Paul McCartney - Back In The USSR (Live) in Moscow

Duran Duran - Rio Digitally remastered

Multiple Myeloma:What Tom Brokaw Has

The well-known NBC Newsman and author Tom Brokaw,72,recently revealed he is being treated for multiple myeloma.It is a type of blood cancer in which abnormal plasma cells accumulate in the bones and bone marrow,where they can interfere with the production of blood cells and damage or fracture bones,as well as produce M proteins that damage the body.Plasma cells are white blood cells that produce antibodies which help the body fight infection.In multiple myeloma,these cells can multiply uncontrollably in several bones,causing a range of problems.Progressive MM is a terminal illness,but can be fought off for a number of years.The four year survival rate is up to 60% on the latest drug regimen.One doctor described it as being similar to having diabetes for many of his patients.*
Multiple myeloma has no known cause,but there are a number of risk factors,such as being over 65;an African American;a male;and having a family history of the disease.About 22,000 Americans a year are diagnosed with it.It may be detected during routine blood and urine tests,or a patient may present with such symptoms as bone fractures,back pain,infections,nosebleeds or anemia.Diagnosis and staging is achieved with more blood and urine tests,x-rays,CT scans,PET scans and MRI,and most definitively by needle biopsy.*
Complications of MM may include kidney failure,bone pain and fractures,weakness,bleeding,infections,hypercalcemia-calcium leaking into the bloodstream from damaged bones-spinal cord compression and neuropathy.*
This cancer can be without symptoms for years or may require immediate treatment.The treatments range from oral and IV chemotherapy,to radiation and stem cell transplants,with their attendant side effects.Clinical trials for new treatments are also a possibility for MM patients.*
As with other cancers,being hopeful and staying as active as possible for as long as possible is a wise course.Mr.Brokaw is said to be responding well to treatment and continuing with his projects.

Facebook and WhatsApp-what's up with that

Facebook is acquiring mobile messaging service WhatsApp for 19 billion dollars.It is a cross-platform mobile messaging app which allows you to exchange messages without having to pay for it.It works with Android,iPhone,BlackBerry,Windows Phone and Nokia.It may also be downloaded to your PC via DownloadApper.com.There is a nominal subscription charge of one dollar a year.The Mountain View,California company was founded in 2009 by CEO Jan Koum and Brian Acton.*
CNBC's tech analyst John Fortt commented on the move,saying we're in this interesting land grab period for mobile and social.Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg spent 10% of his company for this.That's a lot.It has no revenue raising opportunity.Its users are mostly in the emerging markets and are not willing to pay much more.It's gigantic.A couple of bucks a year in some of these countries is a lot of money.
I don't say it's a bad move.It's a move to increase scale,to take out a potential competitor.Facebook and WhatsApp have it cut out for them to scale it and make it succeed financially.There are lots of different ways to look at the strategic value of something like this,and we won't know for a couple of years how good it was.Facebook investors never got to go to WhatsApp and look into it,Fortt pointed out.*
His colleague,CNBC Contributor Jon Steinberg,added that the rules have changed,and you have to take bold moves.WhatsApp is way bigger than Twitter.With this move,Facebook is now diversified.
Everyone in the Valley has been talking about this company for months.Everybody wanted to buy this company.Shareholders should bear in mind that Zuckerberg made a good move that was an expensive move,but they should be glad they have a CEO willing to take bold action in a rapidly changing field.*
Facebook might not make much money off the move initially,but that doesn't mean they had a choice if they want to stay in the big leagues of mobile and social media.*
Facebook(FB)

Sochi Winter Olympics:Gold in the Winter Sun

The final medal count is as follows:
1.Russia 33
2.USA 28
3.Norway 26
4.Canada 25
5.Netherlands 24
6.Germany 19
7.Austria 17
8.France 15
8.Sweden 15
9.People's Republic of China 9
Italy won 8 medals,including 6 silver and 2 bronze.Russia won the most gold medals(13).Ukraine,which had been in severe political unrest during the Games,won 2 medals,1 gold and 1 bronze.*
It was a final triumph for Team Russia on Sunday,a full restoration of national pride,when they swept the medals at the last skiing event of the Games,the 50km cross country race.Alexander Legkov won the gold;Maxim Vylegzhanin the silver;and Ilia Chernousov the bronze.This is priceless,Legkov said.It is more valuable than my life.I can't express how I feel.I've been trying for this result for 15 years.*
Likewise,Team Canada went out of the games with a flourish by sweeping the ice hockey gold as the Canadian men blanked Sweden 3-0.Team USA was also pleased to win a bobsled medal on Sunday,taking the four-man bobsled bronze behind Russia and Latvia.
On the whole,Team USA had a very good Games,winning five alpine skiing medals,but was disappointed by taking only one speedskating medal,and having to go home with a men's ice hockey goose egg.*
Overall,the Games were a positive event on the global calendar.This blog congratulates Russia for its excellent athletic and security effort.The Games were definitely a high point in their history.*
As for Sochi itself,it was clearly transformed by the sprirt and success of the Olympic Games.It is looking ahead to the Winter Paralympics March 7-16 and a Formula One Grand Prix motor race in October.
__________________________________________
Gold in the Winter Sun
Where it shines on Sochi town.
For two weeks,the world with its eyes
Absorbed every win,and the sighs
Were gathered in as well.We heard "Kalinka,"
The Russian birch still well,
The swell of the sea and the people
Magnificent Slavic emotion
With soft snow on the mountain.
(C)2014 Andrew K Taylor

Madonna - Like A Virgin (video)

Madonna - Live To Tell

The Spirit of Sarah:Sochi Olympics Halfpipe Ski Finals

The spirit of Sarah Burke,the late and legendary Canadian freestyle skier,loomed large in the finals of the women's halfpipe ski event Thursday at the Sochi Winter Olympics.It was Burke who initially pushed ESPN to include the event in its Winter X Games and,later,convinced the International Olympic Committee to include it in the Sochi 2014 Games.She died at age 29 on January 19,2012 of injuries received January 10 in a training accident at Park City,Utah,suffering irreversible damage to the brain due to lack of oxygen and blood after cardiac arrest,and a torn vertebral artery.
In the course of her career,she won four gold medals and a silver at the Winter X Games,plus the World Championship in halfpipe in 2005.In 2007,she received the ESPY award for Best Female Action Sports Athlete.She married fellow skier Rory Bushfield in 2010.*
Emotions over Sarah flowed in the hearts of the skiers who had personally known her Thursday.Her parents were among the spectators at Sochi,and consider the skiers to be family.*
Sarah's the reason we're all here,said Team USA's Maddie Bowman,20,of South Lake Tahoe,California.Without Sarah,none of us would be Olympians.Sarah inspired us on snow or off snow.I think she would have been proud of how all the girls rode tonight.*
Bowman won the first gold medal in the new Olympic discipline with her clean and seamless run,followed by Marie Martinod of France,29,silver,and Japan's Ayuna Onozuka,bronze.With Bowman's victory and that of David Wise the day before,the US swept the gold medals for the event.
American Brita Sigourney also performed some remarkable tricks at up to 34' off the ground,but a slight mistake on one landing kept her off the medal stand.*
The US led the medals count as of Thursday night with 25.Russia was second with 23,and the Netherlands held third with 22.Norway had the most gold medals(10).

Market Trends:Facebook,GM and Tesla;Sochi Winter Olympics Update

Facebook is a terrific company that I think can go higher,said CNBC co-host Jim Cramer on "Squawk On The Street."I still think this is early on.Facebook deserves to be higher,will go higher.CEO Mark Zuckerberg is giving right now,the most charitable man in America.*
At CVS,the numbers were very strong.They could take a six-cent hit from dropping cigarette sales and still do well.They take the hit and do well.There's a very big anti-cigarette kick in this country.*
The California drought is wreaking havoc on the food business.It's the snack side that worries me,not the mac and cheese.*
The fulcrum here is GM.I've been wrong about GM.It's an inexpensive stock,but nobody cares because of the weather keeping people out of the showrooms.Auto sales are the key to this market,so I'm deeply focused on that.*
China has agreed to subsidise electric vehicles,and Tesla is there.Tesla is a charm stock.They are not bound by anything other than by the enthusiasim of young people who test drive a Tesla and go buy one in five years,according to author and master investor Jim Cramer.*
At the Sochi Winter Olympics on Monday,after 17 years of partnership,American skaters Meryl Davis and Charlie White won the first ever ice dancing gold medal for the USA,and Steve Holcomb and Steve Langton secured the first medal in two-man bobsled in 62 years with their bronze,finishing behind Russia and Switzerland.
Fog postponed the men's snowboard snowcross finals,as well as a biathlon event.Snowcross was rescheduled for Tuesday,although more fog is expected to roll in and blanket the course.
The US women's ice hockey team clobbered Sweden 6-1,getting Team USA to the finals against archrival Canada,as had been expected.
Belarus swept the freestyle skiing aerials when Anton Kushnir won the men's gold medal.Australian David Morris' silver was the first medal for his country in men's aerials,and China's Qi Guang got the bronze when he botched his landing.*
CVS Caremark(CVS),Tesla Motors(TSLA),Facebook(FB)

Sochi Winter Olympics Medals;Eva Samkova;Weibrecht and Miller

Total medals as of Sunday night:
1.Netherlands 17
2.USA 16
2.Russia 16
3.Canada 14
3.Norway 14
4.Germany 12
5.Switzerland 7
6.People's Republic of China 5
7.Poland 4
7.Belarus 4
Germany had the most gold medals(7).*
In women's snowboard cross racing,the Czech Republic's Eva Samkova powered to the gold medal.Quebec,Canada firefighter Dominique Maltais took the silver,and Chloe Trespeuch of France won the bronze.America's Lindsay Jacobellis,the world's top-rated snowboard cross racer,failed to complete her race at the Olympics for the third time,seemingly unable to concentrate adequately under the extreme stress.She was poised and well-spoken in the face of the disappointment.*
Fortunately for Team USA,Andrew Weibrecht and Bode Miller were not disappointing in the Super G ski race,winning the silver and the bronze,respectively.Weibrecht had failed to medal on the World Cup circuit since his Vancouver 2010 bronze in the same event.Miller's bronze is his sixth Olympic medal in alpine ski racing,solidifying his position as the best alpine ski racer in US history.
The normally stoical Miller,36,got very emotional after the race,thinking of his late brother Shilly,who died last year from a seizure related to a dirt bike accident.Me and my brother talked about coming here,Miller explained.It was a tough race.I was overwhelmed a bit about getting some help from my brother.
I feel good.If my body holds up,you never know.I feel pretty happy with the bronze.I've had a long career,but you never know until you're there,the veteran of five Olympics said.Miller has two more races left at Sochi,the Giant Slalom and the Slalom.

Anna Lesko - Get It (new single) Music only,Russian/English

Anna Lesko feat. Gilberto - Go Crazy (Official Music Video)

Sochi Winter Olympics Medals;Noelle Pikus-Pace

Total medals count as of Thursday night:
1.Norway 13
2.Netherlands 12
2.USA 12
3.Russia 11
4.Canada 10
4.Germany 10
5.Sweden 5
5.Austria 5
6.Switzerland 4
6.Slovenia 4
Germany had the most gold medals(7).*
The USA continued its success in freestyle skiing and snowboarding as the US men swept the slopestyle skiing medals,led by Joss Christensen.Most of the American medals so far were from these freestyle disciplines.This fact may put extra pressure on alpine skiers and gold medalists Ted Ligety and Bode Miller as they compete for the USA in Friday's men's Super Combined event,which couples a downhill race with a slalom.*
Another chance for a USA traditional discipline medal is in the final heats of the women's skeleton Friday,where Noelle Pikus-Pace,31,was in second place behind Great Britain's Lizzy Yarnold,one of the few medal contenders for her country,after the first two heats.Russia's Yelena Nikitina was in third and American Katie Uhlaender
close behind her in fourth.
Pikus-Pace,a mother with a cheerful demeanor,has had a frustrtating Olympics career.In 2006,she had to withdraw when she was sruck by a bobsled during a training run,which broke her leg.At Vancouver 2010,she missed a bronze medal by 0.10 of a second.She says she intends to retire regardless of the results this time.*
Also of note on Thursday,Italy's Arianna Fontana won the silver medal in the women's 500 meter short track speedskating event when Great Britain's Elise Christie was disqualified for an illegal pass that caused a crash.

Sochi Winter Olympics Medal Count

Total Medals as of Wednesday Night:
1.Norway 12
2.Canada 10
2.Netherlands 10
3.USA 9
3.Russia 9
4.Germany 8
5.Austria 5
6.Sweden 4
6.Switzerland 4
6.Slovenia 4
Germany has the most gold medals(6).

Where To Invest;Sochi Medal Count;Julia Mancuso

We'll end the year with high single digit gains,predicts Kevin Mahn,President and CIO at Hennion&Walsh Asset Management.I think there is upside,but I believe there's more pullback in the market because we haven't reached certainty about the debt ceiling and the market hasn't adjusted to new Fed Chairman Janet Yellen yet.*
I think this is the year for diversification again.People forgot about asset allocation last year,with the market up 30%.You have to be nimble.You have to be active,and you can't concentrate on just one asset class.You have to look at alternative assets like gold and REITs.I would say the housing recovery isn't over,with the REITs.We actually favour Europe over the US this year,even though we're bullish on the US,Mr.Mahn said on CNBC.*
Sochi Winter Olympics Total Medal Count as of Friday morning:
1.Canada 7
1.Netherlands 7
1.Norway 7
2.Russia 6
3.USA 5
4.Austria 3
4.Czech Republic 3
5.France 2
6.Germany 2
6.Sweden 2
Canada has the most gold medals(3).*
America's Julia Mancuso,29,won the bronze in the women's Super Combined alpine skiing event,which combines downhill with slalom.She now has won each Olympic medal in her career,including two bronze,making her the most decorated female alpine skier in US history.I can't even believe it,Mancuso said.It was such a tough slalom.*
The effervescent Mancuso attributes her Olympics success to having grown up in the Squaw Valley ski resort of Lake Tahoe,California,site of the 1960 Winter Olympics.Jamie Anderson,who won the first gold medal in the female slopestyle snowboard event the day before,also hails from the Lake Tahoe area.*
Canada's Charles Hamelin won his third gold medal in the 1500 meter speedskating event,tying the record for most gold medals won in a single event.Hamelin,29,is from Sainte-Julie,Quebec.

Sochi Winter Olympics Medals;Hannah Kearney;Women's Slopestyle Final

Total medals at the Sochi Winter Olympics as of Sunday night:
1.Norway 7
2.Netherlands 4
2.USA 4
2.Canada 4
2.Russia 4
3.Austria 2
4.Germany 1
4.Poland 1
4.Switzerland 1
4.Slovakia 1
Norway also has the most gold medals(2).This does not include the women's slopestyle snowboarding medals for some reason,perhaps becuase they weren't official yet or just hadn't been tallied by presstime.*
This blog does not pick favourites.This is an unhelpful practice,as there is no reliable way to forecast an athlete's performance on just one day or even over an entire Games.Sometimes the favourites win at the Olympics;sometimes they do not.It is a pointless media exercise to speculate like that.
American freestyle skier Hannah Kearney,who won a bronze in Saturday's women's moguls final,felt a lot better about her bronze after the warmth of the medals ceremony,where Canadian sisters Justeine and Chloe Dufour-Lapointe were awarded the gold and silver,respectively.Kearney,who won gold in the event at Vancouver in 2010,had declared she was retiring after her defeat,but on Sunday said she now feels proud of the bronze and seemed open to reconsidering the decision to retire.*
Russia is back:the old Russian dominance of figure skating,in which they had won 51 medals,and which ended at Vancouver when they were shut out of the medals,got a new lease on life as Russia took the first gold in the new team figure skating event.Seasoned veteran Yevgeny Plushenko,31,and newcomer Yulia Lipnitskaya,15,skated without obvious flaws to secure the top spot as President Vladimir Putin looked on,basking in their success.Canada won silver and the US took the bronze.*
Team USA completed its sweep of the first gold medals in the new snowboard slopestyle event as Sage Kotsenburg was joined by Jamie Anderson,23,of South Lake Tahoe,California.Anderson earned her gold as she impressed with big air,soaring above the huge manufactured slopes of the course.
Finland's Enni Rukajarvi garnered silver,and Great Britain's Jenny Jones,33,reached a milestone for her country with her bronze,the first ever medal for GB in a snow sport.

Zedd - Stay The Night ft. Hayley Williams of Paramore

Lauryn Vyce - Catch Me music only

Sochi:Snowboarders Begin Quest For New Gold

Even before the opening ceremony of the Sochi Winter Olympics,snowboarders began their quest for the first gold medal in the new Olympics event of slopestyle snowboarding,which resembles moguls freestyle skiing.Snowboarders must ride down some metal rails and up some huge slopes in the extreme sports event.No American men scored high enough in the qualifying runs to make it directly to the finals.Canada's Maxence Parrot and Great Britain's Jamie Nicholls did make it.
American Women fared better.Jamie Anderson of Lake Tahoe,California and Karly Shorr go directly to the finals.Also making it straight through were Australia's Torah Bright and Canada's Spencer O'Brien.Northern Europe was the only other region to have qualified for the finals in Thursday's round,being represented by snowboarders from Austria,Switzerland,Norway,Sweden and Finland.*
The semifinals will be on Saturday for those who didn't score high enough for the finals,such as American men Ryan Stassel,Sage Kotsenburg and Charlie Guldemond,along with women Jessika Jenson and Ty Walker;British man Billy Morgan,as well as women Aimee Fuller and Jenny Jones,age 34;New Zealand's Rebecca Torr,Christy Prior,Stefi Luxton and Shelly Gotlieb;and Canadian Jenna Blasman.*
The beautiful Caucasus Mountains peaks of the Mountain Cluster alpine venues seem to have abundant natural snow this winter,but the Russians have stockpiled a vast amount of snow just in case.*
No incidents of any kind marred the opening of competition in the seaside resort of Sochi,Russia.

Inflation and the Economic Road Ahead

It's obvious to me that the Fed wants out of QE,PIMCO founder,CEO and chief investment officer Bill Gross told CNBC.What we're seeing is an end to QE in October or November,and then a focus on the policy rate,a discussion that focuses on inflation rather than employment.*
Mohammed El-Erian's departure was a surprise to us.We're not exactly certain where he's going.We're disappointed that he's not gonna continue in a successor role to me.Mohammed and I have been good friends for 14 years.We're neighbours;he's just down the street.As to why he's leaving,I basically can't tell you.That's best left to him.
I don't think it had anything to do with performance.Perhaps like an architect he's moving to another house.We understand that he does want to take a break.He's gonna end up somewhere at a higher level.We now have six deputy CIOs under the structure Mohammed created.This is a sharing of ideas that will function more quickly and more responsive to the market.*
Global financial markets are still highly levered.The emerging markets are slowing down,and developed markets are responding.Mexico to me is still the best of the emerging markets.Its wages in the auto sector are just 15% of the US.Mexico is a hold that's just been caught up in the rest of the emerging markets.*
There's always a risk of inflation going forward.We're in an artificially enhanced market that won't necessarily give returns higher than inflation.I think we're fairly valued at 15 times earnings.We're OK as long as growth remains at least 2-3%,and I think it will,"the bond king" Bill Gross said.*
The Fed's key inflation gauge rose slightly in December.The PCE went from 1.1 to 1.2%,well within the Fed's stated goal of 2.0%.Personal income was flat,but personal spending increased at 0.4%,double the estimated increase of 0.2%.

Emerging Markets Slide;Gold Sales,London Homes Up

Emerging market stocks declined markedly in early Monday trading.The problem is,emerging markets have not addressed their domestic issues.They don't have very strong growth momentum.They really have to look at their own economies,and not blame the Federal Reserve or other developed markets,an analyst at Bank Julius Baer noted.*
Australia's sovereign wealth fund racked up record gains in 2013.As well,the Perth Mint,a refiner of gold and silver bullion into coins and bars,has posted higher sales for January as gold prices rose.Sales climbed 10% as investors sought refuge from an equities market weakened by slowing Chinese growth and Fed tapering.The price of gold fell 28% last year,but has risen 3% so far in 2014.*
Two trillion dollars of equity have been lost since the Fed started tapering its bond buying programme.We've had PE multiple expansion in markets without the earnings to back it up,points out Nick Xanders,global equity strategist at BTIG.
Both the Thai baht and stock market staged a relief rally Monday when national elections went off peacefully,although many polling places were blockaded by opposition protestors.*
Rubber prices dropped to a 16 month low on the Chinese manufacturing pullback.*
London home prices are surging because of an influx of Asian buyers.There are fears a housing bubble may be in the making.*