Minella’s thoughts and articles

The financial crisis means boom times for spooks-for-hire.

By Barney Gimbel, writer
Last Updated: December 8, 2008: 11:16 AM ET

NEW YORK (Fortune) — If James Bond’s “License to Kill” gets revoked, he’d have no problem finding work as a corporate spy. To the short list of sectors that stand to gain from the financial crisis, add corporate intelligence firms.

They are seeing a dramatic uptick in business from a surge of banks, private equity firms, and hedge funds that need to make sure those pesky multimillion-dollar investments they made when times were good will hold up.

Firms like Control Risks, a London-based risk consultancy staffed by ex-CIA agents, and its rival, New York-based Kroll say they have seen a 20% jump in new business over the past two months. Together the two firms control the majority of the market.

These spook outfits have long carved out a lucrative business investigating corporate fraud, performing due diligence, or simply ferreting out the things not on a balance sheet - be they a company’s shady associates in Brazil or corrupt investors in Texas.

But in the recent heady times, some fast-moving investment outlets cut corners.

Now they are hoping to save face - and money - before precarious deals fall apart altogether. “The tolerance for failure has diminished,” says Jim Brooks, who heads North American operations for Control Risks.

Already, spies-for-hire are finding a couple of embarrassing flubs.

Consider the more than $300 million that one international bank lent to a sketchy Russian magnate (we’d tell you who it was, but then we’d have to kill you). When he stopped paying his bills, the bank brought in Control Risks to find out where the money had gone. (They found the Russian could have funneled money out of the country through various, seemingly unrelated shell companies.)

Full story: Corporate spies clean up - The financial crisis means boom times for spooks-for-hire

By Paul G. Donohue M.D.
To Your Good Health
December 09, 2008 6:00 AM

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: My daughter, who is 41, has been getting really bad migraine headaches just before her periods. Is it due to menopause?

— V.M.

Her headaches are not due to menopause. They come from her menstrual cycle, and they’re called menstrual migraines. A migraine sufferer often can identify things that give rise to a headache — foods, alcohol, physical exertion, too little sleep, too much sleep, hunger, bright lights and loud noise. For quite a few women, menstrual periods trigger the headache. The sudden drop in the female hormone estrogen that takes place at the time of a menstrual period precipitates headaches in these women.

Your daughter can take medicine prior to her anticipated menstrual period to prevent the headache. Naprosyn or one of the many other nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, taken two days before the period begins, often can avert menstrual migraines. They should be taken for as long as the headache has lasted in the past.

Another approach is birth-control pills. The ones that stop periods for six months to a year are particularly useful. Seasonale and Lybrel are two such preparations.

Most migraine sufferers are aware of the triptan drugs, medicines that have had a huge impact on migraine treatment. There are seven such drugs, and I won’t mention them all. Maxalt and Relpax are two of these drugs. The triptans should be used as the anti-inflammatory drugs are used — two days before onset of periods and continued for the length of the usual migraine.

DEAR DR. DONOHUE: I have a plantar wart. What do I do for it?

— C.R.

Read this full: Hormone changes can generate migraines

By Caroline Wilbert
WebMD Health News

Dec. 8, 2008 — Breastfeeding may help new mothers shed the baby weight.

A new study examines the relationship between breastfeeding and postpartum weight retention. The study, which looked at data for more than 25,000 women participating in the Danish National Birth Cohort, measured how long women breastfed and also how intensely. Each woman received a breastfeeding score. Results showed that women with higher breastfeeding scores were more likely to lose their pregnancy weight six months after giving birth.

Researchers concluded that women who gain a reasonable amount during pregnancy and breastfeed exclusively are likely to lose all pregnancy weight six months after giving birth. They also estimate that women who breastfeed retain 2 kilograms (4.4 pounds) less than women who don’t breastfeed at six months after giving birth.

Participants, all recruited by their doctors during their first prenatal visit, were interviewed four times — twice during pregnancy, as well as six months after giving birth and 18 months after giving birth. They answered questions about their weight and how they were feeding their babies.

Read this full article - Breastfeeding Helps Moms Lose Weight

Legend has it that the poinsettia made its first appearance in the hands of a poor Mexican girl named Pepita who had no gift to present the baby Jesus on Christmas Eve, according to Paul Ecke Ranch, an Encinitas grower that supplies most of the flowering poinsettias in the United States.

Pepita’s cousin, Pedro, told her that any gift given with love would suffice. Hearing this, Pepita created a bouquet of weeds gathered from the side of the road.

But realizing they were a sad excuse for a gift, she fought back tears as she approached the altar where there was a statue of Jesus. As she handed them over, she happened to glance down and see that her weeds miraculously transformed into a red bouquet of flowers — poinsettias.

The legend was recently retold a slightly different way in the London Free Press, which had the young girl grabbing branches from a poinsettia shrub, not weeds. Either way, the poinsettia remains the traditional Christmas flower.

With Christmas less than three weeks away, it’s again showtime for poinsettias — and they are keeping local growers, retailers and decorators busy.

Poinsettias are the top-selling potted flowering plant in the United States, with $181 million in sales last year, up 6 percent from 2006, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

California accounts for 31 percent of the domestic sales for all potted plants.

At Green Thumb International in Ventura, nurseryman Jack Doughty said the most common question he gets from customers is how do you care for them.

“You want to keep them away from too much direct sunlight,” he said. And water them just like a Christmas tree, keeping them “moist but not soggy wet.”

Green Thumb is getting several shipments weekly.

“We go through them like mad here this time of year,” Doughty said.

One of the store’s suppliers is Santa Paula-based Do Right’s Plant Growers.

Owner Dudley Davis recently provided a tour of his greenhouses where about 80,000 poinsettias were growing. He pulled back plastic curtains to reveal what looked like a sea of red velvet.

“We do 85 percent of our production in the traditional red,” he said. The remaining 15 percent consists of five colors — merlot, apricot, marble, polar (white) and miro (a marbling of pink and white).

The season typically begins around Nov. 15. Davis said 10 percent to 15 percent of his crop is sold by Dec. 5.

Read full source article here - Traditional Christmas flower in high demand

Dec 7 2008 by David Williamson, Wales On Sunday

The Government and the Bank of England are trying to ride to the rescue of the housing market. But will slashed interest rates and a new mortgage support plan do enough to prevent misery for thousands of Welsh families?

QI’m worried about losing my job and then losing my home. Will the Homeowner Mortgage Support Scheme help me out?

AThe Government clearly expects a rise in unemployment and is determined to prevent a rush of repossessions.

If you experience a sudden fall in your income you may well be able to defer some of your interest payments on your mortgage for up to two years.

These will be added to your outstanding mortgage debt and have to be paid off when your finances improve.

QHow do I know if I qualify?

AThe precise details are still being hammered out. However, it is aimed at people who would not qualify for other Government help, such as households where one earner is made redundant but the other continues working, or where a homeowner loses only part of their income through reduced shifts.

QI took out a big mortgage for the family home. Will I be covered?

AProbably. The scheme will cover mortgages up to £400,000.

QWhich lenders are taking part in the scheme?

AHalifax Bank of Scotland, Nationwide, Abbey, Lloyds TSB, Northern Rock, Barclays, Royal Bank of Scotland and HSBC have all signed up – they represent 70% of the market. Monmouthshire Building Society and Principality are both waiting to see the full details of the scheme.

QI’m already in trouble and need help. When does the scheme begin?

AIt should be up and running early next month.

QHang on a moment! How much are taxpayers having to fork out to help people with mortgages they can’t afford?

AThe Government has guaranteed that lenders in banks and building societies will not lose money if borrowers are later unable to repay the debt.

QSo hard-working people are footing the bill? This sounds like another bail-out.

AIt has not been said how much the scheme will cost but it is estimated the Government will take on around £1bn of liabilities.

QWhat other help is there for those of us who are struggling with our mortgages?

AThere is the £200m Mortgage Rescue Scheme. Homeowners can sell some or all of their home to a social landlord and rent it back again.

Plus, the Department for Work and Pensions is reforming its Income Support for Mortgage Interest initiative so benefit kicks in after just 13 weeks and covers interest repayments on mortgages of up to £200,000.

QIs the Welsh Assembly Government doing anything?

AYes. There are grants for housing associations to buy a share of your mortgage or buy your property outright and then rent it back to you.

QDoes this scheme work?

AIn 2007-08, the Assembly Government provided £850,000 to help 15 households to remain in their homes. A further £5m was provided in June.

QIt’s so confusing and I’m desperately worried. Who can I turn to?

Read full article here: House of the rising sums

The automaker’s new $25 million, 62,000-square-foot data center is one of a handful in the United States that’s certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

By J. Nicholas Hoover
InformationWeek

Many business technology organizations are pursuing green computing, but what does that actually look like? At Honda’s new data center in Longmont, Colo., it entails floors made of recycled concrete, office furniture crafted of reused steel and newsprint, low-flow automatic faucets, motion-sensor lights, energy-efficient servers, outside air for cooling, and an Energy Star-certified roof.

Honda isn’t insulated from the economic pressures squeezing U.S. automakers; its U.S. sales fell 32% in November compared with a year ago. Honda’s green IT push should lead to lower energy costs and other efficiencies, though the bigger impetus is a company-wide commitment to being environmentally friendly, says Jennifer Sepull, CIO of American Honda.

Honda’s 61,000-square-foot data center, which opened in October, is one of a handful of U.S. data centers certified by the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating system for green building construction. Honda spent more than $25 million on the data center, a price that included a premium for its green design. Because the facility is only 2 months old, Sepull declined to estimate just how much Honda stands to save in energy costs.

Honda selected building materials based on proximity to the data center’s location and materials that were produced in an “environmentally responsible manner,” Sepull says. And it recycled 73% of the construction waste associated with the project. The company left much of the site undeveloped and replanted trees and shrubs indigenous to the area.

Data center administrators were trained in how to be more energy efficient. For example, they were advised to decommission unused equipment quickly and to use management tools to ensure that servers are optimally provisioned. Honda has found that energy-monitoring tools aren’t up to snuff and that the data they generate needs to be more comprehensive. “They’re just coming on the market,” Sepull says. “We monitor electricity, but monitoring will get more advanced to give us better day-to-day awareness.”

read full article - In Pursuit Of New Efficiencies, Honda Drives Green IT Effort

Find A Florist Helps Send Holiday Floral Arrangements and Christmas Trees With the Widest, Freshest Selections From Local Florists

LOS ANGELES, CA, Dec 03, 2008 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — ‘Tis the season to be jolly, and what better way to celebrate the holidays this year than with a flower arrangement from a local florist found through Teleflora’s Find A Florist, the leading online florist locator? With a directory of over 20,000 local florists, Teleflora’s Find A Florist allows consumers to search for florists in specific markets and areas.
“The holiday season is a great time to send centerpieces, wreaths or even table top trees, which consumers will find through their local florists,” said Chris Campbell, Director Online Marketing, Teleflora. “And to beat the holiday rush, we recommend ordering the second week in December as peak flower sales hit the week before Christmas.”
Christmas flowers bought through florists identified on Find A Florist make great decorations for the home or office, and flowers are wonderful gifts for friends, co-workers and loved ones. With same day or next day delivery, customers can be sure that their Christmas gifts will be hand-arranged and hand-delivered by high-quality florists.
“During the holiday season, we find that winter flowers including mini callas, freesia, bouvardia, red and white tulips, star of Bethlehem, nerine lilies, paperwhites, amaryllis and poinsettias are the most popular. However, non-traditional winter flowers are beginning to show up in many arrangements,” said Campbell. “For example, Teleflora’s Festive Fragrance and Christmas Cactus arrangements are quickly becoming new holiday favorites, with their unique spins on classic Christmas decor.”
For additional information on choosing flowers, or to locate a local florist or floral shop anywhere in the country, visit www.FindAFlorist.com.
About Find A Florist:
Read full article: Festive Christmas Flowers From Find A Florist Make the Season Jolly