Group Says 'Tsunami' of New EPA Rules Could Raise Gas Prices

The American Petroleum Institute stated on Friday that "there is a tsunami of federal regulations coming out of the EPA that could put upward pressure on gasoline prices." According to the institute's Downstream Group Director Bob Greco, the new Tier 3 fuel regulations could raise refiners' costs while providing little to no environmental benefit. Here are the details.

* The EPA released its proposal on Friday that would involve new standards on tailpipe emissions, evaporative emissions, fuel, and emissions test fuel. The EPA estimates that the new standards will have an average cost of about $130 per vehicle in 2025.

* The American Petroleum Institute stated that analysis by energy consulting firm Baker & O'Brien indicates that the Tier 3 proposal would increase the cost of gasoline production by up to nine cents per gallon. A vapor reduction requirement would push the cost increase up to 25 cents a gallon and gasoline costs would also rise 30 percent by 2015.

* Further, Greco stated, the new requirements would actually increase greenhouse gas emissions because of the energy-intensive equipment needed to comply.

* Charles T. Drevna, president of the trade association American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers, echoed the institute's concerns, stating that the new standards are "completely without merit given that the Agency has not previously offered any cost/benefit analysis to justify this onerous rulemaking."

* According to the association, another $10 billion in new infrastructure and $2.4 billion in operating costs will be the result of the Tier 3 regulations.

* However, the Association of Global Automakers praised the proposed standards, stating that the rulemaking will harmonize federal and California programs for both vehicles and fuels.

* The emissions standards included in the rule mirrors California's standards, the automakers association reported.

* According to the EPA, the standards will reduce pollution and help to avoid up to 2,400 premature deaths a year and 23,000 cases of respiratory ailments in children by 2030, in addition to 3,200 hospital admissions and asthma-related emergency room visits, and 1.8 million lost school days, work days and days when activities would be restricted due to air pollution .

* The EPA estimated that, by 2030, the total health-related benefits will be between $8 and $23 billion annually.

* "Today's proposed standards -- which will save thousands of lives and protect the most vulnerable -- are the next step in our work to protect public health and will provide the automotive industry with the certainty they need to offer the same car models in all 50 states," said EPA acting administrator Bob Perciasepe.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/group-says-tsunami-epa-rules-could-raise-gas-190700900.html

lou dobbs rock salt david letterman march of dimes james randi wargames blake griffin dunk

EBay targets $110 billion of marketplace volume in 2015

By Alistair Barr

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - EBay Inc aims to handle $110 billion of sales volume on its marketplace in 2015 by expanding globally, getting more local inventory online and using mobile technology to engage more with shoppers, executives said on Thursday.

The new forecast, made by Devin Wenig, president of eBay's Marketplaces business in North America, compares with Gross Merchandise Volume, or GMV, of $75 billion in 2012.

GMV is a closely watched measure of eBay's performance. Doug Anmuth, an analyst at J.P. Morgan, was expecting 2015 GMV of $101 billion.

After bleeding market share to Amazon.com Inc for years, Chief Executive John Donahoe began a turnaround effort in 2009 that set the Internet commerce company back on track by borrowing from its larger rival's playbook.

He took what was then a muddled auctions website and made it easier for shoppers to buy new items at fixed prices and get more free shipping and returns - essentially mimicking the Amazon experience. He also embraced mobile technology, creating shopping apps for smartphones and tablets that brought in new customers.

But eBay's online marketplace is still growing less than Amazon's and some analysts are concerned its growth may struggle to keep up with the overall expansion of the online retail sector.

On Thursday, Wenig told analysts and investors that the Marketplaces business will deliver "at least" market rates of growth.

"They are saying they have fixed the core marketplace, and they are now positioned to drive incremental growth from local, mobile and global initiatives," said Colin Sebastian, an analyst at R.W. Baird.

CEO Donahoe said that the company would enable $300 billion of commerce in 2015, up 71 percent from $175 billion in 2012.

That forecast includes sales on eBay's online marketplace, payments processed by PayPal and other transactions touched by the company's various businesses, such as GSI Commerce.

"That's one of the ways we will measure our success," Donahoe said during eBay's investor day at its headquarters in Silicon Valley.

To get this done, eBay is focusing on three main sources of potential growth - global expansion, local commerce and mobile applications that it hopes will encourage consumers to shop more on its marketplace and use PayPal more to pay for those purchases.

EBay is aiming to increase sales in emerging markets and BRIC countries - Brazil, Russia, India and China, by four times current levels in three years, Wendy Jones, an executive overseeing the global push, said.

By the end of 2015, as much as 25 percent of eBay active users and over 12 percent of global sales will come from BRIC countries and emerging markets, she added.

EBay's top executives will give other, new three-year financial forecasts later on Thursday.

Expectations run high on Wall Street. Anmuth of J.P. Morgan, is expecting revenue of $21.16 billion in 2015 and earnings of $3.98 per share that year, versus $14 billion and $2.36 a share in 2012.

The analyst is also calling for 2015 PayPal transaction volume of $246.9 billion that year.

(Reporting by Alistair Barr; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn, Tim Dobbyn, and Kenneth Barry)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/ebay-ceo-says-company-enable-300-billion-commerce-154139664--sector.html

obama birth control mortgage settlement macauly culkin joe namath stefon diggs nazi ss andrej pejic

Stock futures signal flat to lower open

PARIS (Reuters) - Stock futures pointed to a flat to lower open on Wall Street on Thursday, with futures for the S&P 500 down 0.22 percent, Dow Jones futures up 0.01 percent and Nasdaq 100 futures up 0.03 percent at 5:00 a.m. EDT.

* European stocks were mixed on Thursday morning, with Spanish, Portuguese and Italian shares losing ground, hurt by fears of a potential run on Cyprus's banks, set to reopen on Thursday. <.eu/>

* Tight controls will be imposed on transactions by Cyprus's banks to limit cash withdrawals to no more than 300 euros ($380) per day, ban the cashing of cheques and bar businesses from transferring money abroad unless they can show it is for imports.

* On the macro front, investors awaited U.S. weekly jobless claims, due at 1230 GMT, as well as the final estimate of the U.S. fourth-quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP), at 1230 GMT. Economists forecast a 0.5 percent annualized pace of growth, compared with a 0.1 percent rate in the preliminary estimate.

* Influential proxy advisory firm ISS threw its weight behind opponents of MetroPCS Communications Inc's proposed merger with T-Mobile USA, saying the deal undervalued the company and shareholders should vote against it.

* PVH Corp forecast 2013 profit well short of Wall Street estimates as the clothing maker now expects its acquisition of Warnaco to drag on earnings this year due to the additional time needed to complete the integration. PVH shares fell 5 percent in trading after the bell.

* Clearwire Corp plans to notify Sprint Nextel Corp S.N on Thursday that it will tap another $80 million of financing in April as part of its deal with the No. 3 U.S. wireless carrier, two people close to the matter said.

* Cable firm Liberty Global said on Thursday it had bought a 12.65 percent stake in Dutch cable firm Ziggo for 632.5 million euros ($808 million) as a strategic investment in a market where it already operates.

* Chevron Corp said on Wednesday its executive pay would reflect certain incidents in 2012 as well as a financial performance that outpaced the U.S. oil company's peer group.

* Swiss Re has settled a dispute with Berkshire Hathaway over a 2010 life reinsurance deal and will receive a $610 million payment from U.S. tycoon Warren Buffett's company, the Swiss reinsurer said on Thursday.

* A judge on Wednesday approved AMR Corp's plan to merge with US Airways Group , a step toward creating the world's largest airline.

* Citigroup Inc on Wednesday won the dismissal of a lawsuit by Woori Bank over losses from mortgage-related investments, the third such defeat in a U.S. court for a South Korean bank that had been put under state control following financial crises.

* A federal judge on Wednesday said JPMorgan Chase & Co must face a lawsuit by a pension plan that accused it of mismanaging its money by investing in Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc notes before that bank filed for bankruptcy in 2008.

* Fifteen major banks sued by the Federal Housing Finance Agency over risky housing debt urged a U.S. appeals court on Wednesday to intervene, citing "gravely prejudicial" rulings by the trial judge coordinating the litigation.

* Chesapeake Energy Corp's search for a new chief executive to replace Aubrey McClendon is likely to extend beyond an April 1 deadline, according to a person familiar with the situation.

* Gold-backed exchange-traded funds are set for their biggest quarterly outflow since inception, with investors beating a hasty retreat from the market due to a brightened global economic backdrop.

* Employment improved and housing prices rose in most major U.S. metropolitan areas in the final quarter of 2012, but output sputtered, according to a report released on Thursday by the Brookings Institution.

* On the earnings front, investors awaited quarterly results from Accenture , Gamestop Corp. , and the Mosaic Company .

* U.S. stocks rebounded from early declines to close little changed on Wednesday, but investors were still worried about the chance of a run on Cypriot banks and its possible implications for other euro-zone lenders.

* The Dow Jones industrial average <.dji> fell 33.49 points or 0.23 percent, to 14,526.16 at the close. The S&P 500 <.spx> lost just 0.92 of a point, or 0.06 percent, to finish at 1,562.85. The Nasdaq Composite <.ixic> added 4.04 points or 0.12 percent, to close at 3,256.52.

(Reporting by Blaise Robinson)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/stock-futures-signal-flat-lower-open-101636697--finance.html

hallmark grammy winners obama budget woolly mammoth belize resorts nikki minaj grammy performance shel silverstein

Let R2D2 be your data courier

I know everybody has cloud storage accounts now and probably never use USB jump drives anymore, but I couldn’t resist telling you about the R2D2 USB Flash Drive Cufflinks from CuffLinks.com. ?I’ve always had a thing for USB jewelry, and I have a big, flashy USB necklace that looks like a crystal-encrusted padlock. ?These R2D2 [...]

Source: http://the-gadgeteer.com/2013/03/28/let-r2d2-be-your-data-courier/

pierre garcon brown recluse spider wiz khalifa taylor allderdice eddie royal iditarod nfl free agents 2012 encyclopedia brittanica

Is the T-Mobile iPhone a Good Deal?

The iPhone is now available on all major U.S. carriers. But is T-Mobile?s unique pricing plan worth it?

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/GearFactor/~3/GXAh_6sfSFY/

the shore meryl streep oscar wins sasha baron cohen oscars the artist sacha baron cohen oscars the old curiosity shop jane russell

eBay's Sell it Forward splits auction proceeds with Goodwill

eBay's latest initiative is a little different from its more recent efforts that have focused mostly on re-branding and expanding the reach of PayPal. Sell it Forward encourages users to sell their used clothes and donate half the proceeds to Goodwill. The pilot program is currently only available in San Francisco, San Mateo, and Marin, though the company is going out of its way to make the process as painless as possible for those in eligible areas. Instead of creating listings for each item, wannabe auctioneers need only fill the pre-paid mailing bag (provided by eBay) with the clothes and accessories they wish to sell. Everything else will be taken care of for them. Employees will decide if your wares are in decent enough condition to sell, create a listing and, if the item is sold within 14 days, split the proceeds between the "seller" and Goodwill. If the item remains unsold for 14 days it becomes a straight donation to the charity. If you're in one of the trial areas and want to give Sell it Forward a go yourself, hit up the source link.

Filed under: Internet

Comments

Via: The Verge, Business Insider

Source: eBay

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2013/03/27/ebays-sell-it-forward/

st patricks day st. bonaventure ira glass swain match day nene dark shadows trailer

Brookfield Place Progressive Dinner, Eat Drink Perth ? The Food ...

Brookfield Place was unveiled last year and opened up a host of new restaurants and cool bars in the Perth CBD. There?s an air of sophistication as you walk through the precinct, which combines modern architecture and thoughtfully restored heritage buildings. If you haven?t visited Perth since early last year, there?s an impressive line-up of venues to explore and experience here.

Last week, Jac and I attended the Brookfield Place Progressive Dinner, an Eat Drink Perth event which would take us on a gastronomical journey through four Brookfield Place venues.

There were around 25 people participating, mostly couples or groups of friends. We assembled at Bar Lafayette, located on the ground floor of the old Perth Technical School, for a cocktail and entr?e. First the drink, called Bloody Income Tax, made with Beefeater 24 London dry gin, Dolin de Chambery Dry and Rouge vermouth plus bitters and Bar Lafayette?s own handmade spiced blood orange soda. I?m not a big fan of bitter aperitifs; this one was particularly medicinal and not to my taste. I call this a pullface drink ? despite wanting to look like a grown-up, I pull a face whenever I take a sip.

We had better luck with the entr?e, which was steak tartare ? well seasoned raw beef mince with chopped capers, served with olive tapenade and a rather millipede-like, meticulously rolled anchovy and soft cooked tomato underneath a golden archway of crispbread.

I?ve been to Bar Lafayette a couple of times now for drinks and each time found the staff to be very friendly as well as the full bottle on cocktails. I?d like to come back for a Green Lady, made with Hendricks gin, lime and mint, and give the bar food menu a go. BBQ Pork buns and marinated grilled prawns with avocado, coconut and lime dip sound pretty good to me.

Bar Lafayette
Lower Georges Lane, Brookfield Place
125 St Georges Tce, Perth
Telephone: 0408 817 250
Monday to Friday 11am to 12 midnight
Saturday 4pm to 12 midnight
Closed on Sundays

Ready for the main course, we ambled across to The Trustee. The floor-to-ceiling glass-enclosed wine cellar makes a stunning centrepiece as you walk in.

We were ushered into a dining room where tables had been pushed together to create two long tables for our party.

We were ready for something more substantial. The plates were large and as we discovered, the food deceptively rich. The main course was confit duck, rendered potatoes (which we delightedly translated as potatoes cooked in duck fat), wild mushrooms and beignet courgette. The duck fell off the bone easily and the crisp battered courgettes were delicious. But the clear winner was those tender fatty potatoes. The only thing missing was a simple leaf salad to cut through all the richness and fat. The matching wine was from Pemberton: 2010 Pemberly Pinot Noir.

The Trustee (warning, auto-play Flash music and animation)
133 St Georges Terrace, Perth
Telephone: (08) 6323 3000
Monday to Friday 11.30am to midnight (lunch, dinner and supper)
Saturday 5pm to midnight (dinner and supper)
Closed on Sundays

We strolled to Print Hall for dessert. Currently, Tuesdays are all-day oyster frenzy at Print Hall, and Perth?s king of oysters Jerry Fraser was in the house (you might like to read my recent post When an oyster hater met the King of Oysters). Print Hall?s got a new seafood platter menu in the main bar, and you?ll find more than oysters buried beneath the ice ? there?s cooked crayfish, crabs, yabbies and prawns, all bright and fresh. Sadly, there was no room among all the duck and potatoes. ?Another time,? we told Jerry.

Two mini desserts were delivered, along with a glass of moscato dessert wine. First, coffee panna cotta, a delicate vanilla panna cotta layered with a coffee gel, topped with crumbs. This was my favourite of the dessert dishes. I like sweet wines and the moscato was very easy to drink.

Second, mini lemon meringue pies. There may be a dress code in this joint but no one can look dignified when they bite into such soft, tall meringue. Meringue moustaches all around ? cheers and bottoms up!

Print Hall Bar and Dining Room
Brookfield Place
125 St Georges Tce, Perth
Telephone: (08) 6282 0000
Monday to Friday: 11.30am ? 12midnight
Saturday: 4pm to 12midnight (Dining Room open for dinner only)
Sundays and public holidays: Closed
Dress code: Upmarket casual or business attire at all times. Gentlemen must wear a collared shirt or collared jacket. No thongs or shorts at any stage of trade.

The final stop in our progressive dinner was Bob?che, a dark and cosy 20s speakeasy-style bar, located at the basement of The Heritage. We sat wherever we like, most sinking into soft leather lounges and old fashioned armchairs.

The Bob?che iced tea is a fragrant, refreshing brew, Bob?che?s version of Long Island iced tea, served chilled in teapots, poured into large china cups. It?s made from Absolut Vodka, Beefeater Gin, Havana Club 3YO Rum, Cherry Herring brandy, sweet spice tea (yes, there is real tea in it), fresh lemon and lemonade. It?s usually $62 per pot, which serves around 4 people.

Pouring Bob?che iced tea

After checking out Bob?che?s menu (of course ? as always, planning the next meal while enjoying the current one) I?d like to return and share a teapot of sangria with friends and try some of Bob?che?s food ? a double decker club sandwich and some cheese ? two of my favourites are on the menu, Marcel Petite Gruyere de Comte and Papillon Roquefort. Jac wasn?t so keen on the basement location of Bob?che ? she likes open windows, sunshine and even better, sitting outdoors. I?m like our cats ? I quite like a dark, cosy nook to curl up in. In fact, the armchairs and low tables were just begging for a naughty cat or two to jump on them.

The walk down the stairs and a dark corridor to access Bob?che adds an air of mystery and excitement (unless you?re Jac). Just for a while, you?ve escaped to a different world. It?s a shame progressive dinners tend to be scheduled on the quieter hospitality nights i.e. not a Friday or Saturday night ? this one was on a Tuesday night ? I?d loved to have lingered over the after-dinner drinks but we didn?t want too late a night out as we had to go to work the next day.

Bob?che
At the basement of The Heritage
131 St Georges Tce, Perth
Monday to Friday 4pm to midnight
Saturday 6pm to midnight
Closed on Sundays
No reservations taken

The progressive dinner was a great way to experience a number of venues in Brookfield Place. A couple of days earlier, we were emailed the menu and asked if we had any special dietary requirements ? we had no issues and really enjoyed the meal. The venues were all an easy stroll apart ? there was more chewing and chin-wagging than walking!

The dynamics of being in a group of 25 mostly strangers are interesting; especially at The Trustee, where we sat at two long tables ? the shyer, less sociable people may not feel so comfortable with a shared table setting. But it was easy enough to be in your ?own space? at Bar Lafayette, Print Hall and Bob?che.

All Brookfield Place progressive dinners offered during Eat Drink Perth were sell-outs. If you missed out this time around, I hope you won?t have to wait a whole year to experience a Brookfield Place progressive dinner? that?s a big nudge and hint to the organisers!

The Brookfield Place Progressive Dinner was an Eat Drink Perth event ? AU$140 per person.

TFP and Jac dined as guests of the City of Perth and Brookfield Place as part of Eat Drink Perth.

Brookfield Place
123-137 St Georges Terrace, Perth

Tagged as: Eat Drink Perth, Eating out, Perth, Perth CBD, progressive dinner, restaurant

Source: http://www.thefoodpornographer.com/2013/03/26/brookfield-place-progressive-dinner-eat-drink-perth/

cmas tcu dr. oz heart attack grill las vegas the heart attack grill joe kennedy iii joseph kennedy iii