Hemingway’s Widow: The Life and Legacy of Mary Welsh Hemingway - new book

GE Begins Headquarters Relocation Process Soon

After 42 years at its Fairfield,Connecticut home,General Electric will begin moving to its new global headquarters in Boston later this month.Its executives will head for temporary offices on Farnsworth Street in the Fort Point Channel neighbourhood where the project will take shape;the bulk of the 800 headquarters staff will not arrive until 2018.Two extant brick buildings will be rehabilitated on the 2.4 acre site beginning later this year;while a new 12-storey building with 293,000 square feet of office space will be constructed there as well.A bridge and walkway will connect the three buildings.*
The new campus is to be a global epicenter of innovation,according to Ann R. Klee,GE head of Boston operations and development.Our headquarters is designed to engage and leverage the talent,technology and work ethic of Fort Point and greater Boston,while also giving back to the community through investment,rehabilitation and an inviting public space.GE expects our new headquarters will transform the existing unused site into a limb of technology,innovation and intellectual stimulation as well as become a new meaningful destination on the the city's Harbor Walk,Ms.Klee's statement said.*
The first floor and part of the second will feature a museum of GE's history and future.It will also offer a visitors' reception area and co-working space open to the public,plus a coffee bar.*
General Electric (GE)

Brexit and the Investment After Effects

Financial mavens and governments immediately went to work Monday morning on understanding the aftermath of the UK's choice of the Brexit option.
Obviously this is a shock,said Jurrien Timmer,head of Global Macro at Fidelity Investments in Boston.The UK economy needs to adjust;the stock market and banks need to deal with this new reality.It's not surprising the financial sector is taking the brunt of the hit here.Somebody threw a bunch of sand into the gears.It's a period of reassessing where the growth is,how trade pacts and other agreements are going to be rewritten.*
The S&P 500 has been stuck on 1800-2100 for about a year-and-a-half.Now we have a negative catalyst that I think will lead to revaluation of US and world equities.We may see some form of stagflation,which is really more consistent with a 15x multiple.It's pretty orderly;it's just the market needs to rerate based on a new fundamental.Bascally it depends on how systemic a Brexit is.For the US investor,it's somewhat systemic.I think some degree of rerating is in order.We're a somewhat closed economy.The 15x multiple will lead to basically the lower edge of the range,but no farther.*
The Lehman moment was a liquidity crisis,a funding crisis.With central bank policy over-accommodative here,that's not going to be an issue.I don't see it necessarily as a crisis,unless the euro comes under attack,and it's too early to see that.If the Fed moves to the side,that's definitely an offset.I do think we're going to go into fiscal stimulus in the UK.The UK government could basically fund pretty aggressive stimulus.Even without a shock,some US focus on fiscal stimulus is likely in the election season.*
If we're moving into a mild stagflation environment,we could see less growth with more inflation,so some inflation-protected investing would be in order,Mr.Timmer advised.*
Responding to the Brexit vote,S&P lowered the UK's credit rating from AAA to AA with a negative outlook.*
Investors will be looking into Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities,or TIPS,a type of government bond suitable for buffering portfolios in a stagflation environment.The TIPS bonds' principal is indexed to the Consumer Price Index and rises and falls accordingly;while the TIPS bonds' coupon rate remains steady,yielding more when multiplied by the rising CPI in inflationary conditions. *
iShares TIPS Bond ETF (TIP)

Boston Area Stunned by Childbirth Deaths

The deaths of two young mothers at the same hospital within a month of each other has shocked and saddened the Boston,Massachussetts community.Both women were in good health when they checked into South Shore Hospital in Weymouth to give birth.Colleen Celia,32,already the mother of three children ages 6,9 and 14,was a patient service coordinator at Vanguard Medical in Braintree.Christie Lee Fazio,30,who gave birth to her first child,was ironically a nurse at South Shore.Fazio died on December 14,2013,and Celia on January 15,2014.
The hospital delivers about 3600 babies a year.An internal investigation into the deaths is already underway,and a state investigation was automatically triggered by the rare circumstances as well.Our teams responded swiftly and aggressively-they did everything possible,the hospital said in a statement.It is too early to know the exact nature of the factors that led to these tragic outcomes.All signs suggest that the two situations were unrelated,unanticipated and unpredictable,the hospital contends,adding that the staff was devastated by the losses.*
Both women had reportedly undergone caesarean sections.Colleen Celia developed an amniotic embolism,a blockage caused by a mother's amniotic fluid getting into her bloodstream;while Christie Fazio started bleeding soon after her surgery,according to hospital and family sources.Their babies are doing well.*
According to the CDC,there are about 650 maternal deaths a year during pregnancy and after childbirth in the US.In 2008,there were 24 maternal deaths per 100,000 US pregnancies,the World Health Organisation calculated.*
This blog extends its sincere condolences to the mothers' friends and families.

Boston Welcomes Inaugural Dreamliner Flight To U.S.

A new era in commercial aviation began Sunday morning with the arrival of Japan Airlines Flight 8 at Boston's Logan International Airport.The non-stop flight from Narita Airport in Tokyo was the first commercial flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner to the United States.Touching down at 8:37 am Pacific,the flight surely delighted plane spotters in the Boston area who were able to catch a glimpse of aviation history. Rival All Nippon Airways had received the first deliveries of Dreamliners,but hasn't initiated its U.S. 787 flights yet.ANA has been flying the 787 in Japan,as well as to Europe and elsewhere in Asia. JAL will fly the 787 to Boston and back four times a week until June,when the service goes daily.It is a 12-13 hour flight. Boeing has more than 800 orders on the books for the new,lightweight aircraft-the first commercial jet to incorporate composite materials into the majority of its construction.Technicians from both the U.S. and Japan inspected the undercarriage of the JAL Dreamliner together upon its arrival at Logan. Boeing(BA)

Who Sings On The Liberty Mutual Commercial

It sounds like Cat Stevens on the Liberty Mutual "Doing The Right Thing" commercial.It isn't.The song is called "Amen,Omen."It is by the American singer songwriter Ben Harper.At a full length live performance,it was about seven minutes long,and close to six minutes long in the studio version.
Another hidden gem was uncovered for us by advertising.
"Responsibility:What's your policy?" is the compelling slogan for the Liberty Mutual commercials.Congratulations to the Boston ad agency Hill Holliday and the company for this effective corporate communications effort.It has generated thousands of positive emails from viewers.
The commercials are part of the company's "The Responsibility Project."It was conceived in 2005 when the firm made a push to become a top five insurer,instead of a top ten.According to insurance company rating firm A.M. Best,they have achieved that goal,being the third largest property casualty insurer in the U.S. as of 2010.
"The Responsibilty Project" also incudes a website with short films on the responsibilty theme as well as discussion videos and tips on property and casualty topics,along with the company's philanthropic efforts.NBC Universal has partnered with Liberty Mutual on the project,which Liberty Mutual says reflected the company's strong existing corporate culture.
The commercials may be viewed on YouTube.Ben Harper's music is widely available on the web.

Shop Talk:New Research On Processed Meat and Cancer

Dear Readers,
New research is out on the link between processed meat and cancer.In particular,the link to pancreatic cancer,which recently claimed the life of Steve Jobs,is examined.To learn more,please visit my blog The Friday Late Report,where I have posted a comment on this and a link to a Boston TV station that covered the story as well.You may access The Friday Late Report from the link list provided in the left column,beneath the CNBC box,or by typing http://fridaylate.blogspot.com in your browser.
It's generally a good idea to visit my other blogs as well as this one.Something that interests you may very probably be there.It's also worthwhile to re-read any posts that you have read before,since they are often revised.
All of my Blogger blogs are also accessible from my Blogger profile,which may be reached from the link under my photo.
My other Blogger blogs are:
The Friday Late Report
International Daybook
Extra Content
Thank you for learning today,
Andrew Taylor

Polaroid's Retro Product

Polaroid Corporation is reviving its hallmark product,the instant camera,which was withdrawn in 2007 to the disappointment of many.The troubled company had gone into bankruptcy in 2001 and was eventually acquired by private equity firms in Toronto and Boston.The Polaroid 300 Instant Camera will have a strong appeal to Baby Boomers,who grew up with a similar device.It comes in several colors and is a large yet lightweight camera.The camera features an integrated auto flash and four light settings.
The instant camera produces business card-sized prints which pop up from the top of the camera.You then set them on a table for a minute while they self-develop.The image quality is good,but not perfect-just as Boomers remember the instant prints from their childhoods.Polaroid also makes digital cameras.
The Polaroid 300 Instant Camera sells for under 100 dollars U.S.It was featured on the HSN cable channel recently.

Who Obama Is:Leading in Strasbourg

President Barack Obama was greeted enthusiastically by European young people at the Rhenus Sports Arena in Strasbourg,France.The president was in the middle of his first overseas trip since his inauguration in January.It's important to hear from you,the President said,not just speak to you.We stand at a crossroads.The same forces that have brought us closer together have also brought us new dangers,such as nuclear weapons.The pollution of cars from Boston or smokestacks in Beijing can reach other countries.The economic crisis is proving the fact of interdependence.There's certainly enough blame to go around,and the U.S. bears its share.The only way forward is by a persistent way to combat fear and want wherever they are found,Mr.Obama told the large assembly.