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To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26825)	1/8/2006 6:03:28 PM
From: Lazarus_Long	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

Rapid US economic growth persists The US economy has continued to grow quickly despite the impact of hurricanes and record high oil prices. The Department of Commerce said that gross domestic product (GDP) increased by an annual rate of 4.1% in the three months to the end of September. That was the fastest rate of growth since the first quarter of 2004, and up from 3.3% in the previous three months. Consumer demand - which has been helped by discounting - was the key driver, along with business investment. 'Big theme' Consumer spending, which accounts for nigh on two-thirds of economic activity, increased by more than 4% during the third quarter, up from 3.4% in the previous three month period. On the negative side, growth in the third quarter was less than had been initially predicted and corporate earnings slid as companies had to meet the cost of hurricanes Rita and Katrina. Many analysts are predicting that growth is likely to slow to around 3% in the fourth quarter as firms, especially in the car industry, offered fewer discounts. "The big theme in the fourth quarter is going to be consumption spending, that is the real driver," said Elisabeth Denison, an economist at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein. news.bbc.co.uk ============================================================= US budget deficit shrinks in 2005 The US budget deficit shrank to $319bn (£180bn) last year as better economic conditions boosted tax revenues. Despite falling from 2004's record $412bn figure, the federal deficit for the fiscal year ending last month was still the third highest on record. US Treasury Secretary John Snow hailed the fall, which was larger than had been projected, as "encouraging news". However, this year's deficit is likely to be swelled by $30bn of spending on post-Hurricane Katrina reconstruction. Katrina costs According to figures from the US Treasury Department, only $4bn of the $62bn allocated by Congress in emergency aid for Hurricane Katrina was spent in the last fiscal year. When it reconvenes on Monday, the House of Representatives will begin the task of identifying $35bn worth of cuts to federal spending needed to offset hurricane recovery costs. Lower taxes and pro-growth economic policies have created millions of jobs John Snow US Treasury Secretary The 2005 fiscal year deficit amounted to 2.6% of GDP, below the 3.6% recorded in 2004 and the post World War Two high of 6% in 1983. "While deficits are never welcome, the fact that we finished fiscal year 2005 with a much-lower-than-expected deficit is encouraging news," Mr Snow said. "Lower taxes and pro-growth economic policies have created millions of jobs and a growing economy that has swelled tax revenues over the past year," he added. Robust growth The US economy has enjoyed robust growth, expanding by more than 3% in each of the past nine quarters. However, the Treasury Department believes Hurricane Katrina could reduce growth by 0.5% in the current quarter. Katrina contributed to a fall in the number of people in work last month, the first monthly decline in two years. The White House initially forecast a 2005 deficit of $427bn at the start of the calendar year, but has steadily revised the figure downwards since then. news.bbc.co.uk

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26825)	1/8/2006 11:17:34 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

Q&A: MySpace Founders Chris DeWolfe And Tom Anderson _______________________________________________________________ A year ago Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. was an Internet also-ran. Now his Web presence rivals that of giants Google, Yahoo! and America Online, due in large part to his $629 million purchase of Intermix Media, and its MySpace social-networking business. forbes.com

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26825)	1/9/2006 1:08:20 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

INFORMATION WEEK: IS 37SIGNALS THE NEW GOOGLE? tinyurl.com "37signals does have the zesty, refreshing, flavor of a little company called Google, ca. 1998."

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26825)	1/9/2006 1:52:14 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

Nothing Ventured, Nothing Gained codeworrier.blogspot.com

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26825)	1/12/2006 2:14:10 AM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 57684

Video search engine company, Truveo, sold -- for $50 million! siliconbeat.com

To: Lizzie Tudor who wrote (26825)	1/12/2006 3:20:20 PM
From: stockman_scott	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 57684

Loomia Releases Recommendations Web Service to Podcast Networks and Media Publishers _________________________________________________________ The Conversations Network Using Loomia Recommendations to Spotlight Popular Content SAN FRANCISCO — January 12, 2006 — With over 900 individual podcasts, 10-12 new ones each week, and upwards of 20,000 downloads per day, it’s easy to see why Doug Kaye, founder and executive producer of The Conversations Network, was named Podcasting Person of the Year at the Portable Media Conference in November 2005. But in putting together such a large volume of shows, he realized he created a problem for his growing community of listeners, namely how to find things they like within such a large catalog of shows. This complexity is why The Conversations Network turned to Loomia Recommendations. Loomia Recommendations is a web service that lets podcast networks and media publishers provide personalized recommendations for the content on their sites. After a simple online sign-up process, the recommendations service can be integrated into sites within minutes, giving networks and publishers an instant ability to provide recommendations to site visitors that are specific to each user’s interests. Loomia Recommendations is available for immediate use by any podcast network or media publisher syndicating media via RSS. The Conversations Network launched its new web site with the Recommendation service on January 9, 2006. “When we had only a few hundred shows and one channel, IT Conversations, it wasn’t all that hard to browse the archives to find interesting shows to listen to,” says The Conversations Network’s Doug Kaye. “Now that we’re approaching a thousand shows and adding more and more each week, we realized we needed a better way to help people find programs they like. The Loomia Recommendations service was very easy to integrate. Listeners will be more likely to return to our site for new programs and spend more time listening to shows within our ever expanding archive.” About Loomia Recommendations’ Web Service Loomia Recommendations creates a more intuitive discovery process, giving users an easier way to find things they like. The service also gives podcast networks and media publishers a clearer idea of the shows their audiences want. With this knowledge, networks and publishers can craft better programming and get more out of their sponsorship and advertising programs. Loomia Recommendations takes user’s feedback on shows that they like or dislike and recommends podcasts and videocasts that match other people with similar tastes. Unlike other recommendation systems, Loomia Recommendations fits easily into any site that offers RSS feeds, greatly simplifying data exchange issues. “We see a tremendous need for better distributed search and personalization,” says David Marks, Co-founder and CEO of Loomia. “Many of the podcasting networks and media companies we’ve talked to want to make it easier for their listeners and viewers to find shows that interest them among the hundreds and thousands of items within their directories.” Loomia Recommendations is free of charge for networks and publishers. Loomia will make money by discretely featuring targeted and relevant podcasts and videocasts in the recommendation pages that it provides. Companies that do not wish to show ads can license the service on a per usage basis. Loomia plans to release other management and personalization services in the next several months. “We created Loomia Recommendations because we think that a centralized aggregation approach is not the only answer to helping people find things that are relevant to them,” says Marks. “Hundreds and thousands of networks will be creating millions of shows. Our goal is to provide emerging and established networks with easy-to-use and yet extremely powerful technologies to help them grow their audiences and build sustainable businesses.” More information about Loomia and Loomia Recommendations web service can be found at recommendations.loomia.com. About Loomia Loomia Inc. helps people discover and manage podcasts, videocasts, and other syndicated media. The company’s website and its personalization web service, Loomia Recommendations, provides a unique set of search, recommendation, and personalization features to help users find the content they are looking for. Founded in 2004, Loomia is a privately held company based in San Francisco. Loomia and Loomia Recommendations are trademarks of Loomia Inc. The Conversations Network and the CN logo are trademarks of The Conversations Network. Loomia Inc. Contact: Ken Fromm, Marketing/Partner Development Phone: +1-415-710-6600 Email: ken-at-loomia.com Website: recommendations.loomia.com