BEIJING, Aug. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire-Asia-FirstCall/ --China Distance Education Holdings Limited (DL) ("CDEL", or the "Company"), a leading provider of online education in China focusing on professional education, reported today its unaudited financial results for the third quarter of fiscal year 2012 ended June 30, 2012.

Third Quarter Fiscal 2012 Business and Financial Highlights:

Commenting on the results, Mr. Zhengdong Zhu, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer said, "In the third quarter, we continued to focus on enhancing our students' learning experience and results and on executing our growth strategy. However, as anticipated, our results were impacted by the delayed timing of the Accounting Professional Qualification Examination, or "APQE", and CPA exams. The delay has shifted the timing of enrollments and a certain amount of GAAP revenue from the fiscal third quarter into the fourth quarter and the next fiscal year. We believe the impact from the delay is primarily a matter of timing dictated by external factors, and does not reflect on overall market demand for our products and services, which remains strong. Our results excluding the examination timing issues remain healthy, as we achieved revenue growth towards the top of our guidance range while enrollment and average selling price ("ASP") remain strong across most of our other accounting and non-accounting verticals.

"Going forward, we will continue to focus on integrating cutting edge online and mobile learning technologies in our delivery model and on our content and platform development to continue to enhance our students' learning experience and attract new students to our programs. We expect to continue to grow at a healthy pace for the remainder of this year and into fiscal 2013."

Ms. Ping Wei, Chief Financial Officer of CDEL, commented, "Due to the fixed nature of a significant portion of our costs and expenses, the delay of certain APQE and CPA revenue from the third quarter to later quarters had a material impact on our net income as compared to the prior year period. We believe that this impact is due to examination timing issues which are temporary in nature, and as a result, we expect to deliver increased profitability in later quarters."

Fiscal Third Quarter 2012 Unaudited Financial Results

Net Revenues. Total net revenues from continuing operations for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 were US$13.1 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 8.1% from US$12.1 million in the third quarter of fiscal 2011.

Online education services net revenues for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 were US$9.3 million, an increase of 4.6% from the third quarter of fiscal 2011. The increase was a result of increased revenue in accounting test preparation courses and healthcare courses. Such increase was partially offset by decreased revenue from APQE and CPA courses due to delayed timing of examinations, and accounting continuing education courses, revenue recognition for which was impacted by the delayed timing of course completion by students.

Net revenues from books and reference materials for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 were US$1.1 million, an increase of 10.1% from the third quarter of fiscal 2011, after reallocating the online course services deliverable of US$0.5 million, which are included in online education services net revenues.

Net revenues from others increased by 21.2% to US$2.7 million for the third quarter of fiscal 2012 from US$2.2 million in the same period of last year. The increase was a result of increased revenue in platform production services, offline business start-up training courses provided by Zhengbao Yucai and other offline supplementary training courses. Such increase was partially offset by decreased revenue from magazine content production services and courseware production services.

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China Distance Education Holdings Limited Reports Third Quarter 2012 Results

By Amanda Gordon - 2012-08-15T15:23:37Z

The yoga mat is gaining traction as a fundraising tool in the Hamptons.

A private yoga session with Hilaria Baldwin went for $10,000 at Guild Halls benefit on Aug. 10, auctioned by her husband, Alec, to hedge-fund-manager-turned-entrepreneur Nick Lobaccaro. (The package also included a night with Alec Baldwin in his box at Guild Halls theater.)

On Aug. 24, Hilaria Baldwin will lead a class to benefit the Child Mind Institute Inc., organized by the Southampton- based studio Yoga Gives. Tickets are $250, which goes to the institute to improve mental-health care for children. Baldwin is once again donating her services.

Yoga Gives has organized several similar events alongside its for-profit offerings. Kelly Morris, a popular instructor in New York, led one to benefit the Retreat, an East Hampton shelter for victims of domestic violence. Heather Mnuchin, whose husband, Steven T. Mnuchin, runs OneWest Bank Group LLC, went to the mat for the Sag Harbor Food Pantry.

Mnuchin has also taken classes, along with Julia Koch, wife of David H. Koch of Koch Industries Inc., and Christine Mack, wife of Richard Mack, North American chief executive officer of Apollo Real Estate Advisors.

To me its a natural pairing, said Amanda Taylor, founder of Yoga Gives. The idea of yoga is to be of service, to be present to other people, to be aware, awake and alive.

Taylor got the idea after hearing about the one-hour SoulCycle spin class that raised more than $35,000 for Baby Buggy.

If they can do that with bikes, I thought, I can do that with yoga mats, she said.

Taylor sees the classes as a welcome alternative to the evening gala. Theyre certainly cheaper: Yoga Gives has been charging $50 a class or less.

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Hilaria Yoga, Mnuchin; Fischl on Tennis, Caro: Scene

By Peter Ryan 7:00 PM Wed 15 Aug, 2012

Comments from former Geelong head coach Mark Thompson prompted research into burnout in the area

The AFL Coaching Lifestyle: Improving life satisfaction, health and wellbeing report, released on Wednesday, was commissioned amid fears that the risk of coach burnout was high.

Eighty-five per cent of assistant coaches responded to a survey and 17 assistant coaches (representing the 17 clubs at the time of data collection) were interviewed for the research.

One coach commented: "I think there are legitimate concerns for coaches, and their lifestyles, and maybe you have just got to accept that as part of the job. That might be it, but if there is some way that we can make sure that were not killing them, then thats a good thing too."

While assistant coaches remain motivated by a love of the game and the prospect of developing young players, the AFL Coaches Association has recognised the need to put initiatives in place to ensure the role remains a sustainable career option for the country's best coaching talent.

The AFL Coaches Association has appointed a career and professional development manager Michael Poulton (former coaching manager at Athletics Australia) to assist assistant coaches to build a skill set that is transferable beyond the AFL.

The report also recommended a need for more psychological support to be available for assistant coaches to improve their general health and enable them to cope better with the demands of working in a competitive sporting environment.

The research conducted last year was prompted by talk of burnout amid the sudden departure from senior coaching at the end of 2010 by former Cats coach Mark Thompson, and a need to better understand the roles and expectations clubs place on assistant coaches.

Dr Mandy Ruddock-Hudson, from La Trobe University's School of Public Health, conducted the research with her research team, funded by the AFL research board and supported by the AFL Coaches Association.

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High distress common: report

Coaches in the Positive Coaching Alliance have two important goals. First, they teach players how to win in soccer. Second, and equally important, coaches teach life lessons. One tool for teaching these life lessons is the ELM Tree of Mastery. ELM stands for effort, learning and mistakes. Players who focus on climbing the ELM Tree improve their game faster and prepare themselves for life.

Effort

It is important to teach players to give their best effort every time they take the field. This gives them the best chance to win. It also accelerates improvement. Once players learn how effort helps them on the field, they will apply it to life. For example, giving your best effort in school will result in better grades. Working hard at a job will lead to career advancement. I once heard a player say, "Why should I try? It's just a scrimmage." That lack of effort wasted an opportunity to improve. And that is the wrong attitude to have in life.

Learning

Learning is an important aspect of youth soccer. Soccer is a game of extensive skills and techniques. Players need to maximize their learning in every game and practice. Learning leads to improvement. Life, like soccer, presents endless opportunities for learning. School is an obvious example. But a player can also learn a new hobby, how to make friends or how to drive a car.

Mistakes

How players respond to mistakes is an important aspect of improvement. Mistakes are really the best teaching opportunities. When players see how a bad trap leads to loss of possession, they will see a need to improve their first touch. This is much more effective than simply telling a player to trap the ball better. Experience is the best teacher. This is why I encourage players to come out of their comfort zones and try new skills in games. I tell them that mistakes are fine because that is the path to learning. Mistakes in life are similar. Everyone makes mistakes. It's how we respond to those mistakes that define us.

The ELM Tree is a tool for improvement in soccer. Positive soccer coaches teach players to give their best effort, learn as much as possible and respond to mistakes. And as you can see, this applies to life as well.

More from this contributor:

Positive Soccer Coaching: Enjoy the Game First

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Positive Soccer Coaching: Teaching Life Lessons with the ELM Tree

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Precision Health Media, the leading source for advertisers to reach Diagnosed Health audiences, has teamed with several leading health apps and mobile ad networks to target patients via a new channel, ConditionMatch Mobile (CMM). The charter partners include AdTheorent, Ubiqi Health, xAd and others.

On the ad side, a number of national brands and regional health care providers are already on board, including The Cleveland Clinic, which uses CMM to reach patients at a local level in the Cleveland area.

Mobile health is exploding in many ways. Health apps have soared in popularity to track general fitness in addition to actual medical data for review with a doctor, said Bill Jennings, CEO, Precision Health Media. Advertisers have followed to reach consumers and patients on the go. We are also seeing local health brands like hospitals and clinics using mobile increasingly to reach patients in their DMAs. Precision Health is offering pharma and other brands a range of opportunities to maximize this growing channel.

Jacqueline Thong, founder of Ubiqi Health, whose apps reach 10,000 migraine sufferers and other symptom-specific audiences, said, With Condition Match Mobile, we can now deliver a highly relevant mobile audience targeting solution with continuous data supplied to the sponsors. Precision Healths combination of deep relationships in the pharma advertising industry and tech-focused targeting allows us to offer brandsthe ability to track data and segment audiences in many ways.

Jennings pointed out that the mission of Precision Health Media is to connect marketers with diagnosed audiences as they seek specific health information. ConditionMatch, its proprietary technology, ranks health pages across partner sites based on a brands keywords and co-morbidities. By forming ConditionMatch Mobile, were helping pharma companies and others zero in at a deeper level with these patients and their doctors, Jennings said.

About Precision Health Media

New York-based Precision Health Media (formerly Good Health Media) delivers specific health condition audiences to pharma and consumer brands. The company is backed by Metamorphic Ventures, Cava Capital and several individual investors including Mike Perlis (CEO Forbes), Rick Thompson/Larry Braitman (Founders Adify, Flycast), Joe Apprendi (Founder Collective Media), Richard Forman (Health Venture Group), Geoff Judge (Partner iNovia), Bill Benedict (Alpine Meridian), Chris Young (Founder Digital Broadcasting Group).

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Precision Health Media Partners With Leading Mobile Players to Launch ConditionMatch™ Mobile (CMM), Allowing ...

The rapid development of the exchange-traded fund industry has brought to market some of the most useful and intriguing products for all walks of investors. With more than 1,400 ETPs offering exposure to just about every asset class, developed and emerging economy, and investment strategy, the potential portfolio combinations are endless. Although investors can dip into some of the more complex andintriguingfunds, most choose to select a number of ETFs that will allow them to build a well-diversified portfolio. But thanks to the innovativeness of ETF issuers, there is now an entire line of products that takes this strategy to the extreme, offering access to a complete portfolio through a single equity ticker [see alsoHow To But The Right ETF Every Time].

Enter target retirement date ETFs, the ultimate in passive, buy-and-hold investment strategy. To pick which of these funds is right for you, investors must simply select the ETF that corresponds to his or her intended retirement date (e.g. 2030 fund), the rest is left to the ETFs manager. These hands-free portfolios are essentially designed to shift asset allocations with an investorss changing risk profile. For example, as an investor approaches his or her retirement, a higher allocation will go to fixed income products, while a younger investor would have a heavier weighting towards equity exposure.

Heres a look at six iShares Target Retirement Date ETFs and how these funds change over time:

As depicted graphically above, the S&P Target Date 2040 Fund (TZV) has a much higher allocation to domestic and international equities, while the S&P Target Date 2015 ETF (TZE) has a larger weighting in fixed income. Logically, this makes sense since an investor with a target date of 2040 is likely much younger than someone who wishes to retire in 2015. And as such, a person who has a longer time horizon over which they are able to recover value in event of major losses can have more exposure to riskier asset classes, like stocks, which may be more volatile but could provide a more meaningful return. But for those who plan to retire in the near future, a low risk tolerance is more appropriate since these individuals have less time torecuperatefrom any adverse movements [see also5 Worst ETF Strategies Of The Last 5 Years].

Over time, these target retirement date ETFs will evolve, shifting allocations to asset classes with risk profiles that are more inline with investors objectives. So in the next 25 years, one would expect the 2040 fund to gradually shift away from equities towards bonds, eventually forming a portfolio that is very similar to how the 2015 fund looks today.

To achieve the different portfolio compositions, target retirement date ETFs actually invests in other exchange-traded products, essentially becoming a sort of fund of funds. iShares, for example, invests in its own ETFs, includingthe S&P 500 Index Fund (IVV), Barclays Aggregate Bond Fund (AGG), MSCI EAFE Index Fund(EFA), and S&P Midcap 400 Index Fund (IJH) [see our Retirement ETFdb Portfolios].

The adaptability of these funds is perhaps one of the most obvious reasons investors choose to invest in target retirement date ETFs. Once one of these ETFs are purchased, investors can sit back and let the security shift allocations to the most appropriate asset classes which best reflect the holders risk profile. Furthermore, investors wont have to sift through the over 1,400 ETPs to build their long-term portfolios. Instead, a single equity ticker provides fine-tuned exposure to a diversified basket of securities. But because these ETFs are funds that hold other ETFs, holders will have to burden a double layer of fees. While these expenses might be relatively low, they can add up over a long period of time. Potential investors should also take a close look under the hood of these ETFs since they only follow general rules to determine allocations, meaning that the resulting portfolio may not be exactly in line with your investment objective.

Follow me on Twitter@DPylypczak

[For more ETF analysis, make sure to sign up for ourfree ETF newsletteror try afree seven day trial to ETFdb Pro]

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Visualizing Target Retirement Date ETFs

ST. PAUL, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Retirement plan participants can now find a QR (quick response) code on their quarterly Securian account statements and envelopes that provides instant access to account information.

When scanned with a smartphone equipped with a camera and the reader application, the QR code directs participants to Securian Retirement's mobile site to obtain current account balances, contribution rates, and personal rates of return on their retirement accounts.

Participants want to see their information anytime, anywhere. The QR codes and mobile site give them access to their accounts whether theyre at the airport, the mall or sitting in front of the TV, said Rick Ayers, vice president, Retirement Plans.

Securian Retirements mobile site, designed and built in-house, does not attempt to replicate all the information on the full website. Rather, it provides the information people want frequently and quickly. The mobile site appears automatically when viewed from a smartphone and is designed for easy use.

We pushed the account contact links up to the top of the screen, kept the copy concise, included one-touch embedded links and made the navigation simple and intuitive, said Ayers.

Plan participants also can go to the full website to sign up for electronic statements rather than receive paper statements through the postal service.

Since 1880, Securian Financial Group and its affiliates have provided financial security for individuals and businesses in the form of insurance, investments and retirement plans. Now one of the nations largest financial services providers, it is the holding company parent of a group of companies that include Minnesota Life Insurance Company and Securian Life Insurance Company, a New York admitted insurer.

DOFU 0812 A03173-0812

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QR Codes Provide Quick Securian Retirement Account Access for Employees

(Money magazine) -- I'm 46, self-employed and clueless about retirement. I can afford to put away $500 a month, but don't even know where to begin. I'd like to retire at 65, but wonder if that's even possible. Can you help? -- George, Alsip, Illinois

You're getting a late start here. Ideally, by the time you're in your mid-40s, you should already have savings equal to three to four times your annual income tucked away in retirement accounts, according to "Your Money Ratios" author Charles Farrell.

That figure assumes you'll want to retire at 65 on 70% to 80% of your pre-retirement income. It also assumes your savings will earn about four-and-a-half percentage points more than inflation each year, and that you'll continue to save 15% of income annually until age 65.

But let's just focus on what you need to do now. If you start saving now and stay diligent, you can improve your retirement prospects dramatically.

Many people in your position think picking the best investments is the key. Not so. Saving is much more crucial.

Get the ball rolling by putting that $500 a month you already know you can afford to save into an IRA account, which you can open at any mutual fund company or investment firm. Don't obsess about whether to go with a traditional IRA or a Roth IRA. If you prefer getting a tax deduction now, go with a traditional. If you'd rather forego the deduction today for the prospect of tax-free withdrawals in retirement, do the Roth. If you're unsure, do the traditional, as you can always convert to a Roth later.

Chances are you're eligible to contribute up to the maximum of $5,000 this year ($6,000 for people 50 and older), but you can check by clicking here.

To keep things simple, I suggest you invest your IRA stash in a target-date retirement fund. You just choose a fund with a date that corresponds to when you'd like to retire (2030 or 2035 in your case) and you get a ready-made portfolio that's appropriate for you now and becomes more conservative as you near retirement.

We highlight the target funds of Vanguard and T. Rowe Price on our MONEY 70 list of recommended funds, but both companies require a minimum initial investment of $1,000. You could open an IRA and invest in a target fund with Charles Schwab for as little as $100.

Once you've set up your IRA account and have savings flowing into it, you should start thinking about how you might improve on your planning for next year and beyond.

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Late start retirement plan - 19 years to go

LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Transamerica Retirement Services today announced that its plan participant and plan sponsor websites have both been recognized with an Excellent designation through DALBARs first quarter Defined Contribution WebMonitor program, outperforming more than 40 other retirement plan provider websites rated in the study.

Transamericas plan participant website earned a score of 93.35 out of a possible 100, an increase of 3.33 points since 4Q 2011, surpassing its own record WebMonitor score achieved by a plan participant website in the studys history. This is the second consecutive calendar quarter that Transamericas plan participant website has set a record score for the DALBAR report.

DALBARs reports are an important measure of how well we, and the industry, are serving plan participants and sponsors, said Stig Nybo, president of Transamerica Retirement Services. This honor is emblematic of Transamericas unwavering dedication to providing plan participants and sponsors with best-in-class online resources and guidance to help them reach specific retirement goals.

Furthermore, Transamericas plan sponsor website earned an Excellent designation the only site to do so among 42 peers and ranked in top position in DALBARs analysis of provider websites for retirement plan sponsors. Transamericas plan sponsor website has won this recognition for 10 consecutive calendar quarters.

Transamericas plan sponsor and plan participant websites have also been awarded DALBARs Seal of Excellence for eight consecutive years.

Each quarter, DALBAR identifies and recognizes industry-leading websites that attain a top-10 ranking. Rankings are determined by the overall score achieved against DALBARs criteria in five categories: functionality, usability, behavior centric attributes, content currency and consistency.

About DALBAR

DALBAR, Inc. is one of the financial communitys leading independent experts for evaluating, auditing and rating business practices, customer performance, product quality and service. DALBAR has earned recognition for its consistent and unbiased evaluations of investment companies, registered investment advisers, insurance companies, broker/dealers, retirement plan providers and financial professionals. DALBAR awards are recognized as marks of excellence in the financial community.

About Transamerica Retirement Services Corporation

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Transamerica Retirement Services Recognized by DALBAR as Top Provider Website for Retirement Plan Participants and ...

SHANE MORTON/Fairfax NZ

POWERFUL: When installed in a compatible motherboard, Intels new Ivy Bridge processor makes the personal computer fly.

Intel's new range of Ivy Bridge central processing units is delivering unheard of speeds in personal computers.

When installed in the right kind of motherboard and using the latest solid state hard disk drives and memory it's not uncommon to see a 60 per cent increase in performance - the Windows personal computer operating system starts in just one second.

And it's all down to what Intel is calling "3-D transistors" at the heart of the CPU.

Graham Tucker, technical manager for Intel in Australia and New Zealand, said the new 22 nanometre transistors were smaller than the 2-D predecessors, which were like a piece of paper.

The innovation, Mr Tucker said, delivered more computational power while using less energy.

The new Ivy Bridge chips, Mr Tucker said, also removed the need for dedicated graphic processing units (GPUs) in the case of most personal computers.

"The need for having one is more nice now. You would need to have a good reason like if you were an architect doing 3-D modelling."

The new processors are not just limited to the traditionally more powerful desktop computers with their roomy towers but have also been engineered for more compact, in fact cramped, laptop computers.

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New processor gives computers speed boost