The Green Sheet Online Edition

Shortstack

Worldwide demand for oil is expected to fall by 450,000 barrels per day in 2009. ... The French-led Corot mission spied its first planet - a very hot world bigger than Jupiter - passing in front of a far-off star 1,500 light-years away from Earth. ... As of Dec. 11, 2008, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. had received more than 1,200 applications from small community banks seeking to enroll in the Troubled Asset Relief Program, which is a part of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act recently passed by the U.S. Congress. ... Brazil pledged to end deforestation of the Amazon rainforest by 2015. Deforestation accounts for 75 percent of the country's greenhouse gas emissions. ... Doug Engelbart, who invented the computer mouse in December 1968, said the first mouse was made of wood. The light emitting diode and cord resembled a tail and ear. ... Purdue University recently offered for auction the naming rights to several newly discovered species: seven types of bats and two kinds of turtles. ... Scientists are testing a new drug on macaque monkeys infected with simian immunodeficiency virus; this could be a positive step in combating the human immunodeficiency virus, commonly known as HIV. ... The Air Transport Association projected a 9 percent year-to-year decrease in passengers traveling on U.S. airlines during the 2008 holiday season. But airlines have reduced holiday flights for this period by 9 percent, so the ATA expects planes will be just as crowded as in 2007. ... A black hole four million times more massive than the Sun exists in the center of the Milky Way. ... A study conducted by McGill University Health Centre and the University of Southern California found vitamin D deficiency can cause higher body mass and shorter stature in girls who are at the peak of their growth spurt. ... The Italian government intends to assist its ailing cheese industry and its citizenry by buying large quantities of Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano cheeses and giving them to the poor. ... Physicists, engineers and technicians from the University of Delaware joined an international team working to build the world's largest neutrino telescope in the Antarctic ice, far beneath the continent's surface. The telescope will occupy a cubic kilometer upon completion in 2011. ... The herpes virus behind cold sores is a major cause of the protein plaques that accumulate in the brains of people with Alzheimer's disease.

ISO-Q test

Which of the following statements is correct?

1. The Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court recently decided whether a $2.50 monthly inactivity fee on a gift card was permissible; the fee was disclosed only in fine print at the time of the card's issuance.

2. Visa Inc. introduced a new acquirer fee, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2009, and is 20 cents per domestic acquired financial detail record.

3. Marketing and sales are most effective when the specific needs and interests of prospects are ignored.

Point here for the answer.

MLScapes

Here's what they're saying on GS Online's MLS Forum:

It's how you deliver products and services that get the nod, not how much you charge.

- The Dustman

As a reward for a job well done this year I am paying for all my reps to attend the SEAA in Orlando this February as well as amusement park passes for them all while there.

- chett2787

Treat your sales agents right, compensate fairly and they'll be there recruiting for you.

- FastTransact

Loopy laws

In Florida, unmarried women are not permitted to parachute on Sundays.

Biz bytes

An immunization strategy is a bond portfolio strategy whose goal is to immunize a portfolio against a general change in the rate of interest.

A contingent immunization is an arrangement in which a money manager pursues an active bond portfolio strategy until an adverse investment experience drives the then-available potential return down to the safety-net level. At that point, an immunization strategy is pursued to lock in the safety-net level return.