Cameron Diaz, the actress who played a fitness guru Jules in the recent box office hit, What to Expect When Youre Expecting , is currently composing a fitness guide to help young women stay fit.

According to the Associated Press , HarperCollins is scheduled to publish the Charlies Angels book containing information to educate women on nutrition and wellness.

E! Online reports that the book will offer advice aimed at young women in order to engage and empower young teenage girls.

"She wants to stop their fixation on being thin, and for teenage girls to understand that being healthy is more important She wants to use her celebrity to make a difference. She knows she is a role model to girls and she really wants to use that position to do good.

A rep from HarperCollins says the book is more than just a diet book, but will focus on making smart, healthy decisions about food.

This book isn't about her. And it's not a diet of any kind. Of course, it's her own journey that has helped her realize what's important, but she wants the book to appeal to everyone, and not just be about her own food choices."

In addition to expertise from top nutritionists, the fitness guide will also feature advice from Diazs celebrity friends such as Drew Barrymore, Jennifer Lopez, and Gwyneth Paltrow. The book is currently untitled and will be released sometime in the fall of 2013.

Read the original:
Cameron Diaz writing book on health and fitness

Doors open to exclusive club at Commerce Court in winter 2012

(Toronto, ON) Equinox, the upscale fitness and lifestyle leader in the US, is set to open its first Canadian club in the heart of Toronto's financial district in a 40,000 square foot site at Commerce Court, owned by British Columbia Investment Management Corporation (bcIMC). The club is expected to open in the winter of 2012.

Founded in 1991, with national headquarters in New York, Equinox currently operates clubs in the US with a collection of trophy properties, including clubs in the Time Warner Center and Rockefeller Center in New York City, as well as on Wilshire Boulevard in Beverly Hills, Michigan Avenue in Chicago and in the heart of Miami's South Beach.

The newest fitness club slated to open in Toronto will be the company's second international location, following a club opening in London in the fall. Equinox is known for its commitment to lifestyle, hospitality, innovative programming, award-winning design and an unwavering commitment to the member experience, reflecting many of the same values and characteristics of Commerce Court.

"We are excited to bring our first Toronto club to Commerce Court at King and Bay. We found the best location in the financial capital of Canada, in a Class AAA building that is built to high environmental standards, has great street visibility, and provides easy access from both the PATH and lobby levels. Toronto's luxury hotel, retail, restaurant and condominium development is booming, making this an ideal time to introduce our lifestyle brand to this great city. We continue to look for additional locations in Toronto to complement our corporate flagship location," said Jeff Weinhaus, EVP of development for Equinox.

"bcIMC welcomes Equinox Fitness Club in opening its first Canadian location at Commerce Court," said Mary Garden, Vice President, Real Estate, bcIMC. "This new addition enriches the dynamic work and lifestyle environment at Commerce Court, and provides our tenants and neighbours the services and facilities of an international fitness company."

About Equinox:

Equinox Fitness Clubs operates 56 upscale, full-service facilities in New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Miami, Boston, Dallas and DC. The company offers an integrated selection of Equinox-branded programs, services and products, including strength and cardio training, group fitness classes, personal training, spa services and products, apparel and food/juice bars. Since its inception in 1991, Equinox has developed a lifestyle brand that represents service, value, quality, expertise and innovation, attention to detail, market leadership and results. http://www.equinox.com.

In addition, Equinox operates under the Pure Yoga, Blink and SoulCycle brands. The Pure Yoga brand offers upscale, full-service yoga studios in New York City with over 100 classes a week led by world-renowned instructors. Blink operates gyms in New York with a simplified approach to fitness by providing strength and cardio equipment in a friendly environment at a low membership price. Equinox has a strategic partnership with SoulCycle, the country's leading studio-cycling operator renowned for inspirational coaching, great music and a full-body workout. SoulCycle has studios in New York City, the Hamptons NY and Los Angeles CA.

About Commerce Court

Go here to see the original:
Health and Fitness: Equinox Fitness Club Set To Open Its First Location In Canada

A recently published study by Jeff Hooke and Michael Tasselmyer of the Maryland Public Policy Institute took a look at the $37.6 billion Maryland State Retirement and Pension system. Their findings weren't pretty, but they are elucidating for both individual and institutional investors.

It wasn't all bad news. As usual, those advising the pension funds did spectacularly well. They reaped a whopping $221 million in fees for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. The hard working employees who are depending on the decent returns from plan assets fared poorly. According to the study, Maryland's returns trailed those of nearby states with June 30 fiscal years by about 1 percent each year. That might not seem significant until you convert this underperformance to dollars. It cost the plan $3 billion over the last 10 years.

The study correctly noted the current investment practice of most public pension systems. It is probably no different than the way you invest your personal assets. They go to a Wall Street firm that tells them they can "beat the markets", primarily by stock picking. They justify their hefty fees by claiming this expertise which, if it existed, would be very valuable.

The problem is there is precious little evidence that this expertise does exist. The study noted that during calendar year 2011, 84 percent of actively managed U.S. equity funds underperformed their benchmarks. It cited two other studies with similar results.

The authors looked at retirement plans in all 50 states. Total assets were a staggering $2 trillion. Total fees spent on Wall Street fees were $7.8 billion.

The conclusion and recommendation of the authors of this study will be familiar to readers of my books and blogs. Here it is: Buy index funds. That's it. By simply purchasing a globally diversified portfolio of low management fee stock and bond index funds in a suitable asset allocation (typically 60 percent stocks and 40 percent bonds for large pension plans), plan administrators could save the bulk of the outlandish fees they are paying for stock picking advice that often yields returns that underperform the index.

A more comprehensive study of the performance of state pension plans supports the conclusion of Hooke and Tasselmyer. This analysis looked at the performance of all state pensions plans for which there was publicly available data. Here's what they found: Over the 10-year and 23-year periods studied, all of the plans would have had higher returns with an index-based portfolio, with the stock portion tilted towards small and value stocks.

As Hooke and Tasselmyer correctly noted: "There is substantial evidence that Wall Street managers are unable to beat passive equity index funds that cost much less in fees."

It is unfortunate that participants in these state pension plans can do little to change the cozy system that rewards Wall Street at their expense. You are not similarly constrained when it comes to managing your own money. Fire your stock picking broker or adviser. Buy index funds. It's an easy fix.

Dan Solin is a senior vice president of Index Funds Advisors. He is the New York Times bestselling author of The Smartest Investment Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest 401(k) Book You'll Ever Read, The Smartest Retirement Book You'll Ever Read, and The Smartest Portfolio You'll Ever Own. His new book, The Smartest Money Book You'll Ever Read, was published on December 27, 2011.

Go here to see the original:
The $7.8 Billion State Retirement System Rip-off

The last five years have been tough for those in retirement. Portfolio valuations have been hammered and annuity rates have plunged. There's no sign of things improving anytime soon, either, as the eurozone and the UK economy look set to muddle through at best for some years to come.

A great way of protecting yourself from the downturn, however, is by building your retirement fund with shares of large, well-run companies that should grow their earnings steadily over the coming decades. Over time, such investments ought to result in rising dividends and inflation-beating capital growth.

In this series, I'm tracking down the UK large-caps that have the potential to beat the FTSE 100 (Euronext: VFTSE.NX - news) (UKX) over the long term and support a lower-risk income-generating retirement fund.

Today, I'm going to take a look at GlaxoSmithKline (Other OTC: GLAXF.PK - news) , the UK's largest pharmaceutical company.

Performance enhancing drugs

GlaxoSmithKline's product range includes consumer brands such as Lucozade, Sensodyne and Nicorette, as well as its prescription drugs and vaccines. It's a classic defensive stock and has been far less volatile than the FTSE 100 over the last 5 years:

Source: Morningstar (NasdaqGS: MORN - news)

(Total (Other OTC: TTFNF.PK - news) return includes both changes to the share price and reinvested dividends. These two ingredients combined are what make it possible for equity portfolios to regularly outperform cash and bonds over the long term.)

Although GSK's trailing 10 year average total return is below that of the FTSE 100, anyone holding GSK shares from 2007 until today would have seen a total return, including reinvested dividends, of 40%, compared to 12% for the FTSE 100 total return index.

What's The Score?

Go here to see the original:
Is GlaxoSmithKline The Ultimate Retirement Share?

Last year, the average U.S. consumer carried $6,576 in credit card debt. Earlier this month, the average credit interest rate stood at 14.5 percent.

With so many people struggling with large balances and high interest rates, Money Talks News founder Stacy Johnson gets asked this question more than most: Do I pay off my debts or save for retirement? Check out his answer in the video below, then read on for details about what you should do

Click here to watch Save for Retirement or Pay Down Debt? on MoneyTalksNews.com

When youre trying to reach your financial goals, you have to decide what investment will give you the highest return. Compared to the rate of return on a typical savings account, CD, or stock investment, youll have a higher rate of return by paying off your credit cards first.

Say you have $7,000 in credit card debt and a 15 percent interest rate. If you pay the minimum payment of $157.50 (2.25 percent) on your credit card, it will take 25 years to pay it off. During that time, youll pay $8,229.16 in interest.

On the other hand, if you paid $300 a month toward your credit card balance, youd have the debt paid off in 28 months and youd only pay $1,328.13 in interest.

As Stacy said in the video, if youre paying 15 percent on a credit card, paying it off is like earning 15 percent tax-free and risk-free. Thats hard to beat.

But theres an exception to this rule: a 401(k) or other type of retirement plan that offers a company match. In these plans, your employer matches your contributions up to a certain amount, typically 50 percent of whatever you contribute, capped at 6 percent of your annual salary. So if you earn $50,000 annually and contribute $3,000 (6 percent) to your retirement plan, the company will contribute $1,500.

Thats free money: something hard to come by!

If your company matches any of your 401(k) contributions, make sure youre contributing enough to get every free penny being offered by your plan. After that, put any extra income you have left into paying off your debt. Once your debt is wiped out, then you can start contributing more to your 401(k) or looking into other investment options.

See the original post here:
Save for Retirement or Pay Down Credit Card Debt?

Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=serCrJUx2rY

09-08-2012 15:31 For More Information and Join Today: This is a great way to change your thinking today. Join the discussion: the basics of the patent pending Spinfinity Compensation Plan unique to "Paradigm Shift" detailed at: If YOU have any questions, please feel free to post a comment or e-mail me. Remember to visit: The site above will give you additional details as well as the ability to reserve a FREE Affiliate Membership or one of the few remaining LIFETIME Founding Member Positions. To Your Success, Max Garza III E-mail: Mobile: 214-770-9699 Skype: empowerizigg Web:

More:
Tony Robbins Quotes_ Your Personal Success Secret. Ultimate Global Success.. - Video

Before theyre even old enough to walklet alone fill out a resumeexperts say the die is cast on a babys career success simply because of their name.

The pressure to name a child is heavy and the choices plentiful--if not endless--with names varying from Bob to Pilot Inspektor (the name of actor Jason Lees son). Even if youre convinced that your cute bundle of joy is destined to be an artist, she also might want to become a CEO, and an unusual name could be the only thing standing in her way.

To some extent the idea that a name will shape your destiny is a very old idea. In the modern day, its simply a fact that one doesnt expect to find a high-powered female executive named Bambi or Britney, says Catherine Connors, spokesperson for Babble, an online parenting magazine.

Connors says that while a person is always free to change their name when they come of age, it's best if parents put some real thought into a name that straddles the fine line between boring and extreme.

You are branding your child. To say that giving your baby a strange name would be a curse is a strong word, but youre definitely going to be hanging an albatross around their neck. At a certain point, if they want to move into a professional field, an oddball name is going to have to be something they address, says Connors. Theyre going to have to make the tough decision of whether to change it completely, adapt the name, or go by their initials only.

Likewise, choosing a name that doesnt pack enough punchlike John Smithparents run the risk of the child getting passed over because the name is too common, says Sharn Lynn Wyeth, author of Know the Name, Know the Person.

If the name is too common, hiring managers are going to think, This person has nothing new to bring to the table, so why hire them? says Wyeth. Unless youre looking for someone for a redundant task who will be seen and not heard, youre going to look at that name and say, This person is just more of the same.

Unfortunately, prejudice against names isnt limited to the initial point of hire, says Connors. Its also possible that a name can mean your child gets passed over for promotions.

If your name is extremely odd or extremely flashy, its almost like wearing a low cut dress or glittery pumps to a business meeting, says Connors. People dont take you as seriously, and they may bypass someone named Angel for a promotion over someone named Elizabeth.

Of course, the impact of a name all depends on the field.

Read the original:
The Baby Brand: Naming for Success… or Failure

STATE COLLEGE, Pa. (AP) -- Winning still means everything to Penn State linebacker Mike Mauti, but success this season won't be defined by titles or a bowl.

It's a view he holds in part by necessity after the NCAA imposed strict sanctions on the program for the child sex abuse scandal involving retired assistant coach Jerry Sandusky.

After a stormy offseason unlike any other team has seen, the Nittany Lions have goals in mind other than championship banners and trophies.

''I'm not really a believer in moral victories,'' Mauti, a standout linebacker and senior leader, said Thursday. ''At the same time, when all is said and done, I don't think we're going to get judged on wins and losses.''

It's not the normal chatter heard at Penn State media day, when the talk is typically about jockeying with Ohio State and Wisconsin atop the Big Ten or pie-in-the-sky hopes for a trip to the BCS.

But this has been anything but a normal year in Happy Valley.

Among the NCAA penalties are a four-year postseason ban and significant scholarship cuts.

The Nittany Lions undoubtedly still want to win every game. But they're using other motivating factors like playing for each other and the fans who have rallied behind the squad, as well as bringing more awareness to the problem of child abuse.

But the sanctions remain a sensitive topic in Happy Valley. Several school trustees have told the NCAA that they intend to appeal the penalties, as have several former players.

''I respect everybody's individual decision to do what they have to do, what they think is right. That is their individual opinion or their group's opinion, and I respect that. I would never step into the middle of that,'' coach Bill O'Brien said when asked about the appeal notices.

Visit link:
New look, new definitions of success for Penn St

Summary: Social networking giant needs to better educate local marketers on benefits of both online and mobile ads through physical relationships to better monetize markets.

Social networking giant has successfully monetized in the emerging markets of Asia through social games, however, it now needs to focus on pushing advertising to marketers in the region.

Audrey Heng, market analyst for emerging technology at IDC Asia-Pacific, pointed out that Facebook had successfully monetized its social games business in Asia's emerging markets. "Social gamesare easy to learn and quick to play that are able attract new gamers and new internet users in these developing markets," she noted.

However, social games are only one aspect of monetization and the social network will need to address advertisements, said Heng. "Both online and mobile advertising remain low particularly in developing markets where traditional marketing continues to dominate," she said.

While users in the developing markets of Asia tend to stay connected online using their mobile phones rather than the desktop, Heng noted that the mobile platform and services only started to develop in the recent two years.

Many Web sites were designed for desktop browsing and this was replicated for access on mobile phones, she said. "Only recently in the past year, more emphasis was made to design a separate mobile Web site that was user friendly and considered the mobile's smaller screen size and capabilities," Heng added.

Challenges monetizing mobile This is why it is "not surprising" that Facebook is facing challenges in monetization of mobile, she noted.

However, the social networking giant has been "aggressively" investing in mobile monetization strategies, such as by acquiring mobile apps such as Instagram and introducing advertising solutions like sponsored stories and App Centre, Heng noted.

Tackling monetization on the mobile platform is not a problem specific to Facebook. China's top social network Renren also saw its user base shifting from desktop to mobile.

In its second quarter results announcement Tuesday, Renren chaiman and CEO Joseph Chen noted that its strategy remains focused on mobile opportunities and will experiment on different monetization models such as mobile games, mobile advertising and mobile group-buying.

Read more from the original source:
Personal relationships key to Facebook's Asia advertising success

Local Mom Pioneering Software Development for Organizing Personal Health Records for Medical Emergency Readiness

A new personal health record computer software program created by a local Mom. Innovation by necessity. A new way for medical record storage. Software that creates organization for caregivers, seniors, families, individuals, retirees, and businesses.

I was faced with a medical emergency regarding my mother and I was unprepared. The incident left me feeling helpless, states Julie Slayton. I made the decision to find a product that I could use to keep my familys medical history and prescription information ready and available at all times. I quickly discovered there wasnt anything out there that was easy to use, easy to manage and affordable. I also didnt want anything that was managed on the World Wide Web. Julie added. Once Julie explained to me her decision to create a software program to easily maintain family medical history, I made a few suggestions based on my career in product development and here we are, launching our first version, Susie Brock comments.

MIMI launched to the public on March 12, 2012. For more information, go to http://www.MIMImedical.com or call 256-684-3444.

Here is the original post:
Local Mom Pioneering Software Development for Organizing Personal Health Records for Medical Emergency Readiness