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McDonald’s profits hits by stronger dollar

July 26, 2009 By myOpinions Leave a Comment
McDonald’s Profits!

McDonald’s Profits!

News said that between April and June, McDonald’s has reported a fall in profits, as the strong dollar hit overseas revenue. Net profit at the US fast-food giant, the world’s largest hamburger chain, was $1.1bn, down 8% on the $1.2bn recorded a year ago. Taking out the effect of the strong dollar, however, the chain said revenue actually increased on last year.

On a day when US stocks rose sharply, McDonald’s fell by 4.5%, the second biggest faller in the Dow Jones index. Confident enough, Like-for-like sales – those from stores open more than 12 months – were up in all regions and rose by 3.5% in the US. McDonald’s chief executive Jim Skinner said that “I am pleased with our results and remain confident in our outlook for the year.” Analysts said the chain had become a victim of its own success.

Filed Under: Biz & Economy Buzz, headlines

Love Is Not Enough for Lasting Marriage?

July 23, 2009 By myOpinions 2 Comments
Love for Lasting Marriage?

Love for Lasting Marriage?

Finding the “recipe” for love and at the same time for a happy marriage is what researchers have been busily working on these days. In their never-ending quest, they have managed not only to prove that true love does indeed last forever, but just recently, that it also takes more than just love to make a marriage work.

Surprisingly, at the end of the study they learned that love was not the only thing that mattered when it came to making marriage work. Things like, whether the two had lived together before their “I Do’s,” whether they smoked, age and pay gaps also weighed heavily in the balance. Not even love was strong enough to overcome age barriers, despite whatever we might have heard on the topic before. Thus, a husband who is nine or more years his wife’s senior has twice as many chances of asking for a divorce than men in relationships with women their age. The same percentage goes for men who marry before they’re 25.

Wanting to have children is also extremely important for marital bliss, especially if both partners do not wish to become parents to the same extent. For instance, the research has found that women who want children more than their spouses are more likely to ask for divorce later on. Partners with children from a previous relationship or couples who become parents before marriage are also doomed for a separation, the study has also found.

As expected, money is also very important in a marriage. Up to 16 percent of respondents who indicated they were poor or where the husband – not the wife – was unemployed saying they had separated, compared with only nine percent of couples with healthy finances. As it happens, this is not where the list of things that can save or doom a marriage ends, since smoking too is a very influential factor, with researchers showing the “mixed” couples (a smoker with a non-smoker) are less likely to make it happily ever after, as opposed to those whose partners smoke together or not at all.

Filed Under: familial ideas

Megan Fox in her Hottie Dress

July 20, 2009 By myOpinions 4 Comments
Fox in her Hot Dress

Fox in her Hot Dress

These days Megan Fox is absolutely gorgeous, making this statement has become redundant since the very mention of her name implies it. While she insists she wants to be more than just a pretty face and the hottie all magazines want on their cover, it’s for her great looks that Megan Fox continues to steal the thunder, like she also did at the premiere of the latest “Transformers” film in Germany.

She was dressed in a one-shoulder asymmetrical red dress and Brian Atwood’s “Wagner” open-toe pumps, and leaving little to the imagination, Megan Fox was the other night “95% legs and 100% hotness,” as celebrity website says. What was even more interesting about the floor-long dress – aside from the high side-slit that revealed her incredibly toned legs – was the side cut-out that had a golden snake “slithered” around its edges, as if it was not holding it in place but actually toying with it.

Well, for this type of daring outfit, the actress was little accessorized save for a pair of tiny tear earrings and a wide golden band on one of her wrists. Makeup was similarly kept down to a minimum, while the hair was pulled back in a very “good girl”-type of ponytail, which only served to place more emphasis on Fox’s best facial features, the piercing green eyes and the full set of lips that have often prompted comparisons with Angelina Jolie.

Filed Under: Artist Headlines, headlines

light drinking will cut dementia risk?

July 18, 2009 By myOpinions 2 Comments
easy way to cut dementia?

easy way to cut dementia?

A new study suggested that older people who drink moderate amounts of alcohol may have a lower risk of dementia. They found people who consumed between eight and 14 alcoholic drinks a week had a 37% lower risk of the disease than the general population. However, people who consumed more than 14 drinks a week were at twice the normal risk of developing dementia.

This study was presented at the International Conference on Alzheimer’s Disease. The researchers focused on 3,069 people aged 75 or older. At the beginning of the six-year study, 2,587 participants had no signs of problems with their brain while 482 had mild cognitive impairment. During the study 523 new dementia cases emerged. The researchers took account of factors such as smoking, depression and social activity, and found that one or two drinks a day was associated with a 37% lower risk of dementia among those who were cognitively normal at the start of the study. Anyhow, among those who already had mild cognitive impairment alcohol intake was associated with faster cognitive decline.

Why a moderate amount of alcohol seems to be good for the brain is not clear. Lead researcher said that there are several possible ways in which moderate drinking might be associated with reduced risk of dementia. One is the same as the way we think moderate alcohol reduces the risk of heart disease, by beneficial effects on HDL cholesterol and blocking platelets. And, animal studies have shown that low amounts of alcohol stimulate the release of acetylcholine, a chemical in the brain that is important in memory. Although moderate alcohol intake does appear to reduce dementia risk, exceeding one to two drinks per day on a regular basis – becoming a heavy drinker – may double risk of developing dementia.

Filed Under: healthy options

News said 10 climbers die on Japanese mountains

July 17, 2009 By myOpinions Leave a Comment
News said 10 climbers die on Japanese mountains

Climbers, seen lower left, wait to be rescued!

According to the news ten climbers have died as strong winds and rain struck two mountains in northern Japan last Friday. Eight of the climbers who died on Mount Tomuraushi were in a group organized by a tourist company, according to Yuji Kikuchi, a spokesman for Hokkaido police. A ninth man was climbing alone. One more climber died on Mount Biei, Kikuchi added.

The weather at the 2,141-meter (7,024-foot) Tomuraushi peak was bad Thursday with strong winds and rain, according to Japan’s Meteorological Agency. The temperature in the area was lower than usual.

Yoshiaki Takeda, a local official near Mount Tomuraushi, said it was highly unusual to see such deadly accidents there. The mountain has several shelters. We hear sometimes that climbers sprain their ankles. But we are not aware of such a deadly accident taking place at the mountain in the past.

Police earlier had said one person was missing at Tomuraushi mountain, but Yamasaki said that climber was rescued.

Kyodo News agency said most of the dead were middle-aged climbers, but Yamasaki could not confirm the report. Kyodo and other media said several members of the party that included the dead climbers made it off the mountain safely. There were no reports that any foreigners were among the 10 dead.

Filed Under: headlines

MJ’s unseen photos

July 16, 2009 By myOpinions 1 Comment

MJ's unseen photosMichael Jackson’s never before seen photos taken back in 2002, this shows the true condition the star as well as his heavy drug use. The photos show Jackson with necrosis on one of his legs, countless needle punctures and discolored patches of skin that indicate that he may, indeed, have had vitiligo, this was taken by ABC News. Specialists have already confirmed for ABC that the photos show that Michael must have been in a very poor condition even as early as back then.

MJ's unseen photos1

MJ's legs last 2002!

There are also lines indicating IV placement in the legs and it is “unusual,” but that does not exclude the fact that it can be done in case veins on the arms are no longer accessible for tapping, for one reason or another. The black wound seen in one of the photos, of the size of a baseball, could have also been related to heavy IV injecting, the dermatologist believes, since it caused the skin to die. Since the photo is only a small indicator of the kind of pain Jackson must have been in, it’s no wonder he continued to take painkillers until his final day, news said.

According also to the news, as more and more evidence of Michael’s heavy drug use for the past ten years or so of his life emerges in the media, police have already launched a homicide investigation into his death. The primary suspect in the case is Dr. Conrad Murray, who is said to have supplied and injected the star with Propofol, the powerful anesthetic found in his house and that is believed to have led to his untimely death.

Filed Under: Artist Headlines, headlines