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The Rural NV Development Corp. is targeting a small sector of business in Reno and surrounding areas. The “microlending” service tries to get money to small businesses. The program is funded by the United States DOA and focuses on businesses that can’t otherwise get loans. Over 20 percent of the money available for this program has already been awarded. This could help people stay away from payday lenders if they can get the financing elsewhere.

Getting a rural development loan in Reno, NV

A $500,000 grant from the U.S. DOA is funding a new “microlending” program. Bad credit loans for Reno and Reno-area companies can be funded because of the United States Department of Agriculture Rural Microentrepreneur Assistance Program being started. These loans provide up to $50,000 for companies that have been denied traditional banking loans. The fixed-rate loans charge between 10 and 12 percent interest and must be paid back in five years.

Bad credit business loans in Reno qualifications

In order to qualify for the Rural Nevada Development Corp. loans, a business has to meet several criteria. Less than 10 employees in the business are allowed while less than $1 million a year in gross revenue is allowed. The business also must have applied for traditional loan financing and been denied. The money is available for businesses around Reno, Carson City, LV and Indian Reservation areas. There is $500,000 allocated for these loans in Nevada, and $100,000 was handed out within the first five days of the program. It’s expected the $500,000 won’t last long. It will take a month at the longest to distribute it all.

More on microfinance

“Microfinance” and “microlending” are becoming popular terms. Though the USDA is calling this Reno loan program “microlending,” it lends much larger amounts than most microfinance programs. Microfinancing is typically targeted towards very low income individuals, often in creating nations. Around $1,000 is generally paid for most “microlending” programs. The microlending for RNDC is huge when comparing these numbers. Typically the microlending is for developing nations and comes from a private individual in a developed country. Nevertheless, the “hole” in the sector that has companies unable to afford to expand but also without a good credit is hard to determine.

Articles cited

RGJ

rgj.com/article/20110201/BIZ/102010321/1321/news

The proper wine bottle is difficult to find. It can be a hard decision. Sometimes individuals host social dinners. In these cases, it is much more important to have the “right” wine bottle. The food must be considered along with personal choice in such cases. It’s recommended that you enhance the taste of the meals with the flavor of the wine, which is called wine coupling. One strategy is to pick a wine that has similar attributes as the meals, so that they “go well” with each other. Contradicting profiles is another option. This makes it so the food is balanced out by the wine. Coupling wine with meals is not an exact science, however, you will find some things that ought to be looked at when selecting a wine bottle.

The better choice among red and white

As a general rule, white wines tend to pair better with lighter food, while red wines are typically matched with heavier, entrée type courses. In case you are having a light meal including salad and seafood, for example, you really should try Pinot Grigio, Sauvignon Blanc, Riesling and Chardonnay. There are many heavy red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Syrah, Merlot and Zinfandel. If you’re having a BBQ, veal, lamb or beef, these may be better choices.

What are the basic rules?

The spices used when preparing food might be something to consider in these “rules.” For instance, a past with a white sauce such as alfredo or parmesan may be something you would want a Merlot or Chardonnay with while pasta with a red marinara sauce would be better off with Zinfandel or Chianti. Lemon chicken would be an entrée that would pair well with Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Grigio, while the popular dish chicken marsala would be better matched with a Pinot Noir or even Merlot.

Savory and Sweet mixtures

When choosing wine, the entrée might not be the only aspect to consider. You might also want to consider the dessert being served. Ice wine and late harvest Riesling pair well with fruit and citrus based desserts. Besides red meat, Cabernet Sauvignon goes well with darker chocolate desserts. Port wines also go well with chocolate, as well as champagne.

In order to make your meals really interesting, you can try wine pairing. With wine coupling, there isn’t a right or wrong. Don’t be too worried about this. Making up different combinations of flavor profiles is part of the fine with it. Wine is the optimum when friends and family are there while it adds a nice touch to every meal. Are you waiting for a reason? Drink on! It could be fun!

Nokia and Microsoft have entered a smartphone development agreement, the 2 businesses announced last week. Nokia will ditch its effective, but declining Symbian OS for Microsoft’s Windows Phone 7. The wisdom of the alliance seemed in question as Nokia stock fell 14 % on the day the connections was announced. This could help both Nokia and Microsoft never need a personal loan to grow.

Inside the Nokia-Microsoft connections

The Nokia-Microsoft smartphone alliance has left industry experts wondering why the largest handset maker in the world would have anything to do with Microsoft. Nokia could be replacing its Symbian OS, which was the industry innovator with a 36.6 industry share in the fourth quarter of 2010, with Windows Phone 7. The list that has Android at 25.5 percent market share and iOS that has 16.7 percent industry share doesn’t even show Windows Phone 7 since it has so few users. The “principle smartphone strategy” could be what Nokia utilizes the Windows Phone 7 for now. There can be a team put together from Microsoft and Nokia. They’ll make smartphones together. For a default search motor, Microsoft Bing could be used. Nokia phones will all use this. Nokia’s Maps will be integrated into Microsoft services.

Nokia loses while Microsoft gains

Analysts are saying the partnership is good for Microsoft and bad for Nokia. One of the largest distributers in the world for cellular devices will now be something Microsoft has access to. Windows Phone 7, which is an operating system that practically died as soon as it came out, is what Nokia will get. Many suggest that when Stephan Elop left Microsoft to become CEO of Nokia in September, it started a conspiracy of the Nokia/Windows Phone 7 agreement. The smartphone partnership is characterized as subversion that gives Microsoft big-time smartphone development capability without the hassle of really trying to purchase Nokia.

Investors aren’t happy about it

When the Microsoft-Nokia smartphone relationship was announced, Nokia stock plunged 14 %, the steepest drop in Nokia shares since July 16. The smartphone sector has been given away to Google and Apple as the Nokia deal occurred for free, experts suggest. Around 2012 the Nokia Windows Phone 7 handsets will come out. The Android and Apple iOS will advance even more while the Symbian will die soon. Taking operating systems and putting it on other hardware is something Microsoft normally does. However Nokia has always developed its own OS. The difficulty Nokia faces is being compared to Apple replacing iOS with webOS on the iPhone. This is unthinkable.

Information from

Business Week

businessweek.com/news/2011-02-11/nokia-tumbles-on-concern-that-microsoft-deal-may-kill-company.html

Wired

wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/02/microsoft-and-nokia-team-up-to-build-windows-phones/

PC World

pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/219431/nokiamicrosoft_alliance_is_a_win_for_apple.html

PC Magazine

pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2380144,00.asp

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi will go on trial to face charges of prostitution. The sordid affair has been the subject of a lot of controversy. He allegedly paid for the services of an underage prostitute. Berlusconi’s hold as Prime Minister is growing increasingly shaky, and the first court case on the matter is scheduled for April 6. He will need a pretty big personal unsecured loan to get out of this one.

Charging the Italian Prime Minister

After controversy erupted over whether Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy enlisted the services of an underage prostitute in the past few months, law enforcement officials have brought criminal charges against him, according to The Telegraph. Supposedly a now-18-year-old called Ruby the Heartstealer had been paid by Berlusconi for services. When the transaction occurred, Ruby, or Karima el-Mahroug, was only 17. Judge Cristina Di Censo, will fast track the cause meaning the first case can be April 6. Charges for abuse of power as Prime Minister could be another thing Berlusconi face.

Throng of demonstrators decries ‘Rubygate’

Berlusconi was called for removal by protestors. These mostly women protestors call the scandal “Rubygate” right now. He has been to trial for business violations. However, his personal conduct has never been tried before. The New York Times reports that he does not have much support right now; even though Berlusconi’s party is currently a majority in parliament. It doesn’t matter if Berlusconi is in the first hearing. It will happen in Milan. Prostitutes must be 18 in Italy for it to be legal.

In accordance with Berlusconi, there was not prostitution

Karima el-Mahroug was a guest while 17 at the “bunga bunga” party Berlusconi had last year. Just a little less than $10,000 was paid to her by Berlusconi the first time they met. MSNBC reports that it was really 7,000 euros. Prosecutors will say what it was for. They say sex occurred. They were not ever intimate though if you ask Berlusconi and Ruby. After Berlusconi pressured a police officer to let Ruby off after she was caught stealing, he is now being charged with abuse of powers. He states she told him she was the granddaughter of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, and he was trying to avoid an international incident.

Citations

Telegraph

telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/italy/8325340/Silvio-Berlusconi-ordered-to-face-trial-over-sex-allegations.html

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/02/16/world/europe/16italy.html

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/41594875/ns/world_news-europe

Giffords can talk again, as her therapy is working rapidly. Giffords is capable of some simple talk, which is proof that the intense physical therapy she is undergoing is working. Giffords is recovering from injuries that several individuals die from. Given that a bullet passed through the length of her brain, she is recovering at a miraculous pace.

Injured AZ Congresswoman makes large improvement

The hospital in Tucson, Arizona, where Arizona Congresswoman Giffords was staying, has moved her to a physical therapy facility located in Houston, Texas. She will recover from her brain injury there. Giffords got a brain injury in the Tucson shooting that Jared Lee Loughner carried out. Now, she is recuperating quickly. CBS reports that she was rushed into a Tucson hospital on January 8 after getting shot in the head and can now speak again. She is going through intense physical rehabilitation at TIRR Memorial Herman Hospital. Since the hospital specializes in physical therapy for brain and head trauma, Giffords was moved there.

Talking and requesting food is Giffords

A spokesman explained the speech therapy that Giffords is going through it going well. As Giffords is hooked up to a breathing tube, either it would have to be removed or a vent would have to be put in it so she could talk. This is why it’s unknown currently how she is doing this speech. She has also regained an appetite. Her Facebook page recently had a comment from her husband, Mark Kelly. He said, “Gabby’s urge for food is back — even though it’s hospital food.” As soon as April Kelly could be returning to go on the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

Courthouse to be named for victim

Congress recently passed a bill that would name a federal courthouse to honor one of the victims of the Tuscan shooting rampage that left six dead and 13 wounded, in accordance with Reuters. A new courthouse is being constructed in Yuma, Ariz., which could be titled for Chief Judge John M. Roll. The building should open in 2013.

Information from

CBS News

cbsnews.com/stories/2011/02/09/national/main20031226.shtml

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/02/09/us-shooting-judge-idUSTRE7187JH20110209

The incidence of shark assaults hit a 30-year high in 2010, according to an annual report on the phenomenon. In the U.S., Florida gets probably the most shark assaults. But recorded incidents declined in the state last year. A recent shark study showing sharks are colorblind suggests that traditional black wet suits may increase the likelihood of a shark attack.

Statistics on shark assaults

There were 79 shark attacks recorded last year on the International Shark Attack file the University of FL put together which is probably the most since 1980 when there were 80. Deaths happened in six of the shark attacks. The latest total is a 25 percent increase from 63 shark assaults globally in 2009. There were 36 assaults in the U.S. making it the leading country, which is normal. Australia, a country famous for sharks, was runner up with 14. Both Vietnam and Egypt had six while South Africa had eight. Within five days, four of the five Egyptian attacks occurred. There were recreational divers feeding reef fishes and sharks during the very hot summer in Egypt while a passing cargo ship put dead sheep overboard.

Florida sees drop in shark attacks

Most shark attacks typically come from Florida. However, for the fourth straight year a decline in attacks was reported. This year, 13 shark attacks were reported in Florida. This is relatively low considering 23 is the 10 year Florida shark attack average. The U.S. Shark Attack File showed North Carolina at 5, CA at 4, Hawaii at 4 and South Carolina at 4 assaults. There was one shark attack in GA, Maine, OR, TX, Virginia and Washington. Because there were less tourists in Florida in 2010, it’s likely there was this change in shark attack numbers to go down. The recession and British Petroleum oil leak made this happen.

Ways you are able to stop shark attacks too

When it came to who got hunt, the sharks picked surfers. Over half of the 2010 cases were surfers getting attacked. Sharks are colorblind as a recent study showed. That means protection is possible. Shades of gray are all that sharks can see. Less of a contrast in wet suits and surfboards can help a lot. When attacking, sharks are typically just curious. They are not trying to get a meal. You will find black wetsuits that are worn by surfers a lot. Typically this is high contrast and is noticed. ”Yum, yum yellow” is what the U.S. Navy utilizes to refer to the attraction sharks have to colors. Yellow is more attractive. Wetsuits that are blue or green tend to have a lower contrast. That means shark attacks are less likely.

Citations

MSNBC

msnbc.msn.com/id/41458324/ns/world_news-world_environment/?GT1=43001

Gainesville Sune

gainesville.com/article/20110207/ARTICLES/110209535/1109/sports?Title=Economy-to-blame-for-drop-in-Florida-shark-attacks-expert-says&tc=ar

Los Angeles Times

latimesblogs.latimes.com/outposts/2011/01/sharks-are-color-blind-shark-attacks.html

Ryanair is a low-cost airline that has a practice of making news. One flight got postponed by over three hours late last week. Over 100 pupils simply refused to abide by staff directions. These costs and fines aren’t a popular business move. In Spain, however, the fees are being called illegal. Article resource – Ryanair passengers riot over unexpected baggage fee by Newsytype.com.

Exactly what the Ryanair encountered

Over a hundred travelers on a Ryanair flight from the Canary Islands to Belgium ended up being kicked off the flight. An overweight luggage charge was asked of students causing “mutiny” according to a one flight crew person. The pupils became “disruptive and refused to abide by crew directions.” Eventually, the police got a phone call. Then, a hundred of the 166 passengers on the flight were taken off and told they weren’t allowed back on. The three hour delay meant the last 66 on the flight were apologized to.

Rules Ryanair has about its baggage

Any dimensions of a bag, as long as it is twenty-two pounds, could be carried on by Ryanair. Anything outside those limits that travelers try to carry on must be put in the cargo hold — for an additional fee. Baggage carriers who do not pay that additional charge have to leave their baggage on the tarmac, and must retrieve it later. Paying a charge while luggage was held hostage by Ryanair staff wasn’t something that the students liked the idea of. It was soon known that.

Ryanair costs don’t work very well

Very low costs on the low fare flights are what Ryanair is well known for. However, the company is also known for all the fees that everything else on the flight costs. Ryanair was the air carrier that first suggested costs for instance pay-as-you-go lavatory use. Recently, in Spain, a judge ruled that Ryanair’s fee for arriving at the gate without a preprinted boarding pass was unlawful and could not be charged. The ruling is called “bizarre” by Ryanair that plans to challenge this. The United States does have Ryanair in it. Nevertheless, the costs in more United States companies are becoming less all inclusive and more a la carte.

Citations

CNN

cnn.com/2011/TRAVEL/02/07/ryanair.fee.flight.disrupted/index.html?npt=NP1

AOL has announced the purchase of the Huffington Post, a media site created by Huffington in 2005. AOL has been struggling to survive as the online world has passed it by. The Huffington Post deal is one of several recent acquisitions. AOL will trust its entire group of media properties to Huffington as part of the deal in hopes that she can help it changes its mediocre image. It makes you question if AOL had to take out a personal loan to pay that cost.

AOL is planning on Huffington changes its mind

AOL may be able to rise once again with the Huffington Post/AOL deal. While the Huffington Post has been on the rise, AOL has turn into a fading figure in the shadow of Google and Facebook. AOL has had a really hard time considering consumers have either decided the company isn’t necessary or is dying off. In 2010 AOL cut 2,500 jobs as ad revenue declined 29 percent from 2009. There was not a very good watch for fourth quarter earnings either. There was a 26 percent drop. AOL believes that the Huffington Post, along with other recently acquired properties, will help it return to profitability by 2013.

Huffington to whip AOL content material into shape

Ariana Huffington created the Huffington Post as a liberal blog with a $1 million investment. Last year, the Huffington Post had $31 million revenue and has a staff of 200. The Huffington Post started out aggregating news from more traditional media outlets. But as its audience has grown, Huffington has hired away journalists from news outlets such as the NY Times and Newsweek. AOL, which has built a reputation as a glorified content farm, is betting that Huffington and the Huffington Post will counter that negative image. Huffington can have access to TechCrunch, web-syndication website 5min Media and Social media company Thing Labs with the deal as the new editor in chief of AOL’s new Huffington Post Press Group.

Huffington details

An MA in economics at Cambridge University in England was what Ariana Stassinopoulos got after being born in Athens, Greece. In 1997 she got a divorce from Michael Huffington who was a Bay Area oil millionaire that she had married. Huffington ran as an independent candidate for governor of CA in a 2003 recall election won by Arnold Schwarzenegger. You will find 26 million visitors a month to the Huffington Post now which was started in 2005. This spring would be when the AOL/Huffington Post deal will close.

Information from

New York Times

nytimes.com/2011/02/07/business/media/07aol.html?_r=1&hp

Wall Street Journal

online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704422204576130002551387710.html

CNN Money

money.cnn.com/2011/02/07/technology/aol_huffington_post.cnnw/

Eating the trans fats present in processed foods increases the danger of depression, according to a recent research. A Mediterranean diet had the opposite impact. The research indicated that eating foods with polyunsaturated fats and olive oil led to fewer instances of depression. The impact of trans fat on depression may be even more pronounced in the United States, where the rate of trans fat consumption is much higher than in Europe.

Trans fats trigger depression

People who ate trans fat were 48 percent more likely to suffer from depression, according to a study conducted at the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in Spain. Those who got more than 0.6 percent of calories from trans fats were the same ones that had an increase danger in depression. Over 12,000 individuals over 6 years were tracked to figure out what conclusions could possibly be made. None of the participants suffered from depression at the beginning of the research. Depression was greater for those who got more trans fat at the beginning of the study than those who got less.

Seeing more inflammation with trans fats

There was a questionnaire that was given to people at the beginning and end of the study for the trans fat/depression study. Not only was trans fat intake linked to depression, higher levels of trans fat consumption led to a higher danger of depression. A Mediterranean diet was good for people. Depression was uncommon in these people. Inflammation is common among those with depression. This led the research director to suggest this has a link with depression also. Due to trans fats, HDL cholesterol goes down and LDL cholesterol goes up. Also, swelling is increased. Olive oil a key component of a Mediterranean diet, contains compounds that help reduce swelling.

Trans fat consumption in the U.S.

The study done by the Spanish might wake some Americans up. It can help explain what is going on. Milk and cheese was where much of the trans fat came from in the Spanish subjects. The highest amounts averaged 0.4 percent of total calories too. Mostly due to processed foods, an averaged 2.5 percent of calories come from trans fat in an average American diet. Heart disease is most common in the U.S. The states also lead in consumption of trans fat and depression.

Articles cited

MSN

health.msn.com/health-topics/depression/articlepage.aspx?cp-documentid=100269616&GT1=31009

Bloomberg

bloomberg.com/news/2011-01-26/saturated-or-trans-fat-in-food-may-increase-risk-of-depression-study-says.html

Medical News Today

medicalnewstoday.com/articles/215021.php

Hedge fund director John Paulson bet against the health of the U.S. housing industry by funneling money into credit default swaps against subprime mortgages, which successfully made certain that as homeowners defaulted he would obtain an enormous cash advance on his investment in failure. Regardless of whether John Paulson is considered to be a crook or a master, there’s no disputing the real estate bubble and investment in various financials have made him a billionaire. He won’t be taking out a cash advance to cover his home mortgage anytime soon.

John Paulson invests in Citigroup

Several see John Paulson as a bad thing. They say that when it comes to Wall Street, he embodies what is wrong with the idea. John Paulson has began to change his position after making about $15 billion betting in 2007 in opposition to the U.S. housing sector, getting him named a “guru”. His bet now is the U.S. economy will get better. Part of this meant he invested in different indexes. Part of this “after the fall” outlay he put down was a bet on high gold prices and a bet on rebounding house prices. About $1 billion was earned this year by Paulson’s stake in Citigroup using Paulson & Co. Citigroup had a 50 percent increase in price within the last year.

About $35 billion in investments are owned by Paulson & Co. right now. Within the beginning of 2010, John Paulson and company took small lump gains while getting to the double digit gains later even though most hedge funds avoided the volatile sector, reports Reuters. For 2010, the Paulson Advantage Plus fund had a 17 percent rise for the year. Also, there was a 35 percent jump in Paulson’s gold investments.

How good is 17 percent?

The 17 percent gain by the Paulson Advantage Plus Fund really isn’t that different than the 15 percent gain the S&P 500 had past year. This is something the Globe and mail points out when discussing the success of John Paulson. The Canadian newspaper’s opinion could be wrong though. While it might be true that John Paulson’s “against-the-bubble” investing strategy undermined the economy at the expense of millions, the investments were made in a Wild West-style climate where federal regulators were about as effective at cleaning up the town as the milk-and-cookies sheriff who hesitates before firing. Yet few accept the excuse.

Articles cited

The Guardian

guardian.co.uk/books/2010/mar/07/the-greatest-trade-ever-by-gregory-zuckerman-review-heather-stewart

The Globe and Mail

theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/markets/markets-blog/paulsons-5-billion-haul-big-deal/article1886319/

Reuters

reuters.com/article/2011/01/25/us-hedgefunds-paulson-idUSTRE70O4G820110125

Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Credit_default_swap

John Paulson and Joe Stiglitz on the mispricing of risk

youtube.com/watch?v=l8G-b315B6E