Thursday, November 1, 2012

BSkyB posts strong first-quarter earnings

LONDON (Reuters) - Pay-TV group BSkyB reported strong first-quarter earnings growth on Thursday as price rises and the sale of additional products to subscribers helped reassure investors who had been fearing a slowdown.

BSkyB, which sells pay-TV, broadband and telephony, has launched an online offering and promoted new products to existing customers after the heady rate of subscriber growth seen in previous years started to drop off.

The solid performance will likely please investors gathering later in London for the group's annual general meeting, where director James Murdoch will make his first public appearance since he stepped down as chairman over a phone hacking scandal at his newspaper group.

Shares in BSkyB were up 3.8 percent in early trading, against an otherwise flat FTSE 100 Index, after they slipped in the run up to the results. The group is now valued at 12.1 billion pounds ($19.49 billion).

"BSkyB's first-quarter numbers were solidly reassuring, with all key metrics showing improvement over Q1 2012," Peel Hunt analyst Patrick Yau said in a note.

"We see this as a robust start to the year for this defensively positioned company. We remain comfortable with our forecasts for now."

In the first three months of its new financial year, BSkyB signed up 48,000 new households, in line with forecasts, with 20,000 additions to the core pay-TV offering.

That is someway off the often 100,000-plus pay-TV subscribers it used to sign up per quarter, but the group said one in three of its customers now took TV, broadband and telephony services, which helped to lift the average amount each customer spent with the group.

Customer loyalty also remained strong, despite the first price rise in two years kicking in.

"Despite market fears over new competition, TV adds continued to grow with 20,000 net adds," Morgan Stanley said in a note to clients after the results were announced.

"This puts into perspective recent concerns that Sky might suffer a fall."

Chief Executive Jeremy Darroch said the service had enjoyed strong demand from customers for its sports programming over the quarter, including Europe's success in the Ryder Cup and Andy Murray's win at the U.S. Tennis Open.

The solid operating performance, the price rise and a share buyback programme helped lift earnings per share 16 percent to 13.4 pence, while revenue rose 4 percent to 1.7 billion pounds and adjusted operating profit climbed 5 percent to 310 million pounds.

All three numbers were either in line with or slightly above forecasts.

"We have made a strong start to the year, delivering another good quarterly performance and continuing to position the business for the long term," Darroch said.

Analysts had been expecting a "lacklustre" number of new customer additions due to the tough economy, the distraction of the Olympic Games in London and the fact that the business is becoming more mature after years of rapid growth.

They had also been keen, however, to see how the business was operating after Virgin Media reported upbeat trading earlier this month and following the arrival of U.S. online DVD rental company Netflix in Britain.

($1 = 0.6207 British pounds)

(Reporting by Kate Holton; Editing by Guy Faulconbridge and Helen Massy-Beresford)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/bskyb-posts-strong-first-quarter-earnings-071048279--finance.html

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NYPD officer dies saving family from Sandy

By NBC News staff

NYPD

Artur Kasrpzak, a six-year NYPD veteran, died Monday night while helping family members to safety inside his flooded Staten Island home, according to police.

Friends, family and colleagues are mourning an off-duty New York City police officer who died while helping seven family members to safety inside his flood-ravaged home on Staten Island during superstorm Sandy.

Officer Artur Kasprzak, 28, ?died Monday night in the basement of his flooded home.


In a statement, the NYPD gave the following account:

As flood water surged into the house, Officer Kasprzak was able to get six adults and a 15-month-old boy into his attic to escape the rapidly rising water.?Officer Kasprzak then told one of the women he was going to check the basement, but would be right back.

After he did not return, she called 911 to report Officer Kasprzak missing. NYPD Emergency Service and SCUBA units quickly responded, but could not access the home due to down, electrified power lines in the water.?A search commenced as soon as the house was safe to enter.

At approximately 7 a.m. Tuesday, Officer Kasprzak's body was located, unconscious and unresponsive, in the basement. EMTs pronounced him dead at the scene.

Kasrpzak, a six-year NYPD veteran, was assigned to the 1st Precinct in Manhattan.

?We offer condolences and prayers for Police Officer Kasprzak's family and all those who are suffering losses as a result of the storm, and extended deep appreciation for those working selflessly to help others,? the NYPD said. ?They and Artur will never be forgotten.?

"He was a brave guy," a friend,?Tommy Krol, 29, told the New York Daily News. "He loved being a cop. He loved his job.?

At least 26 Sandy-related deaths have been reported in New York City as of Wednesday, according to NBCNewYork.com.

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Source: http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/10/31/14835765-off-duty-nypd-officer-dies-saving-his-family-from-sandy?lite

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Unsecured bad credit loan is the best opportunity in case of financial ...

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The reason behind attaching these exciting offers with unsecured bad credit loan is to increase the fame of all the sides attached with the loan plan. The third party of organization also gets served getting these bad credit approved applicants as their new customers, though they offers them with their products in a low price. Moreover, the bad credit loan lender gets a sort of consideration and privilege from those offering attached organization and get a small percentage of incentive provided by the third party.

But not always unsecured bad credit loan are feasible and conducive for bad credit people. Sometimes, many financial organizations ask for to keep a small amount of money as collateral which will not be eligible to many of the bad credit people. Generally, the loan money provided through these loan schemes are lower than the bad credit persons imagination and the interest rates charged are naturally higher than expectation. Because of the loan scheme being unsecured, these hazards are to be faced by the bad credit loan borrower. However, if a person of bad credit is brave enough to deal with all these problems, he can certainly shine in the near future.

Get bad credit personal loans online with # lender. Apply now and get approved ? http://www.guaranteedcreditloans.com/unsecured-personal-loans.html

Source: http://www.briefingwire.com/pr/unsecured-bad-credit-loan-is-the-best-opportunity-in-case-of-financial-low-wallet

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Default Tricks ? Gardening Guides In The UK

There are all types of new and useful gardening gadgets on the market, developed by people who love to garden. The following are some tips on the latest gardening equipment on the market, and how it can make your gardening experience easier and more enjoyable. Gardening style can always be perfected.

Get more value out of your property. Landscaping has one of the highest returns you can get from home improvement. Some plant investments can raise your resale value by 20% or more. Get plants for your yard and garden that are low moisture, and well suited to your environmental conditions.

A great tip to consider when gardening is the fact that you need to get rid of weeds even though you might not enjoy working at it. This is important because weeds steal nutrients from the soil that your plants need and they also may overtake your plants, denying them water and sunlight.

Consider using weed-control cloth in your garden. Weeds cause a tremendous amount of work for any gardener. While the cloth is not the most attractive option, it does its job. If you place strips of the material in between the rows of your garden, it will keep out the vast majority of the weeds.

When lifting heavy things in your garden it is important to protect your back. You should always lift with your knees when you are lifting anything in the garden. If something is very heavy you should ask someone to help you lift it so that you do not cause damage to your back or knees.

Grow vegetables and fruits to drink. Often overlooked yet easy to grow are items that can be made into fantastic and nutritious drinks. These berries and fruit juices can be frozen or canned or made into wine and hard cider. A well made apple wine or blueberry wine can start at $10-12 a bottle, so this can also be a profit available with the garden. Check out Carbon Filter ? an introduction for intelligent guidelines.

To keep pests out of your garden without using chemicals, try planting onions at your garden?s borders. The scent of the onion will work as a natural repellent and will keep many creatures from disturbing your plants. As an added bonus, this allows you to regularly have fresh onions to use in your cooking.

With these simple tips it is easier then you thought to have a garden that is just as nice looking as your neighbors. So quit being jealous and do something about it. Before you know it, you will have the garden that everyone desires to have.

Take a look at our web-site for quality info here: watertreatmentstlouis.org and growtentstore.com/Carbon-Filters.

Source: http://www.defaulttricks.com/gardening-guides-in-the-uk/

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Photos: Sandy devastates New Jersey

Aerial views shows the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy to the New Jersey coast taken during a search and rescue mission by 1-150 Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard on October 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark C. Olsen/U.S. Air Force/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, ... more?Aerial views shows the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy to the New Jersey coast taken during a search and rescue mission by 1-150 Assault Helicopter Battalion, New Jersey Army National Guard on October 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mark C. Olsen/U.S. Air Force/Handout (UNITED STATES - Tags: DISASTER ENVIRONMENT) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS less?

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/photos/sandy-devastates-new-jersey-slideshow/

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This Is What a Disney Star Wars Universe Looks Like [COMIC]

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