Avon posts 4Q loss as sales slump, costs rise (AP)

NEW YORK ? Despite Avon Products Inc.'s efforts to revive its business, the beauty products seller posted a fourth-quarter net loss as sales fell, costs rose and it marked down the value of a silver jewelry company acquired in 2010.

Avon has been struggling to improve results and wind up a long-running bribery investigation that began in 2008. The company has restructured and cut jobs. But its profit has shrunk over the past three years, and the bribery investigation has widened. To placate critics, in December the company said it would seek a replacement for longtime CEO Andrea Jung, who plans to remain chairman.

The New York company said Tuesday that it doesn't expect its margins ? how much it keeps of revenue after costs ? to improve this year.

In a call with investors, Jung said long-term financial goals will be discussed when a new CEO is announced. In the meantime, the company is going to focus on improving sales and managing costs in 2012, a "transition" year, she said.

"My main message is that the organization is not standing still during this transition period," she said. "Teams are moving forward and taking action where it makes full sense and thoughtfully tabling others where we should definitely wait."

Avon posted a loss of $400,000, break-even on a per share basis, for the three months ended Dec. 31. It earned $229.5 million, or 53 cents per share, in the prior-year period.

The company took a $166 million after-tax charge on its Silpada Designs Inc. unit, acquired in 2010, because the rising price of silver since then has hurt Silpada's margins and revenue, Avon said. Excluding that and restructuring charges, Avon said it earned 39 cents per share.

Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of 51 cents per share.

Revenue fell 4 percent to $3.04 billion from $3.18 billion as units sold dropped 2 percent and the company's head count of direct sellers shrank 3 percent. The results narrowly missed analysts' forecast of $3.1 billion.

Avon said higher commodity costs also weighed on its business.

But the stock rose 50 cents, or 2.9 percent, to $18.03 in morning trading Tuesday.

Investors perhaps expected poor results. The stock is down 7 percent since the company's last quarterly earnings report.

"We think many folks had suspected that fourth quarter would be weak, thinking that perhaps the lack of fundamental improvement in the quarter was what prompted the mid-December announcement that CEO Andrea Jung would be replaced," said Citi Investment Research analyst Wendy Nicholson.

The company, which is known in the U.S. for "Avon ladies" who go door to door selling its cosmetics, had also announced in October that the Securities and Exchange Commission is investigating its contact with financial analysts in 2010 and 2011.

The SEC also is reviewing Avon's own probe that began in 2008 into bribery by its employees in China. It has since spread to other countries and resulted in the firings of several executives, including Avon's vice chairman Charles Cramb.

On Monday a report in The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed people familiar with the matter, said that federal prosecutors have presented evidence to a grand jury in their investigation into whether Avon Products executives broke foreign bribery laws. Avon declined to comment.

For the year, Avon's earnings declined 15 percent to $513.6 million, or $1.18 per share, from $606.3 million, or $1.39 per share.

Full-year revenue rose 4 percent to $11.29 billion from $10.86 billion.

The company expects to maintain its annual dividend of 92 cents per share this year.

Nicholson said that the naming of a new CEO or a resolution in the bribery investigation could help Avon's stock, which is down 45 percent since its 52-week high in May 2011. So she kept her "Buy" rating on the shares.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120214/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_avon_products

williams syndrome jay leno lindsey lohan reed hastings hpv vaccine hurricane tracking hurricane tracking

AT&T customers surprised by 'unlimited data' limit

Mike Trang likes to use his iPhone 4 as a GPS device, helping him get around in his job. Now and then, his younger cousins get ahold of it, and play some YouTube videos and games.

But in the past few weeks, there has been none of that, because AT&T put a virtual wheel clamp on his phone. Web pages wouldn't load and maps wouldn't render. Forget about YouTube videos ? Trang's data speeds were reduced to dial-up levels.

"It basically makes my phone useless," said Trang, an Orange County, Calif. property manager.

The reason: AT&T considers Trang to be among the top 5 percent of the heaviest cellular data users in his area. Under a new policy, AT&T has started cutting their data speeds as part of an attempt to manage data usage on its network.

So last month, AT&T "throttled" Trang's iPhone, slowing downloads by roughly 99 percent. That means a Web page that would normally take a second to load instead took almost two minutes.

AT&T has some 17 million customers with "unlimited data" plans that can be subject to throttling, representing just under half of its smartphone users. It stopped signing up new customers for those plans in 2010, and warned last year that it would start slowing speeds for people who consume the most data.

What's surprising people like Trang is how little data use it takes to reach that level ? sometimes less that AT&T gives people on its "limited" plans.

Trang's iPhone was throttled just two weeks into his billing cycle, after he'd consumed 2.3 gigabytes of data. He pays $30 per month for "unlimited" data. Meanwhile, Dallas-based AT&T now sells a limited, or "tiered," plan that provides 3 gigabytes of data for the same price.

Users report that if they call the company to ask or complain about the throttling, AT&T customer support representatives suggest they switch to the limited plan.

"They're coaxing you toward the tiered plan," said Gregory Tallman in Hopatcong, N.J. He hasn't had his iPhone 4S throttled yet, but he's gotten text-messages from AT&T, warning that he's approaching the limit. This came after he had used just 1.5 gigabytes of data in that billing cycle.

John Cozen, a Web and mobile applications designer in San Diego, hasn't been throttled yet either, but he's been so disturbed by a warning that he's "almost scared to use the phone," he said. Complaining to AT&T got him nowhere, and now he's looking to switch to another carrier.

"I don't think two to three gigabytes is an exorbitant amount," he said. "Really, I'm just looking at pictures and text once in a while."

AT&T spokesman Mark Siegel said that as of last summer, the top 5 percent of data users were using 2 gigabytes of data per month. But he also said the company doesn't actually throttle all of the top 5 percent "unlimited" data users. Last month, the figure was only 0.5 percent, or about 200,000 people, he said.

That's because AT&T only throttles users in areas where the wireless network is congested that month, Siegel said.

Siegel also pointed out that aside from moving to a tiered plan, "unlimited" plan users on the cusp of being throttled can use one of AT&T's 30,000 Wi-Fi hotspots, where usage is unmetered.

The unlimited plan worked fine for AT&T a few years ago, when the iPhone was new. The company had ample capacity on its network, and wanted to lure customers with the peace of mind offered by unlimited plans. Now, a majority of AT&T subscribers on contract-based plans have smartphones, and the proportion is growing every month. That's putting a big load on AT&T's network.

But AT&T's approach to managing data congestion differs from that of the other phone companies. Verizon Wireless doesn't slow down the "5 percent" unless the cell tower their phone is connected to is congested at that moment, and it slows them down by the minimum amount necessary. By contrast, once AT&T has decided to throttle your phone, it will be slow for the rest of the billing cycle, even if it's 3 a.m. and there are no other cell phones competing for the capacity of that particular cell tower.

Verizon's measures have drawn few complaints, and indeed, may have gone unnoticed even by the "5 percent."

T-Mobile USA is up front about the level it starts throttling at: 5 gigabytes. AT&T subscribers have no idea if they might be among the top 5 percent until they get the warning, which is soon followed by throttled service. While Trang was throttled at 2.3 gigabytes, he knows other iPhone owners who are using 5 or 6 gigabytes per month with impunity.

"It seems very random," Trang said.

Sprint Nextel Corp. is hanging on to unlimited data plans without throttling, alone among the "Big Four" national wireless carriers.

Tallman sees few prospects for a lawsuit against AT&T. The company is still providing unlimited data usage to throttled customers, even if the speeds are so low as to make the phone useless for anything but phone calls and text messages. The company made no promises that "unlimited" data would always be coupled with high speeds, he notes.

"They just guaranteed the highway. They didn't guarantee the speed limit," he said.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/46365854/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/

van jones dark energy dark energy sherri shepherd sherri shepherd sean avery east river

5 Ways Baby Boomers can Jumpstart Our Second-Phase Of Life


5 Ways Baby Boomers can Jumpstart Our Second-Phase Of Life

Here are 5?Ways Baby Boomer Women and Men can use to help jumpstart our journey into the second phase of our lives:

Life is about change. For the Baby Boomers, change has never been so evident. Change is good. Not only do we feeling the pinch of economics, but also, for many of us, we're still trying to adjust to the upheaval in our personal as well as our professional lives.

After 50, everything from the perspective of the 'Baby Boomer' is that things seem to go downhill.

Whereas men have their own personal midlife crisis, in most instances can be assuaged with the purchase of a new set of wheels, by a much needed vacation, or even an occasional night out with the guys.

It's the Baby Boomer women who, oftentimes can't seem to get a handle on this frightening life change also known as "midlife transitions".

Here are 5?Ways Baby Boomer women and men can use to help jumpstart our journey into the second phase of our lives:

1. Accentuate the Positive
What's going good in your life right now? Make a list of all the things you like about being you. For instance, you?re compassion, your smile, and your ability to make friends, your expertise in the kitchen. Whatever brings a good feeling inside and causes others to want to know you.

2. Tap into your Family and Friend Support Base
Allow your closest friends and family members to act as an objective ear, offer sound advice, or supply a bridge of comfort during those times you need it most. Now is not the time to be alone, and you're not.

3. 'Doubt the Fear'
A wonderful motivational/inspirational speaker, Guy Finley, tells us how to 'doubt' the fear that comes with the 'not knowing'. Change is scary. For the Baby Boomer in transition, on a journey of rediscovery, the fear of not knowing can cause anxiety, anger and self-doubt. According to Guy Finley, when you doubt the fear, it renders 'fear' powerless!

4. Dare to Dream!
Baby Boomer Women have been so busy during their first phase of life by literally being all things for everyone else, other than themselves - mothers, daughters, wives, co-workers, friends, chauffeurs, cooks, busy, multitasking women... Now it?s your time to shine. Find out what make you happy and set out to follow your dream. It's no longer 'a man's world'.

5. Know that you are Productive
Once Baby Boomer woman and men have began to apply the keys that will help to jumpstart their second, third and fourth phase of living life, we will embrace the endless possibilities that life offers.

With the journey of re-discovery comes the knowledge. The knowing that Baby Boomers have made and will continue to make important contributions to our lifestyles, our communities...Our world.

Clara Freeman is a nurse/ columnist/ freelance writer living in Illinois.?

JUST FOR BABY BOOMERS: Share your experiences, remembrances and opinions about "5 Essential keys Baby Boomers can use to Jumpstarting Our Second-Phase Of Life." with other Baby Boomers on our "Baby Boomer Forum"

Source: http://www.babyboomer-magazine.com/news/165/ARTICLE/1329/2012-02-12.html

latkes how to make it in america how to make it in america schweddy balls schweddy balls hedy lamarr bill conlin

Stages Of Grief And Loss | Self Improvement Blogs from ...

At instances I feel that we people are still lucky?a minimum of we can categorical our pain, cry, shout, scream, find a shoulder to cry on? I was just watching the film ?Hachiko?. If you have seen it, you would know the pain that must have resided in Hachiko?s coronary heart, and a by no means ending hope, that made him anticipate his deceased master until he took his last breath. Daily, he would wait outside the railway station for his grasp to come?and he continued to do that for 10 years, with none fail. For those of you who do not know, this film relies on an actual story.

Be it people or animals, we all have feelings and attachment. All of us really feel a stabbing pain when we lose someone we love. There?s a sequence of feelings that drive us when we go through the stages of grief and loss. Yes, we people are fortunate enough to explain how we feel, therefore, categorizing our emotions into the 5 or 7 levels of grief and loss. However in the long run we do accept the fact and transfer on with our lives, now we have to as a result of we?re humans. The event of human psychology is based on the experiences we have. Mentioned below are the stages of experiences that one tends to undergo from, when going by way of grief and loss. Have a look.

What are the 5 Stages of Grief and Loss?

The 5 levels of grief and loss are also known as the Kubler-Ross levels of grief and loss. These phases had been introduced by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her book named, On Death and Dying which was published in 1969. She was among the many first person to provide significance to this matter and throw some mild on the stages that people undergo throughout the loss of a cherished one. Be it the phases of grief and loss for youngsters, or the phases of grief and lack of a dad or mum, the feelings and the move of emotions stay the same for everyone. Have a look at the 5 levels of grief and loss explained below.

Stage 1: The Denial
That is the first stage of grief and loss. On this stage, a person?s thoughts is stuffed with thoughts like, ?This can?t be occurring to me!? or, ?Every thing is totally positive, the rest of them have gone crazy!? Folks simply refuse to admit the fact that they have misplaced a liked one, or are going to lose a beloved one.

Stage 2: The Anger
Once the stage of denial has passed, it is followed by the stage of anger. In this stage the person will get angry with himself and the people around. He becomes angry with God and asks to himself, ?Why me??, ?What incorrect did I do to deserve this??, ?This is simply not fair!?

Stage 3: The Bargaining
When the person has handed by way of the second stage of anger, and understands that denial and anger would not make things higher, he strikes on to the third stage of grief and loss, which is, bargaining! On this stage, the particular person finally ends up bargaining with God inside himself. Ideas like, ?Please let the individual (liked one) dwell until her son gets married!? and so on. That is the stage when the particular person logitech coupon chooses the path of negotiation with God to convey issues again to normal.

Stage four: The Despair
The denial is finished, and so is the anger and bargaining! Within the fourth stage, the individual realizes that these reactions won?t work, neither will they help make issues better. Here comes the ultimate stage whereby the person lastly realizes the state of affairs and will get into the depression stage. Ideas like, ?How does it matter now, things can?t change anyway?? come into picture. This stage consists of fixed grieving and crying. The individual spends on a regular basis alone, refuses to meet people, disconnects himself from the whole lot and everyone.

Stage 5: The Acceptance
This is the ultimate stage of grief and loss wherein the particular person ends up accepting the loss that he has suffered from! Ideas like, ?I can combat it and deal with the situation.? Or, ?Every thing occurs for a motive?, etc., come into play. The person begins to manage up with the scenario and deals with it together with the love and assist of different people who find themselves near him.

So these had been the 5 phases of grief and loss. As I mentioned earlier, we cannot understand how it feels except we undergo it. And for individuals who have gone by means of these phases, would pray arduous in order that nobody else would undergo them. Coming again to the movie I noticed, my sister always wanted to have a pet dog. However after visualizing the pain and loss Hachiko went through, she does not need to hold a dog anymore. I mentioned, I still do?because we are people in any case, we are able to specific what we feel, speak it out or cry it out, and then lastly transfer on with our lives. But for those who hold it inside, they reside at the steps of grief and loss till their last breath!

--> Leon Edward helps people in Personal and Career Growth, leadership Development, Goal Setting, Success, Motivation, Self-Improvement, Happiness, Memory Improvement, Stress Reduction and more through his articles, blog posts and special reports . Join Leon Edwards Awesome Success Free, Get his personal success, development and growth weekly newsletter as well as success classics and tips on attracting success and wealth. Visit his Success-Leadership Library, Articles at http://www.AwesomeSuccess.org Leon Edward also helps people improve IQ, focus, memory, concentration, creativity, speed reading, public speaking , time management and reducing stress. Download his IQ Mind Brain Memory Self-Help library at his website http://www.IQMindBrainLibrary.comLeon Edward helps people improve in Leadership Development, Goal Setting, Success, Motivation, Self-Improvement, Happiness, Memory Improvement, Stress Reduction and more through his articles, blog posts and special reports . Join Leon Edwards Awesome Success Free, Get his personal development training, success and growth weekly newsletter as well as success classics and tips on attracting success and wealth. Visit his Success-Leadership Library, Articles at http://www.AwesomeSuccess.org

You may also be interested in guide to affiliate marketing | Internet Based Business
Wholesale Products To Sell | Products To Sell Online | Products To Sell On eBay | Mind Movies | Brain Games For Seniors

Personal Development Training | ?Leon Edward | ?Entrainment CDs | ?Start Online Business | ?Products To Sell Online&nbsp

Comments

Source: http://awesomesuccess.org/self-improvement-blogs/self-improvement/grief-loss/stages-of-grief-and-loss/

zombie boy harvard yale joe paterno lung cancer joe paterno lung cancer john tucker must die uk basketball iowa state

Betty White On Gay Relationships And Marriage | Practikel

Betty White, 90-years-old, and still has some of the best advice for people today. Everyone says listen to your elders, and my feeling is she is definitely an elder to most politicians, and hell, most everyone today. Learn from what she has learnt and stop giving two shits about my sexual relationship with someone, because quite frankly, it?s none of your business. If I asked a heterosexual man is he liked sticking it in his wife?s rear, surely he?s be offended; Yet, sodomy has been in law books as a crime. If you?re a gay man, its common knowledge that?s what goes on, but just because you assume, don?t mean someone should be prosecuted. And if that were the case, we should be able to look into heterosexual relationships to make sure they?re not committing the same indecent act.

from your own site.

Source: http://www.practikel.com/2012/02/10/betty-white-on-gay-relationships-and-marriage/

alanis morissette r kelly vanessa bryant vanessa bryant kurt busch kurt busch nfl mock draft 2012

[OOC] Them & They

Forum rules
This forum is for OOC discussion about existing roleplays.

Please post all "Players Wanted" threads in the Roleplayers Wanted forum!

This topic is an Out Of Character part of the roleplay, ?Them & They?. Anything posted here will also show up there.

Topic Tags:

online roleplay roleplay online -->

HTML, for websites and MySpace:

BBcode, for forum posts and signatures:

--> Forum for completely Out of Character (OOC) discussion, based around whatever is happening In Character (IC). Discuss plans, storylines, and events; Recruit for your roleplaying game, or find a GM for your playergroup.
This is the auto-generated OOC topic for the roleplay "Them & They"

You may edit this first post as you see fit.

-Valid?-

User avatar
valid posts
Member for 0 years



Post a reply

RolePlayGateway is a site built by a couple roleplayers who wanted to give a little something back to the roleplay community. The site has no intention of earning any profit, and is paid for out of their own pockets.

If you appreciate what they do, feel free to donate your spare change to help feed them on the weekends. After selecting the amount you want to donate from the menu, you can continue by clicking on PayPal logo.

Who is online

Registered users: Adgertesse, Akantha*, Alexa [Bot], allimagination*, Annalysa Jones, Armageddon, Averagebear, Bashie L. Craft, BekaL101, Beta Type Jakuri, Black-Rose, Chulance*, Crooked Thoughts*, DemiKara, dig17*, Digital_Muse*, DivineBitterness*, Draruto, DuskFire35*, Eleera Cain*, Exabot [Bot], Finalhazard3*, FrozenShard*, Furry Dragon*, GamerX, Gigabot [Bot], Giggles1245*, girlwt*, Google [Bot], Google Adsense [Bot], Google Feedfetcher, GotDraggedIntoThis, Guilty Carrion*, Hingyou*, Iced Fire, IceMoon96, ichigomew, Ikiros*, IngviMar*, Irish Wolf, I'm a Radical Dame!, Jamie95, kathrin, Key*, Kirinak*, Lee, Lost Socks*, LycanGod13*, Lzo, Majestic-12 [Bot], Marionette, MSNbot Media, newzealander, Nivosity, Nobu, Nocte*, parallelzero, Patcharoo*, Porecomesis*, Princess Awinita*, RainWish, Rarikou, Red Guardian*, Regret, Rem?us*, Riverstyx777, Ropeburn*, Ryand-Smith*, ShadeYuka*, Shavnia_Velmount, shmband*, Sora112112*, sparkleshine, Steppin' Razor*, Stilts, Sylwyn, T?far?s, TaniaSoulEater, TechGorilla, Terrus, The Angry Penguin*, The Vampire Mistress, TheDarknessCXVI*, ThumpersDarkSyde*, Tiko*, Tyliana*, utahann, valid posts, Vestiline, Violentious, VitaminHeart*, Vyral*, Wake, Wing06Twilight, Wudgeous, XianEvermor, Zetta

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/RolePlayGateway/~3/Bh1Ye0O2Als/viewtopic.php

drew brees nfl games nfl schedule nfl scores nfl scores jesus montero hiroki kuroda

Ministry of education banned the new Col - Lanceconra - AllMyBlog

h1 {?ONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 22pt; MARGIN: 17pt 0cm 16.5pt; LINE-HEIGHT: 240%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h2 {?ONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUSTIFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}.h3 {?ONT-WEIGHT: bold; TEXT-JUST
IFY: inter-ideograph; FONT-SIZE: 16pt; MARGIN: 13pt 0cm; LINE-HEIGHT: 173%; TEXT-ALIGN: justify}DIV.union {?ONT-SIZE: 14px; LINE-HEIGHT: 18px}DIV.union TD {?ONT-SIZE: 14px;????LINE-HEIGHT:18px} report from the future, College named will not be allowed to use "China" and "Chinese" words. recently, the Ministry of education website "Twelve-Five" during set work in colleges and universities, which college setting, upgrade, naming specific provisions. University set in the new "three-no" Ministry of education requirements, the new
University will reference near three years data, made "three no" requirements: near 3 years province (area, and city) College health are budget education operating expenses failed to implementation and same year revenue increases synchronization of, in principle year does not considered set College. near 3 years General College Admissions admitted number and high school stage graduates total of ratio than national average level 5% above of province (area, and city), in principle year does not additional new of College. near 3 years undergraduate students accounted for this, and????Specialist more than the national average of the total number of students enrolled in 5% (district, municipal), undergraduate of the year does not, in principle, the creation of new schools. Celine Handbags Principle of professional staff in merged colleges not "upgrade" has specific requirements, including: secondary vocational schools is not, in principle, to upgrade to higher vocational school, is not to merge with Celine Handbags the high school; in principle not upgrading to undergraduate school in higher vocational schools, not to merge with the undergraduate school, has not changed its name to the high
College; medicine class high College Celine Handbags in principle not additional; strictly master normal, and police class high College of additional; public general specialist level school upgraded for undergraduate school must strictly master; on private general Celine Handbags specialist level school, as its layout reasonable, running conditions compliance, and running features highlight, and no violations behavior, and graduates session number in 7 session above, meet local economic Celine Handbags social development and higher education reform development of actual needs, can in original Foundation Shang application formed undergraduate school.????Furthermore, the establishment of Sino-foreign cooperative undergraduate Celine Handbags schools, foreign famous educational institutions shall be acknowledged by the International College. Rein in "College" l "University" and "College" was renamed "University" will strictly control standards, control the number of rename. agriculture, forestry, Celine Handbags teachers college does not change in principle to non-agricultural, forestry, normal school. agriculture, forestry, and teacher-training colleges in the merger, when upgrading, to ensure that agriculture, forestry, teacher education, not a weakening, continues to retain the agricultural,

Source: http://lanceconra.allmyblog.com/366-ministry-of-education-banned-the-new-col.html

top chef just desserts jamarcus russell sister wives st louis weather jack the cat frank lucas lego man

Abducted Colorado girl, 9, escapes captor by calling police (Reuters)

DENVER (Reuters) ? A 9-year-old Colorado girl abducted while walking home from school on Thursday managed to escape her kidnapper after a harrowing 18-hour ordeal by calling police from a convenience store, police said on Saturday.

Calysta Cordova, who police were hailing as a hero, broke free from her captor at a Colorado Springs convenience store on Friday and called 911, said Barbara Miller, a spokeswoman for the Colorado Springs police.

"She is an amazing young girl," Miller said of the 4-foot, 10-inch girl. "She saw a window of opportunity, seized it and became a hero by rescuing herself."

Police arrested Jose Garcia, 29, a short time after the girl notified authorities, Miller said.

Cordova was abducted while walking home from her school in Pueblo, Colorado, on Thursday afternoon, triggering an Amber Alert, police said.

A vehicle driven by Garcia broke down in Colorado Springs on Friday morning, and a passing motorist gave Garcia and Cordova a ride to the convenience store, where the girl ran inside, asked the clerk to use the telephone, and called 911.

Garcia fled on foot when he saw the girl on the phone, and was arrested at a bus station a short time later, police said.

Garcia was being held on a $250,000 bond on suspicion of second-degree kidnapping, sexual assault and a probation violation, Sergeant Brian Ziolkowski of the Pueblo County Sheriff's Office said.

A Pueblo police captain declined to say if the sexual assault charge was related to the Cordova case. Police gave no information on Cordova's condition, and said her family was declining media interviews to protect their daughter.

(Reporting By Keith Coffman; Editing by Cynthia Johnston)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/education/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120121/us_nm/us_crime_girl_escape

libya map world series game 2 world series game 2 libya bay area news lettuce recall lettuce recall

South Sudan plans to shut oil production within 2 weeks (Reuters)

JUBA (Reuters) ? South Sudan said on Friday it was working out a plan to shut down oil production within two weeks after Sudan said it had started seizing southern oil to compensate for what it said were unpaid transit fees.

South Sudan seceded last July under a 2005 peace deal that ended decades of civil war between north and south, but the two have remained at loggerheads over oil, the disputed Abyei region and even the location of the border.

The two are locked in a row over sharing oil revenues after South Sudan took two-thirds of output when it became independent. Oil is the lifeline of both economies.

The landlocked new African nation needs to use a northern pipeline and the port of Port Sudan to export the crude but has failed to reach an agreement with Khartoum over a transit fee, prompting Sudan to seize part of its oil as compensation.

"The ministry of petroleum and mining will sit down to start a technical process that will lead to a decision that will lead to a complete shutdown. That will be in a week or two weeks," government spokesman Barnaba Marial Benjamin told Reuters.

"We have taken this decision because South Sudan is not benefiting from oil. It is being taken by force by the Republic of Sudan, and the oil that is going through the pipeline is being looted," he said.

He said Sudan had seized oil worth $350 million in Port Sudan and preventing the sale of oil worth more than $400 million by restricting vessels from entering or leaving the port.

South Sudan's oil minister Stephen Dhieu Dau said the government could run without oil, which make up 98 percent of state revenues, for 18 months.

Khartoum has said Sudan is seizing some oil and diverting some of it to its two refineries but has not said whether it would try selling any seized oil.

Sudan is demanding $1 billion for unpaid transit fees since July plus $36 a barrel in the future as a transit fee, roughly a third of the export value of southern oil. Khartoum also wants Juba to share Sudan's external debt of $38 billion.

South Sudan pumps around 350,000 bpd, officials have said. Sudan produces 115,000 bpd in its remaining fields but needs it for domestic consumption.

Dhieu Dau said the government wanted to push ahead with plans to build an alternative pipeline to end dependency on northern export facilities.

"We are planning that building an alternative pipeline will be a national duty for all South Sudanese and the plans which are now being designed by the ministry of petroleum and mining," he told reporters, without elaborating.

South Sudan has held talks with foreign firms to build a pipeline to Kenya but oil industry insiders are skeptical because it would have to cross through rough and violent terrain.

In addition, oil production is going to halve within a decade without significant new finds, according to the International Monetary Funds (IMF).

South Sudan hopes to find oil in Jonglei state where France's Total holds a largely unexplored oil license but tribal has escalated in past weeks.

Sudan's government itself is under pressure to overcome a severe economic crisis after losing the southern oil, which made up 90 percent of the country's exports. It generated $5 billion in oil revenues in 2010.

Juba has offered Sudan the sale of discounted oil and other financial help, but neither side shows sign of shifting their positions.

(Reporting by Hereward Holland; Writing by Ulf Laessing, editing by Jane Baird and Jason Neely)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/energy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20120120/wl_nm/us_sudan_south_oil

kristin davis phillies phillies philadelphia phillies sand dollar sand dollar just dance 3