/or data contained in or provided by, the Reports. While the Reports have been prepared based upon sources, information and systems believed to be reliable and accurate, they are provided on an “as-is” basis, and Mercer accepts no responsibility/liability for the validity/accuracy (or otherwise) of the resources/data used to compile the Reports. Mercer and its affiliates make no representations or warranties with respect to the Reports, and disclaim all express, implied and statutory warranties of any kind, including, but not limited to, representations and implied warranties of quality, accuracy, timeliness, completeness, merchantability, and fitness for a particular purpose.

City Rankings

Mercer Quality of Living Survey - Worldwide Rankings, 2011
Rank	City	Country
1	Vienna	Austria
2	Zurich	Switzerland
3	Auckland	New Zealand
4	Munich	Germany
5	Düsseldorf	Germany
5	Vancouver	Canada
7	Frankfurt	Germany
8	Geneva	Switzerland
9	Bern	Switzerland
9	Copenhagen	Denmark
11	Sydney	Australia
12	Amsterdam	Netherlands
13	Wellington	New Zealand
14	Ottawa	Canada
15	Toronto	Canada
16	Hamburg	Germany
17	Berlin	Germany
18	Melbourne	Australia
19	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
20	Stockholm	Sweden
21	Perth	Australia
22	Brussels	Belgium
22	Montreal	Canada
24	Nurnberg	Germany
25	Singapore	Singapore
26	Canberra	Australia
26	Dublin	Ireland
28	Stuttgart	Germany
29	Honolulu, HI	United States
30	Adelaide	Australia
30	Paris	France
30	San Francisco, CA	United States
33	Calgary	Canada
33	Oslo	Norway
35	Helsinki	Finland
36	Boston, MA	United States
37	Brisbane	Australia
38	London	United Kingdom
39	Lyon	France
40	Barcelona	Spain
41	Lisbon	Portugal
42	Milan	Italy
43	Chicago, IL	United States
43	Madrid	Spain
43	Washington, DC	United States
46	Tokyo	Japan
47	New York City, NY	United States
48	Seattle, WA	United States
49	Kobe	Japan
49	Pittsburgh, PA	United States
49	Yokohama	Japan

Personal Safety Ranking, 2011*
Rank	City	Country
1	Luxembourg	Luxembourg
2	Bern	Switzerland
2	Helsinki	Finland
2	Zurich	Switzerland
5	Vienna	Austria
6	Geneva	Switzerland
6	Stockholm	Sweden
8	Singapore	Singapore
9	Auckland	New Zealand
9	Wellington	New Zealand
11	Copenhagen	Denmark
11	Düsseldorf	Germany
11	Frankfurt	Germany
11	Munich	Germany
11	Nurnberg	Germany
16	Dublin	Ireland
17	Amsterdam	Netherlands
17	Calgary	Canada
17	Montreal	Canada
17	Ottawa	Canada
17	Toronto	Canada
17	Vancouver	Canada
23	Abu Dhabi	United Arab Emirates
24	Oslo	Norway
25	Canberra	Australia
25	Melbourne	Australia
25	Perth	Australia
25	Sydney	Australia
29	Muscat	Oman
30	Ljubljana	Slovenia
31	Kobe	Japan
31	Nagoya	Japan
31	Osaka	Japan
31	Tokyo	Japan
31	Yokohama	Japan
36	Berlin	Germany
36	Hamburg	Germany
36	Hong Kong	Hong Kong
39	Dubai	United Arab Emirates
40	Brussels	Belgium
40	Pointe-à-Pitre	Guadeloupe
42	Leipzig	Germany
42	Stuttgart	Germany
44	Aberdeen	United Kingdom
44	Glasgow	United Kingdom
46	Limassol	Cyprus
47	Lisbon	Portugal
47	Prague	Czech Republic
49	Bratislava	Slovakia
50	Adelaide	Australia
50	Brisbane	Australia

*Mercer’s Personal Safety Ranking 2011 is based on measures of internal stability, crime levels, law enforcement effectiveness and host country international relations.

Mercer is a global leader in human resource consulting, outsourcing and investment services. Mercer works with clients to solve their most complex benefit and human capital issues by designing, implementing and administering health, retirement and other benefit programs. Mercer’s investment services include investment consulting, implemented consulting and multi-manager investment management. Mercer’s 20,000 employees are based in more than 40 countries. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York and Chicago stock exchanges.

'Fed" eral crimes against citizens

Secret Fed Loans Gave Banks $13 Billion Undisclosed to Congress - Bloomberg: "The Federal Reserve and the big banks fought for more than two years to keep details of the largest bailout in U.S. history a secret. Now, the rest of the world can see what it was missing.

The Fed didn’t tell anyone which banks were in trouble so deep they required a combined $1.2 trillion on Dec. 5, 2008, their single neediest day. Bankers didn’t mention that they took tens of billions of dollars in emergency loans at the same time they were assuring investors their firms were healthy. And no one calculated until now that banks reaped an estimated $13 billion of income by taking advantage of the Fed’s below-market rates, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its January issue.

Saved by the bailout, bankers lobbied against government regulations, a job made easier by the Fed, which never disclosed the details of the rescue to lawmakers even as Congress doled out more money and debated new rules aimed at preventing the next collapse."

'via Blog this'

Less is more in packaging

Wal-Mart Joins Amazon in Less-Wasteful Packing to Cool ‘Wrap Rage’: Retail - Bloomberg: "Amazon.com Inc. (AMZN) and Wal-Mart Stores Inc. (WMT) are prodding more manufacturers to change their packaging to cut waste and alleviate “wrap rage,” the frustration felt when a product is difficult to open.

The nation’s largest online store and the world’s biggest retailer have been pushing vendors, including Procter & Gamble Co. (PG) and Bluetooth headset maker Plantronics Inc. (PLT), to eliminate excessive and cumbersome packing materials, such as hard plastic clamshell casings that enclose electronics and wire ties used to secure toys to cardboard backings.

“We’ve gotten e-mails from customers who’ve purchased scissors in a clamshell, which would require another pair of scissors to open the package,” Nadia Shouraboura, Amazon’s vice president of global fulfillment, said in an interview."

'via Blog this'

American and Americans- a tale of two entities

American Airlines files for bankruptcy protection - Yahoo! Finance: "DALLAS (AP) -- American Airlines and its parent company filed for bankruptcy protection as they try to cut costs and unload massive debt built up by years of high fuel prices and labor struggles. There will be no impact on travelers for now.
The nation's third-largest airline also said Tuesday that CEO Gerard Arpey stepped down and was replaced by company president Thomas W. Horton.
AMR Corp. has continued to lose money while other U.S. airlines returned to profitability in the last two years."

Americans in November more confident about economy - Yahoo! Finance: "NEW YORK (AP) -- Americans' confidence in the economy in November bounced back to its highest level since July, the latest sign that consumers are beginning to feel more cheerful about spending during the holiday shopping season.
The Conference Board, a private research firm, says Tuesday that its Consumer Confidence Index rose 15 points to 56.0. That's up from a revised 40.9 in October — the lowest level since the recession — and the biggest jump since the 59.2 reading in July. The November number is encouraging, but far below the reading of 90, which indicates an economy on solid footing."

CIti and SEC cannot "neither admit nor deny" in front of this judge

Judge Blocks Citigroup Settlement With S.E.C. - Yahoo! Finance: "Investors lost $700 million in the fund, according to the S.E.C., while Citigroup gained about $160 million in profits.
The settlement establishes none of those allegations as fact, thereby making it impossible for the court to properly judge whether the settlement meets the required standard of being fair, adequate and in the public interest.
“An application of judicial power that does not rest on facts is worse than mindless, it is inherently dangerous,” Mr. Rakoff wrote in the case, S.E.C. v. Citigroup Global Markets. “In any case like this that touches on the transparency of financial markets whose gyrations have so depressed our economy and debilitated our lives, there is an overriding public interest in knowing the truth.”
The S.E.C. in particular, he added, “has a duty, inherent in its statutory mission, to see that the truth emerges.”"

'via Blog this'

Food Stamps, Wal-Mart, and the American Commentary

Rock Center with Brian Williams - Waiting for midnight, hungry families on food stamps give Walmart 'enormous spike': "At the stroke of midnight, a growing number of Americans are lining up at Walmart not to cash in on a holiday sale, but because they’re hungry.

The increasing number of Americans relying on food stamps to survive the sluggish economic recovery has changed the way the largest retailer in the United States does business.

Carol Johnston, Walmart’s senior vice president of store development, said that store managers have seen an “enormous spike” in the number of consumers shopping at midnight on the first of the month. That’s typically when those receiving federal food assistance have their accounts refilled each month.

“We’ll bring in more staff to stock. We’ll also make sure all of our registers…are open…Some people may think at 12:01, Walmart’s very quiet, but in a lot of our areas of the country, 12:01 is a big day or a big night for us, actually,” Johnston said."

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Colors of the week- shopping week, that is

Black Friday isn't the only game in town: "Cyber Monday. Green Tuesday. Black Friday. Magenta Saturday.

Chances are you won't find any of these holidays on your calendar. Yet retailers are coming up with names for just about every day of the week during the holiday shopping season.

During T-Mobile's "Magenta Saturday," the event named for the company's pinkish-purple logo earlier this month offered shoppers the chance to buy cellphones and some tablets on a layaway plan. Mattel lured customers in with discounts of 60 percent off toys for girls and boys on "Pink Friday" and "Blue Friday." And outdoor retailer Gander Mountain is giving shoppers deals on camouflage and other gear every Thursday through December during "Camo Thursdays.""

'via Blog this'

A climate too warm for progress

BBC News - Climate summit faces big emitters' stalling tactics: "Some of the developing world's biggest greenhouse gas emitters are bidding to delay talks on a new climate agreement.

To the anger of small islands and other vulnerable countries, India and Brazil are joining rich nations such as the US and Japan in wanting to start talks on a legal deal no earlier than 2015.

The EU and climate-vulnerable blocs want to start as soon as possible, and have the deal finalised by 2015.

The UN climate summit opens on Monday in Durban, South Africa.

Some observers say small island states, which traditionally aim their criticism at the industrialised world's big emitters, may begin "naming and shaming" developing countries that are also delaying progress."

'via Blog this'

Pricing Economics!

If you raise the price, they'll still come - Yahoo! Finance: "The way Americans are chomping Big Macs, lacing up pricey sneakers and gulping peppermint mochas in this economy, you'd think they're taking advantage of big holiday discounts.
The truth is they're paying more.
McDonald's, Nike, Starbucks and other companies initially worried that customers would run the other way when they started raising prices to offset their higher costs for ingredients, fuel and packaging. But so far, cash-strapped Americans largely have swallowed the price spikes. And they're continuing to do so during this holiday shopping season."

On a recent weekday, five full floors of shoppers in a Nike store in New York didn't seem to mind paying more for their favorite kicks, including the almost $200 sneakers named for NBA star LeBron James. At a McDonald's across town, people munched on Big Macs and fries that cost a dime or two more than last year. Customers also piled into a Starbucks down the street, where cappuccinos and many other specialty drinks now top $5.

Timothy and Katrin Sullivan, a San Diego couple, estimate that together they spend about $100 a month on skinny caramel macchiatos and pumpkin spice lattes at Starbucks, where prices on some drinks have risen in some regions this year. As parents of five children, they worry about the economy and have cut back on travel and ball games, but so far their morning cup of joe has survived the chopping block despite the rising price.

"It's cheaper than therapy," says Katrin Sullivan, 39.

The prices Americans pay for food, travel and other things have steadily risen this year, according to government data. Prices went up 3.5 percent in October compared with the same month a year ago. At the same time, every month for the past year except one, spending grew 2 percent or more compared with the same month a year ago. That's given retailers some cautious optimism as they try to gauge just how much more consumers are willing to pay.

Pete Bensen, McDonald's chief financial officer told analysts during the company's earnings call that the question boils down to this: "Is the consumer in a place that we're comfortable we can continue to add price increases?"

Companies of all stripes have been asking that question a lot. In the past year, they've been paying more for materials like beef, corn and fuel that they use to make, package and transport their goods. A combination of poor crop yields in some parts of the world, unrest in the Middle East and greater demand from countries like Brazil and China have sent those costs up.

Many costs have come down after spiking in the spring. A pound of coffee, for example, is trading at about $2.30, down from $3 in the spring. But that's up from $2 a year ago.

As a result, Starbucks Corp. this year raised the price of the packaged coffee in its stores by 17 percent. The company declines to say whether prices on brewed drinks have risen or fallen overall in the past year, since those price decisions vary by region. But generally, the Seattle chain says the prices of specialty drinks like lattes and macchiatos are more likely to have risen this year than simpler drinks.

The price of a 16-ounce grande cappuccino at Starbucks costs about $4.25, up about 23 percent from $3.45 a year ago, research firm Technomic estimates. Meanwhile, a bagel went up from $1 a year ago to $1.25.

That hasn't stopped Starbucks customers from getting their coffee fix, though. Store traffic rose 6 percent in the most recent fiscal year, which ended in October. Revenue at stores open at least a year — an indicator of a retailer's health — rose 8 percent.

"We think we are in a very good spot right now," Jeff Hansberry, who runs Starbucks' consumer products division, said in a call with analysts this month.

At Nike Inc., sales rose almost 18 percent in the three-month period through August, even though it raised prices on certain styles this year. Nike hasn't detailed the price increases, but according to research firm SportsOneSource Group, the suggested price of a pair of this year's version of LeBron James' sneakers is about $170, up from about $160 last year. Nike said it expects to raise prices more broadly in the spring.

"We have not seen any big price resistance at all," Charles Denson, president of the Nike Brand, said in a call with analysts.

Likewise, traffic and sales grew after McDonald's raised prices an average of 1 percent in March and another 1.4 percent in May. In the third quarter, guest count increased 2.6 percent. Revenue at stores open at least a year rose 5 percent. (The revenue figure is a snapshot of money spent on food at both company-owned and franchised restaurants. It does not reflect corporate revenue.)

McDonald's won't give details on which items it raised prices on, but Technomic estimates that a Big Mac costs an average of $3.39, up from $3.19 a year ago. A large order of fries is about $1.89, up from $1.79.

And the company signaled that there may be more increases to come. "We will continue to evaluate additional price increases," said Bensen, McDonald's CFO, during a call last month. "As we look into 2012, we expect commodity cost increases in the U.S. to be similar to this year's."

Even if the costs for some raw materials decline, companies are still expected to continue to raise prices during this holiday shopping season. That's because costs for materials are uncertain, so companies will try to raise prices whenever they think customers will tolerate them. Still, they have to tread lightly or risk losing customers.

To be sure, families have trimmed their budgets as the economy plummets. But Americans continue to spend for myriad reasons, even though prices have risen on everything from Coca-Cola soda to Huggies diapers to Ben & Jerry's ice cream.

Some are stomaching the higher prices only on products they need. Others who've cut back on bigger frills are willing to splurge on brands they trust or things they see as small indulgences. Still others are apathetic to the increases because "everybody's doing it."

The weak economy has forced Kenya Leach, a New York actress, to cut back on eating out and trips to the movies and to reconsider her plans to return to school for an anthropology degree. Still, she keeps buying beauty products from Origins, which sells $35 moisturizer and $25 face wash, even though she's noticed those prices edge up by about a dollar per product, by her calculations.

Estee Lauder, the high-end cosmetics company that owns Origins, did not detail its price increases. But CEO Fabrizio Freda said recently during an analyst call that customers have been "resilient" as the company has raised prices and rolled out more expensive products.

Leach, for one, figures it's OK to spend a little more on Origins products because she is cutting out so many other things. "Treating yourself sends off those happy pheromones," says Leach, 25. "When I get really crabby and upset, I'll buy a new lipstick and I'll feel 10 times better."

Building up society, from the bottom- a great story

The Hindu : Life & Style / Society : The power women – 39 : Her nerves of steel: "But precisely those were the years her nerves got that steely twirl. Passion was building up within her to transform society. But being a school teacher and a family woman, she knew her limitations. She started in a small way, setting up a stitching class, then a primary school and on to a high school. Today she is a household name in Pune. She has already set up half a dozen educational and skill imparting centres and does not feel tired of pursuing her objective of the light of education to the lowliest of the low.

Simply determined

Ashraf is a simple woman. Her plain looks obscure much of her persona and the difference she has brought about in lives of people around herself. She talks without frills, often disarming her subjects with practical logic.

Ashraf did not look far enough to identify problem areas. She knew the illiteracy and ill-health existed in Muslim pockets of her own city, Pune. She selected Syednagar, a settlement of labourers, petty merchants and menial workers."

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Seat (Belt) of the Pope

Pope falls foul of German hosts by shunning seat belt - The Irish Times - Sat, Nov 26, 2011: "A GERMAN citizen has filed a complaint against Pope Benedict XVI for not using a seat belt in the Popemobile during his September visit to his homeland.

Lawyer Johannes Christian Sundermann has filed papers in Dortmund on behalf of his unnamed client, charging the Pope with “repeated breaches” of Germany’s seat belt law.

“Herr Joseph Ratzinger, born 16 April 1927 in Marktl/Altötting” travelled on September 24th and 25th “for the duration of more than an hour” without a seat belt, the lawyer states in documents."

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What's in a name? Google, of course!

Google Searches Help Parents Narrow Down Baby Names - NYTimes.com: "But too little research can backfire, too. Deborah Goldstein, 43, and her partner, Gabriella Di Maggio, thought they had chosen unique names for their boys: Levi and Asher. To be sure, they checked the Social Security Administration’s list of most popular baby names. Neither was in the top 100.

“I did not want them to have names where there were 15 in their class like I was,” Ms. Goldstein said. “There were a lot of Debbies back then”

But shortly after the couple moved to South Orange, N.J., in 2006, they had a rude awakening. While waiting at an ice cream parlor, they heard a woman shout “Asher!” at a different boy.

“It was two other Jewish lesbian moms with a child of the same name,” Ms. Goldstein said. Google had let her down. “It didn’t tell us it’s a unique name unless you move to a neighborhood outside New York City where other trendy Jews are moving, too.”"

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Solution to unemployment- emigrate to Philippines??

Philippines Overtakes India as Hub of Call Centers - NYTimes.com: "The growing preference for the Philippines reflects in part the maturation of the outsourcing business and in part a preference for American English. In the early days, the industry focused simply on finding and setting up shop in countries with large English-speaking populations and low labor costs, which mostly led them to India. But executives say they are now increasingly identifying places best suited for specific tasks. India remains the biggest destination by far for software outsourcing, for instance.

Executives say the growth was not motivated by wage considerations. Filipino call center agents typically earn more than their Indian counterparts ($300 a month, rather than $250, at the entry level), but executives say they are worth the extra cost because American customers find them easier to understand than they do Indian agents, who speak British-style English and use unfamiliar idioms. Indians, for example, might say, “I will revert on the same,” rather than, “I will follow up on that.”"

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Gobble Gobble....lots of Turkeys but no T-Mobile for AT&T

AT&T Deal With T-Mobile Takes a Step Back - NYTimes.com: "The actions followed the decision earlier this week by Julius Genachowski, the F.C.C. chairman, that the merger did not meet the commission’s standard for approval. Mr. Genachowski sent other commissioners a proposed order to refer the case to an administrative law judge, the first step toward a commission move to block the deal, which would combine the second- and fourth-largest cellphone carriers in the United States.

The application withdrawal appears in part designed to prevent the F.C.C. from making public AT&T and T-Mobile records about the potential effects of the merger, records that could then be used by the Justice Department in the antitrust trial.
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The companies have maintained publicly that the deal would not lessen competition and that it would create jobs in the United States. But the Justice Department has said that the merger would severely restrict competition, and F.C.C. officials have said that AT&T’s confidential filings indicate the merger would eliminate jobs.

The withdrawal of the F.C.C. application “is a tacit acknowledgment by AT&T that this story is all but over,” said Craig Moffett, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein. “The fat lady hasn’t started singing yet, but she’s holding the mike and the band is about to play.”

Interesting proposal on Executive Pay

High executive pay 'corrosive' to the UK economy, report warns | Business | The Guardian: "Government action to curb boardroom pay becomes more likely as an influential group with the ear of the business secretary, Vince Cable, publishes proposals to reduce the pay gap.

Warning high pay is "corrosive" to the UK economy, the High Pay Commission calls for greater transparency in the setting of executive pay and says employees should sit on remuneration committees. Its recommendations come in the most comprehensive report yet on the need for action on top salaries.

The report shows executive pay has risen sharply – the pay of the head of Barclays is up nearly 5,000% in 30 years – while average wages have increased just threefold.

The commission was set up by the leftwing pressure group Compass and backed by money from Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust. A government source said on Monday, however, that the work was being taken seriously."

The commission sets out 12 recommendations to tackle high pay. The main reforms include:

• Greater transparency in the calculation of executive pay to end the "closed shop" on pay decisions. At present, many people do not understand until it is too late how a vast salary – often composed of as many as seven different elements – is worked out.

• Putting employees on remuneration committees, a move included in the government's own consultation remit.

• Publishing the top 10 executive pay packages outside the boardroom.

• Forcing companies to publish a pay ratio between the highest paid executive and the company median.

• Requiring companies to reveal total pay earned by the boardroom members.

• Establishing a new national body to monitor high pay.

Billionaires Subverting the Tax system

Buffett-Ducking Billionaires Avoid Reporting Cash Gains to IRS - Businessweek: "When billionaire Billy Joe “Red” McCombs, co-founder of Clear Channel Communications Inc., reported a $9.8 million loss on his tax return, he failed to include about $259 million from a lucrative stock transaction.

After an audit, the Internal Revenue Service ordered him to pay $44.7 million in back taxes. McCombs, who is worth an estimated $1.4 billion and is a former owner of the Minnesota Vikings, Denver Nuggets and San Antonio Spurs sports franchises, sued the IRS, settling the case in March for about half the disputed amount.

McCombs’s fight with the IRS illustrates an overlooked facet in the debate over tax rates paid by the nation’s wealthiest. Billionaires -- from McCombs to Philip Anschutz to Ronald S. Lauder -- who derive the bulk of their wealth from stock appreciation are using strategies that reap hundreds of millions of dollars from those valuable shares in ways the IRS often doesn’t classify as taxable income, securities filings and tax court records show."

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Paying $950 million in settlement, but not admitting guilt...

Merck will pay $950M to settle Vioxx investigation - Yahoo! Finance: "The agency said Merck will pay $321.6 million in criminal fines and $628.4 million as a civil settlement agreement. It will also plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge that it marketed Vioxx as a treatment for rheumatoid arthritis before getting Food and Drug Administration approval.
The government will get $426.4 million from the settlement, and $202 million will be distributed to state Medicaid programs for 43 states and the District of Columbia.
Merck stopped selling Vioxx in September 2004 after evidence showed the drug doubled the risk of heart attack and stroke. In 2007 the company paid $4.85 billion to settle around 50,000 Vioxx-related lawsuits. The Justice Department said the settlement resolves allegations that Merck made false, unproven, or misleading statements about Vioxx's safety to increase sales and made false statements to Medicaid agencies about its safety.
Merck said the settlement does not constitute an admission of any liability or wrongdoing, and it said the government acknowledged that there was no basis to conclude that Merck's upper-level management was involved in the violations."

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Less green and more greenhouse gases

Greenhouse Gases At Record Levels, U.N. Weather Agency Says : NPR: "Global warming gases have hit record levels in the world's atmosphere, with concentrations of carbon dioxide up 39 percent since the start of the industrial era in 1750, the U.N. weather agency said Monday.

The new figures for 2010 from the World Meteorological Organization show that CO2 levels are now at 389 parts per million, up from about 280 parts per million a quarter-millenium ago. The levels are significant because the gases trap heat in the atmosphere."

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UC Davis- where students are providing an education to administration

Outrage over police pepper-spraying students - CBS News: "As video spread of an officer in riot gear blasting pepper spray into the faces of seated protesters at a northern California university, outrage came quickly — followed almost as quickly by defense from police and calls for the chancellor's resignation.
University of California Davis Chancellor Linda Katehi said in a statement Saturday she was forming a task force to investigate the police action and the video images she said were "chilling."

However, a law enforcement official who watched the clip called the use of force "fairly standard police procedure."

In the video, an officer dispassionately pepper-sprays a line of several sitting protesters who flinch and cover their faces but remain passive with their arms interlocked as onlookers shriek and scream out for the officer to stop.

As the images were circulated widely on YouTube, Facebook and Twitter on Saturday, the university's faculty association called on Katehi to resign, saying in a letter there had been a "gross failure of leadership.""

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The sleaze-banks

U.S. banks should "undermine" Occupy protesters: memo - chicagotribune.com: "Clark Lytle Geduldig & Cranford, a Washington-based firm, proposed the idea in a memo to the American Banking Association, an industry group which said on Saturday that it did not act on the idea.

The four-page memo outlined how the firm could analyze the source of protesters' money, as well as their rhetoric and the backgrounds of protest leaders.

"If we can show they have the same cynical motivation as a political opponent, it will undermine their credibility in a profound way," said the memo, according to a copy of it on the website of TV news channel MSNBC, which first reported on it. (See MSNBC's report http://upwithchrishayes.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/11/19/8896362-exclusive-lobb"

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