NEW YORK (Reuters) – Europe will again be at the center of investors’ focus this week as the U.S. earnings season passes the halfway mark and there is little on the economic calendar to give the market direction.

Economic data expected this week includes weekly initial jobless claims, the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index and international trade figures.

Improving data helped push the S&P 500 (.SPX)(.INX) index up nearly 7 percent for the year, highlighted by Friday’s stronger-than-expected jobs report.

“It’s the old ping-pong game. Today it is the U.S., tomorrow it is Europe again,” said Joe Saluzzi, co-manager of trading at Themis Trading in Chatham, New Jersey.

“Normally in this type of tape when there is no economic news, it seems like the bias goes to the upside.” But whether European bond yields spike or other news from Europe emerges will be the wild card for the markets, Saluzzi said.

Greece remains at the forefront of the euro zone crisis as the government struggles for agreement on fiscal reforms that would be accepted by political leaders and private bondholders as it tries to avoid a disorderly default.

Talks on a bond swap and 130 billion euros in bailout funds have been continuing for weeks before a March deadline when 14.5 billion euros of bonds come due. Hopes that a deal was on the horizon dissipated on Friday as euro zone finance ministers delayed a meeting scheduled for Monday.

“There is always the chance in brinkmanship — which is what is being played here — that you have a dangerous outcome if the pieces don’t come together,” said Paul Mendelsohn, chief investment strategist at Windham Financial Services in Charlotte, Vermont.

“They have until March 19. They are going to keep pushing this thing until everybody gets the best deal they can out of it or they decide not to move forward and let Greece go. It’s always a possibility at the end of the game.”

The flood of earnings reports will slow this week. Some 66 S&P 500 companies are expected to report, including Walt Disney Co (DIS.N), Coca-Cola Co (KO.N) and Cisco Systems Inc (CSCO.O). NYSE Euronext (NYX.N) is also due to report results after the exchange terminated merger plans with Deutsche Boerse (DB1Gn.DE) on Thursday.

Through Friday, 283 companies in the S&P 500 have reported results, with 60 percent posting earnings that have topped Wall Street expectations, a lower percentage than seen in recent quarters through this stage of the reporting season.

The payrolls report on Friday helped lift the S&P 500 1.5 percent to 1,344.90, past a recent resistance point of 1,325, which the benchmark index had failed to pass on several occasions recently. Analysts said the resistance level could now serve as support, with 1,350 representing a new resistance point for equities.

But even with the gains sparked by the payrolls report, a lack of volume remains a troubling sign, one which could be alleviated by a resolution of the Greek question.

“The (payrolls) news is great but you are not getting a ton of volume, so you still get some skepticism,” said Ken Polcari, managing director at ICAP Equities in New York.

“It is going to be slow to get these people back. Ultimately I still think the large asset managers are waiting for a Greece decision because no matter what, the market will pull back and that is when they will jump in.”

(Reporting By Chuck Mikolajczak; Editing by Kenneth Barry and Maureen Bavdek)

Yahoo! News: Economy News

For those who have read the news and don’t know whether to laugh or cry, it could be that a little bit of both is in order. A new budget report that has just been released indicates that the U.S. federal budget deficit – which does not include a massive number of promised payments for things like Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, etc. – will fall to “just” $ 1.1 trillion in the fiscal year that ends in September. For those counting at home, that deficit, though smaller than last year’s monstrosity, is in itself a disgrace.

The news is another among perhaps hundreds of thousands of other tidbits that indicate that the state of the United States is one of peril. It seems doubtful that anything meaningful will be done about this, of course, though there is at least lip service about what should be done. Noted House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, a Republican, “Four straight years of trillion-dollar deficits, no credible plan to lift the crushing burden of debt. The president and his party’s leaders have fallen short in their duty to tackle our generation’s most pressing fiscal and economic challenges.”

Indeed, Ryan’s Republicans have often failed just as much, having spent the past three decades – along with Democrats – destroying the nation’s financial situation with ill-conceived and wasteful spending programs. On the other side of the aisle, Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad has noted, “We will not solve this problem unless both sides, Democrats and Republicans, are willing to move off their fixed positions and find common ground. Republicans must be willing to put revenue on the table.”

Of course, “revenue” in this context is taxpayer money, something that has been spent all too easily and poorly over the past several years. When considering that the level of taxation in the U.S. is already too high – and that spending is likewise too high – the actual solution to the problem sounds quite simple. Of course, with over 50% of the country receiving some sort of payment from the federal government each month, it’s no wonder that trouble is ahead.

Buzzle: National & World News

I knew that having a baby girl would be expensive because all the little girl clothes are just too cute not to buy! Thankfully my sister has a daughter that I two years older than my little girl, so I get all of her cute hand-me-down outfits. That leaves me to buy just the cute special occasion outfits and dresses! We recently got Wildblue Internet in our home and I am finally able to see what the world of Facebook is all about. I have found my new favorite way to buy those special outfits for my daughter. Smockadot has a page on Facebook where you can easily see what they have for sale and buy their dresses. They mostly sell smocked clothes which are my favorite for my daughter. I bought her Christmas dress from there and absolutely loved it! I went a little crazy this month and bought her Valentine’s Day dress, St. Patrick’s Day dress, and Easter dress! The dresses are very reasonably priced for smocked clothing and it is such good quality.

Of course, you will have to go through the tax preparer exam in order to become a certified tax preparer.  As a preparer you become liable for any mistakes you might make on someones return, so they clearly can’t just let anyone become a tax preparer.  You need to put in the due diligence and the study to be worthy of the title.  Don’t fret though – with proper study habits and a dedicated mind you’ll be there in no time!

Spice racks basically are a holder for all of the amazing sources of flavor for your food.  Think about it – a 1 foot little spice rack can carry an almost unlimited amount of flavors.  From the classics like salt, pepper and paprika to more exotic elements like arrowroot, cumin and saffron, you can basically do anything you want with one of these bad boys.  To get more extreme, go with a wall spice rack so you can house even more spices.  If you have any desire to cook or have any creative sense about you in the kitchen at all, you’re going to definitely want to make sure and get one of these guys.  I think that kitchen spice racks are going to be the wave of the future in almost any kitchen.

For really big situations, you are going to want to take a serious look at commercial cluster mailboxes.  These can range anywhere from 100 units to over a thousand units!  Imagine one thousand units in a big line!  That’s a lot of mailboxes and needless to say, if you’re fortunate enough to have the problem of deciding how to source all of these mailboxes you’re probably in a pretty good financial situation.

Make sure you look for cluster mailboxes for sale.  When you’re buying so many of any item, you can often get a bulk discount that can save you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars.  Pinching pennies and making things affordable is important no matter what type of project you’re involved in.

Exhaustion, seemingly a common affliction but also one for which only ultra-wealthy celebrities are ever treated, has overcome Demi Moore. Whether it was the rigors of trying to keep the interest of younger ex-husband Ashton Kutcher, who is 33-years-old, or something else entirely is up in the air. What is clear, however, is that before she went into treatment for “exhaustion,” she was partying it up with her young daughter, Rumer Willis. Maybe trying to keep up with the 23-year-old is what did her in.

The 49-year-old actress went out on January 11 wearing a short black skirt and a striped sweater. Arriving at Beacher’s Madhouse at the Roosevelt Hotel at about 11 P.M., she was at first rather reserved, but began to heat up as the night wore on. Said one person who was at the scene that evening, “When she first arrived, she kept to herself, but she started loosening up and getting into party mode. She seemed really happy to be out with her daughter’s friends.”

It didn’t appear that Moore was drinking that evening, but did seem to be enjoying the attentions of young men, especially 90210 actor Ryan Rottman. Said the same source, “She found ways to touch him all night, and at one point when he was in front of her, she was grinding on his butt. His shirt came unbuttoned, and she started tickling his bare chest playfully.” That does, indeed, sound incredibly exhausting, so perhaps that part of the mystery is solved.

Buzzle: Entertainment & Media

The other reason and possibly the most salient reason for the change is that it allows many people who would not otherwise have gotten into sports betting to participate in the fun.  Now you can make silly wagers with friends and create pools where you can place bets with groups of friends from all around the country.  Post college it usually is the case that many friends spread out around the world and the last thing you want to do is lose that bond you built by watching sports all of the time with friends.

For instance, bet on baseball with your buddies and unlock the sport that has probably the most silly and ridiculous things to bet on over any other sport out there.  There are so many inane statistics in baseball to obsess over that even a very experienced sports better would have a hard time placing bets on all of them!

Once upon a time, in the deep jungle, there lived a creature called human being. He lived in the midst of nature, along with his furry jungle friends. He lived in sync with his surroundings and had a complete understanding of his co-inhabitants as well. Everything was perfectly harmonious, until our human became a person.

Now armed with his highly developed brain, he started considering himself superior, especially in comparison to the other animals. As he began marauding nature, his ‘super intelligence’ caused him to believe that he is above all. He distanced himself from his natural abode, away from his animal friends.

Currently, our person lives in his buzzing world, a little devoid of his natural instincts. Having lost all memories of his jungle life, he now considers other animals inferior, capable of doing some very dopey things. Want proof? Here goes…

Misconceptions about Animals

A startling number of people among us believe that we are genetically related to monkeys. Considering how much we know about ourselves, the following myths about animals should not take us by surprise. And before we begin, we are closest to gorillas and chimpanzees, not monkeys.

Myth 1: As Blind as a Bat!
Or maybe not! Bats are not blind per se, although they do rely heavily on their sense of hearing. They have a system where they emit ultrasonic sounds to produce echoes that help them locate their prey, even in the dark. In fact, some bats are known to possess excellent daylight vision.

Myth 2: Bulls See Red
The poor creatures are blind to the color red. It is the movement of the cloth that the bull takes offense to, certainly not the color. So why does a matador only use red? Maybe it goes well with his fancy gold costume, or better, let’s just ask the Spaniards.

Myth 3: These Charmed Snakes
Before you slam the snake community for their terrible taste in music, spare a thought for their hapless condition. Snakes are deaf, so the swaying is definitely not inspired by the music. They are tuned in to vibrations all around them, so it is either that, or the movement of the instrument that makes them sway.

Myth 4: Something’s Fishy
Is it a fish? Is it an amphibian? No, it’s a whale, and it’s a mammal! A marine mammal, to be precise. They have a nose on top of their heads, and they rise to the surface at specific intervals to breathe. They are descendants of regular mammals that lived on land. It was 50 million years ago that the whales shifted their residence to the sea, and have been happily living there ever since.

Myth 5: Hide me, Quick!
For all those who thought an ostrich was trying to escape an attack by burying his head in the ground, shame on you! There is a belief that an ostrich buries its head in the sand because if it can’t see the predator, it means that the predator cannot see him. The truth is, as he buries his head in the ground, he could simply be exploring it. The ostrich may have a pea-sized brain, but humans don’t.

Myth 6: This Pole, That Pole
To begin with, Arctic is in the North, and Antarctica in the South. Polar bears are found in the Arctic, penguins live in Antarctica. They never, ever exchange poles. Repeat these lines ten times a day.

Myth 7: Now You See Me; Now You Don’t
Chameleons are very good at blending in, but when they change color, that’s not what they have in mind. A chameleon changes colors according to variations in mood, for instance when it feels angry or threatened, or even when it is at peace. It’s more like having a conversation, except we humans don’t understand the language.

Myth 8: Who Stole My Water?
I hate to ruin this one, but camels do not store water in their humps. They have their tummies for it. The hump actually stores fat, which gives them energy for their long journeys, but still, it’s not the same as water.

Myth 9: ‘Ear Me Out!
Earwigs do not have a predilection for residing in human ears, and this is the complete truth. While it is true that they love dark, damp places, human ears don’t catch their fancy. But if you insist on further assurance, there is a bone in your ear that will stop any insect from getting inside. Happy?

Myth 10: Sorry, Garfield; Sorry, Odie
Our favorite domestic pets are also victims of human naïvety. We have always tried to attach some kind of explanation to every little thing about cats and dogs that strikes us as an oddity. Cats are often labeled sinister and unfriendly, whereas every dog is assumed to be Lassie. And we all know the list is endless.

It is time we stop being so pompous about our sharp rise on the evolutionary scale. These smart animals have fooled us into believing things that are an insult to our so-called intelligence. Wake up and listen to the laughter echoing throughout the animal kingdom!

Buzzle: Animals & Pets

What kind of Coffee is Named “Veranda”?
Good question, and the answer is-a pretty good one. It turns out that “Veranda” is one of two “blonde” roast varieties, Willow being the other. The fact that this Veranda is also Via, a combination of instant coffee and micro ground coffee beans, makes “pretty good” even more surprising to a coffee snob like me. The beans are Arabica (the kind that account for 75-80 percent of the world’s production) so that is not a big surprise. They come from Latin America, a pretty general area, but a good coffee growing region. Because this is first, a blend and second, designed to be a less intense coffee flavor makes those two choices both understandable and acceptable.

How Does the Taste Compare to Their Bold Roasts?
I am a fan of bold coffee from Starbucks. I make no apologies about that. But… this is good coffee, just not as intense or acidic or as rich. It isn’t watery or tasteless; it just isn’t bold. It is much less acidic, and not as ‘rich’ as the Espresso, Italian or Komodo I would normally gravitate to. The packaging uses words like “soft cocoa and lightly toasted nuts”. The Starbucks website uses terms like “lighter bodied and mellow” and “subtle and soft with mellow acidity”. Good words, although I didn’t get the ‘soft cocoa’ flavor from my cup of Via just now. I did add Heavy Cream, as I almost always do. That might have covered it up.

It’s different from my regular Starbucks choice and being “instant coffee” I am inclined to not ask as much from it for flavor. However, I think it holds up well against even fresh brewed when the grounds/beans are not fresh. And that would include (again, in my opinion) most of what you see on a grocery store shelf.

The lack of acidity is a real plus, in my opinion. I was informed by the Barista that because it is a lighter roast, there is actually more caffeine in both of the Blonde blends-Veranda and Willow- than there is in the darker roasts. I, of course, do not believe them. (How could I? My favorite is … etc etc. ) On technical grounds, however, I will bow to their expert training. It is, after all, their product.

Will I Buy More?
That is, of course the real question. The answer is yes, but… We don’t normally buy Via, grounds or beans at the Starbucks store. Sprouts Farmers Market is close to home and, frankly, enough cheaper that they get our money except special occasions and holidays. But I could be talked into buying it again, especially if friends are coming over who do not like the ‘burnt’ flavor (as they call it) that I love so much. And when on a road trip, definitely I would get a box of Via Veranda. There are indeed stretches-very long stretches-of Interstate with no good coffee to be had, especially late at night. And in those spots, Via Veranda is maybe quite literally a life-saver. It’s that good.

Sources:
http://www.coffeeresearch.org/agriculture/coffeeplant.htm

http://www.starbucks.com/coffee/blonde

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