Is Paul Ryan A Terrible Stock Trader, Is His ... - Business Insider

Earlier today, it was revealed that VP candidate Paul Ryan made some curious stock trades.

The stock trades were made in the depths of the financial crisis.

Many of the trades were also made in the stocks of big Wall Street banks--the same stocks that were crashing and soaring and going bust in those days, sometimes as a result of major government intervention.

Berkeley professor Brad DeLong summarizes the Ryan trades here. Here's a taste:

January:

• Sold his Wells Fargo position ($1K-$15K) on January 14, 2008
• Sold part of his Wachovia position ($1K-$15K) on January 22, 2008
• Sold part of his JPMorganChase position ($1K-$15K) on January 22, 2008
• Sold part of his Citigroup position ($1K-$15K) on January 22, 2008
• Bought Goldman Sachs ($1K-$15K) on January 22, 2008

February:

• Sold part of his Goldman Sachs position ($1K-$15K) on February 22, 2008
• Bought Citigroup ($1K-$15K) on February 22, 2008

March:

• Sold part of his Citigroup position ($1K-$15K) on March 24, 2008

April:

• Bought Citigroup ($1K-$15K) on April 24, 2008

June:

• Sold part of his Wachovia position ($1K-$15K) on June 16, 2008
• Sold part of his Citigroup position ($1K-$15K) on June 16, 2008
• Bought Goldman Sachs ($1K-$15K) on June 16, 2008

July:

• Sold part of his JPMorganChase position ($1K-$15K) on July 17, 2008
• Bought Citigroup ($1K-$15K) on July 17, 2008

August:

• Sold part of his Goldman Sachs position ($1K-$15K) on August 18, 2008
• Sold part of his Wachovia position ($1K-$15K) on August 18, 2008
• Sold part of his Citigroup position ($1K-$15K) on August 18, 2008

September:

• Sold part of his Wachovia position ($1K-$15K) on September 18, 2008
• Sold part of his JPMorganChase position ($1K-$15K) on September 18, 2008
• Sold part of his Citigroup position ($1K-$15K) on September 18, 2008
• Bought Goldman Sachs ($1K-$15K) on September 18, 2008
• Sold his State Street position ($1K-$15K) on September 30, 2008

And so on.

As professor DeLong observes, Paul Ryan made 57 trades in 2008, 27 of which were in the stocks of the large money-center banks.

Soon after these trades were revealed, it was suggested that Paul Ryan had engaged in the same sort of possible-insider trading that other Congress-people were accused of earlier this year--dumping bank stocks after getting a dire prognosis in a private briefing from Ben Bernanke and Hank Paulson (See Spencer Bachus).

Not surprisingly, Gov. Romney's team rejected that explanation, and the exact timing didn't quite make sense. The Romney campaign also immediately provided another explanation to Benjy Sarlin of Talking Points Memo:

The Romney campaign said Ryan had nothing to do with the trades in the first place. They were part of a Russell 1000 index fund that automatically traded stocks as part of a pre-set formula. Ryan?s disclosure forms include several similar trade patterns at various points throughout the year.

In a statement provided to TPM through the Romney campaign, Larry Gaffney, the independent accountant for the partnership who handled the trades in question, said the stocks were out of Ryan?s control.

?Trades are done automatically based on an algorithm on a regular basis,? said Gaffney, who works as a CPA in Ryan?s hometown of Janesville, Wis. ?In addition, this index was held at the time within a partnership in which Rep. Ryan had and continues to have no trading authority.?

Hmm.

It's possible something was lost in the game of telephone between accountant Gaffney, the Romney campaign, and Talking Points Memo, but this explanation makes no sense.

First, the Russell 1000 is an index of 1000 stocks.? Ryan's trades were mostly in a handful of bank stocks.

And then there's the question of what exactly this index "algorithm" was designed to do.

Here's DeLong again:

There is no way in hell--if you are rebalancing to try to track the Russell 1000 index--you make only 58 trades in a year, that you make 27 of those 58 in large money-center banks, and that 10 of those trades involve shifting your money from Citi to Goldman and back five times.

No way in hell.

Given how dumb an investing strategy this rapid-fire trading would appear to be, let's hope that Ryan did indeed have "no trading authority" here. And for the sake of Ryan's financial health, let's hope that the trading strategy makes more sense than accountant Gaffney's explanation would suggest.

Read Brad DeLong's article on Paul Ryan's trades >

UPDATE: Twitter reader @richfreed has an explanation that might explain this: Ryan's accountant appears to have been "harvesting losses"--a tax minimization strategy--while maintaining exposure to bank stocks: "Paul Ryan appears to have harvested losses while avoiding wash sales. Maintaining exposure to financials. Note 31 day intervals."

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/paul-ryan-stock-trades-2012-8

Malware Monday First Row Sports American flag Happy 4th of July 4th Of July Desserts fireworks fireworks

Pro Wrestling Superstars Toronto DVD Review | The National Sports ...

-Taped from Toronto, Ontario

-Your hosts are Bill Apter and his amazing friends

-Howard Finkel comes out to put over Wrestlereunion, and incredibly, no one from Highspots or Wrestlereunion decides to embarrass him. Sal Corrente- 1 WWE-0

-El Generico vs. Michael Elgin

Match in Five Words or Less: An ROH Main Event

Match Highlights: Odd to see this as the opener when this could easily be a main event on most indy shows. Elgin establishes his power advantage right away. Headlock by Generico. Elgin hits a shoulder tackle. Leapfrog followed by a dropkick by Generico. Yakuza kick. Whip across. Running boot misses but he hits an elbow. Kick to the chest and an off the tope rana. Quick roll-up back in the ring. Chop. Into the corner for ten punches. Elgin reverses a whip. Generico up and over. Elgin catches Generico and hits a samoan drop. Knee strikes in the back. Shots to the midsection by Generico. Knee lift by Elgin. Whip across. Generico with forearms. Elgin with a knee to the midsection. Running boot as Elgin puts his head down. Clothesline no sold. A second one goes nowhere. Elgin misses a clothesline. Dropkick by Generico. Low bridge. Tope con helo! Slap but a swinging DDT is blocked. Backbreaker counter by Elgin. 1-2-NO! Running clothesline to one corner. Then another one. Blue thunder powerbomb blocked. Elgin tries running off but Generico does get the blue thunder powerbomb. Yakuza misses. Forearm by Elgin. Last Falconery gets two for Elgin. Sunset flip by Generico. Running boot blocked. Exploder by Generico into the corner. Yakuza kick! Brainbuster! Generico win!

Match Analysis: Considering the context of this match, it made sense for them not to empty out everything except the kitchen sink move wise. These two had a good opening match and not much more. Great way to get the crowd excited and into the show from the start if nothing else.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: El Generico/7:58/***

-Tito Santana (w/Rick Martel) vs. Shawn Spears (w/Jimmy Hart)

Match in Five Words or Less: Going The Other Way

Match Highlights: Spears is a younger wrestler who really never got a fair shake within WWE. Santana is a legend and former Intercontinental champion. Lock-up goes nowhere. Then they stall. Another lock-up and Spears mocks Santana. They keep things basic and Spears powders to the outside. Santana hits a shoulder block. Into the corner and Spears rakes the eyes. Series of stomps. Choke along the bottom rope. Shot to the midsection. Big stomp to the head. Modified chinlock. Knee drops. Punch exchange. Whip but Spears gets his knees up. Cover with the feet on the ropes. Santana kicks out. Back to the chinlock. Clothesline by Spears. He cartwheels and gets heat. Spears calls for the end. Big splash misses. Santana fires back with right hands. Back drop. Spears distracts the referee. Hart trips Santana. Martel chases him off. Spears with a boot. Santana small package gets three.

Match Analysis: Not a bad match by any means. Santana looks pretty good for his age and was able to keep things basic enough to where he wasn?t exposing himself too badly. Spears has a great look and charisma. How he isn?t in TNA or WWE is a bit mind-boggling. Perfectly acceptable use of six minutes even though the match wasn?t something to run out of your way to see.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Tito Santana/6:18/*1/2

-Super Smash Brothers (Player Uno and Player Dos) vs. The Great Outdoors (Jake Manning and Grizzly Redwood) vs. Rhett Titus and Caleb Konley (w/Leah Von Dutch) vs. Adam Page and Asylum

Match in Five Words or Less: Chaos

Match Highlights: Titus and Konley would be a significantly better version of The Scene. Even Bill Apter makes lusting comments at the women, so Lenny Leonard isn?t alone at least. Redwood and Page start out with a feeling out process. They set a really good pace, but Titus blind tags in. Page tags Konley. Now They are forced to battle each other after everyone ducks off the apron. Titus fingerpokes him and covers for two as everyone immediately breaks the count. Asylum is legal with Titus. Thumb to the eyes. Asylum hits a running knee strike. Armdrag into the armbar. Page works the arm and hits a low dropkick. Another dropkick and a knee drop in the throat. Titus shoves him in the corner. Double team back elbows by SSB. Standing moonsault by Dos as Uno hits the fist drop. Slam by Uno and they pose. Dos goes for the cover but only gets two. Into the corner as Titus and Konley take control. Boot by Dos and here comes Uno. Konley rammed head first into the Outdoors? corner. Double team by Manning and Redwood. Elbow drop by Manning. Manning gordbusters Redwood on top of Konley. Redwood rammed in the corner. He fires away on Titus and knocks Konley off the apron. Snake eyes. Short forearm to the back as the heat segment on Redwood continues. Chinbreaker by Redwood but Konley recovers. They clear the other men off the apron to prevent a tag. Double back suplex attempt but Uno comes in with clotheslines for Titus and Konley. Chops on Konley. Uno gets some assistance from the official and hits a neckbreaker. Flatliner/DDT combination. Dos hits a cross body on Asylum. Springboard moonsault caught but he hits a DDT instead. Double team from the Great Outdoors. Nice spear by Redwood. Uno with a right hand. Backbreaker into the flatliner by Manning on Uno. Page comes in with chops. Manning misses a clothesline. Powerslam by Page. Konley and Titus with some nice moves. Titus ends the flurry with a dropkick. Uno hits a double pele kick. Asylum hits a double underhook into a neckbreaker. Dos rolls out of the ring. Asylum pulled out of the ring and get double kicks. Dutch kisses Titus. Dropkicks by the Great Outdoors. Page hits a shooting star press to the floor. Uno hits a tope con helo through the middle ropes on everyone. Dos wants in on the action and corkscrews outside. FATALITY! Uno pins Konley and gets his team the victory.

Match Analysis: This was a very fun match as all eight guys left it all out in he ring. Great to see SSB get the victory in this position as they?re such an underrated duo. Really everyone of these guys looked good in small doses. Not much else to say.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: The Super Smash Brothers/13:27/***1/4

-Roddy Piper comes out for a Piper?s Pit. He has some fun with the audience of course before bringing out of one of the wrestlers from the previous match. Caleb Konley comes out and he?s apparently going to host the segment instead of Piper. Konley has three minutes and he talks about wanting people to hate him. Well, that?s a great way to not get heat. Piper asks Konley to introduce the guest and even threatens to club him like a baby seal. Here comes Bruno Sammartino. Piper gives Konley the floor. Konley interviews Sammartino and goes a bit too far with some of his questions. Things get heated and Sammartino won?t let Konley take control of the mic. Piper makes fun of Konley for losing but gives him credit. Piper starts slapping Konley around a little bit. Konley slaps back. Eventually, Piper slaps him out of the ring and holds Sammartino up as a legend. Really fun for the live crowd. Did not come off nearly as well for the DVD.

-Fit Finlay vs. Harry Smith

Match in Five Words or Less: Better Than ECW

Match Highlights: These two had an infamous 20 minute borefest on ECW, but Smith is significantly improved from that match, and I think a match like that would come off far better in this atmosphere anyway. Basic to start. Finlay gets into it with a fan and invites her to under the ring as the new Hornswaggle. He invites her in the ring? and she?s really tiny. Finlay dances with her. Well, that was surreal. Back to wrestling. They keep things on the mat. Shoulder tackles my Smith. Finlay tosses him outside. He lets Smith back inside but then tosses him right back outside. Hard forearm. Finlay posts Smith?s back into the post. Clubbering blow to the back by Finlay. Smith?s back rammed into the back. Elbow drop. To the chinlock. Hard whip in the corner. Another elbow to the back. Knee to the side and an uppercut. Stomps to the front and again Smith is tossed a third time to the floor. Hard whip and a double thrust to the throat back in the ring. Off the middle rope but Smith gets his boots up. Quick roll-up gets two. Clotheslines by Smith. Whip. Finlay gets his foot up. Headbutt. Powerslam attempt countered. Superkick hits. Smith fights for the sharpshooter, but Finlay grabs the bottom rope. Smith sent into the middle rope. Finlay charges but gets caught. Powerslam ends the contest.

Match Analysis: This was a good 15 minute and not much else. They stayed basic for the most part before ending things with a flurry. Pretty simple match with a non-complicated finish.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Harry Smith/13:56/***

-Vader vs. Necro Butcher

Match in Five Words or Less: Car Wreck

Match Highlights: What a fascinating little affair this should be. Series of blows in the corner and a running splash on Necro. Back to the corner for more strikes. Another splash off the ropes. Punches to the head. Solid shot across the chest. Necro pokes him in the eye. Again he rakes the eyes. Necro with strikes of his own in the corner. Vader fires back. Shotgun chops by Necro. Just an amazing exchange of shots. Running clothesline by Necro. Kicks. Running boot to the midsection. Series of knees now. Vader comes out with a splash. to the armbar. Series of right hands and a chokeslam. Vader Bomb. 1-2-Vader lifts Necro?s shoulder up. Another chokeslam. 1-2-3?

Match Analysis: Not sure what was up with the finish. This was fun while it was lasted, but it ultimately was too short to mean anything. Having these two guys just beating the holy hell out of each other was a wise decision but I would have liked to have seen a bit more brawling and chaos.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Vader/5:51/*

-Dominic Denucci and Shane Douglas (w/Bruno Sammartino) vs. Lord Zoltan and Shawn Blanchard (w/J.J. Dillion)

Match in Five Words or Less: Thankfully Short

Match Highlights: Denucci is Douglas?s trainer. You may also remember he trained one Mick Foley as well. Douglas makes fun of JJ Dillion for managing Ric Flair of course and brings out Sammartino to manage his team. Douglas starts out with Blanchard. Quick poke to the eyes. Into DeNucci?s boot. Blow across the throat by DeNucci. He ties him up in the ropes and fires another right hand. Left hand to the midsection and a tag to Douglas. Boot and another right hand. Whip and a back drop. Back elbow. Into the corner and the heels begin working Douglas over. Tag to DeNucci but the official doesn?t see it. DeNucci has had enough and goes after Blanchard. All four men are in the ring. Series of right hands on Zultan. Douglas hits a low blow. Zultan tosses outside. Belly-to-belly suplex ends the match.

Match Analysis: When you?ve got someone as old as Denucci and a semi-retired wrestler in Douglas, it?s tough to have a great artistic contest. At least it wasn?t a long match. They kept it short and allowed the fans to honor the legends involved.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Dominic Denucci/4:48/1/2*

-NCW Femmes Fatale Championship: Kalamity (champion) vs. LuFisto

Match in Five Words or Less: Where Did This Come From?

Match Highlights: NCW is based out of Montreal. Slap exchange almost right away. Kalamity hits a shoulder tackle. Series of armdrags by LuFisto. Leg sweep. Shoulder tackle by LuFisto. They scream in each other?s face. Series of leg kicks. Leg sweep by LuFisto. Running stomp and senton. Modified ankle lock. Kalamity grabs the bottom rope. Forearm and clubbering blows by LuFisto. Clothesline and series of kicks by Kalamity. Running neckbreaker. Double knees to the back as LuFisto is prone across the middle rope. Now to the choking. Big kick to the head. Half crab. She turns around and applies a stranglehold even as she has the legs tied up. Curb stomp. LuFisto sent into the turnbuckle. Forearms and shoulder tackles. Flatliner sends the champion into the middle rope. To the chops. Back elbow by LuFisto. Armbar into the ropes. Dropkick off the middle rope by LuFisto. Into an applied headscissors. LuFisto drives Kalamity?s skull into the mat. Strikes in the corner. Whip in the corner and forearm. Running forearm on a prone LuFisto. She drops her knees. Forearm exchange. Off the ropes and a double clothesline. Exchange of chops. Kalamity comes out on top. LuFisto drives the champion?s head into her knees. Dropkick. Cannonball in the corner. Running face wash. 1-2-NO! Chinbreaker by Kalamity. Kick in the face followed by a spinebuster. LuFisto hits a back drop driver. Kalamity crotches LuFisto on the top rope. Battle on the top rope. Double stomp by LuFisto! 1-2-NO! Elbows by Kalamity. LuFisto with forearms again. Spear into the guillotine choke. Kalamity escapes the hold. Again with the forearms. Now they?re just slapping each other. Now they?re stomping each other. Jesus H. Big kick from LuFisto! 1-2-NO! Kalamity drives LuFisto down in a version of the 2K1 bomb. 1-2-NO! LuFisto rolls her up and gets two. La Maestral cradle gets two. Quick roll-up by Kalamity gets two. German suplex by LuFisto. Back fist. Big splash misses. Kalamity hits another 2K1 bomb and gets the win in a fine exhibition.

Match Analysis: These two girls walked into the ring as anonymous female wrestlers, and I have to believe this was their break-out performance. What an impressive showing by both girls here as they really showed what they were all about. I loved the strike exchanges, enjoyed the chain wrestling, and just plain was impressed by so much of what these two did. There were a couple awkward spots and some apparent miscommunication, but I dug so much of what these ladies brought to the table. A true pleasure to watch.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: /13:34/***1/2

-Roderick Strong vs. Jushin Liger

Match in Five Words or Less: Non-stop

Match Highlights: ?This match is one of the primary reasons I even took a chance on this DVD. Code of honor followed beforehand. Liger applies a headscissors. Strong rolls out and goes for a bow and arrow. Front facelock and a stand-off. Takedown and Liger applies a lightning fast surfboard. He rocks back and forth. Strong has no choice but to grab the rope. Liger ties Strong?s legs. Into a submission so Strong grabs the rope once again. Spinning toehold by Strong. Strong kicks away at the leg. Liger takes control and ties Strong up. Shoving match. Liger with a shoulder tackle. Chop. Strong with a chop. Liger sends Strong outside. Dropkick and a somersault senton off the apron. Snapmare into the stretch plum. Chops by Liger. Strong reverses a whip but meets with double boots. Backcracker by Strong. Chops from Strong. Into a forearm and stomps. Choking along the bottom turnbuckle. Forearms. Liger tossed into the top turnbuckle. Vertical suplex. Waistlock. Chop war which Strong wins. Whip in the corner. Liger ducks and hits a release German suplex. Chop and tilt a whirl backbreaker. Liger goes back to the surfboard. Strong finds the middle rope. Chop by Liger. Strong with a boot and enziguri. Side slam gets two. Strikes in the corner as it?s become a violence party. Running clothesline. Whip and a running forearm. Drunk slam. 1-2-NO! Stronghold! Liger makes it to the bottom rope. Liger blocks a suplex. Again with the chops. Liger with a boot. Strong hits a running knee. Gutbuster. Off the ropes but Liger hits a palm strike. Running elbow. Strong placed on the top rope. Snap superplex by Liger. 1-2-NO! Liger goes up top. Strong stops him with chops. Double underhook. Liger with headbutts. Strong blocks a sunset bomb. Liger lifts him up and drops him in the powerbomb. 1-2-NO! Frog splash. 1-2-NO! Palm strike misses. Backslide by Liger gets two. Leaping knee strike by Strong. Torture rack into the backbreaker. 1-2-NO! Gibson driver. 1-2-3!

Match Analysis: How awesome of it is for a legend to do the clean job in a match like this. I have such an incredible amount of respect for both of these men. Liger is one of the best ever and he continues to be able to have great matches in every continent and well north of 40. This was just over 15 minutes, but they packed a lot into it as this was almost non-stop action from bell-to-bell. These last two matches make PWS: Toronto an easy thumbs up if you ask me.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Roderick Strong/15:37/***3/4

-Extreme Rules Match: Tommy Dreamer and Rhino vs. Raven and CW Anderson

Match in Five Words or Less: Garbage Wrestling

Match Highlights: CW Anderson looks old but a young sprout compared to Raven. Yeesh. Glad all four men are nice enough to observe the tag team rules to begin. Raven immediately tags Anderson. Raven not wanting to wrestle? Shocking. Some actual wrestling between Dreamer and Anderson. Dreamer spits in Raven?s face. Sunset flip by Dreamer. Anderson rolls through and hits a dropkick. Stomps and a forearm. Dreamer cross body gets two. Rhino comes in and Anderson breaks away to seek advice from Raven. Shoulder tackle by Rhino. Forearm by Anderson. Clothesline by Rhino. Series of right hands. Drop toehold. Dreamer hits an elbow drop. Anderson with a whip. Dreamer gets his boot up. Big left hand by Anderson and here comes Raven. Stomps by Raven. Choking. Heat segment on Dreamer continues. Back elbow and a flatliner sends Anderson into the middle turnbuckle. Rhino punches Raven. He turns his attention to Anderson. Flying shoulder tackle. Whip in the corner. Shoulder tackle. Belly-to-belly suplex on Anderson. Raven grabs Rhino?s leg as he attempts to go for the gore. Again with the stomps. Anderson joins him. Dreamer with a right hand. He stares Raven down. Anderson goes after Dreamer. DDT attempt. Raven walks out. Dreamer chases Raven now. Back in the ring goes Raven. Right hands by Dreamer. He punches Raven out of the ring. Anderson tosses Dreamer outside. And now we take a tour of the building. Raven and Dreamer exchange fists in the ring. Dreamer DDTs Raven but gets two. In goes a chair. Dreamer brings out a table. Raven drop toeholds Dreamer into the chair as Rhino comes back in for the gore. Cover for two. Anderson breaks the count. Rhino with right hands. Superkick by Anderson. Whip. Dreamer with a low kick. Spinebuster by Anderson. Two count. Anderson sets the table up in the corner. Dreamer hits a death valley driver on Anderson through the table. This is good enough for the win.

Match Analysis: Not sure why you?ve got four guys from the original ECW and just don?t do an insane brawl. There was nothing extreme about this for most of the match. Rhino and Anderson looked quite serviceable and Dreamer at least tries. Raven did literally nothing for 12 minutes and was basically a waste of space. Not a great match by any means but not offensive either. I?m sure if you were an ECW fan, this would be right up your alley.

Winner (s)/Time/Rating: Tommy Dreamer and Rhino/12:08/*1/2

The Verdict: Overall, this may have been an even better show than the Los Angeles one despite there not being two four star matches. Some good action could be found in nearly every match. This combination of legends and current indy stars worked well. The biggest surprise was the woman?s match. Such an enjoyable strike fest and war between those. I would offer a strong recommendation for this show, especially on digital download.

To purchase this DVDs and so many others, check out?Highspots. They allow for one to purchase DVDs, MP4 downloads, or even streams on Highspots.TV.

In addition to wrestling podcasts, I am also a proud co-host of a show specifically geared toward Mad Men. Please check out all of our?previous podcasts here.?You can also?download them off of iTunes.

Contact Pro Wrestling Ponderings!

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Source: http://nationalsportsreview.com/2012/08/14/pro-wrestling-superstars-toronto-dvd-review/

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Home Depot raises profit view, hopes for housing market

(Reuters) - Cost controls and market share gains helped Home Depot Inc beat Wall Street's profit estimates for the latest quarter, prompting the No. 1 home improvement chain to raise its earnings outlook for the fiscal year.

The retailer is also seeing improvements in California and Florida, states that were hit hard by the housing downturn, Chief Executive Officer Frank Blake said on Tuesday.

The news boosted Home Depot shares by more than 3 percent to their highest level in 12 years and raised hopes that the company was positioned to outdo rival Lowe's Cos Inc once the housing market and the U.S. economy stabilize further.

"The worst of the (housing) crisis is behind us," said Barclays analyst Alan Rifkin, who added that he was seeing signs of stability in a market that has been in a slump for years.

Groundbreaking on new U.S. homes rose in June, hitting its fastest pace in more than three years, a report showed last month.

For Home Depot, Florida and California were among the best-performing states in the quarter in terms of sales growth at stores open at least a year, Blake said. He termed the improvements "encouraging signs of stabilization in the housing market."

"Housing is now a contributor to GDP growth, rather than a drag," said Blake, who has often been credited for improving Home Depot's merchandise, supply chain and customer service.

U.S. retail sales rose 0.8 percent in July, their first gain in four months, the Commerce Department said on Tuesday. Demand increased for everything from cars to electronics, signaling that consumers could drive faster economic growth in the third quarter.

Home Depot is "executing marvelously" and taking market share from Lowe's with the help of better pricing and customer service, Rifkin said. He said he expected Lowe's to post lower same-store sales growth than Home Depot for the 13th consecutive quarter when it reports its results next week.

Shares of Home Depot rose 3.5 percent to $54.66 on Tuesday after touching a high of $54.71 earlier in the session. At Monday's close, they had climbed more than 26 percent this year.

While the stock trades at a high price-to-earnings multiple, the lofty premium is justified, said analyst Walter Stackow of Manning & Napier, which owns shares in the company.

"You have slow economic growth in general in the U.S., and there's some uncertainty," Stackow said. "What Home Depot offers is earnings growth, high amount of visibility and reasonably high predictability," and it is picking up market share.

Net earnings rose to $1.53 billion, or $1.01 a share, in the second quarter ended on July 29 from $1.36 billion, or 86 cents a share, a year earlier. Analysts were expecting a profit of 97 cents a share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Home Depot, which cut operating expenses by 2.7 percent to $4.46 billion in the quarter, has benefited from its recent efforts to improve distribution and customer service. It has been quicker than Lowe's to cut costs, and in some cases has gotten a boost as housing markets have rebounded in regions where it has a heavy presence.

A return to more localized marketing and merchandising has also helped Home Depot.

THE WEATHER IMPACT

Sales rose 1.7 percent to $20.57 billion, but missed the analysts' average estimate of $20.74 billion.

The company's second quarter is typically the most important selling period for home improvement chains, but unseasonably warm weather early in the year pulled some demand into the first quarter.

In the second quarter, same-store sales rose 2.1 percent globally, including a 2.6 percent increase in the United States.

While Home Depot's results exceeded his estimates, Janney Capital Markets analyst David Strasser said he was less optimistic about same-store sales growth in the back half of the year, citing consumer spending trends.

The company's operating performance remains impressive, but that is largely priced into the stock, Strasser said.

Home Depot said it still expected total fiscal-year sales to rise 4.6 percent. It forecast earnings at $2.95 a share, up from its prior outlook of $2.90.

The company, which has stores in the United States, Canada, Mexico and China, reported a 0.6 percent rise in the number of customer transactions in the second quarter, and their average value increased 1.8 percent to $55.02.

(Reporting by Dhanya Skariachan in New York; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/home-depot-profit-tops-estimates-despite-sales-miss-101643192--finance.html

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Romney, Ryan hit the road in an energized Republican campaign

HIGH POINT, North Carolina (Reuters) - Republican Mitt Romney's presidential campaign took on a celebratory tone on Sunday, as Romney and his new vice presidential running mate, Paul Ryan, basked in the support of cheering crowds in North Carolina.

Thousands of people lined a highway in High Point to greet Romney and Ryan, who stopped to shake hands and exchange high-fives with some of them. Another 1,300 packed into a stifling hot furniture warehouse for a rally with the Republican candidates.

"We can turn this around," said Ryan, 42, who was speaking of the economy and budget but might as well have been referring to the campaign of Romney, who has trailed Democratic President Barack Obama in recent polls.

"We can do this. We can get this country back on track," Ryan told the cheering crowd. "We can get our people back to work. We can get our debt paid off so we can give our children a better standard of life."

Romney added that he and Ryan have "a long road ahead of us, but this is day two to reclaim America's progress."

The November 6 election is more than two months away, but the rally had the intensity of a typical late-October campaign event. It showed how Romney's selection of the Wisconsin congressman as his running mate has injected new energy into a campaign that had struggled to move beyond Democrats' efforts to cast Romney as a wealthy former private equity executive who cannot relate to middle-class Americans.

Hours earlier in Virginia, where Romney had introduced him as the No. 2 on the Republican ticket on Saturday, Ryan, the chairman of the House of Representatives Budget Committee, told reporters that being thrust into the presidential campaign was "very exciting. We're going to win this campaign. We've got the wind behind us."

Romney, 65, seemed relieved to have a sidekick to end what he has called the "two against one" dynamic of the race, with Obama and Vice President Joe Biden on one side and Romney on the other.

"It's a far more compelling dynamic than just being out there on my own," Romney said late Saturday.

But it also was evident that Romney's selection of Ryan - who is known for his sweeping budget plan to reduce government spending and debt by trimming taxes and revamping Medicare and other social programs - is going to raise a series of hurdles for his campaign as it sprints toward election day.

In choosing Ryan, Romney is attaching himself to Ryan's controversial budget plan, which has been blasted by Democrats who say it would dismantle popular social programs that help the elderly and the poor.

Ryan's selection also suggested that Romney is tackling a prickly task during an intense, nasty and likely close race for the White House. His is asking Americans to consider tough questions about the future of Medicare, the government-backed health insurance program for the elderly, and a range of other programs plagued by runaway spending.

SEEKING A NATIONAL DEBATE?

In previous elections, candidates who have sought a not-so-popular conversation with American voters have run into problems.

In 1984, for example, Democrat Walter Mondale emphasized the need for higher taxes and was swamped at the ballot box as voters re-elected Republican Ronald Reagan.

If Romney's campaign wants to foster a national debate over social programs and government entitlements, the big challenge will be doing so under the white-hot glow of the final weeks of a presidential campaign that so far has been defined by sound-bite messaging and out-of-context attacks by both sides.

On Sunday, Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus cast Romney's campaign as the one being honest with Americans about the nation's fiscal future and said Obama's team is more interested in attacking Romney.

Selecting Ryan shows that Romney "has the leadership and courage to present to the American people a real contrast and a real debate that the American people deserve," Priebus said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Even so, Romney's campaign stressed that Romney would propose his own fiscal plan, suggesting that it did not want the former Massachusetts governor to be tied to everything in Ryan's budget.

"The thing you have to remember about these campaigns is that Governor Romney is at the top of the ticket, and that Governor Romney's vision for the country is something that congressman Ryan supports," said Romney spokesman Kevin Madden.

DEMOCRATS TAKE AIM

Democrats' efforts to cast Ryan - and, by extension, Romney - as a threat to Medicare could be key in the election.

Ryan's plan calls for an end to the guaranteed benefit in Medicare and replaces it with a system that would give vouchers to recipients to pay for health insurance.

The risk in such a plan is that if healthcare costs rise faster than the value of the vouchers, seniors would have to pay the difference.

Obama's senior campaign adviser David Axelrod said on "Meet the Press" that the Medicare changes supported by Ryan would put the healthcare program, which polls indicate most Americans do not want changed, into a "death spiral."

Independent Democratic groups have been more dramatic in their criticism.

A video ad from 2011 - made when Ryan first offered his proposals on Medicare but now getting a new life online with Romney's selection of Ryan - shows a man in a suit who resembles Ryan pushing an elderly woman in a wheelchair over a cliff, while "America the Beautiful" plays.

A message then pops up at the end of the ad: "Is America beautiful without Medicare? Ask Paul Ryan and his friends in Congress."

Romney rejected the notion that Ryan's plan would kill Medicare.

Ryan "has a plan ... to make sure we can save Medicare," Romney said. "And guess what, he's one of two sponsors - and guess what, the other is a leading Democrat," a reference to Oregon Senator Ron Wyden.

Wyden, however, has disagreed with Romney's characterization of his work on the Medicare issue, saying that he has voted against Medicare changes proposed in Ryan's budget.

Wyden told The Huffington Post that he merely had worked on a "policy paper" with Ryan that was designed to "start a conversation about how Democrats and Republicans might work together to uphold the Medicare guarantee."

(Additional reporting by Anna Yukhananov in Washington; Editing by David Lindsey and Christopher Wilson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/amid-questions-romney-ryan-launch-phase-campaign-181018762--spt.html

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Video: Swimmer Katie Ledecky: I still feel the adrenaline

Olympian in the kitchen: Natalie Coughlin's beef shawarma

Natalie Coughlin isn't just one of the most decorated American female Olympians of all time, she's also a great cook. The swimmer discovered her love of shawarma after enjoying some late night street food around London. Here, she serves up her own recipe for beef shawarma with a fresh sauce to drizzle on top. Full story

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46952788/vp/48646151#48646151

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Unnatural Selection: Muscles, Genes and Genetic Cheats

Features | Health

Can specific genes cause muscles to grow faster or stronger, and can genetic tampering give athletes an unnatural edge?

By Larry Greenemeier ?| July 31, 2012?|

PEAK PERFORMANCE: Olympic athletes competing in London this summer earned their place through countless hours of training and single-minded commitment to their sport. Yet their genetic makeup may be the greatest contributor to their success. Image: Courtesy of PeskyMonkey, via iStockphoto.com

Showcasing more than fifty of the most provocative, original, and significant online essays from 2011, The Best Science Writing Online 2012 will change the way...

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Take a close look at the athletes competing in this year's Summer Olympic Games in London?their musculature will tell you a lot about how they achieved their elite status. Endless hours of training and commitment to their sport played a big role in building the bodies that got them to the world's premier athletic competition. Take an even closer look?this one requires microscopy?and you'll see something else, something embedded in the genetic blueprints of these young men and women that's just as important to their success.

In nearly all cases, these athletes have realized the full potential laid out by those genes. And that potential may be much greater to begin with than it was for the rest of us mortals. For instance, the genes in the cells that make up sprinter Tyson Gay's legs were encoded with special instructions to build up lots of fast-fiber muscles, giving his legs explosive power out of the starting blocks. In comparison, the maximum contraction velocity of marathoner Shalane Flanagan's leg muscles, as dictated by her genes, is much slower than Gay's yet optimized for the endurance required to run for hours at a time with little tiring. Such genetic fine-tuning also helps competitors in basketball, volleyball and synchronized swimming, although the impact might be much less because effective teamwork and officiating also influence success in those sports.

When the gun goes off for the 100-meter sprint, when swimmers Michael Phelps and Ian Thorpe hit the water, when Tom Daley leaps from his diving platform, we will be seeing the finest that the world's gene pool has to offer, even though scientists are still trying to figure out which genes those are. Unfortunately, history dictates that we may also see the finest in gene manipulation, as some athletes push for peak performance with the help of illegal substances that are becoming increasingly difficult to detect.

The skinny on muscles
The human body produces two types of skeletal muscle fibers?slow-twitch (type 1) and fast-twitch (type 2). The fast-twitch fibers contract many times faster and with more force than the slow-twitch ones do, but they also fatigue more quickly. Each of these muscle types can be further broken down into subcategories, depending on contractile speed, force and fatigue resistance. Type 2B fast-twitch fibers, for example, have a faster contraction time than type 2A.

Muscles can be converted from one subcategory to another but cannot be converted from one type to another. This means that endurance training can give type 2B muscle some of the fatigue-resistant characteristics of type 2A muscle and that weight training can give type 2A muscle some of strength characteristics of type 2B muscle. Endurance training, however, will not convert type 2 muscle to type 1 nor will strength training convert slow-twitch muscle to fast. Endurance athletes have a greater proportion of slow-twitch fibers, whereas sprinters and jumpers have more of the fast-twitch variety.

Just as we can alter our muscle mix only to a certain degree, muscle growth is also carefully regulated in the body. One difference between muscle composition and size, however, is that the latter can more easily be manipulated. Insulinlike growth factor 1 (IGF-1) is both a gene and the protein it expresses that plays an important role during childhood growth and stimulates anabolic effects?such as muscle building?when those children become adults. IGF-1 controls muscle growth with help from the myostatin (MSTN) gene, which produces the myostatin protein.

More than a decade ago H. Lee Sweeney, a molecular physiologist at the University of Pennsylvania, led a team of researchers who used genetic manipulation to create the muscle-bound "Schwarzenegger mice". Mice injected with an extra copy of the IGF-1 gene added muscle and became as much as 30 percent stronger. Sweeney concluded that it is very likely that differences in a person's IGF-1 and MSTN protein levels determine his or her ability to put on muscle when exercising, although he admits this scenario has not been studied widely.

Slow-fiber muscle growth and endurance can likewise be controlled through gene manipulation. In August 2004 a team of researchers that included the Salk Institute for Biological Study's Ronald Evans reported that they altered a gene called PPAR-Delta to enhance its activity in mice, helping nurture fatigue-resistant slow-twitch muscles. These so-called "marathon mice" could run twice as far and for nearly twice as long as their unmodified counterparts.

This demonstrated ability to tinker with either fast- or slow-twitch muscle types begs the question: What would happen if one were to introduce genes for building both fast- and slow-twitch muscle in an athlete? "We've talked about doing it but have never done it," Sweeney says. "I assume you'd end up with a compromise that would be well suited to a sport like cycling, where you need a combination of endurance and power." Still, Sweeney adds, there has been little scientific reason (which translates into funding) to conduct such a study in mice, much less humans.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=a10aeaa02a1403011cfe2035f0b03e7c

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Adolescents' personalities and coping habits affect social behaviors

ScienceDaily (Aug. 1, 2012) ? Infants innately relieve stress by crying, turning their heads or maintaining eye contact. Adults manage emotional tension using problem-solving or by seeking support. A new study by a University of Missouri human development expert describes how adolescents' developing personalities and coping habits affect their behaviors toward others.

"We're each born with some personality tendencies; for example, we see that babies are fussy or calm," said Gustavo Carlo, the Millsap Professor of Diversity in the MU Department of Human Development and Family Studies. "Those characteristics can change over time as people experience certain events or as a result of their parents, peers or communities. At the same time, as we get older, our personalities become more stable."

Carlo and his colleagues surveyed 1,557 students ages 12-15 years old in Valencia, Spain, to measure the adolescents' feelings toward others, their past prosocial and physically aggressive behaviors, their emotional stability, and how they manage stress.

Carlo found that empathetic adolescents were more likely to use problem-focused coping, which aims to reduce or eliminate the source of the stress. These adolescents also were more likely to perform prosocial behaviors that benefit others, such as volunteering, donating money or helping friends with problems. Conversely, emotionally unstable, impulsive adolescents relied more on emotion-focused coping tactics such as venting, avoidance or distraction, and they showed more frequent signs of aggression.

"Empathetic kids are generally very good at regulating their emotions and tend not to lose their tempers," Carlo said. "When you're good at regulating your emotions, you're less concerned about yourself and more considerate of other people. On the other hand, impulsive children are more self-focused and have difficulty engaging in problem-focused coping."

Teaching adolescents multiple ways to handle stress will help them decide which coping techniques to use based on the unique situations, Carlo said. In some cases, people may use both emotion-focused and problem-focused coping, while in others, one might be more beneficial. For example, emotion-focused coping might be more constructive when children witness their parents' divorces because the kids cannot change those situations. On the other hand, planning ahead to study for tests or complete homework is a problem-focused coping technique that can help adolescents effectively ease academic stress.

"Sometimes we get stuck dealing with stress in one way because it was successful in the past; that coping style may not be effective with other stressors and in other situations," Carlo said. "There is more than one way to cope in situations, and people need to know when to apply which coping mechanisms."

The Department of Human Development and Family Studies is part of the MU College of Human Environmental Sciences. The study, "The interplay of emotional instability, empathy, and coping on prosocial and aggressive behaviors," was published in Personality and Individual Differences. Carlo's coauthors included researchers from Chatham University in Pennsylvania and the University of Valencia in Spain.

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Story Source:

The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Missouri-Columbia. The original article was written by Kate McIntyre.

Note: Materials may be edited for content and length. For further information, please contact the source cited above.

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Journal Reference:

1. Gustavo Carlo, Maria Vicenta Mestre, Meredith M. McGinley, Paula Samper, Ana Tur, Deanna Sandman. The interplay of emotional instability, empathy, and coping on prosocial and aggressive behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 2012; 53 (5): 675 DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2012.05.022

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120801154845.htm

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