| The Transom
Indexes End Mixed, But Up For The Week
Nasdaq volume slipped 10% below Thursday's level. For the week, the NYSE ended 1.7% higher, while the Nasdaq added 0.7%. Declining stocks led advancers on Friday by about 3-to-2 on both exchanges. Priceline PCLN ran ahead of the pack with a 21.63 gain to 123.86 after reporting Thursday that Q4 earnings jumped 66%. The 22% spike sent the online travel firm's shares to new highs, after it cleared a low handle. Kraft Foods KFT jumped 2.02, or 7%, to 31.33 on more than twice normal volume. Regulatory filings showed Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK A) had established a minority, $4.4 billion stake in Kraft common shares as of Dec. 31. The stock has been consolidating since June. Wal-Mart WMT weighed on the Dow with a slip of 0.53 to 49.44 on above-average volume after a drop in January sales.
Flip Shelton: Don't sweat the scorpions
NI Hao. I'm back from the Kingdom of Bicycles and had a cracker of a holiday. It seems my pre-travel worries were unwarranted. (Dear reader: if you missed my last column I was caught in a Chinese conundrum and feared retribution from the god of travel, Hermes.) According to English pop songstress Katie Melua, there are "nine million bicycles in Beijing" and, given that the city is as flat as Ballarat, the topography is certainly conducive to cycling. To give you some perspective -- just over one million bikes were sold in the whole of Australia last year, while in Beijing nine million bikes exist in an area roughly twice the size of Melbourne. That's about 536 bikes a square kilometre! In bravery akin to a matador facing a rampaging bull, cyclists gather at intersections before building up enough strength in numbers to venture across.
Bush Admin
Gregg Gordon: Today Is Super Tuesday. Will Republicans Finally Bail on Bush on Wednesday? With the threat of primary challenges over, will Republicans start to come to their senses? Monday, February 4: neuroscott: The Bush Tragedy George W. Bush is a Churchill wannabe with the soul of Inspector Clouseau. That, in a nutshell, is the disheartening conclusion I draw from Jacob Weisberg's illuminating character study of our forty-third president, The Bush Tragedy Friday, February 1: Ray McGovern: Iniquities and Inequities of War (7 comments) Oil-- that was Bush's true reason, in spite of his hundreds of lies-- for invading and occupying Iraq. And this becomes painfully clear as heroic writer, Ray McGovern discusses the top rate health care he's receiving for his cancerous tumor, compared to the pathetic care our Iraq vets are receiving, let alone the close to 50 million Americans who receive no health insurance supported care at all.
Ultrafit: Icy beards, numb digits and derring-do
What: A self-supported 135-mile endurance race through Minnesota's Kabetogama and Sturgeon River state forests. When: This year's event begins Monday and runs through next Wednesday. About 60 people have registered. From the beginning ... : The event, first run four years ago, is organized by Pierre and Cheryl Ostor of White Bear Lake. ... to the end: Racers can bike, ski or run the course, which follows the Arrowhead State Trail from a parking lot near International Falls south to a lodge on Lake Vermilion near Tower, carrying all their own food, water and survival gear. Bikers have won the first three races, but with deep snow, skis could prove superior. Info: www.arrowheadultra.com. .
Vendor finds solace at tree stand
It's like a homecoming for her in a way.
"I'm so happy to be back here," she said. "People had a hard time finding me last year, it was kind of obscure."
Her first shipment of North Carolina Frasier Firs arrived on Monday. She spent Tuesday untying them in preparation. She hopes that she will be able to sell as many as she used to at True Value, between 300 and 400 trees.
The holiday season is a busy one for her. The stand will be open seven days a week, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. all the way up to Christmas.
"I was open on Christmas last year selling trees," she said. "I'll be here on Christmas this year, too, if I still have some trees to sell."
In Paul's absence, she plans on working during Thanksgiving as well.
"What else am I going to do? I don't have anyone else," she said doing her best to hold back the tears.
Apology fails to take heat off Hain
And fading quietly into the background we see Tony Blair... our recently appointed 'Merchant of Peace' in the Middle East and architect of NuLabour deceit and spin... getting into bed at a $million per annum (part time at that) with the Morgan Chase Bank of New York. Neither were his apologies, sincere or otherwise... self humiliating, so why should Peter Hain or for that matter our own dear little Wendy not get off 'Scot free'. No pun intended! .
Campus crisis response review looks at technology to issue alerts
A major review of crisis prevention and response strategies at the University of Saskatchewan will include recommendations for improved technology to send emergency alerts across campus. David Hannah, associate vice-president of student and enrolment services and one of the staffers leading the review, said Monday an improved alert system will likely be in place by the start of the fall semester. The review began after a mass murder last spring at Virginia Tech in the United States. It should be finished and forwarded to university administration within the next month, said Hannah. .
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