China e-commerce giant Alibaba Group bets $692 million on retail stores

From Internet retailer

March 31, 2014

China e-commerce giant Alibaba Group bets $692 million on retail stores

The dominant company in online retailing in China is taking a stake in InTime Retail Group, which operates 36 department stores in China.

Allison Enright
Editor

Leading Chinese e-commerce marketplace operator Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. announced today that it is taking a stake in Chinese department store operator Intime Retail (Group) Co. Ltd. Alibaba’s $692 million investment will provide Alibaba with up to a 35% stake in the retail chain through a mix of direct equity and convertible bonds.

Intime Retail operates 36 department stores in mainland China. In a statement to investors, Intime Retail says the investment will allow it to develop its cross-channel sales capabilities: “It is the common goal of [Intime] together with the Alibaba Group as its strategic partner to develop online-to-offline business and provide a more convenient and impactful shopping experience. The joint venture will explore opportunities for expansion of online-to-offline business relating to shopping malls, department stores and supermarkets in the People’s Republic of China so as to further the Group’s omnichannel strategy to be a leading consumption solutions provider.” “Online-to-offline” is a term Chinese retailers use to describe online marketing programs that drive consumers into bricks-and-mortar stores.

Read more from Internet retailer >>

The World is Changing

From BeingJRRidinger.com

"The online social shopping revolution is here! By 2017, Generation Y will be the largest buying power in the world! We have the products they want, the brands they love, and the technology that makes shopping online fun and easy. This year online retail sales reached $1.3 trillion worldwide, and when you convert that spending into earning with SHOP.COM you can build a substantial ongoing income!  How substantial, you ask? We’ve helped UnFranchise Owners earn over $2.9 billion in commissions!

We were built for digital age and have the tools you need to succeed in the online global economy – so join us as we revolutionize one to one marketing with the UnFranchise Business and SHOP.COM! The world is changing – the only question is: are you ready to change with it?"

Keep Growing!

-JR Ridinger CEO Market America/Shop.com

Why Is the U.S. Dollar Collapsing in Value All of a Sudden?

From Profit Confidential

Why Is the U.S. Dollar Collapsing in Value All of a Sudden?

Thursday, March 27th, 2014
By Michael Lombardi, MBA

When news first broke from the Federal Reserve that it would slow down the pace of its quantitative easing program, the consensus was that the U.S. dollar would start to rise in value as the Fed would be printing fewer new dollars and actually eliminating all new paper money printing by the end of 2014.

But the opposite has happened.

Below, I present the chart of the U.S. Dollar Index, an index that compares the value of the dollar to other major world currencies.







As the chart clearly shows, the dollar started on a strong downtrend in July of 2013. When I look at the dollar compared to individual currencies like the euro and British pound, the picture looks even worse.

The common belief since the Credit Crisis of 2008: when there’s uncertainty, investors run towards the safety of the U.S. dollar. But something started to happen in mid-2013. Despite China’s economic slowdown, despite the situation with Russia and Ukraine, and with the Federal Reserve cutting back substantially on its money printing program, one would think the U.S. dollar would rally in value—but the opposite is happening.

Two reasons why the greenback is falling in value so fast:

First, world central banks have been slowly selling the U.S. dollars they keep in their reserves, as the percentage of world central banks that use the dollar as their reserve currency has fallen from more than 70% in the year 2000 to just over 60% today.

Secondly, with the Japanese and Chinese reducing the amount of U.S. Treasuries they buy and with the Federal Reserve reducing the paper money it prints each month (that’s billions worth of U.S. dollars that it was using to buy government bonds), who will buy U.S. Treasuries going forward? Will the Federal Reserve have no choice but to reverse its strategy of pulling back on money printing, becoming the buyer of last resort for U.S. Treasuries in 2015 and 2016?

Read more from Profit Confidential >>

Cash, Paranoia Fuel Tech Giants' Buying Binge

Read about WSJ's article about big tech giants on a buying binge.

Latin American web sales grow 27% for Brazil’s largest web merchant

From Internet Retailer

Latin American web sales grow 27% for Brazil’s largest web merchant

B2W also continues to diversify with new services for marketplace sellers and more private-label products for its mass merchandise sites Americanas.com and Submarino.com.

Mark Brohan
Research Director

B2W Inc., Brazil’s largest web merchant, continues to invest lots of time and energy in new business development that will help the company diversify even more in the years to come, B2W executives told investors last week on its 2013 year-end earnings call.

Already the No. 1-ranked merchant in Internet Retailer’s 2013 Latin America 400 and the biggest online retailer in Brazil, B2W now wants to expand its own private-label products and provide more e-commerce technology and related services to web merchants that sell on B2W’s marketplace. “We want to be the biggest digital company in Latin America,” CEO Anna Christina Ramos Saicali told analysts.

B2W made three major acquisitions in 2013 to diversity its operation and expand its e-commerce technology platform and fulfillment system. As part of a planned $450 million three-year spending plan, B2W acquired Ideais Tecnologia Ltda, an e-commerce systems platform developer, and Tarkena Consultoria, an advanced site search and product recommendation application developer. Its third major acquisition was of Click-Rodo Entegras Ltda, a Brazilian e-commerce logistics and fulfillment company.

B2W didn’t say how much it paid for the three companies. But the acquired companies, along with the opening of three new regional distribution centers in 2015 and three to four other facilities by the end of 2015, are aimed at expanding B2W’s ability to offer same-day, next-day and faster shipping all around in Brazil and eventually other parts of Latin America, B2W says

By December 2015 B2W expects to operate as many as 21 regional distribution centers. “Everything we are doing is going to get us closer to the customer,” Saicali told analysts.

Read more from Internet Retailer >>

Wal-Mart Just Revealed How Poor Its Customers Are

From Business Insider

Wal-Mart Just Revealed How Poor Its Customers Are

ANGELO YOUNG, INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS TIMES 
MAR. 24, 2014

Nestled in the latest annual report from Wal-Mart Stores Inc. is a line that underscores just how much the world’s largest general merchandise retailer and its shareholders have depended on public assistance programs in recent years.
The Bentonville, Ark., company’s report for its fiscal year ended Jan. 31 includes the cautionary statement that’s required under securities regulations from all publicly listed companies. The purpose is to inform the public of factors that could harm future profitability. Such statements are routine and tend to list just about any potential risk factor. In Wal-Mart’s case, the sentence disclosing risk factors is a staggering 668 words long and includes dozens of risks, including natural disaster, civil unrest, changes to income and corporate tax rates, and ongoing investigations against the company.

A couple of items stand as newcomers to Wal-Mart’s menu of risks. Here’s what the annual report released on Friday says:

“Our business operations are subject to numerous risks, factors and uncertainties, domestically and internationally, which are outside our control ... These factors include ... changes in the amount of payments made under the Supplement[al] Nutrition Assistance Plan and other public assistance plans, changes in the eligibility requirements of public assistance plans, ...”

In other words, Wal-Mart, for the first time in its annual reports, acknowledges that taxpayer-funded social assistance programs are a significant factor in its revenue and profits. This makes sense, considering that Wal-Mart caters to low-income consumers. But what’s news here is that the company now considers the level of social entitlements given to low-income working and unemployed Americans important enough to underscore it in its cautionary statement.

Read more from Business Insider >>

Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid

From Dr. Weil website


Dr. Weil's Anti-Inflammatory Food Pyramid

“Following an anti-inflammatory diet can help counteract the chronic inflammation that is a root cause of many serious diseases, including those that become more frequent as people age. It is a way of selecting and preparing foods based on science that can help people achieve and maintain optimum health over their lifetime.” 

Dr. Weil

HEALTHY SWEETS
How much: Sparingly
Healthy choices: Unsweetened dried fruit, dark chocolate, fruit sorbet
Why: Dark chocolate provides polyphenols with antioxidant activity. Choose dark chocolate with at least 70 percent pure cocoa and have an ounce a few times a week. Fruit sorbet is a better option than other frozen desserts.

RED WINE
How much: Optional, no more than 1-2 glasses per day
Healthy choices: Organic red wine
Why: Red wine has beneficial antioxidant activity. Limit intake to no more than 1-2 servings per day. If you do not drink alcohol, do not start.

SUPPLEMENTS
How much: Daily
Healthy choices: High quality multivitamin/multimineral that includes key antioxidants (vitamin C, vitamin E, mixed carotenoids, and selenium); co-enzyme Q10; 2-3 grams of a molecularly distilled fish oil; 2,000 IU of vitamin D3
Why: Supplements help fill any gaps in your diet when you are unable to get your daily requirement of micronutrients.
Click here to learn more about supplements and get your free recommendation.

TEA
How much: 2-4 cups per day
Healthy choices: White, green, oolong teas
Why: Tea is rich in catechins, antioxidant compounds that reduce inflammation. Purchase high-quality tea and learn how to correctly brew it for maximum taste and health benefits.

HEALTHY HERBS & SPICES
How much: Unlimited amounts
Healthy choices: Turmeric, curry powder (which contains turmeric), ginger and garlic (dried and fresh), chili peppers, basil, cinnamon, rosemary, thyme
Why: Use these herbs and spices generously to season foods. Turmeric and ginger are powerful, natural anti-inflammatory agents.
OTHER SOURCES OF PROTEIN
How much: 1-2 servings a week (one portion is equal to 1 ounce of cheese, 1 eight-ounce serving of dairy, 1 egg, 3 ounces cooked poultry or skinless meat)
Healthy choices: High quality natural cheese and yogurt, omega-3 enriched eggs, skinless poultry, grass-fed lean meats
Why: In general, try to reduce consumption of animal foods. If you eat chicken, choose organic, cage-free chicken and remove the skin and associated fat. Use organic dairy products moderately, especially yogurt and natural cheeses such as Emmental (Swiss), Jarlsberg and true Parmesan. If you eat eggs, choose omega-3 enriched eggs (made by feeding hens a fl ax-meal-enriched diet), or organic eggs from free-range chickens.

COOKED ASIAN MUSHROOMS
How much: Unlimited amounts
Healthy choices: Shiitake, enokidake, maitake, oyster mushrooms (and wild mushrooms if available)
Why: These mushrooms contain compounds that enhance immune function. Never eat mushrooms raw, and minimize consumption of common commercial button mushrooms (including crimini and portobello).

WHOLE SOY FOODS
How much: 1-2 servings per day (one serving is equal to ½ cup tofu or tempeh, 1 cup soymilk, ½ cup cooked edamame, 1 ounce of soynuts)
Healthy choices: Tofu, tempeh, edamame, soy nuts, soymilk
Why: Soy foods contain isoflavones that have antioxidant activity and are protective against cancer.  Choose whole soy foods over fractionated foods like isolated soy protein powders and imitation meats made with soy isolate.

FISH & SEAFOOD
How much:  2-6 servings per week (one serving is equal to 4 ounces of fish or seafood)
Healthy choices: Wild Alaskan salmon (especially sockeye), herring, sardines, and black cod (sablefish)
Why: These fish are rich in omega-3 fats, which are strongly anti-inflammatory. If you choose not to eat fish, take a molecularly distilled fish oil supplement that provides both EPA and DHA in a dose of 2-3 grams per day.

HEALTHY FATS
How much:  5-7 servings per day (one serving is equal to 1 teaspoon of oil, 2 walnuts, 1 tablespoon of flaxseed, 1 ounce of avocado)
Healthy choices: For cooking, use extra virgin olive oil and expeller-pressed organic canola oil. Other sources of healthy fats include nuts (especially walnuts), avocados, and seeds - including hemp seeds and freshly ground flaxseed. Omega-3 fats are also found in cold water fish, omega-3 enriched eggs, and whole soy foods. Organic, expeller pressed, high-oleic sunflower or safflower oils may also be used, as well as walnut and hazelnut oils in salads and dark roasted sesame oil as a flavoring for soups and stir-fries
Why: Healthy fats are those rich in either monounsaturated or omega-3 fats.  Extra-virgin olive oil is rich in polyphenols with antioxidant activity and canola oil contains a small fraction of omega-3 fatty acids.

WHOLE & CRACKED GRAINS
How much:  3-5 servings a day (one serving is equal to about ½ cup cooked grains)
Healthy choices: Brown rice, basmati rice, wild rice, buckwheat, groats, barley, quinoa, steel-cut oats
Why: Whole grains digest slowly, reducing frequency of spikes in blood sugar that promote inflammation. "Whole grains" means grains that are intact or in a few large pieces, not whole wheat bread or other products made from flour.

PASTA (al dente)
How much: 2-3 servings per week (one serving is equal to about ½ cup cooked pasta)
Healthy choices: Organic pasta, rice noodles, bean thread noodles, and part whole wheat and buckwheat noodles like Japanese udon and soba
Why: Pasta cooked al dente (when it has "tooth" to it) has a lower glycemic index than fully-cooked pasta. Low-glycemic-load carbohydrates should be the bulk of your carbohydrate intake to help minimize spikes in blood glucose levels.
BEANS & LEGUMES
How much: 1-2 servings per day (one serving is equal to ½ cup cooked beans or legumes)
Healthy choices: Beans like Anasazi, adzuki and black, as well as chickpeas, black-eyed peas and lentils
Why: Beans are rich in folic acid, magnesium, potassium and soluble fiber.  They are a low-glycemic-load food.  Eat them well-cooked either whole or pureed into spreads like hummus.

VEGETABLES
How much: 4-5 servings per day minimum (one serving is equal to 2 cups salad greens, ½ cup vegetables cooked, raw or juiced)
Healthy Choices: Lightly cooked dark leafy greens (spinach, collard greens, kale, Swiss chard), cruciferous vegetables (broccoli, cabbage, Brussels sprouts, kale, bok choy and cauliflower), carrots, beets, onions, peas, squashes, sea vegetables and washed raw salad greens
Why: Vegetables are rich in flavonoids and carotenoids with both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.  Go for a wide range of colors, eat them both raw and cooked, and choose organic when possible.

FRUITS
How much:  3-4 servings per day (one serving is equal to 1 medium size piece of fruit, ½ cup chopped fruit, ¼ cup of dried fruit)
Healthy choices: Raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, nectarines, oranges, pink grapefruit, red grapes, plums, pomegranates, blackberries, cherries, apples, and pears - all lower in glycemic load than most tropical fruits
Why: Fruits are rich in flavonoids and carotenoids with both antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity.  Go for a wide range of colors, choose fruit that is fresh in season or frozen, and buy organic when possible.

Additional Item:

WATER
How much: Throughout the day
Healthy choices: Drink pure water, or drinks that are mostly water (tea, very diluted fruit juice, sparkling water with lemon) throughout the day.
Why: Water is vital for overall functioning of the body.

Cells get ready for their close-up

From MIT News

Cells get ready for their close-up
New microscopy technique captures 3-D images of cells as they flow through a microfluidic channel.
Anne Trafton, MIT News Office

March 20, 2014

In 2007, MIT scientists developed a type of microscopy that allowed them to detail the interior of a living cell in three dimensions, without adding any fluorescent markers or other labels. This technique also revealed key properties, such as the cells’ density.

Now the researchers have adapted that method so they can image cells as they flow through a tiny microfluidic channel — an important step toward cell-sorting systems that could help scientists separate stem cells at varying stages of development, or to distinguish healthy cells from cancerous cells.

Other sorting methods require scientists to add a fluorescent molecule that highlights the cells of interest, but those tags can damage the cells and make them unsuitable for therapeutic uses.

“Many stem cell applications require sorting of cells at different stages of differentiation. This can be done with fluorescent staining, but once you stain the cells they cannot be used. With our approach, you can utilize a vast amount of information about the 3-D distribution of the cells’ mass to sort them,” says Yongjin Sung, a former postdoc in MIT’s Laser Biomedical Research Center and lead author of a paper describing the technique in the inaugural issue of the journal PRApplied.

Instead of using fluorescent tags, the MIT method analyzes the cells’ index of refraction — a measurement of how much the speed of light is reduced as it passes through a material. Every material has a distinctive index of refraction, and this property can be used, along with cells’ volume, to calculate their mass and density.

Read more from MIT News >>

3 Money Lies You Should Stop Telling Yourself By Age 40

From Yahoo Finance

3 Money Lies You Should Stop Telling Yourself By Age 40
Business Insider By Mandi Woodruff


Most of us know what we should be doing with our money. But saving and investing and filling out paperwork is hard, so we tend to make excuses to avoid it.

By the time you hit 40, rationalizing away your bad money management habits starts to have a serious impact on your financial future (not to mention age you).

Here are some of the top money lies that you should stop telling yourself by age 40:

1. Debt collectors will stop chasing me once I'm in retirement, so why worry about it?

Think again. Even student loan debt can chase you into retirement.  The Treasury Department has been  withholding as much as 15% of Social Security  benefits from a rapidly growing number of retirees who have fallen behind on federal student loans — five times as many as in 2001.

2. I can definitely get by in retirement with less income than I'm making now.

Leaving the workforce might help you cut costs in some areas — for example, your pricey commute to the office — but you can never underestimate the cost of aging.  " Many studies show that some retirees even spend more in retirement than they did when they were working," says Susan Garland, editor of Kiplinger’s Retirement Report. A s the years go by, your health-care costs, house-related maintenance costs, insurance, and property taxes are sure to be on the rise.

3. I can always save more by postponing retirement until my late 60s or early 70s.

" More and more Americans say they plan to pay for retirement by working longer, but in reality many retirees end up quitting sooner than planned," says Greg Burrows, senior vice president for retirement and investor services at The Principal.

One third of American workers said they plan on working past age 65 in a survey by the Employee Benefit Research Institute, but more than 70% of retirees said they actually quit before that milestone.

4. I can always rely on Medicare for my long-term health care needs.

Medicare is an excellent resource for retirees needing health-care support, but here's a wake up call:  It doesn't cover all long-term care.  Medicare coverage excludes extended nursing home stays, custodial care, or an in-home nurse to help out if you're unable to dress, feed, or bathe yourself.

"Medicare pays for limited nursing-home and home-health care for short periods to provide continuing care after a hospital stay," Garland says.  "For example, skilled care in a facility is limited to 100 days. It may be wise to consider long-term care insurance to cover those costs."

5. My nest egg will be safe in a bank account.

Never underestimate the crippling power inflation has over your retirement savings.

"Too many people have the illusion that money is safe as long as the balance doesn't go down, but the reality is that inflation will eat into your purchasing power unless you learn how to properly  manage and invest your wealth ," writes David Ning of MoneyNing.com.

6. I'll never learn enough about investing to make a difference in my savings.


7. Banks and bill collectors will get their way no matter what I do.


8. If I start dipping into my savings now, I'll have plenty of time to make up for it later.


9. I want to convert my 401(k) to a Roth, but I can't take the tax hit.


10. I'll figure out how much money I need for retirement when I get there.


11. Once I get my kids through college, I'll finally start saving for retirement.


12. I'd rather kill myself working now so I can rest easy later. 


13. I have all the time in the world to plan my will.

Read more from Yahoo Finance >>

Neil deGrasse Tyson on "Cosmos," How Science Got Cool, and Why He Doesn't Debate Deniers

From Mother Jones

Neil deGrasse Tyson on "Cosmos," How Science Got Cool, and Why He Doesn't Debate Deniers
The host of the stunning new Fox series wants you to understand how science works.
—By Chris Mooney | Fri Mar. 14, 2014

Last Sunday's debut of Cosmos, the rebooted series from Fox and National Geographic, made television history. According to National Geographic, it was the largest global rollout of a TV series ever, appearing on 220 channels in 181 countries and 45 languages. And, yes, this is a science show we're talking about. You will have to actively resist the force of gravity in order to lift up your dropped jaw and restore a sense of calm to your stunned face.

At the center of the show is the "heir apparent" to legendary science popularizer and original Cosmos host Carl Sagan: the impassioned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson, who appeared on this week's episode of the Inquiring Minds podcast to talk about what it's like to fill Sagan's shoes (stream below). On the podcast, Tyson discussed topics ranging from what we know now about the cosmos that Sagan didn't (top three answers: dark matter and dark energy, the profusion of discovered exoplanets, and the concept of parallel universes, or the "multiverse") to why science seems to have gotten so supercool again. After all, not only has Cosmos garnered such a reach, but The Big Bang Theory is currently the No. 1 comedy on TV.

"I wake up every morning saying, 'How did I get 1.7 million Twitter followers?'" Tyson joked while discussing science's newfound popularity. "Should I remind them that I'm an astrophysicist? Maybe I should tell them, 'Folks, I'm an astrophysicist. All right? Escape now.'"

Thanks in part to Cosmos, Tyson is arguably the single most visible public face of science in America today. And as such, he may have to walk a difficult line. Many science defenders want Cosmos to do nothing less than restore our national sanity by smiting all science denial, especially when it comes to the issues of evolution and global warming. It's an impossible task, but the theme was nonetheless quite apparent at a November Library of Congress gala dedicating Carl Sagan's papers, where Cosmos producer Seth MacFarlane denounced science's "politicization on steroids," and Cosmos writer Steven Soter remarked that Sagan would have been "appalled" by today's attacks on climate scientists.

Read more from Mother Jones >>

Diabetes in Midlife Shrinks the Brain

From MedPageToday.com

Diabetes in Midlife Shrinks the Brain
Published: Mar 19, 2014
By Salynn Boyles, Contributing Writer, MedPage Today
Reviewed by Robert Jasmer, MD; Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco

Onset of type 2 diabetes in middle age appears to affect late-life cognition by reducing brain volume, MRI studies revealed in a population-based cohort without dementia.

Compared with never developing diabetes, developing diabetes in midlife was associated with an 85% increase in subcortical infarctions on MRI analysis (OR, 1.85 [95% CI 1.09-3.15; P=0.02), a 4% reduction in hippocampal volume (95% CI -7.0-minus 1.0; P=0.01), and a 2.9% reduction in whole brain volume, according to researcher Rosebud O. Roberts, MB, Ch.B, of the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, and colleagues.

Diabetes onset after age 64 did not appear to impact brain pathology or cognitive performance, suggesting that the deleterious impact of the disease on memory and other aspects of brain function occurs over decades, they wrote in the April 1 issue of the journal Neurology.

Midlife hypertension was associated with subcortical infarctions and whole brain volume declines, and was marginally associated with reduced performance in executive function during cognitive testing.

"Our study shows that the earlier you have these conditions, the worse your brain pathology is late in life," Roberts told MedPage Today.

Diabetes and hypertension have been associated with ischemic lesions in the brain and other organs in previous studies, as well as Alzheimer's pathology and brain atrophy, but the mechanisms by which these conditions influence cognitive impairment are not well understood, the researchers wrote.

Read from MedPageToday.com >>

Being sedentary isn’t smart

From Cleveland Clinic Daily Wellness Tip

Being sedentary isn’t smart, but even folks who exercise are at greater risk of chronic disease if they sit for the rest of the day.  
by Cleveland Clinic Wellness Editors

It may be time to toss those desk chairs. A study of more than 90,000 postmenopausal women showed that those with the most sedentary time (time spent sitting and resting, but not sleeping) died earlier (from all causes) than peers who don’t (or can’t) sit still. The risk remained higher even when researchers controlled for physical mobility, existing chronic disease, demographic factors and overall fitness — meaning that even dedicated daily exercisers are at greater risk if they sit for long stretches of the day.

Since taking a daily trip to the gym doesn’t eliminate the risk (though it does reduce the risk and offers many health and longevity benefits, like better brain function for longer), consider additional ways to spend less time seated:

• Make a low-tech stand-up desk with a pile of phone books for paying bills, writing emails or other kinds of office work.
• Take a break from television viewing and go for an evening walk.
• Do household chores while listening to the radio, podcasts or audiobooks.
• Walk or ride a bike instead of taking your car.
• If you take public transportation, stand instead of sitting.

Check out Cleveland Clinic Daily Wellness Tip website.

Afford to Retire? More are Confident, But Few Save Enough

From NBCNews

Afford to Retire? More are Confident, But Few Save Enough
BY SHARON EPPERSON

While more Americans believe they will be able to retire comfortably, because stock market returns and property values have climbed, lower wage-earners do not have the same confidence and one-third of workers have saved less than $1,000 for their golden years, a new survey shows.

Workers' retirement confidence has recovered from record lows of the past five years, showing a slight increase in 2014, according to the Employee Benefits Research Institute's 24th annual Retirement Confidence Survey release on Tuesday. But that improvement in confidence is largely limited to higher earners and those with Individual Retirement Accounts (IRAs) and private 401(k) retirement funds.

Eighteen percent of workers are now "very confident" that they'll have enough money to have a comfortable retirement—up from 13 percent in 2013—and 37 percent are "somewhat confident." But almost a quarter—24 percent—are "not at all confident."

Not surprising, confidence was highest among top earners, nearly doubling among those with household income of $75,000 or above. Of those households, 36 percent said they were "very confident" about their ability to retire comfortably, compared with just 11 percent of those with incomes of $35,000 to $74,000. Only 7 percent of those with incomes below $35,000 were very confident in their ability to retire.

Yet, most Americans haven't saved nearly enough money and have no idea how much they'll need for retirement.

Read more from NBCNews >>

Sarah Kay-Poetess/Storyteller

Spoken-word poetry as living art!
Spoken-word poetry at its best.......marvelously inspiring!

Enjoy.

Colon Cancer Deaths Decline

From MedPageToday.com

Colon Cancer Deaths Decline
Published: Mar 17, 2014

By Charles Bankhead, Staff Writer, MedPage Today

The incidence of colon cancer in older adults decreased by 30% in the last decade, coinciding with a tripling of the colonoscopy rate, the American Cancer Society (ACS) reported.

Overall, the incidence of the third most common cancer decreased by 3.4% annually from 2001 to 2010. However, the benefit was driven by a 3.9% annualized decline in people ≥50, which was offset to some extent by a 1.1% annual increase in younger people. Colon cancer mortality decreased by a similar rate during the same time frame, reported Rebecca Siegel, MPH, and colleagues, all from the ACS in Atlanta.

Much of the credit for the lower incidence of colorectal cancer goes to improved uptake of colonoscopy among people ages 50 to 75, which rose from 19% in 2000 to 55% in 2010, they wrote in the March/April issue ofCA: A Cancer Journal for Clinicians.

"Among adults aged 50 years and older, the rate of decline has surged, particularly among those aged 65 years and older, among whom the annual percent decline in distal tumors accelerated from 5.2% during 2001 to 2008 to 9.5% during 2008 to 2010," they said.

"Larger declines among Medicare-eligible seniors likely reflect higher rates of screening because of universal insurance coverage," they added. "In 2010, 55% of adults aged 50 to 64 years reported having undergone a recent colorectal cancer screening test, compared with 64% of those age 65 years and older."

Read more from MedPageToday.com >>

Vaccine holds promise against ovarian cancer

From Harvard Gazette

Vaccine holds promise against ovarian cancer

Antigen-targeting fusion protein should be less expensive, more accessible than current approaches

March 6, 2014

By Sue McGreevey, Massachusetts General Hospital Public Affairs

A novel approach to cancer immunotherapy — strategies designed to induce the immune system to attack cancer cells — may provide a new and cost-effective weapon against some of the most deadly tumors, including ovarian cancer and mesothelioma.

Investigators from the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) Vaccine & Immunotherapy Center report in the Journal of Hematology & Oncology that a protein engineered to combine a molecule targeting a tumor-cell-surface antigen with another protein that stimulates several immune functions prolonged survival in animal models of both tumors.

“Some approaches to creating cancer vaccines begin by extracting a patient’s own immune cells, priming them with tumor antigens, and returning them to the patient, a process that is complex and expensive,” said Harvard Medical School Associate Professor Mark Poznansky, senior author of the report and director of the MGH Vaccine & Immunotherapy Center. “Our study describes a very practical, potentially broadly applicable, and low-cost approach that could be used by oncologists everywhere, not just in facilities able to harvest and handle patients’ cells.”

The MGH team’s vaccine stimulates the patient’s own dendritic cells, a type of immune cell that monitors an organism’s internal environment for the presence of viruses or bacteria. It ingests and digests pathogens encountered and displays antigens from those pathogens on their surface to direct the activity of other immune cells.

As noted above, existing cancer vaccines that use dendritic cells require extracting cells from a patient’s blood, treating them with an engineered protein or nucleic acid that combines tumor antigens with immune-stimulating molecules, and returning the activated dendritic cells to the patient.

Read more from Harvard Gazette >>

23 Incredibly Successful People Who Failed At First

From Business Insider

23 Incredibly Successful People Who Failed At First
RICHARD FELONI AND ASHLEY LUTZ   |   MAR. 7, 2014

Rejection can feel devastating, but you shouldn't let it crush you. Some of the world's most successful people have failed — sometimes more than once.
We've put together a list of highly successful people, from movie stars to scientists, who experienced massive failure before they found fame and fortune.

Weaker people might have given up. Instead, these folks remained focused on their goals.

1. Winston Churchill was estranged from his political party over ideological disagreements during the "wilderness years" of 1929 to 1939.

2. Thomas Edison's teachers told him he was "too stupid to learn anything."

3. Oprah Winfrey was fired from her first television job as an anchor in Baltimore, where she said she faced sexism and harassment.

4. Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor because he "lacked imagination and had no good ideas."

5. Steven Spielberg was rejected by the University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts multiple times.

6. R.H. Macy had a series of failed retail ventures throughout his early career.

7. Soichiro Honda's unique vision got him ostracized by the Japanese business community.

8. Colonel Harland David Sanders was fired from dozens of jobs before founding a successful restaurant.

9. After having trouble adjusting to the culture and his classes, Dick Cheney dropped out of Yale — and then returned, only to drop out for good.

10. Sir Isaac Newton's mother pulled him out of school as a boy so that he could run the family farm. He failed miserably.

11. Vera Wang failed to make the U.S. Olympic figure-skating team. Then she became an editor at Vogue and was passed over for the editor-in-chief position.

12. When Sidney Poitier first auditioned for the American Negro Theatre, he flubbed his lines and spoke in a heavy Caribbean accent, which made the director angrily tell him to stop wasting his time.

13. As a child, Albert Einstein had some difficulty communicating and learning in a traditional manner.

14. In one of Fred Astaire's first screen tests, an executive wrote: "Can't sing. Can't act. Slightly balding. Can dance a little."

15. J.K. Rowling was a single mom living off welfare when she began writing the first "Harry Potter" novel.

16. Charles Darwin was considered an average student. He gave up on a career in medicine and was going to school to become a parson.

17. Vincent Van Gogh sold only one painting, "The Red Vineyard," in his life, and the sale was just months before his death.

18. After Harrison Ford's first small movie role, an executive took him into his office and told him he'd never succeed in the movie business.

19. Theodor Seuss Geisel, better known as Dr. Seuss, had his first book rejected by 27 different publishers.

20. Lucille Ball appeared in so many second-tier films at the start of her career that she became known as "The Queen of B Movies."

21. A young Henry Ford ruined his reputation with a couple of failed automobile businesses.

22. While developing his vacuum, Sir James Dyson went through 5,126 failed prototypes and his savings over 15 years.

23. Stephen King grew so frustrated over his attempt to write the novel "Carrie" that he threw away the entire early draft.

Read more from Business Insider >>

The One Question Every Entrepreneur Asks

From INC.

The One Question Every Entrepreneur Asks 
BY JEFF HADEN
Sooner or later every entrepreneur, no matter what industry, wants to know the same thing.

I'm a guest on a radio show and everything is going swimmingly--in my case "swimmingly" means I haven't said anything that caused me to cringe--when the host says, "One last question."

Cool, I thought, already patting myself on the back. That went really well.

"You've talked to hundreds of entrepreneurs," she continues. "So tell me: What one question does every entrepreneur ask him or herself?"

Crap. One? I quickly rifled through my mental file cards. What is the real problem I will solve, maybe? How can I delight customers? Is there a viable market? Ugh. All I could think of were clichés.

So I punted, stammering through something goofy like, "Since every individual is unique then every person asks different questions so there could never be just one single question every entrepreneur asks him or herself..." and what had been a decent appearance staggered to a painful close.

I thought about it for the next few days. Is there one question every entrepreneur asks?

Finally it hit me.

Success--no matter what the endeavor--is difficult to achieve. We all fail sometimes. When we do, it's easy to feel down, and in our (however momentary) self-pity ask ourselves questions like, "Why doesn't my boss recognize my unique talents?" "Why don't I ever get the opportunities other people get?" "Why aren't my friends more supportive?" "Why can't I ever catch a break?"

In short: "Why me?"

Every entrepreneur asks him or herself a different question:

"Why not me?"

Entrepreneurs will start a restaurant in the same location where five other restaurants have gone out of business; those other guys may not have succeeded--but why not me? Entrepreneurs will start a software company with nothing but an idea; sure, the competition has deep pockets and a huge market share--but why not me?

Read more from INC. >>

Word of Mouth

Do you recall the very first time you saw a movie you enjoyed so much you could not wait to go tell your family and friends or whoever will listen? Or that hole-in-the-wall restaurant that served food so good you kept going back with more and more friends and family? You would tell the whole world of your great find!

It is a natural part of us to want to share our great experiences with others.

Remember the wonderful vacation you took with your family? You can't wait to tell the world how beautiful the place is. You start posting pictures and sending emails to all your friends while still on vacation. And the food - it is out of this world!

What do you think you are doing?

You are selling - that's what you are doing, unbeknownst to you.

What do you think you are doing when you sit down to write your resume? Selling. Or when you go for an interview? Selling yourself! Or when you picked up a phone to recommend your best friend's kid for a job? Any doubts you are selling?

Does it surprise you then, that we are constantly, unconsciously selling?

Our motor mouth is one of the most effective tools each of us possess. With word of mouth, we can make a restaurant famous or send friends to a Broadway show. Word of mouth is one of the most organic forms of advertising and the best, with no cost to the advertiser!

The internet is one of the greatest extensions of our mouths. It is infinitely more powerful. Create a sensational message, video or picture and it goes viral!

Now think about this - when was the last time a movie producer came up to you, gave you a big hug and a reward for recommending his movie to your family and friends? Or a restaurant owner rewarded you for your word of mouth on his restaurant?

Market America/Shop.com do just that - reward you with cashbacks for every recommendation you make.

Learn more about Market America's paid to shop.

The scary factors behind copper's price plunge

From Yahoo Finance

The scary factors behind copper's price plunge

Cascading copper prices have multiple root causes that lead to one conclusion: The anticipated global economic recovery may not be all it's cracked up to be.

Consequently, analysts are in virtual unison that the extended-term trajectory is lower for the metal often used as a growth barometer. Copper futures are off more than 12 percent in 2014 and 7 percent over just the past three days, though they rose less than 1 percent in Wednesday trading.

A slowdown in the global economy, forced selling by Chinese banks and technical factors have converged in multiple calls for more weakness in a commodity known by traders and economists as "Dr. Copper" for its ability to accurate make economic prognoses.

"It has been our long-held (and non-consensus) view that copper and iron ore prices were set to fall significantly this year," commodities expert Caroline Bain at Capital Economics said in a note. "The speed of the recent price falls has taken even us by surprise, but we still see further downside."

Bain cited two reasons: "China's weak industrial activity data is one. Second, the appeal of commodity trade-related financing deals in China appears to be waning."

The latter factor is particularly intriguing.

Read more from Yahoo Finance >>

The Spring Festival Gala Official Channel iCNTV

Spring will soon be  here.

Enjoy this phenomenal display of human flexibility and artistry.


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Staples to close 225 stores

From CNN Money

Staples to close 225 stores
By Chris Isidore  @CNNMoney March 6, 2014

"Staples will close 225 stores in North America by the middle of next year as the office supply retailer tries to trim costs in the face of weaker sales."

The store closings will come to about 12% of its stores in North America. The closings build upon the 40 stores it closed in the region in 2013. Staples said it is aiming to save $500 million annually through the closings and other cost cutting measures.

The announcement comes two days after electronics retailer Radio Shack announced plans to close up to 1,100 stores, or about 20% of its locations."

Staples also reported lower sales and earnings in its most recent quarter that ended Feb. 1, a period that included the holiday shopping period. And it warned that sales and earnings would be lower again in the current quarter, missing forecasts of analysts.

Staples is facing increased competition from Office Depot (ODP, Fortune 500), which purchased smaller rival OfficeMax during 2013. The combined operations of the two chains now have more locations in North America than Staples, even though Staples is still larger in terms of sales.

Office Depot could be announcing its own store closings in the future as it deals with overlapping locations in the same market produced by the merger.

A more serious long-term threat to Staples and other brick-and-mortar retailers is the ever-increasing competition from online retailers such as Amazon (AMZN, Fortune 500). Shoppers are likely to engage in a practice known as "showrooming" in which they go to a brick-and-mortar store to look at a product, but then purchase it online, generally at a lower price.

Read more from CNN Money >>

Retail chains react to web retail’s growth

Online shopping is a force to be reckoned with. Brick and mortar (traditional) stores cannot continue to ignore the trend that has been taking shape over these past few years. They ignore this trend at their own peril to the demise of  their businesses.

Retailers own data clearly shows that online sales has been rising year over year.

Below report from Internet Retailer

Retail chains react to web retail’s growth

E-retailing's momentum and consumers' changing habits have chains rethinking how they invest and the role stores can play in e-commerce. Many retailers are closing or downsizing stores, as the web’s share of sales steadily grows, according to Top500Guide.com.

Consumers are spending less time shopping in stores and shifting more of their retail dollars to the web. It’s a trend that has steadily played out over the last few years, as store-based merchants continue to bring in a higher percentage of their sales from the web. The importance of the online channel to major retail chains’ was particularly evident in recent weeks during year-end earnings calls for retailers like Gap Inc., Abercrombie & Fitch Co., Target Corp. and Best Buy Co. Inc. In many of those discussions with analysts, the retail executives spent a lot of time talking about multichannel strategies and the reshaping of real estate investment plans, not surprising since most also reported double-digit gains in online sales while store sales faltered.

Last week, for example, Abercrombie disclosed that the $777 million it generated in sales online in 2013 comprised 18.9% of total sales in 2013—up from 15.5% in 2012. Abercrombie is No. 45 in the Top 500 Guide. Target, No. 18, meanwhile, said online sales increased more than 20% year over year in 2013 while comparable-store sales dropped 0.4%, with both figures depressed by an embarrassing data breach that the retailer disclosed just before Christmas.

Store-based merchants has been reporting this kind of growth in the share of their sales coming from the web for years, as documented by data compiled from Top500Guide.com and retailers’ annual reports.  Toys ‘R’ Us, for example, derived 13.5% of its total sales from the web in 2012, up from 9.1% in 2010. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. brought in 2.9% of total revenue from online shoppers in 2012, up from 1.6% in 2010. Updated figures for 2013 will be released on Top500Guide.com in late April.

Read more from  Internet Retailer >>

Extra Weight Adds $$ to Chest Pain Treatment

From MedPageToday.com

Extra Weight Adds $$ to Chest Pain Treatment
Published: Mar 6, 2014

By Todd Neale, Senior Staff Writer, MedPage Today

Among patients showing up in the emergency department with chest pain and dyspnea, those carrying extra weight tended to incur higher costs and have longer hospital stays, researchers found.

Costs were 22% higher for patients who were overweight, 28% higher for those who were obese, and 41% higher for those who were morbidly obese compared with those who had a normal body mass index (BMI), according to Jeffrey Kline, MD, of Indiana University School of Medicine in Indianapolis, and colleagues.

In addition, the heaviest patients -- those who were morbidly obese -- stayed in the hospital 34% longer if they didn't have a CT scan and 44% longer if they did have a CT scan compared with normal-weight individuals who didn't have a scan, Kline and colleagues reported online in Circulation: Cardiovascular Quality and Outcomes.

"Acknowledging the need to validate these findings in other settings, we think our data have three immediate implications on clinical operations," the authors wrote.

"First, the data provide a basis for service line directors, administrators, and clinicians to predict that length of stay for patients undergoing CT pulmonary angiography will be higher than average if their patient demographic contains a high prevalence (e.g., greater than 30%) of obese patients," they continued.

"Second, the data underscore the need for more intensive physician education to use pretest probability and D-dimer testing to reduce unnecessary CT scanning," the investigators wrote. "Third, for patients with high BMI whose pretest probability or D-dimer result mandate imaging, systems should have BMI-specific protocols in place, such as increasing the volume of iodinated contrast to reduce the rate of indeterminate image results on CT angiography."

Read more from MedPageToday.com >>

International Women's Day Doodle 2014

Women, the other wing of humankind, without which humanity will not be able to soar to greater heights of prosperity and achievement!

Humpback Whale Shows AMAZING Appreciation After Being Freed From Nets

A lesson we all can learn from.
This is how a baby humpback whale shows gratitude after being freed from nylon nets. Watch in awe!

Lunch Hour: America's School Lunch Program Trailer

This is a trailer of a movie "Lunch Hour," finally released on March 4th. It is sad what we are feeding our children! What will this do to the health of our children?


Lunch Hour: America's School Lunch Program Trailer from Lunch Hour Movie on Vimeo.

Alzheimer’s in a dish

From Harvard Gazette

Alzheimer’s in a dish
Stem cells from patients offer model and drug-discovery platform for early onset form of disease
Alzheimer’s disease comes in two forms. Both possess the well-known cognitive decline and memory loss, but they occur at different times in a patient’s life. 

March 4, 2014

By Joseph Caputo, Harvard Correspondent

Harvard stem cell scientists have successfully converted skins cells from patients with early onset Alzheimer’s into the types of neurons that are affected by the disease, making it possible for the first time to study this leading form of dementia in living human cells. This may also make it possible to develop therapies more quickly and accurately than before.

The research, led by Tracy Young-Pearse  and published in the journal Human Molecular Genetics, confirmed what had long been observed in mouse models: that the mutations associated with early onset Alzheimer’s are directly related to protein cleavage errors that cause a rise in amyloid-beta (Aβ) protein 42, which all people produce but which somehow clumps together to form plaques in Alzheimer’s patients.

“We see this mild increase in Aβ42 in cells from patients with Alzheimer’s disease, which seems to be enough to trigger disease processes,” said Young-Pearse, a Harvard Stem Cell Institute-affiliated faculty member at Brigham and Women’s Hospital. “We also see increases of a smaller species of amyloid-beta called Aβ38, which was unexpected, since it should not be very aggregation-prone. We don’t fully understand what it means, but it may combine with other forms of amyloid-beta to stimulate plaque formation.”

The patient-derived cells also possessed the second hallmark of Alzheimer’s: high amounts of the tau protein, or more accurately tau that has been distorted so that the proteins tangle together. The relationship between amyloid-beta and tau is an ongoing chicken-and-egg debate in Alzheimer’s discussions, with some researchers associating one, the other, or both, with the cause of the disease. But with the human cells, Young-Pearse and her team, including postdoctoral fellow and study first author, Christina Muratore, could demonstrate that preventing amyloid-beta imbalances reduced levels of distorted tau.

Read more from Harvard Gazette  >>

Former Central Banker Admits "[They] Are Making It Up As They Go Along"

From ZeroHedge.com

Former Central Banker Admits "[They] Are Making It Up As They Go Along"
Tyler Durden's pictureSubmitted by Tyler Durden on 03/03/2014

A few weeks ago, William White (former economist at the Bank of England, the Bank of Canada, and Bank of International Settlements) made a frank admission.

And while we search for assets whose prices are less obviously distorted by malign government intervention, it’s refreshing to hear a mea culpa from a member of the economics “profession”.

White said:

“The analytical underpinnings of what we [mainstream economists] do are actually pretty shaky. A reflection of that fact, is that virtually every aspect you can think of with respect to monetary policy, about best practice, has changed and changed repetitively over the course of the last 50 years. So, this stuff ain’t science.

“Think about what’s happened recently. One, its completely unprecedented. People are making it up as they go along. This is hardly science – building on the pillars of the past.

“Secondly, what they’ve been making up as they go along actually differs across central banks [The Bundesbank, for example, is fighting the threat of high inflation, whereas the Fed is more concerned about the prospect of deflation]. They can’t even agree amongst themselves about what’s the best way to do things.

“I’m becoming more and more convinced that all of the models we use are basically useless.

“It’s surprising that we’ve had this huge crisis that the mainstream didn’t predict. It’s gone on for years, which the mainstream absolutely didn’t predict. I would have thought this was a basis for a fundamental rethink about what we used to think we believed. But that hasn’t happened.

“The policies that we’ve followed – on the monetary side at least – since 2007 are just more of the same demand-stimulating policies that we’ve been following, I think, erroneously, for the last 30 years.

“We’ve got the potential to do so much harm by not getting the creation of fiat credit and money right. We’ve got the capacity to do so much harm that we should be focusing much more on making sure that doesn’t happen.”

Doctors at least have the Hippocratic Oath: first, do no harm. If only economists and central bankers had a similar ethic.

Read more ZeroHedge.com >>

Medical Marijuana: Studies Find No Benefit for RA

From MedPageToday.com

Medical Marijuana: Studies Find No Benefit for RA
Published: Mar 3, 2014

Rheumatologists should not currently be recommending the use of medical marijuana to their patients for relief of chronic pain, researchers stated.

Among the reasons for this advice are acute and chronic risks, a lack of evidence for efficacy, and the absence of data on appropriate dosing, according to Mary-Ann Fitzcharles, MD, of McGill University in Montreal, and colleagues.

"Advocacy for access to cannabinoid treatments has led to a societal groundswell with regulatory bodies around the globe considering the legalization of herbal cannabis for medicinal use," Fitzcharles and colleagues wrote online in Arthritis Care & Research.

And with 20 states now having legalized it, rheumatologists need to be prepared to answer patients' questions based on the best available information and evidence, the authors stated.

Surveys have suggested that arthritis pain is one of the most common reasons patients use medical marijuana, and has been the stated diagnosis for two-thirds of Canadians who are authorized users.

The plant has been used for centuries for pain relief, as well as for effects on sleep and mood that are largely mediated through the interaction of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) with receptors of the endocannabinoid system.

One major obstacle to the acceptance of medical use is the wide variation of active compounds in the plant, with THC concentration ranging from 1% to 30% of the plant and blood levels among individuals who inhale it that range from an estimated 7 ng/mL to 100 ng/mL.

In addition, even in locales where legal, most users obtain marijuana illegally, the researchers reported.

Read more from MedPageToday.com >>

The New Great Game: Why Ukraine Matters to So Many Other Nations

From Bloomberg Businessweek

The New Great Game: Why Ukraine Matters to So Many Other Nations
By Peter Coy, Carol Matlack, and Henry Meyer February 27, 2014


Ukraine doesn’t seem like the kind of place that world powers would want to tussle over. It’s as poor as Paraguay and as corrupt as Iran. During the 20th century it was home to a deadly famine under Stalin (the Holomodor, 1933), a historic massacre of Jews (Babi Yar, 1941), and one of the world’s worst nuclear disasters (Chernobyl, 1986). Now, with former President Viktor Yanukovych in hiding, it’s struggling to form a government, its credit rating is down to CCC, a recession looms, and foreign reserves are running low. Arseniy Yatsenyuk, head of the opposition party affiliated with former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, said on Feb. 24 in Parliament, “Ukraine has never faced such a terrible financial catastrophe in all its years of independence.”

But Ukraine is also a breadbasket, a natural gas chokepoint, and a nation of 45 million people in a pivotal spot north of the Black Sea. Ukraine matters—to Russia, Europe, the U.S., and even China. President Obama denied on Feb. 19 that it’s a piece on “some Cold War chessboard.” But the best hope for Ukraine is that it will get special treatment precisely because it is a valued pawn in a new version of the Great Game, the 19th century struggle for influence between Russia and Britain.

Russia, which straddles Europe and Asia, has sought a role in the rest of Europe since the reign of Peter the Great in the early 18th century. An alliance with Ukraine preserves that. “Without Ukraine, Russia ceases to be a Eurasian empire,” the American political scientist Zbigniew Brzezinski wrote in 1998. Russian President Vladimir Putin wants Ukraine to join his Eurasian Union trade bloc, not the European Union. Russia’s Black Sea naval fleet is headquartered in Sevastopol, a formerly Russian city that now belongs to Ukraine. Last year Russia’s state-controlled Gazprom (OGZPY) sold about 160 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Europe—a quarter of European demand—and half of that traveled through a maze of Ukrainian pipelines. Those pipelines also supply Ukrainian factories that produce steel, petrochemicals, and other industrial goods for sale to Mother Russia. “Ukraine is probably more integrated than any other former Soviet republic with the Russian economy,” says Edward Chow, a senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington.

Read more from Bloomberg Businessweek >>

What Are You Doing to Prevent Colon Cancer?

From Cleveland Clinic

What Are You Doing to Prevent Colon Cancer?
40 percent of colorectal cancers preventable

People most at risk for colorectal cancers do not get colonoscopies. In fact, up to 70 percent of people in the high-risk category — those age 50 to 75 — don’t seek testing.

That’s unfortunate for these people because colorectal cancers are more preventable than other cancers. All colorectal cancers begin with a precancerous polyp, which can be removed, says James Church, MD, Head of the Section of Endoscopy at Cleveland Clinic.

“I can’t emphasize how preventable colon cancer is,” Dr. Church says. “You can’t prevent breast cancer, lung cancer or brain cancer in the same way. You can’t take precancerous polyps off any of those organs. It seems to me that colonoscopy must be done – that it can really save people’s lives.”

Recent research

Colorectal cancer could be prevented in about 40 percent of patients through regular colonoscopies, says a study recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Researchers followed nearly 89,000 participants for 22 years. During that time, 1,815 people developed colorectal cancer.

“The research demonstrates the importance of colonoscopy screening specifically,” Dr. Church says. “All other sorts of colon cancer screening are not the same.”

Dr. Church says it’s important to find an experienced colonoscopist who can spot polyps of different shapes and in locations that can be more difficult to find.

“You want to get the best colonoscopist you can. Somebody who knows how to recognize polyps and take them off in the safest way possible,” he says.

Read more from Cleveland Clinic >>

Day in the Life: Chele Boe

Creating your own lifestyle is a goal everyone strives for but proves elusive. It is a goal we all dream about but struggles to reach that goal.

Below, check out how Chele Boe and her husband Tony spend their days after they achieved their goals through Market America.

From Market America Blog

Day in the Life: Chele Boe
February 26, 2014

No two UnFranchise® Owners are alike, and neither are their daily lives! If you’ve ever wondered how other UnFranchise Owners spend their time, when they build their business, or which activities they choose to enjoy in their free time, this weekly blog feature is for you! Today, we’re sharing what a day in the life of Supervising Coordinator Chele Boe is like. Read on to find out how Chele spends her days building her business and enjoying life as an entrepreneur.

“I grew up a hard-working farm girl and even though it has been 27 years since I had to wake up for chores, my eyes still open between 5-6am.  I LOVE mornings.  I am one of those gals that when my feet hit the floor, the Devil says, ‘Oh crap, she’s UP!’

I start with my morning cocktail of Isotonix® followed by my Vitamin D, Curcumin, and Bliss.  Bliss helps to prepare me to wake 2 teenagers for school. Once our children have at least shown signs of life, I get some coffee and read. I choose books that help me learn how to become a better businesswoman. After that, it’s now time for emails, Facebook messages/posts, voicemails, & of course texts.  I feel like I get 6 hours worth of work done in 30 minutes with so many forms of communication. Love this!

Once breakfast is started and the kids are moving, I put my kickboxing clothes on, brush my hair, and apply a little Motives® as not to scare the neighbors…and my day is full on! I get my daughter and the neighbor kids off to school and off to kickboxing I go! I’m the instructor, so I don’t get to skip! I have taught kickboxing for 8 years, and love it.

I love how my kick butt workouts give me energy for the rest of my day. After kickboxing, I return home go over the day with my husband Tony. Tony is great! He usually has the cleaned the house, the snow shoveled and is ready to give me my morning massage. Okay, okay…maybe that’s stretching it a little bit!

Read more from Market America Blog >>