Microsoft sells patents to Xiaomi, builds ‘long-term partnership’

Software maker Microsoft Corp is selling about 1,500 of its patents to Chinese device maker Xiaomi, a rare departure for the U.S. company and part of what the two companies say is the start of a long-term partnership.

The deal, announced on Wednesday, also includes a patent cross-licensing arrangement and a commitment by Xiaomi to install copies of Microsoft software, including Office and Skype, on its phones and tablets.

Both companies declined to discuss financial terms of the deal.

“This is a very big collaboration agreement between the two companies,” Wang Xiang, senior vice president at Xiaomi, said by telephone ahead of the deal.

Analysts said Xiaomi’s ambitions to be a major player outside China were hampered by weak patent protection and a fear of a prolonged legal battle.

“This deal might just give them enough of a patent trove to move to Western markets,” said Sameer Singh, a UK-based analyst. “Their position in China has been under constant attack from even lower-end Android vendors, so moving overseas is now a necessity.”

Shipments of Xiaomi phones fell 9 percent year-on-year in China in the first quarter, according to Strategy Analytics, and its market share dipped to 12 percent from 13 percent, squeezed not only by Huawei [HWT.UL] and Samsung Electronics but also smaller contenders including Oppo and Vivo.

Wang said the acquisition of Microsoft patents, which included voice communications, multimedia and cloud computing, on top of some 3,700 patents the Chinese company filed last year, were “an important step forwards to support our expansion internationally.”

Xiaomi launched its first U.S. device earlier this month, a TV set-top box it developed in cooperation with Alphabet Inc’s Google, which owns the Android operating system it and most Xiaomi devices run on. Xiaomi has also launched a tablet which runs a version of Microsoft’s Windows operating system.

Jonathan Tinter, corporate vice president at Microsoft, said the company was keen to tap into Xiaomi’s young, affluent and educated users by having its products pre-installed on their devices. He declined to go into detail about the patent deals, but said the overall deal was something “we do only with a few strategic partners.”

Microsoft has cut licensing deals with many Android device makers over the years, but has had less luck with Chinese manufacturers.

Florian Mueller, a patents expert who consulted for Microsoft in the past, said it was rare for Microsoft to actually sell its patents, adding “it’s possible Microsoft found it easier to impose its Android patent tax on Xiaomi as part of a broader deal that also involved a transfer of patents.”

source: interaksyon.com

Demonstrators blast Trump at San Diego rally

SAN DIEGO -- Donald Trump brought his message of walls and deportations to the doorstep of America’s busiest border crossing on Friday as the presumptive Republican presidential nominee greeted supporters in San Diego, amid one of the largest counter-protests organized against him.

The scene inside the San Diego Convention Center during Trump's speech was relatively placid, while outside demonstrators opposed to his controversy-ridden White House bid marched and chanted, carrying signs criticizing his rhetoric against illegal immigration.

Waving US and Mexican flags, more than 1,000 people turned out for anti-trump rallies in San Diego, a city on the US-Mexico border whose San Ysidro port of entry sees nearly 300,000 people a day cross legally between the countries.

San Diego is considered a binational city by many who live and work on opposite sides of the border, and about a third of the city's population is Latino.

During Trump's speech on Friday, some protesters outside the convention center scaled a barrier and lobbed water bottles at police. One man was pulled off the wall and arrested as others were surrounded by fellow protesters and backed away from the confrontation.

After the convention center emptied, clusters of Trump supporters and anti-Trump demonstrators began to mix in the streets, many exchanging shouted epithets and some throwing water bottles at one another.

Police in riot gear declared the gathering an unlawful assembly and ordered the crowd to disperse, herding the crowd out of the city's hotel and restaurant-filled Gaslamp Quarter.

Police reported making more than dozen arrests during the hour following the department's order to disperse.

Trump has weathered months of blowback from all ends of the political spectrum for his immigration policy, which calls for the building of a wall along the US-Mexico border and deporting the nearly 11 million undocumented immigrants who reside in the United States.

Critics have said his plan is needlessly cruel and impossible to implement. At Trump's campaign stops, attendees often chant "build the wall."

While Trump is running unopposed in the June 7 California Republican primary, his stance on border control and deportation seems unlikely to resonate with the electorate at large in a state where political fallout from a Republican-backed crackdown on illegal immigrants 20 years ago cost the party dearly.

Friday was not the first time Trump has been greeted by civil unrest in California, which is home to the largest Latino population in the country. Late last month, a visit to the California Republican convention set off days of protests in the area, leading to several arrests.

Waiting for ‘first place finisher’

Shortly before taking the stage in San Diego, Trump issued a statement ruling out a one-on-one debate with second-place Democratic hopeful Bernie Sanders, who was also in California, killing off a potentially high-ratings television spectacle.

The suggested debate, an idea first raised during a talk show appearance by the New York billionaire, would have sidelined likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton but given Sanders a huge platform ahead of California Democratic primary.

A day after saying he would welcome a Sanders debate, Trump called the idea "inappropriate," declaring that he should only face the Democrats' final choice.

"I will wait to debate the first-place finisher in the Democratic Party, probably Crooked Hillary Clinton," Trump said in a statement.

Sanders, a US senator from Vermont, expressed disappointment on Friday, and sought to goad Trump into reconsidering.

"Well, Mr. Trump, what are you afraid of?" he said in a video clip posted on ABC News' Twitter account.

Trump suggested broadcast networks were unwilling to go along with his demand that at least $10 million raised from the encounter be donated to charity.

“I’d love to debate Bernie,” he told a rally in Fresno, California. “But the networks want to keep the money for themselves.”

Sanders is trailing Clinton in the race to secure their party’s nomination, but opinion polls show he is slicing into her lead in California.

Clinton has shown no interest in debating Sanders before the California primary, which will be part of a final slate of nominating contests. It is possible she will clinch the nomination by winning New Jersey earlier that day, making the outcome in California superfluous.

The former US secretary of state has said she is looking forward to debating Trump later this year ahead of the Nov. 8 general election.

Clinton leads Trump by 4 percentage points in the most recent Reuters/Ipsos poll. Democrats nationally remain evenly split between Clinton and Sanders.

source: interaksyon.com

In Ecuador cyber heist, thieves moved $9 million to 23 Hong Kong firms

HONG KONG/CHICAGO  - Cyber thieves who stole $12 million from an Ecuadorian bank in 2015 routed the funds through 23 companies registered in Hong Kong, some of them with no clear business activity, according to previously unreported court filings and judicial rulings.

The court papers offer a first glimpse into where some of the money was moved after it reached accounts in Hong Kong.

The filings stem from a lawsuit filed in early 2015 by Ecuador's Banco del Austro (BDA) in Hong Kong against the web of companies that received or handled more than $9 million in stolen funds, bank records submitted to the territory's Court of First Instance show. The BDA lawsuit alleged the companies had been "unjustly enriched" and sought recovery of the money.

The remaining $3 million was routed to entities in Dubai and elsewhere, according to separate court filings in the U.S. Those transfers are not the subject of litigation in Hong Kong.

The cyber thieves allegedly used the SWIFT global messaging system to move the funds. SWIFT, a conduit for bank money transfers worldwide, also was the network used to move $81 million out of Bangladesh Bank in February.

According to the Hong Kong court filings, BDA submitted criminal reports to police in both Hong Kong and Ecuador about the transfers. The content of those reports was not part of the court record reviewed by Reuters. The attacks have caught the attention of global investigative agencies. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Bangladesh authorities are leading a search for criminals behind the February heist, which ranks among the largest ever.

In the Ecuadorian heist, the money was transferred by Wells Fargo based on authenticated SWIFT messages, and both BDA and the U.S. bank now believe those funds were stolen by unidentified hackers, according to documents in a BDA lawsuit filed against Wells Fargo in New York this year.

It was not clear whether the Hong Kong Police have launched an official probe. A spokesman for the agency declined to confirm or deny the existence of an investigation.

The Ecuador attorney general’s office did not respond to a request for comment. The FBI and BDA also declined comment.

Initially, cyber thieves moved $9.139 million of the more than $12 million they stole from BDA into the Hong Kong accounts of four companies at HSBC and Hang Seng Bank.

At least $3.1 million of the funds were then routed from those four companies to 19 "second layer" bank accounts, meaning the funds made a second hop to another set of Hong-Kong registered companies, the papers show.

Not tied to real businesses

Hang Seng did not immediately respond to a request for comment. HSBC declined to comment on the details of the case but a spokesman said in an e-mail that the bank actively co-operates with law enforcement and has controls in place to know its customers and deter crime.

SWIFT, an acronym for the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication, has said its core messaging system has never been breached.

A BDA lawyer said in the filings that the Ecuador bank knew none of the firms or people behind the four companies that initially received the funds. Most of the "second layer" accounts appeared not to be tied to real businesses, the lawyer added.

Hong Kong Deputy High Court Judge Conrad Seagroatt said in a December ruling in the case that the four initial recipients showed no prior history of business activity. "They all appear to be otherwise inactive corporate vehicles controlled by citizens of the People's Republic of China," Seagroatt wrote.

In March last year, BDA secured an order from the court to freeze the accounts of the four companies that intially received the funds, although it later settled with the recipient of the smallest transfer of $95,731.18 and withdrew its claim against that firm, the court record shows.

As of last month, complaints against five of the 23 defendants had been withdrawn or dismissed, and settlements with some defendants have taken place, court papers reviewed by Reuters indicate.

BDA has declined to speak with Reuters about the Hong Kong case or the related litigation in the United States against Wells Fargo.

source: interaksyon.com

Spotify losses deepen despite rapid expansion

STOCKHOLM, Sweden — Streaming leader Spotify said Monday that its losses deepened last year even as the company topped $2 billion in revenue amid the global boom in online music.

The Swedish company founded in 2008 has been at the forefront of the music industry’s turn to streaming, which offers unlimited music on demand, yet it has never turned a profit itself.

Luxembourg-based holding company Spotify Technologies, submitting its annual earnings report, said its revenue jumped 80 percent to 1.945 billion euros ($2.18 billion) in 2015.

The growth rate is significantly stronger than the 45 percent it charted in 2014 and slightly higher than the 74 percent seen in 2013.

“In many ways, it was our best year ever,” the company said in a message to shareholders, describing Spotify as the top driver of growth for the entire music industry.

The company said its revenue from advertisements nearly doubled and that its user base also grew significantly.

Spotify said it had 89 million active monthly users by the end of 2015, up from 60 million a year earlier, of whom some 28 million were paying for subscriptions.

The company’s founder, Daniel Ek, had said in March that Spotify reached 30 million paying subscribers.

But the growth did not erase losses, with Spotify putting a priority on investments at a stage when streaming is increasingly becoming mainstream.

The company’s net losses totalled 173 million euros, nearly seven percent deeper than a year before.

“We believe our model supports profitability at scale,” the company said.

“We believe that we will generate substantial revenues as our reach expands and that, at scale, our margins will improve,” it said.

“We will therefore continue to invest relentlessly in our product and marketing initiatives to accelerate reach,” it said.

Spotify says it offers more than 30 million songs on-demand but has also faced growing competition.

Tech giant Apple last year launched its own streaming service and rap mogul Jay-Z has spearheaded rival Tidal, adding to a market that also includes French-based Deezer and US-based Rhapsody.

Spotify has also faced prominent holdouts including Tayor Swift, Adele and Radiohead who have kept some or all of their music off the service, in part due to objections to its free tier.

source: interaksyon.com

Venezuela, where a hamburger is officially $170

CARACAS - If a visitor to Venezuela is unfortunate enough to pay for anything with a foreign credit card, the eye-watering cost might suggest they were in a city pricier than Tokyo or Zurich.

A hamburger sold for 1,700 Venezuelan bolivares is $170, or a 69,000-bolivar hotel room is $6,900 a night, based on the official rate of 10 bolivares for $1.

But of course no merchant is pricing at the official rate imposed under currency controls. It's the black market rate of 1,000 bolivares per dollar that's applied.

But for Venezuelans paid in hyperinflation-hit bolivares, and living in an economy relying on mostly imported goods or raw materials, conditions are unthinkably expensive.

Even for the middle class, most of it sliding into poverty, hamburgers and hotels are out-of-reach excesses.

"Everybody is knocked low," Michael Leal, a 34-year-old manager of an eyewear store in Caracas, told AFP. "We can't breathe."

Shuttered stores

In Chacao, a middle-class neighborhood in the capital, office workers lined up outside a nut store to buy the cheapest lunch they could afford. Nearby restaurants were all but empty.

Superficially it looked like the center of any other major Latin American city: skyscrapers, dense traffic, pedestrians in short sleeves bustling along the sidewalks.

But look closely and you can see the economic malaise. Many stores, particularly those that sold electronics, were shuttered.

"It's horrible now," said Marta Gonzalez, the 69-year-old manager of a corner beauty products store.

"Nobody is buying anything really. Just food," she said as a male customer used a debit card to pay for  a couple of razor blades.

A sign above the register said "We don't accept credit cards."

Lines for necessities

An upmarket shopping center nearby boasted a leafy rooftop terrace, a spacious Hard Rock cafe, chain stores for Zara, Swarovski and Armani Exchange.

They were all virtually deserted except for bored sales staff.

Instead a line of around 200 people was waiting patiently in front of a pharmacy.

They didn't know what for, exactly, just that the routine now was to line up for daily deliveries of one subsidized personal hygiene product or another -- toothpaste, for instance -- and grab their rationed amount before it ran out, usually within a couple of minutes.

"We do this every week. And we don't know what we're trying to buy," said Kevin Jaimes, a 21-year-old auto parts salesman waiting with his family.

"What's frustrating is when you get into a gigantic line but they run out before you get any."

The alternative then is to turn to black market merchants who sell goods at grossly inflated rates, often 100 times more than the subsidized price tag.

Jaimes lives with his family of seven, and tries to get by on a monthly salary of 35,000 bolivares -- in reality, around $35.

That sum is too paltry for him to even think about dropping into the cinema upstairs in the center, where tickets are 8,800 bolivares.

If somehow he could, he'd find the same sort of entertainment being shown in American multiplexes: "The Jungle Book," "Captain America: Civil War," and "Angry Birds."

But motion pictures and popcorn, while maybe an enticing diversion, are luxuries Venezuelans these days can ill afford.

source: interaksyon.com

Wrist-band device for alcohol monitoring wins prize

SAN FRANCISCO — A San Francisco-based company has won a U.S. government-sponsored competition with an alcohol monitoring devices that can be worn on the wrist, the latest milestone in the development of wearable technologies that monitor and diagnose medical conditions.

BACtrack, a privately held medical device maker, took the $200,000 top prize in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Wearable Biosensor Challenge on Thursday with its wristband monitor, which measures blood alcohol levels via sweat on the skin.

The product, dubbed BACtrack Skyn, has not yet been submitted to the Food and Drug Administration for marketing approval.

Dr. George Koob, head of the NIH’s National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, said he expected the device to be a valuable resource for alcohol research community.

“It can help doctors accurately measure a patient’s drinking history, and not just depend on the most recent tests,” Koob said. “This can help a lot with the treatment.”

Medical, law enforcement and transportation officials have long sought better technology for detection of blood alcohol levels. Traditional portable breath alcohol testers (PBTs) are unwieldy and can cost over $1,000, and they don’t provide ongoing monitoring of alcohol levels.

“The blood alcohol monitoring devices used in legal and medical circles are big and bulky, like a ball and chain for the ones using it,” said Keith Nothacker, president of BACtrack. “We wanted to make something people would want to wear.”

The device in its current form will not, however, be a substitute for breathalyzers or blood tests used by law enforcement, because the device does not provide real-time blood-alcohol levels.

Nothacker said it takes about 45 minutes for ethanol to be transmitted through the skin, and that the device is designed to provide a recent history of alcohol use.

BACtrack has been experimenting with consumer-centric alcohol testing for several years. In 2013, it introduced the BACtrack Mobile Breathalyzer, which syncs with a smartphone to track blood alcohol content.

BACtrack beat seven other smaller companies to win the NIH competition. Milo, a Santa Barbara based technology startup, won the $100,000 second-place prize for its design of a wearable alcohol content tracker that also uses a skin sensor and communicates with a smartphone using wireless technology.

source: interaksyon.com

Searching for real growth, US companies turn to virtual reality

NEW YORK — A growing number of U.S. companies are counting on virtual reality for real profits.

With growth hard to come by amid the lethargic economy, companies ranging from snowmobile manufacturers to furniture sellers are incorporating virtual reality that so far has mostly been found in video games. Their bet: that the trendy headset-based technology can help them build sales and cut costs.

Theme park operator Six Flags Entertainment Corp (SIX.N) is outfitting riders on some of its aging roller coasters with Samsung VR headsets, allowing the company to brand the rides as brand-new without having to build costly new attractions.

Snowmobile manufacturer Arctic Cat Inc (ACAT.O) has developed virtual reality rides that customers can use to try out new models at dealerships, while eBay Inc’s (EBAY.O) StubHub is testing technology that allows fans to check out the view from different seats before buying tickets.

In the most recent round of corporate earnings reports, some 38 companies – including the New York Times Co (NYT.N), GoPro Inc (GPRO.O), and furniture-seller Wayfair Inc (W.N) – highlighted virtual reality as a part of their business plans.

That was a 375 percent jump from the 8 that did so at this time last year, according to a Reuters analysis of earnings calls transcripts. Nearly all were either consumer or technology companies, suggesting that virtual reality technology has a ways to go before becoming mainstream.

The increasing focus on virtual reality comes at a time when first-quarter earnings for the S&P 500 are expected to fall 5.4 percent from the same time last year, while second-quarter earnings are expected to fall 3.4 percent from the year before, according to Thomson Reuters estimates.

Yet for all of the enthusiasm, there is little evidence that virtual reality can deliver substantial growth.

“It is complementary to places like Six Flags, I would suspect, but not a game changer,” said Brain Smoluch, a principal at Hood River Capital Management who owns shares in Himax Technologies Inc (HIMX.O), which makes semiconductors used in virtual reality displays.

Few preu plays

There are few pure plays for investors who want to buy into virtual reality.

Facebook Inc (FB.O), which paid $2 billion for its Oculus virtual reality division in 2014 and began shipping its first $599 Oculus Rift headsets in March, has the best-known virtual reality head gear, though other well-known companies including Google’s parent Alphabet Inc (GOOGL.O) and Apple Inc (AAPL.O) are rumored to be working on high-powered headsets of their own. Neither company returned requests to comment.

Virtual reality is such a small part of Facebook’s business that most analysts do not break out Oculus in their revenue or earnings estimates. Nor did Facebook give any numbers on how many Oculus headsets it expects to sell on its most recent earnings call.

“This is very early and we don’t expect VR to take off as a mainstream success right away … but eventually we believe that VR is going to be the next big computing platform and we’re making the investments necessary to lead the way there,” Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg said.

Some analysts, however, already are seeing a boost to the companies they cover.

“I don’t think it’s possible to break out (the benefit of VR technology) with any sort of precision,” said Tyler Batory, an analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott who covers Six Flags. “But I can tell you that I think they are going to report record results this year because their growth rate is accelerating, and the growth rate wouldn’t be accelerating if they didn’t have it.”

Outfitting riders with VR headsets is much cheaper than building an entirely new roller coaster, he added, while only requiring three additional employees – two to disinfect the headsets after each ride and one to make sure riders have them on correctly.

Companies that incorporate virtual reality technology now could spur consumer interest, which should lead to further adoption rates by their competitors, said Michael Cuggiono, a portfolio manager at San Francisco-based Permanent Portfolio funds.

As a result, he’s been buying shares of Facebook, whose Oculus technology could become the industry standard.

“It’s cost-effective, it’s efficient, and it helps you avoid some of the problems that come with adding new employees,” he said.

source: interaksyon.com

Apple invests $1 billion in China taxi app Didi

BEIJING, China — Apple has invested $1 billion in Chinese ride hailing app Didi Chuxing, the Beijing company said Friday as it vies with bitter US-based rival Uber for market share in China.

The injection was the “single largest investment the company has ever received,” said Didi, which dominates the car-hailing sector in China and says it has almost 90 percent of the market.

Formerly known as Didi Kuaidi, it also has backing from Chinese Internet behemoths Tencent and Alibaba.

Its most powerful competitor Uber — in which Chinese search giant Baidu is an investor, along with state-owned Citic Securities — is also trying to win more business in China.

Though Apple’s investment in Didi is large, the money seems more notable for its strategic rather than financial significance.

Didi and Uber both have deep pockets and are spending big in the country.

In February, Uber said it lost $1 billion annually in China as it competes for market share and Didi is thought to be burning through similar amounts as both companies subsidise user’s rides, which are much cheaper than regular cab fares.

Apple’s linkup with Didi fits the California firm’s desire to shore up sales in the Asian giant, and its rumoured plans to enter the auto sector.

“We decided to make the investment for a number of strategic reasons, including the chance to learn more about certain segments of the China market”, chief executive Tim Cook told the official Chinese news agency Xinhua.

He added that he saw “lots of opportunities for closer cooperation between the two companies”.

Apple lost its crown as the world’s biggest publicly traded company to Google parent Alphabet in US trading Thursday. Shares closed 2.4 percent down.

The tech giant’s shares have lost more than 13 percent since reporting its first ever drop in iPhone sales on April 26.

The world’s second-largest economy is Apple’s second-biggest market, but revenues are flagging and its business there has taken a number of hits.

Last month, it had its movie and book services shut down by authorities, and it emerged that the company lost a court case over the use of its iPhone trademark.

Cook will travel to Beijing later this month to lobby senior leaders on the company’s behalf.

Apple is also widely believed to be developing a self-driving car, with the Chinese market a likely target.

Large user base

One area of cooperation the companies are likely to explore is mobile payments, according to Chinese analysts who say that the investment could be a good opportunity for Apple Pay.

The service was recently launched in China but has to contend with very well established existing competitors owned by Alibaba and Tencent — now its fellow shareholders in Didi.

Didi says it has more than 300 million passengers registered and provides over 11 million rides a day.

Those numbers provide an excellent opportunity for Apple Pay, according to an article on Chinese web site Huxiu.

“It is undoubtedly a good value for Apple to tie up with an app that has a large user base and where frequent payments are made,” said an article about the deal.

But despite the growing popularity of ride-sharing apps and state-backed investments in them, their future is not necessarily secure.

It is technically illegal in China for private cars to offer rides for payment and authorities occasionally stage stings to arrest drivers, but regulations are spottily enforced, creating an opening for ridesharing services to flourish.

Asked about ridesharing’s future, transport minister Yang Chuantang told the Beijing Times in March that private cars would “never be allowed” to operate commercially in China.

Didi invested in Uber’s US rival Lyft last year, along with Alibaba and Tencent, and announced last month that it would cooperate with it to compete with Uber on its own turf.

source: interaksyon.com

Qualifying for USDA Loan with Low Income

Consumers often shy away from applying for a mortgage when they know their income is too low to qualify them for a program. While this might be true for traditional type loans, such as the conventional loan, there are options out there for people with smaller incomes. If your desire to become a homeowner is held back by your lack of income, consider looking into the USDA loan, a successful option for those with lower incomes. This successful loan program which is offered by the United States Department of Agriculture offers flexible guidelines, low-interest rates, and fewer requirements than most other loan programs.

Little Money Needed

The down payment requirement is often what holds people back from purchasing a home. The all-too-common need to put down 20 percent on a home is what people focus on, thinking that they will never be able to afford a home with that kind of money required up front. On the contrary, the USDA loan does not require any money down – you can finance 100 percent of the purchase price of the home. Right off the bat, this takes a huge amount of pressure off of the buyer as there are not thousands of dollars needed up front to purchase the home. In addition to not needing a down payment, you may be able to finance the closing costs into the loan, including the funding fee of 2.75 percent of the loan amount. You are able to finance up to 102 percent of the value of the property, according to the USDA, which can include the funding fee and closing costs. If you offered a lower amount for the home than it is worth, you have even more room to roll closing costs and the funding fee into the loan amount.

Low Monthly Payments

Sometimes it is not just the down payment that scares people away from applying for a mortgage, but the monthly payments as well. If you have a high interest rate, your payment is going to be high, even if the home you purchase is relatively cheaper than other homes in the area. With the USDA loan, however, the interest rates charged are much lower than any other loan program. Typically, they do not alter with debt ratios or credit scores, giving everyone that qualifies for this program a low interest rate and affordable monthly payments. Since the USDA program is for low-income families and homes that are located within rural areas, the purchase price of the home is not going to be very high as it is, further contributing to the affordability of the mortgage payment. In addition, the mortgage insurance that the USDA charges for any mortgage that has a loan-to-value ratio higher than 80 percent is well below the costs of any other program, giving you even more reasons to be able to afford the loan.

Flexible Guidelines

Credit scores, debt ratios, and income requirements often render many potential borrowers ineligible for a loan program, but that is not often the case with the USDA loan. In fact, the less money you make, the more eligible you become for the loan. This is not to say that they do not have credit or debt ratio guidelines in place – they do, but they are much more flexible than other programs, including FHA and VA loans. The guidelines include:

    Minimum credit score of 580, but if your score is less than 620 but higher than 580, you will have to go through some additional evaluation to ensure that you can afford the loan. If your score is higher than 620, the guidelines are very simple to meet. If you do not have a credit score due to insufficient credit reporting, you are eligible to use alternative trade lines, such as insurance, utility, or rent payments.
    Your income cannot be higher than 115 percent of the average income for the area. Every area differs, but you can find the maximum amount for your area on the USDA website. They do offer allowances on your income if you have children, elderly, or disabled family members living with you, enabling you to increase your chances of having income low enough to qualify for this affordable program.
    Your credit history should show on time payments with no more than 2 late housing payments within the last couple of years. Your other payments should also be timely for the most part; however, a few late payments will not disqualify you for the program, especially if your credit score is above that 620 range.

The USDA loan makes it possible for people with low income to qualify for a loan. Granted, you have to purchase a home in a rural area, but a large majority of the United States falls into this category. A search on the USDA website will show you where these affordable homes are located, enabling you to purchase a home despite your low income and put the days of renting behind you.

source: blownmortgage.com

Joan Rivers’ daughter settles malpractice lawsuit in mother’s death

A New York City clinic has settled a malpractice lawsuit filed by the daughter of comedian Joan Rivers for an undisclosed amount over an ill-fated procedure that led to the celebrity’s death, lawyers for the Rivers family said on Thursday.

Rivers, who was 81, suffered a loss of oxygen to her brain on Aug. 28, 2014, as physicians at the Yorkville Endoscopy center in Manhattan inserted instruments to examine her throat and vocal cords. She died a week later at a New York hospital.

Her daughter, Melissa, filed a malpractice suit in January 2015, alleging doctors posed for selfies with their sedated celebrity patient even as her vital signs were plunging.

“In choosing to accept this settlement, I am able to put the legal aspects of my mother’s death behind me and ensure that those culpable for her death have accepted responsibility for their actions quickly and without equivocation,” Melissa Rivers said in a statement released by her lawyers, Ben Rubinowitz and Jeff Bloom.

Reuters could not reach representatives of Yorkville Endoscopy for comment. The New York Times quoted a spokesman as saying, “The parties agreed to settle this case to avoid protracted litigation. We remain committed to providing quality, compassionate health care services.”

The Rivers lawyers said the doctors did not deny responsibility.

Shortly before the lawsuit was filed, a government health agency, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, cited the Yorkville clinic for failing to follow standard protocols during its treatment of Rivers.

Melissa Rivers vowed to work toward ensuring higher safety standards at outpatient surgical clinics.

“We have agreed to keep the terms of the settlement confidential to make certain that the focus of this horrific incident remains on improved patient care and the legacy of Joan Rivers,” the two lawyers said in the statement.

source: interaksyon.com

Music fest sacks Azealia Banks over racist attack on Zayn

NEW YORK | A London music festival on Wednesday removed controversial New York rapper Azealia Banks from its lineup after she went on a racially charged attack against former One Direction heartthrob Zayn.

Banks, in a series of tweets that she has since deleted, accused Zayn of copying her style on his latest video “Like I Would” and grew more agitated after he did not respond.

Banks, who is African American, used epithets directed at Muslims against Zayn, a Briton who is partially of Pakistani origin.

“When your entire extended family has been obliterated by good ol the U.S of A will you still be trying to act like a white boy pretending to be black?” she said in one tweet.

The Rinse/Born & Bred Festival, which will take place next month in London, announced it was canceling Banks’ appearance.

“Rinse/Born & Bred is a celebration of rave culture and has been created for EVERYONE. We celebrate inclusivity and equality,” it said in a statement.

Zayn kept a distance from Banks, telling her in Twitter lingo that he had seen her remarks and chose not to take the bait.

“My @’s too good for you,” he tweeted.

Zayn Malik, who has chosen to go solely by his first name as a solo artist, has taken on an R&B sound since leaving One Direction with sex-filled lyrics that would have been unthinkable for the squeaky clean boy band.

Banks, in a fresh tweet on Wednesday, reiterated her accusations about Zayn’s music and cast her remarks about Muslims as a gesture of solidarity.

“He felt as if he was too good to acknowledge me yet not too good to copy my creativity,” she wrote.

“I had to remind him that we’re both in the same boat in this industry and people of color,” she wrote.

Banks won wide acclaim for her single “212″ but has become better known for her acerbic exchanges on Twitter, with her pledge in March to quit the platform proving short-lived.

She notably engaged in a long-running feud with the Australian rapper Iggy Azalea, whom she accused of exploiting black culture.

Banks also raised eyebrows when she endorsed Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, a fellow prolific user of Twitter, who has little support from minorities.

However, Banks’ praise for Trump appeared backhanded as she said that the billionaire “is evil like America is evil” and hence its fitting leader.

source: interaksyon.com

Metal first couple the Osbournes to split: reports

LOS ANGELES | Ozzy Osbourne and Sharon Osbourne, one of the enduring couples in the hard-living world of heavy metal, have split, reports said Sunday.

Celebrity news outlets E! News and Entertainment Tonight quoted unnamed sources as saying that the Osbournes were ending their marriage of more than 33 years.

However, People magazine reported that, while the 67-year-old singer was moving out of their Los Angeles-area mansion, the separation may be temporary.

People said that the split was linked to Sharon’s suspicions he was having an affair. All three news outlets said that Ozzy, long notorious for his drug and alcohol use, had not had a relapse from his recent sobriety.

Sharon, 63, met Osbourne when her father was managing Black Sabbath, Ozzy’s original band that emerged from Birmingham, England and helped define heavy metal with thunderous blues-influenced guitar and a lyrical fascination with the occult.

Sharon not only married Ozzy but took charge of his solo career, recruiting a string of talented guitarists and songwriters who kept him at the forefront of metal — and controversy — for years.

She proved so successful that she branched out and became a manager for other hard rock acts.

Sharon stepped out of the shadows in the early 2000s when her life with Ozzy and two of their three children was turned into an MTV reality television show, “The Osbournes.”

source: interaksyon.com

Top China paper warns of crisis risk over debt

BEIJING, China - China must turn off the taps of credit-driven growth to avoid a financial system crisis in the face of rising bad loans and other risks, the Communist Party's official mouthpiece newspaper said Monday, citing an unnamed "authoritative" source.

The prominent article, in question-and-answer format, started on the front of the broadsheet paper and took up the entirety of page two.

China's Communist authorities are trying to retool the economy away from the investment- and export-led growth of the past to one more led by consumer demand, and reform lumbering, loss-making state-owned enterprises to make the sector more efficient.

But the transition is proving bumpy, raising fears of a hard landing, and global markets have been alarmed by slowing expansion in the world's second-largest economy.

Attempts to address the slowdown in the first quarter of this year -- when growth slid to 6.7 percent -- were largely driven by investment, the People's Daily quoted the source as saying, putting more financial pressure on some local governments.

Analysts said the comments could be a signal that Beijing is to rein in monetary stimulus efforts.

"A tree cannot grow in the air," said the source, arguing against raising debt further.

"Further leverage must not be added to push up growth, nor does it need to be," the interviewee added, warning of a possible crisis as high debts "will definitely bring about high risks".

"A system financial crisis could be triggered if no good controls are implemented, leading the economy to contract and even household savings to evaporate."

It is the third time in less than a year that the People's Daily has cited "an authoritative person" to discuss top-level economic policies.

Chinese news portal Sina has previously said that such an "authoritative source" in similar People's Daily articles could be a high-ranking government official, such as the head of the top economic planning agency the National Development and Reform Commission, or a respected scholar who participated in major economic policymaking.

"While the anonymity has been protected, the views expressed in these articles did have a large impact in China," Nomura economists said in a note.

The report implied that future monetary easing "may be more cautious and that the government may try to hasten the pace of reforms", they said, evidence that China's "debt-fuelled rebound in investment growth will be short-lived".

China's growth will continue to slow, the source said, as sluggish demand and overcapacity are "unlikely to turn around fundamentally in several years".

Boosts from credit expansions have declined and the government must "completely abandon the delusion" of trying to stimulate growth by loosening money supply, added the source.

Instead authorities should accelerate reforms, stop lending to "zombie companies" to reduce overcapacity, allow migrant workers to settle in cities to expand demand, and further cut taxes.

source: interaksyon.com

INFERNO GROWING | Canada fire 'out of control,' could double in size

FORT MCMURRAY, Canada - A ferocious wildfire wreaking havoc in Canada could double in size Saturday, an official warned, cautioning the situation in the parched Alberta oil sands region was unpredictable and dangerous.

"This remains a big, out of control, dangerous fire," Public Safety Minister Ralph Goodale said of the raging inferno the size of London that forced the evacuation of the city of Fort McMurray.

Some 1,570 square kilometers (600 square miles) had been devastated since the blaze began almost a week ago and the fire had grown by an additional 50 percent in less than 24 hours, Goodale told a televised news conference.

"There is one prediction -- that if it continues to grow at the present pace, it could double today," he warned.

But "there would not appear to be imminent danger to another community."

The situation remains highly worrying regardless, Goodale indicated.

"It looks like the weather in and around Fort McMurray will still be, sadly, very conducive to serious burning conditions," he said.

"The situation remains unpredictable and dangerous."

Alberta's government crisis cell warned that fire conditions remained extreme in the province due to low humidity, high temperatures and gusty winds.

Still, in a glimmer of positive news, authorities have recorded no fatalities directly linked to the blaze so far, the minister said.

Shuttling to safety

In the latest harrowing chapter, police convoys shuttling cars south to safety through Fort McMurray -- now a ghost town -- resumed at dawn Saturday morning.

Making their way through thick, black smoke, the cars were filled with people trapped to the north of the city, having sought refuge there earlier in the week.

Police, wearing face masks, formed convoys of 25 cars, with kilometers (miles) of vehicles, smoke swirling around them, patiently awaiting their turn.

With elevated risk that something could go wrong, the convoys along Highway 63 were reduced in size compared to the previous day.

Those being evacuated -- for a second time, after first abandoning their homes -- had fled to an area north of the city where oil companies have lodging camps for workers.

But officials concluded they were no longer safe there because of shifting winds that raised the risk of them becoming trapped, and needed to move south to other evacuee staging grounds and eventually to Edmonton, 400 kilometers (250 miles) to the south.

Some 2,400 vehicles have so far been able to make it to safety.

Oil company Syncrude, one of several in the region, announced Saturday that it had shut down its facility 50 kilometers north of Fort McMurray due to smoke.

"In order to ensure the safety of our personnel and the integrity of our operations, we are taking all units offline in a safe and orderly manner," it said.

But "there is no imminent threat from fire."

Escape route

Security camera footage from the inside of one family's home underscored the speed at which the blaze could overcome any stragglers. Thick grey smoke filled the living room within 30 seconds, while flames quickly ate away a wall.

Among the first evacuees to reach Wandering River, a hamlet about 200 kilometers south of Fort McMurray, Margarita Carnicero said she had feared for her life on the journey to safety.

"It was a terrible experience," she told AFP, sitting in her dust-covered SUV alongside her teenage daughter Michelle. "I was afraid, but I tried not to show it (so as) not to frighten my daughter."

"With all of the smoke, the trip was hard on the lungs," said Greg Stengel, an oil company employee who also joined the convoy.

The government has declared a state of emergency in Alberta, a province the size of France that is home to one of the world's most prodigious oil industries.

Alberta has been left bone-dry after a period of unusually scant rainfall and unseasonably high temperatures.

Slashed oil output

More than 1,100 firefighters are battling 45 separate blazes across the province -- six of them totally out of control, including three in and around Fort McMurray.

Oil companies crucial to the region such as Suncor, Syncrude and Shell have pulled out non-essential employees, and analysts said the three have slashed output by a total of a million barrels a day.

The cuts amount to around a quarter of the country's entire production, and one-third of Alberta's, and mean a loss of tens of millions of dollars per day in income.

source: interaksyon.com

Red Hot Chili Peppers ready with first album in five years

NEW YORK | Red Hot Chili Peppers on Thursday announced their first album in five years, with the rockers switching producers but keeping their signature funky touches.

The Los Angeles band, among leading figures in the alternative rock boom of the 1990s, said that its 11th studio album, “The Getaway,” would come out on June 17.

The Chili Peppers immediately put out a single from the album, “Dark Necessities,” which opens with a solo by bassist Flea before building over five minutes.

In classic Chili Pepper style, the rock style is infused with a subtle funky beat and the lyrics take a dark turn, with frontman Anthony Kiedis singing from the perspective of an addict needing a fix.

The album is the first by the Chili Peppers since 2011′s “I’m With You,” which brought in guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, who is a generation younger than his bandmates.

In a departure, the band did not work with veteran producer Rick Rubin, who has guided each of the band’s albums since 1991′s mainstream breakthrough “Blood Sugar Sex Magik.”

Instead of Rubin, a prolific producer of rock and rap known for his hard-edged sound, Red Hot Chili Peppers tapped Danger Mouse, another diverse producer whose background lies in hip-hop but notably worked on Adele’s blockbuster latest album “25.”

The Chili Peppers plan to promote “The Getaway” with a string of appearances at major festivals including Japan’s Fuji Rock, Roskilde in Denmark, Reading and Leeds in England and the 25th anniversary of Lollapalooza, which started as an alternative rock extravaganza that traveled the United States and now is held every summer in Chicago.

The Chili Peppers on Thursday announced additional dates, with the tour now scheduled to end October 16 at the Bercy arena in Paris.

source: interaksyon.com

Radiohead releases single under cloud of intrigue

British rockers Radiohead returned to the Internet on Tuesday with a new music video, after the band stumped fans by deleting all posts on their Twitter account over the weekend.

The critically acclaimed band previewed the release of the new single “Burn the Witch” early Tuesday, posting short bursts of footage from the video on Instagram.

Both “Burn the Witch” and “Radiohead” quickly became two of the top 10 trending terms on Twitter in the United States Tuesday after the video was unveiled.

UK film director Edgar Wright (@edgarwright) tweeted on Tuesday, “Love the Trumpton / Camberwick Green style video for Radiohead’s ‘Burn The Witch’.”

It was unclear when Radiohead might release a new full-length album, though the group is scheduled to begin its next world concert tour later this month, according to a schedule that was linked to the band’s website.

Adding to the intrigue, the group appeared to have scrubbed its Twitter account of any posts that appeared previously to those published Monday that related to the new single.

“‘Sorry I can’t come to work tomorrow. Radiohead just deleted all their tweets, so something Earth changing is about to happen,’” tweeted D.D. Walker (@desmondalan) on Sunday.

“Radiohead just deleted all of their tweets + their website and profile pictures are completely blank,” tweeted Peter Sharkey (@iPeterSharkey) on Sunday. “They sure do know how to build hype.”

Over the weekend, music review website Pitchfork reported that several Radiohead fans in the UK had received cryptic leaflets in the mail that read, in part, “BURN THE WITCH/WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE.”

Radiohead, an alternative rock group, is best known for hits like “Creep” and “Paranoid Android.”

source: interaksyon.com

Google autonomous car project teams with FiatChrysler

SAN FRANCISCO, California — Google parent Alphabet on Tuesday announced that it has partnered with Fiat Chrysler in a major expansion of its fleet of self-driving vehicles.

The Google autonomous test fleet would be more than doubled with the addition of 100 new 2017 Chrysler Pacifica Hybrid minivans, with the companies aiming to have some on the road by the end of this year.

The collaboration with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) marks the first time that the California-based Internet giant has worked directly with an automaker to build self-driving vehicles.

“FCA will design the minivans so it’s easy for us to install our self-driving systems, including the computers that hold our self-driving software, and the sensors that enable our software to see what’s on the road around the vehicle,” the car team said in a post at the Google+ social network.

The minivan design also provides opportunity to explore the potential of large self-driving vehicles that could be used mass-transit style with features such as hands-free sliding doors for getting in or out, according to the post.

Alphabet said it was not licensing its autonomous car technology, nor would it be selling the self-driving minivans.

The move signals that Google has a particular interest in “people mover type vehicles” with the potential to autonomously shuttle passengers about in settings such as college campuses, cities or shopping districts, Kelley Blue Book analyst Karl Brauer told AFP.

“I’m confident that Google feels that is where the greatest mission potential for the autonomous vehicle is.”

Google began testing its autonomous driving technology in 2009, using a Toyota Prius equipped with the tech giant’s equipment. It now has some 70 vehicles, including Lexus cars adapted by Google and its in-house designed cars unveiled in 2014.

FCA will design and engineer minivans uniquely built for self-driving technology that Google will integrate into vehicles, according to the carmaker.

Accelerating efforts

The companies will position engineering teams at a facility in Michigan to accelerate the design, testing and manufacturing of the self-driving Chrysler Pacifica.

“The opportunity to work closely with FCA engineers will accelerate our efforts to develop a fully self-driving car that will make our roads safer and bring everyday destinations within reach for those who cannot drive,” said Google Self-Driving Car Project chief executive John Krafcik.

The US agency in charge of highway safety early this year provided feedback indicating that a bubble-shaped autonomous car built by Alphabet could qualify as being its own driver.

In a written response to a query from the Silicon Valley-based technology firm, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said that since the self-driving cars lacks steering wheels or other controls for humans, it is “more reasonable to identify the driver as whatever (as opposed to whoever) is doing the driving.”

While the administration’s response didn’t change rules of the road, it is seen as a green light of sorts for getting autonomous vehicles to market.

Packed starting line

Google has been testing self-driving cars on California roads for a while, and an array of automobile makers including Audi, Ford, Mercedes, Lexus, Tesla and BMW are working on building self-driving capabilities into vehicles.

FCA chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne said the partnership may help boost innovation in the sector.

“The experience both companies gain will be fundamental to delivering automotive technology solutions that ultimately have far-reaching consumer benefits,” he said.

The US administration pledged in January to help clear the way for autonomous vehicles with an investment of $4 billion to fund research and testing projects.

A Chinese auto firm revealed last month that it was buying two foreign companies and their self-driving technologies for more than $1 billion.

Ningbo Joyson Electronic Corp. said it signed an agreement to buy US-based Key Safety Systems (KSS) Holdings Inc.

Ningbo, which provides driver control systems to auto giants such as General Motors and Mercedes-Benz, also plans to buy the car navigation business of Germany’s TechniSat Digital GmbH.

Chinese tech giant Baidu, which has opened a California research center for autonomous driving, has said it is planning to produce driverless cars by 2020.

The Alphabet-FCA collaboration could “easily encourage an Apple, an Uber or another technology company to follow the same path and work more closely with an auto maker,” according to Kelley Blue Book’s Brauer.

source: interaksyon.com

First woman tapped for dean at West Point

WASHINGTON DC - US President Barack Obama has nominated a woman to become the United States Military Academy's first female dean in its 216-year history.

He named Cindy Jebb, a graduate of the prestigious institution -- also known as West Point -- who currently heads its Social Sciences department, the school said in a statement Friday.

The nomination requires confirmation by the Senate.

"This is a historic time for our military and I'm excited for West Point to have its first woman has to hold this position," said Acting Secretary of the Army Patrick Murphy.

If approved, Jebb will be promoted to brigadier general.

"She's revered amongst the faculty and cadets and we're lucky to have her," said West Point's superintendent, Lieutenant General Robert Caslen.

In January, another woman, Brigadier General Diana Holland, became the first female commandant of West Point's Corps of Cadets.

Women play an increasingly important role in the US military, making up around 15 percent of personnel.

The Pentagon last year opened all combat positions to women, including elite special operations units.

In March, Obama nominated Air Force General Lori Robinson to be the first woman to head a major US combatant command as head of the US Northern Command (NORTHCOM), responsible for the defense of the US "homeland."

source: interaksyon.com