Two-thirds of all CEOs surveyed believe the economy has improved during the past year and half expect further gains during the year ahead. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 105.2 in the 1st quarter of 2011, slightly below 106.3 recorded in the prior quarter but well above the 93.7 in last year’s 1st quarter survey. CEO confidence has more than doubled since the recession low of 48.7 two years ago. However, the small decline reflects a renewed uncertainty about the impact of events in Japan and the Middle East on energy costs, consumer spending and inflation. Overall, the majority of CEOs still expect the recovery to continue and their own businesses to continue to grow.
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As the creator of the contact grill, the George Foreman brand has spent nearly two decades dedicated to providing practical solutions that help people Knock Out the Fat™. Today, the indoor grill category leader reveals just how much. Results of independent testing show that the George Foreman Grill removes up to 42 percent of fat from quarter-pound burgers made with 80/20 ground chuck beef, translating to a reduction of approximately 89 calories per burger.
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More than 24 million Americans currently have asthma. Every day, 11 people in the United States die from asthma and the disease accounts for one-quarter of all emergency room visits each year. For many people with asthma, their home may be part of the problem.
Any house or apartment can contain a variety of asthma “triggers,” which can include allergens and irritants – such as dust mites, mold, pet dander and strong fumes or odors – that can negatively affect someone with asthma.
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Business optimism is rising, according to a recent study. Ninety-two percent of executives interviewed for The Robert Half Professional Employment Report (http://www.roberthalf.us/per) said they are confident in their firms’ growth prospects in the third quarter of 2011; 44 percent said they are very confident. This compares with 86 percent who expressed confidence in the second-quarter survey.
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Uncertainty and erratic moves will be the norm rather than the exception reports Saxo Bank, the online trading and investment specialist, in its economic outlook for the third quarter of 2011. The second half of 2011 will be volatile and the uncertainty almost as great as during the financial crisis.
The most probable outlook for Q3 is that the world extends monetary stimulus across the global economies. This will bring marginal higher growth but also increase the burden on fiscal payments and a need for structural changes. Any long-term solution needs to be forward looking and involve an agenda for dragging Europe out of the low growth stalemate. A solution based on buying more time will only take us closer to the feared full blown Crisis 2.0.
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Vehicles are doing a better job of protecting people in crashes, but a new crop of advanced technology aims to prevent many crashes from happening altogether. A new study by the Highway Loss Data Institute (HLDI) finds that one kind of advanced forward collision avoidance system is working to prevent about a quarter of the common low-speed crashes that happen in everyday commuter traffic.
The study of insurance claims found that Volvo XC60 midsize SUVs outfitted with a standard collision avoidance feature called City Safety are far less likely to be involved in low-speed crashes than comparable vehicles without the system. City Safety is designed to help a driver avoid rear-ending another vehicle in slow-moving, heavy traffic. Claims under property damage liability coverage — the insurance that pays for damage to vehicles that an at-fault driver hits — were filed 27 percent less often for the XC60 than other midsize luxury SUVs.
For more information: www.iihs.org
Discovery Communications today announced the premiere programming slate for Velocity, set to debut October 4 at 7:00 PM (ET). An all-HD network targeting upscale men, Velocity will be available in more than 40 million homes at the channel location currently occupied by the HD Theater cable network. Velocity’s lineup for fourth quarter 2011 features an all-new primetime schedule and more than 140 original premiere hours overall; representing the best of the travel, leisure, automotive, adventure and sports genres.
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Based on its recent analysis of the nuclear cardiology market, Frost & Sullivan recognizes Siemens Healthcare with the 2011 North America Frost & Sullivan Product Differentiation Excellence of the Year Award for its IQ-SPECT, a distinct imaging solution. This product not only offers high-quality imaging by achieving maximum counts, but does so in the quarter amount of time taken by conventional single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) systems and with less radiation.
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After precipitous declines during the prior two quarters, CEO confidence bounced back at year’s end with the largest quarterly gain since the start of the recovery in 2009. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 98.8 in the 4th quarter 2011 survey, up from 83.5 in the 3rd quarter, and reaching the highest level since 105.2 was recorded at the start of 2011. The Q4 2011 Vistage CEO Confidence Index reflects responses from 1,641 U.S. CEOs, surveyed between Dec. 12 and Dec. 22, 2011.
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Dreams have been a topic of speculation and interest throughout history, and Kia Motors America (KMA) is tapping into the idea of dreams revealing true desires in a new 60-second commercial set to air during the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLVI. In the spot, titled “Drive the Dream,” the new 2012 Optima Limited races through a Gen X couple’s wildest thoughts as they sleep, including: Victoria’s Secret® Angel Adriana Lima waving the checkered flag at a speedway; an in-your-face Mötley Crüe concert; mixed martial arts legend Chuck Liddell battling in the ring; a heroine and hunk on horseback in a romance novel setting; champion bull rider Judd Leffew taming a bucking rhinoceros; and a fairy tale ending.
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Hiring in professional fields is likely to continue rising in the second quarter but at a slower pace than forecast for the first quarter, a new Robert Half survey shows. A net 2 percent of executives interviewed for the Robert Half Professional Employment Report plan to add full-time staff in the second three months of 2012, down from 10 percent last quarter. The biggest trend in the survey is the increase in the number of respondents who anticipate no change in hiring activity: 89 percent versus 78 percent last quarter.
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CEOs remain optimistic about prospects for the economy as well as the outlook for their own firm’s performance in the midst of persistent economic and political uncertainties. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 105.1 in the 1st quarter 2012 survey, up from 98.8 in Q4 and 83.5 in Q3 of last year. Confidence is at its highest level since 105.2 was recorded at the start of 2011. Expected economic gains have prompted CEOs to continue to slowly expand employment in anticipation of higher sales; nonetheless, 84% of the CEOs surveyed said they’ve learned to be more productive with fewer employees. The Q1 2012 results reflect the sentiments of 1,854 small business CEOs surveyed from March 5-16, 2012.
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