The 6 Best Apps for the 2012 Olympics

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By Nathalie Pierrepont

The biggest social media platforms have been around for previous Olympics, including the Beijing Summer Games of 2008 and the Vancouver Winter Games of 2010. However, some are calling the London Summer Games of 2012 the "Socialympics."

The International Olympic Committee even launched the Olympic Athletes' Hub, a site to connect fans with Olympic athletes, past and present, through Twitter and Facebook (FB) streams, for the coming Games.

"We are at a dawn of a new age of sharing and connecting, and London 2012 will ignite the first conversational Olympic Games [between athletes and fans] thanks to social media platforms and technology," said Alex Huot, head of social media for the IOC, in an email interview with ESPN Playbook.

The 2012 Summer Games is also a first for Apple's (AAPL) iPad. And it's no surprise that a large majority of the near 150 iPad applications relating to the Olympics involve a social media component to engage fans traveling to London, watching from home or tuning into the Games on the go.

With the Games under way, TheStreet recommends these six apps to enhance your spectator experience:


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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2012/07/30/best-ipad-apps-2012-olympics/

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Are You an Impulse Spender?

impulse spender

Are you an impulse spender? Do you spend money because it is fun to spend? Do you often find yourself looking at your receipts and wondering why you bought 4 new pairs of shoes when you already have a closet full? Or if you’re a guy have you ever bought new tools just because you thought no one can have too many tools in their garage?

Impulse spending can happen to anyone. For many it happens when they go to the grocery store hungry and typically without a grocery list. They buy everything in the store because it looks delicious.

Others may not be able to drive by a furniture store without stopping in for a look. They love spending money on new furniture.

Everytime they walk into a large furniture store they head straight over to the TVs and convince themselves that they need a new, bigger, skinnier, better TV because they are just dying to replace the TV they bought 2 years ago.

Or they go over and sit on all of the sofas to see if they can find one to buy to replace the one they bought last year that isn’t as cushy as it appeared to be in the store.

Then there’s that quick trip to Lowes for just one item, like a new screwdriver, or such.

Picture it - A husband and wife enter the store.

Wow, take a look at that shiny new BBQ, they say.

You know we could use one of those.

After all ours is 4 years old and it’s an eye sore because we never feel like cleaning it.

Let’s just get a new one, and then we don’t have to worry about cleaning the one we have.

And while we’re at it, let’s get that giant umbrella for our back patio.

It’ll look so nice out there in the summer, even though we don’t really spend much time out there.

But you know honey, if we are going to get a new umbrella and a shiny new BBQ, then we really need to get new patio furniture.

And look the patio furniture is on sale today.

Let’s get it! Let’s get it all now! Honey, this is so exciting. Hurry up and get your credit card out.

And so it goes...

Does that scenario sound familiar to you? How often have you walked out of a store after spending thousands of dollars, even though the item you really went in for was only $19.99?

If you are a repeat offender when it comes to impulse spending, here are some questions you can ask yourself and your spouse the next time you find yourself considering large unnecessary purchases. These questions may help you to rethink your spending.

Before you pay for that next item, ask yourself this:

1. Am I buying this only because it is on sale?
2. Am I buying this because it looks so nice?
3. Am I buying this because having new things makes me feel good?
4. If I charge this, can I pay it off at the end of the month?
5. Would I make the trip back here tomorrow to buy this?
6. Can I afford this?
7. Do I really need it, or do I just want it?
8. Will buying this put me over budget this month?
9. Am I buying this because I am too lazy to fix what I have?

So where do you stand? Are you an impulse spender, or do you only buy what you honestly and truly need, and not a penny more?


Source: http://tacklingourdebt.com/2012/07/26/are-you-impulse-spender/

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Offshore U.S. oversight of derivatives may bolster defenses against JPMorgan-type losses

The CDS indices involved in the JPMorgan trades are already encompassed under CFTC’s anti-fraud and anti-manipulation regime, and a clearing house clears trades in the CDS indices.

Source: http://blogs.reuters.com/financial-regulatory-forum/2012/05/29/offshore-u-s-oversight-of-derivatives-may-bolster-defenses-against-jpmorgan-type-losses/

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Andrew J. Bacevich, Part I

Bill Moyers sits down with history and international relations expert and former US Army Colonel Andrew J. Bacevich who identifies three major problems facing our democracy: the crises of economy, government and militarism, and calls for a redefinition of the American way of life. "Because of this preoccupation with the presidency," says Bacevich, "the president has become what we have instead of genuine politics, instead of genuine democracy." Respected across the political spectrum, Bacevich has contributed to The Nation, The American Conservative, Foreign Affairs, among others, and his latest book is The Limits of Power: The End of American Exceptionalism.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/bmjvodcast/~3/7jDLAkxiaS4/profile.html

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Super Bowl tickets on a budget?

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The New England Patriots line up against the New York Giants If you've been thinking about going to the Super Bowl, chances are you've also been contemplating selling a kidney to make it happen. Before you climb into the ice bath and sharpen the scalpel, you might want to take a peek at Yoonew. The brainchild of a pair of Princeton engineers, Yoonew is an online futures exchange for premium ticket futures. Not only can it procure your coveted championship sports tickets, it can even help you get them for less than face value. Here's how it works:

1. Convinced that your team is going to go to the Super Bowl (or the Playoffs, or the World Series, or whatever), and desperate to see the boys in action, you go to the Yoonew website. Yoonew evaluates your team's chances of going to the big game. Based on their calculations, they offer a ticket future for the game. The price they charge is based on the probability that you will get the ticket. Thus, if your team has a minimal chance of going to the game, the ticket will be very, very cheap. If your team is likely to go, then the ticket will be more expensive.

2. Over the course of the season, your ticket value fluctuates, based on your team's changing fortunes. You can track the value of the ticket on the Yoonew site. Incidentally, this also gives you a pretty good indicator of how your team is doing.

Continue reading Super Bowl tickets on a budget?

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Source: http://www.dailyfinance.com/2008/01/04/super-bowl-tickets-on-a-budget/

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