HEY PARTY ANIMALS: NYC Is Giving Away $30,000 In Free Cab And Subway Rides For The Holidays


New Cab

Did you know there are more than 10,000 designated drivers at the beck and call of New Yorkers each and every day?

They're called cab drivers and the city is giving you no excuse not to use one as you bounce between holiday shindigs this year.

For the second year in a row, the Dept. of Transportation is giving away 1,500 free (FREE) $15 cab rides in an effort to keep partygoers from running amok on city streets.

The giveaway is part of the department's "You the Man" (Really?) campaign against drunk driving. Backed by Johnnie Walker’s parent company, Diageo, they'll also hand out 4,000 single-fare MetroCards.

“Wherever the celebration takes you on New Year’s and all year round, plan for a safe ride home with a designated driver,” said DOT Commissioner Janette Sadik-Khan.

The taxi and metro passes can be used in all five boroughs, for PATH and NJ Transit. They'll be distributed across the city up until Dec. 31 at 5 p.m. Just be sure to use them by 12 p.m. EST on Jan. 1.

Here's where you can get yours:

Tuesday, December 20, 6 p.m. – Astoria, Queens (Broadway & 31st ) and Williamsburg, Brooklyn (Bedford & North 7th)

Thursday, December 22, 5 p.m. – Bronx Hub (149th street between Grand Concourse and The Hub)

Friday, December 23, 5 p.m. – St. George, Staten Island (St. George Terminal) and Downtown Brooklyn (Fulton Mall)

Saturday, December 31, 5 p.m. – Upper East Side (Second Avenue & 86th) and Harlem (Broadway & 125th), Manhattan

Does your city offer a similar promotion? Tell us about it in the comments.

While you're at it, check out 10 FREE things to do this winter >

 

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Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/businessinsider/~3/Cz1mar3wA9k/free-cab-rides-new-york-city-2011-12

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What Apple Needs in 2012: Value Investors and a Dividend

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There's very little I can say about Apple (Nasdaq: AAPL  ) that hasn't already been said. The company has been growing earnings like gangbusters, yet its stock isn't being respected the way many think it should.

After reading a report by Sanford Bernstein research analyst Toni Sacconaghi, I think we might have a good idea what it could take to make Apple the first trillion-dollar company: a dividend.

Pedaling faster and faster, getting nowhere
To truly appreciate the growth Apple has produced, and to understand how severe the P/E compression recently has been, we could simply look at the numbers.

Sources: Yahoo! Finance, fool.com.

And although savvy investors will be left scratching their heads when they see these figures, nothing may capture the unique situation quite like this graph.

Apple Stock Chart by YCharts

It is a rare, rare case where you can find a company whose valuation multiple has contracted by 40% yet the price has almost doubled. Along the way, the company's iPhone has put Research In Motion's (Nasdaq: RIMM  ) BlackBerry in danger of losing the business-smartphone market, and its Macs have been taking more and more market share from the likes of Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ  ) .

Moving forward, Apple is firmly entrenched as a member of the triumvirate leading the technology sector forward -- with Google and Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN  ) assuming the two other spots.

The problem: institutional value investors
In his note to investors, Sacconaghi explores the role that institutional investors are playing in the depression of Apple's stock. Surveying 725 large-cap U.S. mutual funds, he finds that Apple is 26% overweighed by growth funds. Because there are self-imposed limits to how much of a stock funds can own, that doesn't leave a whole lot of investors to create demand for Apple.

Sacconaghi argues that the answer lies in value funds, which are actually significantly underweighted in Apple's stock. That doesn't necessarily make sense to Sacconaghi, given the company's fortress-like balance sheet.

If value funds were to snap out of their funk and start buying shares, that could provide some serious tailwinds for Apple. And the catalyst: joining the likes of Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT  ) and Intel (Nasdaq: INTC  ) as tech stalwarts that offer their investors the benefit of a hefty dividend.

The power of a dividend
How hefty of a dividend could Apple offer? Here's Sacconaghi's take: "If Apple were to retain that cash balance but return 50% of free cash flow to investors, it would allow the company to pay a 5% annual dividend and still grow its cash reserves by $20 billion per year. A 5% dividend would represent the single-highest yield among the 25 largest U.S. technology companies."

If we were to play a little hypothetical game here, we could see the effect such a move could have on Apple's price. Right now, investors put Intel and Microsoft's yields at 3.6% and 3.1%, respectively; let's say this means investors are willing to accept a 3.4% dividend yield from a tech behemoth.

Obviously, Apple is a fundamentally different company from Intel or Microsoft,but if we were to assume that Apple's payout would be what Sacconaghi is assuming (about a $19-per-share dividend), and that the market would make the yield come in at 3.4%, then we're looking at a share price of about $560. That's an almost 50% premium to where it currently stands.

Is this a guarantee? Surely not, but a dividend would make sense, and new CEO Tim Cook looks more willing to take that route than Steve Jobs ever did.

Get in before a pop?
Dividend or not, Apple is a solid investment, and I think it deserves a place in any well-diversified portfolio. It represents roughly 7% of my real-life portfolio, and I've had it green-thumbed on my Motley Fool CAPS profile for a while now,too.

If you're interested in profiting from the mobile revolution that the likes of Apple, Amazon and Google are participating in, I highly suggest you check out latest special free report: "3 Hidden Winners of The iPhone, iPad, and Android Revolution." We all know who the obvious companies in this revolution are, but if we can zero in on the hidden winners, we can snatch up shares of three companies that are underappreciated by the market right now. Get the names of those three companies in your report today; it's absolutely free!

Fool contributor Brian Stoffel owns shares of Apple, Google, Amazon and Intel. You can follow him on Twitter at @TMFStoffel. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft, Google, Apple, Intel, and Amazon.com and has bought calls on Intel. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Google, Intel, Microsoft, Amazon.com, and Apple and creating bull call spread positions in Apple, Microsoft, and Intel. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools don't all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

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Source: http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2011/12/19/what-apple-needs-in-2012-value-investors-and-a-div.aspx

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Unifying Your Team: More From Coach Tony Dungy

In the NFL, there?s only one goal?winning. But for Tony Dungy, former head coach of the Indianapolis Colts and best-selling author, one of the top moments of his life came after an epic failure. In 2002, he was fired as coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers after six seasons with the team. A year later, his former team won the Super Bowl without him. He was over the moon.

Why was he so proud? Because the team accomplished the goals they made with Tony during the previous years. Even without their coach, they were unbelievably unified, which was the topic of last week?s EntreLeadership podcast. Host Chris LoCurto talked to Tony about unity and leadership, plus a whole lot more. But like all good things, it had to come to an end. Luckily, we were able to capture the rest of Tony?s interview.

What leaders, legendary or living, do you admire most?

There are really several people. Nelson Mandela is a person who I?ve gotten to know about since my daughter went to South Africa. Going over there to visit and seeing someone who cared more about his people than his personal problems was really stunning to me.

I grew up in the Civil Rights era, so obviously Martin Luther King. I was with George Bush after we won the Super Bowl. He talked about giving the order to go and fight, realizing that it was going to cost a lot of American lives. He really believed it was the right thing to do. People like him, those in leadership positions who make the tough decisions, are who I admire.

What books have most influenced your career?

John Wooden?s autobiography influenced me in terms of coaching. Coach Wooden won a lot in a way that was very dignified and very Christian-oriented. It made me realize you could do things the Lord?s way and still be effective as a coach. Here was one of the greatest winners in the history of college basketball, and he put the Lord first. As a young coach coming up in the profession, it was very encouraging.

After (Philadelphia quarterback) Michael Vick was sent to prison, you began mentoring him. Tell us just a little bit about that.

When I went to see him, I found out about his background. What struck me was that all the benefits I enjoyed, all the lessons I learned from my dad and people around me, like my uncles, he didn?t have. He was blessed with a lot of God-given ability, a great platform, a lot of money and playing in the National Football League; but he didn?t have the foundation I had. And so, he made some mistakes.

Then, the question became, ?What are you going to do once you get out?? You can?t change history, but you can change where you are going. We talked about it, and I felt like he was sincere in his desire to change.

Michael told me one of the toughest moments he had in prison was getting a letter from a young boy who said. ?Michael Vick, you are my favorite player. Why aren?t you playing?? Michael had to write back and tell this young kid who was a fan, ?I?m not playing because I have made some mistakes in my personal life.? Michael said he wanted to get back to show that boy that he made some mistakes but wasn?t a bad person.

When he was telling me that story, I just felt like he was going to make it. I didn?t know he would come back and play as well as he?s played. I felt like he was going to make it personally.

Was your goal to get Michael Vick to return to the NFL?

My first desire was to get him back with his family. So, we talked about it. I told him, ?Hey, you grew up without your dad there. You don?t want your kids to grow up the same way. That?s the first thing you have to do. And then, we need to look at your decision-making and lifestyle.? Football was after all that?way, way secondary. I think that?s why Michael did so well. He put the right things first.

The Easier Way to Make Hard Decisions

Making the tough calls isn?t simple or pretty. But as an EntreLeader, it?s part of your job. On our next EntreLeadership podcast, Dave discusses the easier way to make those hard decisions. Plus, we?ll have a special interview with Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, Built to Last and How the Mighty Fall. It?s a broadcast you won?t want to miss!

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Source: http://www.daveramsey.com/article/unifying-your-team-more-from-coach-tony-dungy/lifeandmoney_business

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Gold Miners Add Kick To Stock Portfolios Without Undue Risk

Because of their low correlation to U.S. stocks, adding a small percentage of gold-related assets to a diversified portfolio slightly reduced overall risk.

Source: http://www.forbes.com/sites/greatspeculations/2011/12/19/gold-stocks-add-kick-to-stock-portfolios-without-undue-risk/

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