Disney?s Multi-Platform Distribution Deals Can Lift Margins And Outlook

Although this deal involves a limited number of subscriber, they will be directly additive to profits by opening up additional channels for monetizing the content that Disney has already produced.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/10/10/disneys-multi-platform-distribution-deals-can-lift-margins-and-outlook/

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Millennials Are Feeling More Optimistic Than Ever About Their Investments

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Cynics might chalk it up to the optimism of youth: A new study from Scottrade has found that investors under age 45 are more optimistic about their investments than older investors are, and they're also more engaged and informed about their holdings.

They check their accounts more often and are more likely to say they will add money to their investment accounts over the next year.

Among Gen Y, the cohort primarily in their 20s, 85 percent said they expected their portfolio to finish the year up. Meanwhile, 3 in 4 Gen Xers, who are in their 30s and early 40s, said the same. Around one-third of investors under age 45 said now is the "best time to invest and get in on some great deals;" just 13 percent of baby boomers and 8 percent of seniors said the same.

"Since 2009, we've seen their expectations for their portfolio increasing … They're feeling confident and empowered," says Kristin Grupas, assistant director of client education at Scottrade, of investors under age 45.

[See 10 Smart Ways to Improve Your Budget.]

Gen Y's optimism extends beyond the investing world, too: A survey released in September by the Gen Y consultancy Millennial Branding and career site Beyond.com found that almost 9 in 10 Gen Yers are optimistic about finding a job, compared to 8 in 10 Gen Xers and just over 7 in 10 baby boomers. "They have their whole lives ahead of them … they are saving more, managing their money, and are savvy investors because they have access to a whole online network of experts," says Dan Schawbel, managing partner of Millennial Branding.

Schawbel says the younger generation's engagement in their own financial management is a result of their hesitancy to trust financial institutions. "They understand the spending mistakes of their elders and don't want to make the same ones. They want to be careful about how they spend money and where it goes," he says.

[See 16 Things You Should Never Buy New.]

Other research shows that younger investors are also more risk-averse than previous generations were at their age. "When left alone, the younger set of individuals joining plans will choose something more conservative," says John Ameriks, head of Vanguard's investment counseling and research group. "That's different than the generation entering plans 20 years ago, in the early 90s, when younger investors were choosing more aggressive investments," he adds.

Ameriks attributes that choice less to the traumatic experience of the recession than to the fact that many young investors simply aren't paying much attention to their investment choices. As a result, he says, they are heavily influenced by what they hear in the news. In the 1990s, they heard positive stories of stock market growth, so bought more stocks; in recent years, they heard more about stocks losing value, so gravitated toward bonds and other more conservative investments.

Young people can be both risk-averse and optimistic at the same time, Ameriks says, because they are focused on the future and excited about it, but they're also not spending much effort doing their own research on how to invest, which results in their more conservative portfolios.

Those unique attributes of 20-somethings means that financial institutions—and parents—might want to consider reaching out to them a little differently. Ameriks suggests, "Folks who have more perspective can say, 'Focusing on what you heard on the evening news might not be the best way to build a portfolio for retirement.'… Help them focus on the long-term nature of the choices they're making. It's not about what's going to happen in the next one, three, or five years; it's about 10, 20, and 50 years for people."

[See 17 Steps to Make Your Money Last a Lifetime.]

Since people tend to select investments and leave those selections in place for years—Ameriks refers to this tendency as 401(k) inertia—he says another useful option for people is to select lifecycle or target-date funds, which automatically shift into more aggressive investments as retirement approaches.

The Scottrade survey also found that Gen Y and Gen X optimism has grown steadily over the past few years: In 2009 and 2010, fewer than half of Gen Y and X investors said they expected their investments to gain value for the year. But in 2011 and 2012, the majority said they thought their investments would end the year up. They also started checking their accounts more frequently during that time period, with about one-quarter of Gen Yers checking their accounts once a day in 2012.

The post-recession economy, it seems, inspired both optimism and engagement among younger investors.

Don't miss: 21 ways rich people think differently >

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/gnRpL5v5Aeo/why-young-investors-are-so-optimistic-2012-10

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15 Mistakes That Nearly Wrecked My Adventures Abroad

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I was 18 the first time I ventured outside of the U.S. on my own. 

I only needed eight weeks' worth of clothing, but I packed two huge suitcases, a carry-on bag, an extra backpack and at least half a dozen handbags. 

When I landed in the dead of winter in Salta, Argentina carting 100 lbs of summer dresses behind me, it was a wake up call I've never forgotten. 

I've been learning to travel the hard way ever since––and tripping myself up plenty of times along the way.

I accidentally let a local talk me into a $500 bike rental

I had the chance to check out a public bike share in Montreal for the first time last year.  But since I couldn't read the instructions in French, I asked a local to explain the process.

It was free for the first 45 minutes, he said, and I would be charged a couple of extra bucks every hour after that. 

Unfortunately for me, he forgot to mention the $250 security deposit the company applied to my credit card for each bike. I rented two.

Good thing I had used a credit and not my debit card, because it took well over a week for the temporary charge to disappear. 

I forgot to tell my bank about a D.C. road trip

After President Obama was elected in 2008, I hatched a plan for the ultimate 48-hour road trip–– from Athens, Ga. to D.C. for his Inaugural address.

I just forgot to tell my bank about it. 

Apparently, swiping my debit card at a slew of gas stations up and down the East coast in such a short period of time spelled "FRAUD" to them. They froze my account and I wound up stranded at a North Carolina pit stop until I could get a representative on the phone to correct the mistake.

If I had been overseas, it would have been an even bigger nightmare. 

I trusted my roommate in Chile while she was robbing me blind

When I moved to Chile after college, I decided to rent a room in a nice apartment from a local. She was trustworthy enough, and I let myself get comfortable after a couple of months. Then she took on a new tenant.

At the time, I kept a couple hundred U.S. dollars for emergencies sealed in a bag in an unlocked drawer in my bedroom dresser. Two weeks after the new girl moved in, I started to notice small denominations were missing. Then a whole $100 was gone. And so was I, after I confronted her about the theft and moved out. 

These days, the only emergency cash I carry on extended trips is in a savings account I can access from just about any ATM. 

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/I9uikwsvjqk/15-mistakes-to-avoid-while-traveling-2012-10

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Why We're Buying This Energy Company

The following video is part of our "Motley Fool Conversations" series, in which analyst John Reeves and advisor David Meier discuss topics around the investing world.

John and Dave are buying shares of established pipeline operator Spectra Energy for their real-money portfolio. Spectra Energy is an important part of the natural gas value chain. It owns and operates more than 19,000 miles of transmission pipeline and more than 39,000 miles of distribution pipeline. It moves natural gas all the way from the supply to the demand in Canada and the United States, helping natural gas E&Ps like Chesapeake Energy or Devon Energy get gas from the source to the user. Spectra plans to invest about $20 billion of capital to meet the growing demand for natural gas, especially from power generation plants. It won't grow at blazing speeds, but the company will earn a stable return on those investments, even in the face of competition from companies like Williams. Spectra's current dividend yield is 3.8%. And as its growth investments payoff over time, its dividend should grow steadily. John and David see Spectra Energy as a nice complement to their investment in solar inverter maker Enphase Energy, providing stability along the way.

If you're on the lookout for some compelling energy plays, check out The Motley Fool's "3 Stocks for $100 Oil." You can get free access to this special report by clicking here.

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Source: http://feeds.fool.com/~r/usmf/foolwatch/~3/hEMdb7SUNmU/story01.htm

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Raul Ibanez Secures Place In Yankees History With Game-Tying And Game-Winning Home Runs

On a day when Yankees fans were calling for less of Alex Rodriguez, Raul Ibanez stepped in and secured his spot in Yankees postseason folklore with a pair of improbable home runs.

The first came in the ninth inning when manager Joe Girardi used Ibanez to pinch-hit for A-Rod in the ninth inning with the Yankees trailing by a run. Ibanez delivered a game-tying home run. But he wasn't done. When he came to the plate again in the 12th inning, Ibanez did it again.

Two at bats. Two home runs. One huge Yankees win. Here's the game-winner...

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/JTLmZq-aagQ/video-raul-ibanez-secures-place-in-yankees-history-with-walk-off-home-run-2012-10

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Polarizing Video Asks ?What If Those Coca-Cola Bears Actually Drank A Lot Of Soda??

For years, Coca-Cola has aired ads featuring adorable animated polar bears that just love to drink the brown beverage. But a new video — created by the ad genius behind commercials for Burger King and yes, even Coca-Cola — tries to use those bears to push a message about guzzling too much soda.

The spot, released by the folks at … [More]

Source: http://consumerist.com/2012/10/10/polarizing-video-asks-what-if-those-coca-cola-bears-actually-drank-a-lot-of-soda/

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A Quick Guide To The Affirmative Action Showdown Currently In The Supreme Court

On Wednesday the U.S. Supreme Court heard its most politically divisive case this term: a challenge to the University of Texas at Austin's affirmative action policy.

Here's everything you need to know about the case:

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Produced by Robert Libetti

Don't Miss:

Joe Biden Needs To Kill It In Tomorrow's VP Debate

Everything You Need To Know To Really Understand A Poll

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/jy05b0GSRZk/guide-to-affirmative-action-2012-10

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Bloomberg's Epic Outlook For The Slowing US Economy

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Three years into its recovery, the U.S. economy is still growing at a painfully slow pace.

Bloomberg BRIEF Economics just published an excellent presentation featuring its outlook for the U.S. economy.  Its author, Joseph Brusuelas, finds that the U.S. economy is in a "slow growth trap".

Click Here To See The Presentation >

He projects growth to slow to 1.5 percent in the fourth quarter.

Brusuelas thinks that an increase in hiring is unlikely, and there is "slight risk" that unemployment could tick up to 8 percent again by the end of the year.

Moreover, the Fiscal Cliff has increased the risk of a recession. 

"The probability of the fiscal shock taking place next year has grown," he says. "While the Fed is on record saying it can act to help mitigate the impact of fiscal policy, it cannot completely forestall the full effect" of the shock set to kick in Jan 2013 should the current fiscal policy path be left unchanged.

Brusuelas' presentation is one of the best and more comprehensive overviews of the economy we've seen.

See the rest of the story at Business Insider

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/GHge3cBBAk4/bloomberg-us-q4-12-overview-and-outlook-2012-10

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Apple?s Head-And-Shoulders Is Bearish Because People Think It Is

Apple's stock chart shows a bearish head-and-shoulders pattern. In traditional technical analysis, this is a reversal pattern and signifies a top in a stock.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2012/10/10/apples-head-and-shoulders-is-bearish-because-people-think-it-is/

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