Sharp Corp. (6753.TO) on Tuesday said it will offer voluntary retirement to about 2,000 domestic workers in November as part of a previously announced labor reduction plan aimed at addressing the company's serious financial woes.

The hard-hit Japanese electronics maker, which racked up a record 376.08 billion yen group net loss in the fiscal year that ended in March and predicts a Y250 billion loss for the current fiscal year, has been pursuing a number of different avenues, including job cuts, to strengthen its financial standing.

Last week a person close to the matter said Sharp is mulling selling the TV factories--one in China and the other in Mexico--as part of talks with Taiwanese partner Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. (2317.TW).

Earlier this month, Sharp unveiled a plan to cut 5,000 workers. The staff reduction, excluding the latest voluntary retirement plan, will take the form of natural attrition and other steps.

The Japanese company said Tuesday it will offer early retirement to workers at the parent company and its major domestic subsidiaries between Nov. 1 and Nov. 14.

The program will cost around Y27 billion, it said. The cost has already been factored into its earnings outlook for its business year ending March 2013, released earlier this month.

Separately Tuesday, NEC Corp. (6701.TO) said that a total of 2,393 workers groupwide have accepted the voluntary retirement offer it made in July.

The Japanese computer maker and provider of technology services will report extra expenses worth Y2.9 billion for the second quarter ending September, in addition to expenses it already booked in the previous fiscal year.

But its cost cutbacks will moderate the additional cost burden, so it kept unrevised its previous earnings outlook for the first half and full business year through March 2013.

Write to Hiroyuki Kachi at Hiroyuki.Kachi@dowjones.com

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Sharp to Offer Voluntary Retirement to 2,000 Japan Staff

OMAHA, Neb.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

When it comes to retirement planning, Generations X and Y have learned from the mistakes of their elders2, while the younger Generation Z shows some signs of nest egg naivety1, according to new survey findings released by TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation (AMTD).

Nearly 60 percent of Gen X (59%) and Gen Y (56%) make regular, automatic contributions toward their retirement savings2, compared to 46 percent of non-retired Baby Boomers2. And when it comes to getting a jump on their nest egg, younger generations are eager to get started both Gen X and Gen Y started saving for retirement, on average, in their mid- to late-twenties2. Thats nearly a decade earlier than Baby Boomers who, on average, stared saving at age 352.

For even the most sophisticated investor, retirement planning can be a tough concept to grasp, said Carrie Braxdale, managing director, investor services, TD Ameritrade, Inc., a broker dealer subsidiary of TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation. Gen X and Y have accepted the reality of the past few years, and rather than being discouraged, they are using what they've witnessed to their advantage by saving earlier and regularly. The hope is that tomorrows investors, Gen Z, follow suit as they near retirement.

For the teens and young adults of Generation Z (ages 13-22) who have grown up in households that struggled through the recession, the question remains as to whether they have been tainted by the gloom and doom or driven to be better. According to the survey, Gen Z generally understands the importance of saving money over half (56%) said they have a savings account thanks to the influence of early conversations about money with their parents1. But, those conversations have largely been about saving in general (82%) or saving for college (67%), rather than preparing for retirement (38%)1. Just eight percent of Gen Z reported they are currently saving money for their golden years1.

In fact, many Gen Z savers have a very different outlook on retirement saving strategies and timing when compared to their parents:

The good news is that Gen Z is starting off with a good understanding of the importance of saving, said Braxdale. But that doesnt mean they should wait to become more educated on proper long-term savings habits. We encourage parents to talk to kids specifically about retirement savings to ensure they understand the importance of getting a head start and taking advantage of the power of compounding.

TDAmeritrade's website offers a number of free retirement planning resources that can help investors explore many of these questions and more including:

1. A "Cost of Waiting" Calculator that can help you understand why starting to save earlier is better in the long run

2. WealthRuler retirement calculator that can help you estimate your retirement readiness

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Young Americans Start Saving for Retirement 10 Years Earlier than Parents, Grandparents

Nigel Wright, the chief of staff in Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office, was lobbied by Barrick Gold Corp. despite having personal ties to the company. Wright is seen here during committee testimony on Parliament Hill in 2010. (Adrian Wyld/Canadian Press)

Pointed questions are beginning to swirl around Nigel Wright, Prime Minister Stephen Harper's chief of staff, and whether he used his position to further the financial interests of friends at Barrick Gold Corp.

Ethics commissioner Mary Dawson is following up with Wright after the disclosure that he was lobbied twice by Barrick, the world's largest gold producer, in May.

Wright has known Barrick founder and board chairman Peter Munk for years and is particularly close to his son, Anthony, who sits on Barrick's board of directors.

Indeed, in a 2011 magazine article, Peter Munk disclosed that Wright is godfather to Anthony Munk's son. Wright worked with Anthony at Onex Corp., the private equity investment giant from which Wright has taken a leave of absence to work for Harper.

Wright also served as a director on the board of the Aurea Foundation, a charitable foundation established by Peter Munk and his wife in 2006 to support the study and development of public policy. He resigned from the board shortly before joining Harper's office in November 2010.

In a story in the April 2011 edition of The Walrus, Peter Munk lavished praise on Wright.

"I'd rank Nigel Wright among the mere handful of people I've met in whom I have complete trust," Munk was quoted as saying. "He's just one of those rare human beings with whom you feel totally comfortable in seeking an opinion or discussing complex issues, on any subject."

According to a report summary filed by Barrick with the federal lobbying commissioner, someone from the company the report does not identify who contacted Wright on May 14 to discuss international relations and international trade.

Nine days later, a second report indicates, Barrick talked to Wright again on the same subject matter this time along with Harper's foreign policy adviser, Andrea van Vugt, and his principal secretary, Ray Novak, who is Harper's point man on government-to-government relations.

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PMO chief lobbied by Barrick Gold despite personal ties

QPR has agreed personal terms with Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar, according to Sky Italia.

The Brazil international is expected to complete the move within the next day or so but the deal faces complications, as he has two years remaining on his contract and so may be entitled to a payoff.

The 32-year old initially lost his place to understudy Luca Castellazzi last term following a series of injury problems, but despite being fit he has yet to make an appearance for the Nerazzurri in the 2012-13 season.

Hoops boss Mark Hughes has been looking to sign a goalkeeper all summer, with the departure of Paddy Kenny to Leeds leaving an unclaimed number one jersey, which was then filled by new signing Robert Green.But Green has looked less than convincing in his first two matches in a Rangers shirt - prompting Kenny to send text messages mocking his replacement's performance to club owner Tony Fernandes and technical director Mike Rigg - and Hughes is thought to still be looking to bolster his options between the sticks.

Cesar was also linked with a move to north London with Tottenham but appears to prefer QPR, which avoided relegation on the last day of the season despite losing 3-2 to champion Manchester City. Follow GOAL.COM USA on Twitter

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QPR agrees personal terms with Inter goalkeeper Julio Cesar

By Rajesh Marwah - August 28, 2012 | Tickers: F, GM, TM | 0 Comments

Rajesh is a member of The Motley Fool Blog Network -- entries represent the personal opinions of our bloggers and are not formally edited.

Ford Motor (NYSE: F) is showing high commitment in the development of its electric car segment where it proposes to put in about $135 million in the designing, engineering and production of key components. The Dearborn based automaker desires to double its battery testing capacity by next year.

The company is in the process of building an in-house production facility to fasten the development of its hybrid and electric vehicles by 25 percent and bring it to the market. Building an in-house unit instead of outsourcing the job will not only help the company to speed up the entire manufacturing process, but simultaneously reduce costs as well. This will also improve the flexibility of Ford to respond as per consumer demand

In addition, to overcome the challenge of expensive batteries and electric drive component, Ford is trying to increase the number of models that can be manufactured on a single line. For instance, in its transmission plant near Detroit, the company makes the hybrid version on one side and uses the other side of the aluminum palette to manufacture the conventional six-speed automatic transmission. Earlier, the company would buy these transmissions from a Japanese auto parts supplier Aisin. However, building it in-house allowed the second largest US automaker to trim down development costs by 20 percent as it saves on shipping and component costs.

Ford looks extremely committed in the electric car zone. The carmaker already has over 1,000 engineers working in the electric car unit. Last year the company added around 60 more engineers to its work force and is expected to employ more in the future. These engineers will exclusively be committed to conduct the R&D at the companys Dearborn lab to develop new technologies that would help in bringing out reasonably priced fuel efficient cars.

The carmakers focus in this segment is increasing. This is in response to the accelerating demand from customers who want fuel efficient electric cars with better specifications, improved battery life and infrastructure. Competition to build a greener engine is intensifying. Lets check out the current scenario.

Players going green Currently the electric vehicles segment is being dominated by archrival Toyota Motors (NYSE: TM) with 72 percent market share in the first half of the year. On the other hand Ford captured only 4 percent of the EV market. However, the second largest American carmaker has ambitious plans of giving prime attention in the operation and development of hybrids, plug-in hybrids and electric vehicles. It expects the sale of electric vehicle to constitute a quarter of its new vehicles sales by 2020 compared to a mere 3 percent in the previous year. Other than Toyota, Ford also competes with General Motors (NYSE: GM), Nissan Motor, and the new entrants Tesla Motors and Fisker Automotive.

The automaker is preparing itself to fight the market leader Toyota with its current line of offerings this fall.

So, whats in the pipeline? In May, the company launched the electric version of its Focus car which is known for its fuel efficiency and directly competes with Nissan Leaf. The 2013 Ford C-Max Hybrid and Ford C-MAX Energi plug-in Hybrid are expected to arrive this fall. The automaker claims that its C-Max can cover 570 miles compared to Toyota Prius v that can go 450 miles on a tank of gas. The automaker, which holds 500 hybrid patents, is also getting ready to launch All-new Fusion Hybrid that targets the same consumer segment as Toyota Camry Hybrid. The company also expects to start working on the Fusion Energi plug-in hybrid by this year end and aspires to make it the most fuel efficient car in the midsize segment.

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Ford’s Endeavor to Go Greener

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

tenXer, the technology company redefining personal productivity, today announced that the company has raised a $3 million series B funding round led by True Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based capital firm that invests in premiere early stage startups. Radar Partners, Khosla Ventures, and several high profile angel investors also participated in tenXers series B funding round.

In addition, Puneet Agarwal of True Ventures will also be joining the tenXer board of directors, which includes Kevin Compton of Radar Partners, tenXer co-founder Niel Robertson, and tenXer CEO Jeff Ma.

We love to partner with the most dynamic, promising entrepreneurs out there, and Jeffs background and the huge market he is attacking made investing in tenXer a no-brainer for True. We are happy to join with co-investors Radar Partners, Khosla Ventures and several angels in support of tenXer, and we are beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to work with someone of Jeffs caliber, said Puneet Agarwal, a partner at True Ventures.

tenXer plans to use the latest investment to grow the team with key hires in marketing, product management, and engineering. The company also plans to expand its service offering outside of the software engineering industry. In just three months after releasing the invite-only beta of tenXers human capital management platform, the feedback that the team has received from early users has been encouraging.

"tenXer is an essential tool for measuring the impacts of adjustments in our development practices. Our team continues to have evolving discussions on what fast, healthy, and collaborative means for our team. The insight into our work habits that tenXer provides are a vital part of our evolution," said Trey Hicks, VP of Development at Trada, a Boulder based start-up specializing in crowdsourced paid search. Hicks and his team were early tenXer beta users.

This is tenXers second round of funding. The companys Series A funding round was led by Radar Partners and was closed in September 2011. In less than a year, tenXer has grown to a team of nine and has launched their product in beta. The initial effort is geared towards software engineers and focuses on integration with heavily used tools like GitHub, Pivotal Tracker and Jira.

The quantified self is a tremendous movement that has penetrated places like health care, fitness and social planning but it is still untapped by those looking to improve at their jobs. We are going to do our best to change that, said Ma.

tenXer, the fourth company founded by serial entrepreneur Jeff Ma, was created in 2011 with the goal to reinvent human capital management from the bottom up. Ma gained notoriety as the inspiration for the main character in the book Bringing Down the House and the movie, 21. His experiences at the table shaped a fascination in how metrics and data can be used to motivate people to higher levels of achievement. Seeing a need for a better tool using similar philosophies to help people improve in their jobs, Ma started tenXer.

About tenXer

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tenXer Raises $3 Million in Series B Funding to Accelerate Growth in Personal Productivity Tracking

Looking for that perfect yoga and Pilates gear? Look no more, find the equipment that fits your needs. The fine art of yoga and Pilates differs in personality, but share similar efficient movements that using the appropriate gear benefits. The variety of equipment used for this body, mind, and discipline sport explores various movements that enhance health and self-awareness. To perform these unique exercises effectively, you need to gear up.

(credit: zudayoga.com)

Zuda Yoga 515 19th St. Sacramento, CA 95811 (916) 441-1267 zudayoga.com

Zuda Yoga is a popular studo that offers yoga workshops and programs, but also houses a stellar boutique in which yogis can find clothes and accessories. Clothes from brands like Be Present, Om Girl, Hard Tail, Beyond Girl can be found here. Youll also find Zudas own line, Zuda Wear, which features inspirational messages on its clothing. As far as accessories go, you can pick up mats, totes, yogi toes to help you keep traction on the mat, meditation cushions filled with buckwheat hull and CDs and DVDs.

Related:Top Yoga Studios In Sacramento

(credit: pilates.com)

Balanced Body8220 Ferguson Ave. Sacramento, CA 95828 (916) 388-2838 http://www.pilates.com

Body, mind, core strength and ability are the key principles of Balanced Body. The diverse local and international community is all about the health of mind and body, and provides the best Pilates equipment you can find. Reformers, studios furnishing, videos, DVDs, books, audiosthis amazing company provides it all, including instructors that teach the fundamentals of the art. Are you an instructor who wants to connect with a Pilates community and learn new methods? Balanced Body offers Pilates Podcast, a weekly video series for instructors and therapists. Follow this community on twitter and Facebook, join in on discussions, and learn about upcoming events, sales and promotions.

(credit: sportchalet.com)

Sport Chalet 2401 Butano Drive Sacramento, CA 95825 (916) 977-1730 http://www.sportchalet.com

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5 Best Places To Find Yoga And Pilates Gear In Sacramento

Credit: Warwick Page/Getty Images

Yoga is good for you. It makes you flexible, calm and even helps your porn-addled brain enjoy making love for an extra minute or two. Unfortunately, while you're doing all those sun salutations and child's poses, you are both improving your digestion and opening your rectum to the heavens. Every yoga class regular is trained to tell you, "Don't worry, everyone farts there." However, when you do accidentally rip one, your whole class stares at you mortified. Some of them are holding back vomit. You disgust them. Every woman in that class is going to make sure you never date anyone in the world ever again. We here at the Guy Code Blog want you to be able to do yoga and fart when you damn please, so here are 10 ways to cover your tracks.

Run straight out of the class. There are plenty of other yoga studios.

If you're prepared for the inevitable passing of the gas, be ready to start sneezing immediately after you let one rip. This will introduce just enough doubt into everyone's mind: "You know what? Maybe that wasn't fart."

That's the point of yoga, isn't it? If everyone believes you've transcended the here and now, then they'll just think the gas is your soul finally being released. Which would make the poo particles stuck to your briefs represent your good will toward all.

There's a chance this could work. Trust us. Yoga people are supposed to be sympathetic. They'll think you're unable to control it. Poor you.

Always sit next to the old lady in the class. You wouldn't be lying because even if you were farting, at any given moment there's a 75% chance that she's farting too.

This is like the sneezing trick, but you do it in advance.

Say something like, "Master would be so proud." You have to say goodbye to ever dating anyone in your class, but at least everyone will be too scared to judge you.

Do your best Dhalsim impression and yell, "Yoga fire!" You'll be cheered and mothers will name their first-born sons after you.

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10 Ways To Cover Your Yoga Farts

By Celestine McGee

Yoga is an ancient practice that has gained recently popularity in the western world. It encourages physical and mental wellbeing through posture, strength, discipline, and meditation. Pilates also helps establish a mental and physical well being in those who practice it. Some of the benefits of yoga or pilates is building lean muscles, relieving stress, toning abdominal muscles and improving balance. Yoga and pilates are becoming increasinglypopular throughout the Chicago area and the following local venues sell various gear such as clothing, mats, and other tools to make the most of your practice.

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Moosejaw 1445 W. Webster Chicago, IL 60614 (773)529-1111 http://www.moosejaw.com

Moosejaw is the ideal destination for all of your athletic wear needs, and carries a selection of yoga apparel suitable for the entire family. Moosejaw carries brands like Prana, North Face, Ibex, Marmot and Sanuk, in addition to a great array of yoga mats, towels and shoes to maximize well being in ones yoga or pilates practice. Moosejaws products also extend to outdoor apparel for hiking, climbing, skiing and water sports.

(credit: bloomyogastudio.com)

Bloom Studio4663 N. Rockwell Chicago, IL 60625 (773) 463-9642 http://www.bloomyogastudio.com

Bloom Studio not only provides yoga classes for yogis of all skill levels, but also has a store on site which sells yoga gear and clothing. They exclusively carry the line for the yoga lifestyle,Be Present.These clothes are so comfortable, fashionable and perfect for your practice that youll likely find yourself wearing them off your mat. Bloom Studio encourages a healthy lifestyle, regardless of age or experience with yoga, so if you want to experiment with different branches of yoga or simply discover your Om, Bloom Studio is a great place to start.

(credit: londomondo.com)

Londo Mondo 1100 N. Dearborn Chicago, IL 60610 (312) 751-2794 http://www.londomondo.com

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Best Places To Find Yoga And Pilates Gear In Chicago

NEW YORK (AFP) - China superstar Li Na has a new man in her life and her husband couldn't be happier.

Ever since Li linked up with Justine Henin's former coach, Carlos Rodriguez, earlier this summer, her career has been reinvigorated with a runner-up spot in Montreal followed by a title in Cincinnati.

It's a success that meant an end to her on-off coaching relationship with husband Jiang Shan, but Li insisted on Monday that her marriage, as well as her career, have both benefitted.

"After I got a new coach I think for both me and my husband it's much easier," said 30-year-old Li after reaching the US Open second round.

"Love is love; coach is coach. You have to separate. After I changed the coach, I didn't say my husband didn't do a good job. I think he's still doing good job.

"But for both sometimes it's too much, you know. Like it's really tough to find a balance between coaching and husband."

Li's triumph in Cincinnati was her first title since her landmark 2011 French Open victory, and her good form continued on Monday when she eased past 20-year-old Briton Heather Watson 6-2, 6-3 to make the second round at the US Open.

It was her first win at Flushing Meadows since her tournament-best performance of a quarter-final run in 2009.

Ninth-seeded Li, who goes on to tackle Australia's Casey Dellacqua for a place in the last 32, believes her win over the 2009 US Open junior champion Watson, was also a victory for mind over matter.

"I am 10 years older than her, so I got more experience on the court. She played very good, but sometimes I had to show her how good I am," explained Li, whose dominance was illustrated by 28 winners to Watson's 10.

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Li marriage boosted by new man in her life