Will Power (12) drives under Mike Conway after their cars made contact in the first turn during the Indianapolis 500 on Sunday. INDIANAPOLIS ? Dan Wheldon couldn't win his third Indianapolis 500. Dario Franchitti did it for him. ? Read News
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Purpos?es of budget was to mainta?in econom?ic stabil?ity and growth, reduce inflat?ion rate, says Dr Sheikh.
Purposes of budget was to maintain economic stability and growth, reduce inflation rate, says Dr Sheikh. PHOTO: FILE
ISLAMABAD:?Focusing on measures taken in the budget to provide relief to the people, Finance Minister Dr Abdul Hafeez Sheikh, in his post budget press conference, claimed the government had succeeded in presenting a ?good and balanced budget?.
Dr Sheikh said that the basic purposes of the budget were to maintain economic stability and growth as well as reducing the inflation rate to a single digit. Also a primary focus of the budget was to collect tax from those individuals with higher income who evaded paying taxes.
The minister highlighted the fact that the government had fulfilled its promise to the responsible tax payers of the country. ?We promised tax payers that we would provide relief in the new budget and we have fulfilled that promise,? said Dr Sheikh.
Relief to tax payers
Relief measures in the budget included the income tax rate being set at the Rs400,000 slab, a 20% increment in base salaries and pensions, custom duties lowered on pharmaceutical raw materials and stationery items and allocation in the budget for creating 100,000 jobs for graduates.
Taxation measures included setting a bar of 16% sales tax on all products higher than this percentage while maintaining sales tax rates on all products below it.
The federal minister said that the government wished to remove the burden of taxes from the common man. ?We want only two taxes to exist in Pakistan: income tax and sales tax,?? he said.
Turnover tax on income of businesses was slashed by 50%. ?Turnover tax on total income has been brought down to 0.5% from 1%, a move that will increase liquidity and cash flow,? said the minister.
Steps to curb energy crisis
The minister said that solar tube wells would be introduced in the country and these projects will be given subsidies by the government. ?The percentage of the subsidies will be set in a few days,? said Dr Sheikh, adding, that this measure would help Pakistan become ?less dependent? on oil imports that were required for generating electricity.
Speaking on the major issue of electricity, the federal minister said that the shortfall could not be dealt with just by allocating finances, but the government did whatever it could through the budget by allocating Rs183 billion directly and some more through the developmental program and other allocations.
?The problem will be solved when issues in the administrative infrastructure and other governance issues are resolved.
Developmental programs for generating electricity are being initiated,? he said, adding, ?Expenditure for generating electricity is more and electricity charges are less. The federal government has financed this gap of billions of rupees till now.?
Reducing government expenditure
The finance minister also announced that the scrutiny and criticism that the government faced dues to its expenditures was being answered in this budget starting with converting the Prime Minister House into an ?international institute for advanced studies?.
?Taking this spirit forward, all governmental expenditures will be reduced,? he said.
Dr Sheikh said that Pakistan was becoming self-sufficient. ?The country which used to import wheat and sugar is now capable of exporting them to other countries,? said the finance minister.
Inflation rates
Answering questions relating to the questionable inflation rate, the minister said that all figures used by the government were set by the statistical department. ?They are accepted by all,? he said. ?You should trust these figures.?
The minister added that it is not only the people or leaders of political parties who are affected by inflation, but the party who has been elected by the people also gets affected.
?Our policy is to lessen the fiscal deficit and loans. We have also lessened our expenses, and this is how inflation has been reduced in the past three years,? he said and added that no other government has collected as much tax in one year as the ruling government did in the last year.
Tackling rising oil prices
Explaining the issue of rising oil prices, Shaikh said that it was the regulatory authorities were responsible for keeping checks on when oil prices rise so that people do not think that the government is tampering with these prices.
?When prices rise in the world, the government tries its best to not let the common man be affected by the hike. This is why we give subsidies and this is why we have spent Rs250 billion for the cause.?
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ScienceDaily (June 1, 2012) ? The erratic year-to-year swings in precipitation totals in the Reno-Tahoe area conjures up the word "drought" every couple of years, and this year is no exception. The Nevada State Climate Office at the University of Nevada, Reno, in conjunction with the Nevada Drought Response Committee, just announced a Stage 1 drought (moderate) for six counties and a Stage 2 drought (severe) for 11 counties.
Reno, Lake Tahoe and the Sierra Nevada are no strangers to drought, the most famous being the Medieval megadrought lasting from 800 to 1250 A.D. when annual precipitation was less than 60 percent of normal. The Reno-Tahoe region is now about 65 percent of annual normal precipitation for the year, which doesn't seem like much, but imagine if this were the "norm" each and every year for the next 200 years.
Research by scientists at the University of Nevada, Reno and their partners at Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego indicates that there are other instances of such long-lasting, severe droughts in the western United States throughout history. Their recent paper, a culmination of a comprehensive high-tech assessment of Fallen Leaf Lake -- a small moraine-bound lake at the south end of the Lake Tahoe Basin -- reports that stands of pre-Medieval trees in the lake suggest the region experienced severe drought at least every 650 to 1,150 years during the mid- and late-Holocene period.
"Using an arsenal of cutting edge sonar tools, remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), and a manned submersible, we've obtained potentially the most accurate record thus far on the instances of 200-year-long droughts in the Sierra," Graham Kent, director of the Nevada Seismological Laboratory said. "The record from Fallen Leaf Lake confirms what was expected and is likely the most accurate record, in terms of precipitation, than obtained previously from a variety of methods throughout the Sierra."
Kent is part of the University of Nevada, Reno and Scripps research team that traced the megadroughts and dry spells of the region using tree-ring analysis, shoreline records and sediment deposition in Fallen Leaf Lake. Using side-scan and multibeam sonar technology developed to map underwater earthquake fault lines such as the West Tahoe fault beneath Fallen Leaf Lake, the team also imaged standing trees up to 130 feet beneath the lake surface as well as submerged ancient shoreline structure and development. The trees matured while the lake level was 130 to 200 feet below its modern elevation and were not deposited by a landslide as was suspected.
The team, led by John Kleppe, University of Nevada, Reno engineering professor emeritus, published a paper on this research and is presenting its findings in seminars and workshops.
"The lake is like a 'canary in a coal mine' for the Sierra, telling the story of precipitation very clearly," Kent said. "Fallen Leaf Lake elevations change rapidly due to its unique ratio between catchment basin and lake surface of about 8 to 1. With analysis of the standing trees submerged in the lake, sediment cores and our sonar scanning of ancient shorelines, we can more accurately and easily trace the precipitation history of the region."
Water balance calculations and analysis of tree-ring samples undertaken by Kleppe, Kent and Scripps scientists Danny Brothers and Neal Driscoll, along with Professor Franco Biondi of the University's College of Science, suggest annual precipitation was less than 60 percent of normal from the late 10th century to the early 13th century. Their research was documented in a scientific paper, Duration and severity of Medieval drought in the Lake Tahoe Basin, published in the Quaternary Science Reviews in November 2011.
Tree-ring records and submerged paleoshoreline geomorphology suggest a Medieval low-lake level of Fallen Leaf Lake lasted more than 220 years. More than 80 trees were found lying on the lake floor at various elevations above the paleoshoreline.
"Although the ancient cycle of megadroughts seems to occur every 650 to 1150 years and the last one was 750 years ago, it is uncertain when the next megadrought will occur. With climate change upon us, it will be interesting to see how carbon dioxide loading in the atmosphere will affect this cycle," Kent said.
Professor Paula Noble, in the University's College of Science's Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering, is expanding this research to include the fine-scale study of climate change through out the Holocene (about 12,000 years) using recently collected 40-foot-long sediment cores in Fallen Leaf Lake.
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The Samsung Galaxy S III continuing to make its rounds Globally and has now popped up in the southern hemisphere. More specifically, Virgin Mobile Australia. The carrier is now taking orders and has set the expectation of 2-3 days for delivery of those who place their orders now.
Currently, they only have the Marble White 16GB version in stock with the 16GB Pebble Blue version arriving early June. If you're looking to pick up a 32GB version, you'll be waiting until late June though according to the site. Prices start at $47 and go up from there, depending on what add-ons and data options you choose. You can check out the full pricing scale by hitting the link below to head on over to the Virgin Mobile site.
Source: Virgin Mobile, via: AUS Droid
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Sometimes, dealing with the right lender for you, be it a big bank or a community credit union, can make all the difference in your refinancing efforts.
With today?s record-low interest rates being trumpeted all over the news, many homeowners feel like they are just being taunted because refinancing feels hopelessly out of reach. However, there are options out there for refinancing, and you can optimize your chances even if your home is underwater. Before you give up on lower interest rates and lower monthly payments completely, give these strategies a try:
What are your tips and tricks for getting refinancing in a difficult lending environment? Is it even worth the bother in your opinion?
Thank you for reading the Bryan Ellis Investing Letter!
Your comments and questions are welcomed below.
[1] http://www.smartmoney.com/spend/real-estate/4-tips-for-refinancing-your-mortgage-1338327867041/?link=sm_newsticker
Category: Personal Finance
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Hasbro brings together two things that preschoolers love 1) Music and 2) Elmo into Let?s Rock! Elmo.? This toy is one seriously cute and fun interactive toy. My daughter and I have had a lot of fun singing and making music with Let?s Rock! Elmo.? Elmo is always contagious with fun but the Let?s Rock! Elmo brings it to a new level of fun!? He comes with his very own microphone, drums, and tambourine and likes to share these items with his friends. His cute and witty comments are simply adorable, making this toy irresistible.
Let's Rock! Elmo
Your child, ages 18 months ? 4 years old will enjoy making music and singing with Elmo. Elmo sings 6 rockin? songs, several of which your child will probably already know like ?Elmo?s World?, Alphabet Song,? and other rock and roll songs that at least you will know like ?What Elmo Likes About You? and ?It Takes Two?.
Let?s Rock! Elmo will have your child giggling and singing with him as he sings, plays instruments and asks your child to join in by singing and playing the instruments with him. My preschooler loves to sing and has had so much fun singing with Elmo. Plus, the songs are too babyish, so even a 4 year old can have fun with this toy while younger toddlers will enjoy the beat too.
Playing with Let's Rock! Elmo
Let?s Rock! Elmo not only sings but interacts with your child. He?ll ask for your child to give him an instrument, tell your child to play one he isn?t playing with, and even say ?Thank you? for each instrument you give him. He even says cute phrases like ?Is this thing working? Can you hear me?? when you give him the mic. I like that it is easy for little hands to place the mic in Elmo?s right hand, the tambourine in his left hand, and place the base of the drums under his foot. Kids will feel in charge since they can do it themselves. Elizabeth has no problem giving Elmo the instruments and operating the toy.
I really like that if you lose one of the instruments, Elmo will only ask for it 5 times. If you don?t give it to him, he?ll stop asking for it. This is sure to eliminate distress if and when you misplace one of the items for a while. If you find it again, simply reset Elmo.
Let?s Rock! Elmo can even go more interactive with the line of LET?S ROCK! instruments like the Sesame Street Let?s Rock Cookie Monster Keyboard
This is one seriously cute toy. It would make the perfect gift for kids as young as 18 months through 4 years old.? It is a fun toy for kids as they never know what he is going to say or sing. Plus, every play time is different as they decide what instruments he will play and they will play. I highly recommend this toy for it?s pure entertainment value. I just wish he was around when my kids were a little younger ? or even when I was a kid!
You can buy Let?s Rock! Elmo at stores nationwide, on the Hasbro website, and on Amazon.com for about $39.99.
This was not a paid post. My own opinions were used based on my perceptions and experience. Thank you to Hasbro who provided the products for review.
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