Keep an "Already Have This" List to Avoid Online Impulse Buys [Saving Money]

Keep an "Already Have This" List to Avoid Online Impulse BuysThe three types of goods Trent Hamm at The Simple Dollar tends to impulse buy online are books, board games, and video games from Steam. To help cut down on this tendency he keeps three sticky notes on his computer monitor that list the books and games he already has but has not yet read or played. Whenever he's tempted to buy another one of these items usually a glance at what he already has on tap and hasn't used yet keeps him from making the impulse purchase.

Whether your impulse shopping weaknesses are LEGO sets or Vinyl Albums using this technique should help you control your purchases, particularly if you're not a collector but just an enthusiast. Photo by Elizabeth

My Top Tactics for Reducing Online Shopping | The Simple Dollar

Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/lifehacker/full/~3/fWPjSzgh8ek/keep-an-already-have-this-list-to-avoid-online-impulse-buys

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Rite Aid 3Q loss narrows as sales climb (AP)

Rite Aid Corp. says its third quarter loss narrowed, as sales at stores open at least a year improved and the drugstore operator more than doubled the number of flu shots delivered.

The third-largest U.S. drugstore chain says it lost $54.5 million, or 6 cents per share, after paying preferred dividends in the latest quarter. That compares to a loss of $81.5 million, or 9 cents per share, a year ago.

Revenue climbed nearly 2 percent to $6.31 billion.

Analysts were expecting a loss of 12 cents per share on $6.29 billion in revenue.

The Camp Hill, Pa., company says sales at stores open at least a year climbed 2 percent, driven by an increase in pharmacy business.

Rite Aid had 4,679 stores as of Nov. 26, down 62 from a year ago.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/earnings/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111215/ap_on_bi_ge/us_earns_rite_aid

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AP-GfK Poll: More than half say Obama should lose

Chart shows selected results of a poll on Barack Obama and the economy

Chart shows selected results of a poll on Barack Obama and the economy

(AP) ? Entering 2012, President Barack Obama's re-election prospects are essentially a 50-50 proposition, with a majority saying the president deserves to be voted out of office despite concerns about the Republican alternatives, according to a new Associated Press-GfK poll.

Obama's overall poll numbers suggest he could be in jeopardy of losing re-election even as the public's outlook on the economy appears to be improving, the AP-GfK poll found. For the first time since spring, more said the economy got better in the past month than said it got worse. The president's approval rating on unemployment shifted upward ? from 40 percent in October to 45 percent in the latest poll ? as the jobless rate fell to 8.6 percent last month, its lowest level since March 2009.

But Obama's approval rating on his handling of the economy overall remains stagnant: 39 percent approve and 60 percent disapprove.

Heading into his re-election campaign, the president faces a conflicted public that does not support his steering of the economy, the most dominant issue for Americans, or his reforms to health care, one of his signature accomplishments, yet are grappling with whether to replace him with Republican contenders Mitt Romney or Newt Gingrich.

The poll found an even divide on whether Americans expect Obama to be re-elected next year.

For the first time, the poll found that a majority of adults, 52 percent, said Obama should be voted out of office while 43 percent said he deserves another term. The numbers mark a reversal since last May, when 53 percent said Obama should be re-elected while 43 percent said he didn't deserve four more years.

Obama's overall job approval stands at a new low: 44 percent approve while 54 percent disapprove. The president's standing among independents is worse: 38 percent approve while 59 percent disapprove. Among Democrats, the president holds steady with an approval rating of 78 percent while only 12 percent of Republicans approve of the job he's doing.

"I think he's doing the best he can. The problem is the Congress won't help at all," said Rosario Navarro, a Democrat and a 44-year-old truck driver from Fresno, Calif., who voted for Obama in 2008 and intends to support him again.

Robin Dein, a 54-year-old homemaker from Villanova, Pa., who is an independent, said she supported Republican John McCain in 2008 and has not been impressed with Obama's economic policies. She intends to support Romney if he wins the GOP nomination.

"(Obama) spent the first part of his presidency blaming Bush for everything, not that he was innocent, and now his way of solving anything is by spending more money," she said.

Despite the soft level of support, many are uncertain whether a Republican president would be a better choice. Asked whom they would support next November, 47 percent of adults favored Obama compared with 46 percent for Romney, a former Massachusetts governor. Against Gingrich, the president holds a solid advantage, receiving 51 percent compared with 42 percent for the former House speaker.

The potential matchups paint a better picture for the president among independents. Obama receives 45 percent of non-aligned adults compared with 41 percent for Romney. Against Gingrich, Obama holds a wide lead among independents, with 54 percent supporting the president and 31 percent backing the former Georgia congressman.

Another piece of good news for Obama: people generally like him personally. Obama's personal favorability rating held steady at 53 percent, with 46 percent viewing him unfavorably. About three-quarters called him likeable.

The economy remains a source of pessimism, though the poll suggests the first positive movement in public opinion on the economy in months. One in five said the economy improved in the last month, double the share saying so in October. Still most expect it to stay the same or get worse.

"I suppose you could make some sort of argument that it's getting better, but I'm not sure I even see that," said independent voter John Bailey, a 61-year-old education consultant from East Jordan, Mich. "I think it's bad and it's gotten worse under (Obama's) policies. At best, it's going to stay bad."

Despite the high rate of joblessness, the poll found some optimism on the economy. Although 80 percent described the economy as "poor," respondents describing it "very poor" fell from 43 percent in October to 34 percent in the latest poll, the lowest since May. Twenty percent said the economy got better in the past month while 37 percent said they expected the economy to improve next year.

Yet plenty of warning signs remain for Obama. Only 26 percent said the United States is headed in the right direction while 70 percent said the country was moving in the wrong direction.

The president won a substantial number of women voters in 2008 yet there does not appear to be a significant tilt toward Obama among women now. The poll found 44 percent of women say Obama deserves a second term, down from 51 percent in October, while 43 percent of men say the president should be re-elected.

About two-thirds of white voters without college degrees say Obama should be a one-term president, while 33 percent of those voters say he should get another four years. Among white voters with a college degree, 57 percent said Obama should be voted out of office.

The poll found unpopularity for last year's health care reform bill, one of Obama's major accomplishments. About half of the respondents oppose the health care law and support for it dipped to 29 percent from 36 percent in June. Just 15 percent said the federal government should have the power to require all Americans to buy health insurance.

Even among Democrats, the health care law has tepid support. Fifty percent of Democrats supported the health care law, compared with 59 percent of Democrats last June. Only about a quarter of independents back the law.

The president has taken a more populist tone in his handling of the economy, arguing that the wealthy should pay more in taxes to help pay for the extension of a payroll tax cut that would provide about $1,000 in tax cuts to a family earning about $50,000 a year. Among those with annual household incomes of $50,000 or less, Obama's approval rating on unemployment climbed to 53 percent, from 43 percent in October.

The Associated Press-GfK Poll was conducted December 8-12 2011 by GfK Roper Public Affairs and Corporate Communications. It involved landline and cell phone interviews with 1,000 adults nationwide and has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.

___

Associated Press writer Stacy A. Anderson and News Survey Specialist Dennis Junius contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2011-12-16-Obama-Poll/id-6704e586298d42da917b8b2cb73449b7

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Gingrich assailed by debate rivals, fights back (AP)

SIOUX CITY, Iowa ? Republican presidential front-runner Newt Gingrich clashed sharply with one rival, took pains to compliment another and said it was laughable for any of them to challenge his conservative credentials Thursday night in the last campaign debate before the Jan. 3 Iowa caucuses kick off the 2012 primary season.

In a forceful attack, Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann said Gingrich "had his hand out and received $1.6 million to influence senior Republicans and keep the scam going in Washington, D.C.," for Freddie Mac, a government-backed housing entity.

"Just not true," Gingrich shot back. "I never lobbied under any circumstances," he added, denying an allegation she had not made.

The clash underscored the state of the race, with Gingrich, the former House speaker, atop the polls in Iowa and nationally, while Texas Rep. Ron Paul, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and his other pursuers work in television ads and elsewhere to overtake him in the final days before the caucuses.

Former Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, who has staked his campaign on Iowa, was quick to challenge Gingrich as a conservative leader. He recalled that Gingrich had to contend with a "conservative revolution' from the ranks of Republican lawmakers when he was House speaker in the 1990s.

Romney, who runs second in the polls in Iowa, largely refrained from criticizing Gingrich, despite increasingly barbed attacks in day-to-day campaigning. Instead, he firmly rejected suggestions that he had once favored gay marriage only to switch his position. "I have been a champion of protecting traditional marriage," he said.

Given the stakes, Gingrich, Bachmann and Santorum weren't the only contenders eager to impress Iowa voters and a nationwide television audience with their conservative grit.

"I hope I am the Tim Tebow of the Iowa caucuses," said Texas Gov. Rick Perry, referring to the Denver Broncos quarterback whose passing ability draws ridicule but who has led his team to a remarkable seven wins in eight weeks.

"We're getting screwed as Americans," said former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, insisting that he, in fact, was a steadier conservative than any of the others on stage.

"Anybody up here could beat Obama," said Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, whose views verge on libertarianism and who has struggled to expand his appeal.

And Bachmann, who was quicker than any other candidate to criticize a rival, bristled when challenged repeatedly on the accuracy of her facts. "I am a serious candidate for president of the United States, and my facts are accurate," she said.

Indeed, the big question in the opening moments of a fast-paced two-hour debate went to the heart of a dilemma that could eventually settle the race ? do conservative Republican caucus and primary voters pick a candidate with their hearts, or do they look elsewhere if they judge their favored candidate might not be able to defeat the president.

Those voters begin making that choice on Jan. 3, and if experience is any guide, one or more of the presidential hopefuls on the debate stage will not make it out of the state to compete in the New Hampshire primary a week later.

Gingrich, who seemed an also-ran in the earliest stages of the race, has emerged as a leader heading into the final stretch of the pre-primary campaign.

His decades in Washington and his post-congressional career as a consultant have been the subjects of tough critiques from Romney's campaign in the past week.

But the former speaker passed up an offer to criticize his rival on the issue of Medicare, saying, "I'm not in the business of blaming Gov. Romney." In fact, he said, Romney has made constructive suggestions for preserving the program that tens of millions of Americans rely on for health care yet faces deep financial woes.

Gingrich drew criticism earlier in the year for calling a GOP Medicare proposal "right-wing engineering." Romney refrained from criticizing that plan but did not embrace it in full.

Bachmann, who has long-since faded to the back of the pack in the polls, showed no such reluctance.

When he labeled her charges inaccurate, she shot back that when she made similar contentions in the previous debate, she was judged factually accurate by an independent arbiter. She said Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac was in furtherance of a "grandiose scam" to keep alive an entity at the heart of the housing crisis.

"I will state unequivocally for every person watching tonight: I have never once changed my positions because of any payment," Gingrich said, adding that in fact, he favored breaking up both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, his benefactor.

Moments later, Bachmann challenged Paul even more aggressively, saying his refusal to consider pre-emptive action to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon was dangerous.

"The problem would be the greatest under-reaction in world history if we have an avowed madman who uses that nuclear weapon to wipe nations off the face of the earth," she said, referring to an International Atomic Energy Agency report that said Iran was "within just months of being able to obtain that weapon."

Paul questioned the report. "They have no evidence; there has been no enrichment," he said.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111216/ap_on_el_ge/us_republicans_debate

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Adele's 'Rolling In The Deep' Is MTV's Song Of The Year!

British belter's hit tops MTV's list of the Best Songs of 2011.
By James Montgomery


Adele
Photo: Columbia

Was there any doubt? Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" has topped MTV's Best Songs of 2011.

The megahit so dominated 2011 that calling it the Song of the Year is putting it mildly. And we're not just talking commercially — though it was the year's best-selling track — or critically, mostly because focusing on those details fails to tell the whole story.

In a lot of ways, "Deep" was bigger than all that. It was a genuine cultural touchstone, the rare zeitgeist-seizing thing that kept crossing genres and platforms and demographics (quick, try to name somewhere you didn't hear it) until there really were no borders left to bust. It was a complete throwback, a reminder of an era when folks actually bought music and one single could drive an album for months and months. It was the rarest of phenomena in these increasingly temporal times, an actual defining piece of work — not just for Adele, but for the entirety of 2011. Try as hard as you might, you probably can't name the biggest song of 2010, but in 10 years' time, you'll still remember that "Rolling in the Deep" owned 2011.

That accomplishment is all the more noteworthy when you consider that "Deep" dared to focus on emotions that fall outside the usual parlance of pop, circa 2011. It is not about partying or falling in love or material excesses. It does not try to be uplifting or inspiring. There is not a single Will Ferrell sample to be heard anywhere. It is, simply put, a total bummer of a breakup tune, with Adele sifting through the ashes of her failed relationship, the scorned lover who can't help but lament that, really, "We could've had it all." Of course, she's not exactly a shrinking violet, either, and "Deep" seethes with genuine anger too. No matter how classy her voice may be, there's nothing quite as real as her promise to "lay your sh-- bare." It strips away the artifice and adjectives and exposes the raw nerve that pulsates within anyone who's ever had their heart broken. And, really, that's everyone.

So given that sentiment, perhaps it's not exactly shocking that "Deep" was such a massive hit. Then again, given everything else, maybe it is. A deceptively simple song, it rolls along on little more than a stubby guitar line and pounding, primal drums and yet it packs a 10-megaton wallop, thanks entirely to some ugly emotional bloodletting and Adele's sonorous, searing pipes. When she hits that chorus, you not only feel her pain, you can relate to it. That's what sets the truly great songs apart from just the good ones, and "Rolling in the Deep" is unquestionably a great song, one that you'll remember for years to come. Which is why simply calling it the Song of the Year is selling it short; it's something bigger entirely.

Consider it the anthem to end all anthems, the feel-bad song of our time, the antidote for the Auto-Tuned masses. But maybe it's best just to call it Adele's coronation into the ranks of the all-time greats. She's now and forever the Queen of Pain. Long may she reign.

Was Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" your Song of the Year? Let us know in the comments!

All this week, watch "AMTV" on MTV every day at 8 a.m. ET for our Best of 2011 lists. Then, come to MTVNews.com at 5 p.m. as we reveal our top picks of the year!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1675976/adele-rolling-in-the-deep-best-song-2011.jhtml

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Poll: Rubio no help to GOP in 2012 (Politico)

Putting Florida Sen. Marco Rubio on the Republican presidential ticket would result in a net gain of virtually no Latino votes for the GOP, a new poll shows.

While 24 percent of Hispanic voters surveyed said they would be more likely to vote Republican if Rubio appeared on the ballot, that was nearly canceled out by the 21 percent who told pollsters they would be less likely to vote Republican if the Cuban-American senator is the party?s vice presidential nominee, according to the Latino Decisions poll Monday.

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And 46 percent said that Rubio running would have absolutely no effect on their vote.

A senior Republican pushed back against the poll, saying that in the critical numbers ? such as among Florida Latino voters and Hispanic Republicans ? Rubio proves very helpful to the ticket. For Latino Republicans, 39 percent say Rubio?s inclusion on the ticket would make them much more likely to vote Republican, and 29 percent of all Latino voters living in Florida regardless of party say the same.

?In the numbers that actually matter, he brings a lot to the ticket,? the official said.

Meanwhile, overall enthusiasm among Latino voters continues to drop ? now only 44 percent of Latino voters say they are very excited about participating in the 2012 election, down three points since the October Latino Decisions poll. Still, 54 percent say they are certain they will vote to re-elect President Barack Obama.

?It seems like this is in part because there?s only competition on the Republican side, but it also means Latinos in general aren?t very interested and don?t feel included in the Republicans? conversation,? University of Washington in Seattle professor and adviser for Latino Decisions Matt Barreto said in a statement.

But Latino Republicans are extremely interested in the upcoming contest, with 57 percent say they are very enthusiastic about voting in 2012. However, just nine percent of Latino voters polled say they will certainly vote Republican next year.

And in a match-up between Obama and Mitt Romney, 49 percent say that the president would be their definite choice, while nine percent told pollsters they were certain to vote for Romney in 2012. Of Latino Republicans, 40 percent say they would definitely vote for Romney over Obama.

The Latino Decisions poll surveyed 500 Latino voters and has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1211_70364_html/43894092/SIG=11mu3pl51/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1211/70364.html

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China exporters face "very severe" Q1 2012: Commerce Ministry (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) ? China's exporters will face "very severe" conditions in the first quarter of 2012, the Commerce Ministry said on Thursday, with Europe's debt crisis dragging on and dampening demand.

"The overall trade environment next year for China will be complicated, partly due to the economic uncertainties in the European countries, and I should say that the export situation in the first quarter of next year will be very severe," Commerce Ministry spokesman Shen Danyang told a news conference.

Growth in Chinese exports and imports slowed in November, fresh evidence of faltering demand abroad and at home that is pushing Beijing towards a more explicit pro-growth policy stance, according to data published on December 10.

Customs data showed exports at their most sluggish in two years -- stripping out the volatile month of February.

(Reporting by Aileen Wang and Nick Edwards; Editing by Ken Wills)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111215/bs_nm/us_china_economy_trade

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Glimmers of Hope in the Senate: Renewed Optimism on Payroll-Tax Cut Deal (ABC News)

Amanda Knox Book Deal in the Works


The Amanda Knox story is coming to bookshelves near you.

According to reports, she's signed with a powerful literary agent in D.C., Robert Barnett, who has brokered book deals for some of the biggest names imaginable. Think Barack Obama, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin.

Barnett taking her on means there's likely plenty of interest.

Amanda Knox Photo

Amanda's Italian ex-boyfriend Raffaele Sollecito, who was also convicted and then exonerated in the murder of Meredith Kercher, has signed with his own agent.

Sharlene Martin, famous for brokering deals for several New York Times bestsellers, will head the efforts to find a deal for Raffaele, who broke up with Knox recently.

Knox has kept a relatively low profile since being freed from an Italian jail, though she did step out as a cat burglar for Halloween, which drew some harsh criticism.

Kercher was murdered by a home invader after all. Not tactful, A.

Source: http://www.thehollywoodgossip.com/2011/12/amanda-knox-book-deal-in-the-works/

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