Frankie Warren

"Most of the last eight elected U.S. presidents, starting with Dwight Eisenhower, saw their approval rating drop in the second year of their presidency -- on average by five percentage points. According to Gallup historical data, only George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush avoided a second-year drop; Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan experienced the greatest declines in public approval from year one to year two." - Frankie Warren

"Google revealed a plan today for co-founder Larry Page and Sergey Brin to sell off some of their company stock, with the end result that the pair’s voting power will drop below 50 percent." - Frankie Warren

"Taxpayers will be able to deduct donations for Haiti earthquake relief on their 2009 returns instead of waiting until 2010, under a bill approved by Congress. “This legislation is an additional incentive for Americans to contribute,” Finance Committee Chairman Senator Max Baucus, a Democrat from Montana, said in a statement." - Frankie Warren

"Jan. 21 (Bloomberg) -- Investors have turned bullish on the U.S. while tempering their enthusiasm for China as they worry about a market bubble there, according to a Bloomberg survey. An overwhelming majority also see a government debt default on the horizon this year, according to a quarterly poll of investors and analysts who are Bloomberg subscribers. Greece is considered the riskiest government, followed by Argentina, Russia, Ireland, Portugal, Italy, Spain and Mexico." - Frankie Warren

"EBay Inc., the most-visited U.S. e-commerce site, reported fourth-quarter profit that topped analysts’ estimates, boosted by the holiday shopping season and the sale of its Skype Internet-calling business" - Frankie Warren

"The US coffee chain giant made a net profit of $241.5m (£148m) in the three months to the end of December, compared with $64.3m a year earlier. Buoyed by extensive cost-cutting work over the past year, the firm has also won back customers in its home market." - Frankie Warren

Is this a real sign that the recession is ending? - Scoble, Alex Scoble

Not necessarily. The profits were driven by cost cutting and the introduction of coffee at lower price points. I think it's more of a reflection on Howard Schultz who took back over as CEO and illustrates they've been able to adapt to the market. - Frankie Warren

"Google’s “new approach to China”, as the firm’s chief legal officer, David Drummond, called it in an official blog posting on Tuesday January 12th, will infuriate the government in Beijing. Official sensitivity to foreign complaints about internet controls in China was evident in November during a visit by President Barack Obama. His obliquely worded criticism of online censorship was itself expunged from official media reports. If the firm were to quit China, Google would be the first big foreign company to do so while citing concerns about freedom of speech." - Frankie Warren

"he Burj Khalifa has hardly struggled to attract attention, or photographers, since opening in Dubai last week with an elaborate celebration. But here is something a little different: some stunning photos of the tower being struck by lightning courtesy of photographer Alisdair Miller. Also included our some of his shots from the top of the tower. Click here to see more of Alistair's work (h/t The Next Web.)" - Frankie Warren

"President Barack Obama plans to raise as much as $120 billion over several years through a fee on financial institutions to help recoup losses from the Troubled Asset Relief Program and reduce the federal deficit, according to an administration official." - Frankie Warren

"Great businesses start not with a great business plan, but with finding a creative innovative idea that solves a great problem. This is the central concept underlying the graduate entrepreneurship program at Pepperdine’s Graziadio School of Business and Management. How then do you navigate from idea to a profitable business that you, your customers, and investors will get passionately behind? Graziadio professors, partnering with The Palmer Center at Pepperdine’s Law School, brought the pieces together in a full-day event for students and alumni on November 6, 2009" - Frankie Warren

"Businesses and governments have rushed to raise tens of billions of dollars from bond markets in a frenetic round of new year fundraising amid fears that interest rates are set to jump." - Frankie Warren

"The shift shows how the nation’s consumers are helping compensate for exports, which yesterday recorded the first annual decline in more than 25 years even as shipments for December climbed almost 18 percent. The government is seeking to boost the domestic economy by creating health-care and pension systems that will encourage spending." - Frankie Warren

"Mrs Palin, who ran for the post of vice-president during the 2008 election on a Republican ticket, stepped down as Alaska governor in July 2009. Fox News said that while Mrs Palin would not have her own programme, she would appear on the channel regularly as part of a multi-year deal. Financial details of the deal have not been released." - Frankie Warren

"Tombs discovered near Egypt's great pyramids reinforce the theory they were built by free workers rather than slaves, experts have said" - Frankie Warren

"Over the weekend, 14 people were trapped in an elevator in the tallest building in the world. They were safely returned to solid ground within 15 minutes, according to Otis, the company that designed the lift for the new Burj Khalifa complex in Dubai. But the incident undeniably tarnished the unveiling of what had been called the most perfect elevator system in the world." - Frankie Warren

We found out our opponents tonights! We're in the Bombardier division. Competition starts tomorrow morning. - Frankie Warren

I didn't make the cut. Damn it. - Frankie Warren

=( Im sorry - Shevonne

I am so sorry:( R.I.P. - Elina Katariina Leppänen

"Many homeowners who are tens thousands of dollars underwater on their mortgages — meaning they owe more than the value of their homes — have decided it's just not worth it. Some, like Heather Baker, can even afford their payments, but they're walking away anyway." - Frankie Warren

I heard this the other day; they ran it side by side with a piece about some arizonans that won't walk away from a place they can't afford - RAPatton

How do you not walk away? Had the bank foreclosed on the property? - Frankie Warren

"Anne Phillips Ogilby, a bond attorney at one of Boston’s oldest law firms, on Oct. 31 last year relayed an urgent message from Harvard University, her client and alma mater, to the head of a Massachusetts state agency that sells bonds. The oldest and richest academic institution in America needed help getting a loan right away." - Frankie Warren