2011 Jan 26 - Headline News

'Skins' 'In Danger of Being Canceled,' Source Says

MTV’s controversial drama “Skins” is losing advertisers faster than some of its characters lose their clothes.

As FOX411 reported, Taco Bell was the first sponsor to withdraw advertising from "Skins," quickly followed by Wrigley, Subway, Foot Locker, L’Oreal and Shick.

General Motors and H&R Block both issued statements explaining that their ads were aired during the premiere by mistake and would have no further association with the show.

Lacking a stable of advertisers to sponsor the show, “Skins” could reportedly lose MTV up to $2 million per episode.

With the swift decampment of sponsors, FOX411 has learned that the show could be taken off the air—for good. “‘Skins’ is definitely in danger of being cancelled, if the ratings aren't great,” an MTV insider tells FOX411. “And MTV is not going to risk losing advertisers over one show."

“Skins” lost about half its viewers for the show’s second episode, which aired Monday night. Only 1.6 million viewers tuned in, versus the 3.3 million who watched the premiere on January 17. (The premiere did benefit from the huge ratings of its ‘Jersey Shore’ lead in, which had almost nine million viewers—the biggest in the network’s history. The second episode of ‘Skins’ did not have such easy sledding, so some decrease in ratings was to be expected.)

Despite its advertiser and ratings woes, however, MTV insists the network is standing by the show. In a statement to FOX411, the network said: “Skins has earned the loyalty of fans across the globe for its thoughtful and honest portrayal of teen life today. An internationally acclaimed scripted drama, the show has been honored with a long list of prestigious awards. MTV stands by the US adaptation of Skins and the vision of its creator Bryan Elsley.”

But the loss of viewers and advertisers has apparently ruffled some feathers over at MTV’s Times Square headquarters, according to a source. “The 'Skins' marketing people were running around like mad (on Tuesday),” a second MTV insider tells FOX411. “There was definitely some kind of ‘all-hands-on-deck’ situation going on.”

Last Monday’s broadcast of the second episode of "Skins" featured an anemic commercial line-up, with spots for Red Bull and Zeno Hot Spot, a pimple-prevention device hawked by Whitney Port, being the only non-program or film related advertising.

“Certainly, blue chip advertisers that have brands that appeal beyond the really young, cutting-edge target audience are going to shy away from advertising on ‘Skins’,” Charlie Menduni, media director of Mediassociates, tells FOX411. “But with the initial outcry against it as loud as it is, you’d be hard pressed to find any brand manager who would be willing to bring that (show) to their board.”

Calling “Skins” the “most dangerous program that has ever been foisted on your children,” The Parents Television Council has waged war on MTV and its sponsors for the show’s “foul language, illegal drug use, illegal activity as well as thoroughly pervasive sexual content.”

On January 20, the PTC has even called on called on lawmakers and feds to open an investigation regarding child pornography and exploitation on MTV’s “Skins.”

“Bryan Elsley was highly skeptical about translating this for the American audience,” the MTV insider told FOX411. “He was worried it would get this kind of reaction. It took a lot of wooing and hand-holding from MTV network execs to convince him that it would work in the U.S.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2011/01/26/exclusive-skins-danger-canceled-source-says/#ixzz1CErIc6hK

OBAMACARE:

As of today, a total of 733 waivers have been granted for 2011. Key facts about annual limits waivers:

[see the list....]
http://www.hhs.gov/ociio/regulations/approved_applications_for_waiver.html

CBO’s Revised Budget Sees 2011 Deficit Rising By $500 Billion To $1.5 Trillion

Thursday, January 27, 2011 3:50

No surprise: the projected deficit just went up by another half a trillion: “For 2011, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that if current laws remain unchanged, the federal budget will show a deficit of close to $1.5 trillion, or 9.8 percent of GDP.” This is up from $1.07 trillion: a very small margin of error there. But don’t worry – like true Keynesians the CBO expects that future deficits will have no choice but to go down: “The deficits in CBO’s baseline projections drop markedly over the next few years as a share of output and average 3.1 percent of GDP from 2014 to 2021. Those projections, however, are based on the assumption that tax and spending policies unfold as specified in current law. Consequently, they understate the budget deficits that would occur if many policies currently in place were continued, rather than allowed to expire as scheduled under current law.” So between 2010′s $1.3 trillion, 2011 $1.5 trillion, and 2012′s revised $1.1 trillion, we have $3.9 trillion just in deficit costs to plug. And as Zero Hedge has repeatedly demonstrated the actual debt to be issued is usually about 33% higher than the deficit funding need, meaning that over the next 3 years the US will need to issue about $5 trillion in debt. Which means further debt monetization is guaranteed as foreign investors have now fully withdrawn and the Fed is all alone in gobbling up every dollar in gross issuance. QE3 is guaranteed and we are stunned that the market continues not to realize this.

http://beforeitsnews.com/story/379/818/CBO_s_Revised_Budget_Sees_2011_Deficit_Rising_By_500_Billion_To_1.5_Trillion.html

Grocery prices skyrocket faster than official inflation

(NaturalNews) Grocery prices increased at more than 50 percent the rate of inflation in 2010, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Food prices increased an average of 1.7 percent between November 2009 and November 2010, in comparison with a general inflation rate of only 1.1 percent. The greatest price increases were seen among meat, poultry, fish and eggs, which went up in cost by 5.8 percent. The price of sugar and sweets increased 1.2 percent, the price of fats and oils increased 3 percent and the price of dairy-based products increased 3.8 percent.

The only commodities to go up in price more than food were medical care and transportation.

"I noticed just this month that my grocery bill for the same old stuff -- cereal, eggs, milk, orange juice, peanut butter, bread -- spiked $25," said Sue Perry, deputy editor of "ShopSmart" magazine. "It was a bit of sticker shock."

The rises in price were caused in part by climate-related crop failures in several major food exporting countries. In addition, rising demand for corn from the biofuels industry has pushed up prices for animal feed, leading to higher meat, dairy and egg costs. Finally, rising fuel prices have increased food production and transportation costs as well.

Prices are only likely to keep rising. The Department of Agriculture has forecast a further 3 percent rise in food prices in 2011, but openly admits that the estimate is conservative.

[read the rest of the story......]
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/379/971/Grocery_prices_skyrocket_faster_than_official_inflation.html

Medicare official doubts health care law savings

WASHINGTON – Two of the central promises of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law are unlikely to be fulfilled, Medicare's independent economic expert told Congress on Wednesday.

The landmark legislation probably won't hold costs down, and it won't let everybody keep their current health insurance if they like it, Chief Actuary Richard Foster told the House Budget Committee. His office is responsible for independent long-range cost estimates.

Foster's assessment came a day after Obama in his State of the Union message told lawmakers that he's open to improvements in the law, but unwilling to rehash the health care debate of the past two years. Republicans want to repeal the landmark legislation that provides coverage to more than 30 million people now uninsured, but lack the votes.

Foster was asked by Rep. Tom McClintock, R-Calif., for a simple true or false response on two of the main assertions made by supporters of the law: that it will bring down unsustainable medical costs and will let people keep their current health insurance if they like it.

On the costs issue, "I would say false, more so than true," Foster responded.

As for people getting to keep their coverage, "not true in all cases."

Foster was a thorn in the side to the administration throughout the health care debate, doubting that Medicare cuts would prove to be politically sustainable and raising other questions. An equal opportunity skeptic, he was also a bane to the George W. Bush administration during the debate that led to creation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit in 2003. Obama White House officials dispute his analysis and predict that he will be proven wrong about the health care law. Republicans hang on his every word.

The comments Wednesday were unusually direct because Foster generally delivers his analysis in complicated technical memos.

Foster says analysis by his office shows that the health care law will raise the nation's health care tab modestly because newly insured people will be getting medical services they would have otherwise gone without.

Costs could also increase if Medicare cuts to hospitals, nursing homes and home health agencies turn out to be politically unsustainable over the years. The actuary's office has projected those cuts would eventually force about 15 percent of providers into the red. The health care law funnels savings from the Medicare cuts to provide coverage to uninsured workers and their families.

As for people getting to keep their health insurance plan, Foster's office is projecting that more than 7 million Medicare recipients in private Medicare Advantage plans will eventually have to find other coverage, cutting enrollment in the plans by about half.

The health care law gradually cuts generous government payments to the plans, so insurers are expected to raise premiums or even drop out. And the main reason seniors have flocked to the private plans is that they offer lower out-of-pocket costs.

[read more....]
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110126/ap_on_re_us/us_health_care_overhaul_costs_2

New-home sales in 2010 fall to lowest in 47 years

Buyers purchased fewest number of new homes last year in nearly half a century

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Buyers purchased the fewest number of new homes last year on records going back 47 years.

Sales for all of 2010 totaled 321,000, a drop of 14.4 percent from the 375,000 homes sold in 2009, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. It was the fifth consecutive year that sales have declined after hitting record highs for the five previous years when the housing market was booming.

[read more.....]
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Newhome-sales-in-2010-fall-to-apf-452650344.html?x=0&.v=1

Oil, Oil and More Oil. America Has More Than Any Other Nation.

Tuesday, January 25, 2011 4:10

OIL—you better be sitting down when you read this ! !

Here’s an astonishing read. Important and VERIFIABLE information :

About 6 months ago, the writer was watching a news program on oil and one of the Forbes Bros. was the guest. The host said to Forbes, “I am going to ask you a direct question and I would like a direct answer; how much oil does the U.S. have in the ground?” Forbes did not miss a beat, he said, “more than all the Middle East put together.” Please read below.

The U. S. Geological Service issued a report in April 2008 that only scientists and oil men knew was coming, but man was it big. It was a revised report (hadn’t been updated since 1995) on how much oil was in this area of the western 2/3 of North Dakota , western South Dakota, and extreme eastern Montana ….. check THIS out:

The Bakken is the largest domestic oil discovery since Alaska ’s Prudhoe Bay , and has the potential to eliminate all American dependence on foreign oil. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimates it at 503 billion barrels. Even if just 10% of the oil is recoverable… at $107 a barrel, we’re looking at a resource base worth more than $5…3 trillion.


“When I first briefed legislators on this, you could practically see their jaws hit the floor. They had no idea…” says Terry Johnson, the Montana Legislature’s financial analyst.

“This sizable find is now the highest-producing onshore oil field found in the past 56 years,” reports The Pittsburgh Post Gazette . It’s a formation known as the Williston Basin , but is more commonly referred to as the ‘Bakken.’ It stretches from Northern Montana , through North Dakota and into Canada . For years, U. S. oil exploration has been considered a dead end. Even the ‘Big Oil’ companies gave up searching for major oil wells decades ago. However, a recent technological breakthrough has opened up the Bakken’s massive reserves….. and we now have access of up to 500 billion barrels. And because this is light, sweet oil, those billions of barrels will cost Americans just $16 PER BARREL!

That’s enough crude to fully fuel the American economy for 2041 years straight. And if THAT didn’t throw you on the floor, then this next one should – because it’s from 2006!

U… S. Oil Discovery- Largest Reserve in the World

Stansberry Report Online – 4/20/2006

[read the rest of the story.....]
http://beforeitsnews.com/story/376/642/Oil,_Oil_and_More_Oil._America_Has_More_Than_Any_Other_Nation..html