FIRST PERSON | The term "fiscal cliff" has been hovering over Americans, a dark cloud that has cast a shadow over the holiday season. Its potential consequences have caused consumer confidence to dwindle, yet the fiscal cliff hasn't produced too much stress in our household. After all, for the past few years my family has dealt with salary cuts and a depressed economy. As a 33-year-old mom living in Los Angeles, I don't like the financial uncertainty the "cliff" represents. But the deal approved Tuesday night won't make or break my family's finances. ...
In 2008 I was griping about 2,433 unread emails in my inbox. Which is nothing. Today it’s up around 7,000, and I declared an email bankruptcy just a few months ago and started fresh. Cue, a handy mobile app for organizing and searching your online data across a variety of services, released some fascinating anonymized user data this afternoon that confirms what we all know already. We’re getting a lot more emails and reading fewer and fewer of them. The service lets users auth in to things like email, cloud storage, calendaring, etc., to deal with them all in one place. It gives them an unprecedented amount of data about users’ online activities. Here’s what the aggregate data from a random selection of Cue users tells us about email habits: - Average number of email words written per person in 2012: 41,368 (about the size of the Lord of the Flies novel) - Average messages received in 2012: 5,579 - Average messages sent in 2012: 869 CEO Daniel Gross also tells me (not included on the chart) that users are becoming much slower in responding to emails. The average response time in 2012 was 2.5 days. In 2011 it was 2.2 days, nearly a 14% increase in response time. And if you don’t get a response within 24 hours you may have to wait a while. If a message gets a response there’s a 56% chance it’ll come within an hour, and a whopping 89% likelihood it will come within 24 hours. To get the average out to 2.5 days, the remaining responses come much, much later. Tuesday is the busiest email day, although Wednesday is the most popular day for calendaring meetings. 11 am is the busiest email time of day. There’s fun data included as well. accounts for over 50% of emoticon usage. only gets 4.89%. My personal favorite rings in at just 0.21%. If a presidential nominee was mentioned last year in an email, it was “Obama” 68% of the time. Romney got just 32% of mentions. Dogs were the most popular animal at 38%, cats got just 32%. And if you click on the most common swearwords, you’ll see which one is most popular. See all the data here.
? Improve your productivity with a few apps. Need to organize your thoughts? Try WorkFlowy. Want all of your contacts? de?tails and online activity in Gmail? You need Rapportive. Hate waiting on hold? Let FastCustomer arrange for customer service to call you.
? LinkedIn groups could lead to your next job. Groups for schools you attended and companies you worked for can help you connect and aid your career. Job Open?ings, Job Leads and Job Con?nec?tions is a group of HR professionals, recruiters and job-seekers. Get expert career advice at Jobs 2.0.
? Go low-tech to improve productivity. Pen and paper can sometimes be superior to gadgets when it comes to saving time and solving problems. ?It?s possible to overhack your life, but this is less about finding where you?re overengineering a solution to a simple problem, and instead more about sticking with some??thing that works for you,? writes Thorin Klosowski, Lifehacker.
? Forget all you?ve learned about PowerPoint. Only three elements matter: aesthetics, clarity and purpose. Slides must look professional, information must be clear and the presentation should contribute to the point you?re making.
? High school popularity has lifelong benefits. People who were in the top 20% of popular kids in high school made 10% more money than their classmates 40 years after graduating, says a study by the National Bureau of Economic Research. The boost is probably because those who learned to play the game early on started life in the professional world with a leg up, researchers say.
? A good boss is priceless. About a third of respondents in a survey by career expert Michelle McQuaid said they?d be happier in their current job if they were making more money, while 65% said they?d get the same happiness boost if they had a better boss.
? Need to track word and character counts, or other document statistics? Quickly bring them all up at once with Ctrl+Shift+G. To find out just the counts for one paragraph, select it and use this shortcut.
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FILE - In this June 22, 2012 file photo, Tesla workers cheer on one the first Tesla Model S cars sold during a rally at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. A healthier economy and more new model introductions should push U.S. auto sales above the 15 million mark in 2013, predicts an auto industry research firm. The Polk research firm says auto sales should continue to lead the country's economic recovery, rising nearly 7 percent over 2012 to 15.3 million new vehicle registrations. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
FILE - In this June 22, 2012 file photo, Tesla workers cheer on one the first Tesla Model S cars sold during a rally at the Tesla factory in Fremont, Calif. A healthier economy and more new model introductions should push U.S. auto sales above the 15 million mark in 2013, predicts an auto industry research firm. The Polk research firm says auto sales should continue to lead the country's economic recovery, rising nearly 7 percent over 2012 to 15.3 million new vehicle registrations. (AP Photo/Paul Sakuma, File)
DETROIT (AP) ? A healthier economy and more model introductions should push U.S. auto sales above the 15 million mark this year, predicts an auto industry research firm.
The Polk research firm says auto sales should continue to lead the country's economic recovery, rising nearly 7 percent over 2012 to 15.3 million new vehicle registrations.
Automakers release December and full-year sales for 2012 on Thursday. Analysts think sales reached 14.5 million last year, the strongest performance since 2007 ? just before Americans felt the impact of the recession. Sales of more than 15 million are considered a sign of health for the auto industry and the economy, many analysts say.
Polk does not expect pre-recession sales levels of 17 million for several more years, Anthony Pratt, Polk's forecasting director for the Americas, said Wednesday.
Polk expects 43 new models to be introduced this year, up 50 percent from last year. New models usually boost sales. The company also predicts a rebound in sales of large pickups and midsize cars.
But Polk's optimistic forecast firm hinges on Washington reaching an agreement on spending cuts, which could happen later in the year. On New Year's Day, congress approved a compromise to avoid the so-called "fiscal cliff." The deal raises taxes for incomes exceeding $400,000 for individuals and $450,000 for couples. But it delayed action on dramatic federal spending cuts and debt, setting up another showdown in a divided congress.
Those first showdowns will come over the next three months, when the government's legal ability to borrow money will expire and temporary financing for federal agency budgets will expire.
Polk predicted a handful of other trends for 2013. Sales will grow for big pickup trucks, which are very profitable for automakers. Demand has been depressed for five years due to the weak economy, but should get a lift in 2013 thanks to redesigned trucks from GM, Toyota and Ford.
Polk also said the midsize sedan segment will continue to lead the industry. It's now at 18.5 percent of the market, 2 percentage points larger than any other type of segment.
"Recent redesigns of nearly every vehicle in the midsize segment are forcing more competition and continued growth," said Tom Libby, Polk's lead North American analysts.
Polk joins many other analysts in predicting 2013 sales at or above 15 million. The consulting firm LMC Automotive, for instance, expects 2013 sales of around 15 million, up from 14.5 million in 2012.
Auto sales peaked at about 17 million in 2005, but dropped to 10.4 million in 2009, the lowest level in more than three decades.
GENEVA (AP) ? A shooting in southern Switzerland has left three women dead, two men wounded and highlighted the ease of access to firearms in gun-loving nations.
The shooting ? which came on the eve of students' return to classes in Newtown, Connecticut, after a horrific school shooting ? also raised questions about why a troubled suspect was able to go on a rampage with an old military rifle.
The suspect, a 33-year-old unemployed man living on disability payments, fired about 20 shots Wednesday night in the village of Daillon, authorities in the Swiss canton (state) of Valais said Thursday.
He opened fire from his apartment and pursued people in the street, police said. Armed with a Swiss military rifle and a handgun, the man then threatened to shoot the elite troops that were sent in to stop him, police said.
"The shooter pointed his weapon at our colleagues, so they had to open fire to neutralize him, to avoid being injured themselves," police spokesman Jean-Marie Bornet told Swiss radio.
The suspect, who police did not identify, was arrested and taken to the hospital with serious wounds. Bornet said the shooter lived in Daillon but the motive for the shooting was not clear.
The suspect was using a military rifle that was once standard issue in the Swiss army, interim cantonal police chief Robert Steiner said.
Guns are popular among the Swiss ? the Alpine country has at least 2.3 million weapons among a population of less than 8 million. Gun clubs are popular in rural areas, with children as young as 10 taking part in shooting competitions.
Authorities say firearms are involved in nearly a quarter of the 1,100 suicides a year in Switzerland ? which don't include another 300 cases a year of assisted suicide ? but shooting rampages are rare in peaceful, prosperous Switzerland.
A gunman who killed 14 people at a city meeting in Zug in 2001 was the nation's worst such rampage, leading to calls to tighten national gun-buying laws. Friedrich Leibacher used a commercial version of the Swiss army's SG 550 assault rifle for the rampage, then killed himself.
Buying a firearm in a Swiss shop requires a permit, a clean criminal record and no psychiatric disability, but buying a firearm from another person is less restrictive. Most types of ammunition can be bought, while automatic firearms generally require a special police permit.
The police said they are still unclear about the shooter's motive ? or where he got the guns ? but old-style Army rifles are often sold at military surplus markets. Prosecutor Catherine Seppey said the shooter knew several of the victims but "he was not known for making threats."
The suspect was unemployed and had been receiving psychiatric care since at least 2005, when he was first admitted to a psychiatric hospital, and was under the care of the cantonal agency for the disabled, Seppey said.
The victims were three women aged 32, 54 and 79 who died at the scene, and two injured men, aged 33 and 63, who were taken to the hospital, Seppey said. The two youngest victims were a couple with small children.
"We have no words to express ourselves after an event like this," Christophe Germanier, head of the Conthey district where the shooting occurred, told a news conference.
All able-bodied Swiss men who are required to perform military duty often take their army-issued rifle home with them after completing military service. In 2007, the government began requiring that nearly all army ammunition is kept at secure army depots.
In 2011, voters rejected a proposal to tighten the gun laws.
Many in Switzerland believe that distributing guns to households helped dissuade a Nazi invasion during World War II.
"This is part of Switzerland's self-defense, where the entire army can be mobilized in 24 hours, said Daniel Warner of the Geneva Center for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces. "I don't think (the latest shooting) is going to cause a change in attitude here."
___
Geir Moulson in Berlin contributed to this report.
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Private-sector employers stepped up hiring in December, suggesting some momentum in the economy as the year ended, even as a budget crisis loomed.
While other data on Thursday showed an increase in the number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits, the trend remained consistent with steady job growth.
"The underlying economy has momentum, and the employment data confirms that. The hope and prayer of the market is that our political leaders don't screw it up," said John Brady, managing director at R.J. O'Brien & Associates in Chicago.
The ADP National Employment Report showed the private sector added 215,000 jobs last month, comfortably above economists' expectation of a 133,000 gain. The report is jointly developed with Moody's Analytics.
The increase came even as companies worried the economy might fall off the "fiscal cliff" at year end, which would have meant higher taxes and, some predicted, suppressed hiring.
In a separate report, the Labor Department said initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000 last week. However, claims data for nine states, including California and Virginia, was estimated because of the Christmas and New Year holidays.
The dollar pared losses versus the yen and extended gains versus the euro after the data. U.S. Treasury debt prices turned negative, while stock futures were trading lower.
The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends, rose 250 to 360,000.
The government is expected to report on Friday that employers added 150,000 jobs to their payrolls in December, little changed from 146,000 in November, according to a Reuters survey of economists. The jobless rate is seen holding at 7.7 percent.
Job gains in the first 11 months of last year averaged about 151,000 per month, not enough to significantly lower unemployment. Employers' hesitancy to ramp up hiring had been blamed on the so-called fiscal cliff, a combination of sharp government spending cuts and higher taxes.
Although Congress this week approved a deal to avoid the fiscal cliff, the budget problems are far from resolved. That could continue to cast a shadow of uncertainty and hurt job growth.
The claims report showed the number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid increased 44,000 to 3.25 million in the week ended December 22.
A third report showed planned layoffs at U.S. firms fell in December for the first time in four months, while the overall job-cut total in 2012 was the lowest since 1997.
Employers announced 32,556 job cuts last month, the second lowest monthly total of 2012 and down 43 percent from 57,081 in November, according to the report from consultants Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.
(Reporting By Lucia Mutikani in Washington and Steven C Johnson, Chris Reese and Ryan Vlastelica in New York; Editing by Andrea Ricci)
3 January 2013Last updated at 10:07 ETBy Mark KinverEnvironment reporter, BBC News
A look back at a year of extreme weather
The past 12 months were the second wettest on record in the UK, according to data released by the Met Office.
The total rainfall for the UK during 2012 was 1,330.7mm (52.4in), just 6.6mm short of the record set in 2000.
Most areas were affected by the extreme weather, with thousands of homes flooded and farmers struggling to grow crops in the saturated soil.
The latest data comes as analysis says the frequency of extreme rainfall in the UK may be increasing.
Continue reading the main story
Top five wettest years in the UK
1. 2000 - 1,337.3mm
2. 2012 - 1,330.7mm
3. 1954 - 1,309.1mm
4. 2008 - 1,295.0mm
5. 2002 - 1,283.7mm
(Source: Met Office)
BBC environment analyst Roger Harrabin said statistics showed that days of particularly heavy rainfall had become more common since 1960.
The study into extreme rain was based on statistics from the National Climate Information Centre, the UK's official climate record.
The Met Office said this was the wettest year on record for England, the third wettest for Wales, the 17th wettest on record for Scotland and the 40th wettest for Northern Ireland.
The records date back to 1910.
The Met Office added that four of the top five wettest years had occurred since 2000.
"The trend towards more extreme rainfall events is one we are seeing around the world, in countries such as India and China, and now potentially here in the UK," said Met Office chief scientist Prof Julia Slingo.
Continue reading the main story
Analysis
Steve CleatonForecaster, BBC Weather Centre
Although it has been the second wettest year on record for the UK, the start of the year was in fact dominated by talk of drought.
The big switch in weather conditions came as the 5th driest and 3rd warmest March on record gave way to the wettest April on record. We then experienced the wettest April to June on record, with June itself being the wettest June on record.
This drastic change was largely attributed to a shift in the position of the jet stream, a fast moving ribbon of air that flows high in the atmosphere. The jet stream helps create and steer low pressure systems towards and across the UK, and tends to meander from north to south through the year.
The extent of the jet stream's meandering largely results from the natural variability of our weather. During 2012, the jet stream was positioned to the south of the UK for extended periods of time.
This set-up resulted in the prevalence of Atlantic weather systems to be drawn across the UK from the west, bringing all the wet weather.
The wettest month of the year was December with 180.3mm of rain being recorded in the UK.
"Much more research is needed to understand more about the causes and potential implications."
Most areas in the UK experienced flooding during 2012, affecting thousands of homes and businesses.
In the run-up to Christmas, South-West England was particularly badly affected, with a number of railway lines remaining closed over the entire festive period.
The Environment Agency said almost 8,000 properties in England and Wales were flooded during 2012 and it sent more than 200,000 warnings to households and businesses.
However, it added that flood defences had protected more than 200,000 properties in at-risk areas.
'Double-whammy'
The rural economy was hardest hit by the poor weather, explained National Farmers Union (NFU) president Peter Kendall.
"The NFU estimates the appalling weather of 2012 has led to a financial black hole on Britain's farms amounting to a staggering ?1.3 billion," he said.
"As we enter 2013, many farmers are in areas under water or facing a double-whammy of huge feed bills for their livestock."
According to insurer NFU Mutual, weather-related claims from farmers was expected to exceed ?108 million but if the cost of reduced yields and failed harvest was also included then the final bill would be much higher.
Country Land and Business Association president Harry Cotterell said: "Farmers have lost valuable crops to the freak weather, which has had a knock-on impact for consumers as prices rise and produce becomes scarce and of poor quality."
The end of the year was in stark contrast to the beginning of 2012 when politicians, farmers and water industry officials held a "water summit" to look at supply concerns.
Areas in southern and South-East England were experiencing very low groundwater levels, prompting a number of water companies to impose hosepipe bans.
Continue reading the main story
Soil moisture deficit (SMD) is the amount of water needed to bring the soil moisture content back to field capacity, which is the amount of water the soil can hold against gravity. For example, say you have a pot plant. Field capacity is the amount of water you can give the pot plant without it leaking out of the bottom. Too much water and you get a negative SMD (the pot leaks), too little and you have a positive SMD (the pot plant needs watering). Just enough and the SMD = 0
Institution of Civil Engineers Water Panel chairman Michael Norton said now was an ideal time to look at how the UK manages its water resources, in times of drought as well as during flooding events.
"The management of drought and flooding are interdependent and require a coherent strategy," he explained.
"Without a strategy, we will continue to swing from flooding to drought and climate change will only exacerbate the situation.
"There are many measures that can help us manage water more effectively from multipurpose reservoirs, storage ponds for agriculture, sustainable urban drainage systems, and household rainwater harvesting.
"But this requires a strategy bringing in all of the key players involved in water resource management and usage."
Mr Norton called on the government to establish a "UK Water Security Task Force" to provide the necessary leadership to deliver long-term water security.
In 2008 I was griping about 2,433 unread emails in my inbox. Which is nothing. Today it’s up around 7,000, and I declared an email bankruptcy just a few months ago and started fresh. Cue, a handy mobile app for organizing and searching your online data across a variety of services, released some fascinating anonymized user data this afternoon that confirms what we all know already. We’re getting a lot more emails and reading fewer and fewer of them. The service lets users auth in to things like email, cloud storage, calendaring, etc., to deal with them all in one place. It gives them an unprecedented amount of data about users’ online activities. Here’s what the aggregate data from a random selection of Cue users tells us about email habits: - Average number of email words written per person in 2012: 41,368 (about the size of the Lord of the Flies novel) - Average messages received in 2012: 5,579 - Average messages sent in 2012: 869 CEO Daniel Gross also tells me (not included on the chart) that users are becoming much slower in responding to emails. The average response time in 2012 was 2.5 days. In 2011 it was 2.2 days, nearly a 14% increase in response time. And if you don’t get a response within 24 hours you may have to wait a while. If a message gets a response there’s a 56% chance it’ll come within an hour, and a whopping 89% likelihood it will come within 24 hours. To get the average out to 2.5 days, the remaining responses come much, much later. Tuesday is the busiest email day, although Wednesday is the most popular day for calendaring meetings. 11 am is the busiest email time of day. There’s fun data included as well. accounts for over 50% of emoticon usage. only gets 4.89%. My personal favorite rings in at just 0.21%. If a presidential nominee was mentioned last year in an email, it was “Obama” 68% of the time. Romney got just 32% of mentions. Dogs were the most popular animal at 38%, cats got just 32%. And if you click on the most common swearwords, you’ll see which one is most popular. See all the data here.