| Our experts look at the crystal ball for 2008
Sound economic fundamentals will support house prices in 2008. The economy is in good health; employment levels are high. Scottish economic growth is likely to remain close to its long-term average pace in 2008. Employment, a key driver of housing demand, is expected to rise to new record highs. Scotland's relatively good housing affordability – the house price to earnings ratio in Scotland is the lowest of any part of the UK – is also a positive factor for the property outlook.We expect the Bank of England to cut rates at least twice next year to insulate the economy from anything more than a gradual economic slowdown. But further reductions are more than possible and could occur rapidly. Lower rates will help to support consumer confidence, improve housing affordability and limit the slowdown in the Scottish housing market.Many mortgage borrowers due to come off fixed rate loans during 2008 will look to take advantage of the potential for rate cuts by shifting into variable rate mortgages.
Overall Holiday Season Retail Grows 3.6%, MasterCard SpendingPulse ...
Data Source: SpendingPulse, MasterCard Advisors. A macro-economic indicator, SpendingPulse reports on national retail sales and is based on aggregate sales activity in the MasterCard payments network, coupled with estimates for all other payment forms, including cash and check. MasterCard SpendingPulse does not represent MasterCard financial performance. SpendingPulse is provided by MasterCard Advisors, the professional services arm of MasterCard Worldwide. MasterCard Advisors� SpendingPulse, a macro-economic report tracking retail sales nationally, today provided summary results of the 2007 Holiday shopping season. This year, for the period between Black Friday and December 24, retail grew by a seasonally adjusted 3.6% over the same period in 2006. �Overall, sales came in just above the lower end of the range we were expecting, maintaining the slower, modest growth we�ve been seeing throughout the year,� noted Michael McNamara, vice president of research and analysis for MasterCard Advisors.
Microsoft Reworks Antipiracy Procedures After WGA Meltdown
Microsoft blamed WGA's 19-hour August meltdown on human error, saying that "preproduction code" had been installed on the live servers, which then began declining legitimate requests from Windows XP and Windows Vista users. A software rollback fixed the problem on the activation servers, but not on the servers that validate downloads and other post-activation transactions. Access Free B2B Videos and Win a Free Dell XPS Notebook!Learn industry trends, compare solutions, and research vendors. Free access to B2B webcasts and videos on E-Commerce, Networking, CRM, Security & more� And chance to win a Dell XPS Notebook. Register now! .
Meebo's 'M' on the Widget Revolution
"We're really trying to offer a service that anyone in the world with access to a browser can use to message with their buddies. Instant messaging is huge with teens and young adults, and also [popular] to a growing extent in the workplace. Gartner predicts that it will be the nexus point in workplace communications, so hopefully it's here to stay." PCI Compliance Made Easy Handling customer and credit card information electronically requires you prove you are safeguarding that data. Providing proof to auditors can be expensive and painstaking. Make it easy with an identity-based approach that simplifies and automates PCI compliance. Learn more. .
WooMe Brings Instant Introductions to the World and Revolutionizes How ...
SAN FRANCISCO, Nov. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, WooMe, http://www.woome.com, announced the public launch of its innovative online introduction platform that allows users to meet, see, and hear people live in 1-minute conversations. Users can instantly experience the exhilaration of meeting five people in five minutes in topical sessions straight from their webcam. Whether looking to meet new friends, find a date, or even find a travel companion, WooMe enables fun, fast and free introductions. With its public launch today, WooMe is officially open to anybody, anywhere, looking to meet people quickly around common interests. WooMe's open platform encourages spontaneity and creativity. Users can easily create their own "speed sessions" based on a myriad of diverse topics and interests or join already scheduled sessions.
British Council defies Russia over closures
For its part, Russia said that Sir Anthony had been informed that the British Council's decision to stay open was an "intentional provocation aimed at inflaming tensions in Russian-British relations". Russia added that no new visas would be issued for any British Council staff wishing to enter the country. When staff at the British Council's office in St Petersburg resumed work yesterday, the first day of business after Russia's prolonged New Year break, they had to live with the possibility that police might be summoned to enforce the closure. "Only the Russian authorities can say what the next step will be," said Stephen Kinnock, the son of Lord Kinnock, the former Labour leader, and the British Council's regional director in north-west Russia. "We are just waiting to see what happens.
Apple shares gain ahead of Macworld show; Apple expected to announce ...
Craig also raised his first-quarter earnings estimates for Apple, citing healthy demand for the company's desktop and laptop computers. The analyst rates Apple shares "Buy" with a $200 price target. In a client note, JPMorgan analyst Bill Shope echoed many of Craig's predictions about Macworld, noting it will be hard for Apple to top last year's iPhone launch. Also, the analyst doesn't see evidence that any Macworld announcements "will force any near-term change in estimates or sentiment." Shope rates Apple's stock "Neutral." .
While we're at it, let's get rid of SOCAN - who died and made them ...
We do need something to change the mindset of an entire generation that believes stealing intellectual property in the form of music, movies, books, or software is OK. Its not, and its stiil theft and those people are still THIEVES.
This is endemic in the business sector as well. I used to work for a recording studio whose owner thought it ok to buy one copy of audio software, and then download illegal cracked copies to install in the other multiple computers in the company.
An anonymous tip to the business crime section of the local police department set him straight, and cost him a small fortune, much much more than the software he should have bought legally. We need teeth in the copyright law like this for the theft of music as well. Posted 11/01/08 at 9:34 AM EST | Alert an Editor | Link to Comment .
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