Cyprus crisis ruins dying father's plans for kids

NICOSIA, Cyprus (AP) ? When Costas Kalapodas was diagnosed with brain cancer two years ago and given months to live, he saw one sure place to put his money: Cyprus' biggest bank.

The 43-year-old threw his entire savings into Bank of Cyprus stock, and even took out a 47,000 euro loan to pad his holdings. He then gave his wife Maria strict instructions to sell the shares when prices reached one euro per share in order to build a 500,000 euro ($640,000) nest egg that he felt would be sufficient to guarantee her, their 9-year-old son, Yiannis, and 4-year-old daughter, Rita, a secure future.

Bank of Cyprus, after all, was the bedrock of the nation's banking system. And Costas was himself a proud employee of the financial institution. He fought the tumor valiantly but succumbed last November, Maria Argyrou-Kalapoda said, certain that his investment was safe.

Today, a multibillion-euro bailout that cash-strapped Cyprus agreed with international creditors has rendered Bank of Cyprus shares effectively worthless, their value wiped out under the terms of a complicated recapitalization scheme. His 35-year-old widow, who never knew how much he originally poured into the bank, is wondering how she and her family will survive in the years to come.

"Costas was so sure about this, so meticulous about the way he went about this investment," said Argyrou-Kalapoda. "He even told me the exact price at which I should sell the shares so we would get enough money not to have to worry about the future."

Maria, who has held a job at the Cyprus Stock Exchange since 1999, says that in addition to seeing the value of her husband's savings destroyed, she's now saddled with a loan for something that has been taken away in the bailout.

"It's not that I'm shirking my responsibilities, but why should I be paying for shares that are worthless, especially when those shares were supposed to be security for my children's future?"

"It's unbelievable what's happening in this country," she said. "I feel lost."

It's not just fat-cat investors or Russian oligarchs bemoaning losses. Ordinary people who built up savings are the ones facing real disaster. Cypriot authorities agreed that all bondholders, investors and savers with over 100,000 euros tied up in the country's two biggest banks ? Bank of Cyprus and Laiki ? will take massive losses as part of bailout terms. The deal with Cyprus' euro area partners and the International Monetary Fund would secure the country 10 billion euros ($12.83 billion) in rescue money.

Costas and Maria, who diligently socked away money to ensure their kids a good education, had their plans go down the tubes literally overnight in the banking collapse.

Other Cypriots with more conventional savings are also in dire straits. Under the bailout agreement, Laiki, the country's second-largest lender, will be folded into Bank of Cyprus, with large depositors in Laiki losing most of their money. Depositors with more than 100,000 euros at the Bank of Cyprus face losses of up to 60 percent as part of the rescue deal.

Many have felt that Cyprus became ground zero for economic experimentation of the most radical kind: allowing international creditors to raid Cypriot savings in order to protect taxpayers elsewhere from having to pay for banking mistakes.

"When such drastic decisions are being made there's bound to be collateral damage," said University of Cyprus economist Sofronis Clerides. "My feeling is that when those decisions were taken on such a macroeconomic level, it's sometimes difficult to see the reality on the ground."

Uncertainty about the future has hardly dissipated three weeks into Cyprus' near financial ruin. Thousands of bank workers took to Nicosia's streets recently to voice their fear that hundreds of millions in their pension funds kept in Laiki and Bank of Cyprus accounts would be lost, as many jobs in the once thriving sector flush with foreign deposits will be lost.

"Everybody here stands to lose a lot of money, the money you worked for your whole life," said protester Marios Koullouros. "I've been working at Laiki for 27 years. And I think it is a pity to lose everything."

The beleaguered Cypriot government was at pains to assure that pension funds wouldn't be completely wiped out. Government spokesman Christos Stylianides said authorities had ensured pension funds in Laiki accounts wouldn't be lost, but transferred to the Bank of Cyprus. Nonetheless, they could take a hit of as much as 60 percent of their value.

Stylianides said new Finance Minister Harris Georgiades is in talks with trade unions to figure out how to minimize the damage as much as possible.

But all this is little comfort for Maria. She says she's spoken to lawyers who have advised her that she has a solid case to sue because the bailout terms possibly breached domestic laws.

She says she's still mulling it over, but hasn't made up her mind. Instead she falls back to a Cypriot character trait of counting one's blessings.

"I just want my kids and myself to be healthy," she says. "God will provide."

___

Adam P. Pemble in Nicosia contributed.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/cyprus-crisis-ruins-dying-fathers-plans-kids-070225658--finance.html

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Baby wash does not damage baby's skin barrier function, study finds

Feb. 15, 2013 ? New research has found washing newborn babies in a specific baby wash is just as safe as using water alone in terms of maintaining healthy skin.

The findings by academics at The University of Manchester, published in the Journal of Obstetric, Gynecologic and Neonatal Nursing, compared Johnson's Baby Top-to-Toe wash against plain bath water on 307 newborn babies over a four week period.

The findings challenge the current advice from the National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE) guidelines, that baby wash should be avoided in the first 6-8 weeks after birth.

Newborn skin is different to adult skin. The skin barrier on newborn babies is less mature and likely to be more vulnerable to environmental threats. But the study found no difference in transepidermal water loss (TEWL), which indicates the amount of water that escapes from the skin, between newborns bathed in water alone or with the wash product. Skin hydration increased in the wash product group compared to water alone when a babies' hydration at two weeks was analysed.

Project lead Professor Dame Tina Lavender said this offered reassurance that the wash product was not affecting the infant's natural skin barrier integrity.

Professor Lavender, Professor of Midwifery at The University of Manchester, said: "Whilst internationally it has been accepted that appropriate cleansing practices are important, a dearth of good quality clinical trials has led to variations in baby skin care regimens. However, women can now be confident that using this specific baby cleansing product on newborn skin is equivalent to bathing in water alone.

"This trial adds to the existing but limited evidence in the area and provides healthcare professionals with the strongest level of evidence available to date. Therefore we should no longer base our practice on tradition and experience alone. We should share the evidence from this study with parents, so they are able to make their own informed choices." This research follows another recently published study conducted by The University of Manchester in which the use of Johnson's Baby Extra Sensitive Wipes was found to be equivalent to the use of water and cotton wool in terms of skin hydration. Mums taking part in the study also reported nappy rash as being higher in the water and cotton wool group.

The findings from both studies should offer reassurance to parents who choose to use these particular baby cleansing products. "These results should provide healthcare professionals and parents with much needed evidence-based information giving them the option to support the skin care cleansing regime chosen by individual parents for their newborn babies," Professor Lavender added.

Note: The study, funded by Johnson & Johnson, the makers of Johnson?s Baby but carried out under strict, independent scientific protocols, including blind testing and peer review. Over a three year period Professor Dame Tina Lavender led a multidisciplinary health team comprising of a neonatologist, paediatric dermatologist, statisticians and midwives. The trial was conducted with a total of 307 newborns and their mums over a four week period at Liverpool Women?s NHS Foundation Trust who were randomised into two groups: bathing with water alone, and bathing with Johnson?s Baby Top-to-Toe Bath. Mums were advised to bathe their newborn three times a week and not to use any other products on their babies? skin to ensure robust methodology.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Manchester University.

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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://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/uJzMK1TQI14/130218201515.htm

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Frito-Lay cuts local jobs, production

?Declining pretzel sales prompted Frito-Lay to cut jobs and reduce production at its Rold Gold facility.

The company, which had 162 employees, eliminated seven full-time and five part-time jobs. It also cut 15 workers to part-time hours.

Employees were told two weeks ago about the cuts.

The facility on 16th Street SW, west of Raff Road SW, is a specialty plant for Frito-Lay?s baked products. Its primary product is the Rold Gold pretzel line, but it also produces other snacks that are baked.

Frito-Lay is a division of Pepsico.

Hourly employees are represented by the Bakery Workers union Local 19, based in Cleveland.
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Source: http://www.cantonrep.com/newsnow/x1959343699/Frito-Lay-cuts-local-jobs-production

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PS Vita price drop announced for Japan

PlayStation Vita will receive a price cut in Japan from its 24,980 yen ($269, which rounded to $250 in North America) to 19,980 yen ($215, should round to about $200 in North America) for both the 3G/Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi models, Sony has announced.

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Source: http://gematsu.com/2013/02/ps-vita-price-drop-announced-for-japan

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Obama's Top Military Adviser Says Cuts Would Cost 'Time And Casualties'

It's been about a year and a half since Gen. Martin Dempsey left his job as chief of staff of the Army and became President Obama's top military adviser as the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Dempsey is now responsible for reshaping the U.S. military after 10 years of war, which means scaling the forces down. At the same time, he's fighting to stave off across-the-board cuts to the defense budget ? the so called sequester ? that could happen in a couple weeks if Congress fails to reach some kind of budget deal.

Dempsey sat down with NPR's Rachel Martin to talk about the kind of impact these cuts will make and the recent cultural shifts in the U.S. military.

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Interview Highlights

On the risks of sequester:

"Two words: time and casualties. The way this plays out, when you hollow out readiness, it means that when the force is needed, when an option is needed, to deal with a specific threat ... it would take us longer to react to those. So time is the issue. Some people would say, 'So what?' Well, time generally translates into casualties in my line of work.

"We will weather this. The military is never going to fail to answer the call when the nation is threatened. So we will weather this, but shame on us all if we weather it at the expense of those who choose to serve in uniform."

On cultural changes in the military:

"The reason that we have taken these steps is that we actually do foresee a military that has to adapt to a changing world, [and] not just a socially changing world but literally a demographically changing world.

"I think it's fairly common knowledge that our population of military-age young men who qualify for the military is declining. So as a very practical matter, we decided [that] if in 2020 we're going to need these young ladies, and we're going to need to attract as much diversity and as much talent as we can possibly attract, if that's going to be the case, then what are we waiting for?"

On updating military standards:

"There are currently 66 military occupational specialties that are not open to women. So what you've seen us do is invert the paradigm. The paradigm was: 'These are closed to women so we don't need to explain why.' Now the paradigm is: 'These could be open to women, so we'd better explain why not.' ... What that's done is that it will actually make us wrestle standards to the ground and figure out if we've got them right.

"There are existing standards, many of which haven't dusted off in a very long time, [and] many of which have been narrowly focused just on physical standards, but without the companion piece of potentially psychological and intellectual standards. All I'm suggesting is taken holistically ... I think this will be a very healthy thing for the institution. And it will also have the added benefit of allowing a greater part of the population to compete."

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/wfplnews/~3/52kc9xTBJrM/obamas-top-military-adviser-says-cuts-would-cost-time-and-casualties

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HTC One clone: GooPhone One launches in China

Whatever you might think your eyes do deceive you in this instance. We already know that HTC are planning simultaneous launch events in both London and New York for the arrival of their 2013 flagship; the HTC One, but Chinese mobile fans can grab a slice of that HTC design goodness now, sort of.

Rather than HTC having jumped the gun on their own launch date, what you?re looking at is the latest handset to come out of Chinese mobile manufacturer GooPhone. The company is famed for their impressively accurate lookalikes, having recently produced an HTC One S copy (called the GooPhone X1) and more impressively, an iPhone 5 clone running Android ICS called the GooPhone i5.

The HTC One clone, dubbed the GooPhone One, features the same distinctive ?capped? design which we?ve seen from the leaked images of the official HTC One, although we?re not 100% of the material choices or build quality in comparison to HTC?s well-established premium fit and finish. Naturally the notion behind the GooPhone One is a premium feel without the premium price tag, so the majority of the hardware isn?t on par with the official equivalent.

The 4.7-inch display most likely doesn?t feature Full HD resolution, the quad-core processor inside is MediaTek?s MT6589 chip and rather than a new version of HTC Sense, the GooPhone One sports what GizChina explain is Lewa OS. There?s apparently a gig of RAM on offer and surprisingly a 13-megapixel snapper, although we aren?t holding our breath for flagship-beating quality.

With such high-quality looking knockoffs like this, how much would you be willing to pay for a device that has the appearance of a top notch phone, without the underlying quality the real thing will most likely win out with.

Source: http://recombu.com/mobile/news/goophone-one-launches_M18759.html

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India Ink: Modern in Mumbai

Cecilia Morelli Parikh is still a woman on a mission. Nearly two years ago, with Julie Leymarie and Aur?lie de Limelette, she opened Le Mill, a multibrand fashion and home store, in a converted warehouse in a gritty section of Mumbai, India, which brought a contemporary Western aesthetic to an affluent Indian shopper. Last November, Morelli Parikh and her co-founders (Leymarie is a former L?Or?al executive; de Limelette has designed numerous displays for Herm?s) rolled out a second store, this one in the city?s decidedly fancier Breach Candy area. Morelli Parikh describes the first store?s location as the equivalent of New York?s ?meatpacking district, 30 years ago,? while the new store?s surroundings are ?the Upper East Side.?

At 1,900 square feet, the second Le Mill is much smaller than the 15,000-square-foot flagship store (which, as of next month, will carry only home products, including the store?s own furniture and tabletop lines, designed by de Limelette, as well as European brands like Carl Hansen & Son, Gervasoni and Gubi). In contrast to the flagship?s industrial look ? the name Le Mill refers to the building?s early life as a rice mill ? the new store is ?more polished,? Morelli Parikh says. The entry floor is painted in a gray and white abstract geometric pattern; the cashier?s desk is a shipping container painted glossy white. It?s the perfect backdrop for the store?s sharply focused fashion offerings ? from contemporary labels like 3.1 Phillip Lim, Alexander Wang, Erdem and the Row ? as well as jewelry by Mawi, En Inde, Shourouk and Tom Binns, among others, and gift items and tableware.

This spare but sensual look ? in design as well as fashion ? is what Morelli Parikh and her co-founders want to bring to the Indian luxury goods market, which still lags well behind that of, say, China. It wasn?t that long ago that Indian women began to abandon traditional dress for Western fashion, and even then they often chose flashy over fashion-forward. Add India?s high import duties and the fact that affluent Indians, who travel frequently, prefer to shop in London, Dubai and New York, and the women behind Le Mill had their work cut out for them.

But none of this fazes the American-born, London-raised Morelli Parikh, who, after working at Bergdorf Goodman, married Rohan Parikh ? who runs the real estate and construction branch of his family?s shipping company, Apurva Natvar Parikh Group, or A.N.P.G. ? and settled in Mumbai two years ago. She noticed a lack of multibrand stores, and realized that while many Western fashion and home products are made in India, with its traditions of craftsmanship, those goods ? and their contemporary aesthetic ? were generally not available there. So she, Leymarie and de Limelette set about ?bringing that heritage into the 21st century,? away from heavy and ornate toward a lighter, more modern take on tradition.

It is no surprise that the apartment that Morelli Parikh and her husband share, in an Art Deco building on Marine Road (which has one of the largest concentration of Art Deco buildings in the world), embodies her ?more natural, raw, delicate? outlook. The 2,400-square-foot space?s monochromatic restraint is leavened by contemporary Indian artworks and luxurious touches like the master bedroom?s inlaid marble floor. The furnishings are a mix of de Limelette?s understated pieces for Le Mill, Western classics like a Carl Hansen & Son lounge chair and contemporary works like dining chairs by BDDW in New York (available by special order at Le Mill). The look is comfortable and stylish, but modern.

And that is exactly the direction that Morelli Parikh is taking with Le Mill?s second store. Now that younger, less mainstream designers have proven to be successful, Le Mill has introduced fashion from what Morelli Parikh calls ?even edgier? labels like Peter Pilotto and Mary Katrantzou. Still, Morelli Parikh explains that there?s a market for more classic clothing, so this month Joseph will join the store?s designer roster. But its biggest move to date will be the addition of Azzedine Ala?a in March. Morelli Parikh explains that the designer already has a following among the store?s core customers, about 50 women who represent a good 60 percent of Le Mill?s ready-to-wear business. ?Ala?a is sexy, but it?s so chic,? she says.

Le Mill is forging ahead with plans to open stores in other prosperous Indian cities, like Delhi and Bangalore, and an e-commerce site will make its debut next month: ?There is lots of wealth in third- and fourth-tier cities where there are no shops,? Morelli Parikh says. Being a tastemaker in a brave new world is ?incredibly challenging,? she adds, ?but really fun.?

Source: http://india.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/17/modern-in-mumbai/?partner=rss&emc=rss

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