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The Upper Columbia: A special place with a unique opportunity

Atlas V AEHF-5 Live Launch Broadcast - Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite providing secure connectivity for the United States Air Force

Simulating Mars in Hawaii:NASA and Partners Develop New Tools for Human Exploration Missions

NASA and its international and domestic academic partners have simulated a Mars mission on a Kilauea lava field in Hawaii.The Kilauea Iki crater where the latest study was held is similar to basalt-rich landscapes on Mars.The project is called the Biologic Analog Science Associated with Lava Terrains,or BASALT.During the exercise,biologists,geologists and geochemists worked together to understand the lifeforms,such as bacteria,that grow on these rocks and the factors allowing them to thrive.This may help scientists choose the best sites to target for signs of life-current or past-on Mars.According to Darlene Lim,a scientist at NASA Ames Research Center,California:
It is a unique integration of science,operations and technology research in service of future human spaceflight.*
The 2017 field tests took place from 1-21 November and were a follow-on to two previous iterations of BASALT.The team thoroughly evaluated scientific methods,exploration procedures and new versions of software tools for planning explorer timelines,based on previous research.Innovative tools that allow multiple users to see and explore the Martian landscape were tested by collaborators from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory,California.This project is working to identify;design;test;and build the tools humans will need when they first set foot on Mars and begin to study a new world.*
Besides the NASA centres,researchers from the University of Edinburgh,Scotland,and McMaster and York Universities in Canada,participated along with US universities such as Cornell University,New York and Arizona State University.Astronaut Stan Love from the Johnson Space Center in Houston was one of the two researchers wearing 45-pound explorer packs carrying technology for relaying information to Mission Control "back on Earth."These two researchers tested navigation and data transmission tools and operated with communications delays and bandwidth limitations future space travelers will experience on Mars.

Industry Slowdown Prompts Big Merger of Discount Brokerages

Scottrade customers may be seeing changes to the discount brokerage services they receive,such as higher fees,by the end of September 2017,as TD Ameritrade,America's largest discount brokerage by trade volume,purchases the privately held Scottrade Financial Services for four billion dollars.In turn,TD Bank,Toronto Dominion Bank's US subsidiary,will then buy Scottrade Bank for 1.3 billion.
TD Bank owns nearly 42% of TD Ameritrade.*
Although based in St.Louis today,Scottrade derives its name from the fact that it was founded in Scottsdale,Arizona.Founder and CEO Rodger Riney,who suffers from multiple myeloma blood cancer,will become a member of the TD Ameritrade board post-merger.Mr.Riney has become a familiar face to Americans by appearing in several TV adverts for his company.*
The deal is expected to realise cost savings of about 450 million dollars annually for TD Ameritrade,and more than 300 million in additional longer-term opportunities.As a result of the merger,TDA will grow to 600 retail branches,but intends to slim down to about 450.*
The discount brokerage business has been hurt by intense competition and the trend of switching to passive investing rather than the day trading model,making organic growth more difficult.*
TD Ameritrade Holding Corp (AMTD)

Risk Assessment:Gauging the Potential Overseas Pitfalls

Japanese companies are strong,said Geoff Lewis,senior strategist at Manulife Asset Management.We are seeing stocks that we like in Japan.We can still see reason to invest in the Japanese market.They have managed to stabilise.*
The cyclical indicator is showing improvement in the emerging markets,including Brazil.*
The polls on the UK Brexit issue are very,very close.I think for the UK the question is,will the City of London financial centre suffer,lose its allure if the UK leaves the European Union?I think the City will continue to function even if there is a Brexit,Mr.Lewis reassured.*
Manulife is a Canadian full line financial services company.Besides Canada and the world's biggest economies of China,Japan and the US,where it owns the John Hancock brand,it operates in promising Asian economies such as Hong Kong,Taiwan and Singapore.*
iShares Japan ETF (EWJ),iShares Emerging Markets ETF (EEM),Manulife Financial Corp(MFC)

Hudson's Bay Co. Reduces Debt - a good investment now?

On 18 November,the Hudson's Bay Company sold 533 million dollars of equity in its stake of HBS Global Properties Joint Venture (properties in the US and Germany) to three third party investors:real estate investment trusts Ivanhoe Cambridge (250 million) and Madison International Realty (150 million);plus a large US pension fund (133 million).Ivanhoe will have a seat on the Hudson's Bay board of directors.Proceeds of the sale will pay down Hudson's Bay's 1.085 billion dollar loan to 500 million.The company will retain a 63% stake in HBS Global Properties,which it said it may sell more of for further deleveraging or acquisitions.*
Hudson's Bay,of Toronto,Canada,began as a fur trader in 1670,and is the oldest North American company.It evolved into a department store titan with more than 460 stores and 65,000 employees worldwide.Its major banners include Hudson's Bay,Lord & Taylor and Saks Fifth Avenue in North America;GALERIA Kaufhof in Germany;and Galeria INNO in Belgium.Hudson's Bay other retail holdings are FIND@Lord & Taylor,Home Outfitters and Saks Fifth Avenue OFF 5TH in North America;and SPORTARENA in Germany.*
In addition to retail,the midcap growth company has acquired a substantial real estate portfolio consisting of its remaining stake in the aforementioned HBS Global Properties Joint Venture and the RioCan - HBC Joint Venture (Canadian properties).*
Keeping pace with change in the industry,Hudson's Bay has increased its digital sales by a substantial 30% as it increasingly invests in online sales.It will also benefit from the synergies generated by its acquisition of Saks Fifth Avenue,which are expected to appear in this quarter.This synergy,coupled with the weakness of the Canadian dollar,should result in better returns through 2016.Hudson's Bay is looking to be a retail momentum story backed by large real estate holdings.*
Hudson's Bay Co (TSX:HBC),(PINX:HBAYF)

Tesla Motors;Toyota Motors;Cambia Portland Classic

Morgan Stanley has raised the price target for Tesla Motors stock to 465.00 from 280.00.They believe Tesla may triple its revenue by 2029.*
I think that Morgan Stanley,did you need to be that excessive?asked CNBC host and master investor Jim Cramer.It's cynical to use these price targets,telling the shorts they need to cover like that.
The Empire State manufacturing report-it's terrible,Cramer noted.The factories are doing not that well.*
Meanwhile,Toyota Motors is taking a hit from the chemical blast tragedy in Tianjin,China,which killed at least 117 and injured untold others,including 50 Toyota workers.Three of Toyota's production lines will be idled through at least 19 August because of the Tianjin evacuation.
Tianjin is the company's biggest production hub in China,and more than a three-day delay could have a material affect on the business.*
Canadian Brooke Henderson,17,won her first LPGA tournament at the Cambia Portland Classic in Oregon Sunday.She mastered the Columbia Edgewater Country Club course with an eight-stroke victory,providing relief to fans disappointed by Canadian golfers' scarce wins in recent years.*
Tesla Motors (TSLA),Toyota Motors (TM)

Commodity Price Slump;Biogen Idec;RBC Canadian Open

Oil production is running sky high.Chinese growth is less than optimal and the grain growing season has been ideal,pointed out Dennis Gartman,editor of The Gartman Letter.You have the makings of a protracted commodity downturn.The dollar is so strong,it's cast a pall on all commodities.Everything is under pressure because of the strong dollar.*
Michael Yee of RBC Capital Markets likes Biogen Idec stock.We're telling people to buy the dip,he said.The stock will go higher and we continue to be positive here.The data on their candidate Alzheimer's drug will be out two years from now.The drug will hit the market in 2018.It looks like a very good risk-reward to us.The Biogen data looks very positive.*
The RBC Canadian Open was held before large and supportive crowds at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville,Ontario over the weekend.Jason Day of Australia won his fourth PGA title,with American Bubba Watson taking second and Canadian David Hearn coming in third on the leader board.Canada's Graham DeLaet had to withdraw from the tournament because of a thumb injury.*
Biogen Idec (BIIB)

With Global Economy Still Suffering,GDP Forecast Lowered

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its global GDP growth forecast for 2015 to 3.3% on a number of factors,including China's stock market turbulence and the Greek debt crisis.As well,both the US and Canadian economies have been downgraded by the IMF.A 20% surge in the U.S. dollar brought on by investors taking refuge in US assets has been crimping exports;while in Canada,falling commodity prices have hindered that natural resource-rich country's economic performance.Still,in 2016,the IMF is predicting global growth to rise to 3.8%.
The end result is not a very impressive number,said IMF chief economist Olivier Blanchard,but it's not a catastrophe,either.We're very much where we expected to be.
The Fed can wait a bit longer to raise rates.We're not very far from where we want to be in the US.Take one step back,the US is doing fine.
There has always been a disconnect between the Chinese stock market and the Chinese economy.It may have an effect on spending,but it's more or less octagonal.When you have exchange rates and stock prices moving quickly as they do in China,you don't know how you can handle it.
Any deal in Greece has to have two parts:
1.The Greeks have to do something.
2.There must be aid and debt relief.
The post-financial crisis world is one of high debt,and it doesn't take much,with these debt dynamics,to go wrong.We have to be ready to see other episodes of that kind.*

Lockheed Martin Team Makes Bid For JSTARS Aircraft Contract

Lockheed Martin,Raytheon and Bombardier have teamed up on a joint bid to deliver a low risk,affordable solution for the US Air Force JSTARS Recapitalization Program.The firms promise to provide the Air Force with capabilities superior to the current JSTARS,with a true open architecture that allows the government to own the technology baseline for further upgrades and reduce lifecycle cost.
Lockheed Martin will be lead systems integrator for the project;Raytheon will bring their experience with ground surveillance,intelligence,surveillance and reconnaissance,mission systems integration and JSTARS communications to the team.Bombardier will provide its ultra-long-range Global business jet platform,less costly to operate than a modern airliner,and uniquely suited to the JSTARS mission by allowing onboard radar to see further and deeper into valleys and survey the battlespace for long periods of time without refueling,Lockheed Martin said in a press release.
Bombardier,based in Montreal,added that the track record it built over the past years with the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) programme for the Air Force using the Bombardier Global platform makes it very well positioned in this market segment.A concept illustration depicts the Global business aircraft air frame with several antennae on the undersides of the wings,plus radomes above and beneath the fuselage.
The JSTARS mission,standing for Joint Surveillance Attack Radar System,is currently carried out by Boeing 707 E-8C aircraft.These aging planes have been heavily utilised since the 9-11 attacks,averaging 19.4 hours per day.
The Air Force needs ground-moving target indicators,said Air Force Chief of Staff General Mark Welsh.That intelligence has been phenomenally successful:all the combatant commanders want it.*
Lockheed Martin (LMT),Raytheon (RTN),Bombardier (TSX:BBD:B)

Jim Kelly Speaks Out on Cancer,Buffalo Bills Sale

NFL Hall of Fame quarterback Jim Kelly is a man fighting two battles at once.One is against the agressive oral cancer that threatens his life;the other is against the commercial interests in Ontario,Canada or elsewhere that may buy and eventually relocate his beloved Buffalo Bills,who are for sale following the death of founder and owner Ralph Wilson.In a statement released Thursday by his company,Jim Kelly,Inc.,Kelly said this cancer has been rough.It's hurt really bad and the treatments have kicked my butt.But my faith in God is strong and I'm back home in Buffalo working with a good team of doctors.I'm not out of the woods by any means,but we think the treatments are going well and I know I'm going to beat this.*
In an interview with The Buffalo News,Jim went into considerable detail about his struggles.It just seems like you're falling apart,the Western New York hero said.I went two weeks without eating.No tastebuds,no nothing.I wasn't getting any nutrition.Finally they had to put a feeding tube in.The radiation is burning my mouth.I have no skin on the roof of my mouth,but I'm getting through it.I've had such a supporting cast,not only from my family,but from Western New York-and all over the world.That surprised me.I have eight more radiation treatments and one more chemo treatment left.
I've gotten a number of emails from people who have been through the same thing with suggestions on how to deal with it.That helps.I fight every battle every day.I'm not scared to die.I know my tomorrows are going to be better than today.I know I'm going to see my late son again.
I still have so many things I've got to do-making sure the Bills stay in Buffalo.I'm battling,but it's not the battle I want to fight right now.I'm trying to do all I can right now.
Keep voicing your opinion.Whoever the new owner is,Western New York has to be the destination.Donald Trump is excited.We should know in the next six months who the players are,a very alert and determined Jim Kelly told sports writer Mark Gaughan from his black leather rocker with a red pillow.

Target Takes Drastic Steps After Breach

Target is still wrestling with the aftermath of last year's massive electronic security breach,exposing the personal information of more than 110 million customers to cyber criminals.Now its CEO Gregg Steinhafel has resigned after his 35 years of service with the company.
That this looks like it was preventable is pretty distressing,said Jeff Sonnenfeld of the Yale School of Management.They definitely need the expertise of new Chief Information Officer Bob DeRodes,former tech advisor to the Department of Homeland Security,who also has experience at Home Depot and other great retailers.The forays into Canada with the opening of 24 stores were also disappointing,along with the El Nino winter weather or whatever it was.
As to the Target board of directors,John Stumpf,CEO of Wells Fargo,is a banker's banker,very much on top of his game.Ann Mulcahy,former Xerox CEO,is not the kind of person who would act abruptly unless it was necessary.*
Target's customer credit and debit card data was hacked into during the holiday season 2013 cyber attack.The nation's second largest retailer has suffered from a slump in sales and stock price in the wake of the cyber disaster.Besides hiring a new CIO and searching for a new CEO,the Minneapolis-based company plans to switch to state of the art chip-and-PIN card security.*
Target Stores,Inc(TGT)

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

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).

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.

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.