UBS AG has faced second consecutive quarterly loss

UBS AG, Swiss bank, has announced a second consecutive quarterly loss. 

From UBS,

Pre-tax profit was CHF 471 million in the fourth quarter of 2011 compared with CHF 888 million in the previous quarter, which included a gain of CHF 433 million from the sale of our strategic investment portfolio and CHF 85 million of restructuring charges. Excluding this gain, the gross margin on invested assets declined by 6 basis points to 91 basis points, as a result of lower client activity and lower interest income. Net new money inflows of CHF 3.1 billion were recorded in the fourth quarter.

The bank is expecting poor performance in the first quarter of the new year.

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Canon's six new PowerShot cameras

Canon has announced six PowerShot A-series digital cameras on February 7, Tuesday.

These cameras are PowerShot A4000 IS ($200), PowerShot A3400 IS Cameras ($180), PowerShot A2400 IS ($150), PowerShot A2300 Cameras , PowerShot A1300 ($120) and PowerShot A810 ($110) Cameras.

All these cameras have some things common such as 16-megapixel sensor, 28mm wide angle lens and can take 720p video.

These cameras are available in a wide range of specifications, colors and prices.

"The new additions to Canon's new PowerShot A-series lineup will provide entry-level users with many options to unlock their creativity and capture high-quality images at a budget-friendly price," said Yuichi Ishizuka, executive vice president and general manager, Imaging Technologies & Communications Group, Canon U.S.A.

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A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam

 

 “A Brief Illustrated Guide to Understanding Islam” is a book written by I. A. Ibrahim and reviewed and edited by many professors and well-educated people. It is one of the bestselling books in Dar-us-Salam Publications.

From Amazon,

This book is specifically written for non-Muslims to help them better understand Islam. Some of the topics in this book are: - Evidence that Islam is a true religion. - Proofs that the Qur'an is the literal word of God. - Scientific miracles in the Qur'an with scientific illustrations. - Why Muhammad is truly a prophet sent by God? - Some benefits of Islam. - General information on Islam. - Pillars of faith. - Correction of some misconceptions about Islam. - The status of women in Islam. - What Islam says about terrorism. Features of the book: 43 illustrations (39 in color); 76 colorful pages on glossy, coated, 115 gm paper; Laminated 350 gm cover; High quality printing; More than 375,000 copies have been printed.

Ancient Katydid's sound has been revelaed by Scientists

Scientists from China and Britain have redeveloped the sound of 165 million years old cricket or katydid through the fossils. It was the time, when dinosaurs inhabit the Earth.

According to the researchers, the sound reflects (probably) the attraction sound i.e. love song to attract its mates.

"Singing loud and clear advertises the presence, location and quality of the singer, a message that females choose to respond to -- or not," he said.

"Using a single tone, the male's call carries further and better, and therefore is likely to serenade more females."

"This Jurassic bush cricket... helps us learn a little more about the ambiance of a world long gone," said co-author Fernando Montealegre-Zapata of the University of Bristol.

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Frontier Airlines' Enabler 190 fleet has gotten WiFi service for passengers

Frontier Airlines has introduced WiFi service in its Enabler 190 fleet across more than 80 destinations in U.S., Mexico and Costa Rica.

Moreover, in the course of the celebration of the WiFi service the airline has made 30 minutes of free WiFi service throughout the month of February.

"Adding Wi-Fi to our Embraer fleet is another example of Frontier's commitment to providing our guests with a comfortable and easy travel experience," said Dan Krause, vice president of Marketing and Customer Experience for Frontier. "We're confident that the availability of onboard Wi-Fi will improve the flying experience of those who want to remain socially connected during their travels."

Gogo, inflight connectivity provider, will work on onboard connectivity.

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Orexigen and FDA has reached at an agreement about Contrave

Orexigen Therapeutics Inc., Biopharmaceutical Company, has developed a drug for diet and obesity i.e. Contrave.

The company reported on Monday that it has reached at an agreement with U.S. Food and Drug administration (FDA) over the details of design and analysis of the experimental drug.

"We are pleased to receive agreement on the SPA (Special Protocol Assessment) from the FDA after just one cycle of review," said Michael Narachi, President and CEO of Orexigen. "A few months ago, we received detailed written correspondence from the FDA's Director of the Office of New Drugs that identified a clear and feasible path forward for this important potential obesity therapy. We believe the rapid progress we have since made with the FDA's Division of Metabolic and Endocrinologic Products on the detailed protocol and plans for analysis is further indication of the alignment we have reached within the FDA on the requirements for resubmission of the Contrave NDA."

The company will work on 10,000 patients in a placebo-controlled trial to prove that there are very less chances of unacceptable increased adverse cardiovascular events.

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Google's correction of "Atlantis" rumors on Google Earth

Google has finally corrected the rumors of "Atlantis" city on Google Earth by using new seafloor data from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other groups.

People from around the world have found grid lines in the seafloor on Google Earth. They called these as the city streets of the "Atlantis" city.

From SayPeople,

The updates have not only improved the accuracy of ocean maps but it has also been reported that 15% of the images have been taken from the sonar soundings taken at a resolution of 1 km. Sonar method has been used by the oceanographers to map the seafloor. The earlier versions had 10% of the seafloor provided from sonar soundings with much of the data taken from satellite exploration.

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