There is even an outside concern that one of the fringe members of the EU could , requiring a bailout in the same vein as the lifeline grudgingly bein

“The bias for risk-seeking is still in vogue.” This has nothing to do with the Euro, but rather is a roundabout way of speaking about the Dollar carry trade, which is responsible for an exodus of capital from the US, some of have which has no doubt found its way into Europe. In some ways, then, it’s almost pointless to scrutinize EU economic indicators too closely.That being said, there are a few meaningful observations that can be made. The first is that the EU economy is tentatively in recovery mode. Some of the most such as the German IFO index, capacity utilization, and Economic Sentiment Indicator, have all ticked up in the last month, while the unemployment rate is holding steady. For better or worse, this improvement can attributed entirely to export growth, due to the recovery in world trade. which means that the Euro Zone has officially exited the recession.The second observation is that many expect this exit to be short-lived. Due to the relative rigidity of the EU economy, specifically regarding the labor market, it may take additional time to get back on really solid footing. Thus, the “thinks that euro-area unemployment will continue to rise next year, reaching 10.9% in 2011. That will dampen consumer spending. Another worry is investment, which the commission thinks will fall by 17.9% this year. Businesses are unlikely to waste scarce cash on new equipment and offices when they have spare capacity. Firms confident enough to splash out may find it hard to secure the necessary financing from fragile and risk-averse banks.” The Commission also expects public finances to continue to deteriorate, perhaps bottoming at some point next year. There is even an outside concern that one of the fringe members of the EU could , requiring a bailout in the same vein as the lifeline grudgingly being thrown to Dubai by the UAE.Finally, there is the European Central Bank. Much like the Fed – and every other Central Bank in the industrialized world, except for Australia – the ECB is nowhere near ready to hike rates. “The overall economic context doesn’t suggest that they would want to tighten anytime soon. There is a feeling that, yes, things have improved, but that nonetheless, the outlook is still quite fragile,” summarized one economist. Sure, the ECB is winding down its liquidity programs, but so is the Fed. Based on long-term bond yields, investors believe that US rates could even eclipse EU rates at some point in the future.In short, there isn’t really much to be optimistic about, when it comes to the Euro. The nascent recovery is hardly remarkable, and probably not even sustainable. While the Euro might continue to perform the Euro in the short-term for technical reasons, I would expect this edge to evaporate in the medium-term.summarized the Euro’s ascent by noting, “The bias for risk-seeking is still in vogue.” This has nothing to do with the Euro, but rather is a roundabout way of speaking about the Dollar carry trade, which is responsible for an exodus of capital from the US, some of have which has no doubt found its way into Europe. In some ways, then, it’s almost pointless to scrutinize EU economic indicators too closely.That being said, there are a few meaningful observations that can be made. The first is that the EU economy is tentatively in recovery mode. Some of the most such as the German IFO index, capacity utilization, and Economic Sentiment Indicator, have all ticked up in the last month, while the unemployment rate is holding steady. For better or worse, this improvement can attributed entirely to export growth, due to the recovery in world trade. which means that the Euro Zone has officially exited the recession.The second observation is that many expect this exit to be short-lived. Due to the relative rigidity of the EU economy, specifically regarding the labor market, it may take additional time to get back on really solid footing. Thus, the “thinks that euro-area unemployment will continue to rise next year, reaching 10.9% in 2011. That will dampen consumer spending. Another worry is investment, which the commission thinks will fall by 17.9% this year. Businesses are unlikely to waste scarce cash on new equipment and offices when they have spare capacity. Firms confident enough to splash out may find it hard to secure the necessary financing from fragile and risk-averse banks.” The Commission also expects public finances to continue to deteriorate, perhaps bottoming at some point next year. There is even an outside concern that one of the fringe members of the EU could , requiring a bailout in the same vein as the lifeline grudgingly being thrown to Dubai by the UAE.Finally, there is the European Central Bank. Much like the Fed – and every other Central Bank in the industrialized world, except for Australia – the ECB is nowhere near ready to hike rates. “The overall economic context doesn’t suggest that they would want to tighten anytime soon. There is a feeling that, yes, things have improved, but that nonetheless, the outlook is still quite fragile,” summarized one economist. Sure, the ECB is winding down its liquidity programs, but so is the Fed. Based on long-term bond yields, investors believe that US rates could even eclipse EU rates at some point in the future.In short, there isn’t really much to be optimistic about, when it comes to the Euro. The nascent recovery is hardly remarkable, and probably not even sustainable. While the Euro might continue to perform the Euro in the short-term for technical reasons, I would expect this edge to evaporate in tsummarized the Euro’s ascent by noting, “The bias for risk-seeking is still in vogue.” This has nothing to do with the Euro, but rather is a roundabout way of speaking about the Dollar carry trade, which is responsible for an exodus of capital from the US, some of have which has no doubt found its way into Europe. In some ways, then, it’s almost pointless to scrutinize EU economic indicators too closely.That being said, there are a few meaningful observations that can be made. The first is that the EU economy is tentatively in recovery mode. Some of the most such as the German IFO index, capacity utilization, and Economic Sentiment Indicator, have all ticked up in the last month, while the unemployment rate is holding steady. For better or worse, this improvement can attributed entirely to export growth, due to the recovery in world trade, which means that the Euro Zone has officially exited the recession.The second observation is that many expect this exit to be short-lived. Due to the relative rigidity of the EU economy, specifically regarding the labor market, it may take additional time to get back on really solid footing. Thus, the “thinks that euro-area unemployment will continue to rise next year, reaching 10.9% in 2011. That will dampen consumer spending. Another worry is investment, which the commission thinks will fall by 17.9% this year. Businesses are unlikely to waste scarce cash on new equipment and offices when they have spare capacity. Firms confident enough to splash out may find it hard to secure the necessary financing from fragile and risk-averse banks.” The Commission also expects public finances to continue to deteriorate, perhaps bottoming at some point next year. There is even an outside concern that one of the fringe members of the EU could , requiring a bailout in the same vein as the lifeline grudgingly being thrown to Dubai by the UAE.Finally, there is the European Central Bank. Much like the Fed – and every other Central Bank in the industrialized world, except for Australia – the ECB is nowhere near ready to hike rates. “The overall economic context doesn’t suggest that they would want to tighten anytime soon. There is a feeling that, yes, things have improved, but that nonetheless, the outlook is still quite fragile,” summarized one economist. Sure, the ECB is winding down its liquidity programs, but so is the Fed. Based on long-term bond yields, investors believe that US rates could even eclipse EU rates at some point in the future.In short, there isn’t really much to be optimistic about, when it comes to the Euro. The nascent recovery is hardly remarkable, and probably not even sustainable. While the Euro might continue summarized the Euro’s ascent by noting, “The bias for risk-seeking is still in vogue.” This has nothing to do with the Euro, but rather is a roundabout way of speaking about the Dollar carry trade, which is responsible for an exodus of capital from the US, some of have which has no doubt found its way into Europe. In some ways, then, it’s almost pointless to scrutinize EU economic indicators too closely.That being said, there are a few meaningful observations that can be made. The first is that the EU economy is tentatively in recovery mode. Some of the most such as the German IFO index, capacity utilization, and Economic Sentiment Indicator, have all ticked up in the last month, while the unemployment rate is holding steady. For better or worse, this improvement can attributed entirely to export growth, due to the recovery in world trade. , which means that the Euro Zone has officially exited the recession.The second observation is that many expect this exit to be short-lived. Due to the relative rigidity of the EU economy, specifically regarding the labor market, it may take additional time to get back on really solid footing. Thus, the “thinks that euro-area unemployment will continue to rise next year, reaching 10.9% in 2011. That will dampen consumer spending. Another worry is investment, which the commission thinks will fall by 17.9% this year. Businesses are unlikely to waste scarce cash on new equipment and offices when they have spare capacity. Firms confident enough to splash out may find it hard to secure the necessary financing from fragile and risk-averse banks.” The Commission also expects public finances to continue to deteriorate, perhaps bottoming at some point next year. There is even an outside concern that one of the fringe members of the EU could , requiring a bailout in the same vein as the lifeline grudgingly being thrown to Dubai by the UAE.Finally, there is the European Central Bank. Much like the Fed – and every other Central Bank in the industrialized world, except for Australia – the ECB is nowhere near ready to hike rates. “The overall economic context doesn’t suggest that they would want to tighten anytime soon. There is a feeling that, yes, things have improved, but that nonetheless, the outlook is still quite fragile,” summarized one economist. Sure, the ECB is winding down its liquidity programs, but so is the Fed. Based on long-term bond yields, investors believe that US rates could even eclipse EU rates at some point in the future.In short, there isn’t really much to be optimistic about, when it comes to the Euro. The nascent recovery is hardly remarkable, and probably not even sustainable. While the Euro might continue to perform the Euro in the short-term for technical reasons, I would expect this edge to evaporate in the medium-term.to perform the Eusummarized the Euro’s ascent by noting, “The bias for risk-seeking is still in vogue.” This has nothing to do with the Euro, but rather is a roundabout way of speaking about the Dollar carry trade, which is responsible for an exodus of capital from the US, some of have which has no doubt found its way into Europe. In some ways, then, it’s almost pointless to scrutinize EU economic indicators too closely.That being said, there are a few meaningful observations that can be made. The first is that the EU economy is tentatively in recovery mode. Some of the most such as the German IFO index, capacity utilization, and Economic Sentiment Indicator, have all ticked up in the last month, while the unemployment rate is holding steady. For better or worse, this improvement can attributed entirely to export growth, due to the recovery in world trade. , which means that the Euro Zone has officially exited the recession.The second observation is that many expect this exit to be short-lived. Due to the relative rigidity of the EU economy, specifically regarding the labor market, it may take additional time to get back on really solid footing. Thus, the “thinks that euro-area unemployment will continue to rise next year, reaching 10.9% in 2011. That will dampen consumer spending. Another worry is investment, which the commission thinks will fall by 17.9% this year. Businesses are unlikely to waste scarce cash on new equipment and offices when they have spare capacity. Firms confident enough to splash out may find it hard to secure the necessary financing from fragile and risk-averse banks.” The Commission also expects public finances to continue to deteriorate, perhaps bottoming at some point next year. There is even an outside concern that one of the fringe members of the EU could , requiring a bailout in the same vein as the lifeline grudgingly being thrown to Dubai by the UAE.Finally, there is the European Central Bank. Much like the Fed – and every other Central Bank in the industrialized world, except for Australia – the ECB is nowhere near ready to hike rates. “The overall economic context doesn’t suggest that they would want to tighten anytime soon. There is a feeling that, yes, things have improved, but that nonetheless, the outlook is still quite fragile,” summarized one economist. Sure, the ECB is winding down its liquidity programs, but so is the Fed. Based on long-term bond yields, investors believe that US rates could even eclipse EU rates at some point in the future.In short, there isn’t really much to be optimistic about, when it comes to the Euro. The nascent recovery is hardly remarkable, and probably not even sustainable. While the Euro might continue to perform the Euro in the short-term for technical reasons, I would expect this edge to evaporate in the medium-term.summarized the Euro’s ascent by noting, “The bias for risk-seeking is still in vogue.” This has nothing to do with the Euro, but rather is a roundabout way of speaking about the Dollar carry trade, which is responsible for an exodus of capital from the US, some of have which has no doubt found its way into Europe. In some ways, then, it’s almost pointless to scrutinize EU economic indicators too closely.That being said, there are a few meaningful observations that can be made. The first is that the EU economy is tentatively in recovery mode. Some of the most such as the German IFO index, capacity utilization, and Economic Sentiment Indicator, have all ticked up in the last month, while the unemployment rate is holding steady. For better or worse, this improvement can attributed entirely to export growth, due to the recovery in world trade. , which means that the Euro Zone has officially exited the recession.

The Euro is showing strength

The Euro is showing strength in early European session and, after bouncing from 1.4975 ahead of the European session opening, to bounce up breaking above 1.5040 session high and reaching levels around 1.5070 at the moment of writing.Next resistance levels, at this point, lie at at 1.5085 (Nov 30 high) and above here, 1.5100 and 1.5140/45 Nov 26/25 high). On the downside, below 1.5040, support levels lie at at 1.4970 (session low), and below here, 1.4920/25 and 1.4870.According to Nicole Elliott, senior technical analyst at Mizuho Corporate Bank, the Euro could re-test year highs over next sessions: "We see this as a potential interim low might be in place and we shall now re-test this year’s high at 1.5145. Record futures volume on Friday adds weight to this view."The dollar relinquished its previous session’s strength against the majors, falling toward the 1.4850-level against the euro and the 1.6602-handle versus the British pound. The US equity bourses rebounded with the Dow Jones advancing by 1.65%, the S&P 500 advancing by 1.84% and the Nasdaq up by nearly 1.7% by the afternoon session. Crude oil also climbed back above the $80-per barrel mark. Optimism over the outlook for the US economy was reinforced by reports released earlier in the morning – prompting traders to jump back into riskier assets and sending the euro higher. The advanced reading of Q3 GDP sharply reversed the previous quarter’s decline of 0.7% and beat consensus estimates for an increase of 3.3%, instead surging by 3.5%. The advanced Q3 sales component of GDP advanced by 2.5%, compared with 0.7% from Q2 while the headline PCE index increased by 2.8% from 1.4% previously. Weekly jobless claims fell by less than expected, marginally lower to 530k from 531k a week earlier.The calendar for Friday consists of September personal income, personal consumption, PCE, core PCE, NAPM, Chicago PMI and the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey. Following the disappointing Conference Board’s consumer confidence earlier this week, traders will focus on the University of Michigan consumer sentiment survey, expected to decline to 70.0 in October from 73.5 a month earlier. The expectations component is forecasted to decline to 69.0 from 73.5, while the current conditions index is seen slipping to 72.1 from 73.4.The dollar sold off sharply across the board in the Wednesday session despite a dearth of US economic data earlier in the morning. The greenback plunged to a fresh 14-month low against the euro past the psychologically key 1.50-level to 1.5040, a new 15-month low versus the Swiss franc at 1.0038 and 14-month low against the Australian dollar at 0.9326. A shift into riskier assets continues to be detrimental for the US dollars as traders price in improving conditions in the global economy. Crude oil prices climbed higher today, rallying above the $81 per barrel level by afternoon trading.The Fed’s Beige Book provided an optimistic assessment of the US economy, saying conditions have stabilized or improved modestly in many sectors since its last report. The Fed said that reports of gains in economic activity outnumber the declines, though the improvements are small and scattered. However, it tempered its assessment by saying adding that labor markets are typically characterized as weak or mixed, albeit with pockets of improvement. The economic calendar for Thursday will see weekly jobless claims, August home prices and the September leading economic indicators index. Weekly jobless claims are estimated to edge up slightly to 515k from 514k in the previous week. Meanwhile, the leading economic indicators index is forecasted to improve to 0.80% from 0.60% in August.

MASSACHUSETTS AG BLASTS STATE’S MANAGED COMPETITION; OCABR AND INSURERS DISAGREE

Massachusetts Attorney General (AG) Martha Coakley has released a report entitled Automobile Insurance: The Road Ahead, giving her take on the impact insurance deregulation has had on Massachusetts drivers. Prior to deregulation or “managed competition” begun on April 1, 2008, the AG’s office and the Division of Insurance reviewed the expenses and claims’ experience that insurers were required to submit to them and then set insurance premiums “consistently lower than that proposed by the industry – billions of dollars lower over the past twenty years.” In addition, the AG and insurance commissioner limited premium variations across territories and classes, capped charges on urban drivers, considered only variables such as the insured’s vehicle, driving behavior and garaging location, and required insurers to insure all drivers. Since managed competition, according to the Coakley report, insurers are no longer required to disclose their data; the rate ceiling has been eliminated, and caps on urban rates are being phased out; insurers reject drivers who are then randomly assigned to insurers in the residual market; and insurers consider other factors besides driving records, including prior coverage limits, payment history and the purchase of homeowners insurance. As a result, AG Coakley says, “While prices have dropped overall, consumers are paying more than they would have had the market not been deregulated.” While more insurers have entered the market, “most of the new entrants have not offered lower rates overall [and] … new insurers have not caused incumbent carriers to lower statewide prices,” Coakley said. According to the Coakley report, insurers raised their base rates by 10% at the beginning of managed competition, creating “excessive rates in an environment where insurer losses have, on average, decreased over the past several years.” Coakley speculates that Hispanics, low income consumers, the elderly and urban drivers “may” be paying increased prices and that consumers whose rates have decreased paid more than they should have. The AG accuses insurers of omitting data and information in their public filings, including key rating information, and she charges both insurers and the Automobile Insurers Bureau with “refus[ing] to make public data on claims, premiums and expenses necessary to determine whether statewide rates are fair and not excessive.” The Coakley report concludes that “the current experiment in deregulation has thus far not met its goal. Instead, managed competition has caused many drivers to be overcharged and has led to fewer consumer protections.” In light of her findings and responsibility, Coakley said, “The Attorney General’s Office intends to promulgate consumer protection regulations under her G.L. Chapter 93A Consumer Protection regulatory authority.” The Massachusetts Office of Consumer Affairs and Business Regulation (OCABR), which oversees the Division of Insurance, refuted Coakley’s report saying that since “managed competition” began, eleven more insurers have entered the Massachusetts market increasing competition and reducing rates. OCABR Undersecretary Barbara Anthony said, “Rates have decreased 8.2% on average and that’s a fact. About $270 million in premiums have been saved by consumers.” Two years ago, nineteen insurers wrote auto policies in the state. Currently, thirty insurers compete for coverage, led by Commerce Group (31%), Safety Group (11.1%), Arbella Insurance Group (9.3%), Liberty Mutual (8.5%) and MetLife Auto and Home (6.5%). Liberty Mutual Group Chairman, President and CEO Edmund Kelly called the Coakley report “flawed” and said “To better meet increased consumer demand under managed competition, we lowered our prices, added new products and improved service across the state. As a result, we have thousands of new customers and over 10% growth since ‘managed competition’ began.” Kelly said that Liberty Mutual is so committed to the new, more competitive insurance landscape in Massachusetts that it is adding 300 jobs at its Springfield, MA operations, further boosting the economic outlook for Massachusetts consumers. Consumers, he added, don’t want the government making decisions for them; “they want to choose for themselves the company they do business with – based on the quality of the product, service and price.”

The law of civil procedure governs

The law of civil procedure governs process in all judicial proceedings involving lawsuits between private parties. Traditional common law pleading was replaced by code pleading in most states by the turn of the 20th century, and was subsequently replaced again in most states by modern notice pleading. The old English division between common law and equity courts was abolished in the federal courts by the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 1938 and has also abolished in nearly all states. The Delaware Court of Chancery is the most prominent of the small number of remaining equity courts.A slight majority of states have adopted rules of civil procedure closely modeled after the FRCP (including rule numbers). However, in doing so, they had to make some modifications to account for the fact that state courts have broad general jurisdiction while federal courts have relatively limited jurisdiction.New York and California are the most significant states that have not adopted the FRCP. Furthermore, both states continue to maintain their civil procedure laws in the form of codified statutes enacted by the state legislature, as opposed to court rules promulgated by the state supreme court, on the ground that the latter are undemocratic. But certain key portions of their civil procedure laws have been modified by their legislatures to bring them closer to federal civil procedure.[45]Generally, American civil procedure has several notable features, including extensive pretrial discovery, heavy reliance on live testimony obtained at deposition or elicited in front of a jury, and aggressive pretrial "law and motion" practice designed to result in a pretrial disposition (that is, summary judgment) or a settlement. U.S. courts pioneered the concept of the opt-out class action, by which the burden falls on class members to notify the court that they do not wish to be bound by the judgment, as opposed to opt-in class actions, where class members must join into the class. Another unique feature is the so-called American Rule under which parties generally bear their own attorneys' fees (as opposed to the English Rule of "loser pays"), though American legislators and courts have carved out numerous exceptions.The law of civil procedure governs process in all judicial proceedings involving lawsuits between private parties. Traditional common law pleading was replaced by code pleading in most states by the turn of the 20th century, and was subsequently replaced again in most states by modern notice pleading. The old English division between common law and equity courts was abolished in the federal courts by the adoption of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 1938 and has also abolished in nearly all states. The Delaware Court of Chancery is the most prominent of the small number of remaining equity courts.A slight majority of states have adopted rules of civil procedure closely modeled after the FRCP (including rule numbers). However, in doing so, they had to make some modifications to account for the fact that state courts have broad general jurisdiction while federal courts have relatively limited jurisdiction.

Wikipedia's greatest strengths

Wikipedia's greatest strengths, weaknesses, and differences all arise because it is open to anyone, it has a large contributor base, and its articles are written by consensus, according to editorial guidelines and policies.Wikipedia is open to a large contributor base, drawing a large number of editors from diverse backgrounds. This allows Wikipedia to significantly reduce regional and cultural bias found in many other publications, and makes it very difficult for any group to censor and impose bias. A large, diverse editor base also provides access and breadth on subject matter that is otherwise inaccessible or little documented. A large number of editors contributing at any moment also means that Wikipedia can produce encyclopedic articles and resources covering newsworthy events within hours or days of their occurrence. It also means that like any publication, Wikipedia may reflect the cultural, age, socio-economic, and other biases of its contributors. There is no systematic process to make sure that "obviously important" topics are written about, so Wikipedia may contain unexpected oversights and omissions. While most articles may be altered by anyone, in practice editing will be performed by a certain demographic (younger rather than older, male rather than female, rich enough to afford a computer rather than poor, et cetera) and may, therefore, show some bias. Some topics may not be covered well, while others may be covered in great depth.Allowing anyone to edit Wikipedia means that it is more easily vandalized or susceptible to unchecked information, which requires removal. See Wikipedia:Administrator intervention against vandalism. While blatant vandalism is usually easily spotted and rapidly corrected, Wikipedia is more subject to subtle viewpoint promotion than a typical reference work. However, bias that would be unchallenged in a traditional reference work is likely to be ultimately challenged or considered on Wikipedia. While Wikipedia articles generally attain a good standard after editing, it is important to note that fledgling articles and those monitored less well may be susceptible to vandalism and insertion of false information. Wikipedia's radical openness also means that any given article may be, at any given moment, in a bad state, such as in the middle of a large edit, or a controversial rewrite. Many contributors do not yet comply fully with key policies, or may add information without citable sources. Wikipedia's open approach tremendously increases the chances that any particular factual error or misleading statement will be relatively promptly corrected. Numerous editors at any given time are monitoring recent changes and edits to articles on their watchlist.Wikipedia is written by open and transparent consensus – an approach that has its pros and cons. Censorship or imposing "official" points of view is extremely difficult to achieve and usually fails after a time. Eventually for most articles, all notable views become fairly described and a neutral point of view reached. In reality, the process of reaching consensus may be long and drawn-out, with articles fluid or changeable for a long time while they find their "neutral approach" that all sides can agree on. Reaching neutrality is occasionally made harder by extreme-viewpoint contributors. Wikipedia operates a full editorial dispute resolution process, one that allows time for discussion and resolution in depth, but one that also permits disagreements to last for months before poor-quality or biased edits are removed.That said, articles and subject areas sometimes suffer from significant omissions, and while misinformation and vandalism are usually corrected quickly, this does not always happen. (See for example this incident in which a person inserted a fake biography linking a prominent journalist to the Kennedy assassinations and Soviet Russia as a joke on a co-worker which went undetected for four months, saying afterwards he "didn’t know Wikipedia was used as a serious reference tool.") Therefore, a common conclusion is that it is a valuable resource and provides a good reference point on its subjects.The MediaWiki software that runs Wikipedia retains a history of all edits and changes, thus information added to Wikipedia never "vanishes". Discussion pages are an important resource on contentious topics. Therefore, serious researchers can often find a wide range of vigorously or thoughtfully advocated viewpoints not present in the consensus article. Like any source, information should be checked. A 2005 editorial by a BBC technology writer comments that these debates are probably symptomatic of new cultural learnings that are happening across all sources of information (including search engines and the media), namely "a better sense of how to evaluate information sources."

American International Group

American International Group Inc. executives’ refusal to repay bonuses as previously promised is “outrageous,” and President Barack Obama’s compensation overseer should be given the power to get the money back, Senator Charles Schumer said.“This is outrageous,” Schumer said in an interview to be aired on “Political Capital with Al Hunt” this weekend. “They were supposed to return them. They said they would return them. Now many of them are not with the company.”Schumer, a New York Democrat, said he’d like Kenneth Feinberg, Obama’s special master on executive pay, to try to recover the money and he’d give him legislative or regulatory authority if it doesn’t already exist.“He would be very much disposed to getting the money back,” Schumer said.AIG, which received a $182.3 billion U.S. government bailout, ignited a backlash after giving about $165 million in March to employees of its AIG Financial Products unit, which has been blamed for pushing the company to the brink of collapse.Employees of the division pledged to return $45 million in bonus payments after New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo threatened to release their names to the public. As of October, the employees had returned only $19 million, according to Neil Barofsky, the special inspector general overseeing the government bailouts.Neither Treasury spokeswoman Meg Reilly nor AIG spokesman Mark Herr would comment.Pay Cuts OrderedFeinberg was appointed by Obama to monitor compensation of the highest-paid executives at companies that received extraordinary help from U.S. taxpayers, including AIG. Feinberg has ordered pay cuts averaging 50 percent for the top 25 executives, and set a $500,000 cash salary limit for the next 75 workers at AIG and other companies.In the wake of the bonus revelations, some Senate Democrats proposed imposing a 70 percent tax on all companies getting U.S. bailout money.Last year, lawmakers approved a $700 billion bailout of U.S. banks, insurance companies and automakers after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. led to a freeze in credit markets and brought several financial firms to the brink of collapse. AIG, which wrote billions in credit default swaps in Lehman, was rescued by the Federal Reserve and the Treasury. The Wikipedia community is largely self-organising, so that anyone may build a reputation as a competent editor and become involved in any role he/she may choose, subject to peer approval. Individuals often will choose to become involved in specialised tasks, such as reviewing articles at others' request, watching current edits for vandalism, watching newly created articles for quality control purposes, or similar roles. Editors who find that editorial administrator responsibility would benefit their ability to help the community may ask their peers in the community for agreement to undertake such roles; a structure which enforces meritocracy and communal standards of editorship and conduct. At present, around a 75–80% approval rating after enquiry is considered the requirement for such a role, a standard which tends to ensure a high level of experience, trust, and familiarity across a broad front of aspects within Wikipedia.

U.S. retailers used

U.S. retailers used extra promotions and extended hours to draw procrastinators and shoppers delayed by the East Coast snowstorm in the final stretch before Christmas.Target Corp. extended its hours to midnight Dec. 21 through yesterday. Borders Group Inc., Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Toys “R” Us Inc. also kept stores open longer. Best Buy Co. offered some DVDs for half off and Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc., a men’s clothing chain, deepened discounts to at least 50 percent.“We didn’t intend to do everything, and now we’re doing everything,” Jos. A. Bank Chief Executive Officer Neal Black, 54, said Dec. 22 by telephone from the company’s Hampstead, Maryland, headquarters. “We’ll be slugging right down to the last minute.”Sales will be compressed into the final days before Christmas, said Marshal Cohen, chief industry analyst at NPD Group Inc. The snowstorm disrupted the Saturday before Dec. 25. Last year, that was the second-biggest shopping day after Black Friday, the day after U.S. Thanksgiving. Shoppers already had procrastinated more than in recent seasons.“Retailers will pull out all the stops this week,” Cohen said in a Dec. 21 Bloomberg Television interview. NPD is a Port Washington, New York-based market research firm.Maintaining ForecastsThe Washington-based National Retail Federation was holding to its forecast for a 1 percent drop in holiday sales, Ellen Davis, a spokeswoman, said Dec. 20. The International Council of Shopping Centers reiterated on Dec. 22 its forecast for a 2 percent increase in sales at stores open at least a year in December, after reporting that the storm slowed growth to 0.4 percent year over year in the week ended Dec. 19.Jos. A. Bank cut prices of all clothing Dec. 21 and Dec. 22, after store visits slowed, Black said. The chain had planned to offer some of that merchandise at 40 percent and 30 percent off, he said.The retailer’s shares advanced 77 cents to $42.99 on the Nasdaq Stock Market yesterday. Target, based in Minneapolis, increased 6 cents to $48.85 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Borders, based in Ann Arbor, Michigan, rose 8 cents to $1.25. Bentonville, Arkansas-based Walmart declined 2 cents to $53.32. Best Buy, based in Richfield, Minnesota, added 31 cents to $40.76.Kathryn Greenberg, a 41-year-old Washington resident who works in philanthropy, said she lucked into some “fantastic” late discounts yesterday. She bought clothing for her children and other family members mostly at 60 percent off at a Gap store as well as one of Gap Inc.’s Banana Republic stores.Bigger Savings, More Buying“I am spending the same as last year, but getting more,” said Greenberg, who was carrying two bags and heading into Sephora, the cosmetics chain owned by Paris-based LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton SA.Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, will keep most of its 803 discount stores and its Sam’s Clubs open until 8 p.m. today, two hours later than last year, said John Simley, a spokesman. Amazon.com Inc. extended by one day, until Dec. 21, its cutoff for standard shipping.Gap, based in San Francisco, increased 6 cents to $20.91 on the New York Stock Exchange yesterday. LVMH declined 89 cents to 77.46 euros in Paris trading. Seattle-based Amazon.com, the largest Internet retailer, rose $5.19 to $138.94 on the Nasdaq.East Coast SnowStores along the East Coast closed early during the Dec. 19 snowstorm. Twenty-four inches of snow fell on Bethesda, Maryland and 23.2 inches were recorded at Philadelphia International Airport, according to the National Weather Service.Consumers had completed 72 percent of their holiday shopping through Dec. 20, down from 80 percent a year earlier, the New York-based ICSC said Dec. 22.Historically, the 10 days before Christmas have made up as much as 40 percent of total holiday sales for November and December, according to Joseph Feldman, a managing director at Telsey Advisory Group in New York.Sales fell 13 percent to $6.9 billion on the last Saturday before Christmas from the previous year, according to Chicago- based researcher ShopperTrak RCT Corp.Some of lost sales did translate into online purchases. Sales at Web sites jumped 24 percent on Dec. 18 and Dec. 19 from a year ago, according to Coremetrics, a San Mateo, California- based marketing company.Some impulse buying and so-called self-purchases, however, were irretrievably lost during the storm, Richard Jaffe, an analyst with Stifel Nicolaus & Co. in New York, said in a Bloomberg Radio interview on Dec. 22.