Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: d[-_-]b who wrote (691108)	1/3/2013 12:56:15 PM
From: FJB	Respond to of 1577080

Gun checks soar 39 percent, set new record: FBI By David Ingram WASHINGTON \| Wed Jan 2, 2013 5:02pm EST WASHINGTON ( Reuters) - The number of FBI background checks required for Americans buying guns set a record in December, indicating that more people may purchase one after the Connecticut school massacre stirred interest in self-defense and prompted renewed talk of limits on firearms, according to FBI data. The FBI said it recorded 2.78 million background checks during the month, surpassing the mark set in November of 2.01 million checks - about a 39 percent rise. The latest monthly figure was up 49 percent over December 2011, when the FBI performed a then-record 1.86 million checks. Consumer demand for guns appears to have accounted for the uptick in activity. There were no changes in FBI background check procedures that would have affected the December numbers, FBI spokesman Stephen Fischer said. December is typically the busiest month of the year for checks, however, due in part to Christmas gift sales. The figures do not represent the number of firearms sold, a statistic the government does not track. They also do not reflect activity between private parties, such as family members or collectors, because federal law requires background checks only for sales from commercial vendors with a federal license. Someone who passes a background check is eligible to buy multiple firearms. FBI checks for all of 2012 totaled 19.6 million, an annual record and an increase of 19 percent over 2011. The FBI system - known as the National Instant Criminal Background Check System (NICS) - "processed transactions following normal established protocols," Fischer said in an email. The national debate on guns has grown more intense since December 14, when Adam Lanza forced his way into Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, and killed 20 children and six adults before committing suicide in one of the deadliest school shootings in U.S. history. Lanza also killed his mother, the registered owner of the guns used in the killings, before going to the school. SHOOTINGS LEAD TO SALES Interest in guns tends to increase after a mass shooting, as customers fear for personal safety or worry that lawmakers might ban certain firearms. President Barack Obama has committed to pushing new legislation, possibly including a ban on some semi-automatic weapons, this year. The National Shooting Sports Foundation, a trade association for firearms-makers, estimates the size of the industry at $4 billion a year. A spokesman for the association did not respond to a request for comment on Wednesday. Shares of gun maker Smith & Wesson Holding Corp were up 1.2 percent at $8.54 at Wednesday's close, while those of Sturm Ruger & Co Inc were up 1.1 percent at $45.88, during a broad rally in which the Standard & Poor's 500 Index was up 2.5 percent. Neither company responded to requests for comment. "The last eight years (have) been very good to be a handgun company. The market has expanded significantly, and long guns having done pretty good, as well," said Smith & Wesson Chief Executive James Debney at a December 12 conference for investors. The pattern of gun sales rising after a mass shooting is disturbing, said Josh Sugarmann, executive director of the Violence Policy Center, a Washington group that favors gun control. "While the majority of Americans look for solutions to stop the next attack, a minority of gun owners runs to hoard the very guns used in the most recent" incidents, Sugarmann said in an email. Even as gun purchases rise, the share of U.S. households with a gun has been falling for decades, from 54 percent in 1977 to 32 percent in 2010, according to the University of Chicago's General Social Survey.

To: d[-_-]b who wrote (691108)	1/3/2013 1:54:31 PM
From: joseffy	Respond to of 1577080

Google has always been part of the US government Google dodges bullet as FTC closes probe By TONY ROMM \| 1/3/13 Federal regulators on Thursday concluded a nearly two-year probe of Google with what amounts to a slap on the wrist: An agreement to restrict its use of by Text-Enhance">smartphone patents and a voluntary change in how the most dominant search engine on the Web handles its advertising practices. It was Google’s largest challenge to date from Washington and the company dodged a potentially lengthy and costly antitrust trial by agreeing to a modest set of changes. The case also illustrated just how much more savvy major technology companies have become over the past decade in navigating how they work the regulatory and lobbying lanes in Washington, as Google spent millions in lobbying and two years working the case. Google averted what could have been a much harsher penalty from the Federal Trade Commission: antitrust charges that it illegally wielded monopoly power in online search to thwart rivals. “I've been doing this almost 40 years, and I've done dozens if not scores of government investigations on both sides, and I have never seen a more unprofessional, incomplete, incompetent investigation,” said Gary Reback, a Silicon Valley lawyer who represented some of Google’s complainants before the FTC. The FTC voted on a bipartisan basis in favor of the two by Text-Enhance">settlements, FTC Chairman Jon Leibowitz announced. Regarding a consent decree requiring Google through its Motorola Mobility subsidiary to stop using standards essential patents to block rival products, the commission voted 4-1. In addition, the FTC voted 5-0 to close an investigation into Google’s search business “finding the evidence does not support the claim,” Leibowitz said. “But we do accept Google’s legally binding and enforceability commitments related to search and advertising.” The larger investigation into Google’s search and by Text-Enhance">advertising businesses, however, was settled by the FTC by something of a handshake agreement. The company committed in a letter that it would cease borrowing others' content — like restaurant reviews — for use in its own products. Google also promised to allow its advertising customers to port their keyword campaigns easily over to rivals. ( Also on POLITICO: Top Google searches in 2012) The settlement by Text-Enhance">grants the FTC a direct avenue to pursue fines and other penalties against Google if it wields its standards patents too aggressively. It’s an approach that still might not assuage critics: Two of the foes Google has fought in patent court battles — Microsoft and Apple — wrote letters to the FTC this week saying the deal was too lenient and that no deal would be better than this, sources told POLITICO. But the FTC did not force Google to change its key search business — and so consumers are unlikely to see a major difference in their search results. The real losers are companies such as by Text-Enhance">Microsoft, Expedia, Nextag and others that had complained Google was manipulating search results to promote its own ancillary products — in shopping, travel and other sectors — to the top rankings. The agreement spares Google and Chairman Jon Leibowitz a blistering, lengthy, and public court battle over the company's conduct and future. Some Google critics, including FairSearch.org, a consortium of companies pushing for harsher remedies against Google, had urged the FTC to slow down its decision-making process and pursue a settlement that reached far into Google's search business. They had contended that U.S. regulators should wait at least until the European Commission concludes its investigation of Google’s search business, which is expected to be settled at the end of this month. 1 2 3 » Read more: politico.com