expedia travel packages: May 2013

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Berkshire sells off more Moody's shares, stake down to 11.1 percent

By Alasdair Fotheringham ISCHIA, Italy, May 5 (Reuters) - Team Sky took a morale-boosting victory in the Giro d'Italia team time trial as overall contender Bradley Wiggins moved up to second overall and gained time on his rivals on Sunday. Second in the short, hilly and very technical second stage were Spanish squad Movistar, nine seconds back, with Astana, led by Wiggins's key rival Vincenzo Nibali, third at 14 seconds. The first Team Sky rider to cross the line in Saturday's first stage, Italian Salvatore Puccio, took the overall leader's pink jersey. ...

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/berkshire-sells-off-more-moodys-shares-stake-down-233814967.html

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East about to be overrun by billions of cicadas

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Any day now, billions of cicadas with bulging red eyes will crawl out of the earth after 17 years underground and overrun the East Coast. The insects will arrive in such numbers that people from North Carolina to Connecticut will be outnumbered roughly 600-to-1. Maybe more.

Scientists even have a horror-movie name for the infestation: Brood II. But as ominous as that sounds, the insects are harmless. They won't hurt you or other animals. At worst, they might damage a few saplings or young shrubs. Mostly they will blanket certain pockets of the region, though lots of people won't ever see them.

"It's not like these hordes of cicadas suck blood or zombify people," says May Berenbaum, a University of Illinois entomologist.

They're looking for just one thing: sex. And they've been waiting quite a long time.

Since 1996, this group of 1-inch bugs, in wingless nymph form, has been a few feet underground, sucking on tree roots and biding their time. They will emerge only when the ground temperature reaches precisely 64 degrees. After a few weeks up in the trees, they will die and their offspring will go underground, not to return until 2030.

"It's just an amazing accomplishment," Berenbaum says. "How can anyone not be impressed?"

And they will make a big racket, too. The noise all the male cicadas make when they sing for sex can drown out your own thoughts, and maybe even rival a rock concert. In 2004, Gene Kritsky, an entomologist at the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, measured cicadas at 94 decibels, saying it was so loud "you don't hear planes flying overhead."

There are ordinary cicadas that come out every year around the world, but these are different. They're called magicicadas ? as in magic ? and are red-eyed. And these magicicadas are seen only in the eastern half of the United States, nowhere else in the world.

There are 15 U.S. broods that emerge every 13 or 17 years, so that nearly every year, some place is overrun. Last year it was a small area, mostly around the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, West Virginia and Tennessee. Next year, two places get hit: Iowa into Illinois and Missouri; and Louisiana and Mississippi. And it's possible to live in these locations and actually never see them.

This year's invasion, Brood II, is one of the bigger ones. Several experts say that they really don't have a handle on how many cicadas are lurking underground but that 30 billion seems like a good estimate. At the Smithsonian Institution, researcher Gary Hevel thinks it may be more like 1 trillion.

Even if it's merely 30 billion, if they were lined up head to tail, they'd reach the moon and back.

"There will be some places where it's wall-to-wall cicadas," says University of Maryland entomologist Mike Raupp.

Strength in numbers is the key to cicada survival: There are so many of them that the birds can't possibly eat them all, and those that are left over are free to multiply, Raupp says.

But why only every 13 or 17 years? Some scientists think they come out in these odd cycles so that predators can't match the timing and be waiting for them in huge numbers. Another theory is that the unusual cycles ensure that different broods don't compete with each other much.

And there's the mystery of just how these bugs know it's been 17 years and time to come out, not 15 or 16 years.

"These guys have evolved several mathematically clever tricks," Raupp says. "These guys are geniuses with little tiny brains."

Past cicada invasions have seen as many as 1.5 million bugs per acre. Of course, most places along the East Coast won't be so swamped, and some places, especially in cities, may see zero, says Chris Simon of the University of Connecticut. For example, Staten Island gets this brood of cicadas, but the rest of New York City and Long Island don't, she says. The cicadas also live beneath the metro areas of Philadelphia, Baltimore and Washington.

Scientists and ordinary people with a bug fetish travel to see them. Thomas Jefferson once wrote about an invasion of this very brood at Monticello, his home in Virginia.

While they stay underground, the bugs aren't asleep. As some of the world's longest-lived insects, they go through different growth stages and molt four times before ever getting to the surface. They feed on a tree fluid called xylem. Then they go aboveground, where they molt, leaving behind a crusty brown shell, and grow a half-inch bigger.

The timing of when they first come out depends purely on ground temperature. That means early May for southern areas and late May or even June for northern areas.

The males come out first ? think of it as getting to the singles bar early, Raupp says. They come out first as nymphs, which are essentially wingless and silent juveniles, climb on to tree branches and molt one last time, becoming adult winged cicadas. They perch on tree branches and sing, individually or in a chorus. Then when a female comes close, the males change their song, they do a dance and mate, he explained.

The males keep mating ("That's what puts the 'cad' in 'cicada,'" Raupp jokes) and eventually the female lays 600 or so eggs on the tip of a branch. The offspring then dive-bomb out of the trees, bounce off the ground and eventually burrow into the earth, he says.

"It's a treacherous, precarious life," Raupp says. "But somehow they make it work."

___

Online:

http://www.cicadamania.com

http://www.magicicada.org/magicicada_ii.php

___

Seth Borenstein can be followed at http://twitter.com/borenbears

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/east-overrun-billions-cicadas-181335011.html

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Plants 'talk' to plants to help them grow

May 7, 2013 ? Having a neighborly chat improves seed germination, finds research in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Ecology. Even when other known means of communication, such as contact, chemical and light-mediated signals, are blocked, chilli seeds grow better when grown with basil plants. This suggests that plants are talking via nanomechanical vibrations.

Monica Gagliano and Michael Renton from the University of Western Australia attempted to grow chilli seeds (Capsicum annuum) in the presence or absence of other chilli plants, or basil (Ocimum basilicum). In the absence of a neighboring plant, germination rates were very low, but when the plants were able to openly communicate with the seeds more seedlings grew.

However when the seeds were separated from the basil plants with black plastic, so that they could not be influenced by either light or chemical signals, they germinated as though they could still communicate with the basil. A partial response was seen for fully grown chilli plants blocked from known communication with the seeds.

Dr Gagliano explained, "Our results show that plants are able to positively influence growth of seeds by some as yet unknown mechanism. Bad neighbors, such as fennel, prevent chilli seed germination in the same way. We believe that the answer may involve acoustic signals generated using nanomechanical oscillations from inside the cell which allow rapid communication between nearby plants."

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by BioMed Central Limited.

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

Journal Reference:

Monica Gagliano and Michael Renton. Love thy neighbour: facilitation through an alternative signalling modality in plants. BMC Ecology, 2013 DOI: 10.1186/1472-6785-13-19

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

Disclaimer: Views expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/LKUECtdnCOs/130507060855.htm

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Give eco friendly promotional products and increase business value

Minimize pollution, save the environment, use green products; these are the messages that frequently hit your ears and eyes through billboards, newspapers, magazines and electronic media. So the marketers have decided to support this noble cause and also gain benefit for their company.?

Giving away corporate gifts is well appreciated by the recipients, and is preferred by the marketers of today?s business world. The marketers select the promotional gifts accordingly to the interests and needs of their potential clients. There is an immense range of natural resources, but unfortunately we are wasting them, polluting our surroundings and destroying the natural habitats. A good idea would be to show your eco-friendly approach, as it is a quantity decision to make a strong impression on the clients and overall society as well.

It might be difficult for the companies to change their promotional product line. No need to worry as they can work on green marketing approach by using recycled items for corporate gifts. Moreover, you can go for biodegradable products as they can be confidently disposed. The main idea is to reduce carbon footprints and conserve energy.

Green products

Marketers would easily find numerous items for their promotion campaign, which have been made from recycled material.? Nowadays, people don?t prefer pen stands, picture frames and other promotional gifts made up of metals and plastics. Handmade paper stands, Bio degradable shopping bags, recycled paper diaries, eco friendly clothing and similar types of other green items have gained momentum. Lesser raw material would be needed to make these products, and the result is remarkable reduction in the amount of waste and non-decomposable items.

Advantages of eco-friendly promotional strategy

Your clients and general public would get to know that you care for the environment and are making efforts to reduce pollution and maintain its natural beauty.

The recipients of your green promotional products would publicize the company through their positive word-of-mouth. So the people who saw your logo on the green products would be more interested to do business with your company.

Moreover, the business owners can also create solid impression of a trustworthy brand.

The customers want to get engaged with more responsible companies. By adding green items in your product line, the organizations can win the hearts of the environmentally?conscious customers. The best platforms are the marketing campaigns and trade shows, where the companies can send a strong message that they have changed their policies for the betterment of environment and society.

Green products boost the company image, which can be further increased by imprinting eco friendly messages. For example ?save the natural beauty?, ?promote recycling products?, ?Go Green? etc.

This trend is not limited to the product manufacturing companies, and also has been adopted by other service providers like Hotels. There has a remarkable increase in deforestation and pollution, thus giving rise to global warming. Giving away recycled products makes more sense as more people would appreciate it and remember your brand/business for a long time. This can help companies to strengthen their relation with the customers.

Steven Bryant

Steven Bryant, marketing manager at tape4backup, writes about all types of technologies from disk solutions to the industry leading in tapes like reliable LTO6 Tape You can follow us on twitter @ JMcIntosh2

Source: http://gotecotech.com/eco-friendly-promotional-products-increase-business-value/

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Nikon WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter

The Nikon WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter ($59.95 direct) is a tiny adapter that plugs into the accessory port of many a recent Nikon camera to add Wi-Fi support. It works as advertised, allowing you to transfer photos from your camera to your iOS or Android device at full resolution. We tested it with the D5200 D-SLR, but it's compatible with a number of popular models including the Coolpix A and D3200.

The WU-1a has a sibling that is functionally identical, but is compatible with camera models with a different type of accessory port. The WU-1b is also $59.95 and can be used with the full-frame D600 and several models in the compact 1 series, including the J3, S1, and V2.

Either adapter plugs into the accessory port on a compatible camera. On the D5200 the WU-1a sticks out like a bump on the left side, and requires you to leave the flap that normally covers the ports open during use. When it's connected and enabled, you won't be able to review images on the camera's rear LCD, only on a connected smartphone, and Live View is disabled. It noticeably wiggles when touched; it's not an accessory I'd recommend leaving attached at all times.

Once you plug it in, a new Wi-Fi network is generated, identified as Nikon_WU and a string of numbers. There's no password, you just connect directly with your iOS or Android device from the network settings menu. Once you've paired the adapter with your phone or tablet you'll have to reset it to use another device, which prevents unwanted users from snooping through your shots or taking control of your camera. We tested the adapter and app using an iPhone 5, and Nikon has yet to update the application to provide full screen support for the larger 4-inch display.

When you launch the free Nikon Wireless Mobile Utility app you'll be presented with two options?Take Photos and View Photos. The former turns your phone into a remote viewfinder that has the ability to fire the camera's shutter. The current shutter speed and aperture are displayed, but you won't be able to adjust them. And I don't mean that you can't adjust them from the app?you can't adjust them from the camera either. The settings you have selected prior to launching the remote shooting mode are locked in. There are a few options you can set in the app?you can activate a self-timer, which is useful for taking group shots when using the remote viewfinder, and you can tell the adapter to automatically transfer a photo to the connected device after it's captured.

The Take Photos mode also shows you the current battery level and the number of photos left on the memory card. We started our tests with a 40 percent charge, but after only a few photo transfers and about ten minutes of remote viewfinder usage the charge had dipped below 30 percent. At this point the Live View feed to your phone is disabled. You can still fire the shutter remotely, you'll just be doing it blind.

The other mode, View Photos, is a bit more straightforward. It shows you all of the shots on your memory card. You can select the ones you'd like to download, and with a touch transfer them to your phone. It's simple and it works well, although it can be a bit slow. Each shot from the D5200 took about 15 seconds to transfer. If you shoot Raw, you'll be happy to know that a full-resolution JPG version of the Raw file will copy over to your phone, so you can share images on the go without resorting to storage intensive Raw+JPG shooting.

There's a lot of room for improvement with this adapter. Nikon's competitors are a bit ahead of them in terms of Wi-Fi implementation. The Canon EOS 6D gives you multiple choices on sharing images online, and can even send directly to Facebook and Twitter from the camera. Samsung's Smart Camera series, which includes the NX300 also gives you the choice of setting up the camera as an access point or connecting to a hotspot. And the Samsung Galaxy Camera runs Android and has built-in 4G cellular connectivity.

The worst part about using the adapter is losing access to camera controls while it's active. The idea of a remote release is great, but you should be able to adjust the settings on your D-SLR through the app and via the camera's physical controls with ease. If there's a silver lining to this, it encourages you to disconnect the adapter when not in use, which is a good idea when you consider the shaky connection between it and the accessory port. Nikon has dipped its toes into the water with putting Wi-Fi into cameras without requiring an adapter, but the company needs to play catch up on features and fix some issues before its Wi-Fi is ready for anything other than occasional use.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/3k1FOZb7Mpg/0,2817,2418439,00.asp

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Obama to launch series of trips on economic plans

President Barack Obama pauses as he speaks at Ohio State University's spring commencement in the Ohio Stadium, Sunday, May 5, 2013, in Columbus, Ohio. President Obama is the third sitting president to give the commencement speech at Ohio State University. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Immigration, guns and national security are dominating the discussion on Capitol Hill, but Americans by and large are still focused on their bottom line. So President Barack Obama is launching a series of quick jaunts around the country to remind Americans he's still got jobs and the economy on his mind.

Obama will kick off the effort Thursday with a trip to Austin, Texas, the White House said. While in Texas, the president will visit a technical high school and meet with entrepreneurs. He'll also drop in on a tech company and talk with blue-collar workers.

The trips come as Obama, less than four months into his second term, is facing increasing skepticism from political allies and foes alike that he still has the clout to get big things done before the 2014 midterm elections creep up and his ability to set the agenda diminishes. Those concerns have been compounded by a failed push on gun control and a similarly unsuccessful effort to avert automatic spending cuts that took effect in March. Obama traveled repeatedly outside Washington to rally Americans to urge Congress to act on both fronts, but with questionable results.

Progress on the economy provides one opportunity to promote something positive ? especially after a solid jobs report on Friday kicked the unemployment rate down a notch to 7.5 percent, a four-year low that offered hope that the U.S. economy is healthier than many had feared. Still, Republicans have criticized Obama over the past four years for announcing several times that he was pivoting back to an issue they say should have taken top billing all along.

"The economy is still Americans' top concern because the president's policies keep making it harder to create jobs," said Brendan Buck, a spokesman for House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, pointing to energy, taxes and Obama's health care law. "Unfortunately, I doubt we'll hear much about any of those things during this road show."

Obama wants to ensure that his economic proposals don't get lost in the shuffle in the coming weeks as Congress goes to work on an immigration overhaul and the confirmation process for Obama's second-term Cabinet nominees, a White House official told reporters Sunday aboard Air Force One. The official spoke on condition of anonymity to preview trips that have not been officially announced.

Typically, when Obama touches down for the day in an American town, he delivers a speech and shakes a few hands before returning to Washington. But these one-day trips will see Obama make multiple stops at locations that can serve to highlight elements of his economic proposals, the official said, and will take place every few weeks starting Thursday with Austin.

Among the policies Obama plans to push in Austin and elsewhere are proposals, announced in February in his State of the Union address, to dramatically expand pre-kindergarten programs and raise the minimum wage to $9 per hour. Both of those face resistance from some lawmakers who say they are too expensive and could put a drag on the economy.

___

Reach Josh Lederman on Twitter at http://twitter.com/joshledermanAP

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-05-05-Obama-Economy/id-1694fe56589246a582698af4f6c42bf0

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Saturday, May 4, 2013

eBay, The FBI, Shawn Hogan And Brian Dunning - Business Insider

Wikimedia, CC

Shawn Hogan

The knock at the door came at 7.03 a.m.

Shawn Hogan, the CEO of a successful online marketing company called Digital Point Solutions, was sitting on his sofa. He didn't immediately answer the door. Then the key turned in the lock.

Nine FBI agents entered Hogan's upscale condo to serve a search warrant. They obtained access from a maintenance worker, according to a copy of the search report.

The agents took photos of his circular living room, and its wraparound windows looking out onto San Diego. Hogan's white cat appears in several of the pictures, perched unconcerned on a chair, but the real focus of the investigation was his computer equipment. Much of Hogan's apartment was a clutter of screens, hard drives and keyboards ??which the FBI confiscated.

As they questioned him, Hogan told the agents he had been expecting them.

eBay paid Hogan a staggering $28 million in affiliate marketing sales commissions over the years, according to court papers.

Affiliate marketers place ads or links for eBay on their own networks, or on other people's sites, and they collect a cut of any sale the online auction company generates from them. eBay has about 26,000 of them, or more, at any one time, feeding traffic to its auctions.

But recently Hogan had fallen out with eBay, and the company had sued him, accusing him of fraud. eBay had also been cooperating with the FBI since June 2006 to root out affiliate marketers whose success was a bit too good to be true. The company had even created a piece of software to monitor Hogan's internet traffic ??an online sting operation the company named "Trip Wire."

eBay alleged that what Hogan did to earn the sting operation and the knock at his door by the FBI was to rig eBay's system so that it falsely credited him for sales he did not generate. He did it by seeding unknowing users with hundreds of thousands of bits of tracking code, or "cookies." If any of those people bought something on eBay, the code signaled to eBay that Hogan should get a cut of the sale ? even though he had done nothing to promote eBay.

The sting also netted Brian Dunning, eBay's second biggest affiliate marketer. The company had paid Hogan and Dunning a combined $35 million in commissions over the years, court papers say. Both men have since pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

This is the story of how eBay turned against the most successful affiliate marketers it has ever worked with. It is taken from the personal accounts of both men, and from criminal and civil court papers filed in litigation by eBay and the FBI.

FBI / Court documents

A plan of Hogan's house used by the FBI during its raid.

Secret dinners and private jets

Hogan was eBay's top affiliate marketer, out of 26,000 members of the program, according to court papers in the case against him. The company had once feted him in Las Vegas, Hogan wrote on a 2010 blog post, with a "secret" dinner at miX, the Alain Ducasse restaurant at the Mandalay Bay hotel. They whispered to him about eBay's "black budget" for fighting Google, he claims, over a menu that today features Caspian Golden Osetra caviar. They offered him credit for private jet flights???which he says he took.

EBay had known for a long time how he generated his sales, Hogan claims, and wanted more of them. After all, Hogan was only taking a 50% cut (or less) of the revenues ??the more he made, the more eBay made.

But a year before that, eBay executives began talking to the FBI about how, exactly, Hogan earned his sales, and whether they were generated honestly.

Brian Dunning

Hogan wasn't the only affiliate eBay was after. On the same day, at the same time, another group of FBI agents executed another search warrant, 70 miles away in Laguna Niguel, Calif., at the home of its second biggest affiliate marketer, Brian Dunning.

Dunning had earned $7 million in commissions from eBay over time, the court papers say. When the FBI agents questioned him, "The interview took place at the dining room table in Mr. Dunning's spacious, expensive home," as the FBI later described it.

Both Hogan and Dunning reacted the same way to the agents' questions: They both cooperated, and both indicated to the FBI that eBay knew what they were doing. Neither, however, produced any evidence ? beyond their oral accusations ??that any eBay employee did anything wrong.

Ultimately, four people were indicted based on eBay's internal probe of its affiliate marketers. The company sued them all for its money back, too. Hogan and Dunning recently pled guilty to a single charge of wire fraud each. They have not yet been sentenced, but they both potentially face up to 20 years in prison.

Hogan told Business Insider, "The only one responsible for my actions is myself." He added that he hasn't given much thought to whether he'll go to prison or not.

Dunning declined to comment for this article.

EBay, in a statement, told Business Insider, "eBay has zero tolerance for criminal activity on its platforms; and, we are?pleased that justice has been served in this matter."

Striking a deal over World of Warcraft

Hogan, 37, first became an affiliate marketer for eBay in 1999. Dunning joined in 2000.

Hogan is the more outspoken of the two. He has a blog called "Shawn Hogan Fan Club." His Wikipedia page shows him with a shaved head and dark glasses, wearing all black like sci fi villain. He was once hailed as a "hero" by Wired magazine for standing up to the movie industry when it sued him for piracy after he allegedly downloaded the movie Meet The Fockers via BitTorrent, even though he owned the DVD.

Dunning, 48, is the more "normal" of the pair, at least in real life. He has a wife and two kids. When the feds burst into his home, the search papers say, one of his main concerns was who was going to drive his Aunt Joy to the airport.

Online, however, Dunning has carved a path as a podcast personality, "The Skeptoid." Each week, Dunning examines a New Age, non-scientific, superstitious issue in his audio download. He claims 177,000 listeners weekly, on average. He has tackled UFOs, "The Aquatic Ape Theory," and the Loch Ness Monster in recent episodes.

The two men got to know each other around 2003 because they moved in similar circles. They were essentially competitors. But few people can write their own code and speak the arcana of affiliate marketing, and they ended up exchanging emails and phone calls frequently. They once discussed going into business jointly, as they played World of Warcraft together, but nothing came of it. They have only met face to face about seven times, the FBI believes.

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/ebay-the-fbi-shawn-hogan-and-brian-dunning-2013-4

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Berkshire profit rises 51 percent, shares at record high

By Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan

OMAHA, Nebraska (Reuters) - Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc on Friday said quarterly profit rose nearly 51 percent on a solid performance in insurance and by many of its other businesses, as well as gains from investments and derivatives.

The results topped expectations and were released after Berkshire shares closed at a record high.

Berkshire's more than 80 businesses are benefiting from a strengthening economy, as illustrated by increased traffic on its Burlington Northern railroad unit, new customers for its McLane food distribution business, and stepped-up demand for its Forest River recreational vehicles, to name just a few.

Profit from insurance operations, including the Geico car insurance unit and a business that provides protection against major catastrophes, roughly doubled.

"The happy fact right now is that the growth areas in the economy are right in Berkshire's wheelhouse," said Jeff Matthews, founder of the RAM Partners LP hedge fund and author of "Pilgrimage to Warren Buffett's Omaha."

Berkshire released its results a day before Buffett and Berkshire Vice Chairman Charlie Munger will field five hours of shareholder questions at the company's annual meeting in its hometown of Omaha, Nebraska.

PROFIT TOPS FORECASTS

Net income increased to $4.89 billion, or $2,977 per Class A share, from $3.25 billion, or $1,966 per share, a year earlier.

Quarterly operating profit rose 42 percent to $3.78 billion, or $2,302 per share, from $2.67 billion, or $1,615 per share.

Analysts on average expected profit of $1,996 per share, according to Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S.

Book value per share, Buffett's preferred measure of growth, increased 5.5 percent from year end to $120,525 per Class A share, and Berkshire's cash stake grew over that period to $49.09 billion from $46.99 billion.

About $12.1 billion is being used to fund a purchase by Berkshire and Brazilian investment firm 3G Capital of ketchup maker H.J. Heinz Co.

Revenue rose 15 percent from a year ago to $43.87 billion.

INSURANCE GAINS

Operating profit from insurance operations rose to $1.7 billion from $845 million.

Nearly all the improvement came from underwriting, where profit rose to $901 million from $54 million, in part because of a $255 million pre-tax reinsurance gain, as well as currency fluctuations. Underwriting profit at Geico more than doubled.

"The backbone of Berkshire is its world class collection of insurance companies," said David Rolfe, chief investment officer at Wedgewood Partners Inc, which invests 6.5 percent of its $4 billion of assets in Berkshire stock.

Operating profit from noninsurance business rose 12 percent to $2.25 billion.

This included increases of 14 percent at Burlington Northern to $798 million, and a little over 10 percent from manufacturing, service and retail operations to $944 million.

Profit generated by MidAmerican Energy, a utility unit that Berkshire owns most of, rose 17 percent to $394 million.

Investment and derivatives gains nearly doubled to $1.11 billion, in part because of gains related to Berkshire's warrants for General Electric Co and Goldman Sachs Group Inc .

Berkshire also owns tens of billions of dollars of common stocks such as Coca-Cola Co, International Business Machines Corp and Wells Fargo & Co.

Gains from derivatives increased 20 percent before taxes, mainly because of Berkshire's long-term contracts related to performance in stock indexes such as the Standard & Poor's 500, which rose 10 percent in the first quarter.

Investors are used to that volatility, and Berkshire accepts it as part of its focus on the long term.

"If we cope well every day with what's on our desk, the future will take care of itself," Munger said in an interview on Friday.

In Friday trading, Berkshire Class A shares closed up $1,993, or 1.2 percent, at $162,850. Its Class B shares closed up $1.34, or 1.2 percent, at $108.64.

(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Jennifer Ablan in Omaha, Nebraska; Editing by Bob Burgdorfer)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/berkshire-hathaway-first-quarter-profit-rises-51-percent-211725044.html

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Jolla names Tomi Pienim?ki as new CEO, Marc Dillon to become Head of Software Development

As Jolla gears up for the imminent unveiling of its first smartphone packing the MeeGo-inspired Sailfish OS, there's been another shake-up at the highest level of the company. Marc Dillion will no longer be CEO as of May 6th, with a man by the name of Tomi Pienimäki taking over leadership of the company. He's no stranger to Jolla -- he's an investor and his brother Sami is one of the company's founders. Using nearly the same wording as when previous CEO Jussi Hurmola changed roles, Dillon will now be able to "fully concentrate on the development of Sailfish operating system" under his new title of Head of Software Development. Pienimäki's record shows he's all business, with experience in management, logistics, supply chains and driving growth -- you know, all the fun stuff that keeps a company ticking. Following the handset reveal in May, Jolla expects to start a "pre-sales campaign" in the same month and have devices available for purchase during the second half of this year.

Filed under: Cellphones, Software, Mobile