Durant has got to be the most overrated player in the NBA

1. All he does is score. He is very good at scoring and does it at a very efficient rate, but that's literally all he does.

   Let's see...

   - He's a below average defender.
   - He's not very good at getting teammates involved (2.7 assists career average)
   - He doesn't make the players around him better.
   - He's weak as hell.

   He doesn't even deserve to be in the conversation as a top 5 player in the league.

   For someone his size, he does have amazing scoring ability. He is pretty tall and has very long arms which allows him to score over anybody, so he's basically a taller/longer version of other pure scorers the league has seen before.

   I'd take Melo over him any day.

   

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2. This thread is asinine and silly.

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   Make a phucking difference

   2k+ everytime

   quest to 5k+

   

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3. Came in here to refute your statement, but pretty solid points have been made. They dont have an offensive flow, they just kind of play one on one, this would be ok if Westbrook would be more of an offensive catalyst but he's not. Plus KD is still young Jordan didnt pass much either till later in his career if im not mistaken.

   

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4. Registered User

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   I agree a top 5 player does not get locked up by Jason kidd

   

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5. Came in here to refute your statement, but pretty solid points have been made. They dont have an offensive flow, they just kind of play one on one, this would be ok if Westbrook would be more of an offensive catalyst but he's not. Plus KD is still young Jordan didnt pass much either till later in his career if im not mistaken. notsureifsrs.

   Jordan averaged 5.9 assists his rookie year, 4.6 his 3rd year (he was injured his 2nd year), 5.9 his 4th year, and 8.0 his 5th year.

   Kevin Durant's assists in his first 4 years? 2.4, 2.8, 2.8, 2.7.

   The only thing that happens when he has the ball in his hands is he is looking to score. Doesn't generate offense for his teammates.

   

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6. Registered User

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   Came in here to refute your statement, but pretty solid points have been made. They dont have an offensive flow, they just kind of play one on one, this would be ok if Westbrook would be more of an offensive catalyst but he's not. Plus KD is still young Jordan didnt pass much either till later in his career if im not mistaken.
   negged

   He averaged 6 apg as a rookie

   

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7. I'd take Melo over him any day.

   I agree on this for sure

   

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8. He is a forward getting around 3 assists a game is not bad, he also avg 6 boards a game not bad imo

   

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9. notsureifsrs.

   Jordan averaged 5.9 assists his rookie year, 4.6 his 3rd year (he was injured his 2nd year), 5.9 his 4th year, and 8.0 his 5th year.

   Kevin Durant's assists in his first 4 years? 2.4, 2.8, 2.8, 2.7.

   The only thing that happens when he has the ball in his hands is he is looking to score. Doesn't generate offense for his teammates.

   hence the "if im not mistaken"

   

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10. I agree a top 5 player does not get locked up by Jason kidd Yeah Jason Kidd doesn't play D
    9-time All-Defensive Selection:
    First Team : 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006
    Second Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007

    

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11. He is a forward getting around 3 assists a game is not bad, he also avg 6 boards a game not bad imo And this, considering he is a 3.

    

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12. Registered User

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    Yeah Jason Kidd doesn't play D
    9-time All-Defensive Selection:
    First Team : 1999, 2001, 2002, 2006
    Second Team: 2000, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2007
    Kidd is 6,3 durant is 6,10 and Kidd is not the defender he was before. You don't get Locked yo by a 6,3 guard

    

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13. Registered User

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    Kidd is 6,3 durant is 6,10 and Kidd is not the defender he was before. You don't get Locked yo by a 6,3 guard Welcome to 2011 NBA. Yes you do. Rewind 15 years and beyond then you can bring up that statement.

    

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14. Kidd is 6,3 durant is 6,10 and Kidd is not the defender he was before. You don't get Locked yo by a 6,3 guard there is a lot more that goes into playing defense than height, Kidd is 6'4 btw

    

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15. there is a lot more that goes into playing defense than height, Kidd is 6'4 btw Sure, but you would expect someone who is 6'10" and has a wing span of a 7 footer who other 6'10" players have a hard time guarding to be able to sh*t all over a 6'4" player, no matter how good at defense he is.

    

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16. Registered User

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    How's he overrated? I don't see anyone hyping him up as a defensive specialist. He's hyped as a scorer...

    

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17. How's he overrated? I don't see anyone hyping him up as a defensive specialist. He's hyped as a scorer... Oh, I guess people putting him as a top 5 player is not "overrated" when he can't do anything else but score.

    The NBA Rank had Durant at 6 and Melo at 12. Daphuck?

    

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18. Sure, but you would expect someone who is 6'10" and has a wing span of a 7 footer who other 6'10" players have a hard time guarding to be able to sh*t all over a 6'4" player, no matter how good at defense he is. Thats like saying Dennis Rodman couldn't out rebound seven footers, It all comes down to technique Durant is still young Kidd is a vet he knows where he needs to be on the floor and how the ball moves you don't average 9 assists and 2 steals a game for your career without knowing how offense flows. He used that to his advantage to shut down a younger less experienced player.

    

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19. I don't think he's a below average defender. That's Melo.

    I guess you'd have to look at the advanced metrics for that. Anyone have a link?

    Valid points on the rest though. But if he's average at defense and the best scorer in the NBA...I still feel you have to put him top 5 even if he's not good at helping out his teammates.

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20. Let's see...

    - He's a below average defender.
    - He's not very good at getting teammates involved (2.7 assists career average)
    - He doesn't make the players around him better.
    - He's weak as hell.

    I'd take Melo over him any day.

    doesn't that describe melo too?

    

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21. Registered User

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    doesn't that describe melo too? Yes, OP is a dumb kid whose just mad Durant gets mentioned as a top player and because he's a threat to Kobe in these conversations. Hence the reason why this thread was created in the first place. OP is a huge Laker homer.

    Last edited by ninous26; Today at 03:29 AM.

    

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22. All he does is score. He is very good at scoring and does it at a very efficient rate, but that's literally all he does.

    Let's see...

    - He's a below average defender.
    - He's not very good at getting teammates involved (2.7 assists career average)
    - He doesn't make the players around him better.
    - He's weak as hell.

    He doesn't even deserve to be in the conversation as a top 5 player in the league.

    For someone his size, he does have amazing scoring ability. He is pretty tall and has very long arms which allows him to score over anybody, so he's basically a taller/longer version of other pure scorers the league has seen before.

    I'd take Melo over him any day.

    Lol Durant is DEF top 5 players in the league. Obviously hes te best scorer in the league, rebounds well, and puts in effort on the defensive end too. Hea not quite lockdown but he def gets the job done, and as far as taking melo over him. Thats dumb, MELo does NOT play defense, im from NY and id trade melo for durant with no hesitation

    

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Rancho Cordova Swears in New Mayor and Vice Mayor

Dr. David Sander and Linda Budge were sworn in as Mayor and Vice Mayor, respectively, at the Rancho Cordova City Council meeting on Monday, December 19. Both have been members of the City Council since Rancho Cordova incorporated in 2003.

Mayor Sander was sworn in by his wife, Dr. Margaret Parsons, with their six-year-old son, Charles, holding the family Bible. Vice Mayor Budge?s special guests were her husband, Lee Garrison, and her 90-year-old mother, Norma Niblett from Tucson, AZ.

Serving his second term as Mayor, Sander said that he wants to keep moving forward on Growing Strong Neighborhood goals with a special focus on economic development efforts and citizen engagement with community meetings, projects, walks, and other activities.

?We?ve made great progress in reinventing Rancho Cordova and changing it from a suburb facing decline to a city with a bright future, but there is much more remaining to be done,? he commented. ?We will continue our efforts to bolster the health of our neighborhoods, raise our residents? quality of life, and provide every opportunity for future growth and economic development.?

Mayor Sander served as Rancho Cordova Mayor in 2007 and as Vice Mayor in 2006 and 2011. He is the Principal and Founder of Sander and Associates, a public affairs and internet consulting/development firm that specializes in medical and scientific projects.

He is a member of the National Civic League board of directors and represents the City on several other national, state, and area committees and boards. Vice Mayor Budge is an American Institute Certified Planner and the owner of Geometra Planning & Permitting.

She is a 2011 graduate of the Harvard Kennedy School Executive Education program. She served as Mayor in 2004 and 2008 and as Vice Mayor in 2007 and Mayor Pro Tempore in 2003. Other members of the Rancho Cordova City Council are Robert McGarvey who just completed his second term as Mayor; Ken Cooley, and Dan Skoglund.

City Council meetings are held the first and third Mondays of the month (except on Monday holidays) at 5:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers, located at 2729 Prospect Park Drive. For more information about the Council meetings, please contact the City Clerk?s office at (916) 851-8720.

?

Source:?http://www.cityofranchocordova.org

Source: http://fairoakscarmichael.news10.net/news/community/90541-rancho-cordova-swears-new-mayor-and-vice-mayor

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Zanicky permitted to travel to Africa for youth soccer trip

BYU beats Tulsa with late TD in Armed Forces Bowl

(AP) Riley Nelson threw three touchdown passes to Cody Hoffman, the last with 11 seconds left, and BYU beat Tulsa 24-21 Friday in the Armed Forces Bowl for another 10-win season.

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Luzerne County Community College has entered into a new dual admissions agreement with Temple University. The agreement provides LCCC graduates automatic acceptance into Temple as ...

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Turkey attacks suspected rebel targets in Iraq (AP)

ANKARA, Turkey ? Turkey's air force attacked suspected Kurdish rebel targets across the border in Iraq, the military said Thursday, but Kurdish officials claimed many of the roughly 35 people killed were teenaged smugglers mistaken for guerrillas.

The Turkish military confirmed the Wednesday night raids, saying its jets struck an area of northern Iraq frequently used by the rebels to enter Turkey after drones detected a group approaching the often unmarked mountainous border. It said an inquiry has been launched, but did not say whether there were casualties.

The governor's office for the province of Sirnak ? which borders Iraq ? said 35 people were killed and one other person was injured in the aerial operation.

Pro-Kurdish legislator Nazmi Gur said most of those killed were teenagers who were carrying diesel fuel from Iraq into Turkey on donkeys or horses ? often the only livelihood in local villages. He claimed that officials would have known that Turkish smugglers would be operating in the area.

Video footage provided by the Dogan agency Thursday morning showed mourners, some crying, as they surrounded dozens of bodies that lay side-by-side and wrapped in blankets in the Turkish village of Ortasu.

Border troops had been placed on alert following intelligence indicating that Kurdish rebels were preparing attacks in retaliation for a series of recent military assaults on the guerrillas, the military said.

It said drones had detected a group approaching Turkey, apparently at a mountain pass that the rebels have used to smuggle weapons into Turkey, and that the military conducted strikes in areas where the rebels have bases far away from civilian settlements.

Ahmet Deniz, a spokesman for the rebel group, put the number of dead at 28. He said they were among a group of about 50 people who were attacked on their way back to Turkey from Iraq's self-ruled northern Kurdish region. Most of the survivors were injured, he said.

"Those who were killed yesterday had no links to PKK. They were only smugglers who were on their way back to Turkey from Iraq," Deniz said, referring to the Kurdish rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party.

"We were on our way back when the jets began to bomb us," the pro-Kurdish Firat news agency quoted one survivor, Servet Encu, as saying. "Five or six took refuge behind some rocks, but the planes bombed those as well. They all died behind the rocks."

Gur's pro-Kurdish party released a statement condemning "the massacre." Kurdish activists were planning protests to denounce the raids in Istanbul.

Kurdish rebels have long used northern Iraq as a springboard for hit-and-run attacks on Turkish targets in a campaign for autonomy in Turkey's Kurdish-dominated southeast.

This year, Turkey's air force has launched dozens of air raids on suspected rebel bases and other targets in northern Iraq and along the Turkish side of the mountainous border. Turkish authorities said at least 48 suspected rebels were killed in two offensives backed by air power in southeast Turkey last week.

Recently, the United States deployed four Predator drones to Turkey from Iraq following the American troops' withdrawal from the country to assist Turkey in its fight against the rebels.

Tens of thousands of people have died in the conflict since rebels took up arms in 1984.

__

Associated Press writer Yahya Barzanji in Sulaimaniyah, Iraq, contributed.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/europe/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111229/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_airstrikes

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Snow and tears mark funeral for North Korean leader (Reuters)

SEOUL (Reuters) ? The world watched anxiously on Wednesday as North Korea staged a huge funeral in the capital, Pyongyang, for former leader Kim Jong-il, searching for signs of what to expect from the isolated nation that may be close to attaining nuclear weapons capacity.

Bleak pictures from state television showed a funeral cortege led by a limousine carrying a huge picture of the 69-year-old, who died on December 17, passing serried ranks of olive green-clad soldiers whose bare heads were bowed in homage in the main square of the snow-covered capital.

A hearse carrying the coffin was led by a weeping Kim Jong-un, the son and heir, accompanied by Jang Song-thaek, his uncle and a key power-broker in the transition, and Ri Yong-ho, the army chief of staff.

"Seeing this white snow fall has made me think of the general's efforts and this brings tears to my eyes," Seo Ju-rim, a red-cheeked, weeping female soldier, told North Korean television, referring to the late Kim.

One of the myths surrounding Kim Jong-il was that he could control the weather and state media has reported unusually cold and wild weather accompanying his death.

Video showed weeping civilians who swayed with grief and shouted "father, father" as black Lincoln and Mercedes limousines and army trucks streamed past the crowds. It was not clear whether the pictures were live or recorded, although a state television announcer said it had been carried live.

"I wished it was a dream, how can this be true," sobbed one middle-aged woman named Kim. "How can anything like this ever happen in the world?"

At one stage, weeping women were held back by men who linked arms to prevent them surging towards the cortege. The procession ended after about three hours with 21 guns fired in salute as the top leadership looked on from a podium.

Kim Jong-un will become the third member of the family to run the unpredictable North Asian country as it enters 2012, the year that was supposed to mark its self-proclaimed transformation into a "strong and prosperous" nation.

The North has conducted two nuclear tests and Larry Niksch, who has tracked North Korea for the non-partisan U.S. Congressional Research Service for 43 years, believes it could take as little as one to two years to have a working nuclear missile once it produced enough highly enriched uranium for the warhead's core fuel.

The prospect of an untested leader, believed to be in his late 20s, having nuclear capacity has alarmed many.

"Yes, we are watching and will be analyzing how any changes can be reflected in our policy," a South Korean government official said. He was not authorized to speak to the media, so could not be identified.

UNCLE JANG, POWER BEHIND THE THRONE

State television showed Jang Song-thaek walking directly behind Kim Jong-un alongside the limousine carrying the coffin. Jang ranked a lowly 19th in the list of names on the state funeral committee but his public elevation confirmed that he will play a key role in shaping policies.

An ascetic-looking, bespectacled 65-year-old, Jang has overcome a purge, bitter palace intrigue and personal tragedy to become vice chairman of the National Defense Commission, the supreme leadership council which Kim Jong-il led as head of the military state.

"Kim Jong-un is clearly the head of the new leadership but, in terms of hierarchy and influence, Jang appears to have secured considerable position," said Yoo Ho-yeol, a North Korea expert at Korea University in the South.

Strong it may be -- North Korea is backed by neighboring China and has a 1.2 million-strong armed forces -- but prosperous it is not.

On average, the 25 million North Koreans have a life expectancy 3-1/2 years lower than they did when "Eternal President" Kim Il-sung, the new leader's grandfather, died in 1994, according to U.N. data.

The United Nations, in a country program for 2011-15, says North Korea's main challenge is to "restore the economy to the level attained before 1990" and to alleviate food shortages for a third of its people.

Indications from the transition suggest Kim Jong-il's "military first" policy will continue, meaning the military gets the lion's share of scare resources and further hardship for the majority in a country that endured starvation in the 1990s.

Pyongyang's affirmation of the "songun" (military first) policy is a strong indicator that North Korea's policies won't change under Jong-un," said analyst Bruce Klingner of the Heritage Foundation, a conservative Washington think tank.

"As such, speculation that the new leader will be more amenable to reform and to a less belligerent foreign policy since he studied in Switzerland in his youth, will prove short-lived," he said after the funeral.

Leverage from outside, with the exception of China, is limited. All the United States, South Korea and Japan can do is hope that the regime does not collapse, nor flex its military muscle as it did in 2010, when it shelled a South Korean island.

North Korea was established in 1948 and under its founding father, Kim Il-sung, went to war to try to conquer the South. It failed and in 1953 a dividing line that would become the world's most militarized frontier was drawn across the peninsula.

PROSPECTS OF A PURGE

While Kim Il-sung was revered by his people for fighting Japanese colonial rule, the halo over his successors has steadily dimmed to such an extent that his grandson, the new ruler, will have to rely on people such as his uncle, Jang, to hold on to power, at least in the short term.

Official media in the North have built Kim Jong-un, a jowly and rotund man in his late 20s, into a leader worthy of inheriting the crown, naming him "respected general", "great successor", "outstanding leader" and "supreme commander".

This year, dissident groups based in South Korea, citing North Korean refugees and businessmen working in China, linked the youngest Kim to a crackdown on business activities and a tougher policy on people seeking to flee from North Korea.

Those reports could not be verified independently, but would again suggest that under the new man, further repression is more likely than an economic opening.

It also gives little hope for the 200,000 North Koreans who human rights group Amnesty international says are enslaved in labor camps, subjected to torture and hunger or execution.

"There is likely to be a politically motivated purge and imprisonment, and it could go on for a considerable period of time," said Pak Sang-hak, who heads a group in Seoul working to support defectors, and is himself a defector.

"That is especially because of the relative instability of Kim Jong-un's leadership. There might also be persecution as a way of intimidation and discipline."

(Additional reporting by Christine Kim and Iktae Park in SEOUL and Jim Wolf and Paul Eckert in WASHINGTON; Editing by Jonathan Hopfner, Robert Birsel and Eric Beech)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/world/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111228/wl_nm/us_korea_north_funeral

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SC Boeing employees file complaint against union

CHARLESTON, S.C. (AP) -- Three employees of Boeing Co. in South Carolina have filed an unfair labor practice charge against a union recently at the center of a national dispute.

The National Right to Work Foundation says the complaint filed Wednesday with the National Labor Relations Board says the International Association of Machinists retaliated against workers at the non-union plant.

Earlier this month, the NLRB dropped a lawsuit against Boeing, moving to end the case after the Machinists approved a four-year contract extension with the manufacturer. The NLRB lawsuit said Boeing broke labor laws when it opened a North Charleston production line, punishing unionized workers in Washington state for past strikes, and argued Boeing should return work there.

Boeing said it needed the South Carolina plant for valid economic reasons.

Source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SC_BOEING_LABOR_WAOL-?SITE=TXCOL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT

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Endeavour to acquire producing oil assets in UK North Sea

EBR Staff Writer
Published 28 December 2011

US-based Endeavour International Corporation has entered into an agreement to acquire ConocoPhillips' interest in three producing oil fields in the UK North Sea for $330m.

The assets to be acquired have current net production of about 10,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

Endeavour estimates the assets' proved and probable reserves as of 30 June 2011 are in excess of 33 million barrels of oil equivalent.

The acquisition increases the company's current ownership interests in the Alba, MacCulloch and Nicol fields.

The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2012, and the purchase price includes about $94m of tax attributes.

Source: http://drillingandproduction.energy-business-review.com/news/endeavour-to-acquire-producing-oil-assets-in-uk-north-sea-281211

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AP survey: Economy to pick up but still vulnerable

In this Dec. 13, 2011 photo, Jerry Clay of Chicago, shops at the Macy's on State Street store, in Chicago. The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 _ if it isn?t knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this Dec. 13, 2011 photo, Jerry Clay of Chicago, shops at the Macy's on State Street store, in Chicago. The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 _ if it isn?t knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

In this Dec. 14, 2011 photo, a line worker assembles an engine for a Ford Focus at the Ford Michigan Assembly plant in Wayne, Mich. The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 _ if it isn?t knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

In this Dec. 14,2011 photo, Nathan Nettler polishes a tank JV Northwest, in Canby, Ore. JV Northwest manufactures stainless steel vessels. The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 _ if it isn?t knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. economy will grow faster in 2012 ? if it isn't knocked off track by upheavals in Europe, according to an Associated Press survey of leading economists.

Unemployment will barely fall from the current 8.6 percent rate, though, by the time President Barack Obama runs for re-election in November, the economists say.

The three dozen private, corporate and academic economists expect the economy to grow 2.4 percent next year. In 2011, it likely grew less than 2 percent.

The year is ending on an upswing. The economy has generated at least 100,000 new jobs for five months in a row ? the longest such streak since 2006.

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits has dropped to the lowest level since April 2008. The trend suggests that layoffs have all but stopped and hiring could pick up.

And the economy avoided a setback when Obama signed legislation Friday extending a Social Security payroll tax cut that was to expire at year's end. But Congress could agree only on a two-month extension.

The economists surveyed Dec. 14-20 expect the country to create 177,000 jobs a month through Election Day 2012. That would be up from an average 132,000 jobs a month so far in 2011.

Dean Maki, chief U.S. economist at Barclays Capital, says the U.S. economy remains vulnerable to an outside shock. A big threat is the risk that Europe's debt crisis will trigger a worldwide credit freeze like the one that hit Wall Street in late 2008.

A shock to the U.S. economy, he says, might not be as dangerous if it were growing at a healthier 4 percent to 5 percent annual pace. But when growth is stuck at 2 percent or 3 percent, a major global crisis could stall job creation and raise unemployment.

Beyond Europe, troubles in other areas could also upset the U.S. economy next year, the economists say. Congressional gridlock ahead of the 2012 elections and unforeseen global events, like this year's Arab Spring protests, could slow the U.S. economy. Three economists said rising nuclear tensions with Iran are a concern.

Even without an outside jolt, the economists expect barely enough job creation in 2012 to stay ahead of population growth and the return of discouraged workers into the labor force.

"I just don't know if it's going to be enough to bring the unemployment rate down," says Chad Moutray, chief economist for the National Association of Manufacturers.

The AP economists expect the unemployment rate to be stuck at a recession-level 8.4 percent when voters go to the polls in November. Unemployment was 8.6 percent in November.

A majority (56 percent) of the economists say the economy will get a lift from Federal Reserve policies. The Fed has said it plans to keep short-term interest rates near zero through at least mid-2013 if the economy remains weak. The central bank also has begun a campaign to try to push down mortgage rates and other long-term interest rates through next June.

Those surveyed also think the economy is strong enough to withstand higher oil prices. At near $100 a barrel, oil prices are up 10 percent from a year ago. But only two of the economists AP surveyed expect the higher prices to slow the economy "a lot."

The economists expect the European economy to shrink 0.5 percent in 2011 ? and fall into a recession. Europe is slowing as heavily indebted countries slash spending and banks exposed to government debt curtail lending.

Among the gravest fears is that a major country like Italy will default on its debt, wiping out some banks with large holdings of European government bonds. A worldwide credit crunch like the one that followed the 2008 failure of Lehman Bros could follow.

Twenty-one of the economists listed Europe as a threat to the U.S. economy next year.

"If it were a big enough downturn, given the size of Europe, it could bring the world economy down into recession," says Allen Sinai, president of Decision Economics.

But overall, the economists see only an 18 percent chance that Europe's debt troubles will cause a recession in the United States.

The economists are divided over which one step European policymakers should take now to bolster the 17-country eurozone.

More than one-fourth say the European Central Bank should aggressively try to lower the borrowing costs of the Italian and Spanish governments by buying their bonds.

Nearly one-fifth say European countries should jointly issue "Eurobonds" to help finance weaker countries.

And 17 percent say European governments should slash spending.

Still, the economists expect European policymakers to find a way to prevent the crisis from escalating into a global financial panic.

If Europe can stabilize its economies, the U.S. stock markets would rally sharply, economists say, and prospects for U.S. economic growth would brighten.

"Europe appears to be the only real impediment to keeping this recovery from happening," said Joel Naroff, president of Naroff Economics.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2011-12-27-US-AP-Economy-Survey/id-a8317f4dc5cf44359e161b097ee7bdf5

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The Real Benefits Of Investing In Property | university

You?re completely endowed with a profit by purchasing actual property. Real estate is regarded as to become a precious investment that serves you with an income for the rest of your life. One may achieve a number of advantages on investing in real property. If invested on the proper time, it would not let you down with a loss. The main benefit of investing in property marketplace is that, buying and renting offers you a lifelong earnings. Hence it might provide you a serving to hand in case of unemployment and bankruptcy. There are individuals who reside a contented existence with the only source of income by way of house market. At first, investing in actual property might appear to you want, you are buying an extremely expensive product. But this suggests that, each and each and every house you promote would bestow you a most profit.

The demand for investing in property market is growing day by day. This is simply because, a large quantity of world?s property are in house marketplace. As a result the demand and need for properties is greater. This investment can also be regarded as as a powerful automobile for wealth creation inside a short while period. The next thing is, it benefits you with leverage. It?s nothing but the ability to borrow cash depending on the value of the property. Thereby, financing is easy and simple compared to other investment goods. For purchasing different property, you would need to provide the complete payment in order to acquire that asset. However on investing, the funds could be made initially right from 5% or 10%. With a seller financing contract, you can purchase properties without utilizing your own cash.

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Source: http://takeaseatleavealegacy.com/finance/the-real-benefits-of-investing-in-property/

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Japan, India shares gain in holiday-thin Asia, U.S. hopes help

By Chikako Mogi

TOKYO | Mon Dec 26, 2011 11:46am EST

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese and Indian stocks outperformed the rest of Asia in thin trade Monday, with sentiment partly lifted by signs of U.S. economic recovery, although trading was subdued with many markets closed for Christmas holidays.

Tokyo's Nikkei stock average .N225 ended up 1 percent, above its 25-day moving average of 8,459, while India's main 30-share BSE index .BSESN rose 1.14 percent, as investors sought holiday-season bargains.

But MSCI's broadest index of Asia Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS slipped from a two-week high touched earlier in the day to trade down 0.1 percent.

U.S., European and some Asian markets including Hong Kong and Singapore were closed Monday.

Wall Street stocks rose Friday, with the broad Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX breaking through its 200-day moving average after a four-day rally lifted stocks to bring the index up 0.6 percent for the year at last week's close.

The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI rose to its highest in five months Friday.

"The Nikkei is moving with New York. The gains in the U.S. and Europe gave some sense of relief to markets," said Hajime Nakajima, a wholesale trader at Cosmo Securities in Osaka, Japan.

In a sign the markets may be stabilizing for the time being, the CBOE Volatility index VIX .VIX fell to 20.73 on Friday, near a five-month low, reflecting receding investor desire for protection in stock index options against future losses.

The VIX -- a measure of expected volatility in the S&P 500 over the next 30 days -- fell to its lowest since the global financial crisis of October 2008 at 14.3 earlier this year, before picking up to a year high of 48 in August. It has been slipping since hitting a high above 30 earlier this month.

CONCERN ON CHINA EARNINGS

The Shanghai Composite Index .SSEC fell 0.5 percent on concerns over corporate earnings outlook, pushing below the psychologically important 2,200 level in light trading.

The Korea Composite Stock Price Index .KS11 slid 0.6 percent on doubts over the euro zone debt crisis getting resolved.

"Program selling was the main drag on the index today, and despite the optimistic U.S. data, foreign investors aren't ready to re-enter the market in force as long as the (European Central Bank) isn't taking more concrete measures," said Lee Kyung-soo, a market analyst at Shinyoung Securities.

Investors will be looking for clues over the strength of the U.S. economy from data due this week, including the S&P Case-Shiller house price index for October and consumer confidence for December.

U.S. consumer spending growth was tepid and a gauge of business investment fell for a second month in November, data showed Friday, but recent labor and manufacturing figures implied a more-lasting and fundamental strengthening of the recovery.

The U.S. Congress Friday approved a two-month extension of a payroll tax cut that will preserve income for most Americans, supporting their purchases of goods and services and helping sentiment.

The euro was up 0.13 percent to $1.3060, well above its 11-month trough of $1.2945 hit earlier this month.

The latest Commodity Futures Trading Commission data showed investors reduced their short euro positions slightly, potentially giving support to the single currency.

"Given a lack of factors to trade and low liquidity, activity is expected to be lackluster this week, but sluggish results of French and Italian government debt sales scheduled this week could pressure the euro amid an absence of progress in bolstering euro zone safety net," Barclays Capital said in a research note.

The 10-year Italian government debt yield stayed near 7 percent, above which many say is unsustainable for managing public finances and the economy, while 10-year Spanish government bond yield also stood at an elevated 5.40 percent.

Wariness about European banks' health and risks of another global credit crunch made banks reluctant to borrow to each other, pushing the London interbank offered rate for three-month dollars up further Friday to 0.57575 percent, its highest since early July 2009.

(Additional reporting by Dominic Lau and Mari Saito in Tokyo, and Joonhee Yu in Seoul; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Source: http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/12/26/us-markets-global-idUSTRE7BB02E20111226?feedType=RSS&feedName=businessNews

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Smartphones Taking Bite Out of Point-and-Shoot Market (NewsFactor)

People will spend less coin on digital cameras this holiday season as they increasingly rely on smartphone cameras to capture both spontaneous moments and vacation shots, a survey from the research firm NPD Group suggests.

While the results should not surprise, given the higher quality cameras increasingly built into popular phones -- the iPhone 4S packs an 8-megapixel model, up from 5 on the iPhone 4 -- the survey offers a quantified look at how much the smartphone market is eating into the low-end camera market.

Who Needs A Camcorder?

The percentage of photos taken with a smartphone by a sample group answering online questions rose from 17 last year to 27, while the share of photos taken by camera dropped from 52 percent to 44 percent.

In separate findings, NPD's Retail Tracking Service found that so-called "point-and-shoot" camera sales fell 17 percent in units and 18 percent in dollars for the first 11 months of 2011. The drop in pocket camcorder sales was slightly lower, 13 percent in units, but steeper in dollars, 27 percent, while flash camcorders declined 8 percent in units and 10 percent in dollars.

Just over 30 percent of respondents said they now use phones for taking photos while on vacation, and just over 50 percent said they use phones for casual photos. The numbers were similar for video, with a higher number, about 55 percent, using their handy smartphones to capture spontaneous moments for posterity (or YouTube).

"Thanks to mobile phones, more pictures are being taken than ever before," said Liz Cutting, executive director and senior imaging analyst at NPD, in releasing the results. "Consumers who use their mobile phones to take pictures and video were more likely to do so instead of their camera when capturing spontaneous moments, but for important events, single purpose cameras or camcorders are still largely the device of choice."

The survey was taken Nov. 11-21 from a sample of adults over 18 and teens ages 13-17.

Big Potential

Manufacturers and carriers are increasingly seeing the value of good cameras as a selling point and differentiator. In June, HTC and T-Mobile released the MyTouch 4G, with an 8-megapixel camera, promising no shutter lag -- a big drawback of many digital cameras. With its fast data speed, the MyTouch is a good option for taking good pictures and sharing them quickly, T-Mobile said at the time.

"Smartphone cameras are getting good enough that people will only buy a digital camera if it is much better," said analyst Gerry Purdy of MobileTrax. The benefits of a dedicated, higher-end camera over a phone, he said are optical zoom, available only on select phones, large lens capture and better digital image capture chips.

"It's a trade-off of fidelity vs. convenience," Purdy said. "People want to have a really good camera for a wedding, but convenience is going to drive the popularity of camera phones, which are good enough for most situations."

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/personaltech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nf/20111223/bs_nf/81512

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Track Santa on your smartphone

For more than 50 years, NORAD ? the North American Aerospace Defense Command ? has used its high-tech missile-tracking systems to track Santa's progress during his annual Christmas Eve flight around the world.

For a 24-hour period, about 1,200 military volunteers take shifts manning the command center at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado; they monitor radar screens and field calls from excited 7-year-olds who ask for updates on Santa's location. They also update Kris Kringle's progress on the Google Earth map on the NORAD Tracks Santa website, as well as the Facebook page and the Twitter feed.

For the first time this year, people can even keep constant tabs on Santa's sleigh by downloading the NORAD Tracks Santa iPhone and Android apps. In other words, the program is a big deal, and it get bigger every Christmas.

But how do they do it? How does NORAD "track" Santa? [ Is There a Santa Claus? ]

When asked whether the volunteers plan the jolly old elf's route ahead of time, U.S. Navy Lieutenant Commander Bill Lewis, a Santa tracker, was having none of that.

"We don't plan it, he does," Lewis said. "We just monitor his travels with our ground-based radar, satellites, fighter aircraft, and, of course, the Santa Cams ? he passes over certain cities, and based on the track we're projecting, we've got cameras set up."

The NORAD team monitors a radar system called the North Warning System, which consists of 47 installations strung across the northern border of North America, for indications that Santa Claus has left the North Pole.

"Rudolph's nose puts off quite the heat signature," Lewis told Life's Little Mysteries.

The Christmas program isn't so out of the ordinary for the men and women of NORAD: "365 days a year we track possible threats to the homeland. So tracking Santa as an airborne object fits into our mission set," he said.

Through his experience as a Santa Tracker, Lewis was able to offer a bit of insight into an age-old question: How Santa manages to make it all the way around the world, sort through Can Tech Help Santa Deliver the Goods? 5 Tech Upgrades for Claus ]

That's 671 million miles (1 billion kilometers) per hour, which means Santa can travel more than 16 billion miles (26 billion km) in the 24 hours allotted for his journey. A trip round the world is only 25,000 miles (40,000 kilometers), so at his estimated flight speed, Santa could technically circumnavigate Earth 650,000 times if he wanted.

He doesn't, of course ? instead, he takes it slow and downs a mindblowing number of cookies and glasses of milk along the way.

Follow Natalie Wolchover on Twitter @ nattyover. Follow Life's Little Mysteries on Twitter @ llmysteries, then join us onFacebook.

? 2011 LifesLittleMysteries.com. All rights reserved. More from LifesLittleMysteries.com.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/45778183/ns/technology_and_science-science/

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Video: Hardball?s top movies of the year

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Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/vp/45780148#45780148

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Listen to the Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 4PM ET!

Just because there are a few celebrations going on this time of year, doesn't mean mobile news stops coming -- for one, AT&T lobbyists and lawyers are getting some well-deserved time off for the holidays! So in honor of the season, we feel like getting a little jolly today and are ready to crank out a podcast for all the world to hear. So join Myriam and Brad -- and our very own Richard Lai -- for a special holiday episode of the Engadget Mobile Podcast today at 4PM ET!

Note: The recorded podcast will likely not be available for download until after the weekend. All the more reason to join us today for the livecast!

December 23, 2011 4:00 PM EST

Continue reading Listen to the Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 4PM ET!

Listen to the Engadget Mobile Podcast, live at 4PM ET! originally appeared on Engadget on Fri, 23 Dec 2011 14:45:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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