5 Smart Insights For Financial Advisors

What Falling Gold Prices Tell Us About The Stock Market (Advisor Perspectives)
"At a most rudimentary level, equities are residual claims in the capital structure. Gold, on the other hand, expresses confidence in the financial system," writes Mark Ungewitter of Charter Trust Company in Advisor Perspectives. "Confidence in banks, currencies, governments and Wall Street seems necessary for a secular bull market in junior claims – i.e. common stocks – to occur."
"The behavior of gold, then, helps confirm the stock market’s secular trend.  A sustained move in the S&P 500 above its 13-year range, corroborated by a sustained downturn in the dollar price of gold, would suggest the beginning of a new secular bull market."

Advisor Perspectives/Charter Trust Company

Wealth Management Firms Want Advisors To Spend More Time With Clients (Financial Planning)
A new survey by Ernst & Young has found that wealth management firms want advisors to spend more time with their clients. 75% said they have initiatives to do just this.
"Approximately 75% of wealth management firms surveyed plan to invest in mobile tools to increase advisor collaboration and effectiveness. Larger firms said they would use mobile technology to deepen client relationships by providing greater access to information, while smaller firms plan to use mobile applications to introduce new products and services and increase sales.
"Proprietary tools used for data and interfacing with clients will also come under scrutiny."
What The Big Gold Sell-Off Looks Like On A Chart Going Back To 1792 (Macro Tourist)
This chart shows how big the sell-off in gold has been even when taking a historical perspective.

Jim Rogers: Like I Said, I Expect Gold To Go As Low As $1,200
The gold rout continues and gold prices have fallen to $1,352 an ounce. Jim Rogers said the sell-off was being driven by falling gold demand in India, chartists, Cyprus and Bitcoins.
"I have repeatedly babbled about $1200-1300, but that is just because that would be a 30-35% correction which is normal in markets," he told Business Insider. "But I am a hopeless market timer/trader." Rogers said  he expects gold prices to fall further for the "foreseeable future" but expects "gold to eventually go higher over the decade."
Tommy Belesis Charged With Fraud And Intimidation (Finra)
Finra has accused Anastasios Tommy Belesis, CEO of at John Thomas Financial, and four other employees of fraud and intimidation. Finra alleges that John Thomas Financial (JTF) sold shares of America West Resources, Inc. (AWSR) "at the height of the price spike." But of the 15 customer orders received to sell over 1 million shares of America West, JTF just entered one.
"JTF and Belesis prevented the orders from being executed on the same day they were received and some customer orders were executed the following day or days after at prices grossly inferior to those obtained by the firm while other customer orders were not entered or executed at all. AWSR is now in bankruptcy and the customers' investments are virtually worthless.
"In addition, the complaint alleges that JTF and Belesis, through Misiti and Castellano, lied to the firm's registered representatives and customers about the reasons the customer shares could not be sold on Feb. 23, 2012, including that there was a problem with the clearing firm's trading systems, there was insufficient volume on that day to fill the orders, and the shares could not be sold because they were restricted under the Securities Act of 1933."

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US Futures Have Rallied And Turned Positive

After the stock markets closed at 4:00 PM ET today, U.S. futures traded lower.
However, they made a comeback, and now they're positive.

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If You're Shopping For Gold Jewelry, Don't Expect Cheaper Prices Anytime Soon

Gold has hit new lows.
But for Joe Consumer, it'll be mostly shrugs.
We spoke with several jewelers to talk about what impact — if any — plummeting prices would have for their wares, and their subsequent attractiveness for consumers.
They told us few people will notice any difference at jewelry stores for three reasons.
First, if you're buying a piece of jewelry for a specific occasion, a price cut is unlikely to even figure in to your purchasing decision.
"You're going to save $50 on a $4,000 piece of jewelry," Ken Walter, the owner of retailer Diamalux on Long Island, told us. "You're not going to see that much of a difference."
Another jeweler based in New York City who asked not to be identified said the final retail price for something like a gold-studded ring is most determined by the cost of craftsmanship and service than the underlying commodity.
Finally, the entire jewelry industry itself remains in secular decline, according to David Hopkinson, a gold manufacturer out of New Jersey.
"Now a days jewelery doesn't have the place in the world it did 25 years ago," he said. "Electronics seem to be the hot item, everyone wants to have smartphones, $300 or $400 cell phone plans. And gas is up, so all money you want to have going to jewelery is not going there anymore."

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The Yen Is Sliding

With just an hour to go before Asia opens for Tuesday trading, the yen is sliding.
Here's an Intraday look at the yen against the dollar via Bloomberg.

Bloomberg

Here's a longer term look for reference:

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Markets Are In The Red In Asia, Japan Down 1.6%

Markets have just opened in Asia, and they are trading lower.

Japan's Nikkei is down 1.6%.

Korea's Kospi is down 1.0%.

Australia's S&P/ASX is down 0.4%.

The sell-off comes in the wake of disappointing U.S. economic reports and a sharp Monday stock market plunge.

Gold tumbled by as much as 10% today.

Just before 3:00 PM ET, there were at least two explosions near the finish line of the Boston Marathon.  At least 22 are reportedly injured and 2 dead.  The story is developing.

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Pope stands firm on reforming "radical feminist" U.S. nuns

Pope Francis has reaffirmed the Vatican's criticism of a body that represents U.S. nuns which the Church said was tainted by "radical" feminism, dashing hopes he might take a softer stand with the sisters.
Francis's predecessor, Benedict, decreed that the Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR), a group that represents more than 80 percent of the 57,000 Catholic nuns in the United States, must change its ways, a ruling which the Vatican said on Monday still applied.

 

Last year, a Vatican report said the LCWR had "serious doctrinal problems" and promoted "radical feminist themes incompatible with the Catholic faith", criticizing it for taking a soft line on issues such as birth control and homosexuality.
The nuns received wide support among American Catholics, particularly on the liberal wing of the Church, as LCWR leaders travelled around the United States in a bus to defend themselves against the accusations.
On Monday the group's leaders met Archbishop Gerhard Ludwig Mueller, the new head of the Vatican's doctrinal department, and Archbishop Peter Sartain of Seattle, who has been assigned by the Vatican to correct the group's perceived failings.
"Archbishop Mueller informed the (LCWR) presidency that he had recently discussed the doctrinal assessment with Pope Francis, who reaffirmed the findings of the assessment and the program of reform, " the Vatican's statement said.
The Vatican reminded the group that it would "remain under the direction of the Holy See," the statement said.
It was the nuns' first meeting with Mueller, who succeeded American Cardinal William Levada as head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith. Levada, who retired last year, oversaw the Vatican's investigation of the U.S. nuns.
A statement from the LCWR said the "conversation was open and frank" and added: "We pray that these conversations may bear fruit for the good of the Church".
In April 2012, the doctrinal department criticized the LCWR for challenging bishops and for being "silent on the right to life," saying it had failed to make the "Biblical view of family life and human sexuality" a central plank of its agenda.
The nuns supported President Barack Obama's healthcare reform, part of which makes insurance coverage of birth control mandatory, while U.S. bishops opposed it.
Many nuns said the Vatican's report misunderstood their intentions and undervalued their work for social justice.
Supporters of the nuns said the women had helped the image of the Church in the United States at a time when it was engulfed in scandal over sexual abuse of minors by priests. They were praised by many fellow Catholics and the media for their work with the poor and sick.
Monday's Vatican statement expressed gratitude for the "great contribution" American Catholic nuns had made in teaching and caring for the sick and poor.

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Afghan electric company struggles to make powerful customers pay

How do you collect a $200,000 electricity bill from an Afghan warlord? Try cutting him off from the grid. Then turn off your cell phone so he can't yell at you.
General Rashid Dostum - one of Afghanistan's most powerful militia leaders - found someone else to reconnect him within hours, said Mirwais Alami, the chief commercial officer at Afghanistan's national power company.
"This will take years to collect," Alami said wryly. "But I am determined. If he doesn't pay, his son will pay."
Although Dostum is still holding out, others grudgingly paid up after the utility started cutting their power connections. The company cut off 1,000 defaulters last year and collected $230 million, a 40 percent increase in the last three years.
The approach is beginning to pay dividends. Three years ago, the company lost more than half its power to theft. Last year, that had fallen to a third. The utility is now breaking even in the capital. It's a small victory in an industry beset by woes.


Afghanistan desperately needs to build an electricity network to generate jobs, develop its trillion-dollar mineral deposits - a process that will take decades - and win support for a government that has delivered few tangible benefits to its citizens.
There has been progress, but it is slow. The national electricity utility, Da Afghanistan Breshna Sherkat (DABS), was set up in 2008. The next year, donors constructed power lines from neighboring Uzbekistan, which supplies most of Afghanistan's electricity, to the capital of Kabul.
The imports helped boost Afghanistan's power to 1,100 megawatts last year. It's about a quarter of what is needed, but a definite improvement on the 291 MW the country had a decade ago.
"(DABS) has shown striking progress for such a young organisation trying to run a national utility in a country that never had that before," said Roseann Casey, a top USAID official overseeing infrastructure in Afghanistan.
Around 80 percent of Afghan power is imported from neighboring countries, mainly Uzbekistan, so officials have to collect cash from customers if they don't want their country cut off. It's a struggle.
"We face a lot of problems. Some people think they should have free power, so when we try to collect they refuse to pay or get Parliament to call us in and give us problems," said Alami, brandishing letters he has sent to prominent Afghans and the attorney general's office.
FOREIGN HELP
Since DABS can't collect all its cash, foreign donors, led by the United States, Germany and India, are funding expansion. They hope to lay a power line down from Kabul to the southern city of Kandahar by 2016 - right through Taliban country.
Currently DABS in Kandahar is powered by U.S.-supplied diesel generators and U.S.-supplied diesel. The cost of the fuel alone is 400 percent of the revenue DABS collects in Kandahar, according to a report by the U.S. Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR).
The city is one of Afghanistan's "power islands," urban centers electrified by generators, hydro plants or imports from Iran, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan or Uzbekistan. There's very little power in the countryside.
In total, donors are spending $1.6 billion in current projects for the power sector and have allocated $6.3 billion to improve electrical infrastructure until 2019, according to a recent World Bank report.
It doesn't always go smoothly. Last year the U.S. paid a contractor nearly $13 million for electrical meters to replace old, faulty meters in Kandahar. SIGAR auditors found the equipment stashed in a warehouse months later. DABS says the new meters are faulty.
The installation of a third turbine in Kajaki Dam in southern Helmand province, near Kandahar, should bump up capacity from 33 MW to 51.5 MW, but Kajaki has become another troubled project.
British troops fighting off insurgent attacks hauled the turbine to the dam five years ago but Chinese engineers dropped out after the area was attacked. A U.S. firm frequently criticized by U.S. government auditors was awarded the contract, but then Afghan President Hamid Karzai said he wanted DABS in charge.
Now another round of bidding is underway for the new contract. No one knows when the turbine will be installed.
Hydroelectric dams like Kajaki are the best way for Afghanistan to generate cheap power. It has no money to pay for imported fuel. But the dams are costly to build and infrastructure is vulnerable to attack.
Last month Afghan authorities discovered more than a ton of explosives at Salma Dam, a hydro project being built by Indian engineers in Herat province in the western region of the country and expected to produce 42 MW.
Days later, Taliban fighters in Pakistan killed seven people in an attack that destroyed the biggest power station in northern Khyber Paktunkwa province.
"(The Taliban) don't want people to be educated and to have light. They want them to be jobless, to be hopeless, to fight," said Alami.
Alami is hoping that rural Afghans will be happy enough to get electricity that they will protect new power lines in their area. For him, DABS's biggest challenge is not security, but collecting the cash to maintain the projects that donors build.
Last year DABS spent $12 million on maintenance, with USAID funding maintenance for some power plants.
Donors hope that improved revenue collection will help DABS pay for more costs.
"They will have the revenue they collect and then they can use that revenue for operations and maintenance," said Raouf Zia, a spokesman for the World Bank.
That might help save the power plants from the fate of many other donor-built projects that will have to be shut down as the NATO drawdown in 2014 approaches and aid dwindles.
Afghanistan would have to spend $1 billion a year just to operate and maintain all the infrastructure and buildings that foreign donors have constructed since 2001, the World Bank study found.
This year the country's total collected revenue will be just under $2.5 billion. Only $80 million was allocated for maintenance.

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Tweeting Turkish pianist given suspended sentence for blasphemy

A world-renowned concert pianist was given a suspended jail sentence in Turkey on Monday for insulting religious values on Twitter, a case which has become a cause celebre for Turks alarmed about creeping Islamic conservatism.
Fazil Say, also a leading composer, went on trial in October for blasphemy - a crime that can carry an 18-month sentence - for a series of tweets including one citing a 1,000-year-old poem.
"The fact I've been convicted for an offence I didn't commit is less worrying for me personally than it is for freedom of expression and faith in Turkey," Say said in emailed comments.
His case has stirred up passions about the role religion should play in Turkish public life and highlighted how much has changed since Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's AK Party, which has roots in Islamist politics, swept to power a decade ago.
A judiciary once renowned for defending the secular republic against Islamist influence - notably jailing Erdogan himself for reciting a religious poem - now finds itself in hock to religious conservatives, government opponents say.
"The verdict is unacceptable, and an indicator of the AK Party's vengeful conception of the law," Ilhan Cihaner, a lawmaker from the main opposition CHP party, told Reuters.
Say retweeted a verse in April last year in which 11th-century Persian poet Omar Khayyam mocks pious hypocrisy. It is in the form of questions to believers: "You say rivers of wine flow in heaven, is heaven a tavern to you? You say two houris await each believer there, is heaven a brothel to you?"
In another tweet, he poked fun at a muezzin, someone who makes the Muslim call to prayer. "The muezzin finished the evening prayers in 22 seconds ... Why are you in such hurry? A lover? A raki table?" he asked, referring to the aniseed-flavored spirit popular in Turkey.
The series of more than half a dozen tweets led prosecutors to accuse the 43-year old pianist of "explicitly insulting religious values".
An Istanbul court gave him a 10-month prison sentence but suspended it by five years on condition that he does not commit the same crime again in that period.
"Say did not repeat the words of a poet, but attacked religion and the holy values of religion, completely with his own words," said plaintiff Ali Emre Bukagili, a civil engineer and follower of a prominent Turkish creationist, who has brought a series of such cases against public figures.
DIVIDED OPINION
Say, who has performed with leading orchestras from Tokyo to Berlin, as well as the Israel Philharmonic and the New York Philharmonic, denied the charge.
"Fazil Say" became a top trending topic on Twitter immediately after the ruling was announced, with comments reflecting Turks' strong but divided opinions on the role of religion in public life.
"Scandalous and disgraceful," one tweet said of the ruling. "I wouldn't be surprised if a witch hunt for non-believers starts."
Another disagreed: "Finding religious values silly is one thing, provoking people through insults another. The court ruling is not wrong."
Erdogan's AK, its initials spelling out the Turkish word for purity, was elected in 2002 with a landslide. A decade since then of unprecedented prosperity is admired among Western allies keen to portray NATO member Turkey as a beacon of political stability in a troubled region.
But Erdogan's opponents accuse him of posing a threat to the modern, secular republic founded by Kemal Ataturk on the ruins of the Ottoman empire 90 years ago.
The courts have helped silence opposition and emasculate a military which was long the self-appointed guardian of Turkish secularism. It pressured an Islamist-led government from power in 1997 but has since been forced into retreat under AK rule.
Erdogan himself served time in prison in 1998, when military influence still held sway, for reciting a poem that a court ruled was an incitement to religious hatred.
The poem Erdogan had read contained the verses: "The mosques are our barracks, the domes our helmets, the minarets our bayonets and the faithful our soldiers."

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EU says member states failing to crack down on human trafficking

BRUSSELS | Mon Apr 15, 2013 1:40pm EDT

(Reuters) - Thousands of people are falling victim to human traffickers every year in the European Union but most member states have failed to implement tougher new laws agreed by the bloc to address the problem, the European Commission said on Monday.
The new laws, agreed in 2011, impose higher penalties on offenders, make it easier to prosecute across borders within the bloc and give better protection to victims.
Only six countries in the 27-member bloc have implemented the new legislation so far, the Commission said.
Trafficking victims are typically women and they are predominantly forced into sexual slavery, but also hard labor and criminal activity. Some have their organs removed.
Information released by the EU executive on Monday showed the number of identified trafficking victims increased by 18 percent between 2008 and 2010 to about 10,000, although that number likely represents a fraction of all victims.
"What we know is probably only the tip of the iceberg," said Cecilia Malmstrom, the EU commissioner for home affairs.
"I am very disappointed to see that, despite these alarming trends, only a few countries have implemented the anti-trafficking legislation and I urge those who have not yet done so to respect their obligations."
Most of the victims identified were citizens of Romania and Bulgaria, the two poorest members of the bloc. Neither country has implemented the new laws.
EU governments which do not implement common rules can face legal action and fines.
An estimated nearly 21 million people worldwide are victims of human trafficking, according to 2012 statistics from the International Labor Organization.

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New app finds upcoming yoga classes wherever you are

By Natasha Baker

TORONTO | Mon Apr 15, 2013 5:14pm EDT

(Reuters) - From hatha to vinyasa and everything in between, a new app helps yoga lovers find upcoming classes nearby.
Om finders, an iPhone app, detects a user's location and shows yoga classes happening at studios around them, including time and directions.
"The vision was to get more people on planet earth doing yoga," said Nancy Richardson, vice president of digital and brand strategy at Vancouver-based yoga apparel company Lululemon.
Classes can be found at nearly 7,000 studios in 63 countries worldwide and can be filtered by time and type, including hatha, power flow, vinyasa and hot yoga.
"It offers lots of different options to try different classes, types of yoga, and experience different teachers," Richardson said.
Yogis can also keep up with the schedules of their favorite instructors. The app has over 30,000 instructor profiles, which include a schedule of their upcoming classes.
According to Rachel Acheson, vice president of brand and community at Lululemon, the turnover for yoga is high. Although there are approximately 20 million people practicing yoga, about 20 percent drop out every year.
"The new people to yoga every year is substantial," said Acheson. "Finding your teacher is one of the biggest things that drives commitment to the practice."
Users can invite friends to join in on class by sending a text, tweet, email or Facebook message through the app, and keep track of the classes they're headed to.
The app launched Thursday and by Saturday had been downloaded over 18,000 times. It secured the top spot in the Health and Fitness category on Apple's App Store in Canada, and the third spot in the category in the U.S.
It is the first digital experience that the company has developed in-house, and is part of Lululemon's push towards creating hyper-local experiences for consumers.
"That connection with our guests and studio partners is happening on a local level," Richardson said. "Our digital strategy is people-first. Our goal is to build authentic relationships with communities."
Although users can add a class to their schedule, which syncs with the calendar app, it is not yet possible to book or pay for a class within the app.
"We're waiting to see what guests want, and we're not confident they're going to want to book," Richardson responded, adding that the company is actively monitoring feedback.
The company will continue to monitor demand for other platforms, but the company's customers are predominantly iPhone users, according to Richardson.
A similar app called Mindbody Yoga is available for iPhone, created by Mindbody, the company that supplies the data about classes, studios and instructors used in Om Finder.
It allows users to book and pay for classes if the studio supports that capability. It does not, however, provide the social features found in Om Finder, or information about in-store classes.
Another app called GoRecess, available on the web, allows users in the United States to find and book fitness classes in their cities, including yoga, strength-training, dance martial arts and boot camp classes.

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Rihanna Cancels Houston Show Due to Illness

Rihanna Cancels Houston Show Due to Illness

Get well soon, Rihanna! The 25-year-old singer has had to cancel her Diamonds World Tour show in Houston, Texas on Monday, April 15 due to illness.
PHOTOS: Rihanna through the years
Live Nation released a statement on Monday (via The Associated Press) saying Rihanna is unable to perform "as a result of illness." Fans have been told to hang onto their tickets to use at a rescheduled show.
PHOTOS: Rihanna and Chris Brown through the years
Last month, the "Diamonds" singer was forced to cancel two dates after contracting laryngitis. She issued a heartfelt apology to her fans on Twitter, saying, "This is the hardest thing for me to deal with! I feel like we've been waiting on this day forever, and I'm hurt that I let you down. I hate disappointing people that never ever let me down!! I'm so embarrassed about this! Thank you for your prayers and well wishes!"
PHOTOS: Rihanna's best hairstyles
Rihanna has yet to tweet a personal announcement to her fans after canceling her April 15 show. She is next scheduled to perform in Dallas, Texas on April 16.

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Rihanna Cancels Houston Show Due to Illness

Rihanna Cancels Houston Show Due to Illness

Get well soon, Rihanna! The 25-year-old singer has had to cancel her Diamonds World Tour show in Houston, Texas on Monday, April 15 due to illness.
PHOTOS: Rihanna through the years
Live Nation released a statement on Monday (via The Associated Press) saying Rihanna is unable to perform "as a result of illness." Fans have been told to hang onto their tickets to use at a rescheduled show.
PHOTOS: Rihanna and Chris Brown through the years
Last month, the "Diamonds" singer was forced to cancel two dates after contracting laryngitis. She issued a heartfelt apology to her fans on Twitter, saying, "This is the hardest thing for me to deal with! I feel like we've been waiting on this day forever, and I'm hurt that I let you down. I hate disappointing people that never ever let me down!! I'm so embarrassed about this! Thank you for your prayers and well wishes!"
PHOTOS: Rihanna's best hairstyles
Rihanna has yet to tweet a personal announcement to her fans after canceling her April 15 show. She is next scheduled to perform in Dallas, Texas on April 16.

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Lourdes Leon Steps Out With Her ‘Homeland’ Beau Timotheé Chalamet

Lourdes Leon and Timothee Chalamet. (Elder Ordonez/INFDaily.com)Lourdes Leon is not Madonna's little girl anymore.

The 16-year-old was photographed with her 17-year-old boyfriend, Timotheé Chalamet, on Sunday in NYC. Chalamet, who "Homeland" fans will recognize as the actor who plays the vice president's son, Finn, joined Lourdes, her father Carlos Leon, and Leon's fiancé for a family dinner.
Earlier this month, the New York Post reported that the two started dating after meeting as students at the LaGuardia High School of Music & Art and Performing Arts in the Big Apple, where she's a junior and he's a senior.
Lourdes, who collaborates with her mom on the Material Girl clothing line, wrote on her blog Monday about some of the pressures -- academic and otherwise -- that she's facing in a new blog post for the Macy's brand of juniors apparel and accessories.

"Because of the start of spring I have developed the classic allergy symptoms that include but are not limited to; itchy eyes, runny nose, clogged ears and all the cute stuff. My most attractive season," wrote Lourdes, who goes by the nickname Lola. "No but in all honesty I get such a good feeling from slowly starting to see the leaves back on the trees and watching the skirts get shorter and shorter in school as spring progresses. For kids that are taking the SAT’s soon we unfortunately WILL NOT see the outdoors the months of April and May and instead will fill our time with fun filled Standardized Testing review books."
She went on to advise readers on how they can best enjoy spring: "Take some Claritin for those who are allergic, shave your legs (or dont #live), get some vitamin D, and enjoy the warm weather!"
(Elder Ordonez/INFDaily.com)
(Elder Ordonez/INFDaily.com)

Lola's father, an actor and personal trainer, revealed in 2011 that he was not looking forward to the day that she began to date.
"I'm dreading it so much, because she's my little girl," he told People. "I want her to stay young forever. I'm already overprotective, so when the time comes, I will be ready to have a talk with the guy she brings through the door. He better be ready, because I'll give him the rundown!"

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Beyoncé Strips Down for Bikini Photo Shoot

Beyoncé is sexy and sizzling as the famous face of H&M's 2013 summer campaign! Known to lend her iconic image to more upscale and sophisticated labels like Tommy Hilfiger and Armani, Queen B seems to be going back in time, sporting teeny-weeny bikinis and modeling for the budget-friendly brand.

Not only did the 31-year-old superstar lend her good looks to the label, but she also collaborated and helped design the pieces! She said in a press release, "I've always like H&M's focus on fun and affordable fashion. I really loved the concept we collaborated on to explore the different emotions of women represented by the four elements – fire, water, earth and wind."
Her body is definitely bootylicious in those teeny bikinis, and she's clearly showing us she's in tiptop shape for her upcoming "Mrs. Carter Show World Tour," which kicks off April 15.
Watch the video to see for yourself how Queen B has yet again proved that she’s a triple threat. For more of the latest entertainment news, tune in to "omg! Insider" on TV tonight.

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Khloe Kardashian Weighs In on Kim’s Pregnancy Weight

"omg! Insider" correspondent Michael Yo sat down with Khloe Kardashian to dish on all those nasty Kardashian headlines. From the media's criticism of Kim's pregnancy pounds to rumors of a troubled romance for Kim and Kanye, Khloe weighed in on it all. “It's just, I think disgusting to talk about a pregnant person's weight,” she explained, adding, "I think it should be off limits." Kim’s younger sis even admitted that she's envious of her sister's fabulous figure saying, "I wish I could look like that when I'm pregnant." Check out the vid to hear more from Khloe and for the full interview, tune in to “omg! Insider” on TV tonight!

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Google rivals may be quizzed on antitrust offer this week

Reuters/Reuters - The Google signage is seen at the company's headquarters in New York January 8, 2013. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - Google's rivals could get the chance to ramp up pressure for tougher concessions from the search giant when they are asked, possibly as early as this week, to study its proposals for ending an EU antitrust investigation.

The world's most popular search engine formally submitted a package of concessions to European regulators last week and three people familiar with the matter said on Monday these could be put to rivals this week in a market test.

The proposals are intended to settle an investigation dating from November 2010 and stave off a fine that could be as high as $5 billion if the company were found to have breached EU rules.
"It is possible the market test could start this week," said one of the sources, who declined to be identified because of the sensitivity of the matter.
The spokesman for competition policy at the European Commission, Antoine Colombani, declined to comment. Google spokesman Al Verney said the company continued to work cooperatively with the EU antitrust watchdog.
Complainants against Google include Microsoft, online mapping services, smaller rival search engines across Europe, publishers, online travel sites such as TripAdvisor and Expedia, and price comparison sites.
Neither the Commission nor Google have given details of the proposals. But people familiar with the matter have told Reuters these could include Google labeling its own services to differentiate them from rivals', and also imposing fewer restrictions on advertisers.
Google's opponents have already indicated labeling will not address their concerns.
"Labeling is a non-starter and may be worse than the existing situation," said David Wood, a lawyer for online lobbying group ICOMP, whose members include Microsoft and four other complainants.
Any concessions the regulators accept from Google will be valid for five years in Europe and be monitored by a trustee to ensure compliance, one of the sources said.
"Rival services will be shown more prominently in search results, with three links to three different search engines," this person said.

"Advertising space in Google Shopping will be reserved exclusively for vertical search sites," the person said, referring to specialty search functions focused on specific topics.

Rivals can also mark out sensitive information such as addresses, telephone numbers, opening hours and reviews which they do not want Google to use.

"This is especially for local search sites and product search sites, such as online travel site TripAdvisor and Nextag," the person said.

The Financial Times first reported on the details of Google's offer.

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MetroPCS urges shareholders to vote for amended T-Mobile deal

• Reuters/Reuters - The logo of Deutsche Telekom AG is seen outside the company's headquarter in Bonn May 24, 2012. REUTERS/Wolfgang Rattay

(Reuters) - MetroPCS Communications amended the terms for its proposed merger with Deutsche Telekom unit T-Mobile USA, and asked shareholders to vote for the deal.

The move follows Deutsche Telekom sweetening its offer last Wednesday, bowing to pressure from activists and proxy advisory firms.

MetroPCS's shares, which closed at $11.52 on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, were down 2 percent in premarket trading.

The amendment "significantly improves" the value of the proposed combination for shareholders, MetroPCS's board said in a statement.
The new terms include reducing the combined company debt by $3.8 billion to $11.2 billion and lowering the interest rate on the debt by 50 basis points.
As a part of its sweetened offer, Deutsche Telekom has expanded the lock-up period - when it is prohibited from publicly selling shares in the company - by 12 months to 18 months.

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Vodafone to cut 500 jobs in Germany

• Reuters/Reuters - A customer walks past the Vodafone logo in a shopping mall in Prague February 7, 2012. British telecommunication firm Vodafone is expected to post fourth-quarter results on February 9. REUTERS/David …more 

FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Vodafone will cut 500 jobs in Germany, the company said on Monday, as the group adjusts to harsher competition and lower fees in Europe's largest economy.

"We have started a two-year program," a spokesman said, confirming reports in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and Rheinische Post.

The company aims to shift some operations to Romania and India, as well as considerably reduce starting salaries. Areas like network technology and customer service will be affected.

Vodafone is suffering because of low price offers for smartphones from Deutsche Telekom's T-Mobile unit and a regulatory ruling that lowers the fees mobile operators can charge for calls coming from other networks.

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iPhone supplier Japan Display turns to smaller smartphone makers

By Reiji Murai and Mari Saito

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan Display Inc, one of two Japanese producers of Apple Inc iPhone screens, wants to boost sales by up to 60 percent by winning more business from smaller makers of phones and tablets to offset lackluster orders from its bigger clients.

Japan Display, the world's No.1 maker of small to mid-size panels, may increase sales to as much as 800 billion yen ($8.10 billion) for the fiscal year ending March 2014 from slightly below 500 billion yen a year earlier, said Shuichi Otsuka, CEO of the unlisted firm.

The company, formed out of a merger of the small panel divisions of Sony Corp, Hitachi Ltd and Toshiba Corp last April, does not publicly identify its clients but is widely known as a key Apple supplier. Apple undershot Wall Street's sales forecast for the third straight quarter in the three months ended December after iPhone sales missed expectations.

"Before the fourth quarter, we thought we were going to have quite a loss... It was quite a drastic cut (in orders)," said Otsuka in an interview on Monday, without identifying Japan Display's customers.
Operating margins came in below 1 percent in the last fiscal year, Otsuka said.
Japan Display cut costs, boosted productivity at its plants and was able to recover from the October-December loss with sales to other smaller clients.
"We must continue to aggressively chase the big clients...but we continue to talk to clients whom we think hold great possibilities," he said.
The company, whose top shareholder is the government with a 70 percent stake, may proceed with its initial public offering at the earliest in fiscal year 2014, or the following year at the latest, Otsuka said.
Japan Display competes with domestic rival Sharp Corp, as well as South Korea's LG Display Co Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Apple combined own more than 71 percent share of the global smartphone market, with the rest split among firms such as LG Electronics Inc, ZTE Corp and Huawei Technology Co Ltd.

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U.S. agency denies data center to monitor citizens' emails

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. National Security Agency on Monday denied that a $1.2 billion data center it is building in the Utah desert will be used to illegally eavesdrop on or monitor the emails of U.S. citizens.

The secretive agency, which serves the U.S. military and intelligence communities, insisted the state-of-the-art facility's work would be used to support U.S. cybersecurity in accordance with U.S. laws that limit spying on U.S. citizens.
"Many unfounded allegations have been made about the planned activities of the Utah Data Center," the NSA said in a statement, noting that "one of the biggest misconceptions about NSA is that we are unlawfully listening in on, or reading emails of, U.S. citizens. This is simply not the case."
Fox News aired a television report about the 1-million-square-foot (92,903-square-meter) facility on Friday in which former NSA employees raised concerns that the facility would be used to monitor the emails of U.S. citizens.
The NSA said it remained "unwavering" in its respect for U.S. laws and American citizens' civil liberties, and noted that it was subject to broad oversight by all three branches of government.
All wiretapping of U.S. citizens by the NSA requires a warrant from a three-judge court set up under the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act passed in 1978.
Former President George W. Bush issued an executive order shortly after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States that authorized the NSA to monitor certain phone calls without obtaining a warrant.
The NSA issued a news release about construction of the massive, Utah data center in January 2011, identifying it as the largest Pentagon facility construction project in the country.
It said the project would result in 5,000 to 10,000 new jobs during the construction phase, with 100 to 200 permanent employees to work there once it was completed. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is handling the construction of the facility.
NSA spokeswoman Vanee Vines said the center was due to be completed in September.
The NSA is the executive agent for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and will be the lead agency at the facility, but the center will also help other agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, in protecting national security networks, according to a NSA news release.

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