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California STEM Learning Network (CSLNet) Asserts That Science Education Is Critical In Preparing State Youth to Compete In Global Economy The California STEM Learning Network released a letter today to Governor Brown, urging him to reconsider ...Source: www.sfgate.com
California home sales, prices jump in May - AP - msnbc.com
SAN DIEGO — Demand for more expensive properties lifted California home prices to a nearly two-year high in May as sales across all pricing categories showed healthy gains, a research firm said Thursday.
The median price for new and existing houses and condos reached $270,000 last month, up 8.4 percent from $249,000 in the same period last year and matching the highest level since June 2010, DataQuick said. The median price is still well below a peak of $484,000 in early 2007 but up from $221,000 in April 2009.
The median price has risen three straight months from year-ago levels.
The number of homes sold in May rose 17.6 percent from last year to 41,790, the highest tally for that month since 2006, the San Diego-based research firm said.
Foreclosed homes, which tend to sell at a discount, made up a smaller part of overall sales, lifting the median price. DataQuick said properties that had been foreclosed upon in the previous year accounted for 28.3 percent of existing-home sales, down from 35.3 percent a year earlier and 58.5 percent in February 2009.
The San Francisco Bay area's median sales price was $400,000, up 7.5 percent from $372,000 a year earlier, DataQuick said. The median is still well below a peak of $665,000 reached in 2007 but up from $290,000 in March 2009.
Sales in the nine-county Bay area soared 26.1 percent from last year to 8,810, with the most significant gains in pricier categories. Sales of homes between $400,000 and $800,000 jumped 26.2 percent, while sales of homes less than $300,000 rose a more modest 12.5 percent.
"It's not exactly a stampede, but people are starting to move off the housing market sidelines in numbers we haven't seen in quite a while. And it's not just first-time buyers and investors," said DataQuick President John Walsh.
The lowest-priced homes, particularly foreclosed properties, have long been driving sales in California, but the latest figures show that all pricing categories are drawing more interest from buyers.
DataQuick reported Wednesday that the median sales price in Southern California reached $295,000 in May, up 5.4 percent from $280,000 the same period last year. It marked the second straight month that the prices increased from a year earlier in the six-county region, following 13 straight year-on-year declines. It was also the highest since September 2010.
The number of homes sold in Southern California jumped 20.6 percent from last year to 22,192. More expensive coastal regions accounted for a larger part of overall sales.
Alex Feliciano, 46, was saving for a house with his wife since 2005 and living in a rented apartment. They noticed prices climb in the San Francisco Bay area during April.
"When I saw that, it kind of scared me. I had a sense of urgency," said Feliciano, who delivers juice to supermarkets and whose wife works as a hospital lab technician. They bought a three-bedroom home in Hayward for $315,000 last month.
Copyright 2012 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Source: www.msnbc.msn.com
California leads U.S. in immigrant entrepreneurship, study finds - Los Angeles Times
"In those days, I had to work 365 days a year from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.," she said. "I had to, little by little, learn."
Today her family-owned small business, Li Hing of Hong Kong, sells ornate Chinese antiques and fine crafts to businesses and homes across the U.S.
Li Hing is part of a movement pushing California to the forefront of a national trend: The state leads the nation in the percentage of businesses owned by immigrants, a share that exceeds the demographic's proportion of the general population.
One-third of small-business owners in the state are immigrants, according to a report published Thursday by the Fiscal Policy Institute, a New York-based think tank. About 27% of the state's population was born in a foreign country, according to the 2010 U.S. Census.
Los Angeles has the second highest concentration of immigrant small business owners among metropolitan areas — 44%, one percentage point behind Miami. Immigrants make up 34% of the greater Los Angeles population, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The most common countries of origin for immigrant small business owners in the greater Los Angeles area are Mexico, Korea, Iran, Taiwan and Vietnam, said David Dyssegaard Kallick, of the Fiscal Policy Institute.
"I think people have been very much aware of the growing immigrant population over the last 20 years but not nearly so much of growing immigrant entrepreneurship," Kallick said.
Compared with U.S.-born workers, immigrants are about 10% more likely to be small-business owners. Although immigrants make up about 13% of the national population, they constitute 18% of small business owners, according to the report. Twenty years ago immigrants were about 12% of owners, at a time when they were about 9% of the labor force, according to the study.
Certain types of businesses have large concentrations of immigrant owners, according to the report. About 37% of restaurant owners, 49% of grocery store owners and 54% of those who own laundry and dry cleaners are immigrants. Immigrants are also likely to own doctor's offices, real estate firms and truck transportation services.
The study is based on an analysis of the U.S. Census Bureau's Survey of Business Owners and the American Community Survey.
"Although much of the discussion about immigration is about immigrants who come to work, it's also true that immigrants come and start businesses and buy homes," said Stephen Levy, director and senior economist at the Center for Continuing Study of the California Economy in Palo Alto.
Colleen Seto, program manager at the Asian Pacific Islander Small Business Program, which counsels Asian entrepreneurs, said many clients come to her organization wanting to start businesses after having lost jobs. Those new entrepreneurs and existing owners also find it difficult to get credit in the struggling economy, she said.
Kallick, who wrote the report, said many immigrants start their own businesses after struggling in the job market.
"Immigrants sometimes have a hard time finding their way into a regular job that pays benefits and has stability, and they start businesses because they have no other choice," he said. "Sometimes there's a happy ending to that story. Sometimes it works out better for them. Sometimes it doesn't."
Like Li Hing imports, many immigrant-owned businesses started small and have expanded to compete with larger businesses.
Three decades ago, Mexican immigrant Miguel Gonzalez Reynoso sold his home and his father took out a second mortgage to open a grocery store in Anaheim. Reynoso and his father saw a need — most Mexican grocery stores at the time were small and cramped; larger chain stores didn't offer Mexican products.
During its first year, he and his siblings were the only employees.
They "worked long days for low pay so we could keep most of the money inside the business and run it so we could grow," Reynoso said.
Today there are 34 Northgate Gonzalez Markets throughout Southern California that, in addition to the typical grocery store offerings, sell fresh pan dulce, tortillas and other Mexican specialties. The business supports thousands of workers.
His success, Reynoso said, is "thanks to this great country that really is the land of opportunity."
Source: www.latimes.com
California Hedge Fund Is Europe Crisis Casualty - Businessweek
Hedge-fund manager Paul Sinclair is the latest casualty of Europe’s sovereign-debt turmoil, almost six thousand miles away from the epicenter of the crisis.
Sinclair, who is based in Los Angeles, is liquidating his $458 million health-care equities fund, Expo Capital Management LLC, after more than five years, as political decisions made on the other side of the globe have undermined his stock picks and spurred losses for a second year.
“I don’t have an edge on Greek elections, the Spanish banking system, what the European Central Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Chinese government, Angela Merkel, or the U.S. Federal Reserve will do,” he said in a telephone interview yesterday.
Sinclair, 41, said that over the past year he’s found it increasingly difficult to make money because of the macroeconomic environment, and that investing in health care since 2004 has left him “physically and mentally exhausted.” He said he chose to return money to investors, which he plans to do by the end of the month, rather than hold cash and charge them fees.
Billionaire energy trader John Arnold, former Morgan Stanley co-president Zoe Cruz, and Duke Buchan III are among managers who have shuttered hedge funds in the past year as Europe’s sovereign-debt crisis has roiled global markets. The industry last month posted its biggest loss since September as stocks slumped on concern Greece may exit the euro and the global economy is weakening.
‘Tricky Markets’
“It’s a confluence of tricky markets, super-cautious investors and a tough fundraising environment that’s making it a difficult time for hedge-fund managers,” said Steven Nadel, a partner at New York-based law firm Seward & Kissel LLP, which advises hedge funds.
Sinclair said he has most of his liquid net worth invested in his fund and was no longer comfortable putting it at risk when markets are subject to the actions of policy makers globally.
He said he plans to spend the rest of the summer sleeping and relaxing and may take up a new hobby, according to a June 9 e-mail he sent to clients. Sinclair said he would continue to follow the health-care industry and is keen to see how it is shaped by a U.S. Supreme Court decision on President Barack Obama’s health law overhauls and the November presidential elections.
Returning client money “is an unusual move but fair and would be welcomed by investors,” said Graziano Lusenti, founder of Nyon, Switzerland-based Lusenti Partners, which advises clients on investing. “Most hedge funds would try to hold onto the money for as long as they can.”
Liquidations Rise
Liquidations in the hedge-fund industry rose to 775 last year, the most since 2009, according to Hedge Fund Research Inc., a Chicago-based research firm.
Fortress Investment Group LLC, based in New York, last month said it will liquidate its $500 million commodities fund run by William Callanan after losing almost 13 percent in the first four months of the year.
Arnold also said the same month that he plans to close Centaurus Energy Master Fund in Houston. Cruz, the former Morgan Stanley executive, is liquidating her $200 million hedge fund after losing 8 percent last year.
Buchan, a New York-based hedge-fund manager, cited the European debt crisis as one of the reasons behind the closing of his equity hedge fund Hunter Global Investors LP.
“Markets seem to be driven more by the latest news out of Europe than by a company’s earnings prospects,” he said in a Dec. 8 investor letter. “We have not weathered the ensuing volatility well.”
Moore Traders
At least three hedge funds run by former Moore Capital Management LLC traders have shuttered in the past seven months after losing client money. They are Salute Capital Management, run by Lev Mikheev, Avesta Capital Advisors LLC, founded by William Tung and Tim Leslie’s JCAM Global fund.
Sinclair’s Expo Health Sciences Fund lost about 6 percent this year through May, after falling 8.7 percent in 2011, the hedge fund’s first year of negative returns, he said in an e- mail. The fund has returned about 50 percent since its 2007 inception, net of fees.
Hedge funds slumped 2.9 percent in May and 1.3 percent this year, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. They lost 5.8 percent last year and a record 19 percent in 2008, the data show.
Market Correlation
The turmoil in the global markets has spurred stocks across industries to rise and fall in tandem. The relationship between price fluctuations for health-care stocks and the rest of the market has tightened. The 30-day correlation coefficient between the MSCI World Index and its members in that industry is 0.92, compared with the average since 1995 of 0.73, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Readings of 1 mean prices are moving in lockstep.
Sinclair employed a seven-person team with offices in San Francisco. Before he started his hedge fund, Sinclair worked at Vantis Capital Management LLC, a hedge fund in Pasadena, California, where he managed a health sciences fund from about two years until the end of 2006, when the firm shut down. He was previously at Merrill Lynch & Co., within the bank’s health-care investment banking group, and before that at investment bank Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette.
Sinclair received a masters of business administration from Stanford Graduate School of Business in 1999 and graduated with a bachelors degree in business economics from the University of California in 1994.
To contact the reporter on this story: Saijel Kishan in New York at skishan@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Christian Baumgaertel at cbaumgaertel@bloomberg.net
Source: www.businessweek.com
Heart in his hands: World's richest artist Damien Hirst holds up striking painting days after he splits from partner of 19 years - Daily Mail
- World's richest artist pictured with symbolic artwork days after split
- Maia Norman, 49, confirmed to reporters she is leaving Hirst for former mercenary Tim Spicer
- Twice-divorced Spicer was formerly an Army officer and served in Northern Ireland and the Falklands
- As a mercenary he was investigated for allegedly shipping weapons to Sierra Leone in breach of a UN embargo
- Norman and Hirst, who have three children, have been together since 1993
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Devastated: Damien Hirst's partner may have left him for an older man only last month, but the artist put a brave face on his heartache when he was pictured with symbolic artwork today
It was only a few days ago that details had emerged of Damien Hirst's split from his partner of 20 years after she left him for a former mercenary.
But in the face of his relationship breakdown, the world's richest artist has put a brave face on his personal troubles, as he was pictured today going back to the day job and holding a particularly symbolic artwork.
Hirst, who has a 215m fortune, was left devastated last month when Maia Norman, his partner of 19 years, confessed her affair with former Lieutenant Colonel Tim Spicer.
But the 47-year-old artist appeared focussed on his work in London's Covent Garden at a Tate Modern Art Project today, despite at one point holding up a painting of a giant bright red heart.
The details of Hirst's relationship breakdown with Norman were revealed on Sunday, after the couple broke news of their split to friends and confidants.
In the wake of the revelations, it emerged that Hirst went ahead with a party in the grounds of one of his country homes only hours after news broke that his partner Maia Norman had left him for Mr Tim Spicer.
Fans expressed their sympathy to Hirst after Miss Norman confirmed she was leaving him after 19 years for former soldier-of-fortune Spicer, who is 12 years older than the artist, who is the father of Norman's three children.
It is unclear whether Norman will now move out of the couple’s main home, a 300-year-old Grade II listed farmhouse in Devon.
A fortnight ago, she grinned as she greeted 59-year-old Spicer, a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Scots Guards who now runs Aegis Defence Services, a security firm that has won multi-million-pound contracts with the US government in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Striking a pose: The world's richest artist appeared in good spirits when he was pictured with the heart design painting in London today
Details of Hirst's split from Maia Norman emerged last weekend, with the break-up thought to have happened last month
Smiling for the camera: Hirst poses with schoolchildren with his heart spin painting, as part of a Tate Modern Art Project in Covent Garden
Two weeks ago, California-born Miss Norman, 49, was photographed in Hollywood tenderly kissing Spicer in front of 150 journalists attending a car rally.
She embraced her lover for a second time before the pair walked arm-in-arm into a hotel lobby.
An onlooker said: ‘They looked incredibly comfortable and happy to see each other. You got the feeling this was the real thing, not just a fling.’
When approached and asked whether she was leaving Hirst for Spicer, Miss Norman said ‘yes’ before declining to speak further.
Divorced Spicer, the father of a teenage son, remained silent, although yesterday a spokesman confirmed he did not deny the story.
Spicer, 59, is a former Lieutenant Colonel in the Scots Guards and a Falklands veteran. He came to prominence through his company Sandline during the ‘arms-to-Africa’ controversy in 1998. He now runs Aegis Defence Services, a security firm that has won multi-million-pound contracts with the US government in Iraq and Afghanistan.
For his part, Leeds-born Hirst is the most successful living artist. His controversial works, which include a dead shark encased in formaldehyde and a skull made from diamonds, have helped him earn what is believed to be a 215million fortune.
Item: California-born Maia Norman leapt out of her black Dodge Charger - complete with Hirst's skull design on the side - to passionately embrace debonair Tim Spicer, a former mercenary
One onlooker said: 'They looked incredibly comfortable and happy to see each other. You got the feeling this was the real thing, not just a fling.'
Last night, however, lawyers said Miss Norman might be entitled to very little of that money because the couple – whose children are aged 16, 12 and six – never married.
Ayesha Vardag, of London solicitors Vardags, said: ‘They are not married and, in England, the rights of cohabitees are extremely limited, even if they have been in a relationship for a long time and even if they have three children.
‘It all depends on whether they have a joint bank account and if her name is on the title deeds of the various properties. If not, she could be entitled to very little for herself.’
As well as the 300-year-old Grade II-listed Devon farmhouse, which is the main family home, Hirst also owns a restaurant, a pub and an art studio.
Bond and Hirst bonded over their mutual lack of a father figure and humble beginnings. She initially worked as his assistant. One of Hirst's best-known works is a diamond-studded human skull that sold for 50 million
In 2005, he paid 3million for Toddington Manor, a gothic pile in Gloucestershire that he is renovating to house his art collection, and he also owns a house in Thailand, a beach home in Mexico and a houseboat moored on the Thames in Chelsea.
Although they never married, Hirst and Miss Norman used to refer to each other as husband and wife, and their relationship was seen as one of the art world’s most stable.
Sources stressed their main priority now was the welfare of their children.
It is not known how Spicer came to know Miss Norman but neighbours in Devon have speculated he could have helped to arrange the security guards who monitor the entrance to Hirst’s home.
Hirst, pictured with his famous shark in formaldehyde, has a 215-million fortune. He has been left 'devastated' after Norman confessed the affair to him in the last week of May
Source: www.dailymail.co.uk
DC Launches Darkness & Light: Art Inspired by Heroes & Villains, Hope & Heroism Exhibition - gamenguide.com
DC Entertainment announced the official launch of the Darkness & Light: Art Inspired by Heroes & Villains, Hope & Heroism exhibition, a one-of-a-kind art and education tour to raise awareness and funds for the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. Darkness & Light features some of today's top contemporary artists and showcases a collection of original artwork inspired by the DC Comics' Justice League characters paired with real world photography that depicts the everyday heroes fighting hunger in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya. From the Super Heroes that fight for justice in the comic world, to the human heroes who make a difference every day in the real world, Darkness & Light tells the story of the crisis through the lens of those working tirelessly to help the people of the Horn of Africa fight the hunger crisis.
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The centerpiece of the collection features a large-scale piece of original artwork by Jim Lee, the legendary artist and DC Entertainment co-publisher, featuring the profile of Batman in a color palette inspired by the hues of Africa - yellow, green, red and black. Lee's work is featured alongside journalistic photography that expose moments of heroism by aid workers in the Horn of Africa. Along with the exclusively commissioned piece from Lee, the art exhibition includes additional original art inspired by the universe of DC Comics and its iconic characters, including world-class Super Heroes Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, Green Lantern, The Flash, Aquaman and Cyborg, as well as a few famous villains including Catwoman and The Joker. Re-imagined by exceptional contemporary artists from around the world, the artwork will be on display at tour stops nationwide. Select pieces of DC Entertainment artwork will be auctioned off at the end of the tour with all net proceeds going directly to the We Can Be Heroes campaign.
Darkness & Light is a signature initiative of We Can Be Heroes, a giving campaign designed to raise awareness and funds for the worst hunger crisis in 60 years that is taking place in the Horn of Africa where more than 8 million people are in need of immediate assistance. The unique pairing of comic-inspired art with photography from the Horn of Africa shows visitors what is possible when we tap into our own super hero qualities of responsibility, willpower and inner strength to be of service to people in need.
The comic-inspired artwork was curated for the tour to showcase the artists' expressions of the mission of the We Can Be Heroes campaign through their own lens, and to highlight the hope that the Justice League characters embody. Paired with stunning photography that depicts heroic moments in the Horn of Africa - from a mother feeding her malnourished daughter porridge for the first meal she has had in days, to a father carrying his child across miles of dry terrain to a refugee camp, to an aid worker offering solace to a little boy who has been separated from his family, the Darkness & Light exhibition reflects the super hero powers we each hold that compel us to do good in the world.
The exhibition is heading to Portland, OR where it will be on display at the global headquarters of Mercy Corps, one of the nonprofit partners in the We Can Be Heroes campaign. Some tour stops will include intimate salon events so attendees can learn more about the complexities of the ongoing hunger crisis and what they can do to make an impact.
Upcoming stops for the exhibition include:
* Portland: June 25-30 at Mercy Corps Global Headquarters,
* San Diego and San Diego Comic-Con: July 9-15 at Michael J. Wolf Fine Arts,
* Atlanta: August 4-13 at the Phipps PlazaChicago: September 20-26, location TBD
For full details on the art exhibition tour and additional tour locations, please visit: www.WeCanBeHeroes.org/DarknessandLight
We Can Be Heroes is a giving campaign designed to raise awareness and funds for the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. Using the iconic Justice League characters from DC Entertainment, We Can Be Heroes aims to raise substantial funds for three humanitarian aid organizations working in Africa: Save the Children, International Rescue Committee, and Mercy Corps. DC Entertainment will match donations up to $1 million in total donations, and 50% of the purchase price from We Can Be Heroes products will go directly to saving lives. Learn more, donate, and get involved at www.WeCanBeHeroes.org.
Source: www.gamenguide.com
Exhibition puts spotlight on music artwork - Japan Times
It's hard to convey how much of a game changer The Beatles were for rock music. Almost 50 years ago, they brought their music to the United States and incited a craze called "Beatlemania." Japan was similarly smitten and their 1966 gig at Budokan was just as legendary.
Ever since then, the Japanese have had a genuine passion for British music. Therefore a new exhibition titled the "Art of UK Rock" at Bunkamura Gallery in Tokyo's Shibuya is likely to be a must-see for local Anglophiles.
From the Beatles to Blur, the event celebrates the artwork (about 100 pieces) of many popular groups — whether it be album covers or art made by the musicians themselves.
Sometimes the artwork associated with a band can become just as important as the music itself. Among the pieces displayed at the Bunkamura event will be the artwork for The Sex Pistols' hit "God Save the Queen." Designed by Jamie Reid, the piece features a defaced photograph of Queen Elizabeth II. The Observer newspaper called the image the most iconic of the punk era.
Album covers aren't just decoration, they are the face of artists and movements, and with MP3s becoming a more prevalent way of listening to music — their importance could also wind up being diminished.
Source: www.japantimes.co.jp
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